Trump asks for release of grand jury documents in Epstein case
"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Shortly after Trump's statement, Bondi said on X that the Justice Department was ready to ask the court on Friday to unseal the grand jury transcripts.
"President Trump - we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts," Bondi wrote.
Some Trump supporters have raised questions about Epstein, the disgraced financier, after the Justice Department this month concluded that there was no evidence, opens new tab to support a number of long-held conspiracy theories about his clients and 2019 death in prison.
Bondi had pledged months earlier to reveal major revelations about Epstein, including "a lot of names" and "a lot of flight logs."
Some Trump supporters have demanded the release of more information on Epstein, causing a rare fracture within his base of support. Trump has pushed back, calling the matter a hoax.
Allegations that Epstein had been sexually abusing girls became public in 2006 and he was arrested that year before accepting a plea deal. Epstein died in 2019 in jail after he was arrested a second time and charged with sex-trafficking conspiracy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Peru seizes 4 tons of black market mercury bound for illegal gold mines
LIMA, July 24 (Reuters) - Peruvian authorities have halted a shipment of about four metric tons of mercury headed to Bolivia for presumed use in illegal gold mining, they said on Thursday, the latest sign of rising black market activity to fulfill soaring demand for the precious metal. The mercury had been passed off as a container of crushed rock, but Peru's customs agency SUNAT said an analysis revealed that the material had been laced with mercury, a toxic metal that is subject to strict environmental controls. "We could determine that mercury was being transported in its natural state, camouflaged in shipments of gravel," SUNAT said in a statement. The cargo was detected at the Callao port and came from Mexico, it added. The seizure appears to be the largest on record in the Amazon region of South America where illegal gold mining is widespread, according to a review of past seizures by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a Washington-based advocacy nonprofit. Until now, the biggest known shipment in the region, about a decade ago, was only half the size, according to the EIA. The latest discovery comes as gold prices have soared in recent months, as global trade uncertainty has made gold particularly attractive for investors. Gold prices are up 28.5% so far this year and hit a record high of $3,500 per troy ounce in April. The frenzy for gold has led to deadly encounters from West Africa to Peru. The EIA said it alerted Peruvian authorities to the shipment during its research into illicit mercury shipments from Mexico to Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, where miners use mercury to leach gold from sediment of the Amazon riverbanks. It said higher mercury prices were driving illegal mercury production in Mexico, with a particular spike since the start of this year as traffickers paid a record $330 per kilogram. "According to traffickers, gold miners' demand for mercury has driven the sophisticated operation and made it profitable," the EIA said in a report released on Thursday. It said its investigation showed that 200 tons of mercury were smuggled from Mexico to Bolivia, Colombia and Peru between April 2019 and June 2025, accounting for a conservative estimate of $8 billion in illegal gold. Peruvian officials did not address the role of the EIA in the discovery of the mercury-laced gravel from Mexico.
The Guardian
8 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Far-right Israeli politicians and settlers discuss luxury ‘Gaza riviera' plan
A group of far-right Israeli politicians and settlers met in parliament this week to discuss a plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, annex the territory and turn it into a hi-tech, luxury resort city for Israelis. The scheme, titled 'The master plan for settlement in the Gaza Strip', envisions the construction of 850,000 housing units, construction of hi-tech 'smart cities' that trade cryptocurrency, and a metro system that runs across the territory. It took its inspiration from an idea shared by the US president, Donald Trump, in February, when he pledged to turn Gaza into the 'riviera of the Middle East'. The text of the plan, which boasts of the economic benefits to Israel, said: 'The right of the people of Israel to settle, develop and preserve this land is not just a historical right – it is a national and security obligation.' The plan, seen by the Guardian, would require Gaza's existing population of about 2 million to be emptied out. Legal experts warn that forcible displacement on such a scale would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing. Michael Sfard, one of Israel's leading human rights lawyers, said: 'This is a plan for ethnic cleansing. Under international law, this would amount to a crime against humanity because deportation is a war crime when committed on a small scale and a crime against humanity when it is committed on a massive scale.' The plan was discussed on Tuesday in the Knesset during a conference called 'The riviera in Gaza: from vision to reality'. Among the speakers was the minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, and the settler activist Daniella Weiss. The conference drew criticism from other politicians, including Gilad Kariv, of the Democrats party, who accused Smotrich of calling for war crimes to be committed. Weiss told the Guardian over the phone: 'Gazans will not remain there. They will go to other countries. Supporters of Hamas we will fight. But those who want to live a normal life, they will have to leave Gaza because of the 7 October attack.' Palestinians would be relocated to Egypt and other unspecified 'African countries', she added. Weiss said she had a list of 1,000 Israeli families who had already signed up to live on land in Gaza once Palestinian residents were pushed out. 'My plan is to make [Gaza] paradise, to make it Singapore,' she said. Weiss represents a small, but increasingly influential group of radical settlers within Israel who seek to illegally occupy the Gaza Strip. Their calls to create Israeli settlements have grown stronger since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack, which killed about 1,200 people, and the Israeli war in Gaza, which has killed more than 60,000 so far. The war has levelled much of Gaza and destroyed basic civilian infrastructure. The riviera plan would build luxury resorts on the ruins of Gaza once Israel stopped bombing it. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has denied any plans to resettle residents of Gaza, though his defence minister, Israel Katz, has suggested transferring residents to a 'humanitarian city' in southern Gaza. Legal experts have called the plan a blueprint for crimes against humanity and the Israeli military itself pushed back on the idea, which it said would be a security nightmare. Trump has also floated the idea of expelling the population of Gaza, suggesting at one point that neighbouring Jordan could take in those displaced. Trump suggested the US could assume control over Gaza to 'develop' the strip – which drew the ire of human rights organisations around the world. While the conference was beng held, Gaza's starvation crisis continued to worsen. At least 113 people have died of hunger in Gaza, 45 of whom died in the last four days, health authorities said. Aid organisations have blamed Israel's virtual blockade of aid into the strip for the growing levels of extreme hunger. Human rights experts said the suggestion of displacing Gaza's residents inside and outside the territory should not be viewed in isolation. Rather, this was part and parcel of a displacement policy. 'When an occupying power creates a coercive environment by, for instance, withholding food, and that coercive environment leaves no choice to the civilian population but to move, then this can amount to the war crime of forced displacement,' said Janina Dill, the co-director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.
The Guardian
8 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Hulk Hogan – a life in pictures from wrestling fame to Trump rallies
The controversial wrestling star died at the age of 71 after a cardiac arrest at his home in Florida. He was one of the most successful wrestlers of the 1980s before starring in films such as Mr Nanny, Rocky III and Suburban Commando. He was also a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, taking part in campaign rallies for the president Hulk Hogan, wrestling star and actor, dies aged 71
