AFP USA

Paramount Skydance, run by pro-Trump technology heir David Ellison, was poised to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday after Netflix said it would not raise its takeover offer, ending one of the biggest media bidding wars in a generation.The deal puts a constellation of media properties — from CNN to Nickelodeon to HBO — under the control of the family led by Oracle tycoon and White House ally Larry Ellison.Netflix said it was “declining to match” Paramount’s latest offer after the Warner Bros. board declared it a “Superior Proposal” under the terms of its existing merger agreement with Netflix.”The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Netflix said in a statement.”However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” it added.The company insisted it “would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the US.”But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” it concluded.Without a Netflix counteroffer, the Warner Bros. Discovery board is now free to terminate its agreement with the streaming giant and proceed with Paramount.Warner Bros. shareholders were previously scheduled to vote on the Netflix agreement on March 20. That vote is now essentially moot, and attention shifts to securing shareholder approval for the Paramount deal instead.- White House attention -Paramount’s sweetened offer, made Monday, was the latest installment of a bidding war that drew White House attention, with President Donald Trump insisting he had a say in the outcome.Crucially, the proposal included a commitment from Oracle founder Larry Ellison to contribute additional funding if needed to support solvency requirements from Paramount’s lending banks.Ellison is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, a Hollywood producer, and largely financed his son’s takeover of Paramount and his subsequent bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.Larry Ellison is also a longtime ally of Trump, and both Paramount and Netflix sought to curry favor with the White House.Creating headwinds for Netflix, Republican lawmakers came out against the company during the deal process, accusing it of promoting pro-trans content on its platform, something co-CEO Ted Sarandos strenuously denied.Just hours before withdrawing from the bidding war, Sarandos was filmed entering the White House on Thursday for talks with officials — though not the president, according to CNBC.The Paramount offer also includes financing from the sovereign wealth funds of three Middle Eastern countries — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi — which could attract an additional layer of regulatory scrutiny.The revised Paramount offer included a purchase price of $31.00 per share in cash, a one-dollar increase from its earlier bid, which valued the company at around $108 billion.Paramount has also offered a $7 billion regulatory termination fee should the deal fail to close on regulatory grounds, and agreed to cover the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner Bros. Discovery would owe Netflix if it walked away from their agreement.A combined Paramount-Warner Bros. would bring together streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+, and merge two of Hollywood’s largest movie studios. It would also place CNN and CBS News under one ownership structure.

AI company Anthropic said Thursday it would not give the US Defense Department unrestricted use of its technology despite being pressured to comply by the Pentagon.”These threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei said in a statement.Washington had given the artificial intelligence startup until Friday to agree to unconditional military use of its technology, even if it violates ethical standards at the company, or face being forced to comply under emergency federal powers.Amodei said Anthropic models have been deployed by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to defend the country but that it draws an ethical line regarding its use for mass surveillance of US citizens and fully-autonomous weapons.”Using these systems for mass domestic surveillance is incompatible with democratic values,” Amodei said.And leading AI systems are not yet reliable to be trusted to power deadly weapons without a human in ultimate control, he added.”We will not knowingly provide a product that puts America’s warfighters and civilians at risk.”After meeting with Anthropic early this week, the Pentagon delivered a stark ultimatum: agree to unrestricted military use of its technology by 5:01 pm (22:01 GMT) Friday or face being forced to comply under the Defense Production Act.The Cold War-era law, last used during the Covid pandemic, grants the federal government sweeping powers to compel private industry to prioritize national security needs.The Pentagon also threatened to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation usually reserved for firms from adversary countries that could severely damage the company’s ability to work with the US government and reputation.A senior Pentagon official at the time pushed back on the company’s concerns, insisting the Defense Department had always operated within the law.”Legality is the Pentagon’s responsibility as the end user,” the official said, adding that the department “has only given out lawful orders.”Officials also confirmed that an exchange regarding intercontinental ballistic missiles had taken place between Anthropic and the Pentagon, underscoring the sensitivity of the applications at the heart of the dispute.The Pentagon confirmed that Elon Musk’s Grok system had been cleared for use in a classified setting, while other contracted companies — OpenAI and Google — were described as close to similar clearances, piling competitive pressure on Anthropic to fall in line.Anthropic was contracted alongside those companies last year to supply AI models for a range of military applications under a $200 million agreement.Former OpenAI employees founded Anthropic in 2021 on the premise that AI development should prioritize safety — a philosophy that now puts it on a collision course with the Pentagon and the White House.”Anthropic understands that the Department of War, not private companies, makes military decisions,” Amodei said.”However, in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.”

A US-based man identified as one of those killed by the Cuban coast guard in a shootout had wanted to liberate the communist island, a political ally told AFP on Thursday.Cuba’s Coast Guard killed one American and wounded another when it shot at a speedboat on Wednesday, a US official said. Cuba said four people on board were killed, with another six wounded.The incident came amid deep tensions between Havana and Washington following the US overthrow of top Cuba ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.Cuba vowed to defend itself against “terrorist and mercenary” attacks after the fatal exchange of fire with the Florida-registered boat.On Thursday, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said Washington had “expressed willingness to cooperate in clarifying these regrettable events.”Havana said all those on board the US boat were Cubans living in the United States, which has received several waves of emigration from the island since the 1960s.A political ally of one of those killed, Michel Ortega Casanova, told AFP that Ortega Casanova had spoken often of wanting to free his homeland.”His goal was to go and fight against a criminal and murderous narco-tyrannical (government), to see if that would spark the people to rise up,” said Wilfredo Beyra, head of the Cuban Republican Party in Tampa, Florida.Beyra said he had warned Ortega Casanova, reported to be a 54-year-old truck driver, now was “not the time to take such action” but that the other man had vowed to take action “at any moment.”Cuban authorities said a coast guard vessel came under fire from the speedboat around one nautical mile from Cuba’s north shore, adding that assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails and military-style gear were all found onboard.The response from the United States government was muted.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was on a Caribbean visit, said that Washington was conducting its own investigation and would “respond accordingly.”He insisted that the US government had no hand in the confrontation.- Fighting for the homeland  -The interior ministry said most of those on the speedboat had records in Cuba for “criminal and violent activity,” and that another man sent from the United States to take part in the operation was arrested on Cuban soil and confessed.A US official also said some on the boat had criminal records, and added that a US citizen who was injured was receiving medical care in Cuba.Beyra told AFP that several groups in Florida, home to over one million Cubans, “openly declare that they are willing, through military training, to fight for the freedom of their homeland.”He said he also knew one of the men identified by Havana as being wounded, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez, whom he met at a political event.The Cuban government frequently reports incursions by speedboats from the United States into its territorial waters, but deadly clashes are rarer.Incursion incidents are often related to people-smuggling to the United States or drug trafficking, and have included chases, shootouts and armed attacks on border guards.- Trump pressure -The latest clash comes as Cuba reels from US economic pressure.President Donald Trump has branded Cuba a “failed nation” and an “extraordinary threat” to US national security, though he has so far dismissed mounting a regime change operation.Cuba’s communist government lost one of its key diplomatic supporters — and a vital source of fuel for the country — in January when US forces toppled Maduro, effectively taking control of Venezuelan oil exports.The country had previously relied on Venezuela for about half of its fuel needs.After an outcry from Caribbean leaders, worried that starving 9.6 million Cubans of oil would cause the economy to collapse, the United States said Wednesday it would allow limited shipments of Venezuelan oil for commercial and humanitarian use.The Treasury Department said the Venezuelan oil would need to go through private businesses and not the Cuban government or the military apparatus that controls much of the island’s economy.burs/cb/aha/bgs

Hillary Clinton used her forced appearance Thursday before a Republican-led panel probing Jeffrey Epstein to go on the offensive and demand President Donald Trump testify about his own links to the sex offender.Clinton told the congressional committee she had no information about Epstein’s crimes, never recalled encountering him, and had never visited his island or flown on his plane, accusing the panel of trying to “protect one public official” — Trump.James Comer, who chairs the committee that will also grill former president Bill Clinton on Friday, said “the purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein” — the deceased convicted sex offender.”There were a lot of questions that we asked that we weren’t satisfied with the answers that we that we got,” he added after the deposition concluded.Clinton challenged the panel saying “if this committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes…it would ask (Trump) directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.”While her deposition was behind closed doors, Clinton posted her opening statement on social media, with the transcript expected to be published upon approval by her lawyers. A video will follow within 24 hours, Comer said.The top Democrat on the committee, Robert Garcia, also called on Trump to testify “to answer the questions that are being asked across this country from survivors.””That should happen immediately,” he said later.Democratic committee member Suhas Subramanyam said that “missing FBI files” omitted from the Epstein documents disclosures contain “serious accusations around sexual abuse” against Trump.The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is probing those who were linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.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.Hillary Clinton said in her opening statement to the panel that it “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.” “Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.”- Epstein’s network -The hearing was dramatically paused for a brief time after a photo of Clinton in the deposition was posted online — an apparent breach of the closed-door arrangement.”What is not acceptable is oversight Republicans breaking their own committee rules… by releasing photos,” Subramanyam said.Democrats say the investigation is being weaponized to attack political opponents of Trump rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.Trump and Bill Clinton, both 79, feature prominently in the recently released trove of government documents related to Epstein, but said they broke any ties with the financier before his 2008 conviction in Florida as a sex offender.Mere mention in the files is not proof of having committed a crime.The Clintons called for their depositions to be public but the committee insisted on questioning them behind closed doors, a move Bill Clinton denounced as akin to a “kangaroo court.”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 deposition is happening.One elderly couple picketed with a sign demanding Comer depose Trump.Local shopper Bernie Hunt, 74, said “Congress is investigating, they have the right to do so.”Jim Levine, 34, who lives near Chappaqua, said “what a privilege” that the Clintons were deposed near their home. “Lock her up, that’s what I say.”Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work, but said he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island.Epstein’s accomplice Maxwell, 64, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.She appeared via video-link before the House Oversight Committee earlier this month but refused to answer questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.Epstein cultivated a network of powerful business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics. 

