I don't mind making bread from
scratch. But I do like it to be simple. Rhonda e-mailed a recipe that
has too many steps for me. Sorry. But it's for pumpkin bread (from Brown Buttered Blondie) and I know people like pumpkin bread so we'll note it:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil)
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
For Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat
the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing
the ends of the parchment to extend over the sides of the pan for easy
removal of the loaf once baked. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar topping. Set aside.
Measure
out the pumpkin puree and place it on a plate covered with a folded
paper towel. Use another folded paper towel to gently blot the pumpkin a
few times. Use a light hand and do not blot the pumpkin too much. You
want to remove a little bit of the moisture without drying it out.
To a large bowl, add the pumpkin, granulated sugar, vegetable (canola) oil, Greek yogurt and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
Add the eggs and whisk until well incorporated.
Sift
the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and use a large spatula or
wooden spoon to gently fold together. Do not overmix. The batter will
look a bit lumpy.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula if needed.
Top the batter with the cinnamon sugar mixture, covering the loaf completely. Use all of the cinnamon sugar.
Bake
the loaf on the center rack of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Begin
checking the bread at 45 minutes. The bread is done when a toothpick
inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs remaining.
If the bread is browning too quickly towards the end of the baking
cycle, tent the top loosely with a large piece of aluminum foil.
Remove
the loaf from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 to 15
minutes. Use the parchment paper overhang to carefully lift the loaf
from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Hedge
fund billionaire Ken Griffin and Chicago Booth Business School
professor Anil Kashyap called Trump’s bid to seize control of monetary
policy a “risky game” akin to a policy by former President Richard
Nixon, which kicked off 1970s stagflation that helped undo at least two
presidential administrations following him.
By
removing veterans on the Fed, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump
hopes to install allies who will slash interest rates to accommodate his
short-term strategies rather than tweak policy to counter market
disorder.
But Griffin’s and Kashyap’s opinion
in a joint Wall Street Journal editorial reports that Nixon’s own
manipulation of the Fed in the 1970s “contributed to a prolonged surge
in prices.”
“It is in the
president’s best interest for the Fed to be seen as independent — and to
act independently. That independence gives the central bank space to
make difficult choices required to curb inflation,” the financiers
warned. “In a worst-case scenario, if the Fed visibly bows to political
pressure and permits inflation to rise unchecked, tens of millions of
retired Americans will see their savings diminished.”
That,
in turn, could cut away at senior voters, who are among Trump’s more
solid base. “Senior voters — tired of bearing the brunt of inflation —
could cost the administration dearly in the midterms,” they wrote.
Credibility
in economic policymaking is built slowly, they say, through respect for
processes, but that credibility can be quickly lost. And without it,
the costs of borrowing money rises, sustainable growth drops and global
confidence in U.S. institutions falters.
Grasp
that and grasp that Chump's not only willing to destroy retirement
savings, he's also willing to destroy worldwide confidence in the US
economy. Without that independent Federal Reserve, there's no reason to
trust the American dollar.
Wednesday, September 10, 2025. Chump goes out to eat last night nd
gets booed, he issues a denial insisting that the birthday greeting to
Jeffrey Epstein is not his, turns out a deal was made with Ghislaine
Maxwell before she spoke to Deputy AG Todd Blanche, the American people
need to know what that deal was, Chump continues to slaughter the
economy on all fronts -- employments, housing and inflation -- and much
more.
The
U.S. labor market is experiencing a turbulent phase in 2025, with job
losses reaching alarming levels. Reports indicate that over 800,000 jobs
have been cut in the first seven months of the year, marking a 75%
increase compared to the same period in 2024. This surge in job cuts is
the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which saw over 1.8
million layoffs.
A report by
Challenger, Gray & Christmas highlights three primary causes for
these job cuts. Among them, the economic conditions and uncertainty
stemming from the tariffs imposed during Trump's administration are
significant contributors. These tariffs have increased the cost of
essential inputs for many U.S. businesses, squeezing profit margins.
Andrew
Challenger, a labor expert, noted that tariff-related concerns have
directly impacted nearly 6,000 jobs this year. The lack of clarity on
whether tariffs will remain, increase, or decrease adds to the economic
uncertainty, making it challenging for businesses to strategize
effectively. However, tariffs are not the sole factor in the current
employment crisis.
President Donald Trump has promised his high tariffs will inspire an American manufacturing renaissance.
Yet so far his controversial experiment has failed to inspire a jobs boom. Not only is hiring weak, but the industries most exposed to tariffs have been shedding workers – exactly the opposite of the intended outcome.
Job
growth in tariff-impacted sectors including manufacturing, construction
and transportation turned negative shortly after Trump started his
trade war this spring, according to a new analysis by Apollo Global
chief economist Torsten Slok.
Slok’s research,
based on a three-month moving average of Bureau of Labor Statistics data
on employment, shows that while tariff-impacted sectors had moments of
job loss in recent years, this is the first time payroll growth is
negative over a period of several months.
Employment in industries not affected by tariffs continues to increase, albeit at a slower pace than before the trade war.
Economist Justin Wolfers is sounding the alarm on the
potential for stagflation, warning that proposed tariffs could inflict a
painful combination of slowing growth and rising prices on the U.S.
economy.
In a recent interview, the University of Michigan
professor cautioned that Americans could soon get "‘two bad tastes at
the same time'—rising unemployment and rising inflation."
