The Common Ills

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

The Snapshot

Tuesday, February 17, 2026. Rev Jesse Jackson has passed away, the Epstein Files continue to impact Chump and his cronies and much more.

The Epstein Class is under scrutiny around the world. Niall Stanage (THE HILL) observes:

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal isn’t going anywhere — despite the recent release of roughly 3 million documents by the Department of Justice.

The story’s longevity is partly because of the horrific scale of Epstein’s predations.

The latest releases also placed a shadow over the previous accounts given by allies of President Trump — from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Elon Musk — regarding their dealings with Epstein.

[. . .]

Beyond all of that, there is the broader fear and anger raised by the nature of the Epstein story.

Specifically, it stokes the sense of a wealthy and powerful elite hovering above the rest of society, forming a chummy circle of mutual protection, and remaining out of reach of the laws and ethical standards to which everyone else is subject.

At a time when anti-elitist populism is already one of the strongest animating political forces in the United States — and in many other parts of the world — the Epstein story is rocket fuel.

In France, REUTERS reports:

French police searched the Arab World Institute in Paris on Monday as part of a probe into its former head, ex-culture minister Jack Lang, and his links to late convicted United States sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, prosecutors said.

France's National Financial Prosecutor (PNF) said in a statement that the Arab World Institute was among several locations being raided.

Prosecutors this month opened a preliminary investigation of Lang and his daughter, Caroline, on suspicion of tax fraud following the release of documents on Epstein in the US

Lang, who was culture minister under the late Socialist president Francois Mitterrand, resigned this month from the Arab World Institute, which he had led since 2013.

He has said he was unaware of Epstein's crimes despite corresponding with him between 2012 and 2019, 11 years after the financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Epstein died in prison by suicide in 2019.

In the US, Michelle Jamrisko (BLOOMBERG NEWS) reports:

Hyatt Hotels Corp. Executive Chairman Tom Pritzker said he would retire from his position at the company and won’t stand for reelection to its board, citing an association with the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“My job and responsibility is to provide good stewardship. That is important to me. Good stewardship includes ensuring a proper transition at Hyatt,” Pritzker said in a news release on Monday from the Pritzker Organization. He said he decided to quit the role he’s held since 2004 after discussions with fellow board members.

Chump is a member of The Epstein Class and made clear to then US House Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene that he intended to protect his friends.

How far will Attorney General Pam Bondi go to protect Donald Chump from the truth? Hafiz Rashid (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:

Attorney General Pam Bondi tried to pacify critics of the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files by sending Congress a letter Saturday with a list of 130 names—which for some reason, included dead celebrities.

The list contains some absurd names, including people whom Epstein had merely mentioned but never even met, such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Janis Joplin. Monroe passed away when Epstein was only nine. While the list does include the names of known Epstein associates such as President Trump, Les Wexner, and Steve Bannon, it also includes Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, who have pushed for the files release.

Also named on the list are Trump enemies like George Clooney and former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is also mentioned with her name spelled incorrectly.

Arguably the most egregious part of the letter, however, is the assertion from Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that the DOJ had fulfilled its legal requirements and considers the legal matters of Epstein and his associates and accomplices settled. Khanna called out Bondi’s antics on X.

The letter came on Saturday. On Sunday? Robert Davis (RAW STORY) reports:

A new report on Sunday torpedoed one of President Donald Trump's "central defenses" about his ties to convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump has often claimed that he has never been credibly accused of wrongdoing over the course of his relationship with Epstein. He has also claimed that he never knew of Epstein's crimes, even though the recently released Epstein files include a transcript of Trump calling a local police station and telling them about "creepy" Epstein.

But a new report undermines both of those claims. Investigative political reporter Roger Sollenberger reported on Sunday that Trump was credibly accused of abusing at least two young girls, citing court records and an internal FBI slideshow that was released in the latest tranche of Epstein files.

"So far, Trump — thanks in part to false statements, misdirection, public confusion, and excessive redactions from his own DOJ — has evaded the crosshairs of credible allegations in the Epstein files," the report reads in part.

"However, this claim — along with the second about Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s behavior, from a Maxwell trial witness and included in the same slideshow — would contradict the narrative that the sitting president has not been credibly accused of wrongdoing in the Epstein saga," it continued.

He is in the files, his friends are in the files. David McAfee (RAW STORY) notes:

CBS News reported on the Epstein files release on Saturday in an article called, "Trump insider Tom Barrack kept in regular contact with Jeffrey Epstein for years, files show." Barrack is also an administration ambassador to Turkey.

"President Trump's longtime confidant Thomas Barrack, now serving as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, was in regular, close contact with Jeffrey Epstein for years after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor, a CBS News analysis of over 100 texts and email exchanges from the newly released Justice Department documents shows," according to CBS.

The outlet further reported, "The correspondence places Barrack, a globe-trotting billionaire, among a circle of wealthy and influential figures who maintained social contact with Epstein even as his criminal history became widely known. Their relationship continued even after Barrack became a prolific fundraiser for Mr. Trump's 2016 campaign, and later, led his inaugural committee and became a frequent presence in the White House."

Chump is "still in the Epstein class” -- as US House Rep Thomas Massie observed on ABC's THIS WEEK with Martha Raddatz on Sunday:

Look, this is about the Epstein class, the people who are funding the attacks against me. They may or may not be implicated in these files, but they were certainly rubbing shoulders with the people who are in these files. They’re billionaires who are friends with these people. And that’s what I’m up against in Washington, D.C. Donald Trump told us that even though, you know, he had dinner with these kinds of people in New York City and West Palm Beach, that he would be transparent. But he’s not. He’s still in with the Epstein class. This is the Epstein administration, and they’re attacking me for trying to get these files released.

And still in The Epstein Class certainly explains why Barrack, Steve Bannon, Robert Kennedy Junior, Alex Acosta, Lutnick and Musk are not just in Chump's circle but also were in Epstein's circle.

At THE HILL, William S. Becker notes:

In 2019, Epstein was arrested and jailed on new sex trafficking charges. While awaiting trial, he was found dead in his cell. Despite protocol violations and missing security footage at the jail, the Justice Department ruled that Epstein had committed suicide.

The latest controversy involves 6 million Justice Department documents related to the Epstein case. Although evidence and Epstein’s victims allege his involvement in an international sex trafficking operation, the FBI and Justice Department issued a memo last July saying that they planned no further charges and no further information on their investigations of Epstein.

But last November, responding to victims’ calls for accountability, Congress overwhelmingly passed a law requiring the department to release the files within 30 days, while protecting victims’ names and revealing the names of pedophiles and other perpetrators.

In a blatant conflict of interest, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche took over compliance with the law, even though he had previously served as Trump’s criminal defense lawyer. Unlike previous presidents, Trump, whose name appears in the Epstein files, asserts the right to control the department .

Last July, Blanche took the unusual step of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in the Epstein scandal. Maxwell, who is seeking clemency from Trump, told Blanche she had never seen Trump act inappropriately. Trump has been asked repeatedly whether he plans to pardon Maxwell. He has not publicly ruled it out.

In December, Blanche failed to comply with the law’s deadline for making the Epstein files public. To date, the department has released only 3.5 million documents. Contrary to the law, they revealed more than 40 victims’ names, some with addresses, social security numbers, driver’s licenses, and unredacted nude photos. Blanche says the Justice Department will not release the remaining 2.5 million documents.

To be clear, Trump denies all allegations against him contained in the Epstein files. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing. The Justice Department warns that the documents — which contain allegations of not only pedophilia, sexual assaults and beatings but also torture, forced abortions and even murder by Epstein or his associates — include many unverified, politically motivated and false claims.

The New York Times found that references to Trump appear 38,000 times across more than 5,300 documents made public so far. The department’s decision not to release the remaining documents has led to predictable speculation that they contain particularly scandalous allegations about the president and other high-ranking people.

Becker is calling for an independent counsel to be put in charge of the Epstein documents.

