Politics Chat, February 19, 2026

The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the widening implications of the Epstein files, intelligence and influence networks tied to Jeffrey Epstein, scrutiny of Epstein-linked financial records and Senate pressure on Treasury disclosures, South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol sentenced after a failed self-coup attempt, the rise of the unitary executive theory and expanding presidential immunity after the 2024 Supreme Court decision, Trump’s “Board of Peace” meeting and efforts to supplant postwar international institutions, a reported White House plan to recreate a U.S.-based alternative to the World Health Organization, the Congressional Review Act push targeting the Boundary Waters and broader public-lands protections, U.S. force buildup and strike considerations involving Iran alongside deficit concerns, and signs of a widening pro-democracy cultural and grassroots mobilization.---Politics Chat is recorded live on YouTube and Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm Maine time (3 PM PT / 6 PM ET).Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/sMhDg6OIqJI?si=0ltGZmEBSrApCl3A Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe