Ann's Mega Dub

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Racist Chump

Donald Chump is a convicted felon and a grifter and a liar and a racist. So it's no surprise that his State Dept is rushing to meet with someone from the UK who should not be allowed to enter the US but, because he is White, will be entering the US. James Ball (The i Paper) reports:

The headlines from Minneapolis may no longer be front-page news, but it is still an everyday reality across the US that masked goons working for ICE seize people in the street – often just on the basis of the colour of their skin – and disappear them into remote detention centres, to face deportation.

This is the policy of Donald Trump’s administration, and his officials will indignantly insist that it is not racist, nor is it about race. While it might be unpleasant, the justification is the rule of law and that immigration must be legal: even if someone has lived and paid taxes for 20 years in the USA, if they entered illegally, that is unfair.

If that explanation had any credibility left, it has surely been shattered for good by the invitation for Tommy Robinson – the alias of far-right influencer and former tanning salon owner Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – to tour the State Department, as an honoured guest of the Trump administration.

Robinson is a convicted criminal, several times over. Two of his convictions were for violent crimes – one for assaulting a police officer and the other for headbutting someone at a far-right rally, before inciting a mass brawl. He has convictions for offences relating to dishonesty, including mortgage fraud (the offence on which Donald Trump is currently trying to prosecute several political enemies).

This man has in the past two days been hosted by Joe Rittenhouse, a senior adviser at the State Department, and had the red carpet rolled out for him at Congress, where he met with at least one US representative, Randy Fine of Florida. He has appeared live on Maga TV network Real America’s Voice, and dined at one of Washington’s most famous restaurants.

The narrative Robinson sells to gullible overseas supporters is that he was some kind of heroic campaigner for justice for the victims of grooming gangs in the UK. The reality is very different: once other campaigners had managed to finally spur the criminal justice system into action, the 43-year-old’s relentless self-promotion risked undermining those hard-won trials – since his broadcasts during these trials were in contempt of court. He eventually did jail time for contempt.

Perhaps most staggering of all is the fact that one of Robinson’s spells in jail was for entering the USA on a false passport – something that would typically get you barred from entering America for life.

The article concludes:

For the rest of us, the Trump-Robinson alliance is a sign that we cannot afford to underplay or to ignore what is happening in America. However hard you try, it is becoming impossible to deny that Trump is engaged in a project deeply grounded in racism and white supremacy. Admitting that is the first step to working out what to do about it.

Some comments on the article:

CriticalThinker

4 hours ago

Always hearing the right say things are about "The rule of Law" as they worship a convicted felon is laughable.

They're not even bright enough to realize the hypocrisy.

Gary Abbott

57 minutes ago

Trumpy's idea of "free speech" protects the right to yell "FIRE" in a packed theater! And to elevate to a kind of capitalist sainthood common thugs like himself.

Kenneth Kay

2 hours ago

Trump’s criminality, lack of morality, his questionable mentality, lack of integrity, absence of empathy, obsession with power and willingness to wield it against anyone or anything, along with his constant need for affirmation and appeasement, reflect what lies in the hearts of those who support him. This is who we are now as a nation and how the world views us, it is sad and posies a scary future. But this is who we will remain for as long as we allow this madness and chaos persist. And the window to reclaim our standing in the world, our own self-reliance and how we view our own neighbors is passing.

Thomas Teune

3 hours ago

Right on. This writer has said it like it is. Trump is a racist and an authoritarian. Trump is putting American democracy at risk. We had better acknowledge this fact and soon.

Alexander Smith (NBC News) adds:

His visit is the latest olive branch from Washington to a network of hard-line nationalists across Europe, with Vice President JD Vance shattering norms last year by meeting with leaders from Germany’s far-right AfD party.

On Wednesday, Robinson met senior State Department adviser Joe Rittenhouse and toured the Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, including its historic John Quincy Adams State Drawing Room, according an X post by Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse praised Robinson as a “free speech warrior,” adding: “The World and the West is a better place when we fight for freedom of speech and no one has been on the front lines more than Tommy.”

Earlier, Robinson posted his own image alongside the caption, “In America making alliances & friendships , today I had the privilege of an invite to the @StateDept.”

Chump is a disgrace and he is disgracing our country. He's a racist.

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Thursday, February 26, 2026. Pam Bondi earlier this month was screeching and braying before a Congressional committee and now appears to have lied to that Committee and to have intentionally withheld significant documents, a witness was interviewed by the FBI four times -- first she spoke only of Epstein, then she spoke of Donald Chump and Epstein for the next three interviews but somehow those three interviews didn't get released, Pam's trying to figure out a good lie right now to excuse her actions.

Isabel van Brugen (THE DAILY BEAST) reports:

A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s request to search the seized devices of a Washington Post reporter as part of an FBI investigation into leaked classified documents.

In a 22-page opinion issued Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Porter of the Eastern District of Virginia criticized the government’s handling of the case, reversing course in part after previously authorizing the seizure of the reporter’s devices.

