I agree and tried to e-mail Marc Elias because when the site insisted that they keep my card details as I was planning to give a donation, I bailed out. The only way is to send him a check which is ridiculous.
I can't afford a Democracy Docket subscription so never knew about the unsafe requirement to keep one's credit information on that website.
I think all Substack subscriptions auto renew annually, but we get notifications in advance, at which time we can ignore them and let the charge go through, or cancel them.
Many thanks to Robert for his unfathomable well of patience to endlessly explain why just because Trump says something doesn’t make it true or inevitable. So much energy is being wasted by our pro-democracy brothers and sisters in needless panic.
This is a matter of movement discipline. We cannot let ourselves be panicked by every terrible thing this regime says. Who benefits when we do that? Pro-tip: It’s not us.
We have a duty to resist the urge to panic, and to stay focused on doing the next right thing. Here’s a small example prompted by Jim’s comment, “God bless, Norm Eisen and Marc Elias.”
When you hear or read yet another message from the regime that threatens to send you into a panic, stop. Instead, ask yourself what Eisen and Elias have to say about it. Check them out. Believe them. They know what they’re talking. Then, share what you learned with the people around you who might be prone to panic.
And the SAVE Act is dead as a doornail effective Thursday night when five GOP Senators said they would nor vote to support either a carve-out of the filibuster rules for voting rights legislation on grounds Democrats would use it to expand voting rights when they take power (they're right) and that they would not vote in favor f the 'talking filibuster" because it would allow Democrats to submit amendments Republicans would have to vote down, forcing GOP senators to vote against popular things. The SAVE Act cannot be acted on in the Senate because of the filibuster and the MAGAt Republicans don't have to power to change the filibuster. It's DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD. And all the Lefty Clickbators can now go to hell where they belomg.
What Tom said. About 15 hours ago I saw Aaron Parnas also report this. When I shared the details, there was an overall genuine positive embrace by others in those chats. Yes the SAVE act has been a 4 to 4.5 alarm fire, that Robert had already had declared nearly DOA. My Senator Tillis has these temporary bouts of sanity as described...
SAVE Act Collapses in Senate
'According to Punchbowl News, Senate Minority Leader John Thune moved to quash efforts to force a “talking filibuster” after at least four Republican senators signaled they would not vote to overcome Democratic amendments. Without their support, the bill has no viable path forward.
Sen. Thom Tillis said he would oppose the motion to proceed despite being a co-sponsor of the legislation. His opposition means Vice President J.D. Vance would need to remain on standby to break potential ties.
Thune has privately expressed frustration that House Speaker Mike Johnson has not done more to temper pressure from hardline House Republicans demanding action. Some Senate Republicans believe Thune allowed debate over the filibuster strategy to linger too long. But the South Dakota Republican leaned into the cautious approach that helped secure his leadership position: wait for consensus before acting.
That consensus ultimately revealed at least four Republican senators unwilling to advance the measure: Tillis, John Curtis, Mitch McConnell, and Lisa Murkowski.
Their resistance effectively guarantees the SAVE Act will stall, exposing fractures within the GOP at a time when party leaders are navigating investigations, election disputes, and a contentious midterm strategy.'
⬆️"My Senator Tillis has these temporary bouts of sanity as described..."
🤣🤣🤣
When I call and leave messages for his office, I frequently remind him that he is complicit in whatever horrible thing is happening because he voted to confirm Hegseth, Noem, Bondi, RFK Jr. etc. Maybe some of it is (collectively) finally getting through...
Both you and Joe English are far kinder than i am regarding him. True, he occasionally does the right thing. But more often he weenies out especially (if memory serves) on cabinet votes.
I swear he’s itching for the presidency and knows he has to have a few decent votes to make himself palatable to the general public.
I must have come across as far more conciliatory than I actually am.... He drives me up a wall because he will sometimes talk a good game but he rarely delivers!
The heading of your letter, without reading your full message: the first thought that occurs to me is that Trump has already done so many things that he was not supposed to, but he did them anyway because he created his own reality. So what he can’t do he does.
Thank you Mr. Hubbell for including our tiny effort to show the world the soft power of our country. We Phillips Renner Foundation are small but we generate a huge amount of goodwill for our country in the middle of this chaotic destruction.
