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The Tara Palmeri Show — Government
The Tara Palmeri Show

Welcome to The Tara Palmeri Show!
Tara Palmeri is one of the most feared and fearless political journalists. As a deeply-sourced reporter, she brings her audience inside the machinations of the highest level of power. Her quick wit and unvarnished reporting goes beyond the headlines, offering a deeper understanding of the intrigues of the permanent political class. This show is not about platitudes. Rather it’s about what’s really happening at the highest levels of power and the inside conversation.
Tara has covered national politics and foreign affairs for fifteen years. She was formerly a White House Correspondent for ABC News, where she covered the first Trump administration. She was the Chief National Correspondent for POLITICO during the Biden administration. She has been a political analyst for CNBC, CBS and CNN. She’s also worked for the Washington Examiner, the New York Post, POLITICO Europe and Puck, and she hosted The Ringer’s election podcast “Somebody’s Gotta Win.” Tara also hosted two acclaimed podcasts on Jeffrey Epstein called “Broken: Jeffrey Epstein” and “Power: The Maxwells.”
Subscribe to her weekly newsletter The Red Letter on Substack
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Latest Episodes:

Why Ghislaine Maxwell Could Be More Valuable Than You Think Apr 21, 2026

Show notes

Tara Palmeri joins former CIA officers John Sipher and Jerry O'Shea on Mission Implausible to break down the Ghislaine Maxwell VIP prison treatment, Trump's refusal to rule out a pardon, and the DOJ sitting on 99% of the Epstein files. Why was a convicted sex trafficker transferred to the lowest-security federal facility — and given a puppy — after meeting with Todd Blanch, Trump's former personal lawyer? Why has the DOJ only released 1% of the total Epstein package while pulling prosecutors off counterintelligence cases to work on redactions? And why are survivors still living in fear while Ghislaine gets vegan food and haircuts? Tara also explains how Ghislaine wasn't just Epstein's girlfriend — she was the mastermind, the crueler perpetrator, the "Mary Poppins" who lured girls in with her posh accent and then abused them out of jealousy.

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How Independent Journalists Are Breaking the Stories Legacy Media Won't Touch Apr 19, 2026

Show notes

Tara joins a panel at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy alongside journalist Julia Angwin, Marissa Kabas of The Hand Basket, and Memo Torres of LA Taco for a conversation on resistance journalism in the Trump era. The panel covers how independent journalists are breaking the biggest stories — from federal funding freezes to the Swalwell scandal to ICE raid coverage — while facing daily legal threats, zero institutional support, and shrinking trust in legacy media. They also dig into objectivity vs. honesty, the symbiotic relationship between indie and legacy media, and why reader-supported journalism may be the only model that can't be captured. #journalism #politics #independent 0:00 – Julia Angwin opens: the climate for US journalism has changed dramatically 2:39 – Capturing the media landscape is a hallmark of authoritarianism 3:32 – Marissa Kabas intro: from one leak to becoming the hub for government whistleblowers 5:46 – Why people trust independent journalists over legacy institutions right now 6:45 – Tara intro: covering the Epstein story solo with daily legal threats 7:28 – "Most days I get a legal threat — I got one yesterday, I'll probably get another today" 8:27 – Victims have told Congress there are other men living free with no consequences 9:19 – Melania's surprise Epstein statement — "we're only at the tip of the iceberg" 9:52 – The Swalwell story was broken by content creators, not legacy media 10:54 – "If that independent journalist hadn't got the story out, he'd be the next governor of California" 12:14 – Memo Torres intro: from covering tacos to covering ICE raids in LA 13:47 – Soccer moms, nurses, and mechanics became grassroots intelligence agents 16:26 – Debunking viral misinformation: the influencer, the old lady, and the eggs 18:44 – Reader-supported journalism: no corporate boss, no advertiser pressure 21:42 – Tara on audience relationship: "my agenda is social justice — is that a bad thing?" 23:08 – The comment section as an investigative community 25:27 – Legacy media's failure: "they started vertical videos and think they're cool now" 28:38 – Memo's Daily Memo: strangers crying on the street because of what he's reported 33:34 – Marissa: "I hold myself to an even higher standard because of the legal burden" 37:34 – Tara on running a 5-person operation and pitching litigious stories to mainstream outlets 40:15 – Memo: LA Taco's ICE death database — past 60 deaths and counting 42:25 – The objectivity debate: Marissa, Tara, and Memo each weigh in 46:40 – Tara: "The muckrakers changed this country with the power of the pen" 47:13 – Memo: "Objectivity is bullshit — honesty is more important" 50:35 – Q&A: How do you keep community connection as your audience scales?

