TRUMP CAVED ON EPSTEIN! But Here’s What’s Really Going On...
PDS Published 11/17/2025
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Donald Trump is now claiming he wants the Epstein files released BUT the investigation HE ordered might stop that from happening.
Oh, and there’s a small but I guess technically nonzero chance he at one point performed oral sex on Bill Clinton.
But starting with Trump’s one-eighty on the files, you had him writing on social media last night that House Republicans should vote for a bill requiring the Justice Department to release all documents and communications related to Epstein “because we have nothing to hide” – saying:
“...it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’”
With him then referring to newly launched investigations into who he described as “various Democrat operatives” and adding:
“Nobody cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory.”
“Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein 'TRAP,' which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
And while Trump’s dismissal of Epstein as a hoax is nothing new, his apparent support for the files release is completely out of left field.
Right, last week, he had only been ramping up the pressure on Republicans to vote against releasing the files – even summoning Congresswoman Lauren Boebert to the White House Situation Room to discuss her demand to release the files.
With this coming as you had lawmakers releasing thousands of emails belonging to Epstein suggesting Trump knew more about the convicted child sex offender’s conduct than he let on even if he didn’t participate.
Right, with one of the most damning messages being one in which Epstein – seemingly referring to the sexual abuse of underage girls – wrote:
“Trump knew of it. and came to my house many times during that period. He never got a massage.”
While in another email he wrote about Trump:
“Of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop.” []
And then, beyond questions about abuse, some of the emails raised questions about possible dirt Epstein or others may have had on Trump.
Right, in one, speaking about Trump, Epstein claimed he had the ability to “take him down.” []
And in 2018 email Epstein received from his brother Mark, he was asked to question Steve Bannon about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had "the photos of Trump blowing Bubba” – adding:
"You and your boy Donnie can make a remake of the movie Get Hard."
And very notably, “Bubba" is a nickname for former US President Bill Clinton.
That said, you’ve had Mark responding in a statement – saying:
“[The emails] were simply part of a humorous private exchange between two brothers and were never meant for public release or to be interpreted as serious remarks” – and adding:
"For the avoidance of any doubt, the reference to ‘Bubba’ in this correspondence is not, in any way, a reference to former President Bill Clinton.”
But speaking of Bill Clinton, he is one of the prominent Democratic figures now being investigated by the administration.
Right, and that goes back to Friday, when you had Trump demanding that the Justice Department investigate “Epstein’s involvement and relationship” with not only Clinton but also ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
As well as the banks JPMorgan and Chase and “many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him.”
And within just a few hours, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she had given the case to the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, writing on X:
“Thank you. Attorney Jay Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and I’ve asked him to take the lead. As with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.”
And with that, I will say, these newly released emails have only confirmed the extent of Epstein’s connections to the rich, powerful, and well-connected even after pleading guilty to “soliciting prostitution from a minor” in 2008.
Right, Larry Summers, for example, the emails suggest he regularly turned to Epstein as a confidant – even asking for his advice pursuing a woman described as a mentee.
And then, separate from the emails, a recent New York Times Times investigation, JPMorgan spent years supporting and profiting from Epstein while ignoring the warning signs.
And so ultimately, based on these emails, and everything else, you have many saying there are plenty of people and organizations who probably should be investigated.
But it’s not normal for the president to be one of those people and then direct the Justice Department to investigate only the ones he perceives as his enemies.
Which is why you have outlets like the New York Times claiming this has, quote:
“...demonstrated the near-complete breakdown of the…Department’s traditional independence to prosecute cases based on facts and the law, as opposed to presidential fiat.” []
And that’s especially true since the DOJ said just four months ago that nothing in the Epstein files warranted further investigation.
Although, notably, with that, even if new investigations don’t result in more charges, they might allow the Justice Department to refuse to release any further files related to Epstein by claiming they’d negatively affect an ongoing case.
And that’s exactly why Republican Rep. Thomas Massie called the investigation “a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.”
Right, and Massie? He’s been one of the Republicans most vocal against Trump on this issue – but you had him saying yesterday that “100 or more” members of his party might join him in voting to release the Epstein files despite Trump’s previous opposition.
With Massie saying he hoped to secure a veto-proof majority.
Right, because even if the bill passes the House in the vote, which is expected to happen tomorrow, it would still have to pass the Senate.
