The Justice Department has warned that the latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents released this week features “untrue and sensationalist claims” about President Donald Trump, as the newest tranche of materials reveals “wide-ranging references to the president,” said The Washington Post. Among the revelations culled from the release is a 2020 U.S. Attorney’s office email claiming Trump “traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware).”

While administration officials “quickly pointed out publicly” instances in which former President Bill Clinton appears in Epstein-related material, they “struck a notably different tone” with this latest batch of Trump-heavy materials, said The New York Times. Trump “bemoaned” the possible “reputational damage” of people photographed in Epstein’s orbit, said CNN. He then insisted the documents were released by Democrats to “distract from his accomplishments.”

“A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein,” said Trump on Monday. “But they are in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruined a reputation of somebody.”

The latest documents and questions surrounding their redaction constitute a “White House cover-up,” said Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in a statement. “Why are Epstein’s co-conspirators being protected? What else is the DOJ hiding?” House Democrats have also pushed the Justice Department’s inspector general to look into and justify the FBI’s 1996 failure to “fully investigate” claims that Epstein was involved in producing child pornography.

New York Republican and rising MAGA star Rep. Elise Stefanik shocked observers this week with her announcement that not only will she suspend her New York gubernatorial bid but also resign from Congress in the new year. She would “overwhelmingly” win the primary against fellow Republican and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, and it would not be an “effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary,” she said in a statement.  

Ending her campaign and announcing her congressional retirement caps a “tumultuous year” for Stefanik, who had started 2025 expecting to serve as U.N. ambassador before Trump “decided to withdraw her nomination in order to keep her vote in the House,” said the National Review. Although Stefanik “believed she had been a loyal soldier” deserving of Trump’s support for her bid to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), Trump “apparently felt otherwise” and has since endorsed Blakeman. “Even the most clever Republicans keep mistakenly expecting that blind loyalty to Trump will be reciprocated,” said Puck.

Being on the president’s bad side is “fraught,” said The Wall Street Journal. “But being his friend can also be perilous.” Stefanik’s political fate is a “reminder of how quickly” Trump can “discard allies when they no longer suit his purposes” and might ultimately signify “one reason his political coalition may not have the staying power he imagines.”

‘Americafest 2025’ was a who’s who of right-wing heavyweights eager to settle scores and lay claim to the future of MAGA