All posts tagged "kash patel"

Kash Patel's girlfriend sues for defamation over being called 'honeypot Mossad agent'

FBI Director Kash Patel's girlfriend is suing a former agent who is claiming whistleblower protections after he alleged she was a spy and part of a "honeypot" operation.

CNBC reported Friday that Alexis Wilkins filed a lawsuit against Kyle Seraphin, claiming he "has maliciously lied" about her by “falsely asserting that she—an American-born country singer—is an agent of a foreign government, assigned to manipulate and compromise the Director of the FBI,” the lawsuit alleges.

Seraphin, a conservative podcaster, refers to himself as a "recovering FBI agent," the report noted. Wilkins claims that he is using the accusations against her as "self-enriching clickbait."

Seraphin, in response, claimed on his show that he never directly accused Wilkins of being a spy, adding that similar rumors have circulated widely online. However, the lawsuit contends that, as a former counterintelligence FBI agent, Seraphin’s comments carry serious weight and can’t be dismissed as exaggeration or internet gossip. Indeed, Seraphin never says Wilkins' name when speaking about it.

Through her attorney, Wilkins flatly denies any ties to Israel, intelligence agencies, or covert activity.

The complaint continues, noting, “Ms. Wilkins is not even Jewish, let alone Israeli, and has never set foot in Israel,” calling Seraphin’s claims both baseless and insulting.

The suit also emphasizes that labeling her a “honeypot” essentially accuses her of being an agent of a foreign government attempting to undermine U.S. national security and law enforcement, which amounts to an accusation of treason.

Patel “has had his own little ‘honeypot’ issue that’s been going on of late, so we’re just going to acknowledge it real publicly,” Seraphin said on the podcast episode cited in the lawsuit.

“He’s got a girlfriend that is half his age, who is apparently is both a country music singer, a political commentator on Rumble, a friend of John Rich through [FBI deputy Director Dan] Bongino, who also now owns a big chunk of Rumble, and she’s also a former Mossad agent in what is like the equivalent of their NSA," he continued.

“But I’m sure that’s totally because, like, she’s really looking for like a cross-eyed, you know, kind of thickish built, super cool bro who’s almost 50 years old who’s Indian in America,” Seraphin said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Like it has nothing to do with the fact that uh we’re really close to the Trump administration,” he added. “Anyway, I’m sure that’s totally just like love. That’s what real love looks like.”

The suit asks for $5 million in damages.

Read the full report here.

This timeline of Trump's Epstein cover-up reveals so much

Drip, drip, drip…

For months, Donald Trump has tried to divert public attention from the Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell files. But he can’t shake the story, and it keeps getting worse.

Reversal

Trump campaigned on the promise to release all of the files relating to Epstein’s sex trafficking in minors. To supercharge his MAGA base, he fueled conspiracy theories that the files contained something sinister involving prominent Democrats.

February 2025: Trump’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, told a Fox News interviewer that Epstein’s client list was sitting on her desk, awaiting her review before its release.

May: Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche informed Trump that his name appeared in the Epstein files, the New York Times later reported.

July 7: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel — who pushed conspiracy theories about the files during Trump’s campaign — issued a two-page memo stating that there was no Epstein client list and that the Justice Department would not release any additional materials relating to the matter.

July 16: Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Maurene Comey was fired. Comey was a lead prosecutor in the investigation and prosecution of Epstein and his coconspirator, Maxwell. She was also the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey and chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit. The memo gave no reason for Comey’s abrupt termination.

July 17: The Wall Street Journal published Trump’s alleged birthday note to Epstein that included his sketch of a naked woman.

Blowback

Trump’s MAGA base erupted in anger over his refusal to release the Epstein files. Trying to appease his followers, Trump directed Bondi to ask that the courts release grand jury transcripts. This was disingenuous because: 1) the courts were not likely to release the material; and 2) even if they did, the transcripts would constitute a small fraction of the Epstein-Maxwell files.

July 23: A Florida judge denied Bondi’s motion to release the files relating to Epstein investigations in 2005 and 2007 that resulted in a non-prosecution agreement. Trump’s first-term Secretary of Labor, Alex Acosta, negotiated the agreement with Epstein’s high-powered lawyers while serving as US attorney for the Southern District of Florida during George W. Bush’s presidency.

