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Tag: Epstein Client List

  • Trump’s Distraction Methods Fall Flat Against Epstein Uproar

    Trump’s Distraction Methods Fall Flat Against Epstein Uproar

    (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’ssuper powers as a public figure have long included the ability to redirect, evade and deny.
    But the Republican’s well-worn methods of changing the subject when a tough topic stings politically are not working as his White House fends off persistent unrest from his usually loyal base about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.

    Trump has scolded reporters, claimed ignorance and offered distractions in an effort to quash questions about Epstein and the suspicions still swirling around the disgraced financier’s case years after his 2019 death in prison. The demand for answers has only grown.

    “For a president and an administration that’s very good at controlling a narrative, this is one that’s been harder,” said Republican strategist Erin Maguire, a former Trump campaign spokeswoman.

    Unlike political crises that dogged Trump’s first term, including two impeachments and a probe into alleged campaign collusion with Russia, the people propelling the push for more transparency on Epstein have largely been his supporters, not his political foes.

    Trump has fed his base with conspiracy theories for years, including the false “birther” claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Trump’s advisers fanned conspiracies about Epstein, too, only to declare them moot upon entering office.
    That has not gone over well with the president’s right-leaning base, which has long believed the government was covering up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful.

    “Donald Trump’s been running a Ponzi scheme based on propaganda for the better part of a decade and it’s finally catching up to him,” said Geoff Duncan, a Republican former lieutenant governor of Georgia and Trump critic. “The far right element is just dug in. They’re hell bent on getting this information out.”

    The White House has dismissed reporting about Trump’s ties to Epstein as “fake news,” though it has acknowledged his name appears in documents related to the Epstein case. Trump and Epstein were friends for years before falling out.

    “The only people who can’t seem to shake this story from their one-track minds are the media and Democrats,” said White House spokesman Harrison Fields.

    Before leaving for a trip to Scotland on Friday, the president again urged people to turn their attention elsewhere.

    “People should really focus on how well the country is doing,” Trump told reporters, lamenting that scrutiny was not being given to others in Epstein’s orbit. “They don’t talk about them, they talk about me. I have nothing to do with the guy.”

    THE ART OF DISTRACTION

    Trump in recent weeks has employed a typical diversion playbook.

    He chastised a reporter for asking about Epstein in the White House Cabinet Room. He claimed in the Oval Office that he was not paying close attention to the issue. And, with help from Tulsi Gabbard, his director of national intelligence, he explosively accused Obama of treason for how he treated intelligence in 2016 about Russian interference in the U.S. election.
    On Thursday Trump took his distraction tour to the Federal Reserve, where he tussled with Chair Jerome Powell about construction costs and pressed for lower interest rates.

    That, said Republican strategist Brad Todd, was more effective than focusing on Obama in 2016, which voters had already litigated by putting Trump back in office.

    “The Tulsi Gabbard look backward, I think, is not the way for them to pivot,” Todd said, noting that Trump’s trip to the Fed highlighted the issue of economic affordability and taking on a Washington institution. “If I was him I’d go to the Fed every day until rates are cut.”

    Democrats have seized on Trump’s efforts to move on, sensing a political weakness for the president and divisions in the Republican Party that they can exploit while their own political stock is low in the wake of last year’s drubbing at the polls.

    A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed most Americans think Trump’s administration is hiding information about Epstein, creating an opportunity for Democrats to press.

    Trump’s supporters and many Democrats are eager to see a release of government files related to Epstein and his case, which the Justice Department initially promised to deliver.

    “Yesterday was another example of the Trump folks trying to throw as much stuff against the wall to avoid the Epstein files,” Mark Warner, a Democratic U.S. senator from Virginia, said in a post on X on Thursday about Gabbard’s accusations against Obama.

    Trump allies see the administration’s efforts to change topic as a normal part of an all-out-there strategy.

    “They are always going at 100 miles an hour. Every department, every cabinet secretary, everybody is out there at full speed blanketing the area with news,” Republican strategist Maguire said.

    Trump has weathered tougher periods before, and his conservative base, despite its frustration over the files, is largely pleased with Trump’s work on immigration and the economy. In a July Reuters/Ipsos poll, 56% of Republican respondents favored the administration’s immigration workplace raids, while 24% were opposed and 20% unsure.

    Pollster Frank Luntz noted that Trump had faced felony convictions and other criminal charges but still won re-election last year.

    “We’ve been in this very same situation several times before and he has escaped every time,” Luntz said.

    (Reuters)

  • What We Know About the Epstein Files?

    What We Know About the Epstein Files?

    The words “Epstein files” have been haunting the Trump administration for weeks as it grapples with a growing crisis stemming from the sex crimes of late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

    Pressure has been growing from President Donald Trump’s own supporters and from voices within his own Republican Party for more transparency on what the investigations into Epstein uncovered.

    Reports have emerged that Trump himself was told in May by his attorney general that his name appeared in files related to the investigations.

    He was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, and being named is not evidence of any criminal activity, nor has Trump ever been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein matter.

    The president said while campaigning for the 2024 election that he would be open to making public more information.

    But he changed his position earlier this month, saying the case was closed and even criticising his own supporters who have continued to press him on it.

    What are the Epstein files?

    In 2008, Epstein reached a plea deal with prosecutors after the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in Florida that Epstein had molested their daughter at his Palm Beach home.

    Photos of girls were found throughout the house, and he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender and escaped a heavy jail sentence as a result of the deal.

    Eleven years later, he was charged with running a network of underage girls for sex. He died in prison while awaiting trial, and his death was ruled a suicide.

    These two criminal investigations amassed a vast trove of documents including transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses, and items confiscated from raids of his various properties.

    There was also a separate investigation into his British co-conspirator and ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of conspiring with Epstein to traffic girls for sex.

    Both Epstein and Maxwell were also the subject of civil cases.

    What has already been released on Epstein?

    At various stages over the years, some materials have been put into the public domain relating to both Epstein and Maxwell.

    One batch, in January 2024, contained 1,400 pages of records, including depositions with both. A trove of documents in the Maxwell case was also made public, in which several high-profile figures were named. But they contained no new revelations about Epstein or his associates.

    In February this year, weeks after Trump took office, the Department of Justice and the FBI released what they described at the time as the “first phase of the declassified Epstein files”.

    A group of right-wing influencers were invited to the White House but they were left disappointed when they realised that the 341 pages handed to them were mostly material that was already out there.

    it included flight logs from Epstein’s plane and a redacted version of his contacts book containing the names of famous people he knew.

    In July, the Department of Justice and FBI said in a memo that no more material would be released.

    Who is named in the Epstein files?

    According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump himself is named in unreleased documents that relate to Epstein, and was told as much by Attorney General Pam Bondi in May. The paper noted that being named in the files was not evidence of wrongdoing.

    The White House gave mixed messages in response. Spokesman Steven Cheung pushed back, calling the story “fake”, although an unnamed official speaking to Reuters said the administration did not dispute that Trump’s name was included.

    Although the contents of any unreleased documents remain unknown, the existing materials in the public domain mention a number of high-profile figures who were connected Epstein.

    Again, this does not imply any wrongdoing by those individuals.

    Dozens of names were mentioned in a release of court documents in 2024. Prince Andrew, former US President Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson were among the associates, friends and alleged victims named in the 900 pages that were unsealed.

    Both the former US president and the British royal deny any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Jackson died in 2009.

    The release of documents related to the case of Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for child sex trafficking.

    Is there an Epstein client list?

    It has been suggested that unreleased Epstein files could contain a so-called client list that might implicate high-profile associates besides Maxwell in his criminal operation.

    In their memo in July, the DoJ and FBI stated that no such list existed. However, conspiracy theories persist.

    The purported list has sometimes been conflated with the wider Epstein files, and remarks by Bondi have fuelled the confusion.

    The statement by Bondi’s justice department that there was no client list appeared to contradict her comments earlier in the year. When asked by Fox News interviewer about the rumoured list in February, she responded: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.”

    Bondi’s spokesman later clarified that she had been referring to overall files in the Epstein issue.

    Jeffrey Epstein and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell
    Jeffrey Epstein and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell

    Why are people so interested in Epstein?

    Die-hard members of Trump’s MAGA movement have long believed officials are hiding key truths about Epstein’s life and death.

    Some of them have theorised that a child-molesting cabal has been operating at the highest levels of US society, protected by the state. The theory spread through cryptic messages posted by a pseudonymous character called Q.

    In one of the conspiracy theories pushed by some MAGA influencers, Epstein was an agent of the Israeli government.

    There are several unanswered questions about Epstein shared by the wider population too – particularly why he was given such a lenient sentence in Florida, whether he and Maxwell were really acting alone and how he was allowed to take his own life in prison.

    Trump and his team hyped up the theories when they were running for office but now they are in power they have found themselves unable to convince their supporter base that there are no more questions to answer.

    It has been suggested that unreleased Epstein files could contain a so-called client list that might implicate high-profile associates besides Maxwell in his criminal operation.

    In their memo in July, the DoJ and FBI stated that no such list existed.

    However, conspiracy theories persist.

    The purported list has sometimes been conflated with the wider Epstein files, and remarks by Bondi have fuelled the confusion.

    The statement by Bondi’s justice department that there was no client list appeared to contradict her comments earlier in the year. When asked by Fox News interviewer about the rumoured list in February, she responded: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.”

    Bondi’s spokesman later clarified that she had been referring to overall files in the Epstein issue.

    What do we know about Trump/Epstein relationship?

    Trump and Epstein appear to have been friends for a number of years, keeping a similar social circle.

    Previously released files show that Trump’s details were in Epstein’s so-called black book of contacts. Flight logs also showed Trump flying on Epstein’s plane on several occasions.

    They were pictured together at elite events in the 1990s, and photos recently published by CNN purport to show Epstein in attendance at Trump’s wedding to then-wife Marla Maples.

    In 2002, Trump described Epstein as a “terrific guy”. Epstein would later remark: “I was Donald’s closest friend for 10 years.”

    According to Trump, they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. By 2008, Trump was saying that he had not been “a fan of his.”

    The White House has recently suggested that their fallout was connected to Epstein’s behaviour, and that “the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep”.

    The Washington Post, meanwhile, has suggested that the breakdown in their relationship was due to their rivalry over some real estate in Florida.

  • Trump Claims Obama ‘Coup’ As Epstein Questions Mount

    Trump Claims Obama ‘Coup’ As Epstein Questions Mount

    President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to distract from the growing furor over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal by pushing extraordinary claims that Barack Obama tried to mount a coup.

    The accusations, delivered in the Oval Office, followed a surprise announcement that Trump’s Department of Justice would question an imprisoned, key former assistant to Epstein.

    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on X that disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s alleged pedophile scheme, would be queried for new information.

    “No lead is off-limits,” Blanche said.

    However, the show of transparency appeared to be part of a concerted effort by the White House and Trump’s allies to quell speculation about the convicted sex offender, who was long rumored to be a pedophile pimp to the powerful and who committed suicide in his prison cell in 2019.

    While meeting with the Philippines’ president in the White House, Trump dismissed the Epstein case as “a witch hunt.”

    “The witch hunt that you should be talking about is, they caught President Obama, absolutely cold,” he said, launching into a meandering series of unsubstantiated accusations around Obama trying to “steal” the 2016 election, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton.

    “Obama was leading a coup,” Trump said.

    An Obama spokesman called the claim “outrageous.”

    The coup accusation centers on claims that fly in the face of multiple high-level official probes by the US government. However, it resonates with Trump’s far-right base — in part thanks to blanket coverage by the popular Fox News network.

    Trump’s attacks on Obama are “part of a larger strategy of distraction, but they also serve another function: to cast the president as a victim of Democratic treachery,” said Todd Belt, at GW University’s Graduate School of Political Management.

    Obama’s spokesman echoed this, saying Trump engaged in a “ridiculous and weak attempt at distraction.”

    In another ploy to bury the Epstein controversy, Speaker Mike Johnson, a key Trump Republican loyalist, said he would shut down the House of Representatives until September.

    This was to avoid what he called “political games” over attempts by mostly Democrats to force votes on exposing more about the Epstein case.

    – Entangled in conspiracy theory –

    Epstein was awaiting trial on trafficking charges when he was found hanged in his New York cell.

    Authorities declared it a suicide but the death super-charged fears, especially on the far-right, that a “deep state” cover-up is in place to prevent the names of Epstein’s clients from being made known.

    Trump’s attempts to stop Epstein speculation clash with the fact that his own supporters are the ones who have most pushed conspiracy theories — and believed that Trump would resolve the mysteries.

    They were outraged when Trump’s FBI and Justice Department said on July 7 that the death was confirmed a suicide and that Epstein never blackmailed prominent figures or even had a client list.

    Trump tried numerous measures to placate his base, including ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to try to obtain release of grand jury testimony in Epstein’s aborted New York case.

    But the issue flamed up again last week when The Wall Street Journal reported that it had seen a birthday greeting penned in 2003 by Trump to Epstein on his 50th birthday.

    The letter reportedly featured a hand-drawn naked woman, with Trump’s signature forming her pubic hair, and reference to their shared “wonderful secret.”

    Trump insists he did not send the letter and has filed a lawsuit against the Journal.

    Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing but was close friends with Epstein for years and was photographed attending parties with him.

    Among the other celebrities with connections to Epstein was Britain’s Prince Andrew, who settled a US civil case in February 2022 brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.

    Giuffre committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.

    Maxwell is the only former Epstein associate who has been convicted. She is appealing her sentence before the Supreme Court.

    David Oscar Markus, Maxwell’s lawyer, confirmed on X that he was in discussions about her meeting with government representatives.

    “We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case,” Markus added.

    (AFP)

  • Trump Sues Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch Over Epstein Sex Bombshell

    Trump Sues Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch Over Epstein Sex Bombshell

    US President Donald Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal on Friday over the publication of a bombshell report on his friendship with the infamous alleged sex trafficker of underage girls, Jeffrey Epstein.

    The defamation lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, saw Trump trying to hit back at a scandal threatening to cause serious political damage.

    The 79-year-old Republican had vowed to sue “the ass off” Murdoch and his newspaper after it reported that in 2003 the then-real estate magnate wrote a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein, illustrated with a naked woman and referring to their shared “secret.”

    In another bid to dampen outrage among his own supporters about an alleged government cover-up of Epstein’s activities and 2019 death, Trump ordered his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the prosecution against the disgraced financier.

    In a filing in New York, Bondi cited “extensive public interest” for the unusual request to release what is typically secret testimony.

    Epstein, a longtime friend of Trump and multiple high-profile men, was found hanging dead in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.

    The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Trump’s far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy pedophiles. Epstein’s death — declared a suicide — before he could face trial supercharged the narrative.

    When Trump returned to power for a second term this January, his supporters clamored for revelations about Epstein’s supposed list of clients. But Bondi issued an official memo in July declaring there was no such list.

    The discontent in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base poses a rare challenge to the Republican’s control of the political narrative in the United States.

    It remained unclear whether a court would authorize the unsealing of the grand jury testimony.

    But even if such material were made public, it was also unclear whether it would shed much, if any, light on the main questions raised in the conspiracy theories — particularly the existence and possible contents of an Epstein client list.

    Asked Friday by reporters if he would pursue the broader release of information related to the case, Trump did not answer.

    – Naked woman and signature –

    Trump was for years close with Epstein and the two were photographed and videoed together at parties, although there has never been evidence of wrongdoing.

    Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 -- but some supporters of Donald Trump believe he was murdered (HO)HO/Florida Department of Law Enforcement/AFP
    Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 — but some supporters of Donald Trump believe he was murdered (HO)
    HO/Florida Department of Law Enforcement/AFP

    The Wall Street Journal article published late Thursday was damaging because it indicated a shared interest in sex.

    The Journal reported that Trump had wished Epstein a happy 50th birthday in 2003 with a letter featuring a hand-drawn naked woman and referring to their “secrets.” The letter was reportedly among a slew of well-wishes from other rich and well-known figures for a birthday album.

    A furious Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the purported letter was a “Scam” and “Fake.”

    Trump also said that the Journal’s chief editor, Emma Tucker, had been told the letter was fake and that she shouldn’t publish it.

    According to the Journal, the Trump letter contained the outline of a naked woman, apparently drawn with a marker, and had the future president’s signature “Donald” mimicking pubic hair. It ends, according to the newspaper, with “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

    Trump reacted in a series of furious social media posts, saying “it’s not my language. It’s not my words.”

    “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said.

    US media has published multiple  drawings done by Trump in the past, with several dating to the early 2000s when he used his celebrity status to donate sketches for charity.

    (AFP)

  • Ghislaine Maxwell Ready to Reveal ‘Truth’ About Epstein Client List

    Ghislaine Maxwell Ready to Reveal ‘Truth’ About Epstein Client List

    Ghislaine Maxwell is reportedly prepared to testify before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein’s secret files, amid criticism against US Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice (DOJ), Daily Mail UK has reported.

    Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking network, has appealed her conviction to the US Supreme Court. The DOJ’s response is due by July 14.

    ‘She would welcome the chance to tell her story’

    A source close to Maxwell told Daily Mail that the 63-year-old former socialite is open to testifying before Congress. “She would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story,” the source said. “She remains the only person to be jailed in connection to Epstein and she would welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.”

    The source added, “Despite the rumours, Ghislaine was never offered any kind of plea deal. No one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows.”

    “This is a critical moment, a do or die moment. Ghislaine believes she has multiple grounds for appeal,” the unnamed Department of Justice source added.

    Why is Maxwell appealing?

    Maxwell was convicted in 2022 for helping Epstein sexually abuse several underage girls over the span of a decade. She argues her prosecution violated a 2007 non-prosecution agreement granted to Epstein, which she claims should have protected her as well. She maintains that she is innocent and insists she should have never been charged.

    Claims of missing footage, no ‘client list’ raise more questions

    The Epstein scandal continues to cause political fallout. The DOJ recently claimed there is no ‘client list’ and that Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019. But critics have pointed out that video footage from inside the jail is incomplete, with key minutes missing and no view of Epstein’s cell door.

    This has fuelled conspiracy theories and angered Trump’s MAGA base, many of whom now accuse Pam Bondi of failing to keep her promise of transparency over the Epstein files.

    Trump, Elon Musk respond to Epstein ‘cover-up’ claims

    On Truth Social, Donald Trump hit back at Epstein-related allegations, writing, “For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again. Why are we not giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan and the losers and criminals of the Biden administration?”

    Meanwhile, Elon Musk has claimed the cover-up exists because Trump is mentioned in the Epstein files. However, a source close to Maxwell told Daily Mail this was a “false flag”, and that Trump had broken contact with Epstein early on.

    No new prosecutions expected, DOJ says

    The DOJ has also said it is unlikely anyone else will be prosecuted in relation to the Epstein case. That includes Prince Andrew, who settled a civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of having sex with her while she was underage, a claim he has always denied. Giuffre died earlier this year in what has been described as suicide.

    Maxwell’s Supreme Court appeal is still pending, and the DOJ’s official response is expected by July 14. “Congressional hearings have been held into everything from JFK’s assassination to 9/11. The Epstein files rank up there with those cases,” the source told Daily Mail.