Pardon Me?

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for February 9, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

The Latest

Ghislaine Maxwell says she’ll clear Donald Trump and Bill Clinton “if granted clemency by President Trump.”

• Maxwell’s lawyer made the offer in the opening statement he gave the House Oversight Committee today. Maxwell herself had less to say: She took the Fifth rather than answer the committee’s questions about Jeffrey Epstein.

The DOJ is dropping its case against Steve Bannon. A jury convicted Bannon in 2024 for refusing to testify before the House Jan. 6 Committee. Now the Justice Department says it has “determined in its prosecutorial discretion” that dismissing his case is “in the interests of justice.”

• As Politico’s Kyle Cheney notes, the department’s motion to dismiss was signed by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and not by any of the career prosecutors in her office.

Congress has four days to avoid a DHS shutdown. Members have been gone since Thursday but are coming back to town tonight.

The Administration

The White House responded to calls to fire Howard Lutnick over the commerce secretary’s relationship with Epstein: “The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce, remains focused on delivering for the American people.”

Only 14% of the immigrants arrested by ICE in the last year were charged with violent crimes, according to a DHS document obtained by CBS News. The White House said the report’s definition of “violent” is too narrow.

Trump will exclude Democratic governors from a traditional bipartisan meeting when the National Governors Association comes to town later this month. Former NGA Chair Joe Manchin said he should reconsider.

OPM is proposing that appeals from fired federal workers be heard by OPM, rather than by the independent Merit Systems Protection Board, so that the government can fire people faster.

The Hill

House Democrats will force a vote to overturn Trump’s tariffs on Canada. Republicans previously used a procedural mechanism to delay such a vote, but Democrats don’t think Republicans have the votes to do that again, NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz reports. The vote could come as soon as Wednesday.

Kid Who?

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kate Nocera and Andrew Burton. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please subscribe — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at finalnotus@notus.com.