Overview
- Photographer Christopher Anderson says his tightly scheduled White House portrait session was thrown off when officials were called to the Situation Room.
- He says he later learned Rep. Lauren Boebert was brought in to face pressure over her stance on releasing Epstein-related investigative files.
- The White House described the gathering as a briefing that included President Trump, Boebert, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel, with focus on a discharge petition circulated by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna.
- That push failed as Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in a 427–1 House vote, Trump signed it the next day, and the Justice Department has been releasing documents since Friday.
- The Vanity Fair package paired unretouched, close-up portraits with on-the-record interviews, including Susie Wiles’ candid remarks that she later criticized as out of context; reporter Chris Whipple says recordings corroborate the quotes.