Trump’s New Order on Epstein Files, and Colbert’s Canceled ‘Late Show’

Summary

The Headlines: Trump’s New Order on Epstein Files, and Colbert’s Canceled ‘Late Show’

Hosted by Tracie Mumford and Stephen Colbert | Release Date: July 18, 2025

In this episode of The Headlines, Tracie Mumford and Stephen Colbert delve into pressing political controversies surrounding former President Donald Trump’s directives on the Jeffrey Epstein case, the unexpected cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s own Late Show, significant legislative moves affecting cryptocurrency and public media, and international developments in voting rights. Below is a comprehensive summary of the episode’s key discussions, insights, and conclusions.

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1. Trump’s Directive to Release Epstein Files

Overview: Amid mounting pressure from his right-wing supporters, former President Donald Trump has issued a directive to release additional records related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, challenging the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) previous stance that the case was closed without new significant findings.

Key Points:

• Trump’s Pressure: President Trump has authorized the release of grand jury testimonies concerning Epstein, aiming to address his base’s demands for greater transparency. Tracie Mumford explains, “[...] he's directing Bondi to, quote, produce any and all pertinent grand jury testimony about Epstein and release it to the public” (02:10).

• DOJ’s Response: The DOJ had previously asserted there were no new revelations to disclose, which ignited backlash among Trump’s supporters who believed there might be a “smoking gun” in Epstein’s files that could implicate other high-profile individuals (01:47).

• Potential Legal Hurdles: Releasing grand jury transcripts is legally complex, as they are protected to safeguard crime victims and witnesses. Tracie notes, “Bondi will need to get a court's approval to do that, though, and it's not clear she'll be able to” (01:55).

• Allegations and Denials: A Wall Street Journal report mentioned a sexually suggestive birthday card from Trump to Epstein in 2003, which Trump has vehemently denied as “false, malicious and defamatory” (03:04).

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2. Congressional Reactions and Legislative Moves

Overview: The controversy over the Epstein files has permeated Congress, leading to bipartisan tensions and significant legislative actions affecting federal spending and the cryptocurrency industry.

Key Points:

• House Republicans’ Move: In response to pressure from both Democrats and their constituents, House Republicans are preparing a non-binding vote to urge the DOJ to release all Epstein-related materials (03:18). This signifies a rare instance of cross-party concern over a high-profile case.

• $9 Billion Clawback Bill: The House has approved a substantial bill aimed at stripping funds from foreign aid and public media, a move orchestrated at Trump's behest to curb government spending. Tracie highlights, “This is a remarkable surrender of federal spending power” (04:01), noting that such control is constitutionally vested in the legislative branch, not the executive.

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3. Cryptocurrency Legislation and Crypto Week

Overview: Washington has witnessed a concerted effort by cryptocurrency lobbyists to influence lawmakers, culminating in the passage of landmark legislation that legitimizes certain digital currencies.

Key Points:

• Crypto Lobbying Efforts: Throughout the week, crypto industry lobbyists engaged in a “charm offensive” dubbed Crypto Week, utilizing billboards, advertisements, and even themed chocolate bars to win legislative support (04:01).

• Legislation Passed: The House has approved the first major federal cryptocurrency legislation, which provides government approval for stablecoins—digital currencies pegged to the US Dollar. Stephen Colbert quips, “President Trump promised to make America the crypto capital of the world. And today we delivered” (05:01).

• Bipartisan Support and Future Concerns: The bill’s passage was bipartisan, reflecting significant crypto industry influence, which invested over $130 million in the last election. However, additional crypto-related bills may face scrutiny, with Democrats cautioning that they could allow the industry to dictate regulations favoring wealthy investors, including Trump and his family (05:08).

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4. Cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s ‘The Late Show’

Overview: In an unexpected twist, Stephen Colbert announces the cancellation of CBS’s The Late Show, raising suspicions of political motivations behind the decision.

Key Points:

• Announcement and Reaction: During the episode, Colbert shares the surprising news that CBS is ending The Late Show effective May of the following year. Tracie elaborates, “It became the most watched show in late. CBS executives said the move was, quote, purely a financial decision” (06:16).

