FiveStack with Dean Blundell & Zev Shalev

The House Oversight Committee dropped 95,000 photographs from Jeffrey Epstein’s vault today. Ninety-five thousand images from the convicted sex trafficker’s personal collection. And in those photos, there’s Donald Trump—on Epstein’s plane, surrounded by young women in private settings.And they prove he lied about all of it.Trump claimed he was never on that plane. Here’s photographic evidence he was.The photos show Trump disheveled, tie undone, clearly comfortable in Epstein’s world. Trump on the plane. Trump in Epstein’s private spaces.Every single one of these photographs came from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. He kept them. He archived them. He maintained this evidence for a reason.What The Photos Actually ProveTrump on Epstein’s plane - despite claiming he never flew on it.Trump clearly comfortable in Epstein’s world - not the casual acquaintance he claimed.These aren’t paparazzi shots. These aren’t public event photos. These came from Epstein’s personal vault. He kept them. He archived them. And now we know why—leverage.Michael Wolff Saw The Other PhotosWe know there are worse photos. Michael Wolff was shown photographs of Trump at a pool, surrounded by very young women. Wolff described visible stains on Trump’s pants. He told Langdon Thomas of the New York Times about these photos, even suggested the Times should publish them, then backed away from that offer.Those photos are still out there. Still in someone’s possession. Still potential evidence of what actually happened in Epstein’s network.What We Know From The ArchiveThe photos released today connect to evidence that’s been hiding in plain sight in the Epstein archive. rTrump partied with Epstein for years. Trump said Epstein “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Trump recruited women from Mar-a-Lago for Epstein’s operation—Virginia Giuffre was working there as a towel girl when she was recruited at 15.Trump claimed he barely knew Epstein. The photos prove that was a lie.Trump claimed he was never on Epstein’s plane. The photos prove that was a lie.Every denial, demolished by photographic evidence Epstein himself preserved.Why This Matters NowThese photos prove he maintained a close relationship with a convicted sex trafficker and lied repeatedly about it. They prove he was comfortable in Epstein’s world—on his plane, in private settings with young women.The question isn’t whether Trump partied with Epstein—the photos prove he did. The question is what else happened that we’re not seeing in the photos they can actually release.Today’s OneStack featured investigative reporter Ellie Leonard Leonard discussing the significance of the photo release. Read her work at Ellie Leonard The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Caro Henry, Cheech Previti, Kristen Lepionka, Noble Blend, Leah Anderson, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ The Citadel ExposedTucker Carlson told Olivia Nuzzi to fear for her life and offered her a shotgun. When the scandal broke, Nuzzi was elated—it meant she was back in touch with RFK Jr. She recruited her CAA agent and CNN spokesperson to smear Ryan Lizza. This is “an absolutely dark look into mainstream media’s collection of information to kill information or to keep powerful people in power.” The citadel where “if the secrets stay inside you can stay, if any of the secrets leak you’re in trouble.”Mainstream media exists to “captain certain narratives on behalf of their executive relationships” and to “kill certain narratives, to hoover up information, catch and kill.” David Pecker admitted under oath: “Yeah, we were the arm of Donald Trump’s media empire.” Lizza isn’t a hero, but he’s exposing the system. And it was an affront when Trump said it, but it’s f*****g true: mainstream media is the enemy of the people.4️⃣ They Put Him on ZoomProtesters stormed Noem’s hearing dressed as priests. But Democrats brought out Seijoon Park on Zoom—Purple Heart recipient, shot twice in Panama, deported to Korea after 14 years clean from minor 1990s drug offenses. “These guys are getting good with their stunts. You bring the guy that she deported for no f*****g reason and you go, hey, tell him exactly why. This guy who got shot for America.”Four percent. That’s how many deported people have criminal records. Not 40. Not 14. Four. “They’re getting rid of anybody that doesn’t look like them, doesn’t act like them, doesn’t talk like them.” A federal judge is investigating Noem for criminal contempt. Congress gave her $165 billion. Another judge ordered a release. The regime said no.3️⃣ Epstein’s Algorithm: The Goodbye LetterEight days until December 19. But the real story is the algorithm Epstein left on his chalkboard—”almost as a goodbye letter to the world.” Left side: spheres of influence. Financial. Physics. Intellectual. Political. “This is where he would ultimately get so much power that would get someone like Donald Trump into the White House.”He does it through deception. The illusion to lure people into his lair where plants would discover “exactly what the weakness of each individual was, what their truth was, their religious underpinning, where they’re most vulnerable for compromise.” Right side: music, time, subconscious. “The best place to do this deception is in the dark brain. So people don’t realize they’re being played.”“It effectively is a way to control people, to extract information, to attain power.” Turning people into “prosthetics”—extensions of himself. Jean-Luc Brunel’s birthday message: E=MC². Epstein equals the model agency squared. “Biology is about deception,” Epstein said. He was using it “as a means to steal, as a means to destroy countries.” This is the calling card. Eight days.2️⃣ Europe’s Kill ShotToday Europe triggered Article 122 and seized $210 billion of Russia’s frozen assets. Going directly to Ukraine. To fight Russia. With Russia’s money. “Europe literally walked into the global vault and effectively told Donald Trump, you don’t run the world anymore, sunshine.”Trump and Putin’s 28-point plan wanted that money to go to the U.S. and Russia to “rebuild” after the genocide. The EU said f**k that. Russia is “on the brink of financial collapse. Their hope was Donald Trump. That ain’t happening. It’s a kill shot.” Europe is prepared to trigger a $2.43 trillion bond sell-off of U.S. Treasury bonds. “How do you take down a mob? You attack their money.”Lavrov: “There was a misunderstanding.” Translation: Russia knows it’s fucked. “There is more hope in Ukraine today because the EU decided to actually grow a spine than there has been in almost four years.”1️⃣ Venezuela: Pure TheaterTrump held a war meeting Monday. Seized the tanker yesterday. Fifteen thousand troops deployed. Timeline: Christmas. “It’s always been about regime change. It has nothing to do with drugs. Just the oil.”But: “I gotta be honest, I don’t think it happens.” Trump is “taco Trump—take it all back. He never follows through.” He starts fires, comes back as peacemaker. “I believe what he’s doing is setting up this whole war to be on the list of wars he solved.”“Vladimir Putin is Maduro’s friend and Trump is Vladimir Putin’s friend and there’s no way anything is happening without Putin controlling it.” Add Xi. “This just might be a great big f*****g theatrical operation that we’re kind of just suckers on the other end of. The deal might already have been made.”The timing? “Epstein files come out on the 19th. They want to be at war by the 25th. It certainly smells like that’s not just coincidental.”“That is why Americans don’t trust the government or the media because it’s just theater. It’s just nonsense.”The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ Miami Delivers Democrats Their First Win Since 1997Eileen Higgins didn’t just win Miami’s mayoral race—she crushed Trump’s handpicked candidate with nearly 60% of the vote in a county Trump carried by 12 points last year. The Republican Party’s three-decade stranglehold on Miami just ended, and the message is clear: Hispanic voters who delivered the red wave are already pulling back. When Trump and DeSantis both go all-in on your candidate and you still lose by 20 points, that’s not a fluke—that’s a referendum. Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar saw it coming: “Hispanics married President Trump, but they are only dating the GOP.” The dehumanizing immigration rhetoric that plays well in rallies doesn’t work when it targets your neighbors. Democrats just found their midterm blueprint.4️⃣ The Federal Reserve Signals the Easy Money is OverThe Fed cut rates for the third straight time Wednesday, but Chair Jerome Powell’s real message was in what comes next: almost nothing. One cut projected for all of 2026. This was the most divided Fed vote in six years, with three officials dissenting—including Trump’s own appointee Stephen Miran, who wanted deeper cuts. The central bank is trapped between persistent 2.8% inflation and a job market that’s shed 1.1 million positions this year. Trump keeps demanding aggressive rate cuts, but Powell knows he’s out of ammunition. The next Fed chair Trump appoints in May will inherit an economy balanced on a knife’s edge, flying blind on data delayed by government shutdowns.3️⃣ Trump’s Digital Dragnet Targets America’s Closest AlliesThe administration wants five years of social media history from every tourist visiting from 42 allied countries—the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and more. What’s currently optional on visa waiver applications would become mandatory, along with email addresses from the past decade, phone numbers, and family members’ personal details. This isn’t security theater—it’s a surveillance state demanding digital submission from business travelers and tourists alike. Civil liberties groups are warning this will chill free speech and trigger reciprocal requirements from Europe. The travel industry spent years streamlining entry processes. Trump’s DHS just turned America’s welcome mat into a digital strip search.2️⃣ House Republicans Shut Down War Crimes InvestigationMike Rogers announced Tuesday he’s ending the House Armed Services Committee investigation into Caribbean boat strikes that killed 87 people—just as evidence emerged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forced out Admiral Alvin Holsey for questioning the operations’ legality. The admiral raised concerns about the “murky” legal authority for strikes that included a September “double tap” attack deliberately killing survivors clinging to wreckage. Legal experts are calling it a potential war crime. The Senate is demanding unedited videos. But Rogers decided he’s “seen enough” and shut it down. The U.S. military despises Hegseth for these operations, and no House investigation closure will change that. This is interference running at its most transparent—protecting a defense secretary under military tribunal scrutiny by declaring the war crimes probe over before it barely started.1️⃣ Trump Calls Press Coverage “Treasonous” and Demands NYT Cease PublicationThe 79-year-old president who spent his entire campaign questioning Biden’s cognitive fitness just declared it “seditious, perhaps even treasonous” for The New York Times to report on his declining stamina. In a 488-word Truth Social meltdown, Trump suggested “we should do something about it” and called for the paper to “cease publication” after it documented his reduced schedule, later start times, and multiple instances of falling asleep during White House events. The data backs the Times: Trump’s public appearances are down 39% from his first term, and he now starts events at 12:08 PM instead of 10:30 AM. This is the rhetoric of autocrats who need the illusion of invincibility to maintain control. The Times isn’t backing down, and Trump’s tantrum only confirms their reporting hit the target.BONUS:The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Nick Paro, Cat, Robin Payes, Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA, Angie T, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

The pattern tells the story. Multiple strikes in the Caribbean. Eighty-six dead across 22 operations. Zero evidence of drugs. Every detainee released by Colombia and Ecuador as innocent. Videos ordered destroyed. Photographs deleted. Survivors who waved for help killed by follow-up strikes. And now Congress forcing accountability through the one mechanism that works: withholding Pentagon funds until the evidence is released. This is the WMD playbook—create a premise for war, destroy the evidence that contradicts it, and hope no one connects the systematic coverup.5️⃣ CONGRESS WITHHOLDS HEGSETH TRAVEL FUNDS UNTIL VIDEOS RELEASEDCongress tucked a provision into this week’s must-pass National Defense Authorization Act that withholds 25% of Pete Hegseth’s travel budget unless he provides unedited video of the Caribbean strikes. Trump promised transparency last week—”certainly, no problem”—then immediately backpedaled to “whatever Pete decides.” The House votes Wednesday, the Senate follows, and this bipartisan pressure exposes the coverup for what it is. The boats weren’t even heading to the United States—one was going to Suriname. Survivors waved for help for over an hour before the second strike killed them. 22 strikes total, 86 dead, zero evidence of drugs, and everyone Colombia and Ecuador investigated was released as innocent. Congress is forcing transparency through the one lever that works: money.4️⃣ PENTAGON ORDERED EVIDENCE DESTROYED IN SECOND STRIKENavy veteran Melissa Corrigan broke this exclusive Monday: In October, two survivors from a different strike were brought onto the USS Iwo Jima and photographed per standard military protocol. Then an Admiral-level order came down to delete the video and photographs. Marines and sailors argued on deck about whether to even follow protocol. One survivor was returned to Colombia on a ventilator and unconscious. The other was sent back to Ecuador. Both countries investigated and released them—no evidence of wrongdoing. This is the second coverup. The pattern is clear: strike, capture, realize you got the wrong people, destroy the evidence, release them quietly. Melissa and Army veteran Nick Paro can be recalled to active duty and court-martialed for reporting this. That’s the threat hanging over whistleblowers. This is the WMD playbook playing out in the Caribbean.3️⃣ SOTOMAYOR CALLS OUT MUSK’S $200 MILLION QUID PRO QUOJustice Sotomayor didn’t hold back during Monday’s Supreme Court arguments on campaign finance limits. She pointed directly at Elon Musk’s $200 million donation and his immediate government appointment as textbook quid pro quo bribery. The case challenges coordinated spending caps between parties and candidates—currently limited to $3,500 per person to candidates and $44,300 to national parties. Trump’s DOJ refused to defend these limits, forcing the Court to appoint a lawyer to argue for them. Sotomayor noted Musk’s government contracts make this explicit: this wasn’t about salary, it was about billions in federal business. If SCOTUS sides with Republicans, unlimited legalized bribery becomes the law of the land. This is the pipeline of cases Leonard Leo and JD Vance have been feeding into the Court to steal the Constitution.2️⃣ EPSTEIN GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS DUE DECEMBER 19A federal judge ordered Jeffrey Epstein’s 2006 grand jury transcripts unsealed by December 19 under a new law that overrides traditional grand jury secrecy. These are the 2005 transcripts Trump and Todd Blanche are eager to have released—which tells you everything you need to know. If Trump’s DOJ is pushing for these to come out, they contain something that benefits him. Maybe it’s the grand jury testimony where Trump claimed he cooperated with authorities or called himself an FBI agent. But this is 1-2% of the total evidence. The real documents—350 gigabytes waiting in the House Oversight Committee, millions of pages, hard drives, videos—those tell the complete story. Bannon tried to run a documentary operation on Epstein while Epstein tried to co-opt Bannon. Two espionage operatives running simultaneous ops against each other. Chapter 5 of The Greatest Heist drops today, taking you onto the island to show exactly how the network operated.1️⃣ TRUMP THREATENS EUROPE AS NATO FRACTURESThe same day Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff sat in the Kremlin with Putin’s aide embedded in their delegation, Trump attacked Europe as “woke” after the EU fined X. His national security strategy was literally written by Russia—Lavrov, Dmitriev, and Putin celebrated all weekend that America is finally aligned with their values. But Europe has had enough. Macron, Friedrich Merz, and Keir Starmer met Zelensky in London, rejecting any Ukraine surrender plan. The Ford Strike Group pulled from the Mediterranean for the first time in 80 years. Within 72 hours, Europe will make a decisive move. The Coalition of the Willing—Canada, Spain, EU nations—will announce that what happens in Europe gets decided by Europeans and Ukrainians first. Not by Donald Trump. Not by Vladimir Putin. The Civicus report confirmed today what we already knew: America is no longer a democracy, it’s an obstructed dictatorship. Europe sees it. They’re boxing Trump in geopolitically, and when that solidarity statement drops, the fur will fly.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Pamela, Noble Blend, Leah Anderson, CO, Jeanne Elbe, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Dean was out today, so I brought in the experts who’ve been breaking this story wide open. Nick Paro and Melissa Corrigan joined me for what turned into one of the most significant FiveStack episodes we’ve done. Melissa broke news that changes everything about the Hegseth scandal, and what we learned suggests systematic criminality at the highest levels of the Pentagon. That wasn’t the only breaking news.BREAKING NEWS: HEGSETH’S SECOND COVERUPMelissa Corrigan broke this story this weekend on Blue Amp Media, and legacy press is ignoring it. In mid-October—about 47 days ago, a month after the September double-tap strike—there was another incident. Two survivors of a strike were brought onto the USS Iwo Jima. They were photographed per standard shipboard procedure. Then the order came down: delete that video. They deleted it. Two detainees were in US custody for over 24 hours with virtually no evidence of what happened. One was returned to Colombia on a ventilator, unconscious. The other went back to Ecuador. Both countries released them—no evidence of wrongdoing. According to Corrigan, when Marines brought these detainees onboard, there was conflict between Marines and sailors about whether to take photos. Marines said the Commodore ordered no video. Melissa’s sources say the deletion order came from the admiral level, which means it likely came from Hegseth himself. This isn’t just one war crime—it’s a pattern with active coverup. As Nick Paro pointed out, you document everything in military detention precisely to protect service members legally and prevent diplomatic crises. Deleting evidence means Hegseth could lie to Congress and blame enlisted personnel with no footage to contradict him.BREAKING NEWS: RUSSIA’S INFORMATION WARFARERussian state television released footage from last week’s Putin meeting with Trump’s negotiators—Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They waited five days to drop this, and what you see is pure stagecraft. The Americans walk in looking unsophisticated, wandering around admiring Kremlin interiors. “Visibly amazed by the grandeur,” according to Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin. But here’s the key frame: Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov walks in with the American delegation, embedded in their group. This isn’t accidental. The message to Russian audiences is clear—we own these negotiations. While Russian state media celebrates American deference, 4️⃣ EUROPE BREAKS WITH TRUMPWhile Kushner was in Moscow, Macron, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Zelensky in London. Macron’s message was direct: Europe and Ukraine have “a lot of cards in our hands”—a shot at Trump’s claim that Zelensky “doesn’t have the cards.” The transatlantic alliance is fracturing in real time. Nick noted that moving the entire Ford Strike Group out of the Mediterranean for the first time in 80 years to chase drug boats in the Caribbean is exactly what Putin wants—NATO presence withdrawn, allies isolated, American credibility shattered.3️⃣ MTG GIVES PERMISSION TO LEAVE MAGAMarjorie Taylor Greene told 60 Minutes that Republican colleagues are “terrified to step out of line and get a nasty Truth Social post.” When Leslie Stahl asked if they talk differently behind closed doors, MTG confirmed it. But here’s what matters: she kept saying “I’m America First” not MAGA. That’s not an accident. She’s positioning for what comes next—either a presidential run or leadership of a rebranded party. Melissa nailed it: “She’s giving permission for your average MAGA woman to step away from the MAGA movement.” And there are women looking for exactly that permission. Trump attacked 60 Minutes and Paramount on Truth Social minutes after the interview aired.2️⃣ JARED KUSHNER AND JEFF ZUCKER ATTEMPT CNN TAKEOVER WITH SAUDI AND UAE MONEY David Ellison launched a $108.4 billion hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery—$18 billion more cash than the Netflix deal. Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners backs this with Saudi, Qatari, and UAE sovereign wealth funds. The same Kushner who just spent five hours with Putin. And Jeff Zucker—remember him from CNN?—his UAE-funded venture firm is the other party in this deal. They’re coming for CNN, for Warner Bros, for everything. Paramount claims no national security review is needed because foreign investors “forgo governance rights,” but we’re talking about the same foreign money that gave Kushner $2 billion as a bribe at the end of the last administration. As Nick said: “He’s positioned himself with zero accountability because he’s not a diplomat. He’s just a random dude running around doing unregistered agent work for foreign nations. We call those spies.”1️⃣ SCOTUS POISED TO ELIMINATE INDEPENDENT AGENCIESThe Supreme Court heard Trump v. Slaughter today—can the president fire Federal Trade Commission commissioners at will? If he wins, every independent agency becomes an extension of presidential power. The Federal Reserve, FCC, SEC, FTC, NLRB—institutions designed to operate beyond direct political control. Trump has already fired Democrats from all of them, daring the Court to stop him. Last September’s 6-3 ruling allowing presidential removal of an NLRB general counsel showed where this is headed. The Roberts Court has denied only one of Trump’s 32 emergency petitions. This is Project 2025 made real. As Nick pointed out, we can impeach Supreme Court justices—impeachment can’t be pardoned. We need overwhelming victories in 2026 to take back the House and Senate. Melissa used a Navy analogy: when the hull is breached on one side, you flood spaces on the alternate side to keep the ship righted. “If we don’t flood this election, the ship’s going down.”BONUS: ALEX KARP’S MELTDOWNWe ended with footage of Palantir CEO Alex Karp at the New York Times Deal Book summit, physically twitching and defensively listing everything he thinks Palantir has given the West. He enunciated one word carefully: “American superiority.” The man who controls the military’s data infrastructure has a God complex and the masks are off. The same summit platformed Ehud Barak—Jeffrey Epstein’s handler and Virginia Giuffre’s abuser. We’re all taking notes on who the New York Times chooses to elevate.This isn’t one story. It’s systematic institutional capture happening in real time—from coverups at the Pentagon to foreign wealth funds buying media to courts eliminating agency independence. Melissa and Nick both noted they could be recalled to active duty and court-martialed for their reporting. That’s where we are.Support their work: Melissa Corrigan, she/her and Blue Amp. Nick Paro at Sick of this S**t Publications and Banner & Backbone Media. They’re doing the reporting legacy media won’t touch.