‘Release Epstein…': Marjorie Taylor Greene Warns Trump May Lose MAGA Base After House Shut Down
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NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Trump Struggles To Quell Epstein Controversy, Facing Backlash From Allies
Despite the sun bearing down on him and the sweat beading across his face, President Donald Trump still lingered with reporters lined up outside the White House on Friday. He was leaving on a trip to Scotland, where he would visit his golf courses, and he wanted to talk about how his administration just finished "the best six months ever." But over and over, the journalists kept asking Trump about the Jeffrey Epstein case and whether he would pardon the disgraced financier's imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. "People should really focus on how well the country is doing," Trump insisted. He shut down another question by saying, "I don't want to talk about that." It was another example of how the Epstein saga — and his administration's disjointed approach to it — has shadowed Trump when he's otherwise at the height of his influence. He's enacted a vast legislative agenda, reached trade deals with key countries and tightened his grip across the federal government. Yet he's struggled to stamp out the embers of a political crisis that could become a full-on conflagration. The Republican president's supporters want the government to release secret files about Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in his New York jail cell six years ago while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. They believe him to be the nexus of a dark web of powerful people who abused underage girls. Administration officials who once stoked conspiracy theories now insist there's nothing more to disclose, a stance that has stirred skepticism because of Trump's former friendship with Epstein. Trump has repeatedly denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. For a president skilled at manipulating the media and controlling the Republican Party, it has been the most challenging test of his ability to shift the conversation in his second term. Landing in Scotland offered no refuge for Trump. He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. "You're making a big thing over something that's not a big thing," he said to one reporter. He told another, "I'm focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are." Republican strategist Kevin Madden called the controversy "a treadmill to nowhere." "How do you get off of it?" he said. "I genuinely don't know the answer to that." Trump has demanded his supporters drop the matter and urged Republicans to block Democratic requests for documents on Capitol Hill. But he has also directed the Justice Department to divulge some additional information in hopes of satisfying his supporters. A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said Trump is trying to stay focused on his agenda while also demonstrating some transparency. After facing countless scandals and investigations, the official said, Trump is on guard against the typical playbook of drip-drip disclosures that have plagued him in the past. It's clear Trump sees the Epstein case as a continuation of the "witch hunts" he's faced over the years, starting with the investigation into Russian interference during his election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton nearly a decade ago. The sprawling inquiry led to convictions against some top advisers but did not substantiate allegations Trump conspired with Moscow. Trump's opponents, he wrote on social media Thursday, "have gone absolutely CRAZY, and are playing another Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax but, this time, under the guise of what we will call the Jeffrey Epstein SCAM." During the Russia investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors were a straightforward foil for Trump to rail against. Ty Cobb, the lawyer who served as the White House's point person, said the president "never felt exposed" because "he thought he had a legitimate gripe." The situation is different this time now that the Justice Department has been stocked with loyalists. "The people that he has to get mad at are basically his people as opposed to his inquisitors and adversaries," Cobb said. In fact, Trump's own officials are the most responsible for bringing the Epstein case back to the forefront. FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, regularly stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein before assuming their current jobs, floating the idea the government had covered up incriminating and compelling information that needed to be brought to light. "Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are," Patel said in a 2023 podcast. Attorney General Pam Bondi played a key role, too. She intimated in a Fox News Channel interview in February that an Epstein "client list" was sitting on her desk for review — she would later say she was referring to the Epstein files more generally — and greeted far-right influencers with binders of records from the case that consisted largely of information in the public domain. Tensions spiked earlier this month when the FBI and the Justice Department, in an unsigned two-page letter, said that no client list existed, that the evidence was clear Epstein had killed himself and that no additional records from the case would be released to the public. It was a seeming backtrack on the administration's stated commitment to transparency. Amid a fierce backlash from Trump's base and influential conservative personalities, Bongino and Bondi squabbled openly in a tense White House meeting. Since then, the Trump administration has scrambled to appear transparent, including by seeking the unsealing of grand jury transcripts in the case — though it's hardly clear that courts would grant that request or that those records include any eye-catching details anyway. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has taken the unusual step of interviewing the imprisoned Maxwell over the course of two days at a courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where her lawyer said she would "always testify truthfully." All the while, Trump and his allies have resurfaced the Russia investigation as a rallying cry for a political base that has otherwise been frustrated by the Epstein saga. Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who just weeks ago appeared on the outs with Trump over comments on Iran's nuclear ambitions, seemed to return to the president's good graces this week following the declassification and release of years-old documents she hoped would discredit long-settled conclusions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The developments allowed Trump to rehash longstanding grievances against President Barack Obama and his Democratic advisers. Trump's talk of investigations into perceived adversaries from years ago let him, in effect, go back in time to deflect attention from a very current crisis. "Whether it's right or wrong," Trump said, "it's time to go after people."
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and bilateral talks ahead of EU trade deal
US President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on Friday for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European told reporters upon his arrival that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom he called a "highly respected woman."advertisementAs hundreds of onlookers cheered his arrival, Trump repeated his earlier comment about a 50-50 chance of securing a deal with the EU, adding it would be his administration's biggest trade agreement thus far, if it came together. However, he said there were still "sticking points" with Brussels on "maybe 20 different things."Trump said his meeting with Starmer would be more of a celebration of the trade deal already reached than continued work on it, adding, "It's a great deal for both."Before he left Washington, Trump said his administration was working hard on a possible trade deal with the EU, and Brussels was keen to make a deal. Von der Leyen said later she would meet Trump in Scotland on diplomats say a deal could result in a 15% tariff on EU goods, mirroring a framework accord with Japan reached this week and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by August has sought to reorder the global economy after imposing a 10% tariff on nearly all trading partners in April and threatening sharply higher rates for many countries to kick in a week from now. Trump says the moves will reduce the US trade deficit and bring in extra revenue, but economists warn the new trade policies could drive up inflation.'DON'T TALK ABOUT TRUMP'Trump, facing the biggest domestic political crisis of his second term, expressed frustration about ongoing questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and his 2019 death in prison."You make it a very big thing over something that's not a big thing," Trump told reporters in Scotland, urging them to focus on other prominent Americans with ties to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton."Talk about Clinton. Talk about the former president of Harvard. Talk about all of his friends. Talk about the hedge fund guys that were with him all the time. Don't talk about Trump," he said. "What you should be talking about is the fact that we have the greatest six months in the history of a presidency."The Epstein issue has caused a rare breach with some of Trump's most loyal Make America Great Again supporters, and majorities of Americans and Trump's Republicans say they believe the government is hiding details on the case, according to Reuters/Ipsos House officials are hoping the controversy dies down while Trump is abroad, two people familiar with the matter TIESTrump will stay at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before traveling on Monday to a golf property in Aberdeen, where he will open a second 18-hole course named in honor of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. MacLeod was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the USAs he left the White House, Trump said he looked forward to meeting both Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney, who had publicly backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential trip gives Trump and Starmer a chance to deepen their already warm ties, with key issues on the agenda to include ending Russia's war in Ukraine, British and U.S. sources deteriorating situation in Gaza is also likely to arise. Starmer on Thursday said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over what he called the "unspeakable and indefensible" suffering and starvation being reported there, and called on Israel to allow aid to enter the Palestinian health authorities say more than 100 people have died from starvation, most in recent weeks. Human rights groups have said mass starvation is spreading even as tons of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the being elected last year, Starmer has prioritized good relations with Trump, stressing the importance of Britain's defense and security alliance with the US, while working to clinch the first tariff-reduction deal with the US in framework agreement reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the UK's aerospace sector, but left steel tariffs in is expected to press for lower steel tariffs, but sources close to the matter said it was unclear if any breakthrough was possible during Trump's has described Scotland as a "very special place" and made a similar trip there in 2016 during his earlier run for the presidency, but he will not necessarily get a warm 70% of Scots have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a favorable opinion, an Ipsos poll in March police are girding for protests on Saturday in both Aberdeen and in Edinburgh, the country's will return to Britain from September 17-19 for a state visit hosted by King Charles. It will make Trump the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. The late Queen Elizabeth hosted him at Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
After logjam in first week, Parliament to discuss Pahalgam, Sindoor from Monday
