Monday, June 1, 2026

Chump's medical 'report'


Doctors who reviewed President Donald Trump's medical report from Walter Reed Medical Center said it was conspicuously short on the clinical specifics that would support its conclusions.

In his report of the president's health, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella said the 79-year-old president "remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function." The president spent roughly three hours at the medical facility for both a physical and dental checkup.
The memo also boasted that Trump had achieved a perfect cognitive score, low cholesterol levels, and an AI-generated analysis that estimated his heart was 14 years younger than the rest of his body. However, it was the last claim that raised eyebrows from doctors.
"When I discuss this with some of my colleagues in cardiology, everyone laughed," Dr. Jonathan Reiner told Laura Coates during an appearance on her show. The memo regarding Trump's health cited results from a coronary CT angiography, an echocardiogram, and the AI-enhanced electrocardiogram.

However, the report seemed to omit certain specific numbers that physicians said they would expect to see from the tests. It was also noted that there was no calcium score, no description of arterial plaque, and no CAD-RADS score to assess arterial narrowing.


Chump is not fooling anyone.  Here's a video about the problems with the 'report.'



We're on to him.  He's an old man who is decaying.  


Here's C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Monday, June 1, 2026.  The Iran War continues, Chump's war on the economy continues, Pam Bondi fingered Todd Blanche in her remarks before the House Oversight Committee, the courts aren't crazy about Chump's slush fund, he's been ordered to take his filthy name off The Kennedy Center, and much more.


Ben reviews the latest on the Iran War for MEIDASTOUCH NEWS.




Americans have splashed out $59 billion more on fuel since President Donald Trump started his war against Iran — and the extra costs have already eaten up the boost in this year's average tax refund, according to a report Friday.

Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi estimated that the increased spending amounted to about $450 per U.S. household, "made up mostly of gasoline, then there's a diesel cost and an implied jet fuel cost in those higher airline fees,” CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Liesman said on the cable network's Squawk Box show.

The added costs were initially offset by this year's increase in the size of many federal income tax refunds, which averaged around $380 more per household, but by mid-May, "the extra fuel cost outstrips the refunds," and "now it's higher," Liesman said, according to a transcript posted on the Mediaite website.

Zandi also predicted, "Unless the war ends soon, financially pressed consumers will have no option but to turn more cautious in their spending, threatening the already soft economy," Liesman said.

 

Two Northwest Jacksonville business owners closed their doors, saying a challenging economy, changing consumer spending habits, and financial pressures have made it difficult to continue operating.

For years, both businesses served as gathering places for the community — one through photography and content creation, the other through food and fellowship. Now, their owners are saying goodbye.

Carissa Glanton recently closed The Selfie Showroom, a photography and content creation space that operated in Jacksonville for four years.

“A lot of people came here to celebrate birthdays, take pictures, and have a unique experience,” Glanton said. “It was something different that I really wanted to bring to Jacksonville.”

But by the middle of last year, she said business began slowing down.

“That’s when things started to trickle down for us, and it was just hard to keep the operations going,” Glanton explained.

[. . .] 

Just a few minutes away at Trout River Food Truck Park, another owner is facing a similar reality.

Chef Love, owner of Chef Love Sol Cuisine, announced she is also closing after five years in business.

Business, she said, has become increasingly difficult.

“Challenging. Uncertain. Confusing. Doubtful,” Chef Love said when asked how business has been lately.

Despite strong community support, Chef Love said economic uncertainty has taken a toll on sales.

“We’ve seen a big decrease because of the economy,” she said. “People are unsure right now. Going out to eat is a luxury for many families. Even though I feel my food is affordable, it still comes out of their income.”



For years, American consumers have defied predictions and kept the economy moving forward with their spending even amid a raft of financial pressures. Yet signs of financial strain are emerging as households grapple with the highest inflation rate in nearly three years.

Consumer spending drives about 70% of U.S. economic activity, raising concerns about a slowdown if Americans pull back amid an ongoing spike in energy prices. 

"If gas prices stay elevated, middle-income families will likely face more tradeoffs. For most households, gas isn't optional — it's how they get to work, take care of their families and manage daily life," said Glenn Williams, CEO of Primerica, a provider of financial products. 

Inflation tends to hit low- and middle-income households hardest because they spend a greater share of their income on basics such as gas and food. 


But Chump doesn't worry about the American people.  He infamously said, "I don't think about Americans' financial situation."  And before he said, he'd already made that clear with his actions.  He has destroyed the US economy.  

Friday, former Attorney General Pam da Bimbo Bondi appeared before the US House Oversight Committee in a closed door interview.  PBS NEWSHOUR notes.



Geoff Bennett:

So what did Bondi say?

Ali Rogin:

Not much, according to Democrats in the room. She answered many questions by saying she did not know or did not recall. She deferred many questions to Todd Blanche, saying that he handled the documents, including all the mistakes of failing to redact some of the survivors' names and images.

In her opening statement, she said she -- quote -- "delegated oversight over this process" to Blanche. She also refused to comment on her conversations with President Trump.

Geoff Bennett:

And Blanche, now the acting attorney general, who used to be President Trump's personal attorney.

Ali Rogin:

That's right, Geoff. And he's been very involved in this investigation. He met with co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in 2025, after which she was transferred to a minimum security prison.

