Tom Boggioni

A dissent by 77-year-old Supreme Court Clarence Thomas in an Alabama death penalty ruling this week found two conservative justices siding with the minority liberal wing, and three other conservatives wanting nothing to do with his recommendations.

According to a report from Slate, Thomas’s dissent and urging to overturn precedent may have been too far afield for the tastes of Justices John Roberts, Sam Alito, and Neil Gorsuch.

Thomas's extreme position in the Alabama death penalty case Hamm v. Smith has exposed deep fissures within the conservative majority, with three justices distancing themselves from his call to overturn 25 years of precedent protecting condemned individuals with cognitive disabilities.

In his solo dissent, Thomas argued that nothing in constitutional history prevents executing people with intellectual disabilities and urged the court to overrule the landmark Atkins v. Virginia decision that banned such executions under the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

"Nothing in our history suggests there's anything unlawful about executing murderers now protected by Atkins," Thomas wrote, calling for the court to "restore the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause's fixed meaning."

Thomas specifically argued it would be constitutional to execute people with the cognitive abilities of a young child — a position so extreme that even his conservative allies refused to endorse it.

Slate's Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern reported that Thomas stood entirely alone in his position. "Roberts, Alito, and Gorsuch didn't sign onto Thomas' dissent," they wrote.

However, the three justices signaled they might be open to weakening intellectual disability protections if a state presents a "cleaner rule" for determining disability. "But this trio did suggest that if the court can't articulate a clean rule about who is intellectually disabled, it may need to overturn all protections against the execution of that whole class of capital defendants," Lithwick and Stern noted.

The dissent's rejection by even conservative justices is somewhat encouraging. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett notably refused to sign onto the Roberts-Alito-Gorsuch position suggesting potential openness to eliminating protections entirely.

However, Lithwick and Stern warned of future danger. "That is a bad omen, though it's encouraging that Kavanaugh and Barrett didn't sign onto it. The question now is: If a state can litigate this better and make a more coherent argument, will Kavanaugh and Barrett sign on then?" they asked.

Brought on to discuss acting Attorney General Todd Blanche using his DOJ position to boost the fortunes of Donald Trump, the president’s niece lashed out at Trump’s kids who are also benefiting.

Speaking with MS NOW host Ali Velshi, psychologist Mary Trump attempted to explain why Blanche is gaming the system for his boss, particularly by approving a sweetheart deal that blocks the IRS from reviewing tax filings that Trump, his family and his associated businesses made in the past.

As the New York Times reported on Saturday, “…the IRS faces its most profound legal and ethical test yet: a demand to drop any audits of Mr. Trump, his family members or their ‘affiliates’.”

Asked by host Velshi why the president is getting away with such abject corruption, Mary Trump replied, “Because the corrupt, illegitimate supermajority of the Supreme Court made it clear that Donald can never be held accountable as long as he was acting, no matter how criminally in his official capacity.”

“And now, again, the DOJ, which is, let's be clear, Donald Trump's personal defense firm,” she remarked. “And you said earlier, Todd Blanche is his personal attorney, and has just said that Donald and his useless children can do whatever they want with their businesses and with American taxpayer dollars. And there will be no accountability whatsoever.”

“This is the thing,” she later added. “I mean, this fits right into Donald's psychopathologies. He's always needed to convince people, including himself, that he's a winner. Right? So, therefore, he deserves to win and he should be allowed to do whatever it takes in order for him to win, including cheating by rigging a system in his favor.”

"[It’s] much deeper than that, and this is the problem,” she added. “Donald knows that he's not a winner, and he is incapable of winning without cheating. What is mind-blowing is the long line of people who continue to be willing to engage in the most abject sycophancy and corruption in order to help him, and that's why we have to stop seeing him as the main problem. Right? And look at the system, and particularly the Republican Party and the corrupt supermajority in the Supreme Court.”

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Appearing on MS NOW on Saturday morning, the New York Times' Glenn Thrush claimed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has no one to blame but himself as he gets battered by Democrats, Republicans and in the press as he does Donald Trump’s bidding.

