October 1, 2026

Marie: Here is Time's full interview of Donald Trump, "lightly edited." I'm not going to read it. Nonetheless, I am prepared to endorse Patrick's description: "It is long. He is insane. But you knew that." ~~~

     ~~~ Zachary Leeman of Mediaite lists what he calls "five wildest bombshell moments" from the interview. First among them, he's pissed off at the justices he appointed to the Supreme Court because he thinks they owe him "loyalty." MB: Here he's more mafioso than autocrat, IMO. ~~~

     ~~~ Nevertheless, Trump Remains One Scary, Lawless Autocrat. Ryan Mancini of the Hill: Donald “Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he has not ruled out invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring a national emergency around the midterm elections in November. 'I’m not committing to anything,' Trump said in an interview with Time when asked about the limits of his presidential power. 'We’re going to see how it plays out in court.'... The president has a history of threatening to deploy troops via the Insurrection Act of 1807....” ~~~

     ~~~ Sir, Why Do You Think You're So Wonderful, Sir? Ryan Mancini of the Hill: Donald “Trump slammed Time’s staff during a lengthy interview published Thursday, where he ripped into them for not asking him 'one f‑‑‑ing positive question.'”~~~

     ~~~ Alex Woodward of the Independent: “... his answers routinely veer into the long-held grievances he blames for any negative outlook about the state of the country and his presidency: 'fake news,' 'lunatic' judges and former President Joe Biden. He appeared frustrated and defensive when presented with straight-forward questions dealing with issues at the top of mind for millions of Americans, including the widening cost of living and growing healthcare costs.... Asked how the so-called 'president of peace' would also call for the annihilation of an entire people, the president said ... 'Because by annihilating Iran, we've created peace in the world.... With Iran, I don't think you could ever have peace.'...

“TIME also reports that the president had learned about munitions supply shortages in The New York Times.... 'What the f*** is this?' Trump reportedly told Hegseth. The defense secretary allegedly told the president that the report, based on an assessment from the Pentagon’s own internal watchdog, was 'fake news.'... When told that his polls have 'never been lower,' Trump called them 'fake numbers.' 'I would beat anybody running today by 20 points,' he said. 'Your numbers that you have are fake. The pollsters are corrupt. They're almost as corrupt as the writers.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Novak of Gizmodo: “The president's new interview with Time magazine is just the latest evidence his brain is completely broken. Donald Trump has spent recent weeks insisting that AI data centers are fantastic and every American should want to have one in their community. The president has even claimed that they make everyone rich, teasing the idea of a 'dividend' that could be paid out in communities where they’re built. But ... the aspiring authoritarian leader admitted to Time magazine that he wouldn’t want to live next to a data center, echoing a common sentiment among Americans.... Trump suggested to Time that he might force the federal government to buy a significant stake in the AI companies as he did with Intel, and insisted several times that he wasn’t profiting from these deals.... Asked about ... cyberattacks, Trump seemed very confused.” MB: You might want to read the excerpt where Trump talks about his uncle. I think it would please Freudians who encourage their patients to free-associate.

     ~~~ The Gold Lamé Must Stay: A Remarkable “Sir” Story. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump said that Secret Service officials have encouraged him to replace the current Oval Office, according to a new interview with Time magazine. “‘Sir, we think the Oval Office should be taken down, and we’ll build a new one, sir,’” said Trump, quoting a Secret Service official. 'I said, “My ass, you can’t build a new one. This is a special place.’” The Secret Service has encouraged prior administrations to take steps to fortify the Oval Office, said four former officials.... Past presidents have declined to do so because it would require them to relocate.... In the Time interview, the president said he was exploring the possibility of a new federal designation for the Oval Office, which he suggested could protect the office from being torn down and preserve his changes to it....

“The White House is already designated a National Historic Landmark, a federally conferred status that is intended to offer protections against sudden changes. But Congress exempted the White House from the National Historic Preservation Act, which has allowed presidents ... to swiftly remake parts of the building when they assume office. 'The discussion of making it a landmark is legally meaningless,' said Greg Werkheiser, founding partner of Cultural Heritage Partners, a law firm focused on historical preservation. He also questioned why Trump was invoking historical preservation after disregarding it to tear down the White House’s East Wing, pave over the Rose Garden and make other changes.”

     ~~~ “Only I Can Save It.” Amy Wang of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump is refusing to rule out demolishing the Kennedy Center, which closed last month amid a legal battle over whether Trump can add his name to the building. 'I’m not committing to anything,' Trump said in an interview with Time magazine that published Thursday. 'We’re going to see how it plays out in court.' Trump and his allies have argued that the Kennedy Center was structurally unsafe and needed to be closed to undergo a two-year, $250 million renovation. Trump, however, has said he won’t allow renovations to start unless he can put his name on the building. 'It’s in terrible shape. I’d be willing to save it, but it’s in terrible, terrible shape. Only I can save it,' Trump told Time magazine.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It seems as if Trump is threatening the courts; rule in my favor, or else. If elections don't turn out as he wants, he'll go to court. If the courts don't change election results to suit him, he'll invoke the Insurrection Act. If the courts don't rule in his favor and allow him to slap his name on the Kennedy Center, he'll tear it down.

Erica Orden of Politico: “A federal judge on Thursday ruled that ... Donald Trump doesn’t have the power to fire court-appointed U.S. attorneys, rejecting a core tenet of the Trump administration’s approach to top prosecutorial jobs. 'The president cannot unilaterally fire a United States attorney appointed by the district court,' U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian said in a ruling from the bench. Doing so, Bastian said, 'would upend the framework created by the Constitution and the statutes, which together balance the president’s right to appoint and the Senate’s right to confirm.' The Justice Department said it will ask an appeals court to temporarily block Bastian’s decision while it appeals the ruling. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by Roger Rogoff, whom Trump purportedly fired from the job of U.S. attorney for the Seattle-area Western District of Washington immediately after the district’s federal judges appointed him to the role in July.”

Jennifer Scholtes of Politico: “Lawsuits challenging ... Donald Trump’s move to cancel $810 million in congressionally approved spending are piling up in courtrooms throughout the country as states and groups that receive federal dollars fight to keep the cash flowing.”

Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration bought advertising space on both CNN and MS NOW, running taxpayer-funded ads promoting ... Donald Trump, even as the president barred both cable networks from the White House grounds — bans that have been paused by a federal judge.... For two of the three advertisements in the campaign, the administration has bought ad space on CNN and MS NOW in local markets, according to data from AdImpact.” Thanks to RAS for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't mind a bit when stations I watch run political ads for candidates I would never support. The stations are businesses. I just mute the audio. But this is too much. These ads are produced and aired with money stolen from you and me. MS NOW & CNN are accepting cash stolen from their own viewers.

Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to review the Trump administration’s policy of indefinitely detaining immigrants who crossed the border illegally years ago, signaling the court plans to weigh in on major pieces of ... [Donald] Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda as it begins its new term on Monday. The policy is a departure from past practice, when such migrants were generally allowed an opportunity to seek release after a hearing before a judge. The justices previously announced that they would fast-track a separate case testing the administration's policy of deporting immigrants to countries where they have no ties, including nations that have faced allegations of human rights abuses. Between the two cases, the justices will consider the legality of some of the most controversial aspects of the Trump administration’s efforts to rapidly expel millions of migrants living in the United States.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I believe we're about to find out that six so-called justices are unfamiliar with the Bill of Rights. Due process? Whazzat? Habeas corpus? Latin for haricot beans with pork chops; delicious but irrelevant. ~~~

~~~ Akhilleus points to a ScotusBlog essay that helps solve the mystery of what the Supreme Court is up to. Maria Glover, a Georgetown law professor, demonstrates that a pattern of inconsistent decisions by the Supreme Court makes the case, as it were, that the Court is not so much in the bag for Trump as it is busily making the judiciary, or rather itself, the most important branch of government. Glover shows how the Court's recent ruling on election matters, for instance, or on who has standing, or even on matters of fact are almost whimsical, but that this whimsy is an assertion of power; it is a way of saying, "We're the Supremes, and we can do what we want." Sound familiar?

Silvia Foster-Frau of the Washington Post: “The family of Renée Good, who was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer during the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in Minneapolis earlier this year, has sued the United States and officials for her death. The family filed two civil lawsuits Thursday seeking accountability for what they described as a wrongful use of force that resulted in Good’s death and a broader effort to undermine the rights of Minneapolis residents. 'Renee’s death was not an accident,' lawyers for Good’s family said in a statement. 'It was the predictable result of a coordinated campaign by senior officials in this administration to target Minnesotans of Somali or Hispanic origin and silence anyone who dared to raise their voice in protest.'... The lawsuits, filed by Romanucci & Blandin, a Chicago-based law firm, name as defendants White House and Department of Homeland Security officials, as well as Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who fired at Good.”

Judge Issues “F-U, Trump” Order. Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “A D.C. Superior Court judge has permanently banned Jeanine Pirro’s office from bringing charges against a former Olympic canoeist over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Judge Todd Edelman entered an order on Thursday that dismissed the case with prejudice. Edelman cited the 'exceptional circumstances' of the case and said the government’s 'own representations make plain' that bringing another indictment against David 'Davey' Hearn 'is theoretical at best, and more likely, is simply fanciful.'

“[Donald] Trump, Edelman wrote, 'has criticized the decision of the Office of the United States Attorney to drop the case in the most vituperative terms; demanded that the government reinstitute the prosecution, in part because of Mr. Hearn’s political activity and the identity of one of his attorneys; and publicly entertained the possibility of firing the United States Attorney as a result of the dismissal.' Hearn, Edelman wrote, 'faces the unique possibility that the government will revive this case — one that it has already announced to be meritless — based on political pressure brought by the President of the United States upon his subordinate officers.' The government 'has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense,' Edelman wrote.”

     ~~~ Marie: You can read the order here. It's clear Judge Edelman carefully considered all of the aspects of this case, and found Donald Trump to be a malevolent actor who had the power to further curb Hearn's Constitutional rights and punish him should be exercise those rights.

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We Are Witnesses to a Dark Comedy.

If you wonder what a racist says when he thinks he is being polite, Donald Trump has the answer. ~~~

~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: “With the midterms just weeks away and Democrats picking up Latino support..., [Donald] Trump hosted a Hispanic Heritage Month reception at the White House on Wednesday. He said Hispanics were 'hard-working,' 'smart' and 'energetic — sometimes too energetic.' He invited them to tour the construction site where his ballroom is being built, but warned them not to fall over the edge. 'Only a Hispanic could survive that fall,' he said. 'So I’m not overly worried.' But for most of Mr. Trump’s nearly hourlong remarks, he veered far from the topic of the event. He spoke about his ballroom, and how a renovation project like that 'relaxes me, actually.' He talked about the war in Iran and how successfully it was going.... He made only fleeting references to issues like immigration and the economy that are dragging down his approval ratings, complained that he was not getting enough credit for his policies and made sporadic pleas to his supporters to help paint a rosier picture of the state of the country than data is showing.” The link is a gift link.

Patrick, citing a New Republic report, says the White House has "fixed" America.gov so it no longer contradicts the Dear Leader. Fact-checker Daniel Dale of CNN says the same. Related NYT story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

None of those tasks can be completed here today. -- America.gov to user ~~~

~~~ Nice Talking with Ya. Kevin Schaul, et al., of the Washington Post look into what the America.gov chatbot can do (not much).

Paul Waldman takes a look at Trump's clearly illegal (and that's the point) fascistic vanity ads, which we paid for. "Again and again, this administration has broken the law not just to accomplish some immediate goal, but as an assertion of power, a dominance display.... While the first ad ... is all about Trump himself, the second one takes a bit of a detour to argue that God and Trump have together delivered America to heights never before seen in human history. Featuring footage from one of Trump’s trips to Mount Rushmore, it could have been directed by a modern-day Leni Riefenstahl. ... The last ad in the series repurposes one Trump used in the 2024 campaign...." Waldman gives the reader a good sense of where Trump's head is -- and what his staff might be thinking, right up until the subpoenas arrive. ~~~

~~~ Chris Marquette of Politico: “The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee is demanding federal inquiries into the amount of taxpayer money used to furnish a television ad blitz propping up ... Donald Trump ahead of the midterms. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is poised to lead the panel if Democrats win the majority in November, joined California Democratic Rep. George Whitesides in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Special Counsel. It asks the GAO to investigate the 'source, accounts, and total amount of taxpayer funds used by the Executive Office of the President to produce and distribute this advertisement across major television markets and official White House social media channels.'”

Raquel Uribe of NBC News: "The White House on Wednesday removed CNN from the press pool that’s set to cover a trip by ... Donald Trump on Thursday, escalating a feud with the cable network after a federal judge blocked the administration’s push to restrict its media access. CNN had been designated to travel with Trump on Thursday, according to a press rotation document the White House released Sunday. But when the daily guidance came out for his scheduled visit to a truck manufacturing facility in Denton, Texas, followed by remarks in Durant, Oklahoma, it did not list CNN as providing pool coverage."

Some Dim Bulbs See the Light: “He’s a Grifter.” Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: “Across Trump’s 11-year political career, his image as a savvy businessman insulated him from charges of corruption and self-dealing. Even moves such as paying no federal income taxes in some years and using government funds to pay his own businesses, which historically might have sunk other politicians, left Trump’s image intact in the eyes of supporters, who saw them as proof of his shrewd dealmaking. Now, as dissatisfaction grows with Trump’s economic performance, questions about how he and his family profit from the presidency have taken on more bite. Some of the loudest complaints are coming from young, male crypto enthusiasts who were initially energized by candidate Trump’s embrace of the industry — and now are better equipped than the average voter to understand the ventures that earned the president $1.4 billion last year.... Among many of the young crypto bros who flocked to Trump’s side in the 2024 campaign..., the disillusionment is clear. 'What they basically did was a money grab,' said David from South Carolina..., [a participant in a Bulwark focus group].... 'He’s a grifter,' [another] said.”

Colby Smith of the New York Times: “The Federal Reserve’s internal watchdog found no evidence of illegal behavior or administrative misconduct associated with the central bank’s nearly $2.5 billion project to overhaul its headquarters in Washington, D.C., even as it concluded that the renovations were poorly managed and lacked sufficient budget constraints. In a sweeping 120-page report, the Fed’s independent inspector general on Wednesday provided the most comprehensive overview to date of what caused extensive cost overruns on the project, which has been underway since 2022. It identified a range of missteps, including the Board of Governors’ failure to obtain a total cost estimate until the work was well underway or to establish a 'guaranteed maximum price.'

“The project last year became a major front in ... [Donald] Trump’s campaign to pressure the Fed into lowering interest rates. Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized Jerome H. Powell, who served as Fed chair until May, for the cost overruns and frequently raised the question of whether he had committed fraud as he floated the idea of firing him. The Federal Reserve Act stipulates that the president can remove a sitting Fed official only 'for cause,' which has long been interpreted to mean gross negligence or a dereliction of duty. Mr. Trump’s attacks on Mr. Powell culminated in a criminal investigation led by the Justice Department over whether Mr. Powell misled Congress about the project.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

No Stone Unturned. Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: “More than 2 million Americans living abroad are eligible to cast their ballots in U.S. elections.... The Trump administration used an emergency measure this summer to change the language of the federal voter-registration form used by U.S. service members abroad and citizens residing outside the country, potentially restricting some eligible American voters abroad from using the application to request their ballots.... Doris Speer, president of the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, said she believes the changes to the form known as the Federal Post Card Application are 'an effort to deter the overseas vote, not to legally stop people from voting but to make the process so difficult that you really have to want to vote to get through it. The result will be confusion, chaos and fewer overseas votes.' The changes to the form follow the Trump administration’s unsuccessful efforts to restrict voting by mail and pass sweeping voter ID legislation.”

Before there was Drunk Pete, there was Buck Turgidson: ~~~

~~~ Helene Cooper & John Ismay of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethgathered hundreds of junior officers and enlisted troops at a base in Virginia on Wednesday to extol the virtues of basing Pentagon policy on culture-war issues and to complain about the news media. Calling it a 'State of the Force' address, Mr. Hegseth doubled down on his decisions to fire dozens of admirals and generals, bar transgender people from serving and eliminate diversity programs. And not for the first time, he used vulgarities to describe certain groups of Americans. 'No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals,' he said of the people who he believes have no place in the military. As he pointed to a few reporters in the back of the auditorium, the defense secretary criticized 'anti-American losers in our media,' accusing them of aiding the country’s enemies through their reporting on the war in Iran. 'It’s treason, actually,' he said of the reporting.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Shrai Popat & Ariana Baio of the Guardian: “The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has confirmed plans to cut 20% of generals and admirals.... Delivering his latest extraordinary attack on diversity, and dismissing reports of low morale within the US armed forces as 'false claims', Hegseth also suggested they were retaining service personnel at 'record' rates.” ~~~

     ~~~ Greg Jaffe of the New York Times: “Pete Hegseth has held onto his job by projecting a tough guy image, but his relationship with Republican lawmakers has never been worse.... How Mr. Hegseth manages the contradiction between his tough guy image and his growing vulnerabilities in Washington and around the world could determine whether Mr. Trump — the person Mr. Hegseth must ultimately please — keeps him in the job.” The link is a gift link.

Zack Whittaker of Tech Crunch: "The U.S. government is alerting millions of current and former U.S. military service members and staff that their personal information was stolen during a months-long breach of the Pentagon’s personnel records, the latest in a spate of thefts involving federal workers’ data in recent months. A data breach notification from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) shared on Reddit says that several unauthorized users exploited a security vulnerability in an unspecified file-sharing system over several months between October 2025 and mid-July 2026. The breach exposed personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, alongside a person’s name, date of birth, sex, race, and other information about their military service. The notice says that the personnel records were not encrypted. According to CNN and Federal News Network, a Pentagon official said the breach affects about 2.8 million living people, and close to 300,000 people who are deceased."

Because DOGE Did Such a Good Job??? Nick Robins-Early of the Guardian: “Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk will co-lead a government project to study the future of warfare, marking the SpaceX CEO’s first return to government since he ran the chaotic, so-called 'department of government efficiency', or Doge. Musk will be joined by Palmer Luckey, CEO of the defense tech company Anduril, and Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House. A defense department press release on the effort, called Project Meridian, described its goal as 'identifying the capabilities required to achieve absolute technological dominance on the next-generation battlefield'.”

Mattathias Schwartz & Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “The Justice Department on Wednesday accused two of Minnesota’s federal judges of engaging in misconduct for comments made to The New York Times about how their court handled the administration’s immigration surge in Minneapolis this winter. In a six-page complaint filed with the Judicial Council of the Eighth Circuit, which includes the Minnesota district, the department alleged that the judges’ comments violated ethics rules that limit what judges are allowed to say publicly, particularly on pending cases. It singles out Judge Patrick J. Schiltz and Judge John R. Tunheim, both of whom were quoted in the Times article. At a news conference on Wednesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the judges of 'obvious bias' for giving interviews to The Times about the Trump administration’s immigration surge in Minnesota this winter. Judge Schiltz told The Times that the administration’s actions had 'created a grave threat to the rule of law.' Mr. Blanche called those comments 'overtly political.'” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “A federal judge has ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to immediately restore union protections, for now, for more than 30,000 prison workers after the agency terminated the union’s collective bargaining agreement last year. In a 32-page ruling on Tuesday, Judge Vernon D. Oliver of the U.S. District Court in Connecticut wrote that the decision by William K. Marshall III, the bureau’s director, to cancel the union contract was arbitrary and that the reasons for doing so were contrived and pretextual.... The ruling was a blow to President Trump’s effort to strip hundreds of thousands of federal workers of union protections. It has come under broad legal assault, with cases playing out across the country. The fight expanded again on Tuesday, as union workers in the Environmental Protection Agency sued to block the termination of their union protections....” The link is a gift link.

Theodoric Meyer & Jarrell Dillard of the Washington Post: “The Senate adjourned Wednesday for the last time before the midterm elections after Democrats blocked Republicans’ last-ditch push to pass more legislation. Several Republicans facing tough races in November took to the Senate floor to make the case for passing bills they could run on. But Democrats blocked them, leaving Republicans to head home to face voters without fresh legislative victories.”

Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked legislation [link fixed] that would limit the ability of members of Congress to trade stock, dismissing it as an empty G.O.P. effort to appeal to widespread voter distrust of public officials ahead of the November elections without actually addressing it. The Stop Insider Trading Act, which the House passed in July, would bar lawmakers and their spouses and family members from buying individual stocks but allow members of Congress who already own them to keep trading with new notice requirements. It places no restrictions on the president or the vice president. The measure, which needed 60 votes to pass, was blocked on a party-line vote of 53 to 47, its failure predetermined after Republicans attached sweeping voter ID restrictions opposed by Democrats and some G.O.P. lawmakers that have already been rejected by the Senate six times. But Democrats said they would have opposed the bill even without the voter ID measure, because it fails to do what voters have been clamoring for: impose an outright ban on congressional stock trading.” The link is a gift link.

Jarrell Dillard of the Washington Post: “Senate Democrats’ attempt to bar ... Donald Trump from clawing back $810 million in funding approved by Congress was blocked by a Republican senator on Wednesday. Democratic Sens. Patty Murray (Washington) and Jeff Merkley (Oregon) sought to pass a bill that would have blocked the Trump administration from cutting congressionally approved funding for several programs, including those for immigrant services, climate change and civil rights for minority groups, among others.... Merkley attempted to pass the measure through unanimous consent, an expedited process that can be killed by any one senator objecting. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) objected, ending the effort.

“Under the Impoundment Control Act, Congress normally must approve White House requests for rescissions — or refusals to spend money appropriated by Congress. But by submitting the request just days before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, the Trump administration is employing what’s known as a “pocket rescission,” essentially freezing the money until the deadline to spend the appropriated funds passes, so Congress will not have enough time to try to force the money to be spent.” A Politico report is here.

Mychael Schnell, et al., of MS NOW: “As they prepared for the testimony of former special counsel Jack Smith, Republican staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee gave Sen. Eric Schmitt a warning: The texts they had obtained from the Justice Department — which Schmitt suggested was proof Smith had colluded with a Georgia state prosecutor — were 'unvetted,' according to a source with direct knowledge of the conversation. Schmitt used the texts anyway. What followed was a congressional spectacle that unraveled almost as quickly as it began.” Read on. Apparently Schmitt was unaware that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: “A Republican senator on Wednesday sued the former special counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department, arguing that a subpoena for her phone records during an investigation into Donald J. Trump violated the Constitution. The complaint, filed by Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee..., could put before the courts a novel and contested constitutional issue on a matter that has become a Republican talking point: whether the so-called speech or debate clause bars subpoenas to phone companies for data about lawmakers’ communications. Ms. Blackburn was among several lawmakers who apparently interacted with Mr. Trump while he was president, or with his proxies, during a period of days around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

“The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Mr. Smith conspired to violate her rights, $1 in symbolic damages from the former special counsel, and an order that the Justice Department destroy her records.... Republicans have portrayed themselves as having been unfairly targeted.... Mr. Smith faced similar accusations on Tuesday when he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ms. Blackburn is a member of the panel but did not attend the hearing.” The link is a gift link.

Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: After years of coexisting peacefully with Mainers during his summer vacations, Chief Justice John Roberts discovers no man is an island. Mainers are divided on how to treat the man who has deprived them of their rights. The link is a gift link.

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Tennessee. We Are the Barbarians. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: “A federal court on Wednesday ordered a pause on the execution of Christa Pike, convicted of the murder of a classmate in 1995, just hours before she was set to die by lethal injection in Nashville. Ms. Pike, 50, would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. But her lawyers mounted a fierce last-ditch campaign to stop the execution, arguing that her defense at her initial trial had failed to consider her history of child sexual abuse and neglect. The ruling came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday had declined to intervene in the execution. Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, also denied a request to allow Ms. Pike to serve out the remainder of her life in prison. The office of Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee’s attorney general, quickly appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court after Wednesday’s ruling, calling it a 'technical issue' and vowing to 'advocate for the lawfully-imposed sentence.'” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Chris Geidner: "The U.S. Supreme Court’s Republican appointees voted to allow Tennessee to kill Christa Pike, vacating a temporary stay of execution on Wednesday night that was entered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the morning. The three Democratic appointees dissented in an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The Supreme Court’s majority gave no reason for its literal life-and-death decision to wipe out an appeals court order issued earlier Wednesday and which had, on its face, been intended to be temporary in nature." Do read on. Geidner's remarks about "harm" are illuminating.

     ~~~ Update 2. Emily Cochrane & Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “A Tennessee woman convicted of murder survived two doses of lethal injection on Wednesday night before state officials suspended the execution and had her taken to a hospital for medical care, her lawyers said. It was the second botched execution in the state this year. The apparent failure came after dueling court rulings delayed the execution of the woman, Christa Pike, by about nine hours. The state had raced to go ahead with the execution before the day ended and to avoid having to reschedule. In a pair of emergency legal filings, Ms. Pike’s lawyers said that while two syringes of pentobarbital, the lethal drug, had been administered, Ms. Pike had not lost consciousness. She still had a heartbeat, they said, and was audibly snoring.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ After citing a Tennessean story on the attempted execution, Scott Lemieux writes in LG&M: "Just pure barbarism, fully sanctioned by six sadists on the nation’s highest Court." ~~~

     ~~~ AP, published by MS NOW: “Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement that he has ordered 'a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred,' halting scheduled executions for the remainder of this year. 'Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State’s most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective,' he said.”

Texas Senate Race. Trump Is a Drag: Paxton. Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times: “Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, told a group of conservative donors and lobbyists last week that ... [Donald] Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas had hurt Mr. Paxton politically, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times. The recording, which is muffled at times, captures Mr. Paxton being asked, 'Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?' It is not clear from the audio whom the questioner is referring to. Mr. Paxton responds: 'So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.'... Mr. Paxton’s comments at the Washington fund-raiser echo other private whispers by Republicans that the party’s convention would not be helpful, given Mr. Trump’s sagging approval ratings. Since the gathering, the midterm outlook for Republicans has only darkened....” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Even during the fake convention, where he was supposed to be boosting Paxton, Trump said of the senatorial candidate, "Some may not like the way he dresses. I don’t. They may not like the way he talks. I can see that. You may not like the way he looks." So even Trump says Paxton is an ugly, sloppy, ill-spoken candidate, and that isn't even taking into account Paxton's long, scandal-plagued career, his impeachment by the state GOP-led house and other law enforcement actions against him, his infidelity to his wife, etc., etc. So he's the worst candidate imaginable. And yet Trump can drag him down further. Oh, did I mention Paxton owns a lot of real estate? ~~~

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Gerry Shih & Lior Soroka of the Washington Post: “A flight carrying about 180 passengers to Tel Aviv from Dubai made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one of the pilots stabbed another and sought to hijack the plane before being subdued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. One of the pilots 'apparently tried to crash the aircraft with everyone on board,' Netanyahu said in a video address, adding that he spoke to an Israeli passenger who, along with a crew member, 'managed to force their way into the cockpit, and together they subdued the pilot who had carried out the stabbing as he was trying to sabotage the plane’s systems.' Nearly all of the passengers on board were Israeli, Netanyahu added. All passengers arrived in Tel Aviv on an alternate Flydubai flight Wednesday evening....

“The suspect, the co-pilot who attacked the captain on the flight, was an Omani national, said an Israeli security official.... Videos filmed on the flight, circulating online, show two injured people lying on the aircraft floor, covered in blood and wearing oxygen masks.... Eyal Datz, 44, an Israeli filmmaker on the flight, said... the crew opened the cockpit door, and three Israeli passengers helped overpower the assailant and handcuffed him. Then, another person who was in the cabin took control of the plane....” Related NYT liveblog linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

David Halbfinger, et al., of the New York Times recount what is known about the attempt to hijack and crash the plane. This is a gift link. This Guardian report has more details.

U.K. Michael Shear of the New York Times: “Prime Minister Andy Burnham of Britain said Wednesday that his government believes Iran 'played a part' in the incident on Sunday at an air base used by American bombers in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.... Mr. Burnham told the BBC in an interview..., 'It remains an ongoing, complex and serious police investigation, and of course we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America.'” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)