When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism.

We found that the request came directly from the White House.
propublica.org/article/donald-…

#News #WhiteHouse #Trump #Pentagon #Defense #Business #Ethics #Law #Government #DonaldTrumpJr

In some cases, they jailed distressed detainees in #isolation, which can exacerbate feelings of #humiliation & #helplessness, acc/to experts.

#ICE has repeatedly asserted that it screens detainees within 12 hours of arrival for medical, dental & #MentalHealth conditions.

At least 3 of the 9 facilities where ICE detainees died by #suicide have struggled to meet that standard, acc/to ICE inspection reports & jail records.

#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #PublicHealth

#ICE becomes responsible for their well-being when they enter #detention, & experts say well-run lockups should have few, if any, suicides. That’s because staff can take steps to mitigate the chances that detainees harm themselves by identifying those at risk, getting them #care & monitoring them closely, experts said.

AP’s investigation found that ICE detention centers have repeatedly fallen short in ways that violate ICE’s own standards.

#law #Trump #immigration #suicide #MentalHealth

Detainees can also feel helplessness because of the complexity surrounding #immigration #law. Unlike those in the criminal justice system, most detainees do NOT have lawyers & their detention on immigration violations is [supposedly] not meant to be punitive [under other admins].

#Trump #ICE #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #suicide #MentalHealth

The reasons behind any #suicide are complex, & each death often has multiple contributing factors, acc/to experts. #ICE detainees report intense stress after being detained, fear of being returned to countries where their safety may be jeopardized, & frustration & loneliness over the inability to communicate due to language barriers.

#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #MentalHealth

The suicides account for nearly a fifth of the 51 deaths in #ICE custody since Jan 2025. The majority of those deaths were from “natural causes” & experts say many of them would have been preventable with timely #medical care.

#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #suicide #MentalHealth

9 of the deaths were of Hispanic men who had arrived in the US from 4 countries, the AP found. One man was a Chinese citizen. Their average age was 32. While #Trump has characterized those facing deportation as the “worst of the worst,” 7 of the 10 had NO record of violent crimes in the US.

#law #immigration #ICE #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #suicide #MentalHealth

“Something is going profoundly wrong from any kind of #PublicHealth or #MentalHealth perspective,” said Dr. Sanjay Basu, a University of California-San Francisco epidemiologist who cowrote a study documenting the increase in mortality & #suicide rates among #ICE detainees. “This is one of those alarming, sudden increases.”

#law #Trump #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #abuse #isolation

An AP investigation found that at least 10 detainees, all men, have died by #suicide since #Trump took office in Jan 2025, a pace that FAR EXCEEDS the growth in the detainee population, acc/to a review of #ICE data, autopsy reports, coroners’ rulings & police records. Since October, 7 deaths have been ruled suicides, a number that is already the most for ANY fiscal year in the agency’s history. ICE has usually recorded 1 or NO such deaths annually.

#law #immigration #PublicHealth #MentalHealth

Rayo’s April 2025 death was the first suicide in a spike among #ICE detainees that has alarmed #PublicHealth officials & #jail experts. They said the unprecedented number of #suicide deaths is an indication that authorities are failing to properly oversee the detention of tens of thousands of #immigrants swept up in the #Trump admin’s aggressive #deportation strategy.

#law #immigration #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #abuse #isolation #MentalHealth

He pleaded with his jailers in handwritten notes to arrange a conversation with her. “I feel in my heart that she’s very worried about me,” he wrote in Spanish.

A guard collected the note & walked away. Within an hour, #jail records show, he was found unconscious in his cell. An autopsy determined he killed himself.

#law #Trump #immigration #ICE #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #HumanRights #HumanitarianLaw #PublicHealth #abuse #isolation #suicide #MentalHealth

#ICE detainees are dying by #suicide at an 'alarming' rate, AP investigation finds

Brayan Rayo Garzon was distraught. Detained by ICE, he was on his fourth day of #isolation in a Missouri jail as he battled the fevers & chills of #COVID-19.

His request for #MentalHealth treatment had been put off, records show, & staff had forbidden Rayo from making his nightly call to his mother as a precaution intended to prevent the spread of illness.

#law #HumanRights #PublicHealth
apnews.com/article/ice-suicide…

In a farewell appearance this month, #AndersonCooper told viewers that he hoped “‘60 Minutes’ remains ‘60 Minutes,’” & added, in comments that were perceived as a subtle dig at #CBS: “The #independence of ‘#60Minutes’ has been critical. The trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of ‘60 Minutes.’”

#Trump #StateMedia #authoritarianism #fascism #dictatorship #censorship #propaganda #DavidEllison #law #FreePress #Constitution #journalism #FourthEstate

“The concern is we’re going to end up with a broadcast that looks like ‘60 Minutes’ but doesn’t have the courage or the character to produce ‘60 Minutes’ #journalism that actually matters,” Alfonsi said.

…Alfonsi would be the second “#60Minutes” correspondent to depart since #BariWeiss joined #CBS. #AndersonCooper said in February that he would leave the program after 20 yrs.

#Trump #StateMedia #authoritarianism #censorship #DavidEllison #law #FreePress #Constitution #journalism #FourthEstate

…“#60Minutes” has a long tradition of #autonomy within #CBSNews…. In the interview, Alfonsi said that she felt anxious about the program’s future. “For the last 60 years it’s been the same formula: tell the truth, hold the power accountable, don’t blink,” she said. “And it’s unclear what next season looks like.”

“There’s a feeling that the wall has come down between #editorial #independence & #corporate interests,” she added.

#Trump #StateMedia #censorship #law #FreePress #journalism

#BariWeiss, an opinion “journalist” whose tenure has drawn enormous scrutiny, is readying a significant shake-up at “#60Minutes,” the network’s flagship news series.

…Alfonsi has contributed to “60 Minutes” since 2015. She was at the center of a firestorm in December after Weiss, who was appointed by #CBS’s new owner, #DavidEllison, pulled a 13-minute segment that Alfonsi had reported on harsh conditions faced by Venezuelan men deported by the #Trump admin.

#censorship #law #FreePress

“It sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom,” Alfonsi said. “I think it was a deliberate choice to penalize a #journalist for refusing to sanitize accurate reporting.”

Alfonsi remains employed at #CBS, but with no contract in place, she said she had no expectation of returning to “#60Minutes.” “I’m not resigning,” she said. “If they want me gone because I did my job, they’ll have to fire me.”

#Trump #StateMedia #authoritarianism #censorship #law #FreePress #journalism #FourthEstate

#CBSNews declined to renew its contract with the “#60Minutes” correspondent #SharynAlfonsi, 6 months after her segment on #torture in Salvadoran prisons was pulled off the air abruptly by the “news” division’s editor in chief, #BariWeiss.

Alfonsi’s deal expired Saturday. She said in a phone interview that her agent’s inquiries with #CBS News over the past several weeks had been met with silence.

#Trump #StateMedia #authoritarianism #censorship #law #FreePress #Constitution #journalism

‘#60Minutes’ #Journalist Who Accused #CBS of Political Meddling Loses Her Deal

#SharynAlfonsi, whose segment on a brutal Salvadoran prison [#CECOT] — where #Trump was sending immigrants — was pulled abruptly in December, said that #CBSNews & its top editor, #BariWeiss, did not renew her contract.

#StateMedia #authoritarianism #fascism #dictatorship #censorship #propaganda #DavidEllison #law #FreePress #Constitution #journalism #FourthEstate
nytimes.com/2026/05/27/busines…

As expected, #Alabama asks #SCOTUS to allow use of congressional map helping GOP, despite Federal Appeals Court unanimously ruling it is racially biased

#law #ElectionLaw #VotingRights #VRA #RepresentationMatters #redistricting #gerrymandering #Trump #WhiteSupremacy #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow
apnews.com/article/supreme-cou…

If the case makes it to #SCOTUS, it will be the first major test of the high court’s new standard for challenging congressional maps. The lower court judges made clear that they had reviewed the arguments through the lens of the Supreme Court’s #VotingRightsAct ruling last month but maintained that the state’s map failed under the new standard by intentionally discriminating against #Black voters.

