Who Is Named in the Epstein Files? List of Famous People Exposed in Bombshell Release

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The Justice Department has finally begun releasing the long‑awaited trove of Jeffrey Epstein files — and the initial batch of never‑before‑seen photos and documents includes a jaw‑dropping lineup of high‑profile figures who had contacts with the notorious financier and child rapist.

While the images are explosive, the DOJ has said that being photographed with Epstein doesn’t equate to criminal guilt, and many of the appearances in past photos released — including those by President Trump — are social or casual in nature.

Here’s who else appears in the Epstein files:

Former President Bill Clinton — New photos depict former President Bill Clinton vacationing with Epstein and his long-term partner and madam, Ghislaine Maxwell. One striking shot shows Clinton partially unclothed in a hot tub alongside Maxwell and an unidentified woman.

Mick Jagger — New images included in the release show Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger dining with Epstein and Clinton, and cozying up to a woman whose face was redacted in one image.

Michael Jackson — One of the most talked‑about images published today shows the late pop legend Michael Jackson standing beside Jeffrey Epstein in a previously unreleased DOJ photograph — complete with Jackson in sunglasses and Epstein in slippers. One picture shows Clinton, Jackson, and famed singer Diana Ross on a plane together. (Read more from “Who Is Named in the Epstein Files? List of Famous People Exposed in Bombshell Release” HERE)

Photo credit: Department of Justice

‘That Is Retarded’: Ben Shapiro Goes After Fellow AmericaFest Speakers, Candace Owens; Erika Kirk Makes 2028 Presidential Endorsement During Speech

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By Daily Caller. The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro criticized fellow media figures and speakers Thursday during his speech at AmericaFest.

Turning Point USA opened its annual AmericaFest conference Thursday at the Phoenix Convention Center, presenting the four-day event as a celebration of faith, freedom, and the legacy of founder Charlie Kirk. Speaking at the event, Shapiro said media figures must take responsibility for their words, actions, hiring decisions, and guest choices, adding that hosts owe audiences tough, fact-driven questioning regardless of whether they agree with the guest.

“We have a duty to take responsibility for what we say and do. If we hire awful people, we’re responsible for that. I have some experience there, as you might suspect. That means that if we offer a guest for your viewing, we owe it to you to ask the kinds of questions that actually get at the truth,” Shapiro said. “If we agree with a guest, that’s fine, but we should own it. So, for example, if you host a Hitler-apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse like Nick Fuentes. You know, the Nick Fuentes who said that the Vice President of the United States is a, quote, fat, gay race traitor married to a jeet.”

Shapiro referenced past remarks Nick Fuentes made during his AmericaFest speech, pointing to Fuentes’ comments about the TPUSA founder. (Read more from “‘That Is Retarded’: Ben Shapiro Goes After Fellow AmericaFest Speakers, Candace Owens” HERE)

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Erika Kirk Makes 2028 Presidential Endorsement During AmFest Speech

By Daily Caller. Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk used her speech Thursday at AmericaFest 2025 to map out Republican strategy for the next two election cycles.

TPUSA’s annual AmericaFest conference kicked off Thursday at the Phoenix Convention Center, with organizers framing the four-day gathering as a celebration of faith, freedom, and the legacy of founder Charlie Kirk. During her speech, Kirk told the crowd that Republicans are shifting away from a narrow focus on individual contests and toward a broader, long-term state strategy aimed at locking in durable electoral gains.

“For both 2026 and 2028, we’re investing in states and not just in races. So, what I mean by that is we are building the red wall,” Kirk said. “Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire, that’s going to be very important to us. We’re going to ensure that President Trump has Congress for all four years. We are going to get my husband’s friend, JD Vance, elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible.” (Read more from “Erika Kirk Makes 2028 Presidential Endorsement During AmFest Speech” HERE)

Brown, MIT Shooting Suspect ID’d After He’s Found Dead From Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

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Police have identified former Brown University student Claudio Neves Valente as the gunman in both Saturday’s fatal shooting at the Ivy League school and Monday’s murder of an MIT professor, while also confirming he’s dead.

Valente, a Portuguese national, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday night following a nearly weeklong manhunt, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez announced at a press conference, five full days into the department’s frantic search for the killer.

