Today in Politics, Bulletin 470. 9/29/26

… Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) beclowned himself today while attempting to cross-examine Jack Smith at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where he was certain he had his big moment catching Smith committing perjury.

… But just as Schmitt’s staff was likely booking Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity for tonight where he would launch his campaign to be JD Vance’s 2028 running mate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) made an observation that unraveled his entire premise and make him look like the sad, pathetic, incompetent jerk that he is.

… Schmitt thought he had proof, based on text messages between staffers, that Smith had snuck off to Atlanta for a secret meeting with Fulton DA Fani Willis where they conspired to get Trump. But in fact, Smith never went to Atlanta and never even met Willis.

… Schmitt based his theory on the fact that the texts referenced Smith attending a “Hawks” basketball game that night. Schmitt assumed that must have been the Atlanta Hawks, who were playing that night in Atlanta. However, Smith testified he attended an Iowa Hawkeyes game in MD because he wanted to see Caitlan Clark play.

… That is when Klobuchar attempted to politely point out to Schmitt that the Iowa Hawkeyes are often referred to as Hawks by their fans. Schmitt, realizing that he just looked like a fool and instead of Hannity he was going to be on every network as the Idiot of the Day, interrupted and started yelling at Klobuchar for pointing out his error.

… Because MAGA.

… Klobuchar to Schmitt after Smith said he went to the Iowa game to watch Clark: “Perhaps you should have looked at his more carefully.”

… This is what Schmitt said to Smith when he thought he caught him in a lie after he denied going to Atlanta or meeting with Willis: “I don’t think you know that we have this stuff. So I will give you a second to process it so you don’t perjure yourself. But I think you’ve already perjured yourself.”

Win McNamee / Getty

… Schmitt later attempted to explain why he screwed up to HuffPost after the hearing: “It was the only game. Atlanta was the only NBA game or men’s college baseball game that night at 7:30.”

… Meidas Capitol Hill reporter Scott Macfarlane: “The irony of confusing men and women’s sports.”

… Klobuchar posted after the hearing: “As a Gopher fan, I know the difference between the Hawks and the Hawkeyes.”

… Schmitt went to Truman State University, so he might not know ball.

… This was the moment Jack Smith realized that Schmitt had the wrong game, as he looked over towards Klobuchar.

… Schmitt’s two staffers, who may have fed him this smoking gun conspiracy theory, looked on like they realize this might be their last day.

… One camera zoomed in on Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) as her face was frozen in this position for a solid 30 seconds as Smith was explaining that he went to an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland not an Atlanta Hawks game in Atlanta.

… From Jack Smith’s opening remarks at the hearing:

• “History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed all at once. It is often weakened by attacks on the institutions in the public servants sworn to uphold it. Since Jan 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort including the vilification of the agents, prosecutors and staff who worked on my team simply because of their unwavering dedication to the rule of law. I myself have been threatened with jail by the president of the US.”

• “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation. Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power.”

… Two Ohio Governor polls were released today:

Suffolk Poll:
🟦 Amy Acton: 50%
🟥 Vivek Ramaswamy: 41%

Marist Poll:
🟦 Amy Acton: 50%
🟥 Vivek Ramaswamy: 44%

NPR/Marist: OH Senate:

🟦 Sherrod Brown: 51%
🟥 Jon Husted (inc): 43%

Other Senate races:

🟦 Iowa — Turek 50–42 (+8)
🟦 Ohio — Brown 51-43 (+8)
🟦 Texas — Talarico 50–44 (+6)

IA Governor race:

🟦 Iowa — Sand 54–42 (+12)

… TX GOP senate nominee Ken Paxton attempted to defend himself in an interview about James Talarico’s criticism of his handling of a child sex abusers’ case while AG: “The criticism has been that I let a child predator out after one day. Well guess what? They served 60 days.”

… Not sure that helps.

… A clip of Paxton’s comments received this Community Note on X: “Paxton’s office initially recommended 1 day in jail for Adam Hoffman after he pled guilty to two misdemeanors in his child sex abuse case. The judge increased it to 60 days. Hoffman served about 30 days and did not have to register as a sex offender.”

… It definitely doesn’t help.

… Paxton: “The only thing that really saves us is that the Supreme Court came along and allowed Super PACs. Otherwise, we could not run a race in TX. I would be sitting here and never have a chance.”

