- Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: Justice Department reportedly told Trump in May that his name is in the Epstein files
A new Wall Street Journal report said the president's name "appeared multiple times" in the Jeffrey Epstein files — and he was told that during a briefing.
- Kiera Butler @ Mother Jones: Did Christian Nationalist Leaders Prompt Mike Johnson’s Epstein Flip-Flop?
Forget about putting “everything out there and let the people decide it.” That was last week.
- Sarah K. Burris @ Raw Story: First lady of France sues right-wing firebrand Candace Owens over claims she's a man
First Lady Brigitte Macron is suing right-wing firebrand Candace Owens for a “relentless and unjustified smear campaign” that alleges Macron is secretly a man.
- Hemant Mehta @ Friendly Atheist: Textbook publishers are largely rejecting Ryan Walters' MAGA curriculum in Oklahoma
Ryan Walters' far-right curriculum changes are getting snubbed by publishers who refuse to rewrite history.
- Teo Armus, Samantha Schmidt, Helena Carpio and Arelis R. Hernández @ The Washington Post: U.S. deportees, freed from Salvadoran prison, describe ‘horror movie’
Three Venezuelans, released last week from the Terrorism Confinement Center, said they were repeatedly beaten and denied access to lawyers.
- Julie Turkewitz, José Bautista and Frances Robles @ The New York Times: American Convicted of Murder Is Freed by Trump From Venezuela Prison
The Trump administration said it was protecting Americans unjustly held abroad. One of the rescued men, Dahud Hanid Ortiz, killed three people, according to court documents.
- Global Project Against Hate And Extremism: Tulsi Gabbard’s “Claims” that the Obama Administration Staged a “Coup” Fuel Far Right’s Fantasies of Political Violence
On July 18, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made a post on Twitter alleging “the most powerful people in the Obama administration,” including former President Barack Obama, were involved in a “years-long coup” and a “treasonous conspiracy” against Donald Trump. Her post quickly went viral, amassing over 13 million views over the weekend, and galvanized the online fringe to fantasize about violence against their political enemies. Trump fanned Gabbard’s flames, sharing a racist AI-generated video of Obama being arrested on Truth Social, which Trump owns.
