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Graham's Sudden Death Throws Blanche Confirmation Into Doubt

Graham's Sudden Death Throws Blanche Confirmation Into Doubt

The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has set up several problems for the Senate, and this week's big one is the nomination of Todd Blanche to lead the Justice Department.

On Wednesday and Thursday, President Donald Trump's acting attorney general Todd Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend himself against a number of missteps, including his flubs in handling the release of investigation files for Jeffrey Epstein. Graham's chair will be empty.

Graham would have been a solid vote to support Blanche and likely a good defender of his during the hearing. Without Graham, the GOP can lose just one more vote, but two key members on the committee also recently lost their primary races thanks in large park to Trump. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) decided to retire after a number of clashes with Trump and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) lost up against Trump's pick, Ken Paxton.Cornyn has expressed reservations. Meanwhile, Tillis might be convinced to put his foot down.

After meeting with Blanche in June, Cornyn said Blanche had committed to briefing senators on the tax audit immunity piece of the settlement.As the Washington Post reports, without Graham and McConnell, there's simply a one-senator majority, assuming every senator is present.

Bloomberg Law explained on Sunday evening that Blanche is already having trouble with Republicans who want to see him "dispel concerns from some Republicans over his level of independence from White House influence," former Senate aides confirmed.

“This is a devastating loss for America and the people of South Carolina,” Blanche wrote in a post on X about Graham.One of Blanche's promises to Senate Republicans is that he will not create the $1.8 billion slush fund crafted for Trump's "anti-weaponization fund." One of the agreements in the fund state neither Trump nor his family could ever be audited again by the IRS.

Losing Graham, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, also adds to the problem as it comes to passing what's left of Trump's agenda. At the same time, the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a key member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, means Trump's budget demands could be on pause. Sept. 30 is the funding deadline. If the Senate can't pass either bill, a government shutdown will occur. There have already been two shutdowns this year: one short and one partial, from February 14 to April 30, for the Department of Homeland Security.

Meanwhile, neoconservative Bill Kristol announced a new video hitting Blanche from his political group Home of the Brave. Largely made up of disaffected Republicans and conservatives, the group accuses Blanche of hiding 2 million pages of the Epstein files. It also hangs blame for the transfer of Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to a "puppies and pilates" prison.

"Home of the Brave is here to make sure Americans know exactly who this man is," Kristol said about the video the group released. "All week, as Blanche gets ready to face Congress, we’re running a version of this video as an ad nationally on Fox News primetime. We’re also blanketing DC with street posters calling on Congress to ask Blanche about Epstein."

Their ultimate aim is to stop the Blanche takeover of the Justice Department.

Todd Blanche is a Predator Protector by Home of the Brave

As he gets ready for his confirmation hearing, we’re making sure Americans know who this man is.

Read on Substack


Kash Patel's Misuse Of FBI Jet And Funds Now Under Bipartisan Senate Probe

Kash Patel's Misuse Of FBI Jet And Funds Now Under Bipartisan Senate Probe

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is finally questioning the dozens of reports that officials in President Donald Trump's administration are using government resources for personal reasons.

According to MS NOW reporter Ken Dilanian, Grassley wants information about Kash Patel's personal use of the FBI plane and the recent decision to purchase BMW SUVs for the FBI. But those only scratch the surface of Patel's use of taxpayer dollars to fund his personal adventures. Patel has used government money for helicopter tours and jet ski excursions, said a whistleblower report given to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

During the first Trump administration, two Cabinet officials were forced out after their personal use of government planes and helicopters. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke were both ousted after reports revealed they used the government aircraft for trips home, horseback riding with the vice president and even vacations. In Zinke's case, he spent $14,000 in taxpayer dollars to use a helicopter instead of driving two hours.

Unlike other Cabinet officials, the FBI director is required by policy to use the FBI jet for safety reasons. In this case, however, Grassley wants an accounting of the aircraft's use to conduct his own “independent and objective review.”

At the same time, Grassley has asked: “Please explain why you decided to purchase BMW vehicles instead of Chevy Suburbans.” General Motors is an American company, while BMW is German, though both the Suburban and the BMW SUV are manufactured in the U.S. It has been a longstanding policy that the government purchases vehicles from American companies.

When asked for documents about the purchase at the time, Patel refused.

Democrats Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) said in their own letter that they “appreciate Chairman Grassley raising these concerns, which mirror those raised repeatedly by House and Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats.”

Their letter references a VIP snorkeling trip in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, an excursion that was first reported by the AP and confirmed by the FBI as “a historical tour to honor heroes who died."

“Your VIP snorkeling experience in Hawaii was not an isolated incident,” Raskin and Durbin wrote. “You frequently demand special perks on ‘official’ trips around the globe, such as a taxpayer-funded helicopter tour during your multi-country jaunt across East Asia and other recreational activities like jet skiing.”

The letter continues, “Your jet-setting and the lack of justification for these trips are ‘out of control,’ and the new attaché office you established in Wellington, New Zealand, may have been opened in part to justify a sightseeing trip you took there.”

After his Hawaii trip, Patel went to Australia and New Zealand before hopping over to Italy to watch the U.S. men's hockey team win the gold medal at the Olympics. He was filmed chugging a beer in the locker room celebration. His outings also include flying to see his country singer girlfriend perform, attending hockey games and UFC events.

According to the Democrats, a source said Patel “demoted personnel in Brussels because they failed to ensure you were adequately entertained, stoking fear among rank-and-file agents that they must provide your demanded perks or face termination. Concerns and strains prompted by the prioritization of your personal entertainment on international trips may have led to the resignation of the head of the FBI’s international operations this year.”

The FBI focuses exclusively on domestic issues, though there are 64 overseas Legal Attaché locations.

