The tale of Trump and “his” justices — you need to understand this to understand what went down at the Supreme Court. The commonly understood story is wrong.

So here we go 🧵 Remember when Trump first ran, how the most powerful political force on the Republican side was the Koch political operation? Americans for Prosperity and the associated armada of Koch-funded, coordinated front groups?

Trump is slowly figuring out that it was the Koch operation that chose, and is served by, “his” Supreme Court nominees, and that “his” people Leo and McGahn were really working for the polluter billionaires.

Let’s review the history. 🧵 Remember, in 2016 election Koch political operation attacked Trump relentlessly, until the so-called “Federalist Society list,” which FedSoc never considered or approved. That was misdirection, hiding that it was really a Leo/Koch/polluter list.

Trump’s mad rant unloads on Court-fixer Leonard Leo — has Trump FINALLY figured out that he was chumped big-time by Leo, McGahn and the creepy billionaires (Koch) who REALLY controlled “his” judicial appointments? Slow learner.

https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1928247448750764279

It looks like House of Trump cut a deal in the 2016 election with House of Koch, to back off on attacking Trump in return for Koch minions controlling Trump’s appointments. Leo was their minion — and Trump was clueless? Some “Art of the Deal”!

This looney-tunes right-wing group’s complaint against Roberts was an effort to ferret out my correspondence on judicial ethics matters with the Judicial Conference.
dailykos.com/stories/2025/5… Other efforts against my work with the Judicial Conference included an invective-heavy letter from Mitch McConnell attacking judges for wanting better amicus disclosure and faux outrage from the WSJ Polluter Page.

Let me get this straight: the party that defends dark money, which by definition can come from overseas since the donor is kept secret, is complaining about foreign influence?
nytimes.com/2025/04/24/us/… And the guy who benefited from Russian money, pouring in to influence our American elections to try and help him get elected, is the guy leading the charge?

Do they know that ActBlue delivers *declared* contributions under federal disclosure laws and regulations?

It’s incredibly weird how many people around Trump seem to get an unhealthy pleasure from other people’s pain, distress, and humiliation. It seems abnormal.

🧵 It’s weird and twisted how fixated they are on a brutal Salvadoran prison, and taking photos with people behind bars, and bent-over shaved men. (Even caging children at the border, back in Trump One.)

Here’s how Trump betrays his voters:

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1.  Tariffs add thousands of dollars in added costs to families every year — north of 3 grand already, before more retaliatory tariffs. 2.  The market rout trashes 401ks and pensions — ~$2 trillion lost already.

3.  Families counting on Medicaid get hit for nursing home, childbirth expenses — could be as bad as $800 billion.

Trumpsters pretend that the courts are out of line, even that judges should be impeached when they don’t like the rulings, but that’s hogwash. Even Chief Justice Roberts is calling out that crap, which is saying something. What’s actually happening is a pattern of very bad, even dangerous, courtroom conduct by Trump lawyers, I guess thinking that being MAGA entitles them to special rules and privileges — but not so. Here are examples.

I voted against the horrible MAGA “continuing resolution” — a fake and partisan CR loaded up with executive power for Trump. I hated it. But respected colleagues voted otherwise, and not just to “cave in” versus “stand up.” 🧵 I did a lot research into how a shutdown might play out, and there was lots to fear; not least that the Trump/Musk/Vought axis of MAGA extremists would love a shutdown, and want a long one, and use it to cruel advantage. What was there to fear?

Here’s how I think the Social Security attack plan works: 🧵 One: Trump and his vassals tell lies that there’s no plan to cut Social Security.

As we struggle with the Trumpian assault on America, there is a way home, and there is broad public agreement on its elements. Whatever the immediate issues and outrages, we must persistently and relentlessly pursue the pathway home. 1.   Get rid of dark money in politics. Getting this corrupting toxin out of our elections enjoys powerful public support all across the country; even slightly better in red-leaning districts. Yet most voters don’t know who opposes and who defends dark money.

This week’s 5-4 win for federal funding was less notable for the 5 than for the 4.

This was payment for contracts the government had agreed to where the work contracted for had been properly performed. How was that not 9-0?

🧵 The short answer is that it had the irresistible odor of MAGA, Musk and Trump. It was a Project 2025 thing, funded by the creepy far-right billionaires who also funded the capture of the Court; same network behind the justices’ Billionaire Gifts Program.

Many Democrats are asking what the path forward is, calling for a period of reflection. “Where did we go wrong? What is the way back?” Well, how about looking right in front of our own noses. For years, creepy billionaires funded (and enjoyed) the destruction of America’s political money limits, and launched billions in corrupting dark money into American elections. Despite massive public reaction against that, Democrats basically let it happen.

After the Trump/Musk/Russia smash-and-grab through government agencies, we are going to need to rebuild. It’s not as hard as you may think. 1.   Get the dark money out of politics. There is way too much secret corruption from billionaires and giant corporate interests.

This all began years ago, when a bunch of fossil fuel billionaires saw trouble ahead for their pollution and their pollute-for-free business model, so they began a covert operation to bring industry influence to bear on U.S. politics. Climate denial was born. The science was clear. Even Exxon’s scientists knew. The predictions have proven deadly accurate. But when science encounters politics in Congress, politics wins, so fossil fuel went to work to corrupt Congress, deny the science, and mislead the public.

There always was Trump/Russia. There still is Trump/Russia.

The early actions of the Trump administration signal the continuing force of Trump/Russia.

Feel free to add to the list, but here’s my list.

Note: It’s only been a month. 1.  Russia’s apologist Tulsi Gabbard is selected and confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, the person who controls what gets to the president from our intelligence services. Her appointment is cheered in Russia’s state-controlled media.

As we land in Munich, the stable geniuses of the Trump administration are in full disarray. Maybe we’ll use troops against Russia, says one. Maybe we’ll get Ukraine to concede to Russia sovereign territory that Russia invaded, says another.

If you’re a big polluter, and you can destroy the government that protects people from your pollution, that’s a win for you.

And if you paid to get Trump in, you see it as the political reward you’re due. If you’re a giant corporation, and you can destroy the government that taxes you, and also cause your employees to cling to you like a raft in the storm you created, that’s a win for you. And if you paid to get Trump in, you can see it as your political reward.

We’re voting on Hegseth and here’s what we know. The only Democrat to see his FBI background investigation said it was “inadequate.” The Republican chair said he got “three briefings” from the FBI. That’s all we know. Everything else is secret. “Three briefings” likely means there were supplemental background investigations after the original standard “full field” background investigation, which would also be consistent with recent allegations and the background investigation schedule.

This was no normal inauguration of an American president. President Trump gave a cadre of billionaires seats of honor on the dais, and he is handing them the power of the federal government to loot the hardworking people who pay their taxes and keep this country running.

Once again, we are telling a story leaving out the true democracy-destroying villain.🧵

One good man’s age was a sideshow to the real story. Yes, the President’s age was a factor, and his spectacular debate failure, and his soft promise to serve one term.
theatlantic.com/politics/archi… But the real failure was not identifying the corrupt oligarchy sooner, and making it the villain early on in his democracy narrative.

Three big things got way too little attention, until his terrific-but-too-late final presidential address.