Good evening everyone. It has been an extraordinarily busy news day. We have new developments from inside the Bill Clinton deposition that raise additional questions about President Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. We have Trump claiming he is entitled to a third term in office. We have the administration cutting off Anthropic after the company refused to allow its AI tools to be used for mass surveillance, and much more.
This afternoon I also sat down with Governor Gavin Newsom to discuss his new book, the state of the union, the major Warner Bros. Paramount merger, and the role of big money, including AIPAC and big oil, in politics. As a reminder, I am interviewing all potential 2028 candidates. No interview is an endorsement of any candidacy or individual.
We learned this afternoon that the deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. has officially been signed. That brings us one step closer to a White House aligned group exerting control over CBS and CNN. As an independent journalist, that is deeply concerning.
Here is what I can promise you. I will never be bought out by billionaires, no matter how hard they try. I will never trade my independence for White House access or favor. I report the truth, and I report to you. No one else.
I cannot do this alone. Subscriptions are not just support. They are fuel. They allow us to keep investigating, keep questioning, and keep pushing forward long after the headlines change. Your support directly powers the reporting we will continue to deliver for the rest of this year and beyond.
Here’s the news:
- Former President Bill Clinton testified behind closed doors before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein, saying he “saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong,” acknowledging he knew and traveled with Epstein but denying any knowledge of criminal activity or visits to Epstein’s island, while defending his wife Hillary Clinton, disputing claims about President Trump’s involvement, and marking the first time in more than 40 years that a sitting or former president has testified before Congress. According to sources in the room, Clinton answered every question asked of him.
- House Oversight Committee Democrats said Bill Clinton did not exonerate Donald Trump in his deposition, arguing he confirmed Trump and Jeffrey Epstein had a close relationship, that Trump described having “great times” with Epstein, and calling for the immediate release of the full, unedited transcript.
- Congressman Maxwell Frost noted that former President Clinton raised questions about Trumps’ falling out with Epstein:
- Rep. Frost questioned Donald Trump’s claim that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is a “very innocent guy,” arguing that if Trump has repeatedly said he knew nothing about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, it is unclear how he could vouch for Lutnick’s innocence.
- Trump again claimed today: “I don't know anything about the Epstein files. I've been fully exonerated.” That is not true.
- Epstein survivors have made clear they have not exonerated him.
- Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said she has no reason to believe Bill Clinton has been “hiding the ball on anything” and described him as “pretty transparent,” prompting critics to argue that longstanding Republican suspicions about Clinton are weakening as scrutiny increasingly focuses on Donald Trump’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Luna stated she believes Jeffrey Epstein was operating as an intelligence asset running a honeypot scheme and that both President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton were targets of that operation.
- House Oversight Democrats say they have enough votes to subpoena Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify about his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after reports contradicted Lutnick’s claim that he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005.
- Reminder: In 2002, it appears as though Melania Trump was directly communicating with Ghislaine Maxwell via email. Based upon a review thus far, Secretary Clinton did not have emails with Maxwell.
- Trump today asserted that he is “entitled” to a third term in office. He is wrong.
- Trump calls for federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology” after the company said they would not allow their AI to be used for autonomous killing or domestic surveillance.
- Warner Bros Discovery has agreed to a $110 billion acquisition by Paramount Skydance after Netflix declined to match Paramount’s $31-per-share offer, ending a bidding war and triggering a $2.8 billion termination payment to Netflix; the deal, which includes roughly $29 billion in debt, would combine major film and streaming assets such as HBO Max and Paramount+, is expected to face regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. but likely limited hurdles in the EU, and has raised concerns among lawmakers and theater operators about consolidation, consumer prices, and jobs.
- President Donald Trump said a recent Supreme Court decision on tariffs could result in hundreds of billions of dollars being returned to foreign countries and companies he claims have been “ripping off” the United States, and publicly questioned whether a rehearing or readjudication of the case is possible. (It is not).
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Pentagon to cut ties with Harvard and review graduate programs at Ivy League and other elite universities for active-duty service members, potentially barring tuition assistance at dozens of top schools over concerns about alleged bias and foreign influence, a move that has created confusion within the military and drawn criticism that it could limit officers’ access to advanced education.
- According to NBC, Radiohead is demanding that the Trump administration remove an ICE promotional video that used their 1997 song “Let Down” from OK Computer without permission, calling it propaganda tied to the administration’s immigration crackdown and telling officials to take it down, while DHS and ICE have not yet responded; the dispute follows similar clashes between the administration and other artists over the use of their music in immigration-related content.
- The Trump Justice Department announced a new indictment adding 30 more defendants, bringing the total to 39, in connection with a January anti-ICE protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Demonstrators said they targeted the church because its pastor allegedly had ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and 25 of the newly charged defendants have already been arrested. Earlier charges included former CNN journalist Don Lemon and others for conspiracy against religious freedom and interfering with worship, amid legal disputes over probable cause and a lawsuit from a church member claiming the protest unlawfully disrupted services.
- UBS downgraded U.S. equities to “benchmark,” warning that a weakening dollar, elevated valuations, fading benefits from corporate buybacks, and policy volatility under President Trump are eroding key drivers of years of American market outperformance, even as the bank still expects AI growth to support earnings and set a year-end S&P 500 target of 7,500.
- President Donald Trump said he would “love not to” use the U.S. military against Iran but has not made a final decision, expressing frustration with Tehran’s nuclear negotiations and warning that Iran “cannot have nuclear weapons,” as U.S. forces increase their presence in the region and diplomatic efforts continue.
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested Americans struggling with grocery costs buy cheaper cuts of meat such as liver instead of steak, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats who called the advice out of touch amid inflation concerns.
- Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who is mediating U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, said he believes a peace deal is within reach and that Iran has agreed to “never, ever” possess nuclear material for a bomb, including zero stockpiling and full verification, comments that appeared to contrast with more skeptical U.S. messaging about the state of negotiations.
- According to Reuters, U.S. State Department document shows the Trump administration aims to process 4,500 white South Africans per month as refugees, far exceeding the president’s stated annual cap of 7,500 total refugees worldwide, and plans to install a temporary modular processing site at the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, though admissions are currently paused due to administrative backlogs and South Africa has rejected claims that Afrikaners face systemic persecution.
- Reuters is also reporting that satellite images show the number of U.S. military aircraft at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base rose from 27 on February 17 to 43 on February 21, including refueling tankers and AWACS planes, before dipping slightly days later, signaling a regional buildup amid heightened tensions with Iran and ongoing nuclear talks, while Saudi Arabia has said its territory will not be used for strikes against Tehran.
- Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Texas’ Democratic Senate primary, backing her as a fighter who can hold Donald Trump accountable, as Crockett faces a competitive race against state Rep. James Talarico ahead of Tuesday’s vote to determine who will take on the eventual Republican nominee.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
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