Latest news with #Epstein-related
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Musk says Trump is in the 'Epstein files.' Here's where the president has shown up in unsealed records.
Elon Musk says the "Epstein files" haven't been released because Trump is in them. The president's name has cropped up repeatedly in Epstein-related court documents. Trump's name is included in Epstein's contact book and flight records. Elon Musk has an allegation about why President Donald Trump hasn't released all of the so-called "Epstein files." He's in them. Musk's claim, tying the president to the dead financier and sex trafficker, is the latest punch in the escalating beef between the richest man in the world and the president of the United States. "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public," Musk posted on X Thursday afternoon. "Have a nice day, DJT!" "Mark this post for the future," he added in a follow-up post. "The truth will come out." Musk didn't elaborate on his claim or provide evidence that backed up his assertion. House Democrats nonetheless seized on Musk's claim, with two members of the oversight committee demanding a response from Justice Department officials. Trump's relationship with Epstein has long been part of the public record. None of that record supports any notion that the president was involved in Epstein's sex trafficking. The two were friends in the 1980s, spending time in the same wealthy social circles in Palm Beach and Manhattan, and Trump's name has repeatedly come up in litigation related to Epstein. The two had a falling-out in the 2000s. Trump has previously denied involvement in any wrongdoing related to Epstein. In 2019, following criminal charges against the financier, Trump said he "wasn't a fan." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Musk's claims about Trump and Epstein were "unfortunate." "This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted," Leavitt said in a statement. "The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again." During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump indicated he supported making government documents related to Epstein public if he were elected. It's not clear exactly what Musk meant by the "Epstein files." Attorney General Pamela Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have promised to release documents in possession of the Justice Department related to the wealthy pedophile. Other agencies that may have Epstein-related documents, like the CIA, have been publicly silent about the matter. Bondi and Patel have published one batch of documents, in February. Aside from a three-page list of evidence seized during a 2019 criminal investigation into Epstein, it included only information that had previously been made public during the criminal case against his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and in other civil litigation. Among those records are a copy of one of Epstein's contact books, which lists Trump and some of Trump's family members among hundreds of entries. The records also include some flight logs for Epstein's private jets; Trump is mentioned as a passenger. Trump's Mar-a-Lago club featured prominently in Maxwell's criminal trial. One woman who said Epstein raped her testified that the financier took her to the club when she was 14 years old and introduced her to Trump. Another of Epstein's most prominent accusers, Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, has said she was recruited as a victim by Maxwell while at Mar-a-Lago. A Mar-a-Lago employee briefly testified at Maxwell's criminal trial about Giuffre's father's employment at the club. Trump's name has also been included in long-running civil litigation related to Epstein. Documents including Trump's name became public in January 2024, when a federal judge unsealed and unredacted thousands of pages of court documents in a lawsuit that Giuffre brought against Maxwell. The judge had previously referred to Trump with the pseudonym "Doe 174." The lawsuit did not accuse Trump of any wrongdoing. Many of the people whose names were initially kept under seal in the court documents were identified as Epstein's victims or had only an incidental connection to the financier. The documents from that lawsuit include excerpts of a deposition by Johanna Sjoberg, who has accused Epstein of rape. At one point during the deposition, Sjoberg was asked about giving massages to various associates of Epstein at his residences, and she denied giving any to Trump. Asked about a trip to Atlantic City, she described visiting one of Trump's casinos after flying on Epstein's private jet. "Jeffrey said, 'Great, we'll call up Trump, and we'll go to' — I don't recall the name of the casino, but — 'we'll go to the casino,'" Sjoberg said in the deposition. Other documents mention Trump only in passing, referencing him as one of the many high-profile people who have been friends with Epstein. Epstein — who also spent time with other powerful figures, including Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Steve Bannon, and Ehud Barak — died by suicide in a federal Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019. As part of the same investigation, Justice Department prosecutors brought sex-trafficking charges against his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in late 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Musk was famously photographed with Maxwell at a 2014 Vanity Fair event. He has said she "photobombed" him. The Tesla CEO has denied a connection to Epstein. Following a 2023 subpoena in litigation related to JPMorgan's ties to Epstein, Musk said he never took financial advice from him. "That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever," Musk posted on social media at the time. Read the original article on Business Insider
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
'Done With Tesla': Trump-Musk feud turns personal, US President to ditch his $80,000 shiny red EV? - The Economic Times Video
A red Tesla bought by Trump during a White House photo-op with Elon Musk is now set to be sold or given away amid a public fallout. Once a symbol of Trump's support for Musk and Tesla, the $80,000 car now sits unused as the two clash over a federal spending bill and explosive Epstein-related claims. As tensions escalated, Tesla's stock plummeted by 14%, erasing $152 billion in value. Trump said he's 'very disappointed' with Musk and 'not even thinking about Elon.'
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Epstein's lawyer breaks silence on Musk's 'big bomb' on Trump: 'I specifically asked him!'
Epstein's lawyer reacts to Elon Musk's claim that Trump is named in the Epstein Files. David Schoen, who claimed to have represented sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, broke his silence after Elon Musk dropped the 'big bomb' on President Donald Trump that Trump's name in there in Epstein Files. Schoen said he was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein's defense as his criminal lawyer nine days before he died, though Epstein contacted him months before that. "I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!" Schoen said. Schoen's post raised a storm as many questioned why he broke the attorney-client privilege just because his client is dead and revealed a piece of information on social media. Some users wondered why Schoen could ask such a specific question regarding Donald Trump. Some users asked him whether he thinks Epstein actually died by suicide. MAGA activists tagged Elon Musk and sought an apology for his slander. Donald Trump in Epstein files Epstein files refer to documents, court records and investigative materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Epstein has a small private island, which came to be known as Epstein Island or pedophile island. Epstein's contact book, flight logs, witness testimonies, grand jury transcripts, CDs, hard drives seized from his properties form Epstein files. Donald Trump' name is mentioned there as Trump used his private jet and also partied with him. Elon Musk insinuates that the president was party of Epstein's sex offences and that's why a major part of the investigative findings have not yet been released. About 2,000 pages were released between 2019 and 2022, throwing shocking names like Prince Andrew, Stephen Hawking, Bill Clinton etc. But not everyone was accused of sexual offences. In February 2025, the Trump administration released 200 pages of documents labeled The Epstein Files: Phase 1 but they did not contain any new information. The Department of Justice said they were reviewing tens of thousands of Epstein-related materials and it was not possible to give any timeline for the next release.
International Business Times
a day ago
- Politics
- International Business Times
'Time to Drop the Really Big Bomb': Elon Musk Accuses Trump on Being in Epstein Files as Public Break-Up Turns Ugly
Elon Musk escalated his growing feud with President Trump on Thursday by accusing him of hiding details from the public about the notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, suggesting that revealing the truth would expose Trump's own involvement. Musk also hinted that Trump should be removed from office and replaced by 40-year-old Vice President J.D. Vance. Just minutes before Musk made the Epstein-related accusation, Trump posted on Truth Social claiming he had told Musk to leave his administration and described the billionaire as having gone "CRAZY!" "Time to drop the really big bomb," Musk posted on X soon after the multi-hour tirade against the president. "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files." Musk Makes Bombshell Claims "That is the real reason they have not been made public," he claimed. "Have a nice day, DJT!" Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex offender, died in jail in 2019. In February, the Justice Department released over 100 pages of his phone records and flight logs as part of a "Phase One" release, which left many online investigators disappointed due to the lack of explosive details. Epstein's association with Trump has been public knowledge for years, with footage and photos showing them together at social events in the 1990s. The initial set of DOJ documents included Trump's name in the flight records, along with mentions of some of his family members — such as his first wife Ivana and daughter Ivanka — listed among Epstein's contacts. Advisors have quietly admitted that Trump's association with Epstein will probably come up again when more documents are released — though they maintain that the files don't contain any claims of misconduct by the president. "This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again." The contact list and flight records appear to have been taken straight from Epstein's notorious "little black book." One version of this book was made public during Ghislaine Maxwell's 2021 trial, while another was later sold at auction. The contact list from the 1990s includes 349 names, with 221 of them not previously disclosed in a 2015 exposé of Epstein associates published by the website Gawker. According to Alexander Historical Auctions, the copy that was auctioned off features 94 printed entries, some marked with black checkmarks made by hand, and five highlighted in yellow. "All five names, including that of Donald Trump, are well-recognized financial and industrial figures," the online auctioneer's webpage notes. Dirty War Intensifies For years, online conspiracy theorists have speculated that powerful people visited Epstein's private Caribbean island, Little St. James, where several underage girls and young women were reportedly abused. Among the prominent figures Epstein transported on various flights aboard his private jet—later dubbed the "Lolita Express"—were Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and Prince Andrew. Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10, 2019, with bedsheets wrapped around his neck, just a little over a month after being arrested on sex trafficking charges. In September of last year, Trump said he'd be open to releasing additional official documents tied to Epstein if re-elected — including the so-called "client list" of the late sex offender. "I don't think – I mean, I'm not involved," he noted. "I never went to his island, fortunately, but a lot of people did."
Business Insider
a day ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Tesla Stock Plunges: Here's What Daniel Ives Predicts Next
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares plunged 14% today, marking their worst single-day drop since 2020. But the selloff had less to do with electric cars and everything to do with electric egos. What began as a policy disagreement quickly escalated into a high-stakes feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. Confident Investing Starts Here: The fallout began with the administration's newly proposed 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' which aims to slash clean energy incentives, including the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles and solar subsidies. Musk called the bill a 'disgusting abomination,' warning it would set back American innovation. Trump fired back by threatening to cut off all federal contracts and subsidies for Musk's companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, claiming the move would save 'Billions and Billions of Dollars.' Musk responded by accusing Trump of betrayal and asserting that his prior support helped Trump win the presidency. He went even further, alleging that Trump's name appears in classified Epstein-related documents. But beyond the personal barbs, the proposed legislation poses real financial consequences for Tesla. Analysts estimate that eliminating the $7,500 EV tax credit could shave roughly $1.2 billion from Tesla's annual profits, nearly 19% of its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). On top of that, Tesla's $2.76 billion in revenue from selling regulatory credits in 2024 is also at risk, as the bill's rollback of clean energy incentives threatens this income stream. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, who's been bullish on Tesla for years, chimed in with his take on the situation, and offered a glimpse of where he thinks the stock could be headed next. 'The quickly deteriorating friendship and now 'major beef' between Musk and Trump is jaw dropping and a shock to the market and putting major fear for Tesla investors on what is ahead. This situation between Musk and Trump could start to settle down and the friendship continues but this must start to be calmed down on the Musk and Trump fronts and it's not good for either side. This feud does not change our bullish view of Tesla and the autonomous view but clearly does put a fly in the ointment of the Trump regulatory framework going forward. It's another Twilight Zone moment in this Musk/Trump relationship which now is quickly moving downhill,' Ives noted. That 'bullish view' comes with an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating, and a $500 price target, which implies about 76% upside from TSLA's current levels. (To watch Ives' track record, click here) Generally speaking, however, the Wall Street analysts have a different idea. TSLA stock only claims a Hold (i.e. neutral) consensus rating, based on 16 Buy recommendations, 10 Holds and 11 Sells. Going by the $282.70 average price target, the shares will stay rangebound for the time being. (See TSLA stock forecast) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
