Trump sues Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over reporting on Epstein ties
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South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
US House committee subpoenas Bill and Hillary Clinton in Epstein probe
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Justice Department on Tuesday for files in the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, part of a congressional investigation that lawmakers believe may show links to President Donald Trump and other former top officials. Advertisement The Republican-controlled committee also issued subpoenas for depositions with former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and eight former top law enforcement officials. The committee's actions showed how even with lawmakers away from Washington on a month-long break, interest in the Epstein files is still running high. Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago, and he has repeatedly tried to move past the Justice Department's decision not to release a full accounting of the investigation. But lawmakers from both major political parties, and many in the Republican president's political base, have refused to let it go. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and US financier Jeffrey Epstein are seen in a photo at Queen Elizabeth'ss log cabin at Balmoral. Photo: US District Court for the Southern District of New York/AFP Since Epstein's 2019 death in a New York jail cell as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges, conservative conspiracists have stoked theories about what information investigators gathered on Epstein – and who else could have been involved. Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee nodded to that line of questioning last month by initiating subpoenas for the Clintons, both Democrats, and demanding all communications between President Joe Biden's Democratic administration and the Justice Department regarding Epstein. The committee is also demanding interviews under oath from former attorneys general spanning the last three presidential administrations: Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales. Lawmakers also subpoenaed former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. However, it was Democrats who sparked the move to subpoena the Justice Department for its files on Epstein. They were joined by some Republicans to successfully initiate the subpoena through a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee. A banner of Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump hangs in Grand Park during a protest against federal migration enforcement in downtown Los Angeles on. August 2. Photo: Reuters 'Democrats are focused on transparency and are pushing back against the corruption of Donald Trump,' Representative Robert Garcia, who is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told reporters last month. 'What is Donald Trump hiding that he won't release the Epstein files?'
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
As Trump funding cuts hit even maths prodigy Terence Tao, China remains a talent magnet
Renowned mathematician Terence Tao says funding delays at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have left his lab struggling to support graduate students and research projects. Not only Tao, but the entire UCLA system and several other top universities have been impacted by federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump. The predicament in the US scientific community sharply contrasts with China's active efforts to attract talented science and technology researchers, particularly mathematicians. 'The suspension of my grant has a non-trivial impact on myself, and now gives me almost no resources to support my graduate students going forward,' Tao – often called the 'Mozart of Mathematics' – posted on social media on Saturday. 'In particular, my summer salary, which I had already deferred to allow the previously released NSF funds to support several of my graduate students over this period, is now in limbo,' he added. He was referring to the National Science Foundation (NSF) which, along with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is among the top US government institutions hit with sharp funding cuts since Trump took office in January.
AllAfrica
11 hours ago
- AllAfrica
Why Trump shouldn't attend Xi's 'Victory Day' parade
As rumors swirl about President Donald Trump possibly attending China's 'Victory Day' parade this September, it's worth sounding an alarm. Such a visit to Beijing would be a strategic blunder that undermines Washington's Indo-Pacific posture, undercuts American allies and sends a troubling message to the wider world. On its face, this kind of diplomatic invitation may be tempting at this delicate juncture in bilateral relations. Trump has long shown an affinity for grand displays of military prowess, high-stakes diplomacy and face-to-face theatrics. A handshake with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in front of goose-stepping soldiers might make for dramatic television. If Beijing officials dangle the promise of a new trade agreement, it might even be a transactional win. But the costs would far outweigh the optics. First, there is the history and symbolism of Victory Day itself. China's September 3 commemoration is not merely a celebration of the end of World War II. It's a well-worn anti-Japanese ritual. While framed as a tribute to China's role in defeating fascism, the parade often serves as a thinly veiled nationalist spectacle aimed at disparaging modern Japan and legitimizing the Communist Party's historical narrative. This is not to suggest that Japan's actions during World War II were innocent or justified — far from it. But China's Victory Day parade is more about nationalist messaging and historical revisionism than sober remembrance, and ultimately aims to serve Beijing's current strategic goals. The irony is that most of the conventional resistance to Japan came not from Mao Zedong's Communist forces, but from Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist army — the same Nationalists who later fled to Taiwan. By standing alongside Xi and possibly even Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump would risk endorsing this misleading version of history. That, in turn, would alienate two of America's strategic partners in East Asia, namely Japan and Taiwan. Taiwan, in particular, would have reason to feel betrayed. Its very identity is rooted in the struggle against the same Chinese Communist Party that now seeks to erase its role, and seemingly its existence, from the annals of history. South Korea, too, would draw the wrong conclusions. Lee Jae-myung, the left-leaning president, has reportedly decided not to attend the same ceremony as a quiet signal of the importance of maintaining his country's alignment with Washington. Trump's presence could undercut this calculation, emboldening voices within Seoul that favor a tilt toward Beijing. It would surely sow confusion among American allies in East Asia at a time when Washington is demanding their deeper support for its Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China. There is also precedent to consider. In 2015, then-President Park Geun-hye of South Korea attended the same parade as the only US ally to do so. While she sought to strike a delicate diplomatic balance, the visit spectacularly backfired. Her decision raised significant eyebrows in Washington and Tokyo, and the political backlash at home was even greater. To this day, her appearance standing between Putin and Xi atop Tiananmen Tower is remembered not as a diplomatic gambit but as a major miscalculation. The stakes in 2025 are even higher. The world is witnessing the most dangerous moment for the global order since the end of the Cold War. China is waging an economic war against the West and flirting with military adventurism in the Taiwan Strait. Russia, meanwhile, remains entrenched in a war of aggression in Ukraine. For Trump to attend a parade that implicitly legitimizes both of these regimes would hand Beijing and Moscow a propaganda victory. Even more troubling is the message it would send about America's military posture in the Indo-Pacific. Chinese military parades prominently feature missiles and weapons systems explicitly designed to threaten US bases, forces and partners, including in Guam, Japan and Taiwan. Trump's attendance at the celebration could be interpreted as tacit approval of Beijing's growing ambitions and invite serious doubt about Washington's security resolve. There is also the potential domestic political cost. Trump built his election campaign on confronting China, restoring American strength, and putting 'America First.' Attending a parade that glorifies communist China's military might would hand his critics a damning visual contradiction. To national security conservatives and China hawks, it could look like a compromise of the very principles Trump claims to represent and defend. It would likewise undercut the recent efforts of Republican foreign policy voices such as Elbridge Colby and Brian Mast, who have been urging America's East Asian allies to take on a more assertive role in Washington's broader efforts to counterbalance China. Trump would thus be well advised to stay home on September 3. Kenji Yoshida is a Seoul-based correspondent for JAPAN Forward
