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[CasesRebelles] Épisode n°118 | Fuir l’Ange de la mort
Reply sourceBienvenue dans ce nouvel épisode de notre podcast presque mensuel constitué ce mois-ci de trois courts essais d’analyses. Dans « La grande forme des VRP de l’ordre
L’article Épisode n°118 | Fuir l’Ange de la mort est apparu en premier sur CASES REBELLES.
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Se former à l’IA générative en 2026 : quelle formation choisir selon votre profil ?
Reply sourceArticle sponsorisé par Jehda
Pourquoi se former à l'IA générative aujourd'hui ?
L'IA générative n'est plus un sujet de curiosité réservé aux early adopters. Rédaction, analyse de données, code, service client, marketing : la plupart des métiers du tertiaire sont désormais traversés par ces outils, à des degrés divers. Savoir utiliser un chatbot n'est plus suffisant pour en tirer un avantage réel : encore faut-il comprendre les forces et limites de chaque outil, savoir construire un prompt efficace, automatiser une tâche récurrente, ou encore éviter les écueils liés à la confidentialité des données professionnelles.
C'est cette montée en compétence, souvent négligée, qui fait la différence entre un usage anecdotique de l'IA et un vrai gain de productivité. D'où l'intérêt grandissant pour les formations dédiées, qu'elles s'adressent à des débutants curieux ou à des professionnels souhaitant structurer leur pratique.
Comment choisir sa formation IA générative ?
Avant de comparer les offres, il faut clarifier son objectif. Les formations disponibles sur le marché ne répondent pas toutes au même besoin :
- Se familiariser avec les outils pour un usage quotidien au travail (rédaction, synthèse, automatisation de tâches)
- Acquérir une culture générale sur l'IA, ses enjeux et ses limites, sans viser une application professionnelle immédiate
- Se spécialiser techniquement, avec une orientation développement ou data science
Le format compte aussi : un MOOC en autonomie ne demande pas le même investissement qu'un parcours encadré avec formateurs et projet final. Le prix, l'éligibilité au CPF, et la reconnaissance de la formation par les employeurs sont d'autres critères à examiner avant de s'engager.
Le classement des meilleures formations en IA générative
1. Jedha, la formation pour gagner du temps dans son travail grâce à l'IA
Les options pour suivre une formation IA générative ne manquent pas en 2026, mais elles sont toutes loin de se valoir. Celle proposée par Jedha vise spécifiquement les professionnels déjà en poste qui veulent intégrer l'IA à leur travail, sans pour autant devenir des techniciens experts. Étalé sur 42 heures, le programme couvre la prise en main des principaux outils du marché (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini), la création d'assistants IA adaptés à son métier, et les bonnes pratiques pour utiliser l'IA sans exposer les données de son entreprise.
Quelques infos sur la formation :
- Durée : 42 heures, sur 6 jours à temps plein ou 6 semaines à temps partiel
- Prérequis : aucun, accessible aux débutants
- Prix : 1 500 euros, éligible au CPF
- Format : à distance ou en présentiel, sur l'un des 17 campus
Ce qui distingue cette formation des autres offres du secteur :
- Un apprentissage multi-outils plutôt que la maîtrise d'un seul assistant, pour savoir lequel mobiliser selon la tâche
- Un projet final concret, un assistant IA répondant à un vrai besoin métier
- Des formateurs qui exercent leur activité en parallèle de l'enseignement
A noter que Jedha a été élue meilleur bootcamp en IA et Machine Learning 2026 par Course Report, et forme aux métiers de la tech depuis 2017, avec plus de 4 000 alumni et une note moyenne de 4,9/5. Un gage de sérieux pour celles et ceux qui ne veulent pas transiger sur la qualité.
2. Les MOOCs des grandes plateformes (Coursera, edX, Udemy)
Pour une approche plus autonome et souvent moins coûteuse, les grandes plateformes de MOOCs proposent de nombreux cours sur l'IA générative, du niveau découverte jusqu'à des modules plus techniques. Coursera héberge notamment des cours conçus par DeepLearning.AI, la structure fondée par Andrew Ng, qui fait référence sur les sujets d'intelligence artificielle.
Le principal avantage de ce format, c’est la flexibilité totale et un coût d'entrée généralement assez faible. Le revers de la médaille : la plupart des accompagnements sont peu personnalisés, et le taux de complétion historiquement bas des MOOCs témoigne de la difficulté à maintenir de la motivation sur la durée, lorsqu’elle n’est pas soutenue par un cadre structurant.
3. Les formations universitaires
En phase avec leur époque, plusieurs universités françaises ont intégré des modules ou des diplômes universitaires dédiés à l'IA générative, dans le cadre de la formation continue. Ces parcours ont l'avantage de bénéficier d’une reconnaissance académique et d'un contenu généralement plus approfondi sur les fondements théoriques. Cependant, ils s'adressent davantage à un public souhaitant une compréhension approfondie qu'à des professionnels à la recherche d'une montée en compétence rapide et opérationnelle.
4. Les certifications proposées par les éditeurs
OpenAI, Google et Microsoft, et la plupart des autres acteurs du monde de l’IA, proposent chacun des parcours de certification ou des programmes de formation autour de leurs outils respectifs. Ces certifications ont l'intérêt d'être directement alignées sur les fonctionnalités des produits, et peuvent constituer un plus sur un CV pour des postes où un outil spécifique est central. Elles restent en revanche centrées sur un écosystème donné, et moins adaptées à qui cherche une vision transversale des usages de l'IA générative.
Pour résumer : trouver une formation en IA générative
L'IA générative transforme la plupart des métiers du tertiaire, et une vraie montée en compétence fait la différence par rapport à un usage superficiel des outils. Le choix d'une formation dépend avant tout de l'objectif visé : usage professionnel quotidien, culture générale, ou spécialisation technique.
Dans ce cadre, Jedha propose une formation de 42 heures pensée pour les professionnels en poste, avec un apprentissage multi-outils et un projet final concret, éligible au CPF. De leur côté, les MOOCs, comme Coursera, edX, Udemy, conviennent pour une découverte flexible et peu coûteuse, à condition d'être autonome et très rigoureux. Enfin, les formations universitaires et les certifications proposées par les éditeurs (OpenAI, Google, Microsoft) répondent à des besoins plus spécifiques, académiques ou techniques, et davantage ciblés sur les outils-maison.
L’article "Se former à l’IA générative en 2026 : quelle formation choisir selon votre profil ?" a été publié sur le site Abondance.
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Telegram supprimé de l’App Store par Apple : que s’est-il passé ?
Reply source
Telegram a brièvement été supprimé de l'’'App Store dans le monde entier par Apple le 3 août 2026. La firme à la pomme a signalé qu'un utilisateur avait partagé du « matériel pédopornographique »,
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Nous ne sommes pas des « collaborateurs » !
Reply sourceNous ne sommes pas des « collaborateurs » !
Nous pensons qu’il est important que la masse -le prolétariat dans sa diversité et son unité- comprenne à quel point les bourgeois nous méprisent. À quel point ils sont arrogants du fait de leur pouvoir et de leur argent.
Nous n’existons pas pour eux en tant qu’êtres humains libres et égaux. Nous sommes une variable d’ajustement dans l’accumulation de leur fortune, dans le pillage des ressources naturelles. Si la police et l’armée ne les protégeaient pas avec autant de zèle, cette classe sociale serait déjà une archive historique.
Ils nous méprisent, et nous chient à la gueule, en nous traitant de « collaborateurs » au sein des entreprises. Ils savent très bien quelle est la charge historique de ce mot, surtout dans ce pays. Les médias et les managers le savent aussi, mais ils se plient aux modes et aux ordres, car ce sont eux les vrais collabos.
Nous ne sommes pas des collaborateurs. Nous sommes des prolétaires, des employés, des salariés. Nous ne collaborons pas à votre entreprise, nous gagnons notre salaire pour assurer notre survie grâce à notre force de travail, car nous n’avons ni rente, ni héritage, ni placement financier.
Nos grands-parents, nos arrière-grands-parents, ont connu l’horreur de la guerre. Ils ont connu le capitalisme dans sa pire forme : la dictature fasciste. Certains l’ont combattu les armes à la main pour faire triompher la liberté et l’égalité.
Les collaborateurs ce sont ceux qui servent les nazis, les patrons, les bourgeois. Nous, nous ne servons pas nos bourreaux mais la révolution prolétarienne mondiale. Nous ne collaborons pas à ce système maintenu par des psychopathes. Nous voulons le détruire, et construire un nouveau mode de vie libre et égalitaire, sans État, sans argent, sans frontières.
À bas les collabos, vive les résistants et les révolutionnaires !
https://garap.org/communiques/communique109.php
✊ / NOUS SUIVRE ✊
Mail👉 : contact.garap@protonmail.com
Site : garap.org
👉Facebook : AutonomieProletarienne
👉Instagram : @saladetomateoignonslacrymos
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Samedi 29 et dimanche 30 août 2026 : WE Antifa dans la Manche !
Reply sourceWeek-end antifasciste organisé à la Grange de Montabot, 2 impasse de la Bessardière à Montabot (50) par PaFaCaB 50 (Pas de Fascistes dans nos Campagnes Bocagères)
Pourquoi un WE Antifa ?
😡 Face aux offensives racistes et fascistes du gouvernement dont la dernière est l’ignoble loi RIPOST (Réponses immédiates aux phénomènes troublant l’ordre public, la sécurité et la tranquillité, sic!).
😡 Face à l’augmentation du danger fasciste : du RN aux groupuscules identitaires en passant par les médias d’extrême droite.
😡 Face à la répression des antifas, aux agressions fascistes et racistes récurrentes, face au boomerang masculiniste, transphobe et homophobe…
💪🏽💪🏽 Nous devons nous organiser, y compris dans nos campagnes !!
🔥🔥Ensemble faisons reculer le fascisme et toutes les formes d’oppression !Qui dit WE antifa, dit quelques petites installations et préparations en amont !N’hésite pas à venir nous filer un coup de main du mercredi 26 août au samedi matin. Si tu penses venir, tu peux indiquer ta présence sur ce formulaire.
Programme :
🍅 Samedi 12h : accueil et repas partagé
Chacun apporte un petit quelque chose !☀️ Samedi à partir de 14h:📢 Combattre l’anti-tsiganisme : présentation du livre « Voleurs de poules » par son auteur
Ritchy Thibault, d’origine manouche et gitane, revient sur l’histoire des personnes romani et voyageuses en France, appelées nomades ou gens du voyage par le pouvoir.Il s’attaque au racisme institutionnel qui perdure aujourd’hui, notamment à travers le droit à l’éducation, la santé, la citoyenneté, etc.Dans la période de fascisation que nous traversons, faire reculer l’anti-tsiganisme, c’est aussi faire reculer l’extrême droite et son poison raciste.🤎 Cercle de parole en non-mixité raciale
Si tu es une personne non blanche, tu es bienvenue ! L’idée est de partager (ou simplement écouter) nos vécus en tant que personne non blanche. C’est un espace assez rare, d’autant plus en campagne. Il est possible que tu te sentes isolé.e avec ton vécu. Ensemble, c’est le moment de nous sentir connexté.es et de transformer nos récits individuels en expérience collective puissamment émancipatrice Atelier pochoirs & graphs
Tranformons nos cascades ratées en messages antifa à semer à tout bout de mur. Viens faire ton pochoir antifa avec des vieilles radio (les tiennes si tu veux) et ton visuel préféré. Échanges d’astuces pour bien grapher, et fresque collective de nos créations.🥊Boxe populaire :
Plus que de la boxe, il s’agit d’échanger nos pratiques d’autodéfense pour se protéger et protèger les autres ! Avoir une tenue confortable n’est pas à négliger.📖 Arpentage de Face au fascisme, sortir de l’impasse démocrate
Lecture collective du texte publié par la Coordination autonome de Brest sur bourrasque-info.org en juin 2024.📢 Atelier Punchline : Répondre aux discours de haine
Conçu et animé par QueeRévolution, cet atelier prend la forme d’un jeu où notre mission sera de trouver des réponses aux paroles et idées fascistes, LGBT-phobes, racistes, validistes, classistes, sexistes, etc.Cet exercice peut permettre de discuter de ce que peut être un propos de haine, et de s’armer contre ceux-ci par l’union et le sens de la répartie !🍅 20h : À table ! Repas vegan à prix libre.
🎵🎶 21h : concert puis DJ set !
📢 Dimanche a 11h : s’organiser contre le fascisme.
À l’occasion d’un brunch, temps d’échange d’expériences sur les luttes antifascistes pour s’organiser face à la montée des fascismes : créer un espace où on se donne de la force, où on échange des perspectives, du concret, et où on se (re)motive mais où on laisse aussi s’exprimer et vivre nos divergences dans nos manières de lutter contre le fascisme.🎠 Espace enfants
Un espace enfants avec des personnes pour s’en occuper est prévu afin de permettre aux parents de participer au week-end.Afin de les accueillir aux mieux (qu’iels investissent cet espace ou non sur place), cela peut être bien de nous avertir à l’avance de leur présence.⛺ Camping sur place avec espace MINT (Meuf, intersexe, non binaire, trans)
🚗 Pour venir :
La Grange de Montabot, la Bossardière ou 2, la Bessardière à Montabot (50),
route Percy-Montabot : À gauche sur la route Percy-Montabot, 1 km après le gros pylône ou,
en venant de Tessy : 2ème à droite après le bourg de Montabot
Montabot (50) se situe à 9 km de l’A84 (Rennes-Caen) & de la gare SNCF de Villedieu-les-PoëlesPaFaCaB 50, Pas de Fascistes dans nos Campagnes Bocagères, pafacab50 chez autistici.org
Plus d’infos et potentielles mises à jour sur trognon.info. -
De l’IA dans Kingdom Hearts ? Square Enix s’embourbe dans des excuses
Reply source
Deux mois après avoir été accusé d’avoir utilisé de l’IA générative pour une illustration de la jaquette de Kingdom Hearts Collection, Square Enix revient sur la polémique. Et malheureusement pour l’éditeur, la défense avancée ne convainc pas réellement.
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« C'est du mépris de classe » : une mairie profite des incendies pour supprimer des jardins familiaux
Reply source
Dans les Pyrénées-Orientales, des habitants ont reçu l'ordre d'évacuer des jardins communaux afin que soit créée une « ceinture de protection » contre les incendies. Ils dénoncent la violence de cette décision et l'hypocrisie des autorités locales.
Lire la suite - Reportage / Luttes , Incendies
Ille-sur-Têt (Pyrénées-Orientales), reportage
« Les jardins ne nous menacent pas, ils nous nourrissent », arbore une pancarte décorée avec des arbres, une poule géante et un minipoulailler. En cette matinée du 3 août, près de 80 personnes sont (…) -
Trump wants ‘fair treatment’ in fight over Labor’s levy on tech giants to pay for news, US trade group warns
Reply sourceNational Foreign Trade Council ‘disappointed’ at move to expand News Bargaining Incentive but Australian experts say government is not going far enough
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
A major US trade body has rubbished the Albanese government’s plan to make more big tech platforms pay for Australian journalism, issuing a veiled warning about how Donald Trump may respond to the “deteriorating trend”.
The National Foreign Trade Council said it was “disappointed” at the Australian government’s move to expand its News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) to take in Microsoft’s LinkedIn, amid trade tensions between Washington and Canberra including newly increased tariffs on Australian goods.
Continue reading... -
Cyberattaque contre Intermarché
Reply sourceLe 3 août 2926, Intermarché a révélé avoir été victime d’une cyberattaque ayant permis l’accès aux données personnelles de 287 605 clients de son service Drive. Le Groupement Mousquetaires a confirmé l’incident lundi 3 août, après de premières révélations du site spécialisé French Breaches.
L’intrusion, survenue la semaine précédente, a compromis plusieurs informations d’identification : noms, prénoms, dates de naissance, numéros de téléphone, adresses postales et numéros de cartes de fidélité. Certaines données relatives aux commandes en ligne ont également été consultées, notamment les numéros de commande et les adresses de facturation.
L’enseigne précise qu’aucune donnée bancaire, aucun mot de passe, aucune adresse électronique ni aucune information concernant le montant des cagnottes de fidélité n’ont été exposés. Les 287 605 personnes identifiées ont été informées individuellement. Intermarché compte environ deux millions d’utilisateurs de son service Drive et poursuit ses investigations afin de vérifier si d’autres clients sont concernés.
L’incident a été signalé à la Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (Cnil), tandis qu’une plainte a été déposée auprès du parquet de Paris. Selon le distributeur, l’accès non autorisé a été bloqué et aucune nouvelle activité suspecte n’a été détectée à ce stade.
Même en l’absence de coordonnées bancaires, les informations dérobées peuvent être utilisées pour élaborer des tentatives d’hameçonnage crédibles. Les personnes touchées pourraient recevoir de faux SMS, courriels ou appels se présentant comme des communications d’Intermarché et les invitant à confirmer une commande, cliquer sur un lien ou transmettre leurs coordonnées bancaires.
L’enseigne recommande à ses clients de ne répondre à aucune sollicitation inhabituelle et de vérifier les demandes directement depuis son site, son application ou son service client. La vigilance devra se prolonger dans le temps, les données volées pouvant être réutilisées plusieurs semaines ou plusieurs mois après l’attaque.
The post Cyberattaque contre <strong>Intermarché</strong> appeared first on INCYBER NEWS.
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C’est la fin de Perplexity dans les offres Revolut : comment vérifier que vous n’allez pas payer ?
Reply source
Quatre jours après avoir annoncé l'arrivée de ChatGPT Go dans ses offres, Revolut prévient ses abonnés de la disparition de Perplexity Pro de sa liste d'avantages. La banque appelle ses clients concernés d'aller annuler eux-mêmes leur abonnement pour éviter d'être prélevés après l'arrêt du partenariat.
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Goossips SEO : Metadonnées
Goossip #1Reply sourceCorrigez les incohérences entre vos métadonnées
Sur Bluesky, John Mueller a répondu à un internaute, qui signalait qu'une fiche produit affichait « rupture de stock » sur la page alors que le HTML serveur et les données structurées indiquaient « disponible ». John Mueller déconseille d'avoir des métadonnées contradictoires car cela « complique le travail pour déterminer ce qui est pertinent ». Il suggère une alternative : passer par un flux (feed) plutôt que par les métadonnées on-page.
Interrogé sur la source que Google privilégie en cas de conflit (feed vs données structurées), il répond qu'il n'existe aucun ordre de priorité publié par Google pour la réconciliation des métadonnées. C’est pour cette raison qu’il conseil de corriger le conflit plutôt que d'essayer de deviner quelle source Google retiendra.
John Mueller évoque aussi le cas similaire des dates (date visible sur la page, dateModified en données structurées, lastmod dans le sitemap), en précisant que ces valeurs peuvent avoir des poids différents et évoluer dans le temps, d'où l'importance de rendre la bonne valeur facile à identifier.
Source : Search Engine Journal
Taux de fiabilité :
On est d'accord !La disponibilité d'un produit peut facilement diverger entre le HTML initial, le DOM après rendu JS, et le flux Merchant Center. Comme Google ne communique pas de hiérarchie officielle, aligner ces trois sources est plus fiable que de chercher à deviner laquelle prévaut. En somme : faites la chasse aux incohérences, au lieu de perdre votre temps à tester.
L’article "Goossips SEO : Metadonnées" a été publié sur le site Abondance.
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«On est des êtres humains, pas des animaux»: à Ceuta, des centaines d’exilés subsahariens dans l’impasse
Ils viennent du Soudan ou de Côte d’Ivoire, et se sont regroupés sur une plage au nord-est de l’enclave. Si l’armée ne cherche pas à les expulser, le centre d’accueil temporaire est saturé et ne peut les prendre en charge. Ils survivent dans des conditions indignes.Reply source -
APPEL À REJOINDRE : Defend Prosfygika
Reply source
📣 APPEL À SOUTIEN : Defend Prosfygika 🖤
#Prosfygika, une communauté autogérée qui s'inspire du modèle politique du #Rojava ainsi que d'autres luttes révolutionnaires est aujourd'hui en danger.
Face aux victoires obtenues par la lutte des grèves de la faim, la répression est forcée d'adapter ses stratégies. Le gouvernement de Mitsotakis continue de vouloir expulser le quartier et menace ainsi de briser la vie de ses 400 habitant·es.
La communauté de Prosfygika est déterminée à continuer la lutte et fait appel à la solidarité internationale. Individus et collectifs sont invités à rejoindre la lutte sur place. Les besoins sont multiples : rénovation et renforcement des bâtiments, cuisine collective et aide aux événements socio-culturels.
📍 Pour en savoir plus : https://saveprosfygika.gr/
📍 Pour te renseigner sur les possibilités d'accueil : saveprosfygika@protonmail.com
WE WILL WIN OR WE WILL WIN
— 📣 OPROEP TOT SOLIDARITEIT : Verdedig Prosfygika 🖤
In Griekenland, net als in België, is augustus een kritieke maand voor squats, die meer dan ooit bedreigd worden door uitzettingen.
Prosfygika, een zelfgeorganiseerde gemeenschap geïnspireerd door Rojava en andere revolutionaire strijden, is opnieuw bedreigd met ontruiming.
Geconfronteerd met de overwinningen behaald door de hongerstaking, zijn de repressieve krachten gedwongen hun strategieën aan te passen. De regering van Mitsotakis blijft proberen de wijk te ontruimen, waarmee ook het leven van de 400 bewoners word bedreigd.
De gemeenschap van het gekraakte Prosfygika is vastbesloten de strijd voort te zetten en doet een beroep op internationale solidariteit. Individuen en collectieven worden uitgenodigd om zich ter plekke bij de strijd aan te sluiten. De behoeften zijn : renovatie en versterking van de gebouwen, collectief koken en ondersteuning voor sociaal-culturele evenementen.
📍 Meer informatie vind je op https://saveprosfygika.gr/
📍 Voor informatie over mogelijkheden om een evenement te organiseren, kan je contact opnemen met saveprosfygika@protonmail.com
LANG LEVE DE INTERNATIONALE SOLIDARITEIT
#saveprosfygika
— -Insta & FB links (please share if you use those platforms🙏)
🔗 https://www.instagram.com/p/DbXwo_aCONS/
🔗 https://www.facebook.com/DefendRojavaBel/posts/pfbid02rhY4Z9kzY6koudQrEXQkfM1BoSmsoTeG7mrDVrX4JdN7HWLxmKTDtwfmwaBpd2SJl
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💬 To stay informed : Defend Rojava Bel Signal solidarity group🔗 https://link.infini.fr/defend_rojava_bel
MORE INFOS
https://www.athens.indymedia.org/event/101876/ The food/personal hygiene logistic structure is a community structure and part of the food superstructure through which we collectively cover the needs of our daily life. It was born during the pandemic and is a response to how we organize ourselves as a community of resistance, supporting each other in a time of generalized crisis. It is a living counter-proposal to the capitalist system.
We invite friends, our solidarity comrades, to support us with food, diapers, personal hygiene products, all-purpose detergents, etc., so that we can continue to cover the needs of the approximately 400 people living in our neighborhood.
Find us : every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at the Kiosk (collective cafe) from 18:30 to 23:30. every Tursday, at the Collective Kitchen of the Community of Squatted Prosfygika, Trichonidos and Kouzi str., from 16:00-17:00. every Monday, Tuesday and Friday, at the Bakery « Berkin Elvan » of the Community of Squatted Prosfygika, Kerkinis Str., from 10:00-12:00. every Wednesday, at the Logistic Structure of the Community of Squatted Prosfygika, Trichonidos and Kouzi, from 16:00-17:00.
Assembly of Squatted Prosfygika (SY.KA.PRO.)
Blog : sykaprosquat.noblogs.org
Instagram : @sykapro
Twitter : @Prosfygika -
Dans le Michigan, deux visions antagonistes du Parti démocrate s’affrontent
Cette primaire pour le Sénat, dans cet État du Midwest frontalier avec le Canada, est l’une des plus scrutées du pays. Elle oppose, mardi 4 août, une centriste qui défend Israël à un progressiste propalestinien décidé à changer la façon de faire de la politique.Reply source -
New York: «La salsa a toujours été liée à la lutte contre le fascisme»
Les diasporas latines convergent vers New York, apportant leurs rythmes traditionnels et populaires qui, au contact du jazz, donnent naissance à la salsa. En racontant le déracinement, l’exil, et la stigmatisation – des thèmes qui continuent de résonner –, la salsa dépasse de loin le simple genre musical pour devenir un cri de ralliement.Reply source -
Une start-up soutenue par Jeff Bezos veut s'approprier des archives coloniales pour trouver du lithium au Congo
Reply source
À l'AfricaMuseum de Tervuren, en Belgique, des archives géologiques héritées du Congo belge attisent les convoitises de KoBold Metals, une start-up minière étasunienne dopée à l'IA et soutenue par des milliardaires de la tech.
Lire la suite - Reportage / Mines et métaux
Tervuren (Belgique), reportage
Dans les sous-sols de l'AfricaMuseum de Tervuren, dans la banlieue de Bruxelles, sommeille un filon surprenant. Il ne brille pas, mais jaunit et s'empile dans de lourdes armoires de fer gris. Cartes anciennes, relevés géologiques et (…) -
« L'équivalent d'une forêt brûlée » : les canicules marines ravagent les fonds marins
Reply source
Les fortes chaleurs entraînent aussi des canicules sous l'eau. Mers et océans sont en surchauffe cet été, créant des « incendies » aquatiques aux conséquences considérables sur les écosystèmes.
Lire la suite - Info / Océans , Canicule
Imaginez : trois mois de canicule quasi ininterrompue, avec des records journaliers de température battus environ 1 jour sur 2. L'enfer ? En mer, c'est une réalité. Depuis le mois de mai, le golfe de Gascogne, la Manche et la Méditerranée surchauffent. Jusqu'à 23,4 °C enregistrés le 11 juillet dans (…) -
Les banques françaises sont moins présentes dans les paradis fiscaux
En dix ans, la part des profits internationaux des banques françaises logés dans les paradis offshores est passée d'un tiers à un quart. Un bilan encourageant, même si ces territoires, Luxembourg en tête, restent attractifs pour la finance européenne.Reply source -
[Info « Splann ! »] Pollutions d’Imerys Glomel : la préfecture oblige l’industriel à revoir sa gestion des eaux minières
Reply sourceAprès plusieurs déversements d'eaux contaminées hors de la mine d’andalousite de Glomel (22), l'État somme Imerys de revoir son système de gestion des eaux. Les associations jugent la décision insuffisante.
L’article [Info « Splann ! »] Pollutions d’Imerys Glomel : la préfecture oblige l’industriel à revoir sa gestion des eaux minières est apparu en premier sur Splann ! | Premier média d'enquête indépendant en Bretagne.
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Saint-Gobain fait alliance avec Microsoft autour de l’intelligence artificielle et de la construction de data centers
Reply sourceSaint-Gobain, spécialiste français des matériaux de construction, a signé le 28 juillet un accord stratégique avec Microsoft autour de l’intelligence artificielle générative. D’une part, le groupe français va utiliser les services d’IA de Microsoft pour améliorer ses processus de vente (génération de devis personnalisés, ventes croisées, augmentation de 10% du taux de conversion), optimiser sa chaîne d’approvisionnement et ses processus métiers, et accélérer sa R&D (avec une mise sur le marché de nouveaux produits jusqu’à 40% plus rapide).
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«Une grande prison à ciel ouvert» : le quotidien bouleversé des villages du Sud-Liban, sous occupation israélienne
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Rmeich (Liban), le 22 octobre 2024. La fumée d’une explosion provoquée par un bombardement israélien s’élève au-dessus de cette commune du sud du Liban, près de la frontière avec Israël. © Vincenzo Circosta/AFP
«Malheureusement, la majorité des légumes d’été que nous avons plantés n’ont pas réussi à pousser. Peut-être à cause de la pollution laissée dans l’air par toutes les armes utilisées…», s’inquiète Laurita Jarjour. Son message vocal arrive sur notre téléphone alors qu’une visioconférence avec plusieurs habitant·es du sud du Liban se déroule, ce lundi 20 juillet, dans les bureaux de l’Œuvre d’Orient, une organisation caritative chrétienne, à Beyrouth, la capitale.
Cette habitante de Rmeich, village frontalier d’Israël, devait accueillir une dizaine de journalistes quelques heures plus tôt, lors d’un convoi humanitaire organisé par cette ONG française. Celui-ci devait rejoindre son village ainsi que ceux de Debel et Aïn Ebel, trois localités chrétiennes enclavées où vivent environ 7 000 personnes. Ces communes se trouvent dans la zone tampon instaurée par Israël le long de la frontière. Il s’agit d’une bande de territoire qui couvre plus de 600 kilomètres carrés dans le sud du Liban et où l’armée israélienne poursuit ses opérations militaires. «C’est important de venir les voir, de leur apporter de l’aide humanitaire et d’être à leurs côtés pour qu’ils puissent tenir», explique Vincent Gelot, directeur de l’Œuvre d’Orient au Liban.
Les combats ont diminué d’intensité depuis le cessez-le-feu du 17 avril puis la signature, le 19 juin, d’un accord-cadre entre Beyrouth et Tel Aviv, que le Hezbollah (parti chiite libanais doté d’une puissante milice) refuse. Malgré tout, les frappes israéliennes et les destructions systématiques d’habitations, de terres agricoles et d’infrastructures qui se poursuivent rendent la vie quotidienne difficile et compromettent le retour de centaines de milliers de déplacé·es. Pour l’heure, la milice chiite n’a pas riposté. Dans son dernier bilan publié, le ministère libanais de la santé recensait au moins 4 332 mort·es et 16 568 blessé·es depuis la reprise de la guerre, le 2 mars.
«Faites demi-tour !»
Pour prendre part au convoi, les autorisations nécessaires avaient été obtenues auprès du mécanisme de coordination, un dispositif de contrôle de la cessation des hostilités dirigé par les États-Unis, la France et la Force intérimaire des Nations unies au Liban (Finul). Mis en place pour superviser la sécurité au Sud-Liban, il associe les parties libanaises et israéliennes à travers un comité international. Les déplacements dans cette zone nécessitent une organisation au préalable entre toutes les parties et il faut transmettre quarante-huit heures à l’avance l’identité des passager·es, les plaques d’immatriculation et l’itinéraire. Toutes les autorisations avaient été obtenues par les organisateur·ices du convoi.
Mais, après plus de deux heures de route depuis Beyrouth, les voitures ont été stoppées à un barrage de l’armée israélienne en zone occupée. Là-bas, les drapeaux bleu et blanc flanqués de l’étoile de David remplacent ceux, rouge et blanc ornés d’un cèdre, du Liban. «Faites demi-tour, vous n’avez pas l’autorisation de passer !», ordonne un soldat posté dans une maison éventrée par les bombardements, aujourd’hui transformée en position militaire. Autour de nous, les stigmates de la guerre sont omniprésents. Les bâtiments sont endommagés, les vergers brûlés, les oliviers abandonnés. Les fruits, que personne n’a pu récolter, pourrissent sous un soleil de plomb.
À lire aussi
«Cela risque de devenir une cible stratégique» : la ressource en eau au cœur de la guerre au Liban, à Gaza et en Iran
«Ma peau a été complètement brûlée» : au Liban, les ravages du phosphore blanc, largué illégalement par l’armée israélienne
Les équipes de l’Œuvre d’Orient organisent régulièrement des convois depuis le début de la guerre en octobre 2023 pour rejoindre les villages enclavés. Si plusieurs ont pu arriver sans encombre, d’autres ont été bloqués pendant plusieurs heures et même pris dans les combats entre l’armée israélienne et le Hezbollah. Après quelques minutes, notre convoi fait demi-tour. «Heureusement, ils ne nous ont pas tiré dessus !», souffle notre chauffeur. Les organisateur·ices tentent durant plusieurs heures d’obtenir le feu vert de l’armée israélienne pour continuer la route. En vain. Près de cinq heures d’attente plus tard, c’est un non définitif. «La présence de la presse [Libération, Le Monde, La Croix, The National, RFI…, NDLR] aurait été l’une des raisons principales du refus de pouvoir accéder à ces villages», avance Vincent Gelot, qui a pourtant réussi à mener des convois accompagnés de journalistes par le passé.
De retour à Beyrouth, les organisateur·ices improvisent une visioconférence avec les habitant·es d’Ain Ebel, où 340 familles vivent toujours et dépendent grandement des convois humanitaires. À travers leurs témoignages se dessine le quotidien d’une population qui vit depuis des mois pratiquement coupée du reste du Liban.
Privés de terrain et inquiets de la pollution
«Ici, la ressource agricole principale est la culture des olives mais, depuis 2023, il n’y a aucune récolte. Les agriculteurs ont perdu trois saisons car ils ne peuvent plus accéder à leur terrain et entretenir leurs oliveraies», déplore le maire d’Ain Ebel, Ayoub Kheirch, face à la caméra. Comme Laurita Jarjour à Rmeich, l’édile s’inquiète de la pollution de l’air, du sol et de l’eau. «Le risque est là. Nous n’avons pas pu effectuer de tests, malheureusement», ajoute-t-il.
«Nous sommes très attachés à notre terre. Nous ne voulons pas la quitter.»
Cette crainte est étayée par un récent rapport du ministère libanais de l’environnement et du Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS-Liban), qui met en évidence une contamination importante des sols dans le sud du pays et dans la Békaa, région à l’est du pays. Les scientifiques y relèvent notamment des concentrations élevées de phosphore ainsi que la présence de métaux lourds dans les particules en suspension, conséquences directes des bombardements et de la destruction des infrastructures.
Alors que la visioconférence se poursuit, d’autres messages font vibrer notre téléphone. Ce sont ceux d’un autre habitant de Rmeich : Amin Haddad. L’apiculteur décrit un quotidien morose où les résident·es se sentent enfermé·es dans «une grande prison à ciel ouvert» et où travailler est devenu difficile. «Nous attendons toute l’année pour la récolte du miel, mais maintenant nous ne pouvons plus la vendre… Et tout le matériel est devenu au moins deux fois plus cher pour arriver jusqu’ici, dépeint-il. Nous comptons donc sur nos abeilles, mais nous en avons perdu la moitié.»
La visioconférence touche à sa fin. Malgré la difficulté de la situation, Sandy Diab, membre du conseil municipal d’Ain Ebel, rappelle : «Nous sommes très attachés à notre terre. Nous ne voulons pas la quitter.»
Depuis Rmeich, grâce à une connexion internet sommaire, Laurita Jarjour continue de témoigner de son quotidien. Sur place, pris·es en étau entre les combats, les habitant·es ont dû réapprendre à s’organiser pour maintenir la vie dans leur village, malgré la mort tout autour. «Ce qui nous a un peu sauvés, ce sont les légumes et les fruits de base : les concombres, les tomates, la menthe, ainsi que quelques arbres fruitiers plantés auparavant. Mais les cultures d’été se sont fanées et ont jauni chez beaucoup de gens», détaille Laurita Jarjour, dont la fatigue s’entend dans la voix.
Au fil des messages vocaux, elle avoue que sa volonté de rester s’est fissurée au fil des mois. L’isolement, les difficultés à se nourrir et la peur permanente ont fini par ébranler ses certitudes : «Si je pouvais partir, je partirais, même si j’aime vivre sur ma terre. Mais aujourd’hui, ce n’est plus une simple guerre, c’est une guerre psychologique, c’est une guerre contre notre existence.»
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Capital One says it shut down hundreds of Trump Organization accounts over money-laundering concerns
Capital One closed hundreds of Trump Organization accounts in 2021 "for anti-money laundering reasons," the bank disclosed for the first time in a court filing Friday night.Reply source -
Capital One tries to get Trump Org case dismissed, denies claim accounts closed over politics
Capital One bank has filed a motion to dismiss the Trump Organization's lawsuit claiming the U.S. banking heavyweight closed 385 of its accounts based on political retaliation.Reply source -
Capital One says Trump Organization accounts were closed after money laundering review
Lawyers for Capital One on Friday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by President Trump's trust over its closing of Trump Organization-affiliated accounts years ago, saying it did so only after money laundering concerns were flagged by experts.Reply source -
Trump Tyranny Tracker | Day 557: July 30, 2026
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Dozens of municipal water systems in Minnesota were the targets of a cyberattack this week. Credit...Jenn Ackerman for The New York TimesWelcome to today’s Trump Tyranny Tracker…
Musk is back with a $100 million Republican midterm push, Trump’s immigration crackdown hits airports, and federal power is being used to pressure institutions and consolidate control.
Today at a Glance
DOJ proposes sweeping new contempt powers for immigration judges.
Iranian hackers are believed to be behind cyberattacks on Minnesota water systems.
Trump declines to commit Patriot interceptors to Ukraine.
What We Need to Pay Attention To
Musk Plans to Spend at Least $100 Million to Help Republicans in the Midterms
What Happened: Elon Musk authorized his super PAC to spend at least $100 million to help Republicans win the 2026 midterm elections. The push comes as his companies continue to hold billions of dollars in federal contracts.
Source: New York Times
Corruption
Trump Has Made Billions in Office. Will His Party Pay Politically?
What Happened: Financial disclosures show Trump reported more than $2.2 billion in business revenue during 2025 from real estate, licensing, crypto, golf, media, and other ventures since his return to power.
Source: New York Times
Megadonor Received Trump Pardon Three Days After Donation to Pennsylvania Congressman
What Happened: Trump pardoned Republican megadonor Adam Kidan, who was convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, three days after Kidan donated $2,600 to a leadership PAC affiliated with Rep. Ryan Mackenzie.
Why It Matters: Trump’s pardon power continues to benefit donors, political allies, and his supporters. Pardons have become another form of political patronage, undermining equal justice under the law.
Source: NOTUS
Power Consolidation
Critics Say Historic Sites Are Endangered by Trump-Aligned Panel’s Plan
What Happened: A Trump-aligned federal panel is moving to overhaul historic preservation rules, limiting public input and consultation with Native American tribes and preservation officials. The changes would also make it easier for Trump to redesign Washington with barely any outside review.
Why It Matters: Trump is removing safeguards protecting historic sites across the country and cutting tribes, preservation experts, and communities out of decisions that affect them. The changes will also clear the way for him to remake D.C. with no outside oversight.
Source: New York Times
Weaponization of Institutions
DOJ seeks to empower immigration judges to hold lawyers and their clients in contempt
What Happened: The Justice Department proposed giving immigration judges the power to hold immigrants, witnesses, and their attorneys in contempt and fine them up to $3,500 for violating court orders. Federal government attorneys would be exempt from these penalties.
Source: CBS News
Media Suppression and Authoritarian Tactics
ABC says FCC seeks to intimidate network over news coverage
What Happened: The FCC launched an early license review of eight ABC stations one day after Trump called for the network to fire Jimmy Kimmel. The review came more than two years ahead of schedule and is a first in more than 50 years. ABC says it is part of a campaign to intimidate media outlets over coverage Trump dislikes.
Why It Matters: A license review that hasn’t happened this early in over 50 years came the day after Trump publicly demanded Kimmel be fired. Trump weaponizing the FCC is part of his broader attack on the press.
Source: Reuters
Scouting America drops diversity initiatives from event after pressure from the Pentagon
What Happened: Scouting America eliminated dedicated spaces for LGBTQ+ scouts, girls, and scouts of color after Pete Hegseth threatened to end the Pentagon’s century-old partnership with the organization unless it dropped diversity initiatives. A February agreement allows Pentagon officials to monitor its compliance.
Why It Matters: Hegseth used Pentagon leverage to force a private youth organization to abandon programs for marginalized kids. The Pentagon will now monitor Scouting America to make sure it follows Hegseth’s ideological demands.
Source: Associated Press
Human and Civil Rights Abuses
US cites ‘unauthorized travel’ to end DACA status for a mother of 3 deported to Mexico
What Happened: DHS deported Jessica Treviño, a Texas mother of three U.S. citizen children, despite her DACA protections and work authorization remaining valid through April 2027. USCIS is now seeking to terminate her DACA for “unauthorized travel” because the government deported her.
Why It Matters: The government deported her, and now is using that forced removal as the reason to strip protections that should have kept her here. Her three U.S. citizen children remain in Texas while she fights in court to come back home.
Source: Associated Press
Federal Immigration Agents Called Latinos Racial Slurs While Conducting Stops, Video Shows
What Happened: Court filings include body camera footage and text messages showing federal immigration agents using racial slurs and crude language about Latino immigrants during enforcement operations in Los Angeles. The evidence emerged in a lawsuit alleging agents illegally targeted people based on ethnicity.
Why It Matters: Agents accused of racially profiling Latinos were caught using racial slurs while carrying out immigration enforcement. The footage exposes the racism inside the cruel operations being called out for targeting people based on ethnicity.
Source: NOTUS
Reports of airport immigration arrests come amid increased TSA-ICE collaboration
What Happened: TSA has expanded information sharing with ICE, allowing immigration agents to identify and arrest travelers suspected of civil immigration violations at U.S. airports. The increased arrests have included people with pending immigration applications and work permits.
Source: CBS News
Appeals court rejects the Trump administration’s expansion of mandatory detention for immigrants
What Happened: The 9th Circuit blocked Trump’s policy of automatically denying bond hearings to immigrants arrested inside the U.S. Four other appeals courts have also rejected the policy, while two have upheld it, increasing the likelihood it comes before the Supreme Court.
Source: Associated Press
Government Disruption
Uninsured Patients Rise Sharply, Hospitals Report, Citing Obamacare Cuts
What Happened: Hospitals across the country are reporting a sharp increase in uninsured patients, including 20% increases at some systems, after Republicans ended enhanced Obamacare subsidies. ACA enrollment has fallen by roughly 3 million since the beginning of the year as premiums increased and federal assistance declined.
Why It Matters: Three million fewer people have coverage, and hospitals are absorbing the fallout in unpaid emergency care. Republicans ended these subsidies to help fund tax breaks for the wealthy, shifting the cost onto patients and the hospitals treating them.
Source: New York Times
Trump administration has quietly throttled an agency devoted to the safety of American healthcare
What Happened: Trump officials have dismantled much of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, halting more than 100 research grants and spending less than $15 million despite Congress appropriating $345 million. About 75% of the agency’s staff has also been purged or resigned since Trump took office.
Why It Matters: Congress approved $345 million for patient safety research, and Trump officials are spending less than $15 million of it. With three-quarters of the staff gone, fewer people are left to identify and prevent the medical errors this agency exists to stop.
Source: CBS News
Measles surge exposes bigger public health crisis, former CDC official warns
What Happened: U.S. measles cases have reached their highest level in 35 years as childhood vaccination rates decline. The surge comes after RFK Jr. reduced federal vaccine recommendations and continued to spread conspiracies about vaccines.
Source: MS NOW
Imperial & Geopolitical Watch
U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems
What Happened: U.S. investigators believe Iranian hackers were likely behind cyberattacks targeting roughly 36 Minnesota water systems, temporarily knocking at least one city’s well and treatment plant offline and forcing others to use manual workarounds. The attribution remains preliminary, and no drinking water was reported unsafe.
Source: New York Times
Far-Right & Russian Influence Watch
Zelensky Asked Trump for a Favor From Elon Musk
What Happened: Zelenskyy asked Trump for 300 Patriot interceptors to protect Ukraine from Russian ballistic missiles this winter, but Trump refused to commit. Zelenskyy also proposed using Starlink guided drones to destroy Russian missile launchers inside Russia, but Trump was noncommittal about getting Musk’s approval.
Why It Matters: Ukraine is heading into another winter of Russia’s genocidal missile attacks, and Trump predictably won’t commit to providing interceptors or asking Musk for approval. We are already watching what happens when Ukraine runs short of interceptors, as Russian missiles hit residential buildings, and families are buried beneath the rubble.
Source: The Atlantic
Economic News
Mortgage rates hit highest level in a year amid persistent inflation fears
What Happened: The average 30-year mortgage rate climbed to 6.66%, its highest level in a year, as persistent inflation and Trump’s Iran war pushed Treasury yields higher. Economists warn that higher oil and fuel costs from the war are adding to inflation concerns and keeping borrowing costs elevated.
Source: CBS News
Resistance
Check out 50501 for local and nationwide events…
Source: 50501
By the Numbers
$100-120 million — Musk’s committed midterm spending through his super PAC
$2.2 billion — Trump’s reported business revenue in 2025
$3,500 — Maximum contempt fine immigration judges could impose under DOJ’s proposal, with government lawyers exempt
36 — Minnesota municipal water systems targeted in the suspected Iranian cyberattack
300 — Patriot interceptors Ukraine requested that Trump declined to commit to
3 million — Drop in ACA enrollment since the start of the year
75% — Share of AHRQ staff purged or who have resigned since Trump took office
$345 million vs. $15 million — Congress’s appropriation for patient safety research versus what’s actually being spent
6.66% — Average 30-year mortgage rate, its highest in a year
5 — Appeals courts split on Trump’s mandatory detention expansion
What to Watch Next
Musk’s $100 million midterm push is just getting started — How much will he spend on the midterms to keep his federal contracts and prevent any oversight?
Federal pressure on private institutions and the media is expanding — How many more organizations will face the weight of the government for refusing to fall in line?
