Rapid Critical Metals (RLL:AU) has announced IR1:IR1 Completes Acquisition to Consolidate Black Hills, US
Download the PDF here.
This post appeared first on investingnews.com
In the high-stakes world of resource extraction, a nation’s mineral wealth is a powerful magnet for investment, fueling economic growth and national prosperity. But not all countries are created equal.
For investors in the mining sector it’s key to understand that jurisdictional risk can be profoundly impacted by political changes, as new administrations can swiftly alter the regulatory landscape. These policy shifts can present both opportunities and setbacks, introducing a complex layer of uncertainty to even the most promising ventures.
At the same time, regions traditionally seen as stable and secure for resource development can face their own challenges, including rigorous permitting regimes that can slow mine development activity.
Read on for three case studies on jurisdictional risk and how to navigate this type of complexity.
Case study: First Quantum’s Cobre Panama mine
Perhaps the most notable example in recent years of how politics can affect operations is the closure of First Quantum Minerals’ (TSX:FM,OTC Pink:FQVLF) Cobre Panama mine in Panama.
As with many mining operations, Cobre Panama took decades to bring into production. First Quantum received approval to begin work at the site in February 1997; however, it would take 22 years and US$10 billion to build the mine and the required infrastructure before production commenced in September 2019.
When it was placed on care and maintenance in November 2023, the mine was one of the largest in the world, accounting for approximately 1 percent of total copper supply.
The closure came after Panama’s government faced intense public backlash for granting First Quantum a 20 year mining contract; it was quickly declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The Panamanian government also introduced an indefinite moratorium on all mining concessions. The move put the country’s mining sector in a state of limbo and led other companies to cease activities in Panama. For example, Orla Mining (TSX:OLA,NYSEAMERICAN:ORLA) decided to halt funding of its Cerro Quema project until it had “greater certainty with respect to the mining concessions, as well as fiscal and legal stability in Panama.”
Cobre Panama’s closure and the subsequent moratorium led Fitch to downgrade its investment outlook for Panama in March 2024, from BBB- to BB+. The credit agency cited fiscal governance challenges that arose following the mine’s closure, noting that Cobre Panama accounted for 5 percent of the nation’s GDP.
Although the International Monetary Fund expects Panama’s GDP to rebound to 4.5 percent in 2025 as non-mining sectors of the nation’s economy grow, the changes have already had a significant impact on the national economy, with GDP growth slowing to 2.9 percent in 2024, from 7.4 percent in 2023.
Case study: Barrick Mining’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex
Another recent example is the impact of unrest on Barrick Mining’s (TSX:ABX,NYSE:B) operations in Mali.
The African nation has experienced a prolonged period of instability, with the government being overthrown in three coup d’états within a 10 year span, in 2012, 2020 and 2021.
The most recent two came following months of turmoil after election irregularities and accusations of corruption in 2020, then calls for a more legitimate government to be installed in 2021.
Ultimately, the government was replaced by a military junta, and in 2022, it was announced that elections would be held in 2024. However, these were delayed until early 2025, at which time they were again postponed.
This past July, Malian military authorities granted current leadership a five year mandate, renewable as many times as necessary without requiring an election, which guarantees control of the government until 2030.
The impact on the mining sector has been notable. In 2022, the new government ordered an audit of the mining sector, which led to Mali adopting a new mining code in 2023 after limited industry consultation.
The code aims to generate more revenue for the government from mining operations by increasing government ownership to 35 percent from 20 percent and removing tax-exempt status for some operations.
Existing mining contracts were also reviewed, which limited the ability to renegotiate, leading to a protracted negotiation process between the Malian government and Barrick over its Loulo-Gounkoto complex.
While Barrick has said its commitment to Mali remains firm, going so far as to make a good-faith payment of US$83 million, the two parties were unable to reach an agreement. The stalled negotiations led the government to arrest or issue arrest warrants for key personnel over unpaid taxes and contract disputes, including Barrick CEO Mark Bristow.
With no resolution, Barrick was ultimately forced to shut down the mine in January of this year. Although arbitration proceedings continue, the operation was placed under provisional administration on June 16, and government helicopters were seen onsite removing more than 1 metric ton of gold on July 10.
According to the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, the mining sector makes a significant contribution to the nation’s economy, representing 79 percent of exports and 9.2 percent of GDP. Although other companies haven’t ceased operations in the country, the government’s action has created tensions for investors, with CEOs suggesting that the new rules make it economically unfeasible for new mines or takeovers in the country.
The Fraser Institute gave Mali a policy perception score of 14.94 in its 2024 Annual Survey of Mining Companies, a significant decrease from 2023, when it achieved 33.34, and a precipitous decline from 2020’s score of 78.18. In the overall ranking, Mali fell to 74 out of 82 countries included in the survey, down from 37 out of 77 in 2020.
The institute notes that companies say policy accounts for about 40 percent of their decision when choosing where to establish operations. The other 60 percent is based on the mineral potential. In this regard, Mali improved to 55.26 from 41.18 in 2023; however, it remains in the bottom half of all jurisdictions, ranking 40 out of 58.
The institute uses these scores to determine the overall investment attractiveness of jurisdictions. In 2024, Mali scored 39.13 and ranked 72 out of 82. Respondents to the survey suggested that the rejection of gold mining permits and the lack of transparency created uncertainty and deterred investment.
Even when investment is in the national interest, underlying issues can be hard to overcome.
Case study: The DRC
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is endowed with a vast wealth of minerals, ranging from copper to cobalt and diamonds, but a lack of infrastructure and geopolitical instability have hindered investment.
However, the mining sector has seen steady growth in recent years as the government looks to attract investment. One project is the construction of the Lobito Corridor, Africa’s first open-access transcontinental rail link. It connects Zambia and the DRC with the port of Lobito in Angola, providing improved shipping opportunities for producers.
Among the operations that have signed on to use the rail link is Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX:IVN,OTCQX:IVPAF) Kamoa-Kakula mine. The asset is one of the world’s largest copper mines, producing 964 million pounds in 2024.
In February 2024, the company signed a term sheet to access the corridor, allowing it to transport between 120,000 and 240,000 metric tons of copper concentrates per year for a five year term, commencing in 2025.
In a press release, Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s founder and executive co-chair, said the corridor is “fast becoming one of the most important trade routes for vital copper metal in the world.”
He added that the rail link will unlock projects due to the lower logistical costs.
While development in the DRC is moving in the right direction, it’s not without its problems. Tensions remain with neighboring Rwanda, as Rwanda has backed anti-government M23 rebels. The groups have been warring since 2022, with much of the violence occurring in the Eastern DRC, a mineral-rich area of the country.
In April 2024, M23 seized the town of Rubaya, the center of coltan production in the DRC; coltan is a critical mineral for the tech sector. While Ivanhoe’s mine has avoided the violent uprisings elsewhere in the country, it still highlights key security challenges for operations in the country and underscores the fragility of stability.
Like Mali, the DRC declined in the Fraser Institute’s survey last year.
It dropped to 12.97 on policy, down from 24.93 in 2023, ranking 77 out of 82. However, its mineral potential ranked much higher, scoring 73.53 — that’s up from 55 in 2023 and a rank of 14 out of 58.
On overall investment attractiveness, the DRC was middling, scoring 49.31 and ranking 58 out of 82. The report points to issues such as disputes over land tenure ownership, which have led to uncertainty and deterred investment.
Is there any truly safe mining jurisdiction?
The mining community has looked mainly to North America, Europe and Australia to minimize jurisdictional risk.
Canada, the US and Australia are widely considered safe places to invest in due to the stability of their governments and the absence of cross-border conflicts. Despite changes in government, political parties in these nations tend to support extractive industries through tax credits and investment programs.
As a whole, challenges in these jurisdictions tend to be more regulatory than geopolitical in nature, with strict environmental and social regulations adding years to development timelines.
Recently, however, there have been some moves to break down these barries.
The US and Canada have both made promises to streamline the permitting process to decrease timelines for critical minerals. Additionally, under the Biden administration, the US Department of Defense, increased funding for projects deemed critical to national interests, including those involving Canadian companies Fortune Minerals (TSX:FT,OTCQB:FTMDF) and Lomiko Metals (TSXV:LMR,OTC Pink:LMRMF).
The program has continued under US President Donald Trump, with the most recent award being announced on July 22, for US$6.2 million in funding for Guardian Metal Resources (LSE:GMET,OTCQX:GMTLF).
Although challenges in these regions still exist, in general they remain stable. For investors, it can help to de-risk portfolios and avoid the geopolitical tensions and uncertainty that arise elsewhere.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
This post appeared first on investingnews.com
Questcorp Mining Inc. (CSE: QQQ,OTC:QQCMF) (OTCQB: QQCMF) (FSE: D910) (the ‘Company’ or ‘Questcorp’) is pleased to provide an update on the Phase I drilling program at its La Union Gold and Silver project in northwest Sonora, Mexico. Drill holes have now been completed at two of the 4 target areas:
- The initial hole was completed beneath the historic Union Mine itself, intersecting the favourable carbonaceous Clemente and Caborca formations, including the microconglomeratic carbonate unit which hosted mineralization at the bottom of the past producing Union Mine.
