Epstein survivors set to visit Capitol Hill
The event will feature appearances from those who survived incidents with Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who were both found guilty of [sexual] trafficking. 'I will be hosting a press conference at the Capitol joined by survivors of Epstein and Maxwell's abuse — several of whom will be speaking out for the first time,' they posted on X.
'The survivors deserve justice and Americans deserve transparency.' Attorneys for the Epstein and Maxwell survivors are also expected to attend the Capitol Hill press conference. As pressure has mounted on the White House to release additional files on the deceased [child predator], Congress is expected to vote on a resolution to force the Justice Department and the FBI to declassify documents on the former financier.
Massie and Khanna are the bill's architects, and the legislation would require the DOJ to release all Epstein-related files online within 30 days of the bill's passage. 'Americans deserve to know whether their member of Congress stands on the side of transparency and justice or for protecting the rich and powerful,' Khanna told the Daily Mail in a statement.
'My press conference on Capitol Hill will give survivors a chance to share their stories and urge all of Congress to sign the discharge petition that will force a vote on our bipartisan bill to release the Epstein files.' Massie and Khanna plan on filing a discharge petition once the House of Representatives returns to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
If the effort gathers a simple majority, 218 votes, it could pass and head to the Senate for approval. If it passes out of the Senate, President Trump could still veto the bill to keep the files hidden.
Senators have told the Daily Mail they would vote in favor of a bill releasing the files as well. Massie has a history of feuding with Donald Trump and voting against bills backed by the president and his push on the Epstein files has only inflamed their contentious relationship.
His consistent opposition to Trump has frustrated the 79-year-old so much that he has begun a political operation to remove Massie and replace him with a MAGA supporter, including financing ads attacking the lawmaker in his district. Massie reportedly asked the president to stop the attack ads targeting him, but that agreement fell apart shortly after it was brokered.
Advocates hoping to see the Epstein files soon were dealt a blow after a US District Judge denied the DOJ's request to unseal private testimony given in Maxwell's [sexual] trafficking case. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell multiple times in recent weeks to discuss her [sexual] trafficking case, which has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
The House Oversight Committee is also working to uncover additional information on Epstein, his network and his crimes. Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has sent subpoenas to Bill and Hillary Clinton in addition to other top former officials to have them testify about what they know.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
The Department of Homeland Security is starting to annoy both brands and artists with its wild social media behavior
The Department of Homeland Security is facing criticism from brands and artists for using their work in memes posted to its social media accounts. The DHS maintains a busy presence on X and Instagram, regularly posting mugshots of undocumented migrants alongside tweets encouraging people to join ICE. The department recently attracted a savage response from the creators of South Park after it repurposed a still from the show satirising ICE during an episode that mocked the Trump administration and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in particular. Before that, the DHS posted a spoof of a commercial for the British low-cost airline Jet2 featuring music from Jess Glynne to draw an allegedly humorous parallel between summer vacations and its mass deportation push. A spokesperson for the company said the parody was 'not endorsed by us in any way, and we are very disappointed to see our brand being used to promote government policy such as this.' Glynne herself said she felt 'sick' when she first learned of the misuse of her 2015 song 'Hold My Hand' and commented on Instagram that it 'is about love, unity and spreading positivity – never about division or hate.' The DHS's use of the paintings 'Morning Pledge' by Thomas Kinkade and 'A Prayer for a New Life' by Morgan Weistling has likewise provoked complaints from the Kinkade Family Foundation and Weistling himself, with both parties stating that the use was unauthorized and objecting to the appropriation. 'We strongly condemn the sentiment expressed in the post and the deplorable actions that DHS continues to carry out,' the foundation wrote in a statement on behalf of Kinkade posted to X. Responding to the criticism, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: 'The Department of Homeland Security is bypassing the mainstream media to give Americans the facts, debunk the lies, and unapologetically celebrate our homeland, heritage, and the rule of law. 'We are pleased that the media is highlighting DHS's historic successes in making America safe again.' Glynne is not the only musical act the department has upset through its posting. The rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club reacted to the department using its cover of 'God's Gonna Cut You Down' by saying: 'It's obvious that you don't respect Copyright Law and Artist Rights any more than you respect Habeas Corpus and Due Process rights, not to mention the separation of Church and State per the US Constitution… Go f*** yourselves.' The estates of Woody Guthrie and Tom Petty have also complained about the use of 'This Land is Your Land' and 'Won't Back Down' respectively. Such reactions have become a familiar complaint for the Trump administration. Last month, Metallica forced the Pentagon to remove their classic track 'Enter Sandman' from a video featuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promoting military drones, again saying its use was unauthorized. Trump himself has received a deluge of objections from artists unhappy with his use of their songs to soundtrack his political activities. Linkin Park, Queen, and Neil Young all complained during his first term, as did the Foo Fighters, Isaac Hayes, and Jack White throughout last summer's presidential campaign. White was particularly incensed about the Republican's use of 'Seven Nation Army' in a social media clip posted by his then-deputy director of communications Margo Martin last August, raging on Instagram: ' even think about using my music you fascists. Lawsuit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.) Have a great day at work today Margo Martin. 'And as long as I'm here, a double f*** you DonOLD for insulting our nation's veterans at Arlington you scum. You should lose every military family's vote immediately from that if ANYTHING makes sense anymore.'
