Tag: donald trump

Jeffrey Epstein brother: Trump administration keeps putting ‘their foot further down their mouth’

Mark Epstein, the older brother of the late Jeffrey Epstein, argued Tuesday that the Trump administration keeps putting its foot “further down their mouth” amid controversy over the disgraced financier’s 2019 death by suicide.

The case has been back in headlines in recent days after the Department of Justice concluded in a memo that there is “no evidence” supporting claims Epstein was mudered.

In an interview on NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” Mark Epstein stressed his view that his brother “was most likely murdered.”

“Every time they say something or do something to try to quash the fact that he was most likely murdered, they just put their foot further down their mouth,” he told host Chris Cuomo, when asked why he doesn’t believe the administration’s latest explanation.

The older Epstein brother pointed to FBI Director Kash Patel’s rhetoric around the conspiracies and his confirmation hearing earlier this year, when the Trump official “listed his credentials as a prosecutor and other such things, and he said that it was a suicide.”

He paraphrased the remarks, recalling Patel said something to the effect of, “You know a suicide when you see it.”

“So the questions that popped into my mind was, first of all, No. 1, how many suicides has he seen? No. 1,” Mark Epstein continued. “Two, is he a forensic pathologist? Does he have a medical degree? Does he have a certificate that he passed a CPR course? Does he have a Boy Scout merit badge for first aid? What is he basing his expertise on?”

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‘We’re Impressed’: Zelensky Now Sings Trump’s Praises & CIA Director Breathes Sigh Of Relief

“They have to be able to defend themselves,” Trump said Monday, offering confirmation of his weapons to Ukraine policy U-turn. “They’re getting hit very hard. … We’re gonna have to send more weapons.”

A presidential aide to Volodymyr Zelensky has offered new insight into how Trump’s reversal came about, especially related to his phone call with the Ukrainian president held last Friday, after a prior ‘disappointing’ Putin call.

Yermak described that Trump’s decision to reverse course on the pause in weaponry was “very well received in Ukraine, especially after very substantial phone conversation” on Friday. He added in a NY Post interview that the US President clearly remains “fully supportive of continuation of the aid to Ukraine.”

“He was quite disturbed by recent strikes — they’ve been happening for more than three years — but by recent strikes, murders with drones and missiles that fall in Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Ukraine,” Yermak told the Post. “Absolutely, [Trump and Zelenskyy] are united in this. These two leaders definitely want peace, and they are absolutely against the killing.”

The latest Russian assault, being widely reported Wednesday morning, involved a staggering more than 700 drones, as well as at least a dozen cruise and ballistic missiles. Moscow indicated it is seeking to destroy military airfields and logistics hubs tied to foreign defense aid.

“We’re here to make things happen. Good deals — that’s what matters,” he said. “But let’s be honest: when Russia launches over a hundred Shahed drones almost every night, along with ballistic and cruise missiles, any delay in deliveries becomes a real concern.”

And then he hailed Trump, after his term in office started on a very rocky note with Zelensky. “We’ve seen President Trump’s recent messaging on Ukraine — and frankly, we’re impressed,” Yermak said. “No exaggeration. The clarity, the leadership, the determination — we truly appreciate it.”

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Trump Admin Walks Back Amnesty Suggestions, Says Mass Deportations Will Continue

In the face of growing criticism from the MAGA base, the Trump Administration is now walking back previous suggestions that some illegal aliens, specifically those working on farms and in hospitality, could be protected from deportation.

As we previously highlighted, Trump made remarks last week in Iowa indicating that he is considering protecting some illegals in order to help farmers who are relying on them for labor.

“You had cases where, not here, but just even over the years, where people have worked for a farm, on a farm, for 14, 15 years, and they get thrown out pretty viciously, and we can’t do it,” Trump asserted.

Trump credited his Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for the idea, stating “You’re the one that brought this whole situation up.”

Even the most ardent Trump supporters quickly responded that this isn’t what they voted for and represents amnesty.

Now Rollins has responded in a press briefing, stating “I can’t underscore enough that there will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way.”

“And we move the (farm) workforce toward automation and 100% American participation,” she added.

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Meteorologists: National Weather Service Had ‘Extra’ Staff During Texas Floods, Not Impacted by Trump’s Cuts

Meteorologists have argued that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service (NWS) did their jobs well during the devastating Texas flash floods — and even had “extra” staff on hand for the storm — despite Democrats’ claims that the Trump administration’s cuts to the agencies contributed to the loss of life over the holiday weekend.

Even establishment media outlets like the Associated Press (AP) have reported on the weather community’s pushback on that narrative, while the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent out memos arguing that the Trump administration “refused to backfill key roles … likely contributing to preventable deaths and worsened devastation.”

The AP cited NWS meteorologist Jason Runyen, who said the agency’s office in New Braunfels, serving Austin, San Antonio, and the surrounding areas, had more people on duty than normal just before the flash floods occurred before sunrise on Friday.

“There were extra people in here that night, and that’s typical in every weather service office — you staff up for an event and bring people in on overtime and hold people over,” Runyen said, explaining that the office had up to five people on staff, when they would typically have two.

Not only did the NWS issue “a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger,” according to the AP’s Sean Murphy and Jim Vertuno, but they also put out the initial flood watch at 1:18 p.m. the day before. 

The notices “grew increasingly ominous in the early morning hours of Friday,” culminating in a 4:03 a.m. warning for “the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life,” the AP added.

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Illness and Endless Wars

Hey, you remember that guy, right? You know, the candidate who, in his third campaign for president in 2024 insisted that he was the one who would remove this country’s “warmongers and America-last globalists” and that returning him to the White House would “turn the page forever on those foolish, stupid days of never-ending war. They never ended.”

Yes, indeed, America’s wars haven’t ended, not by a long shot, not with Donald Trump back in the White House a second time. And yes (again), he did indeed swear that he was done with such wars. But then he wasn’t thinking about Bibi Netanyahu, was he? He wasn’t thinking about Israel bombing Iran. In typical fashion, he wasn’t thinking three (two? one?) steps ahead. And now, of course, we have Iran. I know, I know, after his bombing runs against that country’s nuclear sites, there is at least what passes for a truce in place (until, of course, there isn’t). With Netanyahu once again focused on killing Palestinians in Gaza and Trump focused on… well, himself, it’s easy enough to forget that he did indeed bring American-style warfare back to a Middle East that already had an estimated 40,000-50,000 American soldiers stationed at perhaps 19 sites across the region. And mind you, he hasn’t stopped implying that there might be worse to come. (“Can it start again? I guess someday, it can. It could maybe start soon.”)

And with all of that looming, and the unpredictable Donald Trump in the White House, let TomDispatch regular Andrea Mazzarino, one of the founders of the invaluable Costs of War Project, take you on a grim voyage into what war — in fact, the wars this country has so regularly fought in this century across the Greater Middle East and Africa (where, by the way, the Trump administration is still sending American planes on remarkably regular bombing runs in Somalia at a pace that could set a Trumpian record this year) — does to our health. It isn’t pretty, believe me.

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DOJ Charges 2 People for Helping Ryan Routh’s Alleged Trump Assassination Plot

The Justice Department has charged two people in North Carolina for helping Ryan Routh obtain his SKS-style rifle as part of his alleged plot to assassinate Donald Trump last September at his Palm Beach golf course.

The co-conspirators, Tina Brown Cooper and Ronnie Jay Oxendine, were both charged in March, and have already pled guilty. Their cases have not been publicized until now.

Neither Cooper nor Oxendine knew what Routh was planning, according to court records.

According to the DOJ, Routh called Cooper, who was his employee at his roofing business, last July about procuring a rifle.

“Cooper recommended to Routh that he buy the firearm from a pawn shop, and Routh then reminded her that he was unable to purchase a firearm in his true name because he was a convicted felon. Cooper then agreed to help Routh acquire a firearm,” the DOJ stated in court records.

Cooper then reached out to Oxendine, whom she now works for at Sons Roofing Company in Greensboro.

At first, Oxendine apparently didn’t know Cooper was buying the gun for Routh. When they all showed up to his business on Aug. 2, Oxendine was surprised to see Routh, whom he hadn’t seen in over a decade and thought was living in Hawaii.

“Oxendine was outside of the business when Cooper, her daughter, and Routh arrived. Oxendine asked Cooper why Routh was there; Cooper explained that the SKS rifle was actually for Routh. Oxendine handed the SKS rifle to Routh. Routh paid Oxendine $350 in cash for the SKS rifle and paid Cooper $100 in cash for arranging the sale,” court records state.

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Trade Crackdown: 14 Countries Receive Tariff Letters Including Japan, South Korea And Thailand

  • US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose higher tariff rates of 25%-40% on key trading partners and signed an executive order holding off the new duties until Aug. 1.
  • Tariffs on Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Tunisia, would be 25%, South Africa and Bosnia 30%, Indonesia 32%, Bangladesh and Serbia 35%, Thailand and Cambodia 36%, while Laos and Myanmar would face a 40% levy.
  • Meanwhile, Trump suggested the possibility of additional trade negotiations and delays at the White House shortly after he sent out the tariff letters, as he said the notifications were “not 100% firm”. He also said the US is close in making a deal with India.
  • White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said additional letters will arrive in the coming days.

Main takeaways:

  1. the deadline was pushed towards August 1st vs. July 9th;
  2. announced new tariff levels (effective on August 1st) for 14 countries
  3. Trump said that the tariffs on each country would be separate from any “sectoral” tariffs that he imposes;
  4. we should expect more deals/letters coming: Leavitt said Trump will send more letters 

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize, Presents Him with Letter of Nomination

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday during a dinner meeting with President Trump that he is nominating the President for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Netanyahu made his third appearance at the White House —the most of any foreign leader—on Monday to have dinner and meet with the President to discuss the situation in Gaza.

During their dinner, the Prime Minister presented President Trump with his letter to the Nobel Prize Committee, officially nominating Trump for the Peace Prize.

“He’s forging peace as we speak, in one country and one region after the other,” Netanyahu said.

WATCH:

Netanyahu: He forged the Abraham Accords. He’s forging peace as we speak, in one country and one region after the other. So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee. It’s nominating you for the Peace Prize, which is well deserved, and you should get it.

Trump: Thank you very much. This, I didn’t know. Wow. Thank you very much. Coming from you, in particular, this is very meaningful.

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‘No exceptions’: Trump threatens additional tariffs on BRICS-linked countries

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on any country affiliated with the BRICS+ group of emerging economies. 

Trump made the threat early on 7 July in a post on his Truth Social platform. 

“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 percent Tariff,” the US president said. 

“There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added. 

Trump’s statement coincided with an ongoing BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

On Sunday, the bloc made a declaration condemning the rise in US tariffs in an indirect swipe at Washington, expressing “serious concerns.”

These measures are “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules” and “threaten to reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.”

In a statement at the summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed NATO’s decision to hike military spending by five percent of GDP annually by 2035. 

“It is always easier to invest in war than in peace,” Lula said, while also condemning the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attended the BRICS summit. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian was initially scheduled to participate before Israel launched a brutal US-backed war against the country in mid-June. 

The BRICS nations condemned the recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran during the summit. 

“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025. We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” the bloc said, adding that the attacks “constitute a violation of international law.”

As the fate of stalled nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington remains uncertain, US economic sanctions have continued to target Iran. 

A few months before the US-backed war on Iran, a brief trade war erupted between Beijing and Washington. 

Beijing imposed high levies on US-sourced natural gas imports in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Chinese exports. 

China and the US agreed on 12 May to remove most of the tariffs imposed on each other. 

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Netanyahu Visits White House: Genocide Made Invisible

Whatever the outcomes of Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House on Monday and the latest scenario for a ceasefire in Gaza, a bilateral policy of genocide has united the Israeli and U.S. governments in a pact of literally breath-taking cruelty. That pact and its horrific consequences for Palestinian people either continue to shock Americans or gradually normalize indifference toward ongoing atrocities on a massive scale.

Recent news reporting that President Trump has pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza is an echo of a familiar refrain about peace-seeking efforts from the Biden and Trump administrations. The spin remained in sync with the killing – not only with American bombs and bullets but also with Israel’s refusal to allow more than a pittance of food and other essentials into Gaza.

Last year began with a United Nations statement that “Gazans now make up 80 per cent of all people facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, marking an unparalleled humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s continued bombardment and siege.” The UN quoted experts who said: “Currently every single person in Gaza is hungry, a quarter of the population are starving and struggling to find food and drinkable water, and famine is imminent.”

In late February 2024, President Biden talked to journalists about prospects for a “ceasefire” (which did not take place) while holding a vanilla ice cream cone. “My national security adviser tells me that we’re close, we’re close, we’re not done yet,” Biden said, before sauntering off. He spoke during a photo op at an ice cream parlor in Manhattan, while the UN was sounding an alarm that “very little humanitarian aid has entered besieged Gaza this month.”

During the 16 months since then, variants of facile verbiage from top U.S. government officials have repeated endlessly, while normalizing genocide with a steep race to the ethical bottom, so that – in Orwellian terms, much like “war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” – genocide is not genocide.

Refusal to acknowledge the complicity and impunity is most of all maintained by avoidance and silence. The process makes a terrible truth inadmissible rather than admittable.

All the doublethink and newspeak must detour around the reality that the U.S.-supported Israeli siege of Gaza is genocide, which the international Genocide Convention defines as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” – with such actions as “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Israel’s actions in Gaza clearly meet that definition, as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have unequivocally concluded with exhaustive reports.

But under the cloaks of the Israeli and American flags, the official stories insist that the unconscionable should be invisible.

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