OpEd: During its first few weeks, the Trump Administration has unleashed a flurry of measures to radically reshape the federal government. Many of these moves are overtly unlawful. This paper identifies the legal problems with many of the most prominent actions: freezing funding, amending or repealing rules, and denying citizenship to children born in the United States. read more
From the billionaire who said real-time surveillance is good for keeping us in check. read more
House Republicans released a budget plan Wednesday that sets the stage for advancing many of President Donald Trump's top domestic priorities, providing for up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit so that the U.S. can continue financing its bills. read more
GOP senator slams "rookie mistake." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on remarks he made at NATO this week about the terms of a potential Ukraine-Russia peace deal, saying his job was simply to "introduce realism to the conversation."
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia's invasion. read more
Related...
DOJ moves to drop Eric Adams charges after 7 prosecutors resign
www.axios.com
... The Justice Department on Friday evening moved to drop bribery and fraud charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.[emphasis mine]
Why it matters: At least seven prosecutors resigned this week rather than obey a DOJ order to withdraw the indictment, with some criticizing department leadership for making the decision for political rather than legal reasons.
- - - Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove reportedly pulled the DOJ's remaining public integrity prosecutors into a room and warned them that if one didn't agree to file the motion dismissing the charges within an hour, they could all be fired.
Driving the news: Two prosecutors ultimately did file the request with Judge Dale E. Ho asking for a dismissal of the case "without prejudice," meaning the charges could later be reinstated.
- - - The request, signed by Bove, argues the indictment interferes with the mayor's ability to do his job ...
Update ...
Trump administration wants to un-fire nuclear safety workers but can't figure out how to reach them
www.nbcnews.com
... The individuals, who work in an agency that oversees the nation's nuclear stockpile, had been fired on Thursday and lost access to their federal government email accounts.
National Nuclear Security Administration officials on Friday attempted to notify some employees who had been let go the day before that they are now due to be reinstated " but they struggled to find them because they didn't have their new contact information.
In an email sent to employees at NNSA and obtained by NBC News, officials wrote, "The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel." ...
Manhattan US attorney and top DOJ officials resign after order to drop Eric Adams case
www.reuters.com
... The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and two high-ranking Justice Department officials in Washington have resigned after a top official ordered a corruption case against New York City's mayor be dropped, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, the Trump administration's recent pick to temporarily lead the office prosecuting New York Mayor Eric Adams, resigned her post on Thursday without giving a reason, a spokesperson for the office said. ...
The Southern District of New York, known for bringing high-profile cases on financial crimes, public corruption and national security, has long been known for its independence from the Justice Department in Washington. ...
@#5 ... Pres Trump looks to be doing it from a starting position of surrender and weakness. ...
Putin Scored a Win With Trump. Now He May Want More on Ukraine
www.bloomberg.com
... "Putin believes that Trump should be seduced, that he should be flattered from head to toe," said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the political consultancy R.Politik. "He is very invested in negotiations with Trump, but he's also preparing for the scenario to deal with Ukraine without Trump and continue to bomb it into capitulation."
Putin scored huge wins from the 90-minute phone call on Wednesday, the first publicly announced contact between the US and Russian leaders since he ordered the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump abandoned his predecessor President Joe Biden's policy of refusing to engage with Russia without Kyiv's involvement, and reversed long-held US positions supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity and ambitions to join NATO. ...
... The dangerous co-optation of the Justice Department by the Trump White House continues in ways both substantive and symbolic. ...
From an article on the Back Page...
NYC Mayor Eric Adams to meet with border czar
abc7ny.com
... His critics are calling on him to do something and prove himself in light of optics that he has cozied up to President Donald Trump after the Justice Department instructed prosecutors to dismiss his bribery case. ...
Mayor Adams now seems beholden to the Trump administration after Pres Trump ordered the DoJ to drop the charges against him.
As I understand it, the charges were dropped "without prejudice," apparently meaning that the charges can be reinstated again, possibly if Mayor Adams doesn't do what the Trump administration instructs him to do.
To me, it looks like something a mob boss would do to keep Mayor Adams in check. ...
Related?
OpEd: Some Maga men seem to think women don't have rights " starting with their wives (November 2024)
www.theguardian.com
... This week, the fundamentalist Christian pastor Dale Partridge argued in a series of tweets that "in a Christian marriage, a wife should vote according to her husband's direction". In other words, he pits his version of the religion against the constitution, which, since the 19th amendment passed a century ago, guarantees adult citizens the right to vote regardless of sex. He argues that in marriage, the husband annexes and owns his wife's voice and rights, so that he in effect gets two votes and she gets none. The far-right preacher is not alone in this argument that women should not have the right to participate in public life and act on their views and values.
Jesse Watters, the Fox News personality, has argued that if he found out his wife "was going into the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that's the same thing as having an affair". It violates "the sanctity of our marriage; what else is she keeping from me?" Rightwing agitator Charlie Kirk also got upset about the idea that women might vote according to their agenda and not their husband's.
These men are offering warnings about what awaits women who marry men like them. Maybe it's worth noting here that the rightwing opposition to marriage equality as same-sex marriage is in part because they're opposed to marriage equality within heterosexual marriage. They want marriage to be an inherently unequal relationship with a subordinate wife and an entitled husband, a cozy little authoritarian regime at home.
One of the things the 2024 US presidential election is about is whether or not women should be free and equal full citizens of this republic.
But there's another way that women are not free and equal which a few videos, a lot of tweets and reportedly some Post-It notes in women's bathrooms have addressed " when women are afraid to vote for their chosen candidate, when their husbands or boyfriends are Trump supporters and they are Harris supporters. I just wrote a Guardian piece about the fact that so many women apparently are bullied over their political beliefs, despite assurances that there are ways to vote without being tyrannized, is troubling. It suggests that there's a whole other kind of voting suppression and coercion that deserves investigation and raises questions about voting at home. ...
That "without prejudice" aspect, as I understand it, means that Pres Trump is now effectively the Mayor of NYC, dictating to Mayor Adams what he (Pres Trump) wants done under the threat of the charges being re-instated.