Friday, August 29, 2025. The week winds down with Chump and his administration's incompetenc and corruption on full display including the non-partisan judgment that Tulsi Gabbard is not up to her job, Senator Patty Murray calls for Robert Kennedy Junior to be fired as Secretary of Health and Human Services, the actions of the ICE gestapo get even worse as they now target fire fighters who are actively fighting fires, Ghislaine Maxwell is a liar on so many levels, Chump continues to watch with glee as Palestinians are murdered in Gaza, and much more
Let's start with the outing of an undercover CIA agent by the head of our national intelligence.
Poor Trashy Garbage,
she is so not up to the job. She is the Director of National
Intelligence and she just outed an undercover CIA agent. You can't get
much worse at the job. She really shouldn't have been nominated, let
alone confirmed.
Trina's got the law Tulsi
broke when she outed a CIA agent. And some could argue that she didn't
do so knowingly . . . if she were an underling in another dept, say a
spokesperson for the US State Dept; however, she's supposed to be over
national intelligence. "I didn't know," does not cut it. Her job
demands she vet and consult before going public with anything let alone
posting to social media. Someone who does not have the common sense to
vet the names of people she's about to publicly identify is someone who
should not be the Director of National Intelligence. I can't imagine
George HW Bush being silent when he was president while the head of our
intelligence agency exposing an undercover CIA agent.
Yet Donald Chump has made no statement.
He
should be issuing a public apology for what took place. He doesn't
have to name the operative in order to do that. But this undercover CIA
agent was outed while he was president and outed by his appointee.
That demands an apology. It demands a lot more.
Including
Tulsi being fired. But Chump doesn't have a backbone. He's a lily
livered coward -- as many veterans who served in Vietnam like to point
out.
He's a lily livered
coward who is going to act like it's no big deal. By doing that, he
exposes not only the yellow streak down his cowardly back but also makes
it clear to those serving in the CIA that he does not have their back
and will not honor their service.
But
intelligence experts say a "smart" director would have consulted with
the CIA before making the list public to avoid exposing a covert
officer.
“It could potentially put CIA cover
procedures at risk. It could put relations with foreign governments at
risk," said Larry Pfeiffer, a former chief of staff at the CIA.
The
undercover officer had worked for more than 20 years in intelligence
posts before being exposed by Gabbard and served as an expert on Russia
and Eurasia on the National Intelligence Council between 2014 and 2017,
and an attorney who has represented intelligence officers suggested the
DNI had broken the law by following Trump's order.
“Can
you say ‘Privacy Act violation’? I certainly can,” attorney Mark Zaid,
whose own security clearance was revoked by Trump, posted on X. “Further
proof of weaponization and politicization. The vast majority of these
individuals are not household names & are dedicated public servants
who have worked across multiple presidential administrations.”
Brian Fiarchil, a retired career CIA operations officer, questioned Gabbard's judgment and qualifications.
"Gabbard
doesn’t know squat about intelligence," Fiarchil posted. "She’s simply a
Trump lapdog who will do anything to stay in his good graces, and Trump
hates the intelligence agencies.”
Again, she can be prosecuted for outing the undercover agent. "I didn't know!!!" It's her job to know.
You know what's not her job?
Posting on Twitter.
That's
not her job. I talked to a former CIA director about this at length
and he seriously doubts it would have made it out to the public had she
attempted to issue a press release. He believes that people under her
would have had the brains to vet the names on the press release first.
But, again, airhead cult member Tulsi decided that she'd just Tweet it
because she's just a twat.
And Donald's even worse.
These events demand that he first Tulsi and publicly apologize to the CIA for what happened. He's president. It's his job.
But we know he's a coward and we know he's fat and lazy.
Gabbard also recently announced
plans to gut ODNI’s Foreign Malign Influence Center, alleging that it
had been used by the Biden administration to “justify the suppression of
free speech and to censor political opposition.”
This is another ironic move from Gabbard, who has a history of foisting foreign misinformation on the American public herself.
In sum, the person whose only job is to coordinate with and
synthesize the information produced by America’s intelligence agencies
didn’t bother to do her only job before outing and defenestrating a
20-year veteran of America’s clandestine services. That’s a potentially
prosecutable dereliction — or it would be, if appointed or elected
officials were charged with offenses for which public servants of lower
rank would doubtlessly find themselves in the dock. Not exactly the
high-test populism we were promised from this administration.
At MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Ben's covering a number of topics this morning but let's put in here because we're going to reference Gaza in just a second and he's noting Chump's refusal to end the war on Palestinians in Gaza.
Voting is about making a decision. And the decision in 2024 was between Chump -- a convicted criminal vowing to deport immigrants with a plan that would lead to racial profiling and who promised a government of retribution and publicly flirted with being a dictator -- or Kamala Harris who has a plan to move more people into houses, to help working families, to end the war on Gaza, to uplift every boat in this country.
A
Missouri man who voted for President Donald Trump has told Newsweek he
regrets his vote after his wife, who has held a green card for more than
30 years, was detained by federal agents.
