12 h. ago Trump requests release of Epstein court documents but says ‘nothing will be enough for the troublemakers’ – as it happened

This liveblog is now closedAs Donald Trump tries to claim he was “not a fan” of Jeffrey Epstein, photos, videos and anecdotes paint a picture of their relationship, writes Adam Gabbatt:Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has called for Barack Obama and former senior US national security officials to be prosecuted after accusing them of a “treasonous conspiracy” intended to show that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election win was due to Russian interference. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago Trump requests release of Epstein court documents but says ‘nothing will be enough for the troublemakers’ – US politics live

Move seeks to quell controversy that has engulfed the administration since it said it would not release more files from Epstein’s sex trafficking caseAs Donald Trump tries to claim he was “not a fan” of Jeffrey Epstein, photos, videos and anecdotes paint a picture of their relationship, writes Adam Gabbatt:Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has called for Barack Obama and former senior US national security officials to be prosecuted after accusing them of a “treasonous conspiracy” intended to show that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election win was due to Russian interference. Continue reading...

Politics

22 h. ago Trump cannot dispel the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein | Sidney Blumenthal

Trump’s grooming of his followers is impossible to undo. Now he is bedeviled by a conspiracy theory gapSome enchanted evening, Donald Trump saw a stranger across a crowded room.It is likely that there is hardly anyone living who knows exactly under what glowing lights Donald Trump met Jeffrey Epstein, except perhaps Trump himself and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend who is serving a 20-year prison term for helping to procure minors for sexual abuse. Trump said in an interview in 2002, when his Epstein relationship was still tight, that it had been a 15-year mutual admiration society. Epstein was “a terrific guy” and “a lot of fun to be with,” and “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side”. Epstein described himself as “Donald’s closest friend for 10 years”. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago ANDREW NEIL: Trump's habit of spreading Deep State conspiracy theories has come back to bite him

Those who live by conspiracy theories don't necessarily die by conspiracy theories - but they sure run the risk of being embarrassed by them. Just ask President Donald J. Trump.

Politics

33 h. ago Obama behind 'treasonous conspiracy' to take Trump down in 2016 with Russia hoax explosive docs claim

Trump 's intel chief Tulsi Gabbard released a trove of explosive documents from the last weeks of the Obama administration - saying it unmasks a 'treasonous conspiracy' against the president.

Politics

33 h. ago Tulsi Gabbard calls for Obama to be prosecuted over 2016 election claims

Trump intelligence chief accuses ex-president and others of ‘treasonous conspiracy’ for alleging Russian interferenceUS politics – follow liveTulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has called for Barack Obama and former senior US national security officials to be prosecuted after accusing them of a “treasonous conspiracy” intended to show that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election win was due to Russian interference.She said Obama and senior officials in his administration had “[laid] the groundwork for a years-long coup” against Trump after his victory over Hillary Clinton by “manufacturing intelligence” to suggest that Russia had tried to influence the election. That included using a dossier prepared by a British intelligence analyst, Christopher Steele, that they knew to be unreliable, Gabbard claimed. Continue reading...

Politics

38 h. ago The Guardian view on Maga and Jeffrey Epstein: the truth about Donald Trump and conspiracy theories | Editorial

The US president is struggling to close down speculation about the case that those close to him have promotedDonald Trump has thrived on conspiracy theories – “birtherist” lies that Barack Obama was born outside the US; the lunacies of the Q-Anon movement; false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. All centred on the idea that the “deep state” was lying to, and thus cheating, ordinary people. Mr Trump was their tribune.It’s hard not to feel schadenfreude now that he’s at the sharp end of a theory that he at times encouraged and allies eagerly pushed: claims that the prison death of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein might not be suicide after all, and that wealthy and well-connected associates were trying to hush up connections to the financier. Mr Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, promised that “truckloads” of documents would help reveal the truth and claimed that a client list was “sitting on my desk right now”.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this ...

Politics

41 h. ago Trump’s endless toying with conspiracy theories has finally come back to bite him | Moira Donegan

The president has long exploited useful fictions embraced by his supporters. Now he’s trying to change the narrativeDonald Trump’s followers, and the conspiracist influencers turned-government officials through whom he persuades them, have turned on the president and US attorney general after they declared an end to federal inquiries into Jeffrey Epstein’s death. But it would be a mistake to think that the investigation scandal is sui generis. It’s more like the culmination of a long-running trend, one in which Trump’s exploitation of the conspiracist fictions, distrust of institutions, and prurient fascinations of his base have finally come back to bite him.A pedophile ring at the center of power is a recurring theme in rightwing conspiracy theories of the Trump era. During the 2016 presidential election, supporters of Trump, then an outsider challenger for the Republican nomination, began to spread dark claims about his rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton. Online, far-right ...

Politics

44 h. ago Listen up, weaklings: there’s no Epstein client list – and definitely no cover

It’s the bonfire of the Maga hats. The real mystery is where their wearers got the idea of a paedophile conspiracy from in the first placeYou have to feel for Donald Trump’s Maga base. The one huge secret they didn’t want disclosed was that he actually really hates them. All populists despise their people, obviously – but please, Mr President, respect the playbook! You’re supposed to do it quietly. Regrettably, no one could accuse Trump of hiding his spite under a bushel after a week in which he described those of his supporters who want him to simply do what he repeatedly promised, and release the so-called Epstein files, as “weaklings” and “stupid people”. This is quite the (public) volte face from the guy who originally swept to office declaring “I love the poorly educated”.Most of you are unlikely to need a recap at this stage, but Jeffrey Epstein is the sex-trafficking financier and socialite, who conveniently died in jail while awaiting trial, apparently by suicide. A woman, G...

Politics

44 h. ago Listen up, weaklings: there’s no Epstein client list. Why are you so obsessed? Yours, Donald J Trump | Marina Hyde

It’s the bonfire of the Maga hats. The real mystery is where their wearers got the idea of a paedophile conspiracy from in the first placeYou have to feel for Donald Trump’s Maga base. The one huge secret they didn’t want disclosed was that he actually really hates them. All populists despise their people, obviously – but please, Mr President, respect the playbook! You’re supposed to do it quietly. Regrettably, no one could accuse Trump of hiding his spite under a bushel after a week in which he described those of his supporters who want him to simply do what he repeatedly promised, and release the so-called Epstein files, as “weaklings” and “stupid people”. This is quite the (public) volte face from the guy who originally swept to office declaring “I love the poorly educated”.Most of you are unlikely to need a recap at this stage, but Jeffrey Epstein is the sex-trafficking financier and socialite, who conveniently died in jail while awaiting trial, apparently by suicide. A woman, G...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump ferociously turns on his own base ripping into 'weaklings' stoking Epstein conspiracies

Donald Trump can't make his most fervent supporters forget about his administration's Jeffrey Epstein files failure - no matter how hard he tries.

Politics

3 d. ago Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’

President faces Maga backlash over claims of hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect rich elite – including TrumpUS politics live – latest news updatesDonald Trump has lashed out against his own supporters, calling them gullible “weaklings” for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into the late high-profile socialite and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The US president is struggling to contain a political crisis within his usually loyal Make America Great Again (Maga) base over suspicion that the administration is hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect the rich elite Epstein associated with, which included Trump. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago How the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files became a vehicle for QAnon

Maga’s obsession with the files shows how a fringe QAnon conspiracy theory has taken root in the pro-Trump movementThe release of the “Epstein client list” has long been the holy grail for the Maga movement. Supposedly, this list, once released, would incriminate a veritable who’s who of liberal elites complicit in Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex-trafficking operation and expose the moral rot at the heart of the Democratic establishment.The mystery surrounding the Epstein files also became a vehicle for QAnon conspiracy theorists to push their ideas about a “deep state” cover-up of a network of global pedophiles into the broader tent of the Maga movement. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump officials address ‘chemtrails’ conspiracy theories while spreading misinformation, experts say

EPA’s move comes as it slashes climate research funding and cuts weather forecasting and scientific agencies’ staffTrump officials’ recent attempt to dispel concerns about “chemtrails” has perplexed and angered some experts who say the administration has itself promoted the conspiracy theory while also spreading climate misinformation.“This is an intriguing strategy in an administration that, depending on agency, is actively promulgating conspiracy theories or at least conspiratorial thinking,” said Timothy Tangherlini, a professor at the Berkeley School of Information who studies the circulation of folklore and conspiracy theories. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago BUCKTIN: 'MAGA candidate's sick conspiracy exposes just how far the Cult of Trump goes'

A MAGA conspiracy theorist now running for office is treating the tragic floods in Texas as content fodder, Christopher Bucktin says, and it proves just how far the Cult of Trump goes

Politics

1 week ago Former FBI and CIA directors under investigation by Trump’s Justice Department

The reported investigation comes after the CIA released a review criticizing officials’ handling of allegations Russia attempted to aid Trump’s 2016 campaign

Events

1 week ago Jeffrey Epstein's last moments seen on prison CCTV as probe reveals cause of death

The disgraced financier was found dead in jail in 2019, but conspiracy theorists claim he was murdered - an investigation by the Trump administration has now given its conclusions

Events

2 w. ago BBC staff in 'open revolt' over axed Gaza documentary and claim bosses 'out of touch'

It’s been claimed that staff at the BBC are in an 'open revolt' after the broadcaster scrapped a documentary about Gaza which will now be shown on Channel 4

Politics

3 w. ago Ten times your cold might actually be something more serious

A blocked nose may just be something innocuous, but some doctors claim it could also be a sign of some underlying health issues

Politics

3 w. ago US strikes 'did not destroy Iran's nuclear programme': White House rages after 'top secret' doc is leaked as Israel AND Iran claim victory

The 'top secret' report suggested that Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium remained intact after the bombing - with the damage mainly confined to aboveground structures.

Events