Almost exactly a year ago I wrote that, in part because it was a “challenge to choose a topic to focus on in the current information environment,” I would post a “checkpoint” article instead that looked at a variety of topics making headlines at the time, including: the stopgap funding bill, debate over a possible government shutdown, early signs of “uncertainty” about the Trump presidency among Republicans, and a discussion of effective protests.

A year later we’re in the midst of another shutdown – this one "partial" – and although some of the topics have changed or mutated, a "firehose" of factual and counterfactual stories continues to emanate from the administration, the Republican party, MAGA world, etc.

The story grabbing the most headlines at the moment is undoubtedly what Trump has labeled his “excursion” into Iran....

On Tuesday, August 5, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Justice Department for files from the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.. The committee also issued subpoenas to former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and eight former law enforcement officials. Trump has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes; when Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 Trump declared himself “not a fan” and claimed he had not spoken to Epstein since 2004.

Reporting by the Miami Herald and the Wall Street Journal suggests that the supposed falling out may have occurred not in 2004, but three years later. A Mar-a-Lago member told reporters that Trump shut Epstein out of the club after he “harassed the daughter of a member.” According to this account Trump was concerned that the prevalence of such behavior at his property would damage the Trump brand.