US Politics

Subterms

    More stories

    • 250 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Dear Keir Starmer, stop cosying up to Donald Trump – or he’ll drag Britain down with him | Simon Tisdall

      by

      Donald Trump’s victory in last November’s US presidential election presented Keir Starmer, Britain’s Labour prime minister, with a choice – and an opportunity. Either cosy up to a man whose obnoxious, hard-right, ultra-nationalist policies are inimical to UK security and foreign policy interests, economic prosperity and democratic values; or risk a rupture with the US, a longstanding but overbearing ally, and seize the moment to redefine Britain’s place in the world, primarily through reintegration in Europe.Starmer made the wrong call – and Britain has paid a heavy price ever since. The cost to national dignity and the public purse will be on painful show this weekend as Trump, pursued by the Epstein scandal and angry protesters, makes an expensively policed, ostensibly private visit to his golf courses in Scotland. On Monday, the prime minister will travel north to kiss the ring. More humiliations loom. In September, Trump will return for an unprecedented second state visit, at Starmer’s unctuous behest. At that point, the full, embarrassing extent of Britain’s thraldom will be there for all the world to see.Let’s be clear. Trump is no friend of Britain’s and is, in key respects, a dangerous foe. Efforts to curry favour with this narcissist will ultimately prove futile. Trump always reneges. His unedifying career is littered with broken promises and relationships, personal and political. His only loyalty is to himself. Right now, this wannabe dictator is busy making America not greater but weaker, poorer, less influential and more disliked. Don’t let him drag Britain down, too. It’s not too late to make the break.US leadership of the western democracies used to be taken for granted. Now it’s a problem. Politicians in both Britain’s main parties have difficulty accepting this shift. As so often, public opinion is ahead of them. Recent polling by the Pew Research Center found 62% of Britons have no confidence in Trump “to do the right thing regarding world affairs”. Most of those surveyed in 24 countries viewed him as dangerous, arrogant and dishonest. Thanks to him, the US’s international standing is in freefall.Giving Israel a free hand in Gaza is the most egregious example of how Trump’s policies conflict with UK interests. Starmer’s government has condemned the deliberate killing and starving of civilians. Among the 55% of Britons opposed to Israel’s actions, 82% believe they amount to genocide, a YouGov poll found last month. A majority backs additional sanctions. Trump’s support for forced relocations, opposition to a two-state solution and close collaboration with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader charged with war crimes, all contradict stated UK policy. Trump bears significant personal responsibility for what Starmer calls the “unspeakable and indefensible” horror in Gaza.Starmer warned dramatically last month that the UK was in growing danger of military attack following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Britain and other Nato states have steadfastly supported Kyiv. Not so Trump. Since taking office, he has toadied to Vladimir Putin, vilified Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, suspended military supplies and questioned Nato’s future. Ignoring proliferation fears, Trump is simultaneously fuelling a nuclear arms race. Now the hapless Starmer has been panicked into buying US jets capable of carrying warheads and, it is claimed, has secretly allowed US-owned nukes back into the UK. This is not the Britain Labour voters want.Trump recently reversed himself on Ukraine, patched things up with Nato and criticised Putin. But he could change his mind again tomorrow. Oblivious to the glaring double standard, he congratulates himself meanwhile on “obliterating” Iran’s nuclear facilities – even though last month’s illegal US bombing was only partly successful. Britain rightly favours negotiations with Tehran. It wasn’t consulted.Trump’s tariff wars pose a direct threat to the UK economy, jobs and living standards. Despite Starmer’s deal mitigating their impact, 10% tariffs or higher remain on most US-bound exports. Trump’s bullying of Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Panama and others over sovereignty, migration and trade feeds uncertainty. His irrational hostility to the EU may gratify the likes of Nigel Farage (and Putin). But endless rows between important allies do not serve Britain’s interests.The advance of hard-right, nationalist-populist parties in Europe and, most recently, in Japan suggests the socially divisive, chauvinist agendas championed by Trump’s Maga movement have widening international appeal. That augurs ill for democracy in Britain and the world generally. For the same reason, Trump’s assaults on US constitutional rights, notably minority and gender rights, attacks on judges, universities and public institutions, and attempts to suppress independent media scrutiny are ominous. Such toxic behaviour is contagious. Trumpism is the new Covid. Britain needs inoculation.By slashing overseas aid, cutting public service broadcasters such as Voice of America, defunding and ostracising UN agencies, flouting international courts and pretending the climate emergency is illusory, Trump inflicts immense harm on the US’s reputation, global influence and soft-power armoury. He is wrecking the rules-based order that Britain views as fundamental. It’s a gift to China, Russia and authoritarians everywhere. As Pentagon spending rockets to $1tn annually, his crude message is unmistakeable: might makes right. Brute strength rules.Trump is a disaster for the west and all in the UK who respect progressive democratic values. His second term will evidently be more globally perilous, destructive and destabilising than his first. In support of universal principles established centuries before anyone heard of him, Britain should steer clear of this walking, talking catastrophe. Rather than hug Trump close, Starmer should keep him at arm’s length for fear of infection.Don’t go to Scotland to see him, Prime Minister. Don’t waste your breath. Instead, start planning for the post-special-relationship era. Make the break. It’s time.

      Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator

      Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. More

    • 150 Shares179 Views

      in US Politics

      Democrats request copy of Epstein ‘birthday book’ that reportedly contains Trump poem

      by

      House Democrats on Friday sent a letter to the attorneys representing the estate of Jeffrey Epstein requesting a copy of the so-called “birthday book” that reportedly contains a crude poem and doodle from Donald Trump in celebration of the late sex offender’s 50th birthday.In the letter, California congressmen Ro Khanna and Robert Garcia say the contents of the book may be “essential” to congressional oversight of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein controversy. In the letter, they ask for a “complete and unredacted” copy of the book by 10 August.“The public deserves to know the truth and the survivors and their families deserve justice,” said Khanna, who criticized Congress for leaving Washington early without voting on his bipartisan bill to release the Epstein files.The birthday book is a leather-bound album compiled by Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually traffic minors. It is reportedly filled with birthday greetings from dozens of Epstein’s friends and associates, including, according to the Wall Street Journal, messages from Trump, Bill Clinton and Alan Dershowitz, among other wealthy and powerful men.On Thursday, the New York Times published an image of Maxwell’s dedication in the book.Trump is suing the Journal over its initial report that he contributed a page with an imagined dialogue between “Donald” and “Jeffrey” and a sketch of a naked woman. In his federal lawsuit, Trump called the letter attributed to him “fake and nonexistent”.Khanna and Garcia sent the letter after a lawyer representing hundreds of Epstein’s victims said the estate was in possession of the birthday book. The lawyer, Brad Edwards, said in an interview with the MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell that he believed the estate would turn over the book upon request.“I know the executors are in possession of this book,” Edwards said in the interview.Lawyers for the estate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.“The American people deserve to know who was involved in Epstein’s trafficking network and if they are in positions of power in our government,” Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, said.The Epstein files are at the center of an extraordinary rift between Trump and his Maga base, who have long-demanded the release of documents related to the child sex offender. The White House has failed to quell growing demands from his base for more transparency, while Democrats, out of power in Congress, press the issue to their advantage.Trump and Epstein’s friendship in the 1990s and early 2000s was well-known and well documented. The president has said that he cut ties with Epstein in 2004, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein matter.Earlier this week, the Journal first reported that Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, briefed Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the files related to the investigation.In an attempt to confront the matter, Trump had instructed Bondi to seek the release of grand jury transcripts from an investigation into Epstein. In a setback, a judge in Florida rejected the Trump administration’s request, though a similar case is still pending in New York.In the letter to the Epstein’s estate, the Democrats write that the book is “relevant for ongoing congressional oversight of the Department of Justice’s handling of the Epstein investigation and prosecution, as well as the Trump administration’s decision to declassify and release only a handful of documents from the Epstein files while withholding others from the public”.Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, who is now the deputy attorney general, met with Maxwell in federal prison on Friday and plans to meet her again on Saturday. Maxwell is attempting to have her conviction overturned. More