The 48-year-old former graduate student was discovered dead with a satchel and two firearms inside a Salem, New Hampshire, storage facility, where authorities carried out a search warrant around 9 p.m.

FBI Special Agent Ted Docks also revealed that Valente studied in Lisbon with murdered MIT nuclear science professor Nuno Loureiro, 47. The professor was killed on Monday in his $1.4 million townhouse in upscale Brookline, Massachusetts, and cops there announced late Thursday he was shot by Valente.

Loureiro was born and raised in Portugal and studied physics at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon. (Read more from “Brown, MIT Shooting Suspect ID’d After He’s Found Dead From Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound” HERE)

Reported Car Ramming May Have Foiled Second Terror Plot In Same Location From Just Days Ago

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A police LandCruiser reportedly crashed into a car in Liverpool, Australia, carrying men believed to be headed for Bondi Beach with potentially violent intentions.

Bondi was the site of a father-son terror shooting Sunday that claimed at least 15 and injured over 40. With crashed cars in the background, heavily armed law enforcement can be seen escorting ziptied men to sit or kneel against a wall.

Cops from New South Wales (NSW), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) responded to a tip of a “violent act” in planning, according to an NSW Police statement. The men were headed for unknown reasons to Bondi Beach and five were arrested, reported news.com.au

NSW Police did not confirm arrests but indicated seven men were “assisting police” and the police operation had “concluded.” They also did not find “any connection” to the Bondi Beach attack, according to multiple reports.

It comes as the youngest Bondi Beach victim, Matilda, was laid to rest in another part of Sydney. (Read more from “Reported Car Ramming May Have Foiled Second Terror Plot In Same Location From Just Days Ago” HERE)

Elise Stefanik Went Full MAGA — So Where Is Her Trump Endorsement?

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New York Rep. Elise Stefanik morphed from a moderate, right-of-center Republican to a MAGA champion in just a few years, but she still hasn’t secured the coveted Trump endorsement in her run for governor of New York as she faces a new primary challenger.

Stefanik, whose team argues she has the best shot at defeating incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, is facing Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. Even though Stefanik currently leads Blakeman by 31 points, President Donald Trump has asserted both are “great people” and declined to get involved in the race at this point.

The lack of endorsement raises questions about potential lingering tensions from Trump pulling Stefanik’s nomination as ambassador to the United Nations and a recent row with Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as the political expediency of Stefanik’s delayed embrace of the president.

During the 2016 Republican primary, Stefanik publicly criticized several of Trump’s positions but largely avoided mentioning him by name, according to a Roll Call report. Her criticisms included Trump’s attacks on the family of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq, his proposal to ban immigration from Muslim-majority countries, his pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and the release of the Access Hollywood tape.

In May 2016, Stefanik avoided mentioning Trump by name prior to his nomination, instead reaffirming her commitment to supporting the Republican nominee, stating “Like my Democratic opponent, I will support my party’s nominee in the fall,” she said, according to an Albany Times Union report.

(Read more from “Elise Stefanik Went Full MAGA — So Where Is Her Trump Endorsement?” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Jack Smith Testifies Privately Team Had ‘Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt’ on Trump

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Former Special Counsel Jack Smith told members of Congress in a private interview Wednesday that his team gathered sufficient evidence to support criminal charges against Donald Trump in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the retention of classified documents, even though both cases were later dropped following Trump’s return to the presidency.

In a closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, former Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith defended his handling of two major federal investigations into President Donald Trump. According to excerpts from his opening remarks obtained by the Associated Press, Smith said his team developed “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump criminally conspired to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Smith also said prosecutors amassed “powerful evidence” that Trump unlawfully retained classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and obstructed government attempts to retrieve them.

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” Smith told the committee. He emphasized his actions were “based on what the facts and the law required.” He also reportedly told lawmakers that if presented with the same facts today, he would again bring charges against a former president, “regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat.”

Smith was appointed in 2022 by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee both probes. His team filed charges in each case but abandoned them after Trump was elected to the White House, citing Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted. (Read more from “Jack Smith Testifies Privately Team Had ‘Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt’ on Trump” HERE)

President Trump Gives Federal Workers 2 New Holidays Around Christmas

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Federal workers are getting a Christmas gift from President Trump.

The president took executive action Thursday to ensure that federal workers get Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas off from work.

Trump had previously given federal workers the day off on Christmas Eve, but his action Thursday goes a step further and adds Dec. 26 to the list.

Previous presidents have given full or half days on Christmas Eve. Trump did so in 2019 and 2020. But adding Dec. 26 off as well is unusual.

The overture comes after federal workers had a rough couple of weeks during the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown that ended last month.

Oftentimes, holidays for federal workers can serve as a model for the private sector to follow. (Read more from “President Trump Gives Federal Workers 2 New Holidays Around Christmas” HERE)

Trump Tells America: ‘I’m Fixing’ Biden’s Mess in Chart-Filled Primetime Address

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President Trump came out swinging against his predecessor in a rare address to the nation while touting the progress he’s made this year — saying that the best was yet to come in 2026.

“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump declared on Wednesday night in a year-end recap beamed live into millions of homes.

“We had the worst trade deals ever made, and our country was laughed at from all over the world, but they’re not laughing anymore.”

“Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history,” Trump declared, focusing heavily on Americans’ economic concerns.

Trump whipped out a chart to show price decreases and wage increases under his watch — with real private-sector wage growth averaging $1,048 since he returned to the White House, versus losses of $2,919 under Joe Biden.

“Let’s look at the facts. Under the Biden administration, car prices rose 22% and in many states 30% or more,” Trump said, ticking through data displayed on other charts. (Read more from “Trump Tells America: ‘I’m Fixing’ Biden’s Mess in Chart-Filled Primetime Address” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

House Passes Last Minute GOP Healthcare Bill

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Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a healthcare reform bill on Wednesday evening targeting rising costs as expiring Obamacare tax credits rally support for change ahead of midterm elections.

The new GOP-backed legislation, titled the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, does not extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits expiring on Dec. 31. The bill, introduced by Republican Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, passed the House in a near party-line 216-211 vote.

Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie was the only GOP member to vote no. No Democrats supported the bill.

Miller-Meeks said on the House floor Wednesday that the new legislation lowers health care costs by “forcing transparency” and implementing “common sense solutions.”

“By lowering premiums through choice and competition, by expanding association health plans, we give small businesses and self-employed workers the buying power of large employers, cutting premiums by as much as 30%,” Miller-Meeks said. “Being transparent to drug pricing, we take on the pharmacy benefit managers who have long operated behind the scenes as middlemen, collecting hidden fees while prescription prices climb.” (Read more from “House Passes Last Minute GOP Healthcare Bill” HERE)

Ghislaine Maxwell Moves to Overturn Conviction

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Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate and former girlfriend of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, has launched a dramatic bid to overturn her sex-trafficking conviction and walk free from federal prison, claiming newly uncovered evidence proves her trial was fundamentally unfair.

In a habeas corpus petition filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Maxwell asked a judge to vacate her 2021 conviction and release her from her 20-year sentence. The filing argues that prosecutors withheld critical evidence, relied on false testimony, and committed constitutional violations that, taken together, resulted in what Maxwell’s attorneys describe as a “complete miscarriage of justice.”

According to the petition, information that could have cleared Maxwell was not disclosed to the defense before or during trial. Her legal team contends that evidence emerging from civil lawsuits, government disclosures, investigative records, and newly obtained documents would have changed the outcome of the case.

“In light of the full evidentiary record, no reasonable juror would have convicted her,” the filing states.

The move comes at a pivotal moment. Maxwell’s petition was filed just days before the federal government is required to release a massive trove of Epstein-related records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law signed by President Donald Trump after sustained public pressure for accountability. The statute compels the Justice Department to make public a wide range of investigative materials by Dec. 19.

Those records are expected to include search warrants, financial documents, victim interview notes, electronic data, and other evidence gathered during the sprawling sex-trafficking investigation that engulfed Epstein and his network.

Maxwell’s attorneys argue that the impending document release could complicate matters if her conviction is overturned and a retrial is ordered. While she is no longer opposing the unsealing of records, her legal team warned that public disclosure could severely prejudice any future proceedings, noting the materials contain allegations that were never tested in court.

Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 on multiple counts related to recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein. Epstein himself was arrested in July 2019 and died weeks later in a New York federal jail in what authorities ruled a suicide. Maxwell was arrested a year after Epstein’s death and later transferred from a Florida prison to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas following a meeting with senior Justice Department officials earlier this year.