Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / War, Distraction and the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal (6/18/26)

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War, Distraction and the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal (6/18/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
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Epstein Chronicles. Ever since the announcement of the Epstein Files
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and the scandal reigniting, we have seen the Trump administration
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do everything in their power to get the conversation to
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move somewhere, anywhere else. And some people even think that
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the wars that are being fought or have been fought
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throughout the last year or so are nothing more than
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a diversion from the Epstein Files. And now people are
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calling them the Epstein wars. And when you start looking
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at what we gained from what happened over in Iran,
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you got to ask yourself what was the point? Now
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they'll tell you, well, the straight of Horror moves is open,
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but it was open before we attacked Iran. So that's
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a mood point. Well, they're not gonna have nuclear weapons,
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sure they're not. Oh and by the way, they're getting
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three hundred billion dollars for what billion. Infrastructure was attacked,
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only military outposts and military facilities. So why are we
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giving them three hundred billion dollars? Especially after all that
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talk about the pallets of cash that were being shipped
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to the Iranians during Obama's tenure. I'm old enough to
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remember that. But now, all of a sudden, we're going
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to put three hundred billion into Iran and for what. Now, Look,
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if we would have destroyed Tehran, you know, rubled it,
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then yeah, that would be our responsibility, no doubt about it.
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But that didn't happen. So what's the motivation for ponying
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up three hundred billion? How about we get three hundred
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billion for our infrastructure here in America. That might be
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a good idea, but God forbid, our lives are made
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easier or better. It's always about, you know, the boogeyman
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somewhere else. Meanwhile, we have plenty of problems right here
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at home. So the question is we're all these wars,
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all these military operations a diversion or were they legitimate
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campaigns that furthered American interests around the world? And if
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that was their goal, they failed miserably because the United
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States has never been on shake your footing around the world.
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And according to David Rothkoff, the author of this article,
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every single one of these military engagements is nothing more
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than a distraction. Today's article was published by The Daily
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Beast and the headline Strongman Trump's forever wars. I'll come
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back to Jeffrey Epstein. This article was authored by David Rothkoff.
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Once we had wars of choice, Today we have wars
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of distraction called the catastrophically misguided war in Iran and
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the Blink and you missed It war with Venezuela, the
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Epstein wars. Look is he wrong at this point? I
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kind of agree, like we gain nothing with Iran. Like
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if we would have had some kind of tangible gains
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as a society, as a nation and we weren't dealing
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with somebody like Trump, I would laugh this article away.
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But after all we've learned all we know. Do you
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really put it past the Trump administration to start these
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military operations as a distraction. I don't. These were not
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wars fought to defend US national security. They were not
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wars fought to advance our national interest. They were wars
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conjured up not by generals or season foreign policy advisors,
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but by a frightened old man and his public relations
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team to distract from a scandal he fears will be
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his undoing And look, I don't doubt for a minute
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that Trump is very fearful of the Epstein story. Look,
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at his reaction. He's never reacted like this to anything else,
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including Russia. So when you have somebody acting out the
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way Donald Trump is acting out, usually that means there's
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some there there. Now, I'm not going to sit here
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and tell you that there's evidence that Donald Trump was
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partaking in the abuse. We don't have any smoking gun
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evidence of that. Now. People have said some pretty disturbing
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things about Donald Trump's behavior, but we don't have that
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smoking gun. What I think we do have, though, is
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an obvious cover up, And I think that all you
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have to do is follow along from the beginning here
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and at every step of the way. The cover up
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has been ongoing, and the cover up has been growing.
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They're massive human, economic, and geopolitical costs being undertaken to
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serve the narrow self interest of not a nation, but
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that man, the president of the United States. Now, look,
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we also have to take everything that we hear from
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the Deli Beast with a grain of salt. They certainly
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don't like Donald Trump, right, so that is something that
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kind of shades the way they report this. But that said,
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does that take away from the truth of the matter.
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Does that take away from the fact that these wars
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gained us nothing. Now, I guess you can make the
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case down in Venezuela. They got Madero and it was
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a pretty bloodless type of situation. Right, Okay, cool Madero
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not a great guy, But is he this criminal that
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they're making him out to be. He's the worst world
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leader we have. I mean, come on, where does it end?
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So Venezuela, at least they have some kind of footing, right,
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all right, we charged Madero, we went swooped him up.
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Now we're going to try him in court. But Iran,
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what do we got going on here? What are they doing?
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What's the goal? What's the endgame? Well, the endgame started
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out as no nuclear weapons. The endgame started out as well,
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we're going to get rid of the regime. Now, all
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of a sudden we see Trump capitulating to Iran three
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hundred billion to help rebuild the country. So geopolitically speaking,
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we gain nothing. Now, that doesn't mean that the United
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States military didn't blast these dudes to Kingdom come. They did,
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But that's not enough to get it done. There's never
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been regime change from the air. If you want to
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change the regime, you have to have boots on the ground,
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and we know that Trump's never going to do that.
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So at the end of the day, who exactly did
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this operation serve not the American people? Well, the one
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person that's standing to gain the most, certainly Donald Trump.
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And now, of course you have people out here talking
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about the great victory. I mean really the great victory.
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This is capitulation. This is basically Donald Trump bending the
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knee to the IRGC. That's basically what happened here, all
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because he didn't want to deal with the Epstein matter.
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By the way, the Epstein matter is not going away.
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I've told you that from the beginning. And they can
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throw out all the wars they want, all the alien
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invasions they want, whatever. We're not going to be distracted
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at this point. We've come too far. And like I've
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told you, the boats have been burned on the shore.
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There is no going back. The facts of what has
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unfolded to date in these wars makes us clear Trump
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and his team could not coherently express rationale for entering
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into either military operation. They offered many possibilities and spouted
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many blatant lies, but shifted between them carelessly as if
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they did not matter, because well, they did not matter.
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And look, I think now that we have, you know,
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a few miles put between us and the start of
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all of this, it becomes more and more apparent. And
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you know, I always tell you I don't like to
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jump to conclusions. I like to wait and get as
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much information as we can. But it's not looking good
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for the Trump administration when it comes to the war
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in Iran and the war in Venezuela. To me, and look,
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this is my personal opinion, it looks like a distraction.
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The leaders of Venezuela were corrupt, criminal even, but they
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were not terrorists. They are not terrorists. They posed no
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direct threat to the people or territory of the United States.
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And that's true too. Now you can make the case
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that Venezuela was moving drugs, and they were, but not Ventanyl.
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Venezuela was a gigantic hub for cocaine. And what would
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happen is you would have the cartels bring the cocaine
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to Venezuela, and once they crossed the Venezuelan border, the
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Venezuelan military would offer them protection and then they'd get
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pieced off. So once the load got into Venezuela, it
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was protected by the government. They'd bring it to port
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and then they'd ship it to America, or they'd ship
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it to Europe. Whatever. Now, look, I'm not going to
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tell you that cocaine is great. It's not. But it's
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certainly not fentanyl. And if you were looking to go
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after somebody, you should have been going after the cartels.
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Iran was nowhere near acquiring a nuclear weapon. Well, I
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don't know about that. I mean, honestly, I have no
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idea they could have been. Let's not act like Iran
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is some kind of great administration, great you know, group
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of people who don't have any designs on being mad men.
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They most certainly do, so don't take this as me
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saying that Iran are the good guys here. I don't
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believe that. I think Iran and the IRGC should be decimated,
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but that was never the goal. Unfortunately, that was never
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the goal. And the people of Iran, they're the ones
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that are going to suffer. Now the hornet's nest has
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been kicked, and now Trump's retreating and leaving the Uranian
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people to their own faith. And then you wonder why
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people hate Americans. It had no ability to deliver such
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a weapon. There was no imminent threat, and indeed, to
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the degree to which Iran had moved closer to gaining
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the ability to manufacture a weapon. It was in large
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part due to actions taken by the president during his
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first term, when he tore up the effective successful nuclear
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agreement struck during the Obama administration. Bullshit, that wasn't working either. Okay, stop,
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don't try their revisionist history. That deal that Obama made
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not good. Wasn't a good deal. If anybody thinks that
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Iran wasn't still working towards building a bomb, they're crazy.
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They were. That's their goal. Do you know why? Because
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they see what's going on in North Korea. They see
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that Kim John Wund's crazy ass got himself a bomb
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and now he can pretty much do whatever the fuck
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he wants. Right nobody's messing with them. So Iran sees
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that and they want to do the same thing. So
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let's not sugarcoat that and act like Iran doesn't have
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designs on having a bomb. The operation in Venezuela began
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with the murder on the high Seas of occupants of
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small craft the US alleged were trafficking in drugs. We
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attacked them with no evidence of these alleged crimes. We
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administered the death penalty to the occupants of the boats
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without due process. In some cases, we did so consistent
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with orders that were in violation of international law and
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the Military Code of Justice. Well, international law really means nothing.
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Let's be real, Okay, there's nobody in the world that's
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going to press the case against the United States, So
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just cut the bullshit now against Military Code of Justice.
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I'm not too sure. I have no clue what that is,
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so I won't make pretend I know. But what I
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will say is this. If people are trafficking drugs and
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they're bringing in loads of cocaine, and you know that
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they have loads of cocaine, well you should arrest them, right.
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I don't know why you're blowing the boat up. What's
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the point of that? Now? If you're going to incapacitate
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the boat, great, but why not just arrest these people?
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When we snatched the leader of Venezuela on a thin
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legal pretext, we then allowed as regime to remain in
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place if they would direct some of their oil revenue
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to US or the interest identified by the President as beneficiaries.
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It's still unclear who is making the money produced by
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these sales. But the nature of the US operation is
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crystal clear. It too was a crime. It was a
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foreign policy as the mafia would conduct it, a shakedown,
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an extortion racket. I mean, is he wrong we left
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the regime in place. I thought there were all bad people,
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so it was just Maduro doing all of it. The
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attacks on Iran were undertaken under false pretenses, contrary to
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the Constitution and the letter of the War Powers Act.
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Civilians and civilian targets were victims in clear violation of
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international law. I have my doubts about that, Okay. I
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don't really believe the propaganda coming from the ground, just
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like I don't believe the propaganda coming from the United States.
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The fog of war is real, and all these different
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people making these accusations, I just don't know what's true
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and what's not. But targeting of civilian infrastructure, that's definitely
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not happening. We've seen the pictures, we've seen the video,
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So you can say that that happened, and sure, I'm
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sure that civilians did get killed, But to say that
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they were targeted in a malicious manner, I don't think
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I buy that. Now with that said, I don't think
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it really matters if you're on the ground and a
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bomb comes through your roof, right, doesn't matter one bit.
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In other words, the President chose to unleash a series
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of illegal wars to distract from the possible crimes that
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might be revealed as part of the Epstein investigation. Clearly
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he's petrified of what the facts of that case will reveal.
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He's devoted the full resources of the Department of Justice
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to bury the truth about Epstein. He had the Deputy
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Attorney General cut a deal with Epstein sex trafficking co
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conspirator Glanne Maxwell and ignored the law passed by Congress
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demanding all files be turned over to congressional investigators. Well,
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that's true. There's no doubt there's a cover up underway
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here in America. Now, if you want to believe that
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the wars are part of it as a distraction, I
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think there's some evidence that points in that direction. He
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apparently ordered the serial obstruction of justice, and then he
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if you're to reward that dutiful DOJ Number two, Todd
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Blanche with a nomination to be top dog at the agency,
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why go to that trouble if there was nothing to hide,
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why take the risk? What could be so grave that
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it warranted such behavior? Well, we know, we know. The
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question is just how deep Trump's involved. That's the real question, right,
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how deep are the ties and how much did he
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know or was he involved in when it comes to
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his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, And I think that's the
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investigation that has to take place. The President's behavior has
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only simulated interest in the case. Allegations against him made
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under oath suggested that he had committed terrible crimes. The
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public and members of his own party were turning against him,
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angered that he did not release the full truth about
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the Epstein case, as he once promised to do. Clearly,
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trying to bury the case was not working, so he
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tried something else, anything else instead. The first of the
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Epstein Wars may well have been the ones he launched
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against American cities, sending in troops to combat illusory threats,
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killing US citizens in the process, spending millions, depleting the
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resources that should have been used for our defense, achieving
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nothing but mayhem and more serial violations of the law.
