the reason the files were not released before is a legal one. you can not release files during an ongoing investigation. the investigation was closed in august of 2019 due to epstein's death.

perhaps the better question should be ...... who was the president in 2019 and why did that president have the doj put a stop to the investigation?

smile

Perhaps it wasn't a campaign promise by Biden to release them.

The democrats were more interested in the unusually lenient sweetheart deal Epstein was able to get a “deal of a lifetime.” from the then US attorney assigned to the case and future Trump Admin Labor Secretary Alex Acosta (hmmm?)

The documents appear to have been tied up during court cases and subsequent appeal processes.

Ultimately they need to be released.

Also the shameful slap on Epstein's wrist and how and why it happened.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html

Does he get the deal as a reward for not rolling over on connected people (of all stripes?) If more released emails continue to show Epstein's alluding to having material to hold over Trump's head, will that drive the conspiracy theorists to question more about his suicide? Some coincidences may start to look less coincidental to them.

All hail the great and powerful Waz !

Happy cake day. 🎊 🎈 🎉

So, we agree again.

Write down another rare occurrence!

I disagree with a lot of cases where prosecutors have let off people with light sentences. This is another of them.

So, investigation closed in 2019, allowing the information to be released. It is unfortunate that there wasn't another administration that could have released it between then and now.

Weren't they held back from the public for years while various appeals processes played out?

Happy today (and tomorrow)!

Just the portions relevant to dingus dufus' comment:

uneksia wrote:

I wrote:

dingus dufus wrote:

Are you calling uneksia's comment incomplete?

However, dingus, we still agree that the complete files need to be released.

Happy Birthday, Wassa! Hope it was a great day/weekend.

It's factually 100% accurate.

I wrote:

dingus dufus wrote:

That is an answer that does NOT answer the question that I asked.

For instance, if his statement is complete then the Biden administration could have released the files.

If his statement was incomplete then it would prompt someone who was interested in a correct statement to make such a correction.

I had seen that recently. I’m a huge film buff and I love that kind of stuff. That clip is especially satisfying because the Coens aren’t known for talking about their work.

I love their films. I think my favorite is Miller’s Crossing.

I really miss directors commentary tracks. To hear a great one, listen to Micheal Mann over Collateral. That is if you can find the DVD and you have a player…

Her statement is a complete statement.

Someone hasn't been paying attention:
Key ways the Trumps have reportedly benefited include:

Payments at Trump Properties: Special interest groups, lobbyists, and even government entities like the Secret Service have spent money at Trump-owned hotels, social clubs, and golf courses. Foreign governments also made payments to Trump businesses, which critics argue potentially violated the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause.
Business Deals and Expansions: The Trump Organization has pursued new real estate deals and expansions in countries like Vietnam and Saudi Arabia during and after his presidency, raising questions about whether these deals were intended to curry favor with the president.
Cryptocurrency Ventures: Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and others in the Trump orbit have launched cryptocurrency projects, including a "meme coin". Reports indicate the family and partners have made a significant amount in trading fees, and Trump has reportedly met with crypto investors and promised to promote the industry from the White House.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG): The company which runs the social media app Truth Social, has provided a potential avenue for profit, with its stock performance tied to the president's ongoing public profile and base.
Policy Alignment with Financial Interests: Certain administration policies, such as specific environmental and business regulation rollbacks, reportedly aligned with the financial interests of the Trump Organization and its related industries (e.g., the construction industry and golf courses). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 provided substantial tax breaks to corporations and wealthy individuals, which benefited Trump and others in his economic circle.
High-Value Deals for Family Members: Jeff Bezos reportedly paid a high licensing fee for a documentary about Melania Trump after a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, a transaction described as unusual for a documentary licensing deal.

Also, the failings of others doesn't make him great, which was your patently, demonstrably untrue claim.

You are equating garden-variety back-scratching to the complete demise of a functioning government and the rise of fascism in our country. This is unprecedented. A consensual sex act in the White House is not the equivalent of rape, sexual assault, & sexual abuse of a minor.

I find it interesting that if the answers aren't couched in specific ways that Trump personally has impinged on gay marriage, everything else can be ignored, as if empowering the kind of bigotry we see, the intentional attack on DEI, bullying institutions of higher learning into embracing Trump-speak (though he is unqualified to weigh in on matters of science, history, his job, military strategy, meteorology, prevention of disease . . .) the unearned hero-ification of Charlie Kirk, his cosying up to known white supremacists and his personal behavior regarding people of color weren't enough. The man cheats at golf. Five times bankrupt. . . on and on. He has quite literally failed at everything he's tried.

