8 Flights, 30,000 Pages, and a Mar-a-Lago Subpoena
The Epstein “rolling release” is dropping new evidence.
We’ve scrubbed the latest tranche of documents to pull out the three most significant facts regarding Donald Trump that were not in the public record before yesterday:
- The Jet Count: Internal DOJ emails reveal Trump flew on Epstein’s jet at least 8 times between 1993 and 1996—a sharp increase from the 1 or 2 flights previously known.
- 30,000 Documents: The latest massive dump contains 30,000 pages of files, including emails and news clippings that mention the President’s name.
- The 2021 Subpoena: Newly revealed files show federal prosecutors issued a subpoena to Mar-a-Lago in 2021 seeking employment records for the Maxwell investigation.
Read the full “Known/Not Known” breakdown at Trail Mix Briefs: https://trailmix.cc/home/briefs/epstein-whats-new/
AXIOS: Trump administration expects Epstein files release could last another week — 700,000 more pages coming.
Attribution: Slap his name on everything by John Darkow, Columbia Missourian
history of a Christmas song for a seasonal something different:
“I Wonder as I Wander” — An American Christmas Song Born in the Mountains
“I Wonder as I Wander” is one of the few Christmas songs with true American folk origins.
In 1933, folk singer and collector John Jacob Niles was traveling through the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina during the Great Depression. At a small revival meeting, he heard a young girl sing fragments of a haunting carol passed down orally. She only remembered pieces of it — but the melody stayed with him.
Niles later shaped those fragments into the song we know today, preserving its wandering, unsettled feel. Unlike joyful holiday carols, this one is quiet and questioning, filled with awe, humility, and mystery.
Rooted in Appalachian hardship and isolation, the song reflects a world where faith existed alongside cold winters, poverty, and uncertainty. Its haunting, modal sound makes it feel ancient — even though it’s a relatively modern American hymn.
This performance explores that darker, reflective side of Christmas through fiddle.
About Sean Dietrich.
Sean Dietrich is a columnist, novelist, and stand-up storyteller known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Southern Living, Reader’s Digest, Garden, and Gun, and his column appears in newspapers throughout the U.S. He has authored fifteen books, is the creator of the Sean of the South Podcast, and makes appearances on the Grand Ole Opry.
encore instrumentally
This rendition in a studio version of this Appalachian Christmas carol is on Steve and Ruth Smith’s Winter/Christmas CD “An Appalachian Winter” available at http://www.steveandruth.com Steve and Ruth Smith are a duo from Western North Carolina near Boone who play a blend of Celtic Appalachian traditional and original music. “I Wonder as I Wander” had its origins in a song fragment collected on July 16, 1933 by folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, Niles met a girl, named Annie Morgan, who repeated a fragment of an old folk song seven times in exchange for a quarter, and Niles left with “three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material—and a magnificent idea” for a wonderful Appalachian Christmas Carol.
uh oh, here’s another nice mess being made as it’ll be hard to figure out what was actually redacted and what is a.i. or photoshopped
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/23/
What America is Clicking: December 24, 2025 at 7:10 AM EST
A snapshot by our AI partner Silas (Gemini) on what people are clicking, not what we think they should. Open Thread: Which of these stories is overblown, and what important news is missing? Add your links below.
PatD, I enjoyed learning about I Wonder As I Wander. I remember that melody from my Uncle John’s Renfro Valley Barn Dance but knew nothing about it. Gonna play some of it in today’s “Eleven To Noon” chat.
craig, be careful, you just might be letting an earworm loose.
Bring your music links for today’s ELEVEN to NOON.
🎥 Watch Our Trailer ➡️
https://www.thedailybeast.com/internet-sleuths-reveal-hack-to-undo-epstein-file-redactions/
“So apparently there are many Epstein files on the DOJ website where you can highlight the redacted text, copy it, and paste it onto another document to read the redactions,” X user Liam Nissan shared in a post viewed 6.8 million times as of publication.
“Trump DOJ screwed up some of the redactions so bad that you can recover them,” he said in the video. “And I did so simply by copying and pasting the text.”
