Family of Epstein abuse survivor urges Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell: 'A monster who deserves to rot in prison'
The family of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a sexual abuse advocate who died by suicide in April, made their plea to Trump in a public statement after he told reporters that Epstein, a convicted sex offender, "stole" Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where she worked as a locker-room attendant at age 16 during the summer of 2000.
Follow live politics coverage here
Giuffre's family called Trump's admission "shocking" and questioned whether he was aware of Epstein's and Maxwell's actions.
'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.' We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this,' the family added.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday night that Trump was referring to Giuffre in response to a question from a reporter about her.
'He did not bring her up. The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees,' she said in a statement.
In the statement, the family also said 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 Justice Department declined to comment when it was asked about the statement.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role recruiting and trafficking minors for sex, met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week as the Trump administration seeks additional information pertaining to Epstein's case. While her attorney, David Oscar Markus, said Friday there have been "no asks and no promises" about clemency, he told reporters Maxwell "would welcome any relief."
Asked last week about pardoning Maxwell, Trump said he hadn't thought about it but noted that he's "allowed to do it." The family of Giuffre, one of the earliest and most prominent voices to call for charges against Epstein and Maxwell, said any leniency extended toward Maxwell would "go down in history as being one of the highest travesties of justice."
"The government and the President should never consider giving Ghislaine Maxwell any leniency," the family said.
'Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life for the extraordinary violence and abuse she put not just our sister Virginia through, but many other survivors, who may number in the thousands."
Maxwell's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the Giuffre family statement.
A senior administration official told NBC News after the statement was issued that "no leniency is being given or discussed."
"The president himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time," the official said.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed Maxwell for a deposition because of the 'immense public interest and scrutiny' surrounding her case and Epstein's. Maxwell's lawyers said she'd consider testifying if she were granted immunity to ensure she doesn't 'risk further criminal exposure.' Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the chair of the committee, denied the request, according to his spokesperson.
The Justice Department roiled Trump's base this month in a memo that dismissed Epstein conspiracy theories, some of which Trump and his allies have promoted over the years. Among other things, the memo said that an internal review found no evidence of a 'client list' and that Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019. It also concluded there was no evidence to suggest Epstein had participated in blackmail.
Despite Trump's efforts to tamp down the backlash from his supporters, at times calling the Epstein issue a "hoax," many in his base have pointed to past promises him and Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all files related to the Epstein investigation.
Trump directed Bondi this month to seek the release of "pertinent" grand jury testimony. Bondi subsequently filed requests in federal courts in New York and Florida. A federal judge in Florida denied the Justice Department's request last week, while court proceedings in New York continue.
The directive to seek grand jury testimony came the same day The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wrote a letter to Epstein in 2003 with a drawing of a naked woman. Trump denied having written the letter and later sued for defamation.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The 35% tariff kicked in today on Canadian goods. How big of an impact will it have?
With the signing of an executive order, U.S. President Donald Trump upped Canada's tariff rate to 35 per cent, effective at 12:01 a.m. today. That's a 10 per cent increase on the 25 per cent rate that has been in effect on Canadian goods headed south of the border since March, and is a blanket tariff that will apply to Canadian products across the board. However, that doesn't paint the whole picture. A very small number of Canadian products will be subjected to the 35 per cent tariff. That's because the tariffs don't apply to all goods that are subject to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the existing free trade deal governing trade between the three countries. Those products can keep going across the border free of tariffs. Most of the goods Canada exports to the U.S. are covered by CUSMA. The Bank of Canada said in its monetary policy report released Wednesday that an estimated 95 per cent of stuff sent south of the border qualifies under that agreement. That means the new, higher 35 per cent rate will be felt by a small fraction of exports that are not CUSMA-compliant, which likely includes a broad array of products across all sectors, according to experts. "[CUSMA] is the one thing that is ensuring normalcy in trade flows in much of the economy," said Eric Miller, president and CEO of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. "And so the maintenance of that exemption was absolutely crucial." WATCH | Trump increases tariff on Canada to 35%, White House says: There's no simple list of items that are CUSMA-compliant, because products are certified on a case-by-case basis, based on a number of complicated factors. In order to get the exemption, a certain amount of the product needs to be made in Canada, with Canadian inputs. Take the example of a steak versus that of a screwdriver. If a cow is born, raised, slaughtered and prepared in Alberta, then the steak — the end product — is clearly Canadian and would be shielded under CUSMA, says Miller. But a typical screwdriver is made of metal, along with plastic or rubber for the handle. The manufacturer would have to make sure that enough of the materials come from Canada, Mexico or the U.S. That amount is usually about 60 per cent, according to lawyer Daniel Kiselbach, a managing partner at Miller Thompson LLP. WATCH | What we know — and what's still unclear — after tariffs hiked on Canadian goods: Then, you have to make sure you're adding value to those parts and converting them to a finished product before shipping it out. In the case of the screwdriver, you're taking the raw materials and making them into a new, finished item, so that would meet the bar. Overall, anything harvested or mined is usually CUSMA-compliant, Kiselbach said. Anything manufactured or produced in Canada gets more complicated. Electronics and machinery, in particular, are product types that tend to have a harder time getting CUSMA certification. On top of that, the certification process can be challenging, requiring records showing where all a product's components come from, and it is costly. "[Businesses] don't necessarily understand what the rules are telling them," Miller said. "It's almost like cryptography or something." For that reason, Miller says some businesses have simply not acquired CUSMA certification in the past — something that's changing now that the rates are so much higher. WATCH | Is Canada-U.S. free trade dead?: While the fraction of companies that don't qualify for the free trade exemption might be small, Miller says the impact of the new rate should not be overlooked. Many of those who will be hit by the Saturday tariff increase will be small- to medium-sized businesses that rely on components that are made in countries outside of Canada — and can't easily replace them with materials sourced elsewhere. "If you are used to sourcing a particular input from China for the last 10 years, it's not so easy to go and say, 'Now I'm going to buy that good somewhere else,'" Miller said. "They can't easily change and they can't meet the rules, so they have to pay 35 per cent. And for them, going from 25 per cent to 35 per cent is pretty devastating," Miller. Kiselbach says 35 per cent tariffs might be higher than some companies' profit margins, meaning they'd be losing money on each item they sell at the current rate. Sectoral tariffs still in play The 35 per cent rate also has no bearing on the rates Trump has set for specific sectors. Those include a 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, as well as 25 per cent on cars and auto parts, both of which had already been in effect. A new, 50 per cent tariff on some copper products, including copper pipes and wiring, also went into effect today. The Trump administration made carveouts for copper input materials such as ores, concentrates and cathodes, which is providing the industry some relief. And while the sector-specific rates are largely not new, the impact of these steep rates on important sectors cannot be ignored, said Alan Arcand, chief economist with the trade association Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. "These are very important industries for Canada," Arcand said. "These are tariff rates that are just not … sustainable for these industries. So that's really the rub of the issue right now." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
American Eagle Defends Sydney Sweeney's Jeans Ads After Intense Backlash
American Eagle is defending its new ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney after drawing outrage online and even garnering a response from the White House. In a statement shared Friday on its Instagram account, the clothing retailer attempted to clarify the intention of the ads. ''Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story,' the statement read. 'We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.' Unveiled last week, the American Eagle ads find Sweeney ― whose acting credits include 'Euphoria' and 'Anyone But You' ― donning a variety of denim ensembles alongside a tagline featuring wordplay on 'jeans' and 'genes.' The campaign is believed to have been intended as a tribute to Brooke Shields' 1980 Calvin Klein ad, which was also controversial for its time. However, many viewers interpreted the ad's use of a double entendre as non-inclusive, with some even likening it to 'white supremacy' and 'Nazi propaganda.' The response to the ad was largely divided along political lines, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly among the conservative personalities who defended the ad. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, meanwhile, said the controversy was an example of 'cancel culture run amok,' and 'why Americans voted the way they did in 2024.' Watch one of Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ads below. Appearing on the 'Ruthless' podcast Friday, Vice President JD Vance echoed some of Cheung's sentiments. 'The lesson [Democrats] have apparently taken is we're going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful. Great strategy, guys,' he said. 'That's how you're going to win the midterms.' Whether American Eagle's statement will be enough to quell the criticism remains to be seen. By Friday afternoon, responses to the company's Instagram post appeared similarly divided. 'Ignore the negativity. Brilliant ad,' one person wrote in the comments, while another said they 'didn't think the response could be even worse than the ad but it somehow was.' Related... 'So Hitler': Fans Think Sydney Sweeney's New American Eagle Ads Are Promoting White Supremacy Ted Cruz Is Weirdly Invested In The Backlash To Sydney Sweeney's Jeans Ad Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle Ad Is Disturbing — And Distracting You From Something Worse
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘You failed that child;' Family of Hershall Creachbaum wants murder charges, answers
A member of Hershall Creachbaum's family is speaking out about his death. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7's Mike Campbell sat down with Creachbaum's cousin. Hear from her LIVE on News Center 7 at 6:00. Creachbaum's remains were found on July 12. His mother, Ashley Johnson, and her boyfriend, Michael Kendrick, were arrested just hours after police found his remains. TRENDING STORIES: Body of missing Ohio pizza delivery driver found in ravine 'Sick to my stomach;' Ohio mother demands answers after police release missing 12-year-old Man killed in shooting near Dayton apartment complex identified Currently, both are facing charges stemming from his death. Creachbaum's cousin, Chasity Rollins, said she wants to see them face murder charges. 'They have to find the evidence, and I fully support that as well because without that evidence, the two monsters in jail don't get the charges they deserve,' Rollins said We will continue to update this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
