Phillip Bantz

Covering white collar crime for @law360. Send #news tips to [email protected]. On Bluesky

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

President Trump on Wednesday defended his agreement to end the Iran war, saying he wanted to avoid an “economic catastrophe” that could have resulted if the conflict the U.S. launched had continued https://t.co/yOLLQE1nlg

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

Exclusive: New Mexico investigators have sent letters to JPMorgan, Google and more than two dozen companies ordering them to lock down records tied to Jeffrey Epstein and some of his associates, a sign of the widening criminal probe into his Zorro Ranch. https://t.co/4k1JZbARO1

[Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney]

NEW: We've published a massively upgraded table of more than 15,000 rulings in ICE detention cases issued by judges amid President Trump's enforcement surge

Now you can sort by district, by judge, by substance, etc. — and click through to read the rulings
https://t.co/3LIALFX6sP

[Khushita Vasant @KhushitaVasant]

SCOOP: More musical chairs at the DOJ Antitrust Division. Stanley Woodward, Associate AG, now has additional responsibility of running @JusticeATR as acting AAG Omeed Assefi is set to leave.

Via @mlexclusive

https://t.co/v2LVcQrFDN

[Nahal Toosi @nahaltoosi]

1/I listened to the senior Trump administration officials' call about the latest with Iran. I am in some ways more confused now than before the call. A few thoughts:

[Anna Kramer @anna_c_kramer]

SCOOP: The Defense Department is again quietly delaying forever chemical cleanup across nearly 200 US sites.

Delays average 10 years and stretch out to 20.

The Pentagon deleted the old timeline and replaced it with a new one, w/out public announcement. https://t.co/1eFSrs5z95

[Molly Crane-Newman @molcranenewman]

Tapped for director of national intelligence mere hours after losing a trial about obstructed access to an elevator

[Matt Viser @mviser]

SCOOP: Despite insisting that a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund has been scrapped, the administration is quietly assuring allies that payout plans remain on track, @S_Fitzpatrick reports.
https://t.co/MD2pfzIGIZ

[David Greisman @fightingwords2]

Y’all

The 10 Count. It’s back.

Only on @TGFGoodFight12

https://t.co/Vd3QUA1W46

[Courtney Bublé @courtneybuble]

Blanche has been officially nominated to be AG

Grassley, who chairs the committee that will take up the nomination, released this statement:

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

More than half of the publicly identified donors to President Trump’s White House ballroom project have won new or expanded federal contracts worth more than $50 billion, according to a report from a government watchdog group. https://t.co/wEAqxMA7AG

[David Greisman @fightingwords2]

I'm proud to launch the boxing schedule section of Fighting Words Boxing.

In addition to the schedule of fights, this is also where you will find links to previews, columns, and news bits about upcoming boxing matches:

https://t.co/EHSZkd3SY2

[David Greisman @fightingwords2]

With today’s announcement making it official, bumping up my thoughts on why the undercard for Katie Taylor’s farewell should be just like John Cena’s.

[The Associated Press @AP]

BREAKING: Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton will plead guilty to retaining classified information, AP source says. https://t.co/DqMxFwI1oG

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

MENG: Are you going to issue a new memo in writing rescinding the weaponization fund?

BLANCHE: I'm not committing to putting anything in writing. What would the purpose be?

MENG: You established it in writing, so it makes sense to rescind it in writing

BLANCHE: Ok. I'm not committing to doing anything in writing.

[Juliet Eilperin @eilperin]

SCOOP: Trump officials are diverting roughly $90 million in national parks entry fees to pay for the president’s July 4th plans, including a massive fireworks display. By @jakespring @ddiamond and @NaemaAhmed https://t.co/Oy1OqmYdZO

[Courtney Bublé @courtneybuble]

NEW: I asked Blanche as he left the hearing room why he said he wouldn’t put in writing the repeal of the weaponization fund

He said “I’m not going to talk about that”

[ProPublica @propublica]

The DOJ has dropped 23,000 criminal cases — including hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime and drugs — while prosecuting 32,000 new immigration cases in just the first six months of Trump’s second term.
https://t.co/F92hGp0SSO

[Courtney Bublé @courtneybuble]

Story here: https://t.co/wGCW9CjyUz

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Exclusive: A convicted Jan. 6 rioter who later said that he regretted his participation in the U.S. Capitol attack has been hired by the Trump administration to work inside a Pentagon office that manages highly classified military operations. https://t.co/3OtllgCSWP