The List

[Jersey Girl]

We probably need an RFKJr thread around here but I have GOT to share this since we're singling him out. Among his list of preferred advisors he states, is Dr. Oz. I'm not joking.

Run time is just over 4 minutes. Watch Bernie challenge him. He shoves him into a corner then lands one on him re: corruption.

'Everybody Is Corrupt But You?!': Bernie Sanders And RFK Jr. Have Unthinkable Clash During Hearing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmGRDi1h6zs

[Jersey Girl]

“Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods.”

“You take a look at bacon and some of these products. Some people don't eat bacon anymore. And we are going to get the energy prices down."

“Prices will come down. You just watch. They’ll come down and they’ll come down fast.”

"Groceries went through the roof and I campaigned on that. I talked about the word ‘groceries’ for a lot, and energy costs now are down. Groceries are down.”

I haven't purchased (or eaten) ground beef in at least 1.5 years by now. When I made my Walmart grocery order for delivery the other day I checked on it. 8 Bucks a pound and change! Think it was $8.62 actually.

The boneless/skinless chicken breasts I eat are now cheaper than the ground beef I used to order/eat! Completely reversed from how it used to be.

[canpakes]

There appears to be no desire within the Trump Administration to fix the immigration system, as opposed to merely dismantling the present system and then monetizing whatever is left of it.

Trump administration fires more immigration judges

Ximena Bustillo · September 23, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

Nearly 20 immigration judges received emails this month informing them that they are being let go, NPR has learned, adding to the over 80 judges that have already been cut by President Trump so far this year.

At least 14 immigration judges learned last Friday that they would be put on leave and that their employment would terminate as soon as Wednesday in some cases, according to two people familiar with the firings and a confirmation from the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a union that represents immigration judges. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Courts in Florida, New York, Maryland, California and Washington state are among those affected.

The move follows the firing of five other immigration judges earlier this month. The firings in September constitute the largest terminations in any month since two dozen immigration judges were fired in February right before their first day on the job.

The firings are seemingly at odds with the Trump administration’s goals of immigration enforcement, advocates say. The administration counters that immigration judges have not managed their mounting caseloads effectively, and that it has taken steps to streamline the process involved in adjudicating cases. The dispute provides a window into just how complicated the Trump administration’s efforts to lower illegal immigration and deport millions of undocumented people are.

Union leaders had been bracing for large cuts this month since it marked the end of the two-year probationary period for many immigration judges. The increased firings come as the Trump administration is trying to increase the number of deportations. Immigration judges, who are more like civil servants, can approve or deny a final order of deportation. Still, immigration advocates argue the high priority on immigration law enforcement is reducing the limited due process that immigrants receive because the dismissed judges are either replaced with adjudicators with no experience or are not replaced at all.

“The dismissal of more immigration judges is an illogical and costly setback for the nation’s immigration courts,” said IFPTE President Matt Biggs in a statement to NPR. “At a time when the backlog has reached historic levels and the administration has made immigration enforcement a central issue, the removal of experienced judges is hypocritical, undermines the law, wastes taxpayer dollars, and further delays justice for citizens and immigrants alike.”

Not all judges to be dismissed this year have been at the end of their probationary period with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which is a part of the U.S. Justice Department. Still, the firings have resulted in a culture of fear among EOIR employees. Dozens took the "Fork in the Road," a voluntary resignation program introduced after President Trump took office aimed at reducing the size of the federal workforce. EOIR declined to comment.

In the past nine months, EOIR has lost more than 125 judges to firings and voluntary resignations, down from about 700 judges at the start of the year. The loss of judges has resulted in immigration cases being delayed as far out as 2029, NPR previously reported, as vacancies increase despite open job postings to fill roles in those courts.

Terminations continue amid growing backlogs

The latest sets of terminations landed after Congress approved a mega-spending bill that allocated over $3 billion to the Justice Department for immigration-related activities, including hiring more immigration judges. The funding and additional personnel are aimed at alleviating the growing case backlog, which stands at nearly 4 million. Hiring and training new judges can take more than a year.

In recent months, EOIR leadership has criticized judges for not efficiently managing their caseloads, and has encouraged adjudicators to streamline asylum reviews and give oral, as opposed to written, decisions on case dismissals.

Earlier this month, about 600 military lawyers were authorized to work for the Justice Department as temporary immigration judges. And the DOJ made changes to who could qualify as a temporary immigration judge — effectively lowering the requirements and removing the need to have prior immigration experience.


[I Have Questions]

When President Donald Trump was reminded in an interview with Time magazine this week that he had said he would end the Russian war on Ukraine on “day one,” he claimed he hadn’t been speaking literally or seriously.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/25/poli ... kraine-war

“Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point, and you know, it gets, of course, by the fake news [unintelligible]. Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended,” Trump said, according to Time’s transcript.

This “in jest” claim is a lie.

On the campaign trail in 2023 and 2024, Trump said on dozens of occasions, in an entirely serious tone, manner and context, that he would end the war in Ukraine either within 24 hours of his return to the White House or even sooner than that. He said over and over again, including at both presidential debates of 2024, that he would have the war “settled” when he was president-elect, before his inauguration.

A Friday search of the Roll Call Factba.se database that catalogues Trump’s public remarks turned up at least 53 examples of Trump making such comments.

He said it in jest, 53 times. Apparently.

Trump sometimes emphasized that he was speaking literally, scoffing at critics who said he couldn’t end the war that fast. “I’ll get that done within 24 hours. Everyone says, ‘Oh, no, you can’t.’ Absolutely I can. Absolutely I can,” he said at one July 2023 rally in Iowa. He said at a Pennsylvania rally later that month: “Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we all together win the presidency, we will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled. It will be settled. The war is going to be settled. I’ll get them both – I know Zelensky, I know Putin, it’ll be done within 24 hours, you watch. They all say, ‘That’s such a boast.’ It will be done very quickly.”

[Some Schmo]

There appears to be no desire within the Trump Administration to fix the immigration system, as opposed to merely dismantling the present system and then monetizing whatever is left of it.

Who the hell wants to come here now?

Their fix to the immigration system is to make America such a shithole, nobody wants to come. From what I hear, it's working.

[I Have Questions]

There appears to be no desire within the Trump Administration to fix the immigration system, as opposed to merely dismantling the present system and then monetizing whatever is left of it.

Who the hell wants to come here now?

Their fix to the immigration system is to make America such a shithole, nobody wants to come. From what I hear, it's working.

It’s certainly had an impact on Tourism numbers.
https://www.visaverge.com/news/major-us ... -policies/

New York City: The Epicenter Of Tourism Decline

Visitor Numbers and Economic Impact
– International visitors: New York City expects 2 million fewer international visitors in 2025, a 17% drop from the previous year.
– Tourism spending: The city faces a projected $4 billion decrease in tourism spending, with foreign visitors making up only 20% of arrivals but accounting for 50% of all tourism spending.
– Key source markets: The steepest declines are from Western Europe (Germany down 28%, UK down 14%) and Canada (car trips down 38%, air travel down 24%).

Policy and Perception
– The downturn is closely linked to stricter immigration enforcement, new tariffs, and negative global sentiment toward U.S. policies under President Trump.

[canpakes]

.
A recap on the week’s events surrounding Jimmy Kimmel, and President Trump’s increasingly thin skin and growing intolerance of criticism or opinions from ‘the left’, by opinion columnist Sidney Blumenthal.

With Kimmel’s suspension, the FCC chair made himself Trump’s chief of comedy

Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, is fulfilling the ‘authoritarian’s dream’ he once decried

Sidney Blumenthal
Wed 24 Sep 2025 13.00 EDT


Who’s the comedian? Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chairperson, pressured the Disney company to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night talkshow host on ABC, for a remark he made about the right wing’s attempts to shape perceptions about the murderer of the far-right political operative Charlie Kirk. (Kimmel is now back on the air.) It was the opening riff of Carr’s stand-up routine.

