Hi all, it’s Wednesday, and it’s Veterans Day.
To every veteran and military family reading this: thank you. You deserve a commander in chief who honors your service. We are so honored to employ and work with so many heroic veterans here at the MeidasTouch Network.
Here are today’s top headlines… so far:
Trump’s top lawyer threatens incoming Oversight Chair Robert Garcia with “criminality,” and the letter cites MeidasTouch reporting twice
Rep. Greg Murphy concedes in North Carolina as Democrats close in on 260 House seats, and Colom and Peltola keep growing their leads
At Arlington, Trump says “To the victor belong the spoils”
Treasury Secretary Bessent and Stephen Miller are living on military bases because of Iranian threats
Katie Phang wins big in her Epstein Files lawsuit
A federal judge bars a DOJ attorney over “fraud on the tribunal”
Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S. dies suddenly at 66
Hegseth impeachment gets blocked 211-204 while 11 Democrats skip the vote
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The White House Threatens Congress (And Cites Meidas?!)
White House Counsel Will Scharf wrote a letter to Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming House Oversight chair, warning that Democratic investigations “may cross the line into blatant criminality.” The letter is dated November 9, but it was never actually sent to Garcia. The White House handed it to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman, and Democrats found out about it when Punchbowl published it on Veterans Day.
The letter says the administration is “monitoring” Democrats. It names members one by one, including Rep. Emily Randall’s promise to pass out subpoenas “like candy,” Rep. Analilia Mejia’s “Mardi Gras beads” line, and Sen. Ed Markey’s joke about planting new forests. It ends by declaring that the administration “will not be extorted and will not be cowed.”
Here’s the part that made me laugh. Footnote 7 cites my MeidasTouch article on Speaker Mike Johnson calling Trump family investigations a “nightmare.” Footnote 8 cites a Garcia press release built on our coverage of his three-word answer to Johnson: “He’s not wrong.” So the White House counsel’s office reads MeidasTouch. Hi, Donald! Keep reading — you might learn something! And if the White House is reading MeidasTouch, you can bet we’re going to keep giving them plenty to read. Help us keep doing it by becoming a paid subscriber today.
Garcia told our DC correspondent Pablo Manríquez on camera, “We are not going to be threatened or intimidated because we are demanding accountability and oversight.” He told our DC Bureau Chief Scott MacFarlane, “Donald Trump is obviously hiding something. I think he needs to re-read the Constitution.”
In his written statement, Garcia said: “It appears Donald Trump has something to hide... Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House.” On CNN, Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch’s message to the Trump DOJ was: “Come at me, bro.”
On the subject of having something to hide…
CNN’s Alayna Treene reports that whistleblowers are telling Democrats that documents tied to Trump’s construction projects are being destroyed. House Judiciary Democrats are now telling people to “SAVE YOUR SCREENSHOTS” and bring that evidence to the committee.
Side note: I’m often asked where I go to do research for my reporting. One of the main research tools I use is called Ground News. Ground News shows me how stories are being covered from different political perspectives, and it highlights “blindspots” where only left-wing or right-wing media is covering a story.
Ground News has been a great sponsor of our YouTube channel and podcast, and they’re now sponsoring this post as well. I worked out a deal with them: if you go to ground.news/meidas, you can get 40% off Ground News’ top-tier Vantage plan, which gives you unlimited access to all the research tools I use.
Ground News is subscriber-funded, so they don’t rely on ads that could introduce bias. By subscribing, you support both our channel and their independent team working to keep the media transparent.
Now back to my report.
The Blue Wave Keeps Getting Bigger
Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman has Democrats winning the national House vote by 13.6 points, with more than 116.7 million votes counted. CNN has Democrats at 54 Senate seats and 256 House seats.
Mississippi: Scott Colom’s lead over Cindy Hyde-Smith is up to 3,109 votes in the AP count, up from 2,535. He keeps winning the new batches. Colom told Jake Tapper, “it’s going to be very clear that it’s time to call it.” He also blamed the chaos on Secretary of State Michael Watson’s use of Experian to check voter rolls.