Bondi said she was unaware that that meeting was happening. And as acting attorney general, Blanche has said that he said the Epstein files -- quote -- "should not be a part of anything going forward at the DOJ."

Whatever his role was, Blanche is now the head of the department and Democrats said they will subpoena him to testify. For their part, survivors say that the most important thing for them is that the DOJ follow through on some of the investigative leads that are revealed and some of the names that have been released in the Epstein files.

Geoff Bennett:

And, as we have reported on this program, President Trump's own relationship with Epstein has come under scrutiny. The president has gone after media outlets, news organizations that have chosen to report on it. So what's the latest on that front?

Ali Rogin:

Yes.

So, earlier this week, President Trump refiled a defamation lawsuit that he had filed against The Wall Street Journal over a report that he had written a letter to Epstein for his birthday in 2003 which featured an illustration of a naked woman silhouette. Trump denied he wrote the letter or drew the picture. And he sued The Journal for defamation.

The judge threw out the case, saying he had not proved that the reporters deliberately reported false information. He said Trump could file a new complaint. We have seen that today. He -- there's not very much new in this new complaint, except there's an anecdote that he spoke with Rupert Murdoch, the chairman, before this article was released.

Murdoch said he would handle it. We don't know how this judge is going to respond to this, and The Wall Street Journal stands by its reporting, Geoff.



Democrats on the House Oversight Committee issued the following statement last week:

Washington, D.C. — Today, Oversight Democrats released the following statement following the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) confirmation that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi’s transcribed interview will not be videotaped for the American people.

“Pam Bondi was at the heart of a White House cover-up and Oversight Chairman James Comer is working to hide her testimony from the American people. The survivors and the American people deserve to see her respond to real questions about her mismanagement and cover-up of the Epstein files,” said Sara Guerrero, spokesperson for Oversight Democrats.

In March, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted with bipartisan support on a motion by Rep. Nancy Mace to subpoena then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. On April 14, 2026, Pam Bondi refused to appear for her deposition before the Oversight Committee, despite the lawful bipartisan subpoena the Committee issued. The subpoena followed the Department of Justice’s botched release of the Epstein files and the continued White House cover-up.

###


Glenn Thrush and Michael Gold (NEW YORK TIMES via PHILADELPHIA INQURIER) note:


Pam Bondi, fired as attorney general by President Donald Trump in April, insisted Friday that she had little real authority in overseeing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, putting responsibility squarely on her former deputy and successor, Todd Blanche.

Her remarks, delivered during a closed-door interview before the House Oversight Committee, were a bracingly candid admission of her own powerlessness that belied her nominal role as one of the most powerful figures in government. It was a noticeable shift from her past appearances on Capitol Hill, when she resorted to maximum-volume attacks on Democrats who raised questions about her performance or challenged her authority.

Bondi told committee members that Blanche was managing “the entire investigation,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said after emerging from a tense session that Bondi had long sought to delay or dodge.

She added in the hearing that Blanche was responsible for determining which documents would be released, another person present for her testimony said, describing how she also repeatedly punted to FBI Director Kash Patel.


One interesting note?  NDTV adds:

Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi, during her long-awaited interview with US House lawmakers, reportedly said that Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell should die in prison and should not receive a pardon.

Maxwell was a longtime associate of Epstein, the US financier and convicted sex offender, who died by suicide in jail in 2019. She was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and conspiracy involving underage girls. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence and remains in a Texas prison facility.


And how did Maxwell get there?  How did she go from a low security Florida prison to a minimum security prison in Bryan, Texas?  Bondi said they needed to ask Blanche about that. 

Perry Stein and Maegan Vazquez (WASHINGTON POST) note:

Bondi said that “Acting attorney general Blanche was managing the entire investigation,” Rep. Robert Garcia (California), the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters during a mid-interview break.

[. . .] 

Garcia told reporters: “I also personally asked the former AG five times and five different questions about her conversations with President Trump, whether he directed her at any given time on the Epstein files, what he knew, what he asked her to redact or not, and she refused to answer any questions about President Trump. In fact, she said that she would not speak or respond to any questions that [have] anything to do with President Trump.” 


It must be something to dictate to Congress what you will and will not answer questions about.  Australia's ABC reports on the survivors who were outside the hearing:


Survivors of Epstein's abuse were in the building and criticised Ms Bondi's handling of the material.

They held posters that had documents from the Epstein files that feature Mr Trump's name, among others, and they made their presence known to Ms Bondi as she entered the room.

Several survivors said they were shoved aside by police officers.

"It boggles my mind that the Department of Justice released nude photos … the Department of Justice released pornography. That is unacceptable," survivor Sharlene Rochard told reporters outside the committee hearing room.

"I just hope that she does have a moment where she remembers her own humanity and our humanity and finds her compassion and remembers that this is a bigger story than political rhetoric," said Danielle Bensky, another survivor.

The survivors also implored lawmakers to hold Ms Bondi accountable for the handling of the Epstein case files' release, which included the personal information of potential victims.


Meanwhile, there will be a public meeting on Epstein's actions taking place this afternoon in New Mexico.  Chris Edwards reports:

As New Mexico’s bipartisan Epstein Truth Commission will hold its first public meeting this week at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, many Otero County political leaders — have remained notably quiet on the matter.

Local state leaders voted affirmative for the resolution creating the special commission but for the most part have been silent on the demand for transparency and release of all documents in DC and for state level prosecution in New Mexico if appropriate.

