September 27, 2025

Konstantin Toropin of the AP: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that he has decided that the 19 soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for their actions in 1890 at Wounded Knee will keep their award.... Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, ordered the review of the awards in 2024 after a congressional recommendation in the 2022 defense bill — itself a reflection of efforts by some lawmakers to rescind the awards for those who participated in the bloody massacre on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near Wounded Knee Creek.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So let us now turn to historian Heather Cox Richardson, who tells us what happened at Wounded Knee, and why it happened. An interesting history lesson, and unless your high school history book was way better than my high school history book, you may not know what-all Richardson shares. Richardson's essay is also a reminder that late 19th-century politicians were just as conniving and crooked as our own. 

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Eli Stokols of Politico: “... Donald Trump on Friday praised the Justice Department’s indictment of James Comey and suggested the former FBI director may not be the last of his political enemies to be charged, although he denied having a list of targets. 'It’s not a list, but I think there will be others,' Trump told reporters before departing the White House to watch the Ryder Cup golf tournament in New York. 'I hope there will be others.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Tyler Pager of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Friday celebrated the indictment of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, declaring that justice had finally been served. 'It’s about justice, really,' Mr. Trump told reporters. 'It’s not revenge.' But as the president engages in a wide-ranging retribution campaign against his political opponents, his own words and actions suggest otherwise. Even on Friday, Mr. Trump illustrated how much vengeance was at the heart of his second-term agenda. 'They did it with me for four years,' he said of Democrats. 'They went after me.'” ~~~

~~~ Salvador Rizzo & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s push for federal charges against James B. Comey could become a centerpiece of the former FBI director’s defense, legal experts said Friday, noting that the president’s intervention in the criminal case and public criticisms of Comey could lead a judge or jury to reject the charges as improperly motivated.... Legal experts said they could not recall another instance in which a president appeared to overrule a Justice Department charging decision. ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “The indictment of James Comey, ordered up by ... Donald Trump in a breathtaking breach of Justice Department independence, is being welcomed with glee in MAGA circles. But the case against the former FBI director and longtime Trump nemesis may quickly end in disappointment — and even humiliation — for the prosecutor who was conscripted by the president to bring the charges. The bare-bones indictment secured by that prosecutor, Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, is exceptionally weak, former prosecutors and legal experts say. Fundamental problems with the case itself — as well as the unusual events that preceded the indictment — will make it difficult to bring Comey to trial, let alone secure a conviction.... The issues that could doom the case include the overt political pressure by Trump to bring the indictment, Halligan’s own inexperience, peculiarities in the indictment itself and even a five-year-old technology issue. Here’s a look at some of these challenges.” ~~~

~~~ Charlie Savage of the New York Times tries to figure out what the Comey indictment is all about since the indictment itself is remarkably vague. There are alternatives to the scenario media outlets originally proposed. ~~~ 

~~~ Francesca Regalado of the New York Times: “The indictment of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, was just two pages long and contained so little detail that it was hard for legal experts to assess its merits. Some former government lawyers, as well as prominent Democrats, said the case appeared so flimsy that it was likely to fail.... The indictment asserts that Mr. Comey lied when he testified to senators in 2020 that he had not authorized anyone in the F.B.I. to leak information to the news media about a bureau investigation into an unnamed person. But it was not even clear what episode the indictment refers to.... 'This is what prosecutors do in dictatorships,' Richard W. Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota who served as the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said in a social media post.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jacob Rosen & Joe Walsh of CBS News: "U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey Vaala expressed confusion and surprise at some points during the seven-minute court session when a federal grand jury impaneled in Alexandria, Virginia, returned the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey Thursday night. According to a transcript of the proceedings obtained by CBS News, Judge Vaala asked the newly named interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan — a former Trump personal lawyer — why there were two versions of the indictment." Read on. MB: It's pretty impressive to screw up so much in so little time. YET Trump has said within the past couple of days that Halligan is a good lawyer. ~~~

      ~~~ Washington Post Editors, in an editorial titled “The Keystone Kops come for James Comey”: “Halligan reportedly presented the case against Comey to the grand jury herself, perhaps because no other prosecutor would.... This grand jury rejected as insufficient one of the counts of lying to Congress that Halligan presented — a significant rebuke. Only 14 of 23 grand jurors reportedly voted to indict Comey on the two counts that were charged, barely above the 12 that were required. Halligan then delivered to Judge Lindsey R. Vaala the charging document the grand jury rejected, as well as the one it accepted. 'This has never happened before,' the judge said. Halligan’s statement announcing the charge initially misspelled 'principle' as 'principal.'...  As it stands now, Trump’s opening indictment looks like an embarrassing dud. His opponents should be laughing more than cowering.”

~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC: “MSNBC’s Ken Dilanian reported that within the Justice Department, many insiders believe this is 'among the worst abuses' in the history of the institution. Describing the circumstances as 'shocking,' Dilanian added, 'It’s hard to overstate how a big a moment this is.' Indeed, among the most striking things about the Comey indictment is that it is plainly what it appears to be.... A failing, desperate and unpopular president wanted a critic to be charged, without regard for merit; he publicly demanded the indictment; and he found officials who were willing to feed his appetite for revenge. Trump and his confederates aren’t hiding their weaponization of the criminal justice system, they’re flaunting it.... They need other White House critics to be afraid, and other federal prosecutors to understand that they’ll soon be unemployed unless they play ball the way newly installed U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan did.The corruption is the point.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Richard Fausset & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: “The Department of Justice has issued a subpoena for records related to the travel history of Fani T. Willis, the Georgia district attorney who charged ... [Donald] Trump in a sweeping election interference case, according to a federal grand jury subpoena reviewed by The New York Times. The scope of the investigation is not yet clear. Also unclear is whether Ms. Willis is the target of the inquiry and whether she will ultimately face charges.... The document reviewed by The Times is an indication that the Justice Department under [Mr.] Trump may be investigating another one of his old foes.” MB: The Times is coy about which “old foe” that might be. Trump has so many.

Heather Knight & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: “The top federal prosecutor in Sacramento was fired hours after she reminded a Border Patrol chief to abide by court-ordered restrictions on immigration raids. For 15 years, Michele Beckwith oversaw some of the toughest federal prosecutions in California. She went after transnational terrorists, sex traffickers and the Aryan brotherhood. She became the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento this year when her boss, a Biden appointee, stepped down in January.... The July 15 firing of Ms. Beckwith occurred less than six hours after she told [Gregory] Bovino, the Border Patrol chief in charge of the Southern California raids, that a court order prevented him from arresting people without probable cause in a vast expanse that stretches from the Oregon border to Bakersfield. She was removed not only from her post as acting U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of California, but from the office altogether.... The dismissal of Ms. Beckwith appeared to be an early example of how Mr. Trump has fired top federal prosecutors who did not help carry out his political agenda.” The Guardian's story is here.

Jeff Sharlet on Substack: “I don’t like sending traffic to this White House, but you should read [Trump's 'Terror Memo.'] In its expansive definition of 'terror,' 'Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence' may prove to be as much of an acceleration in this slow civil war as the assassination of Charlie Kirk.... [The memo uses] real acts of violence by a handful of unaffiliated individuals to launch an attack on the much greater strength of liberal / left 'organized structures, networks, entities, organizations, [and] funding sources.'... It provides authorities with potential cause to prosecute not everyone but anyone; run afoul of the regime, and there could already be a case against you.... Have you ever donated to a left organization with a credit card? Get ready. This doesn’t mean they’re coming for you. It means that if for some reason they want to come for you, you’re already cooked.” ~~~

     ~~~ Steve M., whose post RAS linked yesterday, concurs with Sharlet's alarm. AND, at about three minutes into the video embedded below, Chris Hayes ties the memo into Trump's other recent efforts to suppress criticism & protests: 

~~~ Of course, Trump & Stephen Miller are talking only about left-wing protests. Take a look at what the right-wing publication "The Daily Caller" is doing. Is this "blood in the streets" advocacy A-OK with our Dear Leader? When Trump gets back from his weekend play dates, some enterprising reporter should ask him about the Daily Caller piece. ~~~

