Trump FIRED Kristi Noem, Iran US War Escalates, & The CIA Iraqi Kurds Situation is Crazy
PDS Published 03/05/2026
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An Israeli minister is now calling for what his country did in Gaza to be done in Beirut.
And that’s as Israeli and US strikes continue to pound Iran at land and at sea, even more countries are threatening to get involved, and CIA-backed Kurdish rebels may be about to turn this into a ground war.
But let’s start with Lebanon—where fighting picked back up this week after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in response to the attack on Iran.
And the Israeli response has killed at least 102 people in the country so far, according to the country’s health ministry, but it may be about to get much worse.
Right, over the past few days, the Israeli military has issued sweepings evacuation warnings across southern Lebanon, sparking fears that it may be about to launch a ground invasion
And then, today, you had them issuing an evacuation order for pretty much everyone living in an area known as the Dahiyeh (da-HEE-yah - AUDIO).
Which is basically the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has long held influence, and where anywhere from 300,000 to 700,000 people may live.
And this is believed to be the first time in this conflict they’ve ordered large portions of the Lebanese capital to flee—when before they would force people out of specific buildings they were about to hit. []
Although, notably, there is a concept known as the “da-HEE-yah Doctrine”—which refers to the strategy of overwhelming and disproportionate force against civilian infrastructure.
With the reportedly name going back to the 2006 Lebanon War—when large parts of the area were destroyed.
And now you have far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich (Bets-uh-lel Smote-rich - LISTEN) claiming:
“The da-HEE-yah will look like Khan Younis” — referring to a city in Gaza that was decimated during Israel’s bombing campaign and adding:
“You wanted to give us hell, but you’ve brought hell upon yourself.”
Right, so of course, there is panic in Beirut, and we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
But in the meantime, the Israeli military also said it was beginning a new widespread wave of attacks in Tehran.
And that’s as American strikes have also kept up, and you had US Central Command writing on social media today:
“The Iranian regime's ability to impact U.S. forces and regional partners is rapidly declining, while American combat power continues to build.”
And with that, in addition to targets on land, Trump has said that destroying Iran’s Navy is one of the war’s key objectives.
And the US now claims to have sunk more than 20 Iranian naval vessels—including one in the Indian Ocean that Hegseth confirmed yesterday had been taken out by an American-launched torpedo—killing dozens onboard.
And notably, it’s now been said that the boat was on its way home after taking part in naval exercises hosted by India, and maybe wasn’t even carrying ammunition.
So you’ve had Iran’s foreign minister accusing the US of an “atrocity at sea” —adding:
“Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set,”
You’ve also had the country’s top security official again blaming the US And Israel for the strike that killed 175 at a girl’s elementary school—writing on social media:
“Mr. Trump! Is this the anthem you composed for freedom in Iran?”
“God exposes deceivers by their own hands”
And adding to all that, you’ve had a spokesperson accusing the US and Israel of violating international law with many of their other strikes as well—claiming 20 educational centers, 25 medical facilities, and six emergency centers had been hit. []
And, of course, the Iranian government isn’t always the most reliable source.
But you’ve also had the World Health Organization saying it has verified more than a dozen attacks on health infrastructure in Iran—reporting that four healthcare workers had been killed along with 25 others injured.
On the flip side, while Iran has claimed its strikes are in self-defense, it has also apparently targeted embassies, energy installations, airports, and hotels.
And today, two Iranian drones fell into Azerbaijan, one hitting an airport and one landing near a school, and reportedly injuring two civilians (BROLL).
With this happening in an exclave that has been a source of tensions between the two countries over a Trump-backed plan to build a transport route connecting it to the mainland through Armenia.
And in response you had the country’s defense ministry issuing a statement saying it was preparing “necessary retaliatory measures to defend the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”—and adding:
“These acts of aggression will not remain unanswered.” []
Iran denied responsibility—instead accusing Israel of launching the drones to “disrupt relations among Muslim countries.” []
But Azerbaijan’s president—who visited the Iranian embassy in his country to offer his condolences for the death of Iran’s supreme leader? He wasn’t buying it.
