He's looking really guilty

 Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Caring and Compassionate Chump"  went up about an hour ago. 

More troubles for the Convicted Felon Donald Chump.  Daniel Hampton reports:

A legal expert was taken aback Thursday night after watching President Donald Trump admit he knew of a "grotesque crime" when he talked about his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein.

Ryan Goodman, founding co-editor-in-chief of the legal and policy website Just Security, joined Erin Burnett on CNN's "OutFront" to weigh in on Trump's shocking remarks regarding his relationship with Epstein, who died in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking allegations.

Burnett noted the White House has offered multiple explanations about the falling out, including over a real estate deal. Trump, however, has instead said their friendship blew up because Epstein hired his spa workers — a claim that, she said, "doesn’t add up, because the hiring-away was two years before Trump was continuing to say wonderful things about Epstein—and seven years before he kicked him out of the club."

"Now they’re saying, and Trump has used this word before, that Epstein was a 'creep,' and that the White House says, quote, 'Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees.' I mean, does any of this add up legally?

Goodman was floored by the remarks.

"So I think they’ve gotten themselves in more trouble by these references, that the reason for it was that he was a creep or that he was a creep to the —

"It’s hard to say he’s a creep if you said you didn’t know what he was doing," Burnett interjected.

"Exactly," replied Goodman. "So if he kicked him out because of sexual predation toward the employees, then it means he had knowledge."

Goodman said Trump's timeline "doesn’t make sense." A Trump Organization attorney has said Epstein was booted from Mar-a-Lago in 2007 due to an arrest a year earlier in Florida. Now, the White House is claiming he took that action over what he knew.

"A year after the arrest for pedophilia. Seven years after Virginia Giuffre is hired—is stolen—seven years after that?" asked Burnett.

Charlie Nash (MEDIAITE) reports that legal analyst Elie Honig attempt to make sense of Mr. Chump's convoluted statements on CNN:

First of all, how did Donald Trump come to have a 16-year-old Virginia Giuffre working in his spa in the year 2000?

Second of all, when Jeffrey Epstein “stole her,” what did he think Jeffrey Epstein was stealing her to do? He was in finance. A 16-year-old to go work in high finance?

Third of all, if that’s the cause, that “stealing,” I’m using his word, of Virginia Giuffre in 2000 was the cause of their relationship ending, why two years later in 2002 does Donald Trump tell New York magazine that Jeffrey Epstein’s a wonderful guy who likes women on the younger side?

Next, what did you mean when you said he likes women on the younger side? What were you basing that on? Which women were you talking about? How young?

And finally, what was the real reason for the fallout? Either he was poaching your employees or he was acting like a creep, as Karoline Leavitt just said today. A lot of contradictions here and they get deeper by the day.

Lindsay Beyerstein also has questions about the claims from Mr. Chump:

According to Trump, he told Epstein to knock it off after he was warned that people – plural – had been taken from Mar-a-Lago. Then Epstein allegedly did it again. This suggests there were at least three victims: Giuffre, one other girl, and a member’s daughter. In their 2020 book, The Grifter’s Club, the Miami Herald reporters said Epstein was banned after “harassing” the daughter of a member .

Moreover, Trump recalled that Epstein resumed his predatory behavior “not too long after” after being told to stop. A seven-year gap after Giuffre would be quite long after. This is another reason to suspect there was an ongoing pattern of predation that Trump was well aware of – before Epstein went after a member’s daughter and risked a scandal.

Did Trump call the police when he learned that an alleged sex offender had been using his spa as a hunting ground for teenage girls?

Did he ever warn employees about Epstein?

Did he do anything to rein in Ghislaine Maxwell, who approached Giuffre and others? Or did he let her keep prowling the spa for Epstein?

Why did he have teenage masseuses at Mar-a-Lago, anyway?

We can all guess the answers to these questions, but someone should ask the president for the record.

Trump aborted the long-promised release of the FBI’s Epstein files after learning that his name appeared therein. The president has reason to be cagey. He and Epstein were best friends for a decade and their friendship was centered around chasing girls.

The nation has been consumed by speculation about what dark secrets the files might hold about Trump. Trump’s admission that Epstein used Mar-a-Lago as a hunting ground may provide a critical clue.

There are a lot of questions we need to be asking. 

Mr. Chump's actions just make him look guiltier and guiltier. 

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for today:

Friday, June 1, 2025.  Donald Chump platforms a registered sex offender at te White House yesterday, he floats the notion of pardoning sex trafficker and rapper Piss Panties and he continues to float pardoning convicted pedophile and sex trafficker Maxwell.  His remarks are offending the victims of Epstein and Maxwell but that doesn't bother him.  So when exactly are people going to catch on that he's not someone who cares about the victims of assault?

Let start with some great news. Marni Rose McFall (NEWSWEEK) reports:

The MeidasTouch Podcast, which is often critical of President Donald Trump, has surpassed popular podcaster Joe Rogan on YouTube.

Newsweek has contacted MeidasTouch and a representative for Rogan for comment via email.

Podcast charts have long been dominated with conservative or pro-Trump voices—such as Rogan, Shawn Ryan and Ben Shapiro, who frequently appear in the top 10. Trump himself appeared on some of those podcasts during his 2024 bid for the presidency as he eschewed traditional media outlets.

However, since Trump returned to office in January, The MeidasTouch Podcast has consistently topped charts, emerging as one of the country's most-listened-to shows. The success of MeidasTouch through the first six months of Trump's administration indicates a potential shift in what resonates with Americans and what they want to listen to.

YouTube data for July 21 to 27 shows The MeidasTouch Podcast as the top podcast on the platform in the United States, with The Joe Rogan Experience in second place.

According to Podscribe data captured from June 7 to July 7, MeidasTouch was the No. 1 podcast by downloads and views per month.

Podscribe reported that MeidasTouch amassed 124 million views in that month. The same rankings had Rogan at No. 2, having amassed 39.2 million views in that period.

MeidasTouch was founded by three brothers: Ben, Brett and Jordy Meiselas. It is described on its website as a "Pro-democracy news network" and began with viral videos and political ads that opposed Trump and supported Democratic candidates.

Now let's go to Ben's fresh post this morning.

There's a lot Ben's covering in the video above, but when I want to zoom in on is the man arrested multiple times for drugs and who also had sex with a 16 year old.  Registered sex offender Lawrence Taylor.  Had sex with a 16-year-old.  His defense?  He was just paying a prostitute, he didn't know how old she was.

That's who Chump brings into the White House.

The country needs to stop for one damn moment and all absorb this together.  He is a registered sex offender and Chump brings him to the White House 

Taylor has twice been arrested regarding his registered sex offender status.  In 2021 and in July of last year -- he moved both times and failed to update his address in the sex offender data base.

This is who Chump brought to the White House yesterday.  

 Khaleda Rahman (NEWSWEEK) reports:

Taylor has appeared on stage with Trump at campaign rallies in the past. But his attendance at the White House on Thursday comes as Trump faces increasing pressure over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who authorities say died by suicide in a federal jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

The president is facing an outcry over his administration's refusal to release additional records related to Epstein, despite earlier promises of transparency. He has tried to deflect questions about the case, expressing annoyance that people are still talking about it even as some of his allies continue to promote conspiracy theories about it.

Trump told reporters this week that Epstein "stole" Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most well-known accusers, from his Mar-a-Lago club, where she worked in the summer of 2000 when she was 16. That raised questions, including from Giuffre's family, about how much Trump knew about Epstein's crimes given he continued to associate with Epstein after 2000. Trump said on Thursday that he didn't know why Epstein was taking young employees from Mar-a-Lago, and that it caused him to cut ties and ban Epstein from the club.

[. . .]

Taylor's presence at the White House sparked a backlash on social media.

"Trump literally had Lawrence Taylor, a registered sex offender who raped a 16-year-old, featured at the White House as he announced his 'President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition' initiative for kids," social media personality Brian Krassenstein wrote on X, formerly Twitter. He described this as "Sickening!"

And it is sickening and tasteless and does go to his character and how assault doesn't really bother him.  

Let's turn to lying trash.  I don't like "P" "Diddy" or whatever the omni-sexual predator calls himself and that's been made clear repeatedly over the years to his face.  Here?  I've ignored him until he lied about a friend.  Will Smith wanted to be a little bitch and slap Chris Rock.  But like most little bitches, Will Smith didn't want to take the consequences for his actions.  Piss Panties is not Chris Rock's friend.  But damned if that liar didn't show up immediately after the slap to say everyone needed to look away, Chris Rock wanted the whole thing forgotten, he knew it because he was friends with Chris and he talked to Chris.  And I got on the phone and called my friend Chris Rock and asked WTF?  No, he had not spoken to Piss Panties.  Piss Panties was, as usual, running interference for his buddy -- down low buddy? -- Will Smith and he was lying.

Other than that, I gornoed Piss Panties and his hideous 'musical' career.  But if you missed it, Dominic Patten (DEADLINE) reports:

Donald Trump is heavily weighing giving Sean “Diddy” Combs a full presidential pardon ahead of the convicted Bad Boy Records founder’s sentencing later this year. 

Nearly two months after Trump publicly entertained the notion of a Diddy pardon in an Oval Office gaggle, a comprehensive get out of jail card for Combs is being “seriously considered,” an administration source tells Deadline.

Convicted of sex trafficking but Chump's considering pardoning him.

Registered sex offender Lawrence Taylor invited to the White House and celebrated.

I think Chump's being very clear to everyone -- even MAGA and Qanon -- on where he stands and that's with sex offenders.  That's where he stands.  

That's why he keeps floating a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell.  

Chump doesn't want to release the files -- the ones that he's named in -- but he is floating releasing the convicted pedophile and sex trafficker Maxwell.

How stupid is MAGA?  How insane is Qanon?  They can't pull this together on their own?  

Virginia Giuffre's life was destroyed by sex trafficking.  Now Chump makes comments about her that are gross and offensive.  And her family is speaking out to the media about it. 

 

 

 

Let's move over to the topic of immigration. Last week, Ava and I wrote "Media: Why America's turned on Chump's war on immigrants:"

FADE IN

INT SQUAD CAR - DAY

Tension and energy fill the squad car as OFFICER NOLAN looks at DETECTIVE LOPEZ.  

NOLAN: Ready?

Lopez nods.  The two pull dark masks over their faces and throw open the doors of their squad car

EXT. TREE LINED STREET -- DAY

Nolan and Lopez run towards a 2024 blue Ford Crown Victoria.

INT. CROWN VICTORIA - DAY

MASON, 25, sits in parked car listening to music and finishing some french fries when a big thud is hear.

EXT. TREE LINED STREET - DAY

NOLAN: Roll down the window!!!

Nolan and Lopez stand beside the parked car yelling.

NOLAN:  Roll down the window!

Lopez looks at Nolan.  He nods.  He breaks the window with his gun, reaches inside and grabs Mason by the t-shirt collar.  Lopez reaches in and grabs Mason by the neck, joining Nolan in pulling a scared Mason out of the car.

MASON: What's going on!  What did I do?  

DETECTIVE HARPER runs over towards them as Nolan and Lopez hurl Mason to the ground.

LOPEZ:  Down!  Stay down!

MASON: Who are you?

NOLAN: Shut up!

Lopez begins tazing Mason while Nolan and Harper kick him.

Would you accept that scene on THE ROOKIE?

How about this on a STARSKY & HUTCH reboot?

 

INT - 1975 FORD GRAN TORINO - DAY

STARSKY scrolls through his cell phone while Hutch drums on the dashboard.

STARSKY:  These dating apps are wack.

HUTCH:  Ever think maybe it's you?

STARSKY: [Muttering] Maybe it's you, maybe it's you.

EXT - STREET - DAY

A FORD MINI-VAN drives slowly past Starsky's TORINO.  We see SULTAN in the driver's seat of the van.

INT - 1975 FORD GRAN TORINO - DAY

Hutch leans over and swats Starsky on the arm repeatedly.  Starsky shoots him a look and starts the car.

EXT - STREET - DAY

Starsky's car closely follows the mini-van as it turns off the street into a school parking lot.  

INT - MINI-VAN - DAY

Sulton drives slowly to the front of the school while talking to his five-year-old son DANNY in the back seat.

SULTON: So what you going to learn today?

DANNY: Everything!

SULTON: You're going to learn everything?

DANNY: Yep!

SULTON: Well if you learn everything today, why would you come back tomorrow?

DANNY: To teach!

Sulton and Danny laugh.

EXT - OUTSIDE SCHOOL - DAY

The mini-van comes to a stop and Starsky immediately brakes as well.

INT - MINI-VAN - DAY

Through the car windows, we see Starsky and Hutch running up alongside the mini-van but Sultan and Danny do not.

SULTAN: Okay, buddy, we're here. 

DANNY: Yea! 

SULTON: Yea! 

Starsky begins bangind on the door of the mini-van on the driver's side.

STARSKY: Get out!  Get out!

Danny looks around scared.  Sulton rolls down his window part-way.

SULTON: Can I help you?

STARSKY:  Out of the car!  Now! Out of the car!

Sulton: Who are you?

Starsky: I said out of the car, asshole!

Starsky begins hitting the driver door window with his gun until he breaks it while Danny screams.

HUTCH: Out of the car!  He said out of the car!

SULTON: It's okay, Danny.  It's okay.

Starsky pulls open the door and pulls Sulton out of the mini-van.  Sulton lands on the ground on his back.  Hutch and Starsky stand over him with guns drawn while Danny screams.

HUTCH: Shut up, brat!  I said shut up!

FEMALE PRINCIPAL comes running up.

FEMALE PRINCIPAL:  What is going on here?  I'm calling the police.

STARSKY: Ma'am, ma'am, we're going to need you to step back.

FEMALE PRINCIPAL: What are you doing to Mr. Rahi?  Mr. Rahi, are you okay?

Hutch walks over to the woman menacingly.

HUTCH: He told you to step back.  

Only now do Starsky and Hutch register that every child going to the school, as well as teachers and and some other parents have witnessed the assault on Sultan.

TV is bad.  It's not that bad yet.  We haven't gotten to the point where that would be acceptable. 

So why are we treating it as acceptable on our streets, in our communities?

ICE agents want to be seen as heroes.  Heroes don't act out the scenes above.  But they took place on our streets in the United States.

Donald Chump is a convicted felon.  A crook.  And he doesn't have any respect for due process.  But while we need to call out the lack of due process once arrested, we also need to be calling out the procedures by which immigrants are being taken into custody.

When you are taken into custody in the United States, it generally works something like this: 1) An officer of some enforcement body utilizes probable cause -- a crime has taken place, is taking place or is about to commence.  2) If a crime has taken place, a warrant for someone's arrest has been obtained.  If a crime is taking place or is about to take place, an arrest does not require a warrant.  3) The officer must inform the suspect of their rights (basic Miranda Rights).  4) The arresting officer must use the minimum force required to carry out the arrest.  5) Would be where Due Process -- as most mean the term -- would kick in.  Appearing before someone in the judiciary, etc.

