AFP USA

In a Minneapolis church, Laura Christensen was overwhelmed by pallets of canned goods, pasta, fruit and vegetables — among the 45,000 kilos of food being sent each week to thousands of undocumented immigrants confined to their homes.But the retired teacher refused to sit still as the northern US city confronts a huge deployment of federal agents carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive. “We need to remember what our country’s about,” said Christensen, 62. “The US should be about diversity. That’s kind of what the country was founded on, and people seem to forget that.”She has joined dozens of other volunteers at the Dios Habla Hoy church, which has become a nerve center for locals opposing immigration raids. The Protestant, Latino-American organization currently distributes food to 28,000 families in Minneapolis and its suburbs, according to pastor Sergio Amezcua. He has been astonished by the terror that has gripped the region. Amezcua started the food aid program in early December to support undocumented migrants who were reluctant to do their shopping for fear of encountering immigration agents.He initially thought his church would “help 10 to 20 families, and that’s it”.Yet within a few hours, he told AFP, “we had 2,000 families registered. That’s when we knew that something was really bad.”- Racial profiling – Many people in Minneapolis are furious at the aggressive tactics used by immigration agents. Their operations often see groups of masked and armed officers making heavy-handed arrests at bus stops, shops and other areas where migrants are known to gather. Over recent weeks in Minneapolis, federal agents have also killed two US citizens protesting their actions, shot a Venezuelan man in the leg, and detained an Ecuadorian boy and his father. “They’re arresting five-year-olds, pregnant women. So there’s a lot of abnormal things that happen,” said Amezcua, a US citizen who immigrated here from Mexico.”They racially profile people, so people are scared, even people born here.”Amezcua said that of the 600 Hispanic people in his congregation, half are Americans. But just 80 dared to attend the most recent Sunday service. – ‘Order, but with dignity’ -The pastor now regrets voting for Donald Trump in 2024. He said he truly believed the Republican would focus on deporting “bad hombres” — “criminals, pedophiles, narco people, killers.”Amezcua said he can’t understand how the Trump administration, which includes many officials who profess their Christian faith, can justify the rough immigration policies it has rolled out.”Christians are called to treat people with compassion, to welcome the stranger, to feed the poor, and yes, to have order, but with dignity,” he said.Some of the church’s volunteers voiced concern that Trump was punishing Democrat-run Minneapolis for political sins. The so-called sanctuary city blocks local authorities from cooperating with federal immigration raids — a policy that infuriates the president. “If he was really seeking illegal immigrants, he would send troops in red states like Texas and Florida, where the most illegal immigrants are,” said Kathleen, 66, who was preparing to deliver food aid. “He’s attacking our state because we’re a blue state.”

The Trump administration on Friday charged a prominent journalist with civil rights crimes over coverage of immigration protests in Minneapolis, as the US president branded a nurse shot dead by federal agents in the city an “agitator.”The arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon came as President Donald Trump walked back his conciliatory tone following public outrage over the killings of Alex Pretti and another American citizen in the Minnesota city.Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Lemon and several other people had been arrested “at my direction” in connection with what she called a “coordinated attack” on the Cities Church in St. Paul, the twin city of Minneapolis.Lemon, now an independent journalist, was among reporters who covered a protest at the church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor.The journalist’s lawyer said he was taken into custody in Los Angeles overnight, adding that his work covering the protest “was no different to what he has always done.”He faces two charges of conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with First Amendment rights, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told AFP, referencing the constitutional protection for freedom of expression, including religion.A magistrate judge in Minnesota declined last week to allow prosecutors to charge Lemon.Political figures and media advocates condemned Lemon’s arrest, with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling for his immediate release.”This is an egregious attack on the First Amendment and on journalists’ ability to do their work,” said Committee to Protect Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg.- Civil rights probe -Trump took to Truth Social meanwhile to describe Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse gunned down on Saturday, as an “agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist.””Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer,” Trump wrote.Footage shared online this week allegedly shows Pretti in a scuffle with federal agents 11 days before he was shot dead.AFP could not immediately verify the footage, in which a man said to be Pretti is seen kicking and breaking the taillight of the agents’ car before they emerge and tackle him to the ground.In Minneapolis, some residents were unstirred by the new video.”So the guy kicked a car’s light, does that mean he deserved to die?” Pedro Wolcott, a Latino sandwich shop owner, told AFP. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters Friday. The White House had scrambled to stem widespread criticism over Pretti’s killing, which came weeks after Renee Good, another US citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by agents.- Government shutdown -Trump had claimed he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in the fallout of the killings and appointed a new point man in Minneapolis, top immigration adviser Tom Homan.Homan said that “certain improvements could and should be made,” a marked difference in tone from his predecessor on the ground, combative Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino.He also said his staff was “working on a drawdown plan” for some of the more than 3,000 federal agents, if there was greater cooperation from the local authorities in the Democratic-run city.The two agents involved in Pretti’s shooting have been placed on leave, and Homan said any federal agents who breach standards of conduct “will be dealt with.”Backlash over the deaths of Pretti and Good has landed in Congress, just before a government funding deadline.The Senate was edging closer to a vote on Friday to limit the effects of a government shutdown set to begin at midnight.Democrats have drawn a red line around funding for the Department of Homeland Security, demanding it be stripped out and renegotiated to impose new constraints on immigration enforcement agencies.

NASA on Friday pushed back the earliest date that astronauts could fly to the Moon, due to forecasts of freezing temperatures at the Florida launch site.The earliest window for the moonshot will now be February 8, two days later than originally scheduled.NASA was preparing to conduct a key fueling test over the weekend of the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket that is on the Cape Canaveral launch pad in Florida.But large parts of the United States are grappling with severe winter weather, with Arctic air surging across the country following a deadly winter storm.Florida is not immune: the normally sunny state could experience its lowest temperatures in decades that are forecast to hover around freezing.”The expected weather this weekend would violate launch conditions,” NASA said in a statement.Weather permitting, NASA crews now are aiming to conduct their final tests Monday, after which a launch date will be determined.The change narrows the possibility that NASA can launch their Artemis 2 team of four astronauts on their Moon flyby in February — just three days of potential windows remain in that month.The team remains in quarantine in Houston, NASA said.Heaters are atop the Orion capsule to ensure it stays warm, the US space agency said, and purging systems are in place and configured for the colder weather to maintain proper conditions.NASA officials are also preparing to launch a crew to the International Space Station, a mission that is being closely coordinated as it is currently planned to happen within days of a potential Artemis 2 launch.The next NASA crew rotation to the ISS could happen as soon as February 11, but depending on the Artemis plans, it could get delayed.”Our teams have worked very carefully to see how we can keep moving towards launch for both missions, while at the same time making sure we avoid any major conflicts,” said Ken Bowersox, an administrator at NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, during a briefing Friday.There’s a possibility that Crew-12 could get some overlapping space time with the Moon team, a prospect that ISS astronauts said Friday they’d enjoy.”If we do launch before Artemis, we’ll be on board the International Space Station, and part of their flight plan actually involves a call to the ISS,” said Jessica Meir, the crew’s commander who said they’d be “excited” to have some intra-space conversation with their colleagues.”We are all thrilled about the launch of Artemis. We are very excited to see how this will all play out.”The Crew-12 team to ISS also includes Sophie Adenot, who will be the second Frenchwoman to fly to space.In another noteworthy tidbit, the new February 8 window for a potential launch to the Moon falls on the same day as the highly watched Super Bowl, the National Football League championship.That launch window would open at 11:20 pm in Florida (0420 GMT on February 9) — soon after the game would likely wrap.

US cities that protect their undocumented migrant residents have been thrust into the spotlight by the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, currently targeting Minneapolis.”Sanctuary city” policies are championed by many Democratic politicians but President Donald Trump has insisted that they protect criminals and break the law.Here is what to know about sanctuary cities:- What are they? -Sanctuary cities and states are parts of the United States that have passed laws to actively not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, like the sweeping raids and deportation mission underway across the state of Minnesota.The Center for Immigration Studies reports that over 200 US cities or counties in 13 states operate sanctuary policies.”(This) means they’re not going to be in the business of helping to detain individuals, and they’re also going to discourage — but again, not obstruct — any type of active cooperation with the federal government” on deportations, said Hamline University legal studies and politics professor David Schultz.The sanctuary movement formed in the 1980s when church leaders, politicians on the left and campaigners came together to help newly arrived migrants fleeing conflicts in Central America.- What is Trump doing about them? -The policies have brought the locations where they are in force into conflict with the Trump administration which have previously labelled them “sanctuaries for criminals.”Other sanctuary cities already targeted for headline-grabbing intensive immigration enforcement action have included Democratic-run Chicago and Los Angeles.Trump’s border chief Tom Homan, who has taken personal control of the immigration sweeps underway in Minnesota, previously said “every sanctuary city is unsafe. Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals and President Trump’s not going to tolerate it.””Sanctuary cities are now our priority.”- What they mean for migrants? -In practical terms, sanctuary policies mean that undocumented migrants are more readily able to obtain identity documents and driving licenses for example.Some cities also allow those without papers to access certain welfare programs like housing and healthcare.The governor of Minnesota, at the center of the Trump administration’s crackdown, has previously insisted the state is not a sanctuary jurisdiction and has never adopted such legislation.In August the Department of Justice nonetheless listed Minnesota as a sanctuary state.Minneapolis, the state’s largest city, openly operates sanctuary policies and the city’s mayor Jacob Frey has said they keep people safe because “we want people who are undocumented to have the confidence to call 911 without the fear that they’ll get deported.””That is a safety strategy. That is not an immigration strategy,” he said at a CNN townhall this month.- What is their future? -Trump’s justice department demanded in a January 24 letter that Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul terminate their sanctuary policies as one of a number of demands for ending the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.Minnesota has sued the Trump administration in an effort to have the marauding immigration raids halted, even if temporarily, citing the letter as evidence of attempted coercion.Its attorney general argues that the operations breach the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment which protects the sovereignty of the 50 US states.”The attorney general is saying that the ICE operations that are here using these very aggressive tactics are retribution — or an effort to try to force the state of Minnesota to give up its sanctuary policies,” said Schultz.The case would be an important test case and could have an impact on the status of other sanctuary cities and states, he added.

