Donald Trump, Avatar of his Class, Capitalism & the Decline and Fall of Bourgeois Democracy

[blindpig]

GORILLA RADIO — WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRUMP-MILLER WHITE HOUSE THAT PRIME MINISTER CARNEY IS MISJUDGING (NOT ONLY HIM)



By John Helmer, Moscow @bears_with

Manipulating the US president to make his domestic and foreign policy decisions as Stephen Miller of the White House (lead image-3) is doing with President Donald Trump (lead image-2) is not new.

Jimmy Carter tried to dismantle the bureaucracy and the mindset (ideology) of the “imperial presidency”, as he called the White House during the election campaign of 1976. But then Carter fell under the spell of National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski; he controlled what the president was told was the evidence for his policy choices, the risks, and the consequences. In this way, Brzezinski more than influenced the policy outcomes Carter believed he was deciding for himself.

(One of them was the secret US war with the Kremlin in Afghanistan.)

Carter required that his decision-making process start and end on paper; he read reams of it in the personal study off the Oval Office. He demanded his intelligence briefing every morning. However, connected by an internal passage of connecting doors, Brzezinski supervised what was in the papers and vetted who walked in the outer Oval Office door to have words with the President.

Trump prefers pictures, screens of them, and he gets one intelligence briefing per week, followed by interpretation over lunch in the private White House dining room from Vice President JD Vance. Miller controls the paper, especially the virtual posts, the press gaggles on aircraft in flight and airfields at takeoff and landing, and in the Oval Office. Vance coaches Trump through his misspeaking, memory failures, political gaffes.

Listen now to the way in which the method and purpose of these new men differs from anything in the history of the American presidency; and how the leaders of the European allies, the UK, and Canada exploit what they believe they know in order to get the policy decisions they want from Trump — that is, after Miller, Vance and others have decided and Trump has been persuaded.

Then once you understand, ask whether the calculations of the allies, and also of the main enemy at present, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, are misjudgements of what serves their national strategies best.

Chris Cook’s latest Gorilla Radio show was broadcast on Wednesday evening British Columbia time. Our segment starts at Minute 29.35.


Source: https://gradio.substack.com/p/gorilla-r ... cook-chris beginning at Minute 29:35

For the realization in London of Miller’s current role as Trump’s “prime minister”, click on this September 29 report of the Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/6754d817-57c ... c686e100c8


https://johnhelmer.net/gorilla-radio-wh ... more-92572

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Trump Declares War
October 15, 2025


US President Donald Trump in Oval Office. Photo: rawpixel.com.

By M Santos – Oct 13, 2025

After decades of financing wars, regime changes and assassinations, the US imperialist political establishment is now trying to appear as a peacemaker. It is invoking “peace” in the massive suffering caused by the very conflicts it has funded and perpetuated.

US President Donald Trump is not merely the unhinged madman that some might think, with his lies, half-truths and contradictory ranting and raving. There is method in his madness–that of an egotistic, dangerous, fascistic dictator. A man who plans to not only rule the US and its military with an iron fist, but who also seeks global dominance in a uni-polar world and is prepared to do whatever it takes.

“Together, we’re reawakening the warrior spirit, and this is a spirit that won and built this nation,” said Commander-in-Chief Trump.

Trump and Hegseth were addressing 800-plus US generals, admirals, and senior enlisted advisers assembled from around the world at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on 30 September.

Amidst Trump’s egotistical rants there runs a clear agenda: the US is on an aggressive and offensive path to eliminate any economic or military competition. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are in US imperialism’s sights as well as the ever-expanding BRICS group of countries and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“And we want war because we want to have no wars, but you have to be there and sometimes you have to do it,” said Trump while claiming to have settled eight wars in his pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump boasted about the superiority of the US’s nuclear weapons and its “undetectable” submarines claiming that they were 25 years ahead of China’s and Russia’s.

Might rules
In a repeat, but a more dangerous form of the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) doctrine, Trump argued that making the US the most powerful nuclear force will act as a deterrent. “We’re investing tens of billions of dollars in modernising our nuclear deterrence capabilities like never before,” said Trump. For “deterrence” read “offensive.”

“We must be so strong that no nation will dare challenge us, so powerful that no enemy will dare threaten us, and so capable that no adversary can even think about beating us,” Trump declared.

What enemies? US imperialism faces no military threats, only a decline in its economic power. It has around 900 foreign bases, including those encircling China and Russia.

By bullying and imposing massive tariffs on other countries, including subservient allies such as Australia, the UK, and the European nations, Trump is attempting to shore up the US economy.

“We’ve taken in trillions of dollars, we’re rich. Rich again, and there’ll never be, when we finish this out, there’ll never be any wealth like what we have,” he said referring to investments pouring into the US to avoid tariffs.

But economic means alone are insufficient. The US is looking to military means of global domination in the face of more and more nations of the Global South asserting their independence, and the economic challenge China poses.

Pick of the litter
“Over the past eight months, new enlistments, I’m so proud of this, have surged to record highs, the highest we’ve ever had. And we used to have recruiting shortages,” Trump told the gathered brass.

That’s hardly surprising when 750,000 government workers have been sacked by Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). The massive withdrawal of funding for services in Democrat states also contributes to rising unemployment. And at the time of writing the blocking of government funding was set to result in more job losses.

“A year ago they were talking about making the military smaller because they can’t get the people to join … it’s nice to be able to cut people because of merit that aren’t really qualified for any reason, a physical reason, a mental reason,” he said echoing Hegseth’s report. “You don’t have to take them anymore because you have the pick of the litter and they all want to be with you.”



Urban warfare
“After spending trillions of dollars defending the borders of foreign countries, with your help we’re defending the borders of our country from now on. We’re not going to let this happen,” continued Trump. “Biden let people come in from prisons, mental institutions, drug dealers, murderers. We had 11,488 murderers allowed into our country by this guy who had no clue.”

“But together with many of you in the room, we’ve brought back the fundamental principle that defending the homeland is the military’s first and most important priority. That’s what it is.”

“Last month I signed an executive order to provide training for quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances. This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room because it’s the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control. It won’t get out of control once you’re involved at all,” Trump said.

“In our inner cities … it’s a big part of war now, it’s a big part of war,” Trump said.

Trump bragged that bringing the military into Washington, DC had made DC “just about our safest city.”

He added that cities “that are run by the radical left Democrats, what they’ve done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they’re very unsafe places. And we’re going to straighten them out one by one. And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That’s a war too. It’s a war from within.” For Trump, the people are the enemy.

“We’re under invasion from within. No different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms. At least when they’re wearing a uniform, you can take them out.”

Trump mused about using “these dangerous cities” as training grounds for the US military.”

A post on Trump’s Truth Social paraphrases quotes from the movie Apocalypse Now: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The post is accompanied by an AI-generated image of Trump kneeling in front of a burning skyline, with military helicopters flying overhead.

“We were dead. This country was going to hell. We were dead in everywhere from immigration to military. We didn’t have the weapons. We were giving everything to Ukraine. We had nothing.”

“Now we are discovering American muscle, reasserting American might and beginning the next story chapter in American military legends and lore.”

The imposition of massive tariffs on companies that do not invest in the US is not madness. Trump is attempting to build self-sufficiency in readiness for war against China. Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba are among others on his hit list for regime change.

His support for Israel’s genocide and Greater Israel incorporating parts or all of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and possibly other Arab states serves to build US imperialism’s control over the Middle East.

Trump shared on his social media an AI-generated video that shows Gaza being transformed into “Trump Gaza,” a luxurious Gulf resort. The video includes scenes of a child holding a golden Trump balloon, a gift shop selling Trump statues, and Elon Musk dancing on the beach with dollar bills raining down from above. It is accompanied by an AI-generated song with lyrics that include “Trump Gaza shining bright. Golden future, a brand-new light.”

The trillions in planned expenditure on war preparations further militarises the already heavily indebted US economy, and is being funded in part by DOGE sackings, cuts to health, to states, and most likely even more cuts to government.

Trump is paying scant heed to the constitution and any semblance of democracy, executing presidential war powers – the war he cites is domestic. It is against immigrants, against ‘woke,’ against Democrat states, and states that voted for Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Trump is step by step changing state structures, replacing democratic processes with himself as an authoritarian, fascist dictator – and not just over the US, but globally.

The agenda that Trump is following was scripted by the ultra-right-wing Heritage Foundation. It is called Project 2025.

His speech was met with silence from the military brass–no applause.

(Communist Party of Australia)

https://orinocotribune.com/trump-declares-war/

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Trump Plans to Use Men With Guns as Part of IRS Campaign Against “Left-Leaning” Groups
Posted on October 16, 2025 by Yves Smith

The war against Trump’s perceived political enemies keeps escalating. The Wall Street Journal provides new detail on how the Trump Administration intends to use an IRS criminal unit, whose members bear arms, as part of his campaign against “left-leaning” organizations. This fallows a Reuters account describing how the Trump Administration intends to use the Department of Justice and DHS to pursue “left wing” groups that allegedly fomented violence.

Mind you, back in the day of McCarthy witch hunts, the targets were actual Communists or those who had colorable connections to Communists. This was a small swathe of society but did pick up many members of the intelligentsia who had participated in Communist organizations in college or had friends who could be depicted as being Communist. The fear, particularly among Hollywood studios, was intense (recall movies were not deemed to have First Amendment protection prior to a 1952 Supreme Court ruling). Trump is casting his targets net much wider. Democrats are taking “left-leaning” to mean potentially any Democrat and this reading does not seem to be nuts.

The violence allegations are also a stretch, but they will be more than sufficient to allow Trump officials to root in the records and communications of many groups and key individuals. Even if they do not succeed in deploying their big guns successfully, criminal prosecution and stripping the groups of not-for-profit status, the effort will be chilling. At a minimum, the campaign will force the targets to spend heavily on lawyers. Recall that Aaron Schwartz killed himself over Federal charges that most experts were confident he could beat back. But litigation is a crapshoot, his potential sentence was long, and the cost of his defense was estimated at $1.5 million which he did not have and he did not want to bankrupt his parents in trying to muster up the funds.

Admittedly, this is anecdata, but consider. First, in the Black Live Matters protests, there was organized looting of Macys and other stores….which had nothing to do with the protestors. The New York Times reported at length how gang members with bikes cased the area as the marches were on, and then moved in as darkness fell and the demonstrators had cleared out with trucks to make their haul.

Similarly, a contact has been a co-organizer of anti-Trump marches. In a recent one, participants that none of the event leaders recognized were trying to foment a fight, urging the protestors to throw objects at the police. The protest leaders screamed at the marchers that this was a peaceful protest and not to take the bait. The protest stayed non-violent.

As the Trump Administration telegraphed earlier, one of their big plans is to strip organizations of not-for-profit status who have been allegedly engaged in political activity. This is low-hanging fruit. 501(c)3 not for profits are for charitable activities (which includes supporting journalism). Donations to them are tax deductible to the donor. 501(c)4 is for not for profits engaged in political activity. Donations to them are not tax deductible but the organization is not taxed. Public Citizen and I imagine other groups regularly involved in DC trench warfare have both 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 units and I would assume run tight ships given their fondness for controversy. That is likely not to hold for others.

But now Team Trump is about to launch the big salvo of going after purported domestic terrorists. That not only allows them to engage in ICE-raid level stunts of sending armed IRS and DHS agents in but also to deploy the anti-money-laundering/anti-terrorist-finance apparatus at Treasury to examine money flows. The top target is the Soros Open Society Foundation. Trump has repeatedly attacked its head, Alex Soros, and called for his prosecution, since at least 2023. More recently Trump Administration officials have made clear they intend to pursue not only the Soros Foundation but also grantees, as in they are presumed guilty, irrespective of what they were actually up to.

Among other things, this looks like karma for Team Dem taking over Black Lives Matter via suborning it via successfully parachuting in non-organic leaders and providing considerable funding. This takeover occurred just after BLM started staging high-profile “die-ins” at places like Grand Central, which attracted considerable participation from people of all races. The Democrats were successful; the die-ins abruptly stopped. I am told some local BLM units were able to maintain their independence.

