LinkedIn co-founder and wealthy venture capitalist Reid Hoffman says he visited the private residence in the U.S. Virgins Islands where the late <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a> allegedly hid away a sex trafficking enterprise.
The admission came after documents reviewed by <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-documents-woody-allen-larry-summers-edb3e9b2?mod=us_more_pos1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> showed plans for Hoffman, who reportedly <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/reid-hoffman/?sh=ea212a118491" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boasts a net worth of $2 billion</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-21/linkedin-co-founder-defends-funding-trump-rape-accuser-s-lawsuit#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has been helping to fund</a> writer E. Jean Carroll&#8217;s civil suit accusing former President Donald Trump of rape, to visit Little Saint James with former MIT Media Lab research center director Joi Ito twice in March and then November of 2014.
Per the newspaper, Hoffman claimed he visited the island residence just once during a fundraising trip with Ito and cut off contact with Epstein in 2015.
“It gnaws at me that, by lending my association, I helped his reputation, and thus delayed justice for his survivors,” Hoffman told the news outlet. “While I relied on MIT’s endorsement, ultimately I made the mistake,” Hoffman added, “and I am sorry for my personal misjudgment.”
The Wall Street Journal, which in recent days has reported on schedules and other notes showing Epstein making arrangements to meet all sorts of powerful people including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epstein-scheduled-meetings-with-now-cia-director-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">now-CIA Director William Burns</a>, disclosed other plans with Hoffman.
These records showed Epstein traveling with Hoffman and Ito from Palm Beach, Florida, to Little St. James — a Caribbean getaway derisively nicknamed &#8220;pedophile island,&#8221; which <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardjchang/2023/05/03/exclusive-billionaire-buys-jeffrey-epsteins-private-islands-60-million/?sh=4b30daa9a965" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes reported</a> on Wednesday was sold to billionaire investor Stephen Deckoff along with Epstein&#8217;s other island Great St. James for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billionaire-buys-jeffrey-epsteins-infamous-island-plans-to-turn-it-into-a-luxury-resort-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$60 million</a> — for a weekend during the planned November 2014 visit, and then flying to Boston. The documents also discussed Epstein making plans for Hoffman to stay at his Manhattan townhouse overnight in December 2014 and scheduling Hoffman to appear at a &#8220;breakfast party&#8221; with Epstein, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and others the next morning.
In 2008, after Epstein was accused of sexually abusing female minors in Florida, he reached a deal with federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to state-level prostitution charges, registered as a sex offender, and served roughly 13 months in jail and in a work-release program. Epstein died at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls and pleading not guilty.
A month after Epstein&#8217;s death, Hoffman <a href="https://www.axios.com/2019/09/12/reid-hoffman-jeffrey-epstein-mit-donations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged to Axios</a> having interactions with Epstein and expressed regret for participating in MIT fundraising activity with Epstein present and by extension helping to &#8220;repair&#8221; Epstein&#8217;s &#8220;reputation and perpetuate injustice.&#8221; Around the same time, Ito stepped from his role at MIT after the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Yorker reported</a> documents showing efforts to conceal hefty donations to its Media Lab and Ito <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/business/media/ito-mit-epstein-apology.html?module=inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pledged to return money</a> Epstein put toward his investment funds.
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-7429">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
In response to the new reporting, Ito told the Wall Street Journal that Hoffman &#8220;attended a few fundraising events at my request, including one trip to Little St. James, after I confirmed to Reid that Mr. Epstein had been an approved donor target for MIT in accordance with university rules and regulations.&#8221;
In November of last year, the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands announced Epstein&#8217;s estate agreed to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epstein-estate-to-pay-more-than-105-million-to-u-s-virgin-islands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay more than $105 million</a> to settle a civil lawsuit claiming he sought to conceal a sex trafficking operation at his island residence.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ghislaine-maxwell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ghislaine Maxwell</a>, Epstein&#8217;s longtime companion, is serving <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced-20-years-prison-conspiring-jeffrey-epstein-sexually-abuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 20-year prison sentence</a> after being <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced-20-years-prison-conspiring-jeffrey-epstein-sexually-abuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found guilty</a> of conspiring with Epstein to traffic and sexually abuse underage girls. She has since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/28/ghislaine-maxwell-appeal-sex-trafficking-conviction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appealed the conviction</a>.

Reid Hoffman

LinkedIn Co-Founder Admits To Visiting Epstein’s Private Island

LinkedIn Co-Founder Admits To Visiting Epstein's Private Island

Billionaire

General

Jeffrey Epstein

Sex Trafficking

Virgin Islands

World

A billionaire investor has reportedly purchased Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s notorious private islands in the Caribbean and plans to turn them into a luxury resort.
Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardjchang/2023/05/03/exclusive-billionaire-buys-jeffrey-epsteins-private-islands-60-million/?sh=7644f25ea965">reported</a> that Stephen Deckoff, founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, bought the islands for $60 million — approximately half of their initial asking price.
Deckoff told the publication that he never met Epstein and had never been on the island until after Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019.
Deckoff, who made the purchase through his investment firm SD Investments LLC, said in a press release that the plan is to build &#8220;a state-of-the-art, five-star, world-class luxury 25-room resort&#8221; on the two islands — 70-acre Little St. James and 160-acre Great St. James. He said that he is in the process of hiring architects and engineers to complete the job, which he aims to have completed in 2025.
The statement said the resort would &#8220;help bolster tourism, create jobs, and spur economic development in the region, while respecting and preserving the important environment of the islands.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been proud to call the U.S. Virgin Islands home for more than a decade and am tremendously pleased to be able to bring the area a world-class destination befitting its natural grace and beauty,&#8221; Deckoff said. &#8220;There is simply no place in the world as special as the U.S. Virgin Islands and I am humbled by the opportunity to share its splendor with visitors in a manner that will provide economic benefits to the region while respecting its culture, history and natural beauty. I very much look forward to working with the U.S. Virgin Islands to make this dream a reality.&#8221;
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-21747">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>

BIZ-REAL-EPSTEIN-ISLANDS-MI

Billionaire Buys Jeffrey Epstein’s Infamous Island, Plans To Turn It Into A Luxury Resort: Report

Billionaire Buys Jeffrey Epstein's Infamous Island, Plans To Turn It Into A Luxury Resort: Report

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a> CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jamie-dimon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jamie Dimon</a> will be interviewed under oath about his company’s ties with deceased child sex predator and financier <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a>.
Lawsuits from an unnamed victim of Epstein and the government of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/virgin-islands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Virgin Islands</a> allege that JPMorgan Chase benefited financially from its relationship with the pedophile. Attorneys have uncovered communications from JPMorgan Chase employees which mentioned a “Dimon review” into the company’s relationship with Epstein, according to a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f5e7d581-6369-4b0b-92f4-b5fe9a55b2f2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Financial Times based upon unnamed sources.
Dimon, who has led the investment bank since 2005 and is widely considered one of the most powerful executives on Wall Street, will be deposed behind closed doors in May. Another source told the Financial Times that there is no record of direct communications between Dimon and Epstein, who worked with JPMorgan Chase between 1998 and 2013.
JPMorgan Chase has denied that Dimon had knowledge of a review into the firm’s associations with Epstein and rejected the notion that the company benefited from sex trafficking.
News of the upcoming deposition comes one week after United States District Judge Jed Rakoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epstein-victim-allowed-to-sue-big-banks-for-allegedly-enabling-sex-offender-we-will-leave-no-stone-unturned" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tossed</a> most of the charges against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank in the proposed class action lawsuits from the Epstein accuser and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Attorneys will be permitted, however, to contend that both companies benefited from the Epstein sex trafficking scheme by providing him with financial services.
“Epstein’s sex trafficking operation was impossible without the assistance of JPMorgan Chase, and later Deutsche Bank, and we assure the public that we will leave no stone unturned in our quest for justice for the many victims who deserved better from one of America’s largest financial institutions,” lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Epstein victim, identified only as Jane Doe, said in a statement.
The complaint from Doe asserts that Epstein, who ran a hedge fund before his death in 2019, benefited from special treatment at JPMorgan Chase because he attracted clients to the investment bank. Most of the Epstein hedge fund’s business went to Deutsche Bank after he ceased business with JPMorgan Chase in 2013.
The new complaints against the financial institutions come after managers of the Epstein estate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epstein-estate-to-pay-more-than-105-million-to-u-s-virgin-islands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed</a> to settle a lawsuit with the U.S. Virgin Islands at the end of last year over enforcement actions related to the territory’s laws against fraud, sex trafficking, and child exploitation. The estate agreed to pay $105 million and half of the proceeds earned from selling the island of Little St. James, which has acquired nicknames such as “Pedophile Island,” and $450,000 to remediate environmental damage around Great St. James, another island owned by Epstein.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
The financier purchased Little St. James in 1998 and owned the property until his death. The island has allegedly hosted former President Bill Clinton and British Prince Andrew; a pilot who formerly worked for Epstein <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-presidents-and-a-prince-epsteins-former-pilot-testifies-famous-men-flew-on-sex-offenders-plane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> that he had seen the two individuals, and former President Donald Trump and actor Kevin Spacey, on the deceased predator’s aircraft.