Carr’s choice of venue to issue his threat – a hard-right podcast – indicated the kind of media of which he approves. His pressure against Kimmel is no isolated gesture, but the execution of a calculated plan he himself helped hatch to eradicate critical political speech. But Carr’s exploitation of the death of Charlie Kirk to serve as the trigger for Trump’s repression only succeeded in turning Jimmy Kimmel into a free speech symbol before his return to television on Tuesday.

“Free speech is the counterweight – it is the check on government control,” Carr wrote as an FCC commissioner in 2023. “That is why censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.” Then, on 17 September, he told the podcast: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.

“These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Now, Carr was fulfilling “the authoritarian’s dream”. He seems indifferent to his duplicity, boldly tossing aside pretense. Dealing with Kimmel, he posed as a stereotypical gangster speaking in clichés from a 1930s movie: “the easy way or the hard way.” Carr seems excited by his own rough language. His display of brass knuckles, however, demolishes his legitimacy to wear a badge. As the violator of free speech, he betrays his office as a protector. He also destroys conservative posturing as the special victim of speech suppression.

Carr is using government power to eliminate criticism. He is implementing a policy of censorship he himself authored in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook. Even when he imitates a mobster, he does not issue his threats in a raised voice. His tone does not rise to the histrionics of Stephen Miller. Carr is a zealot of a certain type, the rightwing Leninist with the grim resolve of a commissar, the bureaucrat rigorously checking off boxes – in this case, purging late-night comedians – to fulfill the larger ideological agenda.

The operation of Trump’s purge involves not the slightest bit of persuasion, debate or discussion. Carr is executing the will of the leader who is not to be questioned and above all never to be ridiculed. “We’re not done yet” with the changes in “the media ecosystem”, Carr told CNBC on 18 September. He called the erasure of Kimmel a “market correction”. Carr is incapable of comprehending when he is unintentionally funny in a way that is self-undermining. He’s not only Trump’s executioner. He’s Trump’s straight man.

Before the identity, let alone the motive, of the Kirk assassin was known, Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, raged against “an ideology at war with family and nature”. Weeks before, on Fox News, he had already declared the Democratic party “a domestic extremist organization”. Now, after Kirk’s assassination, taking Miller’s cue, the rightwing site the Federalist stated: “After a long history of condoning, advocating, and participating in political violence, it is time to designate the Democrat party a domestic terrorist organization.”

Carr is a zealot of a certain type, the rightwing Leninist with the grim resolve of a commissar, the bureaucrat rigorously checking off boxes ... to fulfill the larger ideological agenda.

The influential anti-woke activist Christopher Rufo tweeted: “The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years. It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos.”

JD Vance threatened: “We are working very hard to ensure that the funding networks for leftwing violence, that the radicalization networks for leftwing violence – that if you encourage or fund your fellow Americans or anybody else to commit acts of violence because you disagree with political speech, you are going to be treated like a terrorist organization and we are going to go after you.”

Trump went on Fox & Friends to point his finger: “The radicals on the left are the problem – and they are vicious and horrible and politically savvy.”

All of this occurred before Jimmy Kimmel’s ouster.

Meanwhile, gaggles of feverish far-right influencers, whose stock-in-trade is conspiracy theories, tried to debunk one fantasy spinning around the internet that threatened to boomerang on them. Within the Maga hothouse, Kirk had faced backlash in 2019 from the Groypers, led by Nick Fuentes, who once dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and accused Kirk of being too moderate. Kirk later shifted his position to the hard right on immigration. “I’ve noticed people like Charlie Kirk … are now calling for an immigration moratorium,” Fuentes said in June. “That means they want to shut down all immigration. And suffice to say, the Groypers have won. It’s just not even a question at this point.”

The theory spread like wildfire that the killer’s cryptic inscriptions on shell casings could be Groyper messages. If they were, he would be an errant rightwing extremist, not a leftwing one. Those etched messages, however, apparently referred to a range of things, including gaming memes. No evidence has emerged that Tyler Robinson, the suspect, had political connections to any group or the involvement of anyone else in his act.

But with the far-right’s history of heated factional warfare flaring in the background, Jimmy Kimmel said in his monologue on 15 September : “The Maga gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Kimmel’s comment condensed, into a line that was not a joke, a complicated and fraught situation, down the rabbit hole of the far right, involving the frenzied Maga effort to pin the blame on the “radical left” and by extension the whole Democratic party, and to deflect scrutiny of their own infighting. Kimmel’s remark assumed a lot of arcane knowledge on the part of his audience.

At the same time, the FCC, which Carr chairs, was considering a $6.2bn merger between Nexstar Media, a large owner of TV stations, and the Tegna media company.

Within days of Kimmel’s rather innocuous comment, Carr stated that the comedian was “appearing to directly mislead the American public”. Nexstar announced it would no longer broadcast Jimmy Kimmel’s show. Disney followed by suspending him from ABC. Carr praised Nexstar “for doing the right thing”.

Ironically, during the Red Scare, in 1950, when Gypsy Rose Lee, soon to be the host of an ABC radio gameshow called What Makes You Tick?, was accused of being a Communist by the American Legion and Red Channels, a conservative publication seeking to root out subversives in the media, ABC executives stood by her. CBS, on the other hand, demanded all of its employees sign a loyalty oath. Gypsy Rose Lee said about the efforts at censorship: “This may be all right for Russia, but I hope not for us.”

Sinclair, a rightwing-controlled media outlet that broadcasts ABC shows, announced that suspension of Kimmel was insufficient and that it would pre-empt his program until further notice. But even that was not enough. Sinclair demanded that Kimmel “make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA”. Instead of airing the show, Sinclair said, it would offer to its affiliates a “remembrance” of Kirk, “who boldly and tirelessly defended biblical values and truth as he challenged a new generation to stand firm for Christ”. The piece was sanitized of his racist, nativist, antisemitic and misogynist views, and his assertion that Joe Biden “should honestly be put in prison and/or be given the death penalty for his crimes against America”. Kirk, extolled as an exemplar of free speech and debate, had in fact created a “Professor Watchlist” to blacklist liberal academics across the board. Sinclair made Kirk, touted as an advocate of free speech, into a symbol of its suppression. But, after further stoking the firestorm, Sinclair put its “remembrance” on YouTube and instead ran an episode of Celebrity Family Feud. Once Disney restored Kimmel’s show, Sinclair and Nexstar stated their affiliates would not air it.

Carr launched his attack on Kimmel on a podcast called The Benny Show, hosted by Benny Johnson, the former chief creative officer at Kirk’s Turning Point USA. Carr had plunged down a deep rabbit hole of the right with a dubious character.

Johnson was fired from BuzzFeed in 2014 after being accused of plagiarism. He was later associated with a political consulting firm called Arsenal Media – “a chaotic working environment, rife with internal bullying, toxic HR practices, and an intense culture of secrecy”, where some contractors said they were not paid, according to an investigative report in the Verge. (Johnson’s own website described him as a co-founder and chief creative officer of the site until April 2022, according to the report, but a spokesperson for Johnson told the Verge in April 2022 that he “is not currently, nor has ever been an owner, executive, or even employee of Arsenal Media”.) Johnson was also exposed last year to be among a group of six rightwing influencers who were funneled $10m from two Russian agents indicted by the justice department. Johnson and the others claimed to have been duped.

When Pam Bondi, the attorney general, created an uproar, including on the right, by stating: “We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech,” Jonathan Karl, the former ABC White House correspondent, asked Trump his reaction.

“She’ll probably go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly,” Trump replied to Karl. “You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they will come after ABC. ABC paid me $16m recently for a form of hate speech. Your company paid me $16m for a form of hate speech, so maybe they will have to go after you.” Trump was referring to his suit against ABC for This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos’s comment coming out of the E Jean Carroll trial describing Trump’s sexual violence. It was generally believed that ABC would have won the case, but the prospective threat to the Disney company from the Trump administration prompted its first capitulation.

Trump, on his state visit to Britain, slammed Kimmel at a press conference with Keir Starmer, saying the host had been “fired because he had bad ratings” and was “not a talented person”. The old reality-TV host’s jealousy for an actual show-business star shone through. In fact, Kimmel’s show was rated No 1 with the highly valued young adult demographic.

