Latest news with #sextrafficking
Bloomberg
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
How Trump's Epstein Filing Puts Grand Jury Rules to the Test
In response to a public clamor for more information about Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking case, the Trump administration has asked a federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts. While seeking the files' release allows President Donald Trump to claim that he has nothing to hide about the late, disgraced financier, the request faces legal hurdles, even with Trump's Justice Department contending that disclosure is in the public interest.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
The rise of the QAnon conspiracy and why the Epstein files matter
The Justice Department asked a federal court on July 18, 2025, to unseal grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein 's case. The direction from President Donald Trump came after weeks of frustration among some far-right groups over his administration's refusal to release the complete and unredacted 'Epstein files.' Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-profile connections, was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges and later died by suicide in a Manhattan jail awaiting trial. In early 2025, a federal court unsealed portions of the court documents. While names of some of the alleged clients and victims were released, many were redacted or withheld. Epstein's arrest and death became a central focus for QAnon followers, who saw them as proof of a hidden global elite engaged in child trafficking and protected by powerful institutions. The release – or withholding – of the Epstein files is often cited within QAnon movement circles as evidence of a broader cover-up by the so-called 'deep state.' Some followers of the MAGA – Make America Great Again – movement and the Republican Party believe in the false claim that the United States is secretly controlled by a cabal of elites who are paedophiles, sex traffickers and satanists. Over time, what started as a baseless conspiracy on obscure platforms has migrated into the mainstream. It has influenced rhetoric and policy debates, and even reshaped the American political landscape. The foundational belief of many of the QAnon followers is that Trump is a heroic figure fighting the elite paedophile ring. Trump's attempts at downplaying or obstructing the very disclosures they believe would validate their worldview has led to confusion. To some, the delay in the release of the files feels like a betrayal, or even the possibility of his wrongdoing. Others are trying to reinterpret Trump's actions through increasingly baseless conspiracy logic. Trump has publicly dismissed demands for the full release of the Epstein Files as a 'hoax.' He has also made false claims. On July 15, 2025, Trump said: 'And I would say that, you know, these files were made up by Comey. They were made up by Obama.' As a scholar who studies extremism, I know that the movement views Trump as a mythological figure and it interprets Trump's actions to fit this overarching narrative – an elasticity which makes the movement both durable and dangerous. From Pizzagate to QAnon The QAnon movement began with the Pizzagate conspiracy theory in 2016, which falsely claimed that high-ranking Democrats were operating a child sex trafficking ring out of a Washington, DC, pizzeria. The baseless theory gained enough online momentum that a man armed with an assault rifle stormed the restaurant, seeking to 'free the children.' In 2017, an anonymous figure called 'Q' began posting cryptic messages on message boards like 4chan and 8kun. The baseless accusations of a global network of elites involved in controlling global institutions, including governments, businesses, and the media, as well as operating a child trafficking and ritual abuse, were central to the QAnon movement's narrative. The movement has recruited followers through language like 'Save the Children,' to mobilise around issues of child trafficking. Many QAnon adherents, particularly women, were drawn to the movement through such appeals to child protection. According to psychologists Sophia Moskalenko and Mia Bloom, this type of appeal taps into powerful emotional instincts, making conspiracy theories like QAnon more persuasive and harder to dislodge, even in the face of contradictory evidence. QAnon movement's rise QAnon followers perceived Trump as a messianic figure working to expose this cabal in a climactic reckoning known as 'The Storm' – a moment when mass arrests would finally bring justice. They claimed that this moment would eventually bring about a 'Great Awakening,' a reference to the religious revivalist movements of the 18th and 19th centuries. In this context the phrase described the supposed political and spiritual enlightenment that would follow 'The Storm' – a moment of mass realisation when people would 'wake up' to the truth about the 'deep state.' In 2019, the FBI identified QAnon as a domestic terrorism threat, and major social media platforms began banning related content, but by then, QAnon had bled into mainstream conservative politics. Q-endorsing candidates, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, ran for and won elected office a year later. Trump and QAnon During Trump's first administration – from 2017 to 2021 – the QAnon movement flourished. The posts from Q claimed to reveal insider knowledge of a secret war being waged by the president, often in coordination with the military, against the powerful elite. Trump never explicitly endorsed the movement, but he did little to distance himself from it. His administration also included figures, like former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who openly interacted with Q content online. Trump's rhetoric, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election, gave new life to QAnon narratives. When he questioned the integrity of the electoral process, QAnon followers interpreted it as confirmation of the deep state's meddling. However, after Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race, QAnon