• Underlying Political Tensions: The cancellation has sparked debate over potential political undercurrents, as Colbert has been a vocal critic of Trump. Tracie mentions, “Colbert has been an outspoken critic of Trump and he recently called [a CBS settlement] a big fat bribe” (06:16).

• Calls for Investigation: Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for an investigation, stating, “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons,” emphasizing concerns over freedom of expression and political retaliation (06:25).

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5. United Kingdom Lowers Voting Age to 16

Overview: In a significant policy shift, the British government has announced plans to decrease the voting age from 18 to 16, aiming to enhance democratic engagement among younger citizens.

Key Points:

• Policy Rationale: Supporters argue that lowering the voting age will increase trust in democratic institutions and provide younger individuals with a stronger voice in political processes. Stephen Colbert remarks on the importance of youth engagement, “[...] policies affect younger people and they have to just sit and watch and have much of a voice” (07:52).

• Political Reactions: The Liberal Labor Party spearheaded the campaign, while critics on the right contend that younger voters, who tend to lean less conservative, could sway future elections unfairly (07:52).

• Global Context: The UK joins countries like Austria and Brazil, which already permit 16-year-olds to vote federally, contrasting with nations like the United Arab Emirates, where the voting age is 25 (08:02).

• Implementation Timeline: The new voting age is slated to take effect by the next general election, anticipated in approximately four years, positioning the UK alongside a select group of democracies embracing youth enfranchisement.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Headlines provides a thorough examination of the intersection between politics, media, and legislative actions shaping the current landscape. From the contentious push for transparency in the Epstein case to the surprising cancellation of a beloved late-night show, and significant shifts in both cryptocurrency regulation and voting rights, hosts Tracie Mumford and Stephen Colbert navigate complex topics with insightful analysis and engaging dialogue.

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Note: Timestamps in quotes correspond to the transcript minutes and seconds.

Transcript

[Tracie Mumford]

Every Vitamix blender has a story. I have a friend who's a big cook. Every time I go to her house, she's making something different with her Vitamix. And I was like, I need that.

[Stephen Colbert]

To make your perfect smoothie in the morning or to make your base for.

[Tracie Mumford]

A minestra verde or potato leek soup. I can make things with it that I wouldn't be able to make with a regular blender because it does the job of multiple appliances and it actually has a sleekness to it that I like. Essential by design, Built to last. Go to Vitamix.com to learn more. That's Vitamix. From the New York Times. It's the headlines. I'm Tracie Mumford. Today's Friday, July 18th. Here's what we're covering. In the face of intense pressure from his right wing base, President Trump has now authorized the release of more records in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Many of his supporters have been crying foul ever since the Department of Justice said it was closing the Epstein case without any new revelations. Despite claims going back months that there was more to see, the DOJ may.

[Stephen Colbert]

Be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?

[Tracie Mumford]

It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that and reviewing. Trump's Attorney general, Pam Bondi and others fueled theories about the disgraced financier and sex offender, including that there could be something of a smoking gun in the files, a client list that could implicate others close to Epstein, who had a large circle of acquaintances, including Bill Clinton and Trump himself. When the DOJ then said there was no list and really nothing left of note to release, it set off a backlash.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's all been a big hoax. It's perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net.

[Tracie Mumford]

Trump has struggled this week to contain it and urged his supporters to move on, calling the whole thing a Democratic hoax. Now he's taking a step to satisfy the calls for transparency, but it may not work. He's directed Bondi to, quote, produce any and all pertinent grand jury testimony about Epstein and release it to the public. Bondi will need to get a court's approval to do that, though, and it's not clear she'll be able to, since the secrecy of grand jury transcripts is highly protected to shield crime victims and witnesses. Even if the transcripts are made public, which could take months of legal wrangling, they reflect only A fraction of the material collected in the investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the DOJ had at one point examined a collection of birthday cards for Epstein that included one from Trump from back in 2003. It allegedly had a sexually suggestive drawing on it and the phrase may every day be another wonderful secret. The Times has not verified the report and the president denied it, calling it, quote, false, malicious and defamatory.

