Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Indian business tycoon Anil Ambani sought guidance on navigating relations with the White House and advancing India-US defense cooperation in messages to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the early months of the first term of Donald Trump&#39;s administration, according to a report by The New York Times. &ldquo;Will need ur guidance on dealing wth white house for india relationship ad defense cooperation,&rdquo; Ambani wrote soon after being introduced to Epstein online. &lsquo;Inside baseball&rsquo;The NYT report states that Epstein responded by offering what he described as &ldquo;inside baseball,&rdquo; presenting himself as someone with insight into the administration&rsquo;s thinking. The exchanges, riddled with typos and shorthand, show the global reach of Epstein and the reputation he had built among the world&rsquo;s wealthiest people as a power broker able to operate in the shadowy world of back-channel diplomacy. While the line between braggadocio and influence was blurred, Epstein shared with Ambani nuggets of information on foreign policy and Trump appointments before they became widely known. Whether he just got lucky or not, his messages indicated he sought and received accurate information from unnamed people about the White House&rsquo;s thinking in response to Ambani&rsquo;s questions, according to the NYT report.

India

The report states, ‘The exchanges, riddled with typos and shorthand, show the global reach of Epstein and the reputation he had built among the world’s wealthiest people as a power broker.’

Anil Ambani sought Jeffrey Epstein's help on US-India defense ties: NYT

OSLO: Norway&#39;s Crown Princess Mette-Marit said she was &quot;manipulated&quot; by convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in an interview broadcast Friday in which she sought to explain their close relationship.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit&#39;s name appears in new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The files revealed an unexpectedly close friendship between the pair and raised questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit can become queen.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;Of course I wish I had never met him,&quot; she told public broadcaster NRK during the roughly 20-minute interview.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;It is extremely important for me to acknowledge that I did not look into his past more carefully, and also to acknowledge that I was manipulated and deceived to such an extent,&quot; she said.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">She also sought to squash speculation about the nature of her relationship to Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;It was a friendly relationship: above all, he was a friend to me. But if your question is whether the relationship had another nature, the answer is no,&quot; she said.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Mette-Marit has previously said that she deeply regretted her relationship with the disgraced financier.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The revelations about Epstein have damaged her reputation, at a time when she is dealing with a trial of her 29-year-old son from a relationship before she married the crown prince.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Marius Borg Hoiby faces 38 charges, including raping four women and assaulting ex-girlfriends, and faces up to 16 years in prison.

Mette Marit Crown princess of Norway (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Europe

A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit's name appears in new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year.

Norway crown princess says 'manipulated' by Epstein

CHAPPAQUA: Former US president Bill Clinton will be grilled by a Congressional panel on Friday on his well-documented links to Jeffrey Epstein. Clinton features prominently throughout the latest <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bill-gates-admits-affairs-but-denies-involvement-in-epstein-crimes" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Epstein</a>&nbsp;files disclosures, with the former president insisting that he <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uk-police-arrest-exenvoy-peter-mandelson-in-epstein-case" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">broke ties</a> with him well before the disgraced billionaire&#39;s 2008 conviction for sex offenses. Mere mention in the files released by the US Department of Justice does not imply wrongdoing, and Clinton has not been accused of a crime or formally investigated. He follows his wife, former secretary of state <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/tell-me-why-jeffrey-epstein-mossad-the-missing-answers" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hillary Clinton</a>, who testified Thursday. &#39;Kangaroo court&#39;The depositions are being held behind closed doors even though the Clintons called for them to be open and televised, a move <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/epstein-estate-agrees-to-settle-victim-claims-for-up-to-35-mn" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bill Clinton</a> denounced as akin to a &quot;kangaroo court.&quot; The grilling comes with greater peril for the former president than for his wife, as he has acknowledged extensive interactions with Epstein, but said he never visited the shady financier&#39;s private Caribbean island. Epstein associated with the world&#39;s rich, famous and powerful, and was convicted in 2008 for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14. He died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while facing trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is probing those who were linked to Epstein, particularly in light of the Justice Department&#39;s disclosures of millions of new documents related to its investigation of him. Hillary insisted that she had neither flown on Epstein&#39;s plane nor visited his island. The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel&#39;s probe, but the Democratic power couple agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Newly released pictures&nbsp;</h2>Hillary Clinton said in her opening statement to the panel that it &quot;justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.&quot; &quot;Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.&quot; Democrats say the investigation is being weaponized to attack Trump&#39;s political opponents rather than to conduct legitimate oversight. Bill Clinton features prominently in the trove of investigative files related to Epstein released by the Justice Department, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Previously unseen photographs from the files include one showing the former president reclining in a hot tub, part of the image obscured by a stark black rectangle. In another, Clinton is pictured swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein&#39;s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. &#39;Innocent of any wrongdoing&#39;Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein&#39;s private plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work. David Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, said recently that Clinton and Trump are &quot;innocent of any wrongdoing.&quot; The depositions are being held in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons reside. Dozens of journalists have converged on the wealthy hamlet, and the Secret Service erected metal barricades around the arts center where the depositions are happening. Republican committee chair James Comer said at the conclusion of Hillary&#39;s appearance that lawmakers had &quot;a lot of questions for her husband tomorrow.&quot;

