Monday, December 22, 2025 |
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TODAY'S TOP MADDOWBLOG POSTS |
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While there's recent precedent for people facing contempt of Congress charges, "inherent contempt" isn't quite the same thing. |
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| The governor already has a full-time job, but the Republican has apparently accepted a new and unexpected side gig. |
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The governor already has a full-time job, but the Republican has apparently accepted a new and unexpected side gig. |
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| As the New York congresswoman came to realize, loyalty is something the president expects to receive, not to bestow. |
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As the New York congresswoman came to realize, loyalty is something the president expects to receive, not to bestow. |
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| It was odd it was to see the president brag about firing thousands of Americans a few days before Christmas. |
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It was odd it was to see the president brag about firing thousands of Americans a few days before Christmas. |
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WHAT'S ON RACHELS' BLUESKY RADAR? |
- "He needs a field jacket that fits just right, a 'Punisher'-inspired challenge coin and a new fleet of foreign cars to drive around in..."
Kash Patel's new ride of choice: An armored luxury BMW
(MS NOW)
- "The emergence of Witkoff as envoy to the Kremlin is partly a story of Putin maneuvering to nudge aside America's diplomats...
"This month, Witkoff concluded his 6th trip to Russia, talking with Putin for five hours through midnight. Witkoff has yet to visit Ukraine..."
How Putin Got His Preferred U.S. Envoy: Come Alone, No CIA
(Wall Street Journal)
- "Last year, one-term Rep. Anthony D'Esposito lost after adding his mistress to his official payroll.
This year, Republicans made him the inspector general at the Dept of Labor, where he'll be expected to investigate ethical lapses — despite his own ethical lapses."
(Steve Benen shares his post)
- "Trump, Sept. 20, in reference to Erik Siebert, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia: "He didn't quit, I fired him!"
Trump's deputy AG, three months later: Siebert wasn't fired, he quit.
These guys keep assuming that we all have bad memories."- "WELKER: Is the DOJ taking directions about who to prosecute from President Trump?
BLANCHE: No. Of course we're not. And also, Mr. Siebert wasn't fired because he refused to bring cases. He resigned."
(Steve Benen shares Aaron Rupar's clip of Todd Blanche on Meet the Press)
- "Téllez was on his way to drop his kids at school in north Portland when he was pulled out of his car by federal agents.
"The arrest drew dozens of neighbors into the streets to record the arrest and push back against immigration authorities..."
(Seattle Times)
- "Babies in the randomized, controlled trial will or will not receive the vaccine at birth...
"It is a breach of scientific ethics to withhold an intervention that has been proven safe and effective."
(The Guardian)
- "experiments in amateurism..."
"Complicating matters is the familiarity of the circumstances. This administrative blunder happened in parallel with other misguided experiments. What would happen if Republicans chose an anti-vaccine activist to serve as the nation's health secretary? What would happen if they invited a billionaire megadonor to oversee a destructive "efficiency" operation? What would happen if they confirmed a scandal-plagued Fox News host to lead the Pentagon? What would happen if they allowed a different podcast personality to become the FBI director?
What would happen if they nominated a television game-show host who didn't know anything about governing, and who never served a day in any public post, to serve as the chief executive of the world's preeminent superpower?"
(MaddowBlog)
- "I just think it's very important for us to bear witness to what's going on inside our country right now," Tincher said. "What happened to me sends a message. It says that even calm presence on a public street can be met with sudden overwhelming force. It says that fear is being used as a tool, and it says that if this can happen to me, a middle-aged White woman with deep roots in the city, then we need to ask very hard questions about what is happening to people with far less protection."
(KARE11)
- "The National Park Service has withered under the second Trump administration, losing a large chunk of its funding and a quarter of its workforce. Heading into 2026, the country's national parks and their visitors will be safeguarded by 4,000 fewer employees, and in his 2026 budget proposal, Donald Trump asked Congress for the largest cut in the Park Service's 109-year history, amounting to more than $1 billion."
