Today in Politics, Bulletin 317. 2/27/26
… James Comer lied about the deposition of Bill Clinton to the media regarding what the former president said about Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein: “President Clinton went on to say that President Trump has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved. And he meant with Epstein.”
… Oversight Dems immediately issued a statement calling out Comer for his lies: “Let's be clear: today, President Clinton raised more questions about the relationship between Trump and Epstein - specifically with regards to the reason their relationship ended. Claims that President Clinton fully exonerated Trump are wrong and a mischaracterization.”
… “In fact, President Clinton confirmed that he knew Trump and Epstein had a close relationship and said Trump reported having ‘great times’ with Epstein. The full transcript, unedited, should be released immediately.”
… Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL): “I’m happy to clarify. President Clinton brought up a conversation he had with Trump in NYC re: Epstein. President Clinton said that Trump told him that he had a falling out with Epstein due to a land dispute. This directly refutes Trump’s claims about why he fell out with Epstein.”
… CBS: “A photo released last month by DOJ as part of the Epstein files that showed Howard Lutnick with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein’s island in the Caribbean was removed from DOJ’s website before being restored Thursday night. The photo, which has been authenticated by CBS News, shows Epstein, Lutnick, and 3 other men standing over an oceanside cliff.”
… “The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, a nonprofit that preserves digital online content, downloaded the photo from the DOJ’s website on Jan. 31. It was also archived by Jmail, a web interface that was created to archive Epstein content. The photo was released under file No. EFTA01230639 on the DOJ’s website. At some point it was removed and the link pointed to a ‘Page not found.’ However, within hours of publishing the story, it was restored.”
… DOJ later issued a statement claiming that the Lutnick photo was removed because it was “part of a batch of files that had been flagged for nudity.”
… Trump took questions outside the WH today on his way to Texas:
On whether Howard Lutnick will testify if subpoenaed by House Oversight on Epstein: “Howard would go in and do whatever he has to say. He’s an innocent guy.”
… Maxwell Frost: “Trump has said many times that he knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes. If he doesn’t, how does he know that Howard Lutnick is a ‘very innocent guy’?”
Trump was asked about references to him in the files: “I don’t know anything about the Epstein files. I’ve been fully exonerated.”
… Molly Jong-Fast: “And by ‘exonerated’ he means his DOJ is removing documents that mention him.”
Q: Are you concerned that Bill and Hillary Clinton getting deposed could set the precedent for you and your family to be deposed: “I don’t like seeing him deposed.”
Q: “Gov. Pritzker posted on social media that you’re planning to steal the midterm elections. How do you respond? Trump: Well, he’s gotta focus on crime in his state.”
On Cuba: “The Cuban govt is talking with us. They’re in big deal of trouble. Maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.”
On using military force against Iran: “It’d be nice if we could do it without, but sometimes you have to do it with. We have the greatest military anywhere in the world. There’s nothing close. I’d love not to just it but sometimes you have to.”
Q: “Is there a risk that a strike could turn into a long, drawn out conflict in the Middle East? Trump: When there’s war, there is a risk in anything, both good and bad. I’ve had tremendous luck myself.”
… CNBC: “Wholesale prices rose at a faster-than-expected pace in Jan, countering hopes that inflation was easing. The core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, more than the 0.6% gain in Dec and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 0.3%. On an all-items basis, headline PPI rose 0.5%, also above the forecast for 0.3%.”
… “For the full year, core wholesale prices accelerated 3.6%, while the headline index posted a 2.9% gain. Both figures are well ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation goal and suggest that rising prices are still a factor for the US economy.”
… Kobeissi Letter: “January PPI inflation comes in at 2.9%, above expectations of 2.6%. Core PPI inflation unexpectedly rises to 3.6%, above expectations of 3.0%.
Core PPI inflation is now at its highest level since July 2025. PPI inflation is running hotter than expected.”
… RFK Jr. offered his solution to Americans for record high beef prices: “Most of the cheap cuts of meat are inexpensive. You can buy liver or the cheaper cuts of steak that are very, very affordable.”
… Kennedy then went on Joe Rogan and said he disagrees with Trump’s executive order to ramp up production of glyphosate: “It’s not something that I was particularly happy with, let me put it that way mildly. I’ve spent 40 years fighting pesticides. Pesticides are poison. They’re designed to kill all life. It’s not a good thing to have in your food. But I also understand the president’s point of view.”
… Trump in PA in Aug 2024: “Energy costs, all of it, air conditioning, heating, all of it, including gasoline, will drop by more than 50% within the first 12 months. Under the Trump economic plan, we will cut your energy prices in half. Mark it down, you can get very angry at me if we don’t do it.”
… HuffPost: “Electricity costs are up more than 7% from the time Trump took office through last month. Heating oil was slightly higher, a half percentage point increase, while natural gas was a whopping 87% more expensive year over year. Overall, the Fed’s ‘household energy’ price index increased 6.6%.”
… Economist Justin Wolfers: “He lied. Also this isn’t something presidents can do. He knows this.”
… Arbor Research: The US lost 15,000 farms in 2025. The number of farms is at its lowest level in 7 years, with Texas losing the most number of farms last year.
… Trump also posted that he wanted a do-over from the Supreme Court on their tariff decision: “The recent Decision of the Supreme Court concerning TARIFFS could allow for Hundreds of Billions of Dollars to be returned to Countries and Companies that have been “ripping off” the USA for many years, and now, according to this Decision, could actually continue to do so, at an even increased level. I am sure that the Supreme Court did not have this in mind! Is a Rehearing or Readjudication of this case possible???”
… The answer to that is no.
… AP: “The US military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a ‘seemingly threatening’ drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone belonged to US Customs and Border Protection. The case of mistaken identity prompted the FAA to close additional airspace around Ft. Hancock, about 50 miles southeast of El Paso. The military is required to formally notify the FAA when it takes any counter-drone action inside US airspace.”
… “It was the second time in two weeks that a laser was fired in the area. The last time it was CBP that used the weapon and nothing was hit. That incident occurred near Fort Bliss and prompted the FAA to shut down air traffic at El Paso airport and the surrounding area. Rep. Rick Larsen and two other top Dems on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees said they were stunned when they were officially notified.”
… “‘Our heads are exploding over the news,’ the lawmakers said in a joint statement. They criticized the Trump admin for sidestepping a bipartisan bill to train drone operators and improve communication among the Pentagon, FAA and DHS, which includes CBP. ‘Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,’ they said.”
… Kristi Noem posted: “Performing my role as Secretary of DHS has shown me just how real and dangerous the deep state really is. Elon Musk helped us find that a few DHS staff had installed spying software on the phones and computers of myself and other political hires. We found secret, secure rooms with hidden files that we turned over to attorneys.”
… “Under the leadership of President Trump, DHSgov is returning to the standard of excellence and behavior we expect our govt agencies to function at. We will root out actors who do not have the interests of America in mind.”
… Talk about a desperate attempt to distract from the story about the “mystery bag” she left on the plane after her flight with Corey Lewandowski.
… ESPN: “Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators captain and a Team USA gold medalist, said he didn’t appreciate the AI-doctored video released by the WH that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians. The video, published Sunday by the WH’s official TikTok account, featured doctored footage from a Tkachuk brothers’ news conference at the 4 Nations Face-Off last Feb.”
… “While ‘Free Bird,’ the goal song for Team USA, played in the background of the video, Brady Tkachuk was made to say, ‘They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating fuckers a lesson.’ The clip has 11.1 million views on TikTok and has been widely viewed on other social media platforms.”
… Tkachuk: “Well, it’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice, not my lips moving. I’m not in control of any of those accounts. I know that those words would never come out of my mouth. So, I can’t do anything about it. It’s not my voice. It’s not what I was saying. I would never say that. That’s not who I am, so I guess I don’t like that video because that would never come out of my mouth, and never had that thought.”
… Someone forgot to tell him that when you get in bed with Trump, getting exploited for political propaganda is part of the deal. Enjoy the ride.
No Bulletin tomorrow because I’m off on Saturdays. We are going to a Billy Joel tribute show. I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my life and the two artists I wish I had seen but haven’t are Elton John and Billy Joel. Not seeing the man himself, but this is supposed to be the next best thing, and entertainment options are limited in Maine this time of year!
I will be back with the Bulletin recapping the weekend on Sunday night. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you to everyone who reads, shares and subscribes to my work.
… It appears we are about to go to war with Iran. US Embassy Jerusalem: “The Dept of State authorizes the departure of non-emergency US govt personnel and family members of US govt personnel from Mission Israel due to safety risks. In response to security incidents and without advance notice, the US Embassy may further restrict or prohibit US govt employees and their family members from traveling to certain areas of Israel. Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available.”
… US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee released this video message to staff: “Those who wish to leave should do so TODAY. There is no need to panic, but for those desiring to leave, it’s important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later. Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to DC.
