The Lincoln Project

Journalist Julie K. Brown -- whose Miami Herald reporting in 2017 and 2018 led to additional charges for Epstein and identified nearly 80 of his victims -- sits down with Rick to unravel all of the significant details that the public might not know yet, or might not be paying attention to. Blowing the lid off of an already UNBELIEVABLE story (again), Julie sheds light on the victims' stories, Epstein and Maxwell's extensive child trafficking network, the colossal names woven into the network, why investigators should follow the money, and, of course, the unprecedented sweetheart plea deal Alex Acosta (who'd later slither into the role of Trump's Labor Secretary in 2017) handed to Epstein during his 2008 criminal case in Palm Beach County. Rick and Julie also untangle the important details surrounding Epstein's 2006 Palm Beach investigation where a Victim's Rights Lawsuit (filed after the sweetheart plea deal) exposed a chummy email paper trail between the Prosecutor's office (i.e. Alex Acosta's office at the time) and Epstein's attorney. For more of her investigative groundbreaking reporting, please check out Julie's book "Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story" and her Miami Herald 2017-2018 investigation here→ https://www.miamiherald.com/topics/jeffrey-epstein• • • • • Get your copy of Julie K Brown's book, "Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story," and follow Julie on X at @JKBjournalist. Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Rick's Elephant in the Room is that America has spoken, and we're not letting the Epstein cover-up go. America is locked on target, and justice for the sexual assault victims matters. Exposing the truth about Donald Trump matters. Maybe we're growing up as a country? After ten years of distraction whack-a-mole, maybe we've matured and are no longer taking his bait. Facts are louder than the lies, and Trump can't rewrite or reframe his involvement in the Epstein/Maxwell narrative. A poll came out this week that Trump is losing one in three MAGA voters. THIS is the smoking gun, and Trump's fingerprints are all over the handle.  • • • • • Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.  Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian expats, anti-authoritarian journalists, and co-authors Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan join Rick this week to share their heroic story of fleeing Russia in order to give the rest of the world a picture of how people within the country reacted to the war in Chechnya (and now the invasion of Ukraine), how the death of journalism paved a path for state-run misinformation channels, and what the future looks like, structurally, once Putin eventually dies in the future. The militaristic system that Putin shaped is primed for yet another dictator to step into power, and although Russians remain hopeful to one day be able to return their government back to the people, this realistically won't happen for many generations...until the country is finally repaired. Their book 'Our Dear Friends in Moscow' describes a "broken generation" in Russia, and how their friendships back home broke apart over the Putin's actions in Ukraine and the Russian state's condemnation of the West. Coming from a real life encounter with authoritarianism, Andrei and Irina warn us about how it became that way and where we are on that trajectory. • • • • • You can find Irina Borogan @irinaborogan on X, and Andrei Soldatov @AndreiSoldatov on X. Also, please check out Irina & Andrei's newest book 'Our Dear Friends in Moscow' wherever fine books are sold! Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.  Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Rick's Elephant in the Room is the foul odor of the Epstein files -- and now Todd Blanche meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida. Blanche, who was Trump's personal attorney throughout cases brought from 2020 through 2024 is now serving as the Deputy Attorney General under the Trump Administration. Backed up by numerous photos and previously released court documents that can be found online, Maxwell, a convicted child sex trafficker who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Tallahassee for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade. She has been friends with Trump for years. Maxwell's defense attorney, David Markus, happens to be friends with Todd Blanche (imagine that). Just google "For The Defense with David Oscar Markus" and you should see a podcast published on June 2, 2024. Now, today when Blanche met with Maxwell, what do you think that conversation was? Do you think their conversation was recorded or unbiased and substantiated notes were taken? Do you think Blanche threatened Maxwell -- take the deal or else we will send you to an international prison, or be careful you don't *slip* in the shower? Listen, even without the possibility of undocumented threats, Maxwell has nothing to lose and everything to gain from a transactional deal with Blanche, and therefore Trump. Whatever they want her to say, is there ANYTHING that makes you think she wouldn't say it? It's not like she's someone to stand on morals and principles...as a child sex trafficker. There's a zero percent chance that she would push back and hold to the truth of the matter, as the truth doesn't serve her own interests either. They are offering Maxwell a bribe to lie about Trump. Maxwell is the last loose end -- and nothing she says can be trusted (if it ever could be). Blanche technically doesn't represent Trump in this matter, his role is to serve the AMERICAN PEOPLE and their interests. But we all know who Blanche *thinks* he works for. The corruption in the DOJ reeks, and it makes Watergate look like a ladies' afternoon tea party that forgot to file permit paperwork in a small town. Thank you to the whistleblowers -- be careful, but keep it up. Members of MAGA are finally waking up and the Epstein files are the lynchpin to their long-anticipated epiphany about Trump. Today, the QAnon Shaman reversed course and refuted that Trump was *his* president in a post on X. Benny Johnson, Theo Von, and Candace Owens are all finally scent of Trump's rank odor. The Epstein files are Trump's achilles heel -- and if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a f*cking duck.  • • • • • Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.  Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this engaging discussion, Adam Becker, an astrophysicist and author, dives into the wild world of Silicon Valley's techno-futurism. He critiques the overly optimistic views of tech leaders and dissects their real-world limitations. The conversation touches on the ethical dilemmas of crypto and AI, exploring the risks of misalignment in AI development. Adam also highlights the influence of science fiction on tech narratives, revealing how iconic figures like Musk and Thiel shape both culture and innovation. It's a hot take on the hype hijinks of the tech elite!

This week, Rick's Elephant in the Room is -- is Trump dying? From his bruised hands to his swollen cankles, Donald Trump is taking on water like a pregnant woman with pre-eclampsia. As of yesterday, Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (or as we joked internally, "venus deficiency" or "a lack of love from the ladies" -- which totally tracks). According to a quick Google search, Trump's veins are having a problem circulating the blood back to his heart (probably because it's ten sizes too small). It's highly possible that, with this condition, Trump has grotesque leg sores -- almost like he's rotting from the inside out. The treatment? Losing weight, getting wound care for his rotting leg meat, and wearing compression stockings. The epic karma of a man who's harassed women his entire life, forced to sport a full set of compression hose at the height of the most prominent public-facing role, is not lost on us. Enjoy your Spanx, Donnie. Surely, Melania will still find you sexy? • • • • • Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.  Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Economist Justin Wolfers sits down with Rick to discuss the absolutely bananas state of the American economy. Running his campaign on the economy, now Trump -- the ultimate flip-flopper -- has left Americans and American businesses holding the bag. The wishy-washy nature of the tariffs isn't good for anyone...and he knows it. How much are those eggs now? • • • • • You can follow Justin Wolfers @JustinWolfers on X and @justinwolfers.bsky.social‬ on Bluesky. Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.  Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Rick's Elephant in the Room highlights the incredibly contradictory statements made by Pam Bondi, Dan Bongino, and Kash Patel as they backtrack on their previous comments about the Epstein files, now claiming "there's nothing to see here, folks." (Shocker.) This has caused a major MAGA meltdown -- cut to Alex Jones crying in a self-filmed iPhone video, Steve Bannon calling for a special prosecutor to investigate, and Elon Musk claiming that Bannon is also in the Epstein files. But here's a fun little fact...Donald Trump has more photos with Jeffrey Epstein than anyone else, even more than Ghislaine Maxwell. In February of this past year, Axios released documents from the 2021 US vs. Ghislaine Maxwell case -- those materials remain public to this day. We've included a link below so you can view the public materials while they remain available...who knows what the Trump administration will do with them? Only a guilty person would work so hard to keep their secret safe. Link to the Epstein materials from Axios: https://www.axios.com/2025/02/28/jeffrey-epstein-documents-release-names-flights • • • • • Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @therickwilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com.  Join the fight with the Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow LP on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue our critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a very special, breaking story and episode premiere for you all. Rick sits down with investigative reporters and co-authors -- Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of The New York Times, and Isaac Arnsdorf of The Washington Post -- for a behind-the-scenes, no-holds-barred 360° look at all angles of our last presidential race in 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. With unlimited access, award-winning reporters Dawsey, Pager, and Arnsdorf tell the comprehensive, dramatic story of the 2024 presidential election, drawing on the reporters’ extraordinary networks within both parties, over 350 interviews with sources, years of covering the candidates, and an exclusive interview with Trump. The result is the gripping account of how Trump clawed his way back from political oblivion to defeat the Democrats, why opposition to both Biden and Trump collapsed, and how Harris — tasked with running the shortest presidential campaign in modern U.S. history — couldn’t outrun Biden’s shadow. In 2024, the arcs of these three candidates and their campaigns coalesce to tell the definitive account of a historic election, one that resulted in a second Trump term far more emboldened and revenge-fueled than his first. The reporting of these investigative reporters, who were always inside the room, details and sheds new light on all of the stories you thought you knew.  • • • • • On X, Josh Dawsey is at @jdawsey1, Tyler Pager is at @tylerpager, and Isaac Arnsdorf is at @iarnsdorf. Now more than ever, please support investigative journalists who continue to serve facts to the public.   Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson and on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social. Please check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com, where he writes several articles a week and hosts live conversations with his network of friends.  The Lincoln Project's website is www.lincolnproject.us, and on X, you can follow at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to fuel LP's ongoing resistance, please visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America (July 4th, 2026), we are bringing you a very special episode commemorating this Fourth of July. In this special episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson joins Rick Wilson (who is also a history buff) to re-examine the history of the Revolutionary War and how the grit of great Americans ultimately secured our country's freedom. Americans left their farms, their families, and their lives to join the Continental Army in pursuit of this vision -- a free, fair, and just America. Standing up to the extraordinary front of the British and their fleet of weaponry and strategic military minds, the Americans faced incomprehensible odds with bravery, resilience, and strategic creativity. What was Washington really like? How did he lead? Was he this mythical, legendary figure we've all grown familiar with? Or did he grow and evolve throughout the war -- and did that growth shape the outcome of the war? We are all generally familiar with this story, but you haven't heard this version of it before. Rick Atkinson's two new books, The British Are Coming and The Fate of the Day, are out now -- and for all of you history nerds...this is a must-read.  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Rick Atkinson does not have a social media presence on X or Bluesky, but he does have a website at https://rickatkinson.com/, where you can view all of his books and learn more about him.  You can follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and @TheRickWilson.bsky.social on Bluesky, and you can subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com for live chats with special guests and Rick's writing.  You can join the Lincoln Project fight at www.lincolnproject.us and follow us on X at @ProjectLincoln. If you'd like to help us continue this critical work, visit https://action.lincolnproject.us/helplp to make a difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices