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Klobuchar rebuffs Trump's efforts to fault Dems in Epstein case

Klobuchar rebuffs Trump's efforts to fault Dems in Epstein case

Yahoo5 days ago
As President Donald Trump faces continued heat over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar is pushing back against his attempts to shift the focus back to her party.
"The president blaming Democrats for this disaster, Jake, is like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay," Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday on "State of the Union." "OK, like this is his making. He was president when Epstein got indicted for these charges and went to prison. He was president when Epstein committed suicide."
Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019. He died by suicide in his New York jail cell just over a month later.
Backlash — largely from inside Trump's MAGA base — teed off when the White House announced in early July that a Department of Justice and FBI review had found no evidence of an incriminating client list connected to Epstein. Trump, whose return to the White House was keyed in part by a willingness to embrace conspiracy theories like the ones surrounding Epstein, has been keen to move on.
But the furor has seen some of Trump's biggest supporters calling for the ouster of his attorney general, Pam Bondi, and predicting dire consequences lest he begin to take it seriously.
The president, meanwhile, has raged. "Radical left Democrats," Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday, were responsible for the "Jeffrey Epstein Hoax." And they'd refrained from making any moves during Joe Biden's presidency, he said.
"If there was a 'smoking gun' on Epstein, why didn't the Dems, who controlled the 'files' for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!," the president wrote on social media Friday.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), one of several House Republicans who have called for the release of the government's Epstein files, echoed Trump's attacks against Democrats in a Sunday interview also on Tapper's show.
"Where the heck have they been the last four years? I'm ticked off at everybody," he said. "Look, this thing should have been handled. Now we're at the point they're going to start dumping files."
Klobuchar rejected claims that Democrats bore responsibility for the controversy. The White House, she said, had entered into a crisis of its own making.
"The people that have been fomenting this are right-wing influencers, members of Congress, people who have a reason that they want to know what's in there," Klobuchar told Tapper. "They believe the president when he said, there's stuff in there that people should see."
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Council pushes back after Baltimore County executive bypasses Inspector General for reappointment
Council pushes back after Baltimore County executive bypasses Inspector General for reappointment

CBS News

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Council pushes back after Baltimore County executive bypasses Inspector General for reappointment

Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier is facing criticism from county leaders and community members after announcing that she will not reappoint current Inspector General Kelly Madigan. She instead nominated Khadija Walker to take over. The decision comes despite broad support for Madigan among council members. She helped establish the office and has served as inspector general for the past five years. "We have this binary choice of yes, we accept this nominee, or we don't," County Councilman Izzy Patoka said. "A majority of members have said that they really are only going to support Madigan – including me." Klausmeier's nominee, Khadija Walker, spent most of her career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago, largely as a program analyst. In a news release Thursday, the county executive said Walker "has more than 22 years of high-level inspector general experience." However, some government watchdogs and councilmembers argue that the county's inspector general role requires a more investigative focus. Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming said that while Walker has auditing experience, the position in Baltimore County demands a deeper focus on rooting out "waste, fraud and abuse across municipal government." Patoka also voiced concerns about the process. "She [Madigan] began the office, and I thought she should have been reappointed," he said. "A number of my colleagues felt like she should have been reappointed. The county executive decided to go in a different direction." If the council rejects Walker's nomination, Madigan will remain in the role until a new nominee is put forward. "I think a good number of the councilmembers would like Ms. Madigan's name forwarded to be reappointed," Patoka added. The nomination is scheduled to be discussed at the Baltimore County Council's July 29 work session, followed by a vote during an upcoming legislative session. Madigan has not responded to WJZ's request for comment.

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