The Conversation -- July 20, 2025
A Journalist in Trump's Purgatory. George Chidi of the Guardian: “Prosecutors dropped the last remaining charges against Atlanta-area journalist Mario Guevara last week after he was arrested while livestreaming a protest in June. But the influential Salvadorian reporter remains penned up in a south Georgia detention center, fending off a deportation case, jail house extortionists and despair, people familiar with his situation told the Guardian. Donald Trump’s administration has been extreme in unprecedented ways to undocumented immigrants. But Guevara’s treatment is a special case. Shuttled between five jail cells in Georgia since his arrest while covering the 'No Kings Day' protests, the 20-plus-years veteran journalist’s sin was to document the undocumented and the way Trump’s agents have been hunting them down. Today, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, he’s the only reporter in the United States sleeping in a prison cell for doing his job.... Guevara is arguably the most-watched journalist covering Ice operations in the United States, a story that the English-language media had largely been missing, [Jerry] Gonzales [of GALEO Latino Community Development Fund] said.”
Mike Baker & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: In 1996, Maria Farmer complained to New York police and to the F.B.I. about being assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell. She repeated her complaints -- which included one involving her sister when the sister was a teenager -- in 2006. She described one incident in which Mr. Trump intimidated her and “hovered over her,” but did not assault her after Mr. Epstein told him, “No, no. She’s not here for you.” “In interviews this week about what she told the authorities, Ms. Farmer said she had no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Mr. Epstein’s associates. But she said she was alarmed by what she saw as Mr. Epstein’s pattern of pursuing girls and young women while building friendships with prominent people, including [Donald] Trump and President Bill Clinton.... The story of Ms. Farmer’s efforts to call law enforcement attention to Mr. Epstein and his circle shows how the case files could contain material that is embarrassing or politically problematic to Mr. Trump, even if it is largely extraneous to Mr. Epstein’s crimes and was never fully investigated or corroborated.” The link is a gift link.
Aaron Boxerman, et al., of the New York Times: “Israeli forces killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians on Sunday in the northern Gaza Strip, after crowds gathered near a crossing from Israel to try to seize aid from United Nations trucks entering the enclave, according to the Gaza health ministry and health workers. The episode was the latest in a string of deadly shootings as hunger and desperation have gripped Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s nearly two-year campaign against Hamas. The latest attack took place near the Zikim crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. More than 60 people were killed while seeking aid in northern Gaza on Sunday, according to the health ministry and Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.... At least 32 people were killed on Saturday after Israeli soldiers began shooting near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site in southern Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.”
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Alan Feuer & Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: “In the swirl of money and sun-tanned women that was their Palm Beach-and-Manhattan set, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein spent nearly 15 years mingling side-by-side as public friends. There were lavish dinners with boldface names at Mr. Epstein’s mansion on the Upper East Side and raucous parties with cheerleaders and models at Mr. Trump’s private club and residence at Mar-a-Lago. In between, there were trips back and forth from Florida to New York on one of Mr. Epstein’s private jets. But behind the tabloid glamour, questions have lingered about what Mr. Trump’s long association with Mr. Epstein says about his judgment and character, especially as his allies have stoked sinister claims about Mr. Epstein’s connections to Democrats.... One of the young women [-- Virginia Giuffre --] who later said Mr. Epstein groomed and abused her was recruited into his world while working as a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago.... Another woman has said that Mr. Trump groped her when Mr. Epstein brought her to Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet him.... Stacey Williams, a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, has said she was groped by Mr. Trump when she was introduced to him by Mr. Epstein, whom she was dating at the time.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: I don't usually dwell on salacious stories, but an excerpt from a book by former SDNY U.S. attorney Geoffrey Berman, which Marcy Wheeler published last week (and I linked here contemporaneously), so disgusted me that I chose to watch a few podcasts about the Trump/Epstein case. Tim Miller's interview of Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown, who has been reporting on the case for years, covers a lot of ground. The video runs almost 50 minutes, so I'm not necessarily recommending you devote that much of your time to this matter. But it held my attention. BTW, Brown -- who comes across as extremely level-headed -- does not think Epstein killed himself. So there's that. I also almost never watch Meidas Touch podcasts as they always overpromise and they're extremely partisan and sensationalist. But here again this reprise of Donald Trump's history of exploiting girls and young women was sickening enough to hold my attention. The video lasts 19 minutes.
Justin Baragona of the Independent: “JD Vance took a quick day trip to Montana Tuesday afternoon to speak to right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, who is the chief of both Fox News and its sister corporation News Corp., which publishes the New York Post and Wall Street Journal. According to the Associated Press, the vice president’s secret meeting also included several executives from Fox News, the conservative cable giant that has largely carried Donald Trump’s water and helped staff up the president’s current administration.... It’s still not clear what the meeting between Vance and the Fox executives was about....” MB: Curiously, Baragona never mentions Epstein even though Tuesday reportedly was the day WSJ reporters contacted Trump for comment on their Epstein birthday-card report. I'd speculate that JayDee, who is often assigned the job of peacekeeper, was sent on an emergency mission to try to persuade Murdoch to kill the Epstein story.
