THE NARATIV — Thursday, Dec 4, 2025
Admiral "Mitch" Bradley on the Hill as War Crimes Pressure Mounts on Hegseth; What was Bill Gates' involvement with Epstein and Trump?
📍 FOUR STORIES TO WATCH
1. US MILITARY V. PETE HEGSETH
Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley faces Congress today in classified briefings about the Sept. 2 boat strike that killed 11 people—including two survivors of the initial attack. The Washington Post reported Hegseth’s order was simple: “Kill everybody.”
Bradley will tell lawmakers the survivors had communications equipment and were dragging drug bundles back onto the wreckage. His argument: they were viable targets, not defenseless mariners.
But the political cover is crumbling. Senate Majority Leader Thune has declined twice this week to say he has confidence in Hegseth. Sen. Tillis (R-NC) said if the facts hold, “somebody needs to get the hell out of Washington.” House Armed Services Chair Rogers complained his committee got more information from the Pentagon under Biden.
The DOD Inspector General report on Signalgate drops today too—and it’s not good for Hegseth
Sen. Mark Kelly nailed it: “This is the kind of thing that happens when you have a president who says we’re going to go out and kill people. And when you have an unqualified secretary of defense who runs around on stage talking about lethality and warrior ethos.”
2. MAXWELL CLAIMS EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE PREJUDICE HER RIGHT TO RETRIAL
Ghislaine Maxwell announced yesterday she will ask a federal court to free her from prison. Her lawyer filed the letter in Manhattan federal court with no details—except that Maxwell will file the habeas petition herself, without counsel.
Her lawyer warned that releasing grand jury materials would create “undue prejudice so severe” it would make a fair retrial impossible—”should her habeas petition succeed.” They’re already planning past the conviction.
3. GATES FOUNDATION NAMED IN $310M “EPSTEIN-IDENTICAL” LAWSUIT
A $310 million lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County names Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates in what plaintiffs describe as an “Epstein-identical trafficking and exploitation venture.”
The complaint, filed November 24, alleges the Gates Foundation was used as a “cover and silencing mechanism” for criminal activity—including “coordinated sexual assaults using the identical ‘blitz’ choking method documented in Epstein victim depositions.”
This tracks with what we already know. Byline Times revealed this week that Bill Gates appeared on a confidential December 2011 email chain alongside Jeffrey Epstein, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Google’s founders—three years after Epstein’s conviction. The email came from John Brockman’s Edge Foundation, where Epstein was the single largest donor. Gates wasn’t just aware of Epstein. He was dining with him at exclusive tech salons while Epstein was a registered sex offender.
4. FIVE HOURS OF NOTHING IN MOSCOW
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff sat with Putin for five hours Tuesday. No breakthrough. No compromise. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called it “constructive”—meaning Putin got what he wanted: the appearance of negotiation while Ukraine bleeds.
The 28-point plan heavily favors Russia. Ukraine gets no NATO membership, no real security guarantees, and loses the territory Putin already seized. Kushner sat across from sanctioned oligarch Kirill Dmitriev, who wants to invest through Kushner’s Saudi fund.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha: Russia is “wasting the world’s time.”
This isn’t diplomacy. It’s a business meeting at Ukraine’s expense.
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