 

Why are we allowing Chump to destroy our procedures in place for decades in order to carry out cruelty.

 

And this is cruelty aimed at immigrants, yes.  But also at US citizens.  

 

THE ROOKIE scenario above?  

 

George Retes.  That's the name of the man this actually happened to.  In California.  And he's not an immigrant.  He's a US citizen and, in fact, an Iraq War veteran.  And when ICE began attacking him, they didn't listen and they didn't care.  Olga R. Rodriguez (AP) notes 

"It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back," Retes said.

[. . .]

Retes was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday.

He said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned throughout the first night he spent in custody.

On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges.

"They gave me nothing I could wrap my head around," Retes said, explaining that he was met with silence on his way out when he asked about being "locked up for three days with no reason and no charges."

 

When Americans see these tactics being used, they rightly recoil. 

From MSNBC yesterday. 

 

• 
  Music

  Should you call it quits? HAIM says yes.

  58 minutes ago
• 
  Paul Krugman

  Trump/Brazil: Delusions of Grandeur Go South

  1 hour ago
• 
  Latino USA

  FCC Commissioner Gomez Sounds the Alarm on the White House Trying to ‘Control Everything’

  2 hours ago
• 
  The New Republic

  American Jews’ Support for Israel Is Near Its Breaking Point

  2 hours ago
• 
  TAP : The American Prospect

  Making America Epstein Again

  2 hours ago
• 
  NPR Topics: Home Page Top Stories

  Ukraine approves law restoring independence of anti-graft watchdogs following backlash

  3 hours ago
• 
  Ruth's Report

  Chump's self-inflicted wound continues to fester

  8 hours ago
• 
  Oh Boy It Never Ends

  She-Hulk, Thor, IRONHEART, JESSICA JONES, THE MARVELS

  8 hours ago
• 
  SICKOFITRADLZ

  Sleepy Don can't even hear these days

  8 hours ago
• 
  Like Maria Said Paz

  What happens when people walk away from PARAMOUNT and CBS?

  8 hours ago
• 
  Mikey Likes It!

  Chump loses more support

  8 hours ago
• 
  Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude

  it's past time for pam bimbo bondi to be fired

  8 hours ago
• 
  Ann's Mega Dub

  Jizzy Pants Maxwell belongs in prison

  8 hours ago
• 
  Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)

  Jess Glynne rebukes Chump

  8 hours ago
• 
  Trina's Kitchen

  Chicken Francese in the Kitchen

  8 hours ago
• 
  PBS NewsHour - The Latest

  Judge extends protected status Trump administration had ended for 60,000 migrants

  11 hours ago
• 
  TPM – Talking Points Memo

  President Trump Actually Paved Over the Rose Garden

  18 hours ago 

Chump's self-inflicted wound continues to fester

Another fine mess for Convicted Felon Donald Chump.  Tom Boggioni reports:

A decision by Donald Trump to admit on Tuesday that his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein came after the pedophile poached a teen employee from Mar-a-Lago is infuriating Republican lawmakers.

As the White House, and Republicans, pray that the Epstein firestorm goes away, Trump's mention of Virginia Giuffre, arguably the most well-known of Epstein's victims and who committed suicide, caused the Epstein files story to jump to the top of the headlines again.

Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Politico's Jonathan Martin stated it is another unforced error by the president and, therefore, creating problems for Republicans who have been tasked with defending him.

"You talk to Republicans all the time. How are they feeling about this? We know the president's angry. How are they feeling about this storyline?" he was asked by MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire.

"Well, I think it's annoying for them when Trump yesterday douses kerosene on the flames," he replied. "But just from a strict PR standpoint, taking that question and talking about an individual who worked at the spa at Mar-a-Lago, talking about injecting yourself into the story and giving it legs, oh my God!"

"But that's that's the gift that keeps on giving that is Donald Trump for the Republican Party," he added sarcastically. "So he's now kept this thing going well into this week; we're now obviously deep in July, so I don't think it's going away anytime soon."

Exactly.  He comes off more guilty every day.  And this story is not going away.  Read Rebecca's "" and grasp how stupid a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives is.  This is not preventing anyone from talking about anything, as C.I. pointed out in the snapshot today.  This is the lens through which you tell the story and it is: Mr. Chump believes in two standards -- one for the rich and one for those who are not rich.  The rich get special benefits and favors.  The rest of us are prosecuted to the full extent of the law for even a minor infraction.  The rich get massive tax breaks.  The rest of us lose benefits.  

There are two tiers of citizens in Mr. Chump's world.

That needs to be stressed over and over.  

And that Mr. Chump has brought the Epstein scandal down on himself.  Tommy Christopher (MEDIAITE) reports on THE NEW YORK TIMES' Maggie Haberman's discussion with Katilin Collins on CNN's THE SOURCE:

 

 

COLLINS: And what do you make of this revelation about the grand jury testimony only having two witnesses in it, and they’re both law enforcement officials?

And I think what the MAGA base is expecting, and what has been built up here, is this highly, you know, high-profile client list, all of these details. That does not seem, from what Elie just laid out there, to be what would be in here.

HABERMAN: It’s — we always knew it wasn’t going to be in there, Kaitlan. We always knew this was going to be a fraction of any evidence.

And to be clear, we don’t know that there is a client list. This client list idea was generated, I believe, by allies of the President. It may not be there.

But it is worth remembering that the administration put out files related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and there were people’s Social Security numbers that inadvertently went out, leaving people whose Social Security numbers went out because, as we were told, these went out fast because the President wanted transparency. He does have the ability to put these out.

And your point is correct. Democrats are, you know, they were fully able to put this out themselves, if they were so interested in this topic when President Biden was in office.

But it is President Trump’s advisers and allies who have also kept this going.

COLLINS: Well and on the transparency note, this is something the White House always touts. They say they’re the most transparent. We hear it pretty much at every press briefing.

HABERMAN: Yes.

COLLINS: The President himself has said it, and they talk about the access that people get to the President. I mean, that’s a fair point in terms of him answering questions.

HABERMAN: It’s true.

COLLINS: But I do wonder how it sits with the MAGA base, if they’ve promised transparency, and then they don’t end up releasing what they told them they’d release?

HABERMAN: Right, look, I mean, again, this isn’t — this is primarily a self-inflicted story, and a self-inflicted wound, that they are dealing with, and they are struggling to get out of it.

It is absolutely true that President Trump, especially by comparison to President Biden, is more accessible. But that has not much to do with whether they’re releasing information that they themselves set the bar for.

It is a self-inflicted story.  This is all because of Mr. Chump.  

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for today:

Thursday, July 31, 2025.  Chump remains entangled with the late pedophile Epstein, a victim's family calls out the way he speaks of their late loved one, another Chump supporter is exposed as a pedophile, Senator Ron Wyden actually works to end crimes against children, Loose Lips Hegseth continues to flounder, and much more.

Agree 100% with Rebecca and her post "bobby scott's 78 and senile."  Are there other issues beyond Epstein and Chump?  There certainly are. Here we are giving serious attention to immigration.  We put Loose Lips Hegseth on hold last week -- might pick him up this snapshot, might not.  We're also covering the economy.  It's all connected.  Chump does not serve the American people.  He mocks them and makes fun of them.  He only serves the super wealthy.  That's why the Epstein files are still not released.  That's why the big ugly bill attacks the poor, the working class and the middle class while giving huge tax breaks to the super wealthy.  His war on immigration is about the super wealthy as well.  

It's the immigrants who are targeted.  As he notes repeatedly, he keeps hearing from farming corporations and other big business about how they need immigrant workers.  This doesn't lead him to order an investigation or arrests for those employing undocumented immigrants.  No, they're free and remain free.  

 If you're apprehending immigrants when do you plan to apprehend those knowingly hiring immigrants who lack the paperwork needed to work in the US?

And they're not being silent.  Chump has yet again spoken of the farming industry and how arrests might need to be paused on immigrant farm workers.  That's not to benefit the immigrants, that's to benefit Big Ag which brings in millions and millions of dollars.  

So they're all connected. 

This is not a new development.  

The super wealthy have always benefited from GOP policies.  And the poor and uninformed have failed to grasp that reality.  (Democratic leaders also court the rich  -- Socialists would insist that's all they do -- but they also tend to push measures that focus on lifting all boats.)  

Chump is the servant of the super wealthy.  If you are an elected Democrat in the US Congress and you can't make a case on that, you do need to retire.  Actually, you need to get to the ER immediately because if you're a Democratic member of Congress and you can't make that case, I think you're either dying or in a coma.  

Back to Epstein and his best buddy Donald Chump.    Garrett Owen (SALON) reports:

A national poll of 1,777 respondents found that a significant portion of voters believe President Donald Trump was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, along with a continuing trend of sliding approval numbers for Trump.

In a July 25-28 poll from The Economist/YouGov, Americans were asked, “Do you think that Donald Trump was involved in crimes allegedly committed by Jeffrey Epstein?” Nearly half of those said yes — 46% — while 32% said no; a further 23% said they were not sure.

RASSMUSSEN REPORTS notes its won polling:

A majority of voters think the Trump administration may be trying to conceal evidence of the president’s association with the late Jeffrey Epstein.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 60% of Likely U.S. Voters believe it’s likely that Trump administration officials are engaged in a cover-up to hide Donald Trump’s involvement with Epstein, including 45% who consider a cover-up Very Likely. Thirty-four percent (34%) say it’s not likely administration officials are engaged in a cover-up, including 16% who consider it Not At All Likely.

And Martha McHardy (NEWSWEEK) reports, "Donald Trump's public approval has dropped to its lowest level in months, according to newly released polling data.  The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that Trump's approval rating has dropped to 40 percent, with 56 percent disapproving, giving him a net approval rating of -16 points."

Meredith Kile (PEOPLE) reports:

A new CBS News report alleges that the DOJ and FBI have copies of the scrutinized security footage from just before Epstein's death without the midnight time jump

[. . .]

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice and the FBI released around 11 hours of footage from the security camera in New York City's Metropolitan Correctional Center, in an attempt to assuage public calls for transparency about the late billionaire and alleged predator.

However, the footage immediately sparked new conspiracy theories, as viewers noticed that, at 11:58 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2019, the footage jumped forward one minute, to midnight. As the video was meant to show that no one entered or exited Epstein's cell on the night before he was found dead — thereby proving that he died by suicide — the gap in the tape made many wonder if the footage had been doctored to hide evidence.

CBS News cites "a government source familiar with the investigation" in its new report that claims the FBI, the DOJ and the Bureau of Prisons all have a copy of the video that doesn't skip forward a minute. However, CBS' source did not provide information on what may be on the missing footage.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked about the missing minute, and she claimed it was a technical glitch.

"What we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every night they redo that video," she told reporters on July 8. "So, every night the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing."

Surveillance and forensic video experts told CBS News that a daily reset, such as Bondi described, "would have been unusual and was not something they encountered in most video systems."

When they released the footage, the DOJ and FBI claimed it was the "full raw" security video, however, forensic video expert Jim Stafford analyzed the released footage for CBS News and concluded that it was "likely a screen capture, not an actual export" of the security file.

Additionally, the metadata on the video showed that the file was created on May 23 of this year and was actually two separate videos stitched together.

We noted that in yesterday's snapshot.  I think it's an important development because Pam Bondi lied to the American people again.  I also think it goes to why FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino believe Bondi needs to go.  That would be the second big lie she's told the American people about the Epstein case as Attorney General.  

Here's one of the video reports on this issue from CBS NEWS.

On THE LAST HOUR WITH STEPHANIE RUHLE (MSNBC) last night, Stephanie and her guests discussed some of the latest developments in the Epstein scandal. 

Carl Gibson reports:

Two senior-level staffers from President Donald Trump's first administration are now saying the president's constantly shifting explanations on his relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein suggest he's withholding significant details.

During the Wednesday episode of Jim Acosta's Substack show, the former CNN host interviewed both Olivia Troye and Miles Taylor, who served in the office of former Vice President Mike Pence and the Department of Homeland Security, respectively. Both agreed that Trump's continuously shifting story on his association with Epstein raise a number of red flags that merit further investigation.

Taylor — who famously authored the anonymous New York Times op-ed about the "resistance" inside the Trump White House — said that the endurance of the Epstein scandal in the media is likely weighing heavy on the president's mind. He further argued that Trump's recent suggestion that his name was "planted" in the Epstein files is a sign that he's "spiraling."

"He's getting really paranoid here," Taylor said. "There's no supporter of his that's going to buy the idea that his name was simply planted in the files given everything that's come out, given the revelations that Trump was briefed by his own attorney general that his name was really found in the files. And so he's getting really anxious here."

Troye agreed with Taylor's point, and made the argument that Trump wasn't "behaving like someone who is innocent." She further suggested that Trump's "lashing out" makes him look "really guilty."

And he appears to assist the guilty, doesn't he?  The Deputy Attorney General goes to visit Maxwell for two days, visit her in prison, brings her some form of a gift in a box, offers her limited immunity, etc, etc.  This is Epstein's partner.  She's a pedophile.  She engaged in the sex with children.  She's a pedophile.  She's a sex trafficker.  And the administration goes out of their way to make nice with her but they're not speaking to any of the victims or the victims' families.

Khaleda Rahman (NEWSWEEK) notes:

 The family of Virginia Giuffre has responded to President Donald Trump's recent comments about her.

The president told reporters on Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein "stole" Giuffre, one of Epstein's most well-known accusers, from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where she worked in the summer of 2000 when she was 16. Giuffre died by suicide in April.

The family of Virginia Giuffre has responded to President Donald Trump's recent comments about her.

The president told reporters on Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein "stole" Giuffre, one of Epstein's most well-known accusers, from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where she worked in the summer of 2000 when she was 16. Giuffre died by suicide in April.

Giuffre and her family didn't have money.  Maxwell was raised in the lap of luxury.  Who is Chump playing footsie with?  The super wealthy.  Always and forever.  

In related news, Ailia Zehra reports:

A passionate supporter of President Donald Trump, who is married to a prominent Republican operative in Wisconsin and publicly stated in 2024 that he was casting his vote to combat child trafficking, is now facing ten counts of possessing images of exploited children.

Scott Soucek, from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, was arrested last week, according to a report by The Daily Beast. He is accused of downloading hundreds of illicit images via a file‑sharing network.

Back in October, Scott posted on Facebook a list of roughly two dozen reasons why he intended to vote for Trump.

“I’m voting to fight against human/child trafficking,” he wrote, adding that he was voting “for my children and my grandchildren.”

More than fifteen years prior to that post, in 2009, Door County investigators examined his laptop after he admitted to downloading illegal images involving children, but for reasons that remain unexplained, the case was never sent to the district attorney’s office.

According to the report, the newly filed 12‑page criminal complaint describes graphic content that was allegedly downloaded in March of this year. It linked to an IP address believed to be associated with Soucek.

Soucek's wife, Stephanie Soucek, serves as chair of the Door County Republican Party and was a delegate at the 2024 Republican National Convention, per the report.

So instead of going to prison and being put on a sex offender registry in 2009, Soucek's influence and money got him a sweetheart deal.  Just like Epstein's money and influence got him a sweetheart deal in 2008.  Something about Chump certainly attract the pedophiles.  

While Chump encourages the exploitation of children, Senator Ron Wyden works to end it:

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called for an immediate investigation of reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has drastically diverted resources away from investigations into serious crimes against children, including child sexual abuse and human trafficking, in order to devote more resources to rounding up immigrants.

“Instead of locking up rapists, child predators and other violent criminals, Trump appears to be diverting investigators to target cooks, farm workers and students. Congress and the American people will not tolerate the Trump administration ignoring the ongoing sexual abuse of vulnerable children,” wrote Wyden in the letter to DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at DHS is responsible for investigating serious crimes, and is one of the leading agencies charged with investigating child sexual abuse materials online. The 7,000 HSI agents are supposed to focus on investigating drug smuggling, human trafficking, and child sex trafficking, among other crossborder criminal activities. According to DHS, HSI arrested over 3,000 individuals for crimes against children and rescued over 1,000 victims of child exploitation in 2020 alone.

Wyden’s letter cites a recent report published by the Atlantic, which stated that HSI “supervisors have waved agents off new cases so they have more time to make immigration-enforcement arrests,” and quoted one agent describing the impact: “No drug cases, no human trafficking, no child exploitation.” 

Wyden has been a staunch advocate in the Senate for increasing resources for investigating sex trafficking and prosecuting predators to protect vulnerable children. In January 2024, Wyden introduced bipartisan legislation to protect children from online exploitation. In June 2024, he released information from his investigation into child abuse and neglect in youth residential treatment facilities across the United States. In September 2024, he urged existing authorities to protect and strengthen services for children susceptible to abuse enrolled in Medicaid in the child welfare program.

The full text of the letter is here.

###

This morning, Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) discussed the many, many ways in which Donald Chump is failing the American people.

As we speak to veterans groups across the country, one thing is clear: No one thinks Pete Hegseth is qualified to be Secretary of Defense.  Guess what?  That judgment call apparently includes Loose Lips Hegseth himself.  James Liddell (INDEPENDENT) reports:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is considering stepping down from his Pentagon duties to pursue political office in his adopted home state, according to a new report.

Weeks before condemning the Pentagon’s internal Signalgate review as a “sham” on Tuesday, the defense secretary reportedly began discussing a potential 2026 gubernatorial run in Tennessee, sources told NBC News.

According to Defense Department rules that prevent civilian employees from seeking political office, Hegseth would need to resign his post to launch a campaign.

If Hegseth were to follow through, it would mark the biggest shake-up in Pentagon leadership since the Trump administration ousted Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown in February.

Michael Luciano (MEDIAITE) reminds, "Just two months into his tenure, the secretary became embroiled in the Signal chat scandal, in which then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz accidentally added an Atlantic reporter to a private chat with Hegseth and other top administration officials. In the chat, Hegseth revealed key details about looming U.S. airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Staff churn has also been an issue, as in April he lost four in one day. Moreover, the secretary has reportedly become paranoid about leaks in his department."  Gordon Lubold (NBC NEWS) offers a bit more detail:

During his confirmation process, allegations surfaced around his treatment of his second wife, financial mismanagement, sexual misconduct and alcohol consumption — all of which Hegseth vehemently denied.

Since his confirmation, Hegseth has faced controversy over the abrupt firings of his top staff, accusations of chaos at the Pentagon and questions about his handling of sensitive military plans after he shared information about a military operation in Yemen on an unsecured group chat on Signal. A Pentagon inspector general report on the Signal chat, including the classification of the information Hegseth shared, could be released as early as next month.

Hegseth also suspended aid to Ukraine three times, but those decisions were reversed by the White House, NBC News reported.

Trump has said publicly that he maintains confidence in Hegseth, although privately he has at times expressed frustrations with him, NBC News has reported.

Politico recently reported that Trump and his inner circle stand by Hegseth. The New York Times also reported on Saturday that Hegseth continues to clash with the military’s top generals over his personnel and promotion choices and what are seen as partisan priorities.

We've had to put Loose Lips Hegseth on hold for about three weeks so let me toss out something before I forget.  Gossip.  Hadlima.  I'm told that's what caused Hegseth's facial outbreaks that look like psoriasis -- the reason he wears foundation -- often wears foundation poorly.  Supposedly, his wife's been explaining that to her friends.  Sad, when you try to pose as mister manly man and your wife has to go around explaining why you're wearing women's make up.  I have no idea why he's on Hadlima -- Cron's disease? -- if he is on it.  But that's what people are saying his wife is relaying is that he was previously on Humira and didn't have the facial spots but then he had to switch to Hadlima because the VA dropped coverage of Humira.  If this is true, I'll be kind and share that two doctors I spoke with after I heard the gossip both said TriDerma Psoriasis Control Face and Body Cream is the best and fastest acting cream for the red spots.  

Can't help him with his disclosure of classified secrets in a non-secure chat.  Dan Lamothe (WASHINGTON POST) reports on the upcoming watchdog report:

 It follows a report last week by The Washington Post that revealed the inspector general’s team was in receipt of evidence indicating the messages disseminated through Hegseth’s account on the unclassified chat app originated from a classified email sent to senior Pentagon officials by the top officer overseeing U.S. operations in the Middle East, Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla. 

  The email was labeled “SECRET/NOFORN,” a classification level at which unauthorized disclosure could be expected to cause serious damage to U.S. national security. The “NOFORN” label means it also was not meant for anyone who is a foreign national, including senior officials of close allies of the United States.

Hegseth’s account on Signal shared similarly sensitive details with at least one other group chat that included his wife, Jennifer; his brother, Phil; and a personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, people familiar with the matter have said previously.

The situation could mark a test of whether Hegseth will follow through on past promises to allow the inspector general’s office to carry out its work independently. During his bruising confirmation process, Hegseth promised Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) that, if confirmed, he would commit to “protecting the DoD IG’s independence,” according to a copy of the questionnaire reviewed by The Post. 

Days after Trump returned to office, he fired the Defense Department inspector general, Robert Storch, and at least 14 other leaders with similar watchdog responsibilities at other government agencies in a purge. Steven A. Stebbins, who took up the case against Hegseth, was selected as Storch’s replacement on an acting basis. A onetime Army officer like Hegseth, Stebbins retired from the military in 2015 and joined the inspector general’s office later that year, according to his official biography.

 

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks on Senate Floor***

Washington, D.C. —Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke out on the Senate floor against the nomination of Joe Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. Senator Murray slammed Kent for his lack of experience and long history of promoting conspiracy theories and white supremacist views, and urged her colleagues to vote against his nomination.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered on the Senate Floor, are below:

“Thank you, M. President.

“The National Counterterrorism Center plays a crucial role keeping our country safe. The agency is responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence to help protect our nation from terrorist threats. It is sober, serious work that requires a level head and a commitment to putting the mission before politics.

“Which is why I am deeply alarmed that Republicans are charging ahead to put it under the thumb of a conspiracy theorist who espouses white supremacist views, and is patently unqualified for this important role in just about every way imaginable. You are supposed to pick people with qualifications, but just about everything we know about Joe Kent is disqualifying for this role and alarming.

“There’s his track record chumming it up with white supremacists, from discussing campaign strategy with avowed white supremacist Nick Fuentes, to giving an interview to a guy who has defended Hitler, to rallying with the founder of a far-right paramilitary group, and let’s not forget the Proud Boy that he hired as a consultant!

“And it’s not just his connections, there’s his own deeply bigoted statements like: claiming Islam is ‘based on conquest at its core,’ and pushing racist ‘replacement theory’ rhetoric.

“That is alarming stuff. Let’s be frank here: These are white supremacist views—and they should have absolutely no place in our federal government.

“And then there is his track record of politicizing intelligence, like when he was caught red handed pushing to change intelligence reports—facts be damned—so they would agree with Trump and attack Biden.

“Joe Kent also has a track record of peddling conspiracies and attacking law enforcement, from saying our country is at war with ‘leftist cabal,’ or calling to completely defund the FBI and ATF, agencies that keep Americans safe from foreign and domestic threats, or pushing the offensive and false conspiracy that the January 6th insurrection was somehow a deep state plot.

“You want to know who in the federal government was behind the insurrection? How about we start with man in the White House who promised to march to the Capitol with them? How about we start with the President who calls rioters patriots? How about we start with the guy who pardoned violent cop beaters—en masse?

“If you cannot be honest with the American people about January 6th—you have no business being trusted with protecting our democracy. It should be that simple.

“And let’s not forget—Joe Kent was on the infamous Signal-gate chat—where classified attack plans were discussed with no regard for security, or law, not to mention the safety of our servicemembers.

“You know what he had to say about that? He said no classified information was discussed. That was the answer he gave at his Senate confirmation hearing.

“Now it’s obvious that answer was a complete lie. Last week, the Pentagon’s watchdog confirmed there was classified information in that Signal chat.

“So, was Kent being intentionally dishonest? Or does he not understand what classified information is?

“Either way—it is completely disqualifying. Which—as I think I’ve made clear—is pretty much the pattern here. 

“So here is my warning to Republicans, confirming someone like Joe Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center makes about as much sense as putting Donald Trump in charge of releasing the Epstein files after all that we have learned.

“We have all the evidence we could ever need—in the public record, right now—that he is not going to do the right thing. And we have no reason to believe he will do this important, high-stakes, work in a serious, impartial manner—let alone a competent one.

“So, M. President, I am here to urge all of my colleagues to join me in doing exactly what people back in Washington state have done each time they were asked to trust Joe Kent, vote no.”

###

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