QOTD: "The Story Underlying All Others"

Heather Cox Richardson writes in her Substack "Letters from an American" about the fast-moving developments last week from the ICE murder in Minneapolis, to the kidnapping of Venezuela's Maduro, to the Malignant Fascist's threats to seize Greenland and to prosecute Fed Chair Powell to extort interest rate reductions. But it all revolves around the MF's fear of the Epstein-Trump files getting out, and exposing his probable criminal predation:

"The story underlying all others is that the United States Congress passed a law requiring the Department of Justice to release all the Epstein files—the files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the activities of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—no later than December 19, and it has not done so. [snip]

Despite the clear requirement of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that they release all the files by December 19, to date they have released less than 1% of the material. 

Another part of the backstory of the past week is that the Supreme Court on December 23, 2025, rejected the Trump administration’s argument that it had the power to deploy federalized National Guard troops in and around Chicago, a decision that seemed to limit Trump’s power to use military forces within the United States.

Yet another part of the backstory is that on New Year’s Eve, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee released a 255-page transcript of former special counsel Jack Smith’s December 17 closed-door testimony before the committee. In that testimony—under oath—Smith said that his office had 'developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power. Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed that President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January of 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a ballroom and a bathroom. He then repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents.'

With pressure building over the Epstein files and Jack Smith’s testimony, and with the Supreme Court having taken away Trump’s ability to use troops within the United States, the administration went on the offensive." (our emphasis)

The wild flailing by the MF on immigration and other fronts, and his belligerent actions internationally are the result of his mortal fear of the public finding out about his crimes with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.  "Flooding the zone" with international crises and masked thugs in the streets of America causes the broken media to look away from the Epstein-Trump files, what Richardson correctly identifies as the "story underlying all others."

(photo: Redacted Epstein files. DOJ)