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Inside Michael Wolff's uncomfortably close relationship with Epstein Apr 17, 2026

Show notes

Who is the real Michael Wolff? Tara joins Lev Parnas and investigative journalist Ellie Leonard to pull back the curtain on the man who calls himself the "Epstein whisperer." Wolff raised nearly $1 million through GoFundMe claiming he'd depose Melania Trump — but the anti-SLAPP lawsuit he filed can't actually lead to depositions. They also break down Michael Cohen's shifting story about the Katie Johnson case and why both men are now attacking the independent journalists actually doing the work.

00:00 – Intro: Who is the real Michael Wolff?

0:46 – Michael Cohen and Wolff team up to call Tara and Ellie "conspiracy theorists"

2:02 – Tara: "I've never been called a conspiracy theorist in 18 years of journalism"

2:42 – Wolff, Cohen, and the podcast where they attacked independent journalists

3:10 – The bid to buy New York magazine with Epstein AND Harvey Weinstein — documented

5:07 – Cohen and Wolff playing clip: they call Tara and Ellie "far-left activists"

7:13 – Michael Cohen's collapsing Katie Johnson story — private investigators, contradicting lawyers

10:19 – Wolff is sitting on Epstein tapes and shopping them to the highest bidder

13:57 – The GoFundMe anti-SLAPP lawsuit explained: it can't actually lead to depositions

16:02 – Wolff says he has Epstein on tape — so why not just release it?

18:28 – He's thinking about the perpetrators staying quiet, not the survivors speaking up

23:23 – He made $13 million on his book — why does he need a GoFundMe?

29:31 – Wolff tried to discredit Julie K. Brown, Tina Brown, Ronan Farrow — now it's us

33:07 – "I'm not getting out of the way" — Ellie on continuing the work

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Swalwell’s Donors Want Out—And Are Asking Where the Money Went Apr 16, 2026

Show notes

Tara calls in from Perugia, Italy and Nomiki Konst joins from Barcelona for a deep dive into the Eric Swalwell fallout. Donors are furious and demanding their money back, a billionaire backer is suing to claw back $1 million, and the former congressman's gubernatorial campaign is dead. Nomiki shares her own story of Swalwell aggressively flirting with her at a DNC meeting in 2018 — in full view of party leadership — raising the question of what Democrats knew and when. They also discuss the modeling industry's trafficking pipeline, how visa control keeps women trapped, Amanda Angara's explosive allegations, and why MeToo didn't go far enough the first time around.

Read the full story: https://open.substack.com/pub/tarapalmeri/p/exclusive-swalwell-donors-are-calling?r=1ili3&utm_medium=ios

1:10 – Brave women and citizen journalists broke the story first 2:49 – The rape allegation: hotel, strangulation, and campaign finance receipts that match 3:42 – Donors want their money back — the non-disparagement agreement from Politico 6:58 – Nomiki's own story: Swalwell buying her prosecco and getting touchy at a DNC meeting in 2018 8:39 – Six years later he shows up in her DMs — "I don't think he even remembered me" 10:12 – What did Democratic leadership know? The Washington protection racket 12:23 – The DC culture that enables abuse: dorms, lobbyists, young staffers, no families around 17:16 – Did Pelosi know? She was the first to call for his resignation 19:11 – TMZ enters Washington: more congressmembers will be exposed 20:14 – Amanda Angara update: not backing down, Tara working to verify explosive claims 21:03 – The modeling-trafficking pipeline: visas, dorms, and girls with no power 24:04 – Fashion TV, Paolo's company, and how young these girls looked 25:17 – The Tyra Banks documentary: the full spectrum from Epstein to supermodel 26:07 – Victoria's Secret, Les Wexner, and MC Squared's Einstein visas 29:12 – Closing: Swalwell's campaign is dead, donors are furious, and there are more to come

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Epstein, the Manosphere, and the Erasure of Women w/ Lauren Leader Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Lauren Leader — co-founder of All In Together and one of the leading voices on women in politics — joins Tara to talk about the pattern no one in Washington wants to name: every woman in Trump's cabinet is being pushed out. From Pam Bondi to Kristi Noem to Tulsi Gabbard to Linda McMahon, the firings keep coming — and Lauren explains why this is textbook "glass cliff" politics. They go deep on the manosphere's hijacking of the Epstein story, why victim testimony from women is treated as hearsay, the Victoria's Secret–Wexner–Epstein pipeline that sexualized an entire generation of girls, Joe Rogan's 11% female guest rate, Michael Wolff's Epstein ties, and why the U.S. ranks 43rd in the world for gender parity.

