Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills): 8/31/25

Saturday, September 06, 2025

A January 6er proves he's garbae who should rot in prison

Friday morning, Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "What Jen Psaki Should Have Said" and "Miss Sassy JD Vance Flaunts That He's Vulgar Trash" posted.

Chump led the January 6th insurrection and should be spending the rest of his life behind bars for that. Instead, he's not only president but he's pardoned the insurrectionists who should have faced a firing squad. Since being pardoned, they have continued to harm the country. One example, Meredith Deliso (ABC NEWS) reports:

The Jan. 6 rioter seen in photos wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" hoodie inside the U.S. Capitol building has been arrested in Virginia on charges stemming from a dog attack.

Robert Keith Packer, 60, was arrested on Thursday "following an investigation into an animal-related incident" that had occurred on Monday in Newport News, a city spokesperson said.

Packer was charged with one count of animal attack resulting from owner's disregard for human life, a felony, the spokesperson said. He was also charged with attacking while at large and no city license, both misdemeanors.

Civil charges have also been filed against Packer, including dogs running in a pack and vicious dog, the spokesperson said.

Police told Newport News ABC affiliate WVEC that four people were taken to the hospital with dog bites stemming from the attack.

THE VIRGINIA-PILOT adds:

Packer faces a separate court case for an attack by two of his dogs earlier this year. According to a criminal complaint, two white or tan aggressive dogs attacked Lindy Harper and her yellow lab, Hogan, on their early morning walk May 19 at the intersection of Madison Lane S. and Goodwin Road.

He is a menace and needs to be locked up. And all of his dogs need to find real pet lovers to live with. He's clearly abused those dogs if they're out repeatedly attacking people.

Parker is garbage who should rot in prison.

Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Friday, September 5, 2025. Little Bobby Junior strips naked before a Senate committee to expose his big, huge ignorance, the job reports coming out this morning, a Chump staffer gets caught chatting on camera about Epstein and Maxwell, and much more.

To wake up slowly, let's start with something obvious and also needed. Rachel Siegel, Meryl Kornfield and Hannah Natanson (WASHINGTON POST) report:

They were civil rights lawyers, Social Security employees and labor experts. And now they’re all in completely different jobs.

To fill vacancies left behind by waves of firing and resignations in the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal government, agencies are reassigning people to posts they know little about. That includes people who were forced out of jobs that are required by law or are essential to basic government functions, according to interviews with 20 federal employees across seven departments, most of whom spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Often, those moves reflect the administration’s agenda: The Department of Homeland Security, for example, has reassigned dozens of employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help bring on new hires for the government’s mass deportation agenda. Justice Department officials gave a select group of senior career attorneys a choice between quitting or joining a new Sanctuary Cities Enforcement working group.

Many staffers have been moved from civil rights jobs, workers say. At the Justice Department, for example, attorneys who protected employees from workplace discrimination were moved to roles handling human resources complaints or Freedom of Information Act requests. At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, civil rights lawyers who pursued cases of housing discrimination were shifted to defend the agency from complaints. At the Transportation Department, an employee who spent a decade working in civil rights is now reviewing highway grants.

The result, employees said, is that work is being done less efficiently by people with little relevant experience or background, even if they have spent years in government in other positions. One former IT worker at the Social Security Administration — newly reassigned to disability benefits processing — described the changes as “leaving a Bugatti in the garage” and “a strategic decapitation of institutional knowledge.”

The reassignments are “another thing, in the long line of efforts, to get us to just quit and abandon ship,” said Paul Osadebe, a HUD civil rights attorney.

He has actively destroyed our government. That's our government, not his. He was put in place for four years to work for us and so far, day 229 of his administration (on THE 11TH HOUR WITH STEPHANIE RUEHL, Stephanie notes the number at the top of each broadcast) he's not working for us, he's not ensuring this country's future, he's just addicted to vengeance and ripping everything apart. His administration is nothing but crooks and fools -- that's not an either/or. They are all crooks, they are all fools.

His job was to bring in the best and the brightest. Instead, to ensure he'd have lackeys who flattered him, he brought in the worst and the dimmest.

As Elaine's noted, Little Junior may be the most dangerous because he's destroying public health. Last night, Lawrence O'Donnell called him "the most dangerous nepo baby in American history."

I was at the hearing yesterday. Afraid, honestly, that I'd have to cover it here because the media would be an embarrassment with their coverage. However, Lawrence had Senator Raphael Warnock on last night. And Lawrence did a great job covering the hearing (no surprise there), but it's also true that MSNBC as an outlet did a great job covering the hearing.

That's Jen Psaki.

And Jen did a great job covering Senator Elizabeth Warren's exchange with Junior. That's Stephanie Ruhl who, of course, MSNBC still hasn't posted any segments of to YOUTUBE so far. That's everyone, I saw.

I could note Chris Hayes, he did a good job on this. But he also did another segment which kind of soured me on noting him in this snapshot. He had on guest X.

Why did I fear I'd have to go through all my notes from the hearing yesterday to pull for this snapshot?

Yesterday, Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:

ICYMI: Senator Murray Issues Statement on Launch of West Coast Health Alliance in Response to Trump and RFK Jr. Attacks on CDC

ICYMI: Senator Murray Calls for Immediate Firing of RFK Jr., Commends CDC Director Monarez’s Stand for Science and Public Health

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s full floor speech***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, took to the Senate floor to reiterate her call for the firing of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. for his increasingly dangerous attacks on lifesaving vaccines and America’s public health infrastructure and his efforts to discard evidence, manipulate outcomes to fit his conspiracy-addled ideology, and force out anyone—including former Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez—who dares to stand up for basic science. The CDC Director is a Senate-confirmed position for the first time this year thanks to the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act Senator Murray negotiated and passed into law as HELP Chair in 2022.

Senator Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care who has led hearings on addressing vaccine hesitancy, has been a leader in raising the alarm over RFK Jr.’s nomination since the beginning—speaking out on the Senate floor, holding numerous events, raising the alarm after meeting with him, and hammering the threat he poses to Americans’ health nonstop. She led the opposition to the Trump administration’s disastrous plan to dismantle HHS and fire tens of thousands of staff in critical positions across CDC, NIH, FDA, and other agencies, and spoke out forcefully against RFK Jr.’s ousting of the entire CDC vaccine advisory board, including one ACIP member from Washington state. Senator Murray has held countless events across Washington state and in Washington, D.C. with doctors, patients, and former HHS officials to lift up how Trump and Republicans’ attacks on health care will be devastating for families.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor today, are below:

“Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today with a pretty simple message: Fire RFK Jr. This man is burning down our public health system from the inside. We have got to take away his matches and his keys away, and we need to do it now.

