Trump’s Lead Epstein Investigator Benefits From Limiting Probe

Jay Clayton, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the District of Southern New York, has been tasked with investigating “people and institutions” tied to Jeffrey Esptein—but he himself has financial ties to the very Wall Street banks and firms under scrutiny, The Lever reported Thursday. 

Clayton holds between $1.5 million and $6 million worth of Apollo Global Management stock, according to public financial disclosures. He previously served as the group’s board chairman from 2021 until his Justice Department appointment in 2025. 

Leon Black, the billionaire former CEO of Apollo Global Management, was ousted from his role in 2021 after an internal review discovered he’d made $150 million in payments to Epstein for financial advice between 2012 and 2017. Black was later accused of raping a 16-year-old at Epstein’s mansion. He was ordered Thursday to be deposed as part of a lawsuit alleging Bank of America profited from Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking. 

Clayton also holds between between $15,000 and $50,000 in JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America stock, as well as between $1,000 and $15,000 in Bank of New York Mellon and Citigroup stock—where Congress alleges $1.5 billion in “suspicious financial transactions tied to sex trafficking crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein” and his co-conspirators once flowed. 

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden previously published a report finding that executives at JPMorgan Chase waited to disclose Epstein’s suspicious transactions to regulators in order “to continue working with Epstein,” even after he was terminated as a client over money laundering concerns. Citing newly unsealed emails, the report indicated this was done because of Epstein’s influence over Black. Wyden also pressed the Treasury Department to probe Citibank for “suspicious activities” related to Epstein. 

Clayton was also tasked with spearheading the work of redacting victims’ identifying information from the trove of documents published by the Department of Justice—an entirely separate debacle that has seen images of public officials redacted while publishing 40 nude pictures of women (possibly underage), among a plethora of other errors.  

“Jay Clayton has a very personal interest in seeing the Epstein story as a cabined-off story involving a mysterious ‘who could have ever known it’ villain, rather than the story of interconnected immoral elites it appears to be to impartial people,” said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a government watchdog.

“That’s a really paralyzing bias to bring to the role of prosecutor,” Hauser said. “We should want professional skeptics to serve our prosecutors, not the credulous.”

European leaders are incensed after President Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil to remedy oil costs after his war on Iran sent prices per barrel skyrocketing.

“We think that’s wrong,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. “There is currently a price problem, but not a supply problem. And in that regard, I would like to know what other factors led the U.S. government to make this decision.… We want to ensure that Russia does not exploit the war in Iran to weaken Ukraine.… Nor will we allow Moscow to test NATO on its eastern flank and up here in the north.”

“In no case should an increase in the price of oil lead us to change our position with regard to Russia,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “That is the position of the G7, and of course that of France and Europe.”

Many see Trump’s decision as another example of his extreme deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin, allowing Russia to profit when oil gets pricey while claiming to want to end its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the move “not very logical.”

“The lifting of sanctions means that [Russia] will receive more money and there will be more drone attacks” in the Middle East, Zelenskiy said. “Russia will get money for its war machine, and there are a lot of drones that are built on Russian soil to destabilize the Middle East.… Russia is receiving new resources because of the destabilization. Ukraine must receive what has been promised.”

U.S. economic growth at the end of 2025 was half as strong as previously estimated.

Between October and December, America’s gross domestic product grew just 0.7 percent, revised down from 1.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Friday. 

This new number represented downward revisions in exports, consumer spending, government spending, and investment. The biggest revision was in exports, which dropped to -3.3 from the initial estimate of -0.9 percent. The biggest contributing factor to the fourth-quarter economic slowdown was the government shutdown.  

On the whole, real GDP increased 2.1 percent in 2025, which is still considered normal. If GDP growth is beneath 2 percent annually, that can typically be considered a recession. 

Meanwhile, core personal consumption expenditure, or PCE, inflation rose 3.1 percent on a 12-month basis. (That doesn’t include volatile food and energy costs.) Orders for durable goods did not see an expected increase of 1.3 percent, rising only 0.4 percent.

This significantly weaker economic growth has set the stage for Donald Trump’s increasingly expensive war in Iran. The president’s illegal military campaign there has triggered disruptions in global trade and sent prices at the gas pump surging. 

