Overview
- Both the House and Senate approved legislation to release Jeffrey Epstein–related records, with Rep. Clay Higgins recorded as the lone nay vote.
- CNN NewsNight convened a panel led by Abby Phillip with Scott Jennings, Josh Doss, Lydia Moynihan, Tezlyn Figaro, and Franklin Leonard to discuss the development.
- Jennings defended President Donald Trump’s past association with Epstein by calling the question an “I.Q. test” and urging a fellow panelist not to “fail it.”
- Pollster Josh Doss said the remark called a Black panelist’s intelligence into question and contrasted presumed innocence for Trump with presumptions often faced by Black men.
- Jennings rejected any racial intent and argued Trump distanced himself from Epstein, while asserting that some prominent Democrats kept ties with Epstein after his conviction.