WASHINGTON: A US judge on Wednesday released a suicide note purportedly written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein weeks before his death in a New York jailhouse. Epstein&#39;s cellmate has said that he found the letter in a book following a failed suicide attempt by the disgraced financier, several weeks before his eventual August 2019 death. &quot;They investigated me for months &mdash; Found NOTHING!!!&quot; the text of the letter, written on lined paper, reads. &quot;It is a treat to be able to choose one&#39;s time to say goodbye.&quot; The text concludes with, &quot;Watcha want me to do &mdash; Bust out cryin!! No fun &mdash; NOT WORTH IT!!&quot; The letter had been sealed for years as part of the cellmate&#39;s criminal proceedings, but was released by Judge Kenneth Karas of the US District Court for Southern New York after a request by the New York Times. While the document has not been authenticated, its release comes as questions continue to swirl about the well-connected financier&#39;s death while awaiting sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide, but numerous security lapses at the jail and missing CCTV footage have led to persistent doubts about the official account. Epstein was found injured in his cell in late July 2019, in what officials said was a failed suicide attempt. It was ahead of this earlier incident that the letter was purported to be written and stuffed into a graphic novel. The Epstein saga has continued to roil American and British politics, as documents related to the expansive investigation into the financier&#39;s life have been released in previous months.

Americas

Epstein's cellmate has said that he found the letter in a book following a failed suicide attempt by the disgraced financier, several weeks before his eventual August 2019 death.



US court releases purported Epstein suicide note

LONDON: British lawmakers debated Tuesday whether to launch a parliamentary probe into Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a scandal surrounding sacked US envoy Peter Mandelson that he is struggling to shake off. Members of parliament discussed whether to refer Starmer to a committee to consider if he misled parliament over the appointment of the ex-associate of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the plum diplomatic post. It is the latest development in an unrelenting controversy that has plagued Starmer&#39;s Labour government for months, hampering its work and leading to calls for him to resign. Opposition Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was &quot;very obvious&quot; that what Starmer had told the House of Commons regarding Mandelson&#39;s 2024 appointment was &quot;not correct&quot;. &quot;It&#39;s clear that full due process was not followed,&quot; she told MPs, opening the debate, which was expected to last several hours and conclude with a vote on whether to open an inquiry. Starmer denies allegations that his office applied pressure on the foreign ministry to approve Mandelson&#39;s appointment as Britain&#39;s ambassador in Washington despite having failed security vetting. Earlier this month, Starmer sacked the most senior civil servant in the foreign office, Olly Robbins, for not telling him or other ministers that Mandelson had not passed the checks. Starmer commands a large majority in the lower house of parliament. MPs from his ruling Labour party have been ordered to vote against the motion, meaning it is unlikely to pass. Speaking&nbsp;to Sky News late on Monday, the prime minister branded the move &quot;a political stunt&quot; ahead of local elections in England, Scotland and Wales next week. &quot;We&#39;ve got huge amounts of transparency going on already,&quot; Starmer insisted. &#39;Serious mistake&#39; Starmer sacked Mandelson in September 2025 after a fresh batch of revelations came to light about the extent of the latter&#39;s friendship with Epstein, who reportedly died in prison in 2019. But the row has only escalated since, with Starmer&#39;s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and ex-communications head Tim Allan forced to step down earlier this year. Starmer&#39;s cause has not been helped by the fact that UK police are investigating Mandelson over allegations he committed misconduct in office while serving as a Labour minister more than a decade ago. Mandelson is accused of leaking sensitive information to Epstein. He denies wrongdoing. On Tuesday, McSweeney told parliament&#39;s foreign affairs committee that he made a &quot;serious mistake&quot; in&nbsp;advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson. He denied telling officials that Mandelson&#39;s vetting checks &quot;should be cleared at all costs&quot;. Earlier, Robbins&#39; predecessor at the foreign office, Philip Barton, told the committee that it was unusual for an appointment to be announced before the vetting process was completed. MPs will decide whether the cross-party privileges committee, which investigates potential breaches of parliamentary conduct, should look into Starmer. That committee was responsible for former prime minister Boris Johnson&#39;s exit from frontline politics after it investigated him for misleading parliament over the so-called &quot;partygate&quot; breaches of Covid-19 laws. He quit as an MP in 2023 before the committee published a report recommending his suspension.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks during a visit to the Kenton district of London on April 23, 2026. (AFP)

Europe

British lawmakers debated launching a probe into Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the controversial Peter Mandelson appointment, amid claims he misled the British Parliament and bypassed proper vetting.

UK PM Starmer faces possible parliament inquiry over Mandelson

LONDON: British government ministers on Sunday backed embattled premier Keir Starmer as he struggles to shake off a scandal over long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson. Starmer is due to face lawmakers in parliament on Monday to explain how Mandelson was appointed Britain&#39;s ambassador to the United States in late 2024 despite failing to pass security checks. The prime minister, who has been dogged by the controversy for months, said Friday that he and other ministers were not told Mandelson had failed the vetting process, calling that &quot;unforgivable&quot;. He has blamed foreign office mandarins for allowing Mandelson&#39;s appointment against the advice of security officials, and sacked the department&#39;s top civil servant Olly Robins on Thursday. But ex-civil servants have accused Dowing Street of scapegoating Robbins while opposition leaders have called for Starmer to quit, with accusations ranging from incompetence to wilful misleading of the public. Technology minister Liz Kendall told the BBC on Sunday that Starmer would not have appointed Mandelson had he known that he had not received the appropriate security clearance. Deputy prime minister David Lammy, who was foreign secretary when Mandelson was appointed to Washington, said the same in an interview with the Guardian published late Saturday.&nbsp;&lsquo;Made the right call&rsquo;Kendall said Starmer should remain in his job because he had &quot;made the right call&quot; on big issues, such as building closer relations with the European Union and limiting Britain&#39;s involvement in the US-Israel war on Iran. &quot;I think he is an honest man and a man of integrity who says it was a mistake to appoint him,&quot; she told Sky News. Lammy said it was &quot;inexplicable&quot; that the foreign office had kept Downing Street in the dark, telling the Guardian he had been &quot;shocked and surprised&quot; when he learnt what happened. Starmer, already widely unpopular with the British public due to several policy mis-steps, has faced repeated questions about his judgement for selecting Mandelson whose friendship with Epstein was well known.&nbsp;Mandelson&rsquo;s sacking&nbsp;He sacked Mandelson in September 2025 after new details emerged about the depth of Mandelson&#39;s ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges. UK police are investigating allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson when he was a Labour minister more than 15 years ago. He was arrested and released in February. Mandelson has not been charged and denies criminal wrongdoing.

United Kingdom

Technology minister Liz Kendall says Starmer shall remain in his job because he has 'made the right call' on big issues, such as building closer relations with the European Union and limiting Britain's involvement in the Iran war.

UK ministers back Starmer amid fresh calls to quit

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was &quot;furious&quot; after it emerged his sacked US ambassador&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uk-top-official-to-step-down-over-exenvoys-failed-vetting-reports" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Peter Mandelson</a>&nbsp;was appointed despite failing security vetting, as the scandal again threatens his hold on power. The beleaguered British leader, who has been dogged for months by the controversy, claimed he and other ministers were not told Mandelson had failed the vetting process, branding that &quot;unforgivable&quot;. Starmer has faced repeated calls to quit since his 2024 decision to appoint Mandelson as Britain&#39;s top diplomat in Washington backfired spectacularly over the envoy&#39;s longstanding ties to late US sex offender&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/anil-ambani-sought-jeffrey-epsteins-help-on-usindia-defense-ties-nyt" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jeffrey Epstein</a>. Starmer sacked Mandelson in September, just seven months after taking up his post. A longtime insider with the ruling center-left Labour party, Mandelson had held multiple ministerial posts since the late 1990s, but was tarred by repeated scandals which earlier twice forced him out of office. &quot;That I wasn&#39;t told that he had failed (security vetting) when I was telling parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable,&quot; Starmer told broadcasters on Friday during a visit to Paris. &quot;Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I&#39;m absolutely furious about that,&quot; he said, adding he would address parliament on Monday &quot;to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency&quot;. Top officials fired Starmer&#39;s government has blamed Foreign Office officials for allowing Mandelson&#39;s appointment to proceed &quot;against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting&quot;, with the ministry&#39;s top civil servant, Olly Robbins, ousted late Thursday. The prime minister had &quot;lost confidence in him&quot; over the botched process, senior minister Darren Jones said. Parliament&#39;s main foreign affairs watchdog committee said Friday it has requested Robbins give evidence about the issue next Tuesday. Despite the government&#39;s stance, The Independent newspaper reported last September of &quot;serious concerns&quot; Mandelson &quot;did not clear security vetting for the role but the prime minister pushed through his appointment anyway&quot;. Five months later, Starmer insisted publicly Mandelson had passed vetting. Calls for the UK leader to resign have intensified, with the leaders of all the UK&#39;s main opposition parties urging him to quit since The Guardian first reported the security vetting story Thursday. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on X that &quot;Starmer has betrayed our national security. He should go&quot;. Jones denied Starmer was at risk, claiming &quot;the public can see in Keir Starmer that they have a strong, credible leader who has influence on the world stage&quot;. The ambassador to Washington is seen as Britain&#39;s most prestigious and most important diplomatic post, in charge of nurturing the so-called &quot;special relationship&quot; with the United States. Earlier in the year, two of Starmer&#39;s top political aides resigned as the scandal grew. Police probe Starmer himself has faced repeated judgement questions over selecting Mandelson. He has accused the ex-envoy of lying about the extent of his ties to Epstein during the vetting process. Starmer fired Mandelson as ambassador after documents released by a US Congressional committee revealed new details about the depth of his ties to Epstein. Police have now opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson, who was arrested and released on bail in February. He has not been charged and denies criminal wrongdoing. The force is investigating Mandelson over allegations he leaked sensitive documents to Epstein when he was a government minister, including during the 2008 financial crash. The advice submitted to Starmer in December 2024 noted a series of reports detailing Mandelson&#39;s links with Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes in Florida in 2008, including soliciting a minor. It said their relationship &quot;continued across 2009-2011&quot;, beginning when Mandelson was a government minister and continuing after the UK&#39;s last Labour government ended in 2010. It also noted that Mandelson &quot;reportedly stayed in Epstein&#39;s house while he was in jail in June 2009&quot;. Lawmakers earlier this year ordered the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/who-is-shabana-mahmood-the-hardline-uk-labour-minister-tackling-migration" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Labour government</a>&nbsp;to release tens of thousands of emails, messages and documents detailing how Mandelson was vetted for the role. The second tranche of documents is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media at the airport in Doha, Qatar on April 10, 2026. (AFP)

The British leader stated he and other ministers were not told Peter Mandelson had failed the vetting process, branding that "unforgivable".

British PM says 'furious' after fresh revelations over sacked US envoy

LONDON: A top UK foreign ministry official will step down, local media reported late on Thursday, as the government faces fresh pressure over its past appointment of an associate of Jeffrey Epstein as US ambassador. The UK Foreign Office&#39;s Permanent Under-Secretary Olly Robbins will leave his role after losing the confidence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, media including the Press Association (PA) news agency and BBC reported. Calls by opposition politicians for the prime minister himself to resign also intensified on Thursday as the government confirmed that its former Washington envoy Peter Mandelson had been appointed to his role after failing a background security check. Starmer has faced repeated questions about his judgment in selecting Mandelson, who was sacked last year only months into the post over his ties to the late convicted US sex offender Epstein. Opposition right-wing Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch wrote on X that &quot;Starmer has betrayed our national security. He should go&quot;. The prime minister has accused Mandelson of lying about the extent of his ties to Epstein during the vetting process for his Washington posting. Against recommendation Following an investigation published by The Guardian newspaper, a government spokesperson confirmed that foreign ministry officials made the decision to allow Mandelson&#39;s appointment to proceed &quot;against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting&quot;. But the spokesperson said neither Starmer nor the foreign minister &quot;was aware&quot; of this &quot;until earlier this week&quot;. Starmer sacked Mandelson as ambassador after documents released by a US Congressional committee revealed new details about the depth of his ties to Epstein. Police have opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson, who was arrested and bailed in February. He has not been charged and denies criminal wrongdoing. The force is investigating Mandelson over allegations he leaked sensitive documents to Epstein when he was a government minister, including during the 2008 financial crash.

Peter Mandelson - (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

UK PM Keir Starmer faces mounting political pressure as a senior official will resign and scrutiny deepens over the controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

UK top official to step down over ex-envoy's failed vetting: Reports 

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Indian business tycoon Anil Ambani sought guidance on navigating relations with the White House and advancing India-US defense cooperation in messages to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the early months of the first term of Donald Trump&#39;s administration, according to a report by The New York Times. &ldquo;Will need ur guidance on dealing wth white house for india relationship ad defense cooperation,&rdquo; Ambani wrote soon after being introduced to Epstein online. &lsquo;Inside baseball&rsquo;The NYT report states that Epstein responded by offering what he described as &ldquo;inside baseball,&rdquo; presenting himself as someone with insight into the administration&rsquo;s thinking. The exchanges, riddled with typos and shorthand, show the global reach of Epstein and the reputation he had built among the world&rsquo;s wealthiest people as a power broker able to operate in the shadowy world of back-channel diplomacy. While the line between braggadocio and influence was blurred, Epstein shared with Ambani nuggets of information on foreign policy and Trump appointments before they became widely known. Whether he just got lucky or not, his messages indicated he sought and received accurate information from unnamed people about the White House&rsquo;s thinking in response to Ambani&rsquo;s questions, according to the NYT report.

India

The report states, ‘The exchanges, riddled with typos and shorthand, show the global reach of Epstein and the reputation he had built among the world’s wealthiest people as a power broker.’

Anil Ambani sought Jeffrey Epstein's help on US-India defense ties: NYT

OSLO: Norway&#39;s Crown Princess Mette-Marit said she was &quot;manipulated&quot; by convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in an interview broadcast Friday in which she sought to explain their close relationship.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit&#39;s name appears in new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The files revealed an unexpectedly close friendship between the pair and raised questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit can become queen.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;Of course I wish I had never met him,&quot; she told public broadcaster NRK during the roughly 20-minute interview.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;It is extremely important for me to acknowledge that I did not look into his past more carefully, and also to acknowledge that I was manipulated and deceived to such an extent,&quot; she said.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">She also sought to squash speculation about the nature of her relationship to Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;It was a friendly relationship: above all, he was a friend to me. But if your question is whether the relationship had another nature, the answer is no,&quot; she said.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Mette-Marit has previously said that she deeply regretted her relationship with the disgraced financier.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The revelations about Epstein have damaged her reputation, at a time when she is dealing with a trial of her 29-year-old son from a relationship before she married the crown prince.<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1em 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: 2; letter-spacing: normal; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Marius Borg Hoiby faces 38 charges, including raping four women and assaulting ex-girlfriends, and faces up to 16 years in prison.

Mette Marit Crown princess of Norway (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit's name appears in new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year.

Norway crown princess says 'manipulated' by Epstein

CHAPPAQUA: Former US president Bill Clinton will be grilled by a Congressional panel on Friday on his well-documented links to Jeffrey Epstein. Clinton features prominently throughout the latest <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bill-gates-admits-affairs-but-denies-involvement-in-epstein-crimes" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Epstein</a>&nbsp;files disclosures, with the former president insisting that he <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uk-police-arrest-exenvoy-peter-mandelson-in-epstein-case" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">broke ties</a> with him well before the disgraced billionaire&#39;s 2008 conviction for sex offenses. Mere mention in the files released by the US Department of Justice does not imply wrongdoing, and Clinton has not been accused of a crime or formally investigated. He follows his wife, former secretary of state <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/tell-me-why-jeffrey-epstein-mossad-the-missing-answers" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hillary Clinton</a>, who testified Thursday. &#39;Kangaroo court&#39;The depositions are being held behind closed doors even though the Clintons called for them to be open and televised, a move <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/epstein-estate-agrees-to-settle-victim-claims-for-up-to-35-mn" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bill Clinton</a> denounced as akin to a &quot;kangaroo court.&quot; The grilling comes with greater peril for the former president than for his wife, as he has acknowledged extensive interactions with Epstein, but said he never visited the shady financier&#39;s private Caribbean island. Epstein associated with the world&#39;s rich, famous and powerful, and was convicted in 2008 for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14. He died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while facing trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is probing those who were linked to Epstein, particularly in light of the Justice Department&#39;s disclosures of millions of new documents related to its investigation of him. Hillary insisted that she had neither flown on Epstein&#39;s plane nor visited his island. The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel&#39;s probe, but the Democratic power couple agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Newly released pictures&nbsp;</h2>Hillary Clinton said in her opening statement to the panel that it &quot;justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.&quot; &quot;Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.&quot; Democrats say the investigation is being weaponized to attack Trump&#39;s political opponents rather than to conduct legitimate oversight. Bill Clinton features prominently in the trove of investigative files related to Epstein released by the Justice Department, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Previously unseen photographs from the files include one showing the former president reclining in a hot tub, part of the image obscured by a stark black rectangle. In another, Clinton is pictured swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein&#39;s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. &#39;Innocent of any wrongdoing&#39;Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein&#39;s private plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work. David Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, said recently that Clinton and Trump are &quot;innocent of any wrongdoing.&quot; The depositions are being held in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons reside. Dozens of journalists have converged on the wealthy hamlet, and the Secret Service erected metal barricades around the arts center where the depositions are happening. Republican committee chair James Comer said at the conclusion of Hillary&#39;s appearance that lawmakers had &quot;a lot of questions for her husband tomorrow.&quot;

The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify in the panel's probe, but the Democratic power couple agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress.

Former US president Bill Clinton to face grilling on significant Epstein ties

SANDRINGHAM: Former prince Andrew hunkered down Friday at home on the king&#39;s private estate after hours of police questioning, as his stunning arrest tipped the British monarchy into an unprecedented crisis in its modern era. The disgraced royal was &quot;released under investigation&quot; late Thursday, with police believed to be continuing Friday searches of his former home on the royals&#39; Windsor estate, west of London. In a sensational development in investigations into his links to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew spent around 11 hours in custody after police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct. Officers swooped early Thursday on his home in Sandringham, eastern England, taking him into custody at a nearby police station while also raiding his former Windsor home.&nbsp;&lsquo;Law must take its course&rsquo;&nbsp;It prompted the king to swiftly issue a rare personally signed statement insisting &quot;the law must take its course&quot;, as he reiterated Buckingham Palace would support the police probe. &quot;It&#39;s a hugely significant moment for the British monarchy,&quot; royal expert Ed Owens told AFP, noting much remained unclear, including whether Andrew would be criminally charged. &quot;It&#39;s the unknown elements in this particular instance that I think pose so much concern and arguably a threat to the monarchy.&quot; &lsquo;Downfall&rsquo;&nbsp;Almost all Britain&#39;s newspapers carried on their front pages Friday a photograph of the disgraced royal, leaving the police station in a vehicle, looking haggard and wild-eyed. &quot;Downfall,&quot; screamed the Daily Mail headline. The Sun tabloid noted that, like anyone arrested, Andrew would have had a DNA&nbsp;saliva swab taken along with his fingerprints and a photograph. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;So bad&#39;&nbsp;</h2>The day of drama in Britain sent shockwaves around the world, with US President Donald Trump calling it &quot;very sad&quot;. &quot;It&#39;s so bad for the royal family,&quot; he told reporters. Andrew&#39;s arrest follows new revelations last week that the ex-prince appeared to have sent Epstein potentially confidential documents while serving as a UK trade envoy, a post he held from 2001. In a November 2010 email seen by AFP, Andrew appeared to share with the US financier reports on his visit to several Asian countries. Epstein had been convicted in the United States in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution. Official guidance is thought to stipulate that trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive commercial or political information related to their official visits. The former prince&#39;s humiliating day in custody, which coincided with his 66th birthday, was the most dramatic yet in his years-long fall from grace. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Difficult&#39;&nbsp;</h2>King Charles III last year stripped his brother of his titles and ordered him to leave his Windsor mansion -- though he does remain eighth in the line of succession. That followed one of Epstein&#39;s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, last year recounting in shocking detail in her posthumous memoirs claims that she had been trafficked three times to have sex with Andrew, twice when she was 17. Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein. He settled a US civil lawsuit in 2022 brought by Giuffre while not admitting liability. Charles sought to project an air of business-as-usual Thursday, carrying out several public duties, including opening London Fashion Week. Most severe crisisBut royal commentators were in no doubt that the monarchy was facing its most severe crisis in decades. Royal historian Anna Whitelock said it was the first arrest of a member of Britain&#39;s royal family in centuries - possibly stretching back to Charles I&#39;s surrender to the Scots army in 1646. &quot;Usually there is the usual&nbsp;&#39;keep calm and carry on&#39; but it&#39;s going to be very difficult in these circumstances,&quot; she told AFP. The police probe into misconduct in a public office allegations follow the US Justice Department&#39;s release last month of millions of files from its investigation into Epstein. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. At least nine UK police forces have confirmed they are assessing claims stemming from the Epstein files, many related to Andrew.

