Philip Rotner: “The DOJ’s deliberately opaque phrasing about what was not in the Epstein files tells us absolutely nothing about what was. The three words that do all the work here—’incriminating,’ ‘client,’ and ‘list’—only raise more questions.”

“What, exactly is an ‘incriminating ‘client list’? Why are the words ‘client list” in quotation marks? What does the absence of an ‘incriminating ‘client list’’ tell us about what is revealed in the Epstein files? Does it mean that Epstein’s clients, enablers, and party bros are indeed identified in the files, but not in the format of a ‘list’? Does it mean that there’s a list, but it doesn’t expressly identify those on it as ‘clients’? Does it mean that there’s a list of clients, but the Trump DOJ doesn’t interpret it as ‘incriminating’? If Epstein hooked up some of his party bros with underage (or drugged or coerced) girls but didn’t get paid money for doing so, are the bros—whose conduct may have crossed the line into criminality—’clients’? If their names are in a black book, a flight log, or a guest registry, is that a ‘list’? Is it a ‘client list’? Is it an ‘incriminating client list’?”

Playbook: “In an era with low trust in institutions, widespread frustration with politics and deep cynicism about Washington, how do you continue to win when you’re the party already in power? By continuing to brand yourself as the outsiders — and picking fights that try to underscore that.”

“More than most politicians, Trump innately grasps a reality that drives our modern moment: Attention means power, and conflict generally means attention. Trump’s ongoing MAGA revolution in Washington has concrete policy goals, but it has an overarching political one, too: driving a message that frames their actions time and again as those of outsiders going to war against the status quo.”

“That’s the throughline that connects a seemingly disparate array of stories right now.”

The Atlantic: “Not quite six months into his new term, President Donald Trump has fulfilled many of his campaign promises. He has cut taxes, launched trade wars, frustrated longtime international allies, cracked down on border crossings, and slashed the federal government. He steamrolled the opposition, including members of his own party, to push through Congress a far-reaching and expensive piece of legislation that contains nearly his entire domestic agenda.”

“Now the next phase of his presidency—as well as next year’s midterms—could be defined by his bet that the Republican bill, and other Trump policies, will usher in a booming economy. If that wager pays off, it would reinforce one of Trump’s strongest issues—but Democrats see an opening to hit the president for disproportionately helping the wealthy at the expense of the poor. The White House won’t push for another big legislative package between now and next November.”

“Instead, Trump will turn to selling and defending what his party just passed, in addition to focusing on what he believes are his core political strengths: high-stakes trade deals and high-profile immigration clashes. Oh, and he wouldn’t mind winning a Nobel Peace Prize too.”

“For months, President Donald Trump and his homeland security secretary have said the Federal Emergency Management Agency could be eliminated,” the Washington Post reports.

“But as the president heads to Texas to view the impact of last week’s deadly floods, administration officials say abolishing the agency outright is not on the agenda.”

“Steve Bannon has called for a special prosecutor to investigate the Epstein files as MAGA world’s noisiest voices cause trouble for Donald Trump with political wrangling over the issue,” The Telegraph reports.

Said Rob Finnerty on Newsmax: “It’s almost like the Justice Department doesn’t want us talking about Jeffrey Epstein anymore.”