There were no new details about Epstein, but we may have heard a new Trump talking pointpublished at 19:08 British Summer Time 22 July

19:08 BST 22 July

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

We're now ending our live coverage of the meeting between Trump and Phillippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The meeting may have been about trade and defence cooperation, but for most of the time that reporters were in the Oval Office with the two leaders a majority of the questions and answers touched on two things: deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Trump's list of past grievances.

They were linked. When asked about Epstein, and the furor over the government's decision to not release federal records on him, Trump launched into extended attacks on his political enemies and made baseless claims about the 2020 election.

He also appeared to debut a new talking point that revolves around a favourite target, former President Barack Obama.

On Friday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused "the most powerful people in the Obama admnistration" of undermining the electoral process and released documents related to the 2016 election, which Trump won. On Sunday, she repeated the claims in an interview and said she had referred the matter for criminal investigation. Trump, meanwhile, posted an AI-generated video depicting Obama being arrested.

Dismissing questions about Epstein as "nonsense" on Tuesday, Trump returned to the allegations, telling the media "that's really what you should be talking about" and calling Obama "seditious".

For context, there is no evidence Obama committed sedition and he has not been criminally charged with the serious offense. You can read more about the allegations from my colleague Mike Wendling here.

In the three weeks of the Epstein files scandal, political observers have noted that the administration has been seeking to find an issue that would capture the attention of his MAGA base, which has been clamoring for more transparency on the so-called Epstein files. They have also noted it has had little success.

It's very likely that we will hear about this new topic involving Obama, at length, from Trump administration officials and his allies in the coming days.

You find more on today's story, including a possible justice department interview with Ghislaine Maxwell and what happened on Capitol Hill, here. Be sure to check back with the BBC for any future developments.

Image source, Reuters

Mike Wendling
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

The president clearly wants to move the conversation away from the Jeffery Epstein case.

One story that has given him an opening is the release of declassified documents about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election - which Trump won.

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, says the documents prove that the whole “Russia hoax”, as Trump calls it, was invented. She and Trump have suggested criminal charges should be brought against former President Barack Obama. Trump even reposted a fake AI-generated video of Obama being arrested.

But the documents are just not that definitive. They do state that Russia didn’t crack into vote-counting systems – but that was never the main allegation.

A recent CIA review found some issues with the way an intelligence assessment was carried out at the time, but found that conclusions of Russian interference were broadly correct.

Bot accounts based in Russia flooded social media sites back in 2016. And Russian hackers did target the US, leaking emails from the Democratic National Committee. Back then, I struck up a conversation with one of them, who went by the name “Guccifer 2.0” and who immediately went to ground after I mentioned Russia.

Elements of the Russian state were clearly behind the operations. The only real question was whether they were trying to help Trump or just hamper the expected winner, Hillary Clinton.

Even some who argue that claims of Russian interference were overblown – like Andrew McCarthy, an editor at the conservative National Review – have questioned, external whether there’s anything new in the recently released documents.

And if there was fury from parts of Trump’s base when no further Epstein files were released – how will they react if President Obama doesn't face criminal charges?

Judge Paul Engelmayer says he needs more information before ruling on the government's motion to unseal grand jury transcripts in the Ghislaine Maxwell case.

He says he "intends to resolve the motion expeditiously", but "cannot rule on the motion without additional submissions".

The Manhattan judge asks the government to file documents by 29 July addressing specific legal "factors", including what information the government is seeking, and whether their lawyers have seen the grand jury transcripts.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for acting as an accomplice to Epstein. The justice department is also seeking to interview her about what she knows about his alleged crimes, including if other people were involved.

With Epstein scandal in third week, Trump tries again to satisfy clamour for informationpublished at 18:20 British Summer Time 22 July

18:20 BST 22 July

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Image source, Reuters

The request from the justice department to interview Ghislaine Maxwell is just the latest attempt from the Trump administration to satisfy the loud clamour for more information about the Jeffrey Epstein case that is coming from the president’s own supporters.

This is the third week in which the Epstein scandal is dominating news coverage in the US, and President Trump just can’t seem to escape from it. While meeting the Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, in the Oval Office today, Trump was yet again peppered with questions about the Epstein files.

The president's MAGA voters were promised that he would reveal deep secrets about Epstein’s connections to influential and powerful people, and are angry that the justice department has now said that there is no evidence to back up conspiracy theories that had been promulgated by Trump’s closest associates.

The fallout has also led to the House of Representatives to shut down early for the summer recess to avoid demands from Democrats to hold votes on releasing information from the criminal investigation into Epstein

The bilateral meeting between Trump and Marcos has ended as the two pledged to increase military and economic cooperation. Here are the key lines:

• Trump says a trade deal with The Philippines is coming soon but "we're not there" yet on a final agreement
• Trump said he didn't know his former lawyer, now the deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, has reached out to lawyers for Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell
• He told a reporter who asked about Epstein to "stop talking about nonsense"
• For much of the time the press was present, Trump gave a lengthy monologue about political opponents, accusing them of trying to undermine the US electoral process
• Much of his anger was pointed at his predecessor, Barack Obama, who Trump described as "the leader of the gang"
• His accusations come after the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard claimed that US intelligence reports that Russia interfered with the 2016 election were "manufactured and politicised"
• The meeting ended without new details about the Epstein case

Meanwhile, down on Capitol Hill, the US House of Representatives has been thrown into tumult over divisions on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would send lawmakers home on Wednesday in order to avoid procedural votes aimed at forcing the release of files related to Epstein.

Democrats, who are trying to seize on the political tumult in Trump's orbit over the files, were planning a legislative manoeuvre to force a vote, the New York Times reported.

Some Republicans are also upset with Johnson's move, even though he's the leader of their caucus.

"He just told us in there to stick their heads in the sand about this Epstein thing," Representative Thomas Massie told the Times.

Another Republican, Ralph Norman, posted on X that "the American people deserve action, not excuses. Let’s vote on it before August recess and get it DONE!!"

Johnson's decision means that all legislative business in the House will grind to a halt until summer recess ends in early September.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Reporters have now been escorted out of the Oval Office.

During their unusually brief time there, roughly 45 minutes, they asked Trump about Epstein.

In response, he delivered an extended monologue. But little of it dealt with disputes about releasing federal records on the deceased sex offender, which have become a political maelstrom for Trump in recent weeks.

Instead, the president circled back to a long list of greivances from nearly a decade.

This included Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's suggestion, last week, that intelligence was "manufactured and politicised" by then-President Obama and others to try to show that Russia colluded with Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Trump alleged his predecessor was attempting to "rig" the 2016 election.

Trump's attacks on the "fake news" media are frequent, and almost expected - but the Obama allegations seem to have made him particularly animated.

He then moved swiftly to his oft-repeated - but baseless - claims that the 2020 election, which he lost, was also rigged and that former President Biden used an auto-pen to sign documents he knew "nothing about".

Trump took aim again at what he refers to as the "unselect committee" that looked into the 6 January 2021 riot, as well as Biden's granting of pardons to several prominent figures in his administration.

With the exception of the most recent Obama claims, these are all talking points that he used - repeatedly - during the campaign trail.

A reporter from the Philippines asks Trump about negotiations on reciprocal tariffs. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is at the White House to hold trade talks with Trump.

Trump acknowledges that "we're not there" yet because the country's president is "negotiating too tough."

"We'll probably agree," Trump later says. "He loves your country.

Trump is asked what he thinks should happen to Democrats, after he accuses Obama, Biden and others for committing crimes during investigations into alleged Russian interference with the 2016 US election.

Trump says 'the justice department will have to act" and it will be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi to decide what his administration does next.

Trump again rants about Obama, calling the former president "seditious".

For context, there is no evidence that President Obama committed sedition and he has not been criminally charged with the serious offense.

Trump also gets angry at Joe Biden and the January 6 Congressional Committee, calling the bipartisan members "scum".

He also hits out at California Senator Adam Schiff, who he has previously called to be imprisoned.

Trump has touched on the Jeffrey Epstein case, mainly to say that the press and the American people should focus on allegations of corruption against Democratic rivals instead of the Epstein files.

"You ought to take a look at that, and stop talking about nonsense," he tells a reporter, after referring to the Epstein issue as a "witch hunt".

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

President Trump tells reporters that the US is "getting along with China very well," describing it as a "very good relationship" between the two countries.

He then encourages President Macros to do what he needs to do for the benefit of the Philippines, including forging an economic relationship with China.

"It wouldn't bother me at all," Trump says. President Macros responds by saying: "It is something that we have to do in any case."

Trump has embarked on a rant, hitting out against his critics in wide-ranging comments which are sometimes difficult to follow.

He bashes the Democrats, and accuses them without evidence of fraud during the past few elections. He says the Department of Justice should go after former Presidents Obama and Biden, and "crooked" Hillary Clinton.

He also says several media outlets, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, are publishing witch hunts and hoaxes. Trump is currently suing the Journal.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Getty Images

Almost immediately after the usual pleasantries were exchanged between the two presidents, reporters jumped in to ask Trump about Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Asia.

Then came a question about Ghislaine Maxwell and the justice department, which he immediately brushed off.

"I don't know anything about it," he said. "I think it's something that sounded appropriate to do."

He went on to say: "I don't really follow that too much, it's sort of a witch hunt."

Trump then pivoted to his recent allegations that former President Barack Obama orchestrated intelligence community assessments that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, essentially accusing one of his predecessors of election interference.

"That's really what you should be talking about," Trump said.

For weeks, Trump and his close aides have sought to not directly address quetions about Epstein and move the news cycle along to other matters.

In recent days, the allegations about Obama have become a frequent talking point among Trump's political allies.

"It's there, he's guilty," Trump said. "This was treason".

In answering a question about Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, Trump says he will be out of his position "soon enough".

Trump has publicly lashed out at Powell for most of the six months of his second term, and seemed poised to try to fire the head of the US central bank. But there are serious legal questions about his authority to fire Powell, whose term ends next year.

Calling Powell a "numbskull", Trump again says that the Fed should have lowered interests earlier.

He also accuses Powell of trying to help Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, and raises questions about whether he spent the money allocated to renovating the Federal Reserve's building.

US President Donald Trump says that that he has been invited to China by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump shared the news of the invite just now during an Oval Office meeting with President Bongbong Marcos of the Philippines.

The bilateral meeting in the Oval Office has begun now. Trump opens by praising the Marcos family and the US-Philippines military relationship.

He says the two leaders will be discussing finishing a trade deal.

Marcos thanks Trump and also praises cultural and military ties with the US.

Image source, PBS

Back on Capitol Hill, House Democrats have followed Republicans in talking about the Epstein case with reporters, and they looped in Trump, a Republican.

Representative Pete Aguilar says this comes down to "what the Republicans are afraid of".

"Put up or shut up," he says, adding that Democrats are "leading the charge" for the so-called Epstein files to be released.

Representative Ted Lieu of California accuses Trump of being close to Epstein.

There are "multiple pictures of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, there are multiple videos, there are bizarre quotes from Trump about Epstein, there are plane logs of Trump on Epstein's plane, and now we know there's this creepy birthday card". he says.

"Trump is all over the Epstein files," he says.

Image source, Reuters

President Marcos has just arrived at the White House for an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.

The press are expected to lob questions at Trump about Jeffrey Epstein when they are brought in at some point during the meeting.

At the top of many reporters' minds is the justice department's recent request to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for assisting Epstein in carrying out sex crimes.

A reminder that you can press the play button at the top of the page to watch Trump's remarks live.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest.

Ana Faguy
BBC News, Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

The justice department has asked Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse young girls, to meet with its prosecutors, officials said.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department planned to ask her "what do you know?", adding that he intended to meet with her "soon".

"If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say," Blanche added.

Maxwell's legal team told the BBC they were in discussions with the government and she would "always testify truthfully".

"We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case," Maxwell's lawyer David Oscar Markus said.

Read more of our coverage here.