Week 38 - The Return
Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you'll remember.
This week, the Epstein Files scandal continued to dominate the news, despite Trump and his regime’s best efforts to distract with shiny coins and conspiracy theories. Trump didn’t help himself much in the effort to change the subject, and he continued to bring up the topic while visiting Scotland. Notably, in Scotland he showcased his golf courses while conducting presidential business, something that in the first regime would have gotten much more attention but now seemingly has been normalized.
Which brings me to covering Trump and the truth. A setback this week as the Washington Post fact checker took an early buyout, and the Jeff Bezos-owned paper made no effort to ensure the continuation of his work. Notably, Bezos has been vying for more government business after Trump’s split with Elon Musk. The Paramount-Skydance merger closed, with unprecedented contingencies put in place by the Federal Trade Commission, again in an effort to stifle media coverage and accountability for Trump.
Some shocking developments of capitulation this week, including Columbia University settling with the regime for more than $200 million, and reportedly Harvard University considering doing the same. The Senate voted 50–49 to confirm Emil Bove to a judicial role, with almost all Republicans playing along with Trump, despite three whistleblowers coming forward. Troubling stories continue at the Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, and the Pentagon. The Justice Department has also set new troubling precedents in extending what are meant to be temporary roles.
Gallup found Trump’s approval had fallen to 37%, with just 29% of Independents approving, a low for his second regime, and the lowest approval of any modern day president at the six month mark. Just 38% approved of his handling of immigration, and 37% the economy.
On Wednesday, WSJ reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi and deputy AG Todd Blanche told Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files. Trump was also told that many other high-profile figures were named, and hundreds of names were included.
They also told Trump that they did not plan to release any more documents related to the investigation, citing the files containing child sexual abuse material and victims’ personal information; that decision was not made public until July 7.
In a statement to the Journal, Bondi and Blanche claimed nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and that their talk with Trump was a routine briefing. FBI Director Kash Patel has privately told other government officials that Trump’s name appeared in the files.
Shortly after, a House Oversight subcommittee voted 8–2, with three Republicans joining Democrats, to subpoenathe DOJ for the Epstein files in their possession, with the names of the victims redacted.