    • 213 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing’

      by

      Donald Trump continued to face questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein as he landed in Scotland ahead of meeting British prime minister Keir Starmer and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.The US president denied reports that he was briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files after landing on Friday evening local time. He was also asked about the justice department’s questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell and suggestions he might offer her clemency.Trump: “I don’t know anything about the conversation, I haven’t really been following it.”“A lot of people have been asking me about pardons [for Maxwell]. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons” he went on. “You’re making a very big thing over something that’s not a big thing.”Here are the key US politics stories today:Trump deflects Epstein questions as he arrives in Scotland The furore over Donald Trump’s ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued on Friday as new revelations about the pair’s relationship threatened to mire the president’s golfing trip to Scotland, where he arrived late on Friday.After landing at Glasgow Prestwick airport at about 8.30pm local time, the US president denied reports that he had been briefed about his name appearing in files pertaining to the case against the late Epstein. He also said he had not “really been following” the justice department’s interview with Epstein’s convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.Read the full storyVon der Leyen to meet Trump as EU and US close in on trade dealThe EU appears to be on the verge of signing a trade deal with Donald Trump after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced she would meet the US president on Sunday during his four-day trip to Scotland.Trump landed in Scotland on Friday evening before the opening of his new golf course in Aberdeenshire. He said he was also planning to meet the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Saturday.Read the full storyGhislaine Maxwell interviewed again The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, held a second in-person meeting on Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Blanche had confirmed the two met behind closed doors in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday, at the federal prosecutor’s office within the federal courthouse in the state capital, and they met again on Friday.Read the full storyA teenage US citizen secretly recorded his brutal arrestKenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest.Video of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men. The video has put fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used by US law enforcement officials as the Trump administration sets ambitious enforcement targets to detain thousands of immigrants every day.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      The White House has announced that it will release $5.5bn in frozen education funds back to US states. That announcement came on Friday after Donald Trump’s administration decided to abruptly withhold the congressionally approved funds a day before their 1 July release for the 2025-26 school year.

      South Park co-creator Trey Parker had the briefest response to anger from the White House over this season’s premiere, which showed a naked Trump in bed with Satan.

      Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on administrative leave on Friday, fueling speculation that the Trump administration was retaliating against them for actions taken during the president’s first term.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened on 24 July 2025. More

    • 150 Shares189 Views

      in US Politics

      Feeling flush? Americans can Venmo government to help pay off US debt

      by

      John F Kennedy’s sage words from his inaugural address are forever seared into America’s political consciousness:“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”Six decades and some change later, the United States Treasury is keeping Kennedy’s spirit alive by offering Americans with a few dollars collecting dust in their Venmo balance a chance to fulfill a new patriotic duty: helping pay off the national debt.The US treasury department has long had a “Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt” page available for those that dislike traditional charity, feel like they don’t pay enough in taxes, or simply want to help the country stay No 1 in an eclectic list of superlatives that includes military spending, Olympic gold medals, prison population, corn subsidies, and healthcare costs.But the new-age, Gen Z-friendly method of payment is a recent addition, first flagged on Twitter by Planet Money’s Jack Corbett.A bipartisan punching bag that trades sides of the aisle depending on who’s in office and who needs funds earmarked for projects in their state, concern over the national debt is one of few issues that Democrats and Republicans can unite on. Also bipartisan is the debt’s growth, which has increased every year since 2001, when it sat at $10.28tn.As of this writing, the debt has ballooned to $36.72tn.America is on track to continue the trend, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will add $3.4tn to the debt over the coming decade. It is unclear how much money Trump and Elon Musk’s “Doge” saved, although analysis estimates the number at under the advertised $180bn, and a far cry short of the initially advertised $2tn.The federal government spent $6.75tn in Fiscal Year 2024 while collecting $4.92tn in revenue.Highlights of past and present government spending include the $151bn procurement process for the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense project, over $2tn on Lockheed Martin’s long delayed F-35 fighter jet, and roughly $800bn in annual spending on the Pentagon, which recently failed its seventh audit in a row.Kind-hearted Americans have gone above and beyond their regular tax-paying duties contributing around $67.3m since 1996. That’s enough to fund 20 minutes of the US government’s spending habit.If Americans could dig into their couch cushions, eat less takeout, and tighten their belts, they might be able to tackle the problem once and for all. It would only take about $107,000 per person, payable via ACH, Paypal, credit or debit card, and now, Venmo. More

