The Conversation -- March 29, 2025
Trump and his mob had their day in court Friday. For the most part, it did not go well.
Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “Federal judges dealt twin blows to ... [Donald] Trump’s retaliation campaign on Friday by issuing temporary restraining orders blocking much of his executive orders targeting two major law firms that participated in investigations of him, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale. The rulings barred the administration from carrying out punishments described in the executive orders, like banning their lawyers from government buildings, meetings, or jobs. Mr. Trump went after Jenner & Block because the firm once employed a lawyer [MB: -- Andrew Weissmann --] who became part of the special counsel team that investigated Mr. Trump in his first term. But Judge John Bates of Federal District Court in the District of Columbia took issue with Mr. Trump’s order because it also punished the firm for its pro bono work.... Judge Bates said he found that action 'disturbing' and 'troubling.'... Another judge in the same courthouse, Richard Leon, issued a similar temporary restraining order against a Trump executive order targeting a different firm, WilmerHale, where Robert S. Mueller III worked before and after he served as special counsel in the Trump-Russia investigation. The judges let stand the parts of the president’s orders stripping security clearances from lawyers at the firms.” CNN's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Donald Trump's retribution campaign against his perceived enemies is not entirely about retribution. David Enrich explains: ~~~
~~~ David Enrich of the New York Times: “... the barrage of at least 150 lawsuits against the second Trump administration, challenging many of its policies and personnel decisions, is perhaps unmatched in U.S. history. And in dozens of cases, judges have ordered the administration to pause or reverse actions at the heart of ... [Donald] Trump’s agenda. Mr. Trump and his administration’s lawyers are fighting in court, but they are also pursuing a much more ambitious and consequential goal: deterring lawyers from suing his administration in the first place.... Mr. Trump’s moves have the potential — and perhaps the goal — to undermine people’s ability to challenge their government.... There are parallels between Mr. Trump’s attacks on the legal industry and his campaign to constrain or weaken other pillars of civic society. Mr. Trump and his aides are suing or investigating media outlets that have produced critical coverage. And his administration is threatening to withhold huge sums of federal money from universities that don’t hew to his demands.”
Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: “A federal judge in Boston [-- Brian E. Murphy --] issued a temporary emergency order blocking the Trump administration from sending anyone with a final deportation order to a country where they are not a citizen without first giving them a 'meaningful opportunity' to seek humanitarian protection in the United States.... The decision ... follows threats from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem this week that anyone in the United States illegally could be swept away to El Salvador and imprisoned in one of the nation’s sprawling prisons. In a two-page decision following a hearing, Murphy wrote that officials may not deport someone to a so-called third country 'unless and until' they provide the deportee and their lawyer written notice of the country to which they are being sent. Then..., officials must let them apply in immigration court for protection to stay in the U.S. under the Convention Against Torture, which ... prohibit[s] the government from sending immigrants to a country where they might be tortured. After that..., the agency must await a final decision from an immigration judge before sending someone to another country.... Murphy’s decision does not affect alleged gang members deported this month under the Alien Enemies Act without a hearing, but it could protect other immigrants who are at risk of being removed to El Salvador....”
Mattathias Schwartz & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s efforts to deport migrants to places other than their country of origin hit a new roadblock on Friday, when a federal judge issued a temporary order requiring the administration to give migrants an opportunity to contest their removal on the grounds that they might be at risk of persecution or torture. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy, who sits in Boston, ordered the government to give migrants a chance to contest their removal to a so-called third country under a federal law that limits deportations to places where the deportees’ 'life or freedom would be threatened.' He also cited a United Nations treaty against torture. The Trump administration has struck deals with Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador as part of its efforts to remove people who are difficult to deport to their home countries. Hundreds of migrants from countries in Africa and Asia, for instance, have been deported to Panama, a country those migrants had no ties to.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Savador Rizzo & Teo Armus of the Washington Post: “A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of a Venezuelan couple who were detained by immigration authorities this month despite having legal authorization to live and work in the United States, calling their apprehensions baseless and unlawful. At a hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema granted a petition for release filed by the couple, who received temporary protected status after crossing the border illegally in October 2022. Brinkema rebuked government officials for claiming in court that the couple posed a public threat and ordered both of them released straight from the courthouse.... Addressing a government lawyer, Brinkema said, 'If this was a criminal case … I’d throw you out of my chambers.'... Another judge in the District of Columbia previously ordered [the couple's] release after they were first arrested March 10 as they arrived home from their jobs as hotel custodians, with their young children watching.... The Trump administration as soon as next week is terminating all grants of temporary protected status for the approximately 348,000 Venezuelans who have received it. Brinkema said as she issued her ruling Friday that 'this may be a very temporary release.'”
