Originally published at: https://peakprosperity.com/daily-digest/massie-exposes-wexner-and-sultan-sulayem-did-epstein-gates-write-the-covid-playbook-in-2014/
Epstein Files
Newly released 2014 DOJ documents reveal connections during the West Africa Ebola outbreak that some analyses describe as establishing early frameworks for the emergency governance, surveillance, and funding approaches later applied during COVID-19. According to the documents, Bill Gates emailed Jeffrey Epstein his itinerary, including a Washington meeting with Executive Branch officials and President Obama on Ebola and budgets. Epstein had suggested Gates pitch Donor-Advised Funds during New York events. Nili Priell Barak, assistant to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, forwarded Epstein an invitation to a private DNC fundraiser reception with Obama. UN Security Council Resolution 2177 classified Ebola as a threat to international peace under Chapter VII, leading to the creation of UNMEER and US military deployment. Epstein received a concept paper for a Nexus Centre for peace and health, and a Weill Cornell pitch for pre-symptomatic Ebola detection that was forwarded to Gates. Epstein emailed Obama White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler, linking Ebola escalation to Senate outcomes.
Representative Thomas Massie reviewed unredacted Epstein files at the DOJ and identified what he described as irregularities, including black ink over white redactions concealing witness names in FBI 302 interview forms. Massie stated he found six redacted names of men implicated in the files during a merely two-hour review. One was Les Wexner, identified in the 2019 child sex trafficking case as the âwell-known retired CEOâ co-conspirator. The DOJ unredacted his name after Massieâs disclosure. Massie also confirmed DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem sent an Epstein-linked torture video that appears in unredacted FBI files. The DOJ has reportedly begun unredacting additional documents and pulled some files following his review, though not all are accessible internally.
Lastly, and as was widely anticipated, Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment during a virtual closed-door deposition before the US House Oversight Committee from her Texas prison, where she is serving a 20-year sex trafficking sentence. Her lawyer stated she would provide a full account if granted clemency by President Trump. Oversight Democrats criticized Maxwell for defying a subpoena and protecting powerful men accused of crimes.
Geopolitics
The Israeli security cabinet reportedly approved a series of measures on Sunday to significantly expand Israeli control over the occupied West Bank, including changes to land registration, property acquisition, and civil administration in Areas A and B. The policy aims to remove longstanding legal barriers, repeal a Jordanian-era prohibition on land transfers to non-Palestinians, declassify land registries to facilitate purchases by Israelis, and transfer planning and licensing authoritiesâsuch as in Hebron, including over the Ibrahimi Mosqueâfrom Palestinian bodies to Israeli oversight. Israeli officials described the changes as enabling accelerated settlement development, providing settlers with equal legal and civil rights, and normalizing life in the territory. Palestinians, including President Mahmoud Abbas and various factions, condemned the decisions as a breach of the Oslo Accords, an attempt to legalize settlement expansion and land confiscation, and a step toward de facto annexation.
In related news, Israel had the highest global defense spending per capita in 2024 at $4,989 per person on a $47 billion budget, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data. The United States ranked second at $2,895 per capita on a $997 billion total, followed by Singapore at $2,591. Other top rankings included Saudi Arabia at $2,386, Norway at $1,880, Ukraine at $1,728, and Denmark at $1,670. Larger powers like China ranked lower at $221 per capita on a $314 billion total.
In Iran, Mohammad Eslami, head of their Atomic Energy Organization, stated the country could dilute its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purityâestimated by the UN at over 440 kg last yearâin exchange for the US lifting all financial sanctions. The proposal precedes indirect talks in Oman. Tehran rejects including ballistic missiles in discussions. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for public resolve against foreign powers amid anniversary events. A US official indicated sanctions relief would not be granted solely for uranium dilution.
In Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that US-Russia relations under President Trump show no improvement over the Biden administration. He pointed to unchanged punitive laws, new sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, and US actions against tankers violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Lavrov noted no progress on economic cooperation or Ukraine talks beyond stated offers, despite prior understandings from the Anchorage summit. He denied intentions to attack Europe but warned of full military response to any aggression.
In the Indian Ocean, US military forces boarded the Venezuelan-flagged tanker Aquila II Ocean, enforcing President Trumpâs quarantine on sanctioned vessels. The ship, carrying about 700,000 barrels of heavy crude from Venezuela toward China, was tracked from the Caribbean. The Department of Defense described it as the seventh such interdiction, emphasizing global enforcement capability. Some observers described the action as piracy in international waters.
Lastly, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim requested a Pentagon review of potential China-linked investments in SpaceX. They cited court records and reports of Chinese investors, including via Leo Investments in a Cayman Islands fund, accessing SpaceX shares through special-purpose vehicles. A Delaware court allowed removal of a $50 million Chinese stake after SpaceX objected. The senators expressed concerns about foreign ownership influencing a key defense contractor with $5.9 billion in Space Force contracts for high-priority launches. They seek a Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency assessment for Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence and possible Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review.
US Politics
Federal prosecutors charged 158 individuals with federal crimes in Minnesota amid Operation Metro Surge, which targets anti-ICE activities including FACE Act violations, conspiracy, and obstruction of agents, with penalties up to 20 years. Attorney General Pam Bondi anticipates further arrests nationwide. Cases reportedly involve disrupting a church service, blocking or assaulting ICE officers with vehicles, spitting, throwing bricks, and wielding baseball bats. Sixteen face charges for impeding officers. Among those arrested is Kyle Wagner, charged with impeding federal officers, threats, conspiracy, and solicitation. Investigations are probing a Signal-based network tracking officers via 13 databases, which a retired Special Forces officer likened to insurgencies. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed probes into ICE Watch operations, with Border Czar Tom Homan vowing accountability for organizers and funders. Attorneys for some defendants claimed the charges violate First Amendment rights related to journalism and protests.
Privacy & Surveillance
Discord announced plans to implement global age verification next month using biometric scanning, automatically switching all user accounts to a teen-appropriate experience unless users verify they are adults. The process uses an age inference model that analyzes account tenure, device data, and community patterns, without accessing private messages. Adults who pass the inference avoid manual checks. Unverified users cannot access age-restricted servers or channels, participate in stage channels, or view unfiltered graphic content. Friend requests and direct messages from unfamiliar users trigger warnings or separate inboxes for unverified accounts. Existing members of age-restricted servers reportedly face a black screen until verification, preventing message sending or content viewing. Critics have raised privacy concerns over biometric verification methods following an October data breach exposing user IDs.
Sources
Discord to Require Face Scan or ID for Full Access Next Month
Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month
Source | Submitted by Barry Silverthorn
Obama, Gates, Epstein: The 2014 Ebola Week That Wrote the COVID Playbook
Ebola was the rehearsal. COVID was the rollout.
Source | Submitted by sand_kitty
Israel Tops World in Defense Spending Per Capita
Israel ranks first, spending nearly $5,000 per person on defense in 2024.
Iran Proposes Diluting Near-Weapons-Grade Uranium for Full US Sanctions Relief
Iran could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium in exchange for all financial sanctions being lifted, its atomic chief said on Monday
158 Anti-ICE Agitators Charged with Federal Crimes in Minnesota; More Arrests Imminent
federal prosecutors have reportedly charged 158 anti-ICE agitators with federal crimes
Democrat Senators Urge Pentagon Probe of SpaceX China-Linked Investments
Two senators are urging the Pentagon to find out whether investors tied to China hold stakes in SpaceX, one of Americaâs most important defense contractors and a key provider of military launch services.
Lavrovâs Rare Trump Rebuke: Relations No Better Than Under Biden
In Reality, Relations No Better Than Under Biden
Trumpâs Tanker Quarantine Goes Global: US Boards Venezuelan Vessel in Indian Ocean
When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland â even in oceans halfway around the world.
Ghislaine Maxwell Takes the Fifth, Dangles Epstein Secrets for Trump Clemency
Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth before Congress, says sheâll only dish if granted clemency
Rep. Massie: Epstein Files Have Black Ink Over White Redactions Hiding Witness Names
Sometimes you lift off the black ink, and thereâs white ink redacting files.
Rep. Massie: Found 6 Redacted Names in Unredacted Epstein Files at DOJ
In a couple of hours, we found six men whose names have been redacted, who are implicated in the way that the files are presented.
Massie unmasks Les Wexner as Epsteinâs redacted CEO co-conspirator
U.S Rep. Thomas Massie confirms that the previously blacked-out âwell-known retired CEOâ named as a co-conspirator in the Epstein files is Les Wexner, founder of Victoriaâs Secret.
DOJ Begins Unredacting Documents After Rep. Massie Calls Them Out
DOJ begins unredacting documents after Rep. Thomas Massie called them out.
Rep. Massie Confirms: DP World Chairman Sent Epstein-Linked Torture Video in Unredacted FBI Files
U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie confirms: Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem sent the âTorture Videoâ!
Israel âimposes de facto annexationâ with sweeping West Bank policy change
New regulations include expanded Israeli authority in Area A, including at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: Ars Technica, OversightDems, @DAGToddBlanche, Axios, @mazzenilsson, @xray_media, @THR, and Don Lemon.