Trump Admits He Can Pardon Ghislaine—Risking MAGA Meltdown
The president said he had not considered pardoning Maxwell, who was convicted for sex-trafficking in connection to Epstein, but he could.
The president made the comments when asked directly about the possibility of a pardon on Friday while departing the White House for Scotland.
'It's something I haven't thought about,' Trump said. 'I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about.'
Trump's head-turning response came as his former personal attorney, turned Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was meeting with Maxwell this week in Florida.
The Justice Department announced he would sit down with the late disgraced financier's accomplice to find out what she knows as it tried to quell the fallout over not releasing the files.
After his meeting with Maxwell on Thursday, Blanche revealed that he would be meeting with her for a second time on Friday.
He indicated that the Justice Department would share what it has learned at an 'appropriate time.'
Maxwell's lawyer David Oscar Markus said that his client answered every questions Blanche asked her and will continue to do so.
'We are grateful that the government is trying to uncover the truth,' Markus said.
The British socialite was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 after being found guilty by a jury of child sex-trafficking.
She was accused of facilitating and participating in Epstein's abuse of teenage girls for a decade.
Maxwell has appealed her case to the Supreme Court as her lawyers have argued her conviction is invalid because of a non-prosecution and plea agreement made with Epstein in 2007.
Even as Trump indicated he does have the ability to pardon Maxwell, the Justice Department has urged the country's highest court to reject her appeal.
The president was visibly frustrated on Friday with being asked about Epstein as he headed out of town, but members of his own MAGA base have been demanding answers.
Trump insisted he had nothing to do with Epstein and began scapegoating others, despite a series of damaging recent reports on Trump's relationship with the convicted sex offender before he ran for office.
'You should focus on Bill Clinton, you should focus on… the former president of Harvard,' the president said. 'You should focus on some of the hedge fund guys - I'll give you a list.'
'These guys lived with Jeffrey Epstein. I sure as hell didn't,' Trump added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The 35% tariff kicked in today on Canadian goods. How big of an impact will it have?
With the signing of an executive order, U.S. President Donald Trump upped Canada's tariff rate to 35 per cent, effective at 12:01 a.m. today. That's a 10 per cent increase on the 25 per cent rate that has been in effect on Canadian goods headed south of the border since March, and is a blanket tariff that will apply to Canadian products across the board. However, that doesn't paint the whole picture. A very small number of Canadian products will be subjected to the 35 per cent tariff. That's because the tariffs don't apply to all goods that are subject to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the existing free trade deal governing trade between the three countries. Those products can keep going across the border free of tariffs. Most of the goods Canada exports to the U.S. are covered by CUSMA. The Bank of Canada said in its monetary policy report released Wednesday that an estimated 95 per cent of stuff sent south of the border qualifies under that agreement. That means the new, higher 35 per cent rate will be felt by a small fraction of exports that are not CUSMA-compliant, which likely includes a broad array of products across all sectors, according to experts. "[CUSMA] is the one thing that is ensuring normalcy in trade flows in much of the economy," said Eric Miller, president and CEO of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. "And so the maintenance of that exemption was absolutely crucial." WATCH | Trump increases tariff on Canada to 35%, White House says: There's no simple list of items that are CUSMA-compliant, because products are certified on a case-by-case basis, based on a number of complicated factors. In order to get the exemption, a certain amount of the product needs to be made in Canada, with Canadian inputs. Take the example of a steak versus that of a screwdriver. If a cow is born, raised, slaughtered and prepared in Alberta, then the steak — the end product — is clearly Canadian and would be shielded under CUSMA, says Miller. But a typical screwdriver is made of metal, along with plastic or rubber for the handle. The manufacturer would have to make sure that enough of the materials come from Canada, Mexico or the U.S. That amount is usually about 60 per cent, according to lawyer Daniel Kiselbach, a managing partner at Miller Thompson LLP. WATCH | What we know — and what's still unclear — after tariffs hiked on Canadian goods: Then, you have to make sure you're adding value to those parts and converting them to a finished product before shipping it out. In the case of the screwdriver, you're taking the raw materials and making them into a new, finished item, so that would meet the bar. Overall, anything harvested or mined is usually CUSMA-compliant, Kiselbach said. Anything manufactured or produced in Canada gets more complicated. Electronics and machinery, in particular, are product types that tend to have a harder time getting CUSMA certification. On top of that, the certification process can be challenging, requiring records showing where all a product's components come from, and it is costly. "[Businesses] don't necessarily understand what the rules are telling them," Miller said. "It's