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Epstein grand jury transcripts 'a distraction'

Epstein grand jury transcripts 'a distraction'

Yahoo6 days ago
Grand jury transcripts in the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend are unlikely to reveal much, if anything, that is not already known about the financier's crimes, former federal prosecutors say.
Attorney Sarah Krissoff, an assistant US attorney in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, called the request in the prosecutions of Epstein and imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell "a distraction".
"The president is trying to present himself as if he's doing something here and it really is nothing," Krissoff told The Associated Press.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche made the request on Friday, US time, asking judges to unseal transcripts from grand jury proceedings that resulted in indictments against Epstein and Maxwell.
Blanche said "transparency to the American public is of the utmost importance to this administration".
The request came as the administration sought to contain the firestorm that followed its announcement it would not be releasing additional files from the Epstein probe despite previously promising it would.
US President Donald Trump faces increased scrutiny about his relationship with Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019.
The Epstein case has generated conspiracy theories that became popular among Trump's base of supporters who believed the government was covering up Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful.
Some of Trump's most loyal followers became furious after his administration reversed course on its promise to release files related to the Epstein investigation.
Meanwhile, Trump is suing the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch, after the newspaper reported that he in 2003 sent Epstein a birthday greeting that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.
Epstein killed himself at age 66 in his federal jail cell in 2019, a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges, while Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence imposed after her 2021 sex trafficking conviction for luring girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Krissoff and Joshua Naftalis, a Manhattan federal prosecutor for 11 years before entering private practice in 2023, said grand jury presentations are purposely brief.
Naftalis said prosecutors present just enough to a grand jury to get an indictment but "it's not going to be everything the FBI and investigators have figured out about Maxwell and Epstein".
"People want the entire file from however long. That's just not what this is," he said, estimating that the transcripts, at most, probably amount to a few hundred pages.
"It's not going to be much," Krissoff said, estimating the length at as little as 60 pages, "because the Southern District of New York's practice is to put as little information as possible into the grand jury".
"They basically spoon-feed the indictment to the grand jury. That's what we're going to see," she said. "I just think it's not going to be that interesting ... I don't think it's going to be anything new."
Both ex-prosecutors said grand jury witnesses in Manhattan are usually federal agents summarising their witness interviews.
Krissoff predicted that judges who presided over the Epstein and Maxwell cases will reject the government's request.
"This is not a 50-, 60-, 80-year-old case," Krissoff noted. "There's still someone in custody."
Cheryl Bader, a former federal prosecutor and Fordham Law School criminal law professor, said judges who presided over the Epstein and Maxwell cases may take weeks or months to rule.
"Especially here where the case involved witnesses or victims of sexual abuse, many of which are underage, the judge is going to be very cautious about what the judge releases," she said.
Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, called Trump's comments and influence in the Epstein matter "unprecedented" and "extraordinarily unusual" because he is a sitting president.
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He lived an immigrant's nightmare. One problem: He's a citizen, got his arrest on video
He lived an immigrant's nightmare. One problem: He's a citizen, got his arrest on video

Yahoo

time21 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

He lived an immigrant's nightmare. One problem: He's a citizen, got his arrest on video

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida ‒ Kenny Laynez's cellphone camera captured every undocumented immigrant's nightmare on video when he was arrested. One problem: He is a U.S. citizen. The video, shot May 2, showed Florida Highway Patrol officers and Border Patrol agents stopping the 18-year-old landscaper and his three coworkers ‒ one of them his mother ‒ as they drove past luxury buildings to a job. The camera captured officers dragging his coworkers out of their van by their necks and twisting Laynez's arms and pushing him face down to the pavement. The video also recorded an officer shooting one of Laynez's coworkers with a Taser, saying he had resisted arrest. 'I have rights. I was born and raised here," Laynez told the officers, according to a copy of the video shared by the Guatemalan-Maya Center of Lake Worth Beach. "You don't have any rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother,' the officer said, referring to his ethnicity. He hurried the 18-year-old into a van. 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The state will drop the charges July 30 if he completes the program by then. "They treated us like dogs they picked up in the street," Layzez said. "They are just pulling over people and kidnapping people who are hard-working." "We are not criminals. We were just heading to work." Trump at 'Alligator Alcatraz': Facts on Florida Everglades immigration detention center ICE arrests spread fear among immigrants Videos like Laynez's showing federal agents arresting day laborers have left immigrant families across Palm Beach County and the rest of the country in fear. Even families in which some members are documented have laid low, sometimes not going to school or church. West Palm Beach attorney Jack Scarola has reviewed Laynez's footage and has talked with him about the incident. He said the footage shows how FHP and Border Patrol agents are under "extreme pressure" to meet daily arrest and deportation quotas and that the response has led to a "reckless disregard" of the rights of both undocumented and legal immigrants and even the rights of U.S. citizens. 'All of us should be not only offended, but outraged by that misconduct,' Scarola said. 'And if we fail to appropriately respond to that outrageous disregard of the civil rights of others, all of our civil rights are in serious jeopardy.' Stopped while heading to work Kenny Laynez was born in 2005 at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach to a Guatemalan single mother who is in the U.S. legally but is not a citizen. He attended Palm Beach Lakes High School and got a job at the landscaping company where his mother drove crews to work sites. Neither Laynez nor his mother works for the company any longer. Laynez said he and his mother met two coworkers on May 2 at a gas station and drove to a landscaping job near North Palm Beach. The coworkers, Esdras and Marroquin, are undocumented but neither had criminal records, Laynez said. The Post is withholding their last names to protect their families. Although his mother wasn't speeding, just after they crossed the bridge on Singer Island, they heard a police siren. An officer rolled down a tinted window and signaled to her to pull over. The officer asked where they were headed. Laynez said they were going to work and the officer took his mother's license and the truck's registration and insurance. The officer returned and said his mother's license was suspended, to all their surprise. Laynez said he asked the officer why he pulled them over. He didn't see how the officer could have known his mother's license was suspended by running the company truck's license plate. Laynez said the officer asked if they were "illegal." Laynez said they were not and asked what that had to do with the license. A van pulled up and more armed agents swarmed the truck. A female officer approached his window and ordered them in Spanish to shut off their phones. Laynez said that at that moment, he started recording with his phone instead: "I assumed something was going to happen.' The video of the raid What he captured on video begins with a question. "Who in here is illegal?' The officer asked in Spanish. "Whoever takes longer to answer will get more charges and spend more time in jail.' Esdras, who is seen clenching a towel in his hands, raised his hand. The male agent ordered them to open the door. Laynez grabbed onto the handle. 'Wait, hold up,' Laynez said. 'You don't have the right to do that.' 'I don't have a right?' the officer said with a laugh. He reached inside the car and popped the door open. The video shows an agent grabbing Marroquin by the hair and placing his neck in the crook of his arm. 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On the video, an agent recounted how Laynez said they didn't have the right to come in the door and says: 'I already told you to come out. If you don't come out, I'll pull you out.' 'God damn. Wow,' the officer cheered. 'Nice!' 'Just remember you can smell too with a $30,000 bonus,' another officer chimes in. It was not immediately clear to what bonus the officer referred. On the tape, an officer is heard saying that Laynez's coworker was resisting arrest, so he should be charged. 'He was being a d*** right now. That is why we tased,' an agent said. The phone recording stopped shortly after that exchange, its memory out of storage. The agents confirmed Laynez's mother had legal status and issued her a ticket for driving with a suspended license. Laynez said she told them he was a U.S. citizen and showed them a picture of his Social Security card. They still took Laynez into custody. 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The arrest report said Laynez was being charged with nonviolent police obstruction. In a copy of the report that Laynez provided to The Palm Beach Post, officers wrote that Esdras had resisted his arrest. Laynez is not mentioned. After six hours, Laynez said he walked out the door of the Riviera Beach building and ordered an Uber home. He had almost 100 missed calls from his mother. Laynez said the footage of the arrests haunts him, but he doesn't regret filming. "I would basically have nothing, no evidence,' Laynez said. 'And no one would believe what happened or how they escalated the situation. "There might be even more happening that is not being recorded." Email Valentina Palm at vpalm@ and follow her on X at @ValenPalmB. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: ICE raids Florida: Citizen lived immigrant nightmare of being arrested

Congressional Candidate, 27, Forcibly Removed from Hearing and Arrested After Criticizing Texas Republicans: 'I'm Not Finished!'
Congressional Candidate, 27, Forcibly Removed from Hearing and Arrested After Criticizing Texas Republicans: 'I'm Not Finished!'

Yahoo

time21 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Congressional Candidate, 27, Forcibly Removed from Hearing and Arrested After Criticizing Texas Republicans: 'I'm Not Finished!'

Isaiah Martin, who spent a day in jail, later confirmed the charges were dropped and said he'd 'do it again for the people of Texas" A congressional candidate was forcibly removed from a hearing at the Texas State Capitol and arrested this week, after going over an apparent two-minute time limit to speak as he delivered a statement in opposition to Texas Republicans' redistricting efforts. Congressional District 18 candidate Isaiah Martin, 27, attended a hearing held by the Texas House Congressional Redistricting Committee on Thursday, July 24, when he offered his thoughts on the redistricting efforts in question, calling it 'illegal gerrymandering." According to Austin ABC affiliate KVUE, Gov. Greg Abbott added discussion of a proposed redrawing of congressional districts to the agenda following pressure from the Trump administration. Per The Hill, the redrawing of the state's maps could give the GOP an advantage in the 2026 midterms, as KVUE reported the state's constitution allows the maps to be redrawn at the discretion of both the governor and the Legislature — although it is rare to be done mid-decade. "Many of you that are Republicans, and I'm looking at you, you understand the game. You gotta get Trump's endorsement," Martin said at the beginning of his remarks, before his arrest. "That's the name of the game to be a Republican nowadays. And you know very clearly that Trump told every single one of you that he needs five seats." After he continued past an apparent allotted two-minute speaking time, Rep. Cody Vasut asked the sergeant-at-arms to remove Martin from the hearing. Footage from the scene, which was later shared by Martin's campaign on X, shows the candidate telling Republicans they have "no shame" as his microphone is removed from him. Martin then told the committee that "history might not remember you at all," as two men began to pull him out of the state capitol — with one man appearing to restrain Martin by lying on top of him. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) later confirmed, per KVUE and CBS Austin, that Martin was charged with disrupting a meeting, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing. His arrest took place around 7 p.m. local time, and he was later booked in Travis County Jail. His charges were dropped, per CBS Austin and an update that was shared on Martin's social media. A DPS spokesperson told KVUE that the arrest took place after Martin "refused to obey requests from committee members and subsequent orders from DPS to leave a committee hearing at the Texas State Capitol." The DPS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for confirmation on July 25. Per KVUE, Martin spent over 24 hours in jail. Martin's brother confirmed in a statement on X that "all charges" against him had been dropped, before Martin shared in a message of his own hours later that he was put in custody for a day because Republicans "were mad I had the AUDACITY to call them cowards to their faces." "They did this because I had the audacity to speak up, and you know what? I'm gonna continue to have that audacity," he said. "Because strongly worded letters won't get us out of this mess. It takes speaking truth to power no matter what the consequences are." Speaking with CBS Austin following his release, Martin reiterated that he would "do it again for the people of Texas." Read the original article on People

House Democrats demand 'birthday book' from Epstein estate
House Democrats demand 'birthday book' from Epstein estate

UPI

time23 minutes ago

  • UPI

House Democrats demand 'birthday book' from Epstein estate

1 of 4 | House Democrats have asked the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, pictured in jail before his 2019 death, to produce a book his associate Ghislaine Maxwell compiled for him in 2003 of letters from then-friends, including President Trump, to celebrate his 50th birthday. File Photo by New York State Division of Criminal Justice/EPA-EFE July 26 (UPI) -- House Democrats are demanding the release of a document held by Jeffrey Epstein's that allegedly contains a letter signed by President Donald Trump. The so-called "birthday book" is said to contain information about the convicted sex trafficker's personal relationships and was put together by his convicted former associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. Maxwell herself was given a 20-year federal prison sentence in 2021 for helping Epstein procure young women, and spoke Friday with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche about the late financier's criminal activities. "Recent public reporting indicates that the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein is in possession of a document commonly referred to as 'the birthday book,' compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003 in celebration of Mr. Epstein's 50th birthday, which has clear relevance to this case," Rep, Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote in a letter addressed to three lawyers at separate New York City law firms. "Public reporting indicates that President Trump submitted a poem and drawing for the 'birthday book,' which contains messages and illustrations from wealthy and powerful friends and associates of Jeffrey Epstein." The letter is co-signed by Khanna, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. "The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has issued a subpoena to depose Ms. Maxwell, the book's alleged creator, and should be permitted to review its contents," the letter reads. In the opening sentence, lawmakers accuse Trump of continuing "desperate attempts to quell public interest in the release of files related to his longtime friend, convicted sex offender and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein." Maxwell, who on Friday answered questions "honestly, truthfully" over several hours according to her lawyer, is set to appear in front of the House Oversight Committee on August 11. The 63-year-old was given partial immunity during the meeting where she was "asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine. Everything," her lawyer David Oscar Markus later told reporters. Maxwell's appearance Friday is unrelated to the subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting its own investigation. The letter penned by Khanna and Garcia asks for the book to be released by August 10 so members can review its contents prior to Maxwell's scheduled deposition. "The book is relevant for ongoing congressional oversight of the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein investigation and prosecution, as well as the Trump Administration's decision to declassify and release only a handful of documents from its Epstein files while withholding others from the public," the letter reads. "Information gathered from this document may also inform the development of legislative reforms addressing sex trafficking networks, financial regulation, or other critical matters of public policy." Epstein died in 2019 while in custody in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. His death was ruled a suicide ahead of his scheduled trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking.

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