Porter previously approved a warrant that led federal agents to seize two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive, and a Garmin watch belonging to reporter Hannah Natanson in a pre-dawn raid at her Virginia home.

In his ruling, Porter concluded that the government could not be trusted to conduct a review of the devices on its own. He denied the Justice Department’s request to allow a government filter team to search the devices for materials relevant to its probe into Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, a government contractor who had top-level security clearances and was charged last month with illegally retaining classified documents.

[. . .]

The judge’s ruling marks an embarrassing setback for Attorney General Pam Bondi and her department as it carries out its investigation into the contractor, whom President Donald Trump has identified as a “leaker” who divulged classified information regarding Venezuela and shared it with the Washington Post reporter.

Embarrassing for Pam? She's got so much to be embarrassed over. Erkki Forster (THE DAILY BEAST) reminds:

An NPR investigation, published on Tuesday morning of the president’s State of the Union address, alleges that the DOJ withheld dozens of documents from its Epstein release that may pertain to a woman who accused Trump and Epstein of sexually abusing her when she was a minor, including three FBI interviews with the accuser. Justice Department spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre told the Daily Beast that NPR wrongly stated the DOJ declined to respond to questions about what it described as missing files.

At the conference, Amanda Roberts, the sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent victims, declared that despite the president’s wishes, “today we are saying we will not move on, and the world is not moving on.”

Trump spent much of last year working to dissuade Republicans from voting for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated a full disclosure of the files. He has also refused to meet with Epstein survivors.

After Congress passed the bill and Trump—knowing the numbers were not on his side—was forced to sign it into law, the Justice Department missed the deadline for disclosing the files. Amid their staggered release, the DOJ has been criticized for redacting Epstein’s associates while failing to redact survivors’ names in the files.

THE 11TH HOUR WITH STEPHANIE RUHLE addressed the cover up last night.

MS NOW's MORNING JOE is addressing it already today.

Mike Baker and Michael Gold (NEW YORK TIMES) report:

The vast trove of documents released by the Justice Department from its investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein failed to include some key materials related to a woman who made an accusation against President Trump, according to a review by The New York Times.

The materials are F.B.I. memos summarizing interviews the bureau did in connection to claims made in 2019 by a woman who came forward after Mr. Epstein’s arrest to say she had been sexually assaulted by both Mr. Trump and the financier decades earlier, when she was a minor.

The existence of the memos was revealed in an index listing the investigative materials related to her account, which was publicly released. According to that index, the F.B.I. conducted four interviews in connection with her claims and wrote summaries about each one. But only one of the summaries, which describes her accusations against Mr. Epstein, was released by the Justice Department. The other three are missing.

The public files also do not include the underlying interview notes, which the index also indicates are part of the file. The Justice Department released similar interview notes in connection to F.B.I. interviews with other potential witnesses and victims.

Josh Marshall (TALKING POINTS MEMO) observes:

You’ve probably seen some hints of it. But I wanted to focus your attention on a genuine piece of news out of the Epstein Files, even weeks after their original release. In 2019, a woman came forward and spoke to the FBI claiming that Donald Trump had assaulted her in the early 1980s. In her allegations, Jeffrey Epstein essentially provided her to Trump. Other files in the Epstein trove say that the FBI conducted four interviews with the woman. But only one of them was released in the larger trove — one that detailed her accusations against Epstein. Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, says he went to view the unredacted version of the files that members of Congress can access and the missing interviews aren’t there either.

At BALLER ALERT, Lacy J writes:

How can we claim to care about protecting girls, about holding powerful men accountable, but then change the rulebook when it touches someone we support politically?

Trump says he has been exonerated. There has been no criminal conviction tying him to Epstein’s crimes. Both of those things are factual. But the larger issue is consistency. If we demand transparency from one powerful man, we should demand it from all of them.

Right now, the Trump Epstein files debate feels less like a search for truth and more like a loyalty test.

If we want justice, it cannot stop at party lines.

That is the part I cannot ignore.

Democrats are ready to ask questions of anyone. Tara Suter (THE HILL) notes:

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that former Attorney General Merrick Garland, who served under former President Biden, should testify to Congress about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Why the [Department of Justice (DOJ)] under Merrick Garland, or others, weren’t forthcoming in what was actually in these files, I think is an important question that has to be answered,” Garcia, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “The Situation Room.”

“I’ve talked to [House Oversight Committee] Chairman [James] Comer [(R-Ky.)], I think it’s important that we hear from Merrick Garland, and others, and former directors of the FBI and former attorneys general. That is an important part of this investigation.”

“What are you doing, in terms of that, for accountability?” Brown asked Garcia.

“We’ve asked — we want to see them actually testify, I want to get answers from these officials. So, we’ve made those requests to Chairman Comer, I believe there will be additional subpoenas and requests made in the near future,” Garcia responded.

