Latest news with #BradEdwards
New York Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Epstein's Estate Includes Book Said to Have Note From Trump, a Lawyer Says
A lawyer for hundreds of Jeffrey Epstein's victims said the disgraced financier's estate has a copy of a birthday book in which President Trump is reported to have signed a bawdy poem and drawing in honor of Mr. Epstein's then 50th birthday. The lawyer, Brad Edwards, made the comment in an interview on Wednesday night with the MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell. Mr. Edward also said he believes the estate would turn the book over to federal authorities if requested. 'I know the executors are in possession of this book,' Mr. Edwards said. The birthday book, a compilation of messages from some of Mr. Epstein's associates and friends at the time, was compiled in 2003 by Ghislaine Maxwell, a former girlfriend and associate, for Mr. Epstein's 50th birthday, according to a report last week in The Wall Street Journal. One of the people who signed the book was Mr. Trump. Lawyers for the two executors of Mr. Epstein's estate did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Edwards did not immediately return a request for comment. Mr. Trump has denied he ever signed the book or wrote any messages in it and has sued The Wall Street Journal for defamation. The reported existence of the message has helped to fuel the firestorm in Washington over the Justice Department's decision to announce that it will not be releasing any more information from its investigation of Mr. Epstein. Mr. Trump was told by Attorney General Pam Bondi this spring that his name appeared in unreleased files from the investigation. Mr. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to the case, and the files are likely to contain references to many people who came in contact with Mr. Epstein. Mr. Epstein killed himself in a federal jail in August 2019, a month after being arrested on federal sex trafficking charges. Ms. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on charges of helping Mr. Epstein engage in the sex trafficking of teenage girls and is serving a 20 year prison sentence. The Justice Department has said it plans to meet with Ms. Maxwell to see if she has information to provide about others who may have participated in the trafficking of teenage girls and young women. Ms. Maxwell has maintained her innocence all along. She is the only other person charged by prosecutors in connection with Mr. Epstein's decades-long sex trafficking operation that led to the abuse of more than 200 teenage girls and young women. The executors of Mr. Epstein's estate are his longtime former personal lawyer and former personal accountant.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What we know and don't know about Jeffrey Epstein, according to key victims' attorney
Brad Edwards knows that what you are about to read may be difficult for some to accept. A victims' rights lawyer from Florida, Edwards has been in pursuit of the truth about financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's life and crimes for nearly two decades. He would be the first to say that Epstein caused incalculable damage and trauma to hundreds of women and girls. MORE: Trump blasts 'stupid' and 'foolish' Republicans amid calls to reveal more Epstein files In fact, long before Epstein became known worldwide for his crimes, Edwards presciently told a federal judge, "Because of [Epstein's] deviant appetite for young girls, combined with his extraordinary wealth and power, he may just be the most dangerous sexual predator in U.S. history." That was 17 years ago. Back then, hardly anyone listened. In the years since, Edwards and his co-counsel -- on behalf of Epstein's victims -- have sued Epstein, his estate, the federal government and several financial institutions, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for more than 200 survivors of Epstein's sex abuse and trafficking. He knows the victims' stories as well as anyone and, in the course of all the litigation, he has reviewed an expansive amount of non-public documents and evidence related to the late Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors. Now, as the Trump administration finds itself in the midst of a firestorm over its decision not to release any additional investigative files on Epstein -- after promising to produce a so-called "client list" of people connected to Epstein who may have participated in illegal acts -- Edwards has decided it's important to share what he's learned about Epstein, much of which contradicts what many have come to believe about the case. "Jeffrey Epstein was the pimp and the john. He was his own No. 1 client," Edwards told ABC News. "Nearly all of the exploitation and abuse of all of the women was intended to benefit only Jeffrey Epstein and Jeffrey Epstein's sexual desires." Edwards describes the enigmatic Epstein as living, essentially, two separate lives: one in which he was sexually abusing women and girls "on a daily basis," and another in which he associated with politicians, royalty, and titans of business, academia, and science. "For the most part, those two worlds did not overlap. And where they overlapped, in the instances they overlapped, it seems to be a very small percentage," Edwards said. "There were occasions where a select few of these men engaged in sexual acts with a select few of the girls that Jeffrey Epstein was exploiting or abusing -- primarily girls who were over the age of 18." "That conduct was coercive, it was exploitative, and it was bad. But it's a small fraction of the men he was associated with," Edwards said. "And he was abusing hundreds of women, if not a thousand. And it's a very small fraction of those