DOJ told Trump that his name is among others in the Epstein files: report
Attorney General Pam Bondi informed the president in May that his name appeared in the documents, senior officials told the Wall Street Journal. His name was one of many high-profile figures in the files, the outlet reported. The files reportedly contain hundreds of names, an official told the paper.
However, a mention in the file does not mean there was wrongdoing. One official told the outlet that hundreds of names are in the documents.
'This is another fake news story, just like the previous story by The Wall Street Journal,' White House communications director Steven Cheung told the paper.
Last week, the Journal published a report claiming that Trump gave Epstein a 50th birthday card containing a sexually suggestive drawing and a message suggesting the men shared 'secrets.' The president vehemently denied the claims and even sued the paper and its owners for $10 billion.
The revelation comes as the president tries to distance himself from the late financier and the fanfare surrounding the case.
Attention around the case has bubbled up since the DOJ released a July 6 memo that said the department would make no further disclosures in the case. Even MAGA and prominent Republicans have since called for increased transparency around the handling of the case.
Amid mounting public pressure, the president asked Bondi to make public any 'pertinent' grand jury transcripts. Bondi then asked the judges overseeing the cases of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier's former girlfriend who is now serving 20 years behind bars for her role in a scheme to abuse girls with Epstein.
Experts have noted that releasing the transcripts would only account for a small portion of the files at play.
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Chicago Tribune
a few seconds ago
- Chicago Tribune
What to expect, and what not to, at the UN meeting on an Israel-Palestinian two-state solution
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly is bringing high-level officials together this week to promote a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict that would place their peoples side by side, living in peace in independent nations. Israel and its close ally the United States are boycotting the two-day meeting, which starts Monday and will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers of France and Saudi Arabia. Israel's right-wing government opposes a two-state solution, and the United States has called the meeting 'counterproductive' to its efforts to end the war in Gaza. France and Saudi Arabia want the meeting to put a spotlight on the two-state solution, which they view as the only viable road map to peace, and to start addressing the steps to get there. The meeting was postponed from late June and downgraded from a four-day meeting of world leaders amid surging tensions in the Middle East, including Israel's 12-day war against Iran and the war in Gaza. 'It was absolutely necessary to restart a political process, the two-state solution process, that is today threatened, more threatened than it has ever been,' French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Sunday on CBS News' 'Face the Nation.' Here's what's useful to know about the upcoming gathering. The idea of dividing the Holy Land goes back decades. When the British mandate over Palestine ended, the U.N. partition plan in 1947 envisioned dividing the territory into Jewish and Arab states. Israel accepted the plan, but upon Israel's declaration of independence the following year, its Arab neighbors declared war and the plan was never implemented. Under a 1949 armistice, Jordan held control over the West Bank and east Jerusalem and Egypt over Gaza. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those lands for a future independent state alongside Israel, and this idea of a two-state solution based on Israel's pre-1967 boundaries has been the basis of peace talks dating back to the 1990s. The two-state solution has wide international support. The logic behind it is that the populations of Israel, east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza are divided equally between Jews and Palestinians. As President Donald Trump shows off his golf courses for Britain's leader, crisis in Gaza loomsThe establishment of an independent Palestine would leave Israel as a democratic country with a solid Jewish majority and grant the Palestinians their dream of self-determination. France and Saudi Arabia have said they want to put a spotlight on the two-state solution as the only viable path to peace in the Middle East — and they want to see a road map with specific steps, first ending the war in Gaza. Israeli strikes kill at least 36 people in Gaza, officials say, as some aid restrictions are easedThe co-chairs said in a document sent to U.N. members in May that the primary goal of the meeting is to identify actions by 'all relevant actors' to implement the two-state solution — and 'to urgently mobilize the necessary efforts and resources to achieve this aim, through concrete and time-bound commitments.' Saudi diplomat Manal Radwan, who led the country's delegation to the preparatory conference, said the meeting must 'chart a course for action, not reflection.' It must be 'anchored in a credible and irreversible political plan that addresses the root cause of the conflict and offers a real path to peace, dignity and mutual security,' she said. French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed for a broader movement toward a two-state solution in parallel with a recognition of Israel's right to defend itself. He announced late Thursday that France will recognize the state of Palestine officially at the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in late September. About 145 countries have recognized the state of Palestine. But Macron's announcement, ahead of Monday's meeting and amid increasing global anger over desperately hungry people in Gaza starting to die from starvation, makes France the most important Western power to do so. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the two-state solution on both nationalistic and security grounds. Netanyahu's religious and nationalist base views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people, while Israeli Jews overwhelmingly consider Jerusalem their eternal capital. The city's eastern side is home to Judaism's holiest site, along with major Christian and Muslim holy places. Hard-line Israelis like Netanyahu believe the Palestinians don't want peace, citing the second Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s, and more recently the Hamas takeover of Gaza two years after Israel withdrew from the territory in 2005. The Hamas takeover led to five wars, including the current and ongoing 21-month conflict. At the same time, Israel also opposes a one-state solution in which Jews could lose their majority. Netanyahu's preference seems to be the status quo, where Israel maintains overall control and Israelis have fuller rights than Palestinians, Israel deepens its control by expanding settlements, and the Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in pockets of the West Bank. Netanyahu condemned Macron's announcement of Palestinian recognition, saying it 'rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became.' The Palestinians, who label the current arrangement 'apartheid,' accuse Israel of undermining repeated peace initiatives by deepening settlement construction in the West Bank and threatening annexation. That would harm the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state and their prospects for independence. Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and close associate of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the meeting will serve as preparation for a presidential summit expected in September. It will take place either in France or at the U.N. on the sidelines of the high-level meeting, U.N. diplomats said. Majdalani said the Palestinians have several goals, first a 'serious international political process leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.' The Palestinians also want additional international recognition of their state by major countries including Britain. But expect that to happen in September, not at Monday's meeting, Majdalani said. And he said they want economic and financial support for the Palestinian Authority and international support for the reconstruction and recovery of the Gaza Strip. All 193 U.N. member nations have been invited to attend the meeting and a French diplomat said about 40 ministers are expected. The United States and Israel are the only countries who are boycotting. The co-chairs have circulated an outcome document which could be adopted, and there could be some announcements of intentions to recognize a Palestinian state. But with Israel and the United States boycotting, there is no prospect of a breakthrough and the resumption of long-stalled negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on an end to their conflict. Secretary-General António Guterres urged participants after the meeting was announced 'to keep the two-state solution alive.' And he said the international community must not only support a solution where independent states of Palestine and Israel live side-by-side in peace but 'materialize the conditions to make it happen.'
San Francisco Chronicle
a few seconds ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump wants to ‘Make Indians Great Again' — by bringing back slurs to a school gymnasium near you
In 2014, a group of Native parents, including myself, launched the #NotYourMascot hashtag the night before the Super Bowl. Despite our minority status, representing barely 1.5% of the U.S. population, we were determined to find a way to be heard in the (relatively) new public square of social media. No, the Washington NFL team was not playing. But the Super Bowl was the most opportune moment to get our message out. We informed only our closest associates and a select few Twitter accounts with large followings about our plan — and treated our new hashtag like a state secret, afraid it would get swamped by an army of bots. We devised a list of ready-made tweets to educate the general public about the harm caused by Native mascotry to the most vulnerable population in America — Native Americans have the highest suicide, poverty, murder and rape rates in the country. The plan worked. 'Not Your Mascot' immediately trended — a powerful testament to the impact of collective action. It was probably the first American Indian hashtag to trend in the United States. Now, nearly 12 years later, the president of the United States is trying to undo our work. It's safe to say he did not read any of our tweets. On July 20, President Donald Trump posted on social media: 'The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team.' The leader of the free world then threatened to derail the team's return to the Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C., after three decades in Maryland. The Commanders' owners are negotiating a nearly $4 billion deal with the D.C. City Council to make the move in 2030. 'I may put a restriction on them,' the president wrote, 'that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington…Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians.' Trump may have written 'The Art of the Deal,' but if he had read our 140-character talking points, he would know that an Emory University study found that teams with American Indian mascots were off-putting to fans and the franchises were worth less than they would be without a race-based mascot. Suzan Harjo, a Cheyenne elder who began suing the franchise in 1992, challenging the former owner Dan Snyder's trademarking of the slur 'R*dskins,' noted in her response to Trump that the 'Harjo curse' (the team's poor performance began the year she started her lawsuit) was only lifted after the team changed its name. 'It's a good example of how long it takes to shake really bad karma.' Commanders managing partner Josh Harris had this to say in February: 'Now, in this building, the name Commanders means something. It's about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates.' Even the Washington Post, which conducted a flawed survey in 2016 that showed support for the former name (I addressed this in an article in The Nation at the time), found that its most recent survey showed 62% of fans prefer the new name following the team's most successful season in decades. That, of course, should be that. But Trump's involvement in the mascot controversy goes beyond his recent social media posts or potential distractions from Jeffrey Epstein. In May, Trump's secretary of education, Linda McMahon, announced on a visit to Massapequa High School on Long Island, N.Y., that the state could lose federal funding if they do not allow Native mascots. In June, her department announced that its investigation into the New York Department of Education and the New York State Board of Regents' ban on 'mascots and logos that celebrate Native American history' was being handed over to the Department of Justice for enforcement. Under Trump, the department's civil rights office found the state ban discriminatory because mascotting other racial/ethnic groups, like 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots,' is still allowed. After arguing with R*dskins trolls online in 2013-2014, I am familiar with this view. We'd often hear, 'What about the Vikings or 'Fighting Irish'?' Well, Vikings don't exist anymore, and going 'a Viking' was an activity, a job like being an oiler or packer. And it is not the sole way we know these groups. For so many Americans, American Indians are no more than the stereotypes demonstrated at games: Tomahawk chops and Pocahottie outfits. White Americans, even descendants of Vikings, the Irish, Dutch, and Huguenots, are allowed an individuality that cannot be diminished by obnoxious stereotypes promoted by the mascotry of their ancestors. 'The Trump administration will not stand idly by as state leaders attempt to eliminate the history and culture of Native American tribes,' McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, assured Massapequa High School students, parents and alumni. The school is refusing to comply with New York state law and eliminate its Native American mascot. After Trump's post on July 20, Kerry Wachter, the school board president of Massapequa, asked the president to sign an executive order allowing the school to retain its mascot. She claimed that banning mascots of Native people 'would erase this heritage, tear down this history and silence this legacy' in her Long Island town, which is 92.3% white, according to the U.S. Census. Massapequa says it would cost the school $1 million to change its mascot. One million invested in a mascot? If true, that certainly informs you about the types of resources being dubiously invested in the American educational system. Money that would be better spent on genuine education and assistance to poor reservation schools. Even to tribal colleges, many of which have had their budgets practically cut to zero by Trump. As we tweeted years ago, studies show that Native youth exposed to Native mascots have lower self-esteem. Not only that, but their ability to imagine themselves achieving their dreams decreases. And this is because, confronted with the dominant society's inability to see them as human and not a mascot, they retreat from the world and no longer have confidence in being a place where they can thrive. That's why, as Native parents, NotYourMascot sought to educate through tweets. That's why we chose Not Your Mascot, which was an improvement on Change the Name, an earlier messaging effort. We were taking our identity back for ourselves — and we were encouraging Americans of all backgrounds to engage with real Native people, cultures and lives, not mascots. Jacqueline Keeler is a Diné/Dakota writer living in Portland, Ore., and the author of 'Standing Rock, the Bundy Movement, and the American Story of Sacred Lands.'
NBC News
2 minutes ago
- NBC News
Live updates: Trump meets with Keir Starmer after EU trade announcement
What to know today President Donald Trump is meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Turnberry, Scotland, this morning to discuss trade. The U.S. and United Kingdom reached an agreement on tariffs in May. Yesterday, Trump announced a trade deal with the European Union that would set tariffs at 15% for U.S. imports of most European goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, is meeting with Chinese officials in Stockholm, Sweden, today for another round of trade talks ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline for steep tariffs on goods from the U.S. and China to go into effect.
