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What Meetings Among Trump Lawyers Reveal About the FBI’s Seizure of Election Records in Georgia
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.

The Missouri prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the 2020 vote in Fulton County, Georgia, has taken part in meetings since last fall with lawyers tasked by President Donald Trump to reinvestigate his loss to Joe Biden. 

Thomas Albus, whom Trump appointed last year as U.S. attorney for Missouri’s Eastern District, has had multiple meetings set up with top administration lawyers to discuss election integrity. 

At those meetings was Ed Martin, a Justice Department lawyer who until recently led a group investigating what the president has described as the department’s “weaponization” against him and his allies, according to a source familiar with the meetings who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. 

White House lawyer Kurt Olsen, who has been tasked with reinvestigating the 2020 election, also was directed to join at least one of the meetings, according to the source. Both Martin and Olsen worked on behalf of Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election results, and a federal court sanctioned Olsen for making false claims about the reliability of voting machines in Arizona.

The meetings reveal new details about the length of the preparations for, and people involved in, the January FBI raid on Fulton County, which election and legal experts told ProPublica was a significant escalation in Trump’s breaking of democratic norms.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi picked Albus and has granted him special authority to handle election-related cases nationwide, even though his earlier work as a federal prosecutor didn’t involve election law or election-related cases. The meetings with Martin, Olsen and other lawyers for the Justice Department were described by the source as being about “election integrity,” a term the Trump administration has used to describe investigations into its false claims that elections are rigged. 

Martin, Olsen, Albus and others declined to answer questions about the meetings and other detailed questions from ProPublica. The White House and the Justice Department also did not respond to questions.

The meetings came at a particularly crucial time.

Martin’s efforts to obtain election materials from Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold, had hit a wall. In August, he sent a letter demanding that a Fulton County judge allow him to access tens of thousands of absentee ballots for “an investigation into election integrity here at the Department of Justice,” but he had reportedly received no reply.

Martin explained to Steve Bannon on a podcast that aired around the time of the meetings that although the White House had given Olsen the official mandate to reinvestigate the 2020 election, “inside DOJ, myself and a couple of others have been working also on the same topic” — including getting the Fulton County ballots. But Martin described progress as a “challenge.”

Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief strategist in his first term, asked why Martin didn’t just “get some U.S. marshals to go down and seize” the ballots.

Martin suggested it was easier said than done, but agreed: “Look, we’ve got to get” the ballots.   

Ed Martin posted a photo from his meeting with Thomas Albus in Washington, D.C., on …

New York GOP appeals new congressional maps directly to the Supreme Court
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.

New York Republicans have filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court for a stay on a state court’s redistricting decision that jeopardizes New York City‘s only GOP district.

In their emergency application directly to the federal Supreme Court, the state’s Republicans requested a stay of previous orders that ruled in favor of Democrats’ argument that the current map marginalizes minority voters in the state’s 11th District, which has covered Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn since 1980.

State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman sided with the Democratic petitioners in January. He ruled that the state’s redistricting commission must redraw its 2024 congressional map in February, halting any elections scheduled under the current map.

The Republicans’ Supreme Court filing is in response to Pearlman’s ruling, which Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) appealed. She is at risk of losing her seat under new maps.

“The decision by Justice Pearlman prevents any congressional election in the entire State of New York and will result in extreme disruption of the election process in our state,” New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement. “The decision is flawed on many bases, as the submissions to the Supreme Court of the United States make clear.”

Republicans initially contested Pearlman’s ruling to the state’s Court of Appeals. By filing that motion, the Republicans put a stay on the order in the ruling that required the redistricting commission convene to redraw the map by Feb. 6.

Republicans filed the Thursday emergency application with the federal Supreme Court in order to put a stay on the order in Pearlman’s ruling that no future elections can be held under the 2024 map. The state’s Republicans argued that failure to grant a stay on this aspect of the ruling “will prevent the election from beginning on time, inflicting ‘serious and irreparable harm'” on New York voters.

Cox continued calling the current makeup of NY-11 one that is “compact, reflects communities of interest, and is politically competitive.”

