FBI agent accused of raping clients in his tattoo parlor goes on trial
Yes, he shot an unarmed panhandler while commuting to work aboard a moving Metro train. But it was an act of self-defense and not attempted murder, Valdivia said, because the man had backed him into a corner and was a threat to take his gun. The agent was acquitted on all counts and resumed active duty.
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Washington Post
20 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Epstein 'client list' doesn't exist, Justice Department says, walking back theory Bondi had promoted
WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Epstein did not maintain a 'client list,' the Justice Department acknowledged Monday as it said no more files related to the wealthy financier's sex trafficking investigation would be made public despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists. The acknowledgment that the well-connected Epstein did not have a list of clients to whom underage girls were trafficked represents a public walk-back of a theory that the Trump administration had helped promote, with Bondi suggesting in a Fox News interview earlier this year that such a document was 'sitting on my desk' for review. Even as it released video from inside a New York jail meant to definitively prove that Epstein killed himself , the department also said in a memo that it was refusing to release other evidence investigators had collected. Bondi for weeks had suggested more material was going to be revealed — 'It's a new administration and everything is going to come out to the public,' she said at one point — after a first document dump she had hyped angered President Donald Trump's base by failing to deliver revelations. That episode, in which conservative internet personalities were invited to the White House in February and provided with binders marked 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' and 'Declassified' that contained documents that had largely already been in the public domain, has spurred far-right influencers to lambast and deride Bondi. After the first release fell flat, Bondi said officials were poring over a 'truckload' of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI. In a March TV interview, she claimed the Biden administration 'sat on these documents, no one did anything with them,' adding: 'Sadly these people don't believe in transparency, but I think more unfortunately, I think a lot of them don't believe in honesty.' But after a months-long review of evidence in the government's possession, the Justice Department determined that no 'further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,' the memo says. The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims and 'only a fraction' of it 'would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.' The two-page memo bore the logos of the Justice Department and the FBI but was not signed by any individual official. 'One of our highest priorities is combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims,' the memo says. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.' Conservatives who have sought proof of a government coverup of Epstein's activities and death expressed outrage Monday over the department's position. Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec posted: 'We were all told more was coming. That answers were out there and would be provided. Incredible how utterly mismanaged this Epstein mess has been. And it didn't have to be.' Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wrote that 'next the DOJ will say 'Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,' calling it 'over the top sickening.' Elon Musk shared a series of photos of a clown applying makeup appearing to mock Bondi for saying the client list doesn't exist after suggesting months ago that it was on her desk. The client list hubbub began when Bondi was asked in a Fox News interview whether the department would release such a document. She replied: 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review.' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said Monday that Bondi was referring to the Epstein files in general, not a client list specifically. Among the evidence that the Justice Department says it has in its possession are more than 10,000 videos and images that officials said depicted child sex abuse material or 'other pornography.' Bondi had earlier suggested that part of the reason for the delay in releasing additional Epstein materials was because the FBI needed to review 'tens of thousands' of recordings that she said showed Epstein 'with children or child porn.' The Associated Press published a story last week about the unanswered questions surrounding those videos. Multiple people who participated in the criminal cases of Epstein and socialite former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell told AP that they had not seen and did not know of a trove of recordings along the lines of what Bondi had referenced. Indictments and detention memos also don't allege the existence of video recordings and neither Epstein nor Maxwell were charged with possession of child sex abuse material even though that would have been easier for prosecutors to prove than the sex trafficking counts they faced. The AP did find reference in a filing in a civil lawsuit to the discovery by the Epstein estate of videos and pictures that could constitute child sex abuse material, but lawyers involved in that case said a protective order prevents them from discovering the specifics of that evidence. The Justice Department did not respond to a detailed list of questions from AP about the videos Bondi was referencing. Monday's memo does not explain when or where they were located, what they depict and whether they were newly found as investigators scoured their collection of evidence or were known for some time to have been in the government's possession. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges, in a suicide that foreclosed the possibility of a trial. The department's disclosure that Epstein took his own life is hardly a revelation even though conspiracy theorists have continued to challenge that conclusion. In November 2019, for instance, then-Attorney General William Barr told the AP in an interview that he had personally reviewed security footage that revealed that no one entered the area where Epstein was housed on the night he died and Barr had concluded that Epstein's suicide was the result of 'a perfect storm of screw-ups.' More recently, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have insisted in television and podcast interviews that the evidence was clear that Epstein had killed himself.
Business Insider
23 minutes ago
- Business Insider
The DOJ says it won't release any more 'Epstein Files.' Here's what the government is still keeping secret.
The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein is haunting the Trump administration. Among his many campaign promises, President Donald Trump said he would make government files related to the now-dead financier and sex trafficker public. Now, the Trump administration is changing its tune. In a memo published Sunday night, the Justice Department and FBI now say they won't disclose anything else. "While we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government's possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted," the memo says. The Department of Justice, which brought a criminal case against Epstein before he killed himself in jail, has so far published only one batch of "Epstein files." In February, Attorney General Pamela Bondi published about 350 pages of documents. "The Epstein files: Phase 1," as Bondi's binders were titled, disappointed those hoping for new revelations about the financier. All but one three-page document had previously been made public through court proceedings. Some of the documents were redacted when they had previously been published in full. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has fought or been unresponsive to Freedom of Information Act requests for documents about Epstein in its possession and lawsuits seeking to enforce those requests. The issue resurfaced in June when Elon Musk, during his brief and public feud with Trump, accused the president of holding up the release because "he's in them." Sunday's memo sought to dispel conspiracy theories about Epstein. It says that a systematic review of the documents in the Justice Department's possession found no "client list" or evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals. But those ideas had little foundation to begin with. No such list is referenced or even alluded to in all of the thousands of pages of records that have already been made public. The US government's files, if made public, could help answer some of the mysteries about Epstein. Depending on what the documents reveal, they may also bring new scrutiny on how the Justice Department handled its investigations and fuel litigation against Epstein's estate, which has over $100 million remaining in assets. Questions about Epstein have persisted since his death by suicide in 2019, in a Manhattan federal jail. How did he get so rich? Did he really have connections to intelligence agencies? Why didn't the FBI pursue him sooner? The memo says the Justice Department can't release much of the files related to Epstein because they constitute child sex abuse material. It does not say why the department won't publish other material that could help resolve questions about his life and death, such as financial records and communications with other prominent people — some of which have emerged in litigation over the years. The Justice Department did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment. The public already has plenty of records related to Epstein, much of it stemming from a lawsuit that Virginia Giuffre, his accuser who killed herself in April, filed against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking girls to Epstein for sex. Over the years, Business Insider has catalogued Epstein's flight logs, published a version of his "little black book" of contacts, and reported on his estate's victim compensation program. While Bondi has been under the most scrutiny over the "Epstein files," other agencies also have the opportunity to release records. The Federal Aviation Administration and the US Marshals Service haven't published unredacted versions of Epstein's flight information. And the CIA and other intelligence agencies have been quiet on the question of any files they may have. Here are the Epstein documents that the government is keeping secret: Evidence seized in the 2019 criminal investigation The biggest cache of documents could come from the Manhattan criminal investigation into Epstein and Maxwell. In 2019, following the publication of the Miami Herald's "Perversion of Justice" series that reported on how Epstein got a light plea deal in 2007, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opened a new investigation into the financier. On the same day the FBI arrested Epstein in July 2019, agents raided his Manhattan mansion and collected computer hard drives, message books, photos, CDs, and other records. Following Epstein's death in jail about a month later, law enforcement agents searched his properties in the US Virgin Islands. The FBI has declined to make public any of these records beyond a small amount entered into evidence during Maxwell's criminal trial. "Phase 1" of Bondi's "Epstein files" included a list of some of the evidence obtained in the investigation. Business Insider filed a FOIA request for the records last year. The FBI declined the request. Business Insider appealed the denial and pointed the FOIA office to Bondi's public remarks promising to release the "Epstein files." The agency gave a May 16 date to resolve the appeal. After that deadline passed, the agency said it would take at least another three months to handle the appeal. The conservative government watchdog organization Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department in April over the rejection of a similar FOIA request, which is still pending. Epstein's hard drives Maxwell's Manhattan criminal trial featured hard drives that might solve a mystery from the Palm Beach investigation into Epstein. During the earlier criminal investigation in Florida, detectives searching Epstein's Palm Beach house found that "six computer hard drives in the house had been hastily removed, leaving dangling wires attached to monitors in several areas of the house," according to Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown's book about the investigation. Years later, in Maxwell's trial, one FBI agent testified they found a box full of hard drives while raiding Epstein's Manhattan mansion. Evidence in Maxwell's trial shows that one of the drives contained data from the early 2000s. It's unclear what was on the hard drives removed from the Palm Beach house. Other evidence seized in the 2007 investigation The public doesn't have all the evidence collected during the investigation into Epstein between 2005 and 2007. Palm Beach County has made some of the material public, and other files have surfaced in various civil lawsuits. Much of it remains redacted, partly to protect the privacy of victims. Radar Online filed a lawsuit against the FBI in 2017 seeking to enforce a FOIA request for the material. A federal judge rejected the suit in 2024. It's on appeal. Alan Dershowitz, who represented Epstein during the Palm Beach investigation, has pushed for making the material public. He says the FBI should release any interview notes and recordings that may mention him, and that he waives any privacy concerns. Dershowitz says the records would disprove the sexual misconduct allegations brought against him by Virginia Giuffre. Dershowitz and Giuffre reached a settlement after a long legal battle in which she agreed she may have mistaken him for someone else. Dershowitz said he viewed some of the records as part of a civil lawsuit involving Epstein, but they are sealed. "They're in court. I've seen them," Dershowitz told Business Insider. "And if they were unredacted, they would give you the names of lots of people who were accused — some falsely accused, some truthfully accused." Epstein grand jury records Federal court rules and Justice Department policies sharply limit the disclosure of information from grand jury proceedings. The public doesn't have a full accounting of all the evidence presented to grand juries in Manhattan when prosecutors were preparing indictments against Epstein and Maxwell. Some evidence in the 2006 Florida grand jury was made public last year through litigation, following the passage of a state law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Investigation into Epstein's death A 2023 Justice Department inspector general report about Epstein's death in the Manhattan Correctional Center concluded that he killed himself. FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bognino, have backed up the conclusion in media interviews — much to the ire of some right-wing influencers who believe he was murdered. Sunday's memo came along with the publication of a 10-hour surveillance video outside the area of the jail where Epstein's cell was housed. It shows that no one entered the area in the hours before his death, according to the memo. The 128-page inspector general report details how the jail failed to prevent Epstein's death, but the Justice Department hasn't released much of the underlying evidence it collected. Mark Epstein, his brother, has demanded data from the 911 call that was supposed to be made after jail officers found Jeffrey Epstein dead. The NYPD said it was unable to find any records of the call when Business Insider asked for them in June 2023 after the release of the report. Business Insider filed a FOIA request with the Justice Department inspector general earlier this year requesting transcripts of interviews with key people around Epstein at the time he died, information about inmate interviews, phone call records, and photos and videos referenced in the report. The office says it has "a backlog of FOIA requests and very limited resources with which to process requests" and hasn't provided a timeline for completion. Investigation into Epstein's plea deal The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility completed a report in 2020 about US Attorney Alexander Acosta's "poor judgment" in granting Epstein a light plea deal for his conduct in 2007. The office has not released all of the underlying evidence for that investigation. Business Insider filed a FOIA request for that information earlier this year, and the agency acknowledged the request without saying if or when it would provide the records. All of the Epstein flight logs While many of Epstein's private flight records were disclosed by the Federal Aviation Administration and through litigation, certain periods have gaps. The US Marshals Service could also publish its documents from its inspections of his planes, which flew between the US Virgin Islands and the US mainland. The FAA and the US Marshals Service did not respond to requests for comment. How the FBI missed Epstein earlier Across several legal complaints, dozens of Epstein victims have alleged that the FBI failed to stop him earlier, ignoring tips and pleas as early as the 1990s. The FBI has not said whether it's in possession of intake forms or other records of those complaints. In court, the Justice Department has avoided answering whether it has looked for them. The agency asked a judge to dismiss the most recent lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC, on procedural grounds. The case remains pending. If the FBI were to find records from the 1990s and early 2000s, they could shed more light on what Epstein was doing during that time period, and whether the FBI took any action. "Unfortunately, the FBI continues to fight survivors of Jeffrey Epstein despite their public proclamations otherwise," Jordan Merson, an attorney representing Epstein accusers in the lawsuit, told BI.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Idaho murderer Bryan Kohberger's former friends dive into killer's mindset about why he did it
Idaho student killer Bryan Kohberger's former friends from Pennsylvania and a classmate at Washington State University are baffled that the man they knew to be quiet and awkward pleaded guilty in the mass murder case that rocked the nation. Kohberger, a former WSU criminology Ph.D. student, pleaded guilty on July 2 to killing four University of Idaho students on Nov. 13, 2022, as part of a deal with prosecutors to escape the death penalty. Kohberger faces four consecutive life sentences for fatally stabbing 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, as well as 20-year-olds Xana Kernolde and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus house in the early morning hours of Nov. 13. Kohberger's former childhood friend from his home state of Pennsylvania, 31-year-old Jack Baylis, told The Idaho Statesman his idea that Kohberger developed a fixation on people who commit murder and wanted to see if he could get away with committing the perfect crime. "I think he did it to see what it felt like, to experience it. If he wanted to write a paper about what killers feel and why they kill, to be accurate, you have to experience it yourself to truly understand it," Baylis told the Statesman. "To get into the mind of a killer, you have to be a killer, would be my guess." Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty To Idaho Murders Ben Roberts, 33, a former criminology graduate school colleague of Kohberger's at WSU, told the Statesman that Kohberger was "kind of nonexistent" in school. Read On The Fox News App Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X "I noticed that unless he was deliberately trying to put on an appearance – if he didn't have the mask – he was kind of nonexistent, or hollow, I guess," Roberts said. "It's kind of like you're staring into an abyss. There's something human supposed to be there, and it isn't." Idaho Murders Timeline: Bryan Kohberger Plea Caps Yearslong Quest For Justice He added that Kohberger's actions after the murders he has since admitted to committing baffle him. "I just can't even begin to get inside the head of somebody who could do something like that, and then attend class like it's business as usual," Roberts said. "That's just completely alien to me." Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter Another former childhood friend from Pennsylvania, where Kohberger grew up in the Poconos, told the Statesman she feels "disgusted that he could actually do something so heinous." Bryan Kohberger Expected To Officially Plead Guilty: What's Next Kohberger, now 30, did drugs in high school and eventually overcame a heroin addiction. His friends described him as chubby, awkward and quick-witted to the Statesman. "I won't lie, I kind of spiraled yesterday," Casey Arntz, 32, told the newspaper. "Did he ever have thoughts like that before? Did he ever think that he wanted to kill me or my friends? Were we spared because we were friends with him?" Arntz added later that while she wasn't as close with Kohberger as her brother or her other friends were, he still spent time in her parents' house, and she had spent time alone with him, which makes her wonder why he did what he did. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES AT THE FOX NEWS True Crime Hub "I guess the one thing I would say to him is what everyone wants to say to him: 'Why would you do this? Why would you take the innocent lives of four beautiful people?' I can't even begin to imagine what he would say. How does someone justify their actions when they're so morbid?" she said. Bryan Kohberger Accepts Plea Deal In Idaho Student Murders Case Her brother, 29-year-old Thomas Arntz, told the Statesman that he felt relieved that Kohberger pleaded guilty. "I am deeply sorry that Bryan's parents have to live with this as well.… I've always thought they were kind people, and they didn't deserve this. And for Bryan, God have mercy on his soul," he said. Goncalves' family has expressed their disappointment in the plea deal, saying in a July 3 Facebook post on The Goncalves Family Page that the state is showing their daughter's killer "mercy" by allowing him to serve life in prison rather than be sentenced to death, where he could have been executed by firing squad in Idaho. "He deserved life on death row. Also people say that the Goncalves don't want justice, they want vengeance. Well let me ask you a question about that... if your 21yr old daughter was sleeping in her bed and BK went into her house with the intention to kill her and he did, by stabbing her MANY times, as well as beating her in the face and head while it was clear that she fought for her life... what would you want? Justice or vengeance?" the family wrote. Kohberger is set to be sentenced on July 23 at 9 a.m. to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of article source: Idaho murderer Bryan Kohberger's former friends dive into killer's mindset about why he did it
