Epstein survivors criticise Melania Trump after surprise statement – US politics live | US news
Epstein survivors accuse Melania Trump of ‘shifting the burden’ after surprise announcement
Hello, welcome to the US politics live blog.
Melania Trump was accused of “putting her burden on the survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein” after her extraordinary statement at the White House.
In a joint statement to the media, a group of survivors said the first lady took action to “protect those in power.”
They accused him of “putting the burden on survivors under politicized conditions to protect those in power.”
The statement included the following statements:
Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, reporting, and testifying.
Asking them for more now is a perversion of responsibility rather than justice.
He added:
Also distracting [former attorney general] Pam Bondi must answer for the withheld files and disclosure of survivors’ identities.
These failures continue to put lives at risk while protecting enablers. The survivors did their part. Now is the time for those in power to do their duty.
The first lady told reporters on Thursday that she had “no relationship” with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
It was unclear what specific accusations prompted the first lady to respond publicly. He made his scripted remarks at the podium in the same room where Donald Trump addressed the nation last week about the war in Iran.
“I [have] “I was never a friend of Epstein,” Trump said in his statement, and continued: “I am not a victim of Epstein.” “Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.”
The first lady said she and the president were “occasionally” invited to the same parties as Epstein because “overlap in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach.” But he specifically denied that the emails he sent to Maxwell were anything more than “casual correspondence.”
Read the full story here:
In other developments:
-
A push by House Democrats to pass a unanimous war powers resolution failed yesterday after pro forma speaker Republican Chris Smith did not recognize Democrats. This was always a difficult task, given that rejecting even a single member would require Democrats to hold a formal vote on the resolution.
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While it was a largely symbolic move, Democrats in both chambers have vowed to hold another vote when Congress returns from recess next week. On the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Democrats in the lower chamber appeared confident that they would have at least a few House GOP members willing to defy their party and pass the resolution when Congress returns from recess next week.
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Donald Trump he told NBC News A diplomatic delegation led by vice president J.D. Vance said he was “very optimistic” about a peace deal with Iran as it prepared to travel to Pakistan this weekend for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war. Iranian leaders “speak much differently than they do to the press in a meeting. They are much more reasonable,” the president said, in line with his administration’s narrative that there is a disconnect between what Tehran says publicly and privately.
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Robert Mackey
Melania Trump’s surprise statement denying any involvement with Jeffrey Epstein has sparked confusion about why she chose to speak out and whether Donald Trump knew that he was planning to draw attention to an issue that the First Lady had publicly urged to distance herself from.
Even well-resourced reporters at normally right-wing outlets were struggling to explain why Melania Trump suddenly felt the need to make an unexpected statement about her relationship with late sex offender Epstein or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who socialized with her husband for nearly two decades.
Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said she and her team were stunned.
“We’re trying to understand why he did this today; there may already be a story that he’s reacting to that upset him, or if there’s a story that hasn’t come out yet, it could be a story he wants to get out of the way,” Heinrich said. Fox told its viewers. “Because it felt like it came out of left field for us.”
“Today, we are still trying to understand why he made this statement,” he added. “I called every person on my phone, including the president, and got no response.”
The New York Post, which, like Fox, is owned by Rupert Murdoch and often acts as an arm of Trump’s White House communications team, was also stunned. “It’s unclear why the first lady chose to hold the press conference at a time when the White House is trying to recover from the Epstein saga that plagued her husband’s second term,” the New York tabloid said. reported.
Epstein survivors accuse Melania Trump of ‘shifting the burden’ after surprise announcement
Hello, welcome to the US politics live blog.
Melania Trump was accused of “putting her burden on the survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein” after her extraordinary statement at the White House.
In a joint statement to the media, a group of survivors said the first lady took action to “protect those in power.”
They accused him of “putting the burden on survivors under politicized conditions to protect those in power.”
The statement included the following statements:
Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, reporting, and testifying.
Asking them for more now is a perversion of responsibility rather than justice.
He added:
Also distracting [former attorney general] Pam Bondi must answer for the withheld files and disclosure of survivors’ identities.
These failures continue to put lives at risk while protecting enablers. The survivors did their part. Now is the time for those in power to do their duty.
The first lady told reporters on Thursday that she had “no relationship” with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
It was unclear what specific accusations prompted the first lady to respond publicly. He made his scripted remarks at the podium in the same room where Donald Trump addressed the nation last week about the war in Iran.
“I [have] “I was never a friend of Epstein,” Trump said in his statement, and continued: “I am not a victim of Epstein.” “Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.”
The first lady said she and the president were “occasionally” invited to the same parties as Epstein because “overlap in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach.” But he specifically denied that the emails he sent to Maxwell were anything more than “casual correspondence.”
Read the full story here:
In other developments:
-
A push by House Democrats to pass a unanimous war powers resolution failed yesterday after pro forma speaker Republican Chris Smith did not recognize Democrats. This was always a difficult task, given that rejecting even a single member would require Democrats to hold a formal vote on the resolution.
-
While it was a largely symbolic move, Democrats in both chambers have vowed to hold another vote when Congress returns from recess next week. On the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Democrats in the lower chamber appeared confident that they would have at least a few House GOP members willing to defy their party and pass the resolution when Congress returns from recess next week.
-
Donald Trump he told NBC News A diplomatic delegation led by vice president J.D. Vance said he was “very optimistic” about a peace deal with Iran as it prepared to travel to Pakistan this weekend for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war. Iranian leaders “speak much differently than they do to the press in a meeting. They are much more reasonable,” the president said, in line with his administration’s narrative that there is a disconnect between what Tehran says publicly and privately.
