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White House restricts WSJ access to Trump over Epstein story

White House restricts WSJ access to Trump over Epstein story

Yahoo4 days ago
The White House on Monday barred The Wall Street Journal from traveling with US President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to Scotland, after the newspaper reported that he wrote a bawdy birthday message to his former friend, alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The move comes after Trump on Friday sued the WSJ and its media magnate owner Rupert Murdoch for at least $10 billion over the allegation in the article, which Trump denies.
The Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case has threatened to split the Republican's far-right Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, with some of his supporters calling for a full release of the so-called "Epstein Files."
The punishment of the Wall Street Journal marks at least the second time the Trump administration has moved to exclude a major news outlet from the press pool over its reporting, having barred Associated Press journalists from multiple key events since February.
"As the appeals court confirmed, The Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces," said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
"Due to The Wall Street Journal's fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board (Air Force One)."
Trump departs this weekend for Scotland, where he owns two golf resorts and will meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice, under Trump-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi, said there was no evidence suggesting disgraced financier Epstein had kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures before his death in 2019.
In its story on Thursday, the WSJ reported that Trump had written a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein in 2003, illustrated with a naked woman and alluding to a shared "secret."
Epstein, a longtime friend of Trump and multiple other high-profile men, was found hanging dead in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.
The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Trump's far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy pedophiles.
Epstein's death -- declared a suicide -- before he could face trial supercharged that narrative.
Since returning to power in January, Trump has moved to increase control over the press covering the White House.
In February, the Oval Office stripped the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) of its nearly century-old authority to oversee which outlets have access to certain restricted presidential events, with Trump saying that he was now "calling the shots" on media access.
In a statement, the WHCA president urged the White House to "restore" the Journal to the pool.
"This attempt by the White House to punish a media outlet whose coverage it does not like is deeply troubling, and it defies the First Amendment," said WHCA President Weijia Jiang.
"Government retaliation against news outlets based on the content of their reporting should concern all who value free speech and an independent media."
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Woolwich bus murder: Smiling teenage killers jailed for life for machete attack on 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa
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Woolwich bus murder: Smiling teenage killers jailed for life for machete attack on 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa

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The court heard the killers boarded the same bus around 20 minutes after Kelyan, while armed with identical machetes. Ms Heer said the teen walked towards Kelyan 'with purpose, pulling out their knives as they did so. 'Upon reaching Kelyan Bokassa, apparently without saying anything, they both immediately began to stab him. 'Since Kelyan Bokassa was seated on the back seat, he was cornered, unable to escape as the defendants repeatedly thrust their knives towards him, smiling as they did so.' The prosecutor said the attack lasted around 13 or 14 seconds, as Kelyan 'had no time to reach for his own knife, which remained in his trousers and instead tried in vain to protect himself with his school bag.' The two attackers fled the bus as Kelyan was heard screaming in pain and shouting 'help, I've been stabbed'. Other passengers and the bus driver went to his aid as the vehicle stopped at Woolwich Ferry, and Kelyan was heard saying: 'Take me to my mum's. I want my mum.' 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At the start of Friday's hearing, the judge refused a media bid for reporting restrictions to be lifted that would have allowed the two killers to be publicly named. Judge Lucraft told the court hearing the killing was 'clearly gang related', had been carefully planned and was 'premeditated'. The court has heard that one of the killers threw his machete into the River Thames after the murder. He has a previous conviction from 2023 for possessing of a zombie knife. The second boy was serving a youth referral order when the murder happened, for a knife robbery in Canary Wharf. He and another male had threatened the victim and one of them showed off a machete in their trousers, forcing him to hand over his mobile phone. The teen was also convicted of possessing a lock knife on February 25 last year, when he and another boy had been seen stabbing a wall. Members of Kelyan's family were in court in May to hear the guilty pleas, and returned to court on Friday for the sentencing hearing. 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