Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
It's true: he could simply order the files to be released. His own DOJ is just a tool of his, anyhow. Once again, he has manufactured a Catch-22. His DOJ is investigating the Dems, so, the files cannot be made public on that account? This is such a monstrously huge mountain of dooky. Is there NO recourse, then?
Never before has such a conscience-less, soul-less gov't regime existed and wielded such power, in the revenge-manner they are engaged in. This entire regime is unprecedented. THAT is the reason we have to be dealing with all (ALL) of this fecal matter in the first place. Who could have imagined the depths we are in currently? "Nothing is ever any fun unless you've got someone to blame;" I blame way too many American VOTERS.
” Lawrence Summers has stepped back from all public commitments, including teaching at Harvard University, following the release of emails between him and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On November 17, 2025, Summers stated he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions and took full responsibility for continuing communications with Epstein, acknowledging the pain it has caused. He is currently a board member of OpenAI and a columnist for Bloomberg News.”
"Senator Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass.) urged Harvard to cut ties with former University President Lawrence H. Summers after newly released emails revealed years of personal correspondence between Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein, CNN reported Monday."
"Her remarks represent the highest-profile call so far for Harvard to distance itself from Summers, whose position as one of the University’s most influential — and polarizing — figures has endured despite past controversies." https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/18/warren-summers-harvard/
Comments: I've read some email correspondence between Summers and Epstein. I don't know what Summers was thinking! I'm guessing that he won't be a "special guest" on Wall Street Week for a while...
Much of the time, he exhibits a need to learn a few more lessons in communication skills. Even apart from the dreadful Epstein connection, his manner could often be off-putting. Did he not hold a position under Obama? Seems to me that over the course of decades, he's been wrong about stuff a lot of the time. So have I, but I don't have advanced degrees in Economics. Time to just retire.
@Crash, he also served in the Clinton administration. From AI:
His roles were:
1993–1995: Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
1995–1999: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
1999–2001: Secretary of the Treasury (succeeding Robert Rubin)
Summers was a key economic policymaker during President Bill Clinton’s tenure, especially in areas involving financial markets, international economics, and regulatory policy.
“I’ve never heard of anything like that in my 30 years working,” said John F. Tobon, a retired assistant director for Homeland Security Investigations, which typically analyzes the contents of electronic devices after they’re seized by Customs and Border Protection. “For anyone to say this request is from the White House, it feels like an intimidation tactic.”
it seems that given the epstein momentum (since trump could not thwart, now claims to support), trump's strategy will be to distract via perception and\or reality that others were 'more' pedophilic than himself. if some gop also need be sacrificed for the distraction, all the better to display he is unbiased. and highly likely to work given levels of american cognition.
This actually could become a SERIOUS topic for a PhD candidate's dissertation. It's politically incorrect these days to talk about I.Q.... Instead, the focus is on Achievement. (Not how much one CAN learn, but how much s/he has learned.)
The U.N. has maps for EVERYTHING. Even a world map focused upon I.Q. There are no specific numbers, but every country is assigned a rating: above, average, below. It's been a while since I've looked at it. You might guess why some countries' populations are "below average:" poor nutrition for babies and children, thus stunting their brain development for the rest of their lives.
But what about cultural factors? What effect do some ingrained cultural assumptions have upon one's willingness or unwillingness to see, learn, investigate, understand? There is surely a cultural MAGA matrix....
From Heather Cox Richardson's "Letters from an American" newsletter.
"Also today, Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), along with Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking for a briefing no later than Friday on what she has claimed is 'new' material in the Epstein files that she said on November 14 had caused her to initiate investigations into connections between Jeffrey Epstein and former president Bill Clinton, former treasury secretary Larry Summers, and investor Reid Hoffman. On July 7, an FBI memo said there was no new evidence to open new investigations 'against uncharged third parties.'”
"Now the bipartisan lead sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act from both chambers of Congress are calling out what looks to be Bondi’s attempt to shield Trump, first by saying that there was no information in the files that would warrant an investigation of 'uncharged third parties' and then by opening such investigations on Democrats to muddy the waters and possibly claim that she could not release the files because of ongoing investigations."
Comments: It will be interesting to see how Blondi responds to this inquiry. Her decision to initiate new investigations was an obvious ruse.
"The U.S. Justice Department released more than 300,000 pages of records from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, bowing to pressure from lawmakers who forced their disclosure with a new law."
"The release follows months of political wrangling amid rebellion by some of President Donald Trump's staunchest supporters over his administration's reluctance to make public all records tied to probes into Epstein."
"It was not immediately clear how substantive the new materials were, given that many Epstein-related documents have previously been made public since his 2019 death in jail, which was ruled a suicide. Reuters is in the process of reviewing the latest release."
"In a letter to Congress, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department had released hundreds of thousands of pages of material and was still reviewing other documents for potential release. He said he thought it would take an additional two weeks to review the rest of the material. There are more than 1,200 names identified as victims or their relatives in the files, he added."
"'Technically, they’re not in compliance. I mean, obviously, the law calls for all the documents that are unclassified to be released. They have not done that,' Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the lead author of the Epstein disclosure law, told reporters."
"'The law also calls for them to explain redactions. I haven’t seen yet whether they’ve done that or not. My initial read is that they have a lot of redactions without explanation,' Khanna added."
"Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) who co-authored the legislation with Khanna and has championed the issue of transparency in the Epstein case, posted on X that Friday’s document release 'grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.'"
"Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about why the DOJ did not fully comply with the law with Friday’s release."
Anyway, its really no surprise that Pam Bondi would purposely defy US law to protect her master. The question is...who (or what entity) is going to prosecute her?
[snip] Anyway, its really no surprise that Pam Bondi would purposely defy US law to protect her master. The question is...who (or what entity) is going to prosecute her? I don't see it happening.
I don't see Ms. Blondi getting prosecuted during the Trump administration. What is the statute of limitations for her crimes? It might be possible that she could be prosecuted after Trump leaves office.
Epstein Files Photos Disappear From Government Website, Including One of Trump
A total of 16 photos were taken down at some point on Saturday from the website that the Justice Department created. One featured an open drawer containing other photos, including at least one of President Trump.
More than a dozen photos — including one featuring President Trump — were removed without explanation from the large trove of files connected to the investigations of Jeffrey Epstein that the Justice Department released on Friday.
A total of 16 photos were taken down at some point on Saturday from the website that the department created to house files — among them, one of the few that contained Mr. Trump’s image. It was a photo of a credenza in Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan home, with an open drawer containing other photos, including at least one of Mr. Trump.
The Justice Department did not explain on the site why the images had been removed, and a department spokesman did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee immediately seized on the missing photo of Mr. Trump, reposting it on social media and asking Attorney General Pam Bondi if it was true that the image had been removed. “What else is being covered up?” the post said. “We need transparency for the American public.”
Twelve of the other missing photos pictured the infamous massage room on the third floor of Mr. Epstein’s mansion in New York. The room, which sat down the hall from Mr. Epstein’s bedroom, was where investigators say that many of his sexual assaults occurred — some of them against teenage victims. The shelves in the room were stocked with lubricants and a silver ball and chain, among other things.
The massage room images that were removed depicted paintings and photographs of nude women, some with their faces redacted. But other images and artwork featuring nude women remained on the site. And some photos of the massage room — including the nude imagery — also remained.
Comment: I don't understand- aren't ALL of the files supposed to be released? I'm sure that this was just an unfortunate error on the part of some innocent DOJ intern. Maybe we should check with FD0000 on that.
Agreed - Possible. I have no faith that justice will be served there. The DOJ is actively obfuscating.
The scales of justice aren't just blind - they are also deaf and dumb.
Deny, deflect, delay. That's how Orange Donny got away with murder in all of those court cases. Not to mention that Garland was a Boy Scout. Took too long to DO anything.
Comments
Never before has such a conscience-less, soul-less gov't regime existed and wielded such power, in the revenge-manner they are engaged in. This entire regime is unprecedented. THAT is the reason we have to be dealing with all (ALL) of this fecal matter in the first place. Who could have imagined the depths we are in currently? "Nothing is ever any fun unless you've got someone to blame;" I blame way too many American VOTERS.
” Lawrence Summers has stepped back from all public commitments, including teaching at Harvard University, following the release of emails between him and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On November 17, 2025, Summers stated he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions and took full responsibility for continuing communications with Epstein, acknowledging the pain it has caused. He is currently a board member of OpenAI and a columnist for Bloomberg News.”
How do you spell DUMB?
Lawrence H. Summers after newly released emails revealed years of personal correspondence
between Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein, CNN reported Monday."
"Her remarks represent the highest-profile call so far for Harvard to distance itself from Summers,
whose position as one of the University’s most influential — and polarizing — figures has endured
despite past controversies."
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/18/warren-summers-harvard/
Comments: I've read some email correspondence between Summers and Epstein.
I don't know what Summers was thinking!
I'm guessing that he won't be a "special guest" on Wall Street Week for a while...
Summers served as "Director of the White House National Economic Council" in the Obama Administration.
https://larrysummers.com/positions/#directornational-economic-council
His roles were:
1993–1995: Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
1995–1999: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
1999–2001: Secretary of the Treasury (succeeding Robert Rubin)
Summers was a key economic policymaker during President Bill Clinton’s tenure, especially in areas involving financial markets, international economics, and regulatory policy.
Trump has managed to mishandle this so badly that no matter what is in those files, it will be suspected that he had his name removed.
Incidents like this will fuel the fire:
https://www.propublica.org/article/andrew-tate-investigation-dhs-paul-ingrassia
“I’ve never heard of anything like that in my 30 years working,” said John F. Tobon, a retired assistant director for Homeland Security Investigations, which typically analyzes the contents of electronic devices after they’re seized by Customs and Border Protection. “For anyone to say this request is from the White House, it feels like an intimidation tactic.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5611216-house-epstein-files-bill-vote/
it seems that given the epstein momentum (since trump could not thwart, now claims to support), trump's strategy will be to distract via perception and\or reality that others were 'more' pedophilic than himself. if some gop also need be sacrificed for the distraction, all the better to display he is unbiased.
and highly likely to work given levels of american cognition.
Superbly expressed!!!
The U.N. has maps for EVERYTHING. Even a world map focused upon I.Q. There are no specific numbers, but every country is assigned a rating: above, average, below. It's been a while since I've looked at it. You might guess why some countries' populations are "below average:" poor nutrition for babies and children, thus stunting their brain development for the rest of their lives.
But what about cultural factors? What effect do some ingrained cultural assumptions have upon one's willingness or unwillingness to see, learn, investigate, understand? There is surely a cultural MAGA matrix....
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/19/epstein-files-trump-bill-congress.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-19/jpmorgan-deutsche-bank-subpoenaed-to-release-epstein-records
"Also today, Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK),
along with Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), wrote a letter to
Attorney General Pam Bondi asking for a briefing no later than Friday on what she has claimed
is 'new' material in the Epstein files that she said on November 14 had caused her to initiate investigations
into connections between Jeffrey Epstein and former president Bill Clinton,
former treasury secretary Larry Summers, and investor Reid Hoffman.
On July 7, an FBI memo said there was no new evidence to open new investigations
'against uncharged third parties.'”
"Now the bipartisan lead sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act from both chambers of Congress
are calling out what looks to be Bondi’s attempt to shield Trump, first by saying that there
was no information in the files that would warrant an investigation of 'uncharged third parties'
and then by opening such investigations on Democrats to muddy the waters and possibly claim
that she could not release the files because of ongoing investigations."
Comments: It will be interesting to see how Blondi responds to this inquiry.
Her decision to initiate new investigations was an obvious ruse.
into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday,
bowing to pressure from lawmakers who forced their disclosure with a new law."
"The release follows months of political wrangling amid rebellion by some of President Donald Trump's
staunchest supporters over his administration's reluctance to make public all records tied to probes into Epstein."
"It was not immediately clear how substantive the new materials were, given that many Epstein-related
documents have previously been made public since his 2019 death in jail,
which was ruled a suicide. Reuters is in the process of reviewing the latest release."
"In a letter to Congress, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department
had released hundreds of thousands of pages of material and was still reviewing other documents
for potential release. He said he thought it would take an additional two weeks to review the rest of the material. There are more than 1,200 names identified as victims or their relatives in the files, he added."
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-officials-race-meet-friday-deadline-epstein-files-2025-12-19/
that are unclassified to be released. They have not done that,' Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.),
the lead author of the Epstein disclosure law, told reporters."
"'The law also calls for them to explain redactions.
I haven’t seen yet whether they’ve done that or not.
My initial read is that they have a lot of redactions without explanation,' Khanna added."
"Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) who co-authored the legislation with Khanna
and has championed the issue of transparency in the Epstein case,
posted on X that Friday’s document release 'grossly fails to comply with both
the spirit and the letter of the law.'"
"Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify
before the Senate Judiciary Committee about why the DOJ did not fully comply
with the law with Friday’s release."
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5657940-epstein-justice-department-document-dump/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatsune_Miku
Anyway, its really no surprise that Pam Bondi would purposely defy US law to protect her master. The question is...who (or what entity) is going to prosecute her?
I don't see it happening.
What is the statute of limitations for her crimes?
It might be possible that she could be prosecuted after Trump leaves office.
The scales of justice aren't just blind - they are also deaf and dumb.
A total of 16 photos were taken down at some point on Saturday from the website that the Justice Department created. One featured an open drawer containing other photos, including at least one of President Trump.
Following are excerpts from a current report in The New York Times:
Comment: I don't understand- aren't ALL of the files supposed to be released? I'm sure that this was just an unfortunate error on the part of some innocent DOJ intern. Maybe we should check with FD0000 on that.