     ~~~ Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “The Daily Caller, a prominent conservative online publication, published an opinion column on Friday explicitly calling for violence in response to physical assaults on conservatives in America. The column, written by editor at large Geoffrey Ingersoll and promoted near the top of the site, argues that 'patriots' should use force because law enforcement officials do not adequately protect conservatives, including Charlie Kirk, the activist assassinated this month. 'Is this a call for violence?' the third paragraph says. 'Yes. Explicitly it is.' 'I want blood in the streets,' he added in the column, which ran with the headline 'Enough Is Enough … I Choose VIOLENCE!'” ~~~

     ~~~ See also RAS's commentary below on the April 2025 Florida State University shooter -- he killed two people and wounded six others -- who used Nazi and white supremacist imagery and language online and was reportedly a member of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA. 

Eric Tucker of the AP: “The FBI has fired agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington that followed the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.... The bureau last spring had reassigned the agents but has since fired them, said the people, who insisted on anonymity to discuss personnel matters with The Associated Press. The number of FBI employees terminated was not immediately clear, but two people said it was roughly 20.... The FBI Agents Association confirmed in a statement late Friday that more than a dozen agents had been fired, including military veterans with additional statutory protections, and condemned the move as unlawful. It called on Congress to investigate and said the firings were another indication of FBI Director Kash Patel’s disregard for the legal rights of bureau employees.” (Not sure who got there first, but RAS has also posted a link today to an ABC News story about these firings.)

Hailey Fuchs of Politico: “New files turned over to congressional investigators from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein suggest the convicted sex offender, in the last years of his life, had ties with ... Donald Trump’s former adviser Elon Musk.... In what appears to be a copy of Epstein’s itinerary, Musk had a tentative trip to Epstein’s island on Dec. 6, 2014.... Another schedule notes a planned lunch with tech billionaire Peter Thiel on Nov. 27, 2017, and a breakfast with conservative political strategist Steve Bannon on Feb. 16, 2019 — just months before Epstein was charged with sex trafficking of minors. Bannon was Trump’s chief strategist, and Thiel is a prominent Republican megadonor.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to uphold ... [Donald] Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, the long-held principle that children born on American soil are automatically citizens. Mr. Trump issued the order on his first day in office, but it has been blocked by the courts ever since. In a pair of petitions, government lawyers argued that the Constitution’s promise of citizenship was conferred on 'freed slaves and their children, not on the children of aliens temporarily visiting the United States or of illegal aliens.' The common understanding of the 14th Amendment for more than a century, upheld by the Supreme Court, has guaranteed citizenship to children born in the United States. But D. John Sauer, the solicitor general, argued that such a view was 'mistaken.'...” Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein, is here.

A couple of days ago, Akhilleus suggested a bunch of reasons why Drunk Pete might have ordered all the U.S. flag officers to drop what they were doing & fly to Virginia to gather 'round the campfire and listen to a Message from Pete. Akhilleus' suggestions were ridiculous and funny. The real reason? Just as ridiculous as the comical reasons Akhilleus made up. ~~~

~~~ Tara Copp, et al., of the Washington Post: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered hundreds of generals to travel on short notice from around the world to hear him make a short speech on military standards and the 'warrior ethos,' multiple people familiar with the event told The Washington Post. Hegseth’s orders, which were sent earlier this week to senior generals and admirals worldwide, require anyone in a command position with the rank of one-star general or rear admiral and above, as well as their senior enlisted leaders, to be at Marine Corps University at Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~  Timothy Snyder on Substack: "... I do not think anyone at least in recent history has done what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is about to do: put all of the American generals and admirals from around the world into a single room (next week, in Virginia) just to say something to them. There is no practical reason to do this: he has easier and more secure ways to communicate with the commanders. And there are obvious risks: the entire armed forces of the United States, spread around the world, will be without its leaders. Given that the government could well shut down the next day, the separation of commanders from their command might be indefinite.... The entirety of the American command structure will be more vulnerable, physically, than in any conceivable military scenario, including nuclear war." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Ret. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling in the Bulwark: "In my forty years in uniform, I never saw anything like it.... To disrupt the world’s most powerful military by having its leaders travel across multiple time zones to stage a mass meeting in Virginia is nothing less than operational malpractice. THE IRONY IS that better options exist — and have been proven in practice. Secure video teleconferencing has been part of Pentagon life for decades.... In a moment when readiness is our greatest asset, the secretary of defense has chosen disruption, cost, and vulnerability to stage a demonstration of power." (Also linked yesterday.) 

John Yoon of the New York Times: “The United States said late Friday that it would revoke the visa of Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, after he called for American soldiers to disobey ... [Donald] Trump during a pro-Palestinian rally in New York. The State Department said on social media that it would revoke Mr. Petro’s visa because of ;his reckless and incendiary actions,' adding that he had stood on a New York street and 'urged U.S. soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence.' Mr. Petro, who has clashed with [Mr.] Trump before, addressed a protest on Friday across from the U.N. building, where leaders were gathered this week for the annual meeting of the General Assembly.”

Ernesto Londoño, et al., of the New York Times: “Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday detained the superintendent of the Des Moines Public Schools System, the president of the school board said in a statement. Jackie Norris, the president of the board, said she did not know why federal agents took Ian Roberts, the superintendent, into custody. Ms. Norris said that an associate superintendent, Matt Smith, would lead the system temporarily.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: “The superintendent of the public school system in Des Moines was detained on Friday by federal immigration authorities, who said he had been living and working in the United States illegally. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said that the superintendent, Ian Roberts, who was born in Guyana, entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa and had received a deportation order from an immigration judge in May 2024. He had no work authorization, and had faced weapon possession charges several years ago, ICE officials said. The arrest of the superintendent, who had become a well-known figure in Iowa’s capital city since he was hired two years ago, led to an impromptu protest on Friday in downtown Des Moines.” AND this: ~~~

“ICE agents approached Dr. Roberts while he was in his vehicle on Friday, and he sped off, according to a statement issued by the agency. He was later taken into custody after his vehicle was found abandoned near a wooded area, the statement said. The agency said that he had a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a hunting knife when he was detained.” The Des Moines Register story is here. The Iowa Public Radio report is here.

Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket: “For about nine minutes Wednesday morning, ICE agents pinned a man to the ground in the middle of a Maryland intersection. It was broad daylight as he screamed in anguish and shouted for help in both Spanish and English. When bystanders gathered to bear witness, agents briefly brandished their guns and pointed at them, with one officer appearing to keep his finger on the trigger for several minutes after.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: “A federal immigration officer was 'relieved of his duties' and is under investigation after he shoved an Ecuadorean woman whose husband had been arrested and pushed her to the floor at an immigration courthouse in Manhattan, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday. The altercation took place on Thursday at 26 Federal Plaza, the epicenter of ... [Donald] Trump’s immigration crackdown in New York City, and was captured in videos that spread rapidly on social media and beyond. The footage set off an outcry from New York City officials who denounced the behavior of the officer, who has not been identified, and demanded that he be disciplined.” Video is here. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Hannah Natanson & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration’s cuts to the [National] Weather Service — where nearly 600 workers, or about 1 in every 7, have left through firings, resignations or retirements — are pushing the agency to its limits, according to interviews with current and former staffers. The incoming head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has promised to prioritize filling those jobs, and the White House recently granted the Weather Service an exemption from a government-wide hiring freeze. But as the Atlantic hurricane season peaks and wildfires ramp up in the West, hundreds of positions remain vacant, staff said. Forecasters are currently watching two storms, including one that could pose a threat for the eastern United States by early next week.”

You have abused your power and authority as FHFA Director to engage in what can only be described as a politically motivated public campaign to attack President Trump’s perceived adversaries.... -- Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Dick Durbin (Illinois), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Gary C. Peters (Michigan) and Ron Wyden (Oregon), letter to Bill Pulte ~~~ 

~~~ Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: “Senate Democrats are pressing Bill Pulte..., Donald Trump’s firebrand housing finance official, for information on how authorities are investigating claims of mortgage fraud by the White House’s political adversaries and raising questions about how personal documents became a key political and legal weapon. In a Friday letter to Pulte..., a group of six leading Democrats wrote that Pulte has 'abused' his role running the Federal Housing Finance Agency to pursue political goals rather than protecting the housing market. Pulte and the Trump administration have accused three prominent Democrats — New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook — of mortgage fraud, and Pulte has publicly highlighted the allegations against them, though none face criminal charges.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have been wondering about this from the git-go, as it seems to me that combing through quasi-private personal records of adversaries to find evidence of possible crimes is unethical at best and unlawful at worst. The mortgage applications of various officials are not records that an FHFA director would serendipitously come across in the regular course of his duties as head of the agency.

Shadowy Supremes Rubber-stamp Trump Lawlessness. Again. Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post: “The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to freeze more than $4 billion in foreign aid, a victory for the president’s push to exert greater control over federal spending. The justices lifted a preliminary injunction from a federal judge who found the president had usurped Congress’s power of the purse.... The high court’s majority, in a brief order, said the administration probably was correct that the applicable law does not allow private groups to sue to enforce congressional appropriations and that 'the asserted harms to the Executive’s conduct of foreign affairs appear to outweigh the potential harm faced by respondents.' The justices said the ruling was not a 'final determination on the merits' of the issue, but because the funding is set to expire on Sept. 30, the money almost certainly will go unspent. Justice Elena Kagan, in a dissent joined by the court’s two other liberals, said the justices should not have decided the case on the court’s emergency docket.” The New York Times report is here; the Times link appears to be a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in an LG&$ item titled, "Republicans on Supreme Court continue their Article I nullification campaign": "The Supreme Court has been captured by a dangerous cabal that resorts to sneaky and improper methods to get its ways[.]... Legal reasoning offered by the majority to justify the executive usurpation of the power of the purse: none."

CBS/AP: "MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, an ally of ... [Donald] Trump, defamed the election technology company Smartmatic with false statements that its voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election, a federal judge in Minnesota ruled Friday. But U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan deferred until future proceedings the question of whether Lindell — one of the country's most prominent propagators of false claims that the 2020 election was a fraud — acted with the 'actual malice' that Smartmatic still needs to prove to collect any damages. The judge said there are 'genuine fact disputes' as to whether Lindell's statements were made 'with knowledge that they were false or made with reckless disregard to their falsity.' He noted that the defense says Lindell has an 'unwavering belief' that his statements were truthful."

Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “Sinclair, one of two large local TV owners that dropped 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' after the late-night comedian’s remarks about the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, said on Friday that it would resume showing the program after negotiations with ABC. Sinclair, which owns scores of TV stations across the United States, had been pre-empting the show since its return on Tuesday, blacking out the program for millions of Americans.... Nexstar, another local TV giant, has also dropped Mr. Kimmel’s show, setting off a days-long standoff with Disney. Its boycott is still in effect.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ This story has been updated. New Lede: “Sinclair and Nexstar, the two large local TV owners that dropped 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' after the late-night comedian’s remarks about the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, are resuming the program after negotiations with ABC, ending a highly unusual boycott that became a flashpoint for free speech in the United States.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Ken Belson & Chelsia Marcius of the New York Times: “The gunman who killed four people in a Midtown Manhattan office building in July had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head injuries sustained in football and other contact sports, according to the New York City medical examiner’s office. The disease, known as C.T.E., can be diagnosed only posthumously. Shane Tamura, the gunman, killed himself after the shooting spree at 345 Park Avenue. The medical examiner 'found unambiguous diagnostic evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as C.T.E., in the brain tissue of the decedent,' according to a statement. 'The findings correspond with the classification of low-stage C.T.E., according to current consensus criteria.' Mr. Tamura, a former high school football player, shot himself in the chest after killing four people and left a note that said his motive was anger at the National Football League, which he blamed for hiding the effects of C.T.E. In the note, he asked that his brain be studied.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

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Israel/Palestine, et al. Ephrat Livni, et al., of the New York Times: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel ruled out calls for a Palestinian state during a combative speech at the United Nations in New York on Friday, saying the recognition of Palestine by more than 150 countries was 'disgraceful' and vowing to 'finish the job' against Hamas in the war in the Gaza Strip.... The United States is the sole member of the U.N. Security Council that has not recognized Palestine. Mr. Netanyahu’s speech was the first at Friday’s session of the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, and many delegates and leaders either had not arrived, were boycotting or walked out when he took the podium.” (Also linked yesterday.)