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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Trump's Epstein problem just won't go away... as MAGA's biggest stars are set to cast deciding vote
Despite the typical partisan battle lines being drawn on most issues in Washington, D.C. these days, one matter in particular has created an unlikely set of bedfellows. Progressive Democrat Ro Khanna and libertarian-minded Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky teamed up last week to introduce the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to publicly release all unclassified materials relating to Jeffery Epstein. The duo's resolution is receiving the the backing of a diverse set of members, including New York socialist Democrat darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan 'Squad" member Rashida Tlaib on the left, as well as Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on the right. Khanna noted during a Thursday media appearance that his resolution had the backing of all 212 of his Democratic colleagues in the House. Even if only the 10 GOP co-sponsors of the resolution were to support it, it would easily pass the House. Trump has faced a furious rebellion from his MAGA base over the botched handling of the Epstein files - and while he claims 'nobody cares' about the late financier - the furor isn't dying down. The president last week sued the Wall Street Journal over a report that he wrote Epstein a birthday card with the message: 'May every day be another wonderful secret.' If the vote makes it through the House in the next several weeks, then Trump's Epstein crisis will only deepen. Senator Ron Wyden, D- Ore., is among lawmakers on the other side of the Capitol who are adamant that the president and DOJ make all the Epstein documents public. Wyden, the lead Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee is taking a particular look at the money trail Epstein surely left. 'This horrific sex-trafficking operation cost Epstein a lot of money, and he had to get that money from somewhere," Wyden told the New York Times. The late financier was charged in 2008 for soliciting prostitution with an underaged girl and received a modest jail sentence in Florida. He was later charged with federal sex trafficking crimes in 2019. He hanged himself in prison awaiting his trial, feds say. The DOJ and FBI recently leaked an unsigned memo concluding that Epstein died by suicide in prison that August and did not possess a 'client list' of VIP co-conspirators. The memo said that no more people would be arrested, charged or convicted in the Epstein child sex trafficking case which angered some of members of Congress most in tune with the MAGA base. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most MAGA-aligned voices on the right said during an appearance on Real America's Voice (RAV) earlier this month that she for one wasn't buying that there wasn't more to the Epstein story. 'I think the Department of Justice and the FBI has more explaining to do. This is Jeffrey Epstein; this is the most famous pedophile in modern-day history,' Taylor Greene told RAV at the time. Progressive Democrat Ocasio-Cortez seemingly came after Trump this week when she wrote sarcastically on X, 'Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?' Trump was found liable of sexually abusing author E. Jean Carroll in a 2023 civil trial. He was not, however, found liable of rape - a distinction the New York Democrat did not make in her post. 'AOC — look, I think she's very nice but she's very Low IQ and we really don't need low IQ,' Trump told members of the media at the White House on Tuesday, firing back at the Congresswoman's jab. Conservative X users were quick to jump to the president's defense comparing AOC's comments to remarks made by ABC host George Stephanopoulos, which led to Trump suing for defamation and eventually winning $15 million. South Carolina GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace called AOC's remarks a 'smear campaign.' 'She should lawyer up. Truth still matters, even if the Left's forgotten. We're not done fighting. Not even close,' Mace added. Yet, now Mace and Ocasio-Cortez both find themselves on the same side of the fight to force Trump's DOJ to release the files pertaining to Epstein. Trump has also urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to release additional documents, though the push from Capitol Hill could obtain documents the AG or Trump does not want released.
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Russia open to peace with Ukraine but ‘our goals' must be achieved, says Kremlin
Russia is open to peace with Ukraine but achieving 'our goals' remains a priority, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, days after US President Donald Trump gave Moscow a deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. Mr Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, with more drones launched in a single night than during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. Mr Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin: '(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy. 'The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear.' The Kremlin has insisted any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join Nato and accept strict limits on its armed forces, demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected. In his nightly address on Saturday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said his officials had proposed a new round of peace talks this week. Russian state media reported on Sunday that no date had yet been set for the negotiations but that Istanbul would likely remain the host city. Mr Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance towards Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges, but little else. Mr Trump said he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. In addition, Mr Trump said European allies would buy 'billions and billions' of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defence systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles. Doubts were recently raised about Mr Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that US stockpiles were running low. Elsewhere, Ukraine's air force said it shot down 18 of 57 Shahed-type and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight into Sunday, with seven more disappearing from radar. Two women were injured in Zaporizhzhia, a southern Ukrainian region partly occupied by Russia, when a drone struck their house, according to the regional military administration. Two more civilians were injured in Izium, north-eastern Ukraine, after a drone hit a residential building, local Ukrainian officials said. Later on Sunday, drones struck a leafy square in the centre of Sumy, wounding a woman and her seven-year-old son, officials said. The strike also damaged a power line, leaving some 100 households without electricity, according to Serhii Krivosheienko of the municipal military administration. Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said its forces had shot down 93 Ukrainian drones targeting Russian territory overnight, including at least 15 that appeared to be headed for Moscow. Ten more drones were downed on the approach to the capital on Sunday, according to mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
At least 73 Palestinians killed whilst accessing aid in Gaza
It was one of the deadliest days in over 21 months of Israel's genocide in Gaza, as civilians were targeted whilst trying to access food and medical relief. Reports from AP say the highest death toll came in northern Gaza, where 67 people were killed near the Zikim crossing with Israel as aid trucks had just arrived. READ MORE: 'Israel killed my brother. My boycott app in his memory now has 11 million users' According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), 25 trucks carrying supplies for 'starving communities' entered the area but were met by large crowds that came under gunfire. The WFP condemned the violence as 'completely unacceptable.' Eyewitnesses accused the Israeli military of opening fire on the crowds. Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour, told AP: 'Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours.' 'I will never go back again,' he added. 'Let us die of hunger, it's better.' Another survivor, Nafiz Al-Najjar, said tanks and drones targeted civilians 'randomly,' and that he witnessed his cousin and others being shot dead. Israel's military claimed the crowd posed a threat and acknowledged some casualties, but dismissed the numbers reported by Palestinian officials as exaggerated. Medical teams said more than 150 people were injured, many of them in critical condition. READ MORE: 'Beyond shameful': Harvie urges SNP to explain secret talks with Israeli diplomat Elsewhere, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital. The killings in northern Gaza did not take place near aid points operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a US- and Israel-backed project. However, health workers and witnesses say hundreds have been killed trying to access aid from that same network. On the same day, Israel issued new evacuation orders in central Gaza, cutting off access between Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. The United Nations is seeking clarification on whether its facilities in the area are included in the order. An unnamed UN official noted that in past cases, UN facilities had been spared, but the scale of the current evacuation zone – which stretches to the Mediterranean coast – will severely limit humanitarian access. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged people to flee to the Muwasi area – a desolate tent camp with no basic infrastructure, now overcrowded with displaced families. The announcement came as ceasefire talks in Qatar failed to produce progress. READ MORE: When 'critical friends' fall out: Angus Robertson's Israel meeting details revealed Pope Leo has since renewed calls for an end to the violence. At the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from a summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, he said: 'I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.' He also expressed his 'deep sorrow' for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest. 'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,' the Pope added. Earlier this month, the Israeli military claimed it had taken control of more than 65% of Gaza. More than 58,800 Palestinians have been killed since the genocide began. Gaza's 2.3 million residents are now facing full-scale famine, displacement, and relentless bombardment, with aid barely trickling in
