One-Pot Easy Taco Soup in the Kitchen

Caleb e-mailed to note Happi Homemade's  One Pot Easy Taco Soup Recipe:

Ingredients

1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef, venison)

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 small zucchini, diced

2 cups frozen corn or 15 ounce can, drained

28 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

15 ounce can of beans, undrained (black, pinto, navy or kidney beans)

2 cups water or broth (beef or chicken stock or bone broth)

3 Tablespoons  (or 1 packet)

3 Tablespoons  (or 1 packet)

salt and pepper, if needed

Toppings

shredded cheese, tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Instructions

 

In a large soup pot over medium heat, brown the meat until cooked through.

1 lb ground meat

Add in the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and simmer for 30 minutes.

1 onion, diced,1 bell pepper, diced,1 small zucchini, diced,2 cups frozen corn ,28 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained,15 ounce can of beans, undrained,2 cups water or broth,3 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning,3 Tablespoons homemade ranch seasoning

When the soup is done cooking, taste test. Add more seasonings such as salt, black pepper, chili powder, or cayenne, if needed. We've been known to stir in a generous drip of Frank's Hot Sauce to kick it up a notch.

salt and pepper, if needed

When serving, top with plain Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, avocado, or lime wedges!

shredded cheese, tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

So that's another taco soup recipe.  There are many and I've never found one that wasn't delicious.

News?  Kathryn Wilkens (Mediaite) reports very disturbing news:

A Trump administration official who oversaw the firing of thousands of employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development announced his departure Tuesday, just hours after a bombshell report alleged that the agency’s security office had no record of his employment as he carried out the sweeping cuts.

Jeremy Lewin, a former affiliate of Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), close adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and director of policy planning at the State Department, announced Tuesday afternoon that he was leaving President Donald Trump’s administration for the private sector.

His announcement came hours after a WIRED investigation published Tuesday morning that raised serious questions about whether Lewin, then 28, had the legal authority to oversee the dismantling of USAID.

According to internal emails that the outlet obtained, Lewin had not completed mandatory employment paperwork even as he ordered mass firings and eliminated foreign aid programs in March 2025.

As WIRED explained, Rubio granted Lewin significant authority over USAID on March 18, 2025, but the agency’s human resources department was still trying to complete his onboarding more than a week later.

By March 26, Lewin had reportedly neither accepted a temporary employment offer nor submitted a required federal background screening form. Two days later, he signed a notice eliminating USAID’s remaining staff.

And the paperwork issues even extended to USAID’s security office, which could not issue Lewin an identification badge because its employee database contained no record of him.

David Edwards (Raw Story) adds:

“I have a vivid memory of him telling me that he believed non-white people were inherently of ‘lower value’ than white people,” a former acquaintance who called Lewin “blatantly racist” told Rolling Stone in April 2025, days after the firings.

Five other former acquaintances told the magazine that Lewin expressed views they considered racist. Lewin and the administration did not respond to Rolling Stone’s requests for comment.

Lewin’s planned move to the White House National Security Council stalled this July after conservative activist Laura Loomer attacked him on X as a “Trump hater,” Politico reported. He became the State Department’s director of policy planning in August, according to his official biography.

It is scary even now to grasp how out of control DOGE was and the damage that it did.  It also made clear to a lot of people that Ben of Ben and Jerry's and John Stauber were not lefties.  They both came out early with support for DOGE and made clear that they were not left, they were not about democracy and they were not to be listened to. 

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Wednesday:

Wednesday, October 28, 2026.  Chump's DESPERATION TOUR continues and he continues to underwhelm, scandal and shame gloms onto Pete Priss Pot Hegseth, the ties between Epstein and Chump appear to make the media nervous, and much more. 

Chump's DESPERATION TOUR continues as the final days for voting in the midterms gets closer.  Six days.  November 3rd is the final day to vote.  Trevor Hunnicutt (REUTERS) reports:

US President Donald Trump campaigned on Monday in deeply Republican Mississippi, predicting victory for a Republican Senate candidate based on what he deemed to be a booming US economy, while also repeating his claim that oil prices would soon plummet.

Trump, a Republican, has been on a campaign blitz through normally safe Republican states ahead of the November 3 vote, with party strategists telling Reuters they are on edge about races from Alaska to South Carolina, in part because of voter discontent over how Trump's tariffs and the Iran war have fueled inflation.

Riding lower than low int he polls and he's going around speaking to sparse crowds and praying that they'll believe his lie about the "booming US economy."  It's not booming.  He's destroyed it.  The war on immigration has impacted every business but especially the construction industry.  The tariffs are a tax on the American people.  The war on Iran has led to huge inflation.  But he stands up before the last fools who'll still believe him and insults them by speaking of the "booming US economy."  

THE DESPERATION TOUR gets sadder and sadder as Chump's dementia worsens. 

Small numbers and Chump's embarrassing remarks with no one to tell him how sad he comes off. 

THE ARKANSAS PUBLIC ADVOCATE notes:

President Donald Trump is hopping from rally to rally in the election’s closing stretch, and he has a simple explanation for what he says he is seeing: wherever he shows up, Republicans start winning. “Every single place I go, people that are down are now winning,” he told reporters Oct. 23 before heading to a rally in Fort Myers, Florida.

The confidence sits awkwardly beside the data. Three new surveys last week put Trump’s approval at a record low, and the broader polling picture has grown darker for Republicans, who are now fighting to protect congressional majorities that once looked reasonably secure. That collision — a president selling himself as an asset while his numbers sink — has made the final stretch a running argument inside the GOP about whether he helps more than he hurts.

He has created a "tough environment" for GOP candidates as Dan Merica (WASHINGTON POST) notes:

Republicans in Mississippi, especially those running for Senate, aren’t supposed to face serious challenges. The Democrats’ last Senate win in Mississippi was in 1982 — before your newsletter writer was born.

But the poor national environment for Republicans, fueled by President Donald Trump’s unpopularity and the GOP-controlled Congress going along with Trump’s tariffs and war in Iran (both of which have led to higher prices), have pushed incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith into an unexpectedly tough race against Democrat Scott Colom, forcing the Republican to do something odd: Campaign.

It hasn’t gone great.

Hyde-Smith has raised a little over $6 million in her reelection bid, not insignificant, but far less than other Republican incumbents in tough races. Trump traveled to Mississippi on Monday night to stump for Hyde-Smith, and her brief speech made it clear she was relying on a president who won the state less than two years ago by 23 percentage points for help.

“Is this not the best president in our lifetime?” she exclaimed, before exiting stage left.

Hyde-Smith hasn’t exactly been using the media to her advantage, from calling security on a reporter in the Capitol to saying again in a recent interview that consumers can turn to proteins other than beef amid high prices, doubling down on a comment her opponent happily turned into a viral attack ad.

“Thank goodness when mothers want to feed their families when you go out shopping, there are proteins, you want to feed meat, there are some cheaper prices,” she said.

Hyde-Smith certainly may still win. She is the favorite. It is Mississippi, after all.

But her campaign reflects a broader trend in this year’s midterms: Republicans who haven’t had to campaign in years are being forced to do so by the national environment — and, in some cases, surprisingly strong Democratic opponents. And conditions like this can lead to a few surprises.

You have to wonder how many GOP incumbents are kicking themselves now for not drawing a line between themselves and Chump over the last two years.  Instead, they all largely competed with one another to see who could hump his leg and now that he's fallen so low in the polls, they're having to campaign like they did when they were first running for the Senate.  Chump has not helped them one bit.  Their allegiance to him has not helped them. Daniel Wolfram (DAGENS) notes: 

With just about a week to go before the midterm elections, one would think that all the Republican candidates who are in tight battles against their Democratic counterparts would seek Trump’s help and endorsement.

But after inflation, tariffs, culture wars, and the war against Iran, Republicans are breaking ranks with Trump and his administration.

Some candidates are even refusing to campaign with him.

There is a great example of that down in Texas, where the incumbent governor, Greg Abbott, is facing stiff competition from his Democratic opponent, Gina Hinojosa.

When Trump was in Texas earlier this month, Abbott was asked why he did not choose to campaign with the president. Abbott excused himself by citing already planned events that day. 

[. . .]

“These candidates know how to read a poll,” said a GOP strategist to Politico when asked why many Republicans are now jumping ship, adding: “They know he is kryptonite.”

Kryptonite?  Kathianne Boniello (MEDIAITE) reports:

A new poll shows almost half of likely midterm voters are casting their ballots next week with President Donald Trump at the top of their minds — and a majority are fired up about the looming election.

A Marist/NPR/PBS poll of 1,289 registered voters found 44% of those asked “say their vote for Congress is mainly a vote against President Trump,” while 21% are going to the ballot box with a favorable view of the commander in chief and 35% said Trump is “not influencing their vote very much.”

The poll, released Tuesday morning, had a 3.7% margin of error.

The economy continues to plague Americans.  Juliana Kaplan (BUSINESS INSIDER) notes, "Republicans are feeling the high-cost crunch.  The latest consumer sentiment reading out of the University of Michigan finds that, across the board, Americans are still feeling bad. While self-identified Republicans still feel better than their Democratic and Independent counterparts, they're increasingly feeling the pinch of rising prices."  Yes, it is getting harder and harder even for GOP voters to continue lying to themselves about the economy.  Alexander Marrow and Anuja Bharat Mistry (REUTERS) add, "The world's top consumer goods and food companies, from Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble to Nestle and Reckitt, have warned of further price hikes next year to cover rising costs even as shoppers remain reluctant to splurge on groceries. Higher energy, raw material and freight costs as a result of the US war on Iran mean that the companies making everything from laundry detergent to soda and snacks face a balancing act to protect profit margins."  So, yes, prices have gone up and appear to be still on the way up. And Americans are already feeling the pinch -- both in terms of costs and in terms of quantity.   J.R. Duren (INDEPENDENT) explains, "Empty stomachs are becoming more common as grocery prices soar, a new study has found.  Half of Americans reported skipping meals now because of rising food prices, according to a survey, conducted in August, by financial firm Self Financial."

A group that Chump's struggling to connect with?  Farmers. Mallory Wilson (THE HILL) reports: 

Farmers are a key voting group for Republicans, but their votes could be on the line, with the Iran war and President Trump’s tariff and trade wars driving up production costs along with diesel and fertilizer prices.

The Trump administration has been rolling out financial assistance packages and projects for farmers in hopes of shoring up the electorate in next week’s midterm elections. Yet they may be right to be anxious about the voting bloc’s turnout.

“Yes, I think they’re nervous. Yes, I think they should be, and yes, I think that farmers are pretty ticked off,” said Amy Frederiksen, a former Minnesota Republican Senate majority leader.

Farmers are hurting.  So are ranchers.  Which brings up Chump's hair brained notion to help Americans at the grocery store: Import beef.  What happened there?  Sasha Rogelberg (FORTUNE) explains:

At the nexus of an ongoing affordability crisis and midterm election push, the Trump administration’s effort to reduce beef prices appears to be falling short.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in August to temporarily increase the quantity of beef in the U.S. by importing 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings into the country at a reduced tariff rate. The imports were scheduled over 90 days, from September through November.

“This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social announcing the policy. 

But as of Oct. 19, the U.S. has imported just 59,423 metric tons of beef, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, or just 20% of the target. And ground beef averaged $6.79 per pound as of September, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, down from $6.92 in August, but still above $6.32 a year ago. 

This 7% year-over-year increase in beef, due to persistently high demand as well as dwindling herd sizes, has far outpaced the 2.5%-2.9% hike in overall U.S. grocery prices, which has become representative of America’s affordability woes. Trump has identified beef prices as a key issue to address during the second half of his term, as he targets policy toward the typically loyal Republican base of farmers.

[. . .]

Part of why Americans aren’t seeing a noticeable difference in beef costs is because the type of beef being sent from overseas doesn’t typically hit retail shelves, Peel noted. Lean beef trimmings are often combined with fatty trimmings produced from cattle in American feed lots. This combination of beef is usually used by fast food restaurants, not grocery stores where many American consumers are looking for relief.

Turning to the Secretary of Defense Priss Pot Hegseth,  Ron Dicker (HUFFINGTON POST) notes talk of a novel way for Priss Pot to respond to a potential impeachment: 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is “angling” for Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) to appoint him to her Senate seat so he can avoid potential impeachment, Puck reported on Sunday.

Blackburn is likely to win her race for Tennessee governor, opening up the post for the rest of her term ending in January 2031.

Hegseth and his family set up residence in Tennessee in 2022. Rep. Tim Burchett is also interested in the Senate seat, according to Puck.

The House is expected to vote on an impeachment resolution filed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) against Hegseth after the elections ― and it is expected to be close. Democrats have been “aligning to call for the defense secretary’s ouster or resignation,” Semafor reported earlier this month.

The progressive advocacy group MoveOn told HuffPost there might more momentum toward impeaching the secretary than President Donald Trump.

“There’s a lot of ways to hold folks accountable. I think impeachment is one of them, and I think just from the perspective of our members at MoveOn, our members don’t want to take any of those options off the table,” spokesperson Joel Payne told HuffPost.

Sean James (MEDIAITE) adds: 

Specifically, Journalist Leigh Ann Caldwell [PUCK] wrote Hegseth is prodding Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to appoint him to her seat, if she wins the Tennessee gubernatorial race and vacates it. And that appears likely, with Blackburn enjoying a huge lead in the polls.

“Hegseth lived in Tennessee for three years before he took over the Pentagon, but his short tenure there might not count as real Tennessee roots,” Caldwell wrote.

 

Ellen Mitchell (THE HILL) notes US House Rep Thomas Massie is not backing down on his call to impeach Hegseth:

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), on Monday indicated he would reintroduce articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should he remain at the Pentagon after Congress returns to Washington, D.C., following the November midterm elections.

Massie, who kicked off the impeachment process against Hegseth in September over the war in Iran, wrote on social media that a reporter asked him about his plans for that effort.

“Will you reintroduce articles of impeachment against SecDef Hegseth when Congress returns to DC?” Massie wrote the unnamed reporter as asking.

“If he’s still SecDef,” Massie wrote as his reply, using an abbreviation for secretary of Defense.

Congress plans to vote on Hegseth’s impeachment -- their only mechanism to remove the Pentagon chief -- upon their return to Capitol Hill next month. 

Ryan J. Karlin (THE HILL) notes: 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Democrats will run Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “out of town” if they take the majority in the November midterms. 

Jeffries told MS NOW that Democrats will take action to knock Hegseth off his perch atop the Pentagon if President Trump doesn’t push him out himself. Democrats have zeroed in on Hegseth as criticism of high gas prices amid the Iran war have become a key talking point on the campaign trail.

“Pete Hegseth needs to be pushed aside by the president, or we’re going to have to deal with that situation if he is not,” Jeffries told MS NOW. 

Priss Pot can't stay out of the news.  He's forever preening in ways that you don't remember, for example, Leon Panetta, Lloyd Austin or Chuck Hagel doing. Tom Boggioni (RAW STORY) notes: 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s obsession with what he considers manly traits puts him in a distinct minority, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by YouGov for The Bulwark and the podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” found that Americans give the former Fox News weekend host poor marks as a model for men. Of the nine men in the poll, only President Donald Trump fared worse.

The Bulwark noted that Hegseth “obviously sees himself as a paragon of masculinity,” pointing to his push to rebrand the Pentagon as the Department of War, his order requiring service members to be screened for low testosterone, his frequent workout videos with troops, his mockery of overweight people as “fatties” and his well-documented skepticism of women in leadership.

“With the amount of effort the secretary puts into demonstrating his manhood, you’d think he’d be seen as a kind of model for young men who are struggling academically, socially, professionally, and emotionally in today’s world,” the Bulwark's Brendan Hartnett wrote. “But a new national survey … shows it’s exactly the opposite.”

Only 28% of American adults said Hegseth is a strong role model for American men, while 39% said he is not. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, just 18% saw him that way, compared with 34% who didn’t.

Hartnett wrote that the findings expose the limits of Hegseth’s “alpha male preening.”

When not preening, he surrounds himself with fellow crazies. 

Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) reports:

A little-known Pentagon aide who has helped shape some of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s most inflammatory speeches has a years-long trail of racist, homophobic and conspiratorial posts online, according to a CNN investigation.

Ryan Higgins, Hegseth’s senior adviser for religious issues, has become central to the Pentagon chief’s turn toward Christian nationalist rhetoric, multiple sources told CNN. Those sources credited him with some of Hegseth’s most incendiary lines, including a February speech to the National Religious Broadcasters in which Hegseth attacked the “Godless left.” Three sources said Higgins has also played a primary role in the effort to launch the Pentagon’s new Office of Religious Affairs.

