The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program

We're hiring editorial fellows in SF and DC. Great gig that has launched hundreds of media careers:
www.motherjones.com/careers/fell...

Trump, McConnell, Roberts. That’s Not Rule of Law. It’s Rule by Law The constitutional skids for Project 2025 have been greased by a Trumpian federal judiciary that is carrying out its own

The judges Trump appointed have been reliable rubber stamps, ruling for him in nearly 70 percent of cases.

For shame

The thrust ofthe current alleged violationsset out in the recent Petitionsis a dispute over Mr. Taranto’sliving arrangements. The Probation Office has directed Mr. Taranto to reside at hisfamily home whereas Mr. Taranto isliving in his van which is parked on his property. The Probation Office has indicated that Washington State will not accept supervision unless Mr. Taranto resides in the family home.

Hearing at 2PM for Jan. 6 defendant Taylor Taranto, who is still on probation because of his separate gun case.

Issue appears to be centered around whether he can still live in a van on his family property.

He's still getting mental health treatment.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

After all, saying that Trump might have won the 2020 election *is* saying that J6 might have been justified.

Tillis has said he won't vote out of Judiciary an A-G nominee who says "one thing that excused the events of January the 6th". I'd love to see him (and, why not, others!) extend that to Patrick's principle below ...

MAGA Inc, where record unpopularity among voters translates directly into record slush fund cash for campaigning

“Their appearances on Fox Business, however, continued for a few more weeks — until diGenova used one to utter a widely condemned antisemitic screed, at which point the couple stopped appearing there as well.” @mattgertz.bsky.social

smart analysis!

Trump allies build record $350mn war chest ahead of midterm elections Maga Inc Super Pac raises $35mn in March with donations from billionaire Diane Hendricks and Andreessen Horowitz

Maga Inc, the main political fundraising group supporting Donald Trump, has amassed a nearly $350mn war chest, an unprecedented haul for the president’s allies to defend the Republican Party’s control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. It all comes from Trump's tech bro friends.

You know who else famously used paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups?

The Justice Department.

With no end in sight to their deployment, National Guard troops roam Washington Eight months after President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital and called up the National Guard, more than 2,500 troops remain.

Get the fuck out, Jesus Christ apnews.com/article/nati...

Trump Dragged After Gushing Over His Own Signature In Ultra-Cringey Viral Clip

His narcissism is off the charts.

Sen. Heinrich: "What are gas prices right now?"

Energy Sec. Chris Wright: "Just over $4."

Heinrich: "What is diesel?"

Wright: "Diesel is over $5."

Heinrich: "It's closer to $6 in my state."

Wright: "It's over $8 in California."

Trump’s statements on Iran increasingly contradict each other The president has made conflicting comments on questions both large and small related to the war.

Word?

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

GALLEGO: Earlier today, you told Sec. Kennedy that Trump never demanded you to cut interest rates. Is that your sworn testimony?

WARSH: That is, senator.

GALLEGO: Okay. Well someone here is lying then. Because Trump confirmed he pressed you on interest rate cuts.

Hegseth sneered about the military's logistical experts, and now he's got ships stuck with sailors almost starving on them.

But he's still sure the dismissive attitude about the flu won't come back to bite him.

BREAKING: A Truly Unhinged Trump Interview | Morning Shots LIVE YouTube video by The Bulwark

Andrew and I go through this morning's unhinged Trump interview--on Iran, the Fed, and more. Also: I explain why I'm a YES on the Virginia referendum. And we discuss Trump's firing of yet another woman in the Cabinet--it's time to get to the men, Donald!
www.youtube.com/live/ITGEuXD...

This Isn't Trading. It's Theft from Your Retirement. Someone keeps making perfectly-timed bets right before the President speaks. The victims are your pension, your 401(k), and the country I took an oath to defend.

Fifteen minutes before the President announced he was pausing strikes on Iran, somebody moved $500 million in oil futures. Somebody knew. Somebody told them. Or somebody is them.
New piece ↓
open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

Another Trump Cabinet Member Is Out Lori Chavez-DeRemer was supposed to take the GOP in a more worker-friendly direction. Instead she is departing amid scandal.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer was supposed to take the GOP in a more worker-friendly direction—instead she is departing amid scandal, @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily.

The “arsenal of democracy” was as much about national will as it was about production lines. We are forgetting how much power there is in the human element. lnk.thebulwark.com/4mHqdCt

Drunks
Sycophants
Incompetents
Miscreants
Thieves

No, this is no way to run a country.

Iran Experts: Fired. FBI Chief: Blacked Out. Good Luck, Y'all! (w/ Bill Kristol) | Bulwark Podcast YouTube video by The Bulwark

At the top of the show, I explain why I'm a YES on the Virginia referendum, and non-Virginian tim weighs in to. And of course we discuss Iran, Vance, Hegseth, Patel, spying on Americans, and much more.

youtu.be/6R7Tmc181eI?...

Can America Learn from Hungary? A Saturday Prompt

Here’s what Hungary’s new prime minister promised after his landslide win, the kind of accountability Democrats must demand in America: We will pursue those who had “plundered, looted, betrayed, indebted and ruined” the country.

www.americaamerica.news/p/can-americ...

In Lawsuit Not Mentioning the Olympics, Kash Patel Swears He's Not a Drunk - emptywheel If Kash Patel's lawsuit against The Atlantic is an attempt to silence claims he's a drunk, it doesn't do much to rebut the key allegations against him.

"Patel’s chugging a beer at the Olympics may not strike him as excessive drinking, but the context of it made it unseemly. and that’s an allegation—the key one—about which Kash is completely silent" @emptywheel.bsky.social emptywheel.net/2026/04/20/i...

HIRONO: The rising prices of energy -- is that something you didn't contemplate happening before the president declared his illegal war?

CHRIS WRIGHT: No. We knew exactly what would happen

HIRONO: It doesn't seem like it, because the president doesn't understand how to open the strait

KIM: Are you concerned there could be real long-term effects of this war in Iran with fuel and fertilizer?

WARSH: If my reform agenda stands for anything, it's for the central bank to stay in his lane

KIM: But you're also charged with forecasting

This is already demonstrably incorrect. And Wright isn't even dead yet.

He just gave away the whole game

100%