The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Forum / Is it just me or is l’affaire du Epstein starting to have a distinctive whiff of Watergate about it?

Is it just me or is l’affaire du Epstein starting to have a distinctive whiff of Watergate about it?

by 53 Comments

Morally and/or ethically unsavory POTUS – check

The drip-drip-drip of scandal that won’t got away – check

The unconvincing denials – check

Suspicious gaps in crucial tapes – check

The unpleasant VP waiting in the wings – check

Going to be interesting to see where this goes next.

I suspect it isn’t going to end well for Orangey, or – should Vance succeed him before the mid-point of his term and have a realistic shot at two years followed by two terms in office – the rest of us

0

Comments

  3. An interesting thought. A big difference between Nixon and Trump is that Trump seems to be immune from all normal threats to his presidency. As he famously boasted, he could shoot someone in cold blood and would still be elected. And while he retains the devotion of his top political appointees, the majority of congressional Republicans, justices in the supreme court, and the right-wing press he will remain immune. He is also incredibly ruthless, self-centred and ultra-quick to snuff out dissent.

    I have just read Hunter Thompson’s book “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72”, and the similarities between then and now are fascinating (illegality was in the air, and Nixon also had his eye on the Nobel Peace Prize, for example). Most noticeably, the Democrats were in disarray and misread the nation’s mood, leading to McGovern’s loss to President Nixon in that year’s election. There was a sense of foreboding in the air, but the political ship righted itself eventually in the following decades. Just give it time.

  5. While Trump may get unseated (I don’t think he will be), it doesn’t really matter.
    The Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society have been planning for years to diminish government, cancel government spending, let a rabid free market do whatever it wanted exempt from any constraint. Congress has been neutered and follows the agenda set for them. The Supreme Court has been corrupted and harnessed so that it will not rule against anything that advances the right wing agenda.
    Trump is simply the best tool they could have ever imagined.
    If Trump has to step down Vance will carry on the work. He will be more plausible and better groomed, speak coherent sentences and be better focussed, not be so consumed by seeking personal vengeance against real and supposed foes.
    I despair for USA and fear the worst for the rest of the world.

  7. I can’t see anyone being surprised by the WSJ claim that Trump is on the Epstein list……

    “we will release all the details”
    Musk – “Trump is on the list”
    “there’s nothing to see – move along”

    The things is though, I’ve long since given up trying to figure out where this will go. It should be fairly obvious, but when it comes to Trump / USA all logic and reason seems to go out of the window..

  8. Agree with most of the above.
    All possible constraints have been neutered.
    He’ll survive as long as they remain so.
    The fascistic loons running the show in the background will only move against him when it’s in their interest to do so. If the Epstein stuff looks likely to really hurt him (and then), then they’ll act and Vance will come in, followed by the next cab off the rank.

    • As somebody pointed out above, if Trump quits or is otherwise removed before the midpoint of his term, Vance will become acting president, with the possibility of two elected terms to follow.
      If I was Trump (perish the thought) I’d be watching out for knives in my back or a sudden induced heart attack / stroke.

  9. He’s getting into a mess with his base who smell cover up. Not releasing the mythical Epstein List is turning into a bit problem for him. I’m becoming mildly obsessed with US politics – the MSNBC 11th Hour podcast is a good listen and not too long for a daily pod.

  10. I’ve more or less stopped listening to the news more than once a day and I really can’t emphasise enough just how much better I feel for doing so.

    Yes, I have my head in the sand, but I didn’t vote for him and I can’t vote against him, so I’ve decided to ignore him.

  11. It is intriguing. If the Epstein files contain information hugely damaging or embarrassing for Trump (which, it is assumed, is the reason why he is reluctant to open them), then why did the Democrats not reveal their contents? Are politicians and big cheeses from both parties incriminated? Trump also must have known he was named in the files, and yet he called on the campaign trail for them to be opened. Nothing adds up.

    • It’s not particularly unusual for a government to decide not to release their files around a specific criminal investigation; these kinds of proceedings aren’t traditionally open-sourced. There are a ton of legal and ethical considerations to consider; the privacy of victims, preserving the integrity of ongoing investigations, avoiding the spread of misinformation.

      What’s odd is Trump promising to release the files and then refusing to do so. But then that’s not really odd either, because there is absolutely no guarantee the man will do anything he says he will.

      I’m not close enough to the matter to have any sense of whether or not the files should be released, but as a matter of principle I’m not a huge fan of the increasing call to a kind of mob justice. Does anyone really believe that the files, if released, will be pored over with great care by the reading public? Or is it more likely that they’ll be strip-mined for out-of-context disclosures that play well on social media and used to further fuel the flames? If Trump’s name isn’t in the files, will anyone actually accept that? Or will it simply create further conjecture of a cover up?

      I’m torn between the feeling that it seems awfully convenient that Epstein killed himself in the manner he did, and that hardly anyone living has been brought to heel for the events in question, and then on the other hand the sneaking unease that we are all conspiracy theorists now, every last one of us, and that isn’t going to take us anywhere good.

        • They feel so much more prevalent than once they did. Partly it’s speed of transfer, but partly it reflects a collapse in general faith in institutions, as evidenced on this thread. You do wonder where it’s all heading, even leaving aside Trump. Are we all just eventually going to believe whatever is most convenient for us?

        • It’ll be a Jack Ruby style offing to have it in the public arena rather than ” a pillow fell on her face while we were changing the batteries in the cameras”.

        • I think Ghislaine Maxwell is feeling very hopeful. She testifies that Trump was a friend of JE, but always went home early.
          Before you can say Gary Glitter there’s a full presidential pardon.

          • Not sure what point Bingo is trying to make here. Maga believes the world is ruled by a secret cabal/conspiracy of billionaires who meet every second Wednesday on a Secret Island. This cabal all went to Epstein’s parties said Trump forgetting to mention , according to roughly 452 photographs, Donald was there too.
            Maga is enraged Trump is now saying “Nah, nothing here, move on and by the way, Obama conspired with Russia”.
            You really couldn’t make this stuff up… and just think, if Trump is somehow (inconceivably I accept) forced to resign and Vance takes over, it won’t be long before we’re saying “”Actually, The Orange One wasn’t all that bad”

            • Ghislane Maxwell is probably in fear of her life, should she say anything about Trump’s involvement.
              The prison she’s in is probably filled with MAGA types. Staff AND inmates.

              I notice there’s not a peep from her brothers Kevin and Ian. Wonder if they’re on the list ..

            • According to my in-depth research on TwiX, MAGA is splitting into two camps. You have the I-didn’t-know-I-was-voting-for-a-paedophile-I-feel-betrayed-lock-him-up faction, and you have the ones (generally hardline Christians) that are doubling down in their adoration for the big orange jobbie. Best POTUS ever, buying into the whole Obama/Biden nonsense, claiming Trump is doing the Lord’s work – Trump’s plan to annex Canada is a joint venture between him and the Lord, apparently. Etc etc. Both hilarious and rather frightening.

  12. An interesting rumour is that (according to the News Agents podcast) JD Vance flew to meet WSJ owner and puppet master deluxe Rupert Murdoch just over a week ago.

    • Yes, I heard that. It is tempting to believe that the mascara-d sofa-shagger is conniving to unseat his orange boss. (Do they swap make up tips in the White House gents?)

      In less abnormal times I would dismiss the News Agents conjecture as overreach – putting two and two together and making five – but in these times, who the f knows what is really happening?

      Trump has gained a huge amount of energy from disseminating conspiracy theories over the years. I doubt there’ll be any Watergate style outcome, but still, its gratifying seeing his rage at his base’s sheeplike obstinacy in nosing at this stinker of a story.

      • It was mentioned on the Rest Is Politics podcast too. I don’t think Vance wants to usurp the big beautiful Orange one, but has his eye on the nomination for 2028. Donnie would doubtless want to keep it in the family, so there could be fun seeing who earns dad’s blessing play out between Junior and Eric, and how Vance will try to intercede.

        • I feel I “know” his sons from when I watched The Apprentice. Their dad is a one-off – none of his issue can credibly be seen as the next POTUS with the possible exception of Ivanka but she is donkey deep in murk and a woman, so the MAGAs will be less likely to vote for her, even if she is anointed successor.

  13. The situation is such that after 5 years on a base OCONUS supporting my wife, I am being unusually taciturn on the state of the Staes until I am back there in October.

    Having a dual citizenship was meant to be a Good Thing, not a “Oh Shit” thing

Leave a Reply