SUMMARY:
This week, Scott is joined by returning guests Marsha Fleming, chair of the Knox County Democratic Party, and Chuck Gill, vice chair of the Hancock County Democrats, for a show spanning global unrest, a flood of sleazy campaign ads, and a deep stack of Indiana news with nine days to go before the midterms. They open in Europe, where cost-of-living and housing protests have spread from France to Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and Albania, then turn to the Middle East, where escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi airports continue and the US and Israel quietly planning a post-midterm strike on Iran while Gaza aid cuts and West Bank settler violence intensify ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election. From there it’s Russia and Ukraine, where Trump is floating a Ukraine-excluding summit with Putin and Xi, envoy Steve Witkoff is calling Putin a “humanitarian,” and Elon Musk’s Starlink slowdown left Ukrainian drones nearly useless. A long campaign-ads stretch follows: Musk’s record $442 million in midterm spending, the transgender smear campaign against Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother, and AI-generated attack images hitting even a Hancock County sheriff’s race, before the panel digs into Indiana’s increasingly expensive Secretary of State’s race between Beau Bayh and Max Engling. After that, the panel covers the Trump administration’s escalating war on voting that looks to thwart a record early-voting surge, DOJ election monitors aimed at heavily Democratic areas, and California’s ballot fight; a weaponization segment on the federal raid of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home and the indictment of Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, with a rare on-the-record defense from Barack Obama; a corruption run covering the Corey Lewandowski DHS probe, a MAGA blood feud over Kennedy Center donations, and a documentary alleging the late Sen. Lindsey Graham paid for sex, including with a minor; New Mexico’s lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyer and accountant; Meta’s $25 billion privacy penalty and the ballooning data-center bubble; a pointed side-by-side of the shoplifting allegations against resigning Indiana state Sen. Ron Alting and the police shooting of a one-year-old in Senatobia, Mississippi; and a final run through Indiana news, including a court win for the tiny Union School Corporation, a state representative’s self-serving property-tax proposal, and the four judges up for retention on this year’s ballot.
Guest info:
Marsha Fleming: https://knoxvilledemocrats.org/
Chuck Gill: https://hancockindems.com/
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00:00 - Intro, Housekeeping, and Guest Welcome
00:04:06 - Europe: Protests Over Cost of Living and Housing Sweep the Continent
00:12:18 - Middle East: The Saudi-Houthi Conflict and Renewed Iran War Planning
00:19:11 - Israel: Gaza Aid Cuts, West Bank Settler Violence, and the Oct. 27 Election
00:23:46 - Russia-Ukraine: The Trump-Xi-Putin Summit Proposal and Musk’s Starlink Slowdown
00:35:13 - Campaigns: Musk’s Record Spending, the Talarico Smear Ads, and the Ramaswamy-Acton Ad
00:43:03 - Secretary of State’s Race: Beau Bayh, Max Engling, and the Fundraising Fight
00:51:27 - War on Voting: The Early Voting Surge and the DOJ’s Election Monitors and Noncitizen Purges
01:03:08 - Weaponization: The Ilhan Omar Raid, Louise Lucas’s Indictment, and Obama’s Defense
01:12:04 - Corruption: Lewandowski, the Kennedy Center Feud, and the Lindsey Graham Documentary
01:22:31 - Epstein: New Mexico Sues Epstein’s Lawyer and Accountant
01:29:03 - Tech: Meta’s $25 Billion Penalty and the Data Center Bubble
01:36:54 - Double Standards: Ron Alting’s Resignation and the Senatobia, Mississippi Shooting
01:45:56 - Indiana News: The Union Schools Win and J.D. Prescott’s Property Tax Scheme
01:53:26 - Indiana News: Judicial Retention on the Ballot
01:56:31 - Wrap-Up: Thanks and Where to Find the Panelists
01:58:51 - Sign-Off
Europe Protests
Huge Riots and Anti-Government Protests Roil France: What to Know (NYT)
More than half a million people joined about 110 marches across France last Saturday, per the interior ministry (800,000 per the CGT union), the biggest day since the student-led protests began a month ago.
Rioters vandalized about 1,500 shops and government sites, including an arson attack that largely destroyed Limoges’ town hall, and police made about 2,000 arrests.
Students blockading schools since September want repairs, more teachers and smaller classes. Prosecutors and a police watchdog are investigating at least 34 alleged cases of police misconduct, including a 15-year-old who lost a hand, likely to a police stun grenade.
Belgian police fire tear gas at protesters (Le Monde)
Belgian police used tear gas and water cannons against hundreds of cost-of-living protesters in Brussels and Liège last Saturday.
In Brussels, police made about 10 arrests after protesters threw bottles, fireworks and flammable liquids, set bins and e-scooters on fire, and vandalized a Socialist Party office.
The unrest follows weeks of high school student protests against higher university registration fees.
Portugal sees protests over cost of living and housing crisis as demonstrations sweep Europe (EuroNews)
Portugal’s CGTP union federation and housing-rights groups held marches in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra last Saturday, over the cost of living, housing prices and fuel costs.
Demands included higher wages, better pensions and stronger public services.
In Porto, the march ended at Praça D. João I, the site of a week of housing protests during which dozens were reportedly injured in a police crackdown.
Soldiers guard center of Milan as thousands of protesters march across European cities (AP)
Thousands of mostly young protesters marched in Milan on Saturday, a week after looting and clashes with police. Demonstrations were also called in Rome and at least seven other cities.
Premier Giorgia Meloni sent 500 more soldiers to Milan, adding to hundreds already there and about 5,000 police, and announced tougher penalties for minors. Police arrested 45 people last weekend, 34 of them minors, and luxury boutiques boarded up ahead of Saturday’s march.
In Rome, authorities locked down luxury shopping streets. Several hundred students marched peacefully, and a separate anti-war march was held.
Albania protesters set Supreme Court on fire as anti-Rama riots escalate (WION)
Last Saturday, protesters in Tirana set fires at Albania’s Supreme Court, the entrance to the Bank of Albania and several post offices. The next day, the sixth straight day of protests, police used tear gas and water cannons.
Officials report at least 132 police officers injured, 167 arrests and criminal cases opened against nearly 400 people. The EU delegation asked for a proportionate response after allegations of excessive police force.
Student protests over tuition, teaching conditions and job prospects have merged with the “flamingo” movement. For months it has demanded Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation over alleged corruption in a coastal tourism development linked to Jared Kushner. Rama has been in power for 13 years and refuses to step down.
France protests draw 400,000 for new rallies against rising living costs (Al Jazeera)
France’s Interior Ministry counted 410,000 protesters nationwide on Saturday, including 110,000 in Paris. The CGT union put the figures at 800,000 and 250,000. Police fired tear gas and water cannons in parts of central Paris and in Lyon, and made at least 135 arrests nationwide, 65 of them in Paris, while calling the situation calm.
