Like Maria Said Paz

Friday, December 05, 2025

5 from Alicia Keys

So five videos to celebrate music and to celebrate a single artist. I used to do that every weekend and then stopped probably due to the pandemic. I'd even forgotten about doing it until Betty's "Sam Smith" last weekend.

So let's focus on Alicia Keys.

Friday, December 5, 2025. The focus on Epstein and Maxwell -- Chump's best friends -- returns and most people are worrying about the masks, everyone's worrying about the economy which Chump has destroyed, Pete Hegseth is attempting to survive not one, but two scandals that both go to the fact that he's not fit to serve as Secretary of Defense, and much more.

Let's start with Chump's buddies -- the late Jeffrey Epstein and the semi-incarcerated Ghislaine Maxwell. Both pedophiles, both sex traffickers. Sociopaths like Convicted Felon Donald Chump aren't able to form real and true bonds. So they drift in-and-out of relationships that last along as one side can milk the other. Maxwell got Chump to move her from a prison for sex offenders like herself into Camp Fed in Texas where she's allowed to order others around -- even the staff. When you're friends with a bottom feeder like Chump and you actually have dirt on him, he'll dance surprisingly well considering his massive, overweight body frame. Alison Durkee (FORBES) reports:

Releasing grand jury materials in Ghislaine Maxwell’s case would cause “severe” harm as she tries to get a new trial, the socialite’s lawyer argued in a court filing Wednesday, as the Trump administration has asked for materials in Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s cases to be unsealed in order to comply with the new federal law forcing the Epstein files’ release.

Maxwell’s attorneys filed a letter Wednesday responding to the Trump administration’s request to unseal the grand jury materials, which include evidence shown to the grand jury as they decided whether to indict Maxwell, and a transcript of the proceedings.

The Trump administration asked a federal judge to release the grand jury materials and modify a protective order that has kept materials in the case under wraps, citing the newly passed law, which requires the federal government to make almost all of its Epstein-related materials public this month.

Even the Supreme Court refused to grant certiorari. It's over and if it's not, too damn bad. In fact, we all remember, right, that Ghislaine refused to take the witness stand in her own trial. She didn't want to be under oath before a body that might punish her. We now know she lied repeatedly when she spoke to Todd Blanche, deputy AG, for two days last summer. And while we know it, Todd has refused to hold her accountable for lying -- even though he claimed he would.

She's a liar and she exploited children.

Her nonsense was address on MS NOW yesterday.

She and Epstein are back in the news because of a release this week from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. Iker Seisdedos (EL PAIS) explains:

First, there were 10 photographs and four videos, made public for the first time. Hours later, there were another 200 files. The two batches consisted of interior and exterior shots of a property in Little St. James, one of two private islands in the Caribbean owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They were released Wednesday by House Democrats on the Oversight Committee as Washington anxiously awaits the Justice Department’s legally mandated release of the Epstein files.

There, in a sinister corner of the Virgin Islands that locals dubbed “Pedophile Island,” he committed dozens, perhaps hundreds, of the crimes for which he was going to be tried when he died in 2019 in a maximum-security cell in what the coroner determined to be a suicide, alleged to be the leader of a child sex trafficking ring.

The first of the released batches includes images of the mansion’s garden and a “No Trespassing” sign, snapshots of two different bedrooms, a bathroom, another bathroom inside what appears to be a storage room, and a living room decorated in questionable taste, as well as two close-ups: one of a telephone with the speed dial keys crossed out, and another of a chalkboard with enigmatic words scrawled on it (“power,” “deception,” “plants”). Perhaps the most unsettling photo is of what appears to be a dental office with several masks of men’s faces hanging on the walls. According to The New York Times, it might have been used by Epstein’s last girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, who “was a dentist who shared an office on St. Thomas with Mr. Epstein’s shell company.”

A lot of people are commenting on the masks. Peta Rasdien (THE NIGHTLY) notes:

One of the most bizarre rooms pictured in the was the “dentist room”, a room that contained a dental chair and creepy masks of men’s faces lining the walls.

Now, a former FBI agent has put forward a sickening theory about how the masks might have been put to use by the paedophile billionaire and visitors to his lair dubbed “Paedo Island”.

The New York Times has reported that Epstein’s final girlfriend was a dentist tied to one of his shell firms.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, who was the FBI’s Supervisory Senior Resident Agent for the Virgin Islands between 2011 and 2012, told The Daily Mail they may have been used to conceal offenders’ identities as they carried out sex crimes against victims.

The dentist’s chair itself was not overly surprising given many wealthy people had items like this, including hairdressing chairs for their private use but the the masks were “very interesting to me”, Ms Coffindaffer said.

“It is not unusual for those involved in these kinds of sex crimes, especially those involving minors, to wear masks,” she said.

While they could be innocent and there was no evidence they had been used in crimes, Ms Coffindaffer theorised about the far more horrifying use.

“In the context of what went on at that island, I would be looking for a meaning behind them, as well as any similarities to those who may have been involved in criminal behaviour on that island,” she added.

While Maxwell wants it all shut down, Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeiste (AP) report:

One of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell 's most vocal accusers urged judges on Wednesday to grant the Justice Department's request to unseal records from their federal sex trafficking cases, saying “only transparency is likely to lead to justice.”

Annie Farmer weighed in through her lawyer, Sigrid S. McCawley, after the judges asked for input from victims before ruling on whether the records should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his longtime confidante, who sexually abused young women and girls for decades.

Farmer and other victims fought for the passage of the law, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Signed last month by President Donald Trump, it compels the Justice Department, FBI and federal prosecutors to release by Dec. 19 the vast troves of material they’ve amassed during investigations into Epstein.

Chump thought he'd finally escaped his Epstein connections. Nope. He only wishes that were the case. But it's not going away. It has refused to go away. Clare Walsh (THE I PAPER) notes:

The pressure is back on Donald Trump, after a batch of photos of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s private island home were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

The images released on Wednesday offered a rare and unnerving look behind the scenes at Epstein‘s private Caribbean island, including bedrooms, bathrooms, outdoor areas, and a room featuring a dentist’s chair and bizarre masks around the walls.

One photo shows a blackboard with the words “power”, “deception”, “time”, “intellectual” and “music” being visible, with some words redacted.

By releasing the 10 photos and four videos, Democrats clearly hoped to bring public attention back to the Epstein scandal, and intensify pressure for the release of the so-called Epstein files, which Trump reluctantly agreed to release last month.

In other news, former basketball player Tom McMillen walked out of an interview this week when question about his buddy Epstein. Daniel Trainor (US) reports:

Former NBA player and member of the United States House of Representatives Tom McMillen reacted with alleged shock when confronted with his name appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

McMillen, 73, was a guest on the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast on Tuesday, December 2, when he was confronted with his name appearing in the files, which were released by Congress in November.

He stormed off the show. Instead of explain it, he stormed off the show. A few people do have a valid explanation when asked. McMillen had no explanation -- valid or otherwise.

Trainor notes:

In a separate email, McMillen criticized Torre for the nature of the podcast interview.

