Trump says he was never briefed on his name being in Epstein files
Other high-profile individuals are also named in the investigation about Epstein's [sexual] crimes. Just because the president is named in the files does not implicate him in any wrongdoing or connect him to Epstein's child [sexual] trafficking crimes. The Wall Street Journal originally broke the news of Bondi's briefing to Trump.
The Justice Department told the news outlet that Trump was made aware of the findings of the Epstein files as part of the 'routine briefing.' Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly said that nothing was found in the files that would mandate an additional investigation - or even prosecution. 'As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings,' they told the Journal.
White House communications director Steven Cheung slammed the report as 'fake news' in a statement to the Daily Mail. 'The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about,' he said when the report came out earlier this week.
But, try as he might, Trump cannot move on from questions about Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting charges related to [sexual] crimes. His death, ruled to be a suicide, sparked endless conspiracy theories that questioned how he may have really died and who among the rich and powerful would have benefitted from it.
The most recent questions came as Ghislaine Maxwell, the only person currently behind bars for Epstein's child [sexual] trafficking ring, wrapped a second day of meetings with the Justice Department. Maxwell, 63, appears to be angling for a pardon from the president after she 'didn't hold back' during secret questioning session.
Her attorney David Oscar Markus claimed that she spoke with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche about '100 different people' related to Epstein's child [sexual] trafficking ring. 'They asked about every possible thing you could imagine – everything,' Markus claimed.
He also said Maxwell is being used as the 'scapegoat' in the entire Epstein case and has been 'treated unfairly for the last five years.' Her attorney said that they had not put in a formal request with the White House for a pardon for Maxwell following the conclusion of Day 2 of questioning. But Markus didn't rule out taking that action in the future, saying 'things are happening so quickly.'
'The president said earlier he has the power to do so, we hope he exercises that power in the right way,' he said of a potential commutation. Trump refused to rule out invoking his presidential pardon powers for Maxwell when asked on Friday morning. 'I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about,' he said.
But, asked again about the matter later Friday, Trump, meanwhile, declined to talk about Maxwell and said 'this is no time to be talking about pardons.' 'I really have nothing to say about it. She is being talked to by a very smart man, a very good man, Todd Blanche. And I don't know anything about the conversation. I haven't really been following it,' he said. 'A lot of people are asking me about pardons. This is no time to be talking about pardons. But a lot of people have asked about pardons. This is just not the time to be talking about it,' he added.
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