While the government’s ploys to conceal gross wrongdoing and protect perpetrators in the Epstein scandal is excruciatingly obvious to many of us, the sufficient and unassailable facts already in the open seem not to have landed in the faces of Republican legislative stooges, MAGA cultists and the subordinate ’news’ outlets that endlessly entertain their unquestioning zombie viewers, readers and listeners with falsehoods. How I wish we had or could find something to deliver a proverbial “gut punch” like that which is occasionally required to truly focus a bully’s attention. The Epstein affairs are so sordid that my neighbor in her fifties lamented, “I’m not old enough to be hearing this stuff!” We may yet recover a silver bullet if fortune favors our cause. All this to simply say WE NEED A MIRACLE AND WE NEED IT NOW!
" How I wish we had or could find something to deliver a proverbial “gut punch” like that which is occasionally required to truly focus a bully’s attention"
We could use an investigative team like Woodward and Bernstein or Deep Throat once again.
Yes, there have to be some appropriately conflicted insiders who would love to squeal if they could get protection. The success of the W/B Deep Throat effort to bring down Nixon was stunning!
There is a clear answer to your excellent question, Carol! The only kind of person who would ignore the damage done to these girls and women would be the ones who devalue women, and truly believe they exist as objects for fulfilling their desires -- the perpetrators. They are a subset of the rich and powerful, the "old boys" network, and may even be the women who work for them, or have been indoctrinated enough to believe such treatment is okay. What I hope everyone gleans is that in addition to a sad statement on how women are viewed, and are not viewed, it is also a powerful emblem of how the rich and powerful, the "bro'" culture, look out for and protect each other, and manage to build their wealth and remain above the law no matter what crime they commit and at whose expense.
regarding your phrase "...called into serious doubt whether this Justice Department takes the Epstein Files or their contents seriously."---
My conclusion is that they DO take the Epstein Files & the contents VERY seriously & they intend to cover-up anything and everything in them that could hurt tRump or his rich enablers.
Have sat through this banshee’s entire time. She’s absolutely abhorrent. I’m not a lawyer and don’t know the ins and outs of a lawyer to be disbarred, but would think lying under oath to a Congressional hearing would dictate the movement of a person to loose their license to practice law. The amount of insults that she threw to members of the bar that asked well formulated questions is beneath the intelligence of the average citizen. The deflections, denial and attacking is reserved for anyone questioning her lack of following the law that was passed in a bipartisan manner for the releasing of the Epstein files. There’s still another 3 million not going to be released, nor any ongoing investigation on any of these sexual predators. It’s utterly ridiculous that she even in her opening statement asked the Epstein victims who have already given statements to contact the FBI or her office to do something. She has it already. She should be impeached, disbarred and if possible prosecuted for her own crimes under the guise of even be the attorney for the people.
We are all the people and wouldn’t hire her for any job, let alone as a lawyer… She was hired to be that Felon’s lawyer who’s sitting in the WH rubble..
Well as the AG she’s a public servant and as a member of the tax paying public she’s fired. She’s not the people’s attorney. And for the life of me how the Dow Jones and the entire stock market does figures in on the Department of Justice truly alludes me…
Agree. The DOW record high is why I think trump (in his vacant mind) sincerely thinks the economy is the best ever. He and his cronies are doing well and could care less about anyone else.
This country (and the world) has been warped in favor of the wealthy. That's why the stock market doesn't reflect the happenings in the ground. On the ground, the wealthy are not suffering from any of actions of this administration, the Republicans or the wealthy. The only people who are suffering are those who can't afford health care, housing and groceries.
I just watched a few minutes (because I couldn't stomach more) of Pam Barbi testifying to Congress. Jamie Raskin asked a well crafted question, essentially, if DJT can sue the IRS for XXXM$ because his tax information was leaked, how much should the Epstein survivors receive for having their identities leaked in the files, even though against the law? Barbi replied by attacking Raskin for something someone in his state did. And then Jim Jordan said that her refusal to answer was just fine because it was just like (whatever excuse he came up with and that was unclear to me). She smiled at the compliment, at which point I couldn't stand to watch any more. The rules/protocol, whatever, of hearings is clearly nonexistent. Sometimes I wonder why we should even bother....
