‘This is no time to be talking about pardons,’ says Trump when pressed about Maxwell
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”.
Key events
Chris Stein
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.”
Chris Stein
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.
Ex DOJ lawyer provides corroborative evidence that Emil Bove wilfully defied court orders
Sam Levine
A former DOJ 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 says ‘good 50-50 chance’ of EU trade deal – the ‘biggest of them all’
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.
‘This is no time to be talking about pardons,’ says Trump when pressed about Maxwell
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”.
Trump greeted by Scottish secretary
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 reports to NJ federal prison to serve 7-year fraud sentence
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.”
