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Justin Sun

Billionaire Says Trump 'Threatened' Him For Disclosing Fraud In World Liberty Crypto

An eccentric billionaire is accusing President Donald Trump of fraud relating to his family's biggest recent grift scheme, and in an interview with New York magazine, further accused the president of "threatening" him to keep quiet.

Intelligencer called Chinese billionaire Justin Sun "one of the richest people in the world, having made his fortune in the no-rules early phase of the crypto industry" in its Monday profile, further detailing how he invested $30 million in the Trump family's crypto firm World Liberty Financial and joined it as an advisor in late 2024. The firm has emerged as the epicenter of the Trump family's cryptocurrency dealings, and, in the wake of numerous shady deals, is now considered its biggest overall financial venture.

As he moved forward with World Liberty Financial, however, Sun came to see the investment as a "colossal mistake," as the firm's promised products never materialized and its various tokens crashed in value, costing investors massive sums of money. In April of this year, he sued the company, "alleging fraud and breach of contract.""Today, the thing I regret the most is not only that my money got stuck but that my name is on the project,” Sun told the outlet. “I believe many other people also got harmed... I never expected this to happen to me. This is the worst-case scenario."

He added further: “I thought surely these people would not do what they did with such a public profile attached. Looking back, I was wrong about that. Unfortunately, as alleged in the complaint, certain operators leveraged the Trump brand to profit through fraud.”

Sun's suit against World Liberty notably does not name either Trump or his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and he claims to remain an "ardent supporter" of the president. He insisted to one source who spoke with the Intelligencer that the suit is not a "political issue," and accused the company of acting "like young punk criminals" and giving the crypto a industry a bad name.

The company, meanwhile, did not sit back in response to Sun's suit.

"On May 4, a couple of weeks after Sun filed his suit, World Liberty sued him for defamation," the report detailed. "Represented by the law firm Clare Locke, which successfully sued Fox News over its 'big lie' coverage following the 2020 election, World Liberty tells a different version of events. Though sections of its accusations are redacted, World Liberty claims in the suit that it froze Sun’s coins to 'protect' itself and its investors from prohibited conduct by Sun. Just before the $WLFI tokens started trading, the company alleges, Sun placed a large bet against them, transferring $300 million 'to fund an aggressive short position.' It also claims Sun made 'straw purchases' on behalf of other investors. Notably, though, World Liberty did not sue Sun for breach of contract or fraud."

Sun dismissed this suit as an effort to silence him.

“I believe that World Liberty is trying to threaten me into silence, but that will not work,” he said. “I stand by the decision to speak out about conduct that I believe was improper and harmful to token holders... I believe the evidence will prove our allegations to be true.”

'Worst Presidential Relative Ever': The Sheer Moral Repugnance Of Don Jr's Endless Grift

'Worst Presidential Relative Ever': The Sheer Moral Repugnance Of Don Jr's Endless Grift

Calling him out for an unprecedented level of "shameless corruption and sheer moral repugnance" as he attempts to cash in on his father's office, a new breakdown from MS NOW argued that Donald Trump Jr. just might be the "worst presidential relative ever."

In a piece published Sunday morning, author and commentator Paul Waldman noted that "problematic presidential family members are an American tradition as old as the republic," noting examples like Theodore Roosevelt's hot-headed daughter, Alice, and Jimmy Carter's "colorful buffoon" brother, Billy. Under the second administration of President Donald Trump, however, he argued that his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has become the "new standard by which all future misbehavior among presidential offspring should be judged."

"When it comes to grasping for taxpayer money, shameless corruption and sheer moral repugnance, none who came before can hold a candle to Donald Trump Jr.," Waldman wrote. "He has cemented his position as perhaps the most distasteful and ethically compromised presidential relative in American history — and his father isn’t even halfway through his second term."

He continued later: "Don Jr. wasn’t just going to sit by and watch Dad have all the fun. So he has undertaken his own frenzy of dealmaking, all of it seemingly based on the fact that he’s the president’s son. Some of the enterprises are joint ventures with the whole family. There’s World Liberty Financial, a crypto company that has been the vehicle for some of the biggest players looking to give payoffs to the Trumps and get something in return.

As an investigative report revealed, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser secretly invested half a billion dollars in the company. Not long after, the Trump administration lifted export controls on computer chips the UAE desperately wants to create its own artificial intelligence infrastructure (Commerce Department staff objected to the change, but the White House cites the UAE’s position as a U.S. ally.)

"Donald Trump Jr., alongside his younger brother, Eric Trump, has also found ways to consistently cash in on the U.S. government's increased defense spending. As Waldman described the dynamic, the siblings have made investments in smaller defense companies, "then watch as huge government contracts magically materialize." Another company they are extensively invested in, Kaz Resources, received $1.6 billion in investments from the federal government, and saw the president himself intervene to make sure the company received special access to tungsten mines in Kazakhstan as part of a new deal with the country.

"Don Jr. has always had the air of a man desperate to please his indifferent father," Waldman concluded. "This spring, the president couldn’t even be bothered to attend his son’s wedding. But if he keeps this up, he’ll be able to say, 'See Dad, I’m just as greedy and corrupt as you!' It’s an achievement no presidential relative can match."

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

Fox Host Ingraham Beseeches Trump To End War Before Midterm Ruin

Fox Host Ingraham Beseeches Trump To End War Before Midterm Ruin

President Donald Trump is once again stuck in a quagmire that is driving away voters in droves, prompting one Fox News host to plead with him to reverse course before he definitively tanks the midterms.

Despite hyping up the memorandum of understanding as a major step towards peace, Trump's war with Iran now appears to be back in full swing, with reports emerging about new U.S. casualties and gas prices beginning to climb once more due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict, with its nebulous goals and disastrous impacts on the global economy, has always been unpopular with voters, and it continues to subsume Trump's presidency ahead of the all-important November midterms.

As highlighted inThe Daily Beast, Fox News host Laura Ingraham is now "warning her own network’s audience that the conflict is becoming a political liability for Republicans," and pleading with Trump to find a way out of the war before the general elections. In a broadcast from this week, she "didn’t mince words" about what the fallout of the Iran war would be for the GOP.

“With the midterm elections a little more than 100 days away, the clock is ticking for President Trump to get out of this war before voters head to the polls,” Ingraham said. “It’s making a lot of Republicans nervous. It’s already, as we know, unpopular. According to the new Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 69 percent of Americans disapprove of the handling of this conflict. Republicans cannot let this become an endless distraction, especially if they want to win in November.”

The Daily Beast further noted that Ingraham is far from alone amongst her conservative Fox colleagues when it comes to Iran, with network veteran Brit Hume repeatedly stressing how much of a "tough spot" the conflict has put Trump in.

“And he promised to keep us out of endless wars or unsatisfactory wars, and now he’s in one, and it’s not at all clear how it’s gonna end,” Hume said, only hours before Ingraham's segment. “So, he’s vulnerable on this point, and in political terms, he does need to get this over with. But what he may need his time, and he doesn’t have a lot of time.”

Late last month, Hume also said during an appearance that Trump appeared to be getting strung along by Iranian leaders, whom he said were "absolutely notorious for going back on deals, violating ceasefires, violating memoranda of understanding"

"And of course, there's the question of whether they have any control over the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is independent to a great extent of the broader government," Hume said. "It’s hard to resist the conclusion that the President of the United States is being jerked around by an Iranian regime in much the same way that previous administrations have been jerked around."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Will Solid Red Iowa Oust Republicans Over Its Carcinogenic Water?

Will Solid Red Iowa Oust Republicans Over Its Carcinogenic Water?

Ahead of the pivotal 2026 midterm elections, Politico reports that a consistently red state is being pushed away from Republicans, all because of a longstanding environmental crisis resulting in cancer-causing water.

Once considered a swing state, in the last several election cycles, Iowa has emerged as a solid red state, breaking for President Donald Trump in all three of his races. Despite that trend, there remains a hope among Democrats, backed up by recent polling data, that they might be able to pull off wins in the state this November, given how toxic Trump and the Republican Party are becoming with voters. This is especially true in Iowa, where the president's economic agenda has caused major pains for the state's many farmers.

On top of all that, Politico on Sunday released a report revealing that a long-term ecological crisis is also triggering a "political reckoning" in the Hawkeye State, and it could end up being a disaster for Republicans.

Chris Jones, the Democratic nominee for Iowa's secretary of agriculture, told Politico that his "decade as a research engineer, monitoring the state’s rivers and streams," led him to pursue public office, to address the alarming things he discovered about the state's rivers and lakes. As the report explained, "Iowa’s lakes and ponds are often murky and fetid from algae blooms fed by fertilizer runoff, a byproduct of the state’s vast agricultural industry’s reliance on farming chemicals."

"Iowa has a long-simmering water problem that has finally begun to boil over — and it’s changing Iowa politics," Politico explained. "People are angry and worried about the quality of the state’s water, the health risks it poses and its increasingly undeniable tie to the state’s signature industry: agriculture."

It continued: "In recent years, Iowa’s cancer rate has climbed significantly above the U.S. average. It now stands as the nation’s second highest, and Iowa is one of only three states where the rate is rising. The situation has put a spotlight on nitrates, which are linked to a growing body of science to kidney, brain, and ovarian cancer. Nitrates are a key component in the deluge of chemical pesticides and fertilizers used by the state’s farmers, some of which washes off farm fields and into waterways. A second culprit is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the world’s most common weedkiller, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared 'probably carcinogenic' in 2015, an assessment rejected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

While candidates on both sides have long been wary of tackling issues stemming from Iowa's all-important farming industry, things are different this year. Voters are "steaming mad" about the impact these chemicals are having, and as a result, candidates from both parties have taken aim at the industry, and found success doing so. In a development that is "scrambling" the common understanding of Iowa's politics, "some of those winning candidates are Democrats."

"In the Republican primary for governor, a businessman, farmer, and political operative named Zach Lahn shocked the political establishment by edging out Trump-endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra for the nomination," Politico explained. "Lahn won, in part, by openly acknowledging the state’s water crisis and connecting the dots between agriculture and cancer. Lahn was also the first candidate for statewide office endorsed by MAHA Action, the main PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement. MAHA voters supported Kennedy and President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections, but have since rebelled against some of their moves, especially the Trump administration’s open support for glyphosate."

It continued: "As for the Democrats, they have their best shot in a decade or more of winning statewide offices in November’s election. Democrat Josh Turek is neck-and-neck in recent polling with Republican Ashley Hinson in the open race for U.S. Senate. And Lahn’s Democratic opponent, Rob Sand, bested him by one percentage point, within the margin of error, in recent polling in the governor’s race."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Speech Pathologist: Trump Displayed Signs Of Dementia On Usha Vance Web Series

Speech Pathologist: Trump Displayed Signs Of Dementia On Usha Vance Web Series

President Donald Trump made a "big mistake" during a recent media appearance, with a professional pathologist revealing the signs of dementia and decline that he accidentally exposed.

Trump recently made an appearance on Usha Vance's web series, "Storytime with the Second Lady," which was noted by many for his odd comments about John F. Kennedy being the most handsome past president. The president made that comment as he flipped through the children's picture book, Presidents Play, by Jonathon Pliska and John Hutton.

Beyond the strange comments, however, Trump may have made another "big mistake" during the appearance, according to speech-language pathologist Hilary Shae. Shae specializes in concussion recovery and creates political content in which she offers professional insights into signs of Trump's cognitive and physical decline.

"Donald Trump went on Usha Vance's show, and that turned out to be a big mistake for him," Shae said in one of her latest videos. " Because he demonstrated signs and symptoms of dementia in both the speech and language aspect, as well as the motor-functioning aspect."

On the physical side, Shae used slowed-down footage from the appearance to demonstrate Trump having a difficult time grabbing the book he paged through, as well as the awkward "external rotation" of his shoulder when he turned to grab it from a stack of other books. She noted how his strange method of grabbing the book, using all four fingers and leaving out his thumb, was "actually quite informative from a neurological perspective," as this sort of behavior in dementia patients signals "a problem with motor planning, hand shaping or sensory motor integration."

Shae explained that dementia patients can struggle with "pre-shaping," which refers to the brain's process of preparing movements before we make them, such as when you reach for something to grab it. These struggles might result in a patient defaulting to the simplest grip possible, as Trump appeared to do.

Shae also suggested that this was a similar dynamic to what can be seen in some of Trump's public addresses, in which he struggles with properly pronouncing multi-syllabic words. In these instances, he instead tends to verbalize a "much simpler approximation of those words," while also leaning on simpler words as much as he can.

"Donald Trump is showing significant observable signs and symptoms of dementia, and he's got to go," Shae concluded.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

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Trump Biographer: Angry Presidential Grifter Believes He 'Deserves' Billions

Trump Biographer: Angry Presidential Grifter Believes He 'Deserves' Billions

President Donald Trump's second term has come to be defined by a seemingly endless series of self-serving grifts, and according to his one-time biographer, there is a particular "demented" fantasy he is using to justify this bottomless greed.

Michael Wolff is a longtime reporter and author, best known for a series of books chronicling the behind-the-scenes chaos of Trump's first term, based on insider White House sources. During the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," he and co-host Joanna Coles touched on the Trump administration's recent deal to allow a company partially owned by the president's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, to mine tungsten, a key mineral for military projects, in Kazakhstan, with the project receiving up to $1.6 billion in federal funding.

“It’s an extraordinary story,” Wolff said about the deal. “The grift is the grift and the grift is there, but this is... just completely out in the open.”

Speaking further on the matter, Wolff delved into Trump's motivations for self-serving deals and grifts like this, revealing a personal revenge motive that underpins all of it.

“The really interesting thing is what Donald Trump thinks about this,“ Wolff explained. ”We tend to... see him as he’s completely cynical: ‘Just give me the money.’ I don’t think that’s exactly the case. I think it is that he — profoundly in his mind, in his head — believes he deserves this."

He continued, giving voice to Trump's mindset: “‘It’s a fair exchange. I’m Donald Trump, I’m the president of the United States. I should get something out of this.'"

According to financial disclosure documents obtained by the New York Times on Tuesday, Trump took in a "stunning windfall" of around $2.2 billion in 2025, up from just $622 million in 2024, prior to his return to the White House. The report further revealed that the revenue came from a United Arab Emirates-affiliated wealth fund that acquired a major stake in "the Trump family’s main crypto company, World Liberty Financial, a transaction that blurred the line between foreign policy and private enterprise." The Trump organization has also been "licensing the Trump name to properties in countries that are crucial to U.S. foreign policy interests, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar."

“It’s not just grift for him. It’s truly revenge — a revenge that he deserves, that he is due," Wolff added. “This is an important thing and a step beyond... certainly any kind of grift that I’m familiar with, even historical grift. It’s a much more elaborate psychology here in which he deserves it... This is all Donald Trump always against the establishment and the system, and ‘They’ve done me wrong, so I should be paid.’”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


Newsom Says Trump Justice Department Put Him (And Wife!) On'Hit List'

Newsom Says Trump Justice Department Put Him (And Wife!) On'Hit List'

On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, took to social media to reveal that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, were being investigated by Trump's Justice Department. Newsom accused the department of trying to fabricate a case that was not there, and said that this was happening not because of his viral tweets mocking the president, but because he is "considering running for President" in 2028.

"Today, my wife [and] I joined Donald Trump’s hit list," the tweet read. "He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. They have not found a crime - they are simply trying to find one. He isn't coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President. He hates that I consistently call him out. He is simply the most corrupt President in American history. We have nothing to hide. Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere. The country is watching."

In an appearance on MS NOW later in the day, Carol Leonnig, a senior investigative correspondent for the network, revealed what she fellow reporter, Erum Salam, had found out about the story from sources, backing up Newsom's claims about the DOJ "trying to find" a case against him."First off, I want to say that we have from sources two really important nuggets," Leonnig said. "One is that the central district of California, the U.S. district attorney's office in the central district, has been pressing the line prosecutors to come up with a case against Gavin Newsom."

Sharing a clip from that broadcast to X, Izzy Gardon, Newsom's director of communications, highlighted the "come up with" phrasing, backing up the governor's claim about the administration trying to fabricate a case against him.

"However, a source tells us that the prosecutors and investigators that have been contacting Newsom are actually based out of Sacramento, in what's called the eastern district of California," Leonnig added. "And there was an investigation of a staffer of Gavin Newsom's that was based out of that office, or if not led by that office. And now we are hearing again from one source with some reliable information, that this is the office that Newsom is referring to, although he may not know it, that the investigators who have been contacting family and friends are based out of."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Court Documents Reveal Massive Public Cost Of Trump's UFC Birthday Bash

Court Documents Reveal Massive Public Cost Of Trump's UFC Birthday Bash

President Donald Trump will hold an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card on the White House grounds to ring in his birthday this weekend, and as The Hill reported this week, newly released court documents have exposed the eye-watering price tag that the event has cost, so far.

Thanks in large part to Trump's friendship with UFC CEO and longtime political supporter Dana White, the UFC Freedom 250 show is set to take place at the White House on Sunday, June 14. The event, which has become a lightning rod for criticism and controversy, has necessitated the construction of a 5,000-seat venue, complete with a massive ring and lighting structure, amping up critiques about Trump's desecration of the White House.

The project has also racked up a hefty price tag, The Hill reported this week, based on court documents from a lawsuit brought against the National Parks Service by Virginia residents, aiming to halt the event altogether.

"Federal agencies and the UFC are spending at least $60 million to pull off the White House cage fight set to take place Sunday, which is President Trump’s birthday," The Hill detailed. "The funds have gone toward building an octagon fighting arena on the White House South Lawn, purchasing and delivering food and paying up to 900 workers to remain on-site since May 20 for the event’s success, according to court filings."

The UFC event has also required extensive help from numerous federal agencies.

"The Executive Office of the President, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Park Police, Interior Department, National Park Service, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration are each involved in coordinating the event — part of the administration’s celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday," the report added.

“In preparation, well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended," the government explained in a recent court filing. "More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend on the South Lawn, including more than 1,000 members of our armed services, and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to watch from the nearby Ellipse after winning free tickets in a lottery... Many of the event’s attendees will visit from outside the capital region, and have already invested personal resources in lodging, air transportation, and other arrangements... Fourteen world-class athletes, who have been training for months, have traveled from all over the world to compete (including for two world championships).”

TKO, parent company of the UFC and WWE, has claimed that it will be funding the Freedom 250 event at a loss, calling it a "once-in-a-lifetime stage as a strategic investment to drive subscriber acquisition at Paramount+," the streaming service operated by Trump ally, David Ellison.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Washed-Up Has-Beens': Even MAGA Loyalists Are Torching Freedom 250 Show

'Washed-Up Has-Beens': Even MAGA Loyalists Are Torching Freedom 250 Show

The Trump-aligned Freedom 250 concert series has been a disaster weeks before it even started, and according to the hosts at The Bulwark, not even the president's staunchest MAGA allies were happy about the line-up of "washed up has-beens."

Last week, Freedom 250 announced a series of free concerts to take place in Washington D.C., around July 4th, as part of the festivities surrounding America's 250th anniversary. The initial line-up of nine acts was mocked and criticized as weak and lacking star power, while the artists themselves were attacked for agreeing to take part in an event directly tied to President Donald Trump. While America 250 is a non-partisan entity created by Congress to plan events for the anniversary, Freedom 250 is a competing entity launched by the Trump administration.

In the wake of this backlash, most of the nine acts have dropped out of the concert series, with many, like country star Martina McBride, claiming they were misled about the partisan affiliations of the event. As the event spirals, Trump has floated headlining the series himself, while other MAGA allies have taken to begging musicians to take part.

Not all of Trump's allies have been supportive of the Freedom 250 concerts, however. In a video shared Monday, Will Sommer of The Bulwark shared several reactions from notable MAGA media figureheads, ripping into the concert series and its implosion.

"What was interesting to me was that there was just a lot of talk about, like, 'man, we really cannot find anyone who wants to be associated artistically with the Trump administration," Sommer said.

He then highlighted an X post from far-right commentator Matt Walsh to illustrate his point.

"What a mess," Walsh wrote. "They invited a bunch of washed up has-beens, and now even the washed up has-beens are bailing on them. Yet another reason why the right wing 'get literally any famous person we can' approach is r——."

Sommer noted that Walsh later asserted that conservatives need to "retake the culture," even as his employer, The Daily Wire, is currently imploding after a costly attempt to become a mainstream film and television production house.

As of now, only rappers Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida, as well as individual members of Milli Vanilli and C+C Music Factory, are still committed to performing at the series. In the wake of these cancellations, Trump has also suggested that the concerts should be axed altogether.


James Talarico

Hispanic Voters Abandon MAGA, Threatening Trump And GOP In Midterm Elections

President Donald Trump might be celebrating for now, but according to a new report from The Hill, he could be cruising for his most embarrassing defeat of the 2026 midterms, all thanks to a key voting bloc that is ditching him en masse.

Earlier this week, Ken Paxton prevailed over incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP primary for his Texas Senate seat, marking another win for Trump's influence over the MAGA voting base, as it came shortly after he endorsed the state Attorney General in the race. This came after a string of similar incumbent losses where the president endorsed a primary challenger, but concerns are now mounting that Paxton's scandal-plagued background will sour voters in the general election and hand the seat to Democrats.

Given how deep-red Texas has been for decades, such a loss would surely mark one of the most embarrassing blunders for Trump and the GOP for the 2026 midterm cycle, and according to a Thursday report from The Hill, the race could be decided by one key group of voters. Unfortunately for the president, it is a group that has been ditching him consistently since they broke for him in an unprecedented way in 2024.

"[The] outcome of Paxton’s November matchup with Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico could hinge on Hispanic voters, who moved sharply toward Republicans during Trump’s 2024 campaign but have recently shown signs of drifting back toward Democrats in the polls," The Hill explained

It added later: "Recent national surveys have found Democrats regaining support among nonwhite and Hispanic voters, after Trump made significant gains with those voting blocs last cycle. A Pew Research Center survey released this month found Trump’s approval rating among Latinos who voted for him in 2024 down 27 points since the start of his second term — falling to 66 percent in April. The same survey found Trump’s overall approval among Latinos down 14 points — at 22 percent — fueling Democratic hopes they can regain ground with the critical voting bloc in the Lone Star State."

“The Latino vote is the biggest swing vote in Texas, so whoever wins them in big numbers is going to be victorious,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor, told the outlet.

A Wednesday report from Axios also affirmed the continuing trend of "buyer's remorse" among Latinos who voted for Trump in the last presidential election. Citing the latest findings from the firm, UniDos, the outlet reported that 25 percent of Latino voters said that they would not vote for him again if they could. This, the outlet argued, shows that the demographic remains "highly movable," signaling major troubles for "Republicans in Latino-heavy battleground districts where both parties are watching for signs of a post-2024 snapback."

"The erosion of Latino support for President Trump, combined with dissatisfaction with the economy, signals danger for competitive GOP-held seats in the 2026 midterm elections," Axios explained.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


'Wall Street Journal' Warns Trump Against Ceasefire Bailout For Iranian Regime

'Wall Street Journal' Warns Trump Against Ceasefire Bailout For Iranian Regime

Amid reports that a new ceasefire deal is imminent, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board warned President Donald Trump to avoid a deal that functions as an economic bailout for Iran.

Over the weekend, Trump claimed that the U.S. and Iran were close to reaching a deal for a 60-day ceasefire in the conflict that has ravaged the world economy and sent oil prices skyrocketing. Iranian officials confirmed that talks were progressing, but stressed that major sticking points were still holding it back, adding that a deal was nowhere near as close as the president suggested. Nevertheless, news of an impending reprieve sent oil prices tumbling slightly.

In response to these reports, the Wall Street Journal board — which is commonly viewed as a major conservative voice on economic and political issues — published a new piece, warning Trump that one aspect of the supposed plan would amount to an economic bailout for Iran, and would leave the U.S. with only the most extreme leverage to get a final deal made, calling the notion a major potential "strategic setback."

In particular, the board took issue with the proposed portion of the deal that would end the U.S. blockade of Iran's port and allow them to resume selling oil to foreign markets.

"The preliminary deal, as mooted in the press, is for both sides to end their blockades, and perhaps for the U.S. to sweeten the pot financially, while talks on nuclear issues and further sanctions relief continue for 60 days or more," the board wrote. "A U.S. official says, but Iranian officials deny, that the regime gave assurances a final deal would include 'disposal' of its enriched uranium."

The end of the blockade, they warned, would destroy a key piece of U.S. leverage over Iran before its nuclear program is properly dealt with. The only remaining leverage — threatening to renew the fighting — will ring hollow after his previous backtracks.

"The basic problem lies with ending U.S. pressure before dismantling the nuclear program," the board added. "If the blockade ends and Iran can sell its oil, all that’s left to coerce it into nuclear concessions is the threat of renewed war."

It continued: "But Trump wasn’t willing to do that after Iran reneged on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and attacked U.S. forces and Gulf allies. How credible will the threat be 60 days closer to midterms, when it would trigger a new Iranian blockade of Hormuz? A pledge not to build a nuclear weapon means nothing because the regime has always said that while doing the opposite... Iran’s regime went into this war facing domestic political and economic crises. War has made these worse. Saving such a regime now with an economic bailout would be the real betrayal—of the U.S. interest even more than the Iranian people.”

Reprinted with permisson from Alternet


How Creepy Ratner Got That 'Melania' Movie Deal And Joined Trump's Inner Circle

How Creepy Ratner Got That 'Melania' Movie Deal And Joined Trump's Inner Circle

There has recently been a "creepy" new addition to President Donald Trump's inner circle, one that he reportedly insists on keeping close to him frequently, and according to his one-time biographer, First Lady Melania Trump was instrumental in linking up the two men.

Michael Wolff is a longtime reporter and author who has had significant access to Trump over the years, notably writing a series a of tell-all books about the chaos behind the scenes in his first term. Earlier this week, he discussed Trump's new friendship with disgraced director and movie producer Brett Ratner, explaining that the president needs new allies due to all of his other officials becoming scapegoats for his failing administration. He also argued that they are cut from the same cloth, given their past associations with Jeffrey Epstein.

During the latest episode of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," Wolff expanded on the situation and revealed how Ratner's connection to a top aide for Melania Trump, Marc Beckman, was the key to gaining entry into Trump's inner circle. Beckman has served as an adviser to the first lady for two decades, according to The Daily Beast, and also served as a producer on her recent documentary, which Ratner directed."The guy who has become Melania’s sort of main adviser, chief of staff, marketing guru, COO of Melania Enterprises... apparently knew Brett Ratner, and that was the connection,” Wolff explained.

Wolff noted further that Ratner was a baffling choice for the first lady to associate with, let alone to direct a feature film about her, given his sordid history and her desperate desire to distance herself from Epstein allegations. Photos from the Justice Department's Epstein files disclosures show the filmmaker alongside the late sex trafficker with his arms around an unknown woman. Ratner claimed that he was engaged to the woman at the time, and that he "had never been in contact" with Epstein before or after the photo.

Allegations of Ratner's improper behavior predate the Epstein story, however. His career was put on ice in 2017 after numerous women, including actress Olivia Munn, accused him of sexual misconduct. It has only been in recent years, thanks to his connections to Trump, that he has found his way back to major projects. He is set to return to the Rush Hour franchise soon, after the president reportedly demanded that a new sequel be greenlit.

“Can you imagine any other first lady’s office approving Brett Ratner?” Wolff's co-host, Joanna Coles, said. “I mean, I’m not saying that Steven Spielberg would have done it, but there are so many directors that could have done this.”

She added later: "I got a note from a producer friend yesterday who’s been at the Cannes Film Festival saying that she... saw Brett Ratner showing everybody his photographs of his new best friend Donald Trump in China."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Corruption': Trump's Support Of Prediction Markets Protects Family Investments

'Corruption': Trump's Support Of Prediction Markets Protects Family Investments

Critics attacked President Donald Trump's newest move against states as a "war" against betting market regulations meant to help enrich his family's business interests, with one activist stating bluntly, "This is what corruption looks like."

According to a Thursday report from the Popular Information substack, Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois have launched lawsuits against "prediction market" platforms Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, and Robinhood, alleging that they have worked to "circumvent state laws" in order to run "illegal gambling sites." As these services have exploded in popularity, critics have accused them of turning a wide range of random circumstances into opportunities for betting, as well as offering betting opportunities on things like sporting events that critics say are indistinguishable from real gambling altogether.

In response to these state-level efforts to rein in these platforms, Trump's Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed counter lawsuits, arguing that the services those sites offer "are distinct from traditional gambling." That is the same line of argument the platforms themselves have put forward as they have attempted to avoid being regulated or outright banned under traditional gambling laws.

As Popular Information laid out in detail, Trump has extensive connections to these platforms, owning the largest share of the Trump Media & Technology Group, which in turn does significant business with Crypto.com. Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., is also "deeply enmeshed" in the industry, serving as an advisor for both Kalshi and Polymarket. And it does not stop there.

"Many of Trump’s political allies also have connections to the prediction market industry," the report elaborated. "Trump-supporting billionaire Peter Thiel, for example, has helped raise millions in funding for Polymarket. Paradigm, an investment firm, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz also participated in a funding round for Kalshi. Paradigm donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Andreessen Horowitz co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz both donated millions to a super PAC supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign, and Trump recently appointed Andreessen to his 'President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.'"

Melanie D'Arrigo is executive director for the New York Health Campaign, which advocates for universal single-payer healthcare, and has co-founded non-profits involved with the LGBTQ community. Sharing a link to the report on X Thursday, she was unsparing in her appraisal of the corruption at play with the CFTC's lawsuits.

"Donald Trump Jr. is a paid strategic advisor for Kalshi," D'Arrigo wrote. "Trump Jr. is a major investor and advisor for Polymarket. Trump Media has a $6.5 billion+ investment and partnership with Crypto.com. Robinhood runs the Trump Accounts. The Trump administration is blocking states from suing them. This is what corruption looks like."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'If I Was A King': White House Tried To Hide 'Damning' Trump Speech​

'If I Was A King': White House Tried To Hide 'Damning' Trump Speech​

The White House scrambled this week to delete a "damning" speech from President Donald Trump that was supposed to remain hidden, according to The New Republic, with the administration accidentally sharing it online for all to see.

Trump on Wednesday delivered remarks at a White House event commemorating Easter, which was supposed to be press-free, meaning that no videos of the address were meant to circulate publicly. Instead, a video of Trump's appearance was briefly shared on the official White House website before being swiftly deleted. This did not stop reporters like Bryan Metzger of Business Insider from sharing the video around anyway.

Such a slip-up might not have otherwise been a major deal, except that the contents of Trump's remarks contained several alarming and damning asides, according to The New Republic, including instances where the president blamed the cost of the Iran war for making free childcare impossible, claiming that it must be left to the states so that military spending can be prioritized.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare," Trump said. "You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it too. They should pay. They’ll have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to them to make up. It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal [level]. We have to take care of one thing: military protection."

Speaking further on his controversial war, Trump chastised Americans for not having "the patience" to wait while the military takes control of Iran's oil.

"We could just take their oil. But, you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate," Trump said. "You know, they want to see it end. If we stayed there, I, you know, I’d prefer just to take the oil. We could do it so easily. I would prefer that, but people in the country sort of say, ‘Just win, you’re winning so big. Just win, come home.'"

Trump also at one point touched on his White House ballroom project, which was halted this week by a federal judge's order. The president mused about how much easier such a thing would be if he were a king instead.

“I can’t get a ballroom approved. It’s pretty amazing, right?” Trump also said in the speech. “If I was a king, we’d be doing a lot more. I’m doing a lot, but I could be doing a lot more if I was a king.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Damning' Prosecution Memo Suggests Trump Sought Profit From Classified Papers

'Damning' Prosecution Memo Suggests Trump Sought Profit From Classified Papers

New revelations have emerged in President Donald Trump's classified documents case, per a "damning" memo obtained by MS NOW, showing that he seemingly intended to profit from illegally retaining the sensitive materials.

According to the report published Friday, special counsel Jack Smith determined that Trump had retained "secret documents that related to his worldwide business interests," revealing a key potential motive for his dogged efforts to hang onto them.

Trump held the documents, often in questionable places, at his Mar-a-Lago resort, after departing the White House in 2021, later insisting that he had the right to retain them and that he had declassified them with his mind before leaving office. He was indicted on 32 felony counts related to his retention of the materials, and an additional eight charges for conspiracy to obstruct justice, but the case was halted after his reelection.

The revelations about Trump's business motive originate from a January 2023 progress memo produced by Smith's office, though the specific businesses and how they relate to the classified information were not disclosed.

“Trump possessed classified documents pertinent to his business interests — establishing a motive for retaining them,” the memo explained. “We must have those documents.”

As MS NOW's report explained, Trump's motive for retaining the materials had, up until now, been largely uncertain. Trump himself has long insisted that he had every right to retain the documents, likening them to the materials kept on hand by his predecessors for their presidential libraries. Some reports indicated that Trump seemed to show off the documents to impress people who visited Mar-a-Lago, while other critics warned that he may have been attempting to sell the sensitive information.

"Trump’s reason for taking hundreds of pages of classified documents when he left office in January 2021 — and then concealing them when the Justice Department subpoenaed him for their return in May 2022 — has been one of the larger mysteries of the case," MS NOW explained. "FBI agents conducting an unannounced search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022 discovered hundreds more pages of top-secret records that Trump and his lawyers had failed to return to the government after claiming they had fully returned all classified materials."

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) cited this memo in a scathing letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, accusing the agency of covering up Trump's misdeeds while scrambling to find incriminating evidence against Smith.

“These new disclosures suggest that Donald Trump stole documents so sensitive that only six people in the entire U.S. government had access to them, that the documents President Trump stole pertained to his business interests,” Raskin wrote “This glimpse into the trove of evidence behind the coverup reveals a President of the United States who may have sold out our national security to enrich himself.”

The congressman added: "Apparently blinded by the frenzied search to find any scrap of evidence that could be twisted and distorted to level an attack against Special Counsel Smith (despite constantly coming up empty-handed), you have, quite amazingly, missed the fact that some of the documents you provided include damning evidence about your boss’s conduct and may well violate the gag order your DOJ and Donald Trump demanded from Judge Aileen Cannon."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


MAGA Push For Voter Suppression Splits Angry Senate Republicans

MAGA Push For Voter Suppression Splits Angry Senate Republicans

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been forced into a "political pressure cooker" by MAGA members of the GOP, per a new report from Politico, as they push for him to go around the filibuster to pass an unpopular election reform bill demanded by Donald Trump.

According to the Wednesday morning report, Thune "is at the center of a relentless pile-on from prominent figures in the GOP’s MAGA wing" to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that, among other things, would require voters to provide identification proving their citizenship at polling locations, an idea driven by Trump's debunked claims about widespread voter fraud committed by undocumented immigrants. Trump is so insistent on the passage of the bill that he has pledged not to sign any others until it is passed and sent to his desk.

MAGA Republicans such as Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) are pushing for Thune to invoke a "talking filibuster" to get around the typical "legislative filibuster" rules, which would require 60 votes for the SAVE Act to proceed, an impossibility given Democratic opposition. Under a talking filibuster, only a simple majority of 51 votes would be needed, and Democrats would have to physically hold the Senate floor and speak for hours to keep it from proceeding.

Thune has dug in his heels in opposition to this idea, arguing that there is not actually enough support for it. He has also previously stated that the plan could have more complicated consequences than its proponents realize, and could result in Democrats eating up valuable Senate time with talking.

“It just kind of comes with the territory,” Thune said in an interview on Tuesday. “You just roll with it, you know. It’s the times in which we live.”

Other non-MAGA-aligned Republicans have also begun to speak out against their colleagues' calls for a talking filibuster, including Sen. Thom Tillis, a prominent Trump critic who is set to retire soon.

“Spare me the insights,” Tillis said. “They’re worse than Democrats because they’re so-called Republicans that are trying to undermine Republicans.”The pressure campaign against Thune reached a "crescendo" this week, according to Politico, with Tesla CEO and one-time Trump ally Elon Musk joining the calls for him to be removed as majority leader. For his part, Thune does not appear to be bothered.

He added that lawmakers calling for a talking filibuster “have no earthly idea how unlikely it is we’ll be successful at the end of the day. And yet they want to pressure me into exposing some of our candidates to votes that make no sense, that are not going to succeed.”

Other GOP senators spoke to Politico anonymously about their frustrations, with one calling the antics of their MAGA colleagues "bulls——," and another saying that, "A lot of us are done."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet