Connect with us

Top Stories

Judge rejects Trump administration request to release Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents

Published

on


A federal judge said he would not unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein – rejecting the Justice Department’s request to make them public.

Judge Richard Berman said the Justice Department did not overcome long-standing precedent to keep grand jury materials sealed and noted that the information contained in the sealed materials is small relative to the entire investigation file already in DOJ’s hands.

“The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hand of the Department of Justice,” the judge wrote.

The Justice Department declined to comment on Berman’s ruling. This is the third federal judge to decline to release Epstein-related transcripts and evidence from a grand jury.

The ruling comes as the Trump administration has faced mounting pressure to release more information around the Epstein files, especially after senior officials promised to do so.

“The Government is a logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breath and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession,” Berman wrote Wednesday.

The judge added another compelling reason to keep the records sealed are “possible threats to victims’ safety and privacy.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi released binders to right-wing social media influencers at the White House in February, but many of the influencers shared that the binders did not reveal any new information regarding the Epstein files.

The Justice Department started revoking their promises to release more information in Epstein’s case in May and downplaying the situation. Bondi alerted Trump in May that his name appeared in the files.

On July 7, the DOJ released an unsigned memo saying they would not be releasing any more documents regarding the Epstein files. The lack of transparency in the memo only angered Democrats, the public and even members of Trump’s political base.

The Justice Department has explored several avenues to have more information released, including by asking two federal judges in New York to unseal grand jury materials in Epstein’s case and Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. Maxwell is Epstein’s long-time partner who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls.

New York federal Judge Paul Engelmayer denied the Justice Department’s request for grand jury materials in Maxwell’s case on August 11 in a scathing opinion, saying that the premise of DOJ’s argument was false and that the request was not a matter of public interest.

The Justice Department also requested the unsealing of grand jury materials from a federal court in Florida, and a judge swiftly denied the request.

Additionally, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted a two-day interview with Maxwell on July 24 and 25 at the US Attorney’s Office in Tallahassee, Florida. The Justice Department is working on transcribing a 10-hour audio tape from the interview.

This story has been updated with additional information.





Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top Stories

Charlie Kirk shooting: new video of suspect released by FBI amid urgent appeal for help from the public | Charlie Kirk shooting

Published

on


US officials have issued an urgent appeal for help from the public as they continue to search for the shooter of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, releasing new videos and photos from the scene of the attack in Utah.

More than 24 hours after Kirk was shot while speaking in front of thousands of people at a Utah university, the state’s governor, appearing alongside FBI director Kash Patel and other officials, said “we need as much help as we can possibly get.”

“We cannot do our job without the public’s help,” Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox said, adding that the FBI had received more than 7,000 leads and tips so far.

The newly released video showed a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long sleeve black shirt running across a roof, climbing off the edge of the building and dropping to the ground. The suspect is believed to have fled into the local neighbourhood after firing the one shot and has not yet been identified.

Investigators said they had obtained clues, including a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered hunting rifle found in a wooded area along the path the shooter fled. But they were yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing.

This combination of image released by the FBI shows photos of a person of interest in the investigation into the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Photograph: FBI/AFP/Getty Images

The direct appeals for public support at the night-time news conference, appeared to signal law enforcement’s continued struggles to identify the shooter and pinpoint the person’s whereabouts. Authorities didn’t take questions, and Patel did not speak at the news conference. The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person.

The death of Kirk – a close ally of President Donald Trump – has drawn renewed attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the United States which, in the last several years, has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation from political leaders.

In appealing for information, Cox said on Thursday, “there is a tremendous amount of disinformation” online.

“Our adversaries want violence,” Cox said. “We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instil disinformation and encourage violence. I would encourage you to ignore those, to turn off those streams.”

Cox also pledged to find the killer and pursue the death penalty.

Kirk’s casket arrived in his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two, accompanied by vice-president JD Vance. Vance’s wife, Usha, stepped off the plane with Kirk’s widow, Erika.

map

Vance helped carry Kirk’s casket with a group of uniformed service members as it was loaded on to the plane. Kirk’s conservative youth organisation, Turning Point USA, was based in Phoenix.

“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote on social media, referencing Kirk’s role in getting Donald Trump elected last year. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”

Kirk was a provocateur and a divisive figure who is credited with helping bring young people, especially men, into the US president’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement.

In a statement on Thursday, TPUSA wrote: “All of us have lost a leader, a mentor, and a friend. Above all, our hearts are with Erika and their two children. Charlie was the ideal husband and the perfect father. Above all else, we ask you to pray for the Kirks after the incomprehensible loss they have suffered.”

Kirk’s killing drew bipartisan condemnation of the rise in political violence in the US.

Trump, who said he would award the Medal of Freedom posthumously to Kirk, spoke to Kirk’s wife on Thursday.

He said that authorities were making “big progress” towards tracking down the suspect and that in regards to a motive, he has an “indication … but we’ll let you know about that later”.

Just hours after Kirk had been declared dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital on Wednesday, Trump delivered a video message from the Oval Office, vowing to track down the suspect.

A photo of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed, stands at his vigil. Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP

“My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it,” Trump said.