Wolfers
explained that the ingredients for this challenging scenario are
already present. He broke down the dual nature of stagflation,
describing it as a mix of economic stagnation and persistent inflation.
Also sounding the alarm is Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Hugh Son (CNBC) reports
he sees trouble coming and quotes him stating, "I think the economy is
weakening. Whether it's on the way to recession or just weakening, I
don't know."
Stephanie Ruhle has noted repeatedly on her MSNBC
program THE 11TH HOUR how various business leaders who would normally be
weighing in and expressing concern over the economy have been silent
for months now. Apparently, silence is no longer an option. CBS NEWS'
conversation with former CBO director Douglas Holtz-Eakin makes that
clear.
"Dead
in the water." The economy -- the bad economy -- is producing anxiety
in the housing market but it's not producing jobs. That includes for
Chump's tiny dicked base of boys who wish they were men. Courtney Brown (AXIOS) reports:
Younger adults are facing the worst labor market shock in years, one far more acute than the rest of the population.
Why
it matters: There's no denying the misery for young people who can't
find work. It might stunt their career growth for decades to come.
Threat level: What's
holding back hiring is a mix of fleeting, cyclical factors — economic
uncertainty as a result of Trump's trade policies, for instance, or high
interest rates.
Other factors, like the uptake of AI
eliminating entry-level positions, are likely structural. The result
might be a difficult hiring environment for younger people for the
foreseeable future.
Young but less-educated Americans also feel
the pinch. The sluggish pace of job gains is widespread across the
economy, including in industries that, in normal times, would be the
most likely to hire them.
What they're saying:
"There is a pile-up of young people that are looking for work," says
Guy Berger, the director of economic research at the Burning Glass
Institute.
18 to 29 year old White males -- don't call them men -- voted 63% for Chump. You got what you wanted boys. No jobs.
They're
so worried about their manhood that they can't see straight. They give
themselves names like "Big Balls" but they're not men, they're cowardly
little boys as we all saw when "Big Balls" got jumped in DC by
children. By children. Big Balls? Try no balls.
The Trump administration is obviously attempting to follow the
familiar playbook by which autocracies consolidate their power,
effectively turning America into a one-party state where almost everyone
accepts that resistance to the regime is futile and is afraid to show
any signs of opposition.
And by and large America’s elites have
offered no more resistance to authoritarian consolidation than a wet
Kleenex. But historically, anti-democratic parties that establish
lasting autocracies have done so with considerable initial support from
the broader public. At least at first, they’re actually popular,
especially because they deliver, or seem to deliver, major economic
gains.
That’s not happening for Trump, at all. And the big
question — to which I don’t know the answer — is whether a regime that
inherited a good economy but ruined it and whose non-economic policies
are deeply unpopular can still consolidate autocratic rule.
Epstein
and Maxwell, the economy, his attacks on immigrnts, attacking US
cities as though they're foreign countries? It's all piling up on
Chump. Sara Dorn (FORBES) explains:
Big Number
43%.
That’s Trump’s average approval rating so far during his second term,
slightly higher than his 41% average approval rating throughout the
duration of his first term, according to Gallup.
What Was Biden’s Approval Rating At This Point In His Term?
49%, according to Gallup’s Aug. 2-17, 2021 average.
As Ben notes this morning on MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Chump went out last night and was greeted with boos.
What was it that Frederick Trump always used to say? Oh,
that's right, "Donald, you candy ass cry baby, you f**k up everything
you touch. You're an embarrassment to the family and I will never take
your mother's word that you are actually my flesh and blood. Stop
crying, you big baby."
I think Frederick Trump was onto something.
Let's
turn to Chump and his longterm relationships with convicted sex
traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Lawrence O'Donnell
pointed out last night that it took Chump over 24 hours but last night
Chump himself finally responded to Congress releasing the birthday card
he made for Jeffrey Epstein.
What
a little bitch. We all know it's his signature. It's in Epstein's
book. Chump says he doesn't use those words when, in fact, he does.
It's his signature and his style of drawing. At another time, we might
all be made to put our heads on our desks to see if Chump, the lying
student in the classroom, could return what he's stolen if we all
weren't looking.
He's pathetic.
MSNBC has compiled some of their coverage from yesterday on Chump's ongoing lies and his ongoing scandal.
A
Democratic lawmaker kept insisting Donald Trump may be guilty of
wrongdoing during his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and
CNN anchor John Berman kept replying with disclaimers on Tuesday.
Rep.
Dave Min (D-Calif.), a member of the House Oversight Committee, and
Berman were discussing Monday’s release of Epstein records that included
a photo of Epstein and a Mar-a-Lago club member with an oversize check
that had an obviously fake Trump signature on it. The caption joked that
Trump bought a “fully depreciated” woman. The entry was part of the
“birthday book” made for Epstein in 2003 that Epstein’s estate handed
over to the committee.
The committee has been
investigating the Justice Department’s handling of the human
sex-trafficking case against Epstein (which was dropped after he died in
prison in 2019), while Trump has backed off from his promise to release
documents connected to his former friend.
Min
noted how Epstein’s victims, ranging in age from 12 to 22, said in
testimony to the committee that they felt “commodified” and
“disrespected.” He also asserted that Trump was part of Epstein’s inner
circle.
