Today in Politics, Bulletin 93. 3/17/25

Ron Filipkowski Mar 17 ∙

… Trump outrageously claimed today that Russia has an entire Ukrainian army surrounded in Kursk, but he is going to save them tomorrow when he talks to Putin. EXCEPT THERE ARE NO UKRAINIAN TROOPS SURROUNDED. This is Russian propaganda that Zelensky and Ukraine has already refuted. This entire scam is being choreographed so Trump can claim he “saved” Ukrainians (so they will have to be grateful and sign over their mineral rights), and so he can insist that Ukraine agree to Putin’s demands since he was so nice to them.

… But this whole thing is a lie. An scam.

… Trump: “Tomorrow I am speaking with President Putin to save some soldiers who are in deep trouble. They are captured - surrounded by Russian soldiers. It’s a big deal. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be here any longer. I was able to get Russia not to do anything at this moment.”

… Trump said he and Putin have already discussed “dividing up certain assets.” Semafor reports that Trump is “considering” recognizing conquered Crimea as a permanent part of Russia as part of any deal.

… Polish PM Donald Tusk: “Dear allies, the investigation of the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office has confirmed our suspicions that responsible for setting fires to shopping centers in Vilnius and Warsaw are the Russian secret services. Good to know before negotiations. Such is the nature of this state.”

… Judge Boasberg held a hearing today to determine whether the Trump Admin and Deportation Czar Tom Homan intentionally violated his clear court order to halt flights of migrants with pending asylum claims since they were denied due process. ICE designated them as “gang members” to justify flying them to a prison in El Salvador yesterday.

… Hours before the hearing, DOJ filed an emergency motion to an appellate court asking for them to intervene since they “cannot - and will not - be forced to answer sensitive questions of national security and foreign relations.” The appellate court did not respond to the motion before the scheduled hearing today.

… Judge Boasberg was not happy during the hearing. DOJ took the position that the judge had no authority over flights once they left US airspace, and would not answer specific questions on how it played out after he issued his order yesterday. He concluded by noting that DOJ refused to answer his questions citing national security, and “since my oral orders seem to mean nothing, I will put this in writing. I will let you know how to further proceed.”

… Immigration lawyer Lindsay Toczylowski: “My client fled Venezuela last year and came to US to seek asylum. He has a strong claim. He was detained at entry because ICE alleged his tattoos are gang related. They are absolutely not. Our client worked in the arts in Venezuela. He is LGBTQ. His tattoos are benign. But ICE submitted photos of his tattoos as evidence he is Tren de Aragua. His attorney planned to present evidence he is not. But never got the chance because our client has been disappeared.”

… “The Alien Enemies Act would allow the Trump admin to remove people from the US based on an accusation alone. The accusation could be, as it is for our client, completely baseless. But they would remove them anyway, despite the dangers, despite the lack of due process. What happened today is a dark moment in our history. One bright spot in this madness that I see are the many lawyers and advocates across the country who spent their Sat fighting like hell to preserve justice in the face of horrific cruelty. And we will keep fighting.”

… A reporter pointed out to Trump that the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 he invoked to justify deportations with no due process while circumventing immigration courts was only used 3 other times, and each was while the country was in the middle of a war: “Well this is a time of war.”

… Trump’s Deportation Czar Tom Homan clearly doesn’t care about court orders. He responded on Fox this morning: "We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the left thinks. We're coming."

… Alina Habba, who managed to become lawyer somehow without knowing any law: “To have a federal judge come in and say I don’t agree with President with an executive order? It’s unthinkable and ridiculous.”

… Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) - In the last three days, Trump appears to have violated court orders in Boston and DC. The GOP won’t make a peep in Congress. The courts need to push back hard with contempt findings or we truly have a constitutional crisis.”

… Trump was asked if he was going to comply with the judge’s order to rehire federal workers who were fired without cause: “What are you talking about? Q: The judge that ruled the govt has to rehire the fired federal workers. Do you plan to comply? TRUMP: That's a very dangerous decision for our country.”

… Trump’s former NSA Michael Flynn said Trump needs to declare martial law: “Many elites still believe what is happening in America is old school, hard ball, politics, you know, Democrats vs Republicans. IT IS NOT. What is now happening with the continuation of lawfare by these leftist organizations and judges isn’t going to end well for these groups or these people. These must end and end now. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. PRESIDENT TRUMP MAY EVENTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE TO DECLARE A NATIONAL EMERGENCY. HE HAS FULL AUTHORITY TO DO SO. DON’T BE SURPRISED IF THE NATION GETS TO THAT POINT.”

… Later in the day, Trump announced that he was appointing Flynn to the US Military Academy board of visitors at West Point.

… Trump claimed that the pardons Biden issued are not valid, so he can prosecute members of the J6 Committee: “The Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”

… J6 Committee Adam Kinzinger: “Trump’s latest threat against me is as real as his 'perfect' phone calls and 'biggest crowds ever.' More whining, more victimhood, zero follow-through. Either do it or keep crying, fatso. I’m so tired of your victimy whiney belly aching crap. You friggin won and you STILL are complaining all the time. BRING IT YOU SMALL LITTLE BOY.”

… The National Archives responded to an inquiry from SNOPES this morning where they confirmed that the Federal Register uses a standardized graphic file of the president’s signature for publication, meaning the signature of Biden that appears in digital records which was used to launch this latest conspiracy does not reflect what is on the original, hand-signed documents.

… Since Trump also claimed that these pardons were issued without Biden even knowing about it, CNN’s Kaitlyn Collins pointed out to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that Biden talked about making the pardons in interviews before they were announced. Leavitt: “But was he aware of his signature being used? Collins: Is there any evidence that he wasn’t aware? Leavitt: You’re a reporter. You should find out.”

… She literally never answers a question. All she does is stand up there an insult reporters. And her insult game is pretty lame, too.

… CNN’s Jake Tapper doing some sanewashing with this post on X amplifying BS spin about all this from team Trump as if it was legitimate news to report: “A senior Trump world source’s take on the president’s post is that it’s meant to prompt discussions about Biden’s acuity and how incompetent a president can be as well as a legal debate about pardon power and what types of pardons are allowed.”

… Trump announced tonight that he has the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office. I truly hope this is not the original which has been stored in the National Archives, because if so there is no way it should be stored and displayed like this. It appears that it is a copy, but Trump’s social media post suggested it was the original. There was a story I reported on a few weeks ago that said he wanted the original moved to the Oval, but this does not look like the original to me so maybe they talked him into a copy.

… Or fooled him into thinking this was the original - he wouldn’t know any different.

… NYT reported that Chuck Schumer is postponing his book tour after major backlash from Democrats after he led the group of senators who voted to pass Mike Johnson’s CR. Statement: "Due to security concerns, Senator Schumer's book events are being rescheduled."

… Journalist Grace Panetta posted a statement from BoldProgressive, which was organizing protests at Schumer's tour dates: "We warned last week that if Democrats caved on the funding bill, it would help Republicans by redirecting some of the anger away from Trump and toward Democrats - and Chuck Schumer just proved us right."

… Punchbowl reports that Schumer met with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries this weekend in NY and he reportedly has no intention of stepping down from leadership and isn’t concerned about a primary challenge because he isn’t up for reelection until 2028.

… I don’t think Schumer is now in any position to lead the charge on what has been one of our most important weapons - constituents showing up at town halls of their representatives to speak their minds - since he is afraid to face Democratic voters himself.

Both the House and Senate are off this week, so it appears much of the action is going to be out of the executive branch and the courts. Tomorrow should be pretty crazy after Trump’s call with Putin. I expect nothing good to come out of it, but we will see. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can read it here.

Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

… Sen. Bernie Sanders: “The Democratic Party needs a major transformation. It can no longer be a top-down, billionaire-funded, consultant-driven party. It must be a multi-generational, multi-racial working class party. In a time of growing oligarchy and

authoritarianism, that’s the only path to victory.”

… Financial Times reported that foot traffic in US stores fell by 4.3% for the first half of March. Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at Circana: “The consumer is being barraged with so many different elements It’s easier for the consumer to just step back and say: ‘I’m going to ride this out and wait and see what happens’.”

… Traffic to US fast-food restaurants was down 2.8% in February.

… Four major US airlines warned that they expect to see a slowdown in flights this year based on fewer vacation travelers to the US.

… CNBC reported that retail sales only increased 0.2% this month, which was below the Dow Jones projection for a 0.6% rise.

… NBC reported that Canadian market research firm Leger conducted a new survey showing that 68% of Canadians are significantly reducing purchases of American products, and 59% said they’re less likely to visit the U.S. this year than in 2024. 36% said they already canceled travel plans to the US this year.

… CNBC reports that Goldman Sachs was projecting a boom in mergers and acquisitions this year, but now doesn’t think it is going to happen. The bank lowered its outlook for completed mergers and acquisitions volume to a 7% increase after previously projecting 25%. David Kostin, their Chief Equity Strategist: “We model completed M&A activity as a function of US economic growth, CEO confidence, and changes in financial conditions. A tariff risk scenario where economic growth is slower and confidence is lower than we currently expect could lead to a contraction in completed M&A activity.”

… The Telegraph reported that Tesla has been forced to halt sales of Cybertruck due to concerns about metal panels falling off the vehicles. EV website Electrek said there have been a number of examples of trim and panels coming detached and flying off the vehicles as they were being driven. This follows several other issues with the vehicle. Owners have reported that this is happening more often in cold weather, which suggests that it could be the adhesive that was used.

… Tesla shares dropped 4.79% today.

… Rep. Anna Paulina Luna responded to a headline in the Daily Beast which ran a story about an upcoming book: “The new revelations reveal how Trump reportedly offered a female congresswoman his bed, as long as she kept it a secret from his wife.”

… Luna said it was entirely innocent and the headline was deceptive and salacious: “I was very pregnant and at the time experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms, but was not diagnosed. As soon as Trump boarded the plane, being the gentleman and good person that he is, said if I did not feel well, I could use the back room. He did this in a respectful way and in front of my husband, of which we thanked him.”

… “The author of this book never reached out to me for comment. Which means that this book is likely going to be a shit hit piece. If people in POTUS orbit are talking to this author, they need to be cut off immediately.”

… After 2 days of golf and a party following his latest claim to another club championship, someone FINALLY posted from Trump’s Truth Social account a statement on Sunday night about the storms that killed 40 people on Fri and Sat. It isn’t one that looks like he wrote it, which means this came from his constant companion Natalie Harp: “We are actively monitoring the severe tornadoes and storms that have impacted many States across the South and Midwest. My Admin is ready to assist State and Local Officials, as they help their communities to try and recover from the damage. Please join Melania and me in praying for everyone impacted by these terrible storms!”

… A reporter asked Karoline Leavitt about media reports that the admin has decided to withdraw from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine which is investigating Russian war crimes. Why has that occurred? “I know there have been many inaccurate and misleading reports from Reuters lately, so I would caution anybody taking it seriously.”

… Leavitt seems to not know anything about anything. She isn’t playing dumb either. She walks into each briefing completely unprepared, it is obvious that she is not interested in doing her homework or preparing for what is an extremely difficult and serious job where you have to keep tabs on many different subjects and agencies. Her predecessors, even those from Trump’s first term, walked into briefings with huge binders full of notes. Leavitt often brags about how she is able to do her job without notes.

… Trump was asked a question today from an NBC reporter but stopped her mid-sentence and asked who she was with. When she responded NBC, Trump said: “I don’t want to talk to NBC anymore. You’re so discredited.”

… NYT reported that nearly 200 senior experts with the National Nuclear Security Administration have left the agency as part of Musk’s DOGE cuts. The agency builds reactors for nuclear submarines, manages 3,748 nuclear bombs and warheads. Scott Roecker, VP of the Nuclear Threat Initiative: “This is going to make the job more difficult because what you lost were some of your most valuable leaders. These were very accomplished, very successful, very well-trained people who were performing complex, niche jobs.”

… Among the departures: 27 engineers, 13 program or project analysts, 12 program or project managers, 6 budget analysts/accountants, 5 physicists/scientists, as well as attorneys, compliance officers and technologists.

… Chris Rilling, former NOAA Division Director: “The NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory on Mauna Loa near Hilo, Hawaii, which has been monitoring CO2 levels for the past 65 years, is set to be shut down. Trumpian reality: If we can't see CO2 levels rising, then it must not be happening.”

… Journalist Adam Klasfeld reported that a hearing was held today before Judge Chutkan in a lawsuit brought by several environmental groups who are suing the Trump admin after they froze billions of dollars that were appropriated to them as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Judge Chutkan is deciding whether to issue a temporary restraining order.

… Politico reported that Evan Feinman, who was the director of the $42.5 billion US broadband initiative for the past 3 years, sent an email to colleagues warning the program is about to be disbanded while in progress to steer the contract to Elon Musk’s Starlink: “Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world’s richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals. We should NOT change it to benefit tech that delivers slower speeds at higher costs to the household paying the bill.”

… CNN reports that Musk’s largest business partner - the Chinese Communist Party - is celebrating the dismantling of Voice of America, which has broadcast to people in China for decades. Hu Xijin, a former editor-in-chief of the nationalist Global Times: “Voice of America has been paralyzed! And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China. How truly gratifying! Voice of America is a symbolic tool of US ideological infiltration into China. I am more than happy to see America’s anti-China ideological stronghold crumble from within, scattering like a flock of startled birds.”

… DNI Tulsi Gabbard reposted Russian propagandist Ian Miles Cheong, who lives in Malaysia and has never been to the US, about VOA: “These orgs produced and disseminated far-left propaganda, including media hostile to conservatives in Central Europe and perpetuated pro-war narratives against Russia.”

… The Russians and Chinese are celebrating and our DNI is reposting anti-American propaganda from foreign operatives. Lovely.

… Kari Lake, who is dismantling VOA for Musk, says that the audio tech who had a boom mic accidentally touch Trump’s face on a windy day on an airport tarmac should be fired: “I worked as a broadcast journalist and news anchor for 30 years. Never in ALL of that time did I see a reporter or audio tech hit someone in the face with a boom mic. Until now, when an NPR reporter hit the president in the face. It is inexcusable and unacceptable. She should be taken off this assignment, immediately.”

… Right-wing podcaster Dan Bongino was sworn in today as Dep. FBI Director.

… The American Prospect reported that the next general counsel of the NLRB will be Crystal Carey, a virtually unknown lawyer at union-busting law firm Morgan Lewis, whose biggest recent client is Amazon.

… CBS reported that a group of teen musicians auditioned and were chosen to play a concert with ‘The President's Own,’ the United States Marine Corps band. The teens were part of Equity Arc, a nonprofit organization that provides mentoring and support for young musicians of color, and the concert was set for this coming May. However, the concern was cancelled after Trump’s anti-DEI order was signed.

…. But military veteran musicians from the bands of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, West Point, and the Naval Academy stepped up last weekend to mentor the students, and 60 Minutes flew them to DC to interview them and have them perform.

… Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger announced she is running for Gov of VA: “Exciting news! I just signed the paperwork to officially get on the ballot to serve as the next Governor of Virginia. I'm so grateful for the 40,000+ Virginians who signed our petitions — and for the 1,300+ volunteers who made it happen.”

… This is a very important seat for Democrats to win in 2025. The Republican nominee is going to be Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, who is very beatable. There are many thousands of government employees and contractors who live in VA who I expect to turn out in big numbers to express their displeasure with DOGE and send Republicans all over the country a strong message with a big pickup for Dems this year.