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Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 10:27 AM 13 hrs ago

Melania was an Epstein Escort

Last edited Thu Jun 4, 2026, 11:14 AM - Edit history (1)

Don’t know why this hasn’t gotten more coverage on CIABCNNBCBSFoxNutworks, the reason Melania held her “I never knew Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell” press statement when Trump attacked Iran, a period when no one was talking about Jeffrey Epstein.



Melania Named in Bombshell New Epstein Claims

Allegations by a former Brazilian model contradict the first lady’s claims.


by Farrah Tomazin
Daily Beast. June 1, 2026

A former associate of Melania Trump has sensationally claimed the first lady was an “escort” for Jeffrey Epstein and met the president through the notorious sex offender.

Former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro dropped the bombshell allegation on a taped recording, accusing her ex-partner, modeling agent-turned-presidential envoy Paolo Zampolli, of lying about introducing Melania and Donald Trump at a party in 1998.

The story of how Melania Knauss later met her future husband while working as one of Zampolli’s models in New York is now part of MAGA folklore.

SNIP…

"Let’s tell the public you never was the one introducing Melania to Trump. It was Jeffrey Epstein, as she was escort of Jeffrey Epstein. That’s how she met Donald Trump," Ungaro claims in the WhatsApp recording.

"And I know, because I was with you 20 years and you always told me it was not you—it was Jeffrey Epstein," she added.

CONTINUES…

https://www.thedailybeast.com/melania-named-in-bombshell-new-epstein-claims/

69 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Melania was an Epstein Escort (Original Post) Kid Berwyn 13 hrs ago OP
Well, yeah... displacedvermoter 13 hrs ago #1
The Fiends & Family Price Kid Berwyn 13 hrs ago #4
No Duh! Mr.Bee 10 hrs ago #34
Yes, but her last name isn't Harris, Biden or Obama, so the corporate media looks the other way. Chasstev365 13 hrs ago #2
Corporate McPravda serves up distractions to advance its owners' interests. Kid Berwyn 12 hrs ago #9
Explains why the oval office now looks like a brothel. yellow dahlia 13 hrs ago #3
Thread winner! Emile 12 hrs ago #8
Home Tweet Home (Thanks to Elon) Kid Berwyn 12 hrs ago #10
who's the woman next to eloon? his mommy? nt orleans 10 hrs ago #32
"Supermodel and Dietician" Maye Musk Kid Berwyn 9 hrs ago #38
so it is his mommy. nt orleans 9 hrs ago #40
Monsters lead such innnnteresting lives. Kid Berwyn 8 hrs ago #43
This story sounds like something portrayed in a mob movie. Oh right! yellow dahlia 9 hrs ago #39
Well yes, but the tackiness comes from HIM, not HER FakeNoose 12 hrs ago #13
Following grandpa malaise 10 hrs ago #35
To be fair.... SergeStorms 2 hrs ago #66
Kick dalton99a 13 hrs ago #5
How Melania Met Trump Kid Berwyn 11 hrs ago #16
"sensationally claimed' travelingthrulife 13 hrs ago #6
Our news media are owned by fascist pigs. Kid Berwyn 11 hrs ago #18
She cost plenty! usonian 12 hrs ago #7
Sick how many rich men consider themselves worthy of owning other people. Kid Berwyn 11 hrs ago #20
She has been a Slovinian Sex Worker for years. Botany 12 hrs ago #11
My mom, who died a few years ago, mwmisses4289 11 hrs ago #14
The Wild Card Kid Berwyn 11 hrs ago #21
Rec. Rec. Rec malaise 12 hrs ago #12
Da Missing Link Kid Berwyn 11 hrs ago #22
Truth will out malaise 11 hrs ago #23
and captain obvious strikes again azureblue 11 hrs ago #15
Story should be all over the airwaves, in print and on your device. Kid Berwyn 10 hrs ago #24
They're too busy talking about Platner's sexting and Talarico's diet. sop 10 hrs ago #29
They sure know how to divide voters... Kid Berwyn 10 hrs ago #33
Don't know why this hasn't gotten more coverage on CIABCNNBCBSFoxNutworks, republianmushroom 11 hrs ago #17
As news media don't do their job, I still post on DU. Kid Berwyn 10 hrs ago #26
Julie K Brown defines good journalism. yellow dahlia 7 hrs ago #47
But of course she was. Amaryllis 11 hrs ago #19
Two Sources on Record Kid Berwyn 8 hrs ago #42
I hadn't known about the FBI interview on record. yellow dahlia 7 hrs ago #48
The Slovenian sex worker Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin 10 hrs ago #25
A-1 Certified Genus Kid Berwyn 8 hrs ago #45
More encyclopedic level detail. Thanks you! yellow dahlia 7 hrs ago #49
I know why most media doesn't report on it MustLoveBeagles 10 hrs ago #27
Biden saved country 2021-2024 and how much credit did he get? Kid Berwyn 6 hrs ago #55
And as a result MustLoveBeagles 6 hrs ago #57
Political Malpractice Kid Berwyn 5 hrs ago #59
Wrong tense there GusBob 10 hrs ago #28
Great catch! Kid Berwyn 6 hrs ago #56
I absolutely believe this. Akakoji 10 hrs ago #30
So do the People of New Mexico. Kid Berwyn 5 hrs ago #58
K&R spanone 10 hrs ago #31
FHOTUS bif 10 hrs ago #36
A hA ha ha ha. nt Exp 3 hrs ago #64
MAGA like to pretend she's not a sex worker Farmer-Rick 9 hrs ago #37
This thread makes me feel icky MorbidButterflyTat 9 hrs ago #41
Of course. It's obvious. Mblaze 8 hrs ago #44
And he is still paying for her but now all he gets is an occasional attendance at one of his dinners or events. Bev54 8 hrs ago #46
Perverted Pedophile Sex friends in the WH. Malaria Cha 7 hrs ago #50
Shocking SheltieLover 7 hrs ago #51
Oh that can't be true...she arrived in the U.S. brandishing an Einstein passport. allegorical oracle 7 hrs ago #52
Did working as one of Epstein's girls pay off for her? Norrrm 6 hrs ago #53
Melania was a paid girl. Joinfortmill 6 hrs ago #54
Has anyone ever seen a Happy Communist? LessAspin 5 hrs ago #60
Red Sparrows LessAspin 3 hrs ago #62
Our First Lady of the Evening mdbl 5 hrs ago #61
That's the way I've always heard it too. Figarosmom 3 hrs ago #63
Malaria is a whore? AZ8theist 3 hrs ago #65
Let's be careful to keep the focus on the lies and hypocrisy Betty Boom 2 hrs ago #67
Melania pointing out something that happened, didn't happen. Aussie105 28 min ago #68
Melanie Tramp Blue Owl 2 min ago #69

