Trump’s Team Didn’t Care That Deadly Boat Strikes Could Be Illegal

The Trump administration repeatedly overlooked and pushed past lawyers who questioned the legality of its deadly strikes on alleged “drug” boats, according to a new report.

On Saturday, The Washington Post released an investigation that sheds new light on the process behind the controversial attacks that have left more than 80 people dead and angered Americans across the political spectrum, including some of President Donald Trump’s base.

According to government officials who were familiar with the situation, the administration initially planned for the CIA to conduct the strikes—but when CIA lawyers pushed back, they pivoted to using the U.S. military. The Trump administration’s justification for the lethal attacks is that the U.S. is engaged in an armed conflict with “designated terrorist organizations.”

But many national security experts, both inside and outside of the administration, told the Post that this justification “does not stand up to facts.”

What’s more, many of the lawyers who raised concerns or attempted to institute guardrails had either left the government, or had been reassigned or removed from their positions. The National Security Council’s full-time legal staff was completely gutted by this summer, including former Pentagon general counsel Paul Ney, who had raised concerns about the legality of the strikes, according to former officials.

Meanwhile, over at the CIA, some people are worried about blowback from these covert operations, like with the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s.

“The question is, is it legal just to kill the guy if he’s not threatening to kill you and you’re outside an armed conflict? There are people who are simply uncomfortable with the president just declaring we’re at war with drug traffickers,” one former senior official told the Post.

The new report confirms what other top military lawyers have been saying: that Trump’s strikes against alleged drug boats could be considered extrajudicial killings.

Self-described “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer could barely conceal her rage about President Donald Trump’s meeting with NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani Friday, which, by all appearances, went shockingly well.

“Not condemning Trump,” Loomer disclaimed, before launching into her tirade. “However, I think we can all agree its a bad look to let a foreign born jihadist who said he wants to implement ANTI WHITE policies like taxing white people more money to stand behind the desk in the Oval Office.”

It seems like Trump himself would disagree with Loomer’s characterization: In the meeting, when asked if he “thought he was standing next to a jihadist,” Trump said, “No, I don’t.”

When a reporter asked whether Mamdani still believed the president was a fascist, Trump said,“You can just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind,” while patting the mayor-elect on the arm.

Loomer, who has repeatedly accused Mamdani of supporting terrorism, must have been watching this with smoke pouring out of her ears.

“What are we doing?” Loomer asked multiple times in her post. “I’m stunned.”

Later, she wrote, “I had to drink a bottle of ginger ale today after seeing Mamdani in the Oval Office because it physically nauseates me seeing Islamic jihadists infiltrate our government.”

To be fair, you can’t blame Loomer for being surprised.

No one expected President Trump, who recently referred to Mamdani as a communist and threatened to revoke New York City’s federal funding, to defend the politician from “gotcha” questions about taking a plane instead of a bus (“It’s a lot quicker,” Trump mused), or dismiss that time Mamdani called him a despot (“I’ve been called much worse,” Trump affirmed).

Maybe next time she has the president’s ear, Loomer can ask for more ginger ale.

Former die-hard Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene announced her resignation from the House of Representatives on Friday night, saying that neither party is focused on helping everyday Americans.

Greene, a representative from Georgia, has recently been at odds with many of her MAGA compatriots over her support for the release of the Epstein files, among other issues. Last week, she ended up in a public fight with the president, who called her a “raving lunatic” and a “traitor.”

In her resignation video and accompanying statement, MTG railed against the “political industrial complex”, saying: “When the common American people finally realize … that not one elected leader like me is able to stop Washington’s machine from gradually destroying our country, and instead the reality is that they, common Americans, The People, possess real power over Washington, then I’ll be here by their side to rebuild it.”

Greene also responded to Trump’s increasing attacks against her, writing, “Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” she wrote.

She later wrote, “It’s all so absurd and completely unserious. I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”

Greene’s resignation came as a surprise to Republican leadership, according to Politico. Trump responded Saturday morning on Truth Social, calling her “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown” (Trump has taken to calling her “Brown” instead of “Greene,” because, by his logic, green turns brown when it rots) and went on to criticize her at length, then concluded by thanking her for her service.

According to MTG’s statement, because of political drama, she was unable to get her bills passed, which included, apparently, legislation to make English the official U.S. language, eliminate H1-B visas, and legislation “making it a felony to medically trans a minor.”

Though her resignation letter gives no hint as to where she’s headed next—just that she “look[s] forward to a new path ahead”—rumors have swirled recently that she may be considering a presidential run. Greene has denied this.

Either way, we hope she doesn’t let the door hit her on her way out.

President Donald Trump’s fawning over Zohran Mamdani Friday may have just detonated Republicans’ strategy for the 2026 midterm elections. 

Since Mamdani’s stunning success in the New York mayoral primary in June, Republicans have rushed to paint him as the face of a more “radical left” Democratic Party. After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement earlier this month, House Republicans moved to officially cast Mamdani as their boogeyman ahead of the 2026 midterms. 

But on Friday, Trump appeared happier than ever as he fawned over their foil—and blew up some of Republicans’ major complaints about Mamdani.

Trump (once again) screwed over Republican Representative Elise Stefanik, who launched her own botched gubernatorial campaign shortly after Mamdani won his own election in order to “save New York.” 

One reporter asked Trump whether he agreed with one of Stefanik’s many racist attacks against Mamdani after meeting with the mayor-elect. “Do you think you’re standing next to a jihadist right now, in the Oval Office?” the reporter asked.

“No I don’t. But she’s out there campaigning, and uh, you say things sometimes in a campaign. She’s a very capable person, but you’d really have to ask her about that,” Trump replied, calling Mamdani a “very rational person.” The president had previously called Mamdani a “100 percent lunatic communist.” 

Trump also dismissed Republicans’ outlandish claims that Mamdani’s progressive policies would send New York City’s highest earners leaving in droves. 

“Would you feel comfortable living in New York City under a Mamdani administration?” asked another reporter.

“Yeah I would, I really would. Especially after the meeting. Absolutely,” Trump replied, adding:  “We agree on a lot more than I would’ve thought. I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job.”

As a man running multiple plots to ensure Republican victory in the 2026 midterms, Trump seemed entirely unaware of the political leverage he was forfeiting as he fell for Mamdani’s charm offensive. Rather, Trump seemed to be convinced that some of Mamdani’s broad antiestablishment appeal could also apply to him—either that or he was just excited to meet another celebrity. 

Mamdani didn’t seem too unhappy, either, while standing beside the man he called a despot—though he refused to back down from his strong criticisms of the president’s administration. 

Zohran Mamdani appears to have charmed Donald Trump.

The president was nearly unrecognizable beside the mayor-elect of New York City, who traveled to the White House Friday for their first meeting.

After privately discussing the Big Apple’s affordability crisis, the duo answered questions from behind the Resolute Desk with a remarkably buddy-buddy attitude.

“I think you’re going to have hopefully a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am, I will say,” Trump told reporters.

The democratic socialist apparently excelled at speaking the president’s language in their tête-à-tête. Trump noted that he was surprised to hear that Mamdani does not want high crime rates in New York and wants to build affordable housing—two areas that the real estate mogul has focused on for years.

“I have very little doubt that we’re not going to get along on that issue,” Trump said.

One in 10 Trump supporters voted for Mamdani during the New York City mayoral election earlier this month—and Trump could have been one of them, based on the incredibly warm atmosphere in the room. Trump noted that he believed Mamdani could “surprise” conservatives.

“I expect to be helping him, not hurting him,” Trump continued. “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought.”

It was a near-miraculous change in opinion for a man who spent months trying to tear down Mamdani’s campaign. Trump has openly browbeaten the 34-year-old since he won New York City’s Democratic primary in a shocking upset in June. The president has accused the local lawmaker of being a “Communist” and living in the country “illegally” and has even threatened his arrest. Trump also pledged to send the National Guard to New York City if Mamdani enters Gracie Mansion—though it’s not so clear if Trump feels the same way now.

When asked by a reporter if he would feel safe living in New York City when Mamdani’s term begins, Trump said he would.

No component of the pair’s brutal history seemed immune to Mamdani’s pervasive charm as the two politicians laughed and smiled at each other in the White House Friday. At one point, when a reporter asked Mamdani if he stood by calling Trump a “fascist,” Trump patted the Democratic New Yorker’s arm.

“That’s OK, you can just say yes. It’s easier. I don’t mind,” Trump said. At another point, Trump laughed off Mamdani’s accusation that he was a “despot,” telling reporters that he had “been called much worse.”

What buttered him up, Trump said, was the fact that Mamdani was “different than your average candidate.”

“I think you really have a chance to make it,” Trump said, giving Mamdani’s hand a firm shake.

Mamdani, however, was less effusive, keeping his answers strikingly diplomatic.

“Does New York City love Donald Trump?” asked one reporter.

“New York City loves a future that is affordable,” Mamdani said, underscoring that more New Yorkers voted for the president during the 2024 election due to the cost of living crisis.

Ghislanie Maxwell, an accomplice of disgraced billionaire child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, will not cooperate with a House probe into Epstein and how the Department of Justice handled his case. 

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex-trafficking charges, and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said that her legal team told him she would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights if called to speak with congressional investigators. 

“Her lawyers have replied that she’s not going to answer any questions,” Comer told Politico. “She’s only going to plead the Fifth. I mean, I could spend a bunch of taxpayer dollars to send staff and members down there, and if she’s going to plead the Fifth, I don’t know that that’s a good investment.”

The committee subpoenaed Maxwell in July. Initially, she suggested that she would be willing to answer questions under certain circumstances, such as immunity from further criminal proceedings and the ability to receive questions in advance, which Comer rejected. One of Maxwell’s attorneys, David Oskar Markus, signed a letter that month stating Maxwell “will have no choice but to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights” if her conditions weren’t met. 

After the House’s subpoena, Maxwell spoke to the Justice Department, giving an interview to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and claiming that she had never seen Donald Trump at Epstein’s house, claiming the two were just casual friends. 

“I think [Trump and Epstein] were friendly like people are in social settings. I don’t—I don’t think they were close friends or I certainly never witnessed the president in any of—I don’t recall ever seeing him in [Epstein’s] house, for instance,” Maxwell said, according to interview transcripts. “I actually never saw the president in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody.”  

Shortly after that interview, Maxwell was transferred to a minimum security facility in Texas, where she gets special perks such as secret meetings with visitors in the prison chapel, being able to eat alone in her cell, getting a security escort to the gym, and being able to shower after other inmates go to sleep. 

The recent disclosures of Epstein’s emails by the House Oversight Committee contradict Maxwell’s characterization of her relationship with Trump, with Epstein and Maxwell discussing Trump’s frequent visits to Epstein’s home and how Trump spent a lot of time with sex-trafficking victims. 

That may well be why Maxwell doesn’t want to cooperate with Congress. She’d be forced to answer questions about new revelations in the committee’s emails that not only implicate her, but also the president, and explain why she lied to the DOJ. 

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani refused to back down Friday for calling President Donald Trump a fascist—even when standing right next to him.

Following what both men called a “productive” meeting at the White House, one reporter from the New York Post asked Mamdani about some of his previous criticisms about the president.

“Just days ago you referred to President Trump as a ‘despot’ who betrayed the country, you said you’d be his ‘worst nightmare,’ and accused him of having a fascist agenda. Are you planning to retract any of these remarks in order to improve your relationship?” the reporter asked.

Mamdani refused. “I think both President Trump and I—we are very clear about our positions and our views. And what I really appreciate about the president is the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement—which there are many—and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers,” he replied.

Later, another reporter pressed Mamdani to clarify his response to the question. “Are you affirming that you think that President Trump is a fascist?”

“I’ve spoken about—” Mamdani began to reply, before Trump interrupted him.

“That’s OK, you can just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind,” Trump said, patting Mamdani on the arm.

“Ok, alright,” said a smiling Mamdani.

It doesn’t seem like Mamdani will have to recant anything at all—because Trump seemed a little smitten with the charismatic young Democratic Socialist, after previously calling him a “100 percent communist lunatic.”

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to abandon its long-held position that vaccines are not tied to autism.

In an interview with The New York Times Thursday, Kennedy said he was responsible for the change on the CDC’s website, which now states that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not evidence-based.”

Kennedy told the Times that he’s not arguing that vaccines do cause autism, but rather underscoring there’s no evidence that they don’t.

“The whole thing about ‘vaccines have been tested and there’s been this determination made,’ is just a lie,” Kennedy said. “The phrase ‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ is not supported by science.”

Former CDC officials told the Times that it is extraordinarily unusual for a health secretary to personally demand a change to long-standing policy, let alone make a decision that radically defies contemporary science. Typically, agency scientists craft changes that are then directed to the secretary’s desk for review.

Combating autism is the cornerstone of Kennedy’s public health policy. Kennedy is a leader in a growing movement of anti-vax parents who refuse to provide their children with the same public health advantages that they received in their youth, mostly in fear of thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories that, at one point, falsely linked autism to the jab.

The researcher who sparked that myth with a fraudulent paper lost his medical license and eventually rescinded his opinion. Since then, dozens of studies have proven there’s no correlation between autism and vaccines, including one study that surveyed more than 660,000 children over the course of 11 years.

The evidence that Kennedy is looking for to disprove his theory is nearly impossible to obtain, according to health care professionals.

“You can’t prove that Coca-Cola doesn’t cause autism either,” Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of the medical ethics division at New York University, told the Times.

But confusion persists regarding even the most basic figures. A study published by the Autism Society of Texas found that one in 31 people are estimated to have autism—a noticeably sharp uptick from figures released in 2006 that found about one in every 110 children were diagnosed with autism by age 8.

But behind those numbers is a different story, since the definition of autism was broadened in that same time span. Increased research, social destigmatization, and improved mental health screening have also contributed to the inflated numbers.

As a reminder: Since their invention, vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine. The medical shots are so effective at preventing illness that they have effectively eradicated some of the worst diseases from our collective culture, from rabies to polio and smallpox—a fact that has possibly fooled some into believing that the viruses and their complications aren’t a significant threat to the average, health-conscious individual.

In a country where the cost of living skyrockets while wages remain low, where a few broken bones can leave you in financial ruin, and where the young feel they have no chance at any upward mobility, 86 House Democrats joined Republicans to pass a resolution denouncing “the horrors of socialism.”

“Whereas socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has, time and time again, collapsed into communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships; Whereas socialism has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 people worldwide,” the resolution reads. “Whereas many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, and Nicolás Maduro …”

In addition to the 86 Democrats who voted with Republicans, two Democrats voted “present.”

“Socialism has time and again led to economic ruin, human depravation, and mass suffering. But from the bread lines of Eastern Europe to the failed communist regimes of Cuba and Venezuela, socialism promises equality but delivers it selectively,” said GOP Representative John Rose. “It promises security but delivers surveillance. It promises fairness but delivers oppression and democide.”

This vote—which comes the same day that democratic socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani meets with President Trump in the White House—is an embarrassing waste of time for the party trying and failing to win back the working class, which still views them as elites. It’s also something they do a lot.

This resolution was met with wide disapproval.

“I wish we were here on the House floor this morning debating solutions that would reduce grocery bills, lower housing costs, end Trump’s tariffs strangling American small businesses and manufacturers, solve the Republican health care crisis, or any legislation that allows Americans to afford to live through the catastrophic economic policies of Trump and the Republicans,” Democratic Representative Maxine Waters said, speaking against the resolution. “But, instead of doing the work our constituents desperately want us to do, Republicans in the House have chosen once again to advance a resolution under the guise of denouncing ‘socialism.’ Let me be clear, this resolution is an embarrassing distraction from the complete and total failure of the Trump administration to deliver actual results for the American people.”

Here is every House Democrat who voted with Republicans to condemn socialism:

1. Pete Aguilar—California
2. Gabe Amo—Rhode Island
3. Jake Auchincloss—Massachusetts
4. Ami Bera—California
5. Sanford Bishop—Georgia
6. Brandon Boyle—Pennsylvania
7. Nikki Budzinski—Illinois
8. Salud Carbajal—California
9. Ed Case—Hawaii
10. Kathy Castor—Florida
11. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick—Florida
12. Gil Cisneros—California
13. Katherine Clark—Massachusetts
14. Jim Clyburn—South Carolina
15. Herb Conaway—New Jersey
16. Lou Correa—California
17. Jim Costa—California
18. Angie Craig—Minnesota
19. Jason Crow—Colorado
20. Henry Cuellar—Texas
21. Don Davis—North Carolina
22. Chris Deluzio—Pennsylvania
23. Shomari Figures—Alabama
24. Bill Foster—Illinois
25. Lois Frankel—Florida
26. Laura Gillen—New York
27. Jared Golden—Maine
28. Vicente Gonzalez—Texas
29. Maggie Goodlander—New Hampshire
30. Josh Gottheimer—New Jersey
31. Adam Gray—California
32. Josh Harder—California
33. Jim Himes—Connecticut
34. Steven Horsford—Nevada
35. Chrissy Houlahan—Pennsylvania
36. Hakeem Jeffries—New York
37. Julie Johnson—Texas
38. Marcy Kaptur—Ohio
39. Bill Keating—Massachusetts
40. Greg Landsman—Ohio
41. Susie Lee—Nevada
42. Mike Levin—California
43. Ted Lieu—California
44. Stephen Lynch—Massachusetts
45. Seth Magaziner—Rhode Island
46. John Mannion—New York
47. Lucy McBath—Georgia
48. April McClain Delaney—Maryland
49. Kristen McDonald Rive —Michigan
50. Gregory Meeks—New York
51. Grace Meng—New York
52. Joseph Morelle—New York
53. Kelly Morrison—Minnesota
54. Jared Moskowitz—Florida
55. Seth Moulton—Massachusetts
56. Frank Mrvan—Indiana
57. Donald Norcross—New Jersey
58. Jimmy Panetta—California
59. Chris Pappas—New Hampshire
60. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez—Washington
61. Scott Peters—California
62. Brittany Pettersen—Colorado
63. Nellie Pou—New Jersey
64. Josh Riley—New York
65. Raul Ruiz—California
66. Pat Ryan—New York
67. Andrea Salinas—Oregon
68. Brad Schneider—Illinois
69. Hillary Scholten—Michigan
70. Kim Schrier—Washington
71. Eric Sorenson—Illinois
72. Daren Soto—Florida
73. Greg Stanton—Arizona
74. Haley Stevens—Michigan
75. Marilyn Strickland—Washington
76. Tom Suozzi—New York
77. Emilia Sykes—Ohio
78. Dina Titus—Nevada
79. Ritchie Torres—New York
80. Lori Trahan—Massachusetts
81. Gabe Vasquez—New Mexico
82. Eugene Vindman—Virginia
83. James Walkinshaw—Virginia
84. Debbie Wasserman Schultz—Florida
85. George Whitesides—California
86. Fredrica Wilson—Florida

Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is seriously investigating absurd claims that Venezuela rigged the 2020 presidential election.

Two people pushing the conspiracy theory, Gary Berntsen and Martin Rodil, have been in frequent contact with the U.S. attorney for Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, and gave documents and witnesses to other government officials, The Guardian reports. A federal task force in Tampa, Florida, looking at Venezuelan drug trafficking and money laundering has also interviewed supporters of the theory.

Trump has refused to concede that he lost the 2020 election, repeatedly claiming that it was rigged against him in favor of Joe Biden. His supporters have embraced numerous theories, ranging from fraudulent ballots to dead voters, and Trump did everything from having his supporters push fake electors to inciting a riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the day the election was supposed to be certified in Congress.

The Venezuela theory claims that the country has controlled electronic voting in the U.S. through the companies Smartmatic and Dominion, beginning with deceased President Hugo Chávez and continuing with his successor, President Nicolás Maduro. It was ruled false in a Delaware court in 2023, and right-wing news outlets Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in defamation lawsuits from the voting machine companies.

Trump is pointing fingers at Venezuela at a time when his administration is raising tensions with extrajudicial airstrikes on boats in waters near the country. The White House also accuses Venezuela’s socialist regime of profiting by sending drugs north to the U.S.

Reviving vote-rigging accusations against the country could be a new justification for military attacks and even war. The Trump administration has already identified Venezuelan military sites as potential targets, authorized covert CIA action in the country, and even has aircraft carriers stationed in the region.