Thursday, August 14, 2025. Chump's efforts to cover up his Epstein connection have made things even worse for him -- politically and legally -- while Loose Lips Hegseth continues to self-embarrass and this time he might take down Joni We're All Going To Die Ernst with him.
President Donald Trump has
reportedly been frantically calling aides and allies seeking a “big
thing” to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and he's
purportedly considering a major geopolitical move to turn the page
politically.
Trump biographer Michael Wolff told The Daily Beast's new podcast "Inside Trump's Head"
that the president has been making "relentless" phone calls demanding
ideas to get him past questions about his longtime relationships with
the late sex offender and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
“Let
me go back about a week or so, or 10 days, when Trump started to say to
everyone who would listen — and everyone listens to Donald Trump — to
staffers and on the phone calls, the relentless phone calls that he’s
constantly making, he said, ‘I need a big thing, I need a big thing,'"
Wolff told the podcast. ”What’s the ‘big thing?’ And everyone understood
that this was code for I need a distraction from Epstein. What’s the
thing that will move us beyond that?”
He's such an idiot. He's such an idiot, in fact, that he could be Harry
Enton on CNN. This isn't going away. The media rarely seems to get it
and politicians never do. This is the sort of event that creates a
genderquake but it's so much more than that. I'm not explaining while
he's flailing -- not explaining here, I explained six weeks ago in piece
for the gina & krista round-robin why this story was going to blaze
like a fire. Chump doesn't get it and I'm not going to help him by
explaining it to him. But it's not going away. He's a good con artist but
he's rather stupid when it comes to people and human nature.
Yesterday the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee issued the following:
Judiciary Democrats Demand Answers Following Trump DOJ’s Sudden Transfer of Convicted Child Abuser and Epstein Accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell After Interview with Top DOJ Official
August 13, 2025
Press Release
Democrats Seek Release of Maxwell Interview Transcript and Related Materials and Note That Trump Administration May Have Violated DOJ, BOP Policies to Transfer Epstein’s Accomplice to Minimum-Security Prison Camp
Washington,
D.C. (August 13, 2025)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House
Judiciary Committee, led Committee Democrats in sending a letter
to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director
William K. Marshall III pressing for answers regarding the unusual and
abrupt transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell from a more restrictive BOP
facility to a minimum security facility in Texas, amid concerns that the
Trump Administration may be attempting to coax favorable testimony or
strategic silence from Maxwell—Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice and
co-conspirator—in order to cover up the full extent of the relationship
between Trump and Epstein.
“These actions
raise substantial concerns that the Administration may now be attempting
to tamper with a crucial witness, conceal President Trump’s
relationship with convicted sex offenders, and coax Ms. Maxwell into
providing false or misleading testimony in order to protect the
President. The transfer also appears to violate both DOJ and Bureau of
Prisons (BOP) policies. We write to demand DOJ and BOP provide all
documents and information related to Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s
interview of Ms. Maxwell and the sudden decision to transfer her to a
facility with lower security and greater freedom for inmates, which was,
prior to this extraordinary transfer, categorically off-limits to sex
offenders,” wrote the Members.
Reports on August 1 revealed that Maxwell, who had been serving a 20-year
prison sentence in Florida for exploiting and sexually abusing underage
girls, was transferred to an all-women prison camp in Texas, which is
listed as one of the “Best Jails in America to Serve Time.”
The
unexplained transfer of Maxwell to a lower-security and more
comfortable facility came amid the Trump Administration’s refusal to
release the Epstein files and less than a week after Deputy Attorney
General Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, met with Maxwell and her attorney behind closed doors with no line prosecutors present.
DOJ’s decision to arrange multiple private meetings with Maxwell raises
concerns of conflicts of interest, witness tampering, and suborning of
false testimony.
The transfer also appears to
violate BOP policy, which mandates that a person of convicted of sex
trafficking, like Maxwell, universally warrant a Public Safety Factor
(PSF) designation as a “Sex Offender” and are ineligible to serve their
sentence at a minimum-security facility like the one in Texas that
allows “access to the community.”
Judiciary
Democrats demanded the DOJ and BOP provide information, documents, and
communications regarding Maxwell’s transfer and her interview with
Deputy Attorney General Blanche.
“It
is imperative that the Administration come clean regarding the full
scope of Mr. Blanche’s interview of Ms. Maxwell and the sudden decision
to transfer her to a minimum-security prison camp. The Committee must
have access to all documents and information regarding these actions to
assess whether DOJ officials and the President have abused prosecutorial
and law enforcement resources to shield the President and mislead the
public,” concluded the Members.
