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"The rule of law is not self-executing. It depends on our collective commitment to apply it. It requires dedicated service on behalf of others, especially when that service is difficult and comes with costs.”
Yesterday, I sat in my living room, laptop on my… well, lap, and watched multiple congressional Republicans gaslight the American people about what happened on January 6, 2021. As you probably know, special counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation of Donald Trump for his role in January 6. Republicans did not, uh, meet the moment.
For example, here’s Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) blaming the Capital Police for the mob that had Congress, including some of those sitting in the crowd, running for their lives. Former Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone rolled up in a Dropkick Murphy’s t-shirt and provided some much-needed fact-checking for
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) was incandescent that Smith didn’t subpoena call logs from a single Democrat. He demanded answers! He called Smith a “hypocrite.”
Well, the answer, Jeff, is that no Democrats were involved in trying to overthrow the 2020 election. And then Jamie Raskin obliterated him.
I had to flip back and forth between the hearing and Ancient Aliens in order to keep steam from shooting out of my ears. As with most hearings, this was merely an opportunity for guys like Jim Jordan, Nehls, and Van Drew to get their talking points — none of which were grounded in reality — in.
Jack Smith prosecutes war criminals at The Hague. Jim Jordan ignored sexual abuse at Ohio State. These two men should not even be in the same room. While exhibiting the patience of a saint, Smith said he stands by his investigation and prosecution.
Of course, Dear Leader tried to tweet through the entire thing.
Normal! Also, did you guys see the pics of Trump coming out of Davos?
YIKES. He’s gone from orange to saffron. And that’s the hand that’s usually not bruised in that pic.
During a break in testimony, Fanone had to be held back from the far-right’s Ivan Raiklin, who has reportedly threatened to have Fanone’s children SA-ed.
Given the reaction Fanone got on social media, he should probably consider running for office. Maybe against Nehls or Van Drew.
In other news: MN protestor gets her TSA-Precheck revoked; DOJ swings and misses on charging Don Lemon; an FBI exposé proves what we all expected — Kash Patel doesn’t read; and The High Note.
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Here we go.
So much for the 1st Amendment
Let’s be clear: Everyone has the right to follow, film, and protest ICE, so long as they don’t interfere or obstruct their activity. And contrary to what agents in Minnesota are telling people, there is no law that says observers have to keep an arm's length away from them. For weeks, ICE/CBP have been pulling observers out of their cars and threatening them, in violation of DHS policy and established constitutional law.
Now, DHS has taken it one step further. Nicole Cleland, a Minnesota resident who works for Target, says she was pulled out of her car by CBP, who used facial recognition software to identify her. After threatening her, Cleland was released. However, three days later, she learned her TSA Pre-check clearance had been revoked.
Cleland’s declaration was one of several filed in Tincher v. Minnesota yesterday. All of the testimonies detailed horrific abuse of protestors and observers by ICE or CBP. Another man, who was held at ICE detention despite being a US citizen, detailed how ICE tried to get him to snitch on other organizers and his neighbors.
I did a Bluesky thread with more details here.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Judge Sara Ellis granted plaintiffs’ motion to voluntarily dismiss their claim in Chicago Headline Club v. Noem, the case in which Ellis wrote a scathing opinion, essentially calling Greg Bovino and other DHS officials liars.
DOJ tries to charge Don Lemon, fails
Days after the DOJ’s Harmeet Dhillon was screaming for Don Lemon’s head on Benny Johnson’s podcast, a federal magistrate judge refused to sign off on a criminal complaint against Lemon.
A federal magistrate judge rejected the Justice Department’s initial attempt to bring charges against journalist Don Lemon for appearing alongside protesters who breached a Minnesota church over the weekend, a source told CNN.
“The Attorney General is enraged at the magistrate judge’s decision,” a person familiar with the matter said. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been on the ground in Minnesota for two days meeting with federal prosecutors from the state.
Bahahaha, I’ll bet she is. Pammy isn’t getting her way much these days. But while it’s great that the judge did the right thing, keep in mind that Lemon had to hire a very high-profile attorney the moment the DOJ started threatening him, and that’s not something most journalists can do. The chilling effect this will have on other reporters was the entire point. (Please support independent media!)
In other legal news, a Chicago jury acquitted a man accused of placing a hit on CBP chief Greg Bovino. They only deliberated for three hours. Ha.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 31 people have been charged with non-immigration crimes stemming from “Operation Midway Blitz.” Fourteen have already had their charges dropped while prosecutors have not yet secured any convictions.
That makes the DOJ 0-31 in Chicago.
An FBI exposé flying under the radar
It’s not getting much press, but yesterday the NYT published a blistering report on the state of the FBI, which they sourced to 45 former and current employees of the Bureau. I’ve included a gift link above, so you can read the whole thing. But the part I have to point your attention to is this:
Tonya Ugoretz, former assistant director of the directorate of intelligence: I was responsible for the morning intelligence briefing. Every director gets to choose how they want to receive information — how often and in what form. I did everything I could, leading up to Director Patel coming on board, to provide options for how those meetings would run. What type of information do you want? Do you like graphics? Do you like to read? All of that. I wanted to set him up, from Day 1, to make effective decisions.
Field-office leader 1: Patel had his first director’s call with the heads of all the field offices. He had no agenda, no organized thoughts, no strategy or leadership philosophy or priorities to share. I specifically remember him saying at one point, “I don’t read.” He explained he didn’t read briefing materials.
The head of the FBI… doesn’t read.
Senior executive 2: Every May, there’s a Five Eyes conference with the head of every intelligence agency. This year it was in the U.K. Kash Patel is going. In the lead-up to that, his detail starts making crazy requests. He’s got special requirements on everything. And the Brits are getting pissed.
Before the conference, his staff says he’s unhappy because he doesn’t like meetings in office settings. What he wants is social events. He wants Premier soccer games. He wants to go jet skiing. He’d like a helicopter tour. Everyone who heard about this was like: Hold on. Is he really going to ask the MI5 director to go jet skiing instead of meeting? The schedule is set, and every Five Eyes partner is doing this. They can’t just say that he’s not participating and instead he wants to go to a Premier soccer game. This is a job, guys.
His staff only cared about three things: what his meals were, when his workouts would be and what his entertainment would be. The biggest plan is how he’s going to get his girlfriend in there so she can go to Windsor Castle. He’s got Nicole Rucker as his assistant, like a true executive concierge. And when she’s not getting the food or the workout she wants, she’ll just start screaming at people, Make it happen!
Good thing all of this is happening at a time when the entire world is in love with America! I’m sure it won’t come back to bite us.
The High Note
Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.
Yesterday, I posted about the five-year-old preschooler, Liam, who ICE abducted and used to lure his parents out. There’s now a GoFundMe to help return Liam to his community.
Tear the fascists down.
Hey, survive and advance out there today, kids. Don’t let the bastards get you down. Have a great weekend!