Malliotakis has served in the House since 2021. She defeated her last two Democratic opponents by 23.5% and 28% margins in 2022 and 2024.

“Despite having a voter registration advantage in New York’s 11th Congressional District, Democrats can’t beat me on merit, policy, and debate. So what do they do? They file a meritless lawsuit claiming our district disenfranchises minorities to take out the first minority to represent the district and …

White House report card: Trump makes it too easy for his critics with Obamas video
What's the administration thinking here?

Welcome to Secrets, your daily guide to who’s done what to whom and why. Friday brings our regular report card, plus more insight into why Donald Trump might be a problem for Nigel Farage. …

This past week hewed to two new norms for President Donald Trump. On Monday and Tuesday, he kept out of the public eye with what officials called “signing time,” “policy meetings,” and a “private dinner.” In the past, these would not even have been noted on the daily guidance, but after the New York Times ran a piece suggesting he was taking it easy, these private events are now being listed.

And on Wednesday, he hosted Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to discuss Iran. Again, in a break from the livestreamed Oval Office headline fests of 2025, this meeting was kept away from the cameras. Reporters were, however, allowed in later that day for an event to promote U.S. coal, when Trump ordered the Pentagon to buy more electricity from plants burning the fossil fuel.

So what does it all mean for our Secrets graders? Well, the government appears on course for a partial shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding, but is that on the Democrats? And both cite the week-old story that still looms large over Trump (the now-deleted video of the Obamas depicted as apes).

Jed Babbin: B minus

So the Democrats leave town on Friday without agreeing to any funding for DHS. That guarantees a partial government shutdown. That’s not a big win for Trump and his team, though it should have been.

It’s been an ICE-y week for the White House, beginning with the withdrawal of hundreds of ICE and Border Patrol agents from Minneapolis. It’s apparent that violent demonstrations will get Trump to back down. But he’s not backing down from support for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. One might balance the other but the whole mess is still in play.

Trump has been making it easy for critics this week. His video of the Obamas as monkeys was way over the top. It has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats.

READ MORE: “Controversy from Trump’s Obama video won’t go away before November”

You have to stop and realize that the DHS funding the Dems are stopping includes the Coast Guard, drug enforcement, and many other things, not just ICE, that we cannot do without. The Dems are oblivious to the damage they’re creating. They aren’t interested in solutions and just want to score political points. T’was ever thus.

In good news, the Dow Jones average was over …

Democrats investigate Lutnick meeting rival bridge owner before Trump shut down Gordie Howe project
What's the administration thinking here?

An alleged meeting between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the billionaire owners of Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge isn’t sitting right with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House oversight committee.

Garcia launched an investigation Thursday into President Donald Trump’s move to block the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will also span from Detroit to Canada and end the Ambassador Bridge owners’ monopoly in truck tolling in the area, from opening. The California Democrat suggested the Moroun family, who he said have donated over $600,000 to Trump and the Republican Party, met with Lutnick and successfully lobbied the president’s cabinet to halt the development.

“It is flatly unacceptable and undeniably corrupt to allow a wealthy donor to dictate our foreign and economic policy in order to protect his personal business interests,” Garcia wrote in a letter to Lutnick. “The public deserves to know if you or President Trump stand to receive additional benefits from Mr. Moroun in exchange for your sudden interference.”

The Moroun family runs the business that operates the U.S. side of the Ambassador Bridge, which is viewed as the new Gordie Howe International Bridge’s main competitor.

Garcia requested that the Commerce Department hand over all documentation regarding Monday’s alleged meeting between Lutnick and Matthew Moroun, which he said occurred the same day Trump halted the new bridge’s opening. The congressman is seeking to examine any files or communications referencing the Gordie Howe International Bridge and the Ambassador Bridge that circulated between the family, the Commerce Department, and the White House.

The Moroun family has spent $250,000 lobbying D.C. to advocate for the company on “issues related to construction and operation of international bridges,” according to the Detroit News. The family used the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, which was formerly run by Trump’s White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

In response to questions from the Washington Examiner, a White House official said, “the only special interest guiding the President’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people.”

