The United States House of Representatives voted 427-1 today to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing the Department of Justice to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein. Only one member—Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana—voted against transparency. Everyone else chose the survivors.

Narativ Live assembled an extraordinary panel to cover this historic moment: Vicky Ward, the journalist who first exposed Epstein in Vanity Fair; Lev Parnas, the MAGA insider who understands Trump’s playbook; Dean Blundell; and Wajahat Ali who have rallied behind survivors who have tracked this case for years. Over 4,000 viewers joined the live coverage.

Vicky Ward Recalls The Farmer Sisters

Vicky Ward, who interviewed Maria and Annie Farmer for her groundbreaking 2003 Vanity Fair article (which editor Graydon Carter killed parts of under pressure), described watching Annie Farmer testify on the Capitol steps:

“It’s amazing to watch these women, having come a complete sort of 180, really reclaim their power,” Ward said. “Make no mistake, it’s because of them that they have ultimately succeeded in pressuring Donald Trump to agree to sign this bill when it gets to his desk.”

The survivors stood on the Capitol steps. Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s family was there. And 427 members of Congress voted yes.

Lev Parnas Reveals Trump’s Contingency Plan

While everyone celebrated the vote, Lev Parnas dropped a bombshell: Trump has already initiated his contingency plan to contain the damage.

Pam Bondi just opened an investigation into the Epstein files—but aimed at Democrats. And who’s leading it? Jay Clayton.

“A lot of people might have forgotten who Jay Clayton is,” Parnas explained. “He was chair of the SEC in 2017. But very interestingly, in 2020, Trump and Bill Barr tried to shove Clayton into the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. That was the same time Jeffrey Epstein was there—there was an ongoing investigation into Rudy Giuliani and yours truly.”

The attempt failed only because then-U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman refused to go quietly.

And where did Clayton go after that? Apollo Management—the firm co-founded by Leon Black, who paid Epstein over $150 million.

“So there’s a lot more that’s going on behind the scenes right now,” Parnas said. “Yes, Trump is going to be out there now trying to lie to his base, rally the troops and say release the files. But behind the scenes, what they’re trying to do is control the investigation.”

Translation: Trump’s “investigation” into the Epstein files will be led by an executive from the very firm that enriched Epstein. That’s not transparency—that’s containment.

Dean Blundell: The Pedophile Protection Network

Dean Blundell revealed another stunning development that dropped the same day: Trump interfered in the federal investigation into Andrew Tate, forcing the feds to return the Tate brothers’ phones while they were investigating Tate for trafficking a Florida woman to Romania.

“He is running a pedophile protection network for pay at this point,” Blundell said. “If you’ve ever been drunk, if you’ve ever had an addiction problem, you want everybody else around you to be in that same disgusting boat with you because it justifies your f*****g behavior. There’s literally a psychological term for it.”

That’s Trump’s play. Protect everyone so no one can point fingers. Build a network of mutual protection where exposure means mutually assured destruction.

Speaker Johnson’s “Empty Concerns”

The broadcast cut to live footage of House Speaker Mike Johnson on the floor, listing concerns about “grand jury secrecy,” “child sexual abuse materials,” and “national security.”

Zev Shalev cut him off: “His concerns here are quite empty.”

Johnson complained that the bill couldn’t be amended because “under the rules of the House, under a discharge petition, they have to agree to consent for the legislation to be amended, and they’re not doing that.”

Translation: The survivors and their advocates won’t let you water it down, so now you’re complaining about the rules you created.

Johnson’s speech placed the burden on the Senate to amend the bill—setting up exactly the kind of delay and dilution Trump needs.

What Happens Next

The bill now moves to the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow majority. If the Senate passes it, the bill goes to Trump’s desk for signature.

Trump has said publicly he’d sign it (”sure, I would”), but that was before the 427-1 vote made this a near-unanimous demand from Congress.

The White House is facing questions about why these files weren’t released during Trump’s first term, when the Justice Department was under his control.

The DOJ files would go well beyond the 23,000 estate documents already released, potentially including investigative memos, correspondence, and internal assessments of the full network of enablers and power-brokers who benefitted from Epstein’s operations.

The Survivors’ Message

The broadcast ended with a powerful PSA from Epstein survivors:

“I suffered so much pain. I was 14 years old. I was 16 years old. I was 17. This is me when I met Jeffrey Epstein. There are about a thousand of us. It’s time to bring the secrets out of the shadows. It’s time to shine a light into the darkness.”

Dean closed with a call to action, encouraging viewers to subscribe to all the independent journalists who came together for this coverage—because they did it out of their own pockets, their own time, with their own energy.

“Seeing all of those people come together at the same time, you want to have all of those people in your life,” Dean Blundell said. “We did that because we love you. We did that because we are you.”

After thirty years of institutional silence, after five administrations that knew and did nothing, Congress finally voted 427-1 to release the files.

The fight now is to make sure Trump actually signs it—and that Jay Clayton from Apollo Management doesn’t bury what needs to come out.

Thank you THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali, Nick Paro, Shane Yirak, Stephanie G Wilson, PhD, Lesley Jane Seymour, and many others for tuning into my live video with Vicky Ward Investigates, Dean Blundell, Lev Parnas, and Ellie Leonard! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Tomorrow’s House vote will pass with over 100 Republicans expected to defy Trump. The president says he’ll sign the bill but he’s banking on the Senate to kill it.

5️⃣ The Senate Is Trump’s Last Stand

The House votes tomorrow on releasing Epstein files, and it’s likely going to pass—over 100 Republicans could defy Trump. After weeks of personally calling lawmakers and summoning them to the White House Situation Room to kill this bill, Trump lost. So he flipped Sunday night, posting on Truth Social that Republicans

“should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.”

But the bill still has to pass the Senate, where the bill needs 60 votes. Trump is already working Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Lisa Murkowski to block it there. Has anyone checked on John Fetterman?

If the bill passes the senate Trump will still have one last hail Mary option. Trump ordered DOJ to investigate only Democrats connected to Epstein—Clinton, Summers, Hoffman—creating an “ongoing investigation” that triggers FOIA exemptions to keep the files sealed regardless of what Congress does.

4️⃣ MAGA’s Theological Crisis

When Trump branded Marjorie Taylor Greene “Traitor” and pulled his endorsement, the death threats and pipe bomb scares followed immediately. Her crime? Signing the Epstein files petition. Trump’s response when asked about her safety: “Frankly, I don’t think anybody cares about her.” Greene went on CNN to apologize for “toxic politics” and announce she’s “putting down the knives,” breaking with Trump on substance—ripping his foreign trips while Americans face crushing prices, calling his H-1B stance betrayal. The fracture exposes MAGA’s core question: is this movement about populist ideas or one man’s ego? With a razor-thin House majority, one or two rebels can blow up Trump’s entire agenda.

3️⃣ Larry Summers’ Epstein Dating Service

The former Harvard President and Treasury Secretary turned to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for romantic advice while pursuing a woman he called his “mentee.” Seven months of texts obtained by the Harvard Crimson show Summers, married since 2005, sharing forwarded emails about his chances of “getting horizontal” with economist Keyu Jin, using the code name “peril.” Epstein played enthusiastic wingman, replying “She’s already beginning to sound needy :) nice” when Summers forwarded her academic paper. This continued through November 2018—after the Miami Herald surfaced 80 accusers—and ended July 5, 2019. Epstein was arrested the next day. Harvard still employs Summers in its most distinguished faculty role.

2️⃣ The Missing Trump Photos

Michael Wolff watched Epstein retrieve six photographs from his safe: Trump by the pool at the Palm Beach mansion, topless young women in his lap, one showing a visible stain on Trump’s pants with girls pointing and laughing. In December 2015, Epstein offered them to the New York Times. They vanished after Trump’s FBI sawed open that safe in July 2019. Israeli intelligence likely has copies—senior Mossad-linked officer Yoni Koren stayed at Epstein’s Manhattan apartment for weeks between 2013-2015. Russia likely has them through John Mark Dougan, the former Palm Beach Deputy who secretly copied hundreds of DVDs from the Epstein case in 2009, then fled to Russia in 2016. Classic kompromat: the value lies in the threat, not execution.

1️⃣ Nothing To Hide? Oh Really?

Five months before his death, Epstein sent an email detailing Trump’s $54 million laundering scheme: Trump used Deutsche Bank’s $41 million loan for a bankrupt Palm Beach mansion at a rigged auction where Mark Pulte ensured no competing bidders, then flipped it to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million while claiming fake renovations to dodge taxes. Epstein’s email names “trump and his friend pulty the developer” as coordinating the scheme, questions “how did he report the sale, if he did at all on his 08 tax return.” Twenty years later, the Pulte family donated over $1 million to Trump. Bill Pulte now runs federal housing and is illegally accessing databases containing 55 million mortgages to target Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Letitia James—the Democrats who impeached and prosecuted Trump. When ethics investigators examined these abuses, Pulte fired them. Trump rewards the families who facilitate his crimes with federal power, then their children weaponize that power against his enemies.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Ellie Leonard, Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Caro Henry, Debbie Hupp, Ang Traders, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Dean is traveling and will be back on the show Monday.

5️⃣ Trump’s Desperate Morning Offensive

At 9:30 AM Thursday, Trump called the Epstein document releases “another Russia, Russia, Russia scam.” An hour later, he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and JPMorgan Chase—notice no Republicans on that list. But this wasn’t just rage-posting. This was the public face of a full-scale White House pressure campaign to kill the discharge petition before it reaches a floor vote. Sources inside the White House report Trump has been personally calling members of Congress and senators, applying maximum pressure to stop the release. He’s been heard telling allies the files will “never see the light of day.” The question isn’t whether he’ll veto—it’s whether he can kill the effort before it forces him to.

4️⃣ Nancy Mace: The Weak Link

Trump has identified Nancy Mace as the most likely Republican to flip her vote on the discharge petition. She’s caught between loyalty to trafficking survivors—she herself was abused earlier in her life—and deep loyalty to Trump. The White House is hammering her specifically because they know she might cave. But it’s not just about Mace. Trump is calling a wide range of House Republicans who signed the petition, trying to peel off enough votes to prevent it from reaching the floor. If it hits a full House vote, Trump faces a nightmare scenario: over 100 Republicans voting to release the files. Congressman Don Bacon, who didn’t sign the original petition, told Lev Parnas he’ll vote for release if it reaches the floor—and he believes at least 100 other Republicans will join him.

3️⃣ The Senate Firewall Strategy

Trump’s Plan A is stopping the House vote entirely. That’s why the pressure on Mace and others is so intense. But Plan B involves the Senate. If the House vote succeeds, Trump is calling senators like Lindsey Graham to ensure it dies in the Senate. The heavier the House vote margin, the harder it becomes to block in the Senate, which is why Trump wants to keep the House numbers thin. His ultimate fear is being the person who has to veto the release—the president who campaigned on transparency about Epstein but blocked the files when they threatened to expose his own involvement.

2️⃣ Pam Bondi’s Distraction Play

The investigations Bondi announced into Clinton, Summers, and others serve a specific purpose: they’re the contingency for when the pressure campaign fails. This was always part of the plan—Lev Parnas predicted it months ago. Throw enough names into investigations, create enough noise about Democrats, and maybe Trump’s base accepts his veto as protecting national security or preventing a partisan witch hunt rather than covering up his own crimes. The strategy is transparent: flood the zone with accusations until Americans lose track of whose name appears most in these documents. But here’s the tell—Trump only knows Clinton, Summers, and JP Morgan were involved because he was there too. You can’t name the party guests unless you were invited to the party.

1️⃣ What Putin Holds Over Him

Trump’s desperation makes sense when you understand what’s at stake. Author Michael Wolff saw compromising photos Epstein kept in his safe—Trump by the pool, scantily clad with models. In 2016, former Palm Beach Sheriff John Mark Dugan fled to Russia carrying hundreds of DVDs from Epstein’s home. Putin has that material. The newly released emails show Epstein had direct contact with Putin and reported to former Israeli PM Ehud Barak. In 2018—while Trump was president—Epstein told Russian officials he could give them “the goods” on handling Trump. Russian oligarch Victor Vekselberg, who paid Michael Cohen $500K during the 2016 campaign, was in business with both Epstein and Barak. This wasn’t just a sex trafficking operation. It was a coordinated intelligence effort by Russia and Israel to compromise American leadership. And Trump knows exactly what’s in those FBI files that prove it.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

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5️⃣ War Crimes in the Caribbean

The USS Gerald R. Ford sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar this weekend, headed for the Caribbean. Since September, Trump’s undeclared war has killed 75 people across 19 strikes using MQ-9 Reaper drones and AC-130 gunships—with zero evidence the targets were actually drug traffickers. The UN calls them extrajudicial killings. Families say they were fishermen. Trump told 60 Minutes that Maduro’s “days are numbered,” telegraphing a coup attempt against Venezuela. The response? UK, Canada, Netherlands, Ecuador, and Mexico have all curbed intelligence sharing with the United States. The Five Eyes alliance—the bedrock of Western intelligence cooperation—is fracturing because allied nations refuse to be accomplices to Trump’s murder spree.

4️⃣ Your 50-Year Mortgage Prison

Trump’s housing plan would normalize 50-year mortgages, ensuring Americans never own their homes. You’ll pay interest for half a century, die before it’s paid off, and leave your kids with the debt. This isn’t about affordability—it’s about permanent extraction. You’ll pay multiples of what the home is worth, all while being told this is opportunity. It’s the natural evolution of the theft documented in The Greatest Heist.

3️⃣ The Greatest Heist: How $40 Trillion Was Stolen

Chapter One dropped yesterday at narativ.org, exposing the origin story of America’s systematic looting. In the mid-1990s, four men met at The Limited headquarters in Columbus, Ohio: Jes Staley, Leslie Wexner, Jeffrey Epstein, and Arnold Kessler. All four ended up connected to JP Morgan in the run-up to 2008. When the economy crashed, Jamie Dimon—connected to this network through Bank One—was positioned as the savior of American banking. The reality? He cost the economy $30-40 trillion. The 2008 crash wasn’t an accident. It was extraction engineered by networks operating from places like New Albany, Ohio—Wexner’s private compound where Maria Farmer was held hostage for three months while no law enforcement intervened. This is how the RAND-documented $79 trillion theft happened. This is the mechanism. The 50-year mortgages? Just the next chapter.

2️⃣ Ghislaine Maxwell’s Five-Star Prison

While Trump cuts SNAP benefits and Medicaid, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell gets concierge treatment at a Texas “prison camp.” Custom meals from a personal chef. Private Pilates instruction. A puppy she keeps with her at all times. Private recreation after hours. The warden is helping her edit her commutation application to Trump. Other inmates who complain get solitary confinement. Jamie Raskin’s House Oversight Committee is investigating, confirming Trump is considering her pardon. This is what protecting the president costs: luxury accommodations for the woman who holds the Epstein files, paid for by American taxpayers—including the victims she trafficked.

1️⃣ Utah Strikes Down GOP Gerrymandering

Judge Diana Gibson rejected Utah’s Republican-drawn congressional map, ruling it violated the state constitution by dividing Salt Lake City into four Republican-majority districts. She adopted a centrist coalition map instead. Republicans immediately vowed to “restore constitutional government”—apparently the Constitution is whatever helps them win. Combined with similar rulings in Kansas and Virginia, the tide is turning. Democrats likely gain a seat in deep-red Utah. Trump was booed and middle-fingered by 80,000 people at the Commanders-Lions game. His approval is collapsing. Without cheating, authoritarian movements can’t win on merit—and when judges catch them cheating, the consequences accelerate their collapse.

From war crimes to financial extraction to protecting sex traffickers to rigging elections, the pattern is identical. The same networks that engineered the 2008 heist now control the White House. The question isn’t whether Americans are waking up—the boos at the football game answered that. The question is whether courts and allies will hold the line before the damage becomes permanent.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Ellie Leonard, Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA, Lisa 🌿🔍🔎🌿, Leah Anderson, CO, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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The shutdown wasn’t just about food stamps and healthcare subsidies. Eight Senate Democrats just bet America’s future on a discharge petition that could detonate Trump’s presidency before his second-term agenda clears the starting gate.

5️⃣ SUPREME COURT SIGNALS TRUMP’S TARIFF GRIFT IS TOAST

The Supreme Court rejected Kim Davis’s attempt to overturn same-sex marriage Monday without comment, but the real story is what’s coming next. Sources say SCOTUS is preparing to gut Trump’s emergency tariff authority under IEEPA, which would collapse the legal foundation of his entire tariff program and potentially trigger hundreds of billions in refunds to importers—not the “$2,000 checks” Trump desperately promised Americans on Truth Social. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent immediately walked it back to “many forms” including tax deductions, which translates to: you’re getting nothing. Trump’s tariff con was always a revenue grab disguised as trade policy, and the Court is about to call his bluff. If SCOTUS rules he lacks authority to impose emergency tariffs without Congress, those mythical dividend checks evaporate along with his leverage over the shutdown negotiations.

4️⃣ KEYSTONE KASH TORCHES THE UK INTELLIGENCE ALLIANCE

FBI Director Kash Patel spent his May trip to London destroying decades of Five Eyes trust with a performance that included demanding flight diversions against security protocol, showing up to classified meetings in a trucker cap and hoodie, and breaking a direct promise to MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum about protecting a critical liaison position. British officials needed that FBI specialist to monitor China’s new embassy near the Tower of London. Patel agreed to fund it, then let the position get cut anyway, shipping the agent home and leaving UK counterparts stunned. He also gifted illegal 3D-printed pistols to New Zealand officials that had to be destroyed, and brought his 27-year-old country singer girlfriend to dinner with King Charles at Windsor Castle. Meanwhile, back home, the FBI Agents Association condemned Patel’s “erratic and arbitrary retribution” after he fired, rehired, and refired agents in what they called a campaign against anyone who investigated January 6.

3️⃣ SEVENTY THOUSAND FANS UNITED IN BOOING TRUMP

Trump’s NFL appearance Sunday turned into a masterclass in public humiliation as Commanders and Lions fans—bitter division rivals—found common ground in sustained, deafening boos from his jumbotron appearance through his fumbled military oath reading. Close-up footage captured his right hand caked in orange makeup covering significant bruising, the foundation melting under stadium lights as Trump stood frozen, unable to process the crowd’s hostility. His football commentary was so incoherent observers joked that AI bots refused to transcribe it. This wasn’t an isolated incident—Trump gets booed at UFC events, World Series games, college football—but the physical deterioration visible in his makeup-covered, bruised hand combined with the slurred speech and inability to read simple oaths raises questions his team can’t answer.

2️⃣ DEMOCRATS SURRENDER AS SNAP CHAOS DEEPENS

Eight Senate Democrats voted 60-40 Sunday to advance a shutdown deal after surrendering their six-week demand for ACA subsidy extensions, settling for Majority Leader John Thune’s word he’ll hold a vote by mid-December. But 42 million Americans remain trapped in SNAP benefit chaos as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson paused a federal judge’s order for full November payments, then USDA ordered states to “undo” benefits already distributed. Wisconsin, Kansas, Pennsylvania rushed payments Friday before Saturday’s reversal. A Rhode Island judge accused the administration of “withholding benefits for political reasons” and acting “arbitrarily and capriciously”—marking the first time SNAP lapsed during a shutdown in the program’s 61-year history. Senators Durbin, King, Hassan, Shaheen, Cortez Masto, Rosen, Fetterman and Kaine crossed the aisle, infuriating House Democrats. Rep. Ro Khanna called for Schumer’s replacement over the capitulation.

1️⃣ THE EPSTEIN FILES: “THERE ARE VIDEOS” AS GRIJALVA BECOMES THE MISSING SIGNATURE

FBI sources confirm Trump’s Epstein involvement is “much more perverse than anyone realizes,” with thousands of documents, grand jury transcripts, photos and videos showing Trump with underage girls in situations GOP insiders say “can’t be explained away.” Over a thousand FBI employees were pulled into a 48-hour review of 300+ gigabytes with explicit orders to flag every Trump mention—some veteran agents reportedly crying over graphic images. The timing is explosive: Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva gets sworn in this week after Speaker Mike Johnson delayed her ceremony during the shutdown. She’s the missing signature on a discharge petition that forces a full House vote to release the files. Sources describe images of Trump, Epstein and young girls with photos showing Trump “laughing, squirming, pointing at stains on his pants.” Marjorie Taylor Greene and 100+ Republicans are reportedly considering “running for the exits” as GOP whispers warn “it’s worse than anyone imagined.” The FBI review became a cover-up with redactions turning into erasures while Trump fixers scrubbed his name. If even half becomes public, Trump’s legislative agenda—SNAP cuts, Medicaid gutting—vaporizes in scandal before it leaves committee. Democrats bet the shutdown as leverage: Grijalva gets sworn in, signs the petition, and the vault unlocks.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Ellie Leonard, Shane Yirak, Stephanie G Wilson, PhD, Cat, Cathy R. Payne, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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What looked like isolated crises—canceled flights, missing jobs data, military purges—reveals itself as the thrashing of an administration that knows something devastating is coming. Dean and I traced the panic from the Pentagon to Capitol Hill, and it all leads back to one place: those unreleased Epstein files.

5️⃣ The Economic Blackout

For the second consecutive month, there is no jobs report. The longest data blackout on record leaves economists navigating by starlight while companies announce 150,000 layoffs—triple last October’s numbers. Amazon, UPS, and IBM are shedding workers, but without Bureau of Labor Statistics data since August, nobody knows if we’re standing on solid ground or sliding toward a cliff. The Fed’s trying to pilot the economy without instruments while the break-even hiring rate allegedly collapsed from 150,000 to 30,000 jobs monthly due to Trump’s immigration crackdown. Even that calculation is guesswork without real numbers. As one economist put it: by the time jobless claims spike, you’re already too late. The government’s own shutdown policies are showing up in unemployment filings we can barely track—30,000 federal workers and counting.

4️⃣ The Weiss Transformation

Bari Weiss has spent one month remaking CBS News in the Free Press image, and the cultural collision is spectacular. A hundred staffers are gone, including the entire climate coverage team that was just praised for standout reporting. The race and culture unit vanished. One producer watched four colleagues of color get laid off while five White coworkers were reassigned. Weiss—who has never run a newsroom—pitched Dan Brown to discuss the Louvre heist and a profile of Japan’s prime minister based on her heavy metal playlist. Her sister’s Free Press articles now appear as paid ads on CBS web pages while Free Press contributors provide analysis on CBS streaming shows. Trump called her “a great new leader” during his 60 Minutes interview, which tells you exactly where this experiment is heading. As one professor noted, you don’t put Bari Weiss in charge unless the project is to Free Press-ify CBS News. John Dickerson, the standards chief, and the talent recruitment executive have all departed. The line between opinion journalism and network news has dissolved.

3️⃣ The Pentagon Purge

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired or sidelined two dozen generals and admirals in nine months—unprecedented in recent decades. Major General James Patrick Work led the victory over ISIS in Mosul but remains in limbo because he once worked for General Mark Milley, whom Trump despises. Every officer who commanded the 82nd Airborne before Work made three-star rank; nine reached four stars. Until Hegseth blocked it. Rear Admiral Milton Sands was fired for wanting female SEAL instructors. A 35-year intelligence officer was forced out after his agency questioned Trump’s claim that airstrikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. Hegseth gave a speech singling out retired four-stars by name for scorn in front of hundreds of active officers, creating pro-Trump and anti-Trump factions in the military. As retired General Stanley McChrystal warned, once lost, the legitimacy of a military that reflects all Americans will be difficult to recover. The purge follows the Chinese and Iraqi playbook: eliminate anyone who might challenge political authority, regardless of combat record.

2️⃣ The Epstein Reckoning

Republican insiders are being told behind closed doors that unreleased Epstein files are “much worse for Trump” than previously known. Not just Trump—donors, friends, former and current cabinet members. Attorney General Pam Bondi allegedly informed Trump in May that his name appears in DOJ materials along with other prominent figures, though the White House called the reporting fake news. There’s no single client list, just a sprawl of logs, notes, images, court files, and sealed interviews. GOP members are going camera-shy. Text chains are vibrating with dread. Representative Swalwell predicted this a month ago: the GOP is preparing to abandon Trump. After Tuesday’s election losses in New Jersey and Virginia, the timing couldn’t be worse. As Dean pointed out today, being named in these files might not prove wrongdoing, but politics isn’t a courtroom—it’s a meat grinder. Careers end before lunch.

1️⃣ The Full-Spectrum Collapse

Day 38 of the shutdown hit every pressure point simultaneously. Over 800 flights were canceled after the FAA ordered 10% cuts at 40 major airports, citing controller fatigue from working without pay. The second jobs report was canceled while companies shed 150,000 workers. Trump fought in federal court to block full food stamp payments for 42 million Americans, arguing there’s no “lawful basis” to tap the tens of billions in available federal funds—the same funds he’s already used for other programs during the shutdown. Democrats dug in after Tuesday’s victories showed voters rejecting Trump’s agenda. Instead of negotiating with Democratic leaders he hasn’t met since before the shutdown began, Trump spent the week pressuring Senate Republicans to kill the filibuster while insisting Obamacare’s cost increases aren’t his fault. States like California and Michigan started processing full SNAP payments anyway, ignoring the administration’s orders. Hakeem Jeffries captured the absurdity: “It’s a clown show over there in the Senate. What about Tuesday—Republicans got wiped out all across America.” The FAA cuts hit right before Thanksgiving travel. A federal judge said what everyone’s thinking: “This should never happen in America.”

What connects these five stories is an administration that’s stopped governing and started thrashing. You don’t cancel economic data, ground flights, starve families, and purge generals unless you’re either incompetent or terrified. Probably both. The Epstein files explain the terror. The rest explains the incompetence.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Nick Paro, Cash Flow Collective, Debbie Hupp, Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA, Pamela, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

The Trump administration is forcing unprecedented 10% flight reductions at 40 of America’s busiest airports starting Friday, as the government shutdown—now the longest in U.S. history—enters its second month with air traffic controllers working without pay. But that’s just the beginning of today’s chaos.

Before we dive into the top 5, we spoke with Jacob Kaarsbo, former Danish intelligence officer, about Denmark’s remarkable commitment to Ukraine: nearly $1 billion in weapons through 2027, including a groundbreaking workaround allowing Ukrainian firms to manufacture drones, missiles, and rocket fuel on Danish soil. Ukraine will open a defense export office in Copenhagen by year’s end, building a permanent defense export industry while Europe prepares for a post-American security guarantee. The conversation revealed how smaller nations are stepping up as American commitment wavers.

5️⃣ Sandwich Guy Acquitted: Pirro’s Second Loss

A D.C. jury acquitted Air Force veteran Sean Dunn of assaulting a federal officer after he threw a salami sub at a CBP agent during Trump’s law enforcement takeover of the city. This marks U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s second major defeat in a month—grand juries twice refused to indict on felonies, then a trial jury rejected the misdemeanor charge. Dunn’s lawyers successfully argued the sandwich throw was “harmless gesture” of political protest. The irony cuts deep: Trump pardoned 1,600 January 6th rioters who beat officers with weapons, but his DOJ prosecuted a man who threw a hoagie. Pirro personally taunted Dunn on social media saying “stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else”—the jury’s verdict shows juries reject her maximum prosecution approach when they hear the facts.

4️⃣ Heritage Foundation in Open Revolt

The conservative Heritage Foundation is imploding after president Kevin Roberts defended Tucker Carlson’s interview with White nationalist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Internal messages reviewed by CNN show senior staff describing “an absolute shitshow” with Roberts having “lost control of the organization.” The Zionist Organization of America withdrew from Heritage’s antisemitism project, Roberts’ chief of staff resigned, and major donors are threatening to pull funding. Staff discovered Roberts’ old tweets praising Mike Pence and condemning January 6th—a complete ideological flip. When even Laura Loomer calls Carlson “a poison pill to the GOP,” you know the conservative movement is eating itself. Heritage created Project 2025, which Trump himself distanced from. Now the institution that shaped Republican policy for decades faces an existential crisis over whether to embrace White nationalism.

3️⃣ Trump’s Ozempic Deal

Trump announced an agreement with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk slashing prices on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for Medicare patients—from over $1,000 monthly to $149-$245. The deal expands Medicare coverage for obesity treatment, potentially benefiting 10 million patients. Trump claims credit for “Most Favored Nation” pricing, though he’s leveraging Biden-era Medicare negotiation authority. The Oval Office event took a surreal turn when Novo Nordisk executive Gordon Findlay collapsed during the announcement, requiring immediate aid from Dr. Mehmet Oz. The timing—just before the 2026 midterms—raises questions about sustainability versus political theater.

2️⃣ Russian Bomb Threats Target New Jersey Polls

Russian-linked bomb threats forced closure of multiple New Jersey polling locations on Election Day, with emails traced to Russian addresses including detailed pipe bomb schematics and threats to detonate within 11 hours. The coordinated attack targeted seven counties, turning voters away for two hours until a judge extended polling. This marks the second consecutive election where Russian operatives deployed bomb threats against American polling places—2024 targeted swing states, now 2025 hits blue state infrastructure. The escalation pattern shows Moscow testing how much disruption it can cause everywhere, with technical sophistication suggesting psychological warfare beyond simple hoaxes.

1️⃣ FAA Orders Flight Cuts at 40 Major Airports

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford admitted in 35 years he’s never seen anything like this: 10% flight reductions at America’s busiest airports as 700,000 federal workers including air traffic controllers work without pay. The cuts hit Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and DC—reducing O’Hare flights by 121 daily, affecting over 14,500 seats. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been warning of “chaos” for weeks in obvious political leverage. Controllers working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks face documented fatigue, but the timing just before Thanksgiving travel reveals the administration’s willingness to weaponize aviation safety for shutdown politics. United’s CEO is cutting regional flights first—small cities pay the price. Frontier’s CEO warns travelers their “chances of being stranded are high.”

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

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Yesterday wasn’t just an election. It was a reckoning. Democrats swept every major contest from coast to coast while Trump melted down in real time, Canadian Maple MAGA collapsed as conservatives fled to competence, and voters sent an unmistakable message: the era of choosing character over chaos has arrived.

5️⃣ SCOTUS Skeptical on Trump Tariffs

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Trump’s sweeping tariffs and the justices—including conservatives—appeared deeply skeptical that the president has legal authority to tax nearly every American trading partner. Justice Sotomayor was blunt: “This is not a presidential power. It’s a congressional power.” Chief Justice Roberts openly questioned whether Trump’s unlimited interpretation violates the court’s “major questions doctrine.” Trump has collected $88 billion in tariffs through September and projects taking in $2.3 trillion over the next decade, but households are already paying an extra $1,300 to $2,400 annually for his economic experiment. The average tariff rate is higher than at any period since the Great Depression, and the court seems poised to pull the plug.

4️⃣ Blue Wave Obliterates MAGA in Historic Democratic Sweep

Virginia, New Jersey, New York City, California—Democrats swept the board in what amounts to a total MAGA repudiation. Abigail Spanberger won Virginia’s governorship by 15 points. Mikie Sherrill took New Jersey by 13. California voters approved Prop 50 to redraw congressional districts as a direct counter to Trump. Exit polls showed most voters disapproved of Trump, and 9 in 10 of those voters backed Democrats. Republicans spent only $1.3 million mentioning Trump in ads while Democrats spent $18 million—because one party knew he was poison and the other was too afraid to admit it. Democrats also appeared to reclaim voters of color who had drifted toward Trump in 2024, with over 90 percent of Black voters and a 30-point lead with Latino voters in key races.

3. Trump’s Petulant Press Conference Exposes a Broken President

Less than twelve hours after the electoral bloodbath, Trump held a press conference that felt like a political wake. The cadence was off, the confidence was gone, and he openly admitted “I don’t think it was good for Republicans” before blaming the government shutdown his pollsters said was “a big factor, negative for Republicans.” Then things got truly bizarre. He demanded Republicans kill the filibuster so he could ban mail-in voting and require ID “at the grocery store”—a zombie talking point that won’t die—before wandering into a strange tangent about being called a king and comparing his opponents to kamikaze pilots. The performance was ashen, halting, breathless. Even his allies are quietly testing the exits, and inside MAGA you can hear the floorboards creak.

2️⃣ Maple MAGA Collapses as Canadians Choose Competence

Up in Canada, Pierre Poilievre’s 30-point lead evaporated when Mark Carney entered the race three months before the election. Carney—the central banker who knows how to build economies—destroyed the dollar-store Trump running on populist anti-expert nonsense. Yesterday Carney released a budget that doubles the deficit to invest in military, infrastructure, housing, and healthcare, and conservatives immediately started crossing the floor to join him. Chris Detremont from Atlantic Canada resigned from the Conservative Party, saying he knew Canada needed to rebuild and he was choosing country over party. Carney isn’t a liberal or a conservative—he’s just competent. And Canadians, like Americans, are done with performative chaos.

1️⃣ Zohran Mamdani Makes New York City History

Zohran Mamdani won New York City with two-thirds of voters under 45, becoming the city’s youngest mayor since the 19th century, its first Muslim mayor, and its first South Asian mayor. He ran on affordability—universal childcare, rent freezes, free transit—and crushed Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent with Trump’s endorsement. Hakeem Jeffries claimed “the Democratic Party is back,” but it’s not the same Democratic Party. Young voters were animated a democratic socialist they elected two women Governors, rejected identity politics for policies that deliver for middle-class working people. Mamdani’s win is the same formula that worked for Biden in 2020: speak to the working class and do the work. The Democratic establishment can either get on board with this message shift or watch from the sidelines as voters build the future without them.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Shane Yirak, Brodee Myers-Cooke, Rick Herbst, PegsReilledUp, Robin Payes, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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5️⃣ America Delivers Trump’s Report Card

Americans voted today in off-year elections that constitute a direct referendum on Trump’s catastrophic first year back in power. Virginia elected its first female governor with Abigail Spanberger crushing her opponent by double digits. New Jersey’s Mikey Sherrill—a former military helicopter pilot and lawyer raising four kids—dominated her Trump-backed opponent by five to twelve points depending on the poll. In New York, Democratic Socialist ZohranMamdani held a commanding 94 percent lead to become mayor, driving Trump so insane he spent 24 hours rage-posting, calling Jewish voters “stupid people” if they voted for Mamdani, and threatening to cut federal funding to New York. But the real knockout came from California’s Proposition 50, which passed with 70-80 percent support—wiping out Texas’s gerrymandered five-seat advantage and setting a precedent for blue states to fight back. Trump knows what’s coming: his approval rating sits at 30 percent on the economy, 29 percent on immigration, with an overall disapproval of 65 percent. These aren’t fake polls—this is America waking up.

4️⃣ Dick Cheney Dead at 84

The most powerful vice president in American history died yesterday from pneumonia complications, closing the book on the architect of the post-9/11 war on terror. Cheney championed torture programs, warrantless surveillance, and the catastrophic Iraq War that killed hundreds of thousands based on fabricated weapons of mass destruction intelligence. He was Trump regime light before Trump existed—a warmongering profiteer who enriched Halliburton cronies while American soldiers died. But late in life, something shifted. Cheney broke with Republicans to condemn Trump’s authoritarian moves, backed daughter Liz’s January 6th investigation, and voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. He apologized for opposing gay marriage after his daughter came out. He stood for America when it counted. Democrats who once moved to impeach him shook his hand after he opposed Trump’s 2020 coup attempt. A complex legacy for a man who lived four decades past his heart disease prognosis, literally pumping blood through his body with a machine before finally getting a transplant.

3️⃣ Trump Weaponizes Starvation

After a judge ruled Trump must release $5.5 billion in SNAP benefits to 42 million hungry Americans, Trump defied the order and launched a social media tirade blaming Biden for the shutdown he engineered. But the cruelty goes deeper: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins sent intimidating letters to every grocery store participating in SNAP, explicitly warning that any store showing mercy—reducing prices or feeding people during the shutdown—would be removed from the program and prosecuted. Trump is actively implementing holodomor, Stalin’s Ukrainian starvation genocide, as American policy. He’s using hunger as a weapon against his own citizens because Democrats won’t let him gut Medicaid for 20 million people. When you starve people, they can’t protest, they can’t organize—they can only think about survival. Trump’s betting on economic collapse to consolidate power, willing to destroy mortgage markets and American livelihoods to get his way.

2️⃣ Trump Eyes Venezuela Assassination

The Trump administration asked the Justice Department for legal justification to assassinate Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro without Congressional authorization for military force. After Trump told 60 Minutes he didn’t think he’d invade Venezuela, his regime pivoted to finding a legal pathway for targeted killing instead. Russia, China, and Iran are flooding Venezuela with surface-to-air missiles and military equipment, eager for this proxy war that would rehabilitate Russia’s military reputation. The U.S. military isn’t supporting Trump’s Venezuela war fantasies, which is why he’s seeking covert assassination options. Venezuela poses zero threat to American national security, but they do have oil—and Trump needs a distraction from his collapsing economy and surging Democratic opposition. It’s unconscionable foreign policy decay: assassinating foreign leaders “just because,” with no authorization, no strategy, and no support.

1️⃣ SCOTUS Hears Tariff Challenge as Bessent Threatens Canada

The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on Trump’s sweeping global tariffs in what could be a defining case on presidential overreach. But Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent isn’t waiting for the ruling—he spent the weekend threatening Canada for the second straight day. After Canada’s Ronald Reagan ad mocking Trump’s moronic tariff policy went viral, Mark Carney apologized to Trump on a phone call. Bessent made clear: Canada better capitulate or face economic devastation. Trump’s using tariffs as a cudgel against allies, destroying international relationships while grocery prices soar, mortgage markets freeze, and Americans watch their costs spike across the board. The man who promised to end inflation is engineering economic chaos, and SCOTUS will decide Wednesday whether one president can unilaterally weaponize trade policy without Congressional oversight.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Ellie Leonard, Shane Yirak, Stephanie G Wilson, PhD, Cat, PegsReilledUp, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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Donald Trump sat down with Norah O’Donnell for what became 73 minutes of documented cognitive decline and brazen lying. And the biggest bombshell wasn’t about nuclear weapons or fake war victories—it was Trump’s flailing attempt to explain why he pardoned crypto criminal CZ from Binance.

5️⃣ The Interview Was a Cognitive Disaster

Trump claimed Russia and China are actively testing nuclear weapons (they’re not), that inflation is at 2% with groceries going down (it’s 3% and food prices haven’t dropped), and that he solved eight wars with tariff threats (zero evidence). He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket like a kid showing homework he didn’t do and handed it to O’Donnell as “proof.” He casually mentioned instructing the “Department of War”—which hasn’t existed since 1947—to start testing nuclear weapons immediately. The hoarseness, the meandering, the inability to complete coherent thoughts—this wasn’t “the weave.” This was dementia on display for anyone willing to see it.

2️⃣ The CZ Pardon Exposed the Whole Crypto Scam

When O’Donnell asked why Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao—who pled guilty to laundering billions through Binance—Trump’s answer revealed everything. CZ is now a “partner” in World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto exchange. Trump pardoned a convicted money launderer who is now directly in business with his sons. The corruption isn’t hidden anymore—it’s the business model. Trump positions himself to profit from dollar collapse while systematically undermining the traditional financial system. It’s not governance; it’s a heist in real time.

4️⃣ Wednesday’s SCOTUS Case Could Hand Trump Economic Dictatorship

On November 5th, the Supreme Court decides whether Trump can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to slap tariffs on anything by declaring an “emergency.” Lower courts said no—IEEPA is for targeted sanctions, not rewriting the entire tariff code. But if SCOTUS greenlights Trump’s theory, one person with a mood and a pen can tax Americans at checkout and bypass Congress entirely. This isn’t about trade policy—it’s about whether “emergency” becomes the magic word that turns presidential authority into economic autocracy. The Court could stabilize the economy or hand Trump the sledgehammer to destroy it.

3️⃣ Epstein Was Running Intelligence Operations Through JPMorgan

Court documents unsealed October 31st show Jeffrey Epstein providing detailed China strategy to JPMorgan executives between 2009-2010—while he was a registered sex offender. Epstein sent memos on Chinese government structure, cultural protocols, and regulatory navigation to Jes Staley, then CEO of JPMorgan’s Investment Bank. Staley later debriefed Epstein about a two-hour meeting with Minister Li Yuanchao, who controlled the Organization Department that decides every senior appointment in China’s government. This is textbook intelligence handler behavior: brief the asset, the asset executes, the asset reports back. Epstein also coordinated meetings between Staley and former Israeli PM Ehud Barak. America’s largest bank let a convicted sex offender advise on geopolitical strategy and receive classified-level debriefs. That’s not a compliance failure—that’s institutional capture.

1️⃣ Zorhan Mamdani Is the Real Story

The New York City mayoral race just became the most important election in America. Zuhdi Mamdani—Democratic Socialist, anti-establishment, funded by small donors—is surging past Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic machine. Both parties are terrified because Mamdani represents what Americans actually want: someone who isn’t bought, isn’t part of the lobby-corporate complex, and isn’t pretending the system works. He’s capturing the imagination of a country exhausted by Republicans and Democrats alike. Trump will try to paint him as a communist and might even attempt to use emergency powers to interfere—because nothing threatens authoritarian consolidation like an actual populist alternative. America is waking up to the fact that political parties exist to keep the poor from murdering the rich. Mamdani offers something different: merit over politics, people over parties. That’s the earthquake coming.

The Bottom Line: Trump’s cognitive decline is accelerating while his corruption becomes explicit. The Supreme Court could hand him dictatorial economic powers Wednesday. Epstein’s intelligence operations penetrated America’s biggest bank. And the only hopeful story is a Democratic Socialist mayor candidate that both parties fear. America doesn’t need saving from the left or right—it needs saving from the establishment that’s been robbing it blind for generations.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Ellie Leonard, Nick Paro, Cash Flow Collective, Brodee Myers-Cooke, Leah Anderson, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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