Trump's revoking protected status for Haitians shows "total disregard for people's lives"
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France 24
5 minutes ago
- France 24
Epstein accomplice Maxwell moved to minimum security Texas prison
No reason was given for Maxwell's transfer but it comes a week after a top Justice Department official met with her to ask questions about Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for allegedly sex trafficking underage girls. "We can confirm Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas," a Bureau of Prisons spokesman said. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, interviewed Maxwell for two days at a Florida courthouse last week in a highly unusual meeting between a convicted felon and high-ranking Justice official. Blanche has declined so far to say what was discussed but Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, said she answered every question she was asked. Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress about Epstein if given immunity and has also reportedly been seeking a pardon from Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein. She had been subpoenaed to give a deposition to the House Oversight Committee on August 11, but Politico reported Friday it had been postponed indefinitely. The former British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein. Two women who said they were sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell and the family of another accuser who recently committed suicide condemned the prison transfer. "It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received," Annie and Maria Farmer and the family of Virginia Giuffre said in a statement Friday. "Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency," they said. "Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas," they said. "This move smacks of a cover-up. The victims deserve better." 'Cover-up in real time' Tim Hogan, a senior Democratic National Committee advisor, also denounced what he alleged was a "government cover-up in real time." "Donald Trump's FBI, run by loyalist Kash Patel, redacted Trump's name from the Epstein files -- which have still not been released," Hogan said. "While Trump and his administration try to cover up the heinous crimes included in those files, they're simultaneously doing favors for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell." Trump is facing mounting demands from Democrats and many of his conspiracy-minded Make America Great Again supporters to be more transparent about the case of the wealthy and well-connected Epstein. Trump's supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said last month that Epstein had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a "client list." The president raised further questions this week as he told reporters he fell out with Epstein after the financier "stole" female employees from the spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. One of those girls was Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave and committed suicide at her home in Australia in April. Giuffre's family issued a statement this week appealing to Trump not to consider pardoning Maxwell, who they called a "monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life."
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Trump orders nuclear submarines moved near Russia after 'provocative' comments
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in regions near Russia in response to threats from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. "Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev... I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances."
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Swiss will try to negotiate way out of stiff US tariffs
As part of a slew of new tariffs unveiled late Thursday on nearly 70 countries, Washington said it planned to charge a 39-percent tariff rate on Swiss goods, higher than the 31-percent rate that it had been threatening to implement. The new rate is set to go into effect on August 7, and would also prove painful for Switzerland's manufacturing and watchmaking industries. The Swiss government said it remains in contact with US authorities and "still hopes to find a negotiated solution", in a statement on X. "The Federal Council notes with great regret the intention of the US to unilaterally burden Swiss imports with considerable import duties despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerland's very constructive position," it added. Senior Swiss officials had held numerous discussions with their US counterparts in an attempt to reach a deal with the administration of US President Donald Trump, like Britain and the European Union have. President Karin Keller-Sutter, who is also finance minister, spoke with Trump on Thursday. "The trade deficit remains the centre" of Trump's preoccupation and they could not reach an agreement on a framework trade deal, she said on X. 'Surprisingly high tariff rate' The United States is a key trading partner for Switzerland, taking 18.6 percent of its total exports last year, according to Swiss customs data. Pharmaceuticals dominated at 60 percent of Swiss goods exports to the United States, followed by machinery and metalworking at 20 percent and watches at eight percent. Economist Adrian Prettejohn at Capital Economics said "the surprisingly high tariff rate on Switzerland of 39 percent that the US announced yesterday is likely be negotiated down in future and, importantly, pharmaceutical goods still appear to be exempt for the time being." Trump has vowed to impose tariffs of up to 200 percent on pharmaceuticals, but those are being considered separately from the reciprocal tariffs he is imposing on trading partners. However, the European Union succeeded in getting Washington to agree that the 15-percent tariff ceiling it agreed would also apply to a potential levy on pharmaceuticals. Separately, Trump on Thursday told major pharmaceutical firms Thursday to lower prices or face punishment, as he moved to give Americans relief from high medicine costs. Swiss pharmaceutical giants Roche and Novartis have both announced plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in the United States in the coming five years as they try to head off tariffs. The 39-percent tariff rate, if it remains in place, would knock around 0.6 percent off Swiss GDP, Capital Economics' Prettejohn estimated. He said the impact would be considerably more if pharmaceuticals lose their tariff exemption. The trade balance between Switzerland and the United States is heavily in Switzerland's favour, at 40 billion Swiss francs ($49 billion) last year. Trump has paid particular attention to trade deficits, considering them a sign that the United States is being taken advantage of by its trading partners. Switzerland is however the sixth country in terms of foreign direct investment into the United States, particularly in research and development. The trade association representing the small and medium-sized firms in Switzerland's machine and metal-working industry urged the government to take advantage of the negotiating window before the entry into force on August 7 of the new tariffs, which it warned would have serious long-term consequences.
