Today in one sentence: The Justice Department admitted that the full grand jury never saw the final two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey; Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department will release its Epstein-related records within 30 days and promised to “follow the law” with “maximum transparency,” while also confirming that “new information” prompted her to reopen an investigation the department had previously closed; Fed officials split over whether to cut interest rates again in December; Trump threatened to fire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if he can’t convince the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates; a federal judge said he would move ahead with a criminal contempt inquiry into whether Trump administration officials defied his order by flying 137 Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador in March; 55% of voters say they would back the Democratic candidate for Congress in their district; and 38% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance.

1/ The Justice Department admitted that the full grand jury never saw the final two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan first sought a three-count indictment, but after jurors rejected one false-statement charge, she had it rewritten with two counts and didn’t return that version to the full panel. Instead, only the foreperson and one other grand juror reviewed and signed the revised document before it was filed with the court. Comey’s attorney Michael Dreeben said that means “there is no indictment” and argued that the statute of limitations on the false statement and obstruction charges, tied to Comey’s 2020 Senate testimony about authorizing an anonymous FBI source, had now expired. Dreeben also urged dismissal of the case as political, citing years of Trump’s public attacks and a Sept. 20 post to Attorney General Pam Bondi saying Comey and others were “guilty as hell” and that “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”. (Associated Press / New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / ABC News / USA Today / The Guardian / Washington Post / The Hill)

2/ Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department will release its Epstein-related records within 30 days and promised to “follow the law” with “maximum transparency,” while also confirming that “new information” prompted her to reopen an investigation the department had previously closed. She didn’t describe the new material or say whether the inquiry will be used to withhold documents under the bill’s exemption for records that could “jeopardize an active federal investigation.” Last week, Trump ordered Bondi to investigate several Democrats and institutions mentioned in Epstein emails. Nevertheless, Trump promised to sign the measure and told reporters he would “give them everything.” Lawmakers from both parties, however, warned the administration not to rely on the new investigation or other exceptions to limit the release. The bill still allows the department to redact classified material, victims’ identifying information, and any images depicting child sexual abuse. (ABC News / New York Times / Reuters / Bloomberg / The Guardian / Axios)

3/ Fed officials split over whether to cut interest rates again in December, with minutes from the October meeting describing “strongly differing views” as they weighed persistent inflation against a weakening labor market. Many participants suggested the committee should keep the target range — now 3.75 to 4% after October’s quarter-point cut — unchanged for the rest of the year and several saying a December cut “could well be appropriate.” Some officials warned further cuts could “add to the risk of higher inflation becoming entrenched or could be misinterpreted,” noting that the government shutdown left the Fed without recent jobs and other key data ahead of their Dec. 9-10 meeting. At his news conference, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that a December cut wasn’t a “foregone conclusion.” (Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Politico / New York Times / CNBC / Washington Post)

  • The BLS canceled the October jobs report after the shutdown blocked collection of household data that the agency said it was “not able to be retroactively collected.” The agency moved the November release to Dec. 16 and said it will include only October payrolls, leaving the unemployment rate and other household measures missing. The September jobs data will be released Thursday. (CNBC / Bloomberg / Axios / New York Times / NBC News)

4/ Trump threatened to fire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if he can’t convince the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, telling him, “If you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m going to fire your ass.” Trump also renewed his attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, saying he would “love to fire his ass” and calling him “grossly incompetent.” He said Bessent has urged him not to remove Powell before his term ends in three months, saying, “‘Sir, don’t fire him […] He’s got three months to go.’” Trump added that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was “a little bit more for firing” Powell. (CNN / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Axios / CNBC)

5/ A federal judge said he would move ahead with a criminal contempt inquiry into whether Trump administration officials defied his order by flying 137 Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador in March. Judge James Boasberg cited a recent D.C. Circuit decision that he “remains free to require the government to identify the decision makers who directed the potentially contemptuous actions” and ordered both sides to propose next steps by Monday, with hearings possibly starting December 1. Boasberg said he planned to take sworn testimony, including a former Justice Department lawyer who filed a whistleblower complaint alleging a top official talked about ignoring court orders, and said: “I certainly intend to find out what happened on that day.” The flights were part of Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and others to El Salvador’s CECOT prison. (Bloomberg / Reuters / CNN / ABC News / Associated Press)

poll/ 55% of voters say they would back the Democratic candidate for Congress in their district, while 41% would choose the Republican, giving Democrats a 14-point generic ballot lead. 57% say lowering prices should be the Trump administration’s top priority. (NPR)

poll/ 38% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance – down from 47% at the start of his second term and 40% in early November. 26% say he is doing a good job managing the cost of living, while 65% disapprove. (Reuters)

Four years ago today: Day 304: "Landmark progress."
Five years ago today: Day 1400: "The American way."
Six years ago today: Day 1034: Duty.
Seven years ago today: Day 669: A failure to abide.