“The Justice Department failed to publicly disclose documents in the now-dismissed corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams by a Friday deadline, in apparent defiance of a court order.
The documents in question could shed light on the evidence and legal arguments prosecutors presented to a judge in order to obtain a search warrant in the investigation of the mayor, who is running for reelection. That material may be particularly revelatory because the public likely won’t see any other evidence related to the case, now that it has been dismissed.”
“Part of the reasons for the disarray is that while some GOP leaders and committee chairs might have had a good sense of the shape of the bill, many rank-and-file members have not. Tensions have flared as lawmakers have been briefed on key details of the developing legislation — some of which could have profound impacts in their states and districts.”
“In most modern presidencies, the National Security Council, led by the national security adviser, has outmuscled other institutions to lead on key foreign policy and national security issues. But Waltz struggled to get approval even for staff, and some of his picks were fired after complaints from a far-right influencer about loyalty — a startling example of weakness.
Neither the State Department nor the Pentagon has managed to seize the mantle, even as the NSC floundered. This is surprising, given that both departments often resented the outsized role the national security adviser has played in past administrations, especially the micromanagement by the NSC.
Foreign officials, unsure who has the most sway over Trump, have resorted to talking to as many people with links to the president as they can. The hope is that at least one of those contacts can be an effective whisperer in Trump’s ear on everything from Iran nuclear talks to tariffs.”
…
“Rubio has gone so far to please Trump — abandoning positions he’s held in the past, sometimes in harsh terms — that he’s almost unrecognizable now. Maybe his willingness to bend to Trump’s will, even suggesting he’d defy a judge, has made Trump more inclined to rely on him, including having him lead the NSC for now. At the same time, it could mean that Trump views him as a doormat he can walk all over. (I got the sense from most people I spoke to that many believe Trump likes keeping his national security aides weak because he wants to be the only source of any power.)”
“Much of the land within the proposed new city limits belongs to the company. Most of the voters are SpaceX employees. Gunnar Milburn, Space X’s security manager, was listed as the town’s first potential mayor. His name has since been replaced by Robert Peden, a vice president at SpaceX. Two other employees, the engineering manager and the senior director of environmental health and safety, would serve as city commissioners. As is the case nationally, Musk would serve as an unelected overseer.”
“In defending its actions, the Trump administration is citing a 2005 amendment to a 73-year-old law giving the secretary of State the power to deport anyone whose continued presence in the United States would have potentially “serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” Whatever adverse consequences Ozturk may have on American foreign policy, the consequences of her being targeted for deportation based on nothing more than her words are far worse. Now, every immigrant and visa holder, no matter their status, must be especially vigilant when discussing American politics, international affairs — conceivably any subject — in a way that upsets the government.
This is obviously bad for immigrants, many of whom fled societies where expressing an unpopular viewpoint can land one in prison, or worse. But it’s also bad for American citizens, living in a country where the government feels ever more emboldened to clamp down on free expression.
While the arrest and deportation of legal immigrants for expressing opinions has clear First Amendment implications, the exclusion of foreigners on the basis of their statements and beliefs does not. Rather than deporting people who come to this country legally only to espouse extremist views and endorse violence, the U.S. government should do a better job preventing their entry in the first place.”
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“if a disproportionate number of the people prevented from coming to Europe and the United States as a result of ideologically exclusive immigration policies are Muslim, then that signifies the oppressive orthodoxies of the Islamic world, not Western intolerance. These are societies in which the predominant attitudes regarding Jews, the rights of women, the equality of sexual minorities, liberal democracy and secularism are decades if not centuries behind those of the West.”
Sulla broke republican norms in an attempt to make Rome great again, paving the road for Julius and Augustus to later end the Roman Republic.
Sulla had purges, starting with the most vulnerable. People didn’t join together to stop Sulla until it was too late, hoping that Sulla would stop after Sulla was done persecuting other groups.