And there, 60 votes would be needed for that — meaning that if all 47 Democrats vote in favor they would still need 13 Republicans to join them.
And then, still, Trump would still have to sign off – with a veto sending it back to the House.
And so between that and these investigations possibly getting in the way, there’s still quite a few potential obstacles to the release of these files.
Although, notably, at least, this seems to be one issue that at least has some potential for real Republican pushback.
Besides Massie, former MAGA diehard Marjorie Taylor Greene has been increasingly challenging Trump on a number of issues, especially Epstein.
And last week, you had Trump labelling her a traitor – with Greene claiming this contributed to death threats against her.
But Trump has only doubled down, again calling her a traitor in another post yesterday.
And this back and forth between them and the potential real-world consequences has become an issue all on its own that we need to talk about.
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With M T G writing on Saturday:[]
“I am now being contacted by private security firms with warnings for my safety as a hot bed of threats against me are being fueled and egged on by the most powerful man in the world. The man I supported and helped get elected.”
And she noted that aggressive rhetoric has resulted in her getting death threats before, but she finds it more disturbing now that the president is leading the charge, saying:
“As a Republican, who overwhelmingly votes for President Trump‘s bills and agenda, his aggression against me which also fuels the venomous nature of his radical internet trolls (many of whom are paid), this is completely shocking to everyone.”
“The Political Industrial Complex and the toxic violent nature of American politics must end.”
And then yesterday, she followed this up to say she and her family members have received hoax pizza deliveries, and there was a pipe bomb threat at the office of one of her construction companies. []
With her again saying Trump’s attacks:
“were a dog whistle to dangerous radicals that could lead to serious attacks on me and my family.”
There including details behind why people would target her with hoax pizza deliveries, right, noting it is called “pizza doxxing” and it is done to harass, intimidate, and threaten public leaders, and is viewed as a potential precursor to more serious threats.
So MTG added:
“I am not a traitor. However, when the President of the United States irresponsibly calls a Member of Congress of his own party, traitor, he is signaling what must be done to a traitor.”
And this has prompted a ton of responses, people like Rep. Jasmine Crocket using it to talk about other violence she believes Trump has fueled, writing:[]
“do y’all now believe me when I say that TRUMP fuels hate against those that oppose him?!!”
“Will faux news finally start to address that this man has created a permission structure of hate and violence…”
“Next time you want to run a story about me legally paying for Security, maybe run one on the insane amount of threats that I get that you are complicit in fueling!”
But others have slammed MTG for speaking out now that she is the victim of Trump’s ire, arguing she herself has spewed dangerous rhetoric that has fueled hate, too.[][][]
And she actually kind of addressed this when pressed about it on CNN yesterday:
“Obviously any threats to your safety are unacceptable, but we have seen these kinds of attacks and criticism from the president at other people. It’s not new. And I haven’t seen you speak about it until it was directed at you…Dana I think that is fair criticism, and I would like to say humbly that I am sorry for taking part in the toxic politics, it’s very bad for our country. (9:37-10:09)
“I am committed, and I have been working on this a lot lately, to put down the knives in politics. I really just want to see people be kind to one another.” (10:24-10:34)
And while some people are incredibly impressed by her apology here, there are also a lot of people skeptical about how sincere it is.[][][][]
Trump’s response, though?
Well, he basically told reporters that he does not believe MTG is facing any real threats.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene said her life could be in danger because of the rhetoric…her life is in danger? Whose that?...Marjorie Taylor Greene, she says that…Marjorie Traitor Greene. I don’t think her life is in danger. Frankly, I don’t think anybody cares about her.” (0:04-0:21)
But MTG is not the only politician dealing with threats potentially tied to Trump’s rhetoric.
Because an Indiana lawmaker who Trump recently criticized was just swatted over the weekend.
Right, yesterday morning Trump was upset at Republicans in Indiana for not forcing a redistricting push, and so he wrote on Truth Social:[]
“Very disappointed in Indiana State Senate Republicans, led by RINO Senators Rod Bray and Greg Goode, for not wanting to redistrict their State.”
“Because of these two politically correct type “gentlemen,” and a few others, they could be depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House, A VERY BIG DEAL!”
