Trump lashes out at CNN after 'new' Epstein photos with his young kids Ivanka, Eric and ex-wife surface
After just 30 seconds on a call with Andrew Kaczynski on Tuesday, the president hung up when asked about the resurfaced images showing Epstein at Trump's 1993 wedding to his second wife, Marla Maples.
The photographs also show Epstein that same year socializing with Trump and his children Ivanka and Eric at the Harley Davidson Cafe opening in New York.
The images are not new, but they have not been widely reported.
Kaczynski said that Trump dismissed the resurfacing of the images as his administration faces a slew of criticism from his MAGA base over the Justice Department's botched Epstein files review.
'We were not on the phone very long,' he said on CNN after the article was published on Tuesday. 'I think our call was about 30 seconds or so.'
'When I asked him about the wedding photo… he sort of paused for a second and then said, 'you've got to be kidding me,' before calling CNN 'fake news' and then hanging up on me,' the journalist recalled of Trump shutting down the conversation.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung doubled down on the fake news claims and reiterated how Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for 'being a creep.'
'These are nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious,' he said in a statement on the resurfaced images.
It's widely known that Trump socialized with Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in the 1980s and 1990s.
He is listed as one of the many famous and rich people who flew on Epstein's private plane, known as the Lolita Express.
Family members of Trump are also listed on the flight log from the same period. This includes his son Eric, his second wife Marla Maples and their daughter Tiffany.
Previously revealed images show Trump and his third wife and current First Lady Melania alongside Epstein and Maxwell in 1997 at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
No charges have been brought against Trump in relation to Epstein and there is no known wrongdoing by the president during his time associating with Epstein.
While CNN branded the latest images as 'never been seen' before, Kaczynski admitted in his article that the photos were available on Google images and content library Shutterstock.
The outlet paid to have exclusive rights to a few of the photos for a month.
Kaczynski said they 'have not been widely reported and pre-date any of Epstein's known legal issues.'
Trump is not pleased with how his base is still obsessing over the Epstein investigation.
When Attorney General Pam Bondi released a joint memo with the FBI earlier this month concluding no one else would be charged in relation to his child sex trafficking crimes, it immediately sparked fury among the MAGA base.
Many of Trump's biggest fans have stoked conspiracies that Epstein did not kill himself in prison in 2019 and that he was actually murdered to keep quiet about co-conspirators.
Additionally, they were clamouring for a so-called 'client list' that would reveal those who worked with Epstein. But Bondi's review found that no such list existed.
Trump was forced to give into pressure from his supporters' demanding the administration continue pushing for more answers.
He directed Bondi last week to request the grand jury testimony from the court case in the Southern District of New York be unsealed.
Additionally, Bondi announced that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is looking to speak with Maxwell 'in the coming days' to find out what she knows.
Maxwell remains the only living person paying the price for Epstein's crimes.
She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence – though her lawyers tried to get the Supreme Court to take up her case arguing she shouldn't have been charged due to a 2008 plea deal Epstein struck with prosecutors.
The DOJ opposed Maxwell's request for appeal earlier this month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Significant parts of the Constitution were quietly removed from the Congress website
Significant parts of the Constitution were quietly removed from the Congress website but have since been restored. Multiple outlets reported Wednesday Sections 9 and 10, and a large chunk of Section 8, had vanished from the website's annotated version. Section 8 discusses the powers the Constitution gives Congress and Section 9 discusses the powers it denies to the legislative body. Section 10 discusses the powers the Constitution denies to the states. Notably, Section 9 mentions the Writ of Habeas Corpus, which protects Americans from unlawful detention. 'The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it,' the Constitution reads. In May, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller told reporters the Trump administration is 'looking at' suspending the writ of habeas corpus for migrants under claims of an 'invasion.' The missing text sparked an online frenzy with Reddit users questioning what happened. 'They must think that removing those portions from their own site changes the constitution,' one Reddit user from the military subreddit r/Military wrote Wednesday morning. One Reddit user suggested: 'Somebody kicked a plug out of a server (edit; not literally, but somebody who was updating messed up) or somebody deliberately f***ed up.' 'This isn't a server problem- this is deliberate,' another replied. The Library of Congress said the missing text was an accident. 'It has been brought to our attention that some sections of Article 1 are missing from the Constitution 'We've learned that this is due to a coding error. We have been working to correct this and expect it to be resolved soon,' the library wrote on X at around 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. The White House did not give The Independent a comment when asked about the coding error. No matter the intentions behind the sections' removal, the incident 'raises serious transparency concerns,' MediasTouch News wrote in an article. The temporary glitch did not affect the validity of the laws removed from the online version of the Constitution. The Library of Congress posted shortly after 3 p.m. the missing sections had been restored. 'Upkeep of Constitution Annotated and other digital resources is a critical part of the Library's mission, and we appreciate the feedback that alerted us to the error and allowed us to fix it,' the library wrote.
