Never forget that crazy begets
crazy. I realized that as I read that Chump had a former government
officials home raided (John Bolton). But I especially realized it when I
read Alexander Willis's report:
Christina
Bobb, former attorney for President Donald Trump who was indicted for
her involvement with Trump’s 2020 fake electors plot, said that she
believed the Friday morning raid on John Bolton’s home was “certainly
part of a larger conspiracy” to overthrow the president, contrary to
reporting that it was related to classified documents.
Bolton,
who served as Trump’s national security advisor during his first term,
saw his home descended upon early Friday by the FBI, with limited
reporting on the raid suggesting it was part of an investigation into
the mishandling of classified documents, documents that, as a former top
official at the White House, he would have had regular access to.
But
Bobb, who represented Trump amid the Justice Department’s 2022 probe
into the then-former president’s mishandling of classified documents,
suggested that the raid on Bolton’s home was likely much “bigger” than
what reporting suggested.
“I don’t think this is
just about his handling of classified materials, I think this goes to
something bigger,” Bobb said while appearing on Newsmax Friday.
“They've
got very big fish to fry, and John Bolton certainly was part of a
larger likely conspiracy; I'm assuming this is about a conspiracy to
overthrow Donald Trump. So I want to see what the probable cause is and
what they're going after on this, but this is a real one! I went through
it when it was fake; this looks like it's a real one.”
So
crazy Chump misused and abused his position to have Bolton's home
raided and along comes Chump's crazy attorney Bobb who never knew what
she was doing as an attorney of squeak up some gossip. Kids, meet Christina Bobb, the Cindy Brady of MAGA.
President
Donald Trump said John Bolton, his former national security adviser, is
a "real sort of lowlife" after federal agents searched Bolton's
Maryland home early Friday morning.
FBI
Director Kash Patel said he ordered the raid as part of a long-running
investigation into the handling of classified documents. As of 11 a.m.,
FBI agents remained at Bolton's home in Bethesda.
When Chump said he's a "real sort of lowlife," I can only assume he was looking in the mirror.
Empathy
is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to human decency and kindness.
And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the Christian right are
preaching that it has become a vice.
For them,
empathy is a cudgel for the left: It can manipulate caring people into
accepting all manner of sins according to a conservative Christian
perspective, including abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, illegal
immigration and certain views on social and racial justice.
“Empathy
becomes toxic when it encourages you to affirm sin, validate lies or
support destructive policies,” said Allie Beth Stuckey, author of “Toxic
Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion.”
Stuckey,
host of the popular podcast “Relatable,” is one of two evangelicals who
published books within the past year making Christian arguments against
some forms of empathy.
She is not a Christian. She is a Saulian.
She does not embrace the message of Jesus Christ, she embraces the hatred and evil of King Saul. She's as evil someone who would destroy the Amalekites and murder the priests of Nob. That is what she embraces and it is pure evil.
We'd love to tell you that we're prone to empathy for all. But we're not.
People in need, absolutely.
But
cheap whore hustlers who preach hate -- who attack empathy to justify
their racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, et al? We have nothing
but contempt for them.
Elizabeth Grace Matthews reminded us of that last week. She's a fat, balding, ugly
woman incapable of any real thought or even a fleeting idea. She
demonstrated that at THE HILL last week when she decided to write
another series of lies and to attack Jane Fonda. Attack Jane Fonda?
Yes, it's how Liz Grace Matt gets her revenge -- remember, she's fat,
balding, ugly and incapable of thought so Jane Fonda frightens her like
no one else can. Jane's the body and the brain, Jane's the can do and
the reach.
Just
the thought of Jane terrifies a hate monger like Liz Grace as she
wallows in her own filth waiting for some volunteer to show up and hose
her off.
She's offended by Jane's recent speech.
Seeing Jane get the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award,
sent Liz Grace into a rage because her own life has been devoid of
applause, absents of pats on the back and lacking even someone calling
out
"have a good day."
Realizing
that, at this late date, her joyless life is unlikely to change, Liz
Grace decided to write her own speech full of what she'd say if anyone
was ever stupid enough to hand her a Lifetime Achievement Award
She entitled her hogwash "Yes, masculinity can be toxic, but so can femininity" and no link to trash but do GOOGLE it if you're in a need of a good laugh.
Picture her heaving her tiny bosom and nodding to Jon Voight as she insists, "Fonda
is right: Empathy is not weak -- or woke. At least, not per se. It is
best understood as the impulse and ability to feel and identify with the
feelings of others. Correlated with agreeability, empathy is a
characteristic disproportionately evinced by women." For more fun, picture her pronouncing "per se" as "Percy" because she truly is that stupid.
Just
what we quoted should be enough to let you know she's a hatemonger,
she's dishonest, and she's a right-wing Christian Nationalist.
Empathy,
she wants to lie, is killing the country. Empathy is bad and, to make
sure she sells that point in a sexist society, she identifies it with
the feminine.
There
are books we've noted repeatedly here over the years. Four that we
mention the most often? Susan Faludi's BACKLASH: THE UNDECLARED WAR ON
AMERICAN WOMEN is one -- and it's famous enough that we doubt it needs
any summary but we'll note Pulitzer Prize winner Faludi looks how
culture shapes work, entertainment and perceptions. We also have
repeatedly noted here Lucy Hughes-Hallett's CLEOPATRA: HISTORIES,
DREAMS AND DISTORTIONS which is another amazing book. That one focuses
on how society imposes their values and standards upon the historical
figure Cleopatra and how she changes for various generations. Stephanie
Coontz's THE WAY WE NEVER WERE: AMERICAN FAMILIES AND THE NOSTALGIA
TRAP which documents how false narratives distort the reality of our
lives -- past, present and future. Carol Tavris' THE MISMEASURE OF
WOMAN: WHY WOMEN ARE NOT THE BETTER SEX, THE INFERIOUR SEX OR THE
OPPOSITE SEX -- a book that debunks a lot of 'science' that is not true
science.
We
recommend all four of those books often and if you've read even one of them
you probably raised an eyebrow when we quoted Liz Grace, "Fonda is
right: Empathy is not weak -- or woke. At least, not per se. It is best
understood as the impulse and ability to feel and identify with the
feelings of others. Correlated with agreeability, empathy is a
characteristic disproportionately evinced by women."
Informed
feminists grasp immediately the problem there. Who's defining empathy
and how are they defining it?
Feminists are common sense people. We're also informed people.
Unlike Liz Grace who thinks she's cribbing the second part of that
sentence from a 2014 'study' but its roots are pure Leon Trotsky.
Empathy,
despite the many useless words Liz Grace offers, is not a feminine
trait. It's a trait that all humans share. Some are conditioned to
exhibit in one way, some in another. Historically, the most empathetic
figure spoken of would be Jesus Christ.
Maybe
Liz Grace doesn't believe in Jesus? Even if she doesn't, she should be
aware that the concept of Jesus has been used throughout history to
teach empathy. In fact, THE BIBLE is filled with empathy -- even if
she's a non-believer, we would encourage Liz Grace to read it -- such as
Romans 12:15 which has the Lord declaring, "Rejoice with those who
rejoice, weep with those who weep."
Here's Liz Grace: "What
Fonda is really implying, though -- and what today’s most vocal
leftists uniformly believe — is that empathy is a virtue unto itself
when indiscriminately deployed on behalf of the systemically
marginalized. Or, as Fonda put it: 'Woke just means you give a damn
about other people'. "
Again, here's what the Lord states, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."
Sorry,
Liz Grace, hope you're not thinking you're headed to heaven because the
Lord may need to have a word with you first. It's Jane Fonda's remarks that
line up with the teachings of Jesus, not your own.
Enemies of empathy make up the Christian Nationalist front in this country just as they made up the Nazi Party in the Germany.
You
can't kill innocents and embrace empathy. You have to scorn empathy
and you have to 'other' (as a verb) human beings in order to send them
into gas chambers.
The second video we saw in the last weeks that was really good on the topic of empathy
was this one by Dan McClellan
.
People
rightly express concern over the 'bro' podcasts. But is anyone paying
attention to the vile the fright-wing hate mongers are putting out
there? There is an attack on empathy and they have to launch that
attack because without it, they're not going to be able to do all the
evil things they hope to do. They can't destroy Social Security without
destroying empathy, the can't destroy Civil Rights without destroying
empathy, they can't deports thousands without destroying empathy.
So they work overtime to attack empathy and to insist that this basic virtue, preached by Jesus, is a bad thing.
