Today in Politics, Bulletin 382. 5/18/26
… Trump and his criminal defense lawyer now AG Todd Blanche orchestrated the most corrupt and repulsive scheme in the history of the US government today, forcing hardworking, law-abiding taxpayers to pay $1.7 BILLION to J6 thugs and criminals who beat up cops to storm the Capitol, and Trump’s co-conspirators who attempted to steal the 2020 election.
… Meidas reporter Scott Macfarlane: “Justice Dept confirms it is establishing $1.776 billion fund ‘for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress’. Fund will have 5 members and ‘issue formal apologies and monetary relief owed to claimants’.”
… DOJ: “Fund will consist of a Commission of 5 members appointed by the Attorney General. One Member will be chosen in consultation with congressional leadership. The President can remove any member."
… We have certainly seen many egregious instances of public corruption among govt officials since 1789. But nothing remotely as bad as this. Democrats must impeach Trump and Blanche for this as soon as they take the majority. Make every Republican in the House and Senate vote against that.
… MS NOW: “In a new court filing, House Democrats objected to a potential settlement in the works between Trump and his own admin, warning it creates the ‘specter of corruption unparalleled in American history.’ In a new amicus brief filed Monday, the Democrats argue the president is working to ‘undermine the Constitution’ through his months-old lawsuit against the IRS and a reported pending deal, which they say amounts to a ‘slush fund’ for the president and his allies.”
… These Democrats urge Judge Kathleen Williams to dismiss the president’s lawsuit and closely scrutinize any potential deal: “Never in the history of the US has a sitting President sought a monetary settlement from the govt he leads - let alone sought many billions of dollars in taxpayer funds.”
… ”Filing a collusive lawsuit only to immediately dismiss it in order to produce a collusive settlement” would be “legally barred. It would also raise serious questions about whether the parties have manipulated the court system to achieve illicit ends.”
… The amicus brief is led by Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. All told, 93 House Democrats co-signed the brief.
… “This President has continually asserted a maximalist view of his own Executive authority, foreclosing any possible argument that the agencies appearing here as Defendants have autonomy or independence from him.”
… Joe Neguse: “Trump’s absurd $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS is one of the most brazen examples of corruption we’ve seen from this admin. House Democrats are taking a stand for the American taxpayers that would be forced to foot the bill for this mess, and are calling on the court to block any unconstitutional settlements in the matter.”
… Just a partial list of some people eligible to get payouts from taxpayers from the Trump/Blanche Criminal Slush Fund:
Steve Bannon
Peter Navarro
Rudy Giuliani
Mark Meadows
Stewart Rhodes
Enrique Tarrio
Sidney Powell
Jenna Ellis
John Eastman
Jeffrey Clark
Boris Epshteyn
Joe Biggs
Walt Nauta
… New NYT/Siena poll on Trump approval: Approve-37%, Disapprove-59%. His lowest number in this poll during either term.
… Trump’s “special envoy”, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, has arrived in Greenland. Local journalist Orla Joelsen: “Jeff Landry arrived in Nuuk, accompanied by physician Joseph Griffin. Griffin told TV 2 that Landry had asked him to join the trip to Nuuk to help ‘assess the medical needs’ in Greenland. The American doctor emphasized that he is participating as a ‘volunteer’ and that his main purpose during the visit is to speak with Greenlanders about their experiences with the healthcare system.”
… Q - “Greenlanders are a little nervous about what your intentions are. Is it still to acquire Greenland? What do you say to them? Landry: Look, I’m here simply to build relationships and to look and listen and to learn and to see if there are opportunities to expand relationships between Greenland, the US and Denmark. So yeah, it’s a great day and I’m excited.”
… Nobody in Greenland was excited.
… Trump made another 35 deranged, psychotic posts on Truth Social last night. These were a few examples:
A video of him rambling off orders to the Navy followed by an AI generated warship shooting down an Iranian drone.
A video of himself hitting a golf ball into the head of Sen. Bill Cassidy.
A meme image of a crying Hillary Clinton voter sitting in National Mall Reflecting Pool with the words “coming soon.”
A rotting zombie Gavin Newsom meme on a license plate which reads “The Once Golden State.”
An image of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi swimming in a pool of sewage with the caption ‘Dumacrats Love Sewage’.
A series of AI Space Force memes, including some violent imagery of a giant Trump using satellites to attack countries all around the world, including what appears to be nuclear strikes over Iran.
A meme portraying Venezuela as the 51st state.
A meme of Gavin Newsom, this time in a cell with padded walls with the word “Trump” written all over them.
AI image of Trump walking with a tall gray alien creature.
A post with the words “Hakeem ‘Low IQ’ Jeffries in his district” featuring racist stereotype of House Democratic Leader Jeffries in gold chains while a dystopian scene of trash and violence plays out below him.
A bizarre image of JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson with the words “Dumb and Dumber: the Illinois Government.”
More Space Force Imagery showing him directing the destruction of satellites in space.
… I’m sure it will all be in Jake Tapper’s book in 2029 when he reveals that Trump may have been unfit for office.
… NBC: “On Tuesday, voters in KY’s 4th Congressional District will decide whether Thomas Massie becomes the latest casualty of Trump’s campaign to unseat foes inside the Republican Party as he faces off against Ed Gallrein, who was personally recruited by the president.”
… “The race has been the most expensive House primary in history in terms of ad spending, totaling more than $32 million - largely dominated by Trump-aligned groups and pro-Israel organizations pouring millions into negative ads against Massie.”
… Pete Hegseth did a campaign rally in KY today against Massie while being paid by taxpayers to work as Secretary of Defense for the country:
“President Trump does not need more people in Washington who are trying to make a point, especially from his own party. He needs people willing to help him win, to vote with him when it matters the most. And too often, Massie has acted like his job is to stand apart from the movement that Trump leads instead of strengthening it.”
“When Trump needs backup, Massie wants to debate process. When the movement needs unity, especially at the biggest moment, Massie is willing to vote with Democrats. When conservatives are fighting the most radical left in American history, too often Massie’s instinct is to throw elbows at fellow Republicans instead of the people who are destroying our country or want to destroy our country, and there’s one man standing in their way and it’s Trump.”
“Massie’s record speaks for itself, too. Too much grandstanding, too few great votes, years of acting like being difficult is the same thing as being courageous. It is not. Real courage means stepping up when the mission matters most, when we need that tough vote to beat left wing a lunatic Democrats the most.”
… Semafor’s Dave Weigel: “The top 3 most expensive House primaries in history have all involved pro-Israel groups spending to get rid of an Israel critic. 1) Massie 2026, 2) Bowman 2024, 3) Bush 2024.”
… Global economist Peter Schiff: “Trump is boasting about getting China to commit to buying $17B of U.S. agriculture per year over the next 2 years. But during the 4 years under Biden, China bought on average over $30B of US agriculture. The main reason China bought just $8.4B in 2025 was Trump’s tariffs.”
One of you asked about the potential Trump settlement slush fund as one of the questions for Ask the Editor, which I recorded today with one of our Capitol Hill correspondents Pablo Manriquez. I obviously have strong thoughts on this and am completely furious as I’m sure you all are.
I talked about how I see this thing playing out and answered 4 of your other questions. You don’t want to miss this one so look for it tonight - Pablo offered some pretty great insights as well from his perspective in DC. If you missed yesterday’s crazy Bulletin recapping the weekend, you can find it here.
… European Parliament member Henrik Dahl: “After Trump’s visit to China, even the most cautious observer should now be able to see the obvious: The US has voluntarily relinquished its role as the central power of the democratic world. If you are a dictator in Russia or China, you can expect respect, flattering words, and promises of cooperation.”
… “If, on the other hand, you are a free country in the political West - or merely a smaller allied nation - you can expect mockery, unreasonable demands, and shifting ultimatums that are forgotten 5 minutes later because they were never intended to be
