BY MATT BERG
& CROOKED MEDIA |
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Give us back the Statue of Liberty.”
— French socialist politician Raphaël Glucksmann, half-joking while bashing Donald Trump.
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Will Trump get away with ignoring court orders? One top Democrat says he damn sure hopes not…. but get ready for a wild legal showdown.
- President Donald Trump and his henchmen are flipping the bird at judges who order them to slow down their deportation of migrants. Over the weekend, planes carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador simply refused to turn around, despite an explicit order from Judge James Boasberg. A Brown University professor — a kidney transplant specialist with a valid visa — was expelled after agents claim they found deleted “sympathetic photos” of Hezbollah leaders on her phone. That move came despite another court order, which Trump officials claimed to have not received in time.
- During a surreal court hearing this afternoon, a Trump Department of Justice lawyer refused to answer even basic questions about how many planes took off and who was on them. The lawyer cited vague “national security” concerns, prompting Judge Boasberg to declare himself baffled. “You’re saying it’s classified, and that’s why I can’t see it?” Boasberg marveled. “I view classified information all the time!”
- Kick rocks, your honor. The DOJ lawyer insisted the administration followed the law, and that no more flights took off after they received the written order (as if the judge’s verbal order weren’t enough, which it normally is). Boasberg demanded better answers in writing by noon tomorrow, including about why the administration refused to even explain what just happened.
- Some Trump officials have been less diplomatic. “I don’t care what the judges think,” border czar Tom Homan thundered on Fox News today. “We’re not stopping.”
- “Donald Trump gives the finger to the courts every single day,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told What A Day in a call this afternoon. But will the courts ultimately succeed in restraining him? “I certainly hope so,” Raskin said, sounding worried.
The administration’s lawyers insist in court that Trump is acting within the law — but legal experts are anxious about this escalating conflict.
- Trump has lost a lot of legal fights, Raskin points out. Most of the time, his administration has followed court orders. “We are winning on a daily basis in court,” Raskin said, noting several recent cases in which the courts have ruled against Trump, including on birthright citizenship and USAID cuts.
- But what if the Trump team simply stops doing what the courts say? That’s the “doomsday scenario,” said Andrew Weissmann, former chief prosecutor for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team of Russia investigators. “At that point, there is no rule of law in this country.”
- The courts are crucial, but so are average people who speak out and protest when they see the Trump White House doing things they disagree with, Raskin points out.
“A rally a day keeps the fascists away,” Raskin said.
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Back in the heady days of the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump and his allies repeatedly denied that Project 2025, the unpopular far-right policy agenda, would be their game plan in the White House. Senior advisor Chris LaCivita slammed that idea as “ complete and utter bullshit!”
But Trump and LaCivita, of course, were the ones shoveling cow pies. After the election, they set about implementing Project 2025 to an extent that even the plan’s designer hadn’t hoped for.
Don’t take it from me. That’s exactly what the top Project 2025 architect, Paul Dans, is now saying.
“It’s actually way beyond my wildest dreams,” Dans told Politico.
Trump has already implemented at least half of Project 2025’s objectives in eight areas: USAID, State Department, Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, the White House, Department of Defense, U.S. Agency for Global Media, and personnel, according to one watchdog tracker.
Overall, 41 percent of the project’s priorities have been completed or are in progress, according to that tally.
What’s more, Russell Vought, who leads the Office of Management and Budget (which is in charge of firing federal workers), is a literal co-author of Project 2025. Several other top Trump picks, including border czar Tom Homan and FCC Chair Brendan Carr, were also contributors to the agenda.
It should have been obvious Trump was flagrantly lying about his post-election plans. But — one more time for the folks in the back — here are the receipts.
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Donald Trump announced that he wants to void pardons granted by Joe Biden… because, he claims, the former president didn’t use a physical pen to sign them. Well, presidents are allowed to use digital “autopens” to sign documents (although there’s no evidence Biden even did that in this case). Jamie Raskin, a member of the January 6 committee who received a pardon, demurred when asked whether he’s concerned: “No one committed any offenses,” he said.
Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin are set to have a phone call on Tuesday to discuss an end to the Ukraine war. Trump told reporters that there’s “a very good chance” they’ll reach a deal, but he also said he’d end the war on Day 1, so, y’know.
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BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
We have something exciting to share: the first two episodes from Crooked’s newest podcast: Shadow Kingdom: God’s Banker are OUT NOW. It starts in the summer of 1982 when the Vatican’s top money man was found dead. Roberto Calvi — known as “God’s Banker”— was embroiled in an infamous money laundering scandal that tied him to an ultra secretive far right society, the Sicilian mafia, and the Catholic church. His death was ruled a suicide. But the evidence? It told a different story. For decades, no one could say for sure what really happened. Until now.
Journalist Nicolo Majnoni is following a new lead — one that could finally answer the question: Who killed God’s banker? Listen to the first two episodes of Shadow Kingdom: God’s Banker right now wherever you get your podcasts. Or, better yet, join our Friends of the Pod community to binge all the episodes today at crooked.com/friends or on the Shadow Kingdom Apple Podcasts feed.
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The two astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station since last summer might be home as soon as Tuesday night, NASA announced. That’s quicker than the original Friday timeline. Should we double check they wanna come back down? Sounds like a pretty nice getaway these days…
Beginning next school year, attending Harvard will be free for students whose families make less than $100,000 per year, the university announced. Also, tuition will be free for students from families who make under $200,000 — up from the previous $85,000 threshold. We love to see it.
There’s a new documentary out about “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” made by the creator’s son, highlighting the rock musical’s legendary legacy in an era where gender identity is under attack. “There will always be those people out there who don’t necessarily accept 100 percent of who you are, but you always know ‘Rocky’ will,” one shadow cast member told the Washington Post.
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