Rev. Fred Small

Minister for Climate Justice, Arlington Street Church, singer-songwriter, author @NosyCrowUS, Cambridge, MA (Massachusett land). He/him.

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

This New York Times piece is worth your time. Here’s what is happening, as simply as I can put it.

Back in January, Trump sued the IRS, an agency he controls, demanding $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns a number of years ago.

IRS lawyers did their jobs. They wrote a memo laying out the defenses that could beat the suit, including the fact that Trump filed too late. His own lawyer was in court when the leaker pleaded guilty in October 2023, more than two years before Trump sued.

The Justice Department never showed up to court. Never argued back. Never used the defenses sitting on their desk.

The judge got suspicious and ordered both sides to explain whether they were actually opposing each other or just colluding. The day before that brief was due, Trump dropped the suit.

Same day, his Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization fund.” 

Trump gets a formal apology. The IRS agrees to drop any audits of him and his family, even though a 2024 Times report found a loss in an ongoing audit could cost him over $100 million.

The acting Attorney General, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, picks the five commissioners who decide who gets paid. Trump can fire any of them. Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are not ruled out.

This is the most corrupt thing I’ve ever seen from an American president.

Where in the hell are my Republican colleagues?

https://t.co/La0nlLuz1r

[Reverend Raphael Warnock @ReverendWarnock]

The President just used his power to exempt himself and his family from audits on every tax return they've ever filed.

If that is not corruption to the highest degree, then what is?

[Acyn @Acyn]

McGovern: It took us forever to compensate the victims of 9/11, and here you have this $1.8 billion slush fund that doesn’t go through any committees or hearings. All of a sudden, they have the money to compensate convicted felons—people who attacked our democracy and tried to overthrow a free and fair election.

This is the most corrupt administration in our history.

[Rep. Jim McGovern @RepMcGovern]

He’s trying to bury his tax returns just like he’s trying to bury the Epstein Files.

This is the most obscenely corrupt and morally bankrupt administration in American history. And it’s not even close.

[David Frum @davidfrum]

I said on @MSNOW just now:

What *is* the Trump slush fund?

It's not an appropriation: Congress did not vote.

It's not a settlement: There was no valid litigation because (as the judge said) Trump was suing himself.

On what basis is this money leaving the Treasury?

[Seth Abramson @SethAbramson]

Today Trump "negotiated" with his private criminal defense lawyer—a man he made AG for this corrupt purpose—the theft of $1.8B in taxpayer money so that it could be given to far-right terrorists in open rebellion against America.

It's the most corrupt act by a POTUS in history.

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

Donald Trump just stole $1.7B from us — and he's creating a slush fund to reward his political allies.

I've never seen anything like this in my 50 years in politics.

It makes Nixon look like a boy scout.

https://t.co/h50c8yzXtJ

[The Root @TheRoot]

A school district in Tennessee has banned Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Roots,” arguing the subject matter is too much for children to handle.

[Chuck Todd @chucktodd]

Every taxpayer needs to read this DoJ produced document that signs off on this unprecedented “settlement.” Just stunning how the political appointees at DoJ conspired with Trump to create this $1.7B slush fund which literally can be used to pay anyone Trump desires. https://t.co/blI8Vn65Yr

[Rev. Fred Small @revfredsmall]

@RobertMSterling Mr. Sterling, I confess I don't know who you are. I don't even know if you're real or AI.

But I sure hope this story is true because it made this old pastor cry. 🙏

[Rep. Jim McGovern @RepMcGovern]

Hey @JDVance — I found some of that fraud you’ve been looking for!

[Richard Stengel @stengel]

George H.W. Bush kept his assets in a blind trust, as did Bill Clinton. Neither Obama nor Biden traded stocks or bonds while in office. 3,700 trades is probably more than all the trades of all the presidents until now. And he is trading stocks that are affected by his decisions. A walking conflict of interest, at the least, and perhaps insider trading. Just as members of Congress should not be able to trade stocks, so too the president. https://t.co/yDqVXWfDgc

[Ed Markey @SenMarkey]

You can't sue yourself. You can't settle with yourself. And you can't hijack a legitimate victim compensation fund and turn it into a taxpayer-funded payoff scheme for January 6 insurrectionists. Congress never authorized this and we won't let it stand.

[Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley @RepPressley]

Today, Trump created an “Anti-Weaponization” fund to pay white supremacists who attacked our democracy on Jan. 6th.

This corruption is a slap in the face to Black people who've been fighting for reparations after centuries of enslavement, segregation, & ongoing discrimination by the government.

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

This is outright theft.

Trump is stealing $1.7 BILLION of your money to set up a totally unprecedented, first-in-American-history political slush fund that he can use to dole out cash to win loyalty and favors for him and his family.

[Andrew Weinstein @Weinsteinlaw]

When a federal agency tasked with protecting all Americans decides to mandate a specific religious worldview, it ceases to protect democracy and begins to threaten it.

[Rep. Jim McGovern @RepMcGovern]

Add this to the very, very long list of absurd Trump vanity projects we’re wasting taxpayer dollars on while people struggle to afford housing, healthcare, gas & groceries.

[Harry Sisson @harryjsisson]

Trump had one of his worst mental health episodes yet last night, posting over 55 times in 3 hours. Here is the list:

10:15 PM - Accuses Obama of attempting a coup in 2016
10:15 PM - Says Obama worked with CIA to overthrow Trump
10:15 PM - Reposts tweet saying Obama is a “traitor” and that he should be arrested
10:22 PM - Attacks dominion voting systems for 2020 election saying they switched votes
10:22 PM - Says Fulton County, GA had their 2020 fraud exposed (there was none)
10:23 PM - Accuses Obama of personally making $120 million from Obamacare (wtf?)
10:23 PM - Cites quack lawyer Sidney Powell on the 2020 election
10:24 PM - Posts fake JFK Jr account that says Obama wiretapped Trump Tower
10:27 PM - Demands Senator Mark Kelly resign
10:29 PM - Claims neither Biden nor Harris were in charge of the Biden admin
10:29 PM - Attacks Fulton County, GA again
10:29 PM - Posts Fox News clip of Rep Ro Khanna
10:30 PM - Demands Jack Smith be arrested
10:30 PM - Accuses Obama, Clinton, and Comey of treason
10:39 PM - Reposts a tweet from a MAGA account saying they have secret intel proving Clinton and Obama committed crimes
10:39 PM - Reposts a MAGA tweet saying Hillary Clinton should be sent to Haiti
10:40 PM - Says the DOJ is “working hard” to arrest his enemies for treason
10:40 PM - Reposts a tweet attacking his own DOJ and Todd Blanche for no arrests of political enemies
10:40 PM - Posts a TikTok video of people stealing from a convenience store
10:41 PM - Posts a TikTok of someone taking a Door Dash order
10:41 PM - accuses Obama, John Brennan, and Clinton of sedition and treason again
10:42 PM - Posts a video of a man on CCTV footage knocking over food a waiter was carrying
10:47 PM - Calls Obama the “most DEMONIC FORCE” in American politics
10:47 PM - Posts a tweet from Mike Flynn saying 2020 election wasn’t fair
10:49 PM - Attacks Dominion again claiming they stole the 2020 election (it wasn’t)
10:51 PM - Reposts a fake Charlie Kirk account that claimed Obama blocked Hillary Clinton from being prosecuted
10:53 PM - Claims Obama was part of Hillary Clinton’s emails in some way
11:28 PM - Claims a senior Democrat just testified under oath that Senator Adam Schiff leaked classified information
1:13 AM - Attacks the New York Times for reporting on the reflecting pool

This man is clearly not well.

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

America's chief Middle East negotiator - Jared Kushner - is almost completely dependent on Middle East government investment in his chief business. It's probably the biggest conflict of interest in American diplomatic history and we should be talking about this way more.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

"Enemy from within." "Communists, Marxists, fascists, radical left thugs, vermin." "Garbage" Somalis, "low IQ people." "She's an evil, sick, crazy, b..."

Republicans want the left to tone down the rhetoric. Erm, have they listened to Donald Trump??

Zeteo put together a montage: