Today in One Sentence. House Judiciary Democrats called for an independent special counsel to investigate Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and allegations that the Justice Department covered up evidence of Trump’s involvement in Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women; a federal judge ruled the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, who worked on the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; the average price of gasoline during Trump’s second term is now more expensive than it was under Biden – by less than a cent; Trump ordered the Justice Department to sue Alaska to block certification of its Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses; two federal appeals court judges questioned the Trump administration’s attempt to block California from counting mail ballots from suspected noncitizens; and Trump said he’ll soon decide whether to “make a deal” with Iran or “finish it off.”.

1/ House Judiciary Democrats called for an independent special counsel to investigate Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and allegations that the Justice Department covered up evidence of Trump’s involvement in Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women. The 50-page staff report claimed Trump was “an active participant” in the abuse, citing accusations from five women who alleged that Trump raped or sexually assaulted them in Epstein’s company or presence. Democrats also alleged that Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, may have obstructed justice in connection with his interview of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The Justice Department called the report an effort to “mislead the public,” maintaining it had complied with the law requiring disclosure of the Epstein files. A federal judge, however, found in June that the department had failed to produce certain required records. Democrats, meanwhile, signaled that they would use their subpoena powers to pursue the investigation if they retake the House in next week’s midterm elections. Only the attorney general can appoint a special counsel. (New York Times / Politico / NBC News / The Hill / MS Now / New Republic / Time)

2/ A federal judge ruled the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, who worked on the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Comey alleged that she was fired either because she’s the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, or because of her perceived political beliefs. The Justice Department gave no explanation for her dismissal, but U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman found that her firing violated civil service protections and the constitutional separation of powers. Furman ordered Comey retroactively reinstated with back pay through Dec. 20, 2025, when she took another job. The Justice Department said it would appeal. (NBC News / CNBC / CBS News / CNN / Politico / Washington Post / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)

  • Federal prosecutors charged former FBI Director James Comey with transmitting national defense information and conspiring to transmit it. Prosecutors allege that Comey directed the disclosure to a reporter through one or more co-conspirators in October 2016. Comey has not been indicted in the case. It’s the third time the Trump administration has charged Comey. (Axios / NBC News / CNBC)

3/ The average price of gasoline during Trump’s second term is now more expensive than it was under Biden – by less than a cent. Americans have paid an average of $3.472 a gallon under Trump, compared with $3.471 under Biden. The current national average, however, is $4.29 a gallon, up from $2.98 before Trump launched his war with Iran in February. Trump had promised to lower gasoline prices below $2 a gallon, but in September called higher fuel prices “a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done.” And, at a rally over the weekend, Trump celebrated the oil industry making “hundreds of billions of dollars” from the war, and claimed that his advisers had urged him not to mention it because “people are paying a little higher.” Trump responded: “I don’t give a damn. I’m going to say it. We’re making a freaking fortune.” Meanwhile, Democrats on Congress’s Joint Economic Committee found that Trump’s own oil and gas stocks increased by an average of 43% since the end of 2025. (Bloomberg / Reuters / CBS News / CNN / Associated Press)

4/ Trump ordered the Justice Department to sue Alaska to block certification of its Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses. The lawsuit claims another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan could confuse voters and seeks to delay certification if votes cast for him would have changed the outcome. The Alaska Supreme Court, however, already ruled that the other Sullivan could remain on the ballot, which identifies the senator as the Republican incumbent. Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign, meanwhile, asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit before Nov. 3, warning that Trump could use it to “lay the groundwork for unlawful efforts to challenge a potential Peltola victory.” (CNBC / Associated Press / CBS News / NBC News / CNN / New York Times / Politico / Reuters / Wall Street Journal / ABC News)

5/ Two federal appeals court judges questioned the Trump administration’s attempt to block California from counting mail ballots from suspected noncitizens. The Justice Department wants the state to set aside ballots from voters from its list of 20,000 people it claims may be noncitizens until their eligibility can be verified. During an emergency hearing, however, the judges questioned the federal government’s authority to override a state election and why the department appealed before a lower court had ruled. (Associated Press / Politico / CNN / NBC News / Reuters / ABC News)

6/ Trump said he’ll soon decide whether to “make a deal” with Iran or “finish it off.” He declared that “It’s getting to be decision time,” after warning Friday that the U.S. “may do another little Epic Fury.” U.S. forces in the Middle East, meanwhile, are reportedly prepared to launch major attacks within 96 hours of Trump’s order, with renewed strikes possible after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Separately, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iran had “substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel” and that plots to kill Americans had reached “advanced stages” in the Middle East and other countries. The State Department has ordered nonessential personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia and is reducing staffing at other embassies amid threats from Iran and Iran-backed Houthi militants. (Bloomberg / CNN / The Hill / CBS News / CNBC / Washington Post / Axios)

⏰ Dept. of I Ran Out of Time Today: Obama called Trump an agent of “chaos and cruelty” who’s “got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory”; Trump said Norway “sucks” and has become “shithouse country, actually” after he “didn’t get the Nobel Prize”; Elon Musk said SpaceX restricted Ukraine’s Starlink access for allegedly violating its terms of service; the Justice Department accused two former FBI officials with lying to Congress in 2023 about the bureau’s investigation involving Hunter Biden’s laptop; low-information voters have turned hardest against Trump and the Republicans; and Trump is motivating more Democratic opposition against him than Republican support for him.