LetMyPeopleVote
LetMyPeopleVote's JournalMaddowBlog-Judge rejects Pentagon effort to restrict press access, says it smacks of 'autocracy'
The Defense Department keeps trying to impose unnecessary limits on journalists. It keeps losing in court.
Judge rejects Pentagon effort to restrict press access, says it smacks of ‘autocracy’
— EUROPE SAYS (@europesays.bsky.social) 2026-04-10T16:00:21+00:00
https://www.europesays.com/2909851/
The first time Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon tried to impose restrictions on the free press, it lost…
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/judge-rejects-pentagon-effort-to-restrict-press-access-says-it-smacks-of-autocracy
A federal judge has rejected Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s renewed effort to restrict press access to the Pentagon, calling it an attempt to dictate media coverage that smacks of ‘an autocracy, not a democracy.’
‘The curtailment of First Amendment rights is dangerous at any time, and even more so in time of war,’ U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman wrote Thursday. ‘The Constitution demands better. The American public demands better, too.’
The problem began in earnest last fall when Hegseth and his team, as part of a larger offensive against journalism at the Pentagon, told news organizations that reporters wouldn’t be allowed to cover the department unless they agreed only to report information, including unclassified information, authorized for release by the administration.....
Last month, Friedman ruled against the Pentagon’s restrictive press access policy, concluding that it violated the First Amendment and granted the government overly broad authority to control the press corps’ access. The court decision fueled some hope that conditions at the Defense Department might return to normal.
Those hopes were soon dashed. Hegseth’s team responded to the ruling by imposing new limits on media organizations, including closing a workspace used for years by journalists.
The case quickly went back to court, and the Pentagon lost again.
Vance is headed to negotiations with Iran
White House officials say the vice president’s private dissent on the Iran war has cost him influence — even as he heads to Islamabad to negotiate a lasting ceasefire.
https://x.com/Frost16Frost/status/2042602015830819304
https://www.ms.now/news/vance-iran-war-ceasefire-talks-islamabad
Vance has privately voiced opposition to the war for weeks — to Donald Trump and top White House aides — even as the president has pursued an aggressive military campaign, according to two White House officials granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal dynamics. Now he will lead the U.S. delegation in ceasefire talks with Iran — perhaps the highest-stakes assignment of his political career.....
Vance’s skepticism of foreign entanglements is no secret: He has long opposed U.S. military interventionism, and his unease with the Iran war is widely understood inside the administration.
That skepticism could actually be “advantageous” in the talks, according to a former Trump White House official familiar with internal dynamics. Negotiators on both sides are likely to believe that Vance genuinely wants a permanent ceasefire — which could lend credibility to the American position. ....
Vance, alongside Witkoff and Kushner, is set to meet with Iranian counterparts Saturday in Islamabad for in-person negotiations — the first such talks since a fragile ceasefire took hold.
Vance was not in favor in this war but gave in to trump. Now Vance has to negotiate the real terms of the cease fire. Witkoff and Kushner will not be on any help.
MaddowBlog- U.S. inflation surged in March, pushed higher by the effects of the war in Iran
Trump told the public last week that there’s been “no inflation.” That was absurd at the time, and it’s worse now.
Trump, in his national address last week: There’s been “no inflation.â€
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-10T13:05:41.803Z
Reality, this week: Yeah, about that....
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/u-s-inflation-surged-in-march-pushed-higher-by-the-effects-of-the-war-in-iran
Consumer prices spiked in March as the Iran war sent energy costs soaring and took the Federal Reserve further from its inflation target, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday. Underlying inflation, however, was relatively tame.
The consumer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.9% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3.3%, pushed by a 10.9% surge in energy costs.
The data was entirely in line with expectations, but that won’t matter much to American consumers who are struggling with the highest CPI in two years. What’s more, inflation in March showed the highest one-month increase in prices in roughly four years, when oil prices spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The price of gasoline, meanwhile, saw its largest one-month increase since 1967.