Americas

The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel's probe, but the Democratic power couple agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress.

Former US president Bill Clinton to face grilling on significant Epstein ties

SANDRINGHAM: Former prince Andrew hunkered down Friday at home on the king&#39;s private estate after hours of police questioning, as his stunning arrest tipped the British monarchy into an unprecedented crisis in its modern era. The disgraced royal was &quot;released under investigation&quot; late Thursday, with police believed to be continuing Friday searches of his former home on the royals&#39; Windsor estate, west of London. In a sensational development in investigations into his links to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew spent around 11 hours in custody after police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct. Officers swooped early Thursday on his home in Sandringham, eastern England, taking him into custody at a nearby police station while also raiding his former Windsor home.&nbsp;&lsquo;Law must take its course&rsquo;&nbsp;It prompted the king to swiftly issue a rare personally signed statement insisting &quot;the law must take its course&quot;, as he reiterated Buckingham Palace would support the police probe. &quot;It&#39;s a hugely significant moment for the British monarchy,&quot; royal expert Ed Owens told AFP, noting much remained unclear, including whether Andrew would be criminally charged. &quot;It&#39;s the unknown elements in this particular instance that I think pose so much concern and arguably a threat to the monarchy.&quot; &lsquo;Downfall&rsquo;&nbsp;Almost all Britain&#39;s newspapers carried on their front pages Friday a photograph of the disgraced royal, leaving the police station in a vehicle, looking haggard and wild-eyed. &quot;Downfall,&quot; screamed the Daily Mail headline. The Sun tabloid noted that, like anyone arrested, Andrew would have had a DNA&nbsp;saliva swab taken along with his fingerprints and a photograph. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;So bad&#39;&nbsp;</h2>The day of drama in Britain sent shockwaves around the world, with US President Donald Trump calling it &quot;very sad&quot;. &quot;It&#39;s so bad for the royal family,&quot; he told reporters. Andrew&#39;s arrest follows new revelations last week that the ex-prince appeared to have sent Epstein potentially confidential documents while serving as a UK trade envoy, a post he held from 2001. In a November 2010 email seen by AFP, Andrew appeared to share with the US financier reports on his visit to several Asian countries. Epstein had been convicted in the United States in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution. Official guidance is thought to stipulate that trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive commercial or political information related to their official visits. The former prince&#39;s humiliating day in custody, which coincided with his 66th birthday, was the most dramatic yet in his years-long fall from grace. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Difficult&#39;&nbsp;</h2>King Charles III last year stripped his brother of his titles and ordered him to leave his Windsor mansion -- though he does remain eighth in the line of succession. That followed one of Epstein&#39;s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, last year recounting in shocking detail in her posthumous memoirs claims that she had been trafficked three times to have sex with Andrew, twice when she was 17. Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein. He settled a US civil lawsuit in 2022 brought by Giuffre while not admitting liability. Charles sought to project an air of business-as-usual Thursday, carrying out several public duties, including opening London Fashion Week. Most severe crisisBut royal commentators were in no doubt that the monarchy was facing its most severe crisis in decades. Royal historian Anna Whitelock said it was the first arrest of a member of Britain&#39;s royal family in centuries - possibly stretching back to Charles I&#39;s surrender to the Scots army in 1646. &quot;Usually there is the usual&nbsp;&#39;keep calm and carry on&#39; but it&#39;s going to be very difficult in these circumstances,&quot; she told AFP. The police probe into misconduct in a public office allegations follow the US Justice Department&#39;s release last month of millions of files from its investigation into Epstein. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. At least nine UK police forces have confirmed they are assessing claims stemming from the Epstein files, many related to Andrew.

United Kingdom

In a sensational development in investigations into his links to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew spent around 11 hours in custody after police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct.

