The Conversation -- June 13, 2025
Nicholas Slayton of Task & Purpose: "U.S. Marines temporarily detained a civilian in Los Angeles Friday afternoon, the first known case of the military doing so since it deployed to Los Angeles County. The incident was first reported by Reuters, who identified the detained man as U.S. Army veteran Marcos Leao. A spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command confirmed that an individual was detained, but turned over to law enforcement officials after approximately 10 minutes. He was transferred to the custody of officers from the Department of Homeland Security before being released. Per Reuters, Leao was on his way to the nearby Veterans Affairs campus when he crossed yellow tape at the Wilshire federal building, which Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment took over guarding this afternoon. Marines quickly detained him and restrained him using zip ties."
Laura Romero & Katherine Faulders of ABC News: "Kilmar Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty Friday to human smuggling charges, and the judge in case said she would wait to issue a decision on whether he should be released from custody pending trial. One week after he was brought back to the Unites States from detention in El Salvador, Abrego Garcia entered his not guilty plea at his arraignment in Tennessee, where federal prosecutors have charged him with transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. in what they say was a conspiracy involving the domestic transport of thousands of noncitizens from Mexico and Central America, including some children, in exchange for thousands of dollars. Following his plea, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes heard arguments over whether he should continue to be detained, after which she said she would likely issue a written order in the near future -- 'soon rather than later,' she said."
Madeline Sherratt of the Independent: “A Florida sheriff issued a stark message to protesters planning to demonstrate this weekend against increasing ICE arrests nationwide. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey warned in a press conference Thursday..., 'If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains, because we will kill you, graveyard dead. We’re not going to play.'...” MB: Obviously I don't think a person should throw a brick that damages property. But would I kill him for doing so? Absolutely not. And neither would a responsible law enforcement officer.
What privacy advocates warned could happen has happened: ~~~
⭐~~~ Kimberly Kindy & Amanda Seitz of the AP: “... Donald Trump’s administration this week provided deportation officials with personal data -- including the immigration status -- on millions of Medicaid enrollees, a move that could make it easier to locate people as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown. An internal memo and emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, citing legal and ethical concerns. Nevertheless, two top advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the dataset handed over to the Department of Homeland Security, the emails show. Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were given just 54 minutes on Tuesday to comply with the directive. Besides helping authorities locate migrants, experts said, the government could also use the information to scuttle the hopes of migrants seeking green cards, permanent residency or citizenship if they had ever obtained Medicaid benefits funded by the federal government.”
The dataset includes the information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C., all of which allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. CMS transferred the information just as the Trump administration was ramping up its enforcement efforts in Southern California.
Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “The Trump administration, blocked by a judge from detaining Mahmoud Khalil on one set of legal grounds, has officially shifted to another as it fights to hold him in federal custody. Justice Department lawyers told the judge, Michael E. Farbiarz, on Friday, that Mr. Khalil was being held on allegations that had been added to his case more than a week after his arrest in March. Judge Farbiarz has already suggested the allegations do not wholly explain his continued detention.... Justice Department lawyers wrote in a court filing submitted Friday afternoon that Mr. Khalil [now] was being held on the [later-added] allegations ... that he had failed to disclose his membership in certain organizations when he applied for legal residency in March 2024. Scott Schuchart, a former senior homeland security official, said the government’s shifting rationale in Mr. Khalil’s case was typical of the administration’s broader approach to immigration cases. 'I find it outrageous just with regard to the disrespect with which they’ve treated the court and the entire process throughout this case,' he said, adding, 'It shows nothing but contempt for the rule of law.'”
Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge sided with a coalition of states on Friday that had sued to stop stringent new voting ID requirements that President Trump laid out in an executive order in March. The ruling went further than a previous court decision to block most of the key aspects of Mr. Trump’s efforts to overhaul election law by executive order. In addition to indefinitely blocking provisions that would allow the federal government to require proof of citizenship for new voters, the judge’s ruling on Friday blocks a directive for Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against states that continue counting ballots beyond Election Day. In her opinion, Judge Denise J. Casper of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote that the states were likely to succeed in showing that the order exceeded President Trump's authority and risked disenfranchising some of the electorate. The ruling blocked the order from taking effect until the resolution of the case. 'The Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections,' Judge Casper, an Obama appointee, wrote.” The AP's report is here.
Robin Pogrebin & Graham Bowley of the New York Times: “Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery whom ... [Donald] Trump announced he was firing last month, is stepping down, explaining in a statement on Friday that she thought her decision was in the best interests of the institution. This week the Smithsonian Institution, which oversees the museum and has long operated as independent of the executive branch, reiterated that it retains the legal authority over personnel including Ms. Sajet, whom the president had criticized as partisan. The White House had created a list of grievances that it suggested made Ms. Sajet an inappropriate choice to lead a national museum, including public comments about racial and gender inequality in America.” MB: I'm sorry she gave up. IMO, it's worth a lot of heartache to face off a tyrant.
Max Boot of the Washington Post: “The president is no warmonger, but his clumsy attempts at making peace keep coming up empty.... In the international arena, [Donald Trump] clearly wants peace. He just doesn’t know how to achieve it. Trump came to office promising to end the Ukraine-Russia war in a day. It has been 144 days since his inauguration, and the prospect of peace appears as remote as ever. Indeed, Russia is mounting a new ground offensive and staging its biggest air attacks on Ukrainian cities. Trump has also gotten tired of Israel’s endless war in Gaza and told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wrap it up. The Trump administration did help to broker a six-week ceasefire, but after it ended on March 18, the war resumed, as brutal as ever. And then, for the past two months, Trump has been trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran while pressuring Israel not to launch a military strike. Yet that is just what Netanyahu has done, sending some 200 Israeli aircraft to attack targets across Iran. On Friday, Iran retaliated by launching drones and ballistic missiles against Israel.... Trump’s disastrous decision to exit the accord in 2018, even though the Iranians were abiding by it, lit the long fuse that resulted in the latest war between Iran and Israel. It is a conflict that Israel is likely to win, but the fact that the shooting has started is a sign of how ineffectual Trump’s diplomacy has been.”
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Marie: Oh, it's Friday the 13th. I'm not superstitious, but I can still hope the Fates do not smile on Donald Trump today.
Here's Tom Sullivan's list of resources for tomorrow's "No Kings Day" protests around the country:
No Kings Day, June 14th (this Saturday)
The Resistance Lab
Choose Democracy
Indivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink
You Have Power
Chop Wood, Carry Water
Thirty lonely but beautiful actions
Attending a Protest Surveillance Self-Defense
⭐Maegan Vazquez, et al., of the Washington Post: “Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) was forcibly removed Thursday from a news conference held in Los Angeles by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem focused on recent protests in the area against immigration enforcement efforts. Padilla appeared to disrupt* the news conference, which took place at the Los Angeles FBI headquarters. 'I have questions for the secretary,' he said as he was pushed out of the room. Speaking to reporters after the incident, Padilla said he was waiting for a scheduled briefing from federal officials when he learned about Noem’s news conference. He said he then went to the news conference to 'hear if I could learn any new, additional information' about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions. 'I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately, forcefully removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained,' Padilla said. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Padilla was not compliant with officers’ commands and that the U.S. Secret Service 'thought he was an attacker.... Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem.... Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Here's video. Sen. Padilla clearly says, "I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the Secretary." ~~~
~~~ Rebecca Shabad & Jacob Soboroff of NBC News: "'I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' Padilla said to Noem, which prompted several men dressed in plain clothes to physically push him out of the room. A top FBI official later said bureau personnel and Secret Service agents were involved in the senator's removal.... Video shows Padilla being taken into a hallway outside and pushed face forward onto the ground as officers with FBI-identifying vests told the senator to put his hands behind his back. The officers then handcuffed him.... During an interview on Fox News, [Noem] falsely said Padilla did not identify himself before being forced out. 'We were conducting a press conference to update everyone on the enforcement actions that are ongoing to bring people bring peace to the city of Los Angeles, and this man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped, did not identify himself, and was removed from the room,' she said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Lewandowski to the Rescue! Shawn Hubler, et al., of the New York Times: “Senator Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, was forcibly removed on Thursday from a news conference being held by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, and handcuffed after he interrupted Ms. Noem at a federal building in West Los Angeles.... On the videos [taken by a Padilla staffer and a Fox News reporter], Mr. Padilla appeared stunned but repeatedly said he was a U.S. senator. In an interview hours later, Mr. Padilla said that he had demanded to know why he had been detained and where he was being escorted 'when of all people, Corey Lewandowski' — a combative former Trump campaign aide and adviser to Ms. Noem — 'comes running down the hall and he starts yelling, “Let him go! Let him go!”’”
~~~ Marie: If Trump "law enforcement" officers decide you're not a White person, they will manhandle you. It doesn't matter if you're a member of Congress. Ask Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) about that. BTW, it isn't clear to me that Sen. Padilla tried to disrupt the press conference as the reporters allege. *Update: The WashPo has removed "appeared to disrupt" from its lede, and the phrase does not appear elsewhere in the report. In an interview with NBC reporter Jacob Soboroff, Padilla said he was escorted into the room where Noem was giving her presser by a National Guardsman and an FBI agent. They literally opened the door for him, so he obviously was not an "attacker" who "burst into the room," as Noem claimed. Moreover, Padilla was in the back of the room, behind reporters and photojournalists who showed up for Noem's dress-up party. Besides all that, the incident took place in a federal building, where everyone who wishes to enter is screened. ~~~
~~~ Sen. Alex Padilla disputed the White House’s account of the events surrounding his forcible removal from a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles on Thursday, pushing back against key details about what exactly preceded his handcuffing by federal law enforcement agents. Both the White House and Noem said Padilla, D-Calif., failed to identify himself to security, yelled and lunged toward Noem.... Padilla denied all of Noem's characterizations in his first interview after the incident — on MSNBC with NBC News' Jacob Soboroff. 'That's ridiculous. It's a lie but par for the course for this administration,' Padilla began. 'They said I wasn’t wearing my pin. My polo says "United States Senate,"' Padilla said. 'There was no threat. There was no lunging. I raised my voice to ask a question, and it took what, maybe, half a second before multiple agents were on me.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Chris Hayes of MSNBC made an important point last night that may get lost in the story of the jackbooted thuggery going on there. Here's what Noem said just that seems to have prompted Padilla to speak up: "We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into this city." Although prior to that Noem did talk about how the administration and cooperating law enforcement personnel were ridding the area of "dangerous criminals," her promise to "liberate" the city from his elected leaders appears to be the ultimate goal. That is, the plan is to depose the democratically-elected governor of California and mayor of Los Angeles and replace them with Trump-approved puppets. Kristi is not too bright, so she probably did not realize she was giving away the plot, but that's it. Trump and others have said that what they're doing in California they will do all over the country. So there ya go. Democracy -- the will of the people -- is so over, at least in jurisdictions that tend to favor Democrats. ~~~
~~~ Update. Nicole Lafond of TPM does catch Noem's statement, but Lafond doesn't take the implication as far as I think it goes. Her colleague at TPM, Josh Kovensky, whom Lafond cites, does latch onto an implication of the attack on Sen. Padilla: “Just as the White House order authorizing the military deployment to LA declares that 'protests' which 'inhibit' law enforcement 'constitute a form of rebellion' against the U.S. government, so does a U.S. Senator asking a question at an open presser make him a threat.” ~~~
~~~ Update 2. Michael Luciano of Mediaite also highlights Noem's "liberate" remark. He leaves it to the reader to figure out the implications (which is fine). ~~~
~~~ Update 3. AND Finally Heather Cox Richardson absolutely gets it: "In other words, the Trump administration is vowing to get rid of the democratically elected government of California by using military force. That threat is the definition of a coup. It suggests MAGA considers any political victory but their own to be illegitimate and considers themselves justified in removing those governmental officials with violence: a continuation of the attempt of January 6, 2021, to overturn the results of a presidential election." Further down in her column, she notes that even Trump acknowledges that his raids are no longer about deportation. "So if it is no longer administration policy to engage in the sweeps that are causing such chaos and sparking protests, why are Republican authorities mobilizing troops?"
~~~ Inae Oh of Mother Jones: “The unbridled willingness to punish elected officials, through forceful removal and criminal apprehension, marks a key escalation point in the Trump administration’s embrace of blatantly authoritarian tendencies, as they seek to crush dissent, peaceful or not. And it carries the tacit approval of the president. 'If there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,' Trump said this week in advance of his military-birthday parade in DC this weekend.” ~~~
~~~ After acknowledging it was not his place to say, Speaker Mike Johnson said he endorsed censuring Sen. Padilla for "fighting physically and ... charging Cabinet secretaries." Bible Mike apparently believes in the word of Saint Kristi of Noem as she spake on Fox "News." (Link is to a Hill report.) ~~~
~~~ Caitlin Yilek & Kaia Hubbard of CBS News: "Lawmakers are calling for answers after Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, expressed shock over 'the manhandling of a United States senator,' adding that he wants answers 'to what the hell went on.'... Sen. Adam Schiff, Padilla's fellow California senator, called on Noem to resign and said there should be an investigation into law enforcement's conduct.... Schiff was one of a slew of Senate Democrats who took to the Senate floor following the incident. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon reiterated Schumer's call for an investigation, saying he was 'extremely outraged.' Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said 'this to me is such an abuse of authority' and 'there can be no justification.' Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said..., 'I have been here for more than 32 years.... I have never come this close to having tears in my eyes as I speak to both sides of this aisle about this horrendous incident that occurred.'" And so forth. Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is still "trying to get all the facts." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Hilariously, Thune seems to think he can't "get all the facts" till he talks to Kristi Noem. That would be the same Kristi Noem who lied multiple times on Fox "News" about Padilla's actions. ~~~
~~~ Andrew Solender of Axios: "Rep. John Mannion (D-N.Y.) shocked colleagues in both parties Thursday by tearing into Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) in what sources described as a tense and profane confrontation over the forcible removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).... Lawmakers and aides who witnessed the Mannion-Lawler incident described it to Axios as the product of rising partisan tensions over the Trump administration's use of legal and physical force against Democrats.... 'Mannion stands up and just starts yelling at him for absolutely no reason but emotion about the atmosphere that we're in right now,' said one House Democrat.... The lawmaker said Mannion told Lawler 'something to the effect of, "You've got to do something. Stand up. Grow a pair of balls."' Lawler's response, they said: 'F*** you ... I have no idea what you're talking about.'... Just before the vote, Mannion had a similar outburst during a press conference on the House steps regarding the Padilla incident. 'We need you,' he shouted at the press. 'We need you to hold them accountable. Media, it's your country too.... Don't cover the distractions. Cover the actions that lead us towards authoritarianism, please.'" ~~~
Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: “A House committee hearing devolved into chaos on Thursday as Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) pressed lawmakers to subpoena Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after her security team assaulted Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).... The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing was underway when the shocking news broke of Padilla being forcibly removed from Noem’s press event and dragged to the ground. Frost repeatedly ... asked that the committee subpoena Noem over the scuffle, which led to sniping from Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and other Republicans. 'Reclaiming my time!' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said repeatedly.... Nevertheless, Frost persisted, bringing up details about the California senator being handcuffed and thrown to the ground, and asking for a subpoena — until Comer snapped. 'Shut up!' he shouted at Frost. 'Just shut up!'... 'He’s a former Antifa member!' Greene ... [said of] Frost. When Frost asked that Comer strike her inaccurate comments from the hearing record, he declined. Greene later said she would revise her remarks for the record, to note Frost was once arrested in 2021 at a voter’s rights march. Frost said at the time it was an act of nonviolent resistance.” Includes video, which was kinda fun to watch.
Rebecca Schoenkopf of Wonkette has a morning roundup of news that includes a number of stories re: The Padilla Matter. With appropriately snide asides. Also, Schoenkopf includes a transcript of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass's remarks at a press conference yesterday (??), which as Schoenkopf says, are worth reading in full. Marie: Also, her post makes me wonder why it was necessary to wrestle Sen. Padilla to the floor. There were four officers manhandling him, and he sure didn't seem to be set on running away. So why not just cuff him if restraining him was the objective? The whole thing seems performative to me; that they knew who he was and that their real objective was to humiliate him.
Paul Krugman: “The militarized response to the LA demonstrations and Trump’s warning that anyone protesting his military birthday parade (which millions probably will) will be 'met with heavy force' aren’t about moving the poll numbers. They’re all about rejecting the idea that Americans have a right to oppose Trump policies.... This is the moment. Everything is on the line, right now.” (Also linked yesterday.) MB Note: Krugman wrote this before Kristi Noem promised to "liberate" Angelinos from their "burdensome, socialist" elected officials.
Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the federal government’s mobilization of the California National Guard to protect immigration agents from protesters in Los Angeles. He ruled that the Trump administration had illegally taken control of the state’s troops and ordered them to return to taking orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom. In an extraordinary 36-page ruling, Judge Charles Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Francisco severed Mr. Trump’s control of up to 4,000 National Guard troops, hundreds of whom are already deployed in the streets of Los Angeles on his orders. The judge said the administration’s seizure of them violated required procedures in a federal statute.... Donald Trump’s 'actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,' Judge Breyer wrote. 'He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the governor of the state of California forthwith.' The directive would have taken effect at noon Pacific time on Friday. But the Trump administration immediately filed a notice that it was appealing Judge Breyer’s decision. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed to stay the ruling while it reviews the case, temporarily blocking it from taking effect.
“The ruling, which accused Mr. Trump of setting a “dangerous precedent for future domestic military activity,” was the latest in a series of judicial rebukes to Mr. Trump’s expansive claims of wartime or emergency powers over matters ranging from deporting people without due process to unilaterally imposing widespread tariffs.... Judge Breyer’s ruling on the National Guard went beyond what California had asked for ... [which] was for a temporary restraining order limiting military forces under federal control to guarding federal buildings.... Judge Breyer blocked Mr. Trump from using California’s National Guard at all. But he also rejected a request by the state and Governor Newsom to restrain a separate group of active-duty Marines, which the administration has also mobilized to counter the protesters.... Judge Breyer said it would be inappropriate to issue any order restricting the Marines’ actions when they have not done anything that would violate the Posse Comitatus Act....” The order linked in the story is via the court, so not firewalled. ~~~
~~~ Politico's report, by Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein, is here.
Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration wants to use the National Guard more broadly to enact the president’s immigration agenda, according to border czar Tom Homan, documents and people familiar with plans. 'They can’t make immigration arrests, but they can certainly augment for security, transportation, infrastructure, intelligence,' Homan said in an interview with The Washington Post.... The National Guard would be tasked with helping ICE catch fugitives as well as guard detention centers, process and transport migrants and other tasks, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post. Pentagon officials say they are looking into the request but have not yet decided on the number of troops it will send.... The administration has been considering the use of the National Guard 'for months' in immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States, Homan said, but he declined to specify who was responsible for the idea. Trump and his key adviser, Stephen Miller, have long said they hope to use the military to realize a mass deportation program.”
“He's Not All There.” Ben Johansen of Politico: Gov. Gavin Newsom & Donald Trump “had a Saturday morning discussion, the two men say, in which Trump purports to have brought up the National Guard. But Newsom decried that account as false. 'He lied...,' Newsom said on The New York Times podcast. '... He lied. Stone cold liar.' Once Trump began fabricating parts of their conversation later that day, Newsom alleged, it started 'to disturb me on a different level that maybe he actually believed he said those things,' he said. 'He’s not all there,' the governor added.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Ja'han Jones of MSNBC: “The Trump administration has tried to portray the Los Angeles demonstrations against its ICE enforcement raids as chaos at a scale worthy of military intervention. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department has repeatedly disputed that claim.... 'The possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles absent clear coordination presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,” Chief Jim McDonnell said, adding, “The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, have decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively.' On Wednesday, Trump ... [said,] 'If we weren’t there, if we didn’t bring in the National Guard and the Marines, you would probably have a city that was burning to the ground.'... (In reality, the largely peaceful protests have been confined to just a few blocks in the city.) Trump continued, 'In fact, the chief of police said so much, if you look at what his statements were. He said, “We’re very lucky to have had them.’” But McDonnell rejected that claim. Asked by CNN host Kaitlin Collins if Trump’s characterization of his statement was accurate, McDonnell said, 'No....'” (Also linked yesterday.)
Ellen Barry & Maya Shwayder of the New York Times: “Kseniia Petrova, the Russian scientist who spent four months in detention after failing to declare scientific samples she was carrying into the country, was freed on bail from federal custody on Thursday by a magistrate judge in Boston. Since her detention at Boston’s Logan Airport in February, Ms. Petrova has been transferred to detention centers in Vermont, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and, briefly, Rhode Island, before returning to Boston early Thursday. 'Welcome to Massachusetts,' said the judge, Judith G. Dein.... Ms. Petrova’s release is a victory, but a temporary one. She is still facing a two-pronged prosecution: The Trump administration began deportation proceedings against her in February, and around three months later, after she challenged the move in court, filed criminal smuggling charges against her. Lawyers for the government have said they intend to deport Ms. Petrova to Russia, a country she fled for political reasons in 2022. She has said that if she returns, she fears arrest or even death because of her activism.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: My thanks to the Trump administration for making me realize what a remarkably brave person I am: Petrova is yet another of those dangerous immigrant desperados of whom I am not afraid.
digby: Trump can't figure out why Russia is our enemy and Germany & Japan are our allies when during WWII, Russia was our ally and Germany and Japan were our enemies. "I think he sincerely believes this because he literally knows nothing about American history and seems to be very impressed with something he heard or watched recently that’s given him some very warped ideas about World War II.... This is what happens when a narcissistic megalomaniac realizes that nothing and no one can ever hold him accountable for anything. He’s creating the world anew." BTW, the Bulwark citation embedded in digby's post does give the sense of what Trump said, but you might want to listen to the clip to hear what he actually said.
Mark Berman & Maria Sacchetti, et al., of the Washington Post: “A federal judge in Colorado on Thursday said in a ruling that the Trump administration cannot rapidly deport the family of an Egyptian man charged with attacking a gathering in Boulder held in support of the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher had previously blocked federal officials from removing Hayam El Gamal, the suspected attacker’s wife, and the couple’s five children from the country. He had also barred officials from taking the family out of the judicial district, but by then officers had sent El Gamal and the children to a family detention facility in Texas. In a 15-page decision, Gallagher said he would transfer the case, with his orders temporarily barring deportation in place, to federal court in Texas for a decision about whether the family should be released from detention.”
Ana Swanson & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: “Washing machines, refrigerators and other common household appliances made with steel parts will soon be subject to expanded tariffs, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The department said in a notice that levies would take effect on so-called steel derivative products on June 23 and will be set at 50 percent, the current level for all other steel and aluminum imports. The new tariffs will apply to the value of steel content in each import, the notice said. While many products have become subject to higher import taxes since Mr. Trump began implementing his aggressive trade policy, Thursday’s announcement marked one of the first times this year that everyday consumer goods were specifically targeted. The result will also apply to imported dishwashers, dryers, stoves and food waste disposals, and could translate into higher costs for American households.” MB: I sure am glad I bought a houseful of appliances in February. I knew I wouldn't be using them right away but I saw the Trump mischief coming.
Chris Cameron of the New York Times: Donald “Trump moved on Thursday to withdraw from a Biden administration agreement that had brokered a truce in a decades-long legal battle with tribes in the Pacific Northwest. The federal government has been mired in legal battles for decades over the depletion of fish populations in the Columbia River Basin, caused by four hydroelectric dams in the lower Snake River. Native American tribes have argued in court that the federal government has violated longstanding treaties by failing to protect the salmon and other fish that have been prevented by the dams from spawning upstream of the river. That legal fight is now expected to resume, with no brokered agreement in place. In its statement announcing the withdrawal, the White House made no mention of the affected tribes and portrayed the issue falsely as revolving around 'speculative climate change concerns.'” MB: Happy to see the NYT is once again directly pointing out a Trumpy lie.
Chris Cameron & Peter Baker of the New York Times: “Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, posted and then quickly deleted a statement on Wednesday evening attacking another high-level U.S. diplomat and criticizing the NATO military alliance.... Matt Whitaker, whom ... [Donald] Trump appointed as his ambassador to NATO..., briefly found himself a public target of another Trump administration official’s ire after publishing a routine social media post highlighting his meetings with ambassadors from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. 'What happens in the Indo-Pacific matters for transatlantic security,' Mr. Whitaker wrote on Tuesday morning on his official X account. 'That’s why NATO works with partners globally.'... 'He obviously didn’t get the memo,' Mr. Landau said of Mr. Whitaker, 'of our Deputies Committee meeting on this very issue. NATO is still a solution in search of a problem.' It is unclear if Mr. Landau had unintentionally made the comment publicly, or if he had meant to insult a fellow diplomat in the internet’s public square before quickly regretting it.”
Andrew Egger of the Bulwark has a bit more on the Quackpots RFKJ has put on the CDC's Immunization Advisory Committee after firing all the members of the committee of actual immunization experts. "It turns out, when you automatically exclude researchers whose work has shown vaccines to be safe and effective, the pool of vaccine experts from which to draw to staff your vaccine-policy commission gets very shallow very fast." Via Rebecca Schoenkopf of Wonkette.
Image via Krugman, linked below. ~~~
~~~ CBO: The Rich Get Richer & the Poor Get Poorer. Andrew Duehren of the New York Times: “The far-reaching domestic policy bill that Republicans recently pushed through the House would provide rich Americans with a financial lift while taking away government benefits from the poor, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday. The analysis is the first from the budget office that lays out how Americans at different income levels would be affected by the Republican legislation, which slashes taxes and cuts spending on safety-net programs like Medicaid and food stamps.... The bottom 10 percent, for example, would overall lose government benefits worth an average of $1,559, or 3.9 percent of their current income, each year over the next decade, according to the budget office. The bottom 30 percent of Americans would all, on average, lose more benefits than they would receive from the bill. In contrast, the top 10 percent would gain an average of $12,044, a 2.3 percent annual increase to their current income. Middle-class Americans would see smaller gains. The middle 10 percent of Americans would on average net $514 per year if the measure were enacted, an annual increase of 0.5 percent in their current income. Overall, the richer Americans are, the larger the benefit they would receive from the legislation.” ~~~
~~~ Most Regressive Bill in Decades. Emily Badger, et al., of the New York Times: “The Republican megabill now before the Senate cuts taxes for high earners and reduces benefits for the poor. If it’s enacted, that combination would make it more regressive than any major tax or entitlement law in decades.... Tax cut packages have seldom left the poor significantly worse off. And bills that cut the safety net usually haven’t also included benefits for the rich. By inverting those precedents, congressional Republicans have created a bill unlike anything Washington has produced since deficit fears began to loom large in the 1990s.” ~~~
~~~ Paul Krugman: "... this bill is so cruelly regressive that it shocked even me. This bill is truly unprecedented in the extent to which it takes away from the have-nots and gives to the ultra-haves. It slashes Medicaid, taking health care away from millions. It slashes food stamps, ensuring that many will go hungry. At the same time it gives huge tax cuts to the wealthy.... Wait, it gets worse. The CBO’s analysis doesn’t consider the effect of the Trump tariffs on household incomes. This is important because tariffs are taxes — regressive taxes, that fall more heavily on lower-income than higher-income families.... The House has just enacted legislation that is desperately unpopular and would be even less popular if the public understood it fully. Why, then, did House members vote for it? Because they fear Donald Trump more than they fear the voters or because they don’t believe we will ever have fair elections again. Or both."
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: “The House voted on Thursday to claw back $9.4 billion that lawmakers had already approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting, as Republicans banded together to codify spending cuts put forward by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The 214-to-212 vote came after the White House asked Congress to formally approve the rollback, which had largely been enacted by executive order and DOGE. The request was something of a pivot for ... [Donald] Trump and his top officials, who have aggressively challenged Congress’s power of the purse and made clear that they are willing to steer around the legislative branch to try to unilaterally control federal spending.... The bulk of the funds targeted — $8.3 billion — is for foreign assistance programs. The remaining $1.1 billion is for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS.... Four House Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure, which passed only after Speaker Mike Johnson pressed a handful of G.O.P. lawmakers who had initially voted 'no' to support it.... The proposal’s fate in the Senate is unclear.” ~~~
Scott MacFarlane of CBS News: "Two police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack filed a federal civil lawsuit, asking a judge to order the hanging of a plaque to honor police heroes who protected the Capitol, lawmakers and staff from rioters. The lawsuit cites a 2022 law signed by President Biden that required the honorary plaque be hung by March 2023. The plaque has been completed and in storage since at least last year, but GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to installing it at the Capitol. The dispute over the plaque has angered victims and inflamed a politically divisive issue on Capitol Hill. Republican leaders, who control the administration of the Capitol complex, have not honored requests by some officers and Democratic colleagues to hang the plaque, as required under federal law. In their lawsuit, former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges argue ... [Donald] Trump has spun conspiracy theories about Jan. 6, that have been adopted by his Republican allies in Congress." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Gosh, it's not my place to say so, but maybe the House should at least censure Bible Mike for violating the law which required him to mount the plaque honoring the policemen and women who defended the Capitol on January 6.
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a teenage girl with epilepsy and her parents who had sued a Minnesota school district, claiming that her school had failed to provide reasonable accommodations, which made it difficult for her to receive instruction. The case hinged on what standard of proof was required to show discrimination by public schools in education-related disability lawsuits. In a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the court held that the student and her family needed to show only that the school system had acted with 'deliberate indifference' to her educational needs when they sued. That is the same standard that applies when people sue other institutions for discrimination based on disability.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously revived a suit from a couple whose home was mistakenly raided by the F.B.I., giving them a fresh opportunity to try to persuade lower courts that they should be able to sue the federal government for the harm they suffered. The case, Martin v. United States, No. 24-362, arose from a raid very early on a fall morning in 2017, when F.B.I. agents used a battering ram to knock down the front door of the home of the couple, Hilliard Toi Cliatt and Curtrina Martin. Guns drawn, the agents set off a flash-bang grenade and charged inside. The couple barricaded themselves in a closet. The agents dragged Mr. Cliatt out at gunpoint and handcuffed him. They told Ms. Martin to keep her hands up as she pleaded to see her 7-year-old son, who had been asleep in another room. As they questioned Mr. Cliatt, he gave his address. It was different from the one the agents had a warrant to enter.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Jurors Behaving Badly. Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: “The judge overseeing the sex-crimes trial of Harvey Weinstein on Thursday declared a mistrial on a final charge against him, after the jury foreman said he was unwilling to return to deliberations. The ruling followed a wild day in court on Wednesday, in which jurors in Manhattan convicted Mr. Weinstein of a felony sex crime but were then sent home to cool off. The jury foreman had complained to the judge that deliberations had devolved into yelling and that he felt threatened by the other jurors. On Wednesday, the panel of seven women and five men announced a partial verdict, convicting Mr. Weinstein on a single count of criminal sexual act and acquitting him of another count of the same charge. They were unable to reach a consensus on a charge of third-degree rape. On Thursday, the foreman said he was not willing to return to the jury room and continue deliberating with the 11 others.” (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~~~~~~~~
⭐Israel, et al. New York Times: “Israel launched a stunning series of strikes on Friday morning against Iran’s nuclear program, killing three of the nation’s security chiefs. The wide-ranging attack prompted fears that long-simmering tensions between the heavily armed rivals were spiraling into a full-blown regional war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel described the attack as a last resort to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, which Israel views as an existential threat. In addition to Iran’s nuclear program, Israel targeted and killed top Iranian officials and nuclear scientists, as well as attacking long-range missile facilities and aerial defenses.... More than 200 Israeli fighter jets took part in the attack, which targeted over 100 sites, including a major Iranian nuclear enrichment center at Natanz. The strikes were also a major blow to Iran’s military chain of command. Mohammad Bagheri, the commander in chief of the military and the second-highest commander after the supreme leader, was killed, according to the Israeli military and Iranian media.... Israel’s surprise attack came while the United States, its main patron, was negotiating a new diplomatic pact with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions. Washington said it was not directly involved in the strikes.” At 3:45 am ET, this is the pinned item on a liveblog. ~~~
~~~ Here are the AP's live updates.
16 Comments
Reader Comments (16)
@unwashed was wondering last night where Catherine Rampell got the idea that "Great Barrington [is], a New England town largely populated by artists, aging hippies and affluent second-home-owners."
Well, it's in the Berkshires, so of course it's populated by artists, aging hippies and affluent second-home-owners." Great Barrington also has a ski resort, so it isn't only summer residents who fit Rampell's description.
unwashed doesn't seem to think much of these part-time residents who no doubt don't do much -- if any -- of the civic work like volunteer firefighting. Plus, they drive up the cost of housing. But they also contribute mightily to the local economy. So -- having been a full-time resident of the Land of the Snowbirds -- I have never turned up my nose at the lucky-ducky visitors.
The immigrant workers whom ICE detained in Great Barrington likely would not have been there but for the people unwashed calls "New Jerkers," a derogatory reference, I reckon, to people who live in New Jersey but work in NYC.
So according to Axios John Mannion had multiple "outbursts" yesterday over his fear for our democracy and it's people. One of those outbursts came in the form of him begging the media to help protect the nation from the authoritarian creep happening in front of their face day after day that most of them barely care about. To do the job that the Founding Fathers explicitly put into the Constitution for them to do. The other outburst was him for "no reason" asking a Republican to stop enabling the destruction of every ideal America stands for and to uphold their oaths of office to the people and Constitution. Whomever the anonymous Democrat is that Axios quotes should be run out of office since they clearly do not understand or care about what the Republican Party members are actively doing and have done in the past to pave the way for Trump's attempted takeover of our country. Calling on the Republicans who currently have the power to reign in the Trump administration and protect us all to help stabilize our democracy would not be out of the blue for anyone who truly cares about our country or the fate of its people.
Trump and Putin
Why do I have the feeling that Netanyahu is doing the Pretender's dirty work for him?
That one of the purposes of yesterday's attack on Iran is to bring about a resuscitation of that Big Beautiful nuclear agreement that the Pretender foolishly scuttled for no reason other than to prove to himself and the world that he was indeed the Anti-Obama?
He didn't need to do that, but he did. We already knew he was no Obama. Unlike Obama, he's racist, greedy, mean, ignorant and stupid.
Also don't understand the oil price spike. Up 13% when Iran produces about 3% of the world's oil supply? Again, it seems that despite fossil fuel giants' protestations to the contrary, oil prices are only vaguely related to supply and demand.
Public Notice
"Donald Trump’s constant willingness to ignore the Constitution and core principles of American democracy means we are forever playing catch-up, stumbling behind while explaining why he absolutely cannot legally do the thing he is doing."
How about this?
Let's return the responsibilities of FEMA to the states but federalize the states' national guards for law enforcement duties anywhere anytime?
If nothing else does, that reversal of the Pretender's asserted responsibilities says everything that could be said about his interests and intentions.
He has no interest in dealing with natural disasters. He's interested only in creating them.
Thanks, RAS for the "Public Notice" piece...
@RAS: I could not agree more. It isn't only Republicans who are living in a bubble and it isn't only rubes in flyover country who are clueless. I get that after living a lifetime in what passes for a democratic republic, it's hard to conceptualize the breakdown of that national order, especially if you get to go to Washington and pass your post-office-naming bills and you still get letters addressed to "The Hon. Rep. Muck-a-Muck" and all that other "normal" stuff seems to go on as it has.
But that anonymous Democratic House member needs to wake up and smell the shit. We are no long looking at tea leaves or handwriting on the wall. We're right in the muck, and they don't make boots high enough.
On Jan. 20 of this year, I thought our next chance for any slight semblance of a traditional federal government would come in January 2027. Now I'm not so sure there will be enough "free and fair" 2026 Congressional elections to give Democrats a chance to take over Congress -- even if that's what the voters (and would-be voters) might have chosen. It's up to Congress -- including Rep. For No Reason (D) and a few Republicans -- to make sure the 2026 elections are carried out fairly. If Congress fails, if Republicans are able to fake the 2026 elections, then the next presidential* election will be a farce, too. And that will be that.
Two from The Atlantic on Israel:
Tom Nichols on The Israeli campaign may be necessary, but preventive wars carry great moral and practical risks
"...calling this a 'preemptive' strike is questionable. The Israelis, from what we know so far, are engaged in a preventive war: They are removing the source of a threat by surprise, on their own timetable and on terms they find favorable. They may be justified in doing so, but such actions carry great moral and practical risks."
Graeme Wood on Why Israel Struck Now
"Israel has been contemplating an attack like this for two decades. Why was last night different from every other night? Israel claims that Iran was in a late-stage rush to assemble a nuclear weapon ('nine atomic bombs,' Netanyahu said). That claim is nearly unverifiable, but it’s worth noting general trends that might have made Iran’s decision to go imminently nuclear more likely. For at least two decades, the decision to go nuclear has been political rather than technical. Iran had the know-how. Its leaders just needed to decide that a nuclear bomb was worth the risk. And recently the calculation around that decision has shifted."
"Lies
"ICYMI — “LIE!!”
Dems heckled Speaker Johnson as he tried to put all the blame on Senator Padilla"
The stupidest people on Earth
"here is the video of the U.S. Secretary of the Army stating that there is currently a soldier on the moon:"
@RAS: Well, that's definitely what he said, but it's hard to say if he misspoke or if he really thinks there's a U.S. astronaut on the moon. Micah Hanks of the Debrief speculates that Secretary Dimwit there may have been referring to U.S. astronaut & Army Colonel Anne McClaine, who is on the International Space Station.
The odd thing is that the Army has not "clarified" Driscoll's remark. Therefore, I guess we'll have to leave it at "The stupidest people on Earth." Let's hope our soldier on the moon is smarter than her/his Earthling boss.
Saw a headline somewhere (NYTimes?) saying how ineffective the Pretender is as a world leader.
No surprise there. He's cut ties with most of our allies, made enemies of others, has no influence over Putin so all he has left is empty words.
He sure can raise hell with our brownimmigrants, tho, tough guy that he is.
@Ken Winkes: Yes, it was the NYT. Here it is. I'll run a link in the body of the Conversation tomorrow.
Back from leave, now staff writer at The Atlantic, Alexandra Petri wonders
So, What Did I Miss?
"I pulled a rare reverse Rip van Winkle. Rip took a brief, well-deserved nap and woke up decades later to discover that his country no longer had a king. I did the opposite of that. Anyway, I am scared to nap now. Which is bad because I very much need to nap. I have a five-month-old."
No Kings
Reality Check
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/us/politics/trump-ice-raids-farms-hotels.html
Feel kinda sorry for the Pretender.
It would have been far easier to reach those deportation targets if there had really been 21 million undocumented immigrants in the country, not 12 oe 13 million and if more than 8 million of those had not been gainfully employed.
That means, I guess, there were only three million violent criminals and rapists to arrest, which were hardly enough.