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Popular Information doesn't just break news; it creates change. Consider a few examples of the impact of this newsletter this year:
On March 17, Popular Information exclusively published an internal Social Security Administration (SSA) memo that revealed plans to significantly limit phone service beginning April 1. The memo said the plan would flood already overburned field offices with millions of additional people, creating "service disruption," "operational strain," and "budget shortfalls." Popular Information's report was covered extensively in the national media and prompted protests from advocacy groups. On April 8, the SSA announced that it was canceling its plans to limit phone service.
On April 15, Popular Information reported that at least 29 people had their ballots in the 2024 general election wrongly discarded by the North Carolina Supreme Court. The state's highest court ruled that about 260 ballots must be tossed because they were cast by people who were "never residents" of the state. The ballots — and thousands of others — were challenged by Jefferson Griffin, a Republican candidate for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court who lost by 734 votes to Democrat Allison Riggs. On April 16, the North Carolina Board of Elections filed a notice in federal court, citing Popular Information's reporting, stating that the votes of people who were wrongly identified would be restored. On May 5, in a decision that referenced Popular Information's reporting, a federal court declared Riggs the winner and Griffin conceded.
On February 3, Popular Information broke the news that DOGE staff at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) received unprecedented access to databases containing sensitive personal information for millions of federal employees. A week later, a coalition of labor unions representing federal workers sued OPM, citing Popular Information's report seven times. On March 24, a federal judge issued an injunction, blocking DOGE's access to the databases.
The Trump administration is targeting publications like Popular Information that publish leaked information. In an April memo, Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) said the Justice Department "will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies." Bondi raised the specter of arresting “members of the news media."
Popular Information needs the resources to prepare for and respond to these potential attacks. If you value our work, help us fight by upgrading to a paid subscription today.
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On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report about President Trump's relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. According to the Journal, the materials collected as part of the Department of Justice's investigation into Epstein included a 2003 birthday message from Trump to Epstein.
Trump's alleged message consists of "several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker." The drawing, which the Journal describes as "bawdy," includes "[a] pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair." Inside the figure of the woman was the following text:
Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.
Trump told the Journal that the letter is "fake" and quickly sued the paper, its owner Rupert Murdoch, and the two reporters who wrote the story for $10 billion. On Truth Social, Trump insisted that the letter is "not the way I talk."
Meanwhile, numerous allies of the president have echoed this claim, arguing that the letter is inauthentic because its language does not sound like Trump. "Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?" Vice President JD Vance asked rhetorically on X. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the letter published by the Journal is "not at all how he speaks or writes." Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said it is obvious the letter is inauthentic because it doesn't match his father's "very specific way of speaking."
To evaluate these claims, Popular Information examined the most distinctive aspects of the letter and assessed whether they are consistent with Trump's history.
Would Trump use the word "enigma"?
The most distinctive single word in the letter is "enigma." Is it plausible that Trump, known for using simple language, would use that word?
Trump's defenders do not believe so. "I find it to be an enigma that Donald Trump would use the word enigma," billionaire Bill Ackman, a prominent Trump supporter, wrote on X. Sean Davis, the CEO of the right-wing publication The Federalist, posted that he asked Grok, the chatbot created by xAI, to "search every record of Trump speaking or writing" for the word "enigma" and determined "there is no record of him ever saying or speaking the word." (Trump Jr. also reposted Davis' claim.)
Davis' confident assertion is false and demonstrates the hazards of relying exclusively on AI tools for research. In 2015, Trump used the word "enigma" twice to describe Ben Carson, one of his Republican primary opponents. "Now, Carson’s an enigma to me," Trump said. "Carson’s an enigma."
Trump also used the word "enigma" twice in his 2004 book, Trump: How to Get Rich. "Dan Rather is an enigma to me," Trump wrote on page 166. He uses enigma again on page 55, writing that entrepreneurial skills are "one of those grey areas that remain an enigma even to those with finely-honed business instincts."
Trump also used the term in his 1990 book, Trump: Surviving at the Top. "Any discussion of Mike’s affairs eventually leads to the subject of Don King," Trump wrote about Mike Tyson on page 200. "Don, like Mike, is something of an enigma."
So, while enigma is not a commonly used word, it is one that Trump has deployed in a variety of contexts for many years.
Would Trump have called Epstein his "pal"?
The word "pal," which appears at the end of the letter to Epstein, is somewhat old-fashioned and less commonly used than the more straightforward term "friend." Trump, however, has used "pal" over the years to describe his close associates.
In a 2018 roundtable on tax reform, Trump talked about his friendship with Steve Witkoff, who is currently Trump's special envoy to the Middle East. "He's become a very wealthy, successful man," Trump said. "And he's my pal." During a 2011 speech to the Nevada Republican Party, Trump referred to developer Phil Ruffin as "my pal."