Today in Politics, Bulletin 418. 7/13/26
… US District Judge Kathleen Williams voided DOJ’s $1,776 billion settlement with Trump and recommended his attorney to be sanctioned by the state bar: “Court finds that this matter was brought for an improper purpose—to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.”
… Aaron Parnas for Meidas: “The ruling effectively dismantles what critics had described as a sweetheart deal between the Trump administration and the IRS. At the heart of Judge Williams’ decision is a constitutional finding that there was never an actual ‘case or controversy’ as required under Article III of the Constitution. The judge found that because Trump, as head of the Executive Branch, ultimately controlled the agencies he sued—the Treasury Dept and the IRS—the parties were never genuinely adverse.”
… “Williams wrote that the litigation amounted to one side effectively controlling both plaintiff and defendant, making the lawsuit constitutionally defective from the outset. The order repeatedly points to Trump’s authority over Treasury officials, IRS leadership, and DOJ litigation positions as evidence that the govt could not genuinely oppose him.”
… Judge Williams: “The extraordinary award fashioned by the parties for claims that were never litigated, and have yet to be defined, on behalf of unidentified third parties whose future remedies bear no relationship to the claims in this case.”
… Parnas: “The court emphasized that no meaningful litigation had occurred before the settlement was announced. Govt lawyers never filed a response to the complaint, never defended the agencies, and instead jointly sought an extension before voluntarily dismissing the case while simultaneously unveiling the settlement publicly.”
… “In addition to nullifying the settlement, Judge Williams imposed Rule 11 sanctions related to the litigation and referred one of Trump’s attorneys for possible professional discipline.”
… Ben Dennis with DC News Now: “It appears the FBI is currently at late Senator Lindsey Graham's home on Capitol Hill. I've reached out to the Bureau for why they are there.”
… Fox brought Trump on this morning to talk about Lindsey Graham and the two year anniversary of the Butler shooting, but Trump didn’t really want to talk about either one:
Trump: “We’re gonna keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. We should be reimbursed for that. When we do that, we’re gonna be reimbursed. We’re gonna get paid.”
To Fox host Lawrence Jones: “How good is Lawrence doing, Ainsley? I had doubts at the beginning, I wasn’t sure - but you’re going a great job, Lawrence.” (Not sure why he had doubts when Fox hired Jones. He is Black though).
Jones then led off his question about the Butler shooting with this: “We want to ask you about something that we know you don’t want to talk about because you don’t like to talk about yourself.”
Jones: “Today marks two years since they tried to assassinate you in Butler. How are you feeling? Trump: I’ve known Ainsley longer than the two of you. I’ve known her through a very handsome man named Sean Hannity. She seemed to be attracted to him for whatever the hell reason.”
… Who is “they”?
Jones was finally able to get Trump to say something about Butler: “It was amazing how I understood exactly - and I knew it was the ear. They thought it was all over. Because the ear bleeds. The ear bleeds more than anything. So I got hit in the ear and it was a bloody mess. I knew I only got hit there but they thought I got hit in many locations because of the blood.”
Jones: “Did you notice anything different about Lindsey when you last spoke to him? Trump: Terminating the filibuster is the single smartest thing we can do, because then you get everything. But even if we took the small loaf of the SAVE Act - it’s voter ID, it’s proof of citizenship. Look at what happened to the kid in CA. They sent a million ballots, nobody knows where they came from.”
Jones: “But Mr. President, did you notice anything different about Lindsey? Trump: Spencer Pratt came up to my office, he said he thought he won. I said, ‘Why didn’t you complain?’ He didn’t know who to complain to. But what they did to that guy was unbelievable. He’s a nice guy. He worked so hard. And they found millions of ballots. They took the election away from him.”
Jones: “So Mr. President, real quickly, did you notice anything difference from Lindsey on the phone? Trump: “When people don’t want to have voter ID, when people don’t want to have proof of citizenship, it’s only because they want to cheat.”
Jones finally got Trump to say something about Graham. Kinda sorta: “He had one bad moment in the Jan 6 thing when he stood up and said, ‘Alright, now I’ve had it, that’s it, I can’t do it anymore’. Then he called me about 40 minutes later and said, ‘Did I really said that? I can’t believe it.’ And he took it back. So I give him a 99.9 instead of 100.”
“Lindsey loved playing golf. It wasn’t that he was a great striker of the ball, he wasn’t Jack Nicholas. He wasn’t Tiger. But he loved it and he had fun.”
He then griped about Lindsey not backing him in 2016: “He was totally against me. I mean, he was fighting me. I was leading in the polls by a lot. He said, ‘I’ll get you in SC!’ That didn’t work out too well for him.”
… A moving tribute.
Then Trump went back to Iran: “Obama was the worst of all because Obama actually went to their side, because, you know, he’s a -- well, let’s not say. Let’s leave that for another time.”
… Trump then posted: “I recommended, to Gov. Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina. This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”
… A few hours before Trump’s post, Sen. Tim Scott announced he was backing former Rep. and current Fox host Trey Gowdy for the appointment to Graham’s seat. But after Trump’s post he immediately changed his tune: “Darline Graham Nordone, would be a fantastic pick to serve out the reminder of the senate term. After speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey’s love for family, our state, and our country.”
… McMaster then promptly called a press conference and appointed Darline Graham Nordone to be a US Senator as a “fabulous tribute to Lindsey.”
… Fox asked Tim Scott about Trump’s relationship with Lindsey: “The president played golf with Lindsey it seemed like every weekend.”
… The results of my twitter poll on how Trump will handle Lindsey’s funeral.
… NBC: “Trump’s Thursday speech is expected to address newly declassified intelligence reports that the WH says reveal plans by foreign nations to interfere in the 2020 election.”
… I did hear rumors that Trump was going to make a deal with Maduro to let him out of prison is he says that Hugo Chavez rigged the 2020 election (even though he was dead then), which was Sidney Powell and Rudy’s insane theory.
… Matt Rein: “I’m here at the Reflecting Pool and crews are almost done draining all of the water. No ‘350 foot’ gash found from my vantage point. Lots of dirt and grime though.”
… Portland (Maine) Press Herald: “One person is dead in a shooting in Biddeford Monday morning involving ICE agents. Spokespeople for ICE and DHS have not commented on the incident, which occurred just before 7:18 AM. Biddeford police confirmed that the incident involved ICE agents, and that the police department’s involvement was limited to providing security at the scene.”
… “Daniel Boucher was getting ready for work Monday morning when he heard what sounded like fireworks going off outside of his home near downtown Biddeford. He rushed to the window, where he saw an SUV trying to ram a small white car in the intersection. Moments later, agents in vests stopped the car and pulled the driver out: “He was bleeding profusely from the head. He was talking. He said, ‘I tried to stop.’”
… “Boucher watched in disbelief as the man’s legs stopped moving as he lay on the ground. He believes he watched him die. The man, who has not been identified by authorities, was apparently shot by immigration agents, according to a House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who represents Biddeford.”
… “Across the intersection of Hill and Pool streets, a resident named Em heard a gunshot around 7:15 AM, followed by about 7 more pops. Her first thought was that it was a drive-by shooting. She hadn’t heard any yelling before the shots rang out. Em, who asked to be identified only by first name because of her fear of ICE, watched from her window as the small white car circle in the intersection as if the driver had no control.”
… “Two plain clothes ICE agents with vests on pressed up against the driver’s side door trying to guide it to not hit anything. All of a sudden it seemed like 6 people with vests on were running down the street. I didn’t know where they were coming from.” Em said agents appeared to crash a vehicle into the smaller car to get it to stop, then the driver was pulled out. “No one went to him and no one did anything,” she said, her voice choking with tears.
… Journalist Nathan Bernard: “The man ICE fatally shot was a 26-year-old from Colombia who had authorization to work in the US and had been issued a Social Security number.”
… DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Maine Sen. Angus King that the man fatally shot by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine, "was NOT the target of the warrant," according to King's office.
The biggest thing circled on my calendar this week is the Todd Blanche confirmation hearing scheduled for Wed and Thurs. On Ask the Editor today, which should be out tonight, I answered: 1. Will he get confirmed and how will Fetterman and Tillis vote? 2. Do you think the McConnell photo is legit? 3. Will Thune break the filibuster for SAVE “as a tribute to Lindsey”? 4. Give details on the Maine primary process and my candidacy to be a delegate. 5. Are there any legit reporters that you and Pablo respect at Fox?
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin recapping the entire Weekend (sorry is was so long), you can find it here.
… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) was asked on Real America’s Voice about the Mitch McConnell proof of life photo. Host Eric Bolling: “I saw a picture that I’m not sure I believe is actually McConnell after what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen. Do you believe that is a picture of Mitch and his wife in that hospital bed? Johnson: “I just heard from a source that was an older photo.”
… The plot thickens …
… Other Republicans are also skeptical:
Laura Loomer: “McConnell’s staff appear to have used an AI altered photo. They are never going to recover from this. I can’t believe they blurred Mitch’s finger nails so much they disappeared. What are they thinking? Why does the text on the newspaper McConnell’s staff claim he’s holding look AI generated? The text is blurry and the tag
