Tag Archives: Constitution

WhoWhatWhy: Trump Silences Dissent in the Military

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Behind closed doors, the Trump administration is advancing a chilling project: silencing dissent, lowering intellectual standards, and purging independent oversight — all within what was the most powerful military in the world. 

Sound familiar? It’s Donald Trump’s playbook: Reward loyalty, punish competence — this time with an armed force, trained to kill, and stripped of oversight.

Military officers, legislators, legal scholars, and defense experts are raising alarms about a series of directives that appear to reshape the US armed forces — from a constitutionally grounded institution into a politically compliant weapon.

Trump Silences Dissent in the Military – WhoWhatWhy
With dissent punished, critical thinking suppressed, and standards lowered — the military becomes easier to control and less able to defend the Constitution. What orders will they follow?

Tampa Free Press: Hegseth Under Fire: “More Balls” Than You, Michigan Senator Charges In Fiery Hearing

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced an intense grilling on Capitol Hill today, as a routine hearing on the 2026 Pentagon budget request erupted into a dramatic confrontation over the deployment of 4,700 troops to Los Angeles.

Senator Elissa Blair Slotkin (D-MI) accused Hegseth of betraying democratic principles and declaring his predecessor had “more balls” for refusing a similar order.

The fireworks began when Senator Slotkin tore into Hegseth, revisiting concerns she’d voiced during his confirmation hearing. Her primary fear, she reminded him, was the “potential use of the military in ways that contradict the Constitution or that taint…an apolitical military.”

Slotkin then dropped a bombshell, contrasting Hegseth’s actions with those of former Defense Secretary Mark Esper. She recounted how Esper reportedly defied President Trump’s order to deploy active-duty troops against unarmed protesters – an order she said Hegseth had previously dismissed as “theoretical.”

“Here we are, a few months later, you’ve deployed 4,700 troops to Los Angeles and against the wishes of the governor,” Slotkin blasted, her voice rising. She emphasized the historical significance, noting it was “the first time since 1965 deployed guard troops without the permission of the governor.” Past deployments, she stressed, were to protect protestors, not confront them.

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Hegseth’s curt reply, “Senator, I’d be careful what you read in books,” ended the dramatic exchange, leaving a cloud of concern hanging over the Pentagon’s role in domestic affairs.

Hegseth is a weasel who never has a straight answer for anyone.

Hegseth Under Fire: “More Balls” Than You, Michigan Senator Charges In Fiery Hearing
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced an intense grilling on Capitol Hill today, as a routine hearing on the 2026 Pentagon budget request erupted into a
Hegseth Under Fire: “More Balls” Than You, Michigan Senator Charges In Fiery Hearing

Washington Post: Trump accelerates push to reward loyalty in federal workforce

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Many critics say the administration is scrapping a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service in favor of a biased, politicized system.

President Donald Trump is accelerating efforts to transform the nonpartisan, merit-based federal workforce into one that demands and rewards loyalty to the president, according to civil servants, public service experts and employment attorneys.

The ongoing shift would ditch decades-old rules that were intended to ensure that federal hiring, retention and promotion decisions are based largely on employees’ skills and experience, say the workers, experts and attorneys.

The House-passed budget proposal under consideration in the Senate would give new federal workers an ultimatum to accept “at-will” status — meaning they could be more easily fired — or pay a higher retirement contribution. The administration also unveiled a plan to require job applicants to write short essays describing how they plan to advance Trump’s priorities. And Trump has revived his previous efforts to reclassify thousands of federal employees and blur the line between political appointees and career professionals.

“These employees could be replaced with partisan loyalists — people who will obey any order, regardless of the Constitution,” said Joe Spielberger, senior policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight. “This elevates loyalty to an individual president over the oath of office and the best interests of the public.”

Trump accelerates push to reward loyalty in federal workforce
Many critics say the administration is scrapping a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service in favor of a biased, politicized system.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/16/trump-civil-service-loyalty-firings

Also here:

Trump accelerates push to reward loyalty in federal workforce
Many critics say the administration is scrapping a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service in favor of a biased, politicized system.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-accelerates-push-to-reward-loyalty-in-federal-workforce/ar-AA1GN8nG

Daily Beast: Trump Turns Presidency Into His Cash Cow With $600M Haul

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President Donald Trump has already made a small fortune off his second go-around as commander in chief.

An annual financial disclosure shows the Republican president’s crypto ventures, golf clubs, and resorts, as well as the large fees he collects from garish MAGA-branded merch, have helped him rake in more than $600 million in income last year, Reuters reported.

Overall, Reuters calculated that Trump’s combined assets totaled $1.6 billion, with his income feeding into the Trump Organization trust operated by his three eldest children—which some said allows him to skate the Constitution’s Emoluments clause, which bars the president from benefitting financially from the office.

Trump Turns Presidency Into His Cash Cow With $600M Haul
Financial disclosures reveal the MAGA president is raking in the dough from crypto, golf clubs, and licensing fees.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-turns-presidency-into-his-cash-cow-with-600m-haul

Law & Crime: ‘Different in kind’: 4-star generals, admirals serving from JFK to Obama say Los Angeles ICE protests don’t warrant deployment of National Guard to California

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4-star admirals, generals serving from JFK to Obama warn Trump’s deployment of National Guard poses ‘potentially grave risk’

Ahead of a Zoom hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a group of retired four-star generals and admirals who served under presidents ranging from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama filed court documents warning that President Donald Trump’s federalization of the California National Guard and deployment of U.S. Marines poses “potentially grave risk of irreparable harm.”

Seeking the appellate court’s leave to file a brief and enter the case as amici curiae — Latin for “friends of the court” — the retired generals, admirals, and former U.S. Army and Navy secretaries did not explicitly take Gov. Gavin Newsom’s side in the case. They did suggest Sunday, however, that the Trump administration’s bid for an emergency stay of a lower-court ruling and continued push to quell “violent riots” in Los Angeles amid nationwide “No Kings” protests over ICE raids may not pass legal muster when compared to historical precedents.

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Again, although the retired admirals and generals did not support either party to the case, they implicitly warmed to Breyer’s ruling that the definition of “rebellion” has not been met and that, in the proposed amici’s words, the “recent and ongoing situation” in Los Angeles “appears to be different in kind” from the “extreme circumstances” of the 1992 Rodney King riots and the times when state governors “openly” and defiantly stood against the end of racial segregation during the Civil Rights era.

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The brief concluded that Trump’s injection of the military into “domestic political controversies” — “undermining its ability to achieve its core mission of protecting the nation” — is a case in point as to why troops “should be kept out of domestic law enforcement whenever possible.”

Retired four-star generals sound alarm at 9th Circuit on Trump’s National Guard deployment
Retired four-star generals and admirals warn that Trump’s federalization of the National Guard and deployment of U.S. Marines poses “potentially grave risk.”
‘Different in kind’: 4-star generals, admirals serving from JFK to Obama say Los Angeles ICE protests don’t warrant deployment of National Guard to California

Independent: US citizen blasts ICE after being detained as he drove to work: ‘They’re the criminals’

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ICE and Homeland Security agents forced Elzon Lemus out of his car and detained him for between 20-25 minutes, apparently based solely on his appearance

A New Yorker who was stopped and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents says he was treated like a criminal for simply existing as a Hispanic person in the U.S.

“[ICE] said that they’re looking for criminals, but in reality, they’re the criminals,” Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old from Brentwood, told reporters during a Thursday press conference.

Lemus, an electrician, was riding in the passenger seat of a car on his way to work when ICE agents stopped the vehicle in Westbury, New York. The ICE agents reportedly said that Lemus “looks like somebody we are looking for.”

He asked “who are you looking for exactly, because it’s definitely not me.” Much of his interaction with ICE was captured on cellphone video.

After the car was stopped, Lemus says he was surrounded by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations vehicles. The agents then threatened him and demanded his ID.

“This is going to go one of two ways here. I need to see your ID — if you’re not the guy I’m looking for, you’re not the guy I’m looking for. But we need your ID,” the ICE agent says in the video.

Lemus said he demanded the agents’ name and badge number, but they refused to provide any identifying information, claiming they were “not authorized” to do so.

“I told them that I’m not authorized to give my ID then,” Lemus said.

An ICE agent threatened him again.

“If we don’t get your ID we are going to need to figure out another way to ID you and that may not work out well for you,” the agent said.

Lemus was then placed in handcuffs for refusing to provide identification to the ICE agents. He said he was hesitant to cooperate because he hadn’t committed any crimes, and he knew the federal agents were not local police, NBC 4 reports.

“I didn’t want to get my ID because as soon as I saw how they were dressed, I knew they weren’t police officers. I didn’t commit a crime and wasn’t driving,” he said.

The ICE agents allegedly left Lemus in cuffs for 20-25 minutes, and confiscated his phone to prevent him from filming them. They eventually found his ID in his pockets.

“It was heartbreaking … it felt like my rights were just out the window,” Lemus said.

US citizen blasts ICE after being detained as he drove to work
ICE and Homeland Security agents forced Elzon Lemus out of his car and detained him for between 20-25 minutes, apparently based solely on his appearance

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-citizen-detained-ice-criminals-new-york-b2769786.html

Deadline: Trump Regains Control Of Troops In L.A. From Newsom Thanks To Appeals Court; Governor Was To Take Command Of National Guard On Friday – Updated

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Gavin Newsom’s renewed control of the California National Guard didn’t last more than a few hours thanks to a federal appeals court.

“The request for an administrative stay is GRANTED,” the court wrote in a short order tonight after the White House and DOJ came up short this afternoon in their bid to maintain a hold on the unrequested and widely seen as unnecassary troop deployment. “The district court’s June 12 temporary restraining order is temporarily stayed pending further order,” a three-judge panel of two Trump appointees and one Joe Biden appointee said.

All of which has put the brakes on returning control of the Guard that Trump federalized on June 7 to Gov. Newsom at noon on June 13. It gives Trump at least one more hot weekend to inflame the situation on the ground in L.A. with more immigration enforcement raids. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals trio has now set a June 17 Zoom hearing on the matter.

Newsom Beats Trump As Court Curtails POTUS’ “Illegal” Use Of Troops In L.A.
POTUS just took a hit in his battle with the Governor of California for the streets of LA & troops being there

https://deadline.com/2025/06/trump-court-ruling-troops-la-newsom-1236432420

Tampa Free Press: DHS Takes Stand In LA: [Bimbo #2] Noem Vows To Crush Anti-ICE Protests, End “Socialist” Rule

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In a significant revelation, Secretary [Bimbo #2] Noem announced that the Department of Justice, the DEA, and the FBI, along with their investigative teams, are working with the IRS to track the funding of these protests.

“The IRS here that’s helping us track how these violent protesters are funded, what NGOs out there, what unions, what other individuals may be funding these violent perpetrators that are in these protests,” she stated, asserting that such activities turn otherwise peaceful demonstrations into “very violent activities that go after law enforcement that’s just simply not acceptable.”

The bimbo bitch is out to lunch. The courts have held that financial donations are a matter of free speech. Just as F’Elon Must can donate hundreds of millions of dollars to King Donald’s political campaigns, so too can others donate to causes that they support.

[Bimbo #2] Noem was highly critical of California’s state and local leadership, specifically Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, asserting that residents are “suffering under the policies of Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass.” She stated that federal agents and law enforcement are “working to change that and give them an opportunity to be successful and to live the American dream.”

Yes, snatching brown people off the streets and making them disappear does wonders give people “dream”.

[Bimbo #2] Noem said, “We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country.”

This bimbo bitch has to go. This is a totally inappropriate activity for a United States cabinet secretary. California is a sovereign state, and the structures and powers of units of local government are derived from the states. It’s none of the bimbo bitch’s business.

DHS Takes Stand In LA: Noem Vows To Crush Anti-ICE Protests, End “Socialist” Rule

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dhs-takes-stand-in-la-noem-vows-to-crush-anti-ice-protests-end-socialist-rule/ar-AA1GBR8Q

New York Times: Trump Declares Dubious Emergencies to Amass Power, Scholars Say

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In disputes over protests, deportations and tariffs, the president has invoked statutes that may not provide him with the authority he claims.

To hear President Trump tell it, the nation is facing a rebellion in Los Angeles, an invasion by a Venezuelan gang and extraordinary foreign threats to its economy.

Citing this series of crises, he has sought to draw on emergency powers that Congress has scattered throughout the United States Code over the centuries, summoning the National Guard to Los Angeles over the objections of California’s governor, sending scores of migrants to El Salvador without the barest hint of due process and upending the global economy with steep tariffs.

Legal scholars say the president’s actions are not authorized by the statutes he has cited and are, instead, animated by a different goal.

“He is declaring utterly bogus emergencies for the sake of trying to expand his power, undermine the Constitution and destroy civil liberties,” said Ilya Somin, a libertarian professor at Antonin Scalia Law School who represents a wine importer and other businesses challenging some of Mr. Trump’s tariffs.

…

Trump Declares Dubious Emergencies to Amass Power, Scholars Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/politics/trump-emergency-powers-invasion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.N08.tEO-.S_2DmAE6Yws9&smid=url-share

Wall Street Journal: Newsom Leans Into L.A. Unrest to Position Himself as Leader of Opposition

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California governor’s presidential prospects hang in the balance as he defends Los Angeles from ‘authoritarian overreach’

Gavin Newsom is, once again, in the eye of a tempest. “It is a profoundly important moment,” the California governor said in an interview Monday evening as protesters massed in the streets and U.S. Marines made their way to the state on the president’s orders.

It is also an important moment for Newsom, widely seen as a top potential Democratic presidential candidate, who has leaned into the conflict to position himself as the leader of the opposition. “Seven hundred brave men and women are being used as pawns in Trump’s war on the Constitution,” he told The Wall Street Journal of the Marine deployment, speaking from the Los Angeles County emergency operations center where he has been holed up helping coordinate the protest response. “Our Founding Fathers didn’t live and die for this.”

Newsom Leans Into L.A. Unrest to Position Himself as Leader of Opposition

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/california-gavin-newsom-trump-los-angeles-1e2ec00f