In this Briefing, Jon Decker breaks down a high-stakes week in Washington as President Trump signs legislation ordering the release of the long-awaited Epstein files. He examines the political shockwaves this move could trigger, along with Trump's escalating criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Decker also outlines the administration’s newly drafted Ukraine peace proposal and what it reveals about the White House’s strategic objectives heading into the next phase of global and domestic politics.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Thursday, November twentieth.
I'm John Decker. President Trump signs the just passed bill
to release the Epstein files. The President once again renews
his attacks on FED Chairman Jerome Powell, and the Trump
administration pushes a new plan to end the war in Ukraine.
(00:25):
But we begin with the President signing legislation that compels
the DOJE to release the Epstein files. Just a week ago,
passage of this bill seemed very unlikely. It was late
Wednesday night, after the White House called LYDD the President
Trump signed legislation authorizing the Department of Justice to release
(00:49):
files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and that
gives Attorney General Pambondi thirty days to now make available
uncle classified documents related to Epstein and his associate, Glaine Maxwell.
Television cameras did not record the President signing this legislation.
(01:10):
The President did this essentially behind closed doors, but we
learned of it because of the President's post untruth social
the President writing on Wednesday night, Jeffrey Epstein, who was
charged by the Trump Justice Department in twenty nineteen, was
a lifelong Democrat donated thousands of dollars to Democrat politicians
(01:33):
and was deeply associated with many well known Democrat figures
such as Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reed Hoffman, Minority Leader
Hakim Jeffries, Democrat Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, and many more. Perhaps
the truth about these Democrats and their associations with Jeffrey
(01:54):
Epstein will soon be revealed, because I have just signed
the bill to release the Epstein files, the President continues,
As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike
Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to pass this
bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request,
(02:15):
the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage at
my direction. The Department of Justice has already turned over
close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. He says.
Do not forget the Biden administration did not turn over
a single file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor
(02:37):
did they even ever speak about him. The President wrote.
Democrats have used the Epstein issue, which affects them far
more than the Republican Party, in order to try and
distract from our amazing victories, and the President concludes by writing,
this latest hoax will backfire on the Democrats, just as
(02:58):
all of the rest have. Thank you for your attention
to this matter. Make America great again. Now that the
President has signed that bill into law, the focus shifts
on the release of those files that have the potential
to raise new questions over the friends and associates of
(03:18):
Jeffrey Epstein. More than twenty thousand documents from Epstein's estate
were recently made public by Congress, some of which mentioned
Donald Trump along with Representative Stacy Plaskett. In addition to that,
Larry Summers, the former Harvard president, is mentioned in those
just released emails. He has since stepped down from the
(03:41):
Open AI board and other public commitments. Now being mentioned
in those emails is not an indication of wrongdoing. The
Justice Department and the FBI concluded last summer that they
have no evidence that Epstein blackmailed anybody or kept a
client list. As for Epstein's relationship with Donald Trump, the
(04:05):
two of them socialized in the nineteen nineties and the
early two thousands when they were neighbors in Palm Beach,
and President Trump has said he cut off all ties
with Epstein before Epstein pleaded guilty in two thousand and
eight to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Now, how did
we get here? To passage of this legislation? Late Sunday,
(04:27):
President Trump said he would sign the bill if Congress
passed it, and that changed the calculation of support for
many Republicans and led to its near unanimous support in
the House on Tuesday. The Senate then passed it by
unanimous consent later that day, and they sent it straight
to the President's desk for his signature. The President has
(04:50):
also directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Democrats mentioned
in the files released by Congress. Bondy has assigned J. Clayton,
the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York,
to handle that investigation. As for the bill, it requires
disclosure of all documents from the Justice Department, including flight logs,
(05:14):
internal memos, personal communications, and immunity agreements. It also stipulates
that the released material must be fully searchable and downloadable.
The bill allows for redactions for victim identification information and
materials depicting child sex abuse. An additional report to Congress
(05:38):
outlining what was redacted is required within fifteen days of publication. Now,
the DOJ has acknowledged that it holds tens of thousands
of pages of Epstein related material. And as for President Trump,
he has never been linked to any criminal misconduct himself,
(05:58):
nor has there been any credit indication that Donald Trump
was aware of any criminal misconduct. Now, just because the
President signed this legislation does not mean that the public
will necessarily see it within thirty days. There are still
multiple ways that the Trump administration may still try to
(06:18):
withhold much of the key material. The bill contains a
provision that says the government can withhold information from public
disclosure if it would hurt or impede an ongoing criminal investigation.
As the DOJ continues its investigation into alleged contacts between
(06:40):
high profile Democrats and Jeffrey Epstein, the House oversche Committee
continues their investigation. They are still conducting an investigation into
Jeffrey Epstein. As part of that investigation, the chair of
the Oversite Committee, James Comer of Kentucky, has subpoena JP
Morgan and Zeutschebang for Epstein's financial records. This ongoing saga
(07:05):
regarding Jeffrey Epstein has certainly not helped the president politically,
the President's approval rating is at a second term low.
That's according to a new Fox News poll which was
released on Wednesday night. That new survey finds that the
president's approval rating is at forty one percent among registered voters.
(07:27):
That's down from forty six percent in early September. Also
on Wednesday, the President renewed his attacks against Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell, saying he would love to fire his
ass for not lowering interest rates as much as the
President would like him to. The President was speaking at
a US Saudi Arabia investment forum when he went on
(07:50):
a rant against Jerome Powell. He seemed in his rant
to pressure Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant to somehow persuade to
lower interest rates further or besn't, the President suggested, could
be fired himself. Now. It's important to remember that President
Trump nominated Jerome Powell as FED chair back in his
(08:13):
first term back in twenty seventeen, and the President since
coming back into office, has criticized Pale quite often for
his reluctance to lower interest rates. Before the Fed decided
to lower interest rates in December, Pale maintain that the
FED needed to hold rates steady as it monitored the
(08:34):
effects of the president's trade tariffs. The FED next meets
on December ninth and tenth. Finally, on Wednesday, we learn
that the Trump administration has drafted a twenty eight point
piece plan that calls for Ukraine to make major territorial
concessions to Russia, and it drops demands for a peacekeeping
(08:56):
force to deter future attacks by Russia. This new blueprint
was worked out by Secretary of State Mark Arrubio, Special
Envoy Steve Whitkoff, and President Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner.
The proposal calls for Ukraine to hand over all of
the Eastern don Bos region to Russia, including land that
(09:19):
Ukraine now controls. Ukraine would have to agree at least
for several years to abandon joining NATO, and Ukraine would
not be permitted to have an international peacekeeping force inside
the country. That's going to be a non starter not
only for Ukraine, but also for many NATO countries in Europe.
(09:43):
They have seen that type of peacekeeping force as vital
to deter future Russian attacks even after a peace settlement
is agreed upon. In return, Russia would promise not to
further attack Ukraine or other countries in Europe, and that
would be codified in Russian legislation. Those details about the
(10:04):
President's new plan to end the war in Ukraine e
merged as Army Secretary Dan Driskol and two senior army
generals two four star generals met in Ukraine with their
counterparts as well as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski. They are
discussing potential peace talks and restarting those peace talks with Russia.
(10:29):
It marks the first high level visit by American officials
to Ukraine since the President returned to the White House.
As for Thursday, the President has one item on his schedule.
He'll meet at two pm Eastern Time with freed Israeli
hostages and their families. That is a closed press event
(10:50):
in the State Dining Room. There will also be a
White House Press briefing at one o'clock in the afternoon,
conducted by White House Press Secretary Caroline Lee. It that's
the White House Briefing room for Thursday, November twentieth. I'm
John Decker. Have a good one
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Thursday, November twentieth.
I'm John Decker. President Trump signs the just passed bill
to release the Epstein files. The President once again renews
his attacks on FED Chairman Jerome Powell, and the Trump
administration pushes a new plan to end the war in Ukraine.
(00:25):
But we begin with the President signing legislation that compels
the DOJE to release the Epstein files. Just a week ago,
passage of this bill seemed very unlikely. It was late
Wednesday night, after the White House called LYDD the President
Trump signed legislation authorizing the Department of Justice to release
(00:49):
files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and that
gives Attorney General Pambondi thirty days to now make available
uncle classified documents related to Epstein and his associate, Glaine Maxwell.
Television cameras did not record the President signing this legislation.
(01:10):
The President did this essentially behind closed doors, but we
learned of it because of the President's post untruth social
the President writing on Wednesday night, Jeffrey Epstein, who was
charged by the Trump Justice Department in twenty nineteen, was
a lifelong Democrat donated thousands of dollars to Democrat politicians
(01:33):
and was deeply associated with many well known Democrat figures
such as Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reed Hoffman, Minority Leader
Hakim Jeffries, Democrat Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, and many more. Perhaps
the truth about these Democrats and their associations with Jeffrey
(01:54):
Epstein will soon be revealed, because I have just signed
the bill to release the Epstein files, the President continues,
As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike
Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to pass this
bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request,
(02:15):
the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage at
my direction. The Department of Justice has already turned over
close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. He says.
Do not forget the Biden administration did not turn over
a single file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor
(02:37):
did they even ever speak about him. The President wrote.
