Mother Jones reporter. Covering corruption, foreign influence. Derrick White enthusiast. Signal: danfriedman.67
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“Washington, federal resources are not actually being targeted where they would make the most difference, in high-crime neighborhoods far from the photogenic monuments and government buildings where National Guard troops are patrolling.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/u...
Theodore Goodman is Rudy’s flack.
“They had so much fun,” Burgum said. “They pulled people over. They started to take off. They chased them. They stopped them.” www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Trump said tonight he is going to issue an executive order purporting to require enforcement of voter ID rules: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/u... The president has no such authority to order how elections are conducted.
This isn’t a ‘crime crackdown’ as far too many news outlets keep insisting. It’s a grotesque immigration hunt that so far, has rounded up mostly non- criminals.
"Trump’s age, his visible health problems, and the White House’s cagey answers raise real questions about transparency and capacity. Yet the institutions that pride themselves on holding power to account have largely looked away," @passantino.bsky.social writes. www.status.news/p/trump-heal...
Agents snatched this person out of his Uber ride this morning in Mount Pleasant, Washington DC. Per source, officers followed his Uber for a few minutes, and then swarmed the vehicle and dragged him out.
“I am extremely skeptical that Bill Pulte would come across 1/100th as well as Lisa Cook if his paperwork were scrutinized as closely as he has scrutinized Cook’s." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
I talked to @motherjones.com for this piece: The “Mini-Trump” attacking Lisa Cook had paperwork problems of his own www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“[Bill] Pulte got his job in the administration about three years after his wife, Diana Pulte, donated $500,000 to a super PAC backing Trump. The donation was channeled through a Delaware shell company, ML Organization LLC, that Bill Pulte controlled.”
FHFA Director Bill Pulte's attacks on Trump targets for mortgage application missteps are drawing attention to his own issues. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
🚨Border Patrol arrested two firefighters who were actively fighting a wildfire at the time. When the other members of the crew asked for a chance to say goodbye, a Border Patrol agent told the crew member “you need to get the f*ck out of here. I’m going to make you leave.”
Maybe they could leave fucking path for kids going to school?
BREAKING: Trump-appointed judge *dismisses* DOJ lawsuit against Maryland judges over their decision to automatically pause deportation cases for 48 hours He also calls Trump and his admin's attack on judges a "smear" that is "unprecedented and unfortunate storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
FUCK ME DO NOT DESCRIBE TRUMP'S PLANS IN THE HEADLINES WITHOUT NOTING THEY ARE ILLEGAL.
“Intel warned government intervention could harm the company’s international sales, which make up 76 percent .. It said the company could face .. backlash from investors, employees, customers, suppliers, foreign governments .. as well as possible litigation.” www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Trump posts a letter stating that he is removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook
BREAKING: Judge Lamberth orders Kari Lake to sit for a deposition about whether she is operating Voice of America up to legal minimum standards. He says this is "one final opportunity" before a contempt trial.
/4 Except this is not, in fact, a particularly good idea. The “fighting words” exception is defunct. It hasn’t been used by the Supreme Court to justify a speech restriction in living memory and it was specifically rejected as a basis to uphold flag burning laws.
/3 Now the FedSoc mids in the Administration have a Bright Idea: what if we prosecuted flag burning not as flag burning but on theory that it falls under the “fighting words” or incitement exceptions?
So in sum, Trump signed exec. orders today that are blatantly unconstitutional (criminalizing flag burning), probably unconstitutional (using federal funds to prohibit bail reform), and exacerbating a previous illegal order (expanding the use of the military for domestic law enforcement).
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social and @nlanard.bsky.social were recognized for their eye-opening story exposing how the Trump administration sent 10 Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador based on flimsy evidence, including their tattoos.
Their policy, obviously, is to use traffic stops to find and deport undocumented immigrants. But they could be honest about that without trying to justify it by reflexively claiming every one of them is a suspected gang member with no apparent evidence beyond their speaking Spanish.
The White House and DHS seem to be claiming any undocumented Latin American guy arrested by ICE in DC has "suspected gang ties" without any evidence for the accusation. That's not new for them, but it's strikingly racist, slanderous shit from the US government. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Looks like they want to go to Nellie’s?
“Thank GOD the National Guard is here while I EAT MY PIZZA,” shouts a woman at Red Light on 14th in DC as yet another trio of guardsmen walk by.
The best, most accurate look at the DC occupation is coming from the locals: local news & local residents capturing violent arrests, peaceful protests, safe tourist spots overrun with bored troops. It's a powerful reality check on Trump propaganda. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
8/ Large groups of agents stopping commuters at a Mtero station: bsky.app/profile/notu...
Ghislaine Maxwell reveals that she is a virgin. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
MPD, FBI, and others with non-agency specific gear arresting a guy for — get this — smoking weed on U Street.
FBI agents assist(?) MPD in conducting an arrest at 10 and U in DC. Bystanders say it’s for marijuana.
Remember how the Trump administration claimed that Kilmar Abrego Garcia had to be brought back to the United States to "face justice"? That it wasn't about the deportation case, they just HAD to prosecute him? They lied! The whole thing was a lie! And they don't care at all that you know that.
Trump oversees a govermentwide campaign to punish perceived enemies. But it's being carried out haphazardly by advisers like Gabbard, Bondi, Patel, Martin, Pulte, who are pushing investigations of Trump foes to seek the bosses favor. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The FBI raided Bolton's house after Patel complained at length in his book about Bolton not wanting to hire him during the first Trump administration. Patel who also put Bolton on his published list of enemies, then this morning tweeted about the pending raid. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
"The settlement raises significant concerns that Donald Trump demanded and Paramount paid an illegal bribe." democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
Chance for thousands to flip him off. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
"Construction of the ski resort Trojena is facing mounting engineering and logistical challenges" Who'd have thought? www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-a...
What in gods name is this
SCOOP: As the National Guard takes over the streets of DC, military officers are now going to be detailed to prosecute civilian criminal cases for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Here is an image of the crowd of people that chased a dozen ICE agents out of Columbia Heights yesterday. I don’t see one “elderly white hippie” there. I do see a wide variety of ages, genders, and races; DC residents united in disgust at what Miller is cheering on.
JUST IN: Judge Berman agrees that effort by DOJ to unseal Epstein grand jury files is a “diversion” when DOJ could just release a trove of far more comprehensive documents without court involvement. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The Vice President, maybe realizing how fascist using troops to drive away homeless people sounds, then said mentally ill people "attack" families at Union Station, which seems to be completely made up. There's crime near Union Station, but that is a problem for cops, not the National Guard.
Vance says that DC needs National Guard troops because of "vagrants," "drug addicts," "chronically homeless" and mentally ill" people, some of whom he claims "harass" people, ie panhandle. DC residents overwhelmingly oppose this. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
It's good they are pointing this stuff out, even though the NYT nut graph style ("specter of criminality") makes me want to rip my hair out. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/u...
This is how the Times points out Pulte is a unqualified hack using his access to mortgage information to do partisan dirty work for Trump, probably illegally. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/u...
This article could be clearer in saying Trump's claim is ridiculous horseshit. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/w... He’s claiming credit for ending conflicts that also started on his watch, for ceasefires in small border clashes and for stopping Israel’s war with Iran, which he allowed to being with.
“Federal prosecutors in D.C. have been instructed not to seek felony charges against people who are carrying rifles or shotguns in [DC], regardless of the strength of the evidence, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and an email reviewed by [WaPo].” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
I've been hearing similar stuff all weekend but could not get confirmation. As usual @marisakabas.bsky.social gets the details. Follow her
Trump says he's dispatching "my attorneys" to review displays at museums (maybe just Smithsonians; it's not clear) to stop them from focusing on "how bad Slavery was."
ATF, FBI, MPD, and Secret Service just arrested someone in front of the Union Market Trader Joe’s at 4 and Florida NE DC while residents heckled them.
yeah, I think that's right. The new signs were still there last I saw. I will check again when I pass there this evening. Dildo is gone.
ICE posted that video on Sunday, but I believe it was the same banner-stealing, dildo leaving incident from Friday seen in the ring camera, except this was the agents' video. Took a few days before someone at ICE decided, "Yes, it's a good idea to post this clip of our guys stealing a sign."
So there were three. One that was probably replaced due to regular wear and tear, the replacement that agents stole Friday, and then the new "no ala Migra" one put up after.
I believe the agents tore down one banner (and left one dildo) on Friday, the one the agent balls up, that said "Chinga la Migra" on top. I think the NPR reporter found an older image of a earlier banner that had been replaced. In that picture the trees are bare; it's from winter.
The White House's own figures indicate that the DC occupation is mostly resulting in low-level immigration arrests, not addressing violent crime. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
The dildo was removed and the sign replaced by Saturday. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Trump's description of DC is a combination of made up bullshit and the homeless people he sees on his way to play golf. www.washingtonpost.com/style/intera...
Concentrated where they can be seen, especially by tourists, not where crime is.
At least one.
The feds who left a dildo in public yesterday in place of a sign they ripped down because it was anti-ICE crisply conveyed what Donald Trump’s occupation of DC is really about. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
New anti-ICE sign up in Mount Pleasant where feds yesterday ripped one down and left a dildo. No ala migra.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
"I don't care," this chubby fed tells onlookers asking him to provide some identification after he and a bunch of other agents beat the shit out a delivery worker in the middle of DC today. www.thehandbasket.co/p/federal-ag...
NEW: A federal court has granted a preliminary injunction to Media Matters in its case against the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing that the FTC investigation violated the group's free speech rights www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
There are likely to be a lot more anti-ICE signs in Mt. Pleasant soon. newrepublic.com/post/199014/...
One anti-vaccine activist added, helpfully, "He didn’t kill any kids. The CDC can’t say the same.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Imagine it was for personal use amid all the downtime they have.
Just an occupying force going around vandalizing my neighborhood to remove speech they don't like. This is thuggish and counterproductive to any law enforcement goal they may pretend to have. It just highlights that unprofessional goons are occupying DC.
Judge Reyes starts off by explaining why we're here. At the outset, she says she WON'T rule on Trump's determination that there's an "emergency" under section 740 of the Home Rule Act. She also won't address the "federal purpose" issue. Wants to focus on AG Bondi's order.
Erden Arkan, the Turkish businessman being sentenced today for funnelling illegal straw donations to Mayor Adams in 2021, is cooperating in the NYC Campaign Finance Board's continuing investigation into the mayor's 2021 and 2025 campaigns, per a new letter filed by CFB in court.
Latest Kristi Noem corruption data point. Follows: www.propublica.org/article/kris...
DC's suit against DOJ makes a strong case that Trump's order at best partly legal and Bondi's recent directive to DC police is illegal and nonbinding. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Aren’t they supposed to be supporting freedom?
Another authoritarian who wants to impose martial law on a free country
In terms of what Dems need to be saying about current actions. This guy needs to be fired in any future administration.
"We can’t be political with our content, but they have politicized everything. We need to prove we’re not partisan by following this very partisan directive." newrepublic.com/post/199134/...
Homeland Security Investigations on 18th between L and M.
It's hard to know exactly what he's trying to say, but it sounds like an accidental admission to the obvious fact that the DC takeover is not actually about crime. Crime is just the pretext for authoritarianism.
My report for MSNBC: www.msnbc.com/chris-jansin...
Martial law includes the suspension of regular laws. This, while authoritarian and terrible, is not that.
After the shooting at CDC, Sen. Blumenthal is calling for HHS Secretary Kennedy to fire Dr. Robert Malone — whose Substack posts and other writings are objectively unhinged and tinged with violence — from ACIP and restore the expert panel Kennedy gutted. www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
Unless you were at the Capitol on Jan. 6
I'm not a fan of booing DC cops, but the truth is that these guys hanging around 14th and V did nothing to stop violence or even minor crimes. DC residents are right to want real policing, not this Trump imposed authoritrian BS that is not actually about crime, except as a pretext.
I got there after they apparently left. But that is my understanding from people there.
Crowd cheers as cops leave.
ICE is gone but DC cops are still out at V and 14th, getting heckled by an angry crowd after one person was supposedly arrested by feds in a roadblock aimed at immigrants
The stats showing a huge decline in violent crime and homicide in D.C. last year were put out just the other day by the FBI, which is run by Kash Patel.
The Smithsonian attack is part of a broader effort to Trumpify American history that is in fact completely partisan and ahistorical. They don't care about history beyond its use as far right propaganda today. The MAGA takeover of the America250 celebrations that we first reported is part of this.
The White House, without evident appreciation of the irony, is pushing Smithsonian to "eliminate political influence" in its displays, while ensuring they are "patriotic" and not "divisive or partisan." www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Few pieces filled me with as much rage while writing it as this one: On how BRETT KAVANAUGH, of all ppl on SCOTUS, wrote an opinion saying it was okay to deem a child (in this case, one horrifically abused) as irredeemable and deserving of death of old age in prison. KAV A NAUGH.
Mayor Bowser has worked to appease Trump. As a result he has limited personal attacks on her, but today shows that DC residents have gained nothing from her efforts. It may be time for her to change course and fight this.
No publication, not the AP, not the New York Post, needs to accept Trump's claim that crime in DC suddenly constitutes an emergency as plausible and ignore the actual reasons for this authoritarian move.
Really bad AP lead here manages to treat the objective fact of declining crime in DC like it' difference of opinion between Trump and Mayor Bowser.
Pirro has the chutzpah to reference "the law abiding citizens" of DC while joining in lies justifying an authoritarian override of DC democracy.