Key Speakers At IIF Annual Membership Meeting

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Will Be Deposed Under Oath About Bank’s Links To Jeffrey Epstein

JPMorgan Chase CEO Will Be Deposed Over Bank’s Links To Jeffrey Epstein

Banks

Crime

Jamie Dimon

JP Morgan

U.S.

An unnamed victim of deceased child sex predator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a>, as well as the government of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/virgin-islands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Virgin Islands</a>, will be allowed to file suit against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a> and Deutsche Bank.
United States District Judge Jed Rakoff tossed most of the charges against the two financial institutions in proposed class action lawsuits on Monday, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-20/jpmorgan-deutsche-bank-win-dismissal-of-several-epstein-claims?leadSource=uverify%20wall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Bloomberg, and threw out three of the four claims against JPMorgan Chase in a separate suit from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Attorneys will be permitted, however, to contend that the firms benefited from the Epstein sex trafficking scheme by providing him with financial services.
“Epstein’s sex trafficking operation was impossible without the assistance of JPMorgan Chase, and later Deutsche Bank, and we assure the public that we will leave no stone unturned in our quest for justice for the many victims who deserved better from one of America’s largest financial institutions,” lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Epstein victim, identified only as Jane Doe, said in a statement.
The lawsuit from Doe contends that Epstein, who ran a hedge fund before his suicide in 2019, was granted special treatment from JPMorgan Chase because he attracted clients to the investment bank. Epstein worked with the company between 1998 and 2013, after which most of his business went to Deutsche Bank.
An earlier <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-virgin-islands-sues-major-bank-for-allegedly-turning-blind-eye-to-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> from former U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George noted that JPMorgan Chase continued working with Epstein even after he pleaded guilty to two counts of soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl in 2008. George was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virgin-islands-prosecutor-fired-days-after-suing-major-bank-over-jeffrey-epstein-ties" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> from her post by U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan days after she submitted the lawsuit.
Jes Staley, a former senior executive at JPMorgan Chase and the former chief executive of Barclays, allegedly exchanged more than 1,200 emails with Epstein, some of which reportedly made reference to young women and vacations to Little St. James, the private estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands owned by Epstein. JPMorgan Chase filed suit against Staley earlier this month, contending that he should be held responsible for damages to the company should any claims from Doe or the U.S. Virgin Islands be upheld in court. Staley is scheduled to be deposed on Thursday.
“We are pleased that the U.S. Virgin Islands will continue to work alongside survivors to hold JPMorgan Chase accountable for enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s heinous sex-trafficking venture,” U.S. Virgin Islands Acting Attorney General Carol Thomas-Jacobs said in a statement, according to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/20/jpmorgan-chase-can-be-sued-by-virgin-islands-over-jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-claims.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from CNBC. “This case is critically important to ensuring that financial institutions do their jobs, with the detailed, real-time information available to them, as a first line of defense in identifying and reporting potential human trafficking, as the law expects.”
Epstein purchased Little St. James in 1998 and owned the property until he died in 2019. The island has allegedly hosted former President Bill Clinton and British Prince Andrew, while a pilot who formerly worked for Epstein <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-presidents-and-a-prince-epsteins-former-pilot-testifies-famous-men-flew-on-sex-offenders-plane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> that he had seen the two individuals, as well as former President Donald Trump, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and actor Kevin Spacey, on the deceased predator’s aircraft. Little St. James has acquired nicknames such as “Pedophile Island.”
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
The lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank come months after Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion of Epstein, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-epstein-sex-trafficker-ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to 20 years in prison on multiple conspiracy and sex trafficking charges for aiding Epstein in recruiting and grooming young girls. Maxwell was accused of “normalizing” the abuse by undressing in front of a victim, discussing sexual topics with other victims, and prompting them to give “sexualized massages” to Epstein, according to a federal indictment. She allegedly tried to befriend victims by taking them on shopping excursions and asking about their lives.

