Today in Politics, Bulletin 261. 12/1/25

… Karoline Leavitt gave a bizarre press conference today where she directly contradicted Trump’s statement last night about the illegal double-strike attack which executed two survivors of an initial boat strike. She admitted it was done, but claimed that neither Trump nor Hegseth gave the order: Q - “Does the admin deny that that second strike happened or did it happen and the admin denies that Hegseth gave the order. Leavitt: The latter is true.”

… Q - “Admiral Bradley was the one who gave that order for a second strike?
Leavitt: And he was well within his authority to do so.”

… This is what Trump told Trump told reporters on AF1 last night: Q - “Can you talk a little bit about the strikes and controversy around Hegseth. Trump: I don’t know anything about it. He said he did not say that. Q - You don’t know if there was a second strike to kill the two men? Trump: He said he didn’t do it. Q - Would you be ok with that if he did? Trump: He said he didn’t do it so I don’t have to make that decision.”

… Combat vet Fred Wellman: “So, what they are about to do is is throw the Admiral and the SEAL Team 6 Operators under the bus for this war crime. See how it works? They won’t go down for their crimes but our service members will. When you ask why I’m ‘defending drug traffickers’ I am not! I am defending our service members being ordered to conduct murders that only they will pay for. I’m defending our troops not the criminals on either side of this action.”

… Hours before Leavitt admitted it, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) was on Fox going with Trump’s lie from last night: “These are anonymous kind of whistleblowers saying something happened here, so I smell a rat. I’m pretty sure the Secretary of Defense had nothing to do with something like that, and it’s just a way of distracting from what really happened in DC last week where you had the murder of a Nat Guardsmen.”

… Back to Leavitt: Q - “You said that the follow-up strike was lawful. What law is it that allows no survivors? Leavitt: The strike was conducted in self-defense to protect US interests.”

… If the US can do whatever it wants to whomever it wants with no regard for human rights, the Geneva Convention, US law, the UCMJ, or international law, then we are no different than Vladimir Putin and Russia, who I suppose was the role model for Trump’s foreign policy doctrine.

… Q - “Why won’t the admin either confirm or deny whether or not there were a survivors after that initial first strike? What imminent threat would survivors pose who were clinging presumably to the wreckage of that boat? Leavitt: I think you guys are not listening fully to the statement I provided. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was totally destroyed.”

… WH correspondent Jake Lahut: “That would indicate the statement was inadequate, not that we in the press corps have hearing problems.”

… Leavitt concluded her press conference with this gem: “Overwhelming - the fake news that we see pumped out of this building on a day to day basis. It’s honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all.”

… It really is. I am an expert on this topic.

… Miami Herald: “As Washington prepares to launch land attacks inside Venezuela, a long-awaited phone call between the WH and Caracas aimed at defusing the crisis carried a blunt message for strongman Nicolás Maduro: You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now. The call - which took place last week - quickly reached an impasse as it became clear that the two sides’ positions were far apart.”

… “Washington demanded that Maduro and his top allies leave Venezuela immediately to allow the restoration of democratic rule, while regime leaders proposed handing political control to the opposition but retaining command of the armed forces. But the US message to Maduro was direct: Safe passage would be guaranteed for him, his wife Cilia Flores, and his son only if he agreed to resign right away.”

… Fox brought on multiple GOP Reps to prep their audience to support a new war. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC): “There is precedent for America going in and removing dictators. his man is no good for the Western Hemisphere and needs to be removed.”

… Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) was up next: “If you’re in for a penny, you’re in for a pound on this. We’re in for a pound. The buildup is real.”

… Rep. Marge Greene (R-GA) was NOT invited on Fox. She posted this on X: “Fix health insurance, not regime change in Venezuela.”

… NY Post on a new report prepared for Congress by a group of 24 senior active and retired FBI agents and analysts: “FBI Director Kash Patel is facing withering criticism from an alliance of active-duty and retired agents and analysts, days after the WH denied media reports that the president is about to fire him. A troubling new report card on the first 6 months of Patel’s leadership concludes he is ‘in over his head’ and his deputy, Dan Bongino, is ‘something of a clown’.”

… “The Patel-led FBI is described in the 115-page report as a ‘rudderless ship’ and ‘all f–ked up.’ Patel is described as inexperienced, with one source saying he ‘has neither the breadth of experience nor the bearing an FBI director needs to be successful.’ Both he and Bongino were criticized for ‘arrogance’ and an ‘unfortunate obsession with social media.’ Another said they need to ‘stop talking, stop posing, and just be professional.’ Another said they are ‘spending too much time on social media and public relations’ and ‘are too often concerned with building their own personal résumés.’”

… They cite many examples. This was one: “On Sept. 11, 2025, the day after Kirk was assassinated, Patel flew into Provo, UT, on the FBI jet but ‘would not disembark from the plane without an FBI raid jacket,’ according to ALPHA 99, a ‘highly respected’ source who has served in the FBI for multiple decades. ‘Patel apparently did not have his own FBI raid jacket with him and refused to step from the plane without wearing one.’”

… FBI special agents at the Salt Lake City field office busy working on the Kirk case “had to stop and ask around to find an FBI raid jacket — a medium-sized one — that would fit.” When a jacket belonging to a female agent was delivered to Patel on the plane, he complained that “two areas on the upper sleeves did not have Velcro patches attached.”

… Patel would not leave the plane “until he had two patches to cover those areas” so “members of an FBI SWAT Team took patches off their uniforms and ran those patches over to” Patel “at the airport. The patches were then attached to the loaner FBI raid jacket” and Patel “disembarked from the plane.”

… Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): “I don’t mind that Kash Patel had to wear a women’s (size medium) jacket to cosplay as someone in charge. I just wish he’d focus on stopping the rampant domestic terrorism happening on his watch.”

… Both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees have hearings scheduled to address this report on Patel.

… Reuters: “In his second term, Trump has turned a campaign pledge to punish political opponents into a guiding principle of governance. What began as a provocative rallying cry in March 2023 – ‘I am your retribution’ – has hardened into a sweeping campaign of retaliation against perceived enemies, reshaping federal policy, staffing and law enforcement.”

… “At least 470 people, organizations and institutions have been targeted for retribution since Trump took office – an average of more than one a day. Some were singled out for punishment; others swept up in broader purges of perceived enemies. The count excludes foreign individuals, institutions and govts, as well as federal employees dismissed as part of force reductions.”

… A panel of appeals court judges unanimously upheld the disqualification of Trump’s interim US Attorney for NJ Alina Habba: “It is apparent that the current admin has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place. Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for US Attorney for NJ, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting US Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced - yet the citizens of NJ and the loyal employees in the US Attorney’s Office deserve some clarity and stability.”

… The panel from the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld Habba’s disqualification consisted of Judge D. Michael Fisher and Judge D. Brooks Smith, appointees of George W. Bush, and Judge L. Felipe Restrepo, an appointee of Barack Obama.

… Habba couldn’t get the votes to be confirmed in the senate. So Trump tried to do an end-run around the Constitution’s ‘advice and consent’ requirement by appointing her as a perpetual “interim” US Attorney. Now every single indictment, conviction, and warrant that office obtained this year can be challenged by every criminal defendant. Total chaos.

… Reporter to Trump: “Gov Walz called for the release of your MRI results. Trump: They were perfect like my phone call where I got impeached. Absolutely perfect. If you want to have it released, I’ll release it. Q - Can you tell us what they were looking at? What part of the body? Trump: I have no idea. It was just an MRI. It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and aced it. I got a perfect mark, which you would be incapable of doing.”

… Yes, it was a female reporter he was talking to.

… Trump’s doctor then released a short letter this afternoon stating that the MRI was only to check Trump’s heart and cardiovascular system: “The heart chambers are normal in size, the vessel walls appear smooth and healthy, and there are no signs of inflammation or clotting. Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health.”

… Naturally, he won’t take any questions on this topic. And didn’t release any MRI results.

… Speaker Mike Johnson held a rally for Republican Matt Van Epps before the big special election tomorrow in TN. He put Trump on speaker phone, who told the audience why they should vote against Democrat Aftyn Behn: “She said two things above all else that bothered me. Number 1: She hates Christianity. Number 2: She hates country music. How the hell can you elect a person like that?”

… Cook Political: “How much of a drag is Trump for House GOPers? Even in TN-07, a Trump +22 district, none of the GOP ads have mentioned Trump or electing a Rep. to keep his agenda going. Instead, they all attack the Dem. Why does this matter? It means that R’s go into ‘26 in a purely defensive posture. Rebranding ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ isn’t happening. Tariffs are deeply unpopular. Only way for R’s to win is to convince voters Dem candidate is worse.”

… “It’s Campaign 101. Dems did that effectively in ‘22. Which means. Pressure is on Dems to nominate candidates who are good fit for their districts. The Dem in TN-07 has a very liberal record and social media history that makes it easy to for R’s to rile up their own base with attacks on her.”

… Spending on TN-07 race including all outside groups: Republicans: $3.1 million. Democrats: $2.3 million.

… A combination of economic data on holiday shopping season shows that people are spending more money on gifts, but despite that are getting fewer items, and are using more credit to do so. A toxic combination.

… Kobeissi Letter: “‘Buy Now Pay Later’ sales are now expected to hit a record $20 billion between Nov 1st and Dec 31st, per Adobe Analytics. This would mark a +$2 billion increase since 2024, and does NOT include any other forms of debt used to shop. 3 in 10 US shoppers are using ‘Buy Now Pay Later.’

… CNN reporter Matt Egan on Black Friday sales: “Average selling prices were 7% higher than last year. That’s more than twice the overall rate of inflation. That’s well more than average wages. Some of the categories seeing the biggest price increases are exposed to tariffs. 6% increase on clothes, 7% on electronics, and 24% on appliances.”

… Almost all of Trump’s tariffs have finally kicked in (many were announced long ago but the start dates were delayed), and consumers are paying record-shattering amounts for what is our new national sales tax by executive order.

… Kobeissi Letter: “US tariff revenue surged +281% year on year in Oct, to a record $34.2B. Over the 3 months ending Oct, customs and certain excise taxes reached $96.8B, more than the entire FY 2024. This builds on total customs and excise tax revenues of $215.2B in FY 2025, which ended Sept 30. To put this into perspective, corp income taxes collected in FY 2025 were $452.1B. So far in FY 2026, which began on Oct 1, the govt has collected $41.6B in corporate income taxes, just 22% more than tariff revenue. Tariff revenue is skyrocketing.”

… Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “As US Steel and Nippon Steel tried to bring their courtship to the finish line earlier this year, they agreed to give the US govt and in particular Trump a powerful say in how the new joint enterprise would be run. It remains mostly unclear how Trump will wield his ‘golden share, which appears to give the fed govt unprecedented authority over a publicly traded company whose production is key to national security. Commerce Sec Howard Lutnick did not respond to a request for comment.”

… “The Granite City plant in IL provided the first opportunity for the Trump admin to flex its new authority. In Sept, shortly after US Steel told workers it planned to shut down production at the factory, Lutnick called CEO Dave Burritt and told him the admin would not allow operations to cease. Lutnick told the executive that Trump would invoke his golden share if the work did not continue.”

… “KeyBanc analyst Phil Gibbs described the incident as a painful learning opportunity for US Steel. ‘They realized they sold their souls to the govt to get the transaction done and they can’t do anything about it. That’s the long and short of it, I think, for now.’”

… Kind of like when Paulie Cicero got a share of the Bamboo Lounge from Sonny in Goodfellas. Once you let the mob in they aren’t ever going to leave. Or leave you alone.

Huge election tomorrow with national implications. This district should be a layup for Republicans. Instead it is a battle. Coming right after the blue wave last month, this is my assessment of Mike Johnson’s mood based on the results: Behn loses by 20+ (everything is great! last month was an anomaly); Behn loses by 10-20 (we’re good, I’m pretty sure we’re good); Behn loses by 1-10 points (full panic mode, 5 more Republican retirements announced); Behn wins (he’s removed as Speaker, 10 more retirements).

Follow us as always for live election night coverage on the MeidasTouch podcast. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you to everyone for supporting all that we do.

… Politico EU: “Trump’s drive to secure peace in Ukraine must not let Putin off the hook for war crimes committed by Russian forces, a top EU official has warned, effectively setting a new red line for a deal. Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, said negotiators must ensure the push for a