Good morning, everyone. Happy Saturday. It is already a whirlwind. Trump is lashing out at Republican allies in the Senate, the fallout from the Epstein files is intensifying, and the Department of Homeland Security has entered a shutdown. The stakes are high, and the pressure on those in power is mounting.
This reporting exists because of you. I do not have billionaire backers or corporate sponsors steering the coverage. I rely on this community to keep digging, to keep pressing for answers, and to keep holding powerful people accountable, no matter their party or position.
Here is my commitment to you: No matter the party, no matter the title, no matter how powerful or well connected, no matter the threats, I will not stop. I will continue digging, documenting, and reporting until every individual in the United States and beyond is fully held accountable for their relationship to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Power, status, and political affiliation will not shield anyone from scrutiny.
If you believe in independent journalism that follows the evidence wherever it leads and refuses to look away, please subscribe today. Your support directly funds the document review, the records requests, the travel, and the countless hours it takes to uncover what others would rather keep buried.
Here’s the news:
- In a recently unearthed BBC News interview segment, two individuals identified as witnesses allege that teenage girls, some appearing to be as young as 14 or 15, were present at parties where Donald Trump was in attendance. One witness, Barbara Pilling, says many of the girls looked younger than she was at 17 and estimates some were 14 or 15, while a male witness claims most attendees were between 14 and 19 years old and states he saw Trump with girls he believed to be that young.
- The Epstein files fallout is growing fast today. Casey Wasserman, a prominent entertainment executive and chair of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee, announced he is selling his talent agency after facing backlash over past email exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell that were recently disclosed in Justice Department documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. In a memo to staff, Wasserman said he has “become a distraction” and wants to ensure clients continue receiving top representation.
- The Guardian is now reporting that despite internal backlash, CBS News appears poised to retain longevity expert and on-air contributor Peter Attia after Justice Department files revealed extensive and inappropriate email communications between him and Jeffrey Epstein, including graphic language and references to staying at Epstein’s property. This is a significant reversal from weeks ago where all reporting suggested that he would be losing his job. Bari Weiss, whose wife is also listed in the files, has decided to keep Attia on board.
- Joe Rogan questioned the redaction of names in the Epstein files, arguing that if someone is not a victim there should be no reason to withhold their identity, and saying the situation reflects poorly on the Trump administration. Rogan added that dismissing the controversy as a “hoax” makes the optics worse for Trump, asserting that the matter is serious and damaging rather than fabricated.
- Newly released Justice Department files suggest that David Stern, a close associate of both Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, advised Epstein in 2012 to omit his prior child sexual abuse conviction and previous visa denial on a China visa application, recommending he apply through the Chinese embassy in Paris and “not tick the boxes” referencing criminal charges. The documents also detail discussions between Stern and Epstein about potential business ventures in Asia that could involve Andrew, including plans to use Stern’s firm, Asia Gateway, to attract Chinese investment to the UK, with references to leveraging the royal’s “aura and access.”
- Newly released Justice Department files show that Steve Bannon communicated with Jeffrey Epstein in 2018 and 2019 about efforts to undermine Pope Francis, with Bannon writing that he would “take down” the pontiff and discussing broader opposition to figures including the EU and China. The messages suggest Epstein engaged with Bannon as the former Trump adviser worked to build a nationalist-populist movement in Europe and explored turning a controversial book critical of the Vatican into a film project, though it is unclear how serious that proposal was. Full file here.
- Thomas Massie made clear that he was not “suicidal” as his office gets significant new threats following his push to release the Epstein files:
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to pass a funding bill, as the White House and Senate Democrats continue negotiations over changes to immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of two American citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis. Although DHS funding lapsed at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, most employees at agencies such as FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard will continue working without pay because their roles are considered essential.
- The New York Times has confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has sent hundreds of administrative subpoenas to tech companies including Google, Meta, Reddit and Discord seeking identifying information behind anonymous social media accounts that track, criticize or publicize the locations of ICE agents, significantly expanding its use of subpoena powers without judicial approval and prompting legal challenges from civil liberties groups who argue the effort targets protected speech rather than criminal activity.
- The Department of Homeland Security is now arguing in court that because of the government shutdown, it is not required to allow lawmakers into ICE facilities who visit unannounced.
- NBC News is reporting that the Department of Homeland Security has no immediate plans to conduct new sweeping, city-specific immigration enforcement operations after ending its large-scale “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, which deployed more than 3,000 federal agents, led to thousands of arrests, and drew national scrutiny following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.
- At the Munich Security Conference, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, accusing him of ushering in an “age of authoritarianism,” weakening the transatlantic alliance and pursuing a nationalist agenda that includes support for Israel’s war in Gaza, the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and threats to annex Greenland.
- President Donald Trump privately lashed out at Republican lawmakers who publicly condemned a racist video posted to his Truth Social account that depicted the Obamas as apes, questioning their loyalty and reportedly vowing political consequences, even as the White House eventually removed the video and blamed a staffer for posting it. Sources told CNN that Trump was particularly angry with Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Katie Britt for criticizing the post, though both maintain strong support for the president, and the White House insists Trump remains the party’s leader.
- Former CNN anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty to federal charges stemming from his involvement in covering a Jan. 18 protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota, church, where demonstrators disrupted a service over allegations that a pastor worked with ICE; Lemon, who was arrested Jan. 30 and indicted alongside eight others, is charged with conspiracy against religious freedom and interfering with worshippers’ rights.
- Police activity intensified near the Tucson, Arizona, home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, who has been missing for two weeks since family members last saw her after dropping her off at her residence. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that law enforcement activity took place both in her immediate neighborhood and later at a residence about two miles away, though officials declined to provide detailed information at the FBI’s request.
- The UK government, alongside France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, has formally concluded that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine — a powerful neurotoxin found in South American dart frogs — and said it is “highly likely” the poisoning directly caused his death in a Siberian penal colony, blaming the Russian state as the only actor with the “means, motive and opportunity.”
- The US military’s Southern Command carried out its second deadly strike in a week against an alleged drug-trafficking vessel, killing three suspected smugglers in the Caribbean, following an earlier strike in the Pacific that left two dead. The latest attack brings the reported total to at least 133 deaths across 39 boat strikes, most of which have occurred in the Pacific, as the Pentagon frames the operations as part of a campaign against “narco-terrorism.”
See you soon.
— Aaron
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