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Category: Politics

Epstein claimed he gave Russians insight into Trump

Epstein claimed he gave Russians insight into Trump

Politico reports: Nearly a month before President Donald Trump met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in 2018, Jeffrey Epstein attempted to pass a message to Russia’s top diplomat: If you want to understand Trump, talk to me. “I think you might suggest to putin that lavrov can get insight on talking to me,” Epstein wrote in a June 24, 2018, email to Thorbjorn Jagland, a former prime minister of Norway who was leading the Council of Europe at the…

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The carefully considered deliberations of the Sandwich Guy’s jury

The carefully considered deliberations of the Sandwich Guy’s jury

Ashley Parker writes: The jurors in the case of The United States of America v. The Sandwich Guy (as Sean Charles Dunn is better known) sized one another up before the final group had even been selected, asking, “Did you attend the ‘No Kings’ march?” “It’s like, You’re damn right I went,” one juror told me, referring to the anti-Trump protests throughout the country last month, including in Washington, D.C. (The juror, who spoke with me several days after she…

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How Trump has exploited pardons and clemency to reward his allies and supporters

How Trump has exploited pardons and clemency to reward his allies and supporters

By Jeremy Kohler This story was originally published by ProPublica The beneficiaries of President Donald Trump’s mercy in his second term have mostly been people with access to the president or his inner circle. Those who have followed the rules set out by the Department of Justice, meanwhile, are still waiting. Trump has granted clemency to allies, donors and culture-war figures — as well as felons who, like him, were convicted of financial wrongdoing. On Friday, he granted pardons to…

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The BBC must not be cowed by Trump’s threats

The BBC must not be cowed by Trump’s threats

Alan Rusbridger writes: There’s one way the BBC could retrieve some dignity from the smoking rubble of the past week. It should send Donald Trump a four-word reply to his blustering threat to sue the corporation in Florida for $1bn in damages: “See you in court.” There’s barely a notable news organisation in the US that Trump hasn’t yet sued. ABC News and CBS News have demonstrated the resolve of a jellyfish in stumping up millions to settle lawsuits that…

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Ezra Levin: What now after Senate Democrats surrender on the shutdown vote?

Ezra Levin: What now after Senate Democrats surrender on the shutdown vote?

  Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, summarizes Sunday’s shocking vote to re-open the government, without the Democrats winning anything tangible with perfect clarity: “there is something deeply broken within the Democrat system.” After a stellar performance at the polling booths on November 4th, eight Senate Democrats made the decision to abandon their party’s core shutdown demands and squander their winning momentum. In response, Indivisible is launching its largest primary program ever in 2026, with more details to follow. Keep up…

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‘I’m not a foreign agent,’ says Laura Loomer. But is she just a hired gun?

‘I’m not a foreign agent,’ says Laura Loomer. But is she just a hired gun?

Antonia Hitchens writes: One night at Ned’s Club, a members-only lounge with views of the White House, Nigel Farage, the British politician who heads the populist Reform Party, was hosting a bash for the right-wing television channel GB News, which was opening a bureau in D.C. Several members of Trump’s Cabinet were there; Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, gave a toast. Loomer was at home in Florida, but longtime lobbyists and consultants were discussing her activities on two…

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British suspend some intelligence sharing, concerned that U.S. strikes on boats are illegal

British suspend some intelligence sharing, concerned that U.S. strikes on boats are illegal

CNN reports: The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The UK’s decision marks a significant break from its closest ally and intelligence sharing partner and underscores the growing skepticism over the legality of the US military’s campaign around Latin America. For years, the…

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Bovino’s ‘American Gestapo’ expected to leave Chicago this week

Bovino’s ‘American Gestapo’ expected to leave Chicago this week

Chicago Tribune reports: Federal immigration agents part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” may soon leave Chicago, according to multiple sources who said the controversial mission was rapidly winding down after a contentious two months of enforcement raids that have set the city and suburbs on edge. Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, the top official on the ground leading the Trump administration’s efforts, was expected to depart Chicago for another assignment within days, and most of the Border Patrol agents under…

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DOJ has lost over 5,000 career employees since AG Pam Bondi took control

DOJ has lost over 5,000 career employees since AG Pam Bondi took control

The Independent reports: The Department of Justice has been hemorrhaging staff under President Donald Trump, with thousands of attorneys leaving and few being hired to replace them, according to a new report. Since January, nearly 5,500 DOJ career employees have quit, taken a buyout, or been fired, according to Justice Connection, an advocacy group composed of department alumni. A Justice Connection spokesperson told The Independent that its estimates are based on both public reporting and non-public information the group has…

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Documents cast doubt on the viability of Trump’s Gaza peace initiative

Documents cast doubt on the viability of Trump’s Gaza peace initiative

Politico reports: Some Trump administration officials are deeply concerned that the Gaza peace deal between Israel and Hamas could break down because of the difficulty implementing many of its core provisions, as private documents obtained by POLITICO and circulating among U.S. officials underscore the lack of a clear path forward. The compendium of documents was presented last month during a two-day symposium of a few hundred people for U.S. Central Command and members of the newly created Civil-Military Coordination Center,…

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Governments and billionaires are still failing to meet the challenge of climate change

Governments and billionaires are still failing to meet the challenge of climate change

Elizabeth Kolbert writes: In the lead-up to this year’s COP, every country was supposed to announce an emissions target for itself, extending through 2035. The U.S.submitted such a target in the last month of the Biden Administration; it is now considered largely meaningless. Last week, China submitted its target, which was widely described as inadequate. Brazil’s target, too, has been criticized as insufficient. And, just a few weeks ago, the Brazilian government decided, for the first time, to allow oil…

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Newsom and Mamdani are showing Democrats how to fight again

Newsom and Mamdani are showing Democrats how to fight again

Politico reports: Gavin Newsom said he hadn’t heard of Zohran Mamdani until a few months ago. They communicated for the first time on Election Day. But that night’s results have suddenly bound the California governor and the New York City mayor-elect together as two of the most prominent figures on the left — two geographic and ideological poles in a party that for months has had no clear national leader. “Voters are looking for people who represent the exact opposite…

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We need courage and clarity from our leaders. Schumer doesn’t have the backbone for the job

We need courage and clarity from our leaders. Schumer doesn’t have the backbone for the job

David Rothkopf writes: It would be a mistake to overreact to the decision by eight Senate Democrats to vote to end the government shutdown without real guarantees that Americans will be able to afford health care and maintain health insurance coverage. Do not, for example, make plans to immediately move to Canada or any other country with a sane, stable healthcare system just because those Democrats were spineless, visionless, out of touch with the rank and file of the Democratic…

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Trump takes on BBC with $1bn lawsuit threat after bosses quit

Trump takes on BBC with $1bn lawsuit threat after bosses quit

  The Guardian reports: A BBC board member with links to the Conservative party “led the charge” in pressuring the corporation’s leadership over claims of systemic bias in coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights, the Guardian has been told. Sources said Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director general,…

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Ahmed al-Sharaa becomes first Syrian leader to visit the White House

Ahmed al-Sharaa becomes first Syrian leader to visit the White House

Middle East Eye reports: Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former member of al-Qaeda, on Monday became the first-ever Syrian president to visit the White House, in a reflection of Damascus’s stunning shift from a US-designated sponsor of terror to partner. Sharaa, whose Islamist rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the country’s 1946 independence from France. The Assad family had courted Russia and Iran as partners. “We have…

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Zohran Mamdani’s message resonates far beyond New York City

Zohran Mamdani’s message resonates far beyond New York City

Mara Gay writes: The instinct to treat Zohran Mamdani as a local New York City phenomenon ignores the reality of the American voters behind his historic win. Most of the people who voted for Mr. Mamdani for mayor are at the heart of the Democratic Party coalition, not at its fringes. Black voters in particular swung hard toward Mr. Mamdani in the general election. In precincts where Black residents make up a majority of the population, Mr. Mamdani outperformed Mr….

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