All posts tagged "stephen miller"

New Stephen Miller 'clone' viciously mocked by experts as Trump surrounds self with 'rats'

President Donald Trump's decision to install Will Scharf as White House counsel drew scorn from legal analysts Saturday, who saw the move as another reward for personal loyalty.

Trump announced on Aug. 9 that Scharf, currently White House staff secretary, will replace David Warrington on Sept. 1. Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian, analyzing the appointment on Michael Popok's Legal AF podcast, called Scharf a "clone" of Stephen Miller, whom they refferred to as Trump's "brain," and cast Scharf as yet another ideologically driven young loyalist being handed a premier legal role.

CBS News reported that the 40-year-old holds degrees from Princeton and Harvard Law, clerked for federal appeals Judge Raymond Gruender on the 8th Circuit, and later worked as a federal prosecutor in Missouri's Eastern District.

He came aboard Trump's private defense operation in October 2023. From there, Scharf worked on the election-interference charges pursued by special counsel Jack Smith, the civil fraud lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, the E. Jean Carroll defamation appeal, and the Manhattan hush money prosecution. Trump lost most of them, though Scharf helped secure the Supreme Court's landmark presidential immunity ruling in 2024.

Scharf ran unsuccessfully in the 2024 Republican primary for Missouri attorney general, losing to incumbent Andrew Bailey by 26 points. In 2023, he co-founded Jews Against Soros with commentator Josh Hammer, a group built around opposing the billionaire Democratic donor. As a Princeton senior in 2008, he was charged with serving alcohol to minors at the Charter Club eating club he presided over; the charges were later dropped.

As chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, Scharf helped clear approvals for Trump's $400 million White House ballroom and his planned triumphal arch at the Memorial Bridge, according to Axios.

Still, The New York Times reported that Scharf has occasionally pushed back internally, warning against Miller-backed proposals to suspend habeas corpus for undocumented immigrants and invoke the Insurrection Act.

Kabateck delivered a withering assessment of the pick.

"The scientists under the White House, hundreds of feet below the White House, took Stephen Miller and they cloned him," he joked, eliciting a laugh from his co-host. "I mean, honestly, though, Shant, this guy, though he doesn't necessarily look like Miller, he seems like ideologically he's another Miller."

Kabateck noted Trump seems to be surrounding himself with his personal lawyers and suggested what he acknowledged might be an offensive theory.

"I apologize if I offend somebody. But I don't know if, at the end of the working day, does he go down to that basement 100 feet below the White House and get in a little box and they close the box?" he joked.

"Yeah, I was going to say, because there's less sunlight there. That's probably where they keep him," replied a grinning Karnikian.

"And the little rats and mice and things like that," said Kabateck.

"Yeah. Other rats like Stephen Miller," Karnikian replied.

Trump Adds Failed Lawyer as White House Implodes! by Legal AF

Read on Substack

Shockwaves as another top aide announces exit from Trump admin

Another top Trump administration official announced plans to leave the White House, Axios reported on Tuesday.

Emily Underwood, top deputy to Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, has announced a departure for Trust Ventures, a venture capital firm, where she will be a partner.

Underwood has been with the Trump administration throughout President Donald Trump's second term, Axios reported. She has focused on policy, including implementing a strategy across the federal government, on nuclear energy research and development.

Caleb Orr, a top adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will replace Underwood. Orr has worked closely with Rubio and has been considered a "key architect of the State Department's critical minerals, energy and commercial diplomacy policies," according to Axios.

Underwood's departure set off fireworks on social media.

"It's a sinking ship," Democratic strategist Mike Nellis posted on X about the news.

"Rat flees sinking ship," Jason Tufele Carl Johnson, a former staffer for Rep. Raul Grijalva in Arizona, posted on X.

Disgraced ex-congressman threatened to expose Katie Miller romance in DOJ dust-up: report

Stephen Miller's wife used to be involved with a disgraced former congressman she later criticized, per a new report.

According to reporting by Sources Say, right-wing podcaster Katie Miller had a former fling with Eric Swalwell. Miller was in a relationship with Swalwell a decade ago, when she interned and then worked as a congressional staffer in her early 20s, Sources Say reported.

The relationship took place years before Miller married her husband, the White House deputy chief of staff, in 2020, reporting by The Daily Beast noted.

However, Miller and her husband were vocal critics of Swalwell when he faced sexual misconduct allegations and ultimately dropped out of the California gubernatorial race.

The past relationship surfaced because Swalwell's team allegedly leaned on it in a fight over Department of Justice records, according to Sources Say. Miller said she was unaware that the past relationship was discussed with the DOJ.

FBI Director Kash Patel moved this year to release files documenting Swalwell's contact with suspected Chinese intelligence operative Christine Fang. Swalwell's team argued the release was an attempt to weaponize the FBI, and pointed to his history with Miller to press the point, Sources Say reported.

Swalwell sent Patel a cease-and-desist letter branding the planned release a bid to smear him and sink his run for governor, and warning it could expose the FBI to legal liability, Sources Say reported. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi — who oversees the FBI as head of the Justice Department — ultimately declined to authorize the release, according to the outlet.

Bondi told Sources Say her only contact with Swalwell concerned death threats against his wife and children. Swalwell has denied that Bondi tipped him off about the FBI's plans, Sources Say reported.

Sources Say reported that Stephen Miller accused Democrats in April of keeping "blackmail files" on their own members after the misconduct allegations against Swalwell emerged.

Swalwell resigned his House seat that month after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, including one allegation of rape, per The Daily Beast. He has denied the allegations.

Trump signs executive order aimed at 'birth tourism' amid Supreme Court tensions

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at targeting "birth tourism," CNN reported.

Trump's move comes after the Supreme Court rejected his other birthright citizenship case in June, ruling that birthright citizenship in the United States is constitutional and blocking his previous executive order.

"We're cracking down very big ... big crackdowns," Trump said during a press conference at the Oval Office, with Trump immigration policy architect and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller standing beside him.

"This will give us the right to do it in a much more forceful manner. They've taken birthright citizenship, and they're making a joke out of it," Trump said.

Trump complained that the U.S. is "the only country of size, just about the only country period that does birthright citizenship. I thought we were going to win it at the Supreme Court, unfortunately we had a bad decision, a very unfair decision, our country suffers because of it."

Trump on Birthright tourism: So we're cracking down very big, very big, big crackdowns pic.twitter.com/PYwCvtG0ng
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2026

Secret Trump court alarms legal experts fearful of 'fast and loose' terrorist designations

A pair of legal experts sounded the alarm over how the Trump administration plans to use a secret terrorist court.

During a recent podcast episode, former FBI counterterrorism agent Frank Figliuzzi and lawyer and former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa detailed how President Donald Trump and his administration could use the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, which sat dormant for 30 years before a sudden activation earlier this month.

According to Rangappa, the court allows the Trump administration to deport noncitizens from the United States if it can convince a single judge that the defendant is a foreign terrorist. A defendant facing immediate removal would never see the evidence against them, as an attorney general would be able to argue that a person is a terrorist with classified evidence.

"This administration plays pretty fast and loose with who is considered a terrorist," Rangappa said. "It's also possible that it is some rando that was rounded up at Home Depot."

Figliuzzi said that the "darkest possibility" would be, "We've got a left-wing accused terrorist, maybe from overseas, that is now before this court."

The court held its first case earlier this week. The DOJ is seeking to deport a Texas mom through the court because her son and son-in-law were convicted of conspiring to launch an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack, according to reporting by NBC News, which noted that the mom hasn't been charged with a crime.

The two experts pointed to Stephen Miller as the likely Trump official who pitched activating the court, with Rangappa calling it "a Stephen Miller special."

Figliuzzi said he sees elements of the Trump administration's "inherent laziness" and "flexing of power," adding, "Somebody tells them, 'Hey, you got this court that's never been used,' and they go, shoot, let's try it."

Stephen Miller's 'worst bet ever' put the 'blood of many' on his hands: ex-GOP operative

A former Republican strategist said Monday that Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump's top aides, has gambled on stifling free speech and using fear to maintain power — but there's a chance it won't work.

In a Substack video, Steve Schmidt called out the White House deputy chief of staff, whom he referred to as "the architect of fear." Schmidt referred to Miller as the "most psychotic and unhinged advisor, a man with the blood of many on his hands, including Alex Pretti and Renee Good, including all of these people who lost their lives under the weight of his viciousness and his insanity."

The co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project made it clear that he views Miller as "an empty little Nazi" and "Little Goebbels of Santa Monica." He also identified how Miller doesn't have unchecked political power.

"We have the right to speech, and we have the right to faith, and we have the right to dissent, and we have the right to oppose this whack job with the full weight of our convictions," Schmidt argued.

Schmidt pointed to Trump's confusion on stage after Spain's FIFA World Cup win as an example of how "he's not capable psychologically of stepping away from power" — and that Miller is part of the problem.

"There are people around Donald Trump who encourage this, who stoke it, who provoke it," Schmidt added. "They believe that they're going to benefit from it. I think it's the worst bet ever made because for those who have placed it, my opposite wager is on their ruination because the survival of the American Republic depends on it. What these people have done and threatened, the thousands they have abused, the money they have stolen, the crimes they have committed cannot be gotten away with."

"If they are gotten away with, then that will mean Trump has won. If Trump wins, then the Republic dies. It's as simple as that. And the choice has always been as simple as that: America or Trump," he added.

Stephen Miller's tribute to Lindsey Graham on Fox News immediately blows up in his face

The internet mocked White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller after he told Fox News that politicians should serve for "love of the game" and "not for personal enrichment."

Miller was talking to conservative host Will Cain when he described the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and his dedication and work ethic. The comment raised eyebrows after reports of President Donald Trump and his family raking in billions — between crypto schemes and defense technology investments — during the president's second administration.

"You want senators who love being a senator, who embrace what it means, who embrace the opportunity, who seek no personal enrichment," Miller said.

Social media commentators noted the remarks.

"With a straight face," user SMR_MD, who self-describes as a "burned out Chicago ER MD" with more than 13,000 followers, wrote on X.

