Saturday, January 31, 2026

Epstein files

Yesterday, the Justice Dept released more from the Epstein files.  Adam Downer (DAILY BEAST) reports:

Elon Musk is now claiming the Epstein files are a “distraction” that “doesn’t matter” after he was busted begging to come to one of Jeffrey Epstein’s parties.

The 54-year-old billionaire had long been a vocal advocate for releasing the Epstein files and arresting the late sexual predator’s clients.

But after emails in which Musk planned to visit Epstein’s Island for the “wildest party” were exposed in Friday’s Epstein files release, Musk has changed his tune.

“What matters is not release of some subset of the Epstein files, but rather the prosecution of those who committed heinous crimes with Epstein,“ he wrote in an X post Saturday morning.

“When there is at least one arrest, some justice will have been done. If not, this is all performative. Nothing but a distraction,” he added.


Musk knows that corporate America has expanded as far as it's ever going to for him.  They've looked away at the drug use, they've taken him at his word that he learned the lesson about politics (something he is already demonstrating that he didn't learn) and now he's a part of the Epstein ring.  So he tries to down peddle it.   



Gabe Whisnant (NEWSWEEK) explains:

Billionaire Elon Musk exchanged emails with Jeffrey Epstein about visiting the financier’s private Caribbean island, according to newly released documents that include correspondence from 2012 and 2013.

The emails show Epstein discussing potential travel arrangements to Little Saint James, an island he owned in the U.S. Virgin Islands that later became the focus of numerous allegations of sexual abuse.


Musk is insisting that his e-mails are being misinterpreted.  At GIZMODO,  Mike Pearl writes:


Sorry but “misinterpreted”? Even if you do your absolute damndest to read this guy’s freshly released Epstein emails in a positive light, what you get is the story of a tech tycoon stating unambiguously that he wanted to attend an absolute rager on a sex criminal’s private island.

“What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Elon Musk asked Jeffrey Epstein on on Nov. 25, 2012. 

In 2019, Musk told Vanity Fair that in their past interactions, he had detected that Epstein was “obviously a creep.” Indeed, it wouldn’t have taken much sleuthing to pick up on this attribute of Epstein’s back in 2012. He already had a conviction on his record at the time for soliciting prostitution, and it was also widely reported in the media that the prostitution conviction stemmed from a generous plea bargain, and that the charges Epstein had been facing included sexual relations with minors.

So with that in mind, here’s what Musk and Epstein wrote as they attempted to make plans in 2012 for Musk to visit Epstein’s island with British actress Talulah Riley, Musk’s wife at the time (typos and other text issues are left in tact. I don’t want to be accused of misinterpreting):

Epstein: you are welcome to stay or just come for the day, plenty of rroom i will=send heli to get you

Musk: Do you have any parties planned? I’ve been working to the edge of sanity th=s year and so, once my kids head home after Christmas, I really want to hi= the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose. The invitation is=much appreciated, but a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what=l’m looking for.

Epstein: Understood, , I will see you on st Barth, the ratio on my island might m=ke Talilah uncomfortable

Musk: Ratio is not a problem for Talulah

It may be true that Musk declined one or more invitations to visit, but he also tried to make plans to visit multiple times. In addition to the aforementioned change, he emailed Epstein on December 14, 2013 saying he was going to be in the Virgin Islands “over the holidays,” and asked “Is there a good time to visit?” In my opinion it sort of undermines the inherent morality of rejecting offers to be taken to Epstein’s island if you also repeatedly attempt to visit Epstein’s island.


While Musk continues his efforts to lie and spin, Mike Stunson (FORBES) notes one person is already backing up the assertion Musk visited Epstein Island:


Musk’s estranged daughter, 21-year-old Vivian Wilson, wrote in a post on Threads her memory of visiting the region where Epstein’s island was located when she was younger: “There was this boat ride from St Vincent to St Barth’s I remember from when I was little. We used to visit around the holidays. I remember the sea being so dark at night.” She would have been around 9 at the time. 


Friday's release was over three million pages, however, everything has not been released yet Deputy AG Todd Blanche has announced this will be all that the government releases. Per The Epstein Files Transparency Act,  everything was supposed to have been released by December 19th.  This is the law passed by Congress and signed, November 19th, by Donald Chump.  

