https://www.scmp.com/rss/522034/feed Pam Bondi served as the US attorney general from February 2025 until April 2026 when she stepped down at the request of President Donald Trump. Bondi previously served two terms as Florida’s attorney general (2011–2019), where she was the first woman to hold the office. A longtime ally of the president, she also worked as a high-profile lobbyist and was a key member of Trump’s legal defence team during his first impeachment trial. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Bloomberg Bloomberg Former US attorney general Pam Bondi rebuffed questions about President Donald Trump’s involvement in handling records of the Justice Department’s investigation of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Democratic lawmakers said. “She refused to answer any questions about President Trump,” congressman Robert Garcia, the top-ranking Democrat on the House panel investigating Epstein, told reporters during a break in the committee’s closed-door questioning of Bondi. Bondi also pushed any blame for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3355383/bondi-refused-answer-questions-about-trump-and-epstein-files-democrats-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3355383/bondi-refused-answer-questions-about-trump-and-epstein-files-democrats-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 May 2026 17:58:16 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Renowned biologist Xu Xianzhong has returned to China, taking up a full-time position in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, months after four researchers in his laboratory at the University of Michigan were accused by the United States of “biological material smuggling”. Xu, a fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science – has joined the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) as a senior investigator with its Institute of Bio-Architecture... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3353137/acclaimed-biologist-xu-xianzhong-returns-china-after-arrests-his-us-lab?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3353137/acclaimed-biologist-xu-xianzhong-returns-china-after-arrests-his-us-lab?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 01:00:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, the administration announced on Monday, after a series of alleged abuses of her position’s power, including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job. Chavez-DeRemer is the third Trump cabinet member to leave her post after Trump fired his embattled homeland security secretary Kristi Noem in March and ousted Pam Bondi as attorney general earlier this month. “While my time serving in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350793/us-labour-secretary-leave-trumps-cabinet-after-abuse-power-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350793/us-labour-secretary-leave-trumps-cabinet-after-abuse-power-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:11:42 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump-Xi summit shaped by uncertainty, not strategy: experts The lead-up for the consequential Trump-Xi summit has been compressed and rather disjointed given the Middle East war and Trump’s preference for making last-minute decisions based on his “gut”. One source told the South China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3350227/trump-xi-summit-worries-tariffs-tested-diaspora-drama-7-us-china-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3350227/trump-xi-summit-worries-tariffs-tested-diaspora-drama-7-us-china-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former US attorney general Pam Bondi does not plan to appear for a planned interview with a House of Representatives committee on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files following her firing by US President Donald Trump, the Justice Department told Congress on Wednesday. Bondi was subpoenaed ‌last month to testify in her formal role as attorney general, rendering the demand invalid now that she no longer holds that title, a Justice Department official wrote in a letter to the House Oversight... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349438/bondi-wont-appear-us-lawmakers-over-epstein-files-justice-department-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349438/bondi-wont-appear-us-lawmakers-over-epstein-files-justice-department-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:39:44 +0000 Mark Magnier,Khushboo Razdan Mark Magnier,Khushboo Razdan After avoiding much of the churn, firings and senior official turnover that marked his first term, US President Donald Trump on Thursday added to the string of high-profile departures in recent days, as bad news heaped more pressure on the White House. The administration announced that US Attorney General Pam Bondi was leaving to be replaced by her deputy, Todd Blanche, in an acting capacity. “We love Pam,” Trump wrote on social media. “She will be transitioning to a much-needed and important... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348858/trump-fires-pam-bondi-us-attorney-general-amid-epstein-files-furore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348858/trump-fires-pam-bondi-us-attorney-general-amid-epstein-files-furore?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:20:46 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan A federal judge has revoked the US citizenship of a naturalised married couple from China after their 2021 convictions for stealing sensitive medical trade secrets and sharing them with China, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced on Tuesday. On March 30, federal Judge James E. Simmons Jr. of California’s Southern District ordered the denaturalisation of Li Chen and Yu Zhou, ruling their crimes showed a lack of the “good moral character” required for American citizenship. Chen and Zhou... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348592/couple-convicted-stealing-trade-secrets-china-loses-us-citizenship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348592/couple-convicted-stealing-trade-secrets-china-loses-us-citizenship?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:58:41 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department has settled for roughly US$1.2 million a lawsuit from Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty during the Republican’s first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned. Court papers filed Wednesday do not reveal the settlement amount, but a person familiar with the matter, who spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose nonpublic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347921/justice-department-settles-lawsuit-trump-ally-michael-flynn-us12-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347921/justice-department-settles-lawsuit-trump-ally-michael-flynn-us12-million?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 23:05:02 +0000 Reuters Reuters Newly released records in the ⁠now-dismissed classified documents case against US President Donald Trump raise fresh concerns over national security risks and potential private business motivations, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said. The records, handed over by the US Department of Justice as part of the Republican-led panel’s investigation into former US Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump, show FBI investigators said in a 2023 memo that the classified... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347915/new-records-trump-documents-case-raise-concerns-over-business-conflict-us-lawmaker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347915/new-records-trump-documents-case-raise-concerns-over-business-conflict-us-lawmaker?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:29:59 +0000 Reuters Reuters A US congressional committee said ⁠on Tuesday it has ⁠issued a subpoena to Attorney General ⁠Pam Bondi to testify behind closed doors in its probe of the late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi faces accusations that the Justice Department has concealed the names of powerful associates of Epstein in its release ‌of millions of documents related to the late financier. Under the subpoena, Bondi would give a sworn deposition to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on ‌April... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346938/us-house-panel-subpoenas-pam-bondi-testify-epstein-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346938/us-house-panel-subpoenas-pam-bondi-testify-epstein-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:29:38 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A US federal appeal court allowed the Trump administration on Monday to temporarily resume summarily deporting undocumented migrants to countries that are not their own. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in a 2-1 vote, lifted a block on the so-called third-country deportations that had been imposed by a lower court. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled last month that third-country deportations were unlawful but put his ruling on hold to allow the government time to file an appeal. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346805/trump-administration-can-resume-third-country-deportations-appeal-court-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346805/trump-administration-can-resume-third-country-deportations-appeal-court-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 19:35:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department on Thursday released additional Jeffrey Epstein files involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against US President Donald Trump that the department said had been mistakenly withheld during an earlier review. The department said last week that it was working to determine if any records were improperly withheld after several news organisations reported that the massive tranche of records that had been made public did not include some files documenting a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345657/us-government-releases-epstein-files-include-uncorroborated-claim-about-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345657/us-government-releases-epstein-files-include-uncorroborated-claim-about-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 03:43:20 +0000 Reuters Reuters Donald Trump and his attorney general were sued on Thursday by retail investors in two social media rivals of TikTok seeking to reverse the US president’s approval of a deal by the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance to form a majority American-owned joint venture. The lawsuit, the ‌first legal challenge to the deal, argues that Trump’s approval last year violated requirements set out in a 2024 divestiture law. Two California residents who hold shares in Alphabet and Meta Platforms sued, backed by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345636/trump-sued-bid-undo-approval-tiktoks-us-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345636/trump-sued-bid-undo-approval-tiktoks-us-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 23:48:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The House Oversight Committee voted on Wednesday to subpoena US Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions over the Justice Department’s handling of files regarding the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. Five Republicans joined Democrats to support the subpoena proposed by Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace in a sign of continued frustration among conservatives with the department’s review and release of a tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier. The move... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345486/us-lawmakers-vote-subpoena-pam-bondi-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345486/us-lawmakers-vote-subpoena-pam-bondi-over-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 23:40:47 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo A former senior US official has said working closely with allies and partners is the only effective way to constrain China. “Given the size and the immensity of the China challenge, the only way that the United States is going to be effective to meet that challenge is if we work with other partners and allies,” said Kurt Campbell, the former deputy secretary of state under Joe Biden. That is no doubt true, but good luck convincing them. When so many top officials within the US government up to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3344272/how-unhinged-washington-unleashes-american-craziness-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3344272/how-unhinged-washington-unleashes-american-craziness-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 13:30:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is due in federal court in Minnesota on Friday to enter a plea in a criminal case stemming from his coverage of a protest at a church against US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Lemon, now an independent journalist, livestreamed a protest against Trump’s deployment of ‌thousands of armed immigration agents into Democratic-governed Minnesota’s biggest cities. The protest disrupted a January 18 service at Cities Church in St Paul. He was charged with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343520/us-ex-cnn-anchor-don-lemon-enter-plea-minnesota-ice-protest-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343520/us-ex-cnn-anchor-don-lemon-enter-plea-minnesota-ice-protest-case?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:24:01 +0000 Reuters Reuters A Republican US lawmaker on Wednesday accused Attorney General ⁠Pam Bondi of concealing the names of powerful associates of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as she faced questions about the Justice Department’s handling of investigative files in a charged hearing before a House of Representatives panel. Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, who helped lead the effort to require the files’ release, accused the Justice Department of a “massive failure”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343237/us-lawmakers-accuse-bondi-hiding-names-epstein-associates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343237/us-lawmakers-accuse-bondi-hiding-names-epstein-associates?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:42:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US has arrested a person suspected of ‍playing a central role in the 2012 attack on its consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday. Bondi said Zubayar al-Bakoush has been ⁠extradited to the United States and will face murder, arson and terrorism-related charges. Four US personnel were killed in the September 11, 2012, incident, which was initially thought to be a spontaneous reaction to protests ‍but was later identified as a deliberate attack carried out by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342732/us-arrests-suspect-2012-benghazi-consulate-attack-bondi-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342732/us-arrests-suspect-2012-benghazi-consulate-attack-bondi-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:51:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Federal prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge ruled on Friday, foiling the Trump administration’s bid to see him executed for what it called a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”. US District Judge Margaret Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge that had enabled prosecutors to seek capital punishment, finding that it was technically flawed. She wrote that she did so to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341899/luigi-mangione-wont-face-death-penalty-after-us-judge-dismisses-murder-charge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341899/luigi-mangione-wont-face-death-penalty-after-us-judge-dismisses-murder-charge?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:13:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder for Canada who was among the FBI’s top fugitives and faces charges related to multinational drug trafficking and the killing of a federal witness, was arrested on Friday, two people familiar with the matter told Associated Press. Wedding, 44, is accused of running a drug trafficking operation and officials say he orchestrated several killings to further the drug crimes. He was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list and authorities had offered a US$15 million... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341065/ryan-wedding-arrested-ex-olympian-fugitive-fbis-most-wanted-list-caught-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341065/ryan-wedding-arrested-ex-olympian-fugitive-fbis-most-wanted-list-caught-mexico?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jan 2026 16:00:39 +0000 Reuters Reuters FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of an investigation into sharing secret government information, officials said, ‍in a move that press advocates said threatened journalistic freedom. The reporter, Hannah Natanson, has covered US President Donald Trump’s campaign to fire hundreds of thousands of federal workers and shift remaining workers to implementing his agenda. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents had executed the search at the request... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339930/fbi-raids-home-us-journalist-who-reported-trump-firings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339930/fbi-raids-home-us-journalist-who-reported-trump-firings?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:27:57 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were transported to New York by helicopter, ship and plane within hours of their capture for arraignment in a US federal court as the world woke up Sunday to a new era of brazen US military might. In a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida shortly after the raid on Maduro’s compound in Caracas, US President Donald Trump held forth on the strength and precision of the US military, warned that other politicians could follow... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338696/us-scrambles-geopolitics-stark-attack-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3338696/us-scrambles-geopolitics-stark-attack-venezuela?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 17:01:54 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation early on Saturday morning, ‌culminating in a months-long pressure campaign by President Donald Trump’s administration that drew condemnation from some international leaders. Hours later on Saturday evening, Maduro was in a New York jail after American special forces flew him out of his country. A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338646/was-us-capture-venezuelas-president-maduro-legal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3338646/was-us-capture-venezuelas-president-maduro-legal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 01:22:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump has blamed aspirin for large bruises on his hand and denied falling asleep while attending public meetings. In a Wall Street Journal interview published on Thursday, Trump also changed his previous statement about receiving an MRI scan in October, saying it was instead a quicker CAT scan. Trump, who at 79 is the oldest person to assume the US presidency, told the Journal “my health is perfect” and expressed frustration with scrutiny of his well-being. Trump has based... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338437/trump-blames-bruised-hand-aspirin-denies-falling-asleep-meetings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3338437/trump-blames-bruised-hand-aspirin-denies-falling-asleep-meetings?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 16:53:31 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department said Wednesday that it may need a “few more weeks” to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents, further delaying compliance with last Friday’s congressionally mandated deadline. The Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen US senators called on the Justice Department’s watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline. The group, 11 Democrats and a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 21:20:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump flew on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet “many more ‌times than previously has been reported,” according to an email from a New York prosecutor that forms part of a new batch of documents about Epstein released Tuesday by the US Justice Department. In an ‍email dated January 7, 2020, the unidentified prosecutor wrote that flight records showed Trump had flown on Epstein’s private jet eight times during the 1990s. Among those were at least four... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337549/trump-flew-epstein-jet-many-more-times-reported-newly-released-file-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337549/trump-flew-epstein-jet-many-more-times-reported-newly-released-file-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:11:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Justice Department officials on Sunday denied redacting the Epstein files to protect US President Donald Trump, as criticism mounted over the partial and heavily censored release of documents. Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late sex offender were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored. US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the release by the Justice Department, telling NBC’s Meet the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 18:54:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters Extensive redactions and the limited number of documents released related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein angered some Republicans and did little to defuse a scandal threatening the party ahead of the 2026 midterm election. The Trump administration touted this week’s release of a cache of Epstein-related files as a show of transparency, but a handful of Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures joined Democrats in ‍blasting Friday’s disclosures as inadequate and possibly in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337207/trump-risk-becoming-deep-state-after-epstein-file-omissions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337207/trump-risk-becoming-deep-state-after-epstein-file-omissions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 01:56:00 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, including a photograph showing US President Donald Trump – less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public. The missing files, which were available on Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337205/least-16-files-gone-epstein-release-site-including-1-trump-photo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337205/least-16-files-gone-epstein-release-site-including-1-trump-photo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 22:26:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday expressed anger after a long-awaited cache of records from cases against him were released with many pages blacked out and photos censored. The trove of material released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other luminaries in Epstein’s wealthy social circle including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. But blackouts across many of the documents – combined with tight control over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 21:12:34 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department on Friday released only a partial set of documents related to its investigation into convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that has sparked the first major split between Trump’s Make America Great Again support base since he returned to office. The department was compelled by Congress to make the documents public after lawmakers passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on November 19, a measure that required the disclosure... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:11:49 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Susie Wiles, US President Donald Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, criticised Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and those in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair that sent the West Wing into damage control. The startlingly candid remarks from Wiles, the first woman to ever hold her current post, included describing the president as someone with “an alcoholic’s personality”,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336677/susie-wiles-trumps-chief-staff-talks-retribution-quest-epstein-maduro-vanity-fair?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336677/susie-wiles-trumps-chief-staff-talks-retribution-quest-epstein-maduro-vanity-fair?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 16:00:35 +0000 Reuters Reuters Four people were facing criminal charges in connection with what US Attorney General Pam Bondi described on Monday as a foiled bomb plot that contemplated multiple targets, including US immigration agents and their vehicles. The four individuals have been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California. “The Turtle Island Liberation Front - a far-left, pro-Palestine,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336544/fbi-arrests-4-suspects-new-years-eve-terror-plot-targeting-california?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336544/fbi-arrests-4-suspects-new-years-eve-terror-plot-targeting-california?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:50:45 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump’s administration is facing a Friday deadline to release decades of government secrets on notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the latest milestone in the long-running effort to uncover the full extent of his network. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) must release by December 19 its vast cache of records on the late financier’s sex-trafficking empire, which was alleged to have entangled underage girls and brushed against the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336435/deadline-looms-release-epstein-files-test-us-transparency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3336435/deadline-looms-release-epstein-files-test-us-transparency?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:23:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse An oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast will be brought to a port in the United States, the White House said Thursday, as fears mount of open conflict between the two countries. Washington took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid that saw US forces rope down from a helicopter onto the vessel in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s “regime”. President Donald Trump’s administration has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336132/seized-tanker-be-taken-us-port-venezuela-war-threats-grow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3336132/seized-tanker-be-taken-us-port-venezuela-war-threats-grow?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 21:06:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters The developer of the most popular app used to share information about sightings of federal immigration agents sued the Trump administration on Monday, alleging free speech violations after Apple removed ICEBlock from its online store. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Joshua Aaron, the developer of the ICEBlock app that had over 1 million users before it was removed by Apple in October following pressure from the Trump administration, a rare instance of a tech company removing an app... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335670/us-government-sued-over-removal-app-tracking-immigration-agents-whereabouts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335670/us-government-sued-over-removal-app-tracking-immigration-agents-whereabouts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 22:37:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Texas to use redrawn congressional districts for the 2026 midterm elections, boosting the hopes of President Donald Trump’s Republicans to retain control of the House of Representatives. The push by Texas - which carves out five more Republican-friendly districts and came at the behest of Trump - kicked off a series of similar efforts in states around the country. The decision by the conservative-dominated high court stayed a lower ruling which had said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335280/us-supreme-court-allows-texas-use-trump-backed-voting-map-2026-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335280/us-supreme-court-allows-texas-use-trump-backed-voting-map-2026-midterms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 03:53:38 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States is freezing all asylum decisions, officials said on Friday, as President Donald Trump hardens his anti-migrant stance after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members this week in Washington. Wednesday’s attack on the soldiers – one of whom died from her injuries – has ignited a fresh crackdown on foreigners in the United States, with Trump also pledging to suspend migration from “third world countries”. Joseph Edlow, director of the US Citizenship and... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3334600/us-halts-asylum-cases-after-troop-killing-trump-steps-migrant-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3334600/us-halts-asylum-cases-after-troop-killing-trump-steps-migrant-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 03:17:47 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the US attorney for the District of Columbia announced on Friday, while investigators continue to seek a motive. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24 were hospitalised in critical condition after the Wednesday afternoon shooting near the White House. Trump announced on Thursday evening that Beckstrom had died. US Attorney... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334576/afghan-national-charged-first-degree-murder-national-guard-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334576/afghan-national-charged-first-degree-murder-national-guard-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 14:47:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his long-time confidante. US Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress last week and signed into law by US President Donald Trump – in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334011/justice-department-renews-bid-unseal-jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-materials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334011/justice-department-renews-bid-unseal-jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-materials?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 23:39:59 +0000 Reuters Reuters A US federal judge on Monday dismissed criminal charges against two perceived adversaries of US President Donald Trump, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling the US attorney he hand-picked to prosecute them was unlawfully appointed. The ruling throws out two cases Trump had publicly called for as he pressured Justice Department leaders to move against high-profile figures who had criticised him and led investigations into his conduct. Lindsey... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3334006/judge-dismisses-cases-against-james-comey-and-letitia-james?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3334006/judge-dismisses-cases-against-james-comey-and-letitia-james?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 19:51:02 +0000 Reuters Reuters A US judge on Wednesday repeatedly questioned the validity of the grand jury indictment of former FBI director James Comey secured by a prosecutor closely aligned with US President Donald Trump in the latest signal that the charges may be dismissed before trial. After repeated questioning by US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, prosecutors acknowledged that the final version of the indictment was never presented to the entire grand jury that approved the charges after panel members previously... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333461/us-judge-questions-validity-indictment-against-fbi-ex-chief-comey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333461/us-judge-questions-validity-indictment-against-fbi-ex-chief-comey?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 21:10:02 +0000 Agencies Agencies US President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts. Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago. “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,” Trump said in a social media... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333459/bondi-says-shell-follow-law-release-epstein-files-bill-heads-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333459/bondi-says-shell-follow-law-release-epstein-files-bill-heads-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:26:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A US district court, in a setback for President Donald Trump, struck down a congressional map on Tuesday redrawn by Republicans in Texas that was intended to give the party five more likely seats in the House of Representatives. The court ruled that the new map, which weakened five Democratic districts, could not be used in the 2026 midterm elections, where Republicans are seeking to safeguard their slim majority in the House. Democrats are eyeing a big win that would allow them to challenge the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333323/blow-trump-us-court-tosses-redrawn-texas-election-map?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333323/blow-trump-us-court-tosses-redrawn-texas-election-map?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Nov 2025 23:58:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Months before the US military began launching air strikes against suspected drug vessels, former Justice Department acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove told employees the government should just “sink the boats” rather than prosecute the people on board, three witnesses told Reuters. Bove made similar remarks on at least three separate occasions between November 2024 and February 2025 when the topic of maritime drug cases was broached, the witnesses said. All three were granted anonymity to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333174/us-official-advocated-months-ago-sinking-boats-carrying-suspected-drugs-witnesses-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333174/us-official-advocated-months-ago-sinking-boats-carrying-suspected-drugs-witnesses-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 22:59:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday on forcing the release of investigative files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with passage seen as all but guaranteed after President Donald Trump dropped his long-standing opposition. Trump’s reversal late on Sunday came days after a House petition gathered enough support to force a vote, a rare instance of House Republicans defying the president’s wishes. Until the weekend, Trump and his staff had lobbied hard... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333171/us-house-push-forward-epstein-vote-after-trump-reversal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3333171/us-house-push-forward-epstein-vote-after-trump-reversal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 22:03:52 +0000 Reuters Reuters Donald Trump said Friday he knew “nothing” about an email from Jeffrey Epstein suggesting the US president knew about the disgraced financier’s sexual abuse. “I know nothing about that. They would have announced that a long time ago,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked what Epstein meant in a 2019 email saying “of course he knew about the girls”. Trump has sought to shift the focus from his relationship with the convicted sex offender, asking the US Justice Department to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332890/trump-demands-probe-epstein-ties-bill-clinton-he-faces-scrutiny-own-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332890/trump-demands-probe-epstein-ties-bill-clinton-he-faces-scrutiny-own-role?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:38:44 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s administration sued California on Thursday over its new redistricting maps after a ballot measure adopting new congressional districts passed in the state last week. The measure could give the Democratic-led state five more seats in the US House of Representatives and was intended as a counterweight to Republican efforts to give their party more congressional seats in Texas and elsewhere amid a push by Trump. The Justice Department intervened as a plaintiff in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332713/trump-administration-sues-california-over-new-electoral-maps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332713/trump-administration-sues-california-over-new-electoral-maps?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 23:04:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A former Justice Department employee who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during US President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington was found not guilty of assault on Thursday in the latest legal rebuke of the federal intervention. A viral video of the sandwich tossing made Sean Charles Dunn a symbol of resistance to Trump’s deployment of federal agents to combat crime in the nation’s capital. His misdemeanour acquittal is another setback for prosecutors, who have faced a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331844/us-man-viral-sandwich-throwing-case-found-not-guilty-assault?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3331844/us-man-viral-sandwich-throwing-case-found-not-guilty-assault?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 20:33:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US and UK authorities unveiled sanctions this week against Chen Zhi, a British-Cambodian tycoon accused of running cyber scam operations where workers, some trafficked, carry out transnational fraud schemes that have netted billions of dollars. Here’s a look at the man, indicted in the US, and his sanctioned company, Prince Holding Group. Who is Prince Group’s Chen Zhi? One of Cambodia’s largest conglomerates, Prince Holding Group, has operated across more than 30 countries with interests in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3329212/who-cambodias-chen-zhi-untouchable-tycoon-linked-scam-hubs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3329212/who-cambodias-chen-zhi-untouchable-tycoon-linked-scam-hubs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 05:51:53 +0000