
Rep. Thomas Massie says it should not be 'politically painful' to be transparent about Epstein files

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9 minutes ago
Trump says he doesn't know why Epstein took young women from Mar-a-Lago
President Donald Trump said Thursday he doesn't know why convicted sex offender was taking women from his Mar-a-Lago club, which he says caused him to break off relations with his longtime friend. Asked by ABC News at an executive order signing if he knew why the disgraced financier was taking women from his club, the president replied, "No, I don't know really why, but I said, if he's taken anybody from Mar-A-Lago, he's hiring or whatever he's doing, I didn't like it. And we threw him out," the president said. The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most well-known victims, said it was outraged at comments Trump made a day earlier about her and Ghislaine Maxwell, the Epstein associate convicted of sex trafficking. Trump on Wednesday told reporters that Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, may have been one of several employees at his Mar-a-Lago club who were "stolen" by Epstein. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One en route from Scotland, Britain, to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 29, Hockstein/Reuters "I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people," Trump said of Giuffre. "He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever." Giuffre's family in its statement rejected the characterization, saying she wasn't "stolen" by Epstein. "We would like to clarify that it was convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who targeted and preyed upon our then 16-year-old sister, Virginia, from Mar-a-Lago, where she was working in 2000, several years before Epstein and President Trump had their falling out," the family said. Trump's comments came amid growing calls for federal authorities to release records related to the Epstein case. Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday said they are attempting to force the release of those files through a little-known, decades-old law. Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York speaks alongside William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office, at a news conference announcing charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein in New York City, New York, U.S., July 2, Jackson/Reuters Giuffre's family in their statement said it was "shocking" to hear Trump discuss Giuffre, saying he was aware of her being "stolen." Their statement called into question whether the president knew at that time about Epstein and Maxwell's actions. "It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey 'likes women on the younger side . . . no doubt about it,'" the family said in its statement, referencing a quote attributed to Trump in a 2002 New York Magazine profile of Epstein. The family added, "We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this." Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking. He died by suicide that August while in custody, federal authorities said. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and sentenced the following year to 20 years in prison. The Department of Justice said she "assisted, facilitated, and participated" in Epstein's abuse of girls between 1994 and 2004. Giuffre had said that Maxwell recruited Virginia from Mar-a-Lago when she was 16 -- and also accused Maxwell of abusing her. Maxwell denied the allegations levelled against her and claimed in a 2016 deposition that Giuffre had "lied repeatedly." President Donald Trump listens to questions from reporters aboard Air Force One over the United Kingdom on July 29, 2025, as he returns to Washington following a trip to Scotland. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images MORE: Trump, in Scotland, gives more details about his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein Maxwell this month met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, answering questions for about nine hours over two days, sources told ABC News. Maxwell initiated those meetings with the Department of Justice, sources said. Giuffre's family in its statement said Virginia would be "most angered" by those meetings, adding that the "government is listening to a known perjurer. A woman who repeatedly lied under oath and will continue to do so as long as it benefits her position." The family described Maxwell as a "monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life." Trump was asked on Monday about whether Maxwell could be pardoned. "Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon," Trump said. "But nobody's approached me with it, nobody's asked me about it. It's in the news, that -- that aspect of it. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it."


Bloomberg
21 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Epstein's Work for Leon Black Should Face IRS Probe, Wyden Says
A key Senate Democrat broadened his attack on the Trump administration's handling of records about the financing of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network, urging the Internal Revenue Service to investigate his tax and estate planning work for private equity titan Leon Black. Ron Wyden, the Senate Finance Committee's top Democrat, wrote Thursday to IRS Commissioner Billy Long to question why the agency had not audited at least $158 million in payments that Black made to Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for complex tax-related transactions. A spokesman for Black denied that he engaged in wrongdoing.


USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Epstein accuser's family wants answers from Trump after recent comments
The family issued a lengthy statement after Trump said Jeffrey Epstein 'stole' Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago spa, causing a rift. WASHINGTON − The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent and outspoken sex trafficking accusers, demanded answers over why President Donald Trump said the disgraced financier "stole" Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago spa – and have called for Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to remain in prison. In a lengthy July 30 statement, the family of Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, said, 'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago." 'It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey 'likes women on the younger side … no doubt about it,'" the family's comment, given to USA TODAY July 31, said. "We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this.' Trump and Epstein were friends for more than a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s. More: She's inmate No. 02879-509 in Florida. But once again, Ghislaine Maxwell is holding court Trump made the comment July 30, telling reporters Epstein "stole her" while Giuffre was working as a spa attendant, and that he subsequently banned Epstein from his Palm Beach residence and club after he tried to poach additional employees. "I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people," Trump said of Giuffre. "He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever." Giuffre had long insisted that Maxwell − Epstein's longtime associate and former girlfriend – was the one who met her at the club and recruited her to serve as a masseuse for Epstein. That arrangement ultimately led to Epstein sexually abusing her and Maxwell trafficking Giuffre to have sex with other men, she said. More: How Trump and 'terrific guy' Jeffrey Epstein's party boy friendship ended badly Trump's comments on Air Force One appeared to be the first time he had personally confirmed aspects of Giuffre's story and suggested her employment might have been at least partially responsible for his falling out with Epstein. The Giuffre family's statement is the latest development in the growing controversy over Trump's relationship with Maxwell and Epstein, who died by suicide while in custody awaiting trial in 2019. It was issued by her surviving siblings and their spouses, Sky and Amanda Roberts and Danny and Lanette Wilson. More: Trump says he's 'allowed' to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell and he never went to Epstein's island In their lengthy statement, the Giuffre family rejected Trump's characterization, saying she was "stolen" by Maxwell, not Epstein. "We would like to clarify that it was convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who targeted and preyed upon our then 16-year-old sister, Virginia, from Mar-a-Lago, where she was working in 2000, several years before Epstein and President Trump had their falling out," the family said. In a statement to USA TODAY, the White House said no leniency is being given or discussed, and that Trump himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is thinking about at this time. In its statement, the family also said, "Virginia always said that Ghislaine Maxwell was vicious and could often be more cruel than Epstein." They called on Trump to "never consider giving Ghislaine Maxwell any leniency." 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life,' the family said. "She must remain in prison – anything less would go down in history as being one of the highest travesties of justice.' More: New photos confirm Epstein attended Donald Trump's wedding The family statement comes just days after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche – Trump's former criminal defense lawyer – interviewed Maxwell in a Tallahassee, Florida, courthouse near where she is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking a minor to Epstein for sexual abuse. In a social media post, Blanche said he was interviewing the former British socialite because if 'Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.' The two days of talks between the Justice Department and Maxwell have led Trump critics, including Democrats in Congress, to speculate that Trump is seeking a way to silence Maxwell while at the same time quelling the growing controversy over his administration's attempts to close the book on the long-running Epstein saga. More: Democrats hammer Epstein issue, find rare power move against Trump In recent weeks, the Trump administration has faced mounting pressure to reverse its pledge not to release any more documents related to the DOJ investigation into Epstein, a move that prompted fierce backlash from even the president's most loyal followers. Trump has said he has not considered whether to pardon Maxwell, but said on two occasions in recent days that he is 'allowed' to do so as president. Following the first of those remarks on July 29, Maxwell lawyer David Markus said, 'We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way." Maxwell has said she'll testify before Congress, as requested, if Trump grants her clemency. "If our sister could speak today, she would be most angered by the fact that the government is listening to a known perjurer," the family said, in reference to Maxwell. "A woman who repeatedly lied under oath and will continue to do so as long as it benefits her position."