 



CNN notes at the top of their coverage:


The Justice Department released more than 3 million pages of files related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein today. The documents contain references to President Donald Trump and other powerful figures, including Elon Musk, Bill Clinton and a former Obama White House counsel.

• An FBI list of allegations related to Trump — many of which appear to have come from unverified tips — is among the new documents. The White House referred CNN to a Justice Department statement that called the claims “unfounded and false.” Trump has long denied wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.

• Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department has now completed its review of the Epstein files and that the White House had “no oversight” of the process.     


Despite the new disclosures, a group of survivors of Epstein’s alleged abuses said some of their alleged abusers “remain hidden and protected”.

A statement from 19 of the survivors, some using aliases or initials, said information about them still remained in the files, “while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected.” The letter demanded “the full release of the Epstein files” and that Attorney General Pam Bondi directly address the matter when she testifies before Congress next month.

 


Musk isn't the only one whose lies have been exposed by the latest release.  Nicholas Confessore (NEW YORK TIMES) notes:


On a podcast last year, Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, described being so revolted by a mid-2000s visit to Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan mansion that he decided to “never be in a room with that disgusting person ever again.”

Mr. Lutnick’s disgust appeared to prove temporary. In 2012, he emailed with Mr. Epstein to arrange a visit with his wife and children to Mr. Epstein’s private island just before Christmas. An assistant to Mr. Epstein later forwarded Mr. Lutnick a message from Mr. Epstein: “Nice seeing you,” it said. (On Friday, Mr. Lutnick said that “I spent zero time with him.”)


Also exposed is Melania Chump.  Sarah Ewall-Wice (DAILY BEAST) notes:


A gushing email exchange between First Lady Melania Trump and Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was included in the latest dump of Epstein files.

In the first message from 2002, Mrs. Trump praised a New York magazine article about Epstein and complemented the socialite now serving 20 years in prison for sex-trafficking.

“Dear G! Howe are you?” it starts. “Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great in the picture.”

At the time, the first lady was still Melania Knauss and was just dating Trump.

The pair were captured in multiple pictures with Epstein and Maxwell around that time, but the email appears to be the first written communication between Mrs. Trump and Maxwell from the files.

 



In other Epstein news, Carl Gibson reports on questions regarding the convict's death:


Before he died in prison, convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein was reportedly attacked in his cell, extorted by his cellmate and slipped a handwritten note into a book.

That's according to Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, who initially broke the story that led to the first arrests of Epstein and his chief accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. In a Thursday post to her Substack entitled "Why I don't believe Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself (Part 2)," Brown delved into Bureau of Prisons records about an apparent suicide attempt that took place not long after he arrived at New York City's Metropolitan Corrections Center in the summer of 2019.

Brown alleged the Bureau of Prisons never fully investigated the suicide attempt, and asserted from available evidence that the convicted sex trafficker had instead been attacked by an inmate. She noted that child predators are at the bottom rung of the prison hierarchy, and that Epstein had a target on his back due to the volume of reporting on his crimes. Epstein's cellmate ["bunkie" in prison parlance], Nicholas Tartaglione — who Brown described as a "violent ex-cop-turned-drug-dealer — denied playing a role in the assault.

"Just 13 days after he arrived at MCC, he was found laying on the floor of his cell, with a piece of fabric around his neck," Brown wrote. "The very first story he told prison officials was that his cellmate tried to kill him."

However, Epstein later changed his story to say that he didn't remember the details of the attack. Eventually, an incident report attributed his injuries to "self-mutilation." Tartaglione was also accused of threatening to harm Epstein unless he paid him. Eventually, some details of the attack were apparently "expunged," according to Brown.


 Meanwhile Chump is mentioned throughout.  Many of the pages contain allegations of Chump with young women and girls.  Some of those pages were removed after being released yesterday.  Zachary Leeman (MEDIAITE) explains:

In a complaint made by a friend, the president was accused of forcing a 13-14-year-old to perform oral sex on him.