“Putting Americans and America First may be a foreign concept for Democrats, but the Trump administration will continue to prioritize America’s national security and economic interests above all else,” the official said.

The White House has previously said Trump was concerned that Canada has too much …

Democrats called voter ID laws ‘Jim Crow’ before: Joe Concha
Trust is earned, not demanded.

Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha criticized Democrats for opposing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, arguing that the party has said before that voter ID laws are voter suppression. 

The Republican-controlled House passed the SAVE Act on Wednesday, with only one Democrat supporting the legislation. It would require states to provide proof of citizenship to register and to present an ID to cast a ballot. 

“We’ve seen this movie before,” Concha said on Fox News’s America Reports Thursday. “Four, five years ago, we heard this hyperbole, this inaccurate reference to Jim Crow 2.0 when it comes to so-called voter suppression.” 

Democrats have continued to slam the bill, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) calling the legislation “Jim Crow 2.0,” according to the Hill. 

Concha pointed to Georgia’s 2021 election bill, the Election Integrity Act, which Democrats also said would suppress votes. 

“President [Joe] Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, at the time invoked Jim Crow, and many in the media echoed that sentiment,” Concha said. “Then, John [Roberts, co-host of America Reports], a funny thing happened: Georgia actually held elections under the new voting laws.”

“And every voting record had in modern history were blown out in terms of turnout — no one reported anything around suppression or not being able to vote,” he added. 

Concha argued that Americans from both parties support voter ID. 

MUNICH SUMMIT BECOMES EARLY STAGE FOR 2028 DEMOCRATS

According to a Pew Research survey of 3,554 U.S. adults, more than 9 in 10 Republicans (95%) and about 7 in 10 Democrats (71%) favor showing government-issued photo ID to vote.

“Nearly 9 in 10 basically now can support voter ID … including an overwhelming majority of blacks and Latinos, even Democratic voters,” Concha said. “If this is the hill the blue team wants to die on, it shows they’re probably just, I don’t know, high on their own supply at this point.”

Trump to honor special forces behind Maduro capture at Fort Bragg as global tensions escalate
Every delay has consequences.

President Donald Trump is visiting Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Friday to honor U.S. special forces and their families for their roles in the high-profile military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in January.
Trump will be joined by first lady Melania Trump, who also is slated to spend time with military families during the base visit — one of the largest home stations for U.S. Army special operations forces. 
Trump’s social media posts ahead of the visit highlighted what he called "extraordinary" relations between the United States and Venezuela’s interim leadership, including cooperation on oil revenue and transition planning. 
After the dramatic capture of Maduro, his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, took over as Venezuela’s leader. 
DEA ZEROES IN ON CARTEL OF THE SUNS BOSSES AS MADURO IS HAULED INTO US NARCO CASE
Rodríguez has publicly maintained that both Maduro and Cilia Flores are "innocent," rejecting assertions of wrongdoing that led to their capture. Despite her alignment with Maduro, the U.S. has insisted it could assert influence over her leadership.
 In late January, the U.S. and the interim Rodríguez government signed a massive energy pact. The U.S. has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil, with proceeds flowing into U.S.-controlled accounts to be disbursed at the discretion of the U.S. government.
Nearly 200 U.S. troops were involved in the Maduro operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve. Seven were injured. 
Venezuela’s defense ministry said 83 people were killed in the mission on its own side, including Venezuelan security forces and 32 Cuban security personnel.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is also home to units that could be deployed if diplomatic efforts in the Middle East falter, including Trump’s push for Iran to reach an agreement or face what he has warned could be a "very traumatic" outcome. The visit comes just as the U.S. deployed a second aircraft carrier, the USS Ford, to the region while talks continue.
The Pentagon has not revealed which military units were involved in the operation.
LAWMAKER WHO FLED COMMUNISM DRAFTS SPECIAL RESOLUTION HONORING TRUMP AFTER MADURO OUSTER
Trump has repeatedly hailed the Maduro capture as a "spectacular" operation that showed the U.S.’s capability to assert dominance in its own backyard. He called the special operators involved a "group of unbelievable talented patriotic people that love our country. You couldn’t hold them back."
The president has also hinted at a secret weapon he calls the "discombobulator" …