followers revised their original prophecy to maintain belief in 'The Storm' and 'The Great Awakening.' Some claimed the defeat was part of a larger secret plan, with Biden's presidency serving as a cover for exposing the deep state. Some believed Trump remained the true president behind the scenes, while others reframed the awakening as a spiritual rather than political event. Indeed, by 2020, several congressional candidates openly embraced or showed sympathy for the QAnon movement. At various campaign rallies in 2022 and after Trump used the movement's symbolism. On Truth Social, his social media platform, he retweeted Q-affiliated accounts, and praised QAnon supporters as 'people who love our country.' That same year he reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin overlaid with the words 'The Storm is Coming.' After the 2020 elections Trump's departure from the White House in January 2021 created an existential crisis for the QAnon movement. Predictions that he would declare martial law or arrest Joe Biden and other Democrats on Inauguration Day failed to materialise. Q's posts also stopped, leaving many followers adrift. Some abandoned the theory. Others rationalised the failed predictions or embraced new conspiracy narratives, such as the belief that Trump was still secretly in charge or that the military would soon act to reinstate him. Some QAnon communities merged with or were absorbed into broader anti-vaccine, anti-globalist, and Christian nationalist movements. How big is the movement? Estimating the number of QAnon believers is difficult because many individuals do not openly identify with the movement, and those who do often hold a range of loosely connected or partial beliefs rather than adhering to a consistent or uniform ideology. Not everyone who shares a Q meme or echoes a Q talking point identifies as being part of the movement. That said, surveys by groups like the 2024 Public Religion Research Institute and the Associated Press have found that 15–20% of Americans believe in some of QAnon's core claims, such as the existence of a secret group of Satan-worshipping elites controlling the government. Among Republican voters, the number is often higher. This does not mean all these people are hardcore QAnon adherents, but it does show how far the narrative, or parts of it, has seeped into mainstream thinking. Epstein as evidence of 'the cabal' The Trump administration's failure to disclose the information in Epstein files has fueled internal confusion, disillusionment and even radicalisation within the movement. For some QAnon believers, this failure was a turning point: if Trump – once seen as the hero in the conspiracy narrative – would not or could not reveal the truth, then the 'deep state' must be more entrenched than imagined. At the same time, frustrations have grown within MAGA and the QAnon movement's spaces. Some see it as a failure to fulfill one of his most important promises: exposing elite paedophiles. Others believe the delay is strategic, another example of 'the plan' requiring more patience. The QAnon movement continues to evolve, even as its central figure hedges and hesitates, showing how potent myths can be in times of uncertainty. In my view, understanding why this belief continues to gain traction is essential for understanding the current state of American democracy. Art Jipson is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Dayton.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Burchett says Bondi releasing Epstein grand jury files ‘will pretty much cover everything'
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) applauded President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their plans to release relevant grand jury testimony in the case of sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein after nationwide pressure to produce more information related to the case, saying the grand jury files 'will pretty much cover everything.' 'I applaud the president and Attorney General Bondi for wanting to release the grand jury files,' he said during a Sunday interview on ABC's 'This Week.' 'I believe that will pretty much cover everything.' Burchett, who last week slammed the findings from the Justice Department's (DOJ) report on Epstein, also warned that 'just because somebody flew on a plane doesn't mean they're a daggum pedophile.' 'I have a lot of wealthy friends, and they fly on people's planes. And their plane will be down, and they'll say, 'Hey, we're going somewhere, and we've got an extra seat, do you want to go?' And they don't even know the person on the plane,' he said. 'So, you know, that's one of the things I worry about too.' 'But I worry about some of those innocent names being out on that too as well,' he added. When asked whether unsealing the grand jury records is enough for him now, Burchett responded that it's 'a start.' 'I don't think we're ever going to get to the bottom of…all of it, ma'am,' he said, mentioning the assassination of late President John F. Kennedy and the 'magic bullet' theory, a debated theory put forward by the Warren Commission Report in the year after his assassination. That commission concluded that one of the bullets fired at the late president's limousine struck the president and hit Texas Gov. John B. Connally Jr. in multiple places. Burchett also accused the Biden administration of withholding the Epstein documents. 'I'd warn people too, now we're getting a hold of this stuff,' he said. 'What happened the last four years under the Biden administration?' Burchett previously suggested the Biden administration may have destroyed Epstein's client list. When asked again whether he thinks all the files should be released, Burchett clarified he does, but that he is warning not to release files 'that have innocent names on them,' such as people 'who were then children, now adults, that were abused by this dirtbag, Epstein.' Still, Burchett criticized Bondi's communication at the beginning of the DOJ's release of the files. 'I think her communication with us early on was not as good,' he said. 'I mean, the binder, for instance, that she put out, I was very excited about that. But then I found the contents of it. I think it was her limited knowledge and taking advice from the wrong people, which you do a lot of in Washington.' Bondi handed several binders of case files titled 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' to conservative influencers at an event earlier this year and vowed to be transparent with the investigation into Epstein. Burchett's comments follow Trump's directive last Thursday to Bondi to release the grand jury files related to Epstein. Still, the president remains skeptical that the release of the files will quell the demand for more information on the case. 'It will always be more, more, more,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
