(click on images to enlarge)
(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)
(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(Pat Byrnes, caglecartoons.com)
(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)
(Bart van Leeuwen, Oedipoes.com, Netherlands)
(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)
(R.J. Matson, CQ/ Roll Call)
(Gary Markstein, Creators.com)
(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)
(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)
(Lynn Hsu, The New Yorker)
Today, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is hearing arguments as to the constitutionality of the lawless Malignant Fascist's destructive tariff rampage, which he's using primarily as a coercive, political tool against his perceived adversaries, while taxing Americans for imported goods ranging from coffee beans to aluminum. Friday marks the deadline imposed by the MF for tariff "deals" with foreign nations. From CNBC:
"A federal appeals court is hearing arguments Thursday in a case that could kneecap President Donald Trump’s global tariff regime.
The arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit are being livestreamed on the court’s Youtube page.
Trump has held up the case as a life-or-death moment for his trade agenda. The plaintiffs in the case say the president has usurped the power of Congress to set tariffs. [snip]
Neal Katyal, the lawyer who is arguing against the Trump administration, said earlier Thursday, 'The president is saying he on his own with his say so can impose these tariffs.'
'And that is something no president in 200 years has ever thought. The tariff power goes all the way back to the Revolutionary War and, you know, the protests in the Boston Tea Party and the like,' Katyal said on MSNBC’s 'Morning Joe.'
'And our Constitution was very clear in saying, you know, there’s one branch that has the power to tariff and it isn’t the president and it isn’t the courts. It’s the Congress of the United States,' Katyal said.
The case, known as V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, centers on whether the president exceeded his authority by invoking an emergency-powers law to impose a slew of far-reaching tariff policies.
Trump had cited that statute, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, to justify his massive 'reciprocal' tariff plan, which set a nearly global 10% baseline duty while slapping higher rates on dozens of individual countries.'" (our emphasis)
The MF's cult in Congress has been derelict and supine in allowing the MF to seize a power of theirs under the Constitution, not just in this instance but in Federal budget and expenditures, judicial appointments that are clearly without merit, and more. If the courts (including SCOTUS) deny him this usurped power, his cult in Congress is likely to try to rescue him and affirm by law that they've delegated the power to him under the non-applicable International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The Epstein files cover up: "stolen girls" and a prison video --
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 2:44 PM
[image or embed]
BREAKING: New statement from Virginia Giuffre's family. "It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago. It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Not sure we need the Epstein Files when Trump helpfully gives more evidence of his guilt every day
— The Borowitz Report (@borowitzreport.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 7:17 PM
[image or embed]
“Did not show Epstein’s cell or even the stairway”
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 8:28 AM
[image or embed]
Looney Laura Loomer gets more officials axed --
“Eventually, when all of the qualified people are driven out and only the people acceptable to Laura Loomer remain, there could be an extremely bad result for the United States in some international crisis” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/u...
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 2:28 AM
[image or embed]
Only the best for the MF's regime --
Joe Kent is a Jan. 6 conspiracy theorist with ties to right-wing extremists, who’s been credibly accused of trying to politically manipulate intelligence. Senate Republicans — including the “moderates” — confirmed him to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) July 31, 2025 at 8:16 AM
[image or embed]
Rising outrage over Netanyahu's indiscriminate butchery in Gaza --
Genocide in Gaza: Substantial and well-documented evidence indicates a catastrophic public health emergency in Gaza, marked by severe food insecurity and alarming levels of malnutrition-related deaths. Life expectancy at birth reportedly declined by approximately 35 years in 2024.
— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 9:19 AM
[image or embed]
Sleepy Donnie nods off during round table with Dr. "Wizard of" Oz --
Sleepy Don. Watch Trump’s eyes as he struggles to stay awake during daytime event at the White House.
— Mike Sington (@mikesington.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 8:19 PM
[image or embed]
Trump exploded at former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after he humiliated the MAGA chief by comparing him to “Sleepy Joe” Biden.
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 7:56 AM
[image or embed]
More cowardly law firms capitulate to the MF. If they won't defend themselves.... --
NEW FROM @reuters.com: Top U.S. law firms have sharply scaled back their efforts to challenge the federal government in court, especially on behalf of pro bono clients, in the face of threats from President Trump. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
— Brad Heath (@bradheath.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 7:37 AM
[image or embed]
Both the projection and lack of self-awareness are monumental --
a cult, you say? with a makeup-wearing leader? do go on.
