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      Who can tame Trump? An unlikely candidate is emerging: the Catholic church | Simon Tisdall

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      The supreme court can’t do it – it’s packed with conservatives who owe him their jobs. Congress won’t do it – Republicans slavishly follow his orders, Democrats are ill-led and divided. For today’s White House, the concept of constitutional limits on executive power is a quaint relic. The news media, or sections of it, does its best amid constant legal threats. But, too often, they pay him off. Brave reporters who insist on asking awkward questions are insulted or silenced: “Quiet, piggy.”So who will tame Donald Trump? Who will halt his rolling constitutional coup – his ongoing evisceration of US democracy, civil rights, living standards, global reputation and moral integrity? Voters may try to indirectly rein him back in next November’s midterms (as they did recently in New York and elsewhere). But those elections are a year away. The emergency is today.What the US urgently needs now, metaphorically speaking, is a national champion, a sort of modern-day Saint George to slay the dragon, save the people and ensure the triumph of good over evil. Who, in reality, might fill this role of moral saviour?Step forward Leo XIV, the “American pope”, backed by the US conference of Catholic bishops and the clergy and grassroots activists of the Catholic church – unexpected, newly emerging standard-bearers for country-wide resistance to the Trumpist scourge. The bishops threw down the gauntlet in a “special message” this month. Inequality, immigration and civil rights are the battlegrounds on which the church, and some other Christian denominations, have begun to fight.“We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanising rhetoric and violence,” the statement said. Citing the brutal tactics of immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agents, the bishops deplored the “climate of fear” created by Trump’s policies, the profiling of vulnerable citizens, shocking conditions in detention centres and lack of access to pastoral care.Expressing a view, rooted in scripture, that Britain’s Labour government and other western countries would do well to heed, they went on: “We recognise that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good.” But creating safe and legal pathways for migrants was the preferable, ethical solution. Human dignity and national security were not in conflict, they said.Chicago-born Leo, increasingly outspoken in opposing Trump’s “inhuman” policies since his election in May, now stands at the head of this clerical revolt. Earlier this month, he demanded ICE rethink its demonisation of migrants – more than 2 million “illegal aliens” have been involuntarily removed this year and record numbers detained, official figures indicate. He criticised lethal US strikes on suspected drug smugglers off Venezuela, warning violence would fail. And he has challenged Trump’s climate-crisis denial, telling Cop30 that God’s creation is “crying out” for action.Organised opposition to Trump among Catholic and other faith groups on the “Christian left” is spreading at grassroots level. From New Jersey to California, parish priests and pastors have led local protests, boycotts and initiatives to counter ICE’s depredations. “Catholics are particularly well positioned to lead such a movement,” wrote Maria J Stephan, a specialist in non-violent civil resistance.About 22% of US adults identify as Catholic and more than four in 10 are immigrants or children of immigrants. “Many Catholics are likely among those now living in fear of masked agents abducting them in unmarked cars to detention centres … Meanwhile, close to three million black Catholics are experiencing attacks on the voting rights act and the weakening of civil rights protections,” Stephan wrote.The church has also launched assaults on Trump’s signature fiscal legislation, accusing him of “unconscionable” cuts in healthcare and food assistance, and unjustifiable tax breaks for the better-off. “Catholic teaching compels the faithful to uphold human dignity. It is hard to conceive of the law as promoting the sanctity of every life when it cuts key programs for the needy and expands tax cuts to the wealthy,” wrote Wheaton College professor of public theology Esau McCaulley.Catholics, like other US religious groups, are far from united in opposing Trump. He won 55% of Catholic votes last year, although support has since dropped sharply. Conservative critics have lampooned Leo as the “woke pope” – a reminder that on abortion and other issues, the Catholic hierarchy often takes an anti-progressive, reactionary stance.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionMore broadly, Christian nationalists and fundamentalists have allied with Trump and authoritarian rightwing populists in Britain and Europe to co-opt, politicise and weaponise religious belief. As in the secular sphere, the divide is stark. “Christian nationalism is particular rather than universal. It is about protecting ‘us’ against ‘them’ – the native versus the immigrant. It is about power more than love. It is about threat more than hope,” wrote commentator David Brooks. He could have been talking about Maga – or Reform UK.Increasingly erratic dictatorial behaviour, violent nihilism, exploitative religious hypocrisy and blatant corruption: this is the challenge facing the US and the world. Is Leo, speaking up for human dignity, decency and faith, the leader whose hour has come? He’s 70. He has the job for life. Trump has three years left in office. If he chooses to use it, Leo has the moral authority, political savvy and international standing to confront Trump, to positive effect, on poverty, inequality, migrants, civil rights, Russia, Palestine and other pressing issues.The American pope could do what others manifestly cannot: shame and tame the monster. To do so, he needs what Trump’s nemesis, the late Pope Francis, prayed for: the support not only of Catholics, but of “all men and women of good will”. That, and maybe a small miracle, too. After all, brave Saint George was martyred.

      Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator More

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      in US Politics

      Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign from Congress in January amid fallout with Trump

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      Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday evening she will be resigning from office effective 5 January 2026, in the wake of souring relations with President Donald Trump, mostly recently over a vote to force the release of files related to the late Jeffrey Epstein.In a four-page statement, the Georgia congresswoman said the legislative branch had been “sidelined” and accused Republican leaders of refusing to advance conservative priorities such as border security or “America First” policies.Until recently, Greene had been one of the most vocal and visible supporters of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, crediting him with inspiring her to run for Congress in 2020. But in recent months, the congresswoman had become a surprising critic of the Trump administration – taking on the president not just over the release of the Epstein files, but also his administration’s support for Israel, and extending expiring Obamacare subsidies. She began questioning whether Trump was truly an “America first” president.“No matter which way the political pendulum swings, Republican or Democrat, nothing ever gets better for the common American man or woman,” Greene said.“When the common American people finally realize and understand that the political industrial complex of both parties is ripping this country apart, that not one elected leader like me is able to stop Washington’s machine from gradually destroying our country, and instead the reality is that they, common Americans, the people, possess the real power over Washington, then I’ll be here by their side to rebuild it.“Until then I’m going back to the people I love, to live life to the fullest as I always have, and look forward to a new path ahead,” Greene added. In a phone conversation with an ABC News reporter, Trump was quoted as saying Greene’s resignation was “great news”. He added that Greene hadn’t given him notice but “it doesn’t matter, you know but I think it’s great. I think she should be happy.”Previously, Trump has called Greene a “traitor” and “wacky” and said he would endorse a challenger against her when she ran for re-election next year. In a social media post last week, Trump speculated that Greene had turned against him because he advised her not to run for Senate and claimed she was “upset that I don’t return her phone calls”. In response, Greene accused Trump of lying and said she believed it was her persistent calls for his administration to release the Epstein files that “sent him over the edge”.Greene did not give House Speaker Mike Johnson advance notice of her resignation, according to NBC News. Her departure in January will narrow Johnson’s already razor-thin majority, leaving him less room to maneuver.Greene explained her decision in a 10-minute social media video posted on X on Friday night.In her resignation statement, she said: “I have fought harder than almost any other elected Republican to elect Donald Trump and Republicans to power … Through it all I have never changed or went back on my campaign promises … America First should mean America First and only Americans First, with no other foreign country ever being attached to America First in our halls of government.”Last week, Greene said she had been contacted by private security firms “with warnings for my safety” after Trump announced he was withdrawing his support for and endorsement of her.In a post on X, Greene said that “a hotbed of threats against me are being fueled and egged on by the most powerful man in the world”, without referring to Trump by name, adding it was “the man I supported and helped get elected”.Greene reiterated these threats in her statement, saying that she has faced “never ending personal attacks, death threats, lawfare, ridiculous slander and lies about me, that most people could never withstand even for a day”.Her resignation comes after months of opinions that go against those of the White House and some of her Republican colleagues. Earlier this month, Trump pushed back against criticism from Greene, saying she had “lost her way” after she accused him of paying too much attention to foreign affairs and not enough to the rising cost of living in the US – points she also addressed in her Friday statement.Greene said she had broken with the US president over several issues, including the issuing of H-1B visas to skilled foreign workers, a ban on AI regulation, “50-year mortgage scams”, involvement in foreign wars, and the release of files related to the crimes of Epstein, the late pedophile Trump socialized with for more than 15 years.“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for,” Greene said.Greene has been an outspoken opponent of Israel’s war on Gaza, with US support, calling it “a genocide”.“If I am cast aside by Maga Inc and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class that can’t even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” Greene said.Her resignation comes halfway through her third term in the US House of Representatives. In her resignation speech, she did not say what she would do next but hinted at a future in politics, saying: “When the common American people finally realize and understand that the Political Industrial Complex of both parties is ripping this country apart … [and] that they, common Americans, The People, possess the real power over Washington, then I’ll be here by their side to rebuild it.”Political strategist Shermichael Singleton said Greene might be “looking at future plan”.“If I were advising her, hey, you might be able to get through this brief moment in time,” Singleton told CNN. “But perhaps she thought otherwise. Maybe she’s looking at future plans. But this is a big shocker.”Trump won her district in the 2024 presidential race with 68% of the vote; Greene won re-election with 64%. Despite strong support for Trump, voters in Greene’s district seemed to be unaffected by the representative’s scuffle with the president, according to NBC News. More

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      in US Politics

      Trump calls Marjorie Taylor Greene resignation ‘great news for the country’

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      Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican Georgia congresswoman who had a dramatic blow-up with Donald Trump despite being his longtime ally, announced on Friday she would be resigning – which the president called “great news”.“Loyalty should be a two-way street,” Greene said in a lengthy resignation statement shared on social media, adding that it was “unfair and wrong” that Trump turned on her for disagreeing with him.Trump, who last week announced he was withdrawing his support of Greene, appeared to celebrate her resignation. “I think it’s great news for the country. It’s great,” he told an ABC News reporter.When asked if Greene had informed him, Trump said: “Nah, it doesn’t matter, you know, but I think it’s great. I think she should be happy.”Greene had said last week she was the subject of “a hotbed of threats” after Trump withdrew his support for and endorsement of her.Greene reiterated those threats in her statement, saying she had faced “never-ending personal attacks, death threats, lawfare, ridiculous slander and lies about me, that most people could never withstand even for a day”.Texas congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat, posted on social media: “I’m going to be honest … I didn’t see this coming but the threats that come with being on the opposite side of Trump ARE REAL!”The move sent shockwaves through US politics. The Republican political strategist Shermichael Singleton called it “a big shocker”.“Maybe she’s looking at future plans,” Singleton told CNN.Greene may have an ally in Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, who worked with her to pass the bill to release the files related to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein.“MTG is likely to be a formidable 2028 candidate,” Khanna told NBC News. “Her stances on Epstein, on regulating AI, and anti-war are more in touch with MAGA voters than JD Vance.”Maga influencer Steve Bannon told the New York Times “the House is not big enough” for Greene’s ambitions or personality. “She had her committee assignments pulled by Pelosi in her first term – and rose to be a national figure. We haven’t seen or heard the last of M.T.G,” he wrote in a text message.Some observers couldn’t help but point out the strange turn of events – a one-time Trump ally resigning hours after an Oval Office meeting in which Trump heaped praise on Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor-elect of New York City whom he had called a “100% Communist Lunatic”.“Trump glazed Mamdani so hard Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned from Congress,” Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democratic National Committee vice chair, wrote on X.Salleigh Grubbs, who used to chair the party in Cobb County – which overlaps with Greene’s 14th congressional district in north-west Georgia, said she was “heartbroken”. “MTG put it all on the line time after time. She fought for her district and put America First. What more could anyone have wanted?” she wrote on X.Shawn Harris, a Georgia Democrat running for Congress in Greene’s solidly Republican district, sought to rally supporters in response to the announcement.“As you’ve likely heard, Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced her resignation effective January 5, 2026,” Harris said in a post on social media on Friday. “Get ready Georgia! Teachers, farmers, veterans, EVERYONE, I need your support.”“Her split with Trump made her an even bigger national sensation,” reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia’s biggest newspaper, in its coverage of her resignation. More