Patrick McMullan Archives

Epstein Victim Allowed To Sue Big Banks For Allegedly Enabling Sex Offender: ‘We Will Leave No Stone Unturned’

Epstein Victim Allowed To Sue Big Banks For Allegedly Enabling Sex Offender

Courts

Sexual Abuse

The top prosecutor in the U.S. Virgins Islands lost her job days after suing a major investment bank for allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-virgin-islands-sues-major-bank-for-allegedly-turning-blind-eye-to-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turning a “blind eye”</a> to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Governor Albert Bryan (D-VI) announced the firing of Attorney General Denise George in a brief statement.
“I relieved Denise George of her duties as attorney general this weekend,” Bryan <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/live-trials-current/jeffrey-epstein/virgin-islands-attorney-general-loses-her-job-days-after-suing-jpmorgan-chase-in-connection-with-the-jeffrey-epstein-probe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a statement</a>. “I thank her for her service to the people of the territory during the past four years as attorney general and wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
Though the governor did not provide a reason for the ouster, <a href="https://viconsortium.com/vi-government/virgin-islands-attorneygeneral-denise-george-has-been-terminated-#.Y7JaaMMZ3Xo.twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Virgin Islands Consortium cited</a> sources who said Bryan was increasingly frustrated with George, and her suing the bank, JPMorgan Case, without informing him was the final straw.
George filed the federal lawsuit in Manhattan last week, accusing JPMorgan of failing to report suspicious financial activity by its client Epstein at his U.S. Virgins Islands villa on St. James Island while benefiting financially from a sex trafficking operation.
JPMorgan declined to comment when the news broke. With George fired, it was not immediately clear what would happen to the lawsuit, which seeks <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/business/jeffrey-epstein-jpmorgan-virgin-islands.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Epstein-tied profits</a> from the bank as well as penalties and damages.
The lawsuit came less than a month after George <a href="https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settled a sex trafficking case</a> against Epstein&#8217;s estate and co-defendants for over $105 million. In late November, two anonymous women who were allegedly trafficked by Epstein filed suit against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, claiming they were &#8220;<a href="https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/live-trials-current/jeffrey-epstein/jeffrey-epstein-victims-sue-deutsche-bank-and-jpmorgan-chase-calling-them-complicit-in-epsteins-sex-trafficking-empire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complicit&#8221; in his crimes</a>.&#8221;
Epstein, a wealth financier and convicted sex offender, died in his jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving teenage girls. A New York City medical examiner determined he died by suicide.

Virgin Islands Prosecutor Fired Days After Suing Major Bank Over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

District Attorneys

Lawsuit

News

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jp-morgan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase</a> is facing a lawsuit from the government of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/virgin-islands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Virgin Islands</a>, which claims that the investment <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bank</a> turned a “blind eye” to child sex predator <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeffrey Epstein</a>.
The disgraced hedge fund manager owned Little St. James, a part of the island system considered a territory of the United States, where he may have hosted a number of high-profile lawmakers and business leaders. JPMorgan allegedly concealed transactions that raised suspicion of the sex trafficking enterprise, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/business/jeffrey-epstein-jpmorgan-virgin-islands.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a>, which was obtained by The New York Times and Bloomberg.
“JPMorgan knowingly, negligently and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which recruiters and victims were paid and was indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise,” the lawsuit said.
The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York by U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George, asserts that JPMorgan Chase should have uncovered the transactions due to compliance requirements for laws against money laundering. Representatives for the investment bank refused to comment when contacted by the outlets.
JPMorgan provided investment banking services to the financier for roughly 15 years, according to The New York Times, even after he pleaded guilty to two counts of soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl in 2008. The lawsuit contended that the bank’s failure to sever ties with Epstein enabled his behavior in subsequent years.
Epstein purchased Little St. James in 1998 and owned the property until his apparent suicide in 2019. The island has allegedly hosted former President Bill Clinton and British Prince Andrew, while a pilot who formerly worked for Epstein previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-presidents-and-a-prince-epsteins-former-pilot-testifies-famous-men-flew-on-sex-offenders-plane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> that he had seen the two individuals, as well as former President Donald Trump, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and actor Kevin Spacey, on the deceased predator’s aircraft.
Two anonymous women who were allegedly trafficked by Epstein filed suit against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank last month, claiming that the companies had benefited financially from the abuse. “Without the financial institution’s participation, Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme could not have existed,” the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/25/business/epstein-accusers-sue-jp-morgan-deutsche-bank-alleged-sex-trafficking/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> said, according to a report from CNN.
The new complaint also occurs one month after managers of the Epstein estate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epstein-estate-to-pay-more-than-105-million-to-u-s-virgin-islands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed</a> to settle a lawsuit with the U.S. Virgin Islands over law enforcement actions related to the territory’s laws against fraud, sex trafficking, and child exploitation. The estate agreed to pay $105 million and half of the proceeds earned from selling Little St. James, which acquired nicknames such as “Pedophile Island” after the financier’s death, as well as $450,000 to remediate environmental damage around Great St. James, another island owned by Epstein.
“This settlement restores the faith of the People of the Virgin Islands that its laws will be enforced, without fear or favor, against those who break them. We are sending a clear message that the Virgin Islands will not serve as a haven for human trafficking,” George said in a <a href="https://usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-islands-attorney-general-settles-sex-trafficking-case-against-estate-of-jeffrey-epstein-and-co-defendants-for-over-105-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “Through this lawsuit and settlement, the Attorney General’s Office, acting on behalf of the Government, is using its authority to enforce the laws of the Virgin Islands against criminal enterprises and to protect public safety.”
Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion of Epstein, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-epstein-sex-trafficker-ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to 20 years in prison earlier this year on multiple conspiracy and sex trafficking charges for aiding Epstein with recruiting and grooming young girls. According to a federal indictment, Maxwell was accused of “normalizing” the abuse by undressing in front of a victim, discussing sexual topics with other victims, and prompting them to give “sexualized massages” to Epstein. She allegedly tried to befriend victims by taking them on shopping excursions and asking about their lives.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

U.S. Virgin Islands Sues Major Bank For Allegedly Turning ‘Blind Eye’ To Epstein

JPMorgan Sued For Allegedly Turning 'Blind Eye' To Epstein

Economy

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> escaped winter&#8217;s chill with a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands where he and first lady Jill Biden are staying at the home of wealthy donors, according to multiple reports.
Air Force One <a href="http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/bidens-whisked-away-shortly-after-plane-lands/article_7d1adac1-bc11-53e3-8620-296337cf86ed.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landed late Tuesday evening</a> at Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, on which the First Couple are expected to celebrate New Year&#8217;s Eve as much of the country digs itself out of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/once-in-a-generation-type-event-bomb-cyclone-targets-united-states-cancelling-flights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">massive Arctic blast</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thousands-stranded-as-southwest-cancels-two-thirds-of-post-christmas-flights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flight cancellations</a> leave thousands of travelers stranded.
The Bidens have made the Caribbean island a regular vacation destination over the years, and they are residing at a familiar spot this week as the forecast calls for sun and temperatures hovering between the low 70s and 80s Fahrenheit.
&#8220;As they have done previously, the President and the First Lady are staying at the home of their friends Bill and Connie Neville,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/DevonHeinen/status/1608133960902795264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the White House told reporters</a>.
Bill Neville is a tech executive and his wife Connie is a self-employed designer, per reports from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/28/politics/biden-st-croix-vacation/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11579783/The-St-Croix-vacation-home-Biden-staying-free-owned-billionaire-Democratic-donor.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail</a>. As <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/28/biden-staying-at-st-croix-villa-of-donors-who-got-state-dinner-invite/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted by the New York Post</a>, the Bidens are not paying to stay at the villa, which has an in-ground pool and direct beach access, and the their vacation comes a few weeks after the Nevilles&#8217; names <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/12/02/biden-state-dinner-guest-list-full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared on the celebrity-packed guest list</a> for the president&#8217;s first state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron on December 1.
Federal Election Commission records show <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00703975&amp;committee_id=C00744946&amp;contributor_name=Connie+Neville&amp;contributor_name=NEVILLE%2C+WILLIAM+V.&amp;contributor_name=William+Neville" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than $10,000 in contributions</a> in 2020 by &#8220;William&#8221; Neville and Connie Neville from the Virgin Islands to Biden for President, the Biden Victory Fund, as well as contributions to the campaigns of various Republican and Democratic candidates over the years.
The arrangement for this week&#8217;s stay at the Nevilles&#8217; villa led Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton to raise concerns about the potential for corruption. The conservative watchdog alluded to the controversy surrounding the foreign business activities of first son Hunter Biden, dealings from which <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/05/joe-biden-claims-he-and-son-hunter-biden-never-talked-foreign-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the White House</a> has distanced the president.
“Hunter’s laptop and other evidence show Biden’s record of converting his public office into private gain,” Fitton said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/28/biden-staying-at-st-croix-villa-of-donors-who-got-state-dinner-invite/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the New York Post</a>. “So it is no surprise Biden is getting a free luxury vacation from a wealthy donor who ‘coincidentally’ received primo White House state dinner tickets.”
Anticipations are high among Democrats, as the president is likely going to make a decision about running for reelection in 2024 after the holidays, White House Chief of Staff <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-06/biden-likely-to-announce-re-election-after-holidays-klain-says?leadSource=uverify%20wall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron Klain said this month</a>. The Bidens are expected to return to Washington, D.C., on January 2.

Joe Biden vacation

Biden Makes Island Getaway Staying At Home Of Wealthy Donors

Donors

Jill Biden

Joe Biden

Politics

Vacation

White House

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-847-billion-defense-bill-scrapping-military-covid-vaccine-mandate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Joe Biden</a> and his wife Jill are being slammed for heading off on a New Year’s vacation to the Virgin Islands while Americans across the nation suffer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/futuristic-scenes-as-buffalo-freezes-over-at-least-16-people-dead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">freezing temperatures</a> that have reportedly left at least 70 people dead, prompting outrage on social media.
The Bidens’ destination, the Caribbean island of St. Croix, is currently seeing temperatures well above 80 degrees and hosted the couple in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The Bidens have visited the Caribbean every year since 2008, the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11574981/Bad-optics-Bidens-head-Virgin-Islands-U-S-snow-Title-42-faces-end.html">noted</a>. The president and first lady will leave on Tuesday before returning to Washington, D.C., on January 2.
“Joe and Jill are headed to sunny warm St. Croix, U.S., Virgin Islands for a little vacation, while people in Buffalo are freezing to death in their cars. He doesn’t give a s***!” one conservative critic fumed.
Other comments included, “Joe is in the warm Virgin Islands getting ready to celebrate New Year’s while Americans at home freeze to death,” “Buffalo citizens are freezing and dying while Joe Biden bikes in the Virgin Islands,” and “I remember a time when Presidents at least made an effort to feign compassion, leadership, sacrifice, etc. A time when optics mattered. Not this President. While half the country freezes, this a**hole runs off to the Virgin Islands.”
Every state in the continental United States saw temperatures drop below freezing over the weekend. In Buffalo, New York, at least 28 people died due to the freezing temperatures and massive snowfall.
Although hundreds of flights have been canceled across the nation because of the severe weather, the Bidens will be flying on Air Force One. Thousands of flights scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday were canceled by Southwest Airlines; by midday EST  Tuesday, over 2,900 U.S. flights were canceled and another 2,400 others delayed, <a style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;" href="https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/">according to FlightAware</a>.
Last Thursday, over 2,600 flights were canceled in the U.S., <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/southwest-flights-canceled-travel.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes">The New York Times</a> reported.
In the first 589 days Biden served as president, he spent 234 days — roughly 40% — on vacation, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/31/biden-hit-for-spending-40-of-his-time-on-vacation/">noted</a> in August, with 70% of his vacation time spent at his homes in Delaware.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates defended Biden’s vacations, saying, “The presidency is a nonstop job that chief executives can do from anywhere in the world. Regardless of location, he has taken fewer vacation days than the modern norm. Being somewhere other than the White House is not the same thing as being on vacation.”

US-POLITICS-BIDEN

‘He Doesn’t Give A S***’: While Americans Face Deadly Cold Snap, Biden’s Off To The Sunny Virgin Islands

Cold

Severe Weather

Menu