Note: This is a live blog. Email versions won’t update—open this post in your browser or the Substack app and refresh for new entries throughout the day.
Live coverage for this blog has ended, but you can scroll back through the feed for the full timeline, analysis and every key development as it unfolded.
Press freedom does not survive on vibes. It survives because readers decide the work is worth protecting. The Developer is independent, ad-free, and reader-funded—which means your support goes directly into the reporting, not into some billionaire’s pocket. If my work helps you stay informed, consider upgrading to paid: $8/month or $80/year. If upgrading isn’t possible right now, sharing The Developer with someone who needs to read it matters just as much. Help keep independent journalism alive and impossible to buy.
Justice Department investigators have requested voluntary interviews with current and former FBI officials involved in the bureau’s 2022 search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The interview requests were not made through subpoenas, according to The Associated Press.
The outreach came from investigators working with Trump ally Joe diGenova, who was brought back to the department in April to oversee a Florida-based inquiry into whether former government officials criminally conspired to violate Trump’s rights. The investigation had previously appeared focused primarily on the 2017 intelligence assessment that Russia sought to help Trump’s 2016 campaign.
It remains unclear what potential charges prosecutors are considering—or whether any charges will be pursued.
The Justice Department and FBI did not immediately comment, while diGenova declined to comment.
The Mar-a-Lago search recovered more than 100 documents bearing classification markings and led to charges accusing Trump and two associates of illegally retaining classified material and obstructing efforts to retrieve it. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in 2024, finding special counsel Jack Smith had been unlawfully appointed. The Justice Department abandoned its appeal after Trump won the election.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
The U.S. Navy is considering renaming the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller, with internal discussions including the possibility of honoring President Donald Trump, according to three people familiar with the deliberations. No final name has been selected or publicly announced. The Pentagon said it had nothing to announce.
Naming an aircraft carrier for a sitting president would be unprecedented. The Navy designated CVN-81 for Doris “Dorie” Miller in 2020, during Trump’s first term. It was to become the first aircraft carrier named for both a Black American and an enlisted sailor.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao’s office is also reviewing ship-naming guidelines, according to the report. The Navy has reportedly stopped using “USS Doris Miller” internally and is referring to the unfinished carrier only by its hull number, CVN-81. A recent White House shipbuilding memorandum likewise used only the hull number while ordering plans to replace the ship’s electromagnetic catapults and weapons elevators with steam and hydraulic systems.
The Navy is separately considering naming another warship for Miller and recommending him posthumously for the Medal of Honor. That effort would require congressional authorization and Trump’s approval. Miller’s family had not been informed of either proposal, though his great-nephew welcomed the renewed Medal of Honor effort.
Miller helped carry his wounded commanding officer to safety during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor before taking control of an antiaircraft gun he had never been trained to operate. He received the Navy Cross in 1942 and was killed the following year when a Japanese submarine torpedoed his ship during the Battle of Makin.
The carrier’s keel-laying ceremony is expected late this year, increasing pressure for a naming decision. CVN-81 is not expected to be delivered until 2034.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
The Democratic National Committee sued the Justice Department Thursday, seeking records about any federal plans to inspect or seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-system components before the 2026 midterm results are certified.
The DNC submitted requests to the FBI and DOJ’s Criminal Division on Feb. 6, after the FBI seized ballots and other 2020 election records from Fulton County, Georgia. The FBI closed its request as too vague in March; the DNC appealed in April and says it received no further response. Other DOJ divisions acknowledged receiving the request but have not produced records, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, asks a judge to order DOJ to search for and release all nonexempt records by a set deadline and identify documents withheld under FOIA exemptions. The DNC alleges the agencies missed statutory deadlines and says it needs the records to prepare for possible legal action protecting voters and election administration.
DNC Chair Ken Martin framed the case as part of the party’s effort to counter what it considers threats to the November elections. The DNC previously sued for records concerning possible deployments of federal agents or troops near polling locations and obtained a court order requiring the administration to produce documents.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Federal authorities charged Jessica Bowie, 35, in connection with an alleged plan to use an explosive device to attack the New York State Capitol and state senators, officials said Thursday.
Bowie was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III said.
Authorities intervened before the alleged attack was carried out. Additional details about the planned device and how investigators uncovered the plot were not immediately released. The charge is an allegation, and Bowie is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Scott Jennings, the conservative CNN commentator and longtime Republican strategist, has emerged as an early front-runner to become President Donald Trump’s next White House press secretary, people familiar with the personnel discussions say.
Jennings has declined to confirm that he is seeking the job, but he has also stopped short of ruling it out when questioned on television. The 48-year-old previously served in President George W. Bush’s White House as a special assistant to the president and deputy political affairs director. He later advised Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and worked on several of the senator’s campaigns.
Karoline Leavitt is scheduled to leave the White House at the end of August to spend more time with her family. She will continue advising Trump from outside the administration and remain involved in Republican efforts ahead of the midterm elections.
No appointment has been announced, and the search remains unsettled. One White House official has indicated that the administration may initially leave the position vacant, relying instead on senior officials to rotate through the briefing room. Other names under discussion include Alina Habba, principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, former Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller, and White House communications director Steven Cheung.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
The Trump administration is considering removing a 10-mile protective zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park, potentially returning more than 336,000 acres in northwestern New Mexico to oil and gas leasing and mining.
The proposal would reverse a 2023 public-land order that closed the surrounding federal acreage to new mineral development for 20 years. The Bureau of Land Management is evaluating a full reversal and a second option that would retain a smaller, five-mile buffer.
The proposal would not permit drilling inside the park or immediately authorize new wells. It would, however, restore the agency’s authority to offer surrounding land for mineral leasing and mining. The environmental review remains underway, and no final decision has been announced.
The prospect of industrial development near the UNESCO World Heritage site has drawn scrutiny from the U.N. agency, which has requested information from the federal government about potential effects on the area. UNESCO has long maintained that extraction within World Heritage properties is incompatible with their protected status and that nearby projects must not damage the qualities that earned a site international recognition.
Chaco was a major ceremonial, political, and commercial center for ancestral Pueblo peoples between approximately 850 and 1250. Tribal leaders, archaeologists, and conservation groups warn that ending the protections could expose the wider cultural landscape to air and water pollution, heavy industrial traffic, bright lighting, and gas flaring that would disrupt its renowned dark skies.
The plan drew approximately 100,000 submissions during a 14-day public-comment period that ended in July, with most opposing the change. The Bureau of Land Management says it will evaluate the substance of those comments as its review continues. The Interior Department and National Park Service have not publicly responded to the concerns.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Natalie Harp, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides and a key gatekeeper to the president, worked in the White House for nearly a year without completing the routine security-clearance process generally expected of West Wing personnel, new MS NOW reporting revealed Thursday.
Harp eventually submitted the required paperwork after concerns mounted among White House lawyers and security officials and Trump intervened. She received a clearance in recent months. The White House confirmed that Harp now has one and described her as a loyal, hardworking member of the president’s team.
The former One America News Network host holds the titles of special assistant and executive assistant to the president. Her influence extends to filtering much of the material Trump sees and controlling access to him. Harp’s place in the president’s inner circle drew wider attention after she accompanied Trump during a secret aircraft switch last month, riding with him in a service cart before boarding a second plane as Air Force One continued as a decoy with senior administration officials still aboard.
Harp had already become the center of a political fight after Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., invoked her during a campaign rally Sunday in Atlanta.
“He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do the job; he wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie to their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
A clip of Ossoff’s remarks spread widely on social media and prompted personal attacks from White House officials. Communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X: “Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics.”
White House spokesman Davis Ingle followed with: “Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a shit what this lightweight loser says.”
Ossoff revisited the backlash during a Wednesday interview with Lawrence O’Donnell.
“It’s been amazing to watch this White House melt down over this all week,” Ossoff said.
“These White House staffers are adults, public officials paid by the taxpayer with immense power in positions of public trust. And whether it’s Natalie Harp printing out Donald Trump’s daily dose of delusion and flattery, or Peter Navarro steering taxpayer-funded loans to Trump family investments, or Pete Hegseth deluding the president daily into deepening this quagmire in the Middle East, no one cares about their feelings.”
Rosie O’Donnell, a longtime Trump antagonist who guest-hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, also joined the public mockery.
“That’s all I’m going to say about you tonight, sweetheart,” O’Donnell said of Trump.
“You got to realize it’s time to hang up your wig and let Natalie tuck you in. Time to go nighty-night!”
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
The federal investigation into sexual assault allegations against former Rep. Eric Swalwell entered a new phase over the weekend, with agents conducting searches in California and Washington. An FBI team seized electronic devices from Swalwell at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. Agents searched his Washington, D.C., home the following day.
The inquiry centers on the allegations that preceded the Bay Area Democrat’s resignation from Congress in April. Separate criminal investigations have also been opened by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Swalwell has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct and assault.
The searches came the same week the White House released declassified FBI records detailing Swalwell’s interactions with Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who volunteered for his campaign in 2012. The documents state that Swalwell told agents in 2015 that he had had “physical relations” with Fang.
Swalwell was serving on the House Intelligence Committee when he spoke with the FBI and remained on the panel while the bureau continued its investigation. That investigation did not result in criminal charges.
The allegations that ultimately prompted Swalwell’s resignation first emerged in an April 10 investigation. A former staffer alleged that Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice—once while she worked for him and again several years later—when she was too intoxicated to consent. Three additional women subsequently came forward with detailed allegations of inappropriate conduct.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to President Donald Trump’s latest threat against Tehran by pointing to the United States’ own fiscal troubles. In a post on X Thursday, Araghchi shared screenshots highlighting that the gross national debt had surpassed $40 trillion for the first time.
Seyed Abbas Araghchi@araghchi
The so-called “Economic D-Day” is a diversion from America's own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs. Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat—and enmity of Iranians. US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide
5:56 AM · Aug 20, 2026 · 156K Views
268 Replies · 1.24K Reposts · 5.74K Likes
“The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt and surging interest costs,” Araghchi said. “Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat—and enmity of Iranians. U.S. economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide.”
His remarks came one day after Trump announced on Truth Social that he intends to unleash on Iran “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!”
“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” the president said.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington arrived in U.S. Central Command’s theater Wednesday and is now transiting the Arabian Sea, the command announced Thursday. A Navy official previously confirmed that the carrier was heading west to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The rotation follows months of growing concern among Lincoln families over the crew’s mental health and the strain of its extended deployment, including reports that some sailors attempted to jump overboard or were stopped from doing so. The Navy has disputed the broader characterization of a worsening mental-health crisis, saying it has not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the carrier.
The Lincoln deployed in November and was sent to the Middle East in January ahead of U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran. The carrier participated in the bombing campaign and the blockade of Iranian ports and has now spent more than 250 consecutive days without a rest-and-recreation port call.
The George Washington is the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier and is homeported in Yokosuka, Japan.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
The Air Force has placed Maj. Jason Watson in pretrial confinement following his public calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Watson was previously arrested July 1 after delivering a speech on the steps of the U.S. Capitol while in uniform and calling for Trump’s impeachment. He was not formally charged by the military over the demonstration, although military regulations prohibit service members from participating in certain political activities while wearing their uniforms.
The Air Force detained Watson again on Aug. 18, one day after he criticized Trump during a CNN interview with Erin Burnett. According to his attorney, Watson had informed his chain of command that he would no longer wear his uniform. He was taken into custody after refusing an order to put it back on.
The Air Force says probable cause supports allegations of “continued misconduct,” but Watson has not been formally charged. His attorney expects that Watson could face charges under Article 88, which prohibits contemptuous words against certain senior government officials, or Article 92, which covers failure to obey an order.
This live blog will be updated frequently as developments come in. Check back often, and refresh the page for the latest updates.
Press freedom does not survive on vibes. It survives because readers decide the work is worth protecting. The Developer is independent, ad-free, and reader-funded—which means your support goes directly into the reporting, not into some billionaire’s pocket. If my work helps you stay informed, consider upgrading to paid: $8/month or $80/year. If upgrading isn’t possible right now, sharing The Developer with someone who needs to read it matters just as much. Help keep independent journalism alive and impossible to buy.
*This is a developing story. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.