Latest news with #ToddBlanche
CNN
12 minutes ago
- Politics
- CNN
Protest banner flies over Epstein associate
Protest banner flies over Epstein associate A plane towing a protest banner flew over a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is meeting with US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. 00:18 - Source: CNN Automated CNN Shorts 11 videos Protest banner flies over Epstein associate A plane towing a protest banner flew over a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is meeting with US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. 00:18 - Source: CNN France to recognize Palestinian state In a historic move, French President Emmanuel Macron will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations this September, making France the first major Western power to do so. With Gaza in crisis, the move could add pressure and revive diplomatic talks. 01:32 - Source: CNN Starlink outage hits Ukraine front lines A brief outage of Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite internet service, impacted Ukraine's front line military communications, just hours after Russian drones hit the city of Kharkiv. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports from Kyiv. 01:19 - Source: CNN FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger The FCC greenlit the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media on Thursday in an $8 billion deal. Skydance will be able to finalize the deal and take control of Paramount in the coming weeks. 01:00 - Source: CNN Roof collapse kills children at school in India Several children have died and others are injured after a roof collapsed at a school in Jhalawar, northwest India on Friday. Authorities have confirmed that all those missing have been accounted for. 00:26 - Source: CNN 5 stories to start your day Trump and Powell bicker during tense visit; FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger; One of the biggest pop culture events in the world kicks off. 05:56 - Source: CNN Family farm under threat of town seizing land A New Jersey town told Andy Henry it can seize his land for affordable housing — whether he wants to sell or not. The fight has attracted national attention, including from the Trump administration. CNN's Meena Duerson reports. 02:42 - Source: CNN Trailer Swept Away By Raging Floodwaters Dramatic video shows a trailer being swept away by heavy floodwaters in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The trailer smashed into two trees before breaking apart. 00:25 - Source: CNN Taiwanese TV drama shows what a Chinese invasion could look like Taiwan is gearing up for another election – this time to unseat 'pro-China' lawmakers. The vote could break the political gridlock the island is in, with disagreements turning into brawls in the parliament, hampering Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's ability to push forward his agenda that addresses key US concerns over Taiwan. The vote comes after the premier of Zero Day, a TV series which dramatizes what it could look like if China were to attack Taiwan, told from a Taiwanese perspective, and Taiwan's biggest military drill and civil defense exercise. CNN's Will Ripley breaks all of it down. 02:15 - Source: CNN American woman who funneled $17M to North Korea sentenced to jail An American woman was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for helping North Korean operatives infiltrate American companies. Christina Chapman previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. This is the latest in a series of charges and indictments related to the North Korean IT worker scheme in which North Korean operatives seek IT jobs at American companies to generate revenue for the regime and its nuclear program. 01:15 - Source: CNN Video shows Thai drones dropping bombs at Thailand-Cambodia border Thailand releases video of drones bombing military targets in Cambodia, as the border conflict between the nations stretches into another day. 00:37 - Source: CNN
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney tells reporters he hopes the DOJ has an "open mind" as second day of talks continue
Attorney David Markus arrives for the second day of interviews between his client, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche regarding Jeffrey Epstein's case in Tallahassee, Florida on Friday, July 25, 2025.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
‘I never went to that island,' Trump says of Epstein's underage getaway and tells reporters to talk about Bill Clinton
President Donald Trump on Friday angrily demanded that news outlets give their attention years-old allegations about one of his predecessors rather than continue covering his connections to dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Trump was addressing reporters as he departed the White House for a visit to Scotland, where he owns a trio of golf courses, when he was asked whether he'd consider a pardon for Epstein's convicted sex trafficker associates, Ghislane Maxwell. Maxwell, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Florida, has been meeting with Todd Blanche, the president's ex-criminal defense attorney who now serves as the Deputy Attorney General, as Blanche has sought to diffuse anger among Trump's supporters over the failure to release documents from Epstein's case by interviewing his associate. After Trump replied that he did not know much about Maxwell's talks with Blanche and stated that he's not currently considering a pardon, he was asked if the convicted criminal — who is alleged to have lied under oath on numerous occasions — could be trusted. He told reporters that he trusts Blanche as a 'professional lawyer' and quickly began ranting about what he believes the press should focus on instead of him and Epstein. 'You know, you should focus on Clinton. You should focus on the president of Harvard, the former president of Harvard. He should focus on some of the hedge fund guys — I'll give you a list,' Trump said. Press further on what he hopes Blanche will get from meeting with Maxwell, Trump again attempted to deflect with talk of former presidents and the same former higher education officials. 'People should really focus on how well the country is doing, or they should focus on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama led a coup. Or they should focus on the fact that Larry Summers from Harvard, that Bill Clinton, who you know very well, and lots of other friends, really close friends, of ... Jeffrey Epstein should be spoken about and they should speak about them, because they don't talk about them. They talk about me. I have nothing to do with the guy,' he said. 