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39 minutes ago
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DOJ shuts down dark web child abuse sites that had 120,000 members
When FBI agents arrived outside William Spearman's home in the quiet suburb of Madison, Alabama, in November 2022, they were prepared for danger. Their search warrant was so important to the bureau that it was approved by the FBI director himself. When the agents breached Spearman's door with tactical explosives, Spearman fought back, tussling with the agents as three of his handguns remained barely out of reach. The FBI managed to handcuff and arrest Spearman, a high-value arrest, in what a top Justice Department official called "one of the most successful" prosecutions of its kind. Spearman went by the nickname "Boss" and was labeled by the Justice Department as "one of the most significant" purveyors of child sex abuse material in the world. His arrest in 2022, his guilty plea a year later and his eventual life sentence were part of an unprecedented takedown of a prodigious child abuse network. Spearman is one of at least 18 people convicted so far of leading and utilizing the dark web to share hundreds of thousands of unlawful sexually exploitative images of children. The Justice Department calls the investigation and prosecutions Operation Grayskull; it helped secure those arrests and shutter four heavily trafficked dark web sites where violent and horrific images of child sexual abuse were traded and housed. The Operation Grayskull investigation launched in 2020, when law enforcement agents noticed a spike in traffic to a dark web site suspected of hosting child abuse material. The dark web child abuse sites eventually attracted more than 120,000 members, millions of files and at least 100,000 visits in a single day, according to an FBI official who spoke with CBS News. "Even for prosecutors, it is difficult to understand how pervasive this is," said Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department Criminal Division. "Because it happens on the dark web, people aren't aware of it. It's extremely troubling," he told CBS News. Spearman's case has parallels to many of the others unearthed by Operation Grayskull. Spearman was accused of helping lead a dark web site with thousands of users and members. A sentencing memo submitted to the court said it was "no wonder" that he had tried to resist the FBI, rather than surrendering. "The devices at his desk contained massive quantities of evidence proving that he was the lead administrator of Website A," the memo said. "Unsurprisingly, the defendant's devices also contained an enormous collection of images and videos depicting the rape and abuse of children." Selwyn Rosenstein was sentenced to 28 years in prison in 2022, for operating a dark website for unlawful exploitative images. Prosecutors said the platform "was not simply a website; it was a large, active community of pedophiles and (abuse material) enthusiasts. And it existed in part because of the Defendant's criminal acts." Rosenstein possessed such a large quantity of abusive images, he needed to store some on a server he used to run his business, according to the Justice Department. Speaking from a second floor conference room at Justice Department headquarters in Washington last week, Galeotti told CBS News the members of these dark web child abuse sites often "earn" membership by paying a fee, "helping moderate the site" or contributing child abuse images or material. Galeotti said, "We luckily have very sophisticated prosecutors and agents who work specifically on this kind of thing. These are people who have a more of a technical understanding." "The defendants in this case, as sadistic as they may be, are somewhat sophisticated," and make use of encryption, he added. Operation Grayskull also secured the conviction of Matthew Garrell of Raleigh, North Carolina, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for operating on a dark web site for abuse material. "Garrell engaged in an extremely complex and technologically sophisticated conspiracy that far exceeds the typical child-exploitation offenses," prosecutors said. They argued in a court filing that Garrell possessed a predator's "handbook," with "detailed instructions" for grooming children for future abuse. The takedown of dark web leaders and users also included the convictions of men from Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, Texas, Washington, Arkansas, Michigan and Oklahoma. "They were part of an online community of hundreds of thousands of people, with leadership roles rules and a common dedicated purpose" said Chris Delzotto, an acting FBI deputy assistant director. Delzotto told CBS News, "Few people would have envisioned how (child abuse materials) would permeate the internet, the way it has today." The federal investigation which uncovered and shuttered the first dark web site, also led to the closure of three others. Abbigail Beccaccio, an FBI unit chief, told CBS News. "The leadership team that operated one of the sites also operated several of the others." The Justice Department is touting the shutdown of those sites as a victory to help deter future abuse or production of unlawful images. "This is one of the most successful of all time," Galeotti said. "We dismantled four websites that have not regenerated." "The Wizard of Oz" as you've never seen it before Tadej Pogačar wins his fourth Tour de France Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump's ‘coverup' in the face of Epstein scoops is making his MAGA problems so much worse
The firestorm continued on the MAGA right this week as the political focus on the Epstein files just would not dissipate and Donald Trump dug himself deeper into a hole. With his administration scrambling to explain why it isn't releasing files from an investigation that its own members and supporters have said for years should be made public, the president spent the past two weeks reigniting old conflicts with foes ranging from Rosie O'Donnell to Barack Obama. On Wednesday, those efforts escalated to the point where the U.S. director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declared from behind the White House briefing room podium that former President Obama had attempted a 'coup' on American soil. But Trump and his closest advisers are coming to quickly realize that they and the mainstream media both greatly underestimated the staying power of the Epstein issue. The Trump Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, declared in a joint statement with the FBI that Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy, convicted pedophile who died in federal detention in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, did so by suicide. To support the conclusion, the agencies released video footage of an area outside of Epstein's cell spanning the time he was locked in for the evening on the night of his death. In the same statement, the agencies declared that no list of Epstein's co-conspirators was found within the DOJ's investigation files. That announcement was made in early July. Every week since then has been marked with new efforts by the Trump administration to calm its critics on the right, and each has largely been unsuccessful in doing so. Bondi's own contributions have been less than helpful for the president. She declared the Epstein file was 'on her desk' in an interview earlier this year when asked specifically about the list of Epstein's clients, and presented MAGA influencers with 'Phase 1' of the investigation in special binders bearing a federal seal at the White House. Phase 2 never materialized, and combined with a minute of footage missing from the videos released by the DOJ her consistent overpromising led to a rift between the attorney general and two top appointees at the FBI: Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Director Kash Patel. All of it has proven progressively more damaging to the president's efforts to get ahead of the story, which only exists because Trump himself promised his base that he would release all the information the government has on Epstein when he ran for president. Gabbard's campaign against former President Barack Obama and members of his administration has — so far — been the most successful of those efforts to distract. Gabbard's conclusion that the national intelligence office she now leads altered intel assessments at then-President Obama's direction to gin up fears about Russian interference in the 2016 election in order to benefit Trump shifted the attention of a number of MAGAworld's wayward voices, like Gen. Mike Flynn, Glenn Beck and Alex Jones. Many others remain fixated on Epstein, however, especially after a pair of Wall Street Journal scoops over the past week. The first detailed a birthday message supposedly penned by Trump and bearing his signature, which alluded to a 'secret' the two men shared. Trump fiercely denied the authenticity of the message and signature, and filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the WSJ and its owner Rupert Murdoch alleging libel. A second one, published Wednesday, reported that Bondi had informed Trump that he was mentioned in the Epstein investigation files that her team reviewed during a meeting in May. Trump's team also described that second story as 'fake'. With the exception of Trump's most committed loyalists, the truth understood across the political spectrum is the same: this issue threatens to derail Trump's second presidency. Progressives and centrist Democrats, as well as the president's own lingering rivals in the GOP, recognize that fact with barely-contained glee. Trump's supporters, meanwhile, couch every statement about the issue with effusive praise regarding how great and wonderful his second presidency has been — and how quickly that could end. One prominent supporter told his audience this week that he'd made that exact point to Vice President J.D. Vance in person. In an episode that posted Saturday, MAGA-aligned podcaster and comedian Tim Dillon hinted to viewers that he'd dined with the vice president and told him the administration was 'done' if the entirety of the Epstein files were not released — and Bondi fired. Dillon later confirmed it was Vance he dined with during a conversation with Alex Jones. 'If you don't disclose everything you're done,' Dillon said he told Vance. 'I mean, nobody will support you guys. You are fully and completely part of this coverup if everything doesn't come out. I think it paralyzes their presidency.' During that conversation with Jones days later, Dillon was already poking holes in the explanation Vance gave him in private. 'I had dinner last week with the vice president, he told me ... they do not have videos of any powerful person in a compromising position [with underaged girls],' Dillon told Jones. 'That's the party line that they're going with. If that's the case, why would Pam Bondi call it evidence? Why would she say it's evidence? She's not an idiot. She's the attorney general. Why would she say that she has files on her desk if none of these implicated anybody?' Dillon asked. 'It just feels like they're covering something [up]. For sure.' 'I feel like, they're telling a story. And the story doesn't make sense,' he added. This week, the fallout in Washington was in plain view. Congress departed early for the August recess, with Mike Johnson sending members home early to avoid embarrassing votes and the spectacle of Republicans joining with Democrats on a petition to release the Epstein files. But there's much more coming, and it no longer has an end in sight. Members of the House Oversight committee want Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend who is serving a 20-year sentence for grooming young women and girls for the sex trafficker, to testify. Thomas Massie, the Republican thorn in Trump's side co-leading the discharge petition, predicted to reporters that his effort would only grow in popularity over the next month as members faced their constituents back home. Then there's the 2026 midterms. If Democrats take back the House next year, a very possible prospect, the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency could well be tied up with congressional investigations centered on the Epstein issue. Subpoenas for Cabinet officials and other Trump officials could be on the agenda as a potentially Democrat-controlled House, with the aid of rebel Republicans, launch probe after probe, even potentially a special committee, to hammer at the issue. The survival of Trump's second-term agenda and, more significantly, his ability to hold his political power base intact could be on the line if the president cannot get on the same page as his base on this issue, and quickly. He needs to stop trying to distract and actually give his MAGA base an Epstein-related meal to chew on.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Newsmax star defends Alex Acosta's sweetheart plea deal for Epstein — but ignores the network's conflict of interest
Newsmax may have its own Jeffrey Epstein problem. Over the course of the past week, its MAGA-boosting host Greg Kelly has repeatedly gone to bat for Alex Acosta, the former federal prosecutor who negotiated the secret so-called 'sweetheart' plea deal with Epstein in 2008 the Justice Department later said was made in 'poor judgment.' Throughout multiple primetime segments, Kelly has described Acosta – who resigned as President Donald Trump's Labor Secretary in 2019 amid renewed scrutiny of the Epstein plea agreement – as a 'nice guy' and 'great individual' who was only targeted by liberals to 'embarrass' Trump by 'rebooting' the Epstein story. Kelly on Monday night suggested Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell didn't deserve her lengthy prison sentence while claiming Acosta was the victim of 'fake news' because 'it wasn't a sweetheart deal' he handed Epstein. Left unsaid in Kelly's efforts to rehabilitate Acosta's reputation, amid the current uproar over the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case, is that the former secretary now sits on the board of directors for Newsmax. In a press release last month that was flagged by Media Matters, the MAGA network announced Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky had been appointed to the company's board, and joined Acosta, who had joined as a board member following the closing of the network's initial public offering in March. 'We are delighted to officially welcome Secretary Acosta and announce the addition of Ambassador Dobriansky to our Board of Directors,' Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said at the time. 'Their exceptional backgrounds in public service, regulatory policy and international affairs will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to execute our growth strategy and deliver trusted news to the American people and countries around the world.' Besides noting Acosta's time as Secretary of Labor during the first Trump administration, the network's press release also highlighted his time as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, which is where he struck the controversial plea deal with Epstein. Under the 2008 non-prosecution agreement – also known as an NPA – Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender. A Newsmax spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Kelly's lack of disclosure about Acosta's role with the company. Following the DOJ's two-page July 6 memo concluding that Epstein died by suicide and didn't keep a 'client list' to blackmail prominent figures, the administration has faced a MAGA uproar and continuing calls for the full release of the so-called Epstein files. This has also resulted in a divide within right-wing media on how to best cover the ongoing fallout. After the president began ordering his 'boys' and 'gals' to stop focusing on the late sex predator because the Epstein case was a 'hoax,' Fox News pulled back on its coverage. Newsmax then poked fun at what it called the 'terrified' network for not wanting to 'p*ss off' Trump while claiming the Murdoch-owned channel has 'been essentially mandated not to talk about' Epstein. As the network's hosts have mocked Fox for appearing to ignore the Epstein affair, especially now the president is suing Rupert Murdoch over the Wall Street Journal's bombshell report claiming Trump wrote a 'bawdy' birthday card for Epstein, Kelly has crafted his own counter-narrative to downplay the dead sex offender's crimes. And this has resulted in the pro-Trump anchor running a defense for the network's board member. Trump has strongly denied he ever wrote or drew anything for the Epstein card. After spending the first few days of the current Epstein saga pondering whether 'Epstein is a patriot' and if this was the reason Acosta negotiated a non-prosecution agreement that saw the financier serve just 13 months in jail while shutting down an FBI probe into more potential sex crimes, Kelly began suggesting Acosta was unfairly maligned. Kelly has claimed Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald reporter whose deep-dive investigation into Epstein in 2018 and the 'deal of a lifetime' he received from Acosta brought renewed interest in the case, 'rebooted' the story in an effort to take down Trump. 'The Epstein story was rebooted because they wanted to embarrass the Labor Secretary,' he stated last Monday. 'You remember it was anything, anything you could get on Trump.' After saying that Epstein was 'not the only one who got a sweetheart deal,' Kelly would later move the goalposts and declare that the light sentence the convicted sex offender received actually wasn't abnormal at all. 'Alex Acosta was gone; he had to resign because that was the game the Deep State was playing,' Kelly bemoaned on Wednesday before adding: 'President Trump won't let that happen again and it's kind of awesome to see!' During a lengthy segment on Monday evening, Kelly spun an intricate tale that not only saw Acosta as a full-fledged victim but also suggested both Maxwell and Epstein were essentially railroaded. 'Well, that's horrible and wrong and disgusting, but also happened a very long time ago. 2002 to 2005. This is in 2019 when he was arrested,' Kelly said, describing the DOJ's 2019 charges against Epstein. 'And if anybody actually looks at the indictment, it's suspiciously a long time ago.' Saying it's 'not the case' that Epstein was 'running a sex operation', Kelly then said about Maxwell's 20-year prison sentence: 'Maybe she deserves it. Maybe she doesn't.' He then turned back towards Acosta's role in the plea bargain and argued that he acted appropriately. 'There had to be a Trump angle. Acosta was appointed Labor Secretary by President Trump. He was in a courtroom in 2008 with Epstein,' he proclaimed. 'I already went through it. It wasn't a sweetheart deal, not compared to similar sex crimes.' Kelly also insisted that Acosta didn't resign 'in disgrace,' asserting that Trump knew his departing secretary 'was getting screwed' and that he liked that the president 'showed up' for Acosta. At the time of his resignation, Acosta defended his work as the federal prosecutor in Florida's southern district, saying in his 'heart we were trying to do the right thing for these victims' and that 'we believe that we proceeded appropriately.' In a televised appearance alongside Acosta, Trump stated that the secretary had called him and offered to resign, claiming the controversy had become a distraction for the administration. 'He made a deal [with Epstein] that people are happy with, and then 12 years later, they are not happy with it. You'll have to figure all of that out,' Trump declared, calling him a 'fantastic secretary of labor.' One network staffer told The Independent that it wasn't shocking to see the lengths that Kelly would go to rehabilitate the image of the former Trump administration official and current Newsmax board member. 'After all, this is now the Trump network,' the staffer snarked, referencing the recent announcement that Newsmax had partnered with Trump Media & Technology Group to launch a TV streaming platform. 'Some people are very upset about partnering with Trump,' another Newsmax insider noted. 'Even the most conservative people at Newsmax think it's a terrible look and they feel like state-run media.'