almost like cryptography or something." For that reason, Miller says some businesses have simply not acquired CUSMA certification in the past — something that's changing now that the rates are so much higher. WATCH | Is Canada-U.S. free trade dead?: While the fraction of companies that don't qualify for the free trade exemption might be small, Miller says the impact of the new rate should not be overlooked. Many of those who will be hit by the Saturday tariff increase will be small- to medium-sized businesses that rely on components that are made in countries outside of Canada — and can't easily replace them with materials sourced elsewhere. "If you are used to sourcing a particular input from China for the last 10 years, it's not so easy to go and say, 'Now I'm going to buy that good somewhere else,'" Miller said. "They can't easily change and they can't meet the rules, so they have to pay 35 per cent. And for them, going from 25 per cent to 35 per cent is pretty devastating," Miller. Kiselbach says 35 per cent tariffs might be higher than some companies' profit margins, meaning they'd be losing money on each item they sell at the current rate. Sectoral tariffs still in play The 35 per cent rate also has no bearing on the rates Trump has set for specific sectors. Those include a 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, as well as 25 per cent on cars and auto parts, both of which had already been in effect. A new, 50 per cent tariff on some copper products, including copper pipes and wiring, also went into effect today. The Trump administration made carveouts for copper input materials such as ores, concentrates and cathodes, which is providing the industry some relief. And while the sector-specific rates are largely not new, the impact of these steep rates on important sectors cannot be ignored, said Alan Arcand, chief economist with the trade association Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. "These are very important industries for Canada," Arcand said. "These are tariff rates that are just not … sustainable for these industries. So that's really the rub of the issue right now." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
American Eagle Defends Sydney Sweeney's Jeans Ads After Intense Backlash
American Eagle is defending its new ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney after drawing outrage online and even garnering a response from the White House. In a statement shared Friday on its Instagram account, the clothing retailer attempted to clarify the intention of the ads. ''Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story,' the statement read. 'We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.' Unveiled last week, the American Eagle ads find Sweeney ― whose acting credits include 'Euphoria' and 'Anyone But You' ― donning a variety of denim ensembles alongside a tagline featuring wordplay on 'jeans' and 'genes.' The campaign is believed to have been intended as a tribute to Brooke Shields' 1980 Calvin Klein ad, which was also controversial for its time. However, many viewers interpreted the ad's use of a double entendre as non-inclusive, with some even likening it to 'white supremacy' and 'Nazi propaganda.' The response to the ad was largely divided along political lines, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly among the conservative personalities who defended the ad. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, meanwhile, said the controversy was an example of 'cancel culture run amok,' and 'why Americans voted the way they did in 2024.' Watch one of Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ads below. Appearing on the 'Ruthless' podcast Friday, Vice President JD Vance echoed some of Cheung's sentiments. 'The lesson [Democrats] have apparently taken is we're going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful. Great strategy, guys,' he said. 'That's how you're going to win the midterms.' Whether American Eagle's statement will be enough to quell the criticism remains to be seen. By Friday afternoon, responses to the company's Instagram post appeared similarly divided. 'Ignore the negativity. Brilliant ad,' one person wrote in the comments, while another said they 'didn't think the response could be even worse than the ad but it somehow was.' Related... 'So Hitler': Fans Think Sydney Sweeney's New American Eagle Ads Are Promoting White Supremacy Ted Cruz Is Weirdly Invested In The Backlash To Sydney Sweeney's Jeans Ad Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle Ad Is Disturbing — And Distracting You From Something Worse
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘You failed that child;' Family of Hershall Creachbaum wants murder charges, answers
A member of Hershall Creachbaum's family is speaking out about his death. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7's Mike Campbell sat down with Creachbaum's cousin. Hear from her LIVE on News Center 7 at 6:00. Creachbaum's remains were found on July 12. His mother, Ashley Johnson, and her boyfriend, Michael Kendrick, were arrested just hours after police found his remains. TRENDING STORIES: Body of missing Ohio pizza delivery driver found in ravine 'Sick to my stomach;' Ohio mother demands answers after police release missing 12-year-old Man killed in shooting near Dayton apartment complex identified Currently, both are facing charges stemming from his death. Creachbaum's cousin, Chasity Rollins, said she wants to see them face murder charges. 'They have to find the evidence, and I fully support that as well because without that evidence, the two monsters in jail don't get the charges they deserve,' Rollins said We will continue to update this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
