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UNBIASED Politics
December 11, 2025: Courts Order Release of Epstein Grand Jury Materials, $12 Billion Aid Package for Farmers, Changes to National Park Free Entrance Days, Social Media Vetting for Tourists, and More.
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Welcome back to Unbiased, your favorite source of unbiased news and legal analysis. Welcome back to Unbiased Politics. Today is Thursday, December 11th. Let's talk about some news. Today's episode is going to be a little shorter than we're used to, but that's, that's, I mean, it's to be expected this time of year. The news slows down as we get closer to the holidays. So that's just the way things go. Today will cover a variety of smaller stories. There's just not necessarily, you know, a lot to dive too far into. When I posted to Instagram yesterday asking what all of you wanted to hear about in today's episode, a lot of you requested the fraud in Minnesota story. So this is just a heads up for anyone who hasn't tuned in to last Thursday's episode. You can find everything in that episode that you need to know about the the fraud in Minnesota. Also, don't forget I have a new peace talks episode going live tomorrow. So be sure to tune in if you're looking for advice on how to handle family dynamics this holiday season when it comes to political differences and just political dilemmas in general. And then finally, I do have a request for all of you. So next Thursday is my last news episode of the year and I really want to end that episode on a positive note with a good news segment. I just think that would be good for all of us. So if you have a good news story to share, please, please, please email me and share the story with me. It can be anything. Something good that's happened to you recently, a positive interaction that you witnessed out in public, a good news story from a friend or a friend of a friend. Anything goes. I just like to source these stories from the community, from all of you, because I don't know, I think, I think it just, it adds a little more, you know. So my email address is jordanunbiasednetwork.com I will also put it in the episode show notes just in case you forget it. And I do need those stories by Wednesday of next week just so I have time to incorporate them into Thursday's episode. Now with those things out of the way, let's, let's Talk about some news. On Monday, I had reported that President Trump was planning to announce a $12 billion aid package for U.S. farmers. Now, at the time, we didn't really know much about it because the package hadn't been officially announced, but we have since learned more. So here is what we know. This is an initiative called the Farmers Bridge Payments Program and it is intended to compensate U.S. farmers for for what the administration calls unfair market disruptions. Now, those disruptions include recent tariff related instability as well as past tariff related instability and what the administration says may be anti competitive behavior within portions of the food supply chain. The program will be administered by the USDA and funded through the Commodity Credit Corporate Corporation, which is the same authority used in past farm support programs. According to the administration, these payments are designed to serve as a. As. As a bridge, so to speak, but temporary support until farm policy changes enacted in the one big beautiful bill take effect in October of 2026. For a little more context here, U. S Farm exports have been affected by several rounds of tariff actions over the last seven years. So we're not just talking about Trump's most recent implementation of tariffs, though those do have an effect here. But we're going back years. Okay, so specifically we need to talk about the trade war between the US And China, because China is a massive importer of US Agriculture agricultural products. Historically, China has been the largest market for American farm goods and especially soybeans, corn and meats. So back in 2018 is when this trade war between the US and China started, and that was when the Trump administration first imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. You might be wondering, what does steel and aluminum have to do with agriculture? Well, China responded to those tariffs with its own tariffs, some as high as 25% on a variety of U.S. goods. And about two thirds of the targeted products were agricultural things like soybeans, pork, corn, wheat, etc. Then, under the Biden administration, most of the tariffs on Chinese goods were kept in place and in fact, some new tariffs were placed on China, which meant that the tariffs that China had imposed on US Agricultural products remained in place. This, of course, continued to negatively affect the already suffering agriculture industry. Then, as we know, earlier this year, the Trump administration went ahead and expanded the tariffs on many countries. China being one of those countries. China responded to this by enacting new tariffs against US Agricultural products. So because of this, a lot of Chinese companies that were still sourcing from US Farmers despite the earlier tariffs then started turning towards South American producers for their agricultural goods. American farmers were not selling as much to China and therefore they were being negatively impacted. So American farmers, especially soybean farmers, have, have suffered a lot. And this $12 billion package is meant to help those farmers until the Big Beautiful Bill farming provisions take effect next year. Now, how does this $12 billion break down? Well, 11 of the 12 billion is specifically for row crop producers, meaning farmers who are growing things like soybean, corn, wheat, sorghum and rice. The remaining $1 billion is reserved for farmers growing specialty crops and sugar. To be eligible for these funds, farmers have to have planted covered commodities in the 2025 crop year and reported acreage to the USDA. Payments will be calculated using a uniform USDA formula based on reported acreage, national yield averages and USDA price estimates. Those payments will then be distributed through the Farm Service Agency, which, which is a federal agency within the usda, with the USDA indicating that these payments are expected to be issued by February 28, 2026. Now, as I've mentioned a couple of times now, the Trump administration is linking this aid directly to the upcoming provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill. So to touch on that a little bit, beginning In October of 2026, the one big Beautiful Bill will raise what are called reference prices under the Price Loss Coverage Program. Under that program, farmers can receive payments from the federal government, but they only receive payments when market prices fall below a reference price. So as an example, under the One Big Beautiful Bill, the reference price for corn is set to increase to roughly $4.10 per per bushel, which is up from the current price of $3.70 per bushel. This is helpful for farmers because once the One Big Beautiful Bill provision takes effect, farmers won't have to wait until the market price of corn falls below 370per Bush per bushel to receive federal payments. Instead, the market price will only have to fall below 410 per bushel before those federal payments start coming. Soybeans and wheat will also see similar increased reference prices. So again, the administration describes these new quote unquote bridge payments as short term relief until those changes take effect in October. Independent agricultural economists have noted that the structure of this program resembles the market facilitation program used from 2018 to 2020 under Trump's first administration. Now, those payments did help reduce financial stress during the first phase of the trade war with China, but it didn't fully offset export losses. So given the similarities in the programs, analysts are expecting that this new aid package will help farmers in the short term pay. But it it likely won't fix the bigger long term issue of, you know, Chinese buyers and foreign buyers now buying from other countries instead of the United States. All right, moving on. Over the past week or so, there have been a series of federal court rulings ordering the release of previously secret grand jury materials connected to the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell investigations. And I know we've talked a lot about, you know, the release of these records related to Epstein and Maxwell. And some of you might be wondering, what do the courts have to do with this? I thought the DOJ was ordered to release records by law, per, you know, the law that Congress just passed last month. So I think because there's been so many headlines surrounding this, there. There's a little bit of confusion. So what I want to do is I want to talk about the rulings, but I also want to want to tie Congress's recent law into these rulings so you can sort of see how these storylines are interacting with each other. So, on December 5, a federal judge in Florida ordered the unsealing of grand jury records from federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein that took place in 2007 and 2005. Then on December 9, a federal judge in New York ordered the release of grand jury materials from the 2021 State Sex Trafficking prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell. And most recently, just yesterday, a third judge, it was a second federal judge in Manhattan, ruled that the grand jury materials from Epstein's 2019 federal sex trafficking case can be made public. So there were three different prosecutions here. And because all three of these cases were separate cases, they all required, you know, a separate ruling to release the grand jury materials that were related to each case. Now, all of these rulings stem from the recent enactment of the Epstein Files Transparency act, which we know that Congress passed just last month. That law requires the DOJ to release all unclassified Epstein files, with a few exceptions, by December 19th. And just to give a little background here, a grand jury, okay, is, is a group of people who review evidence behind closed doors and decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring charges against an individual. Now, these grand jury proceedings are confidential by law, and the reason they're confidential is to protect witnesses, to encourage honest testimony, to avoid hurting the reputations of the people who are investigated but never charged. So. So these are very secret proceedings. Federal rule of Criminal Procedure 6e keeps these transcripts and exhibits that are shown to the grand jury very much under lock and key. But the Epstein Files Transparency act created an exception for the cases related to Maxwell and Epstein and Just so we're all clear, the federal government cannot unseal grand jury materials. It has to be unsealed by a court. So in all three of these cases, what. What had to happen is Attorney General Bondi went to the judges and requested that they approve the release of these grand jury materials in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. And in all three rulings, the judges noted that the law's clear language overrides the usual secrecy protections that are, you know, offered when it comes to grand jury materials. And therefore, the judges ordered that these materials be made public. However, the judges also ordered that all personally identifiable information must be redacted before the release to protect the victims. And that does align with the language in the Epstein law. The Epstein Law does say that redactions can be issued to protect the identities of the victims. So the courts are basically just reinforcing that and saying, hey, before any of these materials are released, you gotta redact. The records that are covered by these court orders include grand jury transcripts from the various federal investigations, investigative exhibits, search warrants, testimony from law enforcement agents, call logs, financial records, and more. However, also keep in mind, despite the eventual unsealing of these grand jury records, we may not see any major revelations. In fact, one of the judges in particular that was overseeing one of the cases specifically noted that in that case, the only witness to testify before the grand jury was an FBI agent who apparently did not have any direct knowledge of the facts of the case and whose testimony was mostly hearsay. And the rest of the grand jury presentation in that specific case consisted only of a PowerPoint slideshow and then four pages of call logs. That's it. So the judge is kind of warned here, like, yeah, we're allowing for the unsealing of these records, but just be aware, there may not be any major revelations here. Now, that's not to say that we absolutely won't learn anything new with this release. It's just to say, don't get your hopes up if. If that's what you're waiting for. As far as when the grand jury records will be made public, they'll presumably be released by December 19, along with the other files that are required to be released by law. The DOJ has said that it will be redacting victim related and personally identifiable information, and it'll be consulting with victims before finalizing those redactions. So. So it's unclear whether that will delay the release. But again, by law, these. These files have to be released by December 19th. Let's take a break. Here. When we come back, we'll talk about a lawsuit filed by some ex FBI agents and then we'll finish with quick hitters, rumor has it, and critical thinking. Obviously, the next few weeks can be really hectic and I'm sure a lot of us are already thinking about the moment that the house is quiet again, there's no more shopping to do and we can just sit down and relax. But here's the thing. It's not just you and I that are waiting to relax. It's our moms, our dads, our brothers, sisters, cousins, our friends. Literally anyone and everyone is waiting for that moment. So why not be strategic about your gift giving this year and give someone something that is going to make them think of you once the holiday chaos is over and they're finally able to relax, Cozy Earth is perfect for this. From their pajamas to their bedding, to their bubble cuddle blanket to their robes, every everything is so high quality and soft and really the perfect thing to cuddle up in or on once it's time to slow down. 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So maybe you have a friend that loves running marathons. Get them some Bombas running socks. Maybe you have a neighbor that just had a baby. Get them some baby Bombas socks. Maybe your parents slippers are just a few years too old and they wear them every single day of their life. Get them a new pair of slippers. And speaking of slippers, Bombas really stepped up their game this season. They've introduced new shapes and styles. Think fluffy, suede, cozy. All the best things. And the best part is that for every pair of Bombas you purchase, Bombas donates one to someone facing homelessness on your behalf. So so anytime you get something cozy, someone else does too. Head over to bombas.comunbiased and use code UNBIASED for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M B A S.comUnbiased code UNBIASED at checkout bombus.comunbiased and use code Unbiased at checkout for 20% off your first purchase. Welcome back. Earlier this week, 12 former FBI Special agents filed a lawsuit against FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice. These agents alleged that they were unlawfully fired for kneeling during a protest in Washington, D.C. back on June 4, 2020. Per that lawsuit, 22 FBI agents were sent into downtown D.C. on June 4, 2020 without any sort of crowd control training, riot shields or other non lethal weapons like pepper spray, tasers, etc. The complaint says. On June 4, 2020, plaintiffs were patrolling the city when they were confronted by a mob that included hostile individuals alongside families with young children. The volatile situation was comparable to another critical moment from our nation's founding, the Boston Massacre. But plaintiffs did not repeat the mistake of the British soldiers who fearfully fired their weapons into a crowd of