This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 308

… A huge revelation in Epstein files documents unearthed by investigative reporter Roger Sollenberger: “Maybe the biggest story in the country here. The FBI DID interview a victim who credibly accused Trump of sexual assault, according to Epstein file documents, undermining claims that Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing. It’s unclear what became of the investigation. The interview was conducted July 24, 2019, and entered into the FBI’s case files on Aug 9, the day before Epstein was found dead in his jail cell.”

… Meanwhile, the coverup continues as Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche posted a letter claiming that DOJ has now completely fulfilled its obligation to release files under the Epstein Transparency Act: “In accordance with the requirements of the Act, the Department released all ‘records, documents, communications and investigative materials in the possession of the Department’ that ‘relate to’ Epstein.”

… House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia: “Trump and his DOJ have now made it clear that they intend to withhold roughly 50% of the Epstein files, while claiming to have fully complied with the law. This is outrageous and incredibly concerning. The oversight committee subpoena directs Bondi to release all the files to the committee, while protecting survivors.”

… Garcia: “We are demanding the names of Epstein’s co-conspirators and the men and pedophiles who abused women and girls. We will begin a thorough review of this latest limited production, but let’s be clear: our work and investigation are just getting started.”

… Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): “I know the DOJ wants to say they’re done with Epstein. The problem is they’ve taken down documents before we were able to go over to the DOJ and look at the unredacted versions. They took down some of the most significant documents. They can’t keep those documents down after they’ve already produced them.”

… Garcia on CBS: “We have asked James Comer to bring in Howard Lutnick and we have had no response. It is shameful that he is in our govt. Not only did he visit the island, but he had tons of communications with Epstein after it was already known that Epstein was praying on children. He should not be in our govt. He should not be Commerce Secretary.”

… “Let’s be clear. This is a massive cover up led by the WH and DOJ. The fact that 50% of the Epstein files have not been released - and of those that have been released, they’re overly redacted. Many survivors names are appearing, yet names of billionaires, of folks that could be coconspirators, some of those names continue to be protected. Why won’t DOJ follow the law?”

… “Why was Mar-a-Lago a location where women continued to be trafficked from. We have questions for President Trump. And the broader issue here is why wasn’t this investigated when these accusations were heard by the FBI years ago?”

… Massie on ABC: “Trump told us that even though he had dinner with these people in NYC and Palm Beach, that he would be transparent. But he’s not. He’s still in with the Epstein class. This is the Epstein Administration.”

… Massie was asked about Bondi’s testimony before House Judiciary: “I don’t think Pam Bondi did very well. She came with a book full of insults, one for each congressperson. I’ve been there when Merrick Garland was there. Obviously, politically, I don’t agree with him, but he performed much better - in terms of not looking bad.”

… Q - “Do you still have confidence in Pam Bondi as AG? Massie: I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi. She wasn’t confident enough to engage in anything but name calling in a hearing. So no, I don’t. She was responsible for the document production.”

… Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin was asked by Meidas about Bondi’s comment to him that he isn’t a ‘real lawyer’ because he’s a law professor: “What makes somebody a good lawyer? You have to identify with the people who are the victims of injustice - not with their perpetrators. So I would say to Bondi: If you’re going to stand with the victimizers and not the victims, then you’re not a real lawyer.”

… A group of 20 Epstein survivors issued a joint statement condemning the Bondi/Blanche letter: “This latest release of Epstein files is being sold as transparency, but what it actually does is expose survivors. As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and re-traumatized while Epstein’s enablers continue to benefit from secrecy. Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected. That is outrageous.”

… Sen. Chuck Schumer: “The law required all the Epstein files to be released on Dec 19, 2025. For 43 days, DOJ delayed release, cherrypicked documents – many were heavily redacted – all to obscure the truth and delay justice for the survivors. Until yesterday, DOJ admitted to having released less than 1% of all documents. Now it’s saying the work is done. Bondi thinks she can dupe the American people. But we see right through her lies. Stop the cover-up and follow the law.”

… Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): “Citing ‘Work Product Privilege’ will NOT save the DOJ from releasing all the Epstein files. I’m not an attorney and even I know this won’t hold up in a court of law. Fed agencies have already waived privileges with the info they’ve already disclosed redacted and unredacted. If there is an active investigation or prosecution the DOJ can indeed cite these privileges, but not when they’ve concluded their investigation and decided no one is going to jail, no one else will be prosecuted and after they wipe their hands clean.”

… Marge Greene posted: “All of you MAGA influencers and the rest mocking the seriousness of women who were trafficked and raped as teenagers and young women look like cult fools. Good luck trying to get women to vote for Republicans in the midterms you insensitive clowns. The Republican Party already has a woman voting problem. Keep mocking those of us who take rape and pedophilia seriously and demand accountability for corruption.”

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… Kristi Noem at her press conference announcing that DHS was going to try and play a major role in the midterm elections: “When it gets to Election Day, we’ve been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country.”

… Tom Homan was asked on CNN what Noem meant with those comments specifically: “I don’t know. That’d be a question for the secretary. I have not talked to her. That’s something she’d have to answer.”

… NBC: “Lisa Murkowski became the first Republican senator to speak out against the SAVE Act, a sweeping election bill backed by Trump that would require proof of citizenship to vote nationwide. In doing so, she reminded her colleagues that they roundly claimed to oppose new federal election laws as recently as Joe Biden’s presidency.”

… “Under current law, all US voters must attest under oath that they are citizens, with criminal penalties for lying. Beyond that, states can set their own rules. The SAVE Act would bar states from registering people to vote unless they provide documents or evidence proving US citizenship. It would also require all Americans to present ID when they go to vote.”

… Murkowski: “When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed. Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act that would effectively do just that. I do not support these efforts. Not only does the Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of holding fed elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from DC seldom work in places like AK.”

… Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was asked on CNN about DOJ trying to indict 6 members of Congress who made a video telling troops they took an oath to follow only lawful orders: Q - “How do you feel about the Trump admin trying to send 6 members of Congress to prison? Mullin: I’m not an attorney.”

… Q - “If the Biden Admin had tried to prosecute Rand Paul for saying things about Covid that they didn’t like, I have a tough time imaging you would say the same thing. Mullin: I would say the same thing if I’m not familiar with the case law. I’m not an attorney. Being an attorney has never been something that I want to do.”

… That is true, Mullin inherited his father’s plumbing business. But he’s also a US senator, so it seems like he should at least know as much as every single grand juror who voted unanimously not to indict.

… Economist Justin Wolfers on Trump and Bondi’s brag about the Dow: “The Dow is 30 big, blue-chip American companies. It’s definitely not the whole economy. There’s no young companies, there’s few tech companies, no utilities - but that’s not really the point. The Dow rose 16% since Trump took office. Let’s compare the US to the rest of the world. Compare it to the MSCI total return (the rest of the world without the US) - that’s the best one for doing an apples-to-apples comparison to the Dow. The rest of the world is up by 38% during that same time period.”

… NYT: “After a year back in the WH, Trump’s efforts to promote himself as the singularly dominant figure in the world have become so commonplace that they no longer seem surprising. He regularly depicts himself in a heroic, almost godly fashion, as a king, as a Superman, as a Jedi knight, as a military hero, even as a pope in a white cassock.”

… “While Trump has spent a lifetime promoting his personal brand, slapping his name on hotels, casinos, airplanes, even steaks, neckties and bottled water, what he is doing in his second term as president comes closer to building a cult of personality the likes of which has never been seen in American history. Other presidents sought to cultivate their reputations, but none went as far as Trump has to create a mythologized, superhuman and omnipresent persona leading to idolatry.”

… “His picture has been splashed all over the WH, on multistory banners on the side of fed buildings, on annual passes to national parks and maybe even soon on a one-dollar coin. His name has been etched on the Kennedy Center, on the US Institute of Peace, on fed investment accounts, special visas and a discount drug program and, if he has his way, on Dulles Airport in DC and Penn Station in NY.”

… ““His WH is pressuring the Smithsonian Institution’s Portrait Gallery to display portraits of Trump by his supporters. A group of crypto investors has shelled out $300,000 to forge a 15’ tall gold-covered bronze statue of Trump called ‘Don Colossus’ to be installed at his golf complex in Doral, FL. His admin is considering designating a new class of battleships in Trump’s name. His allies are pressuring foreign leaders to endorse his bid for the Nobel Peace Prize and threatening consequences for resisting. Some supporters in Congress have even proposed adding his face to Mt. Rushmore.”

… WaPo: “They batter bodies with rubber bullets and sear eyes with pepper spray. They lob tear gas and explosive flash-bangs at chanting crowds. They smash car windows. They shove people to the ground. They ram vehicles and point their guns. Fed officers carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown in cities across the country have shot 13 people with guns. But far more often, they have used harsh tactics to scare or repel those they see as getting in their way.”

… “The officers, masked and kitted out with military-grade armor and rifles, have faced down peaceful protesters and people who have threatened, obstructed or attacked them, with methods that are less deadly than guns but still inflict grievous injuries. Hundreds have been hurt, and courts in at least 4 states have found that officers used force inappropriately and indiscriminately.”

… Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) on MS NOW: “The attacks on Black and brown people in MN have been egregious. At the end of the day, what they wanted out of MN was for us to riot. I think this will go down in American history as one of the greatest examples of peaceful resistance from an entire community.”

… Craig was asked about the DHS shutdown over ICE reforms: “Democrats need to hold the line. The Senate needs to hold the line. I will not forgive anyone who doesn’t stand their ground at this moment in time and I don’t think the American people will either.”

… Tom Homan on CBS: “Democrats say they want to say stop racial profiling, but that’s just not occurring. ICE will detain and question somebody based on reasonable suspicion. It has nothing to do with racial profiling.”

… Homan on CNN: Host - “There were prosecutors in MN who were going to investigate the shooting Renee Good and then the word came down from DOJ to stop. Homan: That’s a question for DOJ. That happened before I had my feet on the ground in Minnesota. That’s a question for Pam Bondi or Todd Blanche.”

… The FBI deleted this post after it was up for several hours: “If you meet someone online and the relationship develops fast, they might be a scammer! Slow down and ask questions.”

… The reason they took it down is because it went viral on social media with widespread mockery from people posting photos of Kash Patel with his “girlfriend”, Alexis Wilkins. Many have speculated for months that their long-distance relationship is a Mossad honeypot operation, with Wilkins working as an Israeli agent.

… AP: “Marco Rubio offered a reassuring message to America’s allies on Sat, striking a less aggressive but still firm tone about the admin’s intent to reshape the trans-Atlantic alliance and push its priorities after more than a year of Trump’s often-hostile rhetoric toward traditional allies. Rubio said the US would remain forever tied to Europe even as it pushes for changes in the relationship and the institutions that have been the bulwark of the post-World War II world order.”

… “Rubio addressed the Munich conference a year after JD Vance stunned the same audience with a harsh critique of European values. A series of Trump admin statements and moves targeting allies followed, including Trump’s short-lived threat last month to impose new tariffs on several European countries in a bid to secure US control of Greenland. While offering a calmer and more reassuring tone, Rubio made clear that the Trump admin is sticking to its guns on policy.”

… Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): “Rubio’s standing ovation in Munich after he declared the end of the ‘rules based order’ shows how weak many European ‘leaders’ have become. Instead of defending universal human rights they folded to his siren song of blood and soil.”

… Phillips O’Brien, Prof of Strategic Studies at St. Andrews Univ: “Lots of Europeans are saying anonymously or privately that they were unconvinced by Rubio pronouncing doom on the European order. However until they stand up and say it openly, all we have is the standing ovation.”

… European national security analyst Andrew Fox warned EU leaders not to be fooled by Rubio’s speech: “Masterclass in diplomatic gaslighting from the Americans in Munich today. Too many European commentators behaving like battered wives. ‘Oh, he still loves us, he didn’t mean it, he won’t do it again, he just gets like that sometimes.’ Wake up.

… European Parliament MP Marie-Angnes Strack-Zimmermann: “Rubio’s speech was a poisoned declaration of love. There was absolutely nothing reassuring about this speech. Rubio may have chosen a different tone from Vance, but not a different content, and he conjured up a world that is not ours. The collective relief that was expressed in the great applause for the speech is an illusion. The inappropriate as well as naive standing ovations show that a large part of those who should know better still have not understood what hour has struck for Europe.”

… Nathalie Tocci, Professor at the Institute for Intl Affairs in Italy: “I fear that the US laid a trap and Europeans will walk into it. Rubio’s message was more sophisticated than Vance’s blunt/frontal (and rather silly) attack last year, but bottom line is the same: a civilizational imperial vision where might makes right. The abusive husband doesn’t beat up his wife for one night and she says he’s changed. More or less captures the public (thankfully not private) European reaction to Rubio’s ‘reassuring’ speech.”

… EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to US Ambassador to UN Mike Waltz after he made a series of demeaning remarks about Europe during their panel discussion: “When Russia goes to war, they go alone because they don’t have allies. When US goes to war, a lot of us go with you—and we lose our people. You also need us to be that superpower.”

… Kallas also rolled her eyes and did her best not to laugh out loud when Waltz repeated one of Trump’s favorite lies that he deserves credit for “ending 8 wars.”

… Nancy Pelosi at the conference: “I hear that all over the US, not just in Europe, that there is concern about the election. Let me just say that surveillance by the intelligence operation of our country, surveillance in our own country is something that is absolutely not to be allowed. For Tulsi Gabbard to be looking into elections is really not right. It’s not lawful. But that doesn’t seem to ever bother the president. But you know what? We don’t agonize, we organize, and we have litigation.”

… Kennedy Center director Richard Grenell on Chancellor Merz’s meeting with Gavin Newsom at the conference: “The German government embraces Gavin Newsom. Quite possibly the biggest Merz gaffe to date.”

… Estonian political commentator Toomas Hendrik Ilves responded to Grenell: “No, they just met. It’s not a gaffe. Vance pointedly did not meet the German chancellor last year, choosing instead to meet the head of AfD. THAT is an embrace. But otherwise the Chancellor always meets with leading US political figures.”

… WaPo: “Hakeem Jeffries is leading the Democratic party’s counterpunch to Trump’s aggressive mid-decade redistricting push. He’s going all in with money, legal firepower and his own political capital to make sure no seat is left on the table for Democrats - forcing the party to abandon the left’s longtime moral opposition to party-line map meddling.”

… Jeffries: “Republicans started this redistricting war, and Democrats have made clear, we’re going to finish it. When they go low, we strike back.”

… “After a huge win on redistricting in CA, Jeffries is vowing to spend tens of millions of dollars to push through an April ballot initiative in VA to potentially give Dems 4 more seats. And he is now turning his attention to MD, where Dems’ big gerrymandering gamble is facing its most difficult test yet. Jeffries and other top Dems are now intensifying pressure on a key party leader who runs the state Senate, who refuses to help draw his party another more favorable seat.”

… Jeffries on MD Senate President Bill Ferguson: “One man shouldn’t stand in the way of the people of MD being able to decide, ‘Should we go in this direction? Or should we not answer Trump’s continued efforts to rig the midterm election?’ At some point I’m going to have a conversation with him if he continues to stand in the way of an up-or-down vote.”

… Jeffries on VA’s new proposed 10-1 congressional map: “Trump is the one who instructed 5 different Republican states to gerrymander the national congressional map. He wanted to rig the midterm elections and didn’t think Democrats were going to forcefully respond. He got that wrong.”

… One attorney responded on X: “Biden and Democrats tried to pass a bill that would have outlawed all partisan gerrymandering. You’ll be shocked to learn the same Republicans now pushing national voter ID filibustered it in the Senate, and even more shocked to learn the press has memory-holed the whole episode.”

… Jeffries: “That’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans. They are passing maps that they are intentionally gerrymandering, often wiping away Black and Latino districts, in the dead of night, because they are petrified of taking these things to the voters. We are taking them to the voters.”

… Politico: “Home builders are warning Trump that his aggressive immigration enforcement efforts are hurting their industry. They’re cautioning that GOP candidates could soon be hurt, too. Construction executives have held multiple meetings over the last month with the WH and Congress to discuss how immigration busts on job sites and in communities are scaring away employees, making it more expensive to build homes in a market desperate for new supply.”

… “The construction industry is one of the latest and clearest examples of how the president’s mass deportation agenda continues to clash with his economic goals of bringing down prices and political aims of keeping control of Congress. Even the president’s allies fear disruptions to labor-heavy industries will undermine the gains with Latino voters Republicans have made in recent years.”

… Mario Guerrero, the CEO of the South Texas Builders Association, who supported Trump in 2024: “I told lawmakers straight up: South Texas will never be red again.” He said he urged the admin and Republican lawmakers to ease up on enforcement at construction sites, warning that employees are afraid to go to work.

… Daily Mail: “4 months after it opened with promises of stable, high-paying factory jobs, a $5.8 billion Ford-backed battery plant in Kentucky is sitting idle - and 1,600 workers are out of work. Ford and S. Korean battery manufacturer SK On opened the sprawling 1,500-acre site in Glendale in summer 2025, and it was hailed as a game changer for the region.”

… “By Dec, that optimism had evaporated when the companies ended their joint venture at the site. Soon after, Ford said it would idle the facility for roughly 18 months while shifting production toward energy storage systems instead of car batteries. Ford says the slowdown in EV demand - blamed in part with changes in federal policy under Trump - upended the company’s original plans.”

… KY Gov Andy Beshear: “Those are 1,600 Kentuckians that lost their jobs solely because of Trump pushing that big, ugly bill, eliminating the credits that had people interested and excited to buy EVs. I bet many, if not most, of them voted for him, and he basically fired them.”

… Reuters: “The US military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold negotiations with Iran on Tues in Geneva. Meanwhile, Trump has amassed military forces in the region, raising fears of new military action.”

… “US officials said the Pentagon was sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East, adding thousands more troops along with fighter aircraft, guided-missile destroyers and other firepower capable of waging attacks and defending against them.”

… Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) on his intent to block Trump’s Fed chair nominee until the criminal investigation against current chair Powell is dropped: Q - “When Scott Bessent said there is a deal to at least hold confirmation hearings for Kevin Warsh to serve as next Fed chair—is he misguided on that? Tillis: That's not a deal. That's a decision made unilaterally. The decision I get to make is whether or not I allow a markup and if I do allow a markup, how I vote. I am saying until the matter is solved, I am a no.”

… Tillis: “I have no intention of supporting any confirmation of any fed board member—chair or otherwise—until this is resolved. The prosecutor should listen to the 7 members, Republican members, who said they didn't see any criminal intent or activity. We've got a crime scene where 7 Republican members say no crime was committed. How hard is that to understand?”

… Barack Obama was asked about Trump’s now-deleted video he posted depicting him and Michelle as apes: ‘First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling. It is true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction. But there’s people who still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness, and then there’s this sort of clown show that’s happening in social media and on TV.”

… David Stockman, Reagan’s former Budget Director: “Tom Massie is literally throwing his body and his career in the path of the Trumpian madness. And we do mean madness including unhinged protectionism, ever worsening budget deficits, massive pressure on the Fed to print even more inflationary money, rampant law enforcement authoritarianism, nonsense like the Trump Accounts, bully boy foreign policy actions such as kidnapping foreign presidents or bombing foreign cities that pose no threats whatsoever to the Homeland Security of America and another round of free stuff from a bankrupt Uncle Sam, among others. If that’s ‘obstructionism’, we need much, much more of it!”

Well, we didn’t chicken out and went down the toboggan chute three times yesterday, where they just held the national championships in Camden, Maine last weekend. It was definitely no joke as this chute is solid ice and shoots you out onto a frozen pond. Plus, the toboggans are just thin pieces of wood. It was fast and bumpy and we are both a little sore, but it was fun and a pretty unique experience for only $10!