"I agreed to do the interview and was disappointed that the primary focus of the interview and the follow up questions was a combination of Epstein and 30 year old incidents that were insubstantial but could be made to look bad." McMillen wrote. "In addition, the interview went well past the 20 minutes I had been asked to do - running at least twice that long."

He added, "I ended the interview in a manner that could be made to look abrupt, and when I did so I also made it very clear to Mr. Torre that I felt misled about the substance of the interview…The interview seemed to be looking for gotcha angles and not substance."

So McMillen partied with him and had nothing to get off his chest in the years since. Were that true, it shouldn't be difficult to assemble a believable response.

McMillen behaved like someone who had something to hide. Conclusions that follow his actions this week are the result of his own actions.

Let's move over to the US economy that Chump has destroyed. Hafiz Rashid (THE NEW REPUBLIC) explains:

A new report from payroll processor ADP found that private employees lost nearly 32,000 jobs in November, far off analyst projections that they would add 10,000 jobs. The data is a sharp decline from October, where businesses overall added 47,000 jobs according to the ADP’s revised estimate.

[. . .]

Domestic manufacturing, as measured by the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing index, fell for the ninth month in a row, showing that the tariffs are hurting an area that Trump boasts they will improve. And private companies, including wholesale retailer Costco, are suing the government to get a refund of the tariffs they’ve paid.

It gets worse. Jeff Cox (CNBC) notes:

Announced job cuts from U.S. employers moved further ahead of 1 million for the year in November as corporate restructuring, artificial intelligence and tariffs have helped pare job rolls, consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

The firm said layoff plans totaled 71,321 in November, a step down from the massive cuts announced in October but still enough to bring the 2025 total up to 1.17 million. That total is 54% higher than the same 11-month period a year ago and the highest level since 2020, when the Covid pandemic rocked the global economy.

In November, Verizon's announcement that it would slash more than 13,000 jobs helped drive the total. Tech companies, driven by innovations in artificial intelligence, listed 12,377 reductions, pushing the sector's 2025 total up 17% from a year ago. AI itself has been cited for 54,694 layoffs this year.

Tariffs were cited as the driver of more than 2,000 cuts in November and nearly 8,000 year to date. The most-cited reason for the month was restructuring, followed by closings and market or economic conditions.

"Layoff plans fell last month, certainly a positive sign. That said, job cuts in November have risen

above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008," said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The American people have had it with Chump not only because his actions have destroyed job numbers but also because he and his administration keep trying to lie about reality. Rachel Khan (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett is fighting for his life trying to put a positive spin on the latest economic data—and even Fox News isn’t having it.

Fox host Martha McCallum asked Hassett on Thursday about the brutal new layoff numbers from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Year-to-date job cuts show an increase of 54 percent,” McCallum asked Hassett. “That seems like a troubling number. What’s your take on it?”

Hassett waffled, claiming that jobs were in flux. “Don’t forget that there’s hires and there’s fires, there’s separations and new jobs, and so net job creation for the year is very positive. But the flow of jobs in and out is a little bit higher, there’s a little bit more turnover. A lot of times that happens because people feel that they’re able to get another job if they leave this job,” Hassett said.

Hassett seems not to realize that the report does not measure the normal ebb and flow of people choosing to leave a job, but job cuts—layoffs. Layoffs this year have surpassed 1 million for the first time since Covid-19.

McCallum hit Hassett with another unpleasant truth: that despite Hassett and the Trump administration’s attempt to spin the affordability crisis, voters still know who’s to blame. Looking at a Fox News poll, McCallum noted that 76 percent of respondents see the economy as “only fair” or “poor.”

He keeps lying and spinning and only makes the administration look even more deceitful. You can't lie to people about their money. They know how much they're spending and they know how much they're suffering. Will Neal (DAILY BEAST) reports:

The MAGA base is turning on Donald Trump over the cost of living crisis, which nearly half of Americans say is the worst they’ve ever seen, a stunning opinion poll reveals.

A staggering 46 percent of all Americans say soaring unaffordability across the United States is firmly the responsibility of the Republican president, the Politico survey found.

And even 37 percent of people who voted for Trump in 2024 say they have no memory of things ever being worse than they are right now.

That's the latest POLITiCO poll. And you can't spin it. No matter how hard you try.

It's a lesson Pete Hegseth should take to heart. The Secretary of Defense (for now, at least) was the subject of an inspector general's investigation over the non-secure chat Hegseth held on Signal where he shared classified details about a bombing the US was about to carry out.

Despite the damning report, Pete attempted to lie about it. Anne Flaherty (ABC NEWS) walks us through:

Eight months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth typed up detailed military plans to attack Houthi rebel sites in Yemen then shared them with his wife and several work colleagues on separate Signal chats, his chief spokesperson said Wednesday that he's totally exonerated.

According to sources familiar with an internal Pentagon investigation, the Defense Department's inspector general office concluded this week that the information had initially been classified. It also concluded that Hegseth's decision to relay the details of a pending strike in a commercial messaging app risked putting troops in danger -- an allegation he denies.

A major concern, according to investigators, is that if the details of the upcoming attack leaked or were hacked from the commercial app, which is not designed to transmit classified information, the Houthis would have known when to expect U.S. pilots overhead and fired back.

Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement, "The way he chose to communicate this information put service members at risk."

But sources say also included in the report was an acknowledgement that even though sharing such sensitive information was potentially risky, the defense secretary is granted certain declassification powers under the law. Sources said the IG ultimately determined that while Hegseth violated his own agency's protocols, he didn't break the law.

.

Robert Davis (RAW STORY) continues:

Political analysts and observers bashed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday after he claimed an Inspector General report on his conduct during Signalgate exonerated him.

Hegseth's tenure as Defense Secretary has been embroiled in scandal since it began. One of the most egregious scandals occurred in April when Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to a group chat on the encrypted messaging platform Signal, where multiple Trump officials discussed a bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The instance became known as Signalgate.

The Inspector General's report found Hegseth likely put American troops in harm's way, and said that the Secretary violated department policies.

Yet Hegseth thinks he can lie and get away with it. Just like the White House which keeps changing their story on Hegseth's other big problem this week -- striking a boat and two people surviving the strike and hanging onto the boat so a second strike was called out.

Richard Hall (TIME) explains:

In early September, the day after the first strike of the Trump Administration’s bombing campaign against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared on Fox News to give a detailed account of the deadly incident.

“I watched it live,” he said during the interview. “We knew exactly who was in that boat, we knew exactly what they were doing, and we knew exactly who they represented.”

But months later, after a Washington Post investigation revealed that Hegseth and others had possibly committed a war crime by allegedly ordering that no survivors be left on the vessel, he offered a different version of that story.

“I watched that first strike live,” Hegseth said. “As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do, so I didn’t stick around for the hour and two hours, whatever, where all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs, so I moved on to my next meeting.”

Hegseth insisted he had learned a “couple of hours later” that Admiral Frank M. Bradley, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, had ordered a second strike, adding: “which he had the complete authority to do.”

Although many experts have questioned the legality of the entire bombing campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, the September 2 strike has come under scrutiny because it targeted injured and shipwrecked people—a clear breach of the laws of war and of U.S. law.

The updated version of events offered by Hegseth takes the Defense Secretary out of the room at a key moment in an operation that some experts say constitutes a war crime, and that has sparked bipartisan investigations in both houses of Congress.

