Donald Trump’s Justice Department has reportedly fired a prosecutor who went after Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell—without saying why.

THE DETAILS: NBC News reports the DOJ yesterday fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, but won’t say why.

But why? Is it part of the cover-up to bury the Epstein story?

ZOOM OUT: This is the story that just won’t die—and Trump has reached his breaking point. The firing of Comey comes after Trump lashed out at Republicans on Wednesday morning, dismissing the case as a "hoax" and turning on his own base.

In a screed on Truth Social and to reporters, Trump said:

WHY IT MATTERS: Trump built a movement around fighting a corrupt elite—and many of his followers believed Epstein’s death was part of that rot. Now Trump says they’re “stupid” for caring.

BIG PICTURE: But despite Trump’s tantrum and Comey’s firing, this story isn’t going away. As Politico described this morning:

Even one of his most ardent supporters, the MAGA nut job Laura Loomer, says this isn’t going away—and it could consume the Trump presidency.

THE BIG PICTURE: As usual, Trump is turning on anyone who challenges him — even his most fervent supporters. The same man who once fed wild conspiracies is now calling them “bull****.”

And the MAGA base? They’re learning the hard way that Trump’s loyalty only flows one direction.

Overnight, the Senate narrowly passed Trump’s sweeping $9 billion budget rollback, slashing funds for public broadcasting, global health, and disaster relief. Two Republicans broke ranks, warning of long-term fallout—but the bill still passed, giving Trump a major austerity win. Because the Senate made changes, it now heads back to the House for final approval. Full story from Politico.

A new Economist/YouGov poll shows 55% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance—his worst numbers since starting his second term. Support among Democrats and independents continues to plummet, while only MAGA-aligned Republicans maintain near-total loyalty. The shift suggests growing national fatigue, even as Trump tightens his grip on the GOP base—at least before the Epstein backlash fully hits. Full story from The Hill.

A Trump administration plan to impose a two-year limit on federal housing aid could force 1.4 million of the nation’s lowest-income families out of their homes, a new NYU study finds. Framed as a fix for “waste,” the policy would gut a core part of HUD’s mission and mostly affect working families with kids—like single moms who say the change would leave them homeless. Experts warn it could upend lives, overwhelm shelters, and deter landlords from participating in voucher programs. Full story from the AP.

NYC mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani met with progressive leaders Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in D.C. this week, fresh off his upset victory over Andrew Cuomo. While Mamdani got a warm welcome from the party’s left flank, top Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are still withholding their support—highlighting a growing rift between the party’s establishment and its insurgent socialist wing. Full story from USA Today.

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Elon Musk didn’t spend all that money on Donald Trump for nothing. Last week, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok went full-on Nazi—and still got a massive Pentagon contract anyway.

WHAT HAPPENED: Earlier this month, Musk, a literal fascist, told his team to make Grok “less woke”—pushing the bot further into his far-right vision for tech.

By July 10, Musk’s company, xAI, had deleted the posts and issued a vague apology. The company blamed Grok’s behavior on an internal “alter ego” feature—but failed to explain why that feature existed in the first place.

BUT THEN: Despite the meltdown, the U.S. Department of Defense announced this week that xAI had been awarded a contract worth up to $200 million to build AI tools for the military.

WHY IT MATTERS: This contract is less about AI and more about power.

But thanks to his political donations, government ties, and tech empire, he’s still getting rewarded.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Elon Musk ordered Grok to drop its filters. It went Nazi. Instead of consequences, he got $200 million from the U.S. government.

Yesterday we asked, why aren't the Epstein files being released? You overwhelmingly believe they’re hiding something.

Accumil thinks there are legitimate concerns. “There are legitimate concerns involving the issues that haven't been released to the public. However, if Mr. President were actually on the list, then government cabinet members would be resigning and have no affiliation with him. I'm not a supporter of the Commander in Mischief, but this is a common move Republicans perform with all constituents.”

Sfaverau made a good point: “Prominent names are in the files, including Trump. If people were innocent, they'd want this known!”

Our friend Chyp put it succinctly: “There is always a reason why something is happening or not happening. If there was nothing to hide the files would already be in the public domain. They would want to do this as soon as possible to bring an end to the controversy once and for all. They want this to go away and that would make it go away quickly, but they can’t for one reason and one reason only, he’s on the list.”

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