President Donald Trump kicked off the week meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and closed the week meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. <\/p>\n
He also signed legislation ordering the Justice Department to release files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at what happened this week. <\/p>\n
Trump announced Wednesday evening that he put his stamp of approval on a bill instructing the Justice Department to release files related to Epstein \u2014 after Congress passed the measure Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
‘I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!’ Trump wrote in a lengthy message on the Truth Social platform. ‘As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage. <\/p>\n
‘At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget \u2014 The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him.’<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s ties to Epstein had faced increased attention after Trump\u2019s Justice Department and FBI announced in July it would not unseal investigation materials related to Epstein, and that the agencies\u2019 investigation into the case had closed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
However, Trump announced Nov. 16 that he backed releasing the documents, claiming that he had ‘nothing to hide.’<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the House voted Tuesday to release the files by a 421\u20131 margin, following pressure for months from the measure\u2019s ringleaders, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and other Democrats.<\/p>\n
The Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent later Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mamdani visited Trump at the White House Friday, and the two appeared chummy and ready to launch a fresh start in their relationship. The two said they discussed addressing affordability issues and improving conditions in New York. <\/p>\n
Trump said the two had more in common than he anticipated, and that he would be ‘cheering’ for Mamdani as he leads the city. <\/p>\n
‘I expect to be helping him, not hurting him \u2014 a big help,’ Trump said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Trump also brushed off Mamdani\u2019s comment labeling him a despot in his victory speech following the Nov. 4 election, with the president claiming Friday he\u2019s encountered worse and that he believes Mamdani will change his tune as the two work together. <\/p>\n
‘I\u2019ve been called much worse than a \u2018despot,\u2019 so it\u2019s not, it\u2019s not that insulting,’ Trump said. ‘I think he\u2019ll change his mind after we get to working together.’ <\/p>\n
Trump also met with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House Tuesday, an occasion that included a red carpet rolled across the South Lawn, military honor guard, and an Air Force flyover to elevate the formal state-level welcome.<\/p>\n
During bin Salman\u2019s visit, the U.S. announced that it would sell F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia, and that it would now be a ‘major non-NATO ally’ to facilitate military cooperation between the two countries. <\/p>\n
‘President Trump approved a major defense sale package, including future F-35 deliveries, which strengthens the U.S. defense industrial base and ensures Saudi Arabia continues to buy American,’ the White House said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s reception of bin Salman is a departure from the Biden administration, who said in 2019 during his presidential campaign that he would make Saudi Arabia ‘the pariah that they are’ because of the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.<\/p>\n
U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in 2021 that bin Salman gave the green light on the operation that took Khashoggi\u2019s life. Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, was brutally murdered in Istanbul at the Saudi consulate in 2018.<\/p>\n
But Trump defended bin Salman Tuesday, and accused a reporter who asked about U.S. intelligence reports linking the prince to Khashoggi\u2019s death of embarrassing bin Salman.<\/p>\n
‘A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,’ Trump said Tuesday. ‘Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it. And would you leave it at that? You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question.’<\/p>\n
Even so, bin Salman has dismissed the reports as false. When asked Tuesday about Khashoggi, bin Salman said it\u2019s ‘painful’ to hear of the death of anyone for ‘no real purpose,’ and ‘we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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