5️⃣ PENTAGON DIVORCES TRUMP AND HEGSETH

While Pete Hegseth sat in today’s cabinet meeting playing the loyal soldier, Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson was at the podium torching the White House’s scapegoat strategy. Asked about Admiral Frank Bradley’s role in the second strike that killed two survivors clinging to wreckage, Wilson didn’t mince words: the strikes were “presidentially directed,” the chain of command functioned as it should, and “the Secretary and the President are the ones directing these strikes.” As for Bradley’s follow-on strike? “The Secretary 100% agrees with.” The military just publicly divorced Trump and Hegseth—and put the chain of command on the record. Bookmark December 2nd. Pete Hegseth is in serious legal jeopardy, and if America doesn’t deal with it, the International Criminal Court will.

4️⃣ TRUMP HAS “NO IDEA” WHAT HIS MRI SCANNED

When asked on Air Force One what part of his body was examined in his October MRI, Trump offered this gem: “I have no idea. It wasn’t my brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.” The White House then released a memo using the word “perfect” four times—cardiovascular imaging “perfectly normal,” abdominal imaging “perfectly normal.” Noticeably absent: any mention of neurological evaluation. Compare this to the infamous 2015 letter where Trump dictated to Dr. Bornstein that he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” Bornstein later admitted Trump wrote it himself. Same playbook, different decade.

3️⃣ RFK JR.’S VACCINE DEMOLITION BEGINS

The CDC’s advisory panel, stacked with Kennedy appointees, votes Thursday on ending universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth—a shot credited with a 99% drop in infections since 1991. Panel chair Kirk Milhoan, who called for halting mRNA vaccines in March, is now scrutinizing aluminum adjuvants despite 70 years of safe use. Industry officials say removing aluminum would cost billions and could pull vaccines from the market entirely. Kennedy’s deal with Trump was simple: drop out and get HHS. Now he’s delivering by dismantling childhood immunizations. Any changes here won’t be easy to reverse, and the consequences will be measured in children’s lives.

2️⃣ KUSHNER TOURS MOSCOW WHILE UKRAINE BURNS

Jared Kushner made his Kremlin debut alongside Steve Witkoff, getting the full Moscow walking tour from Putin’s money man Kirill Dmitriev before sitting down with the Russian president. The peace proposal is down from 28 points to 20. Zelensky calls it “better.” A U.S. official warned that Witkoff will come back making Russia’s counterproposal “sound like it’s a great deal.” Meanwhile, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi—Ukraine’s beloved former commander and current UK ambassador—just landed in Kyiv, tweeting “happy to be home.” If Trump wants regime change, he might get it. Just not the kind he’s expecting.

1️⃣ THE LUTNICK TARIFF SCAM: BETTING BILLIONS ON INSIDER KNOWLEDGE

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been the administration’s loudest tariff cheerleader. Meanwhile, his sons at Cantor Fitzgerald have created a market buying tariff refund rights at 20-30 cents on the dollar from struggling businesses. The bet: SCOTUS will strike down Trump’s emergency tariffs, triggering a hundred-billion-dollar refund bonanza. Costco just sued the U.S. government for their money back. Two federal courts have already ruled the tariffs illegal. Cantor knows the decision is coming—because Lutnick knows. This is insider trading with SEC disclosures instead of duffel bags. Heads they win, tails you lose.

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 Terrence Goggin, Ellie Leonard, Northern Variables, Cat, Karen Gordon, 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 TRUMP’S $2 TRILLION UKRAINE HEIST

The Wall Street Journal laid it bare: Trump’s “peace plan” was never about peace. Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Kremlin-linked Kirill Dmitriev have been negotiating megadeals to revive Russia’s $2 trillion economy — with $300 billion in frozen Russian assets as seed money for Trump-aligned investors. As Dean put it: “This is how Donald Trump can enrich his family members and friends and deal-making pals that put him in the White House.” Meanwhile, Europe and Canada are gaming out the unthinkable — a coordinated dump of US Treasuries if Trump recognizes Putin’s land grab. Mark Carney already made the call once during the tariff war. The bond market flinched. Trump backed off. Now the conversation has gone from “how do we manage Trump?” to “what do we do when Trump sells us out?”

