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DOJ SHIELDs TRUMP “PRIVATE ADVISOR” COMMUNICATIONS

This is such an obscure story but we should all be paying attention to it because it could have HUGE consequences. The Department of Justice just issued a new legal opinion from the Office of White House Counsel that expanded the definition of which presidential communications can be shielded by executive privilege. DOJ says it is now the formal position of the Justice Department that privilege should extend to private “advisors” to the president who are NOT employees of the federal government. What’s significant is the vague definition of “advisor” and what this may mean if Democrats take back control of the House or Senate after the midterms.

Read the DOJ Opinion here.

PRESIDENT TRUMP ADDRESSES ELABORATE DECOY SCHEME

Tonight, President Trump confirmed the extraordinary exclusive reporting published last night in the Washington Post. Since it was the WaPo’s exclusive reporting, I did not include it in last night’s FactsHQ email. However, because the President confirmed it today, and expanded on it today, game on!

The Washington Post scooped last night that while in Turkey at the NATO summit, because of credible and serious Iranian threats, President Trump was secretly moved from Air Force One into an airport catering container and then quietly placed onto a small private government plane. This means the Air Force One that we all believed Trump was flying on along with White House officials, security and support staff, and reporters from Turkey to England was actually a decoy plane.

When asked tonight about the covert Secret Service operation last month, Trump told reporters “I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane. I just have to do what they say.” Trump also said he felt he was at “greater risk” while on board that smaller government jet.

There are a lot of questions about all of this. First and most importantly, how advanced are Iran’s actual capabilities? Trump keeps saying Iran’s military is “obliterated.” But clearly, the Iranian threat against Trump’s life was so serious and real that Secret Service cooked up this extraordinary secret operation to protect Trump’s life. Second, there is no doubt that certain operations must stay secret, especially when the president’s life is at risk. But in the past, once the danger has passed, the White House discloses the information. The Trump administration did not do that. Why? Even the Bush administration ultimately disclosed where President Bush went after September 11th. And third, was it legal to use journalists as decoys (without their knowledge) when there was a credible threat to that plane? These are all questions that we still don’t have answers to.

Read the Washington Post’s original story (with incredible video) here.

TRUMP WON’T RULE OUT DECLARING ELECTION “EMERGENCY”

President Trump made a curious statement during an interview today with a conservative commentator. The commentator suggested that because the Senate has refused to pass the SAVE America Act, the president could declare a national emergency and could mandate photo ID, proof of citizenship and a limit to mail-in ballots. The commentator even claimed, “because of Supreme Court precedent,” this emergency couldn’t be challenged in the courts and could only be ended by a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate. Trump cut the commentator off, saying, “Let me just say that stranger things have happened, OK? I’ll leave it at that.”

What does THAT mean? The president didn’t elaborate past that statement but it is significant that he didn’t rule it out. This is an alarming statement from the President of the United States. No modern president has ever suggested such a thing. Trump has been fixated on nationalizing federal elections because he believes they are “rigged.”

Here’s a fact check. I have NO idea what this conservative commentator is even talking about. If the president declared a national emergency, there is no legal mechanism for that to give him any power over elections. The Constitution is extremely clear that power over elections falls to the states and Congress. The Constitution gives the president ZERO power over elections, even during national emergencies. However, the president has one of the most consequential powers and that is the power of the bully pulpit. President Trump has been known to shout from the rooftops about “rigged” elections, especially if he or his party don’t win. What’s different this time is that he would be making those claims as President of the United States with the power to throw the entire weight of the federal government behind investigations into these “rigged” elections and behind slowing down certification of elections Trump doesn’t believe are accurate. Those ARE all things the president CAN do.

Watch the full interview below.

AMERICAN HELD IN RUSSIA RELEASED AFTER 4 YEARS

Russia released an American Marine from custody after four years today. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted the photo below of 32-year-old Robert Gilman on board an American plane headed back to the United States. He had been held in a Russian prison since 2022 after a Russian court convicted him of assaulting a police officer and sentenced him to 10 years.

Of his release today, President Trump posted that after discussions with President Vladimir Putin, “Russia has agreed to release him [Gilman], very much on a Humanitarian Basis,” and “asked for no one in return.” Gilman’s family said his health had “significantly deteriorated” since he was imprisoned and recently had to be moved to a civilian hospital because he was reportedly in a “dissociative stupor.”

Gilman will be assessed by US medical professionals when he arrives back home.

Secretary Marco Rubio@SecRubio

Today, after more than four years of detention in Russia, Robert Gilman is on his way home to be reunited with his family. Mr. Gilman joins over 100 Americans whom President Trump has freed during his second term in office. We thank Russia for working with Special Envoy Steve

4:14 PM · Aug 11, 2026 · 190K Views

299 Replies · 1.41K Reposts · 8K Likes

PRIMARY ELECTION NIGHT: WHAT TO WATCH

The results are coming in after voters in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Alabama, Vermont and Connecticut cast ballots in consequential primary elections. Obviously, it’s too early to know who won in all the races but I’ll point out some of the most high-profile races.

In South Carolina, Republican primary voters were choosing which candidate would secure the GOP nomination to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. Because no Republican secured more than 50% of the vote, two Republican are now headed to a runoff. Graham’s sister Darlene Graham, who is currently occupying his seat, and Congressman Ralph Norman are projected to move on to a runoff on August 25. It is significant that Darlene Graham did not secure more than 50% of the vote in South Carolina even after a full-throated endorsement from President Trump. Whichever Republican wins on August 25 will face off against the Democratic nominee for US Senate, Annie Andrews, MD.

In Wisconsin, voters are choosing their candidates for governor. The Democratic Party is really paying attention to this race because, like last week’s primary in Michigan, this race pits a very progressive candidate against a more mainstream Democrat. Democratic socialist Francesca Hong is trying to beat the more establishment candidate, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is backed by outgoing Gov. Tony Evers. This is an EXTREMELY TIGHT RACE with only a few hundred votes separating the two candidates at the time I am writing this newsletter.

And in Minnesota, there is yet another Democratic moderate-vs-progressive battle for the US Senate seat between centrist US Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. In the race for governor, Mike Lindell, known as the “MyPillow Guy,” leads a crowded Republican primary. Lindell has Trump’s endorsement. Whichever Republican wins the nomination will face Sen. Amy Klobuchar who won the Democratic nomination.

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE TOMORROW

All of us in North America will be seeing a partial solar eclipse tomorrow. A total solar eclipse darkens the skies on Earth when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting a shadow onto the planet and blocking the sun’s light from some areas of the world. When that shadow sweeps across Earth’s surface, it creates what’s known as the path of totality.

During tomorrow’s solar eclipse, observers in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and northeastern Portugal will be in the path of totality. Outside the path of totality, those viewers in the moon’s lighter outer shadow will see a partial eclipse. That means only part of the sun’s light will be blocked from view. People in Europe, Africa and North America will experience a partial solar eclipse this year. According to NASA, in the northern contiguous US, the partial eclipse will begin around midday, and will linger into the midafternoon for those farther east.

DOJ SHIELDS TRUMP PRIVATE ADVISOR COMMUNICATIONS. TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE TOMORROW. RIP "BETH."

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