Latest news with #SummitAgainstHumanTrafficking
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's under-fire AG Pam Bondi skips human trafficking summit over medical issue
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ducked out of a summit on human trafficking on Wednesday, citing a medical issue, as new reporting emerged to intensify the pressure on President Donald Trump over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported that Bondi informed Trump in May that his name appears multiple times in the Justice Department's files on the late sex offender, her absence from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)'s Summit Against Human Trafficking was announced. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti notified the audience at the event in Washington, D.C., by reading aloud a statement that read: 'I'm sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today… Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. 'I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue.' Trump is already suing the Journal after it alleged last week that he sent a 'bawdy' hand-drawn birthday card to Epstein. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung moved quickly to deny the newspaper's latest bombshell, calling it 'nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.' Also on Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee moved to subpoena both the files and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's jailed accomplice, while federal judges in New York and Florida rejected requests to unseal grand jury transcripts related to investigations into the duo. The scandal erupted on July 7 when the FBI and Justice Department abruptly announced that no Epstein 'client list' existed and that the financier died by his own hand in a New York jail cell in August 2019, infuriating Trump's supporters who long believed they would finally see the sex trafficker's allies and enablers held to account. The result has been weeks of infighting among the president's MAGA coalition, with Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy Director Dan Bongino bearing the brunt of the criticism and accused of orchestrating a 'cover-up.' Critics of the AG include podcaster Liz Wheeler, who was one of several right-wing influencers invited to the White House in February to receive binders of documents on Epstein that were already publicly available. 'I was one of the 'new media' figures… who have been put through the ringer for Attorney General Pam Bondi's gross incompetence and her severe lack of judgement in the way that she rolled that out,' she said. 'It's time to rectify this issue, which is why I said [the president] should not tolerate Pam Bondi's behaviour anymore.' Wheeler continued: 'The base feels stung because we have not been told the truth and we associate the Epstein files now with the question of, are we going to get the justice we voted for? 'The American people feel that this is injustice. They feel that they are being played. They feel there is dishonesty afoot. And of course that triggers us because we have been harmed by politicians doing this before. 'What we do as President Trump's base is, a true friend tells you the truth, even when that truth is uncomfortable, even when that truth might have consequences.' Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh has also attacked Bondi on social media, writing: 'We don't have an Attorney General. We haven't had one for the past six months. Pam Bondi is Donald Trump's personal lawyer. Nothing more. 'We've normalized his corruption. And America will pay such a steep price for doing so. Shame on us.' On Capitol Hill last night, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told reporters: 'Time and again, Pam Bondi and President Trump have lied to the American people. They are destroying Americans' trust in our justice system.'
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pam Bondi Backs Out of Anti-Trafficking Summit over Medical Issue as Epstein Scandal Heats Up
Pam Bondi missed an anti-trafficking summit for an apparent medical issue on Wednesday, July 23, as she navigates blowback for withholding evidence in Jeffrey Epstein's child sex trafficking case. The attorney general, 59, suddenly canceled her appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference's Summit Against Human Trafficking on Wednesday, citing a torn cornea, per Fox News. At the summit, acting assistant attorney general Matthew Galeotti read a statement to attendees from Bondi. "I'm sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today. Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you," the statement read. "I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue." A Justice Department spokesperson told PEOPLE that "her eye will take time to heal," but that she "remains extremely active and available" in the meantime. The DOJ did not elaborate on the circumstances or timing of her injury. Bondi's absence at the event comes as Republicans reckon with the Trump administration's hesitance to release all files about Epstein, a convicted sex offender and once-close friend of President Donald Trump. The GOP has made human trafficking a top point of concern for the party in recent years, and many MAGA loyalists have been waiting a long time to know what investigators uncovered in Epstein's trafficking case before his sudden 2019 death while he was awaiting trial. Trump promised during his 2024 presidential campaign that he would look into releasing more information about Epstein and the people close to him. Bondi herself has taken much of the heat from Trump's splintering base, after she and the FBI released a joint memo in early July that said there was "no incriminating 'client list' ... no credible evidence ... that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals," and no "evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties." Months before releasing the joint memo that sought to put Epstein rumors to bed, Bondi told Fox News that Epstein's reputed client list was "sitting on my desk," awaiting review. Bondi's skipped appearance at the CPAC summit fell on the same day as a bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal, which claimed that Bondi informed the president back in May that he was in the Epstein files "multiple times," then told him that she would not disclose any further details about the case to the public. Bondi allegedly cited sensitive victim details and presence of child pornography as her reasoning for withholding the remaining evidence, according to the Journal. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer. Last week, when asked by a journalist if he was told by his DOJ that he was in the Epstein files, Trump said "no," per PBS. The White House issued a statement in response, calling the Journal's report "another fake news story." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has medical issue amid Epstein files scrutiny
