'The Epstein case is a new version of the classic conspiracy against authentic America'
Behind this phrase lies the theory that justice was prevented from completing its work, stopped by powerful and secret forces intent on protecting their own unspeakable interests. The suicide narrative, according to this belief, was merely a convenient – perhaps too convenient – smokescreen to cover up the truth: surveillance cameras (conveniently?) failed, his cell was (deliberately?) left unmonitored, medical reports (intentionally?) contradicted each other, and so on. In this version, everything is connected, nothing happens by chance, and everything is a matter of lies and manipulation.
Epstein's supposed list of clients guilty of sexual violence remains fantastical. But it is true that the parties organized by the financier were attended by well-known figures from politics, tech, film, and music, such as Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Michael Jackson – and even Donald Trump. What better fuel for the most lurid speculation about a network of elite child abusers orchestrating their own impunity? The Epstein case thus encapsulated a worldview and rhetoric typical of binary conspiratorial and populist discourses: them against us, the threatening other (elites, minorities, foreigners) against the good and virtuous people.
From 2019 on, for conspiracy-minded circles of the alt-right, for QAnon supporters, and for fans of commentator Alex Jones, Epstein became a new version of the classic plot against authentic America, involving a satanic network, Hollywood, the deep state, the liberal left, or the Democratic Party. In this narrative, Trump was cast as the would-be champion of the real America, supposedly set to restore true values: "Make America Great Again!"
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Euronews
13 hours ago
- Euronews
Trump says Epstein 'stole' young female staff from Mar-a-Lago resort
US President Donald Trump has said that the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "stole" young women who worked at his Mar-a-Lago resort. One of the women was Virginia Giuffre, among Epstein's most well-known sex trafficking accusers. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday while returning from a trip to Scotland. Trump's comments expanded on remarks he had made a day earlier, when he said he had banned Epstein from his private club in Florida two decades ago because his one-time friend "stole people that worked for me". The president has become increasingly rattled by questions about the pair's relationship amid an outcry over his administration's refusal to release more records about the government's sex-trafficking investigation into Epstein after promises of transparency. Conspiracy theories have been rife among parts of Trump's MAGA base, and he has tried to downplay or deflect attention and questions into the Esptein case. Trump has expressed frustration that people are still talking about it six years after Epstein died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial, criticised some of his supporters, and repeatedly called the issue a "hoax". His latest comments came as lawyers for Epstein's imprisoned former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell — who was convicted of helping him sexually abuse underage girls — said that she is willing to testify before Congress if she is granted immunity and other protections. Falling out While speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he was upset that Epstein was "taking people who worked for me". The women, he said, were "taken out of the spa, hired by (Epstein) — in other words, gone". "I said, listen, we don't want you taking our people," Trump said. When it happened again, the president said he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. Last week, the White House said the president had cut ties with his former friend because he regarded him as a "creep". Asked by reporters if Giuffre was one of the employees poached by Epstein, Trump hesitated but then said, "he stole her". Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year. She had alleged that Maxwell spotted her working as a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago in 2000, when she was a teenager, and hired her as Epstein's masseuse, which led to sexual abuse. Although Giuffre's allegations did not become part of criminal prosecutions against Epstein, she is central to conspiracy theories about the case. She accused Epstein of pressuring her into having sex with powerful men. Spotlight on Maxwell Maxwell — who has denied Giuffre's allegations — is serving a 20-year prison sentence in a Florida federal prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls. Earlier this month, the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed Maxwell to testify before lawmakers on 11 August. A spokeswoman for the committee said on Tuesday that the panel would not consider granting the immunity she requested in exchange for her testimony. The potential interview is part of a frenzied, renewed interest in the Epstein saga following the US Justice Department's statement earlier this month that it would not be releasing any additional records from the investigation. In an apparent U-turn, US Attorney General Pam Bondi walked back the notion that Epstein had kept a "client list" of elites who took part in his trafficking of underage girls. The abrupt announcement stunned online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump's political base who had been hoping to find proof of a government cover-up. Since then, the Trump administration has sought to present itself as promoting transparency, with the department urging courts to unseal grand jury transcripts from the sex trafficking investigations. A judge in Florida last week rejected the request, although similar requests are pending in New York. Separately, Maxwell's lawyers have urged the US Supreme Court to review her conviction, saying she did not receive a fair trial. They also say that one way she would testify "openly and honestly, in public," is in the event of a pardon by Trump. The president has told reporters that such a move is within his rights, but that he has not been asked to do so. "She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning," her lawyers said.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Trump says Epstein 'stole' Mar-a-Lago spa staff, causing fallout
Donald Trump said Tuesday that he fell out with Jeffrey Epstein because the convicted sex offender had poached staff from his club's spa, including the woman at the center of an underage sex scandal involving Prince Andrew. The White House has said previously that Trump threw Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club two decades ago "for being a creep" and US media has reported that they became estranged over a Florida real estate deal. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One while flying home from Scotland, Trump gave some of his most expansive public comments yet about his falling out with Epstein, the wealthy and well-connected financier who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking underage girls. "People were taken out of the (Mar-a-Lago) spa, hired by him, in other words gone," Trump said. "When I heard about it, I told him, I said, 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people.' "And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, 'Out of here.'" Trump also confirmed that one of the Mar-a-Lago spa attendants taken by his longtime friend Epstein was Virginia Giuffre, who brought a civil case against Epstein friend Prince Andrew, accusing him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, committed suicide at her home in Australia in April. "I think she worked at the spa," Trump said. "I think that was one of the people. He stole her." Before taking office in January, Trump promised to release more information about Epstein, who right-wing conspiracy theorists allege trafficked young girls for VIPs. Trump infuriated some of supporters, however, when the FBI and Justice Department announced in early July that they had not discovered any new elements warranting the release of additional information about Epstein. Scrutiny has been intensifying ever since on Trump's own relationship with Epstein. 'Clemency' Seeking to tamp down the furor, the Justice Department has sought the release of grand jury transcripts from the investigation into Epstein and interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's imprisoned accomplice, last week. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche -- who is also Trump's former personal attorney -- met with Maxwell over two days but declined to say what was discussed in the highly unusual meetings between a convicted felon and a top Justice Department official. 02:17 Maxwell, 63, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein, offered meanwhile to testify before a House of Representatives committee but only if granted immunity. Maxwell's lawyers, in a letter to the House committee which has subpoenaed her to testify next month, said she would be prepared to do so "if a fair and safe path forward can be established." "If Ms Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing -- and eager -- to testify openly and honestly, in public," they said. Without clemency, the former British socialite would only testify if granted immunity. "Ms Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity," her lawyers said. Maxwell would also need to see potential questions in advance and would not agree to be interviewed at the Florida prison where she is being held, they said. Finally, her lawyers said, any testimony could only come after the Supreme Court decides whether or not to hear Maxwell's appeal seeking to have her conviction overturned. They said that if the conditions could not be met Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.
LeMonde
2 days ago
- LeMonde
Trump says he ended friendship with Epstein because he 'stole people that worked for me'
President Donald Trump said Monday, July 28, that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and threw the now-disgraced financier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him. Trump did not say what his employees did or where they worked, and the White House declined further comment. But the White House had previously offered a different explanation for the falling out. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said in a statement last week: "The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep." Epstein killed himself, authorities say, in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump and his top allies stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein's death before Trump returned to power and are now struggling to manage the fallout after the Justice Department said Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide and that it would not release additional documents about the case. The president and his allies, some of whom are now in the administration, had promised to release the files. The case has dogged Trump at home and abroad and even followed Vice President JD Vance during an appearance in his home state of Ohio on Monday. A small group of protesters assembled outside a factory in Canton that Vance toured, holding signs that spelled out "JD Protects Pedophiles" and indicating that "GOP" stands for "Guardians Of Pedophiles." The Republican president spoke at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland, as he sat with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the leaders had met and were answering questions from US and UK journalists. Asked to explain why the relationship had faltered, Trump said, "That's such old history, very easy to explain, but I don't want to waste your time by explaining it." 'I threw him out' He then explained, saying he stopped talking to Epstein after "he did something that was inappropriate." "He hired help and I said, 'Don't ever do that again,'" Trump said. "He stole people that worked for me. I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata." "I threw him out and that was it. I'm glad I did, if you want to know the truth," added Trump, who recently directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the public release of sealed grand jury transcripts in the case. One federal judge has denied that request ; a second judge has yet to rule. Vance, on Monday, visited the factory to promote Trump's tax cut and border bill, but also addressed the Epstein matter, saying the president wants "full transparency" in the case. "The president has been very clear. We're not shielding anything," Vance said in response to a reporter's question. "The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and, frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case." "Some of that stuff takes time," Vance said, adding that Trump has been "very clear. He wants full transparency." Trump had said back in 2019 that Epstein was a fixture in Palm Beach but that the two had had a falling out a long time ago and he hadn't spoken with Epstein for 15 years. On Monday, Trump also denied contributing to a compilation of letters and drawings to mark Epstein's 50th birthday, first reported on by the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said the letter believed to be from Trump included a drawing of a woman's body. "I don't do drawings of women, that I can tell you," Trump said.
