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'Scumbags': GOP digital team in epic collapse following party's humiliating remarks

Bulwark editors Sam Stein and Andrew Egger took on the epic collapse of the RNC social media team after humiliating remarks from RNC Chair Joe Gruters threatened to diminish donations and curb GOP voter turnout.

Gruters said out loud this week that the Republican Party is likely headed to “almost certain defeat” in the upcoming mid-terms, which sent the RNC’s digital team into an obscenity-laced panic with accounts insulting and name-calling critics about the claims.

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Ghislaine Maxwell may be angling for Trump pardon after prison transfer, reporter says

Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, may be positioning herself for a presidential pardon after receiving what critics describe as preferential treatment in federal prison. Maxwell was recently transferred to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas following an unusual interview with the Justice Department in which she reportedly sought to distance President Donald Trump from Epstein’s crimes. The move has raised eyebrows among legal observers and advocates for Epstein’s victims, particularly as no administration officials have ruled out the possibility of a sentence commutation or pardon.

Speaking with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie Brown said Maxwell appears to be calculating her next steps carefully. Brown suggested Maxwell is acutely aware of the sensitive information she possesses about Epstein’s network and those who enabled his crimes. If a pardon does not materialize, Brown speculated that Maxwell could begin leaking damaging details as leverage, signaling to powerful figures that she “knows where the skeletons are buried.” According to Brown, Maxwell may be waiting to see how the political and legal landscape evolves before making her most aggressive move.

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Trump's legal losing streak is forcing him to scramble before 'the game is over': report

Donald Trump faces mounting obstacles in his strategy to place loyalists in U.S. Attorney positions without Senate approval, prompting the normally stubborn and confrontational president to explore alternative approaches.

According to reporting from Politico's Erica Orden, the resignation of Trump appointee Alina Habba signals that the administration recognizes its legal position has weakened and may be reluctant to pursue the matter before the Supreme Court.

Habba, a former personal attorney to the president who represented him when he lost two defamation lawsuits filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, stepped down this week following a court ruling that deemed her appointment unlawful. In her statement, she explained, "As a result of the Third Circuit's ruling, and to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love, I have decided to step down in my role as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey."

Delaware U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray subsequently resigned, also citing the Habba ruling as her reason for stepping down.

Legal experts indicate the administration faces a difficult calculus moving forward. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, outlined the administration's limited options when speaking with Politico: suggesting they could "...continue to try to install temporary U.S. attorneys, only to repeatedly have those choices disqualified by courts, or attempt the traditional process of Senate confirmation."

Tobias suggested the White House may be hesitant to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court, noting, "I think the last thing they want is to have the Supreme Court say no, right? Because then the game is over. ... they can continue to do what they've been doing, and that is avoiding advice and consent, which is in the Constitution, which they've done in more than half the districts, and continue to play games with the system."

Nina Mendelson, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, cautioned that a Supreme Court decision could cut either way, with potential long-term implications. She wrote in an email to Politico, "If [the administration] does appeal, the Supreme Court may, on the one hand, be interested in preserving the Senate's constitutional function of advice and consent and thus narrowly interpret the President's authority to appoint acting US Attorneys. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has, in a series of cases, expressed its concern for presidential control and flexibility, which might prompt it to more generously interpret the President's power."

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‘May send a marshal to the prison’: Colorado Dems brace for pardon ‘battle’ against Trump

Colorado officials are bracing themselves for an all-out “battle” against President Donald Trump as they seek to get ahead of the president’s pledge to pardon Tina Peters, a former county clerk who was jailed in connection with the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, The New York Times reported Saturday.

“This is so far beyond the pale,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, the Times reported Saturday. “No one has thought to do this because it is so clearly against our constitutional system of government.”

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Trump targets 'total loser' Republican with primary threat in overnight diatribe

President Donald Trump continued expressing frustration late Friday evening over the Indiana State Senate's rejection of his redistricting proposal. The Republican-controlled chamber voted 31 to 19 against the plan that would have made it significantly more difficult for Democrats to maintain a presence in the U.S. House Representatives for the state.

Trump directed his criticism at Rod Bray, the Indiana State Senate leader who played a key role in blocking the initiative. Earlier in the week, Trump had characterized Bray as "either a bad guy, or a very stupid one!" By Friday night, Trump escalated his response by threatening to support primary challengers against Bray and other GOP lawmakers who opposed the measure.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Republicans in the Indiana State Senate, who voted against a Majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, should be ashamed of themselves. Headed by a total loser named Rod Bray, every one of these people should be 'primaried,' and I will be there to help!"

Trump emphasized Indiana's significance to him, stating, "Indiana, which I won big, is the only state in the Union to do this!" The president's comments underscore his frustration with Republican legislators who declined to implement the redistricting changes he had sought.

Trump eyes another high-profile takeover plan in the nation’s capital

President Donald Trump is setting his sights on Washington, D.C.’s public golf courses, with a particular focus on East Potomac Golf Links – situated on a prime stretch of riverfront real estate – according to an exclusive Wall Street Journal report.

The push grew out of an unusual logistical problem: what to do with the dirt generated by Trump’s demolition of the White House’s East Wing. While aides floated dumping it on the Ellipse, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pitched a more strategic idea – hauling the soil to East Potomac, the public golf complex Trump hoped to renovate, which sits on low ground and would need fill to rise above the Potomac River floodplain for any major redesign.

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Trump's favorite CNN pundit gets shut down in exchange over White House ballroom

One of President Donald Trump's most consistent defenders on CNN was recently confronted over his celebration of Trump's bulldozing of the East Wing of the White House.

During the Friday episode of CNN host Kaitlan Collins' show "The Source," Collins discussed the lawsuit filed by a nonprofit group seeking to halt construction of Trump's proposed new $300 million ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States alleged that the Trump administration illegally shut the public out of the process typically afforded to them when historic buildings undergo significant renovations.

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Top House Republicans cheer law firm tangled in bitter battle with Trump

Top Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill came together this week to praise a prominent law firm and government watchdog group – even as the firm remains locked in a bitter legal fight with President Donald Trump’s administration.

According to a new report in Politico, lawmakers from both parties attended a bipartisan event celebrating the release of “When Congress Comes Calling,” a newly updated handbook on congressional investigations published by Jenner & Block in partnership with the Project on Government Oversight.

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Republicans in populous state can't find candidates to run in midterms

The New York and New Jersey-based outlet Gothamist reports Democratic candidates in the Garden State are clamoring to run in what both parties see as competitive races in next year’s midterm elections. But the same cannot be said for the GOP.

“In a cycle when both parties have their eyes on the House majority, up to a dozen candidates are lining up to run on the Democratic side in key New Jersey congressional races, compared to just one or two from the GOP,” Gothamist reports, as Republicans anticipate “a wave election, and not in their favor.”

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Trump DOJ ordered to surrender files from Comey adviser after 'unlawful intrusion'

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to return files that had been illegally seized from former FBI Director James Comey's ex-legal adviser Daniel Richman, All Rise News' Adam Klasfeld reported.

The files were taken as part of the criminal indictment against Comey for false statements and obstruction, which has now been dismissed.

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Trump already weighing preemptive pardons for underlings amid probe threats: report

President Donald Trump has already discussed the idea of preemptively pardoning key aides and officials who could face criminal investigations under a future Democratic administration, according to a new report in Zeteo.

Sources with knowledge of the discussions say the conversations have been sporadic and preliminary, and have included Trump, his senior aides, federal appointees, and Republicans close to the White House. Any sweeping preemptive pardon, the sources told Zeteo, would likely occur shortly before the inauguration of a Democratic president-elect, though it is unclear how long the potential presidential list might run.

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Racist rants exposed for Border Patrol agent accused of threatening to shoot bystanders

A Border Patrol agent who allegedly threatened to shoot a bystander during an arrest in Chicago has been exposed for a history of extreme, racist and hate-filled online posts, reported The Daily Beast on Friday.

"Timothy Donohue, 38, was a member of lead commander Gregory Bovino’s maurauding so-called 'Green Army' during 'Operation Midway Blitz' in Illinois, part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown," reported Tom Latchem. "Donahue was cited — though not by name — in a blistering opinion by U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis after he was filmed threatening someone watching an arrest in Evanston." Footage apparently of Donohue appeared to show him saying, “Step back or I’m going to shoot you,” to a bystander.

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'Everyone is worried': Trump’s DHS rocked as unnerved leaders fear emails are monitored

Chaos is mounting inside the Department of Homeland Security as rising tensions over Trump’s deportation agenda have sparked internal finger-pointing and threatened to derail top leadership, with officials even fearing their emails and messages are being monitored, according to a new NBC News exclusive.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, have reportedly pinned blame on subordinates for falling short of White House deportation goals. Acting ICE Director Todd Lloyd and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott have found themselves at the center of criticism, with Scott expressing concern to colleagues that Lewandowski may be monitoring his emails.

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