The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues

[Superdude]

Alina Habba, the former Trump attorney and current sycophant, was denied the opportunity to become the US Attorney for New Jersey because she couldn’t be confirmed on a non-interim basis. In retaliation, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Hanna’s replacement.

[dougrb]

Wired magazine looked at the video from Epsteins jail cell and the metadata shows it was edited with Adobe Premier Pro. Rookie mistake. (90 sec)

https://youtu.be/JOMSjkVZMTo?t=250

[Coriolanus]

@dougrb

Rookie mistake

Will they get another chance at bat?

That’s just a major-fuck-up. All the “proof” is “fake proof”. There were not 18.5 minutes missing from the Nixon tapes. These are not the droids you were looking for.

+black hat+ [ I’d have just poisoned him. How did he get that much fentanyl? ] -black hat-

[dougrb]

I hope it wasn’t a bootleg copy of Adobe. They could could get into serious trouble for that.

[ekedolphin]

“I can handle Batman, but the IRS?! Hell no!”

• The Joker

[Monty]

And another univesity decides it will become a satellite campus of Trump U. (The bolding is mine.)

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government to restore federal research money that was canceled in the name of combating antisemitism on campus, the university announced Wednesday.

Under the agreement, the Ivy League school will pay a $200 million settlement over three years, the university said. It will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty," acting University President Claire Shipman said.

The Trump administration pulled the funding, because of what it described as the university’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023.

Columbia then agreed to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration, including overhauling the university’s student disciplinary process and adopting a new definition of antisemitism.

Wednesday’s agreement — which does not include an admission of wrongdoing — codifies those reforms while preserving the university’s autonomy, Shipman said.

No, Shipman. You and your university just abdicated autonomy to the felon.

The felon’s boudoir procurer amazingly won a case related to the felon’s lies.

(Reuters) -Donald Trump ally and MyPillow.com chief executive Mike Lindell on Wednesday persuaded a U.S. appeals court to throw out a judge’s order requiring him to pay $5 million to a software developer who said he debunked Lindell’s 2020 election fraud claims.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis said an arbitration panel improperly interpreted the rules of a contest Lindell set up and oversaw challenging anyone to disprove his claims that Trump won the election.

The appeals court panel reversed a federal judge who last year confirmed the arbitrators’ 2023 award to Robert Zeidman.

A lawyer for Zeidman, Brian Glasser, in a statement said the 8th Circuit’s ruling contradicted the “unanimous contrary decision of three arbitrators who heard all the evidence, including one appointed by Mr. Lindell.”

Lindell told Reuters that “all I want to do is secure our elections — period.” He called the court’s ruling “a great day for America.”

Yeah, right. It’s no longer the America I knew and celebrated.

**EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! He’s in the list! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! (Like there was any doubt.)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The disclosure about Trump’s appearance in the Justice Department’s case records threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. Some Trump supporters for years have fanned conspiracy theories about Epstein’s clients and the circumstances of his 2019 death in prison.

The White House sent mixed signals following the story. It released an initial statement characterizing it as “fake news,” but a White House official later told Reuters the administration was not denying that Trump’s name appears in some files, noting that Trump was already included in a tranche of materials Bondi assembled in February for conservative influencers.

The fun thing is he was told about this over a month ago. So, yeah, I’m not surprised by his being in the list, about his lying, or about his whining about the focus on this case.

Uh-oh! Epstein’s lawyer is dead.

Florida lawyer Roy Black, widely known for representing several high-profile clients including William Kennedy Smith in his 1991 nationally publicized rape trial as well as Jeffrey Epstein, has died at age 80, his law firm confirmed.

The renowned defense attorney died on July 21 at his home in Coral Gables, located around 5 miles west of Miami, according to the Black Srebnick firm.

“Roy Black is widely recognized as one of the greatest criminal defense attorneys in American legal history,” the law firm said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. The firm applauded Smith for his decades-long career and “reputation for relentless preparation, courtroom mastery, and unwavering ethical standards.”

I’m sure there will be many questions about the poor guy’s untimely demise. The chief question, of course, will be: How can the felon blame this on Biden/Clintons/Obama/all of the above?

I Remember Manzanar El Paso. (The bolding is mine.)

The U.S. Army has hired a contractor to build the nation’s largest ICE detention center, the latest move by President Donald Trump to use the military to deliver his promised mass deportations.

Virginia-based Acquisition Logistics LLC will erect a temporary immigration detention center on Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, near the southern border, with 5,000 beds, under a $232 million contract, according to the Department of Defense.

The cost will likely rise. A similar tent city built to house unaccompanied migrant children on Fort Bliss in 2021 during the Biden administration ballooned within months to nearly $1 billion.

Acquisition Logistics has served as a private contractor to the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marines for more than a decade, according to federal procurement data.

The company’s website was “down for maintenance” on July 23, and USA TODAY couldn’t reach a company representative online or by phone.

Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants in the country illegally, and Congress recently appropriated $170 billion in new money to help him do it.

Yet another court holds the felon’s ban is unconstitutional.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, affirming a lower-court decision that blocked its enforcement nationwide.

The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Trump’s plan was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire. It brings the issue one step closer to coming back quickly before the Supreme Court.

The 9th Circuit decision keeps a block on the Trump administration enforcing the order that would deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily.

“The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order’s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree,” the majority wrote.

The 2-1 ruling keeps in place a decision from U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, who blocked Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship and decried what he described as the administration’s attempt to ignore the Constitution for political gain.

Yeah, this is the hill the felon has decided to die on. Personally, I don’t care. What I mean is I don’t care if he dies on a hill, in a hole, in a boat. Just die.

Hey, the felon’s accoplice Kennedy is taking care of the nation’s health. Taking care of if for good.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed a controversial recommendation July 23 from a vaccine panel that advised removing thimerosal from all influenza vaccines.

Thimerosal is a preservative that has largely been phased out of U.S. vaccines and has long been targeted by anti-vaccine advocates despite broad scientific consensus on its safety.

The call against thimerosal was first presented by Lyn Redwood, former leader of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy, during a June 26 meeting for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Y’all remember ACIP, right? That’s the body accomplice Kennedy stacked that group with his minions.

Getting back to the article. (The bolding is mine.)

During the meeting, ACIP members voted against recommending certain vaccines to contain thimerosal, despite widespread disapproval from the medical community.

“After more than two decades of delay, this action fulfills a long-overdue promise to protect our most vulnerable populations from unnecessary mercury exposure,” Kennedy said in a statement.

Dr. Cody Meissner, the only ACIP member to reject the recommendation, said thimerosal has been used since World War II and “no study has ever indicated any harm.” He said removing thimerosal from all vaccines could reduce access and increase costs, especially in other countries where vaccine alternatives may not be available.

The “QAnon Shaman” had an awakening!

Even Donald Trump’s most sycophantic followers are turning on the president.

Jacob Chansley—better known as the QAnon shaman—denounced the MAGA leader Wednesday morning, responding to a post of Trump’s 2023 mugshot by decrying the president as a “fraud.”

“Fuck this stupid piece of shit,” Chansley wrote in a since-deleted post that accrued more than 34,000 views.

As always, the felon shows his incredible skill at selecting the most qualified person for the job. And by “most qualified” I mean…

President Donald Trump had an eyebrow-raising superlative to offer Tuesday, calling Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard the “hottest in the room.”

While speaking at a reception with Republican lawmakers at the White House, Trump singled out Gabbard—a former Democrat—declaring, “She’s like, hotter than everybody. She’s the hottest one in the room right now.”

Turning towards House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was also in the crowd, the 79-year-old president added, “Speaker, she’s hotter than you right now, speaker. She’s the hottest person in the room right now, speaker,” eliciting roaring laughter from attendees.

Finally, a quite surprising admission from the felon. (The bolding, italicizing, and sizing are mine.)

President Donald Trump on Tuesday attempted to shift the public’s focus away from the building crisis around the release of sealed documents detailing the Jeffrey Epstein case by urging his Justice Department to go after his predecessors.

“Whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people,” Trump said, accusing former President Barack Obama of “treason.”

As he took questions alongside Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Oval Office, Trump dismissed the furor over the disgraced former financier, driven largely by Republican lawmakers and his own supporters, as “a witch hunt,” claiming he “didn’t know” about the Justice Department’s decision to seek a new interview with Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for sex trafficking minors and other crimes.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

The more fucked he feels, the more extreme his bullshit becomes. The fact that he’s calling for his Justice Department to go after Barack Obama for treason should tell you all you need to know about this Epstein situation.

[Johnny_L.A]

I may have to steal that.

[Monty]

Don’t forget to quote his admission he doesn’t care if* what he’s doing is wrong.

*If? Hahahahahahaha! Fuck. That just might be the very first joke he’s ever intentionally made.

[Monty]

You won’t catch co-conspirator Kennedy repeating a secret; you’ll have to read it! (The bolding is mine.)

The Pentagon’s inspector general has received evidence that the military plans shared from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Signal account to a group chat earlier this year were taken from a US Central Command document that was marked classified at the time, according to two people familiar with the ongoing review.

The Pentagon watchdog, which launched a review in April of Hegseth’s use of the commercial messaging app to share information related to US military operations in Yemen, obtained the document in the early days of its investigation, the sources said. **The document was marked Secret/NOFORN, meaning no foreign nationals should see it.

The IG’s possession of the document with its original classification markings appears to further undercut Hegseth’s claims that nothing classified was shared in the Signal chat**, which included several other Cabinet members and Vice President JD Vance. Similar details were shared from Hegseth’s phone in a second Signal chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, CNN has reported.

Huh. You will catch him repeating secrets.

“Don’t you want to be deported?”

The Trump administration is moving to rapidly deport some migrant children who arrived in the US without a parent or guardian by having federal agents ask teens whether they want to voluntarily depart the country, according to two Homeland Security officials and a source familiar with the discussions.

The latest directive, which comes as the administration seeks to ramp up deportations, marks a departure from long-standing protocol which required that federal authorities turn over most unaccompanied children to the Health and Human Services Department, the agency charged with their care. Up until now, federal authorities didn’t ask unaccompanied kids from countries other than Mexico and Canada if they wanted to self deport.

This week, US Customs and Border Protection personnel were directed to ask children they encounter in immigration enforcement operations across the country whether they want to voluntarily depart the United States, the officials said. If the child agrees, agents will turn that child over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. But if ICE doesn’t pick them up from CBP custody within 72 hours, agents will refer them to HHS.

Two of the sources said the new policy is designed to apply to children ages 14 to 17.

“This is a long-standing practice that was used by previous administrations to prioritize getting children back to the safety of a parent or legal guardian in their home country. The policy of offering unaccompanied alien children (UACs) the option to withdraw their application for admission into the U.S. is accredited in the Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement.

“The only change pursuant to the Big Beautiful Bill is expanding this option to return home to UACs from additional countries beyond Mexico and Canada,” the spokesperson added.

&

While existing policy generally allows for the swift removal of children arriving from Mexico and Canada because they’re contiguous countries, that’s not true for children of other nationalities. And the targeting of those kids from other countries — many of whom are living in the US with family — marks an escalation of the administration’s deportation efforts.

“A child is in no position to understand the consequences of self-deporting, particularly without the guidance of an attorney,” said Neha Desai, managing director of Children’s Human Rights at the National Center for Youth Law. “Unaccompanied children are being used as pawns in an effort to deport as many people as possible, regardless of the human toll it takes on the most vulnerable members of our community.”

[BlankSlate]

@Monty

Uh-oh! Epstein’s lawyer is dead.

Is that the same Epstein lawyer who donated 25K to Bondi’s Florida AG campaign shortly before his 2008 plea deal was finalized? The swamp is the swamp.

Corrupt Barbie is cheap to own. It only took another 25K in 2013 to make Bondi forget all about the Trump U scam. Justice!

[Q.Q.Switcheroo]

@Monty

adopting a new definition of antisemitism.

Does it include saying “you’re a very silly man and I’m not going to interview you”?

[DavidNRockies]

Math is hard.

On prescription drug costs, Trump flunks arithmetic in embarrassing fashion

No matter how much we end up normalizing his insanity and stupidity, occasionally, something breaks through.

Wow.

At a White House event, the president boasted to a group of Republican allies, “We’re gonna get the drug prices down — not 30% or 40%, which would be great. Not 50% or 60%. No, we’re gonna get them down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%.”

[Horatius]

@DavidNRockies

not 30% or 40%, which would be great. Not 50% or 60%. No, we’re gonna get them down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%.”

He’s like the stupidest auctioneer ever.

[DavidNRockies]

You just unwittingly channeled Stephen Colbert from last evening.

Well played, Sir. Well played.

[Horatius]

On trump pulling numbers out of his ass:

Trump: Actually, the Epstein scandal is great for me

“I have the best numbers I’ve ever had,” Trump said during a White House reception for Republicans. “You know, it’s amazing I watch people on television: ‘Well, what about Donald Trump’s polling numbers?’ Yeah, they’re the best numbers I’ve ever had.

“And with this made-up hoax they’re talking about, my numbers have gone up 4 and 5 points—they want to do anything to get us off the subject of making America great again, and we’re not going to put up with it,” he continued.

Now, I can understand Trump making up bullshit numbers for the MAGA sheep, but the people he’s lying to here are professional politicians. These people follow the polls like ducklings follow the Mama Duck. They know he’s bullshitting them. I really have to wonder what goes through their heads at times like these. Can you imagine sitting there and listening to all these lies, and thinking, “Crap, I have to pretend I believe all this nonsense…”

How is it none of them ever reach the breaking point, and just rage quit the GOP?

[Gyrate]

@Monty

I’m sure there will be many questions about the poor guy’s untimely demise.

I mean, the guy was 80 years old and had a terminal illness (specifics not revealed by the family). Not that “untimely”. In fact, in a sense it was perfect timing.

[Great_Antibob]

@Horatius

How is it none of them ever reach the breaking point, and just rage quit the GOP?

Several did. Or got primaried out. Or “retired”.

And were then promptly replaced by somebody who was either a True Believer or a good enough actor to play one for the cameras (not sure there’s an effective difference anymore).

The remainder are the leftovers (who would have known there were so many!) - the ones whose moral turpitude would make snake oil salesmen blush.

[Buck_Godot]

@Monty

A child is in no position to understand the consequences of self-deporting, particularly without the guidance of an attorney,

New tactic,
ICE agent to unaccompanied minor: Selfdeporteesaysque?

[Just_Asking_Questions]

@The Felon in Chief

“We’re gonna get the drug prices down … we’re gonna get them down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%.”

Wow, I’m going to go get prescribed a ton of prescription drugs, because with price drops by 1500% the money will just be rolling in!