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, citing a medical issue, abruptly canceled her appearance at an anti-trafficking event amid public outcry over her handling of the Epstein files and renewed scrutiny over President Donald Trump's relationship with the disgraced financier. Bondi was expected to speak at CPAC's Summit Against Human Trafficking on Wednesday before acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti took to the stage to reveal she could no longer attend. 'I do have a note from the attorney general, from Attorney General Pam Bondi, that I wanted to share,' he told attendees before reading her statement. 'I'm sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today,' Bondi's statement said. 'Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue.' The announcement came some 90 minutes before The Wall Street Journal published a report, alleging Bondi informed Trump during a sit-down in back May that his name repeatedly appeared in the Epstein files. That means their meeting occurred just weeks before the Justice Department released a memo declaring that, after a lengthy review of all evidence available, there is 'no incriminating client list' or proof Epstein blackmailed prominent people as part of his alleged actions. It further noted that no more files related to the case — other than a video meant to prove that Epstein died by suicide — would be made public. The subsequent backlash was fierce, with critics calling for Bondi's head. Trump has, meanwhile, repeatedly come to his attorney general's defense while trying to quell his angry base. Many of them have pointed out the president's past vows to make public the Epstein files, and his recent hesitation to do so, has sparked questions about his involvement with the financier. Further fueling the fire, The Wall Street Journal also recently published a report on a collection of letters gifted to Epstein, one of them allegedly penned by Trump. The note, contained in a bound collection given to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, apparently included a drawing of a naked woman with his signature written across her pelvis in a way that appeared to mimic pubic hair. 'A pal is a wonderful thing,' Trump wrote to Epstein, per the WSJ. 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.' Trump denied writing the birthday note and has since sued the Journal over its report. White House communications director Steven Cheung on Wednesday also denied the Journal's latest bombshell in a statement to Newsweek. 'The fact is that the President kicked him out of his (Mar-a-Lago) club for being a creep,' Cheung said in the statement. '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.' _____
Int'l Business Times
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Pam Bondi Ditches Speaking Event After Report Reveals She Gave Trump Heads Up on Epstein Files
Attorney General Pam Bondi declined to attend a speaking event at an anti-human trafficking summit hours after a bombshell report revealed she allegedly gave President Donald Trump a heads up that his name is in the files on Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi was slated to speak at CPAC's Summit Against Human Trafficking on Wednesday, when Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti delivered a statement on her behalf, citing a medical reason as to why she would not be in attendance, Fox News reported. "Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you," she said in her statement. "I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue." The attorney general's cancellation came hours after the Wall Street Journal published a report alleging that Bondi told Trump that his name was in the files, as well as several other prominent figures. Though his name allegedly appearing in the files is not an implication that he committed a crime, the report comes as the Trump administration faces an intense effort to release the files. The Department of Justice and FBI were met with backlash earlier this month after releasing a memo declaring that Epstein killed himself and that there was no client list. Since the report regarding Bondi and Trump, the attorney general and FBI Director Kash Patel have been targeted in demands from Democrats to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for more transparency on the files. "We need to bring Bondi and Patel into the Judiciary Committee to testify about this. Now," California Sen. Adam Schiff said in a video posted on X. Meanwhile, White House communications director Steven Cheung called the Journal's report "another fake news story, just like the previous story," referring to a previous report by the outlet alleging that Trump included a drawing of a naked woman in a birthday note to Epstein. Trump has denied these claims and filed a lawsuit against the publication. Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019 after being arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking the month prior. He previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor for prostitution, and was registered as a sex offender. Trump and Epstein were friends prior to Epstein's first arrest. The two previously stated that they had a falling out, and Trump has since repeatedly bashed Epstein in various statements. Originally published on Latin Times
Newsweek
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Pam Bondi Cancels Speech Over Medical Issue: What We Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Attorney General Pam Bondi pulled out of a high-profile anti-trafficking summit on Wednesday citing a medical issue. Bondi was scheduled to appear at CPAC's Summit Against Human Trafficking in Washington D.C. But just before the event was set to begin, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti announced her absence. "I do have a note from Attorney General Pam Bondi that I wanted to share," he said, before reading her statement. Bondi said in her statement: "I'm sorry to miss all of my CPAC friends today. Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. I truly wish I was able to join you and support all of the work being done on this critical issue." Attorney General Pam Bondi speaking in Arlington, Virginia, earlier this month. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaking in Arlington, Virginia, earlier this is a developing story. More to follow.
