By Donald H. Harrison
NATIONAL NEWS
SAN DIEGO — In an anticlimax, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure by a vote of 427-1 to force the Justice Department to release all materials related to the investigation of the late convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell.
The lone vote was cast by Republican Clay Higgins of Louisiana who said “as written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote.”
Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019; Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in a minimum-security prison. House passage of the bill was assured when President Donald Trump on Sunday switched his position from urging defeat of the bill to its support. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, quickly followed.
The measure promptly went to the Senate, where it was passed by unanimous consent at the request of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. It now goes to President Trump for his signature.
There were these other developments in the Epstein Files matter:
–At a White House joint news conference with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), ABC reporter Mary Bruce posed three questions that infuriated President Trump, one of which was why the President doesn’t simply order the release of the Epstein files. (The others dealt with whether it was a conflict of interest for the Trump family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia, and what the crown prince’s involvement was in the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.)
The enraged President responded with a lengthy answer, “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions…. I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, the chairman, who should look at that because I think when you come in and you’re 97 % negative to Trump. And then Trump wins the election in a landslide. That means, obviously, your news is not credible. And you’re not credible as a reporter.”
Trump didn’t answer Bruce’s question directly. Instead, he said: “As far as the Epstein files, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert but, I guess, I turned out to be right. But you know who does have? Bill Clinton, Larry Summers who ran Harvard. He was with him every single night, every single weekend they were together. They went to his island many times; I never did. Andrew Weissmann [a former Justice Department prosecutor; currently a commentator on MSNBC] I hear; all these guys were friends of his. You don’t even talk about those people. You just keep going on the Epstein files. And what the Epstein is, is a Democrat hoax to try and get me not to be able to talk about the $21 trillion that I talked about today [how much investment the U.S. will attract by the end of the year.] It’s a hoax. Now, I just got a little report, and I put it in my pocket, of all the money he’s given to Democrats. He gave me none. Zero. No money to me. But he gave money to Democrats. And people are wise to your hoax. And ABC is your company. Your crappy company is one of the perpetrators.”
— After casting her vote to release the files, San Diego Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, a Democrat, messaged: “Survivors deserve justice and the American people deserve the truth and accountability. Let this be a reminder that Trump is not immune to public pressure. We, the people, have power. I will keep fighting to hold anyone involved accountable for these crimes – no matter how wealthy or well-connected they are or what political party they belong to.”
–Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) on Monday called on Harvard University to sever its tie with economics professor Larry Summers, a former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard University president over his friendly relationship with Epstein. According to a New York Times report, Warren said, “If he had so little ability to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein even after all that was publicly known about Epstein’s sex offenses involving underage girls, then Summers cannot be trusted to advise our nation’s politicians, policymakers and institutions – or teach a generation of students at Harvard or anywhere else.” President Trump earlier had said he had asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate, among others, Summers’ relationship with Epstein.
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Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that Jewish conservatives are disappointed that Vice President JD Vance hasn’t done battle with antisemitic right wingers. It quotes a panel discussion in which Ben Shapiro, Bari Weiss and Dan Senor participated.
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U.S. District Court Judge Michael Nachmanoff is the jurist assigned to preside over the criminal trial of former FBI Director James Comey. As a first order of business, he must deal with a challenge to a decision by Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ordering prosecutor Lindsey Halligan to turn over to Comey’s lawyers the materials used in persuading a federal grand jury to indict Comey on charges of lying to Congress about whether he appointed someone at the FBI to serve as an anonymous news source. Fitzpatrick said his review of the case “raises genuine issues of [prosecutorial] misconduct.” Prosecutors in the case on Monday appealed to Nachmanoff to set aside Fitzpatrick’s order.
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Congressmembers Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and John Joyce (R-Pennsylvania) joined Rep. Scott Peters, D-California, in winning the approval of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology to lessen the authority of private railroads to block installation of broadband technology in areas intersecting with the railroads’ right-of-way. Said Landsman: “This bipartisan bill will help get broadband to people all over the country much faster, especially in rural areas, by streamlining processes and removing obstructions. With a $42 billion broadband investment set to be released, this couldn’t come at a better time.”
