The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by Citi — Trump blasts NY Times tax report as 'hit piece' | What to know about the report | FBI under pressure over Kavanaugh investigation | How probe could play out | Trump under fire for mocking Ford's testimony | Collins calls remarks 'plain wrong' | Why your phone will buzz at 2:18 p.m.

Presented by Citi | View in Browser   GETTING TRACTION The reaction we were all waiting for:   This morning, President Trump accused The New York Times of writing a "hit piece" against him after their bombshell report on his tax strategies. He tweeted: "The Failing New York Times did something I have never seen done before. They used the concept of 'time value of money' in doing a very old, boring and often told hit piece on me. Added up, this means that 97% of their stories on me are bad. Never recovered from bad election call!" http://bit.ly/2P5oGW7   The New York Times investigation Trump was referring to.... How the Trump family avoided paying $500 million in inheritance taxes: The New York Times's David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner published a major investigation into President Trump and his family's history of practices to avoid tax payments. The gist: "The president has long sold himself as a self-made billionaire, but a Times investigation found that he received at least $413 million in today's dollars from his father's real estate empire, much of it through tax dodges in the 1990s." It's worth reading: https://nyti.ms/2xUd55O   THE LINE ABOUT AVOIDING $500 MILLION IN INHERITANCE TAXES: These maneuvers met with little resistance from the Internal Revenue Service, The Times found. The president's parents, Fred and Mary Trump, transferred well over $1 billion in wealth to their children, which could have produced a tax bill of at least $550 million under the 55 percent tax rate then imposed on gifts and inheritances."    LOL, YOU KNOW IT'S LONG WHEN THE PUBLISHER OF THE INVESTIGATION ALSO PUBLISHES A 'SPARK NOTES' VERSION: The New York Times published a list of 11 takeaways from the investigation: Read this if you don't have time to read the full piece: https://nyti.ms/2DSDarp   TIDBIT ON THE MANPOWER TO DO THIS REPORTING: Via The Boston Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont: "Why newspapers? Because: NYT tax story on Trump...3 reporters x 1.5 years. Total 4.5 years of man hours..." http://bit.ly/2RmlKpN   It's Wednesday, Oct. 3 -- "Mean Girls" fans know what that means! --> http://bit.ly/2y6IReY I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.     LATEST WITH THE KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION FIGHT I'm waiting for the FBI to put up an "Out of Office" sign: Via The Hill's Morgan Chalfant, the FBI has become the eye of the Senate storm in the confirmation battle of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The two scenarios: "Should the FBI turn up evidence that corroborates the allegations against Kavanaugh or that casts doubt on his testimony, it could derail his nomination. But if the FBI report has the appearance of clearing Kavanaugh, it will pave the way for Republicans to secure key swing votes." What to expect: http://bit.ly/2DUIHO8   Security is tight on Capitol Hill: "The US Capitol Police is planning to move all media out of this hallway when [Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)] departs the hearing room she's in. This hallway is open to the public." What the situation looks like: http://bit.ly/2zOvORN   THIS MORNING, TRUMP TWEETED ABOUT KAVANAUGH: "I see it each time I go out to Rallies in order to help some of our great Republican candidates. VOTERS ARE REALLY ANGRY AT THE VICIOUS AND DESPICABLE WAY DEMOCRATS ARE TREATING BRETT KAVANAUGH! He and his wonderful family deserve much better." http://bit.ly/2OC2gyI   Reaction from Politico's Josh Gerstein: "NARRATOR: The confirmation process for Kavanaugh was halted and the FBI background investigation reopened based on the actions and concerns of three Republican senators." http://bit.ly/2QsrI7c   TIDBIT FROM TRUMP'S RALLY LAST NIGHT: The president mocked Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault. How Trump mocked her: "How did you get home? I don't remember. How'd you get there? I don't remember. Where is the place? I don't remember. How many years ago was it? I don't know. What neighborhood was it in? I don't know. Where's the house? I don't know. Upstairs, downstairs, where was it? I don't know, but I had one beer. That's the only thing I remember." Watch the clip: http://bit.ly/2y9U5ja   ^THIS A.M. -- SEN. COLLINS REACTED TO TRUMP'S COMMENTS: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) criticized Trump's remarks. "The president's comments were just plain wrong," Collins told reporters who were camped outside of an unrelated Senate Aging Committee hearing, which Collins oversees. Keep in mind: Collins is the second swing-vote senator to denounce Trump's comments. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) called them "kind of appalling." http://bit.ly/2ICSoPK   HAPPENING AT 2:18 PM EDT I'm psychic and I predict that your smartphone will go off at 2:18: 225 million smartphones will receive a test of the new national Presidential Alert system this afternoon. Think: The alert is similar to statewide weather alerts and Amber alerts, but for a national emergency. https://ti.me/2xXgPmV   Who is sending out the message?: The Federal Emergency Management Agency.   For context on how many people it will reach: By sending the message to all 225 million smartphones in the U.S., FEMA will reach about 75 percent of the population.   Why it's happening today: This test was originally schedule for Sept. 20, but was postponed because of Hurricane Florence.   Sorry to give away the punch line, but: The alert will say, "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."   Can you opt out?: No.   IN OTHER NEWS Why Instagram addicts were prickly this morning: Instagram had an outage for several hours last night, including in North America and Europe. But don't fret: Service was restored this morning. http://bit.ly/2Rp8Kzs   Lol -- the Queensland Police in Australia tweeted:      NOTABLE TWEETS If you're curious how much TV contributors are paid:   Read the full GQ story, "The Great White House Reporter Glow-Up": http://bit.ly/2IzniJ5     ON TAP The Senate is in. The House is out. President Trump and Vice President Pence are both in Washington, D.C., today.   Today: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is placing more than 5,000 flags on the National Mall to honor the veterans who have died from suicide so far this year. https://nyti.ms/2O1Gi8N   11:30 a.m. EDT: President Trump receives an intelligence briefing.   12:30 p.m. EDT: President Trump has lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.   1:45 p.m. EDT: President Trump meets with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.   4 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence meets with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and the executive director of the National Space Council.   7 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence campaigns for Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) in Alexandria, Va.   This week: First lady Melania Trump is on her first major solo international trip. Her stops: Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt. Details: https://cnn.it/2NingpC   WHAT TO WATCH 1 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is holding a press briefing. Keep in mind: White House press briefings are pretty rare these days. Livestream: http://bit.ly/2DVSjbi   2:30 p.m. EDT: Olympic officials testify at a Senate hearing on the prevention of sexual abuse of athletes. Livestream: https://cs.pn/2xSb4He   NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF... Today is National Pumpkin Seed Day.    And as a heads up, tomorrow is National Taco Day! I expect you will all celebrate accordingly.   Early Christmas shopping anyone?!: You can now buy the 2019 Russian calendar featuring President Vladimir Putin doing manly things. Including: Shirtless Putin. Photos -- they do not disappoint: https://cnn.it/2y9OcCA   And to leave you on a good note: If professional dog wrestling existed, here's what it would definitely look like: http://bit.ly/2RkVZpP   To view past editions of The Hill's 12:30 Report, CLICK HERE. To receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox, PLEASE SIGN UP HERE. Sign Up for 12:30 Report FORWARD 12:30 Report Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2017 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.