President Donald Trump’s Oval Office remarks today forced the legacy media into covering the Russia Hoax document drop on their nightly newscasts. As predicted, the legacies Trumpwashed the story. As expected, the narrative congealed once former President Barack Obama’s office weighed in.
The most egregious of these reports came from the Dem-sycophantic ABC News and its ancién regime Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce, who made sure to hit all the
ABC’s @MaryKBruce on the report from @DNIGabbard about the Obama administration concocting Trump-Russia collusion: “Trump, clearly frustrated by the Epstein story, today tried to shift the spotlight onto Barack Obama, baselessly accusing the former president of treason in the… pic.twitter.com/cWPxDPvQyw
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 22, 2025
MARY BRUCE: Trump, clearly frustrated by the Epstein story, today tried to shift the spotlight onto Barack Obama, baselessly accusing the former president of treason in the 2016 election.
DONALD TRUMP: He's guilty. They -- this was treason, this was -- every word you could think of. They tried to steal the election.
BRUCE: Trump falsely claiming Obama deliberately manufactured and politicized intelligence reports about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Tonight, in a rare rebuke, Obama firing back. His spokesman pointing to the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election, but did not successfully manipulate any votes. Noting those findings were affirmed by Republicans in Congress, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The spokesman adding, “these bizarre allegations are ridiculous, and a weak attempt at distraction.”
Bruce doesn’t exactly explain which parts of Trump’s allegations are allegedly “false”, because that would entail getting into the substance of the declassified documents published by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. At this point, the narrative pattern is clear: claim distraction from Epstein, deflect away from collusion, claim assessment was about Russian hacking attempts that did no damage, and appeal to the authority of the 2020 Senate Intel Report. If it sounds familiar, it’s because we laid it out when CNN’s Jake Tapper helped firefight the allegations:
A cynical news analyst might observe that a comprehensive doc drop narrative is still in its test stages, but will ultimately include an appeal to the authority of the 2020 Senate Intel report on the 2016 election. That is in itself a distraction, because the Russia Hoax was less about attempted hackings of election infrastructure than about accusations of active collusion, which the Mueller Report debunked.
CBS ran a condensed version of the same lay on the Evening News White House roundup, but didn’t really want to detract from Epstein:
ED O'KEEFE: Seeking to divert attention from the Epstein case, Trump accused former President Barack Obama of treason for how he and his administration investigated allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
DONALD TRUMP: It's time to go after people.
Again, no substance of the allegations. Just pure “Trump speaks, Obama reacts”.
The closest to address anything related to the substance of the documents was NBC’s Peter Alexander on Nightly News:
TOM LLAMAS: All right, Peter Alexander joins us live from The White House. Peter, let's turn to former President Obama with a strong rebuke of President Trump's latest accusations against him.
PETER ALEXANDER: Tom, President Trump pushed the conspiracy theory today that Obama tried to undermine Trump’s 2016 victory, accusing Obama of treason, pointing to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's recent claims that Obama officials manufactured intelligence about Russian interference. Former President Obama’s office today called Trump’s accusations “outrageous”, “ridiculous”, and “a weak attempt at distraction.” Tom.
It took 4 days but the legacy newscasts finally covered the Russia Hoax document drop. If today’s sad performance is any indication, they will anti-report the story via innuendo and baseless speculation- ironically, the same things they accuse President Trump of doing.
Click "expand" to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective networks on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
7/22/25
6:41 PM
DAVID MUIR: Next tonight, as The White House tries to distance itself from the Jeffrey Epstein case, we now learned the Justice Department is planning to speak with Epstein's former companion, Ghislaine Maxwell. And what President Trump is now saying tonight about this meeting. Mary Bruce at The White House.
MARY BRUCE: Tonight, as The White House struggles to turn the page from the Epstein investigation, the Justice Department announcing they will speak with Jeffrey Epstein's former companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking underage girls to the sex offender. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who until recently was President Trump's personal attorney, says he plans to meet with Maxwell soon, saying if Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DoJ will hear what she has to say. For years, Trump socialized with Epstein and Maxwell, and was asked about her when she was arrested in 2020.
REPORTER: Do you feel that she's going to turn in powerful men? How do you see that working out?
DONALD TRUMP: I don't know, I haven't really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly.
BRUCE: In an interview with Axios shortly after, he doubled down.
JONATHAN SWAN: Mr. President, Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on allegations of child sex trafficking. Why would you wish such a person well --
TRUMP: First of all, I don't know that but I do know that--
SWAN: She has. She’s been arrested for that.
TRUMP: Her friend, or boyfriend --
SWAN: Epstein.
TRUMP: Was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She's now in jail.
SWAN: Uh-huh.
TRUMP: Yeah, I wish her well. I'd wish you well. I’d wish a lot of people well. Good luck.
BRUCE: Today, the president claimed he didn't know his Justice Department was planning to speak with Maxwell.
TRUMP: I don't know about it, but I think it's something that would be -- sounds appropriate to do, yeah.
BRUCE: Trump, clearly frustrated by the Epstein story, today tried to shift the spotlight onto Barack Obama, baselessly accusing the former president of treason in the 2016 election.
TRUMP: He's guilty. They -- this was treason, this was -- every word you could think of. They tried to steal the election.
BRUCE: Trump falsely claiming Obama deliberately manufactured and politicized intelligence reports about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Tonight, in a rare rebuke, Obama firing back. His spokesman pointing to the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election, but did not successfully manipulate any votes. Noting those findings were affirmed by Republicans in Congress, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The spokesman adding, “these bizarre allegations are ridiculous, and a weak attempt at distraction.” Trump's efforts to shake the Epstein case have only increased scrutiny of their friendly relationship of more than a decade. Epstein was asked about it in a 2010 deposition in a civil suit.
ATTORNEY: Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump?
JEFFREY EPSTEIN: What do you mean by personal relationships?
ATTORNEY: Have you socialized with him?
EPSTEIN: Yes, sir.
ATTORNEY: Yes?
EPSTEIN: Yes, sir.
ATTORNEY: Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?
EPSTEIN: Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today, I'm going to have to assert my fifth, six, and 14 amendment right, sir.
BRUCE: When Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump said they'd had a falling out and hadn't spoken in 15 years. On Capitol Hill, Democrats and some Republicans are demanding that the Justice Department release the Epstein files. Today, the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Maxwell to testify.
THOMAS MASSIE: The president's staff, administration, his own children, his vice president, have promised that these files would come out. And now we're being told it's a hoax? It just doesn't wash.
BRUCE: And again, David, the Deputy Attorney General says he plans to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell soon. In a statement, her attorney saying they are, quote, “grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case”, and we should note, she's appealed her 20-year sense and is eager to get out of prison. David.
MUIR: Mary Bruce at The White House again tonight for us. Thank you, Mary.
CBS EVENING NEWS
7/22/25
6:30:46
JOHN DICKERSON: But we begin with the Jeffrey Epstein case. Speaker Mike Johnson is taking the extraordinary step of sending the House home rather than with demands for the release of more Epstein files.
MAURICE DuBOIS: And as the Trump Justice Department gets ready to interview Epstein's former girlfriend and co-conspirator, the president tried again today to change the subject to anything else.
DICKERSON: That included accusing former president Barack Obama of treason. President Trump adding, “it's time to go after people”. Ed O'Keefe is at The White House. Ed?
ED O’KEEFE: Good evening. At almost the exact same moment today, Congress and The White House were once again interrupted by the Epstein case, something that appear all but settled four years ago, but growing bipartisan pressure is keeping attention on the case.
In announcing plans to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says he wants to ask: “what do you know?”, and he plans to do so because “no lead is off-limits”. Maxwell is the former girlfriend and co-conspirator of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a one-time associate of President Trump who died by suicide almost six years ago as he faced more federal charges. The push to speak with Maxwell comes as Trump, under pressure from loyal supporters, wants all credible evidence in the case released. But today, he claimed he didn't know about plans to talk to Maxwell.
DONALD TRUMP: I don't know anything about it. They're going to what? Meet her?
O’KEEFE: The Deputy Attorney General has reached out to Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney, asking for a new interview.
TRUMP: I don't know about it, but I think it's something that would be -- sounds appropriate to do, yeah.
O'KEEFE: Blanche is a former federal prosecutor who also represented Trump last year in his so-called hush money trial.