Trump’s immigration crackdown is spreading into everyday American life — How far will enforcement expand as airports and other everyday places become part of Trump’s mass deportation?
Public health protections are being dismantled as the consequences mount — How much worse will healthcare access, patient safety, and preventable disease outbreaks get as the cuts continue?
Trump’s Iran war is reaching Americans at home — How much further will the fallout spread as critical infrastructure, energy prices, and the broader economy take the hit?
Key Takeaways
Profiting From Power — Musk’s $100 million midterm push alongside his federal contracts, and Trump’s $2.2 billion in business revenue, show political spending and personal profit becoming indistinguishable.
Unequal Justice — A pardon three days after a donation and immigration contempt rules that exempt government lawyers reinforce a system where accountability depends on who you are.
Forced Compliance — The FCC’s early ABC license review and Hegseth’s ultimatum to Scouting America underscore federal power being used to force institutions into ideological compliance.
Healthcare Erosion — Millions losing coverage, a gutted patient safety agency, and measles cases at a 35-year high show public health breaking down on multiple fronts.
War at Home — Iranian cyberattacks on Minnesota water systems, higher gas prices, and climbing mortgage rates tied to the conflict show Trump’s war with Iran affecting all Americans.
Call to Action
Document Everything: Document purges, corruption, and power grabs. Share credible information with journalists, watchdogs, and legal experts. Silence enables authoritarianism.
Defend Press Freedom: Support independent journalism by subscribing and sharing reporting that challenges Trump’s power grab.
Contact Lawmakers: Demand accountability for Trump’s unchecked power and war on oversight.
Mobilize for Action: Organize or join legal efforts and resistance movements to protect democracy and human and civil rights.
Thanks for reading the Trump Tyranny Tracker. Stay tuned for more updates.
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‘Completely hollow’: critics denounce Blanche deal to halt Trump slush fund
Reply sourceDemocrats say agreement – which clears way for Blanche’s confirmation – makes promises president can easily reverse
A compromise between Todd Blanche and two Republican senators that potentially cleared the way for Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general is weak, Democrats and several experts said, as it makes promises Donald Trump can easily reverse.
Blanche, the acting attorney general, posted two documents on Sunday evening showing he was withdrawing an 18 May order allowing for the creation of a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund and clarifying that broad tax immunity the justice department granted to Trump only applied retroactively to the president, his sons, and businesses.
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How I Beat a Trump Official's Nasty Lawsuit
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There’s theory, and practice. One theory is that frivolous law suits are easily dismissed. When you’re the victim of a flimsy defamation suit, however, the reality is that practice is hard. For an independent journalist, like so many of us today, it’s not easy at all.
So it began with me one day this past January, when a process server showed up on my front porch and handed me a summons announcing that Keith Bass, a former head of the CIA’s Office of Medical Services, had sued me for $1 million. The claim was that I’d maliciously and willfully defamed him by reporting that he’d been “effectively fired” in 2021 from the job. My report, which was generated by a tip that Bass had just been nominated to head the Pentagon’s health services, was accurate.
I confess that I, too, initially scoffed at Bass’s suit. Multiple, authoritative sources had corroborated the original tip I’d gotten about Bass’s ouster. I’d also noted in my piece that in December 2024, the Senate Intelligence Committee had released a bipartisan report that blasted the CIA medical office’s handling of Covid cases, as well as so-called Havana Syndrome, the mysterious set of illnesses that scores of CIA, State Department and other government employees had claimed disabled them. The first cases, which the agency calls Anomalous Health Incidents, or AHI, were reported by officers stationed in Havana in 2016. In-depth reporting in 2024 fingered Russian special services as responsible for the attacks.
I also scoffed at Bass’s claim that he’d been materially damaged by my reporting. Frankly, I’d moved on and forgotten about him after I wrote my story, but the fact was that he had actually gotten the Pentagon job without any hiccups. Hardly anyone had taken note of my story. Only Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had asked Bass about it in a written questionnaire during his confirmation process. It had never come up in the public hearing, which eventually, and perfunctorily, approved his nomination, along with two others.
(Warren had also inquired about Bass’s previous tour from 2013 to 2019 as director of the White House Medical Unit, which under his management in the first Trump administration had “severe and systemic problems,” including the provision of “prescription medications, including controlled substances, to ineligible White House staff,” according to a DOD Inspector General’s report. I’d overlooked that in my concentration on his CIA tenure.)
Accordingly, since his nomination had sailed through with a mere burp the year before, I was doubly dismissive about his suit’s merits: How had he suffered? It looked liked he’d never missed a meal between his departure from the CIA to his appointment as assistant secretary of Defense (or “War,” as they put it) for Health Affairs. Why, moreover, had he taken legal action that would almost certainly bang up against the very high bar of 1st Amendment protections? Did he just wake up one morning and, inspired by one of Donald Trump’s constant defamation suits against the news media over the decades, and decide to sue me? Did he think I was a cash cow?
Whatever, the suit had to be answered. And it wasn’t something I could afford. Luckily for me, Substack has a legal defender program available to all the content creators on its site, where SpyTalk has been publishing since Aug. 31, 2020.
In January 2025, Substack founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie and Jairaj Sethi had publicly denounced “spurious legal threats to silence reporting and opinions that challenge their interests” and proudly announced an expansion of the Defender program to its writers in Canada and the U.K. “We’ve seen firsthand that one of the greatest threats to that freedom is the ability of the wealthy and powerful to use spurious legal threats to silence reporting and opinions that challenge their interests,” they added.
I reached out. They promptly responded, telling me they’d offered my case to two (brilliant, as it turned out) lawyers from Bean, Kinney & Korman, a firm just across the Potomac from me in Arlington, Va., who would represent me pro bono. Within days Kandis M. Koustenis and Allison K. Riddle called, saying that, with my permission, they intended to vigorously defend me. Substack would pick up their costs.
How do you spell relief?
The Battle is Engaged
By mid-February, Koustenis and Riddle had drafted a brilliant motion to dismiss the suit. “When defamation lawsuits are used as a tool to suppress journalism about this country’s public figures, especially figures that may become key in the next executive administration, they chill free speech and deprive the public of information pertaining to matters of public concern,” they noted. “Such strategic lawsuits against public participation (called “SLAPPs”) have become common in recent years. Indeed, the rise in attacks on free speech is alarming.” This was clearly one of them.
(See more on SLAPP suits here.)
On July 9, we faced off with Bass’s counsel before federal Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in a cavernous courtroom of the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Va. Giles didn’t think much of the arguments put forth by Bass’s counsel. She dismissed their case—but left open a 14-day window for them to amend their complaint with some “actual meat on the bones,” as she put it, of the allegations against me. It seemed to me that Judge Giles, an Obama appointee, was bending over backwards to be fair.
Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles (photo: UVA Law School 2023).The days passed. Crickets. Amid deafening silence from Bass & co., on Monday, July 27, we declared victory. Their case was dead.
“We are gratified by the Court’s final judgment dismissing the case with prejudice and proud to have represented Jeff Stein,” Koustenis and Riddle said in a statement. “The Court concluded that the complaint did not allege the specific facts necessary to support actual malice, which is an important constitutional safeguard protecting journalists from lawsuits that could chill reporting on public officials and matters of public concern.”
Speaking of gratified, it hardly needs saying that none of this could have been achieved without the full support of Substack and its Defender program, which bankrolled my pro bono lawyers. I won’t say what they billed Substack, but it was many, many thousands—and every dollar very well earned.
“At Substack, we believe free speech and the free press are fundamental to a trustworthy media system, and we are committed to defending it,” Adam Inglis, general counsel at Substack, said in an email when I asked him for comment. “Substack’s Defender program was built to protect independent journalism like Jeff Stein’s work at SpyTalk, so that writers faced with spurious legal challenges aren’t forced to choose between their reporting and their livelihoods.”
Substack’s CEO & cofounder, Chris Best, posted a comment about the victory on the company’s social media site, Notes.
“Independent journalists should be free to do their work, even when powerful people dislike their reporting,” he wrote. “We’re proud to back Jeff here, and to help create a world where people think twice before messing with creators on Substack.”
Good vibes all around. But it shouldn’t have come to this. To me, Bass’s suit amounted to pure harrassment, of a kind that’s become all too common from the Trump camp. Such suits aren’t “ridiculous” or “flimsy” —not when you’re the target. They suck up your time, your mind space, and your sleep. You imagine the worst, like having to sell your house if the case proceeds and financial support evaporates.
I could go on, and on. . .But I have work to do.
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Trump’s Continued Claims of Vandalism at Reflecting Pool Disputed by U.S. Attorney Memo
Reply source
President Donald Trump continues to insist damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of vandalism, despite a Department of Justice motion filed on July 31 that placed the blame squarely on a contractor’s “botched” installation of the pool coating “and not vandalism as initially represented” by the Department of Interior.
According to a motion from U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro to dismiss a felony destruction of property charge against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, it wasn’t until after Hearn was indicted that the Department of Interior provided prosecutors with “additional documents … indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor … and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.”
“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Aug. 1. “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM. … There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
That same day, Trump posted what he purported was video evidence that “[t]he material is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!” There are some images and videos from reporters that indicate people on June 19 — once the peeling pool was already a major news event — broke off already-peeling coating or held pieces in their hands.
For weeks, Trump has maintained that vandals cut a “300-foot slit” in the pool’s new liner with either a knife or box cutter. (He later claimed that “thugs” cut a gash “300 yards long.”) The administration has never provided evidence of such extensive vandalism.
The Washington Monument is reflected in the recently drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on July 29. Photo by Kevin Carter via Getty Images.
As we wrote on June 25, experts told us there were plausible explanations for the peeling related to the installation, rather than vandalism.
That was ultimately the conclusion reached by Pirro. And she provided detailed evidence that the DOI was long aware of installation issues related to the repairs of the reflecting pool.
“DOI provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case,” Pirro wrote in the motion.
Pirro said she and other senior members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office began to question the DOI’s claim that nearly all the damage was due to vandalism when they did a visual inspection of the reflecting pool on July 17, and they “immediately noted extensive damage throughout the now-drained pool.” Pirro said she demanded the DOI provide further information, and that the subsequent information “strongly suggest[ed] that a rushed and botched installation by [Atlantic Industrial Coatings], the primary contractor, led to the damage to the lining of the Reflecting Pool. It was not until [prosecutors] repeatedly reached out to DOI dozens and dozens of times that DOI slowly started trickling information to [prosecutors]. Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment.”
“Specifically, the newly released documents reveal that work on installing the lining almost immediately fell behind, due to a combination of very rainy and windy weather, repeated failures of testing on the sealing of the expansion joints, and delays in obtaining sealing product at the worksite,” Pirro wrote. “The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed.”
“Almost immediately after work was initially completed, peeling was observed along the pool perimeter,” the motion states. A National Park Service engineer wrote an email on June 11 that “stated that the cause of the damage was contractor error via ‘overspray.'”
That email was written more than three weeks before Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and insisted the liner “didn’t peel off. There … was vandalism. There was box cutters.”
Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash if he was “100% sure that what happened with the liner was vandalism” and if he “can prove it,” Burgum responded on July 5: “Oh, yes, absolutely, Dana. And we drain it, and we have got all the photographs, we can see. I mean, there’s no possible way … I’m not sure why you and others in the media think that you want to keep trying to question whether or not — think, this is an industrial liner. Every farmer and rancher in America that’s had their pickup liner lined by this sprayed-on liner knows that you literally — literally, it would never just like peel off or fall off. … And it’s the size of eight football fields. And the only way you can end up with actual slices in one spot and not the other is that someone physically cut it.”
But according to Pirro’s motion, a July 20 inspection by contractors “confirmed that overspray and delamination had occurred, again pointing to contractor error. Finally, a recent visual inspection showed damage throughout the Reflecting Pool, even in the middle of the pool, where a vandal would not likely attempt to peel the lining. Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The motion was an about-face for Pirro, who in a July 2 press conference said there “was an effort, a violent effort, to rip up the sealant from the bottom of the pool” and that there was “tremendous evidence” that Hearn “damaged the pool.”
Pirro said then that she had visited the pool the day before and “someone intentionally did a tremendous amount of damage to the pool, and you can actually see where all the cutting is. They took a sharp object and cut for many feet along the pool.”
We reached out to the Department of Interior for comment about the motion, and its claim that the DOI withheld important information from prosecutors. The press office pointed us to an X post from Burgum on Aug. 1, in which he continued to insist the damage to the reflecting pool was done by vandals.
“The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera,” Burgum wrote. “We also provided the U.S. Attorney’s office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool. … We won’t back down to deranged people who want to destroy, deface, or degrade our monuments.”
We also reached out to Atlantic Industrial Coatings for comment on Pirro’s motion, but we did not get a response. However, the company posted a message on its website on June 21 stating that — in conjunction with the National Park Service — it had identified “some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs.”
“These areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner,” according to the statement. “As soon as its feasible for the Park, the pool will be drained and AIC will be back to make those needed repairs as part of the warranty.”
The Department of Interior awarded a no-bid contract on April 3 to Atlantic Industrial Coatings to paint the reflecting pool, with supplemental agreements issued through June 15 to total $14.7 million. The agency justified not getting bids from various contractors by saying the project was urgent and needed to be completed by July 4.
In addition to Hearn, a handful of others have been charged with vandalism of the reflecting pool, and three face misdemeanor charges of destruction of property under $1,000, the New York Times reported. Hearn was the only one to face a felony charge.
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The post Trump’s Continued Claims of Vandalism at Reflecting Pool Disputed by U.S. Attorney Memo appeared first on FactCheck.org.
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US states sue Trump administration over new tariffs on 60 trading partners
Reply sourceCoalition of 25 states asks US Court of International Trade to halt tariffs and declare them them unlawful
A coalition of 25 US states sued the Trump administration on Monday over new tariffs pegged at 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes struck down by the supreme court in February.
The states are asking the US Court of International Trade to halt the tariffs, declare them unlawful and order refunds of duties that have already been paid.
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Trump accuses Jeanine Pirro of ‘folding’ by dropping reflecting pool charges
Reply sourceTrump ‘disappointed’ with US attorney amid reports he’s considering removing her from her post
Donald Trump accused US attorney Jeanine Pirro of having “folded like an umbrella” amid reports that he was considering removing her from her post.
Trump criticized Pirro on Monday after she dropped vandalism charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Trump nominated Pirro to serve as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia last year, and the Senate later confirmed her in August.
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Trump lashes out at Big Oil for 'making too much money' during Iran war: 'They ought to give some of that back'
President Trump bristled Monday at Big Oil's huge windfall amid the war in Iran, arguing that the country's largest oil companies should give some of their record profits to the American public.Reply source -
This Trump-linked startup plans to put humanoid robots in the military
As Silicon Valley races to build humanoid robots that can fold laundry and pour a latte, at least one start-up sees a very different use for the technology: war or other potentially hazardous and deadly jobs.Reply source -
The Democratic Party Playbook Is On The Ballot In Michigan
Reply source
LEFT: Haley Stevens and Gretchen Whitmer. Photo Credit: X.com/HaleyforMI. RIGHT: Abdul El-Sayed and Bernie Sanders. Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images.Tomorrow, August 4th, marks Election Day in the Michigan Democratic primary for U.S. Senate between Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens. But when the results come in, they will represent much more than the culmination of a long, hard-fought primary between two Democratic candidates.
As Vox put it, this race is “less a Senate primary than a proxy war for where the party goes next.” And with the Senate majority on the line, the stakes are incredibly high, which is why a factional rift between the “normie” or establishment lane of the Democratic Party and its left flank is tearing much of the party in two, with this primary race at the center of the fight.
For over a year, the Democratic Party has been undergoing a battle for its future, beginning with Zohran Mamdani’s victory over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the race for Mayor of New York City. Many brushed it off as a quirk of a very blue city, whose voters were uniquely open to electing a Democratic Socialist to lead their city. But something was very clear to many of us at the time: What Mamdani achieved in New York City in that primary was translatable to other parts of the country, and Democrats everywhere should be taking notes.
Now, just over a year after Mamdani’s surprise primary victory, it’s clear many of these normie Democrats ignored the warning signs and got caught flat-footed as progressive challengers to the establishment won over majorities of primary voters in many races around the country. On the eve of the Michigan Senate primary, many are looking to this race for a sign as to which direction the Democratic Party is headed, as it offers the first opportunity to see this dynamic play out at the statewide level in a bona fide swing state won by Trump.
The contrast between the candidates is stark. Dr. El-Sayed, endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has been running to the left as the anti-establishment reformer. Rep. Stevens, endorsed by Senator Chuck Schumer and Governor Gretchen Whitmer, is a moderate who has run the usual establishment plays.
Polls currently show El-Sayed surging ahead of Stevens in the primary, even while other polls show Stevens performing better in the general against former Rep. Mike Rogers, the presumptive Republican candidate in the race. Much like another hard-fought primary 18 years ago, Michigan Democrats are being asked to choose between their heart and their head. And which they choose is likely to tell us a lot about the direction of the Democratic Party heading into 2028.
Clinton 2008 vs. Mamdani 2025
In early July, during the first head-to-head debate between El-Sayed and Stevens, I experienced a case of déjà vu.
There was Stevens, fielding her first question about affordability and framing herself as the candidate of experience against a male opponent she portrayed as a lightweight.
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Eric Trump Advises Company at Forefront of Army Robots in Race with China
American defense companies are accelerating the development of autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic systems that military leaders say could transform future warfare, even as China is widely viewed as making major advances in integrating robotic soldiers and artificial intelligence into its armed forces.Reply source -
Did Stan Woodward Get Paid Via the Proceeds of the Money Laundering that Todd Blanche Immunized?
Reply source
When right wingers performed Xitter outrage over the list of subpoenas — targeting the financial records of much of the MAGAt right — that Chuck Grassley released last October, I noted that what they were wailing about looked an awful like an investigation into money laundering.Those subpoenas asked for records that would show Trump raised money using false pretenses of supporting voting integrity between November 2020 and his insurrection. It tracked what happened to a Joint Fundraising Committee. It tracked what happened with payroll for some far right organizations run by people like Mark Meadows and Stephen Miller.
As I noted at the time, these subpoenas closely tracked allegations made in the January 6 Report.
The Trump Campaign spent the money on President Trump, giving donations to his associates, and keeping it for himself in Save America. Hundreds of millions of dollars that were raised to go towards “election defense” and “fighting voter fraud” were not spent that way at all. To the contrary, most of the funds remain unspent, and millions have been paid to companies that are known affiliates of President Trump, or payments to entities associated with former Trump administration officials. Since the election, former Trump officials who are still working for President Trump’s PACs, and are publicly receiving salaries as FEC-reported “payroll,” are also associated with these companies.
For example, from July 2021 to the present, Save America has been paying approximately $9,700 per month to Dan Scavino,171 a political adviser who served in the Trump administration as White House Deputy Chief of Staff.172 Save America was also paying $20,000 per month to an entity called Hudson Digital LLC. Hudson Digital LLC was registered in Delaware twenty days after the attack on the Capitol, on January 26, 2021,173 and began receiving payments from Save America on the day it was registered.174 Hudson Digital LLC has received payments totaling over $420,000, all described as “Digital consulting.”175 No website or any other information or mention of Hudson Digital LLC could be found online.176 ThoughHudson Digital LLC is registered as a Delaware company, the FEC Schedule B listing traces back to an address belonging to Dan and Catherine Scavino.177
Nick Luna, President Trump’s former personal assistant and “body man,” was being paid from April 2021 to December 2021 approximately $12,000 per month by Save America for “payroll.”178 The Make America Great Again PAC (MAGA PAC)—formerly the authorized committee of President Trump’s reelection campaign, Donald J. Trump for President—paid $20,000 per month to a limited liability corporation called Red State Partners LLC from April 2021 through October 2021, and Save America paid Red State Partners LLC $20,000 in February 2022.179 The company was registered in Delaware on March 11, 2021 180 and has received a total of $170,000.181 Though it is registered in Delaware, disclosures filed with the Federal Election Committee (FEC) list Red State Partners at an address inMiami, Florida, that is an address for Nick Luna and his wife, Cassidy Dumbauld.182
Further, Vince Haley, Taylor Swindle, and Ross Worthington are corporate officers of a company known as Pericles LLC.183 Haley is a former policy advisor to President Trump,184 Swindle is the Chief Financial Officer for Gingrich 360,185 and Ross Worthington is the former White House speechwriter 186 who wrote the speech President Trump delivered on the Ellipse on January 6th.187 Pericles LLC was registered on January 27, 2021,188 the day after Scavino’s Hudson Digital LLC, and, since then, has received payments from Save America totaling at least $352,700.189
That’s one reason it was completely unsurprising to me when Capital Bank revealed on Friday that they had shut down Trump’s accounts because of money laundering concerns.
To the contrary, those documents and Plaintiffs’ own allegations make clear that Capital One closed Plaintiffs’ accounts for anti-money laundering (“AML”) reasons. The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance. Capital One never publicized the termination decision nor its confidential internal process giving rise to the closure, and it permitted Plaintiffs several months (and granted several extensions) to find new banking services, which they did.
Whether or not Jack Smith investigated whether this was money laundering — or a campaign finance violation — all this sloshing of cash might look like money laundering to any bank required to look for such things. And when banks find such sloshing, they file Suspicious Activity Reports to the Feds and shut down the accounts in question.
We know Capital One shut down the accounts. That level of concern requires banks file SARs.
There are two subpoenas for Capital One among the ones Chuck Grassley revealed, though not for Trump. One, for records from September 2020 to the date of the subpoena, April 6, 2023, for Justin Clark. And one issued on November 16, 2022 — days before Jack Smith was appointed — also from September 2020 to the present, for the Conservative Partnership Institute, Mark Meadows’ gig. There were a slew of subpoenas to CPI, asking about how they awarded their grants, asking specifically about (among others) Stephen Miller.
That’s the stuff that (as the January 6 Committee noted) looked pretty suspect.
But there’s another use of Trump’s campaign funds that prosecutors investigated, which could be money laundering or could simply be suspected obstruction.
Those are subpoenas, including one dated March 23, 2023, that ask for materials related to the representation of everyone whose lawyers would have been vetted by Susie Wiles, who ran Trump’s Save America PAC.
The law firms mentioned include Woodward Brand — the law firm of Stan Woodward, who represented Kash Patel and others, and who in his current role as Associate Attorney General signed the IRS “settlement” — and Dhillon Law, the law firm of current Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, at which current White House Counsel David Warrington also worked.
To be clear: Those payments may be entirely kosher, except insofar as they suggest that people only got legal representation after Wiles made sure they would protect Donald Trump (which allegation shows up in the stolen document indictment). But we do know those payments were investigated, thanks to Chuck Grassley.
And now that Trump has forced Capital One to reveal that he looked like he was laundering money in 2021, in precisely the period he appeared to be laundering funds raised for election integrity to pay off those who were part of the coup, we deserve an answer before Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche sweeps Trump’s crimes under the rug again.
Were any of the people appointed to high positions in the current administration beneficiaries of the money laundering Blanche is attempting to immunize?
The post Did Stan Woodward Get Paid Via the Proceeds of the Money Laundering that Todd Blanche Immunized? appeared first on emptywheel.
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Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God Almighty Trump’s Taxes are Free At Last
Reply source
Seal of the US Internal Revenue Service
Donald Trump, February 26, 2016 (via PBS):
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is sticking to his new explanation for why he can’t yet release copies of his recent tax returns: The IRS is auditing him, as Trump says it has for the last 12 years.
“Until my audit is finished, you’re not going to see anything,” Trump said Friday, adding that he believes the government has unfairly targeted his returns. “I’m not going to complicate things.”
[snip]
During Thursday’s debate, Trump predicted what anyone reviewing his tax returns would find: “nothing, nothing.” But the odds of being randomly audited every year for a decade is vanishingly small — and Trump’s statement that “four or five” years of his tax returns are actively being audited raised even more questions. The IRS’s normal statute of limitations for an audit is three years — though that time frame is extended in instances of substantial underreporting and there is no time limit on reviews in the event of fraud.
The unsigned “clarifying” statement on the so-called “settlement” of Trump’s lawsuit against himself dba the IRS with respect to his exposure to audits past, present, and future by the IRS, printed on stationery of the Office of the Attorney General:
Further, the May 19, 2026 Order regarding a mutual release of claims applies by its terms only retroactively.
Putting these two together, I guess this now means that since all Trump’s past IRS filings – both his personal returns and the returns of any/all corporate entities – are final and no longer facing a threat of an audit, I fully expect Trump to quickly release his returns from the past five years. He is anxious, after all, to prove just how wonderful a businessman he is and just how fabulously wealthy he is, a billionaire (at least!) the likes of which the world has never seen.
Right?
I also expect a complete Democratic sweep of the US House and Senate races in November, and a pony under my Christmas tree this December.
The post Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God Almighty Trump’s Taxes are Free At Last appeared first on emptywheel.
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Trump meets his obstinate match in Iran’s hardball regime
Reply sourceUS president reduced to bemoaning Tehran’s ‘unbelievable duplicity’ as he struggles to find solid negotiating ground
The Donald Trump doctrine has always contained a tenuous relationship with the truth. It was his mentor, the infamous New York lawyer Roy Cohn, who taught the young real estate mogul always to claim victory and never to admit defeat. Unfortunately for Trump, in Iran the US president has found a counterpart just as stubborn as himself.
As Trump claims new negotiations are to begin with Tehran this week, Iran has shown it can also reignite the conflict by lobbing ballistic missiles at US bases in the region and maintaining a stranglehold on the strait of Hormuz, effectively taking initiative in the stalled peace process. And time is of the essence for Trump as the clock ticks toward a global energy crisis and a painful midterm elections for him and his Republican party.
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Ceuta: défouloir xénophobe pour la droite et l’extrême droite française
Après que plusieurs dizaines de milliers de personnes sont parvenues à entrer dans l’enclave espagnole au cours des derniers jours de juillet, le Rassemblement national et Les Républicains ont passé leur week-end à hurler à «l’invasion» migratoire en Europe.Reply source -
Les autoradios ont des oreilles
Reply source
Un dispositif de surveillance a été trouvé le 22 juillet 2026 dans une voiture en transit entre le sud-est et l'Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Le dispositif a été découvert lors d'un changement d'autoradio, après que ce dernier ait été retiré de son emplacement. Deux micros (gauche-droite) étaient visibles en premier, collés à la paroi du cash plastique sous l'autoradio. Ils étaient reliés a un boîtier (bricolé sur la base du modèle Innova RB800) avec carte SIM (Orange) et carte micro SD, une petite batterie (1200 mAh) et une balise GPS (Taoglas, modèle datant de 2013). Le tout était ponté sur l'alim de l'autoradio et collé avec de la pâte collante à la paroi sous l'auto-radio.
La musique a bien dû leur casser la tête !
Article trouvé par ici, https://nantes.indymedia.org/posts/167658/les-autoradios-ont-des-oreilles/.
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OLIX, FRACTILE, ETCHED : les milliards affluent vers les futurs moteurs de l’IA
Reply sourceAlors que l’entraînement des grands modèles a longtemps concentré les investissements, les modèles de raisonnement déplacent la bataille vers l’inférence. OLIX, FRACTILE et ETCHED ont déjà levé, ensemble, plus de 1,5 milliard de dollars pour accélérer la production de tokens, réduire la facture énergétique et contester l’architecture imposée par NVIDIA. Derrière cette même ambition se …
L’article OLIX, FRACTILE, ETCHED : les milliards affluent vers les futurs moteurs de l’IA est apparu en premier sur FW.MEDIA.
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Décès de Raoul Vaneigem
Reply sourceL’écrivain (une cinquantaine de livres) et philosophe belge Raoul Vaneigem est décédé le 28 juillet 2026 à l’âge de 92 ans. Anarchiste, il était très ami avec notre compagnon Marc Tomsin (avec qui nous avions créé en 2008 l’émission «Terre et liberté » devenue plus tard «Trous noirs»), décédé en juin 2021. Sur le site La Voie du jaguar animé par ce dernier, figurent plusieurs textes de Vaneigem, dont un hommage à Marc après son décès : https://www.lavoiedujaguar.net/Un-hommage-de-Raoul-Vaneigem-a-son-ami-Marc-Tomsin
« Légataires des insurgées et des insurgés du passé, nous jetons les bases d’une véritable internationale du genre humain. Choisir le parti pris de la vie est désormais le seul recours contre ceux qui sèment la mort sur la terre entière. C’est le combat que tu as choisi de mener et ton amitié rayonnante avait souvent plus d’efficacité que bien des diatribes ».
Les Éditions Rue des Cascades du même Marc Tomsin avaient publié en 2010 son livre L’État n’est plus rien, soyons tout.
Il est essentiellement connu pour sa participation, de 1961 jusqu’à sa démission en 1970, à l’Internationale situationniste et son Traité de savoir-vivre à l’usage des jeunes générations, paru en 1967.
Ce livre démonte les mécanismes de la domination et cherche dans la vie quotidienne les forces capables de les renverser. Allergique aux idéologies marxistes-léninistes et trotskistes, Il participe à Mai 68 en étant très critique vis-à-vis des mouvements gauchistes.
Il précise ses propositions dans le livre De la grève sauvage à l’autogestion généralisée en 1974. Quelques dizaines d’années plus tard, avec son ami Siné il participe au journal Siné Mensuel.
Ses ouvrages opposent la vie contre la survie, le don contre l’échange marchand, l’autonomie contre les dominations. Se déclarant « pacifiste insurrectionnel », il cherche à construire des espaces où l’État et le marché perdraient leur emprise. Il s’est beaucoup intéressé aux Gilets jaunes (« La démocratie est dans la rue, pas dans les urnes« ), au zapatisme et au Rojava comme espaces d’autonomie et d’entraide à l’écart de nouvelles conquêtes du pouvoir : « Le peuple prenant par lui-même les décisions qui le concernent s’inscrit dans la lignée de l’expérience autogestionnaire menée par les collectivités libertaires espagnoles de 1936. Les zapatistes du Chiapas, les insurgés du Rojava, la tendance la plus radicale du mouvement des Gilets jaunes en France s’en inspirent aujourd’hui unanimement en dépit d’une grande diversité de conditions historiques, politiques et géographiques », mai 2021.
Sa chanson de 1974 « La vie s’écoule, la vie s’enfuit » interprétée ici par Jacques Marchais passe souvent dans Trous noirs : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQWvjqrHdiQ
Serge – Trous noirs
P.S. : Ci-dessous pour mieux comprendre sa pensée très riche, quelques extraits de textes et d’entretiens parus notamment sur le site La Voie du jaguar
Octobre 2008 « Il est temps de jeter les bases d’une société nouvelle, de construire l’autogestion en nous emparant des énergies alternatives et en les mettant au service des collectivités refusant d’avoir des comptes à rendre aux gestionnaires de la faillite mondiale et aux escrocs dont le pouvoir n’a d’autre soutien que la passivité et la résignation des masses ». « Je n’ai jamais confondu révolte et révolution, et moins encore émancipation et prédation. L’émeute est un exutoire, la révolte est toujours récupérable. Les collectivités autogérées ne le seront pas. Nous ne sommes ni des pirates, ni des en-dehors, ni des marginaux, nous sommes au centre d’une société solidaire à créer et, que nous le voulions ou non, il faudra bien que nous apprenions à opposer une démocratie directe à cette démocratie parlementaire, clientéliste et corrompue qui s’effondre avec les puissances financières qui la soutenaient et la dévoraient ».
Septembre 2013 « On croit en Dieu parce qu’on a pas les moyens de croire en soi, investissant un « au-delà », car incapables de vivre un « ici-bas » »
Juin 2019 « On sait comment le combat pour le prolétariat a viré à une dictature exercée contre lui et en son nom. Le communisme et le socialisme en ont fait la preuve ». « On voit d’un côté le ridicule d’élections accaparées par une démocratie totalitaire qui prend les gens pour des imbéciles, et d’autre part le mouvement des gilets jaunes qui se moque des étiquettes idéologiques, religieuses, politiques, refuse les chefs et les représentants non mandatés par la démocratie directe des assemblées ». « Sauver les acquis sociaux ? Ils sont déjà perdus. Trains, écoles, hôpitaux, retraites sont poussés à la casse par le bulldozer de l’État. La liquidation continue. La machine du profit, dont l’État n’est qu’un banal engrenage, ne fera pas marche arrière. Comment ne pas faire plutôt confiance aux mains qui dans les carrefours, les maisons du peuple, les assemblées de démocratie directe, s’activent à la reconstruction du bien public ? »
Avril 2020 « L’État et ses commanditaires ont bousillé les services publics. Plus rien ne marche. Nous le savons en toute certitude : la seule chose qu’il réussit à faire fonctionner, c’est l’organisation criminelle du profit ». « Le temps n’est plus à l’indignation, aux lamentations, aux constats du désarroi intellectuel. J’insiste sur l’importance des décisions que les assemblées locales et fédérées prendront « par le peuple et pour le peuple » en matière d’alimentation, de logement, de transport, de santé, d’enseignement, de coopérative monétaire, d’amélioration de l’environnement humain, animal, végétal ». « Souvenons-nous que ce qui a détruit et interrompu l’expérience des collectivités libertaires de la révolution espagnole, c’est l’imposture communiste .»
Novembre 2020 « Le Mouvement des occupations de Mai 68 a porté un coup mortel à des vérités tenues pour immuables depuis des millénaires : le pouvoir hiérarchique, le respect de l’autorité, le patriarcat, la peur et le mépris de la femme, la haine de la nature, la vénération de l’armée, l’obédience religieuse et idéologique, la concurrence, la compétition, la prédation, le sacrifice, la nécessité du travail » « La religion a toujours été le cœur d’un monde sans cœur. Lorsque les luttes sociales ont fait battre l’organe vital d’une société radicalement nouvelle, on a assisté à la déconfiture du christianisme ». « Il est des flambées d’impatience où je crierais volontiers : « Lâchez tout ! Balayez vers l’égout les thuriféraires de l’argent ! Brisez les amarres du vieux monde, prenez à bras-le-corps la seule liberté qui nous rende humains, la liberté de vivre ! » »
Mai 2021 « Le capitalisme industriel avait favorisé dans son essor l’efflorescence d’inventions nouvelles (électricité, machine à vapeur, chemin de fer). Ce qui subsistait de recherche indépendante est désormais soumis au contrôle accru des intérêts mercantiles qui gèrent les budgets. Le capitalisme financier produit un vide de la science et de la conscience. Physique, biologie, art, médecine sont en quête d’une refonte radicale ». « L’État n’est plus qu’un instrument manipulé par les firmes multinationales, qui, avec ou sans le relais de l’Europe, lui imposent leurs lois et leurs juridictions. La répression policière est la seule fonction qui lui incombe encore ». « Les élections ont toujours été les arènes où la jactance des élus sollicitait la sottise d’électeurs persuadés d’être représentés par eux ». « Pendant que s’affrontent rétro-bolchévisme et rétro-fascisme, les mafias mondialistes empoisonnent et polluent impunément villes et village ». « L’autonomie des individus est la base de l’autogestion. Elle émancipe de l’individualisme, qui prête une liberté fictive aux moutons de la servitude volontaire. Elle apprend à distinguer militantisme et militarisme. L’engagement passionnel ne peut se confondre avec le sacrifice. Le combat pour la liberté refuse les ordres. La confiance et le mandat que lui accorde la solidarité lui suffisent ».
Août 2022 « Si sympathiques qu’elles soient, les manifestations en faveur du climat servent d’exutoires au sentiment d’impuissance qu’éprouvent intimement les protestataires. Comment imaginer que des mesures pratiques et un tant soit peu conséquentes contre la pollution puissent être adoptées par des États et des monopoles qui en sont la cause et les bénéficiaires ? » « Pendant que les pitreries médiatiques captent l’attention, les lobbies du nucléaire, du pétrole, de la pharmacie, de la 5G, du gaz de schiste, des malversations bancaires, triomphent avec le soutien d’une corruption et d’un parasitisme étatiques exhibés sans scrupules ». « L’autogestion — autrement dit l’organisation du peuple par lui-même — n’a plus rien de subversif, c’est une cure de santé parfaitement légitime ! »
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DOJ Dumps Reflecting Pool Charges, Admits It Was All The Fault Of Trump’s No-Bid Pool Guys; While Trump Sticks By His Vandalism Story
Reply sourceHail to the Chief. Our country is being run by paranoid conspiracy theorist megalomaniac who openly wishes to kick-start America’s first autocracy. Nothing that goes wrong is ever the president’s fault. It’s always the fault of officials with insufficient loyalty or the criminal acts of people out to get him.
Trump decided the Lincoln Reflecting Pool needed a makeover. Not because it had several long-term issues that had been inadequately addressed over the years but because Trump wanted to make it look more Trump-y. That meant draining the entire thing to apply a layer of “American flag blue,” a hue Trump made up on the spot to demonstrate he was more American than any American who had come before him.
Rather than turn this over to the people best qualified to do the job via a bidding/vetting process, Trump handed out a no-bid contract to an entity that called Mar-a-Lago home and whose owner had thrown some money Trump’s way in the past. The company hired to do this is headed by a long-term Trump donor and sports a name that would become eerily prescient once it was through botching the job: Greenwater Solutions.
Shortly after the refurb, the water in the pool turned a bright shade of green, due to the wholly expected explosion of algae, thanks to the conditions created by the pool shutdown/startup and vastly encouraged by the “American flag blue” now coating the bottom of the reflecting pool.
Shortly after that, the pool sealant began floating to the surface, prompting curious visitors to grab chunks of the “American flag blue” material that bubbled up as Interior Department personnel tried to beat science at its own game by flooding the “Greenwater Green” pool with hydrogen peroxide.
Trump then claimed — without facts in evidence — that the green tint and floating sealant were the actions of vandals, presumably related to the antifa or whatever. In the space of a single press conference, Trump turned a 150-foot flaw in the sealant into a 350-foot “gash” that could only have been created by anti-Trump vandals.
Then the arrests began. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro promised to punish anyone caught “vandalizing” the pool to the full effect of the law. Department of Interior boss Doug Burgum mindlessly repeated Trump’s wild speculation, claiming he too was in possession of “evidence” of criminal pool fuckery. Trump continued to do what Trump always does: engage in stream-of-consciousness responses when asked to provide proof of his accusations.
Former US Olympics team member David Hearn was the first to be officially indicted for daring to touch pieces of the broken pool. That case fell apart almost immediately. First, the government’s own witness testified during the grand jury proceedings that anything Hearn grabbed from the pool was the result of defective workmanship, rather than evidence of malicious vandalism.
This prompted Hearn’s legal team to demand transcripts of the grand jury proceedings. After all, if the unnamed government employee had testified that the pool would have been falling apart with or without Hearn’s brief interaction, the resulting indictment meant government prosecutors seemingly ignored the fact that it takes at least $1,000 of damage to support a federal vandalism charge.
Well, it’s all over now, at least in terms of prosecution. (The government will likely be contending with a civil rights lawsuit in the near future.) None other than lead prosecutor Jeanine Pirro has admitted there’s no basis for the criminal charges against Hearn.
Not only that, but the DOJ’s dismissal [PDF] specifically calls out the botched pool repair job performed by another one of Trump’s no-bid buddies (Greenwater Solutions did the filtration/drainage, while Atlantic Industrial Coatings redid the pool surface). It does this as it seeks to purge itself of any blame for pursuing yet another transparently vindictive prosecution to appease the president.
[I]t was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (“AIC”), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026. It was not until after these documents were produced that USAO-DC first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI. Indeed, USAO DC could only rely (on the information provided by DOI that the damage was entirely caused by vandals, including the defendant in this case, David Hearn…
This is US Attorney Jeanine Pirro throwing the Interior Department under the bus in hopes of saving her job. That’s not going to work.
First of all, even after this filing Trump still insists the damage was due to vandalism, despite all evidence on the record showing otherwise.
That’s Donald Trump “truthing” the untruth:
I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area. There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS! President DJT
Nothing to see here, just the President of the United States insisting that his made up fantasy, that no one ever believed was true, is true in the face of a filing from his own hand-picked attorneys at the Justice Department. One would think that the president accusing a US Attorney of lying to a federal court would be a big deal, except everyone let’s it pass because they know he’s full of shit.
The same goes for Doug Burgum, the current Interior Secretary, who similarly insists this is vandalism despite evidence to the contrary, much of it produced by his own agency.
That’s Burgum tweeting:
The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera. We also provided the U.S. Attorney’s office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool.
The Reflecting Pool is part of the Lincoln Memorial and dates back to 1922.
@POTUS cares deeply about protecting our sacred national monuments and his leadership has led the restoration of our Nation’s Capital by Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Again.
Intentional damage done to the Reflecting Pool is no different than defacing any one of our other national monuments.
We won’t back down to deranged people who want to destroy, deface, or degrade our monuments.
So the US Attorney is saying that the Interior Department provided the DOJ with evidence that it was the shoddy workmanship of Trump’s hand-picked contractors. And the Secretary of the Interior makes a public statement saying that’s false?
This administration can’t get its story straight, and that’s going to come back to haunt them in court.
Finally, Pirro’s still likely to face some bench-slapping over this case because she can’t pretend to have just heard of it now when her office definitely heard the damage was due to a “botched installation” from a government witness and yet still charged ahead with securing an indictment against David Hearn.
The DOJ says it’s wrong. But it won’t dismiss the charges against Hearn with prejudice, which means it can still take another swing at this if Trump makes it clear that needs to happen. But what’s admitted here means it will most likely need to abandon any pending criminal cases against alleged vandals if it expects the court to grant it any form of good faith going forward.
Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.
That’s the DOJ’s own admission, which is now on the public record. If it continues to pursue criminal charges, it can’t possibly expect any subsequent indictments to survive a cursory review in court. Pirro’s office needs to cut and run ASAP. And Pirro should know that it’s too late to save her job. She fucked up when she decided to tell the court the truth. And that’s something Trump will see as unforgivable.
But now any American who actually wants to know the truth about the Reflecting Pool debacle can read for themselves what the administration itself has to say about the matter when it came time to actually reveal to the court what they knew. If they’d rather believe Trump and Burgum, they can. But they can’t pretend the only evidence on the record shows the Reflecting Pool fell apart because Trump handed millions of tax dollars to donors and personal friends, rather than actually try to get the job done right the first time.
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Gérard Larcher saisit la justice dans l’affaire Christine Herzog
Le président du Sénat a transmis à la justice le dossier de Christine Herzog, quelques jours après la sanction disciplinaire inédite infligée à la sénatrice. Ce signalement, fondé sur l’article 40 du Code de procédure pénale, intervient alors que la Chambre haute s’apprête à renouveler la moitié de ses sièges.Reply source -
Les États-Unis volent au secours du yen mais pensent surtout au dollar
Pour la première fois depuis trente ans, la Réserve fédérale est intervenue pour défendre le yen, en chute libre. Au-delà de l’assistance à un gouvernement «ami», il s’agit pour les autorités états-uniennes de défendre le statut du dollar et du «privilège exorbitant» dont il bénéficie comme seule monnaie de réserve mondiale.Reply source -
Confusion about the Chessboard Trump Has Overturned in His Tantrum
Reply source
In recent days, several NYT stories on Iran have raised questions about who in the US, if anyone, has a full grasp on the chessboard they’re playing.First was a pretty hilarious story from David Sanger, which said as much about Sanger’s own beliefs about presidential power as Trump’s infirmities. Deep in the story, Sanger describes the swagger that Trump exhibited in a June interview, a swagger that came after months of successful cons from Trump on Iran.
A month ago, he exuded confidence that he had found the way to declare victory. On June 17, Mr. Trump signed with a flourish — at the Palace of Versailles, where World War I officially ended in 1919 — a hastily written, 14-point cease-fire agreement.
At the time, Mr. Trump said that a new, more “reasonable” set of Iranian leaders had seen the light, and were being driven by economic interests.
“I believe they have had enough,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with The Times on June 14. He argued that he was able to get the deal because he was threatening a massive attack, prompting Iran to fold.
“We were going in for the big one, and they said, ‘Please don’t do it, we will make a deal.’ And we made a deal right after that,” he said.
It lasted only two weeks.
But the story begins by describing Trump being surprised that he doesn’t have as much power as he said when he was successfully conning David Sanger earlier in June.
But in recent weeks, he has seemed trapped, his presidency gradually consumed by a war he cannot find his way out of.
He has discovered limits on his power that he could have scarcely imagined as he began full combat operations on Feb. 28, when he set out goals for a swift end to Iran’s nuclear program and the overthrow of the country’s government.
Five months later, those goals remain almost entirely unaccomplished. And Mr. Trump, once confident that overwhelming force would enable him to pursue in Iran what he proudly called the “Venezuela model” — a change of government to one amenable to U.S. control — is now hesitant to plunge back into major combat operations that his intelligence agencies assess are unlikely to work as well in Tehran.
He has been unable to control surging oil prices, or their effects on the stock market. The shipping that crawled to a stop in the Strait of Hormuz, then was opened for a few short weeks, is back to a trickle, with a second choke point, between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, now threatened. And while the president has threatened to take Kharg Island, where Iran ships oil, or to seize its underground stores of enriched uranium, he has said publicly that he knows there is no appetite for sending in ground troops.
