- President Donald Trump said he has not considered pardoning or commuting the sentence of Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein.
- Top Department of Justice official Todd Blanche was set to meet for a second day with Maxwell in Florida.
- Trump said people should focus on others who, like him, had socialized with Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton and ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
As his former buddy Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted sex offender accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, was scheduled to meet with a top Department of Justice official in Florida for the second consecutive day, President Donald Trump sidestepped questions about Epstein on Friday.
With NBC 7, you can watch San Diego News for free, anywhere, at any time.
Trump stated, “I have nothing to do with the guy,” referring to Epstein, whom he had spent years interacting with before he and the now-deceased pedophile had a falling out in the mid-2000s.
As an alternative, Trump suggested that people concentrate on those who, like him, had previously interacted with Epstein. These individuals include former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who was also the president of Harvard University.
With our News Headlines email, you can receive the best local San Diego stories every morning.
Individuals “do not discuss them.” Trump said, “They talk about me,” before leaving for Scotland.
“You ought to concentrate on Clinton. “You ought to concentrate on the Harvard president, the former Harvard president, and a few of the hedge fund guys,” Trump stated.
I’ll provide you with a list. I certainly didn’t live with Jeffrey Epstein like these people did.
Money Report
New bill in Congress would reward companies that give stock to rank-and-file employees
Intel drops 9% as chipmaker’s foundry business axes projects, struggles to find customers
When asked if he was thinking about pardoning or commuting Maxwell’s sentence—he is now serving a 20-year jail sentence for arranging for young girls to be sexually abused by Epstein—Trump responded, “It’s something I haven’t thought about.”
He went on, “I’m allowed to do it,”
After the DOJ earlier this month broke pledges made by Attorney General Pam Bondi and senior FBI officials to reveal data criminal investigators compiled during their sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, Trump has been under increasing pressure to make information regarding Epstein public.
Shortly after The Wall Street Journal revealed that he had written a “bawdy” letter to Epstein in 2003 for the money manager’s fiftieth birthday, Trump last week directed Bondi to request the unsealing of grand jury transcripts pertaining to the investigations of Epstein and Maxwell.
“I have no idea what they’re discussing. Regarding the letter on Friday, Trump stated, “Now, someone could have written a letter and used my name, but that’s happened a lot.”
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, stated on Tuesday that he would try to meet with Maxwell and ask her if she knew of any other individuals who might have harmed young women and girls who were associated to Epstein. Blanche used to work for Trump as a criminal defense attorney.
In U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida, where she is serving her jail sentence, Blanche spent hours on Thursday meeting with Maxwell and her lawyer.
-
Trump deflects Jeffrey Epstein questions as Ghislaine Maxwell sits for second DOJ interview
-
Trump spars with Powell over renovation costs during Fed visit, but backs off firing threats
-
Trump Commerce Secretary Lutnick says U.S. auto CEOs are ‘cool with’ higher tariffs than Japan
-
Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell expected to meet with DOJ on Thursday
-
Trump to visit Federal Reserve, escalating campaign against Chair Powell
-
Trump was told his name was in Jeffrey Epstein files before DOJ withheld documents: WSJ
-
French President Macron, wife Brigitte sue Candace Owens for defamation from transgender claim
-
Trump administration ramps up its campaign against colleges
-
Japan trade deal info on Trump’s desk was altered by hand with a marker
On Friday, a second sit-down was planned.
David Oscar Markus, Maxwell’s attorney, talked to media as he entered the courthouse on Friday.
Markus stated, “We’re hoping for another productive day,” and then went on to say, “Ghislaine has been treated unfairly for over five years now.”
“If you looked up scapegoat in the dictionary, her face would be next to the definition next to the dictionary definition of it,” he stated. “So, you know, we’re grateful for this opportunity to finally be able to say what really happened, and that’s what we’re going to do yesterday and today.”
Maxwell has “been in terrible, awful conditions for five years,” according to Markus. We wouldn’t keep animals in prison the way she has.
“We just ask that folks look at what she has to say with an open mind, and that’s what Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has promised us, and everything she says can be corroborated and and she’s telling the truth,” Markus continued.
“She’s got no reason to lie at this point, and she’s going to keep telling the truth.”
Also on CNBC
-
What Europe’s response to a no-deal with Trump could look like
-
$9.7 million of U.S.-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France: Reuters
-
French President Macron says France will recognize Palestine as a state