That release follows one earlier this week from Senator Ruben Gallego's office:
WASHINGTON – Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) condemned
the recent transfer of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell from
FCI Tallahassee, a low security federal prison, to FPC Bryan, a
minimum-security prison camp in Texas.
The transfer occurred shortly after Maxwell met privately with Deputy
Attorney General Todd Blanche – Trump’s former personal lawyer – to
discuss individuals associated with Jeffrey Epstein. The Senators note
that the Department of Justice has yet to provide any clear explanation
for the decision, raising serious concerns about whether Maxwell is
receiving preferential treatment.
“Given the serious nature of Ms. Maxwell’s crimes, which include a
conviction and 20-year sentence for the sex trafficking of minors, this
transfer raises deeply troubling questions,” the Senators wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The
lack of transparency surrounding the decision, particularly following
her closed-door meeting with the Deputy Attorney General, undermines
public confidence in the Department’s impartiality and raises concerns
about whether she is receiving preferential treatment.”
The letter cites Bureau of Prisons policy requiring that anyone who,
like Maxwell, had “sexual contact with a minor,” be housed in at least a
low security-level institution without exception unless granted a
waiver, which there has been no indication Maxwell obtained. The
Senators also note that victims were not notified of her transfer, in
apparent violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
“Moreover, at a time when the Department has pledged greater
transparency regarding Epstein-related matters, this unexplained
transfer sends the opposite message,” the Senators continued. “To
date, there has been no clear explanation for why the transfer was
made, suggesting the administration has simply been paying lip service
to repeated calls for transparency.”
The Senators are calling on the Department to produce all documents
and communications related to the transfer, any records of Maxwell’s
communications with DOJ officials in the 30 days preceding the move, and
documentation of victim notification efforts.
56% of Republicans think that Chump "knew some or a lot about the sex crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein," explained Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC last night. The number jumps to 71% when you bring in non-Republicans.
Lawrence O'Donnell: 71% of Americans think Donald Trump knew some or a lot about the sex crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein against children before the investigations into Epstein even began. We've had 45 presidents of the United States and only one -- only one of them was friends with a rapist of children who claimed to be that president's best friend for ten years.
In the video above, Lawrence discusses the issue with US House Rep Jamie Raskin and, of course, the sweetheart deal that administration has made with convicted pedophile Ghislaine Maxwell is only the freshest layer of Chump's crimes.
Yesterday's snapshot noted that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse discussed Maxwell with Lawrence on Tuesday night's show but that MSNBC hadn't posted it to YOUTUBE. It's now posted on the senator's YOUTUBE channel
The timeline of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump’s friendship is not adding up.
Despite
doing everything within his power to distance himself from the
pedophilic financier, interviews conducted prior to Epstein’s death
suggest that the pair were close long after Trump claimed to have thrown
him out of Mar-a-Lago for being a “creep.” A new timeline compiled by CNN reveals just how long the two men were entwined.
Their
friendship spanned three decades, but in a 2019 interview, Epstein
described Trump as his “closest friend for 10 years.” That would have
been 15 years after they had a falling out over a bidding war on a Palm
Springs oceanfront mansion, and 11 years after Epstein was first
convicted on child sex offenses.
Three other
individuals who knew the men have also described them as best buds. They
include Maria Farmer, a visual artist hired by Epstein who provided the
first criminal complaint of sex abuse to law enforcement; Stacey
Williams, a model who referred to Trump as Epstein’s “wing man” after
the Manhattan real estate mogul allegedly groped her: and Jack
O’Donnell, the former president and chief operating officer of Trump
Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, who recalled scolding Trump in
the late 1980s after he arrived at the gambling floor with Epstein and
three underaged girls.
His lies -- his many, many lies -- don't kill the story or the interest. In fact, it's just adding kindling to the fire.
Meanwhile, FOX "NEWS" harridan Jeanine
Pirro was slurry beside Chump this week (were her dentures slipping?)
and railing against DC and what she saw as the injustice of not trying
14 year olds as adults and later she whined on TV about people being "rehabilitated with ice cream socials and yoga." Sarah K. Burris explains the problem with Pirro's ranting in a semi-lucid state:
Pirro's
comments come at an awkward time for the Trump administration after the
Justice Department intervened to change the rules for Jeffrey Epstein's
accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was recently moved to what some
describe as a kind of "country club" prison.
Due
to the severity of the crimes, Maxwell was ineligible to serve her
20-year sentence in the minimum-security camp, Federal Prison Camp
Bryan, near Houston, Texas. However, after speaking with Trump's former
personal attorney, Maxwell got to move.
