Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills): 9/21/25

Friday, September 26, 2025

John Roberts destroyed the Supreme Court

Betty's doing a joint-post so I told her I'd cover the court for her. The Supreme Court. Growing up, I really looked up to the Supreme Court. I thought it stood for us, We The People. There were times, as I grew older, that I would disagree with a verdict, but I could see how past verdicts (precedents) applied and see the Court holding up justice and equality.

That all changed with the ascension of John Roberts. The blockhead. I was at the confirmation hearing. I didn't trust him then.

Sure enough, he has destroyed the Supreme Court. DOBBS was the first indication that the Court was a farce -- six crooks destroying the nation. And we've seen it time and again since. Why?

Roberts doesn't respect precedent. He and the other five crooks insisted that certain things were settled law (ROE being one) and that they abided by established law (precedent).

They are nothing but liars and crooks. The six were groomed by the Federalist Society, taught how to lie in their confirmation hearings before the Senate, taught how to trick and deceive. Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito both have sugar daddies bribing them but that's probably true of all six of the crooks. That's why Roberts refused to implement any real reform when we first found out all the money Clarence and his diapered wife Ginny were scamming from their sugar daddy.

It's not just Betty that's noted the corruption on the Court. The Supreme Court once had huge approval scores and trust scores. The American people, as poll after poll shows, no longer has faith in the Supreme Court.

Sarah K. Burris (RAW STORY) reports:

Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins is at it again, turning his frustration with a criminal case on the U.S. Supreme Court in a recent ruling.

The case involved a man who was interrogated, and testimony from that interrogation was used against him, but there were no records of the interrogation via video, recording, or notes, the local elections magazine Bolts reported on Thursday.

Eddins spelled out that the Supreme Court effectively created the problem.

"No United States Supreme Court opinion has tackled the recording of custodial interrogations. If a case did, though, we would still look to our state constitution first," he wrote.

He went on to attack the conservative majority for "pitting its jurisprudence against the guarantees the state constitution can provide."

Eddins explained that the Hawaii Constitution’s due process clause “offers safety to Hawaii’s people that exceeds the federal constitution’s suddenly fluid protections."

Specifically, he's talking about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which he wrote erased "a generations-long constitutional right, stripping autonomy from half the population, and empowering states to force birth.”

Again, we've all caught on to the corruption that is the Supreme Court. Good for Judge Eddins for telling it like it is. Irin Carmon (INTELLIGENCER) reports:

The twice-annual meeting of the Judicial Conference is, historically, dry as dust. Overseen by Chief Justice John Roberts, the gathering of federal judges from across the country meets twice a year and typically concerns itself with budget or procedures. But at the most recent gathering last week on Tuesday, Roberts was subject to unusually stern rebukes by two guest speakers: Democratic representatives Hank Johnson and Jamie Raskin of the House Judiciary Committee.

I have no faith in the Court. I think there's needs to be a serious investigation on the part of Congress to address the bribery. I think we need laws passed immediately setting official and legal guidelines for the behavior the Supreme Court justices since they aren't smart enough to grasp that being on the bench doesn't mean you can accept bribes.

We need term limits. And other things but I'll save that for another time.

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

Friday, September 25, 2025. Lawrence O'Donnell exposes the rot in Chump's trumped up case against Comey, an ICE thug attacks a woman in a court house and it's on camera, his shoving her, his knocking her to the ground, Sarah "Fergie" find that her lies about Epstein are not sticking, turns out Pam daBimbo Bondi wanted press for herself back when she did the binders and said the Epstein client list was on her desk (the administration explained to her back then to shut up about Epstein), Ezra Klein attacks abortion rights (that's what is I'm not in the mood to do a walk through, go back to January 2005 -- our archives -- when we last had to face the Bull Meese and their war on reproductive rights), Americans overwhelming see Chump as the threat to free speech that he truly is, and much more.

At the start, let's note Lawrence O'Donnell from his MSNBC show last night explaining Chump's illegal targeting of James Comey.

We've got a ton to cover. Space permitting, we'll come back to the topic, otherwise Ruth covered it last night Donald Chump: Convicted Felon and War Criminal"" and you can refer also to THE NEW REPUBLIC's "Transcript: Damning Reports Expose Trump’s Corruption in Comey Fiasco."

Want to see something disgusting? Steam this video at THE NEW YORK TIMES of an ICE agent slamming a woman to the ground. Andy Newman and Luis Ferré-Sadurní report for the paper:

A federal agent shoved a woman and pushed her to the floor in front of what appeared to be her two young children on Thursday during a confrontation at an immigration courthouse in Manhattan.

A video shows a wrenching encounter in a hallway of 26 Federal Plaza in which the woman and a girl are desperately clinging to the woman’s husband, who is being detained. Agents pull the hair of the woman and the girl to get them away from the man.

After agents pry the family apart and lead the resisting man away, the woman yells, “You guys don’t care about anything!” in Spanish at an agent who is trying to get her to leave and telling her, “Adios, adios.” She puts a hand on his chest, and he shoves her. When she tries to grab onto him, he pushes her down.

This is not America, let's not pretend that it is. It's hell and it's brought you to be the tedious contributions of Convicted Felon Donald Chump and the corrupt Supreme Court.

These are thugs unleashed by Donald Chump who are not bound by laws -- per the Supreme Court -- and who terrorize people daily. And there is no real legal recourse presently, none at all. Federal courts try to do their job and follow the law -- including the Constitution -- and for that Chump attacks them publicly and the Supreme Court nullifies them.

That's why the mid-terms are so important.

I see so much disgusting garbage right now. And I'm not talking about Chump or MAGA for this point. I'm talking about Democrats who don't have spines. They've tried to toss transpeople to the side. It's easier, they think, to abandon trans people than to fight for what's right.

It's probably is very easy for them. They're spineless.

But they'll abandon the trans community first and then they'll move on to --

Wait. They've already moved on. Ezra Klein's saying the Democratic Party has to give up support for reproductive rights (see Rebecca's "ezzie klein the fake democrat who's now attacking reproductive rights").

They're spineless and their cowards.

They're not going to help us win in November 2026. The American people will not reward the Democratic Party for cowardly abandoning principles as the spineless seek a quick fix.

These same people are having a fit over Zohran's campaign. There are reasons to criticize him -- true of any politician. But the spineless are doing nothing to help us turn out votes.

Reproductive freedom is a very popular position with the American public. Republicans realize that which is why they don't like a referendum on reproductive rights at election time.

These Ezra Klein's know nothing. Let's remember what that spineless crap is noted for: Lying.

Journo-List was about lying. That was Klein's baby. It was an attempt to fool the American people. A number of journalists got on this list-serv that Klein started. It was there where they told the truth and it was there where they sought feedback on how to lie.

Katha Pollitt watches Sarah Palin's national debut as John McCain's running mate and she freaks out. She takes it to the private list where she says that Sarah seemed likeable -- the horror! -- and she gets the feedback she needs to write, the very next day, at THE NATION about how awful Sarah Palin is, how uninspiring, how this, how that.

A leftist is a sexist pig nightly on MSNBC. We've never pimped him here so we'll leave him unnamed but I'm sure most will know who I mean -- he's no longer with MSNBC. Do his leftist peers hold him accountable? No. On the private list-serv they talk about how hateful he is towards women. But Scott Horton -- not ANTIWAR.COM's Scott Horton, this is the attorney who got trouble for misrepresenting his credentials -- and I'm oh-so-glad to have been a part of that take down -- Scott could say sure he's a sexist pig but he calls out torture so let's not say anything about his sexism.

These people are liars. They are filth. They were paid for their opinions and they didn't share them with you. They did share on the private list-serv and they plotted there how to be 'on point' and how to trick and deceive.

No one needs that but that's all Ezra has to offer.

No Democrat has to endorse Zohran. My personal opinion is you should only endorse in a race you can vote in. You know what race all Americans can vote in? The race for president.

We remember that, right? Last November. The only real choices were Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.

Each month the Michigan Green Party sends an announcement to us. I like them. In the past, for years, I've included everything they've e-mailed.

2024 changed that. Jill Stein had no shot at winning and shouldn't have run to begin with. She ran a lousy campaign in 2012 and we noted that after the campaign. That she would be given a chance in 2016 was bad enough. Again in 2024? Ridiculous. You're not a real party. That's reality. But the other reality? You're not trying to be a real party. First off, a real party doesn't nominate the same person three times. Especially not a third time when the country is getting tired of all the elderly people in elected office and Jill was 74 years old.

There's more. In 2023, Jill and the ethically challenged Chris Hedges tried to make Cornel West the nominee. Cornel eventually caught on that what they were promising couldn't be delivered. They tried to top-down force him on the party. This was after Chris and Cornel were going to be the nominees for whatever that fringe party was. And most people don't even know that to this day. Cornel, early in his People's Party -- that's what it was -- made the mistake of being honest in an interview and talking about how Chris recruited him for the presidential candidate and Chris was going to be his running mate but then at the last moment Chris' wife convinced Chris not to run and blah blah blah.

Why does it matter? Because Chris LIED in interviews and in the written word (online, I don't believe anyone bothers to print that crackpot's nonsense anymore). That's the mind set of the Ezra Klein's in fact.

I have my problems with DSA and I've noted that at this site many, many times oer the years.

Zohran's saying he's a Socialist. That takes care of my biggest problem -- lying to voters.

So while Ezra's trying to trick voters and weaken the party, Zohran's being honest and possibly bringing in voters to the Democratic Party. We'll see with the election.

If someone doesn't want to endorse him, they shouldn't. And people should shut up about Chuck Schumer. If Chuck doesn't want to endorse him, that's fine.

And I'm sure Zohran's fine with it. 2024 was between Kamala and Chump. And Zohran refused to endorse Kamala. Was part of movement to get people to not to vote for Kamala.

If people are bothered by this (see Stan's "Rachel Maddow and Kamala Harris" and Rebecca's "big tent? doesn't work just 1 way"), that is their right.

But, at his best, Zohran is trying to enlarge the party. And there's a great discussion about that now, about how to bring in leftists who aren't Democrats into the party. The way the GOP used to work to bring Libertarians into the party in other decades or the way today's GOP works to bring White Nationalists and KKK into their party.

While Zohran tries to bring leftists into the party, Ezra is working to try to drive leftists out of the party.

If you're a Democrat, whether you support Zohran's run for mayor or not, I hope you can appreciate that he's doing real work on party building whereas bean counter Ezra Klein is doing no work at all and going back to failed strategies that lead to lukewarm turn out and bad elected officials. What's the idiot's name that the Ezras all praised in the '00s. Jim Webb. They loved him. He was what they wanted the party to be -- the newly christened Democrat. Rah Rah Rah!

If you believed their lies.

We didn't I reported on the hearing where he came out against money for Agent Orange victims. We covered it here and other than veterans outlets, no one else did. They all wanted to protect Jimmy. He was and remains a piece of crap. And the Ezras in their haste to sell out to anyone put him in the Senate and he betrayed veterans. The press didn't want to report that. Even when he couldn't run for re-election because veterans and the families of veterans had made it clear that his Agent Orange remarks and position meant they would not vote for him again.

Jim Webb was a Vietnam veteran who was more concerned about the financial cost to the US government of Agent Orange related costs than he was about others who served in Vietnam and whose health destroyed by Agent Orange.

I don't want these fakes brought over to this party. I think we all saw the damage Joe Manchin -- and his evil twin "Green Party" Krysten Sinema -- did in the Senate. (And if you didn't figure out who the no longer with MSNBC sexist was -- Krysten dated him -- which was another reason people should have known not to trust her.)

Offline, when I'm offered something, I'll consider it in many cases. I'm okay with working with people I don't know. I'm okay working with people you can work with -- meaning, I've worked with them before and they might be great fun or might not be but they get the work done. But if I've worked with you and you made the experience hell? No, I'm not going back into a situation like that. You've burned that bridge.

In terms of politics, I'm fine with trying something news. I'm fine with someone like Zohran trying to bring new voters in. I am never fine with people picking up failed policies of the past and trying to pass them off as something new. There is nothing new about Ezra Klein's proposals and they do not increase turnout and they kill off enthusiasm.

In 2024, Zohran didn't endorse Kamala. It would be wonderful if he could admit that was a mistake. Because it was. But whether he admits it or not, we have got to win in the mid-terms.

That woman thrown down by ICE -- abused by a so-called officer of the law?

That woman being slammed down the hall and then shoved to the ground by that repugnant piece of trash who thinks he has the right to abuse people? She is all of us. We stand up now or we say we consent to that treatment. The easiest way to stand up to it now is to register to vote if you aren't already registered and then come November 2026 we turn out and we turn out for Democrats. We put power of the House and the Senate into Democratic hands.

Back to the NYT article:

Brad Lander, the city comptroller, a Democrat and frequent ICE critic who was arrested in June while trying to escort a migrant whom agents were trying to arrest, denounced the agent who manhandled the woman. Mr. Lander was arrested again last week, along with other Democratic elected officials, at 26 Federal Plaza after the officials demanded access to cells used by ICE to detain migrants.

“An ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids,” he wrote on social media. He added: “She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital.” On the video, the woman can be seen standing up from her fall, and agents lead her and the children away. Mr. Lander said the agents who detained the man did not show a warrant or give lawful grounds for detention.

