3 h. ago Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book is a horrifying document | Moira Donegan

Conspiracy theorists wonder about what Epstein and his powerful friends may have done to cover up his crimes. But they barely were covered upJeffrey Epstein had a lot of friends. When his girlfriend-cum-assistant and convicted fellow sex trafficker, Ghislane Maxwell, set out to compile letters, drawings and well wishes from friends in celebration of the pedophile financier’s 50th birthday in 2003, the resulting scrapbook was 238 pages long. The book, titled The First 50 Years, included letters from prominent well-wishers such as former president Bill Clinton and the Bear Stearns executives James Cayne and Alan Greenberg, as well as from the late Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling scout and Epstein’s fellow pedophilic rapist.The lawyer and longtime Epstein friend Alan Dershowitz contributed a mock cover of the magazine Vanity Fair, which was working on a profile of Epstein at the time; Peter Mandelson, until this week the UK ambassador to the United States, wrote that Epstein was “my...

Culture

29 h. ago Stephen Colbert on Charlie Kirk shooting: ‘Political violence only leads to more political violence’

Late-night hosts react to Charlie Kirk killing and discuss Trump’s alleged 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey EpsteinLate-night hosts respond to the shooting of Charlie Kirk and assess Donald Trump’s denials of a sexually suggestive birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein from 2003. Continue reading...

Events

36 h. ago As the Epstein case shows, Trump’s Maga faithful care about only one kind of sex

E Jean Carroll won her case, but in Trumpland the only sex offences that matter are committed by paedophiles with links to DemocratsOn Monday, Donald Trump appeared in two, unrelated stories involving the sexual abuse of women. The first was a ruling by the US federal court of appeals, upholding an earlier judgment in which the president was found liable for $83.3m in damages for defaming the writer E Jean Carroll – a woman whom, it was ruled in civil court in 2023, had been sexually abused by Trump. On the same day, Trump’s alleged contribution to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s “birthday book” was shared by Democrats on social media in the form of a lewd drawing the president denied having made. The E Jean Carroll news caused no public inconvenience for Trump; the Epstein story went up like a mushroom cloud in what has become the most politically dangerous episode of his presidency.What, exactly, is the difference then between the sexual abuse of E Jean Carroll, for which ...

Politics

36 h. ago Peter Mandelson under fire after Jeffrey Epstein message is made public

Lord Mandelson has faced calls to resign as Britain's ambassador to the US after it emerged he had described Jeffrey Epstein as his "best pal" in a 2003 birthday note.

Events

52 h. ago Stephen Colbert on Trump’s Epstein letter: ‘A Picasso of pervitude’

Late-night hosts discuss Donald Trump’s birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein as Republicans scramble to deny its validityLate-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump’s birthday drawing for Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, and his visit on Monday to the Museum of the Bible. Continue reading...

Politics

56 h. ago Lord Mandelson admits more 'embarrassing' details of his friendship with Jeffery Epstein will emerge

Lord Mandelson said he ‘never saw any evidence of criminal activity’ and suggested Epstein had not introduced him to women ‘because I'm a gay man’

Politics

58 h. ago 'Embarrassed' Lord Mandelson admits friendship with Jeffery Epstein went on ‘far longer’ that it should

Lord Mandelson said he ‘never saw any evidence of criminal activity’ and suggested Epstein had not introduced him to women ‘because I'm a gay man’

Politics

69 h. ago The president doth protest too much: Trump’s denial on Epstein is backfiring

Typically full of brio and swagger, the White House is scrambling because Trump is behaving so out of characterIt took Trump chronicler Maggie Haberman to cut to the chase: if Trump didn’t sign the birthday card or other documents released by Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, the reporter asked in a quiet yet insistent tone, what’s the working theory as to why he’s in there?“The president has one of the most famous signatures in the world,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, replied on Tuesday. “The president did not write that letter. He did not sign those documents.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump calls release of suggestive note to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein a ‘dead issue’

Administration says it would support an expert review of signature to determine whether it was Trump who signed itWhite House officials on Tuesday doubled down on their assertion that a sexually suggestive letter carrying what appeared to be Donald Trump’s signature that was included in a birthday book for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had not been signed by the president.The letter, and its drawing of a naked woman’s torso around an imagined conversation between Trump and Epstein, was part of a batch of documents released by the House oversight committee in response to a subpoena after its existence was first reported in July by the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago White House denies that Trump wrote Epstein letter and calls investigation a Democrat ‘hoax’ – live

White House press secretary denies that president wrote Epstein a card that included the outline of a woman’s body for the sex trafficker’s 50th birthdayPhoto of novelty check suggests Epstein ‘sold’ Trump a womanJeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday book – in picturesMy colleague, Oliver Holmes, has been going through the Jeffrey Epstein 50th birthday album that House Democrats on the oversight committee released on Monday, after they subpoenaed Epstein’s estate.As Oliver notes, much of the book seems to be a collection of flattering and celebratory letters – often highly sexualised – from people who knew Epstein. They include photos of him embracing women in bikinis whose faces were redacted, and others showing scenes featuring wild animals having sex.Bill Clinton, who had left the US presidency a couple years before the publication of the book, is listed in the “friends” section.Peter Mandelson, the current UK ambassador to the United States, called Epstein his “best pal”. There are al...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump responds to Epstein birthday card accusations after release of alleged lewd drawing

President Donald Trump has called the lewd 50th birthday note he allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein a 'dead issue'.

Politics

3 d. ago Jon Stewart on Donald Trump: ‘Something is up with his health’

Late-night hosts discuss speculation over Trump’s health, his rebranding of the ‘Department of War’ and his alleged lewd birthday letter to EpsteinLate-night hosts react to speculation over Donald Trump’s health and the newly released screenshot of Trump’s alleged lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump apparently thinks domestic violence is not a crime. That makes sense | Moira Donegan

Trump’s view of the prerogatives of husbands towards their wives mirror his own sense of his entitlements as president towards his abused countrySpeaking at a Christian museum on Monday, Donald Trump claimed, falsely, that his deployment of national guard troops to invade the nation’s capital has eliminated crime in Washington. He complained, however, that domestic violence was being counted in the crime statistics, which he claimed meant that the influence of his policy was not being seen as significant enough. “They said, ‘Crime’s down 87%,’” the president claimed, not explaining who “they” were. “I said, no, no, no. It’s more than 87%, virtually nothing. And much lesser things, things that take place in the home they call crime. You know, they’ll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime. See? So now I can’t claim 100%, but we are. We are a safe city.”If Trump wanted to endorse domestic violence decriminalization,...

Events

3 d. ago Mandelson ‘not guilty by association’ over Epstein birthday book, Streeting says

Wes Streeting has defended Peter Mandelson after the US ambassador appeared to refer to Jeffrey Epstein as his “best pal” according to files released by a US congressional committee.

Politics

3 d. ago Four biggest bombshells from unearthed Jeffrey Epstein birthday book

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were friends during the 1990s and 2000s, but Trump claims the pair fell out over the "poaching" of staff from one of his resorts

Events

3 d. ago Photo of novelty check suggests Epstein ‘sold’ Trump a woman for $22,500

President and convicted sex offender appear in birthday scrapbook photo with check signed by ‘DJ Trump’US politics live – latest updatesA scrapbook for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday released on Monday contains a photo of him holding a novelty check signed by Donald Trump with the suggestion that Epstein “sold” him a woman for $22,500, shedding further light on the longtime relationship between the president and the convicted sex offender.The photo shows Epstein and Joel Pashcow, a longtime member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and a third figure, apparently a woman, whose face is redacted. They are holding a novelty check over a handwritten caption, apparently from Paschow, reading: “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [redaction] to Donald Trump for $22,500.” Continue reading...

Culture

3 d. ago Epstein 50th birthday book: who is in it and what did they say?

Figures including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and the UK ambassador to US, Peter Mandelson, apparently contributedDemocratic politicians have released a 238-page scrapbook given to Jeffrey Epstein as a present on his 50th birthday, with contributions attributed to high-profile figures including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and the current UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson.Much of the book seems to be a collection of flattering and celebratory letters – often highly sexualised – from people who knew Epstein. They include photos of him embracing women in bikinis whose faces were redacted, and others showing scenes featuring wild animals having sex. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Who is Peter Mandelson and what do we know about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?

Mr Mandelson has held some of the most senior roles in British politics

Politics

3 d. ago Peter Mandelson called Jeffrey Epstein his 'best pal' in birthday message as photo of himself in a bathrobe with the paedophile billionaire is released

The missive was among a trove of documents released by US lawmakers last night and formed part of a 'birthday book' given to Epstein by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003.

Economics

3 d. ago Peter Mandelson’s birthday message to ‘best pal’ Jeffrey Epstein published by US Congress

In a handwritten note, Mandelson appears to tell Epstein he is his ‘best pal’ and signs off ‘we love you’

Politics