
And then the Russian Apologists Left, Complaining about TDS
The most newsworthy detail of a Ben Smith story about Marc Andreessen's Signal chat habit is that two important Russian apologists -- David Sacks and Tucker Carlson -- left the chat amid disputes about Trump's destruction of the global economy.

Some Thoughts on the Arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan
Before Kash Patel's FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan based on charges that she corruptly obstructed the immigration arrest of a defendant before her, FBI never bothered to look for proof that she had that corrupt intent.

Pam Bondi Reverses Media Protections to Cover Up Her Complicity in Unlawful Renditions
By reversing Merrick Garland's media policy so she can pursue leaks proving that Trump's Alien Enemies Act is based on false claims, Pam Bondi is covering up her own role in unlawful renditions.

Fridays with Nicole Sandler
We talked about Pete Hegseth and Trump's losses in court.

The ActBlue Targeting Is a Perfect Opportunity to Flip Trump's EOs on His Head
On her first day on the job, Bondi said she wasn't going to investigate foreign influence in elections anymore, a move that was undoubtedly done to shelter Trump's own misconduct. But, in the guise of targeting ActBlue, now Trump has ordered her to do just that.

Whiskey Pete's Dirty Desktop
Between new disclosures about Pete Hegseth's Signal use, we know he accessed Signal from both a cell phone that DOD searched as well as a desktop in his office connected to the public Internet. What we don't know is how he accessed Signal from both.

16 House Dems Ask Law Firms that Capitulated to Trump If They've Thought about Their Bribery Exposure
16 Democratic House members asked the law firms that capitulated to Trump if they've thought about their bribery exposure.

Todd Blanche Fails Effort to Force SDNY AUSAs to Frame Themselves
DOJ has been trying to frame the Eric Adams prosecutors for over two months. Yesterday, the last three resigned rather than be party to that effort.

The Beginnings of Curtis Yarvin
Yarvin despises democracy. He prefers one-man rule.

Tulsi Gabbard's NIE Lies Make Dick Cheney Look Honest by Comparison
Tulsi Gabbard built her entire career around opposing the wars that Dick Cheney ginned up two decades ago. Now, in Cheneyesque fashion, she's grotesquely inventing a war that doesn't exist so she can help Trump destroy the Constitution.

Self-Reportation: Pete Hegseth's Witch Hunt Ensnared Himself
By launching an witch hunt searching for leakers and firing three top aides last week, Pete Hegseth gave at least two witnesses to him sharing National Defense Information with his wife incentive to vindicate their own innocence.

Trump Has No Policy Process, Just Wormtongue and Palace Intrigue
Palace intrigue is roiling one after another of Trump's top cabinet officials.

Harvie Wilkinson Tries To Salvage Trump v. US
Every bad thing that has happened during this lawless administration can be traced to the execrable decision of John Roberts and the Trump Clique in Trump v. US. That certainly includes the rendition of Kilmar Albrego Garcia to a notorious prison…

Fridays with Nicole Sandler
We talked about Chris Van Hollen's visit to Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Trump's tariff woes.

Treating Opposition to Trump as a Partisan Issue Guarantees Defeat
Letting Dems in Disarray punditry frame how we understand actions taken to fight fascism robs those actions of the nonpartisan appeal of ethical and moral clarity.

Trump's Individual Claims about Immigrant Targets Are False--But So Is the Larger Premise
Thus far, the campaign to fight back against Trump's authoritarian immigration crackdown has focused on individual stories, with some success. But it has yet to account for the fact that his crackdown is based on far bigger lies manufactured by Stephen Miller to justify claiming expansive powers in the name of fear.

Harvie Wilkinson on Due Process
Harvie Wilkinson's opinion refusing a stay of Paula Xinis discovery order is a fierce defense of rule of law.

The Special Relationship is Now Pretty Ordinary
It's no longer "business as usual" for the UK Foreign Office and the Department for Business and Trade.

Whiskey Pete Hegseth Finally Finds Some White Men to Purge
As the leak investigation Pete Hegseth ordered starts to bear fruit, remember that he set himself up to gatekeep what happens with the results of that investigation, an investigation that has already focused on a guy Jeff Goldberg witnessed Hegseth adding to a Signal chat on which Hegseth released battle information.

Scott Bessent's Imaginary Friends
In the week since Scott Bessent brashly claimed the US still had things called "allies" that he planned to use to isolate China, those countries formerly called US friends have been seeking solidarity from more reliable partners.