This is not a time to play. This is our country and we have got to protect it. Voting is essential in the mid-terms. Speaking out right now is essential. Those who are able to should participate in the No Kings October 18th rallies.

All roads lead to Epstein? Katie Hawkinson (INDEPENDENT) reports:

Attorney General Pam Bondi only gave White House aides a few minutes’ notice before she infamously handed out binders to a group of MAGA influencers about the investigation into the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, a new report reveals.

In late February, Bondi handed out thick binders titled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” to a group of MAGA influencers and activists at the White House.

The move would go on to generate public backlash from the MAGA base, in part because nearly all of the information inside was already in the public domain. That didn’t stop the influencers from proudly showing them off as they exited the White House in a now-famous photo.

Officials pulled an all-nighter to put the binders together, and President Donald Trump’s communications aides didn’t know Bondi was going to distribute them at the influencer event until she told them just a few minutes before it began, The Wall Street Journal reported.

After that meeting, White House aides complained to Justice Department officials that Bondi’s drawing attention to the Epstein case wasn’t helpful, the Journal reported. Top White House officials also told Bondi to tamp down the Epstein issue instead of highlighting it, according to the outlet.

So Pam da Bimbo Bondi needed some press attention and planned a big photo op but neglected to tell Chump and others before the plan was in motion.

We know they're unqualified, right? But do we also get that Chump should have fired Pam, Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth because of the embarrassments and problems they created.

His failure to do so not only demonstrates he's not up for the job but it has also allowed this problem to continue.

And Bondi wanted the publicity. All of his Epstein problems today can be placed at her feet. It's to promote the binders that she goes on FOX "NEWS" and they ask her about the client list. And what does she say when asked about the Epstein client list? “It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that.”

Hawkinson notes:

Chump the con artist was having a good run. He's thugs rushing to defend him and to lie for him. Then along came Epstein to tear the teflon coating off. Suddenly, his voters who actually cared about protecting children and young adults from sexual abuse saw that all the whispers and Tweets from the Roseanne Barrs (I'm wording that as kindly as I can) was nonsense and garbage. While the press turned a blind eye during Chump's first term, Rosanne and others were insisting he was taking on a global pedophile ring. That lie was swallowed. Chump was moving. On the move. Even after he lost the 2020 election the lies continues. I have no idea why the press didn't cover them. By not covering these lies, they gave them credence. So Chump was really president -- the lie went -- and Biden was about to be arrested -- or had been arrested -- and Chump would be the president just as soon as Chump completely demolished this global sex trafficking.

It's like how the world was supposed to come to an end -- for the good people -- two days ago. Where was the coverage of that? Mass hysteria is not derailed by silence.

A lot of Chump voters believed in him. Thought he was the protector of children. Convinced that the mass media was covering up and/or involved in the global pedophile ring.

Don't know what to tell you, folks, but you got conned. And it would be nice if Roseanne and others who conned you would step up to the plate and say, "No, he doesn't care."

If he did care, he would have been addressing this.

He's a rotten politician and he is of 'the establishment' he pretends to attack. Grasp that. He didn't have the class to be part of it, so he was on the fringes. But the fringes didn't make one of the people.

And the Epstein scandal made it clear he was the swamp.

That's why he can't recover to this day.

Most people on the left and in the middle -- and even some on the right (and even some on the right who supported him) -- were unaware of how deep this lie was and how it was told endlessly -- not just via QAnon.

What we're learning right now -- all of us paying attention -- is that while Chump did stop the release of files because his name was in it; he was actually never for any release to begin with. Why? Probably because Pam telling him he was in the files was not a shock. How many times he was in them may have been. But they were telling Pam -- right after her binders moment -- to knock it off, that the Epstein matter wasn't something that they wanted to shine a light on.

The Republicans in Congress -- and Chump in the White House -- appear to want a shut down right now and are trying to force it into being. As Ed Kilgore (INTELLIGENCER) noted yesterday:

We’re now five days from a government shutdown, with no negotiations between the two parties in sight. At one point, President Trump agreed to meet with Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, but then called the meeting off, saying their “unserious and ridiculous demands” meant it wouldn’t accomplish anything. You’d still think that for the sake of appearances, the Republican leaders who control Congress would keep their troops in town in case of a last-minute deal to avoid a shutdown or to get stuff done before it happens. Instead, House Speaker Mike Johnson is keeping the House in recess.

Punchbowl News has the official GOP rationalization:

Johnson doesn’t want Republicans back in Washington next week with nothing to do. The House Republican leadership feels as if they’ve already done their job by passing a CR. Calling members back is a concession they have more work to do, GOP sources said.

Okay, maybe. But there’s another reason Johnson might want the House floor inactive in the days just ahead. Democrat Adelita Grijalva’s special-election victory in Arizona on Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant by her father’s death means there will be 214 Democrats in the House once she’s sworn in. She’s indicated she will instantly sign the discharge petition sponsored by Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would require the Justice Department to release everything it has on that explosive scandal. Three other Republicans, all of whom have been outspoken in various ways about pedophilia and sexual abuse, have signed the petition as well: Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Nancy Mace. Grijalva is likely to provide the 218th signature, the last needed to put the Epstein Act before the House. This is very much not what Johnson wants; he’s been ordered by the White House to let the president and Pam Bondi handle the Epstein matter without any messy and potentially disastrous public disclosures.

Moving over to VARIETY, this morning Alex Ritman reports:

Natalie Dormer has said she won’t promote ITV and Britbox‘s upcoming drama series “The Lady,” in which she plays Sarah Ferguson, following revelations over the Duchess of York’s connections to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Brit actress has also said she has donated her entire salary from the show to charities focused on child abuse.

The news comes after a leaked email from 2011 was recently published appearing to show Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew, apologizing to Epstein having publicly rejected him years after he was jailed for sex offenses in 2008.

If you've been following this story you know that Sarah and her staff have been anonymously leaking to the press to try to create sympathy for Sarah. They've tried the she-was-afraid-he-would-sue-her. Now they're trying to convince people that she was afraid he would harm her children. A low estimate of the British royal family's wealth is $24 billion -- a high estimate takes them to almost $100 billion. They are protected twenty-four seven. That Sarah and her lackeys are trying to insult people's intelligence goes to just how desperate Sarah is to try to convince people what happened didn't really happen. Maia Davies, and Matt Spivey (BBC NEWS) report:

The family of Virginia Giuffre has called for the Duchess of York to be stripped of her courtesy royal title after she called sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a "supreme friend" in a 2011 email.

Seven charities have cut ties with Sarah Ferguson since the email - in which she also appeared to apologise for her public criticism of Epstein after claiming to have broken off contact - emerged last Sunday.

On Thursday, Ms Giuffre's sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, told BBC Newsnight: "If you are not safeguarding the most vulnerable people in your community, why should you hold those positions of power?"

Harry Thompson (DAILY BEAST) reports, "Most Americans fear for the safety of free speech under President Donald Trump, a new poll has revealed. New data from Quinnipiac University showed 53 percent feel “pessimistic” about the sanctity of the right granted by the First Amendment despite Trump running on a promise to protect free speech." Of course they do. And of course they should.

We've got a nit wit as Attorney General. Pam daBimbo Bondi. She's threatened to crack down on those Americans who dare to practice their First Amendment rights. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) notes:

We get it: not everyone is a free-speech expert. A huge part of our job at FIRE is educating the public about their First Amendment rights, the scope of free-speech law, and the foundational principles that make free expression so important.

Most people don’t have the time to get in the weeds like we do, so it’s understandable for the average American to sometimes get things wrong about free speech. But when you’re the attorney general of the United States, like Pam Bondi, you really should know better.

While discussing the assassination of Charlie Kirk and campus antisemitism on the Katie Miller Podcast, Bondi said the Justice Department would investigate and prosecute incidents of “hate speech.” While she’s trying to go into damage-control mode and walk back some of her mistakes, it’s important to correct our nation’s chief law enforcement officer on what is and isn’t protected expression.

“There’s free speech, and then there’s hate speech. And there is no place — especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie — [for that] in our society.”

This is, to put it bluntly, absolutely false — so-called “hate speech” is free speech.

The idea that “hate speech” is a separate and unprotected category of expression is one that we, unfortunately, have had to debunk time and time again. The fact is there is no “hate speech” exception to the First Amendment, and there can’t be. The Supreme Court has rejected the notion on multiple occasions, and the reasons for this should be obvious to someone in Bondi’s position.

What constitutes “hate speech” is inherently subjective, so it’s impossible to narrowly define it in a way that passes constitutional muster — let alone in a way that doesn’t empower the government to target speech it disfavors.
As Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan II wrote in 1971’s Cohen v. California, “one man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric.” Or as Justice Samuel Alito wrote in Matal v. Tam almost four decades later, “the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.’” In that case, the Court unanimously found that the government couldn’t deny a trademark to an Asian-American band called the Slants because it found the name disparaging.

Some consider criticism of Israel or Black Lives Matter to be hate speech. Others believe criticizing LGBTQ+ advocacy or Christian conservatism fits the description. And some, like President Trump, want to push the idea that even critical news coverage of an elected official — namely, him — can be a form of hate speech.

Apart from the inescapably subjective sentiment that “hate speech is any speech I hate,” the only thing on which proponents of treating hate speech as unprotected agree is the desire to punish it. This apparently includes Pam Bondi:

“We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”

This is absolutely chilling. It’s why carving out a “hate speech” exception to the First Amendment is so dangerous. It grants the government the power not only to decide what constitutes hateful speech, but to punish it. And that dual empowerment inevitably facilitates attacks on the right to dissent, criticize, and hold accountable whoever is in power. Nothing is more antithetical to what America stands for than enabling federal speech police.

At the Libertarian CATO Institute, Thomas A. Berry denounced daBimbo Bondi's 'understanding' of the First Amendment. Free speech goes across political lines, support for it does. When the government attempted to get ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel last week, US Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican joined other Americans in denouncing this assault on free speech and he wasn't worried about party lines. Left, right and center most of us in this country value the First Amendment, grasp how important it is to democracy and consider it to be one of the finest rights we have.

Americans don't trust Chump or his administration because they can't.

Chump said he would release ll The Epstein files. And didn't. Pam daBimbo Bondi said that Epstein's client list was on her desk and would be released shortly. And then she said it didn't exist.

There's the person vendetta way Chump conducts himself going after one person after another.

Let's do a story -- and I'm rushing this morning so my apologies to my friend taking my dictation and to anyone who struggles to follow the leaps as I rush through this -- Jane Fonda got arrested at an airport coming back into the United States from Canada while Tricky Dick was president

She was carrying vitamins. They tried to say it was drugs. She was held for hours and hours and she was having her period and they would not let her go to the restroom because they did not have a female police officer. Again, hours and hours. Jane was then accused of kicking the police officer. If she did, good for her. You try being on your period and waiting forever because some asshole won't call in to get a female police officer to show up at the airport so you can go to the bathroom.

But the thing about the Chumps is they're idiots. And worse, they are greedy idiots.

Jane was actually detained because she was on Nixon's enemies list. It was an actual list. Her mail was to be opened, she was to be harassed when going through customs, her calls were to be tapped, etc, etc. Supposedly, the only agency that refused to follow upon Nixon's illegal requests was the IRS.

The case against Jane was dropped. Nixon was a crook but he wasn't greed driven the way Chump is.

Or the way the police officer was. He wasn't on duty at the time, he was moonlighting as a security officer at the airport. And he was kicked!!! Kicked!!!

And he was greedy.

So he decided to profit from the incident. He sued.

That was wonderful because it meant that discovery would expose the list -- that Jane and her attorney Mark Lane felt existed (they were right but I'm not using "knew" here because they suspected it, no one outside Nixon's circle knew it existed).

Rather than reveal the existence of the enemies list in court proceedings (from the civil case the greedy officer brought), Nixon had the entire matter dropped. Because it's illegal.

And Chump doesn't care that it's illegal. He's quite open about the people he's targeting. Stupid and greedy.

And that further erodes trust Americans might have otherwise had in him.

Steven Benen (MADDOW BLOG, MSNBC) notes:

If Donald Trump’s public comments are any indication, the president has been preoccupied with George Soros lately, repeatedly referencing the Hungarian American philanthropist in multiple Fox News appearances.

The Republican also recently targeted Soros online, posting an item to his social media platform that said the wealthy progressive donor should face racketeering charges after supporting “violent protests.”

The baseless accusations were ridiculous — there’s no evidence whatsoever to suggest the Soros family or the Open Society Foundations have financed “violent protests” — but the remarks were also largely overlooked as pointless presidential palaver. As I noted in a post, Trump’s weird rants against Soros are easy to shrug off unless the Justice Department starts acting on them.

So it’s significant that The New York Times reported a senior Justice Department official has “instructed more than a half dozen U.S. attorneys’ offices to draft plans to investigate” a Soros-backed group.

Or take the effort on the part of the administration to go after an FBI agent. Andrew Goudsward (REUTERS) reports:

A U.S. Justice Department official on Wednesday retracted a demand for information from an FBI agent who testified against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a defamation case that resulted in a $1.3 billion verdict for spreading lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting.