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0:00 – Intro: Every woman in Trump's cabinet is getting fired 2:13 – The glass cliff: women handed impossible jobs, then blamed when they fail 7:34 – Pam Bondi was a lapdog who still got fired 10:32 – The manosphere hijacks the Epstein narrative — Rogan, Fridman, all-male panels 14:30 – Joe Rogan: only 11% of his guests are women — and it shows 21:49 – "Not one of them has been fired — they all resigned. That's not the same thing" 24:43 – Victoria's Secret, Les Wexner, and how Epstein shaped a body image crisis 30:02 – Ezra Klein and Bill Maher center men in the Epstein conversation 35:50 – Michael Wolff: decades observing Epstein, offering to brief the Saudis through him 40:14 – Anna Paulina Luna's discharge petition — credit where it's due 42:25 – Mike Johnson blocking Republican women from leadership 45:07 – The pay gap got worse, black women's unemployment spiked, maternal health crisis deepens 45:31 – The Florida woman forced into a C-section mid-labor by a Zoom judge 47:29 – Outro and thanks

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Inside the Allegations Surrounding Paolo Zampolli, Melania Trump, and Jeffrey Epstein Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

Tara calls in to break down the Amanda Ungaro story — the Brazilian-born model and mother of Paolo Zampolli's child who was deported by ICE, allegedly at Paolo's request, in the middle of a custody battle. Tara and her co-host, V Spehar of Under the Desk News - go deep on how Amanda's story connects directly to the Epstein-modeling pipeline: Paolo's rivalry and friendship with Epstein, the visa system that kept women trapped, the photographer Antoine Verglas who shot Melania's most iconic photos and stayed close to Epstein, and what Amanda says about Melania's role in that world. They also get into Swalwell's downfall, why Melania made her surprise Epstein statement, the 2012 RNC party stories, and why millennial politicians may be the first generation clean enough to actually pursue accountability.

1:18 – Paolo, Epstein, and rival modeling agencies: how they recruited women through visas

2:09 – Amanda targeted at 15 from Brazil — decades-long relationship with Paolo

2:59 – Paolo called ICE to win a custody battle — the New York Times report

3:49 – Paolo in the Epstein files: frenemies who almost bought a modeling agency together

5:44 – "Jeffrey's girls were everywhere" — Paolo's own words

7:30 – Paolo at Trump inaugurations: Melania's permanent plus-one

11:15 – Steve Hanson, Epstein, and the restaurant-modeling pipeline

18:24 – Amanda remembers meeting Melania at 18 on Trump's plane

19:09 – Melania told Amanda "tough luck" after her deportation

22:44 – Why Melania should testify on the Hill

23:28 – Amanda never got a green card — that's how she could be deported after all these years

32:00 – Tara in Italy: cab drivers saying "Israel, Epstein, war, Iran" — they see it the same way

41:10 – The Epstein-chef connection: Adam Perry Lang, the pilot's flight logs

42:08 – Until millennials get power, this won't change

47:43 – Reporting out Amanda's claims: "it's explosive, and it's enough for Melania's statement"

50:28 – Swalwell, the Democratic establishment, and why Pelosi should have stopped him

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Inflation Report Drops: Why Everything Still Feels So Expensive w/ Robert Wolf Apr 10, 2026

Show notes

Robert Wolf — former UBS Americas chairman and Obama economic adviser — is back for another weekly fireside chat with Tara, and the numbers are brutal. GDP collapsed to half a percent, the CPI came in at 3.3%, and gas prices spiked 21% in a single month — the largest increase since 1967. Robert breaks down why stagflation is no longer a hypothetical, how the Iran war is creating an energy shock that's driving every indicator in the wrong direction, why Buy Now Pay Later is becoming a trap for younger Americans, and what it would actually take for the economy to recover. Plus: Kevin Hassett gaslighting on Fox, Iran potentially making $57 billion a year off a Strait of Hormuz toll, and Tara's Gen Z producer says no one coming out of college has jobs.

See the report:

https://substack.com/home/post/p-193724546

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INSIDE THE DOJ: Why Bondi Isn’t Testifying — And Why It Matters Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

Investigative reporter Scott MacFarlane — fresh off leaving CBS News to go independent — joins Tara for his first appearance on The Red Letter. They cover the DOJ's credibility crisis under acting AG Todd Blanche (who said "I love you" to the president on national TV), the Epstein files stonewalling, Pam Bondi dodging her congressional deposition, RFK Jr.'s new podcast and the measles surge, Trump framing the Iran war as a holy war, and a 25-point Democratic swing in Marjorie Taylor Greene's former district that signals real trouble for Republicans heading into the midterms.

Scott McFarlane is a veteran investigative journalist who spent 25 years covering the Justice Department and Capitol Hill, most recently at CBS News. He recently launched Scott McFarlane Reports as an independent outlet.

0:00 – Intro: Scott McFarlane goes independent after 25 years in network news

1:44 – Why indie media feels more authentic than legacy TV

2:32 – The DOJ has become the president's personal law firm

3:50 – Todd Blanche says "I love you" to Trump on national television

4:58 – The Epstein files: DOJ credibility crisis and survivor exposure

7:19 – Will a whistleblower ever release the full Epstein files?

10:45 – RFK Jr. launches a podcast — and Scott can only last six seconds of it

12:17 – Measles surging as vaccination rates drop 3% since 2020

14:34 – West Virginia's legislature gridlocked over vaccine requirements

17:15 – MAGA base is upset: Trump over-promised and under-delivered

19:53 – JD Vance and Kushner head to Islamabad — can anyone take this seriously?

20:52 – Invoking God to justify war: "you're begging for trouble"

23:04 – Georgia special election: 25-point Democratic swing in deep MAGA country

25:48 – The future of independent journalism and closing

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Title: My MAGA Family Is Turning on Trump — Why It Should Terrify Him Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

Tara Palmeri Joins Abby Phillips to discuss why the Iran War is the last straw for some of core of Trumps base.

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George Conway: Why impeaching Trump hasn’t worked Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

George Conway — once a Republican who cried tears of joy when Trump won in 2016, now a Democrat running for Congress in Manhattan — joins Tara to make his case for a third impeachment of Donald Trump. The former Federalist Society member and ex-husband of Kellyanne Conway argues this time is different: with a Democratic Senate setting the rules, a real trial with live witnesses could finally expose the corruption. They get into why he thinks impeachment can work now, how he'd pursue the Epstein files if elected, his evolution from Reagan Republican to registered Democrat, and Trump's accidental confession that the Iran conflict is a war he never got Congress to authorize. 0:00 – Cold open: "Does America have the appetite for a third impeachment?" 2:13 – Ad break 3:03 – Why Congress needs lawyers who can cross-examine, not give speeches 5:58 – Epstein: should they drag the lawyers back to testify on the Jane Doe settlement? 8:33 – The DOJ cover-up: Ghislaine Maxwell's transfer, withheld files, and malfeasance 12:54 – Impeach, remove, legislate safeguards — then document everything 13:07 – But impeachment hasn't worked before — why is this time different? 15:08 – A real Senate trial with live witnesses, not political speeches 16:47 – "Give them JD Vance" — Conway says Vance could be impeached too 18:09 – Won't impeachment talk activate Trump's base? 23:07 – The race: Conway vs. Jack Schlossberg in New York's 12th 24:49 – Political dynasties vs. fresh faces — the Democratic Party's best moments 27:09 – Substance vs. brand: Schlossberg is a TikTok star, Conway is a litigator 28:02 – The polls: Schlossberg 25%, Conway 16%, Undecided 33% 29:23 – "Why am I a Republican?" — Conway's ideological journey since 2018 35:14 – Roe v. Wade: Conway's position and the Women's Health Protection Act 39:36 – Trump calls the war a "military operation" — Conway says that's a confession 42:16 – Audience comment: a conservative looking for a label that fits his ethics 42:53 – Outro and thanks

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