US President Donald Trump appears to be leaning toward strikes on Iran, but his administration is sending contradictory signals, alternating between threats and a willingness to talk — and muddying its justification for intervention.Opposition Democrats are meanwhile questioning the Republican president’s objectives, demanding that Congress be consulted before Trump takes the country to war.A third round of US-Iran talks concluded Thursday in Geneva, with mediator Oman speaking of “significant progress” being made, but the threat of potential conflict is causing significant concern in Washington.The US president has said he prefers the diplomatic route but is prepared to order limited strikes in the absence of a deal — a threat backed by a massive military force he has deployed in the Middle East.Speaking Wednesday in Saint Kitts and Nevis, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to temper expectations for the Geneva meeting, saying that “eventually we’ll have to have conversations about more than just a nuclear program.””I would say that the Iranian insistence on not discussing ballistic missiles is a big, big problem,” Rubio told reporters.In his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump spoke of Iran’s “sinister nuclear ambitions” and also accused Tehran of seeking to develop weapons that could hit the United States.”They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” Trump said.A Congressional Research Service report from 2025 said that Iran’s medium-range arsenal tops out at 1,850 miles (3,000 kilometers) — far short of US territory.As for whether Iran is currently enriching uranium, the Trump administration’s message remains mixed.- US Congress sidelined -“They’re not enriching right now, but they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can,” Rubio said Wednesday.US envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the Geneva talks alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, meanwhile said Saturday on Fox News that Iran had reached some 60 percent enrichment and is “probably a week away from having industrial-grade bombmaking material.”That assertion comes despite Trump’s continued claims that Washington’s forces obliterated Iran’s nuclear program with air and missile strikes last June.”It’s beginning to sound like 2003,” Carl Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister and current co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on X Thursday.That year, then-US president George W. Bush justified his invasion of Iraq by saying the country possessed weapons of mass destruction — but none were ever found.”I don’t think there are any indications that (Iran) is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, and claims that they have ballistic missiles able to hit Europe are also highly questionable,” Bildt said.In the United States, Democrats say that the federal legislature — the only body authorized by the US Constitution to declare war — is being sidelined.”Everyone is asking what the plan is with respect to Iran, and we’re all looking for answers that the administration has refused to give,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday.”The administration should come clean and tell the American people exactly what the goal is in Iran,” Schumer said.Top congressional leaders met behind closed doors Tuesday at the White House with Rubio, just before Trump’s address to Congress.Democratic lawmakers intend to force a vote next week in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on a resolution requiring Trump to publicly make his case for war to Congress.”This legislation would require the president to come to Congress to make the case for using military force against Iran,” they said in a statement.A date for the vote has not been set.

