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Hindustan Times
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Was Melania Trump ‘very involved' in Jeffrey Epstein scandal? White House reacts to new shocking claims
First Lady Melania Trump may be the missing piece connecting President Donald Trump to late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, as per longtime Trump biographer Michael Wolff. Melania Trump shared a two-page passage from her best-selling book, Melania, in which she denied that Epstein was involved in her introduction with Trump(X) In an interview with Joanna Coles of the Daily Beast Podcast, Wolff claimed that Melania was 'very involved' in Epstein's network of friends, which is how she first encountered Trump. 'She's introduced by a model agent, both of whom Trump and Epstein are involved with. She's introduced to Trump that way. Epstein [knew] her well,' Wolff stated. According to reports, Trump and Melania crossed paths in September 1998 when she was assisted in her immigration to the US by ID Models founder Paolo Zampolli. Politico said Zampolli was connected to Epstein and his now-detained co-conspirator and ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. Also Read: Trump to prosecute Beyonce, Oprah and Kamala Harris? POTUS warns 'All hell would break out!' Wolf makes stunning claims about Trump, Melania In shocking audio recorded by Wolff, Epstein claimed that Trump enjoyed 'f---ing' his buddies' spouses and even started sleeping with Melania on his 'Lolita Express'. Zampolli has been Trump's special representative for international partnerships since March 2025. The MAGA supporter's $17 million Georgetown estate features a massive oil picture of Trump. 'Where does [Melania] fit into the Epstein story? Where does she fit into this, into this whole culture of models of indeterminate age?' Wolff asked, calling it a new tricky dimension in this. On July 6, the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation released a memo, stating that Epstein committed suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019 and that there is no 'client list' of wealthy co-conspirators. Melania denied any Epstein connection Last week, Melania shared a two-page passage from her best-selling book, Melania, in which she denied that Epstein was involved in her introduction with Trump. On the other hand, the book alleges that Epstein met Trump at the Kit Kat Club in New York. According to Wolff, Melania usually stays in the shadows. Wolff informed Coles that she was never by his side. 'All of those courtroom appearances that she shows up once, I report in my book that one of the aides approached her and she said, 'Nice try,' and then laughed.' White House reacts to Wolf claims Meanwhile, Steven Cheung, director of communications for the White House, called Wolff a 'fraud,' as per Daily Beast. Calling Wolf a 'lying sack' and 'fraud', Cheung said, 'He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.'
New York Post
10-07-2025
- New York Post
Jeffrey Epstein's chilling final message before his death revealed
Convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein's last known message was that he was 'still hanging around' — hours before he was found hanged in his Manhattan cell. 'I believe that I got the last message from him before he died,' journalist Michael Wolff revealed on an episode of the Daily Beast Podcast airing Thursday. 'And this came through one of his lawyers on a Friday evening. He died on Saturday morning. Advertisement 4 Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, Ma. on Sept. 8, 2004. Corbis via Getty Images 4 First responders attempt life-saving measures on Jeffrey Epstein at Downtown Hospital on Aug. 11, 2019. William Farrington for NY Post 'His message to me hours before this happened was — and it was just in response to me asking how he was — and he said, 'Still hanging around,' the Trump biographer said. Advertisement The chilling revelation comes as the Department of Justice confirmed this week that there was no evidence the notorious pedophile was murdered in his lockup — despite years of conspiracy theorists claiming otherwise. Epstein, 66, was found dead at the Metropolitan Detention Center on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial for a slew of sex-trafficking charges. Wolff said that Epstein had asked him to write his biography in 2014, but that he refused. They remained in touch, however. 4 Jeffrey Epstein's jail cell in the Federal Manhattan Detention Complex after his suicide. CBS 60 MINUTES Advertisement 4 Author Michael Wolff on May 27, 2018. Getty Images Asked his own theory on how Epstein died, Wolff suggested it will remain a mystery. 'I don't know,' he said. 'He could not, as described, have killed himself,' he said — while also conceding, 'As the circumstances presented, he could not have been murdered.'
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Musk-Trump spat entangles MAGA prince JD Vance
Musk-Trump spat: The fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has ignited a MAGA civil war, with JD Vance caught in the crossfire. Musk's call for Trump's impeachment and suggestion of Vance as a replacement has reportedly fueled Trump's paranoia. Vance now walks a tightrope, balancing loyalty to Trump with his Silicon Valley connections, as Trump demands unwavering allegiance. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Vance, the MAGA prince in Trump's cross hairs Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Vance does a tightrope walk Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In a presidency already defined by internal volatility and external shockwaves, the recent falling out between President Donald Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk marks a significant rupture in the power structure. But the MAGA civil war , which flared up with an open spat between Trump and Musk on social media is still smouldering even though Musk has deleted the controversial posts he aimed at Trump. Vice-President JD Vance has emerged as a target in the Trump-Musk Michael Wolff, who has written several books on Trump, has said on the Daily Beast Podcast that Trump is getting paranoid after Musk turned Vance into an existential threat to his power. During their explosive spat last week, Musk called for Trump's impeachment and urged that Vance take his place. Wolff, the best-selling Trump biographer, suggests that Musk's demand struck fear into Trump and made him even more suspicious of is a fascinating political figure. Once a critic of Trump, he pivoted hard during his Senate run, aligning himself fully with the MAGA movement and earning Trump's coveted endorsement. His 'Hillbilly Elegy' background gives him working-class appeal, while his Silicon Valley experience (as a venture capitalist funded by Peter Thiel, a tech billionaire) makes him a rare bridge between conservative populism and tech-world Musk, Vance may represent the ideal vessel: loyal to Trumpism's nationalist message but not bound to Trump's personal baggage. This may explain why he would reportedly float Vance's name as a successor, or alternative, to says that Trump has always been ambivalent about Vance, an 'unlikely Republican' whose 'hardcore support is in the tech bro community". Trump chose Vance as his running mate, Wolff said, in part because Musk made his backing of Trump, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, conditional on that in Trump's world, loyalty is everything. The president would view any attempt to discuss succession as an act of betrayal. If Vance is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as fit to replace Trump, he risks being sidelined from Trump's inner circle. According to Wolff, Trump now wants to put Vance through a 'loyalty test' — a familiar ritual for those within the MAGA president's high-profile fallout with Musk -- a 'central pillar' of the tech world's incursion into right-wing politics -- leaves him vulnerable and will push him to scrutinize his Vice President ever more closely, Wolff said. 'He will set up what we will see as a set of tests that Vance is going to have to endure and pass,' Wolff told host Joanna Coles. '(Vance has) got to profess his absolute loyalty to Trump, or he will just be marginalized within the administration.'In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House Communications Director Steven Chung slammed Wolff as 'a blithering idiot who has been widely discredited due to his blatant lies and fabrications".'He is an imbecile of the highest order and his Trump Derangement Syndrome-addled brain has caused him to lead a miserable existence devoid of reality,' he continued. 'Nothing he says is the truth and he resorts to outlandish falsehoods in order to stay relevant since Father Time has passed him by 20 years ago.'For Vance, it's a tightrope walk. If he alienates Trump, he will be sidelined from everything important in Trump's inner circle. If he distances himself from Musk, he could lose his future prospects and a significant stream of Silicon Valley-aligned a podcast appearance with comedian Theo Von posted on Saturday, Vance said, 'First of all I'm the Vice President to President Trump; my loyalties are always going to be with the President. Elon is an incredible entrepreneur. I think DOGE was really good. The effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in our country was really good.''I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear. I hope it is,' Vance tried to downplay Musk's blistering attacks as an "emotional guy" who got frustrated. "Look, it happens to everybody," Vance said during the podcast. "I've flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours."Vance told Von that as Musk for days was calling on social media for Congress to kill Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," the president was "getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon, but I think has been very restrained because the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk." "I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine," he the interview, Von showed Vance Musk's claim that Trump's administration hasn't released all the records related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them. Vance responded to that, saying, "Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein." "This stuff is just not helpful," Vance said in response to another post shared by Musk calling for Trump to be impeached and replaced with Vance. "It's totally insane. The president is doing a good job."If Wolff's claims are accurate, the implications go beyond tabloid drama. Trump can increasingly feel lonely and cornered as he alienates his close aides. What's worse for him, he can also end up losing support of certain sections of his MAGA base as the emergence of Musk and Vance means there are now other popular conservative leaders too.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Musk Just Made Trump Really Paranoid about JD Vance: Author
President Donald Trump is spiraling into paranoia after Elon Musk turned Vice President JD Vance into an existential threat to his power, author Michael Wolff said on the Daily Beast Podcast. During their explosive spat last week, Musk called for Trump's impeachment and urged that Vance take his place. Wolff, the best-selling Trump biographer, suggested that Musk's demand struck fear into the president and made him even more suspicious of Vance. The Fire and Fury author noted that Trump has always been ambivalent about Vance, an 'unlikely Republican' whose 'hardcore support is in the tech bro community.' Trump chose Vance as his running mate, Wolff said, in part because Musk made his backing, worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, conditional conditional on that pick. The president's high-profile fallout with Musk—a 'central pillar' of the tech world's incursion into right-wing politics—leaves him vulnerable and will push him to scrutinize his vice president ever more closely, Wolff said. 'He will set up what we will see as a set of tests that Vance is going to have to endure and pass,' Wolff told host Joanna Coles. '(Vance has) got to profess his absolute loyalty to Trump, or he will just be marginalized within the administration.' Vance has tried to get ahead of such tests by doing exactly that. 'I'm the vice president to President Trump. My loyalties are always going to be with the president,' he said as Trump-Musk feud was still unfolding, adding, 'I think it's a huge mistake for (Musk) to go after the president like that.' It remains to be seen if that will satisfy Trump, who, Wolff noted, 'demands flattery on a constant basis.' Even if Vance is not plotting a tech-bro takeover of the White House, Musk dropped another existential threat on Trump by claiming he 'is in the Epstein files' in an X post he has since deleted. 'The Epstein stuff floats around Trump as a consistent threat, as a consistent silver bullet really,' Wolff said. Trump had a longstanding relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late New York financier and convicted sex offender, from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The president has distanced himself from Epstein in the decades since, saying he ended the relationship in the early 2000s and had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes. Although Musk withdrew his X post, Wolff argued that the billionaire 'could always bring back the threat.' In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House Communications Director Steven Chung slammed Wolff as 'a blithering idiot who has been widely discredited due to his blatant lies and fabrications.' 'He is an imbecile of the highest order and his Trump Derangement Syndrome-addled brain has caused him to lead a miserable existence devoid of reality,' he continued. 'Nothing he says is the truth and he resorts to outlandish falsehoods in order to stay relevant since Father Time has passed him by 20 years ago.'
New York Post
03-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Trump blasts reporter's ‘totally FALSE' rumors about Harvard University grudge
President Trump has ripped 'totally FALSE' rumors that he is targeting Harvard University because he was rejected by the Ivy League school. 'Michael Wolff, a Third Rate Reporter, who is laughed at even by the scoundrels of the Fake News, recently stated that the only reason I'm 'beating up' on Harvard, is because I applied there, and didn't get in,' Trump raged in a Truth Social post about the author late Monday. 'That story is totally FALSE, I never applied to Harvard,' he maintained. Advertisement 5 President Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. AP 'I graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.' Wolff, who penned 'Fire & Fury' about Trump's first administration, had claimed on The Daily Beast Podcast last week that the prez held a 'grudge' against the elite school because he'd been rejected. Advertisement 'He needs an enemy,' Wolff claimed of the president. 'That's what makes the show great. The Trump show. He picks fantastic enemies, actually. And Harvard, for all it represents, fits right into the Trump show.' After being asked if he thought Trump's hatred of Harvard was odd given those close to him are all Ivy League educated, Wolff said: 'It's important not to lend too much calculation and planning to anything he does.' 'But the other thing is that, by the way, he didn't get into Harvard,' the author continued. 5 Author Michael Wolff discussing his book 'All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America' at The 92nd Street Y on Friday, March 14, 2025, in New York. CJ Rivera/Invision/AP Advertisement 5 Trump tore into author Michael Wolff, who has written several books about the president, after he recently suggested the White House's crackdown on Harvard was a personal vendetta. 'So one of the Trump things is always holding a grudge against the Ivy Leagues.' Trump, for his part, accused Wolff of going after him because of plummeting book sales. 'He is upset because his book about me was a total 'BOMB.' Nobody wanted it, because his 'reporting' and reputation is so bad!' Trump wrote on Truth Social. Advertisement 5 Wolff, who penned 'Fire & Fury' about Trump's first administration, had claimed on The Daily Beast Podcast last week that the prez held a 'grudge' against the elite school because he'd been rejected. Getty Images 5 Demonstrators with signs stand around the John Harvard Statue in Harvard Yard following a rally against President Donald Trump's attacks on Harvard University at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 17, 2025. AFP via Getty Images It comes soon after first lady Melania Trump shot down a viral conspiracy theory that her son Barron, too, applied to Harvard and was rejected. 'Barron did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false,' the first lady's spokesman said. The 19-year-old's admissions status had been the subject of furious speculation on social media amid his father's repeated attacks — and cancellation of grants and other federal funds — on the Ivy League institution. Barron completed his freshman year at New York University last month.
