Virginia
What did Virginia Giuffre say about Donald Trump
Virginia Giuffre repeatedly refuted allegations that President Donald Trump was involved in the crimes of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in sworn testimony and her memoir.
One of Epstein’s most prominent accusers said she did not believe Trump was involved in any of Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors.
Although she has made no allegations against Trump, she has described meeting him in contexts unrelated to Epstein’s crimes.
Why It Matters
Newly disclosed emails and court documents from investigations into Epstein, released by the House Oversight Committee, have renewed scrutiny on Trump’s relationship with both Epstein and Giuffre.
With both political parties invoking the scandal in ongoing debates, the precise nature of Trump’s interactions with Epstein and whether he was alleged to have participated in Epstein’s criminal activities remain central questions.
Trump has also faced internal pressure from within his own MAGA base to disclose the full details of his relationship with the disgraced financier.
As divisions persist over whether the scandal implicates more Democrats or Republicans, the factual accounts of those directly involved, including Giuffre, are central to understanding any political or legal implications.
The inclusion of Trump and former President Bill Clinton in the newly released correspondence underscores the scandal’s bipartisan reach and the ongoing public demand for transparency regarding Epstein’s network of associates and political friends.
Both Trump and Clinton deny any wrongdoing and have never been charged with criminal activity.
Trump also said earlier this year that he declined an invitation to go to Epstein’s private island. “I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn’t want to go to his island,” he said.
Newsweek reached out to the Clinton Foundation and the White House outside of normal working hours via the contact forms on their websites for further comment.
What To Know
The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released more than 20,000 pages related to Jeffrey Epstein, including emails referencing Trump, as part of ongoing inquiries into Epstein’s criminal activities and relationships.
Among the released correspondence is a 2011 email from Epstein to his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, in which Epstein stated: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”
The emails released by the House Oversight Committee included the name “Virginia,” which the White House asserted referred to Virginia Giuffre.
Names of victims were redacted initially in accordance with their families’ wishes, according to Representative Robert Garcia, the leading Democrat on the US House Oversight Committee, as per BBC News.
While an email released by the committee quoted Epstein as saying, “Trump knew about the girls,” Giuffre’s account and those of other key witnesses—including Maxwell’s recorded testimony—do not corroborate any allegation against Trump.
Maxwell herself reportedly stated to the Justice Department that “Trump acted as a gentleman” and denied observing any inappropriate behavior by him.
What Giuffre Has Said About Trump
Giuffre’s own account, both in sworn depositions and her posthumously published memoir Nobody’s Girl, provides a consistent narrative regarding Trump.
While Trump and other high-profile individuals are mentioned, no new accusations or suggestions of any inappropriate behavior by him have emerged from Giuffre’s previous statements, and the record remains consistent with her longstanding position: she did not witness or allege any misconduct by Trump related to Epstein’s crimes.
In a November 2016 deposition, unsealed as part of the so-called “Epstein document dump,” Giuffre said: “I don’t think Donald Trump participated in anything. That would have to be another assumption. I never saw or witnessed Donald Trump participate in those acts, but was he in the house of Jeffrey Epstein? I’ve heard he has been, but I haven’t seen him myself, so I don’t know”.
Although Giuffre further testified that she never saw Trump and Epstein together, she did say they were good friends. But she only encountered Trump at Mar-a-Lago during her employment, and that Trump “never flirted with me.”
In her memoir, Giuffre alleged an initial meeting with Trump when her father, employed at Mar-a-Lago, introduced her for a locker-room attendant job.
She said: “Trump couldn’t have been friendlier, telling me it was fantastic that I was there. ‘Do you like kids?’ he asked. ‘Do you babysit at all?’”
She also recalled attending a lavish Halloween gathering in October 2000 at the Hudson Hotel in New York City, writing in her memoir: “On Halloween, along with other guests that included Donald and Melania Trump, Maxwell and Prince Andrew attended a party hosted by German supermodel Heidi Klum at The Hudson, a swank hotel.”
What People Are Saying Now
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “The Democrats are using the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax to try and deflect from their massive failures, in particular, their most recent one — THE SHUTDOWN!”
He added: “The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk—and they should pay a fair price. There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!”
In a statement following the disclosure of new emails, a White House spokesperson said Giuffre “repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions.”
Addressing the renewed focus brought by the document releases, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the emails were “selectively leaked” by House Democrats to “liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.”
“The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President,” Representative Robert Garcia, the leading Democrat on the US House Oversight Committee, said in a statement.
Annie Farmer, a key Epstein accuser and witness in Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial, called for “the full release” of the so-called Epstein files: “The estimated one thousand women and girls who were harmed by Epstein and his associates deserve full transparency.”
What Happens Next
The release of the emails and thousands of pages of Epstein-related correspondence has further fueled demands for greater transparency and a comprehensive investigation into the extent of Epstein’s associations and possible abuses.
Survivors and advocacy groups are pressing Congress and law enforcement for the full public release of all related documents.
Lawmakers have indicated potential additional disclosures in the coming months.
Virginia
Feds want graduate nursing programs to reduce costs. This Virginia nurse worries changes will increase debt.
RICHMOND, Va. — University of Virginia graduate nursing student Nelly Sekyere worries that proposed federal loan cuts could prevent future students like herself from pursuing advanced nursing degrees that are helpful in filling shortages in underserved communities.
Sekyere’s parents moved to the United States from Ghana to pursue the American Dream. They worked hourly wage jobs to support their two kids and ultimately became licensed practical nurses, but they never had much money.
Nelly Sekyere
“My dad’s credit score was to the point where it was just awful. He had to file for bankruptcy. He was in so much debt,” Sekyere said.
Still, their children had big dreams and understood the value of hard work. Sekyere, who currently works as a nurse for a local health department, is now a student at UVA pursuing her doctorate to become a family nurse practitioner and to teach others who want to be nurses.
“I do plan to work in underserved communities and rural regions because that is something I am used to, and I feel that is where my expertise are needed the most,” Sekyere said.
She is able to pursue the doctorate because she qualifies for $200,000 in federal graduate degree loans. She said that without the loans, she couldn’t afford the degree.
“I would not. I physically could not afford it,” Sekyere said.
But future nursing graduate students like her may not be able to access as much federal loan money under graduate loan program changes within the One Big Beautiful Bill. Those changes would mean students enrolling in post-baccalaureate nursing programs would be eligible for half the amount of money in federal graduate loans they are currently allowed to take out.
Currently, they can take out $200,000 in federal graduate loans. That number would drop to $100,000 if the changes take effect.
“This impacts those that are pursuing a master’s in nursing, a doctorate of nursing practice or a PhD in nursing,” said Cindy Rubenstein, Director of Nursing and a professor at Randolph Macon College. “Those graduate programs actually prepare nurses to be advanced practice nurses whether that is a Nurse Practioner in primary care, midwives specialists, and also as educators and nurse scientists.”
On its website, the U.S. Department of Education states “95% of nursing students borrow below the annual loan limit and are therefore not affected by the new caps. Further, placing a cap on loans will push the remaining graduate nursing programs to reduce costs, ensuring that nurses will not be saddled with unmanageable student loan debt.”
Rubenstein said she understands the administration’s desire to control tuition costs and limit borrowing amounts. But she says the reality is that the proposal does not take into account the cost of key professional programs that we have shortages in.
“Health care training at the graduate level is more expensive than other training programs and other graduate degrees and that is because of the requirements for clinical practice,” Rubenstein said.
Both Rubenstein and Sekyere worry that reducing the amount of federal loan money a person can take out to pursue those higher nursing degrees will stop people from entering the programs because they either don’t qualify for a private loan or the interest rate is too high.
“I likely foresee in the future that graduate students are going to get themselves into private loan debt and with these programs there is no student loan forgiveness, there is no leniency, there is no income driven plans for you to be able to pay that back,” Sekyere said.
The federal loan changes are slated to take effect July 1 of next year. The Education Department is still working to define exactly which professional programs will no longer be eligible for the higher loan amounts and may make changes based on public comments.
CBS 6 asked Congressman Rob Wittman (R-1st District), who voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, about the changes to the graduate nursing loans, and he sent us the following statement:
“Our healthcare professionals, especially our nurses, work tirelessly to serve our communities and ensuring pathways to training and education is essential. This proposed rule from the Department of Education has not yet been finalized, and there will be another opportunity for public comment. I will continue to monitor this situation as it develops and I remain committed to addressing the affordability of higher education.”
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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Virginia
Veteran environmental legislator David Bulova selected as Virginia’s next resources secretary
Virginia
Virginia Lottery urges adults to ‘Scratch the Idea’ of gifting lottery tickets to minors
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – The Virginia Lottery and the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling are urging adults to gift responsibly this holiday season, warning that giving lottery tickets to anyone under 18 can normalize gambling and increase the risk of addiction.
The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.
The groups released a public service announcement this week called “Scratchers for Kids?—Scratch That Idea” as part of a seasonal campaign on social media and other outlets.
The PSA’s message is direct: Don’t give children scratch-off tickets or other lottery products as gifts.
“Just as you wouldn’t give a child alcohol at Christmas, don’t give them a lottery ticket,” said Dr. Carolyn Hawley, president of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling.
Officials said well-meaning adults sometimes slip lottery tickets into stockings or hand them out as small gifts, but this practice is dangerous and inappropriate.
They warned it may raise the likelihood that a child will develop gambling problems later in life.
“We want to discourage participating in gambling for as long as possible. We want to keep it safe, we want to keep it fun and to do so, let’s delay early onset for children,” Hawley said.
Hawley said the younger someone starts gambling — whether with a scratch-off ticket or on sports-betting websites — the greater the chances of developing a problem.
She and other officials noted a recent uptick in younger people seeking help and calling hotlines for gambling-related issues.
“We know they didn’t start gambling between 18 to 24; they started much earlier,” Hawley said.
Officials also noted that giving lottery tickets to minors is illegal.
They said their hope is that parents and guardians will set positive examples and model healthy behavior.
“They’re watching and they’re seeing, even if you’re not aware that that’s happening. So pay attention, recognize and understand the risks that can happen and model good behavior for your children,” Hawley said.
The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.
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