Blunder

July 24: Deputy Attorney General (and former Trump attorney) Todd Blanche flew to Tallahassee and met with Maxwell for two days — an unprecedented visit for a No. 2 official in the Justice Department. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

July 31: Contrary to prison assignment policies for sex offenders, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons transferred Maxwell from a Tallahassee prison to a “Club Fed” camp in Texas.

Boomerang

August 11: A federal judge in New York denied Bondi’s motion to unseal Maxwell’s grand jury files. The court observed that anyone “who reviewed these materials expecting, based on the Government’s representations, to learn new information about Epstein’s and Maxwell’s crimes and the investigation into them, would come away feeling disappointed and misled. There is no ‘there’ there.”

The entire exercise was a farce — another Trump con job:

The one colorable argument under that doctrine for unsealing in this case, in fact, is that doing so would expose as disingenuous the Government’s public explanations for moving to unseal. A member of the public, appreciating that the Maxwell grand jury materials do not contribute anything to public knowledge, might conclude that the Government’s motion for their unsealing was aimed not at “transparency” but at diversion — aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such.

August 20: A different federal judge in New York blasted Bondi’s motion to unseal the grand jury transcripts. Describing the “trove” of materials that the Justice Department had assembled but withheld from the public, the court observed:

The Government’s 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70-odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials.

Trump’s directive that Bondi seek the release of the grand jury materials was always a ruse. As the court continued:

The Government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a “diversion” from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession.

The court specifically called out Trump’s about-face on releasing the files:

In February 2025, the Government, as noted, was prepared to release the “Epstein Files” to the public. See DOJ Press Release. But then, on July 6, 2025, the Government announced that it would not make the files available to the public.

And the judge concluded: “The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice.”

New scam

On August 5, several Republicans voted with Democrats on the House Oversight Committee to force chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) to subpoena the Justice Department for Epstein-Maxwell materials. Comer also issued subpoenas to former Attorneys General William Barr, Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, and Alberto Gonzales; former FBI Director James Comey; former special counsel and FBI Director Robert Mueller III; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and former President Bill Clinton.

That’s superficially impressive, but purely performative. Notably missing are the frontline prosecutors and investigators who actually know something meaningful about the Epstein-Maxwell cases.

One is Maurene Comey.

August 22: The FBI’s surprise search of former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s home and office dominated the media. The Justice Department also released a transcript of Blanche’s interview with Maxwell during which she asserted that no one connected with Epstein’s alleged crimes had done anything wrong — including her and, of course, Trump, upon whom she lavished praise.

Sharing the news cycle was the Justice Department’s production of documents to the House Oversight Committee. It provided a fraction of the DOJ’s Epstein file, and only 3 percent was new.

August 25: The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed materials from Epstein’s estate and announced that it will depose Alex Acosta on September 19.

Drip, drip, drip…

Trump just delivered the darkest of messages

On Friday, the FBI raided the home and office of John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser.

Although it cannot be confirmed that the agents wore flak jackets emblazoned “DJT Retribution Tour 2025” on the back, they didn’t need to. Trump’s DOJ apparatchiks had already swarmed social media in the most unserious law-enforcement performance since the great Leslie Neilsen’s Police Squad classics.

The tweets were something to see. All just happened to get posted right around the times FBI agents were showing up for coffee with the Boltons. All were delivered in classic mean-face protocol, which of course demanded that no reference be made to anything in particular.

From FBI Director Kash Patel: “NO ONE is above the law … @FBI agents on mission.”

Agents on mission? What are you, 12?

But Patel’s was the serious stake in the ground. Others just retweeted it:

From Attorney General Pam Bondi: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”

From Deputy FBI Director Don Bongino: “Public corruption will not be tolerated.”

Bongino’s prospective bunkmate, Andrew Bailey, must be chomping at the bit to have a piece of this action.

This is such amateur hour. These performative fools have debased the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

We have a real problem here. The specifics of Bolton’s situation are beside the point.

In matters referencing national security, affidavits are almost always sealed — sometimes forever. There won’t be a lot of substance for liberals to pore over this weekend with their biscuits and gravy at Cracker Barrel.

The only part of this story worthy of prospective consideration is whether somehow, some way, the Republican political establishment might get nudged out of its cultish trance by this happening to old ally. I don’t think so.

Bolton is not a sympathetic figure on a personal level. From his earliest days as a vitriolic, super-militaristic, hyper-partisan neocon, his persona has remained the rarest of acquired tastes across the political spectrum.