The Democrats go on to say that a source told them Patel was overheard bragging in a field office "If you have golf, hockey, fishing, or hunting and beautiful sights, you’re going to see a lot of me."

“This is not the conduct of a committed and faithful public servant, especially one entrusted with ensuring the safety of almost 350 million Americans,” the Democrats wrote.

The letter continued: “Your lack of judiciousness regarding your personal travel and dubious use of official travel appear to violate not only government ethics law and Department of Justice policy, but also White House directives.”

“Despite its myriad failures and hypocrisies on this point, the Trump administration has expressly promised Americans that it would crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse of government spending and has reportedly directed officials to limit their travel, particularly overseas travel or travel unrelated to the President’s agenda," the Democrats' letter added.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


Trump Economic Adviser Assures CNN: 'He's Not Using His Position To Get Rich'

Trump Economic Adviser Assures CNN: 'He's Not Using His Position To Get Rich'

Far-right economist and ally of President Donald Trump Stephen Moore was momentarily stumped when he went up against CNN host Jim Sciutto on Monday.

As Sciutto reporter, a bombshell report published Monday revealed that investors of Trump's cryptocurrency lost $3.8 billion while Trump raked in profits. It's a 98 percent drop in the value.

Moore acknowledged that losing that much value is certainly not a good thing, but that he knows "people" who have "gotten really, really rich off of crypto." Trump, in particular, made approximately $1.1 billion off of crypto ventures, according to his financial disclosure.

But Sciutto asked about the ethics and allegations of corruption as well. "But what's different about it?" Sciutto asked. "He's not just any other person. He's the president of the United States with an enormous political following. People bought it because of him, right? And if you or I started a meme coin, we wouldn't get that many people to invest and be able to walk away with $500 million in fees. Is that not taking advantage of the office?"

Moore dismissed it, saying that people "wanted to believe in these coins" and that Trump was acting "in good faith." Trump, he claimed, truly believed it would be a "good investment." For him, it was.

That's when Sciutto asked about all of the other ventures that Trump has profited from in the past year.

"Here's the thing, though. If this [were] isolated, you could say it was one bad investment. But you have the president and his sons investing in companies that have government business before them. You have a lot of questions about President Trump making trades prior to or connected to decisions he made that benefit those companies," the host said. "It's not just one bad crypto bet for for the majority of people, it's a question of profiting from the office."

Moore demanded an example, but Sciutto called his bluff. He cited the billion-dollar mining deal in Kazakhstan. The project was being pushed by Trump's administration while his sons were pressing the same project, with the family poised to profit.

It created a glaring conflict of interest as public power was being used to help along a deal that ultimately enriched the president's businesses. The timeline also looks bad, as Trump's sons got involved as it was starting to advance, making it appear that access and influence were being used to help the family profit. Ethics rules and anti-corruption laws are supposed to bar this kind of self-dealing, a TIME analysis explained.

But Moore claimed that Trump had nothing to do with his sons' businesses because he's too busy being president and their companies are a "big industry."

"It's a multibillion-dollar industry. I would separate out what the Trump industries are doing versus what President Trump is doing in the Oval Office," Moore said.

Moore asserted Trump isn't benefiting at all from his presidency.

"He's not he's not using his position to get rich off of these investments, in my opinion," Moore said.

"In your opinion," Sciutto repeated.

The nearly 1,000-page financial disclosure shows that he has increased his wealth by at least $2 billion since taking office.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

With July 4 Fiasco Looming, Trump Infuriated By Pitiful Turnout At His 'State Fair'

With July 4 Fiasco Looming, Trump Infuriated By Pitiful Turnout At His 'State Fair'

President Donald Trump is furious that his supporters aren't showing up to attend his "state fair" in the District of Columbia.

Since the start last week, the response has been minuscule. Independent journalist Amanda Moore has been on the scene every day to narrate what she's seeing and provide videos of the crowd sizes at the great stage.

The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday that Trump "freaked out" seeing the small crowds at his fair.

One of the more successful turnouts was Trump's rally opening night. Compared to Trump's rallies in the past, however, it was painfully tiny. While the Freedom 250 spokesperson claimed that there have ben over 150,000 who "flocked" from around the world, CNN revealed things aren't going the way Trump planned. Insiders told CNN that Trump was “livid” at the low turnout for his opening remarks.

All the events lead up to Trump's big event on Saturday. The Washingtonian noted that Trump's record-breaking fireworks display will be so gigantic that the low-lying Washington D.C. "bowl" and predicted cloud cover could turn it into more of a "smoke show" and block the fireworks entirely. As the Capital Weather Gang said, the smoke could "just ... hang."

Trump had a similar problem on the night of his first inauguration, when heavy cloud cover not only trapped the smoke but also blocked views of the fireworks, videos confirmed There are a lot of things working against his crowd-size plans: predicted triple-digit temperatures that have already resulted in an "extreme heat watch," stifling humidity and potential severe storms, local WJAR reported Wednesday. They called it a "quadruple threat" because of the risk of power outages from energy use.

"This could be one of the hottest Fourth of Julys the D.C. area has seen in decades, as emergency officials ramp up coordination ahead of the holiday," the report said.

According to CNN, the White House is "already bracing for an underwhelming showing" on Saturday, in large part because the event is significantly later than previous years. In the past, the big concert in the U.S. ended around 9 p.m. EST, with the National Symphony Orchestra playing the "1812 Overture" while fireworks and cannons went off. This year it will end hours later.

“I do not understand why we are doing this so late,” one White House official said about the late hour. “I’m really not sure who thought this was a good idea.”

The Independence Day fireworks are normally a family-friendly event and children don't usually stay up so late. At the same time, public transportation for those more than 20 miles outside of D.C. will be restricted because the last MARC train out of Union Station leaves at 10:25 p.m. Luckily, those within about a 20-mile radius around Washington will still be able to access the metro until 2 a.m.

One local D.C. limousine company wrote, "Every transportation option has a real failure mode on this day.""OK, this is quickly becoming proof that you can just say “great American state fair” and get a million views. Almost nobody replying to it follows me or has any idea what I cover," said independent Amanda Moore online about the state fair.

She wasn't the only one to point out that social media doesn't reflect "real life."

Stand Together vice president Daniel Bassali called it "Just another example of what’s online isn’t reality."

TMZ has been posting photos of the fair. In one case, actor Dean Cain and Dr. Mehmet Oz cheered the crowd before the stage. TMZ panned around to look at the crowd, seeing a few dozen people.

Trump proclaimed over the weekend that his event was “packed with happy people," but rain scared off key performer and one-hit-wonder Vanilla Ice from performing.

Fox News has provided a lot of comedy relief for those watching clips of the anchors claiming huge crowds, only to look behind them and see they're anemic at best. One pro-Trump fan live-streamed their attendance at the fair, also claiming thousands of people, only to find far fewer.

At one point, the network was ridiculed for showing a medium-sized crowd sitting on the grass watching a big screen. The Fox chyron read, "State Fair Surprise: Karoline Leavitt enjoys fair with her family." The photo was of World Cup fans at the FIFA Fan Zone in Washington instead. FIFA set up large screens in cities around the U.S. for fans who want to watch the games with a group of other fans. The fan zone is also on the National Mall.

Two sources told CNN that Trump "flipped" when he saw the low turnout at the state fair, and staff were even told to delete the photos from social media in hopes he wouldn't see them.

“The mistake here was not driving attendance,” said one person close to the White House. “It was an ‘if you build it, they will come’ mentality that failed.”

Dozens of people walked out of Trump's speech at the fair's opening.

As CNN wrote, "The episode has further heightened the stakes for Trump’s Independence Day address, which represents just the latest element of the U.S.’ semiquincentennial celebration that he’s sought to effectively make an extension of his all-consuming presidency."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Musk and Melania

New Book: First Lady Objected To 'Unhinged' Musk Crashing In White House

New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's new book was released Tuesday to the public, and among the revelations about the First Lady is that she didn't want trillionaire Elon Musk anywhere near the White House residence.

The Daily Beast dug through the book, uncovering a story that the tech guru, who promised and failed to reduce government spending by $2 trillion, once needled the president about crashing in the White House. Melania Trump put her foot down, but her husband didn't care. Musk then spent several nights in the Lincoln bedroom, the Daily Beast relayed.

Despite his vast wealth, Musk is known for couch surfing or living out of his offices or factories, as the New York Post reported in 2022.

“Though he also told associates he had taken to using a sleeping bag on the floor of his office in the Eisenhower Building," the book says.

The trillionaire bragged about it to the press, saying, “Sometimes I stay at the White House." He then noted he'd done it “more than once.”

According to Trump's version of events, the two were on Air Force One when Trump asked Musk where he was staying. During Trump's first term, he liked to ask the question to test whether people were staying at his Washington hotel. Musk said he didn't know yet. Trump then invited him to the White House for a private tour.

The Tesla boss said he thought the Lincoln Bedroom was "cool" and swore he never requested it.

Musk aslso praised Trump as a great host.

The First Lady didn't like Musk around and neither did many of the White House staffers, the book said. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles didn't like him much either, feeling he had a "strangeness" to him. He came across as "unhinged."

After Musk left the White House, it was revealed that he may have been using an extensive amount of drugs at the time, some of which are illegal. The New York Times reported in May 2025 that "Mr. Musk’s drug consumption went well beyond occasional use. He told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall, according to a photo of the box and people who have seen it."

The Times was careful to explain that it was unclear whether Musk was doing all of those drugs while at work in the White House. Musk denies the reporting, saying that he does not use drugs.

Haberman and Swan's new book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, is on sale Tuesday.

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet


Trump bald spot

New Trump Health Data Makes Top Doctor Ask 'What's Going On With His Prostate?'

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Trump has long taken a drug for hair loss called finasteride. It's no longer listed on his medical records. Another major finding is that his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test exploded tenfold over the last year.

It's prompting Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery and CNN medical analyst, to raise questions.

The hair loss drug Trump took, commonly known as Propecia, is used by millions to protect against hair loss. Trump's hair has long been a major part of his identity. His combover covers a growing balding spot on the back of his head.

However, the drug is "also is used as a treatment to prevent prostate cancer. People who take finasteride report lower levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in their bloodstream, a marker of potential prostate cancer," the Post said.

Since returning to office, however, the medication has disappeared from his charts. He took it in his first administration. Now his PSA has significantly increased. It doesn't mean he has prostate cancer, but it's sending up red flags to other physicians who believe Americans deserve to know the details.

“The current report reflects all medications deemed clinically relevant to disclose at this time,” the White House told the Post in a statement. “No additional undisclosed conditions or procedures materially affecting his health status were omitted from this report.”

They claimed that Trump’s latest medical report contained information relevant to his ability to serve in office.

Trump allies have mocked those questioning Trump's health and advanced age. Dr. Robert Klitzman, a psychiatrist who leads Columbia University’s master’s program in bioethics, told the Post that the White House isn't known for its honesty about such matters.

For example, Trump and the White House also concealed the seriousness of Trump's coronavirus infection in 2020 when it became so bad that he needed supplemental oxygen and had to be rushed to Walter Reed. There were a lot of "mixed messages" in the reporting on that issue at the time, The Guardian pointed out.

“It raises significant questions of what else is possibly not being revealed,” Klitzman said.

Hair loss, while devastating for some, isn't debilitating. But Klitzman explained that one of the side effects of the drug finasteride is an increased risk of depression. The president's emotional state could impact his performance. Trump is already known for his volatility. Now it appears he might also also face severe insomnia, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a hearing Wednesday. Insomnia can also have a significant impact on a person's emotional state.

The doctor called it “crucial” for the White House to be transparent about all of Trump's medications and overall health.

Another concern is a major change in Trump's prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.

In 2025, it was revealed that former President Joe Biden has stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer that has already spread to his bones. Prostate cancer isn't curable, but it can be slowed so significantly that the person with it can die from other factors. Biden's wasn't caught early enough to begin slowing the progression.

The diagnosis became a huge story, as many implied that the White House was "hiding" his diagnosis and that he was far more infirm than leading on. The American Urological Association advises against routine prostate cancer screening (PSA tests) for men over 70.

Dr. Reiner wants to know if Trump stopped taking the finasteride drug because his PSA went up from 0.1 last year to 1.0 now.

"Did he stop taking the drug, or is he still taking it and now there’s something going on with his prostate? That’s why it’s important," he said.

The Post noted past presidents who have also concealed details about their health, like when Woodrow Wilson had a stroke or John F. Kennedy was using powerful painkillers.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

January 6 rioters assault police

Federal Judge Halts Justice Department From Enacting January 6 Slush Fund

An order from a federal judge in Virginia has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund.

Last week, Trump came to an "agreement" with the Justice Department that a fund would be set up to give settlements to those who felt they'd been wronged by the government. It prompted a lot of questions from members of Congress about whether taxpayer dollars would be given to those who staged a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, tearing apart the historic building, terrorizing lawmakers and staff and beating police officers. Trump then withdrew his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

By Friday, the federal judge paused his new "fund."

"Because full briefing of the issue will enhance the ability of the Court to make a sound decision, plaintiffs Expedited Motion, is DENIED and defendants' request for additional time is GRANTED; however, to ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed from the Anti-Weaponziation Fund while plaintiffs' Motion is pending it is hereby ORDERED that defendants be and are ENJOINED from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the dispersing of any funds from the Fund..." the order says.

A footnote also reads, "It is important that the status quo be maintained until plaintiffs' pending Motion has been resolved, especially as plaintiffs allege in their Expedited Motion that defense counsel 'was unable to provide assurances of how long [the] status quo would last' and declined plaintiffs' 'request that the government commit to not transferring money to the Fund or processing or paying claims until at least June 19 to allow for less compressed briefing in this case.'"

Judge Leonie Brinkema, an appointee by former President Bill Clinton, is presiding over the case in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The hearing is set for June 12, where Brinkema will hear arguments about whether the pause will last longer.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Virginia's GOP-Dominated Supreme Court  Strikes Down Voter-Approved Redistricting

Virginia's GOP-Dominated Supreme Court  Strikes Down Voter-Approved Redistricting

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the new congressional map that voters passed in April's special election.

It's the first case of a high court striking down a vote of the people on a redistricting measure. In other states, such as Texas, voters didn't pass a bill specifying a map, whereas Virginia voters approved a specific design.

"We hold that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia. This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy," wrote the court.

The Article in the Constitution says, "Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Delegates, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals, the name of each member and how he voted to be recorded, and referred to the General Assembly at its first regular session held after the next general election of members of the House of Delegates."

It continues: "If at such regular session or any subsequent special session of that General Assembly the proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the voters qualified to vote in elections by the people, in such manner as it shall prescribe and not sooner than ninety days after final passage by the General Assembly. If a majority of those voting vote in favor of any amendment, it shall become part of the Constitution on the date prescribed by the General Assembly in submitting the amendment to the voters."

Lawyer Don Dechert commented, "Disheartening, but also also should broaden talks about court reform in the states. One hopes that the Virginia [legislature] looks at this and starts checking the VA Supreme Court."

Lawyer Benjamin Kabask called it a "f—— joke."

"You can have a legislature vote for something and the public ratify it, but if 4 Republicans in robes don't like it, it's not law. F—— this s——. Our country is finished. If [Virginia Gov. Abigail] Spanberger and her legislative majority don't come out with court reform today, what's the point? The norms are gone. It's time to fight," he added.

Zeteo political correspondent Asawin Suebsaeng wrote, "I think a lot of people are underestimating just how politically radicalizing this stuff is, when you see what the right is getting away with, including with the blessing of the Supreme Court majority."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Speaker Johnson Faces Possible Ouster As Jordan Jockeys For Takeover

Speaker Johnson Faces Possible Ouster As Jordan Jockeys For Takeover

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) appears ready to make his move to take over as Speaker of the House after Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) is expected to make his move after the GOP loses control of Congress.

NOTUS reported Monday that Republican lawmakers believe Jordan is preparing to take over and that he's raising and donating large sums of campaign cash to incumbents.

The House isn't expected to remain Republican in the November election. It is typical for the president's party to lose seats in the first midterms. However, Trump's poll numbers are so bad when it comes to the economy and starting an unpopular war in Iran that the GOP looks increasingly likely to lose control of Congress and possibly the Senate.

Jordan tried to beat Johnson when the Republicans ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in 2023, but ultimately failed to garner a majority. Over two dozen "lawmakers, congressional aides, outside advisors and lobbyists" told NOTUS that they see signs Jordan is preparing to make his move.

Jordan, a far-right extremist, has been trying to make inroads with the shrinking moderate and establishment wing of the party, the report explained.

“He’s done a really good job kind of broadening his base of support,” one moderate told NOTUS. “He’s gone out of his way to help people and build relationships.”

Jordan has spent years trying to overcome a scandal involving his awareness of sexual abuse at Ohio State University when he was an assistant wrestling coach. There are at least 177 sexual abuse cases involving Dr. Richard Strauss, the New York Times reported in 2021.

When Jordan ran, he faced a lot of questions about why he couldn't win in 2023. One member asked why, after years of refusing to raise money for those he disagreed with, he would suddenly decide they were on the same side. A key piece of the job in leadership is protecting incumbents and helping raise money for their reelections.

Jordan's excuse was, “It wasn’t my job to help you then."

One ally tried to explain that Jordan was instead focused on protecting Trump from impeachment.

“Jim completely changed his tack,” one senior Republican lawmaker told NOTUS after opposing Jordan in 2023. “He knew that for any chance for him to ascend to a top leadership role, or any leadership role for that matter, he was going to have to shed the wrestler Jim and become a little bit more congenial, workable, friendly, and civil.”

While he's been making inroads with moderates, he may still have to work to convince even those in his own wing of the GOP.

“Some of his angling is frustrating to some on the right,” said a Freedom Caucus member.

Jordan will likely have to face off against Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).

When asked about it, Jordan said he was “focused on helping our team keep the majority,” and he is “not at all” looking to a leadership race if the GOP moves into the minority.

The response perfectly encapsulated why so many of his colleagues resisted; he simply wasn't a team player.

Jordan is perhaps most known for using the Judiciary Committee to try to bring down former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

DHS Nominee Quizzed In Secret Session Over Bizarre 'Classified Mission' Claims

DHS Nominee Quizzed In Secret Session Over Bizarre 'Classified Mission' Claims

Nominated to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was caught in a "discrepancy" in his biography on Wednesday, which left lawmakers scratching their heads during his confirmation hearing. The decision was ultimately to go to a classified setting, where Mullin said he could answer their questions about his "special assignment," which he told the Senate he couldn't talk about.

Mullin's tale dates back to the January 6 attack, when he told C-SPAN he was able to spring into action because “I’ve been in those situations before overseas." He claimed, “I recognized that there was an issue really quick.” When asked for specifics, he refused to go into it.More recently, Mullin described the “smell of war.”

“War is ugly, it smells bad, and if anybody’s ever been there and been able to smell the war that’s happened around you and taste it and fill it in your nostrils and hear it, it’s something that you’ll never forget, and it’s ugly,” he said.

Mullin has never been to war nor has he been in any kind of military service. He was a UFC wrestler. As The New Republic's Edith Olmsted noted Wednesday, his comments have raised questions about "stolen valor."

Mullin was forced into a secure setting where the senators could discuss classified matters about what he said was a secret. After leaving, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who nominated Mullin officially, said that what Mullin called "classified" was actually more of a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). Mullin was never recruited by any government agency for any overseas mission.

"There’s still a lot of unanswered questions about what 'special missions' Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was engaged in such that he could not disclose to the committee in a public setting," wrote Politico's Homeland Security reporter Eric Bazail-Eimil. Lankford, he said, made it clear the issue is not classified.

"Democrats are confused," Bazail-Eimil said. "Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said it was a 'weird' situation and said he has more questions."

"Lankford also told us the trip was related to a follow up on a whistleblower. But Mullin said earlier he received SERE training," wrote Courthouse News Congress reporter Benjamin S. Weiss. SERE stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training, according to the U.S. Air Force.

Weiss recalled that Mullin also told the Senators he would only talk to people in the classified setting with "top secret" or "SCI clearance." What he did, Lankford said, was under an NDA.

"Things look even less clear," Weiss assessed.Mullin backed himself into a corner once Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) began questioning him on which agency classified his trips. Mullin answered that the House did, but the House doesn't have that power.

NBC News reporter Melanie Zanona reported that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was in the hearing audience to support Mullin in his nomination.

She relayed that McCarthy said Mullin's claims about being approved to take a classified trip to an undisclosed location in 2016 as a House member are '100% true.'"

McCarthy further said he checked with then-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) at the time and "former staff." Mullin testified that only four people in the House knew about the mystery mission.Weiss noted that after the classified questioning, Lankford tried to dismiss the matter about the SERE training as a “mountain and molehill” situation. When pressed on it, however, Lankford's account contradicted Mullins', and he refused to go into more details discussed in the classified setting.

“If you knew more of the story, which is small, in this point, then it would make more sense, on it," said Lankford, according to Weiss.

Politico legal reporter Kyle Cheney said that the discrepancy between top secret classified information and an NDA "makes a lot more sense, but raises the question of why Mullin kept describing it as some kind of classified venture."

"Whether Trump’s DHS pick gets confirmed before 3/31 could come down to whether Senate Homeland Security Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has a bone to pick with Mullin over comments Mullin made about the 2017 assault against Paul, will proceed with tomorrow’s markup as planned," wrote Bazail-Eimil on X.

The Washington Post reported ahead of the hearing that Mullin has been telling this story for at least five years. The story is one that "most laymen would assume meant he served in foreign battle," wrote the Post's congressional reporter Paul Kane.

David J. Bier, the Cato Institute's director of immigration studies, noted that while in her role, Secretary Kristi Noem's "biggest problems were that she and her staff were habitually dishonest, deceptive, and unaccountable. If you want to see how Sen. Mullin will be exactly the same, watch this 8-second exchange: Dishonest. Evasive. No accountability."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Geoffrey Berman

Revealed: FBI Told NYPD To 'Stand Down' In  2019 Probe Of Jeffrey Epstein

Ryan Goodman, editor-in-chief of Just Security, uncovered a document in which the New York Police Department was told by the federal government to "stand down" on its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

In a video posted Monday, Goodman said that he found documents in which the FBI sent the instructions to the NYPD just five days after Epstein's arrest. Goodman said he found it surprising that the order also applied to the SVU (Special Victims Unit). Goodman explained that it's the key part of law enforcement "that is specially trained and equipped to investigate crimes against minors and crimes of such abuse."