dissenting Americans in 1770. Instead finding their backs to a wall, plaintiffs remained calm. Each plaintiff then made a considered tactical decision focused on saving American lives and maintaining order. Responding to the dangerous situation before them. Plaintiffs avoided triggering violence by assuming a kneeling posture associated with de escalations between law enforcement officers and their communities. During this period of national unrest, plaintiffs de escalation response was immediately successful. As a result of their tactical tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence, end quote. The lawsuit then continues, quote, Shortly after the events of June 4, 2020, FBI and DOJ leadership reviewed plaintiff's actions and correctly determined that they were consistent with FBI policy and warranted no adverse action of any kind. But more than five years later, defendants want to rewrite history. After an internal review process triggered in 2025 by defendant Patel himself again failed to fault plaintiff's actions. Defendants nevertheless announced plaintiff's unlawful terminations in identical single page letters accusing them of unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties leading to the political weaponization of government, end quote. Now, the plaintiffs say the real reason for their firings is because of Patel's belief that the action of kneeling amounted to a political message against Trump, when in reality they were this was merely a tactical decision and not political at all. So basically, the plaintiffs allege that their terminations amount to violations of their first and Fifth Amendment rights. Specifically, they say their First Amendment right was violated because they were fired solely due to perceived partisan affiliation. They claim their Fifth Amendment right has been violated because they were fired without the procedural fairness protections that they were entitled to as FBI personnel. So the plaintiffs are seeking reinstatement, back pay, expungement of records of having been terminated, a declaratory judgment that their constitutional rights were in fact violated, and a hearing for the clearing of their names. So far, the FBI has declined to comment on the lawsuit, which is standard when it comes to the FBI commenting on litigation like this. Let's do some quick hitters. The Federal Reserve cut rates for the third straight time on Wednesday, placing the rate in a range of 3.5 to 3.75%. The vote was split 9 to 3, with most policymakers favoring the cut. But a minority was were in favor of holding the rate where it was. One policymaker even wanted a bigger cut. In making this decision, the Fed weighed whether to lower rates to stimulate borrowing and job growth or increase rates to bring inflation down and cool demand. The Fed's next meeting is January 28th. US Customs and Border Protection has proposed a federal rule that would require certain foreign tourists to to provide five years of social media history when applying to visit the United States. If finalized this rule would add a mandatory social media check to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization form, which is a form used by tourists from countries that are included in the US Visa Waiver Program. In addition to social media checks, CBP would also require email addresses from the last 10 years, phone numbers from the last five years, names and details of family members, and uploaded selfies. The US State Department has changed its official font from Calibri to Times New Roman. The change to Calibri was made two years ago under the Biden administration on the recommendation of the State Department's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. At the time, the department said switching to Calibri would help people with certain visual disabilities, disabilities like like bad vision and dyslexia read better. Before the Biden administration change, Times New Roman had been the department's official font for roughly 20 years. The Commerce Department has officially opened applications for a Gold Card, which is the administration's new expedited route to residency here in the United States. Per the program's website, applicants have to pay a non refundable $15,000 processing fee and and if they're approved, an additional $1 million, though companies who are sponsoring employees pay $2 million per employee. If you want to learn more about this Gold Card program, tune into my February 27, 2025 episode. I did a whole story on it there so you're there's there's plenty for you to learn in that episode. Again, that's February 27, 2025. New York City Mayor Elect Zoran Mamdani is making news for appointing rapper and ex convict Mycel Lennon his Criminal Legal System Transition committee. Lennon served seven years in prison after being convicted for two armed robberies in 1999. Since his release, he's become a social justice activist and he co founded an organization that combats racial injustice. The transition team that he is set to serve on will begin advising the mayor's administration once he's sworn in on January 1st. And MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who's been a vocal supporter of President Trump over the years, announced today that he is running for governor of Minnesota. He will face Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Lisa DeMuth, State Representative Kristen Robbins, former State Senator Scott Jensen and a Minneapolis attorney in the Republican primary. Lindell previously considered running for governorship in 2018 and 2022. And now it's time for Rumor has It, my weekly segment where I address recent rumors submitted by all of you and either confirm them, dispel them and or add context. Today we just have one rumor has it that President Trump changed the dates for when national park admission is free and raised the price of admission on MLK day and Juneteenth. So the first part of this rumor is true. The second part is false. Trump did change the dates for when park admission is free, but he did not raise the price of admission on MLK day or Juneteenth. I mean, I guess you could make that argument, right, because now those days are no longer free. But there were rumors swirling that I think there was like a $5 surcharge on those dates, which is not true. So just to add a little more context here, late last month, the department of the Interior announced changes to the national park free entrance day list for 2026. And one of the more notable changes is that the free entrance days will only apply to US citizens and US residents. Starting in 2026, non residents and non citizens will be required to pay the standard fees, plus an additional $100 surcharge at certain parks. But people are also talking about these date changes. So the administration added and also removed five free entrance dates from the calendar. It removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, the first day of national Park Week, the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors act, which is a bipartisan law that funds maintenance on public lands. And then also the National Public Lands day. The administration added Presidents Day, Flag Day, which is also president Trump's birthday, Independence day weekend. So July 3rd, 4th and 5th, Theodore Roosevelt's birthday, and Constitution Day. So in total, in 2026, there will be 10 free admission days for US citizens and residents. And those include President's day, Memorial day, Flag Day, also Trump's birthday, the entirety of Independence day weekend, the 110th birthday of the National Park Service, Constitution day, Theodore Roosevelt's birthday, and Veterans Day. The Department of the interior framed these changes as, quote, resident only, patriotic features, fee free days, end quote. The secretary of the interior posted on X, quote, these policies ensure that u. S. Taxpayers who already support the national Park Service continue to enjoy affordable access while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations, end quote. Now, just for even more context, okay, free entrance day policies have varied considerably across administrations. In 2015, there were nine free entrance days. In 2016, that number actually went up to 16 free days. That was to celebrate the Park Services 100th anniversary. In 2017, once the centennial celebration ended, the number went back down to 10. In 2018, the number dropped to four. Then in 2021 through 2025, the number went up to five free days, though there was one year in between that had six. And now in 2026, the number will return to 10 free days. So that's what you need to know about that. And now for some critical thinking. For today's segment, let's revisit a quick hitter. Specifically, the story about Momdani appointing an ex convict turned social justice activist. Because this storyline has has sparked some pretty significant debate. So for those of you who oppose the appointment of an ex convict, is there any circumstance in which you would support an appointment like this? In other words, what criteria would someone with a criminal record have to meet in order to be an acceptable choice in your eyes? And does the way that you see this change depending on what position the person is holding? So if you oppose this person being appointed to this legal system transition team, do you similarly oppose an ex convict holding the office of mayor or the office of president? And then finally, do you think there's an argument to be made that people with lived experiences in the justice system can offer insights that traditional policymakers with no criminal record might not have? Now, for those of you who support this appointment, assuming you believe in second chances, right, what safeguards or limits should exist when someone with a serious criminal record is appointed to advise on criminal justice policy? And is there a risk in overcorrecting meaning in trying to elevate voices like linens? Is it possible that we unintentionally overlook candidates with stronger policy background or stronger administrative experience? And then here's a question for everyone, regardless of where you stand on this issue. Assuming Lennon takes this role once Mamdani is sworn in on the 1st how should the city evaluate the effectiveness of this appointment after the fact? What should the criteria be? What should the city look at when determining whether this appointment was a good one? That is what I have for you. Do not forget to email me your good news stories. Don't forget to submit your dilemmas for peace talks. And be sure to subscribe to the newsletter if you're not already. Because I do have a news new newsletter going out tomorrow morning. All of those links you can find in the show notes of this episode. Have a fantastic weekend and I will talk to you tomorrow for peace talks.
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