Ghislaine Maxwell Asks Supreme Court to Toss Her Sex-Trafficking Convictions
The legal filing came after the former associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein met with Department of Justice officials on July 24. Epstein was a convicted sex offender who died in custody in 2019 while under indictment for sex trafficking.
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The Hill
16 minutes ago
- The Hill
Brazil Supreme Court orders house arrest for Trump ally Bolsonaro
Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed on house arrest for the remainder of his ongoing trial. Bolsonaro is facing legal repercussions for allegedly staging a coup to upend his 2022 election loss to now-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Justice Alexandre de Moraes accused Bolsonaro, who is an ally of President Trump, of using the social media accounts of his three sons to attack the country's Supreme Federal Court, violating court conditions. 'The covert participation of Jair Messias Bolsonaro, preparing pre-fabricated material for demonstrations and social media, clearly showed that he maintained the illegal conduct of trying to coerce the Supreme Federal Court and obstruct justice, in blatant disrespect for previously imposed precautionary measures,' Moraes wrote, according to People's Dispatch. Over the weekend, the embattled former leader joined demonstrations across Brazil via telephone. His lawyers argued that the words he used did not reference the court or violate standing conditions. They said he told protestors, 'good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom,' according to The Associated Press. The State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs backed Bolsonaro in a post on social platform X, condemning Moraes newest order. 'Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro's ability to defend himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak!' the bureau wrote. Their statement follows Trump's decision to impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazil and sanctioning of Moraes last week, after the president called the trial a ' witch hunt.' Despite rebukes from the Trump administration, the Brazilian justice has pressed ahead. In his opinion Monday, Moraes alleged Bolsonaro used social media and contacted other defendants despite outlined restrictions writing that 'harsher measures' were needed to dial back the former president. 'As with any precautionary measure imposed by the judiciary, restrictions on the use of social media cannot be circumvented by illicit schemes that, through 'digital militias,' political supporters, or other defendants, continue to propagate the same unlawful act,' the judge wrote.
UPI
16 minutes ago
- UPI
Coast Guard report: OceanGate Titan implosion was 'preventable'
Rear Admiral John W. Mauger of the Coast Guard briefs the media on the search for the Titan submersible in 2023. The Coast Guard released its findings Tuesday, saying the implosion that killed five people was preventable. File photo by C.J. Gunther/EPA Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The implosion of the OceanGate submersible Titan in 2023 was "preventable," because of its inadequate design and "toxic" workplace culture, according to a report released by the U.S. Coast Guard Tuesday. The Titan imploded on June 18, 2023, killing five people. The 335-page report documented the causes of the implosion and listed 17 safety recommendations to strengthen oversight of submersible operations, improve coordination among federal agencies and close gaps in international maritime policy. All five on the submersible were killed in the implosion. They were OceanGate's founder and CEO, Stockton Rush; British billionaire Hamish Harding; French maritime expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet; Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood. "The two-year investigation has identified multiple contributing factors that led to this tragedy, providing valuable lessons learned to prevent a future occurrence," said Jason Neubauer, chair of the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation for the Titan. "There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework. I am optimistic the [Report of Investigation's] findings and recommendations will help improve awareness of the risks and the importance of proper oversight while still providing a pathway for innovation." Titan's imploded wreckage was found on the ocean floor about 1,640 feet off the bow of the Titanic. The Coast Guard conducted hearings last year to hear testimony from OceanGate employees and others involved in the dive. OceanGate operations director David Lochridge testified about the business climate at the company and about what he said was Rush's penchant for playing fast and loose with the rules. Lochridge told the panel that the company's goal was to turn a profit, that OceanGate ignored obvious safety issues, and that "very little" science was involved in carrying out the sub's dives. OceanGate's former engineering director, Tony Nissen, testified that he was fired because he refused to approve a planned expedition after the submersible was struck by lightning, which compromised its experimental carbon fiber hull. "Stockton [Rush] would fight for what he wanted and, even if it changed from day to day, he wouldn't give an inch. Most people would eventually back down to Stockton. It was death by a thousand cuts," he testified. The 21-foot Titan submersible lost contact with the crew of the Polar Prince about 1 hour and 45 minutes into its dive on June 18, 2023. Responders scoured the North Atlantic Ocean, near the wreckage of the Titanic passenger liner that sank in 1912, to find the missing vessel before its oxygen ran out. The Coast Guard said in September 2024 that the Titan crew sent a message during the fateful dive that "all is well" just before the deadly implosion. It was the final communication from