US Justice Dept. asks Epstein associate Maxwell to speak to prosecutors
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Al Arabiya
40 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Top US justice official questions Epstein accomplice for second day
The US Justice Department's deputy chief conducted a second day of questioning Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose infamous case has dragged President Donald Trump into a political firestorm. Todd Blanche, who is also Trump's former personal attorney, has so far declined to say what he discussed with Maxwell in the highly unusual meetings between a convicted felon and a top DOJ official. Maxwell's lawyer David Markus said Friday afternoon that she was asked about 'everything' and 'answered every single question' during the second day of questioning at a courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida. 'They asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine,' Markus told reporters outside the courtroom, without elaborating. But he did say there was 'no offers' of clemency made to Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence on sex trafficking charges. Trump is looking to move past the Epstein scandal, which has seen him on rare unsure footing over claims his administration mishandled a review of the notorious case. On Friday, Trump again sought to put distance between himself and Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. 'I have nothing to do with the guy,' Trump, whose past friendship with Epstein has received much media attention this week, told reporters ahead of a visit to Scotland. Trump urged journalists to 'focus' instead on Democratic Party figures like former president Bill Clinton and his treasury secretary, former Harvard president Larry Summers, whom the Republican claimed were 'really close friends' of Epstein. Asked whether he was considering a pardon or commutation of Maxwell's 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, Trump said it was something 'I haven't thought about' – but stressed he had the power to do so. He also denied multiple US media reports that he was briefed in the spring by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared multiple times in the so-called 'Epstein Files.' 'No, I was never – never briefed, no,' Trump said. Multi-millionaire Epstein was accused of procuring underage girls for sex with his circle of wealthy, high-profile associates when he died by suicide in a New York jail cell. His death fueled conspiracy theories that he was murdered to stop him testifying against prominent accomplices. Trump, who had promised his supporters revelations about the case, infuriated some after his administration announced in early July that it had not discovered any new elements warranting the release of additional documents. The Department of Justice and the FBI said there was no proof that there was a 'list' of Epstein's clients, while affirming he died by suicide. Ahead of the second round of questioning, Markus told reporters 'Ghislaine has been treated unfairly for over five years now' and described her as a 'scapegoat.' 'Everything she says can be corroborated and she's telling the truth. She's got no reason to lie at this point and she's going to keep telling the truth,' he added. Maxwell, the only former Epstein associate who has been convicted, was jailed in 2022 for grooming underage girls between 1994 and 2004 so that Epstein could sexually exploit them. Her lawyer said she still intended to appeal her conviction in the Supreme Court. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump's name was among hundreds found during a DOJ review of Epstein's case files, though there has not been evidence of wrongdoing. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the Journal last week after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson cut short the legislative session this week, sending lawmakers home on summer recess a day early to avoid potentially combustible debate – particularly among Trump's Republicans – on the release of files.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
A grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion that killed 3 LA deputies
A grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility that killed three members of its arson and explosives unit, authorities said Friday. At the time of the July 18 blast, the veteran deputies were working on two grenades that had been taken into custody by authorities. One of the grenades detonated, and the other is unaccounted for, Sheriff Robert Luna said, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The agency is investigating the explosion and is expected to publish a final report in 45 days. Luna said authorities X-rayed special enforcement bureau vehicles, searched all around the blast area, and examined office spaces and even the gym and haven't found it. 'You get the drift. We have looked at everything out there that we possibly could,' he said, adding that no one from the public has had access to the area. The day before the explosion, members of the Sheriff's Department's arson and explosives unit arrived at an apartment in Santa Monica after someone who lived there said they found what appeared to be two hand grenades in a tenant's storage unit in the underground parking garage, Luna said. The detectives X-rayed the devices and believed they were inert or inactive. The devices were then taken to be destroyed and rendered safe at the Biscailuz Training Facility, he said. Luna said that since the explosion, he has called for an independent review of the policies and practices of the arson and explosives team and has already changed how they handle these types of situations. 'All future explosive devices, inert or not, will be treated as if they are all live and will be disposed of accordingly,' he said. The deaths early Friday marked the department's worst loss of life in a single incident since 1857, when four officers were killed by gunfire, Luna said. The department identified the deputies who died as Detective Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Detective Victor Lemus, and Detective William Osborn. They served 19, 22, and 33 years in the department respectively, Luna said.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Democrats and advocates criticize Trump's executive order on homelessness
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Leading Democrats and advocates for homeless people are criticizing an executive order President Donald Trump signed this week aimed at removing people from the streets, possibly by committing them for mental health or drug treatment without their consent. Trump directed some of his Cabinet heads to prioritize funding to cities that crack down on open drug use and street camping, with the goal of making people feel safer. It's not compassionate to do nothing, the order states. 'Shifting these individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment is the most proven way to restore public order,' the order reads. Homelessness has become a bigger problem in recent years as the cost of housing increased, especially in states such as California where there aren't enough homes to meet demand. At the same time, drug addiction and overdoses have soared with the availability of cheap and potent fentanyl. The president's order might be aimed at liberal cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, which Trump views as too lax about conditions on their streets. But many of the concepts have already been proposed or tested in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic mayors have worked for years to get people off the streets and into treatment. Last year, the US Supreme Court made it easier for cities to clear encampments even if the people living in them have nowhere else to go. Still, advocates say Trump's new order is vague, punitive and won't effectively end homelessness. Newsom has directed cities to clean up homeless encampments and he's funneled more money into programs to treat addiction and mental health disorders. His office said Friday that Trump's order relies on harmful stereotypes and focuses more on 'creating distracting headlines and settling old scores.' 'But, his imitation (even poorly executed) is the highest form of flattery,' spokesperson Tara Gallegos said in a statement, referring to the president calling for strategies already in use in California. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has also emphasized the importance of clean and orderly streets in banning homeless people from living in RVs and urging people to accept the city's offers of shelter. In Silicon Valley, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan recently pushed a policy change that makes a person eligible for jail if they reject three offers of shelter. Trump's executive order tasks Attorney General Pam Bondi and the secretaries for health, housing and transportation to prioritize grants to states and local governments that enforce bans on open drug use and street camping. Devon Kurtz, the public safety policy director at the Cicero Institute, a conservative policy group that has advocated for several of the provisions of the executive order, said the organization is 'delighted' by the order. He acknowledged that California has already been moving to ban encampments since the Supreme Court's decision. But he said Trump's order adds teeth to that shift, Kurtz said. 'It's a clear message to these communities that were still sort of uncomfortable because it was such a big change in policy,' Kurtz said. But Steve Berg, chief policy officer at the National Alliance to End Homelessness, called parts of the order vague. He said the US abandoned forced institutionalization decades ago because it was too expensive and raised moral and legal concerns. 'What is problematic about this executive order is not so much that law enforcement is involved — it's what it calls on law enforcement to do, which is to forcibly lock people up,' Berg said. 'That's not the right approach to dealing with homelessness.' The mayor of California's most populous city, Los Angeles, is at odds with the Newsom and Trump administrations on homelessness. Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, opposes punishing sweeps and says the city has reduced street homelessness by working with homeless people to get them into shelter or housing. 'Moving people from one street to the next or from the street to jail and back again will not solve this problem,' she said in a statement.
