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Newly unredacted filings in Smartmatic’s defamation case against Fox News shed light on U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s efforts to secure a pardon for her ex-husband.
Pirro contacted Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies to try to get her ex-husband, Albert Pirro, a pardon after he sought one during Trump’s first term, the filing by the election technology company said. Albert Pirro was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion in 2000 and sentenced to more than two years in prison.
“When her ex-husband initially was not included on the pardon list, Pirro exploded,” the filing said. It added, “Her outburst stemmed from expectation that President Trump would pardon her husband. Eventually, President Trump did.”
Pirro, then a Fox News host, also bragged about her support for Trump during the 2020 election, according to the Smartmatic filing. Pirro wrote a text message to then-RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, “I’m the Number 1 watched show on all news cable all weekend. I work so hard for the President and party,” the filing said.
The filing also details some of Pirro’s communications with ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and her team in support of the president’s 2020 election fraud claims. Pirro told Powell to “keep fighting” and sent a document titled “Smartmatic Fact Sheet” that she claimed came from a “CIA source” to Powell’s co-counsel, according to the document.
Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
The American Soybean Association warned Trump in a letter yesterday that “U.S. soybean farmers are standing at a trade and financial precipice” because of the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
In the letter, the group urged the White House to reach a trade deal with Beijing that includes China’s removal of retaliatory duties.
China is the top foreign market for U.S. soybeans. Last year, about $12.64 billion worth of soybeans were exported there, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The American Soybean Association wrote that the tariff battle has prompted longtime customers in China to turn to competitors, putting “our farmers at an untimely competitive disadvantage” as harvest season approaches.
“Soybean farmers are under extreme financial stress. Prices continue to drop and at the same time our farmers are paying significantly more for inputs and equipment,” said the letter, which was written by the association’s president, Caleb Ragland. “U.S. soybean farmers cannot survive a prolonged trade dispute with our largest customer.”
Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu will introduce an amendment today to the GOP congressional redistricting bill to try to put Republicans in a tough spot on the Jeffrey Epstein files — an issue that has not gone away in the minds of voters.
The amendment would block the new map from going into effect until there is a “complete release” of the files.
Because Republicans are in the majority in the Texas House, the amendment likely won’t go anywhere. Wu’s move today mirrors what we’ve seen happen in Congress in Washington, with Democrats forcing Epstein-related votes on a variety of issues before the August recess.
Wu invoked Trump’s ties to the late billionaire financier and sex offender Epstein in his statement on the amendment, saying: “At the same time he’s demanding Abbott ram through racist maps, he’s making sure Congressional Republicans block the release of files that could expose his decades-long relationship with a child sex trafficker. This amendment forces Republicans to choose between their loyalty to Trump and their obligation to expose sexual predators.”
The Texas House will convene this morning to debate and vote on the GOP- and Trump-backed congressional district map.
The Texas Capitol was evacuated last night after someone posted a social media message about “the ongoing political situation” and called for shooting lawmakers, according to the Texas Department of Safety.
“In that message, the individual calls on others to go to the Capitol building and take action by shooting and killing those who will not allow lawmakers to leave,” the department said in a statement obtained by NBC affiliate WOAI and other outlets. It added that the department is working to identify the person who posted the threat.
Several Democratic lawmakers spent the night in the Capitol to protest the GOP requiring them to have security escorts to leave the building, which was a response to the Democrats fleeing the state for two weeks in order to block a vote on a GOP redistricting plan. The Democrats returned to Austin this week.
State Rep. Nicole Collier was the first lawmaker to stay overnight on Monday, and several members joined her on Tuesday.
Texas Democrats condemned the threat. Collier and Texas House Minority Leader Rep. Gene Wu said in a statement that “violence and threats have no place in our democratic process, and we unequivocally condemn any threats against public servants or law enforcement, regardless of political differences.”
“Our democracy thrives when citizens engage peacefully and passionately in the civic process, not through intimidation or violence,” they said.
Seven European leaders joined Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington this week in a rare display of trans-Atlantic unity. The gathering marked the first time in decades that such a broad delegation of allies had assembled at the White House under such pressing circumstances.
Shortly after noon, one by one, the heads of state and NATO partners passed the White House gates, where they were met by Trump’s chief of protocol, and in Zelenskyy’s case, by Trump himself.
There are few precedents for the gathering, which merged diplomacy with Trump’s usual verve.
Read the full story here.
Israel has approved a plan for the takeover of Gaza City that includes calling up 60,000 reservists for its expanded military operation in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The U.S. ally appeared to be pushing ahead Wednesday with a new phase of its war despite international opposition — and in the face of a renewed push for a ceasefire with Hamas.
Read the full story here.
D.C. federal prosecutors were instructed to not seek felony charges against people carrying rifles or shotguns in the city, according to the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office.
The move, first reported by The Washington Post, marks a dramatic shift from previous policy and comes as the Trump administration moved to send hundreds of federal agents into the capital’s streets to fight crime.
“Criminal culpability is not determined by the instruments people employ but by the intent and conduct of the actor,” U.S. Attorney Janine Pirro said in a statement. “Crimes are intentional acts and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent by my office regardless of what instruments of criminality are used.”
Pirro’s office said it would still charge suspects for any violent crimes with long guns or firearms trafficking, such as the sale of guns to prohibited persons. But possession a rifle or shotgun outside the home or at a place of business will not result in charges as it had been in the past.
Police officers have seized at least 68 firearms since the law enforcement efforts began on Aug. 7, according to statistics released by the White House. Most firearm offenses in D.C. relate to handguns, not long guns.
EMILY’s List, a national group that backs Democratic women who support abortion rights, is endorsing two candidates in 2026 state Supreme Court races this week: North Carolina state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, who is running for re-election, and Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, who is running to unseat a conservative justice there.
“North Carolina Republicans have repeatedly attempted to disenfranchise voters, which is why it is critical we flip the balance of the court in 2028. That begins with reelecting Justice Anita Earls in 2026,” EMILY’s List president Jessica Mackler said in a statement.
Mackler added, “Judge Chris Taylor has spent her career ensuring that every person is treated fairly under the law. From her work strengthening protections for survivors of violence to her commitment to safeguarding the rights of all Wisconsinites, she has shown integrity, independence, and a deep respect for justice.”
The endorsements, shared first with NBC News, come as state Supreme Court races have grown in prominence in recent years. State Supreme Courts can be the final decision-makers on hot button issues like abortion, redistricting and more.
Taylor is running to unseat conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley in Wisconsin, where state Supreme Court races are officially nonpartisan. While the outcome of the race won’t tip the balance of the court in either direction, a victory by Taylor would expand the court’s current liberal majority.
In North Carolina, Earls launched her re-election campaign earlier this year, just months after the resolution of Democratic Justice Allison Riggs’ narrow 2024 election victory, which was the subject of a lengthy court challenge from the Republican candidate.
United States and NATO military officials were set to meet Wednesday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine as the White House worked to arrange a summit between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine and its European allies appeared buoyed after Trump promised during their meeting in Washington that the U.S. would provide security guarantees as part of any settlement with Russia — a red-line issue for Kyiv.
Read the full story here.
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