Trump wishes a Merry Christmas to "the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein … only to 'drop him like a dog' when things got too HOT, falsely claimed they had nothing to do with him." Trump then says he dropped Epstein before anyone and had nothing to do with him.

NEW: WASHINGTON (AP) — DOJ says it may need a 'few more weeks' to finish release of Epstein files despite Dec. 19 deadline set by Congress.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump admin's effort to strip attorney Mark Zaid's security clearance. Zaid represented a whistleblower whose complaint led to Trump's first impeachment.

Jack Smith is calling for the House Judiciary Committee to release the recording of his full closed-door deposition before the panel. "Doing so will ensure that the American people can hear the facts directly from Mr. Smith, rather than through second-hand accounts."

Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center's board, has sued the admin over the attempt to add Trump's name to the building — arguing that renaming would require an act of Congress since the original name was established through legislation signed into law.

Axios has learned the White House has begun managing the DOJ's account on X to respond to posts highlighting mentions of Trump in the Epstein files. In typical administrations, there is a wall between the White House and what is supposed to be an independent Justice Department.

New YouGov poll: 47% of Americans say Trump is trying to cover up Epstein's crimes. 31% say he isn't. 46% say Trump was involved in Epstein's crimes. 30% say he wasn't.

A day after federal agents arrested Epstein in 2019, they were also apparently trying to contact 10 people they called potential 'co-conspirators,' according to a newly released email exchange. All the names were redacted except three: Ghislaine Maxwell, Jean-Luc Brunel, and Leslie Wexner.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court just rejected Trump's bid to deploy the National Guard in Illinois — turning away the White House's emergency request in an unsigned order.

House Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia: "The new documents that Congress has forced the Department of Justice to release make one thing clear: we are witnessing a criminal White House cover-up."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is now demanding the Justice Department release more details on 10 potential Epstein co-conspirators — referenced in a document released in the Epstein files — including "how they were involved, and why they chose not to prosecute."

New doc: A letter Epstein appears to have sent from jail to Larry Nassar referencing "our president." "Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to 'grab snatch,' whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system."

"On two other flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case," the assistant US attorney said in the email.

On a flight in 1993, Trump and Epstein "are the only two listed passengers; on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and then-20-year-old."

Trump was listed as a passenger on "at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which (Ghislaine) Maxwell was also present," it said.

Flight records show Trump "traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware)," an assistant US attorney from the Southern District of New York wrote in an email dated January 8, 2020.

The Justice Department has defended Trump in a social post — trying to buffer potential fallout from the mentions of Trump in the latest Epstein files drop.

Per WaPo: The new batch of Epstein docs were available for several hours Monday on DOJ's website but appeared to have been taken down around 8pm. The docs were reposted just before midnight. It was not immediately clear whether further redactions of the documents had been made.

BREAKING: The new Epstein documents include several tips that were collected by the FBI about Trump's involvement with Epstein and parties at their properties in the early 2000s. The documents do not show whether any follow-up investigations took place or whether any of the tips were corroborated.

The new drop of Epstein documents show that a subpoena was sent to Mar-a-Lago in 2021 for records that pertained to the government's case against Ghislaine Maxwell.

BREAKING: A new drop of Epstein files has several mentions of Trump. There are notes from an assistant U.S. attorney in New York about the number of times Trump flew on Epstein's plane — including one flight that included just Trump, Epstein and a 20-year-old woman, according to the notes.

Breaking: Trump just now on the Epstein files: "Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has." "They're asking me questions about Jeffrey Epstein. I thought that was finished."

Epstein survivors are condemning the Trump Justice Department as having "violated the law" — both by "withholding massive quantities of documents, and by failing to redact survivor identities."

George Conway has just filed paperwork to run as a Democrat for the seat Rep. Jerry Nadler is vacating: New York's 12th Congressional District.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he's introducing a resolution directing the Senate to "initiate legal action against the DOJ for its blatant disregard of the law in its refusal to release the complete Epstein files."

