A Quick Note on Enigmas
The Wall Street Journal drops a bomb.
So, I had a different Jackal planned for today and it wasn’t even related to Jeffrey Epstein. But I guess it’ll have to wait, because folks were busy last night.
After I wrote the last Jackal, I sort of thought it would be the end of the Epstein fiasco. In fact, after seeing more of the MAGA responses to the Epstein story, I became even more sure of it. Trump’s supporters were already beginning to justify Trump’s association with Epstein in their heads, by either claiming there was a bigger plan or that Epstein was “intelligence,” and the files couldn’t be released (more on this later).
But then the Wall Street Journal went H.A.M. I am ready to get into it, but I do want to give a disclaimer here: This story is gross and the subject matter of Epstein in general is nauseating. I’ll get into this more below, but a topic of this Jackal will be older men fantasizing about sleeping with underage girls. So, fair warning that this is a tough read.
This story is crazy.
If you haven’t read it yet (which is understandable, because it’s paywalled),1 it details a book filled with notes to Jeffrey Epstein in celebration of his 50th birthday. The notes were written by his friends, which included Donald Trump.
For his “tribute,” Trump drew a picture of a naked woman, breasts and all, with his signature appearing on the woman’s body where pubic hair would normally show up (ick). Inside the woman’s body was type-written text, which said:
Voice Over: “There must be more to life than having
everything.”
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the
last time I saw you.
Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday
— and may every day be another wonderful secret.
We can get into the contents of this letter later, but I do think it’s important to get the easy stuff out of the way first:
The letter is 100% real.
Trump and his supporters have called it a fake, but that is nothing more than MAGA cope. The letter is real, reporters from the Wall Street Journal saw it, and then they confirmed its authenticity. They got a copy of the birthday book and were able to look at it themselves.
The Wall Street Journal is not publishing this story - effectively accusing the sitting president of associating with a known pedophile - without being absolutely sure of its contents. I think even beyond what’s available in the Journal’s story (which suggests a high level of sourcing), you have to know that their editors are not signing off on this without being absolutely sure.
Trump has already threatened to sue the Journal for defamation. And, while any defamation suit would be hard for Trump to win,2 they are not opening themselves up to that litigation if even a shadow of a doubt remains (and they knew it was coming).
The Journal even took the time to verify the contents of the book with other people in it, like Alan Dershowitz and Bill Clinton. None of them denied that their content was in the book or said that it was a fake. So, the book is real.
Trump’s denials are a tell.
In his statement to the Journal, Trump said,
“This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal Story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
I have noticed something about Trump over the past few years decade:
He is dumb. “I never wrote a picture in my life?” My toddler has a better grasp on English.
When he is confronted with something embarrassing he goes into a panic. You can hear it there in his voice: “This is fake. It’s not me. I never wrote a picture in my life.”
First off, the picture thing is a total lie:
Trump, like a lot of other Boomers, is a doodler. Honestly, it’s a lost art. But Trump’s obvious lie is also a tell: When he panics, he throws everything he can at the wall to see what sticks.
So, it’s definitely him, but I have a lot of other questions too.
How did the Journal get it?
This is where experienced Journalism™ reading skills come in super handy. The Journal’s reporters said this:
Pages from the leather-bound album—assembled before Epstein was first arrested in 2006—are among the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein and Maxwell years ago, according to people who have reviewed the pages. It’s unclear if any of the pages are part of the Trump administration’s recent review.
The Journal knows when the book was assembled, so they spoke to someone who was very familiar with it.
They know it’s something the Justice Department has had, but say it’s “unclear” if the book is currently being looked at by the Trump Administration.
That says to me that someone within DOJ had this book - maybe related to the investigation of Epstein that ended with his death in 2019 - and let the Journal have a look. It doesn’t sound like it’s anyone currently within the Trump Administration, otherwise they would know if Pam Bondi was looking to release it.
Another thing that stood out to me:
Justice Department officials didn’t respond to requests for comment or address questions about whether the Trump page and other pages of the birthday album were part of the agency’s recent documents review. The FBI declined to comment.
Notice how it’s “Justice Department officials” and not, “The Justice Department.” If the Journal has a source within DOJ and said, “The DOJ did not respond to us,” that would be a lie. But, if they contacted “Justice Department officials,” and they didn’t say anything, that could literally be true. To me, that is another hint that someone within DOJ had the book.
J.D. Vance went to meet with the Murdochs last month.
The Associated Press reported that J.D. Vance stopped in Montana to have a meeting with the Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, who own the Journal (and Fox News).
I wonder if Vance was trying to get out ahead of this and convince them to shut the story down. Trump himself said he called Murdoch to try and kill the story, so kudos to the Journal for publishing even after receiving threats.
OK, enough already. What does that creepy poem mean?
I think this is where people are going to speculate, but everyone I have spoken to has said the same thing: “Oh, they’re 100% talking about being into underage girls.”
