Trump admin blocks investigation into Epstein money trail
ALSO INSIDE: How the national immigration crackdown is playing out in Wisconsin
Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.
Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.
What Happened
A four-year congressional investigation into the assets of millionaire financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been stalled indefinitely by the Trump administration, which has revoked access to sensitive documents that had been granted under former President Joe Biden.
The US Senate Finance Committee began its inspection of Epstein’s financial history in 2022, when ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) discovered Wall Street executive and Trump ally Leon Black vastly overpaid Epstein for tax and estate planning services. Further digging revealed that Black had reached a $65 million settlement agreement in 2023 with the US Virgin Islands — home to Epstein’s infamous enclave — in exchange for immunity from an Epstein-related prosecution. Immunity was granted despite prosecutors’ conclusion that “Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands.”
“Over the course of the ongoing Finance Committee investigation, my staff have uncovered new evidence, including through review of federal government records, indicating that money paid by Black to Epstein was used to finance Epstein’s sex trafficking operations,” Wyden said. “Major US financial institution failed to do legally required due diligence on the payments.”
JP Morgan Chase settled lawsuits similar to Black’s in 2023 with the US Virgin Islands and Epstein’s alleged victims, where the bank paid over $350 million and admitted no wrongdoing in its failure to disclose 15 years' worth of suspicious activity by its client until after Epstein was arrested.
Based on the committee’s findings, the Biden Administration in 2024 granted investigators access to suspicious activity reports held by the US Treasury that were filed confidentially in 2019 by Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Deutsche Bank, and JP Morgan Chase. Due to the sensitive nature of the reports, committee staffers were prohibited from taking them from the Treasury or making any copies, but they were allowed to write down notes on what they found.
Investigators only had a few months to review the thousands of documents detailing Epstein’s transactions, according to The New York Times, before access was cut off in January of 2025. In that time, investigators found over 4,000 suspicious transactions totalling over $1.5 billion from one bank alone, but were unable to inspect the money trail before being roadblocked by the Trump administration.
Repeated requests to renew clearance have been ignored by the US Department of Justice, Wyden said, and the US Treasury lied to reporters, falsely pinning blame on the Biden administration.
“Despite Senator Wyden’s fantasies, there are no hidden files at Treasury,” said a Treasury spokesperson. “The Biden Administration had access to this information during its tenure. The fact that Senator Wyden never asked Joe Biden or Merrick Garland to address this matter shows this is pathetic political theater and a complete joke.”
Instead, the White House has worked feverishly to avoid transparency. In March, FBI agents were ordered to catalog mentions of Trump and other prominent figures found in the DOJ’s investigation of Epstein. Months later, US Deputy Attorney General and Trump fixer Todd Blanche met privately with Epstein accomplice and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, where she was granted partial immunity in exchange for information on at least 100 names the DOJ found in the Epstein files.
Attempts to Sanewash
Oregon Senator uncovers Epstein financial records as Trump calls case a ‘hoax’
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden joins chorus in calling for release of Epstein documents
Far-Right Spin
EXCLUSIVE: Pelosi explains characterizing Epstein scandal as ‘distraction’
You might have heard about Nancy Pelosi calling the Epstein Files cover-up a distraction the other week.
But, seeing as the Trump administration has started private negotiations with Epstein’s convicted accomplice (and Republicans literally shut down the House to avoid transparency measures) because of this scandal, I decided to ask Pelosi what she meant by those comments. Here’s her answer:
US Rep. David Valadao, California’s 22nd Congressional District
Since taking office in 2012, Rep. Valadao has:
Listed as both one of the poorest and richest members of Congress, due to his practice of taking out millions of dollars in debt, then filing for protected bankruptcy to retain his assets
Sponsored 70 pieces of legislation, one of which has been signed into law
Lost his seat for one term in 2018 by less than 1,000 votes
Voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare
Potentially kicked 40% of his district off its health insurance in order to subsidize billionaire tax cuts
Catered legislation to benefit a wealthy donor who “uses more water than every home in LA combined”
Refused to pay a lawsuit settlement of $325,000 for paying farm workers less than minimum wage
Maintained generally terrible working conditions on his farms, resulting in injuries and amputations
Fun Facts
Valadao has spent the last decade walking on a Trumpian tightrope, opposing nearly everything about the President as a person but supporting every fiber of his agenda. The balancing act began in 2016, when Valadao withdrew his endorsement of Trump on the grounds that he “denigrates people based on their ethnicity, religion, or disabilities.” His conviction didn’t extend to policymaking, however; Valadao voted in line with Trump 98% of the time and shielded the president from financial transparency.
This unholy alliance temporarily cost Valadao his seat when he was voted out in 2018. He won back in 2020, after receiving Trump’s endorsement, but the latter’s loss that year set the stage for Valadao’s loyalties to be tested again. After Trump incited the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in an attempt to retain power, Valadao was one of 10 Republicans who voted in favor of impeachment. He later went against his party by voting to establish the January 6th Committee.
The two mended fences eventually, and Valadao proudly attended the second inauguration of a man he believed goaded a violent mob into attacking the US Capitol so he could overturn the 2020 election results.
How the national immigration crackdown is playing out in Wisconsin
By Henry Teckam, UpNorthNews / COURIER
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Across Wisconsin, some county jails are serving as holding sites for ICE detainees under quiet contracts that go undetected by most residents. These agreements don’t target people convicted of crimes—they detain individuals over civil immigration issues, often for days or weeks.
The ACLU warns that these contracts could severely erode community trust in law enforcement while diverting resources from public safety.
So what’s really going on here? It’s a national immigration crackdown playing out at the county level, and some Wisconsin sheriffs are helping to make it happen.
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