Berman offered one of many statements
to clarify matters and perhaps steer CNN clear of legal exposure.
“Again, I do want to say we have no reason to think that he was in any
way involved with that check itself, ” the journalist said. “Also, no
reason to think he’s conducted any wrongdoing involving Jeffrey
Epstein.”
“I would say we have lots of reasons to think
he was involved in wrongdoing,” Min interrupted. “I mean, at this
point, there’s a lot of smoke. There may be some fire, but I would just
push back and say I think there’s a lot reason to think Donald Trump was
involved.”
The
stunning release of a photograph of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein
holding a joke novelty check as payment for a woman at Donald Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago estate may be a precursor to even worse revelations about
Trump and his former friend.
Appearing on MSNBC
on Tuesday morning, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade claimed the
photo, which has been described as “Epstein and a longtime Mar-a-Lago
member joking about selling a 'fully depreciated' woman to Donald Trump
for $22,500," is far more alarming than the actual birthday letter Trump
allegedly wrote to his pal Epstein, which was also revealed on on
Monday after being hinted at weeks ago.
McQuade was asked on “Morning Joe, “Where do you see this going from a legal perspective?”
“I
found this item even more troubling than the drawing because of what it
suggests,” she began. “Now, of course, it appears that it was created
by some member, It may be a completely fabricated joke, but, you know,
people make jokes based on some grain of truth because that's what makes
it funny.”
“So I think it raises a lot of
questions,” she continued. “I also think the drawing suggests, you know,
the drawing itself is sort of bawdy, but it suggests a close
relationship with Trump — if it's authentic — referring to Jeffrey
Epstein as his pal and that they have secrets together. So I think it
raises a lot of questions as to where it's going.”
Seems
a number of people believe where there's smoke, there's fire. Chump
himself created that viewpoint when, after insisting all the files would
be released, then went with there are no files and then made a deal
with Ghislaine Maxwell to shut her up -- about what we don't know -- in
exchange for sending her to Club Fed in Bryant, Texas. And then he made
it even worse with his lies about a birthday card. There's a lot of
sludge flowing down The Chump Denial.
Did someone say Jizzy Pants Maxwell? The convict and her cushy new home were noted by Rachel Maddow Monday night.
An
attorney for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell told a CNN
panel that defendants like his client who cooperate with the government
typically do so in order to get something in return.
During
an appearance on CNN NewsNight, attorney Arthur Aidala told host Abby
Phillip that he couldn’t discuss the specifics of Maxwell being moved to
a lower-security prison after she met with Trump’s Deputy Attorney
General Todd Blanche in July.
But asked why
Maxwell was transferred to a “cushier prison” following the two-day
interview, Aidala said he could “talk in generalities.”
“When
anybody who’s represented by a lawyer who knows what they’re doing goes
in and meets with the government, there’s always a quid pro quo,” he
said. “You don’t just take your client in and say, ‘Let me talk to you
about something.’ They wanted information from—hypothetically, anytime
the government wants information from a citizen, the citizen says,
‘Well, I have a right to remain silent. If you want me to give up that
right, I need something in return.’”
So
a deal was made before a word was spoken? And somehow the White House
didn't feel the deal needed to be released to the American public or
even acknowledged? Who works for who? Can someone help me out with
that because I love the United States and was raised to believe that our
government works for us. Not the other way around. So when Chump
makes a deal with a convicted pedophile and sex trafficker and does so
as a public servant, he's not only on the clock, he's working for us and
we have the right to know what Maxwell gave and was required to give in
order for him to move her to a prison that she did not qualify for.
He's put her in a low level prison and she's a convicted sex offender.
People in Bryan have not just complained, they have actively protested
her being at Camp Fed and arguing that her presence is a threat to their
neighborhood.
They're right too. That's why sex offenders like Maxwell are not supposed to be in these prisons.
Donald
made a deal and fat boy works for us, not the other way around. It's
past time to remind him of that and Congress needs to demand that the
Justice Dept release every bit of paperwork they have on Maxwell's deal
that resulted in a prison transfer.
By the way, Propaganda Pig
Karoline Leavett briefly addressed the developments in the Epstein and
Maxwell scandal. Let me quote Ann's coverage of it:
Following Monday’s blockbuster Wall Street Journal story,
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was certain to face tough
questions about President Donald Trump’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
But it was perhaps something of a surprise that the first of those
queries came from a former reporter for Breitbart.
During
Tuesday afternoon’s White House briefing, Charlie Spiering — a former
correspondent for Breitbart who currently works for the Daily Mail —
grilled Leavitt with some pointed questions on Trump and Epstein.
“The
Epstein files are back in the news because a lot of Americans feel that
Jeffrey Epstein’s victims never got justice,” Spiering said. “Does the
President care about these victims? Do you think he can — does he want
to deliver more justice for them, and is he willing to meet with them?”
“The President cares about victims of all crimes,” Leavitt replied. “[Oink~ Oink~ Oink!!!]"
Spiering asked Leavitt a second time about the prospect of Trump meeting with Epstein victims.
“Will the president meet with the victims?” Speiring asked.
But Leavitt ignored the question and called on another reporter.
And then Propaganda Pig Karoline Leavitt trotted back off to her pigsty.
