Ghislaine Maxwell gives US Department of Justice details on ‘100 different people’ linked to Jeffrey Epstein, lawyer says
Ghislaine Maxwell is “finally able to say what really happened,” her lawyer claims as the convicted sex trafficker meets with a top White House official.
World
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Ghislaine Maxwell will “finally be able to say what really happened,” her lawyer has said as the convicted sex trafficker met with a top White House official for a second day.
On Friday, US time, it was reported Maxwell had discussed around “100 different people” linked to the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
As Donald Trump left for a visit to the UK on Friday, he was asked if he was considering pardoning Maxwell, the accomplice of Epstein. He replied he “hadn’t thought about” it but also said he was “allowed to do it”.
Mr Trump then dramatically added that he too had a “list of names” connected to Epstein and offered to reel off a few to reporters.
However, he said former president Barack Obama “owes me big” after he conceded he now might not be liable for prosecution for what Mr Trump has termed “treason”. That’s due to a Supreme Court ruling that Mr Trump himself pushed for to protect him against charges relating to his actions in office.
Trump say he has ‘list’ of names linked to Epstein
The tumult over the Epstein files has consumed the Trump administration for three weeks after the Justice Department said it would not release any more files on the matter and there was no Epstein “client list”.
Last week, more images emerged of Donald Trump with Epstein while The Wall Street Journal also reported the US president was told his name was in the files held by the Justice Department.
The White House has pushed back on the reports. Due to how many people Epstein knew, it’s likely many people’s names are contained in the files and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing simply by being mentioned, that includes Mr Trump.
Despite the Justice Department saying there was no “client list,” as he boarded Air Force One for Scotland on Friday, Mr Trump said he had a “list” of Epstein associates.
“You should focus on (Bill) Clinton. You should focus on the (former) president of Harvard, you should focus on some of the hedge fund guys. I’ll give you a list,” he said.
Again there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by those Mr Trump mentioned.
‘100 different people’
On Friday, US deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche met Ghislaine Maxwell for a second day of questioning at a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, close to where she is imprisoned for sex trafficking including that of a minor, among other crimes.
After that meeting, Maxwell’s lawyer David Markus said she had provided the Justice Department with the names of around “100 different people” in connection with Epstein.
“This was the first opportunity she’s ever been given to answer questions about what happened,” Mr Markus said.
“The truth will come out about what happened with Mr. Epstein and she’s the person who’s answering those questions.”
Asked about a possible pardon by President Trump for Maxwell, Mr Markus said Mr Trump was the “ultimate deal-maker”.
“We haven’t spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet. And, you know, listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so,” he told reporters.
“We hope he exercises that power in a right and just way”.
Maxwell ‘finally able to say what really happened’
Earlier, Mr Markus said that “if you looked up scapegoat in the dictionary,” Maxwell’s face would be there.
“We’re grateful for this opportunity to finally be able to say what really happened, and that’s what we’re going to do, yesterday and today.
“We just ask that folks look at what she has to say with an open mind, and that’s what Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche has promised us, and everything she says can be corroborated, and she’s telling the truth.
“She’s got no reason to lie at this point, and she’s going to keep telling the truth,” Mr Marcus claimed.
Maxwell meeting ‘really stinks’
On Capitol Hill, Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal said it was a “secret meeting” that “really stinks” and looked like “some kind of cover up”.
There have been calls for the meeting to be recorded.
Democrat Congressman Robert Garcia, who is on the House Oversight Committee, said the meeting was “incredibly suspicious” and “dangerous” and he was concerned no members of the committee were present.
“She probably wants a pardon from Donald Trump, and so her meeting with Trump’s Department of Justice cannot be trusted, and anything she says must be corroborated with documents and records from the actual Epstein files,” he said.
Democrats request copy of Epstein ‘birthday book’
House Democrats on Friday sent a letter to Mr Epstein’s estate requesting a complete copy of the birthday book, which reportedly contains a letter and sketch of a naked woman Mr Trump sent to commemorate the pedophile financier’s birthday.
In the letter, California congressmen Robert Garcia and Ro Khanna requested a “complete and unredacted” copy of the book, which they said “may provide information essential to further our constitutionally obligated congressional efforts”, by August 10.
“As President Trump continues desperate attempts to quell public interest in the release of files related to his long-time friend, convicted sex offender, and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, we write with deep concern regarding potential public corruption, abuse of power, and failures in the federal law enforcement response to the Epstein case,” they wrote in the letter.
The book was complied by Maxwell to commemorate Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.
The Wall Street Journalreported last week Mr Trump had sent a birthday letter featuring a sketch of a naked woman to Epstein which Maxwell planned to give him in a birthday album.
Mr Trump, who has denied he sent a message for the book, has said he cut ties prior to Epstein’s legal issues and in fact barred him from Mar-a-Lago.
Claim Clinton also sent Epstein birthday message
On Thursday, US time, the Wall Street Journal reported that Bill Clinton, who was US president during much of the 1990s, also sent Mr Epstein a message for his now infamous 50th birthday album.
His reported message read: “It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and (not legible word) and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends”.
Mr Clinton has not commented but a spokesman said he stopped associating with Epstein years before his arrest and was not aware of his claims.
It’s been reported that many other notable people also wrote notes for the birthday book including fashion designer Vera Wang.
Trump denies he was told his name was in Epstein files
Mr Trump on Friday denied he was informed his name appeared in the Epstein files, despite reports Attorney-General Pam Bondi briefed him on the matter in May.
“No, I was never, never briefed, no,” Mr Trump told reporters after arriving in Scotland. “I have really nothing to say about it.”
The Wall Street Journal earlier this week reported Mr Trump was told in May that his name was in the files.
The White House said it was “fake news”.
The newspaper stated Attorney-General Pam Bondi told Mr Trump that his name appeared multiple times in documents in the Justice Department’s possession relating to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A name simply appearing in the documents does not mean any wrongdoing occurred.
The WSJ reported that the Justice Department told Mr Trump that the files contained “unverified hearsay about many people, including Trump,” according to officials.
Obama ‘owes me big’: Trump
Mr Trump said on Friday that Barack Obama “owes me big” after he conceded that the former president might not be liable for prosecution following claims raised by his administration.
For days, national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard has been lambasting Mr Obama accusing his administration of a conspiracy to undermine Mr Trump’s first term which she labelled “treasonous”.
That so-called conspiracy related to claims of Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
Mr Obama’s spokesman last week issued a rare statement saying the claims were “outrageous” and “bizarre” and a “weak attempt at distraction” from the Epstein saga.
Mr Trump seems to have conceded that Mr Obama could never be charged because of a Supreme Court ruling last year in Mr Trump’s favour.
The court ruled that presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution from most acts in office. That was brought by Mr Trump who was facing down multiple court cases including that he allegedly tried to overturn the 202 election.
“He owes me, Obama owes me big,” said Mr Trump.
“It probably helps him a lot, probably helps him a lot the immunity ruling”.
Many believe Ms Gabbard and Mr Trump’s claims simply don’t hold water and it would never get that far anyway. As such, Mr Obama may not “owe’ him anything.
Originally published as Ghislaine Maxwell gives US Department of Justice details on ‘100 different people’ linked to Jeffrey Epstein, lawyer says
‘Tactical pause’ in Gaza as world fumes
Israel has announced a “tactical pause” in fighting in parts of Gaza as global anger grows over the worsening starvation crisis in the territory.
Chaos as 179 flee burning plane on slides
Chaotic video shows the moment passengers were forced to flee a flaming and smoking American Airlines plane, with at least one injured.