Tag: donald trump

Beneath the Surface: Is the Trump-Netanyahu ‘Unthinkable’ About to Erupt?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington was no ordinary trip. The consensus among Israeli analysts, barring a few remaining loyalists, is that Netanyahu was not invited but, rather, summoned by US President Donald Trump.

All evidence supports this assertion. Netanyahu rarely travels to the US without extensive Israeli media fanfare, leveraging his touted relationships with various US administrations as a “hasbara” opportunity to reinforce his image as Israel’s strongman.

This time, there was no room for such campaigns. Netanyahu was informed of Trump’s summons while on an official trip to Hungary. There, he was received by Hungarian President Viktor Orbán with exaggerated diplomatic accolades, signaling defiance against international condemnation of Netanyahu, an accused war criminal wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and portraying him as anything but an isolated leader of an increasingly pariah state.

The capstone of Netanyahu’s short-lived Hungarian victory lap was Orbán’s announcement of Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC, a move with profoundly unsettling implications.

It would have been convenient for Netanyahu to use his Washington visit to deflect from his failed war in Gaza and internal strife in Israel. However, as the Arabic saying goes, “the wind often blows contrary to the ship’s desires.”

The notion that Netanyahu was summoned, not invited, is corroborated by Israeli media reports that he attempted to postpone the visit under various pretexts. He failed, ultimately flying to Washington on the date determined by the White House. Initially, reports circulated that no press conference would be held, denying Netanyahu the platform to tout Washington’s unwavering support for his military actions and to expound on the “special relationship” between the two countries.

A press conference was held, though it was largely dominated by Trump’s contradictory messages and typical rhetoric. Netanyahu spoke briefly, attempting to project the same confident body language observed during his previous Washington visit, where he sat with an erect posture and spread out his legs, as if in command. But this time, his body language betrayed him; his eyes shifted nervously, and he appeared stiff and surprised, particularly when Trump announced that the US and Iran would begin direct talks in Oman soon.

Trump also mentioned the need to end the war in Gaza, but the Iran announcement clearly shocked Netanyahu. He desperately tried to align his discourse with Trump’s, referencing Libya’s disarmament under Muammar Gaddafi. But that was never part of Israel’s official regional plan. Israel had consistently advocated for US military intervention against Iran, despite the certainty that such a war would destabilize the entire region, potentially drawing the US into a conflict far more protracted and devastating than the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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Trump’s Unconstitutional, Presidential War Against Yemen

For Americans who still think that Donald Trump is an advocate of realism and restraint in foreign policy, the events in Yemen should come as a rude awakening.  Unfortunately, the most prominent indicator enabled the president’s political opponents to evade their own share of the blame for the tragic events in that country.  Revelations that members of Trump’s national security team had conducted a discussion of highly classified information about war plans in Yemen over an insecure system exploded in the news media last month.  One official, apparently National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, had even inadvertently invited Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of the Atlantic, to join the chat.  The resulting “Signalgate” scandal dominated the news cycle for the next two weeks.

The dominant focus of most news stories about the episode was both revealing and depressing.  Critics vehemently denounced the Trump team for an egregious inability to keep the Yemen war plans secret.  Few journalists or members of Congress condemned the participants in the chat for planning an unconstitutional war.  There was no hint that President Trump planned to seek a formal declaration of war as required by the Constitution.  Instead, the principal officials intend to continue the illegal practice of waging presidential wars that has become the norm since the end of World War II.

Indeed, a new phase of the conflict with Yemen was already well underway. Vice President J. D. Vance boasted to the other participants in the chat that U.S. forces had located a “terrorist leader” (i.e. a high-level military official of Yemen’s Houthi rebel government) and would be taking him out.  Indeed, the U.S. launched an air and missile attack on the apartment complex where the official was visiting his girlfriend. The collateral damage included the collapse of the building along with extensive casualties. Notably, very few administration critics bothered to criticize the Trump foreign policy team for such conduct.

Matters have grown worse since that episode.  On April 17, U.S. forces conducted an even larger assault on a civilian port in Yemen.  This time, more than 80 people, mostly civilians, perished.  And once again, there was silence from critics who have denounced the Trump administration for everything from the ill-treatment of immigrants, to harassment of law firms linked to the Democratic Party, to the White House’s efforts to downsize the federal bureaucracy.

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Rap sheets, photos of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members Trump admin tried to deport before SCOTUS ruling

The Trump administration on Saturday released the rap sheets and photos of alleged Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members detained in Texas who the administration is trying to deport.

The suspects of the violent Venezuelan gang were going to be deported using the recently reinstated Alien Enemies Act of 1798 before the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled Saturday morning against deportations under the 18th century law.

In a decision in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, the administration was barred from removing Venezuelans held in Texas’ Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.”

Following the ruling, Trump administration lawyers filed an opposition to the request to block the deportations, noting the government provided advance notice to detainees prior to removals, and they had adequate time to file habeas claims.

At a minimum, attorneys argued the court should limit the administrative stay to removals.

SCOTUS previously ruled the president could conduct deportations under the Alien Enemies Act as long as suspected illegal aliens were afforded due process to challenge their removal from the US.

“These are some of the TdA gang members detained in Texas that we are trying to deport,” a senior Trump administration official told Fox News.

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“Unnamed Pentagon Officials Have Slandered Our Character with Baseless Attacks”: Hegseth Aides Ousted in Leak Probe Fire Back, Say They Were Never Told What They Were Accused Of

Three senior advisers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll—were abruptly ousted this week amid an expanding probe into alleged information leaks.

The trio, all veterans and key figures in the Trump-Vance administration’s efforts to reform the Pentagon, have publicly condemned their dismissals as unjust and politically motivated.

In a joint statement, Caldwell—an advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff; and Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg—expressed profound disappointment over their treatment, asserting that they were never informed of the specific allegations against them.

Read their full joint statement below:

“We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended. Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.

All three of us served our country honorably in uniform – for two of us, this included deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And, based on our collective service, we understand the importance of information security and worked every day to protect it.

At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of “leaks” to begin with.

While this experience has been unconscionable, we remain supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength. We hope in the future to support those efforts in different capacities.”

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Island dripping with GOLD could be Trump’s next win if he seizes chance for ‘deal of the century’

Trump’s love of gold is no secret. From the gilded splendor of Trump Tower to Mar-a-lago’s gleaming ballroom, the president is known to revel in all that glitters. 

But has a golden opportunity just arisen for Trump to take control of a tropical island complete with its own gold mine? 

Bougainville, which is currently part of Papua New Guinea, voted overwhelmingly for independence in 2019, but the poll wasn’t binding. Now a local leader says he is open to a deal for it to become part of the United States. 

Given the island’s strategic significance in any future war with China, it could be well worth its weight! 

Bougainville’s president, former rebel commander Ishmael Toroama, says: ‘If the US comes and says, “Yes, we support Bougainville independence,” then, I can say, “Well, the Panguna mine is here. It’s up to you.”‘

‘Bougainville is for independence. It is only a matter of time,’ he told The World in October, setting 2027 as the target for full statehood. 

At the center of the battle for independence lies Bougainville’s immense natural wealth — particularly the dormant Panguna mine, once one of the world’s biggest sources of copper and gold. 

It’s estimated to still hold 5.84 million tons of copper and nearly 20 million ounces of gold — worth around $60 billion today.

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Trump Admin Launches Whistleblower Tip Line to Report Chemical or Surgical Sex Changes Being Performed on Minors

President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has established a dedicated tip line for whistleblowers to report cases of chemical and surgical sex change procedures performed on minors.

To enforce Trump’s executive order “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” the new tip line allows individuals to report concerns related to the administration of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex change surgeries on children.

“HHS is committed to protecting whistleblowers to the full extent of the law,” a department’s explainer about the tip line said.

Last week, the department also announced the launch of an investigation into “a major pediatric teaching hospital for allegedly terminating the employment of a whistleblower nurse for exercising her federally protected rights of conscience.”

“The investigation will examine whether the pediatric hospital violated federal law known as the Church Amendments by firing a whistleblower nurse after she requested a religious accommodation to avoid administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children, which she opposed due to religious beliefs about the sterilization effects of these interventions,” the department said in a press release.

HHS did not name the hospital being investigated, but many have speculated that the nurse is likely to be whistleblower Vanessa Sivadge.

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Legal Coalition Challenges Trump’s Use of Executive Orders Against More Law Firms

A broad coalition of legal and civil liberties organizations is once again challenging President Trump’s use of executive orders to retaliate against law firms that he perceives as political opponents, suppress opposition and chill lawful First Amendment activity.

The coalition, which includes the ACLU, ACLU of DC, CATO, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FIRE, the Institute for Justice, the Knight First Amendment Institute, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, the Society for the Rule of Law, and The Rutherford Institute, filed two more amicus briefs (Jenner & Block and WilmerHale) asking a federal court to strike down as illegal and unconstitutional the president’s executive orders targeting the law firms of Jenner & Block and WilmerHale. The coalition filed a similar amicus brief in Perkins Coie LLP v. U.S. Department of Justice challenging the president’s executive order as a violation of the separation of powers and an unconstitutional infringement on the rights to free speech, advocacy and due process.

“That President Trump is weaponizing the government in order to wage a war against dissent, against due process, and against the very foundations of our constitutional republic should be a warning to all Americans,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “History shows that when governments claim the power to silence dissent—whether in the name of national security, border protection, or law and order—that power rarely remains limited. These threats against the legal community are just the beginning.”

In an effort to punish a number of major law firms and discourage others from challenging the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to sidestep the Constitution, President Trump issued Executive Orders directing the federal government to suspend the firms’ security clearances, cease providing all goods and services, terminate any contracts with the firms and those who do business with them, limit the firms’ access to federal buildings and employees, and refrain from hiring employees of the firms. The intent behind the president’s actions, per former advisor Steve Bannon, is to “put those law firms out of business” in response to the firms using the system of checks and balances to prevent the Administration from violating the Constitution.

Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale each challenged Trump’s Orders on grounds that they violate the separation of powers and the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. Warning that Trump’s actions constitute a brazen attack on the independence of the legal profession and the judicial branch, the legal coalition’s amicus briefs in support of the law firms argue that Trump’s Executive Orders not only infringe the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and petitioning the government, but also essentially give the government an unfettered veto over a person’s right to choice of counsel due to the government pushing for a cancel culture and creating a blacklist of firms, similar to what the NRA previously claimed was done to it by a New York state official. Moreover, if the executive orders are allowed to stand, they could set a precedent for future Administrations of either political party to suppress challenges to a president’s unconstitutional policies and actions and to deter lawyers from representing the president’s political opponents or any clients adverse to the Administration.

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Former Marijuana Prisoners Who Got Clemency From Trump Hold Event Outside White House To Request Relief For Those Still Behind Bars

Former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from President Donald Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House on Thursday, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.

Flanked by cardboard cutouts of individuals pardoned or granted commutations by Trump, activists impacted by criminalization stood outside the White House with a message to “free all cannabis prisoners.”

The grassroots “Cannabis Prisoners Unity Day” called attention to the opportunity to build upon the executive-level relief. In addition to Trump’s clemency actions in his first term, former President Joe Biden also pardoned and commuted sentences for hundreds of people while he was in office. But numerous people remain behind bars over non-violent federal cannabis convictions.

“President Trump, we are your example of a victory,” Craig Cesal—who received a commutation for a life sentence he was handed down in 2002 for a marijuana distribution conviction—said during a panel discussion ahead of the White House meetup.

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Supreme Court will review Trump’s plan to ban birthright citizenship

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear oral arguments for President Donald Trump’s plan to end automatic birthright citizenship for individuals born in the U.S. to illegal migrants.

Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship has been halted by three district courts across the U.S., according to The Associated Press.

The Supreme Court will hear the oral arguments on May 15.

Trump’s policy to end birthright citizenship is blocked across the nation.

Birthright citizenship has been allowed due to the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which allows automatic citizenship to almost anyone born in the United States.

Some conservative scholars have argued that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment doesn’t grant citizenship to children of immigrants if they are born in the U.S., while liberal scholars argue it does.

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Leaked White House Document Reveals Monster Budget Cut Proposal For Federal Health Agencies

The Trump administration could slash roughly one-third of the federal government’s bloated health budget, a leaked White House proposal shows. The plan, first reported by the Washington Post and detailed in documents acquired by CNN, calls for slashing “tens of billions of dollars” annually, targeting a host of programs across multiple agencies.

The proposal, already sent to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), aligns with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative and tech titan Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, sources say.

The proposal, part of President Donald Trump’s broader push to curb government waste, would eliminate billions in annual spending and reign in a sprawling bureaucracy that employs 82,000 workers across 10 regional offices, with average salaries of $100,000 plus generous benefits.

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