- Drilling then shifted focus to the El Cobre Mine area and the Union Norte Mine area, testing vertical feeder zones above the Clemente formation dolomites and carbonaceous sandstones. Hole two intersected more quartzites than interpreted from the geophysics, with the quartzites carrying more extensive hematitic oxides, possibly indicative of oxide gold mineralization potentially related to sulfides which have been oxidized through supergene weathering.
Saf Dhillon, President and Chief Executive Officer, states: ‘The drilling is indicating oxidation is consistent with past mining and targets are coming along with a positive exploration drilling so far. The drilling is intersecting more quartzite than expected which is favorable for fracture-controlled mineralization. The Riverside operations team is progressing the current exploration program working with the surface rancher and the drilling company to efficiently progress a high-quality exploration program.’
Drilling has now moved to the Famosa Target to progress exploration program. The Mexico Mining Ministry has approved many permits and are actively supporting the environmentally, socially conscious mineral exploration practices as a key aspect for the new Mexican government initiatives.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by R. Tim Henneberry’, P.Geo (BC) a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
About Questcorp Mining Inc.
Questcorp Mining is engaged in the business of the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in North America, with the objective of locating and developing economic precious and base metals properties of merit. The company holds an option to acquire an undivided 100-per-cent interest in and to mineral claims totalling 1,168.09 hectares comprising the North Island copper property, on Vancouver Island, B.C., subject to a royalty obligation. The company also holds an option to acquire an undivided 100-per-cent interest in and to mineral claims totalling 2,520.2 hectares comprising the La Union project located in Sonora, Mexico, subject to a royalty obligation.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
Saf Dhillon
President & CEO
Questcorp Mining Inc.
saf@questcorpmining.ca
Tel. (604-484-3031)
Suite 550, 800 West Pender Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 2V6.
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding completion of survey work at the North Island Copper project. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265741
News Provided by Newsfile via QuoteMedia
This post appeared first on investingnews.com
In this video, Mary Ellen spotlights the areas driving market momentum following Taiwan Semiconductor’s record-breaking earnings report. She analyzes continued strength in semiconductors, utilities, industrials, and AI-driven sectors, plus highlights new leadership in robotics and innovation-focused ETFs like ARK. From there, Mary Ellen breaks down weakness in health care and housing stocks, shows how to refine trade entries using hourly charts, and compares today’s rally to past market surges. Watch as she explores setups in silver and examines individual stocks like Nvidia, BlackRock, and State Street.
This video originally premiered on July 18, 2025. You can watch it on our dedicated page for Mary Ellen’s videos.
New videos from Mary Ellen premiere weekly on Fridays. You can view all previously recorded episodes at this link.
If you’re looking for stocks to invest in, be sure to check out the MEM Edge Report! This report gives you detailed information on the top sectors, industries and stocks so you can make informed investment decisions.
The S&P 500 ($SPX) just logged its fifth straight trading box breakout, which means that, of the five trading ranges the index has experienced since the April lows, all have been resolved to the upside.
How much longer can this last? That’s been the biggest question since the massive April 9 rally. Instead of assuming the market is due to roll over, it’s been more productive to track price action and watch for potential changes along the way. So far, drawdowns have been minimal, and breakouts keep occurring. Nothing in the price action hints at a lasting change — yet.
While some are calling this rally “historic,” we have a recent precedent. Recall that from late 2023 through early 2024, the index had a strong start and gave way to a consistent, steady trend.
From late October 2023 through March 2024, the S&P 500 logged seven consecutive trading box breakouts. That streak finally paused with a pullback from late March to early April, which, as we now know, was only a temporary hiccup. Once the bid returned, the S&P 500 went right back to carving new boxes and climbing higher.
New 52-Week Highs Finally Picking Up
If there’s been one gripe about this rally, it’s that the number of new highs within the index has lagged. As we’ve discussed before, among all the internal breadth indicators available, new highs almost always lag — that’s normal. What we really want to see is whether the number of new highs begins to exceed prior peaks as the market continues to rise, which it has, as shown by the blue line in the chart below.
As of Wednesday’s close, 100 S&P 500 stocks were either at new 52-week highs or within 3% of them. That’s a strong base. We expect this number to continue rising as the market climbs, especially if positive earnings reactions persist across sectors.
Even when we get that first day with 100+ S&P 500 stocks making new 52-week highs, though, it might not be the best time to initiate new longs.
The above chart shows that much needs to align for that many stocks to peak in unison, which has historically led to at least a short-term consolidation, if not deeper pullbacks — as highlighted in yellow. Every time is different, of course, but this is something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Trend Check: GoNoGo Still “Go”
The GoNoGo Trend remains in bullish mode, with the recent countertrend signals having yet to trigger a greater pullback.
Active Bullish Patterns
We still have two live bullish upside targets of 6,555 and 6,745, which could be with us for a while going forward. For the S&P 500 to get there, it will need to form new, smaller versions of the trading boxes.
Failed Bearish Patterns
In the chart below, you can view a rising wedge pattern on the recent price action, the third since April. The prior two wedges broke down briefly and did not lead to a major downturn. The largest pullbacks in each case occurred after the S&P 500 dipped below the lower trendline of the pattern.
The deepest drawdown so far is 3.5%, which is not exactly a game-changer. Without downside follow-through, a classic bearish pattern simply can’t be formed, let alone be broken down from.
We’ll continue to monitor these formations as they develop because, at some point, that will change.
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without cause as the high court inches toward revisiting a landmark ruling about executive power over terminations.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a brief order that Biden-appointed FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter should remain terminated from her job, at least for the next week, while the Supreme Court continues to consider her case.
The high court’s order responding to an emergency petition from the Trump administration comes as Slaughter has faced whiplash in the courts while challenging Trump’s decision to fire her at will.
A district court reinstated Slaughter, and then through the appeals process, Slaughter was re-fired, re-hired, and then re-fired once again on Monday. After an appellate court allowed her to return to work on Sept. 2, she did so right away, even sharing on social media multiple dissents she has authored in the days since her return.
Fox News Digital reached out to Slaughter’s legal team for comment.
Trump’s decision to fire Slaughter and the other Democrat-appointed commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, stood in tension with the FTC Act, which says commissioners should only be fired from their seven-year tenures for cause, such as malfeasance.
Their firings are at odds with a 90-year-old Supreme Court ruling in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which found that President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s firing of an FTC commissioner was illegal.
While the Supreme Court has let Trump’s firings at other independent agencies proceed temporarily while the lawsuits play out in the lower courts, Slaughter’s case has presented the most blatant question yet to the justices about whether they plan to overturn Humphrey’s Executor. Legal scholars have speculated that the current conservative-leaning Supreme Court has an appetite to reverse or narrow that decision.
Solicitor General John Sauer argued to the high court that the FTC wielded significant executive power and that its authority had expanded since the 1930s, when Humphrey’s Executor first established that an at-will FTC firing was illegal. The FTC now enforces dozens of statutes, including the Sherman Act, and has power to bring lawsuits seeking injunctions and penalties, Sauer noted.
‘Contrary to the lower courts’ suggestion, Humphrey’s Executor does not mean that Article II permits tenure protections for any agency named the ‘Federal Trade Commission,’ no matter how much more executive power the FTC accumulates,’ Sauer said.
This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said his panel is wrapping up its investigation into President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen after a new report revealed concerns raised within the former administration itself.
‘New records reveal President Biden’s own administration raised concerns about autopen use to grant thousands of pardons. This is a historic scandal with massive repercussions,’ Comer told Fox News Digital in response to the Axios report.
‘As President Biden declined, his aides carried out executive actions without his approval, casting doubt on the legitimacy of thousands of pardons and other executive actions.’
Comer added, ‘The House Oversight Committee is in the final stages of its investigation. There must be accountability for this scandal.’
President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social: ‘THE BIDEN AUTOPEN SCANDAL IS BIG, NOT AS BIG AS THE RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX, OR THE RIGGED 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, BUT, NEVERTHELESS, ONE OF THE BIGGEST, EVER!!!’
A former Biden White House staffer familiar with the pardons process pushed back.
‘Republicans like to talk about Biden whenever news hits that they don’t want to talk about. Today, they want to talk about Biden because Trump is responsible for the latest jobs report, which is the worst August jobs gain since 2020,’ the staffer told Fox News Digital.
‘What these emails show is a full process to support that decision-making and checks on the use of the autopen.’
Axios reported over the weekend that senior Department of Justice (DOJ) officials flagged issues with Biden’s clemency process in his final days in office.
Biden approved nearly 2,500 commutations on Jan. 17, just days before leaving the White House, setting a record for most clemency orders ever granted by a U.S. president — more than 4,200 in total — and the most ever in a single day.
The next day, DOJ ethics lawyer Bradley Weinsheimer reportedly wrote in a memo: ‘Unfortunately and despite repeated requests and warnings, we were not afforded a reasonable opportunity to vet and provide input on those you were considering.’
Noting that at least one murderer granted clemency had been flagged by DOJ, he added: ‘I have no idea if the president was aware of these backgrounds when making clemency decisions.’ The New York Post first reported details of the memo.
Meanwhile, Axios reported that a DOJ pardon attorney took issue with White House lawyers asking the department not to solicit views of murder victims’ families of multiple death row inmates if it had not already done so — including people whose sentences Biden commuted as well.
The Axios report further revealed that Biden White House staff secretary Stef Feldman repeatedly sought clarity on the autopen process. In one Jan. 16 email, she asked for details on drug-related clemency orders approved by then-Chief of Staff Jeff Zients. After being asked to use autopen on an executive order, Feldman reportedly wrote: ‘When did we get [Biden’s] approval of this?’
The former Biden staffer insisted the process was sound.
‘The pardon power rests with the president — not the Department of Justice,’ the staffer said. ‘While the DOJ is free to raise its own concerns about pardons, and did before Trump fired all of the career staff who did so, it is ultimately the President’s decision.’
Biden himself told The New York Times recently that he made every clemency decision on his own.
Zients is expected to testify before the Oversight Committee later this month. Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is also scheduled for a closed-door interview Friday.
This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Senate Republicans have started the process of going nuclear on Senate Democrats in their quest to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Monday laid the framework for the GOP to use the ‘nuclear option,’ a move that allows for a rule change in the Senate with a simple majority vote in order to install a new rule that allows for nominees to be voted on in groups.
Republicans are moving forward with a plan originally devised by Democrats during the Biden administration, due to frustrations at the time with the sluggish pace that nominees were moving through the upper chamber.
However, that pace has turned into an outright crawl during Trump’s second term. No nominee at any level has received a voice vote or moved through unanimous consent — two methods meant to fast-track the confirmation process for sub-cabinet level positions in the bureaucracy.
Thune quoted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who in 2022 railed against Republicans during a Senate floor speech for slowing some of former President Joe Biden’s nominees, and said, ‘Regardless of the party in the White House, both sides have long agreed that a President deserves to have his or her administration in place, quickly.’
Thune charged that the Democrats’ blockade was ‘Trump derangement syndrome on steroids’ and argued that if the nominees were as historically bad as they claimed, they would not have voted some of them out of committee on a bipartisan basis.
‘We’ve got a crisis, and it’s time to take steps to restore Senate precedent and codify in Senate rules what was once understood to be standard practice,’ he said.
‘This afternoon I will be taking the necessary procedural steps to amend the rules,’ Thune continued. ‘It is an idea with a Democrat pedigree.’
Thune is expected to take the first step in the process Monday night and will file a resolution with dozens of nominees who advanced out of committee on a bipartisan basis.
The plan, which takes its cue from a bill pushed by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Angus King, I-Maine, and former Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., would allow for nominees to be voted on in groups, or ‘en bloc.’
The original bill put a cap of 10 nominees per en bloc group and included both district judge and U.S. attorney picks. Republicans are likely to go beyond the cap but may not include judicial nominees.
Instead, the focus is on sub-cabinet level nominees that make their way through their respective committees with bipartisan support.
‘What I’m just saying is we’re returning to the way the Senate used to work,’ Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital. ‘When the vast majority of nominees, after being scrutinized in committee, had their hearings voted out and sent to the floor. Then you know, Bush, Clinton — 99% of them by unanimous consent or by voice vote, and President Trump has had zero.’
Thune’s move comes after he and Schumer were unable to reach a deal on moving nominees last month before lawmakers left Washington for recess.
Both parties have turned to the nuclear option a handful of times since 2010. In 2013, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., used the nuclear option to allow for all executive branch nominees to be confirmed by simple majority.
Four years later, then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., went nuclear to allow for Supreme Court nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority. And in 2019, McConnell reduced the debate time to two hours for civilian nominees.
Republicans voiced hope that using a proposal from Democrats would sway some to support the change and argued that the move is meant to further streamline the process and prevent future blockades by either party.
‘I really look at this like they’re forcing us to do something,’ Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. ‘There’s nothing nuclear about it, in my humble opinion. And again, this is their bill, and we’ll see. It’s great to watch them squirm as they try to figure out what to do with this.’
This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Jeffrey Epstein’s estate began handing documents over to Capitol Hill lawmakers on Monday, pursuant to a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee last month.
Trustees tasked with handling the late pedophile’s matters were ordered to turn over a tranche of files, including his infamous ‘birthday book,’ as part of House lawmakers’ investigation into Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
The ‘birthday book,’ along with Epstein’s last will and testament, details of his 2007-2008 non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, entries from Epstein’s contact books from Jan. 1, 1990 through Aug. 10, 2019, and information about Epstein’s known bank accounts, were all handed over to investigators.
A committee aide told Fox News Digital that staff would review the documents, and they would be made public ‘in the near future.’
House Oversight Committee Democrats, meanwhile, took to X with what appears to be an excerpt from the ‘birthday book’ that shows a message from President Donald Trump to Epstein, though the White House denied its veracity.
‘As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X, specifically in reference to a Wall Street Journal story that first mentioned allegations of Trump writing in the book.
A letter from attorneys representing Epstein’s estate signaled in a letter to the Oversight Committee that Monday’s production was just the first tranche of documents pursuant to the congressional subpoena.
Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter on Aug. 25, requesting a slew of documents by Sept. 8.
‘It is our understanding that the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein is in custody and control of documents that may further the Committee’s investigation and legislative goals. Further, it is our understanding the Estate is ready and willing to provide these documents to the Committee pursuant to a subpoena,’ Comer wrote at the time.
As part of his non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to two state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution, avoiding more severe federal charges. He ended up serving 13 months in county jail with the benefit of a work-release program, confidential settlements with some victims, and being registered as a sex offender.
It also allowed co-conspirators to avoid charges – a major point of contention during his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell’s federal trial in late 2021. It’s also the basis of Maxwell’s appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn her guilty verdict.
Subpoenaed documents include all entries in a book compiled by Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday, Epstein’s will and information on his 2008 non-prosecution agreement.
Lawmakers hope that the ‘birthday book,’ which allegedly includes personalized messages from Epstein’s friends and associates, will shed light on his personal connections. The information is likely to be dated, however, with the book having been compiled in 2003.
Information was also sought on Epstein’s financial transactions, call and visitor logs, and ‘any document or record that could reasonably be construed to be a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking facilitated by Mr. Jeffrey Epstein,’ according to a copy of the subpoena viewed by Fox News Digital.
Comer has subpoenaed a litany of individuals, as well as the Department of Justice (DOJ), for information related to Epstein.
He is also bringing in Alexander Acosta, a former Trump administration labor secretary who also served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida when Epstein entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the federal government in 2008, for a transcribed interview on Sept. 19.
Comer and other members of the House Oversight Committee met with Epstein survivors last week.
About 33,000 pages of files turned over by the DOJ have already been released by the House Oversight Committee, though the vast majority of those were already public knowledge.
This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
President Donald Trump is still facing a $83.3 million payment to writer E. Jean Carroll after a federal appeals court rejected his challenge of a defamation verdict against him Monday.
The ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower court decision finding that Trump did, in fact, defame Carroll. Trump’s lawyers argued his comments about Carroll were protected by presidential immunity and that the verdict in the case was unjust. The three-judge panel rejected both of those claims.
‘We conclude that Trump has failed to identify any grounds that would warrant reconsidering our prior holding on presidential immunity. We also conclude that the district court did not err in any of the challenged rulings and that the jury’s damages awards are fair and reasonable,’ the court opinion read.
‘The record in this case supports the district court’s determination that the ‘the degree of reprehensibility’ of Mr. Trump’s conduct was remarkably high, perhaps unprecedented,’ the court added.
Carroll sued Trump twice after she released a book in 2019, which claimed Trump raped her during a brief encounter with him in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.
Trump vigorously denied the claims, saying he had never met Carroll, that she was not his ‘type’ and that she fabricated the incident to sell books. His vocal and repeated criticisms and denials led to Carroll’s defamation allegations.
Monday’s ruling comes months after the same court rejected Trump’s appeal in another Carroll-related case. In that appeal, Trump challenged evidence that Carroll’s legal team introduced to the jury during the civil lawsuit, including the Access Hollywood tape that surfaced during Trump’s 2016 campaign.
The full panel of judges declined to hear Trump’s argument, however, forcing the president to either accept defeat or appeal to the Supreme Court.
Read the full ruling below (App users click here)
Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
This post appeared first on FOX NEWS