Trump isn’t escaping questions about Epstein on his UK golf junket, and I bet Deputy AG Todd Blanche wishes his client would shut the fuck up already, because the more Trump yaps about the scandal, the harder covering up his mess is going to be:
REPORTER: What caused the breach between you and Epstein?
TRUMP: That's such old history. Very easy to explain, but I don't want to waste your time by explaining it. He did something that was inappropriate. He hired help and I said 'don't ever do that again.' I never went to the island.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) July 28, 2025 at 10:03 AM
“He stole people that worked for me.”
The White House communications director, brain-wormed lunatic Steven Cheung, insists that Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep. Various others attribute Trump’s dust-up with Epstein to a conflict over a Palm Beach property they wanted that was subsequently flipped by Trump, perhaps to launder money from Russia.
Now Trump’s saying Epstein poached his workers, plural. At least one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre, says Epstein accomplice Maxwell recruited her at Trump’s South Florida club. If the oozing orange pustule’s words mean anything (debatable), maybe more than one victim recruited was there.
Maybe Blanche coached Trump after huddling with Maxwell last week and told him there was a second victim recruited at Mar-a-Lago, and Trump sprung this new story on us as a trial balloon to see if his lawyers can sell Trump as an innocent victim of unfair labor practices or something.
Or maybe Trump is just a demented old fool who can’t shut up, and Blanche is back in DC munching on Tums while trying to figure out how to extricate his client from his latest mess. That seems more likely to me, but who knows.
Open thread.
Baud
Classic Trump. He never wants to talk about himself.
Baud
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Good riddance because he sucks.
Downpuppy
Deputy AG Todd Blanche works for the United States. Trump is not his client.
Sure, we all know the reality, but it can’t hurt to remember how far off the rails this whole operation is.
MagdaInBlack
I’m going with “demented old fool.”
trollhattan
Hatless Darth.
coin operated
I’m going with this one. Oh…and I really hope that Todd Blanche is popping Tums like a child with a Pez dispenser. He should know his client by now…
Spanky
@Baud: Huh! He’s the kind of remora that I should have thought would be right at home in the new regime.
trollhattan
“I got this.”
Thomas, elbowing Alito in the ribs as both dive on the inbox.
Suzanne
BANG!
JML
“He stole people that I was planning on harassing, so we stopped talking. Jeffrey never understood that everything always has to flow to me.” – The Orange Asshole, saying the quiet part out loud, again.
MagdaInBlack
@coin operated: He represented Manafort, and Trump. He knows. He chose this.
Shalimar
@Baud: Oh, no. What will we do without Mr. I-fucked-up-my-SAT-because-I-answered-all-the-true-false-questions-with-confused-essays?
Chief Oshkosh
@trollhattan: My god, she was investigated, tried, and convicted for child sexual abuse, including trafficking, and she’s being treated in the press like this is just more political dealmaking. It is PATHETIC that the core crime is just another data point
ETA: Axios…
Wapiti
“He stole people that worked for me.”“He stole people that belonged to me.”
Shalimar
@trollhattan: Sotomayor handles appeals from New York, but iirc they can overrule her if 4 of the sinister 6 agree.
Snarki, child of Loki
I, for one, look forward to the FTFNYT’s headline:
TRUMP PARDONS CONVICTED CHILD SEX TRAFFICKER
but will almost certainly be disappointed.
MattF
The Onion offers an explanation for the unusual features of Ghislaine Maxwell’s interview room (read to the end of the article).
trollhattan
@MattF: Heh.
Any Saudis in the immediate area? Just curious.
Lord, I’m diving in. There goes my day.
Deputinize America
The weekend sucked – I got dragged into doing bathroom painting, changing the colors on the walls and trim, installing new light fixture, changing out switches. That means 48 hours of arguments about the way the color looks on the walls, the way I was painting, why I was not enamored of working around 400 feet of plastic tarp, the quality of my wall patches, etc.
I was reminded why I don’t like doing these projects (which causes lots of complaints from certain corners) – it’s the micromanagement, needless expansion of the scope of projects midproject and unreasonable complaints.
The cherry atop the shit sundae was this morning when one of the cats (her favorite) was unproductive at the litter box, not hungry and lethargic. I made the judgment call to take him to the vet and it turns out that he has a urethral obstruction from bladder stones, so it’s an unexpected expense, but I’m fond of the little guy too. Had I not gotten him in, he’d probably be dead tomorrow.
gene108
@trollhattan:
Trump’s current DOJ says there’s no Epstein client list or the list is a “Democrat hoax”, then where’s the evidence that Maxwell was involved with sex trafficking?
Calls into question the credibility of the prosecution’s case.
trollhattan
@Deputinize America:
Scary. Our first Dalmatian had bladder stones and just a random note he was trying to go to the bathroom more often than usual triggered the vet visit. It was close.
Turns out it’s common to the breed (can’t break down purines) and after having them taken from his bladder surgically, he was on meds and prescription food the rest of his life.
laura
He’s complaining that Epstein snatched his snatch is what I interpreted. For “reasons” he appears to want to avoid mention of property flipping and money laundering. Really sad that he missed the privilege of traveling to little snatch island.
trollhattan
Big “let’s you and him fight” vibes.
