“What makes Trumpism distinctive is not the invention of misogyny, but its normalization as a public governing style.” open.substack.com/pub/theratio...

“We continue to fight for what survivors were promised — the release of all the files, protection of their identities, and accountability for the men who perpetrated and conspired in the abuse. None of that has happened.” open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

Today: The Olympic athletes are better Americans than their MAGA critics; Dems should go on real offense over the DHS bill and pursue de-funding; Jon Ossoff's good speech; even National Review can't defend Trump's corruption. And I suggest that Tim run for Senate. open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Maxwell's lawyer publicly offering a quid pro quo: She'll clear Trump of wrongdoing related to Epstein if granted clemency by Trump. This suggests that if Maxwell doesn't "clear" Trump, things will come out that will further implicate him. Otherwise, the offer makes no sense.

1. Thomas Massey, Republican from Kentucky, just did an interview where he said, on camera, that the director of the FBI threatened to investigate one of his staffers for fraud if Massey did not stop pushing for the disclosure of the Epstein files.

Rep. Raskin on Epstein file redactions: "[They] are filled with redactions of names and information about people who clearly are not victims…I saw the names of lots of people who were redacted for mysterious or baffling or inscrutable reasons."

We are the publication where @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social praises Bad Bunny and calls for defunding ICE. Read today's Morning Shots newsletter, and join us: lnk.thebulwark.com/4rzXPTV

"The people of Minneapolis have been courageously confronting the Trump administration’s bullies in the streets. The least Democratic elected officials could do is confront the administration seriously in Congress...Speak out and fight. Be like Bad Bunny." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"Democrats have demanded a host of new restrictions on immigration enforcement operations. Many of these are desirable. None is nearly as important as simply depriving ICE and the Border Patrol of funds. The money matters most." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"That would leave only the proposed $10b of 2026 funding for ICE and $6b for the Border Patrol unappropriated. Good. There’s no reason to appropriate any of it. The less new funding that goes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, the better." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

A Raid in a Small Town Brings Trump’s Deportations to Deep-Red Idaho www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...

Yes, Democrats could win the Senate. Ron Brownstein explains the obstacles, the opportunities, and the key variables to watch. You don’t have to be a political junkie to love this conversation. But if you are a political junkie, I think it’s kind of a must watch. www.youtube.com/watch?v=69fx...

🚨 Epstein survivors release this powerful PSA in advance of the Super Bowl demanding answers from the Justice Department. This is the Super Bowl ad every American should see. Spread it everywhere.

Some Olympic athletes commonsensically and even eloquently distinguish love of country from approval of Trump administration actions that are a blight upon the country. Trump and MAGA squeal and whine. Bullies are the most fragile snowflakes.

Yes, Democrats could win the Senate. Ron Brownstein explains the obstacles, the opportunities, and the key variables to watch. You don’t have to be a political junkie to love this conversation. But if you are a political junkie, I think it’s kind of a must watch. www.youtube.com/watch?v=69fx...

“In advance of Maxwell’s stonewalling, Khanna has now submitted, in advance, the questions he intends to ask Maxwell and asks Comer to confirm whether she will invoke the Fifth in response to each one. Those questions go straight to the core of the Epstein scandal.” open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...

Is anybody ever gonna take a step back and realize the "Russia Russia Russia" people — derided as lunatic wine moms — were actually underplaying the foreign influence stuff, and the loud people who kept insisting it was all fake are now saying Jeffrey Epstein was kind of a cool guy?

The athletes calling for a better America — or even saying they represent the best aims of America — are more truly patriotic than JD Vance could ever claim to be.

Ossoff: We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate.

Howard Lutnick went to Jeffrey Epstein's island 5 days before Lutnick and Epstein went into business together. 12/23/2012 — Lutnick goes to Epstein's island. 12/28/2012 — Lutnick and Epstein sign a stock purchase agreement.

“The proposal that is now sitting before the Senate [gives ICE and CBP more funds]. Instead of cutting those agencies another big check from taxpayer money, Congress should use its constitutional power over spending to pull back the funding it gave DHS in July.” www.justsecurity.org/130972/exper...

It's usually the ones you most suspect.

The political class and business elites would be happy to see attention to Epstein fade away. But the broader public won't allow it. They correctly sense something is rotten about the earlier investigations (or the lack thereof) and the current coverup...and they're right.

This is the ad that Fox News does NOT want you to see. Fox News rejected our newest ad, which demonstrates that Trump has “gone too far” with ICE. But we will not remain silent in the face of these attacks. Share our ad and follow @usjewishdems.bsky.social to join us in the fight.

"Did the feds do everything possible to investigate these men who were on their radar in this 2019-2025 phase of the Epstein case? If so why don’t they present it? Why are whole entire pages redacted — where are the 302 interviews from those victims and witnesses?" open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...

"Contrary to what the FBI and DOJ have said over the past year, it turns out there really is an FBI list of other people suspected of possible wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. President Trump is on that list, as well as a number of other powerful people." open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...

Important new piece from @jkbjournalist.bsky.social and @clurhealy.bsky.social. It's all--the predation and the coverup--as bad as you think. Lots of interesting details here. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...

"Trump has promised to revive a host of brawny, blue-collar industries that apparently remind him of when America was great. These tend to be male-dominated sectors that have been in long-term structural decline...But these sectors continue to fall behind..." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

If they’re going to name a NY landmark after Trump, how about the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, the largest sewage treatment facility in NYC, in Brooklyn? As for the D.C. area: Perhaps the Fort Totten Solid Waste Disposal facility, in northeast D.C.? www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

On a day with so much awfulness just taking a moment to note with admiration a dignified leader

You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling. In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...

ICE has grabbed so many people from their vehicles that there are abandoned cars across Minnesota. This tow truck driver returns the cars for free as a public service, and he’s been getting death threats. They hate the helpers. Which is why must keep helping.

“The NSA detected evidence of an unusual phone call between an individual associated with foreign intelligence and a person close toTrump…Gabbard took a paper copy of the intelligence directly to Wiles…One day after Gabbard told the NSA not to publish the report.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

“‘I’m not going to be sitting down for this inquiry. I’m not going to legitimize their actions. They’re using physical and legal intimidation to get me to shut up. Until we stand up to this kind of weaponization, it’s just going to keep happening,’ Slotkin warned.” open.substack.com/pub/dworkin/...

“Buried in a footnote of Ghislaine Maxwell’s court filing, she makes the bombshell claim that there are twenty-five accomplices of Jeffrey Epstein who entered into secret settlements and that there are four unnamed employee co-conspirators of Epstein.” open.substack.com/pub/michaelp...

“Democrats should talk about ICE…Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda is deeply unpopular once voters see the real-world consequences. Support for ICE reforms is overwhelming…Polling toplines understate how intense anti-ICE sentiment has become…” open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...

“It’s blindingly obvious that the Trump administration has no interest in our learning more about Epstein. It’s also blindingly obvious the web of corruption and complicity around Epstein was large and intricate, and that there is much more we deserve to know.” www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-at-t...

“For those outside the citadel, the Epstein revelations tell a sordid story they’ve long suspected. Here they are, the rich and powerful, some of them expressing sympathy for a criminal in their midst, often as a means to protect their own.” www.wsj.com/us-news/jeff...

NEW: Huge cheers earlier for the Ukrainian athletes at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Then huge BOOS as JD Vance comes on the big screen in the stadium. Even the commentators can’t hide it…

"The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files has been a scandal. But the collusion and complicity of a swath of America’s elite over a quarter century in Epstein’s behavior is an even deeper scandal and outrage." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"This is part of what makes Trump-brand Christianity as a cultural and political force so dangerous. Trump’s political project is seen by the MAGA faithful as utterly righteous...But he has broad license to transgress all moral boundaries as he does that work." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"Yesterday Trump offered the clearest formulation yet of his own bespoke soteriology. Don’t worry, he reassured the audience: He’d been mostly kidding when he said he wasn’t heaven-bound. 'I really think I probably should make it,” he said.'” open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"Donald Trump posts a lot of election conspiracy theories online, and he posts a lot of racist memes, too. But it’s not every day that he makes an elections-conspiracy-theory post that is also insanely racist." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

A few tickets left for the Wednesday Feb. 18 Minneapolis Bulwark show in which we'll be talking about, analyzing, and discussing the state of play in the nation--and will be paying tribute to the brave people of Minneapolis. www.ticketmaster.com/event/060064...

"There are myriad ways to root for your team without endorsing its government. Cheer for the athletes on Team USA who embody the virtues of hard work and dedication—and especially those who have spoken out against the administration’s lawlessness & divisiveness." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"Conservative podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey complained that the affair demonstrated that women posing as tradwives had become a 'fetish' for right-wing men. Far-right commentator Vrillium summed it up. 'It’s all bullshit,' he said of the trad lifestyle." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

"CLASSIFICATION: SUPER-DUPER DOUBLE SECRET. TRANSCRIPT OF PHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP AND WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF SUSIE L. WILES. CALL INITIATED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AT 4:17 A.M., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2026." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Anti-woke, worse—a lot worse, tbh—than woke. “The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Among the anticipated changes? No longer calling his murderer a ‘racist.’” mississippitoday.org/2026/02/05/m...

“Our civil society will never recover if it can’t mobilize against an autocrat who tried to shatter the bedrock of American democracy. Our democracy is in grave danger, and it’s long past time to say so.” www.thebulwark.com/p/its-the-de...