Latest news with #coverup
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Epstein's brother hints at Ghislaine Maxwell's knowledge
Jeffrey Epstein's brother has accused the White House of a 'cover up' after Donald Trump's Justice Department said it would speak to Ghislaine Maxwell in jail. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed on Tuesday he expects to meet with Maxwell in the coming days to see if she has 'information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.' Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of trafficking of minors on behalf of Epstein. The move to speak to her is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent in the Epstein case, which has been shrouded in conspiracy theories. It follows a fierce backlash from parts of Trump's base over an earlier refusal by the administration to release additional records in the investigation. Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced mounting pressure from Trump's supporters to release all materials related to Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. A lawyer for Maxwell said she would cooperate with the Justice Department. 'I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,' her lawyer David Oscar Markus said. 'We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.' But Mark Epstein (pictured right), brother of the disgraced late financier, claimed it was the latest effort to distract attention from unpublished evidence and the circumstances surrounding the death of his brother. Two weeks ago, a months-long review conducted by the Justice Department and FBI concluded that Epstein died by suicide. Mark Epstein maintains his brother was killed. He said: 'They'll talk to her (Maxwell) and ask her what her favorite color is. So they can say they talked to her. It depends what the conversation is about. Maybe she'll be afraid to speak, afraid they'll hold it against her and turn down her appeal.' Mark Epstein said he knew Maxwell in the 1990s but had not spoken to her for several decades. But he believed she would have information about interactions between Epstein and Trump. 'She could certainly verify that Trump was in Jeffrey's office many times,' he said. He claimed a White House statement on Monday that Trump had 'never been' to his brother's office was 'the biggest crap I've ever heard. I would speak to Jeffrey and he'd say he was with Trump. I know people in his office saw him there,' he said. The White House referred a request for comment to the Justice Department. The Justice Department did not comment beyond Blanche's earlier statement. Blanche said: 'This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead.' He said in the recent Justice Department and FBI review 'no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.' Blanche added: 'President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say. I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days. Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now.' Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump addressed the DOJ plan to speak to Maxwell, saying he was not aware of it but it seemed 'appropriate to do.' He said: 'I don't know anything about it. I don't really follow that too much. It's sort of a witch hunt.' Trump has long said he was 'not a fan' of Jeffrey Epstein, that he had a 'falling out' with him around 20 years ago and never spoke to him again. Last week, the president sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal after it published a story about Trump's alleged friendship with Epstein. Meanwhile, some of the president's supporters have continued to pursue conspiracy theories that Epstein had a list of high-profile clients. The Justice Department and FBI review concluded there was no such 'client list.' Trump has urged his supporters not to be taken in by what he called a Democrat 'scam' and 'hoax' which was actually 'pretty boring stuff.' Some of Trump's most staunch supporters in recent weeks have called on Bondi to resign, after she backtracked on a promise she made earlier this year. She had said her department would release additional materials including 'a lot of names' and 'a lot of flight logs' in connection with Epstein's clients. Since then, at Trump's direction, Bondi and Blanche have asked a federal court for permission to unseal grand jury transcripts in the cases of both Epstein and Maxwell. However, legal experts have said that those transcripts will not likely contain the types of materials being sought by Trump's supporters. A source who spoke with the Daily Mail said that Maxwell would be 'more than happy' to testify before Congress. 'No-one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows,' the source said. 'She remains the only person to be jailed in connection to Epstein and she would welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.'
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former mayoral candidate sues St. Helens for unreleased report with ‘collusion' allegations
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A former mayoral candidate is suing the City of St. Helens over unreleased records as demonstrators gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday in a call for transparency. The lawsuit claims the city is blocking the release of records that could implicate its mayor and ex-police chief. Mayor Jennifer Massey denies these claims, but the city has yet to confirm whether these records exist. Kotek calls for special legislative session amid ODOT layoffs, transportation crisis Attorney Steve Toschi, a former St. Helens mayoral candidate, said it's time to 'end the coverup and appoint a special prosecutor.' Toschi is suing the city for withholding portions of an investigative report into retired Police Chief Brian Greenway. 'The city just is not releasing the records, and there are records to be released,' Toschi said. , 'It is in the public's interest to know whether its mayor has committed crimes in order to get elected: which may suggest that she can, will, and does take actions which harm the public interests for her personal benefit, and where she and others within and associated with the St. Helens government draw their ethical lines.' While redacted portions of the report were made public in February, the complaint argues that a second part was not released, including at the time of her candidacy. 'We had an unprecedented situation with the 24-hour patrol ending, and there's significant information indicating that Ms. Massey and ex-Chief Greenway conspired to do that, which is a criminal act.' The unreleased report was first mentioned in former acting Police Chief Joseph Hogue's whistleblower lawsuit against the city. In March, Hogue claimed he was retaliated against after reporting an alleged scheme between his boss and Massey to withhold 24-hour police coverage. 'People were afraid. We thought that we were in danger in this town. And it turns out the whole thing was a political ploy,' Toschi said. 'It was all optics, and there's significant evidence, and they withheld it all.' Out-of-state women died at Dillon Falls; search continues Mayor Massey denies the claims, and shared the following statement with KOIN 6 News: 'I firmly deny the false and misleading claims that have been circulated. The City's selection of a new police chief followed a fair and lawful process, facilitated by our legal counsel. Allegations of criminal conduct are entirely unsubstantiated. 'I remain committed to transparency, ethical leadership, and serving the people of St. Helens with integrity. Rumors, accusations, and emotion are not facts, this is precisely why due process is essential. Since taking office, I have been the target of continuous political attacks by a small group, including one of my former opponents, who continue to push baseless claims without evidence. 'Those spreading these accusations count on silence to give them weight, but silence is not proof. I sincerely thank those who continue to support me and my dedication to our citizens and the future of St. Helens.' Meanwhile, Toschi is still pushing to have an independent prosecutor assigned. 'The political ploy is saying, 'Oh look, he's sour grapes.' That's wrong,' he said. 'This is about something that was very troubling during the election where crimes may have been committed.' Neither the city nor the district attorney's office responded to KOIN 6 News' repeated requests for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Vance Is Boasting He Knows What's in Epstein Files to Random Dinner Guests
Vice President JD Vance casually informed a comedian over dinner what's in the files connected to Jeffrey Epstein while trying to downplay their significance. Tim Dillon made the revelation on an 'emergency' episode of his podcast titled 'The Epstein Cover-Up.' Featured on the episode was conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host Alex Jones, one of several Donald Trump supporters who have turned on the president over his handling of the Epstein case. '[Attorney General Pam] Bondi said we have 10,000 hours of video. I had dinner last week with the vice president,' Dillon said. 'He told me that that was commercial pornography, they do not have videos of any powerful person in a compromising position. That's the party line that they're going with?' 'If that's the case, why would Pam Bondi call it evidence? She's not an idiot. She's the attorney general,' Dillon added. 'Why would she say she has files on her desk if none of these implicated anybody?' Tom Dillion (left) hosted an 'emergency podcast' to discuss the Jeffrey Epstein saga with Alex Jones. / Screengrab/The Tom Dillon Show The fallout from the Department of Justice and FBI's handling of the files related to Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, doesn't appear to be blowing over anytime soon, even as Trump desperately tries to launch wave after wave of distractions. Multiple MAGA figures including Trump demanded the release of all evidence and files connected to Epstein amid speculation that there exists a list of high-profile names that implicates them in the pedophile's offenses. However, the DOJ and FBI shot down claims of the existence of any so-called 'client list' belonging to Epstein, despite Bondi stating in February that it was 'on my desk right now' awaiting review. The FBI and DOJ also stated that there will be no further arrests in connection to Epstein's crimes and that he took his own life, and was not murdered, inside his New York jail cell in August 2019. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump were friends for years but fell out around 2004 over a Palm Beach real estate deal. /Another top MAGA figure who spent years demanding the release of the Epstein files was Vance himself. In a December 2021 X post, Vance wrote: 'What possible interest would the US government have in keeping Epstein's clients secret? Oh…' In a June 2025 interview with comedian Theo Von, Vance added, 'Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.' On July 16, Von asked Vance 'what changed?' while resharing the clip on X. On his podcast, Dillon questioned why Trump and Vance were once desperate for the Epstein files to be made public but are now suggesting everyone move on from the saga. 'It just feels like they're they're covering something. For sure, 100 percent,' Dillon said. 'And I feel like they're telling a story, and the story doesn't make any sense.' Dillion's podcast regularly gets hundreds of thousands of views online. The comedian, who claims to be equally critical of Democrats and Republicans, interviewed Vance in the days leading up to the 2024 election. He is also a regular guest of Joe Rogan, who was one of several podcasters the president spoke to during the 2024 campaign to try and engage younger voters. A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Comedian Tom Dillon said the vice president told him there wasn't '10,000 hours″ of horrific videos related to the late pedophile.
Vice President JD Vance casually informed a comedian over dinner what's in the files connected to Jeffrey Epstein while trying to downplay their significance. Tim Dillon made the revelation on an 'emergency' episode of his podcast titled 'The Epstein Cover-Up.' Featured on the episode was conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host Alex Jones, one of several Donald Trump supporters who have turned on the president over his handling of the Epstein case. '[Attorney General Pam] Bondi said we have 10,000 hours of video. I had dinner last week with the vice president,' Dillon said. 'He told me that that was commercial pornography, they do not have videos of any powerful person in a compromising position. That's the party line that they're going with?'
National Post
a day ago
- Business
- National Post
Kelly McParland: Epstein scandal is the essence of Trump
Article content This puts the president in the very position in which he so enjoys trapping others. He once promised to release the Epstein files. Then he said there's nothing worth releasing. Now he says he's ordered the release of the files he said aren't worth releasing. Article content Is he telling the truth, or is he part of a coverup? That's hard to gauge, as you'd first have to establish which of his contradictory positions the question pertains to. And the one thing about a conspiracy is that denying you're part of one only feeds suspicions that you're lying. Article content So there's no easy escape for Trump and it's driving him batty. He dedicates entire head-spinning diatribes to the unfairness of his devoted followers wasting their time on Epstein, Epstein and more Epstein when they should be focusing on other issues, like whether Coca-Cola is switching to cane sugar like he says it is. (It probably isn't). Article content It was entirely predictable that he'd launch a suit against the Journal after successfully extracting a US$16 million payout from CBS and parent company Paramount Global over a 60 Minutes interview with former vice-president Kamala Harris. It's reasonable to assume Paramount caved rather than risk Trump using his position to complicate a planned merger with Skydance Media, and saw US$16 million as a small price to pay. Journal owner Rupert Murdoch's news and entertainment empire has at least as much at stake in its U.S. operations but evidently concluded the Epstein story is just too juicy to resist, scandal having been the lifeblood of Murdoch's fortune. Article content Article content Murdoch's Fox News, a fiercely dedicated Trump admirer, paid US$787 million to settle a suit for cheerleading fake claims of ballot box fraud in the 2020 election, and shuttered one of its oldest and widely-read UK publications over a hacking scandal, so the Australian billionaire fully understands the potential cost of titillating journalism. Article content But what the heck? Murdoch can afford it, and fun is fun. The Journal may well have calculated a court fight would force more explicit Epstein details into the light — as happened with Trump's lost sex abuse battle against author E. Jean Carroll — and the chance to watch Trump squirm was well worth the price. Article content
