logo
Ghislaine Maxwell moved to prison camp, Trump says no plea for pardon

Ghislaine Maxwell moved to prison camp, Trump says no plea for pardon

The Herald4 days ago
Asked what was discussed between Maxwell and the deputy attorney general, Trump said he believed Blanche 'wants to make sure innocent people aren't hurt' should documents in the Epstein investigation be released.
The bureau of prisons classifies prison camps such as Bryan as minimum security institutions, the lowest of five security levels in the federal system. The facilities have limited or no perimeter fencing. Low security facilities such as FCI Tallahassee have double fenced perimeters and higher staff-to-inmate ratios than prison camps, according to the bureau.
Asked why Maxwell was transferred, bureau of prisons spokesperson Donald Murphy said he could not comment on the specifics of any incarcerated individual's prison assignment, but the bureau determines where inmates are sent based on factors such as 'the level of security and supervision the inmate requires'.
Blanche's meeting with Maxwell came as Trump faces pressure from his base of conservative supporters and congressional Democrats to release more information from the justice department's investigations of Maxwell and Epstein.
The department is seeking court approval to release transcripts of law enforcement officers' testimony before the grand juries that indicted Maxwell and Epstein. The transcripts are usually kept secret. Two federal judges in Manhattan are weighing the government's requests.
Lawyers for Maxwell, Epstein and their alleged victims are due to share their positions on the potential unsealing with the judges in filings on Tuesday.
Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty.
Markus and Blanche have not provided detailed accounts of what they discussed. Markus has said Maxwell would welcome relief from Trump.
Maxwell was found guilty at a 2021 trial of recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein to abuse. She had pleaded not guilty and is asking the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction.
Reuters
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

We live in dangerous times of anti-gender ideology and democratic backsliding
We live in dangerous times of anti-gender ideology and democratic backsliding

Daily Maverick

time5 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

We live in dangerous times of anti-gender ideology and democratic backsliding

Amid the tumult unleashed by the second Trump Administration that is global in its reach, its impact on the constellation of gender, LGBTQI and trans rights and justice has taken a back seat. Yet, any form of democratic backsliding needs to be viewed through a gender lens that will show that gender is, in fact, an important nodal point through which rising authoritarianism is channelled. This is something we should contemplate on this Women's Day, 2025. Anti-gender ideology is a part of the backlash against progressive politics and policies that have gained traction since the 1970s. This backlash is aimed at rolling back women's equality, the acknowledgement of LGBTQI identities, same-sex marriage, gender fluidity and transgender rights. It is an attack on equality norms (including racial equality) and gender justice, with a specific focus on policing and restricting women's reproductive rights and access to healthcare, as well as healthcare for transgender people and the restriction on information on gender relations. Some of Donald Trump's first executive directives in his first and second terms were to restrict women's reproductive rights, making abortion now nearly impossible to access in many American states. This backlash is also mirrored in the overturning of the landmark court ruling, Roe v Wade, that legalised abortion in the US in 1973. The concept 'gender ideology' was used for the first time by Pope John Paul II, who claimed that a misleading concept of sexuality and women's dignity and 'mission' is driven by ideology also called 'gender'. This concept was taken up by the Vatican, which has expressed itself on gender theory as a totalitarian ideology that is more oppressive and pernicious than the Marxist ideology, and that it corrupts young people. Anti-gender is more than a resistance against gender equality, or women's inclusion in politics, but is in fact a movement that is global. This rhetoric of 'anti-gender' has been taken up by evangelical/charismatic churches that have spread ideas in the name of anti-gender ideology that homogenise feminist theories and scholarship and delegitimise gender activism. It also appropriates gender concepts to use against feminists, such as pro-woman, or feminists for life (pro-life), or changing pro-choice into pro-abortion. The influence of evangelical churches supporting anti-gender ideology has also become pronounced in Latin America and Africa. The anti-gender movement consists of heterogeneous coalitions, including churches and rightwing political parties, but all with the aim to reverse gender equality gains made over the past few decades and to ensure a return to patriarchy, traditional family values and re-establishing the binary relationship between only two sexes (male and female). Anti-gender ideology focuses on concepts like gender identity as being distinct from biological sex, transgender rights, comprehensive sex education (that they want to remove from the curriculum), and LGBTQI+ inclusion policies. For this very reason, the Trump Administration has targeted diversity, equality and inclusion policies (DEI) at universities and other organisations for cancellation. It has also contributed to the delegitimisation of women's and gender studies programmes, and queer studies. The anti-gender movement can be viewed as a countermovement that is connected to certain conditions, such as the need to challenge power relations (women have too much power); feeling threatened by the values, successes and actions of the existing feminist movement; showing that it is having some policy success to obtain their objectives; and the ability to have political allies that can help in the provision of resources. The danger for democracy is the stigmatisation of legitimate areas of human rights as dangerous, rejecting gender education and research, as well as a scientific understanding of sexuality. It also curtails civil liberties such as freedom of choice and freedom of association. Where DEI programmes are targeted for closure or defunded (eg the US), it undermines or restricts academic freedom outright. In Scotland, the parliament ruled that there are only two biological sexes: male and female, dealing a blow to transgender people. The anti-gender movement has gained political traction in many countries in Europe, as well as in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru. In Africa, the circulation of anti-gender ideas has stigmatised any deviation from heteronormativity as 'un-African'. Countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe have passed laws that have severe consequences for LGBTQI+ people. In Uganda, being gay can be penalised with the death penalty, and people who know about people with lesbian or gay sexualities will be viewed as complicit in covering up non-traditional gender identities and also penalised. Anti-gender activism across national borders has enabled anti-LGBTQI+ networks to collaborate transnationally with the aim of enforcing patriarchy and traditional family structures, confining women to traditional sex roles. It has politicised and weaponised homophobia in Africa. Two of the main organisations that are involved in re-establishing the 'natural family' through pro-family activism are the Family Research Council (WCF) and Family Watch International, with anti-gay and anti-feminist agendas, both based in the US. They establish transnational networks of conservative activists. The WFC launched an International Organisation for the Family in Cape Town in 2016. It focuses on the heteronormative nuclear family to the exclusion of other types of marriages and the stigmatisation of same-sex marriage as adulterous. Their campaigns are well funded. Their view of the African family is rooted in a nationalist view of the family that is seen as the building blocks of citizenship, and therefore is prescriptive of procreation for the purposes of nation building. Regional conferences were held by the WCF in Ghana, Nairobi, Kampala, Nigeria, Malawi and Cape Town (2017) on the theme of the African family and how strong families build strong nations. Democratic backsliding refers inter alia to the curtailment of civil liberties and weak commitments to democratic norms, as well as the toleration of violence. One factor that seriously undermines democratic rights in South Africa is gender-based violence, with some of the worst violence and rape happening in the heterosexual family. This situation will be compounded by anti-gender ideology. We have to expose this anti-feminist, anti-LGBTQI+ and anti-African movement for what it is — a danger to democracy. DM

After US action on political debanking, #RacistBanksMustFall calls for reform in South Africa
After US action on political debanking, #RacistBanksMustFall calls for reform in South Africa

IOL News

time6 hours ago

  • IOL News

After US action on political debanking, #RacistBanksMustFall calls for reform in South Africa

#RacistBanksMustFall, applauded the recent move by US President Donald Trump to combat debanking practices, urging South Africa to follow suit and introduce similar protections for its citizens. Image: Ayanda Mdluli The #RacistBanksMustFall movement in South Africa has called for immediate legislative intervention in the wake of a US executive order designed to prevent banks from closing accounts based on political or religious beliefs. The Trump administration's executive order, expected to be signed this week, aims to tackle the controversial practice of debanking, where financial institutions deny services to individuals or businesses based on political affiliation. The order directs federal banking regulators to remove vague "reputational risk" guidelines that have often been used to justify account closures, particularly targeting conservative and crypto industry figures in the US. Reuters reported Trump as saying he believes that banks, including JPMorgan and Bank of America discriminate against him and his supporters. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ In South Africa, banks, including major institutions like Nedbank, have come under fire for selectively closing accounts under the guise of "reputational risk". Nedbank's 2023 annual report revealed that it had closed accounts for nearly 200 individuals and businesses, a practice that critics argue is politically motivated and disproportionately targets dissenting voices. Among the most high-profile cases is that of Sekunjalo Group, which has fought against the closure of its bank accounts, claiming that the action is part of an ongoing effort to silence politically inconvenient businesses and individuals. Campaign leader of #RacistBanksMustFall, Crown Prince Adil Nchabeleng, said: "South African banks have been selectively racist and are using the banking institution to target and silence political dissents." He pointed to the case of Dr Iqbal Survé, prominent businessman and media mogul, whose companies have faced repeated account closures by South African banks, claiming they were seen as a "reputational risk" due to Survé's political views and media influence. According to the current regulatory frameworks, banks are obliged to notify customers and provide them with the opportunity to make representations before terminating their accounts. In South Africa, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bredenkamp v Standard Bank set the standard for the unilateral termination of the bank-customer relationship on the grounds of reputational risks. The judgement sets out several principles South African banks have relied on when terminating relationships with their customers. Over the years these principles have been challenged in courts, where customers have instituted legal proceedings to prohibit banks from closing their accounts, requiring banks to keep accounts open against the banks' wishes. Cosatu Parliamentary Coordinator, Matthew Parks said, 'The rights of banking consumers in South Africa is guided by the Financial Intelligence Centre Act. It is critical that such legislation is clear with regards to consumers' rights and banks' obligations." The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is moving forward with the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill, which aims to provide a fair process for bank account closures, following a series of delays. Cape Argus

Swiss president to meet Rubio as surprise tariff hike looms
Swiss president to meet Rubio as surprise tariff hike looms

eNCA

time7 hours ago

  • eNCA

Swiss president to meet Rubio as surprise tariff hike looms

WASHINGTON - Switzerland's president met with her country's business representatives Wednesday in Washington -- ahead of scheduled talks with the US secretary of state -- in a last-minute visit as she scrambles to avoid a surprise tariff hike. The Alpine country faces a 39-percent duty on many of its exports to the United States come Thursday, one of the highest levels among dozens of economies due to be hit by President Donald Trump's upcoming tranche of tariffs. President Karin Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin hurried to Washington "to facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation," the Swiss government said in a statement. On Wednesday morning, Keller-Sutter and Parmelin arrived at the State Department in Washington for their scheduled talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The White House previously told AFP that there was, for now, no meeting planned with Trump -- who threatened in April to slap a 31-percent tariff on Swiss goods. It remains unclear if the Swiss delegation will meet with top US economic officials during their trip. Trump surprised the country last week when Washington released an updated list of tariff levels for dozens of US trading partners, due to take effect Thursday, showing the Swiss duty would be raised to 39 percent. This is significantly higher than the 15-percent level faced by economies like the European Union, Japan and South Korea. On Tuesday, Trump told CNBC in an interview that he "did something with Switzerland the other day" and spoke to Keller-Sutter. "The woman was nice, but she didn't want to listen," he added. The wave of US tariffs taking effect Thursday do not cover sectors that are being separately targeted by US investigations such as pharmaceuticals, a key sector for Switzerland. But Trump signaled that fresh duties on pharmaceutical imports could be announced within the week, starting at a low level before potentially surging as high as 250 percent.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store