Even conservatives are alarmed at the prospect of open political persecution:

Sarah Longwell
@SarahLongwell25
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Conservatives (including me!) were rightly outraged when the IRS under Obama appeared to be giving undue scrutiny to Tea Party organizations. And that was *nothing* compared to what is being laid out here by the Trump administration.


Now to the press accounts. Key sections from the Journal’s report:

The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.

A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.

The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes…

Among those on the list are the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and his affiliated groups…

The effort within the IRS coincides with a larger administration effort to probe left-leaning groups for helping to finance organizations that the president says are creating anarchy in Democratic-led cities….

Trump previously said on Truth Social that Soros and his son Alex should face federal charges under the RICO Act and added in a separate interview that the elder Soros “should be in jail” without offering specific reasons…

Trump has ordered Bessent as the acting IRS commissioner to refer certain tax-exempt organizations to the Justice Department for further investigation…

The IRS has long tried to steer clear of political controversies, though not always successfully. During the Obama administration, an inspector general’s report concluded in 2013 that the IRS had used inappropriate criteria to select conservative groups for what proved to be lengthy, invasive scrutiny when seeking tax-exempt status…

The IRS-CI is a formidable tool. It has more than 2,000 agents, investigates potential criminal violations of the tax code, and assists other agencies in combating financial crime. It is the part of the IRS where agents often carry firearms, and it is distinct from the auditors and collectors who handle civil tax enforcement.

Recall that the Administration considered a perp walk for recently-indicted James Comey, but may have held back because the case against him is weak. One wonders if the Trump team will exhibit a similar level of probity with Alex Soros, particularly given that he has the resources to mount a fierce defense. Rudy Guiliani’s perp walk for Kidder Peabody’s Richard Wigton, who was later vindicated, was an embarrassing backfire.

Keep in mind that Team Trump has cut IRS staffing, so this bulking up to pursue enemies will likely come at the expense of other services.

Many cheered Trump reversal of Biden Administration staffing increases, when nearly half of the total was for customer support staff. I know individuals personally who have had taxes not owed where IRS mis-processing resulted in dunning efforts sent out to collection. That is due directly to staff cuts. For instance, professional tax filers are no longer uable to get through on the professional phone line (where they had been able to, albeit at times with some effort) and repeated letters correct IRS errors have not been acted upon. So be careful what you wish for.

The Reuters story focused on how the Trump Administration is structuring the campaign against political foes across Federal agencies:

President Donald Trump’s threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials.

The Trump administration plans to deploy America’s counter-terrorism apparatus – including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department – as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department against certain left-wing groups it accuses of funding and organizing political violence, the officials said….

Miller is deeply involved in reviewing government agencies’ investigations into the financial networks behind what the administration labels “domestic terror networks,” which include nonprofits and even educational institutions…

“Left-wing organizations have fueled violent riots, organized attacks against law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot materials, and more,” the White House said in a statement to Reuters….

When pressed by a Reuters reporter in the Oval Office on September 25 about potential targets of a domestic terrorism probe, Trump mentioned George Soros – a Democratic donor whose charitable network supports civil rights, education, democracy and other causes – and Reid Hoffman, co-founder of the online professional networking platform LinkedIn and another Democratic mega-donor.

The president did not present evidence of wrongdoing. “If they are funding these things, they’re going to have some problems. Because they’re agitators and they’re anarchists,” Trump said….

In response to a separate request, the White House highlighted seven political protests in 2023 and 2025 that included acts of violence directed against law enforcement officials, and two incidents of vandalism at Tesla dealerships this year as well as half a dozen social media posts celebrating the damage.

It named nine liberal groups, donors or fundraising organizations that it said helped finance or plan protests where the violent incidents occurred.

While the second White House official stressed that the organizations were not necessarily potential targets, the material provides insight into the administration’s thinking.

The list includes Soros’ Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.

This is going to get ugly. But as indicated, many of the targets can and will mount muscular legal defenses. How much they can do to throw sand in the gears of Trump’s political revenge machine remains to be seen.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/10 ... roups.html

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Trump’s War Against ‘Left-leaning’ Groups Extends Further

There are a number of indicators which lets one predict that the Trump administration, during the next election, will use government forces to severely attack and disrupt all opposition to it.

Trump has send the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into the cities to harass and arrest alleged illegal immigrants. Due cause is disregarded and the methods used by the agents are brutal.

Trump has also sent National Guard troops into cities where, he claimed, riots were taking place. There were no riots or ‘terrorist incidents’ but the presence of troops is used to create a militarized atmosphere.

A new National Security Presidential Memorandum, NSPM-7 issued by Trump has defined new classes of internal enemies:

With the mainstream media distracted by the made-for-TV drama of James Comey’s indictment, Trump has signed a little-noticed national security directive identifying “anti-Christian” and “anti-American” views as indicators of radical left violence.
…
In NSPM-7, “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” President Trump directs the Justice Department, the FBI, and other national security agencies and departments to fight his version of political violence in America, retooling a network of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to focus on “leftist” political violence in America. This vast counterterrorism army, made up of federal, state, and local agents would, as Trump aide Stephen Miller said, form “the central hub of that effort.”
…
The Trump administration isn’t only targeting organizations or groups but even individuals and “entities” whom NSPM-7 says can be identified by any of the following “indicia” (indicators) of violence:
anti-Americanism,

anti-capitalism,
anti-Christianity,
support for the overthrow of the United States Government,
extremism on migration,
extremism on race,
extremism on gender,
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family,
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on religion, and
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality.

“The United States requires a national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts,” the directive states (emphasis mine).

That all may sound laughable but these are unfortunately serious policies . The target list includes organizations which do not exist:

The FBI and the homeland security department are actively investigating “Antifa” individuals and organizations that the Trump administration has branded domestic terrorists. Actions so far include collecting intelligence on Antifa “affinity” groups, canvassing the FBI’s vast informant network for tips about Antifa, and scrutinizing financial records, two sources involved in the investigations tell me.

There are no ‘antifa’ organizations. ‘Antifa’ is the idea of fighting indications of fascism. From time to time local interest groups may claim to do so for this or that reason. This category ‘antifa’ was likely chosen because it can be applied to any group that opposes government policies.

Today Yves Smith reports of another enforcement agency that Trump will use to destroy opposition to him:

The war against Trump’s perceived political enemies keeps escalating. The Wall Street Journal provides new detail on how the Trump Administration intends to use an IRS criminal unit, whose members bear arms, as part of his campaign against “left-leaning” organizations. This fallows a Reuters account describing how the Trump Administration intends to use the Department of Justice and DHS to pursue “left wing” groups that allegedly fomented violence.
…
Now to the press accounts. Key sections from the Journal’s report:

The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.

A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.

The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes…

Among those on the list are the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and his affiliated groups…

Many on the left will not mind any attack on George Soros as his organization is well know for financing foreign color revolutions against legitimate leftist rulers. We can however be assured that Trump wont stop with them:

The list includes Soros’ Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.
…
Other groups on the list include two Jewish nonprofits that oppose Israel’s war in Gaza – IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace.

There is unfortunately little institutional or political opposition that can restrain Trump:

The push against domestic groups and their donors comes amid Trump’s attacks on law firms, universities and the media, and his deployment of National Guard troops to some Democratic-run cities.
…
Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian and former director of the Richard Nixon presidential library, said Trump and Nixon were similar in their desire to punish political enemies and silence critics, but a pliant Republican-controlled Congress and a cabinet packed with loyalists are enabling Trump to go further.

“That’s why this particular moment is more dangerous for the rule of law in the United States than the 1970s were,” Naftali said.

All these are ominous signs that Trumps war on the political opposition will escalate further. Seymour Hersh’s sources are warning of this:

What’s happening now may be a trial run for the use of those forces to interfere on the behalf of the president and the Republican Party in states where the Democratic Party has a chance to win crucial seats in next fall’s Congressional elections. I’ve been told by someone with inside knowledge that planning for such action is now under way in the White House.

The ‘coerced dominance’ that has marked Trump’s brutal approach to foreign policy will now being applied to domestic issues and legitimate opposition.

Russell Vought, Trumps’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, are the men behind this.

The scary thing is that there is, so far, little or any opposition to these plans and only few warnings about their consequences.

Posted by b on October 16, 2025 at 14:43 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/10/t ... rther.html

[blindpig]

US Supreme Court May Grant Trump Unbridled Authority
October 16, 2025

Marjorie Cohn previews some of the cases the U.S. high court will use to establish the limits of executive power.


Lady Justice statue outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
(Michael Galkovsky, Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

By Marjorie Cohn
Truthout

The Supreme Court’s new term, which began last week, presents the court with a monumental opportunity to hand Donald Trump unbridled executive authority and eviscerate the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

The court appears poised to rubber stamp many of Trump’s worst abuses, from the imposition of massive tariffs to seizing control of federal agencies created by Congress.

Although there are 39 cases on the court’s regular docket, it has already handled nearly 30 cases with temporary unsigned orders on its “emergency docket.” In those cases, the high court granted Trump’s requests to block orders from lower courts 20 times and ruled against his administration in only three cases; the others led to mixed rulings.

Even though the cases in which the high court has already opined are not final decisions on the merits, they provide a preview of what we can expect during this term after full briefing and oral arguments.

“It’s hard to imagine bigger tests of presidential power than these potentially once-in-a-century separation-of-powers battles,” Deepak Gupta, a lawyer who frequently appears before the court, told The New York Times. “And we’re seeing more than one of them at once.”

Here are some of the cases the court will use to establish the limits of executive power.


Trump with Reciprocal Tariff Chart in April. (Daniel Torok, White House Photo)

Imposition of Massive Tariffs

In early November, the court will consider the legality of Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs on goods bought from other countries in two cases, Trump v. V.O.S. Selections and Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. The U.S. Court of Appeals held that Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA).

Congress has the power to impose tariffs and taxes, and raise revenues under the Constitution. For most of U.S. history, tariffs provided the main source of financing for the federal government. In 1913, the 16th amendment was enacted to authorize “taxes on incomes.”

The IEEPA gives the president authority to deal with “any unusual or extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security, the economy, or foreign policy. The act doesn’t mention tariffs, taxes or duties but says the president can “regulate” the “importation” of “property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest.” Trump maintains that “regulate” implicitly includes the imposition of tariffs.

Trump’s lawyers argue that he didn’t impose tariffs to raise revenue but rather to “rectify America’s country-killing trade deficits and to stem the flood of fentanyl and other lethal drugs across our borders.”

In holding that Trump lacked the power to impose the tariffs, the Court of Appeals used the “major questions” doctrine, which requires that Congress provide clear guidance before a federal agency can proceed on a major question of political or economic significance.

The Supreme Court used the major questions doctrine to strike down vaccine, environmental, and student loan relief policies of the Biden administration.

These cases raise the issues of whether Congress delegated its tariff power to the president in the IEEPA and whether the president can increase taxes on the American people without a new act of Congress.

Firing Members of Agencies Created by Congress

The Supreme Court will also take up the issue of Trump’s authority to fire members of independent agencies in December. Trump v. Slaughter involves Trump’s removal of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic appointee to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Congress prohibited the firing of FTC members unless they demonstrate “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” When the high court agreed to hear the case, it stayed a lower court decision ordering the Trump administration to reinstate Slaughter.

In this case, the high court will likely overrule its 1935 case of Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, in which it upheld a law that forbade the president from firing commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission absent a showing of good cause. The court ruled that Congress can limit the president’s authority to remove members of the FTC and other agencies that perform “quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial” functions.

On its emergency docket, the high court in Slaughter and two other cases temporarily blocked federal district court rulings that had prevented Trump from firing agency heads — of the FTC, the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission.

Trump’s argument that he should be able to remove agency heads for any reason is grounded in the “unitary executive” theory. Adherents to that theory believe that Article II of the Constitution establishes a

“hierarchical, unified executive department under the direct control of the President [who] alone possesses all of the executive power and … therefore can direct, control, and supervise inferior officers or agencies who seek to exercise discretionary executive power.”

In the 1988 case of Morrison v. Olson, the Supreme Court upheld a provision of the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, which was enacted in the wake of Watergate. It said that a special prosecutor could be removed by the president only for good cause.

This ruling was an implicit rejection of the unitary executive theory. Antonin Scalia maintained in dissent that the Constitution’s Article II Vesting Clause (which says, “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States”) “does not mean some of the executive power, but all of the executive power.”

A majority of the members of the Supreme Court now subscribes to the unitary executive theory, which was once a marginal notion. In Trump v. Mazars, John Roberts wrote for the court that the president is “the only person who alone composes a branch of government,” an opinion he reiterated in Trump v. United States.

If the high court grants the president removal power over independent agencies, those agencies will no longer remain independent. The bodies that regulate our health, safety, labor, environment, and consumer products will be subject to political manipulation by the president.

Removing a Governor of the Federal Reserve Board


President Trump with Fed Chair Jerome Powell in July. (Daniel Torok, White House Photo)

In January, the court will review Trump’s attempt to remove Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors who is serving a 14-year term. He tried to fire Cook for alleged mortgage fraud before she joined the board.

Under U.S. law, a Fed Board member who has been appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate can be removed only “for cause,” a term the law leaves undefined. Trump asserts that his allegations against Cook constitute sufficient cause.

A U.S. district court temporarily blocked Cook’s dismissal while her lawsuit makes its way through the courts. In Trump v. Cook, the Supreme Court delayed rendering a decision and scheduled the case for oral argument.

In this case, the court could decide whether Trump had cause for firing Cook and/or whether Congress has the authority to limit the removal of Federal Reserve Board governors.

Unlike other cases in which the Supreme Court allowed Trump’s firings of agency heads to occur even as the legal challenges proceed, the court allowed Cook to stay on the Fed Board pending the decision in her case. That may mean that the court will distinguish the Federal Reserve Board from other federal agencies, particularly in light of Trump’s repeated threats aimed at Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Ending Birthright Citizenship

Although not yet on its calendar, the high court will likely review Trump’s January executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship.

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

In the 1898 landmark decision of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to virtually all individuals born in the U.S. with exceptions for children of foreign diplomats or enemy occupiers. Although the cases also excepted children in Indigenous tribes, Congress granted them citizenship in the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.


Protesting deportation on International Human Rights Day, Minneapolis, 2017. (Fibonacci Blue, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0)

Trump’s executive order says that only children whose parents are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are U.S. citizens.

Lawsuits were filed in the states of Washington, Maryland and Massachusetts. In all three cases, federal district judges granted injunctions and blocked the operation of Trump’s order nationwide while the legal issue worked its way through the courts. The 1st, 4th, and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeals denied the Trump administration’s requests to stay the injunctions.

On Sept. 26, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to review the cases from the 1st and 9th Circuits that found Trump’s order on birthright citizenship to be unconstitutional. The high court will likely grant review of these cases.

Trump Fashioned a Court to Do His Bidding


Trump nominating Judge Amy Coney to Supreme Court, September 2020 (Andrea Hanks, White House)

By packing the court with three radical right-wingers during his first term, Trump fashioned a reactionary supermajority to do his bidding. Indeed, last year, in Trump v. United States the court held 6-3 that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for core official acts, and presumptive immunity for all other official acts, while admitting that it is difficult to distinguish official from unofficial acts.

The Supreme Court may decide to review other cases, including Trump’s authority to deploy federal forces to U.S. cities, deport Venezuelans under the Alien Enemy Act of 1798, and refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress.

As it did when cases testing Trump’s power came before it on the emergency docket, the high court will likely affirm most of his actions, underscoring the immunity it granted him last term, and ratifying his authoritarian program.

https://consortiumnews.com/2025/10/16/u ... authority/

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As Trump escalates ICE raids, local community defense networks grow

In the heart of Virginia, organizers are bringing together everyday people into the movement against ICE raids

October 16, 2025 by Natalia Marques


Richmond residents receive community defense training (Photo via Richmond Defensa)

The Trump administration has pledged to continue ramping up the controversial operations to detain and deport immigrants. Yet, as his threats intensify, the movement in defense of immigrant rights is rapidly growing and taking shape from the grassroots.

In Chicago, people are standing up to federal agents armed and ready to deploy tear gas and pepper spray. Army veterans in Portland are urging federal troops to disobey Trump’s orders, and in Colorado, residents are rejecting the conversion of several private prisons into ICE detention centers.

In the heart of the state of Virginia, organizers are bringing together waves of new volunteers to learn how to become robust defenders of immigrant rights.

Richmond Defensa responds to escalating ICE raids
“We have rapid response trainings, know your rights trainings. We do workplace-specific trainings, from guitar shops to coffee shops, and we’re going to be doing a construction-specific training in November. This last volunteer meeting, we had a little over 100 people in attendance,” said Violeta Vega, an organizer with Richmond Defensa.

Richmond Defensa was formed this summer by Richmond-based organizers joining the groundswell of outrage against ICE raids in their neighborhoods. According to immigrant rights advocates in Richmond, ICE raids have left immigrant communities afraid to go to work or send their children to school.

Trump’s ICE agents made 4,264 arrests in Virginia alone during the first seven months of 2025. This is nearly three times the number for the entirety of 2024, according to data analysis published by VPM.

Early on the morning of July 30, federal agents stormed the Southwood Apartments complex in the southern part of Richmond, resulting in the detention of a 21-year-old asylum seeker from Honduras, to the distress of his mother, who reported him as a missing person to local police following his arrest by ICE agents. According to eyewitness accounts, agents blocked his car, smashed the passenger window, and dragged him out – and the young Honduran national wasn’t the only one taken that day.

“From talking with educators, there’s so many children who don’t want to go to school because they don’t know if they’ll see their family when they go home,” said Vega, describing her conversations with teachers in Richmond that have been participating in the volunteer meetings and trainings.

But even amid that fear, Vega is seeing more and more people come out to training sessions organized by Richmond Defensa.

A recent event organized by Richmond Defensa featured a room full of dozens of volunteers, gathered around a screen that reads “How we can get ICE out of Richmond”. This event was the group’s volunteer training, where those outraged by ICE raids can learn how to become a part of the “community defense network” according to a description of the event.

“We’ve still seen people come out and remain steadfast and committed, and they have recommitted time and time again to this movement,” Vega told Peoples Dispatch.

