Good morning everyone, and happy Saturday. There’s an extreme cold warning in D.C., so I’m staying inside today and spending the weekend digging back into the Epstein files. And there are some major developments.
New bombshell documents show that Howard Lutnick, Trump’s Commerce Secretary, maintained a business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein years after publicly claiming he was so disgusted by Epstein that he would never be in the same room with him again. At the same time, the White House is engulfed in controversy, with Republicans privately saying Trump’s racist Truth Social post about the Obamas cost them the midterm elections.
Today will be another full day of document review and reporting. If you want to support this work, please consider subscribing or gifting a subscription. Your support makes this reporting possible.
Here’s the news:
The release of new Jeffrey Epstein files has triggered resignations, investigations, and institutional fallout across Europe—affecting figures tied to Peter Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and others—while exposing sharp contrasts with the United States, where most prominent figures have faced little consequence. Despite documented associations involving Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick, Steve Bannon, and Elon Musk.
Newly released Epstein files show Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein were business partners in an advertising tech company deal signed in late 2012—contradicting Lutnick’s claim of having cut ties in 2005—with documents and emails indicating continued contact, planned social visits (including to Epstein’s island), and coordination into at least 2014, though Lutnick and the Department of Commerce maintain he had limited interactions and no wrongdoing.
Further communications concerning Epstein and Lutnick having drinks:
Lutnick previously vowed he would never be in the same room as Epstein:
U.S. Justice Department documents indicate Peter Mandelson suggested a private Amalfi Coast holiday home to Jeffrey Epstein in a 2010 email highlighting “privacy” for Epstein’s “guests,” sent after Epstein’s conviction for soliciting a minor. Mandelson says he does not recall the email, claims he believed Epstein’s denials until his death in 2019, and has since expressed deep regret over the association.
The New York Times confirmed that senior partners at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison forced Brad Karp to resign as chairman after newly released Jeffrey Epstein files revealed his deeper-than-acknowledged involvement, including advising Epstein on legal matters after Epstein’s conviction, prompting client concerns and leading the firm to immediately replace him with Scott Barshay while Karp remains a partner.
Newly released Epstein files have plunged Norwegian royal family into crisis, as Crown Princess Mette-Marit faces mounting backlash over previously undisclosed, years-long email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, conducted well after his conviction for soliciting a minor. The revelations—paired with a separate rape trial involving her son Marius Borg Høiby—have sparked public debate about her suitability to become queen, prompted charities and cultural institutions to reconsider ties, and drawn rare political criticism from Jonas Gahr Støre, who said she showed “poor judgment.”
The fallout is growing in the White House this morning after Donald Trump removed but refused to apologize for reposting a racist video depicting Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes—claiming he didn’t view the full clip and blaming a staffer—after bipartisan backlash (including from Republicans like Tim Scott), with many calling the post offensive and dangerous, especially during Black History Month, despite the White House initially defending it as an internet meme before taking it down.
Trump’s former Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, suggested that the Truth Social post ended any hopes that Republicans had to win in the midterm elections:
Even Fox News was not fully buying the Administration’s explanation:
According to Business Insider, Military Religious Freedom Foundation says it has received reports from service members at eight U.S. military bases that commanders “pressured” troops and their families to attend screenings of the Melania—even listing it as a “Unit Activity Event” where attending a required number of morale activities can affect penalties—while an active-duty email described a commander urging the unit to go together.
JD Vance received a loud chorus of boos during the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games when he and Usha Vance appeared on the big screen, underscoring an icy reception to the U.S. vice president on one of the world’s most visible stages.
Athletes from Team USA competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics publicly criticized U.S. immigration enforcement, saying representing the country brings “mixed emotions” amid nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and recent fatal shootings of U.S. citizens, while protests erupted in Milan over reports of Department of Homeland Security personnel attending the Games.
Tammy Duckworth told NBC News that the Department of Homeland Security general counsel repeatedly warned the agency’s independent watchdog that Kristi Noem claims authority to shut down investigations, including asking the inspector general to list all active audits and criminal probes—moves Duckworth calls unusual and potentially intimidating—while DHS argues the power is explicitly allowed under the Inspector General Act of 1978 and has long existed in law.
A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the Trump administration’s policy requiring mandatory immigration detention without bond hearings, endorsing Department of Homeland Security’s reinterpretation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to treat many non-citizens already living in the U.S. as “applicants for admission.”
The New York Times confirmed that the United States Department of Justice is facing a severe staffing crisis after losing about 8% of its workforce in a year, as political loyalty tests and pressure to advance Donald Trump’s agenda have driven experienced prosecutors to resign, deterred qualified applicants, and forced emergency measures—including deploying military lawyers and “jump teams”—to keep depleted U.S. attorneys’ offices functioning amid rising caseloads and internal turmoil.
Authorities say they are investigating a new email message that may be connected to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie. The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department are analyzing the message for authenticity and whether it is linked to earlier ransom notes, one of which has already been identified as a hoax. Six days into the search, investigators say no suspect or person of interest has been identified, though they believe Guthrie was taken from her Tucson home against her will, confirmed her DNA was found on her porch, and continue to offer a $50,000 reward as officials say there are “strong clues” but few public details.
See you soon.
— Aaron
