Daniel Lippman

“We look forward to providing additional information to address inaccuracies in the public reporting and ensure the record accurately reflects the scope and context of that work,” Folio added. McCarthy, McElwain and Connaughton didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“Safe America Media submitted a proposal for and was awarded a contract to support DHS’s nationwide public awareness campaign, and committed substantial resources to meet an accelerated timeline on budget,” Safe America Media lawyer Joseph Folio said in a statement to POLITICO.

SCOOP: Two companies run by veteran political operatives with ties to Trump raked in at least $23 million (!) in commissions for their role in the DHS ad campaign that helped lead to Kristi Noem’s ouster, per an internal DHS memo I reviewed and 3 sources. politico.com/news/2026/03/1…

The second firm, People Who Think, received at least $7.7 million from its 10 percent commission for its portion of the ad campaign. The company was co-founded by Jay Connaughton, who did work for Trump’s 2016 campaign and has worked for other conservative politicians and causes.

SCOOP: Deputy Energy Sec’y James Danly doesn’t regularly use his official work email and instead relies on paper docs, a practice that’s raising concern among some staffers, five sources told me, @zcolman + @SophiaCai99. “He’s a dinosaur,” a source said. politico.com/newsletters/pl…

Political operatives with Trump ties raked in millions of dollars in commissions from DHS ad campaign dlvr.it/TRZgPZ

First episode of @DecidersShow is live. It features @BrianBallardBP of @BallardFirm on influence, access and Donald Trump. Hosted by @camoosomiller and me and produced by Dave Tobey. Watch now and please subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=iPNRYo…

The latest from @politico's @dlippman. tinyurl.com/yn7ru65x

Sawyer county gop chair calls michael alfonso's transportation lobby money 'sickening' @wisgop @megellefsonshow @WICRs @DanODonnellShow @yount1130 @VickiMcKenna @MarkBellingShow wisconsinrightnow.com/michael-alfons…

As Dem wonks debate new tax cut proposals from politicians like Sens. Booker and Van Hollen, @jesselehrich points out that Searchlight’s website espouses tax cuts, even as they have criticized the type of tax cut ideas offered by Booker and Van Hollen. nobodyslistening.org/p/an-intrapart…

SCOOP: Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, has so far raised nearly half of his PAC donations from transportation industry PACs ($17K) for his campaign for a U.S. House seat in Wisconsin, per FEC records I reviewed. politico.com/newsletters/po…

Revealing @dlippman story: Inside a DC consultant's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein Dozens of emails, plus meetings and calls Trading notes on presidential tickets Connecting him w/prominent pro-democracy NGO And: seeking his help with the Saudis politico.com/news/2026/03/1…

“I repeatedly steered Epstein to talk to top investigative journalists including Jim Stewart of the NY Times and Epstein eventually did so … I never knew what Epstein was planning to say, but a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist almost found out,” she said, referring to Stewart.

“I rolled the dice when Michael Wolff asked me to meet with Epstein against the backdrop of Epstein talking publicly about Trump,” she said in a statement. “My interactions with Epstein were in service to that objective; not to help him in any way or improve his image.”

NEW: My deep dive into how top DC strategist Juleanna Glover corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein on centrist politics, Tesla and Steve Bannon during a 15-month period shortly before his death in 2019. She says it was all in service of tanking Trump. politico.com/news/2026/03/1…

Glover’s and Epstein’s relationship encompassed several dozen emails, two in-person meetings and a number of calls, according to a POLITICO review of the Epstein files released by DOJ. Her name returns 191 results in the files, although many mentions are duplicates.

Glover took a stab at helping reintroduce Epstein to parts of mainstream society and made a brief attempt to fashion him into a champion of democracy, arranging a meeting with the head of the nonprofit group Freedom House in 2017. (The group never accepted money from him.)

How a top DC strategist courted Jeffrey Epstein dlvr.it/TRSpqt