Yesterday, MEIDASTOUCH NEWS noted that, per the UK's Channel Four, only 2% of the Epstein documents have been produced by the US Justice Dept.

In other news today, Rev Jesse Jackson has passed away.

Peter Applebome (NEW YORK TIMES) notes:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose impassioned oratory and populist vision of a “rainbow coalition” of the poor and forgotten made him the nation’s most influential Black figure in the years between the civil rights crusades of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the election of Barack Obama, died on Tuesday. He was 84.

His death was confirmed by his family in a statement, which said that Mr. Jackson “died peacefully” but did not give a cause or say where he died.

Mr. Jackson was hospitalized in November for treatment of a rare and particularly severe neurodegenerative condition, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), according to the advocacy organization he founded, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. In 2017, he announced that he had Parkinson’s disease, which in its early stages can produce similar effects on bodily movements and speech.

[. . .]

With his gospel of seeking common ground, his pleas to “keep hope alive” and his demands for respect for those seldom accorded it, Mr. Jackson, particularly in his galvanizing speeches at the Democratic conventions in 1984 and 1988, enunciated a progressive vision that defined the soul of the Democratic Party, if not necessarily its policies, in the last decades of the 20th century.

It was a vision, animated by the civil rights era, in which an inclusive coalition of people of color and others who had been at the periphery of American life would now move to the forefront and transform it.

John Blake and Alex Stambaugh (CNN) add:

Jackson was what one pundit called “an American original.” He was born to an unwed teenage mom in Greenville, South Carolina, during the Jim Crow era but rose to become a civil rights icon and a groundbreaking politician who mounted two electrifying runs for the presidency in the 1980s.

Jackson’s dual bids for the Democratic presidential nomination inspired Black America and stunned political observers who marveled at his ability to draw White voters. He was a Black crossover figure long before Barack Obama hit the national stage.

Jackson first rose to national prominence in the 1960s as a close aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most transformative civil rights leaders in America — to the chagrin of some of King’s aides, who thought he was too brash.

But his Rainbow Coalition, a bold alliance of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans and LGBTQ people, helped pave the way for a more progressive Democratic Party.

“Our flag is red, white and blue, but our nation is a rainbow – red, yellow, brown, Black and White – and we’re all precious in God’s sight,” Jackson once said.

One of Jackson’s signature phrases was “Keep hope alive.” He repeated it so often that some began to parody it, but it never seemed to lose meaning for him. He was a force for social justice over three eras: the Jim Crow period, the civil rights era and the post-civil rights era that culminated with the election of Obama and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Through his eloquence and singular drive, Jackson didn’t just keep hope alive for himself. His dream of a vibrant, multiracial America still inspires millions of Americans today.

Jackson’s vision remade the Democratic Party. He was the first presidential candidate to make support for gay rights a major part of his campaign platform, and he made a concerted effort to challenge the Democratic Party’s prioritization of White, moderate, middle-class voters, says David Masciotra, author of “I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters.”

“A Democratic party that now represents a multicultural America and has someone like Kamala Harris as the (former) Vice President and Obama as the former President began in many ways with those Jackson campaigns,” Masciotra says.

Char Adams (NBC NEWS) writes:

Jackson began his work as an organizer with the Congress of Racial Equality, participating in marches and sit-ins. He attended North Carolina A&T State University and graduated with a degree in sociology. He began rallying student support for King during his divinity studies at Chicago Theological Seminary and participated in the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march in Alabama.
Shortly afterward, Jackson joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC, to work alongside King full time. He drew praise from King as a young man running the SCLC’s economic development and empowerment program, Operation Breadbasket — “we knew he was going to do a good job, but he’s done better than a good job,” King said.
As he grew as an organizer, Jackson married Jacqueline Brown, who survives him, in 1962. They have five children, including former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.
Jackson, who was at the motel in Memphis, Tennessee, with King when he was assassinated in 1968, did not let up after King’s death. He took his vision for Black liberation even further by founding People United to Save Humanity, or PUSH, in 1971. He resigned from the SCLC that year to start PUSH after he was suspended from the organization; he was accused of using the SCLC for personal gain. PUSH worked to improve economic conditions of Black communities in the country and later expanded to politics with direct action campaigns and social areas through a weekly radio show and awards for Black people.
Jackson’s 1984 presidential bid prompted the launch of his National Rainbow Coalition, which opposed President Ronald Reagan’s policies and advocated for social programs, voting rights and affirmative action. PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition merged in 1996 and are now the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
His 1984 campaign angered some Democrats who said his ideas were too left-leaning and would hurt the party in the general election. Jackson dismissed the concerns.
“The great responsibility that we have today is to put the poor and the near-poor back on front of the American agenda,” Jackson said of the 1984 campaign in a 1996 interview with PBS. “This is a dangerous mission, and yet it’s a necessary mission!”

And Trevor Hughes (USA TODAY) notes:

[Rashad] Robinson, the former president of Color of Change, remembers listening and watching as his family members made their first political donations after listening to one of Jackson's presidential campaign speeches.

"I didn't understand everything he said, but I understood what it meant," said Robinson, who later wrote a college paper on Jackson's campaigns. "He was such a possibility model. There are so many people who are in politics today who would not be where they are today thanks to Jesse Jackson. There certainly would be no Barack Obama if there was no Jesse Jackson. And there would have been no Bill Clinton either."

In 2000, Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, citing his decades of work to make the world a better place.

"It's hard to imagine how we could have come as far as we have without the creative power, the keen intellect, the loving heart, and the relentless passion of Jesse Lewis Jackson," Clinton said.

Trahern Crews, who helped found the Black Lives Matter-Minnesota chapter, said he grew up with Jackson's "I am Somebody" recitations ringing in his ears. Jackson often led crowds in a call-and-answer chant that usually included variations on "I may be poor … but I am … Somebody. I may be young … but I am … Somebody."

"That allowed future generations to stand up and follow and his footsteps and declare Black Lives Matter and recognize our humanity," Crews said. "When we go back and watch videos of Rev. Jesse Jackson marching and fighting for housing rights, voting rights, ending housing discrimination and said 'I am Somebody,' that encouraged activists of today to stand up and fight against 400 years of racist policies in the United States."

Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office

Freedom 250 group has been reportedly soliciting high-dollar donations in exchange for preferential access to President Trump and official government events held for America’s 250^th birthday.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and six Senate colleagues are demanding information about Freedom 250, a new private entity reportedly soliciting large private donations while offering donors exclusive access and other benefits tied to President Donald Trump and events planned for the 250^th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America.

In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the Senators demand the White House produce a list of donors who have given to Freedom 250, who public reports say were promised benefits including access to White House “VIP” events and ceremonial roles in the semiquincentennial. The Senator’s inquiry also seeks an explanation as to how the group is involved in planning the anniversary events and what ethical guidance the group received from the Office of Government Ethics or White House ethics officials.

“It is imperative that Congress and the public understand how decisions are made, who exercises control, and what guardrails exist to prevent inappropriate donor influence. Absent clear rules, this structure risks blurring the line between legitimate civic fundraising and pay‑for‑play access tied to official government functions, an all too familiar feature of the current Administration,” the Senators wrote.

The Senators raise concern that the arrangement between the federal government and Freedom 250 could violate federal bribery, conflict of interest, and ethics laws.

The Senators emphasized the importance of their probe by highlighting the administration’s poor record of preserving the public trust when it comes to preferential access to donors, as recently illustrated by solicitation of private donations by the same Trump-allied fundraiser for the White House ballroom construction project.

“These circumstances warrant careful scrutiny to ensure that preparations for the nation’s semiquincentennial remain nonpartisan, transparent, and focused on the public interest. Furthermore, these concerns echo previously raised inquiries – which remain unanswered – regarding the financing of President Trump’s White House ballroom construction project, which includes private donations from individuals and corporations whose business interests are directly impacted by the Administration and its decisions,” the Senators wrote.

Schiff led a similar inquiry into the financing of the White House ballroom construction in October, raising concerns about influence donors could exert on the Executive Branch in exchange for donations to support the reportedly $400 million price tag.

Joining Schiff in demanding answers on Freedom 250 are Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Ms. Wiles:

We write seeking clarity regarding the funding, governance, and role of Freedom 250, a private entity planning and promoting events associated with the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Recent reporting indicates that Freedom 250 is soliciting large private donations while offering donors exclusive access and other benefits tied to the President. These reports raise serious questions about transparency, potential conflicts of interest, and whether access to the Administration’s official or quasi‑official activities is being conditioned on or provided in exchange for financial contributions.

According to public accounts, Freedom 250 appears to operate alongside, and in some cases overlap with, America250, the congressionally authorized commission established by the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016 to plan a nonpartisan, civic‑focused commemoration of the 250^th anniversary of the nation’s founding. To the extent Freedom 250 is shaping major anniversary programming or coordinating with the White House and federal agencies, it is imperative that Congress and the public understand how decisions are made, who exercises control, and what guardrails exist to prevent inappropriate donor influence. Absent clear rules, this structure risks blurring the line between legitimate civic fundraising and pay‑for‑play access tied to official government functions, an all too familiar feature of the current Administration.

We are particularly concerned by the solicitation for sponsorship packages circulated to potential Freedom 250 donors promising supporters who give $1 million or more preferential access to the President and high-profile events held at or in connection with official government venues. Linking private contributions – explicitly or implicitly – to invitations to White House events, photo ops, ceremonial roles, or other forms of access unavailable to the general public, raises serious concerns about the auctioning of government activities. Furthermore, these arrangements may implicate federal bribery, conflict of interest, or ethics statutes and will be subject to close scrutiny.

These concerns are heightened where events are sponsored, hosted, or facilitated by the White House or federal agencies, yet appear to serve President Trump’s political agenda and allies while presenting opportunities for donor recognition that resemble political fundraising activity. Government-sponsored civic commemorations should not serve as platforms for political messaging or partisan activity, nor should they create opportunities for donors to exert influence with federal decision-makers under the guise of patriotic celebration. Moreover, the use of a private entity to raise funds for activities closely associated with the presidency risks circumventing transparency, disclosure, and guardrails that ordinarily apply to campaign fundraising or official government operations.

Taken together, these circumstances warrant careful scrutiny to ensure that preparations for the nation’s semiquincentennial remain nonpartisan, transparent, and focused on the public interest. Furthermore, these concerns echo previously raised inquiries – which remain unanswered – regarding the financing of President Trump’s White House ballroom construction project, which includes private donations from individuals and corporations whose business interests are directly impacted by the Administration and its decisions. It is also alarming that Meredith O’Rourke – identified as a lead fundraiser coordinating private donations for both the White House ballroom project and Freedom 250 – appears to be centrally involved in soliciting high‑value contributions tied to access to the Office of the President and President Trump himself in both efforts.

In order to carry out our oversight responsibilities and provide transparency to the American public, we request the following information by February 20, 2026:

Provide a complete list of all individual and corporate donors who have contributed to Freedom 250 to date, including the amount and date of each contribution.
1. Describe any benefits, access, recognition, or other consideration donors have received or been promised in connection with their contributions.
Describe Freedom 250’s governance structure, including its leadership, board members, and any formal or informal role played by White House officials or federal agencies in its operations or decision‑making.
Describe Meredith O’Rourke’s specific role in facilitating fundraising efforts for both the White House ballroom project and Freedom 250.
Explain how Freedom 250 coordinates with America250, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, or other federally authorized entities, including whether funds, programming responsibilities, or branding are shared.
Describe any ethics guidance sought or received by the White House regarding Freedom 250’s fundraising practices, donor access, or relationship to official government activities.
1. Provide any records of communication between the White House and/or Freedom 250 leadership and the Office of Government Ethics or White House designated agency officials.

We look forward to your response and to ensuring that preparations for the nation’s 250th anniversary reflect transparency, integrity, and service to the public interest.

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The following sites updated: