Cockburn’s Diary

Cockburn takes a keen interest in the correspondence between former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s ex and consigliere. Back in 2019, readers will no doubt recall, Andrew took part in a disastrous interview with the BBC’s Newsnight in an attempt to smooth over the reports of his ties to Epstein and his alleged sexual encounters with a teenage Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Specifically, Andrew denied ever having stayed at Epstein’s house on New York’s Upper East Side on April 11, 2001 – during the trip when Roberts Giuffre says she had sex with the prince for a second time, when she was aged 17. “I wasn’t staying there. I may

Lemon squeezy Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor turned Substack influencer, was taken into custody by Homeland Security and FBI agents in Los Angeles last night. Lemon had previously covered an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month – though a federal judge in the state refused to approve charges against him. Another independent video journalist present at the church service, Georgia Fort, has also been arrested by federal agents, who said they were acting upon a grand-jury decision. Lemon faces two charges: conspiracy to deprive rights and FACE Act violation. For context: a number of independent and video journalists were charged following the January 6 riot at the Capitol.

Dairy dies in darkness The Washington Post finds itself making news more than reporting it of late. Stories swirled this weekend of looming cuts to the sports and foreign desks. The newsroom is on edge. Yet is it possible some “Posties” have been getting too comfortable? Cockburn hears of an email that went around the Post’s New York bureau last week, mentioning that a staffer had been witnessed drinking the office milk from the communal fridge directly out of the carton and asking that employees refrain from doing so. A tipster passed Cockburn a picture of a sign that’s been put up in the Post kitchen, imploring, “No drinking straight from the container”: An internal manhunt is underway to

The White House and Department of Homeland Security are making hay out of the DHS “Worst of the Worst” database, posting links to it throughout the week as evidence that ICE’s actions in Minnesota are justified. President Trump also held up printouts from the database during his Tuesday marathon presser. But Cockburn has been playing a different game with the database: filtering villains not by state of residence, but by country of origin. Of note: none are from the United Arab Emirates, or from Belgium, (which, unlike the UAE, refuses to join President Trump’s Board of Peace). There are only three Greeks but seven Israelis, including a burglar with the piquant name of Jack Shlush

The State Department has a “secret playbook for using sports to advance Trump’s agenda,” according to Politico. Foggy Bottom has a tough assignment ahead. Witness the opening ceremonies of Sunday’s NBA game in London between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic, the first NBA game in the UK in six years. As Vanessa Williams sang the National Anthem, someone shouted “Leave Greenland alone,” which the arena cheered. Cockburn doesn’t think Williams is much of a threat to Greenland. President Trump’s appearance last night at the College Football Championship – along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ivanka and Jared, Kai Trump and Steve Witkoff – went without a hitch. The real

Journos on ice How hot is the White House briefing room? Pretty scorching if you’re Niall Stanage, the Hill reporter who was drawn into a back-and-forth with press secretary Karoline Leavitt over ICE’s conduct. Leavitt asked for Stanage’s opinion on why Renee Good was shot, he gave it… and she branded him a “biased reporter with a left-wing opinion.” “You shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat, you’re pretending like you’re a journalist but you’re a left-wing activist,” Leavitt continued, in a moment that was rapidly clipped for Team Trump’s social media and posted by a flurry of White House staff. The temperature is considerably lower for most other journalists, however. During briefings, the

Vivek unplugged Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy signaled virtue in the pages of the Wall Street Journal yesterday, claiming that he’s resolved to swear off social media entirely in 2026. “I’ll spend my newfound time listening to more voters in real-world Ohio, developing more policies to make our state affordable, and being more present with my family,” the former presidential candidate wrote. While Cockburn can think of more exciting pastimes than listening to voters in real-world Ohio, it’s not a bad sentiment. We could all use a social-media detox. But let’s consider the source. While running for president, Ramaswamy floated the idea of a TikTok ban for 16-year-olds and an “openness” to banning the app

“Why is Epstein the top issue in American life right now?” galaxy-brained columnist David Brooks wrote in the New York Times last month, while also comparing Epstein Files obsessives to QAnon followers. Well, maybe because the Files seem to touch all corners of our cosseted elite, to whom Brooks (and Cockburn) belong. But at least Cockburn, unlike Brooks, isn’t in the Epstein Files: Brooks should have warned in his column that the Files contain several photos of him, yukking it up next to Google co-founder Sergey Brin at some sort of meal. “As a journalist, David Brooks regularly attends events to speak with noted and important business leaders to inform his columns,

Wilin’ out President Trump has an “alcoholic’s personality,” White House budget director Russell Vought is a “right-wing zealot” and Elon Musk microdoses ketamine, according to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Musk is “an odd, odd duck,” Wiles told Vanity Fair during an series of 11 – count ’em, eleven – interviews, “as I think geniuses are. You know, it’s not helpful, but he is his own person.” Also, Attorney General Pam Bondi “completely whiffed” in her handling of the Epstein Files. This is all good stuff from Chris Whipple’s two-part profile of Trump’s inner circle that confirms two things that Cockburn has long deduced: 1) The second Trump presidency is a bit unusual personality-

Plus: American Canto flops and a cornucopia of Christmas parties

Plus: Minnesota not-so-nice

Plus: A freezing and fraught World Cup draw in DC

Plus: Are We Dating the Same Oysterman?

Lucky you, important person, there is still time to invite him

Plus: Candace in the crosshairs?

Plus: Jersey Smollett and a Dao dinner

Plus: Fox News deploys Palantir’s AI in digital operation

Plus: Weigh-in at the border

Plus: Should Dulles become the Donald J. Trump International Airport?

Plus: Subway slinger walks free