CNN combed through hundreds of Higgins’ social media posts, livestreams and archived blog entries spanning roughly a decade.

In February, he defended a Truth Social video Trump shared depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, calling it “funny,” if perhaps in poor taste for the office, and noting Trump had made Biden a monkey too. In January, responding to tabloid coverage of crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in Europe, he wrote of violent illegal immigrants and even many asylum seekers: “They act like barbarians, killing and raping our white women.”

He has written that “Islam teaches death to all who do not comply.” Thousands of active-duty U.S. troops practice that faith. He has called same-sex marriage “abominable.” He also speculated about how many abortions Kamala Harris might have had, citing what he called her “long record of sleeping around.”

His posts have continued since he joined the Pentagon. He has railed against “the satanic cult of LGBTQ,” mocked a same-sex couple’s adoption as “two dudes buying babies” and compared abortion to the Holocaust.

Big news this week, Daniel Bates (THE i PAPER) reports:

On Monday, with just days to go before crucial elections that could lose Donald Trump’s party control of Congress, Democrats dropped a bombshell.

It was a 53-page report describing in exhaustive detail Trump’s links to the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Titled: “The case against Donald Trump in the Epstein files”, the dossier was released by Democrats with just over a week until the US midterm elections.

But the document also represents something else that should cause grave worry to the President: a warning shot that the Epstein story is about to get a lot worse for him.

If Democrats retake the US House of Representatives as is expected, they have made clear that they intend to keep pressing Trump on his links to Epstein.

They want to know about what the report calls the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) “desperate attempt to cover it up” by failing to release files about the two men.

Control of the House will give Democrats the majority on powerful committees like the Oversight Committee, giving them subpoena power.

And the report comes with a call for action.  Erin Mansfield (USA TODAY) notes: 

Democrats are calling for an independent investigation into the ties between President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, who were known friends in the 1990s in South Florida before having a falling out.

The lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee made the recommendation in a 53-page report that ties together previously public documents of Trump and Epstein's relationship and includes a new allegation that Trump raped a beauty pageant contestant in 1993.

Led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, the Democrats said the Department of Justice should appoint a special counsel because the DOJ and the FBI have been covering for the president and are too conflicted to investigate Trump or Epstein associates.

This being a big and important topic, you might assume the media jumped onto it.  You would be wrong. Jacob Weindling (JEZEBEL) observes:

House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a new report yesterday, detailing disturbing new allegations against Donald Trump and his alleged involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. As Nathalie Baptiste detailed for Splinter upon its release, “The explosive report contains interviews with five women who said Trump assaulted them while Epstein was present, including Beatrice Keul, a beauty pageant winner who previously said she refused his sexual advances in 1993, and who now says she was raped. As is always important to point out at times like these, shame and fear often keep survivors from immediately reporting their assaults.”

This kind of informative and straightforward description of a thing that happened is not something you will find in mainstream media summaries of it, if you can find any summary at all. I searched for “Epstein” on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Reuters, and The New York Times’s websites, and found two outlets covering it.

Only two.  We covered it yesterday.  We're covering it again today.  Joe Sommerlad (INDEPENDENT) notes of Beatrice Keul:

Keul told Judiciary Committee staff who interviewed her for the new report that she was 24 when she flew in from Zurich to attend the American Dream Pageant in Manhattan and met Trump at a lunch associated with the contest.

Over the course of a 15-minute conversation, the then-real estate tycoon promised to arrange a visa for her and to help her get into New York University, Keul told the committee.

When Trump stepped away, she said she was then approached by Epstein, who said: “I’m Jeffrey, Don’s best friend.”

She claims Epstein invited her to a party at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and assured her: “You know I can take care of you. We organize many parties with Don… Flights, accommodations, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

The report states that Keul was then approached by a Trump representative later that day and invited up to the future president’s suite, explaining that she saw the chance of a further meeting with the influential businessman as “a lucky break for the purpose of furthering her career and education.”

“Upon entering, Trump reportedly grabbed Keul from behind and forcibly raped her; in the process, tearing her dress and causing bleeding and bruising on multiple parts of her body,” the report recounts of her allegations.

Keul described the alleged rape as “brutal,” according to House Democrats, who said she remembered Trump sitting on the bed afterwards, repeating his promise to help with her visa and enrollment in higher education and reminding her: “The show must go on.”

Julie K. Brown and Claire Healy (MIAMI HERALD) note,   "Issued just nine days before the midterm elections, the report details inconsistent – and in some cases, inaccurate – public statements the president has made about his relationship with Epstein, including a claim that he never flew on Epstein’s plane, when flight logs show he did. The two men were friends from the late 1980s until the early 2000s."   Casey Loving (THE WRAP) quotes US House Rep Jamie Raskin, the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, "You've got to read the report. The detail is extraordinary. But we’re not even trying to make the case here. We're not prosecutors, but we're saying the Department of Justice has completely abdicated their responsibility, and why? We cannot understand any reason other than they're trying to protect Donald Trump, so we're demanding an independent special counsel to take this over from the Department of Justice with the hopes that the truth will come out and justice will be done for hundreds and hundreds of victims."  And Bennito L. Kelty (RAW STORY) reports:

A key moment has a former Trump White House insider thinking a damning new report on Jeffrey Epstein probably holds up.

Sarah Matthews, a deputy White House press secretary in Trump's first administration, said on Tuesday's episode of "The Bulwark Daily" that first lady Melania Trump's "weird random press conference" earlier this year is the "most convincing piece of evidence" that the House Judiciary Committee Democrats' report is "probably accurate." 

Host Tim Miller, a former Republican strategist, opened the show by reading from the report's executive summary, which states that "Donald Trump was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of young women during the mid to late 1990s."

According to Miller, the report includes a new allegation that Trump raped a 24-year-old woman and then promised her a visa and admission to NYU while demanding she stay quiet. It also claims Trump lied about kicking Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, out of his Mar-a-Lago club and "strongly suggests that Epstein introduced Trump to his wife Melania." Trump has long denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.

"This seems like confirmation that Trump met his wife Melania through a pedophile sex trafficker and that we have a new allegation of rape against this president," Matthews said.

Matthews said the report immediately took her back to the press conference Melania Trump held at a moment when, as she put it, "we actually weren't really even talking about the Epstein files as much anymore."

"She probably caught wind of what was in these Epstein files and her mentions in there," Matthews said. "And so she wanted to get out ahead and didn't really think through the fact that it actually makes it look more guilty and that it does make it look in fact true."

Julie K Brown has been covering the Epstein crime story for decades now and she notes, "What’s different now is that there seem to be patterns and similarities in their stories even though many of the women didn’t know each other. The Committee’s Democrats say 11 of them were young women who were raped and assaulted by Trump 'alongside, and in coordination with, with' Epstein; two of them were teenagers --  Katie Johnson and Jane Doe whose horrific allegations were dismissed by the FBI."   Towhid Rafid (ATTACK OF THE FANBOY) covers the Dems House Judiciary report here.  Bridget Luckey covers the story for LAW COMMENTARY here.   Angelique Brenes covers the story for PEOPLE here.  Aayush Sharma covers it for PARADE here.  Justin Harp covers it for US here.  And Allison Beck covers it for MIAMI NEW TIMES here.

Video coverage since yesterday's snapshot includes:

Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

“With the new policy in place, it is a virtual certainty that watered-down inspections will miss key deficiencies that put residents at risk.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) along with Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Special Committee on Aging, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, raising serious concerns regarding the agency’s newly implemented Risk-Based Survey (RBS) program. The administration’s policy puts an estimated 114,300 nursing home residents in nearly 1,700 facilities at risk by limiting the number and scope of required federal and state inspections. CMS recently released the full list of the nursing homes that will be subjected to shorter, less rigorous reviews and inspections. 

Nursing home residents depend on comprehensive, thorough, and unannounced surveys to detect, correct, and prevent abuse, neglect, and substandard care. By allowing these minimal inspections, the new CMS approach weakens oversight and puts nursing home residents at greater risk of mistreatment, injury and abuse,” wrote the senators. 

Warren’s letter highlighted a new analysis by Consumer Voice, which showed that the criteria CMS uses to identify lower-risk facilities eligible for reduced scrutiny do not reliably reflect high-quality care. For example, Consumer Voice found that dozens of homes on the reduced survey list have had a resident abuse tag or icon on the CMS Care Compare website since September 2025 and that about half of the newly RBS-eligible nursing homes would not have been eligible a year ago — indicating that, at best, they have a very limited record of providing high-quality services.

“CMS has adopted the RBS against a broader backdrop of rolled-back nursing home standards, including the elimination of new minimum staffing standards and delays to nursing home financial transparency requirements. These actions already place nursing home residents at risk — and the new policy of limited surveys will only make matters worse,” continued the senators. 

Senator Warren requested that CMS release information on whether the RBS adequately protects nursing home residents and follows federal statutory requirements by November 9, 2026.

###

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5-Ingredient Sausage, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

Brandon e-mailed to note The Kitchn's recipe for 5-Ingredient Sausage, Kale, and Sweet Potato Soup:

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 bunch flat-leaf kale

12 ounces Whole30 compliant cooked Italian chicken sausage

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cups (32 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Instructions

Peel and dice 2 sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Coarsely chop 1/2 bunch lacinato kale (about 2 cups). Cut 12 ounces Italian chicken sausage crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.

Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the sausage and cook until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, and the sweet potatoes, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the kale and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.

Brandon notes that he has the worst time trying to cut sweet potatoes into cubes so he buys them pre-cut.  

News?  Jason Linkins (The New Republic) notes: 

Any way you slice or dice the productive output of the Trump White House and its Republican Party enablers, what you find is a heaving portion of deceit, double-dealing, and self-enrichment. And the public has noticed: Ahead of the midterm elections, voters say “corruption” is their number one concern. In fact, a Gallup poll found 89 percent of Americans believe government corruption is widespread—that is the highest figure ever recorded on the subject and a view shared across party lines (83 percent of Republicans, 91 percent of Democrats).

So people might be primed for a new documentary that puts MAGA malfeasance under a microscope. On Tuesday, Defiance.org released Corruptionland, an investigation into the staggering scale of corruption in Trump’s Washington. The 35-minute film is streaming free here.

“For two years, Trump’s scandals have hit one at a time, and each one gets buried under the next,” said Miles Taylor, executive producer of the film and the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration. “So we added them up. When you put 100 episodes in one place, the scale is staggering: $377 billion in a tangled web of alleged corruption that is without any precedent in American history. Even that number undersells it, because you can’t put a price on the president’s revenge agenda and his weaponization of federal power. Every American deserves to see the full picture before they vote, and now they can.”

“For two years, Trump’s scandals have hit one at a time, and each one gets buried under the next,” said Miles Taylor, executive producer of the film and the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration. “So we added them up. When you put 100 episodes in one place, the scale is staggering: $377 billion in a tangled web of alleged corruption that is without any precedent in American history. Even that number undersells it, because you can’t put a price on the president’s revenge agenda and his weaponization of federal power. Every American deserves to see the full picture before they vote, and now they can.”

I streamed it at the link and really enjoyed it.  So make a point to check it out.

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Tuesday: 

Tuesday, October 27, 2026.  Chump continues his DESPERATION TOUR as Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee release a report tying Chump even close to Jeffrey Epstein with various women accusing Chump of assault, Vivek learns that being vile and disgusting does create a negative response to you, and much more. 

Starting with the deceased Jeffrey Epstein and his still-alive roll dog Donald Chump.  The two began hanging together in the 80s.  Epstein was a sex trafficker and pedophile.  Chump was his best buddy.  The two pursued women (and girls?) together.  And though Chump has lied repeatedly to the press -- and some press idiots have run with the lie -- that he was completely exonerated by the Justice Dept, that was never true.  He's claimed that.  But since February of this year, that claim has seemed more and more untrue.  

Now Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling (THE NEW REPUBLIC) reports: 

Democrats just dropped a heavy hammer on the president, eight days out from Election Day.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a 50-page report Monday morning accusing Donald Trump of participating in Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal sex schemes. The caucus also accused the Trump administration of a broad cover-up, designed to shield the president from blowback as they tried to roll out the release of the Epstein files to the general public.

The report cites the experiences of 11 women, FBI records, and documents released through the Epstein Files Transparency Act. At least five women accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein’s company, according to interviews conducted by the committee. Others said there were “apparent attempts” by Epstein and his longtime girlfriend and associate Ghislaine Maxwell to traffic them to the real estate magnate.

Beatrice Keul told lawmakers that Trump “violently raped” her at a November 1993 pageant at the Plaza Hotel. She further described the beauty pageants as a “hunting ground” that Epstein and Trump would use to find and “prey” on young women and girls. Jill Harth also shared an account of a party at Mar-a-Lago in 1994, where she said Trump aggressively pursued and sexually assaulted her. Trump and Epstein were the only men present, Harth told lawmakers.

In total, at least 28 women have accused Trump of rape or sexual misconduct.

The report concludes that Trump and Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent and longtime friend of the president as well as a former senior Trump administration official, “may have been co-conspirators” in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring in the 1990s.

The report also claims that Trump’s Justice Department deliberately or prematurely shut down investigations into Trump-related allegations made by some Epstein survivors. It also accuses Attorney General Todd Blanche of specifically instructing Maxwell not to discuss a survivor whose account implicated the president.

The report covers a great deal:

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that Donald Trump was an active participant in

Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women during the mid-to-late 1990s. The Department of

Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are doing everything they can to keep the

American people in the dark about it.

From the very first weeks of the Trump Administration, DOJ shut down ongoing criminal

investigations into Epstein’s enablers and co-conspirators, lied about clear evidence of crimes in

its possession, and sought to silence survivors. In July 2025, then-Deputy Attorney General Todd

Blanche and one of his senior deputies, Emil Bove -- both former criminal defense lawyers for

Donald Trump -- released a memorandum stating that DOJ and FBI had determined that “no further disclosure” of the Epstein files would be “appropriate or warranted.”

Trump has claimed that the Epstein files “totally exonerate” him, but the evidence, as

detailed in this Staff Report, could not be less exonerating. The historical record shows that Trump was a close friend and confidant of Epstein. Trump flew on his jet with Epstein’s victims and made shared references to lusting after young women. The record shows that Epstein and Trump, working with other predators like Paolo Zampolli and John Casablancas, exploited the thin veneer of professionalism offered by the 1990s modeling industry to lure victims into their orbit. The evidence, much of it still hiding behind redactions in DOJ vaults, shows that Trump lied about kicking Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club and strongly suggests that Epstein introduced Trump to his wife Melania. The evidence demonstrates that Trump has lied about the nature and extent of  his relationship with Epstein dozens of times -- incriminating behavior for someone who  supposedly has nothing to hide.

Above all, the actual evidence we have seen -- as shared in the accounts and stories of 11

women, each described below -- indicates that Trump abused, assaulted, and even raped numerous women alongside, and in coordination with, the most infamous sex trafficker in history.

[. . .]

Of the 11 women who tie Donald Trump to Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, five of

them -- Beatrice Keul, Stacey Williams, Jill Harth, Katie Johnson, and a Jane Doe -- have

directly accused Trump of raping or sexually assaulting them in Epstein’s company or direct

physical presence:

• Beatrice Keul, whose account is comprehensively set forth for the first time in this

report, credibly alleges that Trump violently raped her at a November 1993 pageant

at the Plaza Hotel in New York City and that Epstein, Trump, and others used this

pageant as a “hunting ground” to prey on vulnerable young women and girls;

• Stacey Williams, who offered a detailed and corroborated account of Trump

sexually assaulting her in the early 1990s while she was alone with him and Epstein

in an office at Trump Tower;

• Jill Harth, who has also publicly detailed Trump aggressively pursuing and

violently sexually assaulting her and another woman in 1994 at a Mar-a-Lago party

where Epstein and Trump were the only men present;

• Katie Johnson, who gave FBI a detailed account of her repeated rape at the hands

of Trump and Epstein in 1994 in New York City when she was a minor; and

• A Jane Doe, who offered FBI a graphic account of Trump assaulting her when she

was a minor in the mid-1980s in New York by forcibly pushing her head down to

his exposed penis.

Beyond these direct allegations of physical assault, three survivors speak of

encounters with Trump whose circumstances indicate that he was a participant in Epstein’s

crimes, as shown by how Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, tried to make (or

made) these women available for sex.

