Tag Archives: Jeffrey Epstein

Mediaite: Trump Snaps ‘Be Quiet!’ At CNN’s Kaitlan Collins When Confronted About New Epstein Bombshell

Posted on by
Reply

President Donald Trump snapped at CNN Senior White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins when she confronted him about the new Jeffrey Epstein bombshell he dropped on Air Force One minutes earlier.

While Trump was dogged by questions about his currently dead sex criminal onetime pal Epstein throughout his trip to Scotland, the ride home turned out to be the most revealing.

On Tuesday, Trump emerged into the press cabin to take questions for about half an hour, during which he slowly tricked his way through revelations about his split with Epstein that crescendoed with the bombshell that deceased Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre was among the Mar-a-Lago staffers Epstein “stole” from the spa at Mar-a-Lago:

REPORTER: Mr. President, did — did one of those stolen, you know, persons, did that include Virginia Giuffre?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people, yes. He — he stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know. None whatsoever.

After the plane landed and Trump returned to the White House, Collins led a brief scrum on the colonnade that included a confrontation over the Giuffre revelation.

When Collins asked if the “stealing” of young women from the spas raised “alarm bells” for him at the time, Trump snapped “Be quiet!”

Undeterred, Collins continued to press Trump as he walked away:

CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT KAITLAN COLLINS: Mr. President, you said earlier that Jeffrey Epstein was stealing young women. You said Jeffrey Epstine was stealing women from your spa. Did that raise alarm bells for you?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Be quiet!

CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT KAITLAN COLLINS: Did that raise alarm bells for you?

…

CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT KAITLAN COLLINS: Ghislaine Maxwell says she’ll only testify if you pardon her or she gets immunity–.

Trump Snaps ‘Be Quiet!’ At CNN’s Kaitlan Collins When Confronted About New Epstein Bombshell
President Donald Trump snapped at CNN Senior White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins when she confronted him about the new Jeffrey Epstein bombshell.
Trump Snaps ‘Be Quiet!’ At CNN’s Kaitlan Collins When Confronted About New Epstein Bombshell

Alternet: ‘I don’t care how reptilian a brain that man has’: Former prosecutor warns Trump

Posted on by
Reply

Former prosecutor Katie Phang told podcaster Jim Acosta that President Donald Trump will enflame his base for very small return if he pardons Ghislaine Maxwell.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is traveling to Florida to meet with Maxwell this week, even as Trump further entangles himself in the life of Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump’s MAGA base, including his own employees, have spread controversies surrounding the nature of Epstein’s death. Many suggest Epstein was murdered to hide an alleged client list containing the names of powerful Democratic leaders, despite Epstein dying in prison during Trump’s first term.

Phang, speaking on the Friday edition of the ‘Jim Acosta Show,’ insists Blanch remains “Trump’s personal lawyer” even as he serves as deputy AG, and is acting on Trump’s behalf by traveling to Florida. But she said he won’t be doing his boss any favors, even if he does manage to whittle new information from Maxwell that might clear Trump.

“I don’t care how reptilian of a brain that man has…it’s too toxic. I mean MAGA—if you’ve lost the ‘QAnon Shaman’ on this, I don’t think this would ever carry the day.”

“It just feels like the fix is in,” said Acosta. “And we were hearing some things come in today, making it sound more and more like the fix is in.”

“… [T]he lawyer for Maxwell, David Marcus, says ‘we haven’t spoken to anyone yet’ regarding a pardon but we hope that Donald Trump exercises that power ‘in the right and just way,’” Phang recalled. “… If that’s the case then obviously the pitch will be officially formerly made, and I’m assuming it’s already happened.”

Phang pointed out that Maxwell’s perjury charges were dropped, but any information arising from Trump’s willingness to smear himself with a pardon will deliver nothing useful because of Maxwell’s notorious issues with honesty.

“I read the 55-page sentencing memorandum that the Department of Justice prepared on her back in 2022 and they made it explicitly clear that Ghislaine Maxwell is a liar. So, anything you get form Ghislaine Maxwell is not to be trusted,” Phang told Acosta. “That’s the reason why Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) … wants the entire Epstein files subpoenaed from the Department of Justice, so he can corroborate anything said by Ghislaine Maxwell. But let’s be clear: If she ends up getting a pardon it could all end up being for naught.”

But the futility of that effort will not be what likely enflames Trump’s MAGA base, said Acosta. It will be the very fact that he tried this at all.

“Donald Trump’s base is QAnon,” Acosta said. “They should turn their backs on him. Maybe they won’t do that and that’s asking for too much, but that would be the ultimate act of hypocrisy here.”

Hear the full podcast at this link.

https://www.alternet.org/trump-pardon-ghislaine-maxwell

Raw Story: ‘Jostling has begun’: Conservative sees 3 signs that Trump era is over

Posted on by
Reply

For nearly a decade, President Donald Trump has had what many experts describe as an “iron-clad grip” on his party. However, July appears to mark what conservative columnist Matt Lewis described as the beginning of the end of the Trump era.

“It took six months into President Trump’s second term to get here, but something shifted in Trump World this month,” Lewis wrote in an opinion piece published Friday in The Hill.

“The administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case – including its assertion that a ‘client list’ doesn’t exist – sent tremors through the MAGA ecosystem, creating a permission structure for key players on the right to start treating Trump like a lame duck.”

The Trump administration’s handling of the case on Epstein – the convicted sex offender who died in 2019 awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges – has indeed been an anomaly for Trump, who ordinarily comes out of any scandal unscathed by his most loyal supporters, and in many cases, even more popular, such as after his dozens of criminal indictments last year.

On Epstein, however, Trump’s hesitancy to release documents related to the disgraced financier, along with his attacks on those who demand transparency, have sent a shockwave through MAGA world that Lewis said appeared to mark a turning point in the president’s control of the GOP.

“Taken together – the reality of Trump’s lame-duck status, being out of touch with much of his base and now the physical deterioration – we are left with a picture of a man whose once iron-clad grip on his party is finally beginning to loosen,” Lewis wrote.

“The base might not say it outright. MAGA influencers certainly won’t admit it – but they absolutely see it. And more importantly, they’re starting to act on it. The jostling has begun.”

Trump’s path to irrelevancy, Lewis argued, will also likely ignite a crisis in the Republican Party, a party Lewis said had been “hollowed out” by Trump and had its institutions “scorched.”

“This is the tragedy and farce of the post-Trump GOP: it bet everything on a single man, and now it has no idea how to function without him,” Lewis wrote.

Can’t happen soon enough! Let’s be rid of King Donald!

Daily Beast: Schumer Explodes at Trump Sending His Trial Lawyer to Interview Ghislaine Maxwell: ‘Stinks of High Corruption’

Posted on by
Reply

Top Democrat torches Todd Blanche’s prison sit-down with Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice and gloats about an “Epstein Recess.”

Chuck Schumer blasted Donald Trump for sending his “personal lawyer” to interview Ghislaine Maxwell in prison in what he described as a clear “conflict of interest.”

“Sending Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, to interview Ghislaine Maxwell while she’s in prison, a woman who’s been convicted of abusing people, to offer some kind of corrupt deal so that she can exonerate Donald Trump just stinks of high corruption,” the Senate minority leader said in a video posted on X.

Blanche was appointed deputy attorney general in March, serving under Attorney General Pam Bondi, but he is most famous for having served as Trump’s lead counsel in his criminal case a year earlier.

The 50-year-old lawyer traveled to the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Thursday and spoke with Maxwell for several hours, in a meeting that was widely criticized on social media.

In his own post on X Thursday, Blanche confirmed the meeting and announced a follow-up session: “Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow. The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time.”

Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking under-age girls for Jeffrey Epstein. The social links between her and Epstein with Trump continue to dog the president.

Blanche did not disclose what was discussed during the six-hour meeting.

However, Maxwell was said to have “answered every single question” during Thursday’s interview with Blanche, according to her lawyer David Markus. “She answered all questions and did not take the Fifth,” he added.

Amazingly, it appears to be the first time Maxwell—who declined to testify at her trial in 2021—has ever been formaly interviewed about the Epstein case.

Jonathan Turley, a leading legal commentator and professor at the George Washington University Law School, wrote on X that he had recently spoken with Maxwell’s counsel, Leah Saffian, and she “surprisingly maintained that neither state nor federal investigators ever interviewed Maxwell.

He added: “That struck me as curious in a scandal involving a myriad of state and federal investigations. If so, she may have new information.”

Within minutes of Schumer’s first tweet, the 74-year-old fired off a second, aimed at House Republicans, who had just departed Washington for their August break.

“It’s the first day of House Republicans fleeing town for their Epstein Recess. They high-tailed it out of here hoping to hide the story. But the story is growing louder by the hour with Trump and the administration’s lies.”

The House’s early getaway heightened Democratic accusations of a Republican Trump-Epstein cover-up.

The Daily Beast has contacted the Justice Department for comment.

Yes, it’s “fishy”, but remember that Ghislaine Maxwell is 63 and already serving a 20 year sentence.

Schumer Explodes at Trump Sending His Trial Lawyer to Interview Ghislaine Maxwell: ‘Stinks of High Corruption’
Top Democrat torches Todd Blanche’s prison sit-down with Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice and gloats about an “Epstein Recess.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/schumer-explodes-at-trump-sending-his-trial-lawyer-to-interview-ghislaine-maxwell-stinks-of-high-corruption

Raw Story: ‘Blindsided and annoyed’: Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi insiders tell of fury at Tulsi Gabbard

Posted on by
Reply

Attorney General Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi found herself scrambling to contain the political fallout after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard hijacked her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein crisis and launched an uncoordinated attack on Barack Obama, according to several sources close to the AG.

Gabbard, reportedly desperate to repair her standing with Trump after being “excoriated” and excluded from recent meetings, suddenly demanded [Bimbo #3] Bondi investigate what she called a “treasonous conspiracy” by Obama officials regarding the 2016 Russia investigation.

The move caught [Bimbo #3] Bondi completely off-guard, the sources told The New York Times. Fresh off a nasty fight with top FBI officials over the mess regarding her announcement that an Epstein client list didn’t exist, the attorney general was given “little warning” that Gabbard was about to dump the Obama investigation in her lap, sources said.

Sources inside her camp told the Times she “felt blindsided and annoyed.”

Gabbard made the announcement earlier this week, then went into detail during a surprise appearance at a White House press conference on Wednesday.

“She’s, like, hotter than everybody. She’s the hottest one in the room right now,” Trump declared at a White House event Tuesday, signaling Gabbard was back in his good graces after her diversionary attack relieved pressure from the “never-ending Epstein file crisis.”

But the stunt put [Bimbo #3] Bondi in an “nearly untenable position.” Her staff scrambled for a solution that would satisfy Trump without committing to a politically explosive Obama investigation with “unpredictable legal and political consequences.”

Hours after Gabbard’s provocative White House briefing, [Bimbo #3] Bondi’s deputies posted an ambiguous statement announcing a “strike force” to examine the accusations—though details about the group’s operations and timeline remained absent.

A spokesman for Obama dismissed the attacks as “ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”

Current and former officials warned that building a coherent conspiracy case against Obama-era intelligence officials would be “challenging,” while prosecuting Obama himself would be “practically impossible” given Supreme Court immunity protections.

Gabbard stepped far outside traditional intelligence boundaries by directly accusing Obama of criminal wrongdoing, the Times reported.

“The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment,” she claimed, though she “produced no evidence of wrongdoing.”

Republican senators offered [Bimbo #3] Bondi an escape route by suggesting a special counsel—forcing her into a “tactical U-turn” since she’s opposed such appointments in political cases.

‘Blindsided and annoyed’: Pam Bondi insiders tell of fury at Tulsi Gabbard

https://www.rawstory.com/gabbard-bondi-obama

Maddow Blog | On Epstein, Senate Republican admits the party is trying to give Trump ‘cover’

Posted on by
Reply

When it comes to transparency and disclosures in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, arguably no Senate Democrat has been as aggressive as Sen. Ruben Gallego. In fact, last week, the Arizonan became the first senator to push a resolution to formally demand the release of documents from the Justice Department.

But because Gallego is in the Democratic minority, he had limited options to force a vote. He took the only credible step available to him: Last Thursday, Gallego went to the Senate floor and sought unanimous consent on his proposal. He knew, of course, that the effort would fail if only one Republican objected, and one did: Oklahoma’s Markwayne Mullin, an ardent Trump ally, balked.

Seven days later, as NBC News reported, the two faced off again:

In other words, Gallego rejected a narrow and toothless Republican alternative after Mullin rejected a more meaningful Democratic effort. (The Arizonan offered to back both resolutions, but the Oklahoman wouldn’t take the deal.)

As part of the back and forth, however, Mullin made an off-hand comment that stood out.

“I’m sure this would be handled just like any other thing [the Democrats] have tried to go after like the baseless impeachments. Or the baseless special counsels. Or the unbelievable amount of charges they tried to file against the president,” Mullin said. “I’m sure this would be handled the exact same way. What we’re simply wanting to do here is give [Trump] cover.”

For now, let’s not dwell on the fact that Trump’s impeachments weren’t “baseless.” Let’s also skip past the fact that the incumbent Republican president faced investigations from two special counsels — Robert Mueller and Jack Smith — and neither was “baseless.”

Rather, I’m interested in the GOP senator’s acknowledgement that “we” are trying to give the president “cover” in the Epstein scandal.

As The New Republic asked, “What exactly do Trump and his administration need cover for?”

For now, the party has not tried to answer the question, though Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut noted via Bluesky around the same time as the Gallego/Mullin exchange, “The number one priority of Republicans is protecting Donald Trump. It’s not protecting you. It’s protecting him.”

Three words: Midterms are coming!

And they’re going to be mayhem for Republicans.

On Epstein, Senate Republican admits the party is trying to give Trump ‘cover’
As observer asked, in reference to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, “What exactly do Trump and his administration need cover for?”

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/epstein-senate-republican-admits-party-trying-give-trump-cover-rcna221110

Mediaite: Trump Aides and Allies Swarm NBC News to Tell How Strictly They’ll Enforce Not Talking About Epstein

Posted on by
Reply

Advisers and allies of President Donald Trump swarmed NBC News reporters to outline a new strategy of strict silence on the so-called “Epstein Files” flap.

It has been almost three weeks since the Trump administration first tried to bury the promised mountain of information on deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, and the heat just keeps going up. At every turn, Trump’s efforts to quash the story have only intensified interest in it, and deepened Trump’s own association with it.

Just this week alone:

The latest attempt to persuade the press and the public to drop it appears to be telling the press just how strictly the White House plans to enforce a policy of total silence.

A phalanx of Trump aides and Republican allies spoke to the NBC News reporting team of Jonathan Allen, Matt Dixon, Henry J. Gomez, Allan Smith, and Natasha Korecki about the strategy:

President Donald Trump and his aides have settled on silence as a strategy to stamp out criticism of his refusal to release files detailing the federal government’s investigation of Epstein, according to a senior administration official and Republicans familiar with the White House’s thinking.

For weeks, stories about Epstein, the financier and pal to political luminaries who died by suicide awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019, have been making headlines.

In a break from Trump’s usual crisis communications template — which emphasizes an all-hands-on-deck approach to defending him on television and on social media — the Epstein case has been met with more restraint from the White House.

Trump himself has signaled that he doesn’t want members of his administration talking about the matter nonstop, a person close to the White House told NBC News. And White House aides have made it clear that no one in the administration is allowed to talk about Epstein without high-level vetting, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“The communications office has to be directly involved in every aspect of this,” the official said. “Every ‘i’ must be dotted, and every ‘t’ must be crossed through us.”

The piece is unlikely to decrease the questions being asked, but could serve as a warning to Republicans who wish to stay in the White House’s good graces.

Read the full report here.

Trump Aides and Allies Swarm NBC News to Tell How Strictly They’ll Enforce Not Talking About Epstein
Advisers and allies of President Donald Trump swarmed NBC News reporters to outline a new strategy of strict silence on the so-called “Epstein Files” flap.
Trump Aides and Allies Swarm NBC News to Tell How Strictly They’ll Enforce Not Talking About Epstein

Alternet: Trump DOJ sitting on ‘more than 100,000 pages’ of unreleased Epstein materials: NY Times

Posted on by
Reply

A new report is shedding light on the truly massive trove of evidence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has amassed on Jeffrey Epstein — most of which has yet to see the light of day.

The New York Times reported Thursday on what went on behind the scenes during an extensive review of the Epstein files that the DOJ conducted for several months earlier this year. According to the Times, DOJ staff combed through “more than 100,000 pages of documents” pertaining to the 2019 federal investigation into the convicted pedophile.

DOJ attorneys reviewed the trove of evidence four times between February and April, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche instructed staff to flag any mention of President Donald Trump, along with any other prominent public figures, “including former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.” Then in May, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed to Trump that his name was in the Epstein documents, as the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The Times reported that senior Trump administration officials like Blanche, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have maintained there is no evidence implicating anyone outside of Epstein in the evidence. However, Trump’s MAGA base has continued to harp on the issue, believing that a full release of the evidence may reveal the names of previously unknown co-conspirators and associates of Epstein.

ABC News reported earlier this month on the FBI’s indexing of the Epstein evidence, and what has yet to be made public. This reportedly includes “40 computers and electronic devices, 26 storage drives, more than 70 CDs and six recording devices,” which “hold more than 300 gigabytes of data.”

“The evidence also includes approximately 60 pieces of physical evidence, including photographs, travel logs, employee lists, more than $17,000 in cash, five massage tables, blueprints of Epstein’s island and Manhattan home, four busts of female body parts, a pair of women’s cowboy boots and one stuffed dog,” the ABC report continued.

The network further reported that the FBI is sitting on logbooks of visitors to Epstein’s “Little Saint James” island — which housed his private compound — along with a log of boat trips to and from the island. The famed “client list” may also be among those items, as ABC reported that the FBI had a “document with names” among its Epstein-related evidence.

Trump DOJ sitting on ‘more than 100,000 pages’ of unreleased Epstein materials: NY Times

https://www.alternet.org/trump-doj-epstein-materials

Daily Mail: Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi sidelined by sudden medical condition after bombshell report claims AG told Trump he was in Epstein files

Posted on by
Reply

Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi abruptly canceled her appearance at a high-profile anti-trafficking summit on Wednesday, citing a sudden medical emergency.

The attorney general – who has been under siege over the Epstein files – was scheduled to appear at CPAC’s Summit Against Human Trafficking when a speaker at the event made the stunning announcement. 

‘I do have a note from the attorney general, from Attorney General Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi, that I wanted to share,’ Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said. 

He then read her statement aloud: ‘I’m sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today…’

‘Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue.’ 

At the conclusion of the statement, Galeotti laughed nervously as scattered applause came from the audience. 

‘We appreciate the applause for her and not boos for me,’ he joked. ‘So I will do my best to fill those big shoes.’ 

Several people can be seen walking out of the conference after it was revealed the attorney general would not be speaking.

The Department of Justice did not provide any further information about [Bimbo #3] Bondi’s condition. 

Her injury came just hours after a bombshell report claimed she personally informed President Trump that his name appeared ‘multiple times’ in the Jeffrey Epstein files. 

[Bimbo #3] Bondi’s appearance at the CPAC summit was highly-anticipated given her central role in the administration’s long-promised disclosures about the billionaire pedophile. 

Adding to the intrigue, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that [Bimbo #3] Bondi had informed President Trump in May that his name appeared more frequently than expected in the trove of sealed Epstein files. 

[Bimbo #3] Bondi had warned Trump that while the documents included ‘unverified hearsay,’ they also contained child pornography and sensitive victim information. She also advised against further public releases, the WSJ said.

The Journal’s report directly contradicts Trump’s public statements about the drama surrounding the Epstein files. 

On July 15, when asked whether his name came up in a briefing with [Bimbo #3] Bondi about the Epstein records, Trump replied bluntly: ‘No, no.’ 

He described the meeting as ‘just a very quick briefing,’ and accused former FBI Director James Comey of ‘making up’ the contents of the files.

Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, slammed the Journal’s reporting as ‘fake news,’ responding to the Daily Mail in a statement.

‘The fact is that the President kicked [Epstein] out of his club for being a creep,’ Cheung said. ‘This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about.’

But the Journal’s reporting was backed by multiple senior officials, who said [Bimbo #3] Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche briefed Trump as part of a ‘routine meeting.’

The Journal also noted that [Bimbo #3] Bondi recommended withholding additional Epstein documents due to their inclusion of graphic material and potential privacy violations.

‘They turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein,’ [Bimbo #3] Bondi said at a July 8 cabinet meeting. ‘Never going to be released, never going to see the light of day.’

[Bimbo #3] Bondi’s explanation has done little to quell outrage particularly from Trump’s MAGA base, which has grown increasingly hostile towards over what they see as stall tactics and contradictions. 

Her promise earlier this year on Fox News that she had the Epstein ‘client list’ on her desk proved hollow, as the long-awaited ‘Phase I’ release offered no significant revelations. 

A leaked DOJ-FBI memo later revealed that no such ‘client list’ had ever been located in agency files.

The backlash has ignited conspiracies of a cover-up and infighting within pro-Trump circles. 

Calls to release everything have grown louder, and some prominent MAGA influencers have demanded [Bimbo #3] Bondi’s resignation. 

The administration’s failure to deliver on the campaign promise of transparency in the Epstein case is becoming a political flashpoint. 

Trump has had recent beef with the Wall Street Journal, threatening to sue the publication and its owner Rupert Murdoch for publishing last week a piece claiming he sent Epstein a 50th birthday card with a hand-drawn outline of a naked women. 

The paper claims that Trump wrote in the card’s note: ‘May every day be another wonderful secret.’ 

‘I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,’ Trump fired back when asked if he transmitted such a card. ‘It’s not my language. It’s not my words.’

Legal experts say such a defamation lawsuit would be difficult to win, but the threat underscores the president’s rising frustration with how the Epstein story is dominating headlines – and damaging his team’s credibility.

How convenient, and from someone who’d scarcely know the truth if it bit her!

Pam Bondi sidelined by sudden medical condition after bombshell report
The attorney general was scheduled to speak at CPAC’s Summit Against Human Trafficking when a speaker at the event made the stunning announcement.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14934851/Pam-Bondi-sidelined-sudden-medical-condition-bombshell-report-claims-AG-told-Trump-Epstein-files.html