Secrets, Blackmail and Power: Cohn, Trump, Epstein, Lutnick — They All Knew. The Secrets That Still Rule Washington.

Representative Adelita Grijalva

Roy Cohn taught Donald Trump the dark art of leverage — using secrets and shame to blackmail the wealthy and powerful. Trump has always been the alpha predator, practicing it for decades, and then passed the playbook to Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein turned it into an industrial operation, building a business, an empire and even an island around the scam, perfecting the ruse.

Howard Lutnick — Secretary of Commerce, former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and next-door neighbor with Jeffrey Epstein (they shared a wall) — was asked why, if he could see it, other rich people couldn’t. He replied, “Oh, they could. They knew.” In the same interview on the “Pod Force One” podcast, he said:

“What happened in that massage room, I assume, was on video. […] This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever, blackmailed people. That’s how he had money.”

“My assumption — I have no knowledge, but my assumption — is there was a trade for the videos, because there were people on those videos.”

Lutnick is trying to protect himself now because he knows exactly who Trump is: the alpha predator. In publicly distancing himself, he isn’t just shading Epstein; he’s throwing Trump under the bus to save his own skin.

In the meantime, Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House of Representatives home rather than swearing in the duly elected representative from Arizona — Adelita Grijalva.

Say her name. She will be the 218th vote that breaks the stalemate and forces the discharge petition onto the floor. That’s why Johnson stalled. The power of one sworn-in representative could shift control and expose what’s being hidden. This isn’t just about procedure; it’s about shielding the same system of secrets, blackmail and power that Lutnick all but confirmed.

Release the Epstein/Trump Child Sex Trafficking files.

What we can do about it—Democrats must learn to fight like Republicans

If Democrats borrow the Republicans’ playbook — ruthless organization, relentless messaging, maximal use of procedure and punishment — here’s a tactical plan to force accountability and pry open those files.

1) Make the single card count

• Demand the immediate swearing-in of Adelita Grijalva. Make “swear her in” the daily ask across tweets, e-mails and calls. Treat that one vote like a lever, because it is.

• Flood Johnson’s office and key GOP districts with coordinated calls and emails until the cost of blocking the swearing-in is greater than the benefit of hiding the files.

2) Turn procedure into pressure

• Use discharge petitions and the threat of escalating floor fights as leverage. Make Republicans defend the decision to stall on the record. Force public votes.

• Threaten coordinated obstruction on unrelated Republican priorities unless the House does its job on swearing in members and launching oversight.

3) Make every committee a spotlight

• Demand immediate committee subpoenas for anyone who claims ignorance. Push for hearings with live TV, sworn testimony, and public Q&A.

• Deploy parallel state-level oversight where federal channels are blocked. State attorneys general, legislative ethics committees and local prosecutors can be pressure points.

4) Weaponize transparency tools

• Launch FOIA and public records suits to force release of any memos, travel logs, guest lists, leases, or email threads tied to Epstein and known associates. Pair legal action with relentless media amplification.

• Fund and publicize independent forensic reviews and leaked-document hotlines so whistleblowers have safe, visible channels.

5) Hit the money and reputation

• Identify and name corporate donors, board seats and institutions tied to people in the files. Demand investigations, resignations and divestment. Public shame hits where secrecy lives.

• Run ad buys and earned-media campaigns that connect donors’ brands to the names in the files. Make it politically and commercially costly to stay silent.

6) Use the primaries

• Recruit and back primary challengers for lawmakers who stonewall. Make the consequence of protecting secrecy electoral vulnerability. Don’t just wag fingers; threaten replacement.

7) Build a grassroots narrative loop

• Make “Release the files” the organizing chant across rallies, petitions, email blasts and local town halls. Provide one-click actions — call scripts, email templates, sample tweets — so supporters can flood offices in unison.

• Train volunteers to show up at town halls and hearings asking the same precise question: Who is in the files? Will you pledge to support release?

8) Coordinate across platforms

• Synchronize pressure across mainstream outlets, podcast ecosystems, local papers and community radio so the story never fades. Use visuals and short viral clips of Lutnick’s quotes to keep the implication visible and undeniable.

9) Protect and amplify whistleblowers

• Offer legal aid, relocation funds and secure channels for anyone with first-hand knowledge. Publicize protections and encourage testimony under oath. Make whistleblowing less risky than complicity.

10) Tie policy to accountability

• Whenever a lawmaker votes against transparency or subpoenas, link that vote to specific policy harms — blocked investigations, shielded donors, bad public policy. Turn their votes into campaign negatives that are easy to explain to voters.

This is the plan to treat the problem with the same hard-nosed discipline and appetite for consequences that your opponents use. It’s procedural, legal, political and public. It’s scalable.

And it centers the one immediate lever you have: swear in Adelita Grijalva now — because one vote changes the arithmetic and forces conversations that those in the shadows don’t want to have.

Release the Epstein/Trump Child Sex Trafficking files.

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— Joyce