DL Open Thread: Thursday, May 7, 2026
Dover’s House Of Hope Facing Possible Closure:
A Delaware emergency shelter that has served nearly 100 women in the past year — many fleeing violence, battling untreated mental health conditions or facing homelessness — is now at risk of shutting its doors.
At House of Hope in Kent County, leaders say funding shortfalls could force difficult decisions in the coming months. The 16-bed shelter is the only one of its kind serving women in the county, and is one of three in the state.
The shelter offers the women who live there more than just a bed. It provides short-term housing and support for those with nowhere else to turn.
“While they’re here, they can still stay here up to 45 days. And we provide case management,” said Larry Merchant, the shelter’s board chair. “We help them get résumés, Social Security cards, IDs. We are not a clinical facility. We don’t offer mental health, but we give them the right resources where they can receive mental health if they need it.”
According to Merchant, the need for that support has changed dramatically over time.
“Thirty years ago, the homeless population tended to be people who had been through a divorce, a major family crisis, or had unpaid medical expenses, and they ended up homeless,” he said. “Over the years, I’ve seen that progress more towards, quite honestly, people with untreated mental health, domestic violence backgrounds, substance abuse backgrounds, and simply the inability to afford housing.”
And the broader issue, he said, is simple.
“Housing, period, is an issue,” he said. “Affordable housing is the issue.”
You’d think that Kent County legislators would ensure funding for such an essential service. Looks like you might think wrong.
A Corrupted Justice Department:
Jack Smith, the special counsel who twice indicted President Trump, accused the Justice Department of having been “corrupted” by Trump loyalists he claimed were demolishing its credibility and seeking to undermine the rule of law.
Mr. Smith’s remarks, made last month in a private discussion at the Cosmos Club in Washington, represented his sharpest criticism of the department since leaving his post early last year. They came at a time when Mr. Trump is demanding Mr. Smith be prosecuted for his work as special counsel — an outcome Mr. Smith believes is likely, according to people familiar with his thinking.
“We have a Department of Justice today that targets people for criminal prosecution simply because the president doesn’t like them,” Mr. Smith said in the hourlong discussion on April 20, according to a video obtained by The New York Times.
No Need To Take His Word For It:
The FBI acts on more than 2,000 search warrants every year. So why was the one that federal agents executed Wednesday in Portsmouth so different that it drew national attention?
It’s not just because agents raided the office and business of a politician. It’s because that particular politician is arguably the most powerful political figure in Virginia — one who lately has had a national impact. Here’s a quick summary of what to know about the “law enforcement action” conducted at the office and business of state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.
The FBI has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into whether information was leaked to a reporter for The Atlantic, who wrote that FBI Director Kash Patel’s quote “excessive drinking” was causing deep concern in the bureau.
Carol Leonnig is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. She left the Washington Post when Bezos imposed his stamp on the paper’s editorial slant. Here’s what she says:
Amna Nawaz:
So I want to start with the news that you broke, that the FBI is investigating Sarah Fitzpatrick. That’s “The Atlantic” reporter behind that Kash Patel story.
And I want to start by putting to you what the FBI assistant director had to say in a statement about your report. He said: “This is completely false. No such investigation like this exists. The reporter you mention is not being investigated at all. Every time there’s a publication of false claims by anonymous sources that gets called out, the media plays the victim by investigations that do not exist.”
Carol, what’s your response to that?
Carol Leonnig:
My response is that we stand by our reporting.
We have been told by multiple sources that, at the director’s instruction from his executive suite, a unit in Huntsville, Alabama, was ordered to begin investigating and reviewing this “Atlantic” reporter’s contacts, her — and begin potentially looking at her phone, metadata, and social media contacts.
Again, we don’t know the status of what the FBI has obtained, but we know that they have been ordered to open this investigation. We also — I want to emphasize something for viewers of your show who probably don’t deal with the Department of Justice and the FBI every day.
When the FBI and the Department of Justice open investigation, it’s based on typically a predicate that they have reasonable belief that a crime has occurred. And, in this case, the FBI agents are raising concerns about whether or not any such predicate exists to open this investigation.
Typically, when there’s an investigation of a leak, it’s criminal because classified information has been released. And there’s a big question mark here about what potentially is classified, and there’s a big question mark as well about why the FBI has to start with a reporter, when usually that is the sort of step of last resort.
From The ‘Satire Is Dead’ Department–Ka$h’s Stash:
A personalized bottle of Woodford Reserve bourbon engraved with the words “Kash Patel FBI Director,” as well as a rendering of an FBI shield, obtained by The Atlantic (The Atlantic)
One of J. Edgar Hoover’s greatest reforms at the FBI was his embrace of fingerprinting. During the 1930s, visitors to the FBI offices in Washington, D.C., received souvenir fingerprint cards featuring his name. The men who succeeded him as FBI director were more discreet and judicious, mindful of the cult of personality that had developed around Hoover. They generally avoided giving out branded swag.
But then came Kash Patel.
President Trump’s FBI director has a great deal of affection for swag. Merchandise for sale on a website he co-founded—still operating, nearly 15 months into his term—includes beanies ($35), T-shirts ($35), orange camo hoodies ($65), trucker caps ($25), “government gangsters” playing cards (on sale for $10), and a Fight With Kash Punisher scarf ($25).
One thing not for sale is liquor, because liquor is something Patel gives away for free.
Last month, I reported that FBI personnel were alarmed by what they said was erratic behavior and excessive drinking by Patel. (The FBI director has denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit against The Atlantic and me.)
After my story appeared, I heard from people in Patel’s orbit and people he has met at public functions, who told me that it is not unusual for him to travel with a supply of personalized branded bourbon. The bottles bear the imprint of the Kentucky distillery Woodford Reserve, and are engraved with the words “Kash Patel FBI Director,” as well as a rendering of an FBI shield. Surrounding the shield is a band of text featuring Patel’s director title and his favored spelling of his first name: Ka$h. An eagle holds the shield in its talons, along with the number 9, presumably a reference to Patel’s place in the history of FBI directors. In some cases, the 750-milliliter bottles bear Patel’s signature, with “#9” there as well. One such bottle popped up on an online auction site shortly after my story appeared, and The Atlantic later purchased it. (The person who sold it to us did not want to be named, but said that the bottle was a gift from Patel at an event in Las Vegas.)
Backwards reels the mind.
It’s 8:34 am? I need a drink.
What do you want to talk about?