A friend forwarded an email she received from Hilary Clinton, with her opening statement to the House oversight committee. Here it is:
I wanted to share the opening statement that I read to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. You can find it below in full.
- Hillary
---
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee… as a former Senator, I have respect for legislative oversight and I expect its exercise, as do the American people, to be principled and fearless in pursuit of truth and accountability.
As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater, which is an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people.
The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.
As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.
Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It’s unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade.
Mr. Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government’s handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein’s crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide.
You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions.
You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner’s deposition.
This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors, as well as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.
I have spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the terrible abuses so many women and girls face here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual slavery. For too long, these have been largely invisible crimes or not treated as crimes at all. But the survivors are real and they are entitled to better.
In Southeast Asia, I met girls as young as twelve years old who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. In Eastern Europe, I met mothers who told me how they lost daughters to trafficking and did not know where to turn. In settings around the world, I met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help rescue others – with little support from people in power, who too often turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder.
If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he’s far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It’s a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll.
My work combatting sex trafficking goes back to my days as First Lady. I worked to pass the first federal legislation against trafficking and was proud that my husband signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which increased support for survivors and gave prosecutors better tools for going after traffickers.
As Secretary of State, I appointed a former federal prosecutor, Lou CdeBaca, to ramp up our global antitrafficking efforts. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 nations and directly pressed foreign leaders to crack down on trafficking networks in their countries. Every year we published a global report to shine a light on abuses. The findings of those reports triggered sanctions on countries failing to make progress, so they became a powerful diplomatic tool to drive concrete action.
I insisted that the United States be included in the report for the first time ever in 2011. Because we must hold ourselves not just to the same standard as the rest of the world but to an even higher one. Sex trafficking and modern slavery should have no place in America. None.
Infuriatingly, the Trump Administration gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department, cutting more than 70 percent of the career civil and foreign service experts who worked so hard to prevent trafficking crimes. The annual trafficking report, required by law, was delayed for months. The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House.
That is a tragedy. It’s a scandal. It deserves vigorous investigation and oversight.
A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008.
A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files.
It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies.
It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes.
It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the “wildest party” on Epstein’s island.
It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated.
It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers.
It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need.
It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act.
But that’s not happening.
Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers.
If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.
If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done.
What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?
My challenge to you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein’s crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking.
HRC would've made a great President. I cannot believe that they had her testify for 6hrs, just so they could get performance art and give bread and circus to their base. Meanwhile, they had to delay it for 30min because Boebert leaked a photo in a hearing that Republicans refused to air publicly, and when no Republican had attended the closed door session last week with Leslie Wexner the person who helped make Epstein all his money as the Victoria Secrets CEO. Clinton isn't mentioned in the files as knowing, meeting or being involved in anyway. They've been making this woman answer for Bill for the last 45 years of her life.
CLINTON. There's no fool like an old fool. James Comer fits the bill, even if he's actually young enough to know better. He just mounted a kabuki theater show to enable some of the hard right cable shows to have content that he knows Trump & Miller will devour.
Good news: Comer (KY-1) doesn't have to be re-elected. For that matter, neither does Gym Jordan (OH-4). I hope the good voters of Kentucky and Ohio can be offered better alternatives, like the local dog catcher.
Out of curiosity I just googled KY-1. What a gerrymandering beauty! So no surprise there. And Comer carried the district with 74,7%, getting 252.000 votes, his democratic opponent got 85.000.
According to Wikipedia the district has 554.000 registered voters, 279.000 Republicans and 222.000 Democrats. Something's wrong.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party does a pretty poor job of supporting candidates in races they are judged unlikely to win. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Quite often someone running for a US house seat will have previous experience in the state legislature. Even with that, it is an uphill battle to unseat an incumbent!
This is not the case with Comer's opponents. The Democrat running against Comer in November previously lost a primary for a KY house district, but his opponents in 2020, 2022, and 2024 no prior experience per Ballotpedia:
I still find it surprising that so many democrats (with a small d) can't be bothered to show up and vote for the Democratic candidate, even without having been inundated with robocalls and endless TV commercials. Name recognition is nice, but in these trying times any individual with a pulse and a (D) behind her or his name should merit a vote.
The usual overflowing treasure chest of helpful information. Thank you.
I have a question for tomorrow's discussion - will add it.
The photo of the dental clinic gets to me -here we have good/accessible dental care and may take it for granted. But I tell you, those doing the pro-bono work are changing lives. Goes to show that we can all do something to make the world a better place, even if it is "just" a tiny corner of it.
Edit: Hillary's opening statement was brilliant as were her comments after the 6-hour interrogation. When I hear her and remember her 2016 campaign, it is beyond me why she was not voted in as POTUS!
Yup. I can imagine a world where Hillary was elected. And Trump convicted and jailed.
I never "liked" the Clintons. Bill disgraced himself and the nation. Monica and NAFTA (with no safeguards for workers). They came across as arrogant. It is an awful thing to say, but part of why she lost was her public persona. If her private warmth had been allowed to be on stage...
But...8 years of President Hillary Clinton would have been potentially some of the most productive and important years in our history. The Earth would have been respected. Russia would have been properly challenged. Healthcare and women's rights would have been front and center. The Supreme Court wouldn't be dominated by corrupt oligarch puppets.
America's "soft power" would have grown alongside enhanced alliances with democracies around the world.
You don't have to like someone to respect their overall value. Hillary's statement to the Comer committee was a demonstration of her intellect and values. Her understanding of justice and fairness. And her courage. Kudos.
I also read her book "It Takes a Village" a long time ago and was very impressed with her envisioning and thinking. She is very forward thinking. I suspect her critics did not read this book...
Robert, I want to thank you for remaining clear headed, logical and educated about all of this madness. Of all the people I read you have remained the even and steady hand of this ship in a raging storm. Thank you. I, for one, am deeply grateful to you for all that you are doing.
In early January I commented somewhere about the importance of States Attorneys General as being a potential bulwark against the Paramount takeover of WB. I pointed to another huge win re a merger (which I have now since forgotten) that was because of these AG's. So the final story has not been written of the crushing of Comedy Central and John Oliver (among other outcomes).
After Netflix pulled out yesterday, there were two main narratives, the sky is falling, or Netflix made a brilliant move and will feast later due to the debt that eat Paramount alive. Some credited Netflix for not firing Susan Rice from their Board. Yes others noted the meeting of the Netflix CEO with Trump (which they assume was why Netflix refused to up their offer).
“Paramount/Warner Bros. is not a done deal,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Thursday. “These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny — the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review.”
I am wondering whether it would be useful for Dems to clarify what the SAVE Act is for by calling it the SAVE Trump Act, or the SAVE the GOP Act, or the SAVE the Oligarchs Act.
Ellen, I do feel, that if more people had their hands in the soil, and chose to be in relationship with the seasons and thus the earth, we might be able to combine that and have a healthy way through to brighter days. Her way of using language in messaging is profound. But that is something she has pointed out in an interview with Jessica Craven, that messaging is something we can all learn. Gardening is as well.
I’ve been in the soil too,Ellen! 🌱 We recently had a rare freeze in coastal,central Florida.Lost most of our tomato plants,flowering pollinators and several chrysalises🐛 but the cold-loving Brussels survived as did most of the milkweed.🦋
Some of us are working in the soil. The GOP is in the dirt. Many of us wake and check, "Is he in a grave yet?" Be proud of being in Minnesota. I'm in California but I'll be carrying the new Minnesota flag later in March at NO KINGS DAY. I grew up and lived a long time in Massachusetts, the site of the first revolution. The Minnesota North Star showing us the way, a major site of the second revolution. Good for all of us.
My late father was a big gardener and grew seedlings in the garage to be planted as soon as possible in our suburban MD garden. My late uncle, who lived in the UP in Michigan, was also a gardener and was very jealous when my dad started harvesting tomatoes, cukes, eggplant, peppers, lettuce, etc. soon after he got his plants in the ground!
My way of not worrying about the edicts that come from the White House is to stay busy. I would say that I’m doing a good job. When I worked, I had my day job and a job in community theatre, where there was a gratuity at the end of each run. It was year round.
I am involved in several groups that are working on saving democracy. I also think of things I can do like postcarding and carrying a sign to Arbemarle and Wisconsin saying hands off. Doing anytime phoning.
Quick correction to give credit where credit is due. Democracy Forward was founded by CEO and force of nature, Skye Perryman. The Honorable Norm Eisen is the founder of Democracy Defenders Fund, formerly known as State Democracy Defenders.
