Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
'As senior editor of Lawfare Media Eric Columbus commented: “Do Vance and DHS think we can’t actually watch the video?” Multiple social media users noted that Good’s last words to Ross were “That’s fine. I’m not mad at you,” while his to her, after he shot her in the face, were “F*cking b*tch!” '
Yep. The government openly hunting citizens for exercising their free speech. And the orders coming from straight from the top.
C'mon now, let's be fair! Is this image of Donald J. Trump manipulated or AI-generated? He looks about 30 lbs. lighter and the bruising on his right hand is concealed.
The investigation, which centers on renovations of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, signals an escalation in the long-running clash between President Trump and the chair.
The U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, over the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters and whether Mr. Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project, according to officials briefed on the situation. The inquiry, which includes an analysis of Mr. Powell’s public statements and an examination of spending records, was approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump who was appointed to run the office last year, the officials said.
The investigation escalates Mr. Trump’s long-running feud with Mr. Powell, whom the president has continually attacked for resisting his demands to slash interest rates significantly. The president has threatened to fire the Fed chair and raised the prospect of a lawsuit against him related to the $2.5 billion renovation, citing “incompetence.” AN ESCALATING FIGHT
Mr. Trump told The New York Times in an interview last week that he had decided on who he wants to replace Mr. Powell as Fed chair. He is expected to soon announce his decision. Kevin A. Hassett, Mr. Trump’s top economic adviser, is a front-runner for the top job. While Mr. Powell’s term as chair ends in May, his term as a governor runs through January 2028.
In a rare video message released by the Fed on Sunday, Mr. Powell described the investigation as “unprecedented” and questioned the motivation for the move, even as he affirmed that he carried out his duties as chair “without political fear or favor.” “This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” he said. “It is not about Congress’s oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts.”
He warned that the investigation signaled a broader battle over the Fed’s independence. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” he added. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
A spokesman for Attorney General Pam Bondi did not comment on the investigation but said Ms. Bondi had “instructed her U.S. attorneys to prioritize investing any abuses of taxpayer dollars.” The U.S. attorney’s investigation into Mr. Powell underscores Mr. Trump’s larger clash with the Fed. Other broadsides have included an effort to oust Lisa D. Cook, a governor at the central bank whom Mr. Trump tried to fire over allegations of mortgage fraud. Presidents are able to remove officials at the Fed only for “cause,” which has typically meant malfeasance or a dereliction of duty. The Supreme Court will hear arguments for Ms. Cook’s case on Jan. 21.
Congress granted the Fed the authority to set interest rates free of meddling from presidents, whose political fortunes are often tethered to how the economy is faring. Rather, lawmakers stipulated that the central bank should pursue low, stable inflation and a healthy labor market. Mr. Powell said on Sunday that the Justice Department had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas. Prosecutors in Ms. Pirro’s office have contacted Mr. Powell’s staff multiple times to request documents about the renovation project, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation who discussed an open inquiry on the condition of anonymity.
Starting an investigation is one thing, presenting sufficient evidence to secure an indictment from a federal grand jury — or making it stick — is another. Indictments against two of Mr. Trump’s top targets, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and Letitia James, the New York attorney general, were thrown out in November by a federal judge. An investigation into Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, has yet to yield enough evidence to present to a grand jury.
The renovations at the center of the investigation into Mr. Powell broke ground in 2022 and are set to be completed in 2027. They are estimated to be about $700 million over budget. The project involves expanding and modernizing the Marriner S. Eccles Building and another building on Constitution Avenue, which date to the 1930s. The Fed has said that neither of those buildings has been “comprehensively renovated” since their construction nearly 100 years ago, suggesting they were in need of a significant overhaul. Part of the project includes removing asbestos and lead contamination as well as making the facilities compliant with laws related to accessibility for people with disabilities.
In explaining the cost overruns, the central bank cited expenses tied to materials, equipment and labor as well as unforeseen circumstances, such as more asbestos than anticipated and soil contamination.