They
have to tell that lie and they have to convince others of that lie in
order to destroy, main and kill and, yes, that is their end-game.
Empathy is not an emotion Liz Grace possesses.
That's from April. Ava and C.I. are always leading the way on what we need to be paying attention to.
Historian
Susan Lanzoni traced a century of empathy’s uses and definitions in her
2018 book “Empathy: A History.” Though it’s had its critics, she has
never seen the aspirational term so derided as it is now.
It’s been particularly jarring to watch Christians take down empathy, said Lanzoni, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School.
“That’s the whole message of Jesus, right?”
The word empathy appeared in English for the first time in 1908, taken from a German word, meaning “in-feeling.”
Though
the word is relatively new to English, the impulse behind it — to feel
for or with another — is much older. It forms a core precept across many
religions. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” reads a
common version of the Golden Rule.
Be sure to check out this video -- Betty, C.I. and Wally are on the phone with Isaiah, Cedric and Ann right now -- I'm in C.I's bedroom and we're listening to music -- discussing this video and whether or not they can use it as a jumping off point for a joint-humor post.
Friday, August 22, 2025. Chump's destruction of the economy
continues with attacks on tourism, groceries and US auto yet he still
manages to make time to also try to destroy veterans. He himself
continues to be destroyed by the Epstein scandal.
Earlier
this year, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order that
expelled transgender troops from the U.S. military, the administration
claimed—against all evidence—that bigotry against trans people was not
the reason behind the move. There’s no longer any plausible deniability,
though, as Trump’s Defense Department recently escalated its war on
trans service members by taking away some of those soldiers’ pensions
and benefits.
Transgender
troops began serving openly in 2016 under President Barack Obama. In
his first term, Trump announced by tweet that he would ban transgender
troops. A few months later, the Defense Department decided to bar them
from enlisting, but to retain those already in uniform, citing “its
solemn promise to these Service members, and the investment it has made
in them.” President Joe Biden again allowed transgender recruits to
join. But now Trump has decided to throw out all trans soldiers, even
though in the interim they have been serving honorably and successfully.
(If there were any evidence to the contrary the administration would
have produced it.)
Air Force Master Sgt. Logan
Ireland has served for 15 years, including overseas tours to
Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, and South Korea. After the
Supreme Court decided to allow the Trump administration to enforce its
ban, Ireland agreed to apply for early retirement; he was told that if
he didn’t, he would lose half of his separation pay. His application was
approved.
But then the Air
Force’s acting personnel chief decided to rescind the approval for
Ireland and more than a dozen others who have between 14 and 18 years of
Air Force service. Instead of normal retirement benefits, they are now
offered lump-sum payments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars less.
There was no explanation.
“The first feeling I
felt was betrayal,” Ireland said. “I’ve given my life to the service. I
was promised this. I had my retirement orders in hand. I’ve been
starting to process what life looks like outside of uniform, and now we
don’t know what that looks like.”
The Veterans
Administration’s declared mission is “to fulfill President Lincoln’s
promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and
for their families, caregivers, and survivors.” But now earnings from
years of service are yanked away at the whim of a bureaucrat.
This
is outrageous and would only come from a coward who, while his country
was at war, refused to serve. Now I am not rah-rah war. I support war
resisters. But Chump did not do that. He didn't protest the war. He
didn't do a damn thing but claim he couldn't serve because of bone
spurs. Those bone spurs have not prevented from golfing every weekend
of this year, have they? He lied. He has no respect for those who
serve. Transgender troops above, but it's really all the troops that he
hates and disrespects. If you doubt that reality, read this press
release that the Center for Constitutional Rights issued at the start of this month:
Today, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) announced plans to no longer allow
veterans to access abortion care or counseling through the VA health
system, specifically including in instances of rape, incest, or to save
the health of the pregnant person. While veterans were previously
allowed to access abortion care in specific circumstances, this policy
eliminates those exceptions apart from a narrow exception to save the
life of a pregnant veteran. These kinds of exceptions to save a person’s
life often don’t work in reality.
This proposed rule change will apply to veterans receiving care through the VA living in all 50 states, including the 14 states
with constitutional protections for abortion rights. This new policy
would be one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, and for
veterans living in the 12 states that ban abortion, it would further close off what may be their only opportunity to access urgently needed abortion care.
