Watch now   Ask the Editor-in-Chief: 12/3/25 MeidasTouch co-founder Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Editor-in-Chief Ron Filipkowski discuss the key stories the network is focused on in this exclusive series for paid subscribers only. Ron Filipkowski, Ben Meiselas, and MeidasTouch Network Dec 4 ∙ The newest installment of Ask the Editor-in-Chief, the MeidasTouch Network’s exclusive weekly briefing for paid subscribers, pulls back the curtain on a series of crises converging around the Trump regime as your questions get answered. MeidasTouch host and co-founder Ben Meiselas and Editor-in-Chief Ron Filipkowski guide members through what they describe as one of the most volatile and revealing moments yet: senior military officials privately sounding alarms over unlawful orders, bipartisan pressure building on the administration to release Epstein-related records, cultural figures increasingly defying the White House, and Republicans panicking behind the scenes after another underperformance at the ballot box. If you are not yet a paid subscriber to this Substack and want access to exclusive content like this, consider subscribing now. The episode opens with an examination of the military’s growing unease over the Caribbean boat-strike scandal. Filipkowski notes that senior Pentagon commander, particularly uniformed leaders, not civilian appointees, have been quietly urging Republican chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to investigate the incident. These military leaders, he explains, fear they may be exposed to criminal liability after being pressured to carry out orders they view as unlawful. They have reportedly used long-standing backchannels to communicate these concerns, bypassing political officials in the chain of command. The goal, as they see it, is to curb or remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth before the situation spirals further. Democrats, Filipkowski notes, have their own parallel strategy: ensuring officers cannot later claim they were unaware they were being ordered to commit potential war crimes. By clearly restating the military’s duty to refuse unlawful orders, Democratic members are laying groundwork that could become significant in any future legal proceedings. From there, the conversation shifts to the stalled release of the Epstein files under the newly enacted Marcy Carnage Act. With a statutory deadline of December 19 fast approaching, lawmakers from both parties are demanding an update from the Department of Justice after weeks of silence from Attorney General Pam Bondi. Filipkowski outlines how the Trump administration appears to be setting up excuses to delay disclosure, invoking unrelated grand jury material, floating privacy objections, and preemptively blaming the courts for obstacles that do not actually exist. The bipartisan demand for transparency, he argues, reflects growing frustration even among Republicans who supported the law and expect it to be followed. Meiselas and Filipkowski then examine a cultural flashpoint ignited by the White House’s unauthorized use of Sabrina Carpenter’s music in an ICE propaganda video. The incident, paired with the administration’s decision to attack the artist afterward, has drawn millions of young, previously disengaged fans into political conversation. The hosts describe it as part of a broader shift: major cultural figures are becoming less willing to stay neutral in the face of political extremism, countering the apathy that marked the early months of Trump’s return to power. The episode closes with a look at the political landscape following Tuesday’s special election in Tennessee. Republicans publicly insisted their eight-point win in a district Trump carried by twenty-two points was a success. But as Filipkowski says, internal chatter tells a different story. Operatives speaking privately to congressional reporters are expressing alarm: every recent special, off-year, or odd-cycle contest has shown Republicans underperforming compared to their 2024 benchmarks. Massively. In a House map already strained by gerrymandering and shrinking margins, even modest erosion could prove catastrophic. Across all topics, the briefing underscores a picture of a Trump regime fraying under pressure, with military doubts, legal risks, cultural backlash, and electoral underperformance converging at once. For MeidasTouch subscribers, Ask the Editor-in-Chief offers a clear through-line: democratic institutions and civic voices are pushing back, even as the Trump regime works to obscure, delay, and deny. Independent media and your support has played a huge role in that, so thank you. Be sure to look out each Wednesday for new episodes of Ask the Editor-in-Chief. Put your questions in the comment section below for it to be considered for next week’s episode. Thanks again for your support and for continuing to spread the word!