Alaska: Mary Peltola leads Sen. Dan Sullivan 49.0% to 47.2%, and she now has more votes than both Dan Sullivans on the ballot combined. VoteHub’s Zachary Donnini says she has “a solid chance of reaching 50%” and avoiding ranked-choice tabulation.
North Carolina: Another Republican incumbent is out. Election denier Rep. Greg Murphy has officially conceded to Democrat Raymond Smith in North Carolina’s 3rd District, ending his seven years in Congress. Democrats are now on track to hold 11 of North Carolina’s 14 House seats, which flips the delegation from a 10-4 Republican edge to an 11-3 Democratic one. Nationally, Democrats are now reportedly on track to win a staggering 260 House seats.
Here’s a crazy stat: Democrats have officially won the popular vote in the South in the midterms for the first time since 1984 in the Senate and 1992 in the House.
Meanwhile, Republicans are coping. The White House posted “No Panicans. Patriots are still in control btw.” Lauren Boebert, who just lost her own race in Colorado’s 4th District, told Pablo, “I always think we’re too moderate.” Lisa McClain, now in Jim Jordan’s minority leadership, went on Fox to say Republicans will focus on “improving the quality of life for every American.” Why didn’t you do that the last two years? Too busy naming things after Trump? Axios reports that new Chief of Staff Stephen Miller plans to win back young men. Democrats won men under 30 by 22 points after Trump carried them by 14 in 2024, a 36-point swing. Stephen Miller is apparently the answer.
Democrats are already setting markers. Scott MacFarlane flagged Rep. Lauren Underwood’s H.R. 10974, which would claw back ICE and CBP money from the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill.” El-Sayed said Vance’s “one job” at his swearing-in is to swear him in. Then he made Trump an offer on Medicare for All: “Donald. If you’re watching, we can put your name on it. I know you like to put your name on stuff.”
Trump at Arlington: “To the Victor Belong the Spoils”
Trump looked sick and defeated. He sported another nasty bruise across the back of his hand as he saluted, and video showed him tapping his thigh over and over as he walked. He’s been dragging that leg lately. Then he gave the speech.
He compared his wars to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, bragging that fewer soldiers have died in the Iran War than those wars, and bragged that in Venezuela “we’re taking out billions and billions of dollars of oil.” Then he said “To the victor belong the spoils,” at a cemetery full of Americans who died for this country. On Iran, he said he wants “total victory, not a 93% victory,” and added, “Hopefully, we won’t have to destroy any more of that country.” He said, “I will never allow anyone to hurt our country with bad, foolish, horrible ideology. And everyone knows what I mean.” Nobody knows what he means. He promised to end “veterans homely homelessness” after DOGE gutted VA funding and veterans programs. He told a story about a service member who “stepped on enemy explosives” that fell apart halfway through.
And he pitched his “magnificent triumphant arch” as a gift to veterans. Veterans groups have sued to block it, the Kennedy family filed suit in the past 24 hours, and Judge Tanya Chutkan has an injunction in place because the arch would loom over JFK’s grave.
He started the day raging at the New York Times on Truth Social over its story on a sexual harassment settlement with a waitress at his Bedminster club, insisting the case “did not involve President Trump.” It involved his club and his lawyer Alina Habba, who now faces New Jersey ethics charges and could lose her law license. She’s accused of posing as the victim’s lawyer while secretly representing Bedminster and pushing the victim into a settlement. Trump then promoted her. This is also a man a jury found liable for sexual abuse.
“We Won.” So Why Is the Cabinet Living on Military Bases?
The White House says Trump “didn’t kick the can. He kicked their teeth in.” Here’s the reality:
The New York Times reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Mr. “Economic Fury” himself, has moved from his D.C.-area home to a military base because of Iranian threats. Stephen Miller and other officials are living on bases too. They are scared.
The Times also reports that U.S. intelligence says Iran’s hardline leadership is set on holding power “at nearly any cost.”
The U.S. evacuated aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in England after an Iranian threat and moved its refueling tankers to Germany. We reported weeks ago that RAF Fairford was evacuated too.
Iran struck three more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday. At least 21 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 900 injured that we know of, and our Middle East bases have been heavily damaged.
GOP Rep. Pat Harrigan, on Real America’s Voice of all places, called the war “terrible policy.”
Epstein, the Courts, and a DOJ in Freefall
MeidasTouch host Katie Phang keeps winning. In her Epstein Files lawsuit, Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered Trump’s DOJ to turn over withheld FBI notes about a victim who accuses Trump of abusing her when she was about 13. Trump denies it. The judge also ordered DOJ to produce the administrative record behind its Epstein Transparency Act releases “forthwith.” Great work, Katie!!!
In New York, Ryan Goodman at Just Security reports that Judge Sanket Bulsara found prima facie Rule 11 violations by DOJ in an immigration enforcement case, citing “bad faith, a deliberate attempt to mislead the Court.” He barred AUSA Thomas Price from the case, required a supervisor to sign every future filing, ordered DOJ to show cause by November 16, and warned of a default judgment against the government if there’s one more false statement. Other U.S. Attorney’s offices say they no longer have enough lawyers to answer habeas petitions from immigrants ICE has detained, because nobody wants to work at this DOJ.
And Massie just forced another Epstein vote.
The congressman the Pentagon just mocked with an AI crying meme isn’t done. Rep. John Garamendi added the 218th and final signature on Thomas Massie’s discharge petition for the Epstein Files Transparency Act II on Wednesday. That gets around Speaker Johnson and could force a House vote later this month. The bill would let Epstein survivors and state attorneys general sue the Justice Department in federal court to force out more Epstein files, and it would let members of Congress demand unredacted files from DOJ. Every Democrat signed, along with Massie and three Republicans who won’t be back next year: Ralph Norman, Nancy Mace and Brian Fitzpatrick.
It follows the original Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed in November 2025 after a long push by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna. So while Comer’s outgoing committee wraps up its own report, the House is about to vote on Epstein again whether Trump likes it or not.
11 Democrats Didn’t Show Up for the Hegseth Vote
After Speaker Mike Johnson forced a procedural vote, the motion to refer H.Res. 1655 passed 211-204 and blocked Pete Hegseth’s impeachment. Only one Republican voted no. The 11 Democrats who didn’t vote were Brownley, Correa, Gillen, Horsford, Jackson, Pelosi, Pettersen, Stansbury, Stevens, Strickland and Wilson. They all have excuses. Seven Republicans also missed the vote, so the math is tight either way, but you show up for a vote like this. Period.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove said it best to Pablo in a clip that has passed half a million views. She called him “Pathetic Pete,” pointed out that he spent over $100 million rebranding the Defense Department as the Department of War and then lost the war, and added: “We knew that this vote was coming, so people should have gotten their raggedy selves up these steps to vote... Shameful.”
Then the Pentagon gloated. The “DOW Rapid Response” account posted that AI-generated image of Republican Rep. Thomas Massie crying, with the caption “The disgruntled, ousted congressman’s attempt to impeach Secretary Hegseth has FAILED!” This kind of behavior is why so many non-political people keep telling me that they just want this regime gone. Massie can bring the articles back next week, and once Democrats take the majority in January, Hegseth will likely be impeached.
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins what a lot of us are thinking: “You are really bad at this. You are failing your responsibility. You have mishandled this war... So just resign.”
Quick Hits
Israel: Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the new Knesset majority, sent “Outgoing PM Netanyahu” a letter warning him not to deploy security forces without a clear and immediate threat.
Palantir: Alex Karp told POLITICO Playbook, “I know more about being a progressive than almost anybody on the planet.” Funny how all of these execs who bent the knee are suddenly seeing the light…
Russia: Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Alexander Darchiev, has died suddenly at age 66.
That’s where things stand. There’s going to be a lot more news throughout the day, so stay tuned.
If you haven’t gotten your copy of WTF America?! yet, it’s about how we got here and how we get out. Thanks for making it a New York Times Best Seller!!!
Have a reflective Veterans Day, Meidas Mighty. Let’s keep fighting to make this country, and the world, a better place.
