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National News
‘Disgusting’: Big-name conservative rips Trump’s ‘dorkiest’ bullying attempt
A prominent conservative analyst ripped President Donald Trump's administration on Monday for its "dorkiest" attempt to bully one of its political foes.
On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense was reducing Sen. Mark Kelly's (D-AZ) retirement pay as punishment for participating in a video with five other Democrats in which they told military personnel to be suspicious of orders from the Trump administration. Trump described Kelly's comments as "seditious" in a Truth Social post.
Bill Kristol, the editor at large for The Bulwark, discussed the administration's move on a new episode of "The Bulwark Podcast" on Monday.
"Just how disgusting it is what they're doing," Kristol said. "Mark Kelly is a United States Senator serving with distinction, and he happened to make a correct argument that you don't have to obey unlawful orders, and you should be wary of some of the orders coming from this administration."
Kristol also warned that there could be unintended consequences of the move against Kelly.
"It's dorky, and it's stupid, and Mark Kelly doesn't care," Kristol said. "There are a lot of retired military and ... not all of them are famous like Mark Kelly, and some of them are living off their retirement and whatever, and don't want to be publicly humiliated and knocked down a rank."
"I worry always about the intimidation effects of these things even when they're done in the dorkiest bullying way," he continued.
National News
‘Smoking gun’ exposed by senator as Trump admin suffers major court setback
A senior Democratic senator lambasted President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday after a judge handed the administration its latest loss in a high-profile immigration case.
On Tuesday, Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. of the Middle District of Tennessee handed down a ruling that found Trump prosecutors were conspiring with people in Washington, D.C. who "may or may not have acted with improper motivation," when bringing charges against Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, CNN's Jim Scuitto reported on "The Arena." Abrego-Garcia is a Salvadoran national who had lived in Maryland for several years with temporary protected status before the Trump administration illegally deported him in March.
Initially, the Trump administration blamed his deportation on an "administrative error" before returning Abrego-Garcia to the U.S. After he arrived, prosecutors then charged him with human trafficking, and at least one top Department of Justice official called the prosecution of Abrego-Garcia a "top priority," according to the ruling.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) bashed the Trump administration's treatment of Abrego-Garcia during an interview on CNN's "The Arena" on Tuesday, calling it a "smoking gun" for the vindictive prosecution charges.
"The Justice Department decided to bring these charges against him because he asserted his due process rights when they illegally shipped him off to CECOT in El Salvador," Van Hollen said. "This looks like another example of the Trump administration sometimes manipulating the facts to bring a vindictive case against Abrego-Garcia."
