Trump Got Beat. Badly.
You’re the reason I can spend a day inside a court docket instead of chasing whatever’s trending. That’s not a small thing. Thank you. Know somebody who should be reading this? Gift them a subscription. Or upgrade to a Founding Member and help me expand our investigations. Good morning and thanks for being here. It’s been a long week of Trump’s chaos, so I’m glad to have some good news for you today. A lot of it. Before we jump in, hit the ❤️ like button and restack this edition. Every restack drops my reporting in front of someone who’d otherwise only see whatever MAGA’s propaganda machine put out today. And if you haven’t yet, join us as a paid subscriber today. It pays for the digging, the reporting that gets it in front of millions, and the organizing that turns it into pressure on Congress. Paid subscribers also get my midterm breakdowns three mornings a week, off decades of running these races. We have a goal of 37 new paid subscribers this weekend and we just passed halfway. Help us cross the finish line: Nebraska Judge Buries RNC’s Vote-StrippingScheme
The RNC has a plan: sue state after state until Americans living abroad come off the voter rolls. This week in Nebraska, a judge put an end to it. Lancaster County Judge Ryan Post dismissed the case with prejudice, so Republicans can never bring it back. They were targeting a state law that lets the grown children of Nebraskans abroad—military families, missionaries, contractors—vote where their parents call home. The RNC said those votes shouldn’t count. Only 116 people in the entire state are registered under that law. Six voted in the last primary. Republicans spent real time and money trying to erase a rounding error. Nebraska said no. Michigan said no back in April. When your whole strategy is built on stealing elections instead of winning them, courts keep handing you the same answer. A Federal Judge Wrecked Trump’s Harvard Case
This week, federal judge Richard Stearns dismissed Trump’s case against Harvard, a lawsuit accusing the school of violating civil rights law. The regime spent over a year on this—subpoenas, billions in federal funding held hostage, demands over who Harvard hires and what it teaches. Stearns wrote that the regime had no basis for any of it, and Harvard not acting “within the exact confines” of the regime’s commands wasn’t one. Judge Allison Burroughs, in an earlier case against Harvard, called the regime’s campaign a “government-initiated onslaught” that was built with the aim of control. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick even bragged on tape about the attacks on Harvard, saying officials were having “a blast” doing it. Stearns closed the case Thursday and the regime went home with nothing. A $927 Million Bill For Taxpayers
We already knew Trump’s construction costs would be absurd, but new estimates put the ballroom, helipad, bunker, and fountains at a whopping $927 million. Most of it is coming out of taxpayers’ pockets. A court stopped him, ruling he had no authority to tear up the White House without Congress signing off. He swore private donors would pay for it all, and his own spokesman still won’t say where the money actually came from. Now he’s appealing to the Supreme Court. The court reminded him he’s a temporary tenant in that house, not the owner, which is something the rest of us already knew. Fixing The Court
For years we’ve been calling on reform in the Supreme Court, and few elected officials would ever touch it. In Atlanta this week, Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the Court was “basically a subsidiary of the MAGA Republican Party.” He added everything is on the table for reform. Great news—he doesn’t have to start from scratch. Rep. Hank Johnson has the bills written already. Changes would include adding seats to the Supreme Court, term limits, and a clear code of ethics they can actually be held accountable for breaking. Rep. Jamie Raskin would lead the charge in Congress. The bills sit there until Democrats win the House, and not a day sooner. That’s why we are so focused on flipping Congress. Our enormous social media operation, our pressure campaigns, and our investigations all point at winning back the House and Senate. We must end Trump’s reign once and for all. We are truly independent. We don’t have a billionaire breathing down our necks that Trump can call to have us throw away a story. We won’t halt an investigation for an advertiser—we don’t have them. But it does mean we rely on readers to fund what we do. So if you haven’t yet, help us turn Trump into a lame duck by becoming a paid subscriber today: One more thing. Hit the ❤️ like button and restack this edition. Most people have no idea a judge threw out the RNC’s scheme with prejudice this week. Let them know. Onward! Scott More seats, term limits, real ethics rules, something else entirely? If it were up to you, what would you change about the Supreme Court? And while we’re at it—what rules would you change for members of Congress? No more dark money, term limits, recall elections? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for your support! Another way to help us out is by gifting subscriptions to friends and family! You can get yours by clicking the link. For all contact Congress links, or to volunteer, you can go here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-the-watchdog-coalition LETTERS TO CONGRESS Here are some ways to help: share the links on social media, text them to friends, post them on substack. Every share counts! Thanks and have a great day! Let's get Blanche to release ALL Epstein files: https://tinyurl.com/2uc9vca9 Four other letters to send: Protect US Forest Service: https://tinyurl.com/mrx8cvv7 Data center pause: https://bit.ly/4twnWMU 25th Amendment Commission https://tinyurl.com/44afaxvd Defend voting rights: https://tinyurl.com/3f3m728j COMMENTS: Term limits and a strict, enforceable ethics code for the Supreme Court are long overdue. For Congress, stopping dark money and banning insider stock trading would go a long way toward giving power back to regular voters! Thank you for fighting the good fight! And as an added bonus, reforming SCROTUS would allow for Citizens United to go away INSIDER TRADING! In Massachusetts, SETH MOULTON is running for SENATE against SENATOTR ED MARKEY. SETH MOULTON has invested in DEFENSE INDUSTRIES over which he governs and made a FORTUNE! He has promised to put them in a BLIND TRUST if ELECTED! NOT GOOD ENOUGH! SCRUTINIZE CANDIDATES BEFORE YOU VOTE! ALSO GO TO OPEN SECRETS AND REVIEW THE CAMPAIGN DONORS! In New Hampshire, JOHN SUNUNU is a DIRTY ENERGY KOCH SOCK PUPPET, received contributions from EPSTEIN CONNECTED DONORS! SUNUNU has been a LOBBYIST. MAINE is being flooded with ANONYMOUS DARK MONEY to re-elect SUSAN COLLINS who genuflects to their bidding. I hope you also mean ANONYMOUS MONEY! That's one of the biggest problems! AIPAC = ANTI-DEMOCRACY created numerous funding groups with different names to accomplish the same purpose: BUY AN ELECTION! Their WEALTHY DONORS are NOT IDENTIFIED! Are they FOREIGN? There have been numerous groups popping up so recently, that they can't be identified quickly. Several of these groups have supported WEAK DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES they believe will be easily defeated in NOVEMBER. BAN THE USE OF FAKE AI IMAGES! Consider that several WEALTHY MAGA MAGGOTS are SELF-FUNDING their efforts to BUY ELECTIONS. How can we limit that? The AD BUYS need to be addressed for their LIES, DISTORTIONS and DISINFORMATION! Some of the ADS are outrageous! No, I mean ALL private money. I have discussed this before, but I'll discuss it again. Before Reagan, broadcast media were required to provide emergency alerts, and even tests of them, for free. Reagan relieved them of that requirement. That requirement should be reinstated, and so should a requirement to provide free broadcasting to candidates. My vision of it is that anyone can run, and everyone who runs gets the same amount of free exposure. And they can't spend any money. They can only use what they get for free. They can make their case, complain about someone else, or whatever they want. And they have to provide signatures of registered voters who want to see them in the race. That's not a commitment to vote for them. It's just interest in following them. And maybe every two weeks, they have to provide lists of increasing numbers of registered voters who still want to see them in the race. At whatever point they can no longer generate the growing list, they're out. At the end, there's one candidate, or 27. That's the ballot. I agree with you that anonymous money is the most corrupting. But chasing any money takes time and trouble, and is done in place of doing the job. What if wealthy donors WERE identified? What if they were Pentagon contractors, drug companies, or anyone else? Doesn't that leave you with most of the same problem? While you offered a creative solutions, it's also unrealistic. You only need consider those states that have non-partisan primaries and end up with a multitude of non-serious candidates on the ballot. In addition, RANKED CHOICE has proven to be a LOSER! The one comment you made without pursuing is THE PENTAGON! Can't pass an audit, no one knows where to money goes, but just got another TRILLION? That's a SCAM if there ever was one! My two cents? Adding seats, establishing strict term limits, and implementing an enforceable ethics code are absolute musts if we want to restore integrity to the Supreme Court. On top of that, banning dark money and stock trading for members of Congress would be game-changing for protecting our democracy. Great to see institutions, journalists and academics not bending the knee to the Trump regime while the Elias Law Group is 21-0 in winning cases for voting rights.. We’ve come a long way since Joe Scarborough went to Mara Largo and bent the knee after Trump’s win as the Weiss Law Group and certain educational institutions. Shame on them. I could be wrong, so apologies if so; I think Elias Group is 22-0, NV most recent. He’s like the god of free and fair elections, isn’t he? Harvard case shows why you fight back against Trump- he is a loser. Not fighting back is being complicit And, I would like to add this comment here because I just researched it this morning. Uber gave money to Trump, Lyft did not and refused to give money to anyone who was an election denier. Use Lyft! And if you’re interested, search for companies that did not give money to Trump, there’s a list of about 10 of them that we should patronize also. I won’t list them here but there are companies who have principles and they deserve our support. Boycott Uber Standing strong and pushing back works!!! Either limit/put a cap on the amount of money allowed per candidate for ANY position in government; or take corporate involvement out altogether (and ending “Citizens United” for good) - the latter is preferable by far, imo. BOTH would be best. ⚖️ Expand the Supreme Court: thirteen districts = 13 justices. 🏛️ Term limits, no stock trading while in office, no dark money, ethics, hole them accountable, rule of law. Vote 🗳️! Trump has rigged all three branches of government to serve to him. Wake up, folks! Stop 🙇🏻♂️bending the knee! We also need to get rid of lifetime seats, replacing it with a rotation after a sensible time period. As for SCOTUS, term limits, real ethics with teeth, more seats, AND impeach those who've voted for party rather than the Constitution. For Congress, age restrictions, accepting dark money, destroy Citizens United, super PACs, and I'll go further to say lobbying. I hate lobbying. Drives me nuts! Oh yes, stock trading while in office. The problem is that this administration doesn't care if a judge says no. They just barrel ahead anyway. We should be suing the contractors who are working without official congressional approval. NEBRASKA: When we were overseas, we used my parents' address - HOW ELSE ARE YOU SUPPPOSED TO VOTE? Just consider the situation of the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN who haven't received MAIL for months and among their squalid conditions, they're denied the RIGHT TO VOTE! |
And they know the law!
Great to see institutions, journalists and academics not bending the knee to the Trump regime while the Elias Law Group is 21-0 in winning cases for voting rights.. We’ve come a long way since Joe Scarborough went to Mara Largo and bent the knee after Trump’s win as the Weiss Law Group and certain educational institutions. Shame on them.
Why can’t all branches have the same rules of conduct? That would make the SCOTUS ruling unconstitutional that gives the president more authority over the other two branches. No need for a reform of the Constitution just a way of reinforcing it which would make ALL PEOPLE EQUAL not just wealthy men. Money should be OUT of politics. A part of our income tax should help pay for people to run. Enforcement of the ANTI-TRUST/ANTI-MONOPOLIES must rule not these few little kings running our country and our consumption of products. No kings at all!
Here’s one. How about the same rules that apply to all of us applies to candidates for office? If I applied for a job with 34 felony counts, assault charges, hell, even misdemeanors, or theft. Doubtful I’d be hired. But our government does not care. RNC and DNC should vet ALL candidates for office and unless they go through rehabilitation or have a reasonably good reason for breaking the law, they are not hireable. How about some standards that protect staff and women from governmental predators?
Today's a good day to (re)read what the Constitution says about qualifications to run for president and Congress. One thing you won't find in the Constitution is reference to political parties. True, you might not be *hired* with that track record, but you *could* run for president.
Boy, when Republicans are terrified of Nebraskans -- 116 of them -- you know they're in deep trouble.
As for the $927M, that can be rounded up to cover the cost of wholesale demolition. Unless some court will make the clown pay for the demolition himself personally.
The corrupt and evil vermin, t-RUMP, should be sued for demolishing the East Wing of our historical White House. Of all the disastrous and hideous remodeling changes that the deranged nasty vermin, t-RUMP, has put his hand to I find the destruction of America’s historical White House to be his most despicable act. The American people have long held in their collective memory the image of our serene and beautiful White House, with the East and West Wings attached in a harmonious architectural blend. For the narcissistic corrupt vermin to take a wrecking ball to portions of it and uproot the lovely landscaping features that past presidents installed is an act of extreme vandalism! He had no right to destroy the grounds, the building, or install the gaudy interior remodeling features of the Oval Office. He has disgraced the sacred seat of our government and should be sued and have to pay $150 BILLION DOLLARS so that it can be reconstructed exactly the way it was before he put his filthy stubby fingers to it. The excess money left after the White House is reconstructed should be awarded in the form of punitive damages and distributed to the American people for the deep anguish they have suffered because of his actions. To see the broken concrete and dangled mess where the East Wing used to be is heartbreaking and makes the colors of the flag bleed. Are there any attorneys willing to take on this legal lawsuit?
You are of course absolutely right. The "right" the clown had to demolish the East Wing, and all of his other moronic and narcissistic blunders, was that no one stopped him. He hounded Cornyn and Cassidy out of the Senate, and both of them voted for his pet, Blanche.
We should agree to pay whatever it costs to reinstate the "People's House," unless, as I said, some judge will force the clown and his scummy family to pay for it, which they should.
I don't want punitive damages. I want this country back, and I want the clown and all the occupants of the clown car gone and forgotten. We have actual problems to solve, and we need a government that is focused on them and devoted to solving them. Several of them aren't so hard to solve. We can use the real countries in the world as models.
Can't we, meaning the people who own the WH, sue Trump to pay for reparations and return the WH to what it was before? He's gotten a whole wack of $ during his stay there and should without a doubt be able to afford it. He made the changes without consent so must be held monetarily accountable to return it to its original state before he messed with it.