#VotingRights #VRA #redistricting #law #WhiteSupremacy #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow #Trump

The ruling further confuses the electoral landscape across the #South, as #Republican-led legislatures have raced to implement new district lines after #SCOTUS narrowed the #VotingRightsAct of 1965. It also demonstrates how the ruling from the nation’s highest court has further muddled how lower courts interpret the landmark #CivilRights #law.

#VotingRights #VRA #redistricting #ElectionLaw #RepresentationMatters #WhiteSupremacy #gerrymandering #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow #Trump

#Alabama’s AG, Steve Marshall, said he would immediately appeal to #SCOTUS, which last month ruled that a #Louisiana congressional map drawn to create 2 majority-#Black House districts was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Gov Kay Ivey, a Republican, has already set special primaries in August in 4 #House districts that would be affected by her state’s new congressional map.

#VotingRights #VRA #redistricting #law #RepresentationMatters #WhiteSupremacy #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow #Trump

Court Rejects #Alabama #House Map, Calling It Unfair to #Black Voters

The Alabama #Republican led legislature, Governor & AG are likely to appeal the ruling, which stops an effort to use a new congressional map that would likely cost #Democrats a majority-Black district.

#VotingRights #VRA #redistricting #law #ElectionLaw #RepresentationMatters #WhiteSupremacy #gerrymandering #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow #SCOTUS #Trump
nytimes.com/2026/05/26/us/poli…

Thank you

#House #Democrats announce bill to block construction of Trump’s monstrous #arch

The #legislation would explicitly bar new construction on the small island on the edge of Washington where #Trump seeks to put the arch.

#law #UrbanPlanning #architecture #land #PublicLands
washingtonpost.com/politics/20…

Prosecutors’ theory hinges on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll, 82, that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit, though it was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some legal fees & expenses.

…The probe is the latest move in the #DOJ’s ceaseless, & strained, efforts to meet #Trump’s demands to target his long-standing personal foes.

#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #whitewashing #propaganda #rape #RapistInChief

Under acting Attorney General #ToddBlanche, the #DOJ has pushed to speed up #Trump’s campaign of #retribution. But the cases he’s brought since taking the reins of the department in April have been heavily criticized & are likely to face challenges in court over allegations of politicization.

#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #whitewashing #propaganda #rape #RapistInChief

The #US military carried out ​new #strikes overnight in #Iran targeting a military site that ‌officials claimed posed a threat to US forces & commercial maritime traffic in the #StraitOfHormuz, a ​US official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The official…said the US military also intercepted & shot down multiple ​Iranian drones that they claimed posed a similar threat.

#TrumpsWar #IranWar #ForeverWars #Trump #RulesOfWar #law #Congress #WarPowers #economy #EnergyCrisis
reuters.com/world/middle-east/…

It’s unclear whether prosecutors had implicated #DelcyRodríguez in any crimes or whether investigators were moving toward an indictment. A #DOJ spox claimed in an email “there was never an investigation into her to shut down.”

But #DEA records obtained by AP earlier this year show she consistently surfaced on the radar of federal law enforcement dating to at least 2018, though she has never been criminally charged in the US like several other senior Venezuelan officials.

#law #Trump #oil

More #interference with the #justice system

AP Exclusive: #Trump admin tells prosecutors to stand down on #Venezuela leader

The Trump admin has quietly instructed federal prosecutors in Miami to avoid pursuing #criminal investigations into Venezuela’s acting President #DelcyRodríguez, a longtime target of the #DEA, acc/to current & former US law enforcement officials, in the latest sign of warming relations between the White House & the #oil rich nation.

#law
apnews.com/article/federal-pro…

Despicable

#DOJ launches a criminal investigation into #Trump #rape survivor #EJeanCarroll

The investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony tied to her 2 civil lawsuits against Trump–one when testifying about the #SexualAssault by Trump in a NY department store in the mid-1990s, & another for defaming her when in 2019 he repeatedly denied the assault, said she wasn’t his type & claimed she made it up to boost book sales.

#law #LegalEthics
cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/ex…

#DOJ news releases that detailed #guilty pleas, #jury #verdicts & #prison #sentences abruptly disappeared from “government” websites last week.

The “Justice” Dept defended the move, saying, "We are proud to reverse the DOJ's weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ's website of partisan propaganda."

#BizarroWorld #Whitewashing #gaslighting #Trumpaganda #law #Trump

#Whitewashing #gaslighting #Trumpaganda

#Trump #DOJ mass-deletes info on #Jan6 #insurrection cases, including violent assaults on cops

The Trump admin has mass-deleted information about prosecutions tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, violent attack on the US #Congress, including cases of defendants who committed & were convicted of #assault of #police officers. The removals mark the latest phase of Trump's effort to rewrite the history of his violent #SeditiousConspiracy.

#law
npr.org/2026/05/26/nx-s1-58349…

The #Trump admin is moving forward with a plan to provide Cold War-era #plutonium from dismantled #nuclear warheads to companies that want to convert the #dangerous material into #fuel for nuclear #power plants.

The plan has generated debate & some unease among #nonproliferation experts. If finalized, it would mark the first time the #US #government has made #WeaponsGrade plutonium available to #private companies.

#law #ClimateCrisis #NationalSecurity
nytimes.com/2026/05/26/climate…

Emily Waldorf faced a life-threatening miscarriage.

Even after she met the hospital’s CEO, called the governor and hired a lawyer, she couldn’t get care in the country’s “most pro-life state.”
propublica.org/article/arkansa…

#News #Arkansas #Women #Health #Law #Abortion #Medicine #USPolitics

The political drama in #SouthCarolina is part of a #Republican strategy—propelled by #Trump — to redraw voting districts to the #GOP’s advantage in an attempt to hold on to a slim #House majority in the #midterms. #Republicans have been moving quickly to try to leverage a recent #SCOTUS ruling that weakened minority protections under the federal #VotingRightsAct.

#VotingRights #VRA #redistricting #law #ElectionLaw #RepresentationMatters #WhiteSupremacy #gerrymandering #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow

Some senators said it was simply too late to make a change.

“#SouthCarolina citizens are going to the polls today. And neither my conscience or common sense is going to let me stop an #election that is already underway,” #Republican state Sen. Richard Cash said.

#VotingRights #VRA #redistricting #law #ElectionLaw #RepresentationMatters #WhiteSupremacy #gerrymandering #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow #SCOTUS #Trump

Great news! #SouthCarolina Senate rejects #Trump call to redraw congressional maps

As early in-person voting began Tuesday in South Carolina’s primaries, the state Senate rejected a #Republican plan to #cancel those congressional votes & instead schedule a new primary under revised districts designed to help the #GOP oust the powerful #Democrat #JamesClyburn.

#VotingRights #VRA #redistricting #law #ElectionLaw #WhiteSupremacy #gerrymandering #SouthernStrategy #JimCrow
apnews.com/article/redistricti…

🚨South Carolina House Passes New Map Aimed at Forcing Out Clyburn🚨

The #SouthCarolina House passed a congressional map that aims to eliminate the seat now held by #JamesClyburn, a powerful #Black #Democrat.

The map will eliminate the state’s ONLY Democratic seat at the urging of #Trump.

Among the changes is a significant shift of the Sixth District currently represented by Democratic power broker James E. Clyburn.

#law #election #redistricting #RepresentationMatters
nytimes.com/2026/05/20/us/poli…

Subject Matter Experts
#SME #Quote

#DOGE #Health #Science #Education #Defence #Law