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The Bulwark Daily
The Bulwark
Tim Miller and guests discuss the latest political news for the flagship podcast of the Never Trump movement and the reality-based community. Every weekday we provide insightful analysis, political hot-takes, an unabashed defense of liberal democracy and long-form interviews that cut through the "both-sides" BS. Plus a few laughs to help you wash down the crazy. Bulwark+ members can get a totally ad-free version of the show delivered right to their favorite podcast player.
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True92% confidence7 sourcesSep 29, 2026An FSB assassin murdered someone in Germany in broad daylight.Said by 3CThe sources consistently report that Vadim Krasikov, an FSB agent, shot dead Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in broad daylight in a Berlin park on 23 August 2019, and that a German court convicted him of murder. The extracted claim is a faithful paraphrase of the post and no source contradicts its core assertion.True95% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026Russia experienced a financial crisis in 1998.Said by 3CMultiple independent reliable sources, including Reuters, the IMF, the World Bank, and a Springer chapter, document that Russia experienced a major financial crisis in August 1998 involving currency, banking, and debt collapse and default. The extraction faithfully reflects the passage's reference to the 1998 financial crisis, and the claim's scope (Russia, 1998, financial crisis) matches the sources.True70% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026Russia had a period of democratic reform from 1991 to 1993.Said by 3CSources support that Russia went through a democratic breakthrough and an attempt at democratization from 1991 to 1993, beginning with Yeltsin's election as the first democratically elected president and ending in the 1993 constitutional crisis. Several scholars describe that period as a failed or incomplete transition, which is context on the outcome rather than a contradiction of the claim that the reform period existed; the claim's wording matches the passage's 'stab at democracy from '91 to '93'.True90% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026Russian serfs were not emancipated until 1861.Said by 3CMultiple reliable sources date the emancipation of Russia's serfs to the 1861 Emancipation Manifesto (19 February Julian / 3 March Gregorian), so serfdom was not ended before 1861. The post's garbled wording ('serfs until 18... from up until 1861') matches this reading, and the claim is a faithful paraphrase.True70% confidence7 sourcesSep 29, 2026Violating Russia's law against fake news can result in a 10-year prison sentence.Said by 3CThe claim matches the 2022 Russian 'fake news' law, under which penalties reach up to 15 years, with tiers of 5 to 10 years and 10 to 15 years for aggravated cases, so a 10-year sentence is a possible outcome. Some sources describe lower maxima for the basic offense of Article 207.3 (up to 3 or 5 years), but these do not contradict the claim that a 10-year sentence can result. The extraction faithfully reflects the post's 'can land you for 10 years in prison'.True90% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026Anna Politkovskaya was a journalist for Novaya Gazeta who was murdered on Vladimir Putin's birthday in 2006.Said by 3CMultiple independent sources confirm Anna Politkovskaya was a Novaya Gazeta journalist shot dead on October 7, 2006, which was Vladimir Putin's birthday. The claim's wording ('murdered on Putin's birthday in 2006') matches the passage's intent; the passage's garbled 'Nova Gazeta' and 'polikovsky' are resolved to the same journalist by the sources.True90% confidence6 sourcesSep 29, 2026The Russian government split the KGB into multiple agencies after the formation of the Russian Federation.Said by 3CMultiple sources, including a primary Congressional Research Service report, state that after the KGB was dissolved in December 1991 its functions were divided among several agencies, such as the SVR and what became the FSB. The claim's 'after the formation of the Russian Federation' timing is a peripheral detail that the sources describe as coinciding with the same 1991 transition, and the extraction faithfully reflects the passage.True95% confidence10 sourcesSep 29, 2026Donald Trump stated during his first campaign that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose support.Said by 3CMultiple independent outlets (Reuters, NBC, Politico, NPR, CNN, ABC) report Trump saying at a January 23, 2016 Sioux Center, Iowa rally, during his first presidential campaign, that he could stand on Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any voters. The claim matches the reported quote and the 'first campaign' timing; the sources note he was a campaign candidate then and the remark was widely reproduced accurately, though the broader loyalty context was often omitted.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence5 sourcesSep 29, 2026Greece and Spain had autocratic regimes in the past.Said by 3CReuters reports that Franco ran Spain as a right-wing dictatorship for four decades until 1975, and several sources describe the 1967–1974 military junta in Greece as an authoritarian regime. The claim's 'not that long ago' qualifier was dropped in extraction, which does not change the verdict.True70% confidence8 sourcesSep 29, 2026Donald Trump attempted to rig the 2026 midterm elections.Tier1 and tier2 sources document concrete federal efforts in the 2026 midterms, including DOJ subpoenas to California election officials, criminal and civil probes tied to the Alaska Senate race, and attempts to block certification, which support the claim that Trump attempted to manipulate the midterms. The claim's characterization as "rigging" is an interpretive label, and the post itself says these efforts "have so far flopped," which is consistent with an attempt; the sources do not show the efforts succeeded, and the claim does not assert that they did.