Background Briefing (5am)

Background Briefing (5am) – February 3, 2026

The Latest Release of the Epstein Files Contains 9,629 References to Moscow

We begin with the latest release of the Epstein files containing 1,056 documents naming Putin and 9,629 references to Moscow, we will look into how much the Epstein “Kompromat” factory supplied Putin and speak with Craig Unger, the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers House of Bush, House of Saud, and House of Trump, House of Putin. He has written about the Trump-Russia scandal for The New Republic, Vanity Fair, and The Washington Post, and his latest books are American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery and Den of Spies: The Untold Story of Reagan, Carter and the Treason That Stole the White House.

Compromised DNI Gabbard Seizes Voter Rolls in Georgia as Trump’s Plans to Rig Midterms Escalate

Then we speak with Ari Berman, the national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and a reporting fellow at Type Media Center. He is the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America and his latest book, is Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People―and the Fight to Resist It. We will discuss his article at Mother Jones, “From Minnesota to Georgia, Trump’s Plans to Interfere in the Midterms Are Becoming More Dangerous.”

Haitians in Springfield, Ohio Already Demonized by VP Vance are About to Lose Their Temporary Protected Status

Then finally, with Haitians in Springfield, Ohio already demonized by VP Vance and about to lose their Temporary Protected Status having been targeted for what Trump calls a “large deportation”, we speak with Robert Alexander, a professor of political science at Bowling Green State University and the former Director of the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University. He is the author of four books including Presidential Electors and the Electoral College and, most recently, Representation and the Electoral College.

 

Background Briefing offers an educational approach to providing information in an era of “fake news.”