Democracy Now! Will Trump Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell? Reporter Vicky Ward on Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell & Their Victims

Jul 28, 2025 | As controversy over President Donald Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein continues to dog his administration, we speak with investigative journalist Vicky Ward, who has spent decades reporting on the deceased sexual predator, his rich and powerful associates, and the impact of his crimes. Much of Trump's political base is in an uproar after federal officials declined to release government files about Epstein and his serial sexual abuse of women and girls, with Trump himself reportedly named in the documents.

"They were friends. They hung out with each other," Ward says of Trump and Epstein.

Ward was among the first journalists to investigate Epstein when she profiled him for Vanity Fair in 2003. The magazine's editor at the time, Graydon Carter, cut out the testimonies of two young women who had spoken on the record about Epstein's abuse. Ward's podcast and TV series of the same name is Chasing Ghislaine: The Untold Story of the Woman in Epstein's Shadow, focusing on Ghislaine Maxwell's role as a facilitator for Epstein's crimes.


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Trump's "Call to Violence" Against FBI as He Faces Espionage Act Charges Is "Replay" of Jan. 6 Riot

Aug 15, 2022 A search warrant made public on Friday reveals the FBI is investigating former President Donald Trump for three federal crimes, including violating the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal handling of government records, after removing top-secret documents when they raided former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate last week. Meanwhile, Trump is calling the investigation a hoax, and Republican threats are growing against the FBI. We speak with Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University School of Law, who calls Trump's reaction to the FBI search a "call to violence," setting the stage for a "replay" of January 6. "We really need to try to understand what former President Trump intended to do with this material" despite the backlash, says Greenberg.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines – August 11, 2022

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines – July 28, 2022