UK monarchy reels from Andrew's stunning arrest

LONDON: Britain&#39;s former prince Andrew was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct during his time as a trade envoy, as UK police investigations into allegations emerging from the Jeffrey Epstein files gathered pace. Unprecedented in Britain&#39;s modern era, the arrest was a new blow for the ousted royal, who was marking his 66th birthday on Thursday. Andrew was last year stripped of all his titles, having been forced out of his former home by his brother King Charles III. As part of the investigation into Andrew, &quot;we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office,&quot; Thames Valley police said in a statement, without naming the suspect, as is common practice in the UK. Several UK media outlets reported that a fleet of unmarked cars, believed to be police vehicles, was seen arriving early Thursday at the Sandringham estate in eastern England, where Andrew now resides. New revelations last week appeared to show that Andrew sent potentially confidential documents to convicted US sex offender Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy. In a November 2010 email seen by AFP, Andrew appeared to share with Epstein reports on Vietnam, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Singapore following an official visit to Asia. The ex-royal, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also reportedly sent the American financier details of the trip -- on which he was accompanied by Epstein&#39;s business associates -- along with investment opportunities months later. The former prince was eventually stripped of his titles after one of Epstein&#39;s victims alleged she had been trafficked to have sex with him. He has previously denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein. Charles has voiced &quot;concern&quot; over his brother&#39;s actions and, last week, issued an unprecedented statement noting that Buckingham Palace was &quot;ready to support&quot; the police in their inquiries. Official guidance stipulates that trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality regarding sensitive, commercial, or political information related to their official visits, the BBC has said. Andrew, whose ties to Epstein have caused a spectacular years-long fall from grace, served as a British trade envoy for a decade from 2001. Police &#39;aware&#39; of reportAt least nine separate UK police forces have confirmed they are assessing reports which appear to link the former prince to Epstein. Police in Surrey, southeastern England, said Wednesday they had become &quot;aware&quot; of a redacted report alleging &quot;human trafficking and sexual assaults on a minor&quot; between 1994 and 1996 in the village of Virginia Water. The report emerged in the latest tranche of millions of files released by the US Justice Department from the investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. &quot;After reviewing our systems using the limited information available to us, we found no evidence of these allegations being reported to Surrey Police,&quot; its statement read. &quot;We therefore encourage anyone with information in relation to these allegations to report this to us.&quot; The statement did not name any individuals involved. But it comes as high-profile figures, including former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, have urged police to probe dozens of flights dating back decades arriving at UK airports and tied to Epstein. Writing in the New Statesman magazine last week, Brown said he had been &quot;told privately that the investigations related to the former Prince Andrew did not properly check vital evidence of flights.&quot; &quot;I have asked the police to look at this as part of the new inquiry,&quot; he stated, adding it appeared &quot;the authorities never knew what was happening.&quot; London&#39;s Metropolitan police has also launched an investigation into the relationship between the UK&#39;s former ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, and the disgraced financier.

Britain's former prince Andrew has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct during his time as a trade envoy, police said Thursday.

UK police arrest ex-prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct

LONDON: Late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein proposed introducing a Russian woman to King Charles III&#39;s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, newly released documents showed Friday. The discussion about the woman appears in some of the millions of <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-administration-denies-coverup-over-redacted-epstein-files" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">new pages</a> released Friday by the US Justice Department, as well as an apparent exchange weeks later about an invitation to Buckingham Palace. In one August 12, 2010 email, Epstein told Andrew -- addressed as &quot;The Duke&quot; -- that he had &quot;a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with&quot; and said she would be in London from August 20 to 24, the documents show. Andrew asked what Epstein had told her about him and whether she would be bringing &quot;a message&quot; from <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/release-of-epstein-files-risks-ruining-reputations-trump" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Epstein</a>, the messages indicate. &lsquo;Would be delighted to see her&rsquo;In a subsequent email, Andrew replied that he would be in Geneva on August 22, but &quot;would be delighted to see her&quot;. Epstein said the woman was 26, Russian, clever, and beautiful, adding that she had the prince&#39;s email. There is no suggestion in the materials that any meeting took place. Andrew, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was last year stripped by the king of all his royal titles over his association with Epstein. Dinner at Buckingham Palace&nbsp;Weeks later, they apparently discussed dinner at Buckingham Palace. According to one message, Epstein contacted Andrew on September 27, 2010, during a stay in London, writing: &quot;What time would you like me... we will also need (to)... have private time.&quot; Andrew replied that he was just leaving Scotland, adding: &quot;We could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy.&quot; Two days later, Andrew emailed again. &lsquo;Come with whomever&rsquo;&quot;Delighted for you to come here to BP (Buckingham Palace). Come with whomever and I&#39;ll be here free from 1600ish to 2000,&quot; he wrote. It was not clear whether any dinner at the palace -- then the official London residence of the late Queen Elizabeth II -- ever took place. Epstein had been released on probation from house arrest in August 2010 following his sentencing for procuring for prostitution a girl below the age of 18. In a 2019 interview with the BBC, Andrew claimed he had cut ties with the sex offender after December 2010, but court documents revealed later showed he continued to communicate with him. Posthumous memoir&nbsp;Other documents made public last year and a posthumous memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre -- who had accused Andrew of sexual assault -- reignited UK anger over his ties to Epstein. It culminated in the king deciding to remove all of his brother&#39;s royal titles and honors and announcing that he would be ousted from his 30-room mansion on the royal estate at Windsor, west of London. The former prince, now known by as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has always denied that he sexually abused Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked to have sex with him on three occasions, twice when she was just 17. After she launched a lawsuit against him, he paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt. Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, died by suicide at her home in Australia in April.

