AliceMaryland 🇺🇸

Reclaiming the US flag--it belongs to all Americans!

[Acyn @Acyn]

Psaki: Now, in order to put on this celebration, Trump is using $68 million of taxpayer money. At least some of that money is being paid to a company called Event Strategies Incorporated. It's run by a group of Trump allies. We don't know how responsible they are for the 68 million of your tax dollars going towards this event. But so far, that money has paid for a janky ferris wheel plagued by power outages, a couple of tents with chairs in them, a temu version of Trump's planned arch, which appears to be falling apart and seems like it's being held together with a slapdash sealant job and, of course, some bizarre entertainment, half of which seems to just be Trump officials sitting on stage, basically filling the time. So how much of that $68 million actually went to the state fair, and how much to Event Strategies Incorporated did they get to keep for themselves?

[Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski]

Turns out Trump’s market manipulation with a series of tariff announcements and pauses that tormented American businesses was done to enrich himself.

[Citizens for Ethics @CREWcrew]

Outrageous.

There's no other word to describe Donald Trump earning $1.4 billion from his crypto businesses while serving as president.
https://t.co/xof8Hjqf3g

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: HOLY SH*T! A former Justice Department Pardon Attorney BLOWS THE WHISTLE on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — reveals that he fired her for refusing to do a mafia-style favor for disgraced actor Mel Gibson.

This is jaw-dropping corruption...

"Liz Oyer, former Pardon Attorney, describes how Todd Blanche fired her when she refused to do a dangerous official favor for Trump friend Mel Gibson," Congressman Jamie Raskin wrote on X.

"The actor lost his federal firearm rights after committing domestic violence," he explained. "Gibson assaulted his girlfriend while she was holding their baby daughter, smashing her in the mouth, breaking her teeth, threatening her with his gun. Gibson asked Trump’s DOJ to reinstate his federal firearm rights despite his criminal conviction."

Gibson was accused of attacking musician Oksana Grigorieva in 2010 while the two were in a romantic relationship. In addition to the horrifying physical abuse that Raskin recounted, leaked phone conversations also revealed that Gibson admitted to slapping her and at one point told her: "If you get raped by a pack of n*****s, it'll be your fault." He repeatedly called her a "whore," "bitch," and "c*nt."

In addition to his horrific treatment of Grigorieva, Gibson launched into an infamous antisemitic rant during a DUI stop in 2006 during which he said "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" and repeatedly referred to "f*cking Jews."

In other words, he's exactly the kind of monster that Trump gravitates towards, which explains why he has been folded into MAGA's inner circle and appointed "Special Ambassador to Hollywood," a meaningless title that nonetheless shows how deeply embedded he is with this administration.

In his X post, Raskin went into greater detail about Blanche's push to reinstate Gibson's firearm rights—

"Although Blanche had the power to do it on his own, he tried to force Oyer to give her stamp of approval," he stated. "Not convinced of Gibson’s rehabilitation or his lack of dangerousness, and knowing that over half of women murdered in the United States are killed by a current or past intimate partner, and the presence of firearms in an abusive household increases the risk of murder by 500%, Oyer refused to have anything to do with Blanche’s dangerous and unethical suggestion. Blanche sacked her."

The congressman also shared a post from Oyer herself, in which she wrote that Blanche "fired me for doing my job" and "subjected me and my family to months of retaliation."

"My story is one of many reasons the Senate should not confirm Blanche again," Oyer added. She shared a link to the official letter she sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In it, she revealed that Blanche subjected her and her family to "an extended course of retaliatory conduct, including attempting to prevent me from informing Congress about his actions by directing U.S. Marshals to deliver an intimidating letter to our home and initiating a baseless professional misconduct complaint against me with the bar where I am licensed."

Damningly, Blanche fired Oyer just two hours after she informed him that she "would not rubberstamp a political favor for a celebrity friend" of Trump. The administration wanted her to pen a memo recommending that Gibson regain legal access to guns, which he lost when he was convicted of domestic violence.

The actor's attorney had sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting the favor, which absurdly "cited Mr. Gibson’s personal relationship with Mr. Trump and his catalogue of famous films." The suggestion that appearing in movies somehow entitles him to special treatment is galling, but it shows that he understands Trump' warped, fame-obsessed psyche.

Oyer explined that "longstanding DOJ policy" requires the Office of the Pardon Attorney to conduct "careful vetting" and risk assessment and for the FBI to do a background investigation. Blanche wanted her to ignore the usual procedures entirely.

"Rearming a domestic abuser without careful vetting was not consistent with the Department’s policies or its duty to protect public safety," wrote Oyer.

"My recommendation was not actually needed to grant Mr. Gibson’s request. The legal authority to restore firearm rights rests with the Attorney General. As a career official, I understood that my recommendation would lend a veneer of legitimacy to what could otherwise look like a political favor," she explained.

Oyer took a brave stand and was punished for it. She is currently involved in litigation against the Department over her illegal firing, because it blatantly violated federal service and whistleblower protection laws.

Crucially, Oyer's letter also stated what we have all come to realize: the presidential pardon system has become completely corrupted under Trump.

