A federal judge overseeing Katie Phang's lawsuit against the Trump Justice Department is making one thing abundantly clear: he's not willing to simply accept the government's explanations about its Epstein files redactions at face value.
In a new order issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan directed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to submit unredacted versions of key Jeffrey Epstein-related emails and documents directly to the court for a private in camera review, along with evidence backing up the Justice Department's claims that its sweeping redactions are legitimate.
Rather than relying on DOJ's assertions, Sullivan is requiring the government to prove them.
The order requires Blanche to submit eight unredacted email chains, identified by specific Bates numbers, as well as documentation supporting the department's claim that the names blacked out in those emails are, in fact, victims whose identities are protected by law.
Sullivan also ordered the Justice Department to produce an unredacted version of another document and provide evidence supporting its claim that the names removed from its "to" and "from" lines belong to law enforcement personnel. A third document must likewise be submitted in unredacted form with documentation supporting DOJ's assertion that the names it concealed are victims.
The deadline for the production is 3:00 p.m. ET on July 30.
The judge is sending a clear message that if the Trump administration wants to keep information hidden from the public, it will have to do more than simply say its redactions are justified... (our emphasis)
We'll see if Blanche finds a way to stonewall, appeal, or otherwise drag or weasel out of the judge's order. "If they have nothing to hide, why are they hiding it," said the little boy.
Adm. Daryl Caudle saw an opening to land the Navy’s top job last year, and he seized it.
Before Pete Hegseth had even been sworn in as defense secretary, Admiral Caudle, then the head of a major Navy training command, offered to help Mr. Hegseth prepare for his politically contentious Senate confirmation hearing, according to current and former defense officials.
The outreach was a breach of military ethics, the officials said. Senior military officers are supposed to avoid any hint of partisan bias or political activity.
Nothing came of the offer. But soon after Mr. Hegseth took office, he fired the first woman to lead the Navy: Admiral Caudle’s boss. Days later, a senior officer on Admiral Caudle’s staff contacted Mr. Hegseth’s team in another breach of protocol.
His pitch: Mr. Hegseth should choose Admiral Caudle to be the next chief of naval operations, the current and former officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.
The officer described Admiral Caudle in terms that matched Mr. Hegseth’s view of the values that military officers should embody. There was “no one more in line” with Mr. Hegseth’s vision for remaking the military, he said, according to an official familiar with the exchange. The officer cast Admiral Caudle as a “warfighter” who wanted to remove “woke barriers” that he claimed were weakening the force, the official said... (our emphasis)
Well, if you didn't know this kind of thing was coming, we're sorry to inform you that the top uniformed ranks at the Pentagon are already being infused with racist MAGAts, the better to carry out the Malignant Fascist's unlawful orders when they're passed down. Another area to thoroughly purge and sanitize when the time presents itself.
As his new tariffs went into effect and gas prices climbed on Saturday, President Donald Trump said he’s not ruling out a full-scale war.
In a phone interview with French journalist Sonia Dridi, Trump said he’s “absolutely” considering resuming full-scale war with Iran if the U.S. doesn’t “get 100% of what we want.”
The president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday the U.S. is “talking” to Iran, adding that he believes Iran is “getting more and more serious as the days go by” but “that doesn’t mean we get there.” Friday night was the first in 13 consecutive nights that the U.S. did not strike Iran.
The national average gas price rose slightly Saturday to $4.11 a gallon as Trump’s newly imposed tariffs on goods from more than 80 countries threatened to heap further financial strain on Americans ahead of the midterms. The reporter said when she asked Trump whether he would follow through with his threat to levy “substantial” new tariffs on the European Union, which he has accused of “robbing” American tech companies, he declined to comment.
The tariffs, which took effect Friday and have already been challenged in court, could cost American households an extra $1,100 annually, according to an analysis by The Budget Lab at Yale University. That comes at a time when consumers are already shelling out more for necessities, including gas and groceries, as the Iran war drives inflation and energy prices upward.
Gas price averages in the United States surpassed $4 a gallon on July 20 for the first time in more than a month as fighting in the Iran war escalated following the collapse of a temporary ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which the White House billed as a significant step toward substantial nuclear negotiations and a permanent peace deal... (our emphasis)
The Very Stable Genius, a.k.a. Moron Metternich, has blundered into a quagmire, with no end in sight and no chance of the situation returning to what it was before his war of choice with Iran. To compound the disaster, the fool continues to put inflation- driving tariffs on foreign goods because of his "kindergarten-level understanding of economics"(and even that may be giving him too much credit). Sic transit gloria, America.
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