Meet the man who wrote the law used to prosecute Diddy and Epstein
If Sean “Diddy” Combs is convicted of sex trafficking by force, he will go to prison for a minimum of 15 years and he could receive a life sentence. The criminal code regarding trafficking in the United States is comprehensive and carries significant punishments thanks to an almost entire rewrite of the statutes that became law in 2000.
“The criminal code was almost nonexistent,” Smith told Straight Arrow News. “There were almost no prosecutions. The fines or jail time were not commensurate with the heinous act of human trafficking, sex or labor trafficking.”
Smith said when he started looking into trafficking law, multiple U.S. Attorneys told him they had no cases because there was nothing compelling within the current statutes they could use to target someone.
“There has to be a penalty phase, but not for the women. We hold them harmless,” Smith said. “And that was one of the sea changes that we put into the law, that no woman could be prosecuted as a victim.”
Smith said he wrote in multiple provisions that were key to protecting victims. As an example, if the victim is younger than 18, then it only takes one single commercial sex act to qualify as a human trafficking case.
“The false assumption that many of us had was that it was more of an overseas thing,” Smith said. “With the break with the Soviet Union, the KGB went into selling women, drugs and women, as well as weapons. So there was this sense that trafficking was over there. It didn’t take long for all of us to realize…that it’s right here in our backyard.”
In addition to penalties for perpetrators, Smith’s bill created training programs for flight attendants, hotel employees and other travel industry workers who are in positions to identify trafficking victims and notify authorities.
Smith also wrote the law used to charge financier Jeffrey Epstein before his death. He has dedicated much of his career to human rights.
“What we saw with the breakup of the Soviet Union and East Bloc countries, that there was a huge increase in human trafficking,” Smith said. “The Internet enabled a lot of it too as that broke onto the scene. So this idea of buying and selling women coercively or minors, it was like nobody’s addressing this.”
Former model says Donald Trump groped her in front of Jeffrey Epstein
A former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model claimed she was groped by former President Donald Trump in the 90s. She also said that Jeffrey Epstein was involved.
Stacey Williams sat down with CNN on Thursday, Oct. 24, for her first on-camera interview about the allegation.
Stacey Williams’ shares her story
Williams said she and Epstein, whom she was dating at the time, were walking together on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1993 when Epstein brought her to Trump Tower. That’s when she said Trump greeted them outside his office. She said he immediately pulled her into him and started groping her with Epstein standing there watching and smiling.
“Then the hands started moving, and they were on the, you know, on the side of my breasts, on my hips, back down to my butt, back up, sort of then, you know, they were just on me the whole time,” Williams said.
After leaving, Williams claimed Epstein berated her for allowing Trump to touch her.
“I just had this really like sickening feeling that it was coordinated, that somehow the whole thing was — I was rolled in there like a piece of meat for some kind of weird, twisted game,” Williams said.
Williams said she ended her relationship with Epstein after the encounter. She also said she didn’t know of his predatory behavior that would be revealed years later.
Trump was once close friends with Epstein. He publicly distanced himself from Epstein after the financier faced charges related to inappropriate sexual conduct with underage girls.
Williams also said she got a Mar-a-Lago postcard from Trump delivered to her modeling agency shortly after the incident at Trump Tower. It read, “Stacey, your home away from home. Love, Donald.”
CNN spoke to three friends of Williams who each said that she told them about the incident with Trump and Epstein in 2006, 2015 and 2016.
Trump campaign responds
The Trump campaign denied Williams’ allegations calling it a “fake story contrived by Kamala Harris’ campaign.”
Williams insists her decision to go public with this claim isn’t related to the 2024 election and that she hasn’t spoken to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign about the allegation.
She said sharing her story coincides with the release of a new documentary about Sports Illustrated. She said she mentioned the incident in the documentary.
Grand jury transcripts reveal prosecutors’ knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes
Sixteen years later, newly released grand jury transcripts show Florida prosecutors knew Jeffrey Epstein raped two teenaged girls two years before they offered him a now heavily criticized, secret, lenient plea deal. Circuit Judge Luis Delgado ordered the surprise release of the documents after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, signed a law in February permitting the records to be made public.
Delgado wrote that the records show Epstein is “the most infamous pedophile in American history.”
Police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating the late multimillionaire financier in 2005, after a woman called the police department and accused Epstein of sexually assaulting her 14-year-old daughter at his West Palm Beach mansion.
The woman said Epstein paid the teenager $300 for a massage in her underwear.
The accusation sparked a two-year investigation, which involved the FBI. The bureau found Epstein abused several teenaged girls and paid them to recruit and bring him more victims.
The grand jury testimony records reveal that prosecutors sought to undermine the victims’ credibility, accusing them of the crime of prostitution.
The prosecutor asked one of the 14-year-old victims if she knew she had committed a crime since Epstein paid her money after sexually assaulting her.
The prosecutors also asked the teenage victims about their home lives. Questions included asking whether their fathers knew about the hundreds of dollars they had acquired and if they had posted pictures to their MySpace accounts showing themselves wearing “skimpy attire” and “drinking alcohol.”
The prosecutors have not responded to the release of the transcripts.
Instead of facing charges for sex trafficking and rape, Epstein pleaded guilty to two felony prostitution charges in 2008 and served 18 months in a Florida prison on a work-release program. He was able to leave his cell every day to go to his Palm Beach office and home.
Critics said Epstein’s ties to the wealthy and famous — including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and even British royalty such as Prince Andrew — allowed him to skirt a harsher punishment and criticized it as preferential treatment.
Critics also called the sentence a “slap on the wrist,” allowing Epstein to continue his abuses against young girls.
He was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls at his homes in Manhattan, Palm Beach and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and paying them to bring him more clients.
Epstein was again arrested in 2019 after a Miami Herald investigation revealed the secret plea deal. As he was awaiting trial, he was found dead in his New York prison cell.
Investigators said he had killed himself.
“For almost 20 years, the story of how Jeffrey Epstein victimized some of Palm Beach County’s most vulnerable has been the subject of much anger and has at times diminished the public’s perception of the criminal justice system,” Delgado wrote.
Epstein’s estate has paid $121 million in restitution to nearly 135 victims.
House votes to reauthorize bill making it easier to go after human traffickers
The House of Representatives passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in a landslide 414-11 vote. The bill was first signed into law in 2000, and with this reauthorization, the programs and funding associated with it will last until 2028.
“This bill saves lives and it is a bipartisan cause,” Rep. Kathy Manning, D-N.C., said. “It is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing, it is about our common humanity.”
The Frederick Douglass Act, this year’s reauthorization, is named after the renowned abolitionist and endorsed by his great-great grandson.
The bill:
Seeks to promote situational awareness training for elementary and secondary school students through grants.
Requires the Secretary of State to provide information to Congress about countries that don’t comply with the law’s anti-human trafficking standards.
Authorizes survivors’ employment, housing and education programs.
Authorizes $175 million over five years for DOJ Housing Assistance Grants for victims of human trafficking; in addition to other measures.
“One of the things we find is that [when] a woman — or a man but most are women — are liberated, where do they go?” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said. “They need help. And we do have programs in existence. This will help redirect some of those funds to help them get a house, a home, so that they are less likely and less vulnerable to being re-trafficked.”
Smith has held multiple hearings on human trafficking. During those hearings, victims share stories of being raped, beaten and having necessities like food either given or withheld as reward or punishment. The nature of that captivity can ultimately lead to psychological damage and the belief that what happened to the victim is their fault, which is why trafficking is described as modern-day slavery.
“Does this sound like anything that a young person dreams of for their future?” Smith said. “Being stripped and robbed of your peace of mind and of your body, your humanity, your dignity, and your respect?”
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act has made it far easier for prosecutors to successfully bring charges against perpetrators by creating new statutes and clarifying definitions of certain crimes.
A study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics on Human Trafficking found that from 2011 to 2019, there was a 79% increase in defendants charged with human trafficking in U.S. District Courts, an 80% increase in convictions, and an 82% increase in perpetrators who were sentenced.
The most publicized case of all was Jeffrey Epstein’s, who faced charges under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
According to NPR, when Epstein’s victims entered into a $290 million settlement with JPMorgan Chase, they successfully argued that the bank was negligent when handling his finances and “knowingly benefited from participating in a sex-trafficking venture … [and] obstructed enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.”
One of the few who voted against the bill was Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. Roy said human trafficking is an abomination and must be rooted out. He also explained why he voted against the bill.
“I cannot support a measure that irresponsibly reauthorizes these programs without actually paying for them,” Roy said. “Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office estimates this bill could cost over $1.1 billion over the next decade. I am committed to the fight to end human trafficking and will continue to support responsible solutions to do so.”
The bill must still pass the Senate and receive the President’s signature to become official.
AI-generated misinformation deemed greatest threat in 2024 election year
The internet gives users the ability to upload content and connect with millions of people all over the world. However, this ability to connect also makes users susceptible to deepfakes — media that appears real but is manufactured. With the help of artificial intelligence, deepfakes are looking more realistic than ever.
The 2024 election will be the first U.S. presidential election since AI became widely available to the general public.
GOP frontrunner and former President Donald Trump has been a victim of AI misinformation before and is now facing another deepfake scandal following the release of more Epstein documents.
As the public anticipated who would be named in the files and connected to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, some people seized the opportunity to manipulate copies of the documents using AI, adding new names to the documents that were never there.
While Trump was named in the actual documents, he was not accused of any wrongdoing.
Photos manipulated and constructed with AI also surfaced, including some placing Trump on Epstein’s plane, surrounded by young girls. The images were shared on social media, and can still be found on X.
Both Trump and President Joe Biden have called for some sort of AI controls.
Trump shared news of Ruffalo’s mistake on his social media platform Truth Social, saying, “This is A.I., and it is very dangerous for our Country!” and “Strong Laws ought to be developed against A.I. It will be a big and very dangerous problem in the future!”
This is a similar sentiment to what Biden said when he signed an executive order on mitigating risks connected to artificial intelligence.
“We face a genuine inflection point in history, one of those moments where the decisions we make in the very near term are going to set the course for the next decades,” Biden said. “And with the position we lead the world, the toughest challenges are the greatest opportunities.”
According to a new Davos report released Jan. 10, people agree that “false and misleading information” exacerbated by artificial intelligence is the “top immediate risk to the world.”
Famous names unveiled in Epstein court docs; one asked about girls getting paid
Nearly 950 pages of documents were made public on Wednesday, Jan. 3, from Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit. None of the people listed are accused of wrongdoing, but the documents do reveal associations with Epstein. Around 250 more documents are expected to be unsealed in days to come.
One notable new name is magician David Copperfield. From the testimony of one victim, Johanna Sjoberg, Copperfield had asked her at a dinner “if she was aware girls were getting paid to find other girls.”
Sjoberg said she “knew Epstein had dealings with Bill Clinton,” and that “Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.” Sjoberg testified she never saw the former president or his vice president, Al Gore. Gore was also named in the documents.
Sjoberg said she did meet Michael Jackson at Epstein’s Palm Beach house, as well as French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel. Brunel eventually hanged himself while awaiting trial for accusations of raping young girls.
Sjoberg was asked if she ever met Donald Trump, Kevin Spacey, George Lucas or former Victoria’s Secret CEO Lex Wexner, and said no.
Many of the names now unredacted were already previously made public in some capacity, including Prince Andrew, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, lawyer Alan Dershowitz and Executive Chairman of Hyatt Hotels Thomas Pritzker — all of whom have denied wrongdoing in their association with Epstein.
Dozens of Jeffrey Epstein court documents unsealed, naming high-profile figures: The Morning Rundown, Jan. 4, 2024
Dozens of court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein are unsealed to the public. And the Justice Department is suing Texas over its new immigration law. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.
Previously sealed Jeffrey Epstein court documents released
Hundreds of pages of previously sealed court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the millionaire who was charged with sex trafficking, were released to the public for the first time Wednesday evening, Jan. 3.
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The 40 documents, of around 250 that are expected to be unsealed in days ahead, largely mentioned high-profile figures that have already been known, names of Epstein’s friends and victims who have spoken publicly. The documents are being unsealed as part of a lawsuit filed by alleged victim Virginia Giuffre against Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for helping recruit underage victims for Epstein. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The released documents include previously reported deposition transcripts by one of the girls hired by Maxwell, which mentioned former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, neither of whom is accused of wrongdoing. A Clinton spokesperson responded to the release of the documents, referring to a 2019 statement that said the former president had flown on Epstein’s private plane but had no knowledge of his “terrible crimes.”
Trump did not immediately respond but had previously said he had not been in touch with Epstein for 15 years before his death. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial. Other names in the document include Prince Andrew. Giuffre settled a lawsuit against him in 2022.
The judge, who decided what should be unsealed, said she ordered the release of the records because much of the information is already public. When all documents are unsealed, they are expected to include nearly 200 names, including accusers, well-known businesspeople, and politicians.
Imam dies after being shot outside New Jersey mosque
Police in New Jersey continue to search for the shooter who killed an Imam outside of a mosque while as they also look to determine a motive. The fatal shooting occurred around 6 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3, in Newark. Police said the Imam, Hassan Sharif, was shot multiple times. Sharif was taken to the hospital in critical condition but died hours later. Authorities said preliminary evidence indicated the shooting was not motivated by bias or was an act of domestic terrorism.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the motive is still being investigated. Platkin said security at houses of worship in the state has been ramped up amid growing reports of threats and violence against Muslims and Jews in America since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October.
Justice Department sues Texas over immigration law
Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, signed a bill into law that allows local police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally. Now, the Justice Department is taking Texas to court over it.
I like my chances.
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, R
The law has already been met with a lot of opposition; some critics said it could lead to racial profiling, and some sheriffs said it would overwhelm local jails and courts. The DOJ asked a federal court in Austin, Texas, to rule that the new law is unconstitutional as it violates the Supremacy Clause, which establishes that federal laws take precedence over state laws.
“Texas cannot run its own immigration system. Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations,” the lawsuit said.
Meanwhile, Abbott contends that the law is necessary as he called President Biden out for inaction as migrants continue to flood the southern border at record numbers. Abbot said that Texas has been left to fend for itself. In a post on “X” referring to the lawsuit, Abbot said, “I like my chances.”
Trump challenges Colorado’s decision to bar him from 2024 ballot
By considering the question of President Trump’s eligibility and barring him from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court arrogated Congress’ authority.
Trump’s legal team
Trump is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on Colorado’s Supreme Court ruling taking him off the ballot. Colorado’s landmark Dec. 19 ruling is the first time a presidential candidate has been disqualified under the 14th Amendment insurrection clause. Trump’s team contends that individual states do not have the authority to determine eligibility of presidential candidates, arguing that authority is reserved for the United States Congress.
“By considering the question of President Trump’s eligibility and barring him from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court arrogated Congress’ authority,” Trump’s team wrote.
The challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court follows a similar challenge to Colorado’s ruling by the state’s GOP. Colorado has paused the decision until the Supreme Court makes its ruling; the Colorado presidential primary is slated for March 5.
FDA investigating reports of Ozempic side effects of hair loss, suicidal thoughts
The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is looking into three possible side effects that could be linked to a group of medications that have soared in popularity as weight loss aides. These drugs include:
Ozempic
Moujaro
Wegovy
The FDA said it is evaluating reports of side effects such as hair loss, aspiration, and suicidal thoughts in people taking these medications. These drugs have been approved to treat diabetes or weight loss. The FDA said while investigating these reported side effects, the agency has not concluded the drugs have these risks. Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, said it stands behind the safety of its medicines when they are used as indicated.
U-Haul report: Most Americans who moved in 2023 headed to Texas
Most Americans who decided to pick things up, rent a moving truck, and move to a different state in 2023 headed for Texas. That’s according to U-Haul, as the moving equipment company on Wednesday, Jan. 3, released its annual growth index report, which tracks the net gain of one-way equipment U-Haul trucks arriving in a state in a calendar year.
It was the third consecutive year Texas netted the largest number of movers. Florida ranked second, followed by North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. California saw the most one-way U-Haul trucks leaving the state. U-Haul said that while its growth index is based on more than 2.5 million moving transactions each year and indicates how well states attract new residents, it does not correlate directly to population or economic growth.