"A pay-to-play pardon system has developed that has advantaged the wealthy and well-connected," she alleged.

Please ❤️ and share to thank Liz Oyer for speaking out!

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

“America, in their view, is an arena of supremacy where only a few are allowed freedom. America, if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes. America, they will tell you, belongs to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin.”

https://t.co/61UZXLvg3k

[The New Republic @newrepublic]

DOGE Goons Are Now Secretly Running Government Websites https://t.co/XMdcmQOjLs

[AliceMaryland 🇺🇸 @Alice_Maryland]

White House installed tracking software on US passport renewal website #passports #passportrenewal #surveillance #tracking

[Citizens for Ethics @CREWcrew]

The National Design Studio, a WH agency tasked with redesigning gov't websites and staffed by DOGE veterans, reportedly installed tracking software onto websites that handle Americans' sensitive data, and removed it when the Guardian asked questions.
https://t.co/D0ZhaUeiJX

[Citizens for Ethics @CREWcrew]

The National Design Studio, a WH agency tasked with redesigning gov't websites and staffed by DOGE veterans, reportedly installed tracking software onto websites that handle Americans' sensitive data, and removed it when the Guardian asked questions.
https://t.co/D0ZhaUeiJX

[Mickie Morganfield @mickiedances.bsky.social @mickiedances]

@NewYorkSun @newtgingrich https://t.co/kogtyg6iCs Trump had "National Design Studio" install visitor-tracking software on federal websites: DOGE quietly rebuilt and runs some of our most sensitive websites – for passport applications, voter registration, prescription-drug pricing and children’s savings

[Mickie Morganfield @mickiedances.bsky.social @mickiedances]

@WhiteHouse https://t.co/kogtyg6iCs Trump's "National Design Studio" installed tracking software on federal websites: DOGE quietly rebuilt and now runs some of our most sensitive websites – passport applications, voter registration, Rx pricing and Children’s Savings. DOGE has #YourData.

[Patrick O’Blivion @PatrickODonne11]

Really troubling article about how Joe Gebbia, “Big Balls” and other DOGE castoffs are building a duplicative government web presence for Trump https://t.co/4bEtk2f9VW

[No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen @NoLieWithBTC]

Scott Pelley issues new statement after being fired by CBS for opposing their pro-MAGA bias:

“New management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them.

Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done.

Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all.”

[Dr. Cole @1drcole]

Blanche just stood there and said, with a straight face, that the Constitution lets the President run a pardon-for-cash bazaar. The Constitution? The same document that lists 'Bribery' as a high Crime and Misdemeanor? The same one that doesn't contain a single word immunizing the President from selling official acts like some two-bit grifter hawking timeshares at Mar-a-Lago?

This isn't a legal argument. It's a mob lawyer's shrug. "Who the president chooses to pardon is not a problem, period." Translation: we're above the law, and if you don't like it, sue us. The Framers are spinning in their graves. This is corruption so naked it doesn't even bother with a fig leaf anymore.

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

BLANCHE: Who the president chooses to pardon is not a problem, period

IVEY: What's the legal basis for that statement?

BLANCHE: The Constitution

IVEY: The Constitution does not give him the authority to pardon in exchange for payments. It does not permit bribery

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

Hegseth is purging the military, and in the course of doing so is breaking Pentagon rules and basically lying about it. A danger and a disgrace.

https://t.co/NzcGSFgl5i

[Citizens for Ethics @CREWcrew]

Stephen Miller blatantly violated the Hatch Act in a recent Fox News appearance where he made partisan, bigoted comments against Senate candidate James Talarico.

So we filed a complaint. https://t.co/42VzFMSKFF

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

Trump appoints a totally unqualified political crony who's shown a willingness to violate ethics rules and probably the law to go after Trump's political opponents as Acting Director of National Intelligence.

A ludicrous appointment, but a very dangerous one.

[Senator Jeff Merkley @SenJeffMerkley]

It's a five alarm fire! This is exactly what I've been warning people about. Trump is trying to use the postal system to massively disrupt and manipulate voting in the November election.

We have to do everything we can to stop him and I will be fully in the fight.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

🚨 A STUNNING CLAIM.

According to a legal analyst, DOJ never filed a single motion opposing Trump's lawsuit before negotiating a settlement.

Not one filing contesting the case.

Not one motion asking the court to reject the claims.

In a normal lawsuit involving the federal government, government lawyers typically defend the government's position in court.

Here, critics argue that never happened.

Instead, they say DOJ moved directly into negotiations.

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

NEW: Pope Leo XIV’s close ally Cardinal Robert McElroy received a standing ovation at the end of his homily, where he called on Catholics to take up civic action to help end the “immoral” war against Iran.

“When we leave this church tonight, we must move beyond prayer. As citizens and believers in this democracy that we cherish so deeply, we must advocate for peace with our representatives and leaders.

“It is not enough to say we have prayed. We must also act. For it is very possible that the negotiations will fail because of recalcitrance on both sides, and the president will move to re-enter this immoral war.

“At that critical juncture, as disciples of Jesus Christ called to be peacemakers in the world, we must answer vocally and in unison:

“No. Not in our name. Not at this moment. Not with our country.”