Dean is traveling and will be back on the show Monday.
5️⃣ Trump’s Desperate Morning Offensive
At 9:30 AM Thursday, Trump called the Epstein document releases “another Russia, Russia, Russia scam.” An hour later, he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and JPMorgan Chase—notice no Republicans on that list. But this wasn’t just rage-posting. This was the public face of a full-scale White House pressure campaign to kill the discharge petition before it reaches a floor vote. Sources inside the White House report Trump has been personally calling members of Congress and senators, applying maximum pressure to stop the release. He’s been heard telling allies the files will “never see the light of day.” The question isn’t whether he’ll veto—it’s whether he can kill the effort before it forces him to.
4️⃣ Nancy Mace: The Weak Link
Trump has identified Nancy Mace as the most likely Republican to flip her vote on the discharge petition. She’s caught between loyalty to trafficking survivors—she herself was abused earlier in her life—and deep loyalty to Trump. The White House is hammering her specifically because they know she might cave. But it’s not just about Mace. Trump is calling a wide range of House Republicans who signed the petition, trying to peel off enough votes to prevent it from reaching the floor. If it hits a full House vote, Trump faces a nightmare scenario: over 100 Republicans voting to release the files. Congressman Don Bacon, who didn’t sign the original petition, told Lev Parnas he’ll vote for release if it reaches the floor—and he believes at least 100 other Republicans will join him.
3️⃣ The Senate Firewall Strategy
Trump’s Plan A is stopping the House vote entirely. That’s why the pressure on Mace and others is so intense. But Plan B involves the Senate. If the House vote succeeds, Trump is calling senators like Lindsey Graham to ensure it dies in the Senate. The heavier the House vote margin, the harder it becomes to block in the Senate, which is why Trump wants to keep the House numbers thin. His ultimate fear is being the person who has to veto the release—the president who campaigned on transparency about Epstein but blocked the files when they threatened to expose his own involvement.
2️⃣ Pam Bondi’s Distraction Play
The investigations Bondi announced into Clinton, Summers, and others serve a specific purpose: they’re the contingency for when the pressure campaign fails. This was always part of the plan—Lev Parnas predicted it months ago. Throw enough names into investigations, create enough noise about Democrats, and maybe Trump’s base accepts his veto as protecting national security or preventing a partisan witch hunt rather than covering up his own crimes. The strategy is transparent: flood the zone with accusations until Americans lose track of whose name appears most in these documents. But here’s the tell—Trump only knows Clinton, Summers, and JP Morgan were involved because he was there too. You can’t name the party guests unless you were invited to the party.
1️⃣ What Putin Holds Over Him
Trump’s desperation makes sense when you understand what’s at stake. Author Michael Wolff saw compromising photos Epstein kept in his safe—Trump by the pool, scantily clad with models. In 2016, former Palm Beach Sheriff John Mark Dugan fled to Russia carrying hundreds of DVDs from Epstein’s home. Putin has that material. The newly released emails show Epstein had direct contact with Putin and reported to former Israeli PM Ehud Barak. In 2018—while Trump was president—Epstein told Russian officials he could give them “the goods” on handling Trump. Russian oligarch Victor Vekselberg, who paid Michael Cohen $500K during the 2016 campaign, was in business with both Epstein and Barak. This wasn’t just a sex trafficking operation. It was a coordinated intelligence effort by Russia and Israel to compromise American leadership. And Trump knows exactly what’s in those FBI files that prove it.
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