After an announcement from the Justice Department that a master list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients—a list the MAGA world had previously placed at the center of a grand government plot—didn’t actually exist, conspiracy theories fractured. And Trump made up one of his own, as Chris Lehmann reported. “Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. You read that right: Trump admits that the Epstein Files exist, but claims they were contrived by his enemies.

Who knows if anyone will believe that one? But regardless, the guy is still racking up wins, particularly at the Supreme Court. As Elie Mystal explains, SCOTUS voted 6—3 in McMahon v. New York, allowing Linda McMahon to lay off over half of the people who work for the Department of Education. DOGE might have seemed to evaporate with Trump and Elon’s rift, but its effects seem to be alive and well.

But the world still turns, for now. Amid disastrous weather this summer, don’t forget how things have changed, as Mark Hertsgaard reminds us.

-Alana Pockros

Engagement Editor, The Nation

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