The U.S. and Iran have agreed to halt attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and allow vessels to move through freely, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, as continued hostilities threatened a two-week-old cease-fire. Iran has yet to confirm an agreement.
The agreement would bring calm to the crucial waterway, where renewed skirmishing began last week after an attack on a cargo ship. U.S. officials blamed Iran for the resumption of hostilities, saying it had launched drone attacks on two vessels in the strait in recent days. Iran has not claimed responsibility for those strikes, but on Sunday reiterated its demand that vessels follow its designated routes in the strait.
Earlier in the day, the Iranian foreign minister declared that his country alone had the authority to manage commercial traffic through the strait.
Talks were slated to continue on the mechanics of putting into action a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran that produced the fragile cease-fire, according to the U.S. official. The official declined to provide any specifics on when or where those talks would occur.
Leaders in Tehran and Washington face domestic political pressures to avoid a return to conflict and appear committed to a ceasefire for now, despite frequent bellicose rhetoric.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for both new attacks on Sunday. It said: “Let the enemy know that violating the ceasefire … will lead to a complete halt of ongoing processes.”
The IRGC, which controls Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, has gained influence in Iran in recent months. Its navy command said American bases in the region would “experience hell in the coming days”.
Bahrain’s foreign ministry denounced the attacks, which it called “a dangerous escalation that reveals that what Tehran is doing is not a passing act, nor an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression against the sovereignty of the kingdom, and the security of its citizens and residents”.
Bahrain is home to the US navy’s 5th Fleet, whose base there came under repeated attack during the war.
RYAN NOBLES:
Yeah. Let’s talk now about the Epstein files. That’s been an issue that has been very difficult for the Trump administration. President Trump’s decision to move on from the Epstein files, that launched a series of top secret meetings in the Situation Room. Maggie, what do those moments reveal about how Trump’s top advisors handled that crisis?
MAGGIE HABERMAN:
So you have to set this picture here, Ryan. This had been something that top officials in the Trump government–JD Vance, Kash Patel, the FBI director, Dan Bongino, the deputy FBI director—had spent years talking about how there was a secret cabal of pedophiles. And once they were in charge, they would open this up and make this visible. Trump, to be fair, had never actually really quite gone that far. He had talked about it more in 2015, but it kind of went away.
RYAN NOBLES:
He certainly didn’t reject it, though.
MAGGIE HABERMAN:
Yeah, I mean, as he often does, he sort of leaves it as an option. And there were a number of senior officials in Trump’s White House who didn’t understand what a driving force this was for the MAGA base, for Trump’s own base. Trump wanted nothing to do with any of this. He didn’t want anything out. He was snapping at people who would talk about it. And then he started attacking his own supporters and saying, “This is a hoax.” So we write about a series of meetings in the White House Situation Room, which is intended to deal with national security crises, with foreign wars, you know, with sensitive matters, but not usually matters about, you know, Epstein PR crisis comms. And there were several of these, but we zeroed in on a few. These start, the ones we write about, right after the White House has used all of its political capital on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which you know, was what they would’ve rather been talking about. Instead they find themselves–and it’s the top levels of government. JD Vance, White House chief of staff, attorney general, deputy attorney general, Kash Patel, you know, several lawyers. And that’s, like, half the crew who were in some of these, talking about how to get themselves out of this. And this goes on, and on, and on. And all it does is allow a greater clamor among Trump’s supporters, including this surreal meeting that we end up writing about, where they were planning on putting out some public-facing website with things old and new, and you know, they were discussing what universe it would be. And then somebody had looked up in that mock website they were setting up, Trump’s name. And up pops up this unverified, already public claim with an allegation that Trump, you know, was made second-hand, but it was about Trump. And that was sort of the end of that.
President Donald Trump has had a hard time distancing himself from the Jeffrey Epstein saga, and a new development in the case might prove to be more of a headache than he wants, according to two legal experts.
Earlier this month, convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein's assistant, Lesley Groff, testified before Congress about her relationship with the disgraced financier and his crimes. The transcripts of that interview were released late last week, and some of the details Groff shared with investigators raised red flags for attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian, who co-host the "Civil Action" podcast on the Legal AF Network.
For instance, Kabateck pointed out in a new episode on Sunday that Groff testified she began working for Epstein in 2001 and that Epstein and Trump were in contact for at least a decade. That seems to contradict Trump's previous claim that he cut off communications with Epstein in 2004 or 2005, well before Trump became president, Kabateck noted.
Another issue is that those dates extend beyond Epstein's 2008 felony conviction for soliciting a minor, which is another "problematic" aspect of the timeline, Kabateck said.
Friday, the House Oversight Committee heard remarks from Leon Black behind closed doors until Black decided to walk out mid-testimony. Jimmy Jenkins (BLOOMBERG NEWS) explains:
Billionaire investor Leon Black was issued two subpoenas by a congressional committee and walked out early from voluntary testimony regarding his relationship to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Members of the House panel investigating Epstein clashed with Black behind closed doors on Friday about non-disclosure agreements the Apollo Global Management Inc. co-founder allegedly concluded with women.
The House Oversight Committee issued one subpoena requiring Black to appear for a deposition on July 16, according to a statement from the panel. The second subpoena requires him to produce NDAs to the committee.
Black said in his opening statement to the committee that he never abused women and wasn't blackmailed by Epstein, his longtime friend and client. After questions about NDAs, Black left the meeting early, something the chairman of the panel said he had never seen before.
Black voluntarily testified on Epstein's relationships with wealthy and influential figures. His name is mentioned in files released by the US Department of Justice. However, when committee members began the inquiry about NDAs that may have been signed in connection with women Black had relationships with, he stormed out.
Committee leaders proceeded to approve subpoenas seeking copies of any relevant agreements after Black's departure and required him to return for an on-camera deposition under oath.
Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released the following statement after Leon Black, billionaire and primary client of Jeffrey Epstein, stormed out of his transcribed interview with the Committee when asked about non-disclosure agreements.
“Leon Black had a chance to do the right thing and help us bring justice to the survivors. Instead, he ran out of the room when he was pressed for information about his non-disclosure agreements with women and his relationship with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. He has now been subpoenaed and must provide real answers to the Committee. He will be held accountable if he doesn’t comply with our investigation,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
Leon Black had a longstanding relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Black was Epstein’s primary client, even after Epstein was convicted in Florida of sex crimes. Black paid millions to women he engaged with sexually, some of whom were also connected to Epstein. Black forced women to sign strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to keep them quiet. He also paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Island to avoid Epstein-related claims against him. Black paid Epstein $170 million for “tax and estate work” and his name is mentioned hundreds of times in the Epstein files.
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[09:15:15] TAPPER: We just heard Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin talking about deporting immigrants here in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status, Haitians and Syrians.
My next guest is the Republican governor of Ohio, home to thousands of Haitian immigrants. He says what the Trump administration is doing with the Haitian community is a mistake.
Joining us now, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine.
Governor, you just heard Secretary Mullin defend the decision. You say it's a mistake. What's your take?
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): Well, I think it's a mistake for a number of reasons.
First of all, to go back to what you were just discussing, you cannot fly into Port-au-Prince today. U.S. carriers are prohibited from going in there. They have extended that ban. Federal officials, the United States have extended that ban in into September now. And it's been there for a long time.
The reason they can't go in there is because these gang leaders, who control a good part of Haiti today, shoot at the planes when they come in. So that's certainly one thing. You have pointed out advisories, heavy advisories, U.S. citizens, do not go into Haiti. It's a very, very dangerous place.
Just this last week, several more schoolchildren were killed just because gangs were shooting back and forth. Gangs control a significant part of Haiti. So it is clearly not safe. Anybody who has followed Haiti over a long, extended period of time knows that it's worse than it has, frankly, ever been, and certainly in recent memory.
But the other point is, it is not in the United States' interests, certainly not in Ohio's interest, to have people who are working every single day, who are supporting a family, who are buying houses, fixing up old houses, starting businesses, and then put deep roots in this country and really are contributing and yank them out.
I mean, look at look at what the mayor of Springfield says. The mayor says that is a huge, huge mistake. They're contributing. Rob Rue says they're contributing greatly. Mistake to do that.
