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USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
A look at 'Golf Force One': the black vehicle following Trump on the golf course
Almost a year after a second assassination attempt against Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf resort, the president's security team unveiled what appeared to be a heavily armored golf cart in Scotland over the weekend. The president, a frequent visitor to his golf resorts, was seen playing at the Trump Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, over the weekend. During his latest round, a large all-black vehicle followed his group through the game. Nicknamed by the British media as 'Golf Force One,' the cart is believed to be part of Trump's Secret Service detail, with several security experts telling The Telegraph that the vehicle has many telltale signs indicating it's heavily armored. More: Viral video showing Trump in Scotland leads to golf cheating accusations 'Just looking at the front windscreen, that looks armored,' Gary Relf, director of Armoured Car Services, told the outlet. 'The windscreen is a giveaway, as are the side panels, doors and the large panel at the rear above the load tray.' According to the same experts, the vehicle appeared to share many features with the president's official limousine, commonly referred to as 'The Beast,' suggesting it could be a modified Polaris Ranger XP. Wearing a white baseball cap with "USA" embroidered in dark colors on the front and an American flag on the side, Trump over the weekend drove a white golf cart while a convoy of Secret Service agents followed in a black vehicle. Trump's golf round in Scotland comes as he is scheduled to visit the country until July 29 – and months before a formal state visit to the United Kingdom set for TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment on the vehicle. Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Ex-Obama official files request for Epstein files. ‘People deserve the truth'
An ex-official from former President Barack Obama's administration is seeking the release of the Epstein files. Norm Eisen, who served as Obama's ethics czar, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, asking the Department of Justice to turn over documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019. 'The American people deserve the truth — not a government willing to refashion our democracy to shield one man from accountability,' Eisen said in a July 28 news release from the Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), a watchdog group he founded, which submitted the requests. The appeal for disclosure comes as President Donald Trump's administration has been dogged by controversy surrounding Epstein. It began in early July, when the Department of Justice issued a memo stating that no so-called 'client list' exists and that Epstein died by suicide in his New York cell — a move that led many Americans to believe a cover-up had taken place, polls show. Since then, a number of news reports have shed light on Trump's past relationship with Epstein, who once described himself as Trump's 'closest friend.' On July 17, the Wall Street Journal alleged Trump wrote a 'bawdy' birthday letter to Epstein in 2003, in which he said, 'may every day be another wonderful secret.' And, on July 23, the newspaper reported that DOJ officials had previously told Trump he was named included in the Epstein files. In response, the president and administration officials labeled both stories as 'fake,' and Trump has sued the newspaper's publisher for defamation. Trump has also asserted he is being subject to a 'witch hunt.' Around the same time, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused Obama of orchestrating a 'treasonous conspiracy' involving the manipulation of intelligence on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Critics, including Eisen, described this as an attempt to distract from the Epstein controversy. Here is what to know about Eisen's FOIA request. The FOIA request filed by the DDF asks for the DOJ to disclose any documents related to Epstein that reference Trump. 'It is now widely reported that President Trump is indeed included in the Epstein files, and that he knows it,' Eisen said in the news release. 'That makes our request for these records more urgent than ever.' Specifically, the request calls for the release of any internal communications between DOJ officials concerning their handling of any references to the president. It asks for 'any communications…discussing or explaining the process of how department officials should approach or address references to Donald Trump or Mar-a-Lago appearing in any files related to the Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell cases, including any communications that describe how to flag, categorize, or memorialize mentions of President Trump.' Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, previously said that his office had received information that FBI officials had been instructed to sift through thousands of Epstein-related materials and 'flag' any records that named Trump. This is also not the first time DDF has sought the disclosure of material related to Epstein. On July 22, the organization filed several similar FOIA requests. A FOIA request is a formal appeal made to a federal agency to access government documents or information that is not publicly available. The process was established by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), enacted in 1966. Agencies are required by law to release any requested information, though there are some exceptions, including information related to national security and personal privacy. Processing times vary depending on the request, though some can be filed on an expedited basis — as the DDF's requests were. The DDF, the White House and the Justice Department did not immediately responded to requests for comment from McClatchy News. When asked by a reporter on July 27 whether a newly announced U.S.-E.U. trade deal was at attempt to move on from the Epstein controversy, Trump said, 'You got to be kidding me.'
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Vance claims ‘Trump has nothing to hide' in Epstein case, says Obama, Bush ‘didn't fully investigate' serial perv
Vice President JD Vance was adamant Monday that President Trump 'has nothing to hide' with respect to notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, while ripping into the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations for their handling of the case. 'The president has been very clear. We're not shielding anything,' Vance told reporters at an event in Canton, Ohio meant to promote the newly-enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 'The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and, frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case,' added the Ohio native. 'He's been incredibly transparent about that stuff. But some of that stuff takes time.' Advertisement Vance echoed other top officials in stressing the need to safeguard the names of victims in any additional disclosures about Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges. 4 Vice President JD Vance insisted that President Trump has nothing to hide on the Epstein issue. POOL/AFP via Getty Images 4 Critics have alleged that the feds know significantly more about Jeffrey Epstein than what's been revealed. Advertisement Before ascending to public office, Vance suggested the government was not being transparent about the late pedophile or his purported network of associates. 'For 20 years, you had Obama and George W. Bush's Department of Justice go easy on this guy. They didn't fully investigate the case,' the 40-year-old charged Monday. 'They didn't show any curiosity about the case, and now Donald J. Trump is asking his Department of Justice to show full transparency.' 'If you want to criticize the people who aren't showing full transparency, you ought to go after the administrations that went easy on Jeffrey Epstein, the administrations that concealed this case for 20 years, and the administrations that failed to show full transparency.' 4 Jeffrey Epstein had been a fixture among American elites for decades. Getty Images Advertisement In 2007, then-Miami US Attorney Alex Acosta cut a deal with Epstein allowing him to plead guilty to Florida state charges of solicitation of prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution. Under the plea agreement, Epstein was only confined for 13 months, spending much of that period on work release. Acosta was named Labor Secretary by Trump at the beginning of the president's first term, but resigned in July 2019, days after Epstein's arrest by federal investigators, amid an outcry over the plea deal. 'Donald J. Trump, I'm telling you, he's got nothing to hide,' Vance insisted. 'His administration has got nothing to hide, and that's why he's been an advocate for full transparency in this case.' 4 President Trump has ripped into the MAGA firestorm over Jeffrey Epstein but simultaneously called for transparency. Getty Images Advertisement Trump has faced a firestorm in the wake of a Justice Department and FBI memo issued July 6 — exactly six years after Epstein's last arrest — that concluded the 66-year-old killed himself in his prison cell and did not possess a 'client list' of powerful associates who are claimed to have engaged in sex with girls as young as 14, contrary to widespread speculation. The president has lashed out at some of his supporters for believing what he calls the 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax' and accused the Democrats of pushing bad-faith claims about the case. Last week, a Florida federal judge rejected a DOJ request to release transcripts of grand jury testimony from the investigation into Epstein that preceded the 2007 plea deal. Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell sat for two days of interviews with Justice Department officials, led by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