Comment: Well, it's open warfare now. Little infantile bully Trump vs the Fed. I guess that he woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.
Fed chair hits back, accusing DoJ of threatening criminal charges because central bank defied Trump’s demands
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump’s extraordinary attack on the US central bank.
In a blistering statement on Sunday, Powell argued he had been threatened with criminal charges because the Fed had set interest rates “based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President”.
Trump has repeatedly blasted the Powell and the Fed for declining to bow to his demand for rapid rate cuts.
Powell said the Department of Justice had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment related to his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June, regarding renovations to the Fed’s historic office buildings in Washington DC.
Allies of Trump spent months last year accusing the Fed of mishandling the multibillion-dollar renovations. Trump had repeatedly threatened legal action.
In a statement on Sunday evening, Powell said: “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
“I have served at the Federal Reserve under four administrations, Republicans and Democrats alike. In every case, I have carried out my duties without political fear or favor, focused solely on our mandate of price stability and maximum employment.
“Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats. I will continue to do the job the Senate confirmed me to do, with integrity and a commitment to serving the American people.”
The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US justice department opens criminal probe into Fed chair Jerome Powell
Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, he said on Sunday.
In a video announcing the probe, Powell said the US justice department served the agency with subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment over testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings.
He called the probe "unprecedented" and said he believed it was opened due to him drawing President Donald Trump's ire over refusing to lower interest rates despite repeated public pressure from the president.
The Fed chair is the latest to come at odds with Trump and then face criminal investigation by the US justice department.
"This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation," Powell said.
"I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve is above the law, but this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure," he went on to say.
Powell has repeatedly come under fire from Trump for not cutting interest rates as quickly as the president have liked. In the second half of 2025, the Fed cut interest rates three times.
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican who is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he would oppose the nomination of Powell's replacement by Trump, and any other Fed Board nominee, "until this legal matter is fully resolved".
"If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none," Tillis said in a statement.
"It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question," the senator said.
The investigation will be overseen by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, according to the New York Times, which first reported the probe.
Comment: Well, hello Senator Tillis! Nice to see you again... been taking a very long nap, have you?
US president says company is ‘playing too cute’ after CEO responds sceptically to his push for oil investment after deposing Nicolás Maduro
Donald Trump has said he might block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil company’s chief executive called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week. Darren Woods told the US president that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during the high-profile meeting on Friday with at least 17 other oil executives.
Trump had urged the group to spend $100bn to revitalise Venezuela’s oil industry in a meeting less than a week after US forces captured and removed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro from power in a brazen overnight raid. Woods’ sceptical remarks quickly emerged as the dominant headline, undercutting the White House’s hopes of building momentum from its engagement with the world’s most prominent oil executives.
“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington on Sunday. “I’ll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn’t like their response. They’re playing too cute.”
The government of late president Hugo Chávez nationalised the industry between 2004 and 2007, and while Chevron negotiated deals to partner with PDVSA, ConocoPhillips and Exxon left the country and filed for prominent arbitration cases shortly after. Venezuela now owes over $13bn collectively to ConocoPhillips and Exxon for the expropriations, according to court rulings.
Woods told Trump on Friday: “We’ve had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here.” Exxon’s CEO said the company needed durable investment protections introduced and that the country’s hydrocarbons law also needed to be reformed. “If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestable,” he said.
ConocoPhillips’ CEO, Ryan Lance, told Trump that his company was the largest non-sovereign credit holder in Venezuela, and called for a restructuring of the debt and the country’s entire energy system, including PDVSA. Trump said ConocoPhillips would get a lot of its money back, but the US would start with a clean slate. “We’re not going to look at what people lost in the past because that was their fault,” he said.
Trump said on Friday that his administration would decide which firms would be allowed to operate in the South American country. “You’re dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all,” he said. “We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela.”
