Hey, good morning. It is Saturday, July the 26th. Donald Trump is spending the weekend in Scotland, and Mike Johnson has dismissed the House of Representatives early for its annual month-long August recess, even though it's still July.

But even though they've left Washington,

Republicans cannot escape the political firestorm sparked by the Trump administration's handling

of the Epstein files. Last night, NBC News learned that the Justice Department granted limited

immunity to Galane Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's close, longtime associate, and a convicted sex

trafficker. Over the past two days, Maxwell sat down for a total of nine hours for interviews with

Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal defense attorney who's been elevated to Deputy Attorney

General of the United States.

The Justice Department granted Maxwell limited immunity so that she could answer questions

about the Epstein case.

But the meetings between Maxwell and Blanche took place under highly unusual circumstances.

It's unclear what the Trump administration's goal is in speaking with Epstein's co-conspirator who's already been tried and convicted. It's also worth noting that she was previously charged

with two counts of perjury for allegedly making false statements in a deposition.

Prosecutors ultimately declined to move forward on those charges after they secured the conviction of Maxwell.

But it was just a few weeks ago that the Justice Department released an unsigned memo that sought to close the Epstein case for good, saying essentially nothing

left to see. Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported this week that all the way back

in May, the Attorney General Pam Bondi notified the president that his name appears in the Epstein

files. But yesterday, Trump denied that such a briefing ever happened.

What's your name appearing in that T-files ever?

No, I was never, never briefed.

Keep a record of that.

Now, let's just be clear about something.

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