J

Virginia Roberts Giuffre is responsible for so much of what has happened. She refused to be silenced. She fought as long as she could. She took her life last year but she changed the culture and the conversation. Laura Trujillo (USA TODAY) speaks with her younger brother Sky Roberts:

Now her brother is trying to carry on her legacy. He is calling on Congress to pass her law and is urging the U.S. to release the rest of the Epstein files. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department has stopped its review after releasing about 3 million of 6 million pages. Trump has said America should move on.

“I am here to say proudly that what Virginia did for this world will not be in vain,” Roberts said during a press conference on Feb. 24, alongside other Epstein accusers and Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and Suhas Subramanyam.

“She may have left this earth,” he said, pausing to catch his breath. “But her soul is still here. It lives in every survivor who decides to speak. It lives in in every victim who is still finding their voice and it lives in every person who refuses to accept the country where exploitation is met with immunity.”

Roberts has spent the past nine months speaking on behalf of his sister, sometimes with his wife Amanda. They often both still call her “Sissie,” Roberts’ childhood nickname for her.

“Virginia did not just survive, she fought. She pushed back a culture of silence,” he said, his pride showing through his voice. He wears a silver and blue butterfly pin to sympbolize hope and strength for survivors. “She proved what happens when an ordinary person decides they will not be erased.”

[. . .]

"She had a deep love for her survivor sisters and she had deep love for the millions of victims and surivvors around the world who may never be known by name, and whose lives mattered just the same," Roberts said.

"To say she trailblazed through obstacles is an understatements. She helped build a road for survivors to walk toward truth, toward dignity, toward justice," he said. "And we are here today to carry her torch down that road."

Her brother holds on to that now. And to how she was able to create a beautiful life with three children, even through her struggles.

Now he hopes people listen to her, through him: "Choose unity. Choose love. Choose the courage it takes to stand with survivors not only when it is easy, but when it is expensive, when it is uncomfortable and when it challenges powerful people."

Many Epstein survivors attended the State of the Union speech. Erkki Forster (DAILY BEAST) notes:

President Donald Trump was shamed for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files at the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Democrats brought several Epstein survivors as guests to the president’s address at the Capitol and wore badges calling out the president’s handling of the files on the convicted sex offender.

“Stand with survivors. Release the files,” the badges read, with a black redaction box blocking the space ahead of “files,” a reference to the Justice Department’s much-criticized redactions.

Trump did not acknowledge the survivors or address the Epstein files during his record-breaking 108-minute speech.

He also hasn't spoken about Epstein since NPR and MSN NOW broke the story yesterday about the released files missing pages about Donald Chump assaulting a woman. No claims of being exonerated since that reveal.

Alison Durkee (FORBES) notes one of the mighty falling, "Former Harvard University President and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard at the end of the academic year, according to multiple reports Wednesday, the latest fallout from the Epstein files as the former treasury secretary was shown to have a close relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein." Susan Svrluga (WASHINGTON POST) adds:

Lawrence Summers will resign from his academic and faculty appointments at Harvard University at the end of this academic year because of his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a spokesman for the university said Wednesday.

Summers, a former U.S. treasury secretary and former president of Harvard, was the latest prominent figure to resign amid ongoing revelations about Epstein’s network. Summers has resigned from his leadership role at Harvard Kennedy School, where he was co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. That resignation is effective immediately.

Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein has accepted Summers’s resignation “in connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government,” said Jason Newton, a spokesman for Harvard.

Summers, an influential figure in economic policymaking, had already stepped back from many of his public roles in the fall after the House Oversight Committee released documents revealing Epstein’s ties to many powerful figures. Summers’s connection to Epstein was revealed to be much closer than previously had been known, with numerous email exchanges between the two men over a period of years. The men had discussed a range of topics including Summers’s romantic interests, with Epstein offering advice, documents showed.

In addition, Lexi Lonas Cochran (THE HILL via DC NEWS NOW) notes:

A Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist at Columbia University resigned from some of his positions with the institution over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Richard Axel, co-director of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, won a Nobel Prize in 2004 for discovering over 1,000 special receptors in the nose that send olfactory information to the brain.

“My past association with Jeffrey Epstein was a serious error in judgment, which I deeply regret. I apologize for compromising the trust of my friends, students, and colleagues,” Axel said in a statement obtained by NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network. “I recognize the problems this has caused, and I will work to restore this trust.”

Meanwhile, Jeremiah Hassel (THE MIRROR) and AP report:

Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland was hospitalized on Tuesday following what's been described as a suicide attempt.

The incident comes after several world leaders and global elites across Europe and the U.S. faced repercussions — including resignations, terminations and damaged reputations — in the aftermath of the Epstein documents' publication over recent months,

Few nations have experienced as much upheaval from the Epstein disclosures as Norway — a Scandinavian country with fewer than 6 million inhabitants.

The nation's economic crimes division launched a corruption inquiry into Jagland — who previously chaired the Nobel Peace Prize committee — concerning his associations with Epstein. Jagland's legal representative indicated his client would assist with the investigation.

His alleged suicide attempt was downplayed by his legal team, which has insisted that he was rushed to the hospital because of extreme stress rather than a deliberate attack.

We started with Pam da Bimbo Bondi, let's close up the Epstein section with her -- this is from Jeremiah Hassel (THE MIRROR) and the AP report as well:

Attorney General Pam Bondi has appeared hesitant to prosecute any of the American individuals identified in the Epstein files, even as demands from legislators across party lines intensify for her resignation. During a contentious hearing last week before the House Judiciary Committee, Bondi declined to recognize the Epstein victims seated directly behind her.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) delivered a blistering rebuke to Bondi after she sidestepped his question regarding her decision to halt the probe into Epstein's American accomplices.

Bondi fired back at the inquiry, "This is so ridiculous that they are trying to deflect from all the great things Donald Trump has done."

Lieu's retort was damning: "There are over 1,000 sex trafficking victims. And you have not held a single man accountable. Shame on you. If you had any decency, you would resign right after this hearing concludes."

Sudiksha Kochi (THE HILL) updates with:

Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) are calling on the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing her of perjuring herself when asked about evidence relating to President Trump in the Epstein files.

The demand – made in a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche – comes after a heated exchange between the California Democrat and the attorney general earlier this month in which he accused her of lying under oath during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

“Testifying before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on February 11, 2026, Attorney General Bondi emphatically stated, ‘There is no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime.’ Yet a number of the documents from the Epstein files released to date by the Department of Justice directly contradict her statement. When confronted with her lie, she did not retract her statement, she doubled down. She stated, ‘Don’t you ever accuse me of committing a crime,’” the lawmakers wrote in the letter sent to Blanche on Monday.

“We request that you immediately appoint a special counsel to investigate Attorney General Bondi for committing perjury. America cannot have a liar and a criminal as our top law enforcement officer.”

Let's stay with the White House for a moment more. Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) reports:

A high-profile MAGA influencer on X with hundreds of thousands of followers has been exposed as being secretly run by a White House staffer.

According to Wired, "To its audience, Johnny MAGA looked like an independent voice, another outraged supporter in the MAGA media ecosystem. The account regularly boosts Trump’s Truth Social posts and goes to bat for the administration, attacking Democrats like California governor Gavin Newsom."

The account also pushed images of flag-burning demonstrators in Minneapolis after the killing of Renee Good, saying, “They’re burning the American flag right now in Minneapolis, and they really expect you to believe that ICE shot an innocent civilian.”

The account was created in January 2021 and has often been at the front of pushing far-right, pro-Trump content. It was also active throughout the 2024 election, going after former Vice President Kamala Harris often in very personal ways.

However, underneath the surface, Johnny MAGA was anything but organic.

"Johnny MAGA appears to actually be a White House staffer named Garrett Wade who works for the Trump administration as a rapid response manager, helping to run the very same White House account his anonymous MAGA account amplifies," said the report. "A phone number associated with Wade is linked to Johnny MAGA, according to a WIRED review of publicly available records, and the connection was confirmed by a source close to the White House."

Chump's surrounded himself with con artists and grifters. Like Ka$h Patel. Graig Graziosi (INDEPENDENT) reports:

A whistleblower is claiming that FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of a bureau jet delayed the law enforcement agency's ability to respond to the Brown University mass shooting late last year.

Agents from the FBI's evidence response team were reportedly delayed in reaching Brown University following a December mass shooting, which left two dead and nine injured, because Patel reportedly had the plane in Florida.

A whistleblower gave an account of the situation to Senator Richard Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office and the Justice Department's Inspector General’s office on Tuesday accusing Patel of hindering the agency's ability to conduct critical investigative tasks by misusing its resources, according to MS NOW.

Patel was reportedly in South Florida with one jet and had placed a hold on the second jet for another FBI team that would not typically respond to the scene of a mass shooting, according to sources who spoke to the broadcaster. The sources said Patel was in Florida on the day of the shooting and did not fly back until the following day.

Elyse Wanshel (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:

Durbin made a point to note that the whistleblower provided the information after Patel used the FBI’s Gulfstream jet to fly to Milan, Italy to chug beer with the U.S. men’s hockey team and create pretty unsavory social media content at the Winter Olympics.

In regard to Kirk’s death during an event at Utah Valley University in September 2025, the whistleblower alleges that the FBI’s shooting reconstruction team was delayed by at least a day because there was a pilot and plane shortage “caused by the Director’s personal flights,” according to Durbin.

During the Brown University shooting in December, which killed two and injured nine, Patel was reportedly in South Florida visiting his elderly parents, an FBI official familiar with Patel’s travel told MS NOW. The outlet reports that the only other available jet had been placed on hold for another FBI team that typically wouldn’t respond to the scene of a mass shooting. Instead, a team had to drive overnight through a snowstorm from Virginia to the Rhode Island university, arriving at 9 a.m. the following morning to immediately process evidence, according to the whistleblower.

Ahmad Austin Jr. (MEDIAITE) notes:

FBI Director Kash Patel’s Olympics schedule included two hockey games and hours of “personal time” with a spatter of actual meetings.

The schedule was obtained and published Wednesday by The New York Times, and it comes as the FBI director faces intense scrutiny for his use of taxpayer-funded government resources for recreational activities. When the U.S. men’s hockey team beat Canada in the gold medal game, Patel joined the team’s locker room celebrations and was seen chugging beers with the players.

In response to the criticism, Patel has emphasized that his time enjoying the Winter Olympics was only a small portion of his trip to Italy and that he was there in an official capacity.

His schedule, however, showed plenty of downtime. According to the report, Patel arrived in Rome on Thursday, February 19 and had dinner with Tillman Fertitta, the U.S. ambassador to Italy. The next day, the director had an hour-long meeting with Italy’s domestic security agency. Patel then took part in a photo op with Italian law enforcement before having “snacks and drinks” at the interior ministry. Later in the day, he flew to Milan for his first hockey game of the weekend.

Still on Ka$h's mismanagement of the FBI, Glenn Thrush, Alan Feuer and Devlin Barrett (NEW YORK TIMES) report:

About 10 F.B.I. employees, some veteran agents, were dismissed this week for their work on the investigation into President Trump’s retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida, according to five people with knowledge of the move.

The firings are part of a rolling barrage of retribution aimed at those who worked on the two federal prosecutions of Mr. Trump after his first term in office. They came hours after Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, told Reuters that as part of the documents inquiry, the bureau had subpoenaed phone metadata for himself and Susie Wiles, currently the White House chief of staff.

They are not expected to be the last, those people said.

Requests for phone records are common in complex criminal investigations to establish timelines and provide proof of communication. It remains unclear if the F.B.I.’s Trump-appointed leaders have accused employees of wrongdoing. In the past, they have not. In some cases, firings have violated procedural safeguards created to protect agents from politically motivated dismissal, according to agents and their lawyers.

The F.B.I. Agents Association, a professional group representing bureau employees, denounced the dismissals in a statement, describing them as an unlawful termination that “violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country.”

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Senator Murray: “You called for you called birth control pills a quote ‘disrespect of life,’ and said Americans quote ‘use birth control pills like candy.’ You also claimed—contrary to established science—that hormonal birth control has quote ‘horrifying health risks’ for women.”

***VIDEO of Senator Murray’s Q&A HERE ***

Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, the committee considered the nomination of Casey Means for Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Surgeon General of the Public Health Service. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)—a former chair and senior member of the HELP Committee—grilled President Trump’s unqualified nominee on her concerning and harmful claims regarding the safety of birth control and pressed her on whether she would call out misleading claims on vaccines for infants and antidepressants for pregnant women.

In 2018, Means dropped out of her surgical residency and in 2019, she started a functional medicine practice where she treated patients without an active medical license until 2021. A close ally of RFK Jr., Means provides unconventional wellness advice on social media and in her newsletter where she earns money promoting dozens of supplements and health technologies.

[BIRTH CONTROL]

Senator Murray began her questioning by pressing Means on her harmful and misleading statements about birth control, noting that Dr. Means has called birth control pills “a disrespect of life,” claimed Americans “use birth control pills like candy,” and asserted that hormonal birth control carries “horrifying health risks” for women. Senator Murray underscored that there are 18 FDA-approved contraceptive methods, both hormonal and non-hormonal, backed by decades of evidence showing they are safe and effective, and stressed that millions of women rely on birth control every day and deserve clear, evidence-based guidance from public health leaders. Senator Murray said: “Thank you Dr. Means for being here, let me start with this. You called birth control pills, and I’m going to quote a ‘disrespect of life,’ and said Americans quote ‘use birth control pills like candy.’ You also claimed—contrary to established science—that hormonal birth control has quote ‘horrifying health risks’ for women. Now here are the facts: there are 18 FDA-approved contraceptive methods—both hormonal and non-hormonal—and there are decades, decades, of evidence showing that every one of these birth control methods is safe and effective.”

“So, I wanted to ask you, help me understand, should women trust the FDA which approved all 18 methods of birth control after a very rigorous look at the evidence, or should they trust your statement that there are ‘horrifying health risks’ to birth control—which contradicts that evidence?” asked Senator Murray.

“Thank you, Senator Murray, for your question. I’m curious if you’re aware of what the side effects of hormonal contraception are?” Means replied.

Senator Murray pushed back, “I’m curious if you are with the FDA that went through all of these and rigorously looked at them, or as Surgeon General if you’re going to tell the truth to the American people?”

“I absolutely believe that these medications should be accessible to all women, and also, all medications have risks and benefits. And in our current medical climate, with the burden on doctors, doctors do not have enough time for thorough informed consent conversations. Some of the horrifying side effects of birth control that I have mentioned include blood clots and stroke risk in women who have clotting disorders, who are smokers, who have obesity–” replied Means.

“So, is it general?” asked Senator Murray.

“No, it’s not in general, I am very careful with my words and when I say those comments, which are taken out of context, I am speaking about particular women that can be hurt if there is not informed consent about their medical history, their lifestyle exposures, and their family history. I want those women, and I know you do too, to be able to have a thorough conversation with their doctor and know whether they are higher risk for side effects when prescribed the medication,” responded Means.

“Saying that is one thing, but saying on, you know, different shows that ‘birth control pills are a disrespect of life’ is very different,” said Senator Murray.

“I am passionate about women’s health, and I think it is disrespectful to women–” replied Means.

“Saying that people ‘use birth control pills like candy’ is very different than what you just said,” said Senator Murray.

“We prescribe a huge amount of hormonal contraceptive, and I do not believe most of those conversations have informed consent because of the pressures that doctors are under because of our broken health care system. I want what’s best for women as do you–and I want every woman who could be at risk for a side effect to know if a woman died because of a stroke or a blood clot because they did not have a thorough conversation–” said Means

“Dr. Means, I just have two minutes left and I have other questions. Let me move on. Thank you,” responded Senator Murray.

[MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH]

Senator Murray continued her questioning by pressing Means on key maternal and child health issues, including vaccine safety, infant health, and maternal mental health. She raised concerns about recent comments from FDA official Tracy Beth Hoeg casting doubt on the safety of RSV vaccines for infants and questioning the safety of antidepressants, including SSRIs, during pregnancy. Senator Murray stressed that the Surgeon General must provide accurate, evidence-based public health information and pressed Dr. Means’ ability to do so: “Tracy Beth Høeg, she’s an anti-vaccine skeptic, she was elevated by the Trump administration to serve as the top drug regulator at FDA. She made comments last week casting doubt on the safety of RSV vaccines for [babies]. As I’m sure you know, RSV can be deadly, even for healthy, full-term infants. Do you believe that Dr. Høeg is wrong to question the safety of RSV vaccines?” asked Senator Murray.

“I have not read that article or seen that quote. I would need to know what she said before I commented on that,” Means answered.

Senator Murray replied, “Well, you do know that RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants?”

Means replied, “I do, I have a seventeen-week-old and I am very aware of that.”

“Do you hear her statement, as Surgeon General, would you contradict it?” Senator Murray asked.

“I certainly have absolutely no issue having very frank conversations with anyone in the administration if I believe that their statements are misguided in some way or not fully informed. That’s not a conversation I would have publicly first; I would have a private and direct conversation with anyone in the administration if I felt that patients were at risk because of views,” Means replied.

“I also want to ask you about maternal health. Mental health conditions are the leading cause of maternal death in the U.S., including suicide and overdose deaths. In her comments last week, Dr. Høeg, same woman, also expressed concern about the safety of the anti-depressants during pregnancy. Specifically, she called out SSRIs, the most commonly prescribed type, do you believe that SSRIs are dangerous for pregnant women?” Senator Murray continued.

“I don’t want to be a broken record here, but I do believe that every medication has risks and benefits and you need to have a nuanced conversation with your doctor before starting a medication. That is, I think, the most responsible position for any doctor to share,” Means answered.

“Well strong evidence has shown that SSRIs are safe in pregnancy, most do not increase the risk of birth defects, but untreated depression in pregnancy puts women at risk,” Senator Murray replied.

“Certainly, and I agree with you, but I still think a patient – I don’t think it’s responsible to make a blanket statement for all Americans,” Means responded.

“Okay, well, if confirmed as Surgeon General, it will be your job to give accurate and up-to-date public health information to the American people. I assume you will take that responsibility seriously,” Senator Murray concluded.

“I will, and I absolutely do. And I also believe that the American people are looking for a more nuanced conversation about health, and I believe that that will help restore trust in public health,” Means said.

Senator Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care and public health issues, has been consistently holding Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services accountable. Murray has been a leader in raising the alarm over RFK Jr.’s nomination and handling of HHS since the beginning—speaking out on the Senate floor, holding numerous events, raising the alarm after meeting with him, and hammering the threat he poses to Americans’ health nonstop.

She spoke out forcefully against RFK Jr.’s ousting of the entire ACIP panel, including one ACIP member from Washington state. Senator Murray has held countless events across Washington state and in Washington, D.C. with doctors, patients, and former HHS officials to lift up how Trump and Republicans’ attacks on health care will be devastating for families. In early September, Senator Murray took to the Senate floor to reiterate her call for RFK Jr. to be fired after he pushed former CDC Director Susan Monarez out of her job for refusing to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations without evidence.

On September 8^th, Senator Murray called on Chairman Cassidy to compel RFK Jr. to testify publicly before the HELP Committee. At the September 17^th HELP Committee hearing with former CDC Director Susan Monarez and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deb Houry, Senator Murray pressed both witnesses on whether they would feel confident telling parents to trust ACIP’s vaccine recommendations now, after RFK Jr. purged the entire panel of experts and replaced them with unqualified anti-vaccine skeptics—Former CDC Director Monarez replied that she would be “very nervous” to tell parents to trust any recommendations coming from the new ACIP panel. Senator Murray also requested in September an independent, comprehensive Inspector General review by the HHS Acting Inspector General of recent actions taken at HHS to limit access to vaccines, and recent personnel changes at the CDC. In December, she spoke out against ACIP’s vote to end the recommendation of vaccinating all newborns for hepatitis B at birth, without any new evidence prompting the change. Murray continues to press Republican leadership to compel RFK Jr. to answer publicly before the HELP Committee for his nonstop assault on America’s public health infrastructure.

Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care. Over the course of her career, Senator Murray has fought to ensure widespread access to affordable birth control. She leads the Access to Birth Control Act, which would guarantee patients’ timely access to birth control at pharmacies nationwide—including by addressing pharmacists’ refusals to dispense contraception that prevent patients from obtaining their preferred form of birth control. She also pushed to ensure birth control was covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and led the fight against the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling. Senator Murray is widely credited with leading the fight to make Plan B available over the counter.

As a leading Congressional champion of efforts to expand maternal health care and improve access to care for pregnant women, Senator Murray introduced the Healthy Maternal and Obstetric Medicine (MOM) Act, which would ensure that all women eligible for coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance marketplaces, as well as women eligible for other individual or group health plan coverage, can access affordable health care coverage throughout their pregnancies. The bill would establish a special enrollment period (SEP) for expectant mothers. Currently, marriage, divorce, having a baby, adoption, and changing jobs are considered qualifying life events that trigger a special enrollment period; however, becoming pregnant is not considered a qualifying event. The Healthy MOM Act would change that.

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The following sites updated:

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

He nods off in public again

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & THOMAS FRIEDMAN IS A GREAT MAN & ANN'S MEGA DUB & THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS & THE COMMON ILLS -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

CONVICTED FELON DONALD CHUMP SPOKE TO THESE REPORTERS THIS EVENING AT THE WHITE HOUSE -- MUST CREDIT BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & THOMAS FRIEDMAN IS A GREAT MAN & ANN'S MEGA DUB & THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS & THE COMMON ILLS. HE SEEMED DAZED AS WE WERE USHERED INTO THE OVAL OFFICE. "DID YOU LIKE MY 'SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY THIRD TERM' LINE," HE ASKED.

NO, WE DID NOT. AND WE DID NOT HEAR ANYTHING NEW IN HIS SPEECH. IT WAS THE SAME NONSENSE HE'S BEEN SPOUTING FOR MONTHS AND YEARS. NOT ONE WORD WAS ABOUT BRINGING THE COUNTRY TOGETHER. HE HAD NO POLICY SUGGESTIONS, LET ALONE PROPOSALS.

THE CLOSEST YOU HAD TO A POLICY PROPOSAL WAS THE PROGRAM YOU CLAIMED THAT WOULD GIVE AMERICANS 401KS AND THAT'S SOMETHING PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN SIGNED INTO LAW IN 2022.

THAT WOKE THE SLEEPY GRUMP UP.

"I HAVE SHOWN AMERICA WHAT WINNING IS!" HE SHREIKED. "NEVER BEFORE HAS AMERICA WON! ONLY WHILE I AM IN THE WHITE HOUSE DOES AMERICA WIN!"

REALLY? WE DIDN'T WIN IN WWII? OR IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR? OR DURING THE POST-WAR ECONOMY? WE DIDN'T WIN WHEN WE CAME UP WITH VACCINES AND IMMUNIZATIONS? WE DIDN'T WIN --

"NO!" HE HISSED, TOSSING HIS HEAD BACK SO HARSHLY THAT HIS JOWLS SHOOK AND HIS COMB OVER FELL TO THE SIDE. "PEOPLE TELL ME, 'WE'RE NOT USED TO WINNING IN OUR COUNTRY UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG'."

THESE PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU THAT, WE ASKED, DO YOU SEE THEM RIGHT NOW?

"YES, I DO!" CHUMP YELLED AND POINTED TO AN EMPTY SPACE ACROSS FROM HIS DESK.

IF THE ECONOMY IS DOING SO GREAT, AS HE FALSELY CLAIMED, WHAT ABOUT SPEAKER OF THE CLOSET MIKE JOHNSON TELLING CBS NEWS YESTERDAY OF THE ECONOMY -- CHUMP'S FAILED ECONOMY -- THAT "YOU DON'T FLIP A SWITCH RIGHT AFTER THE ELECTION AND IT ALL JUST IS FIXED MAGICALLY"?

CHUMP'S EYES WENT WIDE AND HE STARTED TO SPEAK BUT SUDDENLY HIS HEAD DROPPED TO HIS CHEST, HIS EYES FIRMLY SHUT, AND HE BEGAN SNORING.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Let's start with the big news, Convicted Felon Donald Chump's actions have been covered up by Attorney General Pam da Bimbo Bondi. Edith Olmsted (THE NEW REPUBLIC) reports:

The Department of Justice withheld multiple documents including allegations against President Donald Trump from its release of files on alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, according to an investigation by NPR.

The Department of Justice failed to release documents relating to three interviews the FBI conducted between July and October 2019 with a woman who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her as a child. Only the first interview, conducted on July 24, 2019, is available to the public. In that conversation, she doesn’t mention Trump at all.

However, the woman’s allegations against the president still appeared in a 21-page slideshow included in files. “[REDACTED] stated Epstein introduced her to Trump who subsequently forced her head down to his exposed penis which she subsequently bit,” the FBI said. “In response, Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out.” This allegedly occurred in the mid-1980s when she was “approximately 13-15 years old.”

A record of the FBI interviews does appear in the files—on a list of discovery files given to Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell before her trial. By allowing Maxwell to retain information that the public does not have, Trump’s DOJ has enabled her to maintain potential blackmail over the president, according to independent journalist Roger Sollenberger.

Colby Hall (MEDIAITE) adds:

On Tuesday morning, NPR published a stunning report on serial numbers and discovery logs that do not line up with what the Justice Department has posted online. Some of the missing materials relate to allegations involving President Donald Trump. The department declined to explain the discrepancies.

Congress ordered the release of these files. The DOJ controls the archive. Reporters compare internal catalog numbers to public postings and find gaps. The department offers assurances but no reconciliation of the record.

The allegations are grave — they involve claims of sexual abuse of minors — and they remain unproven. FBI case files contain interviews and leads that do not automatically translate into charges. That distinction matters, and it makes the integrity of the release process more important, not less.

The Epstein rollout has been ragged from the start. Victim names were exposed and then corrected. Documents were pulled down and reposted. Privacy reviews were cited. Deadlines were blamed. Now the public learns that dozens of pages reflected in official logs are not available for review. Even if each decision has an internal explanation, the outward picture is disorder in the execution of a congressionally mandated transparency law.

Disorder produces the same practical result as concealment. The public cannot tell what is complete, what is withheld, and why. The record becomes contestable. Accountability drifts.

Last week, I argued that the Epstein file rollout carried the feel of a cover-up because the public was being asked to trust a process it could not independently verify. NPR’s reporting moves that concern from instinct to documentation. When internal logs point to pages the public cannot see, the question stops being rhetorical and becomes procedural.

There is also a political fact that cannot be ignored: This is very clearly Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche serve at his pleasure. The release process that now appears to shield him from clarity is being overseen by officials loyal to him. That reality demands a level of precision and documentation that leaves no room for doubt.

The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee issued the following statement:

For the last few weeks, Oversight Democrats have been investigating the FBI’s handling of allegations from 2019 of sexual assault on a minor made against President Donald Trump by a survivor.

Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor.

Covering up direct evidence of a potential assault by the President of the United States is the most serious possible crime in this White House cover up.

And the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee also issued this yesterday:

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released the following statement after it was exposed that the Department of Justice withheld and removed some Epstein files related to allegations that President Donald Trump sexually abused a minor, a violation of both the Oversight Committee’s subpoena and the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“For the last few weeks, Oversight Democrats have been investigating the FBI’s handling of allegations from 2019 of sexual assault on a minor made against President Donald Trump by a survivor.

“Yesterday, I reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Department of Justice. Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes. Oversight Democrats will open a parallel investigation into this.

Under the Oversight Committee’s subpoena and the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these records must immediately be shared with Congress and the American public. Covering up direct evidence of a potential assault by the President of the United States is the most serious possible crime in this White House cover up,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia

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Dan Mangan (CNBC) reports it as follows:

The Department of Justice has withheld from public disclosure in its Epstein files database memos and notes about FBI interviews, including those of a woman who has alleged President Donald Trump sexually abused her when she was a minor, MS NOW reported Tuesday.

The woman, who was interviewed in July 2019 by the FBI about allegations against convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, alleged that "Trump forced her to perform oral sex on him 35 years ago, when she was 13 or 14 years old, and subsequently hit her," MS NOW reported, citing a source who has reviewed unredacted documents.

"That allegation appears in a 2025 PowerPoint presentation detailing each of the FBI's Epstein-related investigations and a spreadsheet of unconfirmed tips called into the bureau's National Threat Operations Center reviewed by MS NOW," the outlet reported. "MS NOW has found that of at least four interviews the FBI conducted with the woman related to the Epstein investigations, only one memo — and no handwritten notes — reflecting such an interview is included on the DOJ site."

MS NOW's report came hours after NPR first reported that the DOJ withheld from its public database of Epstein documents files related to allegations that Trump sexually abused a minor.

DOJ "also removed some documents from the public database where accusations against Jeffrey Epstein also mention Trump," NPR reported.

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