THere are a few ways to understand the political influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
You can look at the big picture to grasp the immense sums of money spent by AIPAC on lobbying. You can study it more granularly, looking at specific races where the pro-Israel group has recruited and funded winning candidates.
Or you can listen to the words of progressive legislators who fear they’ll suffer the same fate as Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who was ousted in the Democratic primary after AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, poured millions of dollars into the race.
“I interviewed Rep. Delia Ramirez at the DNC who said to me that she has had conversations with multiple people in Congress — other members — who have said, ‘I don’t want them to Jamaal me,’ referring to what happened to Bowman in his race,” says The Intercept’s Akela Lacy in this episode of The Intercept Briefing.
“Not only are they concerned about what AIPAC could do to them if they come out against Israel,” Lacy says in a conversation with The Intercept’s Jessica Washington, “but what will AIPAC do to them if they stay silent?”
Listen to learn more about how AIPAC uses its influence to push American elected officials into policies that benefit Israel.
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
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IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
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I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
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