- Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: On Epstein, Senate Republican admits the party is trying to give Trump ‘cover’
As observer asked, in reference to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, “What exactly do Trump and his administration need cover for?”
- Colby Hall @ Mediaite: Trump Keeps Door Open to Pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell: ‘I’m Allowed to Do It’
In a disjointed press gaggle Friday morning on the South Lawn of the White House, President Donald Trump was asked whether he would consider issuing a pardon or clemency to Ghislaine Maxwell — the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is currently in discussions with the Department of Justice, including Trump’s own former defense attorney turned Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche. Trump did not say no.
- Teddy Wilson @ Radical Reports: Anti-Government Extremist Group Targets Weather Radar
Members of Veterans on Patrol, an anti-government extremist group, targeted the weather radar system of a local television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — 'temporarily knocking it offline.'
- Scot Nakagawa @ The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook: Why Are Oligarchs Turning to Authoritarianism Instead of Supporting Democracy?
For much of modern history, it was assumed that liberal democracy and capitalism went hand in hand; that free markets and free societies reinforced one another. But today, we’re watching a global shift where oligarchs and corporate elites are increasingly embracing authoritarianism over democracy. Why?
- Katherine Stewart @ The New Republic: JD Vance’s “Intellectual” Spin on the Racist Great Replacement Theory
Trump’s latest proposal to expel asylum-seekers to the tiny Pacific island nation of Palau continues the pattern of performative cruelty already well established by the illegal deportations, the establishment of a grifty concentration camp on American soil, the declaration that people previously granted legal entry are no longer entitled to be here, the grotesque mistreatment of foreign visitors and former aides to the U.S. military, and other outrageous actions by the present administration. It is already evident that Trump’s interlocking immigration schemes will drive up inflation in the United States and reduce economic output. In spite of Trump’s vow to go after “the worst of the worst,” most of those being deported and incarcerated have never been accused of any crime in the U.S. or elsewhere. Meanwhile, the need for a genuine, long-term policy to deal with immigration, asylum, and the existing undocumented population goes almost entirely unmet. So what is really behind the needless and public exercises in sadism that pass for immigration policy?
