President Donald Trump lashed out at ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott after she asked a question about his relationship with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
During a White House event on Thursday, Scott noted that the family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, had expressed outrage after the president said that the sex offender "stole" women from him.
"You said that Jeffrey Epstein stole people from Mar-a-Lago," the reporter remarked. "At the time, did you know why he was taking those young women, including Virginia?"
"No, I didn't know," Trump insisted. "I mean, I would figure it was ABC 'fake' News that would ask that question, one of the worst. But no, I don't know really why."
"But I said if he's taking anybody from Mar-A-Lago, he's hiring or whatever he's doing, I didn't like it," he added. "And we threw him out. We said we don't want him at the place."
Kari Lake, President Donald Trump's special advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, predicted that former President Barack Obama would be "sentenced to time" because of the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
"I believe that accountability is coming," Lake told Real America's Voice host Eric Bolling on Thursday. "I believe you called it perp walks. I'd like to see justice, is what I call it."
"And that means if you've been found guilty, if you've done something wrong, you're investigated, and you're actually sentenced to time," she continued. "And I think it's going to come starting with maybe even potentially Barack Obama."
Lake called Obama's potential incarceration "the biggest bit of justice the world could see."
"I'm looking forward to seeing some justice, especially right there," she opined. "And frankly, I'd like to see justice when it comes to our elections. Our rigged elections, dating back at least to 2020, possibly earlier, and all of the shenanigans in our elections across the country, we need to see justice for that."
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed to have "sources" within President Donald Trump's administration that were orchestrating a retroactive impeachment of former President Barack Obama.
During his Thursday program, Jones encouraged his audience to urge the Trump administration to move forward with prosecutions as retaliation for the probe into Russia's election interference in 2016.
"They're the real predators, and it's time politically, non-violently, to cut their heads off and to just do it," Jones said of Democrats. "And I mean that, again, metaphysically, is an archetype. They started the fight. Now we're going to finish it."
"I'm not saying 100%, but from my Justice Department sources at the very top, right below the very top, and from everything else and how scared the Democrats are acting, they have all the proof, they're releasing the proof, and they have every intention," he continued. "They're going to indict Brennan, Clapper, Comey, his daughter, Hillary, all of them."
"And they're getting ready to try impeachment on Obama retroactively to strip him of presidential immunity. And that's going on."
The U.S. Constitution states that "[t]he President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment ... and Conviction."
However, it's not clear that Congress has the authority to impeach former presidents.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called on the state legislature to "lock the doors" and then arrest any Democratic lawmakers who attempted to flee the statehouse in an effort to stop Republicans from going through with redistricting plans.
"The House rules and the Senate rules both allow for these people to be arrested if they leave and ... they try to break the quorum," Paxton told MAGA influencer Steve Bannon on Thursday. "The challenge is if they go out of state, we lose jurisdiction."
"Well, when we say that, can't you get to Texas Rangers?" Bannon wondered. "How are we letting these guys, if they're leaving the state specifically for the purpose of not coming in for their elected duties, can't you stop them from leaving the state?"
"If I were the Speaker of the House, if I were leading the Senate, I'd put rules in place, depending on which group they think is going to leave," Paxton explained. "I'd put rules in place that basically lock us in until we get a vote because the House map is up on Friday."
"You could lock them in for the rest of the session — two weeks — and just serve them food there, and they sleep there, and that's just the way it is because we got to get these maps passed," he added, describing a scenario akin to imprisoning them in the statehouse.
A confused President Donald Trump railed about Democrats and Russiagate before apparently veering off course and rambling about what appeared to be the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that's filled the headlines for more than a week.
During a White House bill signing event on Wednesday, a reporter noted that FBI Director Kash Patel claimed to have found "burn bags" with documents about the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
"He said what?" Trump asked.
"Burn bags of Russiagate materials," the correspondent repeated.
"Oh, burn bag. I thought you said appointed a man named Burn Bag," Trump replied, before launching into a stream of consciousness rant which left many onlookers confused.
It was unclear if he was talking about Russiagate, or if he began talking about the Epstein scandal which has dogged him all week.
"Well, I want everything to be shown. You know, as long as it's fair and reasonable, I think it will be shown and it should be shown. And I think he feels that way, and I think [Attorney General Pam Bondi] feels that way."
"And if they can do that in a fair way, I think it's great. I think it's really great," he continued. "The whole thing is a scam. It's a scam set up by the Democrats, and they love talking about it."
Trump said he would like to see "bad" people exposed, but argued that the scandal was "very old news."
"You know, if they had anything, they would have done it the week before the election, because they were losing by a lot," he asserted. "If they had anything, they would have done it. They control the file. The Democrats controlled at Comey and all the sleaze bags, every one of them, that you read about all the time."
"But they control that file. So I would think that if they would have had something in the file, they would have released it about a week before the election," Trump added.
He then added, "It’s got to be stuff that really doesn’t hurt people unfairly, because you have so many people involved," suggesting to onlookers that he had really been talking about Epstein.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) fired back at President Donald Trump after he demanded that the Senate drop its "blue slip" tradition that gives Democrats a chance to weigh in on nominees who could serve in their state.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump criticized Grassley for refusing to abandon the decades-old bipartisan tradition.
"Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the 'Blue Slip' problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen," the president wrote. "The only way to beat this Hoax is to appoint a Democrat or a weak and ineffective Republican."
"Senator Grassley must step up, like Crooked Joe Biden did, when he openly broke, at least two times, the 'Blue Slip' SCAM, and like others have done over the years, and let our Great Republican Judges and U.S. Attorneys BE CONFIRMED. He should do this, IMMEDIATELY, and not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective," Trump added.
Grassley addressed Trump's remarks on Wednesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
"Last night, I was surprised to see President Trump on Truth Social go after me and Senate Republicans over what we call the blue slip," the Republican senator explained. "Now, the people in the real America, not here in this Washington, D.C., and islands surround by reality, the people in real America don't care about what the blue slip is, but in fact it impacts in their states the district judges who serve their communities and the U.S. attorneys who ensure the law and order is enforced."
"I was offended by what the President said, and I'm disappointed that it would result in personal insults," Grassley insisted.
Pro-MAGA host Gina Loudon warned that President Donald Trump's base was becoming more and more frustrated about a failure to release information on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
During a Wednesday segment on Real America's Voice, Loudon noted that Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell had threatened not to answer questions unless she received immunity or clemency before testifying to the House Oversight Committee.
"This is not going to sit well," the host told former Trump attorney Christina Bobb. "We had John Solomon on this show yesterday, and he said some things that were a little shocking, at least to me. He said he doesn't think we will learn much from Ghislaine at all. In fact, he doesn't think we'll learn much more about the whole entire Epstein situation at all because he said we're never going to see the grand jury testimony where most of the information is sealed."
"Do you agree? Because I just feel like MAGA is gonna break down the walls if we don't start getting some information on this," she added.
"Well, I think John's right that we're not going to see the grand jury transcript," Bobb agreed. "I suspect that the Jeffrey Epstein grand jury transcript is probably a very difficult one to figure out how to either redact it appropriately or figure out some way to partially release it."
"This does not seem complicated to me," Loudon replied. "If you say Billy Bob raped Susie, you cross out Susie to protect Susie. Billy Bob doesn't need to be crossed out. This seems simple to me."
Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville concluded in a new video that President Donald Trump "is a pervert."
On Tuesday, Carville presented what he said was "compelling evidence" of Trump's perversion.
"I have the duty to inform all of you of a very simple fact," Carville explained. "The president of the United States of America is a pervert."
"The definition of a pervert, dictionary definition, a person whose sexual behavior is regarded as abnormal and unacceptable," he continued. "The single best evidence that exists is something that they call an admission against interest... So Trump has gone out of his way to tell us he's a pervert."
"His youngest daughter, I think the name is Tiffany, and was fantasizing about her breast when she was an infant. That's just f---ing weird, okay? That's pervert s---. Then he talked on Howard Stern about having sex with his oldest daughter. Come on, man!"
Carville also pointed to Trump's habit of "lurking around the dressing room" of teen beauty contests.
"The man is a genuine perv," he insisted. "And so now, you know, when you're evaluating the whole Jeffrey Epstein, I don't know what you call it, a fiasco or something, you know, state of mind, whether you believe it anything or not, state of mind is a really, really critical thing."
"And he has, as we say down here, he has a little proclivity about underage females," he added. "But this man is repetitively, publicly, fantasized about having sex with underage females. He was actually asked, well, what age limit you wouldn't go before? And I think his consensus number was 12."
"We got real work to do, as disgusting as this is. It's our duty to see that this fire keeps burning and burn it will," he added.
Carville appeared to be referencing Trump's comments to Howard Stern's co-host in 2006, when co-host Robin Quivers asked, "Do you have an age limit?"
Trump replied: “No, no, I have no age —,” he began to say. “I mean, I have an age — I don’t want to be like Congressman Foley, with, you know, 12-year-olds.”
Former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned that year after sending sexually explicit messages to underage boys, including one who was 16.
The president was asked about his self-promotion during a gaggle on Air Force One.
"I haven't heard that," Trump replied. "Did you get to see my drive on the first hole? Pretty long. That's not Joe Biden."
President Trump on AF1 asked about reports he was promoting his own golf resort businesses in Scotland: "I haven't heard that. Did you get to see my drive on the first hole? Pretty long. That's not Joe Biden." — Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) July 29, 2025
Attorneys for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell forwarded demands to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY), stating that they must be met before she would be willing to testify before Congress.
In a letter to Comer on Tuesday, attorneys David Oscar Markus, Leah Saffian, and Melissa Madrigal insisted that Maxwell's testimony could "compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool." Politico's Josh Gerstein obtained the letter.
The attorneys stated that their client would be compelled to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent unless her demands were met.
"First, public reports—including your own statements—indicate that the Committee intends to question Ms. Maxwell in prison and without a grant of immunity. Those are non-starters," the attorneys remarked.
Maxwell, according to the letter, would not answer questions in a prison setting or without immunity or clemency from President Donald Trump. The attorneys also said that the committee must provide questions ahead of time.
"Years after the original events and well beyond the criminal trial, this process cannot become a game of cat-and-mouse. Surprise questioning would be both inappropriate and unproductive," the letter said.
Additionally, Maxwell would refuse to testify until the U.S. Supreme Court heard her case.
"Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing—and eager—to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning," the letter added.
"In any event, Ms. Maxwell should never have been charged in the first place. In 2008, the United States government promised, in writing, that she would not be prosecuted. It broke that promise only after Mr. Epstein died in 2019—at which point Ms. Maxwell became a convenient scapegoat."
MAGA influencer Steve Bannon insisted that psychiatrists, not guns, were to blame for the deaths that occurred during this week's mass shooting in New York City.
"This is epitomized yesterday, where we know the gun, the ammo... We know all of it," Bannon said, "except the key thing of actually, what's sitting in the evidence sitting in the car about what this young man's issues are."
"This is about access to somebody's mind," Matthews asserted. "We know, in fact, that the psychiatrist and the drugs are never mentioned. What is all common in all these different mass killings is withholding of mental health records and withholding of the psychiatrist's name."
"Okay, so this is a well-crafted marketing campaign by the behavioral health industry to divert away from their products and their services that are killing people," she continued. "Some of these hits are done financially to get more of the mental health money back in. And others are targeted hits. But you can't ever see that because this industry is hiding behind a well-oiled relationship with the federal government."
Bannon demanded the name of Tamura's psychiatrist.
"We should know the medications," he insisted. "Because the medications are the ammo. That's why these kids are doing it."
Matthews called psychiatrists "the enemy within."
"There's so much about these mass shootings that nobody knows about," she remarked. "And it's really a network of really sick psychiatrists that could be doing this to gain more money."
"They're accessories," Bannon agreed. "They're accessories to these acts."
During a Monday interview on Newsmax, host Katrina Szish asked Schoen about Trump's ongoing Epstein scandal.
"Just explain this to me because you, again, you're a former Epstein lawyer," Szish said. "Why, then, are people so obsessed? And I'm not just talking about one side of the party or on one side of party lines or others. Overall, people are obsessed. What will it take to get this story — I'm just going to say to go away because it doesn't seem like there's anything there?"
Schoen argued that the scandal was being driven by "competing agendas" on the left and the right.
"On the left, New York Times and the Democratic Party, the hypocrisy is outrageous, as I've said, but they want to continue to sow as much dissension as they can and distract from the accomplishments of the Trump administration," he said.
"On the other side, you've got, you know, Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, conspiracy theorists, who will never be satisfied by anything," Schoen added. "If there were a smoking gun, Maxwell says, for example, that some young woman was with, fill in the blank, some famous and wealthy person. They'll say, well, there must be more. That can't be all of it."
"So it's being driven, I think, by financial reasons and other reasons by both sides."
Earlier this month, Greene warned that Trump could lose his MAGA base over the scandal.
"If you tell the base of people, who support you, of deep state treasonous crimes, election interference, blackmail, and rich powerful elite evil cabals, then you must take down every enemy of The People," the lawmaker wrote on X. "The base will turn and there's no going back."
"Dangling bits of red meat no longer satisfies," she remarked.
Vice President JD Vance faced questions about "protecting pedophiles" after President Donald Trump's administration refused to release a list of Jeffrey Epstein's associates.
Following a speech in Ohio on Monday, Vance took a question from Associated Press reporter Julie Carr Smyth.
"There are some protesters outside accusing the GOP of protecting pedophiles, and we're wondering what you think are the reasons the U.S. government should shield the client list of Epstein from the public, and what you have to say about any relevance to that here today?" the reporter asked.
"First of all, the president has been very clear. We're not shielding anything," Vance insisted. "The president has directed the Attorney General to release all credible information, and frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. He's been incredibly transparent about that stuff."
The vice president claimed Attorney General Pam Bondi was "hard at work" preparing to release additional material despite having months to do so.
"For literally 20 years, the story about this scumbag, and he is a scumbag pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, he's dead now. But for 20 years, you had Obama and George W. Bush's Department of Justice go easy on this guy," he opined. "And now Donald J. Trump is asking his Department of Justice to show full transparency, and somehow that's a criticism of Donald J. Trump, and not Barack Obama and George W. Bush."
"Donald J. Trump, I'm telling you, he's got nothing to hide. His administration has got nothing to hide," Vance added. "And that's why he's been an advocate for full transparency in this case. He's going to keep on being an advocate for full transparency."