And it shows in his face, he noted.

As bad as Donald Trump’s week was, the man who took fired Attorney General Pam Bondi’s place was raked over the coals in a Senate hearing and then was berated by Republican senators in a closed-door meeting described as "incredibly hostile."

That led Thrush to tell the hosts of “The Weekend” that Blanche has looked deflated in all of his public appearances.

“The one thing you can say about Todd Blanche is you definitely want to play poker with the guy, because just look at his face I mean, he looks miserable,” he observed. “He, like, wears his agony on his face and he's just being he's just reaping what he has sown as somebody who refuses to say no to Donald Trump, he has simply not turned down any request.”

“And this, as we were reporting and figuring out how this all came down, it seems that this huge thing that he has sort of blown up the Senate and created this enormous rift in his party was an expedient so that they could get out of having to actually pay Donald Trump money, which Blanche and folks at the White House actually believed would have been a bridge too far,” he added.

“So believe it or not, this fund, this weaponization fund, which everyone is calling a slush fund with no rules, no guidelines on who will distribute the money, and apparently no guardrails was actually considered to be the best of other alternatives. This was actually their best possible plan,” he revealed.

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Ohio Senator Jon Husted (R-OH) can’t be too thrilled with John Kasich’s appearance on MS NOW on Saturday morning after the popular former Republican governor refused to say if he would vote for him and questioned if he will be re-elected.

Brought on to talk about the Republican infighting over, among other things, Donald Trump’s angering GOP lawmakers for pushing for a $1.8 billion “weaponization” slush fund, Kasich was asked by “The Weekend” co-host Jackie Alemany about voting for Husted.

“I want to put you on the spot about the Ohio Senate race,” she began. “Obviously, you have Senator Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill JD Vance's position, who's running against Sherrod Brown. Can we get a little bit more into sort of your prognostications of how the state of Ohio — you know, whether or not it's a still a MAGA stronghold? If you think Husted is going to be able to keep the seat and who you're going to be voting for?”

“I mean, you haven't endorsed Husted. Are you going to be voting for Sherrod Brown?” she pressed.

“Well, I guess, unless you're a voting machine, you're not going to know what I'm going to do,” he demurred. “I don't go telling people how I vote.”

“But look, here's the situation with this,” he added. “This is going to be extremely close. Jon Husted has the difficulty of being an incumbent, you know, at a time where he doesn't have any of the benefits of being incumbent, which is the statewide name ID. Sherrod Brown ran, he's older. I think you're going to hear a lot more about that and, you know, he lost the last time. Is he going to try again? But here's what we do know: There's going to be an unbelievable amount of money spent here.”

“A real interesting question is with the race in Texas, where they're going to have to pour a lot of money and the Republicans will need to hold that Senate seat. What does that do for all these other races where they need lots of money? Let me also say one thing -- in other words, I don't know who's going to win. I think it's going to be extremely close.”

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As part of an interview with Kentucky Democrat Charles Booker, who is running for the seat now held by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), MS NOW host Jonathan Capehart was left, as he put it, “bereft of words,” after watching a flagrantly racist ad being run by GOP nominee Andy Barr.

Capehart told his guest, “Well, Mr. Booker, in order to win, you're going to have to beat Republican Congressman Andy Barr. He's got — he's getting a lot of backlash for a campaign ad where he tells Kentuckians, quote, ‘it's not a sin to be white.’”

In the ad, a smirking Barr tells Kentucky voters, “You know what DEI really stands for? Dumb evil indoctrination. Woke liberals spew it. Corporate losers fall for it. But thanks to Trump, America is rejecting that trash and I'm leading the fight to end it for good.”

“I'm Andy Barr and it's not a sin to be white. It's not against the law to be male. And it shouldn't be disqualifying to be a Christian. I'm Andy Barr, and I approve this message to give woke liberals something else to cry about,” he added.

After the clip ran, Capehart sat with his mouth open before admitting, “Okay, that was my first time seeing that ad in full. My breath has been taken away. I am bereft of words. Your reaction to that?”

“Well, well, good lord, he knows enough to be ashamed of himself, but he doesn't care enough to do anything different because he sold out,” Booker offered. “He's trying to get close to a man in Donald Trump who cares only about himself. And he's weaponizing hate, racism. The playbook — we're tired of that bs. People see through it and they're laughing at them because they know he's a fraud.”

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Any hope that fired Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem might have had about running for office once again in her home state of South Dakota likely died a quiet death on Friday after new polling showed voters want no part of her anymore.

According to a KELOLAND Media Group/Emerson College poll, 67 percent of surveyed voters — 586 respondents — said they would oppose Noem running for office in South Dakota again. Only 22 percent said they would support her candidacy, while 11 percent remained unsure.

According to the KELO report, the rejection represents a stunning reversal for Noem, who won the South Dakota governorship in 2022 with 62 percent of the vote. The former congresswoman and governor had long harbored national political ambitions, at one point lobbying Trump to make her his 2024 running mate.

Those national aspirations appear to have been permanently damaged by her tenure as DHS secretary, during which she became one of the Trump administration's most reviled and ridiculed cabinet members.

The Emerson College poll surveyed 875 South Dakota voters, including approximately 450 Republicans, 221 independents, and 201 Democrats. The results show consistent opposition to Noem across party lines.

The same poll showed 52 percent approval for President Trump in South Dakota and 38 percent disapproval of current Gov. Larry Rhoden — suggesting Noem's unpopularity is not reflective of broader state Republican sentiment but rather specific to her damaged political brand.

A combination of bad Donald Trump polling and highly controversial proposals like his so-called “slush fund” to compensate allies who feel they were victimized by President Joe Biden’s DOJ for their criminality has finally given GOP lawmakers the nudge they needed to abandon him and save their own careers.

According to MS NOW, a single week of Republican defiance saw GOP lawmakers strip $1 billion in security upgrades — including $220 million for Trump's new East Wing ballroom — from their reconciliation package, move closer to backing a resolution forcing Trump to end the Iran war without congressional authorization, and abruptly cancel a vote on $72 billion in additional funding for the administration's immigration and deportation agenda.

The week coincided with Trump's approval rating falling to 37% in a New York Times/Siena poll — the lowest of his two terms combined. Gas prices averaging roughly $4.50 per gallon nationwide have become a constant reminder to voters of the economic pain inflicted by his Iran war.

Republicans are increasingly bleak about the party's electoral prospects. "A freaking disaster [is] coming," one House Republican told MS NOW, speaking anonymously to discuss the election frankly.

A former Trump administration official was more direct: "If the election were held today, we'd lose the Senate and the House."

Republicans have finally reached a breaking point over Trump's controversial $1.8 billion "slush fund" designed to compensate allies who claim victimization by the Biden administration's DOJ — despite their criminality.

"Republicans have realized they are being scammed and this is the week where they said enough. I can't imagine any Republican ever allowing money to be paid to anyone who harmed law enforcement," a former Trump administration official admitted to MS NOW.

GOP lawmakers cited Trump's erratic governance as justification for their rebellion. One House Republican criticized what the lawmaker described as "flip-flopping" on Iran negotiations from one Truth Social post to the next, and treating Taiwan like a "bargaining chip."

"He's pushing it too far. The list goes on and on," the House Republican said.

A second House Republican told MS NOW that Republicans "feel more confident in criticizing [him] because the poll numbers aren't as high as they were," adding that if Republicans had a "Memorial Day wish," it would be to exit the Iran war entirely.

A source close to the White House revealed the fundamental shift in Republican calculations, telling MS NOW's Laura Barrón-López and Mychael Schnell, "In many ways I don't think they [GOP lawmakers] fear the president anymore. Many have realized you can outlive Trump, politically speaking."

In a deep dive on Donald Trump’s “bad week” that prompted a massive Republican Party revolt against the president who is used to having his way, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the outburst against the president’s proposed “slush fund” was a direct result of their existing discontent with his GOP primary meddling.

According to the Journal, the verbal abuse that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was greeted with, in what Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called “One of the roughest meetings I’ve seen in my entire time in the Senate,” was an outgrowth of previous frustration with Trump.

For more than a year, Republican senators had largely deferred to Trump's wishes — backing contentious cabinet nominees, giving the president free rein on tariffs and the Iran war, and accepting his judicial appointments without serious resistance.

This week, they revolted en masse, fed up with Trump's insistence on settling personal scores and pursuing pet projects at the expense of their legislative agenda.

The "tipping point" came Tuesday when Trump endorsed scandal-tarred Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the state's Republican Senate primary runoff — a move that stunned many of Cornyn's colleagues, the Journal is reporting.

GOP senators viewed the endorsement as reckless and personal. Cornyn is a longtime, well-respected Senate fixture who served in leadership, ran for majority leader, and has been a prolific fundraiser — collecting more than $400 million in donations for Senate colleagues, candidates, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee since 2002.

"I'm just sad," said an emotional Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) after Trump announced the endorsement. She fretted that it would cost Republicans "a fortune" to try to hold Cornyn's seat.

Republicans hold a 53-47 seat majority in the Senate. The report notes that GOP senators have warned that Paxton — who was impeached by his own party, later acquitted, and is in the middle of a divorce initiated by his wife on "biblical grounds" — could force the party to spend tens of millions defending a traditionally red seat.

Those resources could be invested elsewhere on the Senate map in truly competitive states such as Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, and Alaska.

The Paxton endorsement followed Trump's ouster of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician and committee chairman who failed to reach the Senate GOP runoff after Trump backed Rep. Julia Letlow. Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in the 2021 Senate impeachment trial.

Some Republican aides viewed Trump's last-minute Paxton endorsement as a sign of his broader frustration with the Senate and his determination to punish perceived disloyalty — regardless of the electoral consequences for the party.

The abrupt resignation announcement made by DNI head Tulsi Gabbard on Friday, going into Memorial Day weekend, will decrease a substantial amount of tension inside and outside the White House.

That is according to MS NOW national security expert, Marc Polymeropoulos, who spoke with host Chris Jansing by phone moments after the news broke.

According to the 26-year CIA veteran, Gabbard long ago “lost Donald Trump’s ear” and had been iced out of important security meetings, losing out in influence to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

President Donald Trump weighed in on Truth Social, writing, “Unfortunately, after having done a great job, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the Administration on June 30th. Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together. I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence.”

According to Polymeropoulos, there is more to the departure than Gabbard’s husband’s illness, in large part about suspicions about Gabbard’s loyalties.

“But, you know, this this is really going to be just a story of an individual who had this kind of very interesting rise within U.S. politics, certainly switched sides to the Republican side over to President Trump,” he noted. “But ultimately, at the end of the day, could never kind of reconcile her opposition to ever invading Iran, to never-ending wars with Trump, going forward with it.”

He added, “And again, loss of access means you just have no more influence, and you can't have the intelligence chief of the U.S. government not in the same room with the president. That was just an untenable situation. I think probably a lot of people are breathing a sigh of relief because this just was not working.”

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Military experts and Pentagon officials are pushing back at proposals from within Donald Trump’s administration that will cripple their ability to prepare for a possible war with China and other adversarial nations.

According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration's five-year energy leasing plan would allow oil platforms in areas that currently serve as vital military operations zones. Florida's entire 30-member congressional delegation and the Pentagon, along with retired military leaders and armed forces advocacy groups, are scrambling to overhaul the plan before its October finalization.

The U.S. coastline along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean mirrors China's geography — minus the Florida Peninsula — with islands dotting both waters. The region currently functions as an essential training zone, allowing troops to deploy from Virginia toward the Gulf in scenarios similar to how forces would launch from bases in Japan toward potential enemies.

"The region acts as a training zone, allowing troops to deploy from Virginia toward the Gulf, similar to how they would launch from bases in Japan to travel south toward a potential enemy. There are hundreds of open miles for Tomahawk missiles and other weapons to be tested before they are used in combat," the Post reported.

Rick Miller, a retired Navy captain and vice chair of the Florida Defense Alliance, expressed alarm at the administration's proposal, telling the Post, "It's almost strategically backwards. For a modest potential increase in oil production capacity, we'd be giving up a tremendous amount of national defense capability."

The concern spans all military branches, according to the Post. The U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard all use at least one range off California or in the Gulf, with at least two dozen military bases relying on these areas in some capacity.

The critical difference between civilian and military use lies in flexibility. While civilian boats and planes can be directed to steer clear of military operations, permanent oil platforms cannot be moved, forcing military exercises to navigate around them.

Vice Adm. Jody Breckenridge, a retired Coast Guard leader and chair of the California Governor's Military Council, explained the strategic consequences. The California offshore military areas are used for training and weapons testing similar to the Gulf range, with the Space Force using them from Vandenberg base. Unlike Florida, California troops can practice transitioning from water combat into mountain operations.

"These are becoming more and more one of a kind, and we have what we have. Once you give that up you're never going to get it back," Breckenridge said. "And then what does that mean to having a trained and ready military?"

A social media boast by Donald Trump about a booming stock market early Friday morning was greeted with both alarm and anger by some of his supporters over the faltering value of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ: DJT) stock.

The Wall Street Journal reported, “Investors around the world are in good spirits this morning, setting the S&P 500 on track to rise for its eighth straight week,” prompting the president to boast on Truth Social: “NEW STOCK MARKET RECORD!”

But mixed in the comments on his Truth Social amongst the usual pro-Trump memes and “AI slop” were some disgruntled supporters of the president wondering why their DJT stock is collapsing instead of surging in the bull market.

With the stock close to a 52-week low, “$DJT stockholder. Retruthed by President Trump” Theresa responded, “What are they doing to $DJT stock?” followed by a sad face emoji.

Army vet Mark H observed, “Not for DJT (TMTG) maybe DJT bottom low record.”

He also asked, “@realDonaldTrump what’s going on with DJT stock? What are the board members doing about this matter?”

Self-described conservative David Monoc lamented, “New highs for the market but sadly a new low for DJT stock and the long suffering shareholders!”

“Mr. President, be careful with this message. The stock prices are going up because of the PROFITS that the corporations are making Their (sic) profits come from the sale of their products. The PEOPLE are paying the higher prices, that are generating the obscene profits. Not all people are in the stock market, and almost NONE have enough of ANY stock that it makes up for the higher prices. Inflation is being caused by CORPORATE GREED, just look at the numbers,” suggested a Trump supporter who calls himself Wilfred of Ivanhoe.

Posting a screenshot showing the stock down to $7.95 down from $100, Greg Ryczek demanded Trump make a move to bolster the value of his stock by proposing, “Help patriots with stock buyback!”

“Truth social keeps going down. It’s literally the lowest it’s ever been. Why????” asked “Freedom loving American” Kjkj.

If Donald Trump doesn’t make radical changes to his inner circle soon, he will be trapped in a living hell during the last two years of his administration.

That is the opinion of Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), given in a surprisingly candid interview with Politico in which he revealed he has a better relationship with the president than it appears on the surface.

Speaking with Politico’s Jordain Carney, Tillis said he wants Trump to succeed at pushing forward conservative principles, but that his close aides are undermining him with poor advice — setting the president up for a fall.

In particular, the North Carolina Republican, who is retiring, pointed the finger at Trump insider Stephen Miller and former Fox News personality turned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“You’ve mentioned Stephen Miller by name before but are there other advisers that you are thinking of?” he was asked.

“I think Hegseth misinformed him on the challenges [of Iran]," he responded. "I suspect that Hegseth cast aside concerns he was hearing from some of the finest people that ever served in uniform and took his cowboy-ish approach to going into Iran. I’m glad the president did what he did in Iran. I’m not glad that he has Hegseth advising him on the details.

“I think Hegseth is largely responsible for why we’re in this, ‘Are we in a war? Are we not in a war? Are we in a cease-fire? Are we not in a cease-fire? Do we have a deal? Do we not have a deal? Are they going to have nuclear capabilities? Are they not going to?’ All of that I’ll lay at the feet of Pete Hegseth and his incompetence.”

He added, “I’d love to see Pete Hegseth fired because he’s incompetent and doing a horrible job. That’s kind of on a Christmas wish list, but what I mainly want to do is get Republicans reelected in November, including bringing them back a majority in the House.”

Then he went on to lambast others in Trump's inner circle for their approach to the upcoming midterms.

“I believe that there are people in the White House who couldn’t care less about what happens in November, and that goes to show you how stupid they are,” he said.

“Because if they don’t get Republicans reelected, they’re going to create the most miserable two years of this president’s life, beginning in 2027. And they will just surf on to something else, saying, ‘Sorry, boss, didn’t see that coming,’ and they’ll just surf off to somebody else to be a parasite on in the future in their little political roles without any accountability whatsoever.”

A “Morning Joe” segment that was supposed to be about Donald Trump appearing to demur from attending the wedding of Don Trump Jr, went briefly off the rails over the 79-year-old president’s tendency to sit during his press availabilities in his second term.

Co-host Mika Brzezinski was the first to bring up the “optics” of the sitting president surrounded by “crotches and belly buttons” — a pointed reference to a man standing directly to Trump’s right on Thursday who had, what she called, a “distracting” protruding belly button.

“But why do they — it's all these crotches and belly buttons around the president. Like that was gross,” she complained. “Prominent belly buttons that distracted and I can't even. What? Why. Oh my God, make it go away!”

“I wrote earlier this week about this story about, how, look, Donald Trump is aging and there's some scrutiny coming to changes in his behavior,” co-host Jonathan Lemire offered. “One of the data points I mentioned is that for these events in the Oval Office, they have him seated now. They don't have him standing in front of podiums. And when you sit at the desk, that's the risk you run is that might be your backdrop.”

“Can someone say, ‘Mr. President, you look so much more commanding when you're standing so we don't have to look at belly buttons sticking out of big stomachs and crotches,’?” Brzezinski countered.

“Yeah, but that may not work that well anymore,” contributor Eugene Robinson interjected.

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CBS News head Bari Weiss suffered an embarrassing public blow on Sunday when Anderson Cooper, one of the most recognized news anchors in the world, was allowed to deliver thinly veiled criticism of her leadership — catching her completely off guard.

According to media watchdog Status, the already embattled Weiss was not given advance notice of Cooper's remarks and was effectively "blindsided" by the criticism. The exit interview, published as part of "60 Minutes" "Overtime" series, saw Cooper reflect on his nearly two decades as a correspondent while taking subtle but pointed shots at the CBS News boss.

In the interview, Cooper stressed that "independence" is "crucial" to the show and that trust with viewers is "critical." Most pointedly, he emphasized that overseeing the program "requires an appreciation of the history and the sacrifices and the hard work of the people here."

"I hope '60 Minutes' remains '60 Minutes,'" Cooper said, clearly aware that Weiss plans to overhaul the program now that the current season has ended. "There's very few things that have been around for as long as '60 Minutes' has and maintained the quality that it has."

The remarks were particularly striking because they were delivered by Cooper — arguably one of the most respected voices in broadcast journalism — and published directly on the CBS News platform that Weiss oversees.

According to Oliver Darcy of Status, behind the scenes, Weiss was reportedly "furious" over the public airing of Cooper's criticism which created headlines, according to people familiar with the matter. Her anger was compounded by the fact that Cooper used the CBS News platform itself to deliver the rebuke.

Darcy pointed out it must have felt particularly humiliating to Weiss, who had personally made overtures to Cooper with the aim of expanding his presence at the network — only to have Cooper decline and then use that same platform to criticize her leadership.

Executive producer Tanya Simon, who oversees "60 Minutes," has attempted to balance placating Weiss while maintaining the integrity of the newsmagazine. However, Weiss's displeasure over Cooper's remarks ultimately reached Simon, according to sources.

A CBS News spokesperson declined to comment to Status on the matter.