Donna
Hughes-Brown, a legal permanent resident originally from England, was
detained by federal authorities at O'Hare International Airport in
Chicago for five days upon returning to the United States from vacation
in Ireland on July 29, 2025. She was then transferred to a facility in
Campbell County, Kentucky.
Her husband, James Brown, told Newsweek that he "100 percent" regrets his vote for Trump.
"You
look at the news, and they're not telling the truth about what's
actually happening to a lot of legal immigrants," Brown told Newsweek.
"What's bad is that Trump is so demeaning to people, and he's so
condescending and so retaliatory that people are afraid to say
anything."
I wish him
and his wife peace. And I wish them happiness. I wish that he had voted for Kamala Harris;
however, I've long said that your vote is your vote and you have to vote
with the best information you have at the time.
A
lot of people were misinformed. On the immigrant issue? Hey, we
covered it here -- fully and honestly. I noted going back to the spring
of 2024 that what Chump was talking about meant racial profiling.
Here, I covered it at length, Ava and I wrote multiple pieces at THIRD.
It wasn't that hard to do. So ask yourself why whores like Amy Goodman
couldn't do it -- because they refused to do it. They instead offered
lying segments in the fall of 2024 telling you that Kamala and Chump
were the same on immigration. They attacked her on immigration. If this is a new topic for you, refer to Ava and my "Media: How Amy Goodman harmed immigrants and helped elect Chump."
Liars
like Good Whore were part of the Norman Solomon garbage efforts to
defeat Kamala. He'd started the effort to defeat Joe Biden. But then a
Black woman becomes the nominee so he needed to hide his White sexism
and racism and that's when he pulled in US House Rep Rashida Tlaib and
others to front his movement.
Those people? I don't forgive.
If
you voted to impeach Chump (twice), then you damn well knew what a
threat he was to this country. Rashida has refused to apologize or own
her actions. Anyone with a brain knew Chump was not going to save the
Palestinian people. We knew it and he hasn't. Palestinians in Gaza,
speaking to the press, knew that as well and repeatedly argued that
Kamala was the person to vote for. But, hey, Rashida knew better than
Palestinians in Gaza, right? Rashida knows everything apparently --
everything to do wrong. Her inability to apologize for what she did by
campaigning against Kamala has harmed her and harmed the cause regarding
Gaza.
We -- Americans (which Rashida herself is) -- don't want to get involved in these causes. We were stabbed in the back.
I
spent every day advocating for Gaza. Now? It's not my fight. Gaza freaks
made that clear in the fall of 2024 when they attacked Black people,
trashed us online. Told us if we supported Kamala to keep Gaza out of mouths.
That's
when we, Black people, felt the need to pull their hall pass and point
out that Arabs are White. Rashida is White. And she's just another
White racist. Now there are Black people in Iraq. And Alana Haba's
family loudly and publicly discriminated against Black Iraqis. You find
that in a lot of Arab areas because it happens in many White areas and
Arabs are White.
And, as
Tabitha of TABITHA SPEAKS POLITICS pointed out, without our bodies at
Gaza demonstrations to take the clubbings and arrests, suddenly White
activists stopped protesting. A lot of people reveal that their racism
really just comes down to envy (see Ava and my ""). That includes a
number of activists.
But
if you made a mistake and you learned from it, I can work with you. I
can trust you. Those of you who damn well knew better and worked to
harm this country? You're on your own.
At
21, Steve Vilchez is much like any other senior at Illinois State
University. Studying biology teacher education, he aspires to teach high
school science.
But, Vilchez has an unusual
story to tell. From 2016 until the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack
on the U.S. Capitol, he was a passionate teenage Donald Trump fan.
Breaking
with Trump and the Republican party he dominates was a slow and
challenging process, Vilchez said, particularly since Trump surged back
to power this year.
Vilchez has found support in Leaving MAGA, an online community of former Trump supporters of which, he said, he’s by far the youngest member.
Setting
out to tell others about his experiences, Vilchez told Raw Story: “I'm
doing much better now than I was when I was in MAGA.”
People
can learn. Vilchez did (and he voted for Kamala in 2024). But we can
all learn (I learn every day and still am aware of how little I know).
And I can work with people who can learn.
We're all learning just how horrible and horrifying Chump can be with regards to immigrants and with regards to the use of his personal gestapo ICE. A telling remark was made this week. Tom Latchem (DAILY BEAST) notes:
President
Donald Trump's so-called "border czar," Tom Homan, explained that
federal agents are wearing masks over their faces because it's what
criminals do.
Homan, whose official title is
the executive associate director for Enforcement and Removal Operations
(ERO), spoke to the press outside the White House on Thursday when he
was confronted with federal Homeland Security police covering their
faces.
“Criminals have been wearing masks for a long time," Homan claimed.
Criminals do wear masks, Holman, and hae been doing so for a long time. These criminals include ICE. It's a secret police armed with no knowledge and very little training that goes around schools terrorizing children who witness parents in cars as ICE agents smash the car's windows and pull them parent out of the car. They are ciminals and let's hope the future includes some version of a US Hague where Holman and others can stand trial for their crimes against humanity as well as their refusal to follow the most basic laws in the United States.
Educators, child psychologists, and immigrant rights leaders warned
this week that the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda is
inflicting deep harm on children returning to school, creating fear,
trauma, and disruption across classrooms nationwide.
At a virtual press conference hosted by America’s Voice,
experts described how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
activity near schools has fueled absenteeism, psychological distress,
and academic disengagement, while local educators scramble to implement
“safe zone” protections and support traumatized families.
Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice and moderator
of the discussion, said, “The usual first-day jitters of back to school
this year have been replaced by fear. Kids are missing school, afraid
to leave their homes. Parents are having to make plans in case they are
disappeared. And teachers are having to be trained in safety protocols
should they encounter ICE while schools are navigating these new
realities. This is the hidden cost of Trump’s mass deportation
agenda—not just economic devastation, but educational chaos and
psychological scarring.”
Dr. Allison Bassett Ratto, a child clinical psychologist in
Washington, D.C., said the current immigration enforcement climate is
devastating children’s mental health. “This creates a toxic climate of
fear and uncertainty for children and families, which in turn causes
intense stress, anxiety, and even trauma,” she explained. Children
witnessing ICE raids, she noted, are not seeing “violent criminals being
apprehended by uniformed police officers who they’ve learned to know
and trust as community helpers. Instead, what they see are their
classmates, their family members, their neighbors often being
apprehended in violent and confusing ways while going about their daily
lives, doing things like picking up their children from the bus stop or
going to their jobs.”
Ratto warned that children exposed to these events—whether directly
in their neighborhoods or through media—often feel that “nowhere and no
one is safe.” She added that stress and trauma “can truly become
chronic, leading to both immediate and long-term damage to children’s
mental and physical health.”
This is the kind of stain that can destroy a country. What are you saying to the children, for example, who you are teaching to be in fear of the government? At THE PALM BEACH POST, Maya Khadr writes:
This spring, a 19-year old university student named Ximena Arias-Cristobal was sent to an immigrant detention center in Dalton, Georgia for an alleged traffic violation. The traffic charges were eventually dropped, but it was too late. Authorities in Dalton had already called ICE under a federal program that turns police encounters into deportation pipelines.
With her final exams approaching and her family’s future depending on her academic success, Ximena was detained in a privately-run detention center notorious for inhumane conditions and severe rights violations.
Unfortunately, her story is not an isolated incident. It’s part of a broader reality across the country as local police departments become extensions of federal immigration enforcement through what are called 287(g) agreements
That refers to Section 287(g) of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The program authorizes ICE to train and deputize state and local law enforcement to carry out immigration duties, effectively turning police officers into ICE agents while conducting their routine police work.
This 287(g) perpetuates racial profiling and other civil and human
rights abuses. But the Trump administration is leading a big push to
expand the program. Since the beginning of the second Trump
administration, there’s been a 566 percent increase in 287(g)
agreements, with 765 new agreements signed nationwide as of mid August.
These agreements are generally limited to certain cities, counties, or
state agencies. But states like Florida and Georgia have passed laws
requiring all counties in their states to participate in
287(g). Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis even pushed universities to sign
agreements that turn college campuses into targets of mass deportation.
Apparently no space is safe for immigrant communities.
This program is eroding public safety and trust in
law enforcement. When people fear that dialing 911 could result in the
deportation of themselves or a loved one, crimes go unreported, victims
stay silent, and witnesses refuse to cooperate with criminal
investigations.
A 2018 study by the Cato Institute found no evidence that these partnerships with ICE decreased crime rates. They simply made communities lesssafe for everyone.
Last night, Chris Hayes and Stephanie Ruhle both made powerful points about ICE's decision to now target fire fighters actively fighting fires for arrests. MSNBC hasn't posted Stephanie's segment online but they have posted Chris.
This is what it has come to: Fire fighters trying to protect Americans are being stopped from doing that by the ICE gestapo. Who the hell is providing oversight of their actions? Who the hell signed off on this?
Do you think the American voters went to the polls and saw a measure that read "Do you support arresting fire fighters while they are carrying out their duties? Will you be okay if it's your area or home they are trying to save when ICE pulls them physically off the job?" and said, "Oh, let's vote for that one! I hope it comes with sprinkles!!!"
No one voted for that.
Let's move over to Donald Chump's Epstein scandal. It has not gone aeay and it is not going away.
Former
Attorney General William Barr testified before the House Oversight
Committee that he personally reviewed 11 hours of video footage related
to Jeffrey Epstein’s death. However, investigators and independent
analysts have raised concerns about inconsistencies between Barr’s
account and the FBI-released video, pointing to unclear camera coverage.
Barr’s deposition was part of a broader committee investigation into
the actions of senior officials surrounding Epstein’s incarceration and
death.
Donald Trump’s immigration blitz has reportedly extended to firefighters going about their jobs tackling a wildfire blaze.
Immigration
officials sparked outrage after swooping in on the site of Washington
State’s largest wildfire and arresting two people identified as
firefighters battling the blaze, according to reports.
Fire
bosses overseeing the Bear Gulch inferno in the Olympic National
Forest, just west of Seattle, confirmed in a terse evening statement
that they were “aware of a Border Patrol operation” at the scene.
Two
people on private hand crews were held on Wednesday after U.S. Border
Patrol agents arrived mid-morning and ordered workers trying to quell
Washington’s Bear Gulch blaze to line up for ID checks, according to the
Seattle Times.
The paper said firefighters in
gear could be seen sitting on logs in front of federal officers and a
marked U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle, and that at least one
firefighter was being handcuffed.
One crew
member told The Seattle Times that a federal officer had barked at them,
“You need to get the (expletive) out of here. I’m gonna make you
leave.”
Another said they had
been warned not to film. “You risked your life out here to save the
community,” the firefighter said. “This is how they treat us.”
The arrests were made at a site where two crews were ready to cut wood for nearby residents while awaiting a supervisor.
Ari notes the topic that won't go away is about to get a lot more explosive with Congress returning from their summer recess.
Isaiah has Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss noting that of course a client list exists. It is the insurance that saves you. Over and over. And everyone knows it. Roddy McDowell used to laugh about the December 1974 raid on his home that 'turned up films' (pirated) because that's not what they were after and it's why he avoided jail time. He acted as a sex broker -- think Dolly Levi without all the singing -- for many powerful men included J Edgar Hoover. And the FBI did try to find that list in their raid but they couldn't.
A list existed. Maybe it's been destroyed, maybe it hasn't. But it did exist and Maxwell's a damn liar when she says otherwise.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Senator Murray: “If there are any adults left in the White House, it’s well past time they face reality… We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired.”
Senator Murray at July 9, 2025 HELP markup of Monarez nomination:
“We could actually have the best CDC director in the world, and it
wouldn’t change the fact that we have a person leading HHS who is an
anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist—and a Committee that I fear is failing
to do its bipartisan, public oversight of public health disasters… I
really do hope that Dr. Monarez will defy my expectations, I hope she
will stand up for science, and put public health first.” – MORE HERE
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following
statement in response to Director Susan Monarez’s public statement regarding RFK Jr.’s attempts to weaponize public health and put the lives of the American people at risk and the abrupt resignation of senior officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“I had serious doubts about Director Monarez’s willingness to
stand up against RFK Jr.’s personal mission to destroy public health in
America—I’m glad to say that I was wrong.
“Susan Monarez’s willingness to stand up for science and
protect the integrity of the CDC is commendable and deeply
important—however, it only further underscores the reality at HHS:
Director Monarez is not the problem, RFK Jr. is. If there are any adults
left in the White House, it’s well past time they face reality and fire
RFK Jr. He is a dangerous man who is determined to abuse his authority
to act on truly terrifying conspiracy theories and
disinformation—leaving us unprepared for the next deadly pandemic and
snuffing out potential cures while he’s at it. He has already taken
utterly reckless steps to dismantle our public health infrastructure,
and he has even undermined President Trump’s own legacy of helping
establish access to lifesaving vaccines through groundbreaking mRNA
research.
“Further we should all be deeply disturbed by the resignation
of highly qualified CDC officials whose work quite literally saves
lives. It will be an extremely frightening world if the CDC is hollowed
out and its ranks filled only by conspiracy theorists that RFK Jr.
agrees with. RFK Jr. comes into conflict with every credible researcher,
scientist, or doctor because he lives in his own unhinged world of
anti-vaccine disinformation—our current trajectory is not tenable. We
need serious people working at CDC and across HHS.
“We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our
other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired. I hope my
Republican colleagues who have come to regret their vote to confirm RFK
Jr. will join me in calling for his immediate termination from office.”
Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Heidi Fleiss Explains It All." Heidi explains, "Ghislaine Maxell blew her credibility with me when she lied that there was no client list. Call it as client list or a little black book or an insurance policy, we all keep them." Isaiah archives his comics at THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS.
Thursday, August 28, 2025. Is Chump's dementia so bad that he can longer supervise his Cabinet, ask that as Tulsi Gabbard remains in her position after publicly exposing an undercover CIA agent, ask that as Chump's mind and body continues to decay, and let's drop back to March 22, 2017 when Senator Tim Kaine raised questions about Epstein's sweetheart deal during a Senate hearing.
Another day, another finger in the air checking the way the wind's blowing via Ben and MEIDASTOUCH NEWS.
As Convicted Felon Donald Chump struggles to walk in a straight line and as we see his flesh rotting before our eyes, the mind's going as well. As Mike observed Tuesday night, "He's out of control and he now appears to be so far along in his
dementia that he believes his own lies. Think about that. He's crazy.
His mind is going going gone. And he's now believing his own lies.
And he's got the nuclear codes. It's time to impeach." Carl Gibson notes:
President
Donald Trump may be too mentally compromised to hold the nation's
highest office, according to one national security expert.
In a Tuesday post to her X account,
journalist Juliette Kayyem — who is a CNN analyst and professor at
Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government — quote-posted a video
of Trump's comments in the Oval Office about sending National Guard
troops to Chicago, Illinois. In the video, Trump was asked about the
legality of such a move, prompting him to respond that he had ultimate
legal authority given his position.
"I would have much more respect for [Illinois Governor JB] Pritzker if
he called me up and said 'I have a problem, can you help me fix it,' I
would be so happy to do it," Trump said.
"I have the right to do anything I want to do, I'm the president of the
United States. If I think our country is in danger — and it is in
danger in these cities — I can do it."
In her response to the video, Kayyem wrote that Trump was "incorrect" in his belief that he could do "anything" as president.
"He
either believes it is true and is therefore unfit to be president or
believes it is a lie and same," she tweeted. "The third option is that
he is not of sound mind and body and all I can do is watch how he speaks
and moves and it is a fair question to ask now."
The mind is gone. You see it over and over. He doesn't know where he is. He doesn't know who is around him. He's angry all the time and forever snapping -- someone opened the door to the Oval Office while he's in front of the press and he starts yelling. These are serious danger signs.
I did not trash Jake Tapper for co-writing ORIGINAL SIN -- a book that's supposed to be about Joe Biden's decline. I have no time to read it because we're dealing with a very dangerous person in the White House. There's really no time to stop and consider the past at this moment when the future is so at risk -- the future of our country, the future of democracy. I didn't attack him for promoting the book. It would have been stupid not to promote it. It would have made any publishing house think twice about signing him to write a book. I will, however, fault his publisher (RANDOM HOUSE) for having no angle to sell the soft cover edition. Instead, it was rushed out with the hardcover and Kindle release. The way you intelligently market a book like this is with bonus information often in an afterword. Had ORIGINAL SIN been handled correctly, the soft cover edition could be coming out this fall and include an afterword by the two authors where they grapple with whether or not similar or worse issues have come up with the president who replaced the one they wrote a book about.
But the whole supposed issue of the book and need for it was that Joe's decline was right there in plain sight and no one in the press covered it and sounded the alarms.
Now, I haven't read the book and am not going to. But warning signs for Joe go up in the debate and in the two weeks that follow.
If indeed the press let the country down by ignoring a valid topic, why compound that mistake by doing it again. And grasp, I say Joe declined in his last six months of his last year in office. Chump hasn't even finished year one since he was sworn in and he's declining in front of our eyes and the media doesn't want to treat this as the very serious threat it is.
This should be an issue on the broadcast evening news, it should be an issue on news magazines. If it's being polled on by news organizations -- IF -- that's not getting any traction or coverage.
President Donald Trump
left observers scratching their heads during an Oval Office ceremony on
Monday, Aug. 25, when he appeared to conjure up an entirely fictional
governor named “Kristi Whitman.”
The
79-year-old commander in chief made the puzzling reference while
signing an executive order and discussing his administration’s efforts
to combat invasive Asian carp in the Great Lakes, creating a moment that
quickly captured attention across social media platforms.
The
bizarre episode unfolded as Trump was commenting on speculation about
deploying National Guard troops to American cities before abruptly
shifting to environmental policy.
“You
know I did a favor for Kristi Whitman, ah Whitmer. A good favor, I
think, with the fish, the carp, the China carp,” Trump said from behind
the Resolute Desk.
The
president seemed to catch himself mid-sentence, offering what appeared
to be a correction, though he still referenced a nonexistent “Kristi
Whitmer.”
Social
media users wasted no time dissecting the verbal stumble, with many
expressing concern about the president’s mental acuity.
A health expert is weighing in on a video of President Donald Trump from earlier this year, showing him on his dragging his foot after appearing to struggle to get out of his golf cart.
The
video, posted by the grounds-keeping company that services Trump's
Mar-A-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, appears to show the president
struggling to get out of his golf cart and dragging his right leg.
Anthony Orrico writes for THE IRISH STAR. Our major daily newspapers seem disinclined to address reality.
Let's note a reality, Chump is not providing the needed oversight to his Cabinet.
Three times.
That's how many times Loose Lips Hegseth has paused/stop weapons supplies to Ukraine since being confirmed as Secretary of Defense on January 24th.
Three times.
All supposedly without Chump's approval or his knowledge.
Tulsi
Gabbard, director of national intelligence, surprised Central
Intelligence Agency officials last week when she included an undercover
senior CIA officer on a roster of 37 current and former officials she
stripped of security clearances.
Most
of the 37 people had either participated in intelligence assessments
related to Russia’s attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S.
presidential election or had signed a 2019 letter calling for President
Trump’s impeachment.
Gabbard
didn’t know the CIA officer had been working undercover, according to a
person familiar with the fallout from the list’s release. Three other
people with knowledge of the situation said that Gabbard’s office didn’t
meaningfully consult with the CIA before releasing the list.
Gabbard’s
office delivered the list of 37 people to the CIA the evening before
the list’s release, according to three people familiar with the
communications and emails read to The Wall Street Journal.
The
national intelligence office didn’t seek the CIA’s input about the
composition of the list, and the CIA had no foreknowledge of Gabbard’s
posting on X the following day that revealed the names, including that
of the covered CIA officer, according to two of the people familiar with
the events.
She's incompetent. We all noted she was a member of a strange cult headed by Guru Chris which to me screams "SECURITY RISK!" but worse than that, she had no experience. None at all.
And what she did was violate The Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. That doesn't apply to We The People. That would be an illegal barrier to free speech. But it does apply to government officials. And she should know that act. She should know that law. And she should ensure that her Tweets -- her damn Tweets! -- are not outing undercover CIA agents.
She just exposed -- to the world -- an undercover CIA agent and the buffoon still has her job?
Does Chump even know what's going on? How much is his Cabinet getting away with because Chump's dementia has gotten so bad.
The saying is you can run but you can't hide. When it
comes to Donald Chump, he can't run period -- we've seen the cankles and
the inability to walk in a straight line -- and he can't hide from the
Epstein scandal because he ran his big mouth about it over and over.
He's tried repeatedly, but he can't escape the questioning and he can't divert attention. Ailia Zehra reports:
Jack
Scarola, attorney for victims of convicted child predator Jeffrey
Epstein, said Epstein was "given an incredible sweetheart deal" during
his 2008 prosecution by then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta (who later served
as Trump's secretary of labor) and also "provided with a
non-prosecution agreement that immunized named coconspirators and
unnamed coconspirators from federal prosecution from any crime they may
have committed."
He
continued: "And I don't know how it could ever rationally be explained.
In addition to that, the terms of that agreement were actively
concealed from the victims, when federal law required them to be
informed of the agreement and to have an opportunity to be heard about
it. Those are questions that need to be explained."
I want to stop right there for a moment.
February 16, 2017.
That's when Chump nominated Acosta to be Secretary of Labor.
At
that time, Chump declared, "Throughout his career, Alex Acosta has been
a passionate advocate for equal opportunity for all Americans. His
extensive experience has tremendously impressed me and my team and makes
us confident that he will lead the Department of Labor with the utmost
competence and determination to support the American worker." What
really impressed Chump? Did the two know each other personally? Did
they have a relationship of some sort? Was Epstein the connecting
glue?
As far as I know,
Chump didn't know him personally. But Marco Rubio did. In fact, Marco
introduced him March 22, 2017 at his Senate confirmation hearing by
noting that "I know him personally." And he vouched for Acosta's
"sterling record of public service." Marco vouched for "the cases" that
Acosta had handled. Now Marco was a Senator from Florida. Know who
else vouched for Acosta at that hearing? Texas' Senator Ted Cruz who
declared to the Committee, "It is a privilege to be before you today and
have the opportunity to introduce my friend, Alex Acosta. I’ve known
Alex for 25 years. He and I went to law school together. We’ve been
friends a long time."
25 years. Then what did Marco think of the sweetheart deal that Acosta did for Epstein? It was known.
In fact, it popped up in that March 22, 2017 Senate hearing.
From the official transcript of that hearing:
Senator Tim Kaine: The committee needs to ask about, and you’re entitled to respond to, an article that appeared in the Washington Post online version
last night and this morning, and I’m just going to read the opening to it. I’m going to ask you some questions because you deserve an opportunity to address it.
‘‘Labor nominee Acosta Cut Deal with Billionaire Guilty in Sex Abuse Case.’’ Just the first three paragraphs, and then I’ll introduce the article into the record.
There was once a time before the investigations, before the sexual abuse conviction, when rich and famous men loved to hang around with Jeffrey Epstein, a
billionaire money manager who loved to party. They visited his mansion in Palm Beach, FL. They flew on his jet to join him at his private estate
on the Caribbean island of Little St. James. They even joked about his taste in younger women. President Trump called Epstein a terrific guy
back in 2000, saying that ‘he’s a lot of fun to be with. It’s even said that he likes beautiful women as
much as I do, and many of them were on the younger side.’ ’’
Now Trump is on a witness list in a Florida court battle over how Federal prosecutors handled allegations that Epstein,
64, sexually abused more than 40 minor girls, most of whom were between the ages of 13 and 17. The lawsuit questions
why Trump’s nominee for Labor Secretary, former Miami U.S. attorney Alexander Acosta, whose confirmation hearing is
scheduled to be on Wednesday, cut a non-prosecution deal with Epstein a decade ago rather than pursuing a Federal indictment that Acosta’s staff had advocated.’’
I’d like to introduce the article for the record, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. It will be introduced.
Senator KAINE. I’d like to ask you about this. First, a couple of questions. My understanding is that there is a pending civil lawsuit filed
by a couple of the victims in that case seeking to argue that they should have been given notice prior to the plea deal being entered into.
Is that your understanding as well?
Mr. ACOSTA. My understanding is that there is a pending civil lawsuit. The Department of Justice has defended the actions
of the office in that matter under both President Bush and President Obama’s administrations.
Senator KAINE. The opening that I read suggests that you decided as U.S. attorney to cut a non-prosecution deal, that part
of the decision was that that non-prosecution deal be held private, not appear in the public record, and there’s an allegation
that I just read that you did not pursue a Federal indictment even though your staff had advocated that you do so. Is that accurate?
Mr. ACOSTA. That is not accurate. Let me address that one of the difficulties with matters before the Department of Justice
is that the Department of Justice does not litigate in the public record or in the media and litigates in court. Let me set forth some
facts. This matter was originally a State case. It was presented by the State attorney to the grand jury in Palm Beach County.
The grand jury in Palm Beach County recommended a single count of solicitation not involving minors, I believe, and that would have resulted
in zero jail time, zero registration as a sexual offender, and zero restitution for the victims in this case. The matter was then presented to
the U.S. attorney’s office. It is highly unusual, and as I was speaking to some of your colleagues
that have been involved in prosecutions, they mentioned that they don’t know of any cases personally
where a U.S. attorney becomes involved in a matter after it has already gone to a grand jury at
the State level. In this case we deemed it necessary to become involved, and we
early on had discussions within the office, and we decided that a sentence or—how shall I put this—that Mr. Epstein should plead
guilty to 2 years, register as a sex offender, and concede liability so the victims could get restitution. If that were done, the Federal
interest would be satisfied and we would defer to the State. That was very early on in the case.
I say that because the article goes on to talk about a view that the U.S. attorney’s office was not aggressive in this matter.
Senator KAINE. Can I read one other statement from the article, "Federal prosecutors detailed their findings in an 82-page prosecution memo and a 53-page indictment, but Epstein was
never indicted.’"
And then there’s a quote,
"The agreement you described will not be made part of any public record, the deal between Epstein and Acosta says."
The document was unsealed as part of the civil suit in 2015.
The CHAIRMAN. I’m going to give you, Senator, time to ask your question and the nominee time to answer the question, even
though it goes over the 5 minutes.
Senator KAINE. Thank you.
Mr ACOSTA. Senator, again to address your question, I can’t discuss the details of the case, but let me take it
generally. It is pretty typical in a prosecution for an indictment, a draft indictment, to be
written. That doesn’t necessarily mean that that draft indictment is filed because that draft indictment does not consider often the
strength of the underlying case. As part of any plea, it is not unusual to have an indictment that
says these are all the places we can go, yet at the end of the day, based on the evidence, professionals within a prosecutor’s office
decide that a plea that guarantees that someone goes to jail, that guarantees that someone register generally, and
that guarantees other outcomes is a good thing.
Senator KAINE. Was that a consensus decision in your office?
Mr. ACOSTA. It was a broadly held decision, yes.
Senator KAINE. I’m over my time, Mr. Chairman. I may come back to this in a second round. Thank you.
[. . .]
Senator KAINE. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Dean, I would like to close the loop on the previous discussion.
I have a question about the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I asked you whether the agreement not to prosecute federally in
exchange for an agreement on other matters was something that
was a consensus within your office, and I think your testimony was
that it was the generally held position of your office. I’ve not been
a prosecutor, although I’ve practiced law.
The CHAIRMAN. It was broadly held——
Senator KAINE. Yes, broadly held position of the office. Thank
you.
I want to just read this.
‘‘In 2007, Acosta signed a non-prosecution deal in which he
agreed not to pursue Federal charges against Epstein or for
women who the government said procured girls for him. In exchange, Epstein agreed to plead guilty to a solicitation charge
in State court, accept a 13-month sentence, register as a sex
offender, and pay restitution to the victims identified in the
Federal investigations. This agreement will not be made part
of any public record’’—the deal between Epstein and Acosta
says.
What is the reason why a deal of this kind has the specification
that it will not be made part of any public record?
Mr. ACOSTA. Senator, I wish I could respond to that. You’re asking for—I hesitate not because of concerns but because this is a
matter that’s pending litigation. Let me try to answer your question——
Senator KAINE. Then maybe you can answer it generally. I understand.
Mr. ACOSTA [continuing]. In a different way. There are times
when in negotiating an outcome, there are agreements that are
made that are ancillary. What we sought and what we presented
at the very beginning was 2-years plus registration, plus individuals being able, victims being able to——
Senator KAINE. Seek restitution.
Mr. ACOSTA [continuing]. Seek restitution. What was obtained
was 18 months plus registration, plus individuals being able to——
Senator KAINE. This says 13 months.
Mr. ACOSTA. The agreement called for 18 months. As it was applied by the State of Florida, it ended up being 13 months, which
is a separate issue.
Ultimately, there are other provisions that are part of that, and
that is part of the give and take of a negotiation.
Senator KAINE. I understand your concern since the matter is
still pending, but as a general matter, if something is allowed to
be part of the public record, then more people become aware of it.
In this case there were allegations that, I guess eventually, somewhat more than three dozen women had been victimized by the individual. If something is allowed to be public, it informs the public
and provides opportunities for people to come forward. If something
is prohibited from being part of any public record, it has a way of
making it more difficult for people to bring forward claims. Isn’t
that accurate?
Mr. ACOSTA. Senator, something that I think has ch
changed over
time is trust of government, and that’s relevant to the issue that
you raised because there was a time when keeping something—
when having something confidential was less of an issue. The public expectation today is that things be very public. If there is something that I have learned or thought about it’s how careful someone
should be when something is not made public, because often a very
positive outcome—again, not talking about this case but generally—a very positive outcome can become a negative outcome not
because of a change in the underlying substance but because by
something not looking public it is looked at with suspicion.
Senator KAINE. This is a question. The U.S. attorney position is
a position of great power, and you’re dealing with a lot of people
who are in very vulnerable positions. The Secretary of Labor position is a position of great power, and you’ll also be responsible for
situations when there are a lot of vulnerable people. This is why
I’ve been asking this question. Let me ask one other one.
During the campaign, President Trump often ridiculed the BLS
unemployment numbers, calling them ‘‘phony’’ or ‘‘a hoax.’’ Will you
commit to keeping the Bureau of Labor Statistics independent and
maintain and defend the integrity of its conclusions and data?
Mr. ACOSTA. Senator, I’ll answer your question, but if I could circle back, I just want to make one final point.
Senator KAINE. Mm-hmm.
Mr. ACOSTA. At the end of this case, I received a telephone call
from the special agent in charge of the FBI who had been part of
this entire process and had been at the meetings and had been involved, and he called to just say congratulations, this was really
hard fought and well won. I say that because this truly was a point
of pride.
There was a New York Times article that was written concurrent
to this that said, ‘‘But then the United States Attorney’s Office in
Miami became involved.’’ Initially, the Epstein team was elated Mr.
Epstein would avoid prison. Then the U.S. Office became involved,
and last summer Mr. Epstein got an ultimatum, ‘‘plead guilty to a
charge that would require to register him as a sex offender, or the
government would charge him with sexual tourism.’’
Senator KAINE. Since you’ve added on, then I want to add on.
You are aware that Mr. Epstein served that 13 months, he was allowed out during the day. He had to sleep at a county jail, but he
was basically allowed to move and go around the community and
do whatever he wants, and then that became a subject of significant criticism.
Mr. ACOSTA. I am on record condemning that, and I think that
was awful.
Senator KAINE. You would say that was a problem with the way
the State administered the State sentence.
Mr. ACOSTA. Yes, and I think it was wrong.
Senator KAINE. OK. How about on the Bureau of Labor Statistics?
Mr. ACOSTA. On the Bureau of Labor Statistics, briefly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has kept statistics for decades, and it has
a procedure. It’s a transparent procedure that makes clear how
they calculate, that publishes for public comment any changes that
may take place, and that procedure is very important because BLS
keeps data that is used not just for today but for the future, and
that process is very important.
Senator KAINE. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. Thanks, Senator Kaine
If, somehow, Chump was unaware of Acosta's sweet heart deal with pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein when Acosta was vetted for the position, he knew about it after the confirmation hearing.
And he continued to support Acosta. It was only months later, when the reporting by THE MIAMI HERALD revealed even more problems with the deal Acosta gave Epstein and public outcry was mounting that Acosta was forced to resign from Chump's first administration.
How much did Chump know? How close were Chump and Acosta?
MAGA
lawmaker Mike Collins lobbed a political grenade into efforts from Team
Trump to limit his exposure to fallout from the Epstein files.
Georgia
Rep. Collins made a bombshell admission, that he believes Donald
Trump’s name will be in the files, at a county GOP meeting, the Washington Examiner reported.
A constituent asked the MAGA lawmaker whether he believed Trump was in the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide while in federal custody in New York City in August 2019 as he awaited trial on new sex trafficking charges.
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s in there,” Collins said, without providing evidence, according to an audio clip of the exchange uploaded to YouTube, titled, “HOT MIC: Republican caught saying Trump IS IN THE EPSTEIN FILES!”
This morning, EMPTY WHEEL offers a deep dive into claims offered by Chump pal and convicted pedophile Ghislaine Maxwell:
When NYT first ran this story on August 5 — with the two earlier WSJ stories (July 17; July 24),
the third story providing unprecedented details on the Epstein scandal
during the period Trump has tried to bury his sex trafficking problem — I
noted two things about it: The exceedingly weird treatment of Todd
Blanche’s visit with Ghislaine Maxwell, in which NYT mentioned neither
Blanche by name nor his title.
The White House had pledged to release details about the
federal investigations into Mr. Epstein and his associates. But this
summer the Trump administration backpedaled. The ensuing right-wing
outrage has threatened to splinter the Make America Great Again movement
— for whom Mr. Epstein is a central figure in conspiracy theories — and
has put Mr. Trump on the defensive like few other issues.
Seeking to quell the backlash, the Justice Department dispatched a top official
to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, Mr. Epstein’s longtime associate who is
serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. On Friday, Ms.
Maxwell was moved to a lower-security facility. [my emphasis]
The other remarkable aspect of the story is the absolute dearth of
any source description for the photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s brownstone.
None appears in the story or credited on the photos.
The refusal to provide any hints as to source carried over to the
response that lead reporter David Enrich gave to a question about
sourcing:
These are good questions, but I’m afraid there’s not a
whole lot I can say because of the need to protect sources who provide
us with information. The one thing I feel comfortable sharing is that we
published this information as soon as we were able. This is not
something we’ve been sitting on.
I fully recognize that it is frustrating as a reader not to have
transparency about where/how journalists get information like this, but I
hope you can also understand that protecting sources is paramount —
people need to be able to trust that we will protect their
confidentiality when they come to us with important information.
Viewed in the aftermath of the release of the Ghislaine Maxwell transcripts (July 24, July 25), however, something else sticks out.
First, there’s the number of people mentioned in the story also mentioned in Maxwell’s interview:
