Trump's tax bill plan adds to federal debt, prompting investor backlash
The yield or interest rate on the 30-year Treasury bond briefly topped 5.1 percent Thursday morning, reflecting investors' demands for greater compensation in return for lending money to the U.S. government.
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Ghislaine Maxwell offers to testify before Congress on Jeffrey Epstein if she is pardoned
Ghislaine Maxwell appealed to Congress on Tuesday to push for a pardon so she can "testify openly and honestly" about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a letter from her attorney. The overt pitch for clemency came in a letter to the House Oversight Committee which had subpoenaed Maxwell for testimony and records. In a response to Chairman James Comer, Maxwell's defense attorney David Markus said she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right and decline to testify unless the committee agreed to grant her immunity and interview her outside prison. "Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity. Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony," Markus wrote. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges in 2021 after prosecutors said that, from 1994 to 2004, she worked together with Epstein to identify girls, groom them, and then transport them to Epstein's properties in New York, Florida, New Mexico, and elsewhere, where they were then sexually abused. Markus on Tuesday also asked the committee to provide questions in advance and postpone the interview until after the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to take up Maxwell's appeal of her conviction. "Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing—and eager—to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning," Markus said. President Donald Trump said Monday no one had approached him about a pardon for Maxwell though he reiterated his power to grant one. House Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC on Sunday pardoning Maxwell would be a mistake. The letter comes after Maxwell and her lawyer met last week with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Maxwell answered questions for about nine hours over two days after being granted a limited form of immunity, sources told ABC News. Blanche has not released any information about their conversation but says he will do so at the proper time. At the time, Markus told ABC News she did not ask for a pardon and one was not offered. However, Markus said it is no secret Maxwell is seeking "relief" from her 20 year prison sentence. A House Oversight Committee spokeswoman on Tuesday ruled out the idea of granting Maxwell immunity. "The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell's attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony," the spokeswoman said in a statement.
a few seconds ago
Trump administration wants Harvard to pay far more than Columbia as part of settlement
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is pressing for a deal with Harvard University that would require the Ivy League school to pay far more than the $200 million fine agreed to by Columbia University to resolve multiple federal investigations, according to two people familiar with the matter. Harvard would be expected to pay hundreds of millions of dollars as part of any settlement to end investigations into antisemitism at its campus, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Harvard leaders have been negotiating with the White House even as they battle in court to regain access to billions in federal research funding terminated by the Trump administration. The White House's desire to get Harvard to pay far more than Columbia was first reported by The New York Times, which said the school has signaled a willingness to pay as much as $500 million. Harvard did not immediately comment. The Trump administration plans to use its deal with Columbia as a template for other universities, with financial penalties that are now seen as a staple for future agreements. Last week, Columbia leaders agreed to pay $200 million as part of a settlement to resolve investigations into alleged violations of federal antidiscrimination laws and restore more than $400 million in research grants. Columbia had been in talks for months after the Trump administration accused the university of allowing the harassment of Jewish students and employees amid a wave of campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. Harvard faces similar accusations but, unlike Columbia, the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school challenged the administration's funding cuts and subsequent sanctions in court. Last week, President Donald Trump said Harvard 'wants to settle' but he said Columbia 'handled it better.' The Trump administration's emphasis on financial penalties adds a new dimension for colleges facing federal scrutiny. In the past, civil rights investigations by the Education Department almost always ended with voluntary agreements and rarely included fines. Even when the government has levied fines, they've been a small fraction of the scale Trump is seeking. Last year, the Education Department fined Liberty University $14 million after finding the Christian school failed to disclose crimes on its campus. It was the most the government had ever fined a university under the Clery Act, following a $4.5 million fine dealt to Michigan State University in 2019 for its handling of sexual assault complaints against disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar. The University of Pennsylvania agreed this month to modify school records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, but that school's deal with the Trump administration included no fine. The Trump administration has opened investigations at dozens of universities over allegations of antisemitism or racial discrimination in the form of diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Several face funding freezes akin to those at Harvard, including more than $1 billion at Cornell University and $790 million at Northwestern University. Last week, Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the Columbia deal a 'roadmap' for other colleges, saying it would 'ripple across the higher education sector and change the course of campus culture for years to come.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
How the E.U. Wooed Trump With Flashy but Flimsy Numbers
When Donald Trump unveiled his trade deal with the European Union on Sunday night, he fixated on its size. And when the White House later released a fact sheet on the agreement, it trumpeted pledges by the Europeans for big investments in the United States. 'The E.U. will purchase $750 billion in U.S. energy and make new investments of $600 billion in the United States, all by 2028,' the document declared. But when the European Union released its own fact sheet on Tuesday, its description of that pledge was more muted — and far more noncommittal on spending outside of energy. 'E.U. companies have expressed interest in investing at least $600 billion' in 'various sectors in the U.S.,' the document explained. There's a reason for the equivocation: The European commitments are more like vague estimates than specific promises. The spending would come from private companies across the 27-nation bloc and would not be directed or enforced by European Union officials. The European Commission, the European Union's executive branch that is responsible for negotiating trade, can play a role in convening, organizing and encouraging big spending, but it cannot compel such outlays. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