Those limits have left him deeply frustrated, his aides say, and have made him more erratic, even by Trumpian standards.
On Saturday, NYT published a story describing various Iranian sources crowing that they had used Trump’s last ceasefire to expand the battlefield, which NYT took to mean to Hezbollah and the Houthis.
“We are playing a grand game of chess; the militias are Iran’s chess pieces to be moved wisely at the right time and place, for maximum impact,” Mehdi Rahmati, an analyst in Iran and an expert on the regional militias, said in a phone interview.
Aside from lobbing missiles and drones at military bases housing U.S. troops, the attacks have been calibrated to avoid direct confrontations with American or Israeli forces, which could lead to harsh retaliation against Iran, analysts said. Igniting a fire at the Saudi oil facility drew the kingdom into the war, but the Saudi response targeted Iraqi militias accused of the attack rather than Iran.
Iran mobilized its proxy forces for a variety of reasons, analysts said. First and foremost, the strategy aims to limit oil exports from the region, driving up gas prices in the United States ahead of the U.S. midterm elections and reducing revenue for Washington’s Arab allies.
The same day as that proxy story, NYT published a worthwhile story describing how no one trusts American hegemony anymore.
To America’s allies, President Trump’s war in Iran, now in its sixth month, seems headed for a strategic defeat.
They worry that the inability of the United States to turn military superiority into a sustainably changed Iran has displayed a vulnerability that Russia and China will welcome. In addition, Mr. Trump’s goals remain unmet, and the U.S. military is running short on key armaments that it needs for global reach.
For the moment, Iran is seemingly resolute under a more radical government, its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are degraded but not destroyed, and the Strait of Hormuz is effectively under its control. The war has left both the United States and Israel in weaker positions — and blaming each other for the mess.
[snip]
Many countries disliked the global order as it was, Mr. Niblett said, but there was one. “Now America has confirmed itself as a force of disorder and everyone is drawing lessons from it, and trying to be less dependent,” he said. “No one wants to be subject to a whipsaw foreign policy that doesn’t know its limits, and that is a strategic defeat.”
Then there’s the David French column making the rounds worrying this could turn into World War. Early on, he wonders whether strategy is the word for what led Trump to invade Iran … but later in the column, he suggests there has been a change in what he still calls a “strategy.”
This was always the most likely outcome. The president chose to take on a much more powerful country than, say, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 2003 while using far less force than we employed to topple the Iraqi government.
What did he expect would happen?
Oh, right, we know. He thought he could topple a vicious, deeply embedded authoritarian regime with a few targeted airstrikes and a fantasized popular uprising. As he has said many times, he expected a version of his Venezuela outcome, and when the Venezuela strategy failed, if “strategy” is the word, there was no real Plan B — other than to bomb Iran more and hope for capitulation.
[snip]
Let’s put all this together: The initial American strategy failed, the war with Iran is consuming the entire region, Iran and Ukraine are risking a face-off, there is evidence that both Russia and China are escalating their military commitments, American munitions stocks are dwindling, and Trump is raging.
In between those comments, French lists a lot of things that have been true from the start:
- Iranian success at hitting American bases (which happened the second day of the war) and allies’ infrastructure.
- The Houthis joining the conflict, which is new — but one big reason the US is short on missiles is because Whiskey Pete Hegseth had no strategy when he blew missiles attempting to suppress the Houthis last year.
- Ukraine striking a ship in the Caspian, months after Israel did, and also months after Zelenskyy traveled to the region to offer defense assistance.
- Russia and China helping Iran, which was true (at least for Russia) from the start, though Reuters reported China may soon escalate its support.
- Russia continues to threaten to spill out of Ukraine into neighboring NATO states.
French is not wrong to worry the scope of the Iran war will grow, nor is he wrong to note that the risk stems in significant part from Trump’s unreliability. But again, all that’s been true from the very start.
So has Trump’s stubborn refusal to stop coddling Russia and China, steps that would be necessary to shift US posture.
The thing I find most curious, though, is that NYT’s stories on cyberattacks striking American water systems are relegated to separate stories which only tangentially focus on the war.
The scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has grown to include at least seven states and may be far wider, officials and experts warned, as the authorities raced to safeguard the nation’s water supply against an assault that increasingly appeared to be the work of Iran.
While there were no indications that any water supply had been altered or made unsafe to drink, state and local officials throughout the country were on high alert for potential problems in vulnerable computers that are commonly used to monitor and adjust water quality, including chemical-treatment levels and water pressure. Minnesota first publicly reported the attacks, and now Michigan says its systems have also been targeted.
The attack has little precedent, experts said, but has long been the stuff of nightmares and sensationalized Hollywood thrillers: an apparent cyberattack by a foreign power during a time of war that could, at least in theory, jeopardize the health and safety of Americans.
[snip]
Alex Orleans, a former U.S. government cybersecurity contractor who specializes in tracking Iranian hacking groups, said Tehran had been engaging in a wide variety of hacking operations against U.S., Israeli and Middle Eastern targets since the start of the war in February. But the intrusions into the U.S. water systems appeared to be a significant escalation.
“What’s unprecedented here is that we’re seeing direct, tangible effects to live industrial control systems inside U.S. critical infrastructure,” said Mr. Orleans, who is now the chief of threat intelligence at Sublime Security, an email protection company. [my emphasis]
This, in spite of the March attack by Iranian hackers on Stryker explicitly described as retaliation for the attack on a school in Minab.
And of course, Trump’s response to allowing US swing states to be attacked during a war he started is to blame his political adversaries.– to claim being hacked by Iran is a sign of incompetence even though Trump’s own campaign was hacked by Iran, too.
The Commander in Chief refuses to defend the homeland against the country he invaded. And he gets away with it, in significant part, because we can’t even conceive of a war in which the US might be targeted in the same way the US targets others — by striking water facilities.
Whiskey Pete Hegseth’s DOD is at such a loss they’re crowdsourcing solutions to the war that competent people would never have started.
The request from a senior officer at the US military command carrying out President Donald Trump’s war with Iran came in an email: We need ideas.
“We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” an officer in US Central Command’s intelligence branch wrote in a message sent Wednesday to a broad group of military analysts, according to a source familiar with the message. A second source also said that a senior US military officer sent the message last week soliciting new ideas for how to deal with Iran.
The crowdsourcing-style query, which military officials said was unusual over email, is one sign of the limited — and potentially unpalatable —options available to Trump to force Iran into a deal on his terms. Hoping to find an alternative, the official at CENTCOM kicked off the brainstorming session via email to see if anyone had a better idea. The second source said CENTCOM is looking at everything, acknowledging it needs to reevaluate the strategy.
That’ll work. Crowdsourcing while your opponent totally reframes the chessboard.
The post Confusion about the Chessboard Trump Has Overturned in His Tantrum appeared first on emptywheel.
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Key GOP holdouts say they'll back Blanche for attorney general after he rescinded Trump's 'anti-weaponization' fund
Two key Senate Republicans said Monday they will back Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, after he rescinded the president's "anti-weaponization" fund.Reply source -
La répression acharnée à Moulin-Yzeure
Reply source
Le procès a été reporté et le témoignage de Mickaël n'a pas pu être écouté lors de celui-ci. Pourtant l'administration pénitentiaire a tout de même décidé de couper la ligne téléphonique entre Ritchy et Mickaël (étant sur écoute), de le convoquer au prétoire (pour lui donner 10 jours de confinement sans télé ni plaque chauffante) et de lui adresser trois Compte-Rendu d'Incident (CRI) dont deux pour "propos outrageants à l'encontre du président de la République et incitation à la rébellion", sur la base du témoignage qu'il n'a pas pu diffuser.
Le personnel pénitentiaire a par la suite décidé de ne plus donner à Mickaël les médicaments dont il avait besoin, en dépit de l'ordonnance médicale dont il dispose. Il coupe également les appels téléphoniques sur sa cabine en prétextant des coupures d'électricité. Le personnel pénitentiaire l'humilie à chaque mouvement et l'empêche d'accéder à la douche. Pour finir, il le réveille chaque heure de la nuit pour l'empêcher de dormir.
En outre, la prison de Moulins-Yzeure continue de servir aux prisonniers des gamelles avec de la nourriture avariée bien que cela ait été signalé depuis plusieurs mois.
Suite à cet acharnement, Mickaël s'est ouvert le ventre. Il est arrivé au médical menotté dans le dos et c'est seulement à sa demande que le médecin les a enlevé pour le soigner. Il a été recousu sans anesthésie. Quelques jours plus tard, il s'est à nouveau ouvert le bras. Il a refusé d'être recousu car aucune anesthésie digne de ce nom lui a été proposé.
Face au racisme, à la répression abusive et la censure, nous ne nous tairons pas ! Que la silenciation de tous les prisonniers et la violence qu'ils subissent au quotidien cesse.
Tout notre soutien va aux voyageurs, aux prisonniers longue peine et à celles et ceux qui ne se laissent pas faire !
Nous appelons toute personne révoltée par la situation actuelle à contacter la prison :
Tél. : 04.70.35.15.00
Adresse : Direction du Centre pénitentiaire de Moulins-Yzeure, 21 rue de
Millepertuis, BP 24, 03401 Yzeure Cedex
Mail : sec.cp-moulins@justice.frNous partageons ci-dessous le témoignage de Mickaël :
« Alors bonjour je me présente je m'appelle Kemi, je suis détenu à la centrale de Moulins-Yzeure et j'ai été cité à témoigner au procès de M. Ritchy Thibault, mais comme à son habitude, la soi-disant Justice a tapé fort pour essayer de me censurer. Et oui ! On m'empêche de témoigner car je suis voyageur, longue peine, et en plus, je suis revendicard. Je prends la parole pour dénoncer le racisme, la répression abusive, et la censure, dont nous, personnes racisées, faisons l'objet dans ce pays. J'étais censé témoigner en visio mais la centrale de Moulins-Yzeure est soi-disant dans l'incapacité de le faire. Aujourd'hui, ils vont juger un homme pour ses opinions politiques et parce qu'il a osé défier ce que vous appelez l'État français. Et quand Macron dit qu'il emmerde les Français, rien ne se passe. Et quand il apporte son aide à Israël pour bombarder des écoles à Gaza, rien ne se passe. Par contre, vous sortez toute l'artillerie judiciaire pour juger des hommes, des femmes, ou des ados parce que voyageurs, noirs ou arabes. En 2026, quand on arrive dans une commune, on peut encore malheureusement lire des affiches avec écrit dessus « Interdit aux gens du voyage », c'est du racisme pur et simple. Combien de jeunes arabes sont abattus par la police ? Combien de jeunes voyageurs sont abattus par la police ? Et combien de noirs également sont abattus par la police sans que justice soit rendue ? Beaucoup trop. Combien de femmes et d'enfants sont assassinés et violés sans que la justice ne soit rendue également ? Combien de personnes racisées sont enfermées pour de longues années ? Beaucoup trop. Et aujourd'hui vous gaspillez l'argent des Français pour juger un homme qui ne fait que dire ce qui ne va pas dans ce pays. Aujourd'hui c'est du théâtre politico-judiciaire ce que vous faites. Mais nous on dit stop, stop à cette mascarade. Stop au racisme et stop à l'immunité accordée aux politiciens et à leur bras armé qui assassine nos mères, nos pères et nos frères et sœurs. Aujourd'hui nous sommes un pays qui pratique la dictature dissimulée. Ceux qui gouvernent font tout pour que les personnes racisées soient considérées comme des moins que rien, et ravitaillent Israël […] pour assassiner du musulman. Nous voyageurs, aujourd'hui, nous levons pour dénoncer ce que nous subissons tous les jours. Nous sommes des êtres humains, mais l'État macroniste nous considère comme du bétail à parquer à côté des déchetteries. Réveillons-nous, levons le poing et envahissons les rues pour crier notre mécontentement et faire chuter ce gouvernement qui ne cherche qu'à faire du chiffre et à remplir ses statistiques méprisantes et truquées ! Quand un politicien est condamné à plusieurs années de prison, il n'en fait que quelques mois. Quand une mère de famille a volé à manger pour faire manger ses enfants, elle fait sa peine au maximum et doit fermer sa bouche. Aujourd'hui, un flic peut assassiner un ado et devenir millionnaire grâce à des politiciens qui, soi-dit en passant, sont des fachos revendiqués. Oui, l'État et la police tuent, oui, l'État et la police sont racistes. L'État français place l'argent avant l'être humain. En France, on peut tenir des propos choquants, humiliants, envers des personnes racisées. Mais on n'a pas le droit de dire ce qu'on pense du gouvernement. Le président peut dire qu'il emmerde ses électeurs, mais le simple citoyen n'a pas le droit de dire ce qu'il pense sous peine d'être assassiné ou enfermé. Je termine en disant, ou plutôt en criant : Free Palestine ! Sauvons Gaza ! Ne laissons aucun politicien corrompu choisir pour nous, dicter notre vie et retirons-leur le permis de tuer. »
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Atteinte à la « race blanche » à Crépol, l'État consacre le mythe identitaire
Reply source
Lundi 27 juillet
Le 20 juillet 2026, les juges d'instruction chargés de l'affaire de Crépol ont requalifié les mises en examen des quatorze personnes poursuivies pour la mort de Thomas Perotto (tué le 19 novembre 2023 à Crépol (Drôme), après avoir été frappé à l'arme blanche), en retenant contre elles une circonstance aggravante de racisme visant, selon les termes mêmes du dossier, « la race blanche et la nation française ». Que de tels mots soient aujourd'hui inscrits noir sur blanc par une institution judiciaire de la République, à la demande de parties civiles parmi lesquelles l'AGRIF, officine identitaire d'extrême droite catholique, n'est pas un détail de procédure. Il s'agit ici d'un basculement de l'institution judiciaire.
Disons-le sans détour : Thomas Perotto avait seize ans, et la mort de cet adolescent est une tragédie. C'est précisément parce que ce deuil-là est réel que nous refusons qu'il devienne l'arme idéologique qu'en fait, méthodiquement, depuis novembre 2023, toute l'extrême droite française, jusqu'à armer les ratonnades et les expéditions punitives menées, dans les semaines qui ont suivi le drame, au nom de la « race blanche ».Car le « racisme anti-blanc » n'existe pas. La négrophobie et l'islamophobie sont structurelles parce qu'elles organisent concrètement, chaque jour, la relégation, la surveillance et la mise à mort de nos vies. Il n'existe, en face, aucun système qui organise l'infériorisation des Blancs en tant que Blancs.
Retourner ce concept contre les racisé.e.s n'est qu'obtenir la négation pure et simple de ce combat, et offrir à l'extrême droite ainsi qu'à l'ensemble du bloc réactionnaire de la bourgeoisie une nouvelle tribune pour intensifier son offensive idéologique raciste.Cette vérité éclate dès qu'on observe le deux poids deux mesures de l'appareil judiciaire et politique. En février 2026, l'Assemblée nationale a observé une minute de silence pour Quentin Deranque, militant d'extrême droite néonazi. Neuf mois plus tôt, la même Conférence des présidents avait d'abord refusé le moindre hommage à Aboubakar Cissé, jeune musulman assassiné de dizaines de coups de couteau. Voilà, à nu, la hiérarchie des morts que dresse l'État. Le même mépris gouverne les qualifications pénales : Mahamadou Cissé, abattu par un voisin, s'est vu offrir un « crime par exaspération » avant que son meurtrier ne soit remis en liberté, soutenu par une cagnotte d'extrême droite ; pour Aboubakar Cissé, le parquet s'est empressé d'écarter la qualification terroriste et de psychologiser le geste, « envie obsessionnelle de tuer » ; à Saverne, un homme qui tira sur une famille maghrébine aux cris de « sales bougnoules » et » je vote RN » vit les faits ramenés à de simples « violences aggravées » ; à Brest, le 5 juillet, une femme musulmane voilée touchée par un tir dans un parc, devant son enfant, vit l'enquête pour tentative d'homicide ramenée à de simples « violences volontaires », au terme de près de deux semaines de silence médiatique national, la presse locale ne parlant que d'« une femme », pas un mot de son voile. Quand la victime est noire ou musulmane : lenteur, minimisation, psychologisation. Quand il s'agit de la » race blanche » : la machine trouve ses mots en quelques jours. Il n'y a là aucun hasard. Les institutions pénales appliquent la définition du racisme telle que l'État français la conçoit, et leur principale, si ce n'est leur seule, raison d'être est d'entériner et de protéger l'ordre capitaliste et le suprémacisme blanc qui lui est consubstantiel. En consacrant juridiquement la » race blanche » et la » nation française » comme catégories à défendre la justice accorde une légitimité intellectuelle et offre une victoire politique à tous les groupuscules identitaires. Elle franchit un pas décisif vers l'ethno-nationalisme d'État.
Nous refusons ce deux poids deux mesures. Nous refusons que la vie des Noir.es, des musulman-es et des racisé.es soit reléguée au rang de fait divers pendant que l'on érige la « race blanche en catégorie protégée du droit. Nous refusons que l'appareil judiciaire, arme d t de race, prétende plus longtemps arbitrer avec neutralité les rapports de domination qu'il est fait pour reproduire.
Peaux Noires Ligne Rouge dénonce cette requalification comme un précédent d'une gravité inouïe et un blanchiment de l'idéologie identitaire par l'État. Nous n'avons rien à quémander à cette justice. Notre tâche est ailleurs : reconstruire, contre le racisme qui la divise, l'unité de notre classe.
Organisons-nous, préparons la riposte. Tout le pouvoir au peuple ! « Le travail sous peau blanche ne peut s'émanciper où le travail sous peau noire est stigmatisé et flétri » - Karl Marx
Le site du collectif Peaux Noires, Ligne Rouge
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Blanche order keeps intact immunity deal barring investigation of Trump and his family
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's Sunday night memo formally rescinding the $1.776 "anti-weaponization" fund leaves intact another key provision for President Trump: an order offering broad immunity to him, his adult children and their business for past conduct.Reply source -
Trump Spends The Weekend Fighting For The $1.776 Billion Slush Fund His Chosen Attorney General Swears Is Dead
Reply sourceSometimes it helps to just write out everything that happened leading up to a situation so we don’t lose sight of just how ridiculous it is.
I mean, would you believe that a President would sue his own IRS for something that happened under his own watch and did him no harm, demand $10 billion, and when a judge calls into question how that’s possible, come up with a “settlement” between the two “parties” that grants himself, his family, and his far-flung businesses (already under investigation for tax fraud) a complete get-out-of-jail-free card from tax audits along with a special $1.776 billion slush fund which he can hand out to insurrectionists who tried to overturn an election he had lost?
And then, his Acting Attorney General seeking the permanent job (who had been the President’s personal lawyer in early criminal cases, including one where the President was convicted of 34 felonies), would tell inquiring Senators that the slush fund wasn’t moving forward, but refuse to put that in writing?
When you write it all out that way, it sounds kinda crazy.
Last month Judge Kathleen Williams nuked the fund and alerted various state bars to the ethical lapses of all the government lawyers involved, including Todd Blanche, the President’s personal criminal defense lawyer-turned Acting Attorney General-turned nominee for the permanent Attorney General position.
Blanche’s nomination had stalled out, in part because two Republican Senators (Cornyn and Tillis, both of whom are leaving office after Trump refused to support their attempts to stay) have questioned the slush fund. Blanche refused to put it in writing that the fund was going away, leading to this strained exchange with Cornyn:
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, reading from the settlement on Wednesday, noted that it says the terms of the deal “may be modified only upon the written agreement of the parties.”
“Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?” he asked.
“No, the settlement fund is just not moving forward,” Blanche responded. “There’s no modification. It never started. No money went from the Treasury to any other account.”
When pressed, however, as to whether the settlement agreement may be enforceable by the parties, Blanche conceded that the president could challenge it down the road.
“Yes, it’s an enforceable document, so I suppose if President Trump’s counsel sought to enforce it, that they potentially could … try to enforce the contract. They can’t force the Department of Justice to move forward with the weaponization fund. They could potentially say that we breached by not moving forward,” Blanche said. “They haven’t done that, and I’m not aware that they’re planning on doing that.”
Given all of that, you would think that, perhaps, Trump wouldn’t make any public effort to say that the fund should still exist.
But, again, we live in the upside down world, where if Donald Trump wants something, he just throws a temper tantrum until he gets it. Three new developments have happened regarding all this in the past few days.
First, on Friday, Donald Trump appealed Williams’ order and filed a long, rambling motion about how unfair the order was. That doesn’t sound like someone who is willing to accept that the fund is dead. Second, on Saturday, Trump posted a rant to his personal social media site about how mad he was at Cornyn and Tillis, and how he still needed the fund, and even hoped Congress would pass a separate law giving him the slush fund. Finally, despite these two things making it abundantly clear that Trump still plans to create a slush fund for his cosplay militia, on Sunday, Blanche finally signed a letter claiming the slush fund was dead.
Let’s take these each in order.
First the appeal and the whiny motion about it. The most incredible thing about it is that, even though it was filed by lawyers hired by Donald Trump (the person), as I was reading it, it read like it was filed by the Justice Department. Remember, the entire reason that Williams killed the “settlement” of Trump’s lawsuit against his own IRS was that there appeared to be no adversarial parties in the case, and it was just Donald Trump suing himself in order to give the “settlement” the stamp of authenticity that it was part of a federal case.
While, to their credit, this new filing at least brings in real lawyers from an actual serious law firm, DLA Piper, alongside Trump’s original two-bit lawyer Alejandro Brito, the argument itself is still a mess. Again, you could totally picture either Donald Trump or his DOJ/IRS filing this since the original ruling applies to both. Because they’re not adverse parties. They’re all on the same side.
The ruling rests on a grievous legal error: that, because President Trump supervises the Executive Branch, he and the United States necessarily possess the same legal interest and cannot be adverse to each other. That is wrong. President Trump asserted a personal claim arising from the theft of his own tax information. The IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) represented the sovereign’s interests in public funds and federal law. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and The Trump Organization asserted their own independent claims. Presidential supervision did not erase those rights or merge those interests.
The Sanctions Order nevertheless erroneously treated its novel theory of adversity as the starting point and then refracted the facts through that mistaken lens. Settlement became proof of collusion, even though there was none, potential (weak) defenses became proof that the claims were fictitious, which they were not, and ordinary professional relationships became proof of coordination, which did not exist. But the Sanctions Order identified no pre-filing sub rosa agreement, no false allegation, and no specific direction by President Trump controlling Defendants’ litigation decisions. The predicate legal error thus supplied the conclusion, causing the Sanctions Order to incorrectly recast entirely innocuous facts as misconduct.
The danger posed by the Sanctions Order is profound. The Court called the Article III question “unprecedented,” appointed six amici, and devoted nearly thirty pages to resolving it— yet it then declared the contrary position “so obvious and so insurmountable” that advancing it warranted career-altering sanctions. Id. at 9-38, 53 n.69. That mistake converts disagreement into professional punishment, and strikes at the integrity of the adjudicative process itself. A system that sanctions lawyers for advancing positions on constitutional questions cannot sustain fearless advocacy or principled legal development.
Note the tell in that last bit: the “professional punishment” landed on both sides — Trump’s lawyers and the government’s — which is exactly the point Williams was making. And, yes, courts are historically reluctant to sanction lawyers at all. But that reluctance is the problem, not evidence that the one judge willing to do it got it wrong.
As for the claims that the DOJ was actually representing the IRS’s best interests, and not Donald Trump’s, that’s belied by quotes from Donald Trump himself — who publicly admitted he was negotiating with himself — and the terms of the “settlement” which make no sense and do nothing to support the interests of the IRS, the public, or the American taxpayer. If this case was actually about Trump’s leaked tax returns, how does giving the family a release from tax audits or handing over nearly $2 billion to insurrectionists (wholly unrelated to this suit) have any of the American people’s interests in mind?
The strongest argument this filing has is that one part of the ruling is arguably prior restraint. To make sure that the settlement agreement for the slush fund was not used for improper enrichment, Judge Williams barred the parties from invoking the settlement in other proceedings. Trump’s new lawyers say that this part is prior restraint:
In addition, Rule 11 and inherent authority cannot support an order forbidding the President, private Plaintiffs, federal agencies, and sweeping categories of associated persons from “referring to” the Settlement Agreement or invoking it in any future judicial, administrative, regulatory, arbitral, or other official proceeding. D.E.106 at 47. That unprecedented injunction regulates future speech and advocacy, is unconstitutional, and is patently unlawful.
The Sanctions Order’s command is a content-based prior restraint. It singles out one subject—the Settlement Agreement—and suppresses one message, i.e., that the Settlement Agreement exists and may carry legal effect. Prior restraints carry a “heavy presumption” of constitutional invalidity, Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan, 372 U.S. 58, 70 (1963), and constitute “the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights.” Nebraska Press Ass’n v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 559 (1976). They require findings that the threatened harm is “both great and certain and cannot be mitigated by less intrusive measures.” CBS, Inc. v. Davis, 510 U.S. 1315, 1317 (1994) (Blackmun, J., in chambers). The Sanctions Order identified no threatened unlawful speech, no resulting harm, and no reason narrower relief would be inadequate. Indeed, it did not address the First Amendment at all.
And while this is the strongest argument, that doesn’t make it actually strong. The order does not stop Trump or his lawyers from talking about the settlement. They can post about it on Truth Social, complain about it on Fox, write a book about it. What they can’t do is walk into another court, agency, or arbitration and invoke a settlement that a federal judge just voided due to the lack of adverse parties. The only “speech” being restrained is further fraud on the court.
But the fact that Trump bothered to make this argument at all is the real tell. You don’t fight for the right to invoke a settlement in future proceedings unless you’re planning to invoke it in future proceedings — which is precisely what Blanche has spent months assuring senators would never happen.
Then, even as Blanche was negotiating with Cornyn and Tillis to get them to vote in favor of his AG nomination by promising not to create the fund, on Saturday, Trump said hell yes he intends to make use of the fund — and added that he’d like Congress to pass a law establishing the same fund as a backup, in case the courts kill the one he negotiated with himself:
That’s a Trump post on Truth Social saying:
If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED. Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
Once again, Trump’s ability to shoot his allies in the back remains undefeated. Cornyn (especially) and Tillis have said that their hesitancy in approving Blanche had a lot to do with the weaponization fund. Blanche’s approval appeared contingent on a theatrical claim that the fund wasn’t going forward. To have Trump then come out and say “hell yes it’s going forward, even over the objections of Cornyn & Tillis” seems unlikely to appease those two Senators.
Tillis, for one, was not impressed:
That’s Tillis tweeting:
Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against.
It’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday.
It’s been quite clear that Trump has no intention of ever letting go of this slush fund, but it’s classic Trump that he couldn’t even keep his mouth shut long enough to pretend the fund wasn’t going forward and to get Blanche approved.
Which then brings us to the last bit that came out late Sunday: Blanche tweeting out that the DOJ had finally decided to “rescind” the weaponization fund in writing. Something he had refused to do over the past few weeks.
There are two separate letters there. The first “rescinds” the fund, while making an obnoxious snarky comment about “frivolous lawsuits” filed to challenge it:
A. The Attomey General’s May 18, 2026 Order establishing the Anti-Weaponization Fund (“Fund”) is rescinded and shall have no force or effect.
B. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Order is intended to contradict or otherwise be contrary to prior representations by the Department of Justice that the Fund is not operative. No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid. Nevertheless, several frivolous lawsuits have been filed challenging the Fund, and at least one court has declined to dismiss those claims as moot. This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund…
If the cases were “frivolous” then why would you need to rescind the agreement?
The second, with snide shots at Congress for not believing his statements, says a bit more on the matter:
Department of Justice Rescinds Anti-Weaponization Order and Addresses the May 19 Release
The Department of Justice today announced that the Acting Attorney General rescinded the May 18, 2026 Order that established “The Anti-Weaponization Fund.” Although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised Congress through testimony, including under oath, as well as in written responses, that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, today’s Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order.
Further, the May 19, 2026 Order regarding a mutual release of claims applies by its terms only retroactively. Additionally, the terms “Lawfare and/or Weaponization” in that Order were already defined in the Settlement Agreement as the use of government power “to target individuals, groups, and entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, and/or ideological reasons.”
The Acting Attorney General stands by all of his July 15, 2026 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, including answers to questions asked by Senator Cornyn related to the scope and applicability of the May 19, 2026 Order. A transcript of the Acting Attorney General’s testimony is attached. He incorporates that testimony by reference, and restates that it is DOJ’s interpretation that the Order only has any effect, including on any release of claims, on the named parties in the lawsuit referenced in the Order.
This all seems pretty obviously designed to get Cornyn and Tillis off his back by saying “see?!? I’ve now put it in writing. Now shut up and vote to make me Attorney General.” And, who knows, it might work.
That’s even though nothing in there actually answers Cornyn’s actual question discussed above. The DOJ cannot single-handedly go back on this agreement. It was, we are told (including in the appeal from Trump on Friday), a private agreement between two distinct parties: Donald Trump and the Justice Department. As such “rescinding” it from just the DOJ side is meaningless since, as Blanche himself admitted to Cornyn, Trump can still try to claim in court that the settlement is valid.
And given Trump’s public statements about why he needs the fund, as well as his lawyers’ statement in the appeal that it tramples his rights to order him not to claim the settlement is valid in court… you’d have to be pretty slow not to pick up on what Trump intends here.
Also, notice what didn’t get rescinded. The May 18th order (creating the slush fund) is what he pretends is gone, but the May 19th order, which clears Trump, his family, and their businesses from IRS audits over past business practices remains. Blanche pretends that saying it “applies by its terms only retroactively” is a meaningful limitation, but that was always obviously the case. By all accounts, the Trump family books are a mess, and they likely owe the IRS a ton of money. And the Blanche announcement makes it clear that remains as is.
So, to sum it all up, Blanche has rescinded an order based on a settlement he can’t single-handedly rescind, to appease Senators whose votes he needs, while the President has made it clear he’s going to move forward with his fund no matter what.
The simple reality here is that we have a crooked President with his hand-picked henchman trying to do the bare minimum to appease a compliant GOP-run Senate, while the President himself can’t keep his own mouth shut long enough to even put up the pretend facade that there’s no corruption going on here.
Under any other President, this would be an impeachable offense. Here it was just another weekend under the Trump Presidency.
