Ret. Gen. Honoré: need to take ‘a strong look at the alert system' ahead of Texas flooding
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Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump won't rule out pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell amid Epstein investigation
President Donald Trump Friday refused to rule out pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell as the sex-trafficking accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein met for a second day with a top Justice Department official behind closed doors. As he left the White House for a trip to Scotland, Trump dodged a reporter's question about whether he was considering cutting short Maxwell's 20-year prison sentence. 'I'm allowed to do it, but I really haven't thought about it,' Trump said, adding that he 'certainly can't talk about pardons now.' Trump's remarks came as the No. 2 official at the Justice Department spent a second day meeting behind closed doors with Maxwell and her lawyer and the White House seeks to tamp down still-swirling outrage over the Epstein case. Todd Blanche, who was Trump's personal lawyer before joining the administration, did not give any update on any information Maxwell may have shared. Trump also sought to counter recent bombshell scoops revealing a chummy letter he wrote to Epstein for his birthday and other events when the pair were buddies in Palm Beach high society circles. 'Somebody could have written a letter and used my name,' Trump said. 'That's happened a lot.' It's not clear why Blanche met with Maxwell or what the administration hopes to get her to reveal. It's highly unusual for such a high-ranking prosecutor to meet with a convicted criminal unless they are seeking information about other potential cases. Maxwell, who also was friendly with Trump years ago, is imprisoned at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019. Trump himself and his MAGA base spent years calling for the release of any and all information about Epstein and his links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires. But earlier this month, the Justice Department abruptly shifted course and said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation. Attorney General Pam Bondi also said an Epstein client list does not exist. That flip-flop came a few weeks after Bondi reportedly told Trump in May that his name was among high-profile people mentioned in government files of Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump also started denouncing the Epstein probe as a Democratic 'con job' and a 'hoax' and called on Americans to move on from the scandal. In a rare break with their leader, MAGA loyalists and fellow Republicans have refused to drop their demands for more transparency. Republican-led House committees have voted to subpoena files on the case and rebellious GOP lawmakers forced House Speaker Mike Johnson to adjourn the body early for its August break to avoid embarrassing votes on the matter. Trump and congressional allies are hoping the outcry dies down by Labor Day, but some analysts say that strategy is unlikely to succeed. __________
CNN
5 minutes ago
- CNN
Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney shares details of meeting with Deputy AG Todd Blanche
The second day of meetings between Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Ghislaine Maxwell and her lawyer has finished. Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus briefly addressed reporters saying she "answered every single question" during meetings.
CBS News
5 minutes ago
- CBS News
George Santos surrenders to New Jersey prison for 7-year sentence
George Santos, the disgraced former congressman from New York, surrendered himself to a federal prison on Friday to start serving his more than seven-year sentence for fraud. Santos reported to the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey. The ex-Republican congressman from Long Island was sentenced in April to 87 months in prison and he was ordered to report by 2 p.m. on July 25. He was also ordered to pay $373,949.97 in fines and restitution. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not disclose where convicts will serve their sentences before they start. The bureau says locations are determined based on the level of supervision, medical or programming needs, security measures and proximity to a person's residence. Prior to his sentencing, Santos told his followers he planned to request solitary confinement in prison. The former congressman pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and identity theft charges for exaggerating or lying about parts of his backstory to defraud voters and donors in New York's 3rd Congressional District. Federal prosecutors said in their sentencing memo that he "made a mockery of our election system" and used a "wholly fictitious biography to enrich himself and capture one of the highest offices." His offenses ranged from getting a vendor to forge a Baruch College diploma to presenting false financial disclosures to Congress claiming he was a multi-millionaire. He was also accused of faking donations in the names of relatives, creating a fake nonprofit to solicit donations and running a credit card fraud scheme to steal from elderly and cognitively impaired donors. Santos then spent those donations on luxury items from Hermès and Ferragamo, Botox, a rent payment and other accommodations in Atlantic City and the Hamptons, according to campaign files, bank records and other documents released by the House Ethics Committee. "From the moment he declared his candidacy for congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York John Durham said after the sentencing. "He did this by targeting specific supporters and constituents. He saw them as easy marks and he made them victims of his fraud." The U.S. Department of Justice wanted Santos to serve the maximum 87 months in prison, while his lawyers sought just 24 months. Santos had asked the judge for leniency and read a statement in court, admitting that he betrayed his supporters and the institutions he was sworn to serve. After the sentencing, he posted a lengthy statement on X, which read in part, "I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I'm more than the mistakes I've made. Respectfully, George Santos." The White House said this week it "will not comment on the existence or nonexistence" of any clemency request. Santos, 37, helped the GOP secure the House in the 2022 midterm elections. But before he was sworn into office, his lies started to unravel. The first charges were filed against him in May 2023, with more to follow that October. The House Ethics Committee then released a scathing 56-page report detailing the extent of his misconduct. Santos was removed from Congress weeks later, becoming just the sixth House member to be expelled in the nation's history. Mark Prussin contributed to this report.
