You are so negative. There's more than one way to get them. Revel in the PR victory.
For starters, the prosecutors of Epstein and Maxwell have seen all of them and can testify to what they've seen. People like Maureen Comey. People like ex AUSA Marie Villafaña, who had prepared a sex-trafficking indictment against Epstein that was not filed in the 2006-2008 period.
There very well may be doubles....
Virginia Guiffre was only one of about a thousand victims, who are now free to tell their stories.
Ron Wyden has repeatedly sought to have the full Epstein financial files released by the U.S. Treasury Department, but has been unable to issue a subpoena for the records through the Senate Finance Committee due to a lack of bipartisan support. He has instead introduced a bill to compel their release. No reason he can't subpoena them now.
Epstein is dead. Attorney client privilege died with him. The following had files and their Epstein files should be subpoenaed.
Roy Black: A prominent Miami defense attorney who was part of the legal team that negotiated the controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement (NPA) in Florida, which allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges by pleading guilty to lesser state offenses. Black died in July 2025.
Alan Dershowitz: A Harvard Law School professor and well-known defense attorney who joined Epstein's legal team around 2005 and played a significant role in negotiating the NPA. Dershowitz has consistently denied accusations made by one of Epstein's victims that she was forced to have sex with him.
Kenneth Starr: A former independent counsel, Starr was a partner and later counsel at Kirkland & Ellis and was involved in Epstein's legal representation during the time of the 2008 plea deal.
Jay Lefkowitz: A longtime partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Lefkowitz was one of Epstein's defense attorneys in the 2007 case and met with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta to discuss the plea deal.
Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn: These individuals served as Epstein's longtime personal attorney and accountant, respectively, and were named as executors of his will. They have been sued by victims who claim they helped build the financial infrastructure that enabled Epstein's abuses.
Martin Weinberg and Marc Allan Fernich: These attorneys represented Epstein in the 2019 federal sex trafficking case in New York.
We also now know that foreign governments are implicated. Bondio doesn't control the CIA records, the Treasury, the State Department.
I suggest that you and many others are simply assuming that the end of Trump would mean a change in policies that have been implemented. You seem to think that the SCOTUS will now change its positions on deliberately dismantling our democracy, and that the monied elite will retire from openly paying off politicians to help them get more control and money!
If Trump goes, which I doubt under any condition, you have Vance ready to be a far more dangerous despot because of his significantly higher IQ than Trump! The police State would be a wonderful alternative for a man like Vance! So, even if Trump is somehow forced out, there are no alternatives to the coup, and in fact, Vance would be a far more powerful challenge! But it remains the future! We shall see.
Trump is really just the figurehead. Our true enemies are his well-organized and very well-funded Project 2025 enablers. They’d still be with us if Trump fell off the face of the earth.
The big question is whether or not anyone else can hold together the fractious factions that make up the Republican party these days. Vance doesn’t really seem to have the touch. Wonder who else they’ve got waiting in the wings.
BIll, your reservations are based on experiences we have all suffered. I hope that the mid-term elections will be a blue tsunami, one that will be sufficient to move forward, finally, with SCOTUS reform.
Very well stated. The victims will be the final witnesses who have the names. and places. It's likely the fool Patel will try to subvert the total files, but that will lead to his downfall. The nails to the coffin are coming.
I think you missed the larger point. Whatever black magic he had over Congress -- it's over. It's done. It's not coming back. That was the first Rubicon. Others will follow. But that had to be breached first, and it was.
Personally, I never could have imagined the phone book and emails of a long-dead pedophile would be the straw to break that camel's back. Silly me, I thought it was about the daily violations of the Emoluments Clause, the usurpations of Article I --- in war, the power to levy taxes, to spend -- the abuse of the pardon, the self-enrichment, the blackmail and the like.
But I'll take a win any old day. And I love the fact that it was Schumer who got to plunge the first knife in -- long enough to go through Speaker Bobblehead's heart as well. Thanks to the brave women who would not let this issue die.
Uh - if Trump had continued to pressure Congress to not release these files, I do not think we would be where we are. For instance - I am all but certain that my congressman David Kustoff, and my two Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty would not have voted for release. Nothing in their voting records indicate otherwise. They are Trump sycophants in every sense of the word. And they have plenty of company. They got permission from Trump to vote as they did. I am certain they are counting on Trump and Bondi waving their magic wand to make the scandal go away, or tie it up in court forwever and a day.
The reason Trump suddenly pretended to be the Grand Marshal of the Anti-Epstein Parade is the same one since 2015. The man is a fraud, a phony, a fake, rapist and sexual abuser, a nasty, prevaricating moron and psychopath, whose sole concern is self-preservation. Your Senators are beginning to pay the price for knowingly backing a complete wretch. They have it coming. They knew who he was.
Something happened that gave him the green light. I suspect DOJ has cleansed the files, and/or has put the plan in motion to begin the investigation of others named in the files (Democrats of course) such that the files cannot be released. We are going to find out very soon.
Why can’t they just subpoena the records from the victims who have come forward/their attorneys? I’m sure the victims would waive attorney-client privilege. Just like they got docs from the Epstein Estate. How about subpoenaing Mark Wolff’s tapes? If they really wanted to know, there are pleading of sources out there.
