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Trump’s ‘revenge’ meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner: report



President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.

"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."

This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.

After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."

The president sued WSJ over that reporting, alleging that the birthday letter was not authentic. This month, a federal judge tossed out that suit.

‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell



Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.

Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.

Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.

"A lot of people do," Comer said.

"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."

"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.

"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."

"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."

‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering



WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.

"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"

Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.

Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.

"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."

She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.

"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."

Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.

"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."

‘MAGA Mean Girls’: Conservative spotlights women mirroring Trump’s ‘bullying’ style



Conservative political writer Myra Adams spotlighted the Trump administration's top women officials in an article published in The Hill Friday, referring to them as "mean MAGA girls" for mirroring what she called former President Donald Trump's "bullying leadership style."

The list included Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and rightwing influencer Laura Loomer.

"After nearly 100 days, Trump’s loyal Mean Girls are just warming up their 'don’t mess with us,' in-your-face bravado, so effective and pleasing to their man," Adams, who served on the creative team of two Republican presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008, wrote in her article.

ALSO READ: 'I will not be bullied': Whistleblower accuses DOJ of sending 'armed deputies' to her home

"These fine-looking ladies are always camera-ready for their frequent Fox News and social media appearances."

She said that these officials are "bullying into submission two of the three co-equal branches of government, resulting in the most powerful executive branch since President Franklin D. Roosevelt."

The author said Bondi turned the Department of Justice into Trump's "weapon of mass retribution."

"Bondi is rebranding DOJ as the president’s law firm, fighting for his all-encompassing MAGA agenda. Even Trump’s former private criminal defense attorneys are Bondi’s top deputies!," she added.

Adams said Bondi "mirrors Trump’s 'fight fight fight' persona, denigrating judges and persecuting thepresident’s 'enemies.'

ALSO READ: 'What is she taking about?' Ex-RNC chair rips press sec’s defense of Trump’s

"That long-growing list includes former officials, the media, and institutions, organizations and businesses that don’t toe the line," Adams noted.

Regarding Leavitt, who is the youngest White House press secretary at 27, Adams said she displays a "prideful Mean Girl confidence well beyond her years."

"Leavitt disseminates whatever the White House 'Department of Propaganda' has prepared, likely from the all-powerful Stephen Miller," she added.

Adams noted that Leavitt heavily favors Trump-friendly new media.

ALSO READ: 'Neofascist revolutionary project': How MAGA is ramping up its propaganda 'machine

"These foot soldiers in designer heels might be called the 'MAGA Mean Girls,'" Adams wrote.

‘Coverup!’ MAGA lawmakers demand Kash Patel’s FBI investigate aborted fetuses found in DC



Two MAGA lawmakers are asking FBI Director Kash Patel to launch a formal investigation into an alleged "coverup" they say was orchestrated by former President Joe Biden's administration, whom conservatives have long faulted for failing to take action in a case stemming from five aborted fetuses found in Washington, D.C.

Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) called on Patel to confirm a probe would be forthcoming by April 29, and also asked that FBI officials provide a “staff level briefing” related to the agency's review and potential investigation into the case – which they refer to as the “D.C. Five.”

“As Chairs of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government and the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, we remain concerned about the Biden-Harris Administration’s refusal to investigate the circumstances of the case of five aborted children, also known as the D.C. Five, whose remains were allegedly discovered at the Washington Surgi-Clinic in March 2022 by a pro-life advocacy group,” the MAGA lawmakers told Patel on Tuesday in a joint letter.

ALSO READ: 'All hands on deck': Democrats unleash new strategy to derail Trump

In addition to the Biden administration, Roy and Biggs also targeted the Metropolitan Police Department, both of which they say “chose to ignore any potential evidence of a crime for two years.” They also went after former FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom they blamed for "leadership failures."

“As we continue to conduct our investigation into the District of Columbia’s enforcement of the Partial-Birth Abortion Act and the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, serious questions remain surrounding the deaths of these children,” they added. “We write to request that the FBI review the decision not to move forward with an investigation and the Biden Harris’s apparent decision not to enforce the Partial-Birth Abortion Act and the Born Alive Infants Protection Act."

‘Irreparable harm’: Judge rebukes Trump DOJ in clash over wrongly deported dad



The Justice Department clashed with U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis in a Tuesday hearing over what the U.S. government acknowledged was an accidental deportation of a Maryland father.

Kilmar Ábrego García was shipped to a prison in El Salvador despite a judge ruling that García could not be deported there. The U.S. government has claimed that García is an MS-13 gang member, but one legal analyst wrote Tuesday there's reason to question this.

According to Politico's Kyle Cheney, Xinis said that every day Ábrego García is in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, is "a day of further irreparable harm."

"If not this court, then who, to engage in process. It’s process that is in the roots of our constitution, so we have to give process to both sides...There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding," the judge said.

ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat'

She also questioned the administration's definition of the word "facilitate," which comes from a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, in which the high court ordered the administration to "facilitate" García's return.

The administration's definition flies in the face of the plain meaning of the word, the judge said, according to Cheney. "When a wrongfully removed individual [is outside US borders], it's not so cut-and-dried that all you have to do is remove obstacles domestically."

CNN reported that the judge appeared willing to consider an expansion of the definition of "facilitate." The Justice Department asked for an appeal to stay that decision.

The judge said, "The Supreme Court has spoken. My order is clear. It's direct. There is, in my view, nothing to appeal."

See the clip below or at the link here.


- YouTube youtu.be

Trump’s order blocked that punished law firm that helped Dominion sue Fox News



A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked several portions of President Donald Trump's executive order punishing Susman Godfrey, the law firm that represented the elections equipment company Dominion Voting Systems in their defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

Judge Loren AliKhan slammed the Trump administration's actions from the bench, per MSNBC legal commentator Adam Klasfeld, saying, "Frankly, I think the Framers of our Constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power."

She noted that a number of other law firms had struck "deals" with the Trump administration to avoid being targeted by similar executive orders, which, she said, was "coercion, plain and simple."

ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat'

AliKhan blocked all three provisions of the executive order that Susman Godfrey challenged: Section 1, which attacked the firm's diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; Section 3, which ordered the termination of all federal government contracts with the firm; and Section 5, which barred Susman Godfrey personnel from accessing federal buildings.

Trump has issued a number of other executive orders with identical provisions targeting various law firms that have represented clients or cases against himself or his allies or previously employed people who have done so.

The "deals" struck with several law firms to prevent this punishment included agreeing to terminate DEI policies, commit to accepting pro-Trump clients in the future, and earmark hundreds of millions of dollars for pro bono work in specific areas the Trump administration approves of, such as fighting antisemitism and assisting veterans. It's part of a series of attacks Trump has levied at institutions to force compliance with his administration, including threats to terminate funding to progressive research universities and pushing for settlements of frivolous lawsuits against large broadcasting companies.

The law firm deals were largely brokered by Boris Epshteyn, a controversial lawyer and former right-wing analyst for Sinclair Broadcast Group who is notorious for following Trump around with positive news printouts to make him feel better.

‘Political ransom’: Expert warns Trump trying to turn Harvard into Trump Univ. ‘satellite’



Former NAACP director Cornell William Brooks laid into President Donald Trump's move to freeze billions in federal funding from Harvard University, after the prestigious institution rejected his demands to crack down on the political ideology of its faculty and student body — a similar ultimatum Trump used against Columbia University that that school ultimately complied with.

"We have a wonderful Constitution that contains a First Amendment, which this government, this administration is violating," Brooks told CNN's John Berman. "This is to say, the government does not get to dictate political ideology. It does not get to determine whether faculty or staff or too liberal to conservative to this, to that. The First Amendment has a little something to say about that."

But there's another federal law standing in the way, he continued.

"Title XI is that law which says you can't use government funds to discriminate. This is a law that was brought into being as a consequence of the blood sacrifice of civil rights workers and African Americans, and this administration has taken that law, turned it upside down, and used it to try to micromanage Harvard and essentially make it a satellite campus of the now-defunct Trump University. This is outrageous."

ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat'

"But even if you buy your arguments, and even if you admit that the administration is trying to micromanage Harvard University, it is their money," said Berman. "How much will the absence of that money impact Harvard?"

"Well, first of all, let's — John, I want to be very clear about this," said Brooks. "It's not their money. It's the money of the American taxpayer ... and Harvard uses taxpayer money to do research on Alzheimer's, to do research on all manner of illnesses, to advance human knowledge, to send teachers into communities to teach. The point being here is the government, as in the Trump administration, doesn't get to use taxpayer dollars to violate the First Amendment."

"When you read the president of Harvard's letter ... it makes it very clear," he added. "Harvard is not refusing to comply with the government demands, simply out of a matter of personal prerogative, institutional prerogative. It is not doing so because the demands themselves are unlawful. They're unconstitutional. This is not the way government is supposed to behave. And if this were done to any major corporation, everyone would understand. You don't really get to micromanage business. I was a lawyer in the United States Justice Department. I served as president and CEO of the NAACP. I've overseen federal investigations with serious settlements and demand letters. This is not that. This is — this is literally political ransom."

Watch the video below or at the link here.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

‘Bad news for the White House’: Dems now tied with the GOP on key Trump issue



An April poll shows President Donald Trump is losing his biggest polling advantage over Democrats.

“Bad news for the White House per @EchelonInsights,” wrote Snapchat host Peter Hamby. “Dems are now tied with Republicans on the question of who would do a better job on inflation and the cost of living.”

Digital monitoring company Echelon Insights' April 2025 Voter Omnibus package revealed that "on the issue of inflation and cost of living," Trump and Democrats now share 43% approval. It also showed Trump’s overall approval going negative with 51% disapproving and 47% approving, only four months into his term, which is commonly considered still within the White House “honeymoon phase” for many presidents.

Additionally, 48% of respondents say Donald Trump “does not have a thorough plan and end-goal for tariffs, compared with 42% who say he does.”

ALSO READ: 'Alarming': Small colleges bullied into silence as Trump poses 'existential threat'

This marks a change from February, when the Pew Research Center reported that about three-quarters of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (73%) expected the economy to be better a year into President Donald Trump’s second term. Last year, Gallup reported the economy to be the “most important” issue in the 2024 election vote, which promises problems for Republicans leading the US House in the midterms if the economy remains voters' highest priority.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the November election mere weeks after the same poll reported that “voters view Donald Trump as better able than Kamala Harris to handle the economy, 54% versus 45%."

House Majority PAC Communication Director CJ Warnke posted on X that Echelon Insights information mirrors other polling over the last two weeks “consistently show[ing] Trump's Econ approval sinking lower and lower. Echelon: -8% CBS/YouGov: -12% Fabrizio Ward: -8% Navigator Research: -13% Morning Consult: -3% Economist/YouGov: -10%.”

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Trump’s ‘revenge’ meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner: report



President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.

"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."

This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.

After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."

The president sued WSJ over that reporting, alleging that the birthday letter was not authentic. This month, a federal judge tossed out that suit.

‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell



Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.

Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.

Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.

"A lot of people do," Comer said.

"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."

"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.

"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."

"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."

‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering



WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.

"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"

Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.

Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.

"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."

She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.

"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."

Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.

"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."

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