Maegan Vazquez (WASHINGTON POST) also notes the "shifting responses:"

The Trump administration is coming under increased scrutiny over senior officials’ shifting explanations for the actions surrounding two September strikes by U.S. forces on a boat that was allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea.

The Washington Post reported Friday that after an initial strike, the boat appeared to have been disabled, and some crew members were killed. But when two survivors were identified, the Special Operations commander overseeing the attack ordered a second strike to comply with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s spoken directive before the first strike to kill everybody. The Pentagon has said 11 crew members were killed.

And it's the whole administration with their changing stories:

The Post reported Friday that a live drone feed of the Sept. 2 operation showed two survivors from an original crew of 11 clinging to the wreckage of their boat after the initial missile attack.

To comply with the spoken order from Hegseth, which The Post reported was given on a secure conference call before the first missile strike, Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, the Special Operations commander overseeing the mission, ordered the second strike which killed the two survivors, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. Those people, along with five others in the original Post report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

Bradley told people on the secure conference call that the survivors were still legitimate targets because they could theoretically call other traffickers to retrieve them and their cargo, according to two people.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declined to address questions about Hegseth’s order and other details of the operation, including Special Operations involvement. “This entire narrative is completely false,” he said in a statement. “Ongoing operations to dismantle narcoterrorism and to protect the Homeland from deadly drugs have been a resounding success.”

After The Post’s report was published, Hegseth wrote on X that “these highly effective strikes are designed to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’” adding: “Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.” He claimed that the military operations in the Caribbean are “lawful” and denounced “the fake news.”

People can only endure so many lies. Bob Cronin (NEWSER) states, "Republican lawmakers are expressing exasperation with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his management of the Pentagon—with some suggesting he may not be able to keep the job even if their investigations clear him in the fatal attack on apparent survivors of a US strike in the Caribbean. " Neither Congress nor the American people are in the mood for this repeated lying from Hegseth and others in the administration. Tom Boggioni (RAW STORY) notes:

During an appearance on MS NOW on Thursday morning, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, admitted to the hosts of “Morning Joe” that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ignoring demands to turn over critical information about his conduct in office.

Speaking with “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough, the Ohio Republican refused to say if Donald Trump’s appointee to head up the Pentagon was fit to hold his office, offering up, “I think there are a number of things that have raised concern that Congress is struggling with. And I think the secretary is going to have to answer those questions and address them. And I think that the president is going to be struggling with that over the next month.”

Those low on patience currently include Senator Rand Paul. Alexander Bolton (THE HILL) covers Paul's statements:

Republican Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth should testify before Congress “under oath” about the orders to strike suspected Venezuelan drug boats.

Paul, who has criticized the Trump administration’s policy of using lethal force to take out suspected drug smuggling boats, added that the Pentagon should make the full video of a Sept. 2 follow-up strike on survivors in the Caribbean Sea available to the public.

“I think he should testify under oath about the orders that were given, and I think that the video of the distressed, shipwrecked or incapacitated people on those boats being bombed, that video should be shown to every American,” Paul said Thursday after Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Frank Bradley, who oversaw the Sept. 2 strike on initial survivors, briefed the chair and ranking members of Senate and House committees.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) called on Hegseth on Tuesday to release the tapes of the Caribbean boat strikes and testify publicly about the incident.

“If he refuses to release the tapes, if he stonewalls, if he keeps hiding the facts, then the question becomes unavoidable: What is Pete Hegseth hiding? What does Pete Hegseth not want the American people to see? Is it that his story doesn’t add up?” Schumer said on the floor earlier this week.

What's Pete hiding? Multiple things. Mainly one man. Rhian Lubin (INDEPENDENT) reports:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked a top U.S. Navy admiral to step down after the military chief expressed concern about the “murky” legality of the lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, according to a report.

The shock departure of Admiral Alvin Holsey one year into his tenure as head of U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the Caribbean, was announced by Hegseth on Oct.16.

It followed “months of discord” between the pair that intensified in the summer when the Trump administration began bombing the alleged drug boats, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing two Pentagon officials and former officials.

“You’re either on the team or you’re not,” Hegseth reportedly told 60-year-old Holsey during a meeting this year. “When you get an order, you move out fast and don’t ask questions.”

Joe Fisher (UPI) reminds:

Scott Anderson, fellow in governance studies at Brookings Institution, said the attack on survivors is a "textbook" definition of an illegal order.

The Department of Defense's Law of War Manual offers examples of orders and actions that are considered violations of the international laws of armed conflict. This includes targeting civilians or combatants who are "hors de combat," meaning they are injured or disabled and do not pose a threat.

"Even if this were a war with an enemy army and these were uniformed soldiers, U.S. soldiers should not be targeting them," Anderson told UPI. "It is really concerning that this is something that could be implemented."

Cameron Adams (THE DAILY BEAST) adds:

Questions were asked after Hegseth announced on social media in October that the four-star officer would be retiring at the end of the year after 37 years in the Navy. Holsey, 60, only started the job, which usually has a three-year term, in November last year—meaning he was leaving two years early.

At the time, rumors flew that his departure was due to clashes with Hegseth over the Caribbean mission.

Let's note this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Your brazen attempt to dismantle the Department by transferring to other federal agencies complex and foundational responsibilities that Congress specifically charged to the Department [w]ill undermine public education.”

“We urge you to immediately reverse course and to focus your time and attention on actions that actually help states, school districts and educational institutions improve educational outcomes and support for students.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); and their colleagues in a letter slamming Secretary Linda McMahon following the recent announcement that the Department of Education has signed interagency agreements (IAAs) to illegally outsource core functions that students and their families rely on. The senators are demanding Secretary McMahon reverse these latest steps to dismantle the Department of Education.

“Let’s be very clear: You are choosing to create even more bureaucracy that states, school districts, and educational institutions across America will have to expend time and resources navigating at the expense of students and families,” wrote the senators.

In the letter, the Senators make clear that, as McMahon has previously acknowledged, dismantling the Department would require an act of Congress, which has not been proposed—or even seriously pursued—by the administration. Appropriations law prohibits the transfer of funds to another federal agency unless expressly authorized in appropriations law.

The senators detail how the myriad departmental responsibilities McMahon is now seeking to spin off to other agencies that lack the expertise, capacity, and legal mandate to successfully administer key programs will risk support, funding, and oversight that our laws provide to students and families across America. They note, in particular, that there have been negative consequences for states, schools, colleges, and students as these IAAs roll out. The first IAA inked earlier this year between the Department and DOL on career and technical education and adult education has been plagued with serious challenges.

“We once again demand that you reverse these detrimental plans and refocus your efforts on supporting state and local efforts by properly implementing federal laws intended to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students, especially those who count on the Department doing its job most,” concluded the senators.

In addition to Senators Warren, Murray, Baldwin, Sanders, and Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Me.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).

Senator Warren has led the fight to make our higher education system more affordable, cancel student loan debt, and hold student loan servicers accountable for incompetence and malfeasance. She launched the Save Our Schools campaign in a coordinated effort to fight back against President Trump’s attempts to abolish the Department of Education

###

Finally, THE BLACK COMMENTATOR notes:

The Black Commentator

Issue #1066

is now Online

December 4, 2025

Read issue 1066

Our email address is BlackCommentator@gmail.com

Our voicemail number is 856.823.1739

The Black Commentator | P.O. Box 2635, A weekly publication dedicated to economic justice, social justice and peace.,
Tarpon Springs, FL 34688-2635

The following sites updated:

S.E. Cupp sees the end of Chump, Ava and C.I. explain how Ka$h screwed up a firing

S.E. Cupp thinks Chump is finally facing the end:

A brutal new poll from Gallup has Trump’s approval in the gutter — he’s at -24%, down from -1% in January. Only Richard Nixon had a worse approval at this point in his second term, and he never recovered. Many other polls show similar, or even worse news for Trump’s standing among the electorate, where support from independents, Gen Z, and Hispanics has eroded significantly since his reelection. He’s even losing support among his base.

Then, there’s his economy. The signature pitch he made to voters was that he’d end inflation and make housing, energy, and consumer goods more affordable. Thanks to tariffs, DOGE cuts, profligate spending, and incompetence, Trump’s exploded the national debt and deficit, inflation has risen since January, unemployment is also up, consumers are seeing higher, not lower, prices at the grocery store, small businesses are seeing increased costs of operating, and more Americans believe Trump has been worse for the economy, not better.

Then there’s his personnel. Trump has been fending off serious issues of incompetence inside his administration since Day 1. His secretary of defense is being accused of war crimes. His head of the FBI is rumored to be on the chopping block. His attorney general is routinely mocked for her ineffectuality. Scientists from nearly every field of study have called for his head of health and human services to be replaced. His homeland security secretary may be prosecuted for contempt.

Then there’s his party. One-time staunch allies like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace are ignoring his threats and breaking with him on issues of America First, Jeffrey Epstein, and the shutdown. At least five Republicans have announced they are retiring or will not seek reelection. GOP senators ignored Trump’s urging to end the filibuster, and state lawmakers have rejected his redistricting efforts.

Finally, there are his media surrogates. Top MAGA influencers, who mainly reach Trump voters on Youtube and other platforms, are intentionally alienating the normies in the center-right by elevating neo-Nazis, excusing pedophilia, and engaging in some truly bizarre conspiracy theories.

But the biggest red flag that not all is well in Trump world? Trump himself.

Monday night, Trump flooded Truth Social with more than 160 posts in five hours — an unhinged mix of high and low, from posting his cameo in “Home Alone 2” to demanding disgraced Colorado election official Tina Peters be released from prison.

It was a disturbing look at someone who’s clearly lost control — of his presidency, of his party, of his messaging. Flooding the zone with utter nonsense to distract us all from his obvious failures is seemingly all he has left.

I hope she's right.

New topic. The FBI fired David Maltinsky. He displayed a Pride flag and Ka$h fired him. We've heard a great deal about this case. Now we get some common sense on it.

"Media: Chump's administration doesn't even grasp the firing process" (Ava and C.I., THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW):

Now we know Ka$h is a busy man -- flying all over the country -- sometimes with his girlfriend -- on the tax payer dime. And spending tax payer money to assign a swat team to guard said girlfriend.

But it seems to us that if Ka$h were even remotely qualified for his job, he'd realize you can't have a policy in place -- in custom or writing -- and then fire someone for it.

Long before Donald Chump hauled his decaying fat ass back to the Oval Office, David was allowed to display the flag.

Allowed?

He was encouraged to display it. From Scott MacFarlane's report cited above:

The rainbow flag that Maltinsky displayed at his workspace in the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office was presented to him after it had previously been displayed outside the Bureau's federal office complex there, according to the lawsuit.

Maltinsky said the federal government approved the display of Pride flags at federal office complexes in June 2021.

There are many issues involved in this case. But the most simple and basic one with regards to the law is that David was allowed and encouraged to display the flag. If the policy was going to change, then the employees needed to be informed of the changes.

Employees are not hired -- certainly not by the FBI -- to be psychics. But Ka$h is arguing that, on a whim, he can override a policy in place and fire someone without advising them that the policy is being changed.

That's not how the law works. If the flag was now a problem, the employee needs to be advised of that. If David were advised of the change and elected to continue to display the flag, we'd have issues involving freedom of expression, for example. But we don't even have to address that. You can't fire someone for following a policy if you haven't informed them that the policy has changed.

You can't punish an employee for following an existing policy that you decide to overturn when you fail to inform the employee that the policy is being overturned. Simply put, you can't know what you aren't told.

Ka$h knows nothing about firing. About documenting with write ups, about policy changes require informing employees of policy changes.

As usual, Ava and C.I. see what everyone else is blind to.

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, December 4, 2025. Kristi Noem took time out from lying and from her apparent extra-martial affair to kidnap a second grader in Vermont and now detain him in Texas, a MEIDASTOUCH NEWS video exposes one of her threads of lies, Pete Hegseth is found to have endangered the troops -- put their lives at risk -- by an inspector general in a newly released report, he continues to lie about the War Crime where he killed survivors of a strike, the family of one the murdered has filed legal charges against him, and much more.

"“I strongly condemn the abduction of one of our 2nd graders and his mother by ICE while traveling during the school vacation. This is yet another example of the terror our families face simply by doing things other people take for granted-going to school, shopping for groceries, or just visiting family. I call for their immediate release and for the US government to bring basic humanity and due process back. Our 2nd grader should be in his classroom, not in a detention cell." That's Wilmer Chavarria, Superintendent at JFK Elementary School in Winooski, Vermont. Chavarria is quoted in Billal Rahman's NEWSWEEK report:

A 7-year-old student in Vermont and his mother were detained by immigration authorities while traveling over the Thanksgiving break, according to the superintendent of Vermont’s Winooski school district.

The boy, who attends JFK Elementary School in Winooski, failed to show up for classes on Monday after the holidays, according to the school. School officials contacted his home, and his father reported that he had been unable to reach his wife and son since Thursday, according to Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria.

[. . .]

The pair are being held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, pending a hearing before an immigration judge, who will decide whether they may remain in the United States.

To support the boy and his mother, the district located the detainees, helped connect them with legal assistance, and provided their father in Winooski with US$1,000 from a private emergency fund, according to VTDigger.

Earlier this year, the Winooski School District became the first in Vermont to pass a “sanctuary schools” policy aimed at protecting immigrant students and families from federal immigration enforcement actions, according to the school.

Abigail Saxe (WCAX) adds:

The family has a court date scheduled for early January, but will be staying in the Texas detention facility until then. Chavarria says their primary goal is to get the student back in Vermont until the court date, so they can go to school while they wait. “Being in a detention center is less than ideal. I don’t think any child, any second grader should be held in detention, basically in jail for weeks,” he said.

Chavarria, a U.S. citizen, was also detained and held for hours just a few months ago. He said he worries for families that may not know their personal rights as he did.

Eric Paquette, a Winooski native, said he was saddened by the news and is worried for the child’s mental health. “It’s just not right,” Paquette said. “People need to recognize this is going to create trauma for the child to overcome, and then to trust people? He’s really going to need everybody’s support.”

