March 4, 2026

Alex Woodward of the Independent: “The Department of Justice has withheld from the public nearly 48,000 files stemming from investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, after publishing more than 2 million pages of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.... A spokesperson for the Justice Department told the outlets that '47,635 files were offline for further review and should be ready for re-production by the end of the week.' Those offline files include materials connected to unverified allegations against ... Donald Trump, The Independent previously reported.... DOJ told The Independent last week that it is 'currently reviewing' documents that detail unverified allegations against the president.” ~~~

     ~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: The “DOJ Chose Which Epstein Files You’d See — And Left Out the Trump Ones.... After analyzing the DOJ’s public Epstein database, the [Wall Street Journal] identified tens of thousands of files that appeared to be missing. When reporters Sadie Gurman and Caitlin Ostroff pressed the Justice Department about the discrepancy, a spokeswoman confirmed that 47,635 documents were being held offline for further review. The department hadn’t previously volunteered that information and confirmed it only after being asked directly about the gap.... For weeks the Justice Department characterized the problems surrounding its document release as the predictable friction of a massive, logistically complex operation — tagging errors, privacy reviews, deadline pressure.... Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche have both insisted categorically that nothing was withheld for political sensitivity and that the department complied fully with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Those are strong claims that now sit alongside a documented record of selective disclosure.” 

Oh, ICE Barbie is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee today. The New York Times is liveblogging the hearing.  

Mendacity Comes Naturally to Kristi Gnome. Even Under Oath. Joshua Kaplan & Justin Elliott of ProPublica: “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem misled Congress on Tuesday about the powers of her controversial top aide Corey Lewandowski, according to records reviewed by ProPublica and four current and former DHS officials. Lewandowski has an unusual role at DHS, where he is not a paid government employee but is nonetheless acting as a top official, helping Noem run the sprawling agency. For months, members of Congress have asked the agency to detail the scope of his work and authority. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Noem whether Lewandowski has 'a role in approving contracts' at DHS. Noem responded with a flat denial:  'No.' But internal DHS records reviewed by ProPublica contradict Noem’s Senate testimony. The records show Lewandowski personally approved a multimillion-dollar equipment contract at the agency last summer. That was not a one-off. Lewandowski has approved numerous contracts at DHS and often needs to sign off on large ones before any money goes out the door, the current and former department employees said.”

Julian Barnes & Tyler Pager of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the leader of the Iranian covert unit that planned to assassinate ... [Donald] Trump in 2024 had been killed in the U.S. strikes on Iran. The Pentagon provided few details, but the Trump administration has said that Iran’s plotting to kill U.S. officials — particularly Mr. Trump — is one reason the United States launched its bombing campaign. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Mr. Hegseth said that the leader of the Iranian unit that tried to kill Mr. Trump was killed in a strike on Tuesday. 'Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,' Mr. Hegseth said.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know Drunk Pete thinks he's a super-jihadist Christian, but I don't think real Christians talk about assassinations as "getting the last laugh." Pete doesn't seem at all familiar with what most of us would recognize as "Christian morals" of just plain "religious morals" for any one of numerous religions.

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: “The United States is expected to increase tariffs on global imports to 15 percent this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday, as the Trump administration works to replicate some of the punishing duties struck down by the Supreme Court. That rate is an increase from the 10 percent global tariffs that ... [Donald] Trump imposed last month after a court ruling struck down the administration’s emergency tariffs. In an interview on CNBC, Mr. Bessent said the United States would be using a legal authority that allowed the president to impose an across-the-board tariff for 150 days unless Congress agreed to extend it. Mr. Bessent said that the office of the United States Trade Representative would conduct trade investigations to allow the Trump administration to replace the temporary tariffs with more permanent duties that would be less vulnerable to legal challenges.”

