61 Comments
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Shantha Smith's avatar

Business meetings make sense? NO!!! I don't do business with convicted pedophiles. I don't meet them for lunch. I don't get investment advice from them. Seems to me that Qanon was right about a global pedophilia ring of politicians and rich businessman. But Q was inoculation them from blame by implicating Democrats instead. Wouldn't the Republicans on the committee be releasing the names of famous Democrats if they had them?

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Valerie Miller's avatar

JvL. I love your "reactions" to new info. Makes me smile!

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Dextersmom's avatar

Yeah right, like Thiel and Musk would actually show up to a congressional subpoena.

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Lily who reads The Bulwark's avatar

Really surprised Elon’s goons didn’t delete the evidence.

This does actually seem to be an unusually smart play by democrats, though. If the GOP wants to accuse them of cherry picking, they can always release the evidence pointing to liberals. I’d personally be fine with that.

Drip, drip, drip.

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Doug Berg's avatar

It’s interesting the Musk is implicated in the Epstein files. Several days ago the NYT’s had an article about how Musk’s father has been accused of pedophilia (his children and step children). As a person who has a family member who was a victim of pedophilia, I’ve learned that victims can go on to be abusers themselves. Musk, estranged from his father (why?) may also have been victimized and would explain his troubled personality and association with Epstein. Don’t know…just sayin’

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Dale Brewster's avatar

This is the type of conspiracy crapola that results when you wade into this nonsense. Musk is a weird guy. He seems driven to have children with multiple women he considers exceptional so he can spread his DNA in some personal neo eugenics experiment. There is zero evidence that he was a victim of sexual abuse and zero evidence that he committed sexual abuse of minors. Peter Thiel is gay. There is no indication that Epstein solicited sex from boys or young men. It’s plausible that Epstein procured young girls for his rich and powerful friends but outside of the Prince Andrew allegations there really isn’t much evidence for this either. Epstein was not a true pedophile in that he was attracted to prepubescent girls. There is overwhelming evidence he preferred young teenage girls. This makes him a pervert and a criminal. He had a voracious appetite for these young girls and in most cases he seems to have used them for a night and then moved on. From what I can tell, he didn’t even have sexual relations with most of them. He liked to flirt and get massages while he “went to town on himself” while looking at them naked as one victim described her ordeal.

Epstein was a sick scumbag, but there isn’t any hard evidence he was the ringleader of some pedophile multi national pimping enterprise for the global elite. There are still a lot of unexplained mysteries about this guy. How did he become so rich? (I think he just embezzled it from a handful of rich old men who trusted him). These questions invite conspiracy theories that, until recently, were confined to the Alex Jones\Tucker Carlson\ Candace Owens lunatics.

The Bulwark knows better but is gleefully piling on just to embarrass Trump. This is a deeply cynical and dangerous game. Trump did know this guy just as the Clintons knew him. The super rich in NY and California and Palm Beach all socialize together. Trump is embarrassed by the relationship (which ended 25 years ago) and wants to kill this story. There is zero evidence that Trump was being blackmailed by Epstein.

If the Bulwark wants to wallow in this muck that’s fine but be honest with your yourselves and your readers

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Adam's avatar

Haven't the victims said that Epstein was pimping them?

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Lily who reads The Bulwark's avatar

Four paragraphs’ worth of pure cope.

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dean apostol's avatar

I wonder why Trump doesn't just release it all and get it over with?

Kidding. I don't wonder. He and his are all over these documents.

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Brenda's avatar

Yup

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Jeffrey Stayton's avatar

The Forbes 400 is the Epstein list.

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Janine Bennette's avatar

Don’t give up on the Epstein files! Truth needs to come out about all of those dirty billionaires.

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Jimmy Roe's avatar

We live in a conspiracy, it’s a money conspiracy

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Lisette's avatar

Keep kicking at the darkness JVL until it bleeds light.

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Jimmy Roe's avatar

Yes this!

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Dale Brewster's avatar

Wow, he had lunch with Peter Thiel. Well that changes everything

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Natalie Panzer's avatar

What a nice break for JVL! So wonderful to see him so happy! I lean heavily toward JVL's moods, so I really hope all is revealed for both our sakes! If we could just clean our government and corporate overlords of all the sex offenders, greedy CEO's, and uber liars, we could possibly have a country we all could believe in!

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Sally D.'s avatar

Natalie, I agree. JVL was almost giddy! I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

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Penelope's avatar

Sinner men. I believe in redemption; all it takes is acknowledgement and repentance. Denial and avoidance ain’t the road . . .

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Leros's avatar

I'm fine with all this coming out. But it won't make any difference. If you think this will stop the Republic from continuing to rot from within, you are dreamcasting.

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dean apostol's avatar

Trumps support is eroding. This is like rain hitting an unvegetated slope. One day its Epstein rain. One day its China isn't buying soybeans rain. One day its my grocery prices went up rain.

Enough erosion and Trump loses Congress in 26. That would put the brakes on his dictator light project.

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Leros's avatar

Unfortunately, you underestimate the resiliency of the MAGoids. Like the people of the North in GOT, they know only one king: the Mad Orange King. As for Congress in '26, the Dems should retake the House. But it wouldn't be the first time they screw things up.

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dean apostol's avatar

I live on a farm, surrounded by Trump supporters. I talk to them. Many, if not most, are only marginally behind him. They aren't stupid, or worse. And they aren't with him no matter what. Erosion starts with those least supportive of him. And works its way down. Retaking the House is only a first step. But a crucial one. Without that we are stuck.

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Leros's avatar

We'll have to agree to disagree. They aren't stupid, but they are selfish and uncaring of anyone unlike them. Trump will throw some farm subsidies their way, and they will then revert to singing his praises. They are no different than the other non-hardcore MAGA that voted for Trump. And they will be the end of the rest of us.

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dean apostol's avatar

You don't know any of them. Thinking you do is arrogant or immature. We don't get farm subsidies in our area. We don't grow subsidized crops. We don't have subsidized irrigation. People vote the way they do for many reasons. If you want to win elections, you become a good listener.

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Leros's avatar

I don't need to be their neighbor to know what they say and how they vote. There are FGs and articles seemingly daily telling me what they say. That's all I need to know. I've respectfully disagreed with you until now, but you seem to want to take it to a less civil discussion because I don't agree with you. You're on your own on that.

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Shelfie's avatar

1000%. This is a salacious side show. It will not matter materially in 2026 or 2028. Which is where our attentions should be. None of this will not topple Donald Trump or alienate his base. Dems already know he's the devil incarnate. The Epstein mishegas will be a nothing burger in the scheme of things. In the eternal words of Ragin' Cajun Carville, it's going to be about their wallets. Let Jeffrey Epstein stay rotting in whatever hole hell he is interred. Elections are the only gold able to throw this jerk out. This current seedy sideshow that will not matter when things come down to the wire. And the wire is and will always remain: is my pocketbook fell well or ill under this guy's regime?

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Dr Sherry: A Better Timeline's avatar

Nice to see JVL so happy ;)

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Kris O's avatar

Peter Theil & Epstein both were investors in Carbyne (Israeli surveillance company) - this led to Palantir. Ehud Barak was also part of this. Interview Zev Shalev if you want to go on the deep dive of where this corruption goes. It’s better than a Grisham novel….

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Jimmy Roe's avatar

I like Zev, do you have a link where I can hear this story?

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