5am – A/B/C EPSTEIN UPDATES:
Epstein guards suspected of falsifying logs to show they were checking on him: report (Fox News) -- Guards at the New York City jail where Jeffrey Epstein is said to have killed himself are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on the alleged sex trafficker and other inmates with greater regularity than was the case, according to a Tuesday report. Surveillance video reviewed after Epstein’s death shows guards at the Metropolitan Correctional Center did not make some of the checks they claimed to have made in their logs, a source told the Associated Press. The federal jail workers claimed they were checking on inmates in Epstein’s unit every half-hour, but investigators now believe that was not the case. The Justice Department on Tuesday said two guards assigned to watch Epstein had been placed on administrative leave.
DOJ reassigns warden after Epstein's apparent suicide. (The Hill) -- Attorney General William Barr has ordered the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily reassign the warden at the New York federal prison where accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead over the weekend pending federal investigations into his apparent suicide.
Two staff members assigned to Epstein’s unit at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MMC) in lower Manhattan have also been placed on administrative leave, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Tuesday, noting additional actions may be taken if warranted. The Department of Justice (DOJ) disclosed the developments Tuesday afternoon, one day after Barr expressed outrage over Epstein's death and spoke of “serious irregularities" at the federal prison in New York. “I was appalled — indeed, the entire department was — and, frankly, angry to learn of the MCC’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner. We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and that demand a thorough investigation,” Barr said during remarks at a law enforcement conference in New Orleans on Monday morning. “We will get to the bottom of what happened at the MCC and we will hold people accountable for this failure,” Barr said. Kupec said Tuesday that the MCC warden, whose name is Lamine N'diaye, would be reassigned to the bureau’s Northeast Regional Office while the FBI and Justice Department inspector general investigate the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death.
'You have to ask: Did Bill go to the island?' Trump encourages reporters to dig deep into Clinton's relationship with Epstein and find out if former president did stay on pedo billionaire's private Caribbean island. President Donald Trump cast doubt on Bill Clinton's claim he had never been to Jeffrey Epstein's so-called 'pedophile island' (Daily Mail) -- Donald Trump cast doubt on Tuesday over former President Bill Clinton's denial that he ever visited Jeffrey Epstein's notorious 'pedophilia island.' The president repeatedly suggested that his predecessor was lying in a statement saying that he had not been to Little St. James, the island owned by the pervert financier, which was raided by the FBI Monday. Speaking as he was about to board Air Force One from Morristown, New Jersey, Trump declined to answer whether he 'really believed' that the Clintons had arranged for Epstein to be killed, a claim he had retweeted after the 66-year-old's apparent suicide on Saturday morning. Instead he highlighted Clinton's repeated flights on Epstein's private plane, dubbed the Lolita Express, and suggested that the former president's response to the revelation he was named in the flight logs was misleading. Asked if he believed - as he had tweeted - that the Clintons played a part in the pervert's death, he replied: 'I have no idea.' He went on: 'I know he was on his plane 27 times, and he said he was on the plane four times. 'But when they checked the plane log, Bill Clinton – who was a very good friend of Epstein's – he was on the plane about 27 or 28 times. So why did he say four times? 'And then the question you have to ask is: Did Bill Clinton go to the island? Because Epstein had an island – that was not a good place as I understand it.
5am – D BUTTIGIEG UPDATES:
Pete Buttigieg's question to woman who shook RFK's hand takes awkward turn. (Fox News) -- Presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg had an awkward campaign trail encounter Tuesday with a woman in Iowa who told him she once met the late-Robert F. Kennedy. The Democrat was campaigning at the Iowa State Fair when a woman approached him and said she met Kennedy in 1968, according to a tweet from a CNN producer. “I shook Robert Kennedy’s hand in 1968,” the woman told him.
Buttigieg responded: “So you’re good luck?”“Not really— he was shot a month later,” the woman said.
Democrat Buttigieg unveils $80 billion plan to bring internet to all rural Americans (Reuters) -- Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg unveiled an ambitious plan on Tuesday to transform the economy of rural America, including spending $80 billion to provide high-speed internet and $50 billion over a decade to help farmers combat climate change. Buttigieg, 37, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, also proposes dramatically increasing teacher pay in rural areas, reducing the shortage of teachers by half and spending $5 billion over a decade to ensure an apprenticeship program in a growing industry is available within 30 miles of every American. Buttigieg was due to unveil his plan as he begins a two-day, seven-county swing through southeast Iowa. The Midwestern state kicks off the Democratic nominating contest in February.
5am – E U.S. Delays Some China Tariffs Until Stores Stock Up for Holidays (New York Times) -- President Trump on Tuesday unexpectedly put off new tariffs on many Chinese goods, including cellphones, laptop computers and toys, until after the start of the Christmas shopping season, acknowledging the effect that his protracted trade war with Beijing could have on Americans. Mr. Trump pushed a 10 percent tariff on some imports to Dec. 15, and excluded others from it entirely, while facing mounting pressure from businesses and consumer groups over the harm they say the trade conflict is doing. The stock market soared after the announcement, following weeks of volatility driven by fears that the standoff between the world’s two largest economies could hamper global economic growth.