German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Russian President Vladimir Putin “perhaps the most serious war criminal of our time,” while warning against appeasing him, TVP World reports.
He added: “We must ensure that Russia can no longer sustain its war economy. I am talking about economic exhaustion, which we must achieve — for example, through tariffs on those who still actively trade with Russia. And here we again come back to the United States.”
David Graham: “The Trump administration broke the law. Its officials knew they were breaking the law. And they’ll likely try to do so again.”
“In its most distilled form, that’s the conclusion of Charles Breyer, the federal judge overseeing a suit brought by California Governor Gavin Newsom over the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guardsmen and Marines in and around Los Angeles in June. In a scathing opinion… Breyer said that the administration had acted illegally.”
The White House has warned Republican lawmakers that pushing for the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files would be seen as “a very hostile act” by President Trump, CNN reports.
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
“The majority of the sweeping tariffs President Donald Trump imposed during his second term face one final litmus test that will determine whether he can continue to levy them – and also whether businesses are eligible for massive refunds,” CNN reports.
“American businesses have paid over $210 billion as of August 24 to cover the tariffs that US courts have determined are illegal. On Tuesday, Trump acknowledged that the court’s decision, if upheld by the Supreme Court, could result in the US Treasury having to ‘give back’ tariff revenue collected.”
Jill Lawrence: “The trajectory from heart and lung transplant surgeon Bill Frist of Tennessee to gastroenterologist Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is emblematic of the dark Republican Party journey on science and health — from the Bush family to the Trump family, from American greatness to self-defeating denialism on everything from vaccines to cancer research.”
Former Sen. John E. Sununu (R-NH) is interested in running for Senate again to replace retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who ended his Senate career back in 2008, NOTUS reports.
“This would be a huge win for national Republicans who view Sununu as one of their last chances to make the New Hampshire race competitive this election cycle against the likely Democratic candidate, Rep. Chris Pappas. Former Sen. Scott Brown — who represented Massachusetts and previously lost to Shaheen in 2014 in New Hampshire — has declared he’s running on the Republican side.”
Earlier this year, Ilhan Omar (D-MN.) complained to Business Insider she’s been the subject of a “coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign” claiming she’s worth millions of dollars.
Said Omar: “Maybe try checking my public financial statements and you will see I barely have thousands let alone millions.”
However, the Washington Free Beacon did check Omar’s latest disclosure which shows Omar and her husband, Tim Mynett, are worth at least $6 million and as much as $30 million.
“Chinese President Xi Jinping commented on the possibility of people living to 150 during a hot-mic moment with his Russian and North Korean counterparts, a rare glimpse of an unscripted chat between three of the world’s most prominent strongmen,” Bloomberg reports.
“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is engaged in a major effort to redefine what his unpopular party stands for, readying a new Democratic agenda intended to turbocharge efforts to recapture the House in 2026 and make him speaker,” the Washington Post reports.
“Jeffries has heard the many complaints from Democratic lawmakers clamoring for a proactive agenda following the party’s devastating losses in the 2024 election — one that doesn’t revolve entirely around fighting President Donald Trump. He’s racing to release a plan to revive a depressed base and sell voters on a Democratic Party that hears their concerns on affordability, safety and helping the working class.”
“But the effort is running up against the harsh political realities of the moment, from Trump’s aggressive efforts to revamp the congressional map through redistricting in Republican-led states to a tarnished Democratic brand with abysmal approval ratings, according to polls.”
“China’s leader, Xi Jinping, presided over a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday featuring fighter jets, missiles and goose-stepping troops as he issued a defiant warning to rivals not to challenge his country’s sovereignty,” the New York Times reports.
“His message was underscored by the leaders gathered by his side in the viewing gallery, representing states that have challenged or questioned American dominance of the global order. He was flanked by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, along with the leaders of Iran, Pakistan and other mostly authoritarian nations.”
Wall Street Journal: “China flexed its growing military power and its deepening ties to Washington’s adversaries with an extravagant parade that cast leader Xi Jinping as the standard-bearer of a new global order.”
CNN: “China’s military parade unveils newest weapons as Xi welcomes leaders challenging Western order.”
For those wondering, Rudy Giuliani recounted the story of his car accident on his podcast.
“Federal grand jurors in the nation’s capital have refused to indict two people who were charged separately with threatening to kill President Donald Trump, more evidence of a growing backlash against Trump’s law enforcement intervention in Washington, D.C.,” the AP reports.
“It is extraordinarily rare for a grand jury to balk at returning an indictment, but it has happened at least seven times in five cases since Trump last month ordered a surge in patrols by federal agents and troops in the District of Columbia.”
Said former U.S. Attorney Brendan Ballou to CBS News: “Not only have I never heard of this happening, I’ve never heard of a prosecutor who’s heard of this happening.”
“Any rational person who has spent even the most minimal amount of time studying human history has to ask themselves one important question: Once they get the citizens of this nation comfortable with the current atrocities committed under the color of law, what comes next.”
— Gov. JB Pritker, at a press conference.
“Two months after President Trump called it ‘the most popular bill ever signed,’ congressional Republicans are facing a sputtering effort to sell their sprawling domestic policy law — and they’re getting fresh advice Wednesday from top administration officials,” Politico reports.
Playbook: “It’s a sure sign that the big GOP summer push to sell the BBB to voters didn’t go as smoothly as the White House would have liked.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) was visibly upset as she left a meeting with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims at the Capitol.
She declined to answer questions from reporters.
President Trump responded to photos of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un by suggesting they were “conspiring” against the United States.
“A federal court ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump unlawfully invoked a centuries-old wartime law to swiftly deport Venezuelan migrants, blocking one of his administration’s most contentious immigration initiatives and teeing up a legal battle sure to end up before the Supreme Court,” the Washington Post reports.
“A divided three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rejected Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to remove alleged members of the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang, concluding that their presence in the country did not amount to the type of invasion or ‘predatory incursion’ lawmakers envisioned when they drafted the statute allowing fast-tracked deportations.”
“Republicans’ battle to keep the Senate majority is growing more expensive by the day,” Punchbowl News reports.
“The Senate map still strongly favors the GOP. That hasn’t changed. But intense Democratic recruiting, brutal Republican primaries and retirements are proving costly for party leaders, nudging once-safe red states into play.”
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.