“[Redacted] reported an unidentified female friend who was forced to perform oral sex on President Trump approximately 35 years ago in NJ. The friend told Alexis that she was approximately 13-14 years old when this occurred, and the friend allegedly bit President Trump while performing oral sex. The friend was allegedly hit in the face after she laughed about biting President Trump. The friend said she was also abused by Epstein,” the complaint reads.

[. . .]

Another in Epstein’s orbit also made allegations of “sex trafficking” and murder. The unidentified person was following up on a tip given to the NYPD in which the person alleged they were raped at 13. The person also alleged Trump regularly paid them to perform sexual acts and claimed he was present when her newborn child was murdered.

“Complainant reported Donald Trump participated regularly in paying money to force her to perform sex acts with him and alleged Trump was present when her uncle murdered her newborn child,” notes on the complaint read.

According to the paperwork, there was “no contact made.”


By the way, THE NEW YORK TIMES will not be reporting on the 4,000+ pages about Donald Chump.  They say so in an article credited to "THE NEW YORK TIMES," "The New York Times is not describing the details of the unverified claims."


 





The following sites updated:

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Jill Scott - Golden

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Epstein files key findings: Musk discussed visiting island in 2013

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Trump's Bigot in Chief

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🚨FULL 3 MILLION Epstein DOJ DOCUMENTS EXPOSED!!

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Friday, January 30, 2026

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Actress and comedian Catherine O’Hara dies at 71

The Snapshot

Friday, January 30, 2026.  US House Rep Jasmine Crockett reports on a visit with a five-year-old boy held in an ICE gulag, Chump's words of violence (and pattern of violence) 'inspire' one of his followers to run a car into a school girl, Ghislaine Maxwell is in the news, a shutdown looms and much more.


Donald Chump's words and actions degrade this country and egg on violence.  We saw that with the attack on Ilhan Omar this week and we saw it yesterday in Nebraska.  Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) reports:

Chaos struck at an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement student protest at a school in Fremont, Nebraska, when an SUV with a Trump flag attached to it struck a girl participating in the demonstration.

According to News Channel Nebraska, "Dozens of students were part of the protest and were holding signs and chanting. A boy, who appeared to be high-school aged, parked his SUV with the flag in front of the school, got out of the vehicle and exchanged words with the protesters. He then got back into the SUV, revved the engine and drove forward. A girl, who appears to be a student, was standing several feet in front of the vehicle, facing it and holding a sign toward the car. The driver accelerated and hit the protester, casting her to the side."

The boy driving the SUV "stopped briefly as a school administrator approached, then drove away from the scene," the report continued.



Video captured by News Channel Nebraska shows the driver getting into a red SUV that’s carrying a flag supporting President Trump’s 2024 campaign. Protesters are standing on the sidewalk when one student steps in front of the parked vehicle. The driver appears to go forward, slows and then speeds up, hitting the person, who appeared to land on the hood of the SUV and then roll off to the side. The driver initially slowed down after hitting the student and then left the scene.

Chump's words of violence and his violent actions breed violence.  

Senator Chuck Schumer's incompetency encourages incompetence and it is past time he stepped down as the Democratic Party's leader in the Senate.   Gavin J. Quinton and Ana Ceballos (LOS ANGELES TIMES) reported yesterday:

Senate Democrats reached a deal with the White House late Thursday to prevent a partial government shutdown by moving to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, providing more time to negotiate new restrictions for federal immigration agents carrying out President Trump's deportation campaign.

The deal follows widespread outrage over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens — Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti — by federal agents in Minneapolis amid an aggressive immigration crackdown led by the Trump administration.

Under the agreement, funding for the Department of Homeland Security will be extended for two weeks, while the Pentagon, the State Department, as well as the health, education, labor and transportation departments, will be funded through Sept. 30, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office confirmed to The Times.

While the Senate could approve the deal as early as Thursday night, it is unclear when the House will vote for the package. To avert a government shutdown, both chambers need to approve the deal by midnight EST Friday.


Chuck was so strong talking about extracting justice and yet?  He's giving them two more weeks.  Two more weeks.  If another American citizen dies, that's going to be blood on Chuck's hands as well as on Chump's. Chump is at an all time low and this doesn't lead to bravery from Chuck.  Instead, Chuck caves yet again.  Sophie Brams (THE HILL) notes:

President Trump’s approval rating is slipping, with more than two-thirds of Americans saying they disapprove of how the president is handling his job, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.

