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GOP Convention Googlers Sent to Info On the Epstein Files

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“Internet pranksters have successfully been redirecting people searching for information about the upcoming midterm GOP convention to the Justice Department’s website about the Epstein Files,” Mediaite reports.

“A website purporting to be the Republican National Committee’s official convention page is one of the top results when searching Google or other web browsers for information about the event. The catch, however, is that it’s a dummy website that simply takes users to the DOJ’s Epstein File dump.”

New York Times: Fake Republican midterm convention website redirects visitors to Epstein files.

Supreme Court Sides with Republicans Over Ad Rates

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“The Supreme Court on Friday granted Republicans’ request to halt a lower court decision that prevented political party committees from receiving more favorable broadcast advertising rates, giving the GOP a win weeks before the November elections,” CBS News reports.

“The order from the high court restores guidance from the Federal Communications Commission that allows political parties and committees access to cheaper rates for political ads in the run-up to the midterms. The decision could be a boon for national Republican groups, which have amassed bigger war chests than their Democratic counterparts and can flood the airwaves with more ads in support of GOP candidates.”

Ex-Fetterman Aides May Expose Internal Messages

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“Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, has for years detested the day-to-day duties of his job, dismissing such tasks as going to hearings and casting votes as a ‘performative’ waste of time,” the New York Times reports.

“Now, a group of his disillusioned former staff members — of which there are many — is threatening to reveal more about his private disdain for what is expected of him as an elected representative of 13 million constituents.”

Pentagon Expands Leak Hunt with Polygraphs

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“U.S. government investigators have taken the extraordinary step of subjecting roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists, including about how the Iran war has created a shortage of crucial munitions,” the New York Times reports.

“The investigators asked military officers and civilian employees on the Joint Staff if they disclosed classified information to members of the press, and about whether they provided information about diminished U.S. munitions stocks.”

The Wrap: Pentagon puts roughly 50 Joint Staff members through polygraph tests in leak hunt.

Tetris Distances Itself From Trump’s Wall-Building Game

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“The maker of Tetris criticized a new White House digital game that mimics its classic puzzle by having players build a wall to stop migrants from crossing the U.S. border,” Bloomberg reports.

“Build the Wall is one of five games the White House released this week that inserted Trump administration themes into versions of old-school video games. It asks players to ‘protect the border from the coming horde’ by building a wall with blocks resembling Tetris pieces as pixelated extraterrestrial-like figures approach.”

New York Times: The Tetris Company denounces Trump White House clone of Tetris.

State Dinner in the Works for Chinese President

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“President Donald Trump said that he plans to host a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping during his counterpart’s upcoming visit to Washington later this month,” NOTUS reports.

“Xi is expected in D.C. around Sept. 24 for a summit with the president. The meeting comes as the administration steps up pressure both on countries and companies accused of supporting Iran.”

Trump Says He Will Spend Up to $500 Million on Midterms

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“President Donald Trump on Friday told reporters ​he planned to allocate $400 million to $500 ‌million from his MAGA Inc. super PAC to boost Republican candidates in midterm November elections,” Reuters reports.

“Trump also said, ​during an event in the Oval ​Office, that his super PAC has about $1 ⁠billion in it.”

How Talarico Is Countering Trump’s Midterms Convention

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“James Talarico is planning to counterprogram President Donald Trump’s GOP midterms convention in Dallas with a focus on affordability,” Politico reports.

Said Talarico: “Next week, billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians will gather at a convention in Dallas to clink champagne glasses and toast their own corruption. They’re paying $20,000 for entry to a Billionaire Ball celebrating corrupt tariffs, billionaire tax breaks, and a new forever war that are all driving grocery costs through the roof.”

Trump Says Iran War Is ‘Small Potatoes’

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“President Donald Trump on Friday labeled the Iran war ‘small potatoes,’ the latest attempt to minimize a six-month conflict that caused a spike in gas prices and led to the deaths of 18 American service-members,” CNN reports.

Said Trump: “A lot of people don’t call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing.”

Trump Signs Order to Help Ranchers Bypass USDA

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“President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday intended to make it easier for ranchers and farmers to process their own meat and sell it directly to consumers, characterizing the move as an effort to reduce the industry’s reliance on a handful of large meat-packers,” NOTUS reports.

Senate GOP’s Midwestern Governor’s Problem

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“Another warning light is blinking for Senate Republicans: underperforming gubernatorial nominees in three crucial Midwest states,” Axios reports.

“Strong candidates for governor can act as sheepdogs in tight Senate races, keeping Republican voters — and GOP-curious independents — moving in the party’s direction.”

“That’s adding to GOP anxiety in Michigan and Iowa, where the Democratic gubernatorial nominees have led for much of the summer. In Ohio — a state President Trump won by 11 points — the governor’s race is tied.”

Trump’s Ballroom Will Be Built with ‘Nuclear Concrete’

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“President Trump is trying to cement his legacy — literally,” the New York Post reports.

Said Trump: “It’s made with the most powerful steel welded together and concrete that is so hard and so strong it’s used in nuclear power plants. You could take a jackhammer and go to those columns and stand there for two days at full blast and you wouldn’t even see a mark. It’s nuclear concrete. I think it would be very hard. It’s meant for if there’s a nuclear attack. I’m not sure you could take it down.”

About Political Wire

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.

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