Thursday, September 4, 2025. Truth tellers speak to the nation and Chump attacks them as his destruction of the country's economy becomes undeniable.
Yesterday, some of' the survivors of Julian Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's abuse took part in a press conference calling for justice and closure. Many spoke to the media throughout the day after the conference. On MSNBC, for example, last night Lawrence O'Donnell spoke with survivor Jena-Lisa Jones.
President
Trump probably hoped the long Labor Day weekend would help him outrun
his political troubles. Instead, his absence from public view only
seemed to sharpen the mounting questions about his health and fitness
for office.
Unfortunately for Trump, one
trouble never comes alone. The explosion of chatter around Trump’s
health might have Americans questioning whether the president is up to
the job, but it hasn’t distracted them from demanding the full release
of the Jeffrey Epstein files. People want to know how their president
was involved with the nation’s most notorious child sex trafficker —
and, for once, they aren’t buying into Trump’s cynical distractions.
Where are the Epstein files, Mr. President?
After
an August spent trying (and failing) to move on from Trump’s Epstein
connection, Republicans have returned to Washington to find Epstein’s
victims still waiting by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) door. Far
from cooling the temperature regarding the Epstein documents, the August
recess seems to have given Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie
(R-Ky.) time to build bipartisan consensus around their release. If
Khanna and Massie get their way, Trump may soon have a black eye to
match his bruised hands.
Watchdog organizations are
pressing for answers, even if most congressional Republicans aren’t.
Last week, the nonpartisan Democracy Defenders Fund filed a federal
lawsuit against the Trump administration demanding the full release of
all files related to the Epstein investigation — not just the same
already-public documents the Department of Justice has falsely touted as
“new” information. They argue, rightly, that transparency isn’t
optional in a democracy, even if that transparency implicates the
sitting president in potentially criminal misconduct.
Survivors
who were exploited by Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring on
Wednesday called for full transparency after Congress released thousands
of pages of documents to the public.
Epstein
was a convicted sex offender accused of victimizing hundreds of young
women. At a news conference, Lisa Phillips said survivors are compiling
their own list of people who abused Epstein's victims.
No,
Justin, after Congress re-released 97% of pages of documents. We
don't need to provide cover of lies. Only 3% of what Congress released
yesterday was new. 97% was already publicly available.
This statement Justin later types makes clear that he knows that, "Most
of the documents released Tuesday contained information that had
already been made public through court filings and other records." That sentence belongs in the article first paragraph. Instead Justin buries it in paragraph ten. Back to his article:
"We
know the names. Many of us were abused by them," she said. "We will
confidentially compile the names we all know are regularly in the
Epstein world."
Phillips said many people knew of Epstein's abuse.
"Why
was he allowed to sponsor visas for young models using their
immigration status as leverage to abuse them and silence them?" Phillips
said. "Epstein was not just a serial predator; he was an international
human trafficker. And many around him knew this, many participated, and
many profited — and yet he was protected."
Phillips was among those calling for transparency.
Also stumbling is a member of Congress. Evan Williams (TAG24) notes,
"MAGA Congressman James Comer claimed on Tuesday that Ghislaine Maxwell
had 'exonerated' President Donald Trump during an interview with the
Department of Justice." Comer's a liar or an idiot -- probably both.
Pope Leo might be able to exonerate someone with a statement because the
new pope is trusted. Jizzy Pants Maxwell? She's a convicted felon as
is her dead partner Epstein. In her two days of chatting with air head
Todd Blanche, Jizzy Pants insisted she was innocent and that so was
Epstein. A liar like that? They can lie but they can't exonerate.
"What
I will say is she got this airtime and platform. Her voice was elevated
way before our voices were elevated here today," said Hyelm. "And the
same calm, manipulative voice that she had — so polite, there, that day
with Todd Blanche, was the same polite, coercive, manipulative voice
that I heard as she was grooming me to then send me off to the home of
Jeffrey Epstein, where he would assault me."
The
same attempt to build a relationship and try to garner trust was what
Helm said she experienced. She was convinced she was about to start her
"dream job" for which she'd been recruited from college. She was flown
from Los Angeles to New York City for an interview.
"So, I thought her voice that day was the same voice that sent me off to a monster," she added.
Helm
also noted that she thinks nothing can be believed that comes out of
Maxwell, because she's already been caught with perjury.
"I
myself could sit there and listen as I did, I sat there and listened,
listen to this woman's voice, lie, and there was no pushback from Todd
Blanche, because — does he even have the facts to be able to push back
on her?" Helm asked. "We could sit there and push back. Why didn't we
get to attend that? Why weren't we there that day, or why wasn't even
one of us consulted prior to that day in that meeting? And why on Earth
has she been moved from Florida to her — it's basically a prison spa. I
mean, you know, let's be real."
She explained that none of the survivors were consulted ahead of the meeting or even told that the interview would happen.
Marina Lacerda was part of a vast network of victims who were abused by Epstein
as a teenager. Until now, she was identified as an unidentified minor
victim in the 2019 federal indictment against the disgraced financier.
On
Wednesday, she went public with her claims for the first time, 23 years
after she first came into contact with the disgraced financier.
Joining lawmakers and a group of survivors in
Washington, D.C. Wednesday, Lacerda, 37, shared details of her abuse by
Epstein and demanded the complete release of the so-called Epstein
Files.
“I
never thought that I would find myself here,” she said. “The only
reason I’m here is because it feels like the people who matter in this
country finally care about what we have to say.”
She first met Epstein in 2002 in New York when she was just 14, according to the 2019 indictment.
The
young Brazilian immigrant was a freshman in high school at the time,
working three jobs to try to support her mom and her sister. That’s when
a friend told her she could make $300 by giving an “older guy” a
massage, she said at a Wednesday press conference on Capitol Hill.
“It went from a dream job to the worst nightmare,” Lacerda said.
Let's note some reactions from ten community sites:
Stan: But that was scary and I couldn't believe anyone would harm my aunt because she was so warm, sweet and funny. As the survivors spoke out today, I kept thinking about that and how sick some people are. Maxwell is sick. Epstien was sick. Maxwell is still alive. She needs to be back in a real prison. And the president of the United States needs to be defending the survivors, not attacking them.
Ann: The survivors shined today and as Chump attacked them, they just stuck
to the truth and shined even brighter. We need to see some justice on
this issue and we need to see some closure. Our government has to stand
with the survivors or our government is not of the people, it's against
the people.
Marcia: Today, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell spoke out.
The world's a little better as a result. When brave voices tell the
truth, it makes a difference. Chump immediately attacked them and called them a "hoax." Doesn't
matter. Many people heard them and some for the first time. This
helped the nation. I applaud these survivors and want to see justice
for them. Release the files. That's a demand we need to make to honor
those who were betrayed by the justice system and the Alex Acostas.
Kat: They
are not going to go away. They are not going to be dismissed. They
were ignored and threatened as girls and young women and they're not
having it anymore nor should they. We
need to join their call and demand all the records be released. We
need to join their call and make it clear that Maxwell belongs in a real
prison and not the social club Chump moved her to weeks ago. She is a
convicted sex trafficker and pedophile. She has stood trial and been
sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
Rebecca: crooks. they're like the supreme court. they're not going to police themselves, so they're not to need outsiders to do it. i
think we'll be seeing some much needed reforms after we've watched
chump and his family work overtime to make millions via their
corruption. but he's a predator and that's what predators do. he's
a predator who was friends with jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell
and that's why the orange creep is not helping the survivors. he
doesn't care about and he never did. truth be told, he was probably
pushing himself on underage girls. chump is disgusting. and before this is all over, maga will realize that and will grasp how he played them.
Elaine: Nothing but lies from Chump and his administration. Today, disgusting
Donald made a point to attack the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and
Ghislaine Maxwell. Chump is a con artist. He's exposed himself to the American people.
Trina: Chump is a liar. And he is a liar who does not care about the America
people. He's part of the swamp he once pretended to want to drain.
He's destroying our earth. That is just who he is, a dangerous
criminal. And that is why he moved Ghislaine Maxwell to Club Fed and
why he is attacking the survivors abused by Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
Betty: Important day as survivors publicly spoke out and demanded justice.
