President Donald Trump’s vows to roll out punishing new tariffs on Aug. 1 have barely made a ripple with investors who are convinced he’ll once again back down. But at the White House, officials insist they’re serious this time.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is hanging near its records on Thursday, though the calm surface of the U.S. stock market is hiding some roiling moves underneath. Alphabet is rising, and Tesla is tumbling following a jumble of profit reports from big U.S. companies.

After The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive on an apparent letter written to Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump went to battle.

U.S. stocks advanced and the dollar firmed on Friday as investors girded themselves for the week ahead, which includes a Federal Reserve policy meeting, crucial corporate results and U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline for negotiating trade deals.

The president sued the publication last week, accusing it of defamation for an article about his ties to the disgraced former financier Jeffrey Epstein.