As a proposed rule, the policy will be open for public comment for 30
days, after which the administration will finalize the rule. Throughout
this next month, the public — including health experts and veterans —
can provide feedback on how this policy will endanger the health and
lives of veterans.
“After veterans put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms,
the Trump administration is trying to rob them of their own freedoms and
putting their health at risk,” said Nancy Northup, President and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
“This administration is sending a clear message to veterans—that their
health and dignity aren’t worth defending. To devalue veterans in this
way and take away life-changing health care would be unconscionable.
This shows you just how extreme this administration’s anti-abortion
stance is—they would rather a veteran suffer severely than receive an
abortion.”
This rule change was ushered through by the White House Office of Management & Budget Director Russell Vought and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins—both adamantly anti-abortion—with Vought even opposing abortion
if it is needed to save the life of a pregnant person. This marks the
first major regulatory action by this administration to proactively take
away abortion rights from a group of people nationwide, and a
foreboding encroachment into states where abortion rights are protected.
Women are currently the fastest growing population of veterans, and
removing these exceptions to the VA’s strict abortion ban will be
devastating for pregnant veterans who need access to this care. More
than two million women veterans live in the U.S. today, and more than 400,000 women veterans
are estimated to live in states with total abortion bans or severe
restrictions, meaning they may not be able to access abortion care—in
case of emergency care or otherwise—at all. There are also thousands of transgender men as well as non-binary veterans who might need abortion care. Additionally, over 700,000 family members of veterans get their care from the VA.
The removal of the health, rape, and incest exceptions are
particularly dangerous given the high rates of sexual assault in the
military. One in three
women veterans experienced military sexual trauma (MST), including
sexual assault, during their military service, and research indicates
that nearly 40% of homeless women veterans experienced MST while in the service. Many veterans also experience severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
including from experiences related to sexual assault, and an unplanned
pregnancy may exacerbate their PTSD and require abortion access to
preserve their health or life. Last year, enrollment of women veterans
in VA health care increased in every state,
and four of the six most concentrated states were Texas, Florida,
Georgia, and North Carolina—all states with severe abortion bans.
In 2022, immediately after the Dobbs decision overturned federal abortion protections under Roe v. Wade,
the Biden-Harris Administration carved out exceptions to the VA’s
complete abortion ban in certain situations. That rule also allowed VA
clinicians to discuss abortion options or referrals with patients for
the first time, a conversation that will be prohibited if the rule is
finalized.
Pregnancy complications are not uncommon and it’s critical that
everyone, regardless of pregnancy intentions or circumstances, be able
to access the full range of reproductive health care services including
abortion. Each year in the United States, about 700 people die during
pregnancy or in the year after, and another 50,000 people each year have
unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery with serious short- or
long-term health consequences.
Bone spurs claimed this week to be a war hero -- see Marcia's "Chump should be charged with stolen valor"
-- he's not. He never served. So he lies to promote himself and build
himself up but the reality is he has no respect for those who have
served in the military.
When you make a promise, you
honor that promise. I've said this over and over here every year that
we've been online -- almost 21 years now -- you don't screw around with
veterans benefits. You have made a promise to them and you damn well
better honor it.
Donald doesn't believe that. He not
only kicked out trans members, he wants to destroy their pensions.
That's what he's doing. He's telling women that they don't have
reproductive care -- Translations, "Go fight for freedom but grasp that
you don't have reproductive freedom." His horrendous DOGE has destroyed
jobs for so many veterans. There is no veterans issue you can point to
where he hasn't harmed them. How about the VA? MSNBC from a little
over a week ago.
The
government made promises and it is failing to deliver because of Donald
Chump. This isn't an accident, it is planned. He has planned to
betray veterans and he has done so.
He is a failure and
a liar. And he has broken one of the core promises our government has
with our veterans. There is no excuse for that.
We
have repeatedly called out various politicians (Wig hatted Corrine
Brown, Jim Webb, go down the list -- and the two named are both
Democrats) over the years for their betrayals of veterans but I don't
think anyone we've ever called out has done as much damage -- and
intentionally done as much damage -- as Donald Chump.
Canadian
tourism to the United States is collapsing in the wake of President
Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to a new report, a
find that comes after the U.S. president has imposed tariffs on and
threatened to annex America’s northern neighbor.