I just don’t know what other meaning “Enigmas never age,” could have in a letter to JEFFREY FREAKING EPSTEIN. My mind immediately went to that scene from Dazed and Confused:
These weird exchanges were also something Epstein engaged in a lot with his friends. We now have emails between him and former Barclays CEO Jes Staley, and they spoke in a code not dissimilar from the one seen in Trump’s letter:
Obviously gross, but Trump’s letter fits a communication style used by Epstein with others. I’m really open to other explanations here, but the more I read the letter the harder it is for me to get away from the obvious explanation: Trump and Epstein were talking about young girls. What other enigmas could they be talking about?3
There is another thing that I haven’t mentioned in the Jackal, because its sourcing is questionable, but Trump and Epstein were named in a lawsuit years ago by a woman alleging she was raped by them when she was 13. That lawsuit was dropped, but with all this new information hitting, I don’t think we can really rule anything out.
OK, this will finally end Trump’s hold on the GOP.
I think you know the answer to this: It absolutely will not have any substantive effect. Eventually, MAGA and the GOP will move on. There may be additional articles coming out about Trump’s connection Epstein, but once Trump settles on an accepted defense, the GOP will rally to him and begin repeating that defense.
For example, here was Speaker Mike Johnson this morning:
Suffice it to say, this is a particularly egregious lie; Trump’s approval rating is hovering around 42%, which is the second-lowest in history at this point in a presidency (he was slightly lower in his first term, so he’s really only competing against himself). But it shows how willing Johnson is to lie with abandon.
I have already seen the GOP rallying to a talking point: Epstein was an intelligence officer and that’s why Trump can’t release the files. Once Trump himself gets wind of this excuse, I would bet money that he repeats it and MAGA shuts up.
This conveniently lets Trump off the hook for not releasing the Epstein “files,” because it allows MAGA to say it’s actually out of his hands. But the story makes no sense for several reasons:
Why hasn’t Trump just said that already? It would get his own supporters off his back. Maybe he will say it eventually, but the fact that he didn’t lead with that excuse tells you it’s fake.
If Epstein was with intelligence, how did he trick all these powerful, former heads of state? Among Esptein’s clients were Prince Andrew, Ehud Barak, and Bill Clinton, all leaders in their own countries with access to high levels of secret information. Clinton is probably still receiving intelligence briefings to this day. So, Epstein was with intelligence but none of these guys knew, even though they had access to the very information that would tell them Epstein was a spy?! Or, they knew he was a spy and went on his plane anyway?
Why hasn’t Ghislaine Maxwell ever raised this as a defense? Andrew McCarthy, of all people, makes this point4 in National Review:
This is all relevant because, if Maxwell had reason to believe Epstein was an intelligence asset, she could have used that to try to derail her prosecution. This process is known as “graymail” (a play on blackmail): Defendants claim that they cannot mount their defense (which the Constitution guarantees them the right to do if the defense is legally viable) unless they are permitted to reveal classified information that is in the possession of the government. Very often, if there is pertinent classified information, it would not necessarily be exculpatory, but the defense lawyers know the government won’t want to reveal it because it could result in disclosure of vital secrets or expose methods and sources of intelligence.5
Still, I would bet on this being where MAGA settles. The argument is already being embraced by Steve Bannon, Candace Owens, and Tucker Carlson. Tucker is going to say whatever RT tells him to, but Owens is currently fighting with Bannon (and a host of others) for dominance of the alt-right/anti-Semite media sphere. So, anything that appears anti-Israel is going to make her pounce. I bet it will filter out from there and become the standard argument amongst more “normie” MAGA types.
Overall, the whole thing is gross. My expectations are subterranean at this point, but the letter was still pretty shocking to me.
Last time I left you with a kicker. I don’t really have one this time. I’ll just say this: This entire new round of stories about Trump and Epstein happened because Elon got mad and tweeted a few weeks ago.
So, just picture this: On Earth 2, Joe Biden appointed Mark Zuckerberg to do a deep dive into the Federal government and asked him to find all the different ways it was running inefficiently. He has full access to everything, sometimes even getting a security clearance that he shouldn’t have. But instead of Zuckerberg succeeding, he has a falling out with Biden and leaves the Administration.
As he leaves, he expresses his frustrations and drops a bombshell: “Joe Biden is in the Epstein files and that’s why they haven’t been released.”
A Biden loyalist - with full access to classified information - turned on him and said he was connected to Epstein? If that had happened here, it would fuel conspiracy theories about Biden for the next 50 years. Just that alone. But when you look at Epstein, Trump is all over him - top to bottom - and his base has said nothing, up until now.
The GOP has already voted to block the release of the Epstein files multiple times. There is friction between Trump and the base right now, but eventually they are all going to fall in line behind Trump.
In August, the Jackal takes a long break. I’ll try to get something to you guys, but I will be traveling next week so don’t expect anything (unless we get another Epstein story).
If you’d really like to read it and can’t, message me. I will say, reporting like this is when the Wall Street Journal validates its price tag.
Trump would have to prove “actual malice” on the part of the Journal, because he is a public figure. It is a high bar to jump over.
I have heard from other people that enigmas is an anagram for gamines, which is a French word meaning “young girls.” It feels like a stretch, but it was used in modeling circles around the time Epstein was at his peak.
He adds on to this Rich Lowry piece, which is also good (for National Review).
Again, Maxwell has a case before the Supreme Court where she will argue that Epstein’s “sweetheart deal” from the 2000s still applies to her. The language in the agreement basically says that Epstein and any of his associates are immune to further prosecution related to his crimes. Maxwell is arguing that that language applies to all crimes she engaged in and not just the ones related to Epstein’s indictment. If you think her argument sounds crazy, there are a lot of defense attorneys who say she has a point.