Trump administration delves into MAGA distractions in deviation from the so-called Epstein files
Epstein died in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges related to the trafficking and sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls. His life and death have been the center of conspiracy theories, notably among Trump's base, as the feds have been tight-lipped about the evidence collected.
The Trump administration has been facing backlash after the Justice Department and FBI said in a memo released earlier this month there was no client list of Epstein's associates who may have partaken in his crimes and Epstein did indeed die by suicide.
Trump announced last week he had requested Attorney General Pam Bondi to release certain Epstein files, 'subject to court approval.'
'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!' he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump and his administration have instead worked to focus on other issues, from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 's assassination to the names of Washington and Cleveland sports teams, to one of his Democratic foes, former President Barack Obama.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
On Sunday, Trump took to social media to attack Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, Samantha Power, former administrator of the U.S.A.I.D., and he also posted a bizarre AI-generated video of Obama being arrested and thrown in jail.
Tulsi Gabbard, who told host Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures Obama had orchestrated a 'years-long coup' to keep Trump from the White House.
On Friday, Gabbard announced she was referring Obama administration officials, including ex-FBI Director James Comey, to the Justice Department for prosecution over allegations they had 'manufactured' intelligence to substantiate the idea that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Trump won the election over Clinton and became president in 2017.
House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat, rebuked Gabbard's claims.
'It's a day that ends with 'y' and Donald Trump desperately wants to change the subject, so Director Gabbard is rehashing decade-old false claims about the Obama Administration,' Himes said in a statement Monday. Himes said every 'legitimate' probe into the matter found 'no evidence of politicization and endorsed the findings of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment.'
Trump has also called for the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians to revert their names to the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians, respectively.
He even went as far as to threaten the Commanders' new Washington, D.C. stadium deal, writing on Truth Social Sunday: "I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.'
On Monday, the Trump administration released more than 230,000 pages of federal documents related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 assassination.
Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who has been critical of Trump, called out the irony.
'Trump releases MLK Jr files…. Didn't limit it to 'pertinent' and 'grand jury.' So do the same for Epstein,' he wrote on X late Monday.
Also on Monday, the Justice Department announced it honored Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley's request for information related to the FBI's handling of its probe into Clinton's emails.
The FBI had investigated Clinton's use of a private email server for official communications during her time as secretary of state under Obama. No charges were filed against Clinton.
House Democrats have also criticized their Republican colleagues for blocking efforts to force the release of the Epstein files.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told progressive political YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella Monday, 'For years Republicans promised to release the Epstein files…now they have the opportunity…and they refuse to do so,' adding, 'I have a simple question for the Speaker and Republican leaders and members of the House of Representatives on the GOP side: What are you hiding from the American People?"
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, wrote on X late Monday, 'Ummm so let me get this straight: Republicans have ground Congress to a halt and are considering adjourning the entire House for 6 weeks to avoid releasing the info they have on Epstein? What is going on here?'
She was responding to an X post from Politico's Meredith Lee Hill, in which she wrote, citing unnamed sources, the House Rules Committee will likely not meet at all this week amid the Epstein drama and other issues. Congress will recess for August.
Hill said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, 'confirms to me it's 'not likely' Rules return - meaning House would leave without advancing immigration and several other bills.'
Most Americans think the Trump administration is covering up evidence in the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein 's federal case, according to a new poll.
A poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov from July 11 to 14 found 67 percent of Americans believe the government is hiding evidence related to the late financier. Only 8 percent of respondents believe the government is not covering up evidence about Epstein, while 25 percent are unsure.
When asked if the government should release all documents relating to the feds' Epstein case, 79 percent of respondents said it should. Only 5 percent said the government shouldn't release the files, and 17 percent were unsure.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
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Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Trump visit will stretch Police Scotland resources to the limit
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘People have seen through him and he's not welcome': Scotland tees up for Trump visit
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However, Tommy Campbell, a local trade unionist who will compere the 'festival of resistance' planned for Aberdeen city centre on Saturday, says peaceful protesters will get as close to the resort as possible on Tuesday morning, when Trump is expected to open his new golf course, with the intention of writing protest messages in the sand at Balmedie beach while the tide is out. 'The world has changed since he first appeared in Aberdeen as a businessman and some people were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt,' says Campbell. 'People have seen through him and he's not welcome.' Like Beyts and Milne, Campbell also expresses his disappointment that Keir Starmer and the Scottish first minister, John Swinney, will meet Trump during the president's visit. 'They are not representing the true feelings of the people of Scotland,' he says. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Across Scotland, on the west coast, the residents of Turnberry are facing road diversions, security checkpoints and a swelling police presence, with transit vehicles trundling along the country roads. There is metal fencing around Trump's luxury resort and lines of police in hi-vis jackets blocking the beach, where the late Janey Godley regularly stood to greet him with her infamous handwritten protest sign: 'Trump is a cunt.' In March, Trump described members of a pro-Palestine group accused of vandalising the Turnberry course by painting the grass with the words 'Gaza is not 4 sale' as 'terrorists'. On Friday, some local people were exercised about the 'partial lockdown' they found themselves in. One pensioner questioned why the UK government was contributing to expensive policing for what is a private visit while limiting his generation's winter fuel payments. But others mentioned the employment Trump had brought to the area. Menie's new course is dedicated to the president's late mother, Mary Anne Trump, who was raised on the Isle of Lewis, further up the west coast, before immigrating to the US. In Lewis's main town of Stornoway, Sarah Venus has rehung the protest banner she was ordered by the local council to remove in May. It reads: 'Shame on you Donald John,' a maternal-style admonishment prompted by his treatment of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at a White House press conference in February. The banner will now go on a tour of the island around private homes, as Trump's visit continues into next week. 'This time the protests will be a bit different because of the broader context,' says Venus. 'People are beginning to connect the dots and realise this is a transnational struggle against fascism. It's not just happening over there in the US and maybe there's an opportunity to be vigilant and head it off over here.'
