Hey, good morning. Here's the latest on Joe Biden, Bob Iger, Kara Swisher, John Oliver, Larry Collmus, Bowen Yang, and many more... |
In 2023, Dan Bongino, star podcaster, demanded to know: "What the hell are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein?"
In 2025, Dan Bongino, FBI deputy director, disappointed the 2023 version of himself. "I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself," he wrote Sunday on X.
Bongino was flooded with replies, many of the accusatory variety, from people who refuse to believe him. And that backlash is part of a broader political phenomenon. Some self-identified loyalists of President Trump are turning against Trump's top law enforcement officials, partly because of the unsupported MAGA media claims that made those officials popular in the first place. Listeners accustomed to conspiracy theories and "just asking questions" innuendo aren't accepting the answers they're getting.
The Bulwark's Will Sommer has been all over this story in his False Flag newsletter. He wrote last month that Bongino has been straining "to calm his social media skeptics." Here's the problem: "His audience has been told for years that prominent liberals and deep-state operatives have committed blatant crimes against the Trump family that should be easy to prosecute. Yet no top Democrats have been indicted, leading Trump fans to believe Bongino is falling down on the job.”
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The 'there' there is not there |
In an obvious effort to placate the MAGA faithful, Bongino and his boss, FBI director Kash Patel, granted their first interview to Fox's Maria Bartiromo over the weekend.
They used the appearance to bash past FBI leaders and promise that they are fixing what Trump fans believe is broken about the agency. But the two men also repeatedly tried to tamp down expectations about future revelations. And in a couple of cases they tried to deflate conspiratorial claims that have propped up and united Trump's base.
For example: Many MAGA media influencers have argued that the government is covering up info about last year's Trump assassination attempts. When Bartiromo asked about the cases, Bongino let out a sigh, then emphasized that he had personally reviewed all the evidence. "In some of these cases, the 'there' you're looking for, is not there," he said.
Tommy Vietor, who served in the Obama administration and now co-hosts "Pod Save America," said it was "fascinating to watch Patel and Bongino transition from feeding the base lies and conspiracy theories to being in positions of actual responsibility and occasionally having to tell the truth."
For more on all this, check out my latest CNN.com column...
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Biden diagnosis amid 'Original Sin' |
The news of Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis united political leaders but only intensified partisan brawling over the former president and the allegations of a health cover-up. Some of the arguments involve "Original Sin," the Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson book that comes out tomorrow.
The book is about mortality (and the need for transparency) and it is framed as a tragedy — so on one level the cancer diagnosis underscores the importance of the reporting.
The timing, however, has some liberals denouncing any and all scrutiny of Biden and many conservatives suspecting another cover-up. As
Politico Playbook noted this morning, "MAGA-adjacent social media is lit this morning with accusations that this announcement is suspicious."
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Trump praises Iger, rages at ABC |
While in the UAE last week, Trump let slip that Disney CEO Bob Iger recently paid him a visit. Trump referenced Disney's plans for a new theme park in Abu Dhabi and said Iger "was showing it to me" the other day, adding, "It's going to be incredible."
That's some important context for Saturday's Truth Social rant against ABC. Trump wrote, "Why doesn't Chairman Bob Iger do something about ABC Fake News..."
...And then he touted ABC's $16 million settlement, ridiculed George Stephanopoulos, claimed the network's reporting about the Qatari jet was misleading, and seemed to threaten another lawsuit, saying, "everyone, including their lawyers, has been told that ABC must not say that Qatar is giving ME a FREE Boeing 747 Airplane, because they are not." Trump's line is that the gift is to the government, not to him.
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John Oliver's call to resist |
"Trump & The Press" was John Oliver's topic on last night's episode of "Last Week Tonight." He distilled the administration's many actions against media companies and said billionaire owners have a special obligation to resist "Trump's ridiculous demands."
"I know he and the FCC are making a lot of intimidating-sounding threats, and fighting them will undeniably take time effort and money," Oliver said, "but I'd argue it is very much worth it, especially when the likeliest outcome is that you win definitively." Here's the 28-minute segment...
>> BTW: Oliver also had a "hot take" about our parent company Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max rebranding.
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'A rare moment' of bipartisanship |
Trump is set to sign the Take It Down Act in a ceremony later today. The law makes it illegal "to share online nonconsensual, explicit images" and requires tech platforms "to remove such images within 48 hours of being notified about them," CNN's Clare Duffy reports. She notes that the bill has been "a rare moment of bipartisan consensus..."
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Also coming up this week... |
Monday night: The Paley Honors take place in NYC.
Tuesday: The annual Google I/O developer conference begins with a big keynote.
Tuesday night: James Comey is booked on Stephen Colbert's show to promote his new novel — notable timing given his latest social media controversy.
Friday: The new "Mission: Impossible" opens wide.
Saturday: Cannes awards the Palme d'Or.
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Four stories you should know about |
>> The Committee to Protect Journalists spoke with Gaza journalists about "intimidation, threats, assaults" by Hamas. (CPJ)
>> Journalists for the BBC "set up six fictional social media profiles for children aged 13 to 15." The accounts were soon exposed to content "about weapons, bullying, murder and suicide." (BBC)
>> Despite the White House's incessant claims about transparency, "Trump could leave less documentation behind than any previous US president." (AP)
>> "One thing helping Trump's approval rating: Some people are not paying attention." (NYT)
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The Washington Post had the best headline that I've seen about Saturday's race: "Journalism hits deadline to win Preakness at wire."
The Baltimore Banner was clever too: "Journalism gets last word at Pimlico."
Announcer Larry Collmus was praised for his "electric call." Afterward, NBC's Mike Tirico summed up the come-from-way-behind victory with some allusions to the news industry: "After being defeated" (at the Derby) Journalism prevails, "resilient, undeterred — and eventually rewarded."
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>> This morning NBC News announced a marketing campaign to "reintroduce" Tom Llamas as he prepares to take over the "NBC Nightly News." (THR)
>> This new profile of Kara Swisher contains details about the "unusual twist" to her "Pivot" podcast deal. Swisher and Scott Galloway recently re-upped with Vox Media in a deal that offers no guarantees or upfront cash, but has a payday tied to their podcast revenue, Jessica Testa and Ben Mullin write. (NYT)
>> Bill Maher's podcast studio, Club Random Studios, has ceased operations less than two years after launching, Max Tani reports. (Semafor)
>> "Former England football captain Gary Lineker has been forced to leave his highly paid presenting role at the BBC following a row over an allegedly antisemitic social media post last week," Daniel Thomas writes. (FT)
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>> Elon Musk's AI bot Grok "blames ‘programming error’ for its Holocaust denial." (The Guardian)
>> "Epic Games is escalating its efforts to pressure Apple to allow its game Fortnite into the App Store." (TechCrunch)
>> Android "is no longer front and center at Google's developer conference," Allison Johnson writes. This year Google I/O "will be an AI show." (The Verge)
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'Bloodlines' bests the box office |
New Line Cinema's "Final Destination Bloodlines" emerged as the weekend's clear box office victor, having taken in $51 million during its debut weekend, followed by Disney's latest Marvel movie, "Thunderbolts," which took in $16.5 million, and then Warner Bros. Pictures' "Sinners," which nabbed $15.4 million. Boxoffice Pro has details here... |
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Entertainment notes and quotes |
>> "Austria won its third Eurovision Song Contest after a glittering grand final in neighboring Switzerland, with singer JJ earning the continent’s votes for the operatic pop anthem 'Wasted Love.'" (CNN)
>> "If any of Saturday Night Live's (many) longtime cast members are leaving the show, it went unsaid on this week’s Season 50 finale," Jed Rosenzweig writes. But he says there were some signs that Bowen Yang might be leaving... (LateNighter)
>> This "SNL" season reaffirmed that "in a world where comedy brands are increasingly built on podcasts and social media videos, 'SNL' still matters," Eric Deggans writes. (NPR)
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