Epstein Didn't Commit Suicide

YMMV, but that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. I don’t actually like talking or thinking about this stuff. But the rest of the world is talking about it. It seems pretty clear from the new release of texts and emails that Trump and Melania (who was introduced to Trump by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell) were far closer to that crowd (including the Clintons) than they would ever want anyone to believe. The usual caveats apply, of course—it’s difficult to evaluate all sources, and especially in these types of cases. Still …

Interestingly, Iran is undoubtedly paying attention to this story, judging from this:

Patarames @Pataramesh

10h

So a morally bankrupt elite, with a president Tump who has nothing to lose, going mad and attacking Iran?

Is that the shtick Iran is supposed to fall for and give Trump critical concessions in last minute negotiations?

 Doubt it will have any effects on Iran’s decision making

Let’s not forget that this story is about Israel perceiving that it’s future existence is at risk.

Huge efforts would be made by  to curb the Iran threat.

 Including the Epstein files which are still at a reversible state right now

As I understand what Patarames writes here, he’s saying that whether or not Trump is being blackmailed into launching a war on Iran will make no decision on Iranian decision making. That they will act based on objective evidence—anything else is beyond their control. He then reposts the newly released FBI CHS report that I posted yesterday:

Regarding the second page of the report, DDG is taking a victory lap:

DD Geopolitics @DD_Geopolitics

“TRUMP HAS BEEN COMPROMISED BY ISRAEL AND KUSHNER IS THE REAL BRAINS BEHIND HIS PRESIDENCY.”

An unclassified FBI FD-1023 CHS (Confidential Human Source) report alleges that the Trump presidency was co-opted by Israeli influence networks, with Jared Kushner functioning as the central power broker during Trump’s first term.

A CHS report comes from an FBI-validated informant, giving it a higher credibility threshold than standard intelligence claims.

The document references alleged financial, political, and organizational influence channels, and explicitly states that Trump was “compromised”, with Kushner described as the real operational center of the administration.

WOW IT’S LIKE WHAT WE’VE BEEN TELLING YOU ALL ALONG IS TRUE!!

Max Blumenthal expands on the significance of the second paragraph (above) of this report in a broader context:

Max Blumenthal @MaxBlumenthal

17h

“Chabad is doing everything they can to co-opt the Trump presidency. Chabad is basically state-sanctioned Judaism.”

Jared Kushner, Ivanka, Howard Lutnick, and Javier Milei are Chabad cultists

Trump “Special Antisemitism Envoy” Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun is a Chabad bigwig

Interestingly, Trump’s new Fed Chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, is the son in law of Ronald Lauder—who I take to be another Chabad cultist. Lauder is reported to be the guy who has been pressing Trump to gain control of Greenland. Which shows what happens when you find a loose end in this story and start pulling on it.

I’m not sure what Chabad’s official position on Iran is—whether it supports the de facto Zionist policy of balkanizing Iran and creating chaos throughout the Middle East and, perhaps, the world in order to guarantee Jewish Supremacy. The sense one gets is that they, like their members who tell Trump what to do, would be strong supporters of making war on Iran—and many others—in one form or another. I did find an article from last June that discusses three common positions among American Jews:

What American Jews want Trump to do about Iran

US Jews rally behind Israel in the conflict, but differ on the scope of American involvement

The Israel-Iran conflict is uniting the often-divided American Jewish community in a way the Gaza war has not.

…

These are the three ways American Jews are approaching the conflict with Iran:

Jewish Republicans and the Orthodox community, who are traditionally more aligned with the Israeli right, are satisfied with how the Trump administration is handling the crisis.

…

Others who appreciate Trump would like to see him join Israel in finishing the job against an unprecedented threat posed by Iran.

“I want to see the President of the United States do what’s best for America, and what’s best for America is to make sure that the mullahs in Tehran never get a nuclear weapon,” said Dov Hikind, a former Democratic Assemblyman from New York who is close to some of the figures in Trump’s inner circle.

It’s interesting to note that Wikipedia reports re this Dem politician who is, nevertheless, close to “Trump’s inner circle”:

Hikind is a pro-Israel activist.^[13] In the 1980s he was a member of the Jewish Defense League, and a follower of convicted terrorist Meir Kahane.^[3] He was also friends with activist Chaim Ben Pesach.^[3] Hikind broke with Kahane after Kahane moved to Israel and became more aggressive in his views against Arabs.^[3] In an interview with Robert I. Friedman, Hikind stated that he supported forming a group of "intelligent professionals" to assassinate Nazis and Arab-American supporters of the Palestine Liberation Organization.^[14][15]

Onward back to the Forward. The liberal Zionist view is more complicated:

Liberal Zionists, who have been vocal critics of the Israeli government and strongly oppose the current administration’s policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, say that Israel’s strikes on Iran are self-defense. ...

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination in the U.S., said in an interview one need not be a strong supporter of this current Israeli government, or of Netanyahu, “to feel that this strike against Iran makes Israel, the Jewish people and the world safer.”

It appears that these people somewhat delusional, believing that Israel is actually able to “complete the mission without direct US involvment.” They appear also to somehow believe that Israel has waged its wars without targeting civilians.

Jacobs said the Jews he converses with believe Israel should complete the mission without direct U.S. involvement. The sense he gets is this is the moment for American Jews to “stand strong” in solidarity with Israel despite disagreements on other issues.

…

Rabbi David Wolpe, the emeritus rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, said that American Jews hope that the United States will provide Israel the support it needs to inflict “the maximum damage to Iran’s nuclear program and as speedily as possible.”

“I think there is a much greater consensus about this, certainly about anything else since Oct. 7,” 2023, when Hamas launched its war against Israel, said Wolpe, who belongs to the Conservative movement. “I think this [war on Iran] is unambiguously good for the world. There’s no doubt about it.”

Jewish Democrats and progressives

Jewish Democrats and progressive groups aligned with the party are divided on the extent of U.S. involvement in the conflict. But there is broad agreement on the need for a diplomatic resolution that ensures Iran never reaches the threshold of developing a nuclear weapon.

In other words, they completely support Trump’s position.

Halie Soifer, the chief executive of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said in an interview that the mixed signals Trump has been sending about the degree to which he supports the operation are hurting Israel.

Lastly are groups who to one degree or another oppose war on Iran—or kinda oppose it. It’s difficult to be certain, and I simply don’t have the time or interest for that sort of deep dive:

J Street, the pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group, said that while there is deep concern for the people of Israel under attack, the Trump administration must intervene to end the “cycle of retaliation and escalation” by both sides. Trump, hugely popular in Israel, is uniquely posed to deescalate the conflict, he said.

“The most important thing that needs to happen now is to deescalate,” Jeremy Ben-Ami, the organization’s president, said in an interview. “The worst outcome would be a broader array of targets being hit, drawing the U.S. in and expanding this into a regional or even multinational conflict.”

Ben-Ami and Soifer, who previously served as national security adviser to then-Senator Kamala Harris, both said they would support efforts to resume direct talks between the U.S. and Iran to finalize an agreement.

“The only way out is right back where we started, which is that there has to be a diplomatic agreement,” Ben-Ami said.

Progressive groups against military action

Several progressive groups expressed opposition to the Israeli strikes and urged an immediate return to diplomacy. Partners for Progressive Israel, a socialist Zionist group formerly known as Meretz USA, said in a statement that they were “deeply disturbed” by the targeting of residential neighborhoods alongside military targets and by the intentions of Israel’s leadership. “We fear that Netanyahu will use escalating conflict with Iran as a dangerous distraction from ongoing atrocities against Palestinians,” they said.

IfNotNow, which has led a call for an arms embargo to stop the war in Gaza, called it a “reckless attack” motivated by political interests. “The Trump administration and the international community must do everything in their power to deescalate and to stop providing the weapons Israel is using as they threaten a broader regional war,” the group said.