APO.Eagles: Heavy duty Maddow Monday edition! ... The White House’s line on Trump’s recent MRI raises more questions than answers

Monday, November 17, 2025

TODAY'S TOP MADDOWBLOG POSTS

Facing defeat, Trump completes dramatic U-turn on Epstein Files Transparency Act

Donald Trump has flip-flopped before, but his reversal on a resolution to force disclosure of the Epstein files was dramatic — and born of weakness.

The White House's line on Trump's recent MRI raises more questions than answers

Asked about his recent MRI, Donald Trump said, "I have no idea what they analyzed." That won't make the underlying questions go away.

Tariffs, groceries and the gap between Team Trump's public and private stances

The White House's new "affordability" agenda involves abandoning part of a failing tariffs policy that was making it harder for Americans to afford things.

Trump-appointed FEMA chief resigns after six troubled months on the job

As a Trump-appointed FEMA chief resigns after six troubled months on the job, it's hard not to wonder whether the agency will survive Trump's second term.

MORE FROM THE MADDOWBLOG

WHAT'S ON RACHEL'S BLUESKY RADAR

ICE agent arrested for pulling gun on Southern California teen, lawyer says
(KTLA)
"People familiar with FBI security protocols said they were unaware of any other instance in which the girlfriends of top FBI officials received government-staffed security details..."
(MS NOW)
"The group, founded in 2009 by conservatives who split from the Episcopal Church over its approval of an openly gay bishop..."

N. American Anglican archbishop suspended after sexual misconduct allegations
(Washington Post)
"A foreign counterintelligence agent was pulled off a case involving China to walk around D.C., making D.W.I. arrests..."
(New Yorker)
"I got a call from the general counsel at the F.B.I. about changing exceptions to the gift rules because his boss, Kash Patel, felt like he should be able to accept more expensive gifts..."
...
"The F.B.I. had to divest serious resources from investigations of violent crime, gun and drug trafficking and child exploitation. Agents were diverted from those cases..."
...
"One case involved the sole African American attorney working for the Mississippi State Senate, who was paid less than half of what her white colleagues made. As clear-cut a case of disparate racial treatment you could find.

Trump appointees ordered us to drop it."
...
"... asked to drop cases for political reasons, to find evidence for flimsy investigations, to take positions in court they thought had no legitimate basis.

"Work they were told to abandon — investigations of terrorist plots, corruption and white-collar fraud..."

The Unraveling of the Justice Department - Sixty attorneys describe a year of chaos and suspicion.
(New York Times)
"She began to record the agents as they spoke to the landscaper in Spanish. After the agents noticed her phone, they got back in their vehicles and drove away..."

U.S. Border Patrol Launches Operation in Charlotte
(New York Times)
NYT: In Pulpits and Pews, Catholic Churches Urge Compassion for Immigrants

By Mark Bonamo, Dave Philipps and Pooja Salhotra
@davephilipps.bsky.social

@poojasalhotra.bsky.social

Gift link!
(Eileen Clancy shares New York Times)
At least seven faith leaders arrested at Broadview ICE facility protest
(Religion News Service)
"Jeffries concluded, 'Pulte knows what he is doing is lawless... Accountability is coming. The statute of limitations is five years. Every single corrupt sycophant, including Bill Pulte, who continues to disgrace the law will have to answer for their actions'..."
(MaddowBlog)
When the brothers first began, they thought they'd be patrolling for a week and a half, maybe two. But as operations stretched on, they've grown accustomed to being prepared for anything, to watching and waiting.

"It's been weird getting home, from filming federal agents and being threatened to be arrested by them, and then having to work on college applications," Ben said.
(Chicago Tribune)
Agents in Midway Blitz have been involved in eight chases that resulted in eight crashes, WBEZ and the Sun-Times found. McCarthy says each of those is a "red flag."

He says it's not unusual for vehicle pursuits to end with car crashes.

"Sometimes, people get killed," McCarthy says. "And, if you're chasing somebody for a minor violation or for an administrative immigration warrant, it's probably not something that's authorized based upon the national standards of policing. But they're not adhering to the national standards of policing because they're not police."
(Chicago Sun-Times)
Charlotte grocery store offers free delivery to protect immigrant community
(Charlotte Observer)
"Following the arrival of the U.S. Border Patrol in Charlotte Saturday morning, hundreds of protesters gathered at First Ward Park in the afternoon and marched through uptown, delivering a clear message to federal agents: 'Get out'..."
(Charlotte Observer)
"FBI Director Kash Patel granted waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two other newly hired senior FBI staff members, exempting them from passing polygraph exams normally required to gain access to America's most sensitive classified information…"
(Pro Publica)
"If you're thinking that the president just likes to say the word 'trillion' without any meaningful connection to reality, you're not alone..."
(MaddowBlog)
Don't be evil?

"Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, and tell local cops whether to contact ICE about the person, while simultaneously removing apps designed to warn local communities about the presence of ICE officers..."
(404 Media)
"A citizens group in Ontario, California is spearheading an effort to make the community aware of incidents involving federal immigration agents.

They're placing signs at the locations that read, 'ICE stole someone here'..."
(ABC7)
"My community is definitely fighting," she said, "calling the governor's office, calling state representatives, calling so many people just to figure out why is this happening to good people..."
(NBC News)
"He encouraged the crowd to take a 'Cabrini pledge,' or a commitment to immigrants the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops endorses..."

In honor of a patron saint, Catholic groups pray, protest outside Miami immigration court
(Miami Herald)
People held in 'decrepit' California ICE facility sue over 'inhumane' conditions
(The Guardian)
"Maybe somebody thought 'Oh it's a small place, it's rural, they're probably quiet, we can overpower them," said City Councilor Steve Hickman.

"We've been underestimated."
(News from the States)
As Trump Defends Foreign Workers, His Company Sought Record Number In 2025
(Forbes)
"'Right now, under federal statutes, President Trump can call us up as the militia,' he said

Rhodes added that he'd like to see Trump 'order us all to come together in our counties under his command'..."
(MaddowBlog)
Migrants at largest US detention camp face foul water, rotten food, congresswoman says
(Reuters)
"The restrictions were intended to prevent a repeat of the Nazi rise to power, when anti-democratic forces were able to subvert democracy from within..."
(Politico)
"300 agents stormed the building, rappelled from a helicopter, knocked down doors and hurled flash-bang grenades. Agents ziptied and detained many US citizens for hours..."

Prosecutors have not filed a *single* criminal charge against anyone arrested that night:
(Pro Publica)
The Right's Decades-Long Nazi Problem
(Mother Jones)
"They were intimate enough for her to see him flossing his teeth, his dopp kit overflowing with prescriptions.

She writes that despite being 'sober' for decades, Kennedy [RFK Jr.] told her he still uses psychedelics, and smoked dimethyltryptamine, or DMT..."
(New York Times)
"Opponents of the effort kept up pressure on lawmakers. When one Republican senator, who said he was undecided on redistricting, held a listening session in his district this month, none of the more than 60 people who spoke expressed support for a new map..."
(New York Times)