— shauna (@goldengateblond.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 9:59 PM
[image or embed]
Your bunny fix for the day --
What's up doc?? 👀😅🤣 #bluesky
— I Post Animal Vids... 😊 (@realjfairclough.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 9:57 AM
[image or embed]
ProPublica has assembled a stunning report, including videos, of disgusting police state tactics being employed by the ICE and Border Patrol -- there's no other way to describe them -- goons rushing to make their quota of dubious arrests:
A month into the new Trump administration, on the predawn streets of suburban Maryland, a high-ranking ICE official stood alongside a Mazda sedan that his officers had just stopped.
The official told a local TV reporter at the scene what was about to happen. “He can either give us a license,” he said, “or we’ll smash the fucking window out and drag him out.” Then, as the driver refused to exit the car, officers broke the glass.
It was one of nearly 50 documented instances of immigration agents breaking vehicle windows that ProPublica has identified from social media, local news accounts, lawsuits and interviews since President Donald Trump took office six months ago. Using the same methods, we found just eight in the previous decade. Neither number is comprehensive. The government releases no relevant statistics.
Use-of-force experts and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement insiders say the tactic was rarely used during previous administrations. They say there is no known policy change greenlighting agents’ smashing of windows. Rather, it’s a part of a broader shattering of norms.
There are arrest quotas, and they are increasingly aggressive. “There’s been an emphasis placed on speed and numbers that did not exist before,” says Deborah Fleischaker, who served as ICE chief of staff under President Joe Biden.
Officers who break glass aren’t being disciplined — they’re being promoted. The official from Maryland, Matthew Elliston, now occupies a senior position at headquarters and oversees field operations on the East Coast. On the other side of the country, a Border Patrol chief who also embraced the tactic, Gregory Bovino, was put in charge of sweeps in Los Angeles. (Neither answered ProPublica’s questions.)...
Please go to the link to view the shocking videos. Here's a screenshot from the video of a masked goon about to break the window of a man at a Home Depot last month in Los Angeles:
As these unAmerican police state tactics are being carried out by thugs in our name, ICE is recruiting more goons to carry out its extra-legal attacks on American citizens and non- citizens alike with a stomach-wrenching, Kafkaesque appeal:
The agency responsible for carrying out Donald Trump’s mass deportations is launching a recruiting campaign to entice “brave and heroic Americans” to serve as new deportation officers, lawyers and investigators as the government gears up for a major expansion of immigration enforcement thanks to a recent infusion of money from Congress. The icing on the cake: a promise of up to $50,000 in signing bonuses.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement campaign, which rolled out late Tuesday, recalls recruiting posters from the second world war with images of Uncle Sam and the words “AMERICA NEEDS YOU.” There also are photos of the US president and top homeland security officials with the words “DEFEND THE HOMELAND” across the images.
“Your country is calling you to serve at ICE,” said homeland security secretary Kristi Noem in a news release. “This is a defining moment in our nation’s history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland.”...
Brave and heroic Americans are those who fight these goons' tactics and methods, not the ones acting them out. The skills and experience Border Barbie is looking for is the ability to use excessive force on civilians without warrants or cause, and the "courage" to hide behind gaiters and masks while doing so. This isn't professional police work. Take a good look at these videos. This is what fascism looks like.
(Photo: masked goons in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles on July 7 /Damian Dovarganes, AP)
Let's see how this plays out:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is leading all seven senators on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in invoking a rarely used law to request files in the Jeffrey Epstein case and have them delivered to the committee next month.
In a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the group says it is requesting the files under the law, which says an “Executive agency, on request of … the Committee on [Homeland Security and] Governmental Affairs of the Senate, or any five members thereof, shall submit any information requested of it relating to any matter within the jurisdiction of the committee.”
The group requests the documents be delivered to Congress by Aug. 15, with a briefing of committee staff no later than Aug. 29. The letter was first reported by The New York Times.
The senators also ask that the department take all necessary steps to protect the identities of victims, and is requesting “all documents, files, evidence, or other materials in the possession of DOJ or FBI" related to the case. It’s not clear what enforcement mechanism Democrats would use if the Trump administration refuses to comply. (our emphasis)
Spoiler alert: the Trump regime will comply when Jeffrey Epstein's pit in Hell freezes over.