Do you have any concern that your Deputy Attorney General who is your former attorney, would be conducting the interview, given your past- your past relationship with REpstein?
TRUMP: No. He's a very talented person.
O'KEEFE: Seeking to divert attention from the Epstein case, Trump accused former President Barack Obama of treason for how he and his administration investigated allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
TRUMP: It's time to go after people.
O'KEEFE: Maxwell is appealing her conviction for sex trafficking to The Supreme Court. She spoke to CBS-Paramount’s See It Now studios in August 2022.
GHISLAINE MAXWELL: Meeting Epstein was the greatest mistake of my life, and obviously, if I could go back today, I would avoid meeting him.
O'KEEFE: Tom Dupree is a former senior Justice Department official.
TOM DUPREE: Well, this is very unusual, and look, it is an effort by the Justice Department to at least create the appearance that they are continuing to pursue the Epstein case. My guess is that there is a political calculation in this that by pushing forward hard on Maxwell to try to get that additional information, they perhaps can reduce some of the pressure on the administration to release the Epstein files as a whole.
DuBOIS: So Ed, why is the speaker sending lawmakers home early?
O'KEEFE: Well, first of all, the House Oversight Committee today unanimously agreed to subpoena Maxwell to appear for a deposition so it's a sign of bipartisanship there, but infighting among Republicans over whether to force the full House to vote on releasing the Epstein files is what forced the speaker today to adjourn early for the summer recess. A mix of Democrats and rank-and-file Republicans want the vote. The speaker initially said he supported releasing everything but then backed off as it became a particle headache. But Congress isn’t set to come back to Washington until September, so the Epstein case may linger as a big legal and political issue for at least six more weeks.
DICKERSON: Ed O'Keefe for us at The White House. Thank you, Ed.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
7/22/25
6:35 PM
TOM LLAMAS: Now to Washington, a new announcement that a top official at the Justice Department is looking to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Peter Alexander has the late details.
PETER ALEXANDER: Tonight, Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing her top deputy expects to meet soon with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posting, “President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DoJ will hear what she has to say.” It is the latest effort by the Trump administration to defuse the uproar among some Trump supporters over the handling of the DoJ files on Epstein. President Trump today saying he would support it.
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, I don't know about it but I think it is something that would be -- sounds appropriate to do, yeah. (VIDEO SWIPE) It’s sort of a witch hunt, just a continuation of the witch hunt.
ALEXANDER: Hours later, the House Oversight Committee approved a Republican-led motion to subpoena Maxwell.
JAMES COMER: If she wants to tell us who all was going to Epstein Island, I think that would be interesting.
ALEXANDER: Tonight the House Speaker, Republican Mike Johnson, says he will send lawmakers home early for their summer break, delaying any votes demanded by Democrats and some Republicans that would call for the release of more Epstein files.
TED LIEU: They were actually ending this week early because they're afraid to cast votes on the Jeffrey Epstein issue. (VIDEO SWIPE) We should release the Epstein files.
ALEXANDER: Johnson slamming it as political games.
MIKE JOHNSON: The Democrats are trying to play gotcha politics right now. (VIDEO SWIPR) Has anyone forgotten? They’ve had all of these files the entire time. They sat on everything Epstein-related for four long years while president Biden was in office.
ALEXANDER: Last week the Justice Department asked a federal court to unseal secret grand jury records in the Epstein case. Today the judge has said they need more information to make a ruling. Tonight Maxwell's lawyer confirmed discussions with the DoJ, thanking President Trump, quote, “for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case”. But some Democrats argue Maxwell, who is appealing her 20-year sentence, may be looking for a presidential pardon.
LLAMAS: All right, Peter Alexander joins us live from The White House. Peter, let's turn to former President Obama with a strong rebuke of President Trump's latest accusations against him.
ALEXANDER: Tom, President Trump pushed the conspiracy theory today that Obama tried to undermine Trump’s 2016 victory, accusing Obama of treason, pointing to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's recent claims that Obama officials manufactured intelligence about Russian interference. Former President Obama’s office today called Trump’s accusations “outrageous”, “ridiculous”, and “a weak attempt at distraction.” Tom.
LLAMAS: All right, Peter. Our thanks to you.