The Borowitz Report-BREAKING: Another Statement From Melania
BREAKING: Another Statement From Melania
— Powderkeg (@gloriapissedoff.bsky.social) 2026-04-10T13:09:46.583Z
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/breaking-another-statement-from-melania
Good morning.
The lies linking me with the disgraceful Donald J. Trump need to end today.
The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation by linking me to the most hated man on the planet.
He be worst.
I have never been friends with Trump. I was invited to the same parties as him from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach. When I saw him at one of those parties, I realized it was a party full of grifters and low-lifes, and immediately left.
To be clear, I never had a relationship with Trump or his accomplices, JD Vance, Pete Hegseth, and especially Stephen Miller. The thought of having a relationship with any of them makes me want to hurl.
Numerous fake images and statements about Trump and me have been circulating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false.
I am not a witness or a named witness in connection with any of Trump’s crimes. I was never involved in any capacity—I was not a participant, was never on Trump’s plane, and never visited his hideous Palm Beach club.
The false smears linking me to Trump from mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name to gain financially and climb politically must stop.
Now is the time for Congress to act. Trump is not alone. To commit his crimes he has had the help not only of the toadies in his Cabinet but from a pack of slimy oligarchs such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. I call for thorough, Nuremberg-style hearings to bring all of these despicable traitors to justice.
Then, and only then, will we have the truth.
MaddowBlog-The problem(s) with the White House using foreign steel for its ballroom project
This might seem like a simple story about hypocrisy, but a closer look suggests an even more important element.
The problem(s) with the White House using foreign steel for its ballroom project
— Erics_Mom 💙🌊 (@ericsmom2006.bsky.social) 2026-04-09T16:56:50.707Z
This might seem like a simple story about hypocrisy, but a closer look suggests an even more important element.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/the-problems-with-the-white-house-using-foreign-steel-for-its-ballroom-project
As is often the case, however, there seems to be a gap between the president’s public posturing and his private decisions. The New York Times reported:
President Trump has championed the U.S. steel industry, promising to strengthen it and to impose stiff tariffs on foreign metals to shield manufacturers from overseas competitors.
Yet the White House has secured tens of millions of dollars worth of donated foreign steel for Mr. Trump’s $400 million ballroom project, according to two people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive and private conversations.
....At first blush, this might appear to be a simple story about hypocrisy: Trump claims to champion U.S. steel, but given a chance to use it for his beloved ballroom, the Republican turned to the same foreign product he’s previously denounced.
But look closer at the story and a more controversial angle emerges.
Last fall at an event for ballroom donors, the president boasted that a “great steel company” had reached out to him about making a generous gift.
“He said, ‘Sir, I’d like to donate the steel for your ballroom,’” Trump told his audience, without identifying the person he allegedly spoke to. “I said, ‘Whoa, that’s nice.’ And I found out — ‘How much is the steel?’ I called the contractor. ‘Sir, it’s down for $37 million.’ I said, ‘This is a nice donation, right?’”
The president went on to assure his event’s attendees that this would be “great steel as opposed to garbage steel, because they dump a lot of garbage around. You know, steel is like everything else, including human beings. Steel could be high quality, and it can be low quality. He wants to make sure it’s high quality.”
What Trump neglected to mention was he was apparently referring to ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based firm, which is donating steel produced in Europe for the structure of the ballroom project, according to the Times.....
A White House official suggested it was a coincidence that the donation and the tariff exemption happened within a few days of each other. Of course, if Team Trump, which has long struggled with allegations of systemic corruption, believes it’s earned the benefit of the doubt, it’s mistaken.
Data expert delivers 'absolutely awful' news to Melania Trump: 'People don't care'
Melania is the least popular First Lady in the history of the US
First lady Melania Trump got some bad news on Thursday, courtesy of CNN data analyst Harry Enten: the American people dislike her more than any other first lady since polling on the topic began.
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-04-09T19:00:47Z
https://www.rawstory.com/melania-trump-2676691830
"Yeah, I would say that the American people really don't care for Melania Trump," said Enten, a reference to the infamous jacket she wore when touring a migrant detention facility in the first Trump administration.
"Take a look at this, all right?" said Enten. "Let's take a look at Melania Trump's net favorable ratings. Look at this. The lowest ever. The lowest ever. We're talking about, now, 12 points underwater. If you go back a little bit more than a year ago, she was three points above water. You go back at this point about this point in time, number one for Donald Trump, look at that, she was 30 points above water. So at this point, historic lows for Melania Trump. These numbers are absolutely awful."
"One of the questions is why why the shift now?" asked Bolduan. "But also, I guess, just looking, you need to look at this always in the historical context of how does she line up against other first ladies?"
"If we look at this historically, the worst ever, the worst ever at this point in term number two," said Enten. "Look at this. We got her at 12 points underwater. Look at the rest of these first ladies on the board right here. They're all way above water, 42 points above water for Michelle Obama, 46 above water for Laura Bush, 25 points above water for Hillary Clinton, who always — was not always the most popular, and 50 points above water for Nancy Reagan. And I even looked at Jill Biden's numbers at this point. And that presidency, of course, that was term one. She was above water as well. So this is the worst at this point in a presidency as well.,"
MaddowBlog-Leading White House economist points to 'employment boom' that clearly hasn't happened
A variety of words come to mind to describe the sharp decline in the Trump-era job market. “Boom” isn’t one of them.
Kevin Hassett, the top economist in the Trump White House, said with a straight face that there’s been “an employment boom.â€
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-09T18:20:51.418Z
I know I should shrug off such nonsense, but I just couldn’t let this go.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/leading-white-house-economist-points-to-employment-boom-that-clearly-hasnt-happened
Kudlow to Hassett: "The unemployment rate is 4.3%, for heaven's sake! That's a boom, for God's sake!"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-04-08T20:27:16.905Z
(The unemployment rate was 4% when Biden left office)
....Right off the bat, while it’s true that a 4.3% unemployment rate is, in historical terms, quite low, it’s also true that when Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the same jobless rate was 4%. In other words, nearly a year and a half after the Republican administration got to work implementing its economic agenda, the unemployment rate has gotten worse, not better, making this an awkward subject for Trump loyalists to brag about......
What’s more, the unemployment rate isn’t the only relevant metric: According to the latest data released last week by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy has added 321,000 jobs over Trump’s 15-month second term. Over the previous 15 months, however, the economy added roughly 1.9 million jobs.
A variety of words come to mind to describe such a sharp decline in the U.S. job market. “Boom” isn’t one of them.
Finally, the back-and-forth between Hassett and Kudlow seemed to miss the point entirely. If the two more recent Republican directors of the National Economic Council want to take a moment to explain why the unemployment rate has gotten worse, or why job growth has slowed so dramatically, they’re welcome to make their best pitch.
Instead, as polls show the public souring quickly on the president’s handling of the economy, the Republican economists pretended that failure deserves to be seen as success. If they hoped such happy talk would impress the American mainstream, they’re likely to be disappointed.
Labor secretary faces discrimination complaints tied to her husband's alleged misconduct
Source: MS NOW
At least three people have lodged formal workplace discrimination complaints against Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, alleging she created a toxic workplace and sought to retaliate against women who reported her husband for sexual misconduct in her office, according to two sources familiar with the allegations.
Two of the complaints were filed by young female staffers who have alleged that Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, subjected them to unwanted sexual touching late last year when they were working at U.S. Department of Labor offices.
MS NOW is not sharing the names of the two women to protect their identities during ongoing investigations of their claims. The Department of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Shawn DeRemer did not immediately return requests for comment.
The allegations, filed as Equal Employment Opportunity complaints, portray Chavez-DeRemer as an agency leader who fostered a hostile workplace where staff feared punishment for speaking out or resisting directives they considered inappropriate. One of the complaints says the Labor Secretary also directed staff to perform personal chores for her, including cleaning out one of her clothing closets, according to one of the sources.
Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/labor-secretary-discrimination-complaints-misconduct-husband
https://x.com/DemocraticDeb/status/2042342191071101022
Trump appointee Ed Martin claims executive privilege in bid to evade misconduct charges
Source: Democracy Docket
Ed Martin, the hardline MAGA Republican serving as President Donald Trump’s pardon attorney, is attempting to claim executive privilege in a bid to evade misconduct charges from attorney ethics regulators in Washington, D.C.
In a wild new legal filing this week, Martin lashed out against the D.C. Disciplinary Counsel, which polices attorney misconduct in the nation’s capital, alleging that its ongoing ethics case against him violates Trump’s authority.
Martin’s astounding arguments appear to claim that the president and federal attorneys are indistinguishable and that any attempt to hold Department of Justice (DOJ) officials accountable for misconduct amounts to an unconstitutional attack on the president’s authority.....
Among them, Martin said he would argue in federal court that the Disciplinary Counsel’s probe violates Article II of the Constitution because the president and federal attorneys are, in essence, synonymous.
“The President’s exercise of his authorities under the Take Care Clause through his U.S. Attorneys cannot be interfered with or hobbled by harassing and pretextual enforcement actions,” Martin argued.
“The President of the United States is the client of all attorneys appointed pursuant to the President’s Article II authority, and every executive branch attorney is bound by the President’s decisions concerning the objectives of the representation defined by their respective appointments,” he continued.
Read more: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-ed-martin-washington-dc-misconduct-charges-defense/
Trump appointee Ed Martin claims executive privilege in bid to evade misconduct charges www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
— Ray Beckerman (@raybeckerman.bsky.social) 2026-04-08T21:06:48.212Z
Deadline Legal Blog-MAGA enforcer Ed Martin wants his DC Bar disciplinary case moved to federal court
The Trump-aligned lawyer is attempting a litigation tactic that previously failed another Trump-aligned lawyer.
https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/ed-martin-dc-bar-federal-court
The bar initiated formal disciplinary proceedings. In a filing specifying the charges last month, bar disciplinary counsel Hamilton Fox alleged Martin “knew or should have known that, as a government official, his conduct violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.”
Fox also accused Martin of misconduct in response to the bar’s investigation by engaging in unauthorized direct communication with a judge during a proceeding and engaging in conduct that seriously interfered with the administration of justice.....
On Tuesday, he filed a notice in D.C. federal court, arguing that’s the forum in which the proceedings should move forward. In his federal filing, Martin cast the matter as stemming from his investigation of Fox and from Fox then retaliating by investigating Martin in turn.
“The case is being removed to this Court because Mr. Martin is entitled to a federal forum for the adjudication of his federal defenses,” his lawyers wrote in Tuesday’s federal court filing. In addition to his legal argument, the 98-page document contains exhibits of relevant letters and filings, including his correspondence with Georgetown and judges.
The bar will have an opportunity to respond in federal court. One of the cases it might cite in opposition to Martin’s removal bid is Clark’s failed effort. During the first Trump term, the former assistant attorney general sought to remove his bar proceedings that stemmed from his alleged conduct in the wake of the 2020 election.
Rejecting Clark’s federal removal bid in a 2023 ruling, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras wrote that Congress “has committed the regulation of federal government attorneys to the states and courts where they practice.” The Obama-appointee cited the Supreme Court’s observation of the tradition, “since the founding of the Republic,” that “the licensing and regulation of lawyers has been left exclusively to the States and the District of Columbia within their respective jurisdictions.”
A bipartisan federal appellate panel affirmed Clark’s removal rejection, focusing on procedural issues specific to his case. In any event, the logic underpinning the district judge’s ruling against Clark could lead to the same result against Martin. Even if Martin loses his removal attempt, that would not mean he would necessarily face any bar discipline in the end, only that the matter would not proceed in his chosen forum.
Ed Martin and Jeffrey Clark are both assholes. Clark's disbarment was recommended by the DC Bar and is being considered by the Court of Appeals. The same needs to happen to Ed Martin
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