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On October 17, 2025, Sapient Capital LLC disclosed a purchase of 259,392 Eli Lilly and Company (LLY -1.94%) shares, for a total transaction value of $193,028,908.

What Happened

Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 259,392 shares during Q3 2025, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated October 17, 2025 (SEC filing). The estimated transaction value was $193.03 million, based on the average closing price for Q3 2025. The fund now holds 1,477,879 shares worth $1.07 billion in Q3 2025.

What Else to Know

Buy activity increased the position to 16.53% of Sapient Capital’s 13F AUM in Q3 2025

Top holdings after the filing:

• LLY: $1.07 billion (16.5% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• APP: $906.45 million (14.0% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• AAPL: $346.81 million (5.3% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• MSFT: $313.49 million (4.8% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025
• GOOGL: $238.99 million (3.7% of AUM) as of September 30, 2025

As of October 17, 2025, shares were priced at $802.83, down 12.46% over the past year; shares have underperformed the S&P 500 by 25.79 percentage points

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical leader with a market capitalization of $722.03 billion as of October 17, 2025 and a diversified portfolio of innovative therapies. The company’s strategy centers on advancing high-impact medicines and expanding its reach through scientific innovation and partnerships. Its scale and established presence in key therapeutic areas provide advantages in the healthcare sector.

The company offers a broad portfolio of pharmaceuticals for diabetes, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and other therapeutic areas, with leading products such as Trulicity, Humalog, Jardiance, and Taltz. It generates revenue primarily through the discovery, development, and global commercialization of branded prescription medicines, leveraging internal R&D and strategic collaborations. It treats patients with chronic and complex health conditions.

Foolish Take

This recent transaction by Sapient Capital, a private wealth advisor, is a notable institutional purchase. Here’s why.

First off, Sapient acquired over 259,000 shares of Eli Lilly, worth around $193 million. That is, of course, a great deal of money. But beyond that, the transaction makes the stock Sapient’s largest overall holding, with about $1.07 billion worth of Eli Lilly stock. In other words, Sapient is significantly increasing its already enormous stake Eli Lilly stock. That demonstrates the fund managers have a great deal of conviction that Eli Lilly stock should perform well.

Average investors may want to take note of this, particularly given Eli Lilly’s recent underperformance against major market indexes like the S&P 500. For example, Eli Lilly stock has lagged the S&P 500 year-to-date. Indeed, it has generated a total return of around 5% in 2025, while the benchmark index has generated a total return of 14%.

One potential headwind for Eli Lilly may be political pressure from Washington. President Donald Trump recently said that his administration will work to cut the cost of brand-name GLP-1s, like Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, to $150 per month — a significant decrease from the rate Eli Lilly currently offers on their direct-to-consumer site. That could cut into the company’s profits which have skyrocketed from $5 billion to nearly $14 billion thanks in part to the introduction of Zepbound in 2023.

In summary, investment advisor Sapient has made a huge bet on Eli Lilly stock, boosting its stake by ~25% and making the stock its top holding. The company’s shares have underperformed this year, and pressure from Washington is increasing for the company to lower the price of its star drug, Zepbound, which could stifle its overall profitability. All in all, it’s a mixed picture for Eli Lilly with significant uncertainty surrounding at least one of its key products.

Glossary

13F assets under management (AUM): The value of securities a fund manager reports to the SEC on Form 13F, typically U.S.-listed equities.
Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held by an investor or fund.
Trailing twelve months (TTM): The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends per share divided by the share price, shown as a percentage.
Forward price-to-earnings ratio: A valuation metric comparing a company’s current share price to its expected future earnings per share.
Enterprise value to EBITDA: A valuation ratio comparing a company’s total value (enterprise value) to its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
Stake: The ownership interest or share held by an investor in a company.
Holding: A security or asset owned by an investor or fund.
Buy activity: The act of purchasing additional shares or assets, increasing an investor’s or fund’s position.
Therapeutic areas: Specific categories of diseases or medical conditions targeted by pharmaceutical products.
Strategic collaborations: Partnerships between companies to achieve shared business or research goals.

Tension between Indiana University and its student newspaper flared last week with the elimination of the outlet’s print editions and the firing of a faculty advisor who refused an order to keep news stories out of a homecoming edition.

Administrators may have been hoping to minimize distractions during its homecoming weekend as the school prepared to celebrate a Hoosiers football team with its highest-ever national ranking. Instead, the controversy has entangled the school in questions about censorship and student journalists’ 1st Amendment rights.