You've painted yourself into a corner and have just planted yourself there because every other surface is wet.

So, I'll bring it up again. What would it take? If attempting to overthrow the government didn't get your attention, you're beyond reason.

He's just reversed himself on releasing the files. I bet he thinks his followers will swallow anything, and they've found their dog whistles to spin it for them. It will be very interesting. The emails alone are interesting. I mean, how much of a pond scum do you have to be for Jerry frikkin Epstein to despise you?

Oh, I'm not naive enough to think they won't fry a boatload of Dems also. Powerful men have never been held accountable in this country. We have TWO sitting supreme court justices who have been accused of sexual crimes for starters. . . I bet Trump thinks he'll weather this, just like he has all the other times.

Thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes!! It truly means a lot to me.

Do you watch the Hollywood round table on The Hollywood Reporter channel? That’s great.

For some reason I have gotten out of the habit of looking at it. I need to get back to it. Actors, directors, producers.

Like HER??
Don't let her sparkle bother you. That's just her Meritorious Service Award and her Bronze Star.

Happy belated birthday 🎂

Condo

It was actually Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal that held up the files during Biden's term. And even once her appeal was finally rejected, Sept or Oct of 2024, the files would have had to be sorted for victims' names to be redacted.

Even if Biden had ordered the DOJ to release the files then, the MAGA crowd would have complained it was a hoax to try to sway the election.

That’s something I get really tired of also. Bush did so and so, Obama did so and so. So Trump…..yadda, yadda.

That is so irrelevant.

Cool link! Thank you!

I'm a big Coen Brother's fan, too, and it's hard to claim a favorite. Probably "O Brother! Where Art Thou?", but I think that both "Burn After Reading" and "Ballad of Buster Scruggs" get better each time I watch them.

I think all of the Coen films get better with each watching.

Most of them are great in their own way. I really like The Man Who Wasn't There . That film definitely gets better with each watching.

I think I had OBWAT on DVD. I've watched it a bunch. Same for Big Lebowski.

Miss Moon - I've seen that in the past, haven't watched in a while.

I really like the Thieves World series, too! I was rereading a chunk of it last year (beginning through Faces of Chaos, IIRC). Yeah, if there's one fantasy setting I DON'T want to get dumped into, it's Sanctuary and it's scabby environs with its pesky, tempestuous gods!

Yeah, it feels almost a disservice to not list every one of their movies. I mean, Raising Arizona? Hudsucker Proxy? No Country for Old Men? True Grit??? I haven't seen Honey Don't yet, but it's definitely on the agenda.

(Although, confession: I didn't care for Hail Caesar! Not bagging on it, just didn't hit for me.)

I agree but I also think it was very groundbreaking for the genre and I wish more people would have heard of it and read it

Recently listened to audiobook The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown. Really enjoyed the fascinating combination of factual scientific research and sci-fi based mystery adventure.

Let’s talk EVENT etiquette people. When you sign up for an event, and it turns out you cannot attend after all, please please please edit your signup and drop from the event. It’s not a biggie to cancel, I probably cancel close to 50% of the events I sign up for. Keyword here is cancel. Don’t just be a No-Show. And editing your sign-up 2 weeks after the event ended does not count either. Be courteous and edit your sign up and drop before the event!
While I’d like to believe it’s not a malicious or callous decision, it is inconsiderate. And if you were a host perhaps you would understand that.
Hosts incur $ costs. One of the biggest cost is printing out clue packets. It’s just uncool having your host waste $$$$ on unclaimed packets! Hosts put their hearts & souls planning & carving and covering so many costs putting together clue packets, swag bags, food, catering, raffles, drinks, pavilions, venues, t-shirts, etc…and they never complain! So while you may think “oh it’s no big deal if I don’t show up” you are dead wrong.

Let’s talk about events at restaurants, no shows there are just as rude & inconsiderate. We hosted an event at a restaurant in 2023.
35 people signed up but only 17 people showed.
The restaurant assigned our group 2 servers when 1 would have been sufficient. The restaurant seated us in their private dining room but had they known our true head count they would not have. Lastly the 2 servers were shortchanged so we tipped them extra $$$$ out of our own pocket to make up for the shortage of tips and waste of their Saturday afternoon.
Again, things come up, that’s life!!! But when that happens go in and edit your signup and drop from the event, it takes mere seconds!!! And those few seconds make all the difference to your host who has spent months planning an event for your entertainment and enjoyment only to be hurt by the thoughtless actions of too many careless people.