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
4. The Fiends & Family Price
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 10:49 AM
13 hrs ago


Paolo Zampolli Family Background

Paolo Zampolli is an only child. [67][72] His father Giovanni Zampolli (Italian, born unknown, Italy; died 1988, Saint Moritz, Switzerland) was an Italian entrepreneur and the founder of the Milan-based toy company Harbert. [82][84] Harbert held the Italian distribution rights for major USian toy brands including Star Wars action figures manufactured by Kenner under licence from Hasbro, Easy-Bake Ovens marketed in Italy as Dolce Forno, and a wide range of Hasbro and Marvel Comics merchandise. [66][68][84] Harbert became one of the most recognisable toy brands in Italian retail during the 1970s and 1980s, and made the Zampolli family wealthy. [66][68] Paolo Zampolli began his working life as a child testing prototypes at Harbert and selecting which toys the company would launch into the Italian market. [67]

Paolo Zampolli spent part of his childhood at the Zampolli family castle in Azzate, a municipality in the province of Varese in Lombardy. [1] Paolo Zampolli has claimed a distant familial relation to Pope Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (Italian, born September 26, 1897, Concesio, Italy; died August 6, 1978, Castel Gandolfo, Italy), through his grandmother. [1] No genealogical documentation of this claim appears in available public sources; it is self-reported.

Giovanni Zampolli died in a skiing accident in 1988, when Paolo Zampolli was 18 years old. [73][76] One source places the accident at Saint Moritz, Switzerland. [1] No information about Paolo Zampolli’s mother appears in any public source consulted for this profile; her name, nationality, and current circumstances are undocumented. Paolo Zampolli has described himself in interviews as an only child raised in a wealthy Milanese family. [72]

As a child, Paolo Zampolli had a personal connection to John Casablancas (French-Danish, born December 3, 1942, New York City; died July 20, 2013, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), the founder of Elite Model Management. Paolo Zampolli told Vanity Fair in 2001: “I had John Casablancas spending the summer with me when I was a kid.” [66][68][71] John Casablancas corroborated this, saying of Paolo Zampolli: “I’ve known Paolo from before the beginning.” [66][68][71] This childhood acquaintance predates the later professional relationship between the two men, and connects Paolo Zampolli’s origins to one of the most extensively documented predatory networks in the history of the modelling industry.

After Giovanni Zampolli’s death in 1988, Paolo Zampolli left college to take over Harbert. [66][68][76] He later told the New York Times that Milan felt “too small” for him. [72] Paolo Zampolli then sold Harbert to a group controlled by Silvio Berlusconi (Italian, born September 29, 1936, Milan; died June 12, 2023, Milan), the television magnate, property developer, and future three-time Prime Minister of Italy. [1][66][68]

SOURCE: https://spookyconnections.com/2026/04/19/paolo-zampolli/

Chasstev365

(8,244 posts)
2. Yes, but her last name isn't Harris, Biden or Obama, so the corporate media looks the other way.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 10:37 AM
13 hrs ago

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
9. Corporate McPravda serves up distractions to advance its owners' interests.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 11:12 AM
12 hrs ago

And not in the sense of the First Amendment. Otherwise, if Biden was in office and in bed with Paolo Zampoli, they would report the story like there was no tomorrow.



Paolo Zampolli

Introduction


Paolo Zampolli (Italian-USian, born March 5, 1970, Milan, Italy) is the United States Special Envoy for Global Partnerships under Donald John Trump and a member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees. [1][2] Paolo Zampolli founded the New York modelling agency ID Model Management in the mid-1990s, sponsored Melania Knauss’s H-1B work visa in 1996, and introduced Melania Knauss to Donald Trump at a party he hosted in September 1998. [1][3] His successive US government appointments across both Trump administrations trace directly to that three-decade personal friendship rather than to any prior diplomatic or policy experience. [1][2]

Paolo Zampolli now lives primarily in Washington DC in a reported $17 million Georgetown home, the walls of which are said to be filled with photographs of him and Donald Trump. [74][108] Paolo Zampolli’s name appears in 11 documents in the Department of Justice’s 2026 Epstein file releases, alongside a 2011 email in which Jeffrey Epstein warned an Emirati correspondent: “Be careful, zampoli is trouble. Lots.” [6][15] He has never been criminally charged. The New York Times reported on March 20, 2026 that he used access to a senior federal immigration official to have the mother of his teenage son deported during a custody dispute, a claim he denies. [5] He is referenced but not named as a defendant in a 2018 federal RICO complaint in the Southern District of New York concerning Harvey Weinstein’s defence strategy. [7][8]

Between April 7 and April 19, 2026, the Paolo Zampolli file went from long-running background scandal to active political crisis. His former partner Amanda Ungaro, deported to Brazil in 2025, returned to public attention by posting direct threats at First Lady Melania Trump on X, stating that the First Lady knew Amanda Ungaro had been inside ICE detention and accusing Donald Trump of sex crimes. [59][62] Two days later, on April 9, 2026, Melania Trump delivered a statement from the White House Grand Foyer denying any friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and rejecting suggestions that Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump. [58][108] Paolo Zampolli publicly offered to testify before Congress under oath to support her account. [55][52] Amanda Ungaro gave a sequence of interviews to El País, O Globo, the Miami Herald, Newsweek, and the Courier in which she described Paolo Zampolli as a recruiter of young women for Jeffrey Epstein, alleged that Paolo Zampolli harassed her from the age of 15, and stated she had agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee. [16][56][60][61] Amanda Ungaro is scheduled to appear on the Italian state broadcaster RAI’s investigative programme Report on April 19, 2026, which the programme’s director has trailed as containing “explosive revelations at an international level.” [64]

Source: https://spookyconnections.com/2026/04/19/paolo-zampolli/

yellow dahlia

(6,645 posts)
3. Explains why the oval office now looks like a brothel.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 10:48 AM
13 hrs ago

Ever since the grifter and his family hijacked the WH and its "powers" and "privileges" they have dragged us into the muck and tacky and untoward.

This country and its "governing" personnel were never perfect...but. We never had desecrated buildings and monuments all over D.C. We never had an ugly UFC fighting arena obstructing the view of the WH.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
10. Home Tweet Home (Thanks to Elon)
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 11:27 AM
12 hrs ago

From the "You Don't Steal Elections to Do Good Things" file:



He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut

A federal IT staffer filed a complaint about DOGE, then went public. Shortly after Elon Musk boosted a post calling his claims false, his brake lines were cut. Now he’s suing for defamation.


by Vittoria Elliott
Wired, June 2, 2026

On April 14, 2025, Dan Berulis, an IT staffer at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), filed a Congressional whistleblower complaint with an extraordinary and urgent claim: The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had seemingly compromised the agency’s data and appeared to be exfiltrating it out of the NLRB entirely. Additionally, Berulis claimed that mere minutes after DOGE members had accessed the agency’s data, there appeared to be login attempts from an IP address in Russia.

At the time, DOGE teams, orchestrated by billionaire Elon Musk, were sweeping across government, firing federal workers and accessing sensitive data and technical systems with no oversight and little transparency.

The following day, Berulis went public in an NPR article with his name and claims. In it, he claimed that in the lead-up to his Congressional disclosure, a threatening note had been taped to his door, including photos of him walking his dog that appeared to have been taken by a drone. Berulis was already scared that speaking out had made him a target.

Continues...

https://www.wired.com/story/he-blew-the-whistle-on-doge-then-his-brakes-were-cut/

And now the world teeters at the edge of an Economic Depression the likes of which we have never seen. Good thing the rich will save themselves, otherwise humans may be going the way of the Dodo.

yellow dahlia

(6,645 posts)
39. This story sounds like something portrayed in a mob movie. Oh right!
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 02:37 PM
9 hrs ago

This is a dystopian mob syndicate reality show.

FakeNoose

(42,664 posts)
13. Well yes, but the tackiness comes from HIM, not HER
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 11:54 AM
12 hrs ago

Melania's decorating taste is a little strange, considering her choices for odd/weird Christmas displays at the White House. But she doesn't go for cheap and pedestrian, the way her husband does. He has shown us that he doesn't know what "tacky" means.

SergeStorms

(20,914 posts)
66. To be fair....
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 09:10 PM
2 hrs ago

the Slovenian sex worker did tear out the Rose Garden so her stiletto heels didn't get stuck in all that awful dirt, and she did have her grotesque tennis building erected (she loves that word!) during her john's husband's first misadministration.

The Trash Trump family hasn't done all of this recently.

After he's gone, and I mean totally gone, they should bulldoze the White House grounds and start over. We have to remove every last trace of Trash Trump from our nation's capital.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
16. How Melania Met Trump
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:20 PM
11 hrs ago
‘How Melania met Trump’: Former model’s leaked audio clip links US First Lady to Jeffrey Epstein

Former model’s leaked audio clip links US First Lady to Jeffrey Epstein

Former model Amanda Ungaro's allegations dispute Melania Trump's account of meeting Donald Trump, claiming Jeffrey Epstein was involved. Paolo Zampolli disputes those claims.


The Week, June 2, 2026 [WILL NOT ALLOW EXCERPTS TO BE COPY-N-PASTED]

Continues: https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2026/06/02/how-melania-met-trump-former-models-leaked-audio-clip-links-us-first-lady-to-jeffrey-epstein.html For..

travelingthrulife

(5,674 posts)
6. "sensationally claimed'
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 10:52 AM
13 hrs ago

Most of us have known about this for a very long time. God, our media sucks.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
18. Our news media are owned by fascist pigs.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:26 PM
11 hrs ago

They put profit over the Constitution.

First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It's the most important sentence ever written for those who want democracy.


usonian

(26,762 posts)
7. She cost plenty!
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 10:59 AM
12 hrs ago

Actually not. Was this for used goods?

Photo from "Birthday Book" creatively unredacted.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
20. Sick how many rich men consider themselves worthy of owning other people.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:33 PM
11 hrs ago

When people are your playthings, you can grab them by the wherever and no one can do a damn thing about it.



Photo of novelty check suggests Epstein ‘sold’ Trump a woman for $22,500

Convicted sex offender appears in birthday scrapbook photo with giant check signed by ‘DJ Trump’


by Ramon Antonio Vargas and Manisha Ganguly
The Guardian, September 9, 2025

A scrapbook for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday released on Monday contains a photo of him holding a novelty check bearing Donald Trump’s signature, along with a note suggesting Epstein “sold” him a woman for $22,500, shedding further light on the longtime relationship between the president and the convicted sex offender.

The photo shows Epstein and Joel Pashcow, a longtime member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and a third figure, apparently a woman, whose face is redacted in the image, which was shared on social media by Democrats on the House oversight committee. The caption, apparently from Pashcow, reads: “Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [redaction] to Donald Trump for $22,500.”

Epstein “showed early ‘people skills’ too”, the caption continued. “Even though I handled the deal I didn’t get any of the money on the girl!”

SNIP...

Pashcow’s name appears in Epstein flight manifest records. Publicly available information online describes him as a resident of Palm Beach, Florida – near Mar-a-Lago – as well as the managing member of Nassau Capital, a real estate and securities investment firm, since April 2006.

A 2020 Mother Jones article reported that Pashcow was a board member of the Palm Beach police and fire foundation. According to a journalist for the outlet, when called out about Epstein, Pashcow replied: “You’re really pathetic, you know that?”

Continues...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/09/trump-epstein-photo-check-woman



Lordy, I love The Guardian -- and DU. The rich who think they're entitled to own and operate people like chattel? Not so much. And they're the ones who've benefitted from $7.25 federal minimum wage since July 2009.

Botany

(77,989 posts)
11. She has been a Slovinian Sex Worker for years.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 11:27 AM
12 hrs ago

In 2016 Vouge or Vanity Fair did an article about Melania never really being a model
because she really didn’t have a portfolio.

Even though she might have been an escort for Epstein I have always wondered
if she wasn’t Putin’s handler for Trump.

mwmisses4289

(4,880 posts)
14. My mom, who died a few years ago,
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:16 PM
11 hrs ago

always firmly believed that not only was melania assigned as ts handler, but that she was also putins daughter.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
21. The Wild Card
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:43 PM
11 hrs ago


The 'wild card':

Trump may have a good reason to fear Melania


by Matthew Rozsa
Alternet.org, April 19, 2026

EXCERPT...

“Why had the presser been called?” wrote The Independent’s Sarah Beth Spraggins about the first lady’s surprising April 9th press conference. “There have been growing rumors that Paolo Zampolli – the modeling agent Melania credits with encouraging her to move to the United States – may have used his ties to the Trumps to have his ex-partner Amanda Ungaro deported.”

SNIP...

Melania Trump is accused of using her influence with the White House to help Zampolli get Ungaro deported to Brazil so he could prevail in a custody dispute. As former President George W. Bush aide Steve Schmidt recently pointed out, “Melania claims it was Zampolli who introduced her to her soulmate at the Kit Kat Klub in Manhattan in 1998. That’s the story at least. Ungaro came to the United States via airplane at age 16 or 17 from Brazil. She arrived via private jet.”

In addition to the Ungaro theory, Wolff speculated at the time of the press conference that the first lady was reacting to an upcoming book linking the Trumps to the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor by historian Andrew Lownie.

“A new book was published yesterday in the US and UK, entitled ‘The Rise and Fall of The House of York,’” Wolff posted on X. “It's by a British journalist by the name of Andrew Lownie, and it's about the life of Prince Andrew. But it is also about his connection to Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Melania Trump.”

Wolff added, “In fact, it contains a passage in which Epstein is quoted — apparently from a 2007 interview — where he says that he had sex with Melania a full year before Donald Trump commenced his relationship with her.”

Continues...

https://www.alternet.org/the-wild-card/

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
22. Da Missing Link
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:50 PM
11 hrs ago

In happier days at Merde-del-Lardo:



A connecting link between Trump and Epstein:

Who is Paolo Zampolli?


by Marc Wells
World Socialist Web Site, 20 April 2026

EXCERPT...

The case of Amanda Ungaro makes the consequences unmistakable. Ungaro, a Brazilian model and Zampolli’s long-time partner, circulated within Trump’s social orbit and the same elite networks. As a teenager, she flew from Paris to New York on Epstein’s “Lolita Express” plane. Ungaro’s agent at the time was Jean-Luc Brunel, a close Epstein associate and alleged procurer. Shortly after, she signed with Zampolli’s agency and began a 20-year relationship with him.

Based on “anonymous tips,” she was arrested in June 2025 in Miami on charges of fraud and practicing medicine without a license. Shortly after, Zampolli, who had been in a long custody dispute with her over their teenage son, contacted senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official David Venturella. Acting on that outreach, Venturella pressed ICE’s Miami office to take custody of Ungaro before she could be released on bail, noting that the matter was important to someone close to the White House.

Ungaro was subsequently transferred into ICE detention for three and a half months and later deported to Brazil, a process that ICE officials and DHS later attributed to her immigration status and an expired visa. Ungaro argued that Zampolli used immigration enforcement and state power to strengthen his position in their child custody battle.

Independent reporter Brian Krassenstein linked Ungaro’s deportation and threats to expose Jeffrey Epstein to Melania Trump’s recent public statement, writing: “I can confirm with 99% confidence that the reason Melania Trump came out yesterday with her Epstein Statement is because of information possessed by a former friend, and Epstein survivor, Brazilian Model Amanda Ungaro.”

Zampolli did not simply benefit from influence. He deployed one of the most coercive arms of government as a private weapon. If the elite is prepared to use immigration enforcement, which tears apart people’s lives, on its own members, there is no limit as to what it can do to workers.

Zampolli’s broader business career follows the same pattern. His legal battle with billionaire Ron Burkle centered on allegations that he attempted to broker favorable press through a $220,000 arrangement with a New York Post writer. The dispute led to an FBI sting operation. Despite recorded meetings, federal prosecutors declined to bring charges, citing insufficient evidence of criminal intent.

Continues...

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/04/21/ovtv-a21.html

The Trotskyites at WSWS may be on the wrong side of history, but they sure as heck have their facts straight.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
24. Story should be all over the airwaves, in print and on your device.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:57 PM
10 hrs ago
Most all the "major broadcast news organizations" do is what's best for the rich and powerful -- seldom what's good for democracy.

Time of Useful Consciousness (TUC Radio) explains monetized mass propaganda and its impact - now more than a century in action...

Alex Carey said that the people of the US have been subjected to an unparalleled, expensive, 3/4 century long propaganda effort designed to expand corporate rights by undermining democracy and destroying the unions. Carey’s unique view of US history goes back to World War I and ends with the Reagan era.

https://tucradio.org/podcasts/newest-podcasts/alex-carey-corporations-and-propaganda-part-one-of-two/

And Part the 2nd:

https://tucradio.org/podcasts/newest-podcasts/alex-carey-corporations-and-propaganda-part-two-of-two/

May be obvious to some, but most have no clue how important the media are for the rich to continue getting richer as the middle class evaporates into poverty -- the place where the poor get poorer and democracy vanishes down the Memory Hole. So, good thing for DU, otherwise we might never hear from democracy again.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
33. They sure know how to divide voters...
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 01:31 PM
10 hrs ago

...and how to turn Democrats against each other. "Framing," I think the nobs call it.

republianmushroom

(22,821 posts)
17. Don't know why this hasn't gotten more coverage on CIABCNNBCBSFoxNutworks,
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 12:25 PM
11 hrs ago

You do know who owns or control media news, don't you ?

Melania lies like her husband. It seems to be a family thing.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
26. As news media don't do their job, I still post on DU.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 01:03 PM
10 hrs ago

And I don't post fake news. The Guardian brings up a major threat to democracy: corrupt news media.

For instance, from 2019:



Jeffrey Epstein: how US media – with one star exception – whitewashed the story

The Miami Herald exposed a vast criminal network and a government cover-up – but why the silence elsewhere?


Ed Pilkington
The Guardian, July 19, 2019

EXCERPT...

Reiter warned Brown what would happen were she to continue digging: “Somebody’s going to call your publisher and the next thing you know you are going to be assigned to the obituaries department.”

Brown did not heed his warning. She flung herself at the investigation and eventually persuaded Reiter to go on record. Her resulting, award-winning three-part series last November exposed a vast operation in which 80 potential victims were identified, some as young as 13 and 14 at the time of the alleged abuse. She persuaded eight to tell their stories.

Brown also exposed a government cover-up in which Epstein got away with an exceptionally light sentence that saw him serve only 13 months in jail. She discovered that a “non-prosecution agreement” had been negotiated secretly in 2008 by the then top federal prosecutor in Miami, Alexander Acosta, that gave Epstein and his co-conspirators immunity from federal prosecution.

In 2017, Acosta was appointed by Donald Trump as labor secretary, a post that ironically is responsible for combating sex trafficking.

CONTINUES...

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/13/jeffrey-epstein-alex-acosta-miami-herald-media

DU 2019 OP: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212367573



We likely wouldn’t know squat about Epstein & Associates without the Miami Herald and now, it seems, DU and an increasing number of "citizen-journalists."


Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
42. Two Sources on Record
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 03:06 PM
8 hrs ago
Former Brazilian Model Claims Melania Trump Was an 'Escort' for Jeffrey Epstein Before She Met Donald Trump

A 2019 FBI witness statement also says Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump


by Jim Manzon
Internatinal Business Times, 2 June 2026

Amanda Ungaro, a former Brazilian model who sat at First Lady Melania Trump's personal table during the 2017 inauguration dinner, alleged in a now-deleted recording circulated on X this weekend that Melania was an 'escort' for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and that Epstein, not modelling agent Paolo Zampolli, introduced her to Donald Trump.

What the Deleted Recording Says

Ungaro, who spent nearly 20 years in a relationship with Zampolli, directly addressed her ex-partner in a leaked WhatsApp voice recording that went viral on X late on Sunday before being scrubbed hours later.

"Let's tell the public you never was the one introducing Melania to Trump. It was Jeffrey Epstein, as she was escort of Jeffrey Epstein. That's how she met Donald Trump," Ungaro said.

She added that Zampolli had privately told her for years that he was not the one who arranged the introduction. The recording was first published on X by independent journalist Anthony Andrews, who stated he shared the media file at Ungaro's direct request. Andrews later noted that Ungaro asked him to take it down, but by then copies had already spread across multiple social platforms.

An FBI Witness Told a Similar Story

Ungaro's claims don't exist in isolation. A heavily redacted FBI FD-302 proffer interview conducted in July 2019, days after Epstein's arrest on sex trafficking charges, contains a strikingly similar account from a separate witness.

Continues...

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/allegations-linking-melania-trump-jeffrey-epstein-1800225

It seems Paolo, Jean-Luc, Jeffrey and Donald understood that the really big money in modeling is made when the models are reassigned to the escort-side of the enterprise.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
45. A-1 Certified Genus
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 03:18 PM
8 hrs ago
What is the Einstein visa?

And how did Melania Trump get one?


by Joel Gunter
BBC News, 2 March 2018

EXCERPT...

Nicknamed the "Einstein Visa", the EB-1 is in theory reserved for people who are highly acclaimed in their field - the government cites Pulitzer, Oscar, and Olympic winners as examples - as well as respected academic researchers and multinational executives.

Mrs Trump began applying for the visa in 2000, when she was Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model working in New York and dating Donald Trump. She was approved in 2001, one of just five people from Slovenia to win the coveted visa that year, according to the Post.

Becoming a citizen in 2006 gave her the right to sponsor her parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, who are now in the US and in the process of applying for citizenship.

SNIP...

Before applying for a green card - which grants permanent residency - she had worked as a runway model in Europe and featured to a limited extent in UK and US magazines. She appeared on the cover of British GQ on a fur rug in Mr Trump's private jet, and in the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated in the US. She was not a top international model.

SNIP...

Testimonials form part of the application, and the more high-profile the reference the more weight it carries. If Mrs Trump, already dating Mr Trump at the time she applied, secured letters from luminaries in fashion, that would be significant, Ms Upadhye said.

Continued hypocrisy...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43256318

MustLoveBeagles

(17,753 posts)
27. I know why most media doesn't report on it
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 01:07 PM
10 hrs ago

It doesn't hurt a Democrat. Can you imagine the coverage Hillary, Michelle or Kamala would get with the same accusations?

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
55. Biden saved country 2021-2024 and how much credit did he get?
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 05:32 PM
6 hrs ago

From Corporate McPravda, zilch.



These six for-profit corporations control 90-percent of what Americans get to hear, see and think.

Why that matters:



How Media Consolidation Threatens Democracy: 857 Channels (and Nothing On)

Trump's FCC plans to continue a decades-long, lobbyist-backed effort to allow media consolidation, helping corporate bottom lines but hurting independent journalism.

BY JOHN LIGHT | MAY 12, 2017

EXCERPT...

One of the few things the American people agree on is that the mainstream media is woefully inadequate. According to a 2016 Gallup poll, only about 20 percent of Americans have confidence in the television news and in newspapers. Donald Trump effectively harnessed this distrust during his campaign, and still attacks the media before his fans when he wants to prompt applause.

Americans recognize that the media does not represent their views, and media consolidation is largely to blame. In the early 1980s, journalist Ben Bagdikian calculated that the majority of US media was held by just 50 corporations — and the number has dropped to only a handful since then.

This means that national and even local news coverage priorities are dictated from afar —
and by business leaders, not by journalists on the ground. It means that as print and broadcast journalism struggles to remain profitable in the face of free, online alternatives, hard financial decisions that affect reporters and the stories they tell will be made in corporate boardrooms. And it assures that some issues — issues in which corporate America is uninterested — go uncovered, while some voices — particularly female, minority and immigrant voices — rarely make it into print or onto the airwaves.

SOURCE:

https://billmoyers.com/story/media-consolidation-should-anyone-care/



Thank goodness Al Gore helped keep the Internet free.

Original DU 2023 OP: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218146477

MustLoveBeagles

(17,753 posts)
57. And as a result
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 05:49 PM
6 hrs ago

Got little to no credit on his accomplishments. Though to be fair, saying this as a staunch Biden supporter, he could've done a better job of that too.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
59. Political Malpractice
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 06:14 PM
5 hrs ago

His staff let him and We the People down. They had total ccontrol for two years and yet, the traitor Trump got away.

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
56. Great catch!
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 05:42 PM
6 hrs ago
Too bad she can’t turn Peter Thiel’s head. That was Epstein’s job.

What Peter Thiel Saw in Jeffrey Epstein

In the extensive correspondence between the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and the late pedophile, both men expressed a deep aversion to democracy.


by DAVID FUTRELLE
The Nation, February 11, 2026

It’s easy enough to understand the appeal of Jeffrey Epstein to some in the late pedophile’s vast circle of friends and quasi-friends. The scientists whom Epstein collected like so many Beanie Babies were charmed less by his supposedly witty repartee than by his money; some no doubt were also more titillated than horrified by the stories of his private life. Others in his circle, like Donald Trump and Woody Allen, shared his appreciation for women and not-yet women “on the younger side,” as Trump put it in a now-infamous New York magazine profile of his skeevy partying buddy.

But at first glance, it seems harder to explain the five-year friendship of Epstein and tech investor extraordinaire Peter Thiel, which began in 2014, long after Epstein’s pedophilic tendencies were widely known. Still, Thiel is all over the Epstein files; the two exchanged more than 2,000 messages over the years and met on multiple occasions. Epstein would ultimately invest some $40 million in venture capital funds managed by Valar Ventures, a firm cofounded by Thiel.

You might think that Thiel, who fancies himself a sort of philosopher king of the tech set, would find himself irritated by Epstein’s intellectual playacting. Epstein surrounded himself with academics in hopes that some of their intellectual glamor would stick to him. But what really interested him wasn’t ideas; it was sex, and he was known to regularly interrupt the conversations of his pet scientists with the query “What does that got to do with pussy?” (Needless to say, this is not a question Thiel, the first uncloseted gay speaker at a Republican National Convention, spends much time pondering.)

Continues…

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/peter-thiel-jeffrey-epstein-democracy/

Kid Berwyn

(25,221 posts)
58. So do the People of New Mexico.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 06:12 PM
5 hrs ago
The State of New Mexico just subpoenad the federal DOJ and other entities and offices to discover why the federal government ordered them to stand down when investigating Zorro Ranch in 2019. Hooray!

New Mexico's Zorro Ranch 'truth commission' announces 14 subpoenas

by Clara Bates
Santa Fe New Mexican, June 1, 2026

The Santa Fe Institute could be forced to hand over information on its links to Jeffrey Epstein under a subpoena from a legislative commission investigating Zorro Ranch.

The prestigious scientific research center in Santa Fe is among 14 public and private institutions the state House of Representatives’ truth commission plans to subpoena, the panel announced during a public hearing Monday, when it approved the subpoenas.

Other entities on the list include the FBI, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico Governor’s Office, the Department of Public Safety and the State Land Office, said state Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, who is chairing the truth commission.

No individuals will be subpoenaed in this initial round.

John Heil, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, which also faces a subpoena, said the agency hasn’t been served yet, but “we would comply to the extent we can under the law.”

Source: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexicos-zorro-ranch-truth-commission-announces-14-subpoenas/article_066ab8e8-45fc-4c93-9ade-c6a9e029a58f.html

Farmer-Rick

(12,804 posts)
37. MAGA like to pretend she's not a sex worker
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 02:15 PM
9 hrs ago

They tell themselves that all she did was pose nude for a couple of magazines. That whitewashes it for their fake Christianity. Because religion is all about controlling women. Yet we all know her just posing nude for a few shoots wasn't her career.

She had sex for money. That was her career. From a few shoots, before she had all that facial reconstruction, it looks like she didn't care which sex paid her or even if her partners were underage.

I think she is as much a psychopath as pedo Trump is. Psychos have a way of finding each other.

Bev54

(13,543 posts)
46. And he is still paying for her but now all he gets is an occasional attendance at one of his dinners or events.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 03:49 PM
8 hrs ago

Norrrm

(5,788 posts)
53. Did working as one of Epstein's girls pay off for her?
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 05:00 PM
6 hrs ago

Melania's Einstein Visa was actually an Epstein Visa.

LessAspin

(2,044 posts)
60. Has anyone ever seen a Happy Communist?
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 06:28 PM
5 hrs ago

Last edited Thu Jun 4, 2026, 09:26 PM - Edit history (2)

06/03/26 - "Has anyone ever seen a Happy Communist?" - (That's the whole tweet.) https://www.reddit.com/r/trumptweets/comments/1tw168t/060326_has_anyone_ever_seen_a_happy_communist/
#truthsocial #trump

TrumpWatch (@trumpwatch.skyfleet.blue) 2026-06-03T21:08:25.775Z


Definitely NOT the Communists that married Trump

Definitely not the communists that he married.
okmagazine.com/p/melania-tr...

eXpo67 (@novi-6.bsky.social) 2026-06-04T12:03:05.670Z



Betty Boom

(481 posts)
67. Let's be careful to keep the focus on the lies and hypocrisy
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 09:48 PM
2 hrs ago

… and avoid shaming sex workers.

Aussie105

(8,247 posts)
68. Melania pointing out something that happened, didn't happen.
Thu Jun 4, 2026, 11:28 PM
28 min ago

And drawing attention to the whole Epstein saga.

Epstein supplied what Trump wanted. And Trump picked one as a keeper.
Simple!

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