4️⃣ ONE SHOOTING, ONE MILLION PUNISHED

Trump announced an indefinite freeze on asylum decisions after two National Guard members were shot near the White House. The suspect? An Afghan national who was CIA-vetted, helped US special forces, and was granted asylum by the Trump administration in April. Kristi Noem tried blaming Biden’s vetting — then admitted they “relied on Biden’s vetting.” The math is simple: one tragedy, one million cases frozen, and thousands of Afghan allies who risked their lives for America now in limbo. FBI stats say 94% of US murders are committed by Americans. 70% by white men. But policy only moves when the shooter is brown.

3️⃣ TRUMP PARDONS THE COCAINE PRESIDENT

Juan Orlando Hernández — convicted in federal court for moving 400 tons of cocaine into America — is getting a full pardon. Trump simultaneously endorsed his party’s candidate in Honduras’s election. The same president claiming to fight the drug war is freeing the Sinaloa cartel’s Honduran partner while offering asylum to cartel kingpins. As Dean noted: Trump’s drug war isn’t about stopping drugs. It’s about choosing which dealers get protection.

2️⃣ “THAT WOULD BE A WAR CRIME”

Top Republicans are now saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed war crimes. The Washington Post reported he gave verbal orders to “kill everybody” aboard suspected drug boats — including a second strike on survivors in the water. Rep. Mike Turner, Republican chair of House Intelligence: “That would be an illegal act.” Both Armed Services Committees have launched investigations. Venezuela is opening its own probe. Trump’s response? He “wouldn’t have wanted” a second strike — then claimed Hegseth denied it happened. The tapes exist. The senators have likely seen them. And as Dean reminded us: there is no war. This isn’t a war crime. It’s murder.

1️⃣ JUDGE TAKES EPSTEIN FILES FROM DOJ

The bombshell of the day: Judge Richard Berman has taken control of the Epstein file release process away from the DOJ. A devastating letter from victims’ attorneys revealed DOJ exposed at least 28 victim names in documents released to Congress. One woman was confronted by a reporter in front of her nine-year-old son. But here’s the real number: DOJ confirmed over 1,000 victims. The attorneys represent 300 more women DOJ doesn’t even know about. Hundreds trafficked from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Belarus — an international operation DOJ never investigated. The 53-page indictment and 82-page prosecution memo from 2007? Never released. Judge Berman is now conducting his own review. Trump’s DOJ just lost control of what the public learns about Epstein.

THE BOTTOM LINE

As Dean put it: “The bottom is falling out.” Pete Hegseth is facing murder charges. The Epstein files are slipping from DOJ’s grip. Europe is preparing economic warfare. And Trump — who couldn’t remember what body part got an MRI — is watching his support evaporate. Troy Nehls, the congressman with a Trump tattoo who wore a Trump bow tie, quit today. The sharks are circling.

The files drop December 19th. Judge Berman is watching. And for the first time, the people protecting the 40-year operation are running out of moves.

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, Cat, Debbie Hupp, 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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DEAN WILL BE BACK ON MONDAY

5️⃣ HEGSETH’S MURDER ORDER

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a direct verbal order before the first Caribbean boat strike: “Kill everybody.” When two survivors were spotted clinging to burning wreckage after the missile hit, the SEAL Team 6 commander ordered a second strike. The Pentagon told Congress it was to “remove a navigation hazard.” Former military lawyers call it what it is: murder. An order to kill those who can no longer fight is an order to show no quarter—a war crime. Whether Trump stands by Hegseth or not, these people still face the law. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine veteran, put it plainly: Americans will be prosecuted for this.

4️⃣ TRUMP IS TO BLAME FOR NATIONAL GUARD DEATH

Sarah Beckstrom, 20, is dead. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is fighting for his life. And Trump is blaming Biden. Here’s what actually happened: Biden stopped the mass migration of Afghan civilians and put them through a rigorous, multi-stage vetting process. The chaotic plane images Trump waved around? Those people were sent to intake centers and carefully processed—not waved through. But that’s not even the point.

It was Trump who ordered National Guard troops into DC to do policing work they weren’t trained for. Everyone said it was a bad idea. Now DC police will accompany all Guard patrols because it’s no longer safe for them to go alone—the exact opposite of what was intended. Instead of taking responsibility, Trump pivots to immigration, ordering USCIS to reexamine every green card from 19 “countries of concern.” Another deflection. Another gaslighting. Trump put these soldiers in harm’s way, and now he’s blaming another administration for his own failed policy.

