Thanks, Bibi

 

And Trump preferred Bibi's assessment.  Never thinking Bibi might be baiting him.

Link to the NYT article quoted above.

The article makes Vance out to be the voice of reason but unable to deter Trump.  So, since he was right about what could happen if Trump followed Bibi, and considering that other cabinet members were more inclined to agree with Vance, perhaps they can all get together now to bolster each other into calling for the 25th amendment remedy to remove Trump.  That's probably too much to hope for, but it would indeed be to Vance's advantage.  And MAGA leaders are calling for it.

And if he goes ahead with his threat to kill a whole civilization, he should be impeached.  

Good point.

UPDATE 04/09/2026:  Zeteo is reporting that Trump is furious about this leak to the Times reporters (who have an entire book coming out: Regime Change).  I'd say if there's a leak about this particular incident, there's only a small group of people who could have leaked.  Who was at that meeting?  Only his most trusted cronies.  These are the people who wear shoes too big for them.  I suppose one of them could have complained to other people they thought would keep quiet.  

These revelations appear to be just the start of an arterial gush of revelations that Swan and Haberman have obtained – and Trump was already pissed off, publicly fantasizing about suing the authors with billowing anger that predates this week’s Times story.

Last month, the US president erupted at Haberman online, posting that she’s “just another SLEAZEBAG writer for The Failing New York Times,” and saying, “I’m thinking of adding Maggot, and some of her ‘associates,’ into my Florida based Lawsuit against The Times.” He and his staff also attached a photo of Haberman to his post, making it clear where they wanted their Two Minutes Hate directed. At the time, his outburst seemed to come out of nowhere. But it was all about the book.

[...]

One close Trump adviser says the president started getting “a little nervous” about the book in March, and sporadically went on profanity-laced tirades declaring the leaks an invasion of his privacy and potentially “treason,” and demanding the names of senior appointees who anonymously leaked.

  Zeteo

Also from Zeteo:

UPDATE 04/11/2026:

If Vance is going to use the 25th, he better do it soon.

 

US attack on Venezuela - Day 2

 

Venezuela HAS a government.  The Trump administration is acting as if it doesn't.

Machado is the woman awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize.  She was no doubt in support of Trump's illegal operation to kidnap Maduro.  She must be pretty offended that he publicly said she doesn't have the respect needed to govern.  (Not that she's interested in the job.)

If you're leaking to the New York Times or the Washington Post (or any other mainstream media outlet), you're leaking to the wrong people.

UPDATE 01/04/2026:  Give us your country.  Or else.

Well, she's in a pickle.  Venezuelans will not allow her to do that.

Putin is only asking for Ukraine.

He couldn't have done what he did without the support and assistance of Venezuela's opposition party, which probably thought THEY'D be in charge.  The Faustian bargain is alive in the person of Donald Trump as Satan.

That's the true Trump Derangement Syndrome.  It's a virus running rampant.

Greenland and Denmark are part of NATO.  Taking Greenland would be a little tricky, but I would not put it past the mad orange king to try.

Of all the places he's threatening, this one, which should be the easiest given Cuba's location, is the least likely to even be undertaken.  Cuba has Putin's backing.  Perhaps he'll make a deal with Putin, Cuba in exchange for Ukraine.*

How many soldiers do we have?   Are we just going to send Erik Prince's mercenaries to occupy foreign houses of government?

UPDATE 08:55 pm:

What excuse will Trump use to eliminate her?

Game on, I guess.

This cannot end well.

If  you think Venezuelans are going to lay down for a Trump takeover, watch "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

 

UPDATE 09:23 pm:

He's not going to break the Venezuelan people, either.  He has bitten off more than he can chew.  

*UPDATE 01/05/2026:  I see the deal was already made.  But not using Cuba.

Speaking of North Korea...

 

UPDATE 09/06/2025:

Still worse

 

Double standard

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The Iranian hack of Trump's campaign

Some new developments came in yesterday regarding the reported hacking of Trump campaign documents by (it is alleged) the Iranians. According to the Washington Post, one of the phishing attempts looks to have succeeded in compromising the account of Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime friend and adviser. Stone is rather famously a practitioner of dirty tricks. And so there is some irony in him now being caught in this sordid affair. Also—we can save you the time—he was quite invested in the tranche of Hillary Clinton emails that were unearthed by Russian actors in the 2016 election.

  Bulwark

The FBI and other investigators probing the apparent hack-and-leak of Trump campaign documents, which Donald Trump has blamed on Iran, suspect that the hackers were able to compromise the personal email account of longtime Republican and Trump operative Roger Stone.

[...]

The hackers used access to Stone’s email account to try to break into the account of a senior Trump campaign official as part of a persistent effort to access campaign networks.

  MSN

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

About those leaked plea deal videos...

You were right to suspect the defense.

"In being transparent with the court, and to make sure that nobody else gets blamed for what happened, and so I can go to sleep well tonight, judge, I did release those videos to one outlet. And in all candor to the court, I need the court to know that," said Jonathan Miller, an attorney for former Coffee County election supervisor Misty Hampton.

[...]

Most of the 45-minute hearing — conducted live in Georgia and via Zoom for all of the attorneys — was devoted to a discussion of proposals for a protective order governing evidence exchanged between the parties in the case going forward.

Willis’ prosecutors wanted a blanket order on all the evidence. Co-defendant David Shafer’s legal team proposed an alternative in which the state would specifically designate certain evidence as sensitive. Prosecutors agreed with Shafer’s counter-proposal, as did most of the defense attorneys for the other indicted co-conspirators, including Trump attorney Steve Sadow.

  The Messenger

Still waiting for the judge to rule.  Will post here as an update.

UPDATE:

"The release of these confidential video recordings is clearly intended to intimidate witnesses in this case, subjecting them to harassment and threats prior to trial," the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said in a motion on Tuesday.

[...]

At the hearing on Wednesday, the district attorney's office consented to a protective order drafted by attorneys for defendant David Shafer.

McAfee said he would draft the order based on Shafer's proposal.

  Raw Story

Miller says he released the videos because he thought his client was helped by it, and the public should know.  The judge questioned whether there was any reason to release it before trial.

A representative of the media in general objected to a protective order at all.  The judge acknowledged the need for public transparency in court proceedings but suggested that pretrial discovery does not fit into that category, and he expresses concern for keeping a jury pool unprejudiced by it.

The only thing wrong with Joyce's analysis, in my opinion, is that she makes it sound like the judge chastised Miller.  In essence, I suppose he did, but the judge's bearing and comments are always respectful and not a challenge, but an invitation to the attorneys to examine their point and show them his.

From what I understand, this is a judge new to the top tier on the Georgia bench, but I'd say he earned it.  I like him.  He always seems to know a lot about the law, and he always seems amiable and respectful in his comments.  

Final order to be posted here as an update.

UPDATE 03:55 pm:  The order

Can't argue with that.

The order requires prosecutors to physically label evidence it seeks to protect as “sensitive material” and gives defense attorneys 14 days to contest any designations they disagree with.

[...]

“The Court has an interest in ensuring that all parties retain their right to a fair trial before an unbiased jury, a process that could become unattainable should the public be allowed to vet every piece of unfiltered evidence months before trial,” McAfee wrote in the filing.

  NBC

MTG's "whistleblower"

Are the Republican loudmouths still defending this guy?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Jesus Tapdancing Christ, Marj

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Thursday took to Twitter to defend Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who was arrested Thursday over his alleged role in leaking Pentagon files.

“Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime,” Greene said on Twitter.

“Ask yourself who is the real enemy? A young low level national guardsmen? Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, against nuclear Russia without war powers?” the congresswoman added.

  The Hill

You know, without a doubt, if the leaker had an Arab name, or had been black, she would be screaming for his head.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE :

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) slammed Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over her comments defending Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira.

[...]

“I’m sorry, Marge, being white, male, and Christian is not license to betray your country and put the lives of thousands at risk,” he added. “But this wouldn’t be the first time she sided with traitors.”

  The Hill

UPDATE 12:19 pm: He's a whistleblower! Never mind he only posted on his gaming group site to impress his buddies. I didn't know that's where you're supposed to go to blow the whistle on shady government activity.

And Kyle Rittenhouse was a hero.

UPDATE 04/15/2023:

Members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about US military operations or to influence US policy.

The Discord member said he did not believe Teixeira leaked documents to undermine the US government or for an ideological reason.

“If I had to give a gauge on it, it would be more or less just some nerds wanting to glance over some stuff and compare and contrast and kind of have a little joke about it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I mean we’re just trying to have a fun time.”

  alJazeera

He'll be having lots of fun now. I hear military jail is especially fun.

UPDATE 04/30/2023:  We're learning some interesting things about this guy.  Not to mention the lax background investigations for security clearances.