By ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was looking into whether it improperly withheld documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files after several news organizations reported that some records involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Donald Trump were not among those released to the public.

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The announcement followed news reports saying that a massive tranche of records released by the Justice Department did not include several summaries of interviews that the FBI conducted with an unidentified woman who came forward after Epstein’s 2019 arrest and claimed to have been sexually assaulted by both Trump and Epstein when she was a minor in the 1980s.

“Several individuals and news outlets have recently flagged files related to documents produced to Ghislaine Maxwell in discovery of her criminal case that they claim appear to be missing,” the Justice Department said in a post on X. “As with all documents that have been flagged by the public, the Department is currently reviewing files within that category of the production.” Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confidant, is serving a 20-year prison sentence on a sex trafficking conviction.

It said that if any document is found to have been improperly withheld and is responsive to the federally enacted law mandating the files’ release, “the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law.”

At issue is a series of interviews said to have been conducted in 2019 with a woman who made an allegation against Trump, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. News reports from recent days say the accuser was interviewed four times but a summary of only one of those interviews was included in the publicly released files.

The missing records were earlier reported by the journalist Roger Sollenberger on Substack and NPR, and have since been documented by other news organizations, including The New York Times, MS Now and CNN.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement that his panel would investigate the withheld records. He said he had reviewed unredacted evidence logs and “can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews” with the accuser.

The Justice Department last month said it was releasing more than 3 million pages of records related to Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The department said at the time that, though it was attempting to be transparent, it was also entitled to withhold records that exposed potential abuse victims, were duplicates or protected by legal privileges, or related to an ongoing criminal investigation.

“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the department said in a statement last month as it released the records.

The redaction process was quickly revealed to have been flawed, with the department withdrawing some materials identified by victims or their lawyers, along with a “substantial number” of documents identified independently by the government.

Lawyers for Epstein accusers told a New York judge last month that the lives of nearly 100 victims had been “turned upside down” by sloppy redactions in the government’s latest release of records. The exposed materials include nude photos showing the faces of potential victims as well as names, email addresses and other identifying information that was either unredacted or not fully obscured.

Other uncorroborated claims against Trump and other public figures were included in the publicly available files. The department did not say in its social media post Wednesday why records related to this specific accusation might have been withheld.

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota wants to know why her State of the Union guest was arrested.

Omar said Aliya Rahman of Minneapolis briefly stood in silence during Trump’s speech, along with other guests, but was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about injured shoulders. Rahman was taken to the hospital for treatment and later charged with unlawful conduct, disruption of Congress.

“The heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy,” Omar said in a statement.

In a guest announcement, Omar described Rahman as a Bangladeshi-American software engineer and a disabled person with autism and a traumatic brain injury, who was driving to a doctor’s appointment on Jan. 13 when she was forcibly removed from her vehicle by Homeland Security agents.

Omar’s office said Rahman experienced severe medical neglect and violence at the hands of ICE agents, requiring hospitalization.

Capitol Police said State of the Union tickets explain that demonstrating is prohibited.

“The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders,” police said.

By JOE REEDY

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comments on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services.

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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the request for comment Wednesday. The comment period runs through March 27 and replies to the comments are due April 13.

“For decades, Americans enjoyed turning on their TV & quickly finding the game they wanted to see. Yet watching your favorite team play isn’t as easy these day. Many games are still on broadcast, but an increasing number are on a range of different online platforms,” Carr posted. “Today, the FCC asks for comment on sports rights and broadcasting. We want to understand the marketplace today, the experience of consumers, and how the changes impact the ability of broadcast TV stations to continue delivering local news, information, and other programming.”

Last year, the House Judiciary Committee requested briefings from the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB on whether antitrust exemptions should still be granted for coordinating their broadcast television rights.

The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to broadcast television. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other mediums, including cable, satellite and streaming.

The Sports Broadcasting Act includes a rule allowing blackouts of local games, which still applies to out-of-market packages sold by the leagues. The NFL ended local TV blackouts, which applied to games within 75 miles of a team’s market if they did not sell out 72 hours before kickoff, after the 2014 season.

The public notice Wednesday said NFL games aired on “10 different services, which, according to some estimates, could cost a consumer over $1,500 to watch all games.”

The NFL aired games last season on CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube TV.

Forbes estimated the cost of watching every NFL game via streaming last season at $765.

The NFL also offers most of its games on broadcast television, including options for all local games on cable or streaming.

“The NFL has the most accessible, fan-friendly distribution model across all of sports and entertainment, with over 87% of our games shown on free broadcast television in addition to numerous, popular digital platforms,” the league said in a statement to AP.

All four of the major North American professional sports leagues have deals with streaming platforms.

The NBA is in the first season of an 11-year deal where games on Monday nights are shown on Peacock, while Amazon Prime Video also has games, mostly on Thursday and Friday nights.

MLB agreed to three-year deals with Netflix and Peacock that begin this season.

The NHL is in the fifth season of its seven-year rights deal where some games appear on ESPN+ and Hulu.

The FCC is asking the public to answer a wide range of questions, including:

With respect to the sports media marketplace, how have recent developments in the marketplace affected the ability of broadcasters to obtain media rights to sports programming?
How have changes in the marketplace affected viewers’ ability to watch nationally televised live sports, as well as their local team(s), on broadcast TV?
How prevalent are sports media rights deals between local TV broadcasters and local sports teams and what are their terms and conditions?
How have changes in the marketplace impacted costs to consumers?

The last two questions are becoming increasingly significant due to the demise of regional sports networks.

Diamond Sports Group was the largest owner of regional sports networks when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2023.

At the time of the filing, Diamond operated 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner and had the rights to 42 professional teams (14 baseball, 16 NBA and 12 NHL).

The networks emerged from bankruptcy last March under Main Street Sports Group, with their networks rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network. However, they are on the verge of insolvency and could go out of business if a new majority owner or investors are not found.

MLB will handle production and distribution for 15 of its 30 teams this season after Main Street Sports Group failed to make scheduled rights payments to seven teams.

Main Street currently has 15 owned-and-operated networks under the FanDuel banner, with rights to 20 pro teams: 13 NBA and seven NHL. It has committed to airing games for its remaining teams through the end of the regular season but is likely to go out of business after that.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

By DAVE COLLINS

Newly released police video shows former WWE CEO Vince McMahon’s high-speed car crash in Connecticut last summer and reveals that a state trooper was trying to catch up to him to pull him over at the time.

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McMahon, now 80, was driving his 2024 Bentley Continental GT on the Merritt Parkway in Westport on July 24 — coincidentally, the same day that WWE legend Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida. State police said the Bentley, which can cost over $300,000, was going 100 mph or more.

“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” state police Detective Maxwell Robins asks McMahon after the crash, according to police bodycam video. McMahon replies, “I got my granddaughter’s birthday” and explains he was on his way to see her.

Robins’ dashcam video shows McMahon driving northbound in the right lane when he approaches a BMW in the same lane, appears to hit the brakes and swerves into the left lane at the last second. The Bentley clipped the rear of the other car before smashing into the left lane guardrail and careening back onto the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts. McMahon then stops in the right shoulder.

No one was seriously injured in the crash, police said. Besides damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt.

McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. A state judge in October allowed McMahon to enter a pretrial probation program that will result in the charges being erased from his record next October if he successfully completes the program. He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution.

In an image taken from Connecticut State Police police dashcam video, Vince McMahon’s car, center left, collides with another car after on July 24, 2025, in Westport, Conn. (Connecticut State Police via AP)

State police said Robins was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape the trooper.

Police video shows Robins telling McMahon about his efforts to catch up to McMahon. “I’m trying to catch up to you and you keep taking off,” Robins says. “No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon says.

An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.

The Associated Press obtained the videos Wednesday through a public records request. They were first obtained by The Sun newspaper.

Police body cameras recorded troopers’ interactions with McMahon on the side of the highway.

Robins tells McMahon that he doesn’t understand why McMahon didn’t change lanes sooner to avoid the crash and asks whether he was looking at his phone. McMahon denies looking at his phone and adds that he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.

McMahon later gives Robins his car registration and curses at himself, the video shows. After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”

In an image taken from Connecticut State Police police dashcam video, Vince McMahon’s car, left, strikes the median after colliding with another car after on July 24, 2025, in Westport, Conn. (Connecticut State Police via AP)

The videos also show McMahon talking to the driver whose car he rear-ended. Barbara Doran, of New York City, told the AP last summer that McMahon expressed his concern for her and was glad she was OK. She said she was heading to a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard at the time of the crash.

After McMahon was given the traffic summons, he shook hands with Robins and another trooper and they wished him well.

McMahon’s lawyer, Mark Sherman, said the crash was just an accident.

“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”

McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.

McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife, Linda, who is now the U.S. education secretary, he also performed at WWE events as himself.