Today in Politics, Bulletin 399. 6/12/26
… It is unclear whether Trump’s name is being removed from the Kennedy Center by court order tonight. A judge denied Trump’s last minute attempt to reverse the initial ruling, and a work crew was deployed right at the deadline mandated by the court for his name to be removed. However, it began to rain and the crew was taken down.
… Then we got news that Trump filed an emergency petition claiming that the Kennedy Center board would have to give back all the donations it received since Trump took it over which would cause it to go bankrupt. It is unclear at the time of publishing what the final decision will be or whether it will come down tonight as planned.
… Norm Eisen, attorney for plaintiffs: “Donald Trump just filed his emergency stay in the DC circuit to keep his name on the Kennedy Center & it is batsh** crazy. He clearly wrote big pieces himself. We have filed our opposition, fighting for the rule of law and the American people.”
… Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “WOW: Since the court order, the Board of the Kennedy Center has seemingly amended its bylaws to take itself hostage, declaring that if anyone takes down the Trump name, they’ll have to give back all donations and go bankrupt. That seems a TEXTBOOK violation of fiduciary duty.”
… Reichlin-Melnick also noted that DOJ was doing all the work for Trump on this case: “Trump’s DOJ, which no longer works for the American people and work solely for him. This is taking up hundreds of hours of worktime for many professionals on all sides, including many taxpayer-funded attorneys and judges. All about Trump demanding that his name be on the Kennedy Center, by law a ‘living memorial’ to JFK.”
… The Trump Clown Show Iran continued over the last 24 hours, as we learned that his “deal” is not finalized again and the terms being leaked out are not exactly favorable to the US. There will apparently still be a lot left up in the air to be negotiated later, even after the initial Memorandum of Understanding is signed - which is supposed to happen in the next few days.
… It is difficult to report on all of this. That is because various news outlets in multiple countries are reporting different things, citing different sources, with the leaders of the US, Israel and Iran all putting out propaganda for their own domestic audiences. The best I can do is follow along with all the twists and turns from the various sides and report everything for you to sort through and draw your own conclusions.
… The bottom line is that it appears, nearly a decade after Trump recklessly pulled out of Obama’s deal with Iran, that we are going to end up sending far more money to Iran than Obama ever did, get less in return, after spending tens of billions of dollars on ordinance and lost equipment, with at least 13 US service members killed and many more injured, while leaving Iran in a stronger position that it has ever been before.
… Oh, and we bombed a girls school which killed 156 people and have never taken responsibility for it or even admitted it officially. It is still under “investigation” by Pete Hegseth.
… We also damaged long-term alliances with some of our closest allies. Other than all of that, things look great.
… First, Iran state media Mehr released what they said were the details of a 14-point draft Iran–US memorandum:
Immediate and permanent ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon.
US commitment not to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs and to respect Iran’s sovereignty.
Full lifting of the naval blockade within 30 days.
US commitment to withdraw its forces from areas surrounding Iran.
Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days under Iranian arrangements.
Suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil, petrochemicals, and related exports, with full access to the resulting revenues.
US and its allies to provide reconstruction plans for Iran worth at least $300 billion.
A 60-day negotiation period to reach a final agreement on nuclear issues and the complete removal of US primary and secondary sanctions, as well as related UN Security Council and IAEA measures.
Iran reaffirms its NPT commitment not to develop nuclear weapons.
During negotiations, the US will not deploy additional forces to the region or impose new sanctions.
Release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets during the 60-day negotiation period, with half made available before talks begin.
Establishment of a monitoring mechanism to oversee implementation of the agreement.
The final agreement will be endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution.
Final negotiations will begin only after the release of half of Iran’s frozen assets, suspension of oil sanctions, and lifting of the naval blockade.
The final deal will focus solely on uranium enrichment, enriched material, sanctions relief, and Iran’s economic reconstruction.
Iran’s missile program and support for resistance groups are excluded from the agenda.
… When a firestorm of criticism erupted this morning based on that report, including from many Republicans, Trump responded with this post: “The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. AMAZING! Also, their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together, and FAST!”
… Fox host Kayleigh McEnany then reported this from a senior Trump admin official:
Do we have a deal yet? “No, but we are very close.” The official estimates that a deal is 75% there, not 100% yet. “While this is tentative, we feel confident that we will be signing this in the next few days. We have agreed to the concepts and the details, but the deal is NOT done until we sign it.”
… According to this official, this is an outline of what is in the deal, which leaves out quite a few details including things still left to be negotiated as well as other terms that Iran says are part of the agreement:
The highly enriched uranium will be destroyed.
There is a long-term commitment that Iran cannot procure a nuclear weapon.
There is a meaningful inspection process.
Iran cannot fund terrorism as we work toward broader peace in the Middle East.
The Hormuz Strait will be open.
Assets ARE NOT immediately unfrozen. Iran MUST meet its commitments first.
… Iran state media Tasnim: “Foreign Ministry spokesperson: I cannot confirm any of the speculations about the text of the agreements. Regarding the text of the agreement, we are in the finalization stages internally; right now, the meeting of the relevant institutions is underway. The claim that we are very close to an agreement is nothing new.”
… Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent for The Economist: “American credibility has deteriorated to the point where the president can announce a diplomatic agreement and the near-universal reaction is ‘let’s wait for confirmation from Tasnim’.”
… Hedge fund manager Erik Townsend responding to Carlstrom: “Retweeting this is literally an emotional conundrum for me. It’s both embarrassing to admit this is true, and at the same time, it feels like my civic duty to give it more exposure to wake more people up to what’s really happening. I’m going to wash my hands after I click post.”
… Middle East expert Danny Citrinowicz: “Before all sorts of parties start telling us about the wonderful achievements of the emerging agreement, it is worth remembering a few basic facts:
The war that began on Feb 28 was not intended to bring about an agreement on diluting Iran’s uranium stockpile. Its declared goal was to bring about the collapse of the Iranian regime.
In the bottom line, and however we turn it, the regime in Iran is expected to emerge from this agreement strengthened—economically, politically, and regionally.
It is important to remember that most of the Iranian ‘concessions’ now being presented were already on the table at the Geneva meeting before the war, when Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi presented them to Steve Witkoff. Iran is not prepared to discuss limiting its missile program, nor its support for its regional proxies, nor its other elements of power.
The agreement is a direct result of the campaign’s strategic failure. After months of fighting, the American admin is left without a solution to the Strait of Hormuz issue and without the ability to force Iran to relinquish its stockpile of enriched uranium.
More seriously, the very existence of a principles agreement and economic relief does not at all guarantee that a final nuclear deal will be achieved. It is unclear whether the US will have the will in the future to return to a military threat, when even today it shows no willingness to do so.
As of now, nothing is sealed yet until everything is signed, and Trump may still change course. But even if he does so, it is hard to see what better alternatives are available to him. In the current situation, the agreement appears as an illustration of the gap between tactical and operational successes and strategic failure.”
… Former Israeli intel officer and Middle East analyst Nadav Pollak: “I find it hard to believe that Trump will sign such a deal. His legacy will be tarnished and the right wing media will eat him alive. It will be a worse deal than the JCPOA.”
… Phil Gordon with Brookings: “Obviously have to wait and see actual details of any deal but if it’s anything close to this it is no wonder Trump has been so reluctant to agree to it.
Iran has made pledge not to acquire nuclear weapons many times, including in the JCPOA.
The Strait was already open without tolls before the war.
Iran was already negotiating over HEU and centrifuges before the war.
Unfrozen assets and licenses to sell oil, even if initially limited, will provide regime revenue it didn’t have before the war.
The only way to get agreement on the nuclear issues will be to provide (significantly) more economic relief.
The deal does not address ballistic missiles or proxies--for which the JCPOA was heavily criticized.
In fact it depends on Israel *not* attacking Hezbollah.
Nor does it free American detainees (which was at least a meaningful tradeoff for the “pallets of cash” that were in any case a fraction of the economic relief Trump will give Iran.)
Far from helping Iranian protestors, as Trump pledged, the deal leaves them in an impoverished country and in the hands of a vengeful and repressive regime.
… “These are not reasons to oppose a deal that would provide a chance to end the war and open the Strait but they underscore how badly the war has backfired and explain why Trump has been so hesitant to end it on these terms.”
… Richard Goldberg, who served on Trump’s NSC during his first term: “The reported MOU reads like an extortion racket guaranteed to preclude any nuclear concessions and instead lock the US into paying the racket indefinitely for fear of the strait closing. It falls well below anything POTUS would consider a good deal so I question its veracity.”
… Right-wing talk show host Erick Erickson: “At least 39 times in the last 65 days, the President has declared the US and Iran were close to a deal only to have the Iranians openly mock him and deny it. Yesterday, the President went on Fox & Friends in the morning to declare bombings would resume and be even more ferocious. By the afternoon, he declared bombings would cease because a deal was close.”
… “He claimed buy-in from the Egyptians, the Emirates, the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, the Israelis, the Iranians, and more. Egypt said it had no knowledge of any deal. Israel said it had no knowledge of a deal. Then FARS said there was no deal. Overnight, word came the Ayatollah refused a deal. Then the Iranians started firing drones at commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.”
… “The President, the other day, said Iran was playing us. The only one being played is Trump. A state of war exists between Iran and its neighbors. The ceasefire is a farce. The President has turned into a clown.”
… Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on the reason why they are canceling wind turbine projects that were already funded: “We have a report from Hegseth that it’s a national security threat. You could launch an attack on the US in with a bunch of drones coming through a wind tower field, it would undetectable until it was came through because the radar interference.”
… Incredible. Scotland puts a wind turbine near Trump’s golf course in Aberdeen 20 years ago. He sues and loses. Then his resulting hatred of wind turbines ends up with the US Secretaries of Defense and Interior fabricating absurd lies to justify killing wind energy in the US.
… Jesse Lee, former senior advisor to Nancy Pelosi: “Sounds like Burgum, who helped make ND run 40% on wind as governor, made it one of the world’s easiest targets for massive drone attacks. The guilt and regret must be eating him alive.”
… Headline from a June 24, 2025, Newsmax story urging DOGE to cut the screwworm program, which later happened: “A govt agency spending $300 million in taxpayer dollars to produce sterilized flies sounds like a dream scenario for a DOGE team looking to cut waste, fraud, and abuse.”
… That didn’t age well.
… Trump called the US Men's National Soccer Team ahead of the World Cup: "I think you got a really good chance of going all the way. So I just want to wish you a lot of luck."
… Whatever slim hope they had has just been completely annihilated by the Trump Curse.
Well the Bulletins are going to be stuck at #399 for a few days because I am off Saturdays and we have our big move to our new house Sun-Mon, unpacking and setting everything up on Tues. So will be be off until Wed and am not taking a summer vacation so back to regular schedule for the remainder of the year. We are going to the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival tomorrow.
Thank you to everyone who reads, shares and subscribes to my work. I look forward to doing Uncovered from my house that was built in the 1780s before George Washington became president and getting out Bulletin #400 in a few days. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.
… Meidas reporter Scott Macfarlane: Judge Amit Metha rules UFC event can proceed at WH, ruling harm to plaintiffs would only be "temporary" and that the challenge came too late: "Considerable time, labor and funding has gone into organizing the UFC fight and lead-up events."
… But the forecast for the event right now calls for high winds, rain and possible hale. God is angry.
… We also learned today that both the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels will be doing a flyover of the UFC fight this Sunday for Trump’s birthday. We know this because they practiced it today. Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent on Trump’s birthday party.
… Politico: “A delegation of prominent Republicans and Democrats from Michigan and the Midwest were delayed for more than an hour on a Delta flight from DC to Detroit. The reason the pilot gave angered them even more: There could be no traffic out of DCA because of an airshow rehearsal for the UFC event Sunday. Among those on the
