Tag Archives: Ja’han Jones

MSNBC: Republicans are probing Wikipedia, a longstanding MAGA target

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House Republicans are probing the online encyclopedia over claims of foreign manipulation, anti-Israel bias and antisemitism.

House Republicans have launched an investigation into Wikipedia, a long-standing target of conservative criticism.

For several months, Elon Musk and other conservatives have waged a campaign to portray the online encyclopedia as an oppressive tool of leftist manipulation.

Now a House committee is investigating allegations of “anti-Israel bias” at Wikipedia.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky and South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who leads a subcommittee on cybersecurity, sent a letter to Wikipedia’s CEO demanding data, documents and answers to questions stemming primarily from allegations — laid out in a March Anti-Defamation League report — that Wikipedia editors were permitting anti-Israel rhetoric and antisemitic themes to spread on the platform.

Wikipedia officials have refuted the report, saying it included “unsupported and problematic claims.” But the letter says the report “raised troubling questions about potentially systematic efforts to advance antisemitic and anti-Israel information in Wikipedia articles related to conflicts with the State of Israel.” The lawmakers also reference an Atlantic Council report that found pro-Kremlin forces have used artificial intelligence tools to help whitewash and rewrite the story of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“The House Oversight Committee is investigating manipulation efforts to determine the role and methods of foreign individuals, those at academic institutions subsidized by United States taxpayer dollars, as well as Wikipedia’s awareness and response,” according to a release from Comer’s office.

The lawmakers clearly want to target specific Wikipedia editors. Along with any documents related to state-sponsored efforts to manipulate Wikipedia entries, they’re demanding “records showing identifying and unique characteristics of accounts (such as names, IP addresses, registration dates, user activity logs) for editors” whose conduct has been evaluated by Wikipedia’s committee for resolving editorial disputes.

A spokesperson for the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, told The Hill that it welcomes “the opportunity to respond to the Committee’s questions and to discuss the importance of safeguarding the integrity of information on our platform.”

The investigation is sure to raise questions, considering that Republicans have spent the past several years denouncing anti-misinformation efforts and demonizing efforts to root out foreign manipulation campaigns such as those that have been known to thrive on MAGA-friendly platforms like the Musk-owned X.

Republicans are probing Wikipedia, a longstanding MAGA target
House Republicans are probing the online encyclopedia over claims of foreign manipulation, anti-Israel bias and antisemitism.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/house-republican-wikipedia-israel-bias-probe-rcna228120

Columbus Ledger Enquirer: Democratic Mayor Signs ICE Deal Amid GOP Threats

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Orange County, Florida, Democratic Mayor Jerry Demings has signed a cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following threats from Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier. The agreement allows local law enforcement to detain and transfer immigration violators to federal custody. Demings noted that the decision aims to protect the County Commission from potential removal.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners approved the controversial immigration agreement 5-2, prompting internal tensions and public backlash. Activists had urged leaders to reject cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Demings raised concerns regarding staffing and resources, noting over 200 vacancies for correctional officers. He stated that the county has never received a request to transport ICE detainees.

Commissioners Nicole Wilson and Kelly Martinez Semrad opposed the agreement, citing concerns over government coercion. Activists have urged resistance as officials have grappled with legal ambiguities.

Semrad said, “By signing the agreement, we thwarted the calamity of the potential removal from office of our entire Commission.”

County Attorney Jeff Newton stated, “Legal requirements for local governments to support federal immigration law are vague.” He added, “I call that the sort of catch-all phrase — ‘best efforts.’ It is deliberately, I believe, ambiguous.”

So much for democracy at the local level, as Trump’s fascism spreads it tentacles downward.

Democratic Mayor Signs ICE Deal Amid GOP Threats

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/democratic-mayor-signs-ice-deal-amid-gop-threats/ss-AA1KgBnc

Another article on the subject:

Florida mayor shares startling explanation for his collaboration with ICE
Jerry Demings said an agreement to collaborate with Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown was signed “under protest and in extreme duress.”

