Donald Trump wants to crush The Swamp. The leaks, the sneaks, and the secrets are all there. Our writers, David Gardner, Farrah Tomazin, Sarah Ewall-Wice, and Laura Esposito, are sifting through the ooze so you don’t have to. Don’t miss out.
The Bari Game Show That Never Was
Everyone, The Swamp included, has spent the days since the abrupt end to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner breathing sighs of relief that what could have been a national tragedy ended with nobody hurt—and feeling unending gratitude to the agents, officers, and hotel workers who kept thousands of people safe with such professionalism.
But The Swamp has discovered that there will be an extra sigh of relief in the executive suites of CBS and Paramount. Because the newly MAGA-coded company was in fact going to be the target of an anonymous trolling operation designed specifically to shame Bari Weiss.
A “Trump WHCA Speech Bingo Card” had been mysteriously placed on every seat on the tables the network had booked close to the dais where Donald Trump and Melania Trump were seated, along with WHCA President Weijia Jiang, Karoline Leavitt, JD Vance, and other VIP guests.
The guests at CBS’s double-digit haul of tables right at the front of the ballroom included some of MAGA’s most combustible figures: Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller, and Brendan Carr.
What greeted each one of them when they arrived was a “bingo card” on their chairs, one of which fell into the hands of The Swamp. (While other thirsty guests infamously swept the ballroom for wine, The Swamp’s spy was looking for delicious morsels of information.)
The bingo card was assembled by someone who has watched a lot of Trump speeches, and predicted some of Trump’s moves in a speech he had already claimed would be “vicious.”
You could cross off a square if Trump bragged about the Paramount merger, said “fake news,” or gave FCC boss Carr a shout-out. There were the darker taunts, too: ”Quiet, piggy”, “A third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out,” “She never smiles. Someday I’ll see her smile”, “The media, most of it, is absolute scum” and “Blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”
One square was aimed firmly at Weiss: “Free (Press) Square.” The Free Press delegation was on the CBS tables, including reporter Olivia Reingold (of whom more below.)
The idea of a group of people cheering a full bingo card of Trump madness while their MAGA guests fumed would have been an extreme public embarrassment for Weiss and her coterie of fellow travelers, including the elaborately coiffed Evening News anchor, Tony Dukoupil.
Who printed the cards is no mystery: The Freedom of the Press Foundation and Reporters Without Borders both have their logos on them.
But there is a mystery, and one which raises a security question. Who was able to get dozens of sheets of paper into the hall, locate the CBS/Paramount tables, and get the seats covered, all before the arrival of Weiss, who is, of course, normally accompanied by an entourage of beefy bodyguards?
Abe’s Bad Cheer
Perhaps we should have known the WHCA dinner would take a darker turn—the red wine The Swamp chose for the table had a photo of Abraham Lincoln on the label. As one Beast wag noted: “If Abe Lincoln had a ballroom, he’d still be alive today.”
Gavin’s Party Weekend
Gavin Newsom was all over Washington, even though he never intended to attend the WHCA dinner after it was hijacked by Trump and his minions. He was at Tammy Haddad’s must-go pre-dinner brunch on Saturday. The previous night, he did the rounds at parties hosted by Vanity Fair/CAA and Voto Latino, and he was just yards away from the shooting on Saturday night at the Puck party across the way from the Washington Hilton at the Hepburn Rooftop at 1901 Connecticut Ave. It was way harder to get into these parties than the Hilton ballroom. Newsom was planning to head to the Substack bash later on Saturday night but the authorities had the entire area shut down and he headed back to California to carry on trolling the president from afar. In between the festivities, the potential 2028 presidential contender even had time to stop by Cafe Georgetown on N Street, a local haunt known for its “elevated coffee” and custom-printed lattes.
How To Protest The Mainstream Media
As promised, news of The Free Press’ Olivia Reingold. She posted a video from under a table, which made her the face which launched a thousand clips. It was a level of viral success which even such an enthusiastic poster had not previously experienced. (The Swamp, incidentally, can unmask the somewhat perplexed man behind her, it is Chris Irvine, of the Washington Examiner, who was probably perplexed that she was near his table at all.) Reingold’s last brush with viral fame was her celebration of The Free Press moving into Paramount HQ in Times Square, in the form of a video with the caption, “read it and weep legacy media!!”
The post has a brutal community note on X pointing out that the Free Press was bought by the owner of 99-year-old CBS News, part of the “legacy media Big 3.” Perhaps la Reingold has taken, err, note. On Monday night she was to be found on Inside Edition, recounting what happened to her. The show has been running non-stop since 1989 in almost every media market in the U.S. Sounds like the definition of legacy media to The Swamp.
Who’s the Champagne Charlie—and Which Billionaire Hung Out at the Bar?
The Swamp salutes this man, clad in a white tuxedo jacket more suited to tropical climes than the rainy D.C. night, who double-fisted two bottles of sparkling on his way out of the ballroom at 9.53 p.m. In fact, we would love to know who he is, so we can send him all our photos of his exit. If you know, drop us a line — swamp@thedailybeast.com and we will reward you with a bottle of bubbles (which we promise to buy ourselves.)
One other hero we can name is the information-starved billionaire to be found in this photo of the press pack at work in the closed bar area, listening to Trump’s briefing on a journalist’s laptop. You can see a bald pate bowed down to listen intently. It is none other than Lloyd Blankfein, until 2018 chairman of Goldman Sachs. He had been one of Bari Weiss’ many, many guests, but had been abandoned by his handlers and made his way to the shuttered bar to gather round the televisions. Other elitists fled to Cafe Milano, but Blankfein’s thirst for information, not drinks, shows why he was feared on Wall Street. But Lloyd, having shared The Swamp’s Daily Beast colleague Nico Hines’ laptop at a booze-less bar, how about buying us a drink?
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The Biggest Losers
In the wake of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, a group of Republicans led by Senator Lindsey Graham are now flirting with the idea of sticking taxpayers with the bill for Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom. But if you were wondering how low congressional Republicans are willing to go for Dear Leader, the answer is subterranean. Among other bright ideas currently circulating Capitol Hill is to have the National Institute of Health study “Trump Derangement Syndrome”— the condition MAGA coined to describe anyone who strongly opposes the president or his policies. But it doesn’t stop there: other proposed GOP legislation includes creating a $250 bill with Trump’s face; declaring his birthday a federal holiday; carving him into Mount Rushmore renaming both Palm Beach and Dulles airports in his honor, and creating a “Trump Peace Prize.” There’s even a push to hand him a Congressional Gold Medal—presumably for services rendered to the sad careers of GOP sycophants. Washington has always had its share of flattery, but this is more like performance art with MAGA acolytes auditioning daily for the role of “Biggest Suck-Up.”
And the Beat Goes On…
Despite the chaos that unfolded at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the parties raged on. The embassies sent out messages noting the parties would go on, but security would be tight. Unlike at the dinner, guests had to produce their IDs and walk through the metal detectors before being allowed in. Even lighters were confiscated. Guests lined up in the chilly late-night air to attend an afterparty hosted by TIME magazine at the Swiss ambassador’s residence and by NBC at the residence of the ambassador of France. Women in ballgowns, and men in tuxedos, lined up on the red carpet to take photos in front of a massive TIME sign and for those who showed up early enough, be greeted by the Swiss Ambassador to the U.S. Ralf Heckner.
Hundreds of attendees filled the packed Swiss ambassador’s residence where music blasted and guests sang along to Beyonce. Outside, a massive tent held one of multiple stocked bars as waiters wove through the crowds serving little pots of mac and cheese, grilled cheese wedges, and ice cream. Partygoers were grateful for the snacks since everyone was hungry after missing out on a full dinner at the Hilton… except for that CAA agent, who managed to wolf down his salad.
SPOTTED at the 33rd Annual White House Correspondents’ Weekend Garden Brunch at Georgetown’s historic Beall-Washington House, where Van Jones and David Urban presented the Garden Brunch Award to Arun Gupta, Noble Reach Foundation CEO and Author of The Mission Generation. Meta’s Dina Powell and MS NOW’s Stephanie Ruhle presented Kevin Sheekey with the Washington Monument Award, recognizing his “Support Of Public Service And Journalism.” Attendees included Ambassador Mike Waltz, Governor Gavin Newsom, Jennifer Newsom, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Senator Deb Fisher, Senator Bernie Moreno, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Rep. Gabe Amo, Rep. Nanette Barragán, former Speaker Paul Ryan, Ambassador Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, U.K. Ambassador Christian Turner, Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Oz Pearlman, Ambassador Mark Wiseman, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Sean Cairncross, Chris Klomp, Paul Dabbar, Lady Nicola Mendelsohn, Patrick Witt, James Lloyd, Rebecca Kutler, Alex Deborah O’Connell, Meredith Kopit Levien, Kerry Kennedy, DNC Chair Ken Martin, former Chairman Kevin Brady, Caryn Zucker, Ryan Hayden, Jeremy Allaire, Matt Friend, KellyAnn Conway, Christian Turner, Mark Lazarus, Joe Kernen, Mathias Döpfner, Cam Sadler, Lynne Patton, Alexandra Veitch, Dina Powell, Stephanie Ruhle, Joey Gonzalez, Kaitlan Collins, Kathy Baird, Cesar Conde, Vince Evans, Josh Dawsey, Aaron Parnas, Alex Flemister, Tyler Denk, Jill Hazelbaker Franks, Almar Latour, Brian Tyler Cohen, Bill Ready, Laura Lane, Heather Kulp, Joel Kaplan, Horacio Rozanski, Ethan Klein, Carol Melton, Michelle Freeman, Heather Podesta, Pamela Brown, Dasha Burns, Jon Kelly, Dylan Byers, Teddy Schleifer, Eve O’Toole, Michael Grynbaum, Maureen Hinman and Dmitri Alperovitch, Dani Dudeck, Clete Willems, Omar Vargas, Javi Correoso, Olivia Igbokwe-Curry, Tasia Jackson, Reema Dodin, Tucker Bounds, Andrea Saul, Katelyn Bledsoe, Sarah Heck, Kris Coratti. The gathering was co-hosted by Tammy Haddad, Kevin Sheekey, David Urban, Mark and Sally Ein, Jon Banner, and Franco Nuschese.
In the “Greenroom” at the Irish Embassy party on Thursday evening were: Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, John McCarthy, Stripe’s Eillen O’Mara, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Rep. Tim Kennedy, Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Don Beyer, Rep. Gabe Amo, former Rep. Patrick McHenry, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, British Ambassador Christian Turner, Sean Cairncross, Patrick Witt, Kasie Hunt, David Chalian, Seval Oz, Lynda Carter, Kerry Kennedy, Jeff Freeland, Derek Theruer, Jessica Dean, Rob Bluey, Sara Cook, Maureen Dowd, Shawn McCreesh, Kelly O’Donnell, Jacqui Heinrich, Tasia Jackson, Jennifer Griffin, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Luke Russert, Sean Spicer, Betsy Klein, Donie O’Sullivan, Jackie Kucinich, Meridith McGraw, Aidan McLaughlin, Anna Palmer, Jesse Rodriguez, Catriona Perry.
Guests at the Australian Embassy included: Rep. Michael McCaul, Dana Bash (CNN), Lynda Carter, Jessica Powers (Publisher, Modern Luxury), Andrea Mitchell, David Challian, Michael Geremia (Special Assistant to the President) Heather Caygle (Managing Editor Punchbowl), Courtney Subramanian (Bloomberg, WHCA Board); Sara Cook (CBS, WHCA Board), Steve Thomma (WHCA Executive Director); Chinyere Hubbard (President and CEO of DC Chamber of Commerce) Michael McCarthy (Modern Luxury Editor-in-Chief), Julia Jester (MS NOW).
SPOTTED at Off the Record: Congressional candidate Olivia Troye in conversation with Jim Acosta.
At the Hay-Adams for Voto Latino: Gov. Gavin Newsom, Maria Teresa Kumar, Laura Barron Lopez, Amna Nawaz, Weijia Jiang; At the Swiss embassy: Alex Isenstadt, Natalie Allison, Nikki Schwab.
Sugar Babies? Out. Sex Pests? In.
Inside the Trump administration, there’s an unspoken rule: women get the boot faster than the men. For proof, look no further than the president’s own cabinet. But for a particularly glaring example of double-standards, consider Julia Varvaro, a top Trump-appointed counterterrorism official who was suspended within hours of a bombshell report accusing her of having a profile on a sugar daddy website.
The Swamp can now reveal that her swift firing comes months after the 29-year-old filed a sexual harassment complaint against her superior, Paul Ingrassia—and all he got was a promotion.
Back in October, Ingrassia, 30, made headlines after canceling a female subordinate’s hotel room during a work trip to Florida—forcing her to share one with him instead. Sources told The Swamp the woman was Varvaro. According to multiple administration officials who spoke to Politico, Varvaro protested having to share a room but ultimately relented—unwilling to make a scene in front of colleagues.
“The sleazy smears in this fake news story are false clickbait dangled by a failing outlet desperate to concoct a phony scandal from a nothingburger story,” Ingrassia’s attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, said in a statement provided to The Swamp. “These fabrications are already the subject of Mr. Ingrassia’s powerhouse lawsuit against Politico.”’
What, exactly, transpired that night at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando—where a two-bedroom suite can run north of $2,000—is unclear. But Varvaro, then a deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism, later filed a human resources complaint, telling multiple people Ingrassia’s advances were interfering with her ability to do her job. Days later, she withdrew the complaint apparently out of fear. That fear, it turns out, was completely justifiable. Ingrassia was rewarded with a nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel. He did not secure the position and was forced to withdraw after GOP senators revolted over leaked group chat messages in which Ingrassia allegedly used racial slurs and bragged about having a “Nazi streak.”
When the dust settled, the administration quietly handed him another prize: deputy general counsel at the General Services Administration. Varvaro, meanwhile, was disappeared. Despite denying the allegations against her—and dismissing them as revenge from a jealous ex—sources told the Swamp that the St. John’s University alum is officially out at DHS.
In Trump’s world, sugar babies are out, even when they have PhDs in national security. But alleged sex pests with “Nazi streaks”? That’s executive leadership material.
ICE Barbie’s Bag Bandit
The purse bandit who zeroed in on Kristi Noem’s Gucci handbag as she chowed down at Washington’s Capital Burger restaurant is now behind bars, putting an end to one of DC’s weirder crime stories. In a rare win for U.S. Attorney “Judge” Jeanine Pirro, Mario Bustamante Leiva was sentenced to 36 months and will be deported back to Chile after serving time. The 50-year-old had a slick operation: stalking women at D.C. restaurants, lifting luxury bags, then rapidly converting the contents into gift cards before you could even say “ICE Barbie.” But the strangest detail still clings like a loose thread: why was the then–Secretary of Homeland Security carrying $3000 in cash? Is she an old-school cash tipper? Was she settling a bet? Or maybe she was keeping things strictly off the books for a dinner companion who prefers discretion—just ask Corey Lewandowski.
Carville Unfettered
James Carville cannot stand Sen. John Fetterman. The veteran Democratic political strategist told a room full of people in Washington, D.C. that he believes the Pennsylvania senator’s top motive is to “get his name in the papers.” Even before Fetterman was spotted lumbering out of the ballroom after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as other members of Congress remained inside and joined MAGA calls for Trump’s White House ballroom, Carville warned Democrats need to win five seats to take back the Senate majority because of Fetterman’s increasingly Trumpy voting record. Carville’s thinking: if Democrats only take four seats, Fetterman could easily be swayed by Republicans to switch parties, resulting in a 50-50 split with JD Vance as the tie-breaker. Carville said that if Democrats take five seats, which he thinks is possible, Fetterman’s right-turn betrayal won’t matter.