Baud
@gene108:
The petition is not about the evidence. Maxwell is arguing that she gets to take advantage of the non-prosecition agreement that Acosta negotiated with Epstein in Florida.
Mr. Bemused Senior
You saved his life. Seems to me that’s cause for celebration.
Mr. Bemused Senior
Well there’s zealous representation for you. Let’s rely on a corrupt deal given to another defendant (co-conspirator / accomplice).
Anonymous At Work
@Baud: SCOTUS is being asked whether an accomplice’s liability is covered when the principle receives such an agreement. Should not be a complicated question.
However, there are plenty of RICO defendants awaiting an answer. You flip a small fry, work your way up an organization, to flip a big fish, who nets you most/all of the organization in return for immunity. A lot of that prosecution depends on the grant of immunity and testimony against accomplices. SCOTUS can really deal a blow to organized crime and racketeering successes here, if they eff this up.
Baud
@Mr. Bemused Senior:
From what I can tell, the corrupt deal expressly let co-conspirators off.
The issue is whether the deal is binding in New York.
Baud
@Anonymous At Work:
No, the deal seems to have expressly applied to co-conspirators. You wouldn’t have that in a mob case.
gene108
@Baud:
Thanks for the correction.
bluefoot
@Downpuppy: Thanks for this. People need to be reminded that the government and government officials work for the American People, not FFOTUS or his hangers on. Even if that’s functionally what is going on, it’s still wrong.
oldgold
This morning when I heard the short-fingered vulgarian say this, my ears perked up.
Trump: “It’s a hoax. Those files were run by the worst scum on earth. They run by Garland, Comey… They can easily put something in the files that’s a phony.”
It sounds like a tacit admission that there is something that is very bad in the files.
MattF
@oldgold: Apply the rule that every accusation is a confession. And keep applying it.
Soprano2
I think he really believes he didn’t do anything wrong, plus it’s possible he has some type of dementia which can definitely take the filters off and impair judgement about what is and isn’t a proper thing to say.
p.a.
@oldgold: Not sure anything emitted from his mouth is analyzable, when his “thought” ping-pongs around a narcissistic, adderall-addled, dementia-fried and basically just plain stupid, mind.
Nothing more than “me Me ME” if his perception of the topic is “good”, or “not me Not Me NOT ME” if bad.
catclub
@trollhattan: trepanning!
Scout211
Yes, and possibly an admission of his own future plans for the files.
catclub
@Baud:
Whatever the deal was, Epstein was later prosecuted in a different jurisdiction. So making a corrupt deal binding on other jurisdictions is the worst possible result.
trollhattan
@catclub: :-)
Taking “window to the soul” literally.
Chetan Murthy
@Suzanne: Suzanne, can I ask? I think you mentioned that you had taken to running with a weighted vest? I mentioned it to my mom and she was interested. Do you have a pointer to what you got? I forget, I think you said you had wished you’d gotten one that allowed adjusting the weight? Sorry, memory failing …..
catclub
It sounds like an explicit admission that they are putting crap in there as we speak.
My prediction is that Trump will never stop babbling about it and the media will get bored and drop it to try to get trump to drop it.
Shalimar
@gene108: Even if there really is no client list and Epstein/Maxwell weren’t sending girls out to other men, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking the girls to Epstein.
Betty Cracker
@Scout211: I figure at the very least, there must be something super embarrassing in the files, if not criminal. Maybe something to do with the Third Lady? (Just speculating because it would be irresponsible not to, etc.)
The thing about amending the files, though — that could be risky since by their own admission we know a thousand government employees were made to work around the clock reviewing the files and flagging prominent people’s names. Are they all Trump loyalists? Maybe, maybe not. It seems to be an extraordinarily sloppy operation at DOJ.
Also, Maurene Comey was involved in prosecuting Epstein and Maxwell, so I assume she would be familiar with those files too. And since Bondi/Trump shit-canned her for no reason, she might speak up if bogus material was added and then publicized.
Suzanne
@Chetan Murthy: Yes, of course you can ask. I purchased this one from Amazon (16 pounds). I have been wearing it to walk my dog, and here in this part of the country, that involves a lot of hills. I also have worn it to do hot yoga, and that is insane. I would only recommend that for someone with experience and flexibility. I feel stronger in my core already. I want to get up to 30 pounds, and this vest doesn’t adjust weight, so I will probably have to buy another one or figure out how to attach weights to it.
ETA: my friend is a PT, and she recommended not running with it, so I haven’t. I have tried doing planks and pushups with it. Definitely makes it spicier.
Baud
Leak from Epstein files
ARoomWithAMoose
@oldgold:
That sounds more EAIAC, like he’s demented brain is playing back the “what do we do about it?” planning meetings he’s been sitting in.
Chetan Murthy
@Suzanne: Suzanne, thank you so much! haha, if I could do a plank for longer than 40sec, I guess I’d think about adding weight. Gotta start somewhere …..
JiveTurkin
IMHO the Epstein files should be on the lips of every single Democrat in Congress. I’m convinced that there is something(s) in them that implicate Trump with underage girls. Just keep pushing. Besides, this sounds like a classic case of the rich and powerful getting away with shit that would put an ordinary person in jail or on an offender list. Even maga assholes have trouble defending hiding the files.
JoyceH
Years ago and I can’t remember where, I read that the falling out was due to Epstein putting his recruiting/grooming moves on the daughter of an important Mar a Lago member.
As for Trump’s attempted dodge about phony files, as I’ve said before, files are just information. The information came from people. If Trump claims that a file is fake, all one has to do is go back to the person who gave the information and ask them about it.
Suzanne
@Chetan Murthy: I hate to be a broken record, but yoga or Pilates will be a game-changer….. you’ll feel much more flexible and loose. Big mood improver.
Chetan Murthy
@Suzanne: You’re not a broken record, and I’m convinced. Just gotta, y’know, find a class at my Y and …. -go-.
Suzanne
@Chetan Murthy: So the Y is definitely a good option, but I’d also suggest looking at dedicated studios. I had been a member of the Y for years, but I found that their class schedules are not always good for working people. The place I go now has a lot more classes on evenings and weekends, and that makes all the difference. Also about the same price.
Ramona
@Anonymous At Work: I don’t understand how SCOTUS would mess up RICO cases if they rule that a non-prosecutorial contract with an individual can cover the contracting individual alone.
The NPC with Epstein was very strange. If anything, the 4 people named in the contract should have been investigated and if such investigations proved fruitful indicted.
The Audacity of Krope
@Baud: Buyout?
gene108
@ARoomWithAMoose:
East African International Arbitration Conference?
Scout211
Looks like a case for the shadow docket.
Eolirin
@gene108: every accusation is a confession
Miss Bianca
@Baud: If it’s “very easy to explain”, shouldn’t be a big “waste of time to explain it”, right? Right??
gene108
@Suzanne:
@Chetan Murthy:
If doing Pilates, start at home. There are videos to practice.
I took Pilates Reformer classes in a studio, and the instructors don’t really have an out of shape middle aged man level. Some instructors were good at giving me adjustments, others were not.
Yoga is different. There are plenty of yoga studios with beginner level courses.
trollhattan
@gene108: Old MacDonald’s farm?
JoyceH
To be honest, I’ve never understood how no one else has been charged in this case. If Epstein was charged and Maxwell was charged and convicted of recruiting, grooming and abusing underage girls and providing them to other abusers, the names of the other abusers would be known to the investigators and court personnel. They might be named person A and B in public files, but the confidential files would have the names. I know the Florida case was treated like a prostitution case and the johns were let slide, but the case that went to court was a serious child abuse case. How is the possible that no one else was charged?
NobodySpecial
@Suzanne: I know at least one NBA player trained with a police vest on, when you add plates to them they get quite heavy.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@JoyceH: how, indeed? I listened to the 2021 interview Julie K. Brown gave to Fresh Air. Until now I didn’t realize just how bad the Epstein case is. There are certainly not just other abusers, there must also be other enablers. “Perversion of Justice” is her book and there could not be a more apt title
ETA it’s no wonder people believe in a conspiracy. Just not the right one.
Kathleen
@Baud: WaPo has “ranks of journalists”? (OK, they do have some real reporters who do excellent work but their political “journalists” are pretty rank.
Suzanne
@NobodySpecial: I worked with a dude who put Kevlar plates in his backpack for similar reasons. Yes, he was weird.
WaterGirl
@Mr. Bemused Senior: It seems like there are two ways to interpret “cherry” here.
Cherry on the shit sundae could mean and on top of that, this awful thing happened.
Or it could be that the cherry was the only good thing about this weekend.
catclub
Follow the money.
NobodySpecial
@Suzanne: I personally would walk with a backpack filled to the brim with rulebooks for tabletop games. Strange is relative.
catclub
Although I bet very few people would eat a cherry off of a shit sundae. No matter how delightful the cherry.
catclub
Agreed. But how about if they rule the other way? Now, what if the non-prosecute agreement is highly corrupt? How many people get to take advantage of it?
The Unmitigated Gaul
@JoyceH: Great observation!
The Unmitigated Gaul
@JoyceH: I put your comment into ChatGPT. Interesting reply.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Deputinize America: good for you! You saved that kitty’s life!
ruckus
@Suzanne:
I used to go to a workout gym. Pretty decent sized place, with a lot of machines. I also used to walk a LOT and jog a bit. The gym was very good for building muscle and walking and jogging was good for consistent weight loss. Or at least weight maintenance. But at my age, fairly old fart, walking, and far slower than I used to do is about all the weight maintenance I need. I’m 5-6 lbs less than at my normal gym time weight, and still the same height so I’d bet muscle loss is the issue.
ruckus
Citizen Alan
@Baud: Good riddance.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Shalimar: what is the likelihood Mr. Kessler is replaced by somebody right out of doublespeak edu ?
Glidwrith
@catclub: I’ve always wondered about Matt Gaetz. He had a buddy making fake IDs so no one could be tracked when they used hotels for their abuse of minors. It’s hard to believe it was just the two of them, but I never saw anything reported on who else was getting those fake IDs.