From the New York Times liveblog of primary election developments: “Representative Jasmine Crockett on Wednesday conceded the Democratic Senate nomination in Texas to James Talarico, a state lawmaker and seminarian, saying in a statement that the party 'must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.' Earlier Wednesday, it had not been clear whether Ms. Crockett would concede immediately after The Associated Press called the race for Mr. Talarico.... Ms. Crockett had told supporters at her election party Tuesday night that people had 'been disenfranchised' in Dallas County. But on Wednesday morning, Ms. Crockett called Mr. Talarico and left him a voice mail message congratulating him on his victory. Mr. Talarico received the message around 6:30 a.m. local time.... Still, in a text message exchange with The New York Times, Ms. Crockett wrote that she would not commit to campaigning with Mr. Talarico, and that party officials needed to ensure every primary vote was counted or risk alienating her supporters. Mr. Talarico, who had also expressed concern about voter suppression in the primary, declared victory on Wednesday morning.” Politico's report is here.

Amy Wang & Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “The House Ethics Committee will investigate allegations that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) had an affair with a former staff member who later died after setting herself on fire, the committee said Wednesday, ensuring that the scandal that has dogged Gonzales through his bitter primary race will continue to factor heavily as he heads into a runoff.  An investigative subcommittee will look into allegations Gonzales 'engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office' and 'discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges,' Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) wrote in a letter Wednesday.”

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Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: “While meeting with Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning..., [Donald] Trump decided to publicly answer reporters’ questions about his war on Iran for the first time. One of the first questions he got was this: What does he imagine the worst-case scenario in Iran to be? 'I guess the worst case would be we do this and somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person,' he said. 'Right, that could happen? We don’t want that to happen. It would probably be the worst, you go through this, and then in five years you realize you put somebody in who’s no better.' Right, that could happen. He was unflinching on Tuesday about the new war he has kicked off in the Middle East. He insisted it was necessary, and he talked about all the people he said have been thanking him ever since it started. But he also acknowledged, in more ways than one, that he’s not so sure how any of this might wind up.” Read on. President* We'll-See-What-Happens rattles on.

With a great deal of help from Aaron Rupar, Joe Jervis reprises some of Trump's stupid remarks delivered [Tuesday] morning during a press availability with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (who will always be Fred Mertz to me). Trump is glad to welcome Trump to the White House because, Trump says, his own father -- also named Fred -- was born in Germany. (He wasn't.) Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Tommy Christopher of Mediaite has more on Trump's rant. (The "stupid island" Trump talked about is Diego Garcia, one of a chain the U.K. transferred to Mauritius, following a 2019 International Court of Justice ruling. According to Art Intel, "Under the deal, the UK retains a 99-year lease to operate the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia." Trump wanted to use the base for his Iran adventure, and he deemed U.K. PM Keir Starmer too slow in approving his proposal.) Also, how can a small landmass be "stupid"? (Also linked yesterday.)

From the Washington Post's live updates of Trump's war: “NATO air defenses shot down an Iranian ballistic missile heading toward Turkish airspace, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday. It was unclear whether the missile was targeting Turkey, a NATO member state bordering Iran, but if it was, it would mark a major escalation in a war that has already spread across the Middle East.” 

Jon Gambrell, et al., of the AP: “The U.S. sank an Iranian warship in international waters, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, as it intensified its bombardment with Israel of Iran’s security forces and other symbols of power. Tehran vowed to completely destroy the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure — signaling the war was nowhere near over and could expand further. The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the conflict, would be postponed.... The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while disrupting the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarling international shipping, and stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.”

The New York Times' live updates covering developments in Trump's war are here. From the pinned item at 4:30 am ET: “The Israeli military on Wednesday bombarded sites affiliated with Iran’s repressive security apparatus that has long preserved the Islamic Republic’s grip on power, as uncertainty hung over the direction of the Iranian leadership and the endgame for the U.S.-Israeli assault.... [Donald] Trump has acknowledged the possibility that Iran’s next ruler could 'as bad as' [Ali] Khamenei. Iran’s leaders are leaning toward anointing his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, a hard-liner who would likely carry on his father’s legacy.... Israel’s defense minister [said] that if the next supreme leader followed Mr. Khamenei’s ideology, he would become 'an unequivocal target for elimination.' As Israeli forces took aim at Iranian police stations and the headquarters of the powerful state Basij paramilitary, experts said the goal may be to weaken the security agencies and encourage Iranians to rise up against their leaders. The Basij, numbered at about a million, played a major role in the Iranian government’s bloody crackdown on mass protests earlier this year.” 

Scott Nover & Liam Scott of the Washington Post: “Since the United States and Israel launched a joint strike against Iran on Saturday..., Donald Trump has taken a blitz of calls, often dubbed 'exclusives,' with a list of eager reporters. Among the many interviewers: Natalie Allison of The Washington Post, Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times, Kristin Welker and Peter Nicholas of NBC News, Jake Tapper of CNN, Bret Baier and Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News, Jonathan Karl and Rachel Scott of ABC News, Barak Ravid of Axios, Michael Scherer of the Atlantic, Nikki Schwab of the Daily Mail, Jon Levine of the Washington Free Beacon, Mychael Schnell and Laura Barrón-López of MS NOW, Steven Nelson of the New York Post, Connor Stringer of the Telegraph, Dasha Burns of Politico, and Libby Blanca Alon of Israel’s Channel 14 News.... The calls have largely been quick, leaving little time for interrogation.... Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, said the array of direct interviews offers Trump an opportunity to relay his talking points without being subjected to a cross-examination.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: These one-on-one calls put Trump in total control of the conversation. He already enjoys the dominance that comes with being the POTUS*, and on top of that, he can and will hang up the minute the reporter asks a question he doesn't want to answer. I've linked a few stories where the reporters kind of boast about their "exclusives," but the content was fairly useless. 

Heather Cox Richardson: “In his letter to Congress notifying them of his attack, Trump said he had acted under the 1973 War Powers Act, which permits a president to attack another country if there is an urgent threat. But the letter itself doesn’t identify any such urgent threat. It simply said Iran is one of the world’s largest sponsors of state terrorism and that it 'continues to seek the means to possess and employ nuclear weapons.' The Framers of the Constitution placed the power to declare war in the hands of Congress and not in the president above all because they did not trust that much power in the hands of one man. But they also wanted to make sure the American people would have robust debates about the value of the money and lives lost in combat.... They put into the Constitution that Congress had the power '[t]o declare War…and…[t]o raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years.' Alison Durkee of Forbes reported [Tuesday] that Trump’s military strikes in Iran have already cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion. The three F-15E Eagle jets lost to friendly fire on Sunday cost $90 million each.”

Marcy Wheeler: “Marco Rubio confessed yesterday that the reason Trump started a war with Iran is because Israel was determined to strike Iran (using intelligence obtained from the CIA), the US assumed Iran would attack US forces in response, and so they just joined the attack in an attempt to preempt the attacks on US targets.... That is a positively insane statement, equivalent to admitting that the US is renting out half its military and gobs of American taxpayer cash to Israel rather than simply telling Israel, no. And it happened largely through the gatekeeping of Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pretending to seek peace while at the same time monetizing their role.... 'We were surprised,' Trump admitted, apparently without understanding how fucking stupid this makes his entire team look, that Iran would attack Arab states sitting like ducks in close range from Iran.... Perhaps that lack of preparedness is why the US had personnel located in a tactical operations center in Kuwait, effectively a double-wide trailer with some concrete barriers outside, which is where — at last count — six Americans died.” Read on. Update: Oops, RAS got here first. Sorry for failing to give credit where credit was due. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ James LaPorta of CBS News: "At least six Americans were killed in a strike on a tactical operations center at the Shuaiba port in Kuwait.... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the deadly strike was caused by a powerful Iranian weapon that made it through both air defenses and the operations center's fortifications.... Hegseth said during a news conference at the Pentagon, '... in that particular case, [the weapon] happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons.' But ... three U.S. military officials questioned the assertion that the building was adequately fortified. They told CBS News the operations center was a triple-wide trailer made into an office space.... The trailer's only fortifications were T-walls, which are steel-reinforced concrete barriers ... used to protect military personnel from explosions, rocket attacks and shrapnel.... But T-walls could not protect the facility from an overhead strike.... Prior to the attack, there were discussions ... about whether the tactical operations center in question should not have been used, as it concentrated too many U.S. troops in a location that wasn't defendable." Sources noted other shortcomings in the defense system at the site. (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post story is here. ~~~

~~~ Corina Knoll, et al., of the New York Times: “... the coordinated attacks that launched Saturday have ... yielded hundreds of ... casualties — among them at least six American service members. Their deaths are a sobering detail in a conflict that the Trump administration has said could last for weeks, while officials have warned that more U.S. casualties are expected. On Tuesday evening, federal officials identified four of the U.S. victims as Army Reserve members who were killed Sunday during an unmanned aircraft system attack in the Shuaiba port in Kuwait. The attack is under investigation. The four named had all been assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines. They were Capt. Cody A. Khork and Sgts. Nicole M. Amor, Declan J. Coady and Noah L. Tietjens. The two other service members who were killed have not yet been identified.”

Malachy Browne & Pranav Baskar of the New York Times: “Thousands of mourners filled the streets of a town in southern Iran on Tuesday during the funeral for victims of an airstrike on a girls’ elementary school.... The bombing of the school, which took place on Saturday, killed at least 175 people, many of them students attending class at the Shajarah Tayyebeh school, in the town of Minab, according to local health officials and Iranian state media. Several videos and images verified by The Times showed that at least half of the two-story building was destroyed in the explosion. More than 800 people have been killed in the conflict across the Middle East since Saturday.... Before the funeral in Minab on Tuesday, workmen dug rows of graves at a cemetery about five miles from the elementary school.... The procession of mourners swarmed around a truck loaded down with coffins.

“The school was next to a naval base belonging to Iran’s most powerful military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The school building was once part of the military site, satellite images reviewed by The Times show, but by 2016, the building had been walled off and was no longer connected to the base. Neither the Israeli nor U.S. government has directly addressed the strike on the school.”

Vivian Nereim of the New York Times: “For years, the Persian Gulf countries had worried about the prospect of an out-of-control war with Iran.... The fear of conflict is one reason they have cultivated such close ties with the United States. They have built American military bases and spent tens of billions of dollars on American weapons. They had hoped to buy protection from Iran and its regional proxies. But the United States and Israel have launched a massive assault that has rapidly spiraled into a nightmare scenario for Gulf leaders.In retaliation, Iran has fired more than a thousand missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. The strikes have killed at least seven people in those countries.... The list of targets hit by Iran in the Gulf has included not only American military bases and embassies in the Gulf, but also energy installations, airports and resorts. In the Middle East business capital of Dubai — a city that was effectively immune to regional conflicts for decades — explosions shattered apartment windows and five-star hotels caught fire.”

Blacki Migliozzi, et al., of the New York Times: “Every day, around 80 oil and gas tankers typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast that carries a fifth of the world’s oil and a significant amount of natural gas. On Monday, just two oil and gas tankers appear to have crossed the strait.... Since then, one tanker passed through.... A senior Iranian military official threatened on Monday to 'set on fire' any ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.... Tankers have been staying away from Hormuz since the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that began on Saturday. A prolonged conflict could ripple broadly across the global economy, threatening the energy supplies of countries halfway around the world and stoking inflation. International oil prices have climbed 12 percent since the fighting began, trading Tuesday around $81 a barrel, and natural gas prices have surged in Europe and in Asia.” ~~~

~~~ Peter Eavis of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said [in a social media post] on Tuesday that the United States might deploy its Navy to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway south of Iran through which a fifth of the world’s oil travels.... The price of oil fell after Mr. Trump made his announcement but quickly regained most of that ground. The announcement also helped lift stock prices.”

Anna Betts of the Guardian: “Americans across the Middle East are scrambling to leave the region after the US state department late on Monday urged US citizens in 14 countries there to depart immediately as the conflict with Iran widens. Mora Namdar, the US assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, issued the advisory on Monday, urging Americans to 'DEPART NOW' from more than a dozen countries, citing 'serious safety risks'. The warning applied to US citizens in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The BBC estimates that there are between 500,000 and 1 million US nationals living in the Middle East.... Major airlines have canceled flights to and from the region since Saturday, and several airports paused flights and scaled back operations.... Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democratic senator, wrote in an X post that he used to work at the state department – “and the safety of Americans overseas is the highest responsibility;.' Warnings to citizens to evacuate 3 days into this war, when airspace is closed, is a clear sign of ZERO strategy and planning by the Trump admin,' Kim’s post said.” ~~~

