Latest news with #politicalrebellion
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump supporters burn Maga hats after he dismisses Epstein files furor as ‘hoax'
Donald Trump's efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a 'hoax' showed no sign of working on Thursday as more prominent figures from across the political spectrum emerged to attack the US president and some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats. Days after the Republican speaker of the House, the Trump loyalist Mike Johnson, called for the release of all documents relating to the late financier, a convicted sex offender and longtime former friend of Trump's, rebellion continued to simmer within the president's normally diehard base. Trump's former vice-president, Mike Pence, told CBS News on Wednesday that 'I think the time has come for the administration to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein's investigation and prosecution', while the conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, a frequent close adviser to Trump, called for the appointment of a special counsel to handle the Epstein files investigation. 'Obviously, this is not a complete hoax given the fact that [Epstein associate] Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison in Florida for her crimes and activities with Jeffrey Epstein, who we know is a convicted sexual predator,' she said. The podcast host Theo Von, who attended Trump's inauguration and told Fox News it was 'inspiring', commented 'yeah what changed' on a video of the vice-president, JD Vance, appearing on Von's show in 2024 and calling for the full Epstein list to be released. Even some of Trump's most loyal allies in Congress say they are not satisfied by his decision to not release additional files from the Epstein case. Senator Josh Hawley questioned the justice department's claims about the files, saying: 'I think it is maybe a little difficult to believe the idea that DoJ and the FBI … don't have any idea who Epstein's clients were', and called for Maxwell to testify. In rare moment of friction between Trump and Johnson, meanwhile, the House speaker broke with the president on Tuesday, calling for the justice department to make more Epstein documents public, and urging Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to 'come forward and explain' the situation. Bondi has come under particular attack for appearing to claim earlier in the year that she had a client list of Epstein's, then declaring last week no such list existed. Still, House Republicans voted twice this week to block Democratic attempts to force the public release of all Epstein files within 30 days, with only one Republican, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, voting in favor. The controversy deepened on Wednesday evening after news that the federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI director James Comey, who worked on the criminal cases of both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, had been fired. The justice department provided no specific reason for her dismissal. As the backlash spirals out of his normally firm grasp on the Maga voter, Trump slammed 'foolish Republicans' on Wednesday who he said were helping Democrats by focusing on documents related to Epstein. 'Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats' work,' Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain. 'I call it the Epstein hoax. Takes a lot of time and effort. Instead of talking about the great achievements we've had … they're wasting their time with a guy who obviously had some very serious problems, who died three, four years ago.' Close to seven in 10 Americans in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said details around Epstein were being concealed. Sixty-nine per cent said they believed there had been concealment of facts on Epstein's clients by the federal government, with close to 25% unsure whether facts had been concealed, according to the poll. Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges and is believed to have died by suicide in prison in 2019, according to authorities. His former associate Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year sentence.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump's effort to dismiss Epstein files as ‘hoax' fails to quell Maga rebellion
Donald Trump's efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a 'hoax' showed no sign of working on Thursday as more prominent figures from across the political spectrum emerged to attack the US president and some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats. Days after the Republican speaker of the House, the Trump loyalist Mike Johnson, called for the release of all documents relating to the late financier, a convicted sex offender and longtime former friend of Trump's, rebellion continued to simmer within the president's normally diehard base. Trump's former vice-president, Mike Pence, told CBS News on Wednesdaythat 'I think the time has come for the administration to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein's investigation and prosecution', while the conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, a frequent close adviser to Trump, called for the appointment of a special counsel to handle the Epstein files investigation. 'Obviously, this is not a complete hoax given the fact that [Epstein associate] Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison in Florida for her crimes and activities with Jeffrey Epstein, who we know is a convicted sexual predator,' she said. The podcast host Theo Von, who attended Trump's inauguration and told Fox News it was 'inspiring', commented 'yeah what changed' on a video of the vice-president, JD Vance, appearing on Von's show in 2024 and calling for the full Epstein list to be released. Even some of Trump's most loyal allies in Congress say they are not satisfied by his decision to not release additional files from the Epstein case. Senator Josh Hawley questioned the justice department's claims about the files, saying: 'I think it is maybe a little difficult to believe the idea that DoJ and the FBI … don't have any idea who Epstein's clients were', and called for Maxwell to testify. In rare moment of friction between Trump and Johnson, meanwhile, the House speaker broke with the president on Tuesday, calling for the justice department to make more Epstein documents public, and