“The big downward revision in GDP is a gut check going into this energy crunch, increasing the risk of stagflation,” David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation, wrote in an analyst note Friday. “The soft January durable goods data also suggests the economy entered this crisis weaker than hoped. This creates challenges for investors with PCE inflation still running well above the Fed’s target.”

Consumer spending remained relatively stable amid the backdrop of a labor market that has only gotten worse. In Q4, the U.S. job market shed 116,00 jobs—only slightly more than the 92,000 jobs it lost in February alone. 

Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon is once again cracking down on the journalists who cover it.

The Atlantic’s Nancy Youssef disclosed Friday that she had been barred from the day’s press briefing, along with a cadre of photographers. The revelation came days after Hegseth’s aides reportedly expressed their dissatisfaction with photographs that had been taken of the secretary since the war with Iran began.

“I, along with print photographers, have been denied entry to cover today’s Pentagon briefing,” Youssef wrote on X. “All other media were allowed in.”

Photographers were also barred from the March 4 and March 10 briefings. Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson claimed the sudden ban was an attempt to use the room “effectively,” adding that journalists could instead use photographs released by the Defense Department’s own staff.

It was not clear if the ban was permanent, or specifically related to the Iran war briefings.

It’s possible that Youssef was singled out alongside the photographers because she reported on Hegseth’s aides’ reaction to his comment about dead U.S. troops at the start of the war. During a press briefing on March 4, Hegseth claimed that the press was only reporting on the deaths of American soldiers in order to “make the president look bad.”

Youssef, who was present for the briefing, later told her colleague that Hegseth’s comment “sent a stunned silence through the briefing room.” Some members of Hegseth’s staff appeared to flinch at what he was saying, she said, while others ducked their heads.

Youssef said that one person quietly but audibly remarked: “That was one of the most insulting things I have ever heard.”

Hegseth—a former Fox News anchor—has had nothing short of a contentious relationship with the press since he was tapped to run the Pentagon.

Late last year, the defense secretary crafted new rules that required credentialed Pentagon reporters to pledge that they would not report on anything from the department that had not been approved for official release. The new policy, announced in October, forced journalists to choose between reporting government-sponsored propaganda or having their press credentials revoked.

Dozens of journalists walked away from their desks at the Pentagon as a result, refusing to capitulate to Hegseth’s new standard. In turn, Pentagon officials offered those newly vacated spots to conservative outlets ideologically aligned with the Trump administration, including One America News, The Federalist, and LindellTV, a new outlet formed by Mike Lindell, the My Pillow CEO who practically bankrupted himself by broadcasting conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election.

The New York Times sued the department over the restrictions in December, claiming that they “violate the Constitution’s guarantees of due process, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.” In court, Times attorney Theodore Boutrous argued that the public was being “deprived of vital war-based information” in the process.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth took some pot shots at the media Friday during a press conference and openly salivated over the coming right-wing takeover of CNN.

Hegseth railed against what he described as biased and intentionally misleading graphics and headlines on news reports such as “Mideast War Intensifies,” arguing that such a TV banner should read ‘“Iran Increasingly Desperate’ because they are. They know it, and so do you, if it can be admitted.”

“Or more fake news from CNN: reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz. Patently ridiculous, of course. For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” Hegseth ranted. “This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

Hegseth is referring to Trump supporter and billionaire David Ellison’s successful takeover bid for CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, a move that portends a shift to the right for the news network. It’s an open admission that the Trump administration, through its wealthy allies and supporters, is trying to take over the media for more favorable coverage and avenues for propaganda.

To drive the point home, Hegseth criticized another “fake headline that I saw yesterday: War Widening.”

“Here’s a real headline for you, for an actual patriotic press: How about ‘Iran Shrinking, Going Underground’? See, Iran’s leaders are hiding in bunkers and moving into civilian areas. The only thing that is widening is our advantage,” Hegseth said.

The term “patriotic press” alludes to a news media that serves the interests of the Trump administration and U.S. government as opposed to the truth and the public interest. Hegseth and his bosses want a pliant media serving their interests under their control, as evidenced by the fact that they’ve shut out publications that refuse to bend the knee or produce fawning coverage.

Vice President JD Vance appears desperate to create daylight between himself and Donald Trump’s disastrous war in Iran, as the president’s inner circle starts to split over the conflict.

Two senior administration officials who spoke with Politico Friday painted an image of a reluctant vice president who stood by his position against U.S. intervention while sitting courtside to Trump’s military onslaught in Iran.

Vance was “skeptical” of the military campaign and “worried about success,” a senior Trump official said over text message. The vice president “just opposes” the war, they added.

Vance’s role “is to provide the president and the administration, you know, all points of views of what could happen from many different angles and, you know, he does that,” said a second senior Trump official. “But once the decision has been made, he’s fully on board.”

Previous reporting on Vance’s position on the war did not include his supposed skepticism. During a meeting in the Situation Room on February 18, Vance said that if the U.S. did launch a military campaign in Iran, it should “go big and go fast,” people familiar with his remarks told The New York Times.

Several journalists called bullshit on Vance’s sudden change of heart. “Why isn’t he advocating a change in policy rather than leaking to POLITICO about his internal monologue from 2 weeks ago?” wrote The Bulwark’s Tim Miller on X.

Matthew Yglesias suggested on X that “this kind of leaking suggests a White House team that knows things aren’t going to get better soon.”

It’s worth noting that Vance isn’t exactly known for standing by his word. But he is gearing up for a presidential run to succeed Trump in 2028—so an off-ramp to supporting the president’s unpopular war is probably looking pretty good right now.

Vance isn’t alone in looking for an exit: America’s wildly expensive aerial bombing campaign has caused some genuine fractures within the Trump administration, Reuters reported Friday.

Officials from the Treasury Department and the National Economic Council are among those who cautioned Trump that rising gasoline prices could hurt approval for the war at home, an adviser and two others close to decisions told Reuters. Chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief James Blair have also stressed the political fallout of higher gas prices, and urged Trump to say the war is nearly finished.

Trump seems to have taken this to heart as he continues to confusedly claim the war is “won” but that the U.S. must stick around to “finish the job.” On Thursday, he insisted that rising gas prices are actually good, surely a winning political message.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth admitted that the U.S. military is using “every tool of AI” in the war on Iran.

“Every tool of AI, of cyber, of space, EW, counter-UAS, you name it—we’re employing it. Blinding, confusing, and deceiving our enemy. Because we know who the good guys are here. And the American people do too. And that makes my job simple,” Hegseth said at a Friday news briefing. “I serve God, the troops, the country, the Constitution, and the president of the United States. And answer only to those, all in service of victory on the battlefield.”

Hegseth touches on all the hits—good guys versus bad guys; we’re doing this for Jesus Christ and George Washington—while weaving in the implementation of the pernicious AI technology that the government is paying for. Was it AI that bombed a school full of children?

This commitment to using “every tool of AI” also comes just a day after Palantir CEO and government contract–holder Alex Karp declared that his technology would hurt “humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters,” and help “vocationally trained … often male, working-class voters.”

The Trump administration seems to have been caught off guard by Iran’s ability to close the Strait of Hormuz, once again showing a glaring lack of planning.

CNN reports that President Trump’s national security team wasn’t prepared for a worst case, but somewhat predictable scenario for the war. Analyses from the Treasury and Energy Departments forecasting economic and oil market impacts also weren’t prioritized like they were in previous administrations, unnamed sources told the news outlet.

Meanwhile, six U.S. servicemembers were confirmed dead after a refueling plane crashed in western Iraq Thursday, bringing the official death toll of U.S. military personnel to 13 since the war began February 28.

Trump depended on a small circle of close advisers in deciding to attack Iran, which effectively marginalized discussion and debate within the government over what could happen if Iran took action to close the strait. Now, the White House could spend weeks trying to mitigate the shock to the U.S. and international economy. Oil tankers are stuck in the Persian Gulf, and using the U.S. Navy to escort them out is considered too risky.

Shipping companies have requested naval escorts from the U.S., which has so far turned them down. Diplomats from other countries, business executives, and former government officials are reportedly confused and stunned at the White House’s failure to account for the strait’s closure.

“Planning around preventing this exact scenario — impossible as it has long seemed — has been a bedrock principle of US national security policy for decades,” said one former U.S. official, who has served Democratic and Republican administrations. “I’m dumbfounded.”

White House officials have even tacitly admitted to members of Congress that they didn’t plan for Iran possibly closing the strait as retaliation for U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, sources told CNN. These officials reportedly thought Iran would think closing it would hurt them more than the U.S., especially considering Iran didn’t close the strait during last year’s U.S. strikes.

Now, Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement Thursday that the strait will remain closed as a “tool of pressure.” At the same time, Iran is successfully destroying U.S. missile defenses in the region, and American missile stockpiles are dwindling. Trump’s lack of planning is not only causing ongoing damage to international markets and the U.S. economy, but also putting U.S. troops and interests in harm’s way as this war continues on.

This story has been updated.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was abruptly yanked out of a Thursday interview with Sky News’s Wilfred Frost after President Trump demanded his presence in the Situation Room. 

Frost and Bessent were on camera and already into the interview when a staffer interrupted, telling Bessent, “The President wants you right away.” Bessent, seeming surprised, left immediately. 

“This is totally wild. I’ve never seen anything like this on television,” NBC News’s Matt Bradley wrote.  

Bessent returned around two hours later and was visibly flustered. 

“Mr. Secretary, I have to say—this is a first … that an interviewee’s been pulled away to go to the Situation Room,” Frost said upon Bessent’s return. “How’s the president, was he stressed?” 

Instead of a simple “Yes, he’s fine,” Bessent began to rave about how great the war on Iran is going, and how one of his own children is considering joining—details he offered completely unprompted. 

“No, the president is in great spirits. The Iranian mission is proceeding well ahead of schedule,” the secretary replied. “And I have to tell you, Will, that I have a teenage—teenager who’s considering military service. And I could give this team my highest compliment, from President Trump to the head of Joint Chiefs, to the secretary of war. I would say that I would trust my child’s life in their hands.” 

It is unclear what exactly Trump and Bessent spoke about in the Situation Room—although the Trump administration removed sanctions on Russian oil Thursday evening to counteract the skyrocketing oil prices caused by the Iran war. Regardless, Bessent’s rushed reassurance and his random aside about sending his child to possibly die in Iran do not instill confidence in everything being A-OK.

The man accused of stealing sensitive social security data didn’t just potentially commit a massive security breach that could affect millions of Americans—he also has a serious conflict of interest.

Earlier this week, it became clear that the Social Security Administration’s inspector general was looking into a whistleblower complaint about a former software engineer who worked under Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency. The complaint claimed the unidentified man had access to two sensitive SSA databases he maintained on a thumb drive, and had intentions to hand that data over to a private employer.

That ex-DOGE staffer has since been identified by others in Washington, and his name is John Solly, multiple sources told WIRED.

Since October, Solly has been the chief technology officer at Leidos, a career pivot that could pose a major problem for the executive branch, according to the résumé on his personal website (Solly has since taken the site offline).

Leidos’s website boasts enormous contracts with the Social Security Administration, including a five-year deal totaling up to $1.5 billion.

Solly—through his legal counsel—denied any wrongdoing, reported WIRED. “A spokesperson for Leidos also said the company found no evidence supporting the whistleblower’s claims against Solly,” the magazine noted.

All in all, 70 million Americans rely on the Social Security Administration and its services, but hundreds of millions could be affected by the purported theft.

According to his résumé, Solly supported other DOGE engineers on projects including “Digital SSN,” “SSN verification API (EDEN 2.0),” and “Death Master File cleanup,” the last of which refers to an SSA database that contains millions of Social Security records for deceased Americans. The purpose of maintaining the database is to limit the potential for fraud, blocking would-be thieves from stealing the identities of those who have died.

The application programming interface, or API, meanwhile, could be used to allow different software programs to communicate with one another, sharing data between them.

“In this case, it could allow Social Security data to be accessed by agencies and institutions outside of SSA,” reported WIRED.

Solly also may have had access to SSA’s numerical identification system, also known as NUMIDENT, according to an earlier report from The Washington Post that identified the whistleblower complaint but did not name Solly as the accused offender. NUMIDENT hosts even more sensitive data, cataloguing all the information included in a Social Security number application, such as full name, birth date, race, and other personally identifiable information.