They spoke out even as Chump attacked them. As US House Rep
Jasmine Crockett noted, clearly the White House was the hostile actors.
They are not a hoax and they will not be silenced.
When
the truth is spoken, we're all a little bit stronger as a result. We're
inspired to speak more truth. We're encouraged to stand with those in
need. Doing the right thing becomes very important.
Thank you to
all the survivors who spoke today and who inspired us and who remembered
the importance of humanity and that democracy requires a strong public
square where the truth can be spoken and embraced.
Mike: Donald Chump is
disgusting. He has two daughters. I only have one daughter. But this
is something that we all need to call out and that's especially true if
you are a father. What was done to these women by Epstein and Maxwell?
Those are crimes. And these women were failed. It's time for us, as a
country to make this right. To make it clear that grooming and abuse
is not acceptable and that destroying people's lives is not
acceptable. We
need to stand with the survivors to show them the support that they
shouldn't have gotten all along and we need to stand with the survivors
to embrace our own humanity. Donald
Chump is disgusting and so is anyone else protecting the criminals
Epstein and Maxwell and standing in the way of the survivors getting
justice and getting closure.
Ruth: And that is the reality before we factor in Mr. Chump's
efforts to silence those who survived the abuse of Jeffrey Epstein and
Ghislaine Maxwell.
Did everyone catch the slap Chump gave Robert Kennedy Junior? Just wondering. He's mocking those wanting the Kennedy assassination records released.
Dementia Donald Chump: It remind me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave them everything. Over and over again. More. And more. And more. And nobody's ever satisfied.
Somebody better check on Junior and they especially better check on the worm in Junior's brain after Chump landed that bitch slap to Junior's head.
President
Donald Trump on Wednesday called demands that his administration
release the Jeffrey Epstein files a distraction from his successes, as a
group of victims of the notorious sex offender called for those
documents to be publicly disclosed.
"This is a Democratic hoax that never ends," Trump told reporters at the White House when he was asked about the Epstein files.
So
Chump's admitting he's a chump? Because if Epstein is just "a
Democratic hoax" and Chump told people last year he would release the
files and planned to do so even after he was sworn in at the start of
the year? If he's right in his comments currently that it was all a
hoax then Chump got taken in. Like a sucker. Like an idiot. Like a
Chump.
Jeffrey
Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips challenged President Donald Trump
on-camera over his multiple rants calling the Epstein Files a”hoax,”
inviting him to meet with her.
About a dozen
survivors spoke out Wednesday morning in a press conference organized by
lawmakers from both parties to call for more transparency over the
Epstein Files.
Phillips was asked about the many times that Trump has called the issue a “hoax,” and was unsparing in her response:
REPORTER:
The question would be for the survivors, the president has said that
this Epstein issue is a hoax, is the word that he used. Can we get your
reactions to what you think when you hear him say that?
LISA
PHILLIPS: I’ll answer that. Mr. President Donald J. Trump, I am a
registered Republican, not that that matters because this is not
political.
However, I cordially invite you to
the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a
hoax. We are real human beings! This is real trauma!
REPORTER: What does it feel like emotionally to hear that?
UNIDENTIFIED: Devastating.
LISA PHILLIPS: It’s being gutted from the inside out. Not that I would know what that feels like, but I imagine.
It’s
the anxiety buildup with the depression and the survival mode, and then
your nervous system goes limp and ironically is shot. And it feels like
you just want to explode inside because nobody, again, is understanding
that this is a real situation.
These women are real. We’re here in person. To say that it’s a hoax is just not … Please humanize us!
I
would like Donald J. Trump and every person in America and around the
world to humanize us, to see us for who we are and to hear us for what
we have to say.
Employment
gains were so weak in the July jobs report that President Donald Trump
fired the head of the bureau charged with collecting the data,
baselessly claiming it was rigged.
But fresh
figures out Wednesday show that those meager job totals weren’t an
anomaly: For the first time in more than four years, there are fewer
open jobs than there are job seekers.
“This
is a turning point for the labor market,” Heather Long, chief economist
at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote Wednesday. “It’s yet another
crack.”
The number of job openings was an
estimated 7.18 million at the end of July, falling from a downwardly
revised 7.36 million the month before, according to Bureau of Labor
Statistics data released Wednesday.
Job
openings are now not only at their lowest level in 10 months, but
they’re also below the number of unemployed workers (at 7.2 million) for
the first time since April 2021.
In addition, REUTERS notes,
"US manufacturing contracted for a sixth straight month in August as
factories dealt with the fallout from the Trump administration’s import
tariffs, with some manufacturers describing the current business
environment as 'much worse than the Great Recession'." Will Neal (DAILY BEAST) points out:
President
Donald Trump might regret sacking his last Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) chief because the new numbers are in and they’re just as bad as
before.
Released Wednesday, the agency’s latest
Job Openings and Labor Turnover report recorded just 7.18 million
employment listings for July. It’s only the second time they’ve dipped
below 7.2 million since the last quarter of 2020, at the height of the
COVID pandemic.
It’s also lower than even
independent economists, polled by Dow Jones, had forecasted, fueling
widespread concerns of a weakening job market amid the Trump
administration’s turbulent handling of the economy and ongoing trade war
against much of the rest of the planet.
“This is a
turning point for the labor market,” Heather Long, an economist with
the Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC Wednesday.
“It’s
yet another crack,” she went on, adding the new figures were
“underscoring how this job market is frozen and it’s difficult for
anyone to get a job right now.”
We're not done with the news of Chump's war on the economy. Sarah K. Burris (RAW STORY) notes not only the poor job numbers but also the housing market:
When it comes to housing, things are even worse, and Long thinks that Trump should declare a "national housing emergency."
"Honestly,
it could be a good idea. Housing affordability in the US is basically
at the worst point in about 40 years. It's been stuck there for ~3 years
now," said Long.
She showed two charts that
illustrate the problem: "1) Housing unaffordability is worst in 40
years, 2) Home prices and rent prices have shot up dramatically compared
to median incomes."
"While housing is mostly a
local government issue (zoning, etc.), there are some things the
national government can do to help," Long added. 'And that list goes
well beyond the Fed lowering interest rates. We need more home building.
There are many ways to help incentivize (or subsidize) that."
It's
the same thing that real estate developers have been saying for the
past two months, CNBC reported. Quality low-income housing is too
expensive to develop and still generate the profits they seek. He's
hoping that government rescue might be on the way.
Heading
toward fall, Americans are continuing to rate the U.S. economy
negatively, as most pick "uncertain" and "struggling" to describe its
current state. Ratings dipped again slightly over the last month.
A
third of Americans pick the descriptors "rebounding" or "expanding."
(Respondents could pick multiple words.) And more than twice as many
said "unfair" as "fair."
Positive views of the
economy have been hovering in a range in the 30s all year. They had
ticked up slightly toward the end of July, though today it's above the
low hit back in the winter.
Behind those views is
much the same story as it has been for a while: Prices. Two-thirds say
prices are still going up and, perhaps more importantly for outlook,
two-thirds expect them to keep going up, at least a little.
And
what happens when you entwine voter revulsion with regards to Chump
when it comes to both Epstein and revulsion to the damaged economy? Alex Henderson explains:
Although
Donald Trump has run for president four times — first with a
short-lived Reform Party campaign in 2000, then three times as the GOP
nominee — 2024 marked the first time Trump won the national popular
vote. It was a close election: Trump only won the popular vote by
roughly 1.5 percent, but he made it past the finish line and
successfully attracted voters beyond his hardcore MAGA base. Those new
Trump voters include Latinos, independents, Gen-Z, and members of the
Manosphere.
But in an op-ed published by Bloomberg News, Nia-Malika Henderson argues that 2024 Trump voters under 35 are having buyer's remorse.
"One
of the most surprising datapoints from President Donald Trump's 2024
victory was his strength among young voters, a demographic that is
typically a core part of the Democratic base," explains Henderson, who
formerly covered politics for CNN and the Washington Post. "In 2020,
President Joe Biden won this age group (18-29) by 24 points. Yet, in
2024, Trump closed the gap, with former Vice President Kamala Harris
winning this same group by just 4 points. Now, a Pew Research Center
poll shows Trump steadily losing ground with a larger young cohort,
revealing weaknesses in the very group that helped him win in November."
If you need some video on this reality of Chump destroying the economy, here's a report from this morning's MORNING JOE.
And from earlier this week, here's FORBES.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), along
with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander
(D-N.H.), and Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.), led 55 members of Congress in
opening a new investigation into the Trump administration’s arrest,
detention, and deportation of non-citizen service members, veterans, and
military families. The lawmakers wrote to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) demanding an
explanation for these practices, which go against decades of precedent
and long-standing DHS policy indicating
that military service offers protection from immigration enforcement
for military service members, veterans, and their immediate family
members.
“The Trump administration’s [actions] threaten U.S. national security
interests and erode the U.S. military’s credibility when it makes
promises to its service members who have put their lives on the line for
our country,” wrote the lawmakers.
Over the past century, hundreds of thousands of immigrant service
members have fought for the nation and contributed to victories in
military conflicts. Non-citizen service members fill in recruitment gaps
and provide foreign language skills and medical expertise to the military that are difficult for recruiters to find and expensive to teach.
In April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded its
former policy of considering military service a “significant mitigating
factor” when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policy less protective of service members and their families.
Following the policy change, the wife of a Marine Corps veteran
and mother of two young children was detained by ICE during a green
card application appointment — despite having lived in the United States
for over a decade. Then, in June, a father of three Marines was repeatedly punched in the head by masked ICE agents, and a U.S. citizen
who served in the Army was rounded up in an indiscriminate raid and
held without explanation. The Trump administration’s actions against
veterans and non-citizen military families have even prompted at least
one veteran to leave the United States.
Multiple constituents affected by the administration’s reckless
changes to immigration protections for military families have shared
their stories with representatives in Congress. For example, Sae Joon Park,
a disabled Purple Heart veteran residing in Hawaii, was forced to
self-deport by the Trump administration despite having lived in the U.S.
for nearly five decades. Additionally, Maria Pelaez,
a mother of an active-duty U.S. Marine, was detained by ICE, and ICE
has refused to release her despite a judge’s decision to grant her bond.
The Trump administration may be targeting military families using
information they voluntarily provided to the federal government in
connection with their service. When applying for immigration benefits, like “parole in place,” military families provide extensive personal data,
including their physical addresses, physically-identifying information
like eye color and height, country of birth, and more. Now, USCIS may be
using that information to refer service members or their families to
ICE for removal proceedings, even if they were previously deprioritized
for enforcement actions.
Even as the administration took steps to backtrack on its previous
immigration enforcement protections, military recruiters continued using
immigration benefits as a talking point to recruit non-citizens, “promoting enlistment
as a way to gain ‘protection from deportation’ for family members.”
Only recently did the Marines stop the practice and it is unclear
whether other military services continue to use this recruitment tactic.
“We demand an explanation for why DHS is betraying its promises to
service members who play a key role in protecting U.S. national
security,” wrote the members.
The coalition asked the two agencies to provide, by September 16,
2025: information about the number of non-citizens serving in the
military; a list of service members, veterans, and family members who
have been arrested, detained, or deported since January 2025; the impact
of these new immigration policies on recruitment, readiness, and
morale; what information about non-citizen service members and military
family members the Pentagon provides DHS and ICE; and more.
Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ruben
Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii),
Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy
Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto
(D-Nev.), Patty Murrary (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla
(D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Peter
Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined in signing the letter.
House: Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Nanette Barragan
(D-Calif.), Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Sean Casten
(D-Ill.), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Jason Crow
(D-Colo.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Lloyd Doggett
(D-Texas), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Cleo Fields (D-La.), John Garamendi
(D-Calif.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jonathan
Jackson (D-Ill.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Henry Johnson (D-Ga.), John
Larson (D-Conn.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.),
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Scott Peters
(D-Calif.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Hilary Scholten (D-Mich.), Eric
Swalwell (D-Calif.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Derek
Tran (D-Calif.), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) joined in signing the
letter.