The poll, released Thursday, found that Trump’s approval rating fell 3 percentage points from last fall and now stands at 37 percent. Trump’s support among Republicans remains high at 73 percent approval, though that figure is down slightly from a poll conducted last September.


Over two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Chump and yet that's not enough for Chuck to stand up.  If it reaches 100% disapproval?  Chuck might make another attempt at standing up.  He won't really stand up but he will attempt to.  

Chuck's inability to stand up for the American people may go unnoticed since the deal he signed off on has collapsed as Republicans in the Senate feuded among themselves.  Mia McCarthy, Calen Razor and Benjamin Guggenheim (POLITICO) report Senator Lindsey Graham had a snit fit over a provision put into the bill by the House which "would repeal a law allowing senators to receive cash payouts if they had phone records seized by former special counsel Jack Smith." 

Lindsey is very worried about toll slips showing who he spoke to.  It's almost as though Lindsey has something to hide.  What could Lindsey be hiding?  Well we know it's nothing to do with sex, right?  Lindsey is a confirmed and lifelong bachelor.  He claims he once fell in love with a flight attendant but it must have been one-sided because she didn't want to give up her career and marry a US senator.  According to Lindsey, that would have been a step down for her.  That makes sense, right?

So at present, the deal that Chuck made is no longer a firm deal and the government may go into a shutdown by midnight as a result of Lindsey's concerns over anyone knowing who he spoke to on the phone.

Here's MEIDASTOUCH NEWS covering the news that we may go into a shutdown today.

 


  
During Chuck's cowering, ICE is only more emboldened.  Jenna Sundel (NEWSWEEK) notes, "A video that appears to show an ICE agent telling an individual, 'You raise your voice, I erase your voice,' has sparked backlash, with a free speech organization calling the statement  'about as un-American as it gets'."  Sundel notes US House Rep Ted Lieu's reaction to the news:


Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, on X: “Dear @DHSgov : You need to implement an immediate stand down of ICE and Border Patrol interior operations so your agents can learn the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States.”


ICE doesn't get it.  Even their one-time leader Greg Bovino doesn't get it.  Jeremiah Hassel (THE MIRROR) notes:

Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino broke his silence after his abrupt axing from his Minnesota post amid intense backlash following the deaths of two protesters this month.

Speaking to a reporter at Mt. Rushmore, he addressed the men who were put on leave after the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who was thrown to the ground, beaten and shot after attempting to defend another protester who was being pepper-sprayed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.

"I want you to know: I've got your back, now and always — I love you, I support you, and I salute you," he told freelance conservative journalist Nick Sortor. It comes after Bovino was accused of 'Nazi cosplay' with a bizarre yet chilling uniform choice.


Anyone hoping shame and guilt might silence Bovino has been proven wrong.  How many more statements will he make that only serve to damage Chump?  I'm sure they can find someone else who will fall for lies on FACEBOOK.  Adam Downer (DAILY BEAST) explains:

A top immigration official was tricked by a fake news story posted by a QAnon social media account shortly before getting demoted.

The 55-year-old Border Patrol “commander-at-large” Greg Bovino was duped on Jan. 25 by a social media post that said MAGA-favored rockstar Ted Nugent had pledged $100,000 to feed ICE agents in Minnesota.

He engaged with the post on X during his last full day leading Minnesota’s federal immigration enforcement operations before he was replaced by Trump’s border czar. 

The story originated from the Facebook page “America’s Last Line of Defense,” which posts conservative-leaning satire. All of their posts are watermarked with a logo reading “Nothing on this page is real.”

The phony tale includes a Nugent quote from a Fox News interview that never occurred, in which the 77-year-old singer pledged to fly in a “metric ton of barbecue” to Minnesota.


That's beyond stupid and goes to how unqualified he is.  He needs to go and to go  quickly.  And the administration really needs to get off social media.  Demian Bio (LATIN TIMES) explains:

The Department of Homeland Security deleted a post after its top spokesperson was confronted by a journalist over content that had links with white supremacy.

The New York Times detailed an exchange with DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in which the journalist noted that a post seeking to recruit agents for ICE that had the phrase "we'll have our home again," also used in a white supremacist song.

McLaughlin denied that was the case, saying that if the post were actually about the song, that would be "a problem" and "morally repugnant."

"There are plenty of references to those words in books and poems," the official added, noting that she was "in charge of everything" posted on the department's social media.

However, the article added, the actual song played in the background when the post was opened on Instagram's mobile app. McLaughlin denied that being the case, saying "it's not there."

However, less than an hour after the interview, the post was removed from Instagram. Those on X and Facebook, which didn't feature the song, remain online.



These are the crooks that put a five-year-old boy into ICE 'detention.'  He's in a gulag and US House Rep Jasmine Crockett reports that he is not doing well.


For any who missed the story last week, let's drop back to last Friday's snapshot.:


Moving on to another topic, ICE gestapo now uses tactics that even the Italian mafia would repudiate.  Grasp just how low standards, ethics and morals have dropped in the second term of Chump El Gordo Fat Ass.  Laura Romero (ABC NEWS) reports:


A 5-year-old boy was taken into custody with his father by ICE agents in Minnesota on Tuesday in what some local officials say is the latest instance of heightened federal immigration enforcement in the state.

The family of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained on Tuesday as part of the federal government's ongoing immigration crackdown, has a pending asylum case but no order of deportation directing that they be removed from the United States, officials at Conejo Ramos' school said in a statement.
The 5-year-old was apprehended by immigration officials shortly after arriving home from preschool while his father was in their driveway, officials said. 

"Another adult living in the home was outside and begged the agents to let them take care of the small child, but was refused," officials from Conejo Ramos' school said. "Instead, the agent took the child out of the still-running vehicle, led him to the door, and directed him to knock -- asking to be let in to see if anyone else was home -- essentially using a 5-year-old as bait."

The father and child are both government custody, school officials said.


Please read Mike's "Jack Smith, HONEY DON'T and Miss Sassy JD Vance" to discover how JD Vance is lying to try to pretend what happened didn't happen by ignoring the fact that the child's relative asked ICE to hand the child over but ICE refused.


If you're not disgusted with ICE, you're not paying attention. 


We noted Jasmine talking to CNN about the child and here she is speaking to MS NOW.



A five year old boy.  Put in a gulag.


They are liars and they are idiots and they are Nazis.  Max Bearak and Ali Watkins (NEW YORK TIMES) note:


Ecuador’s foreign ministry said it lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the United States after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent attempted to enter the country’s consulate in Minneapolis without permission on Tuesday morning.

Employees of the consulate stopped the agent from entering, the Ecuadorean foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday night. Under the Vienna Conventions, to which the United States is a party, foreign consular buildings are off-limits to law enforcement from the host country without authorization from consular officials.


It's a shame that Chump's gestapo doesn't understand the laws or that you're expected to follow the law. 

And then there's the continued attack on Canada that Chump's initiated.  Julia Ornedo (THE DAILY BEAST) reports:


Canadians hit President Donald Trump with failing marks as details of his administration’s secret meetings with Alberta separatists emerged.

A survey by the Canadian nonprofit Angus Reid Institute, conducted from Jan. 23 to 27, found that two-thirds of Canadians gave the 79-year-old American leader a failing mark for his first year back in office.

Sixty-six percent of Canadians gave Trump’s first year an ‘F,’ while 15 percent gave him an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ and 16 percent gave him a ‘C’ or a ‘D.’

[. . .]

The poll came out on Wednesday, just as the Financial Times reported that “very, very senior” officials in the State Department covertly met with the Alberta Prosperity Project, a fringe group of far-right separatists who want the oil-rich province to become independent.

Jeff Rath, the group’s legal counsel who attended the meetings in Washington, told the outlet that “the U.S. is extremely enthusiastic about a free and independent Alberta.” 




Melania Chump's film opens today.  Jeff Bezos spent millions on it.  He even paid $28 million to Melanie (see Ann's "The 'documentary' about the First Slut" and "Con artist Melania" and Elaine's "The First Slut, Evil Zuckerberg, Sly Dunbar has passed").  Yet while he gives her $28 million, he lays off workers.   Shane Croucher (NEWSWEEK) reports:

Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce giant Amazon said it will cut 16,000 roles across the organization in its latest round of layoffs.

The news was confirmed in a blog post on Wednesday by Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon. Corporate roles are those affected by the new cuts. Back in October, Amazon had cut 14,000 corporate roles. The layoffs are Amazon’s biggest since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs.


Bezos is also preparing to fire numerous journalists. at THE WASHINGTON POST -- the paper he's ruined.  Charlotte Klein (INTELLIGENCER) reports:


The ostensible reason for the layoffs is that the Post, like many other newspapers, is losing money. But unlike other newspapers, the Post is also in the midst of a demoralizing destruction of its brand that has alienated hundreds of thousands of subscribers and left even its staff unsure of what the paper is trying to do, both journalistically and business-wise. “I’m increasingly finding it hard to justify the cuts from a journalistic perspective,” said one staffer. “Of course, financially, the Post is in a deep hole and I understand that. But some of that hole, if not a lot of it, is because of Jeff Bezos.”

,

The Post was once known for its independent accountability journalism, dating back to the Pentagon Papers and Watergate and running all the way through to January 6. It was also once known for being the foremost authority on goings-on in the nation’s capital. Now it no longer has a clear identity, a crucial component for any paper’s success, whether it’s the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. The Post finds itself in this no man’s land largely because of a series of editorial and business decisions made outside the newsroom, at the highest level of the company — most notably, Bezos’s 11th-hour decision to pull the editorial board’s endorsement of Kamala Harris in 2024, which led to 250,000 digital readers cancelling their subscriptions in protest of Bezos’s apparent kowtowing to Trump.




The administration continues to break the law regarding The Epstein Transparency Act.  They have still released only 1% of the files.  They are over a month late now in complying with the law Congress passed and Chump signed.  Donald wants to protect his friends, as he told former US House Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene.  Daniel Hampton (RAW STORY) notes a new development

Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, may be serving time in a cushy Texas federal prison, but the convicted child sex trafficker just detonated a political time bomb from behind bars, according to a new Daily Beast report Tuesday.

In a recent habeas petition, Maxwell dropped a bombshell claim that four potential "co-conspirators" and "25 men" scored "secret settlements" tied to Epstein's abuse — without facing any indictment.

The report said Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department are doing everything possible to avoid one glaring question: "Who are these men, and why are they still being protected?"

Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in November, forcing the Justice Department to release unclassified records. Yet the DOJ has toiled along, redacting, delaying, and otherwise slow-walking compliance "like it’s trying to outlast public attention."


Rovelyn Barba (ENSTARZ) adds,  "The new information has put more pressure on the Justice Department to explain why some Epstein-related records haven't been made public. The source brought up the broader implications of the filing and asked the main question that federal authorities are facing: 'Who are these men, and why are they still being protected?'"

On MS NOW, Ari brought up Jeffrey Epstein yesterday to show how what's been done there could be used to out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.




Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office.

“Donald Trump wants us to write him another blank check and let ICE keep rolling in the dough…I’m a hell no…We cannot give one more penny to Trump’s ICE while its masked, poorly-trained agents terrorize people all across this country.”

Video of Floor Speech (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke on the floor of the Senate calling for a complete overhaul of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and said she would be voting against any additional funding for the agency until serious constraints are included to stop ICE’s violence.

Senator Warren condemned the brutal killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by ICE agents. She highlighted the arrests of five year old Liam in Minneapolis and Marcelo Gomes da Silva in Massachusetts.

“The people ICE grabbed up, the people they shot, are not threats to you and me…The risk is not from them. The risk increasingly comes from out-of-control ICE agents who can’t follow the basic training…This invasion by ICE is not making any of us safer,” said Senator Warren.

“I want to be clear: If it were up to me, Congress would completely overhaul ICE, strip the agency down to its studs, repeal billions in Trump’s bloated spending, and end these abuses entirely,” Senator Warren continued.

She called on her colleagues in the Senate to stand up to these abuses of power and reject the DHS funding bill in front of the Senate this week, along with clawing back Congress’ previous funding for ICE.