50 Cent reignites Sean ‘Diddy' Combs feud with AI video mocking rapper's baby oil obsession
50 Cent has reignited his long-running feud with Sean 'Diddy' Combs by posting an AI-generated video mocking the disgraced rap mogul's obsession with baby oil. The 49-year-old rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video over the weekend on Instagram as Combs, 55, awaits sentencing from a jail cell in New York following his trial, which saw him accused of federal offences including sex trafficking. 50 said alongside his social media clip: 'I didn't know Diddy walked in the Michael Amiri show, when did he make Bond!' The footage posted by the rapper was credited to the Instagram account @Geisha305 and depicted Combs strutting down a fashion runway in a pink dress emblazoned with the Johnson and Johnson baby oil logo. The video is set to the track Baby Oil Freak Off Party by Jody2Good, a song released in 2023 after Diddy's arrest. They were references to evidence which emerged during Combs' trial, which showed how he hoarded hundreds of bottles of baby oil, which were used in his now infamous 'Freak Off' sex parties. Combs was acquitted of the most serious allegations against him — sex trafficking and racketeering — but was found guilty of two lesser charges relating to transportation to engage in prostitution. He is currently in custody in Brooklyn awaiting sentencing on 3 October. 50's caption quickly drew attention, prompting designer Michael Amiri, 47, to comment: 'C'mon 50, don't include me in this.' The post comes after another viral incident involving content creator Armon Wiggins, 38, who faced backlash for dancing shirtless and being sprayed with baby oil outside the courthouse following the verdict in Combs' trial. In an interview with The Trial of Diddy podcast, hosted by journalist Kayla Brantley for the Daily Mail, Armon said: 'In reporting the case, I was trying to take a very eerie, grim situation and turn it into something digestible for people. I wasn't making light of the victims or poking fun at them.' He added: 'We had been there at the trial from start to finish – we were tired and wanted to celebrate making it to the end. I was just vibing with another YouTuber, to be honest with you, and before I knew it, there was a crowd of people with television cameras and lights that circled around me.' Armon denied profiting from the clip, saying: 'I got a lot of hate and lost followers. I said to myself afterwards: I've got to grow up and learn to control the narrative because it was irresponsible.' He continued: 'Even if my fans knew the intent behind it, that doesn't matter when you have 150 cameras out there in a heightened situation. You've got to be smarter than that.' Reflecting on the media's portrayal of his actions, Armon said: 'The amount of baby oil involved in the trial became ridiculous. You can't even say baby oil now without laughing. Really, I was making fun of Diddy – he came across as crazy. How many bottles of baby oil does one person need?'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump: Epstein grand jury records unlikely to satisfy critics
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump acknowledged on July 19 he's unlikely to satisfy the clamor for more information about Jeffrey Epstein. Even if a court fully approves his request to release grand jury testimony about the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, that probably won't be enough, Trump said on social media. 'Nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request,' the president wrote. 'It will always be more, more, more. MAGA!' More: $10 billion lawsuit. More documents coming. Here's the latest on Trump and Epstein. Trump previously accused the Biden administration of hiding a list of Epstein clients. The Department of Justice teased that more files would be coming out, but then on July 7, Attorney General Pam Bondi said there was no client list and no further disclosure was needed. That led to a wave of backlash from Trump's MAGA base. "No one believes there is not a client list," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, a close Trump ally, posted on X July 8. On July 18, federal prosecutors asked a federal court in Manhattan to unseal grand jury transcripts in the criminal cases against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein's federal sex-trafficking case was still pending when he was found dead in a jail cell in 2019. 'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,' Trump wrote on social media. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who filed legislation to release all the government's Epstein records, wrote in social media post that Trump's move indicates the pressure campaign is 'working.' 'But we want all the files,' Massie added. It could take time for the courts to release any records, and the grand jury documents are just a portion of the unreleased files. 'What about videos, photographs and other recordings?' Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman, a former prosecutor, wrote on social media in response to Bondi saying she'd seek the release of grand jury testimony. 'What about FBI… (witness interviews)? What about texts and emails?' Contributing: Zac Anderson, Aysha Bagchi, Joey Garrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump: Epstein grand jury records unlikely to satisfy critics
