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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.
He also signed legislation ordering the Justice Department to release files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Here’s a look at what happened this week.
Epstein files
Trump announced Wednesday evening that he put his stamp of approval on a bill instructing the Justice Department to release files related to Epstein — after Congress passed the measure Tuesday.
TRUMP SAYS WHETHER HE WOULD SIGN EPSTEIN FILES BILL
“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.
“At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him.”
Trump’s ties to Epstein had faced increased attention after Trump’s Justice Department and FBI announced in July it would not unseal investigation materials related to Epstein, and that the agencies’ investigation into the case had closed.
Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 22, 1997. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
TRUMP CALLS ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO VOTE TO RELEASE EPSTEIN FILES: ‘WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE’
However, Trump announced Nov. 16 that he backed releasing the documents, claiming that he had “nothing to hide.”
Ultimately, the House voted Tuesday to release the files by a 421–1 margin, following pressure for months from the measure’s ringleaders, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and other Democrats.
The Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent later Tuesday.
BIDEN’S SAUDI FIST BUMP DREW HEAT IN 2022 — TRUMP JUST ROLLED OUT THE RED CARPET
Mamdani meeting
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.
Trump said the two had more in common than he anticipated, and that he would be “cheering” for Mamdani as he leads the city.
“I expect to be helping him, not hurting him — a big help,” Trump said.
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump take questions from the press following their one-on-one meeting, Friday, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Pool/Fox News)
EPSTEIN REFERENCED TRUMP IN PRIVATE EMAILS TO GHISLAINE MAXWELL AND OTHERS, NEW RECORDS SHOW
Trump also brushed off Mamdani’s comment labeling him a despot in his victory speech following the Nov. 4 election, with the president claiming Friday he’s encountered worse and that he believes Mamdani will change his tune as the two work together.
“I’ve been called much worse than a ‘despot,’ so it’s not, it’s not that insulting,” Trump said. “I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together.”
Saudi crown prince meeting
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.
During bin Salman’s 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.
“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.
Trump’s 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.
President Donald Trump’s reception of Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman is a departure from the Biden administration. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in 2021 that bin Salman gave the green light on the operation that took Khashoggi’s life. Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, was brutally murdered in Istanbul at the Saudi consulate in 2018.
But Trump defended bin Salman Tuesday, and accused a reporter who asked about U.S. intelligence reports linking the prince to Khashoggi’s death of embarrassing bin Salman.
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“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.”
Even so, bin Salman has dismissed the reports as false. When asked Tuesday about Khashoggi, bin Salman said it’s “painful” to hear of the death of anyone for “no real purpose,” and “we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”