Michael Sisak of the AP: “A federal judge on Friday halted the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the [Voice of America, the] eight-decade-old U.S. government-funded international news service, calling the move a 'classic case of arbitrary and capricious decision making.' Judge James Paul Oetken blocked the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which runs Voice of America, from firing more than 1,200 journalists, engineers and other staff that it sidelined two weeks ago in the wake of ... Donald Trump ordering its funding slashed. Oetken issued a temporary restraining order barring the agency from 'any further attempt to terminate, reduce-in-force, place on leave, or furlough' employees or contractors, and from closing any offices or requiring overseas employees to return to the U.S. The order also bars the Agency for Global Media from terminating grant funding for its other broadcast outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Afghanistan. The agency said Thursday it was restoring Radio Free Europe’s funding after a judge in Washington, D.C. ordered it to do so.”
Michael Kunzelman of the AP: “A federal judge agreed Friday to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency that was targeted for mass firings before the court’s intervention. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed to issue a preliminary injunction that maintains the agency’s existence until she rules on the merits of a lawsuit seeking to preserve the agency. The judge said the court 'can and must act' to save the agency from being shuttered. Jackson ruled that, without a court order..., Donald Trump’s administration would move quickly to shut down the agency that Congress created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.” (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
BUT -- and this is quite bad news -- it appears the administration is doing better when it gets to the appellate courts: ~~~
Hassan Kanu & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal appeals court on Friday cleared the way for Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to resume their efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower-court judge’s injunction that had temporarily blocked Musk and DOGE from playing any role in dismantling USAID. The decision comes just as the Trump administration is making a final push to effectively dissolve the agency....” Related NYT story by Karoun Demirjian linked below.
Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A federal appeals court has cleared the way for ... Donald Trump to fire members of executive branch boards that oversee federal employee grievances and labor disputes across the nation. The ruling Friday is a victory for Trump’s effort to exert control over regulatory agencies that Congress intended to operate with some degree of independence from the president. Federal laws limit the president’s ability to remove the board members who oversee those agencies, but the Trump administration has argued those limits are unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to allow Trump to remove members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board. The two board members in the case — Gwynne Wilcox of the NLRB and Cathy Harris of the MSPB — were appointed by President Joe Biden. Lower-court judges had issued injunctions preventing Trump from firing the two board members, but Friday’s appeals court ruling lifts those injunctions for now while the litigation proceeds.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow it to use a rarely invoked wartime law to continue to deport Venezuelans with little to no due process. The emergency application arrived at the court after a federal appeals court kept in place a temporary block on the deportations. In its application to the Supreme Court, lawyers for the administration argued that the matter was too urgent to wait for the case to wind its way through the lower courts.” (Also linked yesterday.)
This Is Horrifying. Ella Lee of the Hill: Donald “Trump on Friday announced a deal with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal services [on issues Trump supports, according to Devlin Barrett's report, linked above] 'during the Trump administration and beyond.' The agreement comes as Trump has signed executive orders targeting Big Law firms tied to his critics and perceived political enemies, restricting the work they can do with the federal government.... Under the deal, Trump said Skadden won’t deny representation to clients from 'politically disenfranchised groups, who have not historically received legal representation from major national law firms.' The firm’s assistance will include a focus on assisting veterans and other public servants, the president said, including 'members of the military, law enforcement and on and on.'” MB: If lawyers won't stand up for the Constitution & the rule of law, who will? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Rachel Maddow said last night that she thinks Skadden Arps, as well as Paul, Weiss -- another firm that caved to Trump -- just put themselves out of business. I hope she's right.