The
report, published by Statistics Canada, a government office, shows that
Canadians made 1.7 million return trips by motor vehicle back into
their country from the U.S. in July. That amounts to a 37% drop from
July 2024.
[. . .]
The
decline in travel translates to a loss of billions of dollars in
tourism-related revenue. With 20.4 million visits to the United States
in 2024, Canadian tourism accounted for $20.5 billion in revenue and
helped to support approximately 140,000 U.S. jobs, the U.S. Travel
Association said in February.
The association,
at the time, noted that a 10% decrease in Canadian travel “could mean
2.0 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job
losses.”
We've noted the hit that
Chump was causing the economy as a result of his repugnant personality
and policies. People don't want to come to a country where they might be
arrested and sent off to El Salvador or Guantanamo. People don't want
to come to a country run by a hate monger. Danielle Antosz (MONEY WISE) reported this week:
While tourism is booming in many countries, the U.S. is falling behind. A recent report by the World Travel & Tourism Council
(WTTC) found that the U.S. is the only country forecasted to see a
decline in international visitor spending in 2025. In March,
international travel to the U.S. fell 14% compared with the same period
last year, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Tourism
from Canada has had the sharpest decline — Canadian visits in May
decreased by 38% by car and 24% by air compared to the same month in
2024, according to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO).
Travel from Western Europe is also declining, falling nearly 5% in 2025.
“While
other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is
putting up the ‘closed’ sign,” said Julia Simpson, president and CEO of
WTTC.
And the price tag is staggering. In total, this decrease in tourism
could cost the United States an estimated $29 billion, and experts warn
that number could grow if policies don’t change.
In addition to the travel aspect, Gabriela León reports more damage that Chump has done:
In
June, a significant shift occurred in the North American auto market:
for the first time since the early 1990s, Canada imported more vehicles
from Mexico than from the United States. According to Statistics Canada
data reported by Bloomberg, this development marks a dramatic change in a
market where Canada has traditionally been the top customer for
American automakers. The shift underscores the impact of trade policies
on longstanding economic relationships.
The
primary catalyst for this historic change is the 25% tariff on foreign
vehicles imposed by President Donald Trump. This policy aimed to boost
domestic production within the US but inadvertently disrupted the
intricate balance of North American auto trade. The tariffs have made
American vehicles less competitive in Canada, prompting a reevaluation
of trade dynamics in the region.
In
response to Trump's tariffs, Ottawa implemented a reciprocal tariff on
US-made vehicles. However, the Canadian government introduced a
significant caveat: tax relief for manufacturers that continue to invest
in local production. This strategic move has softened the impact on
companies like Stellantis and General Motors, which have substantial
operations in Canada.
Data from Bloomberg
highlights the extent of this shift. In June alone, Canada imported
vehicles worth 1.080 billion Canadian dollars from Mexico, equivalent to
approximately 784 million US dollars. In contrast, imports from the US
amounted to 950 million Canadian dollars. This trend reflects a growing
preference for Mexican-assembled vehicles, driven by competitive pricing
and favorable trade terms.
Mexico
has capitalized on its role within the United States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement (USMCA), which partially mitigates the impact of tariffs. This
agreement has enhanced the competitiveness of vehicles assembled south
of the Rio Grande, offering an attractive alternative to Canadian
consumers and businesses.
The shift in trade
patterns poses challenges for Detroit's automotive giants. Ford, for
instance, traditionally supplies Canada with US-made vehicles. Although
its Oakville, Ontario plant is not yet producing high-volume models,
Ford has announced plans to begin manufacturing F-Series Super Duty
pickups there by 2026. This move reflects a strategic adaptation to the
evolving trade landscape.
Food represents a large and visible share of household spending, and
high grocery bills influence public perceptions of the economy and the
administration's performance.
A mid-2025 poll
from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found
that a majority of Americans reported stress over grocery costs, and
retailers have reported shoppers shifting purchases toward cheaper
brands and smaller sizes. Roughly 53 percent of respondents said grocery
costs were a "major" stressor.
Trump campaigned on promises of lowering grocery costs, but federal
forecasts and private trackers showed only modest easing overall and
price gains in several food staples.
The USDA Economic Research
Service reported that the all-food Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3
percent from May to June and was 3 percent higher than June 2024.
It also projected overall food prices would rise 2.9 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2026.
Zoom in: A
38.9% increase in prices for fresh and dry vegetables from June to July
was the major driver of a higher index for "final demand goods" (things
that are done and ready to be sold to a consumer, as opposed to things
that go into a later production process).
That was the biggest month-on-month increase for fresh vegetables since March 2022.
Stunning stat: Per Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it's also the largest monthly increase ever recorded in a summer month (June-August), in figures that go back to 1947.
Let's note this MSNBC video.
We
noted two snapshots ago. When we noted it, we noted that it had nearly
half a million streams. It's now at 1.1 million. Here's a report Ari
did yesterday.
And here's a discussion on the expected release (later today) of some Epstein files.
However,
the issue is not going away, regardless of efforts. Earlier this
summer, Republican speaker Mike Johnson literally sent home members of
Congress early to avoid a vote on the release of files containing
information about Epstein. Back in their constituencies, politicians
learned that getting to the bottom of the matter remains a pressing
issue for many of the people who voted for them.
When
they do return, they may be unable to escape a vote, or at least
addressing the issue. Before they left Washington DC, Democrat Ro Khanna
of California, and Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky, filed a motion
that allows any member of the chamber to force a vote if a majority
signs on. This means many Republicans will be forced to do as their
constituents want and vote for the release of all files, or risk
angering Trump who wants nothing more than this issue to go away for
ever. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego told reporters: “We’re going to
keep the pressure up – 100 per cent.” He added: “As often as we can,
until we know exactly what happened, why it happened.”
U.S.
Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), who is a member of the House
Oversight Committee, said this week on MSNBC: “These Epstein files are
only coming to the Oversight Committee because Democrats forced a vote
to subpoena them. If Republicans refuse to subpoena Alex Acosta, the
person who put together Epstein’s sweetheart deal, we will force another
vote to bring him in.”
Prior
to becoming President Trump’s Secretary of Labor during his first term
in the White House, Acosta was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of Florida who approved a plea deal that allowed Epstein to
plead guilty to one state charge of solicitation, in exchange for a
federal non-prosecution agreement in 2008. After Epstein’s arrest in
2019 on sex trafficking charges, Acosta resigned from his cabinet
position.
In March, Acosta joined the board of directors of Newsmax.
Donald
Chump can't shake the Epstein scandal. For years, he was friends with
Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell -- convicted pedophiles and sex
traffickers. Epstein died in prison under Chump's watch. Maxwell got
moved to a cushy Club "Fed." By Chump. That move did not happen
without his okay. That was needed. I know that for a fact. I worked
forever on getting someone out of federal prison under an earlier
president. I know exactly what it takes and the Justice Dept by itself
cannot move Maxwell to a facility that does not accept prisoners
convicted of sex offenses. That requires the president of the United
States' approval. The story is not going away. Chris Hatler (ESQUIRE) notes:
“You
have to be on another planet if you don’t know anything about Epstein,”
Julie K. Brown tells me over the phone. Maybe I shouldn’t have played
dumb. The award-winning investigative reporter exposed Jeffrey Esptein’s
sex-trafficking activities for the Miami Herald, after all. But with
the Epstein files littering news feeds, including a House Oversight
Committee plan to release documents this Friday, I thought we needed a
primer for our conversation.
“There
were probably hundreds of underage girls and young women who were
sexually abused by this very powerful man over three decades. Then, he
essentially walked away with little or no punishment for the crimes,
even though the case was in the hands of the Justice Department,” Brown
says.
Epstein was arrested and jailed in 2019.
That August, he died by suicide in his cell. Since then, there have been
calls from across the political spectrum to release the Epstein files, a
collection of documents and investigative materials gathered by law
enforcement about Epstein and his victims and associates. He had friends
in high places, some of whom likely don’t want any additional
information uncovered.
“Even if you weren’t
involved in any of his crimes, just being linked to him now is a bad
thing,” Brown says. “Just being friends with him, you could get
blackballed.”
Brown
wrote an entire book on what she learned from her reporting, Perversion
of Justice, which was published in 2020. But even someone as informed
as she is wonders who knew Epstein and whether or not he died by his own
hand. Here are five questions to which she wants answers—whether or not
documents drop Friday.
Did Attorney General Pam Bondi know Epstein?
During
our conversation, Brown seems particularly curious about who knew
Epstein and the nature of their relationship. One name comes up before
the others: Pam Bondi.
Bondi was elected
attorney general of Florida—where Epstein owned a home and committed
crimes—in 2010 and assumed the position in 2011. She wasn’t in office
during Epstein’s first prosecution, which began in 2007, after which he
received a lenient sentence. Until he was arrested in 2019, Epstein
continued to traffic young women and girls, which occurred during
Bondi’s tenure. Brown wants those dots to connect.
“Did
anyone ask Bondi if she knew Epstein? She was involved in Florida.
Epstein was in Florida. Epstein was adept at getting dirt on people.
That’s what he liked to do. So do we know whether Bondi ever had any
kind of contact with Epstein or his lawyers?”
Let's wind down with this from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's office:
Nonpartisan CBO releases new letter at request of
Whitehouse, Wyden, Merkley, Boyle showing GOP megabill triggers
mandatory $45 billion cut to Medicare and $120 billion cut to
non-Medicare programs in 2026
Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Law explodes deficit to fund tax cuts for the ultrawealthy and giant corporations
Washington, D.C. – The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a letter yesterday
at the request of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of
the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the
Senate Budget Committee Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Ranking Member of the
House Budget Committee Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA) confirming that by
exploding the deficit, President Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires
Law will automatically trigger the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which
will impose a $45 billion cut to Medicare in 2026, and $536 billion in
automatic cuts to Medicare over nine years.
“We all know that Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Law
explodes the deficit with tax breaks for the ultra-rich and giant
corporations, while slashing Medicaid and eliminating programs to feed
hungry families. But Republicans are playing a shell game by hiding the
sneak attack on Medicare that they tucked into their law,” said Whitehouse.
“CBO has now confirmed it: Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Law
triggers sequestration next year, resulting in massive, mandatory cuts
to Medicare and other treasured programs. No Republican who voted for
this bill can credibly say that they want to protect Medicare.”
“If Republicans were serious about protecting Medicare from cuts,
they wouldn’t have passed a bill that triggers half a trillion dollars
in cuts to Medicare,” Wyden said. “The reality is,
Trump said he wouldn’t cut Medicaid, and then he turned around and
passed the biggest Medicaid cut in history. He said he wouldn’t hurt
Social Security, and then he gutted its staff and set DOGE loose on the
program like a pack of wild dogs. Trump and Republicans cannot be
trusted with Medicare, and whatever promises they make about protecting
the program are worthless.”
“Congressional Republicans’ dangerous Big, Betrayal Law not only
guts
programs like Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and food assistance,
but today we’re reminded that it also forces cuts to Medicare and many
other critical programs. Because Republicans were so hell bent on
passing a law that gives tax cuts to billionaires – that adds trillions
to the national debt – their reckless actions have now triggered
automatic spending cuts – meaning that without future Congressional
action, seniors and people with disabilities will pay the price and have
less access to care,” said Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff
Merkley. “This is just more of the Republicans’ families lose,
billionaires win agenda and the American people won’t stand for it.”
“For months now, I have been sounding the alarm on the devastating
Medicare cuts caused by Trump’s Big Ugly Law,” said House Budget
Committee Ranking Member Brendan F. Boyle.
“Republicans knew their tax breaks for billionaires would force over
half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts — and they did it anyway.
American families simply cannot afford Donald Trump’s attacks on
Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare.”
In early July, President Trump and Congressional Republicans jammed
through their Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Bill, which cuts almost a
trillion dollars from Medicaid and raises health insurance costs, all to
bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.
The CBO letter explains that the Republicans’ Big,
Beautiful-for-Billionaires Law will increase deficits relative to the
January 2025 baseline by $2.1 trillion through 2029 and by $3.4 trillion
through 2034. The law’s addition to the deficit triggers the
sequestration process under the Statutory Pay‑As‑You‑Go (PAYGO) Act of
2010. CBO estimates that the White House Office of Management and
Budget will be required to issue a sequestration order to reduce
spending by $415 billion in fiscal year 2026. Republicans could pass
legislation waiving the PAYGO requirements, but did not include such a
provision in the Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Law.
CBO estimates that OMB would be required to issue a 4% sequestration
cut to Medicare, which is expected to cut $45 billion in 2026 and total
$536 billion over nine years. Sequestration cuts to other non-Medicare
programs are expected to total $120 billion in 2026.