    • 325 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump says it’s ‘no time to be talking about pardons’ for Ghislaine Maxwell as he lands in Scotland ahead of UK and EU talks – live

      by

      Speaking to reporters at Prestwick airport, Trump denied reports that he was briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files.Asked about the justice department’s questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump said: “I don’t know anything about the conversation, I haven’t really been following it.”“A lot of people have been asking me about pardons [for Maxwell]. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons” he went on. “You’re making a very big thing over something that’s not a big thing.”He then deflects further, suggesting the media should talk about Clinton and the ex-president of Harvard, but “don’t talk about Trump”.Donald Trump has arrived at his Turnberry golf resort on the coast of Ayrshire, in south-west Scotland.His motorcade, escorted by Police Scotland vehicles and ambulance crews, drove past a small group of protesters, and at least one supporter.While Trump has spoken fondly of Scotland, where his mother was born and raised, the country has not always returned his warmth.During a previous visit, in 2018, Trump was greeted at his Turnberry resort by a Greenpeace activist who paraglided directly over his head trailing a banner that read: “Trump: Well Below Par”.Ahead of his visit, one local newspaper, the National, which supports independence for Scotland, ran a preview of the visit with the headline: “Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland – Republican leader, who was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, will visit golf courses”.In his remarks to reporters at Prestwick airport earlier, Donald Trump was asked about his scheduled talks with UK prime minister Keir Starmer, which the White House has used to portray his mainly golf-themed truip as a working visit.“Can you explain”, a reporter asked Trump on the tarmac outside Air Force One, “what is missing in the UK deal that you have to work out?”“Nothing”, Trump replied. “I think it’s more of a celebration than a workout. It’s a great deal for both, and we’re going to have a meeting on other things, other than the deal. The deal is concluded”.Trump previously suggested that the talks were to “refine” the US-UK trade deal. Starmer told Bloomberg News in an interview on Thursday that the UK is still pressing for “full implementation” of the deal with the US.The sticking point appears to be that while Trump agreed to cut US tariffs on steel imports from the UK that currently stand at 25%, the tariffs have not yet been lifted.In response to the House ethics committee’s report into Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance of the Met Gala four years ago, her chief of staff Mike Casca said:“The Congresswoman appreciates the Committee finding that she made efforts to ensure her compliance with House Rules and sought to act consistently with her ethical requirements as a Member of the House. She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she’s done at each step in this process.”The House ethics committee has ordered progressive Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to pay nearly $3,000 to resolve an investigation into her attendance of the 2021 Met Gala in New York City.The inquiry began in 2022 following an allegation that Ocasio-Cortez accepted impermissible gifts when she attended the annual gala wearing a white floor-length gown with “Tax the Rich” written on the back.In its bipartisan report released today, the ethics committee determined that despite making “significant attempts” to comply with congressional rules around accepting gifts, Ocasio-Cortez failed to do so “fully” by “impermissibly” accepting free admission to the gala for her partner, and did not pay full market price for some of what she wore to the event.The committee found that a former campaign staff member tried to lower the congresswoman’s costs for attending the gala and made late payments to vendors involved. While it faulted Ocasio-Cortez for not properly supervising the staffer, the committee “did not find evidence that she intended to seek to lower the cost of goods provided to her or to delay payment for those goods and other services received.”The committee determined that they will close the matter and Ocasio-Cortez will not face sanctions if she donates the $250 cost of her partner’s meal, and pays $2,733.28 to the designer from which she rented the dress and accessories.A former Department of Justice lawyer has provided evidence to a justice department watchdog corroborating explosive claims that Emil Bove and other top officials wilfully and knowingly defied court orders, according to Whistleblower Aid, a non-profit representing the person.A top department official and Donald Trump’s former defense attorney, Bove is currently being considered for a lifetime seat on the federal bench.Whistleblower Aid said it was not identifying its client. They said the person had turned over “ substantive, internal DoJ documents” to the justice department’s inspector general. The evidence, the organization said, corroborate allegations from Erez Reuveni, a fired DoJ employee, who has publicly said that Bove told DoJ lawyers to defy the courts.“What we’re seeing here is something I never thought would be possible on such a wide scale: federal prosecutors appointed by the Trump Administration intentionally presenting dubious if not outright false evidence to a court of jurisdiction in cases that impact a person’s fundamental rights not only under our constitution, but their natural rights as humans,” said Andrew Bakaj, chief counsel at Whistleblower Aid.“Our client and Mr Reuveni are true patriots – prioritizing their commitment to democracy over advancing their careers.”Trump also said a trade deal with the European Union would be a big agreement and repeated his view that there was a “good 50-50 chance” for it.“With the European Union, we have a good 50-50 chance,” he told reporters. “That would be the biggest deal of them all if we make it.”He is due to meet with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday to discuss trade.Speaking to reporters at Prestwick airport, Trump denied reports that he was briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files.Asked about the justice department’s questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump said: “I don’t know anything about the conversation, I haven’t really been following it.”“A lot of people have been asking me about pardons [for Maxwell]. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons” he went on. “You’re making a very big thing over something that’s not a big thing.”He then deflects further, suggesting the media should talk about Clinton and the ex-president of Harvard, but “don’t talk about Trump”.The US president was greeted by Scottish secretary Ian Murray as he walked off Air Force One at Prestwick airport.The pair could be seen shaking hands at the bottom of the aircraft stairs before Donald Trump walked across to a group of journalists to answer questions.Air Force One has just landed in Scotland. I’ll bring you any key lines here if Donald Trump speaks to the media.Disgraced former US representative George Santos reported to a federal prison in New Jersey earlier today to begin serving a seven-year sentence for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress.The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to the Associated Press that the New York Republican was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey.Santos pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for deceiving donors and stealing people’s identities in order to fund his congressional campaign.Lawyers for Santos didn’t respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.The ever-online Santos, 37, hosted a farewell party for himself on X last night.“Well, darlings … The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” he wrote in a post afterwards. “From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried … most days.”In a Thursday interview with Al Arabiya, a Saudi state-owned news organization, Santos said he’ll serve his sentence in a minimum-security prison “camp” that he described as a “big upgrade” from the medium-security lockup he was initially assigned to.In April, a federal judge declined to give Santos a lighter two-year sentence that he sought, saying she was unconvinced he was truly remorseful. In the weeks before his sentencing, Santos said he was “profoundly sorry” for his crimes, but he also complained frequently that he was a victim of a political witch hunt and prosecutorial overreach.Santos lied extensively about his life story both before and after entering the US Congress, where he was the first openly LGBTQ+ Republican elected to the body. He was ultimately convicted of defrauding donors.He has apparently been holding out hope that his unwavering support for Donald Trump might help him win a last-minute reprieve.The White House said this week that it “will not comment on the existence or nonexistence” of any clemency request.A senior justice department official has told NBC News that attorney general Pam Bondi is still healing from a torn cornea, but it has not prevented her from doing day-to-day work and meeting with staff.The update comes after Bondi abruptly canceled a scheduled appearance on Wednesday at CPAC’s anti-trafficking summit in Washington, citing recovery from a health issue.As all the political firestorm over the Epstein saga continues to dominate the news cycle and consume Washington, there has been much online chatter about Bondi’s whereabouts.She was last seen on Tuesday morning swearing in the new DEA administrator Terry Cole at the justice department.NewsNation reports that following the conclusion of the DOJ interviews, David Oscar Markus, Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney, said they were “very grateful” for the opportunity.Markus said:
      This was a thorough, comprehensive interview by the deputy attorney general. No person and no topic were off-limits. We are very grateful. The truth will come out.
      Some more detail on that from the Tallahassee Democrat.David Oscar Markus, Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney declined to say whether Donald Trump was the focus of any of the Department of Justice’s questions during the interviewing sessions that have taken place behind closed doors at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee over the last two days.“I’m just not going to talk about the substance,” Markus said.Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche had asked Maxwell “every possible question”, Markus said. “He did a really good job and asked her a lot of things.” More

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump deflects Epstein questions as he arrives in Scotland for trade talks

      by

      The furore over Donald Trump’s ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued on Friday as new revelations about the pair’s relationship threatened to mire the president’s golfing trip to Scotland, where he arrived late on Friday.After landing at Glasgow Prestwick airport at about 8.30pm local time on Friday, the US president denied reports that he had been briefed about his name appearing in files pertaining to the case against the late Epstein. He also claimed he had not “really been following” the justice department’s interview with Epstein’s convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.“A lot of people have been asking me about pardons” for Maxwell, Trump said. “Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons.“You’re making a very big thing over something that’s not a big thing.”Trump’s name appeared on a contributor list for a book celebrating Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, according to reporting from the New York Times, lending further weight to reports that the president participated in the leather-bound collection of messages, drawings and accolades – even though he denied that he contributed a signed and sexually suggestive note and drawing, as reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.Trump’s name is listed among Epstein’s friends and acquaintances who contributed birthday messages for the professionally bound book which reportedly had multiple volumes, the New York Times reported. The tome opens with a handwritten letter, also reviewed by the outlet, from the disgraced financier’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for conspiring to sexually traffic children.Maxwell had a second meeting on Friday with the US deputy attorney general and Trump’s former personal criminal defense attorney, Todd Blanche, in Florida, where she is serving her prison term – following an initial face-to-face on Thursday.Trump was asked about Maxwell on Friday morning as he departed for Scotland with the shadow of the rumbling Epstein scandal hanging over the visit.Maxwell is appealing her conviction and the US president did not get into detail when asked about possible clemency for the disgraced British socialite and daughter of the late newspaper proprietor Robert Maxwell. Trump cited the ongoing investigation, while confirming he had the power of the presidential pardon, which can be used for federal or national level crimes but not state level.“I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about,” Trump told reporters outside the White House as he prepared to depart Washington DC.When he arrived in Scotland, a large crowd was on hand, and some looking on reportedly applauded him.He was greeted by Scottish secretary of state, Ian Murray, as he walked off Air Force One. The pair were seen shaking hands at the bottom of the aircraft stairs before Trump walked across the tarmac to a group of journalists to answer questions.Trump planned to spend the weekend at one of his golf properties near Turnberry. Early next week, he will be visiting Aberdeen, where his family has one golf course and is getting ready to open a second course soon.Trump plans to meet with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to talk trade, amid his continual threats of imposing steep tariffs on US trading partners.But none of that could overshadow Epstein, whose birthday gift collection includes about five dozen contributions from public figures and unknown acquaintances, according to documents reviewed by the Times and the Wall Street Journal, and was assembled before Epstein’s first arrest in 2006.The birthday book controversy has deepened anger over the decision by Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, and FBI director, Kash Patel, to backtrack on promises to release the Epstein investigative files.Trump has responded to the growing backlash from his usually loyal supporters – and Democrats – over the U-turn with mounting fury, claiming that news reports over the birthday book were fake news.Last week, Trump sued Journal’s billionaire owner, Rupert Murdoch, publisher Dow Jones and two Journal reporters for libel and slander over claims that he sent Epstein a signed lewd letter and sketch of a naked woman as part of the birthday book.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair,” the Journal reported of the alleged drawing. The letter allegedly concluded: “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”Trump followed the lawsuit, which seeks $10bn in damages, by barring Journal reporters from this weekend’s trip to Scotland.He also called for relevant grand jury testimony in the prosecution of Epstein to be publicly released, insisting that he had nothing to hide. On Wednesday, a district judge in Florida denied a request by Trump’s Department of Justice to unseal the transcripts.Congress was sent home early for summer recess by the House speaker and Trump loyalist, Mike Johnson, in an effort to quell Democratic party demands for a vote on the Epstein files.But Trump’s desire to play down his relationship with Epstein has been repeatedly thwarted by a steady drip of evidence – photos, videos, books and witnesses – that strongly suggest his name could appear in the files.Earlier this week, CNN published newly uncovered photos and videos that show Epstein at Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples, and the pair at a Victoria’s Secret event in 1993, seemingly joking with Trump’s future wife, Melania Trump.The New York Times then reported that even before the birthday anthology, Trump had written another gushing note to Epstein in 1997. “To Jeff – You are the greatest!” reads an inscription in a copy of Trump’s book Trump: The Art of the Comeback that belonged to Epstein, which the Times said it had reviewed.And the Journal reported more details on the birthday book, which Epstein’s brother Mark Epstein recalls Maxwell putting together.The contents page was organized into categories, with Trump and Bill Clinton listed under the “Friends” group, according to the Journal. A message in Clinton’s distinctive handwriting reportedly read: “It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friend.”Also listed as a friend is the Labour politician and current UK ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, whose tribute, the Journal reported, included photos of whiskey and a tropical island, and referred to Epstein as “my best pal”.Clinton has previously said that he cut ties with Epstein more than a decade before his 2019 arrest and didn’t know about Epstein’s alleged crimes. In 2023, Mandelson told the Journal that he “very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein”.A House committee on Wednesday voted to subpoena the justice department for the Epstein investigation files, with three Republicans voting alongside Democratic members. Democratic representative Ro Khanna of California has said he will subpoena Epstein’s estate to hand over the book. More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      ‘Deterrence is boring’: the US troops at sharp end of Trump’s border crackdown

      by

      Inside an armored vehicle, an army scout uses a joystick to direct a long-range optical scope toward a man perched atop the US-Mexico border wall cutting across the hills of this Arizona frontier community.The man lowers himself toward US soil between coils of concertina wire. Shouts ring out, an alert is sounded and a US Customs and Border Protection SUV races toward the wall – warning enough to send the man scrambling back over it, disappearing into Mexico.The sighting on Tuesday was one of only two for the army infantry unit patrolling this sector of the southern border, where an emergency declaration by Donald Trump has thrust the military into a central role in deterring migrant crossings at US ports of entry.“Deterrence is actually boring,” said 24-year-old Sgt Ana Harker-Molina, giving voice to the tedium felt by some fellow soldiers over the sporadic sightings. Still, she said she takes pride in the work, knowing that troops discourage crossings by their mere presence.“Just if we’re sitting here watching the border, it’s helping our country,” said Harker-Molina, an immigrant herself who came from Panama at age 12 and became a US citizen two years ago while serving in the army.View image in fullscreenUS troop deployments at the border have tripled to 7,600 and include every branch of the military – even as the number of attempted illegal crossings has plummeted and Trump has authorized funding for an additional 3,000 border patrol agents, offering $10,000 signing and retention bonuses.The military mission is guided from a new command center at a remote army intelligence training base alongside southern Arizona’s Huachuca mountains. There, a community hall has been transformed into a bustling war room of battalion commanders and staff with digital maps pinpointing military camps and movements along the nearly 2,000-mile border.Until now, border enforcement had been the domain of civilian law enforcement, with the military only intermittently stepping in. But in April, large swaths of the border were designated militarized zones, empowering US troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing on army, air force or navy bases, and authorizing additional criminal charges that can mean prison time.The two-star general leading the mission says troops are being untethered from maintenance and warehouse tasks to work closely with border patrol agents in high-traffic areas for illegal crossings – and to deploy rapidly to remote, unguarded terrain.View image in fullscreen“We don’t have a [labor] union, there’s no limit on how many hours we can work in a day, how many shifts we can man,” said Maj Gen Scott Naumann of the army. “I can put soldiers out whenever we need to in order to get after the problem and we can put them out for days at a time; we can fly people into incredibly remote areas now that we see the cartels shifting” course.At Nogales, army scouts patrolled the border in full battle gear – helmet, M5 service rifle, bullet-resistant vest – with the right to use deadly force if attacked under standing military rules integrated into the border mission. Underfoot, smugglers for decades routinely attempted to tunnel into stormwater drains to ferry contraband into the US.Naumann’s command post oversees an armada of 117 armored Stryker vehicles, more than 35 helicopters, and a half-dozen long-distance drones that can survey the border day and night with sensors to pinpoint people wandering the desert. Marine Corps engineers are adding concertina wire to slow crossings, as the Trump administration reboots border wall construction.Naumann said the focus is on stopping “got-aways” who evade authorities to disappear into the US in a race against the clock that can last seconds in urban areas as people vanish into smuggling vehicles, or several days in the dense wetland thickets of the Rio Grande or the vast desert and mountainous wilderness of Arizona.Meanwhile, the rate of apprehensions at the border has fallen to a 60-year low.View image in fullscreenNaumann says the falloff in illegal entries is the “elephant in the room” as the military increases pressure and resources aimed at starving smuggling cartels – including Latin American gangs recently designated as foreign terrorist organizations.He says it would be wrong to let up, though, and that crossings may rebound with the end of scorching summer weather.“We’ve got to keep going after it; we’re having some successes, we are trending positively,” he said of the mission with no fixed end date.The Trump administration is using the military broadly to boost its immigration operations.“It’s all part of the same strategy that is a very muscular, robust, intimidating, aggressive response to this – to show his base that he was serious about a campaign promise to fix immigration,” said Dan Maurer, a law professor at Ohio Northern University and a retired army judge advocate officer. “It’s both norm-breaking and unusual. It puts the military in a very awkward position.”View image in fullscreenThe militarized zones at the border sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that prohibits the military from conducting civilian law enforcement on US soil.“It’s in that gray area. It may be a violation – it may not be. The military’s always had the authority to arrest people and detain them on military bases,” said Joshua Kastenberg, a professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law and a former air force judge.Michael Fisher, a security consultant and former chief of the border patrol from 2010 to 2016, calls the military expansion at the border a “force multiplier” as border patrol agents increasingly turn up far from the border.“The military allows border patrol to be able to flex into other areas where they typically would not be able to do so,” he said.At daybreak on Wednesday in Arizona, Spc Luisangel Nito scanned a valley with an infrared scope that highlights body heat, spotting three people as they crossed illegally into the US, in preparation for the border patrol to apprehend them. Nito’s unit also has equipment that can ground small drones used by smugglers to plot entry routes.View image in fullscreenNito is the US-born son of Mexican immigrants who entered the country in the 1990s through the same valleys he now patrols.“They crossed right here,” he said. “They told me to just be careful because back when they crossed they said it was dangerous.”Nito’s parents returned to Mexico in 2008 amid the financial crisis, but the soldier saw brighter opportunities in the US, returned and enlisted. He expressed no reservations about his role in detaining undocumented immigrants.“Obviously it’s a job, right, and then I signed up for it and I’m going to do it,” he said. More