the Titan before the implosion. Neubauer's listed extensive causes of the disaster and recommendations for future vessels. "The board determined the primary contributing factors were OceanGate's inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan," Neubauer said in the press release announcing the report. "Other factors cited in the report include a toxic workplace culture at OceanGate, an inadequate domestic and international regulatory framework for submersible operations and vessels of novel design, and an ineffective whistleblower process under the Seaman's Protection Act. "The board also found OceanGate failed to properly investigate and address known hull anomalies following its 2022 Titanic expedition. Investigators determined the Titan's real-time monitoring system generated data that should have been analyzed and acted on during the 2022 Titanic expedition. However, OceanGate did not take any action related to the data, conduct any preventative maintenance or properly store the Titan during the extended off season before its 2023 Titanic expedition." He went on to list recommendations for further dives, including restrictions on oceanographic research vessels, expanding requirements to all submersibles and requiring Coast Guard documentation for all U.S. submersibles. Neubauer also recommended "adding Coast Guard personnel capacity at Coast Guard Headquarters to support new construction oversight and field inspections involving submersibles and vessels of novel design." Other recommendations include submitting Coast Guard search and rescue plans, safety requirements, whistleblower agreements and investigative protocols. In August 2024, Paul Henry Nargeolet's family filed suit demanding OceanGate to pay $50 million for the explorer's wrongful death. The family's lawsuit filed in a court in Seattle accuses OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and others of gross negligence and wrongful death.
CBS News
17 minutes ago
- CBS News
House panel subpoenas Clintons and other ex-officials in Epstein probe, seeks files from DOJ
Washington — The House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas Tuesday to a slew of former attorneys general and FBI directors, as well as former President Bill Clinton, for testimony about the case involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The subpoenas seeking depositions from the former Justice Department officials were issued after Republicans and Democrats on a House Oversight subcommittee approved measures to authorize the demands last month as part of efforts by Congress to obtain more information about Epstein. House investigators also issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi for documents related to the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his associate who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. The committee is seeking testimony from Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as from officials spanning the past four presidential administrations: former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller. Sessions and Barr led the Justice Department during President Trump's first term. Lawmakers are seeking information from the Clintons because of the former president's past ties to Epstein and Maxwell in the early 2000s. Letters to the officials from Kentucky Rep. James Comer, a Republican who leads the Oversight Committee, are all similar. The records from the Justice Department must be turned over by Aug. 19, according to the Oversight committee, and depositions are scheduled for throughout August, September and October. "While the Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell's cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government's enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell," Comer wrote, adding that the Oversight panel "may use the results of this investigation to inform legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations." Epstein was charged with federal sex trafficking crimes in 2019 and died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial. He had been investigated by federal authorities in Florida in the 2000s, though that ended in a federal non-prosecution agreement and a guilty plea on state prostitution charges in 2008. But Congress has renewed its focus on Epstein after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo last month that concluded Epstein did not have a "client list" of prominent figures and confirmed he died by suicide. The memo also found that there was no "credible evidence" that the disgraced financier blackmailed prominent people. The Justice Department and FBI said they did not plan to release any further information about Epstein's case. The findings rankled some of Mr. Trump's supporters, who are skeptical that there is nothing else regarding Epstein's case to make public. Amid the backlash, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell late last month for two days in Tallahassee, where she was serving her sentence before being moved to a minimum-security facility in Texas last week. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. An appeal of her conviction is currently awaiting action from the Supreme Court. Blanche and Bondi have also asked federal judges in New York to unseal transcripts from the grand jury proceedings in Epstein and Maxwell's cases, though federal rules typically require matters before grand juries to be kept secret. Beyond the moves by the Justice Department, lawmakers have pushed for files related to Epstein to be released to the public. A clash of House members over the material led the House to scrap votes and leave Washington early for its monthlong summer recess. House Republicans put forth a non-binding resolution last month to make the files from the federal probe into Epstein public, but Speaker Mike Johnson said the lower chamber would not vote on it until September, when lawmakers return from their break.
