DL Open Thread: Thursday, December 4, 2025

Trump Knows That Tariffs Will Be Ruled Illegal By Supreme Court:

Since oral arguments on Nov. 5, Trump has removed or otherwise modified IEEPA tariffs for myriad goods imported from at least seven  countries. Coffee and beef from Brazil, pharmaceutical products, aerospace equipment, and key commodities from Malaysia, and textiles and apparel from El Salvador are all coming into the U.S. at a 0% tariff, for instance.

It appears Trump is rushing to close deals in case the administration’s tariffs leverage is taken off the table by the Supreme Court, Inu Manak, senior fellow for international trade at the Council on Foreign Relations, told TPM.

“We’ve seen a focus on the conclusion of negotiations that were sort of started because of the imposition of tariffs,” said Manak. “And I think part of the reason for that has been the fear that if the tariffs go away, that there’s gonna be no incentive for each country to sit down and negotiate with the United States.”

The Supreme Court usually releases decisions in June, but the tariffs case is on an expedited timeline: international trade law firms expect the Court to issue a decision on this case as soon as this month, or early next year.

Only question is which Justice(s) have leaked the likely outcome to Trump.

Hegseth Clinging To Burning Boat.  Which strike will do him in?:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth barely squeaked through a grueling Senate confirmation process to become secretary of defense earlier this year, facing lawmakers wary of the Fox News Channel host and skeptical of his capacity, temperament and fitness for the job.

Just three months later, he quickly became embroiled in Signalgate as he and other top U.S. officials used the popular Signal messaging application to discuss pending military strikes in Yemen. A Pentagon inspector general’s report delivered to lawmakers Wednesday found his actions posed a risk to personnel and mission.

The scrutiny surrounding Hegseth’s brash leadership style is surfacing what has been long-building discontent in Congress over President Donald Trump’s choice to helm the U.S. military. And it’s posing a potentially existential moment for Hegseth as the congressional committees overseeing the military launch an investigation amid mounting calls from Democratic senators for his resignation.

Since working to become defense secretary, Hegseth has vowed to bring a “warrior culture” to the U.S. government’s most powerful and expensive department, from rebranding it as the Department of War to essentially discarding the rules that govern how soldiers conduct themselves when lives are on the line.

During a speech in September, he told an unusual gathering of top military brass whom he had summoned from all corners of the globe to the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia that they should not “fight with stupid rules of engagement.”

“We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country,” he said. “No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.”

He’s toast.  Only question: Will Fox take him back?

Steve Bannon:  Ubiqitous and Omnipresent.  Add Epstein’s Image Consultant to the list:

IF YOU FOLLOWED THE TWISTS AND TURNS of the Jeffrey Epstein saga over the last few weeks, you already know that several prominent names emerged from the tranche of emails that the Epstein estate released. But there is one big name that has so far received very little attention.

Let’s set the stage. To be unmasked as an Epstein crony is about the most embarrassing revelation for a public figure one can imagine at this moment, and sure enough, former treasury secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers, who exchanged scores of emails with the convicted pedophile, has seen his reputation shredded. The emails disclosed that Summers consulted Epstein for dating, or rather bedding, advice. Summers apparently thought Epstein was the guy who could help him to “get horizontal” with a woman mentee, though Summers was a married man and remains so. At the same time, he sought financial contributions from Epstein for an online poetry project his wife was launching.

Exit Summers.  Enter:

ALL OF WHICH RAISES A QUESTION: Why has there been no similar accountability for another of Epstein’s pen pals—Steve Bannon?

Trump’s consigliere, strategist, propagandist, and former senior counselor at the White House was on very friendly terms with Jeffrey Epstein. He exchanged hundreds of emails with the convicted felon and conspired to whitewash his public image.

Do you have friends who can send a private jet to retrieve you when your flight has been delayed? Epstein apparently did that for Bannon in 2018. On a trip to Great Britain, Bannon was greeted by protests. He emailed Epstein: “Protesters slowed down speech don’t think I can make the flight we r enroute to heathrow.” Epstein replied that he could fix it: “There. Is a gulf air that leaves at 950 with a stop in Bahrain.” Bannon was appreciative, joking that “U r an amazing assistant.” Keeping up the theme, Epstein emailed a few days later asking how it feels “to have the most highly paid travel agent in history.” Bannon responded “U r pretty good asst.” Epstein in turn replied “Massages. Not Included.” Yes, you read that correctly.

This is great and extensive reporting.  I’ll just give you a further taste to entice you to read the entire article:

Some weeks later, apparently planning some sort of public response, Bannon advises Epstein “If you do an interview it can’t be like ‘Johnnie does a utube’ – has to be amazingly professional and perfectly cut.”

