The Pentagon has quietly hired a J6 rioter. Elias Irizarry entered the Capitol through a broken window carrying a metal pole and pleaded guilty, he is now a political appointee in the Defense Department that oversees irregular warfare and counterterrorism. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

After Bruen established 2nd Amendment limits on criminal laws on gun possession, police observing a person in possession of a gun do not automatically have reasonable suspicion to stop them for illegal gun possession, Appellate Court of Maryland rules. mdcourts.gov/data/opinion...

Once again, the President does not have the legal authority to just invade countries at will

Trump: "I've ended eight wars, and soon to be a ninth. It could be ten. I don't think a president has ended one war."

Imagine thinking that the raid on Venezuela and the war on Iran constitute more victories than WWII. 🤦‍♂️ That's not just b.s., it's delusional.

Donald Trump says Pete Hegseth loves war. That should disqualify him [Gift link for first five readers.] www.economist.com/united-state...

Well, your belief is mistaken. In fact it's absurd.

A new study has found that the National Guard's presence in Washington, D.C. had no effect on violent crime in the city. The Guard has been deployed since last August as part of a federal task force to fight crime, and their numbers are set to double in the coming weeks. n.pr/3PWDxqK

Trump hates a free press and the First Amendment.

No, this isn't true. There is no evidence to support these allegations and lots of evidence to disprove them. His fallacious allegations are designed to make some people distrust elections so that he can overturn free, fair, and accurate elections he loses.

U.S. and intelligence allies issue rare joint warning about China www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

Trump brags that he has crowds as large as MLK Jr's: "That's where Martin Luther King made his great speech with a million people. I had the same amount of people, actually"

Trump on musical acts who pulled out of his allegedly nonpartisan Freedom 250 fiasco: "A couple of them said, 'We don't want anything that's partisan.' I said, 'That's okay. Go someplace else.'"

Absurd and dangerous. (gift link) wapo.st/437arYG

“Two people characterized the work as among the most delicate that the Pentagon performs.” This administration thinks a convicted Jan. 6 rioter should be doing that kind of work?????

Page One: “.. the appointment .. has raised alarm internally among staff who question how anyone convicted in the assault on American democracy could be trusted for such a sensitive role ..” @washingtonpost.com

Again, Bill Pulte is a 38-year-old -- no really, 38 -- who only holds a BA in broadcast journalism and absolutely zero experience in the intelligence field. He has no qualifications for this job at all. Aside from being a psychotic lickspittle to the president.

Trump's pick of Bill Pulte as DNI is worse than you think. It hands the "vast powers" of our "national security apparatus" to the guy who's working to jail Trump's enemies, says @leahlitman.bsky.social, and that's "terrifying." On the pod, Litman pulls no punches: newrepublic.com/article/2112...

Narcissism.

He's regressing.

The heart of our constitutional crisis in one exchange between me and Sec. Mullin. When asked a simple question - if he will obey court orders - he says he will not because some court orders are "politicized". That's not how democracy works. And that's why we are in a crisis.

Bob Bauer talks to Avril Haines, President Biden's Director of National Intelligence, about the Department that President Trump designated Bill Pulte to lead as Acting Director. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...

Oh, come on. Minitrue

Every member of Congress who remains silent on Bill Pulte’s appointment as director of national intelligence is actively choosing personal political survival over the literal safety of the United States.

The Old Post Office building was built in the 19th century. Is he really that old?

This is so utterly insane I’m at a loss. But it makes sense if you want to turn the entire US intelligence apparatus into a tool for domestic persecution and domination. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06...

🤥 Surely, larger biceps and pectoral muscles would make one a better senator, right? And, dishonesty doesn't matter, does it?

Trump makes the same corrupt authoritarian pitch to CA voters that he made to Hungarians: I will send lots of US taxpayer dollars to you if you vote for my guy.

Congressional statute: "There is a Director of National Intelligence who shall be appointed by the President ... Any individual nominated for appointment as Director of National Intelligence shall have extensive national security expertise." 50 U.S. Code § 3023

Imagine thinking that running the nation's 18 intelligence agencies isn't a full-time job! "[H]he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac," Trump wrote. Bizarre. www.politico.com/news/2026/06...

Funds for Trump's Board of Peace aren't in World Bank account. So where are they? www.npr.org/2026/06/01/n...

The presumption of regularity is no longer justified. For many judges, it no longer exists. [Gift link.] www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/u...

When FBI agents fear retaliation for following the facts, they start thinking about who wields power instead of where the evidence leads. That makes us less safe. Justice Connection’s FBI Support Network is here to support the people holding the line. www.thejusticeconnection.org/fbi-support-...

Unbelievably unhinged stuff from Trump on CNBC just now. He's repeating *again* that he'll obliterate Iran, saying he doesn't care if there's a deal (as if time is on his side), and even saying he no longer cares if NATO helps open Strait of Hormuz. He's totally stuck. www.cnbc.com/2026/06/01/t...

Megalomania.

Eye-catching detail in story about the arrest in Texas of ICE agent charged w/ assault: Minneapolis DA says her office has more than 30 add'l open investigations involving federal immigration agents, inc fatal shootings of Good and Pretti. Minn has sued feds to compel them to turn over evidence.

Judge Leonie Brinkema in EDVA has enjoined Trump’s 1776 slush fund from going into operation for now.

Federal agents use batons and pepper spray against anti-ICE protesters tonight in Newark, New Jersey

"The DOJ Wants to Know Who on Reddit and X Is Criticizing ICE's Tactics," via Zoe Tillman. Worth following. finance.yahoo.com/economy/poli...

Corruption in plain sight. It will take a decade to fix this debacle. #TrumpCorruption

Supposed legal basis for boat strikes is that the US is engaged in armed conflict w/ "designated terrorist organizations" & strikes are lawful under LOAC. But even under that bogus construct, the targets would still need to be lawful under LOAC. An "affiliate" isn't a lawful category of targets.

remarkable that the State Department is amplifying Trump's insane threat to blow up one of our staunchest allies in the Middle East. we are governed by malevolent morons.

American politics is bananas. I can’t believe there is a whole generation growing up to think that it’s normal for known criminals to win party nominations and public office.

How does such a person get a security clearance and get hired to serve and protect? They didn't go through the same clearance process we did in the 1980's. apnews.com/photo-galler...

🎁 Delineates shocking and unprecedented misconduct at DOJ. (I presented hundreds of cases to federal grand juries. It's hard to believe that the attorneys in these instances didn't know that their actions constituted misconduct. I don't buy the inexperience excuse.) www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/u...

New informative interview with @michaelkofman.bsky.social Some key points: - 🇷🇺 mil performance is worse, 🇺🇦 is better - importance of 🇺🇦 "middle strike" - estimates over 400K Russian fatalities - challenge of the 🇷🇺 campaign against critical infrastructure - 🇷🇺 demands unreasonable - war continues

He has no idea that Memorial Day isn’t a celebration. He’s the most disrespectful and disgusting President and history will remember him as such.

A masked man in an armored vehicle, dressed as if he is in the middle of a war zone, training a weapon on unarmed protestors. This is simply incompatible with democratic expression.

The United States is at war with Cuba. A blockade is an act of war, imposed by military force. The goal is to cause widespread suffering to get the target to capitulate. If the Chinese navy blockaded Taiwan in an attempt to overthrow the Taiwanese government, that'd be an act of war. So is US-Cuba.

Rankest corruption you will ever see. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/u...