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      in US Politics

      Trump says he is ending immigration protections for Somalis in Minnesota

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      Donald Trump said on Friday night he was “immediately” terminating temporary legal protections for Somali migrants living in Minnesota, further targeting a program seeking to limit deportations that his administration has already repeatedly sought to weaken.Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali community. Many fled the long civil war in their east African country and were drawn to the state’s welcoming social programs.But how many migrants would be affected by Trump’s announcement that he wants to end temporary protected status could be very small. A report produced for Congress in August put the number of Somalis covered by the program at just 705 nationwide.Congress created the program granting temporary protective status in 1990. It was meant to prevent deportations of people to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil strife or other dangerous conditions.The designation can be granted by the homeland security secretary and is granted in 18-month increments.The president announced his decision on his social media site, suggesting that Minnesota was “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity”.“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from,” Trump wrote. “It’s OVER!”Trump promised while campaigning to win back the White House last year that his administration would deport millions of people. As part of a broader push to adopt hardline immigration policies, the Trump administration has moved to withdraw various protections that had allowed immigrants to remain in the United States and work legally.That included ending TPS for 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians who were granted protection under President Joe Biden. The Trump administration has also sought to limit protections previously extended to migrants from Cuba and Syria, among other countries. More

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      in US Politics

      I ❤ NY: Queens recognises Queens as Trump gives Mamdani warm reception

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      The armies of lefty America and of Maga were assembled ready to watch their champions do battle. After all, Donald Trump had called Zohran Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “total nut job.” The incoming democratic socialist New York mayor in turn had called the Republican US president a “despot” and “fascist”.But anyone expecting to see fists fly and shirts torn in the Oval Office was in for a disappointment. Trump, 79, and 34-year-old Mamdani actually got on rather well. In fact beautifully, bewilderingly, bizarrely well. Instead of Batman v Superman, this was Toy Story besties Woody and Buzz Lightyear.Perhaps the old left v right binaries really are dead. This was a case of game recognising game – of Queens recognising Queens. Trump is now on much better terms with Zohran Mamdani than Marjorie Taylor Greene, his fellow Republican. Mamdani got a warmer reception from Trump than from the leaders of his own party – a world turned upside down.The buddy movie began with Trump sitting behind the Resolute Desk and Mamdani standing to his side, a statuette of George Washington behind him. “We have one thing in common – we want this city of ours that we love to do very well,” the president said, referring to New York.He added: “I think you’re going to have hopefully a really great mayor. The better he does – the happier I am. I will say there’s no difference in party, there’s no difference in anything, and we’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York.”That great thud was the sound of White House reporters’ jaws hitting the floor of the Oval Office. That shredding noise was the sound of Republican strategists destroying their playbook to demonise Mamdani as the Marxist face of the Democrats.The bromance – as incongruous as Trump laughing and joking with Barack Obama at Jimmy Carter’s funeral – went on with plenty of tactile body language. Mamdani, who will be the first Muslim mayor of New York and once proclaimed himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,” reported: “It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers.”Once reporters started asking questions, Trump acknowledged that Mamdani has views that are “out there” but predicted he is “going to change” and “is going to surprise some conservative people, actually”.Both men noted that some Mamdani voters had also voted for Trump. The democratic socialist said it was because of “cost of living, cost of living, cost of living” – and he looked forward to delivering with the president on “the affordability agenda”. Trump acknowledged: “Some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have.”So when Mamdani was asked about his past description of Trump as a despot with a fascist agenda, he artfully pivoted from points of disagreement back to affordability. The president then interjected: “And I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting.”What would count as an insult these days? Totalitarian? Tyrant? Dictator? Führer? When a Fox News reporter asked if Mamdani stood by his comments that Trump is a fascist, Trump interjected before he could fully answer the question.“That’s OK. You can just say yes. OK?” Trump said, patting Mamdani affectionately on the arm. “It’s easier … than explaining it. I don’t mind.”Cute – but historians may opine that a US president lightly shrugging off the term fascist was not a stellar moment in the history of the republic.Trump jumped in again when a reporter asked Mamdani why he flew to Washington instead of taking a train, which uses less fossil fuels. “I’ll stick up for you,” the president said, before saying flying was faster and Mamdani was busy.And when someone asked about Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a staunch Trump ally running for governor of New York state, having branded Mamdani “a jihadist”, the president said he did not agree, calling him “a very rational person”.One can imagine Stefanik being reached for comment and saying, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”Indeed, it was hard to get a wafer between Mamdani and Trump. The president, who had previously threatened to strip federal funding from the biggest US city if Mamdani won the 4 November mayor’s race, said: “I expect to be helping him not hurting him – a big help. Because I want New York City to be great.”Asked if he would feel comfortable living in New York under a Mamdani administration, the billionaire Trump responded: “Yeah, I would, I really would – especially after the meeting, absolutely. We agree on a lot more than I would have thought.”He elaborated by saying they had discussed how, when democratic socialist Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2016 presidential race, Trump picked up “a lot” of his voters on his way to the first of his two presidencies because Sanders had raised issues such as rip-off trade deals. “Bernie Sanders and I agreed on much more than people thought,” Trump said.The comment implied that the far left and far right ends of the political spectrum are not at opposite ends in a straight line but rather curve toward each other like the ends of a horseshoe. Hence Trump and Mamdani might have more in common than they do with the establishment moderates of their own parties.Certainly both channeled frustration with the status quo and the elites. But as Trump courts oligarchs, plans a lavish ballroom and enriches his own family, his claim to economic populism is hard to swallow.Perhaps his warm handshake with Mamdani on Friday was less about ideology than Trump’s love of a winner leaving the president willing to flatter the mayor-elect.As Trump put it: “It’s an amazing thing that he did.”Perhaps the president recognises a fellow savant when it comes to insurgent election campaigns. Or perhaps two New Yorkers sitting in a room and saying I ❤ NY is a language no one else can quite understand. More

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      in Elections

      Trump’s DoJ investigating unfounded claims Venezuela helped steal 2020 election

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      Federal investigators have been interviewing multiple people who are pushing unfounded claims that Venezuela helped steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump, the Guardian has learned.Two promoters of the conspiracy theory have repeatedly briefed the US attorney for the district of Puerto Rico, W Stephen Muldrow, and have shared witnesses and documents with officials, according to four sources. Muldrow declined to comment.In addition to the Puerto Rico talks, people pushing the conspiracy have been interviewed by federal investigators for a federal taskforce in Tampa which is looking at Venezuelan drug trafficking and money laundering, four sources told the Guardian. The US attorney’s office in Tampa declined to comment.An investigation of this sort underscores how Trump’s justice department is becoming a major weapon in the president’s efforts to rewrite the history of his 2020 loss – while potentially strengthening the administration’s case for military action against Venezuela.While there were a variety of conspiracy theories that helped fuel Donald Trump’s 2020 “Stop the Steal” movement – dead voters, stolen, fraudulent or forged ballots, and secret computer servers in Germany – the purported influence of Venezuela was always a central claim. It asserted that electronic voting in the US was secretly controlled by the impoverished regime, both by President Nicolás Maduro and his deceased predecessor Hugo Chávez.Not only was it bizarre on its face, but a judge in Delaware ruled it false in 2023, and Fox News, Newsmax and OAN later paid a total of hundreds of millions in total damages in defamation claims. At heart, the theory was that Smartmatic, which had the contract for electronic voting machines in Los Angeles, and Dominion, which ran voting in many other parts of the country, had been created or influenced by Venezuela to fix elections.The revival of the claim appears to bind together two themes: Trump’s consistent “rigged election” complaints, and his antagonism to Venezuela’s socialist regime.With a military buildup in the Caribbean and increased sabre-rattling from the Trump administration towards Maduro, the unfounded election-rigging theories could provide another rationale for military action against Maduro.‘Very receptive’How could a discredited conspiracy theory, be investigated as a plausible case by the US justice department five years after it first bubbled up?The story starts with two unique characters who claim to have been pursuing the election claims for years: Gary Berntsen and Martin Rodil. They have become sources for the Trump camp and ultimately for investigators and have promoted two major allegations about Venezuela, as the reporters Seth Hettena and Jonathan Larsen have written on Substack.The first theme links Tren de Aragua, the street gang Trump has designated as a terrorist organization, closer to Maduro. The other major theme Berntsen and Rodil promoted was the old voting conspiracy and the allegations that Venezuela helped rig elections worldwide.Berntsen is a former CIA case officer who came to the public eye even before writing a book in 2006 about his hunt for Osama bin Laden. “A formidable guy, a warrior, no question,” said one former official who knew him.Berntsen projects the plainspoken demeanor of an expert with field experience battling an intransigent bureaucracy. He is also a fierce champion of Trump and of an invasion of Venezuela.“I don’t dabble in conspiracy theories,” Berntsen wrote in a message to the Guardian. “I spent my life defending our country and constitution. I led many major operations and investigations and saved many lives.”He added: “The Department of Justice and FBI and key White House Staff are investigating and coordinating efforts to defend our system and charge those guilty of Stealing Elections and violating other laws accountable for their actions.”Rodil is a Venezuelan expatriate based in Washington, and says he has been a consultant to US law enforcement investigating Venezuelan crime for 20 years. A close associate of his said he specializes in recruiting Venezuelan informants and witnesses for US cases.The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported in 2022 that Rodil was under investigation in Spain for extorting three Venezuelans there, trying to get money in exchange for influencing US authorities on cases. It is unclear what happened to that case.Rodil told the Guardian it was false, and said those who accused him were charged in the US.Even before Trump’s return to office earlier this year, the sources say Berntsen and Rodil have been feeding information, documents and witnesses about the voting claims to Muldrow, the US attorney out of Puerto Rico and to an organized crime taskforce called Panama Express, or Panex, which is based out of Tampa.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionSources familiar with the relationship between Muldrow, Berntsen and Rodil say there has been extensive cooperation on the matter. “They work together. Muldrow has been very receptive,” one of the sources said of the voting allegations. That source said there had been multiple briefings in Puerto Rico.Muldrow is one of the few US attorneys to have kept a job after Trump took over the White House. First appointed by Trump in 2019, he stayed in office during Biden’s term. He is a staunch Republican and Trump supporter, say two people who know him. Muldrow spent a good portion of his career in Tampa, and one source who knows him says he has a good working relationship with Pam Bondi, the current Trump US attorney general. She was the Florida state AG while Muldrow was based in the Tampa US attorney’s office.Several sources said Muldrow had turned over information to the Panex taskforce which used to focus primarily on the drug flow from Colombia but was now targeting Venezuela as well.This is now the taskforce working directly with Rodil and Berntsen, they say.In response to detailed questions, Muldrow emailed the Guardian: “In accordance with Department of Justice policies, I am not able to provide you with a comment.”Rodil told the Guardian that allegations involving so-called election integrity issues were incidental to conversations with Muldrow, rather than the central point of the briefings. He protested that while one witness talked about Smartmatic and election integrity, that was not the substance of Muldrow’s interest, and he said Muldrow only heard a portion of the evidence involving faked election results.Berntsen wrote in a message to the Guardian that “indictments are going to be released in the near future,” and said he and his colleagues believe that “your goal is to discredit the claims against Smartmatic and Dominion, the entities linked to a massive criminal cartel that stole US elections and elections worldwide.”‘Trump knows they need to be stopped’Ralph Pezzullo, the co-author of Berntsen’s 2006 book, is a true believer in the conspiracy theories Berntsen and Rodil are promoting now.In September, Pezzullo published an e-book called Stolen Elections: the Takedown of Democracies Worldwide, which described the Venezuela conspiracy theories, and is based on the accounts of Berntsen and Modil and witnesses they introduced to Pezzulo.Pezzullo wrote that the US voting was a “system created in Venezuela – and still electronically linked to Venezuela – that is designed to steal elections by remotely altering results”.Pezzullo said he too had spoken to Muldrow about the allegations. Pezzullo told the Guardian that his phone call with Muldrow was set up by Berntsen and claimed Muldrow assured him that the claims of election fraud were correct.“They’ve been attacking the US with the election machines and with the drugs,” Pezullo said, of Venezuela. “Trump knows they need to be stopped.” More

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      in US Politics

      World awaits fresh Epstein cache – but could Trump officials block full release?

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      They are the files that America – and the world – has long waited to see: a huge cache of documents at the Department of Justice related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, whom a judge once dubbed the “most infamous pedophile in American history”.After a law passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Wednesday, those documents must now must be released to the American public and a waiting army of journalists. Just like previous Epstein caches they are certain to include damning communications between Epstein and many rich and powerful people in his social circle.Experts interviewed by the Guardian said that the documents are certain to contain fresh revelations about Epstein and his activities and could easily embarrass or damn prominent figures in the worlds of politics, academia, finance and entertainment, including Donald Trump and many others.But at the same time, despite the legal mandate, experts warn that justice department officials could use loopholes to try to stymie a full release, using redactions or withholding crucial documents for a variety of reasons. They warned that even this release of documents could still leave many Epstein questions unanswered and would not provide a full accounting of his crimes or who he socialized and worked with.Under the law signed on Wednesday, Trump’s justice department had 30 days to disclose all files related to Epstein, among them investigative documents into the disgraced financier’s death in jail pending his sex-trafficking trial. The much-awaited disclosure would come in the wake of congressional release of tens of thousands of pages provided by Epstein’s estate.The law allows for redaction of information that could identify victims but bars authorities from redacting information – including names – solely out of concerns that it could embarrass them or harm their reputations, or listen to concerns about political sensitivity. Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, said her department would “follow the law and encourage maximum transparency”.But members of Congress who heralded the law’s passage, plus Epstein victims and transparency advocates, have expressed concerns that these files will not be delivered entirely as required.A provision allowing the justice department to withhold files that could jeopardize current investigations has raised eyebrows as Bondi – at Trump’s direction – has appointed a prosecutor in New York to investigate Bill Clinton, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and other political opponents’ with past associations with Epstein. Neither Clinton nor Hoffman have been accused of misconduct and both have publicly expressed regret for their association with Epstein.Litigation by the news website Radar Online might be the most telling with regard to the investigation exception. In April 2017, Radar Online made a public records request for Epstein investigative files – about a decade after he pleaded guilty to state-level prostitution counts.The FBI did not respond, and Radar sued in May 2017. While the agency said it would process files at a rate of 500 pages monthly, authorities have withheld about 10,000 of more than 11,000 pertinent pages – invoking the law-enforcement proceeding exemption.“The bill allows material to be withheld if it’s connected to a law enforcement investigation, which is the same issue Radar is challenging in court,” a spokesperson for Radar Online told the Guardian. “Given the newly announced investigation the whole thing could be a dud. Our lawsuit is still the best chance of transparency.”Roy Gutterman, director of the Newhouse School’s Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University in New York, said it was difficult to predict what might be in these files.“No matter what is released, even the thousands upon thousands of pages of records, data and information, there will always be questions of what else is out there or what may have been sanitized for political purposes,” Gutterman said. “Lots of people are talking about transparency, but unless someone finds the smoking gun they are looking for, human nature and pure skepticism will continue to raise questions about ‘what else has not been released’.”And releasing the files is not a silver bullet for finding truth.“There are ways you can release a lot of material and still not be transparent,” Gutterman said.Spencer Kuvin, chief legal officer of GoldLaw and a lawyer for several Epstein victims, said the justice department’s documents had more potential to reveal truth than Congress’s cache. He explained: “These documents will likely be photographs, surveillance videos, investigative memoranda and any other documents and interviews conducted in the underlying litigation.”He expressed frustration and pointed to the investigation provision.“The fact that the president made Congress go through this lengthy process is offensive, because he had the power to release these materials with the stroke of a pen,” Kuvin said. “Hopefully he does not further complicate matters by having his DoJ prevent access to all the records because of his threats of continuing investigations.”Victims of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who was convicted of sex trafficking for luring teenage girls into his orbit, worry as well.“That is a real fear that the victims have. These victims have repeatedly been frustrated by the failures of the state and federal government in this case over the last 20 years and it is all because the people involved were either rich or politically connected,” Kuvin said. “Unfortunately, rich and powerful people protect their own even if it means they may be guilty of sex trafficking and pedophilia.”Jennifer Plotkin of Merson Law, which has represented 33 Epstein victims, also expressed wariness.“While the release of documents may potentially increase transparency, it does little to address the government’s accountability to the many victims that have come forward in the lawsuit against the FBI. The government continues to fight against the sexual abuse survivors of Jeffrey Epstein,” Plotkin said. “The FBI failed to prosecute Epstein for decades and the victims still don’t understand why.”Those who have expressed skepticism that Bondi will follow through have pointed to Trump and his administration’s waffling on Epstein matters, despite his campaign trail promise to release the files.The justice department said in July that their investigation of Epstein files “did not expose any additional third-parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing” and that “this systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list’”.“We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” their statement also said.The departmental memo conflicted with Epstein accusers’ accounts that others took part in his abuse. Trump’s supporters, many of whom are convinced that Epstein plotted with high-profile individuals to traffic minors, were outraged, as the president vowed to disclose documents.Furor over the Epstein document stalemate proved an extensive political liability for Trump, as news reports and released documents showed that the president had a relationship with Epstein. Trump has denied wrongdoing and said their relationship soured.“It’s not news that Epstein was a member of the Mar-a-Lago club, because it’s the same club Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of for being a creep,” the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said at one point. “These stories are tired and pathetic attempts to distract from all the success of President Trump’s administration.”In reversing course to support the bill, Trump said “we have nothing to hide” and that “it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’”.Asked for comment about transparency concerns related to the ongoing investigation exception, a White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, said: “Democrats and the media knew about Epstein’s victims for years, did nothing to help them, and Democrats even solicited donations from him AFTER he was a convicted sex offender. President Trump was calling for transparency and accountability, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents.”Democrats have pointed out that Bondi and Trump are close in expressing concern about the documents release.“This is Pam Bondi. She works for Trump. This is all a set-up. Trump fought to the end to resist release. He lost. Do I believe he’s had a real conversion? No,” Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, said, per the Hill.“He anticipated the outcome and then ordered Bondi to begin other investigations, so we’ll be seeing the justice department withholding information because it might interfere with ongoing investigations.“The concealment will continue.” More

