… Before we get into today’s Bulletin, first a programming note. Two more major media companies just recently went to full paywall. It is getting more and more difficult to find news that you don’t have to pay for. I get it, most of these are big corporations with big investors who expect to make a profit and pay their employees.
… The Substack concept is ad free, which is amazing and so much better than reading things on a site with lots of popup ads and videos. But obviously when you are an independent journalist or a smaller company like ours, not having any ad revenue from content means you have to get it from somewhere else.
… We are a small operation where everyone works extremely hard and long hours - pretty much 7 days a week too. Even when we are supposed to be taking a day off, most of us at least plug back in to social media to stay on top of things. So our team puts out way more content than is normal for the number of employees we have, and the vast majority of that is all free because our mission is more important than financial gain.
… One of the few things that we do as a company that is behind a paywall are these Bulletins. But even with these I have wanted to make sure that at least parts of them are free to everyone.
… When I brought up the issue today of how frustrating it is to find great stories online that I can’t read without a subscription, the brothers suggested that we make the entire Bulletin free to everyone from now until the midterm election day. That is because we really want to encourage everyone to pay attention right now, be informed and get involved as much as possible.
… So after the election we will go back to normal where the first third of these will be available to everyone, but for the next 5 weeks we will take the paywall off of them so everyone can read and comment fully.
… For those of you who have paid subscriptions, I personally cannot thank you enough. I practiced law full time for 28 years and was active in politics and social media part time. The difference between what I have been able to do after giving up law 3 years ago versus before is night and day.
… Even though putting these Bulletins together is my main focus from a time standpoint, I also do a lot of other things as well. Maintaining 3 social media accounts with nearly 3 million combined followers is also important, doing the Uncovered and Ask the Editor podcasts, helping to provide content for the MeidasTouch podcast, and editing our website are also part of my daily duties.
… None of that would be possible if I was still practicing law, and giving up law practice was only possible because of your support. So once again, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this and make a difference in my own way. Now, on to the Bulletin.
… NYT: “The theft by a criminal hacking group of reams of sensitive personal data involving potentially tens of thousands of former and current FBI employees is emerging as one of the worst breaches of sensitive govt information, leaving the bureau rushing to protect its personnel as an uncertain deadline loomed.
… Nearly a week after the group, known as ShinyHunters, revealed it had pilfered intimate details about bureau personnel from the agency’s jobs portal and threatened to leak them online, FBI investigators are still piecing together how the breach took place and the total damage.
… The hack appears to have swept up home addresses, Social Security numbers, secretive job assignments and much more. Some are already comparing it to China’s breach of more than 20 million records from the Office of Personnel Management over a decade ago, considered so catastrophic that officials and lawmakers vowed to never let something like it happen again.
… On Friday, bureau leaders, in an internal memo to its rank and file, declared the hack a cybersecurity incident and acknowledged its employees had personal info stolen: “We are operating under the premise that the threat actor is also exfiltrating PII of all FBI employees.”
… “The memo said the agency would offer virtual briefings in the weeks ahead and instructed employees to remain vigilant at home and at work, report any unsolicited contacts or threats, avoid answering calls from unknown numbers and set up voice mail accounts with AI-generated voices. ‘Bureau leadership remains committed to supporting the safety of you and your family,’ it said.”
… Bloomberg: “FBI co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey has resigned following a brief and tumultuous tenure sharing the duties as No. 2 to Kash Patel. Bailey, Missouri’s former Republican AG and a strong supporter of Trump, lasted about one year.”
… “His departure comes after numerous agents and veteran FBI officials have been terminated or pushed out after their involvement in cases that displeased the WH. Bailey, who’d been reportedly floated by the WH to potentially replace Patel as director, leaves 3 days after the bureau reassigned two senior counterterrorism supervisors over their handling of an investigation into allegedly harassing phone calls made to Katie Miller, the wife of senior WH aide Stephen Miller.”
… MS NOW: “Andrew Bailey oversaw election matters - and he departs one month before the mid-terms. Sources say he was frustrated about not being named director as was once floated. He was also said to have been annoyed about the recent demotion of two senior counterterrorism agents in the Washington Field office over there handling an investigation into harassing phone calls to Stephen Miller’s wife.”
… Bailey didn’t leave his spot as Missouri’s AG to be Kash Patel’s #2. The reporting at the time from sources was that Trump promised him that Kash would be out in 6 months and Bailey would get the director spot. That never happened.
… NYT: “As Trump ran to return to the WH in 2024, his campaign released a somber, black-and-white ad in which he railed against the ‘deep state’ and vowed to expel ‘warmongers’ from govt. ‘This is the final battle,’ Trump is heard saying in the online ad, which shows him walking silently down a hallway.
… That ad has returned this weekend, airing on television stations across the country, with one notable difference: As it ends, the words ‘Paid for by the US Government’ appear on the screen.
… The spot is the latest in a series of pro-Trump ads funded by public money. Some ethics experts have argued that the Trump admin is violating federal laws banning the use of taxpayer dollars for propaganda, and the ads have drawn criticism from both parties.
… The ad aired during ‘Fox News Sunday,’ ‘Saturday Night Live’ and several college and NFL football games this weekend, including the Seattle Seahawks versus Washington Commanders contest and the Ohio State-Illinois matchup.”
… The WH has defended the ads, saying that the spots are “public service announcements” that are “reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.
… But Richard Painter, a former WH ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, said the use of federal funds for the ads could be an “abuse of power” and “an impeachable offense.” He urged Congress to demand a reimbursement for the spending: “This is very dangerous. We do not allow government-sponsored propaganda in the US.”
… Mediaite: “Critics were irate over a new government-funded political ad promoting Trump aired on Fox News Sunday. The black-and-white 30-second spot showed a grim-faced Trump walking down a hallway as audio from a rally speech played in the background:
“This is the final battle,” Trump said in the ad. “With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media. And we will liberate America from these villains once and for all.”
… “This is the second such government-funded pro-Trump political ad in recent days. The first flashed images of Trump over the song ‘Love Me’ by singer JMSN - who said in a statement that he did not give permission for his song to be used, and said he was consulting with lawyers.”
… AP: “Spending on the latest ad already topped about $319,000.”
… Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME):
“Let’s be clear: It is ILLEGAL to pay for campaign ads with taxpayer money. Period. There's a whole bunch of federal laws specifically designed to prevent the executive branch from using the machinery of govt for partisan campaigning.
The seething, sinister vibes are just as alarming. He really does see himself as above silly things like ‘the law’ and ‘campaign ethics.’ He’s also just flat-out desperate. He knows the American people are pissed, that his approval rating is lower than it’s ever been, and that Republicans are about to ‘find out’ just how unpopular their reckless and destructive policies really are.
Add this to the long list of flagrantly illegal activity Democrats will be investigating.”
… The New Republic: “Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. The Education Dept has finalized a rule that will force schools to prove that the loans students are taking out are paying off.
… Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music, and cosmetic certification programs will be hit the hardest. For-profit programs will also be hit particularly hard.
… While the Trump admin is framing the policy as “accountability” for higher education, and some are welcoming the move, others see it as an attack on those whose work is important regardless of salary.
… The Education Dept intends to use IRS data to determine students’ salaries 4 years after they graduate and compare them to those of people similar in age who just have high school diplomas. If they’re below that baseline, that degree will be ineligible for loans.”
… The policy will be implemented in 2027.
… Former Rep. Tom Malinowski: “This is actually crazy. For years, we’ve prioritized scholarships and loans that enable students to choose low paying public service careers like teaching, social work, religious ministries, etc. Future corporate execs and lawyers aren’t the ones who need subsidized loans!”
… Trump held another batshit crazy press conference in the Oval Office where, just minutes after calling Joe Biden “sleepy” again he promptly fell asleep. Again.
Q: “Has your team spoken to Iran today? Trump: Yeah. Q: With mediators? Trump: Yeah. Q: Anything else you can share? Trump: We’re going to win.”
On Iran: “They're very crazy people. I tell them that all the time. I said, ‘you're crazy, man.’”
Q: “Midterm elections are less than 4 weeks away. Should motorists, should truckers expect elevated gas and diesel prices between now and then? Trump: I don’t know.”
Q: “How does the trade war with Canada end? Trump: We're gonna win everything. We even have Lake Ontario is now Lake America. Canada is going to come in and say, ‘Sir, we are very sorry.’”
“They have been one of the worst countries in the entire world. We get along with China, but Canada has been very difficult. And they feel entitled and they're not a state.”
Q - “Ambassador Perdue said that you suggested to President Xi that the US would sell US military equipment to China. Is that accurate? Trump: No, they probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than them. So maybe it's a good idea.”
… So Perdue just lied about it yesterday on national television?
On the IA senate and governor’s races: “I think the polls aren’t accurate because I won it by so much and it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't be right up there with me.”
Q: “What is your message to voters heading into the midterms? Trump: We have great people. And we're running against communists, lunatics, socialists.”
… DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin at a press conference today: "Because of the good work that the men and women in this building and throughout the country - we have identified 2,150 terrorists that came into this country underneath a different name, and had taken on a different identity."
… Immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “I don't believe this for a second. Do you know how much the FBI would be shouting with glee if they arrested thousands of terrorists? Yet we haven't heard a peep.”
… NYT: “In early March, as Trump basked in the success of a military intervention in Venezuela, he joined Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in the West Wing for a private celebration. A businessman also attended, and brought along a pile of gold.
… The president looked approvingly at the 10 Venezuelan gold bars stacked in the Roosevelt Room, across from the Oval Office, WH officials recalled. Aides took photos and joked about keeping the gold.
… Trump himself had once blacklisted Venezuelan gold, declaring that it destroyed the environment, poisoned people and financed gangsters and corrupt military officials. But after Trump toppled the Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, his view changed.
… On the same day that the bars arrived at the WH, the Trump admin issued a new policy allowing traders to import Venezuelan gold from one of the world’s most violent and corrupt mining regions. The first supplies would come from a state-owned mining company that remained a designated US national security threat.
… The gold trading deal exemplified how Trump used the capture of Maduro to gain control of Venezuela’s resources. First, he took charge of Venezuela’s oil exports. Next, his admin turned to Venezuela’s mineral wealth.
… Planes carried gold out of Venezuela before companies had even visited the mines. Some of that gold is linked to miners who pay gang protection money. That allows criminals to profit from the admin’s signature deal.
… But partly as a consequence of the admin’s hasty approach, all that gold - hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth - sits untouched in warehouses. Refiners would need to guarantee, under international rules, that the gold has not funded gangs, environmental destruction or corruption.”
Ask the Editor should be out later tonight after this Bulletin. It was another week where it was difficult to choose 5 of the questions to answer because there were so many great ones. These were the ones I answered on the show:
What can be done about Trump’s move to use taxpayer dollars on political ads?
Is the Susan Collins corruption story moving the needle at all in Maine?
Is the “fraud” issue that Vance has been highlighting in the midterms resonating at all anywhere in the midterms?
If you could only donate to 2-3 senate races, which ones would you choose?
Can you give us more info on the Trump Admin wanting to build a baseball stadium in a national park? Is this something MLB really wants or is this really a Trump idea?
… If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin recapping the weekend, you can find it here.
… AOC at a forum on AI and data centers:
“AI systems want us to be dependent and outsource our cognition to a machine, and they want us to increasingly rely on AI systems so that they can sell intelligence back to us. AI needs two things. It needs capital-intensive resources. But it also needs an uneducated population that cannot think, that is not educated, that relies on it so that they can sell cognition back to us.”
“What the elite want—and they’re already planning for it—is to hoard all of the resources for themselves as the world gets more and more physically unstable. And in an environment of AI, they want to wipe out all of our livelihoods. They want to make sure none of us have jobs, and they want to keep all the spoils of those riches while consuming and burning energy at a pace that is completely unsustainable.”
… Speaker Mike Johnson said on Fox that AI companies should regulate themselves: “We do not need a moratorium. We do not need to jump in and hyper regulate this because we’ll lose the race to China. The innovation is important to continue.”
… On opposition to data centers: “This is what Democrats do every election cycle. They find something to glom onto and say this is doom and gloom and everyone will die if we don’t win. It is a Chinese psyop. I really believe that. That’s not a conspiracy theory.”
… OH Dem senate nominee Sherrod Brown on the MeidasTouch Sunday podcast: “Data centers really show whose side you’re on. Are you going to do the bidding of sort of the tech titans? Are you going to do the bidding of those companies from out of state that don’t give a damn about local communities? Are you going to do the bidding of the electric companies? Are you going to do the bidding of the polluters? Or are you going to stand with the public?”
… Axios: “Speaker Mike Johnson is launching a 6-week campaign blitz that will take him to more than 40 congressional districts across 22 states through Election Day. The speaker begins his travel this week in Louisiana and New York.
… "He’ll also campaign in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.”
… Trump’s longtime internal pollster is Tony Fabrizio. Fabrizio is out with a new poll on the NC senate race that basically sticks a fork in former RNC Chair MAGA Michael Whatley:
US Senate North Carolina 2026
🟦Roy Cooper 53%
🟥Michael Whatley 42%
… Politico: “The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has shifted 15 House races nationwide toward Democrats, including 3 seats in FL. The race in Florida’s 22nd District is now rated a ‘toss up’ after previously being ranked as ‘lean R.’ That seat is a showdown between GOP businessman and Marine veteran Casey Askar and Pia Daniya, a former educator, WH fellow and Apple executive.”
… “The seats occupied by GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Maria Salazar also have shifted from “Likely R” to “Lean R.” Luna is being challenged by retired Brigadier Gen. Leelay Gray.”
… Meidas reporter Scott MacFarlane was asked about the KS senate race on MS NOW: “Roger Marshall doesn’t appear to be somebody expecting the level of challenge he’s getting from Democrat Adam Hamilton. And Hamilton is now mechanized the disputes Marshall has with patients into TV commercials. All of this is trending towards Hamilton based on the conversations I’m having with Democratic campaign operatives.”
… MS NOW: “The national average for a gallon of gas is $4.48. Diesel is $6.47. The Iran war is raging on. And Trump is fixated on personal grievances, a media ban and Washington renovations. With just 5 weeks to go till the midterm elections, Republicans on Capitol Hill know that voters are focused on the economy.
… But as Republicans try to protect their majorities, GOP lawmakers also acknowledge that Trump’s attention is … elsewhere.
… An analysis of his social posts since Labor Day found that Trump had posted roughly 30 times about his moves to renovate Washington and the WH. He has posted approximately 10 times about renaming Lake Ontario and NM. And he has posted more than 20 times about press coverage, including railing against MS NOW and CNN.
… Trump has also devoted a significant amount of attention to more obscure topics, like former baseball player Johnny Damon, Gracie Mansion and Zohran Mamdani, his Greenland deal and a series of polls asking if the name of AI should be changed to “superior,” “supreme” or “super” intelligence.”
… Sen. Majority Leader John Thune on Fox: Q - “For those who are frustrated that the SAVE Act didn’t get passed, would that have materially changed the outcome of any race in the midterms? Thune: The races are more about affordability issues. It’s about the price of diesel in places like IA, KS, NE and the midwest. So I think that’s the issue. Iran has sort of trumped everything else that is going on.”
… The Heartland Post: “State Rep. Francesca Hong urged her supporters not to write her name in for governor, telling a Milwaukee crowd she is no longer a candidate and they should back Democrat David Crowley and the rest of the ticket.”
… Hong during a statewide tour to support Democratic candidates: “I’m not out here to tell you what to do. But I do got to say, please do not write me in or vote for me. I’m no longer a candidate.”
… “The plea underscored lingering tension inside the party after Hong, a democratic socialist, lost the Aug. 11 primary to Crowley by fewer than 4,000 votes. Establishment Democrats had scrambled in the final weeks to stop her, after Crowley dropped out of the race in July and then reentered with an endorsement from outgoing Gov. Tony Evers.
… Some Democrats worry that anger over that intervention could keep Hong’s voters from turning out for Crowley or prompt them to cast protest write-in ballots in a state where races are often decided by razor-thin margins. Crowley faces Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany.
… Domino Williams, outreach chair for the Milwaukee chapter of DSA, said some Hong supporters would not have voted for Crowley without her explicit instruction: “I think it’s really big for her to be doing this, and it’s definitely going to win some people over that maybe just wouldn’t have voted unless she did this.”
… Viewers of my Uncovered podcast may remember that the day after the primary I said the test for Hong and other DSA candidates for their political futures within the Democratic Party is whether they can be team players when they lose primaries. Hong passed the test. She made some mistakes during the campaign, but she’s young, smart, and seems to have a bright future.
… MS NOW: With fewer than 40 days to go until the midterms, Senate Democrats are demanding the head of the DHS ‘cease’ actions they argue could be undermining elections and threatening constitutional protections. 34 Senate Democrats accused Markwayne Mullin of making moves that were “intentionally undermining Americans’ trust in the 2026 midterm elections and appear to purposefully disenfranchise eligible voters.”
… From their letter: “You have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands.”
… The average 30-year mortgage rate hit 7.50% today. Mortgage rates exactly one year ago were 6.38%.
… Economist Peter Schiff: “The yield on the 10-year Treasury just hit 5.27%. It first hit 5% exactly two weeks ago. At this rate, the yield will hit 6% by Nov. 5, just two days after the midterm elections. By then the interest rate on a 30-year mortgage will be over 8%. That’ll be a major issue for voters.”
… Longtime NYC councilman Justin Brannan: “This isn’t abstract finance. This is how working people get squeezed. On the same $500K 30-year mortgage, every half point increase in the interest rate will add $165 to your monthly payment. Same amount borrowed. Same house. Nearly $2,000 more a year for every 0.5%.”
… NBC: 8 US Marines were injured Sept 14th when an Iranian cruise missile impacted the ship they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz. Officials declined to say what type of vessel it was, calling it a "maritime vessel", however confirmed it was not a US Navy ship.
… 7 enlisted Marines and one officer suffered smoke inhalation and possible traumatic brain injuries. None were seriously hurt, and all returned to duty soon after. They were serving as part of a battalion landing team, a Marine infantry unit capable of amphibious and maritime operations.
… The Pentagon's casualty database added the 8 Marines to its injured list Wed, nearly 10 days after the attack, without saying where, when or how they were hurt. It now lists 861 wounded in the Iran war. CENTCOM declined to comment.
… Semafor: “Republicans are increasingly frustrated with Pete Hegseth, hampering his ability to secure hundreds of billions in defense dollars. This will be a huge pain point after the election because he probably needs 50/53 Republican votes in Senate, not to mention the House.”
GOP senator: “There are a lot of people that are really upset with the war in Iran and how it’s being played out. We feel it’s hurting our chances in the elections in the fall."
Trump official: “This could turn into a real standoff with the military caught in the middle."
Sen. Tom Tillis (R-NC): "I don’t think he’s built strong enough relationships. Why is anybody going to blindly appropriate anything to him?”
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND): “Republicans are frustrated that he hasn’t reached out to Democrats. He didn’t in his confirmation, and he hasn’t much since at all."
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME): "One of my concerns, which unfortunately has been borne out, was that he would fire a lot of very capable military officials, and he has done that. He has blocked promotions for some of our most capable military officers. He also is not the most respectful when it comes to Congress’ role."
… Financial Times: “Today Russian drones are terrorizing central Kyiv, striking Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences and a hospital, among other civilian buildings. A business center was hit in Dnipro. At least 4 people were killed and many more injured.
… The attacks have been relentless since Trump met Zelenskyy at the UN last Tuesday. But Trump does not mention them here or criticize Putin for targeting and killing civilians. However, he does confirm our FT reporting that he pushed Zelenskyy to stop striking Russian refineries.”
… Zelenskyy: “Emergency services keep working at the site of the direct strike on the Academy of Sciences building in Kyiv. Sadly, as of now, one person has been reported killed and 6 people injured, including 3 children. This afternoon, the Russians also struck a medical facility in the center of the capital. First responders are now working to put out the fire as quickly as possible.
… Every Russian act of terror results in casualties that could have been prevented if pressure on Russia had finally become total. Pressure on everything that finances and produces Russia’s weapons of terror, and on everyone who uses them.
… The world must understand that terrorists will keep going if they are not stopped here, in Ukraine. And such brutal strikes must not be ignored. There must be a response - with global resolve and strength. We are counting on the strength of Europe, America, and our other partners who can help protect lives.”
… Russia is bombing museums, apartment buildings, hospitals, research facilities, and parks. Ukraine is bombing military targets and refineries. Guess which one Trump has been complaining about?
… Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko: “This was a beautifully preserved mid-19th-century building closely tied to the very origins of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, whose history dates back to 1918, and where such renowned scientific luminaries as naturalist Volodymyr Vernadsky (the Academy’s first president), the great Kyiv physician Oleksandr Bohomolets, and biochemist Oleksandr Palladin once worked.
… And fascist Putinist Russia, with its deranged tsar = death, darkness, barbarism, hatred, and destruction.”
… Politico: The Front Row Joes - the roving band of the president’s most ardent supporters, many of whom have dedicated portions of their lives to traveling to as many Trump rallies as possible - once represented unbreakable, unconditional, unprecedented devotion.
… So when Trisha Hope says that Trump is “a fraud and liar,” and Rick Frazier says “he can’t be trusted,” Republicans should hear alarm bells. Hope joined the Front Row Joes in 2018 after publishing a book of Trump’s posts on then-Twitter called Just the Tweets. It helped pay for travel to rallies across the country in an RV she bought after giving up her apartment in TX.
… But now? “If we do lose the midterms and he is impeached again, I will be walking the halls of Congress in support of that impeachment.”
… Hope saw her faith shaken during a July 8, 2025 Cabinet meeting when a reporter asked then-AG Pam Bondi about DOJ’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Before she could answer, Trump interrupted: “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years.”
… Hope: “It was like a dagger in my heart. It was like a light switch went on and a veil lifted, and I saw him for who he was, and I have not been able to unsee it since.”
… The war with Iran vindicated those feelings. “He’s said the war is over 600 different times. He tells us they don’t have a military, they don’t have a navy. They’re still blowing up things. It’s just all lies.”
… Frazier, a founding Joe, shares her frustrations: “Epstein crimes and feeding the industrial military complex - those are big nos for me. He promoted himself as a no-war president. That didn’t work out.”
… Frazier has been to over 100 Trump rallies and creates content for the group. Now he’s done with politics: “I’m to the point of not going to the polls in November.”
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