Justice Department wants to interview Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell
If Ghislaine Maxwell 'has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,' Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a post on X, adding that President Donald Trump 'has told us to release all credible evidence.'
A lawyer for Maxwell confirmed there were discussions with the government.
The overture to attorneys for Maxwell, who in 2022 was sentenced to 20 years in prison, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of Trump's base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation.
As part of that effort, the Justice Department, acting at the direction of the Republican president, last week asked a judge to unseal grand jury transcripts from the case. That decision is ultimately up to the judge.
Epstein, who killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial, sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14, authorities say. He couldn't have done so without the help of Maxwell, his longtime companion, prosecutors say.
The Justice Department had said in a two-page memo this month that it had not uncovered evidence to charge anyone else in connection with Epstein's abuse. But Blanche said in his social media post that the Justice Department 'does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead.'
He said in his post that, at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi, he has 'communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department.' He said he anticipated meeting with Maxwell in the coming days.
A lawyer for Maxwell, David Oscar Markus, said Tuesday in a statement: 'I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.'
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Arab News
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Democrats press Trump officials for ‘large-scale' effort to address Gaza starvation
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Asharq Al-Awsat
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- Asharq Al-Awsat
Kremlin Says It ‘Noted' Trump's Statement on Shorter Deadline for a Ceasefire in Ukraine
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had "taken note" of a statement by US President Donald Trump that he was shortening his deadline for Moscow to sign up to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sanctions. Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with President Vladimir Putin over the 3-1/2-year-old conflict. Asked about Trump's statement on Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, the Kremlin kept its remarks short. "We have taken note of President Trump's statement yesterday. The special military operation continues," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, employing the term that Moscow uses for its war effort in Ukraine. "We remain committed to a peace process to resolve the conflict around Ukraine and to ensure our interests in the course of this settlement." Trump threatened on July 14 to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports within 50 days, a deadline which would have expired in early September. But on Monday, during a visit to Britain, he shortened that deadline and said: "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made." Trump, who has held half a dozen calls with the Kremlin leader since returning to the White House in January, also said he was "not so interested in talking any more". Peskov declined to comment on that remark.
Arab News
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Approval of Israel's military action in Gaza drops among Democrats and independents: Gallup poll
WASHINGTON: Support for Israel's military action in Gaza has declined substantially among US adults, with only about one-third approving, according to a new Gallup poll – a drop from the beginning of the war with Hamas, when about half of Americans approved of Israel's operation. The new polling also found that about half of US adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the most negative rating he has received since he was first included in Gallup polling in 1997. The poll was conducted from July 7-21, while reports of starvation in Gaza led to international criticism of Israel's decision to restrict food aid but before President Donald Trump expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation. The findings underscore the Israeli government's dramatic loss of support within the US. But not everyone is shifting – instead, the war has become more politically polarizing. The rising disapproval is driven by Democrats and independents, who are much less likely to approve of Israel's actions than they were in November 2023, just after Israel expanded its ground offensive in Gaza. Republicans, on the other hand, remain largely supportive of both Israel's military actions and Netanyahu. Most Americans now disapprove of Israeli military action in Gaza The new poll finds that about 6 in 10 US adults disapprove of the military action Israel has taken in Gaza, up from 45 percent in November 2023. Support for the war has been dwindling in Gallup's polling for some time. In March 2024, about half of US adults disapproved of Israel's military action in Gaza, which fell slightly as the year wore on. In a new low, only 8 percent of Democrats and one-quarter of independents say they now approve of Israel's military campaign. Some of that decline may be attributed to the change in administration. While former President Joe Biden faced significant pushback from fellow Democrats on his handling of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, they may be even more frustrated by the approach of Trump, a Republican. Young adults are also much more likely to disapprove of Israel's actions. Only about 1 in 10 adults under age 35 say they approve of Israel's military choices in Gaza, compared with about half of those who are 55 or older. Gallup senior editor Megan Brenan says the latest figures reflect the enduring partisan divide. Even as Democrats grow increasingly unhappy with Israel's military campaign, Republicans remain supportive. 'We've seen this drop in approval since last fall, and it's really driven by Democrats and independents,' Brenan says. 'Republicans are still willing to be in this for the time being.' Netanyahu's favorability among US adults is historically low Views of Netanyahu have also grown less favorable over the past few years, with more viewing him negatively than positively in measurements taken since the war in Gaza began. About half of US adults, 52 percent, now have an unfavorable view of Netanyahu in the new poll, which overlapped with Netanyahu's recent visit to the US Just 29 percent view him positively, and about 2 in 10 either haven't heard of him or don't have an opinion. That's a change – although not a huge one – since December 2023, when 47 percent of US adults had an unfavorable view of Netanyahu and 33 percent had a favorable opinion. But it's a reversal from as recently as April 2019, when more US adults viewed him positively than negatively. Republicans have a much more positive view of Netanyahu than Democrats and independents do. About two-thirds of Republicans view him favorably, which is in line with last year. About 1 in 10 Democrats and 2 in 10 independents feel the same way. 'This is the first time we've seen a majority of Americans, with an unfavorable view of him,' Brenan says. 'All of these questions in this poll show us basically the same story, and it's not a good one for the Israeli government right now.' Trump is unlikely to face the same pressure on his approach to Israel More than half of US adults, 55 percent, disapprove of Trump's handling of the situation in the Middle East, according to a July AP-NORC poll. But the conflict has not weighed as heavily on Trump as it did on Biden, who watched Democrats splinter on the issue. That's because of Trump's solid support from his base on this issue, further reflected in Republicans' continued approval of Israel's military action. About 8 in 10 Republicans approve of Trump's handling of the situation in the Middle East. By contrast, only about 4 in 10 Democrats approved of Biden's handling of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians last summer, shortly before he dropped out of the presidential race. In an AP-NORC poll from March, Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats and independents to say they sympathized more with the Israelis than with the Palestinians in the conflict. And while Americans overall were more likely to say it was 'extremely' or 'very' important for the United States to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians in Gaza than to say the same about providing aid to Israel's military, Republicans said the opposite – more saw military aid to Israel as a higher priority than providing humanitarian relief to the Palestinians in Gaza.
