Podcast · ms.now
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
MS NOW, Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki tackles the biggest issues of the week and features one-on-one interviews with newsmakers.
45 claims · Clear filters
True85% confidence6 sourcesOct 23, 2026The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski over accusations that he profited from his role in government.Said by AMultiple tier1 and tier2 sources (Reuters, NYT, BBC/CBS, AP) report on 2026-10-23 that the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski over allegations he profited from his government role, based on a DHS inspector general referral. The NYT, citing two officials, states the DOJ opened the probe directly; Reuters cites anonymous sources and notes DOJ had not yet issued subpoenas, and Lewandowski's lawyer denies wrongdoing and says he has not been contacted, but none of this contradicts the core assertion that the investigation exists. The claim's wording matches the passage, and the post's reference to 'Trump's Justice Department' is consistent with the sources.True70% confidence10 sourcesOct 23, 2026Donald Trump ousted Kimberly Gilfoyle as ambassador to Greece after she asked a Republican donor to pay off her Amex bill for $100,000 in exchange for access to senior Trump administration officials.Said by AThe White House asked Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign, and multiple tier-1 outlets report it followed reporting that she sought a donor's help paying a roughly $100,000 American Express bill in exchange for access to administration officials. The post said 'reportedly' and Guilfoyle denies the allegations and disputes the messages' authenticity, a qualifier the extraction dropped, but no source contradicts the core of the claim. The sources spell her name 'Guilfoyle' rather than 'Gilfoyle'.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True60% confidence4 sourcesOct 23, 2026Donald Trump fired former DHS Secretary Christine Om for spending over $220 million in taxpayer money on an ad campaign.Said by ASources show Trump fired Kristi Noem (the post's 'Christine Om' is a misspelling) in March 2026 and that the $220 million ad campaign was a central reason, cited by an administration official alongside other leadership failures and her public blame of Trump over the ads. The claim omits the 'among other things' qualifier, so the ad campaign was one of several reasons rather than the sole cause.True85% confidence8 sourcesOct 23, 2026Donald Trump implemented tariffs that are contributing to higher costs for voters.Said by 2CAs of 2026-10-23, multiple tier1 and tier2 sources show Trump's tariffs raised consumer goods prices (NY Fed: about 2.9 percentage points on goods inflation through February 2026, roughly 1% lower prices without them), and the Economist and BBC tie tariffs to higher household costs. The claim's 'contributing to higher costs for voters' is supported; the post's claim that they are the 'two biggest' contributors and sole decisions of Trump is not separately graded, and the Boston Fed paper notes productivity partly offset the tariff effect, which is context rather than contradiction.True92% confidence6 sourcesOct 23, 2026A Fox News poll identified corruption as the number one issue that voters care about.Said by 2CThe Fox News poll conducted October 9-12, 2026 and reported by The Hill on October 15 ranked government corruption as the top concern among voters, ahead of inflation and high prices. The claim matches the passage's wording and the poll's ranking, and the poll predates the October 23 post.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True60% confidence5 sourcesOct 23, 2026Donald Trump pressured Bill Barr to use the Justice Department to support claims of election fraud in 2020.Said by AThe sources document Trump pressuring the Justice Department over unsubstantiated 2020 fraud claims while Bill Barr was Attorney General, and Barr publicly rejected those claims. No source explicitly describes Trump pressing Barr personally to use the department to back the claims, so that link rests on inference from the documented pressure and Barr's rebuff.True90% confidence7 sourcesOct 23, 2026Donald Trump replaced Bill Barr with Jeffrey Rosen as Attorney General.Said by AMultiple tier1 sources (AP, Reuters, PolitiFact) and tier2 sources (NPR, PBS) confirm that after Attorney General William Barr publicly stated there was no evidence of election fraud, Trump's Attorney General position passed to Jeffrey Rosen, who was Barr's deputy and was named by Trump as Barr's replacement in December 2020. The sources describe Rosen as acting rather than formally confirmed AG, a detail that does not defeat the core claim, and the claim faithfully reflects the passage's assertion that Trump replaced Barr with Rosen.True90% confidence6 sourcesOct 23, 2026Top leaders at the Justice Department threatened to resign if Donald Trump replaced Jeffrey Rosen.Said by AMultiple tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, Reuters, PolitiFact, NPR, NBC, CBS) report that top Justice Department leaders threatened mass resignation if Trump replaced acting AG Jeffrey Rosen, and that Trump backed down. The post's 'unanimously' and 'top leaders' wording is consistent with reporting that most of DOJ leadership threatened to resign en masse; the claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage.True78% confidence6 sourcesOct 23, 2026Attorney General Todd Blanch stated that he works for President Trump and is not independent.Said by 2CMultiple outlets quote Attorney General Todd Blanche on October 21, 2026, saying "I work for President Trump" and dismissing the idea of DOJ independence from the White House as a "misperception," which supports the claim's core. The claim's phrase "is not independent" is a paraphrase of his rejection of independence (his literal "I don't [suffer from independence]" is awkwardly worded), and the sources read it that way; the statement was made on Wednesday, October 21, not the day before the post's date, which does not change the verdict.True65% confidence8 sourcesOct 23, 2026Donald Trump won Mississippi by 24 points in 2024.Said by ATrump won Mississippi in 2024 by about 23 points, with certified results showing 60.9% to 38.0%, a 22.9-point margin. The claim's 24-point figure is about one point high, which is casual imprecision rather than a contradiction; the only source showing roughly 24 points is a partial-count snapshot.True90% confidence9 sourcesOct 23, 2026Scott Colum is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Mississippi.Said by AAs of 2026-10-23, multiple sources confirm Scott Colom was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Mississippi, having won the Democratic primary in March 2026 (Newsweek, 67.2% when called) and being repeatedly described as the Democratic nominee in October coverage (NPR, Sun Herald, ABC, The Root). The claim is accurately extracted from the passage and no source contradicts it.True90% confidence7 sourcesOct 23, 2026Cindy Hyde-Smith is the incumbent Republican Senator for Mississippi.Said by AAs of 2026-10-23, Cindy Hyde-Smith was the sitting Republican U.S. Senator for Mississippi seeking re-election, as shown by the congress.gov record, the CAWP primary results, and multiple October 2026 candidate guides describing her as the incumbent. The extracted claim matches the passage's own wording ('Incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde smith'), with only a spelling variant in the surname, and no source contradicts it; by November 2 she remained the incumbent in the race.