The documents show that the existing district attorney of New York was overseeing an ongoing investigation into Epstein and was communicating with the victims. Some of those victims then began to speak out, including a 2019 interview with Savannah Guthrie on NBC.

Goodman said that authorities in Washington considered the DA reaching out to victims a "fire" that needed to be put out. All of this was during President Donald Trump's first administration.

"It's quite stunning because a large part of the allegations against Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and alleged co-conspirators happened in New York. That would be the epicenter of a lot of the crimes, of the trafficking of the young girls and women, the sexual abuse of the young girls and women happened in the townhouse of the Upper East Side in Manhattan," Goodman explained.

To close off such an investigation from those on the ground, he said, is "astonishing" as it would be the most productive avenue of getting at the other men involved in the crimes.

While the federal government may have assumed that the NYPD and DA stopped, they actually continued the probe through a "robust investigation," including speaking to the survivors through their attorneys. One part of that investigation focuses specifically on Leon Black, a private equity investor, whom Business Insider reported on last week. Black has never been charged.

The Office of the New Mexico Attorney General, Raúl Torrez, said last week that in 2019, it was also told to stand down.

The "investigation was closed in 2019 at the request of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York," Torrez said. He wants them to be reopened. The U.S. attorney in 2019 was Geoffrey Berman, who was also actively investigating potential financial abuses related to Donald Trump's 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee and pursuing investigations involving Michael Cohen from 2018 to 2019.

The documents show that on December 6, 2018, the New York Police Department, the Sputhern District of New York and the FBI Child Exploitation/Human Trafficking Task Force opened a case on Epstein.

On July 10, 2019 an Epstein survivor, Jennifer Araoz, was interviewed by Guthrie for NBC's Today Show. She said the recruiter knew she was 14. After the interview aired, Araoz submitted a New York State court filing seeking information from Epstein about a recruiter who allegedly worked with him to "recruit" her. Her lawsuit against Maxwell and an assistant was filed on Aug 14, 2019, just four days after Epstein was found dead. She then filed the suit against his estate.

The "stand down" directive came in 2019 on July 10 and 11. One month later, Epstein was dead.

By January 2020, emails showed that the FBI was discussing the NYPD's probe of Epstein.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


'Smoking Gun'? Files Contradict Trump's Version Of His Break With Epstein

'Smoking Gun'? Files Contradict Trump's Version Of His Break With Epstein

Rep. Dave Min (D-CA) said on Monday that new revelations expose some conflicts in President Donald Trump's timeline about his relationship with trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Members of Congress have been working their way through the unredacted investigation files released by the Justice Department, which one senator said mentions Trump's name at least 38,000 times.

Speaking to CNN, Min brought up recent reports from the Miami Herald that exposed conflicting stories from Trump concerning what he knew about Epstein and when he knew it.

The report cites a conversation the Palm Beach Police chief told investigators he had with Trump in 2006.

“Thank goodness you’re stopping him. Everyone has known he’s been doing this,” Trump said to then-Chief Michael Reiter, who told the FBI in 2019. The interview documents are included in the case files released to date.

This "tells me Donald Trump was caught lying because he said that he did not know about Epstein until like 2019," said Min. "He said he'd quit affiliations with Epstein at some point. So the fact that, as early as 2005 or 2006, Donald Trump clearly and apparently knew something about what was going on with Epstein and that he was continuing to send girls from Mar-a-Lago to Epstein's employment. That tells us a lot about what Donald Trump knew and when. And I think that's a smoking gun."

Min said that Trump is desperately trying to distract from the Epstein files. He said that it appears the Justice Department made a lot of " unnecessary redaction of names, including, it looks like, Donald Trump's name quite a lot." Trump, the administration and Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell all maintain that Trump did nothing wrong throughout his relationship with the convicted trafficker.

The other problem Min sees is that 15 percent of the Epstein files still remain hidden by the Justice Department.

"We don't have any good reason for that. I'll take Rep. [Tom] Massie (R-KY) on his word that he saw some documents, and that fits in with the larger narrative that they're covering this up," Min said.

He recalled this time last year, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel were saying publicly that they would do whatever it took to release all of the files and get to the bottom of the trafficking ring.

"And yet, sometime in May, reportedly, Pam Bondi told President Trump he was in the Epstein files. That launched this whole cover-up. We saw them then deny that the Epstein files existed. Ghislaine Maxwell had a weird visit, a private visit from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who used to be Donald Trump's personal attorney," Min recalled.

It wasn't long after that that Maxwell was sent to a minimum security prison camp that typically doesn't allow sex offenders. Maxwell told the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Monday that she would reveal everything if she were granted a pardon.

"So this all reeks of a cover-up right now. And we need to release the entire Epstein files. The DOJ needs to explain why they seem to be redacting certain names of people who were implicated in the Epstein files," Min added.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Minnesota 'Whiplash' For Republicans As White House Drops RNC Talking Points

Minnesota 'Whiplash' For Republicans As White House Drops RNC Talking Points

The Republican Party is struggling to keep up with the ever-changing narratives coming out of President Donald Trump’s White House.

Politico reported Wednesday that the Republican National Committee (RNC) sent a talking-points memo to surrogates backing up the administration, only for the administration to undermine those same points shortly afterward.

The memo, obtained and posted by Politico, instructed GOP surrogates to blame protesters for trying to incite a riot and for attacking or “aggressively confront[ing] law enforcement.”

The talking points, which were also distributed to administration officials, echoed false claims from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commander Greg Bovino. In his statements after the shooting of ICU nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Bovino claimed that Pretti approached federal agents while “brandishing a weapon” and “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Bovino has since been relieved of his command and sent back to California from Minnesota.

The RNC memo told surrogates to emphasize that “agents attempted to disarm the individual as he violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a Border Patrol agent fired defensive shots.”

But video footage shows a very different account. Major outlets from the New York Times and Washington Post to the conservative Wall Street Journal have disputed the administration’s version, showing federal agents approaching Pretti, throwing him to the ground, and beating him before opening fire.

Politico wrote that the fast-moving developments “show how the administration and other Republicans scrambled to contain the fallout from the shooting.” The memo also attacks Democrats who want to freeze Homeland Security funding until concessions are made on legislation requiring agents to wear body cameras.

At the same time, many Republican officials have demanded an investigation into CBP and the agents involved. Publicly, the White House insists it still stands behind Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and top aide Corey Lewandowski; privately, some Trump allies are calling for her ouster.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Noem should be “out of a job,” and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) agreed she “should go.”

Asked whether the memo was authentic, RNC spokesperson Kiersten Pels attacked Democrats.

“Democrats incited this violence by encouraging protesters to confront law enforcement,” she said in a statement to Politico.

“Democrats are demonizing ICE and threatening to defund DHS instead of condemning attacks on officers – while President Trump and Republicans stand with law enforcement and public safety," she added.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


White House Chief Of Staff Rips Vance, Musk, Vought -- And Trump's 'Alcoholic Personality'

White House Chief Of Staff Rips Vance, Musk, Vought -- And Trump's 'Alcoholic Personality'

President Donald Trump's former campaign manager and current chief of staff, Susie Wiles left no one untouched speaking to a Vanity Fair reporter

In a new tell-all article, Wiles calls Vice President JD Vance "a conspiracy theorist for a decade."

There has been speculation about Vance's conversion from calling Trump "Hitler" to becoming a fierce defender of the president. Wiles reveals in the interview that Vance has been "sort of political" in his conversion.

Wiles also criticized Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Vought was the "architect of the notorious Project 2025," the Heritage Foundation plot to radically change the U.S. government from the inside.

According to Wiles, Vought is nothing more than "a right-wing absolute zealot."

Vought was closely involved with the effort to eliminate thousands of federal workers, leading to a brain drain of some of the smartest experts in government, Reuters reported in September.

Vanity Fair asked Wiles about the effort under Elon Musk to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. Toward the end of his time in the White House, Musk confessed he would only able to cut about $150 billion by the end of 2026.

In March, the billionaire argued, in a since-deleted posted, that leaders like Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler "didn't murder millions of people. Their public sector workers did."

Wiles said of the statement, “I think that’s when he’s microdosing.”

Wiles remark was in reference to reports of Musk's heavy drug use while working in the White House. In May, the New York Times reported Musk had a daily supply of 20 ketamine pills. He mixed the ketamine with ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and Adderall, according to the Times.

Wiles said she never had first-hand knowledge of Musk's drug use.

...

At one point during the interview, which involved a number of Trump staff members, Wiles said Trump has “an alcoholic’s personality."

She explained that he “operates [with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”

Trump's brother, Fred Trump Jr., was an alcoholic, and Trump doesn't drink alcohol at all. However Mary Trump, the president's niece, has said that for the president, "nothing is ever enough."

"This is far beyond garden-variety narcissism," Trump's niece, who has a degree in clinical psychology, said of Trump. "Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be."

Mary Trump wrote that her grandfather bullied his son, Fred Jr., into alcoholism.

Later in the Vanity Fair report, it explains that Wiles' father "was an absentee father and an alcoholic, and Wiles helped her mother stage interventions to get him into treatment." He finally got sober and stayed there for the 21 years before his 2013 death.

"Alcoholism does bad things to relationships, and so it was with my dad and me,” Wiles said.

“Some clinical psychologist that knows one million times more than I do will dispute what I’m going to say. But high-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink. And so I’m a little bit of an expert in big personalities.” Wiles said.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Mourning The Reiners: Stricken Friends Recall Their Artistry, Activism And Kindness

Mourning The Reiners: Stricken Friends Recall Their Artistry, Activism And Kindness

Filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and his photographer wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were murdered on Sunday, sending shockwaves through Hollywood and the Democratic Party.

Reiner was 78, but was still at work on projects, releasing Spinal Tap II: The End Continues in September.

Tributes and stores poured in from the lives of those he and his wife touched.

Former President Barack Obama wrote on X, “Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action."

John Cusack, who played Walter in The Sure Thing wrote on X, “Shocked by the death of Rob Reiner – a great man.”

Deadline posted a statement released from the family of Norman Lear saying, “The Lear Family is devastated by the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner. Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world. Norman would have wanted to remind us that Rob and Michele spent every breath trying to make this country a better place, and they pursued that through their art, their activism, their philanthropy, and their love for family and friends. Lyn Lear had remained very close with them and said, 'The world is unmistakably darker tonight, and we are left bereft.'"

Trainer Neda Soderqvist posted on Instagram that close friends and family need privacy.

"Thank you for all your messages. I can't function right now. My brain can't even gather the words. I will get back with everyone. I was just with Michele Reiner yesterday," she wrote in the photo of her message.

"Thank you for all your messages but right now I cannot communicate with anybody," she wrote as the comment. "Michele was [one] of my BESTEST FRIENDS I’ve been with Michele and Rob Reiner for the last 15 years and I’ve spent five days a week with her and I was just with her yesterday. Please respect the family and respect me right now. I cannot answer questions."

Entertainment journalist Kyle Stevens wrote on X, "I remember asking Rob & Nick Reiner an innocent little question about pro wrestling on a show I worked on. Little did I know that 9 years later, the footage would be examined after the tragic death of #RobReiner in a story that is still developing. Nick’s response stayed with me."