[Stephen Colbert]

Meanwhile, trying to blame Democrats for Jeffrey Epstein, who was president when Jeffrey Epstein died in his cell, Donald Trump. And who's in charge now, and blocking the release of the files? Donald Trump. So please.

[Tracie Mumford]

The uproar around the Epstein files has also reached Congress, where Democrats joined in on the critique of the administration's handling of the case. Under pressure from Democrats and from their own constituents, House Republicans laid the groundwork for a vote, calling on the Justice Department to release all of its Epstein materials. The vote hasn't been scheduled yet, though, and the measure would be non binding. Also at the Capitol, it's 11:20pm in the middle of the night and gentle.

[Stephen Colbert]

Lady will suspend you. The gentle lady will suspend.

[Tracie Mumford]

The House is not in order through Congress and the.

[Stephen Colbert]

The gentle lady will suspend.

[Tracie Mumford]

Despite pushback, the House followed the Senate's lead and approved the $9 billion clawback bill overnight, stripping money from foreign aid and public media at Trump's request, the bill's now been sent to the president for his signature. For Congress, it's a remarkable surrender of federal spending power. The Constitution grants control of that to the legislative branch, not the White House. But Republicans who pushed it through claimed this was necessary to rein in government spending. All this week in Washington, lobbyists for the cryptocurrency industry went hard on a widespread charm offensive trying to win over lawmakers. There were pro crypto billboards around the city, ads in newspapers. They even got crypto themed chocolate bars into vending machines. At the Capitol, they dubbed it Crypto Week as they pushed legislation to cement crypto's place in the U.S. economy. Yesterday, the House came through.

[Stephen Colbert]

President Trump promised to make America the crypto capital of the world. And today we delivered.

[Tracie Mumford]

They passed the country's first major federal legislation around cryptocurrency. It essentially gives the government's seal of approval for stablecoins, a popular form of digital currency that's tied to the value of the US Dollar. The vote was bipartisan, reflecting the inroads the industry has made with lawmakers. It spent more than $130 million in the last election. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law today. Congress is also considering more crypto bills, though those aren't expected to get the same level of bipartisan support. The bills address, in part how crypto is regulated and policed, and some Democrats have warned that passing them would effectively let the crypto industry write its own rules to benefit wealthy investors, including President Trump and his family.

[Stephen Colbert]

Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending the Late show in May.

[Tracie Mumford]

Last night on the Late Show, Stephen Colbert shocked his audience and the entertainment industry when he announced that CBS is canceling the program.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, I share your feelings.

[Tracie Mumford]

It's the show premiered in 1993 with David Letterman as the host. And since Colbert took over a decade ago, it became the most watched show in late. CBS executives said the move was, quote, purely a financial decision. Late night TV has been struggling to keep viewers, ad revenue has plunged and other shows have gone dark in recent years. But the cancellation of the Late show immediately raised questions. CBS's parent company, Paramount, has been trying to close on a major merger which would require approval from the Trump administration. At the same time, Colbert has been an outspoken critic of Trump and he recently called a settlement that CBS agreed to pay the President Over a 60 minute segment, a, quote, big fat bribe. That jab aired just a few days ago and it has a number of Democratic lawmakers wondering if it sparked the cancellation. Senator Elizabeth Warren put out a statement saying America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons. And finally, through this strategy, we will usher in a new chapter in our democracy, reflecting our principles and restoring faith in our politics. The British government has announced it plans to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 as part of a larger overhaul of the country's election system.

[Stephen Colbert]

I've always been kind of frustrated just watching politics and not being able to do anything because so many of these policies affect younger people and they have to just sit and watch and have much of a voice.

