Weekly Wrap | Inside the Biden White House, a Lame Duck President & an Interview with the Journalist Who Broke the Epstein Story

Welcome to another edition of the Weekly Wrap, Lincoln Square’s guide to all the shows and interviews you might have missed throughout the week. The guestlist keeps getting better and better: from comedians like Cliff Cash to former White House press secretaries, Lincoln Square has everything you’re looking for.

Trump’s a Lame Duck Now | It’s the Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath & Mike Nellis

The GOP is all about domination. From starving families to shielding the wealth in the Epstein files – the throughline for this regime has been oligarchy, not ideology. Mike Nellis joins Edwin Eisendrath on ‘It’s the Democracy, Stupid’ to discuss the power that has shaped every aspect of this second Trump term.

Edwin Eisendrath: People who have a sense that government should fight for us, they have a sense that the money is a problem; they actually agree on an enormous amount of the issues that normally divide – and I think that Democrats have a chance to capture this great governing majority, and I think now we know the GOP never can.

Mike Nellis: I think that the growing consensus in the country is around concentration of power and concentration of wealth. I think that if you look at every problem that exists in this country today, from the affordability crisis to wealth inequality to the Epstein files, it really comes down to a handful of corrupt billionaires who control all the technology and all the sources of revenue and are profiting off of virtually every single American – including you and I, Edwin.

To me, it’s getting more Democrats who understand that. I don’t think that’s a center versus left, moderate versus progressive style thing. You get a lot more Democrats in the middle who are talking about monopolies and concentration of wealth. I think what we need to do is build a Democratic Party that can win in as many places as possible, and that includes bringing states like Iowa, which is really only a Trump plus 10 state. I think we have a great chance to flip that, getting Alaska back in with Mary Peltola.

But getting a Democratic Party that’s fighting for working people through understanding that we can break these monopolies, we can break this concentration of wealth. Because when you have five billionaires that control every algorithm in the country that’s polluting our social media feeds, stealing our data for AI, abusing our privacy, and then making a ton of money and trickling down very little to the rest of us – it’s a real problem.

And it’s just emblematic of every problem in the country. And then you get Epstein, which is the biggest story of this week. What’s happening right now, Donald Trump’s Washington is protecting other wealthy billionaires who abused boys and girls, 2000 boys and girls, through what is basically the largest pedophile ring in American history. To me, that’s the same problem. It’s the concentration of wealth and power and a justice system that doesn’t work in a political system that doesn’t work.

See more of the discussion here.

Inside the Biden White House | Karine Jean-Pierre Joins Susan Demas for a Special Edition of First Draft

Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has broken boundaries, made a break from her own party, and written a book – Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines – about her time in the Biden White House. This week, she joined our executive editor, Susan Demas, to discuss all of this and more.

Susan Demas: Your job was to go before the White House press corps every day, and White House journalists often ask tough questions, they can be combative with administrations of both parties. Do you feel like there has been a noticeable change in the make up of the press corps and the kind of questions they are asking?

Karine Jean-Pierre: The freedom of the press is a cornerstone of our democracy. It is incredibly important, and it is important to have that fourth estate – the press – to hold powerful people to account and to make sure that they’re communicating to the American people. And that is something that I am proud to say that we respected in the Biden-Harris White House.

We tried to very much exercise in that cornerstone of democracy and one of the things we understood – let me step back – when you’re in the briefing room, it’s not just being televised domestically. It’s being televised around the world. So you’re sending a message to global leaders on how much you appreciate and respect the freedom of the press, and it’s tough. It’s incredibly tough.

To be clear, I have not watched a current press briefing by the current White House press secretary, but I have seen clips like everybody else that have gone viral – and I think it’s problematic. I’ve been vocal about this. It’s problematic when you have a press corps that an administration is trying to fill in that room with people who agree with them. You’re taking away what, historically, that briefing room is supposed to be. You’re not supposed to put people who agree with you in the room, and it’s not up to the White House to do that. It’s up to the White House Correspondents Association. They have a say.

It is their right to kind of manage and figure out who’s in the room. And when you’re in that briefing room, there are mainstream media, there’s left-leaning media, there’s right-wing media. That always existed, but when you purposefully try to add or remove people, that does not make an action that shows that you care about the freedom of the press. What that makes is state TV. Those are things that you see in North Korea. That’s what you see in Russia.

And so that brings a dangerous element in ‘how do we fight for our democracy?’ ‘How do we show that this country, which is a very young democracy, as i stated earlier, that we have to actively participate in that?’ And when that’s coming from the most powerful administration or person in the country, in the world, arguably, that’s pretty scary. That’s very scary.

See more of the discussion here.

Remove the Regime | Cliff Cash, Michael Fanone & the Impeachment Rally Coming to D.C.

Sam Osterhout, Michael Fanone, and Cliff Cash formed a dynamic trio for this livestream to discuss mass participation, the November impeachment rally in D.C., and the Democratic energy that seems to grow when people act collectively rather than waiting for permission.

Cliff Cash: We are flyering them in their neighborhoods. We are handing out flyers to their neighbors. We are going to their churches. We are going to The Heritage Foundation every Monday. We are protesting Fox News nationwide. We are applying pressure, and even what we’re doing is not enough. If you’re doing none of that – you’re not even close to moving the meter. It is great to protest where you live, but now it is time to protest where they live – and they live in Washington D.C.

We’ve gotta show up. This guy is on the ropes. He’s beat up. And when your opponent is on the ropes it’s not time to take a water break, it’s time to throw an uppercut.

Michael Fanone: Just to add to that, when your opponent is on the ropes, it’s usually when they try to struggle and fight back the hardest, which is why we’ve seen this applied pressure campaign on behalf of the Trump administration to do anything they can to distract the American people, but also to punish the American people for resisting the administration in the way that they have.

And Cliff just hit the nail on the head. What attracted me to this organization is that it is a true grassroots organization and I will say this about the lack of support from some of these national level organizations – this event is not about platforming politicians and giving them a stage and a crowd to be in front of – this is about action. It’s about actually accomplishing something. And quite frankly, it’s bipartisan. It’s a movement of American people that are done, that have had enough of the Trump administration and the divisive politics… You’re either for us, or against us, and there’s no middle ground. There’s no inbetween. I think that makes a lot of Democrats uncomfortable.

Sam Osterhout: Yeah, fair. I think you’re probably right. When we covered No Kings, there was a lot of talk in the chat – and you guys know, the chat is always right – and the chat was saying, “yeah but what is showing up to a protest actually doing?” And No Kings was great because you can see the people by your side and it feels empowering, connective, and all those things. But the Democrats and the pro-democracy side is such a vast and diverse group of people ideologically and otherwise that the only chance we have is to collaborate en mass.

I love this idea of – just, fucking doing someting. I mean, holding signs is great, but what do we do if we can’t get to D.C. or we can’t ‘protest where they are’, what are we doing?

Cliff Cash: I’ve been telling folks lately, because it seems like such an easy thing, and it is. It’s an easy thing, but making this image that showed a moment ago (the poster for the Remove the Regime rally), make that your profile picture on all of the platforms that you are on and ask the people that are following you to do that too. We saw that during Black Lives Matter, where people did the blackout of screens, and these little things are just little mass movements that all of a sudden, people tell enough people, and ten million people make that their profile picture and it spreads awareness.

See more of the discussion here.

Epstein Files Press Conference in D.C. | Tim & April Report LIVE

Ahead of the big vote in Congress to release the Epstein files happened on Tuesday, survivors of Epstein showed up in D.C. for a press conference to share their incredibly moving stories, their pleas for transparency, and their solidarity with each other. Tim Whitaker and April Ajoy went live to cover the press conference.

Epstein Survivor: I originated from Brazil and I came to the United States when I was eight years old. I was only 14 when I first encountered Jeffrey Epstein and my daughter is now almost that age. At 14, the only thing she should be concerned with is going to school, practicing at her cheerleading competitions, and enjoying her time with her friends and family. She should not have to bear the burden of worrying about being manipulated or exploited. At this age, she is still a child, and no child should ever have to face such threats.

I also want to address a troubling statement made by a prominent figure on a major platform (Megyn Kelly) who suggested that a 14-year-old should not be considered a victim of pedophilia. This is a dangerous and incorrect notion. When we talk about how children at 14 should still be treated as children, I ask you to look at the young people around you.

