Amna Nawaz:
In the day’s other headlines: House Democrats released a letter today that Donald Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein for a 2003 birthday book for the later convicted sex offender. The Epstein estate provided the letter to lawmakers, which they posted online.
It depicts a woman’s body with the name “Donald” signed at the bottom. Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich responded online that that is not the president’s signature. Trump himself has previously denied writing any such letter and filed a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for defamation, saying the letter is fake.
The posting of the letter today comes amid a bipartisan push in Congress for the release of further files on Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. The president has not been accused of any misconduct.
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to keep nearly $5 billion in foreign aid frozen. Today’s emergency application comes after President Trump last month used a rare maneuver called a pocket rescission to essentially bypass Congress in holding up the funds. Last week, U.S. District Judge Ali Amir found that action was likely illegal and ordered the administration to spend the money.
In today’s filing, Solicitor General D. John Sauer said that ruling — quote — “raises a grave and urgent threat to the separation of powers.”
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling today that ordered President Trump to pay $83 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her. The three-judge panel in New York was unanimous in rejecting Trump’s argument that he deserved presidential immunity from Carroll’s lawsuit. The case stems from Trump’s repeated social media attacks against Carroll after she accused him of sexual assault in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room back in 1996.
The president has also been found liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a separate trial that was also upheld on appeal late last year.
The prime minister of France lost a confidence vote today, toppling his minority government and deepening a political crisis for a major U.S. ally. Lawmakers overwhelmingly ousted Francois Bayrou after just nine months in office. The centrist had faced backlash for his plans to tackle the nation’s ballooning national debt.
In Paris, residents say they are worried about the future.