David Bauder of the AP: “A lawyer for The Associated Press asked a federal judge Thursday to reinstate the agency’s access to the White House press pool and other official events, saying the Trump administration’s ban is a fundamental attack on freedom of speech and should be overturned. The government insisted there was no evidence that AP had been harmed irreparably.... The White House retaliated against the news outlet last month for not following ... Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.... The notion of banning a news agency for what it says — and for not using the words that a government demands — is extraordinarily unusual in a country whose Constitution guarantees free speech without official interference.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: If you need to be reminded of how awful the White House reporters are (make [decisions], announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home), then think about this: The White House Correspondents Associationis ready-made to stick together, back the AP and boycott the White House. It has done nothing, leaving the AP to stand alone.
Nobody Loves Us, Everybody Hates Us ...
Jeffrey Gettleman & Maya Tekeli of the New York Times: “Vice President JD Vance landed in Greenland on Friday afternoon as part of a contentious trip pushed by the Trump administration and angrily opposed by Greenlanders. His group, which includes his wife, Usha, and the national security adviser, Michael Waltz, was set to tour the Pituffik Space Base, an American missile defense station and one of the most remote military installations in the world.... The White House’s original plan was for Ms. Vance ... to attend a famous dog sled race this weekend and see other cultural sites, in an effort to bring the United States and Greenland closer. But the plan backfired. Protesters were gearing up to line the road from the airport into town. The island’s government blasted the visit as unwanted and 'highly aggressive.' Even the organizers of the dog sled race released a pointed statement saying they had never asked Ms. Vance to attend in the first place.... On Friday, during an overcast day in Nuuk, ordinary Greenlanders said they were not happy about Mr. Vance coming.... Foreign policy analysts said the revised trip was a watered-down version of what the White House wanted. 'It’s a tactical retreat — a repositioning to strike harder later,' said Lars Trier Mogensen, a political analyst based in Copenhagen.... This January, Mr. Trump resurrected the idea [of acquiring Greenland] for 'national security purposes' and refused to rule out using force to take Greenland from Denmark. Just this week, Mr. Trump said again: 'We need it. We have to have it.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. David Sanger of the New York Times: Donald “Trump has been less than subtle in his insistence that the United States will 'get' Greenland one way or another, reiterating on Friday that the United States cannot “live without it.' By the time he uttered those words in the Oval Office, the highest-level American political expeditionary force ever to step foot on the vast territory had already landed to inspect the real estate prospects. But they were confined inside the fence of a remote, frozen American air base, the only place protesters could not show up.... The trip was simultaneously a reconnaissance mission and a passive-aggressive reminder of Mr. Trump’s determination to fulfill his territorial ambitions, no matter what the obstacles. As if to drive home the point, Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday: 'We have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of “Do you think we can do without it.” We can’t.'... Not since the days of William McKinley, who engaged in the Spanish-American War in the late 19th century and ended up with U.S. control of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico, has an American president-elect so blatantly threatened the use of force to expand the country’s territorial boundaries. And the visit on Friday appeared designed to make that clear, without quite repeating the threat.” (Also linked yesterday.) A CBS News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Matt Viser of the Washington Post: “'The president said we have to have Greenland, and I think we do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland,' [JD Vance] he said during visit to Pituffik Space Base.... 'We cannot just ignore this place. We cannot just ignore the president’s desires.'... His remarks on Friday were notable for his harsh condemnations of Denmark’s management of the mineral rich and strategically important territory — and his declaration that 'Denmark hasn’t done a good job at keeping Greenland safe.'... But he also tempered some of the rhetoric about a takeover.... Vance downplayed any notion that the United States would attempt to use military action or otherwise forcefully acquire Greenland, outlining instead a sequence of events in which it would voluntarily become independent from Denmark and forge a new alliance. 'If the people of Greenland were willing to partner with the United States, and I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States, we could make them much more secure,' he said.” A Guardian story is here. ~~~
~~~ Seb Starcevic of Politico: “Denmark’s foreign minister dressed down the United States for its disrespect, hours after Vice President JD Vance visited an American military base in Greenland. Speaking in a two-minute video message on Friday night, in which he addressed Americans directly, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen appealed for an end to the hostile messaging from Washington.... 'We all acted on the assumption that the Arctic was and should be a low-tension area. But that time is over.'” ~~~
~~~ In the segment below, listen to the Instagram video of former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford (appointed by Barack Obama) react to JayDee's ignorant, arrogant assertion that Denmark is not a good ally of the U.S.:
Max Saltman of CNN: “Canada will have to 'dramatically reduce' its reliance on the United States as the two countries’ relationship darkens, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned on Thursday, adding that the old bilateral relationship was 'over.' After holding a cabinet meeting to discuss Canada’s response to ... Donald Trump’s tariffs threats, Carney told reporters in Ottawa that he foresaw the coming of a 'fundamentally different relationship' between the two countries. 'The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,' he said. 'It’s clear the US is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we could reestablish an element of confidence but there will be no going backwards,' the Canadian leader said, adding that future governments would have to grapple with the same changed dynamic. 'There’s even more to do, and that’s why I chose to go to France and the United Kingdom, two long-standing and reliable partners, friends and allies of Canada,' Carney said, referring to his first international trip as prime minister.” (Also linked yesterday.)
A Trumpy Bait-and-Switch Stunt Against Ukraine. Siobhán O'Grady & Lizzie Johnson of the Washington Post: “A new U.S. proposal for a minerals deal with Ukraine dramatically changes the last terms Kyiv proposed to Washington and does not provide security guarantees, according to Ukrainian officials and a draft of the document, setting the stage for potential further tension between the two countries as the White House pushes for access to Ukraine’s natural resources. President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Thursday that lawyers were studying the new proposal, which was different from the previous framework that had been agreed on.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: Trump keeps claiming he is taking aggressive actions against (former) allies in the interest of U.S. national security, but the fact is that nothing could be more dangerous to our national security than Trump's and his Cabinet members' bellicose language and threats and actions against our friends (and their arrogance and incompetence). A few have tried, but no one has done so much in so little time to turn the U.S. into an international pariah.
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: “We have seen entirely too much cowering and capitulation in the face of Trump’s threats: by the Paul Weiss law firm and Columbia University, by Meta and much of Silicon Valley, by Big Pharma and other industries, by mostly supine congressional Republicans, by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (in the eyes of many on the left), and by media outlets. But in a crisis, courage can be found in unexpected places. This is why it’s heartening to see some on the right (beyond the usual never-Trumpers) beginning to speak out about Trump’s overreach. We might be seeing the first cracks in MAGA unity, which Trump has maintained by threats and fear.” Milbank recites the crux of numerous (right-wing, Murdoch-owned) Wall Street Journal editorials knocking Trump's policies. And Milbank gets in a few of his own jabs at the Trump crew. This is a gift link as there's lots of useful content in this opinion column. (Also linked yesterday.)
Warren Strobel, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Yemen attack timeline that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted to a Signal chat group would have been so highly classified, under Pentagon guidelines, that the details should have been restricted to a special, compartmented channel with its own code word and with access tightly limited, according to former Defense Department officials. Hegseth and other senior Trump administration officials have denied that the data they shared in a Signal group ... was classified.... Current and former U.S. defense and intelligence officials described the lack of operational security ... as a potentially grievous espionage vulnerability.”