"Personal enrichment is only for Republican presidents," Hemant Mehta, podcaster and political commentator, wrote on X.

"Allllllllllllllrighty then," the popular influencer account Spiro's Ghost wrote on X.

"Right, Trump has enriched the lives of Americans from sea to… HE’S MADE BILLIONS FROM CRYPTO SCAMS…shining sea," political commentator Chris Robinson wrote on X.

with a straight face https://t.co/FwARslPsiD
— SRM_MD (@srmduke87) July 13, 2026

'Dead in the water': Ex-MAGA influencer eviscerates final hopes for dying right-wing group

A former MAGA influencer sounded the death knell for a prominent right-wing group that she says is now "a disaster."

On a recent episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, Ashley St. Clair wrote off the youth conservative organization Turning Point USA as it tries to carry on without its slain founder, Charlie Kirk.

"Turning Point is dead in the water," St. Clair said. "I think it's a disaster, I really do."

Host Joanna Coles had asked St. Clair what she thinks of the organization that Kirk built, now nearly a year after his assassination.

"Everyone doing these things in the name of Charlie to push this agenda, I think, has been horrific," St. Clair said, while reflecting on the memorial service for Kirk. She remembered a speech by top Trump White House aide Stephen Miller that put her off.

"If you go back to things like Stephen Miller's speech at that memorial, it was horrific," St. Clair said. "It was akin to what you would hear from Nazis. It was awful what they used that memorial for."

Coles also asked St. Clair to evaluate how Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, has done in "carrying on Charlie's mantle."

"I think she should take some time with the kids," St. Clair said. "It's a very difficult position to be in when you're grieving, and you're raising children, to now be the public face of this. I think she needs to take time off."

Before Kirk's death, St. Clair separated herself from Turning Point USA and recalled a "public scuffle with Charlie over birth control because he's like, 'birth control is black tar heroin.'" According to St. Clair, "there was a shift" in Kirk's views on women that she didn't like.

St. Clair also weighed in on questions and theories surrounding Kirk's assassination, saying, "I do think there are more questions that should be asked about the investigation about how Charlie died, about how certain things were conducted. I think those are important questions to ask."

'Say no to drugs': Stephen Miller heaped with scorn for pious Trump praise

Online critics slammed top White House aide Stephen Miller after he implied President Donald Trump's second term was an act of God.

Miller praised the Trump presidency in a Saturday post on X.

"It is impossible to review the events of the last decade and conclude that it is anything other than divine providence that Donald J. Trump is the President of the United States on the year of America 250, July 4th, 2026," he wrote.

Not everyone responding to Miller's post saw the Trump presidency the same way.

Veteran political columnist Bill Kristol reacted by writing, "Stephen Miller, for some reason trying to give divine providence a bad name."

The account PatriotTakes, which monitors right-wing extremism, responded, "Trump is a religion for MAGA."

"Easy to dismiss this as the delusional fevered rantings of a diseased mind," wrote former GOP strategist Jeff Timmer. "But the disease is rampant at the epicenter of the most powerful government ever known on the planet. We should be far more alarmed than we are. Far more."

Tom Nichols, another long-time political commentator and staff writer for The Atlantic, reacted to Miller's post with an Abraham Lincoln quote and a Bible passage.

"The Almighty has His own purposes," he wrote. 'Woe unto the world because of offenses for it must needs be that offenses come but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.'"

Meanwhile, journalist John Harwood simply advised, "Just say no to drugs."

Menswear expert reveals what caused fashion faux pas for Trump's 'threatened anteater'

A menswear expert gave a full breakdown on men's suit styles and commented on a Trump administration official's fashion, offering some tailoring advice.

Derek Guy, writer and editor at Put This On, described his thoughts on why White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller's suit did not fit him correctly after the Trump official was seen speaking to National Guard troops and booed by demonstrators while sporting a blue suit jacket without shoulder pads.

"Stephen Miller's suit here shows one of the biggest problems with men's tailoring today," Guy wrote on X.

"I should first emphasize this thread is not meant to body shame. I mean that sincerely. Few men are built like Adonis, so when shopping for clothes, most will have their own fit challenges, including muscular figures. This thread is only meant to highlight a tailoring issue," Guy explained, sharing a series of side-by-side images and examples of men's tailoring styles.

"As the world has gotten more casual, brands have had to adapt. So they've ripped even more structure out of the suit. Gone is the stiffer haircloth, padding, and wadding. Sometimes there's only soft layer of canvas from shoulder to hem. Sometimes there's no structure at all!" Guy said.

He revealed how silhouette and cut can make a big difference for men's styles.

"When you remove so much structure out of a jacket, you lose what's special about tailoring. Without the structure underneath, the garment will hang more like a t-shirt, button-up shirt, or polo shirt, which rarely look good on men (especially when worn on their own)."

"This is especially true if a man is built like a threatened anteater. Miller has relatively narrow shoulders and wide hips, which means there's not much shape through the torso," Guy added.

This is especially true if a man is built like a threatened anteater. Miller has relatively narrow shoulders and wide hips, which means there's not much shape through the torso. pic.twitter.com/3vHGv9W4jC
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) July 2, 2026