On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order to block courts or creditors from seizing revenue tied to the sale of Venezuelan oil held in US Treasury accounts.
"I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington on Sunday. “I’ll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn’t like their response. They’re playing too cute.”
Translation: they don't want to pass any of their money/funds through me or mine.
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"Only a week ago, on January 3, the military captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. After months of suggesting that he was determined to end what he called 'narco-traffickers,' Trump made it clear as soon as Maduro was in hand that he wanted control of Venezuela’s oil."
"When he attacked Venezuela to capture Maduro, Trump told reporters that United States oil companies would spend billions of dollars to fix the badly broken infrastructure of oil extraction in that country. But apparently the oil companies had not gotten the memo. They have said that they are not currently interested in investing in Venezuela because they have no idea how badly oil infrastructure there has degraded and no sense of who will run the country in the future."
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"Then, on January 6, the fifth anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters determined to keep Trump in office despite Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s majority of 7 million votes, Trump’s White House rewrote the history of January 6, 2021, claiming that the rioters were 'peaceful patriotic protesters' and blaming the Democrats for the insurrection."
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"That same day, after the Supreme Court had cut off the administration’s ability to federalize National Guard soldiers and send them to Democratic-led cities, the administration surged 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis in the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever launched."
"The next morning, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, and the administration responded by calling Good a domestic terrorist."
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"Yet another part of the backstory is that on New Year’s Eve, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee released a 255-page transcript of former special counsel Jack Smith’s December 17 closed-door testimony before the committee. In that testimony—under oath—Smith said that his office had 'developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power. Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed that President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January of 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a ballroom and a bathroom. He then repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those ocuments.'"
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"The story underlying all others is that the United States Congress passed a law requiring the Department of Justice to release all the Epstein files— the files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the activities of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein— no later than December 19, and it has not done so."
"Epstein and President Donald J. Trump were close friends for many years, and the material the Department of Justice (DOJ) has released suggests that Trump was more closely tied to Epstein’s activities than Trump has acknowledged. Although Trump ran in 2024 on the promise of releasing the Epstein files, suggesting those files would incriminate Democrats, his loyalists in the administration are now openly flouting the law to keep them hidden."
"Despite the clear requirement of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that they release all the files by December 19, to date they have released less than 1% of the material."
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"Yesterday the government made public an executive order President Donald J. Trump signed on Friday, declaring yet another national emergency—his tenth in this term, by my count— and saying that any use of the revenue from the sale of Venezuelan oil to repay the billions of dollars owed to oil companies 'will materially harm the national security and foreign policy of the United States.'"
"Specifically, the executive order says, such repayment would 'interfere with our critical efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela' and, by extension, jeopardize U.S. foreign policy objectives including 'ending the dangerous influx of illegal immigrants and the flood of illicit narcotics;…protecting American interests against malign actors such as Iran and Hezbollah; and bringing peace, prosperity, and stability to the Venezuelan people and to the Western Hemisphere more generally.' So, it appears, Trump wants to retain control of the money from the sale of Venezuelan oil.
I apologize for the sheer number of recent posts but as you can see it's been a busy week. A foreign leader (not a nice guy) was extricated extrajudicially, numerous federal agents were deployed to Minneapolis which resulted in the killing of an innocent mother, a bullshit criminal investigation against Fed Chair Powell was initiated, Greenland's sovereignty was threatened again, etc.
Donald J. Trump's insane policies and illegal actions are extremely unpopular with thoughtful Americans. His absurd diversionary tactics are attempts to draw attention away from issues that are actually important to most people.
Why are prices for many core goods still so high? When will hiring in the job market improve? How can I afford health insurance now? When will all the Epstein files actually be released? How does invading Venezuela, annexing Greenland, and militarily threatening Iran coincide with Trump's "America First" policy?
But you know the darkest hour Is always, always just before the dawn
We are now getting some seriously "good week" happenings.
Banks are pushing back on trump, using words like "devastating risks". Investors are pushing back on trump policies, by punishing banks. Oil is pushing back on trump, wanting no part of Venezuela. Congress is pushing back on trump, threatening to block FED appointments. Voters are pushing ack on trump, citing disillusionment. Hegseth, the drunken trump oaf, is getting sued. Jobs are pushing back on trump, with low numbers and falling LFP rate.
Like all authoritarians, he respond with threats and shows of military force.
I apologize for the sheer number of recent posts but as you can see it's been a busy week. A foreign leader (not a nice guy) was extricated extrajudicially, numerous federal agents were deployed to Minneapolis which resulted in the killing of an innocent mother, a bullshit criminal investigation against Fed Chair Powell was initiated, Greenland's sovereignty was threatened again, etc.
Donald J. Trump's insane policies and illegal actions are extremely unpopular with thoughtful Americans. His absurd diversionary tactics are attempts to draw attention away from issues that are actually important to most people.
Why are prices for many core goods still so high? When will hiring in the job market improve? How can I afford health insurance now? When will all the Epstein files actually be released? How does invading Venezuela, annexing Greenland, and militarily threatening Iran coincide with Trump's "America First" policy?
...
No apology necessary for adroitly summarizing America's (and trump's) very bad, no good, horrible week. One of the first of the New Year. Excellent song choice, BTW. I am listening as I type this.
The dam has some serious cracks. More erosion is inevitable.
It sure has gotten quiet from the trump family members! No more prancing about the White House, calling attention to themselves. Are they seeking distance from the impending calamity that their father has called down upon them?
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"Yesterday the government made public an executive order President Donald J. Trump signed on Friday, declaring yet another national emergency—his tenth in this term, by my count— and saying that any use of the revenue from the sale of Venezuelan oil to repay the billions of dollars owed to oil companies 'will materially harm the national security and foreign policy of the United States.'"
"Specifically, the executive order says, such repayment would 'interfere with our critical efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela' and, by extension, jeopardize U.S. foreign policy objectives including 'ending the dangerous influx of illegal immigrants and the flood of illicit narcotics;…protecting American interests against malign actors such as Iran and Hezbollah; and bringing peace, prosperity, and stability to the Venezuelan people and to the Western Hemisphere more generally.'
So, it appears, Trump wants to retain control of the money from the sale of Venezuelan oil.
One thing for sure is that trump did not write that babbling missive. There is punctuation, his babbling is far more inarticulate.
Once again the old "bait and switch". First, he portrays this unapproved military incursion into a foreign nations internal affairs, as reparation to the oil companies. Then, he yanks out the rug, declaring his 10th National Emergency.
What completely unprecedented bad luck to face a new National Emergency once a month, since taking office.
I would take it even further and say that the entire last year was one big extended National Emergency.
US president says company is ‘playing too cute’ after CEO responds sceptically to his push for oil investment after deposing Nicolás Maduro
...
Woods told Trump on Friday: “We’ve had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here.” Exxon’s CEO said the company needed durable investment protections introduced and that the country’s hydrocarbons law also needed to be reformed. “If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestable,” he said.
ConocoPhillips’ CEO, Ryan Lance, told Trump that his company was the largest non-sovereign credit holder in Venezuela, and called for a restructuring of the debt and the country’s entire energy system, including PDVSA. Trump said ConocoPhillips would get a lot of its money back, but the US would start with a clean slate. “We’re not going to look at what people lost in the past because that was their fault,” he said.
Trump said on Friday that his administration would decide which firms would be allowed to operate in the South American country. “You’re dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all,” he said. “We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela.”
On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order to block courts or creditors from seizing revenue tied to the sale of Venezuelan oil held in US Treasury accounts.
What might we glean from reading between the lines here?
It is a 100% certainty that the trump administration did not consult with any of the impacted oil entities for their input, before launching his oil grab.
And was never about reparations to the oil industry.
Ready, Fire, Aim is their only way of proceeding. The Year Of The Buffoon.
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American.
"The story underlying all others is that the United States Congress passed a law requiring the Department of Justice to release all the Epstein files— the files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the activities of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein— no later than December 19, and it has not done so."
"Epstein and President Donald J. Trump were close friends for many years, and the material the Department of Justice (DOJ) has released suggests that Trump was more closely tied to Epstein’s activities than Trump has acknowledged. Although Trump ran in 2024 on the promise of releasing the Epstein files, suggesting those files would incriminate Democrats, his loyalists in the administration are now openly flouting the law to keep them hidden."
"Despite the clear requirement of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that they release all the files by December 19, to date they have released less than 1% of the material."
"When he attacked Venezuela to capture Maduro, Trump told reporters that United States oil companies would spend billions of dollars to fix the badly broken infrastructure of oil extraction in that country. But apparently the oil companies had not gotten the memo. They have said that they are not currently interested in investing in Venezuela because they have no idea how badly oil infrastructure there has degraded and no sense of who will run the country in the future."
An authoritarian, running a dictatorship, does not require others to willingly comply. He simply orders them to do what he directs them to do, their views are not needed.
C'mon now, let's be fair! Is this image of Donald J. Trump manipulated or AI-generated? He looks about 30 lbs. lighter and the bruising on his right hand is concealed.
In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show.
For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency has calculated the health benefits of reducing air pollution, using the cost estimates of avoided asthma attacks and premature deaths to justify clean-air rules.
Not anymore.
Under President Trump, the E.P.A. plans to stop tallying gains from the health benefits caused by curbing two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone, when regulating industry, according to internal agency emails and documents reviewed by The New York Times. It’s a seismic shift that runs counter to the E.P.A.’s mission statement, which says the agency’s core responsibility is to protect human health and the environment, environmental law experts said.
The change could make it easier to repeal limits on these pollutants from coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across the country, the emails and documents show. That would most likely lower costs for companies while resulting in dirtier air. Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, refers to particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Ozone is a smog-causing gas that forms when nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds are emitted from power plants, factories and vehicles and mix in the air on hot, sunny days.
Long-term exposure to both pollutants is linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, and premature death. Even moderate exposure to PM2.5 can damage the lungs about as much as smoking. Under the Biden administration, the E.P.A. tightened the amount of PM2.5 that could be emitted by industrial facilities. It estimated that the rule would prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays in 2032 alone. For every $1 spent on reducing PM2.5, the agency said, there could be as much as $77 in health benefits.
But the Trump administration contends that these estimates are doubtful and said the E.P.A. would no longer take health effects into account in the cost-benefit analyses necessary for clean-air regulations, according to the documents. Instead, the agency would estimate only the costs to businesses of complying with the rules. Over the past four decades, different administrations have used different estimates of the monetary value of a human life in cost-benefit analyses. But until now, no administration has counted it as zero.
In a Dec. 11 email reviewed by The Times, an E.P.A. supervisor wrote to his employees that political appointees in the Office of Air and Radiation planned to insert language about the “uncertain” benefits of reducing PM2.5 and ozone in all new clean-air rules. The language states that “historically, the E.P.A.’s analytical practices often provided the public with false precision and confidence regarding the monetized impacts of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone.” It says that “to rectify this error, the E.P.A. is no longer monetizing benefits from PM2.5 and ozone.”
A version of the language already appeared in a regulatory impact analysis posted online on Monday. The document accompanied a final rule that would weaken limits on nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from combustion turbines used at gas-burning power plants.
The head of the E.P.A.’s air and radiation office, Aaron Szabo, said at his Senate confirmation hearing that he had a personal stake in clean-air rules because he suffers from cystic fibrosis. “Because of my lung disease, I have always been acutely aware of air quality,” he said. Mr. Szabo is a former registered lobbyist for the oil and chemical industries. His clients at the firm CGCN Group included the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, a trade association for oil refiners that has opposed stricter PM2.5 standards.
Comment: "E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved"... Well sure, who gives a damn about sick Americans or lives saved when there's money to be made?
Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from disciplining him for a video warning about illegal military orders.
Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, on Monday sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon over a move to punish him for a video he released with other lawmakers reminding military members that they must not follow illegal orders. The Defense Department said last week that it was taking administrative action against Mr. Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut who is serving his first full term in the Senate, that could reduce his retirement rank and military pension.
Mr. Hegseth has accused the senator, who is regarded as a potential 2028 presidential contender, of sedition and treason for posting a video along with five other Democratic lawmakers in which he did not name any specific order but said: “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.” The lawsuit filed in Washington asked a federal judge to block the Pentagon’s efforts to punish Mr. Kelly and find them “unlawful and unconstitutional.”
“The First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech,” the complaint stated. “That prohibition applies with particular force to legislators speaking on matters of public policy.” The Defense Department declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. .
In a “formal letter of censure” that Mr. Hegseth released last week, he accused the senator of characterizing lawful military operations as “illegal” in a “sustained pattern” that began in June 2025. The letter cited the senator criticizing Mr. Hegseth for firing generals and admirals and saying that the defense secretary had surrounded himself with “yes men.”
“That’s my job,” Mr. Kelly said on the Senate floor on Monday. “I have every right to say these things as an American, as a retired service member and as a U.S. senator.”
Mr. Hegseth wrote on social media last week that Mr. Kelly’s status as a sitting senator “does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action.” The defense secretary indicated that a decision on whether to reduce the senator’s rank and pension would be made by mid-February.
But the lawsuit argued that Mr. Kelly’s public statements about policy and personnel were lawful under a section of the Constitution known as the “speech or debate” clause. That section has long been interpreted to protect members of Congress from executive or judicial discipline for not only their speech but also their legislative work broadly.
Mr. Kelly argued in his lawsuit that as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he has a role to provide congressional oversight over Mr. Hegseth’s actions. Failure to block any disciplinary action against the senator “would invert the constitutional structure by subordinating the legislative branch to executive discipline and chilling congressional oversight of the armed forces,” the complaint stated.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice still applies to Mr. Kelly as a retired naval officer. The administration could recall him to active duty and discipline him, unless the court were to block such action. His fellow Democratic lawmakers in the video released last year did not serve long enough to retire and receive a pension, and are not subject to military law.
Comment: Hegseth's attempt at personal intimidation of Kelly is absolutely despicable.
Note: Text emphasis in the above report was added.
The ruling means that construction can continue on Revolution Wind, a $6.2 billion project off the coast of Rhode Island, at least for now.
A federal judge on Monday ruled that construction could resume on a $6.2 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, striking down the Trump administration’s decision last month to halt work on the Revolution Wind project. Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Interior Department’s suspension order was “arbitrary and capricious” in violation of federal law.
Revolution Wind is one of five offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast that were ordered to stop work last month by the Trump administration, which cited unspecified national security concerns. Several states, as well as developers of four of the projects, have challenged the move in court. The case involving Revolution Wind was the first complaint to be heard. The decision is a temporary victory for Revolution Wind and the offshore wind industry, which has been roiled by the Trump administration’s efforts to block offshore wind farms that had received permits under the Biden administration. Orsted, the Danish energy giant that is building Revolution Wind, can now continue with construction as litigation it has filed against the Trump administration proceeds.
In his ruling, Judge Lamberth said the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management did not adequately explain how the project posed security risks or why halting construction of Revolution Wind would address these concerns. “Purportedly new classified information does not constitute a sufficient explanation for the bureau’s decision to entirely stop work on the Revolution Wind project,” Judge Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said while ruling from the bench.
Revolution Wind is roughly 87 percent complete, with 58 of 65 wind turbines installed. It was scheduled to be fully operational by the second half of this year, delivering power to more than 350,000 homes and businesses in Connecticut and Rhode Island by year’s end.
