7 STORIES ON THIS BEAT
“It’s a Scam”: Lauren Boebert Blasts Explosive Claims She Had Sex With 3 Staffers—But the Ethics Filing Faces a Major Procedural Problem
Rep. Lauren Boebert is forcefully denying a sworn filing that accuses her of sexual relationships with three congressional staffers and an alleged $200,000 payment involving a former aide. But the controversy has an unusual twist: House Ethics rules appear to prevent the filing from being accepted as a formal complaint this close to Election Day. That does not necessarily stop the committee from examining the underlying information on its own.
Mayor Mamdani & City Hall Are Feeding Talking Points to 200 Influencers: Some Are Getting Taxpayer Money
A new Columbia Journalism Review investigation has pulled back the curtain on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s expanding social media operation, revealing a private Signal group where influencers receive daily City Hall talking points, video clips, event invitations and access to officials. The influencers are not paid for ordinary coverage, but some receive taxpayer-funded contracts for separate city messaging campaigns, raising new questions about disclosure, public records and where government communication ends and political promotion begins.
He Admitted “Mistakes Outside My Marriage”—Then a Woman Told House Ethics His Conduct Wasn’t Consensual
California Rep. Jimmy Gomez acknowledged making “personal mistakes” outside his marriage while insisting every encounter was consensual. Days later, attorneys for an unnamed woman said she told House Ethics investigators that Gomez sexually harassed and assaulted her. Now the five-term Los Angeles congressman is facing a formal ethics investigation, growing political fallout and an unresolved scandal just months before voters decide whether to send him back to Congress.
Hugh Hefner Warned the FBI About Jeffrey Epstein in 2005, Lawsuit Says — So Why Did a Playboy Playmate Wait 15 Years for a Follow-Up?
A newly amended lawsuit makes a stunning claim: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner repeatedly contacted the FBI in 2005 after Playmate Audra Lynn Christiansen told him Jeffrey Epstein had allegedly raped and trafficked her. According to the filing, federal agents did not follow up with Christiansen until 2020, 15 years later and after Epstein was already dead. Now 32 Epstein survivors are asking a federal court whether the government should be held accountable for warnings they say went unanswered.
“I Killed 83 People”: Carlos the Jackal’s Chilling Prison Boast and the OPEC Raid That Made Him Terrorism’s First Global Celebrity
Fifty years after Carlos the Jackal stormed an OPEC meeting in Vienna, killed three people and took dozens hostage, the notorious terrorist remains unapologetic behind bars in France. A new book built from declassified intelligence files and a rare prison interview reveals how Ilich Ramírez Sánchez became one of the world’s most wanted men—and how an ordinary medical procedure finally left him vulnerable enough to capture.
He Pleaded the Fifth More Than 100 Times—Now a Senate Panel Has Voted to Hold Dr. Fauci in Contempt
A Republican-led Senate committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a contentious COVID-19 hearing. The referral could reach the Justice Department, but Fauci’s sweeping presidential pardon and unresolved questions about the Senate’s process could turn the case into a major constitutional fight.
He Resigned One Day After the Ethics Probe Began: Inside the Sexual Misconduct Allegations That Ended Eric Swalwell’s Career in Congress
Eric Swalwell went from a leading candidate for California governor to a former member of Congress in a matter of days. Multiple women accused him of sexual assault or other misconduct, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation, and Swalwell resigned while fiercely denying the allegations. Months later, the controversy remains far from resolved.