A US-based man identified by Cuba as one of those killed by its coast guard in a shootout had often spoken of wanting to liberate the communist island, a political ally told AFP on Thursday.Cuba has vowed to defend itself against “terrorist and mercenary” attacks after reporting it had killed four gunmen in a Florida-registered boat near its shores — an incident that added to deepening tensions between Havana and Washington.Michel Ortega Casanova was identified by Cuba as one of four people killed on Wednesday, with Havana saying all on board were Cubans living in the United States.”His goal was to go and fight against a criminal and murderous narco-tyrannical (government), to see if that would spark the people to rise up,” said Wilfredo Beyra, head of the Cuban Republican Party in Tampa.”I had warned him that it was not the time to take such action for the freedom of Cuba, that he had to wait,” the head of the Florida-based opposition political organization told AFP by telephone. Beyra, who had known Ortega Casanova for four or five years, said he last spoke to him about 10 days ago.Ortega Casanova, reported to be a 54-year-old truck driver, had told him several times about his intentions.”In Florida, several groups openly declare that they are willing, through military training, to fight for the freedom of their homeland. And Michel was part of one of those groups,” he said. Ortega Casanova had spoken of taking action “at any moment,” Beyra said.- Trump pressures Cuba -Beyra said he also knew one of the men identified by Havana as being wounded, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez, whom he met at a political event in Miami last year.They had stayed in touch via calls and text messages, Beyra said, with the last of those exchanged less than two weeks ago.Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced Wednesday’s incident as an attempted “infiltration,” while his government said assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails and other military-style gear were seized.President Donald Trump has branded Cuba a “failed nation” and an “extraordinary threat” to US national security, though he has so far dismissed mounting a regime change operation.He cut off key supplies of Venezuelan oil to Cuba after ousting Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro in January.Cuba, under a US trade embargo since 1962, has for years battled shortages of fuel, medicine and food, even before the Caribbean country of 9.6 million people lost its main oil supplier.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had nothing to do with Wednesday’s incident just off Cuba’s north coast and would “respond accordingly” after investigating it.

What began as a quiet meetup of Pokemon enthusiasts at a US store ended with an armed robbery in which masked men held the group at gunpoint to steal more than $100,000 in trading cards.The January heist in New York was the latest in a string of thefts targeting collectors of Pokemon, the Japanese media franchise that marks its 30th anniversary on Friday.Pokemon cards, bearing “little monsters” that attract children as well as adult superfans, have soared in value in recent years. US influencer Logan Paul this month set a new world record by banking $16.5 million with his sale of a rare Pikachu card — arguably the most iconic Pokemon character.But high prices have attracted criminals keen to cash in. Pokemon cards “are high value in a small footprint, demand is broad and consistent, and the resale ecosystem is large,” said Nick Jarman, founder and CEO of the Certified Trading Card Association.”That combination means stolen product can move quickly — sometimes across state lines — through a mix of online marketplaces, card shows, and informal buyer networks,” he told AFP.- ‘Big target’ -The New York robbery, which police are yet to solve, was not an isolated incident.Thieves in California made off this month with about $180,000 worth of Pokemon trading cards after drilling through a wall to access a store. “We got a big target on our back in this trading card, collectible world now,” owner Duy Pham told CBS News after the burglary.It was the second time in less than a year that his shop was robbed.Similar thefts have also been reported in Japan, Britain, Canada and Australia.”In some cases, incidents appear opportunistic, smash-and-grab, while others look more targeted — suggesting prior knowledge of store layouts, closing routines, or where higher-value inventory is kept,” Jarman said.He noted that many shops operate on thin margins, so boosting security measures can be a financial burden. – ‘Not fun anymore’ -Ranging from Pikachu the mouse to Jigglypuff the balloon, there are now more than 1,000 different Pokemon characters, with new “generations” released every few years.Collecting Pokemon cards has become a form of investment beyond collecting, trading or playing. One website, Collectr, offers trading card portfolio management and valuation tools for users looking to track their assets.Factors determining value include Pokemon cards’ rareness, the character and the artist, who is indicated on the card.But for some, the surge in prices has yanked the joy from what was a casual hobby. Grace Klich, a US-based Pokemon influencer, told AFP she had pulled back from collecting after becoming “fatigued.””When it gets to the point where local card stores are being broken into and people are getting a gun shoved in their face over cards, it is not all fun and cute anymore,” she said.”It was never about the value of items, or gaining respect, it was because I had a genuine love for such a wonderful franchise,” she said. 

A US-based man identified by Cuba as one of those killed by its coast guard in a shootout off the Cuban coast had spoken often of wanting to liberate the island, a political ally told AFP on Thursday.Cuba has vowed to defend itself against “terrorist and mercenary” attacks after reporting it had killed four gunmen on a Florida-registered boat — an incident that added to deepening tensions between Havana and Washington.Michel Ortega Casanova was identified by Cuba as one of four people killed on Wednesday, with Havana saying all on board were Cubans living in the United States.”His goal was to go and fight against a criminal and murderous narco-tyrannical (government), to see if that would spark the people to rise up,” said Wilfredo Beyra, head of the Cuban Republican Party in Tampa.”I had warned him that it was not the time to take such action for the freedom of Cuba, that he had to wait,” the head of the Florida-based opposition political organization told AFP by telephone. Beyra, who had known Ortega Casanova for four or five years, said he last spoke to him about 10 days ago.Ortega Casanova, reported to be a 54-year-old truck driver, had told him several times about his intentions.”In Florida, several groups openly declare that they are willing, through military training, to fight for the freedom of their homeland. And Michel was part of one of those groups,” he said. Ortega Casanova had spoken of taking action “at any moment,” Beyra said.Beyra said he also knew one of the men identified by Havana as being wounded in the incident, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez, who he met at a political event in Miami last year.They had stayed in touch via calls and text messages, Beyra said, with the last of those exchanged less than two weeks ago.

Democrats on Thursday accused US President Donald Trump and his officials of a “massive cover-up” in the handling of files tied to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, vowing an aggressive investigation and warning the administration not to destroy evidence.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the US Department of Justice (DOJ), led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, of unlawfully withholding documents that could implicate or embarrass Trump, and pledged accountability for those responsible.”Let me be blunt, there is a massive cover up going on in the Justice Department to protect Donald Trump and people associated with Jeffrey Epstein,” Schumer tole reporters.”As we expected, Trump, Bondi and their minions have played games with the release of these files, released some documents they wanted to release and continue to hide others…President Trump — what are you trying to hide?” Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors, had extensive ties to political and business elites. His case has remained politically charged, with continuing disputes over the release of investigative records and the extent of his network.The latest clash follows media reports that some FBI interview summaries related to a woman’s sexual assault allegations against Trump, dating to the 1980s when she was a minor, were not included in recently released government files. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing connected to the Epstein scandal.Schumer said his party would review unredacted records and work with legal experts, victims’ attorneys and whistleblowers to determine how the Justice Department flouted a transparency law requiring disclosure of Epstein-related materials.”We know the administration is withholding some documents unlawfully…Pam Bondi should listen carefully. The truth will come out — the whole ugly, ugly truth about what she’s doing to protect people in the files will come out,” Schumer added. “The whole world is going to know exactly what she knew, when she knew it and what she did to cover it up. Democrats are going to hold Pam Bondi and everyone involved at the DOJ accountable for this cover up.” The veteran Democrat warned federal officials against tampering with evidence and demanded that the Department of Justice and FBI preserve Epstein investigation records, warning: “We will know if you are destroying documents.”Democrats say they are concerned that extensive redactions have concealed the identities of alleged associates while exposing victims, raising questions about whether the government is shielding influential figures.The Justice Department has denied improper conduct, saying that withheld material falls within legal exemptions such as privileged communications, duplicate records or ongoing investigations. Democrats argue that the missing interview records do not fit the categories cited by the department.

Hillary Clinton used her forced appearance Thursday before a Republican-led panel probing Jeffrey Epstein to go on the offensive by demanding President Donald Trump testify about his own links to the sex offender.Clinton told the congressional committee she had no information about Epstein’s crimes, never recalled encountering him, and had never visited his island or flown on his plane, accusing the panel of trying to “protect one public official” — Trump.James Comer, who chairs the committee that will also grill former president Bill Clinton on Friday, said “the purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein” — the deceased convicted sex offender.Clinton challenged the panel saying “if this committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes…it would ask (Trump) directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.”The top Democrat on the committee, Robert Garcia, also called on Trump to testify “to answer the questions that are being asked across this country from survivors.”The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is probing those who were linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.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.Hillary Clinton said in her opening statement to the panel that it “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.” “Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.” Democrats say the investigation is being weaponized to attack political opponents of Trump rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.Trump and Bill Clinton, both 79, feature prominently in the recently released trove of government documents related to Epstein, but said they broke any ties with the financier before his 2008 conviction in Florida as a sex offender.Mere mention in the files is not proof of having committed a crime.The Clintons called for their depositions to be public but the committee insisted on questioning them behind closed doors, a move Bill Clinton denounced as akin to a “kangaroo court.”The depositions are being held in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons reside. Dozens of journalists have converged on the wealthy hamlet.The Secret Service erected metal barricades around the arts center where the deposition is happening.Ahead of the deposition, an elderly couple picketed with a sign demanding Comer depose Trump.Local shopper Bernie Hunt, 74, said “Congress is investigating, they have the right to do so.”Jim Levine, 34, who lives nearby to Chappaqua said “what a privilege” that the Clintons were deposed near their home. “Lock her up, that’s what I say.”- Sex trafficking -Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work, but said he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island.Maxwell, 64, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.She appeared via video-link before the House Oversight Committee earlier this month but refused to answer questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.Her attorney, David Markus, said Maxwell would be prepared to speak publicly if granted clemency by Trump.Epstein cultivated a network of powerful business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics. The release of the Epstein case files has had repercussions around the globe, including the arrests in Britain of former prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson, the ex-ambassador to the United States. A number of prominent Americans have had their reputations damaged by their friendships with Epstein and have resigned their positions, but so far Maxwell is the only person who has been convicted of a crime in connection with late financier.