We have never in American history seen White House corruption on the scale that Donald Trump, his administration, and his cronies practice. To take one example, Trump is raking in staggering amounts in his crypto businesses while regulating that industry, including from foreign nations posing conflicts of interest. But no matter how awful that and many other Trump scandals are, the worst corruption of the Trump administration is the president’s connection to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and the effort to cover it up. That includes the administration’s shocking dealings with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and Trump’s demand that his Department of Justice investigate Democrats mentioned in Epstein’s emails—but not Trump.
We must fight this—and you Contrarians are playing a central part in making sure we do!
Trump’s relationship with Epstein
But before we get to where we are going, let’s review how we got here. Epstein was a wealthy financier who trafficked and raped underage girls. He was a neighbor of Trump’s in Palm Beach, Fla., and the two were friends from the late 1980s through the early to mid-2000s. In this video, Trump is whispering with Epstein as they ogled women dancing at Mar-a-Lago. Trump told New York Magazine in 2002 that Epstein was a “terrific guy” and that “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life.” In September, the Wall Street Journal reported that a book given to Epstein for his 50th birthday contained a note allegedly from Trump that depicted the figure of a nude woman containing statements like “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey” and Trump’s signature scrawled in a suggestive location. Trump has denied that the note was from him.
Part of the reason that the emails that dropped this week came as a bombshell is that, if true, they provide more evidence that Trump was aware of Epstein’s misconduct well before he was busted. (Epstein got a lenient plea deal in 2008: He pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges after having been investigated for sexual exploitation of dozens of minor girls.)
On Wednesday, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) released several emails from over 23,000 documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, including some that directly reference Trump. In a 2011 email to Maxwell, for instance, Epstein wrote about Trump as the “dog that hasn’t barked,” stating that a sex trafficking victim “spent hours at my house with him” but Trump “has never once been mentioned” in any of the investigations into Epstein’s child abuse. Maxwell responded that she had been “thinking about that.”
Then, in a 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, Epstein explicitly wrote of Trump: “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop”—apparently indicating that Trump had asked Maxwell to stop recruiting women from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s worst corruption scandal
The emails are terrible in their own right because, if true, they provide evidence that Trump was aware of a shocking pattern of conduct and that he and the White House were lying when they “said the President knew nothing of the convicted sex offender’s conduct.”
But the emails also had an explosive impact because they highlight a theme of the Trump administration: corruption. Trump’s other wrongful behavior, such as the wanton destruction of the East Wing, captivated the nation. The Trump-Epstein case, however, is not about the mere demolition of buildings, memory, history, and culture—it’s about the destruction of humans, vulnerable ones.
Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain—and that is exactly what we have here. We know from public reporting that the administration is covering up Epstein-related documents referencing Trump.
And this scandal is even worse because of the Trump regime’s dealings with Maxwell. Epstein’s accomplice, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, was moved to a minimum-security facility after two meetings with Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. The emails released this week challenge what she said in those interviews and suggest that she’s a liar—as the DOJ had previously said (before Blanche, Trump’s former personal defense attorney, came along).
For example, Maxwell told Blanche that she did not “recall ever seeing [Trump] in his house.” But Epstein wrote that a sex-trafficking victim “spent hours at my house with him [Trump].” Republicans identified that victim as Giuffre, who had denied witnessing improper behavior by Trump. Maxwell also told Blanche that she “never recruited a masseuse from Mar-a-Lago,” contradicting Giuffre’s deposition and the new email evidence.
Even before we knew of these contradictions, moving Maxwell to a country club-like prison stunk to high heaven. Now that move truly reeks. She should be sent back to her prior prison. Her presence in the low-security facility where she is reportedly getting concierge-like service, including snacks for her visitors, is beyond outrageous.
Friday brought another outrage. Trump selectively demanded that his DOJ investigate Democrats mentioned in the Epstein emails, and AG Pam Bondi immediately complied. But she announced no similar investigation of Trump despite the fact that he, too, is discussed in those documents. The hypocrisy and abuse of power are shocking.
