Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 189

Navigating the Nonsense

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 189: Navigating the Nonsense

Vance Pushes Conspiracy Theory On Epstein and Israel

July 19, 2026 · 8:56 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Vice President JD Vance embraced claims that there were ties between the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the ‘highest levels’ of Israeli intelligence, echoing conspiracy theories that have been a source of tension among conservatives,” the New York Times reports.

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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.