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.
In this week’s news from the ooze: Steve Bannon, Muriel Bowser, Paul Hammil, Dragan Šutanovac, Jeffrey Epstein, Ted Maxwell, Weijia Jiang, Melania Trump, Eugene Daniels, Kash Patel, Elena Kagan, Eric Swalwell, Kari Lake, Samuel Alito, Tony Gonzalez, Angelina Jolie, Osama Bin Laden, and J. Edgar Boozer.
This Will Peak Pique People’s Interest
Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Global Partnerships is flying to Africa on a mission of high importance—to change the name of Mount Kilimanjaro to Mount Trump.
“I was talking to the minister of Tanzania. I said I’m coming but I’m changing the name,” Paolo Zampolli said in Washington on Friday. It would be a literally explosive move: Africa’s highest peak is a volcano, as well as a setting for a heartbreaking Ernest Hemingway short story.
The Trump superfan was speaking about the 19,341 ft. peak—the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world—to The Times of London after The Swamp dropped by his northwest Washington townhouse.
In 1998, at a New York party that looms large in MAGA lore, the 56-year-old Italian businessman introduced Donald Trump to his future wife, Melania. Nearly three decades later, the modeling agent turned presidential envoy Zampolli is still throwing parties—only now they take place at a D.C. residence doubling as a shrine to the president.
The guest list at his latest shindig skewed predictably eclectic: a mix of DHS and Pentagon staffers, a smattering of journalists and diplomats, and a rotating cast of older men and younger women making the most of Zampolli’s wine and salami platters. The real star, however, was the décor.
Guests entering the home are immediately confronted by two giant, identical oil paintings of Trump’s official presidential portrait, positioned like twin sentinels. If that doesn’t set the tone, the staircase does. At its base: another oversized image of Trump flanked by administration officials. At the top: yet another towering depiction of the president, overshadowed only slightly by an enormous framed image of Angelina Jolie.
While the kitchen softens things slightly with an ethereal painting of a much younger Melania Trump, the living room does not. There’s a model Air Force One plane sitting on a shelf filled with photos of Zampolli with the Trumps, and plenty of FIFA and America250 memorabilia.
Surprisingly, there’s also a picture of Zampolli’s ex partner Amanda Unguro, who recently accused him of using his influence to get her deported (claims he vehemently denies) and has threatened to spill the tea about alleged connections between her old pal Melania and Jeffrey Epstein.
“She knows that I witnessed highly compromising interactions over the course of 20 years,” Ungaro said in an interview with the Courier over the weekend, without providing details.
And yes, there are cameras everywhere - a throwback, perhaps, to Zampolli’s days as a modeling agent, when he controversially proposed setting up a live camera feed in one of the Manhattan apartments that housed his models. “The girls will get major exposure,” he told New York Magazine in 2000.
In this D.C. party house, Donald Trump looms large—and, here at least, the idea of putting an elderly, white American’s name atop Africa’s highest mountain makes perfect sense. After all, we know how much the president loves hiking up steep trails from the way he climbs onto Air Force One like it’s one of the seven summits.
Trump Kicks Up a Stink Over Leak
Nothing ruins a carefully stage-managed patriotic spectacle like the lingering perfume of Eu de Sewer, especially when you’re a famously germophobic president. Donald Trump is said to have been apoplectic after 240 million gallons of raw sewerage spilled into the Potomac River earlier this year—just as Washington geared up for his long-hyped America250 celebrations, which, not coincidentally, align neatly with his upcoming 80th birthday. This week, his Justice Department took the president’s grievance even further, filing a civil lawsuit against DC Water, the independent authority that provides drinking water and wastewater treatment in the nation’s capital. According to the complaint, DC Water let millions of gallons of untreated sewage bypass safeguards and pour straight into the 405-mile-long waterway. The result: elevated bacteria levels, public health warnings, and an immediate gag reflex—not exactly the shimmering backdrop Team Trump had in mind. In Trumpworld, visuals matter. And apparently, the smells do, too.
