PSA: “Dr.” Donald Trump is a quack. A dangerous quack.

So many coverups. Release the Epstein files. Release the Homan tapes. Release the Venezuelan fishing boats evidence.

“Now, it’s true that $50,000 is peanuts in the Trump administration corruption sweepstakes. And the Justice Department is engaged in bigger coverups. Still, this is both a real case of corruption and coverup, and a colorful one.” www.thebulwark.com/p/a-scandal-...

Tim and I discuss Tom Homan, Border Czar and Bag Man, recorded taking a $50,000 cash during an FBI sting operation. And MAGA die-hards have made clear they don't care. And Trump demands Bondi go after his critics. Democrats should not vote to fund this administration. youtube.com/watch?v=IqSA...

Release the Homan files and tapes.

“Trump was better off having Carr’s extortion be public, because it: Established a new loyalty test. Sent an unequivocal message to both the media and public. Created a situation where most future censorship will be self-directed.” open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Fascism is an objective thing that exists, and some people fit that description.

Who uses cash anymore? Tom Homan, that’s who. Check out the latest Morning Shots with @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social, @eggerdc.bsky.social and @jimswift.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/a-scandal-...

"There are many questions: Did Homan keep the money? Is the $50,000 reported on his tax return? And what about the coverup? Was it ordered by the president, who seems to take personal interest in the question of who is prosecuted and not by his Justice Department?" www.thebulwark.com/p/a-scandal-...

"Who uses cash anymore? Tom Homan, that’s who. On September 20, 2024, Trump’s border czar accepted $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. The cash was in a bag from the food chain Cava. (Since you asked: I’m partial to the Spicy Lamb + Avocado combo.)" www.thebulwark.com/p/a-scandal-...

"Democrats should apply all the pressure they can. This is both a real case of corruption and coverup, and a colorful one. As Cava says in its ads, 'You shouldn't have to choose substance over flavor.' This scandal has both." www.thebulwark.com/p/a-scandal-...

they get mad when you quote Charlie Kirk. they get mad when you don't quote Charlie Kirk. they are mad at the sum total of human knowledge.

Congrats to Reps @sethmoulton.bsky.social & @quigley.house.gov. As well as the other 56 Dems who stood up for their constituents. Hopefully, courage will (eventually) be contagious. As for the others: -What, exactly, did you think you were voting to celebrate?

A bit underplayed that the Homan sting didn't reportedly come out of a public corruption investigation, it was a counter-intelligence one. Which means they somehow made the not-very-far leap to him from initially targeting a foreign and almost certainly state actor.

“But in the past few weeks, a series of developments have revealed a disturbingly credible policy pathway to power consolidation. We can now see how American Orbánism could take full root before the 2028 elections. We now know how we would get there from here.”

Rep. Jim Himes tells it like it is--on Trump's illegal boat strikes, Pentagon gag orders on the press, and how fear keeps Republicans silent as America moves toward authoritarianism. A lively if sobering conversation. www.youtube.com/live/M7n8gcK...

Sen. Murphy: "Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, literally accepted a bag of cash—$50,000—and the investigation was dropped when Trump became president. There are two standards of justice now in this country. If you are a friend of the president...you can get away with anything."

Rep. Jim Himes: "Having the Defense Department kill alleged drug runners in the Caribbean is illegal...These folks are committing murder — murder defined as killing without a legal basis. I am mystified over why the rest of the chain of command is quite comfortable with it."

Rep. Jim Himes tells it like it is--on Trump's illegal boat strikes, Pentagon gag orders on the press, and how fear keeps Republicans silent as America moves toward authoritarianism. A lively if sobering conversation. www.youtube.com/live/M7n8gcK...

I hope @jbf1755.bsky.social is right. But as she knows better than I, it mattered that Adams wasn’t a full-on authoritarian (nor an effective demagogue), the opposition was led by Jefferson and Madison, and that Hamilton put country over party. We’ll be fortunate if this turns out as well as 1800.

“His demands came a day after he ousted the federal prosecutor who failed to charge two adversaries, showing how far Trump has gone in exerting personal control over the Justice Dept and breaching the norm about keeping politics at a distance from law enforcement.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

“Last week showcased another, equally important side of Kennedy’s management: the way he is eliminating the people and dispensing with the procedures that allow agencies like the CDC to carry out their basic functions in a transparent, scientifically sound way.” open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Hegseth goes directly after freedom of the press. “The Pentagon released new restrictions for journalists covering DOD this week, requiring them to sign a pledge not to gather or report on information that has not been authorized for release—even if it is unclassified.” time.com/7319117/pent...

Here's what we know as of Saturday morning. If White House figures are to be believed, the U.S. has killed 17 people on ships in the Caribbean this month.

There is no world in which it is normal for the president to publicly call upon his attorney general to hurry up and prosecute his political foes. It’s like the Watergate tapes but posted on social media. Let’s get a grip on what’s happening here.

Nothing to 👀 over on Twitter the right-wing Bots are out in full force trying to make Charlie Kirk a saint. Go figure

Only $50,000? Sad. Low man on the Trumpian corruption pole.

“The attack on free speech and free elections are two sides of the same coin…What is happening is a campaign to disarm and discredit the opposition and make it harder for it to mount an effective challenge to Trump’s growing authoritarianism. www.theunpopulist.net/p/trumps-cen...

At @theunpopulist.net @andycraig.bsky.social says, "We must understand that what is happening is a campaign to disarm and discredit the opposition and make it harder for it to mount an effective challenge to Trump’s growing authoritarianism." www.theunpopulist.net/p/trumps-cen...

“The line from the Xena opening credits, ‘A land in turmoil cried out for a hero,’ sounds almost uncannily timely. As the show’s creator Rob Tapert put it in a promo shortly before its premiere, ‘Xena is the hero that we hope is within all of us.’” www.thebulwark.com/p/xena-warri...

Trump attacks 1A, demands opponents be prosecuted without legal basis, imposes tariffs and visa fees. All very bad, all unpopular, all divide parts of Trump’s base. What should Dems do? Some of us: Dunno, attack Trump? Dem leaders: Could we have a meeting, sir? www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

“Demand a meeting?” Pathetic. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

“WaPo: President Trump declined to approve more than $400 million in military aid to Taiwan this summer, as he tries to negotiate a trade deal and potential summit with Xi Jinping... Uh-huh. ‘We can’t support Ukraine because we have to save money for Taiwan…’” open.substack.com/pub/jaynordl...

Coast Guard showing you can stop the drugs and apprehend the criminals without committing possible or likely war crimes. maritime-executive.com/article/uscg...

Jon Stewart 2028. mashable.com/video/jon-st...

“Responding to Trump’s orders, the military is killing foreign civilians aboard fishing boats with no clear legal authority or justification…The Pentagon has chosen to share almost no information on or justifications for these killings with Congress or the public.” www.thebulwark.com/p/the-dog-th...

Just a heads up: The real college football season begins today, with Ivy League teams warming up with out of conference games. The real real season begins with Ivy vs. Ivy games next week. Meanwhile, inexplicably, today’s Harvard-Stetson matchup isn’t on regular broadcast TV. #Outraged

A good discussion on Kimmel, Disney, Trump, and our further steps down the authoritarian path. vimeo.com/1120315522/c...

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to be stenographers not journalists.

"My thoughts turned to David Rose, who volunteered to try to prevent another such attack on our country, and then, when back home, ran toward danger once again to help his fellow Americans." www.thebulwark.com/p/a-hero-dav...

“In nearly four decades of reporting and writing, I have never seen commanders so concerned about issues that could tarnish the U.S. military’s independence and standing. They swear an oath to the Constitution, not a president, and they don’t want to break it.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Very good Two Cheers for Solidarity piece from @jvl.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

In light of reporting on the planned new assault on transgender individuals: "We have a presidential administration which seeks to curtail their rights. We have a powerful political movement that wishes to make them afraid. This is wrong. It’s also un-American." www.thebulwark.com/p/its-stephe...

Listen to @samsteindc.bsky.social: If you like media that doesn't feel that it has to like shut up in order to get on the good side of Big Brother, subscribe to the Bulwark Do it here right now: www.thebulwark.com/subscribe

"So we are getting both an increasingly Trumpy military and an increasingly unconstrained military. We are only eight months into the Trump administration. Where will we be three years from now, in the runup to the 2028 election?" www.thebulwark.com/p/the-dog-th...

"From the very beginning, it’s been clear that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been determined to do two things: turn the United States military into Donald Trump’s military, and loosen legal constraints on, and avoid oversight of, Trump’s use of that military." www.thebulwark.com/p/the-dog-th...

"Sometimes this administration’s swerves toward open fascism look like deliberate strategy. Other times they read more like a klutzy accident. But with Donald Trump in charge, the dial only turns one way." www.thebulwark.com/p/the-dog-th...

"President Trump is expected to fire the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after his office was unable to find incriminating evidence of mortgage fraud against New York AG Letitia James. Every red light is blinking at once." www.thebulwark.com/p/the-dog-th...

"I would not go so far as to say that the forces of liberalism ought to stop operating in good faith. But for the love of God they should stop treating MAGA like a legitimate movement that is playing by the same rules as everyone else." www.thebulwark.com/p/emergency-...

"In reviewing the leaked materials, I have identified a number of deeply concerning questionnaire responses that can be connected to people who now hold positions of influence." Chance Phillips looks at a lesser known element of Project 2025: