Week 103 — The Return

With one week until the midterm election, multiple pollsters found the top issue on voters’ minds was corruption in government. Each week, we’ve covered a myriad of examples of Trump, his family, and regime enriching themselves, but it’s not only that. This week we see that our foreign policy, rather than being centered on traditional alliances, is instead being shaped by Trump and his allies’ financial interests.

And it’s not only Trump. This week there were also concerns over concentration of power by America’s version of the oligarchs, not just in politics, but also in shaping public opinion and foreign policy. Billionaire Elon Musk not only broke records with his political donations, but also had outsized influence and sought benefit from U.S. foreign policy. Billionaires controlling media outlets and social media took biased and inexplicable actions this week, raising public outcry.

These concerns, as well as concerns on the cost of living, were downplayed by Trump and his regime. Barnstorming the country at campaign rallies as the GOP’s prospects were fading, Trump mused about $5,000 hamburgers at Mar-a-Lago, while his chief economic advisor rejected affordability concerns as a “myth.” Meanwhile, Trump, *his* Justice Department, and far-right influencers sought any and all means to preemptively discredit the election. The DOJ used a ‘flood-the-zone’ strategy to pursue not only Trump’s grievances and perceived enemies ahead of the election, but also to sow mistrust by baselessly litigating against states while voting was already underway.

Overall, this was a dark and chaotic week. Most Americans are consumed with the election, and deeply worried about Trump accepting the results. Meanwhile, the stories this week continue to reveal widespread corruption, and disregard for the rule of law and norms. The hope of many is that midterms will at long last offer a check on Trump’s unbridled power, and accountability for those ruthlessly and lawlessly operating around him.

1. NYT reported, for the first time, bipartisan state and local elections officials are planning around, and training poll workers for, the possibility of an undemocratic federal government intervention by the Trump regime, preparing for a vast array of scenarios.
2. Several election officials noted that such preparations were unprecedented. For officials who are Democrats, the notion of public discussions and pre-election planning are fraught, recognizing that their open discussions could intimidate voters from going to the polls.
3. WAPO reported in the final weeks ahead of midterms, Trump and his allies had worked to sow doubts about the election, with nearly 600 high-profile, right-wing social media accounts pushing out more than 7,000 posts questioning election integrity.
4. WAPO reported that after the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security devoted massive resources to finding noncitizen votes, scouring tens of millions of records in 20 states, just 180 voter-fraud cases have been brought, with 70% of the cases being brought in the past two months.
5. Of the cases, many were related to honest mistakes. None of the cases revealed any organized effort to cheat. Of the 180 cases, party affiliation was available for 61, and those were split roughly evenly between Republicans and Democrats.
6. NYT reported that the DOJ was using a ‘flood the zone’ strategy of cases ahead of midterms to placate Trump, pursuing his grievances and perceived enemies, and his baseless claims of election fraud, despite longstanding DOJ policy of not doing so within 60 days of an election.
7. Despite Attorney General Todd Blanche baselessly claiming, “We don’t do political paybacks,” the cases targeted Democrats Rep. Ilhan Omar and state Sen. Louise Lucas; James Comey; the search of a home of a political donor to Eric Swalwell; and a close election in Alaska.
8. In its haste, many of the DOJ filings had typos, or were missing words. Many were signed by department’s senior leadership, rather than what would normally be the prosecutors on the case, or leaders of their sections.
9. FBI Director Kash Patel also took orders directly from Trump. After Trump’s July speech blaming China for interfering in the 2020 election, Patel sent a letter to the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City to investigate two agents whose report had downplayed Trump’s claim.
10. Although the inquiry was viewed as a “witch hunt” in the office, prosecutors investigated two former FBI agents, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, who testified to Congress in 2023 about Hunter Biden, and charged them with a criminal complaint, without a jury indictment.
11. Prosecutors also tried to add a new obstruction count in a revised complaint filed at midnight the night before the hearing, without any judicial approval, calling it a “novel” tactic in court. The judge countered it was not just novel, it was unprecedented.
12. On Monday, a judge unsealed charges by the Trump regime against James Comey, the third time they had charged him. Prosecutors did not obtain a grand jury indictment, but rather charged him with directing his staff to speak to the NYT about email surveillance in October 2016.
13. The charges were filed on October 5. Comey’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss 10 days ago, citing, “the charges should be tossed out because of statute-of-limitations issues.” Comey called it “an appalling abuse” of the DOJ, and “one that we cannot become numb to.”
14. On Tuesday, a grand jury in Washington D.C. failed to indict former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson on the Trump regime’s charges of lying to Congress in her testimony on the Jan. 6 insurrection.
15. NYT reported at least eight current U.S. attorneys, only three of which had been Senate confirmed, were actively pursuing cases involving Trump’s election and personal grievances, many with thin evidence, representing a breakdown of the traditional independence of the DOJ.
16. Two of the cases came directly at Trump’s direction, including U.S. attorney in Minnesota Daniel Rosen prosecuting Rep. Omar. Other attorneys included Bill Essayli, John Sarcone, Dan Bishop, Jason Reding Quiñones, Jeanine Pirro, W. Ellis Boyle, and Andrew Boutros.
17. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled Trump appointee U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles Bill Essayli was “unlawfully” serving, having passed 120 days without being Senate confirmed. The judge ordered Essayli could not supervise attorneys or work on two criminal cases while he appealed.
18. WAPO reported that an analysis by Partnership for Public Service found that heading into midterms, the Trump regime had the most unfilled Senate-confirmed positions since president Ronald Reagan, citing high turnover, slow confirmations, and nominees that were later withdrawn.
19. In the first year of the second regime, Trump nominated 452 candidates, but only 186 in the second year. Of the 638 candidates, 466 were confirmed, while 245 Senate-confirmed positions still had no nominee.
20. On Wednesday, when asked about waiving sanctions on Russia, Trump chastised the female ABC News reporter, saying, “Are you a stupid person? Who do you work for?” and when she answered, added, “You’re a stupid person. And by the way, your network is the worst of all.”
21. When asked again about the sanctions by female journalist Kaitlan Collins of CNN, Trump said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about you’re a dummy,” adding, “You’re a low IQ person, you’re a dummy and you work for CNN.”
22. On Thursday, the Independent’s Andrew Feinberg was pulled from his scheduled duty to serve as the print pool reporter, after earlier in the week Trump called him a “sick person” when he asked about the new D.C. golf course.
23. White House Correspondents’ Association President Jacqui Heinrich condemned the decision, calling it “retaliation,” adding the public has a right “to an independent press” and reporters should be “able to do their jobs” without fear that challenging Trump “will cut off their access.”
24. Axios reported the White House counsel’s office said in a letter to Politico’s global editor in chief that the publication had 48 hours to retract or correct recent stories about alleged staff drama, or face unspecified “consequences,” adding, “all options are on the table.”
25. Two days later, Politico added a note to the article, saying, “CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report…mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia’s interview” on Fox News, adding she did not play a direct role.
26. On Thursday, Politico reported that Musk had donated another $76 million to Republican super PACs, bringing his total this cycle to $442 million, an unprecedented amount for any donor, and far exceeding the $290 million he donated in 2024.
27. Researchers at NewsGuard, a watchdog group that rates the credibility of news and information, found that Community Notes on Musk’s X platform had failed to flag the vast majority of false claims related to the U.S. midterms, including those shared by Musk.
28. Musk, who donated $158 million to back Democrat James Talarico’s opponent in the Texas Senate race, spent the week attacking Talarico on X. Talarico in turn called out Musk at X and at a rally said, “Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our tax dollars,” and was trying to buy a senate seat.
29. On Thursday, NYT reported that Storm-1516, a covert Russian influence operation, was targeting Talarico by spreading a fabricated claim of misconduct.
30. The Writers Guild of America praised a newly released documentary on Musk, but in a statement warned over the past weeks, “‘MUSK’ has been subject to an overt censorship campaign” by “every major social media platform,” all of which were under billionaires’ control.
31. On Tuesday, Florida U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon, a Democrat, said Meta “suddenly took down” an Instagram account her campaign was using “while we were actively posting content from the event.”
32. In his new memoir, veteran WAPO reporter Bob Woodward criticized billionaire Jeff Bezos, owner of the Post, saying after initially telling him, “Don’t worry, I have your back, Bob, I’ll always have your back” in 2018, Bezos had compromised the newspaper in deference to Trump.
33. On Monday, press freedom groups sued the Trump regime over its barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying the ban violated the rights of ordinary citizens. CNN and Politico were barred Monday from the travel pool on Air Force One. Axios sent notes from the “secondary” pool seat.
34. On Thursday, WSJ reported that according to U.S. officials, Trump called Musk on Wednesday, after reading the Journal’s reporting, and asked him to lift the restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine. The service was reportedly working more normally Thursday.
35. On Thursday, Trump told reporters that Musk had lifted all restrictions on Ukraine’s access to Starlink, saying Musk had “put it back.” Ukrainian officials refuted that claim, saying there were still interruptions in the service.
36. When asked again about the lost access on Friday, Trump said of Musk, “I have not spoken to him,” adding, “I might have to, but I have not,” and “I’ve heard it was fixed, but if it’s not, I’ll fix it.”
37. On Friday, First Lady Melania Trump told reporters she had been secretly working with Putin for months to reunite eight separated children with their families in Ukraine. Her adviser, Marc Beckman, lied that Russian children were also being kidnapped by Ukraine.
38. On Saturday, Musk acknowledged on X that Starlink had throttled access for Ukraine, claiming, “Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service,” and using Starlink “for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed.” Ukrainian officials called this a lie.
39. Bipartisan members of Congress spoke out on Starlink, threatening to block Trump’s nominees from moving forward unless Starlink was restored. Many also spoke about Musk being a tech CEO and private citizen, and having so much say over national security decisions.
40. On Monday, Russian ballistic missiles struck a university in Kyiv, killing one and injuring 15. There were no military facilities nearby. Defense Department Sec. Pete Hegseth had yet to sign off on paperwork allowing for patriot interceptors to be sent to Ukraine from its allies.
41. On Tuesday, NYT reported Trump was considering lifting sanctions on Russian Direct Investment Fund, Russia’s flagship investment fund, which Putin used to wield power. A Trump regime official called it an effort to “improve U.S.-Russia relations and help end the war.”
42. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had repeatedly met with Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the fund. Dmitriev said at a conference in Moscow that his fund was prepared to handle U.S. payments for Russian diesel, as a “concrete example” that “sanctions are, in principle, philosophically wrong.”
43. FT reported that Joel Riddle, the U.S. CEO of Polar LNG, a $25 billion U.S. gas export venture in Alaska launched in March, resigned after accusing Russia’s energy giant Novatek of secretly controlling the project. Almost all senior management resigned shortly thereafter.
44. Riddle had discovered that Novatek was already financing the venture and directing its operations before the necessary approvals for exemptions from U.S. sanctions were given. Novatek was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in 2023 over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
45. After the FT reporting, Polar LNG described Riddle as a “disgruntled former employee.” Novatek told NYT that it was moving to acquire “minority shareholder” status in the Polar LNG project, a move that would give a Russian energy company ownership of U.S. gas production.
46. NYT reported the Polar LNG deal had been discussed in talks with Kushner and Witkoff and Russians, along with selling part of Lukoil. The effort to bring Novatek equipment to Alaska included Gentry Beach, an investor with ties to the Trump family.
47. FT reported Donald Jr. went on a hunting trip to Mongolia over the summer with Umar Kremlev, the Russian businessman with close ties to Putin, who had bankrolled a wedding after-party for Donald Jr. Experts say the relationship was ripe for manipulation.
48. FT tallied at least 18 times that Donald Jr. and Eric met with foreign officials and politicians while traveling, including at least six current and former prime ministers or heads of state during travel to countries including Estonia, Poland, and Serbia to discuss business deals.
49. NYT reported that experts said Trump putting himself in charge of who would receive payments under his newly announced $25 million whistle-blower fund for finding fraud was highly unusual. Typically payouts are determined by a commission or federal court.
50. On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social offering a $1 million reward for voter fraud tips, saying, “Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000” upon arrest and conviction.
51. Politico reported millions of Americans were set to receive a settlement check from Amazon ahead of the midterms, as part of a $2.5 billion settlement the company reached with the FTC in 2025. A letter sent with the checks included the phrase “President Trump’s Federal Trade Commission” three times.
52. On Thursday, Reuters reported that in a presidential memo, Trump invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act on the basis that oil production was essential ​to national defense. The move allowed him to provide financial incentives for oil-related activities.
53. On Thursday, a federal judge in California blocked the Department of Homeland Security from having hundreds of agents carrying out operations in California and eight other states, to search for noncitizens who were registered to vote.
54. On Thursday, the DOJ asked a federal appeals court to intervene in its lawsuit against California, which would require the state not to count 20,000 mail-in ballots sent to voters, which the Trump regime baselessly claimed were “likely noncitizens.”
55. On Friday, the DOJ sent a letter to election officials in every county of California demanding that they help identify noncitizen voters, saying local officials would “risk significant federal scrutiny,” and again baselessly claiming there were large numbers of such voters.
56. On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled 2–1 against the Trump regime, denying its request to force California to set aside 20,000 votes, criticizing the DOJ for the last minute attempt, saying, “The United States’s claimed emergency, at least in part, is a self-constructed one.”
57. On Thursday, the DOJ sued to preemptively block Alaska from certifying its election results for the Senate if the Democrat wins by a narrow margin, citing name confusion among the candidates, as incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan had a challenger, Dan J. Sullivan.
58. Trump told reporters on Friday that he told the DOJ to sue, saying, “I’m one that said, ‘Do it.’” An earlier challenge to Dan J. Sullivan’s remaining on the ballot was rejected by Alaska’s supreme court. The race was close, and would be a pick up for Democrats.
59. The other Alaska senator, GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, posted on X, “the State of Alaska has already handled this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot,” adding, “The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit.”
60. Trump attacked Murkowski on Truth Social, posting that she was “a DISGRACE to Alaska and our Country,” and “You just don’t get any worse!” and adding, “They’ve been trying to get rid of Lisa Murkowski forever in Alaska,” blaming the “Ranked Choice Voting SCAM.”
61. On Monday, the State of Alaska filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the regime’s lawsuit, detailing the state’s actions to ensure that voters know the difference between the two Sullivans, and saying the regime was trying to cast doubt on their election.
62. On Monday, the DOJ sent a letter to Washington state, asking the secretary of state to set aside more than 400 ballots from voters it claimed may be noncitizens. In the letter, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington misspelled voter rolls as “roles.”
63. On Thursday, AG Blanche refused to rule out the DOJ would be involved in post-election action when pressed by reporters, saying it was not his intention to “improperly interfere with elections,” but that there could be some sort of “doomsday” scenario.
64. Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon told “60 Minutes” that “absent some shocking contingency that is unexpected, there should be no interruption” in counting or certifying results. NYT reported Trump was upset with Dhillon for downplaying the risk of illegal voting.
65. On Saturday, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump cast their ballots in early voting in Florida. In the past, Trump has said early voting is “stupid” and “ridiculous,” and that “We should have one-day voting.”
66. On Wednesday, NBC News reported the Pentagon had quietly drawn down troop presence at bases in the Middle East, and the State Department ordered a reduction of staffers at diplomatic posts in the region. Similar steps were taken before Trump started the Iran war.
67. Bloomberg reported that at least 199 Jan. 6 insurrectionists, so far, who were pardoned by Trump, had sued the U.S. government for millions of dollars, alleging mistreatment by prosecutors, federal agents, and prison officials. Trump’s DOJ had yet to pick a side on the lawsuits.
68. WSJ reported the DOJ had opened an inquiry into whether Corey Lewandowski had profited from his top position at the Department of Homeland Security, after a referral from the DHS inspector general, the first investigation of someone close to Trump during the second regime.
69. On Thursday, the New York Post reported that Chris LaCivita and James Blair, two of Trump’s top political operatives, had donated their hundreds of thousands in consulting fees earned for their work for Republika Srpska, to Trump’s future presidential library.
70. On Friday, a CNBC economic survey found that 36% of those surveyed said government corruption was the most important issue facing the country right now, followed by the cost of food and groceries (34%), protecting democracy (23%), and the price of gas (23%).
71. The Washington Sun reported that top officials at the State Department were asking officers up for promotion whether they voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and only those who did were eligible for the mid-to-upper level foreign service roles.
72. Candidates also said that their campaign donation histories were examined, and any donation to a Democrat would be disqualifying. Federal law prohibits federal officials from basing hiring and promotion decisions on political affiliation.
73. On Thursday, Trump praised a controversial ad by Vivek Ramaswamy attacking Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, featuring her estranged mother who lost custody of her when she was 12, when her stepfather was indicted for sexually assaulting her.
74. Despite many Republicans, including Ohio’s outgoing Republican governor, condemning the ad, Trump told reporters that the ad was “very powerful,” that he should keep running it, saying, “leave it up and look upstairs and say: ‘thank you, God, very much.’”
75. On Sunday, Aleksandar Vucic, the long-serving strongman leader of Serbia and Putin ally, conceded defeat. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a vocal critic of Trump, defeated Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro, who Lula defeated in the last election.
76. Trump told reporters on Monday, without evidence, on the Brazilian election, “I didn’t take ​sides, but it looked like another rigged election,” adding, “​it looked very bad to me.” Musk also cast doubt on the election, posting on X, “Math doesn’t add up.”
77. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Flávio Bolsonaro had left Brazil for the U.S., after he was ordered by the Brazilian Supreme Court to hand over his ​passports within 24 hours to face a money laundering probe and other charges. The Trump regime granted visas to Bolsonaro and his family.
78. On Tuesday, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered an investigation into possible ties between the Rockbridge Network, a donor network co-founded by Vice President JD Vance, and Bolsonaro’s campaign. It is illegal in Brazil to accept foreign money.
79. The WSJ Editorial Board pushed back on the Trump regime’s effort to quietly push for Viktor Orban for U.N. Secretary-General, whom one regime official called “the dream MAGA-conservative candidate,” and said China and Russia would join the effort.
80. On Thursday, Trump told reporters that he called Google CEO Sundar Pichai to discuss renaming the Atlantic Ocean as the American Ocean, after musing about it at a campaign rally. He said Pichai responded, “Oceans are different, Sir,” as they border “a lot of countries.”
81. On Tuesday, Trump attacked the Wall Street Journal for using the term artificial intelligence, posting on Truth Social that AI was “a very ​bad and inaccurate name,” and adding, “In short order, we will be ​officially BANNING the ​term, “AI/Artificial ⁠Intelligence.””
82. NYT reported a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found Health and Human Services Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr.’s plan to end immunizing all newborns against hepatitis B could cause a surge, and put more than half of Americans at risk before age 20.
83. FT reported that the U.S. was set to lose its measles elimination status as determined by the World Health Organization next month amid Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism. The U.S. had 4,588 confirmed cases in October, double the number in 2025, and the most since 1991.
84. On Thursday, Calley Means, a leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement who helped Trump in 2024, resigned from his post as a top HHS adviser, citing his efforts to enact reforms on the food supply had stalled out, and Trump took steps to back corporate interests.
85. On Monday, WAPO reported that Jennifer Shuford, the CDC’s top medical officer, resigned after six months, amid Kennedy’s anti-vaccination policies. Shuford, formerly Texas’s health commissioner, was brought in to restore confidence in the agency.
86. Puck News reported Hegseth was trying to convince Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who was running for governor, to appoint him to fill her senate seat in Tennessee if she wins, in an apparent effort to avoid impeachment under Democratic control.
87. CNBC reported that according to Hegseth’s 2025 financial disclosures, at least one bank account with a de minimus balance in his 2024 nominee filing, had a balance of over $1 million.
88. On Sunday, Axios reported that Anthropic’s Claude was able to bypass a paywall and access Georgia’s publicly available voter data without human authorization, of aggregate voter counts, while working on an internal statistics voter project. Claude did not have access to voter files.
89. NYT reported that exemptions made by Trump to the Clean Air Act represented the biggest intervention in half a century. Trump exempted 202 plants in 39 states from regulations going into effect, including some of the worst polluters that spew cancer-causing gases.
90. On Saturday, the Washington Sun reported White House attorneys were evaluating giving mass pardons to junior staffers who help carry out Trump’s agenda. Although a blanket pardon was unlikely, the focus would be for those working on immigration, trade, and military matters.
91. When asked about the reporting, Trump left the door open, claiming that “I haven’t thought of it,” and adding, “in light of what Biden did — as you know, Biden shielded many people…Certainly, I haven’t thought about it, but certainly I’d be allowed to.”
92. WSJ reported on seven Trump rallies ahead of midterms in seven days. At each rally, Trump focused on the size of the crowd, all held at smaller venues than during his 2024 race, baselessly claiming that lines outside were “10 miles long” and that he had the largest crowds.
93. Trump downplayed affordability, saying at a rally in Georgia on people paying higher gas prices, “But I said, ‘I don’t give a damn, I’m gonna say it: We’re making a freaking fortune,’” and claiming “the prices would come down. Our country is getting stronger and stronger all the time.”
94. Trump was met with protestors at every rally, who would lay low then stand up and wait to interrupt Trump. Protestors were often met with violence by Trump supporters before being escorted out. The crowd then chanted, “USA! USA!” often led by Trump himself.
95. Trump increasingly focused on candidates’ and surrogates’ looks, commenting at rallies, he was “a pile of muscle” and “Look at the build on this guy.” Trump also commented on the backside of rapper Nicki Minaj as she got on stage, saying she has “one hell of a beautiful ass.”
96. At his rally in Michigan, Trump lambasted Norway, saying the country “has become a shit house country,” adding he would welcome immigrants from some ​countries, but not from Norway, “because I didn’t get the Nobel Prize…So I don’t want anybody from Norway.”
97. At his rally in Mississippi, after former president Barack Obama mused that Trump “got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Trump bragged about his pet projects, adding, “It actually relaxes me,” and “Isn’t that a nice thing to do?”
98. Trump also mused at a rally about his proposed $5,000 dividend, saying at Mar-a-Lago, “for $5,000, you will get one hamburger and a small dessert.” Kevin Hassett, Trump’s director of the National Economic Council, told Fox Business that the affordability crisis was a “myth.”
99. On Monday, Trump sent his longest ever Truth Social post, a 1300 word rant about comedian Bill Maher, whom he recently invited to the White House, but who had been critical of him on his show, saying, “Bill: Don’t call anymore,” and calling him a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER.”
100. In the post, Trump added that he was “not building a swimming pool in the White House briefing room,” but confirmed recent reporting that he was considering moving the press out of the briefing room space, saying, “I will use that location for very badly needed space.”
101. On Monday, a federal judge ruled that Trump and the DOJ “unlawfully” fired Maurene Comey from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, saying the firing violated civil service rules. The judge ordered that Comey be reinstated with back pay. The regime said it would appeal.
102. WAPO reported that Republican campaigns and political groups spent more than $3 million at Trump properties, including $1.4 million at Mar-a-Lago and $1.1 million at Trump National Doral. The Republican National Committee was the largest spender, at $1.8 million.
103. On Monday, a group of Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released a new report, citing Trump as being “an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of young women,” and called for the appointment of an independent special counsel to investigate his ties.
104. The report included a new allegation by former Miss Switzerland Beatrice Keul that Trump raped her at the Plaza Hotel in November 1993, and that Trump, Epstein, and others used his beauty pageant as a “‘hunting ground’ to prey on vulnerable young women and girls.”
105. On Monday, a federal judge extended an order blocking the Trump regime from renovating the East Potomac Golf Course, after the DOJ claimed Trump’s post about having a final plan was not true. The judge ordered the regime to give 10 days notice in writing for major changes.
106. The judge wrote in her ruling, “Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president. And yet, here we are.” Trump wrote on Truth Social later Monday that the Department of Interior would appeal.
107. The NYT Editorial Board urged voters to reject Trump in midterms: “In a 21-month span, he has done more harm to democracy and the rule of law than any other president in the modern era…He has broken his oath to defend the Constitution by trying to rewrite it on his own.”
108. On Tuesday, when Trump was asked by reporters if he would respect the midterm results, he demurred, saying it would be conditional, stating, “I will if they’re honest elections.”
109. Vanity Fair reported according to a new book, Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East, in 2017 Dutch military intelligence (MIVD) recruited a GRU spy who had hacked Kushner’s iPhone, giving access to see the screen of his phone.
110. Reportedly, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Emirati ruler Mohammed bin Zayed deposited at $750 million into multiple accounts linked to Kushner for off the books diplomatic objectives, and MBS deposited $1 billion into another account for Kushner personally.
111. The New Republic reported according to the book, Kushner was paid $50 million by the UAE to get former secretary of state Rex Tillerson, who had publicly opposed a blockade on Qatar, fired. Qatar, realizing what happened, helped finance Kushner’s 666 Fifth Avenue building.
112. Shortly after, Chad Mizelle, a former DOJ chief of staff under Trump and Kushner’s lawyer, formally put Vanity Fair and its parent company, Condé Nast on notice, calling the allegations “false and defamatory.” Kushner also categorically denied the allegations.
113. The book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, quietly expedited the release of Princes and Thieves, making the book available for purchase two days early. Mizelle said they will be “pursuing legal action.”