    • 113 Shares139 Views

      in US Politics

      Ghislaine Maxwell interviewed again by deputy US attorney general

      by

      The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, held a second in-person meeting on Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Blanche had confirmed the two met behind closed doors in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday, at the federal prosecutor’s office within the federal courthouse in the state capital, and they met again on Friday.Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, on Friday afternoon said Blanche had finished his questioning for the day, NBC News first reported.Markus told reporters as he left the courthouse in downtown Tallahassee: “We started this morning right around 9 o’clock, and went to now lunchtime, and we’re finished after all day, yesterday and today. Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half. She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability. She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question.”He added: “They asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine. Everything.”The justice department has not said whether Blanche intends to question Maxwell further. Markus said he did not know whether the discussions would have any impact on her case. He had previously said Thursday’s meeting was “very productive”.Blanche had announced earlier in the week that he had contacted Maxwell’s lawyers to see if she might have “information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims”.Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee, after a jury convicted her of sex trafficking in 2021.An uproar continues to engulf Donald Trump and calls have intensified for his administration to release all details of the federal investigation into Epstein, while questions remain about whether Maxwell has any fresh light to shed on her former boyfriend’s crimes.Meanwhile, the US supreme court is due to wade into the controversy and decide whether to hear a bid by Maxwell to overturn her criminal conviction.Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a jail cell in New York while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to Epstein, headed to Scotland on Friday for a trip that will mix golf with politics mostly out of public view. Protests await the president in the UK over his extreme agenda while scandal nips at his heels in the US.Further talking to reporters after Friday’s meeting, Markus said: “We don’t know how it’s going to play out. We just know that this was the first opportunity she’s ever been given to answer questions about what happened, and so the truth will come out about what happened with Mr Epstein. And she’s the person who’s answering those questions.”Prosecutors and the judge who oversaw Maxwell’s 2021 trial have said that she made multiple false statements under oath and failed to take responsibility for her actions. She was convicted for sex trafficking and other crimes, and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.“People have questioned her honesty, which I think is just wrong,” Markus said.Asked if Maxwell had received an offer of clemency from the government, Markus said no offer had been made.Although the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, earlier this year had promised to release additional materials related to possible Epstein clients, the justice department reversed course this month and issued a memo concluding there was no basis to continue investigating and there was no evidence of a client list or blackmail.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionSince then, the department has sought permission to unseal grand jury transcripts from its prior investigations into Epstein and Maxwell.On Wednesday, US district judge Robin Rosenberg denied one of those requests.Trump’s name, along with many other high-profile individuals, appeared multiple times on flight logs for Epstein’s private plane in the 1990s, while several media outlets have this month reported previously unpublicized and friendly communications from the US president to the high-profile financier.Meanwhile, the supreme court justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up the appeal by Maxwell against her conviction in 2021 by a jury in New York for helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.Maxwell’s lawyers have told the supreme court that her conviction was invalid because a non-prosecution and plea agreement that federal prosecutors had made with Epstein in Florida in 2007 also shielded his associates and should have barred her criminal prosecution in New York. Her lawyers have a Monday deadline for filing their final written brief in their appeal to the court.Some legal experts see merit in Maxwell’s claim, noting that it touches on an unsettled matter of US law that has divided some of the nation’s regional federal appeals courts.Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said there was a chance that the supreme court would take up the case, and noted the disagreement among appeals courts. Such a split among circuit courts can be a factor when the nation’s top judicial body considers whether or not to hear a case.“The question of whether a plea agreement from one US attorney’s office binds other federal prosecution as a whole is a serious issue that has split the circuits,” Epner said.While uncommon, “there have been several cases presenting the issue over the years”, Epner added.The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting More