Jeffrey Epstein

Privacy for your ‘guests’: Mandelson’s email to Epstein recommending exclusive villa

Spread the love

Original article by Simon Lock republished from TBIJ under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Image of Jeffrey Epstein, Peter Mandelson and a waiter

Redacted email deciphered by TBIJ shows former politician suggesting holiday home for convicted sex offender

Peter Mandelson emailed Jeffrey Epstein after his release from house arrest to recommend a holiday home where the financier could host his “guests”.

Mandelson said he had found a villa in Italy that Epstein could use, offering “privacy with accompanying rooms for your ‘guests’” – with quote marks around the word guests.

It is not clear who this was in reference to. Epstein’s connections among the global elite included bankers, royals and Middle Eastern sheikhs.

The email was published this week by the US government as part of the Epstein Files cache. Its sender has been redacted but we were able to identify it as coming from Mandelson.

A spokesperson for Mandelson said: “Lord Mandelson regrets, and will regret until to his dying day, that he believed Epstein’s lies about his criminality. Lord Mandelson did not discover the truth about Epstein until after his death in 2019. He is profoundly sorry that powerless and vulnerable women and girls were not given the protection they deserved.”

The email chain is from August 2010, a month after Epstein had been released from house arrest following his conviction for child sex offences.

In the message in question, Mandelson tells Epstein that he is due to arrive back in London from “Myk”, shorthand for the Greek island of Mykonos, at the end of August. He goes on to say: “Found you a great place to stay on the Amalfi coast near to Positano. Zeferelli home converted into beautiful suites and privacy with accompanying rooms for your ‘guests’.”

While the identity of the sender is blacked out in the published file, other emails from the same period confirm that Mandelson travelled at that time to Mykonos, which he also referred to as “Myk” in separate emails. The email in question was sent from a Blackberry, Mandelson’s favoured method of communication at the time.

The redaction in the files leaves some parts of the email address visible, and we were able to match it with an address used by Mandelson (see video below).

The conversation with Epstein took place during a period of frequent contact between the pair following Mandelson’s exit from frontline politics after Labour’s election defeat.

The men discussed job opportunities for Mandelson, including with mining giant Glencore, investment banks Lazard and Deutsche Bank, and his own advisory firm, Global Counsel.

The house Mandelson refers to in the email appears to be Villa Treville, an exclusive 16-suite luxury hotel located on a clifftop overlooking the Gulf of Salerno.

There is no evidence that Epstein ever visited the villa.

Villa Treville as it appears today

Lead image: Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein pictured together. Credit: Department of Justice / ZUMA Press Wire / Shutterstock

Reporter: Simon Lock
Enablers editor: Eleanor Rose
Deputy editor: Katie Mark
Editor: Franz Wild
Production editor: Alex Hess

TBIJ has a number of funders, a full list of which can be found here. None of our funders have any influence over editorial decisions or output.

Original article by Simon Lock republished from TBIJ under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a business roundtable
Keir Starmer(R) and his boss Peter Mandelson(L).

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a business roundtable
Two Labour Party total s***s, David Lammy and Peter Mandelson.

CONFIDENTIAL – STRICTLY NOT FOR PUBLICATION: Ipso has asked us to circulate the following advisory:

Ipso has today been contacted by a representative acting on behalf of Peter Mandelson.

Mr Mandelson’s representatives state that he does not wish to speak to the media at this time. He requests that the press do not take photos or film, approach, or contact him via phone, email, or in-person. His representatives ask that any requests for his comment are directed to [REDACTED]

We are happy to make editors aware of his request. We note the terms of Clause 2 (Privacy) and 3 (Harassment) of the Editors’ Code, and in particular that Clause 3 states that journalists must not persist in questioning, telephoning, pursuing or photographing individuals once asked to desist, unless justified in the public interest.

Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss any Code issues on [REDACTED] or out of hours on [REDACTED].

[IPSO official]

13.15pm Don’t know why this was not displaying properly.

Continue ReadingPrivacy for your ‘guests’: Mandelson’s email to Epstein recommending exclusive villa

Calls to Impeach Bondi Mount After Nude Photos of Possible Victims Released in Epstein Files

Spread the love

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the US attorney general on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Rep. Yassamin Ansari ripped the Justice Department’s “indefensible and horrifying disregard for the victims,” and stressed that “rich and powerful men continue to evade accountability for their heinous crimes.”

Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari on Sunday called for the impeachment of US Attorney General Pam Bondi after the Department of Justice published dozens of unredacted nude photos of young women or teenagers as part of its legally required release of files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The DOJ released the final batch of documents on Friday, well beyond the December 19 deadline established by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Although President Donald Trump signed the law, his ties to the late billionaire and heavy redactions of previously released records have fueled concerns about the process.

RECOMMENDED…

US Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche

From Arresting Journalists to Epstein Cover-Up, AOC Says ‘Bondi Should Be Up for Impeachment Too’

Ro Khanna

It’s a ‘Cover-Up,’ Says Khanna, If Official FBI Survivor Statements Not Included in Epstein File Dump

While reviewing the more than 3 million pages published last week, New York Times journalists found “nearly 40 unredacted images” of “nude bodies and the faces of the people portrayed,” the newspaper reported. “The people in the photos appeared to be young, although it was unclear whether they were minors. Some of the images seemed to show Mr. Epstein’s private island, including a beach. Others were taken in bedrooms and other private spaces.”

The paper continued:

The Times notified the Justice Department on Saturday of nude images that journalists had encountered and flagged more of them on Sunday. A spokeswoman said that the department was “working around the clock to address any victim concerns, additional redactions of personally identifiable information, as well as any files that require further redactions under the act, to include images of a sexual nature.”

“Once proper redactions have been made, any responsive documents will repopulate online,” the spokeswoman said.

Officials have largely removed or redacted the images that the Times flagged for them. The images appeared to show at least seven different people, although the Times did not seek to identify them.

Flagging the report on social media late Sunday, Ansari (D-Ariz.) declared that “this is an indefensible and horrifying disregard for the victims by Trump’s US Department of Justice. They are still withholding the full Epstein Files, and rich and powerful men continue to evade accountability for their heinous crimes. Attorney General Pam Bondi should be impeached.”

Even before the nude photos were discovered, progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) similarly called for Bondi’s impeachment on Friday, pointing to not only her DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files, but also its efforts to force Minnesota to turn over voter data and the arrest of journalists, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon.

Since Friday, survivors of Epstein’s abuse have also slammed the DOJ, with 18 of them saying in a joint statement that the latest release “is being sold as transparency, but what it actually does is expose survivors. Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected. That is outrageous.”

“As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein’s enablers continue to benefit from secrecy. This is a betrayal of the very people this process is supposed to serve,” they continued. “This is not over. We will not stop until the truth is fully revealed and every perpetrator is finally held accountable.”

CNN reported Monday that lawyers Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards requested “immediate judicial intervention” by US Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer to address at least “thousands of redaction failures on behalf of nearly 100 individual survivors whose lives have been turned upside down by DOJ’s latest release.”

“There is no conceivable degree of institutional incompetence sufficient to explain the scale, consistency, and persistence of the failures that occurred—particularly where the sole task ordered by the court and repeatedly emphasized by DOJ was simple: Redact known victim names before publication,” the attorneys wrote.

While the DOJ didn’t reply to the outlet’s request for comment, Henderson said in a statement to CNN that “with every second that passes, additional harm is being caused to these women. They are scared, they are devastated, and they are begging for our government to protect them from further harm.”

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.

Continue ReadingCalls to Impeach Bondi Mount After Nude Photos of Possible Victims Released in Epstein Files

Trump Vetoes Colorado Clean Water Bill—Then Tells State’s Officials to ‘Rot in Hell’

Spread the love

Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

President Donald Trump takes questions at his Mar-a-Lago estate on December 22, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

The bill vetoed by Trump would have provided funds to finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a 130-mile pipeline designed to deliver clean, filtered water to 50,000 residents in the eastern part of the state.

President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his second term this week when he rejected a bill with bipartisan support aimed at ensuring access to clean drinking water in rural Colorado.

As reported by Colorado Public Radio on Tuesday, the bill in question would have provided funds to finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a 130-mile pipeline designed to deliver clean, filtered water to 50,000 residents in the eastern part of the state.

RECOMMENDED…

The Lee Fire

‘Blatant Act of Retaliation’: Trump Denies Colorado Request for Fire, Flooding Disaster Relief

US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

Senate Dems Stop Permitting Talks Over Trump’s ‘Reckless and Vindictive Assault’ on Wind Power

In a statement announcing his video [veto?] of the bill, Trump cited concerns about the size of the US deficit, even though the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that finishing the conduit will cost less than $500,000.

“My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies,” said Trump, whose signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is projected to increase the US deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next decade. “Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the nation.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a longtime Trump ally who sponsored the legislation, blasted the president for vetoing “a completely non-controversial, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and Senate unanimously.”

Boebert also hinted that Trump’s reasons for passing the bill could be political retribution over her effort to force the release of files related to the criminal prosecution of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who for years was a friend of the president.

“I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability,” Boebert said. “Americans deserve leadership that puts people over politics.”

It’s not clear what Trump’s motives were for vetoing the bill, though he has been feuding with elected officials in Colorado over the continued imprisonment of Tina Peters, the former county clerk of Mesa County, Colorado who was convicted in 2024 of seven charges related to her allowing unlawful access to voting machines in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump has demanded that Colorado release Peters, and he even went so far as to give her a presidential pardon, even though she was convicted on state charges rather than federal charges where such a pardon would carry real legal weight.

In a New Year’s Eve Truth Social post, Trump once again made false claims about Peters’ case.

“God Bless Tina Peters, who is now, for two years out of nine, sitting in a Colorado Maximum Security Prison, at the age of 73, and sick, for the ‘crime’ of trying to stop the massive voter fraud that goes on in her State,” Trump wrote.

In reality, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Colorado during the 2020 election.

Trump finished off his post by lashing out at Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, a Republican whose office successfully put Peters in prison for a nine-year sentence.

“To the Scumbag Governor, and the disgusting ‘Republican’ (RINO!) DA, who did this to her (nothing happens to the Dems and their phony Mail In Ballot System that makes it impossible for a Republican to win an otherwise very winnable State!), I wish them only the worst,” Trump wrote. “May they rot in Hell. FREE TINA PETERS!”

Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.

Continue ReadingTrump Vetoes Colorado Clean Water Bill—Then Tells State’s Officials to ‘Rot in Hell’

US Launches Christmas Strikes on Nigeria—the 9th Country Bombed by Trump

Spread the love

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

President Donald Trump makes phone calls to US troops on Christmas Eve, from the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 24, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump—who calls himself “the most anti-war president in history”—has now bombed more countries than any president in history.

President Donald Trump—the self-described “most anti-war president in history”—has now ordered the bombing of more countries than any president in history as US forces carried out Christmas day strikes on what the White House claimed were Islamic State militants killing Christians in Nigeria.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump said Thursday in a post on his Truth Social network.

RECOMMENDED…

Donald Trump

Trump Says Ground Attack on Venezuela Imminent—Plus Colombia, Mexico Also in US Crosshairs

Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth salute

Trump: US Forces ‘Striking Very Strongly’ Against 70+ Targets in Syria

“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” the president continued. “The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.”

“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” Trump added. “May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”

A US Department of Defense official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that the United States worked with Nigeria to conduct the bombing, and that the government of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu—who is a Muslim—approved the attacks.

It was not immediately known how many people were killed or wounded in the strikes, or whether there are any civilian casualties.

The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security.”

The US bombings followed a threat last month by Trump to attack Nigeria with “guns-a-blazing” if the country’s government did not curb attacks on Christians.

Northwestern Nigeria—including Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and parts of Kaduna State—is suffering a complex security crisis, plagued by armed criminal groups, herder-farmer disputes, and Islamist militants including Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP/ISIS) and Boko Haram. Both Christians and Muslims have been attacked.

Since emerging in Borno State in 2009, Boko Haram has waged war on the Nigerian state—which it regards as apostate—not against any particular religious group. In fact, the majority of its victims have been Muslims.

“According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, more Muslims than Christians have been targeted in recent years,” Chloe Atkinson recently wrote for Common Dreams. “Boko Haram has massacred worshipers in mosques, torched markets in Muslim-majority areas, and threatened their own coreligionists.”

“The crisis in Nigeria is not a holy war against Christianity.”

“It is true that Christian communities in the north-central regions have suffered unimaginable horrors as raids have left villages in ashes, children murdered in their beds, and churches reduced to rubble,” she said. “The April massacre in Zike and the June bloodbath in Yelwata are prime examples of the atrocities taking place in Nigeria.”

“The crisis in Nigeria is not a holy war against Christianity,” Atkinson continued. “Instead, it’s a devastating cocktail of poverty, climate-driven land disputes, and radical ideologies that prey on everyone and not just any distinct group.”

“By framing Nigeria’s conflict as an existential threat to Christians alone, Trump is not shining a spotlight on the victims,” she added. “Instead, he is weaponizing right-wing conspiracy theories to stoke Islamophobia, the same toxic playbook he used to fuel his ban on Muslims, and which left refugee families shattered at America’s borders.”

Former libertarian US Congressman Justin Amash (R-Mich.) noted on X that “there’s no authority for strikes on terrorists in Nigeria or anywhere on Earth,” adding that the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)—which was approved by every member of Congress except then-Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)—“is only for the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.”

“The War Powers Resolution doesn’t grant any authority beyond the Constitution,” Amash added. “Offensive military actions need congressional approval. The Framers of the Constitution divided war powers to protect the American people from war-eager executives. Whether the United States should engage in conflicts across the globe is a decision for the people’s representatives in Congress, not the president.”

In addition to Nigeria, Trump—who says he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize—since 2017 has also ordered the bombing of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as boats allegedly transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Trump has also deployed warships and thousands of US troops near Venezuela, which could become the next country attacked by a president who campaigned on a platform of “peace through strength.”

That’s more than the at least five countries attacked during the tenure of former President George W. Bush or the at least seven nations attacked on orders of then-President Barack Obama during the so-called War on Terror, which killed more than 940,000 people—including at least 432,000 civilians, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

Trump continued the war on ISIS in Iraq and Syria started by Obama in 2014. Promising to “bomb the shit out of” ISIS fighters and “take out their families,” Trump intensified the US campaign from a war of “attrition” to one of “annihilation,” according to his former defense secretary, Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis. Thousand of civilians were killed as cities such as Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria were flattened.

Trump declared victory over ISIS in 2018—and again the following year.

Some social media users suggested Trump’s “warmongering” is an attempt to distract from the Epstein files scandal and alleged administration cover-up.

“Bombing Nigeria won’t make us forget about the Epstein files,” said one X user.

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.

Trump’s Reckless War Drums in Nigeria Stink of Islamophobia and Imperial Arrogance ›

Continue ReadingUS Launches Christmas Strikes on Nigeria—the 9th Country Bombed by Trump