More than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse have accused Melania Trump of “shifting the burden” on to them after she called on Congress to hold public hearings with victims of Epstein’s abuse.
“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony,” said a group of 13 people and the brother and sister of the late Virginia Giuffre, who was one of the most vocal Epstein accusers, in a statement. “Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility not justice.”
Their response came after the first lady delivered a surprise statement in which she denied she ever had a relationship with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. She also said that she was not a victim of Epstein, had no knowledge of his crimes, and that the late convicted sex offender did not introduce her to her husband, Donald Trump.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse accuse Melania Trump of ‘shifting burden’ on to victims
It remains unclear what specific accusations prompted the first lady’s remarks. Her senior adviser, Marc Beckman, told Reuters that she “spoke out now because enough is enough. The lies must stop.”
In an interview with the New York Times on Friday, the president said he hadn’t known what the first lady was planning to speak about in her statement, but said that she had wanted to address questions about her connections with Epstein. “I didn’t know what the statement was,” he said, adding “she had a right to talk about it”.
’He’s mentally unstable’: Iranian American in Congress condemns Trump’s war and pushes for his removal
Donald Trump is an “evil human being” who “wants to be an emperor” and should be removed from office over the war in Iran, Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian American member of the US Congress, has told the Guardian.
Ansari, the daughter of Iranian immigrants who decades ago fled the regime, spoke out after the president threatened to wipe out Iran’s civilisation before backing down and announcing an uncertain two-week ceasefire.
Vance warns Iran against trying to ‘play’ the US in peace talks
JD Vance has warned Iran not to “try and play” the US at talks planned for Saturday in Islamabad, while Tehran said it would not take part until Israel stopped bombing of Lebanon.
The US vice-president made the comments as he boarded a plane to Pakistan for negotiations that could determine whether a ceasefire holds or the war on Iran resumes with grave implications for the global economy.
War has given Iran new leverage for nuclear programme, say US former envoys
Former US envoys who dealt with Iran have said that the US-Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent closure of the strait of Hormuz have given Iran new tools and resolve to resist pressure to shutter its nuclear programme.
Trump posts graphic video of woman’s killing in Florida
Besieged by questions about his war on Iran and his wife’s statement on Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump tried to shift the national conversation back to his immigration crackdown by posting a graphic and distressing video of a woman in Florida being killed last week by a man he described as an illegal immigrant from Haiti.
What else happened today:
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US inflation soared in March amid the US-Israel war with Iran, with prices up 0.9% compared to last month and 3.3% over the year, according to new data released Friday.
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California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell is facing escalating pressure to drop out of the race following an allegation of sexual assault and multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
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A Trump administration appointee has delayed publication of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that shows benefits related to the Covid vaccine, leading to concerns that the administration is engaging in behind-the-scenes tactics to undermine vaccines.
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Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Bible-thumping US defense secretary, is overseeing another strategic disaster in the Middle East. Is this a war or a crusade?
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Dozens of US and international human rights organizations are decrying the Trump administration’s plans to establish a migrant “camp” for fleeing Cubans at the Guantánamo Bay military base if the island nation’s crisis worsens under pressure from the US, according to a letter to members of Congress on Friday.
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Kamala Harris said she is “thinking about” running in the 2028 presidential election. “I might, I might. I’m thinking about it,” the former vice-president and 2024 candidate told the crowd at a gathering of the National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights organization founded by Al Sharpton, on Friday in New York City.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Thursday 9 April