     ~~~ Adam Taylor, et al., of the Washington Post: “The State Department is scrambling amid the fallout from ... Donald Trump’s high-stakes military assault on Iran and Tehran’s blistering response, with at least three embassies in the Middle East shuttered as of Tuesday as violence worsened and U.S. citizens were left with limited means to escape. The U.S. government was working to charter flights for American citizens in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and seeking to help people stranded elsewhere book tickets on commercial flights, according to the State Department. Speaking to reporters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that almost 1,600 Americans were seeking help to leave the region and that the department also was identifying 'military flight options.'... American citizens in the Middle East have expressed frustration with what they say has been a lack of clarity from the administration as violence has reverberated across the region in the days since Trump approved the military operation against Iran.... During an Oval Office meeting[, Trump said,] 'Well, because it happened all very quickly,' ... when asked why there wasn’t an evacuation plan.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is like Dick Cheney returning from the grave to forecast that we would be greeted as liberators when we bombed Iran & killed its top leaders. Even when carrying out a war of choice, you can't plan for every contingency, but really -- how could you just leave your own people in harm's way like this? Why, it's as if they don't care about U.S. citizens. At all. ~~~

     ~~~ Mariam Khan & Shannon Kingston of ABC News: "Now four days after the war began, the Trump administration is facing fierce criticism for not having a plan in place to evacuate Americans in harms way in advance of the joint operation.... Multiple U.S. embassies had said they are unable to help citizens trying to leave but the State Department on Tuesday sent out a new alert for Americans in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, saying, 'The U.S. government is ready to help Americans return home safely from the Middle East if you choose to take advantage of the options available.'... 'rest assured, we are confident that we are going to be able to assist every American,' [Marco Rubio] said.... 'So the State Department is forcing everyone to immediately leave the region but is also refusing to help people leave the region,' Democratic Senator Chris Murphy says in an X post. 'Incompetence everywhere,' he added.” ~~~

     ~~~ Anna Kramer & Torrie Herrington of NOTUS: “The Trump administration told Americans trying to evacuate the Middle East that they cannot 'rely' on U.S. government assistance, despite urging Americans to 'depart now' from 16 countries in the region as the war with Iran continues to escalate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a video Tuesday morning telling stranded Americans that they can call a State Department hotline for assistance. Americans who called the hotline received the message that there is no guaranteed travel help available. 'Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation. At this time, there are currently no United States evacuation points,' read an automated message on the hotline when NOTUS called the State Department number Tuesday afternoon. A person did eventually pick up the phone.... 'They are absolutely disinterested, no sense of urgency,' James Blunt, a U.S. businessman who was stranded in the United Arab Emirates, told NOTUS.” ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, you losers just don't know the right people: ~~~ 

     ~~~ Alyssa Guzman of the Daily Mail: "The White House has helped MAGA influencers escape the Middle East on a private jet while more than a million ordinary Americans are still trapped with no way out. Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz, dog-walker Sarah Daither, and former lobbyist Jay Footlik were among six who managed to flee on a plane chartered by the former after US strikes on Iran unleashed chaos in the region.... Bruesewitz used his White House connections along with officials in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to get the group of six out of the Middle East safely after many airports were closed and the US Embassy told its employees to shelter-in-place. The group flew to Greece ... as it was the nearest city Bruesewitz had a close US connection in. Kimberly Guilfoyle, and former fiancé of Donald Trump Jr, is a US ambassador for the Mediterranean country. White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and Representative Anna Paulina Luna helped secure a safe route for the group, Bruesewitz said on X."

Natasha Bertrand, et al., of CNN: “The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said. Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Several of the groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been striking Kurdish groups and said on Tuesday that it targeted Kurdish forces with dozens of drones. Also on Tuesday..., Donald Trump spoke with the president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), Mustafa Hijri, according to a senior Iranian Kurdish official. KDPI was one of the groups targeted by the IRGC.” 

Holy War. Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: “A military commander told a group of non-commissioned officers that ... Donald Trump was 'anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,' according to a complaint filed with a religious freedom watchdog. The anonymous complaint was provided to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation by one of the NCOs in attendance at the Monday briefing on behalf of 15 troops – 11 of whom were Christians, one Muslim, one Jewish, and two atheists – and was first reported by freelance journalist Jonathan Larsen on his Substack.... [The complainant] added that the superior 'had a big grin on his face when he said all of this, which made his message seem even more crazy.' MRFF said the complaint was one of more than 200 it has received since the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran began in the early hours of Saturday morning.” RAS linked Larsen's report yesterday. ~~~

     ~~~ Huh. According to the Old Testament, before the Judeo-Christian God anointed Jesus or anybody else, S/he anointed the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great for ending the Babylonian captivity. So one would think God would have a soft spot for the Iranians and would not be having Jesus "light a signal fire in Iran."  

Luke Broadwater & Dylan Freedman of the New York Times: “'Gaudy and cheap.' 'Monolithic.' 'Appalling.' A flood of messages from across the country has poured into the National Capital Planning Commission, which is holding a public comment period before its vote on Thursday about whether to move forward with President Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom project. The commission has received about 32,000 comments in all. Suffice it to say: Many people are not happy with what Mr. Trump is doing to the White House.... An overwhelming majority of the comments, more than 98 percent, are negative.... Only around 1 percent of the comments supported the project.”

Hailey Fuchs of Politico: “Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has 'proactively agreed to appear voluntarily' before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Chair James Comer announced Tuesday.” (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

River Davis & Hisako Ueno of the New York Times: “Joichi Ito, a prominent figure in a technology and entrepreneurship project led by the government in Japan, is leaving the initiative after renewed scrutiny over his past ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Ito, who resigned from a high-profile position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2019 after revelations of his efforts to conceal portions of the millions of dollars he had raised through Mr. Epstein, said in a post on his website late Tuesday that he would not seek reappointment to the Japanese government-funded project called the Global Startup Campus Initiative. His term was set to expire at the end of this month.”

Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration indicated on Tuesday that it planned to renew its defense of executive orders that it had leveled against law firms, a sharp reversal a day after asking a court whether it could abandon the fight. In a motion filed with the appeals court in the District of Columbia..., the Justice Department formally asked to withdraw its request on Monday to abandon the cases against four law firms.... On Monday, the administration, in a court filing, asked an appeals court if it could walk away from its appeal of victories the firms had won against the White House. The move was a significant concession by the White House that it could not stand behind its orders.” The link may be a gift link. The NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~ 

     ~~~Marie: So it Trump was embarrassed/infuriated to be caught backing off one of his bullying campaigns & ordered DOJ to fight on. 

