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

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…

Hart said his group had supported Trump’s campaign-trail calls for more efficient government. But now, he said, the #Trump admin was moving in the opposite direction, & wrongly invoking the upcoming celebrations as an “emergency”, to justify bypassing legally required competition [+ oversight & review].

“We’ve known that this is going to be America’s 250th anniversary for 250 years,” Hart said. “It’s not like we didn’t have time to plan.”

#ReflectingPool #GovernmentWaste #scam #economy

John Hart, chief executive of the conservative watchdog group Open the Books, said that the government seemed to be flying blind, embarking on an expensive project without knowing for sure what it would cost or how well it would work.

“The first thing any rational homeowner, family or business does is they solicit competitive bids,” Hart said. “Because when you rely on sole source contracting, it opens the door to extraordinary waste.”

#Trump #ReflectingPool #GovernmentWaste #scam #economy

In #Trump’s effort to repair Washington landmarks as part of preparations for the country’s 250th birthday this summer, his admin has used the upcoming celebrations as an excuse to bypass the usual process of seeking multiple bids for the same job, & has instead given lucrative contracts directly to handpicked vendors.

The revelations about the profit margin built into the #ReflectingPool contract—& the contractor’s struggles—…illustrate the risks of the Trump admin’s use of no-bid contracts.

Now that the repair work is underway, other documents indicate that the same #contractor had—at least initially—not been able to perform one of the most critical parts of its repair job: sealing the gaps between the concrete slabs at the pool’s floor.

Water has leaked out of those gaps for decades, creating a costly problem that #Trump has vowed to fix. But the contractor’s attempts to seal those gaps failed in 2 trials earlier this month…

#ReflectingPool #GovernmentWaste #scam #economy

#ReflectingPool Contract Has ‘#Inflated’ #Profit Margin, Government Analysis Finds

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the Virginia-based contractor, is being paid $13.1 million, which is seven times the amount that #Trump initially said the work would cost.

The firm that was given a no-bid contract to “repair” the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, is charging 20%. The typical profit margin is 6% to 12%, internal records show.

#GovernmentWaste #scam #economy
nytimes.com/2026/05/27/us/poli…

Pretty much what we all thought…

On June 27, 2024, millions of viewers watched with alarm & confusion as President Joe #Biden, appearing listless & lost, made an ultimately campaign-ending appearance in his only debate against #Trump.

Among the viewers who came away frightened: his wife, #JillBiden.

“I don’t know what happened,” the fmr FLOTUS said in an interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning.” “As I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’”…

nytimes.com/2026/05/27/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…

@Plantwizard @kgw It was always #Trump First.

What kills me is Trump is the *worst* liar. He just says the total opposite of truth and fact about anything....and millions of #Americans *still* gobble it up like it's the Gospel Of Honest Truth.

It's truly mind-blowing.

@kgw

I respectfully disagree. The #Americans who voted for this #monster *thought* they knew what they wanted.

As much as dumbass as #DirtbagDon is, he is skilled at charming and manipulating people. He was able to tap into the frustrations that many Americans had about their lived experiences and convince them he was *their* guy.

Actions speak louder than words and the only person #Trump has ever cared about was himself. This administration has been a series of unmitigated disasters, domestically and internationally, all under the guise of "American First" and "Make America Great Again."

@mcnado

Trump's vision of America is a fortress, @Salon, an idea posited by a GOP rep before Trump ever took office. Trump's vision of the White House is an underground control center for their fortress USA.

Trump’s vision of the White House is starting to look like a fortress

salon.com/2026/05/24/trumps-vi…

#Trump #Republicans #immigration #deportations #policy #isolationism #MAGA #GOP #press #news

Rogue Republican Massie Drops Melania Epstein Files Bomb

thedailybeast.com/rogue-republ…

“The first lady knows that Jeffrey Epstein didn’t act alone,” Thomas Massie said as he vowed to name names from the Epstein files.

#Trumpstein #Trump #Melania #Epstein #Massie #Republicans #MAGA