Galveston County spent three months insisting its new map served the people. Page 29 of its own brief said it was partisan. Sentences like that only turn up when somebody reads the whole filing, which is what founding memberships pay for, and we’re looking for two today. And if there’s someone who should be reading this, gift them a subscription rather than a forward. It’s what turns a reader into someone who stays. Congress Just Demanded To Know What Don Jr. Owes A Putin Ally. Plus: Whistleblower sounds alarm on agents posing as voters, a governor’s pen killed a Supreme Court case, and Letitia James is back for round two Scott Dworkin Sep 16 Thanks so much for being here today. I’ve got some great news to share with you, along with new developments in our investigations. But before we dig in, hit the ❤️ like button and restack this post. The Trump regime hopes these stories can be buried. Your share ruins their plans. And if you haven’t yet, join us as a paid subscriber today. It pays for both our investigations and our organizing. We’ve delivered more than 852,000 letters to the House and Senate since November 2024, and our social media operation drives billions of impressions per month. Becoming paid also unlocks my exclusive campaign analysis—three mornings a week, built on my 23 years of campaign experience. Today I’m focused on the redistricting war and what those maps actually bought Republicans. Help us flip Congress, take the gavels, and turn Trump into a lame duck by joining us as a paid subscriber today: Agents Logged In Pretending To Be  Voters A federal whistleblower told the Senate that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration officers were ordered to log into state voter-lookup tools and pose as the voters they were investigating. The whistleblower says agents got access to internal systems and outside sources in order to pull birth dates and partial Social Security numbers. Then they used that information to check if someone was registered to vote on the state site. Some of those tools say outright that only the voter may use them. They got less than two hours of training and were told to review 40 voters a day, for about 12 minutes each. If concerns were raised internally, leadership reassured agents they wouldn’t be held personally liable if searches were part of their documented official duties. California Senator Alex Padilla, the top Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee, didn’t hedge: the disclosure “outlines shocking allegations of unlawful and unethical conduct that includes potentially thousands of violations of state law.” Padilla said you could get falsely flagged, leading to extra screening at airports, problems with your immigration paperwork, or even a referral to the FBI. Naturalized citizens get caught in it too. Every noncitizen gets an alien number, and a training video says it stays in the Homeland Security file permanently, including after that person becomes a citizen. DHS rejected the idea that leadership encouraged lawbreaking. It did not say the searches were legal. What it said was this: “It’s not rocket science; it’s an easy step to secure our elections.” The whistleblower still works at DHS. They asked to stay anonymous because they’re afraid of what happens to them, but they talked anyway. Padilla and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent the report to Trump’s DHS Secretary on Sunday. Flipping the House is how this all becomes subpoenas and sworn testimony. She Beat This Rule Once. She’s Back  For Round Two. On Friday, a rule takes effect that can deny a green card to immigrants who use Medicaid, food assistance, or housing help. Use the help you qualify for, lose the chance to stay. In 2019 Trump pushed a version of the same thing, New York Attorney General Letitia James took him to court, and a federal judge vacated it. By 2021 it was gone. Monday morning she did it again, with 22 states and DC behind her. New York City filed its own suit the same day with five other cities and counties. Standing at City Hall, James named what this is: “Cruelty is the point. Having a chilling effect on immigrants is the point.” People are already scared enough to act on it. At the same press conference, a woman who works with immigrant families in New York described a mother asking whether she should cancel her disabled daughter’s Medicaid. The girl is an American citizen. So Mayor Zohran Mamdani said it plainly: “Nothing about your or a family member’s eligibility to access benefits and services has changed. If you rely on SNAP, Medicaid, or programs like WIC and TANF, do not disenroll without first