This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 72 Ron Filipkowski Feb 17 … Trump posted on Truth Social this weekend: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” … Shortly after Trump made that post, Mike Pence responded by posting an old article he wrote about the limitations on a president’s power: “Without proper adherence to the role contemplated in the Constitution for the presidency, the checks and balances in the constitutional plan become weakened. The president is not our teacher, our tutor, our guide or ruler. He does not command us; we command him. We serve neither him nor his vision. It is not his job or his prerogative to redefine custom, law, and beliefs; to appropriate industries; to seize the country, as it were, by the shoulders or by the throat so as to impose by force of theatrical charisma his justice upon 300 million others. It is neither his job nor his prerogative to shift the power of decision away from them, and to him and the acolytes of his choosing.” … “A president who slights the Constitution is like a rider who hates his horse: he will be thrown, and the nation along with him. The president solemnly swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. He does not solemnly swear to ignore, overlook, supplement, or reinterpret it. Other than in a crisis of existence, such as the Civil War, amendment should be the sole means of circumventing the Constitution. For if a president joins the powers of his office to his own willful interpretation, he steps away from a government of laws and toward a government of men.” … Trump also posted that birthright citizenship only applies to slaves: “The 14th Amendment Right of American Citizenship never had anything to do with modern day ‘gate crashers,’ illegal immigrants who break the Law by being in our Country, it had everything to do with giving Citizenship to former slaves. Our Founding Fathers are ‘spinning in their graves’ at the idea that our Country can be taken away from us. No Nation in the World has anything like this. Our lawyers and Judges have to be tough, and protect America!” … MAGA actor Randy ‘Cousin Eddie’ Quaid then posted this on X: “Where should a major Trump statue be placed?” … Tom Homan lamely tried to explain away why he was laughing it up on Fox & Friends with NYC mayor Eric Adams on his quid pro quo deal to drop his corruption charges in exchange for his help rounding up migrants: "This was two cops talking. We're talking cop. Once you're a cop, you never lose that language. This is a conversation between two cops having a good time, and people are making a lot out of nothing." … I feel better. … Adams then posted this bullshit on X: “I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered, nor did anyone offer on my behalf, any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never. I am solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent and I will always put this city first. Now, we must put this difficult episode behind us so that trust can be restored, NY can move forward, and we can continue delivering for the people of this city.” … Homan was asked on CNN about his suggestion on Laura Ingraham’s show that AOC should be arrested for obstruction of justice because she put out a video telling people what their rights are if ICE comes banging on their door: “I asked DOJ - where’s that line on ‘impeding’ law enforcement? It’s a broad statute. Where’s the line on impeding? I’m asking DOJ prosecutors to look at it.” … Homan also continues to pull people away from their duties with other law enforcement agencies to help him try to get deportation numbers up. Jason House, Chief of Staff for ICE under Biden, told WaPo: “I see a lot of show. This administration wants to continuously bring in every piece of the government away from their mission.” He officers who usually focus on illegal firearms, drugs and sex traffickers are now “standing around in their jackets arresting noncriminals.” … Homan has brought in officers and agents from DEA, US Marshals, FBI and other agencies to help round up migrants. … But NBC reports that DOJ just fired multiple immigration judges. The Intl Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers says that more than two dozen immigration judges, managers and new hires have been fired, including 5 midlevel assistant chief immigration judges and 13 candidates to become new judges. … IFPTE president Matt Biggs: “You have a president who campaigned on immigration and removing people from the country on the one hand. And on the other hand, he’s actually firing the very judges that have to hear these cases and make those decisions. So, it makes no sense. It’s a head scratcher.” … Immigration Judge Kerry Doyle, who was fired by email: “This firing occurred despite the fact that the Immigration Court currently has in the neighborhood of 3.5 MILLION pending cases and DOJ is asking Congress for more money to hire more people at EOIR!” A reminder that we provide the entire Weekend Bulletin for free to all subscribers. The first 30% of the Bulletins during the week are free with the remainder for paid subscribers. Thank you to everyone for supporting my work! Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Sarah Palin is upset that she hasn’t gotten a job from Trump yet. On NewsNation: “I thought that there would be a position in Energy in that Department, because that's my baby: wanting energy independence for America. You know, that's all about security and sovereignty of our nation is to be energy independent. But that hasn't happened.” … Her disappointment continued: “I didn't even get credentials to attend the GOP convention, if you can believe it. And I'm the only living Republican nominee who had run for VP or president who supported Trump. And even I couldn't get in. I'd love to serve." … The Trump administration fired more than 300 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday, then reversed course after backlash 24 hours later and reinstated them. The NNSA has oversight of nuclear power and nuclear weapons. CNN reported that some of the fired employees included NNSA staff oversee the contractors who build nuclear weapons are built, and inspect the weapons. … CNN’s inside source said the people were stupidly fired because “no one has taken any time to understand what we do and the importance of our work to the nation’s national security.” … Labs in 58 facilities responding to bird flu were notified Friday that 25% of the staff in a central program office coordinating their work were fired by DOGE. The USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network program office has a staff of only 14 people, but it plays a major role in responding to animal disease outbreaks. Labs with the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians were informed that testing and other responses to the H5N1 outbreak would now be slower. … Keith Poulsen, Director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: “They’re the front line of surveillance for the entire outbreak. They’re already underwater and they are constantly short-staffed.” … White House NEC Director Kevin Hassett tells Fox that it is still Biden’s fault that eggs are expensive: “Nobody can buy an egg in the grocery store because Joe Biden killed all the chickens.” … Arielle Kane posted on X: “Hey! Elon Musk. Your doge minions just fired me and my colleagues at CMMI. We were working on improving maternal health outcomes AT LOWER COSTS so fewer pregnant women would die in this county. I thought that would fit nicely into your agenda? The admin told media yesterday that the HHS cuts were ‘targeted’ and didn't include scientists or people working on Medicare & Medicaid. Well I know of scientists who got fired and I work on Medicaid. Just wanted to point out when you get things wrong - like you requested.” … Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: “The Musk-rats are now inside EPA. The fossil fuel dark money machine that put Trump in office wants to destroy, the better to pollute.” … Sen. Tammy Duckworth: “ALERT - I’m hearing many Veterans have been inadvertently caught up in Trump and Elon’s mass firings, even though they’ve been in federal service for years. Veterans make up 30% of our federal workforce. This is a middle finger to our heroes and their life of service.” … Michael Missal, who has been the VA Inspector General since 2016 until he was just illegally fired: "If you just start cutting without understanding the consequences of what you're doing, then that's where the government can hurt not help. If you start cutting people who are involved in the VA's efforts, then you may be hurting veterans." … Rep. Jasmine Crockett: “There’s an immigrant taking people’s jobs. His name is Elon Musk. He’s snatching farms, govt jobs (even those in which they manage our national security), and definitely those whose jobs are to root out fraud (IGs), & those that are keeping us safe (FAA), meals on wheels workers, head start, and the list goes on, so I’ll be the bigger person and admit to MAGA that I was wrong when I said immigrants wouldn’t take our jobs. You were 1000% correct!” … Sen. Tim Kaine talked about Musk cutting programs and employees on Fox News Sunday: “Why isn't Trump getting the Republican leaders down to the White House and saying, 'here's what we're gonna do'? He's making all these cuts without Congress because he doesn't even think the Republican leadership will go along with them.” … Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is complaining about Trump and DOGE after voting to confirm all his nominees: “I am all for efficiency and ultimately downsizing the federal government, but firing large numbers of new FBI agents is not the way to achieve this. Louisiana specifically benefits from newly hired FBI agents. We need to add to our law enforcement, not take away.” … Cassidy will most assuredly vote to confirm Kash Patel, though. These people complain about things that affect their states or districts, but do absolutely nothing to stop it while enabling Trump at every turn. They will continue to complain about Trump on social media while voting for his entire agenda. … Cassidy, who is a physician who knows better, voted to confirm RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary. Kennedy posted this photo today with accused sex offender Russell Brand, miracle cure salesman Dr. Oz, who was recently appointed by Trump to head Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and a lizard. … Sen. Lisa Murkowski will also complain while doing nothing: “Potentially over 100 Alaskans are being fired as part of the Trump admin’s reduction-in-force order for the fed govt. Many of these abrupt terminations will do more harm than good, stunting opportunities in AK and leaving holes in our communities. We can’t realize our potential for responsible energy and mineral development if we can’t permit projects. We will be less prepared to manage summer wildfires if we can’t support those on the front lines. Our tourism economy will be damaged if we don’t maintain our world-class national parks and forests. I share the administration’s goal of reducing the size of the fed govt, but this approach is bringing confusion, anxiety, and now trauma to our civil servants—some of whom moved their families and packed up their whole lives to come here. Indiscriminate workforce cuts aren’t efficient and won’t fix the federal budget, but they will hurt good people who have answered the call to public service to do important work for our nation.” … AJC reports that Trump’s has denied GA Gov. Brian Kemp’s request to give local governments more time to apply for federal disaster assistance after Hurricane Helene. Trump has had a long running feud with Kemp he refused to help him overturn the 2020, then refused to remove Fani Willis as DA. The storm caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage to Georgia’s agriculture and forestry sectors alone. … Sen. Amy Klobuchar on CNN: "My hope is my Republican colleagues in Congress start showing that kind of courage, start showing that kind of fortitude and follow the advice of the Constitution that they are supposed to advise and consent on these nominees, like Kash Patel, instead of simply accepting and acquiescing every step of the way." … She then said she realizes this probably won’t happen. … Trump Media & Technology, the parent company of Truth Social run by Devin Nunes, reported that it lost another $400.9 million in 2024 and its annual revenue declined 12% to $3.6 million. It has never made a profit since inception. … WaPo reporter Josh Rogin: “After Vance met with the co-leader of Germany’s far right AfD party, one German expert here in Munich told me: ‘First, America de-Nazified Germany. Now, America is re-Nazifying Germany.’” … Rep. Dan Goldman: “The AfD is the neo-Nazi party. Elon Musk and now JD Vance have shown strong support for the AfD in the run-up to German elections. Aside from the serious questions about meddling in another democracy, why is the GOP so quiet about this signal of antisemitism?” … Former NOAA scientist Chris Rilling: “The reason Vance and Hegseth are using the same right wing, culture war talking points in Europe as they did during the election is because it's ALL THEY KNOW and are comfortable with. They're thinking, ‘If it worked at home, why not use it overseas?’ The problem is, our European allies aren't buying it. Vance and Hegseth are completely unprepared and unskilled in the art of international diplomacy and strengthening alliances. Frankly, they're making the US look moronic.” … Rep. Jared Moskowitz was on Fox where they brought up USAID providing contraceptives to Africa: “We sent condoms and contraceptives to Mozambique in 2019 under the Trump Administration.” Jesse Watters responded: “I don’t think Trump knew about the condoms. I think there was a lot Trump didn’t really know.” … This is becoming a new trend from Trump supporters. Every time you confront them with the fact that Trump did the same thing last time that they are complaining about, they say he didn’t have any idea what was happening when he was president. … MAGA influencer Ashley St. Clair issued a statement that she gave birth to Elon Musk’s 13th child right before the election: "5 months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father. I have not previously disclosed this to protect our child's privacy and safety, but in recent days it has become clear that tabloid media intends to do so, regardless of the harm it will cause. I intend to allow our child to grow in a normal and safe environment. For that reason, I ask that the media honor our child's privacy, and refrain from invasive reporting." … She then did a photo shoot and interview about it with NY Post. … Former Marge Greene staffer and right-wing influencer Milo Yiannopoulos then posted screen shots of St. Clair’s posts years ago where she told Greg Price, who has done social media work for Trump, that she needed to get Musk’s attention “for a marriage proposal.” When Price responded that it probably wouldn’t work because Musk has young children with another woman, St. Clair responded, “Well he actually has 7 kids & goes through women pretty fast.” … Musk then responded, “Whoa” to Yiannopoulos’ post that surmised that St. Clair “plotted for HALF A DECADE to ensnare” Musk. That caused St. Clair to respond to Musk with this: “Elon, we have been trying to communicate for the past several days and you have not responded. When are you going to reply to us instead of publicly responding to smears from an individual who just posted photos of me in underwear at 15 years old?' … Turns out “we” refers also at least to her publicist. And most likely a child support lawyer at some point. Her publicist: “We are waiting for Elon to publicly acknowledge his parenting role with Ashley to end unwarranted speculation, and Ashley trusts that Elon intends to finish their agreement quickly.” … St. Clair also posted: 'It's interesting that Elon is responding to this clearly in jest screenshot that was discussed with his team months ago in a documented call. Now he decides to respond to it publicly from an account that posted underage photos of me, as if he wasn't asking me to have more children last week. I would like to take this offline for our child's sake and have been attempting to so for weeks. She later deleted it. … From the NY Post story: “I was told to keep it secret. I was being asked to keep it a secret forever. I was completely isolated during my pregnancy. Every part of my career and everything I used to do I couldn't do anymore. I was told not to tell anybody.” … The story also says that Musk provided St. Clair with a lavish apartment in NY’s Financial District, where rent for a two-bedroom can go for nearly $40,000 a month and a security detail. Musk reportedly refused to sign the birth certificate to keep their relationship secret. … AP reports that Tesla has sued at least 6 car owners in China recently who had sudden vehicle malfunctions, quality complaints or accidents they claimed were caused by mechanical failures. Tesla also sued 6 bloggers and 2 Chinese media companies that wrote critical articles about it. Tesla won over 90% of the cases. … “Tesla has pioneered an aggressive legal strategy and leveraged the patronage of powerful leaders in China’s ruling Communist Party to silence critics, reap financial rewards and limit its accountability. Tesla’s record in China shows how Musk has thrived in a system in which regulators, the media and the courts - which must all ultimately answer to the ruling Communist Party are, by design, somewhat intertwined.” … The story chronicled how Tesla has gotten numerous tax breaks, financial incentives, and regulatory waivers from the Chinese government while receiving fawning praise in stories from the Chinese media. Journalists told AP they have been instructed not to write negative stories about Tesla. … Qiao Yudong, a former lawyer for Saleen Automotive in China: “The government gave Tesla a super status that put consumers in a very vulnerable position. That’s why some consumers had to resort to extreme actions” by filing lawsuits. … Bill Russo, former head of Chrysler in NE Asia: “For Tesla to win that percentage of the time is an anomaly. The odds are stacked against you. It’s like going to the casino and winning every hand.” … Author and free speech activist Salman Rushdie was asked by El Pais what he thought about about Musk’s claim that he is a free speech champion with his X policies: “Elon Musk doesn’t defend free expression. His social network curates the discourse of the extreme-right. Appropriating a noble cause, such as freedom of expression, when what you really do is the opposite is very dishonest. I’m not a fan of Musk.” … Rushdie then says he hopes Musk goes to Mars and stays there: “I would love for him to be the first man on Mars. Let him go. If he likes it so much, then let him go. I once met him, in Los Angeles, 10 years ago. And he said that it would take 7 years to get to Mars. 7 years have already passed. I really want him to leave.” … NYT reported that at a US DOD middle school in Stuttgart, Germany, students walked out in protest when Pete Hegseth and his wife visited earlier in the week. Since Hegseth took over, DOD’s schools in Europe has been reviewing instructional materials and libraries to hunt down anything they believe is related to DEI, which Hegseth has aggressively spoken out against. … Wasting no time while working on a Sunday, Judge Chutkan issued an order today that she will hold a hearing at 11:00 AM tomorrow on the emergency motion filed by several states to block Elon Musk cutting programs and jobs with DOGE. … The DC Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s request to hear a case where a lower court issued a temporary injunction to prevent him from firing Hampton Dellinger from his position that monitors compliance with workplace protections for federal employees. … Sen. Lindsey Graham said Trump didn’t see any reason to help Ukraine until he explained things in terms that appealed to Trump: “Trump now sees Ukraine differently. I told him, while playing golf, these people are sitting on literally a gold mine. He said, ‘what do you mean?’ I showed him a map. I showed him the rare earth minerals. He’s seen this. There’s trillions of dollars of very valuable rare earth minerals.” … But Zelensky said he wasn’t interested in signing Trump’s deal to give away 50% of the rare earth minerals in his country to the US: “I blocked the agreement with Trump on mineral rights as it does not protect Ukraine interests. It must be legally correct regarding investments and security guarantees. I don’t yet see that in the document.” … Smart man. … Independent journalist ‘Jay in Kviv’: “So, the Trump line is now that Ukrainians must stop fighting, give the territories to Russia and mineral rights, oil and gas rights to the US. How is this not Trump joining Putin's war on Ukraine?” … Zelensky was asked about the upcoming negotiations in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine, which are apparently only going to take place between the US and Russia: “I haven't seen any invitations for Ukraine to meet with envoys. We have no documents or negotiations with our strategic partners.” … It is clear that Zelensky realizes that these negotiations are going to end up being the US and Russia against Ukraine and Europe: "I will never accept any decisions reached solely between the US and Russia about Ukraine. Never." … Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) agreed with Zelensky: “The president wants peace. But it's got to be a deal where the Ukrainians are at the table in this deal now.” … Rep. Dan Crenshaw tried to use reverse psychology on Fox with Trump, along with some wishful thinking: "There is absolutely no way that Donald Trump will be seen - he will not let himself go down in history as having sold out to Putin. He will not let that happen." … German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “There will only be peace if Ukraine’s sovereignty is secured. A dictated peace will therefore never find our support.” … Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko: “So you're telling me that Europe has spent over $140 billion in Ukraine aid, will have to take the lead in deterring Russia in the future, will have to deploy its militaries as peacekeepers AND, amid that, it's not getting a say in talks with Putin? That's quite interesting, I would even say, a groundbreaking and revolutionarily masterful negotiation strategy.” … Zelensky was asked on NBC if Ukraine could survive if Trump cut off all aid: “Probably, but it will be very very difficult. We will have low chance to survive without support of the United States.” … Italian PM Georgia Merloni, who MAGA loves, made it clear she is not on their side when it comes to Putin. After Italian President Sergio Mattarella compared Russia under Putin to Germany under Hitler, Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the comparison, calling Mattarella’s comments ‘blasphemous inventions.’ … Merloni responded: “The insults of the spokeswoman offend the entire Italian nation, which the head of state represents. I express my full solidarity, as well as that of the entire government, to President Mattarella, who has always firmly condemned the aggression perpetrated against Ukraine.” … AP is now barred indefinitely from covering the WH and other executive branch briefing rooms since they refuse to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America like Trump wants. Many other media outlets issued statements denouncing the move, but not one has stepped up to boycott any of the press conferences in solidarity with AP after their companies already surrendered to Trump’s demand. … Conservative Republican lawyer Andrew McCarthy denounced AG Pam Bondi’s “Weaponization Working Group” in an article he wrote for National Review today: “Standing convicted are Trump’s principal prosecutorial nemeses — Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, and Letitia James - and therefore guilty by association are any DOJ and FBI personnel who aided and abetted them. It does not follow that, because the previous DOJ was politicized, all of the people it targeted were pure as the driven snow. Trump engaged in serious misconduct, regardless of whether it was actionable misconduct.” … On Bondi: “If she is just going to spout Trump’s grievances without putting DOJ’s response to egregious behavior in context, then she’s engaging in partisan law enforcement, exactly the noxious practice she claims to be rooting out. The weaponization directive is doing politics, not removing politics from law enforcement. Plainly, the ‘Weaponization Working Group’ exists to settle the president’s scores and rewrite dark chapters of his history — while providing him with quarterly assurances of AG Bondi’s progress on what is now DOJ’s core mission.” … Recording artist Sheryl Crow posted on IG a video where she waves goodbye to her Tesla as it is towed away from her house: "My parents always said, you are who you hang out with. There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long, Tesla." Crow added the song ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ by Andrea Bocelli to the video. … Crow wrote that she is donating the money from the sale of her Tesla to NPR, "which is under threat by President Musk, in hopes that the truth will continue to find its way to those willing to know the truth." … CNN host Kaitlyn Collins received backlash after her post reporting that the legal team of Luigi Mangione created a webpage for him. The controversy erupted because she included the link to the website, which has a tab to donate to Mangione’s legal defense fund. Collins subsequently deleted the post. … Collins then posted on X her response to a NY Post story that she was helping to fundraise for Mangione: “This is not true. I posted that his attorneys created a website, which is newsworthy and other outlets have also reported on. In no way did I share a fundraising link for him.” … Last week, Trump posted this about Gaza on Truth Social: “As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at noon, I think it's an appropriate time. I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out.” He constantly issues threats about a variety of subjects on a daily basis. … Canadians mercilessly booed the United States during the singing of the National Anthem before their game in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off. Three fights then erupted between the two teams within the first 10 seconds of the game. So far, the only countries that seem to like us with Trump as president are Russia, Argentina, El Salvador, and Hungary. … Former Canadian Finance Minister and PM candidate Chrystia Freeland on Trump’s tariffs: "We are going to target constituencies that have particular influence in the White House. I'm proposing a 100% tariff on Teslas. I think that will get us some attention in the Oval Office." … Ted Cruz with the ultimate self-own on Fox: “I met with the Danish Ambassador this past week. They said Greenland is not for sale. I said, ‘Everything is for sale.’” … We certainly know Ted is. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.