Thanks for the calming words about EO to take over 26 election. Now, please comment on story out of AK about the 9 billion $ Toyoto plant construction being halted and moving to Ontario because of Trump's erratic tarrifs decisions. Investment in US is dropping because the economy is unstable.
I believe Robert has been supported by today’s posts by Heather Cox-Richardson & Joyce Vance, my go to daily reads. Here’s an excerpt from the very start of HCR’s post: “It appears the State of the Union was the marker for the White House to launch directly into campaign mode. Much of that mode centers on trying to defang Trump’s weaknesses with attacks on Democrats. And since the 2024 campaign brought us the insistence from the Trump campaign, including Trump and then–vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, that “they’re eating the dogs…they’re eating the cats,” it’s reasonable to assume the next several months are going to be a morass of lies and disinformation.”
Robert is particularly on point with his observation that those of us concerned need to move away from repeating unhelpful journalist or substack writers who seem to cater to our “fear genes.” Instead, let’s build upon what we have been doing to take actions and give voice to how we confront the nonsense of false claims that take us back to 2020/21. Let’s give no quarter to those who undermine confidence in elections while we promote the truth about fair elections so valued in our democracy.
Here’s a link to HCR & Joyce Vance, both good reads. (I imagine most of Robert’s readers read both but if not, I post the links.)
Thanks Robert, we all needed today's column. My husband keeps worrying the election won't happen and I keep quoting your wisdom to him. Having a lawyer explain what cannot be done is so reassuring.
The image of the Visibility Brigade Biker on the Freeport, Maine, bridge with the sign "Defend Democracy on his or her back will inspire me for days. Bike on!
We don't have to wait 8 months for good news. Primary season is here. We can expect trump will get wilder and more erratic as Dems vote in large numbers. "Democratic primary turnout is surging in Texas, according to early voting data | CNN Politics" https://share.google/RDvBHlCuD1U088a4F
God bless Norm Eisen and Marc Elias!
And a little financial support would also go a long way!
https://www.democracydocket.com/
https://democracyforward.org/
I agree and tried to e-mail Marc Elias because when the site insisted that they keep my card details as I was planning to give a donation, I bailed out. The only way is to send him a check which is ridiculous.
I can't afford a Democracy Docket subscription so never knew about the unsafe requirement to keep one's credit information on that website.
I think all Substack subscriptions auto renew annually, but we get notifications in advance, at which time we can ignore them and let the charge go through, or cancel them.
Many thanks to Robert for his unfathomable well of patience to endlessly explain why just because Trump says something doesn’t make it true or inevitable. So much energy is being wasted by our pro-democracy brothers and sisters in needless panic.
This is a matter of movement discipline. We cannot let ourselves be panicked by every terrible thing this regime says. Who benefits when we do that? Pro-tip: It’s not us.
We have a duty to resist the urge to panic, and to stay focused on doing the next right thing. Here’s a small example prompted by Jim’s comment, “God bless, Norm Eisen and Marc Elias.”
When you hear or read yet another message from the regime that threatens to send you into a panic, stop. Instead, ask yourself what Eisen and Elias have to say about it. Check them out. Believe them. They know what they’re talking. Then, share what you learned with the people around you who might be prone to panic.
Movement discipline. This is how we win.
They are doing the real work by staying on the extremist platforms and constantly trying to educate people. I have no idea how they do it.
And the SAVE Act is dead as a doornail effective Thursday night when five GOP Senators said they would nor vote to support either a carve-out of the filibuster rules for voting rights legislation on grounds Democrats would use it to expand voting rights when they take power (they're right) and that they would not vote in favor f the 'talking filibuster" because it would allow Democrats to submit amendments Republicans would have to vote down, forcing GOP senators to vote against popular things. The SAVE Act cannot be acted on in the Senate because of the filibuster and the MAGAt Republicans don't have to power to change the filibuster. It's DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD. And all the Lefty Clickbators can now go to hell where they belomg.
What Tom said. About 15 hours ago I saw Aaron Parnas also report this. When I shared the details, there was an overall genuine positive embrace by others in those chats. Yes the SAVE act has been a 4 to 4.5 alarm fire, that Robert had already had declared nearly DOA. My Senator Tillis has these temporary bouts of sanity as described...