One day after his inflammatory address, blaming “the radical left” for Kirk’s death, Trump appeared to strike a more conciliatory tone, agreeing with a suggestion from a reporter that his supporters should not respond with violence.

The White House quickly posted the exchange on social media, perhaps hoping to tamp down anger that has already spilled into violence, with the beating of a critic of Kirk in Boise, Idaho, during a vigil on Wednesday night.

Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska who is retiring after this term, told NBC News that he wished Trump would unite the country after the shooting, “but he’s a populist, and populists dwell on anger”.

“I have to remind people, we had Democrats killed in Minnesota too, right?” Bacon added, in reference to the murder of Minnesota’s former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June by a gunman with a hitlist of 45 people, all Democrats.

With Reuters and the Associated Press



Source link

Continue Reading

Top Stories

Packers defeat Commanders, 27-18, on Thursday Night Football

Published

on


Packers dispatch Commanders 27-18, improve to 2-0

Parsons blew through a Josh Conerly Jr. block and Jeremy McNichols chip to flush Daniels from the pocket and into a 1-yard run. Washington responded with an 11-yard pass to McLaurin on third-and-9 and a Zach Ertz score off a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-10 Packers with 13:45 remaining.

Green Bay opened with an 11-yard pass to Wicks on an out after coming across in motion. A holding penalty on Marshon Lattimore moved Green Bay across midfield.

On third-and-6, Kraft fought through illegal contact by Commanders safety Will Harris to pick up eight yards to the Washington 37 on a pass from Love.

Green Bay motioned Williams to the backfield on second-and-8 and he took a direct snap and ran the ball 16 yards to the Washington 19. Matthew Golden gained nine yards on a sweep on the next play.

On first-and-goal, Washington bit hard on the play fake to Jacobs and Kraft came free for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 24-10 Packers with 8:57 remaining.

Green Bay’s defense got a four-and-out on its next stand with Quay Walker hitting Daniels on third-and-4 to force and incompletion and Nixon getting his fourth breakup of the evening to give the offense the ball back at the Washington 41.

The Packers picked up two yards on a Jacobs run before McManus made a 56-yard field goal to push Green Bay’s lead to 27-10 with 6:42 remaining. That field goal ties Mason Crosby for longest make in a regular-season game by a Packers player.

Washington moved the ball down the field while Green Bay was playing prevent on its next series, with Nixon registering his fifth breakup.

The Commanders reached the end zone on a 10-yard slant to Samuel for a touchdown with 2:53 left. Daniels converted the two-point conversion with a pass to Luke McCaffrey, cutting the Packers’ lead to 27-18.

Wicks recovered the onside kick at the Green Bay 48. Love was sacked for a 13-yard loss on second down and Jacobs gained 10 back on third-and-21 as the game reached the two-minute warning.

Washington took over at its 20 with 1:47 remaining and no timeouts. The Commanders gained 13 yards before turning the ball over on downs and the Packers kneeled out the win.



Source link

Continue Reading

Top Stories

Packers deliver statement win over Commanders behind Jordan Love, Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft

Published

on


If the Packers used a Week 1 domination of the Lions as a major statement, they backed it up and then some in Week 2. The Packers (2-0) defeated the Commanders (1-1), 27-18, fueled by an explosive, efficient offense and a tremendous defense that seemed to move at a completely different speed than Washington’s offense.

Love finished with 292 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns, with six completions for 124 yards and a score going to Kraft. Micah Parsons officially recorded a half-sack, but his impact was much larger than that, and Green Bay sacked Jayden Daniels four times while smothering would-be pass catchers.

After a slow start — Jayden Reed’s shoulder injury being the main development — Green Bay’s offense got rolling on its second drive, fueled by a 57-yard completion from Love to Kraft after Kraft broke free down the middle. Love connected with Romeo Doubs for a 5-yard touchdown shortly thereafter.

Washington did not manage a single first down in the first quarter — a first since Daniels’ arrival — and Green Bay embarked on another long drive early in the second quarter, highlighted by a remarkable, twisting 37-yard catch from Malik Heath.

Josh Jacobs powered in from two yards out to make it 13-0. Commanders defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. got carted off after trying to block the extra point (which was successful), adding to Washington’s woes. He was later ruled out with a quad injury.

Washington finally got on the board with a 51-yard Matt Gay field goal, but Gay missed a 58-yarder that could have cut the deficit further just before the half. But Green Bay’s Brandon McManus then doinked a 48-yard try as time expired.

Down 17-3 after a McManus field goal, Washington finally found the end zone via a 20-yard Zach Ertz catch-and-run. Green Bay answered, though, with another touchdown drive, this one capped by Love’s 8-yard touchdown toss to Kraft.

McManus nailed a 56-yard field goal shortly thereafter to extend the lead to three scores. Daniels found Deebo Samuel Sr. for a touchdown late, but it proved to be only window dressing — and a costly one at that: Austin Ekeler suffered a non-contact Achilles injury and was carted off the field.

Washington will hope to use the mini-bye to recuperate before hosting the Raiders in Week 3. Green Bay will hope to carry momentum over to a Week 3 visit to the Browns.





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending