Good evening. I’m British Chris, and this is Raw America.
New jailhouse notes from Jeffrey Epstein reveal he tried to trade dirt on Donald Trump for a more lenient sentence before he died in prison. Stephen Colbert’s final act at CBS cost the network an undisclosed fee that ended up going to a charity Colbert has championed. Trump’s Justice Department is criminally charging 15 Minneapolis residents over Facebook posts. And a rare bipartisan group of lawmakers is now demanding that any deal Trump strikes with Iran first go through Congress.
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Epstein Offered Dirt on ‘Total Con Artist’ Trump to Angle for Lighter Sentence
The New York Times recently obtained handwritten notes from Epstein’s final weeks inside New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019. They show Epstein was desperate and apparently willing to offer damning information about Donald Trump to shave time off a potentially lengthy prison sentence.
The notes suggest Epstein was aiming to entice federal prosecutors about what he could give them to cut a deal. He called Trump “a total con artist.” He also wrote “smoke & mirrors” and “never had money” in reference to the president, who was once one of his closest friends. He suggested former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg “knows all,” and he floated the idea that Trump’s college transcripts should be released, adding: “not a stable genius.”
Epstein’s notes suggest he couldn’t offer anything investigators didn’t already know or couldn’t find on their own. Weisselberg was eventually convicted on tax crimes and later went back to prison after pleading guilty to perjury from the State of New York’s civil fraud case against Trump’s real estate business.
Trump has not been formally accused of any crimes relating to Epstein, and insists he cut ties with the convicted sex offender long before any investigations began. But what the Times investigation does paint is a bleak picture of Epstein’s final days. Prison guards allegedly encouraged Epstein’s cellmate to assault him, saying they wouldn’t file a report if he did. Epstein wrote that he was told to use adult diapers instead of being allowed to use a toilet and even told his lawyers, “I can’t do this.”
The thing Epstein feared most? Being remembered as the “billionaire pedophile in jail.”
Pressure on Capitol Hill to investigate Epstein’s network is continuing to pick up speed. The House Oversight Committee has been interviewing his survivors, resulting in criminal referrals targeting at least two Epstein associates. While Trump’s DOJ wants to close the book, Congress clearly has other ideas.
CBS Forced to Pay Licensing Fees Thanks to Colbert’s Final Episode Prank
Before Stephen Colbert formally signed off from The Late Show last month, he went out with one last gotcha aimed squarely at CBS.
During the finale, the Late Show house band played iconic Peanuts song “Linus and Lucy” while Colbert joked on camera, “Oh no! I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!”
As it turns out, it did.
Variety confirmed Tuesday that CBS has agreed to pay an undisclosed licensing fee to Lee Mendelson Film Productions, which holds the copyright on the original Vince Guaraldi composition. The licensing agreement even directs CBS’s payout to Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, which Colbert has championed for years.
The entire stunt was apparently pre-planned. Colbert purposefully engineered a copyright violation, on purpose, on his way out the door, and arranged for the fee to go directly to an organization that feeds hungry people in disaster zones.
The production company called Colbert’s use of the song “funny and entertaining” and said it was proud to support World Central Kitchen’s mission. One social media account characterized it as: “When your last ‘F— you’ feeds people.”
CBS fired Colbert after he accused Paramount of “bribing” Trump, who got $16.5 million settlement for his baseless lawsuit against 60 Minutes. Because Paramount needed the Trump administration to sign off on its merger with Skydance, CBS announced The Late Show would be cancelled just days after Colbert’s remarks.
Colbert already donated $2.5 million to World Central Kitchen during his penultimate episode. And then he arranged for CBS to give even more on his way out. That’s a pretty good way to go.
Trump’s DOJ Indicts 15 Minneapolis Residents Over Facebook Posts
The Trump Justice Department on Tuesday formally indicted 15 residents of Minneapolis, Minnesota on charges of conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and accusing them of being part of “Antifa.” The flimsy evidence behind these charges should alarm everyone.
All 15 defendants are with the group Direct Action Minnesota. Trump’s appointed U.S. attorney accused the group of using “militant tactics and violence,” which include using shields during confrontations with police, conducting neighborhood surveillance and engaging in “rapid mobilization against law enforcement actions.”
One of the cited pieces of evidence against one defendant was a Facebook post in which he wrote Minneapolis needed to “become ungovernable.” Seriously.
Keep in mind these people watched federal agents illegally detain their neighbors and, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shoot them dead in broad daylight. They responded by observing, documenting and communicating online. The administration has decided to call that a crime.
It’s also important to note that Antifa is not a formal organization, but rather a decentralized ideology of anti-fascism. But the administration applies broadly to anyone engaging in left-leaning protest or resistance activity, which is a clear threat to the First Amendment.
Democrats and Republicans Demand Trump Run Iran Deal By Congress
Republicans and Democrats are actually agreeing on something: lawmakers from both parties agree any deal Trump reaches with has to first come before Congress. Republicans who held Barack Obama to the same standard over his 2015 nuclear agreement say the same federal law that applied then applies to Trump. Democrats agree, and say the framework of the deal most lawmakers have yet to see, should be subject to congressional scrutiny.
To be clear, the partisan split now isn’t over whether Congress should have a say, but whether the White House will respect that.
Trump has expressed openness to sending any deal to Congress. But lawmakers on both sides remain skeptical. Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii told Semafor he believes the administration will try to bypass Congress entirely. Republican Todd Young of Indiana said his expectation is it will come before the Senate, because so many Republicans have already gone on record demanding it.
Early details of the deal suggest Iran get even more control over the Strait of Hormuz and reap financial benefits from winding down its nuclear program. Iran could also start selling oil immediately, even before a final nuclear agreement is reached.
Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed opponent, bluntly called it a “bad deal.” He wants the final agreement to be treated as a treaty, requiring ratification by a two-thirds Senate majority, which Republicans demanded of Obama’s deal.
Republican Leader John Thune said he expects the White House to respect Congress’ role. He also noted he hasn’t seen the memo or even been briefed.
Watch this story carefully. If Trump tries to strike a major deal with Iran while keeping Congress in the dark, that constitutional fight could define the rest of this term.
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Thanks for watching. I’m British Chris, with Raw America. We’ll see you tomorrow.
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
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Membership List of Far-Right Billionaire Peter Thiel’s Secret Group Revealed. The membership list of Dialog — a secretive invitation-only group launched by billionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel — was just revealed in a leak. According to WIRED, the membership includes prominent elected officials like Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), who is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which oversees federal agencies that Thiel’s company, Palantir, contracts with. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is also a member.
Trump Administration Takes Axe to Department of Education. President Donald Trump’s Department of Education, which is led by former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, announced Tuesday it would be moving its offices for special education to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Education Department’s civil rights office, in the meantime, will be reshuffled into the Department of Justice (DOJ). Kennedy has taken multiple extreme positions on vaccines and autism, which could significantly impact special education. And the Trump DOJ’s record on civil rights is similarly spotty, with MAGA loyalist Harmeet Dhillon heading the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
Hillary Clinton Says Biden Running for Second Term Cost Democrats the 2024 Election. Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Tuesday attributed her party’s 2024 election loss to former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek a second term. Clinton argued that Democrats could have beaten Trump had Biden announced his retirement from politics in 2023, and allowed the party to hold a competitive 50-state primary. She added that Biden’s decision to run again was a “terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and for the country.”
