Today in Politics, Bulletin 100. 3/28/25

Ron Filipkowski Mar 28 ∙

… Elon Musk likely committed a felony in Wisconsin with his illegal vote buying scheme, which he continues to try and claim is just about encouraging people to sign a “petition.” It is the same playbook he used in the 2024 election, when he caught Democrats flatfooted with the scheme and nothing was done to stop it. This time, Dems were ready.

… Musk offered people $100 if they will sign his petition to “stop activist judges”. Then, after they show proof they have voted, their name is entered in a supposed lottery where Musk hands out $1 million prizes at random intervals. But he claims that that the $1 million is being paid to them not as a solicitation to vote, which would be a felony, but for serving as a “spokesman” for one day.

… Except this time, Musk forgot to claim the “spokesman” scam when he put out his initial solicitation to his 220+ million followers: “On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. Entrance is limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election. I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important.”

… Many hours later, after he was called out on it by officials in Wisconsin accusing him of committing a felony, Musk deleted the original tweet and reposted it with his scam “spokesman” language: “To clarify a previous post .. I will hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition.”

… WI Dem Party Chair Ben Wikler to MeidasTouch: “Musk deleted that tweet because he knows that that tweet was a crime, and it's still a crime in Wisconsin law. It is plain as day. You cannot promise something of value in order to induce someone to vote or refrain from voting. This is a WI statute, and it's a felony to cross that line. Musk should be brought to justice for his illegal attempt to buy votes for Brad Schimel.”

… Dem WI Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford’s spokesperson Derrick Honeyman: "It's corrupt, it's extreme, and it's disgraceful to our state and judiciary."

… Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, to Fox6 Milwaukee: "Whether or not Wisconsinites will believe this is legitimate or not probably won’t be settled until after the election. But this not what a WI Supreme Court election ought to be decided on. Races for the high court are supposed to be on judicial temperament and impartiality, not huge amounts of money for partisan purposes."

… WI AG Josh Kaul: “The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in WI are safe, secure, free, and fair. We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in WI this weekend. Based on our understanding of applicable WI law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”

… He should be arrested for the one that already happened.

… Wikler to Mother Jones: “Musk has now plowed more money into this Supreme Court race than any donor ever has in any Wisconsin judicial election. The WI Supreme Court race is the first referendum on Musk-ism. So many Democrats feel this deep fear combined with an incandescent fury at what’s happening to the country, and they want an outlet that allows them to fight back. This Supreme Court race, for Wisconsinites and for Dems everywhere who might be able to donate or volunteer, gives people who believe in democracy a chance to defeat the oligarchs who are trying to end democracy for good.”

… “At this point, there is more funding on the right than there is for supporting Susan Crawford. But we can see in our own polling and testing that there’s just a tidal wave of fury at Musk and Trump for what they’re doing to the country. The grassroots does not want conciliation with the people who are punching them in the face. They want to fight back. And if we win, we’ll be able to show the whole country that there’s a path for Democrats to fight back.

… Susan Knower, chair of the Sauk County Democrats: “We have to make sure when we’re talking to people we connect Elon Musk with Brad Schimel and with Donald Trump.”

… Reuters reported that Russia is offering to give a nuclear power plant to Musk for his mission to colonize Mars. Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund: "Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities.” He said Musk was a “great visionary” and he expects to meet with him soon to go over the details.

… Dmitriev is also part of Russia’s negotiating team with the US on the war in Ukraine. Go figure.

… Trump was asked today why he wasn’t doing anything to stop the daily drone attacks by the Russia against Ukrainian civilians: “Well, we’re gonna see what happens with that. I’m getting reports on that. I have that high on my list of things to watch.”

… CBS reported that Putin is now proposing to put Ukraine under the governance of the UN so he can get rid of Zelensky: "Under the auspices of the UN, with the US, even with European countries and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine. Then we could hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable govt that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty."

… WaPo reported that the program that tracks the roughly 20,000 Ukrainian children who were kidnapped by Russia is only being allowed to operate in the US for 6 more weeks just to give them time to transfer all their work to the EU before it is disbanded for good.

… JD Vance was at the US military base in northern Greenland today, where he trashed Denmark and continued to pressure Greenlanders to seek independence to become part of the US: “Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, our troops, and to keep the people of Greenland safe from aggressive incursions. We have no other option. We need to take a significant position in Greenland to keep the people here safe and to keep our own country safe.”

… Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE): “Let’s stop the stupid Greenland talk. We look dumb all over the world and we sound like Russia. Greenland and Denmark are our allies. Let’s treat our allies with decency and save the bullying for dictators who invade their neighbors.”

… Vladimir Putin today: “We are talking about serious plans on the American side with regard to Greenland.”

… The first major poll on the Signal scandal is out, and 74% of Americans say the way it was handled by the Trump admin was a very (53%) or somewhat (21%) serious problem, per YouGov.

… AP’s Pentagon Correspondent Tara Copp: “Pete Hegseth’s younger brother is serving in a key position inside the Pentagon as a DHS liaison and senior adviser. The high-profile job has meant meetings with a UFC fighting champion, a trip to Guantanamo Bay and, right now, traveling on the Pentagon’s 747 aircraft as Hegseth makes his first trip as defense secretary to the Indo-Pacific.”

… “Based on Phil Hegseth’s publicly available resume, his past experience includes founding his own podcast production company, Embassy and Third, and working on social media and podcasts at The Hudson Institute.”

… Deputy Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson responded in a statement: “Phil Hegseth, one of a number of talented DHS liaisons to DOD, is conducting touch points with U.S. Coast Guard officials on the Secretary’s Indo-Pacific trip.”

Saturdays are off days for the Bulletin, as I put out a full recap covering the entire weekend on Sunday night. Tomorrow is going to be a snow day for us here in Maine - hopefully last of the year. We have a pre-planned overnight trip up the central Maine coast to Wiscasset-Rockport-Camdem, so should be some nice scenery with the snow. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can read it here.

… NYT: “Nikola Motors founder Trevor Milton, just pardoned by Trump for fraud, donated over $2 million to Republicans between Sept and Dec of last year, per FEC records. His largest was $920K to the Trump 47 PAC. He'd never previously made political donations.

… Milton was convicted in 2022 on 3 counts of fraud and sentenced to 4 years in prison and $169 million in restitution and fines. “Two weeks ago prosecutors recommended Milton pay $676M in restitution to the people he defrauded, plus interest. But now with just $2M in campaign contributions, he presumably pays none of it and is a free man.”

… Rep. Dan Goldman: “CORRUPTION ALERT: Donald Trump just sold a get-out-of-jail-free card to convicted fraudster Nikola Trevor for $1.6 million in campaign donations. This presidency is a pay-to-play racket. If justice is for sale, our system will fail.”

… Trump was asked today why he pardoned Milton: “It was highly recommended by many people. He was one of the first people who supported Donald Trump for president. He supported Trump, he liked Trump, so they went after him.”

… Musk mumbled to Fox that DOJ is going to go after the organizers of the Tesla protests: “It’s the people pushing that propaganda - those are the real villains here. And we’re going to go after them. The president’s made it clear we are going to go after them - the ones pushing the lies and propaganda. We’re going after them.”

… Fox’s Bret Baier asked Musk how he could call former astronaut and military fighter pilot Sen. Mark Kelly a traitor just because he visited Ukraine and expressed support for them: “I think somebody should care about the US over the interests of another country. If they don’t, they’re a traitor.”

… Kelly responded on CNN to Musk’s comment: “Standing with our allies and standing up for democracy is in the best interest of the US. I would put Elon in the category of being much closer to Russia on this issue in a war with one of our allies. I don't think he's a serious guy."

… Melanie D’Arrigo, Exec Dir Campaign for NY Health: “What DOGE claims they've saved: $115 billion. What DOGE can verify: $7.7 billion. DOGE isn't trying to find fraud and waste. It's trying to cripple the agencies investigating Musk and other big Trump donors, while pushing to privatize their functions.”

… WSJ reported that earlier this month, Trump warned US automakers not to raise car prices when his tariffs are imposed on April 2: “His remarks left some industry leaders concerned about possible repercussions if they moved to offset costs by raising vehicle prices. According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, the new tariffs could push vehicle prices up by 11-12% once existing dealer inventories run out, likely around May.”

… CBS reported that the price of auto repairs and insurance will also go up because of Trump’s tariffs, since they are being imposed on most auto parts manufacturers. Bob Passmore, VP of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association: "If you're increasing costs here, eventually, it's going to show up in your premium bill. It's pretty simple."

… Canadian PM Mark Carney: "The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over.

… Carney’s office issued a statement: “The PM informed the President that his govt will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional US trade actions on April 2.”

… Vance: “They just don’t have the cards. There is no way that Canada can win a trade war with the US.”

… The Dow was down 715 points today.

… The Commerce Dept reported that they key core personal consumption expenditures price index was up 0.4% last month, the largest increase in over a year. At the same time, consumer spending was lower than expected. The index excludes food and energy prices since they are so volatile, which is why this index is considered the most reliable in projecting long term inflation.

… Trump signed an executive order directing the Smithsonian Institute to make widespread changes to their museums and exhibits. The order targets “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology” that is supposedly being promoted by Smithsonian. JD Vance was appointed to the Smithsonian Board of Regents and will be in charge making sure they comply.

… Trump specifically singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Women’s History Museum, and the American Art Museum for special scrutiny.

… The law firm of Jenner & Block filed a lawsuit against the Trump Admin for his executive order targeting them: “The Constitution, top to bottom, protects against such attempts by the government to target citizens and lawyers based on the opinions they voice, the people with whom they associate, and the clients they represent. It is intended to hamper the ability of individuals and businesses to have the lawyers of their choice zealously represent them. And it is intended to coerce law firms and lawyers into renouncing the Admin’s critics and ceasing certain representations adverse to the government.”

… “These orders send a clear message to the legal profession: Cease certain representations adverse to the govt and renounce the Admin’s critics—or suffer the consequences. The orders also attempt to pressure businesses and individuals to question or even abandon their associations with their chosen counsel, and to chill bringing legal challenges at all.”

… Michael Pregent is out at the conservative Hudson Institute: “Calling balls and strikes has cost me my affiliation with the Hudson Institute. I criticized Witkoff's praise of Qatar months ago and was immediately moved out. Now, many have caught up and see his praise of Qatar and Putin as a red flag. If you want to succeed in DC, keep silent when your camp makes mistakes and cheerlead your camp regardless - I can't and will not do that. Being able to look yourself in the mirror is not lucrative in DC, but calling balls and strikes should be invaluable to a principled organization.”

… ABC reported that Marco Rubio’s State Department has officially closed USAID for good, and announced that it "intends to assume responsibility for many of USAID's functions and its ongoing programming."

… Rep. Dan Goldman on Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk: “Ozturk was arrested by six masked officers — like the Gestapo. Her only offense appears to be writing an Op-Ed in her school newspaper. While I strongly disagree with the views expressed in her Op-Ed, they are not a valid basis for deportation. This is flat out un-American.”

… Trump signed an executive order ending collective bargaining for employees of the State Dept, DOD, DOJ, HHS, CDC, FCC, and ICE. White House statement: “The President needs a responsive and accountable civil service to protect our national security.” Govt employee unions have “declared war on President Trump’s agenda” by filing lawsuits to “block Trump policies. President Trump refuses to let union obstruction interfere with his efforts to protect Americans and our national interests.”

… AFGE President Everett Kelly, who represents more than 800,000 employees: “President Trump’s latest executive order is a disgraceful and retaliatory attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of patriotic American civil servants—nearly one-third of whom are veterans—simply because they are members of a union that stands up to his harmful policies. AFGE is preparing immediate legal action and will fight relentlessly to protect our rights, our members, and all working Americans from these unprecedented attacks.”

… The National Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald: “The executive order to eliminate collective bargaining rights for federal employees across the government is a brazen attempt by the administration to ensure its reckless assault on vital federal agency services can continue unimpeded. We will vigorously challenge this illegal order in court. It is another example of the Trump-Musk Admin’s war on working people. These two billionaires busted unions in their day jobs and now they’re bringing these same attacks to our govt in the biggest presidential attack on unions in history.”

… Actor Willem Dafoe was asked by Deadline if he thought Trump taking over the Kennedy Center could cause issues with the artistic community: “Well, there’s many, and it’s not just about bad theater. I can’t imagine Donald Trump programming a good series of performances at the Kennedy Center. But I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole here.”

… AOC hasn’t given up on Dems winning Stefanik’s seat just because she will still be in it: “Was Stefanik’s failed bid for UN Ambassador worth selling out upstate NY’s healthcare? No. Is she worth re-electing after her ‘farewell’ tour? Also no. NY-21, you deserve so much better than someone who will gut your Medicaid and Medicare for their own career ambitions.”