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Centered America, Lawrence Winnerman, Cat, Kathy Utley, Beth Cruz, and many others for tuning into my live video with Melissa Corrigan, she/her and Nick Paro! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Burke County, Florida held over six million votes on election night. Problem: there is no Burke County in Florida. Never has been. Florida has 67 counties and Burke isn’t one of them.T runs a 60-person team called the Common Coalition—veterans, intelligence analysts, data scientists—and her Substack “This Will Hold” has been dissecting election anomalies since November. What they found in DDHQ’s data feed, the same feed that powers every network’s election night dashboard, should end careers: five counties that don’t exist in their claimed states, each holding votes like digital piggy banks.Stafford County in Pennsylvania. Allen County in North Carolina. Oklahoma County in Michigan. Hamilton County in Georgia. All real county names—just not in those states. Familiar enough that nobody questions them in real-time. Invisible unless you’re looking.T’s team documented Harris votes evaporating on election night: 989,000 gone in Michigan within 60 seconds. 795,000 in Wisconsin within three minutes. Where do vanishing votes go? Her theory: these phantom counties are vote banks. Storage containers. You subtract from one candidate, add to another, stay just above the recount threshold, and nobody audits what they can’t see.Tuesday gave them fresh data. Tennessee’s 7th District hit 99.4% reporting—148,853 votes counted—and DDHQ called the race. Then 31,000 more votes appeared. Math check: 0.6% of 148,000 is roughly 900, not 31,000. T isn’t claiming the Republican didn’t win. She’s saying these numbers are forensically impossible.DDHQ’s majority owner Scott Tranter ran data science for Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. T isn’t accusing the company directly—bad actors could be piping through their systems. But Elon Musk’s fingerprints keep showing up. His low-orbit satellite network went live the week before the election under hurricane emergency authorization. At Mar-a-Lago on election night, he reportedly pulled out his phone hours before results, said “we won,” and walked out. Nobody’s seen him there since.Meanwhile Admiral Frank Bradley sat behind closed doors on Capitol Hill today answering questions about the September boat strike that killed survivors in the water. Rep. Jim Himes emerged and called it “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.” T served in the military. Her read: “We’re not at war. So it’s murder. Even if we were at war, it’s still murder. The Geneva Convention is very clear.”Pete Hegseth’s response was posting memes of a cartoon turtle blowing people out of the water. Eighty-three dead and the Secretary of Defense is making jokes. The Wall Street Journal confirmed he told Admiral Holsey before pushing him out: “You’re either on the team or you’re not. When you get an order, you move out fast and don’t ask questions.”An administration that treats votes as movable data and survivors as target practice isn’t governing. It’s consolidating.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ MAXWELL MAKES HER MOVEGhislaine Maxwell’s lawyer filed a letter in Manhattan Federal Court today announcing a habeas corpus petition challenging her 2021 sex trafficking conviction. This comes weeks after Todd Blanche — Trump’s former lawyer, now DOJ’s number two — conducted a two-day interview with her, followed by her quiet transfer from a Florida prison to a minimum-security Texas camp. Maxwell’s gambit: argue that releasing grand jury materials will “prejudice her ability to have a fair retrial” — a retrial she hasn’t been granted yet. She’s filing pro se, without counsel, which suggests her longtime attorney may have severed ties after whatever happened in that Blanche interview. The circular logic is obvious. But with this DOJ and this president, nothing is too absurd to try.4️⃣ FIRST LOOK INSIDE EPSTEIN’S ISLANDHouse Democrats released 14 never-before-seen photos and videos from inside Little St. James Island — footage taken by U.S. Virgin Islands investigators that the DOJ has been sitting on. The images reveal high privacy walls blocking all views from the water, a dozen concealed cabanas surrounding the pool where victims were trafficked to VIP guests, and a deeply unsettling “dental office” featuring a surgical chair, massage table, and walls covered with masks depicting changing faces. Russian spies in Epstein’s network underwent plastic surgery to assume new identities — and the room suggests where that might have happened. As Dean noted: this release is a warning shot. House Democrats are telling Trump they have far more, and they’re coming.3️⃣ TRUMP’S $310 MILLION EPSTEIN-IDENTICAL LAWSUITA civil lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County accuses Trump of running a trafficking operation “identical in every material respect” to Epstein’s, naming the president in both personal and official capacity alongside Elon Musk and Bill Gates as co-defendants. The anonymous plaintiff alleges an eight-year grooming scheme starting in 1998, claims her infant daughter was taken as punishment for filing lawsuits, and accuses defendants of five murder attempts. The lawsuit seeks $310 million in damages and wants a jury trial by December 20. Civil cases require only “more likely than not” — not “beyond reasonable doubt.” Epstein always believed Trump called the cops on him in 2004. Maybe now we’re learning why.2️⃣ TENNESSEE: 20-POINT COLLAPSE IN MAGA COUNTRYRepublicans barely held Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District — a seat Trump won by 22 points last year. The final margin: under 10 points. Trump spent four days panic-tweeting for candidate Mike Van Epps, including the immortal attack that his opponent “hates country music.” It didn’t matter. Democrats estimate 70 GOP-held seats are friendlier than this deep-red bastion of Christian conservatism. Projections now show Republicans losing 15+ seats in the midterms. As many as 24 House Republicans aren’t running for re-election. The pattern is clear in every district: Trump has erased roughly 20 percentage points of support since November.For the first time in FiveStack history there’s a tie for number 1:1️⃣ HEGSETH: “FOG OF WAR” AFTER WATCHING LIVEDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth now claims he couldn’t see survivors clinging to a burning boat because of “fog of war” — the same strike he bragged about watching live, saying “we knew exactly who was in that boat.” Two survivors were killed in a second strike after Hegseth allegedly ordered “no one left alive.” Former military lawyers are unequivocal: targeting defenseless survivors after a shipwreck is prohibited. Period. It’s literally in the handbook. Admiral Frank Bradley meets with senators tomorrow behind closed doors. Pentagon officials worry the administration is setting up a military scapegoat. Senator Warner said it plainly today: maybe the military will save us from Donald Trump.1️⃣ DOZY DONFour minutes after raging at a reporter who asked about his health, Trump fell asleep at a press conference. He’s tweeting 400 times in three-hour bursts, then crashing. The Epstein files, Hegseth’s war crimes, collapsing poll numbers, Ukraine corruption — the pressure is visibly breaking him. As Dean put it: when you’re drowning in this many criminal, impeachable, treasonous issues at once, your brain shuts down. We’re watching it happen in real time.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Robin Payes, Cathy R. Payne, Pamela, Leah Anderson, Noble Blend, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ PENTAGON DIVORCES TRUMP AND HEGSETHWhile Pete Hegseth sat in today’s cabinet meeting playing the loyal soldier, Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson was at the podium torching the White House’s scapegoat strategy. Asked about Admiral Frank Bradley’s role in the second strike that killed two survivors clinging to wreckage, Wilson didn’t mince words: the strikes were “presidentially directed,” the chain of command functioned as it should, and “the Secretary and the President are the ones directing these strikes.” As for Bradley’s follow-on strike? “The Secretary 100% agrees with.” The military just publicly divorced Trump and Hegseth—and put the chain of command on the record. Bookmark December 2nd. Pete Hegseth is in serious legal jeopardy, and if America doesn’t deal with it, the International Criminal Court will.4️⃣ TRUMP HAS “NO IDEA” WHAT HIS MRI SCANNEDWhen asked on Air Force One what part of his body was examined in his October MRI, Trump offered this gem: “I have no idea. It wasn’t my brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.” The White House then released a memo using the word “perfect” four times—cardiovascular imaging “perfectly normal,” abdominal imaging “perfectly normal.” Noticeably absent: any mention of neurological evaluation. Compare this to the infamous 2015 letter where Trump dictated to Dr. Bornstein that he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” Bornstein later admitted Trump wrote it himself. Same playbook, different decade.3️⃣ RFK JR.’S VACCINE DEMOLITION BEGINSThe CDC’s advisory panel, stacked with Kennedy appointees, votes Thursday on ending universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth—a shot credited with a 99% drop in infections since 1991. Panel chair Kirk Milhoan, who called for halting mRNA vaccines in March, is now scrutinizing aluminum adjuvants despite 70 years of safe use. Industry officials say removing aluminum would cost billions and could pull vaccines from the market entirely. Kennedy’s deal with Trump was simple: drop out and get HHS. Now he’s delivering by dismantling childhood immunizations. Any changes here won’t be easy to reverse, and the consequences will be measured in children’s lives.2️⃣ KUSHNER TOURS MOSCOW WHILE UKRAINE BURNSJared Kushner made his Kremlin debut alongside Steve Witkoff, getting the full Moscow walking tour from Putin’s money man Kirill Dmitriev before sitting down with the Russian president. The peace proposal is down from 28 points to 20. Zelensky calls it “better.” A U.S. official warned that Witkoff will come back making Russia’s counterproposal “sound like it’s a great deal.” Meanwhile, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi—Ukraine’s beloved former commander and current UK ambassador—just landed in Kyiv, tweeting “happy to be home.” If Trump wants regime change, he might get it. Just not the kind he’s expecting.1️⃣ THE LUTNICK TARIFF SCAM: BETTING BILLIONS ON INSIDER KNOWLEDGECommerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been the administration’s loudest tariff cheerleader. Meanwhile, his sons at Cantor Fitzgerald have created a market buying tariff refund rights at 20-30 cents on the dollar from struggling businesses. The bet: SCOTUS will strike down Trump’s emergency tariffs, triggering a hundred-billion-dollar refund bonanza. Costco just sued the U.S. government for their money back. Two federal courts have already ruled the tariffs illegal. Cantor knows the decision is coming—because Lutnick knows. This is insider trading with SEC disclosures instead of duffel bags. Heads they win, tails you lose.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Terrence Goggin, Ellie Leonard, Northern Variables, Cat, Karen Gordon, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ TRUMP’S $2 TRILLION UKRAINE HEISTThe Wall Street Journal laid it bare: Trump’s “peace plan” was never about peace. Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Kremlin-linked Kirill Dmitriev have been negotiating megadeals to revive Russia’s $2 trillion economy — with $300 billion in frozen Russian assets as seed money for Trump-aligned investors. As Dean put it: “This is how Donald Trump can enrich his family members and friends and deal-making pals that put him in the White House.” Meanwhile, Europe and Canada are gaming out the unthinkable — a coordinated dump of US Treasuries if Trump recognizes Putin’s land grab. Mark Carney already made the call once during the tariff war. The bond market flinched. Trump backed off. Now the conversation has gone from “how do we manage Trump?” to “what do we do when Trump sells us out?”4️⃣ ONE SHOOTING, ONE MILLION PUNISHEDTrump announced an indefinite freeze on asylum decisions after two National Guard members were shot near the White House. The suspect? An Afghan national who was CIA-vetted, helped US special forces, and was granted asylum by the Trump administration in April. Kristi Noem tried blaming Biden’s vetting — then admitted they “relied on Biden’s vetting.” The math is simple: one tragedy, one million cases frozen, and thousands of Afghan allies who risked their lives for America now in limbo. FBI stats say 94% of US murders are committed by Americans. 70% by white men. But policy only moves when the shooter is brown.3️⃣ TRUMP PARDONS THE COCAINE PRESIDENTJuan Orlando Hernández — convicted in federal court for moving 400 tons of cocaine into America — is getting a full pardon. Trump simultaneously endorsed his party’s candidate in Honduras’s election. The same president claiming to fight the drug war is freeing the Sinaloa cartel’s Honduran partner while offering asylum to cartel kingpins. As Dean noted: Trump’s drug war isn’t about stopping drugs. It’s about choosing which dealers get protection.2️⃣ “THAT WOULD BE A WAR CRIME”Top Republicans are now saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed war crimes. The Washington Post reported he gave verbal orders to “kill everybody” aboard suspected drug boats — including a second strike on survivors in the water. Rep. Mike Turner, Republican chair of House Intelligence: “That would be an illegal act.” Both Armed Services Committees have launched investigations. Venezuela is opening its own probe. Trump’s response? He “wouldn’t have wanted” a second strike — then claimed Hegseth denied it happened. The tapes exist. The senators have likely seen them. And as Dean reminded us: there is no war. This isn’t a war crime. It’s murder.1️⃣ JUDGE TAKES EPSTEIN FILES FROM DOJThe bombshell of the day: Judge Richard Berman has taken control of the Epstein file release process away from the DOJ. A devastating letter from victims’ attorneys revealed DOJ exposed at least 28 victim names in documents released to Congress. One woman was confronted by a reporter in front of her nine-year-old son. But here’s the real number: DOJ confirmed over 1,000 victims. The attorneys represent 300 more women DOJ doesn’t even know about. Hundreds trafficked from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Belarus — an international operation DOJ never investigated. The 53-page indictment and 82-page prosecution memo from 2007? Never released. Judge Berman is now conducting his own review. Trump’s DOJ just lost control of what the public learns about Epstein.THE BOTTOM LINEAs Dean put it: “The bottom is falling out.” Pete Hegseth is facing murder charges. The Epstein files are slipping from DOJ’s grip. Europe is preparing economic warfare. And Trump — who couldn’t remember what body part got an MRI — is watching his support evaporate. Troy Nehls, the congressman with a Trump tattoo who wore a Trump bow tie, quit today. The sharks are circling.The files drop December 19th. Judge Berman is watching. And for the first time, the people protecting the 40-year operation are running out of moves.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Ellie Leonard, Nick Paro, Cat, Debbie Hupp, Robin Payes, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

DEAN WILL BE BACK ON MONDAY 5️⃣ HEGSETH’S MURDER ORDERDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a direct verbal order before the first Caribbean boat strike: “Kill everybody.” When two survivors were spotted clinging to burning wreckage after the missile hit, the SEAL Team 6 commander ordered a second strike. The Pentagon told Congress it was to “remove a navigation hazard.” Former military lawyers call it what it is: murder. An order to kill those who can no longer fight is an order to show no quarter—a war crime. Whether Trump stands by Hegseth or not, these people still face the law. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine veteran, put it plainly: Americans will be prosecuted for this.4️⃣ TRUMP IS TO BLAME FOR NATIONAL GUARD DEATHSarah Beckstrom, 20, is dead. Andrew Wolfe, 24, is fighting for his life. And Trump is blaming Biden. Here’s what actually happened: Biden stopped the mass migration of Afghan civilians and put them through a rigorous, multi-stage vetting process. The chaotic plane images Trump waved around? Those people were sent to intake centers and carefully processed—not waved through. But that’s not even the point. It was Trump who ordered National Guard troops into DC to do policing work they weren’t trained for. Everyone said it was a bad idea. Now DC police will accompany all Guard patrols because it’s no longer safe for them to go alone—the exact opposite of what was intended. Instead of taking responsibility, Trump pivots to immigration, ordering USCIS to reexamine every green card from 19 “countries of concern.” Another deflection. Another gaslighting. Trump put these soldiers in harm’s way, and now he’s blaming another administration for his own failed policy.3️⃣ X CAN CHANGE YOUR POLITICAL MIND IN SEVEN DAYSA study published in Science reveals that tiny tweaks to Elon Musk’s X algorithm can produce the same level of political polarization in one week that historically took three years. Users didn’t even notice their feeds had been altered. This isn’t content delivery—it’s propaganda manufacturing. For those who’ve followed Narativ, you’ll remember we exposed how Musk was retweeting content directly from the Kremlin’s propaganda division. X is a Russian disinformation tool operating in plain sight. It should come with a surgeon general’s warning: your reality is being manufactured. 2️⃣ ZELENSKY’S RIGHT HAND FALLSAndriy Yermak, Zelensky’s closest confidant and lead negotiator, resigned hours after anti-corruption officers raided his home. A $100 million kickback scandal in energy and defense—the two sectors most sensitive as Ukrainians fight and freeze through blackouts. Zelensky’s former business partner fled to Israel. Two ministers resigned. The former deputy PM was jailed. Yermak was heading to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to finalize peace terms. If there’s a corruption angle involving him, you have to question how these negotiations even got started.1️⃣ KUSHNER’S SURRENDER MISSIONDonald Trump dispatched Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff—a man with documented ties to Russian organized crime—to Moscow with a direct offer to Putin: formal U.S. recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. This is America waving Ukraine’s flag of surrender. The Telegraph reports it breaks decades of diplomatic convention refusing to legitimize borders redrawn by force. European allies are alarmed; Washington’s response was blunt: they can do whatever they want. The Ukrainian constitution prohibits ceding territory without a national vote. What Trump is doing isn’t just illegal under Ukrainian law—it should send a shiver down the spine of every world leader on earth. If they can hand away Ukraine’s land today, they can hand away anyone’s tomorrow.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Robin Payes, Pamela, CO, Rachel Hendricks, Steven Rosenzweig, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

* DURING THE LIVE BROADCAST ABOVE, I QUOTED AN INCORRECT NEW YORK TIMES HEADLINE THAT THE NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS WHO WERE SHOT IN D.C. HAD BEEN KILLED. THAT WAS WRONG. THE TWO ARE IN A CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER UNDERGOING SURGERY. THE TWO MEMBERS ARE SARAH BECKSTROM, 20, AND ANDREW WOLFE, 24.SPECIAL GUEST: Jacob Kaarsbo. - FORMER DANISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICER1️⃣ BREAKING: NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS SHOT STEPS FROM WHITE HOUSEAs we were broadcasting live, news broke that two National Guard members were shot in Washington D.C., just steps from the White House. The suspect is in custody. The White House went on immediate lockdown. These weren’t soldiers deployed to a war zone — they were volunteers sent to patrol American streets as part of Trump’s theatrical takeover of D.C. policing. They were shot doing work that D.C. police are trained to do, because Trump wanted to suppress protests and project strength on television. 2️⃣ TRUMP’S ENVOY COACHED RUSSIA ON HOW TO HANDLE THE PRESIDENTBloomberg published the transcript of an October 14th call between Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov. Former Danish Defense Intelligence officer Jacob Kaarsbo, who joined us live, called it “almost treasonous.” Witkoff scripts what Putin should say: “Congratulate the president... say he’s a man of peace.” Then drops the real price: “Me to you, I know what it’s going to take — Donetsk and maybe a land swap.” When Witkoff mentions Zelensky’s upcoming White House visit, Ushakov chuckles: “I know that.” Trump’s response? “That’s what a deal maker does.”3️⃣ THE 28-POINT PLAN WAS WRITTEN IN MOSCOWKaarsbo confirmed what we suspected: the Trump peace plan was authored by the Kremlin, translated through software, and handed to Witkoff to present as American diplomacy. Senator Mike Rounds said Rubio told him directly it was a “laundered plant from Russia.” The intelligence fallout is catastrophic — European allies have stopped sharing intel with the U.S. entirely. As Kaarsbo put it: no human source will risk their life when the president himself is doing the compromising.4️⃣ COURTS CONFIRM: TRUMP-RUSSIA IS NOT A HOAXThe 11th Circuit — including two Trump appointees — unanimously upheld the dismissal of Trump’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and 28 others, plus $1 million in sanctions against Trump and Alina Habba. Every legal attempt to prove “Russia hoax” has failed. Sussmann acquitted. Danchenko acquitted. Trump’s lawsuit dismissed with sanctions. The Mueller findings stand.5️⃣ GEORGIA DROPS ALL CHARGESProsecutor Peter Skandalakis dismissed the last criminal case against Trump — the “find me 11,780 votes” call. His logic: Trump’s term runs until 2029. The man who tried to steal an election on tape now faces zero criminal accountability.This Thanksgiving Eve, two Americans are in hospital in a critical condition while courts confirmed the president works for Russia and his envoy coaches the Kremlin on how to manipulate him. Georgia let him walk. The system is shaking — but the judiciary is holding, even Trump’s own appointees ruling against him.We ran long today because history kept happening. The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Nick Paro, Tom Kudla, Noble Blend, Lalisa, P. J. Schuster, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell and Jacob Kaarsbo! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ TRUMP APPROVAL CRASHES TO SECOND-TERM LOWThe Economist/YouGov poll dropped Trump to 38% approval—his worst of this term—with 57% disapproving. Women have abandoned him at historic levels: 31% approve versus 64% disapprove, a collapse from -22 to -33 net in a single week. His base backbone of older Americans is crumbling too, with both 45-64 and 65+ groups hitting record-low approval. Even Fox News polling shows 59% unfavorable and 46% saying Trump’s policies have personally hurt them. The Marquette poll delivers the knockout: 74% disapprove of his Epstein files handling—approaching Nixon-level crisis territory. When the president responds to these numbers by posting that his approval is “the highest of my political career,” you’re watching delusion in real time.4️⃣ DEMOCRATS GO ON OFFENSE WITH 8-FIGURE RURAL AND LATINO PUSHThe DCCC just dropped “Our Power, Our Country”—an eight-figure investment targeting rural voters and communities of color, the exact demographics that drifted toward Trump in 2024. This isn’t charity; it’s strategy born from Spanberger and Sherrill’s gubernatorial wins proving these voters are gettable when you talk tariffs and affordability instead of coastal priorities. For 25 years, Democrats coasted on the assumption marginalized communities would show up automatically. Now they’re hiring organizers in battleground districts while Republicans gerrymander. The generic ballot already shows Democrats at 49% versus 44% GOP—expanding to 53-44 among certain voters. Add the enthusiasm gap (75% of Democrats certain to vote versus 68% of Republicans) and you’ve got a wave forming.3️⃣ REPUBLICAN CIVIL WAR: McCONNELL GOES TO WAR WITH VANCEMitch McConnell publicly accused Putin of playing Trump “for a fool” and brawled with JD Vance on social media over the Ukraine peace plan. Brian Fitzpatrick called it “Russia’s absurd wish list” that should be “shredded for the garbage that it is.” Don Bacon called the 28-point proposal “disgusting.” Rubio got caught backpedaling after telling senators it was actually Russia-led, not American. The longest-serving Senate Republican leader told the Vice President that “a deal that rewards aggression wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on.” These old-guard Republicans were raised to hate Russia—and watching Trump send Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to negotiate with the Kremlin instead of the State Department is too much even for them.2️⃣ BONDI DOUBLES DOWN ON REVENGE PROSECUTIONS—BUT THE CASES ARE DEADAttorney General Pam Bondi vowed “all available legal action, including an immediate appeal” after a federal judge tossed the criminal cases against James Comey and Letitia James. The problem: Comey’s statute of limitations has expired. Lindsay Halligan, Trump’s personal lawyer with zero prosecutorial experience, walked into that grand jury alone because no career DOJ lawyer would co-sign her career suicide. The judge ruled that letting the government “send any private citizen off the street into the grand jury room” so long as the AG approves “cannot be the law.” Halligan’s legal career is finished. Bondi’s should be. And every allegation Trump made about Comey, Brennan, and Obama conspiring against him has now been shown to be exactly what we always said: lies.1️⃣ FBI TARGETS VETERAN LAWMAKERS FOR EXPLAINING THE CONSTITUTIONThe FBI under Kash Patel is requesting interviews with six Democratic members of Congress—including Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Elissa Slotkin—for recording a video telling military members they can legally refuse unlawful orders. Pete Hegseth threatened to recall Kelly to active duty to face military charges. Donald Trump posted that sedition is punishable by death. Senator Slotkin, a former CIA officer, responded: “The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place. This is not the America I know.” Meanwhile, Patel himself may be out by December 15—thin ice over flying his girlfriend to wrestling shows on the FBI Gulfstream. And Hegseth? He tried to dunk on Kelly’s medal arrangement in a mirror selfie, not understanding how mirrors work. These are the people running American security.THE BOTTOM LINE: The regime is collapsing from every direction—courts rejecting their prosecutors, their own party fighting over Ukraine, approval cratering to Nixon levels—and their response is to threaten death for members of Congress who quoted the Constitution to service members. The question isn’t whether this house of cards falls. It’s whether Americans seize the constitutional mechanisms available in 2026 to tear it down themselves.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Ellie Leonard, Cash Flow Collective, Brodee Myers-Cooke, Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA, Pamela, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Three DOJ Cases ImplodeMonday delivered a trifecta of humiliation for Trump’s weaponized Justice Department.Comey & James Dismissed: Federal Judge Cameron Currie threw out indictments against James Comey and Letitia James—and ejected the prosecutor. Lindsey Halligan, an insurance lawyer with zero prosecutorial experience, was Trump’s handpicked attack dog. The judge wrote that under the government’s theory, “any private citizen off the street” could secure an indictment with retroactive AG approval. “That cannot be the law.” Career prosecutors refused to touch these cases. Comey responded: “Rise and shine, America. It’s time to stand up and show the fools who would frighten us that we’re made of stronger stuff.”Kelly Court Martial Threat: The “Department of War”—which doesn’t legally exist—announced it’s investigating Senator Mark Kelly for reminding troops they can refuse illegal orders. Trump posted about “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.” Kelly, a Navy captain and astronaut, fired back: “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies.” Congress never changed the name from Department of Defense. Every directive from Hegseth’s fantasy department is technically invalid.Schiff Case “Keystone Cops”: GOP candidate Christine Bish testified investigators spent an hour asking who contacted her rather than examining evidence. Bill Pulte DMed her on X during the active investigation. The pattern: Trump weaponizes DOJ, staffs it with loyalists too incompetent to execute a political hit job.MAGA’s Foreign Troll Army UnmaskedElon accidentally did journalism. His new X feature revealing account locations exposed thousands of “America First” influencers as foreign operations—Russia, Eastern Europe, India, Nigeria, Bangladesh. MAGANationX (400K followers, “Patriot Voice for We The People”) = Eastern Europe. IvankaNews (1M followers) = Nigeria. JD Vance retweeted a Russian account attacking Canada. The feature was briefly removed when exposure went viral.Carney at G20: “Who Cares?”Asked whether he’d spoken to Trump, Canada’s PM delivered the line heard round the world: “Who cares? It’s a detail. I don’t have a burning issue to speak with the president about right now.” While Trump boycotted the summit, Carney ran the table—Germany, Sweden, UAE, India. The free world is building without him.The Epstein Files Keep ComingEllie Leonard joined to discuss her deep dive into the Bannon-Epstein emails. The revelations: Epstein paying $10,000 monthly to scrub his Wikipedia, plans for a documentary featuring Woody Allen, schemes to rehabilitate his image through nonprofits for abused children. Bannon gradually took the upper hand in their relationship as Epstein became what he called “the pervert hermit.” The mainstream media silence on these documents is deafening—but as Dean noted, the people who control the news are the same people in those files.The Bottom Line: Trump’s revenge prosecutions are collapsing in courtrooms. His threats to military heroes get laughed off. His MAGA army is exposed as foreign influence. World leaders are building the future without him. The institutions are biting back.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

The White House called him a “commie.” Trump threatened to bankrupt New York City if voters elected him. On the eve of the election, the president personally endorsed disgraced ex-governor Andrew Cuomo over him. Zohran Mamdani won anyway with 50.4% in the highest turnout NYC election in over half a century—then walked into the Oval Office and made Trump fold.That closed-door meeting Friday afternoon tells you everything about this presidency. Trump runs his mouth from the safety of Truth Social, but the moment he faces someone who won’t blink, he crumbles. Low energy. Servile body language. The 34-year-old democratic socialist standing while Trump sits, looking every bit the paper tiger he’s always been.5️⃣ THE COAST GUARD’S SWASTIKA STUNTThe U.S. Coast Guard tried to reclassify swastikas and nooses as merely “potentially divisive” symbols rather than hate symbols in new harassment guidelines. After The Washington Post broke the story Thursday morning, the backlash was so immediate the Coast Guard completely reversed course by Thursday night. But here’s the tell: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s spokesperson attacked the Post as publishing “baseless smears and revolting lies” even as the Coast Guard confirmed the policy existed and then changed it. This is the same Coast Guard that fired its first female commandant on Trump’s first day in office for focusing on diversity initiatives. When your military can’t decide if swastikas represent hate, the rot runs deep.4️⃣ PENTAGON “ACCIDENTALLY” INVADES MEXICOU.S. Defense Department contractors in masks landed on Playa Bagdad in Tamaulipas, Mexico this week and hammered six signs into the sand declaring it “Department of Defense Property.” They were a dozen miles south of the actual border. Mexican Navy Marines showed up with machine guns, yanked out all the signs, and the contractors sped off while the Pentagon claimed “altered perception of the international boundary’s location” caused by shifting sandbars. This happened less than 48 hours after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told Trump that cooperation on cartels is fine, but U.S. military strikes on Mexican soil are absolutely not happening. The operation appears to have been staged from Elon Musk’s Starbase facility—a deliberate test of whether Mexico would push back. They did.3️⃣ VANCE ATTACKS CANADA’S “DIVERSITY INSANITY”Vice President JD Vance spent the week attacking Canada, claiming “no nation has leaned more into ‘diversity is our strength’ immigration insanity than Canada” and calling it a “prime example of self-destruction after blindly following left ideology.” He told Canadians their “stagnating living standards have nothing to do with Donald Trump.” This came literally the same week Canada locked in $50 billion from the UAE, tens of billions from Sweden for fighter jet production, and over $1 billion from Germany for naval systems. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s stated goal is to double non-U.S. exports within a decade. While Vance blames diversity for Canada’s problems, Canada is building an economic architecture that doesn’t need America—and it’s working.2️⃣ TRUMP THREATENS TO HANG DEMOCRATSThe president retweeted a Nazi account calling for Democrats to be hanged “like George Washington would,” adding his own endorsement. This came after multiple Democrats released a video featuring former CIA operative and Navy legal expert explaining that Trump has already committed over 150 unlawful acts and urging military personnel not to follow unlawful orders. Now a Democratic challenger in North Carolina’s District 5 is running explicitly on “impeach, convict, remove” as his entire platform. David Clayton dumped his prepared speech and told voters that on day one of winning his race, he’ll introduce articles of impeachment. When the president threatens to hang you for opposing him, maybe Democrats need to stop pretending this is normal politics.1️⃣ THE EPSTEIN FILES ARE COMINGThis was Trump’s worst week of his presidency. Not because of the death threats or the Mexico invasion or even Mamdani embarrassing him. It was worst because both the House and Senate voted unanimously to force the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s files—and Trump had to sign it into law. There’s no procedural trick left. No executive privilege maneuver. The files are coming, likely within 30 days, and they contain what one person close to the situation called “the dirtiest things about him that nobody ever knew.”Trump spent Friday throwing red meat to Fox News about socialism and New York’s mayor-elect, desperately trying to change the subject from the unanimous bipartisan vote that just guaranteed his Epstein nightmare goes public. He can stage meetings with Mamdani. He can threaten Democrats. He can let his Pentagon play invasion games in Mexico. But he can’t stop what’s coming—and he knows it.The paper tiger presidency is unraveling in real time. Low energy. Discolored hands. Disassociative outbursts. And the Epstein files ticking like a bomb he can’t defuse.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.SHOW NOTES SUMMARYTrump’s worst week culminates in a closed-door meeting with NYC’s 34-year-old socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani—the man Trump tried everything to defeat and couldn’t intimidate. We break down the Coast Guard’s swastika policy flip, the Pentagon’s “accidental” invasion of Mexico staged from Musk’s facility, JD Vance attacking Canada the same week it secured $70B in deals that cut America out, Trump threatening to hang Democrats, and the real story: unanimous House and Senate votes forcing Epstein file disclosure within 30 days. The paper tiger presidency is unraveling.Thank you Nick Paro, Cathy R. Payne, Cheech Previti, Nancy McAllister, Leah Anderson, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ TRUMP’S DEATH THREAT MELTDOWNDonald Trump spent last night threatening to execute six Democratic lawmakers—all military veterans or intelligence professionals—for reminding U.S. troops that they have a legal duty to refuse illegal orders. Hours after being forced to sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act following a 427-1 House vote, Trump posted “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and amplified a supporter’s call to “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!” The targets: Senators Elissa Slotkin (former CIA), Mark Kelly (astronaut and Navy captain), plus Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan, and Maggie Goodlander—all veterans who released a video titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship” explaining basic military law. Their message was simple: your oath is to the Constitution, not the president, and you can refuse orders that violate it. Trump’s response was to threaten capital punishment for free speech while declaring “their words cannot be allowed to stand” and demanding they be “arrested and put on trial.” This isn’t just rhetoric anymore—the Commander-in-Chief is threatening to hang members of Congress for teaching troops about the Uniform Code of Military Justice that JAG schools have taught for 80 years since Nuremberg.4️⃣ TRUMP’S BEAUTY QUEEN PROSECUTOR NUKES COMEY CASETrump’s handpicked prosecutor in the James Comey revenge case just admitted in federal court that the grand jury never actually saw the final indictment they used to charge him. Lindsey Halligan—a 36-year-old former insurance lawyer and beauty pageant contestant with zero prosecutorial experience who met Trump at his golf club—indicted Comey four days into her new job as U.S. Attorney, over the objections of career prosecutors. Judges are now using phrases like “disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps” and Comey’s lawyers argue the statute of limitations has expired, meaning the government can never fix this. The grand jury saw a three-count indictment, one count failed, so prosecutors just edited it down to two counts and filed it without going back—the constitutional shield against political prosecution just got paperwork-ed away by someone whose previous job was scrubbing “anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian.3️⃣ THE BANNON-EPSTEIN FILES: TRAFFICKING KATIE MILLERNew emails from the Epstein Files dump reveal Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein discussing trafficking Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, to Epstein’s island and Zorro Ranch. “If you and Miss Miller want some privacy, you can use Island or Palm Beach House,” Epstein wrote. Bannon replied “Thanks brother” and “I’m all in” when Epstein suggested taking “Miss Miller to the ranch sometime this summer.” The emails reveal a pattern where Epstein didn’t just traffic underage girls—he deployed adult women as spies embedded in positions of power. The women came back and reported what they found out, collecting intelligence for leverage. This explains so much about how this network operated, from Melania to Katie Miller, and why these relationships might not be what they appear to be on the surface.2️⃣ WYDEN DROPS JPMORGAN-EPSTEIN BOMBSHELLSenator Ron Wyden released a report showing JPMorgan Chase executives enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation while severely underreporting his suspicious transactions to the U.S. government for decades, potentially violating federal anti-money laundering laws. Top bank staff reporting directly to CEO Jamie Dimon closely supervised Epstein’s accounts, with one executive coaching Epstein on how to sanitize his suspiciously large cash withdrawals—$1.3 billion in transactions hidden until Epstein’s death. Wyden revealed that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is blocking release of Treasury’s Epstein file containing thousands of detailed bank records mapping the financial network, and called for criminal investigation of JPMorgan while accusing Trump and AG Pam Bondi of running “fake investigations” as cover. This isn’t just compliance failure—this connects to the systematic financial crimes that collapsed the economy in 2008, costing 10 million jobs and destroying the American middle class. The entire network has to go.1️⃣ TRUMP COULD HAVE INVESTIGATED DEMOCRATS IN 2019, BUT DIDN’TTrump was president when Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and died in 2019—Bill Barr was his Attorney General. They had all the evidence then. The evidence roster shows surveillance, video, photographs from multiple houses documenting exactly what happened and who was involved. “They would have known which famous people in the Democrats or the Republicans were involved in some crimes. But they chose not to prosecute any of those people,” Zev explained. Six years later, with the spotlight now turned on him, Trump is suddenly targeting Democrats while his own administration presided over the only two deaths in the Epstein network. “Did anybody in the Epstein ring die during other administrations?” Dean asked. “No, there was no Jeffrey Epstein accidentally committing suicide or whatever it was.” The 2019 arrests now look less like justice and more like an orchestrated operation to silence Epstein and Maxwell while protecting the broader network. Trump and Barr had the power to investigate everyone in 2019—they chose to go after only Epstein and Maxwell, who Trump now discusses commuting. “None of these other presidents were his best friend,” Zev pointed out. “Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were best friends. They were business partners.” Now Trump threatens to hang Democrats while pretending he just discovered files his own administration had six years ago. The files are coming in 30 days, and Trump knows they won’t be good for him.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Perfect! From now on, I’ll display all scripts and posts as formatted artifacts in the conversation so you can review them directly before they’re saved.Thank you Ellie Leonard, Robin Payes, Pamela, Lisa 🌿🔍🔎🌿, Leah Anderson, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Attorney General Pam Bondi stood at a podium Today and accidentally revealed the entire plan. Asked about new Epstein investigations she’d just announced—conveniently targeting only Democrats—she stammered through non-answers about “information” and “things” before finally admitting she’d defer to a deputy’s social media post. The performance would be laughable if it weren’t so transparent: create new investigations, claim active cases prevent disclosure, and bury everything under “national security” exceptions built into the very legislation Congress just passed.5️⃣ Harvard Reopens the Piggy BankHarvard University announced it’s launching a new investigation into former president Lawrence Summers and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein—an extraordinary reversal of a case the school thought it closed in 2020. House documents revealed Summers exchanged hundreds of messages with Epstein through July 5, 2019, one day before Epstein’s arrest. The emails show Summers seeking Epstein’s advice on pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he called his “mentee,” with Epstein playing “wing man.” The probe will also examine Summers’ wife Elisa New, who solicited thousands in Epstein funding for her projects years after Harvard claimed it stopped taking his money. Summers has since resigned or been fired from Bloomberg, the New York Times, and the Center for American Progress. Nobody’s defending Larry Summers anymore—not Democrats, not Republicans. The dog pile reveals something crucial: 80% of Americans don’t care about party affiliation when it comes to Epstein. They want answers, full stop.4️⃣ The Indictment That Never WasIn stunning courtroom admissions across two days and two courts, Justice Department prosecutors acknowledged that a full grand jury never reviewed the final indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. After the grand jury rejected an early three-count indictment, prosecutors simply had the foreperson sign a revised two-count version without presenting it to the full panel. Defense attorney Michael Dreeben—who argued 105 cases before the Supreme Court—told the judge bluntly: “There is no indictment Mr. Comey is facing.” Lindsay Halligan, the 36-year-old former Trump Tower employee turned prosecutor, appears to have freelanced charges against Comey on Trump’s orders. Federal magistrate judges in separate proceedings catalogued errors, misstatements, and possible attorney-client privilege abuses. This isn’t just procedural incompetence—it’s the idiocracy in action, appointing people willing to break any rule to protect their leader.3️⃣ Things HappenPresident Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi with two words that capture everything: “things happen.” Despite CIA assessments concluding MBS approved Khashoggi’s 2018 dismemberment in a Turkish consulate, Trump hosted him at a White House state dinner complete with Army honor guard, black horses, herald trumpeters, and F-35 flyovers. When ABC’s Mary Bruce asked about the murder, Trump called it a “horrible, insubordinate” question and threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcast license. The day before, aboard Air Force One, he’d called Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucy “quiet piggy” for asking if anything incriminating about him existed in the Epstein files. Two days, two female reporters, both asking legitimate questions about abuse of power. Trump’s response? Protect the murderer, bully the journalists, and collect MBS’s promise to increase Saudi investments from $600 billion to “almost $1 trillion.” The pageantry wasn’t diplomacy—it was sport-washing a murderer while the Epstein votes were still being counted.2️⃣ The Investigation That MaterializedFour months after the Justice Department closed the Epstein case claiming “no information that would lead officials to investigate anyone else,” Bondi announced a new probe targeting Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, and Larry Summers. The timing is surgical: the investigation creates a legal loophole to block document release under the “active investigation” exception in the legislation Congress just passed. Bondi claimed “new information” but refused to specify what changed or why it suddenly appeared after months of public pressure. The pattern is clear—when Trump’s executive order lets only the president and attorney general decide what the law means, and when everything becomes a “national emergency,” they can drape that tarp over any documents they choose. The investigation targets only Democrats despite Trump’s decades-long friendship with Epstein. The enforcement mechanism if DOJ refuses congressional demands? A subpoena requiring Bondi to prosecute herself. Toothless by design.1️⃣ The Silence Before the StormFor a week, official Washington talked constantly about Jeffrey Epstein—except the agency holding the files. The Justice Department maintained complete silence until Bondi’s vague promise of “maximum transparency while protecting victims.” The reality stares us down: if Trump wanted these files released, he could have ordered it any time in six months. Instead, he constructed elaborate theater while building legal barriers to disclosure. The legislation contains massive exceptions—anything that would “jeopardize an active investigation” (hello, Bondi’s convenient new probe), anything with “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” anything depicting child abuse, anything classified. The House and Senate voted near-unanimously—427 to 1 and 97 to 1—telling the president to release these files. That’s not a suggestion. That’s a no-confidence vote. And Trump still hasn’t signed the legislation sitting on his desk since 8 AM. The beginning of the end is here, and the regime knows it.SHOW NOTES SUMMARY: Congress passed near-unanimous legislation forcing release of Jeffrey Epstein files, but Attorney General Pam Bondi already leaked the cover-up plan: launch new investigations targeting Democrats, claim “active cases” prevent disclosure, and hide everything under national security exceptions. Meanwhile, Trump defended MBS over Khashoggi’s murder saying “things happen,” the DOJ admitted no grand jury saw the final Comey indictment, and Harvard reopened investigations into Larry Summers’ extensive Epstein ties. The 80% of Americans demanding transparency don’t care about party—they want answers. The regime’s flailing response proves they’re terrified of what’s in those files.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Ellie Leonard, Nick Paro, Brodee Myers-Cooke, Cat, Robyn Morrison, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

The United States House of Representatives voted 427-1 today to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing the Department of Justice to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein. Only one member—Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana—voted against transparency. Everyone else chose the survivors.Narativ Live assembled an extraordinary panel to cover this historic moment: Vicky Ward, the journalist who first exposed Epstein in Vanity Fair; Lev Parnas, the MAGA insider who understands Trump’s playbook; Dean Blundell; and Wajahat Ali who have rallied behind survivors who have tracked this case for years. Over 4,000 viewers joined the live coverage.Vicky Ward Recalls The Farmer Sisters Vicky Ward, who interviewed Maria and Annie Farmer for her groundbreaking 2003 Vanity Fair article (which editor Graydon Carter killed parts of under pressure), described watching Annie Farmer testify on the Capitol steps:“It’s amazing to watch these women, having come a complete sort of 180, really reclaim their power,” Ward said. “Make no mistake, it’s because of them that they have ultimately succeeded in pressuring Donald Trump to agree to sign this bill when it gets to his desk.”The survivors stood on the Capitol steps. Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s family was there. And 427 members of Congress voted yes.Lev Parnas Reveals Trump’s Contingency PlanWhile everyone celebrated the vote, Lev Parnas dropped a bombshell: Trump has already initiated his contingency plan to contain the damage.Pam Bondi just opened an investigation into the Epstein files—but aimed at Democrats. And who’s leading it? Jay Clayton.“A lot of people might have forgotten who Jay Clayton is,” Parnas explained. “He was chair of the SEC in 2017. But very interestingly, in 2020, Trump and Bill Barr tried to shove Clayton into the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. That was the same time Jeffrey Epstein was there—there was an ongoing investigation into Rudy Giuliani and yours truly.”The attempt failed only because then-U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman refused to go quietly.And where did Clayton go after that? Apollo Management—the firm co-founded by Leon Black, who paid Epstein over $150 million.“So there’s a lot more that’s going on behind the scenes right now,” Parnas said. “Yes, Trump is going to be out there now trying to lie to his base, rally the troops and say release the files. But behind the scenes, what they’re trying to do is control the investigation.”Translation: Trump’s “investigation” into the Epstein files will be led by an executive from the very firm that enriched Epstein. That’s not transparency—that’s containment.Dean Blundell: The Pedophile Protection NetworkDean Blundell revealed another stunning development that dropped the same day: Trump interfered in the federal investigation into Andrew Tate, forcing the feds to return the Tate brothers’ phones while they were investigating Tate for trafficking a Florida woman to Romania.“He is running a pedophile protection network for pay at this point,” Blundell said. “If you’ve ever been drunk, if you’ve ever had an addiction problem, you want everybody else around you to be in that same disgusting boat with you because it justifies your f*****g behavior. There’s literally a psychological term for it.”That’s Trump’s play. Protect everyone so no one can point fingers. Build a network of mutual protection where exposure means mutually assured destruction.Speaker Johnson’s “Empty Concerns”The broadcast cut to live footage of House Speaker Mike Johnson on the floor, listing concerns about “grand jury secrecy,” “child sexual abuse materials,” and “national security.”Zev Shalev cut him off: “His concerns here are quite empty.”Johnson complained that the bill couldn’t be amended because “under the rules of the House, under a discharge petition, they have to agree to consent for the legislation to be amended, and they’re not doing that.”Translation: The survivors and their advocates won’t let you water it down, so now you’re complaining about the rules you created.Johnson’s speech placed the burden on the Senate to amend the bill—setting up exactly the kind of delay and dilution Trump needs.What Happens NextThe bill now moves to the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow majority. If the Senate passes it, the bill goes to Trump’s desk for signature.Trump has said publicly he’d sign it (”sure, I would”), but that was before the 427-1 vote made this a near-unanimous demand from Congress.The White House is facing questions about why these files weren’t released during Trump’s first term, when the Justice Department was under his control.The DOJ files would go well beyond the 23,000 estate documents already released, potentially including investigative memos, correspondence, and internal assessments of the full network of enablers and power-brokers who benefitted from Epstein’s operations.The Survivors’ MessageThe broadcast ended with a powerful PSA from Epstein survivors:“I suffered so much pain. I was 14 years old. I was 16 years old. I was 17. This is me when I met Jeffrey Epstein. There are about a thousand of us. It’s time to bring the secrets out of the shadows. It’s time to shine a light into the darkness.”Dean closed with a call to action, encouraging viewers to subscribe to all the independent journalists who came together for this coverage—because they did it out of their own pockets, their own time, with their own energy.“Seeing all of those people come together at the same time, you want to have all of those people in your life,” Dean Blundell said. “We did that because we love you. We did that because we are you.”After thirty years of institutional silence, after five administrations that knew and did nothing, Congress finally voted 427-1 to release the files.The fight now is to make sure Trump actually signs it—and that Jay Clayton from Apollo Management doesn’t bury what needs to come out.Thank you THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali, Nick Paro, Shane Yirak, Stephanie G Wilson, PhD, Lesley Jane Seymour, and many others for tuning into my live video with Vicky Ward Investigates, Dean Blundell, Lev Parnas, and Ellie Leonard! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Tomorrow’s House vote will pass with over 100 Republicans expected to defy Trump. The president says he’ll sign the bill but he’s banking on the Senate to kill it. 5️⃣ The Senate Is Trump’s Last StandThe House votes tomorrow on releasing Epstein files, and it’s likely going to pass—over 100 Republicans could defy Trump. After weeks of personally calling lawmakers and summoning them to the White House Situation Room to kill this bill, Trump lost. So he flipped Sunday night, posting on Truth Social that Republicans “should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.” But the bill still has to pass the Senate, where the bill needs 60 votes. Trump is already working Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Lisa Murkowski to block it there. Has anyone checked on John Fetterman?If the bill passes the senate Trump will still have one last hail Mary option. Trump ordered DOJ to investigate only Democrats connected to Epstein—Clinton, Summers, Hoffman—creating an “ongoing investigation” that triggers FOIA exemptions to keep the files sealed regardless of what Congress does.4️⃣ MAGA’s Theological CrisisWhen Trump branded Marjorie Taylor Greene “Traitor” and pulled his endorsement, the death threats and pipe bomb scares followed immediately. Her crime? Signing the Epstein files petition. Trump’s response when asked about her safety: “Frankly, I don’t think anybody cares about her.” Greene went on CNN to apologize for “toxic politics” and announce she’s “putting down the knives,” breaking with Trump on substance—ripping his foreign trips while Americans face crushing prices, calling his H-1B stance betrayal. The fracture exposes MAGA’s core question: is this movement about populist ideas or one man’s ego? With a razor-thin House majority, one or two rebels can blow up Trump’s entire agenda.3️⃣ Larry Summers’ Epstein Dating ServiceThe former Harvard President and Treasury Secretary turned to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for romantic advice while pursuing a woman he called his “mentee.” Seven months of texts obtained by the Harvard Crimson show Summers, married since 2005, sharing forwarded emails about his chances of “getting horizontal” with economist Keyu Jin, using the code name “peril.” Epstein played enthusiastic wingman, replying “She’s already beginning to sound needy :) nice” when Summers forwarded her academic paper. This continued through November 2018—after the Miami Herald surfaced 80 accusers—and ended July 5, 2019. Epstein was arrested the next day. Harvard still employs Summers in its most distinguished faculty role.2️⃣ The Missing Trump PhotosMichael Wolff watched Epstein retrieve six photographs from his safe: Trump by the pool at the Palm Beach mansion, topless young women in his lap, one showing a visible stain on Trump’s pants with girls pointing and laughing. In December 2015, Epstein offered them to the New York Times. They vanished after Trump’s FBI sawed open that safe in July 2019. Israeli intelligence likely has copies—senior Mossad-linked officer Yoni Koren stayed at Epstein’s Manhattan apartment for weeks between 2013-2015. Russia likely has them through John Mark Dougan, the former Palm Beach Deputy who secretly copied hundreds of DVDs from the Epstein case in 2009, then fled to Russia in 2016. Classic kompromat: the value lies in the threat, not execution.1️⃣ Nothing To Hide? Oh Really?Five months before his death, Epstein sent an email detailing Trump’s $54 million laundering scheme: Trump used Deutsche Bank’s $41 million loan for a bankrupt Palm Beach mansion at a rigged auction where Mark Pulte ensured no competing bidders, then flipped it to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million while claiming fake renovations to dodge taxes. Epstein’s email names “trump and his friend pulty the developer” as coordinating the scheme, questions “how did he report the sale, if he did at all on his 08 tax return.” Twenty years later, the Pulte family donated over $1 million to Trump. Bill Pulte now runs federal housing and is illegally accessing databases containing 55 million mortgages to target Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Letitia James—the Democrats who impeached and prosecuted Trump. When ethics investigators examined these abuses, Pulte fired them. Trump rewards the families who facilitate his crimes with federal power, then their children weaponize that power against his enemies.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Ellie Leonard, Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Caro Henry, Debbie Hupp, Ang Traders, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Dean is traveling and will be back on the show Monday. 5️⃣ Trump’s Desperate Morning OffensiveAt 9:30 AM Thursday, Trump called the Epstein document releases “another Russia, Russia, Russia scam.” An hour later, he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and JPMorgan Chase—notice no Republicans on that list. But this wasn’t just rage-posting. This was the public face of a full-scale White House pressure campaign to kill the discharge petition before it reaches a floor vote. Sources inside the White House report Trump has been personally calling members of Congress and senators, applying maximum pressure to stop the release. He’s been heard telling allies the files will “never see the light of day.” The question isn’t whether he’ll veto—it’s whether he can kill the effort before it forces him to.4️⃣ Nancy Mace: The Weak LinkTrump has identified Nancy Mace as the most likely Republican to flip her vote on the discharge petition. She’s caught between loyalty to trafficking survivors—she herself was abused earlier in her life—and deep loyalty to Trump. The White House is hammering her specifically because they know she might cave. But it’s not just about Mace. Trump is calling a wide range of House Republicans who signed the petition, trying to peel off enough votes to prevent it from reaching the floor. If it hits a full House vote, Trump faces a nightmare scenario: over 100 Republicans voting to release the files. Congressman Don Bacon, who didn’t sign the original petition, told Lev Parnas he’ll vote for release if it reaches the floor—and he believes at least 100 other Republicans will join him.3️⃣ The Senate Firewall StrategyTrump’s Plan A is stopping the House vote entirely. That’s why the pressure on Mace and others is so intense. But Plan B involves the Senate. If the House vote succeeds, Trump is calling senators like Lindsey Graham to ensure it dies in the Senate. The heavier the House vote margin, the harder it becomes to block in the Senate, which is why Trump wants to keep the House numbers thin. His ultimate fear is being the person who has to veto the release—the president who campaigned on transparency about Epstein but blocked the files when they threatened to expose his own involvement.2️⃣ Pam Bondi’s Distraction PlayThe investigations Bondi announced into Clinton, Summers, and others serve a specific purpose: they’re the contingency for when the pressure campaign fails. This was always part of the plan—Lev Parnas predicted it months ago. Throw enough names into investigations, create enough noise about Democrats, and maybe Trump’s base accepts his veto as protecting national security or preventing a partisan witch hunt rather than covering up his own crimes. The strategy is transparent: flood the zone with accusations until Americans lose track of whose name appears most in these documents. But here’s the tell—Trump only knows Clinton, Summers, and JP Morgan were involved because he was there too. You can’t name the party guests unless you were invited to the party.1️⃣ What Putin Holds Over HimTrump’s desperation makes sense when you understand what’s at stake. Author Michael Wolff saw compromising photos Epstein kept in his safe—Trump by the pool, scantily clad with models. In 2016, former Palm Beach Sheriff John Mark Dugan fled to Russia carrying hundreds of DVDs from Epstein’s home. Putin has that material. The newly released emails show Epstein had direct contact with Putin and reported to former Israeli PM Ehud Barak. In 2018—while Trump was president—Epstein told Russian officials he could give them “the goods” on handling Trump. Russian oligarch Victor Vekselberg, who paid Michael Cohen $500K during the 2016 campaign, was in business with both Epstein and Barak. This wasn’t just a sex trafficking operation. It was a coordinated intelligence effort by Russia and Israel to compromise American leadership. And Trump knows exactly what’s in those FBI files that prove it.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ War Crimes in the CaribbeanThe USS Gerald R. Ford sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar this weekend, headed for the Caribbean. Since September, Trump’s undeclared war has killed 75 people across 19 strikes using MQ-9 Reaper drones and AC-130 gunships—with zero evidence the targets were actually drug traffickers. The UN calls them extrajudicial killings. Families say they were fishermen. Trump told 60 Minutes that Maduro’s “days are numbered,” telegraphing a coup attempt against Venezuela. The response? UK, Canada, Netherlands, Ecuador, and Mexico have all curbed intelligence sharing with the United States. The Five Eyes alliance—the bedrock of Western intelligence cooperation—is fracturing because allied nations refuse to be accomplices to Trump’s murder spree.4️⃣ Your 50-Year Mortgage PrisonTrump’s housing plan would normalize 50-year mortgages, ensuring Americans never own their homes. You’ll pay interest for half a century, die before it’s paid off, and leave your kids with the debt. This isn’t about affordability—it’s about permanent extraction. You’ll pay multiples of what the home is worth, all while being told this is opportunity. It’s the natural evolution of the theft documented in The Greatest Heist.3️⃣ The Greatest Heist: How $40 Trillion Was StolenChapter One dropped yesterday at narativ.org, exposing the origin story of America’s systematic looting. In the mid-1990s, four men met at The Limited headquarters in Columbus, Ohio: Jes Staley, Leslie Wexner, Jeffrey Epstein, and Arnold Kessler. All four ended up connected to JP Morgan in the run-up to 2008. When the economy crashed, Jamie Dimon—connected to this network through Bank One—was positioned as the savior of American banking. The reality? He cost the economy $30-40 trillion. The 2008 crash wasn’t an accident. It was extraction engineered by networks operating from places like New Albany, Ohio—Wexner’s private compound where Maria Farmer was held hostage for three months while no law enforcement intervened. This is how the RAND-documented $79 trillion theft happened. This is the mechanism. The 50-year mortgages? Just the next chapter.2️⃣ Ghislaine Maxwell’s Five-Star PrisonWhile Trump cuts SNAP benefits and Medicaid, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell gets concierge treatment at a Texas “prison camp.” Custom meals from a personal chef. Private Pilates instruction. A puppy she keeps with her at all times. Private recreation after hours. The warden is helping her edit her commutation application to Trump. Other inmates who complain get solitary confinement. Jamie Raskin’s House Oversight Committee is investigating, confirming Trump is considering her pardon. This is what protecting the president costs: luxury accommodations for the woman who holds the Epstein files, paid for by American taxpayers—including the victims she trafficked.1️⃣ Utah Strikes Down GOP GerrymanderingJudge Diana Gibson rejected Utah’s Republican-drawn congressional map, ruling it violated the state constitution by dividing Salt Lake City into four Republican-majority districts. She adopted a centrist coalition map instead. Republicans immediately vowed to “restore constitutional government”—apparently the Constitution is whatever helps them win. Combined with similar rulings in Kansas and Virginia, the tide is turning. Democrats likely gain a seat in deep-red Utah. Trump was booed and middle-fingered by 80,000 people at the Commanders-Lions game. His approval is collapsing. Without cheating, authoritarian movements can’t win on merit—and when judges catch them cheating, the consequences accelerate their collapse.From war crimes to financial extraction to protecting sex traffickers to rigging elections, the pattern is identical. The same networks that engineered the 2008 heist now control the White House. The question isn’t whether Americans are waking up—the boos at the football game answered that. The question is whether courts and allies will hold the line before the damage becomes permanent.The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.Thank you Ellie Leonard, Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA, Lisa 🌿🔍🔎🌿, Leah Anderson, CO, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe