The Smoking Gun: Trump, The Least Charitable Billionaire

Live updates: Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein indictment unsealed | CNN

Some of the headings from this article:

Federal prosecutors want to seize NYC home where Epstein allegedly had sex with victims

Epstein faces up to 45 years in prison — which is "basically a life sentence" prosecutor says

US Attorney: New York prosecutors "not bound" by Epstein's deal in Florida

Prosecutor: Agents seized nude photographs of "what appeared to be underage girls" from NYC residence

Investigators found "at least hundreds — and perhaps thousands" of lewd photos during Epstein raid

Jeffrey Epstein pleads not guilty

Epstein's detention hearing set for Thursday

More alleged victims and attorneys have come forward in the last 36 hours

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's handling of the Epstein case is under review

More: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/jeffrey-epstein-court-07-08-19/

Jeffrey Epstein’s Alleged Accomplices: Where Are Sarah Kellen, Nadia Marcinkova, Adriana Ross & Lesley Groff?

When prosecutors gave Jeffrey Epstein a sweetheart plea deal in 2007, they agreed not to charge four women allegedly involved in recruiting dozens of underage girls for abuse.

By Pilar Melendez, The Daily Beast, July 9, 2019

Excerpt:

Sarah Kellen, Epstein’s former assistant who allegedly kept a Rolodex of young girls to recruit for her employer, is now married to NASCAR driver Brian Vickers. Along with traveling with her husband, the 39-year-old (who also goes by the name Sarah Kensington) is the owner of an interior-design firm, SLK Designs.

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According to public records, SLK Designs once operated from a building in Midtown Manhattan owned by Epstein’s property-manager brother, Mark Epstein. The condominium listed to take SLK Designs deliveries, at 301 E. 66th St., is the same address where Epstein allegedly rented units to house models.

Though not directly named in Monday’s indictment, Kellen has been accused in court documents related to the Florida case of booking the “massages,” often calling girls to ensure they “were available for encounters” when Epstein would travel to Palm Beach. Several alleged victims in Florida told authorities they were led to and from the upstairs room in Epstein’s mansion by a woman named Sarah, after she lined up the oils on his massage table. According to one police report, Kellen also warned the girls not to talk to authorities about the encounters.

Monday’s indictment contains similar allegations about unnamed Epstein employees. “When a victim initially arrived at the Palm Beach Residence, she would be escorted to a room, sometimes by an employee of Epstein’s, including, at times, two assistants who, as described herein, were also responsible for scheduling sexual encounters with minor victims,” the Monday indictment states.

Kellen also reportedly traveled on Epstein’s private plane with former President Bill Clinton on at least 11 flights between 2002 and 2003, according to flight logs published by Gawker in 2015.

Kellen, who has properties in North Carolina, New York, and Miami Beach, did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment. A NASCAR spokesperson told The Daily Beast the organization does “not have a comment” about Kellen’s alleged misconduct.

<snipped>

Nadia Marcinkova, Epstein’s alleged “sex slave” who was accused of participating in sexual encounters with underage girls, is now an FAA-certified commercial pilot and flight instructor. Marcinkova, 33, who was allegedly brought from the former Yugoslavia to live with Epstein, now goes by the named “Global Girl” on social media, and has changed her last name.

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Adriana Ross, a former model from Poland who allegedly helped organize Epstein’s predatory sessions, moved to Florida in 2002 and was hired to work at the financier’s mansion. Ross, who often went by Adriana Mucinska and is not directly named in Monday’s indictment, also frequently flew on Epstein’s private jet alongside Bill Clinton, according to flight records.

Along with her fellow alleged co-conspirators, Ross was questioned in 2010 about whether Britain’s Prince Andrew participated in Epstein’s alleged sex enterprise. Refusing to answer questions about the inner workings of the alleged scheme, Ross repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, according to previous reports. As previously reported by The Daily Beast, Ross also lived at the East 66th Street building in Manhattan.

Ross’ current profession or address was not immediately clear and she could not be reached for comment.

<snipped>

Lesley Groff was another Epstein assistant who allegedly coordinated travel for young girls, often calling to schedule “massages.” Though not directly named in Monday’s indictment, the 51-year-old has been previously named as one of Epstein’s three female assistants. According to a 2005 Chicago Tribune story about executive-assistant pay, Epstein divulged his assistants made about $200,000.

More at https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffr...adia-marcinkova-adriana-ross-and-lesley-groff

Trump's Twitter blocking violates Constitution, appeals court rules

By Jessica Schneider and Katelyn Polantz, CNN, July 9, 2019

Quote:

An appeals court said Tuesday that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking users on Twitter.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a New York judge's ruling and found that Trump "engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by utilizing Twitter's 'blocking' function to limit certain users' access to his social media account, which is otherwise open to the public at large, because he disagrees with their speech."

"We hold that he engaged in such discrimination," the ruling adds.

The judges on the appeals court concluded that "the First Amendment does not permit a public official who utilizes a social media account for all manner of official purposes to exclude persons from an otherwise-open online dialogue because they expressed views with which the official disagrees."

The challenge to Trump's unprecedented use of Twitter in office came from seven individuals he blocked, as well as the Knight First Amendment Institute, which argued that the President's personal account is an extension of his office.

The Justice Department argued in March that the President wasn't "wielding the power" of the federal government when he blocked certain individuals from his personal Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, because while the President sends tweets in his official capacity, he blocks users as a personal matter.

But the appeals court disagreed with that view.

"The irony in all of this is that we write at a time in the history of this nation when the conduct of our government and its officials is subject to wide‐open, robust debate," they wrote. "This debate encompasses an extraordinarily broad range of ideas and viewpoints and generates a level of passion and intensity the likes of which have rarely been seen. This debate, as uncomfortable and as unpleasant as it frequently may be, is nonetheless a good thing. In resolving this appeal, we remind the litigants and the public that if the First Amendment means anything, it means that the best response to disfavored speech on matters of public concern is more speech, not less."

Tuesday's ruling affirms the position taken last year by a New York federal judge, who ruled that Trump had violated the Constitution when he blocked Twitter users.

US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald wrote in her ruling that "no government official -- including the President -- is above the law, and all government officials are presumed to follow the law as has been declared."

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/twitter-trump-appeals-court/

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns | CNN



"President Donald Trump announced that Labor Secretary Alex Acosta has resigned, a move that comes after furor over a plea deal with Jeffrey Epstein."

Acosta Resigns Over Epstein Plea Deal, Says It Isn’t ‘Fair’ to Be ‘the Focus’

"The president still showed his support for his Cabinet member, who cut lenient deal to convicted predator. “I said you don’t have to do this,” Trump told reporters."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/alex-...ein-scandal-says-its-not-fair-to-be-the-focus