Politics

As the questions surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s life and death—questions that Donald Trump once helped whip up—tornadoed into their bajillionth news cycle, the president’s team began to privately debate ways to calm the furor: appoint a special counsel to investigate. Call on the courts to unseal documents related to the case. Have Attorney General Pam Bondi hold a news conference. Hold daily news conferences on the topic, à la Trump’s regular prime-time pandemic appearances. It dismissed every option. Any decision would ultimately come from Bondi and Trump together—or from Trump alone—and for days, the president was adamant about doing nothing. Trump was annoyed by the constant questions from reporters—had Bondi told him that his name, in fact, was in the Epstein files? (“No,” came his response)—and frustrated by his inability to redirect the nation’s attention to what he views as his successes, four White House officials and a close outside adviser told us. But more than that, Trump felt deeply betrayed by his MAGA supporters, who had believed him when he’d intimated that something was nefarious about how the Epstein case has been handled, and who now refused to believe him when he said their suspicions were actually baseless. [Jonathan Chait: Why Trump can’t make the Epstein story go away] He—the president, their leader, the martyr who had endured scandals and prosecution and an assassin’s bullet on their behalf—had repeatedly told them it was time to move on, and that alone should suffice. Why, he groused, would the White House add fuel to the fire, would it play into the media’s narrative? In particular, Trump has raged against MAGA influencers who, in his estimation, have profited and grown famous off their association with him and his political movement, according to one of the officials and the outside adviser, who is in regular touch with the West Wing. They and others we spoke with did so on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to anger Trump by talking about a subject that has become especially sensitive. Trump told the outside adviser that the “disloyal” influencers “have forgotten whose name is above the door.” “These people cash their paychecks and get their clicks all thanks to him,” the adviser told us. “The president has bigger fish to fry, and he’s said what he wants: Move on. People need to open their ears and listen to him.” But Trump’s haphazard efforts at containment—specifically, his effort to simply bulldoze through this very real scandal—came to an end last night, when The Wall Street Journal published an explosive story about a bawdy 50th-birthday letter that Trump allegedly sent to Epstein, which alluded to a shared “secret” and was framed by a drawing of a naked woman’s outline. (Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture, and has threatened to sue the paper.) Shortly after the article posted online, Trump wrote on Truth Social that because of “the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein,” he has asked Bondi to produce all relevant grand-jury testimony related to the Epstein case. Bondi immediately responded, writing, “President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.” The Journal story underscored, yet again, the part of the Epstein saga that Trump and his allies most wish would go away: that Trump was one of Epstein’s many famous pals and had a long—and public—friendship with the hard-partying, sex-obsessed financier who pleaded guilty in 2008 to two prostitution-related crimes and became a registered sex offender. Chummy photos of the two men, including at Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago Club, abound; from 1993 to 1997, Trump flew on Epstein’s private jets seven times, according to flight logs that emerged at an Epstein-related trial; in a 2002 New York magazine profile of Epstein, Trump said he’d known Epstein for 15 years and praised him as a “terrific guy.” “He’s a lot of fun to be with,” Trump enthused to the magazine. “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” The two reportedly had a falling-out in 2004 when Epstein bought an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion that Trump wanted. On Wednesday—after the White House had been alerted that the Journal was working on a big story, but at a moment when it still thought it might be able to kill it—Trump took to social media to blast as “past supporters” Republicans still discussing the Epstein matter. He also tore into them during an Oval Office appearance with the crown prince of Bahrain. The president declared that “some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans” had fallen for a hoax that he said had been created by the Democrats. The president also privately fumed at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s call for “transparency”—and for Trump’s Justice Department to release more files related to the Epstein case—while White House aides wondered if the apparent split could lead to further Republican defiance on other issues. [Helen Lewis: ‘Just asking questions’ got no answers about Epstein] Still, before the Journal story changed the stakes yet again, Trump did not have plans to make additional calls to MAGA media allies or Republican lawmakers, one of the officials told us; instead, the president believed that his public comments and Truth Social posts were sufficient. (Despite his ire, he did not, for instance, reach out to Johnson or his team.) “He’s being tested and doesn’t like it,” the official told us. “He doesn’t want to talk about it.” Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo once observed, “You campaign in poetry; you govern in prose.” And although the country does sometimes accept politicians who campaign in poetry and govern in prose, it is less willing to countenance those who campaign in conspiracy theory and then govern in a nothing-to-see-here-folks reality. Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida state court in 2008 and was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute. He received a generous (and controversial) plea deal and

Jeet Heer Partisan politics is making a travesty of justice. The post Jeffrey Epstein’s Victims Are Again Being Wronged by Donald Trump’s Circus appeared first on The Nation.

Steve Brodner Unitaryman. The post What Was the Joke? appeared first on The Nation.

John Nichols Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar warns that a move to redraw Texas congressional districts will undermine democracy in the Lone Star State and beyond. The post “This Is the Biggest Threat to Our Democracy That Nobody’s Talking About” appeared first on The Nation.

A cartoon by Pedro Molina. Related | Americans reject MAGA meanness as ‘Superman’ soars

President Donald Trump is in the midst of a temper tantrum after the Wall Street Journal on Thursday night published the contents of a lewd birthday note he sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The note included a doodle of a naked woman and concluded, “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump has so far written four unhinged Truth Social posts trying to deny that he ever wrote the note to Epstein, who was charged with child sex trafficking in 2019 but allegedly committed suicide in prison before he faced trial. Before that, Epstein was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution of a minor. Epstein counted as his friends a number of powerful men, including Trump. In 2002, Trump raved about their friends to New York magazine. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump said. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” President Donald Trump speaks to the media after arriving at Joint Base Andrews on July 15. After the Wall Street Journal’s report went live, Trump claimed online that the birthday note is “FAKE” and threatened to sue the news outlet for publishing the note’s contents. Then he claimed the note could not be real, writing in another batshit-crazy Truth Social post that the note is “not the way I talk.” “Also, I don’t draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper,” Trump wrote. However, Trump does draw pictures. A number of his doodles of the New York City skyline have been auctioned off for charity—including one that sold for $29,000 and another that sold for $16,000 in 2017. Trump also posted about the Epstein files, which his administration says don’t exist, despite the fact that many who now serve in his administration had said they should be released. To try to appease his base, which is tearing itself apart as it reckons with the fact that Trump may be part of a cover-up of the Epstein scandal, Trump said late on Thursday that he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “all pertinent Grand Jury testimony” about Epstein. Legal experts say, however, that this would likely not include lists of the powerful people purported to be in the files. Then Trump tried a new line of defense about why the Epstein files—which he long said he would release—don’t exist. “If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had [former Attorney General Merrick] Garland and [former FBI Director James] Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!” Trump wrote. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers are working overtime to protect and defend their Dear Leader. House Republican leadership is blocking the House from voting on a bill that would order the release of the Epstein files. Instead, Republican leaders put a toothless, nonbinding resolution on the floor that says the administration should release the files. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky speaks to reporters at the Capitol in May 2019. “Republicans spent all day writing a glorified press release to cover for a child sex abuser. What they ended up writing is a phony, non-binding resolution that does nothing,” Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said. “I moved to make it real and release the Epstein files. Every Republican voted no. Again.” “Congress thinks you’re stupid. The rules committee passed a NON-BINDING Epstein resolution, hoping folks will accept it as real. It forces the release of NOTHING,” Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky—who is trying to force a vote on a bill that would legally obligate the Trump administration to release the files—wrote in a post on X. Meanwhile, other Republicans are playing cover for Trump.  Rep. Randy Fine, Republican of Florida, is irate about the WSJ report, saying he is introducing legislation to end House subscriptions to the newspaper. And Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida posted a joke doodle of a naked woman to try to claim the WSJ story was fake news.  And House Speaker Mike Johnson went on CNBC to claim that everything is fine and that Trump’s approval rating has never been higher, even though that’s patently false and his approval rating has been tanking. “His approval ratings are skyrocketing. CNN had a story a day or two ago—he was at a 90% approval rating! There’s never been a president that high,” Johnson said in a comment so absurdly false it rivals the kind of propaganda the lady in the pink dress spews about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

CBS is being criticized after the network announced on Thursday night that its long-running late-night talk show, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” hosted by the comedian and outspoken Trump critic, would be canceled and go off the air in 2026. The network’s decision comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has been engaged in a sustained attack on independent media and as corporate media like CBS has given in to his demands. “This is all just going away,” Colbert told his audience on Thursday night, and said he shared his audience’s feelings after they booed the announcement. CBS claimed in a statement that the cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was based on finances and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” Trump praised the network’s decision. “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. But as is often the case, Trump is wrong. In the most recent quarter, Colbert was the highest-rated late-night talk show host. Colbert had an average of 2.42 million viewers each night, outpacing the competition at ABC and NBC. YouTube Video CBS’ announcement comes just three days after Colbert mocked the network’s parent Paramount company for paying out $16 million to settle a frivolous lawsuit from Trump. Paramount is also, coincidentally, in the middle of a merger that the Trump administration will need to sign off on. “As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I’m offended. And I don’t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million dollars would help,” Colbert said. Several Democratic members of Congress called out CBS for the apparent censorship. “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.” CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons. Watch and share his message. — Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) 2025-07-18T00:15:04.991Z California Sen. Adam Schiff echoed Warren’s sentiments, writing, “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.” Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal noted that Paramount had previously admitted that the Trump suit was “without merit” and said the public needs to know if the Colbert cancellation is “a politically motivated attack on free speech.” Colbert has been one of the most prominent voices in the entertainment world consistently mocking Trump, the Republican Party, and conservatives. He has hosted progressives and Democratic Party leaders who have used the program to criticize and mock the right. By eliminating the show, the right gains ground by silencing a dissenting voice. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have been systematically working to defund, attack, and purge media that doesn’t toe the party line. At the same time, corporate media has bowed to Trump at outlets like the Washington Post, ABC News, and previously at CBS. The capitulation continues.

Congressional Democrats are demanding answers from Fox News after the conservative network edited an interview with President Donald Trump about Jeffrey Epstein, his associate and convicted sex offender. In a 2024 interview, Fox aired an interview with Trump and Rachel Campos-Duffy in which he appeared to unequivocally say he would declassify files associated with the Epstein investigation, the 9/11 attacks, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the version broadcast on “Fox & Friends,” Trump responds, “Yeah. Yeah, I would.” But in the extended version of the comments, Trump equivocated and told the network, “You don’t want to affect people’s lives if it’s phony stuff in there.” The interview is coming under renewed scrutiny after Trump and his Department of Justice have decided to withhold information on the Epstein investigation despite years of touting the case as something he would expose. Rep. Robert Garcia of California “It is obvious to the American public that someone is lying and someone is trying to hide something,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the highest-ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement released on Thursday. “As a network that reaches an estimated 2,663,000 total viewers, Fox News should not be in the business of censoring interviews with presidential candidates to mislead the public. The American people have a right to understand why Fox & Friends chose to alter President Trump’s stated position on the release of the Epstein files.” In a letter addressed to Lachlan Murdoch (executive chair and CEO of Fox parent Fox Corporation) and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, Garcia asks the network for access to any communications between Fox and Trump regarding the interview and exchanges about the Trump campaign and Epstein. Garcia noted in his letter that the Fox News edits are even “more pressing” after Trump sued CBS for airing two clips of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, falsely insinuating that the edits changed the content of the exchange—while apparently benefitting from edited video from Fox at the same time. Related | CBS News disgraces itself as parent company bends to Trump CBS’ parent company Paramount has since paid off a $16 million settlement to Trump to make the frivolous lawsuit go away. The Epstein issue has been a major concern for Trump, as he has received criticism from MAGA supporters for the administration’s lack of transparency. Trump and congressional Republicans continue to stonewall efforts by Democrats attempting to force full disclosure of the government’s Epstein data, including a purported client list related to Epstein’s sex trafficking. Fox has long been in Trump’s corner, devoting hundreds of hours of airtime to propping up Trump, the Republican Party, and conservatism. Editing videos to help Republicans and/or smear Democrats has been part of Fox’s operation for its 29 years of existence. The edits under scrutiny by Garcia are right in line with the network’s past actions.

President Donald Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz as a maximum-security prison—and it could cost up to $2 billion, according to Axios. Trump has long toyed with the idea of reopening the infamous island prison, which is currently a museum and tourist destination. But now it seems he’s taking concrete steps to make this foolish plan happen. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured the island Thursday, with officials confirming that multiple site visits have been conducted and early cost estimates drafted. It’s absurd on its face. Trump has spent months heartlessly cutting federal programs and shrinking government agencies under the guise of “efficiency.” And yet his administration is now considering a multibillion-dollar prison project aimed at housing what Trump calls America’s “most ruthless and violent” criminals. Sources told Axios there are three possible versions of the plan. The first—and most costly, at over $2 billion—involves destroying all existing structures on the island and building a new “supermax” complex from nothing. A smaller version might cost around $1 billion and take up less area of the island. The third option involves outsourcing the project to private prison companies, but Axios’ sources say this isn’t likely. A bird flies above Alcatraz Island on May 4 in the San Francisco Bay, California. “He likes it because it’s tough,” one Trump adviser told Axios. Another added: “People thought it was a joke … but the president is serious. And if he’s serious, we’re gonna do it.” Of course, there are huge logistical issues with this idea. Alcatraz was closed in 1963, after about 29 years in operation. The facility was falling apart, too expensive to run, and depended on boats to supply everything—food, water, and staff. And that was over 60 years ago. It’s not about need. It’s about image. Alcatraz occupies a large place in the American imagination, thanks to decades of movies, myths, and prison lore. And Trump, always looking to make a statement, surely sees this as an opportunity. Forget that the U.S. prison population has been dropping for years and is expected to keep shrinking. And forget that the National Park Service has operated the island as a tourist spot since 1973. If Trump gets his way, power would shift from NPS to Bondi’s Justice Department, which would oversee the new facility. Axios notes that funding could come from Trump’s recently passed budget law, which increased funding for immigration enforcement. That sector remains one of the few areas still seeing growth in the incarceration system, and it’s a top priority for Trump, who has heavily promoted brutal border policies designed to scare migrants into “self-deporting.” Democrats, unsurprisingly, are criticizing the Alcatraz plan. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes Alcatraz, called it “the Trump administration’s stupidest initiative yet.” “It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies,” she said in a statement. Even Trump’s staff admits that costs and time frames might stop the project.  “We need a lot more study, a lot more specificity, before the president decides,” one official said. “But $2 billion might just be too much money for him.”  The most expensive option might also be shelved because it would take too long to build, and Trump is eager to get it done while he’s still in office. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time Trump invested public funds in a flashy project with little real purpose. If it sounds expensive and legally questionable, chances are it’s close to getting approved.

Around 230 Venezuelans deported to and imprisoned in El Salvador’s brutal CECOT prison are being sent to Caracas, Venezuela, Daily Kos can confirm.  In exchange, Venezuela will release five U.S. citizens and five U.S. permanent residents into custody of the American government, according to Reuters, which was the first to report the news through government sources.  “This nightmare is finally coming to an end. Unbelievable,” Gris Vogt, a San Francisco-based education specialist for the blind who has spent the past four months assisting families of the imprisoned men, told Daily Kos.  Since March, Vogt has worked with families in Venezuela, serving as a lifeline for their access to the American Civil Liberties Union and helping them communicate across the geopolitical gaps of Venezuela, El Salvador, and the U.S.  At least one planeload of prisoners arrived in Caracas on Friday afternoon, she told Daily Kos. “I’m happy for them, I’m happy for everybody,” she said.  YouTube Video After this story was first published, Salvadoran dictator Nayib Bukele posted on X that his government has “handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country.” On March 15, President Donald Trump deported 238 Venezuelan immigrants to the notoriously abusive CECOT prison on the flimsy claims that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang.  However, the most concrete proof that the administration has provided is that the people had tattoos that officials claimed were affiliated with the gang. Experts have cast doubt on the reliability of using tattoos to gauge gang affiliation, though. Additionally, the vast majority of the original 238 deported Venezuelan migrants have no criminal record, according to “60 Minutes.” While around 230 Venezuelans are to be sent to their home country, the U.S. has deported over 250 Venezuelans to El Salvador.  Daily Kos has reached out to government officials for comment but did not immediately hear back.  As for other Venezuelan inmates without criminal convictions, their family members have been waiting months for this day to come. Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Salvadoran dictator Nayib Bukele.