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The Herald Scotland
35 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
President Trump says he doesn't understand interest in Epstein case
Despite Trump's efforts to downplay - and discredit - the Epstein case, the president has been unable to tamp down rising calls from top congressional Republicans and MAGA influencers for the Justice Department to disclose more information from the investigation. More: Mike Johnson calls for 'transparency' in Epstein case, in a break with Trump In a break from Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, on Tuesday called for the full release of files related to the Epstein case that the Justice Department has withheld. Trump loyalist Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, requested that Epstein's convicted accomplice and onetime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell testify before Congress. Infowars host Alex Jones called the situation a "giant fiasco" on his show Tuesday. And conservative commentator Megyn Kelly has criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein files as "incompetence." Trump, who had a friendship with Epstein years ago, compared the government's Epstein investigation to past federal inquires that targeted himself. "Don't forget: We went through years of the Mueller witch hunt, all of the different things, the Steele dossier, which was all fake," Trump told reporters, before describing the Epstein as "pretty boring stuff." "It's sordid, but it's boring. And I don't understand why it keeps going. Really only bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going" he said. Trump: Epstein files were 'made up' by his political enemies Earlier in the day, Trump said the Epstein files were "made up" by his political enemies when a reporter asked whether Bondi told the president that his name is in the files. "No no," Trump said. "She's given us just a very quick briefing. And in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen, I would say that these files were made up by Comey, Obama, they were made up by the Biden - and we went through years of that with the 'Russia, Russia, Russia' hoax." Trump added that "whatever she thinks is credible she should release," referring to Bondi. More: Dems say voters were conned. Trump says it's time to move on. Latest on Epstein conflict. Epstein died in August 2019 in a federal prison during Trump's first term. He had been arrested five weeks before on federal sex trafficking charges brought by the Trump Justice Department. More than a decade before his death, federal prosecutors in Florida - when George W. Bush was president - agreed to a plea deal with Epstein that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution on sex trafficking charges. More: Jeffrey Epstein had no 'client list,' died by suicide, DOJ and FBI conclude In a July 7 joint memo, the Justice Department and FBI said they found no evidence that Epstein kept a "client list" after Bondi earlier this year built up intrigue about the Epstein files. Trump endorsed releasing remaining documents in the case during the 2024 campaign. A review of Epstein materials in the U.S. government's procession also found no evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent people as part of his actions or that he was murdered while in custody, according to the agencies' memo. Federal authorities have said Epstein by suicide. The Epstein files contain large volumes of images of Epstein and victims who were minors or appeared to be minors, the Justice Department and FBI said, as well as more than 10,000 videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography. The memo said federal authorities found "no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography." Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
The Herald Scotland
35 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump traps liberals in their own lies about his presidency
None of that has happened, and I don't know whether to be disappointed or elated. But I must ask: What happened? And why have things gone so right when they were supposed to be so wrong? Progressives were wrong about the Trump economy Progressives have persistently forecast imminent economic doom since Trump was reelected in November. In April, the Associated Press reported: "President Donald Trump has panicked global financial markets, raised the risk of a recession and broken the political and economic alliances that made much of the world stable for business after World War II." That same month, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, declared that "Donald Trump is ruining the economy on purpose." And The American Prospect, in an article headlined, "The Great Trump Crash?," predicted that tariffs would "mean an instant, near-total halt of trade between China and the U.S." None of those dire predictions proved to be true. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recently reached record highs. Employers added more jobs than expected last month. The inflation rate ticked higher in June, but remains far below the 40-year high that Americans suffered under during the Biden administration. Opinion: Liberals call Trump a clown. But he's winning where it matters most. Progressives' scary predictions about international affairs also have proven to be false. Trump was supposed to be the green light Putin needed to pummel Ukraine into submission. Trump's America first stance also was supposed to embolden China and splinter NATO. In reality, Trump has been a peacemaker, pushing for meaningful ceasefires in conflicts from Gaza to Pakistan, Ukraine to Iran. Trump's efforts in the Middle East alone are worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump set back Iran's development of nuclear weapons, then forged a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Diplomatic efforts to broker a lasting peace in Gaza also continue. Opinion: Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize. He's achieved more than those who've won before. If there is to be a World War III, it doesn't appear imminent. Once again, progressives' claims about Trump were nothing but fearmongering. Democracy remains strong with Trump in the White House Probably the biggest lie the left has told about Trump is that his election would be an "extinction-level threat" for democracy. Six months into Trump's second term, I'm happy to report that democracy is still alive and well. Just look at recent headlines: New York Democrats exercised their right to vote for a socialist to run America's largest city. Millions of Americans marched in "No Kings" protests to criticize the president. Other protestors have taken to the streets to demonstrate against enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Despite liberals' oft-repeated fears, the evidence overwhelmingly points to a healthy democracy, where Americans vote for the candidates of their choice and raise their voices to call out politicians and policies they don't like. Trump isn't a king; he's a duly elected president chosen by a healthy plurality of voters. His election was democracy in action. It's not just that progressives' worst fears turned out to be far from reality. The left tried to gaslight Americans into believing they'd regret voting for Trump. The fearmongering on the left was wrong, then and now. And I won't let liberals forget it. Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.
The Herald Scotland
36 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
DHS deports convicted criminals to tiny African nation Eswatini
"This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back," she said in a post on the social media site X on July 16. The men are originally from Yemen, Vietnam, Laos, Jamaica and Cuba. McLaughlin didn't say whether the men had completed their sentences in the United States before their removal. Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is a landlocked country bordering Mozambique and South Africa. The nation is smaller than Maryland, suffers from severe poverty, high unemployment and the world's highest rate of HIV and AIDS, according to the CIA World Factbook. The United States has long sought to deport immigrants to third countries when their own home nation is recalcitrant or won't accept their own deportees. Countries including Vietnam, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and China have often refused to take their citizens back. The Trump administration is attempting to scale up third-country deportations after the Supreme Court in June suspended a lower court ruling requiring the administration give deportees due process and an opportunity to claim fear of persecution before they're sent to a country that isn't their own. In a July 8 memo following the SCOTUS decision, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons said if the United States "has received diplomatic assurances" that deportees "will not be persecuted or tortured," they can be shipped there without further proceedings. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has negotiated with countries around the world to accept foreign nationals, including with war-torn South Sudan and El Salvador, which has locked up hundreds of deportees in a notorious mega-prison. Early in the administration, ICE sent some 300 immigrants to Panama; many were from Asia and the Middle East and spoke no Spanish. Immigrant advocates say deporting people to a country that isn't their own where they don't speak the language is a violation of human rights. The administration has argued that immigrants who commit seious crimes should be removed without recourse. "These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities but thanks to @POTUS Trump (and) @Sec_Noem they are off of American soil," McLaughlin said in her post.