Nonetheless, it's a necessary step that places the onus on the MAGAt Republican party/ cult and the Trump regime to come clean or face more political damage:
If the committees get the files, they could release them. Our estimate of the probability of getting unredacted files is roughly zero. Donald Trump could get out his trusty sharpie and black out every word in every document before handing them over. Alternatively, he could go to the Supreme Court to get the law declared unconstitutional on the grounds that he doesn't like it.
But this stunt may not result in a stalemate. The public wants to see the files. If the news story in the next few days is that the Democrats are demanding the files so they can release them and Trump is blocking this, Democrats are going to be screaming: "What is he hiding? Use your imagination." The net result of all this could be that the public comes to view the Democrats as the ones trying very hard to release the files and the Republicans being the ones blocking it. That could affect the midterms if enough Republicans get so angry with the Republicans that they stay home on Election Day.
Our thinking is that the Epstein files, if they exist in a largely unredacted form, would only see the light of day if they're leaked -- Ã la Daniel Ellsberg -- by a whistleblower in the DOJ/ FBI. As with the committee getting the files, roughly zero chance, given the security involved, the legal privacy issues, and the wrath that would come down on the leaker. So, the best way the public interest can be served is to draw the line clearly that it's the Democrats who want the files released, and the Trump-shielding MAGAt Republicans who want to block it.
Little cracks in MAGAland keep appearing, mainly caused by the actions of their deranged and narcissistic cult leader, the Malignant Fascist. The latest example is Missouri' s glib fascist Sen. Josh "The Runner" Hawley supporting a bill to ban stock trading by Members of Congress, the President, and the Vice President, which for the MF could mean curtailing his corruption. The Associated Press reports:
"President Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. Josh Hawley on Wednesday after the Republican’s proposal to ban stock trading by members of Congress — and the president and vice president — won bipartisan approval to advance in a committee vote. [snip]
Trump called Hawley a 'second-tier Senator' who was playing into the hands of Democrats.
'I don’t think real Republicans want to see their President, who has had unprecedented success, TARGETED, because of the ‘whims’ of a second-tier Senator named Josh Hawley!'
GOP senators had been working with the White House on the stock trade bill, and some supported a broad carve-out to exclude the president from the ban, but it failed, with Hawley joining Democrats to block it. Trump complained that Hawley joined with Democrats to block another amendment that would have investigated the stock trades of Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker emerita, and her spouse. Paul Pelosi has been a much-watched trader, but Pelosi’s office said she personally does not own stock." (our emphasis)
With the MF, it's all about compliance or revenge, and Speaker emeritus Rep. Pelosi is one of the MF's fiercest adversaries. AP also notes that the MF has also attacked fossilized corn cob Sen. Chuck Grassley (MAGA-IA) over a Senate procedural measure that triggered his rage, something that isn't going over well with Senate MAGAts. The MF's failure to contain the Epstein files wildfire -- which he fuels by his out- of- control mouth -- is adding to his rage, and driving little wedges between him and his normally obsequious legislators.
(photos: First the fist pump, then the foot race during January 6 insurrection. NBC News)
(click on images to enlarge)
(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)
(Robert Ariail, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC)
(Jesse Duquette, @misterjesseduquette)
(Ben Jennings, The Guardian, UK)
(Matt Davies, Newsday)
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)
(Pat Byrnes, caglecartoons.com)
(Daryl Cagle, caglecartoons.com)
(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press; context here)
(Banx, Financial Times, UK; context here)
This story received no coverage in the broken media, but local outlets reported on a Border Patrol agent who was charged with child sex trafficking and defrauding the Government. (We also covered the story on July 22, but it bears repeating.) One wonders how many immigrants he harassed, beat or set up before he was taken down. KVOA in Tucson has the story:
"A Border Patrol agent is facing more than a dozen felony charges related to child sex trafficking and fraud. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conducted a long internal investigation, revealing disturbing evidence against Bart Yager.
Yager, 39, remains in custody after being linked to child sex trafficking and fraud. A grand jury has indicted him, and the Cochise County Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.
In June, federal agents executed a search warrant at Yager's Willcox home. Ring camera footage obtained by Sierra Vista Live captured the moment. Yager was arrested after evidence tied him to fraud, child sex trafficking and other crimes.
The grand jury returned an indictment the following week, charging Yager with 17 counts related to child sex trafficking and pandering, along with two additional fraud charges. CBP's investigation began in September 2023, initially focusing on Yager's alleged misrepresentation of assignments and improper payments. During this investigation, evidence was found that he paid a minor for sex.
According to the indictment, Yager repeatedly engaged in sexual acts with a minor between July 2023 and February 2024, while the minor was between 15 and 17 years old. He also faces multiple counts for allegedly pressuring another person into prostitution." (our emphasis)
This, and not a field hand picking crops, is who should be a candidate for the El Salvadoran prison CECOT.
It's becoming clearer that the Border Patrol and especially its fellow DHS agency ICE don't look too carefully into the backgrounds of their recruits, as long as they demonstrate the Malignant Fascist regime's required capacity for cruelty and violence (see here, and here for example). ICE and the Border Patrol may even have enlisted members of the brownshirt street gang Proud Boys and the paramilitary fascist group Oath Keepers as auxiliary agents as their workforce ramps up under the Malignant Fascist's corrupt and criminal regime.
(photo: Bart Yager. Cochise County Sheriff)
The Epstein files coverup, Virginia Giuffre, and the jail tape --
When asked about Trump's supposed "fallout" with Jeffrey Epstein, Trump confirms that his Mar-a-Lago spa was a source for Epstein's procurement of young girls to abuse, and that Virginia Giuffre was one of the young girls who was "stolen." Trump thinks the girls were HIS property.
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 9:40 AM
[image or embed]
So many 16-years old girls worked at the Mar A Lago spa? What was their role? Media should be asking obvious questions but they’re access hacks. Trump admitted it. Virginia Giuffre worked there. She was “stolen”. Stolen? Here is Prince Andrew with Virginia & Ghislaine Maxwell.
— Denver Riggleman (@denverr.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 7:29 AM
[image or embed]
On Virginia Giuffre and The Long-Suffering Victims of Jeffrey Epstein Trump and his former "closest friend," Jeffrey Epstein, saw women as property to be owned, used, and thrown away. The women have names and stories that threaten to finally bring Trump down. open.substack.com/pub/thelefth...
— Wajahat Ali (@wajali.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 9:10 PM
[image or embed]
Trump treated Virginia Giuffre like his property. He talks about her being "stolen" by Epstein like she just switched jobs. This wasn't a broken non-compete clause. That’s human trafficking, plain and simple. Don’t stop talking about Epstein’s files. That pedo freak doesn’t deserve a moment's peace.
— Naotoshi Maeda (@naotoshimaeda.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I think people are misinterpreting this wonky headline. The bombshell story CBS is reporting is that the Epstein jail tape the public got IS missing time and the FULL video exists. The FBI and DOJ have it. So when Bondi said the missing minute is normal, she lied. www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey...
— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) July 29, 2025 at 5:30 PM
[image or embed]
Trump's cowardly masked goon squads --
just went to immigration court in Lower Manhattan to see with my own eyes how masked and armed federal agents are apprehending people in the hallways as they walk out of their scheduled hearings.
— Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
[image or embed]
Trump's best and brightest --
What kind of a public-health moron would say, “We have never talked about environmental exposures that may, say, cause cancer.”
— Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 8:37 AM
[image or embed]
Me on the factually misleading and analytically ridiculous misconduct complaint DOJ has filed against Chief Judge Boasberg—and the dangerousness of DOJ so openly trying to undermine public confidence in the only institution that has been even partially effective at checking the Trump administration:
— Steve Vladeck (@stevevladeck.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 4:17 PM
[image or embed]
Twisted man failing upward; it's "Judge" Bove--
ICYMI: Senate Republicans last night confirmed Emil Bove, aka Trump's "enforcer," to a lifetime federal judgeship -- choosing to ignore credible allegations that Bove told DOJ attorneys to defy court orders and say “fuck you” to judges who ruled against them. www.huffpost.com/entry/senate...
— Jen Bendery (@jbendery.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 9:28 AM
[image or embed]
If we survive this, there is going to be a real push from liberals for the next Democrat in the Oval to go scorched earth and simply nominate the most ardently ideological, brazenly partisan judges. Not even offer up a fig leaf of bipartisanship. Just ram through whoever you want, at any cost.
— Bradley P. Moss (@bradmossesq.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 9:17 PM
[image or embed]
Monsters --
It is not possible to find the words for this.
— Nathan Kalman-Lamb (@nkalamb.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 11:46 AM
[image or embed]
"First Class Loser" --
Dropkick Murphys for the win at Warped Tour over the weekend in Long Beach playing their song "First Class Loser" with an epic backdrop video 🔥
— WuTangIsForTheChildren (@wutangforchildren.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 4:47 PM
[image or embed]
Of note: Trump got 66% of the vote in North Dakota --
National Weather Service Grand Forks explaining there’s no threat for tsunami impacts in North Dakota, a landlocked state
— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) July 29, 2025 at 11:20 PM
[image or embed]
English indie rock band Wet Leg has been growing their base of fans since their debut album "Chaise Longue" won the 2022 Grammys for Best Alternative Music Performance, and Best Alternative Music Album. Founded by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers in 2019 on the Isle of Wight, they have a new album out "Moisturizer" and our song choice today is from that album, "Davina McCall".
"Like many U.S. institutions, the European Union has abysmally failed the Trump test. The EU is an economic superpower and could have retaliated effectively against Trump’s illegal tariffs — illegal under both U.S. and international law. Instead, Europe did nothing and even made some apparent concessions.
"But notice my wording: apparent concessions. The optics of the Trump-EU deal were humiliating, and optics matter. If you examine the substance, however, it starts to look as if Europe played Trump for a fool. Specifically, a fossil fool.
"The
EU made two sort-of pledges to Trump. First, that it would invest $600
billion in the United States. Second, that it would buy $750 billion
worth of U.S. energy, mainly oil and gas, over the next three years. The
first promise was empty, while the second was nonsense..." -- Paul Krugman, in his Substack, on one of the many times and ways the moron Malignant Fascist got played while making one of his "deals." It's bad enough that American institutions and organizations bow to this buffoonish blob; it's disheartening when foreign governments and institutions, who have more leverage in most cases, try to appease him. The Europeans at least found a way to make it seem like he was the "winner," playing on both his profound ignorance and narcissism. Now, they'll simply pass the cost of the tariffs on to American consumers. A fool's bargain made by a fool.
National security analyst Marcy Wheeler examines the timeline of the Malignant Fascist's links to teenager Virginia Giuffre, who worked at the Mar-a-Lago spa, and according to the MF was "stolen" by pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to work for him. Here's an excerpt, but read the entire excellent post:
"What I’m interested in with the possibility that Trump cut off Epstein for recruiting at Mar-a-Lago is the timing Trump just laid out.
Epstein stole an employee (hypothetically, Giuffre, in 2000). Trump told Epstein not to do it again. And then — possibly the event that led to the 2007 removal — “he did it again.”
Right in-between those incidents, in 2002, Trump told New York Magazine that Epstein liked his girls (Trump called them 'women') young. [snip]
And then, according to WSJ, in 2003, Trump or his staff sent Epstein a birthday letter referencing secrets and enigmas, with Trump’s signature appearing like pubic hair. [snip]
If Donald Trump learned what happened to Giuffre and warned Epstein never to recruit sex slaves at Mar-a-Lago again, it would mean he was aware of what happened to Giuffre, aware years before law enforcement first started investigating Epstein. It would mean he learned Epstein was trafficking girls, which that New York Magazine quote sure seems to reflect, and rather than do something to make Epstein stop, Trump just told him not to do it at Mar-a-Lago." (our emphasis)
As Wheeler suggests, the MF apparently acknowledged that he was aware of Epstein's abuse of the underage girls that he "poached" from Mar-a-Lago over a period of years. That knowledge could only come from someone who participated in covering up Epstein's crimes, and who may have been part of them at some point. Giuffre sadly took her own life earlier this year, but her testimony / statements in the trials of Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell would tell the story. It fills in some of the blanks that would explain the MF's desperate attempt to keep the files on Epstein hidden, and to distract the public from them.
(click on images to enlarge)
(Jonathan Brown, caglecartoons.com)
(Jon Richards, @polcartoon)
(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)
(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)
(Marty Two Bulls, m2bulls.com)
(Walt Handelsman, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
(Brian McFadden, gocomics.com)
(J.D. Crowe, Alabama Media Group)
(Andy Marlette, Creators.com)
(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(Peter Steiner, @plsteiner)
Keep talking, definitely not in the Epstein files yam:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein because the disgraced financier “stole” young women working at his Mar-a-Lago spa too many times — including a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.
Speaking aboard Air Force One while returning from his five-day combination golf holiday and tariff summit in Scotland, Trump was asked about comments he’d made over the weekend suggesting that he’d banned the pedophile power-player from his Palm Beach club for hiring away employees.
He confirmed that Epstein “took people that work for me” and did so again despite being admonished not to poach Mar-a-Lago workers by Trump.
“He took people that work for me, and I told him, don’t do it any more. And he did it. I said, stay the hell out of here,” he said.
Pressed further on whether the workers poached by Epstein included Giuffre, then a Mar-a-Lago pool locker-room attendant whose groundskeeper dad got her a job there, Trump confirmed she was among the poachings.
“I told him, I said, listen, we don’t want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa. I don’t want him taking people. And he was fine. And then, not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, out of here,” he said, describing Epstein as having “stolen” his spa workers.
Asked point blank if one of them was Giuffre, who died aged 41 by suicide earlier this year, he replied: “I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people.”
“I don’t know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people, yeah, he stole her,” Trump added. “And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.”
Giuffre met Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, at Mar-a-Lago in 2000, she told the BBC, and she offered her an interview to train as a massage therapist. Giuffre was ultimately recruited and groomed by Maxwell and raped by Epstein on numerous occasions after being ostensibly hired as a “masseuse” by the pedophile.
The president’s new claim about the reasons why he ended a years-long friendship with Epstein contradicts previous statements made by him over the years concerning why he cut off contact with the notorious sex offender, who was arrested in March 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial.
He previously said he cut off contact with Epstein because he was a “creep,” citing a 2009 conviction for soliciting underage prostitutes. Trump and people close to him have routinely cited the end of his friendship with Epstein when attempting to distance the president from the disgraced sex trafficker...
"Oh, what a web we weave when we practice to deceive." The changing stories noted above, the Freudian admissions, the fact that his lips are moving -- his lies and evasions are starting to catch up to him. He knows there's evidence of his dealings with Epstein out there and that the pressure is mounting to release the files. He's showing signs of desperation and his mushy brain is working against him in trying to make his case to his MAGAt base. This is one of the biggest tells yet, though.
Here's the video of his comments. Notice how he says his break with Epstein is "because he did something that was inappropriate." Sex with underage girls? Sex trafficking? No. He "stole" 17-yea-old Giuffre from the Mar-a-Lago spa. Telling:
UPDATE: Surprise! Now it seems there are discrepancies in the Epstein jail video and what DOJ / FBI officials have been saying.
(Image: Epstein, Giuffre, yam)
As our learned institutions of higher edumacation clearly grasp, extortionists will always go away after the extortion is paid:
Harvard University is open to paying up to half a billion dollars to end its feud with the Trump administration, The New York Times reported Monday.
Citing four anonymous sources, the Times said Harvard was considering acquiescing to the president’s demands and paying as much as $500 million—though university leaders expressed reservations about paying the government directly. The exact terms of the settlement are still being hammered out, the sources said.
The news comes less than a week after Columbia University agreed to pay the Trump administration more than $200 million to get $400 million of grant funding restored.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the Columbia deal “a roadmap for elite universities that wish to regain the confidence of the American public by renewing their commitment to truth-seeking, merit and civil debate.” And Trump said he wanted to make sure that Harvard paid more than Columbia, the Crimson reported.
Harvard has been embroiled in a legal battle with the White House since April, when Trump officials demanded the university submit to a long list of elaborate demands in order to maintain federal funding. President Alan Garber refused, winning plaudits for standing up to the president’s bullying.
But even as Harvard fought back with a series of lawsuits, university leaders have been quietly negotiating with the Trump administration, eager to see more than $2 billion in federal funding restored and Harvard’s ability to enroll international students preserved...
They fought back ... until they didn't. The rank cowardice and short-sightedness of some of our elite institutions (at least the administrators thereof) is all the more shocking because of the lip service these collaborators have historically paid to standing up for "academic freedom" and the First Amendment. But, as Masha Gessen famously noted, our institutions won't save us from tyranny (because they can't seem to be able to save themselves).
As LGM's Scott Lemieux puts it:
To make a point that should be obvious to people to whom it apparently isn’t, once you’ve accepted the principle that the government can make you pay half a billion dollars in exchange for charges that have virtually no chance of standing up in court so you can stop them from pulling funding, whether the government has a formal monitoring role is beside the point — they can always take funding away again and/or come back and demand more money. How any halfway intelligent person could believe that agreeing to a shakedown will help “avoid more troubles” is beyond me.
It's beyond us too. But then, we didn't get a Harvard edumacation.
So, to reiterate Lemieux's point, Harvard isn't avoiding future troubles with the Malignant Fascist's regime. It's signalling it's a mark for more extortion. And that's the veritas.