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: “Trump’s supporters thought he would shed light on shady elites protecting their own money and power. Now MAGA is reckoning with the fact that Trump is the shady elite, shielding information about Jeffrey Epstein.... On Thursday, Trump posted that he had asked Bondi to produce “any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.” But judges usually keep such testimony secret. It was hilarious to see Trump hiding behind the judiciary he’s tried to sideline.... Twisting conspiracy theories into a Gordian knot of hate, Trump is claiming some Epstein files were 'made up' by Barack Obama, James Comey, “Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration” and “Crooked Hillary.' It’s tough to blame the deep state when you are the deep state.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Patrick Marley, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Justice Department under the Trump administration has fired dozens of career prosecutors during the past six months, making the dismissal of federal attorneys — generally a move reserved for cases of misconduct — almost commonplace. The dismissals often came without warning and have affected more than 40 prosecutors, based on reporting by The Washington Post and a tally of public information. The total number of lawyers, agents and support staff DOJ has fired since the administration began in January includes dozens more people, according to Justice Connection, an advocacy group for former Justice Department employees. The group estimates that more than 200 career employees have been fired across the department and its component agencies, which include the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... The terminations have alarmed staff members and observers who worry that agency officials are engaged in a broad campaign to erode civil service protections, bolster the political interests of the president and weaken the rule of law.”
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: “Another senior aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is leaving the Pentagon, officials said Saturday, marking at least the sixth departure of a top adviser in Hegseth’s first six months in office. Justin Fulcher, who was named a senior adviser to the defense secretary in late April, said in a text message to The Washington Post that his departure is 'perfectly amicable' and that he planned all along to complete just six months of government service.... The latest shake-up follows a report by The Post published Tuesday that detailed an unusual situation ahead of his appointment in April in which Fulcher — then a member of billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service — stormed out of a meeting with the Pentagon’s DOGE team lead, Yinon Weiss, and sought help from Hegseth’s front office.... Hegseth brought Fulcher onto his team days later, after he fired three other senior advisers and accused them of leaking information to the news media.”
The Plot Thickens. Sara Fischer of Axios: "Skydance CEO David Ellison and his lawyer met with Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr and an FCC lawyer on Tuesday, a new regulatory filing shows.... The meeting came two days before CBS abruptly announced that it is canceling 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' after the next season in May 2026, citing 'financial' reasons.'... '... we discussed Skydance's commitment to unbiased journalism and its embrace of diverse viewpoints, principles that will ensure CBS's editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers,'" Ellison's lawyer Matthew Brill wrote. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Joe My God's headline: "FCC Chair likely demanded Colbert's cancellation." MB: My God, I think Joe is right. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) Update: A reader got what sounds like a virus "warning" when he clicked on the link. I tried clicking on the page again and had no problem, and I assume RAS had no problem, either. But if you think you're particularly susceptible to viruses, I suspect you will want to stay clear of the page, just is case.
News Ledes
New York Times: “The Cram fire in central Oregon, which is threatening 653 structures, most of them homes, has grown to more than 95,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire of the year so far in the United States.... Moister air and calmer winds are expected to blunt some of the fire’s growth over the weekend. It was 49 percent contained as of late Saturday night local time, according to InciWeb, a government site that tracks wildfires.”
New York Times: “Torrential rain in parts of the Washington, D.C., area on Saturday led to flash flooding and prompted water rescues in Maryland and Virginia, the authorities said. More than five inches of rain fell in some densely populated Washington suburbs like Silver Spring on Saturday. Several major roads in Montgomery, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland, as well as in Fairfax County in Virginia, were impassable on Saturday evening. In northwest Washington, D.C., parked cars were inundated with floodwaters.”
AP: “A vehicle rammed into a crowd of people waiting to enter a performance venue along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles early Saturday, injuring 30 people and leading bystanders to attack the driver, authorities said. The driver was later found to have been shot, according to police, who were searching for a suspected gunman who fled the scene along Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood.... Twenty-three victims were taken to hospitals and trauma centers, according to police. Seven were in critical condition, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.... The driver, whose gunshot wound was found by paramedics, was also taken to a hospital.”
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Reader Comments (8)
So, FCC wants CBS` editorial decision-making to reflect diverse ideologies?
Used to be news outfits were supposed to reflect facts, but I can see CBS editors mixing in a little "conservatism" here, some "liberalism" there, plus your soupcons of communism, nazism, emperor worship, dominionism - there are hundreds of "varied" ideologies to share, instead of those boring limited "facts," which are tedious and repeatable.
Patrick,
Nicely said.
The Right doesn't want diverse ideologies any more they it really stands on the side of anti-semitism.
What it wants is white supremacy and privilege, protection of those who already have theirs, disdain for the poor and vulnerable, unregulated capitalism, as you say, Christian dominion-ism, and tacit, if not legal approval for their personal and political corruption.
Their problem: Stated that way it's not a winning argument....so they don't say it that way.
The last thing they want is to be judged by historically countenanced moral standards.
Early morning brain left out an "anti" before anti-semitism...
Sorry.
JoeMyGod’s page goes dark if you read down far enough, followed by YOUR PHONE HAS BEEN HACKED. At least thst was my experience.
@NiskyGuy: Thank you for the warning. I just clicked on the link again, and it worked fine for me. I did not get what sounds like a virus. I'm guessing your virus protection system is different from mine or you have yours set to a more "permissive" level.
via Hackwackers
"New York Daily News attempts to sum up the six months of hell that have been the start of the Malignant Fascist's second time in office"
For a 56 minute summary of last weeks t**** news, Josh Johnson Explains the Epstein Crashout - in standup comedy
He escapes again?
Right wingers for decades have excelled at whitewashing dirty laundry from the backgrounds of their favorite candidates, in effect, making nothing burgers out of huge problems. At the same time, their professional hacks have made careers out of taking nothing burgers in the backgrounds of Democrats and liberals and turning them into proof of their hidden lives as serial killers and child molesters.
No one except professional liars like KKKarline and Eva Braun Barbie Bondi disputes Fat Hitler’s disgusting history as the best friend and fellow rapist with a historic sex trafficker of underage girls.
The MAGAts who have screamed for years about “getting to the bottom” of the Epstein circle, hoping to uncover prominent Democrats and liberals who could then be primed for prison and execution, have been flummoxed by the uncomfortable truth that the Dear Leader is the biggest name on Epstein’s rape boy list.
What to do?
Now it appears that Rupert Murdoch, of all people, has given them an off ramp to not worrying about the Epstein “kompromat” on their Fat hero. The WSJ story about Fatty’s salacious birthday message to his rapist pal has become a cause célèbre, pushing the fact of Trump’s guilt aside in favor of going after what has always been their Public Enemy No. 1: the media.
“…the semi-plausible claim that the greeting is fake seems to be uniting MAGA influencers around Trump:
With the president going off about how he was ‘going to sue his a** off’ over the ‘FAKE letter,’ whatever schism that had formed in the MAGA universe over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files quickly melted away as prominent conservative personalities jumped onboard the media hate train....
‘This is the dumbest attempted hit piece I’ve ever read,’ fumed Megyn Kelly, who just days earlier had blasted Fox News hosts and MAGA influencers for trying to move on from the Epstein controversy....
Former ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk, who has said the administration’s conclusion that Epstein died by suicide and didn’t maintain a “client list” was the ‘final straw’ for him, also came to the president’s defense over the WSJ's ‘hit piece.’ ...
Podcaster and serial plagiarist Benny Johnson, who has been at the forefront of pushing the administration to release more Epstein documents amid the MAGA meltdown, unleashed a series of posts raging about the WSJ while peddling conspiracies about the paper’s reporting.
So Epstein and his circle are no longer the enemy. The media is the enemy.”
So he escapes again. At least from the wrath of the MAGA horde. Possibly. No…probably. Look, the MAGA Congress wants this story to just go away and die so they can get back to raping the country. The MSM will just let it die if the MAGAts no longer care. Their interest in getting to “the truth” (I know, it’s silly to put MAGA anything in the same sentence as “truth”) has been the real story, not Fatty’s past as an abuser of young girls.
Why? It’s all because this letter seems like it might not be genuine. Forget the mountains of evidence aside from a disputed drawing of a naked chick. If this letter smacks of phoniness, then all of that other evidence goes into the furnace.
I’m reminded here of the impressive job Dubya’s hacks and handlers did when they ended all discussion of his background as a deserter from the Texas Air National Guard because Dan Rather used some documents that included a questionable typewriter letter.
Throwing those documents into question did two great things for the Dubya mob. It got Dan Rather fired (another CBS scalp for the enemies of the First Amendment) and it swept all the other definite evidence of Bush’s AWOL year into the dumpster.
By the way, if you’re interested, the back story of how much effort went into whitewashing that asshole is astounding, including combing through his files and destroying any documents that made his suck ass service such a problem for the right.
The corruption and whitewashing is eye popping . In effect, they made it all about Dan Rather, who had the story exactly right, and turned a coke snorting drunk and deserter into a national hero unfairly castigated by the evil media.
It worked then. It’ll work now.
That fat fuck gets away with everything.