US Justice Dept. asks Epstein associate Maxwell to speak to prosecutors
(This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Ghislaine in paragraph 1)
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Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
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Americans encouraged to Venmo and Paypal the government to pay off national debt
As the US national debt nears $38trillion, the government has proposed a novel way for citizens to help pay off the tab. Americans are being encouraged to make donations with their Venmo and Paypal accounts. The option for a 'gift to reduce the Public Debt' was added to the US Department of the Treasury website a few months ago. It means that philanthropic residents with a burning desire to pay off Uncle Sam's debt will now have the option to use those methods, alongside traditional ones such as account transfers and credit and debit card payments. Allowing citizens to pay off the national debt - among other tabs - is nothing new, as the US Treasury, run by Scott Bessent, has long offered the option since 1996. But it seems they are now tapping into more popular payment systems, like Gen-Z favorite Venmo, to make it more easily accessible for those hesitant to attach their card and bank details. The current national debt stands at $36,721,531,033,602, as of Friday. As the US national debt nears $38trillion, Americans are now being encouraged to help pay off the tab with their Venmo and PayPal accounts Allowing citizens to pay off the national debt - among other tabs - is nothing new, as the US Treasury, run by Scott Bessent, has long offered the option since 1996. But it seems they are now tapping into more popular payment systems, like Gen-Z favorite Venmo It's up $34.5billion from the previous day, Treasury Department numbers show. The debt has grown each year since 2001, where it was at $10.3trillion and it doesn't appear the US will downsize its growing bill anytime soon after passing the Big Beautiful Bill. President Donald Trump's prized bill will add $3.4trillion to the debt over 10 years. The federal government also spent nearly $7trillion in the 2024 fiscal year, but collected approximately $5trillion. The US Treasury Department has burned through cash at a historic rate in March - an alarming signal that may require lawmakers to intervene to prevent the country from defaulting on the national debt. The agency burned through $286billion in the month of March alone. This is the largest single-month drawdown in American history, and it's only rivaled by the Treasury spending $279billion in August 2021 during the height of the pandemic. The change to payment methods was first spotted by NPR's Jack Corbett on X. Though it may seem unlikely that any American citizens would willingly hand the government more money, the feds have garnered $67.3million through the donation program since its inception. Although it may seem like a large amount, the government burns through that it less than a half an hour.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
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John Bolton slams Tulsi Gabbard over ‘treasonous' Obama report: ‘She's imagined evidence that doesn't exist'
John Bolton, Trump's former national security advisor, slammed Tulsi Gabbard's report accusing former President Barack Obama of engaging in a 'years-long coup' against President Donald Trump. Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, last week declassified evidence that she said revealed a 'treasonous conspiracy' committed by Obama and his government over the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Bolton, a frequent Trump critic, called Gabbard's findings 'exaggerated' and lacking in substance. 'She's strung together a series of things that aren't necessarily related, she's exaggerated what actual congressional reports have said, she's imagined evidence that doesn't exist,' Bolton said Friday on NewsNation. 'So, if anybody really gets into it, it collapses pretty quickly. But as a campaign to save her job, I think it actually worked out pretty successfully for her,' he continued. Last month, Politico reported that the president was 'down on her.' 'Whether it succeeded in distracting from the Jeffrey Epstein affair, I don't know,' he added, alluding to the media firestorm over Trump's ties to the late sex offender that has plagued the administration for weeks. 'But there is, in substance, nothing to it and certainly no justification for the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation.' Gabbard's report accuses Obama and the former intelligence community of leaking false information to the media and using 'politicized intelligence' to subvert Trump's 2016 election victory. She addressed the report from the White House this week. The report uses an investigation by Republicans in the House of Representatives, and go against CIA reports that Russia tried to help Trump in 2016. 'The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government,' the director of national intelligence said in a statement. 'Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp the President from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people.' In the wake of the report's release, Democrats — including Obama — have accused the Trump administration of trying to use it to distract from the uproar over the so-called Epstein files. "These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,' a spokesperson for the office of the former president said. Trump has been trying to distance himself from Epstein. He even went so far as to claim the Epstein files were a 'hoax' cooked up by Democrats, including Obama, former President Biden, and former FBI Director James Comey. The Epstein files have dominated the news cycle ever since the Justice Department released a July 6 memo that stated there would be no further disclosures and that there was no evidence to support the existence of a client list, putting a decisive end to months-long anticipation for more information on the case. Outrage ensued, with members of Congress and Trump's MAGA base alike calling for heightened transparency. Attorney General Pam Bondi released 'Phase 1' of the Epstein files in February; that same month, she said the 'client list' was sitting on her desk.
Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Mandelson ‘called Epstein my best pal'
Lord Mandelson called Jeffrey Epstein 'my best pal' in a birthday message, according to reports. The Labour grandee, Britain's ambassador to the United States, is alleged to have written the message for a birthday album put together for the paedophile financier's 50th birthday in 2003. Recent reports have rocked Washington amid claims that Donald Trump, the US president, and Bill Clinton, the former president, also sent letters for the album. Mr Trump fiercely denied the claims, while Mr Clinton has not commented. The letter from Lord Mandelson, in which he called Epstein 'my best pal', featured photographs of a tropical island and whiskey, according to The Wall Street Journal. The album is said to have been examined by the justice department when it investigated the paedophile, who was charged with sex trafficking in 2019 and later killed himself in his Manhattan prison cell. It marks an embarrassing development for Lord Mandelson both in the US, where high-profile figures are under pressure over their association with Epstein, and in Britain, where Sir Keir Starmer has previously been urged to sever ties with the ambassador over the relationship. A spokesman for Lord Mandelson declined to comment on the allegations. Dinner parties and shopping trips Epstein appeared to maintain a 'particularly close relationship' with Lord Mandelson, whom he affectionately referred to as 'Petie', according to court documents released two years ago. A 2002 New York Magazine article listed Lord Mandelson as a dinner-party guest at Epstein's Manhattan home, along with Mr Trump and Mr Clinton. Photographs have shown Lord Mandelson and Epstein shopping for clothes in the Caribbean in 2005, in which the former Cabinet minister tries on a white leather belt, and celebrating a birthday at the financier's Paris apartment in 2007. Earlier this year, Lord Mandelson claimed the media had an 'obsession' about his relationship with the paedophile. 'I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women,' he said. He added: 'I'm not going to go into this. It's an… obsession and frankly you can all f— off. Ok?' Mr Trump is under mounting pressure to release all the documents held by the US government on Epstein. So far, his administration has refused to do so despite calls for transparency by some of the president's closest allies, splitting his support base in the process. 'A pal is a wonderful thing' For the birthday album, Mr Trump reportedly sent a letter imagining a cryptic conversation with his then-friend in which he said they had 'certain things in common' and featured a drawing of a nude woman in permanent marker. Mr Trump also reportedly wrote 'enigmas never age' and ended the message with the words: 'A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.' The president has denied writing or sending the letter, and is suing The Wall Street Journal for defamation over the report. However, Mr Trump's name is listed among dozens of Epstein's acquaintances who were asked to contribute birthday messages for the album, The New York Times reported. A White House spokesman described the story as 'fake news'. Mr Clinton is said to have praised Epstein's 'childlike curiosity' in a birthday message to the paedophile in 2003. A spokesman declined to comment to the newspaper. Democrats in Congress have written to the Epstein estate's executors asking for an un-redacted copy of the album. Its existence and contents have not been independently verified by The Telegraph. Brad Edwards, a lawyer for hundreds of Epstein's victims, said on Thursday: 'I know the executors of the estate are in possession of that book.'