Gill questioned whether it was part of a deal made between Trump's ex-attorney, Todd Blanche, and Maxwell.
"The
unit that approves waivers for sex offenders to be moved to minimum
security camps is the Designation and Sentence Computation Center near
Dallas. Currently, the senior deputy assistant director is Rick Stover, a
career BOP employee who speaks frequently with White House officials,"
Gill wrote.
Maxwell's new home doesn't require the typical orange jumpsuit. Instead, inmates are given "khaki pants and a khaki shirt," the BBC reported. The women can use a gym facility and take yoga classes, the Daily Telegraph said in one report. Some are also allowed to participate in a puppy training program for service animals, but the program's leader barred Maxwell.
That's the kind of scandal that gives meaning to the phrase: It's not the crime, it's the cover up.
A
sitting president made a deal with a convicted felon. The deal was to
give her what she wanted. Didn't matter that she exploited and
assaulted thousands of girls and young women.
Chump
gave her what she wanted and lied about it. Lied to the American
people. He didn't talk to Todd Blanche about what Maxwell was
offering. He didn't know why Maxwell got a prison transfer.
He's a liar whose actions on this alone rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors and, yes, are impeachable offense.
Maxwell
is someone who, when she gets out of prison, will be required to
register as a sex offender. And she has been moved to Camp Fed where,
as we noted yesterday, she apparently will be able to come and go on a
'work' release program as well. That's the kind of sweetheart deal that
Alex Acosta gave Jeffrey Epstein remember. And then Chump brought
Acosta into his cabinet. And when news of the sweetheart deal emerged,
Acosta had to resign. WIKIPEDIA:
In 2007–2008, as U.S. attorney, Acosta approved a plea deal that allowed child-trafficking ring-leader Jeffrey Epstein to plead guilty to a single state charge of solicitation, in exchange for a federal non-prosecution agreement.[2] After Epstein's arrest in July 2019 on sex trafficking
charges, Acosta faced renewed and harsher criticism for his role in the
2008 non-prosecution agreement, as well as criticism and calls for his
resignation as Secretary of Labor; he resigned on July 19 and was
replaced by Eugene Scalia.
So
Chump knew this deal with Maxwell was wrong -- grasp that. He knew. He knew because it's so similar to the deal Acosta made which, when exposed, forced Acosta to resign from Chump's first administration. Chump knew this was wrong but he gave it to her and
betrayed everyone when he did. He betrayed the survivors, he betrayed
the legal system, he betrayed his office, he betrayed the MAGA delirious
who saw him as someone fighting against the abuse of children and he betrayed all the American people by
lying to us and pretending that (a) nothing out of the norm happened and
that (b) he wasn't involved in any of it (when, in fact, he had to sign
off on these things with at least verbal consent).
And Acosta isn't the only one in Chump's orbit that worked to give Epstein a sweetheart deal. There's Attorney General Pam Bondi. Last month, Holly Baltz (PALM BEACH POST) noted:
When U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was the chief legal officer for Florida, could she have prosecuted fellow resident Jeffrey Epstein for child sex crimes?
Legally,
yes, she could have, legal experts say. The bigger question, however,
is whether she should have felt compelled to do so.
A Florida Republican serving on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform insists a key figure in the Jeffrey Epstein
prosecution scandal can still "be called to testify" on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who represents a St. Petersburg district, said the fact that former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta is not among those presently on the panel's witness list does not rule him out.
"This
does not take Alex Acosta off the table," said Luna, one of three
Floridians on the high-profile congressional committee, in a statement
emailed to The Palm Beach Post. "At any time, he can be called to
testify."
Ghislaine
Maxwell's transfer to a minimum security prison "reeks of a coordinated
protection racket run at taxpayer expense to shield the president," a
senator said.
Maxwell was jailed for 20 years
in 2022 for various crimes related to sex trafficking over her role in
grooming girls for Jeffrey Epstein to abuse.
Questions
have been asked after she was moved to a minimum security prison in
Texas shortly after meetings with the Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd
Blanche over two days in July.
Senator Sheldon
Whitehouse, former Rhode Island attorney general, asked for all
documents relating to the transfer as he raised concerns about Maxwell's
potential "access to the community" from a minimum security facility
despite being a convicted sex offender.
Some (liars) are insisting that Maxwell isn't going to be eligible for a 'work release.' But just being at Club Fed means she is eligible. Laerke Christensen (SNOPES) explains:
In
August 2025, a claim circulated online that a federal prison in Texas
cleared Jeffrey Epstein associate and convicted sex offender Ghislaine
Maxwell to leave the facility on work release. The claim came from a
Substack blog post by Allison Gill, the owner of an independent podcast network and a former government employee.