Advocates for student media, Indiana Daily Student alumni and high-profile supporters including billionaire Mark Cuban have excoriated the university for stepping on the outlet’s independence.

The Daily Student is routinely honored among the best collegiate publications in the country. It receives about $250,000 annually in subsidies from the university’s Media School to help make up for dwindling ad revenue.

On Tuesday, the university fired the paper’s advisor, Jim Rodenbush, after he refused an order to force student editors to ensure that no news stories ran in the print edition tied to the homecoming celebrations.

“I had to make the decision that was going to allow me to live with myself,” Rodenbush said. “I don’t have any regrets whatsoever. In the current environment we’re in, somebody has to stand up.”

Student journalists still call the shots

A university spokesperson referred an Associated Press reporter to a statement issued Tuesday, which said the campus wants to shift resources from print media to digital platforms both for students’ educational experience and to address the paper’s financial problems.

Chancellor David Reingold issued a separate statement Wednesday saying the school is “firmly committed to the free expression and editorial independence of student media. The university has not and will not interfere with their editorial judgment.”

It was late last year when university officials announced they were scaling back the cash-strapped newspaper’s print edition from a weekly to seven special editions per semester, tied to campus events.

The paper published three print editions this fall, inserting special event sections, Rodenbush said. Last month, Media School officials started asking why the special editions still contained news, he said.

Rodenbush said IU Media School Dean David Tolchinsky told him this month that the expectation was print editions would contain no news. Tolchinsky argued that Rodenbush was essentially the paper’s publisher and could decide what to run, Rodenbush said. He told the dean that publishing decisions were the students’ alone, he said.

Tolchinsky fired him Tuesday, two days before the homecoming print edition was set to be published, and announced the end of all Indiana Daily Student print publications.

“Your lack of leadership and ability to work in alignment with the University’s direction for the Student Media Plan is unacceptable,” Tolchinsky wrote in Rodenbush’s termination letter.

The newspaper was allowed to continue publishing stories on its website.

Student journalists see a ‘scare tactic’

Andrew Miller, the Indiana Daily Student’s co-editor in chief, said in a statement that Rodenbush “did the right thing by refusing to censor our print edition” and called the termination a “deliberate scare tactic toward journalists and faculty.”

“IU has no legal right to dictate what we can and cannot print in our paper,” Miller said.

Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel at the Student Press Law Center, said 1st Amendment case law going back 60 years shows student editors at public universities determine content. Advisors such as Rodenbush can’t interfere, Hiestand said.

“It’s open and shut, and it’s just so bizarre that this is coming out of Indiana University,” Hiestand said. “If this was coming out of a community college that doesn’t know any better, that would be one thing. But this is coming out of a place that absolutely should know better.”

Rodenbush said that he wasn’t aware of any single story the newspaper has published that may have provoked administrators. But he speculated the moves may be part of a “general progression” of administrators trying to protect the university from any negative publicity.

Blocked from publishing a print edition, the paper last week posted a number of sharp-edged stories online, including coverage of the opening of a new film critical of arrests of pro-Palestinian demonstrators last year, a tally of campus sexual assaults and an FBI raid on the home of a former professor suspected of stealing federal funds.

The paper also has covered allegations that IU President Pamela Whitten plagiarized parts of her dissertation, with the most recent story running in September.

Richmond writes for the Associated Press.

Investment advisor Paradiem, LLC disclosed a new purchase of Owens Corning (OC 0.58%), adding 85,047 shares in Q3 2025, an estimated $12.48 million trade based on the average price for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 17, 2025, Paradiem, LLC increased its stake in Owens Corning substantially during the third quarter. The fund acquired 85,047 additional shares, bringing its total position to 94,067 shares, with a quarter-end reported value of $13.31 million.

What else to know

Paradiem, LLC’s addition brings Owens Corning to 3.1% of 13F reportable assets as of Q3 2025.

Paradiem’s top holdings after the filing as of September 30, 2025 are:

• NASDAQ:LRCX: $27.44 million (6.4% of AUM)
• NYSE:TEL: $19.53 million (4.55% of AUM)
• NYSE:VLO: $17.87 million (4.2% of AUM)
• NYSE:LMT: $16.13 million (3.76% of AUM)
• NYSE:CAT: $15.79 million (3.7% of AUM)

As of October 17, 2025, shares of Owens Corning were priced at $126.96, with a one-year change of -33.04%, underperforming the S&P 500 by 45.03 percentage points.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Owens Corning is a leading global manufacturer specializing in insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composite products, with a diversified revenue base across construction and industrial end markets. The company leverages its scale and integrated operations to deliver essential building materials to a broad customer base.

Owens Corning manufactures and markets insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composite materials across three segments: composites, insulation, and roofing. It generates revenue through direct sales and distribution of building materials, glass reinforcements, insulation products, and roofing components to construction and industrial markets worldwide.

The company serves insulation installers, home centers, distributors, contractors, and manufacturers in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

Foolish take

Financial services company Paradiem upped its stake in Owens Corning in a big way. The stock went from 0.3% of the fund’s holdings to 3.1% in Q3. This action demonstrates a belief in Owens Corning despite shares being down significantly from the 52-week high of $214.53 reached last November.

Owens Corning stock is down this year due to macroeconomic conditions, such as higher interest rates and persistent inflation, which caused a slowdown in the construction sector. The company also underwent changes, such as divesting businesses in China and South Korea, to sharpen its focus, particularly on the North American and European markets.

Despite these factors, Owens Corning delivered 10% year-over-year sales growth in the second quarter to $2.75 billion. And its moves to divest less profitable businesses resulted in Q2 diluted earnings per share increasing 34% year over year to $3.91 for its continuing operations.

With the company’s stock down but its financials looking solid, Paradiem may have taken the opportunity to scoop up shares. After all, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates soon, which can help to stimulate the construction industry. These factors make Owens Corning a compelling investment, especially while its stock is down.

Glossary

13F reportable assets: Assets that institutional investment managers must disclose quarterly to the SEC, showing certain equity holdings.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of investments that a fund or manager oversees on behalf of clients.
Stake: The ownership interest or number of shares held in a particular company by an investor or fund.
Quarter-end: The last day of a fiscal quarter, used as a reference point for financial reporting.
Dividend Yield: Annual dividends paid by a company divided by its share price, expressed as a percentage.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
Filing: An official document submitted to a regulatory authority, often containing financial or ownership information.
Segments: Distinct business divisions within a company, often based on product lines or markets served.
Distribution: The process of delivering products from manufacturers to end customers or intermediaries.
End markets: The industries or customer groups that ultimately use a company’s products or services.

GREENBELT, Md. — Former Trump administration national security advisor John Bolton was charged Thursday in a federal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.

The investigation into Bolton, who served for more than a year in President Trump’s first administration before being fired in 2019, burst into public view in August when the FBI searched his home in Maryland and his office in Washington for classified records he may have held onto from his years in government.

The existence of the indictment was confirmed to the AP by a person familiar with the matter who could not publicly discuss the charges and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Agents during the August search seized multiple documents labeled “classified,” “confidential” and “secret” from Bolton’s office, according to previously unsealed court filings. Some of the seized records appeared to concern weapons of mass destruction, national “strategic communication” and the U.S. mission to the United Nations, the filings stated.

The indictment sets the stage for a closely watched court case centering on a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power and who after leaving Trump’s first government emerged as a prominent and vocal critic of the president. Though the investigation that produced the indictment began before Trump’s second term, the case will unfold against the backdrop of broader concerns that his Justice Department is being weaponized to go after his political adversaries.

It follows separate indictments over the last month accusing former FBI Director James Comey of lying to Congress and New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James of committing bank fraud and making a false statement, charges they both deny. Both of those cases were filed in federal court in Virginia by a prosecutor Trump hastily installed in the position after growing frustrated that investigations into high-profile enemies had not resulted in prosecution.

The Bolton case, by contrast, was filed in Maryland by a U.S. attorney who before being elevated to the job had been a career prosecutor in the office.

Questions about Bolton’s handling of classified information date back years. He faced a lawsuit and a Justice Department investigation after leaving office related to information in a 2020 book he published, “The Room Where it Happened,” that portrayed Trump as grossly uninformed about foreign policy.

The Trump administration asserted that Bolton’s manuscript included classified information that could harm national security if exposed. Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.

A search warrant affidavit that was previously unsealed said a National Security Council official had reviewed the book manuscript and told Bolton in 2020 that it appeared to contain “significant amounts” of classified information, some at a top-secret level.

Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell has said that many of the documents seized in August had been approved as part of a pre-publication review for Bolton’s book. He said that many were decades old, from Bolton’s long career in the State Department, as an assistant attorney general and as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The indictment is a dramatic moment in Bolton’s long career in government. He served in the Justice Department during President Reagan’s administration and was the State Department’s point man on arms control during George W. Bush’s presidency. Bolton was nominated by Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the strong supporter of the Iraq war was unable to win Senate confirmation and resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush recess appointment. That allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation.

In 2018, Bolton was appointed to serve as Trump’s third national security advisor. But his brief tenure was characterized by disputes with the president over North Korea, Iran and Ukraine.

Those rifts ultimately led to Bolton’s departure, with Trump announcing on social media in September 2019 that he had accepted Bolton’s resignation. Bolton subsequently criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government in his 2020 book, including by alleging that Trump directly tied providing military aid to the country’s willingness to conduct investigations into Joe Biden, who was soon to be Trump’s Democratic 2020 election rival, and members of his family.

Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “washed-up guy” and a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.” Trump also said at the time that the book contained “highly classified information” and that Bolton “did not have approval” for publishing it.

Tucker, Durkin Richer and Kunzelman write for the Associated Press. Tucker and Durkin Richer reported from Washington.

Pacer Advisors, Inc. disclosed a significant reduction in its United Parcel Service (UPS 0.05%) holdings, selling 3,884,101 shares for an estimated $351.8 million, according to an SEC filing dated October 15, 2025.

What Happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 15, 2025, Pacer Advisors, Inc. sold 3,884,101 shares of United Parcel Service during the quarter. The estimated transaction value, based on the average share price for the quarter, was ~$351.8 million. Following the sale, the fund held 533,764 shares, worth $44.59 million.

What Else to Know

This sale reduced the United Parcel Service stake to 0.11% of Pacer Advisors’ total reportable U.S. equity assets under management as of September 30, 2025.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NASDAQ:NVDA: $569.61 million (1.65% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NASDAQ:AMAT: $499.48 million (1.44% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NYSE:XOM: $489.87 million (1.42% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NYSE:NEM: $483.92 million (1.40% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NYSE:MO: $467.63 million (1.35% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)

As of October 14, 2025, United Parcel Service shares were priced at $84.05, down 37.5% over the past year; shares have underperformed the S&P 500 by 47.9 percentage points on a price-change basis (ex-dividends) over the same period.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

United Parcel Service, Inc. is a global leader in integrated freight and logistics, operating in over 200 countries and territories. The company leverages a vast transportation network and advanced technology to provide reliable, time-definite delivery services. UPS’s scale, diversified service offering, and operational efficiency underpin its competitive position in the logistics sector.

The company offers letter and package delivery, transportation, logistics, and supply chain solutions across U.S. domestic and international markets. It generates revenue through time-definite air and ground shipping, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and ancillary logistics services.

United Parcel Service serves a diverse client base including businesses of all sizes, healthcare and life sciences organizations, and individual consumers globally.

Foolish Take

Pacer advisors, a private investment manager based out of Pennsylvania, recently disclosed the sale of nearly 3.9 million shares of United Parcel Service (UPS), worth more than $351 million. It’s another blow for a company whose stock has chronically underperformed key benchmarks recently.

For example, UPS shares have slipped nearly 48% over the last three years, while the S&P 500 has gained about 86% over the same period. That means UPS shares have underperformed the benchmark index by 134% dating back to late 2022.

Therefore, it’s no wonder that institutional support is drying up. Fund managers like Pacer are clearly retreating from the logistics giant. But why?

As is often the case, it comes down to fundamentals. Key metrics for UPS, like revenue, net income, and free cash flow have fallen steadily in recent years. Dating back to 2022, UPS’ revenue has fallen 10%; net income has dropped 50%; and free cash flow has slumped by an eye-popping 62%.

Clearly, a turnaround is needed for this iconic company. However, until the company can improve its overall fundamentals, retail investors may want to exercise caution with UPS stock.

Glossary

Assets Under Management (AUM): The total market value of all investments managed by a fund or investment firm.
Reportable U.S. Equity Assets: U.S. stock holdings that an investment manager must disclose in regulatory filings.
Stake: The ownership interest or position held in a company by an investor or fund.
Top Holdings: The largest investments in a fund’s portfolio, usually ranked by market value.
Dividend Yield: Annual dividends per share divided by the share price, expressed as a percentage.
Time-Definite Delivery: Shipping services that guarantee delivery by a specific date or time.
Freight Forwarding: The coordination and shipment of goods on behalf of shippers, often internationally.
Customs Brokerage: Service that helps importers and exporters comply with customs regulations and clear goods through customs.
Ancillary Logistics Services: Additional support services in logistics, such as warehousing, packaging, or inventory management.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

President Trump’s border advisor told reporters Thursday that federal authorities planned to increase immigration raids in Los Angeles and other so-called “sanctuary cities,” with Chicago likely the next target.

“You’re going to see a ramp up of operations in New York; you’re going to see a ramp up of operations continue in L.A., Portland, Seattle, all these sanctuary cities that refuse to work with ICE,” Tom Homan said.

Since June, Southern California has been ground zero of thousands of immigration arrests as well as legal battles over whether the raids violate the U.S. Constitution.

There is no agreed-upon definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Homan did not elaborate on specifics about new raids in L.A.

But talking to reporters Thursday morning, he said Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering using a naval base north of Chicago as its hub when potential enforcement raids take place in that city.

Tom Homan said, “there’s discussions about that, yes,” when asked by reporters outside the White House.

He didn’t provide an exact timeline for the use.

“The planning is still being discussed,” he said. “So, maybe by the end of today.”

Earlier this week, Trump said Chicago would likely be the next city in which he’ll direct a crackdown on crime and, in particular, illegal immigration.

He recently sent 2,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. after having dispatched soldiers, ICE and border patrol agents to Los Angeles since early June. The Department of Homeland Security said that as of Aug. 8, ICE and Border Patrol agents had arrested 2,792 undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles area.

“I think Chicago will be… next,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.

He also called the City of Broad Shoulders a “mess” and that its residents were “screaming for us to come.” Three days after Trump railed about crime in Chicago, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement, saying overall crime in the city had dropped by 21.6%, year to date, with homicides falling by 32.3%.

Homan would not commit to how many soldiers and agents would be used in any immigration enforcement.

“We’re not going to tell you how many resources we’re going to send to the city,” he said. “We don’t want the bad guys to know what we’re sending.”

He added, “It will be a large contingent.”

Since a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting federal agents from targeting people solely based on their race, language, vocation or location, the number of arrests in Southern California declined in July.

But raids are continuing, with Home Depot stores becoming a common target in recent weeks.

On Aug. 1, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Trump administration request to lift the restraining order prohibiting roving raids.

WASHINGTON — The FBI on Friday searched the Maryland home and Washington office of former Trump administration national security advisor John Bolton as part of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, a person familiar with the matter said.

Bolton, who emerged as an outspoken critic of President Trump after being fired in 2019 and fought with the first Trump administration over a scathing book he wrote documenting his time in the White House, was not in custody Friday and has not been charged with any crimes, said the person who was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The searches, seemingly the most significant public step the Justice Department has taken against a perceived enemy of the president, are likely to elicit fresh concerns that the Trump administration is using its law enforcement powers to target the Republican’s foes. They come as the Trump administration has moved to examine the activities of other critics, including by authorizing a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe that dogged Trump for much of his first term, and as FBI and Justice Department leaders signal their loyalty to the president.

Speaking to reporters during an unscheduled visit to the White House Historical Assn., Trump said he had seen news coverage of Friday’s searches and expected to be briefed about it by the Justice Department but also insisted he didn’t “want to know about it.”

“I could know about it. I could be the one starting it. I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer. But I feel that it’s better this way,” Trump said.

Bolton had said in interviews this year that he was mindful that he could be scrutinized, telling the AP in January shortly before Trump took office, “Anybody who ever disagrees with Trump has to worry about retribution. It’s a pretty long list.”

An FBI search like the one at Bolton’s properties requires authorization from a federal magistrate judge. It wasn’t immediately clear what information authorities submitted to demonstrate that they had probable cause of a crime, though the Justice Department years ago launched an investigation into whether Bolton improperly disclosed classified information in a book manuscript he had written. The inquiry was later closed.

Vice President JD Vance denied in an NBC News interview on Friday that Bolton was being targeted because of his criticism of Trump. “If there’s no crime here, we’re not going to prosecute it. If there is a crime here, of course, Ambassador Bolton will get his day in court. That’s how it should be.”

Bolton was in his office building at the time

Bolton was not home for the search of his home, but after it started, he was spotted Friday morning standing in the lobby of the Washington building where he keeps an office and talking to two people with “FBI” visible on their vests. He left a few minutes later and appeared to have gone upstairs in the building. Agents were seen taking bags into the office building through a back entrance.

Messages left with a spokesperson for Bolton were not immediately returned, and a lawyer who has represented Bolton had no immediate comment.

The Justice Department had no comment, but leaders appeared to cryptically refer to the searches in a series of social media posts Friday morning.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who included Bolton on a list of “members of the Executive Branch Deep State” in a 2023 book he wrote, posted on X: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.” Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi shared his post, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”

The Justice Department is separately conducting mortgage fraud investigations into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James, who brought a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his company, and ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith faces an investigation from an independent watchdog office. Schiff and James have vigorously denied any wrongdoing through their lawyers.

The Bolton searches also unfolded against the backdrop of a 2022 search for classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., an action that produced since-dismissed criminal charges but remains the source of outrage for the president and supporters who insist he was unjustly targeted despite the retrieval of top-secret records.

Patel said in a Fox Business Channel interview this week that the Mar-a-Lago search represented a “total weaponization and politicization” of the bureau, and Trump himself referenced it on Friday, telling reporters: “I guess his house was raided today, but my house was raided, also.”

Trump and Bolton have been at odds for years

Bolton served as Trump’s third national security advisor for 17 months and clashed with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea.

He faced scrutiny during the first Trump administration over a book he wrote about his time in government that officials argued disclosed classified information. To make its case, the Justice Department in 2020 submitted sworn statements from senior White House officials, including then-National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, asserting that Bolton’s manuscript included classified information that could harm national security if exposed.

Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.

The Biden administration Justice Department in 2021 abandoned its lawsuit and dropped a separate grand jury investigation, with Bolton’s lawyer calling the effort to block the book “politically motivated” and illegitimate.

Bolton’s harshly critical book, “The Room Where It Happened,” portrayed Trump as grossly ill-informed about foreign policy and said he “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.”

Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”

Bolton served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush and also held positions in President Reagan’s administration. He considered running for president in 2012 and 2016.

Trump, on his first day back in office this year, revoked the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials, including Bolton. Bolton was also among a group of former Trump officials whose security details were canceled by Trump earlier this year.

In 2022, an Iranian operative was charged in a plot to kill Bolton in presumed retaliation for a 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed the country’s most powerful general.

The handling of classified information by top government officials has been a politically loaded topic in recent years. Besides Trump, the Justice Department also investigated whether then-President Biden, a Democrat, mishandled classified information after serving as vice president in the Obama administration, and the FBI also recovered what it said were classified documents from the home of former Trump Vice President Mike Pence. Neither man was charged.

Tucker writes for the Associated Press . AP writers Michelle L. Price, Jill Colvin, Nathan Ellgren, Lindsay Whitehurst, Alanna Durkin Richer and Byron Tau contributed to this report.

SACRAMENTO — If there were more people like George Steffes in politics, the public wouldn’t hold the institution in such low esteem.

There’d be a lot less bull and much more thoughtful debate.

Paralytic polarization would give way to problem solving.

Steffes was the kind of person who people profess to want in the halls of government power.

If more Republicans like him were in Washington, there’d be no rationalization for tyrannical ICE raids at schools and workplaces because Congress and the president would have long ago compromised on immigration reform.

The Republican Party would still be modeled after Steffes’ early mentor — pragmatic conservative Ronald Reagan — and not be the misused tool of demagogue Donald Trump.

Steffes, 90, died peacefully in his sleep in a Sacramento hospital July 6. He was admitted two weeks earlier after a painful bathroom fall. The precise cause of death was unknown at this writing, according to his wife, Jamie Khan.

He was the last remaining top advisor of Gov. Reagan who remained in Sacramento after the future president moved on — the last person around the state Capitol with firsthand, close-up knowledge of the GOP icon’s governorship. He was Reagan’s lead legislative lobbyist.

Ordinarily, Steffes would be best known around the Capitol for being a past Reagan honcho. But he’s better known for being a classy guy.

No one in Sacramento for the last 60 years — at least — has been more liked, respected and successful as a lobbyist than Steffes. He’d easily rank in the top 10. No, make that top 5.

If there were more lobbyists like Steffes, the profession wouldn’t be such a pejorative.

He didn’t try to BS governors, legislators, clients or journalists. He was a straight shooter. People trusted him.

He always had a smile, but wasn’t a backslapper.

People instantly liked him — as I did when we first met in a Santa Cruz hotel bar one night in 1966 after a day of traipsing after Reagan running for governor. Steffes was a campaign aide. I was a reporter who found him highly interesting, thoughtful and candid.

But don’t take just my word about the guy.

“He was never part of the nonsense that is characteristic of those of us in politics,” former Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown told me. “I could rely on his word about good public policy. He was knowledgeable. He knew what he was doing.”

Brown, who was elected San Francisco mayor after leaving the Legislature, recalled that Steffes helped him pass a landmark bill “eliminating a law punishing people for being gay. I had to get Republican votes. George talked to them about how it wasn’t a bad vote to cast.”

The 1975 bill, signed by new Gov. Jerry Brown, repealed a century-old law prohibiting “crimes against nature.” The measure eliminated criminal penalties for oral sex and sodomy between consenting adults.

“The biggest thing that stands out to me about Steffes is how different he was from the mean-spirited slashing politics of today,” says Kip Lipper, a chief environmental consultant for several Democratic state Senate leaders. “He was unfailingly considerate, always in good spirits. He didn’t wear his politics on his sleeve like a lot of others.”

Retired journalist Lou Cannon, who has written several Reagan biographies, recalls that after the new Republican governor took office in 1967, he continued to bash Pat Brown, the Democratic incumbent he had trounced the previous year.

“George told him, ‘Governor, that ‘s not worthy of you.’ So Reagan stopped. And he actually became quite fond of Pat Brown. George was never afraid to say to Reagan that he was wrong about something. And Reagan appreciated that.”

If only we had some White House aides with that courage and wisdom today.

Cannon adds: “One of the reasons I liked George is he didn’t bulls— you. If he couldn’t tell you something, he’d tell you he couldn’t tell ya. He was straight. Some people you interview them and you think, ‘Why did I waste my time?’”

Public relations veteran Donna Lucas says, “He set the standard for good lobbying in the Capitol.”

One Steffes rule: “He would never ask a legislator to do anything that wasn’t in their interest as well,” says Jud Clark, a former legislative staffer for Democrats and a close friend and business associate of Steffes.

Before he retired a few years ago, Steffes had a very long A-list of clients, such as American Express, Bechtel, IBM, Exxon and Union Pacific.

He also represented less lucrative clients such as newspapers, including The Times. And he advocated for some interests pro bono, mostly golf associations.

His passion was golf. And he became a golf instructor after retiring from lobbying.

“George was such a cerebral teacher,” says a pupil, Capitol Weekly editor Rich Ehisen. “He didn’t spend a lot of time correcting your elbow bend. He focused on the mental part of the game.”

Steffes once told an interviewer: “Golf offered good lessons for life. If I had a bad stroke, I can’t fix it now. It’s in the past. … Sitting and stewing [about it] saps our mental energy. Focus on what you can do to move forward, win the issue.”

But Steffes did stew about the declining state of politics.

“Politics became too polarized — Republican conservatives, Democratic liberals. The middle ground where he used to operate was disappearing,” his wife, Jamie, told me last week.

Reagan’s GOP that formed Steffes’ philosophy of political pragmatism had already disappeared. In the last election, he voted for Democrat Kamala Harris over Republican nominee Trump.

Steffes was honest even with himself — a human quality possessed by too few in politics.

What else you should be reading

The must-read: Glimpse of Newsom’s presidential appeal, challenges seen during South Carolina tour
The TK: New poll finds most Californians believe American democracy is in peril
The L.A. Times Special: Six months after L.A. fires, Newsom calls for federal aid while criticizing the Trump administration

Until next week,
George Skelton

—
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Veteran Los Angeles political consultant Rick Taylor said he was pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents while returning from a trip abroad, asked if he was from California and then separated from his family and put in a holding room with several Latino travelers for nearly an hour.

“I know how the system works and have pretty good connections and I was still freaking out,” said Taylor, 71. “I could only imagine how I would be feeling if I didn’t understand the language and I didn’t know anyone.”

Taylor said he was at a loss to explain why he was singled out for extra questioning, but he speculated that perhaps it was because of the Obama-Biden T-shirt packed in his suitcase.

Taylor was returning from a weeklong vacation in Turks and Caicos with his wife and daughter, who were in a separate customs line, when a CBP agent asked, “Are you from California?” He said he answered, “Yeah, I live in Los Angeles.”

The man who ran campaigns for L.A.’s last Republican mayor and for current Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla when he was a budding Los Angeles City Council candidate in the 1990s found himself escorted to a waiting room and separated from his family.

There, Taylor said he waited 45 minutes without being released, alleging he was unjustly marked for detention and intimidated by CBP agents.

“I have no idea why I was targeted,” said Taylor, a consultant with the campaign to reelect L.A. City Councilwoman Traci Park. “They don’t talk to you. They don’t give you a reason. You’re just left confused, angry and worried.”

The story was first reported by Westside Current.

Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the incident brought to mind Sen. Alex Padilla, who was arrested and handcuffed June 12 while trying to ask a question during a Los Angeles press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“My former chief of staff and political consultant, Rick Taylor, was detained at Miami International Airport by federal authorities after returning from an international vacation,” he said in an email. “As Senator Alex Padilla said a couple of weeks ago, ‘if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone.’ This Federal government operation is OUT OF CONTROL! Where will it end?!”

A representative from the Customs and Border Protection in Florida said an inquiry made by the Los Angeles Times and received late Friday afternoon will likely be answered next week.

“If Mr. Taylor feels the need to, he is more than welcome to file a complaint online on our website and someone will reach out to him to try and get to the bottom of things,” CBP Public Affairs Specialist Alan Regalado said in an email.

Taylor, a partner at Dakota Communications, a strategic communications and marketing firm, said he was more concerned about traveling and returning to the U.S. with his wife, a U.S. citizen and native of Vietnam.

He said he reached out to a Trump administration member before leaving on vacation, asking if he could contact that individual in case his wife was detained.

The family flew American Airlines and landed in Miami on June 20, where he planned to visit friends before returning to Los Angeles on Tuesday.

In a twist, Taylor’s wife and daughter, both Global Entry cardholders, breezed through security while Taylor, who does not have Global Entry, was detained, he said.

He said after the agent confirmed he was a Los Angeles resident, he placed a small orange tag on his passport and was told to follow a green line. That led him to another agent and his eventual holding room.

Taylor described “95% of the population” inside the room as Latino and largely Spanish-speaking.

“I was one of three white dudes in the room,” he said. “I just kept wondering, ‘What I am doing here?’”

He said the lack of communication was “very intimidating,” though he was allowed to keep his phone and did send text message updates to his family.

“I have traveled a fair amount internationally and have never been pulled aside,” he said.

About 45 minutes into his holding, Taylor said an agent asked him to collect his luggage and hand it over for inspection.

He said he was released shortly after.

“The agents have succeeded in making me reassess travel,” Taylor said. “I would tell others to really think twice about traveling internationally while you have this administration in charge.”

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement carries out raids across Los Angeles, former daytime talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw and his TV network MeritTV are covering the actions and protests in the city.

McGraw conducted an interview Friday with White House border advisor Tom Homan, who was leading the agency’s raids. A portion of the interview was posted on MeritTV’s website and the network plans to air a conversation between the men that was “taped the day before and the day after the L.A. operation” in two parts beginning Monday at 5 p.m. PT, according to a network spokesperson reached via email. MeritTV, which launched late last year, primarily features McGraw’s show “Dr. Phil Primetime,” where he comments on the news and interviews figures ranging from New York City Mayor Eric Adams to businessman and former L.A. mayoral candidate Rick Caruso.

The TV host has previously embedded with ICE officials during raids, including in Chicago earlier this year, where he and his crew taped arrests. However, that wasn’t the case this time around in L.A., but crews from his network did capture footage from the enforcement action over the weekend.

“MeritTV news crews were on the ground during the recent ICE operation in L.A. on Friday,” a MeritTV spokesperson said. “In order to not escalate any situation, Dr. Phil McGraw did not join and was not embedded, as he previously was in Chicago.”

The interview was taped at the Homeland Security Investigations’ downtown field office. ICE declined to comment on the interview and whether McGraw was given advance notice of the raids.

McGraw was previously the host of his eponymous talk show, which ended in 2023 after 21 seasons. At the time, CBS Media Ventures, which syndicated the talk show, and McGraw said he wanted to expand his audience in a new venture because of “grave concerns for the American family.” During the 2024 election, McGraw spoke at then-presidential candidate Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, though he claimed it wasn’t an endorsement. However, he has been a proponent of the administration’s positions on immigration and he was recently named to the president’s religious liberty commission.