The commission is examining allegations of sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and potential state and local oversights tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch. With subpoena power and a $2 million budget, the panel is seeking survivor testimony and reviewing how such activities could occur in New Mexico with little apparent intervention for years.


Chump suffers from JFK derangement and is having a fit over a recent legal ruling.  Hafiz Rashid (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled Friday that the name of the performing arts center can’t be changed without an act of Congress, and ordered the Trump administration to take down every sign with Trump’s name and get rid of all references to “Trump Kennedy Center” within 14 days. He also overturned the board’s March decision to close the theater for a yearslong renovation.


To that,  AP adds:

President Donald Trump on Saturday branded the federal judge who blocked his renovation of the Kennedy Center as “an anti Trump Hater” and predicted that the nation’s premier performing arts center he wanted to shutter for a two-year overhaul will “soon be closed, probably never to open again.”


Chump is just an anti JFK Hater.  And that blinds him to the reality that The Kennedy Center will be restored fully by the next president. This is a monument created by Congress to JFK following his assassination.  There have been eleven presidents since JFK died and JFK remains remembered and loved.  

That's why Convicted Felon Donald Chump has tried to hijack The Kennedy Center by illegally tacking his own name onto it --  because then Chump might be remembered if only due to association.  

Because there's nothing honorable about Chump.  He's corrupt.  He's unethical.  He's a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, an anti-Islamist, an all around hater.  And his pettiness comes out because he has nothing he can rise to, no better nature.  He is garbage.

And garbage who wants a slush fund.  Molly Sprayregen (LGBTQ NATION) notes:

A former Fox host and current political analyst believes a recent Donald Trump action may have finally spurred a real rebellion among Republicans.

“It’s a revolt,” wrote Howard Kurtz for Fox News. “Practically a revolution.” He said the backlash “seems to be breaking, or at least loosening, Trump’s iron grip on power.”

At issue is Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion slush fund to compensate alleged victims targeted by “political weaponization” from former-President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice.

These so-called “victims” would include rioters arrested for storming the Capitol building during the attempted January 6, 2021 insurrection. The rioters attempted to disrupt the Senate’s certification of the 2020 election results. 

Kurtz said for many Republicans, the concept of this massive taxpayer-funded compensation for people who have been convicted of crimes “was a bridge too far.”

“Some of these people had attacked and injured police officers, seized members’ offices and chanted for Mike Pence’s hanging,” Kurtz said. 


Courts are pausing the slush fund and asking questions.  Bobby Allyn (NPR) reports:


U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Florida on Friday ordered Trump's lawyers to respond to the motion filed by 35 former federal judges who argued that Trump is in a sense both the plaintiff and the defendant in the case, having filed it as president and also the leader of the executive branch overseeing the IRS. Thus, the judges wrote, the lawsuit "is itself a fraud on the court."

The former judges, appointed by both Democrat and Republican presidents, wrote that the lawsuit was used as a justification for the "looting" of American taxpayers. They described the case as a type of "collusion" between the president's lawyers and the federal government and asked the judge to re-open the case to determine if the settlement was reached only after the court was "deceived."

Williams, appointed by former President Barack Obama, had initially granted a dismissal of Trump's lawsuit following the settlement, but, in light of the former judges' motion, she said the court is "empowered to investigate serious misconduct."

It follows another judge in Virginia temporarily freezing the fund, which Trump officials have described as an effort to compensate Trump allies, Jan. 6 rioters and others the president says have been unjustly targeted.

That judge, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia, ordered on Friday that Trump officials stop setting up the pool of money to "ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed."

Brinkema, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, set a June 12 hearing for arguments over whether the order should be extended.





When the details of the agreement were first revealed two weeks ago, Democrats and former government officials lodged accusations of corruption and self-dealing, and even some Republicans reacted with scornful disbelief. Some G.O.P. senators were so angry they abandoned plans to approve a measure to finance the administration’s immigration crackdown.

Within days of the agreement becoming public, and before the judge raised questions about it, senior administration officials began preparing to get rid of the fund amid the intense blowback. Those discussions were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

But while the agreement appeared to have emerged abruptly, it fused two ideas that had been kicking around in Mr. Trump’s circle for years: a desire by him and his family to avoid extensive tax audits, and a longing by his allies to obtain financial restitution for legal wrongs they claimed to have suffered during the Biden administration.

[. . .]

While the origins of the tax maneuver remain somewhat obscure, the Justice Department began to assess the proposal about a week before Judge William’s May 20 deadline, according to people familiar with the matter. One of the questions raised was whether giving the Trumps protection against I.R.S. scrutiny would run afoul of a law barring the tax agency from dropping audits at the direction of the president or his aides.


Let's note LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER.




Let's wind down with this from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:


DOJ’s attempt to cut a sweetheart deal for the Trump family and MAGA political allies is a crooked and corrupt abuse of taxpayer money

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche this week demanding that the MAGA Department of Justice preserve records related to a corrupt purported settlement agreement in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, DOJ’s creation of a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund to reward the President’s political allies, and the related tax amnesty agreement for the Trump family and their business associates.

“This sweetheart deal from the Trump IRS and the Trump DOJ attempts to give President Trump and the Trump family business a magical free pass on tax violations and set up a slush fund for cop-beaters and MAGA criminals.  It’s the very definition of corruption and merits further investigation.  Acting Attorney General Blanche – himself a former Trump defense attorney – must preserve all records related to this outrageous abuse of power and misuse of taxpayer money,” said Whitehouse.

“A MAGA ‘weaponization’ slush fund is so outrageous that Senate Republicans were forced to send lawmakers home to stay in President Trump’s good graces. Americans are struggling to afford gas, groceries, housing… you name it. And President Trump is more interested in cashing in on the presidency than focusing on the things that matter. This blatantly corrupt deal deserves further scrutiny, and the Acting Attorney General must order the preservation of all documents related to it,” said Durbin.

Earlier this month, the MAGA Department of Justice announced that President Trump had agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit he initiated against his own Internal Revenue Service after he was inaugurated for his second term over the leak of the President’s tax information by an IRS employee in exchange for the creation of an unprecedented $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”  The commission overseeing the fund would have the authority to dole out the nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to settle claims brought by anyone who claimed they were harmed by “weaponization” of the justice system, including participants convicted of beating police and other crimes related to the January 6 insurrection.

“The Fund would allow those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to apply, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers during the attack on the Capitol.  This would mean nearly 175 January 6 rioters who used a dangerous or deadly weapon to assault law enforcement officers can seek compensation from the Fund, including a rioter who drove a stun gun into a law enforcement officer’s neck.  The Fund also lacks basic transparency and accountability measures, granting President Trump the authority to remove any administrator of the Fund without cause and allowing only the Attorney General to receive information about the identity of recipients per the terms of the ‘Settlement Agreement,’” wrote Whitehouse and Durbin in the letter.

One day after the settlement agreement was announced, the Department of Justice announced an addendum that would purportedly prohibit the IRS from pursuing audits against Trump, his family, and their business associates for any previous tax offenses as part of a bizarre side deal to the Department’s compensation fund agreement. 

“This addendum purports to grant President Trump and a wide swath of associates and related companies immunity from any ongoing tax audits, including one in which a potential adverse ruling could have cost President Trump more than $100 million,” added the senators in their letter.

Full text of the letter is below and a PDF is available here.

May 26, 2026

The Honorable Todd Blanche           

Acting Attorney General                                           

U.S. Department of Justice                            

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW                     

Washington, DC 20530                                 

Dear Acting Attorney General Blanche:

We write to request that the Department of Justice preserve all records related to the proposed $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” (the “Fund”) and the purported “Settlement Agreement” in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 1:26-cv-20609 (S.D. Fla.).

On May 18, 2026, DOJ announced the creation of the Fund “to provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”   You testified to Congress on May 19, 2026, that the Fund would allow those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to apply, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers during the attack on the Capitol.   This would mean nearly 175 January 6 rioters who used a dangerous or deadly weapon to assault law enforcement officers can seek compensation from the Fund, including a rioter who drove a stun gun into a law enforcement officer’s neck.   The Fund also lacks basic transparency and accountability measures, granting President Trump the authority to remove any administrator of the Fund without cause and allowing only the Attorney General to receive information about the identity of recipients per the terms of the “Settlement Agreement.”

Additionally, on May 19, 2026, DOJ released an addendum to the “Settlement Agreement” stating that the U.S. government would be “forever barred” from pursuing “examinations” of President Trump, his family, “related or affiliated individuals,” and related trusts and businesses, for any matter involving previously filed tax returns or “Lawfare and/or Weaponization.”   This addendum purports to grant President Trump and a wide swath of associates and related companies immunity from any ongoing tax audits, including one in which a potential adverse ruling could have cost President Trump more than $100 million.  

Please preserve any existing and future records, documents, and materials related to the Fund and “Settlement Agreement,” including any materials related to DOJ’s development of and decision to create the Fund and enter into the “Settlement Agreement.”  As you know, federal law, including the Federal Records Act, imposes an obligation to preserve federal records on all DOJ employees and makes violations subject to criminal prosecution.  This requirement includes preservation of electronic messages sent using both official and personal accounts or devices and records created using text messages, phone-based message applications, or encryption software.

We look forward to your prompt response and acknowledgment of your compliance with this request.

Press Contact

Meaghan McCabe, (202) 224-2921





The following sites updated:

Posted by at No comments:

Friday, May 29, 2026

Even the White House tires of lying for Chump

I'm guessing all the lying they do on a daily basis tires the White House out and explains why they haven't been spinning Chump's latest hospital visit.  Kathryn Watson (CBS News) notes:

The White House has yet to release a summary of the results of President Trump's latest physical exam, following his Tuesday visit to Walter Reed National Military Hospital. 

The White House has not yet said if or when a summary will be released, although the president posted on Truth Social midday Tuesday that everything "checked out PERFECTLY." A White House official said to expect a "readout in the next day or so." 


So they aren't rushing to lie.  In the meantime, Chump does not want to lug his morbidly obese body around.  Eleanor Tolbert (Irish Star) reports:


The president's health has become a talking point this week following his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for another routine examination Tuesday. It marked Trump's, 79, third appointment in 13 months. He attended Walter Reed in April 2025 for his annual physical, then returned in October for what administration officials characterized as a "scheduled follow-up."
[. . .]

Washington Post reporters Marc Fisher and Michael Kranish documented in their 2016 novel Trump Revealed that the president adheres to the "battery theory" regarding health. This concept suggests human beings possess a limited reserve of energy from birth, requiring careful management of its use.

Consequently, aside from golf, physical exercise is viewed as pointless, allowing him to channel his energy toward other priorities.
The Trump Revealed authors said, "After college, after Trump mostly gave up his personal athletic interests, he came to view time spent playing sports as time wasted. Trump believed the human body was like a battery, with a finite amount of energy, which exercise only depleted. So he didn't work out.

[. . .]
Researchers have subsequently disproven the battery theory, with exercise actually elevating energy levels by improving oxygen circulation throughout the bloodstream, according to Harvard Medical School. As of 2026, Trump's current exercise regimen remains unknown.

Poor fatty old man.  Hitting 80 in a few weeks.  Unloved and unlovable.  His cankles swelling constantly.  His weaving when he tries to walk.  His make up slathered hands to hide the rot.  He's decaying in front of our eyes. 


Here's C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Friday, May 29, 2026.  Chump spins a deal is coming but in the meantime the war drags on, the US economy is doing awful under Chump (no blaming Joe Biden for this), Chump sues THE WALL STREET JOURNAL again over their months old report on the birthday card Chump made for his best bud Jeffrey Epstein, Pam da Bimbo Bondi is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee today, news of Don Jr's crony corruption emerges, and much more. 


Ben covers the news of Chump's conceding to Tehran in the latest version of a deal.




Three months after President Trump launched war on Iran, his seemingly haphazard approach to the conflict is bewildering allies at home and abroad as he veers between diplomatic dealing, military strikes and increasingly far-fetched ideas.

It is possible that Mr. Trump is near a breakthrough in the form of what both sides call an interim agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin detailed talks on Iran’s nuclear program. But U.S. officials said on Thursday that Mr. Trump had not yet signed off on the agreement, and several others like it have fallen apart.

Now let's turn to Chump's war on the economy.   


Though con man Chump would love to believe the country believes him when he blames inflation on Joe Biden, that's not the case.  Groceries and gas and energy are all much more expensive over a year and a half into Chump's reign than they were under Joe.  In fact, Alicia Wallace (CNN) notes inflation is at a three year high.  Economic professors D. Brian Blank and Brandy Hadley (THE CONVERSATION) explain:


Americans don’t need a press release to know that inflation is rising. Gasoline is above $4 per gallon amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the release of key price data on May 28, 2026, underscores why policymakers are worried these pressures could spread into the broader economy.

The report offered a mixed but still uncomfortable picture. The month-to-month rise was softer than expected, but the change year over year still points to concern: a 3.8% jump from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2021, and a less volatile index that excludes food and energy up 3.3%.

This increase suggests inflation isn’t limited to gasoline. Housing, utilities and recreational spending are also keeping underlying inflation elevated, even as other data shows a slowing economy and weaker income growth.


Yeah and it's all happening under Chump.  And it was his tariffs that first wrecked the economy and his war of choice on Iran that destroyed the economy.  No pinning this on Joe Biden.  The economy was recovering (from COVID and Chump's first term) under Joe.  No blaming this on Joe.  It's Donald Chump's economy.  No one else is to blame.  Adam Lynch has some bad news for Chump:

Economist and public policy scholar Justin Wolfers says Republicans and President Donald Trump have not only set themselves up for a brutal midterm, but voters will probably be holding them accountable for high inflation and fuel prices for years.

“There is a bomb that has hit the world economy and to any of us who watch the economy, there's no question that the economy today is different than it was in February,” Wolfers told podcaster Jacqueline Cole.
The damage Trump and the GOP have done doesn’t amount to a dip or a drop. It’s much bigger than that — and more permanent. Wolfers described it more as a “crater” resulting from Trump’s bomb

“Okay, so we'll start with the oil prices. Oil prices today are higher than they were — they’re about $100 a barrel. They were $60, but I can see oil price futures, which tells me how long oil prices will be higher than they would otherwise be and the answer is ‘for several years,’” said Wolfers. “It could be that they think this conflict goes on for longer or they think that this conflict is laying the ground for future conflicts. But get used to it. Energy is more expensive and will be for a while.”


The combination of forces bearing down on Trump’s economy spells trouble for Republicans in the upcoming midterms. The president’s economic approval rating is at an all-time low. Gas prices have been stuck above $4 per gallon for weeks due to the war with Iran, according to AAA. Yields on long-term government debt and mortgage rates have spiked as inflation rose — and are now being further stoked by rising energy costs and mounting piles of government debt.

Chump elected to go to war on Iran with the belief that it would be a two week or so operation.  Yesterday ended three months of ongoing war.  And it's still not over.  He thought he could do this on the quick and that it wouldn't harm GOP chances in the midterms..  Monday, it will be June.  Midterms take place at the start of November.   

"He's walking away with a nuclear Iran," Joe Scarborough declared today on MS NOW's MORNING JOE. 



Jake Sullivan points out that every new 'deal' Chump comes up with gives Iran a little more.  And its continuation, the war's continuation, just continues to kill the US economy. 



There's a call for North Carolina lawmakers to do more to help college graduates as they enter the workforce.

ABC News finds that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates sits at 5.6 percent, which is notably higher than the overall unemployment rate.

The New York Federal Reserve calls the job market for grads this year "challenging."

Annabelle Rosse received her diploma from NC State earlier this month and wants to call Raleigh home.

Her immediate family is planning to move overseas and she'll be here on her own building a life.

Rosse says she's struggled to find a job in this economy.

"It's definitely a little bit shaky. Definitely a bit unstable in terms of there's not a lot of opportunities out there and if there are, they want you to have a multitude of experiences," she said.

At FORBES, Bill Conerly notes the failing consumer confidence, "The Index of Consumer Sentiment, has been published by the University of Michigan since 1952, but has never been as low as the May 2026 level. Both of the major subcomponents, current conditions and expected conditions, fell."  


Again, no blaming Joe Biden for this.  It's all on Chump.  Steve Benen (MS NOW) points out:

Donald Trump and his allies, on a nearly daily basis, tell the public the current American economy is the “greatest” ever. During one of JD Vance’s recent Fox News appearances, the vice president celebrated the “Trump boom.” A week earlier, Peter Navarro, a leading White House voice on trade and economic policy, told Fox News that the U.S. economy was “perfect.”

Widespread polling shows broad dissatisfaction with current economic conditions. Team Trump seems to think incessant happy talk can change public attitudes.

The problem for White House officials isn’t just that their rhetoric appears wildly out of touch, it’s also that reality keeps getting in the way of their claims.
[. . .]

This not what Americans were told to expect. As recently as August, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confidently predicted to a national television audience that the U.S. economy is “really going to pick up in the fourth quarter” of 2025. It did not, and as the spring of 2026 continues, Americans are still waiting for conditions to really “pick up.”
Similarly, in early September, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during a CNBC interview that Americans will see robust growth “six months from now.”

That was eight months ago. He’s still wrong.

What’s more, earlier this year, Lutnick predicted, “I think we’re going to grow more than 5% GDP this quarter.” As of Thursday morning, we now know that growth in the first quarter was actually 1.6% — roughly a third of his prediction.


In other news, David Edwards (RAW STORY) reports that Chump has filed another lawsuit against the press.  This time?  THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and he's filing it (again) over their coverage of Jeffrey Epstein and Chump -- Two roll dogs in love and lust:


President Donald Trump has refiled his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal — and to bolster his case, he's leaning on a key witness interview conducted by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the president's own former personal attorney.

In an amended complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Miami, Trump's lawyers cited a July 2025 interview with Ghislaine Maxwell as evidence that the Journal's reporting was false. What the filing doesn't mention is that the interview was conducted by Blanche who was serving as Deputy Attorney General at the time and has since been elevated to Acting Attorney General — and who granted Maxwell limited immunity to participate.
The lawsuit centers on a July 2025 Wall Street Journal story reporting that a bawdy birthday letter bearing Trump's name was included in a 2003 album Maxwell compiled to celebrate Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday. The letter, the Journal reported, featured a typewritten note framed by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, with a signature mimicking pubic hair. Trump has denied writing it.

The amended complaint argues Maxwell's statements to federal investigators undercut the Journal's reporting. "Maxwell has stated, subject to penalty of perjury for lying to a federal officer, that she did not remember President Trump submitting a letter for Epstein's 50th birthday," the filing reads.

Penalty of perjury for lying?  Maxwell lied throughout the interview with Blanche. November 18, Brian Bennett (TIME) reported:


On a Friday night in August, a top Trump official announced on X that he was releasing the transcript of his interview with Jeffrey Epstein conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. "Except for the names of victims, every word is included. Nothing removed. Nothing hidden," wrote Todd Blanche, Trump’s Deputy Attorney General and former personal lawyer.

The transcript, which showed Maxwell saying she didn’t recall ever seeing Donald Trump at Epstein’s house, did little to quell the furor among Trump's base around allegations that it was covering up damaging information on Epstein. Now the interview and the Justice Department’s actions around it are coming under renewed scrutiny in the wake of emails released by Congress last week, including one from 2011 in which Epstein apparently told Maxwell that Trump had previously spent “hours” at his house.
Maxwell is serving 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors over the course of a decade. Blanche interviewed Maxwell in Tallahassee, Fl., on July 24 and 25. Days after the interview, Maxwell was transferred from a low-security federal prison in Florida to an all-women minimum-security prison northeast of Houston called Federal Prison Camp Bryan. The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
[. . .]

During the interview, Blanche asked Maxwell about Trump and Epstein’s relationship. “I don't think they were close friends or I certainly never witnessed the President in any of -- I don't recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance,” Maxwell said. “I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way,” she said.  Maxwell had been told she could face consequences if she lied. During the interview, Blanche told Maxwell if she says something that’s not true, “we can bring a prosecution against you for what's called false statements.” 

In an email released last week and dated April 2, 2011, Epstein appears to have written to Maxwell: “i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him .. he has never once been mentioned.” Maxwell replied: “I have been thinking about that…”



During the interview, Maxwell repeatedly claims that she did not introduce Epstein to any minors over the course of their relationship together. Some attorneys have also questioned the validity of Maxwell’s words, as she has in the past been charged with perjury for lying under oath.

[. . .]

She also claimed that neither she nor Epstein ever poached workers from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which was down the street from Epstein’s Palm Beach home. 

“I’ve never recruited a masseuse from Mar-a-Lago,” Maxwell said, despite the accusations of the late Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was recruited at 16 by Maxwell from working at Mar-a-Lago and then later paid to have sex with Prince Andrew. Though Giuffre was never named in the interview, Maxwell denies Giuffre’s claims. 
Maxwell’s words contradict those of the President, though, who told reporters late last month that Epstein “stole” young women who worked at his Mar-a-Lago beach club spa, which led to Trump banning Epstein from his estate.