“Congress has the power to claw back those funds. Congress needs to use that power and take back that money so that Congress has meaningful oversight over an out-of-control ICE,” she said.

“Democrats are ready to rein in this rogue agency, but we need Republicans in Congress to stop this violence as well…Being ‘disturbed’ doesn’t change anything—and the ICE agents who are waving around loaded guns know that. Republicans in the Senate have the power to do something and start righting these wrongs,” she continued.

Senator Warren ended with reading into the record a statement from Alex Pretti’s final medical student, saying the statement gave her a “sliver[] of hope.”

“[I]f we don’t speak up, we are complicit in this violence…If we don’t speak up, we are giving up on our democracy and our country…It is time to make meaningful change. And that change starts right here in the United States Senate,” said Senator Warren.

Transcript: Speech on ICE’s Actions Across America
Floor of the U.S. Senate
January 28, 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren: “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”

Those are the words of Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti, who over the weekend was killed by masked federal agents in Minneapolis.

I am here to be part of getting the truth out.

Masked federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an American citizen, in broad daylight.

Alex was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. A nurse for veterans.

He was a son. A brother. A friend. A caretaker.

And he was killed while he was trying to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground by a federal agent.

The last words that Alex spoke on this earth were, “Are you all right?” Those are the words of a good man trying to help someone who had been knocked down by an out-of-control ICE agent.

Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

And Mr. Pretti was not the first.

17 days earlier, ICE agents shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and mom dropping off her kid at school. She had stuffed animals in her glove compartment. While ICE agents cursed at her, her last words on this earth were: “I’m not mad at you.”

There have been more incidents. ICE agents detained Liam, a five-year-old boy, who was literally ripped off the streets by the strap of his Spiderman backpack. A preschooler.

In Massachusetts, Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a high schooler, was arrested by ICE on his way to volleyball practice. And Rumeysa Ozturk, a student at Tufts University was cornered by six masked agents, shoved into an unmarked van, and taken to a detention facility in Louisiana.

And it goes on and on and on, story after story after story.

The people ICE grabbed up, the people they shot, are not threats to you and me. They are not violent criminals that Trump promised to go after. They are not, as Trump said, “the worst of the worst.” No. These are our neighbors, they are our friends, they are our colleagues, they are people who treat us when we are sick.

The risk is not from them. The risk increasingly comes from out-of-control ICE agents who can’t follow the basic training manual that our local police, our state police and our National Guard are all trained to follow. This invasion by ICE is not making any of us safer.

And if we don’t put a stop to it, these masked agents are going to kill more people.

We are at a turning point in our country.

And what we do next is a question now in front of the United States Senate — in front of my colleagues here today.

This week, we are tasked with funding the government, and one part stands out. Last summer, Trump and the Republicans lavished ICE with $75 billion. That’s more than their annual budget for seven years. And maybe that is why ICE is handing out $50,000 recruiting bonuses.

Now, in this budget, Trump and the Republicans want to reward ICE with $10 billion an additional in funding.

That’s right: Donald Trump wants us to write another check, hand it over to ICE, and let them keep rolling in the dough.

But here’s my view: I am a NO. I am a hell no.

We cannot give one more penny to Trump’s ICE while its masked, poorly-trained agents terrorize people all across this country.

It is time for the Senate to step up and stop ICE’s violence.

We must stand united and we must fight back and we must do it now.

I want to be clear: If it were up to me, Congress would completely overhaul ICE, strip the agency down to its studs, repeal billions in Trump’s bloated spending, and end these abuses entirely. And I’m going to keep fighting for that.

There are also some immediate, common sense steps we can take right now.

Here’s some of what I’m fighting for.

One: End ICE’s violence. No more roving patrols and profiling people on the street. No more treating people like they’re guilty just because of their skin color or because they speak with an accent. No more threatening people with guns just because they are recording what is going on.

Two: Follow the law. ICE must follow the same rules as everyone else in law enforcement: get a warrant from an independent judge before barging into people’s homes and snatching people from their families. And make no mistake: there should be real consequences for anyone who knocks down someone’s door without a real warrant. This is the United States of America, and last I checked, the Constitution still matters. We must enforce it.

