Beltway Insider: Trump/Epstein/Maxwell, Kamala Harris, Texas Floods, NTSB Hearing, NYC Shooting

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Saturday, 02 August 2025 18:53

Written by Janet Walker

President Trump visited Scotland, this week, where he was assailed each day by hordes of protestors lining the streets with banners and signs, targeting his policies, his relationship to Jeffrey Epstein, his position on Gaza, and his conviction.

The President's job approval rating, according to Gallup featured in The New York Times for the period ending August 3, 2025, of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President remained constant at 37% and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as president remained constant at 58%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

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Trump Scotland Visit Met with Protests

Mixing business with pleasure, President Trump visited Scotland, the native country of his mother Mary Anne MacLeod, for a quick break from the rumbling of his solid MAGA base and the bi-partisan calls from Congress to release the Epstein files.

Trump, who owns three golf courses on the Emerald Isle, the Trump Turnberry, located in the south of Scotland and the Trump International Scotland in Balmedie on the eastern coast, and the third, Mr. Trump called the "Greatest 36 Holes in Golf," at the Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, also in Balmedie, Aberdeen, Scotland.

However, Mr. Trump managed to work in a bit of business meeting with British Prime Minster Kier Starmer and working through an EU tariff framework. "The sweeping announcement came after President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private sit-down culminated months of bargaining, the APnews.com reported.

Trump, Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell

As Mr. Trump has been unable to shake the allegation that his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein went further than he has admitted, a recent interview by Justice Department official Todd Blanche, with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving a 20 sentence for her part in procuring underage girls for sexual favors to a host of high profile men.

Senator Richard Durbin, (IL-D) said, "In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who conducted the interviews, Mr. Durbin also demanded that the Justice Department commit to offering no pardon or commutation of Ms. Maxwell's sentence in exchange for information, citing "serious questions about the potential for a corrupt bargain between the Trump Administration and Ghislaine Maxwell,"' The New York Times reported.

However, in the time since the testimony, Maxwell was moved to a minimum security prison outside of Houston, Texas, which is known as a luxury camp for female criminals, with little to no fencing, dormitory style housing, movie night, recreational facilities and a more relaxed independent, honor system as the facility has a low staff to inmate ration.

The Justice department may not have pardoned or commuted Ms. Maxwell's sentence; they certainly made her daily existence considerably easier.

Former Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is also serving out her sentence in the same facility.

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Kamala Harris Passes on California Governor Race

Former Vice-President Kamala Harris announced this week she will not be entering the race to run for the Governor of California. In her prepared statement Ms. Harris, said, "I am a devout public servant, and from the earliest days of my career, I have believed that the best way I could make a difference in people's lives and fight for a better future was to improve the system from within. And it has been a profound honor to do that work and serve the people of California and our nation — as a prosecutor, Attorney General, United States Senator, and Vice President," The Washington Post reported.

By not entering the race to lead the largest state in the nation, many interpreted as hinting to a potential 2028 presidential run.

Should Harris decide to seek the 2028 Presidential nomination she will face a very crowded field of possible candidates, and more critically need to participate in the primary season, which has been a cause of contention in her past attempts to secure the presidential nod. With a nation still strongly guided by belief of patriarchal leadership, changing the minds of the masses will take more than simply a strong showing in a few primaries. She would need to lead going into Super Tuesday and sweep the majority of the delegates.

As she was grandfathered into the 2024 presidential race, she managed to skip over the primary season, which is used to test the water with potential voters, and while she energized a lackluster election season, her grass roots support was never tested.

The sleight-of-hand tactics to secure the top spot on the ticket, which didn't go unnoticed by the nation's rank and file, also contributed to her eventual loss, who saw the change as an effort to damage Biden legacy and agism, led by other deep-pocketed donors who had other agendas.

Of course, the first test of democratic victory in 2028 are the 2026 midterms and flipping the house. As the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is prioritizing "U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-1st District), Rob Bresnahan (R-8th District), Scott Perry (R-10th District), and Ryan Mackenzie (R-7th District), as seats to flip in 2026," reported the PennCapitalStar.com.

If Democratic Governor Jay Shapiro of Pennsylvania can secure the victory for the house, he could potentially move to the top of the list of Democratic hopefuls. Others include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who has been soundly re-elected in a red state. His crossover appeal is needed on any ticket. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is another strong candidate in a much needed state.

As much as political pundits want to gaze into the crystal ball to get a jump on the potential democratic primaries, it is still far enough into the future, that even the crystal ball is cloudy.

NTSB Report Released from Military Helicopter, Jet

The National Transportation and Safety Board held hearings this week on the cause behind the crash of the Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines Regional Jet that was preparing to land at Washington's Reagan National Airport on January 29, killing 67.

The hearings, which are designed to help answer the unanswerable questions, of how could this have happened, are sterile and presented factually. From the documentation received, the Black Hawk was traveling an often used military corridor, along the Potomac River. As it was at night, it has been suggested and assumed that the crew were using night vision goggles.

"Barometric altimeters used by the Army crew told them the helicopter was 100 feet lower than it actually was, NTSB panelists said Wednesday. Meanwhile, according to a transcript of cockpit recordings, members of that crew complained of difficulty hearing transmissions from National Airport's air traffic control tower," The Washington Post reported.

In the minutes leading up to the AA5342, the Black Hawk pilot recognizes two other jets preparing to land, for a total of three, leading to confusion especially as the crew complained of difficulty hearing the transmissions. No cause has yet been determined by the NTSB.

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Texas Floods Emergency Management Director Explains Absence

Texas State lawmakers began holding hearings this week, over the responsibility behind the absence of any warnings before the deadly Kerr County Fourth of July floods.

The Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator, William B. Thomas, IV, who spoke for the first time since the surging Guadalupe River, which rose to record levels in less than one hour, killed 108, including 28 campers and counselors from the Mystic All Girls Camp, said he was sick and asleep in bed, and was only awakened by his wife, at 5:30am on July 4, 2025.

While it would be simple to assess all blame to Mr. Thomas, he has also stated his he had arranged to take the holiday off, and his supervisors were aware of his scheduled absence.

Kerr County, Texas, with an estimated population of 54,000, has a microsystem of government, often positions and duties are combined under one title. In this case, the responsibility for extreme weather emergency fell onto three separate individuals.

Judge Rob Kelly, who Mr. Thomas reports to, is the most senior official involved in the management of emergency events, including natural disasters. Judge Kelly explained he was also away, leaving the emergency management post essentially unmanaged. The local sheriff was the third person responsible to provide first response and warning to the local residents. Without the other two, the third person, was not awakened until the predawn hours of July 4, 2024.

"Earlier in the hearing, Representative Ann Johnson, a Houston Democrat, observed that "the three guys in Kerr County who were responsible for sounding the alarm were effectively unavailable" at the height of the emergency, before dawn on July 4.The judge was away, she said, the sheriff didn't wake up until 4:20 a.m., and the emergency management coordinator was sick," The New York Times reported.

As nearly one month has passed since the fatal floods, the loss has begun to be realized in its magnitude and the glaring lack of emergency preparedness, and failures to realize the consequences, especially at this time, with the region at inundated for the holiday, is blatant.

It's doubtful any one person will be held responsible for the failures, however, the possibility that the citizens of Kerr County will take a good hard look their elected officials and reassess if they actually focused on each individual citizens well-being and if not vote them out.

Coronavirus Total

At the order of the President of the United States, the U.S. no longer recognizes the value of The World Health Organization. The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, annually.  The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from the newer variants.

For the seven days ending August 3, 2025, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by the World Health Organization increased by 10,204 to 778,417,964. The total worldwide death toll increased by 259 to 7,098,699 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated July 13, 2025, from the World Health Organization).

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Manhattan Mass Shooting Kills 4, Shooter Claims CTE in Notes

A Nevada man drove across country to the headquarters of the National Football League, at 345 Park Avenue in New York City, walked into the lobby of the 44-story building carrying an AR-15 assault rifle and began spraying the lobby with gunfire.  

He immediately struck and killed an off-duty New York City Police officer Didarul Islam, 36, and an unarmed security guard, Alane Etienne, 47. He also murdered a Blackstone Investment executive, Wesley LePatner, 43.

In a bizarre action, the elevator in the lobby opened, and a woman, unaware of the carnage in the lobby, walked right past the man, who allowed her to live. He then took the elevator to the 33rd floor, were he executed Julia Hyman, 27, a Rudin Management associate. He then turned the gun on himself. 

The shooter, identified as Shane Devon Tamura, 27, who had placed a note in his wallet and detectives found a three page letter in his vehicle referencing CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a progressive brain injury brought on by repeated head trauma and claimed the NFL had been remiss in covering the extent of the damage, and was participating the conspiracy to maximize its profits.

Trump Administration Restore Presidential Fitness Test

In an effort to get Americans moving again, President Trump has reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test, and restoration of the President's council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition.

According to the White House press briefing, "President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order restoring two iconic pillars of American youth: the Presidential Fitness Test and the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. This historic action underscores the Administration's commitment to ending the childhood chronic disease epidemic and ensuring the strength, vitality, and excellence of future generations of Americans."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated the fitness test in 1956 and was officially shelved after the 2012-2013 school year. The Obama administration replaced it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which shifted the focus from athletic prowess to overall health and fitness. 

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For more information on President Donald Trump: Whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.