Mike Johnson: "We want everybody who was involved in any way with the Epstein evils to be brought to justice as quickly as possible."

(Reminder: Trump is mentioned repeatedly in the Epstein files.)

We don’t know what the real name of the Director of White House Personnel is, we don’t know what country he came from, he refuses to turn in background check forms, and nobody will ask the president or press secretary about it.

I admire Jackson's restraint in not saying "Your 'textualism' and 'originalism' are 100% bullshit and you know it. They're just tools you use to arrive at whatever outcome you want, then cloak it in a phony methodology, you utterly dishonest wankers."

The CBO estimates that Trump's Big Ugly Bill, which is stuffed with tax cuts skewed to the wealthy, will explode the deficit by $2.4T and kick 10.9M people off their health insurance.

This has always been the GOP strategy: socialism for the rich, harsh capitalism for the rest.

A Texas Gerrymander Made in D.C. Targets Minority Voters Read more here.

"To actually draw the maps, PILF turned to Adam Kincaid, the executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, the party’s national redistricting organization." www.democracydocket.com/a-texas-gerr...

He is entitled to send these questions, I guess.

And employees, when asked by some random right-wing punk what they do all day, should respond with variations on, “Like most of us, I fuck your mom.”

I just finished speaking, by telephone, with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia. The call lasted approximately one hour and 15 minutes. We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides. It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields. We also discussed Iran, and the fact that time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly! I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement. President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion. It is my opinion that Iran has been slowwalking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!

Trump says he just spoke with Putin and describes Ukraine's recent drone attack in a way that makes it sound like Russia is a victim

Trump NLRB Pick Has History of Crushing Unions A new financial disclosure for Crystal Carey, Trump’s nominee to be general counsel of the NLRB, reveals a long list of anti-union clients including Amazon, Apple, and Trader Joe’s.

“Carey’s nomination as NLRB general counsel is certainly another example of Trump’s attacks on workers and the right to organize,” said @epi.org senior policy analyst Margaret Poydock.

Some of Crystal Carey's clients: Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and Apple.

Dismissed by DEI: Trump’s Purge Made Black Women With Stable Federal Jobs an “Easy Target” The president’s attack on diversity efforts has derailed the government careers of highly educated civil servants — even though the jobs some lost were not directly involved with any DEI programs.

Dismissed FAA staffer Ronicsa Chambers said her team members — five Black women and one white man with a disability — were told they would be reassigned but remain without work.

“As far as we know, we’re the only ones still on administrative leave.”

New, @davidmcswane.bsky.social @propublica.org

Date Filed Docket Text 06/04/2025 179 PAPERLESS ORDER: Plaintiffs' request at ECF No. 177 for leave to file a motion for sanctions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 is GRANTED. Plaintiffs shall file their motion no later than June 11, 2025. Defendants shall file 06/03/2025 178 스 Interim MOTION to Seal Joint Letter Regarding Discovery Sanctions by A. A.V., Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura(Cooper, Jonathan) (Entered: 06/03/2025) 06/03/2025 177 -SEALED-Joint MOTION for Discovery Conference by A. A.V., Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Certificate of Service) (Cooper, Jonathan) (Entered: 06/03/2025)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MARYLAND Greenbelt Division Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, et al., Plaintiffs, Case No.: 8:25-CV-00951-PX Kristi Noem, et al., Defendants. Interim Motion to Seal Joint Letter Regarding Discovery Sanctions Pursuant to Local Rule 105.11 and the parties' Stipulated Confidentiality Order, ECF No. 95, Plaintiffs move to seal the accompanying Joint Letter Regarding Discovery Sanctions and the exhibits thereto, filed today under the Court's April 15, 2025 Letter Order, ECF No. 80.

The accompanying Joint Letter Regarding Discovery Sanctions contains discussions of the Government's discovery deficiencies, interrogatory responses, and productions. Exhibit A to the Joint Letter contains highly redacted internal messages produced during discovery. Exhibit B to the Joint Letter contains the Government's May 30 production letter. Exhibit C to the Joint Letter contains the Government's May 30 supplemental interrogatory responses. Exhibit D to the Joint Letter contains redline a comparison between the Government's May 30 supplemental interrogatory responses and its May 19 responses. The Government has designated these materials as Confidential or Attorneys' Eyes Only under the Stipulated Confidentiality Order and confirmed by e-mail that they were maintaining their designations in connection with Plaintiffs' filing. Accordingly, pursuant to the Confidentiality Order, "even if [Plaintiffs] believe that the materials designated as Confidential or Attorney's Eyes Only are not properly classified as Confidential or Attorney's Eyes Only," they are required to file this motion seeking to maintain the designated material under seal. Id. Further, Plaintiffs are not simultaneously filing a public version of the Joint Letter Regarding Discovery Sanctions and the exhibits thereto, as the Government has designated the entirety of these materials Confidential or Attorneys Eyes Only. Plaintiffs rely on the Government to identify reasons why alternatives to sealing the material not filed publicly would not provide sufficient protection.

NEW: Judge Xinis allows Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawyers to seek sanctions relating to discovery that had been ordered.

On Tuesday, the parties filed a sealed motion (177) that included copies of what was turned over and the sanctions request. This was explained in a side-filing (178, posted here).

a good thing to ask yourself when pursuing a broad political strategy is “would this have prevented the civil rights movement?”

centrist: we need to focus on popular policy

me: holy shit! you mean we’re finally going to support universal healthcare?

centrist: no haha not that policy

me: ok so…gun control?

centrist: no lol not that policy either

me: ok which policy?

centrist: oh you know the ones

the entire republican caucus is currently angry they voted for and passed a bill that none of them read

Got it. Interesting he confessed

🏆 @rollingstone.com wins the Headline of the Day Award

This is how it’s done. At least someone understands the assignment.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

JUST IN: CIA confirms that when it scanned Director Ratcliffe's phone for Signalgate messages, they were gone.

s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

Social Security classifies thousands of immigrants as dead, as part of Trump crackdown The tactic is aimed at putting pressure on undocumented immigrants to leave the country.

Putting living people into death register violates so many laws, should be immediately prosecuted. Privacy Act, Due Process. Even if you are currently in the country illegally, you may have been in the country legally before + have right to some SSA benefits www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

TIMELINE ABREGO GARCIA GANG ALLEGATIONS - SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION. 2011-2019: Entry and Early Life: Kilmar Abrego Garcia flees El Salvador to the US at age 16, after M-18 gang members extort his family and threaten to kill him and rape his sisters if they didn’t keep paying. He moves in with his US citizen brother in Maryland and lives there without trouble for years. March 28, 2019: PGPD Arrest. Kilmar is arrested for loitering outside Home Depot while looking for day labor. A Prince Georges County PD detective grills him about whether he’s a gang member. He denies any involvement. Four hours later, he is transferred to ICE custody, without PGPD charging him for any offense. April 2019: ICE Allegations: At a bond hearing, ICE claims Kilmar is part of MS-13. They submit one piece of evidence: a “Gang Field Interview Sheet” (GFIS) filled out by the PGPD detective that claims Kilmar is part of MS-13. The GFIS says (1) he was wearing Chicago Bulls gear, and (2) a “confidential informant” allegedly claimed that Kilmar was a ranking member of the “Westerns” clique, which is in Long Island, a place he has never lived in.

Summer 2019: Investigation: Kilmar’s lawyers reach out to PGPD to investigate these claims. They find out that (1) the police did not even file an incident report about his arrest, and (2) the detective that filled out the GFIS has been suspended for an unknown reason. August 2019: IJ Decision: At his final bond hearing, ICE declines to offer any evidence of gang membership other than what’s in the GFIS. The IJ denies bond, finding that the GFIS is sufficient proof of membership at this time, despite noting its obvious flaws. Kilmar appeals this decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. October 2019: Withholding Win: The immigration judge rules that Kilmar is ineligible for asylum because he filed the application too late. But the judge does grant “withholding of removal,” finding that it was “more likely than not” that he would be subject to persecution if deported to El Salvador. A removal order is issued, but with a restriction that the one country he cannot be deported to is El Salvador.

December 2019: BIA Decision: Kilmar appeals the bond decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The appeals board declines to find “clear error” in the immigration judge’s decision to rely on the GFIS document. However, he is released anyway because he had won withholding of removal. 2019-2025: Normal Life: Kilmar lives a normal life in Maryland with his U.S. citizen wife, their biological son, and his two stepchildren. With his work permit, he gets a job as a sheet metal worker, joins a union, and raises his family in a DC suburb. He doesn’t get into any trouble with the law. March 2025: Sent to CECOT: On March 12, 2025, ICE comes to Kilmar’s home and arrests him in front of his children. Three days later he’s transferred to Texas, where, thanks to an “administrative error,” he is put on a plane to El Salvador and sent to CECOT

Since the Trump admin continues to claim Mr. Abrego Garcia is a gang member, I thought I'd take the time to put together a timeline, based on all the documents filed in court, which lays out all the "evidence" the government has ever offered.

As you'll find out, there's very little "there" there!

Trump's Secretary of Commerce was on cable news a couple days ago making this *exact* promise, that Trump's Glorious Tariffs were going to put Americans to work making little cell phones.

Why we’ll have a recession Trump wants to get it over early in his term, so he and his fellow billionaires can buy up everything cheap and then enjoy the ride upward

More thoughts on this robertreich.substack.com/p/why-trump-...

38% of people living in Mike Johnson's district were enrolled in Medicaid last year.

Yet Johnson is pushing for devastating cuts to Medicaid — all to pay for tax cuts that will predominantly go to the rich.

Is there a better encapsulation of the Republican Party?

WARREN: If 700,000 Americans lose their jobs because of these tariffs, will the Trump administration suspend these tariffs?

GREER: That's not going to happen

WARREN: I take that as a no

Bingo

Trump Is Trying to Deport Students Who Show Up in a ‘Criminal Records Check.’ But Many Have Never Been Convicted What began with Mahmoud Khalil has now expanded into widespread immigration status revocations with no explanation and little apparent recourse.

NEWS: It began with Mahmoud Khalil. Now the Trump admin is trying to deport *hundreds* of students by vaguely saying they have criminal records—making them guess why.
Some have traffic violations. Some didn't even commit a crime.

One's "criminal record"? Apparently being a domestic violence victim.

It's also like not only are you not going to get bananas or coffee or whatever, but a ton of businesses with products you like will simply go under because their profit margins were too slim.

This will mean a massive wipeout of competition and centralization of the market.

“Whether it’s discussing a bombing run in a Signal group or playing musical office suites in a vain attempt to avoid FOIA, the Trump administration has unequivocally demonstrated that they are pathologically allergic to accountability and transparency,” said McClanahan.

Exactly what I was thinking

✈️👀 Traditional ICE Air is scheduled from Alexandria to Guantanamo. The plane is now enroute from Phoenix to Alexandria right now. The census at Guantanamo following the last flight was 32 as I understand it. Unclear if people are coming or going or both. The last flight to Guantanamo was March 21.