AG Drummond Office preps for Human Trafficking event May 1
The Coalition Build event, according to the AG's office is seeking to close loopholes exploited by traffickers by uniting government agencies with trucking, truck stop, bus and energy industry partners.
'Human trafficking is a critical challenge in our state. Combating this evil requires a coordinated effort across multiple sectors,' said Attorney General Gentner Drummond. 'Our Human Trafficking Response Unit is committed to working with our partners in law enforcement and the transportation industry to identify victims and bring perpetrators to justice.'
AG Drummond Office preps for Human Trafficking event May 1
TAT Executive Director Esther Goetsch added to the conversation echoing his perspective on the organized event as follows:
'We are so pleased to be convening industry and law enforcement leaders to capitalize on the momentum here in Oklahoma to work collaboratively against human trafficking. It will certainly take all of us, united in this cause, doing our part,' she said. 'We're grateful for AG Drummond's leadership on this issue and our energy and truck stop industry partners who are coming alongside to be part of the solution.'
Attendees can expect the occasion to highlight prevention training, a survivor presentation and a law enforcement panel.
DETAILS:
Date: May 1, 2025Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Location: Hamm Institute for American Energy
*Registration is required.
For more information contact Sara Sefried at ssefried@tatnonprofit.org.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
The House is looking into the Epstein investigation. Here's what could happen next
WASHINGTON (AP) — A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes, working to subpoena President Donald Trump's Department of Justice for files in the case as well as hold a deposition of Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee acted just before House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early for a monthlong break from Washington. The committee's moves are evidence of the mounting pressure for disclosure in a case that Trump has unsuccessfully urged his supporters to move past. But they were also just the start of what can be a drawn out process. Here's what could happen next in the House inquiry as lawmakers seek answers in a case that has sparked rampant speculation since Epstein's death in 2019 and more recently caused many in the Trump administration to renege on promises for a complete accounting. Subpoena for the Epstein files Democrats, joined by three Republicans, were able to successfully initiate the subpoena from a subcommittee just as the House was leaving Washington for its August recess. But it was just the start of negotiations over the subpoena. The subcommittee agreed to redact the names and personal information of any victims, but besides that, their demand for information is quite broad, encompassing 'un-redacted Epstein files.' As the parameters of the subpoena are drafted, Democrats are demanding that it be fulfilled within 30 days from when it is served to Attorney General Pam Bondi. They have also proposed a list of document demands, including the prosecutorial decisions surrounding Epstein, documents related to his death, and communication from any president or executive official regarding the matter. Ultimately, Republicans who control the committee will have more power over the scope of the subpoena, but the fact that it was approved with a strong bipartisan vote gives it some heft. The committee chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said he told the speaker that 'Republicans on the Oversight Committee were going to move to be more aggressive in trying to get transparency with the Epstein files. So, we did that, and I think that's what the American people want.' Will Congress depose Ghislaine Maxwell? Comer has said that he is hoping that staff from the committee can interview Maxwell under oath on Aug. 11 at or near the federal prison in Florida where she is serving a lengthy sentence for child sex trafficking. In a congressional deposition, the subject typically has an attorney present to help them answer — or not answer — questions while maintaining their civil rights. Subjects also have the ability to decline to answer questions if it could be used against them in a criminal case, though in this instance that might not matter because Maxwell has already been convicted of many of the things she will likely be asked about. Maxwell has the ability to negotiate some of the terms of the deposition, and she already conducted 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials this past week. Democrats, however, warn that Maxwell is not to be trusted. 'We should understand that this is a very complex witness and someone that has caused great harm and not a good person to a lot of people,' Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, told reporters this week. The House wants to subpoena others Committee Republicans also initiated a motion to subpoena a host of other people, including former President Bill Clinton, former Sen. Hillary Clinton as well as the former attorneys general dating back to Alberto Gonzales, who served under George W. Bush. It's not clear how this sweeping list of proposed subpoenas will actually play out, but Comer has said, 'We're going to move quickly on that.' How will Pam Bondi comply? Trump is no stranger to fighting against congressional investigations and subpoenas. And as with most subpoenas, the Justice Department can negotiate the terms of how it fulfills the subpoena. It can also make legal arguments against handing over certain information. Joshua A. Levy, who teaches on congressional investigations at Georgetown Law School and is a partner at Levy Firestone Muse, said that the results of the subpoena 'depend on whether the administration wants to work through the traditional accommodation process with the House and reach a resolution or if one or both sides becomes entrenched in its position.' If Congress is not satisfied with Bondi's response — or if she were to refuse to hand over any information — there are several ways lawmakers can try to enforce the subpoena. However, that would require a vote to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress. It's practically unheard of for one political party to vote to hold one of its own members in contempt of Congress, but the Epstein saga has also cut across political lines and driven a wedge in the GOP. Growing pressure on the Trump adminitration for disclosure Ultimately, the bipartisan vote to subpoena the files showed how political pressure is mounting on the Trump administration to disclose the files. Politics, policy and the law are all bound up together in this case, and many in Congress want to see a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation. 'We can't allow individuals, especially those at the highest level of our government, to protect child sex traffickers,' said Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a committee member. The Trump administration is already facing the potential for even more political tension. When Congress comes back to Washington in September, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is working to advance to a full House vote a bill that aims to force the public release of the Epstein files. ___
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
What we know about the Epstein files
Federal prosecutors amassed millions of records during the sex trafficking investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The question of what is actually in those pages — and whether the public will ever see them — has become central to a growing public relations crisis for President Donald Trump and his aides. Having said it would release case documents, now the Justice Department is trying to staunch the public outcry from some of Trump's ardent supporters along with some Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill who believe the administration has fallen short of its transparency pledge. It's unclear what new information, if any, is stuffed in the boxes of evidence within the Justice Department or what Maxwell would say publicly about Epstein and anyone else's connections to him. For months, Justice Department and FBI officials have wrestled with the fact much of the material they have requires redaction to protect the identities of victims and witnesses, and people who haven't been charged with crimes, according to people briefed on the matter. That raised the prospect that releasing thousands of pages covered with black ink for the redactions would only inflame people who believe the government is hiding evidence of additional criminal activity. The Epstein files are made of over 300 gigabytes of data, paper, video, photographs, and audio that live within the FBI's main electronic case management system, 'Sentinel.' These records would include investigative reports and records from the FBI Miami field division's original Epstein investigation. The bulk of the records would come from the second investigation carried out by the FBI's New York Office, including memorandums about the investigation and potential targets, locations to be searched, records to be subpoenaed, and hundreds of pages of '302s' which are the forms that FBI agents use to memorialize what witnesses, victims and suspects said in interviews by investigators. A large cache of records has already been made public through unsealing civil court cases, Maxwell's criminal trial, and news reports. Politicians, including Trump, and celebrities have been publicly linked to Epstein for years — sometimes by appearing in flight logs or at events — and all have denied any wrongdoing. Epstein's death by suicide before trial launched conspiracy theories and deprived many of his accusers a public airing of his conduct. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking minors following a four-week trial in 2021. She is appealing. The Justice Department asked federal judges to unseal grand jury transcripts from the Epstein and Maxwell cases. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday with Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, in Tallahassee, Fla. 'If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,' Blanche said in a post on X. Blanche's post stands in contrast with the July 8 memo that was intended to close the books on the Epstein matter. In that memo, the Justice Department and FBI declared that they had done an exhaustive review and had determined that 'we did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.' Here's what we do and don't know about the Epstein records: Grand jury The Justice Department has asked two federal judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts from Epstein and Maxwell's criminal cases. Former federal prosecutors say the transcripts likely contain a miniscule amount of evidence from the investigations. Federal prosecutors in New York generally call law enforcement agents to testify before the grand jury to present just enough evidence they need to support an indictment. Other witnesses, including accusers, are rarely called in to testify before federal grand juries in New York. The judges overseeing the two cases in New York asked DOJ for more legal argument for why they should unseal grand jury material, which is rarely done, and set deadlines that extend to August 5. Already one effort has failed. A federal judge in Florida denied DOJ's request to unseal grand jury transcripts from its 2005 and 2007 investigations into Epstein, stating the department didn't meet the legal hurdle to do so under the rules governing the circuit. The DOJ request is narrow: It isn't seeking to unseal all information that was derived from the grand jury proceedings, which if sought, could include information from financial institutions, emails or text messages, and returns from any other person or institution that was subpoenaed by the grand jury. Search warrants Federal prosecutors and the FBI obtained a trove of information during the searches of Epstein's homes in Florida, New York and Little Saint James, Epstein's private Caribbean island. That information is under the control of DOJ and is not blocked from public release by secrecy rules. FBI officials recovered thousands of nude and seminude photographs of young females, including at least of one minor, in a search of his Manhattan mansion in the days following his arrest. Binders of CDs containing the photos were seized. Agents used a saw to open a safe that had more than $70,000 in cash, 48 loose diamond stones, one as large as 2.38 carats, and a large diamond ring. They also collected documents from the New York home, including notes, messages with names and contact information for certain victims, and phone records. A search of Epstein's private island was conducted days after he was found dead in a jail cell about one month after his arrest. By then the investigation had shifted its focus to any co-conspirators of Epstein. In February the Justice Department provided an index of evidence it has. The index includes over two dozen computers, numerous hard drives, at least two cell phones, and four iPads. The index says there are boat trip logs potentially of who traveled to his private island — that information has not been made public. The Justice Department does not release child pornography so those records would not be expected to be made public under any circumstance. Florida DOJ case file Federal prosecutors in New York obtained the investigative record from the earlier investigations into Epstein conducted by their counterparts in Florida in 2007 and 2009. Any of those records that were not covered by grand jury secrecy rules could be released. Civil lawsuits Much of the public record relating to Epstein has derived from civil lawsuits brought by accusers, some filed under their own names and others using Jane Doe pseudonyms. Judges have ordered the release of thousands of pages of documents, including depositions taken under oath. Among the famous names referenced in those documents are Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Britain's Prince Andrew, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, American investor Glenn Dubin, and Leslie Wexner, the CEO of L Brands. Not all of them were accused of wrongdoing, and all of them have denied any wrongdoing. Maxwell trial Maxwell's four-week criminal trial was a public airing of her close relationship to Epstein and her role recruiting, grooming and at times participating in the sexual abuse of minors with Epstein. Four women testified about being sexually assaulted when they were minors. Epstein's former pilot testified and identified people he saw on Epstein's plane, including Trump, Senators John Glenn and George Mitchell, Prince Andrew, actor Kevin Spacey, and violinist Itzhak Perlman. The pilot said he never saw any wrongdoing. Gawker first published a copy in 2015 of Epstein's so-called 'black book' with names and phone numbers of his contacts. The Justice Department released a redacted version of it earlier this year as well as copies of the flight logs that were made public during Maxwell's criminal trial. The release was criticized by some of Trump's supporters because the information was already public — and did nothing to answer lingering questions. CNN's John Miller contributed to this report.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
To former prosecutors, DOJ interview with Ghislaine Maxwell looked unorthodox
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met for a second day with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, without offering more than a broad rationale for his hours of questioning. Multiple former federal prosecutors told CBS News they were bewildered by his decision to launch into such talks and described the unfolding events as both unorthodox and concerning. "She's somebody who has been sentenced by a court to 20 years in prison, and she is likely also desperate to get out from under that sentence," said Elizabeth Oyer, a former Justice Department pardon attorney and federal public defender. "It's hard to really believe that the Justice Department would rely on anything that she might have to say." Oyer suggested that Maxwell was speaking with Blanche "in the hope that she might be able to cut a deal that will benefit her, and that raises fundamental questions about the credibility of any information she could possibly provide." Maxwell's defense lawyer, David Markus, said after the meeting that she answered everything asked of her "and she didn't hold anything back." Asked whether Maxwell is seeking a pardon, Markus said, "We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet," adding, "We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way." "It's unprecedented for the deputy attorney general to be directly involved in interviewing someone who's been convicted of a crime and may be interested in cooperating to get leniency," one former senior Justice Department official told CBS News on the condition he not be identified. "It strikes me simply as an effort to address a political concern, which is not what the Justice Department does." Blanche is a senior Justice Department official who previously served as a personal attorney to President Trump. He is also a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. He announced his decision to travel to Florida to meet with Maxwell after days of public attention swirled around the administration's mixed messaging about the possible release of files on Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in the trafficking ring. Several aspects of the Blanche decision appear to break with longstanding Justice Department practices. Among the most concerning, former officials said, is having Blanche conduct the interviews, rather than the line prosecutors who helped win a conviction in the Maxwell case, and who are continuing to combat her efforts to appeal the outcome. Adding to the complication is that the prosecutor who led the Maxwell case, Maurene Comey, was fired by the Trump administration a week ago. One former prosecutor said a key reason for having a line prosecutor handle such an interview is their comprehensive knowledge of both Maxwell and the facts of the case against her. Otherwise, this attorney said, it could be very hard to determine whether Maxwell is being truthful — especially since there were already past questions about her willingness to be fully candid about the misconduct that led to her arrest, and Epstein's. "The best way to determine that is to ask questions you already know the answers to," the former prosecutor said. "Todd Blanche is in no position to assess the truth if he doesn't know all the facts." Because Blanche's meetings were occurring behind closed doors, it is unclear if he was accompanied by other Justice Department officials or FBI agents. The Justice Department has not responded to a request for comment. Experts told CBS News that meetings of this nature almost always include an FBI agent who can memorialize the discussion in formal interview notes that could later have evidentiary value, if needed. "If Blanche was meeting with Maxwell alone, that's obscene malpractice," another former federal prosecutor, who had decades of experience, told CBS News. "He can't testify and become a witness, nor can he write a report of their meeting." Prosecutors are not permitted to write up interview reports and are not sworn law enforcement officers with training to document an interview of this kind. "It would be a mess," the former official said. "The first rule of a meeting with a witness is to have an agent present." As another former prosecutor put it: "This is not typical." "It's not the most effective way" to work if the goal is to gather additional evidence or identify potential targets for future prosecution, this person said. Mr. Trump has never been accused of misconduct in connection with Epstein's criminal activity, and he has consistently said he cut ties with Epstein before Epstein's first arrest in 2006 for his conduct with underage girls. Mr. Trump has sought to push past the crush of attention on the topic, even referring to it as "the Jeffrey Epstein hoax." Blanche explained his decision to meet with Maxwell by saying he would "pursue justice wherever the facts may lead." "If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say," Blanche said. Like Oyer, many former federal prosecutors saw the meeting as a political move intended to dampen growing mistrust about the decision not to make public the files connected with Epstein's case. Multiple former prosecutors spoke with CBS News about the matter, but asked not to be identified because they feared retribution against them or their current employers. 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