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STATE AND LOCAL NEWS
Mother Jones carries an extensive profile of State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who is now running for the congressional seat from which former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is retiring.
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Larry Cohen, appointed to fill the remaining term of retiring San Diego County Treasurer Dan McAllister, was sworn in Tuesday. He’ll work closely with Jordan Marks, the elected county assessor, to make certain the county has its fair share of tax revenue. Both men are members of the local Jewish community.
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Jewish Family Service will learn Wednesday whether the City of Encinitas will extend its 5-year contract to operate a safe parking lot for homeless vehicle owners. The City Council debates the matter at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Avenue.
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San Diego City Council’s two Jewish members, Sean Elo-Rivera and Dr. Jennifer Campbell, voted with the 6-3 majority to impose monthly, quarterly and annual parking fees at Balboa Park. Starting Jan. 5, San Diego City residents will pay $30 for monthly parking passes, $60 for quarterly passes and $150 for yearly passes. Non-city residents, including those living in the 17 other incorporated cities in San Diego County, will pay $40 monthly, $120 quarterly, and $300 yearly.
Previously, the council set daily parking rates in the core areas of the park for city residents at $5 for up to four hours; $8 for all day, and for non-residents at $10 for up to four hours, and $16 for all day. The rates are less expensive for peripheral lots: $5 per day for residents, $10 per day for non-residents. Even more peripheral lots, such as at lower Inspiration Point, will also cost residents $5 per day, and non-residents $10. The first three hours parking for both categories will be free.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Monday in Tel Aviv with outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams. In compliance with a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has pledged to arrest Netanyahu if he should step foot in New York City again. Commenting after their meeting, the PM’s office reported: “Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked @NYCMayor Adams for his great support of Israel and for being a true friend of the Jewish people.”
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Regarding the UN Security Council’s vote on Monday to install an international stabilization force within Gaza, the World Jewish Congress said on Tuesday, “It reflects a shared understanding that long-term stability in Gaza—and the prevention of Hamas’ return to power—are essential prerequisites for any future in which Israelis and Palestinians can live securely, side-by-side. … It is now incumbent upon the international community to approach this mission with seriousness, unity, and a firm commitment to ensuring that Gaza can never again be used as a base for terror. As these diplomatic and security efforts move forward, the bodies of the three remaining hostages must be returned so they may be laid to rest with dignity and the burial they deserve.”
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The American Jewish Committee sent a letter to U.N. Member States urging their support for resolutions condemning human rights violations in Iran and Russia. The letter also urges opposition to a resolution backed by Russia that the war in Ukraine is fighting neo-Nazism. The resolutions are to be considered on Wednesday by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee.
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Israeli settlers set fire to homes and cars in al-Jab’a, a village southwest of Bethlehem on Monday night, prompting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to label the arsonists as “a handful of extremists.” He said, “I intend to deal with this personally and convene the relevant ministers as soon as possible to provide a response to this serious phenomenon.”
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Daniel Sokatch, chief executive officer of the New Israel Fund, said violence by Israeli settlers on the West Bank against Palestinians has prompted his organization to make financial grants to protect Palestinians, block Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, and build a more peaceful future. He said grants have been made to activists who are accompanying Palestinians during their annual olive harvest; providing legal representation for Palestinians who have been attacked by extremist settlers; rebuilding homes in Masafer Yatta demolished by the Israeli authorities; and installing security cameras in Palestinian villages.
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Yoni Gilboa, director of Zaka-Tel Aviv, said Palestinian terrorists on Tuesday attacked civilians at the Gush Etzion Junction. First, the terrorists slammed their car into people there, then jumped out and began stabbing the victims, killing a 70-year-old man, and wounding three other persons, including a 15-year-old. “This tragic incident comes amid escalating violence in the West Bank…”
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Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, said The Cabinet-approved committee to investigate security lapses that led to the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border massacre of 1,200 people and the kidnaping by Hamas of 250 other hostages is a ruse by Netanyahu “to run from the truth and evade responsibility.” Noting that Netanyahu will control the makeup of the committee, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, opined: “This is not an investigative commission, this is a cover-up commission.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.