The grabber-in-chief hates being grabbed
All the president’s henchmen and henchwomen are furiously at work dismantling the country we once knew. So when anyone characterizes this or that presidential daily griefing merely as a distraction from Epstein files news, know that Donald J. Trump’s mob can Truth and chew democracy at the same time.
Sadly, they are hard at both. But let’s get to Friday’s Epstein news first. Then we’ll get to the destructive distractions.
Washington, D.C. — Today, Democrats on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released partial records from the third batch of documents produced by the Jeffrey Epstein Estate, which includes phone message logs, copies of flight logs and manifests for aircrafts, copies of financial ledgers, and Epstein’s daily schedule. The documents produced to the public include mentions of possible contact between Jeffrey Epstein and prominent figures like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon, and Prince Andrew. Further review of the documents, which were redacted to protect the identity of victims, is ongoing.
“It should be clear to every American that Jeffrey Epstein was friends with some of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the world. Every new document produced provides new information as we work to bring justice for the survivors and victims. Oversight Democrats will not stop until we identify everyone complicit in Epstein’s heinous crimes. It’s past time for Attorney General Bondi to release all the files now,” said Oversight Spokesperson Sara Guerrero.
Within documents of Epstein’s schedule, there is evidence that Thiel and Bannon had scheduled meetings with Epstein, as well as evidence of a pending trip by Elon Musk to Epstein’s island. Prince Andrew is listed as a passenger on Epstein’s aircraft, with financial disclosures providing possible evidence of payments from Epstein to masseuses on behalf of an individual identified as “Andrew.” Extensive redactions have been made to protect victims as Committee investigators continue to analyze the new documents. This is a rolling production, and the Committee expects to receive more documents in response to these and other requests.
In the third batch, the Oversight Committee received 8,544 documents responsive to the Committee’s subpoena from August. The following was received:
- Phone Message Logs from 2002-2005, which were produced previously in litigation
- Copies of flight logs and flight manifests for aircraft, including helicopters, that Mr. Epstein owned, rented, leased, operated or used from 1990-2019
- Copies of ledgers reflecting transactions recorded as cash transactions for Mr. Epstein and business entities. These documents were previously shown to Committee staff at in camera review.
- Epstein’s daily schedules between 2010 and 2019
“It should be clear to every American that Jeffrey Epstein was friends with some of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the world,” said Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for Oversight Democrats, in a statement. “Every new document produced provides new information as we work to bring justice for the survivors and victims.”
Musk, Bannon and a press contact for Thiel’s foundation did not immediately return a request for comment.
A GOP spokesperson for the Oversight panel blasted the Democrats’ decision to release information unilaterally.
In other words, don’t distract from our distractions, Democrats. As in….
Trump last week destroyed what was left of the country’s international reputation in his speech at the U.N. He lost a First Amendment fight with Jimmy Kimmel. He installed a former Miss Colorado contestant and insurance attorney as the acting United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Lindsey Halligan signed off on a wafer-thin indictment of former FBI director James Comey when no other attorney in her branch would.
The BBC reports:
Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, authorising use of “full force” if needed, to suppress protests targeting immigration detention centres.
The US president claimed the move would help protect “any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists”, characterising the city as “War ravaged” in a Truth Social post.
People in Portland are flooding social media with dispatches from their “war ravaged” city. “Donald J. Trump’s latest use of the military against US citizens backfired spectacularly on Saturday after Federal troops arrived in Portland, Oregon and immediately formed indie bands,” quipped satirist Andy Borowitz.
Hey, Grok?
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