In a sensational development in investigations into his links to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew spent around 11 hours in custody after police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct.

UK monarchy reels from Andrew's stunning arrest

LONDON: Britain&#39;s former prince Andrew was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct during his time as a trade envoy, as UK police investigations into allegations emerging from the Jeffrey Epstein files gathered pace. Unprecedented in Britain&#39;s modern era, the arrest was a new blow for the ousted royal, who was marking his 66th birthday on Thursday. Andrew was last year stripped of all his titles, having been forced out of his former home by his brother King Charles III. As part of the investigation into Andrew, &quot;we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office,&quot; Thames Valley police said in a statement, without naming the suspect, as is common practice in the UK. Several UK media outlets reported that a fleet of unmarked cars, believed to be police vehicles, was seen arriving early Thursday at the Sandringham estate in eastern England, where Andrew now resides. New revelations last week appeared to show that Andrew sent potentially confidential documents to convicted US sex offender Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy. In a November 2010 email seen by AFP, Andrew appeared to share with Epstein reports on Vietnam, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Singapore following an official visit to Asia. The ex-royal, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also reportedly sent the American financier details of the trip -- on which he was accompanied by Epstein&#39;s business associates -- along with investment opportunities months later. The former prince was eventually stripped of his titles after one of Epstein&#39;s victims alleged she had been trafficked to have sex with him. He has previously denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein. Charles has voiced &quot;concern&quot; over his brother&#39;s actions and, last week, issued an unprecedented statement noting that Buckingham Palace was &quot;ready to support&quot; the police in their inquiries. Official guidance stipulates that trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality regarding sensitive, commercial, or political information related to their official visits, the BBC has said. Andrew, whose ties to Epstein have caused a spectacular years-long fall from grace, served as a British trade envoy for a decade from 2001. Police &#39;aware&#39; of reportAt least nine separate UK police forces have confirmed they are assessing reports which appear to link the former prince to Epstein. Police in Surrey, southeastern England, said Wednesday they had become &quot;aware&quot; of a redacted report alleging &quot;human trafficking and sexual assaults on a minor&quot; between 1994 and 1996 in the village of Virginia Water. The report emerged in the latest tranche of millions of files released by the US Justice Department from the investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. &quot;After reviewing our systems using the limited information available to us, we found no evidence of these allegations being reported to Surrey Police,&quot; its statement read. &quot;We therefore encourage anyone with information in relation to these allegations to report this to us.&quot; The statement did not name any individuals involved. But it comes as high-profile figures, including former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, have urged police to probe dozens of flights dating back decades arriving at UK airports and tied to Epstein. Writing in the New Statesman magazine last week, Brown said he had been &quot;told privately that the investigations related to the former Prince Andrew did not properly check vital evidence of flights.&quot; &quot;I have asked the police to look at this as part of the new inquiry,&quot; he stated, adding it appeared &quot;the authorities never knew what was happening.&quot; London&#39;s Metropolitan police has also launched an investigation into the relationship between the UK&#39;s former ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, and the disgraced financier.

Britain's former prince Andrew has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct during his time as a trade envoy, police said Thursday.

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