In one August 12, 2010 email, Epstein told Andrew he had ‘a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with’ and said she would be in London from August 20 to 24, documents show.

Epstein offered ex-prince Andrew meeting with Russian woman: files

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday termed the latest Epstein-related emails released a hoax, urging Republicans not to fall into a &quot;trap.&quot;&nbsp; According to the leaked emails, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein &mdash; in an April 2011 message to longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell &mdash; suggested that the US president knew about the disgraced financier&#39;s abuse and &quot;spent hours&quot; with one victim at his house. The pressure on Trump grew later on Wednesday, when a newly sworn-in Democratic representative added her name to a petition that now has enough signatures to force a vote on the release of the full Epstein files. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would hold a vote next week on a bid to force the Justice Department to release the remaining Epstein files. In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Republicans not to fall into a &quot;trap,&quot; and top officials hosted hard-right Republican Lauren Boebert in the White House Situation Room to push her to keep her name off the petition. &quot;The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they&#39;ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they&#39;ve done,&quot; Trump said on Truth Social. Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the sex-trafficking activities of his former friend &mdash; who died by suicide in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial &mdash;and accused Democrats of trying to &quot;deflect&quot; from their own failings. But the scandal has proved tough for Trump to shake, and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the three new emails &quot;raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein&#39;s horrific crimes.&quot; Boebert refused to back down, and the petition passed when Democratic congresswoman Adelita Grijalva was sworn in after weeks of delay and immediately signed the petition. In the message to associate Maxwell, Epstein had asserted that Trump spent significant time with a woman whom the White House later identified as Epstein&#39;s main accuser, Virginia Giuffre. Epstein wrote that Trump&#39;s name has &quot;never once been mentioned.&quot; Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking after Epstein&#39;s death, replied: &quot;I have been thinking about that...&quot; &#39;Of course he knew&#39;In another email to the author Michael Wolff, dated Jan. 31, 2019, Epstein allegedly wrote: &quot;of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.&quot; Republicans later released a trove of thousands of mails, obtained after Democrats subpoenaed Epstein&#39;s estate earlier this year, including one in which Epstein called Trump &quot;dirty.&quot; The Epstein furor is still roiling Trump&#39;s administration more than four months after his Justice Department sought to close the case. Keen to capitalize on the simmering controversy, Democrats in the House have been trying to force a vote to compel the publication of the full Epstein case files. MAGA base furiousThe White House went into fightback mode, accusing Democrats of selectively leaking the mails to &quot;create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.&quot; Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Virginia Giuffre, who herself died by suicide in April, had declared that Trump &quot;&#39;couldn&#39;t have been friendlier&#39; to her in their limited interactions.&quot; The Epstein scandal has dogged Trump for months, after his Justice Department, in a July memo, reaffirmed he died by suicide, and that a &quot;client list&quot; Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to have been reviewing did not in fact exist. It sparked a furious backlash from Trump&#39;s &quot;MAGA&quot; (Make America Great Again) support base, who felt betrayed after being told for years that a &quot;deep state&quot; cover-up was protecting figures in the Democratic Party whom they accused of being Epstein&#39;s clients. Trump&#39;s MAGA lieutenants &mdash; including two allies who now run the FBI &mdash; made careers of fanning the conspiracy theories, including that Epstein&#39;s suicide was actually a murder ordered by his powerful clients. Trump&#39;s ties to Epstein are extensive. The pair were pictured partying together during a 15-year friendship before they reportedly fell out in 2004 over a property deal, and when Trump subsequently denounced his former ally. The ripples from the scandal have also spread across the Atlantic. Trump said last month he felt &quot;very badly&quot; for the British royal family after the former prince Andrew, who was accused of abuse by Giuffre, had his titles revoked.