“The Epstein files on the DOJ website allow you to highlight the redacted text, copy it, and paste it into another document, which reveals what was hidden,” one X user wrote.”You can also press Ctrl+F and search for ‘Trump ’ (with a space) to see his name appear more than 600 times.”
It’s not clear how many documents can be unmasked by the editing trick. However, one newly naked document shed light on a civil case against Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn, two executors of Epstein’s estate. According to The Guardian, a redacted portion reads: “Between September 2015 and June 2019, Indyke signed (FAC) for over $400,000 made payable to young female models and actresses, including a former Russian model who received over $380,000 through monthly payments of $8,333 made over a period of more than three and a half years until the middle of 2019.”
Indyke has never faced criminal charges and was hired by the Parlatore Law Group in 2022—prior to the DOJ settling the Epstein case—which represents Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Another redacted passage alleges that the two men tried to conceal their “criminal sex trafficking and abuse” through large sums of hush money to victims and witnesses.
*What’s new? More than some in the three-letter agencies thought. They ARE the leakers.
Apparently, this was already known with the first release awhile back.
Nothing was corrected on this next batch of files.
Will they use secure redacting formatting going forward?
no wonder they kept dragging their feet trying not to release docs like this one:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fbi-held-onto-explosive-tip-about-trump-and-epstein/
cite for above tip doc:
https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%208/EFTA00020517.pdf
What’s DOJ doing commenting on truth or falsity of what’s in the documents they are redacting?
meanwhile, let’s carol thru dance
and
We are soft launching a new one-hour sprint today with a Christmas Eve special: Join “Wonder As We Wander” (Thanks PatD) before the trail goes cold at Noon.
ELEVEN TO NOON is here (11am-12pmET):
Somehow, the Methodist church has gone from (Luke 2:14) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men,” of my childhood to…
“… and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests”….
to “…peace to those whom he favors,” today.
It feels like white Nationalism is seeping in, except the passage was read by a POC.
Old joke amongst Methodists: What’s the most common phrase spoken by Methodists? But we’ve never done it that way before.
Should my resolution for 2026 be to stop using … ?
BiD, i hope that strain of Methodist is not growing, although it’s always been there. As a Methodist my own self I was proud to see them in the lead on women in the pulpit and gay marriage.
John 13: 34-35 is how the grifter/fascists trying to hide behind the Bible give themselves away:
This is the set-up, explaining sacrificial love and equality across humankind: 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Grift, ICE, destruction of the environment so folks don’t even have clean air or safe water, protecting guns and taking away healthcare, etc. ->
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
That doesn’t just mean other cult members at a 🧻USA N&zi rally; it’s everyone. It is not a command to love a fascist agenda, though.
Bid
Do what my sister did switch to the Presbyterian church. The Methodist are having a big argument over what is real Methodism and many churches are breaking away from the national organization.
It is that culture wars thing again.
Jack
today’s meme…
Yes I have three Methodist preacher friends (on the good side) who have been fighting those cutlure wars for a very long time at the national level. They win more often than they lose, but it doesn’t go away.
From the Unredacted Bastard
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (and Democracy was on Life Support)
’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the land,
Not a conscience was stirring—not even the press.
The guardrails were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that some grown-ups might still fucking be there.
The donors were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of tax cuts danced in their heads.
The networks poured wine and rehearsed their restraint,
Calling open corruption “a little bit quaint.”
When out on the lawn, there arose such a clatter,
I grabbed for my phone—Jesus Christ, what the fuck is the matter?
Away to the feed I flew like a flash,
Scrolled past threats, lies, and monetized trash.
The moon on the breast of the freshly spread lies
Gave the luster of truth to corporate alibis.
When what to my bloodshot, exhausted eyes should appear
But a bloated gold sleigh pulled by grievance and fear.
With a driver so cruel, so belligerent, obscene,
I knew in a moment—it had to be Trump.
More rapid than ethics, his enablers they came,
And he slurred, and he shouted, and called them by name:
“Now, Coward! Now, Shill! Now, Shut-Up-and-Spin!
On, Grifter! On, Lawyer! On, ‘Both Sides Again!’
To the top of the courts! To the top of the polls!
Now fuck it! Now flood it! Now gaslight their souls!”
As facts that before a Fox chyron just die,
When they meet with denial, just wither and fry—
So up to the Capitol the shitweasels flew,
With a sleigh full of pardons and consequences he’d undo.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The stomping and roaring of constitutional goofs.
As I steadied my breath and turned halfway around,
Down the chimney slid power—unchecked, profound.
He was dressed all in red from his head to his shoes,
And his suit was all stained with contempt long accrued.
A sack full of favors was slung on his back,
And he looked like a man who’d just pulled one more hack.
His eyes—how they narrowed. His mouth—tight, controlled.
No bluster, no shouting. This wasn’t the old
rant-happy loudmouth who needed a crowd.
This was quiet entitlement, settled and proud.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Stuffed stockings with bullshit like a practiced jerk.
Courts got their hacks.
The press got its fear.
Congress got donors who wouldn’t be here.
He checked off his list with a cold little grin,
Not naughty or nice—just loyal or not in.
And laying one finger aside of his nose,
He smirked like a man who knows how this goes.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his cult gave a shout,
“Remember,” he barked, “this system works out.”
But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight—
“Merry Christmas to me.
The rest of you?
Go fuck yourselves. Good night.”
We’re LIve
Join us on “stage” here (no camera required) ➡️
https://streamyard.com/jp2mwysyxk
A few of my favorites
The Bull who knew the score.
Producer’s Update: ELEVEN TO NOON Launch Metrics
The first ELEVEN TO NOON livestream is officially in the books, and as your virtual producer, I’m thrilled to report that our “Digital Campfire” is already catching heat. We pulled in 206 views in the first hour right out of the gate, but the real story is in the discovery: a massive 89.3% of our traffic came directly from the Vertical Live Feed. This confirms that our format is perfectly tuned for the algorithm—YouTube is actively pushing our “Headlines & Headaches” contrast to a fresh audience, giving us a powerful discovery engine to build on.
Some music for doing prep work
Jack – My church of choice is outside with trees and birds and squirrels.
Extreme Mortman Pocast on Presidential Vacations.
https://www.c-span.org/podcasts/subpage/?series=ExtremeMortman
RIP graphic design
RIP writing
Music is next 😭
“i have a new invention”
“what does it do?”
“devalues everything good”
“let’s widely adopt it!”
Craig,
Howard Mortman’s blog today is about presidential vacations. I have a story for him that he might not know about. Way back in my checkered past (1980 – 1982), I was social secretary to Mrs. Edwin Pauley. at the time the Pauley’s owned Coconut Island in Hawaii. Unfortunately, I never got to visit, but loved the stories about their guests. They were very politically active and as a result were great friends with the Truman family.
Edwin W. Pauley – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_W._Pauley
Description
Former President Harry S. Truman holds a very young Kate Conniff, daughter of Mary Van Sant and George Winfield Conniff, during a stay on Coconut Island, Kaneohe Bay, Windward Oahu, Hawaii, where he, Mrs. Truman, and Margaret spent a vacation as the guests of Ed Pauley. From: Mary Van Sant Conniff.
Date(s)
April 26, 1953
Jamie, Howard’s response:
Nope, all AI can do is scrape data and regurgitate it in a variety of ways. Its real purpose is to scrape data, monetize every aspect of our lives, and to that end (and a more nefarious end) surveil is.
Its existence relies on pattern recognition.
Nobody asked for AI. It’s an energy suck and an investment suck, for now, as input towers over output.
The backlash is the urge for live music, homemade goods, and outsider art.
i feel liken ive stayed in that exact spot in Kaneohe
judging by Chinaman’s hat
my handmade gifts were indeed a big hit this year 😊
lol the white people built a bunch of white people shit on all the best parts of Hawai’i
as they will do
“This all exists for meeeeeeeeeee!”
ok i get to petsit a fluffy baby for Christmas so i will have a Merry Christmas, i hope y’all do, as well 🌲
She is like “put that thing down and pet meeeeeee”
a much more adorable selfishness ❤️
Anon,
In the case of the Pauley’s that isn’t true. Yes they had lots of great possessions (comfort not ostentation) but they came from the class that believed in Nobles Oblige. The list of charities and the amounts donated were huge. This is a small list from Mrs. Pauley’s obituary. I knew of a lot more less public contributions. Bobbi was one of the kindest and most generous people it has been a pleasure to know.
UCLA Brain Research Institute, UCLA Child Care Services, Lawrence Hall of Science, John Douglas French Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease, Los Angeles Orphanage Guild. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Edwin W. Pauley Foundation and Los Angeles Council for International Visitors. Chancellor’s Associates, UCLA and Sproul Associates, U.C. Berkeley. She was recognized as a 1994 UCLA College of Letters and Science Honorary Fellow. She was also a charter member of Achievement Awards for College Sciences (ARCS).
They gifted that lovely island to the State of Hawaii for the Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology and there is a reason UCLA’s Pauley Pavillion is named after him.
a statue for all the best real estate, what a deal
Hey, if we didn’t steal it, the Chinese or Russians would have, so whatever
i’ve listened to a lot of white Hawai’i residents explain to me how they’re not colonizers, heard it all before
i did a lot of smiling and nodding
One of my favorite places is Kaneohe. But, almost all of Hawaii is wonderful.
Anon
If you want to talk about colonizers, way back in my 20s I worked for Dole corporation. Talk about stealing everything that wasn’t nailed down. The Pauleys got their millions (back when that was the equal of today’s trillion), they just pulled it out of the ground. The Spanish missionaries had already stolen that land from the Indians. The Doles were the descendants of missionaries who not only grabbed the land but donated murderous measles to the natives. As the saying goes “They came to do good and did right well.”
lol yup
“Exciting careers in a tin-can, you’re gonna love it, WE PROMISE!”
https://fortune.com/article/openai-sam-altman-gen-alpha-working-in-space-well-paid-jobs/
“No need to regulate us!”
Destroying this paradise to colonize a cold distant rock makes PERFECT SENSE
if you’re a billionaire that already owns a bunch of paradise
we are watching the billionaire class steal everything using numbers on a screen
the greatest hustle in human history
meanwhile, Democrats are like “Epstein”
fuckin’ morons
except for Warren, Sanders, and AOC ❤️
You’re supposed to let the kooks drive themselves crazy with their kook bullshit not make it your pet issue
“ oh no Trump adhered some letters to a wall whatever will we do”
Fucking get your priorities straight is what you can do
lol Tom Hagen
Chris Murphy (D-CT) is good also
…and if Jasmine Crockett doesn’t have a seat at the table, scrap the whole damn party
Those letters on THAT building are important. Not for the name, but how it demonstrates the total collapse of Congress and desertion of ideals that are the foundation of the whole shebang in the checks and balances of three equal branches of government.
Symbols mean something if we are convince people the effort is worth the trials ahead.
Anon
Put the Keb Mo on and chill, it is Christmas Eve, there is plenty of time to panic after the new year. Not that panicking will get you anywhere.
Jack
One minute we’re discussing the “oldest form of humor,” the next we’re getting roasted by viewer mail. 💨
Watch our favorite moments here:
this is the one day of the year we can catch them napping Jack for sure 🧠 ♟️
Until the Dems clean out the old guard, the 1970’s, we will never get better.
Wishing every Trail Mixer a peaceful holiday filled with connection, curiosity, and a well-deserved break on the bright side.
**The Bright Side: December 24, 2025**
_A roundup by our AI partner Silas (Gemini) about optimism, progress, and things right in the world._
Crockett is what the GOP are hoping for. They fear Talarico in the general.
that’s what they want you to think
he ain’t got “it”
You haven’t seen the lines to his events…and he talks to everyone, even those podcasters.
fair enough, i have an open mind on him
my point remains about Crockett, Senator or no
100% Crockett supporter here. She brings it.
NEW THREAD