THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Matt Dixon

Politico Florida bureau chief Matt Dixon broke some stunning news on a Florida congressional race.

In a report published Friday, Dixon revealed that GOP congressional candidate Erick Aguilar has been impersonating prominent Republicans such as former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in fundraising emails.

Aguilar, a Navy veteran running in the GOP primary for Florida’s 4th congressional district, has not been endorsed by either Trump or DeSantis.

The lack of endorsements from didn’t stop newly-minted Florida man Aguilar from featuring their names in the fundraising emails sent through WinRed -- an online fundraising platform that has helped Republican candidates raise billions of dollars.

But he didn’t just use their names.

Starting last November, Aguilar’s WinRed emails were drafted in a way that made it sound like they came from Trump, DeSantis, and other nationally-known Republicans.

The emails misled readers into thinking they were donating to more well-known Republicans instead of Aguilar, who was not even mentioned in the messages.

While now excommunicated from the platform, Dixon noted that Aguilar was able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One batch of Aguilar’s emails looks like they came from Trump and said the former president was leaving WinRed because “I have been at War with Big Tech!”

Dixon's reporting on Aguilar's fishy fundraising tactics is comprehensive and well, pretty juicy.

He contacted more than a dozen out-of-state donors listed as giving multiple contributions to Aguilar’s campaign, discovering that some did not even know who he was or how their money ended up in his campaign funds.

Oh, and Dixon discovered that most of the people Aguilar was scheming were retirees ... tsk tsk.

MEDIA LOSER:
Jesse Watters

Hello again, Jesse Watters.

It's a shame we keep meeting like this, but you suggested the nation should disregard an act of terrorism in hope of lower gas prices, so here we are.

After completely botching the story of a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim, Watters shared some questionable takes on United States policy toward Saudi Arabia.

Discussing President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia on Thursday's edition of The Five, Watters told viewers that tolerance of the regime's actions is the price of lower oil and gas prices.

So what are his thoughts on the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi?

Watters praised former President Donald Trump for being "smart" when handling Khashoggi’s murder, adding, “He figured it’s not worth destroying American energy policy over one killing."

Pushing back, Geraldo Rivera asked, “How about the 15 of 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudis?”

“Geraldo, it’s the same deal we’ve made since 1945,” Watters responded.

“Obviously they were involved in 9/11, but listen, do you want $10 oil or not?”

He went on to maintain that the only other solution (yes, aside from ignoring the deadliest foreign assault in U.S. history) would be to delink the nation from world oil prices.

"If you’re gonna do that, do that," he continued. "But if you’re not, then you’re gonna have to play the Saudi game.”

And a dishonorable mention for Watters’ co-host Greg Gutfeld, who later suggested there isn’t any direct evidence linking the Saudi government to the Sept. 11 attacks.

There is.

An FBI report released last year revealed that links between the hijackers and Saudi officials were stronger than had initially been reported.

The A-Block

'Extraordinarily troubling'

Text messages sent between U.S. Secret Service agents on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 2021 were deleted in what the agency said was a pre-planned “device-replacement program.”

The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein reported that the Jan. 6 House Select Committee requested the messages from the agency, and was later informed by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General that they had been erased.

According to the letter, the messages were erased from the system as part of a pre-planned device-replacement program after the agency's watchdog asked for records related to its electronic communications.

Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) confirmed he had received the letter, calling the purging of messages an "extraordinarily troubling destruction of records and respond accordingly.”

Making matters more puzzling, the Secret Service was also instrumental in securing former Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, and reportedly prevented former President Donald Trump from going to the Capitol that day.

But the letter does specify that the messages were erased after the inspector general requested them as part of his office's evaluation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The Secret Service has since issued a statement challenging the notion that the agency “maliciously deleted text messages.”

“DHS has repeatedly and publicly debunked this allegation, including in response to OIG’s last two semi-annual reports to Congress. It is unclear why OIG is raising this issue again," the agency added.
 

In Other News...

Trump Gets TORCHED After MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Flags Fundraising Button in Ivana Trump Condolence Email: ‘What a Sh*tty Human’

Biden Compares Irish Catholics During The Troubles with Palestinians in East Jerusalem Speech

Saudi Security ‘Grabbed’ NBC’s Peter Alexander as He Shouted To MBS About Apologizing for Khashoggi Murder

Biden Ends Suspense – Greets MBS With Fist Bump Ahead of Fraught Meeting

RATINGS: Fox News Crushes Competition in Demo, Beats CNN and MSNBC Combined

Must See Clip

'JERSEY loves you + will not forget you!!!'

Pennsylvania Lt. Governor and Senate hopeful John Fetterman (D-PA) dropped yet another viral online attack on his Republican opponent Mehmet Oz.

Fetterman has been trolling Oz hard on Twitter in recent weeks – calling attention in particular to Oz’s New Jersey residence.

And who better to highlight Oz's ties to the Garden State than the Queen of Jersey Shore herself.

“Hey, Mehmet, this is Nicole 'Snooki,' and I am from Jersey Shore,” began the reality TV star, whose real name is Nicole LaValle.

“Personally, I don’t why anyone would want to leave New Jersey because we are all hot messes, but I want to say best of luck to you,” she added. “I know you’re away from home and you’re in a new place but Jersey will never forget you.”

Links We Like

- Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg
Miller does a deep dive into Ron DeSantis' media coverage
- Tim Miller, The Bulwark
Is Elon Musk stuck with Twitter?
- Gerrit De Vynck, The Washington Post
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