In the U.S. DOJ detention memo (full pdf below) federal prosecutors argue that Jeffrey Epstein should be denied bail.  Within the 10-page memo some of the victim evidence seized by federal authorities from a locked safe belonging to Epstein is documented.
Epstein is accused of sex trafficking, and apparently he kept records which included CD ROM’s of young women with other potential suspects and/or participants:

[Page 9 pdf] “Finally, despite having been previously convicted of a sex offense involving an underage victim, the defendant has continued to maintain a vast trove of lewd photographs of young-looking women or girls in his Manhattan mansion. In a search of the New York Residence on the night of his arrest, on July 6-7, 2019, pursuant to judicially-authorized warrants, law enforcement officers discovered not only specific evidence consistent with victim recollections of the inside of the mansion, further strengthening the evidence of the conduct charged in the Indictment, but also at least hundreds—and perhaps thousands—of sexually suggestive photographs of fully- or partially nude females.

(more…)

President Trump delivers remarks recognizing the successful environmental leadership of the administration and America’s role in leading the world.
UPDATE: Video Added

(more…)

Leading from behind, democrat presidential candidate Eric Swalwell becomes the first zero percent member of the clown car to jump out of the race.  Swalwell is expected to make a formal announcement at a press conference this afternoon.
WASHINGTON – […] The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that Swalwell, who is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, is expected to announce he will launch a reelection bid for his fifth term in the lower chamber.
Speculation swirled over the weekend that Swalwell would be putting an end to his campaign after he canceled Independence Day events in New Hampshire last week.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted June 29 to July 1 showed Swalwell polling at zero percent among Democratic primary and caucus voters. (read more)

Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York released an indictment today (full pdf below) against billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein. The charges include sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, and outline how he used his fortune to “create a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit.”
This case is being handled by the SDNY Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex Rossmiller, Alison Moe, and *Maurene Comey are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from the Office’s Human Trafficking Co-Coordinator, Abigail Kurland. [*Maurene Comey is the daughter of corrupt former FBI Director James Comey.]
Prosecutors also revealed at a news conference how the FBI found nude photos of girls in a weekend raid of Epstein’s Manhattan mansion. WATCH [Prompted Just Hit Play]:

.
Indictment below:
(more…)

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  Sunday evening as President Trump is departing New Jersey en route back to the White House he delivers remarks to the press pool and answers questions: [Video and Transcript]

[Transcript] – Morristown, New Jersey – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. We’ve had great economic numbers that came out. You saw that over the weekend; you saw it on Friday. We have just spectacular economic numbers. We’re doing better than any nation on the planet. And we’re very honored by that.
(more…)

Gordon Chang appears on Fox News with Charles Payne (filling in for Bartiromo) to discuss the downstream consequences from the G20 meeting between President Trump and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.
While he generally frames the picture accurately, lately Chang has been hit or miss.  He accurately outlines how a win/win trade deal is not possible from the perspective of Beijing and their zero-sum outlook; however, he misses on the issues around Huawei; misses the entire hostage dynamic with Kim Jong Un; and then hits again on Hong Kong.

.
♦ On China President Trump appears to be working on a complete and total decoupling from the U.S. However, there are steps required in the interim that are in flux (EU and USMCA). Once those matters are resolved we will likely see the decoupling.
♦ On North Korea, just because DPRK state media spouts something doesn’t mean Kim Jong-Un has any control over it.  Beijing has majority influence over DPRK officials.
♦ On Hong Kong, after the Kim hostage rescue; and while the China decoupling is underway; we can expect Hong Kong to be a larger part of Trump’s Indo-Pacific initiative.
(more…)

A rather unusual tweet from Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, outlining a concern around the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein: “it is quite likely that some of our faves are implicated.”
Considering the frame-of-reference, the social circle and political network the Pelosi family, the use of the term “our faves” has rather looming implications:

(LINK to TWEET)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested late on Saturday on suspicion of sex trafficking of underage girls and will appear in federal court in Manhattan on Monday, a source familiar with the matter said, meaning he will face charges similar to those he avoided in a 2007 plea deal.

(more…)

One of the best testimonials to President Trump’s pragmatic perspective is his ability to rise above the ridiculous partisan political attacks and look at issues from a non-political solution-driven perspective.
In the latest example California Governor Gavin Newsom has been antagonizing the administration yet outlines how President Trump, a builder-in-chief, immediately called him and expressed his full commitment to helping California recover from two serious earthquakes that hit the state in two consecutive days. After Newsom toured some of the damaged areas he spoke to reporters at a press briefing.
Governor Newsom said he and President Trump talked about the challenges California has recently face, including two devastating wildfires just six months ago. “There’s no question we don’t agree on everything, but one area where there’s no politics, where we work extremely well together, is our response to emergencies”, Newsom said. “He’s committed in the long haul, the long run, to help support the rebuilding efforts” the governor said of President Trump.

(more…)