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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."
‘They’re not going anywhere’: Trump’s AG appears to break with him on Fox News

President Donald Trump's attorney general appeared to rebuff an opportunity to endorse her boss's recent idea to send Americans convicted of violent crimes to prisons in El Salvador.
Trump reiterated the idea on Monday during an Oval Office meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, in which Trump told reporters, "homegrowns are next," referring to U.S. citizens.
"Homegrown criminals are next," Trump told Bukele. "I said homegrowns are next, homegrowns are next. You've got to build about five more places. It's not big enough."
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Trump clarified he was focusing on "violent offenders" and signaled that his administration is looking into the legality to determine if such deportations are possible.
The eye-popping suggestion became the topic of discussion on Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime." Watters asked Bondi about Trump's idea to incarcerate U.S. citizens overseas. But she didn't seem to endorse the plan.
"The president was musing about sending some of the most horrible people in this country down to that mega prison," said Watters, later asking, "Is that legal to do? Is that something you're allowed to do?"
"Well Jesse, these are Americans that he's saying committed the most heinous crimes in our country. Crime is going to decrease dramatically because he has given us a directive to make America safe again. These people need to be locked up as long as they can, as long as the law allows. We're not going to let them go anywhere. If we have to build more prisons in our country, we will do it."
"Right," Watters replied with a chuckle. "That's what I thought."
Watch the clip below or at this link.
WATTERS: The president was musing about sending some of the most horrible people in this country down to that mega prison. Is that legal?
BONDI: These are Americans who he is saying have committed the most heinous crimes in our country pic.twitter.com/KqyZRF2BZT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 15, 2025
‘Escalating threats’: Judges are getting ominous messages — delivered on pizza boxes

A federal judge whose son was shot and killed by a gunman posing as a FedEx delivery driver in a 2020 attack meant for the judge revealed a shocking new escalation to the hostility targeting the judiciary.
U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas on Friday said that not only are pizzas being delivered to the homes of judges, but they are also being sent to the homes of their children.
But now, she is sounding the alarm on an even darker twist to the threats after learning this week that pizzas are now being sent to judges and their families under the name of her slain son.
“Just this week I was contacted by a judge, and I was told that the second pizza that arrived at this judge's house – he had already received one before – the second pizza that arrived at this judge's house was sent by my son, Daniel Anderl,” Salas said in an interview on MSNBC. “The name that they used on the pizza was Daniel Anderl. My baby boy, who we lost on July 19, 2020.”
“And if it would have stopped there, it would have been bad enough,” she added. “But it's not stopping. Just last night, another pizza, there's four now, four pizzas that are being sent to judges as threats. And who's the sender? Daniel Anderl.”
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Salas told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that the significance in the ominous deliveries is the message that it sends.
“You send a pizza to a judge's house – that’s the message – I know where you live. You send a pizza to a judge's child's house – I know where your child lives,” she said.
But the judge made clear that the new escalation of sending pizzas in the name of her deceased child as the sender “says ‘you want to end up like Judge Salas’ child, you want to end up like Judge Salas.’ These escalating threats are a problem.”
Salas delivered a message of her own on Friday: “For the love of God, stop all this hatred and all this anger because it is going to get someone killed” as she implored the Trump administration, members of Congress, and anyone with a social media megaphone “to tone down the rhetoric.”
“We have to stop calling us rogue judges, calling us ‘wanted,’ we have to stop impeaching judges for doing their jobs. We have to stop calling us corrupt and crazy, leftist, unconstitutional judges.”
‘Different’: Wall Street execs warn ‘we’ve never seen’ anything like Trump’s tariff chaos

Top Wall Street executives are still reeling from the chaos caused by President Donald Trump's tariffs — and they're warning that we're about to see economic instability of a type that hasn't occurred in living memory, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
"Financiers came into the year excited for President Trump’s tenure, expecting corporate tax cuts and lower regulation to lift stocks, dealmaking and corporate confidence," reported Alexander Saeedy, AnnaMaria Andriotis, and Gina Heeb. "One quarter in, the tone is entirely different and executives are worried about tariffs and their impact, especially after the market gyrations of this month. Some economists are predicting a recession by the second half of 2025."
Trump initially announced so-called "reciprocal" tariffs of 10 to 49 percent on imports from virtually every country in the world based mainly on the U.S. trade deficit with each country, regardless of whether those countries actually have legal trade barriers and, in some cases, regardless of whether the region in question has trade at all or even people.
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After days of Republican infighting and plunging stock indices, Trump announced a 90-day period in which all countries will have their import tariffs reduced to the minimum of 10 percent, except for China, which will see even larger tariff hikes.
The announcement caused a stock rally, but markets remain wildly volatile and fluctuating — and still far lower than they were when Trump took office.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, had a grim assessment: “This is different,” he said, comparing it to previous market shocks and recessions. “It’s a significant change we’ve never seen in our lives.”
Larry Fink, the head of BlackRock, agreed, saying, “In the short run, we have an economy that is at risk.”
The unveiling of the tariffs "surprised executives across the country, sent stock markets reeling and pushed down the price of supersafe Treasury bonds. Bankers said Friday that they are expecting businesses to pull back from big moves like deals and investments and worries are spreading about how much companies will earn this year," the report continued. Meanwhile, Fink, "whose firm BlackRock now oversees $11.6 trillion in assets, said the market downturn affects millions of people by hitting their retirement accounts and college-savings plans."
‘Only happened a handful of times’: Analyst sounds alarm at rare economic ‘red flag’

A massive sell-off in U.S. bonds led a CNN analyst to sound the alarm about a rare "red flag" as financial markets reel.
The country saw a significant sell-off in U.S. bonds this week, driven by concerns over President Donald Trump's tariff policies and broader economic uncertainty. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note surged to as high as 4.53%, marking its highest point since February and a dramatic increase from Monday’s low of 3.87%. This reflects a sharp decline in bond prices, as yields and prices move inversely.
Allison Morrow, a senior writer for CNN Business, told anchor Jake Tapper on Friday afternoon that tens of trillions of dollars come into the U.S. from all over the globe.
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"That asset, that bond, is considered to be one of the safest places any investor can put their money because it is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government," she told viewers. "Ultimately a U.S. bond, a treasury, is a safe haven."
This, she said, is "important" to what happened this week.
"Normally in times of economic turmoil, we would see stocks sell off and investors go to bonds. That didn't happen. We saw investors selling stocks and bonds. And that is really a red flag because it's only happened a handful of times in history and its a signal that investors can't really see which way the economy is going. And they're putting their pencils down and saying, 'We're sitting this one out.'"
The economy is in a "precarious position," now, Morrow said.
The 10-year treasury yield is the benchmark for car loans, mortgages, and credit cards. When bonds are sold off, yield goes up.
"And that's exactly what we saw this week," she said.
‘Guilty of treason’: Trump orders DOJ to investigate ‘anonymous’ staffer from first term

President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to investigate Miles Taylor, a member of his first administration who wrote a New York Times op-ed under the pseudonym "Anonymous" claiming to be a member of the so-called resistance.
"What this presidential memorandum is going to do, one, it's going to strip any active clearance that he has in light of his past activities involving classified information," White House staff secretary Will Scharf explained as he handed the executive order to the president. "It's also going to order the Department of Justice to investigate his activities to see what else might come up in that context, given his egregious behavior during your previous administration."
For his part, Trump accused Taylor of saying "terrible things."
"And I think it's like a traitor. It's like spying. He walks into the office. He's supposed to be sitting here," he explained. "And he wrote a book, Anonymous, and I always thought it was terrible. And now we have a chance to find out whether or not it was terrible."
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"And if it was a Democrat president, I'd say that's a terrible thing," the president claimed. "And it's time to find out whether or not somebody can do that. Can they write a book about very confidential meetings? Because I happen to be one of a lot of people in a room, and they go out and write a book. And worse than that, call it anonymous, like it's a big deal."
"And I think he's guilty of treason, if you want to know the truth. But we'll find out. And I assume we're recommending this to the Department of Justice."
‘Gross betrayal’: Shock as GOP quietly slips power giveaway to Trump into House resolution

House Republicans have reportedly inserted language into a procedural measure that would effectively prevent the chamber from voting on resolutions to curtail U.S. President Donald Trump's authority to impose tariffs unilaterally, a move that Democratic lawmakers condemned as spineless.
"This is cowardice of a kind our predecessors in this body frankly could not have imagined, and it is a gross betrayal of their constituents," Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said in a statement ahead of the planned vote, which is expected to take place late Wednesday afternoon.
The vote will come after Trump announced on his social media platform that he is pausing for 90 days the higher "reciprocal tariffs" he announced last week, while leaving in place the 10% universal tariffs on imports. One exception to the 90-day pause is China, which Trump said will face a 125% tariff "effective immediately."
Trump's decision to pause some of his tariffs came amid mounting backlash within the U.S. and abroad, including from Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
On Tuesday, a group of House Democrats led by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) introduced a privileged resolution that, if passed, would terminate the national emergency Trump declared on April 2 in order to impose his sweeping tariffs, which are unpopular with the American public.
Privileged resolutions in the House typically must receive floor consideration within two legislative days. But the language that House Republicans included in the procedural measure would "turn off privilege for any resolution dealing with the April 2 trade emergency," Punchbowl's Jake Sherman reported Wednesday.
The provision states that each day between April 9 and September 30 of this year "shall not constitute a calendar day for purposes of section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622) with respect to a joint resolution terminating a national emergency declared by the president on April 2, 2025."
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has vocally criticized Trump's tariff scheme, ripped House Republicans for shielding the president by declaring that "days don't exist anymore."
"They have passed a rule saying that, you know, not that day is night, but the days don't exist at all, that we aren't going to have any calendar days, because miraculously, by rule, we have decreed there are no days," said Paul, who earlier this week joined a group of Senate Democrats in introducing a privileged resolution that would end Trump's emergency declaration.
Beyer said Wednesday that a vote for the House GOP rule "is a vote for Trump's tariffs."
"Anyone who claims to want to retake congressional authority over trade and tariffs must vote against this rule," he added.
The rule vote, if successful, would pave the way for consideration of the House GOP's budget resolution, which would advance the party's plan to slash taxes for the rich while cutting Medicaid and other key federal assistance programs.
During a fundraising event on Tuesday, Trump instructed House Republicans to blindly support his policy agenda.
"Close your eyes and get there," the president said, a message directed at the handful of Republicans who have wavered on supporting the budget resolution.
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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."