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/florida-ice-cooperation-orange-county-demings-rcna222984

MSNBC: Conditions at some ICE facilities are already horrendous — and they may soon get worse

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As the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts continue, multiple lawmakers and immigrant rights groups are alleging that conditions at various Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities are “inhumane” and “unsanitary.”

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., sounded the alarm last week in a video, stating she was deeply disturbed by what she saw during her visit to the Adelanto ICE facility, where many people swept up in recent immigration raids around Los Angeles have been brought.

Chu said the detainees she spoke with at the facility were “not the criminals that [President Donald] Trump says that he’s trying to get out of this country,” noting that some of those detained simply had expired documents.

“They are undergoing conditions that are inhumane, in my opinion. They were not able to change their underwear for 10 days,” Chu said in the video, adding: “They did not get a PIN number for the telephone. As a result, they cannot be in contact with any legal representative nor with their family members. This is not right.”

Conditions at some ICE facilities are already horrendous — and they may soon get worse
Democratic Rep. Judy Chu said detainees at a California facility “were not able to change their underwear for 10 days.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/conditions-at-some-ice-facilities-are-already-horrendous-and-they-may-soon-get-worse/ar-AA1HjnIs

Alternet: ‘Embarrassing boondoggle’: Trump’s ‘big beautiful wall’ is now on life support in Texas

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Long before President Donald Trump pushed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, he called for a “big, beautiful wall” on the U.S./Mexico border. And of the four U.S. states that shared a border with Mexico, GOP-leaning Texas had the loudest and most vocal support for the wall.

But MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones, in his June 19 column, stresses that Trump’s “big, beautiful wall” now seems to be on life support in the Lone Star State.

“Texas appears to have quietly stopped funding its plans to construct its own border wall with Mexico, which could mark the end of an embarrassing boondoggle designed to bolster one of President Donald Trump’s early campaign slogans,” Jones explains. “For years, conservatives have framed the idea of a border wall as essential to immigration enforcement, despite a chorus of critics denouncing it as costly and ineffective. And Texas Republicans’ decision to defund the project seems like a tacit acknowledgment of that reality.”

‘Embarrassing boondoggle’: Trump’s ‘big beautiful wall’ is now on life support in Texas

https://www.alternet.org/trump-border-wall-texas-msnbc

MSNBC: Trump’s pick for FAA chief portrayed himself as a certified commercial pilot. He isn’t.

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After multiple aviation catastrophes and troubling reports of problems at airports across the country, it’s safe to say that many Americans have been hopeful — if not optimistic — that the Trump administration would install a steady-handed, trustworthy leader at the beleaguered Federal Aviation Administration.

The fact that President Donald Trump has selected an individual for the job who seems to have inflated his credentials doesn’t inspire much confidence.

The Air Current, an aviation outlet, appears to have been first to report on Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford’s false portrayal of himself as a commercial pilot, and Politico shined more light on the nominee for FAA chief over the weekend.

Lies, lies, lies! He’ll fit right in at the court of King Donald.

Trump’s pick to lead the FAA has portrayed himself as a certified commercial pilot. He isn’t.
Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford’s official biography falsely said he holds a commercial pilot rating, according to reports.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-faa-nominee-bryan-bedford-commercial-pilot-license-rcna213294

MSNBC: Tom Homan’s financial ties to private prison locking up immigrants raise questions

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New disclosure forms revealed by The Washington Post show Trump’s border czar was paid thousands of dollars by a company making money from deportations before he joined the administration.

One of the top architects of Donald Trump’s immigration agenda previously received thousands of dollars from a company raking in millions from deportations.

But the White House says that there’s nothing wrong with this situation.

What’s more, border czar Tom Homan is just the most recent official in his administration who we have learned was paid by the private prison company Geo Group in the past. According to federal disclosure forms, Attorney General Pam Bondi previously earned money as a lobbyist for the company in Trump’s first term.

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Geo Group also gave $1 million dollars to the Make America Great Again PAC which backed Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Last year, after Trump was elected, the company’s CEO, Brian Evans, estimated that Geo Group could make an additional $400 million annually as a result of Trump’s planned deportations. And indeed, the company is one of multiple private prison companies making a profit from locking up immigrants for the administration. So much so, that on a conference call earlier this year, the company’s executive chairman said “we’ve never seen anything like this before” while referencing the speed with which the Trump administration has sought to procure contracts with Geo Group.

Tom Homan’s financial ties to private prison locking up immigrants raise questions
New disclosure forms revealed by The Washington Post show Trump’s border czar was paid thousands of dollars by a company making money from deportations before he joined the administration.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-border-tom-homan-private-prison-immigrants-rcna209544

MSNBC: Pro-Trump crypto bro Justin Sun embodied MAGA palm-greasing at Trump’s crypto soiree

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The investor, who has put millions into the Trump family’s crypto company, reportedly left the president’s dinner with the prize of a gold watch.

The event was a private dinner with the president at Trump National Golf Club, where “investors spent an estimated $148 million on the $TRUMP meme coin to secure their seats … with the top-25 holders spending more than $111 million,” Reuters reported, citing crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital. Reuters also cited an analysis that found the Trumps have made $320.19 million in fees from their meme coins.

And the person in the photo is Justin Sun, a MAGA-aligned crypto bro who said he was “awarded” what he identified as a “Trump Gold Tourbillon” (a Trump-branded watch that retails for $100,000). The White House didn’t immediately respond to MSNBC’s question as to whether the president actually gifted this watch to Sun.

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His investments in Trump have been considerable — but, for him, arguably worthwhile. Sun has been in the news in the last few months because, after he plowed $75 million into Trump family crypto, per NBC News, the SEC put a 60-day pause on the charges of market manipulation and offering unregistered securities it had been pursuing against him since 2023. 

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But to really catch the flavor of what’s happening, it’s these images of brazen wealth and intolerably open corruption that one would expect from a president dead-set on dragging the United States back to the Gilded Age, an era marked by immense wealth inequality and widespread corruption.

As Chris Hayes noted on “All In” on Thursday, the contrasting images of Trump that day — whipping votes for a House budget with deep cuts to social programs, such as food aid and health care, in the morning, and in the evening reportedly helicoptering into a ritzy and self-enriching dinner for a few minutes — is too glaring to ignore.

Pro-Trump crypto bro Justin Sun embodied MAGA palm-greasing at Trump’s crypto soiree
The investor, who has put millions into the Trump family’s crypto company, reportedly left the president’s dinner with the prize of a gold watch.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/justin-sun-white-house-crypto-trump-meme-coin-rcna208769

MSNBC: Trump’s pick for IRS chief gives oddly evasive answers on presidential targeting

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Billy Long wouldn’t give a direct response when asked if the president can order the Internal Revenue Service to strip someone’s tax-exempt status.

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Internal Revenue Service refused to state that the president ordering an audit of an individual or organization, or that an organization’s tax-exempt status be removed, would be illegal.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was apoplectic over Billy Long’s evasive responses to a line of questioning related to Trump’s open desire to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status for blatantly political purposes.

At one point during his testimony, Long said: “The IRS will not, should not be politicized on my watch, or any watch.” But his inability to give a clear response to Warren’s straightforward inquiry about his interpretation of the law certainly raises doubts.

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In a matter of years, Republicans have gone from hyping up dubious allegations that America’s tax system had been weaponized against conservatives to placating an illiberal wannabe “king” who openly wants to use that system against liberals. And Long is the living embodiment of that hypocritical turn.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/billy-long-irs-elizabeth-warren-nonprofits-tax-exempt-trump-rcna208278