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Trump Goon Put on the Spot Over Bombshell New Epstein Claims

The explosive Epstein referral lands on Todd Blanche’s desk at a politically fraught time.

MAGA Republicans have called for Donald Trump’s handpicked attorney general to investigate fresh allegations of sexual abuse by two high-profile men tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

With Trump set to nominate Todd Blanche to lead the Justice Department full-time, House Oversight Committee chair James Comer and several other GOP colleagues on Thursday asked him to probe explosive new claims made by Epstein’s longtime assistant, Sarah Kellen.

Kellen testified to the committee that she was the victim of sexual assault by two alleged Epstein co-conspirators: celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai and Philip Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach.

She also testified that the late fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier, best known for his intimate portraits of Princess Diana, exposed himself to her.

Ghislaine Maxwell, who Blanche last year quietly transferred to a low-security prison, also abused her, Kellen claimed.

The claims against Fekkai and Levine are the first allegations of criminal conduct unearthed by the committee’s investigation. A spokesperson for Levine told the Daily Beast: “Nearly a quarter century ago, our client had a brief intimate encounter with another consenting adult. Any allegation suggesting otherwise is not true.”

The Daily Beast has also reached out to Fekkai for comment. Neither of them have been charged with any crime.

“Sarah Kellen bravely provided testimony before the House Oversight Committee about the horrific abuse she endured for years involving Epstein and Maxwell,” said Comer.

“We are referring these allegations to the Department of Justice, which has the tools to investigate criminal misconduct.”

The referral was sent in a letter to Blanche signed by Comer and GOP Congress members Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Clay Higgins, and William Timmons.

But it lands on Blanche’s desk at a politically fraught moment. The former Trump lawyer has been acting attorney general for two months, but has already managed to antagonize both Republicans and Democrats over a $1.8 billion slush fund and a backroom deal to shield the president and his businesses from tax scrutiny.

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Blanche also found himself entangled in the continuing fallout from the Epstein files.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was dismissed in April after months of criticism over delays and redactions in the release of Epstein-related records, effectively blamed Blanche for aspects of the department’s approach during a recent closed-door interview on Capitol Hill.

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The dispute has become a flashpoint among Trump’s base, which spent years demanding greater transparency and justice for victims.

Now, the president claims the Epstein files are simply a “hoax.”

As the push for transparency continues, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday released a transcript of Kellen’s lengthy interview, offering the most detailed public account yet of allegations she says were never properly investigated.

Kellen testified that she was sexually and psychologically abused by Epstein for more than a decade after being recruited into his orbit as a young woman.

She described Epstein as controlling, manipulative and predatory, alleging that he groomed her and systematically exploited her dependence on him.

Kellen also testified that she met Trump for about “five minutes” through Epstein at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort, where the late sex offender regularly attended the gym. Asked why Epstein stopped going to the club, she replied: “I believe it was because Jeffrey had hit on another member’s daughter, and Trump banned him from going back.”

In their letter to Blanche, the House Republicans noted that Levine’s name appears hundreds of times in the Epstein files, “including in direct correspondence with Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell.”

Fekkai, meanwhile, “was a close friend of Mr. Epstein who played a role in his grooming schemes by routinely providing salon services to women at Mr. Epstein’s instruction,” the letter says.

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“Ms. Kellen further testified that she was never contacted by any federal, state, local, or foreign law enforcement or government authority from the time she began working for Mr. Epstein in approximately 2000 or 2001 until July 2019–at which point she spoke to officials from the Southern District of New York relating to Mr. Epstein’s arrest," the committee wrote.

“The Committee seeks to understand why Ms. Kellen was not interviewed or otherwise contacted during that period.”

Kellen was named as one of Epstein’s “potential co-conspirators” in a so-called sweetheart deal struck with federal prosecutors in 2007, and other victims have accused her of grooming them while she worked for Epstein.

However, she insists she has been wrongly vilified throughout the years and that she is actually a survivor of Epstein’s abuse.

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Farrah TomazinPolitical Correspondent

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