urging Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to 'come forward and explain' the situation. Bondi has come under particular attack for appearing to claim earlier in the year that she had a client list of Epstein's, then declaring last week no such list existed. Still, House Republicans voted twice this week to block Democratic attempts to force the public release of all Epstein files within 30 days, with only one Republican, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, voting in favor. The controversy deepened on Wednesday evening after news that the federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI director James Comey, who worked on the criminal cases of both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, had been fired. The justice department provided no specific reason for her dismissal. As the backlash spirals out of his normally firm grasp on the Maga voter, Trump slammed 'foolish Republicans' on Wednesday who he said were helping Democrats by focusing on documents related to Epstein. 'Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats' work,' Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain. 'I call it the Epstein hoax. Takes a lot of time and effort. Instead of talking about the great achievements we've had … they're wasting their time with a guy who obviously had some very serious problems, who died three, four years ago.' Close to seven in 10 Americans in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said details around Epstein were being concealed. Sixty-nine per cent said they believed there had been concealment of facts on Epstein's clients by the federal government, with close to 25% unsure whether facts had been concealed, according to the poll. Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges and is believed to have died by suicide in prison in 2019, according to authorities. His former associate Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year sentence.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Jess Phillips says Labour rebels should not be surprised by the action taken against them
Update: Date: 2025-07-17T08:12:45.000Z Title: Eleni Courea Content: Good morning. Chief whips tends to be quite secretive, and when four Labour MPs had the whip suspended yesterday, there was no detailed, public explanation as to why they were being punished for rebelling when so many other backbenchers, who have also voted against the party, have not been singled out. As and Jessica Elgot report in our overnight story, we were just told they were regular rebels. But the best explanation came from the Labour party source who told Geri Scott from the Times that the four MPs – Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff – were being punished for 'persistent knobheadery'. This is problematic because, if 'persistent knobheadery' is a crime, then some of the greatest parliamentarians of all time were also guilty of it. Winston Churchill is regarded as the greatest war leader of all time, but he twice switched parties and, in the 1930, when he was leading a lonely fight against his party and over self-government for India and appeasement, 'knobhead' would have been one of the politer things colleagues would have said about him. The same is true of Aneurin Bevan during the second world war, and again in the 1950s. And Enoch Powell, and Tony Benn, and Jeremy Corbyn – and many others. The four MPs disciplined yesterday are not necessarily in the same category as most of these figures, but some Labour MPs are unhappy at the precedent that has been set. Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding, has been doing interviews this morning. She was meant to be talking about measures announced today that the Home Office says will mean 'more women and children will be better protected from domestic abuse through the direct targeting of perpetrators', but inevitably she ended up defending the decision taken yesterday. All four MPs suspended voted against the government's welfare bill, even after the government announced two sets of major concessions, and one of them, Rachael Maskell, ended up leading the opposition on the day of the final vote. But Phillips claimed the four were not being punished for their opposition to the cuts in sickness and disability benefits. She told the Today programme: I don't think that the discipline that has been meted out over the last 24 hours is linked to [the welfare bill] because many more people voted against the government than these four people. But when asked why they were being disciplined, Phillips claimed not to know the full story. Asked what the reasons were for the MPs being suspended, she replied: I actually don't know because I'm not part of the disciplining team. But 'a level of persistence' was probably a factor, she said. And she said discipline was important. The reality is there has to be an element of discipline, otherwise, you end up not being able to govern. Here is the agenda for the day. 10.30am: Keir Starmer is due to launch a Civil Society Covenant at an event in London. 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. Lunchtime: Starmer welcomes Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, to Downing Street. Afternoon: Starmer and Merz visit a factory in Hertfordshire, where they will speak to the media. Around 4pm: Wes Streeting, health secretary, holds a meeting with the BMA's resident doctors committee. If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can't read all the messages BTL, but if you put 'Andrew' in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @ The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can't promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Bloomberg
04-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Starmer Has Nowhere to Go, Stuck Between Rebels and Bond Market
By , Philip Aldrick, and Greg Ritchie Save UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is caught between a political rebellion and a jittery bond market. On one side is a big faction of his Labour Party that revolted in Parliament against his proposed welfare-spending cuts, derailing Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' push to steady the government's finances. On the other, a cohort of fast-money global investors who are worried about rising government debt loads around the world and wield the power to send borrowing costs surging if their confidence is rattled.
