The Dog That Hasn't Barked

11.12.25

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to today’s edition of Common Sense with Ally Sammarco—your daily briefing on politics. Let’s break it down.

New Epstein Emails Surface—And Trump’s Name Is All Over Them….House Democrats released a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails today revealing that Jeffrey Epstein once described Donald Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked” and told Ghislaine Maxwell that one of Epstein’s alleged victims had “spent hours at my house with him.” The correspondence, part of more than 23,000 documents obtained from the Epstein Estate, also includes emails between Epstein and author Michael Wolff discussing how Trump might respond to questions about their relationship during his 2016 campaign—and a 2019 message implying Trump knew about “the girls” and once asked Maxwell “to stop.” Republicans immediately accused Democrats of “cherry-picking” the files to smear Trump, claiming the redactions hid exculpatory details, while the White House dismissed the revelations as a “fake narrative.” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say the emails underscore the need for full transparency, with Rep. Robert Garcia vowing to force a vote compelling the DOJ to release the complete Epstein files.

Common Sense takeaway: Cat’s out of the bag! Trump knew about the girls. He knew everything. We’ve all already known this, but these emails confirm it for everyone who has been living on Earth 2. Trump hung out for hours with a victim at Epstein’s island—what do you think that means? I think we can take an educated guess. If this doesn’t underline the need for a full release of the Epstein files, I don’t know what does.

Jack Schlossberg Steps Into the Arena….Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy and son of Caroline Kennedy, announced Tuesday that he’s running for Congress in 2026 to represent New York’s 12th District—currently held by Rep. Jerry Nadler, who’s retirinowleg after nearly three decades in office. Schlossberg, 32, framed his campaign as a rebuke to Donald Trump’s economic agenda, calling the former president’s “Big Beautiful Bill” a direct cause of the nation’s cost-of-living crisis. “We deserve better, and we can do better,” he said, urging Democrats to take back the House and warning that without it, “we’re helpless to a third term.” A Yale and Harvard graduate who’s served as a campaign surrogate for President Biden and Vice President Harris, Schlossberg’s entry into the race marks the first time in decades that a Kennedy heir has sought federal office.

Common Sense takeaway: Whether you like him or not, he gets a lot of attention. And attention is capital these days. I think he could win if he runs a solid campaign and a younger face may be exactly was NY-12 needs.

Shutdown Fallout: Nearly 900 Flights Canceled Wednesday….The travel chaos continues. Nearly 900 flights were canceled across the U.S. Wednesday morning, with another 1,200 delayed as the government shutdown drags into its sixth week. Chicago O’Hare, Denver, and Atlanta led the pack in cancellations, according to FlightAware. The FAA is still limiting capacity at 40 major airports, forcing airlines to slash flights while TSA and air traffic workers continue working without pay. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned the situation could worsen if the government doesn’t reopen soon, saying, “You might have airlines that say, ‘We’re going to ground our planes.’” Even if Congress finalizes a deal this week, aviation experts say it could take up to a week for normal operations to resume—just in time for the Thanksgiving rush.

Common Sense takeaway: The degredation of our airlines, airports, and FAA employees has been one of the leading issues during the shutdown. It’s also caused residual complications to the economy, healthcare issues, and more. I’d suggest avoiding flying through the next week, even if the government reopens, to allow time for operations to recover.

Adelita Grijalva to Confront Speaker Johnson After 50-Day Delay in Being Seated….Arizona Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva says she plans to personally confront Speaker Mike Johnson after being forced to wait nearly 50 days to be sworn into Congress—calling the delay “undemocratic, unconstitutional, and illegal.” Grijalva, who won a special election on September 23 to replace her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, was left in limbo as Johnson refused to seat her during the government shutdown. Arizona’s 7th District — home to over 800,000 residents—has gone without representation for nearly two months. Johnson defended the delay by citing a “Pelosi precedent,” but Democrats argue it was a political move—especially since Grijalva’s vote will reportedly give Democrats the 218th signature needed to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Grijalva said she won’t let the issue go quietly: “This kind of obstruction cannot happen again.”

Common Sense takeaway: Good for her. Rep. Grijalva absolutely should confront Mike Johnson for denying her her seat and her district proper representation in the name of “norms” and “precedent.” No one believes that you care about those things, Mike. We do believe you are trying to protect your dear leader, Donald. Now let’s get on with the show and get the Epstein files released.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense. Check back tomorrow for more.