In the first Trump administration, cruelty was the point. Now, it is the norm.

Another immigrant died in ICE custody, aka GEO Group private prison. Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, a 46-year-old Eritrean imam and lawful permanent resident from Ohio, died while in U.S. ICE custody at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania on December 14, 2025.

‘How the South Won the Civil War’ 💯🎯 @hcrichardson.bsky.social

The Department of Justice has been publicly posting files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation since Friday. n.pr/4jfepWm

“Clinton is in the Epstein files!” Great. Next time I come across a Clinton rally, someone wearing a Clinton hat, or flying a Clinton flag on their truck, I’ll be sure to let them know. The rest of us want them ALL held accountable because we aren’t in a cult. Hope that helps.

By its own admission, ICE now poses a serious threat to Americans’ free speech and privacy rights. bit.ly/3Kq348R

“.. There’s a couple dozen of us in there against, you know, the thousands and thousands outside, and we just held it as long as we could. It was a brutal fight.” @apnews.com apnews.com/article/capi...

Jesus.

Watch and listen to it here: lnk.thebulwark.com/4aZIUxm

Trump engaging in piracy and maritime terrorism The Trump Administration are becoming actual Somalis now. Except for the skin color.

The housing market explained.

The fascist paramilitary group “Proud Boys” harassed and intimidated anti-ICE protestors in Ewing, New Jersey, on December 22, 2025.

It's pretty fucking fearless to go back and do your goddamn oversight visit where they last framed you for assault.

The Council of the EU has extended its economic sanctions against Russia until 31 July 2026. Measures targeting oil, banks, trade, and Kremlin media stay in place, with more possible if aggression persists. euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/23/e...

Imagine interviewing a victim of torture and independently confirming the details of his torture and then being told you can’t broadcast it because the people who ordered the torture wouldn’t give their side of the story.

Are big newsrooms getting better at crediting independent journalists? @jasonkoebler.bsky.social compares notes with @marisakabas.bsky.social, founder of thehandbasket.co, on landing huge scoops as indie journalists and dealing with mainstream media. Listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e73s...

Spoiler alert: They are unhappy.

“Republicans in Congress had an agreement to vote for a bipartisan immigration bill— then Trump stepped in and said he’d primary anyone who voted for it.”

Bill Clinton releasing a statement saying 'release the Epstein files, you cowards' was not on my bingo list.

Today I wrote about 60 Minutes' decision to obey in advance and why it represents the sad end to the storied franchise. We are in desperate need of strong independent media. You can help Democracy Docket be a part of it by becoming a premium member today. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0

Mitt Romney said the quiet part out loud: the rich should pay more in taxes. The Wall Street Journal attacked him for it. But he’s right—and ignoring the math is how democracies crack. open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

If we want an independent media that isn’t the plaything of oligarchs, we’re going to have to build it together. That's why were offering 30 days free right now for Bulwark+. Get it here: lnk.thebulwark.com/48QbKyS

Get 30 days free of Bulwark+ right now and help support our mission. Ride with us here: lnk.thebulwark.com/48QbKyS

NEW: We’re announcing 5 new Homekey+ projects creating 267 permanent supportive homes statewide, including housing for veterans. With $636M invested and 1,800+ homes already underway, we’re expanding treatment, accountability, and stability for those who need it most.

So apparently there are many Epstein files on the DOJ website where you can highlight the redacted text, copy it, and paste it onto another document to read the redactions

On the Larry Nassar letter from Epstein. FBI did request handwriting analysis of it suggesting they were not convinced it was actually from Epstein. That is in the files I believe. But what is NOT available (as far as I have seen as I post this) is what the analysis found.

At this point, The Onion is a more reliable news source than the White House.

DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!!

Yes, CECOT is a concentration camp in the guise of a prison. The Venezuelans were the first people to *ever* be released from CECOT since Bukele opened the prison in January 2023. Seriously. The first.

Among the newly-released Epstein files. This Justice Dept email from Jan 2020 'I wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported"

Kind of amazing to see economic sentiment in October 2025 lower than it was in April 2020.

In other words, the Justice Department was essentially like, “Holy shit! This guy was on 8 flights with Epstein! Eight! And one of them was with just Epstein and a 20-year girl!” Oh, and if anyone says she wasn’t underage so it was somehow OK, they are sick fucks. Adults get trafficked too!

One agent called the raid a "s**tshow." A federal judge had a different term for what came next.

After several paragraphs with significant redactions in a response filed on Monday by Daniel Richman's lawyers in D.C. explaining their understanding of what the FBI did with Richman's hard drive, here is how they summarize their allegations: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

In recommending next steps, and showing the complete breakdown of DOJ — or plain-old legal — norms, here is how they conclude their filing:

WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? WHAT IS TRUMP HIDING? Did Epstein Traffic Melania to Trump? Where are the pics of Trump poolside with topless girls?

Bari Weiss has “a curiously narrow definition of free speech”—one in which free speech means whatever conservatives want to say, Adam Serwer argues.

NEW: In another assault on reproductive rights by the Trump administration, the US Department of Veterans Affairs sent out a memo on Monday announcing that it will no longer provide abortion or abortion counseling.

I hope it's clear to everyone by now that Trump's play over and over again is to yell "National Security!" and pretend as though that gives him the right to act like a dictator

It's because SCOTUS said in it's ruling to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia, that the courts must show deference to trump on national security issues. He's been repeating it like he learned a new word ever since. bsky.app/profile/muel...

oh

NYC's immigration courthouses have loomed large in our reporting on ICE. Routine hearings now inspire terror for immigrants, who might be aggressively detained in the halls. However, I didn’t realize, until TPM spoke to him, that Mamdani’s father was there this spring for a citizenship interview.

My full interview with @klasfeldreports.com. We cover a lot of ground in 26 minutes. None of it is good for President Trump, AG Pam Bondi or DAG Todd Blanche. mitchellepner.substack.com/p/the-first-...

"If 60 Minutes had 'explained this' as Weiss described they should, the segment would have included false or highly misleading information" Fact Checking Bari Weiss: Stated Reasons for Spiking 60 Minutes “Inside CECOT” By Ryan Goodman & Tom Joscelyn @rgoodlaw.bsky.social @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social

👇👇

Many are in Africa, where it seems that the US is informally cutting off diplomatic relations. What a gift to China!

(With tears in my eyes) sir no one has ever mastered that ceremony better