Trump Keeps Trying to Jail His Enemies. Grand Juries Keep Saying NO

Read the original at The Bulwark ↗
Cite

Longwell, S. (2026, October 29). Trump Keeps Trying to Jail His Enemies. Grand Juries Keep Saying NO. The Bulwark. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-keeps-trying-to-jail-his-enemies

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The Bulwark · collected 2026-10-29 · by Sarah Longwell commentary

Quick Summary

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss on The Bulwark how Donald Trump's efforts to legally punish his political opponents are facing significant setbacks, such as a grand jury’s refusal to indict Cassidy Hutchinson and a judge’s decision against firing Maureen Comey. The article also covers the Department of Justice's election interference in California and Alaska, corruption allegations involving Susan Collins, and the lingering issues surrounding the Epstein files for Trump.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of 2026-10-29, Trump faces new legal setbacks as grand juries refuse to indict political opponents like Cassidy Hutchinson, and judges rule against his efforts to fire critics such as Maureen Comey. Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss these failures in The Bulwark, highlighting the DOJ's interference in elections in California and Alaska, corruption allegations involving Susan Collins, and ongoing issues related to the Epstein case files. These developments come amid midterm election preparations, raising concerns about Trump's tactics to punish his enemies through legal means.

Written for “Trump Indictment Efforts Fail” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans left for article 113487 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-29

Story

📰 Trump Indictment Efforts Fail
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Bringing Charges Against the President’s Political Enemies Different event
The Dispatch
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's legal efforts against his political enemies, Article A focuses on grand juries rejecting such attempts, while Article B discusses broader prosecution cases and court battles without specifying the same specific event or outcome.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
expected in commentary, which argues a position · beta estimate
Publisher signals
not measured
these signals count newsroom corrections; Commentary has none to count
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Bulwark · 541 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Sarah Longwell
24 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 It’s a massive bet that voters will believe the mom—despite overwhelming evidence that she is the one lying—and not recoil (as basically much of the top ranks of the Ohio Republican Party have) at the sheer vileness of the attack. Will it work?
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · How Ohio Trump Voters Reacted to Vivek’s Attack Ad
🔮 How do democracies fall apart, and why do the people who could stop it so often look the other way?
2026-10-21 · mixed framing · Dana Bash Sees a Political Earthquake Coming in Texas and Maine
🔮 But still, the voters who will decide this race are reverting to their tribal instincts.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Darline Graham’s Seat Isn’t Safe. These Voters Explain Why.
🔮 There are a lot of red states with big elections this year where Democrats are ‘sayin’ there’s a chance,’ like Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, or Iowa, where they may have more than just a chance.
2026-10-17 · mixed framing · Some Trump Voters Are Gushing Over This Iowa Democrat (with Elaine Godfrey)
🔮 Plus, Weissmann explains why simply ordering Trump to stop breaking the rules isn’t enough, and whether DOJ lawyers pursuing politically motivated prosecutions could eventually face disbarment.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · DHS Raids Ilhan Omar’s Home. Weissmann Smells a Rat.
🔮 The speech goes like this: With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · We Showed Trump’s Taxpayer-Funded Ad to a Focus Group. The Results Were Abysmal.
🔮 OF ALL THE STATES THAT COULD give us an indication of how big the blue wave will be this cycle, Iowa is one of the most intriguing.
2026-10-06 · assertive framing · A Group of Iowa Trump Voters Reveals Why MAGA Is Flailing
🔮 Would you like to see a Bulwark show recorded live and in person?
2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Republicans Are Suddenly Fighting for Their Lives in Ohio (with Andrew Tobias)
🔮 All profits from this event will be donated to those in Springfield who are in need.
2026-09-23 · assertive framing · Andrew Weissmann: Trump’s White House Press Ban Is Going to Lose in Court
🔮 The decade spanning 2015 to 2025 will likely be recorded by historians as the era of the “Great Media Unraveling,” a period when the unified broadcasting models of the twentieth century shattered into distinct, self-sustaining, and mostly not-overlapping digital ecosystems.
2026-09-14 · assertive framing · How MAGA Bewildered Voters Into Its Alternate Reality
Also by Sarah Longwell
How Ohio Trump Voters Reacted to Vivek’s Attack Ad
2026-10-25 · The Bulwark
Dana Bash Sees a Political Earthquake Coming in Texas and Maine
2026-10-21 · The Bulwark
Darline Graham’s Seat Isn’t Safe. These Voters Explain Why.
2026-10-20 · The Bulwark
Bulwark LIVE: Charlotte
2026-10-19 · The Bulwark
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 24 articles by Sarah Longwell →

Topics

American Bulwark Bulwark+ and California DOJ

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 4× American NORP · 1× Andrew Weissmann PERSON · 1× Bulwark ORG · 1× Bulwark+ and ORG · 1× California GPE · 1× Cassidy Hutchinson PERSON · 1× DOJ ORG · 1× Maureen Comey PERSON · 1× Sarah Longwell PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss Trump’s desperate (and failing) attempts to punish his political enemies, from a grand jury’s refusal to indict Cassidy Hutchinson to a judge’s ruling against the firing of Maureen Comey.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
2026-10-29 · The Bulwark
Trump Keeps Trying to Jail His Enemies. Grand Juries Keep Saying NO · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 0 hedged)

Trump Keeps Trying to Jail His Enemies. asserted
Trump → keep → Enemies
Grand Juries Keep Saying NO Trump’s legal vendettas hit new roadblocks as the midterms approach. asserted
midterms → say → roadblocks
Let’s be clear about what we’re doing here. asserted
we → do → what
The Bulwark exists to fight authoritarianism and defend American democracy. asserted
Bulwark → exist → democracy
We do that with reporting, analysis, accountability, and by building a community of people who refuse to look away or pretend this is normal. asserted
this → do → people
If you believe this fight matters, join Bulwark+ and help us do the work. asserted
us → believe → work
Sarah Longwell and Andrew Weissmann discuss Trump’s desperate (and failing) attempts to punish his political enemies, from a grand jury’s refusal to indict Cassidy Hutchinson to a judge’s ruling against the firing of Maureen Comey. asserted
Longwell → discuss → Comey
They also examine the DOJ’s election interference in California and Alaska, troubling corruption allegations involving Susan Collins, and why the Epstein files remain a problem for Trump. asserted
files → examine → Trump
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