we are rounding up quite the week. Welcome to the beat. I'm Ari Melbert. Tonight we have a new

special breakdown, another in our series or volumes of the Epstein emails, newly surfaced emails

that goes deep into the legal games, the PR games, the high-powered Republican lawyers that Epstein

relied on, some of whom went on to represent

Trump. Also, as Trump DOJ faces this deadline, we have an exclusive tonight with a DOJ vet. But we begin

with what is clearly the worst week of Donald Trump's second term. Some see a tipping point.

The polls are cratering, the economic confidence

plunging, and more Republicans doing something that if you follow the news, and you're hearing my

voice, so you do, or if you've just been around American politics in the second or first Trump term,

you've heard over and over Republicans, they won't stand up to them, they're afraid, they certainly

won't do it in public on big matters. Well, that's changed. That talking point died a loud

and kind of dramatic death this week, with Republicans going from a lot of that to openly defying

him. Not a single Republican friend in the Senate would do what he wanted to even slow down that Epstein train this week.

Others going further, meaning they could have done that and stopped.

But here we are ending the week Friday with more reports of Republicans saying,

let's build on the pressure.

Let's stake out our power.

Let's make sure DOJ understands they will comply with the

files, although that could be a court fight, and others saying something you usually hear from

the opposition party that a second term president is quickly becoming a lame duck as they

passed the Epstein Files bill that Trump desperately failed to try to block.

Just seconds ago, a landslide vote in the House of Representatives.

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