Donald Trump wants to crush The Swamp. The leaks, the sneaks, and the secrets are all there. Our writers, David Gardner, Farrah Tomazin, Sarah Ewall-Wice, and Laura Esposito, are sifting through the ooze so you don’t have to. Don’t miss out.
In this week’s nooze from the ooze: Ghislaine Maxwell, Mitch McConnell, Kamala Harris, Steven Cheung, Alex Bores, Mary Richardson Kennedy, RFK JR., Eva Dubin, Jesse Watters, Melania Trump and Melania V1.
RFK Jr. Faces Quiz Over Epstein Link to Tragic Ex-Wife
A cold-hearted email from Jeffrey Epstein has revealed a shocking link between the late convicted child predator and a tragic member of the Kennedy family.
The note was in response to an email sent to Eva Dubin, a former girlfriend of Epstein, who on May 17, 2012, passed along the news: “Mary Kennedy found dead in her backyard....”
Instead of voicing sympathy, Epstein offered this callous response: “whoops.”
Mary Richardson Kennedy’s death at her Bedford home was ruled a suicide and an autopsy revealed she had antidepressants in her blood. Two years prior, she had filed for divorce from now Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. While the divorce was still pending, Richardson Kennedy found her husband’s personal journal detailing his affairs (or “muggings” as he called them) with 37 women. Shortly after that, she hanged herself.
Epstein’s cavalier response to this tragedy was, until now, unknown, and was certainly unavailable to law enforcement at the time.
Epstein and Richardson Kennedy knew each other. She was listed in Epstein’s black book, along with RFK Jr. and their family had flown on the “Lolita Express.” They had been photographed together with RFK Jr. at the Plaza in Manhattan in 1994. Richardson Kennedy also knew Ghislaine Maxwell who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
“My wife had some kind of relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell,” RFK Jr, told Fox News host Jesse Watters in 2023. “And they offered us a ride to Palm Beach. I flew again with my family with, I think, four of my children and Mary, my wife, to Rapid City, South Dakota, to go fossil hunting for a weekend. Otherwise, I was never on his jet alone.”
Another email exchange in August 2012 between Maxwell and Epstein confirmed the fossil expedition.
“Dinosaur and fossil hunting with [paleontologist] jack horner on the ranch, found 90 million year old clams and fossils,” Epstein wrote to Maxwell.
“Love that—didn’t we go fossil hunting with him and Bobby Kennedy in N Dakota?” Maxwell replied.
“Yes,” replied Epstein.
Up until now, RFK Jr. has not been quizzed by the House Oversight Committee Reps over his or his late-ex-wife’s ties with Epstein and Maxwell. The Swamp has learned that may change, especially after the midterms. A blue wave would give Democrats—who are already itching to target RFK Jr. for his anti-vax crusade—the gavel. And the chance to ask some very uncomfortable questions.
Coincidentally, Epstein died seven years after Richardson Kennedy in a similar manner, with his death in his prison cell also being ruled a suicide by hanging.
Whoops.
How Mitch’s Aides Used His Own Rules to Cover Up Truth
Mitch McConnell’s dramatic return to the Senate has accidentally shed light on the absurd censorship of the press practiced by The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body(™). When the 84-year-old was wheeled into the Capitol 92 days after he was loaded into the back of an ambulance, a peculiar dance unfolded. His aides, including the $226,000-a-year Terry Carmack, rolled him into the Ohio Clock Corridor, which leads to the chamber of the Senate. They allowed him be photographed, and he—apparently—spoke.
The Swamp says “apparently” because there is no video or recording of this moment. How could such an omission happen? Because reporters are banned from filming in the Senate building, except when Senate leadership of both sides have their regular press conferences on a Thursday. This Victorian restriction on free speech explains why senators do not have to deal with Manu Raju, his iPhone, and a camera crew, as Speaker Mike Johnson does whenever he walks the corridors of the House. And of course, this obscure rule is ruthlessly enforced. One reporter said they feared they would be stripped of their Capitol Hill pass if they broke it. So kudos to the two journalists unafraid to call it out—Orion Donovan Smith, chair of the Standing Committee of Correspondents of the Daily Press Gallery, who speaks for ink-stained wretches, and Nathaniel Reed, who chairs the Executive Committee of the Congressional Radio-TV Gallery. The duo wrote a strongly worded complaint to the Senate Rules Committee back in July about this primitive ban on modern journalism. The bad news: The Senate Rules Committee is chaired by one Addison Mitchell McConnell (R-KY). The two Fourth Estate warriors are still waiting to hear a word back. And when they do, there’s no guarantee that anyone will be allowed to record it.
Trump’s Keeping His Guard Up
Donald Trump is understandably perturbed over criticism of his sleeping patterns. He made sure to stay away from the cameras after his weekend jaunt to Ireland, spending Monday in “policy meetings,” which sounds a lot better than the more truthful “whim meetings.” He probably wasn’t too tired in the Emerald Isle after catching some shut eye on Friday during the ceremony for the 9/11 dead. So the president was irked to see a White House pool media report on Tuesday lunchtime, saying: “A Marine is not yet stationed outside of the West Wing, indicating that POTUS is not in the Oval.”
Trump’s foul-mouthed henchman, Comms Director Steven Cheung, was immediately online to make it clear that the boss most certainly was awake. “The President has been working since early in the morning (pre dawn) and has been in the Oval Office since 10:00am,” he wrote on X. So did the Marines commit a blunder by leaving the president unguarded? Alas, Cheung did not elaborate.
All of which amused The Swamp. After all, Trump’s official schedule suggested he was not at his desk two hours earlier: “8:00 AM - THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time. The White House. Closed Press.”
Kamala’s Back in the Money
Kamala Harris is set to deliver the keynote address at a Fulton County Democratic Party fundraiser in Georgia at the end of October as she weighs her political future. The dinner gathers Democrats from around the battleground state that’s flipped blue but then back to red when Harris was at the top of the ticket in 2024. But the Fulton Forward Dinner is billed as focused “on the future.” Tickets range from $200 for a single ticket to $25,000 to become a “Peachtree Presenting Sponsor,” which includes two tables with 20 tickets, 8 admissions to a VIP reception, and a photo with Harris including up to four people, plus other recognitions. The tier right below that is the “Cascade Gold Sponsor,” which gets donors one table, ten tickets, access for 6 people to the VIP reception and a photo with Harris for up to two people. The county party vowed that every dollar from the event goes toward efforts before the polls close on November 3.
Short Circuit for First Lady’s AI Initiative
While (some) AI leaders were spreading the alarm that robots could take over the world, Melania Trump was spreading AI to kids. On Tuesday, the first lady traveled to Ashe County in North Carolina, to introduce another of her weird, small-scale partnerships with Trumpy companies, in this case Nvidia, which is introducing additional AI to elementary students in the district. “Dream big and use these AI tools to build something never created before. Maybe one of you will create the next great robot. And if you do, make sure you bring it to the White House to show me,” the first lady told the children.
One of the kids then stood up, walked over, grabbed her by the hand and led her across the room to his principal. Just kidding. Melania walked stiffly to a waiting jet with a big, fake smile. (By the way, The Swamp ran the numbers... Melania’s husband held up to $25 million of Nvidia stock in his last declaration. And since he declared at the beginning of July, its price has increased. Thanks Jensen Huang!)
Who Needs ChatGPT when There’s ChatGP-Three
A weird sub-plot to the AI freakout is worth exploring. Steve Bannon, the raging id of MAGA populism is viscerally opposed to AI. Trump definitely isn’t, but he is always worried about the financial markets. Thin-skinned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the man Trump expects to boost the markets. And to whom does Bessent turn for media advice? His pitbull gatekeeper, Alexandra Preate, who used to carry out the same job for… Steve Bannon. It really is a small world after all!
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