“Senators Bray, Goode, and the others to be released to the public later this afternoon, should DO THEIR JOB, AND DO IT NOW! If not, let’s get them out of office, ASAP.”
And then, later in the day, officers in Indiana said they got an email claiming that “harm had been done” to people inside the home of state Senator Greg Goode, but when they responded, everyone was fine and the event was a swatting hoax.[]
With Goode then thanking the officers, but adding that the incident is “unfortunate and reflective of the volatile nature of our current political environment.”[]
The Governor of Indiana also writing that these threats have “no place in Indiana” and officials are working to “bring the criminals behind the attack on Senator Goode to justice.”[]
But, then move to Trump’s response, and this morning he just continued to post things like:
I will be strongly endorsing against any State Senator or House member from the Great State of Indiana that votes against the Republican Party, and our Nation, by not allowing for Redistricting for Congressional seats.”[]
And so far, the White House has not given further comment on the situation.
But you had tons of news outlets noting that the swatting came just hours after Trump’s initial post calling out Senator Goode by name.
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A Trump-appointed attorney made so many mistakes prosecuting James Comey that the charges against him may be dismissed.
That’s what U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzgerald is claiming in a ruling today, writing:
"The record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.” []
And with that, the judge specifically went after prosecutors’ decision to review evidence the FBI seized years earlier without securing a new warrant.
As well as their allowing an FBI agent to testify to the grand jury even though this person may have been exposed to material shielded by attorney-client privilege.
And finally, he said he found that acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan made statements to grand jurors harmful to Comey's legal rights. []
But really, it’s hard to blame Halligan for handling this case poorly.
Right, she had no prosecutorial experience just a couple of months ago - before all this, she worked in real estate law and represented Trump in civil litigation.
And she only got this job after her predecessor refused to do Trump’s bidding and bring a case against Comey despite the lack of solid evidence.
Halligan had no such qualms though and quickly brought the case before a Grand Jury in September.
Which is when Comey pleaded not guilty to the charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation. []
And that’s specifically related to a testimony he gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee back in 2020 about a previous leak to the press regarding an FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
At the time of Comey’s indictment, Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement saying,
"Comey stated that he did not authorize someone at the FBI to be an anonymous source. According to the indictment that statement was false.” []
"No one is above the law."
But now, the judge has now ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to the Comey’s defense lawyers.
Which is notable because grand jury materials are typically protected by strict secrecy rules.
And so you had the judge acknowledging that “this as an extraordinary remedy…” but saying:
“....given the factually based challenges the defense has raised to the government's conduct and the prospect that government misconduct may have tainted the grand jury proceedings, disclosure of grand jury materials under these unique circumstances is necessary to fully protect the rights of the accused.” []
So we’ll have to see where Comey’s case goes from here, and what those grand jury proceedings reveal.
But notably, even if this case gets thrown out, Comey is just one of three Trump critics that have been hit with criminal charges in the past few months – and of course many more have been threatened.
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Donald Trump’s pulling every rabbit out of the hat that he can find to get this affordability crisis under control.
Because in the recent off-year elections that Democrats crushed, the economy and cost of living were at the top of voters’ minds. [Headline]
So Trump’s been testing different methods of winning back that ground, starting with his signature move: lying.
[Clip, 05:29 - 05:31] Caption: “We have virtually no inflation.”
As of September, annual inflation was at 3%, and most economists expect that to go up even more as the tariffs reach consumers. [Quote, find “3%" and Image]
With the Yale Budget lab last month estimating that consumers were facing an average effective tariff rate of 18%, the highest since 1934. [Quote, find “18 percent”]
And data suggests that people are making the connection between the pain they’re feeling in their daily lives and the policies of the Trump administration.
With a recent NBC poll finding that only 30% of voters believe Trump has lived up to their expectations for tackling inflation and the cost of living. [Quote, find “30 percent”]
And just 27% of voters telling a CNN poll late last month that Trump’s policies had improved the country’s economic conditions. [Same quote]
Now we’re seeing this report that as of June, past due balances to utility companies had jumped nearly 10% over the same time a year before. [Quote, find “9.7”]
And it’s not just consumers; right, nearly nine in ten CEOS told a recent survey that the tariffs will significantly impact their business performance over the next three years, adding that they’ll increase the price of their goods and services accordingly. [Graph]
But Trump argues that even if you don’t buy his “no inflation” lie, whatever price increases you’re suffering will be offset by a 2,000-dollar tariff dividend check.