[Tracie Mumford]

Supporters of the move, including some soon to be eligible voters, framed it as a way to boost trust in democratic institutions. The lower voting age was something that the Liberal Labor Party had campaigned on. Critics on the right said it's an attempt to skew future elections, since younger voters in Britain tend to be less conservative. The new law is set to be in place by the next general election, which is expected in about four years. That puts Britain in a small club of other countries that also allow 16 year olds to vote at the federal level, including Austria And Brazil. On the other end of the spectrum, the United Arab Emirates or the voting age is 25. Those are the headlines, but stick around. We've got the Friday News quiz for you after the credits. This show is made by Will Jarvis, Jessica Metzger, Yon Stewart, and me, Tracy Mumford. Original theme by Dan Powell. Special thanks to Isabella Anderson, Larissa Anderson, Melanie Bencosmi, Jake Lucas, Alyssa Moxley, Zoe Murphy, Katie o', Brien, and Paula Schumann. Okay, now for the quiz. We've got questions about a few stories the Times covered this week. Can you answer them all?

[Stephen Colbert]

First up, I've seen many organizations that frankly mean well but execute poorly. Lack of coordination, bloated bureaucracies.

[Tracie Mumford]

This week, the Senate held a confirmation hearing for Michael Waltz, who is up for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm confident we can make the U.N. great again. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Waltz.

[Tracie Mumford]

If confirmed, this would be the second official position Waltz has held in the Trump administration. In his previous one, he lasted for just a little over three months before leaving amid a scandal. I know a lot has happened since then, so you might have to dig deep here, but what role did Waltz have in the Trump administration and what was he criticized for? I will let Waltz himself give you a hint.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm sure everybody out there has had a contact where you. It was said one person and then a different phone number.

[Tracie Mumford]

The answer? Michael Waltz was Trump's national security adviser when he accidentally added a journalist to a group chat where the defense secretary was sharing sensitive details ahead of American strikes in Yemen. President Trump never publicly called out Waltz for the group chat snafu, but he shuffled him over to be UN Ambassador, the first major shakeup of his cabinet this term. Okay, next question. This week, Congress voted to pull back more than a billion dollars in funding for public media. Republican lawmakers say they're trying to tackle government waste and what they claim is biased programming. Critics of the cuts, though, have raised concerns about the potential effects on educational programming. For decades, PBS has been a go to for kids and their parents. Can you name these three classic shows that aired on PBS based just off a short clip? Here's the first one. Dw, please move your big, enormous, large gopher looking head. Ringing any bells? At least my head doesn't look like a football with gl maybe. Here's the second one.

[Stephen Colbert]

We're all different and we all have something to offer our world.

[Tracie Mumford]

Here's the third one.

[Stephen Colbert]

Now, since this next part of the demonstration rocks, I'm gonna put on my.

[Tracie Mumford]

Rocker wig of science we'll play those one more time. I'm sure you're having maybe a couple flashbacks right now. DW Please move your big, enormous, large gopher looking head.

[Stephen Colbert]

We all have something to offer our world. My rocker week of SC.

[Tracie Mumford]

So those shows are Arthur, Mr. Rogers, Neighborhood, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. In terms of the cuts, PBS itself will not shut down, but the network's ability to reach audiences, especially in more rural parts of the country, may be compromised. And last question.

[Stephen Colbert]

What you all did was one of the most painful moments in the history of this company. What the hell?

[Tracie Mumford]

The Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday with the show Severance picking up the most nominations. I don't want to hear about it. I still have not watched it. The question for you, though, is about where the Emmys come from in the first place. The Oscars get their name. Legend has it because the statue looked a lot like the uncle of an Academy staffer named Oscar. The Tony Awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an icon of early 20th century American theater. So why are the Emmys called the Emmys? I will admit this is a hard one unless you know a lot about old school video technology. The answer? The award was named after the IMI with an I, the nickname for the image orthicon camera tube that made modern TV possible. They tweaked it to Emmy, giving it a feminine name to match the winged woman on the award statue. Emmy. Emmy. There you have it. All right, that's it for the news quiz. If you managed to answer all those questions, I am thoroughly impressed. You win the inaugural Tracy award. It's a sparkling gold dipped statue of me hunched over my laptop with my headphones on. If you want to tell us how you did or what you think about the quiz, you can always email us@the headlinesytimes.com the show will be back on Monday.