I would cite also the two Ohio congressmen who have probably the most Haitians, the Republicans who have the most Haitians in their district, voted in favor of the extension of TPS. So what I would hope that the Trump administration would do is reconsider this.
Look at how it's going to impact states like Ohio. In Ohio, the Haitians are working primarily in manufacturing. They're also working in the food area. But if you look at where they're working across the country, probably the most important area they're working is in health care.
It's Haitians who many times are taking care of your mom or your dad who has Alzheimer's, taking care of family members who might be in a nursing home. And to say we're going to pull all those out, it's just not in our own self-interest.
TAPPER: Yes, we have a -- the retirement home that my mom's in has a lot of Haitians, Haitian Americans working there. And Republican Congressman Mike Lawler has talked about that, what a drain it would be on the health care industry in New York.
Your fellow governor, Kathy Hochul of New York, she's vowed to fight the decision. Are you going to fight it?
DEWINE: Look, I accept the Supreme Court's decision. In this country, they're the final say of what the law is.
But I think that it's important that we separate the legal decision that was made by the Supreme Court with the issue of public policy. And we're now to the point of, we have to look again at the public policy. And, again, I would hope the Trump administration would reconsider what they -- what they are doing.
This is an administration that has focused a lot on jobs. These are jobs that are being filled by Haitians who are filling jobs that would not be filled any other way.
TAPPER: Yes.
DEWINE: The big picture in Ohio -- like, if I could just finish, the big picture in Ohio is, we are red hot. We are bringing companies in here. We're creating a lot of jobs. We have to do two things, and we have really focused on it, early childhood education, Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
My wife, Fran, is working on science of reading, career tech, more scholarships for college. We have to make sure our population is, people who are born here, all of them have the ability to live up to their full potential.
But if you look at where our growth is, if we're going to complete that, we have to have immigrants here; 75 percent of the growth in the last decade of the population of the state of Ohio -- and we are now moving up, which is a great thing -- 75 percent of that comes from immigrants.
[09:20:02]
If you look at the state, one-fifth of our doctors come from some other country; 12 percent of our STEM workers come from some other country. I applaud the administration. I seriously do. They have done a tremendous job on the southern border. It had to be done. They did a great job. President Trump gets a lot of credit for that.
I think, though, that we now need to look at, what's in the best interest of the United States besides closing that southern border?
TAPPER: Right.
DEWINE: How do immigrants fit in into that? We are a nation of immigrants. Ohio is a state that was built by immigrants.
TAPPER: All right, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, thank you so much, sir. Really appreciate your time today.
DEWINE: Thanks, Jake.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and California’s former Secretary of State, and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and 17 other Senate Democrats, including every Ranking Member of committees overseeing agencies with election roles, in warning executive agency heads to comply with all preservation laws and agency policies after the Administration ramped up its threats against free and fair elections.
In a letter to Trump’s agency heads, including Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Senators demanded that the department heads not destroy records to cover up possible election tampering efforts.
Without a shred of evidence, President Trump and his Administration have alleged election fraud and on multiple occasions have attempted to undermine past election results. Citing debunked conspiracy theories, the FBI raided an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, where then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard seized voting machines. As Trump continues to spread unsupported claims about election fraud and has repeatedly threatened an illegal federal takeover of our elections, nonpartisan experts have warned about this Administration’s growing efforts to subvert the 2026 midterms, and Senate Democrats are taking formal action to preserve a paper trail from every department concerning all election-related matters.
“We are also deeply troubled by the fact that many of your agencies have failed to address election security altogether. You have shuttered offices tasked with tracking foreign malign influence on elections as well as cyber and physical threats to elections infrastructure, and you have cut funding and personnel for CISA and FBI election security efforts,” wrote the Senators. “The American public deserve to have confidence that their leaders are acting in good faith and in accordance with the law. We therefore direct you to preserve all existing and future records and materials on election-related activities and efforts, including any records regarding potential election-related misconduct, impropriety, irregularity, or interference.”
In addition to Padilla, Schiff, Schumer, and Warner, the letter was signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).