[. . .]

The family of Virginia Giuffre said they were “outraged” about the interview and that the information directly contradicts her conviction of child sex trafficking.

“During DAG Todd Blanche’s bizarre interview, [Maxwell] is never challenged about her court-proven lies, providing her a platform to rewrite history,” the family said in a statement released on Saturday. “This travesty of injustice entirely invalidates the experiences of the many brave survivors who put their safety, security, and lives on the line to ensure [Maxwell’s] conviction, including our sister.”


A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last month, ruling he couldn’t claim the paper published the story with actual malice. Then Trump refiled and ran into another stumbling block on May 13, when U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that he couldn’t use the discovery process in his claims that the newspaper defamed him. In the new lawsuit, Trump’s lawyers wrote that the Journal’s reporters tried to “falsely pass off as fact that President Trump, in 2003, wrote, drew, and signed this letter” but “failed to show proof.”
Trump’s reasoning for the lawsuit is hollow, especially considering that the House Oversight Committee included the birthday book, complete with the drawing from Trump, in a September release of Epstein materials from his estate. It’s more likely that Trump is trying to shake down the Journal for a big settlement and intimidate its owners, the Murdoch family, into favorable coverage.

It’s a pattern that Trump has followed against other media companies, which ended up forking over money that supposedly is going to Trump’s presidential library. Trump also has pending defamation lawsuits against The New York Times for $15 billion and the BBC for $10 billion. It seems that he won’t stop until he’s made them pay for reporting that he doesn’t like.



Still on Epstein but let's bring in Pam da Bimbo Bondi.





Survivors of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein have little faith former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s upcoming appearance before a congressional committee will help address any of their unanswered questions about the Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files. 
Bondi — who was removed as attorney general earlier this year — is set to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday about DOJ’s handling of the documents.
Danielle Bensky, a 2004-2005 Epstein survivor, told NewsNation she has a list of questions about the release, including the decision-making process surrounding redactions. 

“Why are perpetrators and abusers redacted, when survivors’ personal information including addresses, phone numbers, intimate details of abuse and nude photos were released. Why was the release deadline delayed, if not for the protection of victims? What was the point of the slow rollout? Who were the lawyers involved in charge of redacting? The list goes on,” Bensky said. 

She told NewsNation in February she was improperly named in a release of 3.5 million documents and called the DOJ’s handling of the case “egregious.” 

Bensky added that leaving her name unredacted felt like an attempt to discredit her and other victims.  
Bensky said she — as well as the 14 other survivors she talked with — were never contacted by the DOJ prior to the release earlier this year.  


That's later today that da Bimbo Bondi is expected to appear before the House Oversight Committee.  She is no longer Attorney General -- Chump fired her April 2nd.  Life has not gone well for da Bimbo.  She's currently being treated for thyroid cancer.  And she's facing a complaint.  Tom Latchem (DAILY BEAST) notes:

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been hit with a damning new ethics complaint demanding she be investigated and possibly disbarred.

The complaint was lodged on Wednesday with the Florida Bar by Peggy Quince, 78, a retired chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, and is backed by more than 120 judges, law professors, and attorneys.

It is their second attempt after the Florida Bar rejected an earlier bid last June, while Bondi, 60, was still in office, on the grounds that it does not investigate sitting federal appointees. President Donald Trump, 79, fired her in April, removing that hurdle.
The coalition—backed by Lawyers Defending American Democracy, the Democracy Defenders Fund, and Lawyers for the Rule of Law—says Bondi strong-armed DOJ lawyers into compromising their ethics or losing their jobs. “No one lawyer is above the law,” Quince said in a statement.

Much of the complaint zeroes in on Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. It accuses Bondi of misleading the public about a supposed “client list” she once claimed was on her desk, then bungling the document release so badly that unredacted names, birth dates, and even nude photos of the disgraced financier’s victims spilled out.

Lawyers for the survivors branded one January dump “the single most egregious violation of victim privacy in one day in United States history,” with Virginia Canter, chief counsel at the Democracy Defenders Fund, saying, “Lawyers have been disbarred for less.”



The complaint also charges that Bondi waved through prosecutions lacking probable cause against Trump’s foes—among them former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose cases a federal judge threw out in November—and against protesters swept up at immigration raids. Comey was re-indicted in late April on a different charge, under her replacement, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was formerly Trump’s personal attorney.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' Ben Wieder explains differences between how da Bimbo will present and respond as opposed to the way others have been required to do:


For one, the former attorney general will not be under oath in a sworn deposition but will provide a transcribed interview, which is voluntary. Bondi’s interview with the committee will happen behind closed doors with members of the committee and staff and will not be filmed. The committee says it plans to release a transcript soon after the hearing.

And Bondi will be represented at her interview by Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon, which legal experts say raises the prospects that the Department of Justice could direct Bondi to not answer some questions posed by the committee.

Former Atty. Gen. William Barr, former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all gave sworn depositions.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chair of the committee, rejected the Clintons’ offer to provide a transcribed interview, rather than sit for a deposition, out of concern that someone giving a transcribed interview could “refuse to answer whatever questions he wanted for whatever reasons he wanted.”


Julie K Brown serves up some reality on why Bondi has questions to answer:

Pam Bondi has a lot of explaining to do.

In July 2025, she and FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the Epstein case was closed, and there was no evidence of additional crimes committed by Epstein or others associated with him.

Case closed.

Let me say this in another way: One of the most prolific sex offenders in history — someone who made millions and perhaps even billions of dollars — without any real investigation into his finances or his businesses and associates — basically committed all this crimes all by himself.

He created a worldwide criminal syndicate in which no one was involved except for two people: him and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Even Bondi isn’t stupid enough to believe this. She knows that, over the decades since Epstein served jail time in his nice office in Florida that he was still manipulating the levers of power.
There is plenty of evidence that the FBI knew that Epstein was involved in a myriad of crimes over the years. In the years after his arrest in Florida — when Bondi was attorney general [for the state of Florida] — more victims were coming forward, alleging for example, that other men were involved. Lawsuits were filed. Depositions were taken.







Turning to Chump's corruption, Edith Olmsted (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:

A top White House adviser intervened to send a massive defense loan to a company linked to Donald Trump Jr., ProPublica reported Thursday.

In November, the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements, a start-up manufacturer of rare earth elements. Just three months earlier, Don Jr.’s venture capital firm 1789 Capital had purchased a large stake in the company. When the Defense Department deal first came together, those involved were quick to deny allegations of political favoritism.
But in fact, the deal was reportedly the work of the White House.

The massive loan was personally directed by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser who is also a friend of the president’s son, according to interviews and DOD records obtained by ProPublica. Of the many companies being considered to receive funding, Vulcan was the only one that garnered the attention of one of the president’s top aides, one Pentagon official told ProPublica.
Defense officials were instructed to move at a rapid pace to see that the loan was processed, and it went through within a matter of weeks, according to another Pentagon official who spoke to ProPublica. “The call came from the White House: We have to get this done,” the person said.


Crony corruption.  Don Junior handed millions.  Let's move to Robert Faturechi's PRO-PUBLICA article:


The deal is one of many actions by the Trump administration that have helped companies in which the Trump family holds stakes. Government contracts and other benefits have gone to various Trump-linked companies, prompting allegations of self-dealing by Democratic lawmakers and good government experts. But ProPublica’s reporting on the Vulcan loan represents the first time the awarding of a contract from a federal agency has been directly linked to White House intervention.

The loan was a massive financial commitment from the Pentagon in its effort to fund companies that could help the U.S. reduce dependence on China’s critical mineral supply chains. The deal was a dramatic win for Vulcan, a North Carolina rare-earth magnet company launched just two years earlier. Estimates of its valuation grew tenfold after the deal was announced. It was also a win for Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm, which took a stake of undisclosed size in Vulcan about three months before the Pentagon announced the deal.
And there may be more good news on the way for the president’s eldest son. Among other companies under review for a Pentagon loan was a drone parts manufacturer that Trump Jr. advises and owns a stake in, according to one of the defense officials who spoke to ProPublica. 

 Navarro, who served as trade adviser in Trump’s first term, and Trump Jr. have formed a close bond in recent years. The president’s son visited Navarro in prison while he served time for defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump Jr. was one of the small group of people Navarro dedicated his latest book to for having “my back when it was against the wall.” And a week before the Vulcan deal was announced, Trump Jr. hosted Navarro — now the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing — on his streaming show, encouraging his nearly 2 million subscribers to buy Navarro’s book. That interview was not long after word came down from Navarro to Pentagon staff to make the massive loan to Vulcan, one of the defense officials involved in the deal said.





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

Government Accountability Office (GAO) announces investigation into transfer of defaulted student loan portfolio from Education Department (ED) to Treasury Department, other interagency agreements

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, received a response to their request from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog, confirming the expansion of its investigation into the Department of Education’s (ED) transfer of critical programs to other agencies through interagency agreements (IAAs), including the transfer of student loan default collections to the Department of the Treasury. Following a letter from Senators Murray, Warren, Sanders, and Baldwin, GAO previously confirmed it had initiated an investigation into ED’s transfer of grant programs for career and technical education and adult education to the Department of Labor.

“These illegal agreements jeopardize the resources students and families rely on and weaken our nation’s education system,” said Senator Murray. “The GAO’s investigation is an important step in protecting the programs that serve our students and the rights they are entitled to by law. I’ll keep fighting back to ensure our students and schools receive all the support they deserve.”

Last summer, the Trump administration formalized an IAA moving the day-to-day management of career and technical education and adult education grant programs, like Perkins V and AEFLA, from ED to the Labor Department. The Administration has since entered into nine other IAAs moving the administration of large parts of the Department of Education to other federal agencies. On February 19, the senators asked GAO to investigate the agreements’ impacts on program costs, timely access to funding, access to services, and quality of technical assistance for grantees.

On March 11, the GAO confirmed it had opened an investigation into ED’s transfer of grant programs to the Department of Labor and other agencies, writing: “GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority.” 

Now, GAO is expanding its probe. In the new letter, GAO wrote that it has initiated work in response to the lawmakers’ February request for a review of the impacts of ED’s IAAs and that it intends to initiate additional workstreams reviewing other IAAs announced by ED, including the transfer of student loan default collections from ED to the Treasury Department.

The full text of the letter is available HERE.

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