Here's another reason Democrats can't trust Kevin McCarthy: Incredibly, he's demanding that Dems support the far right GOP border agenda as part of the next package of aid for Ukraine.
I'm not sure people appreciate how extreme this demand truly is. 1/
Ending Biden's parole programs isn't "border security." Those programs allow migrants to apply for entry from afar rather than make the trek to the border. This isn't about the border, it's about reducing the number of immigrants allowed in. 4/
One can envision a bipartisan compromise that would help fix our asylum system. I genuinely think it could have appeal for some Republicans and restrictionist minded writers (cc @DouthatNYT), if they'd give it a hearing. Here's what it might look like. 5/
Dems have grown overly accustomed to negotiating under threat from Republicans as the normal conditions under which governing must function. Dems shouldn't play along with efforts to link Ukraine aid to the GOP's wildly extreme "border security" bill. 6/6
As you watch the extraordinary spectacle of Trump's government attempting to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda, let's not lose sight of just how lawless and indefensible Trump's misconduct has been all throughout.
Here's a thread recapping all of it. 1/
DHS Sec Kristi Noem's announcement of this states AS FACT numerous charges against Abrego. But the admin couldn't produce real evidence of MS-13 ties despite trying for MONTHS. He has been convicted of NONE of the criminal charges lodged here. Guilty until proven innocent. 2/
Noem's announcement notes that when he was arrested in 2019, the PG County Gang Unit validated his MS-13 ties. But as we reported, the cop whose testimony this was based on was suspended soon after and indicted for serious professional misconduct. 3/
Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who has been released, have been informed by ICE that he could now be subject to deportation to Uganda, and he's been told to report to ICE next week, a source confirms to me.
A few points about this, b/c there will be a lot of BS about it. 1/
What this confirms is how deeply corrupt and indefensible Trump and Stephen Miller's handling of this has been all throughout.
Those of us commenting on this have argued all along that Trump *always* had the option of bringing him back and proceeding through lawful channels. 2/
In other words, after illegally renditioning Abrego Garcia to a Salvadoran gulag, Trump could *at any point* have brought him back and moved to deport him to a third country or contested his "withholding of removal" status.
NEWS --> An internal DHS memo suggests Trump's use of military for domestic enforcement is about to get worse. It details top-level talks between Defense Department and DHS on what this should look like. Experts say it's alarming.
The DHS memo lays out the agenda for a July 21 meeting among top level officials from DHS and Defense Department. It was authored by Philip Hegseth (yes, he's Pete Hegseth's brother), a top adviser to DHS Sec Kristi Noem and liason to the Pentagon.
Zohran's campaign provided me with data on the reach of a number of his most recent videos on Instagram. We're talking millions and millions of views on content about things like traffic and city council bills impacting street vendors.
“His campaign is putting digital practitioners in charge who understand what’s going to resonate online,” the exec director of a top Dem super PAC says. The secret? “Letting him speak authentically to what he believes." 3/
NEWS --> Sen Ron Wyden writes to Pam Bondi, urging DOJ to probe $1.5 billion in Epstein financial transactions that banks flagged for Treasury Dept. He lays out roadmap for DOJ to examine money flow related to sex trafficking. Calls Bondi's bluff.
“I am convinced that DOJ ignored evidence found in the Treasury Department’s Epstein file [involving] mountains of cash Epstein received from prominent businessmen...to finance his criminal network,” Wyden says.
"Epstein clearly had access to enormous financing to operate his sex trafficking network, and the details on how he got the cash to pay for it are sitting in a Treasury Department filing cabinet."
The real story behind the new DOJ referral for Adam Schiff is *Trump's* corruption. It's based on the findings of an inspector general, but experts and a former IG looked at the details and they tell me the whole process is highly suspect.
Trump's claim of fraud rests on a Fannie Mae memo resulting from an IG request for info on Schiff's loans. It's not clear what drove any of this or how WH got it.
“From beginning to end, this process is highly irregular,” former IG Michael Bromwich says.