SAVE Act Collapses in Senate
'According to Punchbowl News, Senate Minority Leader John Thune moved to quash efforts to force a “talking filibuster” after at least four Republican senators signaled they would not vote to overcome Democratic amendments. Without their support, the bill has no viable path forward.
Sen. Thom Tillis said he would oppose the motion to proceed despite being a co-sponsor of the legislation. His opposition means Vice President J.D. Vance would need to remain on standby to break potential ties.
Thune has privately expressed frustration that House Speaker Mike Johnson has not done more to temper pressure from hardline House Republicans demanding action. Some Senate Republicans believe Thune allowed debate over the filibuster strategy to linger too long. But the South Dakota Republican leaned into the cautious approach that helped secure his leadership position: wait for consensus before acting.
That consensus ultimately revealed at least four Republican senators unwilling to advance the measure: Tillis, John Curtis, Mitch McConnell, and Lisa Murkowski.
Their resistance effectively guarantees the SAVE Act will stall, exposing fractures within the GOP at a time when party leaders are navigating investigations, election disputes, and a contentious midterm strategy.'
https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/major-update-hillary-clinton-deposition
⬆️"My Senator Tillis has these temporary bouts of sanity as described..."
🤣🤣🤣
When I call and leave messages for his office, I frequently remind him that he is complicit in whatever horrible thing is happening because he voted to confirm Hegseth, Noem, Bondi, RFK Jr. etc. Maybe some of it is (collectively) finally getting through...
I rather liked 'My Senator Tillis has these temporary bouts of sanity as described'.
Both you and Joe English are far kinder than i am regarding him. True, he occasionally does the right thing. But more often he weenies out especially (if memory serves) on cabinet votes.
I swear he’s itching for the presidency and knows he has to have a few decent votes to make himself palatable to the general public.
To be clear, i think you and Joe are grand.
I must have come across as far more conciliatory than I actually am.... He drives me up a wall because he will sometimes talk a good game but he rarely delivers!
Cheryl, you and I are on the same page! I don’t trust him at all.
The heading of your letter, without reading your full message: the first thought that occurs to me is that Trump has already done so many things that he was not supposed to, but he did them anyway because he created his own reality. So what he can’t do he does.
Thank you Mr. Hubbell for including our tiny effort to show the world the soft power of our country. We Phillips Renner Foundation are small but we generate a huge amount of goodwill for our country in the middle of this chaotic destruction.
I am so grateful for the work you do AND for the inspiration your beautiful pictures gave me this morning. Onward!
💙
A friend forwarded an email she received from Hilary Clinton, with her opening statement to the House oversight committee. Here it is:
I wanted to share the opening statement that I read to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. You can find it below in full.
- Hillary
---
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee… as a former Senator, I have respect for legislative oversight and I expect its exercise, as do the American people, to be principled and fearless in pursuit of truth and accountability.
As we all know, however, too often Congressional investigations are partisan political theater, which is an abdication of duty and an insult to the American people.
The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.
As I stated in my sworn declaration on January 13, I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that.
Like every decent person, I have been horrified by what we have learned about their crimes. It’s unfathomable that Mr. Epstein initially got a slap on the wrist in 2008, which allowed him to continue his predatory practices for another decade.
Mr. Chairman, your investigation is supposed to be assessing the federal government’s handling of the investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his crimes. You subpoenaed eight law enforcement officials, all of whom ran the Department of Justice or directed the FBI when Epstein’s crimes were investigated and prosecuted. Of those eight, only one appeared before the Committee. Five of the six former attorneys general were allowed to submit brief statements stating they had no information to provide.
You have held zero public hearings, refused to allow the media to attend them, including today, despite espousing the need for transparency on dozens of occasions.
You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files. And when you did, not a single Republican Member showed up for Les Wexner’s deposition.
This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors, as well as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter. My heart breaks for the survivors. And I am furious on their behalf.
I have spent my life advocating for women and girls. I have worked hard to stop the terrible abuses so many women and girls face here and around the world, including human trafficking, forced labor, and sexual slavery. For too long, these have been largely invisible crimes or not treated as crimes at all. But the survivors are real and they are entitled to better.
In Southeast Asia, I met girls as young as twelve years old who were forced into prostitution and raped repeatedly. Some were dying of AIDS. In Eastern Europe, I met mothers who told me how they lost daughters to trafficking and did not know where to turn. In settings around the world, I met survivors trying to rebuild their lives and help rescue others – with little support from people in power, who too often turned a blind eye and a cold shoulder.
If you are new to this issue, let me tell you: Jeffrey Epstein was a heinous individual, but he’s far from alone. This is not a one-off tabloid sensation or a political scandal. It’s a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll.
My work combatting sex trafficking goes back to my days as First Lady. I worked to pass the first federal legislation against trafficking and was proud that my husband signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which increased support for survivors and gave prosecutors better tools for going after traffickers.
As Secretary of State, I appointed a former federal prosecutor, Lou CdeBaca, to ramp up our global antitrafficking efforts. I oversaw nearly 170 anti-trafficking programs in 70 nations and directly pressed foreign leaders to crack down on trafficking networks in their countries. Every year we published a global report to shine a light on abuses. The findings of those reports triggered sanctions on countries failing to make progress, so they became a powerful diplomatic tool to drive concrete action.
I insisted that the United States be included in the report for the first time ever in 2011. Because we must hold ourselves not just to the same standard as the rest of the world but to an even higher one. Sex trafficking and modern slavery should have no place in America. None.
Infuriatingly, the Trump Administration gutted the Trafficking in Persons Office at the State Department, cutting more than 70 percent of the career civil and foreign service experts who worked so hard to prevent trafficking crimes. The annual trafficking report, required by law, was delayed for months. The message from the Trump Administration to the American people and the world could not be clearer: combatting human trafficking is no longer an American priority under the Trump White House.
That is a tragedy. It’s a scandal. It deserves vigorous investigation and oversight.
A committee endeavoring to stopping human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008.
A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files.
It would ensure that the lawful redactions of those files protected the victims and survivors, not powerful men and political allies.
It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes.
It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the “wildest party” on Epstein’s island.
It would demand testimony from prosecutors in Florida and New York about why they gave Epstein a sweetheart deal and chose not to pursue others who may have been implicated.
It would demand that Secretary Rubio and Attorney General Bondi testify about why this administration is abandoning survivors and playing into the hands of traffickers.
It would seek out officers on the front lines of this fight and ask them what support they need.
It would put forth legislation to provide more resources and force this administration to act.
But that’s not happening.
Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump’s actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers.
If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein’s trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.
If the majority was serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. There is too much that needs to be done.
What is being held back? Who is being protected? And why the cover-up?
My challenge to you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself throughout my long service to this nation. How to be worthy of the trust the American people have given you. They expect statesmanship, not gamesmanship. Leading, not grandstanding. They expect you to use your power to get to the truth and to do more to help survivors of Epstein’s crimes as well as the millions more who are victims of sex trafficking.
Onward Together
PO Box 5256
New York, NY 10185
United States
This is very helpful. Trying to read it on social media was difficult for my old eyes!!!
Thank you! I hadn't seen her statement until now. Hilary Clinton is a remarkable woman and she would have been a GREAT POTUS.
It’s so much easier to read, isn’t it! ☺️
HRC would've made a great President. I cannot believe that they had her testify for 6hrs, just so they could get performance art and give bread and circus to their base. Meanwhile, they had to delay it for 30min because Boebert leaked a photo in a hearing that Republicans refused to air publicly, and when no Republican had attended the closed door session last week with Leslie Wexner the person who helped make Epstein all his money as the Victoria Secrets CEO. Clinton isn't mentioned in the files as knowing, meeting or being involved in anyway. They've been making this woman answer for Bill for the last 45 years of her life.
CLINTON. There's no fool like an old fool. James Comer fits the bill, even if he's actually young enough to know better. He just mounted a kabuki theater show to enable some of the hard right cable shows to have content that he knows Trump & Miller will devour.
Good news: Comer (KY-1) doesn't have to be re-elected. For that matter, neither does Gym Jordan (OH-4). I hope the good voters of Kentucky and Ohio can be offered better alternatives, like the local dog catcher.
Out of curiosity I just googled KY-1. What a gerrymandering beauty! So no surprise there. And Comer carried the district with 74,7%, getting 252.000 votes, his democratic opponent got 85.000.
According to Wikipedia the district has 554.000 registered voters, 279.000 Republicans and 222.000 Democrats. Something's wrong.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party does a pretty poor job of supporting candidates in races they are judged unlikely to win. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Quite often someone running for a US house seat will have previous experience in the state legislature. Even with that, it is an uphill battle to unseat an incumbent!
This is not the case with Comer's opponents. The Democrat running against Comer in November previously lost a primary for a KY house district, but his opponents in 2020, 2022, and 2024 no prior experience per Ballotpedia:
https://ballotpedia.org/James_Comer_Jr.
Without money or name recognition, it's not surprising they all lost badly.
I still find it surprising that so many democrats (with a small d) can't be bothered to show up and vote for the Democratic candidate, even without having been inundated with robocalls and endless TV commercials. Name recognition is nice, but in these trying times any individual with a pulse and a (D) behind her or his name should merit a vote.
Something = FOX News fabulists
The usual overflowing treasure chest of helpful information. Thank you.
I have a question for tomorrow's discussion - will add it.
The photo of the dental clinic gets to me -here we have good/accessible dental care and may take it for granted. But I tell you, those doing the pro-bono work are changing lives. Goes to show that we can all do something to make the world a better place, even if it is "just" a tiny corner of it.
Edit: Hillary's opening statement was brilliant as were her comments after the 6-hour interrogation. When I hear her and remember her 2016 campaign, it is beyond me why she was not voted in as POTUS!
Yup. I can imagine a world where Hillary was elected. And Trump convicted and jailed.
I never "liked" the Clintons. Bill disgraced himself and the nation. Monica and NAFTA (with no safeguards for workers). They came across as arrogant. It is an awful thing to say, but part of why she lost was her public persona. If her private warmth had been allowed to be on stage...
But...8 years of President Hillary Clinton would have been potentially some of the most productive and important years in our history. The Earth would have been respected. Russia would have been properly challenged. Healthcare and women's rights would have been front and center. The Supreme Court wouldn't be dominated by corrupt oligarch puppets.
America's "soft power" would have grown alongside enhanced alliances with democracies around the world.
You don't have to like someone to respect their overall value. Hillary's statement to the Comer committee was a demonstration of her intellect and values. Her understanding of justice and fairness. And her courage. Kudos.
I also read her book "It Takes a Village" a long time ago and was very impressed with her envisioning and thinking. She is very forward thinking. I suspect her critics did not read this book...
Love your 'The usual overflowing treasure chest of helpful information.' descriptor.
Thank you!
Robert, I want to thank you for remaining clear headed, logical and educated about all of this madness. Of all the people I read you have remained the even and steady hand of this ship in a raging storm. Thank you. I, for one, am deeply grateful to you for all that you are doing.
In early January I commented somewhere about the importance of States Attorneys General as being a potential bulwark against the Paramount takeover of WB. I pointed to another huge win re a merger (which I have now since forgotten) that was because of these AG's. So the final story has not been written of the crushing of Comedy Central and John Oliver (among other outcomes).
After Netflix pulled out yesterday, there were two main narratives, the sky is falling, or Netflix made a brilliant move and will feast later due to the debt that eat Paramount alive. Some credited Netflix for not firing Susan Rice from their Board. Yes others noted the meeting of the Netflix CEO with Trump (which they assume was why Netflix refused to up their offer).
“Paramount/Warner Bros. is not a done deal,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Thursday. “These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny — the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review.”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/california-attorney-general-paramount-warner-bros-merger-1236516956/
I researched the specifics a bit more (via BlueSky and the dreaded Threads).
Just pointing out...
1. Under the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act, these Attorneys General can sue in federal court to block a merger, regardless of the DOJ.
2. CA also has its own state-level antitrust law, the Cartwright Act. It's broader than federal law in many ways.
3. CA also just passed a law requiring state-based companies to file merger also with the state AG at the same time they file with the feds.
4. To appease gov't agencies, Paramount should be forced to divest certain assets to satisfy the statutes and competition rules.
5. Which assets I will not predict, but I do believe this merger will not be rubber stamped!
I am wondering whether it would be useful for Dems to clarify what the SAVE Act is for by calling it the SAVE Trump Act, or the SAVE the GOP Act, or the SAVE the Oligarchs Act.
Messaging expert Anat Shankar-Osorio suggests referring to SAVE as the Voter Elimination Act.
I also recall Marc Elias suggesting we refer to Republicans as Vote Suppressors.
https://substack.com/@anatosaurus/note/c-218736168?r=fqsxl&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Oh that's good (the Voter Elimination Act). I guess that's why she does messaging for a living while I garden in my retirment.
Ellen, I do feel, that if more people had their hands in the soil, and chose to be in relationship with the seasons and thus the earth, we might be able to combine that and have a healthy way through to brighter days. Her way of using language in messaging is profound. But that is something she has pointed out in an interview with Jessica Craven, that messaging is something we can all learn. Gardening is as well.
Enjoy your garden time!
I’ve been in the soil too,Ellen! 🌱 We recently had a rare freeze in coastal,central Florida.Lost most of our tomato plants,flowering pollinators and several chrysalises🐛 but the cold-loving Brussels survived as did most of the milkweed.🦋
Feeling jealous, Kathy. I'm in Minnesota so I am at the "gazing at seed catalogs, drawing up garden plans and starting indoor plants" phase.
Some of us are working in the soil. The GOP is in the dirt. Many of us wake and check, "Is he in a grave yet?" Be proud of being in Minnesota. I'm in California but I'll be carrying the new Minnesota flag later in March at NO KINGS DAY. I grew up and lived a long time in Massachusetts, the site of the first revolution. The Minnesota North Star showing us the way, a major site of the second revolution. Good for all of us.
My late father was a big gardener and grew seedlings in the garage to be planted as soon as possible in our suburban MD garden. My late uncle, who lived in the UP in Michigan, was also a gardener and was very jealous when my dad started harvesting tomatoes, cukes, eggplant, peppers, lettuce, etc. soon after he got his plants in the ground!
Hi Everybody,
My way of not worrying about the edicts that come from the White House is to stay busy. I would say that I’m doing a good job. When I worked, I had my day job and a job in community theatre, where there was a gratuity at the end of each run. It was year round.
I am involved in several groups that are working on saving democracy. I also think of things I can do like postcarding and carrying a sign to Arbemarle and Wisconsin saying hands off. Doing anytime phoning.
Thank you! :-)
Quick correction to give credit where credit is due. Democracy Forward was founded by CEO and force of nature, Skye Perryman. The Honorable Norm Eisen is the founder of Democracy Defenders Fund, formerly known as State Democracy Defenders.
Thanks for the calming words about EO to take over 26 election. Now, please comment on story out of AK about the 9 billion $ Toyoto plant construction being halted and moving to Ontario because of Trump's erratic tarrifs decisions. Investment in US is dropping because the economy is unstable.
There are stories in social media about Toyota pulling out of Alabama and moving to Canada. They seem to be fake.
I believe Robert has been supported by today’s posts by Heather Cox-Richardson & Joyce Vance, my go to daily reads. Here’s an excerpt from the very start of HCR’s post: “It appears the State of the Union was the marker for the White House to launch directly into campaign mode. Much of that mode centers on trying to defang Trump’s weaknesses with attacks on Democrats. And since the 2024 campaign brought us the insistence from the Trump campaign, including Trump and then–vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, that “they’re eating the dogs…they’re eating the cats,” it’s reasonable to assume the next several months are going to be a morass of lies and disinformation.”
Robert is particularly on point with his observation that those of us concerned need to move away from repeating unhelpful journalist or substack writers who seem to cater to our “fear genes.” Instead, let’s build upon what we have been doing to take actions and give voice to how we confront the nonsense of false claims that take us back to 2020/21. Let’s give no quarter to those who undermine confidence in elections while we promote the truth about fair elections so valued in our democracy.
Here’s a link to HCR & Joyce Vance, both good reads. (I imagine most of Robert’s readers read both but if not, I post the links.)
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-26-2026?r=39h2h&utm_medium=ios
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/the-save-act-is-dead-fulton-county?r=39h2h&utm_medium=ios
Thanks Robert, we all needed today's column. My husband keeps worrying the election won't happen and I keep quoting your wisdom to him. Having a lawyer explain what cannot be done is so reassuring.
The image of the Visibility Brigade Biker on the Freeport, Maine, bridge with the sign "Defend Democracy on his or her back will inspire me for days. Bike on!
We don't have to wait 8 months for good news. Primary season is here. We can expect trump will get wilder and more erratic as Dems vote in large numbers. "Democratic primary turnout is surging in Texas, according to early voting data | CNN Politics" https://share.google/RDvBHlCuD1U088a4F