Australia’s eSafety Commissioner in trouble with US over ‘censorship regime’
Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has suddenly found herself at the centre of a US political storm.
Welcome to our coverage of US politics from Wednesday, Australia time. Click here for Thursday’s US blog.
Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has suddenly found herself at the centre of a US political storm.
She’s been summoned by US House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan, who accused her office of operating a “foreign censorship regime” under Australia’s Online Safety Act (OSA).
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s approval rating has slumped to 38 per cent amid mounting controversy over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The survey of 1017 Americans found Mr Trump’s “overall approval sliding two percentage points since a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in early November,” with 62 per cent now disapproving of his performance.
The decline comes as Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to force the release of government documents on the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in 2019 after being accused of sex trafficking underage girls to wealthy and influential men.
The House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act with just one dissenter out of 428 members, while the Senate fast-tracked the legislation without a recorded vote.
Mr Trump initially pressured congressional allies to block the material, but reversed course over the weekend when much of his party threatened to defy him. He claims the files will expose powerful Democrats’ connections to Epstein, though Mr Trump himself faces scrutiny over his years-long friendship with the convicted sex offender.
The legislation compels publication of unclassified documents detailing investigations into Epstein’s operations, with politicians saying over 1000 alleged victims deserve answers.
Trump has pledged not to veto the bill.
Read on for more updates from Wednesday, Australia time.
Originally published as Australia’s eSafety Commissioner in trouble with US over ‘censorship regime’