I thought the same thing. The documents released will be so altered, lost or presented in shreds that the Felon will declare himself "vindicated" despite the mountains of evidence that have come out of his own foul bragging mouth and past assaults of women.
Don't get me wrong, of course I would love to see Trump retreat to Florida in shame.
But there is a zero chance of Congress impeaching Trump right now. Even after all this, a vast majority of GOP reps only voted for the release after Trump said it was ok.
Even in 2026, assuming the Dems win the House, there is barely more than a zero chance that the Senate would have the votes to uphold an impeachment.
In the meantime, immigrants are still being kidnaped every day, boatfulls of people are being murdered in the South American seas, the US's BFF Israel is still killing people in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon every day despite the so-called 'ceasefire'...and even now, Schumer is far less popular that even Trump.
Still, I would love to be wrong - maybe these women get some justice and maybe not just Trump but a whole cadre of disgusting powerful entitled men will go down in disgrace. We can hope, but not at the expense of keeping an eye on the ball.
You are way more negative than is warranted- projecting what we do not know as if there is nothing else happening to counter it. I have said this before and I do not intend to spar with you about this. I am not unrealistic.I try not to add more negativity especially when we have indications that the situation is changing a lot. I do believe that this cannot last.
I object to you doggedly feeding negativity and gathering folks to it. I have to say so. First of all it's entirely possible/probable that the R Congress is hearing from their constituents. It's entirely possible/probable that the House and the Senate could turn. It's entirely possible/probable any number of things could happen to change the situation. You have a list, which is everyone's list of all the bad impeachable things that are happening. Plus there is *more* you don't list. You end by excusing your view as keeping an "eye on the ball" but you restrict your gaze to how bad things are. You are telling us that *we know and how bad things* are but do not go further. You think, we the majority here- indeed the world- has no agency? You would love to be wrong but what are you doing other than presenting a downer. I think you would love to be right! What are you doing here?Presenting the bad news? What a good excuse for some to tune out and say "what's the use?- good luck to those who fight"
If you 'do not intend to spar with you about this' then why do you seem compelled to respond to every comment I post here?
You say 'gathering folks to it' as if these other readers are just mindless sheep, and you alone are the Arbiter of Truth. Maybe spend your time trolling someone else. I am very uninterested in your opinion.
I do not respond to every comment Jason. But it is you who do this and are incessant about it. Your "truth" must prevail and you do not want another view and say so. Trolling? Ha... pure projection.
I guess you don't know what 'trolling' means. and, not every comment, just mine. I welcome goo faith arguments, not 'incessant' name calling and weak points.
These are difficult times for everyone. And more difficult for those who feel and recognize the truth about what is happening, why it is happening, and how! We are all trying to help steer the ship, and yet, we have no real information and no political person who can stand up and lead the moment to begin to shift the narrative.
The truth is, we are stuck in the Trump narrative, and that is what gets played out daily. The hustler has 20 balls in the air at once, and none of them has any substance. They are illusions, but as such, because of the narrative and the power behind the throne, they become real. This is the ABCs of dictators throughout history, and most have been brighter than Trump!
So, you are right, most of us are "contrarians, and that is why we share this site! But, we also share the process of interacting and nudging ideas and question ourselves in the process. We are mere ants running with all the others in many directions and trying to find a niche for our protest! All here know the answers and how easy it would be to fix this thing, but the problem is, we have no power.
Let's argue our points, because at some time in the future, someone in power may actually read something and be pushed into understanding what fascism is and why, even if you are rich, eventually it will find you! On these sites, we are all family!
Thank you. I think we are caught in Trump's web: one thing after another catching our attention. It's according to his whim and what his staff has cooked up as part of the process of driving us crazy and outraged ( Miller,Vougt etc)Then the media picks it up because it is outrageous and needs to keep the outrage (it sells). So round and round we go. It's been a good 10 months and we, the people, some of us, are getting a good sense of it... and protesting and learning what works, as well as massing. We don't have a leader and I am not sure we need one at this point.. not yet. Everyone is doing their own thing as they can and that is good. Some are emerging.Also we are seeing the pattern and the MAGATRUMP deterioration ( shooting themselves in the foot).
Yes- we the people gave Trump all this power to wield along with the compliant fearful Congress and the SCOTUS "shoved in majority" But we are stuck only insofar as we turn away and do not understand that we are caught in this web and we don't step out of it. This is to say we should not to ignore it but to see the whole and resist by informing ourselves and others, protesting and voicing our opposition and then voting. That is where pain comes in.The more pain we feel the more people wake up and understand that democracy means participating. I mean the masses. This is what we should be learning from this. We the people let this happen.. and it took awhile, tuning out. This did not just happen in the last 10 months or so. Trump has been bad for years.. and bad people collected around him. We have to fight for what we believe in. PS I highly recommend Ken Burns The American Revolution... excellent. A lot is familiar. I find it beautifully done. https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution
One has to wonder what's left in the files to disclose after all of the delays. They had better coincide with the contents of the emails already released or there should be charges of evidence tampering. From Bondi claiming that she had "the list" on her desk to more recent claims of "nothing to see here" there certainly should be plenty to see.