The New York Times liveblogged a Senate hearing in which senators grilled Kristi Noem: ~~~

~~~ Michael Gold & Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: “Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, repeatedly declined on Tuesday to apologize for suggesting that two American citizens killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were domestic terrorists. Asked by Democratic and Republican senators about comments she made in the aftermath of both shootings that Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti had committed acts of domestic terrorism, Ms. Noem did not retract her remarks. She said repeatedly that her characterizations came from immigration officers in Minneapolis. 'I was getting reports from the ground, from agents at the scene,' Ms. Noem said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. 'And I would say that it was a chaotic scene.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Eric Bazail-Eimil of Politico: “Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) threatened Tuesday to use aggressive procedural measures to bring Senate work to a standstill if Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem fails to respond to his offices’ inquiries about an immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina. An irate Tillis, who is retiring this year from the Senate, ripped into Noem during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, saying that he would use his power as a senator to hold nominations and prevent bills from getting to the Senate floor.... The announcement from Tillis, who has called repeatedly for Noem to leave her post, would represent a rare escalation from any senator — in particular one from the president’s party — in the face of frustrations with a member of the Cabinet. Such a move, if he follows through with his threat, would hijack much of the Senate’s standard operating procedure.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Eric Bazail-Eimil of Politico: “The Department of Homeland Security has hindered internal investigations amid scrutiny for its handling of ... Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration, the agency’s official watchdog warned in a letter to Congress. DHS has been 'systematically obstructing' investigations by withholding records, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said in a letter released Tuesday — hours after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced withering bipartisan questioning at a Senate hearing. Cuffari’s letter, dated Monday, outlined at least 10 investigations in which his office has been denied access to records and information it requested. Cuffari said the lack of cooperation by DHS violates the law and 'longstanding principles of comity' between internal watchdogs and the agencies they oversee.”

Shrai Popat of the Guardian & Agencies: “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened an internal investigation into allegations that Gregory Bovino, a senior border patrol official, made disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor, the New York Times reported. Bovino ... allegedly mocked federal prosecutor Daniel Rosen during a January phone call with state prosecutors. According to the Times, Bovino allegedly made sarcastic comments about Rosen’s observance of Shabbat – the weekly period of rest from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset – and used the phrase 'chosen people' in a derisive tone during the 12 January call. The call came after Bovino requested a meeting with Rosen to push the Minnesota US attorney’s office into a stronger response toward criminalizing people whom Bovino believed were impeding federal agents from enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state, the Times reported on Saturday.” The New York Times story is here.

Brianna Sacks & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem’s directive requiring she sign off on any department expense over $100,000 has delayed tens of millions of dollars in grants, contracts and funding awards to help communities rebuild and recover after disasters, according to a report released Wednesday by Senate Democrats. Compiled by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the report is based on data in 'an internal tracker provided by whistleblowers,' the lawmakers said. They have called on Noem to immediately rescind the directive she first introduced in June.... The report highlights more than two dozen examples of spending requests that exceeded $100,000, but were delayed for weeks or months after FEMA officials submitted them to Noem’s office, according to the lawmakers.... In a statement, Lauren Bis, an assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, said there is 'no evidence of such' weeks-long delays in aid decisions.” MB: It's uncanny. They deny & lie about everything.

Mitch Smith of the New York Times: “Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on Monday over a decision to withhold more than $200 million in Medicaid funds from the state, which has seen widespread fraud in social service programs.... In the new lawsuit, Minnesota officials asked a judge to restore most of the $259 million in funding that the Trump administration cut off last week. The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office, said that the federal government had “weaponized Medicaid against Minnesota as political punishment.” Vice President JD Vance said last week ... that the Trump administration had to 'turn the screws on them a little bit so they take this fraud seriously.'” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly, Ctd. Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: “Two top aides to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer were forced out Monday night amid an internal investigation into claims of misconduct by top officials in the department, people familiar with the matter said. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff, Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff, Rebecca Wright, were given 24 hours to resign after the White House told Labor Department leaders to fire them, one of the people said.... Investigators have spoken with several dozen witnesses in an inquiry that has expanded to include claims that Mr. Han and Ms. Wright tried to steer department grants to favored political operatives. In interviews with The New York Times, more than two dozen current and former department employees described a toxic workplace characterized by an absentee secretary, hostile aides and a deeply demoralized staff.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

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Congressional Races, etc. The New York Times ran a liveblog of developments in various primary races held yesterday. From the pinned item: “James Talarico, a state representative and seminarian, won the Democratic Senate primary in Texas on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, prevailing over Representative Jasmine Crockett in a race that drew record early turnout and was roiled by Election Day rule changes. On the Republican side, Senator John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, the hard-right, scandal-plagued state attorney general, were headed to a runoff in May. In the Democratic race, voter confusion in Dallas County — the state’s second most populous and Ms. Crockett’s base of support — prompted a flurry of legal activity. 'I can tell you now that people have been disenfranchised,' Ms. Crockett told supporters at her election night gathering.... It was not clear whether Ms. Crockett would dispute the result. 

“North Carolina and Arkansas also held primaries on Tuesday.... In North Carolina, Roy Cooper, a former Democratic governor, and Michael Whatley, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, won their primaries in another closely watched race that could decide control of the Senate in November. Other notable races involved House members from both major parties in Texas who were fighting to maintain their seats. Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas became the first sitting member to fall in a primary this midterm election season.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the AP's live updates. As of 6:30 am ET, the AP was still calling the race between James Talarico & Jasmine Crockett "too early to call." ~~~  

     ~~~ Texas Voters Can't Decide Between Bad and Worse. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales is headed to a runoff in a tight Texas primary race rocked by allegations that Gonzales had an affair with an aide who died after lighting herself on fire. Gonzales on Tuesday fell short of the majority vote required to avoid a runoff. Now he will face off against the other top finisher in the GOP primary, Brandon Herrera, a YouTuber with a gun business who calls himself 'the AK Guy.' Gonzales and Herrera were close to tied early Wednesday morning with most of the vote counted.... The GOP has the advantage in the 23rd District, a sprawling region along the southern border that Texas Republicans made redder in last year’s redistricting. Herrera attacked the more centrist Gonzales from the right, criticizing the congressman’s vote for gun-control legislation that was inspired in part by a tragedy in his district: the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde. But personal scandal rather than policy took center stage in the final stretch of the primary, as new information surfaced about Gonzales’s relationship with a former staffer....” ~~~

     ~~~ Ayden Runnels of the Texas Tribune: “State Rep. Steve Toth beat incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw for the Republican nomination in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District, coming one step closer to representing the Houston-area seat. Toth opened a wide lead in the Republican primary on Tuesday as results came in and declared victory hours before The Associated Press called the race in his favor.... Toth’s commanding lead was a reversal of fortunes for Crenshaw, who had in previous years sailed through the primaries with double-digit leads.... Crenshaw was the only Texas Republican incumbent in the House who ran without Trump’s endorsement.” ~~~

     ~~~ Bridget Bowman of NBC News: "The matchup is set in North Carolina's crucial Senate race, with Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley winning their primaries, NBC News projects....  It’s a must-win race for Democrats if they have any hope of netting the four seats they need to take control of the [Senate]." ~~~

     ~~~ David Nir of the Downballot: "Democrat Alex Holladay won a Republican-held seat in the Arkansas state House on Tuesday night, marking the ninth time Democrats have flipped a district from red to blue in a special election since the start of Donald Trump’s second term. Holladay, a healthcare administrator, defeated businessman Bo Renshaw to capture the 70th District outside of Little Rock, a swingy constituency he had come close to winning in 2024."

Georgia. Rick Rojas & Johnny Kauffman of the New York Times: “A Georgia father was found guilty on Tuesday of ignoring warning signs and allowing his son unfettered access to an assault-style rifle that prosecutors say the teenager used in a deadly school shooting. The jury deliberated only about two hours before concluding that the father, Colin Gray, 54, was guilty of more than two dozen charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, stemming from the attack on Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga. Two students and two teachers were killed. Prosecutors said that the father had given his son, Colt Gray, the AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas gift, letting him keep it in his bedroom. The elder Mr. Gray did not take it away even as his son’s behavior became more volatile and he showed signs of an obsession with school shooters.” (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Stefanos Chen & Winnie Hu of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the federal government’s attempt to end New York’s congestion pricing toll was illegal, handing a major victory to the state in its defense of the first-in-the-nation traffic reduction plan, which the Trump administration had tried for more than a year to kill. While other legal challenges remain, the 149-page decision by Judge Lewis J. Liman of Federal District Court in Manhattan ends, for now, a heated battle between Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has become a staunch defender of the program, and the White House, which has claimed, without offering evidence, that it would harm the region’s economy.” The link may be a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: “When ... Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive[, Republican nominee for governor] and a close ally of ... [Donald] Trump ... began hiring armed citizens two years ago to be deployed as special deputy sheriffs on his orders in times of emergency, critics accused him of creating an unlawful, unnecessary, personal militia.... In a filing in state court on Tuesday, the plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to halt the program challenged that assertion, arguing that the little they had learned through the discovery process about those who have been deputized suggests their credentials are lacking.... The filing, by two Democratic county legislators, says that four people involved in the program 'appear to have either been arrested or have had warrants issued for their arrest.' Five appear to have been in their 70s when they enrolled in the program, well past New York’s mandatory retirement age of 62 for most police officers....”

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Canada. Rylee Kirk of the New York Times: “A Toronto synagogue was damaged by gunfire on Monday night, the beginning of the Jewish holiday Purim, the police said. Police officers responded to calls of gunfire at Temple Emanu-El in the North York neighborhood just before 11 p.m., Deputy Robert Johnson said on Tuesday during a news conference held by the Toronto Police Department. No one was injured, but the building was damaged, Deputy Johnson said, although he did not detail the extent of the damage. Several bullet casings were found near the temple’s front door, he added. In a statement on social media, Temple Emanu-El said 20 shots were fired toward the building.... A Purim celebration at the temple finished about an hour before the shots were fired, Rabbi Debra Landsberg said in a statement. Rabbi Landsberg said the building’s lights were off but she and a small group were still on the property.”