Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Complaint filed: Democratic National Committee v. U.S. Department of Justice (D.D.C. 1:26-cv-02928) — The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the Department of Justice, FBI, and Criminal Division violated the Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond to February 2026 FOIA requests seeking records on any planned inspection or seizure of ballots, voting machines, and voting system components ahead of federal election certification. The DNC filed the requests after President Trump's January 2026 statements regretting not seizing voting machines after the 2020 election and an FBI raid that month seizing archived ballots from a Georgia county election office. The DNC seeks an order compelling production of non-exempt responsive records, a detailed Vaughn index of withheld material, and an injunction against further withholding.

Supporting reports

• Trump nominates Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence — Donald Trump nominated Jay Clayton, former SEC chair and current US attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve as Director of National Intelligence. The nomination follows widespread criticism of Trump's earlier decision to install Bill Pulte as acting DNI. Clayton has no significant operational intelligence experience but has bipartisan early support. The nomination comes amid controversy over Pulte's tenure and a lapsed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization deadline.
• Trump nominates Jay Clayton as permanent director of national intelligence — Trump announced on June 11 that he was nominating Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, as permanent DNI. Clayton has no experience in any of the 18 intelligence agencies under DNI purview. The Senate Intelligence Committee immediately scheduled Clayton's confirmation hearing for June 17—an extraordinarily rushed timeline—with the apparent goal of confirming him before June 19, thus preventing Pulte from ever serving as acting director.
• Trump nominated Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence — Trump announced his nomination of Walter Joseph "Jay" Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to become the next director of national intelligence. Like Pulte, Clayton lacks national security experience. Clayton has been involved in the slow-walking of the release of the Epstein files.
• Trump withdrew nomination of Bill Pulte for DNI after Senate opposition — After a bipartisan group of senators indicated they would not vote to extend FISA surveillance authority if Bill Pulte remained Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Trump withdrew the Pulte nomination. Trump announced instead the nomination of Jay Clayton, former SEC Chairman and current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to the DNI position.
• White House sent nomination and withdrawal to Senate for Walter Clayton — The White House sent to the Senate a nomination of Walter Clayton of New York to be Director of National Intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard. Simultaneously, the White House withdrew Clayton's pending nomination to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The dual action redirects Clayton's candidacy from a four-year SDNY post to the intelligence directorship.

Supporting reports

• Representatives Khanna and Massie sought to bypass DOJ to release Epstein files — Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie announced they would bypass the Department of Justice to demand release of all Epstein files by asking the Southern District of New York to appoint a "special master" to ensure document release. The pair is also seeking to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress for DOJ's failure to release the files. The DOJ stated it would not finish reviewing remaining files until at least January 20.
• Congress considers inherent contempt proceedings against Attorney General Bondi — Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), who introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act, announced they are pursuing inherent contempt charges against Attorney General Pam Bondi for non-compliance with the law. Khanna stated the measure would likely give Bondi a 30-day grace period before daily fines commence. Inherent contempt, a rarely used congressional enforcement mechanism not employed since the 1930s, requires only a House majority vote and does not require Senate approval. The measure aims to compel release of all Epstein-related records.
• House representatives filed motion to compel DOJ to release Epstein files — On January 8, 2026, Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), the leading sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer asking him to appoint "a Special Master and an Independent Monitor to compel" the DOJ to produce the Epstein files as required by law.
• Representatives asked judge to compel DOJ to release Epstein Files — Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), the leading sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, asked U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer to appoint a Special Master and an Independent Monitor to compel the DOJ to produce the Epstein files as the law requires. They wrote that "the DOJ cannot be trusted with making mandatory disclosures under the Act" and that they do not believe the DOJ will produce the records required by law.
• Congressmen Khanna and Massie request special master to enforce Epstein Files disclosure — Democratic congressman Ro Khanna and Republican congressman Thomas Massie filed a letter with Manhattan federal court judge Paul Engelmayer requesting appointment of a special master and independent monitor to compel DOJ compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. They alleged DOJ violated the statute by missing the deadline, asserting impermissible privileges, applying excessive redactions, and failing to provide a required report on withheld records and redaction bases.
• House members request special master to compel DOJ release of Epstein files — Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) filed a letter with US District Judge Paul Engelmayer requesting appointment of a special master to force the Department of Justice to release all files related to Jeffrey Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The congressmen alleged the DOJ violated mandatory disclosure obligations by missing a December 19, 2025 deadline and releasing less than 1% of documents while claiming 2 million more remain under review. They also noted the DOJ failed to submit required reports to Congress detailing redactions and withheld records.

Supporting reports

• House oversight committee releases Epstein birthday book documents in response to subpoena — The House oversight committee released a batch of documents, including Epstein's birthday book containing the disputed letter allegedly signed by Trump, in response to a subpoena. The release reignited public controversy over Trump's connection to Epstein and prompted the White House to intensify its denial campaign. The committee's action also prompted discussion of a bipartisan resolution directing the Department of Justice to release all investigative files on Epstein, which appears headed toward gaining sufficient support to force action on the House floor.
• House Oversight Committee released Epstein estate documents including Trump letter — The House Oversight Committee, which had subpoenaed Epstein's estate for documents, publicly released materials on September 8 including a 238-page birthday book from 2003. Page 165 contained a letter from Trump to Epstein that precisely matched the description in the Wall Street Journal article Trump had sued over, directly contradicting Trump's claim that the letter was "fake and nonexistent" and undermining his assertion that Democrats had planted damaging material in DOJ files.
• House Oversight released Epstein estate records with Trump birthday note — The House Oversight Committee released records from Jeffrey Epstein's estate, including a note signed by Trump that was part of the sex trafficker's 50th birthday "book." The text read "We have certain things in common, Jeffrey" and "Happy birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret." The records also included another entry from a Mar-a-Lago member featuring a photo of Epstein with a caption about selling a woman to Trump for $22,500.

Supporting reports

• House Oversight Committee Democrats Demand Epstein Files — The House Oversight Committee Democrats formally demanded that FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi release all files and evidence related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. This demand follows posts by Elon Musk suggesting former President Trump was implicated in the FBI's Epstein files. The committee noted that Bondi had promised to release these documents three months ago and questioned why no additional documents have been released since February 27, 2025.