Gill's
blog post included screenshots of what she claimed was Maxwell's Bureau
of Prisons (BOP) record that showed a "custody level" that implied
Maxwell was allowed to leave prison to work. Snopes could not
independently verify Gill's screenshots because the blog post used an
anonymous source. A BOP spokesperson said the agency could not vouch for
the screenshots' authenticity..
However, according to BOP guidelines,
minimum security prisons like FPC Bryan, to which Maxwell transferred
on Aug. 1, 2025, can only house inmates with custody levels that allow
them to leave the facility's secure perimeter for work. Therefore,
according to the BOP's own guidelines, Maxwell would have such a custody
level.
Stacy M. Brown (SACREMENTO OBSERVER) points out the latest findings in THE ECONOMIST-YOUGOV poll, "The recent transfer of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to a
minimum-security Texas prison is opposed by 47 percent of Americans,
with just 14 percent in favor and 38 percent unsure. Nearly half say
they are not sure whether Trump ordered the move; 36 percent believe he
did."
GOP
rebel Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna plan to bring
survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse to Washington, D.C., in a
bipartisan push to get Congress to release the controversial “files” in
the case.
Massie of Kentucky, who has created a
headache for President Donald Trump this year after rebelling against
the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” said that he will host a joint press
conference at the Capitol with the California congressman, several
survivors and their attorneys.
“I
will be hosting a press conference at the Capitol, joined by survivors
of Epstein and Maxwell's abuse — several of whom will be speaking out
for the first time,” Massie and Khanna announced Monday in a post on X.
“The survivors deserve justice and Americans deserve transparency.”
The
Epstein case engulfed the Trump administration in controversy for weeks
following a Justice Department and FBI memo in early July that said no
further files in the case would be released, contrary to the president’s
previous pledges to do so. That sparked fury among the Trump base,
which has long sought their release. Trump has defended the move even as
politicians on both sides of the aisle call for their release.
To
rebuild trust, we need transparency, accountability, and a bold
anti-corruption agenda. Progressives must lead the way and show
Americans that our government can be good and effective.
One
place to start is calling for the release of the Epstein files. The
administration’s refusal to release them is just the latest example of
how a lack of transparency fuels distrust.
For
at least a decade, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked and
abused young women and children. There are more than 1,000 victims,
according to the Justice Department. Lawsuits allege Epstein’s criminal
abuse of minors spanned over 30 years. These victims deserve justice,
and the public deserves to know who was involved and who is still being
shielded today.
Americans on both the left and the
right are outraged by the government’s failure to fully release this
information; 79 percent of the public wants the files to be released,
and a majority thinks the government is covering up evidence.
Releasing
the full Epstein files -- while protecting the privacy and safety of
victims -- must be a top priority. It is a simple question of whether our
leaders stand with America’s children and victims of abuse or with the
wealthy and powerful who are being protected.
That
is why I have spoken out since 2019 about this issue and supported
then–House Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings’s investigation
into Epstein’s death. It’s also why I am leading the current effort in
Congress to release the files, first with an amendment that was blocked
in the House Rules Committee and now with a bipartisan bill being co-led
by Representative Thomas Massie.
Let's move over to Loose Lips Hegseth. The TV personality who now plays Secretary of Defense just can't seem to do his job. Carla Babb (NAVY TIMES) reports:
Democratic
congresswomen, including several military veterans, are demanding
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth apologize and resign after reposting a
video about a Christian nationalist church with pastors who advocate for
the repeal of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote,
and feel women should not serve in certain combat and leadership
positions.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth
(D-Ill.), an Army helicopter pilot who lost both of her legs during
combat in Iraq, told Military Times, "these views are antiquated, flat
out wrong and - more dangerously - designed to justify discrimination
and mistreatment of women, including those who sacrifice in uniform to
defend Americans."
"He is the least qualified
secretary of defense in our nation's history - despite commanding tens
of thousands of women who actually are qualified and earned their jobs,
unlike him," she added. "Hegseth's incompetence and outright idiocy
continue to put our troops and national security at greater risk every
day he remains in office, and he should resign in disgrace immediately."
In
the CNN video, the pastors also said they want the United States to be a
Christian republic. They call for the criminalization of homosexuality
and expect women to submit to their husbands.
[. . .]
Rep.
Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), an Air Force veteran who has called for
Hegseth's resignation before, told Military Times that Hegseth's "recent
post promoting a Christian Nationalist theology that is opposed to
women's suffrage and calls for homosexuality to be criminalized is
unacceptable political-religious advocacy for a cabinet member."
"Sadly
it is just one more example of the many ways he and the Trump
administration are undermining and sidelining women and the LGBTQ
community, erasing their accomplishments and stripping rights that were
hard-fought and fully deserved," she added.
When I saw the headline, my immediate thought was, "What's Phoney Joni going to say?"
Turns
out nothing. Joni Ernst did not provide a comment when asked. If
you've forgotten, the We're All Going To Die Senator was initially not
going to vote for Loose Lips Hegseth to become Secretary of Defense;
however, all it took were a few threats to frighten Phoney Joni and she
was all on board.
She betrayed her belief system, she betrayed her constituents.
I guess if I were her, I'd try to slither away and hope no one noticed. But people will notice and this is a really time for Phoney Joni. Malcolm Ferguson (THE NEW REPUBLIC) reports:
Two-time Paralympic gold medalist and Iowa State Representative Josh Turek used current Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s infamous “Well, we’re all going to die” comment against her in a new ad announcing his candidacy for her Senate seat.
Turek
uses a wheelchair full-time after his father’s exposure to Agent Orange
during the Vietnam War caused him to develop spina bifida, forcing him
to get 21 surgeries before the age of 12. He received gold medals in
wheelchair basketball in 2016 and 2020.
“I
wouldn’t have gotten that far without VA health coverage for my dad’s
service, free summer lunch programs when my parents were struggling, and
the local AEA that made sure that I had access to a good education.
When I was a kid, it was a Senator from Iowa that made sure that the
doors were open for kids like me,” Turek said.
“Now the senator from Iowa is just closing doors, taking away health
care, making it harder for parents to feed their kids—all just to give
tax breaks to billionaires. And her explanation? ‘Well, we are all going
to die.’”
The clip cuts to footage of the town hall in which Ernst made her cruel, fateful comments.
“I’m
tired of Iowans being taken for granted. I wasn’t supposed to be able
to win a state House seat that Trump won twice, but I campaigned just
like I played basketball: outworking everyone,” Turek continued. “A
whole lotta folks are gonna look at a guy like me and say, ‘Man, that is
a real long shot.’ Well, in Iowa, we love an underdog. So if you are
ready to push for change, join me.”
Ernst’s comments have seriously tainted her political reputation,
and while she’s yet to confirm or deny her 2026 reelection campaign, a
slew of challengers have already arisen from both sides of the aisle
(for what it’s worth, Ernst has hired a campaign manager). Republican
Jim Carlin and former Libertarian presidential candidate Joshua Smith
have already declared, while Ernst and Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson
are still deliberating. Meanwhile Turek joins a crowded Democratic
primary field including state Senator Zach Wahls, state Representative
J.D. Scholten, Des Moines school board chair Jackie Norris, and local
radio station market director Nathan Sage.
Let's note Ben breaking down the morning on MEIDASTOUCH.
And let's wind down with this from Senator Mazie Hirono's office:
This comes after President Trump’s mass layoffs of over 3,000 employees at federal science agencies, including over 2,000 employees at NASA last month, over 150 employees at NSF in February, around 800 employees at NOAA, and over 70 employees at NIST.
“Our federal science agencies do critical work to keep our
communities safe, while also promoting and fostering innovation,
conducting important research, and encouraging exploration in various
fields,” said Senator Hirono. “These reductions in our
federal workforce will cause irreparable damage to this country and this
regime’s blatant disregard for these agencies, as well as the
well-being of the federal workers employed by them, is unacceptable. I
am proud to introduce these bills to help protect our federal workforce
and the crucial work that these agencies do.”
“The Trump Administration’s purge of federal employees from
our science agencies is not only hurting thousands of hard-working
public servants, it is threatening key engines of innovation that
benefit the American people and our economy. With this legislation,
we’re fighting to stop Trump from laying waste to our federal science
agencies and their workforce as Congress works to fund their missions
for the next year – and ensure they can continue making life-changing
discoveries,” said Senator Van Hollen.
Trump has claimed that these mass layoffs are part of his
administration’s agenda to cut “government waste.” Meanwhile, he has
taken advantage of these cuts to give his political appointees preferred
treatment. In June, the administration made an abrupt decision
to move the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into the
NSF’s office building in Alexandria, Virginia, without giving NSF’s
1,833 employees advanced notice or presenting a plan for where these
employees would relocate to accommodate HUD workers.
Specifically, Senator Hirono and Van Hollen’s bills would prevent
RIFs at these four agencies, essentially pausing mass layoffs or
demotions, until Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations for those agencies are
signed into law.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NIST’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NASA’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NOAA’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NSF’s Workforce Act is available here.