Actress and producer Meredith Salenger posted a photo of her and Reiner together, saying, "There are no words. He was such a light. Beyond his talent in film, he advocated for the best of society. He was a true leader. This is an unimaginable loss."

Beach Boys guitarist and singer Al Jardine posted photos of himself with the Reiners.

Director and activist Julie Cohen highlighted that the couple was "thoughtful, money-where-your-mouth-is progressive activists. While police investigate their deaths as homicides, Hollywood mourns. RIP.

Star Trek legend and activist George Takei wrote on BlueSky, "Some of the best movies ever made were by Rob Reiner. They made us laugh and think: The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men. And he was a force on screen as well in All in the Family and so many films. What a tragic loss. Words fail with news like this."

Actor Josh Gad wrote on Instagram, "He was one of the greatest directors of our time. He was a friend. He was simply a beautiful person. Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle were two of the most kind and caring souls you could ever imagine. He cared so much for those who had no voices. This loss is devastating. I cannot express how much this hurts. Love you Rob and Michelle. Thank you for all you gave us."

"Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig posted on X, "One of my most cherished pictures. Rob [Reiner] was my true hero. A true visionary titan and a lovely lovely person. One never knows if it’s proper to post during something as tragic as this. But I just want the world to know what so many of us know in the industry. Rob was the best."

Actress Virginia Madsen wrote on Instagram, "Damn this awful news out of Brentwood. God be with those who love them. Thank you Rob for giving us so much joy to hold on to. Life and talent always turned up to 11."

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and spouse Jennifer Siebel Newsom issued a statement saying, in part, “Rob was the big-hearted genius behind so many of the classic stories we love, with projects as wide-ranging as ‘The Princess Bride’ to ‘A Few Good Men.’ His boundless empathy made his stories timeless, teaching generations how to see goodness and righteousness in others – and encouraging us to dream bigger."

Actor Kathy Bates, who worked with Reiner on Misery and Primary Colors told NBC, "I’m horrified hearing this terrible news. Absolutely devastated. I loved Rob. He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist. He also fought courageously for his political beliefs. He changed the course of my life."

She went on to call Michele Reiner a “gifted photographer.”

Actor Kevin Nealon wrote on X, "Rob Reiner. The humor is smart and the heart is real. His films were part of the air for us. Grateful for what he made, and for what he and his wife gave the world."

Retired celebrity reporter and AP entertainment editor Michael Weinfeld recalled speaking to Reiner's father Carl in a 1993 interview in which the elder Reiner called Rob his and his wife's "greatest creation."

Reprintd with permission from Alternet


Thom Tillis

'Wipeout': Republicans Terrified 2026 Blue Wave Will Flip Senate And House

Republicans are increasingly anxious about the 2026 midterm elections, fearing a potential “wipeout” that could cost them their House majority and several Senate seats.

The Hill reported Monday that off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and municipal races around the country indicate they might be in trouble.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is not running for reelection, told the outlet, “If we are where we are today in the beginning of the second quarter [of 2026], then I think we’re in for a really rough time in November.”

“We have plenty of time to address it. There are a lot of positive things that we’re doing here, that the administration is doing. But if you mess with health care … if we don’t get health care policy right, if we don’t get some of the cost policies right, we’re going to have major headwinds next year,” he added.

The Hill reported that the biggest concern is the coattails of President Donald Trump, which have never been especially strong. Republicans lost power in their first midterm election after Trump’s 2016 win, when Democrats flipped the House in 2018. It was already a concern in January 2016, when former Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) told Reuters he did not think Trump could help carry down-ballot candidates later that year.

Trump’s approval rating currently stands at 41.9 percent in a recent polling average compiled by Decision Desk HQ. On the generic congressional ballot — that is, whether voters say they would support a Democratic or Republican candidate — Democrats lead with 46.8 percent to 41.4 percent, according to DDHQ’s average.

One Republican on a conference call with the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said election fears have spread among many senators up for reelection in 2026.

“The numbers are terrible,” said the unnamed lawmaker. “Not necessarily for any individual incumbent senator, although some of them aren’t very good. But you saw what happened a couple of weeks ago. Republicans didn’t win anything anywhere.”Democrats won the governor’s races in both Virginia and New Jersey. In Virginia, Trump did not participate, but in New Jersey, the president offered a full endorsement and support to the GOP nominee.

“There are a lot of warning signs blinking,” the lawmaker noted. “We’re increasingly on defense on the Senate side. … I think there’s a lot of concern.”

“Look at the 2018 midterm, we lost 41 seats in the House. The Speaker can only lose three this time,” a different GOP senator said.“I would expect to lose the House; I’m just trying to be objective,” the senator confessed.

Trump appeared to see the writing on the wall several months ago when he pressed Texas to pursue mid-decade redistricting to gerrymander congressional lines and eliminate solidly Democratic seats, a move that drew national criticism. California lawmakers, facing their own political pressures, moved ahead with a mid-decade redraw that targeted several Republican-held districts. A court has now thrown out the new Texas maps, ordering lawmakers back to the drawing board.

Other states, like Indiana, are resisting Trump’s demands to eliminate their remaining Democratic-held seats, even as they face pressure over redistricting. After years of litigation, a court ruled that Utah must draw a Democratic-leaning district centered on the Salt Lake City area, ensuring that Democrats have at least one realistic opportunity to win a seat there.

“The conventional wisdom was Democrats were screwed, and we were going to be in a hole of anywhere from 10 to 17 seats because of redistricting. That was back in the middle of July. Looking where we are now, that’s absolutely not the case,” said a Democratic strategist, according to The Hill.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet