Letters from an American
· collected 2026-10-05 · by Heather Cox Richardson
commentary
On Friday night, just before 11:00, Trump announced that his administration “will, immediately, begin sending ‘Checks’ of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums, which we have already reduced by significant amounts.
asserted
we → announce → amounts
This money will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pointless ‘Slush Fund’ that has only been used by Dumocrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends, and drive up Healthcare costs.
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that → come → costs
Congress established the Medicare Improvement Fund in 2008 to enable improvements to the program and periodically adjust payments to healthcare providers.
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Congress → establish → providers
A Republican congressional aide told Dan Diamond of the Washington Post that lawmakers had been planning to use the fund to help fund several health programs this year, and were taken aback by Trump’s announcement.
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lawmakers → tell → announcement
Trump continued: “Because I delivered on this very important issue for the American People, they can also rest assured the highly popular $5,000 Trump Dividend will be distributed to every U.S. Citizen if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections!”
The fact that he is openly using taxpayer money to buy votes in the election suggests just how worried Trump is about Democrats winning control of Congress in the upcoming midterms.
He has reason to be worried.
uncertain
He → continue → reason
If Democrats retake control of one or both chambers of Congress, they will not necessarily be able to pass legislation, since Trump will still be able to veto it.
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Trump → retake → it
But they will be able to start investigations immediately, and they have made it so clear they intend to do so that the administration is already taking steps to trip them up.
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administration → start → them
In April the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice issued an opinion that the president doesn’t have to comply with the Presidential Records Act, enacted to make sure presidents after Richard M. Nixon could not destroy their records; in May a federal judge said they did, in fact, have to follow the law.
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they → issue → law
In August the Department of Justice issued a memo saying that the executive privilege that enables a president to protect his conversations with government advisors also covers any civilian to whom the president speaks “so long as they relate to official presidential decisionmaking.
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they → issue → decisionmaking
As Trump’s time in office stretches out, more and more stories of corruption are surfacing.
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stories → stretch → corruption
As Aaron Parnas reported in Meidas News, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, wrote a letter on September 30 to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI director Kash Patel demanding they immediately release a document they are “illegally” concealing, and any others like it.
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they → report → it
Wyden has been doggedly following the money trail connected to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein, noting that his operations, including human trafficking and sexual abuse, depended on the banks whose officers looked the other way as Epstein’s finances repeatedly indicated he was engaged in criminal activity.
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he → follow → activity
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has refused to give the Senate Finance Committee access to Treasury materials about those finances, including Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
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Bessent → refuse → Reports
When Wyden tried to get Congress to pass a law forcing the release of those files, Senate Republicans blocked it.
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Republicans → try → it
Now Wyden’s investigators have discovered that the FBI conducted an interview with a banker tied to Epstein, but the bureau did not release the transcript of the interview, known as a “302 report,” as Congress required when it passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
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it → discover → Act
Wyden suggested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI “are withholding key documents from Congress and the public.”
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Department → suggest → Congress
“Furthermore,” he added, “the existence of this 302 indicates that it is likely that the FBI possesses additional, related, FBI 302s that have not been released” as they should have been under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
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they → add → Act
A new report from Anton Troianovski and Eric Lipton of the New York Times Saturday revealed that the administration’s talk about doing business deals with Putin while he continues to strike Ukraine was not hypothetical.
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he → reveal → Ukraine
As they have allegedly been negotiating for an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff—neither of whom are diplomats—have been talking with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin about a multibillion-dollar deal to buy the assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil at the rock-bottom prices to which they have sunk because of U.S. sanctions.
uncertain
they → negotiate → sanctions
Because such a sale would immediately remove those assets from U.S. sanctions, they would instantly become far more valuable.
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they → remove → sanctions
Those looking to benefit financially from the purchase would include a major Trump donor, as well as Middle Eastern investors tied to the Trump family and the Witkoffs.
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Those → look → family
The U.S. government would take a stake in the company as well, through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which Congress authorized in 2018 to invest in development projects in lower- and middle-income countries.
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Congress → take → countries
While Lukoil is technically a private company, observers believe Putin has control over it.
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Putin → believe → it
And while the deal would have to be approved by the U.S. Treasury Department, it seems unlikely that Trump loyalist Bessent would stop it.
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Bessent → have → it
According to Troianovski and Lipton, Putin suggested the deal on September 5.
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Putin → accord → September
It was likely not coincidental that the offer came after Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died on July 11.
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Graham → come → July
Graham, who was close to Trump, was firmly behind Ukraine as it tried to fight off Putin’s invasion.
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it → try → invasion
Until Trump, Democrats and Republicans both felt strongly that American national security depended on stopping Putin’s aggression, and they stood behind Ukraine.
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they → feel → Ukraine
Trump’s ties to Russia are extensive and well known, but this apparent attempt to buy Trump’s support for Russia even as the war drags into another winter and Ukraine’s drones are destroying Russia’s oil sector seems especially blatant.
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drones → know → sector
It puts a spotlight on the fact that, under Trump, U.S. national security is for sale.
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security → put → sale
A Democratic-led Senate would undoubtedly object to what the Republicans have permitted.
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Republicans → lead → what
On October 1, Allegra Goodwin, Katie Polglase, and Majlie de Puy Kamp of CNN reported that while in discussions about ending the war in Gaza, Kushner has major financial interests in the Israeli military.
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Kushner → report → military
Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, has invested in Phoenix Financial, a firm based in Tel Aviv, Israel, that, in turn, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in at least nine companies that provide equipment for the Israeli military.
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that → invest → military
The CNN journalists report that the stock values of all the nine companies grew last year and that many of the companies attributed the growth to the war in Gaza.
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many → report → Gaza
Kushner’s firm sold a quarter of its stock in Phoenix in July for more than $340 million, more than five times the value of its initial purchase.
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firm → sell → purchase
If he were a government employee, Kushner would have to disclose his finances, but he is a “volunteer” negotiator.
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he → have → finances
One of Kushner’s lawyers told the reporters that Kushner has “never participated in or directed Phoenix’s decisions” about investments, but, as the journalists note, Kushner told Forbes that he meets with the leaders of the financial group every few weeks and maintains “a very active dialogue” with them.
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he → tell → them
Kushner’s lawyer confirmed that was true a year ago when Kushner said it, but that since he has been “substantially more engaged in volunteer public-service and diplomatic efforts,” he has scaled back that contact significantly.
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he → confirm → contact
It’s not just Kushner.
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It → ’ → ?
The Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal on October 2 warned that “Don Jr.’s Star Turn Is Coming,” noting that the “Trump family businesses will be in the spotlight on Capitol Hill for the next two years.”
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businesses → warn → years
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
