DL Open Thread: Thursday, July 17, 2025
Mic Drop Of The Day. Thanks to one of my fave tipsters:
[takes very deep breath]
Pretty weird that Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving 20 years for her involvement in a sex trafficking operation that was all in service to one man and no other clients and that man is now dead and the Department of Justice and FBI falsely claimed they released “raw” surveillance video of the area near his jail cell the night before he was found dead, which was later discovered by Wired to have been spliced and edited and inexplicably missing three minutes of footage and that man was a close friend of Trump for 15 years and Trump is actively trying to block Maxwell’s SCOTUS appeal on her conviction under a non-prosecution agreement that was previously reached with a U.S. Attorney who later became Trump’s Secretary of Labor and Trump now claims the whole thing is somehow a Democratic hoax perpetrated by Obama and Comey even though both of Epstein’s arrests by federal authorities happened under Republican presidents—the second one under Trump himself—and yet, the entire Republican Party—including Trump—and the rightwing media apparatus supporting them were somehow tricked by Democrats into specifically campaigning LAST YEAR for transparency on the Epstein scandal and pledging to release the files on the operation and his attorney general said the client list is on her desk and under review just a few months ago but now claims the client list never existed, which prompted the most intense infighting in the MAGA movement we’ve ever seen last week and it’s really anyone’s guess at this point why this is so but for some reason, Trump has no interest in releasing the files to clear his own name and the Republican Party have collectively decided to forget they’ve spent the past six years raising a ruckus over this very thing and House Republicans—again, many of whom have campaigned for transparency on this—just unanimously voted against releasing the files, without any real justification, except for the nine House Republicans who curiously declined to vote on it and refuse to offer a credible explanation for that decision while House Democrats unanimously voted for releasing the files despite being the party that’s behind said hoax.
Pretty weird.
I honestly wish I had written that.
Maurene Comey, a Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was abruptly fired on Wednesday by the Trump administration, according to six people with knowledge of the matter.
Though the reason for Ms. Comey’s firing was not immediately clear, her dismissal immediately raised questions, given her involvement in the Epstein-related cases that have roiled the White House in recent days.
There was no explicit indication that Ms. Comey’s firing was related to her work on the cases against Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in a yearslong scheme to sexually exploit underage girls.
But the firing raises the possibility that Ms. Comey is being set up as a scapegoat as the administration fights to move past the scandal.
Yep, Public Broadcasting Is Going Away. BTW, here’s why Rethugs suck:
Some Republicans who backed the bill echoed their concerns.Sens. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), all of whomvoted for the bill, lamented that the White House had not shared more details about which programs would be cut if it passed.
“I suspect we’re going to find out there are some things we’re going to regret, some second- and third-order effects, and I suspect that when we do, we’ll have to come back and fix it,” Tillis said.
Except they won’t.
Ever Heard Of Eswatini? We’re shipping immigrants there. Just thought you’d like to know.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin boasted on X that “a safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed,” with 5 immigrants aboard.
“This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” she wrote. “These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities but thanks to Trump and [Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem], they are off of American soil.”
To back up the assertion, McLaughlin posted some photos of the alleged barbarians, along with their criminal convictions. Of course, their names are not provided, so as per usual, there’s no way to fact check the now-standard assertion that the people being deported are the very worst of the worst.
The recent, nationwide phenomenon of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showing up at federal courthouses to arrest undocumented people after their immigration hearings has inspired an outpouring of volunteers who come to observe the hearings and assist the immigrants and their families.
ICE personnel in Sacramento, California, clearly aren’t happy about this. Volunteers say agents there have been obstructing their work and harassing them, even though court hearings are open to the public under federal law and the First Amendment.
They “have been taking photos of our volunteers and have made threatening comments,” says Autumn Gonzalez, a volunteer with the nonprofit NorCal Resist. “People have been pushed, shoved. Officers have locked people in an elevator and pushed all the buttons. There’s very open hostility from the ICE agents toward people who are just community volunteers trying to make sure that nobody disappears and gets lost in the system without anyone knowing.”
This reminds me–our youngest daughter has engaged with the ACLU in Oregon, and is being trained to be a Volunteer Observer. Yes, I’m very proud of her. It sounds like something we can do as well. Probably only a matter of time before ICE rolls into Georgetown–or Wilmington.
Did SS1/SB 21 Weaken This Case Against META? The trial has begun. I remember that this amendment by Rep. Burns was specifically introduced to prevent META from minimizing its liability after the fact, I think at this trial. Rep. Griffith excoriated it as an ‘unfriendly amendment’, and it was defeated. I know that we have some legal beagles who read this blog. Am I right, or am I off-base?
What do you want to talk about?
“as the administration fights to move past the scandal.”
Fucking media. As if whatever published this has no role whatsoever in determining whether the administration “moves past” the scandal.
Massive data center proposed in DE City area. To be a fly on the wall watching this developer go ask Caneco for support…
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2025/07/17/data-center-new-castle-county-delaware/85239325007/
Don’t those centers require massive amounts of water?
Caneco said he’s listening, but he has questions.
So do I.
I object to the framing, that it will bring “hundreds of jobs.” Paltry return for the destruction it will cause.
Not to mention, saying it will bring ‘hundreds of jobs’ doesn’t mean it will bring ‘hundreds of jobs’.
It won’t be hundreds of jobs once the construction is done. They’re projecting around 90 FT folks once it’s up and running. And yes, data centers chew up massive amounts of water and energy, and it looks like they think they’re going to run it on natural gas out of the refinery. Disaster waiting to happen.
Hasn’t DE City suffered enough?
Data Centers potentially “emit significant amounts of particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and carbon dioxide (CO₂)—pollutants that degrade air quality, contribute to climate change, and pose serious health risks to nearby communities.”
https://www.staxengineering.com/stax-hub/the-environmental-impact-of-data-centers/
Perhaps DNREC will adopt what once was the DELDOT standard under Kermit Justice:
“The intersection is already a failed intersection, so there will be no change if this proposed development is built.”
The Delaware City version:
“The residents are already experiencing the effects of a polluted atmosphere, they will merely experience similar effects if the proposed development is built.”
No change. Proposal approved.
Eswatini is also the only absolute monarchy in Africa. Perhaps there’s a bromance brewing between the King and the Big Orange.
Wow, 50 page views from the Netherlands today?
‘Fess up–who’s on holiday?
Data centers require massive amounts of cooling, 24/7, 365. Regardless of the source of cooling it will suck on the grid that is in great shape you know.
Good point. And you just know who will pay for the ‘privilege’ of adding those new jobs. Not the company that will likely be receiving all kinds of public bribes to locate here.