Latest news with #EJeanCarroll
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Judges end Trump pick Alina Habba's tenure as New Jersey's top prosecutor
Alina Habba, Donald Trump's defence lawyer during a defamation case brought by the writer E Jean Carroll, has lost her bid to become New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, with the clock running out on her interim status on Tuesday. According to an order from New Jersey's district court, a panel of judges declined to permanently appoint Habba to be the state's US attorney, signaling a rebuke against the Trump administration. Habba inflamed Democratic hostilities when she brought charges, later dropped, against the mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, and the state representative LaMonica McIver after they visited a privately operated immigration detention center in Newark. The federal judges did not offer any explanation for their decision. But the order, signed by Renee Marie Bumb, the chief federal judge for the district of New Jersey, appointed Desiree Leigh Grace, a career prosecutor whom Habba had named as her first assistant US attorney, as her replacement. The justice department accused the panel of judges of political motives for declining Habba's nomination, and, hours later, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, said Grace also had been removed. 'This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges – especially when they threaten the President's core Article II powers,' Bondi wrote in a post on X, referring to Trump's authority under the US constitution. Grace has been with the US attorney's office since 2016 and most recently led its criminal division. The appointment was to take effect on Tuesday 22 July, or after the expiration of 120 days following Habba's interim appointment in March. Habba, 41, had clashed with New Jersey's Democratic senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim. In a statement earlier this month, the senators said Habba had 'degraded the office and pursued frivolous and politically-motivated prosecutions'. The senators said Habba 'does not meet the standard to serve the people of New Jersey', and pointed to the arrest of Baraka and her creation of an 'Election Integrity Task Force', which civil rights groups have criticized as an effort to purge some state voter rolls. Habba had been criticized for having no prior prosecutorial experience and politicizing the role. She told a rightwing talkshow host shortly after being named to the post: 'We could turn New Jersey red. I think New Jersey is absolutely close to getting there, so hopefully while I'm there I can help that cause. And you know, I'm not a political person in that role, but I can tell you that the one thing I just want to do is make [New Jersey] safer.' Habba's dismissal comes as Democrats in the US Senate recently ended the 'blue slip' tradition for circuit court nominees, but kept in place the practice for US attorneys and district court judges. The blue slip system gives a state's two senators, in this case Booker and Kim, a measure of approval. Without it, a nominee faces confirmation hearings. That has allowed Emil Bove to advance as Trump's pick for the US court of appeals for the third circuit but allowed federal judges to knock Habba out of the running for New Jersey's US attorney spot because she had not been confirmed by the Senate judiciary committee.
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Trump and Epstein: What was their relationship?
AFP looks at the pair's relationship as the Trump administration also faces demands to release all government files on Epstein's alleged crimes and his death. Parties and private jets Trump, then a property mogul and self-styled playboy, appears to have known Epstein, a wealthy money manager, since the 1990s. They partied together in 1992 with NFL cheerleaders at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to footage from NBC News, which shows the pair talking and laughing. The same year, Epstein was Trump's only guest at a "calendar girl" competition he hosted involving more than two dozen young women, The New York Times reported. In a display of their close ties, Trump flew on Epstein's private jet at least seven times during the 1990s, according to flight logs presented in court and cited by US media. He has denied this, and in 2024 said he was "never on Epstein's plane." In 1993, according to The New York Times, Trump allegedly groped swimsuit model Stacey Williams after Epstein introduced them at Trump Tower -- a claim the president has refuted. Separate from his links to Epstein, Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by around 20 women. In 2023, he was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming American journalist E. Jean Carroll in a civil trial. 'Terrific guy' Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's main accusers who died by suicide this year, said she was recruited into his alleged sex-trafficking network aged 17 while working at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in 2000. Giuffre claimed she was approached there by Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed in 2022 for helping Epstein sexually abuse girls. Trump seemed to be on good terms with Epstein during this time, praising him as a "terrific guy" in a 2002 New York Magazine profile. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side," Trump said. In 2003, according to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump penned a letter for Epstein's 50th birthday featuring a drawing of a naked woman, with his signature "Donald" mimicking pubic hair. His apparent message -- Trump dismissed the letter as a "fake thing" -- read: "Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret." 'I wasn't a fan' The pair reportedly had a rupture in 2004 as they competed to buy a waterfront property in Florida, which Trump eventually snagged. The two men were hardly seen together in public from that point. Trump would later say in 2019 that they had a "falling out" and hadn't spoken in 15 years. Shortly after the property auction, police launched a probe that saw Epstein jailed in 2008 for 13 months for soliciting an underage prostitute. He was arrested again in 2019 after he was accused of trafficking girls as young as 14 and engaging in sexual acts with them. Trump, then serving his first term as president, sought to distance himself from his old friend. "I wasn't a fan," he told reporters when the charges were revealed. In 2019, Epstein was found hanging dead in his prison cell awaiting trial. Authorities said he died by suicide. Since then, Trump has latched onto and fueled conspiracy theories that global elites including former president Bill Clinton were involved in Epstein's crimes or death. Those same theories now threaten to destabilize Trump's administration, despite his attempts to dismiss the saga as a "hoax" created by political adversaries. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump and Epstein: What was their relationship?
Donald Trump's past ties with Jeffrey Epstein are under scrutiny after the US president slammed a Wall Street Journal report that he sent a lewd letter to the infamous sex offender as "fake news." AFP looks at the pair's relationship as the Trump administration also faces demands to release all government files on Epstein's alleged crimes and his death. - Parties and private jets - Trump, then a property mogul and self-styled playboy, appears to have known Epstein, a wealthy money manager, since the 1990s. They partied together in 1992 with NFL cheerleaders at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to footage from NBC News, which shows the pair talking and laughing. The same year, Epstein was Trump's only guest at a "calendar girl" competition he hosted involving more than two dozen young women, The New York Times reported. In a display of their close ties, Trump flew on Epstein's private jet at least seven times during the 1990s, according to flight logs presented in court and cited by US media. He has denied this, and in 2024 said he was "never on Epstein's plane." In 1993, according to The New York Times, Trump allegedly groped swimsuit model Stacey Williams after Epstein introduced them at Trump Tower -- a claim the president has refuted. Separate from his links to Epstein, Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by around 20 women. In 2023, he was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming American journalist E. Jean Carroll in a civil trial. - 'Terrific guy' - Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's main accusers who died by suicide this year, said she was recruited into his alleged sex-trafficking network aged 17 while working at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in 2000. Giuffre claimed she was approached there by Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed in 2022 for helping Epstein sexually abuse girls. Trump seemed to be on good terms with Epstein during this time, praising him as a "terrific guy" in a 2002 New York Magazine profile. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side," Trump said. In 2003, according to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump penned a letter for Epstein's 50th birthday featuring a drawing of a naked woman, with his signature "Donald" mimicking pubic hair. His apparent message -- Trump dismissed the letter as a "fake thing" -- read: "Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret." - 'I wasn't a fan' - The pair reportedly had a rupture in 2004 as they competed to buy a waterfront property in Florida, which Trump eventually snagged. The two men were hardly seen together in public from that point. Trump would later say in 2019 that they had a "falling out" and hadn't spoken in 15 years. Shortly after the property auction, police launched a probe that saw Epstein jailed in 2008 for 13 months for soliciting an underage prostitute. He was arrested again in 2019 after he was accused of trafficking girls as young as 14 and engaging in sexual acts with them. Trump, then serving his first term as president, sought to distance himself from his old friend. "I wasn't a fan," he told reporters when the charges were revealed. In 2019, Epstein was found hanging dead in his prison cell awaiting trial. Authorities said he died by suicide. Since then, Trump has latched onto and fueled conspiracy theories that global elites including former president Bill Clinton were involved in Epstein's crimes or death. Those same theories now threaten to destabilize Trump's administration, despite his attempts to dismiss the saga as a "hoax" created by political adversaries. bur-bjt/aks/jgc
Fox News
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
AOC should be sued 'into bankruptcy' over latest attack on Trump, stunned critics seethe
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being accused of defaming President Donald Trump by calling him a "rapist" on social media amid controversy over the Department of Justice's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. The far-left Democrat, who has traded barbs with Trump repeatedly across both of their political careers, weighed in on the current controversy surrounding disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 after facing federal charges related to child sex trafficking. "Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?" Ocasio-Cortez posted to X on Friday. She appeared to be referencing the 2023 civil trial leveled against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury found Trump liable of sexual assault, but not of rape, which critics of Ocasio-Cortez repeatedly cited in their condemnation of her use of the word "rapist." The comments came after the Trump Department of Justice said there is no list of Epstein clients. But Trump supporters and legal experts alike warned AOC to lawyer up after dropping the "R" bomb. "The President should sue AOC into bankruptcy. I realize she's trying to raise her profile but this is way way too far," legal analyst Phil Holloway posted to X on Saturday in response to a message from Ocasio-Cortez. "Even under the ridiculously lenient standards of NY Times v. Sullivan, you've managed to incur defamation liability Wow," Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee posted to X in response. "Why didn't you guys release the Epstein files over the last 4 years? Maybe you were too busy covering for Joe Biden… or, could it have something to do with another former Democrat President?" Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted in response to Ocasio-Cortez. "Well we have grounds for a huge defamation suit here you idiot because Donald Trump has never been indicted for rape much less convicted," host of YourVoice America Bill Mitchell posted to X. "You realize your X account doesn't carry the same protections to defame people that you enjoy during congressional proceedings?" another X account posted. Other critics of the lawmaker's message said the use of the word "rapist" comes on the heels of ABC paying Trump $15 million, which will go toward funding his presidential library, over George Stephanopoulos' claim in March of last year that Trump was found civilly liable of rape in the E. Jean Carroll case. Trump has repeatedly denied even knowing Carroll, claiming she made false allegations that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s in an effort to sell books decades later. "Donald Trump has not been criminally convicted of being a rapist. This is defamatory. And I hope you are sued by Trump for this the same way George Stephanopoulos was sued and forced to pay Trump $15 million dollars. I hope you have millions ready for Trump, Porky. @AOC," Trump ally Laura Loomer posted in response to Ocasio-Cortez. "This is gonna be fun. AOC is so dumb she just called Trump a rapist – after ABC was forced to fork over $16 million in a settlement with Trump after George Stephanopoulos called him a rapist," Townhall contributor Rachel Alexander posted to X. In March 2024, Stephanopoulos asserted in a tense interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace that Trump was found "liable for rape" in a civil case. Stephanopoulos showed a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape before he asked her, "How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?" "You've endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape," Stephanopoulos said, alluding to the legal victory by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll. Stephanopoulos repeated the claim on rape 10 times during the interview, Fox Digital previously reported, before Trump filed a defamation suit. ABC News and Stephanopoulos reached a settlement agreement with Trump's legal team ahead of his second inauguration, paying $15 million and announcing the network and anchor "regret" the comments made on air. "Editor's Note: ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024," an editor's note in an article focused on the interview states. Other social media commenters defended Ocasio-Cortez's use of the word "rapist," arguing she did not use Trump's name in her post and that a defamation case was unlikely. Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's office on Sunday for additional comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply. "AOC likes to play pretend like she's from the block, but in reality she's just a sad, miserable blockhead who is trying to over-compensate for her lack of self-confidence that has followed her for her entire life," White House communication director Steven Cheung said in comment provided to Fox News Digital on Sunday. "Instead, she should get some serious help for her obvious and severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted her pea-sized brain," he added.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘My mission is to make him so angry:' E Jean Carroll reveals plans for her $83m judgement against the president
E Jean Carroll, the woman who beat President Donald Trump in two separate court cases, has vowed to make him 'so mad' by spending her multimillion-dollar windfall on 'things that Trump hates.' In 2019, Carroll accused the commander-in-chief of raping her in the changing rooms of New York's Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1996, resulting in a civil case in 2023 in which he was found liable for sexual abuse and ordered to pay her $5m in compensation. She then sued him again for defamation after he repeatedly protested his innocence and denied knowing her, which resulted in a jury awarding her an astonishing $83.3 million payout in early 2024. A U.S. appeals court last week rejected Trump's attempt to overturn the first verdict. He is still appealing the second, claiming presidential immunity. Carroll, 81, is currently promoting a new book, "Not My Type," a title taken from the president's notorious slur against her. She told Newsweek that she's setting up a charitable foundation in her own name to manage the money and distribute donations to anti-Trump causes. 'My mission is to make him so angry and so mad by taking this $83.3 million and giving it to things that Trump hates. That's what I'm doing,' she explained. Carroll specifically said she would direct her capital to areas like 'women's reproductive rights, binding up the wounds that he's inflicting on democracy and shoring up voting rights.' The former columnist told Newsweek that she found it 'stunning' that Trump had won last November's presidential election after a year of blockbuster indictments and court hearings outlining his long track record of troubling behavior. She said the outcome left her with little choice but to conclude: 'People don't believe women when they're saying one thing and a very, very powerful man is saying something else.' Carroll said she retains 'complete, 100 percent faith' in the legal system as a corrective to executive overreach and corruption, but urged people, particularly women, to continue protesting against the administration in the streets. ' Women have the power. We just have to realize it. We hold, as they say, the purse strings,' she said. Shockingly, the writer also revealed that she is not taking any chances when it comes to her own safety, given the recent wave of political violence in America, and sleeps at night alongside a Mossberg shotgun she has nicknamed 'Aphrodite,' after the Greek goddess of love, and two guard dogs. Not My Type is about her experiences taking on Trump in Manhattan federal courtrooms, an experience she described as 'comedy gold' and which she said she was able to recollect thanks to the voice-accurate notes she recorded after each day's session as reminders, as well as the official court transcripts. Carroll described the transcripts as 'probably the most comedic script ever written since Jonathan Swift published Gulliver's Travels' and said she relished observing and describing Trump's defense lawyers, particularly the fashion-conscious Alina Habba and the hulking Joe Tacopina, noting the latter was 'built like Popeye' with 'glittering eyes.' 'The whole thing to me was like a high comedy,' she said.
