Today in Politics, Bulletin 383. 5/19/26
Today in Politics, Bulletin 383. 5/19/26
… Acting AG Todd Blanche faced questioning today from Senate Democrats outraged over the $1.7 billion slush fund he created to pay J6 criminals and Trump’s co-conspirators as well as his handling of the Epstein investigation:
Sen. Jack Reed on Trump’s $10B lawsuit: “How many taxpayers’ returns were leaked by the IRS in the 2020 breach? Blanche: Excuse me? Reed: 405,427. One of them was Trump, correct? Blanche: Trump and his family. Reed: And Trump was president at the time. So it was his IRS that allowed this breach of privacy.”
Reed: “You talked to Ghislaine Maxwell. A few days later, she was transferred from a high security prison to a very comfortable— Blanche: That’s not true. She was not in a high security prison. She was transferred from a low security prison to a low security prison. Reed: I don’t think at the other prison she had her own room. She had access to a private shower. She could have pet therapy.”
Reed: “Why did Trump send you down to talk to her. Blanche: You think Trump called and asked me to go interview a witness in federal prison? Reed: Yes, I do. He needed somebody to talk to her and find out what would she say if she was asked about Jeffrey Epstein, and you were the perfect choice. And you went down there and suddenly - Shazam, she’s out.”
Reed: “The order that you signed states that the govt will pay the settlement if the Secretary of Treasury has certified the payment. Is it a coincidence that the general counsel of the Dept of Treasury resigned yesterday? Blanche: I don’t know.”
Sen. Chris Coons: “Will you commit to making reports fully public so Americans know who is getting taxpayer dollars out of this settlement fund? Blanche: There are privacy laws that may prevent some of the information from being fully public.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund? Blanche: Anybody in this country is eligible to apply. Van Hollen: Are there going to be rules that say that if you’ve assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer or committed a violent crime, you will not be eligible? Blanche: I’m not one of the commissioners. Van Hollen: You’re appointing the members!”
Van Hollen: “You are not going to submit any of this to a judge or independent authority? Blanche: There is no judge! What does that mean - independent authority? Van Hollen: It means not somebody who gets to pick the 5 members who is the president’s former personal attorney.”
Blanche then blows up: “I am the Acting AG! The fact that I used to be Trump’s lawyer is just a fact. But DON’T SAY THE PRESIDENT’S FORMER LAWYER WILL DO SOMETHING—SAY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WILL DO SOMETHING! Van Hollen: You are acting TODAY like the president’s personal attorney - and that’s the whole problem. You have a banner of his face hanging over DOJ and you and everyone else walks under it.”
Van Hollen: “Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund? Blanche: Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization.”
Van Hollen: An individual who was pardoned by Trump went on to molest two children, and he tried to buy their silence by saying he would give them funds from your slush fund. Can you commit to not making that person eligible for a payout? Blanche: You’re obviously lying. Van Hollen: I am reporting what he said.”
… NPR’s Tom Dreisbach: “The J6 defendant Van Hollen is referring to is Andrew Paul Johnson. He promised to share what he called ‘Trump bucks’ with two young children he sexually abused in order to keep them silent. He is now serving a life sentence in prison.”
… Van Hollen then read the widely reported police report from Johnson’s case where he offered to pay the victims out of money he believed Trump was going to give him since he was a pardoned J6 criminal. Blanche claimed he never heard of it.
Van Hollen: “Some Epstein survivors are extremely frustrated that you keep calling for people to come forward with more evidence but have not met with them. Blanche: What you said is false. I have met with them. I have met with many of their lawyers.”
… Many of the Epstein survivors then released a statement:
… Meidas reporter Pablo Manriquez asked Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) if Congress has any say about this slush fund: “Most certainly, it would appear to me that Congress will have some say because there’s an appropriation of funds someplace along the line. We’re not talking a million. We’re talking a billion in this particular case. Even Congress pays attention to that.”
… Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) to Meidas: “To think that somehow taxpayers might have to pay for the attack on our Capitol - to call it beyond the pale is an understatement. It’s the reason why we’ve got to do everything we can to show up and vote to take back our democracy from this kleptocratic admin that’s focused on enriching themselves, their families, and their corrupt friends.”
… Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to Meidas: “The whole idea that your taxpayer dollars are going to do what? Fund the guys that beat up police officers? Fund the guys that rioted to stop the transfer of power? Fund anybody that Trump wants? This is corruption with capital letters and flashing lights and fireworks going off.”
… WSJ: “The Treasury Dept’s top lawyer resigned as the govt announced a controversial settlement with Trump. Brian Morrissey joined the Trump admin last year as the president’s pick to be Treasury Dept’s general counsel, after previously serving at the agency and at DOJ during Trump’s first term. A former clerk for Clarence Thomas, Morrissey didn’t respond to a request for comment.”
… “The govt’s settlement with Trump was signed by Associate AG Stanley Woodward and by Frank Bisignano, the chief executive of the IRS. The Treasury Dept has another important upcoming role in the settlement. It is responsible for approving the use of the govt’s judgment fund, a permanent, uncapped pot of money that is used to settle lawsuits.”
… Apparently even some long-time Trump loyalists can’t stomach attaching their name to this corruption.
… John Thune to Punchbowl on Trump’s new “weaponization fund”: “Not a big fan. And I’m not sure exactly how they intend to use it. I don’t see a purpose for that.”
… In a new order signed by Blanche, DOJ states that the federal govt is now permanently barred from pursuing a wide range of tax-related claims and reviews against Trump, his family members, and affiliated companies.
… The order says the US “RELEASES, WAIVES, ACQUITS, and FOREVER DISCHARGES” Trump and is “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” from pursuing claims, examinations, reviews, appeals, monetary relief, and other actions against Trump and “related or affiliated individuals,” including family members, trusts, parent and sister companies, and subsidiaries.
… HuffPost: “Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) will make Democrats’ first effort to put Republicans on the record regarding Trump’s new controversial settlement fund. During a committee vote on Republicans’ bill to fund ICE, Gallego will offer an amendment to the legislation to bar the govt from establishing a commission like the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’.”
… “Republicans will likely vote the amendment down, but it will be an awkward vote that could be construed as supporting the president’s controversial scheme to reward political allies with cash settlements.”
… Blanche claimed today in his testimony that each individual payout will be made public every quarter, despite the fact that Trump’s settlement with the IRS specifically states that they will be kept confidential. Blanche also told Coons that some of the info will be kept confidential due to “privacy rights” but said the names and amounts paid out would be made public. We will see.
… JD Vance filled in for Karoline Leavitt today at the daily WH press briefing:
Q - “You and the president ran on a platform that included no new wars, cutting gas prices, cutting inflation. What do you say to people who go to the polls today and who feel like those promises are unkept? Vance: We've delivered great wins for the American people.”
… Good luck with that message.
Q - “How can you argue to Americans that you're cleaning up corruption, when the president seems to be talking up stocks that he owns, selling them and enriching himself? Vance: Come on, man. The president doesn't sit at the Oval Office on his computer, on his Robinhood account, buying and selling stocks. That's absurd. He's not making the stock trades himself.”
Q - “You previously told me that anyone who assaulted a police officer on J6 should go to prison. So why not rule out giving them taxpayer funded money? Vance: I don't rule things out categorically. Let's say, hypothetically, a person is accused of doing something that they never actually did, that they got a kangaroo court, that they had a judge who mistreated them.”
Q - “You denied that the president said he was not taking Americans’ financial situations into consideration when he's making decisions on the Iran war. He was asked about that again. He stood by it, called it a perfect statement, and said he would make it again. Vance: What you did is you misrepresented the question that I was asked and you misrepresented the answer I gave. What he said was totally taken out of context.”
Q - “The Pentagon halted 4,000 troops to Poland. Why are you rewarding Putin and punishing your best ally in Europe? Vance: There's been no president who's done more to ensure that Ukraine survived the invasion of Russia than Trump. Poland is capable of defending itself. That's encouraging Europe to take more ownership.”
