90 Comments
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Charlie Cooper's avatar

You are amazing, Judd! You deserve a vacation for having to dive so deep into the dumpster with the Trumpster!

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Joyce's avatar

You just give me an idea for a new protest sign - to the Dumpster with the Trumpster... lol

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JenneJ's avatar

I am not familiar with the Sendak work, so did not catch that connection, but now that you point it out it seems like a fairly obvious reference. Thank you PI for making me a little more well informed!

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Adam's avatar
Jul 21Edited

You guys SURE that you're not familiar with Sendak's work? All the little children are.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Wild_Things_Are

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JenneJ's avatar

I didn't say I wasn't familiar with ANY Sendak work. I'm not familiar with 'the' Sendak work referenced in this article.

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Steve Honley's avatar

Excellent research, Judd. But The NY Times story, which you quote here:

"Trump also claimed the letter was fake because it featured a picture drawn by Trump, and 'I don’t draw pictures'"--sanewashes Trump. What he actually said was "I don't WRITE pictures." That is, of course, illiterate, and constitutes more evidence of his mental decline, so it's important to quote his actual words.

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Tom's avatar

The media doesn't talk about his obvious mental limitations, or his rampant narcissism

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VALERIE MELUSKEY's avatar

Unfortunately, our whole country knows how Trump speaks...talks...expresses himself! Many try to avoid hearing him and reading about him...TO NO AVAIL! Great research from Judd and team--thanks for your efforts. [I hope the WSJ appreciates this validation.]

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Jan F's avatar

It would not be wise to believe one word that comes out of the man’s mouth. Donald has no idea what the truth is, as he has been lying his entire life.

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Henrietta de Veer's avatar

Having lived and worked in the financial industry in New York from the late 1970s to retirement in the late 2010s, I lived through a lot of Trump, his media obsession and his despicable behavior. However, what can be said is that his language patterns over the last decade have deteriorated dramatically. Does anyone remember the ream of linguistic analysis back in 2020 about this? Since then, it has gotten worse. Saying the letter isn't his style or that he wouldn't use this or that word and say this or that thing now does not mean that, historically, at the time he was Epstein's pal, he wouldn't have. Thanks, Judd, for confirming it. I wouldn't say Trump was articulate back then, just that he could easily have written the letter!

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Katy Bolger's avatar

Trump's no Shakespeare. His syntax, including sentence structure and word choice, are quite distinctive. When I read the piece in the WSJ, nothing about the letter rang false. It was a smarmy little joke between two sick predators, nothing new there. And his cornered rat response including: "I don't write drawings" was pure rat cornered and shitting his rat pants response.

What else is out there? Oh, you know people got stuff.

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Joseph Mangano's avatar

I enjoy how Trump's and his supporters' defense is that he's essentially too basic to use a word like "enigma." "That's our guy. He speaks like a child, and for that, we love him."

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Mary's avatar

I think the speech patterns have probably devolved over time. He used to sound more coherent.

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Mary's avatar

See Henrietta de Veer's comment below.

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JOEL's avatar

I’m thinking that EVERY American - and I do mean EVERY American - should submit an FOIA request to the Department of Justice for a copy of the ENTIRE Epstein file. Unabridged. Unredacted. Every audio tape, every video tape, every photograph, every document. To submit a FOIA request to the Department of Justice (DOJ), you can do so online through FOIA.gov, or by mail, email, or fax. For the most efficient processing, it is recommended to submit through FOIA.gov.

Link to submitting an FOIA request to the Criminal Division of the Department Of Justice:

https://www.foia.gov/agency-search.html?id=10bd62cb-aa01-4e3f-bf90-04a3af627789&type=component

Link to form to enter your FOIA request:

https://www.foia.gov/request/agency-component/10bd62cb-aa01-4e3f-bf90-04a3af627789/

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JenneJ's avatar

What a great idea!!! Especially because the FOIA also requires agencies to proactively post online certain categories of information, including frequently requested records. If enough people request the records the FBI, by law, will have to release any materials that aren't exempted.

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JOEL's avatar

Please post what I posted on every Substack you read. I’d like DOJ to get MILLIONS of FOIA requests for the Epstein files.

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Ann Sharon's avatar

Nope. Not going to happen and it should not. There should be redactions of victims’ personal identifying information unless they have publicly identified themselves. Typically people who were not involved in the crimes but were interviewed for information are redacted also.

I must point out that if the tapes and images Epstein made (which some believe were for blackmail) were released, the hundreds of victims and their families will be haunted and hounded all their lives. The victims are the ones being ignored in all this. DOJ is not talking to them or their attorneys / former attorneys.