Accountability in Congress—and in court
This summer, with DOJ continuing to refuse to release files related to Epstein, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a resolution to try to force DOJ to release the files. Despite the bipartisan resolution attracting 50 co-sponsors, House Republican leadership refused to act on the measure, so Massie and Khanna introduced a discharge petition in early September to force a vote on the bill to release the files. If a discharge petition reaches 218 signatures, it can go directly to a floor vote in the House.
The Epstein discharge petition previously had 217 signatures, putting it one short of a floor vote. And despite apparent efforts from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to prevent the petition from getting the needed 218 signatures, including by refusing to swear in Rep. Adelita Grijalva after she won Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, Grijalva was finally sworn in on Wednesday. She immediately signed the discharge petition.
There will be a vote as soon as Tuesday, before the matter moves to the Senate, where it is likely to die; Trump’s grip on his party means the 60 votes needed to open debate in the GOP-controlled Senate are not there.
But that will not be the end of the story, and, indeed, this is where you Contrarians come in. Thanks to the support you provide for my democracy litigation through your paid subscriptions, my colleagues and I are suing under the Freedom of Information Act for those same documents. Our case is moving quickly, and we will not rest until we get the documents. The law is on our side because the Trump administration has admitted in other litigation that the release of Epstein documents is in the public interest!
We’re confident that, with your support, we will be successful in uncovering the truth. In the meantime, we’re going to continue to talk about the Trump-Epstein files as the defining corruption scandal of the Trump administration.
This week at The Contrarian, we covered that—and so much more. See for yourself:
The end of the shutdown
What did Dems get in the shutdown fight? [podcast]
On the Contrarian podcast this week, Ezra Levin and Colin Seeburger joined Jen Rubin to discuss Sunday’s shocking vote to re-open the government with no written deal to protect affordable health care and no guarantee Republicans will keep their word about a vote on continuing Obamacare subsidies. “There is something deeply broken within the Democrat system,” said Levin. See also Jen’s conversations on the end of the shutdown with Rep. Richie Torres and Rep. Chellie Pingree.
When will Democrats learn that mollifying bullies is a fool’s errand?
Norm Ornstein wrote on the shutdown’s “cringeworthy” end, which at least firmly established the blame for the healthcare debacle, but at the cost of submitting to bullies—a strategy that rarely works in the long run. “The same dilemma might well raise its ugly head again in 11 weeks.”
Learning the right lessons from the government shutdown
Max Stier wrote on the untenability of shutdowns as a political stress lever, especially as wielded by a president who is perfectly ready to sacrifice the livelihoods of thousands of federal workers to serve his power-grabbing personal agenda. “Public resources and government power should be used only for the public good.”
Celebrating Veterans’ Day
Quiet service in a noisy political year
Brian O’Neill offered his thoughts on the irony of a holiday marked by a federal government that has spent the year turning military service into another loyalty test and making the lives and jobs of veterans harder. “When a commander in chief and a Defense secretary spend the year sidelining combat-tested officers because of who they once worked for…the line has already been crossed from their side.”
John F. Terzano gave us a beautiful, searing essay on his story of service. “For me and other veterans, returning to Vietnam has been a deeply personal and emotional journey—one that has evolved over the years from war, anger, and sorrow to reconciliation, peace, justice, and friendship. That journey continues.”
Elections: What’s next
Jen Rubin wrote on the Democrats’ one-two (gut)punch of winning big and selling out–and what happens next as we look ahead to the midterms. “Democrats will need to find the best possible fighters in 2026. The 8 sellouts have at least clarified what is unacceptable in today’s party, thereby increasing the chances that incoming senators in 2027 will find new leaders.”
The GOP’s 2025 playbook to steal House seats
Jeff Nesbit wrote on Republicans’ shameless unlawful election plan: instead of changing the message, change the maps. “Trump’s GOP is redrawing districts to stay in power—because they know they can’t win any other way.”
Bringing a Survey to a Gun Fight, Part II
Anat Shenker-Osario argued that “pollingism” has failed Democrats and voters, while last Tuesday’s election sweep showed the power of magnetism. “Most Republicans are more successful than most Democrats at telling stories that have credibility with their voters…. The world defined by Pollingism simply doesn’t include these kinds of real-world consequences and feedback loops.”
Adelita Grijalva on Mike Johnson, Jeffrey Epstein, and the Senate’s Bad Deal
Tim Dickinson sat down with Adelita Grijalva, the Arizona representative who was finally sworn in this week after months of delay tactics from Speaker Mike Johnson, to discuss everything from her deliberately delayed swearing-in to the Epstein files. See here for video of his interview. “The larger picture for me is justice for the survivors and consequences for people who committed crimes against children and women.”
Media
Critics say this is the best essay you’ll read all year
Shalise Manza Young made the case that pundits should not get to be anonymous in news articles, in an age in which the unaccountability of so-called critics is eroding what little trust remains between the public and mainstream media. “Critics say it’s a grave disservice to journalism writ large and the American people specifically.”
What we learned from newly released Epstein emails
Mimi Rocah wrote on the latest break in the scandal that won’t—and shouldn’t—die. “When they knew no one else was listening/reading, when they had no reason to suspect these would ever become public, Epstein and Maxwell talked about Trump being present in his house with a known sex trafficking victim, Giuffre; they stated “of course he knew” about the “girls.”
The next war might start on Truth Social
Brian O’Neill wrote on Trump’s bizarre, hyper-online posturing over Nigeria and how it exposes the peril of a president ruled by impulse and enabled by the hair-trigger of social media.
On the Ground
Looped In With Lynn Sweet: Chicago Kicks Bovino & Border Patrol OUT!
Lynn Sweet checked in with Jen Rubin on the latest on ICE in Chicago, diving into the horrific conditions in the Broadview immigration detention facility and more. “Trump is an asymmetrical president and doesn’t suffer from consequences the way other politicians do.”
Ciera Stone reported on an event honoring the countless people disappeared and terrorized by ICE’s assault on immigrant communities, honoring hope and action in the face of fear and hate. “The voices of community can overpower the drums of authoritarianism.”
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement
This week we covered veterans calling on the MAGA administration to “remember your oath,” more action against ICE, a protest supporting health and science, continuing Tesla takedowns, planning ahead, and more. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org.
Culture, cartoons, pets & fun stuff
This week’s cartoons featured a hungry crocodile, flying monkeys, a costly white flag, an even costlier blueprint (Michael de Adder), an elephant in hot water (Nick Anderson), and the man behind the curtain (Ruben Bolling). Oh my!
100 years ago, an all-Black team beat the KKK on a baseball diamond
Fred Frommer wrote on the centenary of a remarkable baseball game—and the shameful modern legacy of an anti-KKK law has led to the end of a Black college scholarship.
Who Knew James Garfield was This Interesting?
Culture columnist Meredith Blake reviewed the Netflix series “Death by Lightning,” which sheds light on a forgotten president—and America’s long history of political violence—over “four fast-paced and darkly funny episodes.” She also recommended Ken Burns’ latest magnum documentarian opus, on the American Revolution, and more.
Emily Beyda gave us a recipe for when you need a reward for a job well done.
And last but never least, meet Ella! Riley Pynnonen’s 12-year-old fur-friend enjoys naps in the sun and the McDonald’s drive-through.
Both that stellar content and my pro-democracy legal actions were made possible by your paid subscriptions. Thanks for that, and if you haven’t taken out a paid subscription, please consider one. We look forward to seeing you on Coffee with the Contrarians on Monday morning at 9:15 a.m. ET. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend. Warmly, Norm
The Contrarian paid subscription is THE best investment I’ve ever made: immeasurable heartfelt thanks Jennifer, Norm, et al. for your preeminent tireless efforts on behalf of our Democracy, Humanity & our beautiful Earth. 🤍🙏🏻
Will the money trail be investigated? I think this is at least as revealing and potentially more damaging than the documents on the immoral and disgusting acts.