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Live updates on Trump's presidency: Administration seeks release of Epstein testimony

Live updates on Trump's presidency: Administration seeks release of Epstein testimony

CNN5 days ago
Update:
Date: 13 min ago
Title: Trump says "nothing will be good enough" for those demanding more information on Epstein case
Content:
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post yesterday that 'nothing will be good enough' for those he deems 'troublemakers' and 'radical left lunatics' demanding more information on the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Trump's post came after days of turmoil surrounding his administration's handling of documents related to the disgraced financier, including rare criticism from the president's MAGA base. The Justice Department on Friday asked a judge to release years-old grand jury testimony made against Epstein, the convicted sex offender who faced sex trafficking and conspiracy charges before his 2019 death in jail.
'I have asked the Justice Department to release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval. With that being said, and even if the Court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more,' Trump wrote yesterday morning.
In the Justice Department filing, Attorney General Pam Bondi said unsealing the transcripts would be justified by the public's 'longstanding and legitimate interest.' But it's ultimately up to a federal judge to decide.
Trump's weekend: The president is expected to remain in the Washington, DC, area and does not have public events scheduled this weekend.
He took private meetings yesterday afternoon at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, a White House official said. The official declined to share any details about the meetings.
CNN's Aleena Fayaz contributed to this report.
Update:
Date: 14 min ago
Title: Catch up on a chaotic week in the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files
Content:
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to release years-old grand jury testimony made against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as President Donald Trump fumes on social media over public demands to release the so-called Epstein files.
If you're just catching up on the saga, here's what to know:
• How we got here: The DOJ's move came after a week of outcry from the president's MAGA base over the administration's perceived backtracking on promises of maximum transparency regarding Epstein. The pressure campaign had been ramping up since the Justice Department said in a memo earlier this month that it wouldn't be releasing further documents on the case.
• Putting the request in context: Grand jury testimony made behind closed doors is a 'minuscule fraction of the entire file' from Epstein's case, according to CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. And while Attorney General Pam Bondi argued in her request that releasing the material is in the public interest, it's ultimately the court's decision.
• Trump sues newspaper: Trump also announced Friday that he is suing the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and two reporters who wrote a story about a collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, including a note bearing Trump's name and an outline of a naked woman. The Journal report seemed to unite a set of skeptical MAGA influencers in defense of the president after the week's turmoil.
• More on the doodle: The president has emphatically denied writing the note and said he doesn't draw pictures. But a charity director told CNN she received two doodles from him in 2004 for an auction in Ohio.
• Read CNN analysis: With the renewed scrutiny surround Trump's relationship with Epstein, CNN identified five key questions that remain unanswered.
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NFL players, employees fined for selling Super Bowl tickets: reports
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Howard Levitt: For Coldplay concert couple, Canadian harassment law would top privacy concerns
Howard Levitt: For Coldplay concert couple, Canadian harassment law would top privacy concerns

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Howard Levitt: For Coldplay concert couple, Canadian harassment law would top privacy concerns

If you want to know how far harassment protections have expanded in Canadian workplace law today, look no further than the Coldplay concert debacle. While most observers seem to agree that the two colleagues caught canoodling at a Boston Coldplay concert — the chief executive and head of HR for U.S. tech company Astronomer — have been appropriately (and very publicly) shamed, there are divisions on the question of professional punishment and accountability. I have read arguments suggesting that the relationship, while extramarital, was between two consenting adults, and therefore not deserving of reprimand or termination, or perhaps even investigation. Or that the company had no interest in getting involved, since there was no evidence of coercion or complaints of favouritism or violation of company policies. None of this is reflective of Canadian law today. First, all potential harassment must be investigated, whether there is a complaint or not. The fact that a relationship between a superior or subordinate is ostensibly 'consensual' does not end the issue legally. As the Ontario Court of Appeal noted last month in a case involving Metrolinx: 'There are many reasons why a victim of harassment might choose not to pursue an official complaint, none of which erase the harassing behaviour or the employer's obligation to investigate it to protect the workplace from a hostile or demeaning environment. … (A lack of complaint) does not relieve an employer of its statutory duty (under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of each province) to conduct an investigation' into harassment. The Court of Appeal in that case made clear that the obligation of an employer to investigate potential harassment is not just owed to the potential victim but to all employees in that workplace. But does the apparent affair between the CEO and HR head qualify as harassment, which therefore must be investigated? In 2001, there was a groundbreaking decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Simpson v. Consumers Association of Canada, in which the court made clear that there should be no assumption that a relationship is consensual even if it might appear so. Instead, an evaluation of the imbalance of power must occur to see if there may be factors affecting the individual's consent (scared of losing job, afraid of reprisal, etc.). 'It is an error to ignore the supervisory role of the alleged harasser and to treat him as one of the employees. … Mr. Simpson may well have viewed all of his conduct as consensual and therefore as welcome. Because of the power imbalance in an employee's relationship with a supervisor, and the perceived consequences to objecting to a supervisor's behaviour, particularly when the behaviour is not directed specifically at that employee … an employee may go along with the conduct. In those circumstances, the employee will be effectively consenting to unwelcome conduct because she feels constrained from objecting' This 25-year-old case highlighted that claims of consensual conduct will be closely examined when the individual involved holds a position of power. It is important to monitor relationships involving power differentials, as they give rise to legal risk. The court noted that anyone in a position of authority — and Andy Byron, the CEO in the Coldplay imbroglio would no doubt qualify — 'owes duties to their employer … to protect employees from harassing behaviour and to safeguard the employer from potential civil liability arising from such complaints. Any CEO consorting with an employee risks that employee later saying that they only succumbed to the CEO's advances to protect their job. In the Simpson case, the court also noted it is 'a workplace reality that it is difficult for staff to disapprove of the conduct of a superior without feeling that their jobs may thereby be in jeopardy.' It further stated that Simpson 'failed to properly consider whether the reason Ms. X felt that she was obliged to go along with his behaviour was to ensure that she retained her job, which she needed, and to be part of Mr. Simpson's 'inner circle.' Perhaps most important and relevant to the Andy Byron affair, the court said that a having a relationship with a subordinate exposes the employer to the risk of civil suits, and that it the job of senior employees to ensure an employer carries out its duties to its workers, shareholders and the public so that the company is protected. 'If the supervisor creates the problem,' the court said, 'he is in breach of that duty.' The suggestion that privacy concerns prevail is also inconsistent with the development of sexual harassment law in this country. Privacy rights are generally dramatically overstated: in other words, in general, privacy rights have little protection under our law and they fall to the wayside next to an employer's duty to stop and investigate potential harassment in their workplace. There is a common misconception that employers must find that a relationship lacked consent or that there was differential treatment before management can act. This assumes that the subordinate employee will come forward willingly, which, as noted above, may not occur. Employers are obliged to deal with potential harassment prior to any escalation by complaining employees. Of course, if policies are violated, such as one prohibiting superior-subordinate relationships, which I encourage employers to adopt — or at least policies requiring disclosure of such relationships — the case against the violator is clearer. But superior-subordinate relationships are always problematic, even in the absence of such policies. Howard Levitt: How the Coldplay concert affair would have played out in Canada Howard Levitt: Even the most desultory employee can find favour with the courts In short, in Canada, employers cannot view relationships between superiors and subordinates with equanimity, nor as private affairs. They must investigate from the standpoint that any such relationship may be inherently coercive and, in any event, damaging to the organization and come with substantial liability risks. Howard Levitt is senior partner of Levitt LLP, employment and labour lawyers with offices in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. He practices employment law in eight provinces and is the author of six books, including the Law of Dismissal in Canada.

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