The Hound | April 23

Hi there,

It’s Thursday. The Navy Secretary is departing, another top defense official leaving amid the Iran War and Pete Hegseth’s attempt to remake the military. The Pentagon was caught altering the number of wounded-in-action troops, covering up casualties. And in the House, Rep. Jim Comer is working overtime to curtail the Epstein investigation.

Efforts led by Comer to curtail or redirect investigations are not routine oversight decisions—they risk ending accountability in one of the most disturbing scandals in recent history. When attempts to halt an investigation into a powerful network of abuse are framed as inside-baseball politics, the public is left without a clear understanding of how accountability can be quietly dismantled.

🖊️ Add your name to call on major news organizations to cover these actions clearly and forcefully as an effort to limit scrutiny and shut down accountability—examining who benefits, what questions remain unanswered, and why the investigation is being curtailed now.

The public deserves reporting that exposes when powerful figures move to escape scrutiny.

Read about this, and more, with today’s stories:

James Comer Is Effectively Killing the Epstein Investigation (The New Republic)

Pentagon says Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving, in latest departure of a top defense leader (AP News)

Pentagon Erases Wounded U.S. Troops From Iran War Casualty List: “Definition of a Cover-up” (The Intercept)

The Working Families Party Goes National (The American Prospect)

The tariff refund process has begun for businesses. What about customers? (NPR)

Major Livestock and Animal Agriculture Companies Are Making Climate Promises They Aren’t Keeping (Inside Climate News)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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