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The second Epstein War was Venezuela. Epstein War III is
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this war that Trump is now desperately trying to wind
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down in Iran, that once like the invasion of our cities,
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had backfired. He had sent the global economy into a tailspin,
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drove up inflation, weakened our alliances, spent tens of billions
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of dollars, produced devastation that led to the deaths of
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more than a dozen US troops. We're not sure of
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how many plus thousands of Iranians and Lebanese citizens, most
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of them innocent victims. Well, I don't know, Okay, we
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don't have an accounting. What are we going to go on?
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What Iran has to say. I don't believe them either.
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When are people going to get hip to the fact
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that there are no good guys here? None of these
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people are good. None of them care about you, None
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of them care about Lebanon, None of them care about Iran.
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They care about their own bank accounts. None of the
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objectives the US alleged were the reasons for the war
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were achieved. If there was regime change, it was to
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replace a bad regime with a worse, more hardline one.
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Iran's nuclear capability was not obliterated as promised. Neither were
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Iran's missiles or drone capabilities, nor the effectiveness of its
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proxy network throughout the Middle East. Rather than weakening Iran,
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it's emerged with more leverage over the strait of horror
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moves and thereby the global economy. Our alliances are weaker,
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Irans are stronger. And look, I hate to admit it,
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but it's true. Trump got dog walked, and that MoU
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absolutely embarrassing. Talk about a capitulation, and to these people,
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of all people, absolutely devastating geopolitically speaking. And now the
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US seems to be suing for peace, desperate to get
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out of the war, proposing to pay off Iran in
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exchange for just talking with US. Indeed, in France this week,
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Trump actually said that perhaps it was not even worth
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negotiating about the fate of Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles. In
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his view, now that they have promised not to seek
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nuclear weapons, the rest of it is irrelevant. Except you see,
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Iran first promised never to seek nuclear weapons in nineteen
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sixty six, it repeated that promise in writing in the
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twenty fifteen accord, Trump tore up Indeed, no one has
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done more to open the door to motivate Iranian progress
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toward the ability to produce such a weapon than Trump.
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Perhaps someday he will be made a hero of the
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Iranian Revolution for his efforts while he loves that part
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of the world. Has this dude ever met an oil
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baron he wasn't in love with? Has he ever met
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somebody over in the Middle East that he hasn't wanted
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to be friends with? Seems like his type of people.
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All of this begs the question if the war was
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actually important for national security reasons, Why accept such a
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humiliating defeat. Why give up and walk away? Why reward
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Iran in the process with cash in a stronger position
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in order to help make it go away? Good questions,
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all of them. The only conclusion one can draw is
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that none of the usual reasons we decide whether to
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fight or withdraw mattered this time. The war was useful
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if it distracted from Jeffrey Epstein, and not useful when
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it became a problem rivaling the Epstein problem. Trump wants
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to turn the page. Indications, however, are that his goals
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remain the same. His next moves may well be the
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next Epstein war. Cuba has been suggested by the President
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as a likely next target. Greenland remains a possibility, even
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Panama could end up on the president hit list. None
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of these conflicts are in the US interest. All are
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in service of Trump's pr agenda, and, from time to time,
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if it can be arranged, his ever present search for grift.
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This man who literally wraps himself in the flag and
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who along with his aides regularly touts their love of
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the military, views the entire massive US defense apparatus as
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a prop a personal plaything, an entity that exists not
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to defend the country, but rather to defend the president himself.
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Whatever the cost, whatever the lasting damage done, doesn't matter,
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as long as people do not find out any more
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of the dark truth about who Donald Trump is, what
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he has done in his past, and why are worst
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fears about him? May not go far enough in detailing
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his depravity and contempt for the law and human decency. Now, look,
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there's a lot to unpack with that article, right, but
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I think that the gist of it is valid. And
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when you talk about distract actions, what better distractions than wars?
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So what do you folks think? Do you think that
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these wars are nothing more than part of the cover
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up or do you think that the author here is
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getting a bit ahead of themselves. Shoot me some emails
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and let me know. All the information that goes with
20:16
this episode can be found in the description box.