“We need to make his latest attack on public health, firing a CDC Director—why? Because she stood up for science.

“The stakes are sky-high. Our medical research, our public health, our pandemic preparedness, our food safety—RFK Jr. is putting all of that in jeopardy, and putting communities across this country in danger. We cannot put our heads into the sand.

“We absolutely need a Secretary of Health and Human Services, not a Secretary of Conspiracies, not a Secretary of Measles and Food Poisoning, certainly not a Secretary of Cancelled Research and Chemtrail Nonsense.

“It does not take a shred of imagination to see how dangerous RFK Jr.’s leadership has been. It just takes two eyes and two seconds, if that!

“I mean, one of the first things he did, right off the bat, was fan the flames of a measles outbreak by ignoring the science, peddling quack treatments, and spreading falsehoods about vaccines.

“The result, no surprise, was the largest measles outbreak we have seen in decades, one that tragically took the lives of two children.

“Did that spark one iota of reflection from RFK Jr.? Of course not. The largest measles outbreak since 1992—and do you know how RFK Jr. described the response this week? ‘Effective.’ Effective! Are you kidding me?

“I shudder to think what it would take for a man like that to admit failure. We should all hope that we never find out. Instead of learning even a single lesson, all he has done now is double down on doing as much damage as possible.

“When it comes to vaccines, he has not only spouted off nonsense and falsehoods to families who looking to him for reliable guidance, he fired every single member of CDC’s vaccine advisory board—down to the last one.

“And then, he started replacing them with a who’s-who of anti-vax alarmists, who have already started shaping federal policy to fit their anti-science conspiracies.

“And when the new CDC Director, nominated by Trump, endorsed by RFK Jr. himself, confirmed by the Senate, dared to stand up and say—you know, I think we should follow science instead of nonsense, RFK Jr. pushed to fire her too. This is unbelievable!

“Meanwhile, when it comes to medical research, he is tossing promising work and potential breakthroughs into the garbage. One example: mRNA research is on the cutting edge of medical innovation—not just for lifesaving vaccines by the way, but for lifesaving cancer treatments.

“And you don’t have to just take my word for it: President Trump’s own health leaders champion mRNA research as a groundbreaking scientific advancement.

“But with all the lives hanging in the balance, RFK Jr. pulled the plug on all federal funding for mRNA research.

“Not only is this a massive blow to our researchers and to our patients, but it is a massive win by the way for China, who we just handed a huge opening to now take the lead on biomedical innovation. And mRNA technology isn’t the only cancer research RFK Jr. has upended.

“He and Trump are cutting research grants across the board, across the country, and cutting patients off from clinical trials that were their last, best chance at beating a deadly disease.

“They are now condemning some of these patients to death. They are killing their hope for a cure. And some of these patients are kids. Children.

“Last month, the National Cancer Institute’s Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium stopped enrolling kids with brain cancer in clinical trials that could save their lives. All after Trump and RFK Jr. ended federal funding for that work. What do my colleagues want to say to these parents? I don’t even know what there is to say.

“Yes, we can fight to restore funding. Yes, we will fight here to restore funding, especially as so many of Trump’s cuts are, in fact, outright illegal.

“But we can’t restore lost time, invaluable time, for kids fighting an incredibly deadly disease. For some of them it may be too late. That is heartbreaking. And it’s a direct result of RFK Jr.’s disastrous leadership at HHS.

“To my colleagues: Sorry does not cut it, especially if you aren’t sorry enough to demand the person who is responsible be fired.

“What happened to the accountability Republicans pretend to care so much about?

“And that’s not all. RFK Jr. is sabotaging food safety. I’m glad that some companies are choosing to remove artificial dyes from some of their products, but when it comes to bedrock regulations that keep all Americans safe and prevent foodborne illnesses, RFK Jr. may as well be pro-food poisoning.

“Because on his watch, CDC is throwing in the towel on food safety monitoring.

“This summer, our food surveillance network stopped monitoring requirements for all but two dangerous pathogens.

“I know RFK Jr. doesn’t like listening to public health experts, but I don’t think it takes an expert to understand that listeria will not go away just because states don’t have to track it. It will not go away just because no one is looking. Shigella outbreaks will not disappear if you ignore them.

“Foodborne diseases will sicken people. They will actually kill people.

“This isn’t about following the science—that’s as plain as day. You don’t follow the science by defunding it. You don’t follow the science by shutting it down. You don’t follow the science by firing the scientists!

“That is exactly how RFK Jr. has been operating.

“And as I mentioned, last week we saw one of the most egregious examples yet when he fired the CDC Director, all because she chose to listen to science instead of falsehoods, all because she insisted on protecting lives instead of pandering to anti-vax conspiracies.

“And as we now continue to see the damaging aftershocks of RFK Jr.’s reckless decision to steamroll a CDC Director that refused to bow to his will. Several other experienced, respected, trusted public health experts resigned from CDC in protest.

“Some are now also shared alarming allegations of the widespread culture of conspiracy, and incompetence, and willful ignorance of science—that is now defining RFK Jr.’s leadership. And just this week, a thousand, one thousand, HHS workers demanded he resign because of how his actions are compromising the health of the nation.

“And it’s clear RFK Jr. has no intention of changing gears. Earlier today, he had a Senate hearing, and he continued to flaunt his ignorance like a badge of honor, not even knowing the COVID death toll. Outright lying about established science. Refusing to take any accountability for his actions.

“Mr. President, great leaders leave behind a track record of accomplishments. But it is painfully clear that RFK Jr. will leave behind a body count. How high will it go?

“That all depends on how long will Republicans let him go around setting fires? How much damage will my colleagues let him do? How many children will die before they finally take action?

“We should not let him have one more day in power.

“I know some of my colleagues understand the grave reality of the situation. What I don’t know is how long they are going to be willing to stay silent? You can talk about oversight—but what are you actually doing?

“You can talk about the need to follow the science—but that’s not the path you have put us down. If you want to show you are serious, if you want to save lives, you need to join us in talking about how important it is President Trump fire RFK Jr.

“Anything less is lying to yourself, while RFK Jr. lies to the American people, about things as basic, as established, and as lifesaving as vaccine safety.”

