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Thousands Rally in Bulgaria, Demanding Judicial Overhaul

Thousands Rally in Bulgaria, Demanding Judicial Overhaul

Bloomberga day ago
Thousands of people rallied peacefully on Tuesday in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, seeking judicial reform in what has long been dubbed one of the European Union's most corrupt countries.
Protesters walked the central boulevard in Sofia at a demonstration coordinated by the Justice for Anyone initiative, whose leaders demand the dismissal of the country's powerful acting chief prosecutor.
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Loretta Duchesne doesn't have much faith in the government, and that's part of the reason she cast a ballot last November for Donald Trump. The 35-year-old makeup artist from northern Louisiana said she felt Trump would be 'transparent' and 'expose corruption.' She's disappointed that the Trump administration isn't releasing all the records in the Jeffrey Epstein case. 'It feels now more like he's protecting someone or something if he won't reveal it,' said Duchesne, an independent who once voted for President Barack Obama. Duchesne likes Trump policies such as his stance on the border and doesn't regret voting for him. But when it comes to Epstein, she said she doesn't accept the official narrative about the wealthy financier who died in prison awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges and also believes the administration is making a mistake and undermining its credibility by holding material back on the years-old criminal case involving alleged underage victims. 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The DOJ memo reaffirmed the finding that Epstein died by suicide, said there is no 'incriminating client list' and no evidence he blackmailed prominent people. But instead of dispelling speculation about the case, the memo only inflamed things further, putting the administration in the hot seat. Utah resident Shar Kynaston, 75, said she doesn't think Epstein killed himself and believes "he probably had a preferred, high-paying list' of clients. 'I think that there is a cover-up, but I don't know the extent of it,' said Kynaston, a retired federal worker who voted for Trump in all three of his presidential races in 2016, 2020 and 2024. Kynaston wants the Epstein files released, but she still likes Trump. The same goes for Victoria Rivas, 20, a Miami University student and vice president of the Ohio college's Republican club. 'I do think we deserve transparency,' Rivas said. Trump recently pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of Epstein grand jury testimony, which the DOJ is doing. But that's just a portion of the records that haven't been released and it's not enough for Rivas, a Trump voter who attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year when he officially became the party's nominee, just days after he was shot in an assassination attempt. 'That's very picky and choosy,' Rivas said of just releasing grand jury testimony, adding that all the Epstein records should be released. Rivas views the first six months of Trump's second term as 'a lot of promises made and a lot of promises kept,' but on Epstein she said he's falling short. Part of the problem for Trump is that those around him, including high-profile figures in his administration, spent years hyping up the potential for bombshell revelations in the Epstein files. "Show us all the Epstein client list now!!!' 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Duchesne, the Louisiana makeup artist, said she's moderately disappointed in Trump's handling of the Epstein case. If the truth is so 'vanilla' then why not just release the records, she wondered. 'It makes me look at you sideways,' she said. 'You're deflecting. Why aren't you just releasing?' Contributing: Aysha Bagchi This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump's voters want more Jeffrey Epstein files released

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