In
the meantime, everyone continues attempting to figure out Speaker of
the Closet Mike Johnon's recent remarks that Chump was a snitch to the
FBI on Epstein. Chris Stirewalt (THE HILL) offers:
Writing
about the Jeffrey Epstein saga has the feeling of using an air horn. It
calls a great deal of attention to oneself, produces unpredictable and
intense results in its audience and really should be saved for moments
when it’s absolutely necessary — scaring off a charging bear, preventing
a maritime disaster, being Pitbull, etc.
Then
you read something like this: “[Speaker Mike Johnson] went on to say,
‘[President Trump] was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff
down.’” And you find yourself pulling open the junk drawer in the
kitchen and rummaging for that air horn you bought as a stocking stuffer
last Christmas.
When the Speaker then
clarified that he was only “reiterating what the victims’ attorney said”
— the part about how Trump had cooperated with investigators during the
first Epstein prosecution but not the part about how the president had
done an “about-face” — then you’ve got to push that little red button.
It
would be one thing if the Speaker had a reputation as a liar, but even
his fiercest enemies would have to acknowledge that Johnson is known to
be a very honest man. Or if Johnson were stupid, it might be reasonable
to think that he didn’t know how police informants work. But Johnson, a
lawyer and law professor, has proven to be a lot smarter than most in
Washington. He keeps passing bill after bill despite having a majority
thinner than the ones that ate his three immediate Republican
predecessors alive.
The most
obvious and unpleasant explanation for why Johnson would say that Donald
Trump was undercover for the FBI trying to bring down an international
ring of pedophiles is that somebody told him it was true. The list of
people who might tell Johnson something like that and whom Johnson would
believe well enough to repeat the claim is very, very short. Maybe even
just one name long, signed with a flourish…
The
obvious part of why it’s not pleasant to write (or read) about the
Epstein case is the luridness of all of it. That, of course, is also the
largest part of why this story, more than any of the other similarly
ripe scandals of the second Trump term, has persisted. The wild
buckraking the president and his family are doing is no less active or
ethically profane than it was when the Qataris gave him a jumbo jet and
his family was holding soirees for foreign cryptocurrency patrons this
spring. But sex sells, and the more taboo and shameful the better.
And
on THE DAILY BEAST podcast, Michael Wolfe offered his take and how it
might have something to do with money laundering that Chump did for
Russia.
Let's note this press release from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
Donald Korb spent his career
transitioning between the IRS and law firms, where he defended some of
the biggest corporations being investigated by the IRS
Warren on proposed ethics
commitments for Korb: “By making these commitments, you would increase
Americans’ trust in your ability to serve the public interest—rather
than the special interests of mega-corporations seeking tax breaks.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to Donald
Korb, nominee for Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
ahead of Korb’s confirmation hearing, pressing him on his stark
conflicts of interest and urging him to make ethics commitments to
mitigate these conflicts.
“I have been raising the alarm for years about this insidious
revolving door at the Department of the Treasury and the IRS, which
threatens the important work of the agencies,” wrote Senator Warren.
“I am concerned that, if confirmed, you would enter this role with
significant conflicts of interest that could cloud your judgment or
raise questions about the integrity of IRS decisions in which you are
involved.”
Throughout Mr. Korb’s career, he has transitioned between roles at
the IRS—including serving as Chief Counsel under President George W.
Bush—and positions as a lawyer and lobbyist for large, tax-dodging
corporations. Mr. Korb began his career at the IRS, where he worked from
1973 to 1986. Mr. Korb later became a lobbyist, until he was nominated
to be IRS Chief Counsel in 2003 by President Bush. After leaving office,
he joined the firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he headed the tax
controversy department, defending some of the country’s wealthiest
corporations being investigated by the IRS, as well as continuing to
lobby for wealthy firms.
“As IRS Chief Counsel under President Trump, you would be responsible
for advising the IRS on disputes with these former clients and would
advise the IRS and Treasury on tax regulations that will affect your
former clients, absent appropriate recusal measures,” wrote Senator Warren.
Senator Warren is requesting that Mr. Korb, should he be confirmed:
Recuse himself for four years from all specific-party matters
involving his former clients and employers and all particular matters
that are likely to directly and predictably affect their financial
interests;
Refrain from seeking employment or board membership with, or another
form of compensation from, a company that has been engaged in a dispute
or other interaction with the IRS regarding which he provided legal
advice for at least four years after leaving office; and
Agree not to serve as a lobbyist or informal “shadow lobbyist” for at least four years after leaving office.
Senator Warren noted that the prior IRS Chief Counsel Marjorie
Rollinson made these commitments as part of her confirmation process,
alongside other Biden Administration nominees.
“By making these commitments, you would increase Americans’ trust in
your ability to serve the public interest—rather than the special
interests of mega-corporations seeking tax breaks—during your time at
the IRS,” concluded the senator.
Terra Q. e-mailed to note a brown rice recipe from Taste of Home, Stir-Fry Rice Bowl:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 medium zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
4 large eggs
3 cups hot cooked brown rice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
In
a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots,
zucchini and mushrooms; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until carrots
are crisp-tender. Add bean sprouts, spinach, water, soy sauce and chili
sauce; cook and stir just until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat;
keep warm.
Place 2-3 in. water
in a large skillet with a high side. Bring to a boil; adjust heat to
maintain a gentle simmer. Break cold eggs, 1 at a time, into a small
bowl; holding bowl close to surface of water, slip egg into water.
