update - Trump imposes sanctions on Brazilian judge for putting ankle bracelet on Trump bestie Bolsonaro
- Thread starter mandrill
- Start date
It's interesting how quickly everyone just started assuming this was going to be a corrupt deal.President Donald Trump's Justice Department played a new card in the exploding Jeffrey Epstein case scandal on Tuesday morning, with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche both announcing they would be questioning Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein's child sex trafficking ring.
"Justice demands courage," Blanche wrote in his announcement on X, adding, "I intend to meet with [Maxwell] soon. No one is above the law — and no lead is off-limits."
This move may have been intended to quell the rising anger from Trump's own base that the DOJ has been unable to deliver on their promise of turning over all files on the Epstein case, including the rumored "client list" of wealthy and powerful people who indulged in Epstein's dark acts with him — which has no evidence of existing and which the DOJ has stated does not exist, but which has persisted in the narrative of conspiracy theorists on both the left and right for years.
But the timing of the announcement, coupled with longstanding knowledge that Trump himself used to be friends with Epstein, has spurred a more sinister theory from some political and legal observers on social media: that administration officials are moving to secure Maxwell's silence, or maybe even offer her a presidential pardon, something Trump biographer Michael Wolff alleged he has considered in the past.
"Now the Trump DOJ is rushing to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell to try to find out what she knows. Not suspicious [at] all," wrote the liberal news and podcasting network Meidas Touch.
"Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon Watch starts now," wrote Bulwark reporter Will Sommer.
"They are going to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her silence on what she knows about Trump and Jeffrey Epstein," wrote New York health care activist Melanie D'Arrigo. "The coverup will continue, and the Trump administration will rewrite the entire official story, release it, and treat it as fact. Pay attention."
"It is a near certainty that what the Deputy AG is planning to do in this meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell would best be described as witness tampering," wrote former federal prosecutor and district court clerk Elizabeth de la Vega.
'Pardon watch starts now': Analysts smell 'witness tampering' as DOJ meets Epstein partner
It's the pattern and the timing.
Promise to expose the Epstein List. Then deny it even exists and block all political attempts to obtain it. Then suddenly declare an interest in interviewing a heretofore ignored and despised source who is now clearly amenable to a payoff. And a president who is clearly motivated to exonerate himself and has a track record of giving corrupt pardons.
This is the easiest join-the-dots I've ever seen.
This IG page covers Trump's pardons scam pretty thoroughly
The dems are starting to dig into this as well, judging by Mueller She Wrote
The Epstein Cover-Up at the FBI
Inside the chaotic review process of the Epstein and Maxwell files at the Bureau
www.muellershewrote.com
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Justice Department fought to keep President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Alina Habba, in place as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey on Tuesday after a panel of judges refused to extend her tenure and appointed someone else to the job.
Habba, who had been named the interim U.S. attorney for the state in March, appeared to lose the position earlier Tuesday, when judges in the district declined to keep her in the post while she awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Acting under a law that generally limits the terms of interim U.S. attorneys to 120 days, the judges appointed one of Habba's subordinates, Desiree Leigh Grace, as her successor.
But just hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she had in turn removed Grace, blaming Habba's removal on “politically minded judges.”
“This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges,” Bondi said on social media. The attorney general's second in command, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said in a post on social media that he didn't believe Habba's 120-day term expired until 11:59 p.m. Friday.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement that Trump has full confidence in Habba and that the administration would work to get her confirmed by the U.S. Senate, despite opposition from New Jersey’s two senators, both Democrats, who potentially have the power to block her nomination.
The judicial order appointing Grace, signed by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb, didn't list any reasons for picking her for the position over Habba. Grace’s LinkedIn page shows she’s served as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey for the last nearly nine years.
Messages seeking comment were left with Habba’s office and the Justice Department.
Alina Habba's tenure in New Jersey as top prosecutor
During her four-month tenure, Habba's office tangled with two prominent New Jersey Democrats — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, over their actions during a chaotic visit to a privately operated immigration detention center in the state’s largest city.
Baraka was arrested on a trespass charge stemming from his attempt to join a congressional visit of the facility. Baraka denied any wrongdoing and Habba eventually dropped that charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba’s office over the arrest and short-lived prosecution, calling it a “worrisome misstep.” Baraka is now suing Habba over what he says was a “malicious prosecution.”
Habba then brought assault charges against McIver, whose district includes Newark, over physical contact she made with law enforcement officials as Baraka was being arrested.
The prosecution, which is still pending, is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. McIver denies that anything she did amounted to assault.
Besides the prosecution of McIver, Habba had announced she launched an investigation into New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state’s directive barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement.
In social media posts, Habba highlighted her office’s prosecution of drug traffickers, including against 30 members of a fentanyl and crack cocaine ring in Newark.
Habba’s nomination has stalled under senatorial courtesy
Trump, a Republican, formally nominated Habba as his pick for U.S. attorney on July 1, but the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim signaled their opposition to her appointment. Under a long-standing Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, a nomination can stall out without backing from home state senators, a phenomenon facing a handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney.
Booker and Kim accused Habba of bringing politically motivated prosecutions.
What is Habba's background?
Once a partner in a small law firm near Trump’s New Jersey golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail.
U.S. attorneys often have experience as prosecutors, including at the state or local level. Many, including the acting U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan, have worked in the offices they now lead.
Habba said she wanted to pursue the president’s agenda of “putting America first.”
Habba was one of Trump’s most visible defense attorneys, appearing on cable TV news as his “legal spokesperson.” She represented Trump in 2024 in the defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll.
But Habba has had limited federal court experience, practicing mainly in state-level courts. During the Carroll trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan chided Habba for botching procedure, misstating the law, asking about off-limits topics and objecting after he ruled.
Trump administration fights to keep ex-Trump lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey federal prosecutor
Habba, who had been named the interim U.S. attorney for the state in March, appeared to lose the position earlier Tuesday, when judges in the district declined to keep her in the post while she awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Acting under a law that generally limits the terms of interim U.S. attorneys to 120 days, the judges appointed one of Habba's subordinates, Desiree Leigh Grace, as her successor.
But just hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she had in turn removed Grace, blaming Habba's removal on “politically minded judges.”
“This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges,” Bondi said on social media. The attorney general's second in command, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said in a post on social media that he didn't believe Habba's 120-day term expired until 11:59 p.m. Friday.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement that Trump has full confidence in Habba and that the administration would work to get her confirmed by the U.S. Senate, despite opposition from New Jersey’s two senators, both Democrats, who potentially have the power to block her nomination.
The judicial order appointing Grace, signed by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb, didn't list any reasons for picking her for the position over Habba. Grace’s LinkedIn page shows she’s served as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey for the last nearly nine years.
Messages seeking comment were left with Habba’s office and the Justice Department.
Alina Habba's tenure in New Jersey as top prosecutor
During her four-month tenure, Habba's office tangled with two prominent New Jersey Democrats — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, over their actions during a chaotic visit to a privately operated immigration detention center in the state’s largest city.
Baraka was arrested on a trespass charge stemming from his attempt to join a congressional visit of the facility. Baraka denied any wrongdoing and Habba eventually dropped that charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba’s office over the arrest and short-lived prosecution, calling it a “worrisome misstep.” Baraka is now suing Habba over what he says was a “malicious prosecution.”
Habba then brought assault charges against McIver, whose district includes Newark, over physical contact she made with law enforcement officials as Baraka was being arrested.
The prosecution, which is still pending, is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. McIver denies that anything she did amounted to assault.
Besides the prosecution of McIver, Habba had announced she launched an investigation into New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state’s directive barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement.
In social media posts, Habba highlighted her office’s prosecution of drug traffickers, including against 30 members of a fentanyl and crack cocaine ring in Newark.
Habba’s nomination has stalled under senatorial courtesy
Trump, a Republican, formally nominated Habba as his pick for U.S. attorney on July 1, but the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim signaled their opposition to her appointment. Under a long-standing Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, a nomination can stall out without backing from home state senators, a phenomenon facing a handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney.
Booker and Kim accused Habba of bringing politically motivated prosecutions.
What is Habba's background?
Once a partner in a small law firm near Trump’s New Jersey golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail.
U.S. attorneys often have experience as prosecutors, including at the state or local level. Many, including the acting U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan, have worked in the offices they now lead.
Habba said she wanted to pursue the president’s agenda of “putting America first.”
Habba was one of Trump’s most visible defense attorneys, appearing on cable TV news as his “legal spokesperson.” She represented Trump in 2024 in the defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll.
But Habba has had limited federal court experience, practicing mainly in state-level courts. During the Carroll trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan chided Habba for botching procedure, misstating the law, asking about off-limits topics and objecting after he ruled.
Trump administration fights to keep ex-Trump lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey federal prosecutor
President Donald Trump did a prisoner swap last week in which he returned 250 Venezuelan migrants back to their country in exchange for a swap of 10 Americans who were in that nation's prisons.
New reports claimed one of those Americans have been convicted of killing three people in an horrific ax attack in which he slit their throats.
Dahud Hanid Ortiz arrived in Texas on Friday waving an American flag, El País reported Tuesday. It confirmed the man's identity with a source close to the Spanish secret service and another from the Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal, which helps aid political prisoners.
The organization made it clear one of the Americans released was not a political prisoner but a convicted killer.
The report said that Ortiz obtained his official U.S. citizenship and then served in the Iraq War. The murders took place in 2016 in Madrid, but he fled to Venezuela, where he remained free until 2018. In 2024, he was sentenced in that country to 30 years in prison for the crimes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio celebrated Ortiz and the other men in a statement, saying, “Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.” Rubio cheered President Donald Trump for securing their “freedom."
The State Department didn't respond to questions from El País about Ortiz.
The report cited Venezuelan Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello, who quipped, “We handed over some murderers for you.”
Ortiz's ex-wife spoke to a German publication and said she was assured that “the competent authorities are currently evaluating the inclusion of this person in the police information system, in order to ensure that he cannot enter ... Germany.”
She believes there is "well-founded suspicion" that Ortiz's lawyer gave false information about Ortiz, painting him as a political prisoner or even a U.S. spy with the intention of securing a release back to the U.S.
Reporters have not yet asked Trump to comment on the matter.
Read the full report here.
Ax murderer who slit throats freed in Trump's Venezuela prisoner swap: report
New reports claimed one of those Americans have been convicted of killing three people in an horrific ax attack in which he slit their throats.
Dahud Hanid Ortiz arrived in Texas on Friday waving an American flag, El País reported Tuesday. It confirmed the man's identity with a source close to the Spanish secret service and another from the Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal, which helps aid political prisoners.
The organization made it clear one of the Americans released was not a political prisoner but a convicted killer.
The report said that Ortiz obtained his official U.S. citizenship and then served in the Iraq War. The murders took place in 2016 in Madrid, but he fled to Venezuela, where he remained free until 2018. In 2024, he was sentenced in that country to 30 years in prison for the crimes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio celebrated Ortiz and the other men in a statement, saying, “Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.” Rubio cheered President Donald Trump for securing their “freedom."
The State Department didn't respond to questions from El País about Ortiz.
The report cited Venezuelan Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello, who quipped, “We handed over some murderers for you.”
Ortiz's ex-wife spoke to a German publication and said she was assured that “the competent authorities are currently evaluating the inclusion of this person in the police information system, in order to ensure that he cannot enter ... Germany.”
She believes there is "well-founded suspicion" that Ortiz's lawyer gave false information about Ortiz, painting him as a political prisoner or even a U.S. spy with the intention of securing a release back to the U.S.
Reporters have not yet asked Trump to comment on the matter.
Read the full report here.
Ax murderer who slit throats freed in Trump's Venezuela prisoner swap: report
Why am I not surprised that's how you spend your days.
Why do conservatives have such a problem discerning between men and women ?
