The Paper Trail: October 27, 2026

Alina Habba's $50M Pardon Deal; State Dept. Pushing Out "Disloyal" Foreign Service Workers; Boom in AI Industry Lobbying Spending

October 27, 2026

Announcements

Election ‘26

DOJ sues to block election certification in Alaska if Republicans lose Senate race

The DOJ sued to prevent Alaska officials from certifying election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses in November, arguing that the presence of an independent candidate also named Dan Sullivan constitutes a purposeful effort to mislead voters.

(Gregory Svirnovskiy, Kyle Cheney, and Lisa Kashinsky, Politico)

DOJ charges 48 noncitizens with election-related crimes
(Susan Carpenter, Spectrum News)

AIPAC is spending millions — just not under its own name

As voters grow ever more disillusioned with corporate interests dominating the political system, political influence operations are using “pass-through” spending vehicles — often championing popular liberal causes — to launder their messages.

(Luke Goldstein and Katya Schwenk, The Lever)

Super PACs are supposed to be transparent. They’re still awash in "dark money"
(Washington Sun)

Weaponization of the Government

Prediction Markets

Epstein Files

Police Misconduct

Reproductive Freedom

Defense and Veterans Affairs

GOP senator questions Elon Musk’s influence over military assets

Sen. Kevin Cramer said he has concerns about Elon Musk’s influence over national security matters after Ukraine was blindsided by a disruption of a satellite communications service developed by Musk’s SpaceX. Cramer said he wants Congress and the Pentagon to “pour a lot of resources … into making sure there’s lots of competition both for satellite production and satellite launch.”

(Jordain Carney, Politico)

Musk accuses Ukraine of violating Starlink terms with deadly drone strikes
(Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica)

Business and Finance

Tech

Boom in major AI company spending on lobbyists

As they fight growing criticism from the public, lawmakers, and even their own executives, three of the nation’s leading AI companies — OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia — dramatically increased their spending on federal lobbying last quarter. So far, the upward trend in influence spending has helped the industry fend off major new federal oversight and regulations.

(Nick Schwellenbach, POGO Investigates)

Bipartisan coalition of states sues OpenAI over user safety
(Casey He and Elleiana Green, Politico)

Health Care

As SNAP rolls shrink, free school lunches disappear

Due to last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is undergoing steep funding cuts and tighter eligibility rules. Since SNAP recipients are automatically eligible for free school meals, fewer children are now getting them, which has led to climbing lunch debt and the elimination of free meal programs at some schools.

(Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post)

After millions in stolen SNAP benefits, Trump administration moves to fight theft
(Eli Hager, ProPublica)

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Weaponization of the Government

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Health Care

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