Good evening. I’m British Chris, and this is Raw America. If you’re watching this video on Substack, take a moment to click the ❤️ and tap the restack icon. Those two clicks are what help us break through and reach the most news feeds.
Today, Donald Trump is battling to prevent former special counsel Jack Smith from testifying under oath in the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC over its January 6th documentary. The Trump administration is also now quietly preparing to extract a pound of flesh from student borrowers who have defaulted on their loans, but waiting until after the midterms as punishing vulnerable people is usually not a good look right before people vote. Farmers in Kansas who have been consistently squeezed by Trump’s tariffs and sky-high diesel prices that came about as a result of Trump’s war with Iran may be the ones to make sure Kansas elects their first Democrat to the U.S. Senate in nearly a century. And the offices of more than three dozen members of Congress have alerted authorities about receiving suspicious envelopes in the mail filled with a white powdery substance.
Before we dive in, can you help one of the few media outlets not owned by a right-wing billionaire? This morning we covered how CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss instructed reporters to chase down a conspiracy theory about a swing state Democratic Senate candidate, and how Mark Zuckerberg’s company censored the primary social media account promoting the “No Kings” protests. This is all proof that the billionaires are scared and are rushing to clamp down on any information that undermines the narrative they want you to believe.
Independent journalism is one of the last few sources of reliable information today. But because we don’t have a wealthy owner behind the scenes, readers like you are the ones who will determine our future. We’re aiming to hit 10,000 subscribers by Election Day, and we’re almost 90% of the way there. We’re currently offering 20% off on all annual memberships until we reach our goal. Can we count on you to chip in and help independent journalism survive into 2027?
When Donald Trump picked a fight with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), he evidently didn’t count on the network to defend itself. Now, his lawyers are trying to block former special counsel Jack Smith from testifying under oath in the case.
Trump is demanding the BBC pay him $10 billion over a documentary the network aired in which it edited his January 6, 2021 speech at the Ellipse. As part of its defense, the network subpoenaed Jack Smith to sit him down for a sworn deposition. And according to court documents filed today, Smith is a willing participant, and he isn’t objecting to the subpoena.
The president’s legal team filed an eight-page filing opposing the subpoena. In the filing, Trump’s lawyers argued that because Smith has no firsthand knowledge of the president’s state of mind on that day, his testimony would be irrelevant. They’re also pointing to an apology issued by BBC Chair Samir Shah, who admitted the network’s January 6 documentary gave viewers the impression that Trump was directly calling for MAGA protesters to engage in acts of violence.
But the BBC refuted Trump’s filings by saying the president “cannot seriously dispute the injustice of blocking Mr. Smith’s testimony.” The network’s legal team argued that the prosecutor who spent years putting together a criminal case to prosecute Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election would provide valuable testimony about questions pertaining to the January 6th attack. Smith was unable to divulge all the details of his case during his public testimony before Congress because of the secretive grand jury procedure, but the BBC pointed out that any details revealed in a sworn deposition would be protected under a special exception for judicial proceedings.
The network’s lawyers also pointed out the plainly obvious truth that “No one forced [Trump] to file this lawsuit.” Even U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, the chief justice of the D.C. District who’s also weighing a related request from the BBC, said the network’s central argument is “a pretty good one.”
The question of whether Smith will testify under oath is now in the hands of a federal judge. One interesting tidbit: Trump canceled his own sworn deposition scheduled for October 16th, saying it was due to “matters of national importance.” The BBC reports that those important matters were a campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, and a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans student borrowers who have defaulted on their loans are about to have their paychecks and tax refunds garnished. The Washington Sun is reporting that the Trump administration is preparing to impose steep financial penalties for the nearly 10 million borrowers in default beginning in 2027.
The Treasury Department is reportedly making plans to hire private debt collectors as soon as November to hound student borrowers. But according to the Sun’s sources, those plans likely won’t be officially announced until after the midterm elections. One confidential source told the publication: “It would be politically insane to do this before the midterms.”
The government is apparently going to focus its collection efforts using two main tools: It can seize any money headed toward borrowers like income tax refunds, Social Security payments and even the earned income tax credit and child tax credit. It can also require employers to hand over a portion of a worker’s paycheck.
Last year, Treasury officials stepped in to prevent a previous attempt to collect on defaulted student debts over concerns it could hurt low-income workers. Rank-and-file emplotees reportedly warned their managers that the garnishments would impact significant numbers of Trump’s own supporters, with one source saying the crux of their message was: “This is not who you think it is. The demographics are not good for us.”
Michael Pierce, who is with the advocacy group Protect Borrowers, said the Treasury Department may not even have the data it needs under federal law to actually certify debts for collection. He warned: “What comes next will be a catastrophe for families across the country” if the government goes through with seizing tax refunds and garnishing wages, leaving even less money for food and rent as costs continue to rise.
Farmers in Kansas are currently in the midst of the critically important harvest season, but they’re having to harvest their crops while paying record-high diesel prices that are more than $2.50 a gallon higher than they were this time last year. Kansas Farm Bureau President Glenn Brunkow, who is a fifth-generation farmer, said the economic pressure on farmers feels like it’s “coming at us from all directions.” And they’re placing blame directly at Republicans’ feet.
As of Friday, the national average cost for a gallon of diesel was at $6.30 a gallon. That’s an increase of more than 70 percent from last fall. The bulk of those prices increases can be attributed to Trump’s war with Iran choking off supply. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is estimating that net farm income will fall by 2.6 percent in 2026, while fuel and oil expenses are expected to skyrocket by nearly 30 percent. And that’s before factoring in Trump’s punishing tariffs that are currently driving many family farms out of business.
All of this poses a genuine political crisis for incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, who’s in a surprisingly tight race with Democrat Adam Hamilton, who is a megachurch pastor in the Sunflower State. Kansas hasn’t sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in nearly a century. Trump appears to be sensitive of potentially losing the state, and will be headlining a rally there tonight in an attempt to motivate the GOP base to show up in the midterms. And Kansas isn’t the only rural state that could potentially flip: GOP-aligned groups are currently pouring millions of dollars into U.S. Senate races in Iowa and Nebraska as well.
Kansas rancher and Republican Don Hineman — who is also the former state House majority leader — told reporters he’s “so fed up with the Republican Party and their willingness to play sycophant to our current commander in chief” that he’s entertaining casting his vote for the opposition.
That’s also true for Debbie Geneva of Nortonville. She told the Associated Press that she’s never voted for a Democrat in her life, but that this year she’s undecided on how to vote. She said Republican officials “haven’t done the Midwest any favors” when it comes to tariffs and trade. Longtime farmer and former Montana Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Tester, recalled the 1980s farm crisis, and warned that family farm may be in greater danger of shutting down today than they were decades ago.
Our last story this evening brings us back to Washington, where more than three dozen members of Congress have reported receiving suspicious envelopes containing white powder at their offices, which are all coming in just weeks before the November 3 midterms.
The latest recipient of one of the envelopes was Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia. His district office in Leesburg was evacuated on Monday in response to the envelope. Initial tests showed the powder inside the envelope wasn’t hazardous. However, the congressman told reporters that any “acts of political intimidation have no place in our country.”
Law enforcement sources told ABC News that more than 100 of these letters are believed to be currently circulating in the U.S. mail system. Last week, ** as Raw America reported**, election officials in at least 15 states have reported either receiving or being targeted by suspicious envelopes. The FBI, Capitol Police, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are all currently investigating the envelopes.
Members of both parties have reported receiving the suspicious mailings. Letters to Senate Minority Chuck Schumer of New York and Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California were intercepted by authorities. Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Ted Cruz of Texas all also reported receiving suspicious mail. At least 10 people were exposed to the powder after envelopes arrived at the offices of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, along with the offices of New York Democrats Ritchie Torres and Tom Suozzi.
Investigators looking into the mailings say the envelopes were processed through a north Texas mail facility and carry a postmark that reads “Thinking of You.” Most envelopes were intercepted before they were delivered, but there are currently no suspects.
Billionaires like David Ellison are counting on their handpicked puppets like Bari Weiss at CBS to turn America’s most trusted legacy media institutions into MAGA propaganda mills, and fire anyone who doesn’t play ball. Raw America will never sell out to a billionaire owner or a corporation, but that business model only works if readers like you believe in what we’re doing enough to financially support it.
I’m British Chris, with Raw America. Thanks for watching, thanks for supporting independent news, and please be sure to tap the ❤️ and click the restack button so these important stories can reach the most people.