3️⃣ X CAN CHANGE YOUR POLITICAL MIND IN SEVEN DAYS

A study published in Science reveals that tiny tweaks to Elon Musk’s X algorithm can produce the same level of political polarization in one week that historically took three years. Users didn’t even notice their feeds had been altered. This isn’t content delivery—it’s propaganda manufacturing. For those who’ve followed Narativ, you’ll remember we exposed how Musk was retweeting content directly from the Kremlin’s propaganda division. X is a Russian disinformation tool operating in plain sight. It should come with a surgeon general’s warning: your reality is being manufactured.

2️⃣ ZELENSKY’S RIGHT HAND FALLS

Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s closest confidant and lead negotiator, resigned hours after anti-corruption officers raided his home. A $100 million kickback scandal in energy and defense—the two sectors most sensitive as Ukrainians fight and freeze through blackouts. Zelensky’s former business partner fled to Israel. Two ministers resigned. The former deputy PM was jailed. Yermak was heading to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to finalize peace terms. If there’s a corruption angle involving him, you have to question how these negotiations even got started.

1️⃣ KUSHNER’S SURRENDER MISSION

Donald Trump dispatched Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff—a man with documented ties to Russian organized crime—to Moscow with a direct offer to Putin: formal U.S. recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. This is America waving Ukraine’s flag of surrender. The Telegraph reports it breaks decades of diplomatic convention refusing to legitimize borders redrawn by force. European allies are alarmed; Washington’s response was blunt: they can do whatever they want. The Ukrainian constitution prohibits ceding territory without a national vote. What Trump is doing isn’t just illegal under Ukrainian law—it should send a shiver down the spine of every world leader on earth. If they can hand away Ukraine’s land today, they can hand away anyone’s tomorrow.

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 Robin Payes, Pamela, CO, Rachel Hendricks, Steven Rosenzweig, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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* DURING THE LIVE BROADCAST ABOVE, I QUOTED AN INCORRECT NEW YORK TIMES HEADLINE THAT THE NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS WHO WERE SHOT IN D.C. HAD BEEN KILLED. THAT WAS WRONG. THE TWO ARE IN A CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER UNDERGOING SURGERY. THE TWO MEMBERS ARE SARAH BECKSTROM, 20, AND ANDREW WOLFE, 24.

SPECIAL GUEST:

Jacob Kaarsbo. - FORMER DANISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICER

1️⃣ BREAKING: NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS SHOT STEPS FROM WHITE HOUSE

As we were broadcasting live, news broke that two National Guard members were shot in Washington D.C., just steps from the White House. The suspect is in custody. The White House went on immediate lockdown. These weren’t soldiers deployed to a war zone — they were volunteers sent to patrol American streets as part of Trump’s theatrical takeover of D.C. policing. They were shot doing work that D.C. police are trained to do, because Trump wanted to suppress protests and project strength on television.

2️⃣ TRUMP’S ENVOY COACHED RUSSIA ON HOW TO HANDLE THE PRESIDENT

Bloomberg published the transcript of an October 14th call between Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov. Former Danish Defense Intelligence officer Jacob Kaarsbo, who joined us live, called it “almost treasonous.” Witkoff scripts what Putin should say: “Congratulate the president... say he’s a man of peace.” Then drops the real price: “Me to you, I know what it’s going to take — Donetsk and maybe a land swap.” When Witkoff mentions Zelensky’s upcoming White House visit, Ushakov chuckles: “I know that.” Trump’s response? “That’s what a deal maker does.”

3️⃣ THE 28-POINT PLAN WAS WRITTEN IN MOSCOW

Kaarsbo confirmed what we suspected: the Trump peace plan was authored by the Kremlin, translated through software, and handed to Witkoff to present as American diplomacy. Senator Mike Rounds said Rubio told him directly it was a “laundered plant from Russia.” The intelligence fallout is catastrophic — European allies have stopped sharing intel with the U.S. entirely. As Kaarsbo put it: no human source will risk their life when the president himself is doing the compromising.

4️⃣ COURTS CONFIRM: TRUMP-RUSSIA IS NOT A HOAX

The 11th Circuit — including two Trump appointees — unanimously upheld the dismissal of Trump’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and 28 others, plus $1 million in sanctions against Trump and Alina Habba. Every legal attempt to prove “Russia hoax” has failed. Sussmann acquitted. Danchenko acquitted. Trump’s lawsuit dismissed with sanctions. The Mueller findings stand.

5️⃣ GEORGIA DROPS ALL CHARGES

Prosecutor Peter Skandalakis dismissed the last criminal case against Trump — the “find me 11,780 votes” call. His logic: Trump’s term runs until 2029. The man who tried to steal an election on tape now faces zero criminal accountability.

This Thanksgiving Eve, two Americans are in hospital in a critical condition while courts confirmed the president works for Russia and his envoy coaches the Kremlin on how to manipulate him. Georgia let him walk. The system is shaking — but the judiciary is holding, even Trump’s own appointees ruling against him.

We ran long today because history kept happening.

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, Tom Kudla, Noble Blend, Lalisa, P. J. Schuster, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell and Jacob Kaarsbo! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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5️⃣ TRUMP APPROVAL CRASHES TO SECOND-TERM LOW

The Economist/YouGov poll dropped Trump to 38% approval—his worst of this term—with 57% disapproving. Women have abandoned him at historic levels: 31% approve versus 64% disapprove, a collapse from -22 to -33 net in a single week. His base backbone of older Americans is crumbling too, with both 45-64 and 65+ groups hitting record-low approval. Even Fox News polling shows 59% unfavorable and 46% saying Trump’s policies have personally hurt them. The Marquette poll delivers the knockout: 74% disapprove of his Epstein files handling—approaching Nixon-level crisis territory. When the president responds to these numbers by posting that his approval is “the highest of my political career,” you’re watching delusion in real time.

4️⃣ DEMOCRATS GO ON OFFENSE WITH 8-FIGURE RURAL AND LATINO PUSH

The DCCC just dropped “Our Power, Our Country”—an eight-figure investment targeting rural voters and communities of color, the exact demographics that drifted toward Trump in 2024. This isn’t charity; it’s strategy born from Spanberger and Sherrill’s gubernatorial wins proving these voters are gettable when you talk tariffs and affordability instead of coastal priorities. For 25 years, Democrats coasted on the assumption marginalized communities would show up automatically. Now they’re hiring organizers in battleground districts while Republicans gerrymander. The generic ballot already shows Democrats at 49% versus 44% GOP—expanding to 53-44 among certain voters. Add the enthusiasm gap (75% of Democrats certain to vote versus 68% of Republicans) and you’ve got a wave forming.

3️⃣ REPUBLICAN CIVIL WAR: McCONNELL GOES TO WAR WITH VANCE

Mitch McConnell publicly accused Putin of playing Trump “for a fool” and brawled with JD Vance on social media over the Ukraine peace plan. Brian Fitzpatrick called it “Russia’s absurd wish list” that should be “shredded for the garbage that it is.” Don Bacon called the 28-point proposal “disgusting.” Rubio got caught backpedaling after telling senators it was actually Russia-led, not American. The longest-serving Senate Republican leader told the Vice President that “a deal that rewards aggression wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on.” These old-guard Republicans were raised to hate Russia—and watching Trump send Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to negotiate with the Kremlin instead of the State Department is too much even for them.

2️⃣ BONDI DOUBLES DOWN ON REVENGE PROSECUTIONS—BUT THE CASES ARE DEAD

Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed “all available legal action, including an immediate appeal” after a federal judge tossed the criminal cases against James Comey and Letitia James. The problem: Comey’s statute of limitations has expired. Lindsay Halligan, Trump’s personal lawyer with zero prosecutorial experience, walked into that grand jury alone because no career DOJ lawyer would co-sign her career suicide. The judge ruled that letting the government “send any private citizen off the street into the grand jury room” so long as the AG approves “cannot be the law.” Halligan’s legal career is finished. Bondi’s should be. And every allegation Trump made about Comey, Brennan, and Obama conspiring against him has now been shown to be exactly what we always said: lies.

1️⃣ FBI TARGETS VETERAN LAWMAKERS FOR EXPLAINING THE CONSTITUTION

The FBI under Kash Patel is requesting interviews with six Democratic members of Congress—including Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Elissa Slotkin—for recording a video telling military members they can legally refuse unlawful orders. Pete Hegseth threatened to recall Kelly to active duty to face military charges. Donald Trump posted that sedition is punishable by death. Senator Slotkin, a former CIA officer, responded: “The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place. This is not the America I know.” Meanwhile, Patel himself may be out by December 15—thin ice over flying his girlfriend to wrestling shows on the FBI Gulfstream. And Hegseth? He tried to dunk on Kelly’s medal arrangement in a mirror selfie, not understanding how mirrors work. These are the people running American security.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The regime is collapsing from every direction—courts rejecting their prosecutors, their own party fighting over Ukraine, approval cratering to Nixon levels—and their response is to threaten death for members of Congress who quoted the Constitution to service members. The question isn’t whether this house of cards falls. It’s whether Americans seize the constitutional mechanisms available in 2026 to tear it down themselves.

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, Cash Flow Collective, Brodee Myers-Cooke, Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA, Pamela, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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Three DOJ Cases Implode

Monday delivered a trifecta of humiliation for Trump’s weaponized Justice Department.

Comey & James Dismissed: Federal Judge Cameron Currie threw out indictments against James Comey and Letitia James—and ejected the prosecutor. Lindsey Halligan, an insurance lawyer with zero prosecutorial experience, was Trump’s handpicked attack dog. The judge wrote that under the government’s theory, “any private citizen off the street” could secure an indictment with retroactive AG approval. “That cannot be the law.” Career prosecutors refused to touch these cases. Comey responded: “Rise and shine, America. It’s time to stand up and show the fools who would frighten us that we’re made of stronger stuff.”

Kelly Court Martial Threat: The “Department of War”—which doesn’t legally exist—announced it’s investigating Senator Mark Kelly for reminding troops they can refuse illegal orders. Trump posted about “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.” Kelly, a Navy captain and astronaut, fired back: “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies.” Congress never changed the name from Department of Defense. Every directive from Hegseth’s fantasy department is technically invalid.

Schiff Case “Keystone Cops”: GOP candidate Christine Bish testified investigators spent an hour asking who contacted her rather than examining evidence. Bill Pulte DMed her on X during the active investigation. The pattern: Trump weaponizes DOJ, staffs it with loyalists too incompetent to execute a political hit job.

MAGA’s Foreign Troll Army Unmasked

Elon accidentally did journalism. His new X feature revealing account locations exposed thousands of “America First” influencers as foreign operations—Russia, Eastern Europe, India, Nigeria, Bangladesh. MAGANationX (400K followers, “Patriot Voice for We The People”) = Eastern Europe. IvankaNews (1M followers) = Nigeria. JD Vance retweeted a Russian account attacking Canada. The feature was briefly removed when exposure went viral.

Carney at G20: “Who Cares?”

Asked whether he’d spoken to Trump, Canada’s PM delivered the line heard round the world: “Who cares? It’s a detail. I don’t have a burning issue to speak with the president about right now.” While Trump boycotted the summit, Carney ran the table—Germany, Sweden, UAE, India. The free world is building without him.

The Epstein Files Keep Coming

Ellie Leonard joined to discuss her deep dive into the Bannon-Epstein emails. The revelations: Epstein paying $10,000 monthly to scrub his Wikipedia, plans for a documentary featuring Woody Allen, schemes to rehabilitate his image through nonprofits for abused children. Bannon gradually took the upper hand in their relationship as Epstein became what he called “the pervert hermit.” The mainstream media silence on these documents is deafening—but as Dean noted, the people who control the news are the same people in those files.

The Bottom Line: Trump’s revenge prosecutions are collapsing in courtrooms. His threats to military heroes get laughed off. His MAGA army is exposed as foreign influence. World leaders are building the future without him. The institutions are biting back.

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.

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 White House called him a “commie.” Trump threatened to bankrupt New York City if voters elected him. On the eve of the election, the president personally endorsed disgraced ex-governor Andrew Cuomo over him. Zohran Mamdani won anyway with 50.4% in the highest turnout NYC election in over half a century—then walked into the Oval Office and made Trump fold.

That closed-door meeting Friday afternoon tells you everything about this presidency. Trump runs his mouth from the safety of Truth Social, but the moment he faces someone who won’t blink, he crumbles. Low energy. Servile body language. The 34-year-old democratic socialist standing while Trump sits, looking every bit the paper tiger he’s always been.

5️⃣ THE COAST GUARD’S SWASTIKA STUNT

The U.S. Coast Guard tried to reclassify swastikas and nooses as merely “potentially divisive” symbols rather than hate symbols in new harassment guidelines. After The Washington Post broke the story Thursday morning, the backlash was so immediate the Coast Guard completely reversed course by Thursday night. But here’s the tell: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s spokesperson attacked the Post as publishing “baseless smears and revolting lies” even as the Coast Guard confirmed the policy existed and then changed it. This is the same Coast Guard that fired its first female commandant on Trump’s first day in office for focusing on diversity initiatives. When your military can’t decide if swastikas represent hate, the rot runs deep.

4️⃣ PENTAGON “ACCIDENTALLY” INVADES MEXICO

U.S. Defense Department contractors in masks landed on Playa Bagdad in Tamaulipas, Mexico this week and hammered six signs into the sand declaring it “Department of Defense Property.” They were a dozen miles south of the actual border. Mexican Navy Marines showed up with machine guns, yanked out all the signs, and the contractors sped off while the Pentagon claimed “altered perception of the international boundary’s location” caused by shifting sandbars. This happened less than 48 hours after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told Trump that cooperation on cartels is fine, but U.S. military strikes on Mexican soil are absolutely not happening. The operation appears to have been staged from Elon Musk’s Starbase facility—a deliberate test of whether Mexico would push back. They did.

3️⃣ VANCE ATTACKS CANADA’S “DIVERSITY INSANITY”

Vice President JD Vance spent the week attacking Canada, claiming “no nation has leaned more into ‘diversity is our strength’ immigration insanity than Canada” and calling it a “prime example of self-destruction after blindly following left ideology.” He told Canadians their “stagnating living standards have nothing to do with Donald Trump.” This came literally the same week Canada locked in $50 billion from the UAE, tens of billions from Sweden for fighter jet production, and over $1 billion from Germany for naval systems. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s stated goal is to double non-U.S. exports within a decade. While Vance blames diversity for Canada’s problems, Canada is building an economic architecture that doesn’t need America—and it’s working.

2️⃣ TRUMP THREATENS TO HANG DEMOCRATS

The president retweeted a Nazi account calling for Democrats to be hanged “like George Washington would,” adding his own endorsement. This came after multiple Democrats released a video featuring former CIA operative and Navy legal expert explaining that Trump has already committed over 150 unlawful acts and urging military personnel not to follow unlawful orders. Now a Democratic challenger in North Carolina’s District 5 is running explicitly on “impeach, convict, remove” as his entire platform. David Clayton dumped his prepared speech and told voters that on day one of winning his race, he’ll introduce articles of impeachment. When the president threatens to hang you for opposing him, maybe Democrats need to stop pretending this is normal politics.

1️⃣ THE EPSTEIN FILES ARE COMING

This was Trump’s worst week of his presidency. Not because of the death threats or the Mexico invasion or even Mamdani embarrassing him. It was worst because both the House and Senate voted unanimously to force the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s files—and Trump had to sign it into law. There’s no procedural trick left. No executive privilege maneuver. The files are coming, likely within 30 days, and they contain what one person close to the situation called “the dirtiest things about him that nobody ever knew.”

Trump spent Friday throwing red meat to Fox News about socialism and New York’s mayor-elect, desperately trying to change the subject from the unanimous bipartisan vote that just guaranteed his Epstein nightmare goes public. He can stage meetings with Mamdani. He can threaten Democrats. He can let his Pentagon play invasion games in Mexico. But he can’t stop what’s coming—and he knows it.

The paper tiger presidency is unraveling in real time. Low energy. Discolored hands. Disassociative outbursts. And the Epstein files ticking like a bomb he can’t defuse.

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.

SHOW NOTES SUMMARY

Trump’s worst week culminates in a closed-door meeting with NYC’s 34-year-old socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani—the man Trump tried everything to defeat and couldn’t intimidate. We break down the Coast Guard’s swastika policy flip, the Pentagon’s “accidental” invasion of Mexico staged from Musk’s facility, JD Vance attacking Canada the same week it secured $70B in deals that cut America out, Trump threatening to hang Democrats, and the real story: unanimous House and Senate votes forcing Epstein file disclosure within 30 days. The paper tiger presidency is unraveling.

Thank you Nick Paro, Cathy R. Payne, Cheech Previti, Nancy McAllister, Leah Anderson, 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

5️⃣ TRUMP’S DEATH THREAT MELTDOWN

Donald Trump spent last night threatening to execute six Democratic lawmakers—all military veterans or intelligence professionals—for reminding U.S. troops that they have a legal duty to refuse illegal orders. Hours after being forced to sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act following a 427-1 House vote, Trump posted “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and amplified a supporter’s call to “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!” The targets: Senators Elissa Slotkin (former CIA), Mark Kelly (astronaut and Navy captain), plus Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan, and Maggie Goodlander—all veterans who released a video titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship” explaining basic military law. Their message was simple: your oath is to the Constitution, not the president, and you can refuse orders that violate it. Trump’s response was to threaten capital punishment for free speech while declaring “their words cannot be allowed to stand” and demanding they be “arrested and put on trial.” This isn’t just rhetoric anymore—the Commander-in-Chief is threatening to hang members of Congress for teaching troops about the Uniform Code of Military Justice that JAG schools have taught for 80 years since Nuremberg.

4️⃣ TRUMP’S BEAUTY QUEEN PROSECUTOR NUKES COMEY CASE

Trump’s handpicked prosecutor in the James Comey revenge case just admitted in federal court that the grand jury never actually saw the final indictment they used to charge him. Lindsey Halligan—a 36-year-old former insurance lawyer and beauty pageant contestant with zero prosecutorial experience who met Trump at his golf club—indicted Comey four days into her new job as U.S. Attorney, over the objections of career prosecutors. Judges are now using phrases like “disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” and Comey’s lawyers argue the statute of limitations has expired, meaning the government can never fix this. The grand jury saw a three-count indictment, one count failed, so prosecutors just edited it down to two counts and filed it without going back—the constitutional shield against political prosecution just got paperwork-ed away by someone whose previous job was scrubbing “anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian.

3️⃣ THE BANNON-EPSTEIN FILES: TRAFFICKING KATIE MILLER

New emails from the Epstein Files dump reveal Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein discussing trafficking Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, to Epstein’s island and Zorro Ranch. “If you and Miss Miller want some privacy, you can use Island or Palm Beach House,” Epstein wrote. Bannon replied “Thanks brother” and “I’m all in” when Epstein suggested taking “Miss Miller to the ranch sometime this summer.” The emails reveal a pattern where Epstein didn’t just traffic underage girls—he deployed adult women as spies embedded in positions of power. The women came back and reported what they found out, collecting intelligence for leverage. This explains so much about how this network operated, from Melania to Katie Miller, and why these relationships might not be what they appear to be on the surface.

2️⃣ WYDEN DROPS JPMORGAN-EPSTEIN BOMBSHELL

Senator Ron Wyden released a report showing JPMorgan Chase executives enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation while severely underreporting his suspicious transactions to the U.S. government for decades, potentially violating federal anti-money laundering laws. Top bank staff reporting directly to CEO Jamie Dimon closely supervised Epstein’s accounts, with one executive coaching Epstein on how to sanitize his suspiciously large cash withdrawals—$1.3 billion in transactions hidden until Epstein’s death. Wyden revealed that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is blocking release of Treasury’s Epstein file containing thousands of detailed bank records mapping the financial network, and called for criminal investigation of JPMorgan while accusing Trump and AG Pam Bondi of running “fake investigations” as cover. This isn’t just compliance failure—this connects to the systematic financial crimes that collapsed the economy in 2008, costing 10 million jobs and destroying the American middle class. The entire network has to go.

1️⃣ TRUMP COULD HAVE INVESTIGATED DEMOCRATS IN 2019, BUT DIDN’T

Trump was president when Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and died in 2019—Bill Barr was his Attorney General. They had all the evidence then. The evidence roster shows surveillance, video, photographs from multiple houses documenting exactly what happened and who was involved. “They would have known which famous people in the Democrats or the Republicans were involved in some crimes. But they chose not to prosecute any of those people,” Zev explained. Six years later, with the spotlight now turned on him, Trump is suddenly targeting Democrats while his own administration presided over the only two deaths in the Epstein network. “Did anybody in the Epstein ring die during other administrations?” Dean asked. “No, there was no Jeffrey Epstein accidentally committing suicide or whatever it was.” The 2019 arrests now look less like justice and more like an orchestrated operation to silence Epstein and Maxwell while protecting the broader network. Trump and Barr had the power to investigate everyone in 2019—they chose to go after only Epstein and Maxwell, who Trump now discusses commuting. “None of these other presidents were his best friend,” Zev pointed out. “Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were best friends. They were business partners.” Now Trump threatens to hang Democrats while pretending he just discovered files his own administration had six years ago. The files are coming in 30 days, and Trump knows they won’t be good for him.

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.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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Attorney General Pam Bondi stood at a podium Today and accidentally revealed the entire plan. Asked about new Epstein investigations she’d just announced—conveniently targeting only Democrats—she stammered through non-answers about “information” and “things” before finally admitting she’d defer to a deputy’s social media post. The performance would be laughable if it weren’t so transparent: create new investigations, claim active cases prevent disclosure, and bury everything under “national security” exceptions built into the very legislation Congress just passed.

5️⃣ Harvard Reopens the Piggy Bank

Harvard University announced it’s launching a new investigation into former president Lawrence Summers and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein—an extraordinary reversal of a case the school thought it closed in 2020. House documents revealed Summers exchanged hundreds of messages with Epstein through July 5, 2019, one day before Epstein’s arrest. The emails show Summers seeking Epstein’s advice on pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he called his “mentee,” with Epstein playing “wing man.” The probe will also examine Summers’ wife Elisa New, who solicited thousands in Epstein funding for her projects years after Harvard claimed it stopped taking his money. Summers has since resigned or been fired from Bloomberg, the New York Times, and the Center for American Progress. Nobody’s defending Larry Summers anymore—not Democrats, not Republicans. The dog pile reveals something crucial: 80% of Americans don’t care about party affiliation when it comes to Epstein. They want answers, full stop.

4️⃣ The Indictment That Never Was

In stunning courtroom admissions across two days and two courts, Justice Department prosecutors acknowledged that a full grand jury never reviewed the final indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. After the grand jury rejected an early three-count indictment, prosecutors simply had the foreperson sign a revised two-count version without presenting it to the full panel. Defense attorney Michael Dreeben—who argued 105 cases before the Supreme Court—told the judge bluntly: “There is no indictment Mr. Comey is facing.” Lindsay Halligan, the 36-year-old former Trump Tower employee turned prosecutor, appears to have freelanced charges against Comey on Trump’s orders. Federal magistrate judges in separate proceedings catalogued errors, misstatements, and possible attorney-client privilege abuses. This isn’t just procedural incompetence—it’s the idiocracy in action, appointing people willing to break any rule to protect their leader.

3️⃣ Things Happen

President Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi with two words that capture everything: “things happen.” Despite CIA assessments concluding MBS approved Khashoggi’s 2018 dismemberment in a Turkish consulate, Trump hosted him at a White House state dinner complete with Army honor guard, black horses, herald trumpeters, and F-35 flyovers. When ABC’s Mary Bruce asked about the murder, Trump called it a “horrible, insubordinate” question and threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcast license. The day before, aboard Air Force One, he’d called Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucy “quiet piggy” for asking if anything incriminating about him existed in the Epstein files. Two days, two female reporters, both asking legitimate questions about abuse of power. Trump’s response? Protect the murderer, bully the journalists, and collect MBS’s promise to increase Saudi investments from $600 billion to “almost $1 trillion.” The pageantry wasn’t diplomacy—it was sport-washing a murderer while the Epstein votes were still being counted.

2️⃣ The Investigation That Materialized

Four months after the Justice Department closed the Epstein case claiming “no information that would lead officials to investigate anyone else,” Bondi announced a new probe targeting Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, and Larry Summers. The timing is surgical: the investigation creates a legal loophole to block document release under the “active investigation” exception in the legislation Congress just passed. Bondi claimed “new information” but refused to specify what changed or why it suddenly appeared after months of public pressure. The pattern is clear—when Trump’s executive order lets only the president and attorney general decide what the law means, and when everything becomes a “national emergency,” they can drape that tarp over any documents they choose. The investigation targets only Democrats despite Trump’s decades-long friendship with Epstein. The enforcement mechanism if DOJ refuses congressional demands? A subpoena requiring Bondi to prosecute herself. Toothless by design.

1️⃣ The Silence Before the Storm

For a week, official Washington talked constantly about Jeffrey Epstein—except the agency holding the files. The Justice Department maintained complete silence until Bondi’s vague promise of “maximum transparency while protecting victims.” The reality stares us down: if Trump wanted these files released, he could have ordered it any time in six months. Instead, he constructed elaborate theater while building legal barriers to disclosure. The legislation contains massive exceptions—anything that would “jeopardize an active investigation” (hello, Bondi’s convenient new probe), anything with “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” anything depicting child abuse, anything classified. The House and Senate voted near-unanimously—427 to 1 and 97 to 1—telling the president to release these files. That’s not a suggestion. That’s a no-confidence vote. And Trump still hasn’t signed the legislation sitting on his desk since 8 AM. The beginning of the end is here, and the regime knows it.

SHOW NOTES SUMMARY: Congress passed near-unanimous legislation forcing release of Jeffrey Epstein files, but Attorney General Pam Bondi already leaked the cover-up plan: launch new investigations targeting Democrats, claim “active cases” prevent disclosure, and hide everything under national security exceptions. Meanwhile, Trump defended MBS over Khashoggi’s murder saying “things happen,” the DOJ admitted no grand jury saw the final Comey indictment, and Harvard reopened investigations into Larry Summers’ extensive Epstein ties. The 80% of Americans demanding transparency don’t care about party—they want answers. The regime’s flailing response proves they’re terrified of what’s in those files.

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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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