What we covered here
• Trump in the UK: US President Donald Trump has arrived in the UK for a state visit, where he will be welcomed by the royal family tomorrow at Windsor Castle and meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday.
• Meanwhile, in DC: FBI Director Kash Patel was grilled by lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including about the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s murder and the bungled release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
• Focus on hate speech: After Attorney General Pam Bondi said the administration will “target” anyone who uses hate speech, she appeared to walk back those statements, saying that the department will only prosecute statements that incite violence. Trump also suggested that his administration might seek to prosecute journalists, telling a reporter, “maybe they’ll have to go after you” while answering a question on Bondi.
Our live coverage of the Trump administration has ended for the day. Get the latest here.
Deputy AG Blanche stands by his questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday defended his questioning of former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell when pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on whether he believed she was credible.
“I met with her for two days. To determine whether a witness is credible takes weeks and weeks and weeks,” he said on “The Source.” “I asked her questions that I believe all of us wanted answered, and she answered them.”
“It’s really up to the American people to determine what they believe, that her answers were credible or whether they found her not credible,” he added.
Blanche conducted a two-day interview with Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker, in July. The Justice Department gave Maxwell limited immunity so that she could discuss her criminal case but did not promise any other benefits in exchange for her testimony, according to a transcript of the interview.
Blanche also defended Attorney General Pam Bondi’s attempts to clarify comments she made on Monday, when she had pledged to go after anyone who was targeting individuals with “hate speech.” Bondi appeared to walk back the comments earlier today on X, saying, “Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment.”
“As she made crystal clear all day today, we are targeting violence when there are individuals who are using words, threatening murder, threatening violence, threatening to harm people,” Blanche said.
Several Trump administration officials to speak at Charlie Kirk memorial
Several Trump administration officials are expected to deliver remarks at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday, according to a Turning Point memorial page.
Speakers are expected to include White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
President Donald Trump said Monday he plans to speak at the funeral.
“We’re going to have a stadium, and I bet that stadium is going to be pretty packed, maybe completely packed. It’s going to be big, but I’m going to be at the stadium, and I guess I’ll say a few words,” Trump said when asked whether he would speak.
Trump added that they would be taking “a whole plane load” of people to the funeral. Kirk was a staunch Trump ally and had deep relationships throughout the administration. The president said he didn’t yet know what his message would be, but that Kirk was “an amazing guy.”
The service will also feature remarks from Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and other prominent conservatives such as Tucker Carlson. Donald Trump Jr., is also slated to speak at the memorial, which will be held at the 63,400-seat State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
More speaker names will be announced, according to the memorial page.
