Donald Trump's White House is under pressure from every direction all at once. House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee released a 50-page report accusing Donald Trump of lying about Jeffrey Epstein and demanding a special counsel be appointed. Around the world, voters are throwing out right-wing strongmen from Brazil to Serbia. Here at home, the districts we drew — Trump drew to save his party — are slipping away, and the White House is sitting on plans for a major new war with Iran timed for just after you vote.
Epstein, the strongmen, the midterms, Iran — one front after another — and the White House is reportedly behind the scenes terrified on every single one of them. Now, on Epstein, I told you I will not stop reporting, and I will not stop now, especially with eight days to go to the midterms. If you can, subscribe today, support this work. Your subscriptions fuel this work. Like, comment, share, and let's jump right in. I can't really move from my chair today. I'm very sore from my marathon, but the news does not stop — not now, not ever.
Let's start with the story the White House least wants you talking about this week. This morning, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released a 50-page report titled "The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ's Desperate Efforts to Cover It Up," landing just eight days before the midterms. Its central claim is that Donald Trump had lied dozens of times about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. And it notes that, quote, "a growing body of evidence demonstrates that Donald Trump was a, quote, active participant in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of young women during the mid-to-late 1990s, and that the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation are doing everything they can to keep the American people in the dark about it."
In 2019, Trump said he knew Epstein just like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. According to the report, the two were, quote, "inseparable for much of the 1990s." Epstein's address book held 14 numbers for Trump. In 2024, Trump said, "I was never on Epstein's plane." The Epstein files show he flew on that jet at least eight times. For years, Trump said he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago. The White House repeated that claim again today, but the report cites an unredacted Justice Department document quoting Trump himself saying, "Epstein was never asked to leave." And then you have the 2003 birthday note to Epstein that Trump says he never wrote. Democrats point out that in federal court, repeated false statements like this can be treated as evidence of consciousness of guilt.
Now, let me be this clear. This 50-page report — I read through it all — 99% of it was already publicly known. This isn't some kind of new bombshell that came out. And the reason why it is significant is the timing and the call for the special counsel, not necessarily the contents within. Number one, the Epstein files had, unfortunately, for better or for worse, because of the Iran war and others, fallen out of the political spotlight. Now they're ushered right back in. And good, right? Good. The survivors deserve to get justice. The survivors deserve accountability.
Second, if Democrats are successful in trying to get the special counsel — now, ultimately, it'll be up to Todd Blanche to appoint a special counsel, so I'm not holding my breath. What they're asking for is an independent special counsel, someone like Robert Hur, someone like Robert Mueller, to investigate Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Now, the White House claims none of the allegations are true. It called the report a desperate attempt by crazed Democrats to distract Americans. But ask yourselves this: if the files really exonerated him, why has the administration fought so hard to keep them from you? That's a question that no one has answered just yet.
It's not the only issue plaguing the White House today, because the second front is overseas, and the White House is watching it closely. In April, Viktor Orbán, the man the MAGA movement held up for years, was ousted in Hungary. This weekend, two more of the world's right-wing strongmen went down. Start with Brazil. Three weeks ago, President Lula lost the first round to Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president serving 27 years in prison for plotting a coup. No one in Brazil's history had ever lost a first round and come back to win. Well, until now, because Lula just did it — 51.8% to 48.2%. Turnout went up to more than 128 million voters, which almost never happens in a runoff. And who drove it? Young people. And now you have this result in Brazil.
But it wasn't just Lula, and that moment right there caused a lot of problems for the Trump White House. Why? Well, because Donald Trump literally slapped tariffs on Brazil — literally slapped tariffs on Brazil — to keep Lula out of power, to try to put Bolsonaro back in power.
And it wasn't just Brazil; it was also in Serbia, where Putin lost one of his closest allies in Europe. Aleksandar Vučić ruled Serbia for more than a decade and kept visiting Moscow even after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He and Orbán were Putin's friendliest voices in Europe. Now both are gone. And it was once again led by students. Hungary, Brazil, Serbia — one strongman after another beaten at the ballot box by young people who refuse to give up — and the Trump White House is seeing that pattern, too.
Because the third front is the one that scares the White House the most. It's just eight days away. Trump's own aides have told CNN they're bracing for a post-midterm rampage. Conservative groups are urging Trump to issue mass pardons to shield his staff from investigations. Trump is openly floating it. In Michigan, a state he won in 2024, just 34% of likely voters approve of him. How is he responding? Well, with fear. At a rally in Michigan, Trump claimed that if Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed wins, Democrats will invite hordes of jihadis to our shore, creating a nightmare of violence and terror, and so you cannot even have Christmas. Not true.
Even the safety net is giving way. Trump pressured Republican states to redraw their maps as a firewall against midterm losses. North Carolina's first district was drawn so Trump would have won it by 11 points. It's now a toss-up. In Texas, districts drawn with a 10-point Trump advantage are shifting towards Democrats. At a rally last week, Trump admitted Speaker Mike Johnson asked him to give struggling candidates a boost because their races are tough. One strategist summed it up: this will go down as a dummymander rather than a gerrymander.
And the fourth front is the most dangerous, and you need to know about it before you head to the polls, because according to CNN, US forces can launch major new strikes on Iran within just 96 hours of a Trump order, and officials say it's a question of when, not if. The target list includes Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites, nuclear facilities. It'll be a long effort. The timing most likely after the midterms. CNN has reported that Netanyahu pushed Trump for a joint attack before the midterms, and Trump told him to wait. Think about that. Think about what holding off means. A White House confident in this war wouldn't need voters to finish casting ballots before making its next move.
The United States is bracing right now for retaliation. Embassies across the region are being drawn down. Troops who are set to rotate into the Middle East have been told they're not going. Oil has spiked to nearly $115 a barrel, and that's a big reason gas costs are rising.
In Israel, the army chief reportedly pushed back on a Netanyahu directive that security officials warned could trigger a confrontation with Iran just days before tomorrow's Israeli elections, and opposition leader Avigdor Lieberman is calling for a treason investigation.
So there's a lot happening right now on the world stage, but the White House is facing pressure on all fronts. Make sure to subscribe, like, comment, share. Another update coming very soon.