(S.F. Gate)
- "Six of the pardoned January 6th insurrectionists are charged with committing child sex crimes, ranging from sexual assault to possession of child pornography. At least five were charged with illegal possession of weapons, including at least two who had a previous domestic violence conviction. Five were arrested or charged with driving while impaired or under the influence. In two of these cases, the defendant's reckless driving resulted in a fatality. Two were charged with rape."
At least 33 pardoned insurrectionists face other criminal charges—but many are now going free
(Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)
- "A new chart showing month-to-month changes to the job market since November 2020, when Trump lost his reelection bid to Biden.
"The red columns show the months in which Trump was in the White House, while the blue columns reflect Biden's term."
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On Trump's failures to create jobs, the White House flubs the meaning of 'strong'
(MaddowBlog)
- "The camp had seen similar spikes in pediatric malnutrition in recent years, but they were tied to natural causes, such as malaria outbreaks, extreme drought or COVID-19, according to staff of the International Rescue Committee, a U.S.-based nonprofit that operates Kakuma's only hospital.
This was something different: an American-made hunger crisis. So far this year, community health workers have referred almost 12,000 malnourished children for immediate medical attention."
(ProPublica)
- "'The music stops. Now I'm wondering, am I going to get out?' said Mr. Teh, who has lost about $1.5 million. 'How big of a loss am I going take on this stuff?'
"But this new corner of the crypto world has a powerful supporter: the Trump family..."
(New York Times)
- Bulgarian Chicago business owner dies in ICE custody, sparking calls for 'immediate investigation' — Nenko Gantchev, 56, lived in Chicago for 30 years, died Monday at North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan: Officials
(ABC7 Chicago)
- one of four in a week
ICE Detainee Dies After Being Held at a Troubled Jailhouse in Newark -
Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, was one of four migrants to die in the past week after medical emergencies in detention centers in New Jersey, Michigan, Mississippi and Pennsylvania.
(New York Times)
- ""After nearly 35 years of experience with federal law enforcement in this judicial district, encompassing service as a prosecutor and a judge, I have never encountered anything like this," Judge Brown, who was appointed by President Trump in 2019, wrote.
The judge also wrote that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had presented false information about Mr. Clarke's arrest and had ignored court orders by failing to present him for a hearing and provide photographs of the cell. He questioned why the agency should not be held in contempt."
Trump-Appointed Judge Flays ICE Over Conditions in Long Island Lockup
(New York Times)
- "The Trump campaign's 2020 case against CNN failed. Trump's 2021 case against The New York Times failed. Trump's 2023 case against Bob Woodward failed. The Trump campaign's case against The Washington Post failed. Trump's so-called class-action lawsuit against social media giants also failed. A separate Trump case against CNN failed. The most recent Trump lawsuit against the New York Times is off to a humiliating start."
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"The pattern is also a lesson. News organizations that have stood up for themselves and pushed back against the attempts at intimidation prevailed.
"The only way to lose a fight against Trump is to pursue appeasement.
"It's true for law firms, higher ed, news orgs..."
(MaddowBlog)
- "Denver's City Council voted against a resolution to allow Key Lime Air to lease space at Denver International Airport over concerns about the airline's immigration enforcement flights for ICE in recent months..."
(Colorado Newsline)
- "Sharing resistance tactics between cities
As ICE kidnappings spread across the country, so has this spirit of solidarity. Beth Davis, the communications lead for Indivisible NOLA, remembers getting an Instagram direct message in November from someone with Indivisible Chicago that she didn't know. "I've heard rumors that ICE may be headed to New Orleans as early as Friday. Our chapters in Chicago are wondering if we can provide you with support and resources based on what we've been through," the message read."
(The Guardian)
- "The horns and whistles work..."
(Mother Jones)
Follow Rachel Maddow on Bluesky here. |
WELL, NOW YOU DEFINITELY HAVE TO CATCH UP ON THE PODCAST |
MS NOW will broadcast Rachel Maddow's live Burn Order event in L.A.
The live, sold-out event Rachel hosted in Los Angeles in connection with Rachel Maddow presents: Burn Order has been produced into a two-hour special to air on MS NOW on Monday, December 29th at 9pmET. So if you haven't listened yet, all six episodes are now available, so catch up so you can watch the special with us! |
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