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The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Former Epstein lawyer says Bondi ‘jumped the gun a bit' on files
David Schoen, a former Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein lawyer, said Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials 'jumped the gun a bit' in overhyping the Epstein files. Schoen in an interview with BBC Newsnight on Thursday said there is no Epstein 'client list' that would highlight connections between the disgraced financier and wealthy individuals. 'If someone were to think that there's actually a list — which Jeffrey Epstein wrote down the name of, you fill in the name of the famous, wealthy person with some young girl — that just doesn't exist,' he said. He also suggested that Bondi and other officials created a hyped environment in terms of what might be included in the files that couldn't be matched by what was released. Schoen was careful to not blame President Trump for over-hyping the files. He said he thought Trump had called on the DOJ and FBI to release anything big they found, and that the others jumped the gun in how they described what was coming. 'I think what happened is, President Trump said he's open to the idea, and it should be disclosed if there's any such file that hasn't been disclosed so far. But he didn't know what was in it,' Schoen said. 'I think that maybe some of the others, the attorney general, director of the FBI, and so on, jumped the gun a bit. They were in favor, for good reasons, of disclosing and full transparency, but they didn't know what they had yet,' he said. 'When they saw what they had, there was no 'smoking gun' and therefore they said there was nothing to release of any substance. And now you see this catch-up,' Schoen said. The controversy over the Epstein files has continued for weeks, causing problems for Trump and Republicans in Congress. Democrats have sought to further divide the GOP over the issue by offering amendments in committee to release more federal information on Epstein. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch on Friday was set to meet with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is imprisoned on sex trafficking charges. Trump on Friday said he hadn't thought about pardoning Maxwell. Republicans in Congress have been divided over how to handle the issue. Some have called for the release of all files on Epstein held by DOJ, while others have wanted to put guardrails on disclosures. Schoen is far from the first person to argue the files were over-hyped. Karl Rove, republican strategist, said on July 24, 'There's hell to pay when those who hyped the conspiracy have closed the books on the case.' Deputy FBI director Dan Bongino as a conservative pundit outside the administration was among those pressing the idea that there were files out there that showed the government could be protecting wealthy associates of Epstein. Epstein's acquaintances include a number of luminaries, including Trump and former President Clinton. This has all sparked conspiracy theories for years. Schoen previously made statements that no client list existed and that President Trump was not involved in the Epstein case. He stated on June 16 on NewsNation that Bondi and Trump were not hiding a client list. On June 5, Shoen posted on X, 'I was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein's defense as his criminal lawyer 9 days before he died. He sought my advice for months before that. I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!'
New York Post
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Prediction markets forecast socialist landslide for NYC mayor race
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. Don't look now, but it appears the controversial candidate is separating himself in the New York City mayoral race. Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani is a massive favorite to triumph in the November election, being given a 72 percent chance at victory, according to prediction market Kalshi. Kalshi, a CFTC-licensed derivative market that takes wagers on real-life events, is taking money on this election, with $12,917,756 already wagered on the market as of Thursday morning. Mamdani, while favored, has seen his lead dwindle a bit. He got as high as 94.8 percent in April, so there is some potential that a different candidate could close the gap. 5 Mayor Eric Adams potentially could be replaced in the upcoming election. James Messerschmidt Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo — whom Mamdani defeated in the democratic primary — has a growing chance, according to the money market. He is at 15 percent, significantly higher than the less than two percent chance he had in May. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams has remained steady with a nine percent chance of victory come November. 5 The Post's front page from July 16, 2025. rfaraino 5 NYC Mayor Race Winner market shown on Kalshi. Kzlshi Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa is an afterthought, with his odds coming in at just three percent. There had been rumors that Silwa would drop out of the race and one of Cuomo or Adams would take over the republican bid to be the NYC Mayor, but that hasn't happened as the election nears. 5 Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. Getty Images 5 Andrew Cuomo speaking into a microphone. John Roca for NY Post The election is scheduled for Nov. 4, and around that time bets will be paid out on Kalshi, which is available in all 50 states. A $10 bet on Cuomo would pay out $67 ($57 profit) if he can overcome Mamdani, while a $10 bet on the favorite would pay out just $14. Why Trust New York Post Betting Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he's showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
The Hill
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
'We Saw Trafficking Like We've Never Seen:' Kristi Noem on Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and several other republican officials, lawmakers spoke Wednesday at the Anti-Human Trafficking Summit at the 2025 CPAC event in Washington, D.C.
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Tax Bill Nears Passage, Clears Key House Hurdle
Patrick McHenry, former republican congressman, weighs in on the latest developments from the house floor as republicans try to pass Trump's 'big beautiful' tax bill. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers unveil $55.2 billion state budget as deadline looms
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — With just over a day to get it passed, lawmakers unveiled their state budget for the coming fiscal year. It includes $55.2 billion dollars in spending, and is balanced using just over one billion dollars in new tax increases and revenue streams. The full details of the revenue plan have not been released, but the Senate's top budgeteer said there are no broad based tax increases — such as increases to the income tax and sales tax, or the creation of a service tax — in this budget. 'There are no broad based tax increases in this budget,' Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) said. 'It's not an increase in the in the individual or corporate income tax increase. What you'll see is there are there's a recognition that there are there are we try to make sure that individuals pay their fair share and the corporations who are the most prosperous but most profitable also pay their fair share.' That falls in line with Governor Pritzker's wishes. He said earlier this week he would veto any budget that included broad tax increases. Instead, the budget will rely on a mixture of one-time revenue streams and increases in certain 'sin taxes' on the sale of cigarettes and vapes. Full details of the tax plan will be released Saturday. The budget dropped around 6 pm on Friday night, giving lawmakers about 30 hours to get it through both chambers. Governor Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon, and House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch, met Friday afternoon to discuss the budget. In a break from tradition, however, Democrat leaders did not meet with Republican leaders before the budget was dropped. That left Republican budget leaders to try and sort their way through the over 3,000 pages of spending details while in committee. 'This is a $55.2 billion budget in a year when we talk about a tough budget year and having to make cuts and I'm not hearing about any cuts to speak of in this budget and obviously my Democratic colleagues can't help themselves but include another $237 million in pork projects for their districts. If this is a tough budget year, don't do that,' Republican Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) said. New republican members of the legislature were stunned with how the process has gone. 'This is a $55 billion organization,' Sen. Chris Balkema (R-Pontiac) said. 'I came from Caterpillar. We had about 60 billion in sales. There is no other organization that would ever run like this. The budget got dropped an hour ago. We're supposed to vote on it in 24 hours. They're in there in a hearing going through a 3300 page PDF file, like a show and tell in second grade. It's absolutely insane. It's no way to run the state.' All year, lawmakers have talked about complexity of this budget negotiation. The state needed to address revenue shortfalls from last year, and many on the democratic side of the aisle were concerned about impacts that federal cuts from the Trump Administration could have on the budget. House democrat Will Guzzardi said Friday night that the one time revenue streams used to balance this budget are meant to address what he described as the volatile actions of the Trump administration and how they impact the economy. All week, details about the budget plan have been nebulous. It's not unusual for budgets to be dropped this close to the deadline, but members on both sides of the aisle were noticeably more in the dark about the direction were negotiations were going. The spending plan would continue the state's increases in spending for the K-12 schools evidence based funding model. The additional dollars will be dispersed to schools that are furthest away from an 'adequacy target in the formula. It also cuts the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program. The controversial program gave non-citizens between the ages of 42 and 64 access to state-sponsored health care. The program has come under fire by Republicans and moderate democrats, both because the costs for the program came in way higher than what was originally anticipated, and because of the actions on immigration from the Federal Government. The Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors Program, which gives the same access to non citizens over the age of 64, is still funded with a 110 million dollar appropriation. House Democrat Leader Lisa Hernandez championed these programs when they passed. After the House budget hearing on Friday night, she talked about how disappointing it was to see the program cut. 'It's a budget that's going to hurt,' Hernandez said. 'It's going to hurt. I mean we're doing our best to get through and prioritize, but it's become very difficult. This was a priority of mine. But, you know, it's give and take and I'm happy that we got a 110 for our seniors.' She did not say for certain whether she, or other members of the Latino Caucus, would support the budget. 'We'll see.' Hernandez said when asked about her vote. Both the House and the Senate must pass the budget by a simple majority by the end of the day. If they do not get that done, the vote thresholds needed to pass go up to three-fifths of each chamber that hasn't passed it yet. Democrats have supermajorities in both chambers, so they could pass the budget without republican votes in either chamber. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
