Today in Politics, Bulletin 177. 7/24/25 Ron Filipkowski … Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche met with Ghislaine Maxwell today at a federal prison in Tallahassee. The highly unusual move - the Deputy AG meeting with a sentenced inmate in prison to secure a statement - is undoubtably being done to make a deal with the convicted sex trafficker in exchange for a statement exonerating Blanche’s former client. … This also come one week after he fired career prosecutor Maurene Comey, who prosecuted Epstein and Maxwell and sent them both to prison. … Maxwell's attorney David Markus told reporters outside the prison after the meeting that it was a "very productive day" for his client. … Former Dep. Asst. AG in Bush admin John Yoo reacted on Fox: “It’s extraordinary. I can’t think of another time in the history of this country where something like this has happened. I worked for a Deputy AG and clerked for another. They would never meet with any suspect or any witness or anyone convicted or serving time. This is a sign of how seriously the Trump admin is taking this and how much they are worried that people are losing faith in DOJ leadership.” … Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to Meidas: “This is how perverse the situation is: they fired the prosecutor who prosecuted the traffickers - Epstein and Maxwell. And now they’re making common cause, it would appear, with one of the traffickers, one of the co-conspirators - Maxwell. That’s how crazy this is. But they’re desperate.” … “There is obviously something Trump is deeply worried about coming out in these Epstein files. There’s no other possible or plausible explanation for this really erratic conduct. I’m sure Blanche is looking forward to this assignment - going to a prison to talk to a convicted trafficker - and how them appearing in cahoots now is going to help him with the MAGA base. I just don’t understand the logic.” … Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): “The Dep AG is personally visiting Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. Weird? Very. Even US Attorneys (93 of them, who report to DAG) avoid witness interviews and send agents instead to do the interview. Why? Because a prosecutor in the interview is a witness to the interview and could be called to testify about it — a mess to avoid. Plus, the DAG pretty much runs DOJ; everyone reports to the AG through the DAG. The DAG doesn’t do individual cases; he’s busy.” … “So the question here is: is he really going as DAG or is he going de facto as Trump’s personal criminal attorney, Tom Hagen style? Will he promise her a pardon for silence, or for a Trump-friendly tale? Who will be in the room? What records will be kept? An added wrinkle: Maxwell is a likely witness in Trump’s lawsuit against the WSJ if she put the book together and obtained the Trump letter. What a tangled web they’re weaving.” … Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on MSNBC: “Trump’s DOJ is interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell to secure a coverup - a secret meeting and secret deal giving her potentially a pardon for providing information favorable to Trump.” … Newsmax host Greg Kelly on Maxwell: "She just might be a victim. She just might be. There was a rush to judgement - prosecutors prosecuted President Trump over nothing too." … House Oversight voted to subpoena Maxwell for a deposition. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) says that they could recommend a sentence reduction for her is she says what they want to hear: “She is a liar, and she’s a dirtbag. The one thing we got holding over her head is, if we find out she lies, she goes back to her original sentence, and that’s looking at lifetime. And if she’s looking at maybe parlaying this into reducing her sentence, then we could have some leverage there.” … Epstein’s former attorney Alan Dershowitz to NY Post: “She’s going to make a deal. That’s the way things are done. They make deals with the Mafia, so I’m certain they are going to try to make a deal with her.” … Former Mafia prosecutor and defense lawyer Edward McDonald to The Telegraph: “This is a situation where she potentially has info on the very person who holds the key to the jailhouse door for her, that is the president of the US. It would seem that, unless she exonerates Trump, she is not going to get any quid for her quo, he’s not going to pardon her or agree to have DOJ give her a lesser sentence. If she implicates Trump, she’s certainly not going to get pardoned.” … House Oversight also attempted to create a smoke screen circus distraction by voting to subpoena Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Robert Mueller, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales over their alleged personal involvement with Epstein/Maxwell or their cases. … Senate Republicans in the Judiciary Committee blocked the Epstein Transparency Act filed by Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) led the charge: “I’m sure this will be handled just like any other thing like the baseless impeachments or the unbelievable amount of charges they filed against the president. What we’re simply wanting to do here is give him cover.” … There are no quiet parts anymore. Everything is out loud and brazen. … AG Pam Bondi was supposed to show up at a CPAC conference to give a talk about human trafficking and take questions from the audience. However, the hosts read a prepared statement when she backed out at the last minute knowing she was going to get booed and jeered: “I’m sorry to miss all my CPAC friends today, especially Matt and Mercy Schlapp, Sen. Blackburn. Unfortunately, I am recovering from a recently torn cornea, which is preventing me from being with you. I truly wish I was