logo
Newsom on Trump Epstein controversy: ‘I enjoy the hell out of it'

Newsom on Trump Epstein controversy: ‘I enjoy the hell out of it'

The Hill24-07-2025
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) expressed his enjoyment in seeing the frustration President Trump and his allies are experiencing over the administration's handling of information related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
'Epstein and Trump were close,' Newsom told host Steven Bartlett on a Thursday episode of 'The Diary Of A CEO' podcast.
'They were — wasn't just a few photographs. They were close. That's a fact. Sorry, Donald, just a fact. So look, I get why this outrages folks. I think it's interesting. It's outraged some of the core base, I enjoy the hell out of it.'
Trump and his administration have recently been facing heat from both sides of the aisle over Epstein's case, with the saga also causing chaos in Congress.
On Wednesday, the House broke for its weeks-long August recess, shutting down a day earlier than planned as the chamber was stuck in a logjam over the Epstein controversy.
Democrats across the ideological spectrum of the party have seized on the Epstein controversy in an intense fashion, with members ranging from moderates like Reps. Gil Cisneros (D-Calf.) to progressives like Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), offering their critical commentary on the matter.
'It's the first day of House Republicans fleeing town for their Epstein Recess. They high tailed it out of here hoping to hide the story. But the story is growing louder by the hour with Trump and the administration's lies,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a Thursday post on the social platform X.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump says he ordered subs repositioned in rare nuclear threat to Russia
Trump says he ordered subs repositioned in rare nuclear threat to Russia

Boston Globe

time8 minutes ago

  • Boston Globe

Trump says he ordered subs repositioned in rare nuclear threat to Russia

Advertisement Because nuclear submarine movements are among the Pentagon's most closely held tactical maneuvers, it will most likely prove impossible to know if Trump is truly repositioning the submarines or just trying to make a point. But in Trump's sudden and escalating confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, it is the first time he has referenced the US nuclear arsenal, much less threatened to reposition it. Trump said Thursday that he intends to impose new sanctions on Russia over its unwillingness to wind down its war in Ukraine, the latest step in his gradual shift toward a more antagonistic stance toward the Kremlin. Still, such public flexing of nuclear muscles is rare even for Trump, who last made explicit nuclear threats to Kim Jong Un of North Korea early in his first term in 2018. At that time, he said his 'nuclear button' was 'much bigger and more powerful' than Kim's. That exchange ultimately led to a diplomatic opening to Kim, three meetings between the two leaders, and a complete failure of the effort to get the North Korean leader to give up his nuclear arsenal, which is now larger than ever. Advertisement But Russia is a different case, and Trump has often talked about the fearsome power of nuclear weapons, something he contends he learned about from an uncle who was on the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So while Russian President Vladimir Putin has made threats about putting nuclear forces on alert during the opening days of the Ukraine war, and may have been preparing to use a tactical nuclear weapon in fall 2022 against a Ukrainian military base, the US has never responded. Medvedev is a good foil for Trump; he regularly issues threats against the United States but is essentially powerless. Trump has referred to Medvedev's martial-sounding statements several times in the past week. It was not clear what kind of nuclear submarines Trump was referencing. The US has nuclear-powered attack submarines that search for targets, but it also has far larger, nuclear-powered, and nuclear-armed submarines. Those don't need to be repositioned; they can reach targets thousands of miles away. Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon press secretary, referred all questions about Trump's statement to the White House. This article originally appeared in

Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is moved to minimum-security women's prison in Texas
Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is moved to minimum-security women's prison in Texas

Boston Globe

time8 minutes ago

  • Boston Globe

Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is moved to minimum-security women's prison in Texas

Advertisement Minimum-security federal prison camps house inmates the Bureau of Prisons considers to be the lowest security risk. Some don't even have fences. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The prison camps were originally designed with low security to make operations easier and to allow inmates tasked with performing work at the prison, like landscaping and maintenance, to avoid repeatedly checking in and out of a main prison facility. Prosecutors have said Epstein's sex crimes could not have been done without Maxwell, but her lawyers have maintained that she was wrongly prosecuted and denied a fair trial, and have floated the idea of a pardon from President Trump. They have also asked the US Supreme Court to take up her case. Maxwell's case has been the subject of heightened public focus since an outcry over the Justice Department's statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The decision infuriated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists, and elements of Trump's base who had hoped to see proof of a government coverup. Advertisement Since then, administration officials have tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including by requesting from courts the unsealing of grand jury transcripts. Maxwell, meanwhile, was interviewed at a Florida courthouse over two days last week by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and the House Oversight Committee had also said that it wanted to speak with Maxwell. Her lawyers said this week that they would be open to an interview, but only if the panel were to ensure immunity from prosecution. In a letter Friday to Maxwell's lawyers, US Representative James Comer, the committee chair, wrote that the committee was willing to delay the deposition until after the resolution of Maxwell's appeal to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September. Comer wrote that while Maxwell's testimony was 'vital' to the Republican-led investigation into Epstein, the committee would not provide immunity or any questions in advance of her testimony, as was requested by her team. Two women who have accused Epstein and Maxwell of abusing them, Maria and Annie Farmer, and the family members of another, Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide this spring, reacted angrily to the news of Maxwell's relocation. 'It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received,' they said in a statement Friday. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency.' Advertisement 'President Trump has sent a clear message today: Pedophiles deserve preferential treatment and their victims do not matter,' the statement said.

Trump administration cuts $300M in UCLA research funding over antisemitism claims
Trump administration cuts $300M in UCLA research funding over antisemitism claims

San Francisco Chronicle​

time8 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Trump administration cuts $300M in UCLA research funding over antisemitism claims

The Trump administration has suspended more than $300 million in federal research grants to UCLA, citing the university's alleged failure to address antisemitism and discriminatory practices on campus. The move, part of a broader crackdown on elite universities, marks the most severe funding cut in UCLA's history. According to government letters obtained by multiple news outlets, agencies including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy are halting hundreds of active grants. Officials allege the university engaged in 'race discrimination' and 'illegal affirmative action,' and failed to prevent a hostile climate for Jewish and Israeli students, following campus protests over the Gaza war. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that UCLA would 'pay a heavy price' for its 'deliberate indifference' to civil rights complaints. A 10-page letter Tuesday from the Department of Justice to UC President Michael Drake said the DOJ had looked into complaints of discrimination since Oct. 7, 2023, the day Hamas attacked Israel, leading to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which sparked protests at college campuses across the U.S. The letter cited 11 complaints from Jewish or Israeli students regarding discrimination between April 25 and May 1, 2024, while pro-Palestianian protesters occupied an encampment on the UCLA campus. 'Several complainants reported that members of the encampment prevented them from accessing parts of the campus,' the letter said, and some reported encountering intimidation or violence. The Department of Justice set a Sept. 2 deadline for the university to begin negotiations or face legal action. 'Federal research grants are not handouts,' he wrote Thursday. 'Grants lead to medical breakthroughs, economic advancement, improved national security and global competitiveness — these are national priorities.' The freeze affects more than 300 grants, with nearly $180 million already distributed, and follows similar enforcement actions against Harvard, Columbia and Brown universities. UCLA recently agreed to a $6.5 million settlement with Jewish students and a professor over claims of discrimination during 2024 campus protests. Frenk, who is of Jewish heritage, emphasized the university's efforts to combat antisemitism, including the creation of a campus safety office and an initiative to fight antisemitism and anti-Israel bias. 'Antisemitism has no place on our campus, nor does any form of discrimination,' he wrote, while insisting the funding cut 'does nothing to address any alleged discrimination.'

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