Inside the battle to save an award-winning building now crumbling from neglect
When 73-year-old pensioner Pat Findley moved into Lillington and Longmoore Gardens before the turn of the millennium, she was ecstatic.
The 1970s grade-II listed estate in Pimlico, with around 1,000 homes, was an award-winning complex boasting “beautiful” brutalist architecture and a quaint garden room at its centre. The council was attentive; the community was close-knit.
But fast forward three decades, and Ms Findley says she feels like she’s “at war”.
In the past year, roofs have collapsed, flats have flooded, residents have been hospitalised by scalding or “contaminated” water, and sewage pipes have burst, causing the smell of faeces to permeate through the estate. Ms Findley says there is a new issue “every three months”. Her own flat is infested with woodlice.
Families have been evacuated, and residents have been left sleep-deprived and struggling to work after failed attempts to fix leaks and persistent mould.
A recent freedom of information request found that the estate needed 2,086 plumbing repairs between January 2020 and March 2025. The estate has since been nicknamed “leaky Lillington”.
Leaseholders, nevertheless, have seen their maintenance bills skyrocket, as they foot half the costs of the council’s decisions.
But Westminster Council, she says, which owns and manages the estate, is stubborn in the face of the residents’ complaints. One leaseholder, who asked to be anonymous out of fear for reprisal from the council, put it plainly: “The council see us as the enemy.”
The council has dismissed these allegations, saying it has a “thorough complaints process” and that it has “apologised for any stress caused”. When asked about the specific issue of leaking, a spokesperson claimed it was due to “an ageing communal hot water and heating system that needs to be replaced”, adding that the council was “working towards finding a more efficient, reliable and sustainable option”.
Its acceptance of problems notwithstanding, the council received top marks when the housing regulator inspected the estate in February this year. This prompted at least 55 residents to co-sign a letter disputing the result to Labour deputy prime minister Angela Rayner. They accused the council and the regulator of “marking their own homework”. A response from Ms Rayner’s team, three months later, directed the residents to make a complaint to Westminster Council.
Now, Ms Findley says she wishes she had “never moved into that plot in the first place”.
“They don’t give a toss and we’re treated like dirt,” she says. “I don’t need the stress any more. It’s grinding me down.”
The only relief is the community of residents that have rallied around one another.
In the time that Ms Findley has lived in Lillington, social housing across the UK has fallen into disrepair following chronic underinvestment and neglect, as the central government has shifted the burden of responsibility for these homes onto less well-funded local councils.
When The Independent visited the estate and spoke to residents from houses across the complex, one theme was common: Lillington and Longmoore Gardens is dangerous and a disaster is waiting to happen. London Fire Brigade last year raised concerns with Westminster Council about safety issues in the estate.
Many of the residents asked to be quoted anonymously because they feared repercussions, even eviction. Ernest Stafford, from the residents’ association, urged the council to reassure residents that they are allowed to voice concerns about the estate without fear of being evicted. However, the council reportedly declined to intervene, prompting accusations from the residents that the council was “quite happy to intimidate” people into silence.
One resident, a mother of three, says she is “extremely concerned” by the council’s lackadaisical approach to dangerous situations. She has spent the past year battling a repeatedly collapsing and leaking ceiling in her flat. “My life can’t get any worse than it is, sadly,” she says. “I’ve been through it all.”
She describes an incident in January in which the block’s fuse box was left on fire after an electrician contracted by the council declined to properly investigate why the lights in several flats were flickering. The blazing box was discovered by an employee of UK Power Networks after the resident called for help.
“I dread to think what might have happened if they hadn’t come when they did,” she says, adding that her block is full of vulnerable and elderly people. “It posed a real and serious danger to the safety of everyone in the building.”
Another resident in a different house in the estate says she “suffered long periods of sleep deprivation and stress” after the roof on her building began badly leaking, partially flooding her flat. A poor repair meant the leaking persisted for years. A previous leak in her flat took months for the council to fix.
“I have never felt the council take into account the impact of their poor repairs processes on residents’ day-to-day life and wellbeing,” she says. “There was generally little sense of urgency or understanding of my issues, it was just another job number to them.”
Underscoring what the residents say is apathy from the council is the poor management of costs and a lack of accountability and transparency.
The role of head of repairs for Westminster Council has changed four times in the last two years, stifling attempts to remedy the issues with repairs. An advert placed for the role last year, listing the salary as up to £120,000, further upset the residents.
A leaseholder in another building provided documents that showed her maintenance costs had doubled to nearly £7,000 in just a few years.
Included in those costs was a bill to be paid by all the leaseholders of that block for £8,300, to cover the insurance and maintenance of the lifts. She said she had not seen a single lift operator tending to the elevators since she moved in.
“If the contractor says they have to do something, the council just says yes,” she says. “There is no traceability of any kind.”
Ed Pitt Ford, the Conservative councillor for Pimlico North, says the current Labour council, in place since 2022, is “wasting a huge amount of money” without oversight.
“It feels like the contractors are operating unsupervised, the contracts are not being managed and hence a huge amount of money is being wasted,” he says.
Spellbinding Usyk lures Dubois into vicious KO and cruel lesson
This was abrupt, this was startling, and in a way, this felt cruel. Cruel is not a word one would instinctively associate with Oleksandr Usyk, but in the cauldron that Wembley Stadium became, the Ukrainian lured in the young pretender and knocked him out, stealing tens of thousands of Dubois’s fans in the process.
After their controversial first clash in 2023, when Usyk climbed off the canvas after a low blow that Dubois’s team swore was a body shot, this rematch brought a distilled clarity. There was nothing to contest, nothing to debate, nothing to appeal.
The narrative was that Dubois, two years more mature and in the form of his boxing life, might just be meeting a 38-year-old Usyk at the right time on Saturday. Yet Usyk, 11 years Dubois’s elder, looked decades wiser in pugilistic terms, as he taught Dubois a harsh sporting lesson in London. Dubois barely even had moments to speak of, while Usyk established a key weapon early on – a counter, southpaw cross – and punished his opponent repeatedly.
In that sense, the speed with which Usyk arrived at the knockout, just five rounds into this undisputed title fight, might have been strangely merciful. But, again, the decisiveness and abruptness with which Usyk snatched Dubois’s dreams from him felt almost… mean, to put it plainly.
Perhaps the only true “moment” that Dubois had came in the first round, when he cornered Usyk, and the crowd’s collective voice rose in anticipation, realising it might just have been the corner where Dubois annihilated Anthony Joshua in September – in the same stadium.
But on that occasion, Dubois was the one backed into the corner and countering. This time, he was the hunter. And while that sounds a threatening role, Dubois was easily defanged by Usyk, whose head movement and unpredictable lateral footwork made him an untraceable prize. There was also the fact that Usyk was happy to punch his way off the ropes when needed.
And in fact, it was under a similar circumstance that Usyk conjured the end.
After Usyk snapped back Dubois’s head, the 27-year-old ignited a firefight, in a bid to gain respect and arrest momentum. But as he sought to put Usyk under pressure, the pressure was reversed, as Usyk careened a right hook onto the chin of the younger boxer, sending him staggering to the canvas.
It was, in a way, a reversal of what Dubois did to Joshua in September. Yet in a more general sense, the scene became a replication of what Usyk did to Dubois in 2023: after Dubois climbed back up, the Ukrainian dropped him a second time, with this knockdown marking the end.
Switching up from the first knockdown on Saturday, it came from a left hook, jarring Dubois’s jaw and sending sweat flying through the cooling London night. This time, a dazed Dubois did not so much stagger as lollop to the mat. He was still semi-conscious, but there might as well have been no count; he was never going to beat it.
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Then, it was Usyk’s turn to fall to the mat. He collapsed to his knees and covered his weeping eyes with his gloves. Moments later, he had the grace to check on Dubois.
Then came the humour. “Thirty-eight is a young guy, remember,” were Usyk’s first words after retaining the unified belts and regaining the IBF gold. “38 is only start.”
“I want to say thank you, Jesus Christ. I want to say thank you, my team and you – thank you so much,” he told a converted crowd, which screamed its own gratitude in response. Of course, it must not be overlooked that there seemed to be many Ukrainian fans in attendance, judging by the sonic soul emanating from the stands during the pre-fight national anthem.
But for those not of a Ukrainian background, how could you not be converted? To put it simply: this was not a normal performance. Boxers do not just do what Usyk does. As Dubois’s coach Don Charles conceded after the bout, Usyk is a “generational” talent.
This was known, yes, due to his Olympic gold medal, his undisputed cruiserweight reign, and his first undisputed heavyweight triumph – the latter earned with an epic victory over Tyson Fury last May. But this performance confirmed Usyk as perhaps the finest fighter of his generation.
There is no debating that he was the greatest cruiserweight of this generation, and now there is no debate that he is its greatest heavyweight – if there ever was, after his staggering 2024. Back-to-back wins over Joshua, back-to-back wins over Fury, and two stoppages of Dubois define just one part of Usyk’s resume.
So, treasure him while he is here to box, because although his performance suggests he could go on for years and years, and although he told you this is just the start, he is slowly approaching a deserved end to his career.
Zelensky offers Putin fresh peace talks after weeks of Moscow’s missile strikes
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has offered Vladimir Putin fresh peace talks after weeks of relentless Russian missile attacks.
Mr Zelensky offered Moscow another round of ceasefire negotiations for next week, saying he wanted to speed up ending the conflict.
On Sunday, a Kremlin spokesperson said Vladimir Putin is ready to move toward a peace settlement, but added that Moscow’s main objective is to achieve its goals.
It comes after weeks of relentless Russian strikes on Ukraine, including over 300 drones and 30 missiles launched on Friday night.
“Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire,” Mr Zelensky said in his evening address to the nation. “The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions.”
Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul over the past five months. They have agreed to swap prisoners but made no breakthroughs in ending almost three and a half years of conflict that started with Russia‘s 2022 invasion.
Mr Zelensky said Rustem Umerov, who headed the Ukrainian delegation at both talks in Istanbul, had sent the Russian side the offer to hold the meeting next week, but gave no more details.
Zelensky shares military update
In his latest post on social media, Volodymyr Zelensky shared an update from the Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
He said Ukraine continues to target “Russian sabotage groups” in the Pokrovsk region.
He wrote: “Russia’s tactics remain the same — they are attempting to seize new positions using small groups. Ukrainian units are employing all necessary means to detect and neutralize such enemy activity.”
He also thanked forces in the border areas of the Sumy region and the effectiveness of Ukraine’s long-range strikes.
Putin meets top Iranian adviser
Vladimir Putin held a meeting on Sunday with Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The meeting was reported by the Russian state-run RIA news agency, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The two discussed the escalating situation in the Middle East and issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme.
Putin reaffirmed Russia’s position in favour of stabilising the region and pursuing a political resolution to matters related to Iran’s nuclear activities, Peskov said.
Boris Johnson ‘sad at lack of British interest’ in Ukraine
Boris Johnson has said he is “quite sad” about a lack of British interest in Ukraine.
The former prime minister made the comments at an event for Ukrainian veterans at Ukraine’s embassy in London embassy this week.
He told The Telegraph: “The interest in Ukraine and the appetite is so low nowadays. I find it quite sad.
“I mean, it sort of comes and goes, but it’s number one for me. Number one.”
He added: “Britain continues to be very important in this. But if you talk to some of my Ukrainian friends, they’ll say that perhaps we’re not in quite the leadership, the thought leadership, role that we were.
“There are a lot of domestic issues that are very difficult right now, and you can see why they’re distracted, but I think this is a big opportunity for Britain.”
Yulia Svyrydenko: Ukraine’s new prime minister who masterminded key Trump deal
Meet Ukraine’s new PM who masterminded key Trump deal
Video: Aftermath of Russia’s deadly mass drone attack in Odesa
What are Patriot missiles and why does Ukraine need them?
What are Patriot missiles and why does Ukraine need them?
Recap: We see what you are doing, Lammy warns Kremlin
The UK has sanctioned a string of Russian spies and hackers, accusing them of carrying out a campaign to “destabilise Europe”.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens.
“The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won’t tolerate it. That’s why we’re taking decisive action with sanctions against Russian spies.”
Latest pictures from Ukraine
Russian forces capture another village in eastern Ukraine – reports
Russian forces have taken control of the village of Bila Hora in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
The state-run RIA news agency reported on Sunday citing the Russian defence ministry.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.
Over 100 flights redirected from Moscow airports
Russia’s defence ministry has said it had downed 142 drones overnight, including 27 over the Moscow region.
According to Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia, four major airports serving Moscow – Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovskiy – were affected, resulting in 134 flights being redirected.
By 10am Moscow time, only two airports remained closed to air traffic – Vnukovo in the Moscow region and Grabtsevo in the Kaluga region.
The Open 2025 live: Leaderboard and scores as McIlroy chases Scheffler
Rory McIlroy hopes to pull off an audacious comeback at The Open 2025 with Scottie Scheffler holding a commanding lead heading into Sunday’s fourth round at Royal Portrush.
The world No 1 is four shots clear of Haotong Li, with McIlroy able to conjure up both brilliance and the bizarre in an iconic round of golf on Saturday.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Chris Gotterup, Harris English and defending champion Xander Schauffele are among the other contenders hoping to surge up the leaderboard if Scheffler stumbles.
The fourth round begins at 8:30am with leaders Scheffler and Li completing Sunday’s tee times at 2:30pm on one of golf’s greatest days.
Follow the latest leaderboard, golf scores, analysis and reaction to the fourth round of the 123rd Open Championship below:
Eagle for English!
The chasers are moving again!
Harris English rolls in a fine eagle on the 12th and joins Li at -11.
Moments later, Gotterup leaves his eagle putt just right of the hole and has to settle for a birdie.
He’s hanging on to Scheffler coattails as well.
Birdie for Li!
The man from china is off the green on 11 but decides to take on a putt.
An undulating track across the turf sees his ball bounce and bobble but it strikes the flagstick and drops in for a birdie.
He’s up to -11 now.
Eagle chance for Gotterup
Chris Gotterup could be the one to ask some questions of Scottie Scheffler.
A brilliant shot on the 12th lands his approach within 15 feet of the pin and he’ll have the next putt for an eagle.
That would take him within four of Scheffler.
Schauffele and Clark pushing
Xander Schauffele is making a good defence of his title but it’s a little too late.
He’s up to -10 thru 12 holes and is playing well. Another few birdies and he could put some pressure on Scheffler.
Wyndham Clark is also making a late charge and has four holes left to improve on his -10 score.
1/100 for Scheffler to win
Scheffler, 1/100 with the bookmakers after that bounce back birdie, has struck a beautiful iron from 147 yards to nine feet.
It’s been a seamless transition back to the plan and executing smart plays, which has contributed to a rather quiet corner of the course with Scheffler’s rivals dropping like flies.
Good signs for the chasers?
The last Open champion to make double bogey in their final round was Padraig Harrington in 2007.
Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have made a double today.
Does that mean one of the chasers are more likely to win?
Probably not.
Double bogey for Rory
A nightmare for Rory McIlroy’s chances. He was already on the brink trying to chase down Scheffler but a double bogey on the 10th has dropped him back to -8.
That’s eight shots behind the leader and, probably, the end of McIlroy’s chase.
Scheffler is too consistent to give up that many shots.
Birdies for Scheffler and Li
A super end to the front nine for Scottie Scheffler who brushes off that double bogey with a birdie on nine.
Haotong Li has had a great week and is still in with a chance after a birdie on the same hole.
He’s now up to -11 and just five shots back. There are chances to score big on the back nine but Scheffler will need to drop more shots.
Scheffler can bounce back
A 98-yard wedge into the ninth green means that Scottie Scheffler can bounce back immediately with a birdie.
He leaves himself a putt of about six feet to extend his lead once more.
A couple of holes ahead, Xander Schauffele leaves a birdie putt short of the hole and misses the chance to get to -10.
‘One mistake has cost Scheffler’
A stunner on eight. One mistake has cost Scheffler two shots. A hushed silence after he missed the bogey putt, murmurings of hope, a lead whittled away and now just four to Gotterup and McIlroy now just five back.
A strange moment given it was really just the first bunker shot that Scheffler got badly wrong. He reset and played a mature third but the bogey putt just slipped by.
Scheffler was unflappable between green and tee box though and his drive on nine, after a rather lengthy pose, reminiscent of his warmup on the range several hours ago, stops in the first cut to present a chance to settle and bounce back immediately.
When my friends were facing cancer, a community of people stepped up
When I was younger, I used to worry incessantly about my parents getting cancer. I’d lay awake at night, ruminating on what would happen to my brother and I if they did. Who would support us? Thankfully, both are still cancer-free, well into their seventies.
However, now that I’m a parent myself, I worry about my children. Many people believe that cancer only really happens to people in old age, but that’s just not true. One beloved friend’s daughter died of leukaemia in 2020, aged just five; an unthinkable horror that changed the lives of everyone who knew her and her family.
And with Macmillan Cancer Support reporting that almost 3.5 million people in the UK are living with cancer, I also worry about my friends – parents themselves, their lives touched by cancer. One friend sat me down in our favourite local café, our toddlers playing at our feet, to break the news that she was about to undergo a double mastectomy. We cried together.
Another friend, Sarah, a single parent to two teenage girls, was diagnosed with breast cancer the day before we heard that King Charles had cancer, and a month before the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, announced her own diagnosis in March last year. It seemed like cancer was everywhere.
As a result, Sarah put 2024 on hold – she missed her daughter’s last sports day and last concert at primary school and had to find a whole new way of co-ordinating family life.
“I’m lucky in some ways that my children are teenagers, so they are able to look after themselves to some degree – but I’m also a single parent, so there are some things that they can’t do, or struggle with, due to their age,” she tells me.
“I have even set up multiple alarms on our Alexa reminding them to put their packed lunches in their bags or leave for school, just in case I can’t get up.”
Sarah says she thought she knew quite a lot about cancer prior to her diagnosis, but now admits she “really didn’t”. She explains: “There are so many terms and procedures to understand – stages and grades, not to mention over 100 different chemotherapy drugs.”
Sarah tells me about the exhausting cumulative effect of chemotherapy, which she endured every three weeks during her cancer treatment: “After the very first lot, I slept for a few hours and felt much better pretty quickly. For my last rounds, I slept for 48 hours solid and even days later, I needed to have a nap in the middle of the day and was in bed by 8pm.”
Sarah’s now finished chemotherapy and, a year on from her diagnosis, is turning 50. She’s throwing a huge party to celebrate not only the birthday milestone, but getting over this “annus horriblis” – a year she couldn’t have gotten through without the people around her.
“People can do so much for us when we are unwell – and I am forever grateful,” she says. “I’ve been really overwhelmed by the support that my friends have given me; from ferrying around my children to and from after-school events and sleepovers when things get bad, to my 75-year-old neighbour mowing the lawn. One friend popped round with a huge pot of pasta sauce and I even had a gift box from a recruiter at work.”
What talking to my strong, resilient friends about their cancer journeys has made me realise most, is the power of community: for when we receive the worst news imaginable, what we need is people around us to see us through. A community of other women: friends, school mums, neighbours.
They had people willing to make them food, pick up their children, go shopping for them or to just sit with them and listen. They had support when they decided to raise money for cancer support charities, when they did fundraisers such as hosting a Macmillan Coffee Morning.
It takes a village to raise a child – and that village will be with you every step of the way when you need them most.
Find out how you can help raise vital funds by hosting a Macmillan Coffee Morning. Sign up now on the Macmillan website
Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604). Also operating in Northern Ireland.
Water sports park shut as police search for missing woman in Cheshire
A water sports park has been shut as police search for a missing woman last seen in a petrol station in Cheshire.
Cheshire Police are appealing for help from the public to find Rachel Booth, 38, who was reported missing on Saturday 19 July after last being seen in the Barnton area of Northwich.
She was last sighted at around 3.50am on Saturday at the Sandiway Garage on the A556.
She is described as 5’ 9” tall, of a slim build, with blonde hair, and is believed to be wearing black leggings and a black top.
A spokesman for Cheshire Police told the Northwhich Guardian that officers were conducting enquiries in the village of Oakmere as part of their enquiries.
A nearby water-sports park, Wildshore Delamere, said it was closed until further notice due to “ongoing police investigations in the surrounding area”.
A notice on their website read: “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
“The incident is unrelated to Wild Shore – however we wish to help as much as possible.
“If your booking is affected by this closure, please contact our customer services team or head online to your account. We’ll be happy to arrange a refund or reschedule your session for a later date. Thank you for your understanding.”
Inspector James Wilson said: “We are currently conducting a number of enquiries to trace Rachel and we are becoming increasingly concerned for her welfare.
“Anyone who has seen Rachel since she was reported missing is asked to contact us. The same goes for anyone who has any information on her whereabouts.
“We would also like to appeal directly to Rachel to get in touch to let us know you are OK.
You can report information to Cheshire Police via 101 or through www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us quoting IML-2136439.
Trump says he’s hit ‘record’ MAGA polling since ‘Epstein hoax’ – live
President Donald Trump has claimed that his polling numbers within the Republican party and MAGA have hit “record” numbers since the “Jeffrey Epstein hoax.”
Trump shared a series of posts on Truth Social Sunday, marking six months of his second term, where he has overseen the dismantling and gutting of federal agencies, a sweeping anti-immigration agenda and enraged his MAGA faithful supporters over the handling of the Epstein files.
“My Poll Numbers within the Republican Party, and MAGA, have gone up, significantly, since the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax was exposed by the Radical Left Democrats and, just plain ‘troublemakers,’” said Trump.
“They have hit 90%, 92%, 93%, and 95%, in various polls, and are all Republican Party records,” the president said.
According to Quinnipiac University polling this week, 36 percent of Republicans disapproved of the way Trump was handling the Epstein files fallout, while 40 percent approved.
Overall, the poll found 90 percent of registered Republican voters approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president. Of those, 74 percent “strongly” approve, while 15 percent “approve somewhat.”
New polling from YouGov and The Economist had the president’s net approval rating down 14 percent from the previous week.
Report: Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was the only guest
Donald Trump once hosted a party with “young women” where the disgraced late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein “was the only other guest,” according to a report.
The president is under pressure to release all files relating to the Epstein case, which he has so far refused to do despite a 2024 election promise.
The anecdote was part of a New York Times piece on Saturday entitled “Inside the Long Friendship Between Trump and Epstein.”
Read the full story below.
Trump once hosted party for ‘young women’ where Epstein was only guest, says report
How much damage has the Epstein files fallout done to Trump?
MAGA’s anger was mounting last week over the Trump administration’s earlier announcement that it would not be releasing the Epstein files after all.
Their outrage did not die down as Trump grew more frustrated with his fanbase.
Then, a Wall Street Journal report published Thursday about a birthday card Trump allegedly wrote to the disgraced financier changed things.
The report about a bawdy message and doodle from Trump, among an album of letters celebrating Epstein’s 50th birthday, prompted the president to sue the Journal, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, and two journalists.
Steve Bannon has said that the report has united Trump and his supporters once again.
“MAGA is now united, because they can see there’s a common enemy. They see exactly what the reality is — it’s the Deep State, with their media partners, led by Murdoch, that’s out to destroy Trump,” Bannon told The Washington Post.
Trump hails first six months of second term ‘most consequential periods of any president’
Trump has hailed the first six months of his second term as “the most consequential periods of any president.”
What do the polls say on Trump’s handling of the Epstein files?
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 54 percent of Americans disapproved of how Trump was handling the issue, while just 17 percent approved.
Republicans were split, with 35 percent approving and 29 percent disapproving. Of those polled, 35 percent were unsure or did not answer the question.
Similarly, according to Quinnipiac University polling this week, 36 percent of Republicans disapproved of the way Trump was handling the Epstein files fallout, while 40 percent approved.
A CNN/SSRS poll also found that 40 percent of Republicans are dissatisfied, while 38 percent said it didn’t matter to them.
President claims he’s hit ‘record’ MAGA poll numbers since ‘Epstein hoax’
President Donald Trump has claimed that he’s hit “record” MAGA poll numbers since the “Jeffrey Epstein hoax.”
Trump did not refer to specific polling in his post.
Timeline of Trump’s relationship with Epstein
President Donald Trump had socialized with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein decades ago when he was a New York real estate mogul.
Trump’s past connection with Epstein has been under scrutiny as of late. Here is a timeline of their relationship, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal:
- 1992: Trump and Epstein are taped by NBC partying at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
- 2002: Trump tells New York magazine, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.”
- 2008: Epstein pleads guilty in Florida to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Trump has said his relationship with Epstein ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to the sex offense.
- 2019: Epstein is arrested on federal charges related to the sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls, and Trump, who is in his first term as president, said he hadn’t talked to Epstein for roughly 15 years. He said in the Oval Office at the time, “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
Watch: Every time Donald Trump has cried ‘hoax’
ANALYSIS: Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
John Bowden writes:
Laura Loomer re-entered the Trump White House’s periphery this week at precisely the worst possible moment for a president trying to stop a firestorm from spreading.
As Donald Trump continues battling the blaze of controversy surrounding his administration’s reversal on the issue of releasing a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, the so-called “Epstein Client List,” Loomer’s own contribution to the mess may end up letting what little air is left out of the president’s tires.
Read on…
Laura Loomer’s witch hunt just made Trump’s Epstein problems even worse
Trump adminsitration reviewed SpaceX’s government contracts Musk feud – reports
The Trump administration reportedly reviewed SpaceX’s government contracts after Elon Musk’s feud with the president.
According to the Wall Street Journal, US officials determined that most of the contracts were critival to defence department and Nasa missions.
The two former-friends had a public fallout in June.
Why is Trump suing Rupert Murdoch?
President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit in a Florida federal court against Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, Dow Jones, and two Wall Street Journal journalists.
The lawsuit alleges that The Wall Street Journal published a fabricated 50th birthday letter, purportedly from Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which included a sexually suggestive drawing.
Trump denies authoring or signing any such letter or drawing, claiming the story was “concocted” to “malign” him and that no authentic document exists.
Read our full story here.