Tag: fbi

Officials discover a million more documents potentially related to Epstein case

US authorities have discovered more than a million more documents potentially related to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that they plan to release in the coming days and weeks, officials say.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI have informed the Department of Justice (DoJ) about the discovery and turned over the documents for lawyers to review.

“We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,” the DoJ said on social media on Wednesday.

The department said that given the volume of material, the process could take “a few more weeks”.

The agency said it would “continue to fully comply with federal law and President Trump’s direction to release the files”.

The statement did not specify how the FBI and New York prosecutors came across the additional material.

The news comes after the justice department released thousands of documents last week – some heavily redacted – related to their investigations into Epstein.

The files were released after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act – signed into law by US President Donald Trump – that ordered the agency to share all the documents with the public while protecting victims’ identities.

Many of the documents released last week had names and other information blacked out, including names of people the FBI appears to cite as possible co-conspirators in the Epstein case.

The justice department has faced criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the amount of redactions, which the law permits only to protect victims’ identities and active criminal investigations.

The law passed by Congress and signed last month by Trump states that names and information that might be embarrassing or cause “reputational harm” are not allowed to be redacted.

It specifically asks the DoJ for internal communications and memos detailing who was investigated and decisions on whether “to charge, not charge, investigate, or decline to investigate Epstein or his associates”.

Included in the first release of documents were emails appearing to be exchanged between FBI personnel in 2019 that mention 10 possible “co-conspirators” of Epstein.

The emails said six of the group had been served with subpoenas. This included three in Florida, one in Boston, one in New York City, and one in Connecticut.

Possible co-conspirators in Epstein’s crimes are a major focus for his victims, and for several lawmakers who have demanded more transparency from the justice department.

Previous releases of Epstein documents have included revelations that reverberated across the Atlantic. Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US after details emerged about his friendship with the convicted paedophile, and that he told Epstein “I think the world of you”, the day before Epstein began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.

Lord Mandelson said in a letter to staff that “I deeply regret” the circumstances of his departure from the British embassy in Washington DC. He said being ambassador had been “the privilege of my life” and he continued “to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein twenty years ago and the plight of his victims”.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost his ‘prince’ title and was asked to leave his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, following weeks of intense scrutiny over his links to Epstein following a document release in October.

Keep reading

Seth Rich Attorney Ty Clevenger Blasts FBI for “Nine-Year Coverup” — Accuses Bureau of Lying to Courts and Burying Evidence While Ignoring Court Orders

A lawyer closely tied to the long-running legal battle over the mysterious death of Seth Rich is accusing the federal government of an extraordinary, years-long coverup, one that he says mirrors the FBI’s handling of other politically explosive cases and exposes systemic corruption at the highest levels of federal law enforcement.

Ty Clevenger, an attorney who has spent years litigating Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) cases related to Seth Rich, issued a blistering public statement this week alleging that the FBI deliberately concealed records, lied to federal courts, and is now openly defying a court order to produce documents related to Rich’s case.

Clevenger’s remarks come amid renewed scrutiny of the FBI following revelations that the bureau effectively “buried” the January 6 pipe bomber investigation for years.

According to Clevenger, the FBI has been caught repeatedly lying to federal courts during eight years of FOIA litigation, hiding and misrepresenting records related to Seth Rich “on a massive scale.”

Even more alarming, Clevenger claims the FBI is currently defying a court order to turn over records, prompting a pending motion to hold the bureau in contempt of court.

Clevenger also blasted Republican lawmakers for their silence over the past nine years, naming names.

He pointed out that Rep. Thomas Massie has aggressively pursued the Epstein files but never publicly pressed on Seth Rich. Rep. Barry Loudermilk has led investigations into January 6 but, according to Clevenger, has ignored the Rich case entirely.

He then rattled off a list of prominent Republicans—Andy Biggs, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Chuck Grassley, Tim Burchett, and James Comer—asking whether any of them are even aware of what he calls an “ongoing FBI coverup.”

Keep reading

FBI Raided Secret Service Agent’s Home in Tax Fraud Probe

The FBI recently raided the home of a Secret Service agent on Vice President JD Vance’s detail in an alleged tax and wire fraud case involving millions of dollars in donations and grants.

In the alleged scheme, the agent accepted donations to a charity that purports to help inner-city youth and victims of domestic violence but didn’t provide the services it reported to the IRS, according to several knowledgeable sources in the Secret Service community.

The raid, which took place on or around Dec. 8, was the culmination of more than a year of work by a joint FBI-IRS investigation that the Secret Service joined in recent months, the sources said. Federal investigators have interviewed more than a dozen Secret Service agents, some of whom contributed to the nonprofit at the center of the probe, which is run by an agent on Vance’s detail.

The Secret Service has placed the agent on unpaid administrative leave and suspended his security clearance, signs that the agency considers the potential crimes and misconduct extremely serious, even though the individual has not been arrested, according to sources familiar with the matter.

