Candace Owens: Who is the US podcaster claiming Brigitte Macron is a man?
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Vote to subpoena all Epstein-related files from Justice Department
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24/07/2025
US President Donald Trump under fire over pedo-criminal Epstein files
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Donald Trump escalates war on the press as journalists face mounting pressure
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Donald Trump sues Murdoch, Wall Street Journal for $10 billion over Epstein article
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19/07/2025
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Donald Trump lashes out at MAGA base as Epstein row escalates
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LeMonde
30 minutes ago
- LeMonde
Trump says he was 'never' told his name was in Epstein files
US President Donald Trump denied on Friday, July 25, that he had ever been told that his name appeared in files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "No, I was never – never briefed, no," Trump told reporters in Scotland after the Wall Street Journal reported that the attorney general told him in May about his name appearing multiple times. Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case, overshadowing his administration's achievements. Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Trump. Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of Epstein, finished 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials on Friday, answering questions "about 100 different people," her attorney said. "She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability," David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we're very proud of her." Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. 'Seeking the truth' On Friday, reporters pressed Trump about pardoning Maxwell, but he deflected, emphasizing his administration's successes. Help us improve Le Monde in English Dear reader, We'd love to hear your thoughts on Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve it for you. "The deputy attorney general is seeking the truth," Markus said. "He asked every possible question, and he was doing an amazing job." Markus said he didn't ask for anything for Maxwell in return, though he acknowledged that Trump could pardon her. "Listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way," Markus said. Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist. Maxwell is appealing her conviction, based on the government's pledge years ago that any potential Epstein co-conspirators would not be charged, Markus said. Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008 that shifted his case to Florida state court, where he pleaded guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Epstein in 2019 and Maxwell in 2020 were charged in federal court in New York.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Trump, EU chief to meet Sunday in push for trade deal
In a drive to slash his country's trade deficits, Trump has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariff hikes if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by August 1. The EU -- which is facing an across-the-board levy of 30-percent -- has been pushing hard for a deal with Trump's administration, while also planning retaliation should talks fall short. Von der Leyen first announced the meeting, writing on X: "Following a good call with POTUS, we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong." Arriving on UK soil late Friday, Trump confirmed he would meet the head of the European Commission, which has been negotiating with Washington on behalf of the 27-nation bloc. "I'll be meeting with the EU on Sunday, and we'll be working on a deal," he told reporters as he touched down at Prestwick Airport near Glasgow. "Ursula will be here -- a highly respected woman. So we look forward to that," Trump said. "We'll see if we make a deal," added the president -- who reiterated earlier comments saying the chance of a deal was "50-50", with sticking points remaining on "maybe 20 different things." "But we're meeting ... with the European Union. And that would be, actually, the biggest deal of them all, if we make it," he said. The high-level meeting follows months of negotiations between top EU and US trade officials, and days of signals suggesting the sides were moving towards an agreement. According to multiple European diplomats, the agreement under consideration would involve a baseline 15-percent US levy on EU goods -- the same level secured by Japan this week -- and potential carve-outs for critical sectors. Von der Leyen's spokesperson Paula Pinho said "intensive negotiations" had been taking place at technical and political level in the run up to Sunday's meeting. "Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic," she said. 'In Trump's hands' Hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House, the EU is currently subject to a 25-percent levy on cars, 50 percent on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 percent, which Washington threatens to hike to 30 percent in a no-deal scenario. The EU wants to avoid sweeping tariffs inflicting further harm on the European economy -- already suffering from sluggish growth -- and damaging a trading relationship worth an annual 1.6 trillion euros ($1.9 trillion) in goods and services. EU member states gave the European Commission a mandate to pursue a deal to avoid hefty US tariffs, with retaliation held out as a last resort if talks fail. Seeking to keep up the pressure in the final stretch of talks, EU states on Thursday backed a package of retaliation on $109 billion (93 billion euros) of US goods including aircraft and cars -- to kick in in stages from August 7 if there is no deal. Most states prefer a deal to no deal -- even with undesirable levies of 15 percent -- but exemptions are key, with aircraft, steel, lumber, pharmaceutical products and agricultural goods under discussion, diplomats said. Concerning steel, diplomats say a compromise could allow a certain quota to enter the United States, with amounts beyond that taxed at 50 percent. Since launching its tariffs campaign, Trump's administration has so far unveiled just five agreements, including with Britain, Japan and the Philippines. While EU hopes have been rising for a deal, the approaching August 1 deadline also comes with a sense of deja-vu: earlier this month, EU officials also believed they were on the cusp of a deal, before Trump hiked his tariff threat to 30-percent.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Fake AI photos of Trump with Epstein flood internet
The surge in deepfakes comes as the US president -- frequently photographed with Epstein during their 15-year friendship -- attempts to distance himself from the disgraced financier, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. One widely circulated AI-generated video appears to show Trump and Epstein leering at a group of young girls dancing, with the song "Is it a Crime?" by the English band Sade added as background music. At least two other fake photos appear to show the pair on a couch alongside underaged girls. Another such photograph purports to shows Trump dancing with a teenage girl on Epstein's private island. Overlaying the image is the caption: "Trump was in his 50's when this was taken. What kind of man does that?" At least seven such AI-generated images and one video cumulatively garnered more than 7.2 million views across social media platforms, according to a conservative estimate by disinformation watchdog group NewsGuard. The watchdog said it used multiple detection tools, including Hive and IdentifAI, to establish that the content was fabricated using AI tools and the actual number of views was likely much higher than its manual tally of high-engagement posts. Trump's ties to Epstein are extensive, and the pair were frequently pictured partying together during their friendship before they fell out in 2004 over a property deal. But there appear to be no known authentic photographs of the pair with underage girls or of Trump visiting Epstein's private island in the Caribbean, NewsGuard said. AI slop -- low-quality visual content generated using cheap and widely available artificial intelligence tools –- increasingly appears to be flooding social media sites, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Many content creators on YouTube and TikTok offer paid courses on how to monetize viral AI slop on tech platforms, many of which have reduced their reliance on human fact-checkers and scaled back content moderation. AI-generated images of Trump spread rapidly after the FBI and Justice Department said in a July 7 memo that there was no proof that Epstein kept a "client list" of elite co-conspirators as conspiracy theorists have contended. Trump's core Make America Great Again (MAGA) base erupted in anger over the memo, calling on the White House to release the so-called "Epstein files." Some even within the Republican president's own party have demanded the files be released, but his administration has declined to do so. Fake images appear to be gaining traction in that vacuum. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the president's name was among hundreds found during an official review of the files, though there has not been evidence of wrongdoing. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the newspaper last week after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. © 2025 AFP
