Wednesday Afternoon Update
The robots are getting better at this.
This is an ongoing experiment to see if AI can replace some basic newsroom tasks. This newsletter was created with assistance from AI. Is it any good? I’ll be sending these out for a few more days before unpacking the full design of this experiment and the lessons learned.
—Ryan
☀️ Afternoon Briefing — Wednesday, February 11, 2026
A 5-minute read on a day when Attorney General Bondi faced a fiery congressional grilling over botched Epstein redactions and political prosecutions, a grand jury rejected DOJ’s attempt to indict six Democratic lawmakers, and Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s Epstein contradictions deepened.
🚨 The Lead: Bondi Under Fire — Grand Jury Rejects Political Prosecution, Epstein Survivors Demand Answers
Attorney General Pam Bondi faced the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday in her first congressional appearance since October, confronting Democrats who accused her of transforming the Justice Department into an instrument of presidential revenge.
The hearing crystallized two colliding crises: DOJ’s failed attempt to indict six Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Mark Kelly and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and DOJ’s bungled release of Epstein files that exposed victims while shielding the powerful. (Bloomberg, NYT)
It is exceedingly rare for a grand jury to reject an indictment. In the case of the Democratic lawmakers, it happened after a D.C. federal grand jury concluded that ordinary citizens posting a video reminding service members to refuse illegal orders did not constitute a crime, despite the U.S. Attorney’s office (led by Trump ally Jeanine Pirro) authorizing the prosecution.
Grand juries have rebuffed DOJ requests with increasing frequency under Trump. (NYT, AP)
At the congressional hearing, Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked Bondi to turn around and address Epstein survivors seated behind her, but Bondi refused.
Meanwhile, newly unsealed documents revealed the Georgia ballot seizure was initiated by Kurt Olsen, a Trump-appointed election denier who spoke to Trump multiple times on Jan. 6 and pushed debunked conspiracy theories about Fulton County ballots. (AP, NYT)
What to watch: Whether Bondi names any new Epstein investigations; whether DOJ attempts another grand jury presentation against the lawmakers; and whether the Fulton County seizure model — using debunked election claims to justify FBI searches — expands to other cities Trump has named (Detroit, Philadelphia). (WaPo)
“You’ve turned the people’s Department of Justice into Trump’s instrument of revenge.” — Rep. Jamie Raskin (NYT)
📁 Lutnick’s Multiplying Conflicts
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is having the worst week in the Trump cabinet.
On Tuesday, he became the first Trump administration official to publicly admit visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s island — contradicting his previous claim that he cut ties with Epstein in 2005. Lutnick told the Senate Appropriations Committee he visited the island in 2012 with his wife, four children, and nannies for “lunch.” The visit occurred four years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The Epstein files also contain documents showing Epstein expressed interest in meeting Lutnick’s nanny. (NYT, WSJ)
Separately, the NYT reported that Detroit billionaire Matthew Moroun — whose family has operated the competing Ambassador Bridge for decades — met with Lutnick in Washington on Monday, hours before Trump threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. After the Lutnick-Moroun meeting, Lutnick spoke with Trump by phone, and Trump then posted a threat to block the bridge. Canada paid the full $4.7 billion cost. The Moroun family has fought the competing bridge for decades through lawsuits and lobbying. (NYT)
And Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Trump is privately musing about exiting the USMCA trade pact — the deal Lutnick’s Commerce Department would help renegotiate. A withdrawal would shake the $2 trillion North American trading relationship. (Bloomberg)
The pattern: Lutnick keeps appearing at the nexus of private interests and public power — Epstein’s island, a bridge rival’s lobby, and the trade deal of a generation. The contradictions between his public statements and the documentary record are piling up.
🚔 Immigration Reckoning: Misconduct, Withdrawal, Shutdown
Three developments converge to suggest Trump’s immigration crackdown is facing a reckoning on multiple fronts.
The misconduct pattern. An AP review found at least two dozen ICE employees and contractors charged with crimes since 2020, including physical and sexual abuse, corruption, and abuse of authority. This surfaced alongside newly released evidence from the Chicago shooting of Marimar Martinez — body camera footage shows agents saying “it’s time to get aggressive” moments before the collision, and text messages reveal the agent’s supervisor congratulated him, with the agent claiming praise came from “Sec Noem and El Jefe himself.” Separately, the IRS improperly shared confidential tax data of thousands of immigrants with DHS, breaching a legal firewall. (AP, NYT, WaPo)
The quiet retreat. The Trump administration has withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities, with no public acknowledgment from the White House or Pentagon. The pullout was quietly finalized late last month — a remarkable reversal after Trump and Hegseth insisted the deployments were necessary. Gov. Walz says the Minnesota crackdown could end within days. (WaPo)
The shutdown clock. Three days from a DHS shutdown, Schumer warned Democrats will block a continuing resolution without ICE reforms, particularly a judicial warrant requirement for home entries. The irony: immigration enforcement would continue during a shutdown, funded by Trump’s tax bill. (Bloomberg, NYT)
“It’s time to get aggressive.” — Border Patrol moments before the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago (NYT)
🤖 AI Disruption Wave Continues to Hit Wall Street
The AI narrative on Wall Street has flipped from “who wins?” to “who gets destroyed?” — and it happened in about a week.
Wealth management stocks cratered Tuesday and Wednesday after startup Altruist unveiled an AI tax-strategy tool called Hazel. Charles Schwab, Raymond James, and LPL Financial each dropped 9% or more. Insurance broker stocks sank Monday after Insurify’s ChatGPT-based auto-insurance comparison app. Software stocks have been under pressure since Anthropic’s product launches triggered a broad selloff last week — French firm Dassault Systemes tumbled 22% Wednesday after a dire earnings report compounded by AI disruption fears. (Bloomberg)
Schwab’s CEO said Wednesday he was “disappointed and surprised” and argued the company is a natural AI winner. JPMorgan strategists called the software fears overblown. But fund manager John Belton at Gabelli captured the mood: “Every company with any sort of potential disruption risk is getting sold indiscriminately.” (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, the jobs data was strong. Employers added 130,000 jobs in January — well above estimates — and unemployment fell to 4.3%. Traders pushed the expected first Fed rate cut from June to July. The data was delayed by the partial government shutdown. (WaPo, NYT)
Context: The AI-driven selloff began with Anthropic’s product launches around Feb. 3. The wealth management and insurance selloffs are the latest wave spreading beyond software.
“Markets are not questioning AI, not at all. They’re just wondering who will survive AI.” — Lilian Saugne, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (Bloomberg)
💡 Worth Knowing
🏛️ Michigan judge rebukes DOJ voter data effort — Latest rejection of Bondi’s campaign to sue 24 states for voter information ahead of midterms. (NYT)
🕵️ Gabbard winds down intelligence task force — Reuters exclusive: Trump’s spy chief quietly disbanding the intelligence review effort. (Reuters)
🇻🇪 US Energy Secretary in Venezuela — Chris Wright, highest-ranking US official to visit since Maduro’s capture, pushing for oil sector revival. (Bloomberg)
🇨🇺 Cuba squeeze tightens — Guatemala ending Cuban medical brigades; Russian airlines halt flights; Cuba producing only 40% of electricity needs. (Bloomberg)
🇬🇧 UK Starmer crisis deepens — Record disapproval, Mandelson-Epstein scandal, leadership challenge mechanics being openly discussed. (Bloomberg)
🌐 NATO launches Arctic Sentry — New Arctic mission after Trump’s Greenland threats; Denmark contributing. (Bloomberg)
📊 Federal debt to hit record levels — CBO warns deficit will widen over next decade as interest costs consume increasing share of the budget. (NYT)
🧘 Palate Cleanse
🧑⚖️ Olympic lawyer — Team USA’s newest Olympic star is a personal-injury attorney in his 50s. (WSJ)
🙏 Walk for Peace — Buddhist monks finished a 2,300-mile Walk for Peace in Washington, D.C. (AP)
🤡 The clown who made Borat — Philippe Gaulier, the legendary clown teacher who trained Sacha Baron Cohen, Emma Thompson, and Helena Bonham Carter, has died at 82. (NYT)
🌙 Lost on the Moon — A lost Soviet Luna 9 moon lander from 1966 may have been found on the lunar surface. (NYT)
Sources: NYT, WaPo, WSJ, Bloomberg, AP, Reuters, Politico, CBS News, The Atlantic.
This is an experiment. Let me know what you think!
I can't altogether fathom why you're doing this. I subscribed to hear YOUR voice and YOUR perspective.....not a composite aided and presumably supposedly enhanced by robots. What I read here sounds and lands a lot like Axios. And I take considerable exception to a substantial percentage of what Axios does...and how it does it. And too, there is Axios's ongoing--and just within the past week expounded upon--fascination with, and almost exponentially increasing coverage of, AI. Give me unadorned Ryan Lizza (and preferably more often, and with less animus toward Olivia Nuzzi). Or it may be that I shouldn't be here.
still waiting on part 10