Today in Politics, Bulletin 173. 7/18/25

… WSJ poured more gas on Trump’s raging Epstein inferno with a new story about a birthday card that he sent to the child trafficker and rapist in 2003. The story said Ghislaine Maxwell asked friends of Epstein to submit cards to compile as a special gift for this 50th birthday, and Trump sent one is as one of his closest friends.

… “The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.”

… Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person.

“Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything,” the note began.

Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.

Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.

Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.

Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?

Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.

Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.

… When asked about the letter and picture prior to publishing, Trump naturally denied everything to the Journal: “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words. I’m gonna sue WSJ just like I sued everyone else.”

… The WSJ, other media sources, and social media users then posted online several drawings that Trump made at various times on different occasions to refute Trump’s claim.

… CA Gov. Gavin Newsom trolled Trump by posting one with this caption, “I never wrote a picture in my life.”

… Trump cultist Kathleen McKinley then moved the goalposts: “Are there any drawings that weren’t buildings?”

… Trump then made several rage posts responding to the story: “The WSJ, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so. The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway.”

… “President Trump will be suing WSJ, NewsCorp, and Murdoch, shortly. The Press has to learn to be truthful, and not rely on sources that probably don’t even exist. President Trump has already beaten George Stephanopoulos/ABC, 60 Minutes/CBS, and others, and looks forward to suing and holding accountable the once great WSJ. It has truly turned out to be a ‘Disgusting and Filthy Rag’ and, writing defamatory lies like this, shows their desperation to remain relevant. If there were any truth at all on the Epstein Hoax this info would have been revealed by Comey, Brennan, Crooked Hillary, and other Radical Left Lunatics years ago. This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS!”

… “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”

… DOJ filed a motion with the court to unseal the grand jury transcripts late today. Politico: “The Justice Department's bid to release Epstein grand jury info comes with a huge caveat that it will seek to redact not just victim info but other ‘personal identifying information.’”

… MSNBC legal analyst Kristy Greenberg: “Trump knows SDNY prosecutors seeking to indict Epstein and Maxwell didn’t ask questions about him in their grand jury presentations while he was POTUS. It’s a red herring to distract from the evidence that matters: witness interview notes, videos, photos, etc.”

… I can tell you as someone who was both a federal and state prosecutor and criminal defense attorney for 29 years that less than 1% of the evidence in the Epstein investigation was presented to the grand jury. Much less than 1%. Bondi has certainly made Trump aware of that. The testimony is also under seal since Maxwell’s case has an appeal still pending.

… Reporter Roger Sollenberger: “Crazy to think that if Trump has gotten his way, his Attorney General right now would be a guy (Matt Gaetz) who once hired one of Epstein’s lawyers to defend him in a child sex trafficking case.”

… Trump: “The WSJ printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

… Another: “If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!”

… The files were under seal until 2024 and it would be very, very, very rare and unusual for DOJ to ever release documents on a prosecution to the public - even less likely on a case involving allegations of rape against children. Trump is the one who promised repeatedly to release the files if elected, and his FBI Director and Deputy promised the same when they were appointed.

… Trump: “I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!!!”

… Trump filed his lawsuit against WSJ and Rupert Murdoch late today in federal court in Miami. Discovery will be fun, although he will probably dismiss it the day before any serious discovery begins.

… Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) responded to Trump’s post threatening to sue: “I suspect WSJ regrets running that story.”

… I don’t. They knew full well Trump was going to go postal before they published it, and there is probably more coming as this isn’t exactly giving off vibes as a one-off story.

… Fox host Laura Ingraham was live on air as the story was breaking, and she informed her audience as she went to the next break that they were going to be talking about a new story from WSJ about Trump and Epstein. When they came back from commercial, she never mentioned the story as promised.

… Newsmax also did not mention the story on air last night.

… Speaker Mike Johnson: "The president and I talked about that ridiculous allegation this morning. He said it's patently absurd. He's never drawn such a picture. He's never thought of drawing such a picture. And he said, 'Did you see the language of this bogus supposed communication?' He said, 'I don't talk like that. I don't think like that.' They're literally making things up."

… Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL): “I’ll be introducing legislation to end the House of Representatives subscription contract with the WSJ. Americans shouldn’t be paying for disgusting and filthy rags. I have also directed my entire staff to delete their taxpayer-funded WSJ accounts.”

… Donald Trump, Jr.: “My father has a very specific way of speaking. People all over the world have mimicked it for decades. The insanity written in the WSJ, AIN’T IT and everyone knows it. Also in 47 years I’ve never seen him doodle once. Give me a break with the fake ‘journalisming’.”

… MAGA activist Tony Moon responded to Junior: “I like your dad. I voted for him 3x and answered the call to go to DC on J6 like I answered the call to defend Koreatown in 92. This next release of info has to lead somewhere, specifically arrests of big names that we know did some horrible shit on the island besides diddling kids. Without that, the blowback from the base is going to be bigger and his credibility will never recover.”

… Both George Conway and Keith Olbermann posted typed letters that they received from Trump years ago which were also signed the same way as the Epstein birthday card with just Trump’s first name. Conway’s from 2006 and Olbermann’s from 2014.

… Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who badly wants Trump’s endorsement for a Senate run, tried to change the subject this morning by dusting off a classic: “On this day in history in 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, killing 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle.”

… New Jersey Globe: “US Attorney Alina Habba told her staff on Thursday that her tenure as a federal prosecutor could come to an end on Tuesday when she hits the 120-day limit for appointments made by the AG, but she hopes to continue in her role beyond that. An individual with direct knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said earlier this morning that Habba had said she expected to depart next week.”

… It seems clear that Habba does not have the votes in the Senate for confirmation, although there are some procedural ways she could hang on longer as an interim appointment. We will find out next week. This could also free up here time to represent Trump in his lawsuit against Murdoch. Certainly Trump would want his top lawyer on that case.

… Epstein and Maxwell prosecutor Maurene Comey wrote a letter to colleagues after being fired this week by Bondi: “If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen. We have entered a new phase where ‘without fear’ may be the challenge. Let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place - of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else.”

This Bulletin is not as long as the others this week - which were super long monsters with news from all over the place. Not much out of Congress or the WH today and Epstein dominated the news cycle again despite Trump’s desperate attempts to change the subject with various distractions.

A reminder that there is no Bulletin on Saturdays and I do a comprehensive one on Sunday night that covers the entire weekend. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

… CBS announced they were canceling Stephen Colbert’s show, and many claimed this was another surrender to Trump by legacy media. CBS issued a statement clearly anticipating the backlash: “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise in May of 2026. This is purely a financial decision against a