able to join you and support all the of the work being done on this critical issue.” … When he sent the House home until September to avoid a vote on releasing the Epstein files, Speaker Mike Johnson claimed that it may not be necessary to release the files when they return since DOJ was working on releasing the grand jury transcripts. But at the same time he was making that argument, DOJ conceded that there was no legal basis to unseal the transcripts, so the court denied the request. … NYT: “In its request, DOJ did not suggest that the testimony would provide anything revelatory, but insisted that it would bolster the govt’s claims that it had left no stone unturned. Judge Robin Rosenberg wrote that the court’s ‘hands are tied,’ pointing to what she said was the govt’s own concession in its filing that the laws on criminal procedure generally forbid courts from unsealing grand jury testimony except in narrow circumstances.” … We also learned that, contrary to Trump’s denials, he was informed by AG Pam Bondi months ago that his name was all over the Epstein files before she announced they would not be released. NYT: “Bondi and Blanche, both of whom previously served as lawyers for Trump, informed the president that his name, as well as those of other high-profile figures, had come up in their re-examination of documents connected to the case that had not previously been made public.” … CNN: “We reached out to the WH about the new report. Their response read in part: ‘This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.’” … Gallup: “President Trump’s job approval rating has dipped to 37%, the lowest of this term. Trump’s rating has fallen 10% since he began his 2nd term in January, including a 17% decline among independents to 29%, matching his lowest rating with that group in either of his terms.” … Ranking member of House Intel Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) responded to Trump and MAGA calls for Barack Obama and his senior officials to be prosecuted based on the bogus criminal referral from Tulsi Gabbard: "When are we prosecuting President Obama? The answer is NEVER. Because there is not a court in the United States that will do anything than utterly laugh these contentions out of court." … Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Fox host Laura Ingraham agreed. Ingraham: “He’s not going to be prosecuted for treason. That’s not going to happen.” … Cruz: “He’s not going to be prosecuted, in all likelihood.” … But Cruz still claimed that it was equivalent to Pearl Harbor: “FDR famously said December 7th is a date that will live in infamy - well December 9th should be a day that will live in infamy because this is a moment when senior members of our govt decided to sabotage President Trump.” … Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) broke with Trump on Gabbard’s insane allegations. To HuffPost: “I agree with what the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence concluded, and that was that Russia was up to its old tricks, which is trying to influence the election. Thankfully, there's no evidence at all that they were successful in changing any votes, but they were definitely attacking the election infrastructure in in the country.” … This is a rare moment of courage to actually tell the truth by Cornyn given the fact that he is facing a bruising primary battle against Ken Paxton and badly wants to keep Trump neutral in the race. … Sen. Lindsey Graham: “For the good of the country, I urge AG Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate the extent to which former President Obama, his staff and admin officials manipulated the US national security apparatus for a political outcome.” … NBC’s Garrett Haake: “If this sounds familiar, its because Trump DOJ-appointed special counsel John Durham ran a four year investigation into this already. He charged 3 people and lost 2 of the cases.” … The Independent asked Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) if she agrees with Trump and Gabbard that Obama is guilty of treason: “I have not followed that. I've been deeply involved in appropriations, and that's been my focus.” … Joy Behar on The View: “Trump is so jealous of Obama because Obama is everything he is not - trim, smart, handsome, happily married. And Trump can’t stand it. It’s driving him crazy.” … WH Spokesman Taylor Rogers: “Joy Behar is an irrelevant loser suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. She should self-reflect on her own jealousy of President’s Trump’s historic popularity before her show is the next to be pulled off-air.” … Fox to FCC Chair Brendan Carr: “Q - Is The View now in the crosshairs of the Admin? Carr - It's entirely possible that there are issues over there. Stepping back at the broader dynamic, President Trump has exposed these media gatekeepers and smashed this facade with a lot of consequences, and I think the consequences aren't quite finished.” … “Q - Did President Trump have anything to do with the cancelation of Colbert's show? Carr: When President Trump ran for election, he ran right at these legacy broadcast media outfits. Fox host: I asked you a very direct question and did not hear an answer.” … Right-wing podcaster Dinesh D’Souza, who was pardoned by Trump after a fraud conviction, suggested to Paramount that they should fire Stephen Colbert now after latest rant about Trump: “Does Paramount really want to put up with this tedious, unfunny guy for another 9 months? It would nice to get rid of him and replace his show with something featuring comedy, for a change.” … And, what a surprise after they fired Colbert and settled lawsuits with Trump! Puck News: “The F.C.C. has just voted to approve the merger of Skydance Media and Paramount Global, per three sources familiar with the matter.” … Rolling Stone: “Less than a day after the creators of Comedy Central’s South Park reached a reportedly $1.5 billion deal with Paramount Plus, Matt Stone and Trey Parker dropped a bombshell episode to kick off Season 27 that depicts Donald Trump with a minuscule penis and in bed with Satan. … “In the 30-minute episode, titled ‘Sermon on the ‘Mount,’ that likely has Paramount and Skydance Media banging their heads against a wall, Stone and Parker jab at Trump’s obsession with using lawsuits to silence media and political opponents, ChatGPT, the injection of religion into America’s public schools, govt censorship, and corporations caving to pressure.” … “In one scene, the president is depicted laying naked in bed with a poorly endowed penis trying to seduce Satan, as the series regular tells Trump, ‘I can’t even see anything, it’s so small.’” … WH Spokesman Taylor Rogers: “Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention. President Trump has delivered on more promises in just 6 months than any other president in our country’s history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.” July 23 Episode of South Park … Trump visited the Fed HQ in his latest attempt to pressure Fed Chair Jerome Powell by claiming that he may be committing fraud by going over budget on building renovations. Powell called him out live on camera when Trump tried to lie: “Trump: It looks like it’s over cost by about $3.1 billion. Powell shaking his head: I’m not aware of that. Trump: It just came out. (Trump then takes paper out of pocket and hands it to Powell) who looks at it and says: That’s cap. And you just added in a third building. This is a different building. Trump: It’s a building that’s being built. Powell: It was built 5 years ago.” … Reporter: “Is there anything the Chairman can say to get you to back off your criticism? Trump: Yes, I would like him to lower interest rates.” I have closely monitored the various Epstein conspiracies in the MAGA movement for years, and wrote a column here on Substack a while back noting that this was all going to blow up on Trump after he appointed Patel and Bongino to run the FBI. I am glad so many senior elected Democrats and members of the media are now (finally!) fully on board realizing how big of a problem this is for Trump. If you missed the last Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you again to everyone who subscribes and supports what we are doing at Meidas. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Democrats got great news this week that popular former Gov. Roy Cooper is going to run for the open senate seat in NC vacated by Thom Tillis, and it looks like his opponent is going to be RNC Chair Michael Whatley. NBC: “Whatley intends to run for Senate in NC and would have the WH’s full support. Trump conveyed to Whatley in a direct discussion this week that he supported him for the seat.” … LOONEY  Lara Trump wanted no part of running against Cooper, who has never lost a race since he entered politics in 1987: “After much consideration and heartfelt discussions with my family, friends, and supporters, I have decided not to pursue the Senate seat in NC at this time.” … WI Gov Tony Evers (D) announced he will not run for another term. AG Josh Kaul is expected to be the leading contender for the Dems to run for governor next year. Rep. Tom Tiffany and former senate candidate Eric Hovde are expected to be the leading Republican contenders, but neither has yet declared they are running. … Newsweek: “The number of pending home sales that fell through hit record-levels for the month of June in 2025, as surging inventory and economic uncertainty continues to plague sellers. Over 57,000 home-sale agreements across the US were cancelled in June, equating to around 15% of houses that were under contract in the month. This marks the highest cancellation rate for any June on record.” … “Real estate agents who spoke to Redfin said buyers are becoming reluctant to finalize purchases due to economic uncertainties, in particular high mortgage rates, the potential impacts of tariffs, inflation and the possibility of a recession in the near future.” … Nick Gerli, CEO of Reventure: “Home builders have 9.8 months of supply on their lots. This has only happened 6 other times in US history. 5 times it led to a recession. Long-term median Months of Supply is around 5.8 months - meaning today's home building market is 70% more oversupplied than normal.” … Trump: “Housing in our Country is lagging because Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell refuses to lower Interest Rates.” … CNBC: “Tesla shares fell 8% Thursday after the company reported a second straight quarter of declining auto sales. Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker reported a top and bottom line miss on Q2 results, noting that automotive revenue fell 16% year-on-year to $16.7 billion. On an earnings call, Musk said Tesla ‘probably could have a few rough quarters’ ahead as a result of the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits.” … Trump posted today: “Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the US Government. This is not so!” … A new report from the Inspector General for DOD confirms that they have credible info that SecDef Pete Hegseth shared classified info on his Signal chat which included a reporter, despite his denials under oath to Congress. The investigation by the IG was initiated after a bipartisan request from the Senate Armed Services Committee. … Former CIA agent and MSNBC analyst Marc Polymeropoulos: “Of course it was classified - to nobody’s surprise who knows this world. And let’s not forget the entire Intelligence Community leadership (who knew it was classified) did not come clean during previous congressional testimony.” … Hegseth spokesman Sean Parnell was asked for the Pentagon’s comment on the report: "This Signal narrative is so old and worn out, it's starting to resemble Joe Biden's mental state.” … TX AG Ken Paxton has more legal issues. AP: “Paxton and his wife, Angela, are longtime owners of a $1.5 million house in a gated community outside Dallas. In 2015, they snapped up a second home in Austin. Then another. The problem: Mortgages signed by the Paxtons contained inaccurate statements declaring that each of those 3 houses was their primary residence, enabling the now-estranged couple to improperly lock in low interest rates. The records also revealed that the Paxtons collected an impermissible homestead tax break on 2 of those homes, and they have routinely flouted lending agreements on some of their other properties.” … “It is a federal and state crime to knowingly make false statements on mortgage documents. It’s also against the law in Texas to collect a homestead tax break on two separate properties. Violating the terms of a mortgage could allow lenders recourse to seek full payment of a loan, according to legal experts.” … NYT: A Senate Homeland Security Committee confirmation hearing panel that was supposed to include Paul Ingrassia for his nomination to the Office of Special Counsel no longer lists Ingrassia, a change that happened this morning. Ingrassia was taken off the panel for his confirmation hearing before the Committee this morning after members asked for more time for individual meetings with him.” … Ranking Member Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) led off the hearing with this: "Mr. Ingrassia is unqualified for the position, both in terms of legal experience, and given his long record of bigoted statements, and I urge the administration to formally withdraw his nomination." … Julie Tsirkin with NBC: “Sen Rick Scott tells me he wants to meet with Paul Ingrassia - Trump’s special counsel pick - to discuss his past ‘antisemitic’ comments. His nomination was pulled this morning after some Senators including Tillis expressed concerns.” … Hulk Hogan, who headlined the first night of the Republican National Convention in 2024, died of a reported heart attack. He was 71. … Washington Examiner: “The Trump WH rejected a disaster relief request from Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) following devastating flooding in western MD. Moore requested $15.8 million in disaster relief funds from FEMA for repairs due to heavy flooding in May.” Moore: “These communities demonstrated a clear need through FEMA’s own process. Historically, if the joint damage assessment process demonstrates eligible costs over and above the county and state indicator, disaster assistance has been awarded by the president.” … Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-MD) asked the WH in a joint statement to reconsider: “Marylanders in Allegany and Garrett Counties were hard-hit by May’s historically intense storms. Two months after flash flooding tore through these communities, they are still in need of support to repair public schools and libraries that were inundated, roads and bridges that were washed out, and homes and businesses that were left severely damaged.” … Examiner: “At the same time Maryland’s request was denied, President Trump approved disaster relief in Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia.” … Commerce Sec Howard Lutnick told CNBC that they might enforce the law they’ve ignored for 6 months and shut down TikTok: “We’ve made the decision. You can’t have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones. Basically, Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology. Americans will control the algorithm. That’s something Trump is willing to do.” … TikTok has become an extremely powerful tool in elections - especially with younger voters - and it is very important to watch this deal and the details of the divestiture if it ever finally happens to see exactly who gains control of the app. Trump has muscled his way into it even though he is really not supposed to dictate terms of the sale under the bipartisan law. I will continue to write about it even though few seem to care. … Neera Tanden addressed unprecedented Republican efforts to start a mid-decade redistricting in some states including TX: “Some of us warned a decade ago that having just blue states rely on independent redistricting commissions while leaving red states to gerrymander at will was a recipe for GOP weaponization of redistricting but many Dem pundits and democracy groups ignored us.” … Former DNC Chair Jamie Harrison: “I also suggested a few years ago that we needed to pause these commissions. We need ‘Fair’ Districts in ALL states not just Blue states!” … MSNBC contributor Steven Rattner’s chart on the top fundraisers so far in the House and Senate for 2025: … A popular right-wing conspiracy for years is that French First Lady and mother of three Brigitte Macron is really trans. Macron just filed a lawsuit in Delaware against podcaster Candace Owens for continuing to promote the lie: “The clicks kept coming, so Owens kept going, seizing every opportunity to promote her salacious claims. Rather than engage with Macron’s attempts to set the record straight, Owens mocked them and used them as additional fodder for her frenzied fan base.” … Owens’ rep to Dispatch: “Candace Owens is not shutting up. This is a foreign govt attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist. Candace repeatedly requested an interview with Brigitte Macron. Instead of offering a comment, Brigitte is resorting to trying to bully a reporter into submission. In France, politicians can bully journalists, but this is not France. It’s America.”