Trump’s Epstein Files Problem Just Got Worse As Deadline Nears & Why Even MAGA Mocked Trump's Speech
PDS Published 12/18/2025
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Republicans are literally fleeing the Capitol like there’s a bomb that’s about to go off, and there may as well be.
Right, the House was originally scheduled to hold its final votes of the year tomorrow, but the GOP suddenly cancelled that and let everyone go home this afternoon instead. [Post]
With Alexandria Ocasio Cortez speaking for many when she posted in response:
“Like I said: view all political developments for the rest of the week in light of the fact that the Epstein Files are supposed to be released on Friday.” [Post]
But while Republicans seem to be expecting some kind of explosion tomorrow, others say it’s far from clear that we’ll get the disclosure we’ve been promised.
Because while Attorney General Pam Bondi did say she would abide by the December 19th deadline mandated by the law Trump had no choice but to sign last month, she’s been oddly quiet since then. [Image]
In fact, when a bipartisan group of lawmakers asked her for a briefing on the DoJ’s progress recently, she did not provide one. [Headline]
So in response, Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Ben Ray Luján [Loo-hon] said on Tuesday they would do whatever they could to block any of Trump’s political nominees, explaining:
“There can be no business as usual until justice is delivered for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes. The Trump Administration’s lack of transparency about its plans to release the Epstein Files signals it is gearing up to disregard the law we led the fight in the Senate to pass, which overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress.” [Quote]
And you have Chuck Schumer adding: [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 00:29 - 00:38, 00:46 - 00:55] Caption: “We fully expect Trump, Bondi, and their minions to dodge, delay, or partially release the files. … We are all asking the obvious question that looms: President Trump, what are you trying to hide?”
Which brings us to our main story: a bombshell update on what I like to call the curious misadventures of Don and Jeff. [B roll, 04:06 - 04:09, 04:14 - 04:32]
Because The New York Times just published a wild investigation into their past relationship based on never-before-seen documents and interviews with 30 people from the time, many of whom have never spoken publicly before. [Same B roll and headline]
And y’all, this just gets crazier and crazier, but let’s start with the basics: Trump and Epstein were close friends. [Same B roll]
Now yeah, of course we already knew that, but this report details just how close; I mean, they reportedly went to each other’s homes, offices and businesses constantly. [Quote, find “two decades”]
Right, the bond was apparently intense enough to leave people who knew them with the impression that they were each other’s closest friend. [Quote same link, find “bond intense”]
With one of Epstein’s assistants telling The Times the men talked at least three times a week during the mid-to-late 1990s. [Quote same link, find “three times”]
And another assistant adding that those calls actually continued through the later years of their friendship, and that she sometimes heard them because Epstein put Trump on speaker. [Quote same link, find “later years”]
Now she says that much of what they talked about was relatively innocent — pageants, modeling shows, fashion trends, that kind of thing — and in fact Trump sometimes went on so long that Epstein left the room while the future president was still talking. [Same quote]
But a third assistant says that they frequently talked about sex, and deliberately did so on speaker so she would hear.
