by Steve Benen | Feb 10, 2026 | Maddowblog, Politics
The name Kurt Olsen is probably unfamiliar to most Americans, but he’s in a position the public probably ought to care about.
Olsen came to public prominence in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat as a campaign lawyer who pushed discredited and conspiratorial claims of voter fraud. Four months ago, however, the attorney took on a new job: He joined the Republican administration as a “special government employee” who would focus on the president’s defeat more than four years ago.
A Wall Street Journal report on his appointment noted that the attorney had taken an interest in voting machines, while he was “asking intelligence agencies for information about the 2020 election.”
Evidently, evidently, Olsen is getting what he requested. Politico reported:
President Donald Trump has directed top U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election with his former campaign lawyer, known for pushing debunked theories of electoral fraud, according to four people with knowledge of the effort.
The intelligence that top U.S. spy agencies are furnishing to Kurt Olsen — now a temporary government employee in the White House — is meant to support a probe he is leading into whether Joe Biden’s 2020 election win was the result of fraud or other electoral irregularities, said the people, who, like others in this article, were granted anonymity for fear of retribution.
The Politico report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, added that Olsen has gained access to some sensitive compartmented intelligence programs, “which are among the most highly classified material stored by U.S. spy agencies,” and that if he runs into trouble reviewing highly classified intelligence reporting, Olsen
by Steve Benen | Feb 10, 2026 | Maddowblog, Politics
There is a degree of irony surrounding the Justice Department’s recent efforts. On the one hand, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her team have weaponized federal law enforcement to a degree unseen since Watergate. On the other hand, they’re simultaneously on the hunt for evidence of the Biden-era DOJ having been weaponized.
By all appearances, the latter crusade isn’t doing especially well.
Bondi created something called the “Weaponization Working Group” shortly after taking office, and in May, after far-right activist Ed Martin failed as the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., he was rewarded by being named the director of the working group.
Nine months later, after Martin failed to do anything worthwhile in the role, he was removed from the leadership post without explanation.
Efforts to breathe new life into the working group are, however, apparently ongoing. NBC News reported:
More than a year after Attorney General Pam Bondi created a ‘Weaponization Working Group’ meant to root out ‘abuses of the criminal justice process’ by federal law enforcement officers in their investigations of President Donald Trump, the Justice Department is scrambling to produce a report, according to a person directly familiar with the group’s work.
The report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, added that the group is moving forward with plans “to meet daily” — a detail that CNN also reported last week.
Of particular interest, however, was an element of the NBC News report that noted that Justice Department officials involved in the working group “said they were berated over their inability to produce so far.”
If that’s accurate, it’s emblematic of a larger breakdown.
Imagine if the Justice Department created a working
by Steve Benen | Feb 10, 2026 | Maddowblog, Politics
At a White House event last week, a reporter reminded Donald Trump about references to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the latest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files. The president replied that he was confident the Cabinet secretary is “fine,” adding, “Otherwise, there would have been major headlines.”
Six days later, there are quite a few headlines coming to the fore. Politico reported on the bipartisan calls for Lutnick’s resignation.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) accused Lutnick in a statement Monday of having ‘lied’ about the extent of his connection to Epstein. Lutnick has sought to downplay their relationship, saying in a podcast appearance last year he vowed in 2005 to never again be in the same room as Epstein.
But files recently released by the Justice Department suggest he continued his interactions with Epstein, including planning a visit several years later to Epstein’s Caribbean island.
“Lutnick’s lies about his business dealings with a convicted child sex offender raise serious concerns about his judgement and ethics,” Schiff said. “Lutnick has no business being our Commerce Secretary, and he should resign immediately.”
One day earlier, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who’s repeatedly broken with his party on matters related to Epstein, appeared on CNN’s “Inside Politics” and said, in reference to Lutnick, “He should just resign. I mean, there are three people in Great Britain that have resigned in politics. The ambassador from Great Britain to the United States, the prince lost his title for less than what we’ve seen Howard Lutnick lie about.”
The GOP congressman added, again in reference to the commerce secretary, “He’s got a lot to answer for. But really, he should make life
by Duncan Levin | Feb 10, 2026 | Opinion, Politics
Ghislaine Maxwell’s virtual appearance Monday before the House Oversight Committee was never going to produce meaningful testimony. Everyone involved understood that in advance. Her lawyers said so explicitly, the committee knew it, the press understood it and any lawyer with experience in criminal practice knew it.Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for her role in aiding the late Jeffrey Epstein in the sexual abuse of underage girls, was always going to invoke the Fifth Amendment: fully and repeatedly and without deviation.
Lawmakers didn’t call her before Congress to extract information but to stage an event.
And yet, after Monday’s charade, Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters, “Ghislaine Maxwell took the fifth and refused to answer any questions. This is obviously very disappointing.”
It was clear both before she began invoking the Fifth Amendment and after she finished that lawmakers didn’t call her before Congress to extract information but to stage an event. That distinction matters because Congress is not a second prosecutor. Its constitutional role in moments like this is oversight, not reenactment.Oversight is not supposed to be loud or theatrical, and it is not designed to hinge on the implausible hope that a witness facing ongoing postconviction litigation will suddenly decide to self-incriminate in a public forum. Oversight is meant to be methodical, document-driven and focused on institutional decision-making, particularly when the justice system has plainly failed to deliver broad accountability.
Play
Attorney for Epstein survivors: Maxwell ‘is worthless as a credible trial witness’
February 9, 2026 / 05:27
If Congress wants to understand how the Epstein investigation unfolded, then its members should know that the answer was never going
by Steve Benen | Feb 9, 2026 | Maddowblog, Politics
Around this time a year ago, as members of the National Governors Association got together for their winter gathering, Donald Trump did what every modern president has done: He invited the governors to the White House for a joint event. It did not go well.
The president peddled some anti-trans talking points before trying to bully Maine Gov. Janet Mills into accepting the administration’s position. When the Democratic governor pushed back, Trump pretended that one of his executive orders constituted federal law (it didn’t), prompting Mills to respond, “See you in court.”
Twelve months later, the NGA’s members are again getting together and preparing to visit the White House — or at least, some of them are. The New York Times reported:
President Trump is hosting an annual meeting of governors at the White House this month, but is doing something different this year. He is not inviting Democrats.
The meeting, part of the National Governors Association winter gathering, will only include Republican governors, according to multiple people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss scheduling that was not public.
The Washington Post had a related report, noting that the White House is moving forward with plans for a separate dinner for the nation’s governors, but two Democratic governors — Maryland’s Wes Moore, the vice chair of the National Governors Association, and Colorado’s Jared Polis — learned that their invitations had been revoked without explanation. (Both governors issued public statements confirming that they’d been uninvited.)
The White House has not explained its rationale, though Polis has been a popular Trump target because the Coloradan hasn’t pardoned a convicted felon the president
by Steve Benen | Feb 6, 2026 | Maddowblog, Politics
Every year during Barack Obama’s presidency, the Democrat made an appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he’d deliver pensive, thought-provoking remarks about his Christian faith. And nearly every year, conservatives would express their outrage over the sophisticated ideas the then-president challenged them to consider.
There was, however, never any doubt about the theological foundations of the Democrat’s remarks. In 2011, for example, Obama explained how he “came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace Him as my lord and savior.”
As is true in so many areas of public life, things now are … different. The Boston Globe reported:
President Trump attacked Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an outspoken critic of the president, during his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday, calling him a ‘moron.’ […]
Trump then attacked Democrats in his speech saying, ‘I don’t know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat. I really don’t.’ Later, Trump repeated his false claims that he won the popular vote in 2016 and that his 2020 loss to former president Joe Biden was ‘rigged.’
Over the course of roughly 75 minutes, the Republican turned the National Prayer Breakfast into a roast of sorts, lashing out at enemies, condemning immigrants, peddling absurd election conspiracy theories, expressing annoyance that House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to pray before meals, lying about the repeal of the Johnson Amendment (which still has not actually happened, no matter how many times Trump claims otherwise) — all while complaining about transgender people and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The president even took the opportunity to boast about the efficacy of the deadly military operations
