Politics
Attacks on ICE up 1,000%? Trump administration claim not backed up by court records
The federal prosecutor faced the jury, brandishing the item he said had been “used as a sword” to assault a federal officer during a July protest in downtown Los Angeles.
The object that Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick Kibbe said was wielded as a weapon: An umbrella that an investigator needed a special scale to weigh because it was less than one pound.
For months, Trump administration officials have cited violence against federal law enforcement officers carrying out the president’s deportation campaign as justification for aggressive tactics, including threats to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines. The Department of Homeland Security has touted a staggering figure, claiming a 1,000% increase in assaults against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
But a Times analysis of court records related to assaults on federal law enforcement in Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Ore., Chicago and Washington, D.C., shows the majority of the alleged attacks resulted in no injury to an agent. In roughly 42% of the cases The Times reviewed, federal law enforcement officers were either shoved, spat on or flailed at, or had water bottles thrown at them, according to court affidavits.
During the umbrella assault trial in October, prosecutors provided no evidence of any injuries. In L.A. and across the country, defendants accused of assaulting federal officers have won acquittals or had charges dropped. More than a third of the cases The Times analyzed ended in dismissals or acquittals, in some instances because the defendants were deported. No cases have ended in a conviction at trial.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, responded to questions from The Times about the assault numbers with a statement that said “our officers are facing terrorist attacks, being shot at, having cars being used as weapons against them, bomb threats, assaults, doxxing.”
McLaughlin highlighted a case in which she said an ICE officer needed 13 stitches and suffered burns after he was beaten with a metal coffee cup by an undocumented immigrant in Houston last month. In another that she flagged, an alleged gang member in Nebraska brutally beat an ICE agent in June, leaving them hospitalized with serious head injuries.
Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, responded to questions from The Times with a statement that said “our officers are facing terrorist attacks, being shot at, having cars being used as weapons against them, bomb threats, assaults, doxxing.”
(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)
President Trump invoked the 1,000% increase figure in a memo directing federal law enforcement groups to investigate “domestic terrorism,” and federal officials have cited the number repeatedly to justify aggressive tactics against protesters and the need for agents to wear masks to avoid being identified.
Homeland Security officials ignored multiple requests to release a complete list of alleged assaults. In late November, the agency announced a 1,153% increase in assaults on ICE agents from Jan. 21 to Nov. 21, with 238 reported assaults this year compared to 19 in the same time frame in 2024.
The five jurisdictions The Times analyzed were the federal districts where the Trump administration has conducted large-scale law enforcement and immigration operations or threatened to deploy the military because of the supposed danger faced by federal agents. In those areas, 163 cases of assault of a federal officer had been filed between Jan. 21 and Nov. 21. That’s up from 129 in the same areas and time frame in 2024, an increase of 26%. An NPR analysis came up with a similar figure earlier this year.
The 2024 data is also inflated by the filing of assault charges by prosecutors in Washington against rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has pardoned all of those defendants.
The Times analysis captured assaults against all types of federal officers. ICE or Border Patrol agents were described as victims in about 60% of those cases.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the government is relying on the shocking percentages, without proper context, to advance a narrative.
“They are justifying why they need to use extreme force against the people they’re arresting and the public as they interact with individuals on the street,” he said. “I think that’s the primary purpose, to say: ‘We’re under attack. We’re being assaulted daily and therefore we need to be able to use extreme force including military support.’”
In just over half of the cases scrutinized by The Times, court records show the officer who was allegedly assaulted suffered no physical injury. In roughly 30% of the cases, officers sustained minor injuries such as bruising following a punch, kick or bite.
Twenty-six incidents resulted in a serious injury or required an agent to seek medical attention. A Portland ICE agent was smashed in the head with a rock, federal agents suffered dislocated or fractured fingers in Los Angeles and some agents said they were attacked with their own batons or stun guns while trying to detain people.
Protesters at an anti-ICE demonstration at Los Angeles City Hall on June 15.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
The Times’ analysis does not capture serious incidents in other jurisdictions, or attacks where no charges were filed. Assailants have opened fire twice this year on ICE facilities in Texas, though the people struck by bullets were immigrant detainees and a local police officer.
The only documented incident in which a federal law enforcement officer was shot during an immigration enforcement action this year happened in Los Angeles in October — when a bullet from an ICE agent’s gun ricocheted into a deputy marshal’s hand during a vehicle stop.
One National Guard member was killed and another was seriously wounded in a shooting in Washington last week. Both were part of Trump’s anti-crime deployment. Officials have said the gunman is from Afghanistan and was admitted to the U.S. in 2021 as part of a Biden administration program to help people fleeing the Taliban, and his asylum application was approved under Trump.
An undocumented immigrant from Mexico was also arrested after allegedly shooting at Border Patrol agents in Chicago on Nov. 8, according to the Department of Homeland Security. A local Fox News affiliate identified the suspect as Hector Gomez, but a criminal complaint makes no mention of shooting at agents. DHS did not respond to inquiries from the Fox affiliate.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is among those questioning the administration’s claims. During a Nov. 19 subcommittee hearing titled “ICE Under Fire: The Radical Left’s Crusade Against Immigration Enforcement,” Padilla asked why there were no government witnesses “providing facts and data behind the numbers that the Department of Homeland Security so often cites to claim an increase in assaults on its officers and agents.”
“Today’s hearing is not a serious attempt to protect law enforcement,” Padilla said. “It’s designed to fuel the propaganda machine and encourage even more brutal immigration enforcement operations.”
The purported weapons used in some of the cases have only fueled skepticism: A District of Columbia man was charged for throwing a Subway sandwich. In Portland, a woman was charged with assault via tambourine. In L.A., federal agents have claimed assaults involving a hat, a work bag, a flag — and the umbrella.
On June 7 — in the early days of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in California — Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino stood in Paramount, sounding like he was preparing his officers for battle.
Bovino, addressing agents decked out in tactical gear as protesters gathered nearby, told the agents to “arrest as many people that touch you as you want to, those are the general orders all the way to the top.”
“Everybody f— gets it if they touch you,” Bovino said. “This is our f— city.”
The National Guard was deployed the next day, with Trump publicly claiming Los Angeles was under siege.
The clip of Bovino was played during the trial of Brayan Ramos-Brito, who was accused of pushing a Border Patrol agent that day in Paramount. Video evidence shows an agent shove Ramos-Brito, but does not clearly capture him shoving the agent back.
Bovino testified that merely touching an agent “could be assault depending on the situation. Spitting on someone could be assault.”
After about an hour of deliberations — and despite Bovino testifying that he witnessed Ramos-Brito push an agent — the jury came back with a not guilty verdict.
In Los Angeles, court records show federal prosecutors have charged 71 people with assault on a federal officer this year, with 21 of those cases ending in dismissals or acquittals. Only nine such cases were filed in 2024.
Bill Essayli, who is functioning as L.A.’s top federal prosecutor, said he would not “read too much” into dismissal figures.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
During an October news conference, Bill Essayli, who is functioning as L.A.’s top federal prosecutor, said he would not “read too much” into the dismissal figures.
“When we charge a complaint we’re on the clock, so if the agents need more time to collect evidence sometimes we will dismiss a case without prejudice which allows us to bring it back at our choosing,” he said.
A former ICE official, who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation, said that in prior years the U.S. attorney’s office “didn’t prosecute hardly anybody” for assault — unless the interaction turned violent.
“We’d get guys who would spit on us and all kinds of other stuff and it was like, ‘Hey, it’s part of the job,’” the official said.
Law enforcement experts noted that an increase in assaults is to be expected, since interactions by immigration agents with the public have increased dramatically in Trump’s second term.
John Sandweg, who headed ICE under President Obama, said he believes new tactics are helping drive the increase. Under previous administrations, ICE focused on targeted operations.
“When you shift those tactics and have agents out there in broad daylight, in Home Depot parking lots, when you have these cities on edge … it’s just going to increase the number of incidents where some sort of an assault happens,” he said.
In a number of cases examined by The Times, defendants were arrested and charged with assault after Border Patrol or ICE agents initiated physical contact.
Andrea Velez, a 4-foot 11-inch U.S. citizen, was accused of standing in the path of an ICE officer in downtown L.A. with her arms extended, striking his head and chest when they collided in June. Her defense attorney previously said masked men ran at Velez and one shoved her to the ground. Velez, fearing she was being abducted, held up her work bag to shield herself.
Velez’s lawyer requested body-worn camera video and witness statements cited in the complaint. Soon after, prosecutors dropped the case.
In Chicago, four assault cases were filed against protesters who ignored a dispersal order outside an immigration detention facility and flailed in response to being shoved or struck by Border Patrol agents. One of the defendants was a 70-year-old military veteran. All charges have been dropped, records show.
Courtesy of attorney Kacey McBroom
In another L.A. case, a man was accused of assault for smacking an agent with a hat. Video footage from the scene in August showed the man, Jonathon Redondo-Rosales, swung after he was struck by a government vehicle, as officers were moving to tackle him to the ground.
In October, Marimar Martinez was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent who alleged she was following him in a car and interfering with a Chicago operation. Martinez allegedly collided with a CBP vehicle, causing minor damage, according to photos included in a criminal complaint.
But in a sudden turnabout a month later, prosecutors moved to dismiss the indictment against Martinez. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Illinois said in a statement that prosecutors are “constantly evaluating new facts and information relating to cases and investigations.”
Martinez’s attorney, Damon Cheronis, thanked prosecutors for doing the right thing after reviewing what he called Border Patrol’s hyperbolic claims against Martinez.
“The criminal complaint made a lot of allegations that our client rammed them. There were all these reports that our client had an assault weapon or was a domestic terrorist,” he said. “None of that was true.”
Homeland Security officials have also claimed a 1,300% increase in vehicle attacks against ICE agents; the 28 alleged attacks this year since Jan. 20 marked a jump from two in 2024.
Protesters rally in front of City Hall in downtown L.A. for immigrant rights, to stop mass deportations and decrying what they see as threats to democracy.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Of the 26 alleged vehicle attacks captured by The Times analysis, five resulted in serious injuries. A member of a Homeland Security task force was hospitalized with a “possible sternum fracture” after being hit by a car in November in National City, just outside of San Diego, according to DHS.
A handful of other L.A. cases resulted in officers seeking medical evaluation. One ICE agent needed medical attention after they were hit with a skateboard while trying to make an arrest in downtown L.A. in September, records show.
The month before, Oscar Magana Reyes, who was allegedly trying to flee an immigration arrest in San Bernardino, stole an ICE agent’s Taser and briefly incapacitated them with a shock to the groin. Reyes was indicted in October and is awaiting trial.
Although more incidents are being reported, available data still shows local law enforcement officers are far more likely to be attacked in the line of duty than immigration agents. L.A. County sheriff’s deputies faced roughly 600 assaults from January to October of this year, more than double the number of alleged on-duty assaults ICE agents suffered nationwide from Jan. 21 to Nov. 21, according to sheriff’s department records.
Charis Kubrin, a professor of law, criminology and sociology at UC Irvine, said the administration’s trumpeting of a more than 1,000% increase is misleading when the jump is coming from a baseline of almost zero assaults against agents.
“This is what we call in sociology a moral panic,” she said. “A moral panic is created when statistics and other things are used to kind of create or socially construct a problem that is bigger than it is.”
Alexandria Augustine sits for a portrait at her home in West Hollywood. Augustine recently won her court case after being arrested while protesting ICE outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center for allegedly assaulting a federal officer.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
The trial of Alexandria Augustine, the 25-year-old woman accused of assaulting a federal officer with her umbrella, played out over the course of several days in October.
Augustine told The Times she was offered different plea deals in the course of a few months, but decided to take her chances before a jury.
“The entire purpose of a lot of this is to keep people off the streets and hold them up in the courts,” she said. “They don’t expect us to fight back because they have way more resources and power than we do.”
During the trial, Kibbe, the prosecutor, held up the metal skeleton of the umbrella and told jurors that Augustine had hit a Federal Protective Service inspector with it in the arm and chest.
Deputy federal public defender Aden Kahssai said Augustine opened the umbrella to protect fellow protesters. It was the federal officer, she said, who grabbed the umbrella, yanking the fabric off.
“What happened here was not an assault,” Kahssai told jurors.
When Inspector Alexandro Gutierrez took the stand, he testified that he had grabbed the umbrella because it obstructed his view. He testified that Augustine then told him “if you f—ing want it, here,” and then threw it at him in an overhand motion.
“These things could potentially cause serious harm,” he told jurors. He testified that he wasn’t wearing a face shield and the metal ribs of the umbrella could have poked him in the eye.
Among those who turned out for Augustine’s trial was Margaret Ortiz, an Army combat veteran who had been charged with assault after the fabric of a black flag she was holding hit a federal officer in the chin, nose and eyes. The case against her was later dismissed.
“I kind of wanted it to go to trial,” Ortiz said outside the courtroom. “It was going to be stupid, just like this.”
During closing arguments, Supervising Deputy Federal Public Defender Rebecca Abel said Augustine had thrown the umbrella up and it dropped down and connected with Gutierrez. The umbrella, she said, “couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone a 260-pound man” in a Kevlar vest.
“It barely touched him. He was not injured,” Abel said. “This case began with a protest … it should never have ended here, in a federal courtroom.”
Within hours, the jury came back with its verdict: Not guilty.
Times researcher Cary Schneider and Data and Graphics reporter Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee contributed to this report.
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Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has emerged as one of the party’s fastest-rising political figures, drawing national attention for his populist message and outsider image.
But as his profile has grown, so has scrutiny of his past conduct, with controversies ranging from sexually explicit messages and offensive social media posts to a Nazi-linked tattoo and campaign staff upheaval.
PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION
In continued clean-up of those scandals, Platner came to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to huddle with party figures at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters just one week before his primary election.
The Marine veteran and oyster farmer has defended himself against the criticism and retained the support of prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Still, some have questioned whether the allegations could complicate Democrats’ efforts to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.
Here’s a look at the major controversies that have engulfed Platner’s campaign.
Explicit text messages and sexting allegations
Senate candidate Graham Platner is under fire, but it was his wife Amy Gertner coming out with a controversial five-minute social media post by the campaign to denounce the ‘attacks’ while she did not deny the allegations of infidelity in a new marriage. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The most recent controversy surrounding Platner stems from reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women during his marriage, an issue that campaign aides were reportedly aware of as his Senate bid was taking shape.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, informed a campaign aide about the text exchanges shortly after he launched his Senate bid as staffers were assessing potential political liabilities.
According to the report, Gertner discovered the messages months after the couple married in 2024 and disclosed their existence before her husband held a campaign rally alongside progressive Sen. Sanders. The campaign told Politico that the aide viewed the matter as a private issue between the couple and did not raise concerns about it publicly.
SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT
Platner’s campaign later confirmed the existence of the text exchanges to Politico.
He also told Fox News Digital in a statement: “Amy and I went through something hard — because of me. We did the work, and I’m grateful for her every hour of every day.”
“I’ve learned throughout this campaign is that people don’t care about gossip or headlines, they care that you’re fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids… Our opponents want politics to be empty of content and empty of actual change — and beating that is exactly what our movement is about,” he added.
In a statement to the Journal, Gertner criticized the disclosure of the information, saying she had shared “deeply personal details” about her marriage with someone she considered a friend, only to see those details become public.
She revealed that the two attended couple’s counseling, worked through the issues in their marriage and have since emerged as a stronger couple.
“I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life,” Gertner said. “That hasn’t changed, and it won’t.”
Nazi-linked tattoo
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that was previously recognized as a Nazi symbol during an interview in Portland, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. (WGME via AP)
Platner’s campaign also faced intense scrutiny after it was revealed he once had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest closely resembling the “Totenkopf” symbol used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces.
The Maine Democrat said he got the tattoo during a “night of drinking” while on leave in Croatia in 2007 as a Marine and claimed he was entirely unaware of its meaning at the time.
In an Instagram video posted in May, Platner elaborated on the tattoo’s origins. He explained that he merely selected the design from a flash tattoo wall while “carousing” with fellow Marines in Split, Croatia.
“We thought it looked cool,” he downplayed.
Platner said he was later “appalled” to learn the image resembled a Nazi symbol, arguing that his life and career have been defined by opposition to fascism, racism and Nazism. He also noted that he was never questioned about the tattoo during his military service.
MAINE DEM SENATE HOPEFUL BACKED BY BERNIE SANDERS APOLOGIZES FOR NAZI-STYLE TATTOO, VOWS TO STAY IN RACE
Rather than undergo removal, Platner said he chose to cover the tattoo because tattoo removal services were not readily available near his rural Maine home.
“Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,” he told The Associated Press. “I wanted this thing off my body.”
The symbol was ultimately covered with a tattoo featuring a Celtic knot and images of dogs, which Platner said were meant to honor his family pets.
Deleted Reddit posts reveal offensive comments
U.S. Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks during a campaign event on May 17, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The keystone scrutiny Platner has faced during his bid stemmed from thousands of now-deleted Reddit posts that resurfaced after he launched his Senate campaign.
In posts first reported by CNN and Politico, Platner referred to himself as a “communist” and “socialist” and endorsed the slogan “all cops are b—–ds.”
In other posts, he argued that those who “expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history” and said that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.”
DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE
The posts under his since-retired username “P-hustle” were deleted before Platner announced his Democratic Senate bid in August.
The candidate has since addressed the posts multiple times, telling CNN and Politico that he was “f—ing around on the internet” during a period when he felt “lost and very disillusioned with our government who sent me overseas to watch my friends die.”
“I made dumb jokes and picked fights,” Platner said. “But of course I’m not a socialist. I’m a small business owner, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired s—poster.”
In the posts Platner made crude comments about masturbating in port-a-potties and claimed a U.S. service member who took enemy fire in Afghanistan “didn’t deserve to live.”
GRAHAM PLATNER VOWS TO ‘COME AFTER’ BEZOS AS SENATE HOPEFUL ESCALATES BILLIONAIRE TAX FIGHT
The controversies have done little to erode Platner’s standing within the Democratic Party as he has continued to attract national attention and grassroots support in the Democratic primary bid to challenge Sen. Collins for her seat.
Since former Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills halted her campaign in April, much of the party establishment has consolidated behind Platner, and national Democrats have continued to support his candidacy despite the flurry of scandals.
The steady stream of allegations and past controversies has also drawn attention to a little-known provision in Maine election law that allows political parties to replace a nominee under certain circumstances after a primary election.
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Under state law, a candidate who wins a primary and subsequently withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13 can be replaced by a nominee selected by party officials. Any replacement candidate must then be chosen by 5 p.m. on July 27.
There is currently no indication that Platner plans to withdraw from the race, and the Democratic hopeful has repeatedly vowed to continue his campaign. Still, the provision has drawn renewed interest as questions persist about whether additional revelations could complicate his candidacy.
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Politics
Commentary: Bass clears first hurdle, but if Pratt holds off Raman, the mayoral race could be a holy war
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass made what sounded like a victory speech Tuesday night.
Councilmember Nithya Raman made what sounded almost like a concession speech.
And former reality TV star Spencer Pratt relayed a message from the heavens.
“Well, obviously God wanted five more months of me exposing all the failures of our mayor, so it’s gonna be a fun ride,” Pratt said. “I hope she’s ready.”
Assuming Pratt holds on to one of the two spots in the Nov. 3 general election as the final votes are tallied in the next few days, the smart money will be on Bass, for reasons I’ll get into in a moment.
But the supreme being and patron of all pontiffs has to be considered a wild card. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that an incumbent mayor in the City of Angels would be running against a challenger whose campaign manager is God Almighty.
So here we go. We could be in for one of the more remarkable electoral adventures in city history, with a complete novice and MAGA conservative going up against a liberal career politician in a deep-blue city and state full of people who are tired of hearing excuses from Democrats. (If Raman ends up ousting Pratt, my apologies for jumping to conclusions. But it’s not my fault. The devil made me do it.)
If you intend to follow closely, as of course you should, maybe you can help me count the number of times Pratt plays the faith card. I went to St. Peter Martyr School and attended the church by the same name, and I don’t recall ever hearing a nun or a priest drop God’s name as often as Pratt does.
In fact, I just watched a clip of Pratt talking to Fox News TV host and Donald Trump disciple Kayleigh McEnany, and over the course of 1 minute and 52 seconds, he mentioned God or Jesus 10 times.
“Thankfully, I married an angel who was very connected with Jesus and has brought me to the light,” Pratt said of his wife and former reality TV co-star Heidi Montag. “It’s been very empowering to just pray and just be on his path and just say, ‘God, if you want me to save these animals, save these humans and protect my city, just keep putting me in the place where I can do that.’”
Is he running for mayor or cardinal?
Look, I totally respect your average true believer. But I’m not entirely comfortable with a mayor who might be sitting around City Hall waiting for signs and smoke signals rather than knowing what to do on his own.
God has a lot on his plate. He might be busy multiplying fishes and loaves so people don’t go hungry thanks to the president’s tariffs and warmongering. Is he going to rush to answer a prayer for guidance about underfunded parks or broken sidewalks in Los Angeles?
How did we get here, you ask?
Well, Pratt is an AI creation, in a way. A composite of sorts. You combine the forces of social media, political rebellion, second-rate celebrity obsession and the Peter Principle, and here’s a little Trump puppet walking around L.A. like he’s the chosen one.
Add to that the very real essence of his appeal to some voters:
Los Angeles has problems. Big problems that don’t get fixed quickly enough or at all, and Pratt represents the angry voter who wants to know why City Hall can’t do better and where all the money went. He’s absolutely right when he says we shouldn’t have people living on the streets, using drugs on the streets and dying on the streets.
But if Pratt is in the general election rather than Raman, we’re in for a national media circus rather than a summit on solutions. Raman is well-versed on matters of relevance and could have pushed back against Bass in substantive, detailed ways. On the other hand, as Pratt has fairly argued, Raman headed City Council’s homelessness committee, so isn’t she partly to blame for the failures she tried to pin on Bass?
As for Pratt’s policy chops, he has not responded to my offers of a get-together. Absent that, and given his careful avoidance of local reporters who know their stuff, I read his platform on his campaign website and I can tell you that while he touches on many of the right issues — public safety, fiscal integrity, homelessness — attention to detail and depth of knowledge are not God-given strengths.
Maybe Pratt can actually deliver on his promise of a “treatment-led recovery model that addresses mental illness and addiction as the primary drivers of chronic homelessness.” But that would require an act of God (which I suppose is possible given their relationship), because those matters are primarily under the direction of the county, not the city.
This is the main problem here. Bass was beatable, and could have been pushed by a serious challenger to do better.
In the last election, Rick Caruso gave her a scare. That was partly because he had some depth on the issues, he was a successful businessman and philanthropist, he had served on the police commission and the water and power board, he had built relationships across the city and, along with his family, he had poured time and millions of dollars into underserved communities.
In this election, it looks as though Bass could get lucky and face off against a guy who lost his house in the Palisades fire, saw a few homeless encampments through his car window, and decided he wanted to be mayor. Some might have questioned his hubris, but only before learning that he was on a mission from God.
If you’re keeping count, that’s nine mentions of God so far in this column.
One more for the tie, with an eye toward five more months of campaign fodder.
Thank you, God.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., suddenly found himself on the defensive at a budget hearing on Wednesday when, amid levying accusations of the Trump administration’s “corrupt” dealings, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fired back by bringing Wyden’s son’s investments into the exchange.
“We would like to hear what Adam Wyden and Jeffrey Epstein talked about,” Bessent said, referring to unearthed emails drawing a connection between the senator’s son and the disgraced financier.
“Did your son and Jeffrey Epstein talk about pole dancing as he begged him for money?”
The moment continues the political fallout for the many names associated with Epstein that — despite not amounting to proof of wrongdoing — continue to prompt embarrassment and scandal at even the smallest mention.
TOP FIERY MOMENTS AS DEMOCRATS CLASH WITH TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT IN CHAOTIC HILL HEARINGS
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, left, pictured along Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore, right. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Epstein, a former financier, died while in prison on charges of sex trafficking minors in 2019, leaving behind questions of whether he facilitated illegal sexual encounters for his vast network of rich and powerful figures.
Amid public demands for transparency on the matter, the Department of Justice released troves of documents on Epstein late last year, unveiling a slew of new names with all manner of ties to the infamous figure ranging from purely innocuous to alarming.
Among them, emails surfaced indicating that Adam Wyden, Ron Wyden’s son, went to Epstein, hoping to gain his support for a business venture.
UNEARTHED EMAILS REVEAL DEM SENATOR’S SON WANTED EPSTEIN TO JOIN HIS FUND: ‘ENJOYED OUR CONVERSATION’
Sen. Ron Wyden leaves a Senate Democratic meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, 2025, as the federal government shuts down after Congress and the White House failed to reach a funding deal. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“Jeffrey, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and hope my passion and dedication for my business came through in the meeting. I live and breathe this business and take my returns, integrity and reputation quite seriously,” the younger Wyden said in an email in April 2016.
“I intensely appreciate like-minded individuals and would very much look forward to having you join us at the fund.”
The emails came after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008.
It’s unclear what the business venture discussed by Adam Wyden and Epstein may have been or what, specifically, had been discussed in their conversations.
Even so, Bessent reminded viewers that the younger Wyden had a history of investing in off-color markets at Wednesday’s hearing.
DEMOCRATS ARE HAMMERING REPUBLICANS ON EPSTEIN, BUT ONE SENATOR BRUSHED OFF THE ISSUE YEARS AGO
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses a press conference in Rosenbad after trade talks between the U.S. and China concluded in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 29, 2025. (Magnus Lejhall/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
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“Your son’s largest investment position was Rick’s Cabaret,” Bessent said, referring to a series of strip clubs.
Wyden, who has widely panned the Trump administration and its many officials for their own connections to Epstein, didn’t respond to Bessent’s jabs.
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