ABC News: Dems want investigation into whether Trump admin helping Musk make Starlink deals

As President Donald Trump continues his first foreign trip through the Middle East, a group of Senate Democrats are calling for an investigation into whether the Trump administration is clearing hurdles for Starlink, a company led by White House senior adviser Elon Musk, to strike foreign deals.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Attorney General Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3], acting Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Jamieson Greer, acting Inspector General of the State Department Arne Baker and White House ethics official Scott Gast, the senators called for an investigation into whether the administration is “intervening” to benefit Starlink as it “negotiates tariff agreements and other matters with foreign governments.”

“These reports indicate that Mr. Musk may be using his official role and his proximity to the President as leverage for his own personal financial benefit — even if it comes at the expense of American consumers and the nation’s foreign policy interests,” the senators wrote. “These actions raise questions about whether Mr. Musk or other administration officials may be violating ethics or other laws.”

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senate-democrats-investigation-trump-administration-helping-musk-make/story?id=121795283

New York Times: As White House Steers Justice Dept., Bondi [Bimbo #3] Embraces Role of TV Messenger

Attorney General Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3] has adopted a conspicuously performative approach, willing to execute White House directives with little fuss.

Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3], the attorney general of the United States, circled the Roosevelt Room in late February, handing out bulky white binders labeled “Epstein Files: Phase 1” to a conclave of Trump-allied influencers summoned to the White House for their first visit.

That Ms. Bondi [Bimbo #3], the nation’s top law enforcement official, would prioritize a case of importance primarily to conspiracy theorists was telling. Anxious to appease the restive MAGA base, she hyped the disclosure as “breaking news” on Fox the night before, part of an effort to fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise to reveal new details on the financier Jeffrey Epstein’s misdeeds and death.

It was a dud. There were “no bombshells,” she said, according to one of those invited.

Later, activists on the right lashed out at Ms. Bondi [Bimbo #3]. She responded by blaming others, and then dispatched F.B.I. agents and prosecutors from the Justice Department’s national security division to scour the archives, officials familiar with the situation said. They found little. No one knows when Phase 2 is coming. But it is not likely to amount to much, those people said.

Since taking office as U.S. attorney general in early February, she has adopted a conspicuously performative approach to survive inside a Trump cabinet that rewards self-promotion, ritualized public flattery and, above all, a willingness to execute White House directives with little fuss.

Over the last few days, Ms. Bondi [Bimbo #3] signed off on Mr. Trump’s acceptance of a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane upgraded to serve as Air Force One donated by the Qatari royal family, which raised a host of ethical and legal questions. As a lobbyist, Ms. Bondi [Bimbo #3] herself received six-figure consulting fees from Qatar.

But her approach represents a noticeable departure from that of her predecessors at the Justice Department who saw themselves, to varying degrees, as guardians of institutional independence, attentive but not beholden to the presidency.

https://archive.is/fr5Xq#selection-4629.132-4629.368

New York Post: Trump’s weaponization czar hints at international targets, accepts that GOP killed his DC US Attorney nomination: ‘It worked out great’

Newly minted weaponization czar Ed Martin is gearing up to take on a myriad of bad actors who the Trump administration says weaponized government powers to punish conservatives and MAGA supporters over recent years.

Martin’s list of potential targets is very wide, including propagators of Russiagate, prosecutors in Capitol riot cases, individuals who allegedly helped cover up COVID-19 origins and even international organizations that have censored Americans.

“The truth is important, and we need it,” Martin told The Post. “Then, after the truth is known, we need to hold those accountable that did the wrongdoing, and we need to also help those who are victims. We have both of those obligations.”

Weaponization Czar = Minister of Trump’s Personal Revenge

https://nypost.com/2025/05/11/us-news/trumps-weaponization-czar-ed-martin-hints-at-international-targets-accepts-that-gop-killed-his-nomination-it-worked-out-great

Alternet: Donald Trump just can’t resist the bribes | Opinion

But one thing almost all Americans are firmly against — even many loyal Trumpers — [i]s bribery. And Trump is taking bigger and bigger bribes.

Yesterday it was reported that he’s accepting a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane worth at least $400 million from the Qatari royal family, for use during his presidency and for his personal use afterward.

Trump just can’t resist. He’s been salivating over the plane for months. It’s bigger and newer than Air Force One — and so opulently configured that it’s known as “a flying palace.” (No report on whether it contains a golden toilet.)

Apparently he’s been talking about the plane for months. In February, he toured it while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport.

He’s tried to redecorate the White House into a palace but that’s not nearly as satisfying as flying around the world in one, especially once he’s left the White House (assuming he will).

https://www.alternet.org/donald-trump-just-can-t-resist-the-bribes

NBC News: Kash Patel’s new way of leading the FBI: Fewer morning intel briefings, more pro sports events

Supporters of the new director say he is bringing needed change. Some current and former FBI and DOJ officials worry he is not taking the job seriously enough.

Patel’s approach to his new job has raised concerns that he is not taking the position seriously enough, a dozen current and former DOJ and FBI officials told NBC News.

Officials who worked on the morning director’s briefings were told that the schedule was changed because Patel sometimes failed to arrive on time, said two current and two former FBI and Justice Department officials familiar with the matter.

At the same time, Patel has drawn attention for regularly appearing with celebrities at professional sporting events around the country, according to flight logs and social media posts.

Since taking office on Feb. 20, Patel appears to have made three flights on FBI planes to Nashville, Tennessee, where his girlfriend, a country singer, lives; two flights to Las Vegas, where he has a home; and one flight to New York, where he attended a professional hockey game. FBI policy in recent years has mandated that directors fly on government aircraft for security reasons.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna202865

Reuters: Trump cannot use new executive order to skirt ‘sanctuary’ cities ruling, judge says

  • Judge William Orrick’s order follows new executive order from Trump
  • Judge has blocked Trump administration from cutting off funding
  • Dispute is over federal immigration law enforcement

A federal judge warned on Friday that a new executive order from President Donald Trump that calls for cutting off funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with his immigration agenda cannot be used to evade a court order barring his administration from doing just that.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco issued Friday’s order, opens new tab at the urging of 16 cities and counties nationally that had already secured an injunction barring the administration from withholding all federal funding to them.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-cannot-use-new-executive-order-skirt-sanctuary-cities-ruling-judge-says-2025-05-09

NBC News: Kash Patel’s new way of leading the FBI: Fewer morning intel briefings, more pro sports events

Supporters of the new director say he is bringing needed change. Some current and former FBI and DOJ officials worry he is not taking the job seriously enough.

Probably asleep at the helm or out clubbing!

For decades, the head of the FBI has attended a daily 8:30 a.m. “director’s brief,” where he is presented the most important intelligence and law enforcement information gleaned from thousands of agents and analysts across the country, current and former FBI officials say.

And on Wednesday afternoons, the FBI director or his deputy held a secure video teleconference with the leaders of field offices across the country to share information about bureau priorities.

But that schedule has changed under FBI Director Kash Patel. Unlike his recent predecessors, Patel is receiving the “director’s brief” two days a week, according to two current officials with direct knowledge and two former FBI and Justice Department officials familiar with the matter. Patel has also stopped holding the weekly Wednesday-afternoon video teleconference with FBI leaders, one current and one former FBI official said.

Patel’s approach to his new job has raised concerns that he is not taking the position seriously enough, a dozen current and former DOJ and FBI officials told NBC News.

Officials who worked on the morning director’s briefings were told that the schedule was changed because Patel sometimes failed to arrive on time, said two current and two former FBI and Justice Department officials familiar with the matter.

At the same time, Patel has drawn attention for regularly appearing with celebrities at professional sporting events around the country, according to flight logs and social media posts.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna202865

Techdirt: Here’s Everything Trump Is Doing To Protect Bad Cops, Make Things Worse For Crime Victims

Trump was never about law and order. He cozied up to cops and praised police brutality, but when push came to literal shove, he sat back and watched his supporters attack law enforcement officers and commit federal crimes for the sole purpose of destroying democracy itself.

Now that he’s back in office, he’s back to pretending he cares about law and order. His recent executive order echoes one issued during his first term: one that demands people start respecting cops (even if he and his followers won’t during insurrections) and suggests there’s a police state ahead of us because they nation can’t be saved without trampling all of our rights.

But it’s not just about cops or law and order demagoguery. What Trump really wants is zero accountability across the board. That’s why his DOJ has revamped its Civil Rights division to protect only the rights Trump actually cares about. Say goodbye to the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Say hello to protecting the Second Amendment and shutting down anything the administration thinks might protect the rights of anyone but the whitest, male-est US citizens.

The Marshall Project has published a round-up of the DOJ’s actions during Trump’s ignominious return to the ultimate position of power: Leader of the Free World. To be sure, Trump doesn’t actually want a “free world” any more than he wants free and fair elections. What he does want is the erasure of everything he doesn’t like, even if it means doing considerable amount of damage to the country he claims to be making great again.

The good news is… well, I guess there’s not really any of that.

Associated Press: Judge blocks Trump executive order targeting elite law firm, a blow to his retribution campaign

A federal judge on Friday permanently blocked a White House executive order targeting an elite law firm, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump’s campaign of retribution against the legal profession.

U.S. District Beryl Howell said the executive order against the firm of Perkins Coie amounted to “unconstitutional retaliation” as she ordered that it be nullified and that the Trump administration halt any enforcement of it.

The ruling was most definitive rejection to date of Trump’s spate of similarly worded executive orders against some of the country’s most elite law firms, part of a broader effort by the president to reshape American civil society by targeting perceived adversaries in hopes of extracting concessions from them and bending them to his will. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-blocks-trump-executive-order-targeting-elite-law-firm-a-blow-to-his-retribution-campaign/ar-AA1E4P4H

NBC News: FBI arrests Milwaukee judge, alleging she interfered in immigration operation

The arrest marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, as well as in its battles with judges across the country.

The FBI arrested a county judge in Milwaukee on Friday, alleging that she obstructed federal authorities who were seeking to detain an undocumented immigrant by escorting the man and his defense attorney though a nonpublic jury door.

The arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, in line with its rhetoric about going after local and state authorities on immigration-related matters. It’s also marks another step in the Trump administration’s battles with judges over federal policy.

In an appearance on Fox News on Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3] the arrest to pull in the administration’s broader, repeated criticism of judges. “What’s happening to our judiciary is beyond me,” Bondi said, before using the term “deranged.”

Pitting the Feds vs. the States is a fight that Bimbo #3 Pam Bondi will not win. This is one of the dumbest moves King Donald’s underlings could have made.

Bimbo #3 Pam Bondi should look in the mirror as she speaks of the “deranged”.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-arrests-milwaukee-judge-alleging-interfered-immigration-operation-rcna203006