seeking advice from a trusted legal provider.” In a section of the rule titled Family Assessment, the regime admits the change may “increase the poverty of certain families and children, including U.S. citizen children.” James has already told them how this ends: “We won, and we intend to win again.” A “Dear Friend” They Met Eight  Months Ago In May, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin picked up a large part of the tab for Don Jr.’s wedding party in the Bahamas. The oligarch is Umar Kremlev. According to records ProPublica reviewed, he covered the rental on the private island where guests stayed, which runs about $100,000 a night, plus a $70,000 fireworks show—routed through an Emirati entity tied to the boxing federation he runs. Putin awarded him the Order of Friendship at the Kremlin in April. Ukraine has sanctioned him as a close friend of Putin’s security chief, whose sister he married. Monday the Trumps confirmed it. Don Jr.’s new wife Bettina Trump posted that “our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding.” Trump’s response: “I have no idea who Umar is, never heard of him... Not a big deal!” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on House Oversight, wrote Don Jr. shortly after the story broke. He wants records by September 28, including anything he sent the White House about who was paying, and told him to preserve everything on Kremlev. He also wants answers to these: Does Don Jr. hold a security clearance, and did he list Kremlev as a foreign contact? Has he told the Pentagon, or the defense contractors Garcia says he invests in, that he’s friendly with a member of Putin’s inner circle? Garcia also points out that Don Jr. met Kremlev in September 2025—only eight months before their “dear friend” paid for the party. Right now Garcia can only ask. Flip the House and he takes the gavel—with the records preserved and the questions already on the record. Trump Wanted The Court. He Didn’t  Get The Ruling. The question of whether ICE could hold people for months or years without ever getting in front of a judge to argue for release was due to go in front of the Supreme Court on October 13. But the Trump regime never got to argue it. A man was released in 2022 after around 21 months in ICE detention over an assault conviction. His case was headed to the Supreme Court, and the regime was using it to get the hearing requirement erased. In late August, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned him. That ended his deportation case. Both sides told the Court there was nothing left to argue, and on Friday the justices pulled it from the calendar. Trump lost the thing he wanted most. There is no Supreme Court ruling wiping out that hearing requirement. The rule that covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont stands. Hold someone long enough—they still get a judge, and the government still has to prove why it should keep them. Trump’s top lawyer at the Supreme Court, D. John Sauer, says he’ll be back with a new case and the same question. But not on October 13. Sometimes a governor signs one piece of paper and the whole case falls apart. Thanks so much for making this edition possible. If you’re able to do more, upgrade to a Founding Member, or gift a subscription to someone who needs one. They Redrew The Map. It Didn’t Work. Forty-eight days out, here’s where the redistricting war actually stands. There are nine states with new maps. Before this all started, Pew counted only two states that had redrawn mid-decade for partisan advantage since 1970. Texas started it. A federal court in El Paso blocked the Texas map on November 18, ruling it was drawn to break up Black and Hispanic voting power. The Court stayed that order 6-3, and Texas kept the redrawn map. California answered with Prop 50. An April ruling opened the South. On April 29, the Court struck down Louisiana’s map 6-3 as unconstitutional because it contained a second majority-Black district. Louisiana passed a map eliminating that district within six weeks, Tennessee carved up Dem Rep. Steve Cohen’s Memphis seat, and the Court allowed Alabama to erase a majority-Black district of its own. Six states tried and failed. There were three states where Republican efforts couldn’t get the votes. Three Democratic ones couldn’t get them passed. In Virginia, voters approved a four-seat map in April, with the state Supreme Court throwing it out just 17 days later. Then Missouri happened. The group People Not Politicians gathered more than 300,000 signatures against a map drawn to get rid of Dem Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. On September 3, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled for them unanimously, writing that the 2025 map “is not the law and has never been the law.” The US Supreme Court declined to disturb that twice. The Bottom Line: Seven out of nine new maps are Republican. Decision Desk HQ still gives Democrats a 68% chance of taking the House, better than two-to-one, and their odds have been climbing since summer. Republicans redrew the maps. It wasn’t enough. There are only 48 days until the midterms. And we’ll be here for every second of it, the same way we’ve been since 2016. No advertiser paid for any of this, and no billionaire ever will. That’s why we can chase the stories we do. Support our investigations and organizing by joining us as a paid subscriber today. We need all hands on deck to help us flip Congress: Before you go, hit the like button and restack this one. It matters more than it looks, and it’s how we punch through the MAGA propaganda machine. Thank you for everything you do. Onward! Scott Why do you think someone close to Putin would pay for Don Jr.’s wedding party? Three hundred thousand Missourians got a gerrymander onto the ballot with clipboards. What would you put on your state’s ballot if you could? Thanks for your support! Another way to help us out is by gifting subscriptions to friends and family! You can get yours by clicking the link. For all contact Congress links, or to volunteer, you can go here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-the-watchdog-coalition   Scott Dworkin 2h Over 150 members of Congress just officially demanded the Interior Department block the Yosemite land grab. A new bill drops a 20-year prison sentence on rogue AI developers. The Epstein cover-up is falling apart. The pressure is actively working on all three fronts. Keep burying their desks today: Block the Yosemite Sell-off: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-stop-trumps-yosemite-giveaway Pass the AI Ban: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-pass-the-ban-on-ai-we-cant-control/ Release the Epstein Files: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-demand-acting-ag-blanche-release-all-of-the-epstein-files-now/ COMMENTS:  I keep thinking about the whistleblower who still works there. They knew what it could cost them and they wrote it down anyway. That’s the whole job on our side too. Thank you for making sure this doesn’t die in a PDF. I think Don Jr is just following in daddy's footprints. It's been pretty clear from the start that the orange cheeto is a Russian tool, and he's certainly been delivering - with the help of the GOP. The closer we get to November, the more anxious I'm getting. But I'm signed up to work my local polling place, and doing everything I can to make sure folks are registered and will vote! That’s great! Judy’s Substack4h Agree, Denise! On the darker side, the trumps need to be thinking about what happens to Russian "tools" when they are no longer useful.... and they should stay away from open windows in tall buildings. I have yet to hear about any Russians who get old, retire and live well in old age. Other than Vlad himself. Fred’s Substack3h Jr's daddy is following in the footsteps of his own daddy, and in Roy Cohn's. I am working that day as well. I am also attending the October 17 rally to protect voters' rights. I think Trump didn’t go to his sons’ wedding because he knew who was paying for it and didn’t want to be anywhere near it. I cannot believe for one second he didn’t know. What does Putin expect in return? Oh, I don’t know. How about an unsolicited statement telling Ukraine to stop hitting Russia’s ability to raise money through diesel fuel sales? Maybe an agreement to get Elon Musk to stop providing Starlink info to Ukraine for targeting of oil infrastructure? Who knows. With this administration, everything is for sale. It's not solely PUTIN, but SAUDI ARABIA that's investing a pittance of their OIL WEALTH in Kushner's fund.  Kushner has no security clearance, but access to intelligence reports.  The ORANGE TURD has never shown any indication of loyalty to protect intelligence information - look at the security disaster of the MAR-A-LARDO documents.  I ran an errand and there was a program on our local PBS/NPR station about KUSHNER, WITLESS WITKOFF and unqualified others 'negotiating' the IRAN WAR FAILURES.  I encourage others to follow some of the programming.  https://www.wbur.org/radio/schedule  If you click on the SCHEDULE, you see recaps of recent programs. For instance:  The war in Iran costs $250 million per day. How can the U.S. afford it? https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/09/16/iran-war-expenses While I was driving, there were several programs that very clearly explained the issues surrounding the AI issues and the threats they pose - it's not simple!  Can someone explain how AI behaves, and why it's scaring us? Here & Now Newsroom September 15, 2026 https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/09/15/ai-behavior Fred’s Substack3h Maybe the clown didn't attend Jr's wedding because he doesn't give a shit about Jr or anyone else but himself. Scott Dworkin 7m Your analysis cuts right to the heart of the matter, Timothy. When personal and political debts collide with foreign policy, national security is compromised. The public deserves to know what was promised in return. True Dat, Fred. But if that were the reason, he’d never leave the Golden Toilet in his bedroom! Judy’s Substack4h Buying influence - openly. Russian oligarch funding DJT, Jr's wedding party... couple hundred grand - should buy attention from the trump family. Is Bettina really that stupid or is she just so entitled that these 'gifts' feel warranted. Jr is exactly like his dad. They don't even bother trying to cover it up. The trump's have become careless, sloppy in their grifting. We The People are being shafted. Big time. Midterms. Payback. Who would pay $100K+ for wedding party favors for a friend we've known less than a year? I mean, it's Don Junior, not Tom Hanks. Scott Dworkin 11m You hit the nail on the head, A.G.! Six-figure favors between recent acquaintances are never simple acts of friendship—they are transactions. Love the read on the maps. Worth the paid subscription for that alone! Scott Dworkin 13m Thank you so much, Ms. Jonington! Making the complex map battles clear and actionable is a top priority, and your support as a paid subscriber makes that work possible. WHITE HOUSE CORRUPTION FOR HOW MUCH LONGER???? ASKING FOR A FRIEND!!!! Tell your friend accountability starts in January! People are angry at the administration's cruely and double standards benefiting the uber-wealthy. Angry people go to the polls. We the People don't want to give up an inch of our National Parks. This administration and the GOP are going to go down because their greed has taken them too far. Scott Dworkin 18m Response: Righteous anger drives turnout, Catherine. Protecting our national parks and defending public resources from private greed is an issue that unites the American people. “Three hundred thousand Missourians got a gerrymander onto the ballot with clipboards. What would you put on your state’s ballot if you could?” Reproductive rights,again,after DeSantis along with his criminal staffers defeated the citizen’s amendment with the Hope Florida corruption $$$. And on a + note….. “ST. PETERSBURG — A group of Florida Republicans announced Monday to fellow party members that it’s okay to cross party lines and vote for Democrat David Jolly for governor in November.” https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/09/14/republicans-for-jolly-effort-launches-in-st-petersburg/ Good news. But sad that these repubs need permission to vote for Jolly. WTH Scott Dworkin 22m It is wild to see, Kathy, but whatever helps everyday voters break away from tribalism and vote for sensible leadership is a step forward. Scott Dworkin 21m Restoring reproductive rights by direct citizen ballot is a critical goal, Kathy. And seeing voters cross party lines for integrity and governance in Florida shows how wide the pushback really is! No one would have the gaul to accept the over two thousand dollars the Russian paid for their wedding. The fact that T Jr. is friendly with a friend of Putin gets us closer to the story of the family connection. The grifters are getting money from all sides and did Don Jr. get security clearance to act as an official in talks involving America. There is no shame in that families bones... just greed, illegal methods to get anything they want. The Trumps are a blight on the world map. Two hundred thousand. And that may be just what they will admit to. Scott Dworkin 23m Accepting lavish payouts from figures closely tied to foreign autocrats damages our international standing, Dagmar. Transparency and oversight are non-negotiable. Patti’s Substack4h Donny Jrs wedding is political plain and simple. It’s a way for Putin to keep trumpy in his corner without actually being seen together. I don’t even feel American anymore. How can we turn out backs on our allies and Ukraine and get in bed with Putin. It blows my mind that Congress lets the crimes continue! I’m disgusted Scott Dworkin 25m It is heartbreaking to see long-standing democratic alliances undermined for personal benefit, Patti. Demanding that Congress exercise its foreign policy authority is essential. Nothing like strings attached to a wad of cash like that! The happy couple won't be so pleased if they get thrown into a gulag when they make one wrong move. They will have to avoid tall buildings or people carrying umbrellas, too. Just got notified by vote.org. that my mail-in ballot is approved and ready to ship; Nov. 3 is getting closer each day. I remind everyone I do business with to vote; also, I am telling them about 10/17 for activities in the area, at least 11 different places to get involved. Anyone sending DonOld crying towels for all his "wins"? Thank you, Scott, for more good news 🚫👑🚫👑🚫 Scott Dworkin 27m Knowing your ballot is approved and having eleven local actions lined up for October 17th is gold-standard civic engagement, Kristen! Thank you for leading the way. Thanks, again, Scott! Right after reading about the 22 Democratic states and Washington, D.C. suing the federal government regarding a law to take effect this Friday denying a green card to immigrants who use Medicaid, food assistance, or housing help, I google searched and AZ was not one of these states. I wrote an email to our Democrat Gov, and Democrat AZ asking that AZ join this lawsuit (hope it's not too late). It's your reporting on things like this that help your readers take needed action. Scott Dworkin 28m Susan, taking direct action by contacting your governor is incredible! That is exactly why we report these stories—so citizens can demand their states step up and protect vulnerable families. Thank you! I meant to write that I also contacted Democrat AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes as she has been instrumental in joining other sates in court filings. Appreciate your response! Putin wants leverage against cheeto-face. November is coming. Scott Dworkin 32m November is approaching fast, Virginia, and the ballot box is where the American people get to make their voices heard. I am amazed that with all the excrement the Congress put Hunter Biden through including showing pictures of his private parts in Congressional hearing that the government isn’t screaming 😱 about the Trump Jr wedding being paid for by a Russian billionaire friend of Putin! To me there is a bigger line to cross there than Biden’s faux pas ever earned. And what did they actually discover Biden did? Nada that’s what. One Whiff of Jr and his Daddy’s dealings is worth more than a look! Scott Dworkin 8m The double standard is staggering, Georgia. Subjecting a private citizen to endless public hearings while ignoring six-figure foreign gifts to the inner circle shows pure bad faith. Congress needs to step up investigations into the Trump family business dealings. Was Kusher at the wedding party when their Russian benefactor was there? And he’s still negotiating with Russia on the US behalf with no official government position??? And they definitely need to follow up on ANY federal employee impersonating voters. And then STOP it. Scott Dworkin just now Both of those issues demand immediate congressional subpoenas, Linda. Unofficial foreign diplomacy and administrative voter suppression strike at the core of our democracy. Redrawing MAPS is a pathetic reminder of the 60's when BLACKS were beaten, attacked, had dogs set on them and fire hoses.  Remember JOHN LEWIS!  REPUBLICANS just keep repeating bloody history!  Consider that those states that focus on denying VOTING are also among the most FAILED STATES, lacking in economic opportunity, PISS POOR EDUCATION and all other metrics employed to measure the success of states. REPUBLICAN controlled states expend great effort and energy in REPRESSION.  REPUBLICAN STATES...  Working my way through college, I did lots of RETAIL CREDIT COLLECTION.  Sometimes it required me to pull the original CREDIT APPLICATIONS to contact people.  If you understand nothing else - RED STATES had a tragic amount of ADULTS who signed with an  "XX" !  These are the states the believe posting the 110 COMMANDMENTS is a substitute for EDUCATION or that buying tRump's overpriced printed in CHINA BIBLES is appropriate.  I've written of a friend sent to a RED STATE to teach CALCULUS to high school seniors who discovered the student couldn't do basic arithmetic: addition, multiplication, subtraction, division.  They deny LIBRARIES. They deny INTERNET and CABLE ACCESS. They offer warped media such as SINCLAIR.  We expect what?  The US is a community with the responsibility of EDUCATING ALL even as we watch the corrupt BOZOS destroying EDUCATION!  WE HAVE LOTS OF WORK TO DO! LET'S GET TO IT!