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      White House press secretary defends Trump’s ‘piggy’ insult

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      The White House issued a full-throated defense of Donald Trump’s reference to a Bloomberg News correspondent as a “piggy” on Thursday, claiming without evidence that the president “calls out fake news when he sees it and gets frustrated with reporters who spread false information”.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the remarks during a White House briefing, saying Trump was re-elected because of his bluntness and that members of the media should appreciate his willingness to answer their questions.“He calls out fake news when he sees it and gets frustrated with reporters who spread false information,” Leavitt said. “But he also provides unprecedented access to the press and answers questions on a near-daily basis.”Leavitt did not specify what “fake news” or “false information” Trump was responding to when he called Catherine Lucey, Bloomberg’s White House correspondent, “piggy”.The clash between Trump and Lucey happened on Friday onboard Air Force One. Lucey asked a question about the unfolding Jeffrey Epstein scandal and the possibility of the House voting to release all of the files related to his case, which came to fruition earlier this week.When Lucey started to ask why Trump was behaving the way he was “if there’s nothing incriminating in the files”, Trump pointed at her and said: “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”The remark received widespread backlash on Monday and Tuesday, with many fellow journalists condemning the incident. CNN anchor Jake Tapper wrote on X that the comment was “disgusting and completely unacceptable”, while former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson called the remark “disgusting and degrading”.While Trump has long held and shared contempt for journalists publicly, he’s been particularly open this week with his vitriol. On Tuesday, Trump called another female reporter, Mary Bruce of ABC News, “a terrible person” in the Oval Office. The reporter had asked Mohammed bin Salman, the visiting Saudi crown prince, about the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and also why Trump had not released the Epstein files.“Mr President, why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files?’ Bruce asked. “Why not just do it now?”“It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions. You start off with a man who is highly respected, asking him a horrible, insubordinate, and just a terrible question,” Trump responded.After this incident, the Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement condemning Trump’s remarks to Lucey and Bruce.“These incidents are not isolated; they are part of an unmistakable pattern of hostility – often directed at women – that undermines the essential role of a free and independent press,” the statement reads.SPJ executive director Caroline Hendrie emphasized that “targeting women reporters with humiliating insults should not be tolerated”.“What we say – and what we refuse to say – signals to the world how much we value human rights and free expression,” Hendrie said. “When US leaders downplay the murder of a journalist or shame reporters for demanding transparency, it reverberates far beyond Washington.” More