The Trump administration said Friday it had ordered the arrest of a prominent journalist over coverage of immigration protests in Minneapolis, as the US president branded a nurse shot dead by federal agents in the city an “agitator.”The arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon came as President Donald Trump walked back his conciliatory tone following public outrage over the killings of Alex Pretti and another American citizen in the Minnesota city.Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Lemon and several other people had been arrested “at my direction” on unspecified federal charges in connection with what she called a “coordinated attack” on the Cities Church in St. Paul, the twin city of Minneapolis.Lemon, now an independent journalist, was among reporters who covered a protest at the church where an official with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is a pastor.Lemon’s lawyer said he was taken into custody in Los Angeles overnight, adding that his work covering the protest “was no different to what he has always done.”A magistrate judge in Minnesota had declined last week to charge Lemon.”This is an egregious attack on the First Amendment and on journalists’ ability to do their work,” said Committee to Protect Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg, referencing the constitutional right to free speech. Political figures also condemned Lemon’s arrest, with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling for his immediate release. – Civil rights probe -Trump, a Republican, took to Truth Social meanwhile to describe Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse gunned down on Saturday, as an “agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist.””Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer,” Trump wrote.Footage shared online this week reportedly shows Pretti in a scuffle with federal agents 11 days before he was shot dead.AFP could not immediately verify the footage, in which a man said to be Pretti is seen kicking and breaking the taillight of the agents’ car before they emerge and tackle him to the ground.In Minneapolis, some residents were unstirred by the new video.”So the guy kicked a car’s light, does that mean he deserved to die?” Pedro Wolcott, a Latino sandwich shop owner, told AFP. The US Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters Friday. The White House had scrambled to stem widespread criticism over Pretti’s killing, which came weeks after Renee Good, another US citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by agents in Minneapolis.- Government shutdown -Trump had claimed he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in the fallout of the killings and appointed a new point man in Minneapolis, border chief Tom Homan.Homan said that “certain improvements could and should be made,” a marked difference in tone from his predecessor on the ground, combative Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino.He also said his staff was “working on a drawdown plan” for some of the more than 3,000 federal agents if there was greater cooperation from the local authorities in the Democratic-run city.The two agents involved in Pretti’s shooting have been placed on leave, and Homan said any federal agents who breach standards of conduct “will be dealt with.”Backlash over the deaths of Pretti and Good has landed in Congress, with the Senate edging closer to a vote on Friday to limit the effects of a government shutdown set to begin at midnight.Democrats have drawn a red line around funding for the Department of Homeland Security, demanding it be stripped out and renegotiated to impose new constraints on immigration enforcement agencies.

US President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled plans for an IndyCar race on the streets of the capital Washington, in his latest grandiose effort to mark the 250th anniversary of the country’s independence.”This is a very exciting thing that we’re doing,” Trump said in the Oval Office before signing an executive order confirming the race in August. “We’re celebrating greatness with American motor racing.”Trump has announced a series of bombastic plans as he seeks to stamp his mark on this summer’s anniversary — most notably a UFC fight on the lawn of the White House on his 80th birthday in June.The so-called “Freedom 250″ race from August 21 to 23 promises to be just as spectacular, with a route that would take it past some of Washington’s top monuments.The dramatic setting would echo Formula One contests staged on city streets in Las Vegas, Monaco and Singapore. It could however be challenging to organize logistically.”This is going to be wild,” said US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “The last time we had a race in the capital city was… a horse race in 1801.”Duffy said racing cars would be going “190 mph down Pennsylvania Avenue,” which runs past the White House to the US Capitol. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum added that spectators would watch cars racing past famed sites such as the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial.”And it’s a great metaphor, because the speeds we’re talking about is the speed of President Trump,” Burgum added, in a paean to the breakneck pace of Trump’s first year back in office.- Birthday UFC fight -The White House released an AI mock-up showing IndyCar vehicles racing through the streets, and Trump aboard his Marine One helicopter with a bald eagle flying next to him.Trump’s executive order fired the starting gun on preparations for the race, saying that “within 14 days of the date of this order,” Duffy and Burgum must “designate a route” for the race.The Republican billionaire has been hyping up this year’s 250th US independence anniversary almost from the moment he returned to power in January 2025.Trump said Friday that a stadium for more than 100,000 people would be constructed in front of the White House for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight planned for June 14.The US president turns 80 years old on the same day. On his 79th birthday last year, he held a military parade in Washington that was meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army.Former reality TV star Trump has also attended a series of sporting events to raise his profile, including a NASCAR race in Florida in February and a series of often-bloody UFC contests.He also looks set to play a key role in the 2026 World Cup that the United States is jointly holding with Mexico and Canada.

The US Justice Department announced Friday it was releasing millions of new pages from the Jeffrey Epstein files along with photos and videos, adding fuel to a political drama that has put pressure on President Donald Trump.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said more than three million pages of documents related to the convicted sex offender were being published on a department website along with 180,000 images and 2,000 videos.”Today’s release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people,” Blanche said at a press conference.He said all images of girls and women were being redacted aside from those of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of trafficking underage girls for Epstein and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.”We did not redact images of any men unless it was impossible to redact the woman without also redacting the man,” the deputy attorney general said.The latest release is expected to contain previously unseen material from the investigation into Epstein, a wealthy US financier who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of underage girls. His death was ruled a suicide.Previous releases have shed light on Epstein’s ties to leading business executives, celebrities, academics and politicians, including Trump and former president Bill Clinton.Perhaps the most significant documents published so far are two FBI emails from July 2019 which mention 10 “co-conspirators” of Epstein.Only one person — Epstein’s former girlfriend Maxwell — has ever been charged in connection with his crimes and the names of the alleged co-conspirators are redacted from the emails.According to Axios, major documents which have not been released yet include a draft 60-count federal indictment of Epstein that was inexplicably quashed, and an 82-page prosecution memo from 2007.Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein, and Clinton both figure prominently in the records published so far, but neither has been accused of any wrongdoing.A Republican-led House panel recently voted to launch contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton over their refusal to testify before its probe into Epstein.Trump, 79, fought for months to prevent release of the vast trove of documents about Epstein.But a rebellion inside his Republican Party forced him to sign off on a law mandating release of all the documents.- ‘We did not protect President Trump’ -The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) called for all of the documents held by the Justice Department to be published by December 19.Blanche said Friday’s release brings the Justice Department in compliance with the act and he blamed the delay on the need to painstakingly carry out redactions that protected the identities of Epstein’s more than 1,000 victims.The sweeping redactions across many of the documents — combined with tight control over the release by the Trump administration — have stoked allegations of a potential high-level cover-up.Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, rejected allegations the Justice Department was seeking to protect the president.”We complied with the act,” he said. “We did not protect President Trump. We didn’t protect or not protect anybody.”He said the White House played no role in the review of the files.”They had no oversight over this review,” he said. “They did not tell this department how to do our review, what to look for, what to redact, what to not redact.”As soon as the president’s name began surfacing in the released files, the Justice Department issued a statement saying that some documents “contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump.”But the documents already released confirm that Trump was once close to Epstein.They moved in the same social circles in New York and Florida and documents confirm Trump flew multiple times on Epstein’s private jet. A January 2020 note from New York federal prosecutors who were investigating Maxwell had Trump making eight trips on Epstein’s plane between 1993 and 1996.Trump has given varying accounts of why he eventually fell out with Epstein. He has criticized the file dumps, expressing concern that people who “innocently met” Epstein over the years risked having their reputations smeared.A spokesman for Clinton has urged the Justice Department to release all materials in the files related to the former president, saying he had nothing to hide.

Gold and silver prices dived Friday, European stock markets ended the week up while Wall Street fell slightly with investors reassured by US President Donald Trump’s pick to take over as head of the Federal Reserve.The precious metals, viewed as safe-haven investments, had already begun sliding on reports, later confirmed, that Trump had nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the US central bank.Trump confirmed his choice Friday on Truth Social.”I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.”On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.” Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group, said the “interesting pick… may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved”.Trump’s personal attacks on Fed boss Jerome Powell — set to depart in May — have fuelled widespread fears among investors that the central bank’s policy independence is under threat, potentially posing an inflation risk to the US economy.- A rollercoaster week -Precious metals prices tumbled on Friday after surging in recent days when investors sought a safe haven over doubts about Trump’s policies.Gold was down more than eight percent below $5,000 an ounce after reaching a record high of $5,595.47 Thursday.Silver, which Thursday reached an all-time peak above $120 an ounce, shed 20 percent meanwhile in sliding down to $90 an ounce. Financial markets have endured a rollercoaster ride this week as traders weathered a weaker dollar, Trump’s threats against Tehran, the president’s resumption of tariff threats and a possible US government shutdown.Asian stock markets closed out the week with some hefty losses following Thursday’s tech-led retreat on Wall Street on renewed concerns over vast investments in artificial intelligence.Healthy earnings from Meta, Samsung and SK Hynix provided much cheer early in the week but on Thursday, after Microsoft announced a surge in spending on AI infrastructure, that revived concerns that companies could take some time before seeing a return on their investments.There are fears that firms’ valuations may be a little too stretched and that markets could be in a bubble, having soared in recent years to record highs on the back of a tech-fuelled rally.Oil prices regained their poise after an early fall Friday, having surged the day before as Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran.”The building tensions between Iran and the US have driven Brent crude prices to a six-month high,” said Megan Fisher, assistant economist at Capital Economics.”That said, we think that the historical example of last year’s 12-day war (between Iran and Israel with US involvement), and a well-supplied oil market, will still bear down on Brent crude prices by end-2026.”- Key figures at around 1650 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 48,684.32 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,940.69New York – NASDAQ Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,561.52London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,223.54 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,126.53 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 24,515.73 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 53,322.85 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 27,387.11 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,117.95 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1875 from $1.1962 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3716 from $1.3800Dollar/yen: UP at 154.33 yen from 153.04 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.58 pence from 86.67 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $70.89 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $65.93 per barrel

The US Justice Department announced Friday it was releasing more than three million pages from the Jeffrey Epstein files along with photos and videos, adding fuel to a political drama putting pressure on President Donald Trump.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said all images of women were redacted from the documents being released aside from those of Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of the convicted sex offender.The latest release is expected to contain previously unseen material from the investigation into Epstein, a wealthy US financier who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking underage girls.Previous releases have shed light on Epstein’s ties to leading business executives, celebrities, academics and politicians, including Trump and former president Bill Clinton.Perhaps the most significant documents published so far are two FBI emails from July 2019 which mention 10 “co-conspirators” of Epstein.Only one person — Epstein’s former girlfriend Maxwell — has ever been charged in connection with his crimes and the names of the alleged “co-conspirators” are redacted from the emails.Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein, whose death was ruled a suicide.According to Axios, major documents which have not been released yet include a draft 60-count federal indictment of Epstein that was inexplicably quashed, and an 82-page prosecution memo from 2007.Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein, and Clinton both figure prominently in the records published so far but neither has been accused by officials of any wrongdoing.A Republican-led House panel has voted to launch contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton over their refusal to testify before its probe into Epstein.Trump, 79, fought for months to prevent release of the vast trove of documents about Epstein.But a rebellion inside his Republican Party forced him to sign off on a law mandating release of all the documents.The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) called for all of the documents held by the Justice Department to be released by December 19.- ‘Sensationalist’ -The department missed that deadline. Blanche has blamed the delay on the need to painstakingly redact the identities of Epstein’s more than 1,000 victims from the files.The sweeping redactions across many of the documents — combined with tight control over the release by the Trump administration — have stoked skepticism that conspiracy theories of a high-level cover-up will be silenced.As soon as the president’s name began surfacing in the released files, the Justice Department issued a statement saying that some documents “contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump.”But the documents already released confirm that Trump was once close to Epstein.They moved in the same social circles in New York and Florida and documents confirm that Trump flew multiple times on Epstein’s private jet. A January 2020 note from New York federal prosecutors who were investigating Maxwell had Trump making eight trips on Epstein’s plane between 1993 and 1996.Trump has given varying accounts of why he eventually fell out with Epstein. He has criticized the file dumps, expressing concern that people who “innocently met” Epstein over the years risked having their reputations smeared.A spokesman for Clinton has urged the Justice Department to release all materials in the files related to the former president, saying he had nothing to hide.”Someone or something is being protected. We do not know whom, what or why. But we do know this: We need no such protection,” Angel Urena said.