Three: Accountability. It’s about time Border Patrol and ICE wear a damn badge. No more masked secret police. Let me say it again: no more masked secret police.

And real accountability means accountability for Renee Good, it means accountability for Alex Pretti, it means accountability for every other victim of these federal agents. DHS must cooperate with state and local officials for real, independent investigations of these shootings. End these cover-ups. We need transparency and accountability for victims of ICE’s violence.

Part of the reason that ICE officers can act like they have no oversight is that Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress pre-funded ICE for years in their “Big Beautiful Bill.” As things stand right now, ICE can skate by for years without getting a budget—and without any oversight—from Congress. And you know those health care cuts that are closing hospitals and causing people’s health insurance premiums to spike? That is the money that is now being used by ICE to terrorize our communities. That is wrong. Congress has the power to claw back those funds. Congress needs to use that power and take back that money so that Congress has meaningful oversight over an out-of-control ICE.

And that should just be the start.

I am urging every single Senator – Democrat and Republican – to vote no on this budget bill and stop bankrolling ICE’s abuses.

And I want to put a finer point on this: Republicans control the White House. Republicans control the Senate. Republicans control the House of Representatives.

Democrats are ready to rein in this rogue agency, but we need Republicans in Congress to stop this violence as well. I know that there are Republicans right now who are seeing what we’re seeing in Minnesota, and they know it is wrong. It is time to speak out. Silence is complicity.

Grow a spine. Show some backbone. Being "disturbed" doesn’t change anything—and the ICE agents who are waving around loaded guns know that. Republicans in the Senate have the power to do something and start righting these wrongs. Help the Democrats put meaningful constraints on ICE. Help our people be safe.

To everyone who is angry, I’m angry too. I’m furious, and I’m here in the Senate to fight back for you. But it’s in moments like this that we must resist the urge for that anger and fear to take over. It is time to turn our anger into action.

So I want to end with this.

I saw a post by Alex Pretti’s student that I want to read excerpts from into the record. This is all a direct quote.

“I was Alex Pretti’s final nursing student. For the past four months, I stood shoulder to shoulder with him during my capstone preceptorship at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. There he trained me to care for the sickest of the sick as an ICU nurse. He taught me how to care for arterial and central lines, the intricacies of managing multiple IVs filled with lifesaving solutions, and how to watch over every heartbeat, every breath, and every flicker of life, ready to act the moment they wavered.

“Alex carried patience, compassion and calm as a steady light within him. Even at the very end, that light was there. I recognized his familiar stillness and signature calm composure shining through during those unbearable final moments captured on camera.

“It does not surprise me that his final words were, ‘Are you okay?’ Caring for people was at the core of who he was. He was incapable of causing harm.

“He spoke out for justice and peace whenever he could, not only out of obligation, but out of a belief that we are more connected than divided, and that communication would bring us together.

“Please honor my friend by standing up for peace, preferably with a cup of black coffee in hand and a couple of pieces of candy in your pocket, just as he would. Step outside with your dog, breathe in the world, hike or bike as he loved to do, and let yourself find peace in the quiet moments within nature. Stand up for justice and speak with those whose views differ from your own. Hold your beliefs with strength, but always extend love outward, even in the face of adversity.

“Take one step, no matter how small, to help heal our world. Through these acts, carry his light forward in his name. Let his legacy continue to heal.”

Like many of you, I see the video of his death, and I am gutted. I see him lying on the ground as two ICE agents pump a total of ten bullets into him. I see his lifeless body on that cold Minneapolis street and I feel sadness and anger and horror down to my bones.

But here's what's given me slivers of hope: It's every single person who’s speaking out and refusing to stay silent in the face of these injustices. It is the post from his last student. It’s the hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans who haven’t been baited into violence, but who instead continue to show up and peacefully protest.

They are a reminder that now is the time to dig deep, stand up, and say clearly: What ICE is doing is wrong and we can stop it. We must stop it. It’s time to get ICE out.

Because if we don’t speak up, we are complicit in this violence. If we don’t speak up, we are giving our OK to a federal agency that is openly and aggressively violating the Constitution. If we don’t speak up, we are giving up on our democracy and our country.

It is time to speak up. It is time to make meaningful change. And that change starts right here in the United States Senate.

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