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump border czar reacts after Indy 500 track boss demands end to ‘Speedway Slammer' moniker for new migrant detention center
Trump border czar Tom Homan appeared to have no idea Wednesday when asked who was behind the name 'Speedway Slammer,' given to a new migrant detention center in Indiana. 'I don't name the facilities,' Homan told reporters. "I don't want the names taken over the great work they're doing,' Homan said of immigration officers. 'This is serious work and it's dangerous work." The Trump administration is working to build out a vast network of migrant detention centers across the country, and recently opened a facility in the Florida Everglades, known as 'Alligator Alcatraz.' It was constructed in weeks, using hundreds of tents, trailers, and other temporary facilities. It's set to hold as many as 3,000 detainees. On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X: 'COMING SOON to Indiana: The Speedway Slammer. Today, we're announcing a new partnership with the state of Indiana to expand detention bed space by 1,000 beds. Thanks to @GovBraun for his partnership to help remove the worst of the worst out of our country. If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana's Speedway Slammer. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the @CBP Home App.' Then, the official DHS account on X shared an image of what appeared to be an AI-generated Indy car with Immigration and Customs Enforcement branding. The car was branded with the number 5, which has been used by the only Mexican IndyCar driver, Pato O'Ward, since 2020. On Wednesday, Penske Entertainment, the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said the company did not want its intellectual property used alongside the detention center. 'We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of the announcement,' the company told IndyStar in a statement. 'Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.' Penske Entertainment hasn't publicly demanded a retraction, and it hasn't issued a cease-and-desist order to stop the use of the imagery and name. The 'Speedway Slammer' will be located at Miami Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison at the former Grissom Air Force Base, 70 miles north of Indianapolis in Bunker Hill. The 1,000 beds that will be made available represent roughly a third of its total capacity. Immigration advocates have grown frustrated with the sheer amount that's unknown about the 'Speedway Slammer.' Gurinder Kaur, CEO of the Immigrant Welcome Center, told WTHR: "How will this become actualized? We still don't know yet. And what will the cost of this be on our communities? The emotional cost and the economic cost?" On August 1, Indiana Governor Mike Braun confirmed that his state had entered into a partnership with federal immigration authorities in connection with the state's Department of Homeland Security, the Indiana Department of Corrections, the Indiana State Police, and the state's National Guard to aid the federal government 'in deporting individuals who are unlawfully in the U.S.' Braun said the Department of Corrections is working alongside ICE to free up as many as 1,000 beds at the Miami Correctional Facility. "When it comes to our state, we're going to cooperate ... as we're housing detainees that have broken the law after they entered illegally, we're going to cooperate with the federal government," the governor told IndyStar. "When it comes to any of the other issues on due process and so forth, we want to make sure we're doing that the right way as well." Braun's commitment comes as Homan called on states to play a bigger part in federal immigration enforcement. 'States should play a role in this administration's efforts to remove public safety threats from this nation as quickly as possible,' Homan also said Wednesday. 'I've said from day one, we need 100,000 beds.'
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump admin is targeting Gen Z for ICE roles now
Donald Trump 's administration is urgently seeking to launch an advertising campaign to recruit over 14,000 immigration officers for rapid removals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to target Gen Z, early-career professionals, and individuals from law enforcement, military, and legal backgrounds via social media and streaming platforms. Congress has earmarked significant funding, including $30 billion for the hiring spree and $45 billion for ICE detention centres, contributing to over $170 billion for immigration enforcement over the next decade. Recruitment incentives include signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan forgiveness, with age limits removed to allow applicants from 18 years old and older than 40. Despite a recent decline in daily arrests and reported morale issues, the agency's rapid expansion is projected to result in its highest-ever deportation capacity, making it challenging for future administrations to scale back.