The request came days after Ed Martin, the head of a Justice Department effort to remedy instances of alleged weaponization of the U.S. government against President Donald Trump and his supporters, sent a letter to the FBI agent’s lawyer seeking information about whether the agent received a financial benefit from his participation in the case.

FBI Special Agent William Aldenberg, a plaintiff in the case, testified at Jones’ civil trial in 2022 about responding to the scene at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 students and six staff members were slain.

Chump is the enemy of free speech. Even some of his one-time supporters are starting to recognize that reality. It's as plain as the Hitler mustache on racist Megyn Kelly's best friend Alex Jones.

We need to be winding down but this morning, Julian E. Barnes and Helene Cooper (NEW YORK TIMES) report:

Every four years U.S. intelligence officials have published Global Trends, a public document that predicts what challenges the United States — and the world — will face in the coming decades.

With the intelligence community often focused on immediate issues, the Global Trends report has taken a longer-term look. Past editions warned of threats and shifts that came to pass, including climate change challenges, new immigration patterns and the risk of a pandemic.

But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, led by Tulsi Gabbard, is eliminating the group that compiles the report.

Some of the warnings, most notably on climate change, had become politically inconvenient, according to former officials.

[. . .]

The elimination of the office last month was little noticed because it came amid a flurry of activity by Ms. Gabbard, including the closure of the National Intelligence University and sharp cutbacks of officers working on foreign malign influence and election threats.

The idiot Tulsi should never have been made Director of National Intelligence to begin with. As a cult member, her first alleigence will always be to "Guru Chris" -- her own personal savior. That's why you don't staff governments with cult members. But she also lacks experience and holding that position she puts the nation at risk due to her stupidity alone. Closing down that work group leaves us all at risk.

As we note every time the idiot pulls another stupid move, if we get attacked, it's on her head and on Chump's. She's not qualified. She was never qualified.

Let's wind down with this from THE BLACK COMMENTATOR:

The Black Commentator Issue #1056 is now Online

September 25, 2025

Read issue 1056

Our email address is BlackCommentator@gmail.com

Our voicemail number is 856.823.1739

The Black Commentator | P.O. Box 2635, A weekly publication dedicated to economic justice, social justice and peace.,
Tarpon Springs, FL 34688-2635

The following sites updated:

Thursday, September 25, 2025

16 years dead and, sorry, Michael Jackson is still a pedophile

I know none of them are really Michael Jackson's biological children -- he used a sperm donor -- but you'd think they'd have some know-how, the kids, and grasp that every time the world thinks about MJ being a pedophile, it lowers the family worth a little. But apparently Paris is going to let the pedophilia come front and center yet again instead of just settling lawsuits:

Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who have accused Michael Jackson of sexually assaulting them as children, are demanding $400 million in court, Us Weekly can exclusively report.

John Branca and John McClain, the two men in charge of the late pop star's estate, dropped the revelation in court documents related to Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson's separate request about legal fees.

In court docs filed on September 15, the executors explained that they spent a substantial amount of money to employ various law firms that helped with the estate, which included the attorneys fighting Robson and Safechuck's lawsuit.

Branca, 74, and McClain claim that if the court sides with Paris, 27, - who does not want the estate to pay all of the fees - it would have "profoundly destabilizing consequences for the estate."

Maybe now that Janet had the surgery, Paris can climb into aunty's lap again. Poor Janet. Forgotten and unwanted. Everyone turned their back on that woman when she did her part to advance Chump. That's why her residency did so poorly. There she was, fresh from the scalpel, had all that fat cut out and almost looked like the Janet of the 90s but even that wasn't enough to fill the seats in Vegas. She'd shown her trashy side and advanced Chump. So no one cares about her anymore.

She'll be fat again in about a year. Ten more years, she'll haul her fat self back out on the road. Another dance tour where she can't dance so they have her do arm movements.

It's over for Janet. I love when Paris tried to be a recording star and we were supposed to pretend like she's have the family singing talent even though she's not Michael's biological child. Her father was a pedophile and a client of Jeffrey Epstein. We get that, right? That list of clients Thomas Masse referenced in the Congressional hearing, Michael Jackson was on it.

I'm guessing the Jackon bio-pic is a sure failure now. And should be.

I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people over their rush to lie for MJ. A grown man doing 'rubba' with little boys in bed. Willful denial to pretend that he wasn't a pedophile. He was and he largely got away with it which is why he continued to sleep with boys after Jordan. I can't believe any film studio would go to the trouble of glorifying Michael Jackson with a movie. But a film studio? That's what Harvey Weinstein ran, right? No morals at all.

Grown men don't become 'buddies' with boys and don't have sleepovers with them. Doesn't happen. Quit deluding yourselves. He abused those boys and we all know it.

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

Thursday, September 25, 2025. Senator Adam Schiff is calling for answers from the FCC following the commission's attack on free speech, is Putin mocking Chump, FOX "NEWS" calls for the United Nations to be bombed so let's all forget the nonsense about 'watch the rhetoric," Senator Elizabeth Warren is concerned that sports fans will be cheated by ESPN's new deal, a paper's reporting that despite Chump's claims that he knew nothing about Ghislaine Maxwell being moved to Camp Fed he and Pam Bondi had discussed it before the move took place, and much more.

Let me start with Jimmy Kimmel. Ava and I have covered media at THIRD for twenty years and counting. If there was a story to Jimmy's return, it would really go over there. I covered Jimmy here as part of a news story -- it was a story of corruption and greed and a warning against media consolidation. A number of e-mails indicate some thought I would be covering his return the day after.

Sorry.

I'm expecting a media narrative to be imposed. If it is, the one I'm expecting, Ava and I will probably try to tackle it at THIRD. Try.

I'm not saying, "Ava and I will cover it at THIRD." Those days are gone, days where by Thursday we have some idea regarding what we'll be covering. With a psychopath in the White House, advance planning is out the window. When adults are in the White House, the weekends don't careen around from one story to the next. Ava and I are, like the rest of the country, caught in a "Bitter Sweet Symphony."

No change, I can change

I can change, I can change

But I'm here in my mould

I am here in my mould

But I'm a million different people from one day to the next

I can't change my mould

No, no, no, no, no, no, no

-- "Bittersweet Symphony," written by Richard Ashcroft, first appears on The Verve's album URBAN HYMNS

A TV topic we do need to address in the snapshot?

Forget rhetoric

The death of The Demagogue showed you what trash MAGA, Chump and others are. And also what liars.

A hate merchant dies and Pam da Bimbo Bondi threatens American citizens with what they can and cannot say.

And stupid asses in Congress -- both sides -- start calling for the rhetoric to be lowered. As Mike noted last night, the idiot Markwayne Markwayne is a liar and an inciter so the idea that anyone's going to listen to that trash is already crazy. .

Let's note these psychopaths for what they truly are.

Governor Gavin Newsome gets under their skin as he parodies dementia Donald Chump online. FOX "NEWS" -- including mannish Laura Ingraham -- begin attacking Gavin and saying things like his social media posts are not dignified and no governor should be doing that.

No Democrat needs advice from FOX "NEWS" first of all. Second, he is parodying Chump and FOX "NEWS" never frets over the social media posts of their dear leader.

Then they attack criticism of Chump especially critiques that liken him to Hitler or point out his fascist streak. It's not hate speech to note how similar he is to Hitler.

Don't want to be compared to Hitler? Stop acting like Hitler.

He has repeatedly attacked the left -- the entire left in this country. And FOX "NEWS" never frets over that -- a president who attacks half the country. This is supposed to be the United States and the president is supposed to lead by example.

This week, if you missed it, Donald Chump showed his ass at the United Nations and he was a public embarrassment. Fatty had to walk up the escalator and the teleprompter didn't work. See our group post last night:

To cover for his dismal performance, that White House -- chiefly Propaganda Pig Karoline Leavitt -- and FOX "NEWS" launched these nutty conspiracy theories -- the UN was out to get Chump.

Jesse Waters was raging on FOX "NEWS" that the US needed to bomb the UN.

As usual, who's preaching violence?

Don't you dare accuse the left of stoking violence when you've got FOX "NEWS" calling for violence and no one in the White House is calling that out.

And the escalator? Chump brought along his personal videographer to record the event. The escalator was already dealing with the morbidly obese Chump and apparently the videographer Chump brought along set off some safety switch.

As for that substandard teleprompter the UN gave Donald?

It was the White House teleprompted. They brought it with them.

Everything that said was a lie.

And they didn't wait for any facts before they started calling for the United Nations to be bombed.

Where's the violence coming from? The right-wing as usual.

The FCC has no control over FOX "NEWS" -- it's a cable station. But any outlet calling for a bombing to take place -- especially without knowing the facts -- should be called out. Find me the Republican that's called out FOX "NEWS" for lying -- that's what they did -- and for stoking hate and violence. Until then, stop your advice about how we need to speak.

And Kristi Noem, to be seen by the public as a slut cheating on her husband for years and now being allowed to work with the man she's supposedly has had this long standing affair with? Stop attacking Gavin for saying you'll have "a bad day." No one needs to hear from the slut breaking number seven of The Ten Commandments. (See Elaine's "Work for Chump and he'll pay you to cheat on your spouse too." THE NEW YORK POST has been reporting on the alleged affair since 2023 and it supposedly started in 2020.)

Another news topic re: TV? From Senator Adam Schiff's office:

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) led eight Senate Democrats in demanding answers from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr about the Commission’s unprecedented assault on freedom of the press, following its implicit threat to revoke’s ABC’s broadcast license if it refused to take action against “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The Senators request all information on FCC communications with ABC, Disney, or any of their affiliates related to Kimmel, including programming content decisions and possible consequences for broadcasters airing certain content. Additionally, the Senators are seeking clarification of how the FCC justifies its threats to revoke licenses, given the First Amendment’s prohibition on government retaliation against protected speech.

“The chilling effects of your public comments are evident in ABC’s response. While Disney reversed course on September 22, 2025, stating that “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will return to air following “thoughtful conversations,” the timing of your threats and the broader pattern of government intimidation make clear that broadcasters were operating under extraordinary duress,” wrote the Senators.

According to reporting, executives at ABC, Disney, and their affiliates convened emergency meetings following the FCC Chair’s statements with sources indicating that executives’ fear of retaliation was the decisive factor in ABC’s initial decision to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

In the letter, the Senators also emphasize that this latest action by the FCC is part of a broader pattern of government coercion of the press emboldened by President Trump and designed to intimidate and silence critical coverage of the Administration.

“As Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, you hold a position of extraordinary trust and responsibility. The FCC’s regulatory authority over broadcast licenses was never intended to serve as a weapon to silence criticism or punish satirical commentary. Your agency’s mission is to serve the public interest, not to act as an enforcement arm for political retribution against media outlets that displease those in power,”the Senators continued.

This letter is also signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

The full text of the letters can be found here and below.

Dear Chairman Carr:

We are writing with grave concern regarding your agency’s role in what can only be described as an unprecedented, purposeful assault on press freedom and the First Amendment. ABC’s decision on September 17, 2025, to remove Jimmy Kimmel’s program following your implicit threats to revoke its broadcast license represents a dangerous watershed moment for free speech in America.

On September 17, 2025, you appeared on The Benny Show podcast and called on licensed broadcasters to “push back on Comcast and Disney” and preempt coverage of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Furthermore, you warned that continuing to broadcast the program could result in “fines or license revocation from the FCC.” You then delivered what can only be described as an ultimatum to broadcasters: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

The chilling effects of your public comments are evident in ABC’s response. While Disney reversed course on September 22, 2025, stating that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to air following “thoughtful conversations,” the timing of your threats and the broader pattern of government intimidation make clear that broadcasters were operating under extraordinary duress. According to reports, senior executives at ABC, Disney, and their affiliates convened emergency meetings following your statements. Multiple sources indicated that executives’ fear of retaliation from the Trump administration was the decisive factor, ultimately leading to the direct censorship of constitutionally protected speech. Meanwhile, Nexstar Media Group – while seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion acquisition – and Sinclair Broadcast Group – also lobbying for favorable regulatory treatment from the FCC in its review of its broadcast business – quickly reacted to your intimidations by preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on their stations.

This fear parallels the same alarm you previously expressed regarding potential action by the FCC to censor disfavored speech. On several prior occasions, you warned of the “chilling transgression of the free speech rights that every media outlet in this country enjoys” and applauded political satire as “one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech.”

Your latest statements are part of a broad pattern of government coercion of the press emboldened by President Trump and your leadership at the FCC, and designed to intimidate and silence critical coverage of the Administration. On July 17, 2025, CBS announced plans to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, just one day after Paramount paid President Trump $16 million to settle a frivolous lawsuit in time to ensure the FCC approved their $8 billion merger with Skydance. President Trump has also filed a $15 billion suit against the New York Times, claiming a series of articles “sought to undermine” the President’s reputation, and a $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

This apparent intimidation has achieved the intended effect. ABC News paid a $15 million settlement plus $1 million in attorney’s fees before Trump even returned to office, likely an effort to mitigate future retaliation from the President. Meta paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit over the President’s account suspension after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, also just days into Trump’s second term. The administration has also moved to defund public media, with an executive order cutting funding to PBS and NPR on claims of “biased and partisan news coverage.” It pushed a rescissions package to claw back $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and removed The Associated Press from the White House press room after the organization refused to adopt the administration’s preferred terminology. Even private media ownership has bent to pressure, with Jeff Bezos dramatically shifting the Washington Post’s editorial direction in what many view as capitulation to the President. Viewed collectively, these actions represent the most blatant and coordinated attack on the free press in American history.

As Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, you hold a position of extraordinary trust and responsibility. The FCC’s regulatory authority over broadcast licenses was never intended to serve as a weapon to silence criticism or punish satirical commentary. Your agency’s mission is to serve the public interest, not to act as an enforcement arm for political retribution against media outlets that displease those in power.

In order to fulfill Congress’s constitutional obligation to perform oversight of regulatory agencies, we request responses to the following questions no later than October 1, 2025:

Have you, the Commission, or FCC staff had any communications with representatives of ABC, Disney, or any of their affiliates concerning specific programming content decisions, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! or other programs in the last 30 days?
- If so, please name all individuals involved in those communications and provide the dates and documentation of all such communication.
Have you, the Commission, or FCC staff ever discussed with any media executives the potential consequences for their broadcast licenses, should they continue to air programming critical of the administration?
- If so, please name all individuals involved in those communications and provide the dates and documentation of all such communication.
Did you, the Commission, or FCC staff have any communications with the President or any of his associates, including any officials or employees of the White House, regarding Jimmy Kimmel Live! or other ABC/Disney programs prior to your September 17, 2025, remarks on The Benny Show?
- If so, please name all individuals involved in those communications and provide the dates and documentation of all such communication.
What specific statutory authority, if any, do you believe empowers the FCC to revoke a broadcaster’s license or impose fines on the basis of satirical or critical content?

Has the FCC opened any investigations into broadcasters related to the airing of late-night comedy or political satire programs?
- If so, please provide details of each investigation, including the initiating authority, scope, and current status.

Has your agency consulted with the Department of Justice or any other federal agency regarding the legal or constitutional basis for sanctioning broadcasters based on their content?
- If so, provide the dates of and participants in such consultations.

How does the FCC justify its threats to revoke broadcast licenses over critical programming given the First Amendment’s prohibition on government retaliation against protected speech?

Do you acknowledge that threatening broadcast license revocation or fines for airing content deemed critical of the government risks creating a chilling effect on protected speech?

What specific safeguards will the Commission implement to ensure that broadcasters are not pressured to self-censor content critical of the President or other elected officials?

We look forward to reviewing your responses.

###

Is Putin mocking Chump? Check out Ben's report for MEIDASTOUCH NEWS this morning.

Trashy Garbage, as Trina calls Tulsi Gabbard, was a fool before Chump made her DNI and she's lucky that, so far, as she demonstrated just how foolish she is, her ignorance has not been revealed on a massive scale. Leigh Kimmins (THE DAILY BEAST) reports:

The investigation into former CIA chief John Brennan is in turmoil after intelligence head Tulsi Gabbard revoked the security clearances of potential witnesses, four Trump administration officials told Axios.

The witnesses were central to prosecution efforts to prove Brennan skewed a 2017 intelligence assessment to suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “clear preference” for Donald Trump—and that Brennan later lied about it to Congress.

Let's stop there because we've already realized she was an idiot on her purge. This is the list she published on her Twitter feed. Remember? That included the name of one undercover CIA agent. She's such a damn idiot. That move was already bad and she received harsh criticism for it (even within the Chump administration: "critics inside the administration said Gabbard’s office treated the clearance purge like 'a PR operation to get on Fox News' rather than a coordinated reform effort."). The winner here is John Brennan as a result of Trashy's incompetence: "Officials outlined three consequences, pointing out that prosecutors now face hurdles in handling classified material; witnesses may refuse to cooperate out of anger; and Brennan’s defense team can use Gabbard’s own claims to undermine their credibility."

At AXIOS, Marc Caputo notes:

The big picture: The controversy underscores the ongoing tension between Gabbard's office and other departments as she makes sweeping changes to the intelligence community.

"Tulsi is the right person for the job with the wrong team," a senior administration official said. "They've treated this like a PR operation to get on Fox, and not a serious intel reform process envisioned by the president."

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Gabbard "blindsided" the CIA with the cancellation list that included an active undercover officer. Her office disputed the report and said the CIA had been notified.

The Guardian reported Saturday that Gabbard's office hadn't told the White House in advance, which Gabbard's team also disputed. Regardless, the Justice Department wasn't notified in advance. Gabbard's team says other agencies had ample time to weigh in.

The notification from Gabbard's office was emailed to agencies on Aug. 18 at 7 p.m., after work hours. Gabbard publicly announced the security clearance cancellations the next day, at 3:53 p.m.

From the executive branch to the legislative, Adelita Grijalva became the newest US House Rep following Tuesday's election. Chris Brennan (USA TODAY) notes,

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, have 217 signatures from House members backing their bipartisan legislation that calls for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the Department of Justice's files on Jeffrey Epstein. The billionaire was once a bon vivant buddy for Trump before he pleaded guilty in 2008 on Florida charges of soliciting and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.

Massie and Khanna need just one more signature on their discharge petition to force a vote in the House.

Troy Matthews (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) points out an interesting detail about the election, "Grijalva’s 43-point victory on Tuesday trounces even her father’s 26-point victory over his Republican challenger in 2024. Raúl Grijalva was a Democratic stalwart who held his seat in congress representing Tucson, Arizona for more than two decades. Kamala Harris won in Grijalva's district by 22 points in 2024." All politics are local. I wouldn't argue one House election indicated how it would be across the nation. But it is worth noting that she outperformed her late father who was very, very popular in the district. That would mean one of two things -- or a combination of the two -- for that district -- either Democratic Party voters are especially focused on turn out or Republican voters are growing increasingly dissatisfied with Donald Chump. I would argue, again, that it's a combination. That's a read on one district. That said her win and James Walkinshaw's win in Virginia two weeks ago are tracking with national polling on voter sentiment. Were I a Republican member of Congress right now, I'd be trying to put a lot of sunlight between myself and Chump whose brand just gets more toxic with each passing day. Charles P. Pierce (ESQUIRE) notes, "Grijalva’s victory also will underscore further how narrow the wire Johnson is walking as Speaker is. If Massie, Greene, and the others can defy him on the Epstein files, what’s to keep other Republicans from operating on their own hooks, especially those looking at dire reelection numbers in their home districts? That six-vote majority looks perilous depending on where you sit. It’s like a jungle sometimes, and Speaker Moses has to be wondering how he keeps from going under."

Closer to the release of the documents. FORBES reports on yesterday's press conference in Colorado Springs held by family and supporters of the late Virginia Guiffre.

Cleo Westin (COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE) reports:

Family members of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an accuser of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and other survivors called for the release of the Epstein files outside 5th District U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank’s office Wednesday in Colorado Springs.

“As Virginia’s brother, and on behalf of the survivors, I am here to remind you we won’t stop until justice is served,” Sky Roberts said. “If you think we’re going away, you are wrong.”

[. . .]

If the act goes into effect, the Justice Department would be required to publish all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative material in the prosecution of Epstein. Records regarding Maxwell, flight logs and individuals involved also would be released.

More than 20 survivors of Epstein’s and Maxwell’s abuse support the legislation, according to Sky Roberts. The Justice Department also can protect personal information about the victims and materials that can harm ongoing investigations under the act.

“Congressman Crank: Why shouldn’t Colorado lead the way in standing up against this injustice?” Sky Roberts asked. “We cordially invite you, along with all representatives, to sit down and hear these stories directly from survivors and their families.”

Crank’s office doors were locked Tuesday and the family of Giuffre has not heard back from the lawmaker about this legislation.

Froma Harrop (THE COURIER) observes:

"Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents," Donald Trump declared at his 2025 inauguration. Hold that thought.

Trump is now using the immense power of the state to distract from a scandal that could bring him down. That is, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a fiend who sexually trafficked girls young enough to be in junior high.

Watch how Trump uses the power of the state to change the subject. Note how his weaponizing of government to go after foes — or just attract attention — escalates into sheer spectacle.

It's no longer just insulting celebrities. No, he needs the big guns to force attention away from deeper questions about his close dealings with Epstein. He needs to send the National Guard into cities that didn't want them, bomb boats that may or may not be carrying drug smugglers and send immigrants who may or may not be undocumented to third-country dungeons.

News channels have jumped all over FCC chairman Brendan Carr's mafioso threats against news media that don't do Trump's bidding. He apparently intimidated ABC/Walt Disney into firing Jimmy Kimmel after the late-night comedian made comments at odds with state-sanctioned opinion. Carr used to make fiery defenses of free speech.

This is a serious story, but critics shouldn't let Trump lead them astray from the story that undoubtedly terrifies him: his relationship with the predator who provided rich men with underage sexual partners.

The statue of Epstein and Chump holding hands has been taken down at The National Mall as Lawrence O'Donnell explained last night.

They can pretend all they want but Epstein's not going away. During the July 4th holiday, Chump thought he had buried the story. It's September 26 and it's still in the news.

In other news of pedophiles Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Christopher Bucktin and Ryan Carroll (THE RECORD) reported four days ago:

Humiliated US prison chiefs have launched a major probe after a million-dollar bid to keep sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell hidden collapsed.

Trump is under pressure over his friendship with Maxwell’s pal, paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, the emergence of an image from inside the sprawling minimum-security complex has blown those promises apart.

Maxwell was pictured in the cushy Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas after being transferred under a cloak of secrecy. Mirror sources said that US Attorney General Pam Bondi had personally assured US President Donald Trump that her transfer would not embarrass him. One insider said: “The President was told she would never come back to haunt him. He was assured by Pam Bondi that Maxwell would be buried in the system. It’s blown up in his face.”

Grasp what THE RECORD is reporting -- Pam Bondi and Chump discussed moving Maxwell to the cushy 'prison.' Grasp that Donald has repeatedly insisted that he knew nothing about the transfer.

US House Rep Jasmine Crockett continues to fight for the truth to come out.

And US House Rep Jim Jordan -- himself accused of covering up the abuse of young men -- continues working to keep the truth about Epstein and Maxwell hidden.

Again, Jim Jordan's accused of already covering up one sex abuse scandal that he was aware of.

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

“ESPN’s deals with the NFL and the MLB would give the sports media giant new degrees of control…for two of the most profitable sports leagues in the country. We have serious concerns that fans and competitors will suffer as a result.”

Members concerned about loss of ESPN as a source of independent sports journalism

“[These deals] would likely harm ESPN’s competitors, who could find it challenging to compete, ultimately resulting in higher prices and fewer choices for viewers”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), along with Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), and Patrick Ryan (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to the heads of Disney, ESPN, the National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB), raising concerns that ESPN’s proposed deals with the leagues could restrict competition and raise prices for sports fans.

Last month, Disney-owned ESPN announced a $3 billion deal to acquire the NFL Network, the distributor of NFL games, as well as the NFL’s fantasy football league — a competitor of ESPN’s fantasy football league — and the rights to distribute NFL RedZone, a live-TV feed that shows whip-around coverage of Sunday football games. In exchange, the NFL will take a 10% stake in ESPN. This deal raises a number of concerns, including the possibility that the NFL could give ESPN preferential treatment over other media companies, entrenching ESPN’s dominance in sports distribution.

“[This deal] would likely harm ESPN’s competitors, who could find it challenging to compete, ultimately resulting in higher prices and fewer choices for viewers if disadvantaged competitors subsequently fail,” said the members.

The NFL’s stake in ESPN could give the NFL preferential treatment over other sports leagues, offering more advantageous terms, pricing, or time slots for games. The NFL’s partial ownership could also hurt fans, players, and anyone involved in the business of sports that relies on ESPN’s independent coverage of NFL news, which has included developing stories and, at times, scandalous behavior in professional sports.

“The ESPN-NFL deal raises concerns regarding whether reporters and journalists would be under pressure from ESPN executives or their new part-owner regarding coverage…[which] could negatively affect the public as well as League players and other industry stakeholders whose interests are tied up in decisions the leagues make,” wrote the lawmakers.

ESPN executives have suggested that the company is open to replicating these types of “unconventional” equity deals with other sports leagues, creating the potential for more consolidation and consumer harm.

In August, ESPN also announced an agreement to fold MLB.TV into its new direct-to-consumer service, giving ESPN the exclusive right to “sell out-of-market regular-season games digitally and in-market games for five clubs over the next three years.”

The move could allow ESPN to “make it more difficult and more expensive for…subscribers to watch games…[or] force fans to subscribe to the ESPN media ecosystem in order to access games and charge an additional price to watch local teams’ games,” said the Congress members.

The lawmakers asked the recipients to respond by October 8, 2025, explaining how the announced deals will affect the prices for fans to access content, whether fans will have to buy add-on subscriptions to access MLB content, how NFL and ESPN will safeguard against giving each other preferential treatment to the detriment of competitors, how ESPN will prevent infringing on competitors’ distribution rights if it establishes RedZone-type channels for other sports leagues, and what steps ESPN will take to prevent conflicts of interest and preserve the journalistic independence of its reporters.

###

The following sites updated: