Vance turns tables on media asking if Trump is covering for 'pedophiles,' says press never asked prior admins
During an address in Canton, Ohio, touting President Donald Trump's economic agenda, Vance replied to a question about whether Republicans were "protecting pedophiles" with how Trump has handled the Jeffrey Epstein case. Vance said Trump has been the most transparent president on the Epstein topic and slammed the mainstream media for only now applying new scrutiny to the story with the president in office.
"For four years under Joe Biden's Department of Justice, the media didn't give a damn about the Epstein files or about the Epstein case," he said.
Some Trump supporters and critics have accused the administration of conspiring to cover up the details of the sex trafficking case against the sexual predator after Trump's DOJ and the FBI said earlier this month that there were no more major details to reveal about the Epstein case.
"This systemic review revealed no incriminating 'client list,'" read a joint memo leaked to Axios. "There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties."
The revelation shocked many MAGA Republicans and Trump supporters, who had for years believed that Epstein was at the heart of a child sex trafficking ring that involved blackmailing prominent figures worldwide.
In Canton, Associated Press reporter Julie Carr Smyth asked Vance, "There are some protesters outside accusing the GOP of protecting pedophiles and were wondering what you think are the reasons the U.S. government should shield the client list of Epstein from the public and what you have to say about any relevance to that here today."
Vance responded by saying that Trump has been transparent.
"First of all, the president has been very clear, we're not shielding anything. The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. He's been incredibly transparent about that stuff."
"The president has been very clear he wants full transparency," Vance added.
Following backlash to the DOJ and FBI Epstein memo, Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all "pertinent" transcripts on the case.
Vance then ripped the media's newfound curiosity about the case during Trump's second term.
"For 20 years, you had Obama and George W. Bush's Department of Justice go easy on this guy. They didn't fully investigate the case, they didn't show any curiosity about the case and now Donald J. Trump is asking his Department of Justice to show full transparency, and somehow that's a criticism of Donald J. Trump and not Barack Obama and George W. Bush."
Vance advised the AP reporter and Trump critics, "If you want to criticize the people who aren't showing full transparency, you ought to go after the administrations that went easy on Jeffrey Epstein, the administrations that concealed this case for 20 years, and the administrations that failed to show full transparency."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
4 minutes ago
- New York Post
Chicago comedians deny Stephen Colbert cancellation will lead to fewer Trump jokes
Chicago comedians argued on Tuesday that the cancellation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' will lead to more jokes about President Donald Trump, not fewer, in contrast with liberal critics' concerns. After CBS announced the left-leaning comedian's show being canceled weeks earlier, several people ranging from commentators to lawmakers called out the move as authoritarian, suggesting CBS bent the knee to Trump after recently settling a lawsuit. Though some believed that this could lead to either more censorship or political capitulation, comedians from the windy city, where Colbert had trained in comedy, largely believed the opposite. 'That would go for whoever is the president,' late night host Mark Bazer told the Chicago Sun-Times. 'That's the gig. My guess is there's very few comedians or late-night talk show hosts who are going to bend the knee.' Bazer added that Colbert can now 'take the gloves off' regarding his jokes against Trump without the pressure of maintaining his show. 'We've all seen late-night talk shows over the years. It's a tradition to make fun of whoever's in power, like, that's what the job entails,' Bazer said. Local comic James Dugan, who frequently performs for the Chicago improv show Whirled News Tonight, told the Chicago Sun-Times that his team largely pulls jokes from the headlines, which have heavily featured Trump recently. 3 CBS cancelled 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' CBS via Getty Images 3 Colbert has not shied away from making jokes about President Trump after CBS announced the end of his show. AP In fact, he described concerns about an oversaturation of Trump jokes. 'A lot of times with our show in particular, we get four or five newspapers and spread them out,' Dugan said. 'And there is a little bit of a sense of like, should we take out the Trump stuff? Because people are kind of sick of hearing about it.' However, some comedians are still worried about what Colbert's cancellation could mean for comedy on a larger scale. 'The fact that a sitting public official is doing so much private litigation, and that it results in this type of thing — it's dangerous,' stand-up comic Eunji Kim told the Chicago Sun-Times. 3 The show's cancellation was due to financial reasons, according to CBS and Paramount. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post Despite the timing of the announcement, CBS and its parent company, Paramount, have said that the cancellation was a financial decision, not a political one. Insider sources have also said that the decision was made days before Paramount's settlement with Trump. Colbert himself has not shied away from attacking Trump in the weeks after his show's cancellation. Last week, he told Trump to 'go f–k yourself' after the latter celebrated the end of 'The Late Show.'
Forbes
5 minutes ago
- Forbes
Could Tariffs Actually Accelerate The Move To A Circular Economy?
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 02: U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a ... More 'Make America Wealthy Again' trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. Touting the event as 'Liberation Day', Trump is expected to announce additional tariffs targeting goods imported to the U.S. (Photo by) A lot has been said about President Trump's tariff policy, particularly from an economic perspective, but could they also hasten the move to a more circular economy, particulary in the U.S? The circular economy is a popular concept in sustainability circles, and is defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as one where products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. The concept also tackles climate change and other global challenges, like biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, by breaking the links between economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. David Linich, sustainability principal at PwC U.S, said he believes tariffs could accelerate the business case for circularity, in an interview. Despite concerns over rising costs, he said circular business models could make strategic sense – not just to avoid tariff exposure, but to spark innovation, reduce operating costs and drive long-term growth. He said there are several key reasons why tariffs could fuel circularity, including how tariffs will increase input costs for businesses, in an interview. Linich added consumers are also increasingly expect more sustainable products and packing, and advances in artificial intelligence and robotics will mean improved sorting and reuse from waste streams. 'Any contamination of the recycling stream reduces the value of it, but if you can sort out the impurities, then you are left with a higher value stream, which you can reuse in a number of different applications,' he told me. Linich said a number of states in the U.S now have various extended producer responsibility laws, which are helping to fund new waste infrastructure. And he said a number of businesses are now setting targets around how much of the content of their products contains reused or recycled materials. He added many of raw materials in electric waste, like cobalt and copper are expensive and increasingly harder to source. 'More and more companies are recognizing these are becoming scarce commodities, and there is a lot of value in the waste stream today to harvest that material and to reuse it,' said Linich. He said PwC's Second Annual State of Decarbonization report shows 37% of companies are increasing their ambitions around sustainability, while only 16% are dialing them back in some way. 'The business value of climate action is becoming clearer to most organizations. As a proof point, we see between a 6% and 25% revenue uplift from products that are marketed with sustainability attributes compared to those which are not.' Vishal Agrawal, business of sustainability initiative academic director at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, said there are several key issues when considering the move towards a circular economy, in an interview. In terms of recycling, Agrawal added the introduction of tariffs could foster more recycling infrastructure, particularly in Western countries, but any potential benefits would require an 'incredible amount' of investment and take a long time to pay off. But he added the impacts on reuse, which is another cornerstone of the circular economy, could be more interesting, particularly in some sectors where tariffs could have a big impact, like domestic appliances and electronics, because it could mean consumers holding onto products for longer. 'But, no matter how much new things cost, people will still want the latest style, so perhaps there will be more potential for the prolonged use of certain products. 'The best thing you could do in terms of sustainability is incentivize customers to keep these products longer, because most of the environmental impact,' he added. Another cornerstone of the circular economy is design and Agrawal said if the tariffs continue to be in place, firms could respond by using less materials, being more efficient when they design the product, or designing it to be more longer lasting. 'The push towards the circular economy requires a lot of change in consumer behavior, as well as huge investments in infrastructure, collection, recycling, reuse, and like any other investments, people might wait to see how all of this pans out,' he added.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says Epstein 'stole' young female employees from Mar-a-Lago
Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on July 29 on his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein, suggesting the sex offender was banned from Mar-a-Lago because he was poaching employees from the spa.
