Ex-prosecutor on releasing Epstein grand jury transcripts: ‘It's not going to be much'
'It's not going to be much,' Sarah Krissoff, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, told The Associated Press in a weekend interview. She estimated the testimony could be just 60 pages 'because the Southern District of New York's practice is to put as little information as possible into the grand jury.'
'They basically spoon feed the indictment to the grand jury. That's what we're going to see,' she said. 'I just think it's not going to be that interesting. … I don't think it's going to be anything new.'
The Justice Department asked a federal court on Friday to unseal grand jury testimony from the prosecutions of Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislane Maxwell, who is serving out a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted of helping Epstein carry out a sex trafficking scheme.
Epstein was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges when he died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019. He had pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in state court a decade earlier as part of a plea deal broadly criticized as too lenient.
The Trump administration has faced growing pressure to release information related to the Epstein case. President Trump has publicly expressed his frustration at the attention the case has received in recent days from the media, Democrats and many in his own base.
The president on Thursday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release 'pertinent grand jury testimony,' in an attempt to calm criticism about the administration's handling of the case. However, the testimony is only a fraction of the available material many allies want released.
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USA Today
26 minutes ago
- USA Today
'South Park' mocking naked Trump = NOT FUNNY. Fake Obama arrest video = FUNNY!
The bar for presidents should be set slightly higher than a cartoon famous for a singing piece of poop. Thanks to 'South Park' and its hilariously graphic AI depiction of President Donald Trump walking the desert naked, complete with talking genitalia, we're learning how our thin-skinned commander in chief defines comedy. White House officials were outraged by the show's unflattering artificial intelligence depiction of Trump, which is funny in itself, since the easily triggered president is no stranger to making fake video "jokes." On July 20, the actual president of the United States of America posted an AI-generated video of former Democratic President Barack Obama being arrested, handcuffed and hauled away. That bit of dark, authoritarian humor is apparently a real hoot, and totally acceptable, given that Trump has not apologized or threatened to sue himself for $80 bazillion, or whatever the going rate is for things that violate the Man-Child of Mar-a-Lago's sense of decency. (As I typed 'sense of decency,' my laptop crashed because the machine's processor rolled its eyes too hard.) Envisioning the arrest of your political rivals is fine comedy, but apparently, the 'South Park' bit went too far. White House calls 'South Park' a 'fourth-rate show' Trump was reportedly big mad about a cartoon version of nude Trump hopping in bed with Satan and the Comedy Central show's unflattering AI-generated desert scene. A White House spokesperson said: 'This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention. President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak.' Opinion: Insecure Trump knows he'll never measure up to Obama. And it kills him. The 'fourth-rate show' that 'is hanging on by a thread' just got a five-year deal worth $1.5 billion from Paramount. To put that in perspective, 'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone got about 94 times more from Paramount than Trump did when the company paid him $16 million to settle a ludicrous lawsuit against '60 Minutes.' 'South Park' is way more popular than Donald Trump is And the same day the White House boasted about Trump delivering on promises, Gallup released a poll showing the president's approval rating hitting 37%, the lowest of his second term, and a majority of Americans disapproving of his handling of virtually everything, from immigration to the economy to the federal budget. Opinion: Trump is unpopular, polls show, and he's building an America most Americans hate But who cares about numbers or facts or whether the bar for presidents should be set slightly higher than a cartoon famous for a singing piece of poop? The bottom line is that in Trump's America, we have a new way to define comedy: A show mocking naked Trump = NOT FUNNY! A fake Obama arrest video = FUNNY! I'm going to distill that definition a bit more, since the picture seems crystal clear: Anything making fun of Trump = NOT FUNNY! Colbert canceled, Behar threatened and 'South Park' condemned We've recently seen late-night host and relentless-Trump-skewerer Stephen Colbert have his show suspiciously canceled by Paramount. After comedian Joy Behar mocked Trump's transparent jealousy of former President Barack Obama on 'The View,' the White House released a statement saying Behar "should self-reflect on her own jealousy of President Trump's historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off air.' Only Trump can decide which jokes are funny, America Do you get it, comedians and satirists of America? You shall dispense only Trump-approved humor-jokes or face the wrath of the guy 'South Park' showed stumbling naked across a desert with a teeny talking penis. You may create videos fetishizing the arrest and detention of Democrats; you may, as Trump often does, disparagingly pretend you're a transgender weightlifter; you may make jokes about alligators eating migrants. That is all hilarious. Pure comedy in Trump's MAGAmerica. But if you joke about the president or criticize him in any humorous way – NOT FUNNY!! And you will be held accountable. Particularly if you point out that President Trump is so thin-skinned he got mad at a cartoon. Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at
San Francisco Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Syria's Druze fear for their future after sectarian clashes
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Before the eruption of sectarian violence in southern Syria, Saber Abou Ras taught medical sciences at a university in the city of Sweida and was somewhat hopeful of a better future for his country as it emerged from nearly 14 years of civil war. Now, like many others in the Druze-majority city in southern Syria, he carries arms and refuses to give them up to the government. He sees little hope for the united Syria he recently thought was in reach. 'We are for national unity, but not the unity of terrorist gangs,' Abou Ras, a Druze, told The Associated Press in a phone call from the battered city. Clashes broke out last week that were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters with the Druze religious minority. The violence killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. Syrian government forces intervened to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans. Disturbing videos and reports soon surfaced of Druze civilians being humiliated and executed, sometimes accompanied by sectarian slurs. One showed gunmen in military uniform asking an unarmed man about his identity. When he replies that he is Syrian, the gunmen demand, 'What do you mean Syrian? Are you Sunni or Druze?' When the man says he is Druze, the men open fire, killing him. Hossam Saraya, a Syrian-American Druze from Oklahoma, was shown in another video, kneeling with his brother, father, and at least three other relatives, before a group of men in military garb sprayed them with automatic fire and celebrated. The Druze religious sect is an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Outsiders are not allowed to convert, and most religious practices are shrouded in secrecy. There are roughly a million Druze worldwide and more than half of them live in Syria. The others live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights — which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Though a small community within Syria's population of more than 20 million, Sweida's Druze take pride in their involvement in liberating the country from Ottoman and later French colonial rule, and establishing the present-day Syrian state. During the uprising-turned-civil war that started in 2011, Druze leaders reached a fragile agreement with former President Bashar Assad that gave Sweida semi-autonomy, leaving the minority group to protect its own territory instead of serving in the Syrian military. Most Druze celebrated Assad's fall The Druze largely welcomed the fall of Assad in December in a rebel offensive that ended decades of autocratic rule by the Assad dynasty. The Druze were largely skeptical of the Islamist background of Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, especially as he once led the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. But many, including influential clerics, supported diplomatically engaging with the new leadership. Among those more hostile towards al-Sharaa is spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and a faction of Druze militias called the Sweida Military Council. There were intense divisions between them and others in the Druze community for months. Previous clashes between Druze armed groups and government forces were resolved before the violence could escalate. A security agreement was reached between the Druze and Damascus in May that was intended to bring about long-term calm. But the recent clashes and sectarian attacks in Sweida have upset that balance, and many Druze appear to have lost hope in reaching a fair settlement diplomatically. Sectarian violence after the fall of Assad Many Druze see the government's attacks as an extension of a wave of sectarian violence that broke out months ago on Syria's coast. Clashes between the new government's forces and Assad loyalists spiraled into revenge killings targeting members of the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs. A government investigation into the coastal violence found that more than 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, and that members of the security forces were implicated in the attacks. The difference in Sweida, as Abou Ras, the Druze medical sciences professor, sees it, is that the Druze had their own armed factions that were able to fight back. 'They talked about respecting minorities and the different components of Syria," he said. "But what happened at the coast was a hard lesson for Syrians, and we learned from it.' The interim president denies that Druze are being targeted After the violence in Sweida, Al-Sharaa vowed to hold perpetrators to account, and restated his promises since taking power that he will not exclude Syria's minority groups. He and other officials have insisted that they are not targeting the Druze, but armed factions that are challenging state authority, namely those led by al-Hijri. Al-Sharaa also accused Israel of trying to exacerbate divisions in the country by launching airstrikes on government forces in the province, which Israel said was in defense of the Druze. The tensions have already created new challenges to forging national unity. Other minority groups — particularly the Kurdish forces controlling Syria's northeast, who have been in negotiations with Damascus to merge with the new national army — are reconsidering surrendering their weapons after seeing the violence in Sweida. A Syrian Druze who lived abroad for over 20 years was in Syria when Assad fell and celebrated with friends and family on the streets of Sweida. He quit his job to move back and be involved with the community. He joined in with people who waved Syria's new flag that symbolized the uprising, danced, and stepped on torn portraits of Assad. He said he wanted al-Sharaa to be successful, but now he doesn't see a peaceful future for Syria's different ethnic and religious groups with him at the helm. 'In every household (in Sweida), someone has died,' he told the AP. The Associated Press could not confirm that independently as there was no official death toll. However, it was a sentiment frequently shared by Syrians from Sweida. He asked to have his name and other identifying details withheld out of fear for his and his family's safety. 'I think after the massacres that happened, there is not a single person in Sweida that wants anything to do with this government, unfortunately," he said. "This government butchered people, and butchered any possibility to (bring) reconciliation and harmonize the south.'
CNN
26 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump administration sues New York City over its ‘sanctuary city' policies
The Justice Department on Thursday announced a lawsuit against New York City's so-called sanctuary city policies, days after the Trump administration blamed those policies for the shooting of an off-duty US Customs and Border Protection officer in Manhattan. The lawsuit mirrors one filed against Los Angeles last month and is part of the administration's widespread crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the US. Similar lawsuits have also been filed against New York state, Colorado, Illinois, the city of Rochester, New York, and several New Jersey cities, the Justice Department said in a statement. The department argues New York City's policies 'are designed to impede the Federal Government's ability to enforce the federal immigration laws' and have allowed criminals in the country illegally to evade detainment and deportation. 'New York City has released thousands of criminals on the streets to commit violent crimes against law-abiding citizens due to sanctuary city policies,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the Justice Department statement. 'If New York City won't stand up for the safety of its citizens, we will.' New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city will review the lawsuit. 'Keeping New Yorkers safe also means making sure they feel safe, and we have been clear: no one should be afraid to dial 911, send their kids to school, or go to the hospital, and no New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows,' Adams said in a statement. He added that while he supports 'the essence of the local laws,' he believes 'they go too far when it comes to dealing with those violent criminals on our streets,' and urged the city council to reexamine the policies 'to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to make our city safer.' 'Sanctuary city' is a broad term used to describe jurisdictions that have policies designed to limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials. The general goal is to protect undocumented immigrants who are not involved in criminal activity from deportation. 'Just this week, New York City's sanctuary policies have reaped tragic consequences,' the Justice Department's lawsuit said, pointing to the shooting of the off-duty CBP agent over the weekend in an apparent robbery gone wrong. The agent, who was not in uniform at the time, was expected to survive and there is no indication he was targeted because of his employment, New York police said. The two suspects in the incident – Miguel Mora and Cristian Aybar Berroa – are undocumented immigrants and had criminal histories, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. 'Both aliens entered the United States illegally and were repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior since,' the lawsuit said. '(Mora) was arrested four different times in New York City, and because of the mayor's policies and sanctuary city policies, was released back to do harm to people and to individuals living in this city,' Noem said Monday. Noem called on leaders of sanctuary cities nationwide to change their policies. When asked what policies would have prevented the shooting, Noem did not provide specifics. In its lawsuit against Los Angeles, the Justice Department claimed the city's sanctuary policies led to the protests against deportation actions that prompted President Donald Trump to federalize the National Guard and send Marine's to patrol the city. CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas, Jeff Winter, Gloria Pazmino and John Miller contributed to this report.