This demand builds on other efforts that Senate Democrats have undertaken to ensure that Trump and Republicans don’t interfere in free and fair elections. Earlier this year, Padilla, Schumer, and Senate Democrats unveiled the most expansive election protection effort the caucus has ever undertaken: the Election Protection Task Force. The Task Force recently launched the first-ever Senate Election Observer Program to protect the 2026 midterms and maintain election integrity nationwide, and Senate Democrats are working regularly with top election experts to identify and mitigate threats to upcoming U.S. elections. The Task Force will continue meeting over the coming months to ensure that every American has fair access to the ballot box this November.
Padilla has consistently championed election security and voting rights issues. Last week, Padilla and Schumer convened a Rules Committee Democrats and Senate Democrats’ Election Protection Task Force spotlight forum focused on state and local responses to combat efforts by the Trump Administration to undermine election administration in the upcoming midterm elections. Padilla and his Senate colleagues also demanded answers from Trump Administration officials about their lack of election security preparation, insufficient coordination with Congress and election officials, and unsupported public claims about voting system vulnerabilities.
Full letter is available here and below:
Dear all:
We write regarding alarming reports that your agencies have taken, or are at risk of taking actions under the guise of election security that are improper or illegal; to warn against such violations; and to ensure you adhere to your obligations, and those of all departments, agencies, and sub-agencies under your control, to comply with all applicable federal records preservation laws and agency policies.
President Trump and his Administration have engaged in multiple efforts to undermine past election results, despite all evidence the elections were free and fair.In just the last several months, for example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a search of a Fulton County, Georgia, election center, where agents seized ballots from the 2020 presidential election, even though numerous bipartisan and nonpartisan prior investigations at the state and federal level have revealed no suggestion of criminal conduct. The then-Director of National Intelligence participated in this raid despite no evidence or suggestion of foreign interference in that election, raising serious questions about potential improper coordination between the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and federal law enforcement agencies outside of ODNI’s statutory authorities. Similarly, ODNI seized voting machines and other election data from Puerto Rico, reportedly in support of the Administration’s amplification of baseless election conspiracy theories. Then-Director Gabbard also made unsubstantiated claims that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was aware of, but did not disclose, election vulnerabilities.
There are also serious concerns about ongoing efforts by this Administration to undermine the integrity of and actively interfere with the 2026 elections. President Trump has threatened “[t]he federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the vote.” Several of you have refused to rule out the possibility that you would direct your departments and agencies to send federal law enforcement agents or military service members under your jurisdiction to election sites during the election period – steps that are clearly illegal. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has repeatedly pursued unsupported claims of elections fraud.
Several of you are also involved in implementing President Trump’s unlawful Executive Orders interfering with state and local control over the administration of elections. For example, Secretary Lutnick is threatening to withhold the delivery of lawful ballots unless states comply with President Trump’s unconstitutional attempt to “take over the voting.” Further, individuals at the Social Security Administration (SSA) inappropriately entered into a secret agreement to share sensitive data with a partisan advocacy group for partisan political purposes – and SSA has to date refused to provide Congress with unredacted documentation of these activities. Chairman Carr has repeatedly used his position to chill disfavored speech, and continues to make threats to interfere with candidates’ ability to reach their audiences.
We are also deeply troubled by the fact that many of your agencies have failed to address election security altogether. You have shuttered offices tasked with tracking foreign malign influence on elections as well as cyber and physical threats to elections infrastructure, and you have cut funding and personnel for CISA and FBI election security efforts.
The American public deserve to have confidence that their leaders are acting in good faith and in accordance with the law. We therefore direct you to preserve all existing and future records and materials on election-related activities and efforts, including any records regarding potential election-related misconduct, impropriety, irregularity, or interference. Such records include, but are not limited to, all meeting agendas and rosters, associated notes, briefing memos, legal opinions, guidance, advice, communications, and correspondence. Additionally, any communications on personal messaging accounts, including Signal, social media accounts, and personal email accounts, that concern government business are subject to the Federal Records Act and must be preserved.
Safeguarding information critical to congressional oversight and preserving federal records is a legal obligation that you and all of your agency employees are required to meet. Please take all necessary steps to ensure that employees do not delete or destroy any official government records, including “information created, manipulated, or stored” electronically.
As you know, any employee who conceals, destroys, or attempts to conceal or destroy a federal record may be subject to fine and imprisonment.
Sincerely,
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