Beltway Insider: Trump, Royals, Billionaires Listed in Epstein Files, Clintons to Testify, WaPo Gutted, Mystic Camp Lawsuit
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- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Saturday, 07 February 2026 16:38
- Written by Janet Walker
President Trump, along with captains of business and industry, as well as Royal Family members, are facing the fallout over their correspondence, association, and alleged involvement with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficking organization.
The President's job approval rating, according to the Pew Research Center featured in The New York Times for the period ending February 7, 2026, of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President increased by two percentage point to 3% and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as president decrease two percentage point to 61%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.
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Trump Listed in Epstein Files
Documents, pictures, and emails from the late Jeffrey Epstein, who operated the most affluent sex trafficking organization of the modern history, have implicated dozens of billionaires, wealthy entrepreneurs, political leaders, and captains of industry in an ever-widening sex scandal that is shocking even the most jaded.
The recent dump of Jeffrey Epstein files have not been kind to the sitting president. According to the New York Times, President Trump's name appears more than 5,300 times in the more than 3 million files.
"Using a proprietary search tool, The New York Times identified more than 5,300 files containing more than 38,000 references to Mr. Trump, his wife, his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, and other related words and phrases in the latest batch of emails, government files, videos and other records released by the Justice Department. Previous installments of the Epstein files, which the department released late last year, included another 130 files with Trump-related references," The New York Times reported.
Captains of Industry, Royals Snared
The Epstein files also, according to The New York Times, reference the rumored names of captains of industry, including Trump, and his Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Tesla founder Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Victoria's Secret owner and businessman Leslie Wexler, New York Giants owner Steve Tisch, Virgin Atlantic founder and owner Richard Branson.
While each of those mentioned in the released documents vehemently deny the allegations of participating in Epstein's sex trafficking organization, other separate documents align with the allegations.
As each are covered under Special Privileges law, the unwritten but oft used coverage that allows predators the freedom to continue their criminal actions and flagrantly flaunt them knowing there is no court that will hold them accountable.
Of course, the ongoing sexual revelations with former Prince Andrew, who had his title stripped from him over his associations with Jeffrey Epstein, and is now known by Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, with several mentions between the two with Epstein arranging trysts for the then prince. It seemed they were also during his marriage to the former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, who gushes in her correspondence over Epstein generosity.
In addition to Norway's future Queen, Crown Princess Mette-Marit who had a lengthy and congenial relationship with the convicted pedophile, a close associate of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Raafat Al-Sabbagh, wrote in an email, "I am sure you are opening so many legs there."
Then of course, there are the vulgarities, and the admission of Epstein in his prepared correspondence to former business partner Leslie Wexler, as he attempted to leverage their lascivious actions, of alleged gang-bangs, and blow job parties, by reiterating them, expecting to raise the possibility that Wexler would be concerned enough over his reputation that he would once again allow Epstein into the fold.
Jeffrey Epstein was a master at understanding the Achilles heel of a man, finding it, and drilling down until he convinced him to join his escapades. It's unclear if exposure concerned him or if he counted on those he courted to act as a shield against his own prosecution.
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Clintons Agree to Testify
Former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, have agreed to be deposed by the House Oversight Committee in a move that is far more strategic than damaging for the one-time political power couple.
In what appears as a coup for committee chairman James Comer (R-KY), is really laying the foundation to allow a future House Oversight Committee to use this moment as precedent to order the deposition of members of the current administration.
The Clintons will be deposed on February 26 and February 27, regarding their involvement with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Former President Clinton's name allegedly appears on flight manifests.
"Neither Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and both have said they have no knowledge of relevance to the committee's investigation. A spokesman for the former president has previously said he met Epstein several times and took four trips on his airplane but knew nothing about Epstein's crimes. Bill Clinton has appeared in Epstein-related photographs released by Congress and the Justice Department," reported The Washington Post.
Minneapolis Honored with Consideration for a Nobel Peace Prize
The editors of The Nation magazine have formally submitted the city of Minneapolis for a Nobel Peace Prize.
The letter which can be read here, begins, "As longtime observers of struggles to establish peace and justice in the United States, and around the world, and as editors of a magazine that is proud to have included several Nobel laureates on our editorial board and masthead including the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., - we are honored to nominate the city of Minneapolis and its people for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize."
The nomination letter continues and the entirety of it will appear in the March 2026 issue of The Nation with the headline "The Nation Nominations Minneapolis for the Nobel Peace Prize."
Actionnetwork.com also includes the nomination letter and explains further the act of courage Minnesotans have displayed by continuing to protest in subzero weather, to stand up for their fellowman, and to demand justice for the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both U.S. citizens and shot multiple times as they exercised their rights to peacefully protest and petition their government for change.
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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 each new variants.
For the seven days ending February 7, 2026, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by the World Health Organization increased by 27,586 to 779,088,505. The total worldwide death toll increased by 564 to 7,109,667 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated January 18, 2026, from the World Health Organization).
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Kennedy Center Closes for Renovations
With the announcement of the closure of The Kennedy Center for two years, President Trump has once again removed public opinion from creating a distraction from his pursuits. No longer will headlines be presented indicating a major departure of artists willing to appear at the national venue.
This is not the first time; the president has removed outside opinions from filtering down for public consumption. Withdrawing from the World Health Organization has stopped any notification of an increase in the coronavirus, which effectively derailed his 2020 campaign.
Narrowing the circle of external opinions impedes voters from making informed choices.
The Washington Post Staff Gutted
The Washington Post newspaper, the only surviving daily in the nation's capital, was gutted this week with massive layoffs, wiping out entire departments, as the paper's owner, billionaire Jeff Bezo's seeks to cut costs and streamline coverage.
Losing more than 300 jobs, many of whom had been with the paper for more than four decades, signals a shift in the way the news is delivered, and another opportunity for the White House, with close ties to Bezos, to narrow the circle of external opinions.
It wouldn't be the first time, the paper's owner stepped in to circumvent poor coverage of President Trump. When the Washington Post editorial board planned to endorse 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Bezos stepped in and stopped the printing.
Matt Murray, the Post's Executive editor was left to deliver the shocking news. The New Yorker explained, "In what Murray termed a "broad strategic reset," the Post's storied sports department was shuttered "in its current form"; several reporters will now cover sports as a "cultural and societal phenomenon." The metro staff, already cut to about forty staffers during the past five years, has been shrunk to about twelve; the foreign desks will be reduced to approximately twelve locations from more than twenty; Peter Finn, the international editor, told me that he asked to be laid off. The books section and the flagship podcast, "Post Reports," will end.
At the end of the meeting, as per usual too ashamed to see you move, staffers who were not present were sent emails altering them to their status.
Granted there is some methodology to the madness of the move, first year print journalism graduates cost less and are eager to prove themselves. And the increased use of the internet for news consumption has caused every newsroom to restructure. Having the podcast personality to deliver catchy news segments or interviews, fashion and style, are useful to rebuilding and rebranding the Post as a storied and modern newspaper. However, in all likelihood, it won't be until the GOP has run its MAGA course that the Post will see brighter days.
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Mystic Camp Lawsuits Begin
Mystic Camp, the scene of horrific devastation over the July 4, 2025 weekend, when a Mesoscale convective vortex descended on the Texas Hill Country, and in less than one hour dumped 1.8 trillion tons of rain in just four hours causing catastrophic flooding.
In the path of this flooding, the often times tranquil Guadalupe River, which gently wends its way through picturesque countryside, and right through many sleep away camps based along the river's edge.
Mystic Camp, a Christian based sleep away camp for girls ranging from 8 to 18, was filled to capacity with more than 700 teens and pre-teenage girls, many of whom were away from home for the first time.
Unfortunately, the violent rains that descended on the region would cost the life of 27 of these campers and counselors. Now, nine months later, the first wrongful death lawsuit by the parents of Cecilia 'Cile' Steward, 8, the only child from Camp Mystic who remains missing after being swept away by raging floodwaters, seven months ago.
"Cile had been staying in the "Twins II" cabin in a low-lying area known as "the Flats." Camp rules prohibited cell phones and required children to remain in their cabins during emergencies unless instructed otherwise. The Stewards allege that promised emergency communication systems, including a public address system and walkie-talkies, were never used, leaving children trapped as water rose near the ceiling. The lawsuit also accuses the Eastlands of corporate negligence and a calculated cover-up," CBS Austin reported.
The litigation explains critical information that had been withheld from the public, including the limited "in case of flood" list to follow in case of an emergency. The actions of the Eastlands, Richard and his wife, Tweety Eastland, who had owned the camp since 1974, who had been notified of a flood warning and to move to higher ground, failed to heed the warnings of the professionals. The Eastlands, between 1:30 and 3:00 am, when they began to evacuate cabins, moved the camps canoes, equipment, and horses to higher ground.
It wasn't until 3:00 AM, that the Eastland's considered evacuating the cabins closest to the river, and by that time, according to documents filed in Travis County, Texas, "it was chaos." Richard Eastland died in the flood, as did 27 others from Camp Mystic.
The counselors were in fact the de-facto representative of the camp, and they also depended on information from the Eastlands, before they would act. This imposed system of patriarchy and fear of retribution or disappointing those in charge, were directly responsible for the deaths.
The entire litigation reduces to one question, "Would they [The Eastlands] have waited to issue an evacuation if the emergency had been a wildfire or a burning structure?
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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 award-winning 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," a non-fiction narrative, "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," and "Songs of Freedom: A Collection of Biblical Teachings," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Authors Guild, the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
