Three million pages of Epstein files hit the Justice Department website on Friday, weeks late because more than 500 lawyers had to individually review them.
By Saturday the New York Times was calling to tell them they’d published unredacted nude photos of young women whose faces were clearly visible, some of whom may have been teenagers. Not one attorney caught forty images of the people the law was written to protect.
Someone did remember to redact Trump’s face.
The Times found more than 38,000 references to Trump, his wife, and Mar-a-Lago across the files, including a victim’s account of being brought there. Deputy AG Todd Blanche went on CNN today and said the FBI tips can’t really be investigated. By afternoon the tip index had vanished from the public database.
He promised us the Epstein files. What we got was a government that exposed the victims, shielded the president, and scrubbed the evidence when it got uncomfortable.
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So it is true that we are watching the worst of the worst in Minneapolis, but it should concern every citizen that there are legal immigrants in this country — tens of thousands of legal immigrants — who are doing at the right way, who are applying for asylum, who are being disappeared into horrific prisons across the country, and because our eyes aren’t trained on a place like Texas doesn’t mean the violation of the law throughout the country is something we should excuse."
Wired publishes a free guide on how to film ICE agents, protect your phone, and preserve footage for courts and investigators, warning there is no way to do it safely.
Today’s GovBrief News
Two measles cases confirmed at family immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, forcing facility-wide quarantine and cancellation of congressional inspection visit.
Source: KSAT San Antonio
February 1, 2026
Top U.S. and Israeli generals held closed-door talks at the Pentagon as Trump escalates military threats against Iran and expands naval presence in the Middle East.
Source: Reuters
February 1, 2026
Deputy AG Blanche says DOJ cannot investigate FBI tips about Trump's involvement with Epstein, then removes the tip index from the public database.
Source: The Hill
February 1, 2026
Justice Department published dozens of unredacted nude photos of young women in the Epstein files while redacting a photo of Trump's face in the same release.
Source: The New York Times [gift link]
February 1, 2026
New York Times finds more than 5,300 Epstein documents mentioning Trump, including FBI tips alleging sexual abuse and a victim's account of being brought to Mar-a-Lago.
Source: Mediaite
February 1, 2026
Five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father return to Minnesota two weeks after ICE detained the legal asylum seekers outside the boy's preschool.
Source: KSTP St. Paul
February 1, 2026
ProPublica identifies the two masked federal agents who shot Alex Pretti as South Texas CBP officers after the government refused to release their names to Congress or state investigators.
Source: The Texas Tribune
February 1, 2026
Speaker Johnson says government shutdown will last through at least Tuesday as House Republicans lack the votes to pass $1.2 trillion funding package on their own.
Source: The Hill
February 1, 2026
Trump announces two-year closure of Kennedy Center starting July 4 after firing its board, renaming it for himself, and installing allies who approved $257 million renovation.
Source: Newsweek
February 1, 2026
Trump family crypto firm sold 49% stake to UAE royal family's national security adviser for $500 million between the 2024 election and inauguration, linking Trump business to foreign government.
Source: The Washington Post
February 1, 2026
Portland mayor tells ICE agents to resign and leave the city after federal forces deploy tear gas on thousands of union protesters including children outside city's ICE facility.
Source: KATU Portland
February 1, 2026