Connect with us

Trending

Epstein Documents Vanish From U.S. Justice Department Website, Including Photo With Trump, Associates

Published

on

The removed documents included images of paintings depicting nude women and a photograph showing pictures arranged along a credenza and inside drawers.

 

At least 16 documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender accused of serial sex trafficking of women and girls, disappeared from the Justice Department’s public website less than a day after being posted, raising questions about transparency and the nature of the missing materials.

Epstein died in a New York prison cell on August 10, 2019 as he awaited, without the chance of bail, his trial on sex trafficking charges.

Some of the files reportedly included photographs that could shed light on Epstein’s connections with high-profile figures, according to Associated Press.

The removed documents included images of paintings depicting nude women and a photograph showing pictures arranged along a credenza and inside drawers.

The report noted that inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The Justice Department did not respond to questions about why the files were removed, but posted on X that “photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.”

The disappearance prompted speculation about what was removed and why the public was not informed. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee highlighted the missing Trump photograph in a post on X, writing: “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

The incident adds to longstanding concerns over the Justice Department’s release of tens of thousands of documents, which offered limited insight into Epstein’s crimes or the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to avoid serious federal charges.

Key materials, including FBI interviews with victims and internal memos on charging decisions, were absent.

Among the missing records are FBI interviews with survivors and Justice Department memos examining charging decisions, files that could have clarified why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a state-level prostitution charge.

The released documents largely feature images of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands, alongside photographs of celebrities and politicians.

Grand jury transcripts reveal testimony from several young women, including a 14-year-old, who described being paid to perform sexual acts for Epstein.

“For every girl that I brought to the table he would give me $200,” one testified. “I also told them that if they are under age, just lie about it and tell him that you are 18,” one victim said.

Former U.S. attorney Alexander Acosta, who oversaw the case in 2008, later told Justice Department lawyers that he had concerns over whether a jury would believe Epstein’s accusers.

“I’m not saying it was the right view,” Acosta said. “There’s been a lot of changes in victim shaming.”

Jennifer Freeman, attorney for Epstein accuser Maria Farmer, described the document release as both validating and frustrating.

“It’s a triumph and a tragedy,” she said. “It looks like the government did absolutely nothing. Horrible things have happened and if they investigated in even the smallest way, they could have stopped him.”

Despite a congressional deadline to release all records, the Justice Department continues to publish documents on a rolling basis, citing the time-consuming process of redacting survivors’ identities.

The department has not indicated when additional records will be released, leaving the public still waiting for a full understanding of Epstein’s crimes and the investigative actions taken.

Trending

PRP Calls For Tinubu’s Impeachment If Linked To Alleged Tax Law Manipulation

Published

on

In a press statement issued on Monday, and signed by its National chairman, Falalu Bello, the opposition party accused the executive arm of government of tampering with tax bills after they had been approved by lawmakers, describing the alleged actions as a serious threat to constitutional order.

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has called for the immediate suspension of Nigeria’s recently enacted tax laws and warned that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should face impeachment if found culpable in what it described as unlawful alterations to legislation passed by the National Assembly.

In a press statement issued on Monday, and signed by its National chairman, Falalu Bello, the opposition party accused the executive arm of government of tampering with tax bills after they had been approved by lawmakers, describing the alleged actions as a serious threat to constitutional order.

PRP said, “The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) is deeply alarmed and condemns the blatant executive misconduct and flagrant disregard for constitutional sovereignty exhibited by the current administration in the recent manipulation of Nigeria’s tax laws.”

The party referenced claims by a member of the House of Representatives that bills were altered without legislative consent, stating that the disclosure “showed that the executive arm has clandestinely altered bills after passage by the National Assembly without legislative approval.”

The PRP described the alleged conduct as “a dangerous pattern of executive impunity that threatens the very foundations of Nigeria’s democracy and due process.”

“This audacious act of executive dishonesty, characterized by the insertion, deletion, and modification of substantive provisions post-passage legislation, underscores a reckless disdain for the rule of law, separation of powers, and the constitutional order,” the party said.

Condemning the actions as illegal, the party said, “The PRP condemns this act as not only illegal but as a direct attack on the independence of the legislature and the constitutional rights of Nigerians to transparent and accountable governance.”

The PRP called for an investigation into the matter, urging authorities to identify those responsible.

“In light of these grave developments, the PRP calls for a comprehensive and transparent investigation of these alterations and additions to the already passed Act of Parliament to identify and punish all those responsible for this egregious misconduct,” it said.

The party also raised the possibility of impeachment proceedings against the president if evidence links him to the alleged manipulation.

“If evidence emerges implicating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in these illegal manipulations, the PRP calls for his impeachment without delay. No individual, including the President, should be above the law,” it said.

Central to its demands, the PRP insisted on halting the enforcement of the tax laws, saying, “Furthermore, we demand the immediate suspension of the implementation of the disputed tax laws until all discrepancies, particularly the conflicts between the laws passed by the National Assembly and those gazette, are thoroughly examined, resolved, and rectified.”

The party warned it would seek legal action if the issue is not addressed, noting, “Should this matter not be addressed promptly, the PRP will have no choice but to seek judicial intervention.”

Emphasizing the broader implications, the PRP said, “The PRP emphasizes that the rule of law and constitutional integrity must take precedence. Until these issues are resolved, the suspension of the tax laws is imperative to prevent further damage to Nigeria’s democratic fabric and economic stability.”

The statement called on Nigerians and institutions to resist what it described as constitutional violations, declaring, “The PRP affirms that no government, regardless of political inclination, is above the law.”

Continue Reading

Trending

Oyedele addresses claims of altered tax laws

Published

on

The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has addressed the controversy that the recently enacted tax reform laws, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, were secretly altered after their passage by the National Assembly.

This follows the demand by civil society organisations, and lawmakers for an independent probe into the purported discrepancies.

Oppositions like a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had also called for the suspension of the laws’ implementation.

The matter started last week when a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised concerns, alleging discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted and made available to the public.

Dasuki argued that the differences amounted to a breach of lawmakers’ legislative rights, insisting that the gazetted versions did not reflect what was debated and approved on the floor of the House.

However, speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, Oyedele dismissed claims circulating in the media as false.

“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we have what has not been gazetted. We don’t have what was passed,” Oyedele said.

“The official harmonised bills certified by the clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, we don’t have a copy to compare. Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what was sent.

“It should be the House of Representatives or Senate version. It should be the harmonised version certified by the clerk. Even me, I cannot say that I have it. I only have what was presented to Mr President to sign,” he added.

Oyedele said he contacted the House of Representatives committee over a controversial provision, Section 41(8), which reportedly required the payment of a 20 per cent deposit.

“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette. Some people decided that they should write the report of the committee before the committee had met, and it had circulated everywhere,” he said.

According to him, the committee informed him that it had not met on the issue.

“What is out there in the media did not come from the committee set up by the House of Representatives. I think we should allow them do the investigation,” Oyedele added.

President Bola Tinubu recently signed four tax reform bills into law, which the Federal Government has described as the most significant overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades.

The laws — the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act — are to operate under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.

The reforms, which faced opposition from some federal lawmakers, particularly from the northern part of the country, before their passage, are aimed at simplifying tax compliance, expanding the tax base, eliminating overlapping taxes, and modernising revenue collection across the federal, state and local governments.

Continue Reading

Trending

Russian general killed by car bomb in Moscow, officials say

Published

on

The explosion occurred on Monday morning outside a block of flats south of Moscow

A Russian general has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, officials have said.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov died on Monday morning after an explosive device planted under a car detonated.

Sarvarov, 56, was the head of the armed forces’ operational training department, the committee added.

It said one theory being investigated was that the bomb was planted with the involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services. Ukraine has not commented.

Sarvarov died in hospital as a result of his injuries, the committee said, adding it had opened an investigation into murder and illegal trafficking of explosives.

Investigators have been sent to the scene, in a car park near an apartment block in the south of Russia’s capital.

Images from the area show a badly damaged white car with the doors blown out, surrounded by other vehicles in a parking lot.

According to Russian media, Sarvarov previously took part in combat operations during the Ossetian-Ingush conflict and the Chechen wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, and also led operations in Syria between 2015-2016.

Vladimir Putin was informed of Sarvarov’s death as soon as it happened, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a number of military officials have been targeted in the Russian capital.

Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow in April, while Gen Igor Kirillov died in December 2024 when a device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely.

A Ukrainian source later told the BBC that Kirillov was killed by Ukraine’s security service, though this was never confirmed on the record. As a matter of policy, Ukraine never officially admits or claims responsibility for targeted attacks.

Continue Reading

Trending