The Conversation -- April 26, 2025
Here's some bad news for the Trump mob -- Trump, Stephen Miller, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Kristi Noem, Tom Hogan, etc., and good news for due process, the rule of law, and moral rectitude. ~~~
~~~ Maegan Vazquez & Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "A U.S. district court judge has ordered two Venezuelan nationals living in Washington to be released from immigration custody, saying the federal government has failed to provide substantial evidence to declare either of them was an 'alien enemy' warranting removal under ... Donald Trump's order invoking the Alien Enemies Act. The decision, issued Friday by El Paso-based senior U.S. District Judge David Briones, marks the first time a judge has ruled that the Trump administration had erred in classifying someone as an 'alien enemy' and ordered a release.... The Supreme Court ruled that the government needed to give anyone labeled an 'alien enemy' a chance to contest that designation. The judge in El Paso also went a step further in specifying that going forward, the government must provide detainees 21 days to contest their status, and they must be given a notice in a language they can understand.... Briones also barred the removal of any noncitizen being held in federal immigration custody within his district -- a jurisdiction that includes El Paso and several counties along the U.S. border eastward into San Antonio and Austin -- under Trump's order."
Isabelle Taft of the New York Times: "F.B.I. agents arrested on Friday a Milwaukee judge [Hannah Dugan] accused of obstructing justice by directing an undocumented immigrant out of her courtroom through a side door while federal immigration agents waited in a hallway to arrest him.... The arrest has raised several questions -- many of which remain unanswered. Here's what we know so far." ~~~
The obvious purpose of the arrest of Judge Dugan on criminal charges is to intimidate and threaten all judges, state and local, across the country. -- J. Michael Luttig, a conservative former U.S. appeals court judge ~~~
~~~ Patrick Marley & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: "Officers handcuffed Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan in public. Attorney General Pam Bondi bragged on the Fox News show 'America Reports' about the administration's willingness to go after judges who 'think they're above the law.' FBI Director Kash Patel began the day by announcing Dugan's arrest on social media and ended it by posting a photo of agents leading her away.... Critics of the administration said the spectacle sent a chilling message.... Many scholars have dubbed the standoff between Trump and the courts a constitutional crisis. Judges have increasingly expressed alarm at the administration's dismissive response to orders blocking Trump's efforts to dismantle federal programs, fire government workers and fast-track deportations.... Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor..., called the arrest part of a pattern: 'An attempt to bludgeon, an attempt to coerce, an attempt to weaken the one branch of government that stands between the executive -- the Trump administration -- and it doing whatever it wishes to do.'"
Here's how devil's disciple & inappropriately dressed Donald Trump got a front-row seat at Pope Francis' funeral. Update -- Payback Time: Zelensky gets back at Trump for that Oval Office sartorial slam. Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~
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The New York Times' live update of Pope Francis' funeral are here.
David Sanger of the New York Times: Donald "Trump met privately with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Saturday in Rome, the White House said, on the sidelines of the funeral service for Pope Francis. It was the first time the two leaders had met in person since their televised argument in late February in the Oval Office that resulted in a deep breach between the two countries.... A White House spokesman, Stephen Cheung, called it a 'very productive discussion,' but gave no details."
Ken Vogel & Andrew Duehren of the New York Times: Donald "Trump has pardoned a Florida health care executive whose mother played a role in trying to expose the contents of Ashley Biden's diary. The pardon of the executive, Paul Walczak, was signed privately on Wednesday and posted on the Justice Department's website on Friday. It came less than two weeks after he was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution, for tax crimes that prosecutors said were used to finance a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of a yacht. Mr. Walczak's mother, Elizabeth Fago, who was also involved in the health care industry in Florida, is a longtime Republican donor and fund-raiser who played a role in a surreptitious effort to help Mr. Trump by undermining Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the 2020 presidential election.... There is no evidence that Mr. Walczak was involved in the effort to acquire the diary, and the charges against him were unrelated to the matter."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Across the executive branch, in agency after agency, it's amateur hour under the Trump administration." This is a gift link to a very good overview of the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Administration. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "If President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia drafted a shopping list of what he wanted from Washington, it would be hard to beat what he was offered [gift link] in the first 100 days of ... [Donald] Trump's new term. Pressure on Ukraine to surrender territory to Russia? Check. The promise of sanctions relief? Check. Absolution from invading Ukraine? Check.... But ... intentionally or not, many of the president's actions on other fronts also suit Moscow's interests, including the rifts he has opened wit America's traditional allies and the changes he has made to the U.S. government itself. Mr. Trump has been tearing down American institutions that have long aggravated Moscow, such as Voice of America and the National Endowment for Democracy. He has been disarming the nation in its netherworld battle against Russia by halting cyber offensive operations and curbing programs to combat Russian disinformation, election interference, sanctions violations and war crimes. He spared Russia from the tariffs that he is imposing on imports from nearly every other nation.... Yet he still applied the tariff on Ukraine, the other party he is negotiating with....
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio's new department restructuring plan likewise takes aim at offices that have aggravated Russia over the years, including the democracy and human rights bureau, which would be folded into an office for foreign assistance.... Mr. Rubio earlier this month shut down an office that tracked foreign disinformation from Russia and other adversaries, asserting that the Biden administration had tried to 'censor the voices of Americans.'" Read on. This is a gift link.
More on Steve Witkoff's excellent adventures in the Kremlin linked under "Russia," below.
Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Voters believe ... [Donald] Trump is overreaching with his aggressive efforts to expand executive power, and they have deep doubts about some of the signature pieces of his agenda, a New York Times/Siena College poll found. The turbulent early months of Mr. Trump's administration are seen as 'chaotic' and 'scary' by majorities of voters -- even many who approve of the job he is doing. Voters do not view him as understanding the problems in their daily lives and have soured on his leadership as he approaches his 100th day in office."
For years, Donald Trump, the United States' first dictator, has spoken out against many of the country's most essential institutions: the judiciary, the justice system, lawyers in general, the press, the universities and all manner of individuals who oppose him or simply refuse to do his bidding. He is no longer satisfied with criticism and threats. Now he is using the mechanisms of the executive branch of the federal government to do actual harm to these institutions and to some of the people and organizations that are a part of them. Yesterday, he upped his years of verbal attacks on the judiciary by sending out agents to snatch and grab a Milwaukee judge out of the courthouse parking lot and detain her. ~~~
⭐~~~ Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "F.B.I. agents arrested a Milwaukee judge on Friday on charges of obstructing immigration agents, saying she steered an undocumented immigrant through a side door in her courtroom while the agents waited to arrest him in a public hallway. The decision to charge a sitting state court judge is a major escalation in the Trump administration's battle with local authorities over deportations. The administration has demanded, under threat of investigation or prosecution, that local officials not impede federal efforts to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, and the arrest sent a message that the administration intends to take a harder line with those that do. The arrest of the judge, Hannah Dugan, comes after months of rising tensions between the Trump administration and the judiciary.... [Donald] Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly assailed 'local judges' for halting or questioning actions taken by the administration, particularly when it comes to immigration cases." Barrett goes on describe events leading up to Judge Dugan's arrest. "The judge was charged with obstructing a proceeding of a federal agency, and concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest....
"The bureau arrested Judge Dugan on suspicion that she 'intentionally misdirected federal agents,' Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, wrote on social media on Friday, before the charges were unsealed. On Friday night, Mr. Patel posted on social media a picture of the judge in handcuffs shortly after her arrest.... Pam Bondi, the attorney general, defended the arrest of the judge, telling Fox News that when someone obstructs justice by 'escorting a criminal defendant out a back door, it will not be tolerated.' 'It doesn't matter who you are, you're going to be prosecuted,' Ms. Bondi said. Ms. Bondi also discussed the recent arrest of a former judge in New Mexico, who was charged with obstruction over harboring a person federal agents said was a Venezuelan gang member. 'Some of these judges think they're above the law. They are not,' she said. 'We will come after you and prosecute you. We will find you.'" This is an update of a report linked yesterday as the news was breaking. ~~~
~~~ From an earlier version of the report: "F.B.I. Director Kash Patel ... later deleted the post for reasons that were not immediately clear." ~~~
~~~ Amanda Friedman & Juan Benn of Politico: Patel "later reposted an identical version of [his deleted post]." ~~~
~~~ The charging document is here, via the federal courts. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The purpose of Patel's original post was to humiliate Judge Dugan and to warn other judges that the FBI would get them, too, as AG Bondi later confirmed. For an FBI director to then post a photo of a judge in handcuffs is beyond the pale. I am hoping that Judge Dugan will successfully sue the FBI for false arrest & any other abuses ... and that she will sue Kash personally for intentionally and wantonly defaming her. ~~~
~~~ Alex Nguyen of Mother Jones: "The arrest of a sitting judge is a pivotal moment in the Trump administration's escalation of immigration enforcement.... According to interim guidance from a January 2025 memorandum by former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman -- who served as part of the Trump administration prior to Kristi Noem's US Senate confirmation -- officers can make civil immigration arrests 'in or near courthouses' when they have 'credible information' that the person in question will make an appearance. In the guidance document, former acting ICE director Caleb Vitello wrote that the directive would 'reduce safety risks to the public, targeted alien(s), and ICE officers and agents' and was necessary when jurisdictions 'refuse to honor immigration detainers.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: The policy might sound somewhat reasonable, but several pundits have pointed out that courts cannot operate and defendants cannot get fair trials if critical players in court proceedings -- defendants, victims, witnesses -- are afraid to come to courthouses for fear of being deported. ~~~
~~~ Joe Patrice of Above the Law: "As the Brennan Center notes, there's a reason why judges, generally, oppose ICE using their courthouses to make arrests. 'Back in 2018, nearly a hundred judges wrote to the Trump Admin to say that when ICE shows up to courthouses it scares away people who need to access the courts to keep them and their communities safe.' This fear is magnified when the administration is already on record that they aren't concerned about accidentally sending someone they pick up to an El Salvadoran gulag.... The agents of Law & Order: Clown Car Unit did not give Judge Dugan an opportunity to surrender, instead getting treated like a violent criminal for allegedly refusing to sacrifice her courtroom sovereignty.... Part of [the] judicial function is marking a clear delineation between executive law enforcement and the role of the judge -- and making sure judges aren't just fancy executive branch deputies requires judges being able to control their courthouses." ~~~
~~~ Chris Hayes put the arrest in context: ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration's brash moves to crack down on illegal immigration entered a fraught new phase Friday, with the FBI arrest of a local Wisconsin judge.... Any time you are arresting judges, you enter yet more constitutionally dicey territory, with the administration already flouting and resisting judges' orders. And the backdrop looms large here: The administration has, in recent weeks, ramped up its attacks against who it labels as radical activist judges who have ruled against many of its immigration actions. (In actuality, several of the judges have been Republican and even Trump appointees.)... Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) labeled [the Milwaukee judge's arrest and detention as] 'an attack on the separation of powers, and we will fight this with everything we have.'... In some of its first comments about the situation, the Trump administration didn't downplay the idea that this was connected to its broader crusade against the judiciary. Attorney General Pam Bondi actually seemed to lean into the idea that this was part of the larger pattern of judicial wrongs that the administration now seeks to right." ~~~
~~~ Andrew Solender of Axios: "Democratic lawmakers reacted with ferocity -- and some Republicans with cheers -- to the Friday arrest of Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly helping an undocumented defendant avoid arrest by ICE agents.... To Democrats, the arrest marks a significant escalation in ... [Donald] Trump's efforts to consolidate power and use federal law enforcement to crush legal obstacles to his agenda.... Democrats are already calling for an investigation into the arrest and the facts surrounding it.... Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), a House Judiciary Committee member, said there should 'absolutely' be a probe: 'On the face of it, this is dangerous and outrageous and it is designed to intimidate our judiciary.'" ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: "On Thursday..., Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate ActBlue, the Democratic Party-aligned fundraising site that has fueled so many successful challenges against his own party. The next day, amid a long-running feud with judges who have put some of his initiatives on hold because they may violate the Constitution, Trump's FBI arrested a Milwaukee judge, alleging she had helped a migrant evade immigration authorities. The two acts sent shockwaves through the legal and political worlds, which already have been reeling as Trump has used his office to target law firms, media outlets and individuals with whom he disagrees. The investigations are the latest version of a clear pattern in Trump's second term: The president has harnessed the power of the federal government to punish his enemies and anyone he sees as standing in his way."
C.J. Ciaramella of Reason: "Newly uncovered guidance from the Justice Department claims the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) allows federal law enforcement officers to enter the houses of suspected gang members without a warrant and remove them from the country without any judicial review. In a March 14 memorandum, obtained by the open government group Property of the People through a public records request and first reported by USA Today, Attorney General Pam Bondi instructs federal law enforcement officers on how to carry out arrests on members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TDA), which ... Donald Trump has declared are 'alien enemies' under the AEA.... The memo is one of the first public glimpses at the Trump administration's claims that it can identify, pursue, arrest, and deport migrants, unconstrained by the Fourth Amendment or due process.... Once a suspect is apprehended, Bondi claims they are 'not entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge, to an appeal of the removal order to the Board of Immigration Appeals, or to a judicial review of the removal in any court of the United States.'... Ryan Shapiro ... of Property of the People said in a press release[,] 'The documents reveal the Trump administration has authorized every single law enforcement officer in the country, including traffic cops, to engage in immigrant roundups explicitly outside due process.'..."
⭐ ICE (Probably Unlawfully) Deports Toddler-Citizen. Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge is raising alarms that the Trump administration deported a two-year-old U.S. citizen to Honduras with 'no meaningful process,' even as the child's father was frantically petitioning the courts to keep her in the country. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, said the child -- identified in court papers by the initials 'V.M.L.' -- appeared to have been released in Honduras earlier Friday, along with her Honduran-born mother and sister, who had been detained by immigration officials earlier in the week. The judge on Friday scheduled a hearing for May 16, which he said was 'in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.' The child, whose redacted U.S. birth certificate was filed in court and showed she was born in New Orleans in 2023, had been with her mother and sister during a regular immigration check-in at the New Orleans office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday. Officials there detained them and queued them up for deportation." The New York Times report is here. The CBS News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Charisma Madarang of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! News: "As part of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, three U.S. citizen children were deported with their mothers by the New Orleans Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday morning. One of the children was undergoing cancer treatment and one of the mothers is pregnant. Both families had lived in the country for years and had ties to their communities, according to the ...ACLU of Louisiana, which warns that the circumstances of their sudden deportations raises grave due process concerns. The civil rights organization says ... that one of the mothers was given less than one minute on the phone before the call was abruptly dropped, after her spouse attempted to provide a phone number to legal counsel. Among the children deported with their mothers, says the ACLU, are three U.S. citizens aged two, four, and seven. One of the children is a U.S. citizen child suffering from a rare form of metastatic cancer and was deported out of the country without medication or consultation with their treating physicians -- despite ICE being notified in advance of the child's medical needs. The civil rights organization says that one of the mothers is pregnant, and was deported without ensuring any continuity of prenatal care or proper medical care."
Zach Montague & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Friday abruptly moved to restore thousands of international students' ability to study in the United States legally, but immigration officials insisted they could still try to terminate that legal status despite a wave of legal challenges. The decision ... was a dramatic shift by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.... The administration has moved to cancel more than 1,500 student visas in recent weeks. On Friday morning, Joseph F. Carilli, a Justice Department lawyer, told a federal judge in Washington that immigration officials had begun work on a new system for reviewing and terminating the records of international students and academics studying in the United States. Until the process was complete, he said, student records that had been purged from a federal database in recent weeks would be restored, along with their legal status. A senior Department of Homeland Security official ... said ... on Friday [the students] could still very well have it terminated in the future, along with their visas.
The changes on Friday came amid a wave of individual lawsuits filed by students who have said they were notified that their legal right to study in the United States was rescinded, often with minimal explanation.... Upon learning that their records had been deleted from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System..., scores of students have sued to preserve their status, producing a flurry of emergency orders by judges blocking the changes by ICE." ~~~
~~~ Marie's Translation of Government Statements: Okay, we totally screwed up the first time we tried to throw all these disgusting foreigners out of the country, and the little brats took us to court. We don't have time for all that. But as soon as we figure out how to deport them in a way that bypasses the courts, we'll be back at it. With a vengeance. (Never mind that hosting international students is among the best and most cost-effective way of disseminating those noisome, passé "values" radical-left Americans have been touting for centuries.)
Perry Stein & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department on Friday rescinded a Biden-era policy that prevented officials from searching reporters' phone records when trying to identify government personnel who have leaked sensitive information to news organizations. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an internal memo that the media should not be afforded such protections, noting leaks of government information during the Trump administration.... Bondi said she must approve all attempts to question or arrest journalists. Still, she criticized the media's coverage of the president and added that the administration's support of the free press exists despite 'the lack of independence of certain members of the legacy news media.'... Under Trump['s first administration], the Justice Department sought court orders to obtain phone and email records of reporters at The Post, CNN and the New York Times, trying to identify who within the government's ranks was leaking information. Those investigations carried over into the Biden administration until -- in 2022 -- Attorney General Merrick Garland barred federal prosecutors from using those tactics." Axios first had the story here. The AP report is here.
William Turton, et al., of ProPublica: "A Treasury Department inspector general is probing efforts by ... Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to obtain private taxpayer data and other sensitive information.... The office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has sought a wide swath of information from IRS employees. In particular, the office is seeking any requests for taxpayer data from the president, the Executive Office of the President, DOGE or the president's Office of Management and Budget. The request, spelled out in a mid-April email obtained by ProPublica, comes as watchdogs and leading Democrats question whether DOGE has overstepped its bounds in seeking information about taxpayers, public employees or federal agencies that is typically highly restricted."
Tobi Raji of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service has ordered AmeriCorps to terminate close to $400 million in grants -- roughly 41 percent of the national service agency's total grant funding.... It&'s the latest blow to the organization, which deploys thousands of young people to work on community service projects across the United States. The decision to eliminate millions of dollars in grants affects 1,031 organizations, and 32,465 AmeriCorps members and senior volunteers.... Recipients [of grant termination notices] were told that their award 'no longer effectuates agency priorities,' according to notices reviewed by The Washington Post.... Last week, the White House put most of the agency's roughly 650 full-time staff members on paid administrative leave 'effective immediately.' Layoff notices began arriving Thursday, employees said, with an effective date of June 24."
Marie: Friday came and went, and Drunk Pete still has his job.
Hatch Act, Begone! Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "The Trump administration moved on Friday to weaken federal prohibitions on government employees showing support for ... [Donald] Trump while at work, embracing the notion that they should be allowed to wear campaign paraphernalia and removing an independent review board's role in policing violations. The Office of Special Counsel ... announced the changes to the interpretation of the Hatch Act, a Depression-era law devised to ensure that the federal work force operates free of political influence or coercion.... Mr. Trump rolled out [the revisions] at the end of his first term but ... President Joseph R. Biden Jr. repealed [them]. Critics have said the law was already largely toothless, and officials in the first Trump administration were routinely accused of violating it.... The changes do not roll back Hatch Act restrictions entirely, but do so in a way that uniquely benefits Mr. Trump: Visible support for candidates and their campaigns in the future is still banned, but support for the current officeholder is not. The move may not violate the law, because it will not influence the outcome of an election, experts say. But it threatens to further politicize the government's professional work force, which Mr. Trump has been seeking to bend to his will as he tests the bounds of executive power." ~~~
~~~ Marie: That reminds me that you can now go to the Trump Organization's store and buy MAGA hats & T-shirts bearing the slogan "Trump 2028."
