Monthly Archives: May 2025

MSNBC: Trump administration suspended clearances of lawyers from targeted firm

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President Donald Trump’s administration is still working to exact his vengeance against at least one of the law firms he has targeted, even as several firms are fighting back in court — largely successfully so far.

The latest evidence of the administration’s efforts comes from a court filing Tuesday to the judge handling the case of WilmerHale, one of the firms that sued instead of settling or preemptively cutting a deal with Trump. The firm told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon that two WilmerHale lawyers received letters from a government agency telling them their security clearances have been suspended.

“This development underscores that the Executive Branch stands ready and willing to implement the Executive Order absent judicial intervention,” wrote attorney Paul Clement, who’s representing the firm. He didn’t specify which agency sent the letters but said he would provide them under seal to the court if the judge asked to see them.

Trump administration suspended clearances of lawyers from targeted firm
It shows the government’s willingness to implement Trump’s order “absent judicial intervention,” WilmerHale told the judge.

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/trump-wilmerhale-security-clearances-suspended-rcna206730

Mediaite: Trump Confronted on Air Force One by NY Times Over $2 Billion Crypto Deal

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President Donald Trump was confronted aboard Air Force One by New York Times White House reporter Jonathan Swan over a $2 billion foreign deal that’s being paid for with Trump crypto.

Trump is currently on a four-day swing through the Persian Gulf region with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, which has been dogged by the controversy over his eager acceptance of a $400 million “flying palace” from Qatar to serve as Air Force One.

The trip has also drawn attention to Trump’s family businesses, including the cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial.

That company’s USD1 currency was selected by state-owned UAE firm MGX to pay for a $2 billion investment in Binance earlier this month. The deal was announced by WLF co-founder Zach Witkoff, son of Trump Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Trump plays dumb:

JONATHAN SWAN: An Emirati government-backed firm did a $2 billion deal using the Trump digital coins. How did that deal come about?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t know anything about it. I really don’t know anything about it. But I’m a big crypto fan, I will tell you. I’ve been that from the beginning, right from the campaign. I’m a believer in crypto.

Trump Confronted on Air Force One by NY Times Over $2 Billion Crypto Deal
Trump was confronted aboard Air Force One by New York Times reporter Jonathan Swan over a $2 billion foreign deal that’s being paid for with Trump crypto.
Trump Confronted on Air Force One by NY Times Over $2 Billion Crypto Deal

Raw Story: ‘Unfit to serve’: Trump DOJ official dragged after unveiling ‘name and shame’ crusade

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As the Department of Justice becomes the Department of Revenge:

Outgoing acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is moving to a new Justice Department effort named the “Weaponization Working Group,” and he’s already issuing threats, NBC News reported on Tuesday. However, legal experts have their own comments, and one has citations.

Martin, a defense attorney who represented several Jan. 6 defendants, could not garner support from a top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee for the U.S. attorney post. So, he has been shifted to the Justice Department for the working group that aims to investigate anyone involved in the probes into President Donald Trump and his allies, NBC said.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Martin told reporters, “There are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people. And if they can be charged, we’ll charge them. But if they can’t be charged, we will name them. And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed. And that’s a fact. That’s the way things work. And so that’s, that’s how I believe the job operates.”

It’s a move that side-steps long-standing Justice Department protocols, NBC News said, and legal experts caution that it could lead to lawsuits.

“I mean, if the government wants a slew of Privacy Act lawsuits, I guess that’s their business,” said national security lawyer Bradley P. Moss on Bluesky.

…

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who serves as the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, called for Martin to be pulled from working anywhere in government.

“Ed Martin is unfit to serve in the federal government. His ties to Nazi sympathizers and antisemitic extremists make American Jews feel less safe. Trump must rescind this dangerous appointment immediately and never allow Ed Martin to serve in any position in the United States government,” he wrote on X, while also sharing a letter also signed by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Brad Schneider (D-IL).

A past precedent:

Semafor reporter David Weigel pointed to a key quote in the report by Ryan Reilly: “The justification given for Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey was that Comey had given a press conference in which he released ‘derogatory information’ about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.”

https://www.rawstory.com/department-of-justice-2672000423

And here’s a U.S. Senator who is less than enchanted with Trump’s nomination of Ed Martin to be the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.:

https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/ed-martin-2671901204

But King Donald keeps supporting his favorite hater:

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-ed-martin

Mirror: CNN abruptly halts broadcast for breaking news about Trump’s ‘wrong’ gift from Saudi Arabia

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Nonetheless, [Erin] Burnett on CNN assailed the act as blatantly inappropriate, likening it to the “modern definition of a Trojan horse.”

…

Lambasting Trump’s choice to take the plane, the news anchor declared: “Let’s be honest here, the President of the United States has no business accepting a plane for anything and from anyone. It is not political.”

She went on to argue that this situation was evidently black-and-white, concluding boldly: “Because this is something that is actually an easy call. It’s wrong. But Trump’s team will circle the wagons, it seems, on pretty much anything.“

CNN quickly halts show for breaking news about Trump’s ‘wrong’ Saudi Arabia gift
CNN host Erin Burnett was left fuming as she reported that American President Donald Trump had been gifted a $400 million jet by officials in Qatar – and he accepted it

https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/cnn-abruptly-halts-broadcast-breaking-1150472

Daily Express: Trump claims Supreme Court ruling could ‘end the US’

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President Donald Trump condemned the Supreme Court after it denied him permission to deport 200 Venezuelan men whom his administration accused of being linked to gangs currently detained in Texas.

“If we’re not allowed to send the murderers and other criminals of every type, size, and shape, IMMEDIATELY out of our Country, we aren’t going to have a Country anymore. Radical Left Judges and politicians don’t care, but 90% of the people in the U.S.A. do. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will agree with this and, SAVE AMERICA!” Trump wrote.

