DL Open Thread: Monday, Feb. 16, 2026
Everyone But Trump Takes Fall Over Epstein Ties.
Prominent US agent Casey Wasserman is selling his talent company after documents linking him to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were published in the US.
Several high-profile clients, including singer Chappell Roan, quit the firm this week after it emerged he flew on Epstein’s private plane and exchanged flirtatious emails with Maxwell in 2003.
Wasserman said in an company-wide email sent on Friday that he had “become a distraction” as he announced he has begun the process to sell the major LA-based agency.
The 51-year-old, who has also resisted calls to stand down from his role as chair of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, previously said he had no “personal or business relationship” with Epstein.
Wasserman steps down as chair of the 2028 Olympics in 3-2-1.
School districts across the US canceled photo day after it was learned that the former CEO and chairman of Apollo Global Management, Leon Black name was recently found in the Epstein files.
Lifetouch, the largest school photography company, is owned by Apollo Global, opening the possibility that those photographs could have ended up sold to pedophiles or even among classified documents on Trump’s bathroom floor, or any random place for that matter.
Districts in Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, and California launched reviews or canceled photo days “out of an abundance of caution.” Parents flooded social media with fury, raising fears — often without evidence — that sensitive student data could be misused.
“Imagine pedophiles having a shopping list of children,” one viral post warned.
Epstein Went To Bat For Kavanaugh. Because (alleged) sexual predators stick together:
Jeffrey Epstein sympathized with Brett Kavanaugh during the then-supreme court nominee’s contentious 2018 confirmation and even suggested Republicans should have been harder on Christine Blasey Ford, who had accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
Emails and text messages released by the Department of Justice show Epstein was closely monitoring the confirmation and seemed to believe that Ford’s allegation of sexual assault could derail the process.
Epstein told one person, whose name was redacted, on 22 September 2018 “Ive sat in Kavanaugh chair. Im thinking of November.” The meaning of the November reference is not clear.
Epstein called the pending judiciary hearing “a trap!”, adding “Iye [sic] been through many of these. MANY!! She will cry, make sordid allegations. Say she feels bullied, fearful, traumatized. Every thing bad in her life was s result of the rape attempt. Suffered anxiety! Her relationships with men etc. this is a very special skill set needed.”
There is no evidence in the files that Kavanaugh knew or met Epstein. But Epstein was in frequent contact with Kenneth Starr, the late former US solicitor general and independent counsel who led an investigation into Bill Clinton’s relationship with then-intern Monica Lewinsky and other scandals. Kavanaugh served as an associate to Starr during the investigation into Clinton.
Starr, who died in 2022, was a close personal friend and professional contact of Epstein, and was the key lawyer who helped Epstein clinch a plea agreement in 2008, which is how Epstein avoided federal sex-trafficking charges and served a reduced sentence.
Anyone remember Starr’s phony piety during the Clinton ‘investigation’? I do.
The momentous end to the federal government’s legal authority to fight climate change makes it official.
The United States will essentially have no laws on the books that enforce how efficient America’s passenger cars and trucks should be.
That’s the practical result of the Trump administration’s yearlong parade of regulatory rollbacks, capped on Thursday by its killing of the “endangerment finding,” the scientific determination that required the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases because of the threat to human health.
“The U.S. no longer has emission standards of any meaning,” said Margo T. Oge, who served as the E.P.A.’s top vehicle emissions regulator under three presidents and has since advised both automakers and environmental groups.
“Nothing. Zero,” she added. “Not many countries have zero.”
Transportation is the largest single source of greenhouse gases in the United States.
Give The State Auditor Her Positions. She’s doing what an auditor is supposed to do. Meaning, among other things, she’s saving the state money. Positions will pay for themselves:
The State Auditor of Accounts Office asked the Joint Finance Committee to approve a budget shift, so that it can add up to five new positions.
During committee hearings,State Auditor Lydia York said a transfer of $390 thousand from its budget should move to covering fulltime positions, rather than contractors.
Last year, most of its general fund allocation covered personnel. And that was also the case for its special funds, which is money for specific projects or temporary needs.
The transfer reflects the market for certified accountants,York said. But it’s also,“a demonstration of our commitment to moving away from expensive and efficient contractors.”
She said her office’s workload has increased.
Because, under her two predecessors, the auditors obfuscated and buried investigations rather than conducting them. Lydia York has proven her worth. Perhaps that’s what JFC is afraid of.
What do you want to talk about?
More likely explanation for not hiring state employees in York’s office: They don’t want to pay the benefits, which typically run between $35K and $40K per employee.
Five employees would gross about $45K each, so “up to” is doing a lot of work there. More likely she’d hire four, and they’d get frequent pay bumps just like other state workers.
Ergo, I don’t think it’s about saving the state money.
On a related note, in case you’re still under the misapprehension that trying to strong-arm hospitals is about saving you money, check this out:
https://spotlightdelaware.org/2026/02/15/delaware-weighs-cutting-glp-1-coverage-on-state-plan/
It’s about saving the state money. Any savings for you would be incidental if not non-existent.
I think the concern with making contracted positions for the Auditor permanent is more rooted in the effort to imminently set up an Inspector General’s Office. That could mean some turnover in the permanent positions, but also and more importantly would hopefully identify and solve issues so the Auditor’s work load doesn’t grow or continue at the rate it has. I wonder what other states saw when they added IGs
I dunno, maybe so, but that seems to assume they’re looking for a robust IG’s office, which strikes me as out of character.