More directly to the point of this story, it remains impossible to forgive Bolton for putting his bank account ahead of his country in 2019. That’s when he refused to testify in Trump’s first impeachment so as not to compromise upcoming profits from the 2020 release of his explosive tell-all book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.

Who knows what would have happened had Bolton done the right thing?

It’s widely assumed that the book — and Trump’s years-long public feud with Bolton — are the beginning, middle and end of this FBI adventure. And yes, karma’s a bitch.

But remember that famous old passage? “They came for the crotchety national security advisors, but I wasn’t a crotchety national security advisor, so I said nothing.”

In that sense, Bolton presents an ominous test case. Whatever natural base of supporters he might have had is likely limited to his cellphone contacts. He could be in for a rough time.

And I truly don’t believe anyone should be celebrating that.

I’ll harken back to my June 9 column on another part of Trump’s terroristic playbook. That was about ICE stormtroopers, but it applies equally to the police-state tactics involved today with the FBI:

“There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that reads: “Hang one to scare a hundred.”

I assure you there a whole lot more than a hundred former Trump officials, military brass and other vocal critics who won’t sleep well tonight. Trump just delivered the darkest of messages — and it has been received.

If anyone might harbor even the slightest doubt that this is 100 percent about vindictive, petty and malicious retribution, it’s helpful that the Dark Lord of Vengeance couldn’t contain his devilish glee.

“Good morning. John Bolton. How does it feel to have your home raided at 6 o'clock in the morning?” — Roger Stone.

This is what America voted for.

And John Bolton’s home won’t be the final venue.

Jeanine Pirro rejected Trump FBI offer because she didn't want to work for Patel: report

Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, the current United States attorney for the District of Columbia, reportedly turned down President Donald Trump's offer for a job at the FBI because she did not want to work under Director Kash Patel.

On Sunday, New York Times correspondent Glenn Thrush reported that Trump had offered Pirro the number two job at the FBI last year. Deputy Director Dan Bongino currently holds the position.

Sources told Thrush that Pirro turned down the offer "because she didn't want to work for Kash Patel, the bureau's inexperienced director."

In May, Trump named Pirro as acting U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. after pulling Ed Martin's controversial nomination.

Martin, an organizer of Trump's Stop the Steal movement, now serves as the director of the Weaponization Working Group for the Department of Justice.

One powerful remedy would rid us of Trump — and he's scrambling to hide it

It has become increasingly apparent that Donald Trump is turning his presidential administration into the most corrupt in U.S. history. Nothing that comes from the mouth of Trump or his loyalist appointees can ever be trusted.

Trump appointees John Radcliffe, Kash Patel, and Pete Hegseth, heads of the CIA, FBI, and Pentagon respectively, reiterated Trump’s lie that the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities “obliterated” the country’s nuclear program.

Damage assessments by the Pentagon Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proved the claim to be patently false.

Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, had testified to Congress that there was no evidence Iran was building a nuclear weapon. Since that assessment ran contrary to Trump’s reason for bombing Iran, Gabbard reversed course, lying that she had been wrong.

Trump’s Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, lied to the Senate Appropriations Committee that massive cuts in employee numbers are not intended to reduce the role or effectiveness of the DOE. In reality, McMahon is doing her intended job: to oversee the dismantling of the department at Trump's behest, to eliminate the federal government’s support for public education.

Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed months ago that she had the list of people associated with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein sitting on her desk. Since such a list would embarrass Trump at the least or implicate him at the worst, she later contradicted herself and said that she was referring to all Epstein documents, not a specific associates list.

After releasing several monthly reports citing positive U.S. job growth, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported much slower growth for July. Since the report didn’t support Trump’s claims of a booming US economy, Trump attacked BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer, falsely claimed the numbers were rigged, and fired her. No doubt she will be replaced by a Trump loyalist, the veracity of the BLS jobs report never again to be trusted.

Trump’s consistent modus operandi is to attempt to alter reality whenever the truth doesn’t suit him and to get rid of anyone who doesn’t go along.

Trump continues to lie that the 2020 presidential election was fixed, that he had no role in inciting the violent January 6 Capitol riot, that he had no role in the fake presidential electors' scheme, that he didn’t attempt to coerce the governor of Georgia to “find votes,” and that he had the right to abscond with highly classified documents after leaving office in 2021.

His illegal acts earned him two DOJ indictments and potential prison time had he not been elected president.

Of course, Trump’s lying never ceases. To support his demand that the Fed lower interest rates, Trump lied that there is no inflation when the last report indicated a worrisome spike.

To humiliate Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell, Trump ambushed Powell on TV, lying that the Fed had grossly overrun its renovation costs by throwing in a building that was renovated five years ago. Powell called out Trump on the lie and reversed the humiliation, his days as board chair assuredly numbered.

The corruption at the core of Trump’s being has permeated the Republican-controlled federal government. The understood charge of all Trump appointees is to peddle his lies, gloss over his failures, and put their agencies and departments at his disposal. The vast majority of Republican congressmen share in the corruption, either by allowing Trump and his appointees’ lies to go unchallenged or by reinforcing them.

Think tariffs are a boon to Americans? That Trump has the gravitas to bend Putin and Netanyahu to his will? That greater consumer spending will reduce America’s gigantic deficit? That ICE is only going after immigrants with criminal records?

If so, the Trump administration’s perpetual lying machine along with a complicit Republican Congress is accomplishing its purpose.

When a democratic government loses the trust of the people, there is one powerful remedy: turning out the scoundrels who betray the American people with their every dishonesty. But Trump and his servile allies are banking on Americans being so dupable that we will continue swallowing their every deceit.

If they are right, we are fast approaching a totalitarian future where the truth is whatever guileful lie the government fabricates. If they are wrong, we the people will unceremoniously sweep them from office, beginning in 2026, and restore Americans’ trust in our democratic government.

Tom Tyner is a freelance editorialist, satirist, political analyst, blogger, author and retired English instructor.

'You should be ashamed!' FBI head Kash Patel hit with fury after child trafficking comment

FBI Director Kash Patel was hit with furious pushback on Saturday after he made a comment related to child trafficking.

Patel has been under fire since his announcement that the death of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was a suicide, after previously promoting conspiracy theories related to Epstein actually being killed in prison to protect other powerful child molesters.

Over the weekend, Patel took to X to celebrate what he considers to be the Trump administration's accomplishments related to child trafficking.

"200 Days of Trump Admin, From Jan 20 to Present: FBI has arrested over 1,600 people for violent crimes against children, to include 270 arrests for human trafficking," Patel wrote. In a separate post, the head of the FBI added that the bureau "has identified and found 4,000 child victims."

The pushback came almost instantly.

Barry Rubin, Senior Video Director at Republican Accountability Project and The Bulwark, said, "Release the files, bro."

Republicans against Trump asked, "When are you releasing the Epstein files?"

Journalist Jim Stewartson replied with, "You just fired the FBI agent who has made the most arrests of pedophiles in American history. You are hilariously covering up for pedophile Donald Trump. You are legally attacking a blogger for telling the truth about you. You are a Russian joke, and a f------ traitor.

A political strategist who goes by Sunday School Alum said, "But not Trump or any of his friends. You should be ashamed!"

GOP pollster Sarah Longwell also asked, "Are any of them from the Epstein files you promised to release?"

Read the original post here.

'Completely insane!': Elections expert outraged by Kash Patel's 'crazy' move in Texas

A ploy to allow the FBI to catch Texas Democrats and return them to Texas for the special legislative session had one lawyer up in arms on Wednesday.

Texas Democrats fled the state last week to break quorum in the state legislature. The move prevents Texas Republicans from voting to pass a new election map that would take away four Democrat-held seats in the state.

President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are reportedly pushing the new map in Texas and other Republican-held states as a way to maintain the GOP majority following the 2026 midterm elections.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have threatened to arrest any Democrats and force them to return to the state capitol.

So far, the efforts have not worked. But MAGA Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who will face Paxton in the 2026 primary elections, waded into the fight by requesting that the FBI help locate the Texas Democrats, even though it's been widely reported that they are in Illinois.

Marc Elias, a constitutional attorney, joined progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen on his show "No Lies" to discuss the events, which he described as a "charade."

"The fact that Kash Patel is involved in this is [illustrative] of how absolutely bats--- crazy the Republican Party has become; how absolutely lazy the legacy media has become; and how completely insane Texas Republicans are," Elias said.

Elias pointed out that the FBI has no jurisdiction to conduct such an operation because the Texas Democrats have not committed a federal crime. Leaving the state in protest is not a state crime in Texas either, Elias added.

He added that the FBI's involvement appears to be a way to boost Cornyn's chances of defeating Paxton in the midterms.

"John Cornyn thinks that the way he can win his Senate primary against Ken Paxton is to say, 'Well, Ken Paxton just tried to strip these people of their seats by going to the courts. I was tougher than that. I was for kidnapping,'" Elias said.

Watch the entire segment below or by clicking here.

FBI asked to hunt down Dems who foiled GOP redistricting scheme

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called in the FBI on Tuesday to break the stalemate over the state's redistricting vote, according to The New York Times.

Cornyn wants agents to "round up" and arrest the 56 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to prevent a quorum in the legislative body for what they dubbed "gerrymandering." Many traveled to the Democratic-led states of Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York as Republicans sought to pass a redistricting map in their favor.

If approved, the map could give Republicans up to five new congressional seats.

On Monday, the speaker of the Texas House issued civil warrants for the arrest of the Democrats. Shortly thereafter, Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton both ordered the arrests. However, The Texas Tribune pointed out that the warrants "apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic."

Democrats like Rep. Gene Wu (D), chair of the Texas State House Democratic Caucus, said they were willing to face the consequences of their civil disobedience.

The redistricting effort was guided by President Donald Trump, who told CNBC on Tuesday, "We are entitled to five more seats,” because he said he won the state "decisively" in last year’s presidential election.

In his letter to MAGA FBI director Kash Patel, Cornyn wrote that “federal resources are necessary to locate the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law.”

The agency did not indicate whether it would move to make the arrests, the Times reported.

Cornyn also "cited an accusation by Gov. Greg Abbott that the absent Democrats and people who support them may be violating bribery laws over the funding of the walkout." Abbott referred that issue to the Texas Rangers.

Read The New York Times story here.

This Epstein timeline reveals so much about Trump

On August 10, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein — accused of sex trafficking in minor girls — killed himself in his jail cell while awaiting trial, and a new conspiracy theory was born: Powerful forces silenced him. Releasing the Justice Department’s files on Epstein would reveal a “client list” of high-profile individuals, including prominent Democrats, who had a motive to kill him.

Then-President Donald Trump jumped aboard the conspiracy bandwagon. Six years later, he’s trying desperately to stop it.

Setting the stage

Hours after Epstein’s death, Trump retweeted a post alleging that former U.S. President Bill Clinton was connected to Epstein’s death. Trump’s supporters dutifully followed his lead:

When he was a Senate candidate in 2021, JD Vance posted on Twitter: “Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don’t talk about it.”

In 2023, before Dan Bongino became Trump’s deputy director of the FBI, he told his podcast audience, “Listen, that Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal. Please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on this... [W]hat the hell are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein?” — without specifying who “they” were. Shortly before joining the Trump administration, he added, “Who’s on those tapes? Who’s in those black books? Why have they been hiding it?”

In December 2023, a right-wing podcaster asked Kash Patel — a fierce Trump loyalist who is now FBI director—why the government was blocking the Epstein client list. Patel answered, “Simple, because of who’s on that list — Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are.”

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said that he would declassify the Epstein files: “It’d be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didn’t happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, I’d go a long way toward that one.”

On a podcast during the 2024 campaign, Vice-Presidential candidate Vance asserted, "We need to release the Epstein list."

In February 2025, Fox News reporter John Roberts asked Attorney General Pam Bondi whether the Justice Department would release Epstein’s list of clients: “Will that really happen?” Bondi responded: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump. I’m reviewing that.”

During a podcast in June, Patel said repeatedly that the administration would be forthcoming in its review of documents related to Epstein: “I’ve said it, Bongino has said it. We’ve reviewed all the information, and the American public is going to get as much as we can release … We’re going to give you every single thing we have and can.”

Trump set the stage. With his loyalists now running the FBI and the Justice Department, the public would finally see the Epstein files.

Oops – nothing to see here

The conspiracy flames that Trump fanned are now blowing back on him:

On July 7, the FBI released an unsigned, two-page memo stating that its “systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list’,” “investigators concluded that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell,” and “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”

Bondi now says that when she said that the client list was sitting on her desk, she wasn’t actually referring to a client list.

Vance has assumed his familiar role — reversing a fervently held position to defend anything Trump does.

Blowback

Some of Trump’s most dedicated allies were outraged at Trump’s stonewalling. He lashed out with diversions, distractions, and attacks. He accused former President Barack Obama of treason. He derided followers who “bought into this ‘bullshit’” as “PAST supporters.” And he blamed Democrats for starting the conspiracy theory in the first place:

“It was a hoax. It’s all been a big hoax. It’s perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net. And so they try and do the Democrats work. The Democrats are good for nothing other than these hoaxes.”

But then:

July 17: The Wall Street Journal reported Trump’s alleged birthday note to Epstein that included his sketch of a naked woman. Trump sued the paper and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, for defamation. He asserted that he doesn’t draw pictures, but copies of his earlier sketches soon swamped the internet. Some were auctioned for charity.

Later that evening, Trump tried to quell the continuing uproar by ordering Bondi to seek the release of grand jury testimony related to Epstein. But that was a head fake toward transparency because: 1) grand jury materials are a tiny slice of the Justice Department’s files on Epstein; and 2) the courts might not agree to release anything. In fact, on July 23 a federal judge in Florida denied the DOJ’s request. Another request is pending in New York.

July 22: To avoid a House vote on a resolution urging the release of the Epstein files, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent lawmakers home early for the August recess.

July 23: In a surprise show of defiance against Speaker Johnson, a Republican-controlled House Oversight subcommittee voted 8-to-2 to subpoena the Justice Department’s Epstein files.

The unraveling

Also on July 23: The New York Times reported that in May, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche informed Trump that his name appeared in the Epstein files. The bureau had gone through more than 100,000 pages of materials four times — including once to flag any references to Trump and other prominent figures.

July 24: Blanche — who was Trump’s personal lawyer in the Stormy Daniels “hush money” trial that culminated in his conviction on 34 felony counts — began a mission that was extraordinary for the Justice Department’s number two official. He went to Tallahassee and interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking as Epstein’s procurer.

July 25: After questioning Maxwell for two days, Blanche declared that the federal criminal investigation into targets beyond Maxwell and Epstein remained closed.

If the investigation into targets was closed, why was Blanche interviewing Maxwell?

The next act

On his way to Europe on July 25, Trump was asked whether he would consider pardoning Maxwell. Trump responded, “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I haven’t thought about.”

After landing in Scotland, he denied that Bondi had briefed him on the Epstein matter in May: “No, I was never, never briefed, no.” He added, “I’m focused on making deals. I’m not focused on conspiracy theories.”

Ghislaine Maxwell is focused on making a deal too. Trump is her ticket out of prison. The question is what she can offer that will prompt him to punch it.

Avowed Trump ally warns Epstein may 'consume' presidency as MAGA 'rupture' grows

President Donald Trump can't seem to stop talking about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, and right-wing activist Laura Loomer is warning that the issue is threatening to "consume his presidency," according to Politico.

In an interview on Wednesday, Loomer contradicted Trump's assertion that talk of a "client list" cobbled together by the convicted sex offender, who died by his own hand in a Manhattan jail cell, was a "hoax" perpetuated by Democrats.

“Obviously, this is not a complete hoax given the fact that Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison in Florida for her crimes and activities with Jeffrey Epstein, who we know is a convicted sexual predator,” Loomer told Politico. “This is why I said, and I’ll reiterate it again, the best thing that the president can do is appoint a special counsel to handle the Epstein files investigation.”

She added, “I don’t want it to consume his presidency.”

The article called Loomer's rebuke an illustration of "the growing rupture in the MAGA coalition."

Trump lashed out at his most ardent supporters Wednesday, both on Truth Social and during an Oval Office session with reporters.

"It's all been a hoax perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans, and foolish Republicans fall into the net," Trump said. On social media, he called his supporters "weaklings" for believing there was more to the Epstein saga.

CNN's Kristen Holmes called it a "slap in the face" to Trump's biggest supporters like Loomer, Dan Bongino, and Kash Patel, who campaigned for Trump on the basis that he would release the Epstein files if he were re-elected. But, after "hyping the promised release," the FBI and Department of Justice denied that a government conspiracy was afoot before closing the case.

Loomer, whose recommendations have led Trump to fire several national security officials, refused to condemn the president completely, however.

“I’m not going to dogpile the president,” she said, adding, “he can’t allow for all of his focus and attention to be on the Jeffrey Epstein files. Do I think this has been handled poorly? Absolutely.”

Read the Politico article here.