🔫 An Epstein/Trump Smoking Gun!?
Peter Rothpletz on the White House entering full-blown, break glass panic mode, horrifying data about the men being sent to CECOT, Catholic bishops condemning Trump, and the death of the penny?
📺 On this day in 1967, comedian Jimmy Kimmel was born. At 58, the late-night host has amassed many major accolades, the greatest of which is his spot on Trump’s perceived enemies list – particularly as someone the president has tried, and failed, to silence.
Good morning! Peter here with some personal news: your boy was featured on Hasan Piker’s Twitch stream last night! The oft-called “Joe Rogan of the Left” responded to a tweet of mine decrying how “the White House can’t release the Epstein files, nor the reason the President received an emergency MRI, nor October’s jobs report because the economy is in the shitter.” Suffice it to say, my phone is blowing up this morning.
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ Donald Trump holds an emergency meeting in the Situation Room regarding the Epstein files, the president asks Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, yet another country cuts off intelligence sharing with the US, and the race to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler is shaping up to be an utter shit show.
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‘Evil Beyond Belief’
Allow me to say that again: “evil beyond belief.”
Oh? Did you think I was talking about convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein? No, my friends, I was referencing a remark that said convicted child sex trafficker made in a newly disclosed email about the sitting president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.
Yeah, let that stew for a spell.
I’ll get back to that…
During a tense press briefing yesterday afternoon – one that didn’t remotely give off the vibe that the walls were closing in on the White House – press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared: “this administration has done more with respect to transparency, when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, than every administration ever.”
Suffice it to say, the GOP base was unmoved.
In fact, white supremacist, Holocaust denier, and ascendant right-wing icon Nick Fuentes declared online: “MAGA is dead.”
Over the course of the last 24 hours, some 20,000 pages of Jeffrey Epstein’s email and text communications have been released by different actors on the House Oversight Committee. Here is just a VERY SMALL sampling of what’s been disclosed:
Epstein, in 2011, as he was under investigation and prior to Trump properly entering the political sphere: “i want you to realize that that [sic] dog that hasn’t barked is trump. [REDACTED VICTIM’S NAME] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned.”
Epstein, in 2015, as Trump was running for president: “Have them ask my houseman about donald [Trump] almost walking through the door leaving his nose print on the glass as young women were swimming in the pool and he was so focused he walked straight into the door.”
Epstein, in 2017, soon after Trump’s first election: “I have met some very bad people. None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.”
Epstein, in 2018, more than a year into Trump’s first term: “He feels alone and is nuts!!! I told everyone from day one. Evil beyond belief. Mad, and most thought I was speaking metaphorically.”
Epstein, in 2018, approximately a year before he was found dead in his prison cell: “You see, I know how dirty donald [Trump] is.”
Game, recognizes game, I suppose? Far be it from me to give kudos to one of the most vile, monstrous characters in modern US history, but it is striking how early and how accurately one villainous member of America’s oligarchic elite got the number of another.
Putting Epstein and Trump’s future bunk bed in Hell aside, this saga raises two points, one about the past and another about the future.
First, how the HECK did the Biden administration sit on this? I’m not suggesting any political prosecution of the stripe that Pam Bondi revels in announcing on the regular. But what “norm” compelled Merrick Garland and his comatose compatriots to actively sit on files suggesting that the then-former president was deeply in bed (no pun intended) with America’s best-known child sex offender – the same files Lauren Boebert is now helping to release, in objectively badass defiance of a White House pressure campaign!
I don’t have a JD, but color me gobsmacked that the… shall we say handsy… congresswoman is doing more for accountability in this country than the man who should have been on the Supreme Court!
Second, and I almost hesitate to put this in writing… is this the moment when Donald Trump’s decade-long dominance of the American political scene enters its final chapter?
There is a lot more to come down the pike, but sudden Situation Room meetings and panicked, breathless calls to backbench lawmakers code a lot more like the Berlin bunker in 1945 than God-King holding court in Mar-a-Lago.
Call me crazy, but there would be some curious irony in the man who was the primary driver of American conspiracy theories from birtherism to QAnon finding himself undone by his role in an awful elite, pedophilic cabal that happens to be… real?
Perhaps the emperor does not yet have no clothes, but he’s rapidly disrobing… perhaps for one of Epstein’s trademark “massages.”
Read more: Zeteo’s political team has more on how Trumpland is annoyed that GOP lawmakers aren’t running effective interference on the Epstein files for the president and are getting ‘played by Democrats.’
🗞️ What You Need to Know
Government reopens: The longest shutdown in US history is officially over, after Trump signed the spending bill to reopen the government late last night.
Bishops balk: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called out their concern for the ‘vilification’ of immigrants in the US. The last time the conference spoke out in this way was in 2013, responding to governmental contraceptive mandates.
Madness in Gotham: Jack Schlossberg, grandson of former president John F. Kennedy and viral content creator, announced his bid to fill the House seat being vacated by New York Rep. Jerry Nadler. It’s shaping up to be an extremely contentious race as Assemblyman Alex Bores has thrown his hat in the ring alongside political activist (and, cards on the table, personal friend) Cameron Kasky.
Adelita Grijalva sworn in: Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva has FINALLY been sworn in after a 50-day delay in an effort by Republicans to stall the vote to release the aforementioned Epstein files.
Need not apply: As Trump’s MAGA agenda sinks the US economy, the White House conveniently announced that the October jobs report and inflation data will probably never come out, blaming the shutdown.
Penniless: The US Mint in Philadelphia printed its final penny after Trump ordered the end of its production in a cost-cutting measure. Men seeking to offer their “two cents” have been SILENCED nationwide.
🧠 Pop Quiz!
Which cast member from MTV’s ‘The Real World’ got Trump to commit to releasing the Epstein files?
Keep your eyes out for the answer below!
🇵🇸 Don’t Forget Gaza
Ceasefire death toll rises: The number of Palestinians killed by Israel in violation of the ceasefire has risen to at least 260, the Gaza Ministry of Health said. Israel continued on Thursday to carry out raids across Gaza, Al Jazeera reported. It also continued its demolition of the remaining residential structures inside the Strip.
Profiteers of genocide: The US has approved over $32 billion in arms to Israel since it began its genocide on Gaza, per a Wall Street Journal analysis. Boeing raked in the most business from Israel’s war crimes, along with Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics.
Israel using Palestinians as human shields: Former US officials have revealed that US intelligence knew that the Israeli military used Palestinians as human shields, sending them into Gaza tunnels suspected of having explosives, according to Reuters.
And in the occupied West Bank…
A rare rebuke: Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the “shocking and serious” settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Less than 24 hours later, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque near the Palestinian town of Salfit.
Violent raids: Israeli troops detained dozens of Palestinians, including former prisoners, in a wave of violent raids across several towns, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
🚨 Don’t Miss It!
Join Zeteo contributor John Harwood as he speaks with Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, TODAY at 9 am EST (2 pm GMT), live on Substack. They’ll discuss the path ahead for Democrats amid the highs of the election, the lows of the shutdown surrender, and the debate over how to defeat Trumpism. They’ll take your questions too! Watch on zeteo.com.
🌏 Anywhere But America
🇨🇴 Colombia halts intel sharing: Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the military to stop sharing intelligence with the US until the Trump administration stops striking alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. The move, which follows a similar decision by the UK, is the latest deterioration in US-Colombia relations under Trump, who placed financial sanctions on Petro and ramped up US military presence in the Caribbean.
🇺🇦 Ukraine corruption scandal: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suspended Justice Minister German Galushchenko after an investigation revealed he was allegedly involved in a plot to steal $100 million from the nation’s energy sector, which faces ongoing blackouts caused by Russian bombing. Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the scheme alongside seven others who were placed under suspicion.
🇮🇱🇺🇲 Trump asks for Bibi pardon: In a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Trump asked for a full pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who currently faces fraud, bribery, and breach of trust charges in three separate cases. Netanyahu has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and Herzog cannot issue a pardon until a verdict is reached.
🇨🇩 Congolese warlord on trial: The trial of Congolese rebel leader Roger Lumbala, who is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity during the Second Congo War, began yesterday in Paris. The former leader of the Congolese Rally for National Democracy is accused of targeting the Nande and Bambuti minorities in eastern Congo, who were tortured, executed, raped, and forced into slavery, according to UN reports.
🇪🇹 COP32 host revealed: Ethiopia announced it will host the UN climate summit in 2027. The climate crisis disproportionately impacts African countries by drought, floods, and extreme heat.
💬 Quote Unquote
“I’m not voting to give Lindsey Graham half a million dollars.”
As the House awaited a vote on the shutdown bill, Florida Congressman Greg Steube expressed frustration with the Senate’s oh-so sneaky provision to load the pockets of the Senate GOP.
That provision allows eight GOP senators, including Lindsey Graham, to sue the government for up to $500,000 for having their phone records seized in the Jan 6 investigation.
But, clearly, Rep. Steube, as well as other House Republicans, don’t want to deal with their BS. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Republicans will introduce a standalone measure to repeal the provision.
📊 Chart of the Day
Human Rights Watch published a damning report on the systemic abuse and torture that Venezuelans faced in CECOT, a maximum security prison in El Salvador (that many have called a “gulag”), after the Trump administration deported them.
Of at least 226 Venezuelans the US deported in March and April, nearly half had no criminal history. More than a quarter were deported with pending charges, meaning they hadn’t been convicted of a crime.
🧠 Trivia answer: Reality TV star turned Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy.
ICYMI From Zeteo
Zeteo’s Melanie Riehl, Akshay Gokul, and Minnah Arshad contributed to this newsletter.
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We knew this day was coming, and we know much worse is to follow.
Though the obvious question from our side should be the same as Ryan’s at TAP.
My theory is that Garland knew where the threads led and chose not to follow those linkages.
Or, maybe the Mule theory Ryan put forth:
https://prospect.org/2025/11/13/how-are-we-just-now-hearing-about-trumps-hours-with-epstein-victim/
“But I have just one question: Was President Biden’s pick to run federal law enforcement, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, kicked in the head by a particularly irritable mule right before assuming office in 2021, and did he thereby spend the next four years wandering around the Justice Department bumping into things and saying, “It feels like I am forgetting something. Where am I?” Because otherwise his term in office is looking like the greatest law enforcement failure in American history, and Biden’s decision to nominate Garland the most catastrophic personnel decision by any Democratic president since James Buchanan.”
Outstanding reporting, Peter! Great way to start my day! Thanks for another phenomenal newsletter. Have a great day! 🌟