(WASHINGTON) — Less than two days after Elon Musk slammed President Donald Trump over the megabill moving through Congress, the billionaire appeared to remove several of his most scathing posts on X that targeted the president, including one that insinuated Trump was in the Epstein files.
Musk posted on Thursday, without providing evidence, a claim that the Department of Justice hasn’t released its files into its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex-trafficking minors in 2019, because Trump is in them.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” he wrote. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
That post was removed overnight and had disappeared Saturday morning, with the link to the post now showing a message that said, “Nothing to see here.”
Musk’s apparent move to remove the Epstein post came just hours after he made another critical post Friday night, in which he wrote he would apologize to Trump “as soon as there is a full dump of the Epstein files.” That post was also later deleted.
Trump dismissed Musk’s claims in an interview with NBC News released Saturday.
“That’s called ‘old news.’ That’s been old news. That has been talked about for years. Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it — it’s old news,” he said.
“It’s old news. This has been talked about for years and years. And as you know, I was not friendly with Epstein for probably 18 years before he died. I was not at all friendly with him,” Trump added.
The president expressed disappointment in the criticism and threatened to cut federal contracts to Musk’s businesses.
On Friday, he told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that he was “not particularly” interested in talking with Musk.
“You mean the man who has lost his mind?” he asked.
Later Friday evening, Trump told reporters, “I’m not thinking about Elon Musk. I just wish him well.”
Trump has previously posted, “I was never on Epstein’s Plane, or at his ‘stupid’ Island,” and he has not publicly objected to the release of the files now under review at the DOJ.
Trump’s previous association with Epstein and the appearance of his name in an address book and on flight logs of Epstein’s plane has been widely reported. However, that does not indicate Trump had any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
Vice President JD Vance said in a podcast interview released Friday that Musk’s accusation is “absolutely not” true, and he added that he hopes Musk “comes back into the fold.”
Musk also deleted a repost of an X user who called for Trump’s impeachment and for him to be replaced by Vance. “Yes,” Musk wrote in response to the post, appearing to support the idea.
It was not clear when exactly the posts were removed.
However, several of Musk’s other posts critical of the president remain on his account as of Saturday morning, including one claiming Trump would have lost the election without his help.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — A man crashed his vehicle through the gates of actress Jennifer Aniston’s Los Angeles home on Monday, police sources confirmed to ABC News.
The “Friends” star was home at the time, police sources said.
Private security at the Bel Air home detained the driver and he is currently in LAPD custody, sources close to the investigation told ABC News. He will be booked Monday night for felony vandalism due to the damage, the sources said.
The incident does not appear to have been an accident, though there is also nothing to indicate yet that the driver was targeting Aniston, the sources said. The LAPD’s Threat Management Unit, which has handled cases involving Aniston before, is going to take this case out of an abundance of caution, the sources said.
The suspect, who has a minor criminal history, was not actively being investigated for anything involving Aniston before the incident, the sources said.
Investigators are currently looking into the suspect’s background and social media, the sources said.
Aniston’s representatives declined to comment on the incident.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News this incident highlights the need for celebrities and high-profile types to take prudent measures to have high-level, on-site security.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
(LAS ANGELES) — A violent break-in occurred at the California home of Beanie Babies mogul Ty Warner that left a woman in a coma, officials said.
A Nevada man now faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, in connection with the home invasion and assault, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
The incident unfolded on May 21 at the Montecito home of Warner, according to court filings obtained by ABC News.
The suspect — 42-year-old Russell Maxwell Phay of Henderson, Nevada — was taken into custody “after violently attacking a stranger inside a private residence and barricading himself from deputies,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies responding to the residence found the victim with “severe injuries” outside and, following a search of the residence, the suspect barricaded in an upstairs bathroom, the sheriff’s office said.
“The suspect attempted to flee by climbing out of a second-story bathroom window,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release. ” He jumped to the ground where he was apprehended by deputies and a Sheriff’s K9.”
The victim — identified in the criminal complaint as L. Malek-Aslanian — was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. The attack left her “comatose due to brain injury,” the complaint stated.
The complaint alleges that Phay entered the home with the intent to burglarize it, then held Malek-Aslanian against her will and assaulted her, causing great bodily injury. The victim was “particularly vulnerable,” the complaint stated.
Investigators do not have any indication that the victim or suspect knew each other, authorities said.
The homeowner was identified in the complaint as T. Warner. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that to be Ty Warner.
Phay was charged Friday with first-degree attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, residential burglary, kidnapping, assault and resisting a peace officer, the district attorney’s office said. He is additionally charged with special allegations for personally inflicting great bodily injury resulting in a coma.
Phay has pleaded not guilty to his charges. His bail has been set at $1 million.
He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 2. Attorney information was not immediately available.
