Trump's DOJ Is Investigating Trump's DOJ Over Epstein Files

Trump’s counterterrorism chief moonlighted as a sugar baby, Republican congressman has been missing for nearly seven weeks, and the Senate has officially killed the SAVE Act

Good afternoon. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America.

The DOJ is investigating the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files. Trump’s counterterrorism chief was suspended after her ex-boyfriend filed a federal complaint about her sugar daddy profile. A Republican congressman has been missing from Congress for nearly seven weeks and nobody knows where he is. And the Senate has officially killed the SAVE Act.

Before we get into it: Bari Weiss has her donors. Jeff Bezos has the Washington Post. We have readers. No billionaire owns this newsroom, no advertiser has a preferred outcome, and no one upstairs is asking us to soften the lead. If you’ve been reading for free, today is a good day to fix that. Upgrade your subscription today. Independent journalism doesn’t run on vibes.

Let’s dive in.

The DOJ Is Investigating How the DOJ Released the Epstein Files

The government has assigned the government to investigate the government. No, this isn’t a bit.

The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog announced today that it is reviewing the department’s compliance with a law mandating the release of the Epstein files. The inspector general’s office will look at how the DOJ collected, reviewed, and redacted materials — and how it handled the fallout after the files actually went public.

Here is what that fallout looked like: Epstein survivors complained that personal information about them was disclosed through sloppy redactions. Separately, critics argued that information potentially damaging to Trump was withheld from disclosure entirely.

Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, months after then-Attorney General Pam Bondi reneged on her promise to release the DOJ’s investigatory file on Epstein. Trump then fired Bondi in April, reportedly over her handling of the whole mess.

Her replacement, Deputy AG Todd Blanche, is Trump’s former personal defense attorney. In other words, he’s now overseeing an investigation that may implicate his former boss and associates.

Blanche also famously visited Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida last year shortly before she was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp. He went on Fox News last week and said the DOJ has released everything it’s legally required to release.

We’re looking forward to the inspector general’s findings. We are certain Todd Blanche is not.

Trump’s Counterterrorism Chief Got Suspended Over Her Sugar Daddy Profile

Trump’s counterterrorism apparatus has spent the last four years warning Americans about threats from within. It did not specify that the threat would be this.

Julia Varvaro, the DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism, has been placed on administrative leave following a report that claimed the 29-year-old had a profile on Seeking.com. The site is often used by young singles seeking older, wealthier partners to fund their lifestyles.

The complaint came from a man identified only as Robert B., who said he spent $30,000 to $40,000 to take Varvaro on lavish vacations and shower her with expensive jewelry. Robert alleged that Varvaro told him previous sugar daddies had paid for her college education and bought her $40,000 worth of jewelry.

During their first trip together, Varvaro allegedly used her DHS position to have a TSA supervisor meet them at the check-in counter and whisk them through the security line. She allegedly told Robert she could get them VIP access at the Milan Olympics because, in her words, “ICE works for me.”

Robert also told investigators he witnessed her use marijuana on nearly a dozen occasions and take recreational Xanax. Varvaro’s response to all of it: “This is just a mad ex-boyfriend putting crap together. If we made a story about every failed short relationship in DC, this town would implode.”

She is correct that DC would implode. She is less correct that this is a normal failed relationship.

A Republican Congressman Has Been Missing for Seven Weeks

America currently has a sitting congressman who has not sat in Congress since March 5th, and the most detailed update his own party can offer is that he is probably fine and will maybe be back soon. Possibly.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. represents New Jersey’s most competitive district, but nobody, even his GOP colleagues, can say where he’s been since March 5. His team said he is facing unspecified health issues. Kean has missed almost 50 roll call votes.

GOP Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith each said they have reached out to Kean to check on his welfare, only to be met with “radio silence.” Rep. Don Bacon said he didn’t even notice Kean was gone. Ouch.

His own campaign attorney offered this comfort: “Everyone understands from their own family experiences that people run into unexpected health issues. Voters will be completely sympathetic, and it’s so early in the year that it will be long forgotten come the fall.”

Kean’s absence has not been addressed by GOP leadership. Nobody has filed a missing persons report, though they might not need to. The Union County Republican chair says he has been texting with Kean “and was told he’ll be fine and make a full recovery in the next couple weeks.”

So Kean is reachable by text. He’s just not reachable by vote.

The SAVE Act Is Officially Dead

Republicans tried to make it harder to vote. They failed. They are already trying again. This is the story of American democracy in 2026 and also every other year.

The SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act) would have imposed extreme voter ID requirements at the national level. It needed 60 votes to clear the Senate filibuster. The motion to add its core elements to the budget reconciliation package failed 48-50 on Thursday.

In Deep South states like Mississippi and Alabama, fewer than 30 percent of citizens hold a valid U.S. passport. An estimated 69 million married women nationwide do not possess a birth certificate matching their current legal name. Those citizens would have needed to produce one of those documents in person before registering to vote.

Senator Mike Lee, the bill’s Senate sponsor, was candid about the stakes. He posted a chart showing that prediction markets favored Democrats to win the Senate in 2026, then wrote: “Let’s turn this around — by passing SAVE America.”

That is not an election security argument. That is an election outcome argument.

Republicans have signaled they will continue pursuing its provisions through other paths. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already signed a proof-of-citizenship bill. South Dakota and Utah have enacted similar legislation.

The Senate said no. The states are saying yes. Courts will be involved. We’ll be there.

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Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you tonight.

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