All in the Family. Wherein Drunk Pete Shows Off to His Wife & Brother How He Takes Top-secret Meetings. ~~~
~~~ Daniel Hampton of the Raw Story: "... a new report said [Pete Hegseth] brought his wife, former Fox News producer, to a pair of meetings with foreign military counterparts in which sensitive information was discussed. Jennifer Hegseth attended two such meetings with foreign officials, the Wall Street Journal reported. One occurred at the Pentagon on March 6 between Pete Hegseth and U.K. Secretary of Defense John Healey a day after the United States announced it would no longer share military intelligence with Ukraine.... In that meeting, officials ... discussed future military plans between the two nations.... Jennifer Hegseth also attended a meeting in February at NATO's headquarters in Brussels in which defense officials talked about their support for Ukraine.... Additionally, Pete Hegseth’s brother Philip Hegseth has also tagged along on official visits, the report said." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I was able to read the whole WSJ article using this link, which looks like a freebie. It's worth reading.
Rachel Bade & Dasha Burns of Politico: “On Wednesday evening — following a brutal day of headlines surrounding the now-infamous Signal chat — Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles and top personnel official Sergio Gor ... [suggested to] Donald Trump ... [that he fire National Security Advisor Mike Waltz].... The president agreed that Waltz had messed up, according to [two] people, but Trump ultimately decided not to fire him for one reason — for now: Like hell he’d give the liberal media and pearl-clutching Democrats a win. 'They don’t want to give the press a scalp,' said one of the people, a White House ally close with the team.... One of them offered this prediction: 'They’ll stick by him for now, but he’ll be gone in a couple of weeks.'”
Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration on Friday detailed its plans to put the U.S. Agency for International Development, the government’s main agency for distributing foreign aid, fully under the State Department and reduce its staff to some 15 positions. An email to U.S.A.I.D. employees informing them of the impending layoffs, titled 'U.S.A.I.D.’s Final Mission' and sent just after noon, detailed an elimination in all but name that the administration had long signaled was coming. It arrived over protests from lawmakers who argued that efforts to downsize the agency were illegal, and from staff members and unions who sued to stop them.”
Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times: “[Elon] Musk ... has returned to the tactic [he used during the presidential election cycle] as he tries to elect a conservative judge, Brad Schimel, in a major race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The billionaire has offered a chance to earn $1 million to signers of a petition opposing 'activist judges.' Early Friday, Mr. Musk ... told his 219 million followers on X that when he visited Wisconsin on Sunday, he would hand out two $1 million checks to people who had already voted in the election 'in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.' The offer was open only to those who had already voted, he said. But later on Friday, Mr. Musk quietly deleted his post on X. About 12 hours after that initial post, he said he had to 'clarify a previous post.' He wrote that 'entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges,' adding, 'I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition.'... The state’s Democratic attorney general, Josh Kaul, on Friday sued to block Mr. Musk’s payments. (In a curious twist of fate, the case was randomly assigned to Susan Crawford, the liberal judge whom Mr. Musk is trying to defeat. She quickly recused herself.)” (Also linked yesterday.)
Christina Jewitt, et al., of the New York Times: “The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks, resigned under pressure Friday and said that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s aggressive stance on vaccines was irresponsible and posed a danger to the public. 'It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,' Dr. Marks wrote to Sara Brenner, the agency’s acting commissioner. He reiterated the sentiments in an interview, saying: 'This man doesn’t care about the truth. He cares about what is making him followers.' Dr. Marks resigned after he was summoned to the Department of Health and Human Services Friday afternoon and told that he could either quit or be fired, according to a person familiar with the matter.... [Dr. Marks'] continued oversight of the F.D.A.’s vaccine program clearly put him at odds with the new health secretary.... 'Undermining confidence in well-established vaccines that have met the high standards for quality, safety and effectiveness that have been in place for decades at F.D.A. is irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety and security,' Dr. Marks wrote.” ~~~
~~~ David Lim, et al., of Politico: “Marks was pushed out under pressure from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said two people familiar with the matter granted anonymity to discuss the resignation — a development that sent shockwaves across the nation’s capital and prompted concern among some pharmaceutical companies”
Patricia Callahan of ProPublica: “Leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered staff this week not to release their experts’ assessment that found the risk of catching measles is high in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lagging, according to internal records reviewed by ProPublica. In an aborted plan to roll out the news, the agency would have emphasized the importance of vaccinating people against the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease that has spread to 19 states, the records show. A CDC spokesperson told ProPublica in a written statement that the agency decided against releasing the assessment 'because it does not say anything that the public doesn’t already know.' She added that the CDC continues to recommend vaccines as 'the best way to protect against measles.'... 'The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,' [her] statement said, echoing a line from a column Kennedy wrote for the Fox News website. 'People should consult with their healthcare provider to understand their options to get a vaccine and should be informed about the potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: The spokeswoman's statement could not be more self-contradictory. She may think she & RFKJ are walking a fine line, but in fact that are telling Americans that they should decide whether or not their children are vaccinated against one of the most contagious diseases on earth. Withholding the CDC assessment was unconscionable. And here's what's happening in real life as a result of their B.S. ~~~
~~~ Devi Shastri of the AP: “At least five states have active measles outbreaks as of Friday, and Texas’ is the largest with 400 cases. Already, the U.S. has more measles cases this year than in all of 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Other states with outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — include New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma. Since February, two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes. The new outbreaks confirm health experts’ fears that the virus will take hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates and that the spread could stretch on for a year. The World Health Organization said this week cases in Mexico are linked to the Texas outbreak.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Alexander Tin of CBS News: "The entire staff of the federal government's Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy is expected to be laid off.... The moves are part of a broader restructuring plan ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.... Much of the government's efforts to buoy lagging childhood vaccination rates nationwide have been run through OIDP.... Other initiatives overseen by OIDP include the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. program, which was launched by ... [Donald] Trump during his first term. The Office of Minority Health has also been informed that it should expect to be dissolved, sources said."
Emily Wax Thibodeaux & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: “A 30-year-old Harvard researcher from Russia has been held for more than a month at a private detention center in Louisiana.... Kseniia Petrova ... was pulled aside as she returned from Paris after failing to tell customs agents at Boston’s Logan International Airport that she was bringing back frog embryos for scientific work her mentor is pursuing. Should she lose her fight to retain her visa and stay in this country, her mentor, friends and lawyer worry that she would be deported back to Russia. Given her past involvement in protests against that country’s invasion of Ukraine, they fear she could be imprisoned for years.... Petrova arrived at Harvard in 2023 by way of Europe, where she had fled after Russian authorities arrested her for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and criticizing President Vladimir Putin online.” The NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I suspect Trump is deporting Petrova as a favor to Putin, so Putin's "legal" system can try her, convict her and send her to Siberia. That is, ICE is doing not only Trump's dirty work but Putin's too.
Alan Blinder, et al., of the New York Times: “The interim president of Columbia University abruptly left her post Friday evening as the school confronted the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding and the Trump administration’s mounting skepticism about its leadership. The move came one week after Columbia bowed to a series of demands from the federal government, which had canceled approximately $400 million in essential federal funding, and it made way for Columbia’s third leader since August. Claire Shipman, who had been the co-chair of the university’s board of trustees, was named the acting president and replaced Dr. Katrina Armstrong.” Perhaps contributing to her ouster/resignation, Armstrong led a faculty meeting last weekend in which she “seemed to downplay the effects of the university’s agreement with the government.” The Guardian's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: If Shipman's name rings a bell, that's because she was formerly a top ABC News reporter and is married to Jay Carney, President Obama's press secretary. Anyhow, so long, Dr. Armstrong. Any number of people could have told you that any association with Donald Trump would not end well. One cannot be obsequious enough to Trump to appease his need for flattery.
Vimal Patel of the New York Times: “Two of the leaders of Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the director and associate director, will be leaving their positions.... The department had been under criticism from alumni that it had an anti-Israel bias, and the university more broadly has been under intense pressure from the federal government to address accusations of antisemitism on campus. The director, Cemal Kafadar, a professor of Turkish studies, and the associate director, Rosie Bsheer, a historian of the Middle East, did not respond to messages seeking comment on Friday. The news was first reported by The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper.... Faculty members who have spoken with both professors say each believe they were forced out of their posts.”