RealClearPolitics has reached out to the USSS and has been told a statement is forthcoming.

The alleged fraud could further bruise the Secret Service, which is facing retention problems as it struggles to regain its once elite reputation after two Trump assassination attempts last year. In addition to potential criminal prosecution, the Secret Service agent could face internal insider threat allegations for demonstrating poor judgment and possible criminal intent.

“This is bigger than the 2012 prostitution scandal because agents are trained to investigate tax and bank wire fraud – anyone involved knew what they were doing was illegal,” one source remarked.

In 2012, more than a dozen Secret Service agents and other personnel were placed on administrative leave, and several were eventually fired after their superiors discovered they had hired prostitutes during a trip to Colombia to prepare for then-President Obama’s visit to the Summit of the Americas.

The agent whose home was raided is listed as the founder and chairman of the charity’s board of directors on tax documents filed with the IRS.

The charity in question purports to provide laptops to young inner-city youth in its “Laptops for Hope Program” – at least some of which are laptops donated by the Secret Service because they are beyond their warranties, according to knowledgeable sources. Investigators, however, are looking into whether laptops discovered in the basement of the agent’s home were ever donated to the youth or whether there were plans to do so.

Keep reading

Trump’s FBI says ‘Epstein’ prison postcard to pedophile Larry Nassar is FAKE

The prison postcard released in the Epstein files, allegedly written by Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar before his suicide, has been ruled as fake by the FBI. 

Allegedly written before Epstein’s 2019 jail cell suicide, the contents included a claim that ‘our president’ loves ‘young, nubile girls.’ Donald Trump was the president at the time, although there was no named references to him. 

It was released as part of the immense trove of files relating to the disgraced financier’s crimes and subsequent death. The DOJ has been releasing more documents since the deadline last Friday.

Included in today’s drop was the purported postcard – which referenced that Epstein took the ‘short route home’ and wished the former USA Olympic doctor, responsible for the biggest sexual abuse scandal in the history of American sports, well.

But despite being part of the official government document release, the FBI have said that the postcard is bogus, citing handwriting and stamping discrepancies.  

The Department of Justice posted just before 3.30pm on Tuesday: ‘The FBI has confirmed this alleged letter from Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar is FAKE. 

‘The fake letter was received by the jail, and flagged for the FBI at the time. The FBI made this conclusion based on the following facts.

‘The writing does not appear to match Jeffrey Epstein’s. The letter was postmarked three days after Epstein’s death out of Northern Virginia, when he was jailed in New York. 

Keep reading

FBI was warned that Jeffrey Epstein was into child porn — but ignored it for 10 years, docs show

A former employee of late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein alerted the FBI that he was interested in “child pornography” and that he threatened to “burn her house down” decades before Epstein became an international fixation — but feds apparently did nothing.

Maria Farmer, whom Epstein hired to help purchase art, filed a complaint against him on Sept. 3, 1996, but it took nearly 10 years more before the notorious sex abuser began to face significant legal scrutiny.

“I’ve waited 30 years,” Farmer told The New York Times when asked about a recently released report showing her complaint, describing herself as “vindicated.” “I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”

“They should be ashamed,” she continued. “…They harmed all of these little girls. That part devastates me.”

Farmer has publicly claimed for years that she tried to inform the authorities about Epstein and his madam, Ghislaine Maxwell’s, predatory behavior.

Keep reading

Art dealer who told FBI about Epstein’s child porn affinity in 1996 says he threatened to BURN her house down

An art dealer who sounded the alarm on Jeffrey Epstein‘s sickening affinity for child pornography a decade before the FBI investigated the disgraced financier said he scared her into silence by threatening to set her home ablaze. 

Maria Farmer, who Epstein once hired to help him buy artwork, has long asserted that she filed a complaint against the sex offender in September 1996. 

On Friday, the FBI finally released a copy of the document – solidifying what Farmer has been arguing for years. 

‘I’ve waited 30 years,’ Farmer told The New York Times. ‘I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.’

But she said it does not negate the fact that investigators ‘harmed all of these little girls’ by not taking her concerns seriously. 

In the released complaint, which has Farmer’s name redacted, authorities wrote that she had taken photos of her 12 and 16-year-old sisters for her personal portfolio that Epstein stole. 

Farmer, who was 25 at the time, claimed that Epstein ‘sold the pictures to potential buyers’ and told her ‘that if she tells anyone about the photos, he will burn her house down,’ as per the document. 

The now 56-year-old visual artist clarified in an interview that the photos Epstein stole included nude images, according to the NY Times. 

Keep reading

FBI Issues Warning as Sports Gambling Surges Around the US

The FBI sounded the alarm on Dec. 17 regarding the risks associated with sports gambling as its popularity continues to gain steam across the United States.

The law enforcement bureau noted that 39 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some variant of sports betting, but it said that “illegal sportsbooks and illegal online gaming sites” are still widespread.

Some $673.6 billion is wagered each year by Americans via illegal or unregulated gambling markets, the FBI said, citing data from the American Gambling Association.

“Individuals engaged in illegal gambling risk funding organized crime activity and becoming vulnerable to violence, extortion, and fraud,” the FBI said in its bulletin released on Wednesday, adding that it is working to target “organized crime and illegal gambling operations.”

Some gambling sites operated in other countries have advertisements that target Americans and seek to obscure their respective countries of origin, the agency said. These offshore sites do not follow the same legal regulations as licensed sports books in the United States, it added.

Furthermore, the bureau said that the gambling profits gained by these organized crime groups can fund human trafficking, drug smuggling, and weapon smuggling activities.

Keep reading

Timeline: The Sabotage Of The Clinton Foundation Investigation

This week, Senator Chuck Grassley released Department of Justice and FBI records that provide a new look on how FBI and DOJ leadership sabotaged the investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

These records, which include internal emails, summaries of high-level meetings and calls, and intelligence from confidential human sources, reveal the Clinton Foundation investigation was sabotaged from the start.

During the Obama Administration, both DOJ and FBI leadership were openly hostile to the investigation. US Attorneys declined to cooperate, denying requests for subpoenas or other investigative support. And during the first Trump Administration, actors within the FBI and DOJ obstructed and delayed the development of the investigation by not approving the release of FBI materials and slowing the release of witness interviews to investigators. A frustrating tale of corruption and incompetence.

Relying on these new documents, as well as other public source materials and Special Counsel John Durham’s report, here is the comprehensive timeline of the Clinton Foundation investigation, as well as other parts of the overall Clinton corruption investigation that are relevant. It is an infuriating tale of corruption and incompetence from the highest levels of government which ultimately protected the Clinton’s schemes to trade on their political influence for millions of dollars.

Keep reading

FBI Raids Somali-Owned ‘Health Services’ Business in Minnesota as Medicaid Fraud Exceeds $9 Billion

The FBI on Thursday raided a Somali-owned ‘health services’ business in Bloomington, Minnesota, after the Health and Human Services Department flagged it for fraud.

FBI agents were spotted carrying boxes out of Somali-owned Ultimate Home Health Services.

Fox 9 reported:

FBI agents raided the offices of a Bloomington business on Thursday, days after the State of Minnesota suspended a business license at that address citing fraud.

A FOX 9 crew witnessed FBI agents and other federal investigators carrying boxes from a business in a plaza off 17th Avenue South near Old Shakopee Road East. The business is located in a suite next to a pizza shop, an Asian market, and a laundry mat.

Inside the building, there was damage to a door belonging to Ultimate Home Health Services which appeared to have been forced open.

A letter dated Dec. 5 shows the Department of Human Services had suspended the license for Ultimate Home Health Services, a home and community-based service, citing the risk of fraud.

“This immediate suspension is based on a determination that persons served by your program are at an imminent risk of harm and because the holder and controlling individual are the subjects of a pending administrative action related to fraud against the program which is administered by a state agency,” the letter states.

The letter goes on to say that the state determined clients for the business were not required services, a client who died hadn’t been reported, and staff had provided false information to DHS licensors. The letter also states that the license holder is already facing administrative action for fraud against the program.

Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson on Thursday said the Somali fraud may have ballooned to $18 billion.

“The fraud is not small. It isn’t isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated,” Thompson said.

Keep reading

FBI memos detail a half dozen pay-to-play allegations involving Hillary Clinton and her foundation

Internal investigative files show FBI agents and federal prosecutors attempted to investigate a wide range of activities involving the State Department under then-Secretary of State Clinton a decade ago, including whether foreign donations made to the Clinton Foundation were used as improper influence on U.S. foreign policy.

The FBI and DOJ inquiries were repeatedly shut down by FBI and DOJ leadership. 

Just the News reported earlier this week about Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s release of a timeline written by federal investigators laying out the repeated political obstruction those agents faced from their own bureau bosses and the Justice Department during the 2016 election and beyond as they probed whether Hillary Clinton engaged in a pay-to-play corruption scheme involving her family foundation.

The documents turned over by FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi show that career agents and line prosecutors at the FBI and DOJ believed the Clinton Foundation saga may have been a criminal one, but orders from leaders such as then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe slow-walked and stonewalled the inquiry to the point where it was hobbled.

An internal investigative timeline stated that the FBI’s New York Field Office “initiated a Preliminary Investigation” on January 22, the Little Rock Field Office “initiated a Full Field Investigation” on January 27, and the Washington Field Office “initiated a Preliminary Investigation” on January 29, 2016.

Another internal timeline of the investigation said that the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office “submits case opening requesting full field investigation regarding Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, Uranium One, Uranium One Americas, Frank Giustra, Ian Telfer.”

No cases were brought against Clinton. Below are some of the episodes in which investigations were stymied.

Keep reading