On Air Force One, Trump suggested that the FCC look into revoking the licenses of other networks, saying: “They give me only bad publicity or press. I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away.”

If there are further attempts at impertinent humor, they will be met with even more severe punishments. Will Carr issue a full report to meet the crisis, perhaps to a newly created House committee on the weaponization of humor, the Trump era version of the Red Scare’s House un-American activities committee? Will witnesses be subpoenaed from the writers’ room? Will comics be permitted to sign confessions regretting their past gags? What about the audience members, fellow travelers all, who laughed? An inquisition of comedy would take everyone’s minds off the Epstein files. Are you now or have you ever been a comedian? No joking! That’s an order – an executive order.

Sidney Blumenthal is a Guardian US columnist

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... carr-Trump

[canpakes]

As promised, the retribution continues.

Donald Trump escalates his retribution campaign

The indictment of former FBI director James Comey lays bare the president’s intentions
Online extra | Sep 26, 2025

Most Americans have happily forgotten the twists and turns of Russiagate. Not Donald Trump. That years-long government probe—concerning his 2016 presidential campaign’s contacts with Russians—was a crucible for the president. In his mind it was a deep-state conspiracy to derail his first term. Ever since he has talked about payback. Now he is trying to get it.

On September 25th a grand jury indicted James Comey, whom Mr Trump has never forgiven for authorising the Russia probe while FBI director. Prosecutors allege that Mr Comey made a false statement and obstructed Congress during his testimony to a Senate committee in 2020. The indictment is the starkest sign yet of Mr Trump’s intent to weaponise the Department of Justice (DoJ) for political retribution.

Over the years the president has called Mr Comey a liar and a crook. In recent days he demanded the ouster of an acting US attorney who had declined to bring charges (the official then resigned) and all but ordered the DoJ to act. When it did, Mr Trump celebrated on social media, calling Mr Comey “one of the worst human beings in the country”. This may be a norm-busting misuse of the law but it is not surprising. Mr Trump has always been forthright that he would pursue vendettas. After his election victory last year, it was just a question of when, how and against whom.

The Russiagate saga is as baroque as can be. In July 2016, in the middle of the presidential race, the FBI learned that the Kremlin had offered to help the Trump campaign by digging up dirt on its rival, Hillary Clinton. Mr Comey opened an investigation called Crossfire Hurricane. After winning the presidency, Mr Trump pressured Mr Comey to ease up on that probe. Then he fired him.

In the end Crossfire Hurricane unearthed plenty of unseemly interaction between Russians and aides to Mr Trump. It showed extensive Russian interference in the election, mainly via hacking and online propaganda. But it found no co-ordination between the campaign and the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the FBI made errors during its investigation. Chief among them, an FBI lawyer doctored an email to support an application to surveil a Trump campaign adviser. In MAGA-land, these missteps discredited the entire enterprise, justifying congressional hearings, counter-probes and revisionist histories that continue to this day.

Prosecutors contend that Mr Comey lied when he told Congress that he had not authorised leaks to the press. “I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial,” said Mr Comey, after the indictment was announced. To win a conviction, prosecutors must show that Mr Comey knowingly deceived lawmakers. They will need to prove this beyond reasonable doubt.

At least some prosecutors seem to have a good deal of doubt. Erik Siebert, the departed US attorney in the eastern district of Virginia, the office overseeing the case, had reportedly told higher-ups that it was flimsy. He also questioned a separate inquiry into alleged mortgage fraud by Letitia James, New York’s attorney-general.

This incensed Mr Trump, who posted a screed on social media about how “They’re all guilty as hell” and “We can’t delay any longer”. Then the president put one of his former defence lawyers, Lindsey Halligan, on the case “to get things moving”. She is a former insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience.

Weak as the case may be, there will probably be more like it. Besides Mr Comey and Ms James—who won a civil suit against the president over fraud at his real-estate business—the DoJ is investigating several of his perceived enemies. This list includes John Brennan, the CIA director at the beginning of the Russia probe; John Bolton, Mr Trump’s former national security adviser; and the foundation of George Soros, a Democratic donor.

Mr Trump has long justified his pursuit of lawfare as a like-for-like response to his own perceived persecution by Democrats. There is no disguising that revenge is the point. The president said as much when he demanded that Mr Comey be indicted: “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

https://www.economist.com/united-states ... n-campaign

‘Retaliation’ category on the first page has been updated.

[Whiskey]

As promised, the retribution continues.

Donald Trump escalates his retribution campaign

The indictment of former FBI director James Comey lays bare the president’s intentions
Online extra | Sep 26, 2025

Most Americans have happily forgotten the twists and turns of Russiagate. Not Donald Trump. That years-long government probe—concerning his 2016 presidential campaign’s contacts with Russians—was a crucible for the president. In his mind it was a deep-state conspiracy to derail his first term. Ever since he has talked about payback. Now he is trying to get it.

On September 25th a grand jury indicted James Comey, whom Mr Trump has never forgiven for authorising the Russia probe while FBI director. Prosecutors allege that Mr Comey made a false statement and obstructed Congress during his testimony to a Senate committee in 2020. The indictment is the starkest sign yet of Mr Trump’s intent to weaponise the Department of Justice (DoJ) for political retribution.

Over the years the president has called Mr Comey a liar and a crook. In recent days he demanded the ouster of an acting US attorney who had declined to bring charges (the official then resigned) and all but ordered the DoJ to act. When it did, Mr Trump celebrated on social media, calling Mr Comey “one of the worst human beings in the country”. This may be a norm-busting misuse of the law but it is not surprising. Mr Trump has always been forthright that he would pursue vendettas. After his election victory last year, it was just a question of when, how and against whom.

The Russiagate saga is as baroque as can be. In July 2016, in the middle of the presidential race, the FBI learned that the Kremlin had offered to help the Trump campaign by digging up dirt on its rival, Hillary Clinton. Mr Comey opened an investigation called Crossfire Hurricane. After winning the presidency, Mr Trump pressured Mr Comey to ease up on that probe. Then he fired him.

In the end Crossfire Hurricane unearthed plenty of unseemly interaction between Russians and aides to Mr Trump. It showed extensive Russian interference in the election, mainly via hacking and online propaganda. But it found no co-ordination between the campaign and the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the FBI made errors during its investigation. Chief among them, an FBI lawyer doctored an email to support an application to surveil a Trump campaign adviser. In MAGA-land, these missteps discredited the entire enterprise, justifying congressional hearings, counter-probes and revisionist histories that continue to this day.

Prosecutors contend that Mr Comey lied when he told Congress that he had not authorised leaks to the press. “I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial,” said Mr Comey, after the indictment was announced. To win a conviction, prosecutors must show that Mr Comey knowingly deceived lawmakers. They will need to prove this beyond reasonable doubt.

At least some prosecutors seem to have a good deal of doubt. Erik Siebert, the departed US attorney in the eastern district of Virginia, the office overseeing the case, had reportedly told higher-ups that it was flimsy. He also questioned a separate inquiry into alleged mortgage fraud by Letitia James, New York’s attorney-general.

This incensed Mr Trump, who posted a screed on social media about how “They’re all guilty as hell” and “We can’t delay any longer”. Then the president put one of his former defence lawyers, Lindsey Halligan, on the case “to get things moving”. She is a former insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience.

Weak as the case may be, there will probably be more like it. Besides Mr Comey and Ms James—who won a civil suit against the president over fraud at his real-estate business—the DoJ is investigating several of his perceived enemies. This list includes John Brennan, the CIA director at the beginning of the Russia probe; John Bolton, Mr Trump’s former national security adviser; and the foundation of George Soros, a Democratic donor.

Mr Trump has long justified his pursuit of lawfare as a like-for-like response to his own perceived persecution by Democrats. There is no disguising that revenge is the point. The president said as much when he demanded that Mr Comey be indicted: “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

https://www.economist.com/united-states ... n-campaign

WTF? They got John Dehlin?

[Kishkumen]

WTF? They got John Dehlin?

OK, now THAT is funny.