“President Donald Trump can’t shake the furor over Jeffrey Epstein,” Bloomberg reports.
“Democrats are preparing to launch congressional investigations into the administration’s handling of files related to the late, disgraced sex offender if they regain power after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. They say the administration botched the release of documents and are using the issue to hammer Trump and GOP lawmakers in key races.”
“President Donald Trump said it’s ‘getting to be decision time’ on whether he will make a deal with Tehran or resume attacks as Iranian and Houthi threats against Americans in the Middle East continue to grow,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “I have a decision to make: Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? That’s all. We don’t play games.”
Financial Times Poll: “Corruption has become a key source of American discontent in the closing days of midterm election campaigning, with a large majority of U.S. voters saying they are worried about graft in Donald Trump’s second administration.”
“About 69 percent of registered voters, and almost 50 percent of those who voted for the president in 2024, said they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ concerned about ‘corruption, self-dealing or conflicts of interest’ in the Trump administration.”
For members: It’s the Corruption Too, Stupid
“With just nine days until the midterms, the Trump administration is escalating its assault on two of the Department of Justice’s most sacred guardrails: Independence from the White House and restraint before elections,” Axios reports.
“President Trump’s DOJ has shattered the traditional calm of a pre-election period with a barrage of politically sensitive investigations, prosecutions and eleventh-hour efforts to influence the vote.”
“Chad Mizelle, an attorney representing Jared Kushner, demanded that Vanity Fair take down a recently published book excerpt alleging that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law had access to secret foreign bank accounts during his first term,” The Wrap reports.
“The Justice Department is sharply intensifying efforts to intervene in the midterm elections, goaded by a president unfettered by even the limited restraints of his first term,” the New York Times reports.
“The next several weeks represent a critical moment for federal law enforcement, a test of whether a department repurposed by President Trump as an instrument of unmediated executive power will be effectively mobilized as a guarantor of his political power.”
“In recent weeks, the department has taken several new steps, including an extraordinary effort to invalidate any potential Democratic victory in the Alaska Senate race, that reflect Mr. Trump’s growing agitation as his party faces the possibility of losing control of Congress precipitated by his sagging popularity.”
“I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom.”
— Former President Bill Clinton, quoted by The Wrap.
“President Donald Trump pushed back Saturday morning against reports he was considering replacing the White House press briefing room with an indoor swimming pool but said he was considering moving media ‘to a less obnoxious location,'” NewsNation reports.
Said Trump, on Truth Social: “There is a Fake News report out there that I am going to remove the White House Press Room and bring back the old Swimming Pool, which lies directly underneath. Although I may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location, the old swimming pool will never be brought back.”
He added: “I NEVER even thought to do such a stupid thing!”
“President Donald Trump insisted his job approval is somehow actually 60% as polling has shown he’s one of the least popular presidents going into the midterms,” Mediaite reports.
Said Trump: “I don’t believe I could be beaten by anybody.”
The Polling Dashboard shows Trump’s approval at just 35%.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Cubans seeking ‘positive change’ to work with the CIA, the latest ploy in the growing efforts from the Trump administration to remove Cuba’s communist regime from power,” CBS News reports.
“White House attorneys are evaluating whether to issue mass pardons to junior staffers, as Trump allies press the administration to protect lower-ranked officials from prosecution and other legal challenges, according to two sources familiar with the conversations,” the Washington Sun reports.
“While President Donald Trump has publicly discussed issuing pardons for top aides and issued pardons for billionaires and major donors, questions have mounted about the potential legal jeopardy facing thousands of employees who have implemented the White House’s agenda.”
“A pardon for all junior administration personnel is viewed as unlikely, one source said, but the president could issue blanket pardons for all employees involved in particular policy areas, such as deportations, war or trade.”
New York Times: “In total, since taking office again, Mr. Trump exempted 202 facilities in 39 states and Puerto Rico from clean-air regulations that were going into effect. Some were among the country’s worst industrial polluters, including chemical manufacturers, copper smelters and coal-burning power plants. About 3.3 million people live within three miles of at least one affected facility.”
“The exemptions represent the biggest presidential intervention in enforcement of the Clean Air Act in the half-century since President Richard M. Nixon signed the bedrock environmental law. And that is only one of the ways the Trump administration is dismantling a variety of federal environmental protections.”
“Hoping for a win before the midterm elections, the Trump administration is increasing pressure on Mexico to expand its cooperation against cartels, with an eye toward joint operations with the United States,” the New York Times reports.
“In recent weeks, U.S. officials have delivered a memo proposing a path to potentially having U.S. security personnel accompany counter-cartel operations inside Mexico.”
“Former ESPN reporter Britt McHenry resigned Friday from her position as a State Department press adviser following an altercation at a basketball game this week,” ABC News reports.
“McHenry was captured on camera appearing to throw a drink on someone during a Washington Wizards vs. Milwaukee Bucks NBA game on Wednesday.”
“Over the years, Corey Lewandowski has had no shortage of rivals in President Trump’s orbit,” the New York Times reports.
“Fighting for control of Mr. Trump’s campaigns, Mr. Lewandowski has been at odds with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law; Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former adviser; and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff.”
“But through a combination of one-on-one flattery and fierce defenses of Mr. Trump on television, Mr. Lewandowski has always managed to stay on the president’s good side.”
“Until now.”
“President Trump said on Friday that he directed the Justice Department to block certification of the coming Senate election in Alaska if the Republican incumbent were to lose by a narrow margin,” the New York Times reports.
“The highly unusual move heightens concerns from election officials and Democrats about Mr. Trump’s efforts to undermine the midterm elections, and at least one election expert said he expected the courts to reject the lawsuit.”
CNN: Why Trump’s dubious election lawsuit in Alaska should raise eyebrows.
“President Donald Trump said Friday that he is no longer looking into the outside consulting work conducted by a pair of his top political advisers after they donated to his presidential library,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Following reports of Chris LaCivita and James Blair’s consulting work for a pro-Russian nationalist government in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Trump vowed to investigate their work for foreign entities — going so far as to suggest that he might ‘terminate them’ if any conflicts of interest were discovered.”
Said Trump: “They took the money and they gave it to essentially a charity. I think it was a very nice thing to do.”
President Trump took questions from reporters on the controversial ad being run by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R):
REPORTER: But there are very serious sexual abuse allegations.
TRUMP: Quiet!
REPORTER: They make no difference to you?
TRUMP: Isn’t she a fresh person? You’re a horrible little reporter, aren’t you?
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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