… With Paxton, there are no quiet parts. Everything is out loud.

… Rep. Angie Nixon, the FL Democratic nominee for senate, responded to her opponent Sen. Ashley Moody’s claim that she wants to defund the police with this viral post referencing the Hope FL scandal: “Why would I want to abolish the police when I want you arrested and in jail for stealing $10 million from sick kids? BFFR.”

… BFFR means “be fucking for real.”

… Axios: “IA is on the verge of a farm crisis that threatens to wreck the agricultural heart of the state and hurt the fortunes of Republicans at the top of the midterm ticket. Democrats could win in several once-reliably Republican states in Nov, but Trump‘s policies have caused such severe financial problems for farmers - especially those who grow corn - that Iowa appears particularly vulnerable.”

… On top GOP consultant working in IA and other states: “In IA, we should brace for losing everything, definitely the governor’s race and maybe the Senate race and who knows what else. IA is on the front end of a farm crisis. It's ground zero. But this is in the corn belt and it's showing signs of spreading to KS and NE, even MO."

… “As his political operation watches Iowa in alarm, Trump held a WH press conference to announce plans for a massive steel plant in the state that would be the nation’s largest. Iowa politicos note that the $15 billion plant wouldn’t come online until 2030, too late to provide tangible relief to people who are hurting now.”

… NYT on the steel mill Trump is now promising to IA: “Trump has leaned into the promise of the mill, which is part of an $18 billion investment from Mesabi Metallics. Trump, staring down a rough midterm season for Republicans, unveiled plans for an IA steel mill project on Monday that he said would plug billions into the economy and create construction jobs in a state hit hard by his policies.”

… “Mesabi Metallic is owned by Essar Group, a Mumbai-based conglomerate controlled by one of India’s wealthiest families. The IA mill project follows another initiative led by Mesabi: a $2.5 billion iron-ore mine and pellet plant in Nashwauk, MN.”

… “The project has been supported by EXIM Bank, a US federal import-export bank that announced it would extend loans to the company worth up to $10 billion. Some analysts consider the EXIM loan to be risky, because Mesabi has faced financial problems and significant delays over the years.”

… “Mesabi executives have leaned on a Trump-world insider as the company has sought to expand its footprint in the US. The company hired Jason Miller, a longtime Trump adviser, as its lobbyist, paying him at least $240,000 through his company SHW Partners.

… The govt of India also hired Miller’s company, paying $150,000 per month for ‘strategic counsel, tactical planning and govt relations assistance on policy matters before the US govt.”

… Trump confirmed in the Oval Office that he will be holding a campaign rally in IA. He then looked directly at GOP senate nominee Ashley Hinson who was present, and who avoided JD Vance when he campaigned there a couple weeks ago, and said: “And we’ll ALL be there together.”

… Not the first time Trump has forced a woman to do something she didn’t want to do. I guess now she has to take a stage with Toxic Trump right before the election.

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If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin it is here. If you missed Ask the Editor where I answered 5 of your questions, you can find that here.

Today was a wild news day. I did my very best to keep up with everything but it was one thing after another and happening fast. I also couldn’t resist doing a bunch of social media posts as all this was going on and I did a podcast interview as well. So it was a long day!

… Iowa Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek at a campaign forum:

• “This upcoming election is about costs. The best thing we can do is end this unnecessary war in Iran. It’s driving up the cost of fuel, fertilizer, and diesel prices. Let’s repeal these tariffs that have hurt farmers.

• I want to put guardrails on insurance companies because insurance bills are going up too much.

• Let’s drive private equity out of housing, healthcare, and nursing homes that will help lower the cost of healthcare.

• And then let’s break up monopolies, vertical integration, and, price gouging. If we do that, we will dramatically reduce costs.”

… Speaker Mike Johnson was asked on CNBC what his legislative agenda is if Republicans keep the majority: “What we would do in the next two years is exactly what we have been doing already.”

… I’m not sure that’s a winning message.

… Real Clear Politics has moved the FL governor’s race to ‘Toss Up’ from ‘Lean R’ as David Jolly closed the gap in polling on Byron Donalds to within the margin of error.

… Alaska voter Katie Burrow wanted to hire former GOP Rep. Marge Greene to put out a Cameo video supporting Democratic nominee for Senate Mary Peltola. Greene agreed and put the video out today:

• “This one is for Sen. Dan Sullivan from one of your constituents in AK, who is very America First and really sick of the RINOs and very sick of the party. Dan, you didn’t support releasing the Epstein files when you had a chance to vote on it. You voted against it. And you are so pro-war that you have people very upset in AK, and that’s not good.

• You know, it’s the USA that we should be supporting, not Israel or any other foreign country. Very, very bad place to be. And if you’ve been paying attention to the polls, that’s how people feel. They’re really, really tired of it. What people really want is affordability. They want low gas and diesel.

• They want to see the foreign wars completely end. They’re sick of paying for them. They’re sick, sick and tired of paying for people to be bombed and killed. And, you know, most importantly, you really should stand up for women who were raped when they were 14.

• Voting to release the Epstein files is the easiest thing anybody could ever do. It’s not a partisan issue. It’s—it’s just the right thing to do. All right, so that was from Katie Burrow, who’s really pissed at you and asked me to let you know all these things. All right, Katie, good luck.”

… AP: “The WH has spent days fiercely defending 3 taxpayer-funded ads that glorify Trump and are nearing at least $1.5 million in public spending, calling them public service announcements like those used in past admins. But the Republican admin’s ads attracted mounting criticism, including from members of Trump’s own party.

• Sen. Majority Leader John Thune: “It shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”

• Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): “It would not have been something that I would have done.”

… “Multiple legal experts said the ads appear to run afoul of federal statutes, including a law against congressionally appropriated funds being used for ‘publicity or propaganda’ and a law that limits the partisan political activities of govt employees. They said the new ads, which are airing on network and cable TV and streaming, differ from other admins’ PSAs because they aren’t designed to help Americans access any specific program.”

… “According to AdImpact, which tracks media spending, the spots have so far cost more than $1.4 million and run across a wide range of TV networks around the country. The actual amount spent could be significantly more, depending on whether networks classified the ad as a political ad.”

… MarketWatch: “After another rough week, the bond market’s no-good Sept continued on Monday, with the Treasury market on the verge of booking one of its worst monthly showings in years. Traders were aggressively selling off US govt bonds of all types, driving yields across the entire curve to multiyear and multidecade highs.

… The state of bond markets matters far beyond Wall Street because longer-term Treasury yields, particularly the benchmark 10-year rate, help determine how much American consumers and businesses pay to borrow on everything from mortgages and car loans to credit-card debt.”

… CNBC: “Trump is a creditor to hundreds of cities, hospitals, schools, utilities and other public institutions across the country - many of which are directly affected by decisions made by his own admin. And that financial exposure is growing.

… Trump ended 2025 with 807 municipal bond positions worth $240.7 million to $797.6 million. He has since disclosed at least 243 purchases in 2026 worth between $68.2-$233.8 million. Among those are 48 new purchases Trump disclosed Sept. 22 when his financial report for July became public.

… Taken together, the holdings total more than 1,000 positions valued at between $300 million and $1 billion. The exact current values are obscured because federal filings use broad ranges and exclude subsequent market moves.

… It’s the latest example of a hallmark of Trump’s tenure: the fusion of executive power and personal wealth. Federal grants, regulations and healthcare funding decisions can affect the finances of issuers whose debt sits in Trump’s portfolio, ethics and financial experts told CNBC.”

… Gas market analyst Patrick De Haan: “The Fuel Clock shows Americans have paid $74.4 billion more on gasoline and $47.5 billion more on diesel since March 1 compared to a year ago. Total cost will hit $122 billion today.”

… Global Energy Flow: “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve stands at about 285 million barrels, its lowest level since 1982 and roughly 40% of its 714 million barrel capacity, with weekly draws now slowed to about 0.4 million barrels.

… The number that matters this week is not crude. US distillate stocks fell again to 107.5 million barrels, 12% below their 5-year average and up nearly a dollar in a month. Crude building while distillate drains is the whole diesel story in one table: the barrel is available, the refined product is not.”

… Daily Mail: “Longtime Trump loyalist Kurt Olsen and at least 6 other prosecutors have departed the so-called ‘grand conspiracy’ investigation in the Southern District of FL - delivering a major blow to DOJ’s long-running probe. News of the departures follows weeks of uncertainty over the fate of the investigation in Miami following the abrupt resignation of Trump ally Joseph diGenova earlier this month.

… DiGenova had been tapped by AG Todd Blanche in April to probe whether US intelligence and law enforcement officials, including Barack Obama‘s CIA Director John Brennan, were part of a years-long plot against Trump. News of their exits casts fresh doubt as to next steps in the wide-reaching investigation in FL.

… It also reportedly follows fresh pressure from DOJ officials in Washington to proceed with securing indictments before the midterm elections. Those requests appear to cut against longstanding DOJ norms to avoid taking ‘overt’ investigative steps in politically sensitive cases within 60 to 90 days of an election.

… A source familiar with the investigation said the indictment pressure from Main Justice was at the heart of the departures: “They started asking questions, and then they started giving orders to line attorneys about how to conduct the grand jury. The attorneys revolted, and then objections were made to the dept, and then that’s when everything exploded.”

… MS NOW’s Ken Dilanian: “FBI officials say the bureau has been placing people on the Most Wanted List whose capture is believed to be imminent. In other words, these officials tell us—they are gaming the system. One fugitive was captured in Mexico an hour and 13 minutes after being placed on the list.”

… Georgetown professor Matthew Kroenig: “The US State Dept lobby used to display the flags of the roughly 200 countries with which the US maintains diplomatic relations. Now, it displays 200 American flags.”

… Charles Shapiro: “I worked for State Dept for 34 years. Visitors loved that wall of flags. Foreign visitors from all those embassies in Washington loved seeing the flag of their country in the lineup. A huge US flag already flies in front of the building. This is performative patriotism.”

… The Russians bombed the “Loving Hearts” animal shelter in Odessa last night, killing hundreds of dogs and cats. But Trump, Witkoff and Kushner say they are going to end the war by offering Putin business deals.

… ProPublica: “The WH Office of Management and Budget wants to change spending rules to prohibit anyone from using federal grant money for voter registration drives or what it vaguely calls ‘related activities.’ The office is headed by Russell Vought, who has long criticized the use of taxpayer money for voter registration efforts and who more recently used his position to cancel, freeze or redirect vast amounts of federal funding in defiance of Congress’ orders.”

… Disability rights attorney Amy Miller, who has worked at her nonprofit for 6 years, said she’s never faced regulators wanting to impede her work: “Shutting that down and making it more difficult for these Americans to access the ballot box is bewildering to me.”

… “The proposal is part of the Trump admin’s broader assault on federal efforts to expand access to voting, especially among groups that have historically faced discrimination and disenfranchisement.”

… CBS: “US-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further after the US went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles. The ban marks another ratcheting up of Trump’s second-term trade war with America’s longtime ally and trading partner.

… Jacob Jensen, director of trade policy at the center-right American Action Forum, calculates that the ban would cover $967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 numbers. Of that, 87% would be alcoholic beverages that the US targeted because of some Canadian provinces responding to Trump's provocations by banning US booze from store shelves.”

… AR Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders continues to get hammered on social media from MAGA supporters who are fuming that she used a white male actor in her ad about welfare fraudsters. She responded to them with this post:

• “Some critics online don't like my welfare work requirement ad. Next thing you know they’ll say I should have used cookies instead of cheese balls. If you are able-bodied you should not collect welfare simply because you choose not to work. Period.”

… That response received over 9,000 replies on X - almost exclusively from Trump supporters claiming that it was mostly black people who are on SNAP benefits so a black actor should have been used. However, data shows that 70% of SNAP benefits in AR go to white people.

… Natalie Harp was photographed outside the WH today by Reuters journalist Jonathan Ernst having an interesting interaction.

… NY Post: “Kristi Noem has filed for divorce from her husband Bryon, citing irreconcilable differences months after a bombshell report detailed his affinity for ‘bimbofication’ fetish models.

… The former SD governor and DHS secretary filed Monday in Hamlin County Court in her home state. In late March, days after Noem was fired as DHS chief by Trump, Bryon Noem regularly chatted up women from the so-called ‘bimbofication’ scene, in which adult performers augment their breasts with massive amounts of saline to achieve a ‘Barbie doll’-like appearance.

… Noem has had her own personal scandal to contend with in the form of a longtime romance with former Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski, who is married and has 4 children. The two have continued to pursue their relationship, with Noem and Lewandowski spotted biking and canoodling along the shores of Lake Minnetonka in MN last month.

… The couple are known to have political ambitions that end with Noem occupying the Oval Office, a plan that dates back to her time as SD governor.”