Desk Notes | The Epstein Files Are Due to Drop — The Narrative Games Begin
Epstein emails, congressional chaos, and why calling someone "piggy" isn't actually the problem
Who is getting amped up for Thanksgiving? Are you staying home? Having guests over? Hitting the road? Whatever your Thanksgiving plans are, I hope they are wonderful and full of family and carbs.
Before we get into the stories that sat on my desk this week, I have to share this adorable, hilarious video I stumbled across. This young woman encounters a gas pump that the attendant describes as “from the Reagan era.” Excuse me, sir, what are you suggesting?
Credit to the young woman, who takes the “challenge” in stride and makes fun of herself.
In Desk Notes
Feature:
The Epstein Files Are Due to Drop—The Narrative Games Begin - The 30-day countdown has begun, but don’t expect clarity. Psaki and Meyers already showed us the playbook with that WSJ chart, and the Summers-versus-Plaskett treatment proves the media decides who’s expendable based on political usefulness, not ethics.
Also Featuring:
Congressmembers Tell the Military to Ignore the Commander-in-Chief - Six Democratic veterans released a video telling active-duty service members to refuse “illegal orders”—without naming a single one. Unprecedented, dangerous, and the kind of permission structure for chaos that should terrify everyone.
Trump Called a Reporter “Piggy” – Meh! - Trump said “piggy,” not “Peggy.” I don’t really care, and I’ll probably lose subscribers for saying so. Equal-opportunity jerk behavior isn’t the same as sexism. Ok, let’s get into it!
IKYMI
Tucker Carlson Told On Himself—And I Believe Him
I haven’t spoken much about Tucker Carlson, but that’s not to say I haven’t had plenty to say about him, especially in conversations with friends and colleagues behind the scenes. On Sunday afternoon, after I came back from church and was getting ready to make lunch, I saw a notification pop up for a New York Times article titled
The Epstein Files Are Due to Drop — The Narrative Games Begin
So, the Epstein Transparency Act is now law. Trump signed it on November 19th, and the clock is ticking; 30 days for the DOJ to start releasing documents.
And before you get too excited about “historic transparency,” let me hit you with some facts: this isn’t going to satisfy anyone.
Why? The Act is loaded with loopholes, national security exceptions, ongoing investigation exemptions, and agency discretion. You know, all the usual escape hatches that governments love to use when they don’t actually want to release information. Which is kind of ironic, considering this whole thing was championed by people like Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie as a transparency triumph. They built in the very government loopholes they usually rail against.
If there was ever a smoking gun connecting powerful people to Epstein’s crimes, it’s long gone. What we’re going to get instead is a drip-feed of partial, redacted documents that will fuel more speculation than revelation. And the media, of course, is going to have a field day cherry-picking whatever serves their narrative best.
Don’t believe me? We’ve already gotten a perfect preview of exactly how this is going to play out.