This Week in Democracy – Week 43: The President, the Pedophile, and the Cover-Up
Another week of Zeteo's project to document the ongoing growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
Donald Trump can no longer hide. His White House can’t spin. There’s no distraction he could manufacture to take eyes off the damning 20,000+ pages of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s emails – and the more than 1,500 times his name is mentioned in them (Zeteo published them all here).
It was certainly the biggest story of the week, and will continue to be for some time to come, especially as the House prepares to vote next week on a measure that would force the full release of the Epstein files. We’ll continue to comb through them as they’re released, but we also promise not to take our eyes off all the things Trump and his allies continue to do that harm democracy, erode the Constitution, and hurt free societies. And once again, this week, Trump and his cronies were busy in the most damaging ways.
From Trump’s pardons of dozens of people who participated in efforts to overturn the 2020 election to his letter urging the Israeli president to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu to his threat to sue yet another media organization, here’s ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 42’:
Saturday, November 8
The Trump administration sent a memo to state agencies directing them to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits” for November after the Supreme Court paused an order for the food benefit payments to be issued one day earlier.
The New York Times reported that dozens of Venezuelan men who were imprisoned in El Salvador’s megaprison earlier this year after being sent there by the Trump administration said they were beaten, sexually assaulted by guards, and driven to the brink of suicide while they were incarcerated. A team of independent forensic analysts reviewed their testimony and concluded that it was consistent and credible, with most of the acts described by the men meeting the UN definition of torture.
Sunday, November 9
Eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus caved to Republicans by voting to advance a continuing resolution that would end the longest-running federal government shutdown in US history. The deal contains certain provisions that would restore jobs to federal workers laid off during the shutdown, ensure furloughed federal employees get paid, and prevent any further mass layoffs of government workers for the next three months. However, it doesn’t include an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which will lead to significant spikes in health insurance premiums for millions of Americans.
Trump pardoned dozens of election-denying loyalists and fake electors involved in plans to overturn the 2020 presidential election, including lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows, and unhinged conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell. Trump’s pardons only cover federal charges and do not protect against any state charges.
The BBC’s director general and head of news resigned following criticism, including from the White House, that a 2024 ‘Panorama’ documentary misled viewers by editing Trump’s infamous speech at the Ellipse in DC on Jan. 6. (Read more in ‘First Draft.’)
A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration's attempt to withhold full SNAP payments for November, leaving a lower court order requiring the disbursement of full payments in place.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent a letter to Trump, calling for the president to answer questions about Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s preferential treatment at a minimum-security detention facility she was transferred to following interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. In the letter, Raskin noted that the House Judiciary Committee received information from a whistleblower that Maxwell appears to be planning to ask the Trump administration to commute her 20-year prison sentence, and that federal law enforcement staff working at the facility “have been waiting on Ms. Maxwell hand and foot,” with one top official saying he is “sick of having to be Maxwell’s bitch.”
At Trump’s direction, the Defense Department conducted two additional military strikes against boats in the Eastern Pacific, killing six people.
Monday, November 10
Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion, claiming in a letter from one of his lawyers to the broadcaster that their documentary included “malicious, disparaging” edits to Trump’s Jan. 6 speech at the Ellipse. The letter demanded that the broadcaster issue an apology, fully retract the documentary (which had already been removed from the BBC’s website), and make payments that his lawyers say would “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.”
CNN reported that Trump has been encouraged in recent weeks to intervene in the case of Tina Peters, a former county clerk in Colorado who was convicted of several charges after using someone’s security badge to allow an associate of Trump ally and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to access county election equipment following the 2020 presidential election. It’s unclear how Trump could intervene in her case, as the president is unable to pardon individuals convicted on state charges.
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal to overturn the landmark 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in the US by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who was sued in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the ruling.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether federal law prohibits states from counting ballots received after Election Day, a move that could impact mail-in voting in roughly 30 states, including for members of the military.
A federal judge said she will continue to block the Trump administration from directing states to “undo” full SNAP benefit payments, accusing the government of “trying to play vindictive games.”
In a court filing, academic organizations asked a federal judge, who issued a scathing opinion in September about the Trump administration’s efforts to detain and deport pro-Palestinian academics, to broaden his ruling to require the administration to publicly acknowledge the First Amendment prohibits the arrest, detention, or deportation of noncitizens based on political speech and order trainings to ensure government employees comply with the ruling.
Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn a $5 million civil judgment that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s lawyers argued in their petition that the claims made against him were both “implausible” and “unsubstantiated” and that the court made a “series of indefensible evidentiary rulings.”
CBS News reported that top US Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents could soon leave the Chicago area after the Trump administration made plans for their departure.
The New York Times reported that Trump quietly pardoned the husband of Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) last week. In 2013, Robert Harshbarger Jr., a licensed pharmacist, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud and distributing a misbranded drug. The pardon wasn’t publicly announced by the White House, but was later posted on the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney website.
A Utah judge rejected a congressional map passed by state Republican lawmakers and ordered a new map that will likely give Utah Democrats a seat in the House in the 2026 midterms for the first time since 2021.
In a court filing, the Trump administration formally said it determined that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is legally prohibited from seeking additional funding from the Federal Reserve, a move that could result in the agency closing in early 2026 when its current funds are exhausted, unless Congress passes new funding, which is unlikely due to Republican opposition to the agency. The CFPB is responsible for enforcing federal consumer financial laws and taking action against companies that violate those laws.
On Truth Social, Trump ordered all air traffic controllers back to work despite the government shutdown, as the number of flight delays and cancellations continued to climb. He threatened that any air traffic controller who didn’t return to work would have their pay “substantially ‘docked,’” and said, “If you want to leave service in the near future, please do not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind!”
A group of 17 trans Air Force and Space Force members, who each have at least 15 years of service, sued the Trump administration for denying them their early retirement benefits, claiming the military revoked their pensions and healthcare.
Tuesday, November 11
CNN reported that the UK stopped sharing intelligence with the US about suspected boats trafficking drugs in the Caribbean because it believes the Trump administration’s military strikes on vessels are illegal and the country doesn’t want to be complicit in the strikes.
The Wall Street Journal reported that when FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media about the FBI “thwart[ing] a potential terrorist attack” in Michigan on Halloween, no criminal charges had even been filed, and local police weren’t aware of the details. Following Patel’s post, friends of the individuals alleged to be involved moved up plans to leave the country.
The legal watchdog organization Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the Florida Bar and the Virginia State Bar against Trump’s handpicked federal prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, arguing her prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with her Signal exchanges with a reporter about James’s prosecution, “appear to represent a serious breach of her ethical obligations” and may violate multiple professional conduct provisions.
The Intercept reported that the Trump administration’s military occupations of US cities have cost nearly half a billion dollars, including $172 million in Los Angeles, roughly $270 million in DC, and almost $13 million in Chicago.
The Wall Street Journal reported that officials fired from the Federal Housing Finance Agency had been investigating its director, Bill Pulte, to determine whether he improperly obtained the mortgage records of Democratic officials like New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The Supreme Court extended its pause of a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to issue full SNAP payments in anticipation of Congress passing a bill to end the federal government shutdown. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted in the order that she would have denied the extension.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the suspension of intelligence sharing with US agencies until the Trump administration stops conducting military strikes against boats in the Caribbean, saying on Twitter that “the fight against drugs must be subordinated to the human rights of the Caribbean people.”
Bloomberg reported that Trump’s aides have been reviewing federal funds for New York City to potentially suspend or cancel following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory, though no specific programs were mentioned.
Wednesday, November 12
Trump sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, calling on him to pardon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog’s office said. Netanyahu is facing trial for corruption charges. He denies any wrongdoing.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails written by Jeffrey Epstein that suggested he believed Trump may have known about his abuse. Among the emails was one where he noted that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of his victims. In an email from 2011 to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote, “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.” Epstein also said in a 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, “Of course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”
On Truth Social, Trump claimed Democratic lawmakers are just rehashing the Epstein “hoax” to “deflect on how badly they’ve done on the [government] Shutdown,” and added, “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the newly released Epstein emails “prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”
Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva was finally sworn in to the House of Representatives more than seven weeks after winning a special election. She also became the key 218th vote on a petition to force a vote to require the Trump administration to release the Epstein files.
NBC News reported that Trump’s effort to change the Defense Department’s name to the Department of War could cost as much as $2 billion, half of which would go toward new department letterhead and signage.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from directing states to “undo” full SNAP benefit payments, finding that their claim that states were “unauthorized” to begin disbursing the payments over the weekend is “untethered to the factual record.”
A spokesperson for the Agriculture Department said in a statement to Politico that most states will receive federal funds to distribute full SNAP benefit payments “within 24 hours” after Trump signed the funding package to reopen the government.
CNN affiliate WLS reported that a federal judge ordered the release of more than 600 people from ICE detention centers who were arrested during Trump’s immigration crackdown in Illinois.
Trump signed legislation to reopen the federal government after the House passed the funding package earlier in the evening, marking an end to the longest government shutdown in US history.
Thursday, November 13
The Nevada Supreme Court revived a criminal case against six Trump allies who falsely claimed to be legitimate presidential electors as part of Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The defendants had been part of Trump’s recent pardons for any potential federal crimes related to the election, but the forgery charges are state-level offenses.
The Trump administration released policy changes for the Department of Housing and Urban Development that will cut more than half of federal funding for the Continuum of Care program, which provides permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness. The move could put as many as 170,000 people at risk of experiencing homelessness.
The Trump administration joined a lawsuit by Republicans in California to challenge the state’s new congressional map, which was recently approved by voters, and could give Democrats as many as five additional House seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Justice Department lawyers argued that the new map violates the Constitution, calling it a “racial gerrymander.” A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom told CNN, “These losers lost at the ballot box and soon they will also lose in court.”
NBC News reported that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), one of Trump’s most vocal critics and a key player in both of the president’s impeachments, was referred to the Justice Department for a potential federal mortgage and tax fraud investigation by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. In a statement, Swalwell, who denies the allegations, said, “The only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” and added, “I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world.”
The BBC apologized to Trump for editing parts of his Jan. 6 speech at the Ellipse during a recent documentary but rejected his demand for compensation. In its Corrections and Clarifications section, the BBC wrote, “We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech…and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.”
The New York Times reported that the Defense Department conducted its 20th known strike on a boat, killing four people. Pentagon officials said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth didn’t announce the strike on Wednesday, which took place in the Caribbean, on social media as he was waiting for video footage of the attack. Critics have questioned the legality of these strikes and pointed out that the government has not presented credible evidence of their claims.
British Muslim journalist Sami Hamdi returned to the UK after being released from ICE detention. Hamdi was detained by ICE at an airport two weeks ago. Zeteo reported that Hamdi’s legal team said the legal documents in the case only alleged that he overstayed his visa, which was revoked by the Trump administration, and did not include any other criminal conduct or security concerns.
On Newsmax, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the Trump administration will require every SNAP recipient to reapply for the program in order to receive benefits in an effort to crack down on “fraud.”
The State Department announced it is designating four European anti-fascist groups as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO), marking the first time that “antifa” groups will be classified as FTOs. The move also paves the way for federal authorities to expand surveillance of perceived anti-fascist supporters, including US citizens.
Politico reported that Paul Ingrassia, Trump’s former nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel before withdrawing his nomination after the outlet reported he made racist comments in a group chat, is leaving the Department of Homeland Security for a new position as deputy general counsel at the General Services Administration.
A federal judge rejected an effort by Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) to dismiss the case against her, after she was charged in May with assaulting and interfering with ICE agents at an immigration detention facility in New Jersey. The judge disagreed with McIver’s argument that her actions were protected by legislative immunity, writing that “impeding an arrest, whether lawful or unlawful, goes beyond any reasonable definition of oversight and, accordingly, exceeds the safe harbor of legislative immunity.”
Friday, November 14
Two dozen survivors of Epstein’s abuse sent a letter to lawmakers demanding that Congress vote to “deliver a promise the American people have awaited for far too long” in releasing the Epstein files, writing, “There is no middle ground here. There is no hiding behind party affiliation.”
ProPublica reported that the Department of Homeland Security invoked the “national emergency” at the Southern border in an effort to avoid bids for a $220 million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign, a move that benefited a firm with ties to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Additionally, the main recipient listed on the contracts was a company that was created just days before the deal was finalized.
ProPublica also reported that FBI Director Kash Patel granted waivers to three senior FBI employees, including Deputy Director Dan Bongino, which exempts them from completing polygraph tests that are generally required to gain access to the country’s most sensitive classified information.
On Truth Social, Trump announced he would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi, along with the Justice Department and the FBI, to investigate Epstein’s involvement with former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and prominent Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, along with major banks like JPMorgan Chase. He added that the Epstein scandal is “another Russia, Russia Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats.” Just hours later, Bondi assigned the US attorney in Manhattan to investigate Clinton and others.
The head of an association representing Georgia state prosecutors announced he would take over the racketeering case against Trump and his allies for their efforts to conspire to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It’s unclear whether the case will move forward.
HuffPost reported that the Agriculture Department is planning to fire a SNAP program specialist after she appeared on MSNBC in early October and said SNAP workers were feeling “overworked and exhausted” due to agency cuts and explained how funding could dry up during a prolonged government shutdown.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is planning to implement a policy change for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that could make it harder for immigrants from countries included in Trump’s travel ban to be approved for visas and green cards. The move would see USCIS consider “country-specific factors” included in the travel ban as “significant negative factors” in immigration applications.
CBS News reported that Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana, are the next targets of Trump’s mass deportation crackdown.
Bloomberg reported that the Justice Department has been engaging in settlement talks with Trump’s first national security adviser Michael Flynn and former senior White House lawyer Stefan Passantino, with Flynn seeking $50 million for what he claims was a wrongful prosecution by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Did you miss previous weeks? Catch up here.
Subscribe to Zeteo to make sure you get ‘This Week in Democracy’ in your inbox every week.
If you are already a Zeteo subscriber but would like to increase your support for our accountability journalism in this era of Trump and authoritarianism, please do consider a donation, too.
I am a white senior democrat centrist. Traitor Trump had eluded justice for decades. Unfortunately, his behavior will once again be normalized by his supporters just because it upsets the “Libs”
I really want to know how trump, and his loser, hackie Hegseth. are literally getting away with murder. I'm serious. Did I miss a news flash telling us it's okay to blow up boats, killing all the occupants, and do it again, and again, and again? What is it, up to 70 dead and still counting? Now trump has the biggest war ship in the world sitting off the coast of Venezuela, for what reason? Could it be, that he not only intends to oust Maduro, but also intends on overthrowing their government? I know, it sounds ridiculous, but this is trump/hegseth we're talking about here...stupid and stupider. I thought there were international laws against what they're doing, who's supposed to enforce the laws on international waters? Anyone have a clue how this gets stopped, or doesn't it? He can't just keep murdering people, or can he?