The Trump administration has repeatedly ordered work to stop on offshore wind farms along the East Coast, pushing at least two projects to the brink of collapse. This is the second time the administration has tried to stop the project. In August, the administration initially ordered work to halt on Revolution Wind, citing unspecified national security concerns. But Connecticut, Rhode Island and Orsted sued, and in September, Judge Lamberth allowed construction to continue.
On Dec. 22, the Interior Department again ordered Revolution Wind to halt. The suspension order also applied to Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind, both off the coast of New York; Vineyard Wind 1 off the coast of Massachusetts; and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind off Virginia. Together the projects represented $25 billion of investment and about 10,000 jobs and were expected to power more than 2.5 million homes and businesses.
During the court hearing on Monday, Janice Schneider, a partner at the law firm Latham and Watkins, argued on behalf of Revolution Wind that the suspension order was costing Orsted “at least $1.44 million per day.” She said the earlier stop-work order, in August, had cost the company a total of around $100 million over the several weeks that order had remained in effect. Ms. Schneider said the Defense Department had refused to share the classified Pentagon report with Orsted employees who have national security clearance. “We’re flying blind, admittedly, because we’ve not had access to the classified material,” she said.
President Trump has been hostile to offshore wind since he failed to stop an offshore wind farm visible from of one of his golf courses in Scotland 14 years ago. He has called wind farms ugly and inefficient and when he returned to the White House last year, he ordered the Interior Department to halt new leases in federal waters for wind farms. “My goal is to not let any windmill be built,” Mr. Trump said on Friday at a meeting of oil executives at the White House.
Proponents of the offshore wind called the ruling evidence that the Trump administration was putting politics over the country’s energy needs. “Allowing these projects to move forward is good news, not just for the project developers but also for the rest of us who pay bills and depend on the grid to power our homes and offices,” said Seth Kaplan, a vice president at Grid Strategies, a consulting firm.
Additional court hearings are scheduled this week in cases where developers of other projects are challenging the suspension orders. The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday and will center on Equinor’s challenge to the halt to Empire Wind off Long Island, N.Y.
Comment: Another loser for Trump... "National Security" my ass.
Comments
Yep. The government openly hunting citizens for exercising their free speech. And the orders coming from straight from the top.
Who wouldn't support that?
And our top leaders call these young ex-veterans, simply driving a car, "terrorists".
Yes, driving down the street and harboring opinions is now "terrorism". And now simply sitting in automobiles is an excuse to exterminate opposition.
Is this image of Donald J. Trump manipulated or AI-generated?
He looks about 30 lbs. lighter and the bruising on his right hand is concealed.
Translation: they don't want to pass any of their money/funds through me or mine.
"Only a week ago, on January 3, the military captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. After months of suggesting that he was determined to end what he called 'narco-traffickers,' Trump made it clear as soon as Maduro was in hand that he wanted control of Venezuela’s oil."
"When he attacked Venezuela to capture Maduro, Trump told reporters that United States oil companies would spend billions of dollars to fix the badly broken infrastructure of oil extraction in that country. But apparently the oil companies had not gotten the memo. They have said that they are not currently interested in investing in Venezuela because they have no idea how badly oil infrastructure there has degraded and no sense of who will run the country in the future."
"Then, on January 6, the fifth anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters
determined to keep Trump in office despite Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s
majority of 7 million votes, Trump’s White House rewrote the history of January 6, 2021,
claiming that the rioters were 'peaceful patriotic protesters' and blaming the Democrats
for the insurrection."
"That same day, after the Supreme Court had cut off the administration’s ability to federalize
National Guard soldiers and send them to Democratic-led cities,
the administration surged 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis
in the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever launched."
"The next morning, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good,
and the administration responded by calling Good a domestic terrorist."
"Yet another part of the backstory is that on New Year’s Eve, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee
released a 255-page transcript of former special counsel Jack Smith’s December 17 closed-door testimony
before the committee. In that testimony—under oath—Smith said that his office had
'developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme
to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.
Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed that President Trump
willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January of 2021,
storing them at his social club, including in a ballroom and a bathroom.
He then repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those ocuments.'"
"The story underlying all others is that the United States Congress passed a law
requiring the Department of Justice to release all the Epstein files—
the files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the activities of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—
no later than December 19, and it has not done so."
"Epstein and President Donald J. Trump were close friends for many years,
and the material the Department of Justice (DOJ) has released suggests that Trump
was more closely tied to Epstein’s activities than Trump has acknowledged.
Although Trump ran in 2024 on the promise of releasing the Epstein files,
suggesting those files would incriminate Democrats, his loyalists in the administration
are now openly flouting the law to keep them hidden."
"Despite the clear requirement of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that they release all the files
by December 19, to date they have released less than 1% of the material."
"Yesterday the government made public an executive order President Donald J. Trump signed on Friday,
declaring yet another national emergency—his tenth in this term, by my count—
and saying that any use of the revenue from the sale of Venezuelan oil to repay
the billions of dollars owed to oil companies 'will materially harm the national security
and foreign policy of the United States.'"
"Specifically, the executive order says, such repayment would 'interfere with our critical efforts
to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela' and, by extension,
jeopardize U.S. foreign policy objectives including 'ending the dangerous influx of illegal immigrants
and the flood of illicit narcotics;…protecting American interests against malign actors
such as Iran and Hezbollah; and bringing peace, prosperity, and stability
to the Venezuelan people and to the Western Hemisphere more generally.'
So, it appears, Trump wants to retain control of the money from the sale of Venezuelan oil.
A foreign leader (not a nice guy) was extricated extrajudicially,
numerous federal agents were deployed to Minneapolis which resulted in the killing of an innocent mother,
a bullshit criminal investigation against Fed Chair Powell was initiated,
Greenland's sovereignty was threatened again, etc.
Donald J. Trump's insane policies and illegal actions are extremely unpopular with thoughtful Americans. His absurd diversionary tactics are attempts to draw attention away from issues
that are actually important to most people.
Why are prices for many core goods still so high?
When will hiring in the job market improve?
How can I afford health insurance now?
When will all the Epstein files actually be released?
How does invading Venezuela, annexing Greenland,
and militarily threatening Iran coincide with Trump's "America First" policy?
But you know the darkest hour
Is always, always just before the dawn
Banks are pushing back on trump, using words like "devastating risks".
Investors are pushing back on trump policies, by punishing banks.
Oil is pushing back on trump, wanting no part of Venezuela.
Congress is pushing back on trump, threatening to block FED appointments.
Voters are pushing ack on trump, citing disillusionment.
Hegseth, the drunken trump oaf, is getting sued.
Jobs are pushing back on trump, with low numbers and falling LFP rate.
Like all authoritarians, he respond with threats and shows of military force.
The dam has some serious cracks. More erosion is inevitable.
It sure has gotten quiet from the trump family members! No more prancing about the White House, calling attention to themselves. Are they seeking distance from the impending calamity that their father has called down upon them?
Once again the old "bait and switch". First, he portrays this unapproved military incursion into a foreign nations internal affairs, as reparation to the oil companies. Then, he yanks out the rug, declaring his 10th National Emergency.
What completely unprecedented bad luck to face a new National Emergency once a month, since taking office.
I would take it even further and say that the entire last year was one big extended National Emergency.
What might we glean from reading between the lines here?
It is a 100% certainty that the trump administration did not consult with any of the impacted oil entities for their input, before launching his oil grab.
And was never about reparations to the oil industry.
Ready, Fire, Aim is their only way of proceeding. The Year Of The Buffoon.
Does it matter if trump is directly implicated in the actual sexual abuse on minors. Or is the act of simply protecting child abusers enough?
Most would agree that protecting child abusers is bad enough!