The major news on Sunday was the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk’s widow forgave her husband’s killer. In contrast, Trump said,
[Charlie] did not hate his opponents; he wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them.
Trump violated the cardinal rule when you are asked to speak at the memorial service for someone who has passed away: It’s not about you.
But with Trump, everything is about him–which explains nearly all of America’s present political dysfunction.
Not a single member of the president’s party condemned his vile remarks. So, I won’t say it. The cowardice and double standard of the Republican Party are in every story about Trump’s vulgar, hateful, corrupt actions.
The GOP’s failure to pass funding bills for the new fiscal year.
The GOP must pass 12 funding bills or a “continuing resolution” to keep the entire government funded after September 30, 2025. Neither appears likely to happen, so we should prepare to join the messaging battle over the government shutdown, if it occurs.
Democrats have said that they are willing to support a continuing resolution on two conditions. First, Republicans must agree to protect the Affordable Care Act and other healthcare programs. Second, Trump must agree to abide by the spending mandates included in the 12 funding bills that Congress will pass.
Senator Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to Trump that described the first condition as follows:
We will not support a dirty spending bill that continues the Republican assault on healthcare, which includes devastating Medicaid and Medicare cuts; skyrocketing premiums, co-pays, and deductibles; the refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits; unprecedented attacks on medical research and the public health system; the suppression of vaccine availability; and the forced closure of hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics nationwide.
I have frequently been wrong (and surprised) by last-minute agreements that have avoided predicted shutdowns in the past that seemed certain to occur. Stay tuned.
Trump says he will nominate one of his personal lawyers to replace acting US Attorney for Eastern District of Virginia
Given its proximity to Washington, D.C., the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of the most important federal district courts in the nation. It handles most of the sensitive national security suits filed by the United States government.
Last Friday, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, Erik Siebert, resigned after he refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James over nonexistent mortgage fraud allegations.
On Sunday, Trump indicated that he would nominate yet another of his personal attorneys to serve as the head of a federal district. Trump indicated that he would nominate Lindsay Halligan, who worked as part of the legal team defending him against the indictment for refusing to return national security documents. Prior to that assignment, Halligan worked as an insurance attorney in Florida for approximately eight years. She has no experience as a prosecutor or public defender in federal or state court.
In other words, Halligan is absolutely unqualified to serve as US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. See Times of India, Lindsey Halligan’s education and career: How a Florida insurance lawyer from Regis University became Trump’s US attorney nominee
But Halligan has one important qualification (in Trump’s view): She is apparently willing to indict Letitia James in the absence of any evidence.
Trump’s “reply to all” Truth Social post revealed his political animus in pursuing Letitia James and Adam Schiff for mortgage fraud. Proving selective prosecution as a defense is nearly impossible under normal circumstances. The defendant must prove that the prosecution acted with an improper motive, which includes retaliating against the defendant for engaging in protected First Amendment activities. See United States v. Armstrong | 517 U.S. 456 (1996).
Here, Trump has handed the defense lawyers irrefutable evidence of his improper motive in pursuing mortgage fraud charges against Letitia James and Adam Schiff. He seeks to punish them because “I was indicted 5 times and impeached TWICE.” Lawyers for both James and Schiff should already be working on motions to dismiss their upcoming indictments.
It is difficult to describe the depravity of Trump’s moves to replace the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in order to ensure the unlawful prosecution of Letitia James and Adam Schiff. When former President Bill Clinton and then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch met for about 20 minutes in 2016, Republicans—including Trump—squealed like stuck pigs.
In contrast, the sitting president is directing the Attorney General to replace an acting US Attorney (appointed by Trump) in order to ensure the indictment of Letitia James and Adam Schiff. Trump has already publicly declared that James and Schiff are “guilty,” something no other president has ever done before the trial and conviction of a defendant.
Every Republican should be outraged about Trump’s political weaponization of the DOJ in a way that only a dictator would attempt. For that matter, Democrats should be making a lot more noise about this unprecedented corruption of the presidency and the DOJ. And those seeking to defend democracy must include Trump’s dismantling of the DOJ as part of our protests.
It’s a lot, I know. But we don’t get to pick and choose the crises that we face.
Trump acts as “dealmaker” for sale of TikTok to Trump oligarch allies in US
In 2024, Congress passed a statute that required the owners of TikTok to divest ownership of the social media platform from its Chinese parent corporation, ByteDance. That divestiture was required to occur before January 19, 2025. If the divestiture did not occur by January 19, then American social media and technology companies were prohibited from carrying TikTok on their platforms.
Trump ignored the divestiture deadline. Instead, he began to assume the role as “lead negotiator” in the divestiture transaction. Last week, reports emerged that Trump had arranged the sale of TikTok to conservative tech oligarchs. Trump allies Larry Ellison and Marc Andreessen will assume majority control under a proposed divestiture. See Forbes, Larry Ellison’s Oracle Among Controlling Investors In TikTok Deal, Report Says.
Having Ellison and Andreesen as TikTok’s controlling shareholders is bad enough, but Trump is now working to include the Murdoch family (owner of Fox News) in the acquisition group. See The Hill, Trump says Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch are likely part of TikTok buyer group.
In short, TikTok will likely become the video analog of Twitter’s conservative hellscape. And we got here because Trump refused to enforce a congressional statute requiring the deplatforming of TikTok in January 2025.
Instead, he unlawfully claimed for himself the power to act as a dealmaker to ensure that the world’s largest social media platform would be placed in the hands of MAGA-friendly capitalists.
This is yet another example of “giving Trump a pass” when he acts in violation of statute and the Constitution.
He ignores the law to benefit himself. Every single violation must be criticized and condemned.
As it is, the financial and political press are reporting only on the details of the TikTok divestiture, rather than its unlawful nature!