DL Open Thread: Saturday, April 25, 2026

Delaware Challenges ICE Access To Employer Records.  Good:

Gov. Matt Meyer’s opposition to giving ICE investigators wage records for 15 Delaware businesses hasn’t changed, even after a federal judge ordered the state to provide the information last week.

Lawyers for the Delaware Department of Labor have filed a court motion to put the order on hold while the state appeals the ruling by Colm F. Connolly, chief U.S. District Judge for Delaware.

Attorney Jennifer Kate Aaronson, who represents the state, argued in the motion to Connolly that he was wrong to conclude that federal law permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to obtain the records outweighs Delaware’s right to withhold them from federal investigators.

An ICE investigator has said in court papers that the agency wants the records because agents had received tips that the companies were breaking the law.

Records detailing the names of the 15 companies are mostly redacted, but documents provided by the state to WHYY News under a public records request revealed that targets include the Perdue AgriBusiness facility in Seaford and two upstate businesses — a Mexican restaurant and a fence company.

The office of Delaware’s U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wallace had persuaded Connolly that ICE investigators had a right to the wage records, including employees’ Social Security numbers, from the businesses suspected of illegally hiring undocumented immigrants.

Connolly’s scathing 27-page order on April 13  also soundly rejected Delaware’s argument that producing the records would undermine the willingness of employers to report wage and employee data to the state and could “pose a significant risk to the solvency” of the state’s unemployment insurance fund.

Meyer and a chorus of fellow Democrats in the General Assembly, however, trumpeted the state’s decision to appeal in a news release this week.

Meyer, who told reporters last week that many of the 15 targeted businesses have “Spanish-language names,” would not speak with WHYY News for this story.

State Rep. Josue Ortega, who represents a heavily Latino district in Wilmington and its outskirts, applauded the governor and Attorney General Kathy Jennings for continuing to take a legal stand against “inhuman policies” of the Trump administration.

“Our communities are under attack and genuinely terrified. Fortunately, here in Delaware, we have leaders who are willing to stand between this administration and those we serve in order to protect them and their rights,’’ Ortega said. “But now is the time for us to do more than stand between the problem; We need to actively fight back against it.”

DOJ Ends Political Vendetta To Get Trump’s Fed Nominee Approved:

The Justice Department’s criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome H. Powell, appears to be over. But the ramifications for the central bank are likely to prove much longer lasting.

Nine months after President Trump made a hasty visit to the Fed’s Washington headquarters and promised to “take a look” at a costly renovation, the administration has concluded its inquiry with seemingly nothing to show. Far from the criminal charges that they once pursued, prosecutors left in their wake a dark cloud over the institution and the person Mr. Trump has chosen to next lead the central bank.

The about-face has removed, for now, the immediate threat of a further escalation against the Fed. It has also potentially cleared a path for Mr. Trump’s nominee for Fed chair, Kevin M. Warsh, to succeed Mr. Powell, whose term ends on May 15.

What will be far harder to recoup is confidence in the Fed’s ability to operate independently from a White House that has shown little restraint in its efforts to bully the central bank into slashing interest rates.

Kathryn Judge, a Columbia Law School professor who was a Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Stephen G. Breyer, said she feared “lasting damage” from the investigation into Mr. Powell — not only for the Fed but for policymakers across government.

Until now, she said, officials did not have to worry about repercussions from “taking a strong stance on policy issues in ways that are inconsistent with the president’s agenda.” But that was the sort of pressure that Mr. Powell faced as Mr. Trump sought to force rates down.

Just one more Federal institution weakened by Trump.

Trump Really Won In 2026.  That’s why he’s going after The Southern Policy Law Center and Act Blue:

The Southern Policy Law Center, one of the greatest political scams in American History, has been charged with FRAUD.  This is another Democrat Hoax, along with Act Blue, and many others.  If it is true, the 2020 Presidential Election should be permanently wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.

‘My Dinner With Ellison’.  I can’t quantify how pathetic CBS is:

A private Washington dinner hosted by Paramount CEO David Ellison in honor of President Trump has drawn criticism for its timing, as Paramount seeks federal approval for a $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The event, attended by top CBS News journalists and senior administration officials, raised concerns over perceived coziness between the network and the Trump White House. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s presence fueled scrutiny, given the Justice Department’s role in reviewing the merger.

‘Perceived’ coziness?  Seriously?

The dinner coincided with Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approving the acquisition by Ellison’s Paramount, a deal now awaiting federal antitrust review. Critics noted the unusual optics of a media organization’s leadership hosting a celebratory event for political figures it covers while pursuing a transaction subject to government approval. The merger would place major outlets, including CNN and HBO, under Ellison’s control, prompting calls from Hollywood stakeholders and activists to block it over competition concerns.

A staple of journalistic integrity gets tossed in the dumpster.  Absolute corruption.

What do you want to talk about?