Losing My Perspicacity, November 14, 2025

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Good morning and Happy Friday! Thanks for starting your day with me.

As expected, the revelations from Jeffrey Epstein’s emails continued to dominate the headlines yesterday, even as the longest government shutdown in history came to a close and the Department of Justice pivoted from fighting with SNAP beneficiaries to fighting with California (more on that in a minute).

Yesterday was also a banner day for bad takes on the internet, starting with this incredible “it’s not pedophilia, it’s ephebophilia” moment from Megyn Kelly.

Great work carrying water for the creepy men of the world, Megyn. Whatever possessed her to say this, I can’t imagine. But, like Trump, Megyn clearly has a very good brain.

We also got this gut-churning story (with a very bad headline) regarding the 17-year-old Matt Gaetz allegedly sexually abused (Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing). I’ll just hit the lowlights for you:

But two of the worst takes on social media yesterday (Kelly’s take notwithstanding — it’s in a league of its own) came from reporters defending the NYT for having bombshell info about Donald Trump’s relationship with Epstein and doing absolutely nothing with it, especially after their, shall we say… “dogged” reporting on Hillary Clinton’s emails and extremely shoddy reporting on trans kids.

First, there was this mess from NYT columnist Elizabeth Spiers:

But that wasn’t even the worst journalism take of the day. This was:

Flitter goes on to say that not every bit of info a newwroom receives is “reportable,” and then attempts to school us all on journalism, despite a significant amount of the criticism of the NYT’s handling of Epstein coming from other reporters.

So, let’s talk about what’s reportable and what gets reported. Despite what the right thinks, legitimate reporters can’t just put out whatever they want. Particularly when someone is being accused of a crime, there has to be a source, corroboration of the source — and that’s before a story even gets out of a newsroom. Then the lawyers get involved, and everyone has a discussion about covering all the bases and making sure any legal exposure is minimized. It can take weeks, months, or even years for really big stories to get reported. The movie She Said, which ironically focuses on the NYT’s reporting on Harvey Weinstein, does a good job of illustrating the investigative process — at least as I’m familiar with it.

I told you all a few weeks ago that, over at Deadspin, another reporter and I had information about the NBA gambling scandal back in 2022. We did so much research, and we knew we were right, but then one of our sources retracted his entire story, and we didn’t have the resources to chase the whole thing down, even though I continued to pull at threads for months. Another time, I watched USA Today break a story that I’d been working on for six weeks, all because they were able to send lawyers to another state to argue for a FOIA request, and we weren’t. That kind of thing rips your heart out, but it happens. There’s a reason the big guys generally get the big stories.

One of the few outlets that does have the resources to chase down every lead, though, is The New York Times. When Landon Thomas Jr., the reporter whose emails appeared in the trove of documents released by House Democrats, was fired by the Times for soliciting charitable donations from Epstein in 2017, wouldn’t he have left his work emails behind? (We can’t tell for certain from the emails in question if he used his work or personal email, but the signature line certainly suggests it was.) Did the Times ask Thomas to turn over all his correspondence with Epstein? Wouldn’t a paper have to do that to make sure there weren’t any other ethical lapses? If I had a reporter who was cozying up to a figure like Epstein, I’d sure as hell want to know what else they talked about, wouldn’t you?

The argument isn’t so much that the brass at the Times knew what Epstein had said to Thomas, but that they should have known. When Trump claimed he had never been to Epstein’s home, and Epstein had told Thomas differently, where was the story? There seems to have been enough there to at least report on Epstein’s emails contradicting Trump’s claims about when their relationship ended and Ghislaine Maxwell’s assurances to Trump’s personal lawyer. At the very least, you’ve got a jumping off point — you know what Epstein said, so start looking for proof.

Epstein was telling Thomas exactly where to look and who to talk to:

Yes, not every tip reporters get is actionable, but the Times actually has the manpower to make tips actionable, especially when the story is sitting in the inbox of one of their reporters. And if Thomas never told his editors about the things Epstein said to him, then the NYT has an even bigger problem on its hands: The judgment of the people they hire.

I often feel that those who work in the hallowed halls of our most legendary news outlets exist in a weird bubble — one that causes them to begin missing the forest for the trees. Could the Times prove that Trump took part in abusing trafficked teenagers with Epstein? Maybe not. Could they report that some of Trump’s claims were refuted in emails between one of their reporters and Epstein? Absolutely. I don’t know what kinds of promises Thomas made to Epstein, if any, but once Epstein passed away, I believe the public’s interest in knowing that a candidate for POTUS may have been lying about his relationship with a convicted sex offender outweighed whatever confidentiality agreement Thomas and Epstein may have had.

Anyway… hire more people from other parts of the country, vaunted East Coast outlets. We’re more normal.

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Newsletters without the noise

Today: Surprise! ICE says some video has been “destroyed;” Google sides with the fascists; The DOJ pivots from fighting SNAP to fighting Gavin Newsom; and The High Note.

Here we go.

ICE says video evidence “irretrievably destroyed”

People think it’s boring to sit around and pull through court filings all day, which it generally is. Except sometimes you come across something like this buried in a routine joint status report:

Why is video during that time important? Well, those dates coincide with CBP head Greg Bovino ramping up Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. And while the video sought by Plaintiffs is of the inside of the Broadview ICE facility, it’s suspicious that it’s that specific week that’s not producible. Plaintiffs are hiring an IT expert to try to retrieve it, but this is part of a troubling trend by DHS of not producing requested video discovery, at least not without a fight.

In Chicago Headline Club v. Noem, Plaintiffs have gone to Judge Ellis on more than one occasion to claim that Defendants weren’t turning over bodycam footage, and they reiterated that complaint in a Notice of Violation filed yesterday.

“The government had not provided Plaintiffs with any reports or footage of this incident” is becoming a familiar refrain in cases involving ICE and CBP. In that same case, a government lawyer today tried to get until January 9 to “review” sealed exhibits before releasing them to the public.

Officials hiding information from the public isn’t exactly the mark of a healthy democracy, but no one has accused the government of bad faith… yet. In my experience, prisons of all kinds are generally poorly maintained, and things often go without repair. And, as we’ve seen, ICE isn’t hiring the best and brightest. Is it plausible that this was just a fuck up? Yes. Is there also plenty of reason for suspicion by the American people? Also yes. We’ll see what Judge Gettleman has to say about during a status hearing next week.

Google has chosen a side, and it’s not yours

Google is siding with ICE and CBP in the battle for America’s soul.

Probably worth mentioning that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, gets $17.9 billion in tax cuts under Trump’s Big, Ugly Bill. What a weird coinky-dink.

Now that SNAP is flowing again, the DOJ is fighting with California

In a rare bit of good news that I got to report today, the USDA has filed notices in both the Boston and Rhode Island SNAP cases that it has directed the states to fund SNAP benefits at 100 percent and that the agency will not hold states liable for any processing or timeliness issues in November. That’s great news for those who rely on SNAP, though the wounds Trump inflicted on the most vulnerable in our society won’t soon heal, nor will the sense of betrayal many have when it comes to the Senate Democrats who caved.

But now that they can’t terrorize the food-insecure anymore, the Department of Justice has pivoted to challenging the will of California voters. The DOJ has now intervened in a case brought by California Republicans over Prop 50, and the federal government is now seeking to enjoin California from putting the new districting map into place.

The DOJ and California Republicans have asked the Ninth Circuit to get involved in order to expedite a decision ahead of the December 5, 2025, start of the congressional campaign season.

The High Note

Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.

Some good news from my town! Our city council unanimously voted to prohibit ICE from using city property in immigration enforcement. It was much-needed good news after weeks of ICE brutalizing our Latino community.

Finally, this had me in tears.

And Starbucks workers are on strike, so don’t cross the picket line!

Hey, survive and advance out there today, kids. Don’t let the bastards get you down.

Follow Julie on Bluesky and Instagram so she can get another book contract.