The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump's nominee for Bureau of Labor Statistics was Jan 6 ‘bystander' outside Capitol, says White House
Donald Trump 's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics was a 'bystander' outside the Capitol as the Jan. 6 insurrection unfolded, according to the White House. The president on Monday nominated Dr. E.J. Antoni to lead the BLS after firing the agency's commissioner earlier this month, accusing her of manipulating jobs data. In recent days, videos have emerged of the 37-year-old economist from the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank among a mob of Trump supporters who swarmed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Antoni is not believed to be among those who entered the building, and the video does not show him crossing barricades or demonstrating. The footage places Antoni at the Capitol about an hour after rioters tore down police barricades, as other insurrectionists poured onto its grounds. In U.S. Capitol Police surveillance video unearthed by NBC News, Antoni was spotted outside the Capitol building among a sea of supporters waving 'Stop the Steal' and 'Trump 2020' flags. In the clip, Antoni is seen walking away from the crowd on the building's west side as chants of 'USA' ring out and tear gas plumes in the background. Far-right radio host Alex Jones can be heard speaking over a megaphone. Other footage shows Antoni at the Capitol's east side, walking away from the building, according to NBC News. The video was initially released by the GOP-led House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight and archived from the social media website Parler. A White House official told NBC News Wednesday that Antoni was in Washington, D.C. for in-person meetings with his then employer, which, according to his LinkedIn profile, was the conservative think tank, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. 'These pictures show EJ Antoni, a bystander to the events of January 6th, observing and then leaving the Capitol area,' White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told the broadcaster in an email statement. He added it was 'wrong and defamatory to suggest EJ engaged in anything inappropriate or illegal.' While Antoni has not been accused of any wrongdoing, more than 1,500 rioters were charged with crimes connected to the attack on the Capitol building. On his first day back in office on January 20, Trump granted clemency to almost all of the defendants. Trump announced his intentions to install Antoni as BLS commissioner after removing Erika McEntarfer, whom he accused of using 'phony' numbers in the July jobs report that showed private companies adding just 73,000 positions, below projections. Under Antoni's stewardship, Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday that the numbers released would be 'HONEST and ACCURATE.' Antoni, who will face Senate confirmation, wrote on X last week that the bureau, part of the Labor Department, needed to revise its methods to 'rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years.' However, his nomination has intensified fears among critics that Trump wants a partisan supporter at the helm of a bureau to manipulate data to support his policies. Antoni was a contributor to the group's Project 2025, a controversial blueprint document outlining many of the moves the Trump administration has taken in office.
Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Fiona Hill: It's a mistake for Trump to meet Putin alone
Donald Trump made a mistake in agreeing to meet with Vladimir Putin alone, his former top Russia adviser has warned. Fiona Hill, who served on the national security council during Mr Trump's first term, said without his own advisers and translator, Putin will be better placed to lure the US president into a trap. 'Putin will lure you in in a moment,' she said. 'He likes to do the two guys chatting routine, but what he's really doing is making you complicit in all kinds of things he wants.' The US president is meeting with his Russian counterpart for a high-stakes summit at an Alaskan military base on Friday. He intends to speak to Putin 'one-on-one' as part of a 'listening exercise', Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced on Tuesday. But Ms Hill – who is one of few people both to have worked for Mr Trump and dined with Putin – said the set-up leaves the US president vulnerable to manipulation. Having counselled Trump ahead of a joint press conference with Putin at the Helsinki Summit in 2018, few are more acutely aware of the pitfalls of preparing the president for a diplomatic summit. 'He kept saying, get away, I can do this myself,' recalled Ms Hill, who said the president's dismissive attitude and flapping hand gestures reminded her of her own daughter – a young child at the time. 'He was convinced that if he sat down with Putin, he'd sort things out, man to man, without the encumbrance of any pesky analysts or aides.' In the end, the meeting went so badly that Ms Hill said she contemplated faking a seizure to shut it down. Going into Friday's meeting, she advised Mr Trump to keep his guard up and take a translator with him, lest he fall for the former KGB operative's linguistic tricks. 'Trump doesn't speak a lick of Russian,' she said. 'The issue there is that Putin is always going to be one step ahead, because Putin's English is certainly good enough to follow. 'You really need to be paying attention to this guy, how he holds himself when he says things, because he plays all these body language tricks as well.' When world leaders speak behind closed doors, they conventionally bring their own interpreters. Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's special envoy broke with convention in May when he relied on Russian translators during three high-level meetings with Putin, running the risk that some of the nuance in the Russian leader's comments was lost in translation. Ms Hill warned that without a fluent Russian speaker in the room, the president risks being secretly mocked by his counterpart. 'He does make fun of Trump. He uses the Russian language in a way that can be quite sarcastic and ironic. It's totally lost in translation. I would have someone there telling (Trump) what this guy is saying and how he's saying it.' Ms Hill, a British Kremlin watcher and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said solo negotiations will 'limit' what progress can be made on a ceasefire deal as 'Trump isn't going to have total recall'. 'Who knows what will have been discussed. Only Putin will probably have a good idea,' she said. 'His team of people, they'll be sure to have someone taking notes. That's what the Russian interpreters do, they take notes at the same time.' Mr Trump returned to the White House with a promise to end the war in Ukraine 'on day one' of his presidency. But eight months later, repeated attempts to drag Russia to the negotiating table by Mr Witkoff have yielded little progress. After consecutive talks with Mr Witkoff failed to bear fruit, Ms Hill believes Mr Trump has now decided 'he needs to see this through himself'. 'From Trump's perspective, he's the special sauce, the missing factor… I think he thinks if he sits down with Putin one-on-one, he can sort something out,' she said. 'He just thinks he can game it when he gets there, because he thinks he's very clever, and that he always has the upper hand, and things always work out well.' Ms Hill fears Mr Trump may have overestimated his ability to get through to the Russian strongman. 'He doesn't get Putin. He thinks he does, but he says it all the time, he doesn't get why Putin wants to slaughter so many people. Putin's prepared to do that, so that's your problem,' she said. ' He has this brutality, which for Trump is unfathomable.' 'Putin wants to reset relations with Trump' While Mr Trump has said he is 'not happy' with Putin in the lead up to the summit, she predicted the Russian leader will seek to flatter his counterpart in a bid to stave off further US intervention. 'If Putin wants the upper hand to just keep hammering the Ukrainians into submission, he'll probably get it,' she said. 'He'll want to reset the relationship with Trump so that Trump's not going off supporting Ukraine, and he'll want to put all the blame back on Ukraine and everyone else for a lack of success.' She added that Putin is playing for time until 'Ukraine crumbles and capitulates along the front lines and the territories he's already declared are Russia's'. Part of the issue, Ms Hill said, is that Mr Trump has relinquished his bargaining power by repeatedly forestalling robust sanctions and weakening Europe's posture of solidarity with Ukraine. Despite introducing 25 per cent tariffs on India, a major importer of Russian oil, the figure marks a climbdown from Mr Trump's initial proposal of 100 per cent secondary sanctions – and a drop in the ocean compared to the 500 per cent tariffs against Russia and its allies mooted by Republican Russia hawks within his party. Russia could be forced to negotiate if 'Trump were really willing to sanction Russia and Putin and to take action to really fully support Ukraine, but he's not', said Ms Hill. Wary of making predictions about the outcome of the Alaska talks, Ms Hill said there is a chance Mr Trump could 'nudge [talks] along' in a positive direction. Whatever the outcome, she is clear that the fate of Ukrainians will not be at the forefront of the president's mind. 'Trump is not the Ukrainians' plenipotentiary. Trump is Trump, and he's negotiating some sort of deal for a piece of property, which is Ukraine,' she said. 'People are talking about peace in Ukraine, but he's really talking about doing something with pieces of Ukraine.'