Walls Falling in on MAGA Architect
Steve Bannon can certainly misread a room—and last week in Washington, he did it spectacularly. At the Semafor World Economy forum inside the Conrad Hotel in downtown DC, Bannon trotted out the kind of red-meat lines that electrify the MAGA party faithful. There was just one problem: this wasn’t a War Room taping, and the crowd wasn’t buying his rant. When Bannon claimed MAGA had “banned Sharia law” in Texas and would soon ban H-1B visas—used by U.S. companies to recruit highly skilled foreign workers—audience members audibly scoffed. The reaction only worsened as he doubled down, delivering grievances that worked so well at last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference, but landed with a thud among the more buttoned-up, policy-literate D.C. set. Bannon, clearly irritated, snapped back. “Laugh all you want, but he who laughs last, laughs best,” the former White House strategist lamented. Someone should remind Bannon that there’s another saying: “He who laughs last, doesn’t get the joke.”
SPOTTED: Serbian Deputy First Deputy Prime Minister Siniša Mali headlined a reception at the private residence of Serbia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Dragan Šutanovac. Guests included DC consultant Paul Hammil; The Market Rep president Eliot Williamson; and Paolo Zampolli and his son Giovanni. Joe Biden spoke at the inauguration of the new President of the University of Delaware, Laura Carlson, in the university’s Mitchell Hall. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser danced up a storm at Sunday’s Emancipation Day party on Pennsylvania Avenue. Former Senator Joe Manchin walked onto the Senate floor with Cory Booker before schmoozing it up with former colleagues from both sides of the aisle. Guess he’s one of the few people who miss Congress? Hall of Fame football player Larry Fitzgerald Jr. was on Capitol Hill where he was sitting just over the shoulder of Trump nominee Kevin Warsh at his confirmation hearing to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. His silent presence in the Senate Banking Committee hearing went completely unaddressed by lawmakers as they put Warsh under the microscope.
MAGA-Coded CBS Runs Offensive for Trump at WHCA Dinner
For an event that is all about politics, it seems there was a political reason for Donald Trump’s change of heart to attend this year’s dinner next Saturday night with First Lady Melania.
Last year, The Daily Beast and The Swamp had a table of our own at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual black-tie bash. The WHCA president was Eugene Daniels, who left Politico shortly before the 2025 dinner to join lefty MSNBC as a Washington correspondent and co-host of The Weekend. Trump was a no-show, worried about the welcome he’d get from the audience he has relentlessly derided as “fake news.”
Fast forward to Saturday, and The Swamp’s request for two tables was rejected. We were offered just five seats, presumably because of the sudden MAGA rush to balance out the boos. The 2026 WHCA president is Weijia Jiang, the senior White House Correspondent for MAGA-coded CBS, which might explain why the president has deigned to attend, and there will be a spattering of his henchmen—including Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Duffy, Scott Bessent, Lee Zeldin, and Mike Waltz (see you on Signal, Mike!)—at various tables of the more Trump-friendly publications. It might also be why there is no comedian this year to perform the traditional roast (often at the president’s expense). Instead, this year’s “entertainment” is mentalist Oz Pearlman.
We can’t wait to see how Weijia handles the strong sentiment in the media that those attending should not kowtow to the president. Dan Rather, Ann Curry, and Sam Donaldson were among the broadcasting greats who sent her an open letter demanding the WHCA “stop the polite nonsense” and stand up to Trump.
One giant clue to where CBS sits in all this—the network’s star guest for the dinner is Secretary of Bore Pete Hegseth.
It’s also worth noting that 15 years ago, President Barack Obama was praised for maintaining his cool while performing at the 2011 WHCD after authorizing SEAL Team 6 to conduct a covert raid into Pakistan where Osama Bin Laden was hiding. The next day, Obama announced the death of the 9/11 mastermind. Could Trump have plans to follow the Obama playbook?
The Party Is Over Post Lewis
The party of the weekend at last year’s WHCA dinner was the Washington Post’s caviar bump bazaar at the exclusive Ned’s Club in D.C. that reportedly cost thirsty publisher Will Lewis (and therefore owner Jeff Bezos) over $1 million. This year, the Post can scarcely rustle up enough staff to fill a table.
Another Maxwell and the Art of Overcoming Aunt Ghislaine
The old adage goes that you can’t choose your family. For Ted Maxwell, that rings especially true. His grandfather, Robert Maxwell, was the media tycoon and one-time owner of the New York Daily News who fell off his yacht riddled with debt and scandal. If that isn’t tough enough, Ted’s aunt is Ghislaine Maxwell, and there can’t be many in the United States who don’t know what she did (except, of course, the current president). Ted’s father is British businessman Kevin Maxwell, who was acquitted of fraud in 1996 following the collapse of his father’s empire. You would think that Ted, 39, who is married with four children, would keep a nice, low profile, but he is currently running for office in a local authority in London. “This surname is much more of a headache than a door opener,” he told The Times. He isn’t campaigning to change the world, just to slow down London traffic. Maybe we could do with another Maxwell in D.C. after all!
Judge for Yourselves…
With Samuel Alito’s recent illness and the White House plotting to persuade the aging Supreme Court justice to step down, writer and Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway must have been relieved to get her biography published today. But anyone hoping for a measured look at the Trumpy justice in Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution will be disappointed.
The “unflinching author of the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade” is the hero coming under “unprecedented attack in a polarized age.” No prizes for guessing who the villains of the book are. There are certainly some eye-popping claims, including that Elena Kagan had a tantrum at Stephen Breyer which set the walls quivering. (If that seems somewhat unlikely, Hemingway claims she spoke to multiple justices. Still, color The Swamp skeptical that Kagan and Breyer were rushing to speak to a MAGA loyalist. SCOTUS is yet to respond to our request for comment.) Alito is publishing his own tome in October, by which time he may have all the time in the world to promote it.
Taxing Matters
Nothing says “America First” like billionaire Donald Trump trying to raid the U.S. government coffers to the tune of $10 billion from taxpayers. Trump’s legal team requested the court give the president (along with his two older sons and the Trump Organization) 90 days to engage in discussions with the IRS to “resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.” The president sued the IRS over his leaked tax documents, but it looks like the president now wants to settle with the agency under the control of his minion Scott Bessent. How cosy!
Naughty at Ned’s
D.C.’s glitzy private club, Ned’s, isn’t just where FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly drinks away his paranoia. It’s also where one special assistant to the president has been spotted cozying up to his subordinates, witnesses tell The Swamp.
The POTUS appointee was seen alongside a younger, entry-level White House staffer at the elite club, which carries a $5,000 initiation fee and the same in annual dues. At a bar-top table, the zillennial special assistant was seen getting far too touchy-feely with his underling—a blond in her early 20s.
The Swamp is told the special assistant is “notorious” for chasing subordinates, junior aides, and anyone eager for entry into Donald Trump’s inner circle—and that he doesn’t take rejection lightly. That night, he only paused his advances to trade barbs with a Democratic strategist also at the club.
Liaisons dangereuses are of course quotidien in D.C., and while conducting them in front of a venue frequented by top Trump officials, lawmakers, and journalists is somewhat eyebrow-raising, it’s hardly the most sordid scandal to ripple through the capital in recent weeks.
In February, the husband of the now-ousted Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, was banned from entering Labor Department headquarters after two female staffers reported him for inappropriate touching. And it was just last week that Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell and Republican Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales both resigned from Congress following extreme sexual misconduct allegations involving subordinates.
As for Ned’s, it’s only the latest alleged scandal to emerge from D.C.’s toniest club, opened last year by the creators of Soho House. If you listen closely, you may still hear echoes of screeching from Kari Lake. She and her middle-finger-wielding companion got into a heated verbal brawl with a Democratic guest, as The Swamp previously revealed. The altercation ended with the Trump appointee being branded persona non grata. Apparently, flipping the bird is considered less forgivable in some D.C. circles than seducing subordinates.
Usha’s Bedtime Stories to Keep Kids Awoke
Storytime with the Second Lady dropped its fourth episode on April 16 on Youtube and the Usha Vance-hosted woke train continues to chug along. The latest guest is Ian Fray, a defender for Inter Miami CF. In case any MAGA folk might be nervous about Fray potentially being foreign-born, the second lady removes all doubt right at the top. “Today’s special reader is a professional soccer player who grew up right here in the United States,” Vance says to kick off the show. Fray read “X Marks the Spot” about a non-white child who moves from an outdoorsy town to the big city. The boy named X misses nature but comes to realize that “Whether city or mountain, the rain was the same.” Vance said she appreciated how X faces challenges “but really finds a way inside himself to adapt. And to make a new home.” Like she did herself in MAGA and the Old Naval Observatory? In other children’s book news, former President Barack Obama teamed up with current New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week to read “Alone and Together” to preschoolers in the Bronx. That clip went viral, racking up over 380,000 views on the Eyewitness News ABC7NY site alone. In five days, “Storytime with the Second Lady” has tallied 612 views. (609 if you don’t count editors of The Swamp.)