Trump's Operation Metro Surge located 3,000 missing migrant children in Minneapolis, Emmer says
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

The highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress is arguing that President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in his state is already producing incredible results.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Operation Metro Surge, the federal law enforcement action in Minneapolis, helped recover some 3,000 migrant children who were previously thought to be missing.
"Do you realize that Operation Metro Surge picked up 4,000 illegal alien criminals? Rapists, murderers, pedophiles, drug dealers — 4,000!" Emmer said.
"And by the way, I was told that, coming down here from the [House floor], that they've also located 3,000 missing migrant children. I mean, that's just in the Minneapolis area. You gotta be kidding me."
BORDER CZAR HOMAN MEETS WITH MINNESOTA OFFICIALS FOLLOWING IMMIGRATION OPERATION TENSIONS
Emmer, who has emerged as one of Trump's most outspoken congressional allies during his second White House term, is also an aggressive critic of his state's Democratic leadership.
He accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison of rooting against the success of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
"Their crazy sanctuary state and sanctuary city policies literally have allowed these criminals to roam our streets and put our law-abiding, tax-paying, American citizens' — good Minnesotans' — lives at risk," Emmer said.
LEAVITT VOWS NOTHING WILL STOP ICE ENFORCEMENT AFTER 4,000 ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMINALS CAUGHT IN MINNESOTA
Trump ordered a surge of federal law enforcement, primarily Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to the progressive-run city in a bid to find and arrest illegal immigrants that have been shielded by its sanctuary policies.
The administration announced on Thursday that it was ending the deployment.
The federal operation in Minneapolis has been controversial at times and led to fierce clashes between law enforcement and city residents. Criticism or praise have largely fallen along partisan lines.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for added scrutiny after two U.S. citizens were shot during anti-ICE demonstrations there. Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent after being accused of hitting him with her car while attempting to drive away, while Alex Pretti was fatally shot multiple times by Border Patrol weeks later.
Emmer blamed the chaos on a refusal by state and city Democrats to cooperate with federal authorities.
"I don't care if you think they were in the right place, the wrong place, it doesn't matter. A loss of a life …

ICE director stands his ground after Swalwell blowup, says Democrats are ‘misleading their constituents’
Every delay has consequences.

EXCLUSIVE: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox News Digital he stands by his response to Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, after the California gubernatorial candidate demanded he resign and find work as an "otherwise employable" law enforcement officer.
Swalwell, who made the comments during a hearing this week, was the latest in a slew of Democrats calling on Lyons to resign after an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis led to the agent-involved shooting deaths of two agitators.
"Leading this agency is a choice, and it’s one I make to stand side-by-side with the brave men and women who enforce this nation’s immigration laws," Lyons said.
"I’m proud of the work they do every day to keep our country, our communities, and our families safe — and like them, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States."
ICE DIRECTOR FLIPS SCRIPT ON SWALWELL AFTER DEM DEMANDED HIS RESIGNATION
Lyons said that if lawmakers want to "mischaracterize" ICE’s mission and use their recollection as grounds for resignation demands, they are "misleading their constituents and doing our nation a disservice."
"I will not resign, because I believe in the rule of law and will continue to uphold my oath," he told Fox News Digital.
Beyond the outspoken Alameda congressman, several other Democrats have demanded Lyons’ ouster — and often followed up with the same request to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
DEM REP LABELS FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AGENTS 'THUGS' IN TENSE HEARING
Rep. Daniel Goldman of Manhattan, Swalwell’s co-sponsor on the ICE OUT Act, told Lyons in that same hearing that if he did not want his agency compared to "a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one."
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., whose district has been ground zero for ICE’s battle against agitators and illegal immigrants in Minneapolis, called for Lyons to be held accountable for the "military style occupation," while Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., of similarly anti-ICE Seattle led 156 other lawmakers in a formal demand for leadership changes at ICE.
Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont have also made calls for ICE and DHS leadership accountability.
The most pointed remarks directed at Lyons during his hearing came from Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey – who is also facing charges for allegedly accosting federal immigration agents outside a Newark compound being used to hold detainees.
McIver asked Lyons if he believed he was going to Hell.
"I'm not going to entertain that question," Lyons replied before Chairman Andrew Garbarino of New York …

DHS Shutdown Coincides With Senators’ Trip
Every delay has consequences.

