Jeffrey Epstein, billionaire convicted/recharged felon

[Northwestcoug]

I watched Charlie Kirk do an about face, saying that he "trusts his friends" Pam Bondi at DOJ, and Kash Patel and Dan Bongino at the FBI.

Trust, as in, Trump told him he needed to step in line or he would be ostracized.

Terrible timing Charlie, like the worst. If only you had waited a couple of days to roll over for Trump:

https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-j...hare_permalink

[falafel]

Terrible timing Charlie, like the worst. If only you had waited a couple of days to roll over for Trump:

https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-j...hare_permalink

Bawdy letters!

Paste the article if you are so inclined.

[chrisrenrut]

Must be good. Trump is threatening to sue. As many are observing, discovery would be fun for that case.

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[frank ryan]

Must be good. Trump is threatening to sue. As many are observing, discovery would be fun for that case.

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Remember all those times that Obama and Biden sued talk radio hosts? Incredibly normal and healthy.

[Moliere]

You think the media didn't notice that Biden has slowing down (not going to use your term "dementia" since that is an obvious hyperbole)??

Wally asleep at the wheel. Only snaps out of it when MAGA is back in control. SAD!

The media noticed, but there was a concerted effort to hide or conceal the real impact. This has been well documented in books and podcasts that have come out after he lost his reelection bid.

[falafel]

Must be good. Trump is threatening to sue. As many are observing, discovery would be fun for that case.

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Oh wow, Trump beginning to unravel very early. He's speaking in third person like Jimmy from Seinfeld.

There is no clearer sign that a news story is true than Trump suing the publisher. Where is Ted when you need him to provide a completely reasonable explanation for this that assigns blame to Comey, Hillary, Obama, Biden, and if time permits, George Soros?

[falafel]

The media noticed, but there was a concerted effort to hide or conceal the real impact. This has been well documented in books and podcasts that have come out after he lost his reelection bid.

Okay, now compare that to the media noticing bruises on Trump's hand. Pretty equivalent in terms of importance and impact?

[Northwestcoug]

Bawdy letters!

Paste the article if you are so inclined.

Huh it was free when I clicked on it, not sure why it isn’t now. Well I guess since it’s hot news I know why it’s behind a paywall.

anyways, here’s a description and the text:

a typed letter from Donald Trump, written as a fake conversation between him and Epstein, framed inside the outline of a nude woman. Two arcs mark the breasts. His signature is scrawled in the crotch like a tuft of pubic hair. This track as his signature always looks something like this:


Here’s the full transcript:

Voice Over: “There must be more to life than having everything.”
Donald: “Yes… but I won’t tell you what it is.”
Epstein: “Nor will I…”
Donald: “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.”
Epstein: “Yes… it was clear the last time I saw you.”
Trump: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

[Maximus]

If something was found about trump and epstein would he be impeached ?

[LVAllen]

Trump denies drawing pictures.

Except in the Never Give Up book, in which his ghostwriter says he donates an autographed doodle to the Doodle for Hunger event every year. He then describes it and includes a sample, which bear several indicators with a pretty close resemblance to the doodle described by the NYT.

[chrisrenrut]

Trump denies drawing pictures.

Except in the Never Give Up book, in which his ghostwriter says he donates an autographed doodle to the Doodle for Hunger event every year. He then describes it and includes a sample, which bear several indicators with a pretty close resemblance to the doodle described by the NYT.

Perhaps the most clever use of Godwin’s law ever

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[Clark Addison]

Highlights of wsj story for those interested...

It was Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, and Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion. She turned to Epstein’s family and friends. One of them was Donald Trump.

Maxwell collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein’s other associates for a 2003 birthday album, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Pages from the leather-bound album—assembled before Epstein was first arrested in 2006—are among the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein and Maxwell years ago, according to people who have reviewed the pages. It’s unclear if any of the pages are part of the Trump administration’s recent review.

The president’s past relationship with Epstein is at a sensitive moment. The Justice Department documents, the so-called Epstein files, and who or what is in them are at the center of a storm consuming the Trump administration. On Wednesday, after angry comments about how the files are a hoax created by Democrats, President Trump lashed out at his own supporters for refusing to let the matter go.

The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. 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.”

In an interview with the Journal on Tuesday evening, Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture. “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story,” he said.

“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”

He told the Journal he was preparing to file a lawsuit if it published an article. “I’m gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else,” he said.

...

Justice Department officials didn’t respond to requests for comment or address questions about whether the Trump page and other pages of the birthday album were part of the agency’s recent documents review. The FBI declined to comment.

The existence of the album and the contents of the birthday letters haven’t previously been reported. The album had poems, photos and greetings from businesspeople, academics, Epstein’s former girlfriends and childhood pals, according to the documents reviewed by the Journal and people familiar with them.

...


It isn’t clear how the letter with Trump’s signature was prepared. Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person.

“Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything,” the note began.

Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.

Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.

Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.

Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?

Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.

Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.

...

Epstein and Trump spent time together in the 1990s and early 2000s and were photographed at social events, including with Maxwell and Melania Trump. A 1992 tape from the NBC archives shows Trump partying with Epstein at his Mar-a-Lago estate; Trump is seen pulling a woman toward him and patting her behind.

Trump, along with others including Clinton, also appeared several times on flight logs for Epstein’s private jet.

A 2002 New York magazine profile of Epstein quoted Trump. “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump said. “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. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

Both men said that they subsequently had a falling-out. Trump has said their friendship ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, served time in a Florida jail and registered as a sex offender.

When Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Trump said he hadn’t talked to Epstein for about 15 years. “I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump said in the Oval Office at that time. “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”

Trump’s spokeswoman told the Journal in 2023 that Trump had banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club at some point in the past, without elaborating.

...

President Trump criticized a reporter's question about Jeffrey Epstein at a cabinet meeting on July 8.The FBI’s Epstein files


Epstein’s associations with Trump and many powerful people have been well documented. There remain questions about what the FBI possesses about Epstein and his well-connected friends. In 2019, the FBI confiscated evidence from Epstein’s properties in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York.

Earlier this week, after the Journal sought comment from the president about the letter, Trump told reporters at the White House that he believed some Epstein files were “made up” by former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and former FBI Director James Comey.


He said that releasing any more Epstein files would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release,” Trump said.

...

In June 2024, Trump was asked in a Fox News interview whether he would release the Epstein case files. The Republican presidential candidate initially responded, “Yeah, I would.” But he also expressed some reservations. “You don’t want to affect people’s lives if it’s phony stuff in there, because it’s a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would.”

Soon after she was confirmed as attorney general, Bondi said she was preparing to release new Epstein files. In late February, Bondi announced the release of “Phase 1” of the documents. But the material contained few new revelations, drawing criticism from right-wing influencers.

Bondi initially blamed the FBI’s New York office for withholding information and promised to release the remaining documents after redacting the victim’s names. Patel also said, “There will be no coverups, no missing documents and no stone left unturned.” They tasked hundreds of FBI employees to review the materials and prepare them for release.

The issue took on new life in June when Elon Musk, amid a public feud with Trump, alleged that the FBI was withholding documents from the Epstein case because Trump was in the files.

“The truth will come out,” Musk wrote on X on June 5. He later deleted the message and said he regretted some of his comments.

On July 7, the Justice Department backtracked on Bondi’s pledge to release more Epstein files. The Justice Department said that after an “exhaustive review” it had found no “incriminating client list” or additional documents that warrant public disclosure.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee demanded this week that Republican Chairman Jim Jordan hold hearings on the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files and, if necessary, subpoena Bondi, Patel and Bongino.

At a cabinet meeting on July 8, Trump criticized a reporter for asking about Epstein. “Are people still talking about this guy, this creep?” Trump said. “That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time?”

That same day, Musk wrote on X: “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?”

[Moliere]

If something was found about trump and epstein would he be impeached ?

No because the GOP controls the house.

[wally]

I thought it had been diagnosed and you were receiving treatment? Did you leave the in-patient facility again? Dammit Wally, this shit costs us a lot of money!

wrong! I somehow have employer-provided healthcare, so you 1%-ers don't have to worry about subsidizing this member of the unwashed masses!

[Pelado]

wrong! I somehow have employer-provided healthcare, so you 1%-ers don't have to worry about subsidizing this member of the unwashed masses!

Does your employer-provided plan include coverage for mental health issues?