This is a useful exchange of ideas. Jason is indeed negative, but understandably so. Many of us feel the same way. The PR victory is important, given that we are a nation that wants more to be entertained than informed. My own hope is that there are collections of the Epstein files that lie beyond the reach of the MAGAts and that investigators might gain access to them. But it's going to take a lot of work for our country to free itself from those who would force our people into a condition of servitude. Mid-term elections will be critically important, so we must be totally vigilant regarding any MAGAt effort to interfere with or obstruct them.
The notion some has said here that Trump will be impeached for this is flat out ridiculous. It’s like people forgot he last 10 years happened. Maybe he will suffer some political damage, although I am not sure what people are hoping for …
Rebecca Solnit posted this comment: “If your reaction to the stunning political developments of the last few days surrounding the Epstein materials is to say "T***p and his cronies are just going to scrub the files of anything incriminating so nothing will come of this, it doesn't matter, nothing matters with these people" then I suggest — in a genuine spirit of respect and solidarity amidst this awful crisis — that you are experiencing some combination of learned helplessness and blinders on your political imagination. The passage of this bill and whatever the Regime releases is not remotely the end of this effort and the fundamental shift in the political landscape that this episode has crystalized is an opportunity to be capitalized on across the entire resistance effort.”
Is it only me? Trump has had his DOJ pouring over these papers to protect him and his cronies for months! No way he would have given go ahead to congress otherwise
Imagine, if you will - a mobster who gets to appoint any prosecutors who could conceivable investigate him... It is a bizarro world outcome that we have our noses rubbed in daily now. tRump and his dark servants have parsed and found a way to corrupt the Constitution from beginning to end. He has a corrupt and complicit Congress. A corrupt and largely complicit SCOTUS. He is obviating large swaths of the U.S. Code... Next November, we must vote and vote in sufficient numbers to leave not a single rethuglican office holder in place - not even the dog catchers. Then comes the hard part...
One does not have to imagine here. This newsletter confirms the rot we are witnessing in broad daylight in real time. The most terrifying part? We have three years to go....
The only question is how deep the damage will be (hopefully lethal).
I am encouraged by this observation from Michelle Goldberg of the NY Times as well.
"Now, no remotely savvy person can be surprised by this White House’s epic graft. When Trump was riding high, his acolytes appeared to enjoy watching his vulgar profiteering trigger Democrats. But as Trump burns up political capital on personal enrichment, some on the right might be starting to suspect that it’s not just the libs being owned."
Al Green has repeatedly introduced resolutions to impeach Donald Trump, citing concerns over abuse of power, threats to democracy, and a disregard for the separation of powers and constitutional limits. His efforts have included accusations related to Trump's actions concerning military action in Iran, comments on racial issues, and his approach to the judiciary and federal court orders. While these resolutions have not led to impeachment, they have been the subject of votes, such as one in June 2025, which was ultimately tabled by the House. I wish Jen would gfollow upo on this stuff.
Trump is clearly out for Trump first, not America first, as he has claimed. His behavior and actions support the former. Only a very few besides himself will benefit, and they of course, will expect favors for their bestowed benefits.
Although many Republicans, like Don Bacon talk a good game, they have disappointed us so far. From Jerry Weiss: In her books On Death and Dying and On Grief and Grieving, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross describes a process of five “stages” that people experience in the process of adjusting to loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. The first four may occur in any order and often will overlap with one another. But all must inevitably end with Acceptance (or delusion).
We're still working on the last straw.
IMHO MAGA is self destructing.
E.G. Bacon (R-NE) tells Katy Tur that he will now vote YES to release the Epstein files if there is a vote on the House floor. Don Bacon says Congress can't "do the Republican-only fix" on health care subsidies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvJpF0z2Ces.
Why haven't the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights or the US watchdog group Human Rights Watch begun investigating 'him' for his violations of human rights laws and policy, both in the US and on the high seas?
The UN OHCHR can investigate persons whose country isn't a member of the commission. The ICC couldn't investigate 'him' because we don't acept its jurisdiction.
I suspect nothing more will be released, at least not while Trump is in office. The demand for investigation of Democrats followed by "Go ahead and vote" once those investigations were underway is so transparent it's comical. DoJ will now stonewall under the banner of "active investigation," and that will go on for years and years. Sickening, yes. But so is just about everything else connected to this administration.
This is entirely possible to delay or stop the release. A piece of paper, even when signed by the president, will go nowhere without a positive response from the Department of Justice. A phone call from Trump to Bondi to 'sit on it' would be enough to halt the disclosure at this point.
We are now in Phase II. Phase II will be characterized by a deep dark conspiracy among Bondi and all of Trump's personal attorneys working in the DOJ and Kash Patel and the FBI agents he can trust "to do the right thing" to enter into "The Big Cover-Up" as they proceed to review files and remove all traces of connections to Trump under DOJ euphemisms for what should never see the light of day.
A totally independent counsel should be appointed to oversee the search through this sewage. It's the only way the American people could rely on the integrity of the findings.
The trouble is still the line of succession. Even if Trump were somehow out of the picture, there is no one in the legitimate line of succession who will really clean up and clean out. Every one of them shares the same values. I could argue that things would actually get worse, because they all are capable of the self-control required for successful stonewalling. They would be busy doing exactly the same things, i.e., looting the federal treasury and hurting anyone they dislike or fear, but they will do it in the quiet darkness of complicity.
Has there been reporting on what the lawyers in the capitulating law firms have been doing as their "pro bono" work for the Administration? I'm glad the NYT has interviewed the DOJ employees. We should know what the ones in the private sector, big-money law firms are doing, too.
Thanks Jennifer: Yes the monster is running scared. The grit and courage of all those young ladies not only drove a spike into the ego of a moron,, they united a government. Mr. Trump had better sign it into law , as it will still leak out into sunlight like sewage from a cracked main. Although Mr. Schumer got the bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate we will never know how they would of voted. My big wish now is to see Mike Johnson put back in his den. The courage and those powerful talks from those women brought mist into my eyes, Virginia's brothers talk brought me to my knees.
Wasn’t Trump a long time Democrat himself? I believe he was during the Epstein era that is being investigated. Does that make him vulnerable in this joke of investigation into only democrats? Can the DOJ justifiably narrow the suspects to only Democrats? To me it stinks of a witch hunt and should be illegal to even do. It’s targeted towards Trump’s enemies. Prosecute all the pedophiles and their enablers. The Democrats should impeach Pam Bondi. It’s time to take the Watergate Investigation playbook out and go after Trumps current enablers.
The Democrats do not hold majorities in either house or senate; the vote we’ve just seen with a special case, no other issue has garnered Republican support like the files.
I realize it’s a bit of a challenge but if the Republicans want to be elected they should be careful to vote for their constituents desires not Trump or MAGA.
For so many of them, their constituents *are* MAGAs.
I would be delighted to see Bondi impeached, along with all the rest of the cabinet and the president and the vice president and the speaker of the house.
I contend the fact the Republicans stood against Trump in Congress with a veto-proof majority on the Epstein files means it will be easier for them to do it again. They have broken the ice, so to speak. Not only does the fact they defied him mean something, it is reinforced because Trump's threats of retaliating with primary endorsements are no longer credible.
In the recent special elections, Trump's endorsee's all lost, if I am not mistaken. Further, MTG told him she didn't care if she lost his primary endorsement. She doesn't need him. The local Republican Party chair endorsed her. Putting it all together, Trump's power is waning.
Because he treats his allies so badly, I suspect he's created a lot of unexpressed resentment among Republicans. When they finally turn on him, he won't have a friend anywhere.
And, it is not Trump personally that any of the Republicans worry about. It is his MAGA supporters, and if they turn on Trump so will the Congress critters. Congress voted against him because the Epstein files were such a hot button for the MAGA base; other issues, so far, not so much.
This is an appropriate and important time for congress to tell Trump that if he and Hegseth unilaterally do any war with Venezuela, without the needed consent of congress, the 25th Amendment would issue with impeachment.
From the Internet: "Congress can invoke the 25th Amendment, but only in a specific scenario: if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet declare the President unable to serve and the President objects, Congress can ultimately decide to remove the President by a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate."
This pregression of procedure is unlikely to happen, considering the loyal lackeys who would have to initiate the action.
I'm no 'legal expert' either except that in my ancient Civics & Government class, it was presented that it was the cabinet that would initiate 25th Amendment proceedings. What the intenet put out clarified the process.
I think we let Congress first deal with the actual release of the files. When they show they can do this one thing in defiance of the president, then they can remind 'him' of the War Powers Act and their resolve to claim back their power.
Trump has survived so much that would have tanked any other president or candidate, I will believe he goes down when it happens. Too likely the files have already been scrubbed. Like the Hunter Biden laptop, the right wing held on to it for two years while they milked the issue, and by the time they gave it up the files were corrupted.
In a brief interview, Mike Johnson said that he and trump were “deeply disappointed” that the Senate approved the bills so quickly; of course, he blamed Schumer—what else is new. He said the bill was deeply flawed and that the Senate should have demanded amendments. If it was so deeply flawed, why did he and nearly all his caucus vote for it themselves. What a dishonest little weasel!
This isn’t a “mutiny” so much as one big CYA moment. If anyone thinks Trump will release these files in full, I have a bridge to sell you.
It’s good this is happening. It won’t stop all the other terrible things Trump and the GOP are doing.
You are so negative. There's more than one way to get them. Revel in the PR victory.
For starters, the prosecutors of Epstein and Maxwell have seen all of them and can testify to what they've seen. People like Maureen Comey. People like ex AUSA Marie Villafaña, who had prepared a sex-trafficking indictment against Epstein that was not filed in the 2006-2008 period.
There very well may be doubles....
Virginia Guiffre was only one of about a thousand victims, who are now free to tell their stories.
Ron Wyden has repeatedly sought to have the full Epstein financial files released by the U.S. Treasury Department, but has been unable to issue a subpoena for the records through the Senate Finance Committee due to a lack of bipartisan support. He has instead introduced a bill to compel their release. No reason he can't subpoena them now.
Epstein is dead. Attorney client privilege died with him. The following had files and their Epstein files should be subpoenaed.
Roy Black: A prominent Miami defense attorney who was part of the legal team that negotiated the controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement (NPA) in Florida, which allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges by pleading guilty to lesser state offenses. Black died in July 2025.
Alan Dershowitz: A Harvard Law School professor and well-known defense attorney who joined Epstein's legal team around 2005 and played a significant role in negotiating the NPA. Dershowitz has consistently denied accusations made by one of Epstein's victims that she was forced to have sex with him.
Kenneth Starr: A former independent counsel, Starr was a partner and later counsel at Kirkland & Ellis and was involved in Epstein's legal representation during the time of the 2008 plea deal.
Jay Lefkowitz: A longtime partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Lefkowitz was one of Epstein's defense attorneys in the 2007 case and met with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta to discuss the plea deal.
Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn: These individuals served as Epstein's longtime personal attorney and accountant, respectively, and were named as executors of his will. They have been sued by victims who claim they helped build the financial infrastructure that enabled Epstein's abuses.
Martin Weinberg and Marc Allan Fernich: These attorneys represented Epstein in the 2019 federal sex trafficking case in New York.
We also now know that foreign governments are implicated. Bondio doesn't control the CIA records, the Treasury, the State Department.
I suggest that you and many others are simply assuming that the end of Trump would mean a change in policies that have been implemented. You seem to think that the SCOTUS will now change its positions on deliberately dismantling our democracy, and that the monied elite will retire from openly paying off politicians to help them get more control and money!
If Trump goes, which I doubt under any condition, you have Vance ready to be a far more dangerous despot because of his significantly higher IQ than Trump! The police State would be a wonderful alternative for a man like Vance! So, even if Trump is somehow forced out, there are no alternatives to the coup, and in fact, Vance would be a far more powerful challenge! But it remains the future! We shall see.
Trump is really just the figurehead. Our true enemies are his well-organized and very well-funded Project 2025 enablers. They’d still be with us if Trump fell off the face of the earth.
The big question is whether or not anyone else can hold together the fractious factions that make up the Republican party these days. Vance doesn’t really seem to have the touch. Wonder who else they’ve got waiting in the wings.
BIll, your reservations are based on experiences we have all suffered. I hope that the mid-term elections will be a blue tsunami, one that will be sufficient to move forward, finally, with SCOTUS reform.
Can kill several brirds with one stone. Read the materials.
Very well stated. The victims will be the final witnesses who have the names. and places. It's likely the fool Patel will try to subvert the total files, but that will lead to his downfall. The nails to the coffin are coming.
As usual in your daily posts, you confuse ' negative' with 'realistic' and 'clear minded'.
You do fluff yourself a great deal, I've noticed.
I think you missed the larger point. Whatever black magic he had over Congress -- it's over. It's done. It's not coming back. That was the first Rubicon. Others will follow. But that had to be breached first, and it was.
Personally, I never could have imagined the phone book and emails of a long-dead pedophile would be the straw to break that camel's back. Silly me, I thought it was about the daily violations of the Emoluments Clause, the usurpations of Article I --- in war, the power to levy taxes, to spend -- the abuse of the pardon, the self-enrichment, the blackmail and the like.
But I'll take a win any old day. And I love the fact that it was Schumer who got to plunge the first knife in -- long enough to go through Speaker Bobblehead's heart as well. Thanks to the brave women who would not let this issue die.
Uh - if Trump had continued to pressure Congress to not release these files, I do not think we would be where we are. For instance - I am all but certain that my congressman David Kustoff, and my two Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty would not have voted for release. Nothing in their voting records indicate otherwise. They are Trump sycophants in every sense of the word. And they have plenty of company. They got permission from Trump to vote as they did. I am certain they are counting on Trump and Bondi waving their magic wand to make the scandal go away, or tie it up in court forwever and a day.
The reason Trump suddenly pretended to be the Grand Marshal of the Anti-Epstein Parade is the same one since 2015. The man is a fraud, a phony, a fake, rapist and sexual abuser, a nasty, prevaricating moron and psychopath, whose sole concern is self-preservation. Your Senators are beginning to pay the price for knowingly backing a complete wretch. They have it coming. They knew who he was.
Something happened that gave him the green light. I suspect DOJ has cleansed the files, and/or has put the plan in motion to begin the investigation of others named in the files (Democrats of course) such that the files cannot be released. We are going to find out very soon.
So true and well put. Agree 100%.
Thanks, I am really interested in your opinion.
Why can’t they just subpoena the records from the victims who have come forward/their attorneys? I’m sure the victims would waive attorney-client privilege. Just like they got docs from the Epstein Estate. How about subpoenaing Mark Wolff’s tapes? If they really wanted to know, there are pleading of sources out there.
I thought the same thing. The documents released will be so altered, lost or presented in shreds that the Felon will declare himself "vindicated" despite the mountains of evidence that have come out of his own foul bragging mouth and past assaults of women.
There are many ways Trump, Bondi and crew can delay this, hide it, or just flat out ignore the law. That's what they have always done.
It's worth the pursuit, but not at the expense of ignoring everything else.
But hey, if this all works and Trump, Summers, Bannon, Clinton, and anyone else who deserves it falls, great.
Check out HCR’s you tube on this point yesterday for some hope.
No of course; we need to impeach. This has to reach boiling over. But the heat is turned higher. End with cheer.
Don't get me wrong, of course I would love to see Trump retreat to Florida in shame.
But there is a zero chance of Congress impeaching Trump right now. Even after all this, a vast majority of GOP reps only voted for the release after Trump said it was ok.
Even in 2026, assuming the Dems win the House, there is barely more than a zero chance that the Senate would have the votes to uphold an impeachment.
In the meantime, immigrants are still being kidnaped every day, boatfulls of people are being murdered in the South American seas, the US's BFF Israel is still killing people in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon every day despite the so-called 'ceasefire'...and even now, Schumer is far less popular that even Trump.
Still, I would love to be wrong - maybe these women get some justice and maybe not just Trump but a whole cadre of disgusting powerful entitled men will go down in disgrace. We can hope, but not at the expense of keeping an eye on the ball.
You are way more negative than is warranted- projecting what we do not know as if there is nothing else happening to counter it. I have said this before and I do not intend to spar with you about this. I am not unrealistic.I try not to add more negativity especially when we have indications that the situation is changing a lot. I do believe that this cannot last.
I object to you doggedly feeding negativity and gathering folks to it. I have to say so. First of all it's entirely possible/probable that the R Congress is hearing from their constituents. It's entirely possible/probable that the House and the Senate could turn. It's entirely possible/probable any number of things could happen to change the situation. You have a list, which is everyone's list of all the bad impeachable things that are happening. Plus there is *more* you don't list. You end by excusing your view as keeping an "eye on the ball" but you restrict your gaze to how bad things are. You are telling us that *we know and how bad things* are but do not go further. You think, we the majority here- indeed the world- has no agency? You would love to be wrong but what are you doing other than presenting a downer. I think you would love to be right! What are you doing here?Presenting the bad news? What a good excuse for some to tune out and say "what's the use?- good luck to those who fight"
This is a fight.
If you 'do not intend to spar with you about this' then why do you seem compelled to respond to every comment I post here?
You say 'gathering folks to it' as if these other readers are just mindless sheep, and you alone are the Arbiter of Truth. Maybe spend your time trolling someone else. I am very uninterested in your opinion.
I do not respond to every comment Jason. But it is you who do this and are incessant about it. Your "truth" must prevail and you do not want another view and say so. Trolling? Ha... pure projection.
I guess you don't know what 'trolling' means. and, not every comment, just mine. I welcome goo faith arguments, not 'incessant' name calling and weak points.
ok, done.
These are difficult times for everyone. And more difficult for those who feel and recognize the truth about what is happening, why it is happening, and how! We are all trying to help steer the ship, and yet, we have no real information and no political person who can stand up and lead the moment to begin to shift the narrative.
The truth is, we are stuck in the Trump narrative, and that is what gets played out daily. The hustler has 20 balls in the air at once, and none of them has any substance. They are illusions, but as such, because of the narrative and the power behind the throne, they become real. This is the ABCs of dictators throughout history, and most have been brighter than Trump!
So, you are right, most of us are "contrarians, and that is why we share this site! But, we also share the process of interacting and nudging ideas and question ourselves in the process. We are mere ants running with all the others in many directions and trying to find a niche for our protest! All here know the answers and how easy it would be to fix this thing, but the problem is, we have no power.
Let's argue our points, because at some time in the future, someone in power may actually read something and be pushed into understanding what fascism is and why, even if you are rich, eventually it will find you! On these sites, we are all family!
Thank you. I think we are caught in Trump's web: one thing after another catching our attention. It's according to his whim and what his staff has cooked up as part of the process of driving us crazy and outraged ( Miller,Vougt etc)Then the media picks it up because it is outrageous and needs to keep the outrage (it sells). So round and round we go. It's been a good 10 months and we, the people, some of us, are getting a good sense of it... and protesting and learning what works, as well as massing. We don't have a leader and I am not sure we need one at this point.. not yet. Everyone is doing their own thing as they can and that is good. Some are emerging.Also we are seeing the pattern and the MAGATRUMP deterioration ( shooting themselves in the foot).
Yes- we the people gave Trump all this power to wield along with the compliant fearful Congress and the SCOTUS "shoved in majority" But we are stuck only insofar as we turn away and do not understand that we are caught in this web and we don't step out of it. This is to say we should not to ignore it but to see the whole and resist by informing ourselves and others, protesting and voicing our opposition and then voting. That is where pain comes in.The more pain we feel the more people wake up and understand that democracy means participating. I mean the masses. This is what we should be learning from this. We the people let this happen.. and it took awhile, tuning out. This did not just happen in the last 10 months or so. Trump has been bad for years.. and bad people collected around him. We have to fight for what we believe in. PS I highly recommend Ken Burns The American Revolution... excellent. A lot is familiar. I find it beautifully done. https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution
You are spot on!
One has to wonder what's left in the files to disclose after all of the delays. They had better coincide with the contents of the emails already released or there should be charges of evidence tampering. From Bondi claiming that she had "the list" on her desk to more recent claims of "nothing to see here" there certainly should be plenty to see.
There might be, but I am not sure why anyone should assume Bondi's Justice Department will follow the law, at all.
I assume if she doesn't just stonewall, they will find some way to tie this up in court.
This is a useful exchange of ideas. Jason is indeed negative, but understandably so. Many of us feel the same way. The PR victory is important, given that we are a nation that wants more to be entertained than informed. My own hope is that there are collections of the Epstein files that lie beyond the reach of the MAGAts and that investigators might gain access to them. But it's going to take a lot of work for our country to free itself from those who would force our people into a condition of servitude. Mid-term elections will be critically important, so we must be totally vigilant regarding any MAGAt effort to interfere with or obstruct them.