Paquette said he’s proud of how the community is trying to help. “I expect that out of Winooski, I expect that out of Vermont,” Paquette said.

I need to note that I'm lucky. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff would raise this issue if it happened to a 7-year-old in California. ICE is very lucky it happened in Vermont where Senator Bernie Sanders tends to give ICE a pass -- on its actions in Vermont and on its property in Vermont. In fact, the last time Sanders issued a press release to call out ICE was April 23rd when 8 farm worked in Vermont were detained by ICE. April 23rd. I didn't realize that Gaza had been annexed by the state of Vermont. I see over ten press releases since April 23rd on Gaza. But none on ICE. Someone might want to let Bernie know that ICE has national headquarters and local offices in Vermont. Might want to pass on that The Vermont Asylum Assistance Program maintains this page to keep track of ICE activity in the state. Looking at their info, I'm seeing over 800 people detained by ICE in Vermont. That's a significant number especially when the population of the state isn't even 650,000.

In fact, let's note a November 20th press release from Senator Padilla's office:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, demanded answers from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership on the hiring standards and training protocols for newly hired ICE agents. The Senators argued that by significantly lowering hiring and training standards for new federal agents, the Administration has already compromised the integrity, professionalism, or operational readiness of the federal immigration law enforcement workforce.

In their letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott, the Senators pushed for answers on DHS’ changes to its hiring and training policies to rebuild the public’s trust and ensure integrity in law enforcement.

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bears full responsibility for ensuring that every individual placed in a position of federal authority has undergone thorough vetting, comprehensive training, and is subject to robust oversight. The authority to detain and use force, including, in extreme circumstances, deadly force, is not a game, and it is not a performance,” wrote the Senators. “Deploying personnel who lack the qualifications and training long required of federal officers all but guarantees breaches of constitutional, statutory, and regulatory obligations, threatens public safety and civil rights, endangers officers, risks repeating historical abuses of federal power, and undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement and democracy.”

“In addition to lowering hiring standards, public reports of misconduct among current officers call into question the Department’s ability to adequately train thousands of new hires on an accelerated timeline. American citizens and noncitizens alike are already experiencing the consequences of DHS’s undermining of accountability and failure to maintain even basic professional standards,” continued the Senators.

Reporting last month indicated that ICE dismissed more than 200 newly hired recruits after they failed to meet even the newly lowered hiring requirements. Many of these issues arose during training after many of the recruits admitted that they had not been fingerprinted or drug tested. This revelation raises concerns that other recruits already on the job were not properly vetted, threatening public safety.

Senators Booker and Padilla demanded answers to a series of questions regarding the Department’s vetting, training, and supervision protocols for all current, newly hired, and reassigned personnel so that Congress can assess whether DHS is meeting its constitutional obligations.

“DHS has a duty to ensure that all officers — both new and currently in service — are properly trained, effectively supervised, and held accountable for their actions. In only months, DHS’s failure to meet its obligations has tarnished the reputation of federal law enforcement, endangered and victimized the public, and eroded public trust in the rule of law. This is unacceptable, and DHS must act swiftly to correct these failures, uphold the rule of law, and respect the Constitutional rights of all people in America,” concluded the Senators.

Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in opposition to President Trump’s cruel and indiscriminate mass deportation agenda, including against his unprecedented, illegal militarization of Los Angeles and other American cities. Yesterday, Padilla walked out of Senate Republicans’ unserious subcommittee hearing entitled “ICE Under Fire: The Radical Left’s Crusade Against Immigration Enforcement,” in protest of the Trump Administration’s violent immigration enforcement actions across the country. In July, Padilla and Senator Booker introduced the VISIBLE Act to require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification during public-facing enforcement actions.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Noem, Acting Director Lyons, and Commissioner Scott,

We write regarding the surge in hiring of thousands of new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers by the end of 2025. Given the magnitude and pace of this expansion of federal law enforcement forces, we are seeking information on the hiring standards and training protocols in place to ensure that this rapid expansion does not compromise the integrity, professionalism, or readiness of the federal immigration law enforcement workforce. Of particular concern is the potential deployment of inadequately trained or insufficiently vetted enforcement officers in cities across the country.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bears full responsibility for ensuring that every individual placed in a position of federal authority has undergone thorough vetting, comprehensive training, and is subject to robust oversight. The authority to detain and use force, including, in extreme circumstances, deadly force, is not a game, and it is not a performance.

Deploying personnel who lack the qualifications and training long required of federal officers all but guarantees breaches of constitutional, statutory, and regulatory obligations, threatens public safety and civil rights, endangers officers, risks repeating historical abuses of federal power, and undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement and democracy.

For decades, federal law enforcement officers have been held to the highest eligibility standards, often exceeding those of state and local agencies, and have undergone a stringent vetting process. Once hired, they have received extensive training to ensure they meet baseline performance standards required for law enforcement. By all accounts, since the beginning of this year, DHS, ICE, and CBP have dropped the eligibility criteria and training requirements to dangerously low levels, creating the potential for a poorly trained force consisting of thousands of new officers, deployed in communities across America, with the legal authority to use deadly force. Last month, reports indicated that more than 200 newly hired recruits were dismissed after failing to meet ICE’s own hiring requirements. Many of the issues surfaced during training only after the recruits admitted during training that they had not been fingerprinted or drug tested, raising the alarming possibility that individuals who did not disclose such lapses may already be on the job. This amounts to government malpractice that endangers public safety.

Since January, the Administration has significantly expanded ICE and CBP operations, deploying officers to communities nationwide to locate and deport noncitizens. More than 70 percent of detained noncitizens have no criminal record, and many were actively engaged in the process to legalize their status. ICE and CBP personnel have been further supplemented by agents diverted from other federal agencies that do not conduct immigration enforcement. However, the Administration’s quota of 3,000 arrests per day – in addition to fueling indiscriminate arrests of immigrants – has created a demand for thousands more officers. To fulfill this “mission,” ICE has received $170.1 billion for immigration enforcement and the hiring of 10,000 officers under the Republican spending bill deceptively titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” making it the highest funded federal law enforcement agency in history. This infusion of funds has seemingly triggered a hiring frenzy that raises serious concerns about DHS’s recruitment standards and training protocols. In August, Secretary Noem announced that ICE planned to end all age restrictions by changing the minimum age for ICE agents from 21 years old to just 18 years old, a move widely criticized as reckless and politically motivated.

In addition to lowering hiring standards, public reports of misconduct among current officers call into question the Department’s ability to adequately train thousands of new hires on an accelerated timeline. American citizens and noncitizens alike are already experiencing the consequences of DHS’s undermining of accountability and failure to maintain even basic professional standards. In September, an ICE officer violently threw a woman to the ground at a New York immigration court. Although he was placed on administrative leave pending investigation, he was back in the field within days and faced no disciplinary action. Just weeks later, ICE officers grabbed and shoved journalists reporting from a hallway outside a New York City immigration court, hospitalizing one of the journalists. Poor training has also jeopardized federal law enforcement officers. In October, an ICE officer discharged their firearm, injuring two people including a United States Marshal. These incidents reveal systemic deficiencies that necessitate immediate and comprehensive review and reform to prevent endangering the public. They also raise questions about the effectiveness of supervisory structure, training of supervisors themselves, and the robustness of accountability systems to address misconduct. It is imperative to ensure that officers, particularly those hired under diminishing standards, are not granted unchecked authority to use unnecessary and excessive force or physical aggression.

Rather than prioritizing comprehensive training and effective supervision, the Department reportedly is cutting corners and loosening its training requirements. In August, ICE ended its five-week mandatory in-person Spanish language course in favor of unspecified translation technologies. On August 8, Secretary Noem suggested DHS plans to open new training centers in cities across the country to meet the demand created by the unprecedented influx of new recruits that cannot, despite DHS’s claims to the contrary, be met by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. ICE leadership has also suggested that the agency is exploring additional ways to streamline training in its rush to deploy new recruits into the field. Alarmingly, while ICE officers previously received nearly five months of training, reports indicate they now receive just 47 days, a number chosen for its symbolic connection to President Trump being the 47th President, not any legitimate law enforcement metric to assess. This failure to adequately train officers strongly suggests that the Department is demonstrating deliberate indifference to the rights and safety of the individuals with whom ICE officers interact.

The credibility of ICE and CBP as law enforcement agencies depends on the quality and professionalism of their officers. Strong recruitment standards and rigorous training are essential not only to prepare officers for the challenges of the job but also to foster public confidence in the agency’s mission. We urge your agencies to commit to the highest possible standards for all officers, both newly hired and already in the field, and particularly for officer recruitment and training. Accordingly, we request detailed responses to the questions below regarding the Department’s vetting, training, and supervision protocols for all newly hired or reassigned personnel within 14 days, so that Congress can assess whether DHS is meeting its constitutional obligations. For each question, please provide information for recruit training and in-service training.

1. What specific changes have been made to the eligibility requirements for new ICE and CBP officers, and what is the rationale for those changes?

2. Have minimum educational or prior law enforcement experience requirements been altered, and if so, how? What is the rationale for those changes?

3. Have drug testing standards been modified, and if so, how? What is the rationale for those changes?

4. Have ICE or CBP changed the social media screening practices for applicants? Do social media screening practices include looking for and excluding applicants who hold any extremist views? Please describe the screening process and factors that may disqualify an applicant.

5. What modifications have been made to the training curriculum, and how do they differ from prior standards? Please specify the topics covered, changes to the training modules, including method of delivery, and the total duration of the training prior to and after the hiring surge.

6. What on-the-job training with a field officer did new recruits receive prior to the hiring surge? Under the hiring surge, do new recruits still receive this training?

7. What training or other resources have replaced the formerly mandatory five-week Spanish language course to ensure effective communication between officers and individuals who speak Spanish?

8. Please describe the existing training program for any ICE contractors who directly interact with detained people. Include details on the topics covered, training modules, including method of delivery, and the total duration of the training.

9. Are there proposals to streamline the training for these contractors? If so, please describe those proposals and provide the rationale for the changes proposed.

10. What specific changes have been made to metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of ICE and CBP officer training, and what is the rationale for these changes?

11. How will you ensure that any recent changes to performance and training metrics do not compromise officer preparedness or public safety?

12. What training do ICE and CBP provide to employees from other federal agencies reassigned to immigration enforcement operations? When are these employees required to complete such training? Include details on the topics covered, training modules, including method of delivery, and the total duration of the training.

13. For each of the following topics, (i) confirm whether officers from other federal law enforcement agencies assigned or reassigned to immigration enforcement receive training related to that topic; (ii) provide the number of hours of required training; and (iii) identify the platform on which these trainings will be delivered (e.g., classroom, scenario-based, virtual):

1. Constitutional law

2. Immigration law

3. Criminal law

4. Investigations

5. Witness interviews

6. Interactions with youth

7. Report writing

8. First aid and safety training

9. Crisis intervention

10. Firearms

11. Use of force

12. Deescalation

13. First amendment protected activity

14. Stops, searches, and arrests

15. Misconduct reporting

This Administration has been actively flaunting an aggressive, militarized approach to immigration enforcement, sending the message that it can use federal force against communities with impunity. At the center of this effort are thousands of officers who appear to lack the professionalism, tactical skill, and judgment required of federal law enforcement, yet have been given broad authority to operate unchecked, while the Department ramps up recruitment and hiring of an unprecedented number of new officers. DHS has a duty to ensure that all officers – both new and currently in service –are properly trained, effectively supervised, and held accountable for their actions. In only months, DHS’s failure to meet its obligations has tarnished the reputation of federal law enforcement, endangered and victimized the public, and eroded public trust in the rule of law. This is unacceptable, and DHS must act swiftly to correct these failures, uphold the rule of law, and respect the Constitutional rights of all people in America.

Sincerely,

###

Some Americans are standing up against ICE's attacks on immigrants and US citizens. More need to be. And while Noem stonewalls Congress, yesterday, Shawn Cohen (DAILY MAIL) reported:

The Trump administration's frantic push to hire 10,000 new deportation officers by year's end has spiraled into what insiders describe as a national embarrassment - with lax vetting and a signing bonus of up to $50,000 luring in a wave of woefully unfit recruits.

An exhaustive Daily Mail investigation has exposed how Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lowered standards so dramatically that the new cohort now includes recent high school graduates and applicants who can 'barely read or write' as well as those who lack basic physical fitness and even have pending criminal charges.

Most of the new hires in the $30 billion initiative are retired law enforcement who are receiving virtual training and being repurposed for desk duty.

Meanwhile, total novices are being fast-tracked into the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy in Georgia, where instructors have been left astounded at the levels of incompetence.

'We have people failing open-book tests and we have folks that can barely read or write English,' one Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told the Daily Mail.

'We even had a 469-lb man sent to the academy whose own doctor certified him not at all fit for any physical activity.'

Insiders say the vetting process has been so rushed that officials didn't even wait for drug test results to come back before hiring recruits and flying them off to Georgia, only to discover afterward that tests came back positive.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told President Trump on Tuesday that the department will hire its 10,000th ICE officer within ten days. The department had no further comment to the Daily Mail on the story.

In one shocking incident, staff were left shaking their heads when one student asked to be excused from class so he could attend a court date on a gun charge.

Other recruits were even discovered to have tattoos associated with gangs and white supremacists when they stripped off their shirts during workouts.

Reports from FLETC include incidents of violence, disruptive behavior, and allegations of sexual misconduct on campus, most handled internally.

Not a good time for Kristi who turned fifty-four last Sunday. We didn't forget to wish her happy birthday -- we just didn't want to. Which means we're a lot like her husband who also ignored the opportunity to wish her a public happy birthday. Diksha (INQUISITR) reports:

Kristi Noem just turned 54 on November 30, and it was a perfect occasion to celebrate with family and friends. But her husband may not have been as excited as he did not wish her on social media. Many popular couples ensure that they wish each other on social media, and not doing so may send a bigger message.

It may signal trouble in marriage and possible conversations about divorce that the couple may be having in private. Although it’s not a rule to wish one’s partner on social media, doing it most years and suddenly skipping it can be a warning sign.

The Secretary of Homeland Security and her husband, Bryon Noem, have taken a step back from posting for each other on social media. Although they have been married since 1992, there have been rumors about their marriage crumbling.

When someone’s popular, such speculations are inevitable. Bryon did post about their 32nd anniversary last year on Instagram, but he did not post a birthday wish last year or this year. The last time he wished Noem on her birthday was in 2023, posting, “She is a sweetheart and so talented and a pleasure to be with.”

We have all heard about Kristi Noem’s alleged affair rumors with Corey Lewandowski since 2021. The news made it to the New York Magazine’s gossip column in September 2025. Skipping a birthday post may add more fuel to the rumors, showing there may be some truth.

Andrew Stanton (NEWSWEEK) reports:

A Marine veteran said he felt “betrayed” after U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained his wife, Chanidaphon Sopimpa of Thailand, during a green card meeting last month.

Sopimpa’s attorney Derek Poulsen told Newsweek that she overstayed her visa but had no other criminal record. Her arrest comes as a growing number of immigrants have been detained during green card meetings in San Diego over the past month.

Sopimpa met Samuel Shasteen, a Marine veteran, in 2022, months after Shasteen lost his wife to cancer, reported San Diego-based news station KNSD. The couple has since got married and began Sopimpa’s green card process.

She was detained last month while attending a green card interview with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Poulsen told Newsweek. While she did enter on a visitor visa and overstay, it is rare for the spouses of American citizens to be detained by ICE agents, he said. She had no further criminal record, he said.

The H*A*R*L*O*T of Homeland Security is being mocked for claiming -- in Tuesday's Cabinet meeting -- that her lord and personal savior Donald Chump -- who's apparently also the patron saint of adultery -- kept the hurricanes away over the last months. I think she should be mocked even harder for going after a 7-year-old boy. The child? Guess he should be glad he was a child and not a dog or Kristi would have shot him.

Kristi's an idiot and a liar which MEIDASTOUCH NEWS makes clear -- with the videos to back it up -- below.

Chump's Cabinet is a wealth of unworthies. There's Pete Hegseth. On Pete, I have frequently noted here when people wonder why his wife is attached at his hip that it's because she's no dummy. She knows what happened before. But apparently some people don't because they question about Pete leaving the two previous wives. So let's note Jennifer Tisdale's report for the INQUISITR so we're all on the same page:

In his 2016 book, In the Arena, Hegseth wrote about how the conservative party should focus on the sanctity of marriage in terms of lowering divorce rates. At the time, he was divorced and married to his second wife, whom he would also divorce the following year.

Hegseth's first two marriages ended when he had extramarital affairs with colleagues. In fact, the Secretary of [Defense] and the woman who would become his third wife were welcoming their first child together before the ink was dry on Hegseth's divorce papers.

Again, that is why Jennifer Hegseth travels with him on every business trip. As ATLANTA BLACK STAR NEWS explains, she's not the only one in that marriage living in fear:

President Donald Trump and his administration are still in scramble mode as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveils yet another revision of his story.

After days of brutal headlines over a Sept. 2 boat strike that left two survivors “blown apart in the water,” Hegseth rolled out a brand-new version of events — one that flatly contradicts his own on-camera boast that he had “watched it live.”

Standing beside a groggy-looking President Donald Trump during a Cabinet Room appearance on Tuesday, Hegseth insisted he never actually saw the survivors and wasn’t aware a second strike had taken place until “a couple hours later.”

“I did not personally see survivors … that thing was on fire and was exploded,” he told reporters. “You got fire, smoke, you can’t see anything. This is called the fog of war.”

But that explanation detonated instantly across social media — because Hegseth himself had earlier boasted on Fox & Friends, “I watched it live. We knew exactly who was in that boat. We knew exactly what they were doing.”

Within minutes, viewers were replaying that old clip and shredding his new version to pieces.

Loose Lips Hegseth gave away classified information in a nonsecure chat. The country's been waiting for the conclusion to the investigation into that. It's finally arrived. Lara Seligman and Lindsay Wise (WALL STREET JOURNAL) report:

A Pentagon watchdog has found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated some of the department’s regulations when he shared sensitive information from his cellphone on Signal earlier this year, according to Sen. Mark Kelly (D., Ariz).

However, the Defense Department Inspector General also concluded that as Pentagon chief, Hegseth has the authority to declassify Defense Department information, Kelly said Wednesday after viewing the watchdog report the department sent to Congress. That suggests the defense secretary didn’t break the law.

[. . .]

The watchdog report states that Hegseth declined to sit for an interview with the inspector general, instead sending a written statement, according to a person with knowledge of the document. In that statement, Hegseth claimed that he intentionally declassified information that wouldn’t pose a threat to servicemembers or the mission, the person said.

However, the report found that the operational details he shared on Signal would have posed a risk to troops and the mission if it had been intercepted, according to the person and another person briefed on the report.

Gordon Lubold (NBC NEWS) adds:

The report outlines the findings of a more than eight-month investigation into Hegseth’s use of Signal, an encrypted but unclassified messaging app, to share details of the planned U.S. strikes in March before they had begun.

It found that the information could have imperiled American troops had it been intercepted by a foreign adversary, the two people who have read the report said. The evaluation by the Defense Department Inspector General also concluded that Hegseth violated military regulations by using his personal phone for official business, according to those people.

Hegseth has maintained that he shared no classified information on the group chat. The inspector general did not address whether Hegseth took the proper steps to declassify the information shared in the chat.

David Gardner and Sarah Ewall-Wice (THE DAILY BEAST) break it down to a single, important point, "Pete Hegseth put U.S. troops in danger by sharing sensitive war plans on the Signal group chat app, according to an inspector general’s report on the Signalgate scandal." For those who still don't get it, Shane Harris (THE ATLANTIC):

Now the Pentagon’s top watchdog has concluded that the information Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared in the chat could have put the mission, U.S. personnel, and national security at risk had it fallen into the wrong hands. The information Hegseth shared included the precise times that fighter pilots would attack their targets, the sort of information ordinarily shared only on secure platforms. If Houthi militants had learned those details in advance, they might have been able to shoot down American planes or better defend their positions.

The Defense Department inspector general found that while the mission ultimately was not jeopardized, Hegseth violated his department’s own policies when he used Signal, a commercial messaging app that is not approved for sharing classified information. The IG’s report, scheduled to be published on Thursday, was described to us by numerous U.S. officials familiar with its findings.

Can it get worse for Pete Hegseth? You know it can. And it has. Frank Yemi (INQUISITR) reports:

The family of a Colombian fisherman killed in a U.S. strike in the Caribbean is accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of murder, pulling the Trump administration’s “drug boat” campaign into an international human rights showdown.

Alejandro Andres Carranza Medina, a 42 year old fisherman from Colombia, was killed on Sept. 15 when a U.S. military aircraft bombed the small boat he was working on, according to The Guardian. His wife and four children have now filed a formal complaint with the Washington, DC based Inter American Commission on Human Rights, alleging the United States carried out an “extra judicial killing” and violated his most basic rights.

The petition, filed Tuesday, names Hegseth personally. It argues that the defense secretary bears direct responsibility for Carranza’s death as part of the Trump administration’s air campaign against suspected narco boats operating in waters off Colombia and Venezuela.

“From numerous news reports, we know that Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense, was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza Medina and the murder of all those on such boats,” the filing states. “Secretary Hegseth has admitted that he gave such orders despite the fact that he did not know the identity of those being targeted for these bombings and extra judicial killings.”

The complaint also argues that “U.S. President Donald Trump has ratified the conduct of Secretary Hegseth described herein,” directly tying Carranza’s death to the president’s push for kinetic military strikes against alleged trafficking vessels.

Human Rights attorney Dan Kovalik is representing the family. Aram Roston (GUARDIAN) notes:

The complaint was filed by Pittsburgh-based human rights lawyer Dan Kovalik. “On September 15, 2025, the United States military bombed the boat of Alejandro Andres Carranza Medina,” the filing says, “which Mr Carranza was sailing in the Caribbean off the coast of Colombia. Mr Carranza was killed in the process of this bombing.”

Kovalik identified Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, as the perpetrator, based on Hegseth’s own statements. “From numerous news reports, we know that Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, was responsible for ordering the bombing of boats like those of Alejandro Carranza Medina and the murder of all those on such boats. Secretary Hegseth has admitted that he gave such orders despite the fact that he did not know the identity of those being targeted for these bombings and extra-judicial killings,” the filing goes on.

The complaint adds: “US President Donald Trump has ratified the conduct of Secretary Hegseth described herein.”

[. . .]

Kovalik said: “We think this is a viable way to challenge the killing of Alejandro. We are going to seek redress for the family. We want the US to be ordered to stop doing these boat attacks. It may be a first step but we think it it’s a good first step.”

US House Rep Maggie Goodlander told MS NOW:

Pete Hegseth is a fundamentally unserious person who has no business serving as our Secretary of Defense. He has shirked responsibility in a position of extraordinary public trust and importance. The job of Secretary of Defense is one of the most important jobs in the world. He lacks the experience, and he's shown again and again that he lacks the judgment to be at the helm of the Pentagon, which is such an important part of American public life.

Senator Rand Paul spoke to reporters on Tuesday:

Secretary Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this, and it did not happen. It was fake news. It didn’t happen. And then the next day, from the podium at the White House are saying it did happen. So, either he was lying to us … or he’s incompetent and didn’t know it had happened. Do we think there’s any chance that … the secretary of the defense did not know there had been a second strike? So as a country, we’re just going to let people lie to us, to our face?

Senator Thom Tillis: I didn’t give a damn who it was … whoever knowingly violated — that was a violation of ethical, moral and legal code," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) about the second strike. “If the facts play out the way they’re currently being reported, then somebody needs to get the hell out of Washington.

Senator Richard Blumenthal: Let's be clear that making Admiral Bradley the fall guy sends a signal to our professional military that they will be blamed for mistakes made by political leaders and that there'll be no protection for them when they follow those orders,

Senator Mark Kelly: Think about it: He runs around on stage discussing lethality, warrior ethos, and killing people. We have the most skilled and capable military this world has ever known. That's not the message that should come from the Secretary of Defence. He behaves like a 12-year-old pretending to be in the army. It’s ludicrous, it’s embarrassing, and I can’t imagine what our allies think when they see that guy in such a crucial position in our country.

.

What Chump is doing to these boats is illegal. That's all the attacks. There's no justification for any of it. Ellsworth Toohey (BOING BOING) explains:

The DOJ's secret memo authorizing missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean isn't a legal analysis - it's legal laundering.

According to leaks reported by The Guardian, the Office of Legal Counsel memo claims the strikes constitute "collective self-defense" on behalf of allies like Mexico and Colombia, who supposedly need us to blow up cocaine shipments because cartels are waging "armed violence" against their governments.

Small problems with this theory: No ally has publicly asked us to bomb boats. There's no evidence that cartels are engaged in "armed conflict" with any sovereign state. There's no evidence that cocaine sales finance a war rather than just enrich criminals. And there's zero evidence these strikes were "self-defense" against any imminent threat.

Yesterday, we just focused on Pete Hegseth as he continued his public transition from FOX "NEWS" personality to War Criminal. I understand he's contemplating top surgery. But a number of you thought I'd share something on the Tennessee election that took place Tuesday. A lot of times when you expect me to comment and I don't, I'm trying to be kind.

Several of you asked, so here goes. Matt Van Epps (MAGA) won against Aftyn Behn (Democrat). Some people were convinced Behn was going to pull it off. We didn't waste time on her, she was a loser. She shouldn't run again. What does the race mean?

Republicans should worry. Even against one of the worst candidates in years, Van Epps had to spend millions -- they flooded that district with money. And he almost lost.

Republicans need to worry.

You won't face many as ditzy as Aftyn Behn.

When Chump insulted her as not a Christian, her response was weak. When he attacked her claiming she didn't like country music, her response was weak.

She was an idiot over and over.

Chump says you don't like country music? You step up to the mike a press conference and start singing Patsy Cline's "Crazy." Not the whole song if you don't want to. Then you say, "Heard somebody lying on me and saying I didn't like country music. Can you be born in Tennessee and not like country music? Well, what's a New Yorker like Donald know about country music anyway? This is the fool who dances publicly over and over to the disco song 'YMCA'." That's what she should have done (and what she was advised to do, by the way) but didn't.

Again, not very smart. Neither is the DSA chapter in Knoxville. This was always going to be a loss for Behn.

So to recap: A ditz, a very poor campaigner and a Democratic Socialist running in that district and yet she managed to get 45% of the vote? Republicans across the country should be in a panic. Most of them will face Democratic Party candidates with a functioning brain.

Tomorrow, the plan is to note Jeffrey and Ghislaine developments. For now, let's note Lawrence addressing some of them on MS NOW last night.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) to introduce the Temporary Immigration Judge Integrity Act, legislation to prevent inexperienced temporary immigration judge appointments in light of the Trump administration’s abuse of loopholes in current regulations. U.S. Representative Juan Vargas (D, CA-52) is introducing companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Following the Trump administration’s mass firing of immigration judges and authorizing of up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges, the bill aims to close the loopholes the administration has been utilizing to speed up their mass deportation agenda – such as the lack of due process protections for individuals in immigration court proceedings.

“The Trump administration has already fired or forced out over 100 immigration judges across the country as part of their callous anti-immigrant crusade, and now they are allowing attorneys with zero prior immigration law experience to serve as temporary judges in immigration cases, making hugely consequential decisions about families’ futures,” said Senator Murray. “Every person deserves a fair hearing. The Temporary Immigration Judge Integrity Act is about making sure anyone serving as a judge in an immigration hearing has the basic qualifications to do the job, and that the Trump administration can’t keep unqualified temporary judges in place indefinitely.”

The bill would:

Cap temporary immigration judge appointments at four consecutive six-month terms: 2-year maximum service limit with at least a 3-year break in between services;
Prevent military attorneys and Judge Advocate Generals (JAGs) from being appointed as temporary immigration judges;
Authorize appointments of attorneys at the Department of Justice (DOJ) who meet the eligibility requirements;
Establish basic training requirements.

In addition to Senators Murray and Schiff, the bill is co-sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full text of the bill can be found HERE.

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The following sites updated: