
Trump reveals Epstein fallout over Mar-a-Lago spa staff poaching
Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said Epstein repeatedly hired away spa employees despite warnings. 'People were taken out of the spa, hired by him, in other words gone,' Trump said. 'When I heard about it, I told him, 'We don't want you taking our people.''
He confirmed Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, was among those recruited by Epstein. 'I think she worked at the spa. He stole her,' Trump added. The White House previously stated Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago decades ago 'for being a creep.'
Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's imprisoned associate, has offered to testify before Congress if granted clemency or immunity. Her lawyers stated she would testify 'openly and honestly' under protection but would otherwise invoke the Fifth Amendment.
The Justice Department recently interviewed Maxwell, though details remain undisclosed. The Supreme Court's pending decision on her appeal could further delay any testimony. - AFP
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Supporters rally to free Alabama social worker detained by ICE
FILE PHOTO: An officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stands as people protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside the U.S. immigration court in, New York City, U.S., July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Friends and family of an Alabama social worker detained by U.S. immigration authorities are pushing for her release days after she was pulled over for an alleged speeding violation, a case that reflects the broad sweep of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Giovanna Hernandez, 24, was stopped by local police while driving on Tuesday morning in her hometown of Leeds, near Birmingham, according to her brother, Dilan Hernandez. She was taken to a county jail and is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody there, ICE's detainee locator showed. Hernandez's parents brought her to the U.S. from Mexico at age 7, her brother said. She was valedictorian of her high school class, has bachelor's and master's degrees in social work, and works with young people applying for college through a local non-profit organization, he said. Trump, a Republican, has vowed to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, saying it is needed after high levels of immigration under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. While the Trump administration frequently highlights the cases of immigrants with serious criminal records, the number of people picked up by ICE with no previous criminal charges or convictions has skyrocketed since Trump took office in January. State and local police have played a key role in Trump's deportation pipeline, arresting people and holding them for ICE to take into custody. U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Hernandez was driving recklessly when she was pulled over by ICE and local police. 'On August 5, Giovanna Hernandez Martinez was tailgating a law enforcement vehicle, passed them erratically at 80 MPH, and cut them off," McLaughlin said. "Upon witnessing this reckless driving, ICE and local police initiated a traffic stop and discovered she was an illegal alien from Mexico. Unlike the Biden administration, we are not going to ignore the law." Dilan Hernandez said his sister was driving slightly above the posted speed limit on a highway. Reuters could not immediately ascertain the posted speed limit on the road. The Leeds Police Department and Pickens County Jail, where Hernandez was being held, did not respond to requests for comment. Hernandez was brought to the U.S. in 2008 and missed a cutoff date to qualify for deportation relief and a work permit under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, launched under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Trump tried to end that program during his first term but was rebuffed by the Supreme Court. Dilan Hernandez, a 21-year-old senior at Christian Brothers University in Tennessee, said his sister was a role model who had shared the experience of adapting to life in the U.S. and guided him. "That's why I just really want more people to help her, since she was always willing to help everybody else," he said. SUPPORTERS RALLY A petition calling for Hernandez's release has more than 5,000 signatures as of Thursday, and a GoFundMe page has raised $8,500 to help cover legal expenses. The petition calls for her immediate release, stoppingdeportation proceedings against her, and a pathway for her to remain in the U.S. legally. Mariana Alvarez, who has been friends with Hernandez since college, said she worried about what could happen to her in jail or immigration detention. "She's a social worker. She's a very gentle, straight-laced, church-going girl," Alvarez said. Alvarez, currently in medical school, said her friend barely remembers living in Mexico. "The thought that this could end with her being sent there, away from her family, I'm definitely scared of that," Alvarez said. "What would she do? Her whole life is here." (Reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Mary Milliken and Rod Nickel)


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
FBI ousts ex-acting director, other agents, in latest purge, people briefed say
FILE PHOTO: The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen at FBI headquarters, in Washington, U.S. June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI is firing another round of employees, including former Acting Director Brian Driscoll, in its latest moves against officials who worked on issues that drew President Donald Trump's ire, four people briefed on the matter said on Thursday. Driscoll, who temporarily served as the bureau's director early this year before FBI Director Kash Patel's Senate confirmation, was viewed as a hero by some in the bureau after he sought to shield them from being targeted for their role in investigating people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed bid to overturn Trump's election defeat. The Justice Department's former Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who has since been confirmed to serve as an appellate court judge, accused Driscoll and former FBI Acting Deputy Director Robert Kissane of insubordination, after they tried to fend off his efforts to collect a list of the names of all those people. Driscoll, nicknamed "The Drizz," told his colleagues in a farewell message on Thursday that he was given no explanation for his removal. "Last night I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the FBI. I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time," he wrote, according to a copy seen by Reuters. "Please know that it has been the honor of my life to serve alongside each of you." The FBI also notified at least three other agents they will be terminated by Friday, including the Washington Field Office's Assistant Director-in-Charge Steve Jensen, former Las Vegas Special Agent-in-Charge Spencer Evans and Walter Giardina, an agent in the Washington field office who was recently targeted by Republican Senator Charles Grassley for his involvement in several Trump-related cases, said the people who were briefed on the matter. Jensen, in a message to his staff, said he received a similar message that his employment will be terminated effective Friday. "Never waver in your resolve to answer the call to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution," he wrote, according to a copy reviewed by Reuters. The FBI declined to comment. The moves are the latest in a string of firings that kicked off on Trump's first day in office, including against people who worked on cases related to January 6 or former Special Counsel Jack Smith's two indictments against Trump for his retention of classified records and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In most of the firings, employees were not provided with explanations for their removal. Many have since filed legal challenges that remain pending. In a statement, the FBI Agents Association said it was "deeply concerned" about the reports that agents will be "summarily fired without due process for doing their jobs." "There is a review process when employment actions are taken against Agents. The process was established so that the FBI could remain independent and apolitical. FBI leadership committed — both publicly and directly to FBIAA — that they would abide by that process. We urge them to honor that commitment and follow the law," the group added. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Sandra Maler)


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Trump administration plans to build largest US federal migrant detention center on military base
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump visits a temporary migrant detention center informally known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration is aiming to construct the largest federal migrant detention facility in the United States on a military base in Texas, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the latest move to use military resources to make good on his immigration agenda. Trump has stepped up arrests of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, cracked down on unlawful border crossings, and stripped legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants. Since taking office this year, Trump has sent migrants to Guantanamo Bay naval base, though in far fewer numbers than planned. The Pentagon said the initial plan was to hold 1,000 migrants at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, by mid to late August and then finish construction of a facility with 5,000 beds in "the weeks and months ahead." "Upon completion, this will be the largest federal detention center in history for this critical mission - the deportation of illegal aliens," Kingsley Wilson, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters. While the facility is being built on a military base, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to be responsible for the migrants. The detention of migrants on U.S. bases is not new. Even under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, the Pentagon had approved a request to house unaccompanied migrant children at military facilities in Texas. Trump's administration is also building other facilities to hold migrants. A 1,000-bedIndiana facility is set to open and has been nicknamed the "Speedway Slammer." The Trump administration has hailed its actions along the border, including the deployment of active-duty troops, as the reason for a sharp decline in crossings by undocumented migrants. Trump made voters' concerns about immigration a cornerstone of his 2024 reelection bid. The number of migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has hit record levels in recent weeks, with about 57,000 detained as of July 27, according to ICE data. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart. Additional reporting by Ted HessonEditing by Rod Nickel)