[I will host my regular Saturday morning livestream on Substack at 9 a.m. PDT / Noon EDT. Open to everyone on the Substack App on your phone or tablet.]
A crucial aspect of every criminal conspiracy is concealment. Efforts to cover up criminal conspiracies often continue for years after the object of the conspiracy has been achieved. An essential part of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking conspiracy was concealing the rape of thousands of girls and the identity of the rapists.
The cover-up of the Epstein sex-trafficking conspiracy continues as of today—July 25, 2025. The people continuing the cover-up include leaders in Congress, the DOJ, the FBI, the Republican Party, cable news, podcasters, and social media users who are seeking to deny, distract, and confuse the public about the crimes committed by Epstein and his co-conspirators.
Their goal is simple and depraved: They are seeking to prevent the disclosure of long-suppressed evidence of Epstein’s crimes. Their actions are part of a cover-up that has continued for decades.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is engaged in a bad-faith, performative “interview” with convicted child sex trafficker and indicted perjurer Ghislaine Maxwell for the transparent purpose of creating a cover story to support a pardon or commutation of her 20-year sentence. If Blanche were interested in getting to the truth, he would interview the hundreds of victims identified in the Epstein files before making a recommendation for a pardon. But, to date, Todd Blanche is interviewing the perpetrator of child sex trafficking, not the victims.
The pardon of Ghislaine Maxwell seems inevitable. Trump claims that the “Epstein” story is a “hoax.” A necessary corollary is that Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction by a jury of her peers was fraudulent and must be pardoned.
Indeed, right-wing media is beginning to portray Maxwell as a “victim.” The New Republic, MAGA Pulls Bonkers 180 on Ghislaine Maxwell to Help Trump | The New Republic. (Per the article, anchor Greg Kelly said on Newsmax, “She just might be a victim. She just might be.”)
As noted in the New Republic article above, disgraced former Harvard Law Professor Alan Derschowitz claims that Ghislaine Maxwell’s 20-year sentence is “too long.” Hmm. Just how long a sentence is recommended for someone who facilitated the serial rape of hundreds (thousands?) of girls over decades?
As maddening as a pardon of Ghislaine Maxwell would be for the American people, the victims of Epstein’s crimes will be re-traumatized by a pardon that presumes their claims of being raped by Epstein and his clients are part of an elaborate hoax.
What began as a political misstep by Pam Bondi and Kash Patel has turned into a moral chasm riving the political and religious leaders of America with a simple question: Do we stand for the victims of a child sex trafficker, or do we stand for the rich and powerful rapists who will escape accountability if the Epstein files are suppressed?
That question should be easy to answer for people of good faith and human decency. But, to date, most Republicans and MAGA influencers are standing firmly in the corner of the child rapists. It is up to us to bring pressure to bear on those politicians seeking to cover up Epstein’s crimes. It will be a long summer break for members of Congress. As we engage in pro-democracy rallies, let’s not forget Epstein’s victims. They deserve justice instead of being told their stories are part of an elaborate hoax.
Latest polls provide an insight into a divided electorate
It often feels as though grassroots activists are pushing a boulder up an increasingly steep hill. The nearer we get to the top, the more difficult the incline. A recent Gallup poll has helped clarify that phenomenon for me.
The most recent Gallup poll shows that Trump is at his lowest favorability rating of his second term. See Gallup, Independents Drive Trump’s Approval to 37% Second-Term Low (July 24, 2025).
The key finding of the poll is this:
“Trump’s rating has fallen 10 percentage points among U.S. adults since he began his second term in January, including a 17-point decline among independents, to 29%, matching his lowest rating with that group in either of his terms.”
And this chart illustrates the negative shift in voter sentiment for Trump:
Most of the media’s attention is being paid to the green line (US adults) and the dotted line (Independents), both of which show a steady decline in support for Trump since January 2025. The decline in support among Independents accounts for nearly all of Trump’s overall decline among US Adults.
That overall trend validates the intuition of grassroots activists that there has been a significant downward shift in support for Trump in reaction to his policies, including immigration, tariffs, the reconciliation bill, DOGE cuts to science, medical research, climate protection, and green energy.
But two other lines deserve our attention: the red line (Republicans) and the blue line (Democrats). They indicate that there has been no significant change in support for Trump among Republicans and Democrats despite a tumultuous and chaotic six months filled with seismic shocks involving immigration, tariffs, the reconciliation bill, and DOGE cuts to science, medical research, climate protection, and green energy.
Although we should not over-interpret a single poll, this Gallup poll suggests that persuadable, swing voters are Independents, while Republicans and Democrats have firmly established viewpoints that are insensitive to major political developments. The Gallup poll indicates that we should concentrate our persuasion efforts on *Independents—*which may be the first key to winning in a closely divided electorate.
A second point follows from the intractability of the views of Republicans and Democrats. Given that views remain fixed regardless of political developments, increasing turnout among Democrats is the second (or first?) key to success in a closely divided electorate.
I recognize that the above two points are blazingly obvious. In fact, I can hear political consultants rolling their eyeballs to the back of their heads. But we have just experienced six months like no other in the history of our nation, and neither Democrats nor Republicans shifted their views of the president’s performance! That is (or should be viewed as) remarkable!
[Of course, there is very little room in the Democratic view of Trump’s performance. Democrats rate Trump in the single digit in terms of favorability. Bouncing between 7% and 2% approval rating is background noise.]
One further note to put a finer point on the two obvious points I extracted from the Gallup poll. There are four major voting blocs in America. In increasing order of size, they are:
Republicans (32% of registered voters)
Democrats (33% of registered voters)
Independents (35% of registered voters)
Did not vote. (36% of eligible voters)
See Party affiliation and ideology of US registered voters | Pew Research Center and 2024 was a Landslide…for ‘Did Not Vote’ | Environmental Voter Project
Said differently, if “Did Not Vote” was a candidate in 2024, they would have garnered the most votes in the Electoral College by a wide margin! See the Environmental Voter Project article, linked above.
To recap: The most recent Gallup poll reinforces the point that our target audience for persuasion is Independents and our targets audiences for getting out the vote are (a) Democrats and (b) Did Not Vote.
I strongly believe that the unpopularity of the reconciliation bill will help Democrats to motivate “low propensity voters.” Issues that once seemed abstract are hitting home in a big way: Medicaid, healthcare premiums, student loan collections and availability, Medicare, job creation from green energy, availability of vaccines, and job security in government and education.
Polls are not votes, nor are they destiny. We must achieve the outcome we desire through hard work and persistence. But, we have a relative advantage at this moment; we must exploit that advantage for all it is worth!
Tracking a brewing constitutional crisis
A brewing constitutional crisis may be coming to a head in New Jersey. Trump’s one-time parking lot lawyer (Alina Habba), who turned Acting US Attorney in New Jersey, has “timed out” of her “acting” capacity. The district court judges in New Jersey appointed a replacement US Attorney in accordance with authority granted to the judges by statute and as expressly permitted by the Constitution. See Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, What Trump and Pam Bondi Are Doing in New Jersey Is a Bigger Deal Than You Think.
As explained by Stern,
The district court was acting pursuant to federal statute awarding it this power. And, in enacting this law, Congress was acting pursuant to an authority spelled out in the Constitution. The Trump administration believes that Article 2 crowns the president a king with absolute control over the executive branch. But the text of Article 2 refutes this idea: It allows Congress to “vest the appointment” of inferior officers “in the courts of law.”
In short, there is no doubt whatsoever that the district court judges in New Jersey have the statutory and constitutional authority to appoint Alina Habba’s successor. But Habba has simply refused to vacate her office! See Reuters, Former Trump lawyer says she will remain as New Jersey prosecutor despite court decision.
Habba and Pam Bondi claim Trump has re-appointed Habba to the position as Acting US Attorney—a violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (because her nomination as US Attorney remains pending in the Senate).
It is a complicated mess—but one that is likely to be decided by the Supreme Court. Since I have lost all faith in the Supreme Court, I assume the reactionary majority will back the appointment of Alina Habba—thereby eliminating the explicit provision of the Constitution that allows Congress to authorize “the courts” to appoint “inferior officers,” which includes US Attorneys.
Having the Supreme Court override the Constitution again to support the lawless regime of Trump would be another body blow to the rule of law. But it appears to be where we are heading.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell humiliates Trump by simply reading the words on a crib sheet provided to Trump by his staff
Trump is trying to fire the Chair of the Federal Reserve System, Jerome Powell. Trump tried to set up Powell on a visit to the over-budget, under-construction refurbishment of the Fed’s ninety-year-old headquarters.
During the visit, Trump exaggerated the cost overrun of the refurbishment project, claiming that the construction was $3.1 billion over-budget. Powell seemed surprised and said he had not heard that number. Trump pulled out a sheet of paper and gave it to Powell, who immediately recognized that Trump had included the cost of a different building that was completed five years ago in the alleged “construction overruns” on the Fed’s headquarters building.
See video here: Powell Humiliates Trump.
Here’s the point: When challenged, Trump’s lies are easily falsifiable. Members of the Washington press corps should take note!
Opportunity for Reader Engagement
Conversation with Adelita Grijalva: Lessons from the July 15th AZ-07 Special Election
I will be moderating a special livestream conversation with Adelita Grijalva and Latino Victory President & CEO Katharine Pichardo this Friday, July 25 at 4:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM PT.
We’ll dig into the dynamics of the July 15th special election, where Adelita won a crowded primary to succeed her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva. It was a closely watched race that offers a window into the future of the Democratic Party — from generational change and Gen Z challengers to the power of Latino voters, the importance of grassroots organizing, the role of social media, and the push and pull between progressive and moderate forces. (Adelita earned endorsements from Bernie Sanders and AOC as well as Arizona Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly.)
We’ll also introduce Adelita — likely the next Congresswoman from AZ-07 — and talk about her story, her father’s legacy, and what she hopes to accomplish in Congress in this pivotal moment for our democracy.
I hope you will tune in, and I would also encourage you to subscribe to Latino Victory’s substack for free as they work to build a platform to uplift Latino candidates running in important races this election cycle.
Concluding Thoughts
We are one day into Congress’s summer recess, and Trump is on his heels. The Wall Street Journal published another detailed piece on Epstein’s “birthday book”—as if to say to Trump, “We have the goods and will keep taunting you with daily releases of harmful information.”
VP JD Vance published a whiny post on Truth Social, crying about the fact that the WSJ is “acting like a Democratic SuperPAC,” a statement that acknowledges that the WSJ is hurting Trump with Epstein disclosures.
Trump’s pathetic “own-goal” while attempting to attack Jerome Powell shows Trump for the bumbling fool everyone knows him to be. And with questions about his health lurking in every appearance, unreliable media sources are already speculating that JD Vance will replace Trump by the end of 2025. (I would never stoop to such rank speculation!)
But . . . it is not enough for Trump and the MAGA extremists to struggle with self-inflicted wounds. I know from readers that they continue to attend pro-democracy rallies every day of the week. I urge readers to share those experiences in the Comment section.
The media is not covering protests by grassroots activists, creating the misperception that nothing is happening. Not true! Let’s share the truth with other grassroots activists about our pro-democracy rallies during the congressional recess.
We must be our own information and support network while we await the media’s acknowledgment that the grassroots is, once again, reclaiming democracy! We did so in 2018 and 2020, and we can do so again!
Stay strong!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
The Western Veil Nebula is part of a larger remnant of a supernova explosion that is still expanding at a rate of about 1.5 million kilometers per hour. The nebula is located 2,500 light-years from Earth.
Enjoy!
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