Interior department says National Park Service removed statue of pair holding hands because of incorrect permit
An impromptu statue of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands was unceremoniously removed from the National Mall in Washington just a day after a group of anonymous artists erected it there.
The piece showed the president and the late convicted sex offender, who were friends in the past, looking joyful together, with wide grins and feet kicked back.
A plaque stated that it was built in honor of friendship month. We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J Trump and his closest friend Jeffrey Epstein , the accompanying text stated.
The Secret Handshake, the group that created the art, had obtained a permit that allowed it to keep the statue displayed on the in the capital until 8pm on Sunday.
But the National Park Service, the federal agency that oversees the area, removed the statue because it was not compliant with the permit issued, Elizabeth Peace, a spokesperson for Department of the Interior, said to CNN.
Trump, who usually is adept at shaking free of any scandal, has not been able to temper the widespread curiosity and also anger from some on the right over the administration not disclosing the so-called Epstein files C all the material the authorities have on the business dealings, crimes and investigations into same regarding the New York financier, who killed himself in jail while awaiting federal trial in 2019 on sex-trafficking offenses. His accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell , is serving a long prison sentence.
A Secret Handshake artist who identified himself as Patrick but would not provide his full name to the Guardian said in a telephone interview that the group built the Trump-Epstein statue to honor the one and only true friend Donald Trump seems to have in his life.
In 2002, Trump told New York magazine that Epstein was a terrific guy and a lot of fun to be with but has repeatedly said in recent times that the two fell out long ago. The White House has called Epstein a creep.
Epstein had also told the journalist Michael Wolff that he was Trumps closest friend for 10 years.
Trump recently said he was not a fan of Epstein and that he stopped talking to him because Epstein stole people that worked for me.
Patrick said he was confused by the authorities decision to remove the statue.
The Trump administration has mostly been all about rebuilding statues that have already been torn down, of Confederate generals and other racist tropes and figures from the past he said. I would argue that Trump is a racist figure from the past, so why would you tear that down?
In a statement to the New York Times, the White House said: Democrats, the media and the organization thats wasting their money on this statue knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents.
美国内政部表示,国家公园管理局因许可证问题移除了牵手情侣雕像
一座唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)与杰弗里·爱泼斯坦(Jeffrey Epstein)牵手的临时雕像,在被一群匿名艺术家竖立于华盛顿国家广场仅一天后,便遭草率移除。
这篇报道展示了总统与已故的性犯罪者(两人曾是旧友)相谈甚欢的画面,他们开怀大笑,双脚后翘,神情愉悦。
牌匾上注明这是为纪念友谊月而建。随附文字写道:"我们庆祝唐纳德·J·特朗普总统与其'挚友'杰弗里·爱泼斯坦之间历久弥坚的情谊。"
创作该艺术品的团体“秘密握手”已获得许可,允许其将雕像在首都展出至周日晚上8点。
美国内政部发言人伊丽莎白·皮斯向美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)表示,负责监管该地区的联邦机构国家公园管理局移除了这座雕像,原因是其“不符合颁发的许可证要求”。
向来擅长摆脱丑闻的特朗普,此次却未能平息公众的广泛好奇以及右翼人士对政府未公开所谓"爱泼斯坦文件"的愤怒。这些文件包含当局掌握的关于纽约金融家爱泼斯坦商业交易、犯罪及调查的全部资料。爱泼斯坦2019年在联邦法庭候审期间于狱中自杀,当时他正面临性交易罪指控。其同伙吉丝莲·马克斯韦尔目前正在服长期监禁刑期。
一位自称帕特里克(Patrick)但不愿向《卫报》透露全名的Secret Handshake艺术家在电话采访中表示,该团体建造特朗普-爱泼斯坦雕像的目的是“致敬唐纳德·特朗普生命中似乎唯一真正的朋友”。
2002年,特朗普曾向《纽约》杂志表示,爱泼斯坦是个"很棒的人","和他相处很有趣",但近年来多次强调两人早已断绝往来。白宫则将爱泼斯坦称为"变态"。
爱泼斯坦还曾告诉记者迈克尔·沃尔夫,他是特朗普“十年来的挚友”。
特朗普近日表示,他“不喜欢”爱泼斯坦,并因爱泼斯坦“挖走了为我工作的人”而与其断绝来往。
帕特里克表示,他对当局移除雕像的决定感到困惑。
他表示:“特朗普政府的主要工作,就是重建那些已被推倒的雕像——包括南方邦联将领及其他象征种族主义的过往人物形象。”并反诘道:“要我说,特朗普本人就是个过时的种族主义符号,你们怎么不把他‘推翻’呢?”
白宫在向《纽约时报》发表的声明中表示:民主党人、媒体以及那些浪费资金建造雕像的组织多年来对爱泼斯坦(Epstein)及其受害者的遭遇心知肚明,却未采取任何救助行动。而特朗普总统当时就呼吁提高透明度,如今更通过公布数千页文件兑现了这一承诺。
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