[Clip, 06:46 - 06:55] Caption: “When you add the fact that I’ll be giving back $2,000 or so to middle-income people, low-income people, everybody but the rich.”
With Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backing that up on Fox News yesterday: [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 11:17 - 11:23]Caption: “$2,000 refunds, and that will be for working families. We’ll have an income limit.”
But Trump says this will happen sometime next year, and Bessent clarified that it’ll require legislation from Congress, with him adding the caveat “we’ll see.”
So while you have some excited about the idea and others critical of it, many more are skeptical it’s gonna happen at all.
With people posting stuff like: “The amount of grown adults that think they are getting a $2,000 tariff refund check is mind blowing.” [Post]
And “I can't wait to add my imaginary tariff check to my imaginary DOGE check and buy all that imaginary $2.00 gas.” [Post]
With betters on prediction markets also putting low odds on the prospect of Trump actually making these checks happen. [Webpage]
Also, even if the checks did go out, it raises the question: would they end up raising inflation, worsening the problem they’re meant to help solve?
Right, because Trump and Republicans have long claimed that the Covid-era stimulus checks were inflationary, so when a reporter asked him to address this apparent contradiction, Trump answered:
[Clip, 07:43 - 07:49, 08:13 - 08:20] Caption: “The difference is this is money earned as opposed to money that was made up. That money was made up. … Everybody but the rich will get this. That’s not made up. That’s real money. That comes from other countries.”
Y’all remember that part of your Econ 101 class where you learn about the difference between real and made-up money, right?
But even putting that point aside, it’s simply not true that tariff revenue comes from other countries.
Right, for the millionth time, tariffs are a tax on American importers, not foreign exporters.
But regardless of where it comes from, Trump says he’s also gonna use the tariff revenue to pay down the national debt.
Which, by the way, is now over 38 trillion dollars and rising extra fast thanks to that Big Beautiful Bill.
But the thing about that promise is: it’s all but impossible.
Right, through the first three quarters of this year, the Treasury Department has collected nearly 200 billion dollars from tariff duties, according to its September statement. [Quote, find “195”]
Which likely wouldn’t be anywhere close to enough even to cover just the dividend checks, nevermind the debt.
Because according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, if the checks are structured like the Covid-era stimulus checks, they would cost 600 billion dollars. [Headline]
So maybe Trump could afford to pay out 2,000-dollar checks every two or three years, but that’s also assuming tariff revenue remains the same.
And with lower courts having ruled that many of his tariffs are illegal, their future is now in the hands of the Supreme Court, which so far seems skeptical of Trump’s legal arguments.
But apparently Trump doesn’t need the court’s encouragement anyway, because he’s removing some of the tariffs all on his own.
With him lifting duties on dozens of food products over the weekend, including beef, coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, peppers, nuts, bananas, oranges, mangos, avocados, coconuts, guavas, limes, Pineapples, tomatoes and certain fertilizers.
With beef and coffee being especially notable there, because not only do Americans inhale ungodly amounts of them every year, but prices of both are up 15 to 20%. [Quote, find “15%”]
So for consumers, lifting the tariffs could provide some relief, but for Trump, critics argue it’s a tacit admission of guilt.
Right, because for months he’s been claiming that tariffs won’t raise prices for Americans, but now he’s lowering tariffs to lower prices for Americans.
With him explaining that tariffs are simply unnecessary for these particular goods.
[Clip, 01:55 - 02:06] Caption: “They’re not competitive in this country. Tomatos and bananas and things, we don’t make them in this country. So there’s no protection of our industries or our food products.”
But then you have people saying, well if that’s true, then why the hell did you tariff them in the first place?
Right, it’s like he just finally came around to the basic point that critics have been trying to tell him for months.
Anyway, Trump’s new argument is that yeah, prices are a little up — well, no, there’s no inflation, but also there is, but really there isn’t — whatever, regardless, prices are coming down.
And with holidays right around the corner, there’s this particular claim he’s been repeating for the past two weeks. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 00:30 - 00:51] Caption: “They use the affordability word. The affordability is much, much better with us, and again I go to Walmart and other companies, and in every case it’s about 25%, that a meal, a Thanksgiving meal and surroundings are 25% lower than it was under the Biden administration, and that’s a big fact.”