With a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security all but guaranteed, many senators are leaving for a security conference in Europe without having passed a bill to fund the agency.

When the clock strikes midnight on Friday, the agency’s funding from a previous two-week stopgap extension will expire.

With no sign of consensus, the Senate has left town and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., are leading a bipartisan delegation to the annual Munich Security Conference.

The group, per a press release from late Thursday night, includes Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and Steve Daines of Montana. 

The Democrat section of the delegation is made up of Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Chris Coons of Delaware, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Jacky Rosen of New Mexico, Peter Welch of Vermont, Andy Kim of New Jersey, and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

The trip comes after the Senate on Thursday failed to pass a homeland security agency funding extension, with nearly all Democrats voting against advancing it. 

Since the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Democrats have demanded to codify their policy wishes for the agency, such as forcing immigration enforcement agents to obtain judicial warrants to carry out deportations and prohibiting the use of masks by agents.

Senate rules require a 60-vote threshold to proceed to a final vote on the funding measure. In the 52-47 vote on Thursday, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat to vote to advance it.

Fetterman explained his decision to split with Democrats on X Thursday, saying, “I want to make the same changes that every other Democrat wants to make on ICE [Immigration Customs Enforcement], but ICE already has $75 billion in funding from the big, beautiful bill, that I did not vote for.”

Shutting DHS down has zero impact and zero changes for ICE.

ICE already has $75B in funding from the BBB that I did not vote for.

But it will hit FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA and our Cybersecurity Agency.

As a Democrat, I can’t vote to shut down critical parts of our government.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) February 12, 2026

Fetterman added of Democrats’ refusal to back a funding extension, “what it will shut down is important parts of DHS, whether that’s FEMA, whether that’s the Coast Guard… the cyber security agency in our nation. All of these are shut down.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Thursday that the Senate would still recess next week but he has told senators to “be available to get back here if there’s some sort of a deal they [Democrats] strike.”

Graham and Whitehouse’s offices did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation from The Daily Signal on whether any of the senators’ travel plans had changed.

The post DHS Shutdown Coincides With Senators’ Trip appeared first on The Daily Signal.

DOJ sues Harvard over access to race-based admissions documents
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Friday against Harvard University, accusing the Ivy League school of unlawfully withholding documents about race-based admissions. 

The DOJ said in a news release that the information is necessary to determine whether Harvard continues to discriminate based on race in its admissions process, even after the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the university did so. 

“Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice is demanding better from our nation’s educational institutions,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination — we will continue fighting to put merit over DEI across America.”

The complaint, filed in federal court in Boston, alleges Harvard has failed for more than 10 months to provide individualized applicant data and other records requested by the DOJ as part of a compliance review under federal civil rights law. 

The Justice Department said the documents are needed to assess whether Harvard’s admissions practices violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination by establishments that receive federal funding. 

The lawsuit does not, in itself, allege that Harvard’s current admissions policies are discriminatory or seek monetary damages, according to the complaint. 

Instead, it seeks a court order compelling the university to hand over documents the department has requested several times, including admissions policies and correspondence related to race, ethnicity, diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in the release that Harvard’s noncompliance raises red flags over its practices. 

“Providing requested data is a basic expectation of any credible compliance process, and refusal to cooperate creates concerns about university practices,” Dhillon said. “If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should happily share the data necessary to prove it.”

The case traces back to April 2025, when the Justice Department initiated compliance reviews of Harvard’s undergraduate, law, and medical school admissions programs. 

Federal officials said at the time they needed applicant-level data, such as grade point averages, test scores, and demographic information, to determine whether Harvard was unlawfully continuing to discriminate based on race. 

The complaint argues that Harvard’s …