Bondi's deportment in that hearing was as unprofessional as can be had, not to mention the lies, screaming and name calling. She is clearly over her head and is showing herself to be a nasty piece of work. Time for disbarment and impeachment.
I certainly hope you watched a bit of the Bondi hearing. Her hubris, her arrogance and her disdain for the Democratic members was abhorrent at best. If she can't be held accountable for contempt of congress her actions concerning the violation of the law as well as the complicity of Blanch should also warrant not only contempt, but the maximum penalty for their delay concerning the full disclosure of the Epstein files.
I just watched some of Bondi's "testimony," including insults to lawmakers, mostly Democrats, but also Massie R-KY, with Gym Jordan ! as chairman. After about 10 minutes, I had to quit or I would have thrown up. That woman is as sick as her boss.
They all seem to be stupid, so they assume that we are also. Thank God for incompetence, that is the main reason we are going to win this war on democracy.
Bondi is absolutely pathetic. She can't answer questions at all. She is unprofessional and combative and cites the stock market as something that needs to be lauded, while ignoring pertinent questions from lawmakers. Her absolute adherence to Trump and anything he wants done is apparent in all of her actions so far. I can't express how contemptuous this woman is and how completely unfit she is to carry out her job. She needs to be disbarred and criminally charged for all of her egregious actions that have ignored our constitution and our current laws. I won't waste anymore words on this unethical, unprincipled, dishonest, and iniquitous woman. She needs to be the first one removed once Democrats have the power to do so.
Jasmine Crockett understood the situation. Her first words were to the effect that she planned to ask no questions because Bondi clearly intended to give no answers. Crockett deserves to be quoted here precisely but I simply lack the fortitude to go through the entire recording to find her exact words. Crockett then delivered a five minute, rapid-fire, blistering denunciation of Bondi, the DOJ and Trump. It was excellent.
I wasn't surprised to see Bondi's performance, having witnessed the very same techniques from her at an earlier hearing. (It amused me to note the group of loyal Republicans who graciously "gave up their time" in order to ensure Bondi plenty of opportunity to inject her poisonous venom into the proceedings.) While she repeated some known falsehoods, including the Big Lie about the 2020 election, Bondi avoided outright lying in response to questions because she simply did not respond to them at all. Her entire display was nauseating.
Thank you for presenting Ms. Crockett's words verbatim. There is what is known as lying by omission. By not answering questions, deflecting, and causing an unprofessional scene, Bondi was also effectively lying.
Sadly she outplayed them and they sounded like angry yapping dogs. I believe Bondi is scum. We need the experienced pros - like Nancy Pelosi- to counter this smarmy maga cult.
Who sounded more like yapping dogs, those trying to get their questions across, of the one (Bondi) who was screeching and making a scene instead of professionally answering the questions posed?
If as reported Trump’s name appears more than a million times in these files, he begins to look less like an ancillary party and more like the central figure.
Is it not possible to investigate and prosecute those who LIED about their connection to Epstein?
Also, I continue to feel that spinning out the Epstein case is a way of stealing our attention away from all the awful things chump and the boys are doing elsewhere. As long as they control the narrative (and they do), they can focus on Democrats who are mentioned and exhaust interest before they get to more revealing details about their own party members.
Thank you, Ms Harling, for the question and your perspective.
As Marianne Williamson says this morning in her post ICE IS WHAT WE ARE NOT -
Above all, let's be decent [Transform with Marianne Williamson], Feb 11: "The evil of Epstein’s world was how children were treated. The evil of the ICE detainment camps is that children - and adults! - are treated just as terribly there. I hope more and more Americans will begin to register both with equal horror."
The abuse of norms, laws and constitutional standards are gross; the abusers must be held accountable under the laws. These norms, laws and constitutional standards are what any decent and mutually responsible person would choose to adhere to and support, both for one's own and for others' liberty and security.
I just caught some of the Bondi hearing on the Hill today. What a fresh mouth piece of work she is!! This position is supposed to be for the people. She owes respect and answers to questions. Really disappointing and actually disgusting.
AG Bondi is by oath and one would think common decency responsible to and, as you say, "supposed to be for the people".
She chooses to not be. To me it is a mystery how anyone chooses the path and the despicable actions she has been and is as Trump et al's AG.
Perhaps witnessing this, some members of the Robert's Court majority will have feelings of discomfort, doubt some of their previous decisions, e.g., Trump v US. Perhaps some of these, as people, will feel unmitigated and overwhelming revulsion; they will see their high-handed and frivolous decision[s] for exactly what they are constitutionally and realize what horrors of choice and action they can be pointed to, cited as support for. They may see themselves as responsible.
thanks Bob. This administration has shown me how we have depended on norms and goodwill in our leaders and have been relatively lucky so far, regardless of political points of view, about respect of the law and the will of the people. As these people have coopted the seats of power through Trump and his administration we find ourselves in such deep trouble regarding how straight out lying, malfeasance and disrespect is dealt with in this administration. In other words not at all except for going after the opposition. Pam Bondi needs to be impeached. She was, I am sure, hired to be just who she is and has been showing herself to be. We need a Democratic veto proof majority in the Fall, both houses and no more Mr. Nice guy bipartisanship above all.
you cannot have bipartisanship when one side is out to defeat the other... seriously out to do that. What that means is that there needs to be a fight to exist. Therefore no bipartisanship is possible now until both sides want it. One side did for too long and was taken advantage of. No more.
That one side that did it for too long was obviously the Democrats. For too long they held the belief that they were dealing with an opposition that wanted the same thing; just a different way to get to it. We have finally figured out that was not the case at all. We should have "got it" when the term 'alternative truth' was first uttered.
I always wondered why there were conspiracy theories about the Clintons and Dems operating pedophile rings - like through a DC pizza shop — using coded language to traffic children & women. It seems that the “kernel of truth” was actually about Epstein — and political affiliation was irrelevant. Apparently, as always in history, the underlying principle is that “wealthy men & women can get away with crimes if they have money, influence, and political power.” I don’t expect Trump and Trump’s DOJ will investigate and hold offenders accountable. But the American PEOPLE can demand accountability. SHAME IS A POWERFUL WEAPON. Even someone as shameless as Trump can be brought low by a ruined reputation, sinking poll numbers, a “brand name” that becomes worthless because it is associated with sex trafficking, and lasting damage to his “bad ego” that can never be rehabilitated.
While the government’s ploys to conceal gross wrongdoing and protect perpetrators in the Epstein scandal is excruciatingly obvious to many of us, the sufficient and unassailable facts already in the open seem not to have landed in the faces of Republican legislative stooges, MAGA cultists and the subordinate ’news’ outlets that endlessly entertain their unquestioning zombie viewers, readers and listeners with falsehoods. How I wish we had or could find something to deliver a proverbial “gut punch” like that which is occasionally required to truly focus a bully’s attention. The Epstein affairs are so sordid that my neighbor in her fifties lamented, “I’m not old enough to be hearing this stuff!” We may yet recover a silver bullet if fortune favors our cause. All this to simply say WE NEED A MIRACLE AND WE NEED IT NOW!
" How I wish we had or could find something to deliver a proverbial “gut punch” like that which is occasionally required to truly focus a bully’s attention"
We could use an investigative team like Woodward and Bernstein or Deep Throat once again.
Yes, there have to be some appropriately conflicted insiders who would love to squeal if they could get protection. The success of the W/B Deep Throat effort to bring down Nixon was stunning!
What kind of person would ignore the damage done to these girls and women?
Misogynists
Ambition beats decency in so many Republicans in Congress.
There is a clear answer to your excellent question, Carol! The only kind of person who would ignore the damage done to these girls and women would be the ones who devalue women, and truly believe they exist as objects for fulfilling their desires -- the perpetrators. They are a subset of the rich and powerful, the "old boys" network, and may even be the women who work for them, or have been indoctrinated enough to believe such treatment is okay. What I hope everyone gleans is that in addition to a sad statement on how women are viewed, and are not viewed, it is also a powerful emblem of how the rich and powerful, the "bro'" culture, look out for and protect each other, and manage to build their wealth and remain above the law no matter what crime they commit and at whose expense.
Thank you for your thoughtful post. They have no shame.
Members of a cult of personality. MAGA is nothing more nor less. We can only hope they have their Jonestown moment.
Sad
Trump and all his suck ups are these kinds of deplorables.
The ultra rich.
Republican politicians.
Those bought and paid for by the above.
A monster.
Yes. And there are so many of them.
Joyce --
regarding your phrase "...called into serious doubt whether this Justice Department takes the Epstein Files or their contents seriously."---
My conclusion is that they DO take the Epstein Files & the contents VERY seriously & they intend to cover-up anything and everything in them that could hurt tRump or his rich enablers.
Have sat through this banshee’s entire time. She’s absolutely abhorrent. I’m not a lawyer and don’t know the ins and outs of a lawyer to be disbarred, but would think lying under oath to a Congressional hearing would dictate the movement of a person to loose their license to practice law. The amount of insults that she threw to members of the bar that asked well formulated questions is beneath the intelligence of the average citizen. The deflections, denial and attacking is reserved for anyone questioning her lack of following the law that was passed in a bipartisan manner for the releasing of the Epstein files. There’s still another 3 million not going to be released, nor any ongoing investigation on any of these sexual predators. It’s utterly ridiculous that she even in her opening statement asked the Epstein victims who have already given statements to contact the FBI or her office to do something. She has it already. She should be impeached, disbarred and if possible prosecuted for her own crimes under the guise of even be the attorney for the people.
We are all the people and wouldn’t hire her for any job, let alone as a lawyer… She was hired to be that Felon’s lawyer who’s sitting in the WH rubble..
Run this query through ChatGPT or other AI:
“Draft a Memorandum of Law reviewing the Florida Bar’s review of complaints about members that are federal prosecutors.”
Part of the ChatGPT conclusion when I ran it a while ago:
“the Bar [Florida] typically refuses to take disciplinary action against constitutional officers while they are in office.. .”
See also:
https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article308320710.html
I doubt my, SC, would ever take such an appalling position, but who knows?
Well as the AG she’s a public servant and as a member of the tax paying public she’s fired. She’s not the people’s attorney. And for the life of me how the Dow Jones and the entire stock market does figures in on the Department of Justice truly alludes me…
Agree. The DOW record high is why I think trump (in his vacant mind) sincerely thinks the economy is the best ever. He and his cronies are doing well and could care less about anyone else.
This country (and the world) has been warped in favor of the wealthy. That's why the stock market doesn't reflect the happenings in the ground. On the ground, the wealthy are not suffering from any of actions of this administration, the Republicans or the wealthy. The only people who are suffering are those who can't afford health care, housing and groceries.
I just watched a few minutes (because I couldn't stomach more) of Pam Barbi testifying to Congress. Jamie Raskin asked a well crafted question, essentially, if DJT can sue the IRS for XXXM$ because his tax information was leaked, how much should the Epstein survivors receive for having their identities leaked in the files, even though against the law? Barbi replied by attacking Raskin for something someone in his state did. And then Jim Jordan said that her refusal to answer was just fine because it was just like (whatever excuse he came up with and that was unclear to me). She smiled at the compliment, at which point I couldn't stand to watch any more. The rules/protocol, whatever, of hearings is clearly nonexistent. Sometimes I wonder why we should even bother....
Bondi's deportment in that hearing was as unprofessional as can be had, not to mention the lies, screaming and name calling. She is clearly over her head and is showing herself to be a nasty piece of work. Time for disbarment and impeachment.
I certainly hope you watched a bit of the Bondi hearing. Her hubris, her arrogance and her disdain for the Democratic members was abhorrent at best. If she can't be held accountable for contempt of congress her actions concerning the violation of the law as well as the complicity of Blanch should also warrant not only contempt, but the maximum penalty for their delay concerning the full disclosure of the Epstein files.
I watched. How is it possible that we have such a horribly unprofessional and mendacious individual at the head of the Department of Justice?
I just watched some of Bondi's "testimony," including insults to lawmakers, mostly Democrats, but also Massie R-KY, with Gym Jordan ! as chairman. After about 10 minutes, I had to quit or I would have thrown up. That woman is as sick as her boss.
they REALLY need to stop saying no one is above the law
they must think we are REALLY stupid
They all seem to be stupid, so they assume that we are also. Thank God for incompetence, that is the main reason we are going to win this war on democracy.
Except for King Donald
and a lot of his friends !
Bondi is absolutely pathetic. She can't answer questions at all. She is unprofessional and combative and cites the stock market as something that needs to be lauded, while ignoring pertinent questions from lawmakers. Her absolute adherence to Trump and anything he wants done is apparent in all of her actions so far. I can't express how contemptuous this woman is and how completely unfit she is to carry out her job. She needs to be disbarred and criminally charged for all of her egregious actions that have ignored our constitution and our current laws. I won't waste anymore words on this unethical, unprincipled, dishonest, and iniquitous woman. She needs to be the first one removed once Democrats have the power to do so.
She is enough of a lawyer to remember that she must avoid lying under oath at all costs.
But did she?
Jasmine Crockett understood the situation. Her first words were to the effect that she planned to ask no questions because Bondi clearly intended to give no answers. Crockett deserves to be quoted here precisely but I simply lack the fortitude to go through the entire recording to find her exact words. Crockett then delivered a five minute, rapid-fire, blistering denunciation of Bondi, the DOJ and Trump. It was excellent.
I wasn't surprised to see Bondi's performance, having witnessed the very same techniques from her at an earlier hearing. (It amused me to note the group of loyal Republicans who graciously "gave up their time" in order to ensure Bondi plenty of opportunity to inject her poisonous venom into the proceedings.) While she repeated some known falsehoods, including the Big Lie about the 2020 election, Bondi avoided outright lying in response to questions because she simply did not respond to them at all. Her entire display was nauseating.
Thank you for presenting Ms. Crockett's words verbatim. There is what is known as lying by omission. By not answering questions, deflecting, and causing an unprofessional scene, Bondi was also effectively lying.
Sadly she outplayed them and they sounded like angry yapping dogs. I believe Bondi is scum. We need the experienced pros - like Nancy Pelosi- to counter this smarmy maga cult.
Who sounded more like yapping dogs, those trying to get their questions across, of the one (Bondi) who was screeching and making a scene instead of professionally answering the questions posed?
Thank you Joyce, as always. I hope the committee asks the hard questions you presented.
More chickens over the weekend? Hopefully.
If as reported Trump’s name appears more than a million times in these files, he begins to look less like an ancillary party and more like the central figure.
"What kind of person would ignore the damage done to these girls and women?"
The entire leadership of the "Justice" Dept.
The entire "Republican" Congressional delegation.
The entire Cabinet.
Dump.
There is only one way to break through this stone wall - the next election cycle.
Whether that will be allowed to happen is being decided right now in the Senate.
The SAVE Act has already passed in the House.
Call your Senators - both parties please - and DEMAND they vote against whatever iteration of
the SAVE Act the MAGAt Senators have cooked up this time around.
Do it now.
Adam Schiff gives a great review of the outrageous Bondi performance before the House here
https://schiffnotes.substack.com/p/bondis-latest-melt-down-at-congressional?
Is it not possible to investigate and prosecute those who LIED about their connection to Epstein?
Also, I continue to feel that spinning out the Epstein case is a way of stealing our attention away from all the awful things chump and the boys are doing elsewhere. As long as they control the narrative (and they do), they can focus on Democrats who are mentioned and exhaust interest before they get to more revealing details about their own party members.
Thank you, Ms Harling, for the question and your perspective.
As Marianne Williamson says this morning in her post ICE IS WHAT WE ARE NOT -
Above all, let's be decent [Transform with Marianne Williamson], Feb 11: "The evil of Epstein’s world was how children were treated. The evil of the ICE detainment camps is that children - and adults! - are treated just as terribly there. I hope more and more Americans will begin to register both with equal horror."
The abuse of norms, laws and constitutional standards are gross; the abusers must be held accountable under the laws. These norms, laws and constitutional standards are what any decent and mutually responsible person would choose to adhere to and support, both for one's own and for others' liberty and security.
I just caught some of the Bondi hearing on the Hill today. What a fresh mouth piece of work she is!! This position is supposed to be for the people. She owes respect and answers to questions. Really disappointing and actually disgusting.
Thanks, Mr Potter, for your candid assessment.
AG Bondi is by oath and one would think common decency responsible to and, as you say, "supposed to be for the people".
She chooses to not be. To me it is a mystery how anyone chooses the path and the despicable actions she has been and is as Trump et al's AG.
Perhaps witnessing this, some members of the Robert's Court majority will have feelings of discomfort, doubt some of their previous decisions, e.g., Trump v US. Perhaps some of these, as people, will feel unmitigated and overwhelming revulsion; they will see their high-handed and frivolous decision[s] for exactly what they are constitutionally and realize what horrors of choice and action they can be pointed to, cited as support for. They may see themselves as responsible.
Amid my total disgust, I did notice that Ms. Bondi is beginning to appear quite haggard. it made me think of "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
Eventually no matter how one presents on the outside, what is coming from the inside takes over in how we appear. She was very ugly today.
I wish this was fiction.
thanks Bob. This administration has shown me how we have depended on norms and goodwill in our leaders and have been relatively lucky so far, regardless of political points of view, about respect of the law and the will of the people. As these people have coopted the seats of power through Trump and his administration we find ourselves in such deep trouble regarding how straight out lying, malfeasance and disrespect is dealt with in this administration. In other words not at all except for going after the opposition. Pam Bondi needs to be impeached. She was, I am sure, hired to be just who she is and has been showing herself to be. We need a Democratic veto proof majority in the Fall, both houses and no more Mr. Nice guy bipartisanship above all.
Bipartisanship is about as rare as common sense in the halls of Congress today.
you cannot have bipartisanship when one side is out to defeat the other... seriously out to do that. What that means is that there needs to be a fight to exist. Therefore no bipartisanship is possible now until both sides want it. One side did for too long and was taken advantage of. No more.
That one side that did it for too long was obviously the Democrats. For too long they held the belief that they were dealing with an opposition that wanted the same thing; just a different way to get to it. We have finally figured out that was not the case at all. We should have "got it" when the term 'alternative truth' was first uttered.
Yes they triangulated and compromised for too long. We can say they are somewhat responsible for where we are.
I always wondered why there were conspiracy theories about the Clintons and Dems operating pedophile rings - like through a DC pizza shop — using coded language to traffic children & women. It seems that the “kernel of truth” was actually about Epstein — and political affiliation was irrelevant. Apparently, as always in history, the underlying principle is that “wealthy men & women can get away with crimes if they have money, influence, and political power.” I don’t expect Trump and Trump’s DOJ will investigate and hold offenders accountable. But the American PEOPLE can demand accountability. SHAME IS A POWERFUL WEAPON. Even someone as shameless as Trump can be brought low by a ruined reputation, sinking poll numbers, a “brand name” that becomes worthless because it is associated with sex trafficking, and lasting damage to his “bad ego” that can never be rehabilitated.
Your clarity in presentation of legal facts makes my head stop spinning for just a few minutes and I really appreciate it! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