Good evening, and welcome to Raw America. I’m British Chris.
The publisher of the New York Times is calling out news organizations caving to the White House. A former Epstein aide names three alleged abusers before Congress, and the identities are sending shockwaves through political and celebrity circles. Leaked texts from John Fetterman’s own staffers reveal a senator his own party says is “acting like a Republican” in private. And the president is skipping his eldest son’s wedding this weekend, with his schedule showing he planned to spend that time at his golf club.
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NYT Publisher Calls Out Media Outlets Over ‘Capitulation’ to Trump
New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger went to Yale Law School Thursday night and did something that’s become increasingly rare in American media: He spoke truth to power.
Sulzberger called out news organizations that he says have settled “winnable cases” with the Trump administration, pulled back their editorial criticism of the White House, and used Trump’s preferred terms like “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico.” He called all of it “capitulation” that only serves to “embolden the administration.”
He also laid out Trump’s toolkit: the Pentagon’s loyalty policy for the press, which a federal judge struck down as unconstitutional back in March; Trump’s lawsuits against the Des Moines Register, the Wall Street Journal, and the BBC; and the changes at CBS News under its new owner David Ellison, whose father, Larry, is a major Trump donor.
Sulzberger gave credit where he said it was due, naming the Wall Street Journal, the AP and NPR as outlets that have pushed back instead of folding. His broader point was stark: when news organizations capitulate to avoid legal or financial pain, they make it easier for the administration to keep coming after everyone else.
Former Epstein Staffer Names Names
Sarah Kellen, who spent years as Jeffrey Epstein’s personal assistant before eventually becoming one of his most credible accusers, sat down Thursday for a closed-door transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee. And what she said is reverberating far beyond Capitol Hill.
According to reporting by Tara Palmeri, Kellen named three men she says were Epstein’s accomplices: celebrity hairstylist Frederic Fekkai, former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, and the late fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier, who died in 2022.
Levine, a Democrat who ran for Florida governor in 2018, has previously denied having any real relationship with Epstein. But DOJ files tell a different story. Emails show Levine referring to Epstein as “a great guy” and signing off as “Your friend, Philip,” and this was after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Ghislaine Maxwell, in a DOJ interview, called Levine her “very good friend.” Levine hasn’t responded to the new allegations.
Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown, whose reporting was central to bringing Epstein down, independently confirmed that Kellen accused Levine of sexually assaulting her.
Committee Chairman James Comer confirmed that the three names Kellen provided were ones investigators “hadn’t heard before,” and called her testimony “by far the most substantive and productive interview” the committee has conducted. No charges have been filed.
Leaked Fetterman Texts Show Multiple Embarrassing Exchanges
A bombshell investigation from New York Magazine dropped Thursday, and the private texts it contains from Sen. John Fetterman to his own staffers are jaw-dropping.
According to reporter Alex Shultz, who obtained the texts, after seeing a headline about the average working family spending nearly $4,000 a year on medical bills, Fetterman texted staffers: “How should it cost? Free? I don’t understand what affordability it is.”
When a Minneapolis ICE operation killed Alex Pretti, a nurse who was legally carrying a firearm, Fetterman’s response wasn’t about the killing. He texted staffers comparing the situation to Kyle Rittenhouse, saying both were carrying legal weapons and asking how Democrats could condemn one and defend the other.
Inside his office, things reportedly aren’t much better. Multiple current and former staffers told New York Magazine they’re “incredulous and exhausted.” His chief of staff announced her departure the same week the story broke.
And Fetterman, apparently unfazed by any of this, reportedly floated himself as a potential VP pick on the 2028 Democratic ticket to senior staff. Their response, per one staffer who was in the room: “Are you out of your mind? You don’t do your job, you can’t raise any money, and your entire party hates you.”
Trump Skips His Son’s Wedding to Play Golf
Donald Trump Jr. is getting married this weekend to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in a small private ceremony in the Bahamas. It’s a big moment for the Trump family. His father is not going.
President Trump told reporters at the Oval Office Thursday that he couldn’t make it because of “circumstances pertaining to Government,” pointing specifically to his ongoing war with Iran.
What made it worse was the original presidential schedule. While Trump said his absence was work-related, the White House’s own public itinerary showed he was planning to spend the weekend at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. The schedule was later updated to say he’d remain in Washington instead, after the contradiction became public.
And then there was this moment during the Oval Office press conference. When asked about Don Jr., Trump referred to his own son as “a very person I’ve known for a long time.” That’s it. That’s how the President of the United States described his eldest son on the eve of his wedding. For what it’s worth, Don Jr. has spoken publicly about how absent his father was during his childhood, saying his grandparents provided more parental attention than Trump ever did.
So when the president stands at a podium and calls his son “a person I’ve known for a long time,” maybe that really is, in its own strange way, the most honest thing he’s said about that relationship in years.
Raw America is working to build out our operations in Washington, conducting the kind of accountability reporting that the billionaire-owned outlets won’t do. We’re also ramping up live interviews with newsmakers and policy experts who have inside knowledge to share that the regime would prefer to keep hidden. Next Wednesday at 3 PM ET, we’ll be interviewing journalist and researcher Jared Holt, who is an expert on the far right.
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I’m British Chris. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next week.
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Tulsi Gabbard Resigns as Director of National Intelligence. Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation as the top intelligence official in President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday, citing her husband’s diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. Gabbard is now the fourth Trump Cabinet official to be fired or resign from her position over the last three months, joining the ranks of former Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. As a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, Gabbard ran on opposing foreign wars, particularly with Iran.
Howard Lutnick Donated $5M to Republicans Before Epstein Testimony. Prior to a closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick donated $5 million to a super PAC supporting House Republicans. According to the New York Times, Lutnick made the donation to the Congressional Leadership Fund on April 1 — which is the main campaign arm for House Republicans — four weeks before his May 6 testimony. That ties his largest-ever federal campaign donation, in which he gave $5 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in 2024.
Judge Dismisses Federal Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in Tennessee. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, on Friday threw out the government’s criminal case against Maryland resident Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia had been illegally deported to El Salvador and jailed for weeks in its notorious CECOT maximum security prison earlier this year, in direct violation of a 2019 court order. After his return to the U.S., the Trump administration accused him of conspiring to transport illegal aliens. Judge Crenshaw dismissed the charges, saying Abrego Garcia was a victim of vindictive prosecution.
Election-Denying County Clerk Attacks Democrats After Being Freed from Prison. Former Mesa County, Colorado Clerk Tina Peters issued a public statement attacking Democrats, just after her nine-year prison sentence was commuted by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) earlier this week. Peters thanked Polis, then said the anger directed at him was proof that Democrats “will try to destroy you.” Peters was convicted in August of 2024 on seven counts of election interference after allowing an activist affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s group to access county voting systems.
New York Giants Starting Quarterback Introduces Trump at GOP Rally. Jaxson Dart, who is the starting quarterback for the New York Giants, came out as MAGA while introducing President Trump at a campaign rally for Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) in Suffern, New York. Dart — who played college football at Ole Miss — said it was an “honor” to introduce the president. Trump referred to Dart as a “beautiful guy.” New Giants head coach Jim Harbaugh is also an outspoken Trump supporter, and had the president’s support after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens following the 2025-2026 NFL season.
