'Maxwell shouldn't be the only one in prison': MAGA rep reams DOJ over Epstein plea deals

WASHINGTON — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said Thursday she has been pushing Republican leaders to hold public hearings with Jeffrey Epstein survivors, throwing her support behind first lady Melania Trump's call for greater accountability in the case.

"I actually have been encouraging that," Luna told reporters outside the Capitol. "A lot of people are scared about coming forward and naming people — and there's also this aspect of settlements potentially being reached. If there's a settlement, people are then sometimes asked to sign NDAs and so they don't talk."

Luna didn't stop there, leveling sharp criticism at the Department of Justice over plea deals granted to Epstein associates.

"The Department of Justice gave plea deals to people that they knew were trafficking people," she emphasized. "There is no justice for the victims that were basically seeing these people get off. And Ghislaine Maxwell should not be the only one sitting in prison."

Luna's remarks echoed longstanding criticism of a 2008 non-prosecution agreement negotiated by then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta in Florida, which gave Epstein and his co-conspirators federal immunity in exchange for a state plea deal. The agreement was widely criticized as sweetheart treatment that shielded potential co-conspirators. Acosta later resigned as Trump's Labor Secretary in 2019 when the deal came back under scrutiny.

Luna also appeared to acknowledge that her push to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from Congress was part of a broader strategy.

"I knew that when I brought the expulsion of Swalwell that it would set up a chain reaction event," she said. "And I frankly don't care."

Luna had introduced a resolution to expel Swalwell after a former staffer accused him of sexual assault and three other women alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct. Swalwell and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) both resigned from Congress this week, moments before their colleagues were prepared to set in motion their swift removal.

Luna called on members of both parties to follow through on accountability promises, adding: "Sometimes that means calling out your own party."

President Donald Trump attacked a Fox News host while he was traveling on Air Force One on Thursday.

Trump was traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a "No Tax On Tips" event when he posted on Truth Social that Jessiva Tarlov, a progressive co-host of "The Five," has a "terrible and grating" voice and that she makes up stats about Trump's poll numbers for her show.

"I am watching one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television, Jessica Tarlov," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "Her voice is so grating and terrible, I had to 'turn her off!' Her Democrat soundbites are FAKE. She makes up 'Poll Numbers,' and nobody challenges her, because she is so boring."

"I have among the best Poll Numbers I have ever had, and why shouldn’t I, ALL THE COUNTRY DOES IS WIN," he added. "CNN had me at 100%, saying they never saw that before. GET HER OFF THE AIR, SHE IS BAD FOR OUR COUNTRY! I hear Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Candace Owens are dying fast. Their numbers are terrible. Nobody believes them anymore. They were FAKE MAGA, and now they’ve been exposed!"

Former President Donald Trump adviser and far-right webcaster Steve Bannon appeared put out as he didn't get the reaction he was hoping for when he boasted about his efforts to protect Texas from Islamic Sharia law.

Bannon made the remarks at the Semafor World Economy 2026 Summit in Washington, D.C., while bragging about his personal efforts to topple Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

"Look at John Cornyn," said Bannon. "John Cornyn spent $80-100 million, the same old playbook to destroy Ken Paxton. We went down to Texas with [far-right Dutch politician] Geert Wilders and Glenn Beck in January. We had a proposition on the ballot, we put a proposition on it to galvanize people, that was to prohibit Sharia law in the state of Texas."

At this point, some members of the audience burst out laughing.

"That's funny?" shot back Bannon. "Okay fine, you're going to see how funny it is. We're prohibiting Sharia law in Texas, and we're going to shut down a lot of this nonsense that's going on. The next thing we're going to shut down is H-1B visas. People of the United States, citizens of this country are not prepared to have this. You may think it's funny, folks in Texas don't think it's funny. Folks in South Carolina don't think it's funny."

"And this is that seething anger right below the surface, because the global elites, you sit there and mock these people like they don't count," Bannon added. "These people are the backbone of America."

While there are some heavily-Muslim communities cropping up in Texas, there is no evidence of Sharia law being forcibly imposed on communities there or anywhere else in the United States, despite a wave of conspiracy theories cropping up on the far right.

CNN correspondent Tom Foreman reviewed more than 2,000 videos from the Jeffrey Epstein files released by President Donald Trump's Department of Justice and described them as painting a "clear picture" of a "creepy guy."

During a segment on CNN's "The Source," Foreman raised questions about why so many people in Epstein's inner circle associated with him. The videos show the disgraced financier discussing mundane matters like landscaping his properties, as well as footage from a documentary that Steve Bannon was making about Epstein.

Foreman noted that many people have never heard Epstein speak and described the content as "a very strange world."

In one video, when asked about human trafficking and sex crime allegations against him, Epstein responded that it was "strange" how someone could find themselves in that position.

A law enforcement expert reviewing the footage with Foreman concluded Epstein displayed no capacity for remorse toward his victims.

Watch the video below.

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