With her recalling how Trump seemed to enjoy describing his sexual exploits, and how Epstein seemed to delight in the calls making her uncomfortable. [Quote same link, find “delight”]
In one call, she says the men discussed how much pubic hair a particular woman had, and whether there was enough for Epstein to floss his teeth with. [Quote same link, find “pubic hair”]
Then, on another call, Trump allegedly described having sex with another woman on a pool table. [Same quote]
But these stories just keep coming, like how during a flight, Trump allegedly came on to one of Epstein’s employees, telling her he could have anyone he wanted. [Quote same link, find “like a menu”]
With another employee recalling that TruIlmp occasionally sent over modeling cards for Epstein to peruse like a menu. [Same quote]
[Clip, 04:12 - 04:26]
The Times also reports that Jill Harth, a former business partner who later accused Trump of sexually assaulting her at a party that Epstein also attended, said Trump once demanded that she provide him with “access” to a 17-year-old Czech beauty pageant contestant. [Quote]
Now we don’t know what, if anything, happened there, but another contestant from Switzerland told The Times that during the same event, one of Trump’s employees asked her to meet privately with him in a suite upstairs. [Quote same link, find “meet privately”]
Then, she says that almost as soon as she arrived, Trump began groping her, kissing her and trying to lift her dress. [Same quote]
With her recalling: “I yelled, I screamed, I pushed him. He didn’t want to give up.” [Same quote]
Oh and by the way, her friend corroborated the story, saying she told him about it in 2004, and there’s this photo of her with Trump too. [Image]
But that’s not the end of it, because at the same event, she says that Epstein introduced himself to her as “Don’s best friend.” [Quote same link]
Though she adds that she was confused because he didn’t seem to be affiliated with the pageant, so she didn’t understand why he had been allowed into the press luncheon. [Same quote]
Regardless, Epstein allegedly continued telling her “Don likes you very much,” invited her to Mar-a-Lago, and promised to take care of her flights and hotel. [Same quote]
Then, when she declined, she says he tried to convince her by talking about the wealth he kept in Swiss banks, as well as famous friends he could introduce her to. [Quote same link, find “Swiss banks”]
And apparently, there’s even more to her story, but she told The Times she was withholding some details because she had been subject to anonymous threats.
Next, the paper spoke to Tina Davis, a then 14-year-old model for Ford whose booker allegedly told her to “dress sexy” for a Mar-a-Lago party in 1994. [Quote same link]
Then, according to her mother, the eight or nine other girls on the bus all looked “really young,” adding that “some of them could have been in training bras.” [Same quote]
And as soon as they arrived, she says her daughter was repeatedly offered glasses of champagne and approached by middle-aged men, at which point she’d step in and say hey, I’m her mother. [Quote same link, find “Champagne”]
And finally, when they went to the bathroom, she says they ran into Trump’s then wife, Marla Maples, who clasped her hands, looked her in the eye, and warned:
“Whatever you do, do not let her around any of these men, and especially my husband. Protect her.” [Quote same link]
Though when asked about it, Maples denied ever saying that.
Then next, The Times spoke to one of Epstein’s victims who said she attended half a dozen of Trump’s parties starting when she was a 17-year-old model. [Quote same link, find “open-bar”]
With her saying the parties were open-bar, no one checked IDs, and Trump was “always all over” them,” the models. [Same quote]
And she showed the paper a photo of herself and a friend next to Trump, though she couldn’t remember if she was still underage at the time.
Next, providing even more details about these parties is a New Zealand model who said her agency pressured her to attend one when she was 24 years old. [Quote same link, find “Brock”]
With her recalling how 20 or so models were bused in, then given red-and-white striped wristbands, which she felt were meant to advertise them as “meat.” [Quote same link]
This as none of the other guests, mostly comprising of men in tuxedos, wore the wristbands. [Same quote]
Then, she says the women were made to line up and meet Trump, adding: “I had a glass of champagne, and I immediately felt not well. I thought my drink had been spiked.” [Quote same link]
Next up, we’ve got a story from one woman who alleges that Epstein took her to meet Trump when she was about 14 years old. [Quote same link, find “about 14”]
And when they got there, Epstein allegedly said “this is a good one, right?” As he elbowed Trump playfully. [Quote same link]
To which Trump allegedly smiled and nodded, with the two men chuckling. [Same quote]
Oh, and by the way, she adds that she participated in Trump’s Miss Teen USA pageant. [Same quote]
And then finally, The Times spoke to a woman who said she was coerced into attending four parties at Epstein’s home, that Trump was there at all of them, and that Epstein directed her to have sex with other male guests. [Quote same link, find “male guests”]
And of course, she’s not the only one who recalls Trump and Epstein treating women and girls like property.
Right, you’ve also got Maria Farmer, one of Epstein’s victims, who claimed that during one meeting, Trump leered at her, before Epstein informed him that “she’s not for you.” [Quote same link]
And then there’s Stacey Williams, Epstein’s then girlfriend, who said Trump groped her at Trump Tower while Epstein watched. [Quote same link, find “Stacey”]
Now to be clear, of the six victims of Epstein’s abuse who have said they were introduced to Trump, none have accused the president himself of wrongdoing.
