@LemonSlayer

A Look Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan Lair

Sort of makes you wonder whether Blanche was a source for this story.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/u...

Seeking to quell the backlash, the Justice Department dispatched a top official to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, Mr. Epstein’s longtime associate who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. On Friday, Ms. Maxwell was moved to a lower-security facility. That fueled speculation that Mr. Trump might commute her sentence or even pardon her in return for her cooperation.

Here's how NYT explained that TRUMP'S FUCKING DEFENSE ATTORNEY went to meet the sex trafficker who "stole" his spa girls, turning one into a sex slave.

No mention of his name, no mention of his role as defense attorney, no mention that sex traffickers don't go to prison camps.

Re-upping this for those who might have missed it yesterday.👇

John Ratcliffe and Kash Patel - and Durham Himself - Committed the Crime John Durham Was Hunting - emptywheel The unsealed Durham annex provides evidence that John Brennan and the CIA weren't discussing a Hillary Clinton plan to frame Trump. They were instead discussing an SVR to frame Hillary. And he spent f...

I've updated this post with the video.

www.emptywheel.net/2025/08/03/j...

YouTube video by emptywheel John Durham's Crime

Here's an explanation of what the Durham annex ACTUALLY shows.

It actually shows that Durham committed precisely the crime he was investigating--getting warrants long after he knew the two prongs of his investigation were false.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Mz...

Footnote here: Following Secretart Hegseth bypassing Lt. Gen. D.A. Sims for promotion, the Pentagon now has no confirmed director of the Joint Staff.

Sims was celebrated with a "clapout" on Friday and is retiring.

His expected replacement, Vice. Adm. Kacher, is not yet confirmed.

If you want to view CNN reporting but want to avoid the videos of dancing polar bears and such-like, the CNN text-only site is at lite.cnn.com

Not all of CNN's reporting is there since CNN still does paywall stuff for some of their reporting.

But most of CNN's reporting shows up there eventually.

Staying out of jail is his top priority!

People without the credentials and training to understand the consequences of their policies should never get to lead government agencies.

Anyone who thinks this is a good idea is a fool.

That’s why creating an “indicators” list is important. When will we be at that point? See list. It may seem arbitrary but it’s not — such a list would include the things scholars and analysts who study authoritarianism cite as warning, for example.

You acknowledge above that “it will get worse.” So you agree it will grow.

If we were fully autocratic they’d have come for us already. Most of us don’t yet see infringement on our first amendment rights. But there will be a tipping point when it becomes much more difficult to roll back autocracy.

@larrysummers.bsky.social is correct, and what he is recounting are what our colleagues at CIA would call "indicators" of growing authoritarianism if it was taking place overeas. But it is happening here.

Is the administration going to erect statues of other enemies who waged war on the United States?

Tojo?

Bin Laden?

Text-only version for those who'd like to avoid the videos of dancing polar bears and such-like.👇

lite.cnn.com/2025/08/04/p...

Attorney General Bondi orders prosecutors to start grand jury probe into Obama officials over Russia investigation | CNN Politics Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury investigation into accusations that members of the Obama administration manufactured intelligence about Russia’s 2016 ele...

Gearing up for the show trial phase of personalist authoritarian rule I see.

www.cnn.com/2025/08/04/p...

Pretty much all the responses to my Q, why is trump eschewing ties these days, are hilarious, even on Xitter.

It was an honest question!!

This one is pretty good.

Netanyahu government votes to dismiss attorney general Israel’s cabinet voted to dismiss Israel’s attorney general, a key Netanyahu critic, as the U.S. grows increasingly impatient with the war in Gaza.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Opposition Party Decides to Oppose Today on TAP: Democrats are fighting in Washington and Austin, denying quick victories to authoritarians.

-Schumer wouldn't advance Trump noms without an end to illegal withholding of federal funds,so Senate Rs left town
-Trump couldn't do recess appointments because House Dems would force an Epstein vote if Rs returned to adjourn
-Texas Dems fled the state to deny Rs a quorum
Is our Democrats learning?

Anybody who has ever escaped the gravity well of a strict religious upbringing knows exactly what is going on in America

It’s a scam run by liars and frauds to plunder the true believers and punish the satanic infidels who dare oppose them

Leonnig, like Dan Balz, was a Post institution not only for longevity and impact but because she is decent and generous and thoughtful.

Breaking:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas House falls short of quorum after Democrats leave state to prevent Trump-backed redraw of US House maps.

First full draft of a new paper: A (very) deep dive in to the Supreme Court's interim orders related to Trump thus far this year.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Totally ludicrous. To wit: www.pbump.net/o/allow-me-t...

New Chinese Stealth Tactical Jet Breaks Cover We breakdown the possibilities of what this new stealth aircraft could be and its potential mission. At this stage, it’s unclear if the new Chinese design is an advanced drone or yet another crewed co...

New Chinese Stealth Tactical Jet Breaks Cover www.twz.com/air/new-chin...

WaPo is hitting the “final hour of Titanic” stage of its management.

Dear United States, I wish you would have handled and would handle the whole “Epstein Files” with more respect towards and for the victims. I am not some pawn in your political warfare. What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely. Why not be completely transparent? Show us all the files with only the necessary redactions! Be done with it and allow me/us to heal. You protect yourself and your powerful and wealthy “friends” (not enemies) over the victims, why? The victims know the truth, we know who are in the files and now so do you. Do you really think the public is that ignorant of the truth? Further redacting the names, like yours, will only cause the distraction you say you don’t want, and the conspiracies that you in fact are stirring. So I will continue to stay silent and continue to hide from all the pain and suffering, out of fear of you and your wealthy powerful “friends”. In the end we are the biggest voices of the truth and the truth always comes out in time.

Another victim accuses "the United States" of protecting " yourself and your powerful and wealthy “friends” (not enemies) over the victims, why?"

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

"It is unclear who is under investigation and what charges could be in play given statutes of limitations for much of the activity from nearly a decade ago have lapsed."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering the arrest of Democrats who left the state to stall the GOP's gerrymandering plans.

@gregcasar.bsky.social gets far too little attention from people.

He was, is, and always will be a lying sack of shit