Democrats have used the Epstein issue, which affects them far
more than the Republican Party, in order to try and
distract from our amazing victories, and the President concludes by writing,
this latest hoax will backfire on the Democrats, just as
(02:58):
all of the rest have. Thank you for your attention
to this matter. Make America great again. Now that the
President has signed that bill into law, the focus shifts
on the release of those files that have the potential
to raise new questions over the friends and associates of
(03:18):
Jeffrey Epstein. More than twenty thousand documents from Epstein's estate
were recently made public by Congress, some of which mentioned
Donald Trump along with Representative Stacy Plaskett. In addition to that,
Larry Summers, the former Harvard president, is mentioned in those
just released emails. He has since stepped down from the
(03:41):
Open AI board and other public commitments. Now being mentioned
in those emails is not an indication of wrongdoing. The
Justice Department and the FBI concluded last summer that they
have no evidence that Epstein blackmailed anybody or kept a
client list. As for Epstein's relationship with Donald Trump, the
(04:05):
two of them socialized in the nineteen nineties and the
early two thousands when they were neighbors in Palm Beach,
and President Trump has said he cut off all ties
with Epstein before Epstein pleaded guilty in two thousand and
eight to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Now, how did
we get here? To passage of this legislation? Late Sunday,
(04:27):
President Trump said he would sign the bill if Congress
passed it, and that changed the calculation of support for
many Republicans and led to its near unanimous support in
the House on Tuesday. The Senate then passed it by
unanimous consent later that day, and they sent it straight
to the President's desk for his signature. The President has
(04:50):
also directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Democrats mentioned
in the files released by Congress. Bondy has assigned J. Clayton,
the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York,
to handle that investigation. As for the bill, it requires
disclosure of all documents from the Justice Department, including flight logs,
(05:14):
internal memos, personal communications, and immunity agreements. It also stipulates
that the released material must be fully searchable and downloadable.
The bill allows for redactions for victim identification information and
materials depicting child sex abuse. An additional report to Congress
(05:38):
outlining what was redacted is required within fifteen days of publication. Now,
the DOJ has acknowledged that it holds tens of thousands
of pages of Epstein related material. And as for President Trump,
he has never been linked to any criminal misconduct himself,
(05:58):
nor has there been any credit indication that Donald Trump
was aware of any criminal misconduct. Now, just because the
President signed this legislation does not mean that the public
will necessarily see it within thirty days. There are still
multiple ways that the Trump administration may still try to
(06:18):
withhold much of the key material. The bill contains a
provision that says the government can withhold information from public
disclosure if it would hurt or impede an ongoing criminal investigation.
As the DOJ continues its investigation into alleged contacts between
(06:40):
high profile Democrats and Jeffrey Epstein, the House oversche Committee
continues their investigation. They are still conducting an investigation into
Jeffrey Epstein. As part of that investigation, the chair of
the Oversite Committee, James Comer of Kentucky, has subpoena JP
Morgan and Zeutschebang for Epstein's financial records. This ongoing saga
(07:05):
regarding Jeffrey Epstein has certainly not helped the president politically,
the President's approval rating is at a second term low.
That's according to a new Fox News poll which was
released on Wednesday night. That new survey finds that the
president's approval rating is at forty one percent among registered voters.
(07:27):
That's down from forty six percent in early September. Also
on Wednesday, the President renewed his attacks against Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell, saying he would love to fire his
ass for not lowering interest rates as much as the
President would like him to. The President was speaking at
a US Saudi Arabia investment forum when he went on
(07:50):
a rant against Jerome Powell. He seemed in his rant
to pressure Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant to somehow persuade to
lower interest rates further or besn't, the President suggested, could
be fired himself. Now. It's important to remember that President
Trump nominated Jerome Powell as FED chair back in his
(08:13):
first term back in twenty seventeen, and the President since
coming back into office, has criticized Pale quite often for
his reluctance to lower interest rates. Before the Fed decided
to lower interest rates in December, Pale maintain that the
FED needed to hold rates steady as it monitored the
(08:34):
effects of the president's trade tariffs. The FED next meets
on December ninth and tenth. Finally, on Wednesday, we learn
that the Trump administration has drafted a twenty eight point
piece plan that calls for Ukraine to make major territorial
concessions to Russia, and it drops demands for a peacekeeping
(08:56):
force to deter future attacks by Russia. This new blueprint
was worked out by Secretary of State Mark Arrubio, Special
Envoy Steve Whitkoff, and President Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner.
The proposal calls for Ukraine to hand over all of
the Eastern don Bos region to Russia, including land that
(09:19):
Ukraine now controls. Ukraine would have to agree at least
for several years to abandon joining NATO, and Ukraine would
not be permitted to have an international peacekeeping force inside
the country. That's going to be a non starter not
only for Ukraine, but also for many NATO countries in Europe.
(09:43):
They have seen that type of peacekeeping force as vital
to deter future Russian attacks even after a peace settlement
is agreed upon. In return, Russia would promise not to
further attack Ukraine or other countries in Europe, and that
would be codified in Russian legislation. Those details about the
(10:04):
President's new plan to end the war in Ukraine e
merged as Army Secretary Dan Driskol and two senior army
generals two four star generals met in Ukraine with their
counterparts as well as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski. They are
discussing potential peace talks and restarting those peace talks with Russia.
(10:29):
It marks the first high level visit by American officials
to Ukraine since the President returned to the White House.
As for Thursday, the President has one item on his schedule.
He'll meet at two pm Eastern Time with freed Israeli
hostages and their families. That is a closed press event
(10:50):
in the State Dining Room. There will also be a
White House Press briefing at one o'clock in the afternoon,
conducted by White House Press Secretary Caroline Lee. It that's
the White House Briefing room for Thursday, November twentieth. I'm
John Decker. Have a good one
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