Rick Wilson & Michael Waldman Podcast Episode · Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast · 02/24/2025 · 44m

New episode with @therickwilson.bsky.social

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BY EMAIL Re: United States v. Eric Adams, 24 Cr. 556 (DEH) Mr. Bove, I have received correspondence indicating that I refused your order to move to dismiss the indictment against Eric Adams without prejudice, subject to certain conditions, including the express possibility of reinstatement of the indictment. That is not exactly correct. The U.S. Attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, never asked me to file such a motion, and I therefore never had an opportunity to refuse. But I am entirely in agreement with her decision not to do so, for the reasons stated in her February 12, 2025 letter to the Attorney General. In short, the first justification for the motion-that Damian Williams's role in the case somehow tainted a valid indictment supported by ample evidence, and pursued under four different U.S. attorneys is so weak as to be transparently pretextual. The second justification is worse. No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives. There is a tradition in public service of resigning in a last-ditch effort to head off a serious mistake. Some will view the mistake you are committing here in the light of their generally negative views of the new Administration. I do not share those views. I can even understand how a Chief Executive whose background is in business and politics might see the contemplated dismissal-with-leverage as a good, if distasteful, deal. But any assistant U.S. attorney would know much i i red oril, in this ily. wing the perset arthro he Reside is ving to, give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me. Please consider this my resignation. It has been an honor to serve as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. Yours truly, Hagan Scotten Assistant United States Att…

AUSA Hagan Scotten, former clerk for John Roberts, really put some mustard on his resignation letter.

A screenshot showing call totals opposing RFK Jr for Secretary of Health and Human Services. There have been 74,561 calls on this issue so far for those using 5calls.org.

Make the calls today people. Lives are on the line. Use @5calls.org to help you make these calls to your Senators.

I want to highlight what I believe is a significant document that I reviewed for this story. It's a memorandum of understanding between DOGE & CFPB. In all the coverage of DOGE's takeover of agencies I haven't read or heard about a document like this. I think this stands out

1/

No, The People Didn’t Vote For This A stunning 54% of Americans now believe we’re in a Constitutional crisis, according to recent YouGov polling. They’re right. As a tech billionaire effectively dismantles federal agencie…

Wrote a response to the Musk/Trump supporters who keep yelling jubilantly at me "the people voted for this so shut up" www.techdirt.com/2025/02/10/n...

Ron Howard FTW 🎯

This is hilarious. I especially like the annexation of Green Bay and the mystery Mississippi River announcement.

REALITY CHECK

Doge has not discovered ANY actual fraud or crime. Musk and the DOGE youth have army of X trolls culling data from a gov funded transparency website called USAspending.gov. They gin up outrage by making wild accusations against granting agencies.

It’s textbook media manipulation.

ELON IS ALLOWED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. NOT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OR STUDENTS & PARENTS. I WILL BE BACK.

We can't lose the plot:

Republicans are stealing from you so they can give more to billionaires.

They're handing Elon Musk your personal information, shutting down public services you paid for, and hiking the cost of living.

Don't let them hide their corruption with chaos.

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that thousands of pages from government websites had been removed, including open data and methodology critical to scientific research, the study of crime and health care. As stalwart defenders of transparency in government, we are deeply concerned about the compromise of information access. Data and primary source information sit at the core of government accountability, which requires a strong fourth estate, an engaged public, and systems of checks and balances. In an era where interpretations and analyses can span the ideological spectrum, data is a source of truth — one essential to guaranteeing liberty and to a functioning democracy. OpenSecrets is one part of a vast community of nonprofits, academics, corporations, media and government offices that mobilize public data to support Americans. In an era of declining trust in institutions, publicly available data is a key element in restoring faith. We guarantee that four decades of data on money in politics remains accessible. We stand by our mission to provide comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens. Right now, we are preparing to publish our final reports on 2024 so the public can understand where the billions of dollars spent on the election came from and how they were spent. In addition we will be releasing final data and analysis on the billions spent on lobbying Congress in 2024. Only by understanding money in politics can we create a more vibrant, representative and responsive democracy.

Thrilled to see this response from
@opensecretsdc.bsky.social in my inbox this morning. The robust civil society in America is a keystone of the defense against rising anti-democratic forces. I'm proud to be on this team dedicated to transparency and accountability. Please support this great org.

Key part from Cassidy: He had conversations "with the White House"... likely, he was threatened with a primary, and he's up for re-election in 2026.

The dynamics of this horrifying political moment reflect years long trends w/in our information systems: audience capture of an influencer by conspiracy theorists who are motivated by the interactions to descend further into those theories, attracting more attention and gaining power along the way.

What the world needs now is a healing MySpace Top 8 meetup of Kindness Avengers. Panel featuring LeVar Burton, Ms. Rachel, Elyse Myers, Bindi & Robert Irwin, Tabitha Brown, Steve from Blue’s Clues, and Dolly Parton in conversation with Elmo at a library?

Kindness for our hearts! I’m just sayin’ 💚 🌎

Jasmine Crockett: "The problem is that Americans thought it was okay to take a full fledged criminal and make him the President of the US and then they want to act aghast when he does criminal things. Let me tell you, we have a thug in charge of the US and if we don't wake up we may not have a US"

Exclusive: Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.

NEW: Elon Musk's team has hijacked massive datasets of government worker DOBs, home addresses, social security numbers, length of service, and performance evals - revoking the access of OPM career officials. www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...

I'm keeping a running list of disappearing federal data in the 🧵 below. If there are others I missed let me know. crampell[at]washpost[dot]com or Signal username crampell.13

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.

“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

Can anyone explain to me what the function of the Democratic Party is today and how it is serving that function?

Are they still around? If so, is there any evidence of that?

Ten Things We Can All Do to Protect Democracy From Marc | The most common question I receive is how everyday citizens can help in the fight for democracy.

The most common question I receive is how everyday citizens can help in the fight for democracy. My advice, take the first step, start with something small and see what works for you.

Here are ten things all of us can do.
www.democracydocket.com/opinion/10-t...

These are the good guys supporting DEI. Reward them with your business.

Costco
Meijer
Kroger
Giant Grocery
Ben & Jerry’s
Ulta, Macy’s
Old Navy
Nordstrom’s
TJ Maxx
GoTo Foods ( Moe’s Southwest Grill, Mcalister’s, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Cinnabon…)
Dollar Tree
Walgreens
Wegmans

Costco is holding fast! And will get my money 😉

Dear price of eggs Trump voters,

Not only aren’t they any cheaper, there’s an actual shortage because of the raging Bird Flu we’re not getting any public information about because the food safety & public health agencies responsible for that shit have basically been shut down.

Bravo.

Stay strong. For us, this is more than just a job-it’s a calling. Together, we will stand to protect our parks, environment, and wildlife. Four years… we remain hopeful that the attack on our public lands will be less brutal this time.

On Martin Luther King Jr Day, we shall remember the woman who shattered ceilings to be to the first Black/Asian woman to be the American Vice President. Thank You Kamala Devi Harris for all of your work these past 4 years 🙏🏾 #kamalaharris #martinlutherkingjr #blacksky

Juan Ortega just posted this photo of Kamala Harris & Doug Emhoff with their all-female flight crew today.

Canadian MP Charlie Angus: Donald Trump, you’re a disgrace as a human being. While you may have gotten the presidency, you’re still a disgrace. You’re a convicted felon, a pervert, and you treat your allies with disdain while you kiss up to Putin.

Anytime, anywhere, Donald—we will take you on.