Tag: donald trump

Leopold Report: FBI FOIA Team Erased High-Profile Names from Epstein Records, Including Trump

President Donald Trump’s name was among those redacted from documents tied to the late Jeffrey Epstein, according to a Friday report by Bloomberg, which cited multiple sources familiar with the FBI’s final review process. The revelation has deepened the divide between federal transparency efforts and growing demands from Trump’s own base for full disclosure of the Epstein files.

The report, authored by veteran investigative journalist Jason Leopold, states that a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) review team inside the FBI combed through thousands of pages tied to the Epstein investigation. The team, according to Leopold, was tasked specifically with removing the names of private individuals, including “prominent public figures” such as Trump, before the documents were released to the public.

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Trump’s Russia Sanctions Ultimatum Will Blow Up In America’s Face: Jeffrey Sachs

Economist and longtime adviser to the UN Jeffrey Sachs has issued a scathing critique of President Trump’s decision to unleash yet more anti-Russia sanctions, giving Moscow just ten days to negotiate for peace with Ukraine or else the new punitive measures will go into effect.

Sachs called the new policy “dangerous” and a sign that the Trump administration is plagued by contradictions and lack of a coherent strategy for ending the war, despite constant early boasting that Trump would rapidly achieve peace. The ‘secondary sanctions’ aimed primarily at those nations still trading with Russia are doomed to be ineffective anyway, the Colombia University professor pointed out.

“If the sanctions are actually applied, they are an escalation of the conflict, and therefore very dangerous. I do not believe that they will be effective,” he said in an interview with Russian media.

“For example, I do not believe they will stop Russia from selling oil, gas, and other commodities to Asian markets. Yet, provocations and escalation often have unpredictable negative effects, and that could be true here as well,” he added.

The new restrictions are likely to backfire regardless, as they “could expose” the “incompetence” or even “accelerate the breakup” of US-led geopolitical and economic blocs.

“This is, in short, the wrong approach. We need diplomacy and negotiation to get to the root causes of the conflict, and solve them, not unworkable ultimatums based on the idea of an unconditional ceasefire,” Sachs added.

He further highlighted the West’s inability to acknowledge and come to terms with the real underlying causes of Ukraine war, such as historic NATO expansion east, the sham Minsk accords, or the coup events of 2014.

“Instead, the Western powers now demand an unconditional ceasefire. Russia will not agree to this, nor will a new round of US sanctions compel Russia to agree to this,” Sachs emphasized.

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“Step Towards War”: Kremlin Slams Trump Ultimatum, Unleashes More Deadly Missile Attacks On Ukraine

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued the Kremlin’s response to President Trump’s Monday announcement from Scotland that he’s reducing a deadline for Russia to agree a peace settlement from 50 days to 10 or 12 days, citing ‘disappointment’ in Putin not ending or at least winding down the war.

Medvedev, who serves as the current deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wrote on X that the US President was playing “the ultimatum game” with Moscow, which we should note is of course nuclear-armed, and that each new threat like this is a “step towards war”.

Medvedev warned: “Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran” and thus that “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with (Trump’s) own country.”

America’s own loudmouth hawk later in the day Monday responded with his own challenge pushing back. Here’s what the senator from South Carolina said on X:

“To those in Russia who believe that President Trump is not serious about ending the bloodbath between Russia and Ukraine: You and your customers will soon be sadly mistaken. You will also soon see that Joe Biden is no longer president,” Lindsey Graham said, adding: “Get to the peace table.”

Medvedev then responded to this on X, telling “gramps” to instead get busy working on America First. “Negotiations will end when all the objectives of our military operation have been achieved. Work on America first, gramps!” he said.

Trump’s new deadline means that he could impose fresh sanctions by somewhere in early August: possibly Aug. 7-9, as opposed to what was initially the 50-day window which would have ended on September 2.

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Trump Shows Strong Support for Israel as Palestinians in Gaza Starve to Death

President Trump has shown strong support for Israel in recent days, while much of the world has been outraged over the images of Palestinians who are starving to death due to the US-backed Israeli siege on Gaza.

After the US and Israel quit ceasefire talks, Trump blamed the lack of progress on Hamas and suggested it was time for Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza. “I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad,” Trump said on Friday, referring to Hamas.

For its part, Hamas has said that it was surprised by the US and Israel quitting the truce talks and that it was committed to continuing the process until a deal was reached.

In recent weeks, Trump has been claiming that a ceasefire deal was close, but now he is appearing to suggest that Israel should escalate its genocidal war. “They’re gonna have to fight, and they’re gonna have to clean it up. You’re gonna have to get rid of [Hamas],” he said.

Israeli officials told Axios that they weren’t sure if Trump’s comments were a negotiating tactic or a “green light” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use even more extreme military measures. The report said the Trump administration was rethinking its Gaza strategy, but there’s no sign it’s considering putting pressure on Israel to reach a ceasefire.

Israeli officials also told Axios that Trump has applied virtually no pressure on Netanyahu to end the slaughter in Gaza in recent months. “In most calls and meetings, Trump told Bibi, ‘Do what you have to do in Gaza.’ In some cases, he even encouraged Netanyahu to go harder on Hamas,” one official said.

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Militarized Law Enforcement Reaches a New Level under Trump

Law enforcement in the United States has exhibited an exceptional degree of harshness, if not outright brutality, during the initial months of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.  A majority of the most flagrant examples have involved enforcement actions by the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division.  Numerous stories have appeared in the news media about ICE agents appearing at workplaces and schools to apprehend individuals suspected of being in the United States illegally. Suspects have been approached by agents dressed in civilian clothes and refusing to identify themselves or present badges.  They have dragged suspects off the street and held them in captivity for hours or in some cases, even days.  The result is an ugly image that is becoming more and more ingrained with the American public.  It is an image of U.S. law enforcement personnel engaging in arbitrary, police-state tactics typical of dictatorships, not a country that has ostentatiously prided itself on respect for civil liberties and the rule of law.  

Such alarming conduct is neither new, however, nor confined to ICE.  That agency’s especially odious recent behavior is the culmination of a long-developing trend of blurring the distinction between domestic law enforcement tactics and those of foreign warfare conducted in the name of national defense.  Such alarming militarization of law enforcement has been underway for decades, although it has reached a new peak under Trump. 

Nasty immigration raids are hardly unprecedented.  ICE’s predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), frequently used heavy-handed enforcement tactics that smacked of intimidation.  During the late 1990s, a friend and colleague of mine (a native born U.S. citizen) was stopped at a checkpoint on a highway in Arizona leading northward from the U.S. border with Mexico. He was detained for over an hour as the INS sought to determine if he was an American citizen.  Such episodes (and worse) became far more frequent after the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the transformation of INS into a more powerful agency, ICE, in 2003.  President Barack Obama’s supporters hailed him as the “deporter-in-chief” because of the record number of undocumented immigrants apprehended and expelled from the United States during his presidency.

The alarming militarization of law enforcement began long before then, however.  A key development took place during Ronald Reagan’s administration when local police forces gained much greater access to military hardware. That aspect became even more important in 1990 with the expansion of the Pentagon’s 1033 program.  It enabled local and state police departments to obtain even sophisticated, heavy-duty weaponry and equipment at bargain basement prices—or sometimes for free.  The new federal largesse led to an acquisition frenzy.  

With Washington’s subsidies, the number of SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) programs ballooned throughout the United States.  Increasingly, such units were established not just in major cities with very high violent crime rates, but also in generally peaceful medium-sized and small cities. The number of SWAT raids also soared from about 3,000 in 1980, to a whopping 50,000 in 2014. That total has continued to climb.

SWAT personnel did not look like the public relations image of the local police as “Officer Friendly,” and were not armed in that fashion.  Instead, they became indistinguishable from heavily armed combat personnel in the Army or Marines.  Worse, SWAT units often behaved like hardened combat personnel, treating suspects and sometimes even bystanders as the equivalent of enemy troops.  That tendency became even more pronounced when police units in American towns and cities underwent training from foreign police or military establishments, including Israel’s notoriously heavy-handed security forces.  

The “SWAT disease” has gradually infected other law enforcement entities, federal, state, and local.  ICE has proven especially susceptible.  That agency’s behavior epitomizes the growing mentality in the U.S. legal system of regarding ordinary civilians not as people to be protected and served, but as potential enemies to be punished and neutralized.

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Trump’s Justice Department Takes Down Dark Web Child Abuse Network — 120,000 Users, Millions of Files in Operation Grayskull

In one of the most aggressive and successful anti-child exploitation crackdowns in U.S. history, President Trump’s Justice Department has revealed the results of Operation Grayskull, a sweeping, international strike that dismantled four high-traffic dark web platforms trafficking violent child sexual abuse materials, exposing a digital cesspool that included over 120,000 registered users and millions of illicit files.

To date, 18 individuals have been convicted in federal court, receiving a combined 300+ years in prison.

The Justice Department detailed how Thomas Peter Katsampes, 52, of Minnesota, became a staff member on one of these despicable sites, personally distributing CSAM, guiding others on how to do so, and helping manage operations. He was sentenced to over 20 years in prison, lifetime supervision, and forced to pay restitution to his victims.

But he was only one of many.

Among the 18 convicted predators:

  • William Michael Spearman of Alabama was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a child exploitation enterprise.
  • Joseph Addison Martin of Washington got 42 years.
  • Keith David McIntosh of Michigan was sentenced to a staggering 55 years, with a prior conviction on record.
  • Selwyn David Rosenstein of Florida was handed 28 years and a six-figure restitution order for his crimes.

Each of these individuals was found guilty of actively operating or contributing to some of the darkest, most vile content imaginable, and doing so in a highly coordinated and secretive online network.

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DOGE Unleashes New AI Deregulation Decision Tool Targeting 200,000 Federal Regulations- Aims to Slash 50% by January 2026

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has announced a new AI reregulation tool that could slash Federal regulations by as much as 50%.

A Washington Post exclusive notes that the tool, the ‘DOGE AI Deregulation Decision Tool,’ “is supposed to analyze roughly 200,000 federal regulations to determine which can be eliminated because they are no longer required by law.”

The Post reviewed a PowerPoint presentation dated July 1 that outlines the specifics.

“Roughly 100,000 of those rules would be deemed worthy of trimming, the PowerPoint estimates — mostly through the automated tool with some staff feedback. The PowerPoint also suggests the AI tool will save the United States trillions of dollars by reducing compliance requirements, slashing the federal budget and unlocking unspecified “external investment.”

DOGE shared on X, “The AI-driven deregulation push at DOGE isn’t just streamlining red tape—it’s surgically targeting bureaucratic bloat that’s choked agencies for decades.”

“The system cross-references 15,000+ regulations against statutory authority, flagging provisions where agencies exceeded congressional mandates. Take HUD’s Public Housing reforms: AI identified 1,200+ redundant compliance checks in tenant verification processes, enabling targeted cuts that maintain oversight while eliminating 40% of administrative overhead.”

“This isn’t blanket deregulation—it’s precision calibration.”

“The $175B savings milestone proves the model works, with contract cancellations like the $2.9B ORR influx facility termination showing real fiscal discipline. Critics miss the point: when you replace 500 pages of procurement rules with 50 pages of blockchain-encoded smart contracts, you’re not weakening governance—you’re modernizing it.”

“The goal? Replace voluminous compliance theater with algorithmic accountability that actually works.”

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Trump Says Kamala Campaign ‘Broke the Law’ by Paying Beyoncé, Oprah

President Donald Trump accused former Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign of breaking the law regarding alleged payments to celebrities such as Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey for their endorsements.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump revealed that he was “looking at the large amount of money” the Democrats owed after the 2024 presidential election, adding that “They admit to paying, probably illegally” millions of dollars to Beyoncé, Winfrey, and MSNBC political commentator Al Sharpton, among others.

Trump wrote in his post:

I’m looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the Presidential Election, and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!), Three Million Dollars for “expenses,” to Oprah, Six Hundred Thousand Dollars to very low rated TV “anchor,” Al Sharpton (a total lightweight!), and others to be named for doing, absolutely NOTHING!

Trump continued to state that “tThese ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records.”

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Resurfaced clip shows Epstein pleading the Fifth when asked if he was with Trump around underage girls

A resurfaced clip shows sex offender Jeffrey Epstein pleading the Fifth when he was asked during a deposition if he ever socialized with underage girls around Donald Trump.

The video clip, unearthed by left-leaning outlet MeidasTouch, shows Epstein responding to questions during a March 2010 deposition. The disgraced financier was questioned by an attorney of an alleged victim, Vice News previously reported.

In the clip, the attorney asks: “Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?”

Epstein replied: “Though l’d like to answer that question, at least today l’m going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendment rights, sir.”

Trump has never been accused of any crime in connection with the Epstein investigation and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Pleading the Fifth refers to invoking the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not self-incriminate.

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Son of Would-Be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Sentenced to 7 Years For Child P*rn

Oran Routh, son of would-be assassin Ryan Routh who was arrested last year for child pornography, was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

“On Friday morning, Oran Routh appeared in federal court for sentencing for a count of possessing child pornography of a child under the age of 12. He pleaded guilty to this charge in exchange for his other charges, which included multiple counts of possessing and transporting child pornography, being dismissed,” WGHP reported.

“The judge sentenced him to 7 years in prison with 5 years of supervised probation,” the outlet reported.

Oran Routh was taken into custody after investigators found hundreds of child porn files on his Galaxy Note during a search of his North Carolina residence last year.

“A review of the SD card located in Device-1 revealed that it contained hundreds of child pornography files,” prosecutors wrote in the criminal complaint, according to ABC News. “These files include videos from a known child pornography series created outside the state of North Carolina.”

Oran previously spoke with the Daily Mail about his father.

Ryan Routh is currently in federal custody on charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and other firearms violations.

“My dad hates Trump like every reasonable person does.” He even went so far as to say, “I don’t like Trump either,” but in the next breath tried to downplay his father’s actions, claiming, “He’s not a violent person.”

“He’s my dad and all he’s had is couple traffic tickets, as far as I know… That’s crazy. I know my dad and love my dad, but that’s nothing like him.”

“He said he was at the beach, but I thought that meant the outer banks in Hawaii,” Oran said.

The father and son had reportedly had a “falling out,” though Oran declined to elaborate on the reasons.

“I didn’t ask him for more information because we’ve had a falling out. We’ve grown apart.”

Despite their distance, Oran insisted, “He’s not a violent person. He’s a hard worker and a great dad. He’s a great dude, a nice guy and has worked his whole f***king life.”

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