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Peter's avatar

I can wrap my head around Epstien secrets being dangerous for our country and our allies. I hope the truth comes out anyway. BUT THIS?! Everyone involved needs to go down. I don't care who. We need to punish those who are guilty of treason or it will happen again.

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Nick Carraway's avatar

I can't wrap my head around the fact that our gov't or the Israeli government traffic young girls to set up honeypot blackmail schemes, to control the rich and powerful. It's too despotic for words and if true, the involved government agencies need to be "blown into 1000 pieces as JFK said"

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reel life's avatar

It is a long way from being established that a foreign government, or which one, might have been involved. Easy to blame Israel, and maybe any such arrangement did include them. My own guess is that too many Republicans and powerful people (IC, mafia, etc) participated in Epstein's depravity, and have the means to kill to protect themselves. As Michael Corleone said: "If history has taught us anything, it's that you can kill anyone." Patel and Bongino's presser on the Epstein 'suicide' was like a hostage video. Those guys were shaken. Just my opinion, of course.

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Kurl Malone's avatar

I'm sure his temple on little saint James painted as a giant Israeli flag and "he belongs to intelligence" from Acosta and Ghislaine being the daughter of Israeli super spy and defense minister from Israel drawing up plans on fuck island is all a coincidence.

I'm shocked how stupid Taibbi's comment section has become....

Bots maybe?

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Cosmo T Kat's avatar

Stupid, how so?

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BookWench's avatar

Because skepticism over the suggestion that any foreign intel agencies might be involved -- given the degree to which Ghislaine Maxwell's family was entangled with the Mossad, and, as Kurl Malone pointed out, Acostas's comments -- is just silly.

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Andy's avatar

The former prime minister of Israel visited Epstein once a month for over a year and used his NY townhome as his personal crash pad.

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reel life's avatar

I was not aware of that. I'd like to learn more. Do you have a link or names/time frame.

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michael888's avatar

Lots on line. For example from Google AI:

"Regarding Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak's association with Epstein:

Both Olmert and Barak were listed as associates in documents related to Epstein, declassified by the US Justice Department.

Barak admitted to meeting Epstein numerous times, including at his residences in New York and Florida, and flying on Epstein's private plane.

Barak received payments from a foundation associated with Epstein between 2004 and 2006, and Epstein invested in a limited partnership established by Barak in 2015.

Barak maintained that he was unaware of Epstein's criminal activities.

Reports indicated that Barak was seen frequently visiting a different NYC building owned by Epstein's brother, prompting speculation about a potential second apartment connection.

A New York Times article detailed the political impact of the Epstein allegations on Barak's attempts to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Important Note: The released documents did not provide proof that anyone other than Epstein committed crimes, and no incriminating files were published. Barak has denied any wrongdoing. "

https://www.akronjewishnews.com/news/nation_world/barak-olmert-appear-in-new-jeffrey-epstein-files/article_03e8996c-24fb-5640-b4ba-6fb780e25011.html

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reel life's avatar

Thanks. Yeah, this is informative and certainly some basis to suspect Israeli involvement.

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BookWench's avatar

Oh, please.

Or maybe you could try to do some research on your own?

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Nick Carraway's avatar

Epstein's main squeeze, now sitting in prison, is the daughter of Robert Maxwell....that's a hell of a coincidence wrt Israel

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reel life's avatar

Fair point as far as it goes. Epstein partied with royalty and potentates from many countries. It seems logical he could quickly be connected, even if the potential connection is not known to the public.

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Vet nor's avatar

Why would you assume it is Republicans and not democrats? We know Clinton was on that plane several times

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Matt L.'s avatar

I wouldn’t assume that, nor would any thinking person. Having a poke with a sporting woman (girl?) and thinking you can get away with it isn’t a partisan issue.

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Vet nor's avatar

I was replying to Reel life assertion that this is because "too many Republican and other powerful people" comment

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Leesburg & Down's avatar

Because Republicans are the ones in power and are covering their own asses. Clearly there are dirty Democrats and Republicans involved. Depravity knows no bounds.

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Thoughtful Reader's avatar

You don’t have to belong to the party in power to be able to credibly threaten the lives of the people who are….

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BookWench's avatar

Except that they are also covering the asses of Dems involved, by insisting that there is nothing to see here.

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Han's avatar

you know… for example… that trump isn’t on any list because biden would have gone straight lawfare with that.

and you know… for example… that comer, johnson, trump, thune, jordan et.al. would use an epstein blackmail list to go off on democrats but would bury any reference to republicans. trump would maybe use it against certain republicans but those others would never do that.

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Taras's avatar

Trump broke with Epstein early on, quite a few years before the Clintons and the British royals did likewise.

I vaguely recall that Epstein had tried it on with the daughter of a friend of Trump, and Trump made Epstein persona non grata.

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reel life's avatar

For sure. But presumably the current DOJ and POTUS wouldn't mind some Democrats being exposed, but reluctant to have Republicans outed.

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MH's avatar

So basically, there's mounds of dirt on both sides.

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BookWench's avatar

I wondered that, too, but I suspect we could be dealing with a bot.

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ambrosia's avatar

We will never know, will we?

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norica's avatar

Ideally, we would not know anything. And the CIA would crush all of the sex trafficker's of children; or should we say, sickos who rape children and facilitators who profit from the sale of children. This should not have ever become such a massive issue. Civilization falls when good med do nothing. It is infuriating enough that I could chew on iron nails, and what are we to do? Feel helpless? One thing is clear, evil not only does not care if children are casualties of madness, it prefers that children are casualties. That is the goal. God bless Racket news for having the courage to stand out and stand up, make no mistake, Racketeers are courageous. Paying for a subscription is a tiny little effort to encourage the brave people who stand against the narrative. Praying to God for guidance is the other.

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BookWench's avatar

That's what it's beginning to look like.

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memento mori's avatar

Mike Benz who knows more about the machinations of covert ops than most anyone does not believe the Epstein operation involved blackmail. He lays out a very good case for this conclusion. I would suggest you take a look at his many videos on this subject.

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Nick Carraway's avatar

Epstein's entire business was running a hedgefund where he took the money and simply invested in the SPY. He took the normal 2/20 that a headfund takes and that is why he died with $500MM. Why would investors put billions in a hedgefund that after fees, can't beat the main stock index? It's because he invited them to the upper eastside, gave them drugs and girls, and then said, "Hey, give me some of your money to invest and the party train doesn't stop". If they played nice, the party train continued. If they didn't invest, things could get ugly. This was his commercial business, and he was allowed to make this money and get away with everything because he "shared data" with intelligence agencies. Benz is being his normal myopic self if he doesn't understand this.

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BookWench's avatar

Sounds interesting.

Thanks.

But why all the videos, if that's the case?

I'll watch Benz.

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Bobby Lime's avatar

I'm expecting to be inundated with a truckfull of metaphorical excreta for saying this, but the JFK citation has all the confirmation of any other urban myth. It didn't appear in print until three years after his assassination, when the New York Times "quoted" a former high government official as having said it. And thus the eventual financial and celebrity prosperity of dozens of shameless nut bags and hustlers was guaranteed.

The gospel about this is that Kennedy is supposed to have said it in moral disgust. He was disgusted with the CIA, all right, but it wasn't moral disgust, rather, it was the kind of disgust the most prominent of CEOs would have when he realized the incompetence of a department which he not only had had great regard for, but had had aesthetic rapport with.

Anyone who knows anything about Kennedy knows that he loved the James Bond novels, and the Bond movies, Dr No and From Russia With Love, which he saw before his death. He had a normal adolescent boy's gleeful fascination with spycraft and general skulduggery, and as we know, he loved to get away with things.

At seventy - three I'm aware with the perspective which age does give you if you don't become demented that half the American public takes it for granted that the blissful era which could have been ours was aborted in Dallas on November 22, 1963, but the stubborn fact is that what enraged Kennedy about the CIA was not its sleaziness but its incompetence, specifically, its failure in pulling off The Bay of Pigs invasion, in April, 1961. Kennedy was thrilled to learn that the CIA had been planning such a thing, and trusted that the CIA knew what it was doing when the Eisenhower administration briefed him shortly before his inauguration that the planning for an invasion and decapitation of the Castro regime was well underway. He was crushed when it turned into a catastrophe, and felt such responsibility for the deaths of the invaders that he went to bed and cried.

Eisenhower, a great man if ever we had one, had believed that only one man could be president at a time, and didn't pester Kennedy with advice after the election. He expected Kennedy to assume responsibility for everything. Kennedy, for his part, had taken it for granted that Eisenhower would have informed him that in Eisenhower's opinion, the CIA's plans were half - assed if he had believed they were.

Kennedy took The Bay of Pigs fiasco personally, and everything I've read suggests that he relished firing the then Director, Allen Dulles. He told Dulles, "If we had the British system, I'd be the one to go. We don't. So it's you who'll be going."

If Kennedy had been morally outraged by the CIA at the time of The Bay of Pigs, and if the greatest bit players since the Globe theater was at its peak, "rogue elements within the CIA," had conspired to kill him to keep him from tearing the agency to pieces, why did they wait until the two and a half most dangerous years of The Cold War had passed before they did it?

And why did the covert Quaker, Kennedy, do everything he could during that two and a half year period to prosecute The Cold War? For example, at the time of Kennedy's death, the American people had been told that we had a couple of thousand military advisors in South Vietnam. The actual number was closer to ten thousand.

After the debacle at The Bay of Pigs, JFK put RFK personally in charge of Operation Mongoose, the operation to kill Castro. At the moment JFK was riding through a motorcade in Dallas, a CIA officer in Paris was meeting with a man whom the CIA thought might be able to pull off the assassination of Castro.

The one JFK assassination conspiracy hypothesis which has ever had any muscle on it is that the Castro regime might have been tangentially involved in it. ( When the new president, Lyndon Johnson, was told about Mongoose, he was appalled, and canceled the whole thing immediately. If during those years we were fooled into thinking we were living in a representative democracy while in fact we were living in a subterranean spookocracy, why didn't they kill LBJ off? The man was in his late fifties, and at fifty - six, was just nine years past a massive heart attack which had come close to killing him. Assassinating LBJ wouldn't have needed anything garish to accomplish. ) Johnson believed for the rest of his life that, as he said in private, "Kennedy tried to get Castro but Castro got Kennedy first." Actually, he probably didn't, but Johnson, the ultimate cynic, could never have fathomed the lunatic nihilism of a Lee Harvey Oswald.

Conspiracy obsession is the bane of this country's probably futile quest for political health. OF COURSE, conspiracies and cover ups exist. We're seeing a loathsome one happen right now. It's maddening, and if you have any patriotism in your soul, or just decency, the sight of Trump talking about Epstein as "old news" and Pam Bondi with the worst case of duper's delight I've ever seen may have made you want to go to bed and cry, too.

But a CIA/MIC conspiracy didn't kill John F. Kennedy.

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Cosmo T Kat's avatar

Your credibility on this subject was lost when you called Kennedy a covert Quaker. That's absurd, what is your evidence and what inspired what would now be called a contrarian view of his killing?

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michael888's avatar

JFK's legacy (like Lincoln's) is a product of his martyrdom and hagiographers. He was a warrior in the Cold War and somehow decided that Vietnam had no right to self-determination (despite his continual speeches favoring nationalism for other colonized countries). Ted Sorensen was a helluva speechwriter and the photogenic JFK delivered the speeches well. Like most politicians JFK was more concerned about his next Election than anything else. His supposed about-face on many issues coming when and if re-elected was likely a myth. His poor results from his magical Best and Brightest and Camelot administration speak for themselves. Barbara Tuchman's "The March of Folly" paints an unflattering picture of JFK and Seymour Hersh's "The Dark Side of Camelot" was vicious (both books were buried relative to David Talbot's "Brothers" and other hagiographies). Lots of facts to construct a truthful picture of JFK.

As to JFK's assassination we'll likely never know all the players and their roles. I favor Ron Unz's view that Israel was the major influence (unz.com/runz/how-israel-killed-the-kennedys/ and several other of his articles). JFK was dead-set against Israel gaining nuclear weapons. Unlike most DC politicians today, the Kennedys were anti-Semites (in the old sense of the word. Supposedly in his post-war diary JFK even suggested that Hitler would one day be recognized as a Great Man.)

RFK was killed by Thane Eugene Cesar (who was coincidentally working with the CIA at the time), not the brain-washed Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Thomas Noguci "Coroner to the Stars" found that RFK was killed by a small caliber bullet fired point blank into the back of his head (coincidentally the same .22 caliber type gun Sirhan was fired frontally from several yards away). Even RFK Jr accepts Noguchi's findings. Again all the details will likely never come to light.

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Rather Curmudgeonly's avatar

Hmm, couldn't help but read that last sentence as "the government agencies... blown into 1000 pieces as JFK's head".

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Timothy G McKenna's avatar

Define “head” in that context…

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Rather Curmudgeonly's avatar

as in say Nov 23, 1963?

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Timothy G McKenna's avatar

Oh, see, I was thinking of JFK and head kinda like the way we think of head when we talk about Bill Clinton… 😂

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Peter's avatar

I'd love to see it.

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Kelly Green's avatar

If a bunch of low level jackasses in small towns in the UK can hide massive sexual exploitation so well for so long, how can we expect to see the truth of what Epstein was up to?

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Alan Andrews's avatar

It could pull Obama in.

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Craig's avatar

Here's hoping that Brennan ends up being the new "Orange Man Bad" by virtue of his federally supplied wardrobe. I don't have high hopes, but a guy can dream.

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Dazed and Confused's avatar

Matt asks how much? Hopefully the full force of the US government or at least the same amount of resources dedicated to supporting this fable. Didn't Mueller have 40 FBI agents at his disposal?

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SimulationCommander's avatar

"I know we haven't kept our promises with regards to covid villains or J6 villains or Epstein villains, but we're TOTALLY GONNA GET THE FBI VILLAINS!"

At this point it's just "Blah blah blah".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfJhMfOPWdE

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norica's avatar

Follow Reiner Fuellmich if you are open to being hopeful. Reiner is hopeful and has been imprisoned for ...how long now?

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reality speaks's avatar

I still am doubtful that anything real will happen. They will have to be charged in DC and no jury will ever convict them there.

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AMK60's avatar

💯

And Biden (or whoever auto-penned) pre-pardoned all involved

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Lekimball's avatar

I'm not sure they have to hold the trial in D.C. They were going to try Trump federally in Florida for some of it. Not sure.

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reality speaks's avatar

Sure they will the crime was committed in DC if the charge is lying to Congress. Trump’s Florida faux documents case had to be filled in Florida because that is where it was committed but the real scam was the grand jury that recommend charges was done in DC because they couldn’t guarantee themselves a positive outcome if done in Florida.

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Joe's avatar

Is Patel's room "full of documents and computer hard drives" like Bondi's "tens of thousands of videos"?

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Lekimball's avatar

It sounds like the videos might not have been of women that young, barely legal. If I were Epstein I would not video anyone younger and I wouldn't make a "list" or put any blackmail in writing. I'd do that verbally. So I doubt there is nearly as much as everyone wanted.

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SimulationCommander's avatar

When we're talking about the "Epstien List", we don't expect an actual sheet of paper with "My Pedo Pals" on it. It's a shorthand way to refer to the accumulation of evidence gathered through MULTIPLE investigations, MULTIPLE trials, and MULTIPLE convictions of people who have nearly unlimited legal budgets.

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Matt L.'s avatar

Yes, including the flight logs (which by law must be kept/fiked) associated with those clients that travelled to Jeff’s island associated with minor sex victims that placed Maxwell in the slammer for 20 years. Let’s start there.

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The Upright Man.'s avatar

The Epstein story is a nothing burger, this is where the real meat is.

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Andrew Dolgin's avatar

Les Wexner handing over his fortune to a financier who had and still has no record of his genius trade who also happens to be a sex trafficker who had access to untold money and powerful people is the exact literal opposite of a “nothing burger.”

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Matt L.'s avatar

Yeah, who knew (until Jan ‘24 Virginia Giuffre civil trial) that Victoria Secrets, Bath & Body Works + Abercrombie and Fitch were financially supporting a child sex ring for elites. Les Wexler legacy is a sicko and quite the triple quarter pounder depravity w/ cheese. Money-bags Les even gave Jeffrey Epstein power of attorney over him at one point.

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Matt L.'s avatar

No client (other than Prince Andrew in public opinion) has been convicted for Epstein/Maxwell child sex victims. Maxwell in fact serving 20 years without 1 client named. Where’s the beef? Nothing burger indeed.

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Dave Slough's avatar

All we want is somebody anybody found guilty of treasonous activity behind bars

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Forheremenaremen's avatar

1,000% this.

Americans need to know that the evil scumbags in DC may finally pay a price for their crimes.

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steven t koenig's avatar

It does seem like sacrificing someone would go a long way to convincing the public that the rules apply to everyone

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BookWench's avatar

Not really sacrificing, just bringing someone to justice.

I'm doubting anything will happen with any of these cases, though.

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Norbert Garvey's avatar

Drat! That pesky Patel found our double super secret hidden room, if it wasn’t for him we’d of gotten away with it! This is all so Scooby Doo-ish.

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Nathan Woodard's avatar

BREAKING: Martians Bomb Newly Discovered Atlantis; Nation Outraged Over Epstein Docket Redaction. :)

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PaxAlto's avatar

Nothing will happen. Didn't you hear? He was only acting on the intelligence he made up. Epstein didn't do anything either. He was just a victim of antisemitism.

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Indecisive decider's avatar

Epstein is a Jewish as a ham and cheese.

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PaxAlto's avatar

He was whatever it is they celebrate at Mossad headquarters.

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Indecisive decider's avatar

Ham and cheese?

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PaxAlto's avatar

More like a Jonathan Pollard sandwich.

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Indecisive decider's avatar

That sounds more like Jeffrey dahmer.

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Stunned Gen Xer's avatar

OMG I nearly spit my coffee when I read this one.

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Andy's avatar

Lmaooo

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Brian's avatar

I’m so pessimistic about DC it ain’t even funny.

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Nathan Woodard's avatar

If there is any truth to the so-named "Pareto-like distribution of malfeasance", the size and frequency of scandals we are seeing is a dismal omen.

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Tom Fouce's avatar

I don't care so much about Epstein but the Russia collusion hoax was intended to sabotage a presidential election and then a sitting president. This was a treasonous act and we as a nation deserve accountability. Unfortunately, I have no confidence that this won't be just another Lois Lerner - no one will be held accountable.

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Kendall Frazier's avatar

It’s very clear, and has been for a long time, that the Clinton/Obama/Clinton/Biden regimes corrupted our government and agencies to their core. The rot is extensive.

I always thought it started with the Clintons “plausible denial” method of lying their asses off. That was the rotten apple that allowed them to pursue these frauds.

You’ll have to excuse my, and my fellow pilgrims who frequent this site, cynicism as to anyone ever being held accountable in any of this. So many of these things were just political theater that just peter out with no satisfactory conclusion.

If it ever does happen there will be dancing in the streets.

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Ceashel's avatar

Don't you think this was going on before the Clinton's?

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norica's avatar

Before 1962?

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Martin D Turner's avatar

The Bondi DOJ is no longer trustworthy.

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Rare Earth's avatar

Matt we are all jaded. I realize it is your job to go with the best story of the day. But for those of us who are not journalists, the FBI announcing an investigation is just so much click bait. The idea that Comey and Brennan and others, may face justice is very appealing. However, we have been at this stage before many, many times and nothing material seems to come forth.

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Matt Taibbi's avatar

I understand being jaded. I'm also beyond jaded at this point. The only reasons I have to believe this might at least hit a courtroom are a) this was the case that got Kash Patel his job, and likely the main thing he wanted to accomplish, and b) the administration should back him all the way on this, unless Brennan or Comey has leverage on Trump we don't know about. I doubt either of those guys has many friends left on the Hill. I'd be satisfied with this just going to court... I just want to see all the stuff.

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Rare Earth's avatar

Matt - right. From your keyboard to God's ears...best!

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michael888's avatar

Exposure is about all Trump is capable of. A start, but hardly justice.

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Bonnie Blodgett's avatar

What stuff? Is it possible Trump used Patel to get elected—that Patel's FBI job was his reward for stirring the Epstein pot and then, post-election, Trump's assurance that the FBI would drop the matter at the opportune time? Once in office Trump would no longer benefit from continuing this? Quite the opposite. Given his own sleazy past with respect to women, why would Trump want to provoke his enemies to seek retribution by noting his, well, hypocrisy is putting it mildly. Bottom line: Americans don't really care who's sleeping with whom. JFK was a notorious sex addict.

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BookWench's avatar

Respectfully disagree.

We do care when those being "slept with" are underage minors, being forced.

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Indecisive decider's avatar

Exactly. slept with?.... ffs. maybe it was a slip of the brain/keyboard, but that's some putrid morality.

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William O's avatar

Getting them to court would be great but i would settle for a perk walk in handcuffs..

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David 1260's avatar

A perk walk would be fun!

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Bruce Thielen's avatar

Brennan has to have a lot of dirt on a lot of people. I’m skeptical he ever sees the inside of a cell, much less a court room.

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DB's avatar

Pam B said she saw the pedo movies and it was just a matter of time. That was a few months ago.

Now this, and my money is on both being true.

But will that matter, and will some heavyweights ever see justice?

I'm waiting.

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