logo
Trump says Democrats may have ‘put things in' Epstein files and claims to have turned down island invite: Live update

Trump says Democrats may have ‘put things in' Epstein files and claims to have turned down island invite: Live update

Independent28-07-2025
President Donald Trump continues to be questioned over the nature of his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, amid the ongoing schism among his supporters over the handling of the so-called Epstein files.
Speaking at a press conference with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the president said he had once turned down an invitation to the disgraced financier's private island in the Caribbean, Little St James.
'I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island,' Trump said.
The island was a key part of the sex trafficking charges against Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in 2019, a month after his arrest, while Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years for trafficking young girls following her 2021 trial.
During Trump's 2024 campaign, he promised to release all of the FBI and Department of Justice files relating to the case. This has not happened, angering his supporters and fueling suspicions of a conspiracy to protect wealthy and influential individuals.
Trump also baselessly claims Democrats could 'put things in' the Epstein files.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Doge staffer ‘Big Balls' beaten in brutal attempted carjacking
Doge staffer ‘Big Balls' beaten in brutal attempted carjacking

Telegraph

time6 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Doge staffer ‘Big Balls' beaten in brutal attempted carjacking

A former Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) employee nicknamed 'Big Balls' was reportedly badly beaten in an attempted carjacking. Edward Coristine was left bloodied by the attack in Washington, DC, early on Sunday morning, when he is said to have been set upon by 'thugs' after trying to protect a young woman. Donald Trump, the US president, called Mr Coristine an 'incredible man' and threatened to take federal control of the capital city unless its council tackled violent crime. Mr Coristine came to prominence earlier this year following reports of his alleged connection to cybercrime groups, raising concerns about his access to sensitive data held by the US government. He has not commented on the allegations. His nickname, 'Big Balls', comes from a name the teenager used on his social media and LinkedIn profiles. The 19-year-old, who previously had an account on X called @‌edwardbigballer, had been hand-picked to work for Doge after interning at Neuralink, Mr Musk's brain chip company. Marko Elez, a fellow Doge staffer, claimed on social media that Mr Coristine had been attacked at an area in north-west Washington. 'My friend Big Balls… is a hero,' he wrote on X. 'Edward protected a young woman from an attempted carjacking by eight thugs near Dupont Circle. Violence like this in the heart of DC is completely unacceptable.' Mr Elez, who was briefly sacked from Doge over a racist social media comment before being rehired, included a picture he said was of Mr Coristine. It showed a shirtless man, who resembles the 19-year-old, slumped on the ground, with blood covering his face and chest and staining his white trousers. Sources confirmed to the Washington Post that Mr Coristine, who is now a senior adviser at the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, had been injured after intervening in an attempted carjacking on Sunday. Mr Trump posted the photograph on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, declaring that crime in Washington was 'totally out of control' and saying 14-year-olds should be prosecuted as adults. 'The most recent victim was beaten mercilessly by local thugs. Washington, DC, must be safe, clean and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see,' he said. 'If DC doesn't get its act together, and quickly we will have no choice but to take federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they're not going to get away with it anymore. 'Perhaps this should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime.' The US president added: 'If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALISE this city.' Mr Musk, the head of Doge before his relationship with Mr Trump imploded earlier this year, echoed the president's call to put Washington under federal control. He did not name Mr Coristine but said a 'Doge team member' ran to help a young woman whom 'a gang of about a dozen young men' were attempting to assault in her car. He 'ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her', Mr Musk continued.