women that he was sending to men. That conduct was secondary to his abusive conduct. [Epstein] abused all of these women." Edwards said he is bound by attorney-client privilege and cannot ethically reveal the names of any of Epstein's alleged associates without permission from his clients. But he said he has seen no indication that Epstein kept a list of those men, or that he made it a practice to use those instances to blackmail or extort the men, even though those men may have been legitimately concerned that Epstein had compromising information that he could use against them. MORE: What Trump has said about Jeffrey Epstein over the years, including on 2024 campaign trail "It's difficult to even discern, when he would send a woman to one of his friends, whether that was even a motivation. What he was not is a person on the top of a sex trafficking operation that was sending women to powerful people around the world so that he could make money. It was not a business," Edwards said. "And I think the few examples that we have, the known examples, have led to this belief that he must have been doing that with all of the women that he was abusing. That must have just been his gig. But that wasn't what he was doing on a daily basis. He's a sexual abuser and predator himself." If Epstein kept a list of those men, Edwards said he's not seen it. "Did Jeffrey write the names of these people down? I've never seen that. I only know of certain of these individuals because of representing clients," Edwards said. "I've never seen a list of people that Jeffrey Epstein kept that would say, 'Here's a list of men that I've sent women to,' or a mix-and-match where it's like, 'I sent this woman to this man.'" "That's just not something that he was keeping," Edwards said. "And it would be highly, highly unlikely that Jeffrey Epstein would keep a list of the people that he sent these women to. I'd imagine he would just remember it. It isn't that many women, and it isn't that many men." Over the last few months, as the controversy surrounding the on-again, off-again plan to disclose Epstein-related documents has dominated the news cycle, Edwards said he has heard from dozens of survivors concerned about the circus-like atmosphere that is forcing them to relive traumatic experiences and threatens to expose their identities, even if inadvertently. Any public release of information, Edwards said, should redact identifying information about Epstein's victims. "They would benefit from the story eventually dying off. But the story is not going to die off as long as there's this lack of transparency that is allowing for conspiracy theories to continue to fester and get out of hand," Edwards said. "So the best thing would be: Protect the victims' names, release everything else, so that the world can see what is real, versus what is total fiction, and then everybody can move on." But the recent decision by the Trump administration to rule out further disclosures would seem to impact categories of material known to be in the possession of federal authorities, including Epstein's financial records, details of his international travel, logs of boat trips to his U.S. Virgin Islands estate, and inventories of what was found in searches of his mansions in New York and elsewhere. And it raises questions whether those records, if made public, could finally lead to a better understanding of how a college dropout from Coney Island managed to accumulate astounding wealth and proximity to power -- a transformation that has long defied ready explanation. "It's very strange to me that somebody who rarely leaves his house is somehow able to get meetings with people. And they will travel from literally all over the world to meet with him on his time, at his place, under his circumstances. Which only just leaves more questions than answers," Edwards said. "And the fact that they're not releasing anything is, I think, just kind of fanning the flames of the conspiracy theory that everybody that he was meeting with had something to do with illegal sex. And I know that's not true." "We are all for transparency," said Edwards. "I think the world needs to know who Epstein was, what he was doing, how he made his money, who he was meeting with, and how he might have operated in other areas of business and politics. And all of that could be done through the release of documents and knowledge that is currently within the Justice Department, with what they have. But now there's this about-face where they were going to release everything and now all of a sudden they're releasing nothing. I think there is a middle ground there that the public deserves." Edwards notes that the government's files could also shed light on those who assisted or enabled Epstein to abuse so many women, and could finally answer speculation that Epstein was an intelligence asset of the U.S. or a foreign nation. "[The government] should know whether or not he was an intelligence asset, whether he's ever done work with the government, whether he's ever had a deal with the government before," Edwards said. "I would assume that that is also within the Epstein files. I don't know that information. I would like to know." MORE: Trump says Bondi should release 'whatever she thinks is credible' on Epstein But for Edwards, the primary concern should be for the survivors of Epstein's abuse -- and he worries that the victims are an afterthought in the ongoing Washington power struggle. "I think some [victims] believe that the government protected him, and there's this outrage because they believe that [Epstein] was always more important than they were, and that's why this was allowed to go on for so long. So if there was evidence that his political or other connections assisted, I think that they would want to know it," Edwards said. "But more so, they just want this to die off. And they see it's not dying off because of the way that it's being handled right now. In fact, somehow there's more attention to it today than there was when he was abusing them." For the well-being of the survivors, Edwards is hopeful there will soon be a resolution that will allow the victims to move on. "I just wish everybody would step back and remember real people were hurt here, and let's try to do what's in their best interest, as opposed to politicizing this whole thing and making it the right versus the left," he said. "All of that is hurting the people who are already hurt."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Des Moines closing splash pads, some pools to reduce water consumption
DES MOINES, Iowa — The City of Des Moines announced Friday afternoon that it will be temporarily closing its splash pads and some pools to reduce water consumption. The announcement comes after Central Iowa Water Works implemented a first-ever ban on lawn watering Thursday to reduce the strain on water treatment facilities to remove near-record levels of nitrates in the Des Moines and Racoon rivers. Jefferson celebrates Great American Main Street Award Des Moines city officials said all spraygrounds, splash pools, and wading pools will be shut off beginning Friday. However, four of the city's pools and aquatic centers will remain open. Those locations include the Ashworth Swimming Pool, the Nahas Family Aquatic Center, the Northwest Family Aquatic Center, and the Teachout Family Aquatic Center. Birdland pool remains closed as the city works to install a new filter. According to CIWW, the lawn watering ban will be in effect for the foreseeable future until nitrate levels in the rivers decrease. As of Thursday, the nitrate levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers were 17.3 mg/L and 15.4 mg/L, respectively. The last time nitrate levels in the rivers were that high was in 2013, when they reached over 14 mg/L in the Des Moines and 24 mg/L in the Raccoon. Metro News: Former Ankeny teacher sentenced to prison for sexually exploiting student Iowa-based ice cream sandwich now available at Costco locations across Midwest CIWW enacts ban on lawn watering as nitrate levels climb Brad Edwards joining WHO 13 as a contributor on July 1st Greg Edwards on making Des Moines a destination Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iowa-based ice cream sandwich now available at Costco locations across Midwest
DES MOINES, Iowa — A favorite ice cream sandwich based in Iowa is now available at Costco locations across the Midwest. Art scene thriving in Jefferson with more murals planned for downtown Thelma's, which specializes in ice cream sandwiches and got its start at the Des Moines Farmers Market, is now offering a 10-pack of Snickerdoodle ice cream sandwiches at Costco. The ice cream sandwiches will be available at over 100 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kentucky throughout the summer. 'It's an incredible honor to bring our most nostalgic flavor to Costco shoppers,' Nola Morris, the CMO of Thelma's, said. 'This moment reflects how far we've come — from a pushcart at the farmers market to freezers in one of the country's most trusted retailers.' To find where Thelma's ice cream sandwiches are sold near you, click here. Metro News: Iowa-based ice cream sandwich now available at Costco locations across Midwest CIWW enacts ban on lawn watering as nitrate levels climb Brad Edwards joining WHO 13 as a contributor on July 1st Greg Edwards on making Des Moines a destination CIWW increases voluntary reduction to 50%, facilities at full capacity Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
CIWW enacts ban on lawn watering as nitrate levels climb
DES MOINES, Iowa — Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) announced on Thursday that a ban on lawn watering for residential and commercial customers will go into effect immediately. The CIWW said the ban is being put in place to prevent a violation in nitrate standards, as water treatment facilities have been working at full capacity for over 50 days to remove a nearly record high level of nitrates in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Raccoon River last measured nitrate levels at 15.4 mg/L and the Des Moines River measured levels at 17.3 mg/L. The federal drinking water standard is 10 mg/L. Deal's Orchard is a favorite Jefferson destination 'We are pulling all levers at our treatment facilities and nitrate removal processes to prevent a violation,' Tami Madsen, executive director of CIWW, said. 'Now we need full cooperation from the public. This is no longer a voluntary request.' The first-ever ban comes after CIWW asked for a voluntary 25% and then 50% reduction in lawn watering on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Officials said that any CIWW and DMWW customer, both residential and commercial, found to be watering lawns will be notified of the violation and may have water service disconnected if watering continues. The ban will remain in effect until further notice. CIWW said that treated drinking water still meets all state and federal regulations at this time. A press conference involving CIWW and other agencies will be held Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Polk County Emergency Management. Metro News: CIWW enacts ban on lawn watering as nitrate levels climb Brad Edwards joining WHO 13 as a contributor on July 1st Greg Edwards on making Des Moines a destination CIWW increases voluntary reduction to 50%, facilities at full capacity How Polk County health officials plan to defend against measles Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