Cook,
uncovered, 3-5 minutes or until the egg whites are completely set and
the yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. Using a slotted spoon, lift
eggs out of water.
Serve rice in bowls; top with vegetables. Drizzle with sesame oil. Top each serving with a poached egg.
I love that recipe and, Terra Q, I love your last name. Seven letters and I could spell in first grade because it was my first grade teacher's name. Actually, my second first grade teacher. My first first grade teacher I only had for a few weeks because she ended up leaving to have a baby -- her water actually broke in class. And then Mrs. Q came in and she was magical and like Mary Poppins -- but with chalk art. :D
President
Donald Trump is once again turning faith into a fundraising tool,
rolling out a new money pitch to his MAGA base built around the slogan,
“I want to try and get to Heaven.”
He first
floated the phrase in late August while defending his push for a
Russia–Ukraine peace deal, suggesting the effort might help secure him a
spot in the afterlife.
Last week, Trump’s
political action committee, Never Surrender, Inc., emailed supporters
asking for $15 donations and used “I want to try and get to Heaven” in
the subject line.
While
I do agree that if one could buy their way into heaven, doing so would
be the only way someone like Chump would get in; I do not believe that
you can buy your way into heaven (or even purgatory). Sorry, Chump,
your lifetime guarantees eternity in hell for you. I would further add
that Chump knows this and that it's really tacky of him to try to steal
money from people by pretending it could get him into heaven.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025. Chump is exposed as a liar yet again,
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL is vindicated, Mike Johnson insists Chump was a
snitch to the feds and then walks it back, Senator Patty Murray calls
for the HELP Committee to hold a hearing and call the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to appear for questioning, and much more.
Starting with the litigious. Bad news for
the Convicted Felon in the Oval Office, he now needs to sue the House
of Representatives for defamation. Remember two months ago when THE WALL ST. JOURNAL reported
on his birthday letter to pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey
Epstein? Chump shrieked it was defamation and it was "false, malicious
and defamatory." Also it was "FAKE" -- all caps.
The House Oversight Committee now has the book -- given to the Committee by the Epstein estate -- and Kevin Breuninger (CNBC) reported yesterday afternoon:
House
Democrats on Monday released a screenshot of what appears to be a
letter signed by President Donald Trump that was included in a
collection of notes sent to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for
his 50th birthday in 2003.
The letter features a conversation between Trump and Epstein inside of an apparently hand-drawn outline of a woman's torso.
Trump's signature is located just below the thighs of the drawing.
"HERE
IT IS: We got Trump's birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the
President said doesn't exist," the X account for the House Oversight
Committee's Democratic minority wrote in a post revealing the letter.
In
other words, Chump is a liar. He lied when he said it wasn't him. He
lied when accused THE WALL STREET JOURNAL of defamation. Repeating,
Chump exposed yet again as a liar.
THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL's reporting was 100% accurate. Chump wasted the
court's time with a fake lawsuit. He lied to the American people. He
is a cheap liar and this needs to register.
If THE WALL STREET JOURNAL was as litigious as Chump, they would sue him for lying and insulting their integrity publicly.
Michelle L. Price (AP) reminds, "Trump
has said he did not write the letter or create the drawing of a
curvaceous woman that surrounds the letter. He filed a $10 billion
lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for a report on the alleged
letter."
But he did.
Last night on THE LAST
WORD WITH LAWRENCE O'DONNELL, Lawrence walked the country though what
happened and what it meant while providing a document of his own that
showed Chump's two signatures -- his formal one for the bank and his
Donald with the last d extended out -- the way he signed Epstein's card
-- for friendly correspondence.
After
the segment above, US House Rep Ro Khanna came on the program to thank
Lawrence and his staff. It was the work of Lawrence and his staff that
led the Oversight Committee to the estate of Jeffrey Epstein and to the
book with Donald's b-day wishes to his old pal Epstein.
We got more Jeffrey Epstein documents from the House Oversight Committee late Monday. And unlike last week, these actually contained some real news.
The big news is that we finally are able to see the letter signed in now-President Donald Trump’s name for Epstein’s 50th birthday back in 2003, which the Wall Street Journal first reported back in July.
Despite Trump’s claim that the lewd letter is a fake – he’s
suing the Journal over the matter – two new factors appear to lend legitimacy to it.
For one, it was turned over by Epstein’s estate, meaning it had
apparently been in Epstein’s possession. For another, it features a
“Donald” signature that seems to match contemporaneous documents
circulating online from that period.
But that’s not the only thing we learned from the documents themselves and the reactions.
[. . .]
2. The other intriguing document
Another document in the “birthday book” section caught more than a few people’s attention and was highlighted by Democrats.
It’s a letter with a photo of Epstein holding an oversized,
novelty $22,500 check made to look like a payment from Trump to Epstein.
“Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women!” the text
reads. “Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [REDACTED] to Donald Trump for
$22,500. … Even though I handled the deal I didn’t bet any of the money on the girl!”
The redacted portion appears to be a woman’s name.
We don’t know the full context of the photo – CNN has
reached out to the White House and those identified related to the
photo. It could just be a crude joke, and one Trump didn’t have anything
to do with aside from being mentioned. But the letter reinforces how
Trump’s name could appear in the documents in ways the White House would
prefer not to have to address.
The doodle abides: Here’s how the Wall Street Journal described a 2003 letter from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in a bombshell report this past July:
It
contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a
naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair
of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s
signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The letter concludes: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The White House vehemently denied such a letter existed. Trump
sued the Wall Street Journal. Vice President JD Vance said the article
was “complete and utter bulls**t.”
On Monday, the House Oversight Committee released an image of the
letter provided by lawyers for Epstein’s estate, and it looks…exactly as
described. (WSJ) The signature, typeface, lines, and word choices strongly resemble other content Trump has produced. (WSJ)
Trump usually signs letters with his whole name, but has signed many
notes, often personal ones, with only his first name. Have a look and
compare them with the Epstein letter. (NYT) The White House nonetheless claimed the letter was fake. “No one is falling for this BS,” Vance posted. (NOTUS) The book, compiled by Epstein’s associate and now convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell,
contains tributes from famous people and others in Epstein’s circle,
and there are “numerous references to Mr. Epstein’s sexual conquests and
female genitalia.” (NYT) Have a look at more pages, including letters from Bill Clinton, Peter Mandelson, and Leon Black. (WSJ) Not completely unrelated:
Trump claimed in a speech yesterday that crime had vanished in DC since
his takeover of the city’s police force, but that “Things that take
place in the home they call crime,” adding, “If a man has a little fight
with the wife, they say this was a crime scene.” (NYT)
Andrew
Bates isn’t exactly a household name, at least outside the households
of DC and NYC area political media obsessives. But an interaction he had
with reporters has gone viral in a manner that could lead to him
becoming more widely known, if not celebrated in some progressive
circles.
The former deputy
communications officer in the Biden White House was called before the
House Oversight Committee this week to testify about what he knew of
former President Joe Biden’s health and mental acuity. And to be clear,
there are legitimate questions there. The president’s age, verbal slips,
and visible stumbles have fueled growing concern. Republicans are eager
to exploit any opportunity to keep that conversation alive, and perhaps
distract from narratives less kind to President Donald Trump.
When
Bates left the hearing, however, he declined to address any of it.
Surrounded by reporters pressing him on Biden’s health, he ignored the
questions and instead tossed out one of his own: Why was convicted sex
trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell quietly moved to a minimum-security prison?
“Do
you have any updates about President Biden’s health? Did you know he
had cancer when he was still in the White House? Were you aware of
that?” a reporter shouted as he entered an elevator.
“I
want to know why Ghislaine Maxwell is in a minimum security prison,” he
calmly replied as the elevator doors closed for dramatic effect.
We
all want to know that. We all want to know why the Convicted Felon
gave Maxwell a sweetheart deal and moved her to Club Fed in Bryan, Texas
when she belongs in a real prison. It's an issue Rachel Maddow raised last night on her program.
Rachel
notes how Deputy AG Todd Blanche does everything but his job while
chatting up Ghislaine Maxwell. Ghislaine tells him multiple members of
Chump's cabinet were involved with Epstein. Rachel plays the tape. A
real investigation requires Blanche to immediately ask for those names.
Does he?
No.
Rachel
plays the tape. Maxwell says that multiple members of Chump's
administration were close to the convicted pedophile and Blanche is
silent before responding.
Chump does not protect children, he protects pedophiles. That's all he
does and all he will ever do. Use your eyes if this confuses you. If
you use your eyes and you're still confused, you're deluding yourself
and no one can help someone who doesn't want to be helped.
Chump
was attacking Tom Hanks yesterday and that was to feed his QAnon idiot
base. They had spread ahead of during Chump's first term the lie that
Tom was part of a global cabal of people preying on children. That's
why Chump attacked Tom Hanks. To try to rally QAnon to his side because
even they are starting to grasp that Chump's words and actions don't
meet up.
He is not a
protector of children. He never has been and he never will be. Let's
drop back to July 30th when Senator Ron Wyden's office issued this:
Washington, D.C. — U.S.
Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called for an immediate investigation of
reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has drastically
diverted resources away from investigations into serious crimes against
children, including child sexual abuse and human trafficking, in order
to devote more resources to rounding up immigrants.
“Instead of locking up rapists, child predators and other
violent criminals, Trump appears to be diverting investigators to target
cooks, farm workers and students. Congress and the American people will
not tolerate the Trump administration ignoring the ongoing sexual abuse
of vulnerable children,” wrote Wyden in the letter to DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at DHS is responsible for
investigating serious crimes, and is one of the leading agencies charged
with investigating child sexual abuse materials online. The 7,000 HSI
agents are supposed to focus on investigating drug smuggling, human
trafficking, and child sex trafficking, among other crossborder criminal
activities. According to DHS,
HSI arrested over 3,000 individuals for crimes against children and
rescued over 1,000 victims of child exploitation in 2020 alone.
Wyden’s letter cites a recent report published by the Atlantic,
which stated that HSI “supervisors have waved agents off new cases so
they have more time to make immigration-enforcement arrests,” and quoted
one agent describing the impact: “No drug cases, no human trafficking,
no child exploitation.”
Wyden has been a staunch advocate in the Senate for increasing
resources for investigating sex trafficking and prosecuting predators to
protect vulnerable children. In January 2024, Wyden introduced bipartisan legislation to protect children from online exploitation. In June 2024, he released
information from his investigation into child abuse and neglect in
youth residential treatment facilities across the United States. In
September 2024, he urged
existing authorities to protect and strengthen services for children
susceptible to abuse enrolled in Medicaid in the child welfare program.
JPMorgan
Chase, one of America’s biggest banks, had a long and complicated
relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious financier who was also a
convicted sex offender. While most people remember Epstein for his
crimes against young women, his financial dealings reveal another
troubling story. Reports show that the bank not only handled Epstein’s
money but also benefited financially from him.
During
the years when Epstein was abusing teenage girls and young women,
JPMorgan processed more than 4,700 transactions for him. These
transactions totaled over $1.1 billion. Some payments went directly to
his victims. The bank also sent money to Russian and Eastern European
accounts that were connected to Epstein’s operations.
JPMorgan
allowed Epstein to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars each month.
These large withdrawals should have been a warning sign for suspicious
activity. In some cases, the bank opened accounts for Epstein’s
assistants and victims without proper checks. Experts say this could
have helped Epstein move money easily and continue his crimes.
Bank
employees noticed red flags early on. Some staff members raised
concerns in 2006, after Epstein was arrested for soliciting a teenage
girl. They highlighted unusual cash withdrawals and the risk to the
bank’s reputation. Yet, despite these warnings, the bank continued to
serve Epstein.
The
banking records contain a lot of evidence. That's why Senator Ron
Wyden has been calling for them to be turned over. We noted this press
release last week but let's note it again:
Washington, D.C. – Expanding his three-year
investigation into the financing of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking,
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote to
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday renewing his demand for the
department to produce its extensive Epstein files to the Finance
Committee. He also named several dozen individuals and entities with
documented Epstein ties, seeking all files related to transactions with
Epstein and any co-conspirators. Bessent twice this year has refused to
provide these records to the Finance Committee, making him a willing
participant in the Trump administration’s Epstein cover-up.
“Given the scale of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation,
which victimized thousands of women and girls and reached around the
globe, it is preposterous and unacceptable that only Epstein himself and
Ghislaine Maxwell have faced prosecution. There is no doubt that the
Trump administration’s ongoing coverup of the Epstein files is giving
comfort to the pedophiles and accomplices who were a part of his sex
trafficking ring,” Senator Wyden wrote. “The Treasury
records shine a light on how high-profile individuals paid Epstein
staggering sums of money, which was then used to move women around the
world or engage in dubious transactions indicative of money laundering.
They also show how U.S. financial institutions turned a blind eye to the
financing of Epstein’s criminal network, simply waiving the payments
through without properly reporting them to U.S. authorities in a timely
fashion, as required by law. Financial institutions, attorneys and
agents actively participated in Epstein’s illegal operations or were
grossly negligent. They must all be held accountable.”
Senator Wyden’s letter, available in full here,
sought “all Treasury Department documents, including suspicious
activity reports, concerning transactions with Jeffrey Epstein and any
of his co-conspirators (whether indicted or unindicted), including, but
not limited to transactions between Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and any
of the following individuals and entities:”
Jeffrey Epstein
Ghislaine Maxwell
Darren K. Indyke
Richard D. Kahn
Harry Beller
Erika Kellerhals
Southern Trust Company, Inc.
Southern Financial LLC
Haze Trust
Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc.
The 1953 Trust
Plan D, LLC
Great St. Jim, LLC
Nautilus, Inc.
Hyperion Air, LLC
Poplar, Inc.
J Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation Inc.
Gratitude America Ltd. (501c3 entity)
Butterfly Trust
La Hougue (trust in island of Jersey)
Scott Borgerson
Malcolm Grumbridge
J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (and subsidiaries)
Deutsche Bank (and subsidiaries)
Bank of America (and subsidiaries)
Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (and subsidiaries)
UBS Financial Services
Wells Fargo
Alfa Bank
Sberbank
Jes Staley
Leon D. Black
Debra R. Black
Black Family Partners, LP
Elysium Trust
Elysium Management, LLC
J Black Trust
Melanie Spinella
BV70, LLC
Les Wexner
Bella Wexner
Abigail Wexner
The Wexner Foundation
Arts Interests
Health and Science Interests
The Wexner Children’s Trust II
International Charitable Interests
L Brands (formerly Limited Brands)
Alan Dershowitz
Glenn Dubin
Christie’s
Sotheby’s
HB Multi-Strategy Holdings, Ltd
Highbridge Capital Corporation
AP Narrows Holding AP
LDB 2011 LLC
Elizabeth Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
###
Let's also note Air's MSNBC segment on the topic of JPMorgan and the financials from yesterday.
The weirdest Epstein news of late? Speaker of the Closet
Mike Johnson insisting that Chump was an informant for law enforcement
and then taking it back.
House
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Sunday backed off his claim that
President Donald Trump was an FBI informant in the case of sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein.
While Trump has said that he
kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago, his members-only club in Florida, he
has also recently called the latest demands for the release of more
information on the Epstein case a “Democrat hoax that never ends.”
Last
week, Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill that Trump cares deeply
about the crimes Epstein committed and said that Trump “was an FBI
informant to try to take this stuff down.”
On Sunday, his office released a statement modifying that claim.
“The
Speaker is reiterating what the victims’ attorney said, which is that
Donald Trump — who kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago — was the only one
more than a decade ago willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for
being a disgusting child predator,” the statement from Johnson’s office
read.
Trump and Epstein were onetime friends
who had a falling out, particularly after a fight between the two in
2004 over buying an oceanfront property in Palm Beach, Florida, which
Trump went on to win.
Did
Johnson not grasp that he was calling Chump a snitch? Or that a snitch
is someone who's been caught in illegal activities and, to protect
themselves, rolls over and snitches on someone else to save their own
ass?
Trump
administration officials are perplexed, as many people are, by House
Speaker Mike Johnson's claims that Donald Trump was an FBI informant in
the case against Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while
awaiting trial on charges he sexually abused and trafficked scores of
underage girls. The president and Epstein had a well-documented
friendship.
On Friday, Johnson
made the confusing remarks about the president when a reporter asked him
about Trump repeatedly referring to the Epstein scandal as "the
Democrat Epstein Hoax."
"What Trump is
referring to is the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack
him," Johnson said, claiming the president's feelings on the topic had
been "misrepresented." "He is not saying what Epstein did is a hoax.
It's a terrible, unspeakable evil, and he believes that himself. When he
first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago."
Johnson then added the head-scratching claim that Trump "was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down."
Rep.
Thomas Massie (R-KY) wondered why President Donald Trump had called the
Jeffrey Epstein case a "hoax" even though House Speaker Mike Johnson
(R-LA) seemed to claim that the commander-in-chief had once been an FBI
"informant" against the sex offender.
"Congressman
Massie, let me begin with you and get your response to Speaker
Johnson," ABC host George Stephanopoulos told the Republican in a Sunday
interview. "He says you've been misled. He also suggested at one point
this week seemed to suggest that Donald Trump, President Trump, was an
informant to the FBI about Jeffrey Epstein."
"Now, I
don't know if the speaker misspoke when he said that Donald Trump was an
informant," Massie replied. "The lawyers for the victim said that
Donald Trump had been helpful in 2009 in their case by giving them
information."
So
was Mike Johnson talking out of his ass as usual or does he actually
know something? If Chump was dropping a dime on Epstein, that needs to
be public knowledge. If he was dropping a dime on Epstein that manes
the feds probably had something on Chump. It also means that Chump knew
what Epstein was doing -- trafficking females. Johnson's claim raises a
ton of questions.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
ICYMI:
On Senate Floor, Senator Murray Demands Immediate Firing of RFK Jr.:
“This Man is Burning Down Our Public Health System from the Inside”
ICYMI: Senator Murray Calls for Immediate Firing of RFK Jr., Commends CDC Director Monarez’s Stand for Science and Public Health
Murray: “If Republicans refuse to allow our
committee to exercise its oversight responsibilities, and instead just
insist that we stand by and watch a conspiracy theorist burn our public
health agencies to the ground, what are they even here for?”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following
statement calling for HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to hold an
oversight hearing with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. calling on him to answer for
his increasingly dangerous attacks on lifesaving vaccines and America’s
public health infrastructure, and his recent forcing out of
newly-confirmed Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director
Susan Monarez and other top experts who dared to stand up for basic
science. The CDC Director is a Senate-confirmed position for the first
time this year thanks to the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics ActSenator
Murray negotiated and passed into law as HELP Chair in 2022. Director
Monarez was in the role for less than a month before being forced out by
Secretary Kennedy.
“In light of RFK Jr.’s recent, unprecedented moves to fire
the CDC Director and push out public health experts, and the bipartisan
concern about whether science or politics is driving vaccine policy
decisions at HHS—the time has come for the ‘radical transparency’ we
were once promised. For the good of the American people, RFK Jr. must
immediately be called in to testify publicly before the HELP Committee.
“The American people deserve answers about why the conspiracy
theorist atop HHS is blocking them from getting the vaccines they need
to stay safe, and how exactly decisions affecting their health are being
made. They deserve answers about the exact sequence of events that led
to RFK Jr. attempting to fire Susan Monarez—the first Senate-confirmed
CDC Director—from her position, and whether he lied about it in front of
Congress last week. They need to know why RFK Jr. threw promising
vaccine research and potential cancer breakthroughs into the shredder by
canceling research into the very technology that powered Operation Warp
Speed.
“The HELP Committee must have the opportunity to not only
question RFK Jr., but to also hear from Susan Monarez and other former
CDC officials in a public setting as well—Americans deserve the truth.
If Republicans refuse to allow our committee to exercise its oversight
responsibilities, and instead just insist that we stand by and watch a
conspiracy theorist burn our public health agencies to the ground, what
are they even here for?”
Senator Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care who has led hearings on addressing vaccine hesitancy, has been a leader in raising the alarm over RFK Jr.’s nomination since the beginning—speaking out on the Senate floor, holding numerous events, raisingthe alarm after meeting with him, and hammering the threat he poses to Americans’ health nonstop. She ledtheoppositionto
the Trump administration’s disastrous plan to dismantle HHS and fire
tens of thousands of staff in critical positions across CDC, NIH, FDA,
and other agencies, and spoke out forcefully against RFK Jr.’s ousting of the entire CDC vaccine advisory board, including one ACIP member from Washington state. Senator Murray has held countlessevents across Washington state and in Washington, D.C. with doctors, patients, and former HHS officials
to lift up how Trump and Republicans’ attacks on health care will be
devastating for families. Last week, Senator Murray took to the Senate
floor again to reiterate her call for RFK Jr. to be fired immediately.