Apart from training sessions, organizers with Richmond Defensa have been part of the formation of “Richmond Artists Against Deportations”, which brings together over 100 artists from across the city to sign a petition demanding full legal status for all immigrants. “As artists and cultural producers, we join hands with the people of our city, country, and the immigrant community, to stop this racial profiling campaign, deportation machine and put an end to abductions and family separation,” reads the petition.

Richmond Defensa organizers also marched alongside Richmond residents and union members on Labor Day, holding a banner that read “The people demand, ICE out of RVA”.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/10/16/ ... orks-grow/

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U.S. Commerce Chamber Files Lawsuit Over $100,000 on H-1B Visa Petitions


X/ @Reuters

October 17, 2025 Hour: 8:36 am

The fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers to retain global talent.

On Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit over the Trump administration’s 100,000-dollar fee on H-1B visa petitions, saying that the fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers to retain global talent.

The litigation dismissed the new fee as “unlawful” because it overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas.

“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

To support growth, “our economy will require more workers, not fewer. The president has said he wants to educate, attract, and retain the world’s best and brightest in the U.S., and the Chamber shares that goal.”

H-1Bs complement U.S. workers, lift wages and productivity, power innovation and startups, and making it harder to get H-1B visas is counterproductive, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.


Earlier this month, the United Auto Workers union, the American Association of University Professors, and several other organizations filed a lawsuit in a federal court in San Francisco, marking the first challenge to the proclamation.

On Sept. 19, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation raising the fee that companies pay to sponsor H-1B applicants to $100,000. Previously, companies typically paid several thousand dollars for H-1B visas.

U.S. media noted that the hefty fee will affect tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google, which have long relied on the H-1B visa program to hire foreign employees, including software developers.

CBS reported that the plan could backfire by encouraging U.S. companies to shift jobs overseas, especially in specialized fields such as research and development, and could further deter international students from studying in the United States.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/u-s-comm ... petitions/

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The Trump-Putin Phone Call: US Makes Process Concession to Russia and Trump Softens Stance on Tomahawks.
Posted on October 17, 2025 by Yves Smith

There has been a lot of excited commentary about the Trump-Putin phone call, after which it appears Trump over-hyped the idea that another Trump-Putin summit would happen soon. Not even having seen the kinda-sorta readouts, Douglas Macgregor was of the “prove it to me” school in terms of seeing if this gambit amounted to a meaningful step forward. If you read the Trump statement and the recap of the phone call from Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov, reproduced in full from the Kremlin site at the end of this post, there is indeed much less here than the excited reactions would have you believe. Importantly, the Ushakov remarks make clear that the much-ballyhooed idea of a next summit was discussed but not agreed by the Russian side. Recall also that Trump just claimed in a call with Modi that Modi had agreed to stop importing Russian oil. India issued a tortured-so-as-apparently-not-to-call-Trump-a-liar denial.

As we’ll review, the practical significance of this call and follow-up meetings appears more to be to buy both Trump and Putin more room for maneuver domestically. A related element of significance is that the call mildly disproves the recent din of criticism in Russia, even by the Russian Foreign Ministry, that the process that Putin attempted to get started in the Alaska summit was dead. That has been to confirm the argument by hardliners who are apparently getting much the broader public that Putin has been way too soft in his prosecution of the Ukraine war and vis-a-vis Trump, that Russia should quit fooling around with pretending that there is any point in talking to the West, and the only resolution to the war is a military one. Even though yours truly does not follow the Russian press, even at this considerable remove, it has been apparent that the Russian media, including even Putin’s favorite Pavel Zarubin, has been questioning Putin aggressively on this topic, which is out of character for the press pool.

However, this does not change the fact that there will be no negotiated settlement to this war, absent “negotiation” being Russia allowing Ukraine to get some very mild softening of a capitulation agreement or perhaps some “negotiation” with a successor regime in rump Ukraine after the current one decamps to set up a government in exile. There is no overlap between the Russian and the Ukraine/US/EU position. Ukraine and most of the European states will not accept a neutral Ukraine and in particular, a commitment that it not eveh join NATO (or a militarized EU as way to evade the requirement). Ukraine has autonomy; the US cannot do a deal with Russia over Ukraine’s head. Admittedly, the US could compel Ukraine to fall into line by cutting off all intelligence but Congress would not tolerate that. Recall Lindsey Graham threatened Trump with the claim that he had 80 votes, as in more than enough to prevail in an impeachment trial, for his “bone-crushing” sanctions. Graham can presumably round up the same suspects again.

If you look at the Alaska summit, it did accomplish two small things. First, Putin did manage to persuade Trump to drop his insistence on “ceasefire first, negotions next”. Keep in mind that this is a process issue, and not a substance (what does a peace amount to?) issue. As skeptics correctly pointed out, this looked simply like a gambit for Ukraine to regroup and attempt to rearm.

Second, recall that right before the Alaska gathering was set up, Trump was under very heavy pressure by Graham and Richard Blumenthal to impose those “bone crushing secondary sanctions on nations that traded in Russian oil, which would kill trade with China and many others stone cold dead. Trump may have believed other nations might knuckle under but was in the process of finding with India that they were a backfire. So the summit also allowed him to hold off the demands of the Russia hawks. Buying time was productive. First, it became evident at least to some that they had failed with India. Second, the Trump team finally came up with its show-stopper: it would impose them only if the EU did too. Their refusal enabled Trump to wave off Graham’s and Blumenthal’s demands.

Recall that the new escalatory demand has been for the US to equip Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles. The pretense that little green men other than Americans can operate them is even more ludicrous than with other US systems.

Even though experts have debunked five ways to Sunday whether this can even be done. One of many issues: to keep the pretense is that Ukraine is operating the missiles, it would need to be a ground-launched system. The only one that maybe exists now is ginormous and Russia could almost certainly destroy the platform. On top of that wee problem, there are too few missiles to make any difference. See Black Mountain Analysis for an exhaustive analysis of the general issue.

However, this step is massively provocative as a mere idea. Tomahawks are nuclear capable. Even if Russia is absolutely certain none of the Tomahawks fired at it were nuclear-equipped, it cannot allow this precedent. Putin and others have been walking the line of not getting hair-on-fire about this (which would embolden the many nutters in the US and NATO states) while trying to convey that this would be a Very Bad idea.

Putin appears to have made progress on that front in his conversation:

One phone call and Tomahawk Missiles are off the table and Trump is hustling to Budapest to meet with Putin.

— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) October 16, 2025

And the mere timing of the call is a kick in the head to Zelensky, who is in Washington today to demand those Tomahawks. From the BBC:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, as Trump weighs whether to arm Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep into Russia.

Of course, Zelensky tried spinning that Russia was operating from weakness. From the same account:

[As Zelensky arrived in the US, his third visit since January, he said Moscow was “rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks”.

But we need to step back and look at the bigger context of the on-again, off again US-Russia talks. Since meetings started in Istanbul, Russia has been trying to get the US to negotiate in a grown-up manner, as in a way that will produce adequate understanding between the two sides so as to lead to detailed agreements that both sides can and will respect.

Here I fail to understand why Russia bothers, save to somewhat reverse the very bad baseline between the two nations. The US has established repeatedly and consistently that it is utterly untrustworthy. So unless the Russian side are idiots, the purpose here is not to reach an agreement, but to improve communications and somewhat reduce the level of misunderstanding and friction, particularly so as to avoid a nuclear war (remember every war game the US has played out between the US and Russia has ended in a nuclear conflagration).

Russia has proposed that each side pursue three tracks and had identified what each team should pursue. When criticized that this was all too low-level, Russia had even offered to deploy more senior officials (even though its team actually was heavyweight; the US suffers from Big Man syndrome, as so apparently anyone less that foreign minister Lavrov will not do).

It was evident that the US was not prepared to do anything. Russia has some initial demands, including returning its impermissibly seized US diplomatic property and re-opening direct flights. The failure to do either points to US unseriousness and/or considerable bureaucratic opposition. I would keep an eye on those two matters as indictors of whether this new initiative is getting anywhere.

Now with that background, where do things actually stand? First from Trump:



So Trump admits to making a “shape of the table” concession to Putin, that there will be lower level discussions first, albeit not all that much lower, before a summit.

Given the US pattern of not preparing for discussions, I would not hold my breath about progress being made quickly. Putin has said he was always willing to meet with Trump if groundwork were laid. One has to wonder what Steve Witkoff said in his three hours in person at the Kremlin to get Putin to relent and commit to the Alaska summit. It took Witkoff five hours to tee up this conversation.

As you can see from Ushakov’s summary below, Putin has not yet agreed to a summit:

In this context, it is worthy of note that the presidents discussed the possibility of holding another personal meeting. This is indeed a very significant development. It was agreed that representatives of both countries would immediately begin preparations for the summit, which could potentially be organised in Budapest, for instance.

Notice the inconsistent tone: “immediately” teeing up an even that is merely a possibility. The squaring of that circle may simply be getting some national leader to agree to be a host if and when things progress. In keeping, Putins’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov is talking down timing expectations. From TASS in Putin-Trump meeting to be prepared gradually, many issues to be resolved — Kremlin:

Preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump will be in several stages, as the leaders of diplomatic agencies are working on resolving a large number of issues, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing, replying to a question by TASS.

“The thing is that the issue will be worked out by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State Rubio,” the Kremlin official noted. “First, they will have a phone conversation and meet, and hold discussions on the topic, begin discuss all issues,” he noted.

“There are a lot of issues – it is necessary to determine negotiating teams,” Peskov said. “Everything will be in stages,” he added.

As to Budapest, perhaps Putin was too polite to point out in real time, assuming Trump suggested Hungary on the call, that Trump is map-challenged:

It is still not known how Putin intends to get to Budapest for a potential summit, considering that Hungary is a landlocked county and all of the countries surrounding it would probably refuse to allow an aircraft operated by the Russian Government, especially one carrying Putin,…

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 16, 2025

And this is just tacky:

It is noteworthy that one of the US President’s key arguments centred on the premise that the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine would open up tremendous – and he stressed this – tremendous prospects for the development of US-Russian economic cooperation.

Those impatient with the progress of the conflict may be frustrated that these talks will help Putin in slow-walking the war, which is what they believe he has been doing. But one has to note that even before this call, Mark Sleboda, who has been the most accurate English-speaking commentator in projecting how it would advance, is now discussing Russian operations continuing into 2027. Of course, that pre-supposes no collapse, which could come about due to the electricity war, as opposed to the pace of operations in the east.

However, recall that to Trump’s considerable anger, Russia did not slow its conduct of the war after the Alaska gathering. But there is a case to be made for Russia continuing to (merely) attrit Ukraine. We are seeing government in Europe start to break under the pressure of hysterical demands for more guns as opposed to butter as standards of living are already falling due to the reverberating impact of the rejection of cheap Russian gas. A “right wing” as in not-keen-about-fighting Russia coalition under Andrej Babis is forming a new government in the Czech Republic. Macron is a dead man walking in France. It is an open question as to whether he can hold off calling Parliamentary election until his term ends in May 2027, but both the left and Rassemblement Nationale are against more spending for Project Ukraine. The longer the war continues, the more EU member states will go into revolt. So as much as patience is maddening, there is method to this madness.

____

From the Kremlin website, Commentary by Aide to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov following a telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and President of the United States Donald Trump:

Aide to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov: Colleagues,

Today in the afternoon, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation, the eighth one, with US President Donald Trump.

The conversation lasted almost two and a half hours. Clearly, it was a rather substantive and at the same time very open and frank exchange.

Our President started out by congratulating Donald Trump on his successful efforts to normalise the situation in the Gaza Strip. The US President’s peace work has been duly appreciated in the Middle East, in the United States itself, and in most countries around the world.

Naturally, the Russian side outlined its principled position in favour of a comprehensive Middle East settlement on a generally recognised international legal basis that would ensure lasting peace for all the peoples in that region.

A special emphasis during the conversation was placed on the Ukraine crisis. Vladimir Putin provided a detailed assessment of the current situation, stressing Russia’s interest in achieving a peaceful resolution through political and diplomatic methods.

In particular, it was noted that during the special military operation, the Russian Armed Forces hold full strategic initiative along the entire line of contact. Under these circumstances, the Kiev regime resorts to terrorist methods, attacking civilian targets and energy infrastructure facilities, to which we are forced to respond accordingly.

Donald Trump repeatedly emphasised the imperative of establishing peace in Ukraine at the earliest opportunity. The notion that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has proven the most intractable issue in all peacekeeping efforts of the US President was palpably evident throughout his remarks during the conversation. In this context, he naturally mentioned his successes in settling eight other regional conflicts.

It is noteworthy that one of the US President’s key arguments centred on the premise that the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine would open up tremendous – and he stressed this – tremendous prospects for the development of US-Russian economic cooperation.

Incidentally, both sides spoke of the profound mutual affinity between the peoples of the two countries, which was so vividly demonstrated during the Second World War. It was underscored that the current state of bilateral relations appears paradoxical against this backdrop.

The issue of potential supplies of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine was also raised. Vladimir Putin reiterated his position that Tomahawks would not change the situation on the battlefield but would inflict substantial damage to relations between our countries, to say nothing of the prospects for a peaceful settlement.

In this context, it is worthy of note that the presidents discussed the possibility of holding another personal meeting. This is indeed a very significant development. It was agreed that representatives of both countries would immediately begin preparations for the summit, which could potentially be organised in Budapest, for instance.

On a separate note, it should be mentioned that our President highly praised personal efforts of the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump in reuniting Russian and Ukrainian children with their families and asked the US President to convey his very best wishes to his spouse.

Overall, I would say that the telephone contact between the presidents of Russia and the United States was quite useful, and the two leaders agreed to maintain contact.

Thank you for the attention.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/10 ... hawks.html

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Trump’s War Against ‘Left-leaning’ Groups Extends Further

There are a number of indicators which lets one predict that the Trump administration, during the next election, will use government forces to severely attack and disrupt all opposition to it.

Trump has send the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into the cities to harass and arrest alleged illegal immigrants. Due cause is disregarded and the methods used by the agents are brutal.

Trump has also sent National Guard troops into cities where, he claimed, riots were taking place. There were no riots or ‘terrorist incidents’ but the presence of troops is used to create a militarized atmosphere.

A new National Security Presidential Memorandum, NSPM-7 issued by Trump has defined new classes of internal enemies:

With the mainstream media distracted by the made-for-TV drama of James Comey’s indictment, Trump has signed a little-noticed national security directive identifying “anti-Christian” and “anti-American” views as indicators of radical left violence.
…
In NSPM-7, “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” President Trump directs the Justice Department, the FBI, and other national security agencies and departments to fight his version of political violence in America, retooling a network of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to focus on “leftist” political violence in America. This vast counterterrorism army, made up of federal, state, and local agents would, as Trump aide Stephen Miller said, form “the central hub of that effort.”
…
The Trump administration isn’t only targeting organizations or groups but even individuals and “entities” whom NSPM-7 says can be identified by any of the following “indicia” (indicators) of violence:

anti-Americanism,

anti-capitalism,
anti-Christianity,
support for the overthrow of the United States Government,
extremism on migration,
extremism on race,
extremism on gender,
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family,
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on religion, and
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality.
“The United States requires a national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts,” the directive states (emphasis mine).

That all may sound laughable but these are unfortunately serious policies . The target list includes organizations which do not exist:

The FBI and the homeland security department are actively investigating “Antifa” individuals and organizations that the Trump administration has branded domestic terrorists. Actions so far include collecting intelligence on Antifa “affinity” groups, canvassing the FBI’s vast informant network for tips about Antifa, and scrutinizing financial records, two sources involved in the investigations tell me.

There are no ‘antifa’ organizations. ‘Antifa’ is the idea of fighting indications of fascism. From time to time local interest groups may claim to do so for this or that reason. This category ‘antifa’ was likely chosen because it can be applied to any group that opposes government policies.

Today Yves Smith reports of another enforcement agency that Trump will use to destroy opposition to him:

The war against Trump’s perceived political enemies keeps escalating. The Wall Street Journal provides new detail on how the Trump Administration intends to use an IRS criminal unit, whose members bear arms, as part of his campaign against “left-leaning” organizations. This fallows a Reuters account describing how the Trump Administration intends to use the Department of Justice and DHS to pursue “left wing” groups that allegedly fomented violence.
…
Now to the press accounts. Key sections from the Journal’s report:

The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.

A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.

The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes…

Among those on the list are the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and his affiliated groups…

Many on the left will not mind any attack on George Soros as his organization is well know for financing foreign color revolutions against legitimate leftist rulers. We can however be assured that Trump wont stop with them:

The list includes Soros’ Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.
…
Other groups on the list include two Jewish nonprofits that oppose Israel’s war in Gaza – IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace.

There is unfortunately little institutional or political opposition that can restrain Trump:

The push against domestic groups and their donors comes amid Trump’s attacks on law firms, universities and the media, and his deployment of National Guard troops to some Democratic-run cities.
…
Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian and former director of the Richard Nixon presidential library, said Trump and Nixon were similar in their desire to punish political enemies and silence critics, but a pliant Republican-controlled Congress and a cabinet packed with loyalists are enabling Trump to go further.

“That’s why this particular moment is more dangerous for the rule of law in the United States than the 1970s were,” Naftali said.

All these are ominous signs that Trumps war on the political opposition will escalate further. Seymour Hersh’s sources are warning of this:

What’s happening now may be a trial run for the use of those forces to interfere on the behalf of the president and the Republican Party in states where the Democratic Party has a chance to win crucial seats in next fall’s Congressional elections. I’ve been told by someone with inside knowledge that planning for such action is now under way in the White House.

The ‘coerced dominance’ that has marked Trump’s brutal approach to foreign policy will now being applied to domestic issues and legitimate opposition.

Russell Vought, Trumps’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, are the men behind this.

The scary thing is that there is, so far, little or any opposition to these plans and only few warnings about their consequences.

Posted by b on October 16, 2025 at 14:43 UTC | Permalink

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/10/t ... rther.html

(Well, Soros got nothing to do with us. None of these 'donors'(owners!) do. When real opposition arises it will not have dep pockets, it will have millions of feet on the street.)