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Happy birthday to the DEFIANCE! One year ago today, we came together with a simple idea: stop waiting for someone else to fight back. Twelve months later, we’ve grown to more than 150,000 members and subscribers, supported over 35 pro-democracy organizations, and taken more than 125 actions together. Not bad for our first trip around the sun, Defy-Ants! But with five days until the midterms, there’s no time to put our feet up. Current and former FBI officials are warning that Trump could order agents to seize ballots or voting machines. And while we were live, breaking news: the DOJ issued subpoenas to California election officials over its claims about 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters. The subpoenas order employees to appear in court the day after Election Day. We also examine an AP investigation into ICE detaining a man for nearly a year despite substantial evidence he’s an American citizen. Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee joins us to discuss why Trump’s administration is welcoming Brazil’s defeated presidential candidate while pursuing deportations at home, and how Trump’s oil investments are growing as Americans pay more at the pump. Plus, our newest member of the DEFIANCE has a direct line to the Vatican.

THE WIN: TRUMP KEEPS LOSING IN COURT Six days until the midterms, and Trump’s Justice Department is running out of time to win its election-related lawsuits. A Trump-appointed judge in Utah threw out the DOJ’s demand for voter data. A federal appeals court rejected its emergency attempt to set aside roughly 20,000 California ballots. And in Washington, D.C., a grand jury refused to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide whose January 6 testimony made her a target of Trump’s ire. Even Trump’s effort to remake a public golf course has run into a judge who refuses to budge. But the biggest win this week belongs to our members at DEFIANCE: CORRUPTIONLAND is officially out, streaming free at corruptionland.org. We’ve already had a million site visits and 60,000 people sign on. Yesterday, Trump was asked a simple question: Would he respect the results of next week’s election? His answer? “I will — if they’re honest elections.” There it is. Six days before voters finish casting their ballots, Trump is already leaving himself an escape hatch. And his administration isn’t waiting until Election Day to act. The DOJ is suing Alaska over an election that hasn’t happened yet. Election officials are preparing for the possibility of federal agents showing up at polling places, attempts to seize ballots, and interference with certification. So we’re preparing, too. Kim Rogers of the State and Local Election Alliance joined us to explain how election officials are protecting the process and what happens if the federal government tries to interfere. Then we welcomed Doran Schrantz of The Power Lab, who helped organize the massive civilian response to ICE operations in Minneapolis. Her message is simple: don’t wait for someone else to organize your community. And we’re putting resources behind that work. Today, DEFIANCE announced a $45,000 grant to The Power Lab, in partnership with One For Democracy, to help protect election results through January. Election Day is Tuesday. But the work of protecting the results could continue long after the polls close. As a DEFIANCE.org member, here’s how you can prepare this week: 1️⃣ Build your network of 10 to 15 people. Reach out to neighbors, friends, or parents from school. Start a Signal or text thread and get everyone ready to respond together. 2️⃣ Call your member of Congress, Democrat or Republican. Ask them to publicly commit to counting the votes, seating the winners, and rejecting attempts to sabotage the election. Then get your network to call, too. 3️⃣ Pledge to respond to the call. If there’s a call to peacefully assemble, show up. If you can’t, help someone else get there, bring food, make signs, or organize shifts. We don’t have to wait until something goes wrong to get ready. THE MISSION: STOP THE STEALYOUR ACTIONS: GET READY NOW

One week until the midterms, and Trump’s efforts to interfere with the election keep running into a familiar obstacle: the courts. His DOJ has now lost 27 straight voter-roll lawsuits, including its latest defeat at the hands of a Trump-appointed judge. But Trump has a new idea: a $1 million bounty for reporting voter fraud. Who’s paying? Nobody seems to know. And given some of the actual voter fraud involving Republican operatives, this could get interesting. The Epstein files are also looming over the election. A new poll finds that 88% of likely voters want candidates who will release the full files, while House Democrats have released disturbing new allegations against Trump. And we’re following the money with RepresentUs CEO Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno. A newly filed Texas campaign report reveals Elon Musk gave Gov. Greg Abbott $5 million, ten times the amount previously reported. And breaking news hit while we were live: a grand jury refused to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump White House aide whose testimony helped expose what happened behind the scenes on January 6. Another setback for Trump’s pursuit of his perceived enemies. Plus, two former South Carolina governors cross party lines, and CORRUPTIONLAND is now streaming free at corruptionland.org.

Trump’s DOJ just suffered a humiliating reversal. A federal judge ruled that the firing of Maurene Comey, the prosecutor who helped put Ghislaine Maxwell behind bars, was illegal. Filing show that the Justice Department even admitted she’d received outstanding performance reviews. But while we were live, breaking news: Trump’s DOJ brought yet another criminal case against her father, James Comey. All within hours of the ruling in his daughter’s favor. The DOJ is also trying to explain away its lawsuit targeting Alaska’s Senate election. Attorney General Todd Blanche insists it isn’t about blocking certification, despite the lawsuit saying exactly that. Trump, of course, already admitted he ordered it. Former FBI counterintelligence chief Frank Figliuzzi joins us to unpack the latest prosecutions and allegations involving Jared Kushner’s hacked phone. And with Election Day approaching, we meet with Hands Off NYC, which has already trained 10,000 New Yorkers to peacefully respond to threats against the election and is preparing for what comes after Election Day. Plus, CORRUPTIONLAND premieres tonight for DEFIANCE members.

Well, folks…it’s happening. The Trump administration is already trying to overturn the results of a Senate race, and Election Day hasn’t even happened yet. The DOJ wants to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election if Republican Dan Sullivan loses. The reason? Another candidate is also named Dan Sullivan. Never mind that the ballots clearly distinguish between them. Fortunately, it’s Friday, and MAGA has provided plenty of losses to celebrate. Starting with JD Vance, who seems to have developed a new superpower: invisibility. The vice president visited the Cincinnati Bengals in his own home state, only to be largely ignored. And somehow, that wasn’t even the biggest snub he suffered. Elsewhere, Abdul El-Sayed gave a right-wing heckler a civics lesson, Texas Republicans learned about the Streisand Effect the hard way, and a Minnesota Republican accidentally published a campaign note acknowledging Trump’s unpopularity. Plus, three new DJT Solemate nominees compete for Trump’s affection, and our own South Carolina insider dishes on Trump’s heckler-filled rally.

Republicans keep discovering that inhumanity isn’t a winning strategy. Yet somehow, they keep doubling down. In Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy is spending $4 million on an ad featuring his opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother, despite their traumatic family history. Even Republicans want it pulled. JD Vance, however, is disgusted with the Republicans who objected. JoJo from Jerz joins us to discuss the backlash. Then, at the southern border, Pete Hegseth has approved testing a military heat ray that makes skin feel like it’s burning. And in Springfield, Ohio, a trucker who supported Trump’s immigration policies is reconsidering after his truck struck and killed a young Haitian student who had been forced to wear an ICE ankle monitor. His reckoning is the subject of a devastating Atlantic story, A Reckoning in Springfield. And the corruption keeps coming. Alina Habba landed a deal worth over $50 million with a banker’s family just two weeks before Trump pardoned him. But that’s only the beginning of the story. We also welcome a surprising new member of the DEFIANCE: Neil Bush.

With corruption topping voters’ concerns and early voting surging, DEFIANCE is premiering CORRUPTIONLAND ahead of the midterms.

Republicans are once again at odds with Trump, primarily because he refuses to be at odds with Putin. In fact, Trump recently said Russia has been doing “just fine” in Ukraine, while floating a summit with Putin and Xi Jinping without Ukraine. And Trump’s FBI purge seems to have benefited some members of Congress at rather opportune times. ProPublica reports that a congressional bribery investigation stalled after the two agents working on it were pushed out. Now Trump is offering cash rewards for fraud tips, while JD Vance is left defending the president’s own corruption controversies. Jennifer Welch of I’ve Had It joins us to discuss Vance’s unenviable assignment and some suspicious mailers arriving at Texas homes, addressed directly to children with advice on gender transition. The advocacy group being impersonated denies sending them and says it couldn’t afford the multimillion-dollar campaign. With no identifiable sender, we’re left with context clues. If only Ken Paxton would investigate, as he’s been asked to do. We also celebrate Jennifer’s new book, Not Today, Fascists, which just made the New York Times bestseller list. A fitting way to end today’s conversation.

Millions of Americans marched at No Kings rallies Saturday, but right in the middle of it, Instagram took the movement’s account offline. Meta has since apologized, but its changing explanations have left plenty of people unconvinced. Then, a bombshell ProPublica report revealed that Trump administration officials asked CISA, the federal agency tasked with protecting our elections, to secretly hack a voting machine and send the findings directly to the White House. Fortunately, career staff pushed back, and the request was eventually dropped. Former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts joins us to discuss the growing threats to election security and the extensive preparations underway ahead of the midterms. Trump may think his corruption isn’t a big deal, but Americans disagree. Nearly two-thirds believe he’s using the presidency to enrich himself, including a growing number of Republicans. Confronted with the issue this weekend, JD Vance insisted he hadn’t seen a shred of evidence, even as new allegations involving a top Trump adviser made headlines. Finally, MapQuest is back in our lives, this time helping drivers spot surveillance cameras. Welcome to the DEFIANCE, MapQuest. It’s been a while.

Anthony Scaramucci has officially been dethroned. Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, is out after less than a week on the job. Turns out, admitting on Sean Hannity’s show that you never passed the bar exam isn’t great for job security. And what a week it’s been for MAGA. Ken Paxton rang in the new year at a luxury Dubai high-rise with two men facing federal fraud charges. Republicans stumbled through debates across the country, and a pro-Susan Collins group managed to run an attack ad targeting Maine voters in Portland. Oregon. Oops. With the losses piling up, it’s time to recognize the MAGA faithful who refuse to abandon Trump, even when he abandons them. Our latest DJT Solemate Award contenders include Kristi Noem, who’s still singing Trump’s praises after being shown the door twice, and a senator who thinks soaring gas prices are simply the cost of presidential courage. Find out who takes home the coveted award. And before we head into the weekend, we’re debuting One Last Thing, featuring an Indiana candidate with some refreshingly candid thoughts.

Donald Trump promised his new White House ballroom would be paid for by him and a few friends. Well, the donor list is finally out, and his friends have been very generous with the hopes of staying anonymous. Trump, however, is nowhere to be found on the list. And with the price tag now hovering around $600 million, taxpayers could end up footing half the bill. So much for that promise. The donor list reads like a quid pro quo fun bag: pardons, government contracts, and investigations quietly snuffed out. Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer joins us to discuss the connection. And the DOJ has been busy elsewhere, threatening California with a lawsuit over supposedly ineligible voters. Its evidence arrived on a thumb drive with the password written on a sticky note. With the midterms just weeks away, that’s quite a way to handle election security. There’s also a new twist in those suspicious Iran oil trades. Career analysts flagged them for investigation, only to be ordered by a senior adviser to retract their referral. The agency says its investigation is continuing. Finally, streamer Sneako has turned against Trump after backing him in 2024. Given his past behavior, we’re welcoming him to the DEFIANCE on a strictly probationary basis.

Mission Wednesday

Today was Katie Zacharia’s, Trump’s new press secretary, first day. And boy was it rough. Her debut briefing lasted just 15 minutes, and the cringe was almost too much to bear. But Zacharia’s lack of stage presence wasn’t her biggest problem. You see, there is a pretty big question around her credentials as a lawyer, starting with…is she even one? Investigative reporting couldn’t find a record of her being licensed to practice law anywhere in the country. So when asked by the press “What state did you pass the bar exam in?” her answer was strange at best. And while the White House was sorting through its personnel problems, Trump was busy remaking the East Potomac golf course in his image. Up to its old tricks, the government told the court at 4:55 p.m. Friday that 169 trees were coming down. But by the end of the holiday weekend, more than 430 had been ripped out. Now a federal judge is furious and wants answers yesterday.Former NOAA official Monica Medina joins us to discuss the destruction at East Potomac and whether the administration can be held accountable. Elsewhere, an Air Force major is facing military charges after publicly calling for Trump’s impeachment and removal from office, including being held in solitary confinement. Author Paul Loeb joins us to discuss the consequences of speaking out, a subject at the heart of his new book, The Impossible Will Take a Little While. And finally, Kristi Noem decided to pick a fight with Kacey Musgraves. The singer’s response lands her in the DEFIANCE Hall of Fame.

Yesterday, yet another ICE shooting took place, this time in the Bronx. An agent, reportedly dressed as a construction worker, fired seven shots into the car of 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, striking him in the neck. Even more horrifying, Belgal’s five-year-old son was sitting inside. DHS claims Belgal tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against officers. But where have we heard that before? Less than 24 hours later, New Yorkers are demanding answers, and calls to abolish ICE are growing louder. Then there’s Pete Hegseth, taking us back nearly a century by announcing plans to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. A spectacle so grotesque that even Republicans are telling him to reconsider. With the horrible news covered at the top, we deserve a bit of a reprieve. So then we turn to MAGA Losses of the Week. And what a week it’s been. Trump Mobile is failing to meet FCC requirements, Kimberly Guilfoyle’s $100,000 credit card troubles are out in the open, and an enormous, naked, gold-plated Trump has taken up residence outside the European Parliament. Oh, and if you missed the GOP’s campaign trail flops this week, we’ve got the highlights. Finally, we have three new contenders for the DJT Solemate Award: Mike Johnson, Kevin Hassett, and Jeff Bezos. Find out what earned each of them a nomination, and which bootlicker takes home the coveted award.

With the midterms less than a month away, Trump’s desperation is becoming harder to hide. Some of it is on full display, while the rest might have stayed buried if organizations like Democracy Forward hadn’t gone digging. Newly uncovered government records show ICE investigating voter registration groups, including a Pennsylvania skate shop that partnered with organizations helping young people register to vote. Yes, a skate shop. Meanwhile, the Postal Service is deploying nearly 1,000 armed private guards to more than 55 facilities, including centers that process mail-in ballots. The Postal Service says it’s part of a longstanding security plan, but that’s quite a show of force at a place where Americans expect their votes to be handled without intimidation. And if you can’t intimidate, flatter. Trump is sending Americans checks in the mail. Hooray! Except he’s refunding them their own money, with much of it headed to key battleground states. He’s even tucked a little self-promotion into the envelope, hoping $500, or a measly $90 for seniors, will make Americans forget about their soaring healthcare costs. Scot Nakagawa, co-founder of the 22nd Century Initiative, joins us to discuss Trump’s promise of “big surprises” before the midterms. And for Who’s Joining the DEFIANCE, we hear from Keith Porter Sr. After months of grieving, Keith was beginning to heal when news of two more deaths brought everything back. Now he’s lending his voice to the families demanding accountability.