President Donald Trump hinted at plans to rename the Department of Defense to its original moniker, the Department of War, according to Just the News. The later change, which Trump said has softened the agency's mission, occurred in 1949 in an amendment to the 1947 National Security Act.
The aim of changing the name was to create an umbrella term for the agency that would incorporate all branches of the military under one agency. Trump's plan to restore the original name is something he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been teasing.
In March, Hegseth asked for feedback from his base as to what the department should be called, while Trump quipped that Hegseth was the "Secretary of War" during remarks in June. After bandying about the change, it, the president said that he expects the name change to come as soon as "next week or so."
The announcement was made during a news conference with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday. Trump was asked about whether it requires an act of Congress, and he replied that he was sure it would pass if he needed approval, making it seem like an inevitability. "I'm sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don't think we even need that. But, if we need that, I'm sure Congress will go along," Trump said.
"You know, we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we're going to change the name. You want to know the truth? I think we're going to have some information on that, maybe soon," Trump told reporters.
"But I think because, you know, Department of Defense, we won World War I, World War II. It was called the Department of War. And to me that's really what it is," the president continued. "Defense is a part of that. But I have a feeling we're going to be changing," Trump said.
The president said that the change is "going to be made over the next week or so" to the name. "I'm talking to the people. Everybody likes that. We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was the Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense," Trump said.
Trump thinks it makes the U.S. sound weak, which is one of the reasons he believes the change is necessary. "The other is, defense is too defensive. And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too, if we have to be. So it just sounded to me like a better name," Trump said.
Trump's businesses all bear his famous name, especially his buildings, which often feature it in big gold letters for the world to see, so he understands the importance a name carries. To that end, the president issued an executive order, "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness," on January 20, 2025.
"It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes. The naming of our national treasures, including breathtaking natural wonders and historic works of art, should honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans in our Nation’s rich past," Trump's order said on the first day of his presidency.
One of those was restoring the name of Mount McKinley, which "honors President McKinley for giving his life for our great Nation and dutifully recognizes his historic legacy of protecting America’s interests and generating enormous wealth for all Americans." The area was previously renamed to Denali to reflect the indigenous peoples who live there.
The most infamous renaming came when Trump suggested the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the Gulf of America. "The Gulf will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping America’s future and the global economy, and in recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America," the executive order said.
Trump is conscious of the power that comes with a name, and he's taking that philosophy to benefit America and its legacy. The American military should strike fear into its enemies, and Trump is right to use the name to project strength and American greatness, which is something Democrats will no doubt hate.
The Democratic National Committee has poured $15 million into paying off debt from the failed presidential candidacy of former Vice President Kamala Harris, Breitbart reported. The organization faces a shortfall after the Harris campaign spent $1.5 billion in her 15 weeks as the Democratic hopeful.
Harris was crushed in the 2024 presidential election, and now a record-setting debt has forced the DNC to shell out millions in the first half of the year. This figure comes as the Republican National Committee is working with a cash surplus of $80 million after President Donald Trump's win.
The Democrats are staring down the 2026 midterms with no momentum and depleted coffers, and some in the party have begun the blame game. Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson dove into this saga in the news outlet, calling it a "look into the finger-pointing."
New: Democrats are still paying for Kamala Harris' loss to Donald Trump last year — literally.
The DNC has paid more than $15 million toward paying off Harris 2024 campaign expenses in the first 6 months of 2025.
My look into the party finger-pointing.https://t.co/Yzu25GpH9Q
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) August 25, 2025
Harris was supremely unlikable and ultimately failed to garner enough support to win the election. Still, the bills need to be paid, and Democrats are stepping all over themselves to blame each other as to why this is, with some saying that Ken Martin, the new DNC chair, isn't adequately fundraising for the party.
Meanwhile, the DNC has permission to use Harris's email contacts in an effort to raise money and has been sending out requests. Unfortunately, just like during the election, nobody wants anything to do with Harris, and the DNC has struggled to raise more than a pittance, two sources close to the issue told Thompson.
