Today in one sentence: Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked a House committee from accessing Trump’s tax records; the Supreme Court refused to block a Georgia grand jury subpoena seeking Lindsey Graham's testimony about efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state; the Justice Department said “vigilante ballot security efforts” in Arizona “raise serious concerns of voter intimidation” and likely violate the federal Voting Rights Act; Twitter limited employee access to content moderation tools used to enforce its misinformation and civic integrity policies ahead of the midterm elections; and Biden warned that Republicans will put entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare, at risk if they take control of Congress.

1/ Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked a House committee from accessing Trump’s tax records. On Monday, Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the case, claiming the Ways and Means Committee doesn’t have a valid legislative purpose for obtaining his tax documents. Lower courts, however, have ruled that the committee has broad authority to obtain tax returns and rejected Trump’s claims that it was overstepping. Roberts said the case would remain on hold until the Supreme Court acts. He asked the committee to respond by noon on Nov. 10. (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / NBC News)

2/ The Supreme Court refused to block a Georgia grand jury subpoena seeking Lindsey Graham’s testimony about efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Graham had asked the Supreme Court to block the subpoena, claiming that his efforts in Georgia were part of his official legislative duties and therefore shielded from questioning. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, however, wrote in a petition seeking to compel his testimony that Graham made two calls to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the election and asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.” The court’s order was a paragraph long with no noted dissents. Graham’s testimony is currently scheduled for Nov. 17. (CNN / USA Today / CBS News / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / Politico)

  • A federal judge rejected Mark Meadows challenge to a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee, concluding that the former White House chief of staff was constitutionally barred from bringing it in the first place. Meadows, however, will likely appeal the ruling, effectively putting his testimony out of reach for the committee, which is slated to dissolve at the end of the year. (Politico / USA Today)

3/ The Justice Department said “vigilante ballot security efforts” in Arizona “raise serious concerns of voter intimidation” and likely violate the federal Voting Rights Act. The statement from the Justice Department comes days after a federal judge refused to stop a group of activists from gathering at and around ballot drop boxes to monitor voters in Maricopa County. The League of Women Voters alleged that several organizations planned “widespread campaigns to surveil and intimidate Arizona voters at ballot drop boxes and baselessly accuse them” of voter fraud. The so-called activists claim they’re watching for purported voter fraud, but election officials have reported that people in tactical gear and masks, including some with guns, have been watching over the drop boxes, taking photos and videos, and intimidating voters. (Washington Post / Associated Press / Axios / CNN)

4/ Twitter limited employee access to content moderation tools used to enforce its misinformation and civic integrity policies ahead of the midterm elections. Most of the people who work in Twitter’s Trust and Safety organization are currently unable penalize accounts that break rules around misleading information, offensive posts, or hate speech – many of the same policies that Trump routinely violated during the 2020 elections. (Bloomberg / NBC News)

5/ Biden warned that Republicans will put entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare, at risk if they take control of Congress. With a week until Election Day, Biden used a speech in Florida to assail what he called “mega-MAGA” Republicans, who proposed legislation to sunset all federal programs after five years, which would require a vote to keep programs like Social Security and Medicare intact. Biden contrasted the parties’ visions for the country, noting “this ain’t your father’s Republican Party” and that no Republicans voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions to lower health care premiums and prescription drug costs. About 21% of the people in Florida are over the age of 65 – the second highest of any state. (CNN / Washington Post / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)

Last year today: Day 286: "Enough is enough."
Three years ago today: Day 1016: Sensitive.
Four years ago today: Day 651: Doing a service.
Five years ago today: Day 286: The lowest point.