Today in Politics, Bulletin 74. 2/18/25 Ron Filipkowski Feb 19 ∙ … Newsweek reports that Joe Rogan has lost his #1 slot in the podcast rankings to the MeidasTouch Podcast, according to Podscribe data. … Newsweek: “Podcast charts have largely been dominated by shows with a conservative or pro-Trump voice, and the likes of Joe Rogan, Shawn Ryan and Ben Shapiro have frequently appeared in the Top 10. But less than a month into the new admin, the rise of the left-leaning MeidasTouch to become the country's most popular podcast indicates a potential shift in tone currently resonating with Americans. … “Joe Rogan has long dominated the podcast chart, but this month he slipped down into the 2nd spot, according to Podscribe. His podcast was downloaded and played 48.6 million times, a 32% decrease from the previous month. The MeidasTouch Podcast took top spot with 56 million downloads and plays, increasing in reach by 101% this month. … NYT reports that Denise Cheung, the highly respected Criminal Division Chief for the US Attorneys Office in DC, has abruptly resigned after refusing to carry out a directive from a Trump appointee. Cheung said that she was given an unethical order to launch a criminal probe and pursue an asset freeze on a government contract issued during the Biden Admin. She said there was no legal basis to support the demand. … Cheung said she refused to betray her oath: "I have been proud to serve at DOJ and the DC office for over 24 years. During my tenure, which has spanned over many different administrations, I have always been guided by the oath I took to support and defend the Constitution." … Over 900 former federal prosecutors signed an open letter to prosecutors in DOJ to remember their oath and come forward if Trump appointees demand that they do something unethical: "Some of you have been ordered to make charging decisions based expressly on considerations other than the facts and the law, including to serve solely political purposes." … Reuters reports that USDA employees who were reviewing Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink were just fired over the weekend. The cuts included about 20 people in the FDA’s office of neurological and physical medicine devices, several of whom worked on Neuralink oversight. … Steve Bannon roasted Musk over Neuralink and other issues in new interview: “Musk is a parasitic illegal immigrant. He wants to impose his freak experiment and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, tradition or values.” … Bannon has always railed against transhumanism, which is a movement by tech bros which seeks to extend life spans and alter natural life and brain functioning with technology. … Bannon then said Musk is a fraud: "DOGE is sitting there with the budget, but where the fuck are the DOGE cuts? We are 30 days away from approving a budget for the entire year with $2 trillion already baked in, and not one penny of anything that DOGE found. It's ludicrous. Performative. There's hesitancy to take on the Pentagon. I want $100 billion cut from its $900 billion budget—really a trillion." … Michelle King, former acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, resigned abruptly after she refused to comply with DOGE's demand that she turn over data on millions of Americans, which included Social Security numbers, work histories, and medical information. King was a non-partisan career civil servant who worked for SSA for decades. … Musk has been hyping the results of his subsequent deep dive into Social Security data over the last two days, claiming that over $4.7 trillion was paid out to millions of dead people. Naturally, his clips have gone viral as Republican politicians and MAGA influencers cranked up their propaganda machine to spread his lies. … WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt then went on Fox to repeat the claim in this familiar disinformation playbook: “President Trump has directed Elon Musk and the DOGE team to identify fraud at the social security administration. They've not dug into the books, but they suspect there are tens of millions of deceased people who are receiving fraudulent social security payments.” … Fox host ‘Kennedy’ told their audience today that this might mean that we are all going to be getting fat checks soon because Musk will probably be giving us back all the fraudulent money he will be recovering: “When you are finding all this money and taking it back - give that back to the American people. And people will be able to take out new loans and start new businesses.” … A chicken in every pot! Courtesy of our savior, King Elon Musk. … Former Fox Business host Trish Regan said she really wanted to believe Musk’s claims about this, but after looking into it she realizes it’s all just a hoax: “Sounds like WH may have misinterpreted DOGE data on social security. It seems we are NOT PAYING these benefits. These people are just on the rolls despite no checks going out. This is not the huge find that people hoped for. While social security records SHOULD be cleaned up, it appears this finding will have little savings effect since the checks weren’t going out. Looks like the team got out over its skis on this one.” … Rep. Eli Crane: “If you packaged everything done by DOGE so far and put it on the House floor back in the 118th Congress, you’d have been lucky to get half of the Republican caucus to vote for it.” … Crane is saying this to praise Musk, but he exactly makes our point for us. What he said is exactly the problem. We have a constitutional republic with elected representatives who are accountable to their constituents. They are the people who are supposed to make these decisions, not an oligarchs like Musk and his minions. … Meanwhile, MAGA Mike Johnson gave the House of Representatives the week off. Musk has everything handled. … WaPo just profiled abruptly fired VA employee Luke Graziani, who is a disabled 20-year Army veteran who did 2 tours in Iraq, 2 in Afghanistan, and has 4 kids. He said he didn’t think he would be one of the government employees fired by DOGE because of his status as a disabled vet. He thought wrong - nobody is safe from the South African illegal immigrant. … Sen. Ruben Gallego: “The same guy who dodged the draft 5 times just fired 1,000 people who care for veterans. Trump does not stand with our military.” … Even Tom Cotton is now griping about DOGE’s mass firings of critical employees: “As the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee and a member of the Armed Services Committee, I’m aware of a number of critical national security capabilities that rely heavily on the spectrum the government is considering walking away from to detect and defend threats. We MUST ensure those capabilities are protected in any potential auction so that the US can maintain peace through strength.” … At the hearing before Judge Chutkan yesterday, Trump lawyers claimed that Musk is not officially in charge of DOGE, which was being sued for exceeding their authority. Chutkan seemed incredulous and questioned the statement of Trump’s lawyer, based on Trump and Musk claiming many times that he was running the show. Hours after the hearing, the WH filed a statement with the court claiming that Musk is not the administrator of DOGE and is technically not even part of it. They now say he is just a “senior advisor to the president.” … Karoline Leavitt was then asked on Fox about this new filing. Host: This affidavit says Musk doesn't work for DOGE at all. So what is his role at DOGE? Leavitt: “Elon Musk is a special government employee. Elon Musk has been tasked with overseeing DOGE.” … What this lie is really all about is an attempt to shield Musk from all accountability and responsibility for everything he is doing. He is given titles that allow him to avoid Senate confirmation and some ethics and financial reporting requirements. When his DOGE operation is sued, they claim he technically isn’t part of DOGE. Musk claims that he is a model of transparency, while he hides everything he does and refuses to take responsibility for any of it. … So Trump, Musk, and Fox want the American people - and judges presiding over lawsuits - to believe that Musk really had nothing to do with the decisions that are being made by DOGE. Maybe they were made by his DOGE bro Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine. … Rep. Tim Burchett went on an incoherent rant on CNN when he was asked about the age and qualifications of the DOGE bros. He compared them to his Marine vet dad fighting in the jungles during WW2: “Well, those Japanese, those are Japanese rifle that, guess what? My dad was 20, 21 years old when he killed the people that carried that. You all don’t question the fact that, you know, these 20-22 year-old people, they’re the ones that fight our dadgum wars.” … Dadgummit! What else do you need to know? They’re practically raising the flag at Iwo Jima. … Axios reports that Democrats in Congress are meeting with state AGs, law firms, constitutional experts, and advocacy organizations to work on a coordinated strategy to use the courts, demonstrations, and legislative actions in congressional hearings to deal with Trump and Musk’s attempt to dismantle the federal government. … Amanda Litman, President of ‘RunForSomething’: The future of the Democratic Party will not be shaped by think tanks, pollsters, ad makers, or consultants. It will be shaped by people literally running as Democrats over the next few years. Rebuilding the party requires broad candidate recruitment for principled authentic leaders. … I agree with this 100%. The consultants and pollsters do not need to be our leaders and we don’t need to follow them. Our leadership that will emerge out of this mess is going to come from the grass roots activists. Many of the best candidates for office in 2026 and 2028 are currently being recruited from people who have just been fired by DOGE. I want to follow and listen to them, not the self-interested consultant class. … Litman: “As of this morning, more than 19,000 people have signed up with runforsomething to consider running for local office just since Election Day - 6,000 of them just in the last three weeks. People are ready to fight back.” … Controversial Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced that he is resigning just 4.5 years into his 10 year term: “It has been one of the pleasures of my life and a crowning achievement of my career to have been associated with them and their mission of public service.” … It is unclear exactly what exactly led to this move. Trump appointee DeJoy was roasted three months ago by both Republicans and Democrats for his incompetence while running USPS, which led to him actually covering his ears in a pathetic attempt to avoid hearing their scorn and ridicule. Maybe it was that, or maybe it was Clay Higgins’s rant yesterday about his illegal mailbox. We just may never know. … But it is good riddance to DeJoy, except we know that Trump is likely to now appoint someone even worse. Wasn’t Sarah Palin just complaining about not getting a job yet from Trump? Could happen. Maybe Michael Flynn? Reminder that there is no Bulletin tomorrow since I do my podcast Uncovered, which takes a deep dive into the 10 biggest stories of the week. We are all very excited about the success of the MeidasTouch Podcast. Ben, Brett and Jordy are the stars of the show, but those of us on the research and writing team who provide the content feel like we were part of this accomplishment as well. Thanks to all of you for your support! Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … The Telegraph (UK) reports they obtained a copy of the proposed peace plan that was delivered to President Zelensky from the Trump admin. The plan was described as essentially “the US economic colonization of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity," and also "implies a burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved." … The Trump shakedown guarantees the US 50% of the revenues generated by the extraction of natural resources in Ukraine, and 50% of revenues generated by "all new licenses issued to 3rd parties." … Telegraph: "Trump’s demands would amount to a higher share of Ukrainian GDP than reparations imposed on Germany at the Versailles Treaty. At the same time, Trump plans to entirely let Russia off the hook for its invasion of Ukraine, that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths in both countries.” … After meeting with the Russians, Marco Rubio heaped praise on Dear Leader: "The only leader in the world who can make this happen, who can bring people together to begin to talk about it in a serious way, is President Trump. For 3.5 years while this conflict has raged, no one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today because Trump is the only leader in the world that can.” … Trump played golf today. Rubio met with Russians. Absolutely nothing got accomplished other than the US playing right into Putin’s hands. … NSA Mike Waltz was then asked if a date has finally been set for Trump to meet with Putin: “We did not, we did not set that date, but the two presidents talked about meeting and expect to meet." … Trump promised to end the war 24 hours after taking office. … Zelensky was supposed to be in Saudi Arabia on an economic trip at the same time Rubio was meeting with the Russians, but said he rescheduled it because he didn’t want to create a “false impression” that he was there to get involved in the negotiations, since he wasn’t invited to attend by the US. … Zelensky: "I will not go to Saudi Arabia. I have a good relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed. We just got in touch and agreed that on March 10, I will be there on an official visit. And the US - we are expecting to see them in Kyiv." … Fox reported that the US may insist on Ukraine holding elections to replace Zelensky, which has been a Russian demand for a long time. But many Ukrainians are concerned that Putin will manipulate the election to install a pro-Russia puppet president. A US source familiar with the negotiations told Fox reporter Jennifer Griffin that the US is “floating” the election demand and “it may be part of future talks.” … Ukraine’s response: “Putin assesses the probability of electing a puppet president as quite high, and is also convinced that any candidate other than the current President of Ukraine will be more flexible and ready for negotiations and concessions.” … Russian Media Monitor Julia Davis reports that Russia state TV hosts are happy with Trump so far. Host Olga Skabeeva: “This is the beginning of negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine. Kyiv was officially dropped overboard.” … Davis: “Moscow’s talking heads are in awe of the speed with which the transatlantic relations are unraveling from Trump’s new policies. They continue to be thrilled with his cabinet picks, although the already-considerable popularity of new DNI Tulsi Gabbard is now being surpassed by that for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Multiple pundits described Hegseth as their favorite spokesman in the Trump admin for promising concessions to Russia even before the negotiations had started.” … “Russian experts often acknowledge that America’s alliances were what made it great and that disrupting them had to be one of Moscow’s top priorities. With Trump back in office, there is an unmistakable sense of satisfaction as observers see what they believe to be the US taking a sledgehammer to its old ties with European allies.” … The Telegraph interviewed US soldiers fighting in Ukraine who are ashamed of their govt right now. Iraq vet Ryan O’Leary, who leads the volunteer ‘Chosen Company’ in Ukraine: “Fuck Trump and his shitty supposed peace deal. Any peace deal is ultimately up to Ukrainians alone, who should be included directly in talks. Neither Trump nor his admin should have any say in how the war ends. Only the soldiers and the Ukrainian people should have that say, not some jackass and his jackass cabinet members sitting behind their white picket-fenced houses on a golf course.” … Charles Carter, who previously served with the 101st Airborne: “Trump is a coward, sucking Putin’s dick.” … NY Gov Kathy Hochul responded to calls for her to remove NYC Mayor Eric Adams after his shady deal with Trump: “I recognize the immense responsibility I hold as governor and the constitutional powers granted to this office. In the 235 years of NY history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly. That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.” … Tom Homan said on Fox that he is waiting to hear back from DOJ on whether he can arrest AOC for advising people about their rights: “We’re looking for that clear direction so we can start taking action on people who want to help educate these people. AOC wants to say she’s teaching people their constitutional rights. You can call it that, but we all know what she’s really up to.” … AOC responded: “This is why you fight these cowards. The moment you stand up to them, they crumble. Homan has nothing. The 4th Amendment is clear and I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights. He can threaten me with jail and call names all he wants. He’s got nothing else.” … What AOC has been telling people, many of whom are US citizens, is that you don’t have to agree to open your homes to Homan’s ICE agents without a warrant, so people don’t have to give in to their intimidation tactics and waive their rights. I worked 30 years in the justice system as a federal prosecutor, state prosecutor, police academy director, and criminal defense attorney. My experience was that good cops don’t might people knowing their rights, while bad cops hate it. … As we saw from Homan laughing it up with Eric Adams on Fox, he is a dirty cop. … Federal District Judge Ho in NY has ordered Eric Adams and officials with DOJ officials to appear in court tomorrow to explain the legal basis for the dismissal motion on his bribery charges. That should be a very interesting hearing since their office put in writing that the charges were being dropped for political reasons, which is unethical for a prosecutor to do. … Former TPUSA (Charlie Kirk’s org) national field director Thomas Hern on Democrats’ criticisms of Trump blowing off the catastrophic flooding in KY with multiple fatalities to go to the Daytona 500 and play golf: “Democrats are trying to blame trump for everything that goes wrong in the world. Truly pathetic.” … Good thing Trump and Republicans never did that to Joe Biden. … Kristi Noem: “Tonight, I’m announcing a nationwide and international multimillion-dollar ad campaign warning illegal aliens to leave our country NOW or face deportation with the inability to return to the US. This serves as a strong warning to criminal illegal aliens to not come to America. If they do, they will be hunted down and deported.” … Sky News reports that Mordechai Brafman has been charged with attempted murder after shooting two Israeli tourists - who he shot at because he thought they were Palestinian. Brafman fired 17 shots at their car in Miami Beach. The men in the car were father and son Yaron and Ari Rabi. Ari suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder, and Yaron was hit in his forearm. Brafman told police he thought they were Palestinian. … Fox5 ATL reports that after GA Gov. Brian Kemp’s request to extend the period for costs associated with the Hurricane Helene clean-up by local governments to be reimbursed was denied by FEMA, Sen. Jon Ossoff condemned the move: "GA was devastated by Hurricane Helene last fall, and clean-up efforts by local governments are still underway. The Trump Admin just denied GA’s request to extend the period during which local governments can claim Federal assistance. This decision is wrong.” … Ossoff is going to be in a tough election fight new year against a likely Trump-endorsed candidate. This is an issue he can definitely use against that candidate, who will certainly be someone who won’t openly criticize Trump. … Yesterday would have been Rush Limbaugh’s birthday if he was still alive. His brother David Limbaugh posted this as part of his annual tribute: “The left hated Rush because he gave sanity and common sense a voice.” … That really wasn’t the reason. … Trump budget director Russ Vought has sponsors for the admin’s move to bring back bank overdraft fees: “I am grateful that Chairmen Tim Scott and Rep. French Hill have introduced CRA legislation to overturn the Biden Admin’s rule restricting overdraft fees. Passing this important legislation will immediately further President Trump’s deregulatory agenda.” … Sen. Ed Markey was fired up leading the protest yesterday in Boston, where he compared what is happening now to the Boston Tea Party and the start of the American Revolution: “Massachusetts is where revolutions are born. And the revolution against Donald Trump and Elon Musk starts here.” … The NIH Fellows United-UAW, which is the largest union of federal employees formed in last decade, held a huge protest outside the HHS building against unjustified firings that endanger public health. … Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) at one of the protests: “Eggs and coffee around 20% more expensive. Airplanes crashing. Mass layoffs. Tariffs. Data breaches. Shutting down energy projects. Letting food and medicine rot. Either they are really shitty at helping you, or you are not the one they want to help.” … Pete Buttigieg: “Whatever else emerges in time about the Delta crash in Canada, one thing is certain: the importance and amazing professionalism of flight attendants who safely evacuated the plane in a matter of seconds.” … Democratic candidates have now won 6 out 7 special elections in 2025, with the most recent Dan Cruce and Ray Seigfried defending two Delaware Senate seats. This follows a stunning upset victory in Iowa, where Democrat Mike Zimmer flipped a state senate seat in a district that Trump won by 21 points. Democrats also won crucial victories in MN and Virginia, securing one-seat majorities in the Minnesota Senate and the Virginia House and Senate; protecting against a MAGA takeover. … DLCC Chair Heather Williams: "Every legislative special election win counts as state Democrats block the extremism of the Trump admin and advance policies that help working families. All eyes should be on the states, and the DLCC will continue engaging in special elections where Democratic power is on the line." … Pete Hegseth said he is going to open up an investigation into the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan at the beginning of the Biden Admin: “Accountability is coming for what happened.” … Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, also a physician who just voted to confirm RFK Jr.: “There is a serious measles outbreak in Texas. The measles vaccine has been proven safe and effective since 1963.” … A bill sponsored by FL State Senator Jason Brodeur has just been passed through committee which prevents any local municipality from having oversight over the construction of a future Trump Presidential Library: "There's a high likelihood that President Trump will select FL to be the site of his presidential library. In anticipation of Florida's 1st presidential library, we should roll out the welcome mat and offer the president maximum flexibility to construct this historic landmark.” … Brodeur’s bill says that it shall be solely the federal government’s jurisdiction to decide any building regulations for Trump’s library, and the local city will have no say in how or where it is built. … Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country is considering a lawsuit against Google, arguing that Trump had no legal authority to rename vast majority of the Gulf of Mexico: “What Google is doing here is changing the name of the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which has nothing to do with Trump’s decree, which applied only to the U.S. continental shelf. We do not agree with this, and the foreign minister has sent a new letter addressing the issue.” … Sheinbaum noted that Trump’s order “only changed the name within his own continental shelf, which extends 22 nautical miles from the U.S. coast - not the entire Gulf.”