"The vice president has collaborated closely with the DNC to manage campaign expenses and expand our base of grassroots donors," Harris' campaign chairperson Jen O'Malley Dillon said. "She remains fully committed to strengthening the party and helping return Democrats to power," added O'Malley, who has remained on to help clean up after the campaign.
Nevertheless, the bills are coming due, and the DNC has been shelling out more than expected after the campaign claimed it was in good financial shape going into Election Day. "As of Election Day, there were no outstanding debts or bills overdue, and there will be no debt on either the DNC or [the Harris for President committee] report for post general report," Harris campaign Chief Finance Officer Patrick Stauffer said in late November.
The Harris campaign reportedly expected to be able to fundraise on election night, but the race was called for Trump in the early morning hours after a decisive win. The bills continued to pour in during the first six months of the year, and the DNC had to pay for expenses such as $2.125 million to Assembly House LLC for media production, $548,050 for charter flights, and another $237,201 to the Covington & Burling law firm.
This isn't the first time a loser Democrat has left the DNC holding the bag. Former President Barack Obama's 2012 victory wasn't enough to pay the bills, as he left the national Democratic Party organization in serious debt that wasn't repaid until 2015.
According to a Politico report at the time, Obama remained $2.4 million in debt years into his second term as president. The DNC struck a deal with Obama to pay the remainder of his debt in September 2015, including handing over his email list, which was thought to be extremely valuable to the Democratic Party given his two victories.
Still, 2016's losing Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, blamed this partly for falling short, stating that the DNC was not prepared for the 2016 election in part because of the debt. She had the same unlikeability problem as Harris, but she is correct that these funding issues are more common to Democrats than Republicans.
As Axios mentioned, "George W. Bush’s campaign paid off almost all of its debt within months of his reelection in 2004 and had shut down by this point in his second term." The problem for Harris and Obama is that celebrities and big crowds don't come cheap, especially when the excitement has to be made from scratch, as it was for Harris.
Biden appeared to be half dead, and Harris was just a dud, so nothing was going to save the Democrats from losing in 2024. They threw money at the problem and ended up with nothing to show for it but another four years of Trump and more debt, which is exactly what they deserve.
First Lady Melania Trump told the New York Post on Monday that her next project will be to lead the Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge, which will educate children about AI and how it can be used for innovation.
Trump seems to be parlaying her advocacy for the Take It Down Act, which combats AI deepfakes, into a broader role related to AI and how children experience it today and in the future.
“Creating my AI Audiobook opened my eyes to the countless opportunities and risks this new technology brings to American society,” Trump told the Post.
“In just a few short years, AI will be the engine driving every business sector across our economy. It is poised to deliver great value to our careers, families, and communities," she continued. “Just as America once led the world into the skies with the Wright Brothers, we are poised to lead again —this time in the age of AI.”
In some ways like the Presidential Fitness Challenge, this challenge will involve groups of students using AI tools to create a phone app or website that solves a community problem.
Large language models, robotics, computer vision, decision trees, and neural networks are some of the tools that will be used.
The top teams will present their work in Washington, D.C., even at the White House, and could win a certificate of achievement, Cloud credits, or a $10,000 check.
State champions will be chosen in March, and national champions in June.
“The Presidential AI Challenge marks our first step in equipping every child with the knowledge base and tools to utilize this emerging technology,” Trump said.
“But this is only the beginning. It is essential that every member of our academic community, including our great educators, administrators, and students rise to this historic challenge with ongoing curiosity, perseverance, and ingenuity.”
Her leadership of the challenge fits right in with her "Be Best" initiative from her husband's first term, which encouraged and empowered youth to educate themselves and make good choices for their future.
Her previous initiatives involved internet safety as part of their scope.
“It’s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes,” she told a Capitol Hill roundtable in March to promote passage of the Take It Down Act.
“We must prioritize their well-being by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape.”
The Trump administration has initiated deportation procedures against 86,500 illegal aliens who were in legal uncertainty under the previous administration, Breitbart reported exclusively.
This measure includes issuing Notices to Appear to immigrants whose applications for benefits were previously denied, marking a substantial shift in immigration enforcement.
Previously, under President Joe Biden’s administration, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had no clear policy regarding the issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs). This led to numerous individuals remaining in a state of legal limbo after being denied immigration benefits such as naturalization, permanent residency, or work permits.
In a departure from past inaction, the recent directives under President Donald Trump have aggressively pursued the resolution of these cases. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow criticized the previous administration for its lack of policies, which left many without a clear legal pathway forward.
"Under the Biden administration, the agency had no policy [on NTAs] and thus when a case was denied and the person was just in limbo and had no other legal pathway here, nothing was happening," said Joseph Edlow. This hiatus in policy enforcement affected large numbers of cases, contributing to the buildup of unresolved immigration statuses.
Currently, when USCIS denies an individual's application for immigration benefits, it now issues an NTA, which instructs the individual to appear before an immigration court. This marks a crucial step in moving towards resolving their cases either through legal relief or deportation.
"Now, those people … when they are denied [benefits], they are given a Notice to Appear and sent to immigration court," Edlow stated. This change intends to ensure that cases do not remain indefinitely undecided and that each case reaches a conclusive end.
The aim is clear — to legalistically punctuate each individual’s case with a definitive resolution, reducing the number of people living indefinitely under unresolved immigration statuses in the United States.
Edlow emphasized, "USCIS must have a rigorous NTA policy so that hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens are not living in the U.S. in some sort of legal limbo, but rather have their cases closed before an immigration judge." This underscores the administration's commitment to enforcing existing immigration laws and decreasing the number of unresolved cases.
According to recent figures released by the Department of Homeland Security, since Trump assumed office, USCIS has issued about 86,500 NTAs. A substantial increase was noted recently, with around 60,000 NTAs issued in just a few months.
These numbers indicate a significant acceleration in the administration's efforts to clear the backlog of cases left from the previous administration. The issuance of NTAs not only helps in reducing the limbo status for many but also expedites their cases toward finality.
"... [T]here should be an end to those cases. That end is either them getting relief before an immigration judge or their ultimate removal from this country," remarked Edlow. This statement clarifies the administration's stance on ensuring that immigration laws are not just enforced, but that each case is brought to a proper conclusion.
This renewed focus on immigration enforcement through NTAs represents a clear, policy-driven approach to resolving the statuses of individuals who were previously stuck without clear direction under the USCIS’s mandate. The Trump administration’s strategy is aimed clearly at reinforcing the legal framework governing immigration while addressing the challenges left by previous policy gaps.
The implications of these changes are profound, potentially affecting tens of thousands of individuals. They highlight a critical shift in the management of immigration-related cases in the United States, prioritizing legal certainty and the integrity of the immigration process.
As the USCIS continues to handle these cases, the full impact of the current administration's policy changes will unfold over time, setting a precedent for how immigration laws are enforced and adjudicated in future administrations.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, said she never witnessed President Trump behave inappropriately when he was with Epstein - pouring cold water on rumors that Democrats have been stoking for weeks.
The bombshell testimony was part of Maxwell's interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who met with Maxwell in prison last month. A transcript was released Friday.
"I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects," Maxwell said in a transcript of her interview with the Justice Department.
Maxwell is serving 20 years in federal prison for trafficking girls to Epstein, who died in his cell while facing charges six years ago. Epstein was accused of recruiting underage girls to give him massages that would escalate to sexual encounters.
A political firestorm over Epstein erupted in early July when Trump's Justice Department announced it would not release additional information in the case. Democrats have tried to insinuate that Trump was somehow involved in Epstein's crimes, accusing Trump and his government of a cover-up.
Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and it is no secret that the two once socialized together.
In her interview with Blanche, Maxwell said Trump and Epstein seemed "friendly", but she never saw anything suspicious between them.
“I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting,” Maxwell told Blanche, according to the transcript. “I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody.”
Maxwell's testimony is sure to be celebrated by many supporters of Trump, although some are sure to question her credibility, given her criminal record and her desire for a federal pardon. The family of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre condemned Blanche's interview as an opportunity for Maxwell to whitewash the past.
"During DAG Todd Blanche's bizarre interview, she [Maxwell] is never challenged about her court-proven lies, providing her a platform to rewrite history," the family said in a statement. "This travesty of justice entirely invalidates the experiences of the many brave survivors who put their safety, security, and lives on the line to ensure her conviction, including our sister."
Giuffre never alleged any wrongdoing by Trump before her suicide, and her upcoming book does not make any abuse allegations against the president.
Trump has said that he severed ties with Epstein years ago after the financier started hiring girls who worked at the Mar-A-Lago spa, including Giuffre.
While Democrats have focused single-mindedly on the Epstein story all summer, Republicans have also pushed for transparency.
The Justice Department started sending the Epstein files to the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee on Friday, in response to a subpoena.
Texas Republicans have enacted a new law that bans government entities from covering abortion travel.
In Texas, abortion is almost completely banned under state law. Republicans in Texas cried foul after the Democratic city of Austin allocated $400,000 to cover abortion-related travel costs.
Republicans said Austin was defying state law, and Senate Bill 33 was introduced by Sen. Donna Campbell to ensure compliance. Austin decried the ban as an attack on "reproductive freedom."
"This law sends a clear message that Austinites don’t deserve the freedom to make personal medical decisions or the right to (enact) policies shaped by our values," said Austin City Council member Vanessa Fuentes said in a statement. "It’s shameful, it’s wrong, and only deepens the reproductive health crisis Texans are already facing.”
The law "prohibits Texas governmental entities from financially or logistically supporting abortions, including entering into contracts with abortion providers or with entities that assist individuals in obtaining abortions," according to Governor Greg Abbott (R-Tx.), who signed the ban into law.
Abbott simultaneously signed Senate Bill 31, which clarifies the medical exception to the state's abortion ban, allowing doctors to perform abortions when a pregnancy poses a risk of death or serious bodily impairment to the mother.
“In Texas, we support mothers and their children,” Abbott said in a statement. “This session, the Texas Legislature worked together to pass the Life of the Mother Act to protect both mothers and babies while giving medical professionals the legal security and clinical clarity they desire. I am also proud to sign a law to ban taxpayer dollars from funding abortions. Texas is a pro-life and pro-family state. With these laws, we will stay that way, "he said.
Abortion tourism became a more prominent issue after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, triggering Democrats to seek workarounds to abortion bans in Republican states.
The Biden administration led the way, adopting a since-revoked policy that reimbursed women in the military for abortion-related travel.
Texas Republicans have been at the forefront of pro-life activism since Roe was repealed, and Senate Bill 33 solidifies the state's status as a sanctuary for unborn children.
The law creates a private right of action, empowering private citizens to file lawsuits to enforce it.
The state's Republicans are also looking to crack down on the flow of abortion-inducing drugs into Texas, where some women have turned to ordering pills online to have illegal abortions at home.
House Bill 7 would allow private citizens to sue out-of-state abortion providers for $100,000 or more per violation.
“A person could order abortion pills online right now and they’d be delivered to their doorstep the next day,” said Texas Right to Life Legislative Director Ashley Leenerts in March. “The fact that 19,000 Texans did this last year breaks my heart, and it should break yours, too.”
President Trump is lobbying for a loyal supporter of his to go free from prison after she received a staggering nine-year sentence.
Tina Peters, a former Mesa County election clerk, was charged and convicted in the fallout from the 2020 presidential election, a contest which Trump continues to maintain was rigged.
Although Trump cannot pardon Peters, who was tried and convicted of state crimes, the president warned of "harsh measures" if Peters is not released.
The president did not get more specific than that, but Trump is trying to use federal funding as leverage against Colorado, and Denver specifically, to pressure Democrats in the state to end "sanctuary" policies shielding illegal immigrants.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Peters, who is 69, is being persecuted for exposing the Democrats' corruption.
"FREE TINA PETERS, a brave and innocent Patriot who has been tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians, including the big Mail-In Ballot supporting the [sic] governor of the State. Let Tina Peters out of jail, RIGHT NOW. She did nothing wrong, except catching the Democrats cheat in the Election. She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!!" Trump wrote.
Peters, a former Mesa County clerk, was accused of betraying the public trust when she allowed an unauthorized person to access voting machines that were used in the 2020 election.
She was convicted on seven out of ten counts and sentenced to nine years in state prison.
Trump himself was charged for election interference in two cases run by Democrats - one federal, and one in Georgia - but he ran out the clock on both while campaigning for the presidency last year.
On his first day back in the White House, Trump fulfilled his promise to pardon supporters of his who were prosecuted for protesting the 2020 election at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
Trump has been advocating on behalf of Peters for months, directing the Justice Department to secure the freedom of the "political prisoner."
Trump has accused Democrats of giving Peters more harsh treatment than many violent criminals receive, including illegal aliens who find protection in "sanctuary" jurisdictions.
“Radical Left Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ignores Illegals committing Violent Crimes like Rape and Murder in his State and, instead, jailed Tina Peters, a 69-year-old Gold Star mother who worked to expose and document Democrat Election Fraud,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, calling her an “innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment.”
As Trump demands freedom for Peters, he is pushing to ban the use of mail-in voting in U.S. elections, citing the need to restore integrity.
President Donald Trump's latest Truth Social rant involves "fake news" purveyed by NBC and ABC, along with Trump's blessing if the Federal Communications Commission decides to revoke their licenses for the obvious bias (which would be unlikely).
"Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES. They should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!! Crooked “journalism” should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!" Trump posted late Sunday night.
The New York Post pointed out that the two major networks are not themselves licensed by the FCC. They instead provide content for local affiliates, which are licensed.
Trump's lack of knowledge about how TV works aside, he is showing a huge amount of either bravery or arrogance by going after what most people think of as free speech and freedom of the press. Most presidents and other politicians won't go further than complaining about bias because the majority of Americans still think of the media as protected by the Constitution, even if it has been biased against conservatives for decades, and provably so.
In truth, there is probably some of both bravery and arrogance in Trump's insinuation that two of the main three television networks should lose their ability to broadcast.
He followed up the first post by saying, "Despite a very high popularity and, according to many, among the greatest 8 months in Presidential History, ABC & NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the worst and most biased networks in history, give me 97% BAD STORIES. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC. I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!"
Trump is not wrong that NBC and ABC are basically extensions of the Democrat party propaganda apparatus, but that doesn't mean that a government entity should stop them from operating.
This is why Trump gets a reputation for being "fascist." It's not true, but when he says things like this it is not a far leap for those who already don't like him.
Let's just restrict the press to those who will report favorably about him, because that will totally be fair to everyone. Right?
Trump has to know that he has prospered politically just as much because of the negative press about him as he has from the positive things people have said.
Each criminal indictment against him made him more popular because people saw him as the underdog fighting the establishment, the big bad Democrats picking on him.
In a very real sense, Trump would probably lose at least some of his support if the media suddenly started praising him all the time.
That being said, it must be stressful and annoying to get attacked every day just for doing what you think is best to help the country.
Democrat Rep. Adam Smith (WA) took to MSNBC on Saturday to complain about President Donald Trump's federalization of the District of Columbia, particularly the national capital of Washington.
Of course, he was goaded on by host Al Sharpton, because everyone on MSNBC hates Trump and is going to criticize anything he says or does.
Sharpton asked, “Are you concerned with how the president and some Republican governors have begun to utilize the National Guard at this moment?”
Smith said, “Very concerned," and went on to detail what he thought the problems were with doing so.
"I mean, there are two huge problems here," he said. "Number one, we are using the United States Military for domestic law enforcement. They are not trained to do that. Also the second big problem is this is Trump basically giving himself a national police force."
So far, about 1,800 National Guard troops from a number of states have been sent to D.C., but the New York Times reported that the Guard has been in primarily a support role to the 500 federal law enforcement officers who are patrolling and making many of the arrests.
That's hardly a "national police force" for Trump's specific use. Nevertheless, Smith insisted, "He’s certainly doing it with the guard. He did it with the active duty Marines in Los Angeles. But when you look at what ICE is doing, it’s certainly ICE. They’re hiring a lot more agents, but he’s using every conceivable federal agency, the DEA, the ATF, the postal inspector service, to go out into our community and violate people’s rights to pick them up off the streets with no due process and lock them up.”
He added, “This is Donald Trump building a national security force that will serve his interests and not the interests of the American people. What’s he going to do with that? Well, I think January 6, 2021 gives us a hint, a clue as to what he might do with it. So, look, this is not what the military is supposed to be doing. First of all, it’s dangerous in the communities. Second of all, Trump is using it to enhance his own power, which we should all be concerned about."
Smith is twisting Trump's actions and giving them evil intentions, like pretty much all Democrats and the left have done.
Trump is trying to reverse Biden's open-door immigration policies and remove as many of the 2-plus million illegal immigrants that Biden let into the country as he can.
He's also trying to reverse 60 years of Democrat policies in Washington, D.C., and potentially, other huge cities.
Smith concluded by admitting that crime is a problem in these cities. He said, "And look, you know, you’ve been in New York City, you know, Washington, D.C., look, crime is a problem. Fascism isn’t the answer. And that’s the message I hope Democrats send out.”
But the bottom line is, Democrats don't have any answers for reforming immigration or reducing crime.
Their ideas have been bankrupt because they don't include enforcing the laws, and the best they can do is attack Trump for doing what he thinks needs to be done and lie about his intentions every step of the way.
During a two-day interview with Deputy U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche, convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell said that she never observed former President Bill Clinton getting a massage on Epstein's plane.
“Do you know whether, for example, President Clinton ever received a massage?” Blanche asked Maxwell.
“I don’t believe he did,” Maxwell said, after which Blanche asked why she didn't think so. “Well, because I don’t—so that’s a good question. The time that Epstein and President Clinton spent together, the only times I believe—well, obviously they traveled. There was that, you know, the plane, they went on the plane 26 times or whatever … So they spent time on the plane together, and I don’t believe there was ever a massage on the plane. So that would’ve been the only time that I think that President Clinton could have even received a massage. And he didn’t, because I was there.”
The interview seems to conflict with photos and a Daily Caller interview given by Epstein accuser Chauntae Davies, who said that she massaged Clinton's neck on a flight in 2002.
Davies said that Maxwell encouraged her to massage Clinton, but just to get some kinks out of his neck. There are photos of Davies massaging Clinton's neck while he smiles and laughs.
Another Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, who died in April by suicide, said that Clinton visited Epstein's private island, where orgies were common, but she never personally observed him participating in any illicit activities there.
Clinton's spokesperson said after Maxwell's arrest in July 2020 that he had "never been to little St. James Island," where the alleged orgies took place.
“He’d not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade,” spokesman Angel Ureña told Newsweek. “Well before his terrible crimes came to light.”
Maxwell also threw cold water on the narrative that President Donald Trump was refusing to release the Epstein files publicly because he was named as a wrongdoer in them.
“I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody,” she said.
“In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects," she added.
She also said that she didn't have knowledge of Trump giving Epstein a lewd birthday card, a narrative which was leaked to the press but has been denied by Trump.
Maxwell ostensibly offered the in-depth interview in an effort to receive a shortened jail sentence as Epstein's accomplice. She is serving 20 years for helping him recruit underage girls and women that he allegedly trafficked for the orgies on his island.
The public has been clamoring for the release of all the Epstein files since Trump took office, but so far that has not happened.