US president urges Republicans not to fall into a 'trap;' Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the sex-trafficking activities, and accuses Democrats of trying to 'deflect' from their own failings.

Trump terms Epstein case a hoax after email leaks 

&nbsp;ISLAMABAD: A judge has ruled that the names of two women linked to Jeffrey Epstein&rsquo;s abuse case will remain confidential for their safety, rejecting NBC&rsquo;s bid for public disclosure.&nbsp;A federal judge decided to keep confidential the identities of two women once considered potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein, citing ongoing safety and privacy concerns. This follows an NMC News request to unseal their names, which was opposed by the women&rsquo;s lawyers and the US Justice Department. Judge Richard Berman ruled that threats to the women&rsquo;s safety persist and releasing their identities would &lsquo;endanger&rsquo; them.&nbsp;&nbsp;NBC News attorney Alexander Ziccardi had argued under the first amendment of the United States&rsquo; constitution that the public has a &ldquo;presumptive right of access&rdquo; to the names redacted from a July 2019 government letter addressed to Judge Berman. The letter, submitted by prosecutors opposing Epstein&rsquo;s bail, responded to the judge&rsquo;s questions about two unidentified individuals referenced in the legal arguments.&nbsp;Prosecutors acknowledged that both women had publicly been associated with Epstein and allegations of sexual abuse spanning over two decades. Epstein had secured these women&rsquo;s protection through a 2007 nonprosecution agreement with Florida federal prosecutors.&nbsp;In late 2018, following renewed media attention on Epstein&rsquo;s abuses and the earlier deal he struck, he paid one woman $100,000 and the other $250,000. Federal authorities in New York, who stated they were not bound by the Florida agreement, later arrested Epstein in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges.&nbsp;The 2019 letter noted that the woman paid $250,000 was identified in the indictment as one of Epstein&rsquo;s employees. The indictment accused her and two other employees of facilitating trafficking by contacting victims and arranging sexual encounters with Epstein at his residences in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.&nbsp;The women&rsquo;s lawyers recently opposed public disclosure of their names. One attorney revealed that Epstein&rsquo;s payment recipient faced death threats due to misinformation and was cleared after an FBI investigation. Another lawyer stated both women were &ldquo;severely victimized by Jeffrey Epstein&rdquo; and deserved the same protections given to other victims.&nbsp;Epstein died by apparent suicide in a New York federal jail in August 2019 before his trial commenced. His former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted on sex trafficking charges in December 2021 and is serving a 20-year sentence.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Judge keeps identities of Epstein co-conspirators sealed 

A federal judge decided to keep confidential the identities of two women once considered potential co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein, citing ongoing safety and privacy concerns. 

<ul style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;" id="isPasted"><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Peter Mandelson sacked as U.S. ambassador.</li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Emails showed close ties with Jeffrey Epstein.</li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Foreign ministry said new details forced dismissal.</li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Mandelson, 71, key Labour figure under Tony Blair.</li></ul><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Britain&rsquo;s ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson was sacked Thursday after leaked emails exposed deep ties to Jeffrey Epstein, intensifying political fallout for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Mandelson, 71, a veteran Labour politician who played a central role in Tony Blair&rsquo;s government, was asked to step down after letters and emails surfaced showing he described Epstein as &ldquo;my best pal&rdquo; and advised him on pursuing early release when facing charges over soliciting a minor, Reuters reported.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&ldquo;In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador,&rdquo; Britain&rsquo;s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">It added that the material demonstrated Mandelson&rsquo;s relationship with Epstein was &ldquo;materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.&rdquo;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Mandelson, who earned the nickname &ldquo;Prince of Darkness&rdquo; for his behind-the-scenes influence in the Labour Party, had previously expressed regret over his dealings with Epstein.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&ldquo;I deeply regret ever meeting Epstein and that I carried on that association for far longer than I should have done,&rdquo; he said Wednesday. His remarks initially appeared to reassure Starmer, who defended him in parliament later that day.

Britain’s ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, was dismissed after new emails revealed his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, intensifying pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Articles tagged with "Jeffrey Epstein"