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President Donald Trump bemoaned on Monday the potential reputational damage inflicted on people who appear in photos released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which he insisted were only made public because of an effort to distract from his accomplishments.

The comments mark the first time Trump has addressed the files since his Justice Department released hundreds of thousands of them on Friday pursuant to a new law compelling them to do so.

The measure cleared both the House and Senate with support from all but one Republican and Trump signed it into law; his administration had previously said it did not plan to release any more Epstein materials after a thorough review.

"A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein. But they're in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruined a reputation of somebody," Trump said during an event in the library at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach club that he claims to have ejected Epstein from in the early 2000s.

"A lot of people are very angry that this continues. A lot of Republicans," he said, claiming the issue was meant to "deflect against a tremendous success."

Trump has long sought to downplay his own connection to Epstein – noting, as he did Monday, the two had a falling out years ago – and he has previously warned that releasing files might be unfairly damaging to those referenced in them.

He notably said at Mar-a-Lago he even "hated" to see so many photos of former President Bill Clinton contained in the latest batch of documents released by the Justice Department.

Bill Clinton in a hot tub in a photo from the Epstein files.

Clinton has never been charged with any crimes or accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein; one of the most publicised images in the DOJ release last week was a picture of Clinton in a hot tub with his arms folded behind his head.

Beside him is a person whose faced is redacted.

"I think Bill Clinton's a big boy. He can handle it," Trump said.

A representative of Clinton, meanwhile, shared a statement pn Monday before Trump's remarks calling on the Justice Department to "immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton."

"Refusal to do so will confirm the widespread suspicion the Department of Justice's actions to date are not about transparency, but about insinuation – using selective releases to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years, under Presidents and Attorneys General of both parties," said the spokesperson, Angel Ureña, in a statement posted on X.

The Justice Department is facing criticism from survivors of Epstein's sexual abuse and lawmakers on Capitol Hill over how it has released materials from its investigation of the convicted sex offender.

Though the law required the department to make public "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials," officials did not do so on the Friday deadline, instead releasing a first tranche of files. Lawmakers of both parties said that was unacceptable, with some indicating they would explore legal action.

Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton and Diana Ross in a photo included in the Epstein files.

Survivors asserted that the disclosures were incomplete and improperly redacted.

The department has said lawyers will work in the coming weeks to make redactions to protect victims and alleviate other possible concerns.

As for the photos of himself contained in the Epstein files, Trump shrugged off what he said was a social connection from another era.

"They give you their photos of me, too," he said. "Everybody was friendly with this guy, either friendly or not friendly, but he was around. He was all over Palm Beach."

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WA man dies falling from rental e-scooter

2025-12-24 FreeNews

A man is dead after falling off an e-scooter in Western Australia overnight.

At about 12.10am, the 37-year-old was riding a rental e-scooter when he lost control and fell.

The accident took place on the footpath adjacent to Brand Highway, near the Glendinning Road intersection, in Mount Tarcoola, Geraldton.

The man sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.

Police are investigating and urge any witnesses or anybody with any relevant footage to contact Crime Stoppers online or on 1800 333 000.

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Two people on run after man stabbed in the neck in Adelaide

2025-12-24 FreeNews

Two people are on the run after a man was stabbed in the neck in Adelaide overnight.

Police and paramedics were called to a hotel on North East Road in Klemzig just after 9.40pm yesterday to reports of a stabbing.

Officers say a 21-year-old Seacombe Gardens man was approached by a couple of men at a nearby business and was assaulted.

He ran to the hotel for assistance and the two suspects fled in a car.

The man was taken to hospital in a critical condition but is now stable.

Anyone with information or CCTV is urged to contact police.

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German man found guilty of drugging, raping and filming his wife for years

2025-12-24 FreeNews

A German man has been found guilty of drugging and raping his unconscious wife for years and sharing video of his crimes on the internet, in a case that has drawn comparisons to the trial of Dominique Pelicot in France.

Fernando P, a 61-year-old school janitor, was found guilty of abusing his wife inside the couple's home, filming it and then sharing it online without the victim's knowledge.

He was sentenced on Friday to eight years and six months in prison following a trial at a court in Aachen, western Germany.

An appeal may be filed against the judgment within one week, the court said.

The court said the man violated "the most intimate sphere of private life and of personal rights through image recordings in 34 cases, including in four cases in concurrence with aggravated rape and dangerous bodily harm."

He was also convicted on charges of aggravated sexual coercion and sexual assault.

"The defendant repeatedly secretly sedated and sexually abused his wife in the marital home," the court said in a statement.

"He also filmed the acts and made the recordings available to other users in group chats and on internet platforms."

Accused of crimes spanning nearly 15 years, the court found him guilty of offences between 2018 and 2024.

He was acquitted on some other charges, details of which have not been released by the court.

The verdict comes exactly a year after Frenchman Pelicot – who solicited dozens of strangers from a chatroom for a near 10-year period to rape and abuse his then-wife Gisèle – was found guilty of aggravated rape.

Forty-nine other men were all found guilty of rape or sexual assault in that case.

The Pelicot case shocked the world and sparked a cultural reckoning on gender-based violence and misogyny in France.

'A very significant case'

The Aachen case is the first of its kind to be heard by the German courts, according to the campaign group Nur Ja Heisst Ja, whose name – translated to "Only Yes Means Yes" – highlights its mission to change how rape is legally defined.

Last year, Hamburg-based investigative journalists unearthed evidence of a man who, for 14 years, had shared videos on an adult website allegedly showing the drugging and raping of his wife.

But that man was never charged; he passed away in 2024.

The Aachen case is " very significant," said Jill S, an activist from Nur Ja Heisst Ja who asked CNN not to use her last name to avoid online abuse, because, "It's a case that kind of shows where there are gaps in our legal system," she told CNN before Friday's verdict.

In Germany, consent has traditionally been defined through the "no means no'" principle, which campaigners say deprives victims of sexual abuse the ability to give explicit consent for sexual acts.

While the law does require explicit consent in exceptional circumstances – specifically when victims cannot express their will, such as when they're unconscious or drugged – Nur Ja Heisst Ja say it still falls short of protecting women.

They are campaigning for the German government to change the definition of rape to include a "yes means yes'' standard, arguing that the current law still places the burden on victims to verbally resist rape and other sexual violence.

Like "any kind of topic around sexual violence, it's not taken very serious by the government," Jill S said.

The Aachen case also highlights another key problem, according to the campaigners:

The possession of rape content is currently legal in Germany.

Nur Ja Heisst Ja is hopeful that this might soon change, as Kathrin Wahlmann, a justice minister in the state of Lower Saxony, has launched a statewide campaign to have that possession criminalised.

'Online university of violence'

Across the border in France, lawmaker Sandrine Josso also believes that laws need to be adapted to protect women from this kind of abuse.

For Josso, the issue is personal.

In November 2023, Josso alleges she was drugged by then 66-year-old French senator Joël Guerriau at a party.

She filed a criminal complaint, with a trial beginning in January.

Guerriau has denied all allegations.

"I think that today's laws are not sufficiently grounded in reality," Josso told CNN, saying that she believes that current laws do not factor into account how the online world fuels unique eco-systems of abuse.

"Social media has enabled it (sexual abuse) because communities form and share tips – essentially refining and professionalising their methods. That's what makes it so alarming," she said.

Both Pelicot and Fernando P shared their abusive content online.

Josso said that websites and chatrooms hosting rape content are like an "online university of violence" where men can teach each other how to drug their partners and revel in sharing footage of their alleged crimes.

For Jill S in Germany, online platforms and governments have a lot to answer for when it comes to addressing the spread and propagation of this content.

"I think the sad thing is that all of these men felt really, really safe sharing this content, putting it online, leaving thousands of videos on their laptops at home."

She hopes Friday's verdict may help to finally shatter this illusion of safety and lead to the conviction of more abusers.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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Epstein letter is fake, Trump administration claims

2025-12-24 FreeNews

The Justice Department now says a handwritten letter it released that was signed by "J. Epstein" and addressed to convicted sex offender Larry Nassar is "fake", asserting that the handwriting did not appear to match that of Jeffrey Epstein.

The department had said earlier Tuesday that it was assessing the validity of the letter – which appeared to make crude references to President Donald Trump – because other details called into question whether it had actually been written and sent by Epstein.

"This fake letter serves as a reminder that just because a document is released by the Department of Justice does not make the allegations or claims within the document factual," the Justice Department said in a post on X hours after the letter was released among a tranche of other Epstein-related records.

Jeffrey Epstein Larry Nassar letter

The letter does not explicitly name Trump, but instead refers to "our president." The message appears to have been sent in August 2019, the same month Epstein died by suicide. Trump was president at the time.

The statement debunking the letter from the Justice Department noted that it was postmarked not in New York, where Epstein was imprisoned, but in Virginia, and the return address was for a jail different than the one holding Epstein. The envelope was processed three days after Epstein's suicide.

Authorities have not accused Trump of any wrongdoing or charged him with any crimes in connection with Epstein.

"Dear L.N.," the letter reads, "As you know by now, I have taken the 'short route' home. Good luck! We shared one thing … our love and caring for young ladies and the hope they'd reach their full potential. Our President also shares our love of young, nubile girls." The letter makes another lewd reference to Trump's treatment of women.

"Life is unfair," the letter reads.

Nassar has pleaded guilty in Ingham County, Michigan, to sexually assaulting seven girls. (Getty)

In a separate statement the department released earlier Tuesday, not aimed at any specific record in the most recent release, the Department said that some of the documents released "contain untrue and sensationalist claims" against the president.

"To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump already."

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the letter.

While the letter is addressed to an "L.N.," a photo of the envelope – postmarked on August 13, 2019 and addressed to the former Olympic doctor and sex offender – was released by the DOJ. The envelope was sent from the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City to Nassar, who was listed as an inmate at a federal prison in Arizona.

The letter was postmarked three days after Epstein died. Prison staff are authorised to read and inspect outgoing mail, which can cause delays. It's not clear why Epstein's letter was permitted by prison officials to be sent and why it was delayed.

Based on prison documents released from a Freedom of Information Act request, CNN previously reported that while he was jailed, Epstein appeared to send a letter to Nassar — although the contents of the letter were not disclosed. It was discovered by prison officials investigating Epstein's suicide weeks after his death. It is not known if Nassar and Epstein had a relationship.

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein together.

The FBI in 2020 requested from its laboratory a handwriting analysis be done to compare the letter to other writings from Epstein, according to another document posted on Tuesday from the DOJ. While the latest DOJ statement said the FBI had confirmed the letter was "fake," it did not specifically say that conclusion was based on the 2020 handwriting analysis.

Nassar, the longtime doctor for the USA gymnastics team and Michigan State University, is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison on child pornography charges. More than 150 women and girls publicly told a court he sexually abused them.

The envelope, addressed to Larry Nassar at 9300 S. Wilmot Road, Tucson, Arizona, 85756, a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility, was marked as "return to sender," as the addressee was "no longer at this address."

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).