Nothing can stop billionaires from 'running wild' under Trump: fired FTC official

A fired Federal Trade Commission official said Saturday that a recent Supreme Court ruling favoring President Donald Trump will leave billionaires "running wild."During an appearance on MS NOW, Rebecca Slaughter talked about her Supreme Court case against Trump in which she and another former Federal Trade Commission commissioner, both Democratic appointees, challenged their dismissals. "I was just profoundly disappointed," Slaughter said about the Supreme Court decision that allowed Trump to fire independent agency commissioners at will."That's a really sad change in our fundamental structure of government, mostly for the American people," Slaughter said. "The American people deserve a government that is fighting for them, and not just for the powerful."However, Slaughter warned that billionaires in particular stand to benefit from the Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Slaughter.She described the Federal Trade Commission as a "check on unfair and illegal business practices on billionaire corporations and the billionaires who run them." The "chilling effect" of the Supreme Court ruling will leave those billionaires and corporations "running wild," Slaughter warned.Federal Trade Commission officials will have to "operate in fear of getting fired for failure to do a favor for the president's billionaire buddies," and won't know "whether they're going to be able to operate as a check" on the powerful, according to Slaughter."What will it mean if the president says to the FTC commissioners, 'I want you to make this case go away because this company is helping to build my ballroom or donate to my inauguration,'" Slaughter said. "In the past, what it would mean would be nothing because the way the FTC was structured, commissioners were obligated to follow the law, follow the facts, follow their oath."Slaughter added that the chilling effect could extend to "about two dozen agencies" that are under Trump's purview, including those that oversee "all kinds of important things, from nuclear safety to consumer product safety."

Trump receives stark warning from analyst: 'You've lost the New York Post'

President Donald Trump received a stark warning from a political analyst Saturday morning. Commentator Molly Jong-Fast took to X on Independence Day to share a less-than flattering editorial on the Trump family from a publication that typically sings their praises. "When you've lost the New York Post," Jong-Fast tweeted. The editorial in question chastises the president, with the Post's characteristic tabloid style, over reports that Trump's son Don Jr. and Eric are involved in a billion-dollar mining deal in Kazakhstan financed by the U.S. government."Hunter Biden-style sleaze is just as slimy when the Trump boys do it," wrote the Post editorial board. "It was bad when the Bidens did it, and it’s just as bad when the Trumps do it."Jong-Fast also shared a response from the thriller writer Brad Thor, who found himself on Independence Day in agreement with the New York Post."This should not be a partisan issue," Thor wrote. "If Americans were right to be angry about Hunter Biden trading on his father’s name, then Americans should be just as concerned when the Trump family is tied to deals involving foreign governments, federal support, and political access. Public service should never become a family revenue stream. One standard."Thor wasn't alone. "Never thought I see them say this but I agree!" wrote X user Emre Yurrtas. "The fact there are separate standards for each party on everything should bother everyone!"Jong-Fast was not the only one to urge Trump to change his ways. The Post editorial also had words of warning for the president. "Democrats in Congress are pressing for an investigation into Trump sweetheart deals," the Post said. "If they take the House in the midterms, these hearings are surely coming."

Fireworks, flyovers and a 'really long' Trump speech ahead as US celebrates 250th

The celebrations in the US capital will feature 850,000 fireworks, a "really long" speech from the president and scorching temperatures.

US Jews increasingly concealing their identities over rising antisemitism, survey shows

The survey, commissioned by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center, found that 57 percent of Jewish Americans reported experiencing antisemitism in the past year.

Trump DOJ stumbles in Epstein files case with 'embarrassing' excuse: legal expert

The Trump Justice Department stumbled in an Jeffrey Epstein files case with an "embarrassing" excuse flagged by a legal expert on Saturday.In a recent episode of the Legal AF podcast, analyst Michael Popok discussed the DOJ's response to an injunction requiring it to translate foreign-language documents in the Epstein files. The injunction stems from journalist Katie Phang's lawsuit demanding translation and a published redaction log, which has seen early success, Popok noted."It's not like the World Cup. It's not like there's 48 different countries of languages," Popok said. "What is it? Four or five languages. We know who was involved in the Epstein scandal. Maybe French, maybe Italian, certainly English, not a foreign language, but you know the way the Brits speak."Even though the DOJ responded to a judge's injunction "in the nick of time," it refused to translate parts of the Epstein files, saying reviewers "could not translate it on the fly," according to Popok."They could use an app, an AI app, that would do the initial cut of translation," Popok said. "It's embarrassing that they think they can get away with this."Popok summed up the DOJ's response as "you're not getting it, judge. We're not translating it." However, Popok added that the judge in the case, Emmet Sullivan, "doesn't suffer fools" and predicted that he'll be "p----- off" with the DOJ's excuse for not complying with the injunction."You're gonna see it in his next order," Popok said. "Remember we're talking about Epstein survivors and sexual abuse victims, many of them who were girls at the time."Read on Substack

What Getting Drunk With Alzheimer’s Patients Teaches Us About America on Her 250th Birthday

The Anti-Indigenous Slur in the Declaration of Independence Speaks Volumes

The US Declaration of Independence frames Indigenous resistance as aggression and colonial violence as self-defense.

'Wild-eyed stuff': Blue state AG sounds the alarm on Trump's next moves after court loss

A blue-state attorney general sounded the alarm on President Donald Trump's next moves after a court loss set back his immigration plans.During an appearance on MS NOW, California Attorney General Rob Bonta reacted to right-wing ideas for how to prevent immigrants from giving birth in the United States and warned that Trump could act on some of them.Bonta described proposals like sterilizing all foreign visitors and restricting pregnant travelers as "wild-eyed stuff," and cautioned that ending birthright citizenship is one of the Trump administration's "top immigration policies, the centerpiece immigration policy."The Supreme Court recently rebuked Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship, and "we'll see what they do next," Bonta warned."Who knows if they're trying to save some face," Bonta said. "But some of this stuff, like sterilizing everyone seeking a visa coming to the United States, is wild. And it's already illegal to seek a visa for the purpose of birth tourism."Those ideas for preventing birth tourism are "based on this conspiracy that there is widespread birth tourism," but "the data shows that it's minuscule when it happens, if it happens at all," Bonta added."They're trying to base their argument against birthright citizenship on that, on that myth," Bonta said. "And even the U.S. Supreme Court justices barely gave it any time in the almost 100 pages of the order."Bonta noted that Trump also tried to end birthright citizenship via an executive order during his first day back in office last year, and "we sued him the next day and we won."