Hassan Kanu of Politico: "A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to rescind collective bargaining rights from employees at nearly a dozen government agencies and departments. The order from U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman requires federal agencies to engage with their employees' unions and to resume collecting dues payments, among other normal employee relations business. The judge's order covers employees at the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Energy, the Office of Personnel Management and other major agencies." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "A coalition of 19 states sued the Trump administration on Friday over its threat to withhold federal funding from states and districts with certain diversity programs in their public schools. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by the attorneys general in California, New York, Illinois, Minnesota and other Democratic-leaning states, who argue that the Trump administration's demand is illegal. The lawsuit centers on an April 3 memo the Trump administration sent to states, requiring them to certify that they do not use certain diversity, equity and inclusion programs that the administration has said are illegal. States that did not certify risked losing federal funding for low-income students. Rob Bonta, the California attorney general, said at a news conference on Friday that the Trump administration had distorted federal civil rights law to force states to abandon legal diversity programs."
Sophia Cai, et al., of Politico: "The Trump administration is poised to eliminate dozens of federal programs, including protective services for vulnerable seniors, chronic disease self-management education, resource centers for people who have been paralyzed or lost a limb and one that tries to help older people prevent falls. Even a more modest federal initiative aimed at making polling places more accessible would be eliminated under the proposal. All of these programs facing the knife fall under the Administration for Community Living, a component of the Department of Health and Human Services that aims to help older adults and people with disabilities remain in their homes and communities. The whole department is being zeroed out, according to the budget proposal.... Alison Barkoff, former acting administrator of ACL..., [said], 'The combination of dismantling ACL and eliminating programs along the lines of what's proposed would decimate the system that keeps older adults and people with disabilities in their homes and out of far more expensive institutions.'..."
Ariana Cha, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration has retreated from a controversial plan for a national registry of people with autism just days after announcing it as part of a new health initiative that would link personal medical records to information from pharmacies and smartwatches. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, unveiled the broad, data-driven initiative to a panel of experts Tuesday, saying it would include 'national disease registries, including a new one for autism' that would accelerate research into the rapid rise in diagnoses of the condition. The announcement sparked backlash in subsequent days over potential privacy violations, lack of consent and the risk of long-term misuse of sensitive data. The Trump administration still will pursue large-scale data collection, but without the registry that drew the most intense criticism, the Department of Health and Human Services said."
Today's Special: Chicken Salmonella. Angie Hernandez of the Washington Post: "The Agriculture Department on Thursday axed a Biden-era proposal to limit salmonella levels in raw chicken and turkey products as part of an effort to reduce food poisoning. The agency said it received more than 7,000 comments about the proposed rule, which it withdrew after concluding it would have imposed an 'overwhelming burden' on small poultry producers and processors. Food-safety experts criticized the decision, saying the withdrawal signaled an unwillingness to more aggressively protect the public from foodborne illnesses."
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin apologized this week for praising a pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendant who supported Nazi ideology and photographed himself posing as Adolf Hitler, saying he didn't know about the man's extremist statements. But in videos and podcasts, Martin has defended the man since at least 2023, calling him a friend who was 'slurred and smeared' by antisemitism allegations. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 35, was one of the first Capitol riot defendants charged and one of the first to enter the building through a smashed window. Court filings outlined his history of alleged antisemitic statements, posts and affinity for Hitler.... In remarks published Thursday by the Forward, a Jewish publication, Martin apologized for praising Hale-Cusanelli as 'an extraordinary man, and extraordinary leader' while presenting him with an honorary award from Martin's nonprofit group on Aug. 14 at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.... Martin's attempt to distance himself from Hale-Cusanelli came as Senate Democrats have attacked their relationship, demanding a hearing and floor votes to force GOP leaders to decide how much time and political capital to spend on the nomination." ~~~
~~~ Marie: To be clear, this is the guy we're talking about. Martin has known him for at least a couple of years but was completely unable to discern that this fellow was a Hitler fan:
Will Oremus & Julian of the Washington Post: "The acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia sent a letter to the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia, accusing the tax-exempt organization of 'allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.'... Martin asked the foundation to provide detailed information about its editorial process, its trust and safety measures, and how it protects its information from foreign actors.... The letter, which was earlier reported by the Free Press, is part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration and its allies ... against institutions, media outlets and online platforms they have accused of pushing liberal agendas or political views. It builds on growing conservative criticism of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that is collaboratively written and edited by thousands of volunteer contributors from around the world.&" ~~~
~~~ You're not alone, Wikipedia. Ed threatens every publication that he feels is not sufficiently promoting his fascistic ideology: ~~~
~~~ Teddy Rosenbluth of the New York Times: "A federal prosecutor in Washington has contacted The New England Journal of Medicine, considered the world's most prestigious medical journal, with questions that suggested without evidence that it was biased against certain views and influenced by external pressures. Dr. Eric Rubin, the editor in chief of N.E.J.M., described the letter as 'vaguely threatening' in an interview with The New York Times. At least three other journals have received similar letters from Edward Martin Jr., a Republican activist serving as interim U.S. attorney in Washington. Mr. Martin has been criticized for using his office to target opponents of the administration. His letters accused the publications of being 'partisans in various scientific debates' and asked a series of accusatory questions about bias and the selection of research articles.... Amanda Shanor, a First Amendment expert at the University of Pennsylvania, said the information published in reputable medical journals like N.E.J.M. is broadly protected by the Constitution. In most cases, journals have the same robust rights that apply to newspapers -- the strongest the Constitution provides, she added." ~~~
~~~ Evan Bush of NBC News: "British medical journal The Lancet, which did not receive one of the letters, published an editorial describing the inquiries as 'harassment' and intimidation, adding that U.S. science was being 'violently dismembered' by the Trump administration.... The inquiry into scientific journals comes as the Trump administration has executed funding and personnel cuts to federal science, health and research agencies."
Judge to Bondi: STFU. Benjamin Weiser & Anusha Bayya of the New York Times: "The judge overseeing the federal prosecution of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing a health insurance executive in Manhattan, on Friday warned the U.S. attorney general to keep quiet about him to ensure a fair trial[.] As Mr. Mangione, 26, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge that could bring the death penalty, the judge, Margaret Garnett, made it clear that she wanted to depoliticize the circuslike atmosphere surrounding the case.... Attorney General Pam Bondi ... had announced that the government would seek capital punishment against him 'as we carry out President Trump's agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.'... Inside the packed courtroom, Judge Garnett directed prosecutors to convey her caution against public commentary to the interim U.S. attorney, Jay Clayton, and asked that he pass on the message to Ms. Bondi 'and any of her subordinates at Main Justice.' Mr. Mangione's lawyers had already complained about Ms. Bondi's public statements."
Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "George Santos, the former Republican congressman from New York whose outlandish fabrications and criminal schemes fueled an unforeseen rise and spectacular fall, was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison on Friday. His 87-month sentence was a severe corrective to a turbulent period in which Mr. Santos was catapulted from anonymity to political and pop cultural infamy, a national spotlight that, even when negative, he often relished more than rejected. Mr. Santos pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He acknowledged his involvement in a variety of other deceptions, including lying to Congress, fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits and bilking campaign donors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars." (Also linked yesterday.)
Sarah Fitzpatrick & Rich Schapiro of NBC News: "Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse, has died by suicide, her family said Friday. Giuffre, 41, died in Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years. Giuffre was one of the earliest and loudest voices calling for criminal charges against Epstein and his enablers. Other Epstein abuse survivors later credited her with giving them the courage to speak out."
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Russia. Mary Ilushina of the Washington Post: "A high-ranking Russian military official was killed Friday in an explosion in a suburb of Moscow, in what authorities are treating as a case of murder.... Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik ... was killed when a vehicle rigged with an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel detonated. Surveillance footage ... suggests Moskalik was walking past the car at the time of the explosion.... The incident coincides with the meeting of ... Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow for high-stakes talks with President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin disclosed few details following the three-hour meeting between Witkoff and Putin, their fourth in recent months, as Trump continues to push for a resolution to the three-year war in Ukraine. Yury Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy adviser, described the talks as 'constructive,' saying they helped narrow the gap between Russian and U.S. positions not only on Ukraine but on several broader international issues. Ushakov added the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives was discussed."
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