New from MS NOW: Kash Patel is being driven around in specially armored BMWs that the FBI bought at his request. Patel earlier this year pressed the FBI to purchase a new, more modern FBI jet for his use, but the proposal was abandoned over cost estimates. www.ms.now/news/kash-pa...

The Trump Justice Department says there are "hundreds of thousands of pages" of Epstein material to still be released — in violation of the law, which states all material should have been released on Friday, December 19.

Over the past eight weeks, the dismissal rate of the Trump DOJ's criminal complaints in D.C. has risen to 21% — compared to 0.5% over the past decade. Some errors came after senior officials made public statements that strayed from the allegations in sworn court filings, violating department rules.

Rep. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie tell CBS they're considering bringing inherent contempt charges against Pam Bondi for failing to release all of the Epstein files.

Christopher Anderson, who photographed Trump's team for Vanity Fair, says that, at the end of the shoot, Stephen Miller said to him, "'You know, you have a lot of power in the discretion you use to be kind to people.' And I looked at him and I said, 'You know, you do, too.'"

This is one of the pictures the Justice Department removed from the Epstein files release: A picture of a table with framed photos of Epstein and famous people. There are two photos of Trump in the picture — including one of him surrounded by women in bathing suits.

BREAKING: At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public.

Maria Farmer on the report's release: "This is amazing. Thank you for believing me. I feel redeemed. This is one of the best days of my life. Of course, it's mixed with the fact that I'm devastated about all the other little girls like Virginia who were harmed because the FBI didn't do their job.

In the Epstein files: Maria Farmer reported Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's activities to the FBI in 1996. Read the FBI report:

Breaking: Rep. Ro Khanna says the Trump DOJ's production "does not comply with" the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Khanna says he and Rep. Thomas Massie "are exploring all options" — including impeachment of DOJ officials, inherent contempt, or referring individuals for obstruction of justice.

Sen. Adam Schiff on MS NOW: "They promised to release the files. They haven't done it." "They could have been completely ready for this moment, and they're not, or they're just simply willfully withholding the materials."

Deputy AG Todd Blanche tells Congress the Justice Department identified 1,200 names of Epstein victims or relatives of victims. DOJ redacted/withheld materials that could reveal identities.

BREAKING: The Justice Department has released *some* of the Epstein files. All of the files will not be released today, in violation of the law. www.justice.gov/epstein

Breaking: Elise Stefanik just announced she's suspending her campaign for New York governor and will NOT run for re-election to the House.

The cost of Trump's White House ballroom has doubled over the past five months: In late July, the White House said the vanity project would cost $200 million. Now, it's $400 million. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Jack Smith still wants to speak in public: In a new letter, Smith says he wants the American public to "hear the facts" about his two criminal cases against Trump — asking the House Judiciary Committee to release video of his closed-door deposition and schedule an open and public hearing.

Sen. Ron Wyden on the Trump DOJ not producing all of the Epstein files, as required by law: "Anything short of a full release today is a violation of the law and a continuation of this administration’s coverup on behalf of a bunch of pedophiles and sex traffickers."

Reps. Garcia and Raskin on the Trump DOJ not producing all of the Epstein files, as required by law: "Courts around the country have repeatedly intervened when this Administration has broken the law. We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law."

Deputy AG Blanche just said the Trump DOJ will miss the Epstein files deadline. He says "several hundred thousand" docs will be released today, "and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more." All files are required by law to be released today.

Only Congress has the legal authority to change the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

NEW: House Oversight Democrats just released more photos obtained from the Epstein estate. tinyurl.com/mryzxwzj One of the photos:

Federal prosecutors attempted — and then failed — to get a grand jury to add a third felony charge to a failed indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James last week, while omitting earlier claims that she fraudulently converted a second home into a rental property.

Sarah Palin's bid for a new libel trial against The New York Times has been rejected by a New York federal judge who also refused Palin's request that the judge recuse himself.

MS NOW is fact checking the lies from the president. Tune in now.

House Republicans are now canceling Friday votes. Congress will recess for the rest of the year on Thursday afternoon. Obamacare subsidies expire Dec. 31.