Q - “The price tag for this DOJ fund, $1.8 billion, you have people that can't afford groceries. Gas is high. People are making sacrifices in their personal lives to accommodate for this rise in prices. How can you justify that amount of taxpayer money for that fund when people are struggling? Vance: Thanks to Trump's leadership and the working families tax cut, we put $40 billion into a rural health care fund.”
… Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, on the rising cost of fertilizer caused by Trump’s Iran war: “The good news is, while other countries around the world are actually facing significant shortage of fertilizer our challenge here in America is the cost.”
… The Trump admin may have found the only person worse at messaging the midterms than Vance.
Our Capitol Hill reporter Pablo Manriquez was a huge hit on Ask the Editor based on the comments from you on Substack and YouTube, so much so that Ben fired himself as host and Pablo got the battlefield promotion to take over for him. You get to hear Ben all the time anyway!
Ben and I are probably pretty similar voices and are both lawyers, so bringing some spicy gossip to the table from Pablo’s conversations with members of Congress and staffers at the Capitol and around town will hopefully make for one of the most interesting and unique shows out there with both of us. If you missed the show, it is here.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find that here.
… Trump gave a long presentation to the press at the ballroom construction site, where he made it abundantly clear that he cares more about the ballroom than pretty much anything else on earth:
“There will never be another building like this built. The roof is dead flat with strong steel. It’s drone-proof. It’s meant for our military to stay on it to get a view of Washington.”
“We just did the black fencing all around the WH - that’s all titanium. It’s very powerful - a bulldozer cannot knock it over.”
“The roof is like a shield. The sidewalls are steel - impenetrable steel - and also impenetrable glass. The glass is 4 inches thick. It can stop just about anything. And on the side of the glass we have steel and concrete so what’s holding the glass is equally as powerful.”
“It’s modeled after great classical buildings. Parts of the building are taken from different parts of the world during glamorous times. This is Rome - they like the
flat roof. Greece likes the the triangles, and you see that. This is a porch that looks out over the city.
Points to one photo: “This is Greek or it comes out of Greece. This faces the Treasury.” Points to a second photo: “That’s Rome. So you have two facades.”
“It’s developed in such a way that we can have military there. The roof has a massive drone capacity. It’s also a drone port so it protects all of Washington.”
“Between the drone-proofing, the missile-proofing, and the drone capacity, we can have all sorts of military -- I hate to use the word snipers -- but we have great sniper capacity. It’s built for our snipers, not the enemy’s snipers. And because of the height, we get a very clear view of everything all over Washington.”
“On the roof, we are going to have the greatest drone empire anyone has ever seen and it’s going to protect Washington".”
… This does not sound like someone who intends to leave office at the end of his term.
… Right-wing Red State columnist Bonchie: “Inflation is 4%. The Iran thing is, by choice, way off the rails. Bond yields are skyrocketing, which means no interest rate cuts. The promise of all private funding for the ballroom has been broken. Obsessively promoting this is a political loser. What are we even doing?”
… Trump then took a few questions:
Q - “How close were you to striking Iran? Trump: I was an hour away.”
Q - “How long does Iran have to make a deal before you start bombing? Trump: “I’m saying 2-3 days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday - maybe early next week, a limited period of time. We can’t let them have nuclear weapon. If they had it they would start with Israel - they will blow it up.”
“Everyone tells me the war is unpopular, but I think it’s very popular. When people hear we are talking about nuclear weapons that can take out major cities like Los Angeles. But I don’t really have time to explain it to people. When I explain it then it’s very popular.”
On his incoherent prerecorded speech to the christian nationalist gathering this past weekend: “You think it’s easy to read scripture? It’s not easy. That’s a whole different ballgame. That’s not like reading a speech. But I did it proudly. I think religion is very important for our country. This country was built largely on religion. When you have strong religion you have less crime.”
… NOTUS: “Trump pressed John Thune to fire the Senate parliamentarian after she ruled Republicans could not include funding for the president’s ballroom in a budget bill. Elizabeth MacDonough, the nonpartisan parliamentarian who gives determinations on the rules of the Senate, determined that the provision did not pass the so-called Byrd Rule, which prevents non-budget items from passing with a simple majority.”
