Thanks so much for joining me today. I’m glad you’re here, because I’ve got another great edition for you.
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We are only three weeks away from the most consequential election of our lives. I know folks say that every two years, but this time it seems especially true.
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A Candidate And A Union Pulled Trump’s Ads
Trump spent millions of your tax dollars on TV commercials about how great he is. On Sunday I told you a Washington judge might stop them this week. A New York judge got there first.
On October 8, Robert Hunter—a Democrat running for the Alabama statehouse—and a local chapter of the building workers’ union SEIU asked that court to pull the ads before the weekend.
The regime’s lawyers argued it was too late. The ads were ending Sunday night anyway, they told the judge, so there was nothing left to stop. About $19 million of your money had already been spent, Politico reported.
Judge Jennifer Rochon said it wasn’t too late. She also said Hunter and the union will likely win their case that the spending broke the law. Her order kicked in at 6:45 Sunday evening. The night’s remaining ads had to be canceled, and nothing more gets paid on the contract. Until October 25, the regime can’t sign a new deal for these ads or renew the old one.
They didn’t all come down. Her order said off the air by 6:45. Two of the ads were still running after midnight, according to AdImpact data reviewed by the Washington Post. Whether that counts as ignoring a federal judge is now Judge Rochon’s call.
Trump had $19 million of your money and the whole federal government on his side. A guy running for the Alabama statehouse beat him anyway.
Judge Ali Unlocked The Trap Trump Built
For many kinds of legal status in America, the government requires your fingerprints and photo. Miss that appointment, your application gets denied—and being locked up doesn’t count as an excuse.
Last December, the regime announced it would generally stop taking fingerprints from people ICE is holding. So ICE locks you up, the regime won’t take your fingerprints, and your application dies. That trap catches young people who were abused or abandoned as children, and survivors of human trafficking.
It caught Luis Felipe Estrada Trejo, who applied for a green card through his marriage to an American and ended up in ICE detention. Most of the people suing couldn’t be held or deported if they were approved, and some face threats to their lives back home.
The regime said the point was to stop “frivolous claims.” Federal Judge Amir Ali asked its lawyer how. The answer: “That’s a good question . . . . I don’t have an answer to that right now.”
Of course there wasn’t one. Trump doesn’t need a reason to be cruel.
On October 7, Ali froze the policy for everyone it impacts, putting the regime on the hook again for those fingerprints. Ali found it “effectively denies immigration relief to a whole category of people.” While the case continues, people who are detained with pending applications get a real shot at finishing them. The regime has to report back to Ali by October 21.
Trump tried to slam the door on trafficking survivors and young people abused as children. Judge Ali just pulled it back open.
Talarico Asks Paxton For Proof Of Spine
James Talarico, the Democrat running for US Senate in Texas, came down with “a nasty case of the flu” in late September. He stayed off the trail until he got better, saying: “I didn’t want to get anyone else sick.”
His Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, turned it into a manhunt. Paxton’s campaign put out “MISSING” posters and demanded “proof of life.” Ted Cruz posted Talarico’s face on a milk carton. Trump wrote, “Where is he? What is wrong with him? Bad rumors are coming out.”
Then the right’s rumor mill went fully unhinged. Two influencers pushed a fake story about a secret hospital stay in Ohio, and Elon Musk—whose super PAC backs Paxton—helped spread it.
The hospital shut it down in one sentence: “Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope.” The influencers’ own phone recording claimed he was discharged Saturday evening. Saturday night he was at a Kacey Musgraves concert in Dallas. Talarico’s reply: “I’ve never even been to Ohio.”
Then Talarico flipped it on Paxton. “I’ve heard credible reports that Ken Paxton has a serious medical condition that causes clinical level of cowardice,” he told MS NOW. “He asked for proof of life from me. I’m asking proof of spine from him.” Trump demanded a debate too. Talarico agreed: “Ken Paxton should debate.” Talarico has accepted debate invitations from multiple outlets. Paxton hasn’t accepted one.
No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994, but Talarico leads by six in the latest New York Times/Siena poll. Trump’s party can’t win the argument, so it invented a patient. It’s desperate, pathetic, and honestly—it’s quite lazy. And they failed, again.
Dr. Andrews Diagnoses Graham: Unqualified
South Carolina Senator Darline Graham got her seat this summer, after her brother Lindsey died. Then Trump endorsed her and flew down to help her win the Republican primary.
On Sunday night, her Democratic opponent Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, said Graham had the chance to end Trump’s war with Iran, and “three times in a row she voted to continue it.” She’s right. Graham voted to block measures to end it on July 23, July 30, and September 24. In an August runoff debate, she’d admitted, “I’m not that informed on national security.”
So Andrews gave her diagnosis: “If your surgeon said that appendectomies aren’t really his thing, would you still hand him a scalpel? No.” Her verdict: “She is unserious and unqualified.” Later in the night, Graham insisted, “I’m just as qualified as you.” She said that to a doctor.
Then Andrews pressed her to agree to more debates. Graham said she’d rather “hear from voters.” And just before the debate ended, she said, “I’ve had a job representing the people of Wash—” before correcting herself to “South Carolina.” Andrews posted afterward: “At least she’s honest about one thing. I’ll be a Senator for South Carolina, NOT Washington.”
Two years ago, Trump won South Carolina by nearly 18 points. In late September, a Republican pollster had his handpicked senator ahead by one. Early voting starts October 19, and South Carolina can send a doctor instead.
There are only 21 days left until the midterm elections, and we are full speed ahead. There is nothing that will slow us down—we work like we’re behind, and we sprint through the finish.
The regime wants you to believe no one is fighting Trump. That’s never been true, and this week proved it again. The people taking him on don’t have private jets or TV networks—like a former teacher, union members, and a children’s doctor. They have the guts to stand up, and to keep showing up.
That’s exactly what we’ve done here for a decade now. Thanks to our independence no one can call me to kill a story. We don’t need to do any favors to get access to the White House. And if someone pushes back against our investigations, we dig in even harder—because we know we’re on the right track. That’s how we helped uncover the Trump-Russia scandal along with dozens of others over the years.
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Onward!
Scott
If you could ask any Senate candidate one question, what would it be?
Trump spent $19 million of your money on ads about himself. What would you have spent it on in your town?
Did you vote yet, or have you checked your voter registration lately? Let me know!
A judge just pulled Trump’s taxpayer-funded TV ads. Let’s keep that momentum going with a few letters this morning:
Start drafting articles of impeachment against Trump: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-begin-drafting-articles-of-impeachment-against-trump/
Impeach Pete Hegseth: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-impeach-pete-hegseth/
Release all of the Epstein files now: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-demand-acting-ag-blanche-release-all-of-the-epstein-files-now/
Ban Flock’s mass surveillance cameras: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-ban-flock-mass-surveillance-cameras/
Each one goes straight to your members of Congress and takes about a minute. Tell me below which ones you sent.
The filings are still open, the work is still getting done, and the YOU are still the reason any of it reaches anyone. And I’m so grateful. Onward.