Asked on three occasions Friday morning whether he would consider pardoning convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump first said he didnt want to talk about it and, later , made a point to note he is allowed to do so.
Well, I dont want to talk about that, the president responded to the first query about a potential pardon.
Later, Trump said: Its something I havent thought about. Its really someits some. Im allowed to do it, but its something I have not thought about.
But you wouldnt rule it out? a reporter followed up, but Trump did not reply.
Later still, the president told reporters , I certainly cant talk about pardons right now.
While the presidents response wasnt a Yes, it certainly wasnt a No, either. (And recall that, in 2019 and 2020, Trump said he hadnt thought about pardoning Roger Stone , whom he pardoned in December 2020 .)
Trumps glaring nonanswers come as his allies appear increasingly open to embracing Maxwell as a way out of his Epstein mire. The administration is facing an uproar over its lack of transparency and Trumps personal ties to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse minors. (When she was arrested by the FBI in 2020, Trump had said , I wish her well.)
Despite Maxwells crimes, as Rolling Stone reported Thursday, the Trump administration and the presidents allies in Congress seem to think that if they get Maxwell to attest that Trump did nothing wrong, it will solve everything. MAGA media has also begun cozying up to the convicted sex criminal.
In recent days, the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell and will depose her next month. Meanwhile, Todd Blanche, Trumps deputy attorney general and former personal lawyer, has met with Maxwell and will meet again Friday, purportedly to gain information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.
The potential for corruption in Blanches closed-door sit-downs with Maxwell, who has everything to gain from aiding the president, is plain, as has been much observed by Democratic lawmakers and other critics. The observation was even made by Trump toady House Speaker Mike Johnson, who recently told reporters that he backed the House Oversight Committees move to subpoena Maxwell while noting an obvious concern:
Could she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness? I mean, this is a person whos been sentenced to many, many years in prison for terrible, unspeakable, conspiratorial acts, and acts against innocent young people. I mean, can we trust what shes going to say?
Palm Beach County Attorney Dave Aronberg and former aide to Pam Bondi, now Trumps attorney general, has speculated that the DOJs talks with Maxwell could presage a hidden pardon deal.
And of course it wouldnt be unprecedented for Trump to flagrantly abuse the pardon power.
This story has been updated.
President Trump suggested on Friday that Israel should finish the job and get rid of it, when asked about Gaza, which is now suffering from mass starvation due to Israels blockade.
Gaza, they pulled out of Gaza, they pulled out in terms of negotiating. It was too bad, Hamas didnt really wanna make a deal. I think they wanna die. And its very, very bad, the president said on Friday before departing for Scotland. Youre gonna have to finish the job & dont forget, we got a lotta hostages out. So now were down to the final hostages and they know what happens after you get the final hostages. And basically because of that they really didnt wanna make a deal I saw that. So they pulled out, theyre gonna have to fight, theyre gonna have to clean it up. Youre gonna have to get rid of it.
The Trump administration has been explicit about its horrifying vision for Gaza, as the president clearly views it as potential property for an Israeli beach resort rather than an area that human beings call home. The genocidal language he casually uses here, saying that Israel needed to get rid of it, only reinforces that.
While leaders like Frances Emmanuel Macron and the U.K.s Kier Starmer have this week finally decided that the indiscriminate killing of hundreds of thousands of Palestiniansfor throwing rocks, for waiting for aid, for doing journalism, for simply refusing to leave their homeshas become too much, Trump has tripled down in his dismissiveness. All signs point to him allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus butchering of Palestine to continue uninhibited.
A weak dollar is better than a strong dollar, according to Donald Trump.
The dollar hasnt fallen this fast since 1973. Over the last six months, the dollar has declined more than 10 percent against Americas most prominent trading partners, bringing the value of the worlds reserve currency to a three-year low.
Why has the dollar fallen so much, and are you concerned about that? a reporter asked Trump outside of the White House Friday.
Well, Im a person that likes a strong dollar, but a weak dollar makes you a hell of a lot more money, Trump said . I dont know if you study, but I study it.
I went to Penn and Wharton, the reporter said, referring to the University of Pennsylvanias prestigious business school. So I know this.
Then I know youre smart, Trump said. So when we have a strong dollar, one thing happensit sounds good. But you dont do any tourism, you cant sell tractors, you cant sell trucks, you cant sell anything.
But tourism is booming everywhere but the U.S. A study from the World Travel & Tourism Council last month found that the U.S. was the only country in the world forecast to have less international travel spending, with the potential to lose as much as $12.5 billion in the category compared to last year, a figure that has rattled the hospitality and aviation industries. And Trump hasnt made it easier: Prospective visitors might have to contend with more red tape to enter the country, paying a $250 visa integrity fee in addition to the $185 price tag on the nonimmigrant visa itself.
It is good for inflation, thats about it. But we have no inflation, we wiped out inflation, the president noted Friday, further explaining his strong dollar ideology. Yet his administration did not actually eliminate inflationits still a major concern, fueled in large part by Trumps roller-coaster tariff plan.
It doesnt sound good, but you make a hell of a lot more money with a weaker dollarnot a weak dollar, but a weaker dollar, Trump said, claiming that Americas trading partners, including China and Japan, were fighting for their own weaker currencies.
And its good psychologically, it makes you feel good, he added.
Donald Trumps latest tactic of bringing up Barack Obamas administration every time someone asks him about Jeffrey Epstein is getting downright ridiculous.
Speaking to the press outside of the White House Friday, Trump once again denied writing a bawdy birthday message for Epstein in 2003 as part of a book of birthday notes for the alleged sex offender.
I dont even know what theyre talking about. Now, somebody could have written a letter and used my name, thats happened a lot, Trump said .
But the president wasnt satisfied with simply answering the questionhe took a moment to return to his favorite subject.
All you have to do is take a look at the dossier, the fake dossier, Trump continued . Everythings fake with that administration. Everythings fake with the Democrats. Take a look at what they just found about the dossier. Everything is fake, theyre a bunch of sick people.
Trump was likely referring to the Steele dossier, a collection of reporting by former British spy Christopher Steele, which had been used to obtain surveillance warrants on a former Trump campaign adviser after the 2016 presidential election.
Here, Trump is attempting to compare the validity of his crude birthday letter to the dossier, of which much of the contents has since been discredited or denied. In a broader sense, his administration is hoping to cast the ongoing fallout over Epstein as yet another vicious hoax. Even as president, Trump continues to cast himself as some sort of victim.
But evidence of Trumps ties to Epstein, who once claimed to be the presidents closest friend , are mounting.
Earlier this week, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard claimed that the Obama administration had used already discredited information like the Steele dossierthey knew it was discredited at the time.
Its worth noting that the dossier was not the sole basis for the FBIs investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. After questions arose about the dossiers credibility, the FBI continued to pursue the surveillance warrants for other information.
Gabbard has emerged as the main sycophant in charge of Trumps smoke screen, setting off on a campaign to prove the Obama administration manufactured the narrative that Moscow wanted Trump in power (Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that he did! Mystery solved!). But her declassified report didnt really prove anything at all, and she has quickly returned to her own favorite pastime: spouting debunked Russian propaganda .
Trump also said Friday that people should spend more time focused on the others who reportedly wrote birthday notes for Epstein, such as former president Bill Clinton .
Republican lawmakers are doing everything they can to squash the Trump administrations Epstein scandaleven if their theories dont make sense.
Speaking with CNNs The Source Thursday night, Senator Bernie Moreno claimed that the media and Democrats were fueling the boiling pressure campaign to unveil the Epstein files.
No matter how much is disclosed at this point, theres going to be a small segment of the population fueled primarily by the media and the Democrats that are never going to be satisfied with whats out there, Moreno said .
But a few outliers immediately came to mind for host Kaitlan Collins.
Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer are not fueled by the media and Democrats, Collins said. They would probably take offense to that.
Bannon has called for full public transparency on what Trump has derided as a Democrat-invented hoax. (Bannon was reportedly paid to media-train the deceased pedophile.) Loomer, meanwhile, effectively predicted the rights newfangled spin on the scandal last week, which has so far involved cozying up to the pedophiles longtime girlfriend and imprisoned criminal associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, in a supposed pardon campaign .
I said a small population of Republicans, Moreno said, laughing.
Yeah, but thats the presidents base, Collins threw back.
The Ohio Republican further insisted that Trump has never been more popularthough recent polling indicates hes wrong on that point too.
A Quinnipiac poll published last week found that 63 percent of voters disapprove of the way that the Trump administration has handled the Epstein case, which has so far included the Justice Department backtracking on the existence of certain documents.
There is mounting evidence that Trump and Epstein had a remarkably close relationship. The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump was named as a contributor on a birthday book for Epstein organized by Maxwell. The Times story backed up the bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal last week, which unveiled a salacious letter that Trump had penned to his pal, making reference to a wonderful secret.
The president has vehemently denied that he was ever close with Epstein.
President Trump is bending judicial rules to help his personal lawyer keep the job shes woefully unqualified for.
On Tuesday, New Jersey federal judges decided to fire Alina Habba, refusing to vote to extend her 120-day appointment as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, leading to uproar from the right. Now, the Trump administration seems to have found a loophole to keep one of their most loyal operatives back into a powerful position.
To rig the system for Habbas return, Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this week fired the first assistant U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Desiree Grace, whom a panel of New Jersey judges had voted to succeed Habba. A Justice Department official then confirmed Thursday that Trump withdrew Habbas permanent nomination, and Bondi appointed Habba as first assistant. This allows Habba to become the acting U.S. attorney once again, as the position is currently vacant thanks to Graces ousting. It also allows Habba to bypass Senate confirmation, which is needed for permanent appointments.
The Trump administration is going to such lengths to secure Habba this position because she is a thoughtless foot soldier whose main priority is not the law of the land, but unwavering devotion to Trump. And shes demonstrated that throughout her career.
As the presidents personal lawyer she unsuccessfully defended him in his hush-money and E. Jean Carroll defamation cases. In her first 120 days as U.S. attorney, she made headlines for claiming that the thousands of military veterans indiscriminately fired by DOGE were simply unfit and attempted to prosecute Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trying to enter a local ICE detention center.
Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Habba wrote Thursday on X in a victorious tone. I dont cower to pressure. I dont answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And Im all in.
Elon Musk, the billionaire and former head of the White Houses Department of Government Efficiency, slapped away an olive branch extended by the president on Thursday, keeping the feud between them alive.
Earlier in the day, Trump had taken to his platform, Truth Social, to dismiss what he said was a widespread perception that he plans to destroy Musks companies by withdrawing the large scale subsidies he receives from the government.
On the contrary, the president said, I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE.
The apparent sign of goodwill came just days after the Pentagon awarded Musks company xAI a $200 million contract .
Musk challenged the veracity of Trumps claims about subsidies and claimed that his ventures won their government contracts on merit.
On his own platform, X, the billionaire wrote : The subsidies hes talking about simply do not exist. DJT has already removed or put an expiry date on all sustainable energy support while leaving massive oil & gas subsidies untouched. Trumps tax and spending plan, passed last month, included a number of unfavorable provisions for electric vehicle companies like Musks Tesla.
Musk also claimed that his space technology company, SpaceX, had earned its NASA contracts by doing a better job for less money.
In a subsequent post , Musk seemed to ridicule Trumps promise not to destroy his companies, writing, Phew.
Trump and Musk have, famously, been at loggerheads since the billionaire, who formerly styled himself the first buddy to the president, ramped up attacks on Trumps budget bill, which he called pork-filled and an abomination.
In the ensuing public clash last month, Trump repeatedly threatened to terminate government subsidies and contracts with Musks companies. He even suggested siccing Musks DOGE on its former handler, posting : Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far&. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this?
Musks jabs against Trump included threatening to create a new political party and alleging that Trump is in the Epstein files. Musk deleted the post in which he made the latter accusation (although it was corroborated by The Wall Street Journal s report this week that the Justice Department, in May, informed Trump that his name appears repeatedly in the files).
While Musk has said some of his insults toward Trump went too far, the billionaire has continued, even since Trumps attempt to make amends, to criticize the administration for its failure to provide full transparency on the case of the notorious pedophile (another former friend of the president). Notably, on the 2024 campaign trail, Musk had promised that the Epstein client list, which the DOJ said earlier this month is nonexistent, would become public under Trump.
Donald Trump privately fears that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is about to detonate, Politico reported Thursday.
In the Oval Office recently, Trump was spiraling out over the next steps of addressing the fallout from his administrations handling of the files on the child sex offender.
Theyre going to accuse me of some funny business, Trump warned, according to a Republican close to the White House who heard the presidents fretting firsthand.
In the Oval Office, Trump maintained that he had no involvement with Epsteins alleged criminal activity but that it didnt matter. Theyre going to fuck me anyways, Trump said.
In recent weeks, Trump has come under increased scrutiny over his apparently quite close friendship with Epstein. The Justice Department released a memo earlier this month insisting that the alleged sex trafficker had kept no incriminating client list, despite Attorney General Pam Bondi previously claiming that shed been in possession of such a document, sending Trumps base into a frenzy. The memo also stated that no further evidence from the files would be disclosed, months after the Trump administration distributed Phase 1 binders in February, lacking any new information.
Bondi and her deputy told Trump in May that his name had appeared in government files on Epstein multiple times . By July, the government had announced that so-called Phase 1 would be the last.
Trump has continued to claim distance from Epstein, who once described himself as the presidents closest friend . Epstein orchestrated a child sex-trafficking ring in which he raped at least dozens of young girls and helped his wealthy and famous affiliates do the same.
Jeffrey Epsteins birthday book wasnt the only time that Donald Trump left a personalized note for the child sex trafficking kingpin.
A book from Epsteins personal collection featured the presidents signature sharpie scrawl, alongside a message once again calling Epstein a terrific guy.
To JeffYou are the greatest! reads the inscription found in a copy of Trump: The Art of the Comeback. It is dated Oct 97, the month that the book was published.
Screenshot Trumps name appeared on a contributor list for Epsteins birthday book, despite the presidents repeated denials that he was ever involved or contributed to a book of personalized messages celebrating the well-connected pedophile, reported The New York Times . The Timess story backs up the bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal last week.
Trump was one of a dozen people listed as having been involved in the project, organized by Epsteins longtime girlfriend and criminal associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The list also included other well-known Epstein associates, such as former Victorias Secret owner Leslie H. Wexner, Bear Stearns CEO Alan C. Greenberg, and physicist Murray Gell-Mann, reported the Times.
In an introductory letter to the birthday book, Maxwell wrote that the projects intention was to gather stories and old photographs to jog your memory about places, people and different events.
Some of the letters will definitely achieve their intended goalsome well & you will have to read them to see for yourself, Maxwell wrote to Epstein. I know you will enjoy looking through the book, and I hope you will derive as much pleasure looking through it as I did putting it together for you.
Other evidence proves that Trump was undoubtedly in Epsteins universe. Prior to his death, Epstein described himself as one of Trumps closest friends . The socialites were named and photographed together several timesincluding at Trumps second wedding. Trump reportedly flew on Epsteins jets between Palm Beach and New York at least seven times , and the first time that Trump slept with his now-wife Melania was reportedly aboard Epsteins plane, nicknamed the Lolita Express.
In a 2002 New York Magazine profile of Epstein, Trump said he had known Epstein for 15 years and referred to him as a terrific guy.
It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side, Trump said at the time.
On Wednesday, the Journal reported that the Justice Department had notified Trump in May that his name appeared several times in the Epstein files, despite his public dismissal of the case as a Democrat-led hoax.
A Canadian fisherman is sounding the alarm to stay far, far away from the United States-Canadian border, alleging that the U.S. Coast Guard detained him in Canadian waters, CTV News reported.
Sixty-year-old Eduoard Lallemand borrowed his friends fishing vessel near Venise-en-Qu�bec, about nine miles north of the U.S. border at the northern end of Lake Champlain, where he has been fishing for decades.
Lallemand said he was surprised when he was approached by the U.S. Coast Guard, who instructed him to turn off his engine and told him hed ventured into U.S. territory. He complied, but maintained that he was in Canadian waters.
I said, No, Im very sorry, Im in Canada, Lallemand recalled to CTV News. And I said Im polite enough to talk to you guys but you cannot arrest me. You cant come across the border and pick me up, but they did.
Lallemand said that he told the agents hed like to talk to them by the shore, starting up his engine again. He claimed that the Coast Guard then attempted to push his boat closer to U.S. waters, causing his boat to capsize and sending him into the waters of Lake Champlain.
Lallemand said the agents were furious as they handcuffed him and brought him to the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, who detained him in his wet clothes for two hours.
The U.S. Coast Guard released a statement claiming Lallemand was 65 yards south of the U.S. border and that hed capsized because he had ignored commands and made an abrupt turn, hitting their vessel. The actions of the operator of the Canadian vessel are currently under investigation, the statement said.
But Darlene Fielding, Lallemands wife, suggested that there was reason to doubt that her husband had strayed into U.S. territory. We were told afterward that their GPS may not have been working properly, his wife wrote in a post on Facebook.
We treat our pets better than they treated him, Fielding told CTV News.
Meanwhile, Lallemand is warning other fishermen to keep their distance from the United States.
I want the people to know and to be aware: Stay away from the border, he told CTV News. Even if its 500, 600 feet from there.
It seems that some Canadians were already keeping their distance. In May, there was a 25 percent decrease in legal border crossings between the U.S. and Canada.
This incident comes amid strained relations with Americas northern neighbor, spurred by President Donald Trumps additional 35 percent tariffs on certain Canadian goods and 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. Not to mention Trump continues to childishly feud with the leader of the northern nation, which he previously insisted should join the U.S.