'Todd is a great attorney, but you want to be speaking about Larry Summers. You ought to be speaking about some of his friends that are hedge fund guys. They're all over the place. You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton, who went to the island 28 times. I never went to the island. I don't even know what they're talking about.' The case of Epstein, a former math teacher turned financier who was arrested for alleged sex trafficking by federal authorities in 2019, has been a longtime fixation for many of Trump's Maga supporters who believe they contain damaging information on prominent Democrats and other liberal celebrities. For years, the president's supporters have pushed for release of what they believe was a list of powerful people to whom Epstein is alleged to have trafficked young girls, as well as other information they believe would reflect negatively on members of the Democratic Party, various Hollywood celebrities, and other purported elites who they believe to be part of a sinister cabal controlling world events. Trump has winked and nodded at such beliefs and had indicated during his 2024 campaign that his administration would release the documents in question if he were victorious in last year's presidential election. The president was once closely associated with and spoke highly of the disgraced financier and his proclivity for surrounding himself with young women, while Epstein at one point described himself as Trump's 'best friend,' leading to speculation that the president has been trying to prevent release of the files despite a campaign promise to do so because their content would reflect poorly on him.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell could be eyeing three outcomes as she meets with DOJ again: expert
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to continue interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell as the pair are set to meet for a second day of talks surrounding her involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's years of sex crimes. "Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow," Blanche said in a post on X Thursday. "The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at an appropriate time." The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. The second day of talks comes during the same week a Congressional committee voted to subpoena Maxwell to provide additional testimony surrounding Epstein's crimes and is the first time she is meeting with federal officials in what her attorney called a "very productive day." "We just ask that the [officials] look at what she has to say with an open mind," Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee on Friday morning. "She [has] no reason to lie at this point, and she's going to keep telling the truth," he added. In addition to Maxwell's newly-signed Congressional subpoena, she is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether the justices will take up an appeal from her legal team to overturn her 2021 conviction, according to The Associated Press. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a New York jury found her guilty of five federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor. While speaking to Lawrence Jones on "Fox & Friends" Friday, George Washington University Professor Jonathan Turley pointed to three key possibilities for Maxwell's meetings with federal officials. Turley referenced a motion that could be filed by the DOJ to reduce a sentence for a key witness in a case. "The defense can also go to a court and ask for a reduction based on new evidence," Turley said. "But we haven't seen that." Turley also suggested President Donald Trump could commute Maxwell's sentence towards the end of his term, "if she is a highly cooperative witness." When speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday, Trump did not rule out a pardon or clemency for Maxwell. "It's something I haven't thought about," Trump said. "I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about." Maxwell's legal team is arguing that her previous conviction was invalid due to a plea agreement Epstein made with federal prosecutors in his 2007 Florida case that should have also protected his associates and prevented her from being prosecuted in New York. Her attorneys have a Monday deadline to file their final written brief to the court, Reuters reported. Maxwell is also reportedly compiling new evidence in a bid to prove alleged government misconduct stemming from her 2021 trial to hand over to the DOJ, her brother, Ian Maxwell, previously confirmed to Fox News Digital. "Clearly, we must now see how this plays out," he said. "She will be putting before that court material new evidence that was not available to the defense at her 2021 trial, which would have had a significant impact on its outcome," he told The New York Post. Maxwell never testified during her 2021 trial and did not provide her version of events to federal prosecutors in the investigation leading up to the proceedings. Earlier this week, a federal judge in Florida denied the Trump administration's request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations pertaining to Epstein. A similar request from Maxwell was also denied, with the judge saying it was a "black-letter law" that defendants are unable to access grand jury information. Earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi told "America Reports" host John Roberts that she was in possession of Epstein's "client list." In 2008, Epstein reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid more serious charges by pleading guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution. One month after his arrest, the disgraced financier was found dead in his New York City jail cell in what authorities ruled a suicide. Maxwell's attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Maxwell is set to testify in front of Congress on Aug. 11.
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump says he has not considered pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell
President Donald Trump said Friday that he has not considered granting a pardon or commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell, a former girlfriend and accomplice of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Justice Department officials have met with Maxwell in Florida this week amid the furor over the Trump administration's handling of documents from the Epstein case. 'People should really focus on how well the country is doing,' Trump told reporters Friday as he left the White House for Scotland, later saying he has 'nothing to do with the guy.' Asked if he would grant Maxwell a pardon or commute her sentence, Trump said it was not recommended and that he had not considered it. 'It's something I haven't thought about. It's really — it's not recommended,' he said. 'It's something I'm allowed to do, but it's something I have not thought of.' The president continued to deny that he was the author of a bawdy drawing and note to Epstein described in a Wall Street Journal report last week. 'Now, somebody could have written a letter and used my name. But that's happened a lot,' Trump said. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche planned to meet with Maxwell again on Friday, a day after her lawyer said she spent five hours answering questions. The meeting Thursday was in a federal courthouse in downtown Tallahassee, not far from the federal prison where Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. Blanche said this week that he sought a meeting with Maxwell to discuss anyone else 'who has committed crimes against victims.' Blanche did not answer questions from reporters as he left the courthouse Thursday.