In fact, Epstein himself was asked about it during a deposition in 2010, and this was his answer. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip] Caption: [Man:] “Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of eighteen?” [Jeffrey Epstein:] “Though I’d like to answer that question, at least today, I’m going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment rights, sir.”
But whether he assaulted children or not, Trump has already been publicly accused by close to 20 women of groping, forcibly kissing or sexually assaulting them. [B roll, 03:39]
[Clip, 00:16 - 00:18, 00:21 - 00:23, 00:35 - 00:36, 00:39 - 00:43, 01:33 - 01:47] Caption: “I did try to fuck her. She was married. … And I moved on her very heavily. … I moved on her like a bitch. … Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look. … You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful- I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
[Clip, 01:24 - 01:29, 02:03 - 02:08, 02:24 - 02:27, 02:41 - 02:45] Caption: [Woman:] “You are seen in the company of lots of beautiful women, Donald.” [Donald Trump:] “I like beautiful women. You’re very beautiful. … I’m so controversial. I love beautiful women, I love going out with beautiful women, and I love women in general.” … [Woman:] “If you could have your choice, who would be the one person you’d date?” … [Donald Trump:] “I think my choice might be you. Look at the legs on her. Boy oh boy.”
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Though, he and his Department of Health are actually calling it “Sex-Rejecting” care, and his new policies seek to ban these procedures at hospitals.
Right, under guidance announced today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will “release a notice of proposed rulemaking” banning hospitals from receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding if they perform “sex-rejecting procedures on children under age 18.”[]
And because nearly all U.S. hospitals participate in these programs, this will have a major impact.
The FDA is also sending warning letters to a dozen manufacturers of breast binders accusing them of “illegal marketing.”
And RFK Jr. also said that the HHS Office of Civil Rights is proposing a rule that no longer counts gender dysphoria as a disability.[]
These rules were unveiled to carry out an executive order Trump signed back in January.
Today’s measure says that so-called “Sex-rejecting procedures” include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations, and it claims these interventions expose young people to "irreversible damage.” []
With RFK Jr. saying:
“This is not medicine, it is malpractice. We’re done with junk science driven by ideological pursuits, not the well-being of children.” (7:14-7:26)
But obviously, that has faced major pushback.
Right, these rules are not yet final and the process of implementing them is long, requires public comment, all that jazz. []
But they are designed to effectively end gender-affirming care for minors no matter where they live in the U.S., and even without them being final, moves like this could intimidate doctors and hospitals to not offer this care at all.
So you have some doctors slamming these proposals as anti-science. []
People like Sen. Tammy Baldwin writing that:[]
“Americans want lower health care costs, not RFK, Jr. making decisions that should be up to families and their doctors. Instead of fixing our broken health care system, the Trump administration is going after potentially lifesaving care for kids.”
And this comes as RFK is already facing backlash because HHS just revoked millions of dollars in grants from the American Academy of Pediatrics, a group that has vocally criticized his anti-vax agenda.
It also comes amid a larger crackdown on trans care for children.
Yesterday, the house passed a bill that would imprison healthcare providers who offer gender-affirming care to children.
It is called the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, it was sponsored by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
And it criminalizes any attempt to “perform or facilitate genital or bodily mutilation or chemical castration on a minor” and slaps those who do with a ten year prison sentence or hefty fine.[]
It also bans puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatments for children.
And it ended up passing mostly along party lines with a handful of exceptions from both sides, and while speaking in support of it, you had MTG writing that:
But now it will have to move the Senate, where it has a much less certain future.
And as you can imagine, while it did pass, the bill is facing a ton of criticism.
With a rep at the ACLU saying:
“This bill also creates an incredibly dangerous precedent far beyond the specific care at issue, criminalizing care based on ideology and placing Washington politicians between families and their doctors. We strongly condemn the passage of this measure and urge members of the Senate to do everything in their power to prevent it from ever becoming law.”
So two big stories related to trans care for kids, and while neither of these are fully set in stone yet, I would love to know your thoughts as we wait to see where they both go.
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Is Donald Trump starting to panic?
Right, last night, Trump gave a Prime Time speech that some are saying is evidence he’s starting to feel the slump in his approval ratings.
It’s one of his shorter rambles - coming in at only 18 minutes - but in true Trump fashion, he opened by talking about how horrible, no-good, awful, and terrible things were under the Biden administration.
He then hit his usual talking points - that before him, America was riddled with corruption, the woke were indoctrinating children, there was so much war, and - of course - illegal aliens were ruining everything.
[“Our border was open and because of this, our country was being invaded by an army of 25 million people, many who came from prisons and jails, mental institutions, and insane asylums. They were drug dealers, gang members, and even 11,888 murderers, more than 50% of whom killed more than one person. This is what the Biden administration allowed to happen to our country, and it can never be allowed to happen again.” 0:32-1:04]
[“One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead. Our country was ready to fail. Totally fail. Now, we're the hottest country anywhere in the world, and that's said by every single leader that I've spoken to over the last five months.” 8:19-8:35]
And he went on to tout his own greatness - talking about sending education back to the states, how safe DC is after he sent in the National Guard, how we have the most powerful military in the world, and how he’s shut down the border entirely.
Even claiming there have been zero illegal immigrants entering the country in the last 7 months.
And, as he does, Trump spent a long time harping on immigration and pointing the finger at the Democrats.
But maybe the biggest theme of his speech was the economy - the cost of things like gas, housing, and health insurance.
Actually, on that front, he did linger on health care - which has been a big focus since the government shutdown - and promised that he’s taking on the giant health insurance companies to lower costs.
“It will be far better health insurance. The current Unaffordable Care Act was created to make insurance companies rich. It was bad healthcare at much too high a cost. And you see that now in the steep increase in premiums being demanded by the Democrats, and they are demanding those increases, and it's their fault. It is not the Republican's fault. It's the Democrat's fault. It's the Unaffordable Care Act, and everybody knew it.” 11:58-12:26
He also said that he’s worked directly with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices by 400, 500, 600% - which, yes, doesn’t make any sense mathematically but we’ll come back to that.
And while we’re on the topic of things that don’t add up, he also said that in much of the country, gas was less than $2.50 a gallon and even below $2 in some states.
But, again, we’ll come back to that.
Anyway, the big surprise of this speech was his promise to send a check for $1,776 to over a million members of the military before Christmas - calling it the “warrior dividend” and saying that it was made possible by the tariffs. []
Before closing out with a classic string of Trump-isms and promising an economic boom like we’ve never seen before.
[“Tonight, after 11 months, our border is secure, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down, our nation is strong. America is respected, and our country is back stronger than ever before”17:06-17:22]
Now, we’ve seen many outlets fact check pretty much everything Trump said in this speech.
With the big ones being the numbers he tossed out - like the gas below $2.50, drug prices slashed by several hundred percent, and his claims about inflation.
On the account of inflation, he claimed that he inherited the worst inflation crisis in nearly 50 years or even the history of the country.
Which isn’t really true - inflation did hit a 4 decade high of 9.1 percent in June of 2022 but it had already declined to 3 percent by the time Trump took office.
And also 9 percent isn’t a historical record - inflation reached higher points in the 1910s, the 70s, and the 80s. []
Then there’s the gas bit - with Trump saying that in, quote, “much of the country” gas is below $2.50 a gallon.
Which is pretty easily disproven by his own government.
Right, according to the Energy Information Administration, the national average for gas prices for the week ending in December 15th was $2.90. []
And according to AAA, there are only 4 states where gas is below $2.50 on average - with Oklahoma being the lowest at $2.34.
And there are no states where the average is less than $2 a gallon.
Finally, let’s talk about drug prices being slashed by 600% - in case it’s not clear, that’s not a thing. []
When you cut the price of something by 100%, that makes it free.
So unless they’re paying you several times over the price of the drug, it hasn’t been cut by 600%.
Now, outside of the truth - which has never really been Trump’s strong suit - many people, even some conservatives, noted that his tone and demeanor in this speech was less confident than usual.
With some saying that rather than updating the American public about what he’s doing, it sounded more like he was scolding us for not appreciating him enough. []
With Owen Shroyer, a right-wing podcaster saying,
[“He seemed to be speed-reading. The charisma was gone. The aura was gone. The swagger was gone. And the message was stale. There was nothing new.” 0:36-0:48]
You even had the Guardian comparing him to Scrooge and calling this the “Bah! Humbug!” speech.
With the general consensus being he seems to be starting to feel the sting of his falling approval ratings.
Right, we talked pretty extensively yesterday about how Americans have never been so dissatisfied with Trump - specifically on the economy side of things.
With the latest polling showing that only 36% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy.
But it will be interesting to see how these promises he made last night play out and whether that will have any impact on the polling.
With that, I’m going to pass the question off to you - what are your thoughts about Trump’s speech last night?
Good, bad, panicky, normal?
Let me know what you’re thinking in those comments down below.
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Because he just announced he is leaving his job as Deputy Director of the FBI in January, writing:
“I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America, and all those who defend Her.”[]
And so you had Kash Patel and Pam Bondi thanking him for his work. ][[]
Trump telling reporters:
"Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”
And his desire to “go back to his show” is part of why his departure is not too shocking, right.
Dan Bongino was never an obvious pick for such a powerful FBI role because he had never worked for the FBI.
He had worked in law enforcement as a police officer and Secret Service agent, but was most known for being a pro-Trump podcaster.
So multiple reports claimed that he complained about how hard the job was, that he was unhappy there and threatened to leave multiple times.[][]
He apparently considered resigning over the summer after the FBI and DOJ released that memo about the Epstein files that might as well have said “nothing to see here folks just look the other way.”[]
Right, and that especially raised eyebrows because before he was hired by Trump, he frequently discussed Epstein coverups on his podcast
So the Epstein situation apparently led to a heated fight with AG Pam Bondi..
And she eventually accused him of planting negative stories in the press about her. []
And there were other tensions, too.
As the Washington Post phrased it, he and Patel have been “sinking morale” at the FBI over their choices to focus on immigration, to get rid of seasoned veterans at the agency.[]
And a September lawsuit from former FBI officials expressed concern over Bongino’s “intense focus” on “increasing online engagement through his social media profiles in an effort to change his followers’ perception of the F.B.I.”[]
With one former official saying that he spent more time on “creating content for his social media pages” than on actual investigations.
But the biggest sign that Bongino might be on the way out was that in August, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey was appointed to serve alongside him as a co-deputy director.
Which was an unusual move because it is usually just a one person job.
So that’s about a wrap on Bongino, and any thoughts you have, I would love to know.
Especially because when you think back to the first Trump administration, people were leaving or getting fired left and right, but this time around a major departure is a lot more rare,
So any thoughts you have I would love to hear them.
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with that said, it brings us to the big final thing today and that is.
What the hell is happening from right now to January 5th.
Because this is the last full sized scheduled Philip DeFranco show for 2025.
but depending on the news, that does not mean
this is the last time you're going to see me in 2025.
part of this. It's due to superstition.
It feels like every time I take a long break, the craziest, worst thing happens.
And so maybe if I'm, you know, nearby, that won't happen.
I won't hold my breath on that, though. and two.
I mean, it's a hard habit to break when something big happens.
I want to talk to you about it and break it down.
It's what I've done for the last two decades.
so what I'll say with that is definitely make sure on this channel
not only that you're subscribed, but you have notifications set to all
and turned on.
also if you're not on the text line, it's (813) 213-4423, text me.
Sign up. Get on it.
because in addition to putting out a video,
if something big happens over the break, I do want to test out some different
go live live streams where, yes,
we talk about the news, but also where I can interact with you more then
I don't know.
Sometimes it's really hard to see what's actually happening
and what people think,
because there's just been such a jump in bots everywhere online lately.
you know, I think it could scratch that itch, but also be more interactive.
yeah, hopefully that makes sense.
I didn't make it too confusing because, this is the end of this show though.
You've got more just a click away.
you've got a brand new episode of my podcast
that just dropped crashing out with myself and Alex Pearlman.
was a great time.
I think you'll enjoy watching and listening.
And or if you've missed last night's
Philip DeFranco show, definitely check that out.
but whatever you do, let me just say thank you for watching.
I love yo faces. And I'll see you here soon.
Turn on those notifications and text me on the text line.