With him accusing Iran of a “heinous terrorist act” —and adding:
“Those responsible must be brought to justice without delay. The Iranian side must provide an official explanation to Azerbaijan, issue an apology, and ensure that the perpetrators are held criminally accountable.” []
And ultimately, this is just the latest incident threatening to widen this conflict even further.
There was also that missile fired toward Turkish airspace yesterday and shot down by NATO air defenses—sparking worries that the whole alliance may get dragged in.
Although, you’ve since had the secretary-general saying that the incident didn’t necessitate activating the alliance’s mutual defense clause.
But he added that NATO supported the US military campaign in Iran—adding that Iran was “close to becoming a threat to Europe as well.”[]
With him going on to claim that there is “widespread acknowledgement and agreement” that this war should end with Iran “not able again, to pose [a] death threat to its neighbours, to Israel, the Middle East, to Europe." []
And that’s as European leaders have increasingly found themselves sucked into the mess as well, ramping up plans to deploy military assets to protect their citizens and interests.
We talked yesterday about the UK and France—and today you had Italy saying it’d be sending “air defense systems, anti-drone and antimissile systems” to assist the Gulf countries with their defense, as well as Cyprus, where a British air base was hit on Monday.
And on the note of Cyprus you’ve also had Spain, the Netherlands, and Greece coming to help.
Although the Spanish government has continued to make clear that it doesn’t support the war and won’t work with the US.
But while all of these countries say their actions are only for defensive purposes, they mostly have very little to say about being forced into this position.
With the EU’s top diplomat barely mentioning the US or Israeli role in a press briefing yesterday while also claiming:
“Iran is exporting the war, trying to expand it to as many countries as they can to sow chaos.” []
And that’s as she also acknowledged one of the other impacts of this war on European security that the White House either didn’t think about or didn’t care about: Ukraine.
With her saying events in the Middle East have had a “clear impact” on the war there and explaining:
“...there are defense capabilities that are needed in Ukraine now moving also to the Middle East.”
“There is also the issue of supply chains, of supplying the capabilities that Ukraine needs, now also the Middle East needs, when it comes to air defense, for example.”
“And there is also the issue of the oil price. The oil price, when it goes up, it actually benefits Russia to fund its war” []
Right, beyond all that, you have experts saying the perception or reality that the country might be weakened might not only encourage Russia to ramp up its attacks but undermine Zelensky’s negotiating position.
And I mean on the subject of negotiations and broader fallout from this war? Talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States were actually supposed to be happening in the UAE this week.
But that’s no longer a great option.
Just today, six people were injured by falling debris after air defences intercepted a drone,
With the government saying that overall today it detected seven ballistic missiles fired at its territory—six of which were intercepted and destroyed.
And that since Iran started targeting the country on Sunday, the country said it had detected a total of eight cruise missiles, 196 ballistic missiles, and more than 1,000 drones.[]
So the pace has slowed—but it’s still chaos in countries across the region.
Right, besides what happened in the UAE today, there were reports of Qatar intercepting a missile attack; Bahrain taking a hit to an oil refinery; Saudi Arabia shooting down several drones; and Iraqi forces intercepting one targeting a US military base near Baghdad International Airport.
And speaking of Iraq, as we’ve talked about, besides US forces, Iran has also attacked Kurdish groups hiding out there.
Including today—reportedly striking the headquarters of some Iranian Kurdish forces in the northern part of the country.
With this coming after reports yesterday that thousands of Kurdish fighters had launched a ground offensive into Iran against the regime—although there’s no evidence of that yet and several Kurdish leaders have since denied the claim.
But it is definitely something that could happen—and it might even happen at the behest of the Trump administration, even as experts say it could be an unbelievable disaster.
And with that, just to give some context, the US has a long history of working with Kurdish militias, especially in Iraq and Syria, but it also has a history of letting them down.
After the 1991 Gulf war, for example, the US encouraged Kurdish forces in Iraq to rise up but then stood by as the Iraqi army slaughtered them. []
And then just a few months the US was accused only months ago of abandoning Kurdish allies in Syria and letting the government take their territory.
But in any case, as far as Iran, the CIA has reportedly given small arms to the Kurdish forces as part of a covert program to destabilize Iran that began before the current war—although it’s not clear exactly how far back this support goes.
And the aim was reportedly never to topple the government but to distract the country’s leadership or maybe create a security crisis. []
But with that, undercover operations in Kurdish areas reportedly ramped up after the so-called twelve-day war between Iran and Israel last summer. []
And then, just about two weeks ago, five rival Iranian Kurdish groups formed a new coalition dedicated to overthrowing the Iranian regime. []
And since the war began, we’ve seen bombs and missiles repeatedly striking targets in Western Iran and along the border with Iraq, potentially paving the way for a Kurdish invasion.
Especially as Trump has reportedly personally spoken to at least two Kurdish leaders while his administration reaches out to others.
With the Washington Post reporting that he has offered “extensive U.S. aircover” and other backing for anti-regime Iranian Kurds to take over portions of western Iran.
Although in a briefing yesterday press secretary Karoline Leavitt said reports Trump had agreed to any plan for the Kurds to launch an insurgency in Iran were “completely false.”
And today, while Trump still didn’t say he’d provide military support, he did say he would be “all for” Iranian Kurdish forces launching an offensive against the regime.
Which a lot of experts say could be a truly terrible idea—increasing the risk of a bloody, brutal civil war.
With a senior associate fellow for geopolitics and security at the Royal United Services Institute telling The Guardian:
“I’ve never seen such a resounding opposition to a policy idea in Washington from all sides of the political spectrum as I have when it came to this particular idea.”
With him explaining that it would risk drawing countries like Turkey into the fight, and saying “...you also risk igniting something among other ethnic groups in Iran, including the Azeris, and the Baluchis (buh-LOO-cheez)”
“All of this, I think, is very risky, very dangerous, and the next order consequences could be very serious indeed.”
Now, all that said, the dominos may have already begun to fall, and these groups might decide to take action with or without the support of the White House.
And so you have people like one Middle East expert at the Atlantic Council recently arguing;
“We’re only [a few] days into the conflict, and we’re already seeing the dangerous consequences of the Trump administration’s lack of a strategic plan and the total absence of clarity over both rationales and objectives.” []
And, on that note, the Pentagon is reportedly scrambling to reallocate resources and increase the number of troops gathering intelligence for operation.
Which experts see as a sign that the administration hadn’t fully anticipated the fallout of the war, with a former diplomat telling Politico:
“It seems like they woke up on Saturday morning and decided that they were going to start a war.” []
And while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other U.S. officials have denied that the goal of the operation is regime change, you had Trump again undermining their own claims.
With him telling Axios he must be involved in picking Iran’s next leader, just like he was in Venezuela, seemingly in response to recent reporting the now-dead supreme leader is likely to be replaced by his son.
And with that, Trump said he would refuse to accept him or someone similar, claiming it would force the U.S. back to war "in five years." []
But it’s hard to talk about going back to war, when we still have no idea when the war that just started is gonna end.
The House is supposed to vote on a war powers resolution to force Trump to back down, but it just failed in the Senate, and it’s expected to face the same fate here.
And as it becomes more and more clear just how little thought was put into the potential consequences it’s got people considering that this administration might be so callous, so cruel, that it did this all as a distraction from the Epstein Files.
Which is something you actually had Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arguing recently:
“He impulsively went in on Venezuela. He impulsively went in on Iran. There was no exit and no endgame for either of these situations…And every time he’s done that, it has been consistent with a spike or a revelation in what is happening with the Epstein files.”
“ And I actually think that it is one reason that he must be removed from office, because if the Epstein files have such a hold on President Trump and this administration that they are willing to plunge us and risk world war in order to save themselves politically, that is the definition of someone who cannot make objective decisions for the American people.” (0:14-0:25, 0:30-0:36, 0:48-0:1:14)
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But you also have members of the House arguing that when it comes to protecting abusers, the problems go far beyond just the Epstein Files.
Right, claiming that some politicians are actively trying to bury allegations made against themselves and other Congress members.
Because yesterday, the House shut down a resolution that would have forced the release of all congressional sexual misconduct reports.
And this has created a major debate about how to expose offenders without upending the lives of victims who want to remain private.
The resolution was introduced by Republican NancyMace, who has been vocal about her experiences as a survivor of sexual assault.
And it would have directed the Ethics Committee to preserve and publicly release any records tied to sexual misconduct investigations into members of Congress.[]
That would include:
“all reports, conclusions, draft reports, recommendations, and accompanying materials.”
And all released documents would have to redact the names and identifiable information of victims or alleged victims.
Mace introduced this after reports alleged that fellow Republican Tony Gonzales had an affair with and sent sexual messages to a female staffer who later died of suicide. []
He has denied any wrongdoing and has resisted the mounting resignation calls he is facing, including from Mace.
With Mace saying that:
“These people need to be called out for their behavior. I don’t care if they have an R or a D by their name. They need to suffer the consequences.”
"If you sexually harass someone in Congress you do not get to hide behind closed doors…The American people deserve answers. Staff deserve answers. Women deserve answers. No more protection for predators in Congress.”
But yesterday, the House voted 357-65 to refer the resolution to committee, which essentially killed the effort.
And Nancy Mace slammed every single person who blocked it, posting all of their names on Twitter and writing:
But the politicians who voted against it, who fall on both sides of the aisle, argue they had a good reason for doing so.
With the Ethics Committee releasing a statement claiming that they felt the resolution could actually silence victims and chill any future cooperation with them, adding:
“Victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures…And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public.”[]
With AOC writing that she supports the idea behind the measure, but “the text itself was rushed and not thought through.”[]
Right, according to her, the resolution would also release documents related to claims found to be false, so innocent people would get lumped in with actual abusers.
And on top of that:
“There was zero victim consent or consultation on this text. That is very different than with Epstein, where victims are centered and consulted at every step. Here, victims offered all their statements with the promise of protection and anonymity. The text gave them no way to have a voice in what information of theirs or their accounts they wanted public or keep private.”
And she argued that this was especially consequential because even though victim names would be redacted, their statements would be released,
And because offices in the House are so small, it would be incredibly easy to ID victims without consent, with no mechanism to help them stay private.
With AOC concluding that:
“As a survivor, I know why the vast majority of women never report at all and a lot of those reasons, even if unintentionally or inadvertently, were included here. For me at least, guaranteeing the safety and agency of victims and survivors would get me to a YES.”
As for what will happen next, if changes can be made, AOC said the way it was brought to the floor was rather unusual, so any amendment process or next steps are not really straightforward. []
But it comes as transparency in sexual misconduct cases is a major focus for Congress right now.
Between this and the never ending Epstein saga, lawmakers on both sides are trying to lead efforts to name names, but we are continually seeing major roadblocks.
And I would love to know your thoughts on this, on why accountability is so hard when it comes to this issue specifically.
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Kristi Noem just got fired.
With Trump writing on Truth Social this morning that Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin:[]
“will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, effective March 31, 2026.”
According to Trump, Noem served the administration well, but she:
“will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida.”
As for what to know about Mullin, well, Trump described him as a “MAGA Warrior and former undefeated professional MMA fighter” who knows how to “Advance [the] America First Agenda.”
And this comes as there has been a ton of pressure for Noem to be ousted from her job, some lawmakers calling for her to be impeached, others demanding she resign.
Because there has been a lot of outrage over ICE’s operations under her tenure.
Yesterday we talked about how half of Americans want the agency abolished.
And she had two hearings this week where she tried again and again to dodge any accountability for how she and the department have handled the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Reports also saying Trump was “pissed” at Noem over how she responded when pressed about a $220 million ad campaign encouraging self-deportation.[]
Right, she claimed that Trump knew about her decision to approve the campaign contracts, but a White House official said he never signed off on it.
So this now marks the first major firing of Trump Administration 2.0.
Which is a major change of pace compared to the last term, which I want to say counted at least one thousand firings a month?
[Option to transition into Jared’s Iran story ] And while this was one of the most shocking piece breaking news of the day, tons of the news coverage is still focused on everything unfolding in Iran right now.
[option to transition into Victor’s MN story] But it was also not the only reason ICE was in the headlines today, because yesterday both Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison sat in front of the House Oversight Committee to discuss fraud and Minnesota’s ICE presence.
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As we move on to more news of Trump disappointing the American people, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz pointed fingers at him for political retribution instead of helping with rampant fraud in the state.
Yesterday, Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison sat in front of the House Oversight Committee to discuss fraud and Minnesota’s ICE presence.
Trump originally cited Minnesota’s fraud for the reason he sent at least 2000 ICE agents into the state, which has caused nothing but chaos that led to the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. (BROLL :34-:42)
If you didn’t catch our episode from a few days ago, you might be wondering what the fuck immigration officers can do about fraud.
Well, after a viral video accusing Somali daycare owners of running a child care fraud scheme and other crackdowns of fraud scandals dating back to 2018, this administration decided that Minnesota’s Somali community was to blame. (BROLL 0:00-0:11) []
To be fair, reports and investigations have supported that fraud is, in fact, a major problem across the state. []
It’s so bad that it led Walz to dropout of his campaign for re-election. []
Nevertheless, their framing and sort of arbitrarily making Minnesota’s Somali community the face of the problem has people thinking, to be frank, that this is an issue of flagrant xenophobia meant to push the president’s immigration agenda. [] []
And Governor Walz has long since held this position as well. []
But theTrumpadministration hasn’t let up.
“We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota” (25:48-25:57)
So when Walz and AG Ellison appeared in front of the Oversight Committee yesterday, things were bound to go badly.
“As governor, I expect you to know this information. Thank God you’re not Vice President of the United States.” (1:35-1:40)
Before the hearing even started, the Oversight Committee released a report with scathing claims against Walz and Ellison. []
And the claims from that report summed up the main shots Walz and Ellison took at the hearing.
“Whistleblowers spoke out, and state officials chose delay and denial over action.” (:16-:21)
The report claimed that Walz and Ellison were aware of some fraud problems as early as 2019, allowing state agencies to fund groups suspected of fraud so they weren’t accused of racism.
They also made claims related to Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit group that’s become a major player in this conversation.
All of these, they claim, resulted in potentially billions of Medicaid-related funds being lost or at risk. []
What a way to get started.
But Walz fired back from the start.
“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale. Under the guise of combating fraud, the federal government has flooded Minnesota with masked, untrained and unaccountable agents who are wreaking havoc in our communities.” (2:12-2:18, 2:22-2:30)
Walz has had the cards stacked against him with Trump after running with Kamala Harris in the last presidential election.
And Walz’s pushback against ICE and Trump’s handling of the fraud situation has onlymade it worse.
So that energy spilled into the hearing. []
Ellison didn’t catch a break either.
“Are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board in the healthcare spectrum in the state of Minnesota or not? You are not leading. I’m going to say, Mr. Chairman that the Attorney General of Minnesota should resign.” (6:18-6:40)
However, Walz claims to have been reaching out for federal support in solving the fraud problem.
The only issue was that the support literally just wasn’t there to be found.
“Right now, those lead investigators and basically that whole team has left that office. We’re going to prosecute, as we have, every single person that’s involved in fraud, but we can’t do it alone.” (3:19-3:24, 3:36-3:41)
Walz makes a fair point here.
He’s received calls from the federal level to tackle this fraud problem, but as ICE efforts escalate, the professionals Walz could tap into to help are making their exit. []
And Walz and Ellison were clear that Trump’s Operation Metro Surge wasn’t the helping either.
“As a result, two US citizens were killed by federal agents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Federal law enforcement still refuses to cooperate with us on investigating their deaths. Operation Metro Surge did nothing to address fraud in our state. It harmed our economy. It scarred our people, and it dealt a devastating blow to fraud enforcement in Minnesota.” (8:22-8:35, 8:53-9:06)
Democrats at the hearing also claimed that ICE has not been the reprieve Trump claimed they would be.
“There appears to be no evidence that ICE and DHS’s reign of terror in Minnesota, that continues, has actually prevented any fraud.” (4:48-4:58)
Democrats also pressed the issue of how ICE was impacting children.
“I want the country to really understand the effects on kids. Are you seeing families who can’t go to work, who can’t go grocery shopping and who can’t take their kids to school or the library or the park because they’re terrified to leave their home? Are you seeing that? Yes, that’s what we are seeing in Minnesota” (:27-:47)
And even outside of ICE issues, Walz noted that the solution for fraud just isn’t as cut and dry as it may seem when kids are involved.
“If we did not provide food for our children, no one would steal from that program. But there would be a lot of hungry children.” (:34-:40)
Walz discussed this conundrum or more than one occasion.
These issues have real impacts on the children of Minnesota, 400,000 of which are already out of healthcare because of blowback from this administration.
However, Republicans at the hearing seemed to be most concerned with the tax money.
“We believe that’s your fault and the Attorney General’s fault because you do nothing about fraud even though everyone in America sees with their own eyes... The American taxpayers have had enough.” (2:05-2:16, 2:24-2:26)
A major point of contention and confusion during the questioning about fraud came as the governor was questioned about Feeding Our Future. []
To set the scene, this nonprofit experienced a lot of growth during the pandemic. []
As they came under suspicion for fraud in 2021, their funding was cut but restarted a short time later.
Of course, the nonprofit’s leaders were eventually convicted on charges related to fraud, but not before taxpayer money was already impacted. [] []
The question yesterday revolved around how exactly that funding was restarted given the red flags surrounding the organization, but things seemed to never land on any real conclusion.
Walz looked to the courts. The courts looked right back to Walz, and those of us watching the hearing were just left looking confused.
“(Jordan) So I want to know why didn’t you tell the truth. (Walz) Congressman, the attorneys at the department of education interpreted that differently. Both of those judges are no longer on the bench. (Jordan) So the court’s lying? (Walz) I can’t tell you. (Jordan) Well somebody’s lying.” (2:15-2:23, 2:54-3:00)
So, in relation to ICE, it seems like we’ve reached the same impasse we’ve seen here lately from Kristie Noem’s hearings.
The agents, from what I can tell, aren’t anywhere near being held responsible or even being monitored more closely given their actions across the country.
As it relates to fraud in Minnesota, it’s a problem, sure.
But what relief can taxpayers see if we seem to be on this carousel of who-done-its while, A – the fraud issue is still not completely solved, and B – no one seems to have the plan or support to solve it.
And at the top of all of this is Trump, who, at this point, looks like he has his plate full.
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Because on top of everything else, he’s now being sued over allegations that his TikTok sale was an illegal sweetheart deal that benefitted allies who personally enriched him, giving them free rein to censor political content while still allowing China to spread propaganda.
Right, the case question was brought by the anti-corruption law firm called the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two software engineers from rival companies who say they suffered financially from the Trump administration’s actions.
And specifically, the suit alleges that both Trump and Attorney General Bondi acted illegally in their handling of the 2024 law passed by Congress and signed by Biden that forced TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. assets or face a ban.
Right, that law was supposed to take effect right when Trump took office, but he directed Bondi not to enforce it and then signed four executive orders extending the deadline until he could reach a deal he liked.
But the suit claims that Trump’s extensions and Bondi’s refusal to enforce the law were both illegal.
And, beyond that, the plaintiffs also allege that the deal Trump eventually reached was still illegal under the 2024 law.
Arguing that the statute bans Bytedance for having an ongoing “operational relationship” with TikTok’s American operations, but under the deal, the company still owns the app’s algorithm and runs other key operations like e-commerce, marketing, and advertising.
With the suit claiming that Trump’s deal allowed ByteDance to keep control over “all the essential elements of TikTok,” thus allowing the company to continue pushing Chinese propaganda and censoring content it doesn’t like.
But that totally undermines the exact intent of the law — preventing China from exerting too much control over the app was literally the whole reason the legislation was enacted in the first place.
But instead of reaching an agreement that effectively limited Chinese influence over the app, the suit alleges that Trump decided to make a sweetheart deal that benefitted some of his main donors.
Right, under the deal, TikTok’s American operations are overseen by three managing investors: the private equity fund Silver Lake, the tech company Oracle, and the investment firm MGX, which each hold a 15% share.[]
But there are also a number of other key investors that hold smaller amounts.
And the suit alleges that many of those firms or their leaders — including some the biggest shareholders — “have close ties to the President, and have at times personally enriched him.”
With it specifically noting that Oracle’s co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison previously hosted a $100,000-per-person fundraiser for Trump at his personal estate.
Additionally, MGX, which is another managing investor, is backed by the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, which paid for a $2 billion investment using the Trump family’s cryptocurrency.
Beyond that, the founder of one investor donated $16 million to Trump’s Super PAC, while the CEO of another gave $1.25 million to his primary political action committee.
With the lawsuit going on to claim that, in return, “Trump’s approval of the TikTok sale has enriched these companies and executives.”
Noting that the firms bought TikTok for just $14 billion, despite the fact that analysts had valued the sale of its U.S. operations at $40-$50 billion.
Now, very notably here, according to Reuters, the lawsuit doesn’t seek to force a ban of TikTok.
Instead, it's asking the court to order a renegotiation of the deal “that doesn't put administration allies in a position to censor political content on one of the world's most popular media platforms.”
But hey, when has the Trump administration ever been held accountable for its actions?
I mean, even when there are firm court rulings, they just ignore them or find ways to skirt them, and the judicial system just shrugs and says, “hey, you got me! I’m stumped!”
But, that said, it’ll still be interesting to see how this one plays out.
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But getting back into the news, the state of Rhode Island is accusing its own Catholic Church of sexually abusing hundreds of children and then covering it up so the accused priests face zero consequences.
Right, the office of the Rhode Island attorney general Peter Neronha (Nur-row-nuh) just released an absolutely scathing report from their investigation that kicked off back in 2019.
The report itself is based on the review of 250,000 pages of records provided by the diocese and 150 interviews. []
And it found that, since 1950, there have been roughly 300 child victims of sexual abuse at the hands of 75 priests in Rhode Island.
And among that 75 are 20 priests who were not previously on the diocese list of those credibly accused. []
Right, and this is absolutely not a new revelation - this has been a problem at the forefront of the news for years now.
Especially after 2018 when a Pennsylvania grand jury issued a landmark report that found more than 1,000 children had been abused by some 300 priests since the 1940s.
Nonetheless, this report is the most comprehensive look at the crimes committed by priests in Rhode Island and, maybe the most most concerning aspect of this whole thing, the lengths the diocese went trying to cover it up.
According to Nur-row-nuh, the diocese transferred at least 30 of these accused priests to new jobs not once, not twice, but 5 TIMES EACH. []
Right, they would shuffle these priests around without fully investigating the allegations against them or send them to “treatment” or place them on sabbatical.
Essentially, completely shielding them from repercussions from the church or the law.
And he went on to say, quote, “So much hurt and harm could have been avoided” if the diocese had just removed the accused priests from duty. []
Saying,
“Nothing explains it, nothing justifies it.”
It is also worth noting that even the horrifying numbers in this report are likely an undercount - with Nur-row-nuh saying his investigation was limited by what the diocese provided.
Adding,
“I have no way of knowing if they produced everything we asked for.” []
Nur-row-nuh also went on to add that the goal for this report is to spur legal reforms to boost investigative powers and help victims seek justice.
As for the diocese response, they were pretty quick to try minimizing this report.
Highlighting the fact that this is a well-known problem and saying,
“Despite how the attorney general now frames this as an ‘investigation,’ the report did not result from legal compulsion, criminal or civil administrative proceedings, or coercion by governmental power. This voluntary records review was made possible only because the diocese freely granted access to the attorney general through a 2019 memorandum of understanding, set aside its valid legal objections and willingly endured six and a half years of persistent requests for over seventy-five years of material.” []
Stressing their own, quote, “unprecedented and voluntary agreement to extraordinary transparency” and noting that they were under no obligation to do so. []
They also acknowledged their own, quote, “serious missteps” in handling earlier cases of abuse but argue that the protections they’ve instituted since then have proven, quote, “overwhelmingly effective.” []
Adding,
“Any abuse of children is an abhorrent sin and a terrible crime.” []
Though many people aren’t really feeling like taking the diocese at their word when it comes to holding their own accountable and taking care of kids.
With lawyer Mitchell Garabedian saying,
“To trust the Diocese of Providence to now protect children after decades of abusing them is akin to trusting seasoned bank robbers to become bank tellers. It makes no sense morally or otherwise.” []
Whether or not we see substantial change is still up in the air but for the victims, this report is the light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
With Anne Hagan Webb, a survivor of childhood abuse by her priest at her home parish, saying at a press conference that this report finally validated her allegations.
Saying,
“You have no idea how important this is to me. To be called ‘noncredible’ by the diocese has haunted me.”
“This report should make Rhode Island Catholics gasp in horror. Read it. Please read it. By reading it, you honor the children who were hurt.”
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