AFTER a week of disruptions and adjournments, Parliament is all set to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor next week as the Opposition has agreed to the agenda for special discussions. The breakthrough came in a meeting of Speaker Om Birla with senior leaders of various parties, where it was decided that the LS would discuss the April 22 terror attack and Operation Sindoor, beginning Monday for 16 hours, and the RS would discuss the same beginning Tuesday, again for 16 hours, said Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. Criticising the Opposition for 'disrupting' Parliament proceedings through the week, Rijiju told reporters, 'All issues cannot be discussed together… The Opposition has raised several issues, like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar and others. We have told them that Operation Sindoor will be discussed first. We will decide which issues will be discussed after that… Operation Sindoor will be debated for 16 hours in Lok Sabha on Monday (July 28) and for 16 hours in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (July 29)…' Asked if PM Narendra Modi will speak in Parliament during the discussion, another key demand of the Opposition, Rijiju said the government cannot decide the speakers of Opposition parties, and vice versa. He expressed hope that the 'Opposition will allow Parliament to function from next week' and lamented the waste of resources and efforts gone into preparing answers for questions to be asked by MPs during Question Hours, which did not take place in first week amid Opposition protests. The Congress, meanwhile, accused the government of hiding behind technical reasons and not clarifying whether there will be a discussion on the SIR or not. 'We didn't raise the Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor issue in the House as we had demanded that PM Narendra Modi should be in the House during that, but he is abroad and it's not possible,' Congress's deputy leader in the LS Gaurav Gogoi said after the meeting with the Speaker. 'We were demanding that the Bihar SIR be discussed in the House, but the government is not clarifying whether this issue will be discussed in the House or not. They are hiding behind technical reasons,' he said. Though the Opposition has been demanding that PM Modi be present in the House during the discussion, there is no final word on whether he would reply to the debate. A BJP leader said the list of BJP speakers for the special discussion in both Houses was being prepared, adding that top ministers were expected to participate. Friday again saw no significant legislative business in both Houses, much like the four days preceding it. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair when the LS met post-lunch at 2 pm, rebuked the protesting Opposition MPs. 'Nobody is benefiting from this ruckus. People have sent you to raise their issues and you are disrupting the House,' he said. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the 'Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024' is a very important proposal concerning STs and should be taken up for discussion. 'It is a very important Bill. Are they (Opposition) against the STs?' Meghwal said. As the Opposition MPs continued their protest, Pal adjourned the House till Monday. In the first half, Speaker Om Birla began the House proceedings with a mention of the 26th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26 (Saturday). 'In the Kargil war (1999), our Army faced geographical and climatic challenges and showed its valour… Today, we pay homage to the soldiers who sacrificed everything for the nation,' Birla said, following which the House observed brief silence. When the Opposition began its protest again, the Speaker told them: 'Come to meet me if you want a discussion. In consultation with the government, I will find a way out to discuss issues. This is not the proper way in the largest democracy of the world… Planned obstruction is not good for democracy. In Question Hour, we should uphold the healthy tradition of the House.' As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm. The Rajya Sabha too saw Opposition uproar over SIR in Bihar, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House for the day. The Upper House witnessed the first adjournment till noon soon after it convened at 11 am. When the House met at noon for the Question Hour, BJP MP K Laxman sought to know the details of Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan from Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. When Chouhan rose to speak, the Opposition MPs raised slogans that the SIR exercise be stopped. Chouhan said he wanted to answer the question, but the Opposition protests continued. BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, who was in the Chair, requested the protesting MPs to return to their seats. With the Opposition members unrelenting, the House was adjourned for the day. Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen's College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More
