On an unknown date, Gabriel Perez, Trump’s teleprompter operator, made trades on Kalshi via insider information. These trades were made over a three month period of time. Kalshi flagged the trades sometime in March. It specifically flagged trades made in “mention markets,” in which users bet on words in Trump’s speeches.
Kalshi reported its findings to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Despite this, the CFTC has refused to confirm or deny the presence of an investigation. The alleged insider trader is being cooperative with the CFTC.
Perez has made over $90,000 in profits from the illicit trades, though the profits have been frozen. He illegally placed bets related to Trump’s February State of the Union. He was not immediately terminated by the Trump administration, instead being placed on administrative leave. Perez has a lengthy history with Trump, being his teleprompter operator since 2016. He “is often the last person to see Trump’s speeches before he delivers them.” He was hired after the 2016 Trump campaign Googled “teleprompters,” and hired Perez, who was working for VIP Prompting at the time.
Trump praised Perez during an event in Reno on the 2024 campaign trail, saying, “I have a guy, Gabe. He’s excellent. I’ve had some real bad ones, but I have Gabe.”
CNN Politics
The allegations and Trump’s misplaced faith come despite his claim to only hire “the best people.” The administration’s embrace of betting markets, as exhibited by CFTC chair Mike Selig, comes despite Trump’s previous hesitation surrounding betting markets, which mirrors his initial opposition to cryptocurrency, before his embrace of it that allowed him to profit from the Presidency by the billions.
“Well the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what’s going on all over the world in Europe and every place they’re doing these betting things. I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it conceptually, but it is what it is,” Trump told reporters.
ABC
In October 2025, Trump Media and Technology Group floated creating its own prediction market, which would ostensibly give Trump another means by which to profit from his publicly held office.
On July 15, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new policy of testing testosterone levels on military service members of the age of thirty or older. The test is to be integrated into the regular annual health assessment, and will be optional for those under thirty.
Men’s testosterone levels decrease in their thirties and forties, but naturally so. In his social media video announcing the policy, Hegseth was generous in his praise of testosterone.
“This initiative — it’s not about artificial enhancement; it’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight,” Hegseth said.
NBC
Medical experts have warned about this new policy, noting that testosterone is not the panacea Hegseth and other Trump administration officials, such as Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr., claim it to be. Dr. Céline Gounder stated that testosterone does not “sharpen thinking, fix fatigue, or make a healthy 30-year-old a better soldier.” The Endocrine Society and the American College of Physicians argued that the screenings are pointless, because testosterone levels are also influenced by lifestyle and even the time of day.
Furthermore, Dr. Marcus Gancalves, director of the Holman Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at New York University (NYU) Langone Health, found that testosterone levels can rebound naturally if lifestyle improves, no testosterone therapy needed. Testosterone therapy, championed by Trump administration officials and online celebrities, who do not have medical expertise, introduces the risk of blood clots caused by a potentially excessive increase in red blood cell count.
The testosterone screenings will cost tens of millions per year, as repeated tests and monitoring are needed. This policy is being introduced despite previous denunciations of waste, fraud, and abuse by the Trump administration.
Boris Epshteyn, a spokesman for President-elect Donald Trump, arrives at Trump Tower, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
On an unknown date, the Trump Justice Department (DOJ) issued subpoenas against thirteen law firms to obtain information about their communications with Boris Epshteyn, Trump’s personal lawyer, who, in an informal role, negotiated with the firms, who sought to avoid the consequences of (likely illegal) executive orders by Trump. The Justice Department is demanding that the heads of these firms attend depositions.
This new round of conflict between the Trump administration and private law firms is rooted in a lawsuit by the American Bar Association (ABA), which requested records relating to communications between Epshteyn, the White House, and Steve Bannon. The DOJ has responded by requesting that a federal judge quash the requests. The DOJ has subpoenaed nine law firms that bowed down to Trump’s executive orders targeting them, and the four that have refused to comply. The DOJ hopes to create a rift between the ABA and the firms it is defending, by making the former press the latter to cease its request for information on Epshteyn.
The DOJ is additionally seeking to punish all thirteen firms in question by removing a top leader from each of them, including Brad Karp, the former chairman of Paul Weiss, who was the first to accomodate Trump. This episode reveals the risks of appeasing the Trump administration.
The Trump DOJ is rightly concerned about new information being released about Epshteyn. He allegedly asked that political appointees bribe him via a retainer to gain a greater audience with Trump. Trump himself asked for a review of these allegations. David Warrington, incoming White House counsel during the second Trump transition, warned about Epshteyn’s potentially illegal behavior:
“Epshteyn’s conduct must be stopped and his employment and proximity to President Trump should be terminated,” Mr. Warrington wrote. “Otherwise, his conduct will likely lead to, at best a scandal involving the incoming Trump administration, and at worst could lead to criminal indictments.”
On July 13, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a task force between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Defense Department (DOD) to identify and prosecute so-called unauthorized disclosures “of sensitive information to news media,” with the DOD’s Office of General Counsel taking the lead.
Hegseth has been obsessed with alleged leaks. On April 21, he claimed that classified war plans shared on a second Signal group chat were leaked by former staffers seeking to “sabotage” Trump. No evidence was provided. A former defense official claimed that Hegseth spends half of his workday on leak investigations.
What counts as an unauthorized leak remains vague. Whistleblowers disclosing waste, fraud, and illegal behavior are protected from disciplinary action from their employer by the Whistleblower Protection Act. Hegseth himself may be prosecuted under his own terms, by sending potentially classified information to his “wife, brother, and personal attorney” via another Signal group chat.
Just two days after his 71st birthday, Lindsey Graham—senior senator from South Carolina and one of Trump’s most-outspoken allies—has died.
Details on the specific circumstances of Graham’s passing are scarce. But as Eric McDaniel writes for NPR, he apparently died of an as-yet-undisclosed “cardiac event.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., died late Saturday night following a ‘brief and sudden illness,’ according to a statement released by his office. He was 71. His office did not immediately reply to a request for information on his cause of death. But audio reviewed by NPR shows that emergency services personnel responded to a call of cardiac arrest at Graham’s Washington home Saturday night.
Eric McDaniel for NPR
What I’ll remember most about Senator Graham was his sense of humor and how he deployed it to move his policy positions forward. Though we did not often agree, Senator Graham was never disagreeable.
The well-wishes and platitudes have already started rolling in for Graham, including one from “beloved friend” Bibi Netanyahu. Much ink will be spilled on his career and (lack of a better term) “advocacy” in pushing the Trump “cause”—which in turn spurred quite an off-again, on-again “bromance” between the two.
But perhaps the most-famous errand Lindsey Graham undertook on Trump’s behalf were repeated calls to Georgia officials in 2020 asking “technical questions” about ballots—questions that secretary of state Brad Raffensperger said sounded like a request to toss out votes. “He asked if the ballots could be matched back to the voters,” Raffensperger told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “And I got the sense it implied that you could throw those out… if you look at the counties with the highest frequent error of signatures.”
Much more will come out in the coming days and weeks about Graham’s passing and the team at TrumpFile will follow developments closely.
AUTHOR FOOTNOTE
Thus concludes our straight-news recap of Lindsey’s sudden passing. Buckle up, dearhearts, it gets bumpy from here.
Like election terrorist Cleta Mitchell, spectacular traitor Misha Flynn and others, Lindsey Graham came within inches of getting indicted by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis in Georgia. According to an unbylined Associated Press wire story picked up by WHYY (there were many news bulletins about this, for the record) a Willis-convened Special Grand Jury recommended charging many of those and other known agitators, but she ultimately decided against it.
A report released on Friday revealed that a special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results recommended indictments against a much larger group than Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ultimately charged, including one current and two former U.S. senators. The nine-page report showed jurors recommended charges against 39 people, compared to the 18 who were charged along with Donald Trump. The names of those not indicted included Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Associated Press via WHYY
What’s notable about Willis’ decision not to charge Graham is that we may never know why: District Attorneys are apparently not required—unlike federal counterparts, where it is apparently a “norm” or “custom”—to file declination memos explaining why they did not go forward with charges. (Of course, Special “Revenge” Counsel John Durham was asked in an open hearing by Rep. Zoe Lofgren why he refused to follow a lead on Donald’s criminal conduct he received during a trip to Italy. Mr. Durham resigned in early 2021 and did not provide any details about the tip. Nothing is known about that situation to present day. And that, as the saying goes, is how the one-sided cookie crumbles. More on that in a moment.)
But I digress. There’s a not-insignificant part of me that wanted to throw an entire library-worth of books at Lindsey for what he attempted in Georgia; there would’ve been, however, certain complications in charging a sitting senator, even one carpetbagging/freelancing in Georgia while stationed in South Carolina.
Most notably, the Constitution’s “Speech or Debate” clause protecting sitting members from prosecution. Did Lindsey undertake his lil’ favors knowing ahead of time he would rely on those protections? We may never know.
The GOP has used the speech and debate clause as a shield for every single statement made by their elected public officials FOR YEARS, even to the point of avoiding testifying in criminal investigations. Like the criminal investigation into Trump for election interference.
And no, intrepid reader, I’m not aware of the provision in the Constitution (the document right wingers pretend to care about) that mentions “thou shalt ring state officials on behalf of a felon to overturn elections.” Because there isn’t one.
But you will be shocked to learn that “Speech or Debate” protections only extend, at least in modern-day practice, to Republicans. (I’m fully aware of the axiom “it’s only illegal if Dems do it.”) Prior to her sacking, Pamela Jo Bondi “warned” Jasmine Crockett to “tread carefully” when dragging the likes of Elon Musk. No speech protections for you, Rep. Crockett!
Or how about a more apples-to-apples example of senator Alex Padilla attending a Kristi Noem press conference to—gasp!—ask questions of the now-sacked DHS secretary? ICE Becky refused to answer written questions sent through official channels, which is why Padilla turned up at her junket in the first place. Did Padilla enjoy the same protections apparently afforded Lindsey Graham?
DHS accuses @padilla.senate.gov of "disrespectful political theatre" after committing assault for political theater
Assault and battery is the calling card for the Trump Regime 2.0 regardless of one’s position, so no, Senator Padilla wasn’t afforded “Speech or Debate” accommodations and was tossed to the ground and handcuffed.
Final point for this bulletin: I examined initial-media coverage of Lindsey Graham’s passing, mainly because I wanted to see how many early reports mentioned his attempted (and failed) 2020-election interference—or the softer “meddling,” as Beltway-media types often prefer.
Of the 16 sources I looked at (including AP, CNN, Reuters, Politico, Wapo and others) two mentioned the malfeasance: Politico and Atlanta News First. That’s a near-90% omission rate. Notably, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (arguably our fair city’s “paper of record”) has thus far run only a wire-service report and put no local resources on the story.
The Graham passing also comes amidst deepening mystery involving the status of Mitch McConnell who is, as of this writing, in an unknown state of infirmary.
keeping it 💯 here, neither Moscow Mitch's subordinates, sub-operatives in Kentucky nor his jet-setting spouse have said ANYTHING about his, ya know, status. the #ProtectionRacet known to lie about everything is now remaining silent? that dog will not hunt, no ma'am. bsky.app/profile/gill…
On July 10, the Department of Justice (DOJ) subpoenaed New York Times journalists Tyler Page, Julian Barnes, Eric Lipton, and Eric Schmitt. Two spouses among these journalists and one of their mothers were additionally subpoenaed, as well as third-party phone service providers to access the text messages and other phone records of the journalists. One of those spouses enjoys a senior role at a major law firm; the Trump administration has been pressuring major law firms with potentially illegal executive orders. The subpoenas were sent by Jay Clayton, attorney from Southern District of New York and a Trump ally nominated to be director of national intelligence.
The subpoenas were an attempt to uncover the anonymous sources that gave information to the journalists regarding the security flaws of Trump’s new Air Force One plane, which was a bribe from Qatar. The reporters expressed legitimate national security concerns regarding the aircraft. Trump’s Secret Service recommended him to return from a NATO summit aboard an older aircraft, because the Qatari bribe lacked the defensive capabilities that other Air Force One planes had.
The New York Times has sought to quash the subpoenas. The newspaper noted that the DOJ violated its own internal guidelines regarding media subpoenas, as they “waited a week to notify The Times about the phone record requests…” It also noted that some of the subpoenas go back before reporting on the jet, indicating that the DOJ wants information on the general sources of the journalists.
On July 9, Trump terminated the remaining Democrats, Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks, from the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Republican Christy McCormick resigned from her position.
This comes after months of the Trump administration seeking to bypass the EAC via the use of emergency powers. Trump’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) advised him to declare a national emergency and establish a task force to alter voting machines, under the pretense that they are vulnerable. The removal of three members of the committee renders it without a quorum; it is unable to implement any changes in voting.
A White House official accused the terminated election commissioners of not being “totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted.” There is no evidence of this. Other White House officials expressed frustration at the slow speed of the EAC, but this is a normal quality of the organization, due to the complexity of voting systems and the relevant technology.
The EAC is a bipartisan and independent federal organization.
In yet another scandal that took more than a month to leak, a threat during NATO Summit in early July caused the Secret Service to move Trump off Air Force One and into a different aircraft. The switch was an “elaborate ruse” facilitated by a catering-service vehicle, according to BBC News‘ Jessica Rawnsley.
Donald Trump secretly swapped planes as he left a NATO summit in Turkey last month, as part of an elaborate ruse in response to a possible Iranian threat, US media report. Trump boarded Air Force One in view of television cameras before being transported to a military aircraft with the help of a catering truck, the Washington Post said. Journalists and some White House staff on board did not know he had been smuggled out.
via BBC News‘ Jessica Rawnsley.
The “secrecy” aspect of this story is a bit of misnomer since the entire operation was caught on HD footage and diagrammed by news media.
The clandestine maneuver came a day after the US renewed military strikes on Iran following a breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the war. Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, but announced that he would leave on the old Air Force One ‘for old time’s sake’
Many have compared Donny’s “mobster shell game with planes” to Bill Clinton‘s similar maneuver in early 2000 (back during a rare stretch when America had an actual leader); but that decoy plane facilitated Clinton’s desire to try and diffuse a nuclear incident between Pakistan and India (among other goals). In this 2026 version, it’s a self-own after Trump bombed the crap out of Iran and whacked its supreme leader at the behest of Bibi Netanyahu.
We sleep in beds we make.
$100 says donny scarfed down like a dozen dinner rolls while riding the catering van #BunkerBoy www.bbc.com/news/article…
Finally, the timing of “Donald hitches ride on catering truck” sitcom has important implications for the (illegal and unprecedented) subpoenas his goons at SDNY issued to The New York Times. So argues Chris Geidner at LawDork News (linked below):
It’s also a story about the way the Trump [goons] lie to the public and to the press, as well as how senior administration officials—up to and including Trump—might have been willing to go so far as to put the lives of others, including members of the media, at risk. Finally, it’s a story of how the Trump administration quickly went on the offense in the aftermath of the ‘ruse’—subpoenaing some of the first reporters who dove into what was happening.
Chris Geidner, LawDork
Geidner deftly pieced together a damning timeline of NYT publishing a story on July 8, with “mob subpoenas” starting to fly mere hours later.
The Times had reported on July 8 that the use of the old Air Force One was a ‘security precaution’ in Turkey and then reported on July 9 that the Qatari-donated jet ‘lacks the same defensive countermeasures’ as the old Air Force One.
The next day, the Trump administration—via the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York—subpoenaed Times journalists, leading to the high-profile fight that ended with the office withdrawing the subpoenas (and others subsequently issued for phone records) at a hearing before a skeptical judge on July 23.
Chris Geidner, LawDork
The most-incredible takeaway from Geidner’s dot-connecting is that Donny’s mafia allowed—or perhaps intentionally directed—the press (following him, as usual, like hungry puppies) to facilitate their own demise.
If, as the Times reported, ‘Mr. Trump was being targeted on whatever airplane he was traveling on’ and, as it also reported, the Trump administration ‘purposely misle[d] reporters assigned to cover Mr. Trump, allowing the press to report that he was traveling on board a plane that was being used as a decoy,’ then it appears that the Times is reporting that it believes the Trump administration purposely misled reporters to publish information that the administration believed could make those reporters the target of an attack.
Think about the implications of this—’The Trump administration purposely misled reporters to publish information that the administration believed could make those reporters the target of an attack’—if it is true.
Chris Geidner, LawDork
If we’ve learned anything from being “governed” by sociopaths, it’s that depravity is a “Silence of the Lambs” well with no bottom.
UPDATE: just picked up longtime Barbara Starr’s live-hit on CNN and it’s very worth your time. In reporting this ridiculous piece for TrumpFile I struggled with using the word “decoy” because there were multiple aircraft airborne that could have been targeted by Iranian (or other) forces for an attack. Starr is usually very measured in her commentary so to question the legality on CNN’s air is important. watch this space.
veteran correspondent Barbara Starr is always measured so this live-hit with @kaitlancollins.bsky.social is extremely telling: "I don't subscribe to the notion it was a decoy plane. if it was unsafe for [dumdum] how was it safe for media to be on the flight?"big 🧢 @sandibachom.bsky.social
On an unknown date, but by July 3, the Department of Energy (DOE) removed over 1,600 pages from its website. The websites in question contained information regarding saving money on energy, and staying cool during the summer.
Bizarrely, the wave of websites deleted in early July coincides with guidance from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who advised businesses to set their air conditioning to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. It just so happened that the DOE website that complimented this guidance, specifically recommending people to keep their cooling at 75 to 78 degrees, was taken down after Mamdani’s request. On July 2, the DOE proposed a new rule to limit household appliance energy efficiency standards.
It is typical of the Trump administration to remove informative webpages that relate to new policies, so as to weaken criticism during the mandatory public comment period. This is despite Trump claiming to run a “transparent” administration.
On July 2, General Christopher Donahue relinquished his command of United States Army Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Allied Land Command.
The retirement was abrupt, and the Department of Defense (DOD) has not specifically elaborated about why it occurred. However, it is known that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to demote him. Hegseth refused to appoint him as vice chief or army chief of staff. The chaotic refusal to deploy troops to Poland, which was ultimately reversed, also played a role in General Donahue’s ouster. As General Donahue was heavily involved in Eastern Europe’s defense, his termination is likely an attempt to degrade NATO. Also, on a larger note, United States Army Europe and Africa may be relegated to a three-star command. It has been noted, specifically in regard to this forced resignation, that Hegseth goes on firing sprees when he believes that his own position has become vulnerable.
This resignation occurred despite being in his position for only eighteen months, whereas his predecessors were usually there for three years. It also occurred despite General Donahue’s qualifications, which include his service as commander of Delta Force Units and of the 82nd Airborne Division (these facts indicate that General Donahue is actually more qualified to be Defense Secretary than Hegseth himself). However, Hegseth announced his intentions to eschew a meritocratic military with his policy of “less generals, more GIs,” which is being carried out regardless of the loss in experience and knowledge.
On July 23, the Pentagon nominated Lieutenant General Kevin D. Admiral to replace General Donahue. Lieutenant General Admiral is a three star general, confirming fears that United States Army Europe would be demoted to a three-star command.
On July 1, Trump phoned Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino to request the overturning of a red card incurred on soccer player Folarin Balogun. The demand was accepted on July 5, allowing Balogun to play against Belgium’s team on July 6. Belgium’s appeal made on that same day was dismissed.
Infantino insisted that this was a normal call with Trump and that independent bodies within FIFA determined that Balogun should not receive a red card without external pressure. This is despite the fact that the video of Balogun’s foul clearly displayed him stepping on the ankle of Tarik Muharemović, who was playing for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The effects of Trump’s decision are already being felt. 35 members of the European Parliament have called for an investigation into Trump’s soccer intervention, which has already further damaged transatlantic ties. This episode leaves open several questions: why was the red card lifted only after the Trump-Infantino phone call? And why has FIFA repeatedly attempted to sway Trump, as also seen when it dolled out a fake peace prize for him?
FIFA has a history of corruption. In 2015, the Department of Justice prosecuted a significant and global web of corruption involving FIFA executives and other officials.
On an unknown date, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, who has been a consistent critic of Trump and his administration. The investigation is rooted in a whistleblower complaint from Southern California.
The investigation is in regard to Gallego’s use of a PAC to fund family trips to Puerto Rico, Miami, Nantucket, among other destinations. Gallego had also established a PAC with former Representative Eric Swalwell, which used money for tickets and amenities at the Super Bowl.
However, there is little, if any, public evidence of any illegal behavior by Gallego. As long as the PAC spending was campaign-related. In the case of the PAC established with Swalwell, the funds were used to buy tickets and food for supporters, so it was clearly campaign related. The trips to Puerto Rico, Nantucket, and Miami were all related to politics. Even if Gallego used the PAC money for purely personal expenses, this is legal because it was a leadership PAC.
A bipartisan Ethic Committee dismissed allegations of campaign finance violations and sexual abuse. The misconduct was alleged by Trump ally Representative Anna Paulina Luna. To use Trumpian language, this makes Gallego, who fully cooperated with the committee, “vindicated.”
Gallego’s spokesman denounced the investigation:
“Trump is targeting Senator Gallego while the most weaponized Department of Justice in history is turning a blind eye to Trump’s unprecedented corruption,” the spokesman said. “It’s the least surprising news of the week that this comes immediately after the Senate Ethics Committee cleared Senator Gallego of rightwing smears pushed by the administration weeks ago.”