###

Senator Parry Murray has led on this issue. She wasn't at yesterday's hearing because she's not on that Committee. But, as we noted in last Friday's snapshot, on Wednesday of last week, she called for Junior to be fired.

And the only problem I've had with that call was when a woman writing for MOTHER JONES -- run by two women -- did a 'report' last Saturday that managed to ignore Patty while noting two men who followed her days after. I'm damn tired of women being stripped of their credits and their work ignored.

When we covered hearings constantly here, it was always interesting to see how many women seated on Committees were ignored. It was interesting to see media favorites shape the coverage.

The most important hearing on Iraq that the Senate had after Barack Obama became president was completely miscovered by the entire press with the exception of Elisabeth Bumiller for THE NEW YORK TIMES. I sat through that hearing, we spent days covering that hearing while the press turned it into John McCain (a press favorite) had a cat fight!

That was in the first 15 minutes of the hearing and you could see the press exiting thinking that they had their story. They didn't. They missed it. They missed the very important points Senator Kay Hagen made, for example.

That's big media. Let's not pretend little media didn't do the same.

Guest X that Chris Hayes had on yesterday? I've called him out by name here many times but I'm not in the mood to publicize him today.

He didn't like Hillary Clinton. Fine, I don't care. I do care that Guest X 'live blogged' a hearing and completely ignored her and then lied that his cable went out to excuse his not covering her in the hearing. This is the hearing where Hillary rightly noted that Nouri al-Maliki was a thug -- and used the term "thug." Her comments and questions to Gen David Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker were very important.

But Guest X hated Hillary and refused to report on it.

Guest X has never owned it. Has never apologized for it.

John Kerry -- who chaired the hearing -- was an utter embarrassment But he and other men were covered by Guest X. So, sorry, Chris, I'll thank you but I won't advance your show in this snapshot due to your interview with Guest X. Not in a snapshot less than a week after MOTHER JONES felt sexism was more important than giving a woman credit for leading on an issue.

I think there was solid work on the Committee, that senators -- even Republican ones -- voiced serious concerns and tried to hold a non-stop liar accountable.

Senator Maria Cantwell especially had some strong moments. The strongest was this:

Senator Maria Cantwell: Following up on the same line as Senator [Bill] Cassidy because

that's exactly -- I represent one of the most science-based states in the country. That is percentage of

scientists per capita. And at your conﬁrmation hearing, we asked about this: Whether you would follow

science. You've made a statement here today in your testimony that you would follow science, and yet

you are not following science and that was what Senator Cassidy's question was. It's a simple yes or no

answer. "Do you think the President deserves to get a prize for Warp Speed and the mRNA technology

that saved so many lives?" And you won't answer that question.

HHS Junior: I answered it.

Senator Maria Cantwell: No, you are saying that there are problems with what was interpreted. You can say yes --

HHS Junior: I said the president deserves a Nobel Prize. But the mRNA vaccines that we're working on, the ones we canceled, which are for upper respiratory infections alone --

Senator Maria Cantwell: You canceled $500 million of research, because the mRNA technology is about continuing the research to be ready for the next inﬂuenza, the next pandemic, and you have to do the research to --

HHS Junior: I'm happy to have a detailed discussion with you about it. You are so wrong on your facts.

Senator Maria Cantwell: You're interrupting me and, sir, you're a charlatan. That's what you are.

Speak the truth. That's what he is, that's all he is. For me, that was the strongest moment in the hearing. When the exact term for what Junior is was applied to him. Senator Maggie Hassan also spoke the truth. She noted he was hiding information from the public. Junior kept falling back on that things were done publicly. He may have been lying, he may not have been (he was wrong regardless), we'll get to that in a moment but here's what it got heated.

HHS Junior: This is crazy talk. You're just making stuff up.

Senator Maggie Hassan: -- to prescribe this vaccine for children -- I’m not making things up. Do you know how the FDA approval process works and what --

HHS Junior: I-I-I-I --

Senator Maggie Hassan (Con't): -- an off-label prescription is?

HHS Junior: I know exactly how it works. I know exactly how it works.

Senator Maggie Hassan: So why -- so why behind closed doors do you --

HHS Junior: It's not behind closed doors. The industry makes the studies and they could not provide a study that said that it is effective for healthy kids.

Senator Maggie Hassan: So when have you produced the data that you relied on and that this FDA relied on to change those parameters? You did it behind closed doors.

HHS Junior: The data's all public!

Senator Maggie Hassan: Now, parents who decide that they do want their children to have a COVID vaccine --

HHS Junior: You’re just making stuff up, Senator.

Senator Maggie Hassan: I'm not making stuff up.

HHS Junior: You're just making stuff up.

Senator Maggie Hassan: You know, sometimes when you make an accusation, it's kind of a confession, Mr. Kennedy.

They're talking about two different things. The senator's noting that Junior and others did not make decisions in public, they were behind closed doors and we have no information regarding the discussions that went down.

When Junior is claiming things are in the public, he's referring to the drug companies studies and findings. Those are public. The drug companies were following the laws (as far as we know) That's not what she was talking about. She was talking about the deliberative process that he overseas and that he has hidden from the public. The things that provide us with an open government, a democracy. Those laws and regulations? Junior's not following them.

Much has been made of Junior's struggle to breathe in public -- yes, he kept forgetting to turn off his microphone when not speaking, but it was more than that. He was struggling and he's struggling -- as someone who knows him -- because he's off his meds. That's not a joke. And that's also why he couldn't sit still and kept bouncing when speaking. I don't make fun of his voice, it's a health issue. If others want to, go for it. I'm not stop anybody and I say we throw everything we can at these people trying to destroy our country. But I do know Junior is supposed to take meds and I do know what he's like when he doesn't. You saw a crazy fool having some form of a psychotic episode while testifying to Congress.

And what was up with his face. Remember those machines that they had for kids that would polish rocks? His face look like it had been through one.

Let's jump over to Senator Mark Warner.

Senator Mark Warner: I want to go back to just, again, some basic facts. Do you accept the fact that a million Americans died from COVID?

HHS Junior: I don't know how many died.

Senator Mark Warner: You're the Secretary of Health and Human Services. You don't have any idea how many Americans died from COVID?

HHS Junior: I don't think anybody knows that because the -- There was so much data chaos coming out of the CDC and there were so many --

Senator Mark Warner: You don't know the answer of how many Americans died from COVID?

This is the Secretary of Health and Human Services? Do you think the vaccine did anything to prevent additional deaths?

HHS Junior: Again, I would like to see the data and talk about the data. I'm not fully --

Senator Mark Warner: You've had this job for eight months and you don't know the data about whether the vaccine saved lives?

HHS Junior in a whiny voice the attacked Joe Biden. Like Betty and so many other Americans I am damn tired of people trying to blame Joe Biden. This administration destroying everything needs to bee held accountable. Joe stepped down in January.

We'll note this before moving on to the next senator.

Senator Mark Warner: Mr. Chairman, the Secretary of Health and Human Services doesn't know how many Americans died from COVID. He doesn't know if the vaccine helped prevent any deaths. And you are sitting as Secretary of Health and Human Services? How can you be that ignorant?

Junior had no answer to that question though he did continue to sport his ignorance throughout the hearing. For example? Asked by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto the amount that Medicare Part B premiums would be increasing in 2026, he responded, "I don't know." That's really his job to know.

Senator Masto: Next year, seniors and families are facing higher health care costs across the board. Twenty-three million people on Medicare with standalone Part D drug plans could see their premiums rise to $50 a month, up from $35, because the Trump Administration is cutting the federal subsidy that has been keeping costs down. Part B premiums will jump 11.6% to $206 a month in 2026, one of the largest single year increases in decades.

It's Junior's job to know the numbers that Masto cited. But instead of facts and figures, Junior just repeatedly said "I don't know" in one form or another throughout the hearing.

Junior was shrill and moody throughout the hearing. Senator Ben Ray Lujan noted that the members of the committee wanted to know the truth and Junior disputed that and at another point Junior demonstrated how he did not inherent his father's charm by snapping at Lujan, "I don't know what you're talking about, you're talking gibberish." Senator Peter Welch saw Junior as evidence and proof that of how Congress has been abdicating their duties this session, " And what has Congress done? On oversight, and advice and consent, we have confirmed a vaccine denier. On tariffs, we've given up our constitutional responsibility. On appropriations, we're bending the knee to an Administration that is rescinding and decided what to spend and what not to spend despite the way our law -- in a bipartisan

way -- was passed."

Senator Ron Wyden is the Raking Member on the Committee and he noted in his opening statement:

Instead of finding ways to help American families pay less for health care, Robert Kennedy is singularly focused on his anti-vaccine mission, fueled by a messiah complex, the consequences be damned. Amid this litany of corruption and chaos, the one point I must underline is this: Robert Kennedy puts children in harm's way every single day. To my Republican colleagues, I must ask, "What line must Robert Kennedy cross before you too sound the alarm?" This weekend, under the cover of darkness, Robert Kennedy attempted to disappear hundreds of children under his care at the Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities. These children, here without parents or family, were rounded up in the middle of the night and put on planes to Guatemala. Lawyers on the ground described unthinkable scenes. One child said to their lawyer, "Why do they want to send me back? My mom is dead and my dad abuses me. Why do they want to hurt me?" These actions were illegal, and documents show that many of these children were in the country to escape trafficking in their home country. Kennedy calls himself a "protector of children." It's a rich claim coming from someone who has flown on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet on multiple occasions. Robert Kennedy shouldn't be within a million miles of this job. Republicans on this committee had a chance to prevent the public health train wreck that Kennedy is responsible for; every one voted to confirm him. It is in the country's best interest that Robert Kennedy step down, and if he doesn't, Trump should fire him before more people are hurt by his reckless disregard for science and the truth.

Good points and now let's go back to Senator Maria Cantwell.

Senator Maria Cantwell: Do you think the women on the steps of the Capitol were a hoax yesterday?

HHS Junior: I don't know about any women on the steps of the steps of the Capitol yesterday.

Senator Maria Cantwell: The women who were talking about Epstein? Do you think they were a hoax yesterday?

HHS Junior: Do I think they were?

Senator Maria Cantwell: Do you think they were a hoax yesterday?

HHS Junior: Perpetuating a hoax?

Senator Maria Cantwell: Yeah.

HHS Junior: I have no idea what they were saying. This the first I'm hearing about it.

Senator Maria Cantwell: Your first time that you're hearing about the women on the Capitol steps saying that they believe that the Epstein information should be made public? That's the first you're hearing about it? What I'm saying is you are perpetrating hoaxes. You as the secretary of health, so you're undermining the whole health care delivery system, and you keep trying to point to chronic disease. But you're not putting solutions on the table to cover more Americans, and you're taking away the science and technology that has made us the leader, that has saved, according to the first Trump Administration Surgeon General, millions of lives! And you don't want to keep that going! So no, I don't support your continued efforts as Secretary, and I definitely think that our colleagues need to rally around science. If you want the Northwest to just continue to lead on all innovation and all healthy people. Okay, we'll do that, but it's a sad statement for the rest of America and America's leadership on technology.

Yes, Junior was connected to Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein died in prison during Chump's first term as president. He was convicted of sex trafficking and Chump had been friends with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for years. Epstein and Maxwell worked together as pedophiles engaged in sex trafficking. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Weeks ago, Chump moved his friend Ghislaine to Club Fed -- a camp for low risk offenders (not registered sex offenders) in Bryan, Texas. That and his refusal to release documents on Epstein and Maxwell have outraged many including the survivors as well as Americans who believe in fairness and justice.

On YOUTUBE, MSNBC has done a compilation of some of their coverage of the Epstein survivors.

The big news as the work week winds down? Alex Griffing (MEDIAITE) reports:

James O’Keefe, the Project Veritas founder and longtime pro-MAGA activist, published a clip on Thursday of a Trump Justice Department official claiming that Ghislaine Maxwell was moved to prison “to keep her quiet.”

In the clip, an off-camera woman asks Joseph Schnitt, an acting deputy chief of special operations, about the Epstein Files and Maxwell – a convicted sex offender and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice.

“But those files do exist,” noted the woman.

“Yeah, thousands and thousands to page through. They’ll redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those pages,” Schnitt replied.

“I think they visited that Maxwell person. Kind of also involved,” presses the woman.

“Transferred to a minimum security prison too recently, which is against BOP policy because she’s a convicted sex offender. They’re offering her something to keep her quiet,” Schnitt claimed.

David Edwards (RAW STORY) adds:

The Department of Justice later responded on X with a letter from Deputy Chief Joseph Schnitt that appeared to confirm that he spoke to someone who worked for O'Keefe.

"I met a woman named Skylar on Hinge, a dating app, in July 2025, her profile is no longer findable," Schnitt explained. "We had two dates (August 4 and August 16)."

