Shutdown Ends, but No Slowdown on Epstein – “The Sunday Political Brunch”
Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™
Shutdown Ends, but No Slowdown on Epstein – “The Sunday Political Brunch”
“Shutdown, Shut Down” – The U.S. House has joined the Senate in voting to reopen the government. A temporary measure keeps federal agencies funded through January 30, 2026. If no progress is made, the government could be shut down again. There are some significant exceptions in the funding. SNAP benefits, commonly referred to as food stamps, will be funded through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2026. The bill also funds the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, including military medical care. All federal workers will receive back pay for the entire shutdown. Still to be worked out are the subsidies for the Obamacare health care plan. “Republicans have zero interest in fixing the health care crisis that they created,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) New York. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R) Louisiana countered by saying, “We’ve got a lot of work to do on that. Republicans would demand a lot of reforms.” This fight is far from over.
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“Election 2026 Strategy” – Call me politically cynical, but looking at the eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus who voted “yes” to reopen the government, guess what? Not a single one of them is running for re-election in 2026. Sen. Dick Durbin (D) Illinois and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) New Hampshire announced earlier this year that they would retire and not run in 2026. Illinois is a solid blue state, so it’s a fair bet a Democrat will replace Durbin. New Hampshire is more of a purple state, so the GOP has a shot for a pick-up there, but it does lean slightly blue. The other six are: Sen. John Fetterman (D) Pennsylvania, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) Nevada, Sen. Angus King (I) Maine, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) New Hampshire, Sen Tim Kaine, (D) Virginia, and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) Nevada. None of them is up in 2026. I conclude the Democrats picked the eight safest votes they had to reopen the government while protecting their flank in 2026. There’s nothing illegal, improper, or unethical here. It’s called political strategy.
“New Epstein Emails Raise Eyebrows” – I wouldn’t call them the “smoking gun,” but newly released emails about the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein sure are fascinating. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released some of them. In one Epstein email to accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in 2011, Epstein wrote, “I want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. (Victim’s name redacted) spent hours at my house with him… he has never once been mentioned.” Maxwell responded, “I’ve been thinking about that.” Trump was neither president nor a candidate in 2011.
“Let’s Make a Deal?” -- But, in December 2015, when Trump was a candidate, author Michael Wolff emailed Epstein saying, “I hear CNN is planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship to you –- on-air or in a scrum afterwards.” Epstein responded, “If we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?” Wolff then replied, “I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win. You could save him, generating a debt.” I mean they are talking about leveraging what they know (and could hide), in exchange for benefits from Trump? For the record, Trump denies ever being on the Epstein plane or his private Caribbean island. A week before the 2016 election, Wolfe emailed Epstein saying, “There’s an opportunity to come forward this week and talk about Trump in such a way that could garner you great sympathy and help finish him. Interested?” The dirt was never dished, and Trump won.
“Girls, What Girls?” – Earlier this year, Trump said he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago, because Epstein was “stealing” his young female employees. In a 2019 email to author Wolff, Epstein addressed that very same issue, saying, “Trump said he asked me to resign (Mar-a-Lago membership). Never a member ever. Of course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop” (stealing them). The email was dated eight months before Epstein died in a jail cell. Investigators ruled it a suicide. More than anything, the emails solidify that there was a close relationship between Epstein and Trump. But they also come up short in terms of whether they can prove any wrongdoing on Trump’s part. With the entire Epstein files to be released by the House, who knows what else will turn up? White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the emails “prove absolutely nothing.” The House may vote this week to release the entire batch of the Epstein files.
“Turning the Tables?” – On Friday, President Trump ordered the Department of Justice to investigate high-level Democrats who are named in Epstein’s filed. He said on Truth Social, “I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him,” Trump wrote. J.P. Morgan Chase is a bank, not a person, so the reference is odd.
“Maxwell Pardon?” – I hate to be one of those “I told you so” people, but weeks ago I predicted convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell would seek a pardon from President Trump. Now comes word that she is moving in that direction. NBC News reports that, in fact, it is the case. NBC reviewed an email from Maxwell to her attorney, Leah Saffian, that discusses her efforts to collect material for her commutation application. “I am struggling to keep it all together as it is big and there are so many attachments,” Maxwell wrote. The email subject line reads “commutation application.” Not only do I think she will ask for a pardon, but I predict Trump will grant one, creating a firestorm as he leaves office. But he likes that kind of a fiery exit (or entrance). It’s all about “the show!”
“Stripped of Titles, But Not of His Silence?” – Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the royal formerly known as Prince, may still be compelled to answer questions before the U.S. Congress. Andrew, who was stripped of all royal titles by his brother King Charles III, may have a lot to say about his late sex offender friend, Jeffrey Epstein. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D), Illinois, is trying to secure a subpoena for Andrew to testify before the House Oversight Committee, which has jurisdiction over any federal investigation that continues regarding Epstein and his former girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Krishnamoorthi has even written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for help. Since Epstein was also a friend of President Trump’s, the Congressman says the White House needs to cooperate. He said, “delays in the release of the so-called Epstein Files” have fueled speculation that the Administration might be shielding influential figures from scrutiny. Despite the fascination with Andrew, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of names of prominent Americans in the Epstein files, and we need to know their roles, too.
“Just When it Can’t Get Any Worse” – Various news outlets in the United Kingdom are again pummeling Andrew over this case. Robert Jobson, a royal biographer, has a new book coming out soon. Excerpts of “The Windsor Legacy” were obtained by the U.K.’s “Daily Mail.” In one instance, Jobson writes, “In 2000, Andrew hosted a party at Sandringham for the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, apparently for her 39th birthday." Sources told Jobson that restrooms in the mansion were stocked with sexual paraphernalia and performance-enhancing drugs. Fox News Digital tried to get a comment from Buckingham Palace but was told, "they don't comment on books," and noted Andrew was no longer a royal. For decades, Andrew has been known as “Randy Andy” for his flamboyant, seemingly promiscuous lifestyle. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing but made an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim.
“Does the Dynasty Continue? – Sure, he doesn’t have the Kennedy surname, but everyone knows he’s part of the powerful political clan. This week, Jack Schlossberg announced he is running for Congress in New York’s 12th district. Current Rep. Jerry Nadler (D), New York, is retiring after 32 years in Congress. Schlossberg, a 32-year-old writer, is the son of former Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, and is the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy. If elected, he would be the second member of the fourth generation of the Kennedy dynasty to serve in the U.S. House.