Cry me a river, you piece of self-indulgent shit. Thankfully we have judges doing your job for you by upholding our Constitution and the rule of law.

Trump claims Supreme Court ruling could ‘end the US’
Trump cried that Supreme Court ruling against him ‘could lead to the end of the US’ as they ruled against the Alien Enemies Act

https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/171697/trump-claims-supreme-court-ruling

Politico: ‘Glaring red flag’: Treasury DOGE team discloses bank stock holdings

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The Trump administration official overseeing the Treasury Department’s massive financial operations reported owning stock in many of the large banks and companies that do business with the department, according to disclosures obtained by POLITICO.

Tom Krause, who is also the lead official for Treasury’s DOGE team, reported hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of shares in a wide range of financial companies, including those that provide services to the unit Krause oversees.

He and two other Treasury DOGE team members — Todd Newnam and Linda Whitridge— also reported owning shares of Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax, which has lobbied heavily against IRS Direct File, a program targeted for elimination by Elon Musk and DOGE.

&c.

Who cares about a little conflict of interest when you’re working for the Grifter-in-Chief?

‘Glaring red flag’: Treasury DOGE team reveals bank holdings
Several former Treasury officials and government ethics experts said the disclosures raise ethics concerns.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/treasury-doge-disclosures-bank-stocks-00347972

Scripps News: Grand jury indicts Milwaukee judge arrested in immigration case, allowing charges against her to proceed

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A federal grand jury indicted Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan on charges including concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction, allowing a case that began against her in April to continue.

The indictment is related to the charges federal prosecutors brought in a complaint against Dugan after she allegedly helped a man evade immigration officials in the courtroom. The indictment verifies the initial complaint and allows federal prosecutors to pursue the charges.

…

According to the complaint against Dugan, she directed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave through a door that is reserved for jury members, court staff, deputies and defendants who are in custody.

Grand jury indicts Milwaukee judge arrested in immigration case, allowing charges against her to proceed
A federal grand jury indicted Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan Tuesday, in connection with a case that began against her in April over an immigration hearing.

https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/immigration/grand-jury-indicts-milwaukee-judge-who-was-arrested-in-immigration-case-allowing-charges-against-her-to-proceed

Washington Post: In rare move, Congress pushes back on Trump over Library of Congress

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Congress refuses to accept the appointment of King Donald’s stooge as the head of their library:

In a rare bipartisan effort to defend its institutional authority, Congress is quietly resisting President Donald Trump’s attempt to assert control over the Library of Congress — a move that experts say threatens the separation of powers and the integrity of the legislative branch’s premier research body.

Pushing back on Trump’s designation of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting librarian, lawmakers said Tuesday that control of the institution remains with its top career official, Robert R. Newlen. Newlen told staff at the library that he is the acting head, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.

In rare move, Congress pushes back on Trump over Library of Congress
Lawmakers are raising separation-of-powers concerns as the White House seeks to install a Justice Department official at the legislative-branch institution.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/13/trump-library-of-congress-power-struggle

Associated Press: 2-year-old girl reunites with her mother in Venezuela after US deportation

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A 2-year-old girl arrived Wednesday in Caracas to reunite with her mother after she was separated from her parents when they were deported from the U.S. in what Venezuela denounced as a kidnapping.

Maikelys Espinoza arrived at an airport outside the capital, Caracas, along with more than 220 deported migrants. Footage aired by state television showed Venezuela’s first lady Cilia Flores carrying Maikelys at the airport. Later, Flores was shown handing the girl over to her mother, who had been waiting for her arrival at the presidential palace along with President Nicolás Maduro.

…

The U.S. government had claimed the family separation last month was justified because the girl’s parents allegedly have ties to the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua gang, which U.S. President Donald Trump designated a terrorist organization earlier this year.

The girl’s mother was deported to Venezuela on April 25. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities sent her father to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March under Trump’s invocation of an 18th-century wartime law to deport hundreds of immigrants.

2-year-old girl reunites with her mother in Venezuela after US deportation
A 2-year-old girl has arrived in Venezuela to reunite with her mother after she was separated from her parents when they were deported from the U.S.

https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-deportations-trump-maikelys-maduro-migrants-89caaeed43cfb92369626435bfa6483e

The Nation: Don’t Be Fooled by Trump’s Loudmouth Immigration Policy

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As a candidate he promised a “massive” crackdown. But since taking office his actions, though designed to be as frightening as possible, have fallen far short of that.

A desperate family, rushing their sick child to a Texas hospital, is forced back into Mexico… And a young Salvadoran, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, becomes one of the best known of millions of migrants, receiving his Maryland senator while remaining imprisoned—uncharged, untried in the US or in his homeland.

The Trump administration has shown it is willing to test both public tolerance and long-established legal principle. It has repeatedly labeled millions of undocumented residents of the United States “terrorists” and “criminals.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and “border czar” Tom Homan use exaggerated threats to create a country where an almost entirely law-abiding population—of construction workers, hotel cleaners, home healthcare workers—can be treated with brutality and summary justice.

Throughout his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump promised a swift and enormous federal effort to round up and deport millions of people living long-term in America. Signs calling for “Mass Deportation” were held up in cheering crowds at Trump rallies all over the country. Meeting almost no resistance or reply from Democratic candidates for high office, Republicans were able to define the battlefield, equating millions of workers, students, and homemakers scattered across American communities with cartel drug mules, rapists, and members of the notorious MS-13 gang.

Don’t Be Fooled by Trump’s Loudmouth Immigration Policy
As a candidate he promised a “massive” crackdown. But since taking office his actions, though designed to be as frightening as possible, have fallen far short of that.

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/trump-immigration-crackdown