But it turns out that’s not such a “big fact,” because as Politifact points out, it’s only kind of true, and that’s being generous. [Headline]
Because while yes, the price of a Walmart thanksgiving dinner package was 55 dollars last year and 40 dollars this year, a roughly 25% drop, [Image, image]
That’s not because the products cost less; it’s because there are less products.
With Walmart removing the chicken broth, onions, celery, poultry seasoning, pecan pie, frozen whipped topping, mini marshmallows, Jiffy Corn muffin mix, and sweet potatoes, as well as downsizing other items. [Quote, find “broth”]
Goddamnit, now I’m hungry.
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With that said, it brings us to comment, commentary, and a special one
because we actually had a Friday Philip DeFranco show last week.
if you missed it, definitely check it out.
I'll have a link for it in the top of the description and top comment. ribbit.
It was a special one because I let y'all take control.
covered a number of things I probably wouldn't dive into these days.
and so with that, some of your comments and questions ended up being things like,
wait, did I hear that right? Mrs..
Philly D is running for office.
Yeah, you heard right.
Lindsey is running for a school board in Fulton County and Georgia.
I couldn't be more excited for her because she's not in my eyes.
Mrs.. Billy D she is.
Lindsey DeFranco, capital L, capital D.
she's actually an alum of the school system.
She's so smart and passionate.
I could I could gush about her for way too long.
Main thing, if you're interested in learning more,
you can go to Lindsay fulton.com.
for the rest of you all out there, whether you're
looking to support candidates or you just want to see change, change starts local.
you know, there's never a better time to get involved than. Right now.
also kind of related in the comments, a lot of you all
were sounding off on media literacy and just the news and kids.
Steve, you guys sharing when I was young, middle school age, I was writing essays
on whether I believe capital punishment was something that I supported.
So yeah, I think it's fine to talk to kids
and allowing them to start developing their own opinions. right.
Like I said last Friday.
And I always try to be very sensitive about stuff with kids.
I do for my kids isn't necessarily what I'd say, you know,
you need to do for your kids, especially because
so many of these kids are just different.
mean, even my own do they are a testament to, nature versus nurture.
Right.
My oldest, when he was eight, he was very interested in the world
and politics and all of that stuff.
My my current eight year old Carter, he just he's pumped about Spiderman.
I'm like, hell yeah, brother, let's let's talk about Stan Lee. Facts.
Yeah. I think for your kids here amount see where they're at.
And at the very least just kind of be a sounding board for them,
because if you don't have the conversations,
someone else or something else will.
we also have people like mag saying, as a teacher, we try to teach media literacy.
Unfortunately, more and more often,
parents expect us to teach their kids everything.
It's hard enough teaching them how to read, right?
Do math, science, and social studies.
Now we have to teach them how to be kind, respectful, patient,
how to stay in control of their emotions and critical thinking.
so with that adding,
if you as a parent think that something is important
for your kids to learn,
you need to check in with your kids, make sure they know that it is important,
check in with them, see if they need help learning.
Show them that it is important.
If we want to help our kids, we need to work together.
we also had Jess Burch saying, you know, the media literacy,
it might have actually been a blind spot for us, saying
media literacy is so important, and I think it's fallen
by the wayside as we've gotten more into the age of technology.
I think adults unfortunately assumed if kids grew up with technology
in their life from the start, then media literacy would be inherently developed.
But it obviously isn't.
failing our children by not having media literacy as part of our curriculum.
Since media and the internet is such a large part of their lives, growing up.
right.
And then finally
there were also just a lot of comments that noted the armpit hair hanging out
is staring at me.
into that, I want to say sorry. Andor.
You're welcome.
but then, my friends, is where today's video is going to end.
But again, there's more just to click away.
you've got my brand new podcast I did with Scott Galloway.
My stepdad was so pumped that I did this interview.
which was great for me because, I mean,
we got to talk about something we could relate to,
and I didn't have to fake, like, I actually care about SEC football.
also there's that Friday Philip DeFranco show,
which, if you didn't see, I highly recommend it.
but no matter what you do, let me say this. Thank you for watching.
I love your faces. You're dope.
And I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
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