… Thune was asked if he would fire MacDonough: “No. We’re going through a process that we go through every time we have a reconciliation bill and the people on both sides are mad at the parliamentarian. That’s been true.”
… Rachel Maddow: “So in January, Trump buys hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock in Nvidia. Then a week later, his Commerce Dept approves the sale of Nvidia chips to China. Also in January, Trump buys between $50,000-100,000 worth of stock in AMD. One week after he buys it, his Commerce Dept approves AMD doing business in China as well.”
… “In February, Trump buys millions of dollars worth of stock in Dell. 9 days later, Trump veers off script in a speech in GA to tell the crowd literally, quote, ‘go out and buy a Dell computer.’ Then in March, Trump repeatedly buys up Thermo Fisher stock, and then he goes and visits Thermo Fisher on a presidential visit and praises the company.”
… “That same day, Trump bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock in Apple. And then that same day he bought the stock, he did another event where he singled out Apple and Apple CEO Tim cook for praise. ‘Apple - a great company.’ Then after that, Trump buys Micron stock. The very next day, he calls into Fox and tells them Micron is one of the hottest companies.”
… “CNBC reporting Trump makes 7 separate purchases of Palantir stock. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Palantir stock. Then he gets on Truth Social and praises Palantir.”
… MarketWatch: “In Oct, the Trump admin released a ‘Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap’ to support the construction of commercial fusion power plants as soon as the 2030s. It may not exactly resemble a Manhattan Project for nuclear fusion, but the road map indicated the federal govt would support a constellation of American fusion companies and no longer treat them like an academic project.”
… “The road map pointed to a unique reactor concept - field-reversed configurations, ‘which could significantly reduce the cost of fusion power.’ It also referenced aneutronic fuels as being a potential source of ‘perhaps the greatest cost savings.’ 2 months later, Trump Media announced a merger agreement with TAE Tech, a fusion company that has helped pioneer field-reserved configurations and been a leader in the commercial development of aneutronic fuels.”
… “Trump has issued executive orders to support the fusion industry and, in addition to providing its fusion road map, the Trump admin in Nov established an elevated Office of Fusion. The Nuclear Regulatory Comm is in the process of finalizing a new regulatory framework for the fusion industry that some experts describe as a ‘light-touch’ approach.”
… “Some supporters of the fusion industry and watchdog groups have said TMTG’s investment raises potential conflicts of interest, given the president’s big stake in TMTG and his influence over the govt. Trump is TMTG’s largest shareholder, with a 41% position held through a revocable trust in which he is the sole beneficiary. That trust has Donald Trump Jr., as its sole trustee, and Trump Jr. is also on TMTG’s board of directors.”
… Nothing to see here.
… Joyce Karam, Editor in Chief of AI Monitor: “A Trump-Iran pattern?
Wed: Iran wants a deal. They called us.
Thu: We are looking at proposals.
Fri: We might be close. Very close.
Sat.: Iran knows what to do.
Sun: OBLITERATION. TOTAL. COMPLETE. They have 24 hrs.
Mon. : The storm is coming.
Tues: I’m giving it more time.
(Return to Wed)
… Gas market analyst Patrick De Haan on Trump draining the SPR to try and keep gas prices below $5 a gallon: “RECORD: the Strategic Petroleum Reserve just fell by its largest ever weekly amount: almost 10 million barrels. Total SPR now at under 375 million barrels.”
… Economist Steven Rattner: “Under Biden’s last year, the US economy added an average of 122,000 jobs every month. Under Trump, that average has collapsed to just 26,000 a month. For 3 years, there were more job openings than unemployed workers - at peak, 2 jobs per job-seeker. That has now flipped under Trump, and unemployed workers outnumber available jobs for the first time since the pandemic.”
… “Since Trump took office, the US has added 559,000 net jobs for women - but lost 155,000 jobs for men. Manufacturing, mining and transportation are bleeding workers—overwhelmingly hitting blue-collar men, one of Trump’s core voting blocks.”
… Punchbowl: “Trump is expected in Rep. Mike Lawler’s NY district with the congressman this Friday for an official event on the economy.”
… NYT: “Trump moved ahead on Monday with plans to allow 10,000 more white South Africans into the US as refugees, even as the program remains closed off to people from every other country in the world. In a report submitted to Congress, Trump has proposed lifting the record-low refugee admissions level of 7,500 to 17,500, reserving the additional openings for Afrikaners, who are primarily of Dutch descent.”
… “The admin argued that an ‘emergency refugee situation’ in South Africa warrants the expansion of Trump’s carve-out for Afrikaners, which has reoriented the US refugee program into essentially a pipeline for members of a white minority to reach the US. The govt has calculated that the additional 10,000 refugee slots for Afrikaners will cost roughly $100 million.”
… One week out from the runoff in the TX GOP primary for senate, Trump endorsed Ken Paxton: “The Highly Respected AG of Texas, Ken Paxton, an America First Patriot, and someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT, is running for the US Senate, to represent a place I love and WON, BIG, three times.”
… “John Cornyn was not supportive of me when times were tough and, despite having the Most Successful Economy in the History of our Country during my First Term and, with all of the many other things that I accomplished, which are considered by many to be legendary, John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself.”
… Cornyn responded with this post: “I have worked closely with Trump through both of his Presidential terms and voted with him more than 99% of the time. He has consistently called me a friend in this race. It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in Nov, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about.”
… Punchbowl got several reactions from Senate Republicans:
“Senate Republicans are livid with Trump. Just now, Sen. Wicker remained stone-faced (appeared to be intentional) for about 20 seconds as he walked into lunch and we asked him for his reaction”
“Sen. Murkowski says TX is all but lost to Dems now.”
“Thune: ‘It’s his decision.’ Thune, like other Republican senators, was stone-faced as he walked into lunch. Thune also threw up his left hand as he said it. (If you know Thune, that counts as pretty deep anger.)”
… I have said for a long time that the best possible matchup for Dems was Paxton-Talarico. It was our only chance to win in my opinion. Looks like we are going to have it. Doesn’t mean Talarico wins, but Paxton is deeply unpopular with independents in Texas. I am just fantasizing about Dems from Texas (Talarico), Georgia (Ossoff) and NC (Cooper) holding senate seats across the deep south to make MAGA crazy.
… Cornyn posted this last year when he was begging for Trump’s endorsement early on.
… But the big race everyone is watching tonight is in KY, where Trump has pulled out all the stops to knock out Thomas Massie who has been voting with Democrats more and more recently after he helped lead the charge to get the Epstein files released. It has become the most expensive race in the country with Trump allies and pro-Israel groups (Massie is a war critic) pouring money in. By the time some of you read this it will be decided. I think it is going to be very, very close.
… As I said on Ask the Editor, I’m not the biggest Massie fan - but Massie winning would absolutely infuriate Trump and I can see him going very rogue on his own party over the next few years where his opponent Ed Gallrein is a brain-dead MAGA stooge. so I have to root for Massie to pull this out even though the Trump machine is tough to beat in a place like rural KY.
… Greenland journalist Orla Joelsen: Premier of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen: ‘I will not attend the official opening of the American consulate … I will not participate.’ Nielsen told Sermitsiaq that he will not attend the official opening of the new American consulate on Thur.”
… “To mark the official opening, the consulate has invited guests to a large reception on Thursday at its new premises in central Nuuk. According to Sermitsiaq’s information, a significant number of those invited have chosen to decline the invitation.”
… Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) on her appeal to Trump not to deport migrants who have been in the country for a long time if they are devout christians: “It’s in the hands of two entities. God the Father, and Donald Trump. I told him every time I see him that the Lord saved him in Butler, PA. Who else could have made him turn the head at the exact millisecond to save him? The Lord wanted him back in the Oval Office.”
… Donald Trump, Jr and Bettina Anderson are getting married this Monday in the Bahamas.
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