Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 6/4

[SVPete]

Boom: Senate Dem Tries Playing Stupid Epstein Games with Bessent, And ...

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2026/06/03/boom-senate-dem-tries-playing-stupid-epstein-game-with-bessent-and-n3815583

... Ron Wyden tried playing Epstein games with Scott Bessent today, and the Treasury Secretary showed up ready to play right back:

BESSENT: "Sen. Wyden has slandered the Treasury building to cover up his son having an investment with Jeffrey Epstein." 

WYDEN: "Nobody is interested in the rambling of a capo in the most corrupt regime in American history."

BESSENT: "Your son's largest investment position was Rick's Cabaret. Did your son and Epstein talk about poll dancing?
...
BESSENT: "And we'd like to hear what Adam Wyden and Jeffrey EPSTEIN talked about. Your son's largest investment position was Rick's Cabaret. So, did your son and Jeffrey Epstein talk about pole dancing as he begged him for money using your limited credibility?"

Bessent didn't just pull that allegation out of his nether regions. The Democrats' insistence on full release of the Epstein files turned up an attempt by Adam Wyden to get Jeffrey Epstein to put money in his private investment fund. The New York Post covered it two months ago:
...
Bessent clearly prepared for this attack. Was he warned by someone in Wyden's office about it? Did he just figure that Wyden was dumb enough to posture on the Epstein files despite his son's appearance in them? That much turned out to be true, and Wyden ended up looking like a baby seal at harvest time in Canada.

Bessent is an absolute legend for this, but it's been a feature now from Trump officials in this term. They have done their research on Democrats who want to use them as punching bags, preparing carefully for potential personal attacks with ammunition for scorched-earth responses. That's a measure of just how toxic partisanship has become in the age of Democrats' Orange Man Bad obsessions, but also a measure of how quickly Trump administration officials have adapted to this no-holds-barred environment. The environment is lamentable, but the lesson here is clearly this: Don't start none ... won't be none.

My emphasis. I mentioned this - Trump officials coming to Congressional hearings-harangues prepared to go toe-to-toe with the haranguing Dems - a week or two ago. Somehow, the Dems have not figured that out that pattern and come up with a Plan D or F to counteract the Trump officials' counter-attacks.

I could be wrong, of course, but I think there are indies and non-crazed Dems who have seen these petulant tantrums as the waste of Congressional oversight time the tantrums are.

[SVPete]

The Morning Briefing: Marco Rubio BRILLIANTLY Buzzsaws House TDS Dems During Hearing

https://pjmedia.com/stephen-kruiser/2026/06/04/the-morning-briefing-marco-rubio-brilliantly-buzzsaws-house-tds-dems-during-hearing-n4953553

We have had many discussions here at the Briefing about how refreshing it is to watch President Trump and so many of the members of his administration deftly manhandle hostile, corrupt members of the mainstream media. Those skills also transfer well to their run-ins with combative Democratic members of Congress.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent the past couple of days on Capitol Hill, being grilled by various members of the Senate and House regarding State Department budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year. Okay, he got grilled a little bit. The secretary spent much of his time responding to a barrage of Trump Derangement Syndrome-induced meltdowns from Congressional Democrats who long ago abandoned any sense of responsibility to behave like respectable adults.

Sarah is our in-house expert on all things Marco Rubio, and she covered both days of the madness. This is from the intro to her Day 2 recap:
...
The cognitive decline diaper-filling was from California mental patient Ted Lieu, who has a habit of making people think that he wants the Founding Fathers to roll over in their graves. He's a national embarrassment among national embarrassments.

Sarah has video clips of the most outlandish displays. They would be painful to watch — these are some of the highest elected officials in the land, after all — but Secretary Rubio's responses to the loons are entertainment gold.

It's difficult to pick a favorite, but I particularly enjoyed Rubio's handling of Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California. She shrieked at Rubio about something, then stormed away like an emo high school girl. Here is how Rubio dealt with it, and it is just beautiful:

By coincidence, Kamlager-Dove posted a whine about her tantrum this AM on FB. She made some sort of false accusation, and whether before or after she stormed out Rubio dared not to address it. Somehow seeing Rubio the day before handling Dem Harangues did not clue her in that hers would be futile.  

[SVPete]

BREAKING: John Bolton to Plead Guilty to Retaining Classified Information

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/06/04/breaking-john-bolton-to-plead-guilty-to-retaining-classified-information-n4953576

John Bolton is headed to federal court to plead guilty to one count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department. Under the deal, he could avoid prison time, according to the Associated Press.

The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes from his time in government that officials say he shared with his family members as he was preparing a memoir about his time in office.

Under the agreement, Bolton would also face a $2.25 million fine, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a deal that had not been made public. Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement allows for him to avoid time behind bars, though the punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.

...
At the center of the case are diary-style notes Bolton kept during his government service. Prosecutors say he shared those notes with family members while he was preparing his memoir about his time in the Trump administration. The Trump administration attempted to block the book The Room Where It Happened prior to its publication, arguing that it contained classified material. The administration lost that fight, but the current plea agreement focuses on the classified notes Bolton shared with relatives, not on material that appeared in the published book.

Many on the left have tried to frame the case against Bolton as part of a pattern of “retribution” from Trump against his enemies. But even CNN had to admit the case had merit.

The source used in the article is the AP, so have a block of salt on hand.

DU-grade Progs will, of course, whine, "What about Trump?" Well, President Trump had the authority to possess classified materials. Bolton could only view and possess classified materials, including what he created, withing the scope and locations of his duty, subject to the authority of the President ... President Trump. Bolton foolishly self-exposed by including classified information in his Hate-Trump book.