The List

[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.

[canpakes]

WTF? They got John Dehlin?

lol. : D

[canpakes]

The Trump Administration is now publishing an enemies list of Democratic Party-aligned politicians and citizens that it claims have been “inciting a 1,000% surge in assaults on agents and a wave of Radical Left terror.”

If the Administration can simply claim they’re terrorists on the basis of opinions, then the Administration is setting up their next steps.

The carnage in Dallas, Texas — where a maniac with “ANTI-ICE” ammo gunned down an ICE field office in an attack clearly targeted at ICE personnel — lays bare the deadly consequences of Democrats’ unhinged crusade against our border enforcement.

Democrats have spent years vilifying ICE as “fascists,” “the Gestapo,” and “slave patrols,” inciting a 1,000% surge in assaults on agents and a wave of Radical Left terror. Their words aren’t just reckless — they’re a battle cry for violence.

• Gov. Tim Walz smeared ICE as the “modern-day Gestapo.”

• Gov. Gavin Newsom likened ICE to “secret police,” calling them “authoritarian” and proclaiming a “right to push back.”

• Gov. JB Pritzker claimed the country is becoming “Nazi Germany” because ICE is “grabbing people off the street… and disappearing them.”

• Rep. Robin Kelly smeared ICE as the “Gestapo” and a “betrayal.”

• Rep. Jasmine Crockett compared ICE to “slave patrols.”

• Rep. Sylvia Garcia referred to ICE agents as “thugs.”

• Rep. Delia Ramirez attacked ICE as “a terror force.”

• Rep. Pramila Jayapal called ICE agents “deranged,” accused them of “kidnapping,” and said “resistance” to ICE is “inspiring.”

• Rep. Rashida Tlaib said ICE is “terrorizing our communities” and “turning our country into a fascist police state,” and called it a “rogue agency.”

• Rep. Ayanna Pressley said ICE is “terrorizing our communities.”

• Rep. Max Frost compared ICE operations to “some of the worst horrors and crimes against humanity” in history.

• Rep. John Larson said ICE is “the SS” and “the Gestapo.”

• Rep. LaMonica McIver incited people to “shut down the city” because “we are at war.”

• Rep. Stephen Lynch smeared ICE agents as “the Gestapo” and “nondescript thugs.”

• Rep. Dan Goldman compared federal agents to “secret police” who must be unmasked.

• Rep. Becca Balint called ICE agents “vigilantes” who can’t be trusted.

• Rep. Ilhan Omar said ICE agents are “vile and beyond cruel,” and that the agency should be abolished.

• Rep. Nikki Budzinski called ICE agents “dangerous and reckless.”

• Sen. Bernie Sanders asked people to “figure out a way to stop ICE from what they are doing as soon as possible.”

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren claimed ICE is “intentionally stok[ing] fear” and “tear[ing] communities apart.”

• Rep. Hakeem Jeffries implored people to “fight” the Trump Administration “in the streets” and declared ICE agents “will be unsuccessful” in protecting their identities “no matter what it takes.”

• Boston Mayor Michelle Wu compared ICE agents to the neo-Nazi group NSC-131.

• Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson accused ICE of being “secret police” who are “terrorizing our communities.”

• Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spread a disgusting, fabricated hoax that ICE “kidnapped” a woman on her way to work.

• Rep. Gil Cisneros claimed ICE has “terrorized” people through “racial profiling.”

• Rep. Eric Swalwell said it was his “priority” to ensure ICE agents “are no longer faceless,” comparing them to “some 1800s bank robber or some KGB officer in Russia.”

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said ICE “should not exist.”

• Rep. Kweisi Mfume challenged the Trump Administration to “a street fight.”

• Rep. Jerry Nadler accused ICE agents of “hiding misbehavior because otherwise why would they be wearing masks?”

https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202 ... bloodshed/

[I Have Questions]

I wonder if those non Magadonians who voted for Trump (Magadonians are beyond reasonable conversation and self reflection) are at least starting to realise what they’ve done?

[canpakes]

.
Trump and Republicans have decided that a government shutdown is necessary at this time, as Donald is concerned that Democrats are trying to forcibly make everyone transgender.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive. They are threatening to shut down the Government of the United States unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens (A monumental cost!), force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody. These Radical Left Views and Policies is what allowed me to win the Presidential Election, including all seven Swing States, and the Popular Vote, IN A HISTORIC LANDSLIDE. There are consequences to losing Elections but, based on their letter to me, the Democrats haven’t figured that out yet. They are trying to eliminate the popular $50 Billion Dollar Rural and Vulnerable Hospital Fund, which was passed with only Republican Votes, and proudly signed into Law by ME. The Democrats in Congress seem to have totally lost their way. They obviously have no idea what it means to put America First or to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! All Congressional Democrats want to do is enact Radical Left Policies that nobody voted for — High Taxes, Open Borders, No Consequences for Violent Criminals, Men in Women’s Sports, Taxpayer funded “TRANSGENDER” surgery, and much more. Few people voted for what they represent, which would lead to the destruction of America. Instead, people voted for COMMON SENSE, and that’s what the Republicans and your President, “DONALD J. Trump,” stand for. I look forward to meeting with them if they get serious about the future of our Nation. We must keep the Government open, and legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage, knowing that they want our now thriving Country closed. I’ll be happy to meet with them if they agree to the Principles in this Letter. They must do their job! Otherwise, it will just be another long and brutal slog through their radicalized quicksand. To the Leaders of the Democrat Party, the ball is in your court. I look forward to meeting with you when you become realistic about the things that our Country stands for. DO THE RIGHT THING!

DONALD J. Trump, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrum ... 1757845391

OK, then.

ETA: a shtdown update, from President of the Free World Gavin Newsom -

[canpakes]

A small snag has occurred during the Retribution campaign.

Top prosecutor fired from embattled US attorney's office slams DOJ leadership

Michael Ben'Ary was fired after the arrival new U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan.
ByAlexander Mallin and Katherine Faulders
October 3, 2025, 3:06 PM ET

The top national security prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia circulated a scathing departure letter to his former colleagues Friday slamming DOJ leadership, who he said "is more concerned with punishing the President's perceived enemies than they are with protecting our national security."

Michael Ben'Ary, who served with the department for 20 years, was suddenly ousted this week in the wake of the arrival of President Donald Trump's hand-picked choice to take over the EDVA office as the district's new U.S. attorney.

Trump picked Lindsey Halligan, who was previously his personal lawyer, to replace U.S. attorney Erik Siebert, who Trump fired after sources said Siebert refused to bring charges against at least one of Trump's political foes.

Halligan last week indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, after Trump called on her to bring cases against Comey and others.

Ben'Ary, who sources say was one of at least two top EDVA attorneys to be fired this week, said in his departure letter, "I am disappointed to leave behind a national security and public safety mission that I truly believed in. I am even more disappointed to see what has happened to this office and the Department of Justice in just a few short months."

"The decisions to remove experienced career officials from US Attorneys Offices, the FBI, and other critical parts of DOJ undermines our country's ability to counter terrorist organizations, malign nation-state actors, and countless others that seek to harm our nation and its citizens," he wrote.

Ben'Ary's letter said he was informed of his termination Wednesday, just hours after a social media post from a pro-Trump influencer sought to tie him to resistance in the office by career prosecutors to charging Comey, which Ben'Ary denied.

Representatives for the Justice Department and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

In his letter, Ben'Ary said that he was in the process of leading the prosecution of the only defendant in custody to date who has been charged in connection with the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan, the trial for which is set to begin in just two months.

"While I have the utmost confidence in my co-counsel, my abrupt, apparently thoughtless removal with no period of transition will hurt this case," Ben'Ary said. "This example highlights the most troubling aspect of the current operations of the Department of Justice: the leadership is more concerned with punishing the President's perceived enemies than they are with protecting our national security."

"Justice for Americans killed and injured by our enemies should not be contingent on what someone in the Department of Justice sees in their social media feed that day," Ben'Ary wrote.

[canpakes]

On the war that Trump promised to end on Day 1, here’s an update from the ISW, on how Putin continues to play Trump like a fiddle:

“Putin has been promoting various rhetorical lines to try to deter the Trump administration from providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.

Putin threateningly warned the United States against selling Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine on October 2, claiming that American military personnel would have to directly participate in Ukrainian Tomahawk strikes.

Putin also claimed that such strikes would mark a “new stage of escalation” but would not change the battlefield situation.

Putin made similar arguments when the United States was considering sending Ukraine ATACMS missiles, F-16 jets, and Abrams tanks.

Putin appears to be trying different approaches – from threatening worsening bilateral relations to downplaying the missiles’ usefulness – to influence US decision-making.
…
Russia launched its largest combined drone and missile strike against Lviv Oblast on the night of October 4 to 5 with 163 combined projectiles.

The pro-Russian Georgian Dream party secured widespread majorities in municipal elections in Georgia on October 4, sparking mass protests that Georgian Dream officials tried to blame on Ukraine.

Russia is likely leveraging its close relations with Serbia and Republika Srpska to threaten to destabilize the Balkans and undermine European cohesion.”

[canpakes]

.
Just a reminder:

The Senate has passed a bill making Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the United States' largest interior law enforcement agency, with funding for Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda higher than most of the world's militaries, including Israel's.

Pending its passage in the House of Representatives, Trump's bill could mean a massive increase in ICE funding as part of an immigration enforcement agenda worth $150 billion over four years.
…
This figure is more than the annual military budget of Italy, which at $30.8 billion, is the world's 16th highest defense spender for this year, according to tracker Global Fire Power.
It is also higher than military spending for Israel ($30 billion), the Netherlands ($27 billion) and Brazil ($26.1 billion).

No word yet on progress towards more affordable groceries, electricity, gas, health care or housing.

[Chap]

No word yet on progress towards more affordable groceries, electricity, gas, health care or housing.

Seeing people one hates (too brown, speak Spanish, etc.) seized by masked men, beaten, thrown into cells with standing room only and then dumped in random foreign countries helps some people over the problem of not being able to afford eggs, shoes or heating.

After all, Hitler had a great success in Germany when the Nazi party launched the "guns before butter" slogan, didn't he?