This article from he New Republic sums it up pretty well.
https://newrepublic.com/article/203379/trump-escape-justice-epstein-files
The notion some has said here that Trump will be impeached for this is flat out ridiculous. It’s like people forgot he last 10 years happened. Maybe he will suffer some political damage, although I am not sure what people are hoping for …
Rebecca Solnit posted this comment: “If your reaction to the stunning political developments of the last few days surrounding the Epstein materials is to say "T***p and his cronies are just going to scrub the files of anything incriminating so nothing will come of this, it doesn't matter, nothing matters with these people" then I suggest — in a genuine spirit of respect and solidarity amidst this awful crisis — that you are experiencing some combination of learned helplessness and blinders on your political imagination. The passage of this bill and whatever the Regime releases is not remotely the end of this effort and the fundamental shift in the political landscape that this episode has crystalized is an opportunity to be capitalized on across the entire resistance effort.”
I'm a majority stockholder in that bridge. You need to buy my shares before you can sell the bridge. I'll sell them to you cheap.
Right there has to be a trick up his sleeve
Too bad the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent. I would have preferred an actual vote, to get Senate Republicans' votes on the record.
I agree, but no one wanted to take a chance that the vote would fall apart.
Is it only me? Trump has had his DOJ pouring over these papers to protect him and his cronies for months! No way he would have given go ahead to congress otherwise
“A bird in hand…..”
Imagine, if you will - a mobster who gets to appoint any prosecutors who could conceivable investigate him... It is a bizarro world outcome that we have our noses rubbed in daily now. tRump and his dark servants have parsed and found a way to corrupt the Constitution from beginning to end. He has a corrupt and complicit Congress. A corrupt and largely complicit SCOTUS. He is obviating large swaths of the U.S. Code... Next November, we must vote and vote in sufficient numbers to leave not a single rethuglican office holder in place - not even the dog catchers. Then comes the hard part...
One does not have to imagine here. This newsletter confirms the rot we are witnessing in broad daylight in real time. The most terrifying part? We have three years to go....
Ms. Rubin is right, as usual.
The only question is how deep the damage will be (hopefully lethal).
I am encouraged by this observation from Michelle Goldberg of the NY Times as well.
"Now, no remotely savvy person can be surprised by this White House’s epic graft. When Trump was riding high, his acolytes appeared to enjoy watching his vulgar profiteering trigger Democrats. But as Trump burns up political capital on personal enrichment, some on the right might be starting to suspect that it’s not just the libs being owned."
I get stuff like this every day. https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/
Al Green has repeatedly introduced resolutions to impeach Donald Trump, citing concerns over abuse of power, threats to democracy, and a disregard for the separation of powers and constitutional limits. His efforts have included accusations related to Trump's actions concerning military action in Iran, comments on racial issues, and his approach to the judiciary and federal court orders. While these resolutions have not led to impeachment, they have been the subject of votes, such as one in June 2025, which was ultimately tabled by the House. I wish Jen would gfollow upo on this stuff.
Green is a speaker at Refuse the Regime in DC https://removalcoalition.org/
https://50501dc.com/event/remove-the-regime/
Trump is clearly out for Trump first, not America first, as he has claimed. His behavior and actions support the former. Only a very few besides himself will benefit, and they of course, will expect favors for their bestowed benefits.
Some of us have been working on this since the election. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Although many Republicans, like Don Bacon talk a good game, they have disappointed us so far. From Jerry Weiss: In her books On Death and Dying and On Grief and Grieving, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross describes a process of five “stages” that people experience in the process of adjusting to loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. The first four may occur in any order and often will overlap with one another. But all must inevitably end with Acceptance (or delusion).
We're still working on the last straw.
IMHO MAGA is self destructing.
E.G. Bacon (R-NE) tells Katy Tur that he will now vote YES to release the Epstein files if there is a vote on the House floor. Don Bacon says Congress can't "do the Republican-only fix" on health care subsidies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvJpF0z2Ces.
Dozens of House republicans are saying the same.
The Senate is scheduled to hold a vote on legislation related to Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance subsidies by the middle of December. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/16/states-prep-for-daunting-task-of-implementing-a-health-subsidy-extension-if-it-comes-00653131
Grab’em by the BitCoin…if nothing else.
Why haven't the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights or the US watchdog group Human Rights Watch begun investigating 'him' for his violations of human rights laws and policy, both in the US and on the high seas?
HRW has condemned them.. my guess is some UN commission has too, but of course Trump and the GOP care even less about those groups than it does the opinion of the US public https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/18/us-maritime-strikes-amount-to-extrajudicial-killings
The US does not recognize any international court
Looks to me like the U.S. (trump) doesn’t recognize ANY court!
Actually, we don't.
We have prosecuted our own people who violated the Geneva Conventions, but Trump gave pardons to people like the Blackwater and Abu Garab violators.
The UN OHCHR can investigate persons whose country isn't a member of the commission. The ICC couldn't investigate 'him' because we don't acept its jurisdiction.
I suspect nothing more will be released, at least not while Trump is in office. The demand for investigation of Democrats followed by "Go ahead and vote" once those investigations were underway is so transparent it's comical. DoJ will now stonewall under the banner of "active investigation," and that will go on for years and years. Sickening, yes. But so is just about everything else connected to this administration.
This is entirely possible to delay or stop the release. A piece of paper, even when signed by the president, will go nowhere without a positive response from the Department of Justice. A phone call from Trump to Bondi to 'sit on it' would be enough to halt the disclosure at this point.
Outstanding commentary Jennifer!!
We are now in Phase II. Phase II will be characterized by a deep dark conspiracy among Bondi and all of Trump's personal attorneys working in the DOJ and Kash Patel and the FBI agents he can trust "to do the right thing" to enter into "The Big Cover-Up" as they proceed to review files and remove all traces of connections to Trump under DOJ euphemisms for what should never see the light of day.
A totally independent counsel should be appointed to oversee the search through this sewage. It's the only way the American people could rely on the integrity of the findings.
The trouble is still the line of succession. Even if Trump were somehow out of the picture, there is no one in the legitimate line of succession who will really clean up and clean out. Every one of them shares the same values. I could argue that things would actually get worse, because they all are capable of the self-control required for successful stonewalling. They would be busy doing exactly the same things, i.e., looting the federal treasury and hurting anyone they dislike or fear, but they will do it in the quiet darkness of complicity.
Has there been reporting on what the lawyers in the capitulating law firms have been doing as their "pro bono" work for the Administration? I'm glad the NYT has interviewed the DOJ employees. We should know what the ones in the private sector, big-money law firms are doing, too.
Thanks Jennifer: Yes the monster is running scared. The grit and courage of all those young ladies not only drove a spike into the ego of a moron,, they united a government. Mr. Trump had better sign it into law , as it will still leak out into sunlight like sewage from a cracked main. Although Mr. Schumer got the bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate we will never know how they would of voted. My big wish now is to see Mike Johnson put back in his den. The courage and those powerful talks from those women brought mist into my eyes, Virginia's brothers talk brought me to my knees.
Wasn’t Trump a long time Democrat himself? I believe he was during the Epstein era that is being investigated. Does that make him vulnerable in this joke of investigation into only democrats? Can the DOJ justifiably narrow the suspects to only Democrats? To me it stinks of a witch hunt and should be illegal to even do. It’s targeted towards Trump’s enemies. Prosecute all the pedophiles and their enablers. The Democrats should impeach Pam Bondi. It’s time to take the Watergate Investigation playbook out and go after Trumps current enablers.
“ The Democrats should impeach Pam Bondi.”
The Democrats do not hold majorities in either house or senate; the vote we’ve just seen with a special case, no other issue has garnered Republican support like the files.
I realize it’s a bit of a challenge but if the Republicans want to be elected they should be careful to vote for their constituents desires not Trump or MAGA.
For so many of them, their constituents *are* MAGAs.
I would be delighted to see Bondi impeached, along with all the rest of the cabinet and the president and the vice president and the speaker of the house.
I contend the fact the Republicans stood against Trump in Congress with a veto-proof majority on the Epstein files means it will be easier for them to do it again. They have broken the ice, so to speak. Not only does the fact they defied him mean something, it is reinforced because Trump's threats of retaliating with primary endorsements are no longer credible.
In the recent special elections, Trump's endorsee's all lost, if I am not mistaken. Further, MTG told him she didn't care if she lost his primary endorsement. She doesn't need him. The local Republican Party chair endorsed her. Putting it all together, Trump's power is waning.
Because he treats his allies so badly, I suspect he's created a lot of unexpressed resentment among Republicans. When they finally turn on him, he won't have a friend anywhere.
And, it is not Trump personally that any of the Republicans worry about. It is his MAGA supporters, and if they turn on Trump so will the Congress critters. Congress voted against him because the Epstein files were such a hot button for the MAGA base; other issues, so far, not so much.
This is an appropriate and important time for congress to tell Trump that if he and Hegseth unilaterally do any war with Venezuela, without the needed consent of congress, the 25th Amendment would issue with impeachment.
From the Internet: "Congress can invoke the 25th Amendment, but only in a specific scenario: if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet declare the President unable to serve and the President objects, Congress can ultimately decide to remove the President by a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate."
This pregression of procedure is unlikely to happen, considering the loyal lackeys who would have to initiate the action.
Thanks Steve. I’m not very “legal expert”. Then…..threaten impeachment which Trump has many transgressions that should qualify.
I'm no 'legal expert' either except that in my ancient Civics & Government class, it was presented that it was the cabinet that would initiate 25th Amendment proceedings. What the intenet put out clarified the process.
I think we let Congress first deal with the actual release of the files. When they show they can do this one thing in defiance of the president, then they can remind 'him' of the War Powers Act and their resolve to claim back their power.
Trump has survived so much that would have tanked any other president or candidate, I will believe he goes down when it happens. Too likely the files have already been scrubbed. Like the Hunter Biden laptop, the right wing held on to it for two years while they milked the issue, and by the time they gave it up the files were corrupted.
The files had better synch with the emails already released in support of each other or there would be questions.
“It’s as if he’s robbing the Treasury to pay himself.” BINGO. Thanks for an excellent analysis, Jen.
In a brief interview, Mike Johnson said that he and trump were “deeply disappointed” that the Senate approved the bills so quickly; of course, he blamed Schumer—what else is new. He said the bill was deeply flawed and that the Senate should have demanded amendments. If it was so deeply flawed, why did he and nearly all his caucus vote for it themselves. What a dishonest little weasel!