Media Notes

The saga of the Epstein Files has resurfaced this week with the pronouncement from Attorney General Pam Bondi that the secret files—which allegedly contain the names of the rich and powerful who were implicated in Epstein’s sex abuse scandals—do not in fact exist. Attaching any credence to this revelation has been made harder by Bondi herself, who declared at the outset of her term that the very same files were “sitting on my desk right now.” Legions of MAGA faithful, having invested years of conspiracy-mongering around the Epstein story, are furious at Bondi’s betrayal. Everyone else is curious to learn who she is protecting.

Happily we can thank The Court of History—one of the best of the new online interview shows—for shedding light on this boiling pot. The program is hosted by author, journalist and political savant Sidney Blumenthal together with the prolific Princeton historian Sean Wilentz. The featured guest for the Epstein episode is Michael Wolff, one of the foremost chroniclers of the Trump era, who has a lot to report about Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein.

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Spectator readers are invited to tune in tonight, July 10 at 7 PM, for Press Freedom under assault; Protecting our Democracy, a public forum on press freedoms  (see registration link below).  The forum features several leading figures in American journalism, including Sylvester Monroe, Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy; Geoffrey Cowan, University Professor of Communication at USC and a distinguished First Amendment attorney; Susan Goldberg, the president and CEO of GBH, the largest producer of PBS content and a major provider of NPR programming; and Kevin Merida, the former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times and the former managing editor of the Washington Post. Press Freedom under assault; Protecting our Democracy is sponsored by ClassAct, a group of Harvard Alumni and kicks off at 7 PM ET. Register for this forum here.