One of those professionals was evidently going to be Bannon himself. He filmed fifteen hours for a documentary that would attempt to redeem Epstein’s reputation. When Epstein related that a “christian group” he had met with said the media were portraying him as “irredeemable,” Bannon responded, “Yes yes yes of course — but we must counter ‘rapist who traffics in female children to be raped by worlds most powerful , richest men’ — that can’t be redeemed — that why we let them blow up the argument while showing the 12 you redeemed. . . . Can’t redeem unredeemable — — you are a lot of things — which we will show — but you are NOT that.”

Bannon then coordinated with Epstein about the filming schedule. Epstein asked: “Did your guys prefer beard or no beard?” Bannon responded: “Slight growth.”

NCC Councilman Dave Carter: ‘Transparency For Data Center’.  I’m cut-and-pasting the entire release because I agree with every word of it:

Councilman Carter Calls for Full Transparency on Project Washington Tax Claims and Undisclosed Labor Agreements

 New Castle County, Delaware.  Councilman David B. Carter, in a correspondence sent last week, called on Starwood Digital Ventures to publicly disclose the assumptions, calculations, and agreements underlying their public claims about the economic benefits of “Project Washington,” a proposed 1.2 GW Data Center in Delaware City, Delaware.

Over recent months, New Castle County residents have been inundated with social media ads, text message blasts, and public statements that promote unusually high property-tax and economic-benefit projections for the proposed 1.2-gigawatt data center campus. They have also been bombarded by claims of high employment promises.  Despite the scale of these claims, Starwood Digital Venture has not provided any supporting methodology or documentation for the public to review and evaluate.

“New Castle County residents deserve transparency, not Facebook graphics, unverifiable talking points, or promotional claims that cannot withstand scrutiny,” said Councilman Carter. “When projected tax numbers exceed realistic estimates by more than an order of magnitude, it raises serious concerns about whether the public is being intentionally misled.”

Analysis, based on actual assessments from existing data centers in Delaware, including the JP Morgan facility in Bear, shows dramatically lower tax-revenue projections than those promoted by Starwood and its affiliated advocates. Without full disclosure of land-value assumptions, building assessments, tax-calculation methods, and the financial basis for the numbers being circulated, neither the public nor policymakers can evaluate the accuracy of these claims.  Similarly, without disclosure of any and all agreements with labor unions, neither the public nor our policy makers can determine the validity of the job creation claims or the durability of job creation promises made by Starwood.  Neither the public nor any public official should trust these claims unless they can be fully and accurately verified, a process that requires full public disclosure by Starwood Digital Ventures.

Call for Disclosure

In a letter to representatives of Starwood, Councilman Carter formally requests that:

1. Starwood Digital Ventures provide the full tax-benefit calculations and underlying assumptions used in all social-media ads, text messages, public statements, and economic-impact claims.
2. Starwood Digital Ventures disclose all agreements, letters of understanding, or MOUs negotiated with Starwood Digital Ventures; documents repeatedly referenced in public policy advocacy efforts but never shared with the residents directly affected.
3. Starwood Digital Ventures disclose the factual basis for their economic-impact assertions, including job-creation assumptions, valuation estimates, and any third-party models used.

“If these claims are accurate, there should be no hesitation in providing the data behind them,” Carter said. “If the information is withheld, it raises legitimate questions the public deserves to have answered.”

Delaware’s Economic Claims History with Insufficient Due Diligence

Delaware has experienced firsthand what happens when major economic-development proposals advance on the basis of promotional claims without rigorous, transparent, and data-driven due diligence.

• Fisker Automotive received substantial state incentives and broad backing from Delaware business organizations. The promised jobs never materialized, and taxpayers were left responsible for tens of millions of dollars in losses.
• Bloom Energy, despite early assurances of economic growth, resulted in long-term costs for Delmarva ratepayers through a surcharge established to subsidize the project. These costs continue today and disproportionately affect working families and seniors.
• AstraZeneca’s Delaware Expansion was once promoted as a cornerstone of the state’s biotech and pharmaceutical economy, with $200 Million in incentives awarded based on projected long-term job growth and facility investment. Within a few years, the company dramatically downsized its Delaware operations, eliminating thousands of jobs, abandoning large segments of its campus, and leaving the state and New Castle County with vacant or underutilized facilities that had been expected to anchor economic activity for a generation.

These projects share a common pattern:

High-profile promises, limited transparency, strong advocacy by business groups, and ultimately negative financial consequences for Delaware communities.  They also all were pushed hard by public officials without conducting adequate due diligence review of the true costs and benefits, or even their viability.

Because of this history, New Castle County has an obligation to ensure that any economic-development claims, particularly those influencing land-use decisions, are fully transparent, verifiable, and grounded in independently reviewable data.

“Transparency is not optional, it is essential for any project of this scale,” Carter said. “New Castle County taxpayers should not be asked to accept massive industrial impacts based on unverifiable promotional claims made by the special interest who profit from this at the expense of our residents. We have a responsibility to learn from past failures and insist on full public disclosure before moving forward.”

Amen.

What do you want to talk about?