Morning Brief: Epstein Case Drama, Trump Hosts Bibi & Russia Hoax Exposed

The DOJ and FBI say Jeffrey Epstein did not have a client list, and there is no evidence of blackmail or proof that he was murdered, much to the disillusionment of many conservatives. President Donald Trump pressures Israel to accept a ceasefire in Gaza. And a scathing CIA review reveals how Obama’s top intel chiefs pushed the “Russia collusion” narrative against Trump — even after the Steele dossier was discredited.

It’s Tuesday, July 8, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.

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Epstein… Killed Himself?

Topline: Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, according to a new report from the Trump Justice Department.

This week, the DOJ released nearly 11 hours of footage from the common area of the “Special Housing Unit” in the detention facility where Epstein was held. In a memo, the FBI says that “anyone entering or attempting to enter” Epstein’s cell “could have been captured by this footage.” Since footage shows no one entering Epstein’s cell during that window, the bureau concluded that Epstein committed suicide.

There’s been controversy surrounding Epstein’s death from the beginning – many people believe he was murdered as part of a cover-up. They believe Epstein blackmailed high-profile people who had sexual intercourse with the women he trafficked, and that the evidence is being suppressed to protect the powerful people implicated in the crimes. The FBI says there’s no evidence of Epstein’s “client list,” nor any “credible evidence…that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.”

But, that contradicts statements previously made by senior members of the Trump administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, who acknowledged earlier this year in an interview with Fox News that Epstein’s client list, which her department now claims does not exist, was “sitting on my desk right now to review [per] a directive from President Trump.” 

The video released appears to be missing about a minute of footage just before midnight. According to the New York Times, “The digital clock on the screen jumps from 11:58:58 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Officials did not immediately have an explanation for the apparent gap.”

“The Trump administration is committed to truth and transparency,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing on Monday. “That’s why the attorney general and the FBI director pledged, at the president’s direction, to do an exhaustive review of all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and his death.”

Lisa Bryant, director and executive producer of the Netflix documentaries “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” and “Ghislane Maxwell: Filthy Rich,” told The Daily Wire that the memo is not going to be the end of the story.

“Epstein’s door is not in the camera’s field of view in this video. So exactly how does [the tape] prove he committed suicide?” Bryant said.

She also pointed to details in Epstein’s autopsy, which some experts claim match a homicide more closely than suicide.

“The evidence that [Dr. Michael Baden, who was present at the official autopsy] saw, he says points to homicide by strangulation rather than suicide by hanging…Epstein had numerous visible injuries, including this very key broken hyoid bone, which is kind of around your Adam’s apple in his neck, something which [Baden] said that he has never seen in 50 years as a result of a suicide by hanging… I call BS.”

Trump Talks War & Peace With Netanyahu

Topline: As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House on Monday for a high-stakes sit-down with President Trump.

Many people ease into their first workday after vacation. Trump apparently didn’t get the memo, as he hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu just after the Independence Day weekend for his third White House visit in six months. 

First, Trump and Netanyahu took a victory lap of sorts, celebrating their successful strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which they say set the regime back years in its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. President Trump has warned Iran that he’d be willing to strike them again if they restarted efforts to enrich uranium, but he’s also signaled a willingness to a long-term nuclear deal to avoid future conflict. “We have scheduled Iran talks and they want to talk. They took a big drubbing.”

From what we’ve been told, Trump — who famously loves dealmaking — has been using his action in Iran as leverage with Netanyahu, essentially saying, ‘I helped end your war with Iran, now it’s time for you to end things with Hamas.’ 

The two sides have been negotiating in Qatar over the last few days and, by all accounts, are making progress. At the moment, the terms include a 60-day ceasefire, during which Israel would allow for increased levels of humanitarian aid in Gaza, while Hamas would release the fifty or so remaining hostages in their possession. 

But the main holdup is that Hamas says it will only free the hostages if Israel agrees to fully withdraw from Gaza and end its military operation. Netanyahu has made clear from the start that he won’t stop until the terror group has been dismantled or surrenders and hands over all of its weapons. 

Russiagate Retrospective

Topline: The CIA has finished a probe into the Obama administration’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump win. The spy agency’s review found that the Russia investigation was “markedly unconventional” and potentially corrupt from the start.

Nine years since it was first put forward, ‘Russiagate’ continues to be a story, even though its core claims have been thoroughly discredited. President Trump ordered this review of the Russia collusion investigation on his first day in office as part of a broader push to “correct past misconduct by the Federal Government related to the weaponization of law enforcement and the weaponization of the Intelligence Community.” 

Last week, the CIA declassified a memo that provides an overview of the agency’s findings. Investigators determined that, in the initial stages of the probe, the process to finish the assessment had “multiple procedural anomalies.” Those anomalies included “a highly compressed production timeline, stringent compartmentation, and excessive involvement of agency heads,” which, according to the memo, hurt the integrity of the CIA.

The Steele Dossier – a report on unsubstantiated rumors about Trump and Russia, as well as the 2016 election – provides an excellent, concrete example. Despite the lack of any substantiating evidence backing the dossier’s sometimes outlandish claims, then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for the dossier to be included in the 2016 report on Russia’s alleged interference. He even overrode concerns voiced by two top CIA officials that raised significant questions about the dossier’s reliability. According to the newly-released report, Brennan “appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns.” Brennan was backed up in his decision by then-FBI Director James Comey and then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

According to the new report, former President Barack Obama, who ordered Brennan, Clapper, and Comey to investigate Russia’s alleged role in the election, pushed to have the assessment finished six weeks before his presidency was over, which caused the intelligence chiefs to cut a lot of corners. For example, according to the memo, they excluded 13 of the then-17 intelligence agencies from reviewing their work.