• Two Epstein survivors -- “Jane” and “Kate” -- told FBI that either Epstein or

Maxwell seemingly offered them up to Trump for the purposes of sex or indicated

their availability. Jane and Kate were deemed so credible that federal prosecutors

called them to testify as government witnesses -- subject to probing crossexamination—against Ghislaine Maxwell at her criminal trial.

• Another survivor, Maria Farmer, described how Epstein had to actively prevent

Trump from preying on her late at night after Trump confused her with a teenage

girl potentially victimized by Epstein.

Kate’s story is particularly suggestive of Trump’s active involvement in Epstein’s sex

trafficking ring. Her FBI witness interview, released in the Epstein files, details how Ghislaine

Maxwell took her to a party in New York where Maxwell “presented” Kate to Trump. Kate, a

young model, remarked that this was the same way Maxwell “introduced [Kate] to Epstein.”

Another document in the file confirms that Maxwell set Kate up on a date with Trump, and other

sources show Maxwell, Trump, and Kate then traveled together on Trump’s private jet to Florida.

Maxwell’s role of introducing young women to Trump was so well known that a tabloid covered

it in 1997, remarking how Trump was friends with “Robert Maxwell’s daughter Ghislaine, who

has introduced several of her attractive friends to the property developer.”

Beyond direct victim accounts of rape and assault, three additional women appeared to

have shared a possibly sexual relationship with Epstein and Trump. In one case, Epstein joked

perversely that he sold “a fully depreciated woman” to Trump: the woman in question was a young,  foreign, recent college graduate who dated both men. Other accounts describe Trump’s assault of a young model, Lauren Petrella, at a party where Epstein was present. And Trump paid for yet another young model to live at one of his buildings in New York, around the time when she was flying on Epstein’s jet with Maxwell and Prince Andrew.

These reports do not stand alone, and they are not aberrations. They are remarkably

consistent with the extensive public reports of Trump’s sexual misconduct at the time. Other

women have accused Trump of a range of sexual misconduct at similar modeling events and parties in New York and Palm Beach -- including Trump arranging for pageant contestants as young as to dance for him and his frequent practice of walking into changing rooms while young girls were in a state of undress. Indeed, Trump has acknowledged this lecherous behavior, boasting he could “get away with it” because he owned the pageants in question. In 2005, in the now notorious Access Hollywood recording, Trump bragged that “when you’re a star, [beautiful women] let you do it.  You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the pussy. You can do anything.” When asked about this video  in a civil deposition, Trump defended this statement, stating that he was one such “star.”

[. . .]

In the face of this wave of evidence, the only recourse for the President has been to spread

lies and obfuscation. In July 2019, after Epstein was arrested on charges of conspiracy to traffic

minors, Donald Trump claimed that he knew Epstein “just like everybody in Palm Beach knew

him” and insisted that he “had no idea” about Epstein’s crimes.

This evasion and this denial are contradicted by almost all of the available evidence,

including Trump and Epstein’s own words and the documents contained in the Epstein files.

Epstein bragged he was Trump’s “closest friend for 10 years.” In 2002, Trump said of Epstein:

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes

beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Since these

statements, and the world’s discovery of Epstein’s crimes, Trump has unleashed a string of easily

refutable lies about their relationship. He has falsely claimed that he never rode on Epstein’s private jet (he did, repeatedly), that he kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago Club (he did not), and that he did not write Epstein a lewd birthday note (he most certainly did, as the whole world can see).  This Staff Report, relying on redacted passages in the Epstein files and new, never-before-released whistleblower testimony, further reveals the full scope and brazenness of Trump’s lies.

Now pay attention to this section especially: 

As revealed by this Staff Report, documents in the Epstein files show that then-Deputy

Attorney General Todd Blanche likely knew about certain survivors’ claims against the President

when he traveled to Tallahassee, Florida, to interview Epstein co-conspirator Maxwell in federal

prison. The transcript of that meeting shows that on at least three separate occasions, Blanche

directed Maxwell not to discuss one individual, Jane, whose report to FBI implicated Donald

Trump in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, but whose claims were not yet known to the public. In 

other words, Attorney General Blanche may have engaged in criminal obstruction of justice while

acting on a mission to protect Trump.

He wasn't the one who should have been questioning Maxwell.  Remember that.  He was Deputy Attorney General.  Maurene Comey -- who would be fired after Toad spoke to Maxwell was the Justice Dept person who should have been questioning Maxwell.  Toad coached Maxwell and encouraged her not to discuss Jane.

JANE DOE 1 (A.K.A. JANE) – 14 YEARS OLD

DOJ documents released pursuant to EFTA include an allegation that in 1994 at Mar-aLago, Jeffrey Epstein “introduced [a victim] to Trump saying ‘This is a good one, huh’ and Trump

responded ‘Yes.’”67 The victim was 14 years old at this time. As made apparent when viewed in

the version made available to Members of Congress, but not to the public, Jane Doe 1 was viewed

as a credible witness by DOJ investigators and prosecutors, and she was one of four women to

testify against Ghislaine Maxwell during her criminal trial under the pseudonym “Jane.”68 Jane’s

testimony was devastating for Maxwell’s defense. She described, in detail, abuse and sex acts that

occurred at Epstein’s properties in Florida, New Mexico, and New York, sometimes involving

Maxwell and groups of people.6

This slide deck of “Prominent Names” in the Epstein investigation, was created by DOJ

and FBI personnel in the weeks leading up to Todd Blanche’s interview of Maxwell and seemingly

initiated in “Response to 07/10/2025 Director’s call.”70 The slide deck includes a reference to

Jane’s account of Trump and Epstein’s conversation. Yet, strikingly, when then-Deputy Attorney

General Blanche interviewed Maxwell, ostensibly to “pursue justice wherever the facts may lead”

in the Jeffrey Epstein case, he did not ask any questions at all about Jane’s allegations.71 In fact,

when on several different occasions, Maxwell proactively referenced Jane, he quickly redirected

Maxwell away from any further discussion of “Jane” or her claims. 

In one instance, Maxwell volunteered to Attorney General Blanche: “I believe you’re

talking about Jane,” to which he responded “yeah” -- indicating he was aware of her allegations.

However, as soon as Maxwell began to “address that,” meaning Jane’s claims, Attorney General

Blanche cut her off and instructed her not to share specifics. At various points during the interview,  Attorney General Blanche interrupted Maxwell and instructed her not to discuss Jane’s claims, for instance, saying “yeah, yeah, I don’t want to get into … he said, she said.” Maxwell responded “Absolutely, not. I’m not -- I don’t want to go there either” and even more explicitly, “I’m not going to do that.” At another point, Maxwell again raises Jane on her own and Attorney General Blanche abruptly cuts in saying, pointedly, “Let’s not talk about individuals.” The whole point of the conversation was not to uncover information but to create a conspiracy of silence and strategically deter Ghislaine Maxwell from sharing information that was not public at the time regarding the relationship between Trump and Epstein.

Attorney General Blanche’s actions, while perhaps not surprising given his former role as

Donald Trump’s defense attorney, potentially constituted witness tampering and obstruction of an

official proceeding -- serious felonies. At the time of this interview, the House Oversight

Committee had scheduled an interview with Maxwell for August 11 -- less than two weeks later.

Blanche’s apparent instructions not to discuss a specific Epstein victim, and how that victim could

implicate Donald Trump, could easily run afoul of 18 U.S.C. § 1512, which forbids hindering or

delaying the communication of information relating to the potential commission of a federal

offense to a law enforcement officer, as well as corruptly influencing the testimony of any person

in an official proceeding -- such as a congressional interview and investigation.

74 Similarly, 18 U.S.C. 1505 forbids corruptly influencing, obstructing, or impeding any pending proceeding before Congress -- a crime which would almost certainly encompass indicating to a witness that they should not provide Congress with specific information that could implicate the President of the United States.

Kathryn Rubino (ABOVE THE LAW) writes: 

Then there are the documents. The report says an FBI agent’s internal search for Trump and Epstein under “exploitation of minors” returned a case number tied to Epstein’s 2007 federal investigation. A whistleblower told Democrats that documents linked to that case number have been withheld from Congress and the public. A still-redacted 2009 email from Epstein’s lawyer says “Trump specifically asked” his own attorney to let Epstein’s team know about Trump’s interview with a lawyer for Epstein’s victims. That same redacted 2009 material has Trump saying Epstein “was never asked to leave” Mar-a-Lago. That’s awkward, since “I kicked him out” has been the official story for years. Blanche’s explanation for the redaction is that it’s a privileged communication between counsel.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed, allows redactions to protect victims. It has no carve-out for things that make the president look bad, a distinction the DOJ has struggled with since jump. Blanche personally blocked the DEA from releasing an unredacted document about a 2015 investigation into Epstein’s associates. Then Katie Phang sued him, and Judge Emmet Sullivan found Blanche had effectively conceded he was violating the law. Blanche answered with a brief that reads like a kid yelling “that’s not fair,” and by September, Sullivan was warning him about contempt. New Mexico sued too, because it can’t get the files it needs for its own criminal investigation into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. So the “state and foreign prosecutors” part of Raskin’s demand isn’t hypothetical. And last week brought reports that White House officials helped draft the July 2025 FBI/DOJ memo that effectively shut down further Epstein investigations.

Got that? The DOJ kept a 2009 email about the president under wraps, but it published survivors’ identifying information. 

There is so much in the report but that alone makes clear that Toad Blanche is not fit to be attorney general. 

Ryan Nobles (NBC NEWS) notes:

House Judiciary Committee Democrats are calling for an independent special counsel to investigate evidence of President Donald Trump’s alleged criminal ties to Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new report made public Monday.

“The bottom line,” they wrote in the report, “There is more than sufficient evidence to launch a criminal investigation.”

Philip Wang (TIME) notes:

A woman who had accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in 1993 described it to congressional staff as rape and said the interaction left her bleeding and bruised, according to a report released Monday by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee examining Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Beatrice Keul, a model and former Miss Switzerland, alleged to Judiciary Committee staff that she was raped by Trump in a Plaza Hotel suite in Manhattan when she was 24. Keul said that while attending the American Dream Pageant, which had a partnership with Trump, she met with Trump at a press luncheon at the event. 

Trump, according to Keul, promised to arrange her visa in the U.S. and ensure her acceptance into New York University through his friend Paolo Zampolli, a close Trump ally who was, until earlier this month, part of his Administration. At the same event, she also spent at least 10 minutes talking to Epstein who she said claimed to have organized “many parties with Don.”

Later that day, Keul alleges, Trump invited her to a hotel suite where Trump “grabbed Keul from behind and forcibly raped her,” causing “bleeding and bruising on multiple parts of her body,” the report says. Following the incident, Keul alleges Trump made her promise she would keep quiet and repeated his promise for visa and college admission.

Because Keul’s passport had been taken from her on her arrival, she was not able to leave the contest following the incident, she alleges, according to the report. After she returned to Switzerland, she declined to participate in an additional Trump-sponsored pageant in Hawaii several weeks later.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee issued the following:

DOJ and FBI Shut Down Investigations and Withheld Evidence While Claiming No Basis to Prosecute or Even Investigate Any Additional Epstein Co-Conspirators

In Two-Day Interview, Attorney General Todd Blanche Instructed Maxwell Not to Discuss a Specific Survivor Whose Account Implicated Trump

Five Women Accuse Trump of Rape or Sexual Assault in Epstein’s Company or Presence; Others Describe Apparent Attempts by Epstein or Maxwell to Traffic Them to Trump

Committee Interviews, Survivor Accounts and FBI Records Trace Criminal Ties Among Trump, Epstein, Former Trump Envoy Paolo Zampolli and Known Pedophile John Casablancas in the Murky World of Beauty Pageants in 1990s New York

Judiciary Democrats Call for Independent Special Counsel to Investigate Epstein’s Co-Conspirators, Full Cooperation With State and Foreign Prosecutors Requesting Evidence, and Congressional Action to End DOJ’s Cover-Up

Washington, D.C. (October 26, 2026)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released a sweeping new Committee staff report, “‘We Have Certain Things in Common, Jeffrey’: The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover it Up,” detailing evidence involving 11 women, five of whom directly accuse Donald Trump of rape or sexual assault in Jeffrey Epstein’s close company or presence. The report concludes that, based on the available evidence and witness testimony, Trump and Paolo Zampolli—who until recently served as a senior Trump Administration official and diplomat—may have been co-conspirators in Jeffrey Epstein’s conspiracy to traffic and abuse young women in the 1990s. Drawing on interviews conducted by Committee staff, survivor accounts, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records and documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the report traces striking similarities in the stories of women abused by Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. With one exception, each assault or instance of sexual misconduct occurred between 1992 and 1997, in New York and Palm Beach, and many of the victims were closely tied to the modeling industry and Zampolli. “Donald Trump says he knew Jeffrey Epstein ‘just like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.’ Not exactly. Evidence involving 11 women tells a completely different and far more damning story about their relationship and the abuse of young women and girls that took place in their network. Five women have directly accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein’s company or presence; others have indicated that Epstein or Maxwell attempted to traffic them to Trump. These women have spoken to investigators and, in some cases, testified under oath, yet Trump’s Justice Department has shut down investigations, deliberately withheld evidence and, through Todd Blanche, prevented Ghislaine Maxwell from discussing a survivor whose account implicated Trump—all while insisting there is no basis upon which to investigate Epstein’s possible accomplices. Trump’s Justice Department appears to be covering up these crimes to protect the President. The women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard, Congress must have the complete files required by law, and an independent special counsel must investigate Epstein’s co-conspirators and DOJ’s cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice,” said Ranking Member Raskin. Key findings and survivor accounts include: Trump and Epstein Shared a World Built Around Young Models. In the 1990s, both men moved through New York modeling agencies, pageants and parties where young women and girls were recruited and often exploited. Trump hosted Elite Model Management competitions for teenage models and had close ties to Elite founder and known pedophile John Casablancas and modeling agent Paolo Zampolli. FBI records describe multiple young models who had a sexual relationship with Zampolli or were connected to Zampolli’s agency who subsequently were sexually assaulted by Epstein. A former longtime Epstein assistant told the FBI that Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump, contradicting Zampolli’s account. Women Describe Sexual Assault and Other Troubling Encounters Involving Trump and Epstein. Five women have directly accused Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein’s company or presence. Three others describe encounters in which Epstein or Maxwell appeared to offer women to Trump or indicate that Trump was “in” on Epstein’s abuse. Their accounts and stories, when told together, paint an unmistakable picture of a conspiracy to abuse and traffic women. Beatrice Keul told Committee staff that Trump raped her in a Plaza Hotel suite during his November 1993 American Dream Pageant. Keul said Trump promised that Zampolli would arrange her visa while Trump would arrange for admission to New York University; Epstein then approached her, introduced himself as “Don’s best friend” and offered to cover her travel and accommodations for a party at Mar-a-Lago. Following her brutal rape that same day, Keul said Trump pressed her to keep quiet and later called her in Switzerland to renew his offers for a visa and admission to NYU – similar offers Epstein made to his victims. While Keul had previously discussed Trump’s conduct, the report presents more information about the assault than previously offered, as well as corroborating evidence from others present at the pageant. Stacey Williams said Trump groped her in his Trump Tower office while Epstein stood beside them. Williams said the men smiled and continued talking during the assault; Epstein then berated her for allowing Trump to touch her. Jill Harth alleged in a 1997 lawsuit that Trump forcibly kissed and fondled her at Mar-a-Lago during a gathering at which she and her former spouse said Epstein was the only other male present. Harth also alleged that Trump assaulted another young model that night. “Jane,” who later testified against Maxwell, told the FBI that Epstein introduced her to Trump at Mar-a-Lago when she was 14, saying, “This is a good one, huh.” Trump responded, “Yes.” During Ghislaine Maxwell’s July 2025 prison interview, then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who appeared to have been briefed on Jane’s claims, prevented Maxwell from discussing Jane at least three times, at one point saying, “Let’s not talk about individuals.” With Maxwell scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee less than two weeks later, Blanche’s efforts to prevent discussion of Jane’s account potentially constituted witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding. “Katie Johnson” alleged to the FBI that Trump and Epstein repeatedly raped her at Epstein’s New York residence in 1994, when she was 13. She said the men argued over who would take her virginity. Whistleblower information obtained by the Committee indicates that documents linked to a case number involving Katie Johnson have been withheld from Congress and the public. Maria Farmer said Trump approached her in a sexual and threatening manner in Epstein’s New York office before Epstein intervened, saying, “She’s not here for you.” Farmer said Trump then remarked that he had thought she was 16. Farmer reported Epstein’s abuse to the FBI and raised concerns about Trump, yet her reports of Trump’s misconduct are absent from the Epstein files. “Kate,” who was abused by Epstein and Maxwell and was a witness at Maxwell’s trial, told the FBI that Maxwell “presented” her to Trump at a New York party in the same way “Maxwell introduced [Kate] to Epstein.” Maxwell was also famous for “introduc[ing] several of her attractive friends” to Trump around this time. Kate was later flown to Mar-a-Lago along with Ghislaine Maxwell and was put up at a Trump property. Another woman alleged that Trump assaulted her when she was 13 in the 1980s. She told the FBI that Trump struck her after she resisted him during the alleged assault. The Committee has not independently verified her allegation against Trump. FBI agents’ handwritten interview notes reportedly contain further details and potential witnesses collected across multiple interviews, but DOJ has not released them to the public. Records concerning three other young women add to the picture of Trump and Epstein’s shared orbit. Jill Harth alleged that Trump assaulted young model Lauren Petrella at the Mar-a-Lago gathering where Harth says she, too, was assaulted. Epstein’s birthday book explicitly refers to another young woman as someone he had “sold” to Trump; records illuminate that this woman was a young foreign college student who had a sexual relationship with both men. A third model lived in a Trump property and later flew on Epstein’s jet with Maxwell and Prince Andrew. These women have not come forward as survivors.  Trump’s Repeated Denials Contradict the Record. Trump has minimized his friendship with Epstein, denied knowing about his crimes and made specific claims about their relationship that conflict with documents and witness accounts. Some of the information impeaching Trump’s self-serving account is hidden behind redactions in the Epstein files. For example: “I kicked him out.” Trump and the White House have said he expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. But a 2009 account of a conversation involving Trump, his lawyers and an attorney for Epstein survivors records Trump saying Epstein “was never asked to leave.” The account remains redacted in DOJ’s public files; Members of Congress reviewed the unredacted passage. “I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.” Trump described Epstein in 2002 as a “terrific guy” he had known for 15 years and remarked that Epstein liked women “on the younger side.” Epstein later described himself as Trump’s “closest friend for 10 years.” The men socialized, attended events together and remained in each other’s orbit through much of the 1990s. “I had no idea.” Trump denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes. The former Palm Beach police chief told the FBI that Trump called him in 2006 and said of Epstein, “everyone has known he’s been doing this.” An email Epstein sent in 2019 likewise claimed Trump “knew about the girls.” “I was never on Epstein’s plane.” Trump’s 2024 denial conflicts with flight records showing that he traveled on Epstein’s jet at least eight times in the 1990s, according to the report and a prosecutor’s review of the logs. This evidence demands a complete and independent investigation. Judiciary Democrats call for the appointment of an independent special counsel to investigate and prosecute Epstein’s co-conspirators and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors receive DOJ and FBI’s full support, including access to all relevant evidence. DOJ’s conflict of interest and obstruction make clear that Trump’s appointees cannot be trusted to pursue accountability. Congress must use its legislative and oversight powers to end the cover-up and ensure that those responsible for these crimes face justice. Click here to read the report.

The report comes as Tom Latchem (DAILY BEAST) notes:

A senior Republican election insider fears Democrats’ Jeffrey Epstein attack ads could suppress MAGA midterms turnout and help cost the GOP control of the Senate.

With President Donald Trump, 80, already struggling to keep his party afloat ahead of next week’s elections, the Dems are spending tens of millions of dollars attacking his candidates over their handling of the late sex offender’s case.

Their aim is to exploit discontent among MAGA voters who feel betrayed by the administration’s failure to deliver the transparency it promised.

The fear inside GOP circles is not necessarily that disgruntled Trump supporters will switch parties, the insider said, but that they will simply stay home on Election Day, potentially giving Democrats a route to victory in otherwise safely Republican states.

As Chump's fig leaf of innocence gets blown away, he continues THE DESPERATION TOUR.  7 days until the last day of voting in the midterms and Chump tries to turn out voters or at least tries to attract audiences who will listen to him drone on.  Attacking Norway, for example.  Alex Leary, Natalie Andrews and Philip Wegmann (WALL STREET JOURNAL) report what they saw during their seven days covering the tour:

Trump has returned to the rally stage in force, hoping to energize his supporters and defy the polls predicting deep Republican losses in November.

Crowds are generally smaller than they were when he was on the ballot, but the president is reveling in the attention, touting his agenda, stirring the pot and veering off script.

Some Republicans fear the spectacle will motivate Democrats and give his opponents plenty of fodder to paint the president as out of touch. But at the arenas, gyms and airport hangars where he has been holding court, the Trump show is unabashedly back—perhaps for a final time as his decadelong dominance in politics begins to sunset.

Wall Street Journal reporters attended every one of Trump’s midterm rallies this past week: seven events across seven states, starting in Kansas on Monday and ending in Michigan on Sunday, with stops along the way in North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida and Georgia. All told, Trump spoke for more than 11 hours. By Saturday, his voice was noticeably hoarse.

The rallies are something of a security blanket for Trump, according to advisers, freeing him from the pressures of the job, critical news coverage and the lowest approval rating of any president heading into midterm elections in Wall Street Journal polling dating to the 1990s. Most analysts expect the GOP will lose control of the House and possibly the Senate.

[. . .]

Critics see self-aggrandizement, a blizzard of falsehoods and increasingly uncivil attacks on his opponents. But there is a strategy behind putting Trump at the center of the midterms. Advisers see Trump as the single best motivator for voters.

The Trump political machine is rerunning much of the playbook that returned him to the Oval Office in 2024: targeting the MAGA base, especially low-propensity voters, in red states. A senior White House official said that despite Trump’s polarizing nature, the approach is paying dividends, pointing to Kansas, where Republican Sen. Roger Marshall has seen an uptick in enthusiasm in internal metrics.

Still, it is a risky approach. Far-reaching Republican losses in the midterms could signal that Trump’s political power is diminishing. And the president has made statements at his rallies that could make life harder for vulnerable Republicans.

Sunday, Maria Villarroel (THE MIRROR) reports, "President Donald Trump was booed as he spoke on stage at a Michigan rally, where he promised $5,000 to voters who cast their ballots for Republican candidates in the upcoming midterm elections."  He's getting booed a lot more and he freaks out over it, usually directing the crowd to go after the person booing. 

Let's turn to Vivek Ramaswamy.  His vile and disgusting nature was addressed on some of the Sunday chat & chews.  For those who may have missed it, last week, Vivek Ramaswamy began running an add where he allowed a woman who enabled her daughter's rape for nearly two years to show up decades later and call the daughter "a liar."  The ad is repulsive and most Americans feel that way.  ABC's THIS WEEK addressed it in their roundtable:

KARL:  The roundtable is here. Former DNC chair Donna Brazile, “New York Times” opinion political correspondent Michelle Cottle, former North Carolina Congressman Patrick McHenry, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Okay. So, Donna, I want to get right to the Vivek Ramaswamy ad against Amy Acton featuring her mother, but not so much just what the ad and the controversy. I want to ask you about this that J.D. Vance said about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:  I have to admit that I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL:  Okay. So, J.D. Vance is disgusted, but not by the ad, but by Republicans criticizing the ad.

DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  Well, first of all, J.D. Vance, who calls himself a man of faith, should really think twice before saying that. This is a woman who survived childhood trauma, raped repeatedly by her stepfather. He was convicted in July of 1978. The only reason why he didn't serve time is because he ran as a fugitive.

And to use someone's mother in that way --

KARL:  Ran with Amy Acton's mother.

BRAZILE:  Thank you.

I mean, it's a sign of desperation that the gubernatorial candidate cannot campaign on what Donald Trump wants the Republicans on his record, because you can't campaign on a record of broken promises. It's a disgusting, despicable ad, and I agree with the governor. It should be removed from there.

KARL:  But, Patrick, is there any -- I mean, the way Trump and Vance have continued to talk about it. And Ramaswamy, of course, do they think it's going to work? I mean, is there a chance that it works?

PATRICK MCHENRY, (R) FORMER NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN:  No. There's an old axiom, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

KARL:  Yeah.

MCHENRY:  And in this circumstance, what Vivek is trying to do is go to the heart of his opponent's campaign and do it in such a way that breaks through the noise of the media. I get that.

But you have to have judgment on whether or not that is going to bring ill repute on you for making such a crazy accusation using somebody who's so -- has such an unsavory background.

This only highlights his opponent's strength. It shows a complete lack of judgment. And what you need in a governor is judgment.

And that is one of the qualities where you see Jon Husted, who is not at the top of the ticket. He's actually second on the ticket in Ohio, saying, “This is not sound judgment.” That's actually the smart answer here.

KARL:  Governor, you had some words for Ramaswamy when you debated him, if I recall.

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR:  I did.

Look, it goes to a bigger issue than just the fact that this is a horrible ad and one that should never have been run. This goes to the rotten moral core that Donald Trump has created for my party. And you then take the two, probably two of the most prominent Trump wannabes in our party, J.D. Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy, and what they're showing America is, we want to be just as morally bankrupt as Trump, but we don't have any of the charm or charisma that people might like.

This is the future of our party if we don't get our act together, is to have charmless people with no charisma and the lack of moral clarity and center that Donald Trump has.

I think this ad showed much more about J.D. Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy and the cautionary tale for the future of our party than anything else that's happened in this election because if Ramaswamy wins in Ohio, we're going to see the exact same stuff in 2028. If he loses, I think it's going to be a real wake-up call for this type of conduct in our party.

KARL:  I mean, Michelle, they've kind of been alone among Republicans, I mean prominent Republicans on this.

MICHELLE COTTLE, NEW YORK TIMES OPINION POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT:  I mean you had Governor DeWine come out and say that this needs to be taken off the air. We've seen Ashley Henson in Iowa talk about this, former Governor Kasich. Basically, if you can't look at this ad and just say this is wrong, we should not be going in this direction, you need to rethink your basic life choices because I do think it's incredibly clarifying to Governor Christie's point.

This is a moment where you are watching the soul of the party just kind of turn into this Trumpian nasty bile.

Dana Bash (STATE OF THE UNION) addressed the ad with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro:

BASH: We are less than 20 miles from Ohio. We're so far up north and west here in Pennsylvania. The Republican candidate for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, is under fire for putting the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in a TV ad, despite claims that she had and some issues went through the courts about childhood sexual abuse.

President Trump and Vice President Vance have defended it. The vice president even admonished Republicans for calling Ramaswamy out on it. You're shaking your head.

SHAPIRO: You know, I have prosecuted dozens of people for sexual abuse.

And the cases where they are familial, you have a parent, a stepparent, abusing their own child are maybe the ones that upset me the most, the ones that would keep me up at night as we were going through those cases. Those are so unbelievably painful.

The idea that a guy who wants to run for governor would weaponize that, that the vice president of the United States, who does this phony preacher nonsense about morality every day, would double down and say, not only is it an acceptable ad, keep running it and admonish Republicans like Mike DeWine who actually had the courage to speak out and call it out, I think it just speaks to how profoundly and pathetically weak of a human being J.D. Vance is.

And it speaks to the character, frankly, lack thereof, of Ramaswamy to attack a victim like that, to attack a victim and take the side of the perpetrator, the enabler of that abuse. It's disgusting.

And what I'm hearing more and more from Republicans, along with Democrats, independents, is they're just tired of this. They're tired of the politics that Trump and Vance practice. And remember, Ramaswamy, he really is just a product of that Trump/Vance politics of the lowest common denominator.

I think you're going to see Americans of all stripes, Democrat and Republican, come out in states all across our country and reject that. 

Sunday, Farrah Tomazin (DAILY BEAST) reported:

Vivek Ramaswamy has quietly edited his controversial attack ad targeting Democratic rival Amy Acton, removing her estranged mother’s accusations that she lied about being homeless as a child.

Days after President Donald Trump urged him not to take the ad down, the MAGA gubernatorial candidate released a new 30-second version of the original 60-second spot amid scathing bipartisan criticism.

The shift came hours before Acton appeared onstage with Barack Obama in Cleveland, where the former president delivered a scorched-earth rebuke of Ramaswamy, saying there was almost nothing he wouldn’t do to get into the limelight.

“There’s got to be something inside you where you just say, ‘No office is worth stooping that low,’” Obama said of the Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate.

The original ad sparked a political firestorm because Acton had not spoken to her mother, Donna Arthur, in decades. Arthur remained with Acton’s stepfather even after he raped her as a child.

The fallout continues.  Alia Shoaib (NEWSWEEK) reports:

Ohio’s largest newspaper has reversed its policy against endorsing candidates in major races to back Democrat Amy Acton for governor, condemning Republican Vivek Ramaswamy after his campaign released an ad that featured Acton’s estranged mother calling her a liar.

“Vivek Ramaswamy, seeking the highest office in this state, has produced a campaign advertisement that weaponizes the sexual abuse his opponent, Amy Acton, suffered as a child,” The Plain Dealer wrote in an editorial.

It added that the ad “crossed a line that Ohioans should defend, whatever their party.”

Monday afternoon, Brendan Rascius (INDEPENDENT) noted:

Several Ohio venues have also scrapped plans to host Ramaswamy in recent days, according to Newsweek.

On Friday, Old Dog Ale House & Brewery in Delaware canceled an event scheduled to feature him. Elliot’s Wood Fired Kitchen in Newark also said it would not host his planned Tuesday appearance. The Ohio Republican Party has indicated it plans to reschedule both appearances.

It was vile and disgusting and has made clear to voters that Vivek is vile and disgusting himself.  Those who defended the ad -- such as Chump and Vance -- will have a lot to answer for themselves. 

We noted Maurene Comey who got fired from the Justice Dept back in July of 2025. Brett Meiselas (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) reports:

A federal judge delivered a major legal defeat to the Trump administration Monday, ruling that the Justice Department illegally fired veteran federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, and ordering the government to provide her with backpay and retroactive reinstatement.

In a blistering 55-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York rejected the administration’s extraordinary argument that the Constitution allowed it to fire Comey without cause, notice, or an opportunity to defend herself.

The judge warned that accepting the Justice Department’s position would threaten the constitutional balance of power and risk returning the federal government to a political spoils system that Congress began dismantling more than a century ago.

“Defendants’ argument that Article II bars Congress from regulating the removal of AUSAs flies in the face of nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent,” Furman wrote.

Tom Durante (MEDIAITE) adds:

Comey worked in the Southern District Court of New York for nearly a decade, and prosecuted both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell before she was abruptly fired by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in August 2025.

It was the same Southern District Court where it was ruled on Monday that the Trump administration’s move to fire Comey under Article II of the Constitution was “wrong” after Comey sued for wrongful termination.

“It is also without merit,” the ruling states. “Indeed, to accept Defendants’ argument would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system.”

“The Court grants Comey retroactive reinstatement and backpay effective from the date of her termination through December 20, 2025, which will make her whole for the period during which she was unlawfully terminated,” the ruling said.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Murray: “President Trump illegally slashed Feed the Future funding and fought to cancel programs like this one—instead, I wrote that funding into law and secured $72 million to restore it, so he couldn’t simply make it disappear. Because I fought back, WSU researchers are now leading this work instead of watching it shut down.”

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Washington State University (WSU) was awarded a federal grant to lead a new Feed the Future Animal Health Innovation Lab (AHIL) to contribute to animal health research to expand world markets for American livestock technologies, and support international efforts to improve animal health and food security in Africa. WSU’s research will support communities in Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Zambia. 

WSU will receive an initial $9.6 million, with the opportunity to increase funding up to $40 million over five years to support animal health and livestock research. 

“WSU is proving once again why Washington state’s universities are among the best in the world: this research will protect livestock, strengthen food security for families across Africa, and open new markets for agricultural technology from America,” said Senator Murray. “President Trump illegally slashed Feed the Future funding and fought to cancel programs like this one—instead, I wrote that funding into law and secured $72 million to restore it, so he couldn’t simply make it disappear. Because I fought back, WSU researchers are now leading this work instead of watching it shut down. I’m incredibly proud of my alma mater, and I’ll keep working to make sure American universities can lead the world in tackling hunger.”

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab program is funded through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response. In fiscal year 2025, President Trump cut off funding for Innovation Labs, illegally cancelled funding approved by Congress, and pushed to scrap the program. But as Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray pushed back, and continued to fund the Feed the Future Innovation Lab program while strengthening legal mandates that it gets carried out in the fiscal year 2026 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill. Senator Murray secured $72 million to restore funding for Feed the Future Innovation Labs that support partnerships between U.S. universities and developing country research institutions to advance novel solutions to pressing food security challenges.

Learn more about WSU’s plans for the new Animal Health Innovation Lab HERE.

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