Ernesto Londoño & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a graduate student attending the University of Minnesota earlier this week, the school said Friday in a statement that called the situation 'deeply concerning.' The student was taken into custody on Thursday at an off-campus residence, the school’s president, Rebecca Cunningham, said in the statement. 'The university had no prior knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities before it occurred,' the statement said.”
Marie: Here is a HUGE story I missed, and I learned about it from -- OMG -- Tommy Tuberville, one of the most ignorant people in the Senate. I will never live it down. (Admittedly, that was an extremely busy news day. But still, but still...): ~~~
~~~ Peter Eavis & Maureen Farrell of the New York Times (March 4): “An investment group led by BlackRock, a giant American asset manager, said it had agreed to buy two ports in Panama owned by a Hong Kong company that had become the focus of the tensions between Panama and Mr. Trump. BlackRock will buy the ports, which sit at either end of the canal, and over 40 others from the Hong Kong conglomerate, CK Hutchison, for about $19 billion. Though Mr. Trump has other complaints about the canal — it charges too much, he contends — the deal greatly relieves pressure on Panama, political analysts said.... The deal is also an indication of the spoils available to American companies as the Trump administration pursues its America First foreign policy. And for some historians, it brings up memories of the outsize power that Wall Street banks have had in Latin America. 'Where are the Panamanian voices here?' said Peter James Hudson..., of the University of British Columbia.... 'They are completely lost in this larger story of Trump’s efforts.'”
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14 Comments
Reader Comments (14)
Don't those "deals" with law firms that extract a promise to do "pro bono" work on the administration's behalf smack of outright extortion?
I thought that extortion was against the law...
"Trump's tariffs won't just raise car prices, but auto insurance rates"
@Ken Winkes: Ken, Ken, you know the rule: IOKIYAR. Of course, that old chestnut has been superseded and put on steroids: IPIYT: It's Perfect If You're Trump.
ICE Raids. They are destroying the foreign exchange student programs everywhere. Another soft power system destroyed for no gain whatsoever. But he is trying to dismantle the schools too, so they won't be missing out too much in the future.
Nature
"How Trump is following Project 2025’s radical roadmap to defund science
Much of the Trump administration’s agenda for research is laid out in the 900-plus-page blueprint. Nature read it so you don’t have to.
Indiscriminate firings. Terminated grants. Cancelled programmes. The barrage of actions by US President Donald Trump has shocked the country’s research community over the past two months. Yet, much of it was planned out years in advance and laid out publicly."
RAS,
As the Right has retreated from reality in the last fifty years into its closeted world of true believers, much of what we (and to some extent they) used to take for granted has become the enemy. Not just the big government that got us through the Depression and WWII but any initiative that government supports, like poverty eradication, environmental sensitivity, acknowledgment of shifting demographics, but also even commonsense economics and science, the kind supported by measurable outcomes.
Racism, resentment and the gleam of gold blind them.
Then there's the arrogance of ignorance, To a great extent, when you have enough money, you are large protected from the consequence of being wrong.
Unfortunately, the masses--a nod to one of those commonsense notions about economics the Right has rejected--who follow them are not.
I don't expect a great awakening on their part, but hope for a slow realization that they've been had.
Ken,
I agree with everything you said. Hopefully some of the people who were sitting out politics decide to get involved and start voting against the Republicans. The upheaval of their lives and loved ones should push them to participate, but so many have resisted up to this point so who knows. I am hoping that now that Trump is no longer on the ticket that many of the people who came out to vote for him stay home like they did before him. We still need the Democrats build back their brand into something that inspires people to vote for them. Perhaps all the town halls they are hosting to meet with the people can be a start. I saw a discussion with Jason Johnson last night about young men's turn rightward and one thing they said worked to open their eyes was showing them that people like the Tate brothers saw them as suckers to make money off and take advantage of. That is a message I think could breakthrough to some people if it is repeated enough because Trump and Musk rarely hide their contempt for the common people.
Of all the horrors reported on, the "disappearing" of people is the most horrifying, because it could happen to any of us, for any reason. When people like Kristi Noem stand blandly in front of people who have been stripped of their humanity, it brings the acknowledgement that those well-dressed, beach-curled "people" are not reasonable, not humane, not even human, actually, but simply monsters. So many of them have been welcomed into the Toxic Sludge's circle, we can't even keep track of how many monsters there are, and where and who they are.
There is no point in questioning why those big law firms and universities gave in immediately, because we know why-- they have been promised the riches of the US by the cult. Don't waste time feeling sorry for Columbia, Sludge, Treep, Urp and Flom (well, that's what it sounds like) because they are now going to retreat into the ages. Marie is correct, kowtowing to the masses only brings more orders. Not only are the universities going to suffer, but people with degrees from there will also-- employment will be a huge mess.
And yes, we kept saying the Heritage "Foundation" (really death cult) was working on all of this for years, and people kept saying that they wanted to address roller coaster safety, the fact that Kamala laughs too much and whether bees like honey, and we are paranoid.
Yep-- just because we are or are not paranoid does not mean that evil has subsided and people are not after us. Because they are. Now even the residents of tiny Ohio hamlets know. Now.
Test test test…back to this crap…
Trump tells buyers not to rush to buy cars before his tariffs. Does this make any sense? Trump tells builders not to raise prices because of his tariffs. Makes even less sense. Ford and GM aren't going to eat a thousand dollar or so increase on every vehicle. We're looking at a longer term higher payment future.
Cowboys and Indians
Where the cowboys, if they get caught screwing the Indians, get let out of the hoosegow by evil Sheriff Fatty.
So this guy, Devon Archer, former “business” associate of Hunter Biden, and his pals got an Oglala tribe to issue $60 million in bonds which were sold to innocent clients (like the Omaha Teachers’ Pension Fund). Told the Oglala the proceeds would be placed in an annuity that would pay the bond interest to investors and generate revenue for tribal operations.
Instead, no annuity was purchased - all the money went into the pockets of Archer and his co-conspirators. Some just bought shit with the money - Archer used it to fund other investment schemes. And the case was appealed all the way up to SCOTUS which rejected the appeal in 2024.
And now he not only gets off with no time spent in prison (yeah, a country club type prison), but he keeps the ill-gotten gains! And as the story says - is embarking immediately on a crypto scheme!!
The white man in Trump World hands the bill to the Indians (and the taxpayers) and scurries off to do more criming.
Fat Hitler sez “He was treated very unfairly! Full pardon!”
What about the Oglala tribe?
Cowboys and Indians…Indians are still losing.
I have come into possession of a video of an HHS meeting of MAGAt scientists, with RFKJ leading the way.
As you can see, all tests and conclusions are done proper like.
Seriously. This is exactly how decisions are being made concerning the health of millions of Americans.
The other day Marie pointed out that the White House Correspondents' Association has not stood up for the AP's rights to be in the WH press room. Once again they are caving to Fat Hitler.
"The White House Correspondents’ Association has dropped plans to feature a comedian at its April 26 dinner. Amber Ruffin had been announced as the featured entertainer.
WHCA President Eugene Daniels wrote in a letter to members today that “the WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year.
The White House has been critical of the choice of Ruffin, citing her past humor at the expense of Donald Trump. Trump is not expected to attend, and there are reports that his supporters are planning a competing event."
Unanimously! Not a single board member had the stones to stand up for free speech and the American ideal of criticizing Dear Leader. The cowards don't even have the excuse that they didn't want Ruffin in the first place since they had already announced her invitation. The article mentions that the WHCA supports the AP's lawsuit, but doesn't mention that they haven't actually taken any actions themselves against the White House or in support of the AP. If they actually cared about freedom of the press and it's independence they would be showing that with their actions and would welcome attention to their cause. Instead they plan a meek presentation that no one will pay attention to in hopes that the White House forgets that they exist.
Seth Meyers should do a “Not the WHC Dinner” show featuring Amber. After all, he started this…