The White House has responded to leaked emails linking president Donald Trump to late Jeffrey Epstein saying 'President Trump did nothing wrong'. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the BBC "These emails prove literally nothing"
House Democrats on Wednesday released emails that they said raised new questions about President Donald Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein and how much he knew about Epstein's abuse of underage girls, while the swearing-in of a new Democrat kicked off a fresh fight in Congress over further disclosures.
The Democrats released messages between Epstein and author Michael Wolff and Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who is serving a 20-year prison sentence on charges related to her role in facilitating Epstein's sex trafficking.
In one 2019 email to Wolff, Epstein, a convicted sex offender, wrote that Trump "knew about the girls," though it was not clear what that phrase meant.
In another 2019 email, Epstein said Trump "came to my house many times" and "never got a massage." That email was part of a trove of documents released later on Wednesday by a Republican-led congressional committee.
Trump has vehemently and consistently denied knowing about Epstein's sex trafficking. He has said that he and Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019, were once friends before having a falling out.
He accused the Democrats of "using the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax to try and deflect from their massive failures".
The Epstein case has dogged Trump for months, upsetting even his own political supporters, who believe the government has been covering up Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful and who have been unusually critical of his Justice Department for not releasing more information about the Epstein case.
Trump on Wednesday accused Democrats of releasing the emails to distract from the record 43-day shutdown of the government.
"The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday afternoon.
The disclosures came on the day that Democratic Representative Adelita Grijalva was sworn in by House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, providing a majority to force a House vote to release all unclassified records related to Epstein, something Johnson and Trump have resisted up to now.
"It's past time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration," Grijalva said.
Johnson's office said the House would hold that vote next week.
The batch of emails released earlier on Wednesday includes a 2011 message to Maxwell in which Epstein described Trump as "that dog that hasn't barked," adding that Trump had "spent hours at my house" with one of his victims, whose name is redacted.
Later in the day, Republicans released a cache of 20,000 Epstein-related documents in which Trump's name surfaces frequently, though typically in the context of his political career or allegations of sexual behavior. In one exchange, Epstein refers to a 20-year-old girlfriend whom he "gave to Donald" in 1993, and talks about photos of "Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen," though it is not clear whether he is joking.
'TRUMP DID NOTHING WRONG,' WHITE HOUSE SAYS
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Democrats of redacting the victim's name in the released emails because the victim was Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April and had called Trump friendly without accusing him of any wrongdoing in her posthumous memoir.
"These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong," Leavitt said on Wednesday.
Just four in 10 Republicans told an October Reuters/Ipsos poll that they approved of Trump's handling of the Epstein files -- well below the nine in 10 who approve of his overall performance in the White House.
Trump and other administration officials have reached out to Republican Representatives Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace to try to get them to remove their names from the petition that would force a vote on releasing all of the files, according to reporting by Axios and other media outlets.
Boebert told reporters there was "no pressure" when she met with White House officials to discuss the matter on Wednesday, adding that she remained a supporter of the petition.
Mace, who has spoken publicly about her experience as a sexual assault survivor, is not removing her name from the petition "because of her personal story," spokesperson Sydney Long said.
Counting is underway in Armenia's elections. The results of the vote are set to determine the political direction of the country of three million peop...
Counting is underway in Armenia’s parliamentary elections, with the results of the vote set to determine the makeup of the National Assembly and sha...
The Iranian national football team is set to arrive in North America for the World Cup after finally securing travel documents, but a dispute over U.S...
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the number of casualties its citizens suffered as a result of the 5 June drone attacks on the cargo ships ...
Sirens rang out across multiple areas of Israel on Sunday night after missiles were launched from Iran towards the country, the Israeli military said...
Counting is underway in Armenia’s parliamentary elections, with the results of the vote set to determine the makeup of the National Assembly and shape the country's political direction for the foreseeable future. But in Armenia, the final result is not decided by vote percentages alone.
The Iranian national football team is set to arrive in North America for the World Cup after finally securing travel documents, but a dispute over U.S. visa approvals continues to cast a shadow over the country's tournament preparations.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the number of casualties its citizens suffered as a result of the 5 June drone attacks on the cargo ships Natra and Zircon in the Sea of Azov. In a statement, it said four Azerbaijani citizens were killed and four others were injured.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has warned ahead of World Environment Day that Afghanistan's worsening water crisis is disproportionately affecting women and girls, who bear much of the responsibility for securing water for their families.
Counting is underway in Armenia's elections. The results of the vote are set to determine the political direction of the country of three million people for the next few years. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is hoping to fend off challenges from several pro-Russia candidates to secure a third term.
Armenian authorities arrested six candidates from the pro-Russian Strong Armenia bloc on Saturday, one day before voters were due to take part in parliamentary elections.
More than 6,000 people gathered outside a vote-counting centre in Seoul on Friday night, demanding this week’s local elections be repeated after ballot shortages left some voters unable to cast their ballots.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the number of casualties its citizens suffered as a result of the 5 June drone attacks on the cargo ships Natra and Zircon in the Sea of Azov. In a statement, it said four Azerbaijani citizens were killed and four others were injured.
The U.S. said it struck Iranian radar sites on Qeshm Island and in Goruk after intercepting four drones, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they launches retaliatory strikes on four tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. bases in the Gulf.
The Iranian national football team is set to arrive in North America for the World Cup after finally securing travel documents, but a dispute over U.S. visa approvals continues to cast a shadow over the country's tournament preparations.
At least a dozen people were wounded, two critically, on Saturday (6 June) in Toledo, Ohio, as two shooters traded gunfire, police said.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 7 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al‑Zaidi will pay an official visit to the United States, bringing with him a delegation of business leaders, private‑sector representatives and banking officials, in an effort to boost investment and deepen economic ties with Washington.
People across Gaza are facing a worsening humanitarian crisis, with millions struggling to access food, clean water, shelter and medical care as the conflict continues.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment