https://www.scmp.com/rss/522059/feed The latest news and top stories on Todd Blanche, a prominent American lawyer. Known for his recent appointment as the 40th United States Deputy Attorney General in March 2025, he also served as acting Librarian of Congress from May 2025. He has a background as a federal prosecutor in New York’s Southern District, where he co-led the violent crimes unit, handling cases involving public corruption, fraud and racketeering. As a defence attorney, he notably represented Donald Trump in his 2024... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Teresa Elena Frontado Teresa Elena Frontado The United States announced on Wednesday criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro over his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, an incident that killed four people. The indictment, unsealed by acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche in Miami, includes charges of conspiracy to kill US nationals, destruction of an aircraft, and four individual counts of murder against the 94-year-old brother of... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3354286/us-charges-raul-castro-trump-administration-ratchets-pressure-cuba?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3354286/us-charges-raul-castro-trump-administration-ratchets-pressure-cuba?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 May 2026 17:47:12 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US government will permanently drop tax claims against US President Donald Trump, according to a settlement document made public Tuesday, in an extraordinary use of executive power that could effectively help shield the president from further examination of his finances and legal conduct. As part of the settlement deal meant to resolve Trump’s US$10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, the US was “forever barred and precluded” from examining... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3354150/us-drop-tax-claims-against-trump-forever-irs-lawsuit-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3354150/us-drop-tax-claims-against-trump-forever-irs-lawsuit-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 May 2026 20:05:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted for threatening the life of Donald Trump, officials said on Tuesday, five months after a previous case against the outspoken critic of the US president was thrown out. The indictment by a grand jury in North Carolina stems from an Instagram post the 65-year-old Comey made in May last year that showed the numbers “86 47” spelled out in seashells. Trump alleged in an interview with Fox News at the time that “86” was slang for kill and “47” was a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351760/ex-fbi-director-james-comey-indicted-again-time-over-anti-trump-post?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351760/ex-fbi-director-james-comey-indicted-again-time-over-anti-trump-post?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:37:43 +0000 Reuters Reuters The man accused of opening fire at a Washington dinner attended by Donald Trump was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate the US president and could face life in prison if convicted. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, wore a blue jail-issue V-neck shirt and pants at his first appearance in Washington federal court, two days after authorities said he launched an unsuccessful attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, an annual black-tie gathering of journalists and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351624/suspect-washington-dinner-shooting-charged-attempting-assassinate-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351624/suspect-washington-dinner-shooting-charged-attempting-assassinate-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 20:32:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters US law enforcement officials are reassessing security arrangements after ⁠a gunman opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, raising questions about ⁠how he was able to get so close to an event attended by President Donald Trump, cabinet members and lawmakers. Two former Secret Service agents and three senior US officials told Reuters on Sunday that federal agents appeared to carry out their plan to protect the president effectively on Saturday night, stopping the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351538/washington-hotel-shooting-exposes-gaps-security-protocols-trump-and-other-vips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351538/washington-hotel-shooting-exposes-gaps-security-protocols-trump-and-other-vips?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 06:32:30 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned US$400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House. “It’s time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said plainly on Sunday on social media, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351503/justice-department-cites-shooting-press-preservationists-drop-trump-ballroom-suit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351503/justice-department-cites-shooting-press-preservationists-drop-trump-ballroom-suit?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 23:16:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters The shooting on Saturday night of a Secret Service agent at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner raises questions yet again about the protection afforded to America’s political leaders at a time of increased political violence. Hundreds of agents from several law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting the annual bash, which US President Donald Trump headlined this year. Yet a suspect with a shotgun and other weapons ‌managed to get just a floor above the Washington... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351466/us-press-dinner-shooting-casts-fresh-spotlight-trumps-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351466/us-press-dinner-shooting-casts-fresh-spotlight-trumps-security?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 07:58:40 +0000 dpa dpa Pope Leo has called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty on Saturday, a day after the US administration mulled expanding the penalty. “The dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed,” Leo said in a video message marking the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois. “The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351441/pope-leo-urges-worldwide-abolition-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351441/pope-leo-urges-worldwide-abolition-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 15:51:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Trump Justice Department said on Friday it was seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution. “The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Under US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351388/trump-justice-department-adds-firing-squads-federal-executions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351388/trump-justice-department-adds-firing-squads-federal-executions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:16:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Department of Justice is reclassifying FDA-approved and state-licensed marijuana as a less dangerous drug, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday. The announcement does not legalise marijuana across the United States. In a post on X, Blanche said the Justice Department was “immediately rescheduling FDA-approved marijuana and state-licensed marijuana from Schedule I to ⁠Schedule III”. The department is also initiating an expedited hearing to consider the broader rescheduling... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351203/trump-reclassifies-state-licensed-medical-marijuana-less-dangerous-drug?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351203/trump-reclassifies-state-licensed-medical-marijuana-less-dangerous-drug?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:24:27 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump-Xi summit shaped by uncertainty, not strategy: experts The lead-up for the consequential Trump-Xi summit has been compressed and rather disjointed given the Middle East war and Trump’s preference for making last-minute decisions based on his “gut”. One source told the South China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3350227/trump-xi-summit-worries-tariffs-tested-diaspora-drama-7-us-china-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3350227/trump-xi-summit-worries-tariffs-tested-diaspora-drama-7-us-china-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters Former US attorney general Pam Bondi does not plan to appear for a planned interview with a House of Representatives committee on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files following her firing by US President Donald Trump, the Justice Department told Congress on Wednesday. Bondi was subpoenaed ‌last month to testify in her formal role as attorney general, rendering the demand invalid now that she no longer holds that title, a Justice Department official wrote in a letter to the House Oversight... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349438/bondi-wont-appear-us-lawmakers-over-epstein-files-justice-department-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349438/bondi-wont-appear-us-lawmakers-over-epstein-files-justice-department-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:39:44 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The US Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for Steve Bannon, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, to overturn his conviction in a case linked to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Bannon, a leading figure on the far-right, served four months in prison in 2024 for defying a subpoena to testify before a congressional panel investigating the 2021 attack. But he appealed to the Supreme Court to have the conviction overturned, a legal challenge the Trump administration joined in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349196/supreme-court-clears-path-overturn-conviction-ex-trump-aide-steve-bannon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349196/supreme-court-clears-path-overturn-conviction-ex-trump-aide-steve-bannon?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:55:00 +0000 Mark Magnier,Khushboo Razdan Mark Magnier,Khushboo Razdan After avoiding much of the churn, firings and senior official turnover that marked his first term, US President Donald Trump on Thursday added to the string of high-profile departures in recent days, as bad news heaped more pressure on the White House. The administration announced that US Attorney General Pam Bondi was leaving to be replaced by her deputy, Todd Blanche, in an acting capacity. “We love Pam,” Trump wrote on social media. “She will be transitioning to a much-needed and important... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348858/trump-fires-pam-bondi-us-attorney-general-amid-epstein-files-furore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348858/trump-fires-pam-bondi-us-attorney-general-amid-epstein-files-furore?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:20:46 +0000 Reuters Reuters Minnesota sued ⁠the federal government on Tuesday, seeking ⁠access to evidence in the fatal shootings by federal officers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and a shooting that injured another man during an immigration enforcement surge in the state, according to a complaint. The lawsuit against the US Department of ‌Justice and the Department of Homeland Security alleges authorities blocked state investigators from key evidence and information related to the shootings. In late January, following the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347770/minnesota-sues-government-access-evidence-3-shooting-deaths-federal-officers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347770/minnesota-sues-government-access-evidence-3-shooting-deaths-federal-officers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:44:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters A US congressional committee said ⁠on Tuesday it has ⁠issued a subpoena to Attorney General ⁠Pam Bondi to testify behind closed doors in its probe of the late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi faces accusations that the Justice Department has concealed the names of powerful associates of Epstein in its release ‌of millions of documents related to the late financier. Under the subpoena, Bondi would give a sworn deposition to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on ‌April... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346938/us-house-panel-subpoenas-pam-bondi-testify-epstein-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346938/us-house-panel-subpoenas-pam-bondi-testify-epstein-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:29:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed by Border Patrol officers on January 24, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday. “We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” Blanche said during a news conference. Blanche did not explain why the DOJ decided to open an investigation into Pretti’s killing,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341904/us-justice-department-opens-civil-rights-probe-killing-alex-pretti?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341904/us-justice-department-opens-civil-rights-probe-killing-alex-pretti?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 18:38:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Justice Department on Friday published millions of ‌new files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including emails that show Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, apparently visited Epstein’s private island for lunch years after he claimed to have cut off ties. Todd ‍Blanche, the US deputy attorney general, said Friday’s massive batch of documents marked the end of the Trump administration’s planned releases under a law passed in November that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341898/us-justice-department-releases-3-million-more-pages-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3341898/us-justice-department-releases-3-million-more-pages-epstein-files?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:32:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department said Wednesday that it may need a “few more weeks” to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents, further delaying compliance with last Friday’s congressionally mandated deadline. The Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen US senators called on the Justice Department’s watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline. The group, 11 Democrats and a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337670/after-missing-epstein-files-deadline-trump-admin-says-it-may-need-few-more-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 21:20:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump flew on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet “many more ‌times than previously has been reported,” according to an email from a New York prosecutor that forms part of a new batch of documents about Epstein released Tuesday by the US Justice Department. In an ‍email dated January 7, 2020, the unidentified prosecutor wrote that flight records showed Trump had flown on Epstein’s private jet eight times during the 1990s. Among those were at least four... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337549/trump-flew-epstein-jet-many-more-times-reported-newly-released-file-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337549/trump-flew-epstein-jet-many-more-times-reported-newly-released-file-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:11:04 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Senate’s top Democrat urged his colleagues on Monday to take legal action over the US Justice Department’s incremental and heavily redacted release of records pertaining to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that required disclosure of records by last... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337393/top-democrat-urges-senate-sue-over-justice-departments-staggered-epstein-files-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337393/top-democrat-urges-senate-sue-over-justice-departments-staggered-epstein-files-release?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 18:08:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Justice Department officials on Sunday denied redacting the Epstein files to protect US President Donald Trump, as criticism mounted over the partial and heavily censored release of documents. Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late sex offender were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored. US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the release by the Justice Department, telling NBC’s Meet the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337250/top-us-official-defends-partial-release-epstein-files-democrats-cry-foul?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 18:54:50 +0000 Reuters Reuters Extensive redactions and the limited number of documents released related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein angered some Republicans and did little to defuse a scandal threatening the party ahead of the 2026 midterm election. The Trump administration touted this week’s release of a cache of Epstein-related files as a show of transparency, but a handful of Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures joined Democrats in ‍blasting Friday’s disclosures as inadequate and possibly in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337207/trump-risk-becoming-deep-state-after-epstein-file-omissions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337207/trump-risk-becoming-deep-state-after-epstein-file-omissions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 01:56:00 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, including a photograph showing US President Donald Trump – less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public. The missing files, which were available on Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337205/least-16-files-gone-epstein-release-site-including-1-trump-photo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337205/least-16-files-gone-epstein-release-site-including-1-trump-photo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 22:26:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday expressed anger after a long-awaited cache of records from cases against him were released with many pages blacked out and photos censored. The trove of material released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other luminaries in Epstein’s wealthy social circle including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. But blackouts across many of the documents – combined with tight control over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337204/epstein-victims-angry-over-gaps-and-censorship-long-awaited-file-release?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 21:12:34 +0000 Reuters Reuters The US Justice Department released thousands of heavily redacted documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday that made scant reference to President Donald Trump but extensively featured Democratic former president Bill Clinton. The absence of references to Trump was notable given that pictures and documents related to him have trickled out of previous Epstein releases for years. Trump’s name appeared in flight manifests listing passengers on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337144/epstein-files-release-highlights-clinton-makes-scant-reference-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337144/epstein-files-release-highlights-clinton-makes-scant-reference-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 23:48:52 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department on Friday released only a partial set of documents related to its investigation into convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that has sparked the first major split between Trump’s Make America Great Again support base since he returned to office. The department was compelled by Congress to make the documents public after lawmakers passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on November 19, a measure that required the disclosure... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3337136/trump-justice-department-release-partial-set-epstein-files-now?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:11:49 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his long-time confidante. US Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress last week and signed into law by US President Donald Trump – in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334011/justice-department-renews-bid-unseal-jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-materials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3334011/justice-department-renews-bid-unseal-jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-materials?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 23:39:59 +0000 Associated Press,Reuters Associated Press,Reuters The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein. On the first day of their new term, the justices declined to take up a case that would have drawn renewed attention to the sordid sexual abuse saga after US President Donald Trump’s administration sought to tamp down criticism over its refusal to publicly release more investigative files from Epstein’s case. Lawyers for Maxwell, a British socialite, argued that she never... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3328046/supreme-court-declines-hear-ghislaine-maxwell-appeal-epstein-sex-trafficking-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3328046/supreme-court-declines-hear-ghislaine-maxwell-appeal-epstein-sex-trafficking-case?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:20:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters A federal judge ruled on Friday there was a realistic likelihood that the criminal charges the US Department of Justice brought against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged gang member who was wrongly deported by US President Donald Trump’s administration to El Salvador, amounted to a vindictive prosecution. US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tennessee, cited statements administration officials made celebrating the charges brought against Abrego Garcia as evidence the indictment may... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3327857/trumps-deportation-kilmar-abrego-garcia-likely-vindictive-judge-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3327857/trumps-deportation-kilmar-abrego-garcia-likely-vindictive-judge-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 00:30:31 +0000 Reuters Reuters Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, told a top Justice Department official in July that she never saw US President Donald Trump in an “inappropriate setting”, according to a transcript of an interview released on Friday. “I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way,” Maxwell said, according to the transcript of her two-day interview last month with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The president was never... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322893/epsteins-ex-girlfriend-ghislaine-maxwell-says-she-never-saw-trump-behave-inappropriately?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322893/epsteins-ex-girlfriend-ghislaine-maxwell-says-she-never-saw-trump-behave-inappropriately?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:23:32 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking case, joining two other judges who declined to release similar records from investigations into the late financier’s sexual abuse of young women and girls. Judge Richard Berman, who presided over the 2019 case, ruled a week after another Manhattan federal judge turned down the government’s request to release transcripts from the grand jury that indicted... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322579/judge-denies-justice-department-request-unseal-epstein-grand-jury-transcripts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322579/judge-denies-justice-department-request-unseal-epstein-grand-jury-transcripts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 21:40:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein who was convicted in 2021 of helping him sexually abuse teenage girls, said on Tuesday she opposed the US government’s bid to release transcripts of proceedings before the grand jury that indicted her. In a court filing, Maxwell’s lawyers said the release of the materials would jeopardise a potential re-trial if she succeeds in persuading the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction. “The reputational harm from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320876/ghislaine-maxwell-opposes-release-epstein-grand-jury-transcripts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320876/ghislaine-maxwell-opposes-release-epstein-grand-jury-transcripts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 19:19:20 +0000 Reuters Reuters Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell had been transferred from a Florida prison to a lower-security facility in Texas to continue serving her 20-year sentence for helping the late financier sexually abuse underage girls, the US Bureau of Prisons said on Friday. Maxwell’s move from FCI Tallahassee, a low-security prison, to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, comes a week after she met with Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said he wanted to speak with her about... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320507/epsteins-ex-ghislaine-maxwell-moved-lower-security-prison-after-meeting-trump-official?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320507/epsteins-ex-ghislaine-maxwell-moved-lower-security-prison-after-meeting-trump-official?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Aug 2025 17:18:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump said on Friday he has not considered granting a pardon or commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and long-time associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who is back in the news amid a political furore over the case. “It’s something I haven’t thought about,” Trump told reporters when asked about the possibility of a pardon for Maxwell. “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.” Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3319665/trump-says-he-hasnt-thought-about-pardon-epsteins-ex-ghislaine-maxwell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3319665/trump-says-he-hasnt-thought-about-pardon-epsteins-ex-ghislaine-maxwell?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:23:02 +0000 Reuters Reuters US Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The disclosure about Trump’s appearance in the US Justice Department’s records on the case threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. Some Trump supporters for years have fanned conspiracy theories about Epstein’s clients and the circumstances of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3319348/trump-epstein-files-report-says-white-house-calls-it-fake-news?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3319348/trump-epstein-files-report-says-white-house-calls-it-fake-news?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jul 2025 20:36:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Department of Justice (DOJ) wants to interview Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, who was convicted of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls and is now serving a lengthy prison sentence, a senior official said on Tuesday. If Ghislaine Maxwell “has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a post on social media, adding that US President Donald Trump had... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3319184/trump-led-doj-wants-interview-epsteins-ex-girlfriend-ghislaine-maxwell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3319184/trump-led-doj-wants-interview-epsteins-ex-girlfriend-ghislaine-maxwell?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 13:21:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A Justice Department request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the prosecution of chronic sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend is unlikely to produce much, if anything, to satisfy the public’s appetite for new revelations about the financier’s crimes, former federal prosecutors say. Lawyer Sarah Krissoff, an assistant US attorney in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, called the request in the prosecutions of Epstein and imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell “a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3318933/request-unseal-epstein-grand-jury-transcripts-likely-disappoint-ex-prosecutors-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3318933/request-unseal-epstein-grand-jury-transcripts-likely-disappoint-ex-prosecutors-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jul 2025 21:01:01 +0000