Remember when you were that age?

Do you think you should have been responsible for being groomed? Put yourselves in our position when we were young. I’m here today not just to share my story, but to call on all of you to help make a difference. We need to support the push for the Transparency Act and release the Epstein files.

Please reach out to your Congress members and Senators and urge them to support this crucial legislation. The truth is something that we all deserve and it is vital for the safety and protection of future generations. Think about all the young people in your life: your daughters, your nieces, your friends. Let’s stand together and ensure that they grow up in a world where they are safe and valued. I often wondered, why did this happen to me? And then I realized, God only gives you what you can handle. I’m here for a purpose, and that purpose is to make a difference today.

See more of the discussion here.

Why the House Finally Took Action on the Epstein Files | Rep. Ro Khanna Joins Rick Wilson

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) has been leading the push for the Epstein files to be released and this week Congress finally took action with their vote. Rep. Khanna joined Lincoln Square’s Rick Wilson to discuss the fight that’s been endured for transparency for victims, and what is left to do.

Rick Wilson: One of the things that I think is so important to walk through and talk through here, is that none of this abuse is explicitly a partisan question – it’s a power question, it’s a money question, it’s a question of unaccountability among elite status members in our society. Whether it’s money or political power or positional power. I think the reason you and Massie did accomplish this cascade was that nobody’s trying to shield anybody. Nobody gets a break on this one. If it’s Bill Clinton or Larry Summers or Donald Trump – they’re all in the same morally corrupt bucket if they’re in this material.

Rep. Ro Khanna: You’re right. Look, Rick, I spoke to Larry Summers two weeks ago. I don’t agree with him. He’s a brilliant economist, very smart guy. And I was so saddened, so disappointed with what happened – but it just shows that this was in no way partisan. And it’s not personal. If there are people who I know, who I’ve worked with, implicated, there needs to be accountability.

And there needs to be a reckoning in this country about how we’ve tolerated this right? And this is the two parts of the scandal: there are people who actually engaged in rape and abuse of underage girls for sex trafficking. And then there are people who kind of shrugged because they were at the same dinner parties and they were in the same cocktail conversations and they just thought this is what rich and powerful people do. And they don’t realize how out of touch they actually are with ordinary Americans because 95% of Americans, 99% of Americans are horrified and disgusted. They can’t believe that the wealthy and rich and powerful people, some of them are living this way.

See more of the discussion here.

What Is John Fetterman Doing? | First Draft with Susan Demas and Sean Kitchen

On this episode of First Draft with executive editor Susan Demas, she posed the question we have all been wondering: What the hell is going on with John Fetterman? Political correspondent for The Keystone, Sean Kitchen joined the discussion to examine the latest in PA politics.

Susan Demas: I actually had a conversation with Biden’s former press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, this week. She’s got a new book out and she has made the case, even being a Black gay woman, that she does not feel that the country is ready for a female president, a Black female president.

And I’m wondering, do you feel like the country would be ready for a Jewish president with Josh Shapiro?

Sean Kitchen: I think so. I think with Shapiro. Pennsylvania has had a history of Jewish governors. Ed Rendell, Milton Schaap. We have had Jewish governors. I think what sets Shapiro apart from everyone else, his religion, he’s very devout with his faith. I honestly don’t see that being an issue with Shapiro – I’ve seen how he operates and just walking through events, either at the farm show or different festivals throughout the year, being able to interact with people. He really is a popular governor here in Pennsylvania, probably one of the most popular governors we’ve had in Pennsylvania in decades.

Susan Demas: He did some events with our governor here, [Michigan] Governor [Gretchen] Whitmer, during the 2024 cycle and watching his speeches at the DNC – he has an uncanny cadence that is similar to Obama. I’m wondering if that’s something that you’ve seen, because once you’ve seen it, you can’t really unsee it.

Sean Kitchen: I think it’s been a running joke within the newsroom and our press corps here in Pennsylvania since he got into office, how he was sounding like Obama. I got to see him a bunch of times speaking with Obama in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh. I was actually at one of the Whitmer and Shapiro events here in Pennsylvania. I mean, he’s a really good speaker. But also, I think one of the things, especially in the past few months being able to follow him around after the arson at the governor’s mansion – I think you’re starting to see a different side of him, a more personable, more vulnerable person. And you’re seeing him come out of his shell a little bit.

See more of the discussion here.

Rick Wilson talks to Julie K. Brown, the Journalist Who Broke the Epstein Story

The survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have been forcing a reckoning lately that might have started with the reporting of Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald investigative journalist that forced the case to reopen in 2018. She joined Rick Wilson to discuss all the latest with the case.

Rick Wilson: What were your thoughts watching Pam Bondi? (In the press conference after Congress passed the measure to release the Epstein files) I mean, the facial expressions and the body language of Blanche and Patel working in the background, they looked like they wanted to be anywhere else on this earth.

Julie K. Brown: Let’s remind people that Pam Bondi was the attorney general of Florida during part of this scandal. She was not in office when the deal was made with Epstein but after the deal was made, there was a lot of information that came out about the scope of the bigger Epstein crimes. And let’s face it, these were girls that were from Florida. So she never said, “this was a horrible Florida crime, we need to take another look at this, I’m assigning a special prosecutor,” or whatever, right?

It wasn’t like the statute had run out. She never did anything. So, there’s also other ways that it was dangerous. He was a predator. And not only that, but the Palm Beach authorities weren’t even monitoring him. He was a sex predator and they weren’t even monitoring what he was doing.

[...]

I do think it sounded like she was basically saying, ‘you’re not going to see,’ you know she’s setting the stage for excuses you’re not (seeing the files), it’s ironic. She says we’re going to be transparent but she’s actually setting the stage for not being transparent.

Rick Wilson: So I do think that is a shocker, the material that the Epstein family has been releasing to the House Oversight Committee and more widely than that even. What are your thoughts on that? Because Mark Epstein seems to be sort of an unanticipated curveball in a lot of the strategy in the administration to manage this crisis.

Julie K. Brown: I don’t know. I can’t figure that out because the estate, the people affiliated with the estate should be looked at as well, because they’ve been with Epstein from the beginning. They were his accountants, his business people who were helping him with his business, whatever that was. So, I don’t know. Perhaps they feel by giving them a lot of material, they’re keeping themselves out of hot water because they’re helping people.

See more of the discussion here.

Trump’s Mariana Trench Polling Numbers | Behind the Numbers with Rick & Andrew Wilson

Lincoln Square’s dynamic father-son duo is back with another episode of Behind the Numbers where Andrew and Rick Wilson look at all of the latest polls and break through the noise to give you what’s really going on behind the data.

Rick Wilson: So they released 20,000 of these emails. What was it? I don’t know, less than a week ago. And Trump is mentioned in 1,800 of them, and there are somewhere around 375,000 documents, emails, videos, and photos. If that holds up, there will be several tens of thousands of mentions of Trump in these documents. They cannot open that gate. They cannot open that box. That would be a death of a thousand, billion, jijillion cuts, and it will never work out.

Andrew Wilson: I don’t think this is going away regardless of what he does on Epstein. You know, this is going to be around Republicans. It’s going to be circling Mike Johnson like flies on a corpse. He’ll never get away from it.

Rick Wilson: And Mike Johnson, as an enabler of Trump, even at the last minute of the vote was still trying to derail this thing. And it didn’t work. It didn’t connect. But at the end of the day, it was never going to work. These Republicans out there in the country, they know what the audience wants. They know what their MAGA base wants. They want to know what the fuck is in these files. They do not trust even Donald Trump because they want this information and they want it now. It’s not pretty.

I’m getting birthday death threats this morning from some crazy guy. It’s kind of exciting. But anyway folks, as much as you think we’re divided… Andrew, walk us through something we found really interesting this week, because there’s more overlap with issues than people think.

Andrew Wilson: I think part of the reason is we get siloed off in these media ecosystems and it’s easy to believe that there’s a lot of strife. But, 80% of people said in this Gallup poll that political leaders should compromise with the other party to get things done, even if they don’t like some parts of the compromise.

I think this speaks to what we saw happening with the shutdown, right? Republicans refused to negotiate the whole time, they described Democrats as terrorists and they don’t “negotiate with terrorists,” that’s not how our government is meant to be conducted. It’s not how politics is meant to go, and most people see that.

See more of the discussion here.