Authorities deployed more than 70,000 police and gendarmes, including the elite RAID unit. They banned non-union marches and protests in downtown Montpellier, Rouen, Nice and Lyon, and moved the Paris union march from the Bastille–Nation route to the city’s southeastern edge. The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and at least 24 metro stations closed.
On Friday, Macron met student representatives for the first time since the protests began. He promised more teachers and an overhaul of Parcoursup, the university admissions system, but students vowed to keep mobilizing. The Yellow Vests have called another protest for Oct. 31.
Trump attacks ‘migrants and communists’ as he tries to exploit France unrest (Guardian)
At a rally in Park City, Kansas, on Monday, Trump said France was “conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists,” saying “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon” and called it a warning for the November midterms. Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces an unexpectedly tough race there against Democrat Adam Hamilton.
Earlier that day, Trump said he had warned Macron about immigration and urged France on Truth Social to close its borders. Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Eric Schmitt also blamed immigration and the left, echoing National Rally leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella.
The Guardian notes that Trump hasn’t commented on protests in Spain, Portugal, Italy, or Albania, where demonstrators targeted a tourism development backed by an investment firm founded by Jared Kushner. The French protests began over school conditions and living costs, and fuel prices have climbed since US strikes effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.
Khanna blames wealth inequality, not immigration, for youth protests in Europe (The Hill)
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) posted on X on last Sunday, blaming the youth protests from France to Madrid to Tirana on wealth inequality, not immigration.
He said French students and teachers want safe schools, more teachers and smaller classes; Spaniards want affordable housing; and Albanians want jobs and an end to corruption.
Khanna rejected Vance’s claim that immigration from the Global South caused the unrest. He said it comes from wealth and power concentrated in a few hands and young people losing hope, and he called for “America’s Next New Deal.”
Middle East
Saudi-Houthi Conflict
From 10/12: Saudi Crown Prince ‘moving between heavily guarded palaces with bunkers’ as Houthis step up attacks (Independent)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has rarely been seen in public since Tuesday, Oct. 6. According to the WSJ, he is moving between heavily guarded palaces with bunkers, protected by a handpicked security team, as Houthi attacks escalate.
A Houthi missile attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, Oct. 10, killed 13 people and injured at least 300, Saudi Arabia’s worst attack in a decade. The airport, struck four times in five days, was closed. Saudi officials say they are running low on interceptors.
A 2022 Saudi-Houthi ceasefire broke down in July 2026 during the US-Israeli war on Iran, after the Houthis accused the Saudis of firing on Sanaa’s airport as a plane from Iran tried to land. Trump said he is considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis.
Two killed in attack on airport in eastern Saudi Arabia, authorities say (BBC)
An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, killed a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident and injured eight others Wednesday evening. The civil aviation authority didn’t say what kind of attack it was, and the Houthis didn’t immediately comment.
Earlier Wednesday, debris from a drone intercepted while targeting an Aramco facility at the Shaybeh oil field killed two residents, from the Philippines and Nepal. Four more drones were intercepted that night. Saudi authorities say at least 21 people have died in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports since Oct. 1.
In Yemen, the Houthis seized part of the Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait in September. Pro-government forces with Saudi air support say they retook territory overlooking the strait this month, and fighting continues around Taiz and in four other provinces. The UN says more than 256,000 people have been displaced.
Egypt’s top security body agrees to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against Houthi attacks (AP)
Egypt’s National Defense Council, chaired by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, agreed last Sunday to give Saudi Arabia all possible support against Houthi attacks, without giving details. The decision came a month after a visit from the Saudi crown prince, and on Saturday, Oct. 17, el-Sissi asked parliament to authorize deploying troops and military equipment abroad.
Also last Sunday, the Saudi defense minister met the UAE president to strengthen cooperation. The two countries have had tense relations after backing rival factions in Yemen. Separately, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, spoke with Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty.
The same day, an airstrike in Yemen’s Saada province killed at least nine people, including five children, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry, which blamed Saudi Arabia. A Saudi helicopter gunship crashed near Najran, killing both crew members. Saudi Arabia blamed a malfunction, while the Houthis claimed they shot it down.
US orders diplomats to depart Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes (Reuters)
On Wednesday, the State Department ordered non-emergency US government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, citing Houthi attacks on civilian airports and critical infrastructure. The US embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert the same day warning of possible further attacks.
Four US officials told Reuters that US missions in other Gulf states will also order family members to leave.
Washington had only recently sent some diplomats back to the region. Many were pulled out after Iran attacked US facilities in retaliation for the US-Israeli war on Iran that began in late February.
Iran War
“So Much Worse Than People Realize”: Never-Before-Seen Images Reveal Damage at U.S. Bases as Troops Describe Being Abandoned (MidasTouch)
Thursday, MeidasTouch published dozens of previously unreleased photos and videos from anonymous service members, contractors and military families. They show damage to US bases in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain since the Iran war began Feb. 28. The sources say they’ve been threatened with military discipline for sharing them.
Images from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia show destroyed dining halls and aircraft burning. Sources say one attack damaged an E-3 AWACS and two KC-135 tankers and injured 10 to 12 service members. Sources also say the July 17–18 barracks strike at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which killed three service members, was worsened by an overcrowded base and a poor emergency response.
In Bahrain, families say the Pentagon blocked a planned evacuation of military dependents before the airport was hit and closed, leaving many to get out on their own and at their own expense. Troops in the UAE described having no shelters and digging their own foxholes.
U.S. and Israel are planning for a possible attack on Iran (NPR)
An anonymous person briefed on the war planning told NPR on Thursday, that the US and Israel are preparing plans for a possible attack on Iran in early November, after the Nov. 3 midterms. Israel had planned to strike in mid-October, about two weeks before its Oct. 27 election, but Trump objected. The person said the buildup could also be pressure on Iran to reach a diplomatic deal.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Iran is prepared for diplomacy or war. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to hit Gulf data centers and the undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz if attacks resume. Iranian state media said the Guard targeted seven oil tankers in the strait the same day.
The IMF expects the economies of Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar to shrink by about 16% this year, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recession. It projects oil will average $130 a barrel in 2027 if the war and supply disruptions continue.
Israel
Short of funds, UN food agency cuts aid to 500,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 200,000 in the West Bank (AP)
World Food Program acting head Carl Skau said on Monday, that funding shortfalls forced the agency this month to cut food aid to 500,000 Palestinians in Gaza (from 1.6 million recipients to 1.1 million) and 200,000 in the West Bank (from 400,000 to 200,000). He asked donors for $450 million to restore the aid for six months.
In Gaza, about 1.4 million people, or 67% of the population, face crisis-level food insecurity or worse, and about 200,000 need immediate aid to avoid death from hunger. UN teams recorded about 50 attacks a day last week. Israel halted commercial goods, including food, last week, then said Monday it would resume coordinating commercial trucks.
In the West Bank, Skau said, escalating settler attacks have more than doubled food insecurity over three years, and nearly 1 million Palestinians need food aid. He saw burned olive groves and said settler attacks in the first two weeks of this year’s olive harvest have already exceeded the total for all of last year.
Israel detains U.S. House candidate, activists amid West Bank olive harvest (WaPo)
On Wednesday, Israeli forces detained about 90 Israeli and American volunteers accompanying Palestinian farmers on village land near Bethlehem. Those detained included Democratic House candidate Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller and self-described “liberal Zionist.” The IDF said the group was harvesting without the required preapproval near the Beitar Illit settlement, and Lander and others were later released.
The same day, soldiers declared groves near the village of Deir Jarir a closed military zone and turned farmers away. Police also briefly arrested Israeli activist Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, who filmed a settler attack on Friday, Oct. 16, that left Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine with four fractured vertebrae and a broken rib.
Israeli rights groups called the detentions one of the largest mass arrests in the West Bank in years and raised concerns of a crackdown ahead of Israel’s Tuesday, Oct. 27, election. Over the weekend, settlers allegedly assaulted European diplomats near Taybeh, and European allies have imposed new sanctions over settler violence.
Israeli soldiers raze neighbourhood in Hebron, driving families from homes (Guardian)
Two gunmen attacked an Israeli military checkpoint outside Hebron on Friday. A 20-minute gunfight killed two Israeli soldiers and injured three, and both gunmen were killed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the site and promised an immediate response. Smotrich ordered demolitions next to the attack site and called for a full military campaign like those in Gaza and Lebanon.
By Saturday, Israeli troops had leveled much of Hebron’s Ein Deir Baha district, said to be the gunmen’s home district. The Hebron municipality says 35 hectares (86 acres) were destroyed or marked for demolition and about 1,500 people, roughly 300 families, were evicted. All entrances to the city of 250,000 are sealed, and the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports plans to displace 2,500 more.
Israel Elections
Trump backs Netanyahu: Is the US planning a new Iran attack with Israel? (Al Jazeera)
Last Sunday, Trump endorsed Netanyahu on Truth Social for Israel’s Oct. 27 election after earlier declining to. He wrote that if anyone other than Netanyahu led Israel, the US would have to finish the job against Iran itself, which he said he was not inclined to do.
Haaretz’s tracker, as of last Sunday, projected 52 of the Knesset’s 120 seats for an opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party and 51 for Netanyahu’s Likud-led coalition. Neither is near the 61 needed for a majority.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Netanyahu on X of pushing the US into another war to stay out of jail. He said Iran’s offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within six days still stands if the US meets its conditions, including lifting sanctions and ending the naval blockade.
Vance declines to endorse Netanyahu after Trump offers full support for re-election (NBC)
On Monday, a day after Trump endorsed Netanyahu, Vance declined to do the same on Mark Halperin’s show 2WAY Tonight. He said he is neither for nor against Netanyahu and endorses only American candidates, though he praised Trump’s endorsement as the most effective in history.
Vance did weigh in on one foreign election: in April he campaigned in Hungary for Viktor Orbán, who lost after 16 years in power. In June, he warned Israel against opposing US efforts to negotiate an end to the Iran war.
In the same interview, Vance said he hasn’t decided whether to run for president in 2028. He said he expects Trump would endorse him right away if he does.
Russia/Ukraine
Putin Floats a Summit With Trump and Xi to Discuss Ukraine Deal (WSJ)
In an Oct. 9 phone call with Trump, Putin proposed a three-way summit next month with Trump and Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, without Zelenskyy. The Kremlin has suggested holding it on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, Nov. 18–19. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed talks about a meeting, and a senior US official said Trump hasn’t agreed but could be receptive.
The same call produced a deal for the US to buy Russian diesel and help sell it on the global market. Last Friday, Oct. 16, Trump halted sanctions on Russia under a bipartisan bill he signed last month. Energy experts say the Iran war is the main driver of diesel prices and that the amount of Russian fuel involved won’t move the market much.
Last Sunday, after Ukraine struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, Trump accused Zelenskyy on Truth Social of not wanting to end the war. On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha rejected any peace summit that excludes Kyiv.
Trump escalates clash with Zelenskyy as Russia continues deadly attacks on Ukraine (PBS)
On Monday, Trump accused Zelenskyy of not wanting to end the war and said someone else should negotiate for Ukraine. He said he might meet Putin and Xi next month, mainly to discuss arms control, and that Russia has been fine on Ukraine.
On Meet the Press last Sunday, Zelenskyy said the US had blocked, then restored, intelligence that warns Ukraine of Russian ballistic missile launches. On Monday in Uzbekistan, Rubio denied there had ever been a pause.
Speed caps on SpaceX’s Starlink system are slowing Ukraine’s drones and interceptors and cutting their connections. On Monday, Russian drones and missiles hit Kyiv without warning, damaging homes, a shopping mall and a school, and a baby was killed in Kharkiv.
Witkoff calls Putin a ‘humanitarian’ at Russia peace talks without Ukraine (CNBC)
On Wednesday, US envoy Steve Witkoff began talks with Putin in St. Petersburg on ending the war, without Ukraine at the table. In a video, Witkoff thanked Putin for describing President Donald Trump as a “humanitarian” and added: “You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again.” As the talks began, Russia announced the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired teacher the State Department considers wrongfully detained, and Vance defended Witkoff’s praise as thanks for Hubbard’s release.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy met Witkoff in Oslo with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. They discussed NATO’s Article 5 and other security guarantees, which Witkoff was to present to the Russians. Zelenskyy said any deal on Ukraine is acceptable only if Kyiv is at the table, including a proposed US-China-Russia summit.
Overnight into Wednesday, Russia struck energy and civilian targets across Ukraine, despite Trump’s Oct. 11 claim that he had brokered an energy ceasefire. Ukraine paused its own attacks on energy targets for three days before resuming them, citing continued Russian strikes.
Melania accused of hogging all the credit and ignoring Pope Leo’s role in securing Ukraine ceasefire (Independent)
On Friday, the White House announced a localized ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky in southern Ukraine, starting Oct. 29, to allow humanitarian aid and the evacuation of elderly residents. Melania Trump said in a statement it would have been impossible without her intervention. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets both credited her mediation.
The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV called Putin last Friday asking for a ceasefire to let aid into Oleshky, a call the Kremlin confirmed, and spoke with Zelenskyy on Monday. Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin credited the pope with starting the effort. Ukrainian official Davyd Arakhamia said the deal came from a longer process involving both the pope and Melania.
The credit dispute comes amid a public feud between Trump and Leo over immigration and the Iran war, which escalated in April when Trump attacked the pope on Truth Social after Leo criticized the war.
Musk Ordered Starlink Slowdown That Blindsided Ukraine (WSJ)
Elon Musk personally ordered the slowdown, starting Oct. 14, of the military-grade Starlink service Ukraine relies on, according to US officials and people familiar with the matter. The speed cap left some Ukrainian strike and interceptor drones nearly useless.
The slowdown began four days after Trump publicly told Zelensky on Oct. 10 to stop hitting Russian refineries, and after Musk posted that Zelensky had “gone too far.” Musk then posted that speed limits are decided by the US military and the president. Trump said on Monday, that he didn’t know who was responsible, and Hegseth said the Pentagon issued no directive and that Starlink sets its own terms of service.
Some US officials say Musk acted alone, but a person familiar with the matter says he spoke with senior officials, including Trump, before imposing the cap. Sources say the two also discussed it after it became public, and SpaceX pushed the White House for a shared message that they had coordinated in advance.
Trump Called Musk and Asked Him to Lift Ukraine Starlink Restrictions (WSJ)
Trump called Musk on Wednesday, and asked him to lift the Starlink restrictions in Ukraine, saying he was frustrated speeds were still capped at about 100 mph, according to US officials. The call came after the WSJ reported that Musk had ordered the slowdown.
Service improved Thursday, with some Ukrainian units testing drones at 125 mph. As of Friday, though, most of Ukraine’s military still reported failing connections, and Zelensky said speeds hadn’t been restored. Trump said Thursday that Musk “put it back,” then said Friday that he’d heard it was fixed and would talk to Musk if it wasn’t.
On Thursday, Vance said it was understandable that Musk didn’t want to get involved in a war without US government direction. Hegseth and Rubio had said Musk could decide under his own terms of service. The same day, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced an investigation into the Starlink slowdown and the Pentagon’s dependence on SpaceX.
Campaigns
Texas Senate
Elon Musk pours another $76 million into boosting Republicans (Politico)
Musk gave another $76 million to his super PAC, America PAC, in the first two weeks of October. That brings his giving this cycle to more than $442 million, far above the roughly $290 million he spent in 2024 and unmatched by any donor in modern US history.
His giving includes $158 million to Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, which passed it to a super PAC backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his tight Senate race against Democrat James Talarico. Musk has also funded House Republicans’ super PAC, Trump’s MAGA Inc. and a group seeking to repeal Alaska’s ranked-choice voting.
Musk hasn’t campaigned alongside GOP candidates this fall. Republicans privately acknowledged he could be toxic after losing the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, where he was the top funder and became a campaign issue. Talarico responded to a Musk attack on X by saying the system lets “one trillionaire” buy his own senator.
Democrat James Talarico targets Elon Musk at rally: ‘Texas is not for sale’ (Guardian)
At a rally at the University of Texas at Austin on Friday, Democrat James Talarico accused Musk of almost single-handedly bankrolling Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign and declared “Texas is not for sale.” He said super PACs and billionaire donors are spending $200 million against him in the most expensive Senate race in US history.
Talarico’s campaign says it raised $64 million from July through September, more than triple Paxton’s total, with 97% of donations under $100. Paxton, who was impeached by Texas Republicans over corruption accusations, faces new scrutiny after a WSJ video showed him in Dubai with two indicted healthcare-fraud fugitives, one of whom gave him $190,000.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls from Oct. 6 to 19 has Talarico ahead by 1.8 points, and an Emerson/Nexstar poll released Thursday, Oct. 22, has him up 48–46. Early voting began Oct. 19, and Democrats are seeking their first statewide win in Texas since 1994.
Streisand effect? The GOP’s constant attack ads may be teaching Texas kids the word ‘transgender’ (Them)
On Wednesday, a self-described Texas parent posted on r/conservative that the constant GOP ads attacking James Talarico’s support for transgender people had taught their kids what “transgender” means. Some commenters agreed the ads were spreading the idea, while others said parents should explain it themselves.
In September, Paxton ran an ad with an AI-generated Talarico delivering a fake sermon on gender and the Bible. In May, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller falsely called Talarico the “first transgender Senate candidate,” and this month Vance suggested Talarico is gay.
Former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, told Texas Monthly that the GOP’s transgender and culture-war ads aren’t resonating with voters. He said $100 million to $125 million in ads hasn’t moved the Senate race in a month.
Ohio Governor
Ramaswamy takes responsibility for controversial ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother (News 5 Cleveland)
On Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy took responsibility for an ad in which Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged birth mother, Donna Arthur, calls her a liar. Court records show Acton’s stepfather was charged with sexually abusing her when she was 12, her mother lost custody, and the stepfather fled and remained a fugitive until his death in 2004.
Ramaswamy said the ad shows a “pattern” of the people closest to Acton urging voters to reject her, and accused her of dodging debates. Acton, who says she hasn’t spoken to her mother since her stepfather was charged, said it was a terrible thing to do to someone who is unwell. Ramaswamy’s campaign is spending $4 million to air the ad.
The ad drew bipartisan backlash, including from Nikki Haley, Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who said he wouldn’t have run it, and former Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith, also a Republican. Vance defended Ramaswamy at two Cincinnati events and said he was disgusted by Republicans complaining about the ad.
Trump attacks Ohio governor over call for Ramaswamy to drop ‘deeply troubling’ ad (Guardian)
On Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, called Ramaswamy’s ad “wrong” and “deeply troubling.” He said family members have historically been off limits and urged the campaign to take the ad down, but he kept his endorsement of Ramaswamy to support the full GOP ticket.
Hours later, Trump called DeWine “disloyal” on Truth Social, urged Ramaswamy to keep running the ad and called Acton a “defective, dishonest” candidate. Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed it will spend $4 million to air the ad statewide and said Democrats have used family members of Trump and RFK Jr. in their own ads.
Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, called the ad “a despicable low” and said he and his sister were taken from their mother’s custody after their stepfather’s arrest. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he probably wouldn’t run such an ad, and Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown called it “disgusting.”
Indiana Secretary of State
Bayh, Ballard & Shillings jointly call on Fox59 to include all candidates in Secretary of State debate (Hamilton County Reporter)
Engling, Bayh duel over key differences in secretary of state race (ICC)
Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling met Thursday in the final Indiana secretary of state debate, hosted by Fox59/CBS4. Libertarian Lauri Shillings and Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard were excluded for polling under 10%, though Bayh had joined them on Tuesday in asking Fox59 to include them. The two sparred over an Engling ad linking Bayh’s father, Evan Bayh, to Jeffrey Epstein, which Beau called baseless, and a Bayh ad on Engling’s old speeding tickets, over which Engling says he is suing for defamation.
On elections, Engling backs the SAVE America Act and color-coded state IDs for legal noncitizens. Bayh wants to work with county clerks to clean up voter rolls and supports citizen-led ballot initiatives, which Engling opposes. Both support Indiana’s voter ID law and longer early voting hours.
Both candidates say the next secretary of state must investigate outgoing incumbent Diego Morales, who is accused of spending taxpayer money on luxury vehicles and promotional materials, hiring family members and awarding no-bid contracts to donors. Engling says the state inspector general should lead the investigation because that office can compel documents and testimony, while Bayh has proposed a different approach.
Republican David Shelton joins Ballard, Bayh efforts to hold secretary of state office accountable (WFYI)
Bayh has tapped Republican David Shelton, who lost the GOP nomination to Engling at the June convention, to help lead an independent audit of Diego Morales’s office if Bayh is elected. Shelton says an inspector general investigation isn’t enough and that an audit would show whether anything should be prosecuted.
Engling called the move “hypocrisy,” saying Bayh isn’t seeking oversight from people with experience. Shelton says he isn’t working for the Bayh or Ballard campaigns.
Shelton has also filed a complaint that Engling took $60,000 from Hoosier Leadership for America, a dark money group tied to Sen. Jim Banks, far above the $5,000 limit on corporate contributions. Engling calls the complaint baseless and says the money was returned before it was filed. Shelton wants the Indiana Election Commission to hear the complaint anyway, but the commission hasn’t met to take it up.
Ballard takes Indiana Election Commission to court (WFYI)
On Friday, Judge Jennifer Harrison heard Greg Ballard’s lawsuit seeking to force the Indiana Election Commission to meet on pending campaign finance complaints, and she will rule by the end of Monday. The commission hasn’t met since July and has scheduled its next meeting for Nov. 20, after the Nov. 3 election.
The complaints mainly concern Engling’s $60,000 from Hoosier Leadership for America, the group tied to Sen. Jim Banks, which Engling’s campaign says it returned. Others concern events Bayh attended but didn’t disclose, which Bayh calls frivolous.
The state argued that Ballard lacks standing, that there isn’t time to hear the complaints before the election, and that he is trying to use the commission to sway voters. Ballard’s attorney, Michelle Harter, said he is only asking the court to order the commission to do its job.
Evan Bayh drains his federal campaign accounts with $2.4M to state Dems amid son’s race (ICC)
Evan Bayh has moved at least $2.4 million to Indiana Democratic Party accounts since September, including more than $1.7 million this month. That nearly empties his Senate campaign fund, which dropped from $2.2 million in July to about $200,000, and his All America PAC, which is down to $10,000. Over the same period the party has given his son Beau’s campaign $2.2 million, effectively routing the dormant war chest from his 2016 Senate run into Beau’s race.
Bayh and Engling each had about $400,000 at the end of September. Since then, through Tuesday, Bayh has reported nearly $2.2 million in contributions over $1,000, including $1.5 million from the state Democrats. Engling has reported about $840,000, including $636,000 from the state GOP.
Engling’s campaign accuses “Washington Democrats” of trying to buy the race, while Evan Bayh declined to comment. The other two candidates are far behind: Ballard has reported $20,000 in large contributions this month and Shillings none.
War on Voting
Many states deciding control of the Senate are seeing a big boost in early voting (AP)
An AP analysis of data through Tuesday found more than 13 million mail and early in-person votes cast nationally two weeks before Election Day, compared with 9 million at the same point in 2022. Part of the increase comes from states that expanded early voting or now release more data.
The biggest jumps are in GOP-held Senate seats Democrats are targeting: Texas is up 74%, to nearly 1 million ballots; Kansas has more than doubled, from 27,000 to more than 55,000; Maine is up 39%; and Ohio and North Carolina are up more than 30%. In most of these states, Republicans make up a smaller share of early voters than four years ago.
The surge isn’t everywhere. Early votes in Michigan and Georgia, where Democrats are defending seats, are high but about even with their record-setting 2022 levels, and Iowa is down about 6%.
US Embassy in Ottawa accuses Canada of election meddling (Politico)
On Wednesday, the US Embassy in Ottawa gave journalists an unsigned “fact sheet” accusing Canadian politicians of interfering in US elections. It named Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather and Bernadette Jordan, Canada’s consul general in Boston.
The document cited Joly’s August remark that Canada’s retaliatory tariffs targeted US states to apply political pressure, and Housefather’s summer door-knocking with a Democratic candidate. Citing DOJ figures, it also claimed Canada is the second-largest source of foreign nationals prosecuted for illegal voting in the US, but the embassy didn’t answer follow-up questions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney brushed off the allegations Wednesday, and Ford denied any interference. Carney had recently joked that Americans are “a little touchy” about interference, and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has told Canadian lobbyists to “get the hell out of our country.”
Update: US ambassador softens accusations of Canadian interference in midterms (Politico)
In a podcast interview taped Wednesday, the same day the embassy released its fact sheet, and published Friday, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said the embassy hadn’t concluded there was any Canadian interference and hadn’t raised it with Washington. He added that “we continue to watch.”
Hoekstra said his earlier comments were taken out of context. He said activities such as Industry Minister Mélanie Joly meeting Democratic officials in Boston and Chicago about Trump’s tariffs could lead someone to “assume” interference.
On Friday, Carney suggested the Americans are the ones meddling in Canadian elections. Tensions have been high since Carney walked away from trade talks in August and vowed to reduce Canada’s reliance on the US.
Trump administration sues to block Alaska Senate certification if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses in November (NBC)
On Thursday, the Justice Department sued Alaska election officials in federal court. The suit seeks to block certification of the Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses and the votes for a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., would have put the senator over the top under ranked-choice tabulation. Trump said Friday that he ordered the suit.
Election law experts say the DOJ has no authority over state certification, and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski called the suit unnecessary. The ballot lists the senator as “registered Republican” and “incumbent” and gives Sullivan Jr. no party label. State officials removed Sullivan Jr. from the ballot in June, finding his candidacy wasn’t in good faith, but the courts reinstated him.
In August’s all-party primary, Democrat Mary Peltola won 49.5%, Sen. Sullivan 41.4% and Sullivan Jr. 2.5%. Peltola’s total beat both Sullivans combined (43.9%) by nearly 6 points, so even under the DOJ’s own theory, the second Sullivan wouldn’t have changed the primary result.
California
Federal prosecutors charge 28 California green card holders with voting violations (CalMatters)
On Monday, federal prosecutors charged 28 green card holders across California with illegally registering to vote or voting. They say 22 voted in at least one election, as recently as the June primary, five only registered and one cast a provisional ballot in 2020. Prosecutors say they’ve charged about 113 noncitizens in 20 states over the past two months.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter tied the charges to the DOJ’s lawsuit seeking to keep Los Angeles County from counting ballots from up to 20,000 registered voters it suspects are noncitizens, and the DOJ asked the judge to order those ballots set aside. Prosecutor Bill Essayli warned that election officials could face criminal charges if they knowingly process ballots from people prosecutors identify as noncitizens.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said 28 out of 23 million registered voters, about 0.0001%, shows there is no widespread fraud. The Department of Homeland Security recently claimed Nevada had nearly 16,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls, but it sent the state only 185 names, and Nevada confirmed all 185 were citizens.
Democrats sue Trump, DOJ over effort to remove voters from state rolls (WaPo)
On Tuesday, national Democratic groups (the DSCC, DCCC and DGA), the Nevada Democratic Party, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries sued Trump, the DOJ, Attorney General Todd Blanche, DHS and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in federal court in Washington. The suit accuses the administration of unlawfully pressuring states to purge voters based on “shoddily compiled lists.”
The complaint also cites a “persistent stream of threats and intimidation” against election officials, including Trump’s threat last week to imprison California officials if they counted mail ballots from people the administration calls noncitizens. The DOJ says its actions are grounded in law.
A Los Angeles County review of 200 of the 20,000 voters the DOJ flagged found more than half hadn’t been sent ballots and many appeared eligible to vote. Separately, Virginia’s Arlington County Board sued over the administration’s claimed authority to send armed federal agents to polling places.
Justice Department asks appeals court to intervene in California ballot case (NBC)
On Thursday, the DOJ asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to step into its lawsuit seeking to temporarily block California from counting more than 20,000 mail ballots from voters it says are likely noncitizens. It did so before the trial judge, US District Judge David Carter, had ruled.
The DOJ argued that because Carter hadn’t ruled by Thursday afternoon, as it had requested, his silence amounted to a “constructive denial.” Carter has scheduled a hearing for next week on the department’s emergency request.
A DOJ official has said the department is considering suing more states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls before the midterms.
Justice Department orders California counties to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens (CNN)
On Friday, the DOJ sent letters ordering California county election officials to work with DOJ and DHS to identify suspected noncitizens on a federal list and set aside their mail ballots. Prosecutor Bill Essayli warned that officials who knowingly count those ballots risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.
Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan called the letters intimidation of local election officials 12 days before the election and said the new 48-hour deadline is unenforceable. He also said many of the roughly 20,000 names on the DOJ’s list for the county have addresses elsewhere in California.
With Carter still not having ruled, the DOJ went directly to election officials with written demands to identify suspected noncitizens and set aside their ballots, again threatening criminal liability. It also widened the scope. The Oct. 13 letter went to LA County and the Secretary of State, while Friday’s letters went to county officials around the state.
DOJ Election Monitors
The Justice Department begins notifying counties where it wants to monitor elections (NPR)
This week, the DOJ began notifying counties in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Washington that it wants to monitor them on Election Day. Unlike in past cycles, it didn’t initially notify the states. Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon has said the DOJ will send 1,000 observers in its largest monitoring effort ever.
The counties notified so far include Miami-Dade, King County in Washington, Hennepin and Ramsey in Minnesota, seven Texas counties and a county in a toss-up Colorado House district. The DOJ says it prioritizes competitive races and counties covered by the Voting Rights Act’s language-access rules, but at least one local clerk has called the move possibly politically motivated intimidation.
In August, Wyoming’s Republican governor complained of “aggressive” DOJ monitors at the state’s primary, which the DOJ disputes, and Minnesota denied monitors close access to polling places. In 2024, Ken Paxton went to court to keep the Biden DOJ’s monitors out of Texas polling places.
DOJ sending election observers to Indianapolis, Lake County (ICC)
The DOJ notified Marion County (Indianapolis) and Lake County that it will send federal observers on Election Day, without saying why it chose them. The Marion County notice arrived Tuesday in a general clerk’s office inbox that residents use for child support and ticket payment questions, and election board members didn’t learn of it until Wednesday.
Both are heavily Democratic counties. A Marion County clerk’s spokesman said the choice comes off as partisan, and the county’s election board attorneys will meet with DOJ on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Lake County election director Michelle Fajman said she has only heard speculation about why the counties were picked, and that guidance for poll workers will depend on whether the monitors have credentials to enter polling places.
The DOJ says the monitors “only observe.” Marion County has approved a protocol for poll workers dealing with federal monitors, and the Indiana Election Division is meeting with DOJ on how their entry into voting locations squares with state law. The DOJ plans 1,000 monitors nationwide, up from 289 in the 2022 midterms and 714 in 2024.
RELEASE: Carson statement on DOJ “election monitors” in Indiana (Andre Carson)
“Out of 92 counties in Indiana, Trump’s DOJ has chosen two counties with the largest populations of Democratic voters and Black and Hispanic voters to subject to ‘election monitoring.’ It’s no coincidence. It’s also no coincidence that it comes just weeks before an election, when Trump has record low poll numbers. It follows multiple, illegal attempts to change election procedures for his benefit, from a president who still maintains the 2020 election was stolen.
“Our elections in Marion County are still run by the clerk, who is elected by Marion County voters. I’m urging everyone to vote as soon as possible – you can vote early at the City-County Building now or at additional locations starting this weekend, which can be found at vote.indy.gov.
“There are so many threats to our right to vote because of how powerful our vote is. Make your voice heard—vote now.”
Public statement regarding election monitoring in Lake County (Lake County Democrats)
Lake County Democratic Chair Michael C. Repay said the party has been told the DOJ will send monitors to the county on Election Day, Nov. 3, and that it does not expect any problems. He stressed that Indiana elections are run by bipartisan, trained election officials.
Repay said he expects the monitors to follow the limits set out in the DOJ’s notice and respect the authority of state and county election officials. He added that the party will be prepared to respond if anyone oversteps or interferes with voters, poll workers or election officials.
He urged voters not to wait until Election Day, noting that early voting and other options are already available.
Weaponization
Ilhan Omar
Rep. Ilhan Omar says she will move out of her Washington, DC, home after federal search (PBS)
Last week, Homeland Security investigators searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home with a warrant and seized 17 items, including phones and notebooks. A person briefed on the case told AP that authorities are investigating possible fraud in her family’s immigration paperwork and have issued grand jury subpoenas to some of her relatives.
Omar came to the US at age 12 after her family received asylum and became a citizen in 2000. She said Wednesday that she did nothing wrong and will move out of the home because the attention from the raid has made her feel unsafe there.
The search came weeks before Omar’s Nov. 3 reelection in a safe Minneapolis seat. Congressional Democrats questioned the timing, noting that the DOJ has historically avoided overt investigative steps involving candidates right before an election.
Obama condemns comments by ‘border czar’ that Ilhan Omar could ‘of course’ be denaturalized (Guardian)
Last Saturday on Fox News, Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, answered “of course” when asked whether the Omar investigation could lead to stripping her citizenship and deporting her if evidence shows she lied during naturalization. He was the first top administration official to say so on the record since agents searched Omar’s home on Oct. 12. Homan also hinted at other allegations, saying he “know[s] things,” but referred questions to the FBI.
Last Sunday on X, Obama said the full weight of the federal government was being brought down on a law-abiding elected official for criticizing the president. He said Omar automatically became a citizen at 17 when her father was naturalized, and that the administration appears to be relying on an unsubstantiated theory that she was already 18, which would have required her to apply separately.
Obama urged all Americans, regardless of party, to defend Omar, warning that if this becomes the new normal, it won’t stop with her and future presidents of either party could do the same.
Louise Lucas
DOJ indicts Virginia Democrat who led redistricting push on drug trafficking, money laundering charges (Politico)
On Thursday, prosecutors unsealed a five-count federal indictment charging Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat who chairs the appropriations committee, with drug trafficking and money laundering tied to a cannabis business she helped start. Family members and associates were also charged, and FBI Director Kash Patel said Lucas made nearly $5 million in illegal gains.
Lucas helped lead Virginia Democrats’ push for a 10-1 congressional map, which voters approved in April before the state Supreme Court struck it down in May. She called the FBI’s May raid of her office retribution, and on Thursday she said: “I grew up under Jim Crow. I’ve seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back, and I’m not stopping now.”
Attorney General Todd Blanche denied the case is political, saying the investigation began long before Trump returned to office. Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Lucas deserves to present her defense but that charging her this close to an election undermines the DOJ’s long-standing policy, even though Lucas herself isn’t on the ballot.
Is Trump’s Justice Department Coming for Powerful Black Women? (Word in Black)
The column argues that four prominent Black women who challenged Trump have all faced federal action under his administration: Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Fed Governor Lisa Cook and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
After James won a civil fraud case against Trump’s business, the DOJ indicted her in October 2025 on mortgage fraud charges. The case was dismissed, and later attempts to re-indict her failed. Trump tried to fire Cook over mortgage fraud accusations, and after the Supreme Court ruled he can’t fire Fed governors, he created a White House committee on Oct. 7 to look for grounds to remove her.
The author contrasts these cases with Trump’s own conflicts of interest, including the roughly $400 million Boeing 747 from Qatar and a Forbes estimate that he has grown $2.7 billion richer since 2024. He also acknowledges there’s no public evidence that Trump ordered every step against the four women.
Corruption
Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into Corey Lewandowski (NYT)
The DOJ has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s 2016 campaign manager, over accusations that he profited from his role as a top adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, according to two officials. The probe followed a referral from the DHS inspector general, and its specifics aren’t clear. Lewandowski’s lawyer denies any wrongdoing and says the DOJ hasn’t contacted him.
As an unpaid adviser, Lewandowski acted as Kristi Noem’s top aide, with wide influence over personnel and contracts, including co-signing approvals of contracts over $100,000. He left after Noem was forced out in March, as officials raised concerns that he was enriching himself. In Noem’s final hours, DHS bought five planes from a donor’s firm, including a converted Boeing 737 for $108 million, after the firm had bought it months earlier from a seller asking less than $90 million.
On Thursday, Trump said he’d heard about the investigation but didn’t know the details, and he offered Lewandowski no support. He said “I want my people to be honest, and if they are not going to be honest they have to be prosecuted. If people are not honest, they’re stealing from me” and would be handled by “my D.O.J.”
Exclusive: White House probes claims of missing Kennedy Center money in “MAGA blood feud” (Axios)
On Oct. 9, Trump’s former attorney Alina Habba told Trump in the Oval Office that Ric Grenell, then head of the Kennedy Center, never deposited a donation of nearly $6 million that her husband, Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon, thought he made in 2025. Trump directed the White House counsel to look into it. Grenell called the accusation “absurd” and a “lie.”
Habba alleges that in spring 2025, Grenell persuaded Mildon to fold the donation into a $17.6 million payment for a business deal involving a US company. At the time, Grenell was a special envoy pushing to normalize relations with Venezuela’s Maduro, and Mildon had Venezuelan business interests. Habba’s attorneys say they’ll provide documents, but the White House counsel says no proof has arrived yet.
Kennedy Center records show Mildon owed only a $270,000 pledge, which he paid on Oct. 13, and its former finance official says she has no record of $6 million. Staff did search late last year for a roughly $6 million contribution they couldn’t find. Habba’s own figure has shifted from $17 million to $5.6 million.
How Trump’s FBI Purge Saved Lindsey Graham and James Clyburn From a Bribery Investigation (ProPublica)
ProPublica reports that the FBI was investigating bribery allegations from former Navatek CEO Martin Kao, now serving seven years for illegal campaign donations and loan fraud. Kao told agents he struck cash-for-contracts deals with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). He said Graham agreed at a 2020 Washington steakhouse dinner to steer a roughly $10 million Navy contract to his company in exchange for a $100,000 pledge, and that Clyburn and Wilson each asked for the same amount.
Company emails and records the FBI seized back up parts of the account, including Graham’s office confirming to the Navy that the money should go to Navatek days after the dinner, and $20,000 in donations to Clyburn from Kao and his family days after their meeting. The lawmakers were never formal subjects of the probe, and all three offices deny wrongdoing. Navatek’s lobbyist, who attended the Graham dinner, confirmed details of the evening but denied any quid pro quo.
The investigation died after the Trump administration gutted the DOJ and FBI anti-corruption teams. The lead agent was fired in October 2025, her partner was pushed out early this year, and the prosecutor quit after the Public Integrity Section was barred from bringing new cases. The FBI now calls Kao’s claims “half baked.”
More Graham: Lindsey Graham Paid Off 3 Male Escorts, Including One Who Was 17 at the Time — Explosive Documentary Alleges (Mediaite)
On Thursday, The Young Turks and Swamp Watch Studios released The CLOSETocracy, a 33-minute documentary in which three men allege the late Lindsey Graham paid them for sex, including one who says he was 17 at the time.
That man, identified only as Kelvin, says Graham contacted him through an escort site and met him in July 2001 at John McCain’s ranch in Sedona, Arizona, where Graham was staying as a guest. The other two men, identified as Cory and Jesse, describe paid encounters at Washington hotels.
The film contrasts the allegations with Graham’s long opposition to LGBTQ+ rights. When filmmakers approached Darline Graham, who was appointed to his seat and faces Democrat Annie Andrews in November, she refused to “entertain” the question. A Graham family spokeswoman didn’t respond to Mediaite.
Epstein
New Mexico Sues Epstein’s Lawyer and Accountant, Moves to Block $75 Million Inheritance (The Pugilist)
On Wednesday, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime lawyer, Darren Indyke, and accountant, Richard Kahn, in federal court. The suit alleges they financed and concealed Epstein’s sex trafficking at Zorro Ranch near Stanley, N.M., for more than two decades, and it brings five counts including federal sex trafficking and state racketeering. The state says it’s the first law enforcement action against either man, and both deny knowing about the abuse.
The suit seeks to block the $50 million Indyke and $25 million Kahn stand to inherit from Epstein’s estate, now worth about $107 million. It alleges Indyke made 97 cash withdrawals from 2013 to 2017, each under the $10,000 federal reporting threshold, and that the cash paid women in the trafficking ring.
The complaint describes seven women abused at the ranch between 1996 and 2010, including one who was 15, and 11 paragraphs are fully redacted. Torrez reopened the state’s criminal investigation in February, after New Mexico had dropped a 2019 probe at federal prosecutors’ request.
Tech
Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion for Deceiving Users on Privacy (NYT)
On Wednesday, Santa Fe District Judge Francis J. Mathew ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for deceiving users about their data privacy, one of the largest penalties ever imposed on a tech company. New Mexico brought the suit in 2021 over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the British political consulting firm harvested data from tens of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge to build profiles of American voters.
After a two-week trial last month, a jury found Meta committed 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws, each carrying a penalty of up to $5,000.
It’s New Mexico’s third win against Meta this year, after a $375 million penalty in March and $567 million in damages in August in a child-safety case. Separately, Meta agreed in August to pay up to $17.1 billion in a settlement with 47 states, including $459 million over Cambridge Analytica privacy claims. Meta didn’t respond to a request for comment.
From 10/16: Data centers are now the largest financial bet in US history (Stateline)
The US data center buildout, projected at about $10 trillion, is now the largest financial bet in the country’s history, according to Columbia Business School professor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh. It will account for nearly 4% of GDP, compared with about $173 billion in today’s dollars and just over 2% of GDP for the railroad boom of 1870–1890.
New data center construction has more than doubled over two years to $85 billion a year, while all other construction has fallen 8% and new housing has dropped by $29 billion. Economists including Paul Krugman warn that data centers employ few workers, and the IMF has warned of a market correction if AI profits fall short of expectations.
States are rethinking the tax breaks they once offered. Nevada trimmed its abatements, and Oregon froze new approvals over utility-cost concerns. Indiana is among the states with large numbers of planned data centers, and a Carnegie Mellon–NC State study found data centers and crypto mining could raise electricity bills 8% nationally and up to 25% in parts of Virginia.
Double Standards
Alting resigns from Indiana senate: ‘I am deeply sorry’ (Lafayette Journal&Courier)
On Wednesday, Republican state Sen. Ron Alting, who has represented Senate District 22 (Carroll County and much of Tippecanoe County) for 28 years, announced he will resign amid allegations of six shoplifting incidents at Walmarts in Lafayette, Monticello and Naples, Fla. He hasn’t been charged, and Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker is investigating the Lafayette cases as special prosecutor.
Alting apologized and said he is undergoing medical evaluation for changes in his judgment, behavior and cognitive functioning. Because voting has already begun, his name stays on the ballot, and if he wins, precinct committeemen in the district will choose his replacement.
Monticello police haven’t released the “factual circumstances” of an Oct. 1 shoplifting incident, which Indiana’s public records law requires them to provide. White County Prosecutor Mark Delgado hasn’t returned the Journal & Courier’s repeated calls over the past two weeks.
“No recollection of these events”; Consulting physician for Sen. Alting speaks out about his condition (WLFI)
On Thursday, Dr. Greg Loomis, a consulting physician for Alting, said there’s no diagnosis yet but signs point to Lewy body dementia, with a brain tumor and Pick’s disease ruled out. He spoke with Alting’s approval, which WLFI confirmed by phone with Alting.
Loomis said he can state “with a high degree of medical certainty” that Alting has no recollection of the shoplifting incidents, and said he recommended Alting step down.
Alting, who stopped campaigning Oct. 7, still faces Democrat Natasha Baker on the ballot and says he will resign if elected.
Double-Standards: Mississippi AG says police shooting that killed 1-year-old was ‘justified’ (NBC)
On Monday, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office ruled that the June 14 police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley in Senatobia was justified. The brief statement followed a four-month investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Officers responding to a shoplifting call at Walmart fired at a car they said was fleeing and drove toward them, killing the boy and critically injuring the driver. His mother, a passenger who hasn’t been charged, says they had gone for diapers, that she held up her baby to show officers he was in the car, and that the driver wasn’t heading toward the officers.
Family attorney Ben Crump says a preliminary autopsy shows the bullet came through the side of the car. Body camera footage released since is inconclusive on whether the car was headed at the officer.
Indiana News
Judge strikes down part of Indiana law closing Union Schools (WFYI)
On Friday, Special Judge Brian Hutchison of Randolph Superior Court struck down the part of a 2025 state law that ordered Union School Corp., the one-building rural district in Modoc, to close after this school year. He granted the district summary judgment in its lawsuit against the state and Gov. Mike Braun.
The district argued that lawmakers violated the Indiana Constitution by adding the closure, without a public hearing, as an amendment to a property tax bill in the final weeks of the 2025 session. Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City) wrote the amendment, citing low test scores and declining enrollment.
Union leaders have said the closure was really about the roughly $3 million a year the district earns overseeing a large virtual school, and they claim Prescott offered to spare the district if it gave up that money. Clarksville, the only other district with a statewide Stride-partnered school, wasn’t targeted. Its superintendent is married to former state schools chief and ex-Stride executive Tony Bennett.
Court of Appeals and Tax Court judges are on the ballot for retention (ICC)
Four judges are on Indiana’s ballot for retention. Court of Appeals Judges Mary DeBoer and Paul Felix and Tax Court Judge Justin McAdam appear statewide, while Court of Appeals Judge Dana Kenworthy appears only in the court’s 2nd District, which includes Marion, Hamilton, Tippecanoe, Delaware and Howard counties. Voters answer yes or no, and a simple majority keeps a judge on the bench.
If a judge isn’t retained, the Judicial Nominating Commission sends three nominees to the governor within 70 days, and the governor picks one. All four judges were appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb between 2022 and 2024, and between 86.5% and 91% of Indiana State Bar Association members surveyed support retaining each of them.
The Indiana Supreme Court’s judicial retention website has each judge’s biography, oral argument videos and written opinions. Before his appointment, McAdam worked at the Bopp Law Firm, founded by prominent conservative attorney Jim Bopp.
