Doug Casey: Although I lived in DC for almost half my life, since my father's side of the family has been there since the 1850s, I'm now out of touch with Mordor and its denizens. Therefore, I can't retail any fresh scuttlebutt to you. The fact is that all any of us really know—or rather think we know—is what we hear, read, or see on the news. And most of that is propaganda, lies, half-truths, conjectures, psy-ops, or just plain stupidity.

That said, I'm inclined to believe the worst because of the type of people who are naturally drawn to Washington, DC. All political centers are similar—DC, Brussels, Tel Aviv, right down to the county seat of Dogpatch. A certain type of person is drawn to Hollywood, and a different type to Las Vegas, a different type to New York. DC attracts busybodies, do-gooders, ideologues, and power junkies, among others. They're America's criminal class. Frankly, DC makes my skin crawl. And the place has gotten much worse than it was when I lived there.

In any event, the so-called "intelligence community" is in its own world. I love the way they're referred to as a "community," as if it were a beneficial social group. The CIA and other praetorian agencies each have their own "campus" in and around DC, their denizens sequestered in their siloes, associating mainly with each other.

The world of Intel is necessarily one of secrecy, blackmail, bribery, honey traps, murder, and lies. It's only logical to believe the very worst because of the kind of people that we're dealing with.

I suspect the CIA has closer ties with Israel's Mossad than most parts of America. They're in the same business, they're colleagues. They see the general public as the unwashed little people, pawns.

International Man: President Trump appears to be damaging his reputation and approval ratings due to the Epstein scandal, even resorting to insults directed at his own supporters. What do you make of this situation?

Doug Casey: It's stupid to accuse your supporters of being stupid, as Trump has done. Americans, Trump lovers and haters alike, just want to know how "their" government and its employees are involved regarding the allegations against Epstein. Why were only Epstein and Ghislaine indicted? Who were the rich and famous men they were pimping for? Will the victims ever get justice? Did Epstein become a billionaire by shaking down his clients? Why is Ghislaine, who knows all, not being asked to testify?