Why not turn some of that energy toward Sen. Ron Wyden’s effort? For 3 yrs he’s worked on the money trail. His staff under the Biden administration was able to review financial docs at the Treasury Dept. This administration is stonewalling them.

“Wyden’s staff has reviewed thousands of pages of highly confidential bank filings, known as Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), documenting more than $1.5 billion in flagged transactions connected to Epstein.”

“JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank have paid $290 million and $75 million, respectively, to settle lawsuits alleging they ignored clear warning signs about Epstein.“ — https://www.yahoo.com/news/sen-wyden-presses-doj-release-203450982.html

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JOEL's avatar

Thank you for sharing this with me!

You are right. (And I am wrong.)

Every American should file with the DOJ an FOIA request for the Epstein bank records!

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Ann Sharon's avatar

Thanks for being open to a suggestion and not being offended. I truly feel it is a better & more productive route. Mike Johnson is spouting the WH line that the Biden administration sat on all the info - implying bad things. Obviously they don’t want anyone looking at the $$ trail.

Maybe not ‘wrong’. More like misled. We are inundated with cries for ‘the files’ by folks with their own agendas. Files will be redacted if released. The Qs and others won’t ever be satisfied. Conspiracy theories never die.

A good time to push. Mike Johnson is panicked. House is in disarray & frozen. It shut down early for summer break to avoid voting on disclosure. Massie has discharge petition which is a privileged motion. That means it jumps ahead of all other business. He & Dem co-sponsor, Ro Khanna, must have the signatures & therefore the votes. Massie’s discharge petition is for DOJ docs. We don’t know if DOJ pursued the $ trail.

https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-releases-new-information-on-financing-of-jeffrey-epsteins-operations-by-billionaire-leon-black-seeks-documents-from-trump-administration

Before I retired a big part of my job was related abuse. I had a LOT of training. I did workshops on helping survivors cope after trauma. One specifically for advocates for trafficking survivors - most were trafficked themselves. I also have a minor in paralegal studies and reviewed domestic homicides with a group to re: ‘Justice system’ compliance with policies, laws & find loopholes. All to say, I don’t expect most folks to think like I do. 😊

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CarolAinDC's avatar

Great investigative work. Send copies to every red state paper. Thank you!

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Robert's avatar

Charlie Cooper is so right on…Judd…Amazing! WSJ can now use this as evidence…perhaps counter sue $20 million and give Judd $10 million for doing all the work.

Everyone’s comments are on point too! So……

Don the Con … perhaps we can all sue him 1.1 billion for being a piece of shit… the evidence is everywhere! Then give to PBS & NPR….rural America would benefit for sure.

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Tom's avatar

What a creepy letter - it touches on age, enigmas and secrets. The wink, wink tone just jumps off the page.

Particularly when we know that Trump believed Epstein like girls "on the younger side"

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Susan Burgess's avatar

. . . except in reality they both hated and disrespected girls and women.

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Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

"Pal" (both the noun and the verb) may be an old-fashioned word, but both Trump and I are of a generation that knew it well. And not to forget that many of us use PayPal several times a week. Great analysis, btw.

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Susan Fernbach's avatar

I found out the hard way that Paypal is hackable. Change yr password often.

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Susan Burgess's avatar

I’ve received PayPal phishing emails numerous times saying something like here is your receipt of $5000 for buying bitcoin. If you question this charge please click the link.

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Susan Fernbach's avatar

Yep. I can recognize phishing now, but someone got into my PayPal email and sent a bunch of test withdrawals of $0. Yet another debit card had to be replaced. 😖

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Susan Burgess's avatar

😑

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Sarah Weitzel's avatar

I haven’t had a problem with PayPal, but we had to cancel my husband’s account and he STILL gets all the phishing emails.

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Tom's avatar

There's one more important clue - that it is typewritten.

It is public knowledge that Trump had secretaries, so it is extremely likely this was typed by one (Trump known lack of computer use would indicate he's not familiar with a keyboard).

So, likely he dictated something and the secretary cleaned it up in the typing.

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Susan Fernbach's avatar

I hope the secretary’s memoir is forthcoming, ala Traudl Junge

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Ann Sharon's avatar

Very likely. I thought so too.

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Dave Kirkpatrick's avatar

More lies from tRUmp. He copied Obama and said his word is his bond. He was lying then too, of course and really meant all his words are lies. If the Washington Post was still counting it would be well over 100,000 since Jan 17. The lies are destroying our country.

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Stephanie Hobbs's avatar

Maybe he thought he invented enigma, like groceries.

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