Behind the scenes: Ballard back in West Wing
Why it matters: Ballard, a longtime Trump fundraiser and adviser who once lobbied for the Trump Organization, earned the ire of the White House after his firm circumvented the regular channels for lobbying on behalf of a cryptocurrency client.
A Ballard Partners associate persuaded Trump at a fundraiser to issue a March 2 Truth Social post that benefited the company Ripple Labs, a Ballard client.
Trump's post blindsided the White House's crypto czar, David Sacks, who promptly complained.
The intrigue: Several Trump allies struck back Thursday via a brutal Politico story that detailed the controversy and said Ballard was frozen out.
That would be close to a death sentence for a firm whose substantial Washington presence is tied in great part to his access to the president and senior administration officials — including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who worked for Ballard years ago.
So Ballard cut short a European vacation and scored a meeting with Trump and Wiles.
Inside the room:"They had a good conversation," said an administration source familiar with the "very cordial" meeting. "The president spoke his piece. Brian spoke his, and apologized."
"There's a reset. It's back."
The big picture: The underlying story provides a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of the way power flows around Trump — and shows just how difficult it is for Trump's staff to keep special interests at bay.
"Ballard's not a pariah, at least not anymore," said a second source familiar with the meeting. "You don't get a 30-minute meeting with the president and Susie and not have clout."
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After the WSJ story broke Thursday, Trump asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to release 'any and all pertinent grand jury testimony, subject to court approval' that was gathered by New York federal prosecutors in 2019. But just because people associated with Epstein doesn't make them complicit in his crimes. The DOJ and FBI have said there is no 'Epstein client list,' as in a list of men to whom he pimped out underage girls. What does exist is Epstein's 'little black book,' bulging with 1,971 names, uncovered in 2009 when his butler tried to sell it. It has been the subject of intense reporting, but you can't judge the names guilty just because Epstein had their number. 'There are a lot of names associated with Epstein that had nothing to do with Epstein's conduct,' broadcaster Bill O'Reilly said last week, quoting Trump. 'They maybe had lunch with him or maybe had some correspondence. 'If that name gets out, those people are destroyed — because there's not going to be any context. The media doesn't care about context — so you can't do that.' Many of the now-adult victims of Epstein were cheated of their chance to confront their tormentor in court because he died in pretrial detention. But the judge allowed them to testify in the Manhattan federal courtroom where Epstein would have been tried, to tell the world what his sexual depravity meant. I was in that courtroom in August 2019 to witness this display of feminine courage as 17 young women lined up at a microphone, heads held high, to place their suffering on the record. Six others had their lawyers read out letters. Through tears and shaky voices, they told their stories so we would understand the toll of broken trust. 'I was nothing more than a teenage prostitute. I was his slave,' said one victim who was a 16-year-old virgin when she says Epstein raped her. The most outspoken victim, Virginia Giuffre, who reportedly committed suicide three months ago, told the court: 'Epstein did not act alone.' Get Miranda's latest take Sign up for Devine Online, the newsletter from Miranda Devine Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Want even more news? Check out more newsletters Giuffre, who fell prey to Epstein at 16, alleged she was 'passed around like a platter of fruit' to 'powerful men,' including Prince Andrew, who settled out of court after she sued him for sexual abuse. She accused other powerful men, but never Trump. In fact, in her 2015 memoir, she explicitly ruled out Trump. As much as the liberal media is salivating at the prospect of another Get-Trump pile-on, there is just nothing there. 'X is not reality' Meanwhile, the same media is ignoring the latest bombshell revelation in the Russiagate scandal unveiled last week by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, where the evidence of wrongdoing by President Barack Obama and his henchmen exists and is compelling. Trump is having the last laugh, anyway, as CNN pollster Harry Enten pointed out last week. 'If anything Donald Trump's approval rating has gone up since this whole Epstein saga started,' Enten said. 'He is at the apex or close to it in terms of his popularity [with Republicans], Epstein Files complaints or not. Who knew Twitter and X are not reality.' It just goes to prove the noisiest loudmouths who claim to represent MAGA just represent themselves.
