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“The FBI pored over Jeffrey Epstein’s bank records and emails. It searched his homes. It spent years interviewing his victims and examining his connections to some of the world’s most influential people,” the AP reports.
“But while investigators collected ample proof that Epstein sexually abused underage girls, they found scant evidence the well-connected financier led a sex trafficking ring serving powerful men.”
Wall Street Journal: “When the Trump administration targeted billions of dollars in federal welfare funds recently over fraud concerns, it singled out five Democratic-run states.”
“An examination by The Wall Street Journal found that the main federal aid program the administration is seeking to block, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, has long been plagued by poor financial oversight and questionable spending in states led by both Republicans and Democrats.”
“Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, played a substantial role in supporting the creation of the Clinton Global Initiative, one of President Bill Clinton’s signature post-White House endeavors, new documents released by the Justice Department show,” the New York Times reports.
“Ms. Maxwell took part in budget discussions related to the first Clinton Global Initiative conference; talked through challenges about it with both Clinton aides and Publicis Groupe, the company that produced the inaugural event; and arranged to wire $1 million to pay Publicis for its work on ‘the Clinton project,’ according to emails in the massive cache of documents collected as part of the government’s investigations of Mr. Epstein.”
“The source of the money is unclear, including whether Mr. Epstein provided the funds. However, the emails show that he was aware of the payment.”
CNN: “It was June 2018 – about a year after Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin had suddenly died. Churkin had been someone Epstein met with regularly in New York, according to new documents released by the Department of Justice, and Epstein had even offered to help Churkin’s son, Maxim, get a job at a wealth management firm in New York.”
“Now Epstein was looking to talk with a different Russian official: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. On June 24, 2018, Epstein emailed Norwegian politician Thorbjørn Jagland, then the secretary general of the Council of Europe, ‘I think you might suggest to putin, that lavrov, can get insight on talking to me. vitaly churkin used (to) but he died. ?!’”
Dr. Mehmet Oz was interviewed on CNN by Dana Bash:
BASH: It’s the worst measles outbreak since measles was declared eradicated more than three decades ago. Is this a consequence of the administration undermining support for vaccines?
OZ: I don’t believe so… Secretary Kennedy has been at the very front of this.
BASH: Oh, come on… You talked about RFK Jr., the group Children’s Health Defense that he founded posted on X: “Despite the media’s scare tactics, there’s no reason to fear measles.” Should people fear measles?
OZ: Oh, for sure.
President Trump ripped Hunter Hess on Sunday after the U.S. skier spoke out against the political climate in his home country at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan earlier this week, The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this.”
Playbook: “The world is watching for Bad Bunny to make a political statement at the Super Bowl. Democrats are watching closely to figure out how to make their own.”
“Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the Puerto Rican recording artist known globally by his stage name, has created a pop culture phenomenon that will converge at a historic halftime show performance at the Super Bowl tonight when the New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks. And while his invitation triggered a harsh backlash on the right from the president on down, it’s also marking a major inflection point for Hispanic Americans of all backgrounds.”
“Tonight’s stage may prove to be Bad Bunny’s biggest chance to move the dial.”
“There’s an opportunity here, Democrats told your authors, to turn Bad Bunny’s cultural phenomenon into a political one, right as the party is mounting its strongest resistance to President Donald Trump’s sweeping deportation agenda — and with months to go before the midterms to make amends with Latino voters who have left their tent.”
“Morgan McSweeney, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, resigned under pressure on Sunday after days of political upheaval over his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to the United States,” the New York Times reports.
Mr. McSweeney, a longtime protégé of Mr. Mandelson’s, said in a statement that “the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.”
New York Times: “Frustrated by Senate dysfunction and the inability to accomplish much of substance, senators this year are reversing the steady migration from state capital to Capitol Hill as a record four sitting senators are running for governor.”
“It is one of the best indicators yet of how the Senate, plodding and polarized, has lost its allure.”
“Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was on track to lead her party to a thumping victory in parliamentary elections, handing her a powerful mandate to deepen ties with the U.S. and rev up Japan’s economy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Whether you liked Ms. Harris or not, this last election was a choice, a very simple one. You had the choice between the Constitution and the criminal. And this country chose the criminal. You put a criminal at the top of America. A convicted felon.”
— Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I), on a podcast.
“An aging political class in Washington is prompting fresh calls for forcing older officeholders to step aside in favor of younger faces,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Working well past retirement age is an area of rare bipartisan agreement in Washington. President Trump will turn 80 this year, and Joe Biden left office at age 82, both breaking Ronald Reagan-era records for age in office. In Congress, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) is 92 years old, while Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) is 87. It isn’t unusual for members to die on the job, as three did in 2025 alone.”
“We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate. If you’re Steve Bannon, how do you sell any of this? He’s literally closing rural hospitals to cut taxes for George Soros.”
— Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), at a campaign rally.
“Rep. Thomas Massie had a lively Friday night,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
“His time at the Oldham County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 6 had an abrupt end — a video that went viral in its immediate aftermath showed his speech to the audience was cut off after event emcee and state House Speaker David Osborne (R), grabbed his microphone while he was speaking as the congressman went over his allotted time.”
“Amid signs that the U.S. economy may be poised to accelerate, Trump administration officials are predicting an economic boom that will lift Republican prospects in the November congressional elections,” the Washington Post reports.
“The administration aims to run the economy hot, counting on a rare trifecta to boost growth in 2026: generous tax refunds and investment incentives, Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and the pruning of regulations that corporate groups call burdensome. Productivity gains from wider deployment of artificial intelligence will keep inflation at bay.”
“President Donald Trump is betting that larger tax refunds this spring will help sate Americans’ cravings for economic relief and boost GOP fortunes in November. The political payoff may be fleeting,” Politico reports.
“The White House believes the average refund could increase by $1,000 thanks to tax cuts in the GOP’s signature legislation, passed last summer. But as tax season kicks off, economists and Republican strategists — and even some of the president’s own allies — warn that the boost American households receive from the refunds may wear off by November.”
“President Trump’s allies are offering access to him and other perks to donors who give at least $1 million to a new group supporting flashy initiatives he is planning around the nation’s 250th birthday,” the New York Times reports.
“The group, Freedom 250, is threatening to overshadow years of plans meant to reach the broadest cross section of Americans for semiquincentennial celebrations. They are now taking on a Trumpian flare, replete with marble and machismo.”
“But Freedom 250 has also emerged as another vehicle, akin to the White House ballroom project, through which people and companies with interests before the Trump administration can make tax-deductible donations to gain access to, and seek favor with, a president who has maintained a keen interest in fund-raising, and a willingness to use the levers of government power to reward financial supporters.”
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has moved up his visit to Washington and is expected to meet with President Trump on Wednesday to discuss the negotiations with Iran,” Axios reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.