It has become painfully obvious that the Epstein Files affair is far worse than the Watergate scandal of 1972-74, which was serious enough to take down the Nixon administration. But this one goes so far beyond mere politics. It involves children, pedophiles, and massive world-wide involvement and cover-ups by people at the top of every imaginable segment of society. It is obvious to everyone (except the guilty parties themselves) — in the United States and elsewhere — that they must be rooted out and brought to justice . . . no matter who they are.

I don’t believe that can be emphasized too strongly. But at the same time, it occurs to me (and I’m sure, to others as well) that the amount of attention being given by the media to the Epstein matter has been appropriating precious space in the news that needs to be allocated to other, equally vital issues.

While Donald Trump has been frantically trying to deflect attention away from Epstein by pursuing other controversial goals — filching Greenland from Denmark, threatening war against Iran, and depriving the people of Cuba of basic human necessities, to name just a few — Vladimir Putin has been doing just the reverse. He has been reveling in the opportunity and taking full advantage of the distraction to buy as much time as possible for his own nefarious pursuits.

Think about it. Other than the daily reports of Russia’s brutal attacks on Ukraine and Ukraine’s counter-offensives, how much news has there been from or about the Kremlin lately? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks urgently of the need to continue peace talks . . . but nothing happens. Trump goads Zelensky to make wholly unacceptable concessions, and Zelensky responds . . . but still, nothing happens. And why? Because Vladimir Putin does nothing.

And when Putin’s voice finally is heard, there is no mention of peace talks. He merely continues to take a ludicrous defensive position, blaming Ukraine and the West for attacking Russia. And his words receive one mention, concerning a speech given on Tuesday — the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — to an audience of FSB (Federal Security Service) officers. In the context of ordering them to increase protection of Russia’s energy and transport infrastructure against Ukrainian attacks that he claimed were enabled by Western intelligence services, he said:

“They did not manage to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield, so the enemy is relying on individual and mass terror: this includes shelling cities, sabotaging infrastructure, and assassination attempts on government and military officials.

“There is an absolute need to defeat Russia. They are looking for any way anything at all. They will push themselves to some extreme point, and then they will regret it.” [Dmitry Antonov, Mark Trevelyan and Andrew Osborn, Reuters, February 24, 2026.] [Bold emphasis is mine.]

Is that to be taken as a serious threat? Does he have something up his sleeve that we don’t know about? Or is it merely bravado — big talk designed to hide the truth of his country’s dismal military and economic condition? There is, of course, no way to tell for sure.

But much of Europe is taking no chances; they’ve been down this road before. EU members are stepping up their own security measures, speaking in terms of “when” — not “if” — Putin will choose his next victim for invasion. Yet there is only so much they can do without the full backing of the U.S. government . . . and they’re not receiving it, because Donald Trump remains blind to the sorry truth: that Putin prevaricates with the same ease that the rest of us breathe; that he has no intention of ending this war on any terms but his own; and that he has been playing Trump for a fool from day one.

British intelligence officials have shared with the U.S. the contents of intercepted calls and texts among ranking Kremlin officials in which they have laughed and ridiculed Trump’s continued acceptance of Putin’s word. According to a senior UK security official, speaking to The Spectator yesterday:

“We have continually shown them [the U.S.] intelligence that shows the Russians are lying. The Russians are privately mocking Trump over his naivety about Putin’s intentions. Putin doesn’t want to end the war.” [Will Neal, Daily Beast, February 26, 2026.]

So where is the follow-up on this? Why isn’t Trump being told by his so-called staff and intelligence advisers to wake up and start seriously pushing Putin against the wall? I’m afraid we know the answer to that. It’s because his “advisers” are a bunch of Trump clones: a cabal of dim-witted, self-serving sycophants who tell him only what he wants to hear. That is, after all, how they got their jobs in the first place.

But why isn’t the media pushing the administration with more in-depth coverage? There could be any number of reasons; but one of them — the one that stands out before all others — is the overriding focus on the Epstein Files: a huge, if unintended, gift to Vladimir Putin, all wrapped up and tied with one of Donald Trump’s ridiculous red neckties.

Trump is so embroiled in the Epstein affair that it’s all he can think of. And to offset it — to win himself and the Republican party some Brownie points with the voters before November’s mid-term elections — he needs a victory. Pushing Zelensky to concede to Putin’s demands in order to end the war would give Trump the bragging rights he so desperately seeks. To hell with the people of Ukraine, or the ensuing domino effect in Europe.

Now, I’m obviously not suggesting we cut back on coverage of the Epstein investigation; that would be disastrous. But we can’t allow it to become the “red herring” that distracts us from the multitude of other issues hanging over our heads: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Israel/Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Greenland, the environment, the U.S. economy, Trump’s mental and physical health . . .

You get the point.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/27/26