Overview

• On July 30, President Trump told reporters that Jeffrey Epstein “kidnapped” Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago club.
• Relatives of Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, issued a statement saying they were “shocked” by the remark and demanding clarity on the president’s prior awareness of Epstein’s trafficking.
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump by saying he expelled Epstein from his club for abusing employees and only answered a reporter’s question.
• The Justice Department has interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida under prosecutor Todd Blanche and her lawyers have indicated she would testify before Congress if granted immunity.
• Congressional committees are seeking to unseal Epstein and Maxwell investigation files to provide greater transparency into the trafficking network.