Over 170 names connected to Jeffrey Epstein case ordered to be released
More information may soon be released related to Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous sex trafficking ring. New York federal Judge Loretta Preska has ruled for hundreds of documents pertaining to Virginia Giuffre’s civil lawsuit to be unsealed, meaning names once covered with a black line or listed as a doe will be made public. More than 170 names are said to be within the documents, including Epstein’s colleagues and alleged co-conspirators as well as the names of Epstein’s victims. Victims who were minors will remain redacted.
The documents are part of a civil lawsuit settled back in 2017. Virginia Giuffre sued Ghislaine Maxwell — a well-known associate of Epstein who was convicted of sex trafficking.
The lawsuit claimed Maxwell recruited Guiffre at the age of 16 to perform sexual favors for Epstein and a “number of their prominent associates.”
Among those accused of being an associate is Britain’s Prince Andrew, who has denied the allegations and settled a sexual assault lawsuit from Guiffre in 2022 under undisclosed terms.
The names could become public in early January 2024. The judge is giving a few weeks for those named in the suit to object to their release.
The judge’s decision to make the names public in the suit could implicate more people potentially involved in the sex crimes attributed to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
JPMorgan, US Virgin Islands unveil new claims in Epstein lawsuit
The U.S. Virgin Islands added to its allegations against JPMorgan regarding Jeffrey Epstein and his sexual abuse of young women and teenage girls. The territory has sued the bank for $190 million, accusing it of ignoring red flags about Epstein because he was a wealthy and lucrative client from 1998 to 2013.
Ahead of a trial that’s set to begin in October of 2023, the U.S. Virgin Islands requested the judge declare that JPMorgan participated in Epstein’s sex trafficking and obstructed law enforcement.
Documents filed by the territory in court on Monday, July 24, included more than $25 million in payments to Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to Epstein’s victims.
The territory also quoted a 2012 email where JPMorgan executives discussed about Epstein surrounding himself with “nymphettes.” The email was sent from a senior executive to Mary Erdoes, who is now the bank’s asset and wealth management chief. The executive was comparing another client’s house to Epstein’s.
“Reminded me of JE’s house, except it was more tasteful, and fewer nymphettes,” the executive wrote. “More like the Frick [museum]. Art was fabulous.”
The bank countered that the U.S. Virgin Islands was also to blame, saying the territory used its powers to enable Epstein’s crimes. JPMorgan accused the territory of facilitating visas that allowed Epstein to bring victims, and of “looking the other way” whenever Epstein arrived at local airports accompanied by young women and girls.
The bank wants the judge to declare that the territory should not be able to seek monetary relief, and that its claim the bank obstructed law enforcement be denied. Top U.S. Virgin Islands officials have been accused of giving Epstein tax breaks and waiving sex-offender monitoring requirements in exchange for cash and gifts.
Epstein had owned two private islands within the territory. He allegedly bought the second to keep people from spying on his sexual abuse on the first.
Renowned pathologist questions ‘ridiculous’ DOJ report on Epstein’s death
A renowned forensic pathologist criticized a Justice Department report that found Jeffery Epstein’s death by suicide was aided by negligence and misconduct on behalf of the jail guards tasked with monitoring him. Speaking to Radar Online, Dr. Michael Baden called the report “ridiculous,” saying it ignored clear-cut evidence of a homicide.
Baden has investigated hundreds of prison suicides over his 50-year career as the pathologist for the New York State Correction Medical Review Board. He said he was not contacted for the report, despite being in the autopsy room.
According to Baden, the Justice Department only spoke to the pathologist at the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office, who did the autopsy and determined the death was a suicide.
Baden also took issue with the report concluding that there “were no injuries to the body” of Epstein at the time of his death. Baden said the report grossly ignored the fact that Epstein had a fracture on either side of his larynx, in addition to the one around his Adam’s apple that is typical of hanging victims.
“The most common way to commit suicide in jail or prison is by hanging,” Baden said. “In 99% of the cases I’ve investigated – and we’ve had hundreds of such deaths – I have never seen one with three fractures.”
The report also shows the FBI did not conduct a full-blown investigation into Epstein’s death despite his connections to former presidents like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and billionaires like Bill Gates and Les Wexner.