US immigration to hold 1,000 detainees in Indiana after deal with prison system
US immigration to hold 1,000 detainees in Indiana after deal with prison system

The Guardian

time6 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

US immigration to hold 1,000 detainees in Indiana after deal with prison system

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) is expanding its detention capacity by 1,000 beds in Indiana through a partnership with the midwest state's prison system, federal officials announced on Tuesday. Ice will be housing detainees at the Miami correctional center, a prison run by the Indiana department of corrections. The move is part of the US government's rapid expansion of immigration jails after Donald Trump's sweeping spending bill allotted roughly $170bn to Ice, an extraordinary sum making the agency the most heavily funded law enforcement department within the federal government. Kristi Noem, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, said the Indiana facility would be called the 'Speedway Slammer', following last month's opening of the so-called 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration jail in Florida, in collaboration with Ron DeSantis, the state's Republican governor. Noem claimed Tuesday that the Indiana prison would house 'some of the worst of the worst' of undocumented people, echoing DHS' repeated claims about the targets of its enforcement. But records from the jail in the remote Florida Everglades, which critics have called a concentration camp, cast doubts on those assertions. Reporting from the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times last month found more than 250 people detained at the jail who have no criminal convictions or pending charges in the US, despite state and federal officials saying the jail was for 'vicious' and 'deranged psychopaths' facing deportation. Those newspapers also recently reported that a 15-year-old boy with no criminal record was sent to the jail, which is not supposed to house youths – a mistake the jail claimed was due to the boy 'misrepresenting' his age. Florida advocates have alleged that the conditions at the Everglades jail were appalling, with detainees forced to sleep in overcrowded pods where sewage backups led to cages flooded with feces. While officials have denied claims of inhumane treatment, the Trump administration has also promoted the brutality of the facility, including with the widely criticized decision to name the jail 'Alligator Alcatraz, a reference to the remote location in a wetland surrounded by crocodiles, alligators, pythons and mosquitoes. DHS appears to be using a similar tactic with the 'Speedway Slammer' name in Indiana, which Noem promoted with a social media post, saying, 'If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana's Speedway Slammer. Avoid arrest and self deport now.' DHS did not immediately respond to questions about the timeline of the Indiana expansion and how the facility would be run. The Miami correctional facility is a maximum-security prison at a former air force base, roughly 70 miles north of Indianapolis, and has capacity for around 3,100 people, according to the IndyStar newspaper. The Florida jail is run by that state's division of emergency management, an arrangement that has raised alarm among advocates, as journalists found many detainees were housed in the facility even though they were not listed in Ice's database. Mike Braun, Indiana's governor, said in a statement the state was 'taking a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combating illegal immigration' and was 'proud to work with President Trump and Secretary Noem as they remove the worst of the worst'. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Indiana has previously raised alarms about Miami correctional center conditions. In cases filed in 2021, the ACLU said some incarcerated people in segregated housing were forced to live in prolonged darkness, in cells with live electrical wires hanging from fixtures that in some cases shocked the residents. 'We wouldn't tolerate animals being held in such horrifying conditions, how can we tolerate them for people?' the ACLU said in 2021. Corrections officials declined to comment at the time. Annie Goeller, a spokesperson for the Indiana department of correction (IDOC), did not respond to questions about conditions on Tuesday, but said in an email her department was working with the governor to 'partner with federal authorities to enforce immigration laws', adding: 'Details about the partnership and how IDOC can best support those efforts are being determined.' The Indiana move comes as the Trump administration has increasingly sent immigration detainees to federal prisons that house criminal defendants. Those partnerships have reportedly caused chaos behind bars, with immigrants and their lawyers reporting horrific conditions and overcrowding, exacerbating problems for the longterm residents serving sentences. Also on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the DeSantis administration in Florida is planning to build a second immigration detention center. Noem has said the Everglades jail in Florida would be a model for state-run immigration detention centers. And DHS has said that Trump's bill will provide funding for 80,000 new beds for Ice.

Texas house remains without quorum amid redistricting standoff
Texas house remains without quorum amid redistricting standoff

The Guardian

time6 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Texas house remains without quorum amid redistricting standoff

The Texas house of representatives remained without a quorum after the state's Democratic lawmakers fled the state capital to prevent the legislature from adopting a Republican-backed plan for redrawing Texas congressional districts. The Texas house speaker, Dustin Burrows, signed civil arrest warrants for the wayward Democrats – most of whom have gone to Illinois, New York or Massachusetts – to be brought back to Austin.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store