April 1, 2026

Emily Brooks & Mallory Wilson of the Hill: “Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Wednesday announced a deal that, if accepted by their members, would end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The two GOP leaders said they will pursue a two-track plan endorsed earlier in the day by ... [Donald] Trump to end the shutdown by funding immigration and border enforcement through a GOP-only reconciliation bill — making a stark reversal for the House GOP from just a week ago.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The media seem to be portraying this as a case of Bible Mike backing down. But is isn't, really. Mike does what Trump says, whether there's any rhyme or reason to it. That's what happened here. Trump gave in. This was yet another TACO momentito.  

Eli Stokels, et al., of Politico: “... Donald Trump will use a primetime address Wednesday night to declare that the month-long war in Iran is winding down, against a backdrop of spiking oil prices and increasingly dismal poll numbers. The president has telegraphed that message in interviews, social media posts and public comments over the past 24 hours, laying the groundwork for a speech that is expected to claim that all military objectives have been met, according to six people familiar with the planning and granted anonymity to speak candidly. He also intends to harshly scapegoat NATO allies for the biggest unresolved matter of the war, Iran’s ongoing restrictions of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.... The president’s decision to deliver a major address about the war’s endgame, coming as an additional 2,500 U.S. Marines make their way to the region, may be primarily an attempt to assuage voters’ concerns and Wall Street’s unease about energy markets and the knock-on effects of the strait closure.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I think I figured out why Trump decided to save for this evening what is predicted to be an inconsequential speech: NBC News: "NASA's long-awaited Artemis II mission is set to launch four astronauts on a journey around the moon today. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida." Trump is hoping to bask in reflected glory.

Mark Sherman of the AP: “The Supreme Court seemed poised Wednesday to reject ... Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship in a momentous case that was magnified by his unparalleled presence in the courtroom. Conservative and liberal justices questioned whether Trump’s order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens comports with either the Constitution or federal law. Arguments lasted more than two hours in a crowded courtroom that included not only Trump..., but also Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and in seats reserved for the justices’ guests, actor Robert De Niro. The case frames another test of Trump’s assertions of executive power that defy long-standing precedent for a court with a conservative majority and a robust view of presidential power, which has largely ruled in the Republican president’s favor. In the notable exceptions when the court has not, Trump has responded with starkly personal criticisms of the justices. A definitive ruling is expected by early summer.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For those of us who have been wondering why the Supremes agreed to even hear the birthright citizenship case, RAS may have found the answer. Here's Prof. Michael Dorf on BlueSky: "Don't get me wrong: I'm relieved that this case is shaping up as either 8-1 or 7-2 against the Trump executive order. But the case is a gift to the Supreme Court. By rejecting an outlandish position, it will earn credibility as apolitical, even as the Overton window moves far to the right." 

The New York Times is liveblogging Supreme Court oral arguments in a case brought against Donald Trump, who signed an executive order on his first day in office limiting birthright citizenship to the children of citizens.

Ann Marimow: “Ten minutes before oral arguments began a hush came over the courtroom as ... [Donald] Trump was escorted inside and seated in the front row of the public section on a red-cushioned bench. The president, wearing a red tie, sat placidly with his hands clasped in his lap as the court swore in several groups of lawyers to the Supreme Court bar.... The president’s seat was at least a half dozen rows behind the lectern, where his solicitor general stands and is facing skeptical questions from justices across the ideological spectrum.” 

The World is getting rich selling citizenships to our Country, while at the same time laughing at how STUPID our U.S. Court System has become (TARIFFS!). ‘Dumb Judges and Justices will not a great Country make!’ -- Donald Trump, in a recent social media post ~~~ 

~~~ In Your Face. Ann Marimow & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Wednesday became the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court, sitting in the public gallery for the birthright citizenship case and coming face to face with justices whom he has tried to bully and intimidate. His presence for the argument raises the stakes of an already closely watched case. The president’s relationship with the justices became even more strained after the court’s decision in February to invalidate the administration’s tariffs plan, which like immigration is at the heart of his administration’s agenda.... Earlier this week, Mr. Trump ... insist[ed] the justices must prove their intelligence by siding with him on the birthright citizenship issue.... At a news conference the day the Supreme Court released its 6-3 opinion in the tariffs case, Mr. Trump called the majority a 'disgrace to our nation' and suggested that Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom he nominated during his first term, were 'an embarrassment to their families' because of their votes.”

~~~ What's Wrong with This Picture? Akhilleus points to a CNN analysis by Aaron Blake (late of the Washington Post), in which Blake points to how often Trump and Co. expect us to sacrifice for things we don't want: like tariffs & the Iran War. Akhilleus asks, "How about he sacrifices something? Like his million dollar per golf junkets." Or sending his kids to war, three of whom -- Eric, Tiffany & Barron -- are of military age. MEANWHILE, Ken W. found some pretty specific evidence that Trump isn't suffering at all for the things he wants. Ken found this useful site: https://didtrumpgolftoday.com, which tracks the days Trump plays golf. During this term, Trump has golfed 103 days out of 437 days in office. The estimated cost to taxpayers of those 103 outings, based on GAO figures, is $144,200,000. ~~~

~~~ AND RAS found out why Trump held off making his big Iran war announcement: 

By Nick Anderson for the Contrarian.

Marcie Jones of Wonkette: "... here is more corroboration to the story of the victim who claimed Trump allegedly did [have sex with her], allegedly, allegedly, who in 2019 Trump’s own FBI deemed credible. This was the one who had been living in South Carolina and said she bit Trump’s dick in the 1980s, and also said that Epstein had raped her along with another man, taken photos, and blackmailed her mother with them, holy shit. Now new reporting from Ellie Leonard's Substack and verified by the South Carolina Post and Courier corroborates that victim’s story even more, and gives an identity to the name of one of the accused child rapists." Jones goes into the details. Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A viable question that comes out of the millions of pages of files is what happened to this particular investigation? Agents interviewed this woman four times, and there are enough threads from the even scant information journalists can glean from the published 302 reports that they can verify parts of the woman's story. So what happened? Trump was president* and the DOJ aborted an investigation that might have led to a credible child sex-abuse case against him. Who closed the file? Why? Who knew about it? What did Trump know about it?

~~~~~~~~~~ 

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Iran war. From the pinned item at 6:00 am ET: “Israel said it struck Tehran early Wednesday.... The attack came hours after ... [Donald] Trump said that he expected the U.S. military campaign in Iran to end in two or three weeks.... Mr. Trump is scheduled to deliver 'an important update' on the war in a national address at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary.... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. had achieved such control of Iran’s skies that it was flying B-52 bombers directly over Iranian territory. He said that bombers had carried out a strike on an Iranian ammunition depot in the central city of Isfahan. But Mr. Hegseth also said that Iran still retains the ability to retaliate with missiles and drones targeting U.S. allies in the region. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Tuesday that his country had neither responded to a 15-point U.S. peace proposal nor made a counteroffer, and denied that formal negotiations were underway, despite Mr. Trump’s claim that talks were progressing. Mr. Araghchi also denounced a strike on a major pharmaceutical company in Tehran as 'an attempt to disrupt the country’s health care system.'” ~~~

     ~~~ The AP's live updates for today are here. 

Lawrence O'Donnell is convinced Donald Trump will surrender to Iran tonight:

     ~~~ O'Donnell makes a good case based on the latest remarks Trump made before 10 pm ET. But as Gen. Mark Hertling pointed out on MS NOW earlier last night, what Trump says and what he does may be diametrically opposed, so the speech he has planned for tonight could be a defense for a long war. Let us all hope O'Donnell's prediction proves true. 

David Sanger of the New York Times: Donald “Trump declared on Tuesday that he had already achieved one of the primary objectives of his attack on Iran, the elimination of its ability to build a nuclear weapon. But there is no evidence that the United States or Israel has removed or destroyed the country’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade fuel. 'I had one goal,' Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office late in the afternoon. 'They will have no nuclear weapon, and that goal has been attained.' Several of Mr. Trump’s top aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have joined him in narrowing the war objectives in recent days, presumably to give the president space to declare victory and pull back from the conflict. When Mr. Rubio this week sketched out four major objectives — telling an interviewer to 'write them down' — he made no mention at all of halting Iran’s nuclear program.”

Edward Wong of the New York Times: “Regime change has occurred in Iran. Or it hasn’t. It is a goal of the war. Except it isn’t. Those are some of the dizzying messages that have come from ... [Donald] Trump and his aides in recent days.... There appears to be disagreement among top administration officials on what the phrase ['regime change'] means, or whether the United States and Israel have achieved it in four weeks of war against Iran.... A common definition of regime change is a forced transformation of government or leadership that results in structural alterations in policies, politics and governance. In Iran, a theocratic leadership that is authoritarian and anti-American — and that continues to wage war — remains in place.

“On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also the president’s national security adviser, expressed some doubt in an interview with ABC News about whether anything had really changed in Iran. 'The people who lead them, this clerical regime, that is the problem,' he said. 'And if there are new people now in charge who have a more reasonable vision of the future, that would be good news for us, for them, for the entire world. But we also have to be prepared for the possibility, maybe even the probability, that that is not the case.'... [Meanwhile,] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unequivocal declaration about the Iranian government at a news conference on Tuesday: 'This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last. President Trump will make a deal. He is willing.'”

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps what we're seeing in the Little Marco's and Drunk Pete's conflicting statements is a profound difference in motivations. Marco, a seasoned politician who can read poll numbers, is distancing himself from Trump and looking out for his own presidential ambitions. Pete, on the other hand, is just trying to keep the job he has by agreeing with whatever Trump says at each moment in time. Donald Trump is not the only narcissist in this administration. 

France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated.... The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!! -- Donald Trump, in a social media post Tuesday ~~~

Mark Landler & Catherine Porter of the New York Times: Donald “Trump lashed out again at European allies on Tuesday for their refusal to get more involved in the Iran war. He accused France of denying permission to American warplanes to fly over its territory and challenged Britain to 'go get your own oil' by forcibly reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The French government said it was 'surprised' by Mr. Trump’s claim, made on his Truth Social account, but did not issue an explicit denial. A French military official ... said that France had not closed its airspace to American planes. The president’s two posts came after Spain ... said it had denied permission to U.S. military planes to fly over its territory before striking Iran. There were reports in the Italian media that Italy, too, had restricted the use of a base in Sicily by American planes. But the Italian government played down those reports....” (Also linked yesterday.)

Steven Nelson of the New York Post: Donald “Trump told The Post on Tuesday that he believes the Iran war is likely to end soon and that other nations can reopen the Strait of Hormuz without US military assistance. 'We’re not going to be there too much longer. We’re obliterating the s–t out of them right now,' Trump said in a phone interview.... 'Well, I think it’ll automatically open, but my attitude is, I’ve obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it,' he said.” (Also linked yesterday.)

We’ll be leaving very soon.... And if France or some other country wants to get oil or gas, go up through the … Hormuz strait, they’ll go right up there, and they’ll be able to fend for themselves.... We’ll have nothing to do with it... What happens in the strait, we’re not going to have anything to do with it. -- Donald Trump, to reporters in the Oval Office, Tuesday ~~~ 

~~~ Cleve Wootson & Victoria Craw of the Washington Post: “Financial markets rallied, and oil and gas prices fell on hopes of an approaching end to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, even as strikes in the region continued and Tehran maintained a show of defiance against opening the Strait of Hormuz.... [Donald Trump] and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent Tuesday expressing optimism about the United States’ trajectory, after the administration alternated in recent days between saying the war is winding down and threatening to escalate it. On Tuesday, Trump said that he planned to end the U.S. involvement in Iran within two or three weeks and that he would have 'nothing to do' with a long-term effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for 20 percent of the world’s oil that Iran has largely blocked off with threats and attacks on tankers.” 

Trump's No Churchill. Ted Widmer, once a speechwriter for Bill Clinton, in the Guardian: “Trump was at his Florida retreat when he announced the war, while wearing a baseball hat, with a video released in the middle of the night of 28 February. Since then, each interjection has added to the muddle, with shifting statements that routinely contradict each other or simply deny reality.... In the war’s fifth week, the muddle has deepened, with inconsistent messaging that clearly betrays the lack of a strategy.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Trump Is Trying to Start World War III. Ali Walker of Politico: “... Donald Trump rattled NATO allies on Wednesday morning, as he strongly suggested that the U.S. was weighing whether to pull out of the transatlantic military alliance. 'I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration,' Trump told the Telegraph newspaper, when asked if he would think twice about the U.S.’s membership of the alliance after the Middle East conflict is over. NATO allies have infuriated Trump by uniformly resisting joining the U.S. and Israeli assault on Iran, and rebuffed calls from the president for them to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.... 'I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,' Trump added. His remarks were published hours after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington may need to reconsider its relationship with NATO once the war against Iran is over, sharply escalating pressure on European allies that America accuses of withholding support. Still, Trump cannot legally exit NATO unilaterally. Under a 2023 law passed under former President Joe Biden, a withdrawal would require backing from two-thirds of the Senate or an Act of Congress.”

First, There Was This. SILive (Staten Island): “NBC News is reporting that the U.S. Army has suspended the aircrew of military helicopters that did a flyby at the Tennessee home of rap-rocker Kid Rock, a big supporter of President Donald Trump. Kid Rock, whose given name is Robert Ritchie, on Saturday posted a video on X showing him standing in the backyard of his home as a military helicopter hovered for several seconds and another chopper flew close by.... The Army said that 'appropriate action will be taken if any violations are found.'... 'Army aviators must adhere to strict safety standards, professionalism, and established flight regulations,' the Army said in a statement Monday. 'An administrative review is underway to assess the mission and verify compliance with regulations and airspace requirements.'” Includes Kid Rock's posts. ~~~

~~~ Then These Things Happened. Emily Cochrane & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday abruptly reversed the suspension of Army crews that piloted two Apache helicopters close to the musician Kid Rock’s residence in Nashville over the weekend. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman said that the crew members involved had been barred from flight duties, a day after the Army began an inquiry into videos of the flyover posted on social media. But Mr. Hegseth appeared to end both the suspensions and the investigation, with a social media post on Tuesday night declaring: 'No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.' It was a remarkable intervention from the highest level of the Pentagon, circumventing the internal military chain of command. For Mr. Hegseth, who in his previous career as a Fox News host defended service members accused of war crimes, the decree was another indication of his contempt for legal guardrails in the military.

“Hegseth’s post came on the same day that ... [Donald] Trump told reporters at the White House that the crew members 'probably should not have been doing it.... You’re not supposed to be playing games, right? I will take a look at it.'... Mr. Trump ... add[ed], jokingly, 'They like Kid Rock. I like Kid Rock. Maybe they were trying to defend him.' Mr. Hegseth has also repeatedly clashed with the Army secretary, Daniel P. Driscoll, over personnel and administrative decisions.... By reversing the suspension, he has waded into what had otherwise been a fairly routine disciplinary proceeding.” This is an update of a report linked here yesterday.

Erika Solomon, et al., of the New York Times: “An American journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad by 'unknown individuals' on Tuesday evening, and government security forces have begun operations to find her and track down the abductors, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry. The freelance journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson by two Iraqi security officials. She has worked for various news organizations, and one of them, Al-Monitor news outlet, for which Ms. Kittleson is a contributor, called for her safe and immediate release. A senior official at the U.S. State Department, Dylan Johnson, said in a social media post that the department was aware of the 'reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad,' though he did not identify Ms. Kittleson by name. He said the department had warned the individual of 'threats against them' and was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to secure the person’s release.” ~~~

     ~~~ Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “An American journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq with the apparent involvement of an Iranian-backed militia, the State Department said Tuesday.... U.S. authorities believe one of the people involved in the kidnapping has ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah, Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson wrote in a post on X. That person was in Iraqi custody, he said.”

Jeffrey Gettleman, et al., of the New York Times: “The American military is intensifying efforts to secure greater access to Greenland, a clear signal that ... [Donald] Trump’s interest in the enormous Arctic island has not waned. The United States is negotiating with Denmark for access to three additional bases in Greenland — including two previously abandoned by Americans — which would mark the first U.S. expansion there in decades, according to a top Pentagon general, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot. General Guillot, the head of U.S. Northern Command, told lawmakers in a congressional hearing in mid-March that the military wanted 'increased access to different bases across Greenland as we look at the increasing threat and the strategic importance of Greenland.'”

Oh dear, Trump has a busy, busy schedule today. Tonight, it's the address to the nation; this morning, there's this:

     ~~~ AP: “... Donald Trump plans to sit in on Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship, making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the nation’s highest court.... Trump signed [an order] on the first day of his second term, declared that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. It’s an about-face from the long-standing view that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment and federal law since 1940 confer citizenship to everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions.” MB: He'll probably also be the first sitting president to fall asleep while attending Supreme Court oral arguments.

Nick Corasaniti & Michael Gold of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Tuesday stepped up efforts to promote his false claims of widespread voting fraud, signing an executive order of questionable constitutionality seeking to create a national list of citizens that would determine voting eligibility and restrict mail ballots. Mr. Trump acknowledged that the order, which comes as a bill he has been pushing to restrict mail voting has languished in Congress, could face legal hurdles. 'I believe it’s foolproof,' Mr. Trump said about the executive order before signing it in the Oval Office. 'And maybe it’ll be tested. Maybe it won’t.' The president has no explicit Constitutional authority over elections, and many aspects of the order appear difficult to enforce.

“It directs the Department of Homeland Security to create a 'state citizenship list' based on data from citizenship and naturalization records, Social Security records and other federal databases. The order directs federal officials to send the list to state election officials, and orders the attorney general to prioritize prosecution of election officials who provide federal ballots to ineligible voters. It also directs the U.S. Postal Service not to transmit mail-in or absentee ballots from any individual not included on the 'state citizenship list.' Election experts and Democratic state election officials rejected the president’s directive as legally invalid. Officials in Arizona and Oregon pledged to fight the executive order in court. Marc Elias, a Democratic election lawyer, also vowed to file a lawsuit against the order.” Politico's story is here. The AP report is here.

     ~~~ Marie: "Difficult to enforce"?? Looks to me as if it also would be "impossible to comply with." It would be a bureaucratic nightmare that would cause election day chaos and disenfranchise countless qualified voters. But I suppose that's the point. 

Aphorisms notwithstanding, for Donald Trump, March went out like a lion. And that lion, he bit old Donald in the ass.  

White House Demo Site. New York Times photo.

~~~ ⭐Judge Halts Rube Goldberg Ballroom. Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge ordered on Tuesday that construction be halted on ... [Donald] Trump’s proposed White House ballroom, to be built in place of the demolished East Wing, saying work must come to a stop until the project receives a go-ahead from Congress. The decision delivered the first meaningful setback to the president’s increasingly audacious efforts to redesign the White House and Washington, D.C. It came after months of litigation in front of Judge Richard J. Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush, who had previously declined to step in. In a 35-page opinion, Judge Leon wrote that Mr. Trump likely did not have the authority to act on his own, without consulting Congress, to replace entire sections of the White House — changes that could endure for generations. He also reiterated concerns he had raised for months in court: that from the start, the administration has provided shifting and questionable accounts of who was in charge of the project and under what authority private donations could be accepted to fund it.” This story was linked earlier as part of a NYT liveblog. The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Dan Diamond & Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: “Within hours, the Trump administration notified the court it would appeal Leon’s decision, which the White House called 'egregious.' [Donald Trump] suggested that many parts of the project would move forward, such as the ballroom’s bulletproof glass and anti-drone installations on the roof, citing Leon’s decision that the White House could proceed on efforts to ensure safety and security. 'I’m allowed to continue building as necessary, Trump said. He also attacked the group that brought the lawsuit, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, on social media.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Say what? He can't put in the walls, but he's going to install 40-foot windows? Like every American girl, I believe in magic -- but I don't see how that will work. ~~~ 

     ~~~ Ella Lee of the Hill: “Trump appeared to rail against the ruling and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in a TruthSocial post shortly after the ruling became public, saying they should have set their sites on the Fed renovation. 'So, the White House Ballroom, and The Trump Kennedy Center, which are under budget, ahead of schedule, and will be among the most magnificent Buildings of their kind anywhere in the World, gets sued by a group that was cut off by Government years ago, but all of the many DISASTERS in our Country are left alone to die,' Trump said.” ~~~

     ~~~ Robert Davis of the Raw Story: "...  Donald Trump lashed out at a federal judge who ordered that his administration halt construction on his signature ballroom and seek Congressional approval before restarting.... 'He's so wrong,' Trump said. 'This is being financed privately. It's a donation that's being given by companies. Very rich companies. Very rich people. They've wanted this ballroom for 150 years. We can have the greatest ballroom anyone has ever heard of, and he says we need Congressional approval. Well, they don't give Congressional approval for this. We didn't ask for any tax money. This is taxpayer-free.' Trump added that construction on the ballroom should continue for national security purposes. 'We have a drone-proof roof,' Trump said, adding that there will be 'a lot of bulletproof glass' in the new ballroom."

Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal judge delivered a serious setback to ... Donald Trump Tuesday in long-running civil lawsuits seeking to hold him liable for the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that evidence produced so far in the litigation brought by police officers and Democratic lawmakers indicated that Trump’s speech at the Ellipse that day was political in nature and not subject to the immunity the Supreme Court has found for a president’s official acts. 'President Trump has not shown that the Speech reasonably can be understood as falling within the outer perimeter of his Presidential duties,' Mehta wrote. 'The content of the Ellipse Speech confirms that it is not covered by official-acts immunity.' The 79-page ruling, years in the making, follows numerous efforts by Trump to scuttle the lawsuit by claiming he is protected by presidential immunity from liability for his actions on the day of the Capitol Riot and in the weeks leading up to that event. But the decision also portends years of additional litigation and appeals, likely ensuring that Trump will be contending with the lawsuits for the remainder of his presidency. It also prolongs the wait for a resolution to one of the last remaining efforts by that day‘s victims to pursue accountability.” ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times Editors: Donald Trump “has created a veritable pardon industry, in which people with White House connections accept payments from wealthy convicts. Among those on whom he has bestowed freedom are dozens of people convicted of fraud. He has also pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, a former president of Honduras, who helped traffic hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States, and Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for running Silk Road, a sprawling criminal enterprise that sold drugs.... Worst of all, Mr. Trump granted clemency on the first day of his second term to everyone who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.... About 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters received a clean slate, regardless of their actions. The results have been disastrous. At least 12 of the pardoned rioters have since been charged with other serious crimes, including child molestation, assault, harassment, murder plots and charges related to a vicious dog attack.” Read on. The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)  

Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that ... [Donald] Trump’s executive order barring the federal funding of NPR and PBS violated the First Amendment. Randolph Moss, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said in his ruling that Mr. Trump’s order, signed last May, was unlawful because it instructed federal agencies to refrain from funding NPR and PBS because the president believed their news coverage had a liberal viewpoint. 'The message is clear: NPR and PBS need not apply for any federal benefit because the president disapproves of their “left-wing” coverage of the news,' Judge Moss wrote. But the First Amendment, he said, does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type.' The ruling will likely have minimal effect on the federal funding of public media. Two months after the executive order, Congress voted to claw back roughly $500 million in annual funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the organization that distributes federal money to NPR and PBS. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has since shut down, and public radio and TV stations across the country have sought alternate forms of revenue.” The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jason DeParle of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration had illegally demanded that groups seeking homelessness grants comply with its agenda on immigration enforcement, transgender rights and other unrelated issues. The ruling by Judge Mary S. McElroy of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island affects only $75 million of housing funds approved by Congress on a one-time basis in 2023. She ordered the Department of Housing and Urban Development to hold a new competition for the money without what she called 'arbitrary and capricious' criteria subject to 'slapdash imposition of political whims.' Her ruling carries added interest as she presides over a much larger case that raises similar issues in the main federal homelessness program. That program, called the Continuum of Care, awards nearly $4 billion a year, and the Trump administration has proposed similar changes to its rules, to penalize groups at odds with its positions on race and gender. In that case, Judge McElroy has temporarily prevented HUD from rewriting the grant-making criteria, but has not made a final ruling.”

Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge in Boston ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration had unlawfully terminated the legal status of tens of thousands of migrants who had been allowed to temporarily live and work in the United States if they announced their presence using an app introduced by the Biden administration. In a 25-page opinion, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered the Trump administration to reverse course, after it last April instructed as many as 900,000 migrants who had used the app to leave 'immediately.' Judge Burroughs said her order applied to those individuals who used the app between May 2023 and January 2025 and who remain in the United States. Tens of thousands of people who received the notice have already left the United States voluntarily or been deported. Judge Burroughs concluded that the Trump administration had issued the blanket order to scores of people, notably from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti, without any rationale for the abrupt about-face.” (Also linked yesterday.)

What to Do? What to Do? Andrew Duehren & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “The Justice Department is struggling to decide how to respond to ... [Donald] Trump’s lawsuit demanding at least $10 billion from the I.R.S., as the department’s lawyers try to resolve by a mid-April deadline the profound ethical questions the case raises, according to two people familiar with the dynamic. In late January, Mr. Trump took the extraordinary step of suing a federal agency that he oversees, accusing the I.R.S. of not doing enough to prevent the leak of his tax returns to The New York Times in 2020. The suit immediately elicited questions about whether and how Trump administration officials would defend against a lawsuit filed by the head of the executive branch. The government has not yet responded to the case. Inside the Justice Department and the White House, senior officials are in the middle of a messy and complicated debate over their next steps.... While former Justice Department officials see clear flaws in the president’s case, some Trump administration officials worry that assigning a lawyer to contest it would pose an unworkable conflict, given that such a person ultimately works for the president.... Defending the case could also contradict a White House executive order that binds all government lawyers to the president’s interpretation of the law.”

 Ah, Here's a Ruling That Went Trump's Way. Minho Kim of the New York Times: “A federal appeals court on Tuesday paused a lower-court ruling that ordered the Trump administration to reinstate all full-time Voice of America reporters and support staff who were put on paid leave after ... [Donald] Trump moved to shutter the federally funded news agency. The ruling, by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will prevent about 1,000 Voice of America journalists from quickly returning to work. Voice of America’s parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, had been reinstating about 70 employees a week after the lower-court order earlier this month.” Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “Over the past year, several F.B.I. agents fired by the bureau have sued its director, Kash Patel, seeking to get their jobs back and claiming they were victims of political retribution.... While they each have accused Mr. Patel of dismissing them for improper reasons, the suits have so far all been filed by individuals or small groups of employees. On Tuesday, however, three fired agents ... sued Mr. Patel not just on their own accord, but also on behalf of a proposed class of all F.B.I. employees who have already been dismissed — or could be in the future — for political reasons. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Washington, represented one of the broadest efforts to date to seek accountability against Mr. Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi for getting rid of F.B.I. employees who have run afoul of ... [Donald] Trump or his allies. Each of the agents who brought the suit — Jamie Garman, Blaire Toleman and Michelle Ball — served on a public corruption squad at the F.B.I.’s Washington field office that investigated Mr. Trump’s expansive efforts to cling to power after losing the 2020 election.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “Three former FBI special agents who worked criminal cases against ... Donald Trump and were then ousted by the administration have filed a lawsuit over their 'illegal' firings, citing as evidence comments that the No. 2 official at the Justice Department made at a conservative conference last week. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who formerly served as Trump's personal attorney, said last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that FBI Director Kash Patel had 'cleaned house' and that there 'isn’t a single man or woman with a gun, federal agent, still in that organization that had anything to do with the prosecution of President Trump.” 

Justice Department Has Stopped Seeking Justice. Ken Morales & David Armstrong of ProPublica: “In total, the DOJ quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of ... Donald Trump’s administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases, according to an analysis by ProPublica. The bulk of these cases, which were closed without prosecution and known as declinations, had been referred to the DOJ by law enforcement agencies under prior administrations that believed a federal crime may have been committed.... The shift comes as the DOJ has undergone an extraordinary overhaul under the Trump administration, with entire units shuttered, directives to abandon pursuit of certain crimes and thousands of lawyers quitting or, in some cases, being forced out of the agency.” (Also linked yesterday.)  

Michael Bender & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: “The Trump administration was within its rights to demand that the University of Pennsylvania turn over information about Jews on campus as part of a federal investigation into discrimination at the school, a federal judge decided Tuesday. The government’s investigation had unified Penn leaders with Jewish students and faculty in opposition to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s subpoena. Many on campus drew parallels between the government’s approach and methods deployed in Nazi Germany. But the Trump administration has said that its request was typical for discrimination investigations, and Judge Gerald J. Pappert of Philadelphia’s Federal District Court [-- an Obama appointee --] agreed on Tuesday. He gave Penn until May 1 to comply with the administration’s subpoena, though the ruling appeared unlikely to quell the debates around how the administration has pressured top American universities.” Update: the link has been changed to one that seems to be a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

How to kill off endangered species:
     (a) Start a war someplace, creating a "national emergency."
     (b) Declare a national security emergency exemption from protections. ~~~ 

~~~ Jack Spring of the Washington Post: “A committee led by the interior secretary known as the 'God Squad' voted Tuesday to exempt oil and gas companies from complying with the Endangered Species Act when drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a move expected to threaten Rice’s whale and other species with extinction. Meeting for the first time in more than 30 years, the group nicknamed for its ability to decide the fate of species, approved the exemption on 'national security' grounds in a discussion that took about 15 minutes. Trump officials said the decision would protect critical domestic energy production at a time when global supplies are disrupted by the war with Iran. It’s the first time that an administration has sought a national security exemption since the passage of the 1973 Endangered Species Act.

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the committee the exemption was, 'a matter of urgent national security,' saying active lawsuits based on the Endangered Species Act threatened to halt oil and gas production.... The Endangered Species Act has never been used to stop oil drilling in the Gulf, so doing away with protections will not meaningfully impact the amount of oil produced there, said Brett Hartl ... of the Center for Biological Diversity. 'I don’t think anyone honestly thinks that there’s a legitimate national security issue here,” Hartl said.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I apologize for linking the following, but I guess it might be vaguely newsworthy: ~~~

~~~ Charlie Nash of Mediaite: “Bryon Noem, the husband of former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, was accused on Tuesday of living a double life as a crossdresser obsessed with donning huge fake boobs and talking to fetish models online. In a jaw-dropping report published on Tuesday, Daily Mail chief investigate reporter Josh Boswell and senior reporter Ben Ashford published several photos of a man, identified by the newspaper as Noem, posing for the camera in large fake breasts and hotpants while pouting. The two reporters also spoke to several fetish models who claimed to have had an online relationship with Noem involving 'bimbofication' – a kink centered around women becoming real life Barbie dolls with gigantic proportions.” Includes repellent photo. The Daily Mail story is firewalled. MB: Whaddaya bet Trump knew this was coming? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

    ~~~  Chris Nesi of the New York Post: “The Daily Mail obtained 'hundreds' of messages purportedly sent between the former Secretary of Homeland Security’s husband and three women who are involved in the so-called 'bimbofication' fetish scene. The kinky community involves people injecting their busts with freakishly large amounts of saline in pursuit of a 'Barbie-doll'-like appearance. The [Daily Mail] spoke with national security experts who said the existence of the scandalous photographs could have made his wife subject to potential blackmail threats.... Noem addressed shocking photos in a statement to The Post, saying she is 'devastated. The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time.'” Also includes photos. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marie: I guess my guess that Trump knew this was coming was a good guess. RAS did the detective work here: ~~~

     ~~~ Annabella Rosciglione of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “A White House reporter has claimed an unexpected source may have been behind exposing the alleged alter ego of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s husband. Axios reporter Marc Caputo revealed that he had been given a tip last month about Byron Noem’s 'busty bimbo' alter ego before the Daily Mail reported on his crossdressing habits Tuesday. “‘Yeah, I got a weird lead,” a source texted me Feb 13,' the veteran reporter posted. 'They said an immigrant sex worker, possibly in the country illegally, wanted to go public about Noem’s husband using her services online — it was vengeance for DHS’s immigration enforcement.'” Thank you to RAS for the link to the Daily Beast. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~ 

     ~~~ Marie: If the source was spreading this story around the journosphere a month ago, then likely some people in the administration were clued in. And some of those somebodies would have carried the tale to Trump. This odd story would have been the last straw for Trump: Kristi had to go. ~~~

     ~~~ Trump, of Course, Denies Prior Knowledge. Isaac Schorr of Mediaite, citing a Daily Mail report that portrays Trump as “Shocked”: “The President told the Daily Mail he was surprised to hear the Noem family confirmed the shocking report into his lewd online behavior. ‘They confirmed it? Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad,’ Trump said in a phone call. ‘I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it,’ Trump added.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marcy Wheeler has a more complex -- and plausible -- idea of how the Barbie Boobies for Bryon story emerged: she suspects Stephen Miller planted it. Miller directed DHS atrocities in Minneapolis and other cities, but it was Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino who got the ax. Wheeler cites an earlier Daily Mail story: "Noem, facing her own pressures for mishandling the crisis, vented about Miller’s influence to others close in her circle, reportedly telling an anonymous Axios source: ‘Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen.’ That comment about Miller ultimately contributed to her downfall, sources tell the Daily Mail." Wheeler: "... [consider] the possibility that we’re seeing a cutthroat game of vengeance, of the sort we’ve already seen Corey Lewandowski indulge during his battles with Roger Stone, one that comes amid reports that Lewandowski’s grift is finally under investigation." ~~~

     ~~~ Perhaps you are wondering how the Gray Lady might handle this sex scandal. Delicately, of course. Obliquely (The photo on the online front page and topping the story itself is centered on a town water tower with a farm pictured in the foreground; IOW, BU-colic!): ~~~ 

     ~~~ Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: “In the tiny town of Castlewood, S.D., where everyone knows the Noems, the prevailing sense was that people can’t help but feel bad for Bryon Noem after a tabloid photo leak.... His marriage had been the talk of the prairie since long before Tuesday.... A lot of people here say they remember Ms. Noem when she was still Kristi Arnold, working in her mother’s coffee shop in Watertown. (It was called Past Times.) People still refer to Ms. Noem (often sarcastically) as 'the Snow Queen,' after the state pageant she won when she was young. The Snow Queen’s dominion over ICE made her a controversial figure, even to some here. But her husband has always been a well-liked fellow around town.” Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link.

Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a Christian therapist, rejecting a Colorado law that prohibited mental health professionals from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of L.G.B.T.Q. minors. The court’s decision has implications for more than 20 other states that have similar laws barring so-called conversion therapy, which critics say is ineffective and potentially dangerous for young people. In its decision, the court said the law, as applied to talk therapy, impermissibly interferes with free speech.... Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, reading a lengthy summary of her opposition from the bench.” Update: the link has been changed to one that looks like a gift link. The AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: “Republicans’ emerging plan to allow ... [Donald] Trump to go around Congress to fund the Homeland Security Department for the remainder of his tenure is the latest example of how they have ceded the legislative branch’s central power to the White House. With Congress in a bitter stalemate over money for the administration’s immigration crackdown, the Trump administration has already tapped a slush fund included in the tax cut and domestic policy law enacted last year to fund key components of the department, which has been shuttered for seven weeks. Now, Republicans say they intend to use special filibuster-proof legislation to provide money for the entire Homeland Security Department for the next three years. Doing so would allow them to dodge the Democratic opposition to funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol....”