Latest news with #JeffreyEpstein
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Just Broke A New Record — And He Won't Be Happy About It
When it comes to disapproval ratings, President Donald Trump is WINNING. A survey conducted over the weekend by Economist/YouGov reports that it asked 1,680 U.S. adults how they felt about the way Trump is handling the presidency, and his disapproval rating hit a record high in his second term, reaching a big, beautiful 55%. This is compared to 41% who approve of Trump. It's a spike from the prior week's numbers, in which 53% of respondents disapproved while 42% approved. Trump started his second term with 43% disapproval and 49% approval. It appears that the decline in Trump's favorability since he took office in January is largely due to Democrats and independents. According to Economist/YouGov's polls, the approval rating among Democrats was at 12% when Trump 2.0 began earlier this year. Today, only 3% approve of him. As for independents, 41% approved of him in January, while 29% approve now. Considering last week's kerfuffle surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case being closed — which has some of Trump's base turning against him — the most recent survey also asked respondents whether or not they felt the government is covering up evidence it has about Epstein. In response, 59% of people who said they voted for Trump in the 2024 election responded with 'yes.' Related... Republican Senator Says One Trump Move Made Him 'Done With This Bulls**t' Why Is Trump Constantly S**tting On Cities? Political Scientists Have A Theory Trump Melts Down Over 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax' — And The Internet Explodes
NZ Herald
38 minutes ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Trump decries ‘stupid' Republicans as Epstein row grows
US President Donald Trump has blasted 'foolish' Republican supporters as he went on the attack against anyone questioning his administration's handling of the case of dead sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. After days of struggling to brush off what he now claims is a Democratic hoax, Trump took his most combative
Buzz Feed
an hour ago
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
6 Brutal Nicknames Donald Trump Has Given His Former Supporters
Donald Trump really, really, really wants everyone to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein. Some of his supporters are starting to get fed up with his avoidance of the topic, and now, Trump himself has turned on them. Here are some of the things he's calling his former supporters: "Weaklings" In a Truth Social rant, he said, "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!" "Stupid people" In the Oval Office, he criticized his former supporters, saying, "Instead, they want to talk about the Epstein hoax, the sad part is it is they're people who are really doing the Democrats' work. They're stupid people." "Foolish" In the Oval Office, he also said, "It's [Epstein files] perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try to do the Democrats' work." "My so-called 'friends'" On Truth Social, he said, "They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called 'friends' are playing right into their hands." "Selfish people" Another from a Truth Social rant, he said, "We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein." And lastly, "boys, and, in some cases, gals." = From that July 12 rant, Trump said, "What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!" Let's see what he comes up with next!
NBC News
an hour ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Ghislaine Maxwell's family appeals to Trump amid battle over Epstein files
Amid an explosive fight on Capitol Hill over whether the Trump administration should release records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the family of the disgraced financier's convicted right-hand woman is saying she "did not receive a fair trial." Maxwell, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, several years after he died in jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. She is currently being held in federal prison in Florida and has filed a petition with the Supreme Court to vacate her 2021 conviction. "Her legal team continues to fight her case in the Courts and will file its reply in short order to the Government's opposition in the US Supreme Court," Maxwell's siblings said in a Tuesday statement released on a website dedicated to her case. The family's statement in defense of Maxwell also comes amid a recent politically charged fight over the release of documents in Epstein's case. Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, said in the statement that he would be "surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal," referring to a 2007 agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida. "He's the ultimate dealmaker — and I'm sure he'd agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it," Markus added. "With all the talk about who's being prosecuted and who isn't, it's especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the US government made and broke." The family, who said they "profoundly concur" with Markus' statement, added that Maxwell's legal team might file a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, which — if granted — would allow Maxwell to appear before a judge to determine if their detention is lawful. The Department of Justice did not immediately return a request for comment. Maxwell, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, petitioned the Supreme Court in April to scrap her conviction. Her legal team argued that Epstein's non-prosecution and plea agreement with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida in 2008 protected Maxwell from future prosecution. "Despite the existence of a non-prosecution agreement promising in plain language that the United States would not prosecute any co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, the United States in fact prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell as a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein," her attorneys wrote in the petition. Lower courts have rejected Maxwell's attorneys' arguments, and on Monday, the Department of Justice urged the Supreme Court to follow suit. The DOJ argued that the non-prosecution agreement in Florida does not protect Maxwell or other co-conspirators from being prosecuted in other jurisdictions around the country. Maxwell was prosecuted on different charges by federal officials in Manhattan. "The NPA's coconspirators clause, which 'also agrees' to forgo certain prosecution of coconspirators, cannot reasonably be construed as reflecting some 'global' scope broader than the Florida-based state and federal charges that Epstein resolved for himself," the brief states. "It would be extremely strange if the NPA left Epstein himself open to federal prosecution in another district — as eventually occurred — while protecting his coconspirators from prosecution anywhere." The Florida agreement was in a different jurisdiction and pertained to charges other than those Epstein ultimately faced in New York. As Maxwell continues to fight to appeal her New York conviction, a contentious battle is brewing within the Republican party over whether the Trump administration should release further information on its case against Epstein. The case against Epstein ended after he was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019. A medical examiner's office ruled Epstein's death a suicide. But for years, the nature of Epstein's death, the billionaire's high-profile contacts, and the graphic details of his alleged crimes have fueled conspiracy theories and demands that the government release all it knows about the case. Trump himself helped fuel these theories in the past, saying during his most recent presidential campaign that he would have 'no problem' looking into an Epstein client list. The Department of Justice, however, said last week it would not release any additional files related to the case against Epstein, referred to as the "Epstein files." In a two-page memo, Attorney General Pam Bondi disputed the existence of a "client list" of powerful individuals who participated in Epstein's crimes. The memo said that there was no "credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals." The development prompted outrage among some Republican lawmakers and prominent right-wing media figures, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson. Part of the outrage stems from Bondi's past comments that she had a "client list" related to Epstein sitting on her desk. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson on Tuesday that Bondi should come forward and explain why she declined to do so. Republicans have also been calling for Maxwell to appear and testify before Congress, which the speaker suggested he was in favor of. "I'm for transparency," Johnson said. "It's a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide." After years of promising to release the files, President Donald Trump has recently pushed back against Republican criticism and sought to downplay the significance of the documents. On Wednesday, Trump called the fanfare around the documents a "scam" and "bulls***." (The president previously knew Epstein, but later had a falling out with the disgraced financier. No evidence has surfaced to suggest Trump was involved in Epstein's criminal activity.) "I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country's history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax," Trump on his social media site, Truth Social. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!" he added.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump attacks ‘weakling' supporters over Epstein conspiracy
Donald Trump has attacked his own supporters for demanding the release of the Jeffery Epstein files, calling them 'weaklings'. The US president said Maga loyalists had fallen 'hook, line, and sinker' for conspiracy theories surrounding the case, as a rebellion over his administration's mishandling of it grows. 'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bull----, hook, line, and sinker,' Mr Trump vented in a Truth Social post. 'It's all been a big hoax. It's perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats' work,' he later told reporters in the Oval Office. Mr Trump is facing the biggest internal rebellion of his premiership after the Department of Justice concluded the disgraced financier had no black book of famous clients and died by suicide, not murder. The decision has sparked fury among Maga loyalists, who have called for Pam Bondi, Mr Trump's attorney general, to resign over her mishandling of the case. Democrats have pounced on the rift in an effort to drive a wedge in the president's base ahead of important midterms next year. 'The radical Left Democrats have hit pay dirt, again!' Mr Trump wrote. 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats' work,' Trump said of his own supporters who continue to focus on Epstein. He continued: 'Don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' As the White House scrambles to contain the row, Mr Trump is reportedly weighing up removing redactions to previously released documents related to the sex offender in a bid to placate his supporters. Ms Bondi, Kash Patel, the FBI director, and Dan Bongino, the bureau's deputy director, have been heavily criticised by Trump loyalists for failing to uncover a broader conspiracy relating to Epstein. The case has come under renewed scrutiny over the so-called 'client list', which has failed to materialise despite promises from the Trump administration. Conservative influencers from Megyn Kelly to Mr Carlson have called for Ms Bondi's resignation over her failure to deliver, after she claimed in February that Epstein's client list was 'sitting on [her] desk'. But the president has stood firm, praising Ms Bondi for handling the case 'very well'. 'She's handled it very well, and it's going to be up to her,' he told reporters on Tuesday. 'Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.' In recent days, Epstein has been accused of working as a Mossad spy by the likes of Tucker Carlson – an allegation which has been strongly denied by Israel. Theories about Epstein's supposed connection to intelligence agencies began to surface shortly after he was found to have hanged himself in his Manhattan prison cell while awaiting trial in 2019. His former attorney, Alan Dershowitz, who helped secure the controversial 'sweetheart deal' for Epstein on state sex charges filed against him in 2008, told the Telegraph the disgraced financier 'laughed' at the idea. 'We discussed it and the answer was no. He laughed. No intelligence agency would really trust him,' he said. On Monday, Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, vigorously rebutted the claim, criticising the 'vicious wave of slander and lies against' the Jewish state. 'As a former Israeli prime minister, with the Mossad having reported directly to me, I say to you with 100 per cent certainty: The accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false,' Mr Bennett wrote. 'This accusation is a lie being peddled by prominent online personalities such as Tucker Carlson pretending they know things they don't.' Some of Trump's closest allies have also called on Mr Trump to release the Epstein files. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, has become the most high-profile figure to break with the president and demand his administration release 'everything' on Epstein to the public. 'I'm for transparency,' Mr Johnson told Benny Johnson, a podcast host and conservative commentator. 'It's a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.'