"She gave no clues that she was a reporter or recording our dates. Had I a clue, the first date would have ended immediately and there never would have been a second one," he continued. "The comments I made were my own personal comments on what I've learned in the media and not from anything I've done at or learned via work."

Let's turn to the economy. BLOOMBERG is live blogging the release of the jobs report this morning. Yesterday, Nazmul Ahasan (BLOOMBERG NEWS) noted:

Applications for US unemployment benefits rose to the highest since June, adding to evidence that the labor market is cooling.

Initial claims increased by 8,000 to 237,000 in the week ended Aug. 30. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 230,000 applications.

Companies have grown more hesitant about hiring while assessing the economic impact from President Donald Trump’s policies. Hiring plans fell to the weakest level for any August on record in data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas going back to 2009, while intended job cuts rose.

Elizabeth Crisp (THE HILL) adds:

Layoffs surged nearly 40 percent last month, with employers eliminating 85,979 positions — the largest August hit since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to research released Thursday.

The analysis from the Challenger, Gray & Christmas consulting firm noted the cuts, which have hit the pharmaceutical, financial and retail industries especially hard, are likely linked to some of President Trump’s policies since his return to office in January.

Alicia Wallace (CNN) points out, "New metrics released Thursday showed that first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to an 11-week high; that private-sector businesses sharply reined in their hiring last month; and that last month was the worst August for layoff announcements since the Great Recession." Alex Harring (CNBC) adds, "Jobs tied to trade, transportation and utilities saw particular weakness in August, with the group losing 17,000 roles on net, according to the ADP. Education and health services followed, recording a decline of 12,000 jobs."

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "What Jen Psaki Should Have Said" and "Miss Sassy JD Vance Flaunts That He's Vulgar Trash" went up this morning. The following sites updated:

Thursday, September 04, 2025

Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell

Ben Beaumont-Thomas (GUARDIAN) reports some big news.

One of the great lost albums in rock history is to finally see the light of day, as Bruce Springsteen announces the release of the electric version of his 1982 album Nebraska.

The original was famously recorded in the bedroom of his New Jersey home, unaccompanied, on a four-track tape recorder rather than a multitrack studio setup. Springsteen attempted to work the songs up into more fleshed-out versions but felt the studio versions lacked the ghostly drama of the originals, and – to some confusion in his fanbase and record label – insisted on releasing the stark four-track takes.

I'm not going to be reviewing it. I'm not even going to be listening. Let me explain why. NEBRASKA is a great album. Bruce recorded it on a cassette tape. He would demo the songs himself. He'd planned for it to be a studio album with the band (the E Street Band). After the project really came together, he recorded it with a band. But it didn't have the haunting sound he wanted. It got to the point where he just wanted to release it as it was on the cassette tape, the one he'd carried around in his pocket and played off and on for friends. So it was degraded in sound quality a bit.

Some people thought, before it was advanced, that it wasn't going to be good for a number of reasons. That included die hard E Street Band fans.

But it came out and it was an amazing album. It was a classic and I'd say a classic album regardless of whose name was on it. I mean it's not just a Bruce classic, it's a classic all by itself.

It's haunting and its beautiful and it's art.

I'm not going to listen to the new one because I'm not going to like it. I'm not going to review it for the same reason.

But I'm not saying don't release it. Bruce's biggest fans? Many of them will love it and snap it up the second it's released. (There are also some who will feel like I do.)

Were I in charge of the world? We'd continue to release Bruce concerts and his new stuff. But something like a 'lost' album wed wait to release until after he wasn't able to record.

I hope Joni Mitchell records another album but I realize health issues may prevent that.

So I'm thrilled with the archives coming out. But Bruce is making new music still so I don't know that I would think we need this now.

Joni was a topic today. I was speaking to a woman as I was waiting in line at the drug store to pick up a prescription. She was humming something and I realized it was Joni's "Morning Morgantown."

I said, "I love that song!" And we got into a discussion as we waited in a long line. She's a huge Joni fan and she loves SONG TO A SEAGULL best (Ann wrote of this album back in June "Joni Mitchell's Song To A Seagull"). That's Joni's debut album. That immediately brought two other people in line into the conversation. A man said he loved Joni and BLUE was his favorite album while another woman noted DOG EAT DOG. DOG EAT DOG is a great album and it really is time for it to have a huge reappraisal. People like C.I. who have championed that album in the last two decades have led the way but it still needs a bigger reappraisal. It is one of Joni's classic albums. So this woman mentioning it explained that's where she comes in with Joni -- DOG EAT DOG came out while she was in high school. It's the first one she got and she was so amazed with Joni's songwriting and her singing that she then went backwards to go through Joni's full discography.

I was the only one who liked Joni's jazz period by the way. (For my favorite Joni album, I went with FOR THE ROSES, by the way.) The man and the two women hate WILD THINGS RUN FREE (I feel it's the weakest album that Jonie ever did) and all three of them felt that album only got praised because critics were thrilled Joni had left jazz and come back to pop.

One of the three brought up Joni and Brandi Carlisle doing "I'm Still Standing" at the Elton John tribute and that led us all to note we hoped Joni would go back into the studio for another album. And that's when we talked about the archives project where her early recordings have been released and how we hope that they pick up with the GEFFEN recordings (WILD THINGS RUN FAST -- we hope there are some better tracks recorded for that album that didn't get released -- and DOG EAT DOG, CHALK MARKS IN A RAIN STORM, NIGHT RIDE HOME, TURBULENT INDIGO and TAMING THE TIGER).

So my point is -- besides waiting nearly 15 minutes in a long line at the drug store that managed to pass like it was two due to three great people in line with me -- Joni's probably not going into the studio to make another album. I hope she does but I understand. Painting is really where she's at now and she had a health scare and she needs to enjoy her time. But Bruce still is releasing new material so I wouldn't be going through the archives to release alternate versions of albums right now.

Check out the community group post:

The World Today Just Nuts

As ugly as she is stupid

Ann's Mega Dub

Barely Bari can't wait to destroy CBS NEWS

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man

An idiot named Bari Weiss

Cedric's Big Mix

Crazy Karens named Bari Weiss

The Common Ills

What Bari Weiss wants to (mis)teach the world

The Daily Jot

THIS JUST IN! BARI WEISS GROWLS NEXT TO HER FOOD BOWL!

Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Thursday, September 4, 2025. Truth tellers speak to the nation and Chump attacks them as his destruction of the country's economy becomes undeniable.

Yesterday, some of' the survivors of Julian Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's abuse took part in a press conference calling for justice and closure. Many spoke to the media throughout the day after the conference. On MSNBC, for example, last night Lawrence O'Donnell spoke with survivor Jena-Lisa Jones.

At THE HILL, Max Burns does a great job setting the stage:

President Trump probably hoped the long Labor Day weekend would help him outrun his political troubles. Instead, his absence from public view only seemed to sharpen the mounting questions about his health and fitness for office.

Unfortunately for Trump, one trouble never comes alone. The explosion of chatter around Trump’s health might have Americans questioning whether the president is up to the job, but it hasn’t distracted them from demanding the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. People want to know how their president was involved with the nation’s most notorious child sex trafficker — and, for once, they aren’t buying into Trump’s cynical distractions.

Where are the Epstein files, Mr. President?

After an August spent trying (and failing) to move on from Trump’s Epstein connection, Republicans have returned to Washington to find Epstein’s victims still waiting by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) door. Far from cooling the temperature regarding the Epstein documents, the August recess seems to have given Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) time to build bipartisan consensus around their release. If Khanna and Massie get their way, Trump may soon have a black eye to match his bruised hands.

Watchdog organizations are pressing for answers, even if most congressional Republicans aren’t. Last week, the nonpartisan Democracy Defenders Fund filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration demanding the full release of all files related to the Epstein investigation — not just the same already-public documents the Department of Justice has falsely touted as “new” information. They argue, rightly, that transparency isn’t optional in a democracy, even if that transparency implicates the sitting president in potentially criminal misconduct.

From there, let's go to someone who stumbles. Justin Boggs (SCRIPPS NEWS) types:

Survivors who were exploited by Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring on Wednesday called for full transparency after Congress released thousands of pages of documents to the public.

Epstein was a convicted sex offender accused of victimizing hundreds of young women. At a news conference, Lisa Phillips said survivors are compiling their own list of people who abused Epstein's victims.

No, Justin, after Congress re-released 97% of pages of documents. We don't need to provide cover of lies. Only 3% of what Congress released yesterday was new. 97% was already publicly available.

This statement Justin later types makes clear that he knows that, "Most of the documents released Tuesday contained information that had already been made public through court filings and other records." That sentence belongs in the article first paragraph. Instead Justin buries it in paragraph ten. Back to his article:

"We know the names. Many of us were abused by them," she said. "We will confidentially compile the names we all know are regularly in the Epstein world."

Phillips said many people knew of Epstein's abuse.

"Why was he allowed to sponsor visas for young models using their immigration status as leverage to abuse them and silence them?" Phillips said. "Epstein was not just a serial predator; he was an international human trafficker. And many around him knew this, many participated, and many profited — and yet he was protected."

Phillips was among those calling for transparency.

Also stumbling is a member of Congress. Evan Williams (TAG24) notes, "MAGA Congressman James Comer claimed on Tuesday that Ghislaine Maxwell had 'exonerated' President Donald Trump during an interview with the Department of Justice." Comer's a liar or an idiot -- probably both. Pope Leo might be able to exonerate someone with a statement because the new pope is trusted. Jizzy Pants Maxwell? She's a convicted felon as is her dead partner Epstein. In her two days of chatting with air head Todd Blanche, Jizzy Pants insisted she was innocent and that so was Epstein. A liar like that? They can lie but they can't exonerate.

It's a point survivor Teresa J. Helm made in Wednesday's press conference. Sarah K. Burris (RAW STORY) reports:

"What I will say is she got this airtime and platform. Her voice was elevated way before our voices were elevated here today," said Hyelm. "And the same calm, manipulative voice that she had — so polite, there, that day with Todd Blanche, was the same polite, coercive, manipulative voice that I heard as she was grooming me to then send me off to the home of Jeffrey Epstein, where he would assault me."

The same attempt to build a relationship and try to garner trust was what Helm said she experienced. She was convinced she was about to start her "dream job" for which she'd been recruited from college. She was flown from Los Angeles to New York City for an interview.

"So, I thought her voice that day was the same voice that sent me off to a monster," she added.

Helm also noted that she thinks nothing can be believed that comes out of Maxwell, because she's already been caught with perjury.

"I myself could sit there and listen as I did, I sat there and listened, listen to this woman's voice, lie, and there was no pushback from Todd Blanche, because — does he even have the facts to be able to push back on her?" Helm asked. "We could sit there and push back. Why didn't we get to attend that? Why weren't we there that day, or why wasn't even one of us consulted prior to that day in that meeting? And why on Earth has she been moved from Florida to her — it's basically a prison spa. I mean, you know, let's be real."

She explained that none of the survivors were consulted ahead of the meeting or even told that the interview would happen.

One of the many survivors speaking at yesterday's press conference was Marina Lacerda. Kelly Rissman (INDEPENDENT) explains:

The woman credited with helping to indict Jeffrey Epstein has spoken out for the first time in the decades since she was first abused by the disgraced financier at age 14.

Marina Lacerda was part of a vast network of victims who were abused by Epstein as a teenager. Until now, she was identified as an unidentified minor victim in the 2019 federal indictment against the disgraced financier.

Joining lawmakers and a group of survivors in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, Lacerda, 37, shared details of her abuse by Epstein and demanded the complete release of the so-called Epstein Files.

“I never thought that I would find myself here,” she said. “The only reason I’m here is because it feels like the people who matter in this country finally care about what we have to say.”

She first met Epstein in 2002 in New York when she was just 14, according to the 2019 indictment.

The young Brazilian immigrant was a freshman in high school at the time, working three jobs to try to support her mom and her sister. That’s when a friend told her she could make $300 by giving an “older guy” a massage, she said at a Wednesday press conference on Capitol Hill.

“It went from a dream job to the worst nightmare,” Lacerda said.

Let's note some reactions from ten community sites:

Stan: But that was scary and I couldn't believe anyone would harm my aunt because she was so warm, sweet and funny. As the survivors spoke out today, I kept thinking about that and how sick some people are. Maxwell is sick. Epstien was sick. Maxwell is still alive. She needs to be back in a real prison. And the president of the United States needs to be defending the survivors, not attacking them.

Ann: The survivors shined today and as Chump attacked them, they just stuck to the truth and shined even brighter. We need to see some justice on this issue and we need to see some closure. Our government has to stand with the survivors or our government is not of the people, it's against the people.

Marcia: Today, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell spoke out. The world's a little better as a result. When brave voices tell the truth, it makes a difference. Chump immediately attacked them and called them a "hoax." Doesn't matter. Many people heard them and some for the first time. This helped the nation. I applaud these survivors and want to see justice for them. Release the files. That's a demand we need to make to honor those who were betrayed by the justice system and the Alex Acostas.

Kat: They are not going to go away. They are not going to be dismissed. They were ignored and threatened as girls and young women and they're not having it anymore nor should they. We need to join their call and demand all the records be released. We need to join their call and make it clear that Maxwell belongs in a real prison and not the social club Chump moved her to weeks ago. She is a convicted sex trafficker and pedophile. She has stood trial and been sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

Rebecca: crooks. they're like the supreme court. they're not going to police themselves, so they're not to need outsiders to do it. i think we'll be seeing some much needed reforms after we've watched chump and his family work overtime to make millions via their corruption. but he's a predator and that's what predators do. he's a predator who was friends with jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell and that's why the orange creep is not helping the survivors. he doesn't care about and he never did. truth be told, he was probably pushing himself on underage girls. chump is disgusting. and before this is all over, maga will realize that and will grasp how he played them.

Elaine: Nothing but lies from Chump and his administration. Today, disgusting Donald made a point to attack the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Chump is a con artist. He's exposed himself to the American people.

Trina: Chump is a liar. And he is a liar who does not care about the America people. He's part of the swamp he once pretended to want to drain. He's destroying our earth. That is just who he is, a dangerous criminal. And that is why he moved Ghislaine Maxwell to Club Fed and why he is attacking the survivors abused by Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.

Betty: Important day as survivors publicly spoke out and demanded justice.

They spoke out even as Chump attacked them. As US House Rep Jasmine Crockett noted, clearly the White House was the hostile actors.

They are not a hoax and they will not be silenced.

When the truth is spoken, we're all a little bit stronger as a result. We're inspired to speak more truth. We're encouraged to stand with those in need. Doing the right thing becomes very important.

Thank you to all the survivors who spoke today and who inspired us and who remembered the importance of humanity and that democracy requires a strong public square where the truth can be spoken and embraced.

Mike: Donald Chump is disgusting. He has two daughters. I only have one daughter. But this is something that we all need to call out and that's especially true if you are a father. What was done to these women by Epstein and Maxwell? Those are crimes. And these women were failed. It's time for us, as a country to make this right. To make it clear that grooming and abuse is not acceptable and that destroying people's lives is not acceptable. We need to stand with the survivors to show them the support that they shouldn't have gotten all along and we need to stand with the survivors to embrace our own humanity. Donald Chump is disgusting and so is anyone else protecting the criminals Epstein and Maxwell and standing in the way of the survivors getting justice and getting closure.

Ruth: And that is the reality before we factor in Mr. Chump's efforts to silence those who survived the abuse of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Did everyone catch the slap Chump gave Robert Kennedy Junior? Just wondering. He's mocking those wanting the Kennedy assassination records released.

Dementia Donald Chump: It remind me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave them everything. Over and over again. More. And more. And more. And nobody's ever satisfied.

Somebody better check on Junior and they especially better check on the worm in Junior's brain after Chump landed that bitch slap to Junior's head.

Dan Mangan (CNBC) notes the White House response:

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called demands that his administration release the Jeffrey Epstein files a distraction from his successes, as a group of victims of the notorious sex offender called for those documents to be publicly disclosed.

"This is a Democratic hoax that never ends," Trump told reporters at the White House when he was asked about the Epstein files.

So Chump's admitting he's a chump? Because if Epstein is just "a Democratic hoax" and Chump told people last year he would release the files and planned to do so even after he was sworn in at the start of the year? If he's right in his comments currently that it was all a hoax then Chump got taken in. Like a sucker. Like an idiot. Like a Chump.

Tommy Christopher (MEDIAITE) notes that the survivors are not buying Chump's "hoax" lies:

Jeffrey Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips challenged President Donald Trump on-camera over his multiple rants calling the Epstein Files a”hoax,” inviting him to meet with her.

About a dozen survivors spoke out Wednesday morning in a press conference organized by lawmakers from both parties to call for more transparency over the Epstein Files.

Phillips was asked about the many times that Trump has called the issue a “hoax,” and was unsparing in her response:

REPORTER: The question would be for the survivors, the president has said that this Epstein issue is a hoax, is the word that he used. Can we get your reactions to what you think when you hear him say that?

LISA PHILLIPS: I’ll answer that. Mr. President Donald J. Trump, I am a registered Republican, not that that matters because this is not political.

However, I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax. We are real human beings! This is real trauma!

REPORTER: What does it feel like emotionally to hear that?

UNIDENTIFIED: Devastating.

LISA PHILLIPS: It’s being gutted from the inside out. Not that I would know what that feels like, but I imagine.

It’s the anxiety buildup with the depression and the survival mode, and then your nervous system goes limp and ironically is shot. And it feels like you just want to explode inside because nobody, again, is understanding that this is a real situation.

These women are real. We’re here in person. To say that it’s a hoax is just not … Please humanize us!

I would like Donald J. Trump and every person in America and around the world to humanize us, to see us for who we are and to hear us for what we have to say.

There is no hoax. The abuse was real!

When not attacking survivors, Chump continued to destroy the economy. Alicia Wallace (CNN) reports:

Employment gains were so weak in the July jobs report that President Donald Trump fired the head of the bureau charged with collecting the data, baselessly claiming it was rigged.

But fresh figures out Wednesday show that those meager job totals weren’t an anomaly: For the first time in more than four years, there are fewer open jobs than there are job seekers.

“This is a turning point for the labor market,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote Wednesday. “It’s yet another crack.”

The number of job openings was an estimated 7.18 million at the end of July, falling from a downwardly revised 7.36 million the month before, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday.

Job openings are now not only at their lowest level in 10 months, but they’re also below the number of unemployed workers (at 7.2 million) for the first time since April 2021.

In addition, REUTERS notes, "US manufacturing contracted for a sixth straight month in August as factories dealt with the fallout from the Trump administration’s import tariffs, with some manufacturers describing the current business environment as 'much worse than the Great Recession'." Will Neal (DAILY BEAST) points out:

President Donald Trump might regret sacking his last Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) chief because the new numbers are in and they’re just as bad as before.

Released Wednesday, the agency’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover report recorded just 7.18 million employment listings for July. It’s only the second time they’ve dipped below 7.2 million since the last quarter of 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic.

It’s also lower than even independent economists, polled by Dow Jones, had forecasted, fueling widespread concerns of a weakening job market amid the Trump administration’s turbulent handling of the economy and ongoing trade war against much of the rest of the planet.

“This is a turning point for the labor market,” Heather Long, an economist with the Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC Wednesday.

“It’s yet another crack,” she went on, adding the new figures were “underscoring how this job market is frozen and it’s difficult for anyone to get a job right now.”

We're not done with the news of Chump's war on the economy. Sarah K. Burris (RAW STORY) notes not only the poor job numbers but also the housing market:

When it comes to housing, things are even worse, and Long thinks that Trump should declare a "national housing emergency."

"Honestly, it could be a good idea. Housing affordability in the US is basically at the worst point in about 40 years. It's been stuck there for ~3 years now," said Long.

She showed two charts that illustrate the problem: "1) Housing unaffordability is worst in 40 years, 2) Home prices and rent prices have shot up dramatically compared to median incomes."

"While housing is mostly a local government issue (zoning, etc.), there are some things the national government can do to help," Long added. 'And that list goes well beyond the Fed lowering interest rates. We need more home building. There are many ways to help incentivize (or subsidize) that."

It's the same thing that real estate developers have been saying for the past two months, CNBC reported. Quality low-income housing is too expensive to develop and still generate the profits they seek. He's hoping that government rescue might be on the way.

Also Anthony Salvanto (CBS NEWS) reports,

Heading toward fall, Americans are continuing to rate the U.S. economy negatively, as most pick "uncertain" and "struggling" to describe its current state. Ratings dipped again slightly over the last month.

A third of Americans pick the descriptors "rebounding" or "expanding." (Respondents could pick multiple words.) And more than twice as many said "unfair" as "fair."

Positive views of the economy have been hovering in a range in the 30s all year. They had ticked up slightly toward the end of July, though today it's above the low hit back in the winter.

Behind those views is much the same story as it has been for a while: Prices. Two-thirds say prices are still going up and, perhaps more importantly for outlook, two-thirds expect them to keep going up, at least a little.

And what happens when you entwine voter revulsion with regards to Chump when it comes to both Epstein and revulsion to the damaged economy? Alex Henderson explains:

Although Donald Trump has run for president four times — first with a short-lived Reform Party campaign in 2000, then three times as the GOP nominee — 2024 marked the first time Trump won the national popular vote. It was a close election: Trump only won the popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent, but he made it past the finish line and successfully attracted voters beyond his hardcore MAGA base. Those new Trump voters include Latinos, independents, Gen-Z, and members of the Manosphere.

But in an op-ed published by Bloomberg News, Nia-Malika Henderson argues that 2024 Trump voters under 35 are having buyer's remorse.

"One of the most surprising datapoints from President Donald Trump's 2024 victory was his strength among young voters, a demographic that is typically a core part of the Democratic base," explains Henderson, who formerly covered politics for CNN and the Washington Post. "In 2020, President Joe Biden won this age group (18-29) by 24 points. Yet, in 2024, Trump closed the gap, with former Vice President Kamala Harris winning this same group by just 4 points. Now, a Pew Research Center poll shows Trump steadily losing ground with a larger young cohort, revealing weaknesses in the very group that helped him win in November."

If you need some video on this reality of Chump destroying the economy, here's a report from this morning's MORNING JOE.

And from earlier this week, here's FORBES.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), along with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), and Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.), led 55 members of Congress in opening a new investigation into the Trump administration’s arrest, detention, and deportation of non-citizen service members, veterans, and military families. The lawmakers wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) demanding an explanation for these practices, which go against decades of precedent and long-standing DHS policy indicating that military service offers protection from immigration enforcement for military service members, veterans, and their immediate family members.

“The Trump administration’s [actions] threaten U.S. national security interests and erode the U.S. military’s credibility when it makes promises to its service members who have put their lives on the line for our country,” wrote the lawmakers.

Over the past century, hundreds of thousands of immigrant service members have fought for the nation and contributed to victories in military conflicts. Non-citizen service members fill in recruitment gaps and provide foreign language skills and medical expertise to the military that are difficult for recruiters to find and expensive to teach.

In April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded its former policy of considering military service a “significant mitigating factor” when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policy less protective of service members and their families.

Following the policy change, the wife of a Marine Corps veteran and mother of two young children was detained by ICE during a green card application appointment — despite having lived in the United States for over a decade. Then, in June, a father of three Marines was repeatedly punched in the head by masked ICE agents, and a U.S. citizen who served in the Army was rounded up in an indiscriminate raid and held without explanation. The Trump administration’s actions against veterans and non-citizen military families have even prompted at least one veteran to leave the United States.

Multiple constituents affected by the administration’s reckless changes to immigration protections for military families have shared their stories with representatives in Congress. For example, Sae Joon Park, a disabled Purple Heart veteran residing in Hawaii, was forced to self-deport by the Trump administration despite having lived in the U.S. for nearly five decades. Additionally, Maria Pelaez, a mother of an active-duty U.S. Marine, was detained by ICE, and ICE has refused to release her despite a judge’s decision to grant her bond.

The Trump administration may be targeting military families using information they voluntarily provided to the federal government in connection with their service. When applying for immigration benefits, like “parole in place,” military families provide extensive personal data, including their physical addresses, physically-identifying information like eye color and height, country of birth, and more. Now, USCIS may be using that information to refer service members or their families to ICE for removal proceedings, even if they were previously deprioritized for enforcement actions.

Even as the administration took steps to backtrack on its previous immigration enforcement protections, military recruiters continued using immigration benefits as a talking point to recruit non-citizens, “promoting enlistment as a way to gain ‘protection from deportation’ for family members.” Only recently did the Marines stop the practice and it is unclear whether other military services continue to use this recruitment tactic.

“We demand an explanation for why DHS is betraying its promises to service members who play a key role in protecting U.S. national security,” wrote the members.

The coalition asked the two agencies to provide, by September 16, 2025: information about the number of non-citizens serving in the military; a list of service members, veterans, and family members who have been arrested, detained, or deported since January 2025; the impact of these new immigration policies on recruitment, readiness, and morale; what information about non-citizen service members and military family members the Pentagon provides DHS and ICE; and more.

Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Patty Murrary (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined in signing the letter.

House: Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Cleo Fields (D-La.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Henry Johnson (D-Ga.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Hilary Scholten (D-Mich.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Derek Tran (D-Calif.), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) joined in signing the letter.

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The following sites updated: