[blog](blog): Closing Indexes, 2025-09-02 blogs

_posts/2025/08/2025-08-04-TrumpWeaponizedJusticeTargetsJackSmith.md

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+---
+layout: post
+tags: [media, MSNBC, Steve Benen, The Rachel Maddow Show, MaddowBlog, “Ministry of Truth –  Democracy Reality and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”, Federal –  2020 Election Interference January 6 Insurrection. @RalphHightower, organizations, companies, foreign countries, state local governments, political parties, Trumpian Party, Democrat Party, Federal Government, Constitution of the United States, Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), US Courts, Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Justice / Special Counsel Jack Smith, Office of the Attorney General / Attorney General –  Merrick B. Garland / United States Department of Justice, Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Hatch Act Overview, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), District of Columbia / District of Columbia, Department of State (DOS), Congress, Senate, House of Representatives,  Oversight Committee, Mike Johnson (T-LA4), House Speaker, President of the United States (POTUS), White House (WH), Trump crime family, Donald J Trump, President Donald Trump (45), President Donald Trump (47), President Trump (47) Administration, President Trump (47) Cabinet, JD Vance, Vice President JD Vance, Pam Bondi, Office of the Deputy Attorney General / Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche / LinkedIn, Jeanine Ferris Pirro – District of Columbia / Meet the U.S. Attorney / United States Department of Justice, Kash Patel, Deputy Director Dan Bongino — FBI, tariffs, politics, stupidity, grift, self-dealing, corruption, con, crime, cryptocurrency, criminal associates, criminal businesses, criminal partners, weaponization, 2020 election interference, January 6 2021 insurrection]
+categories: [Donald Trump, weaponization, Jack Smith, 2020 election interference, January 6 2021 insurrection]
+date: 2025-08-04 6:51 PM
+#excerpt: ''
+#image: 'BASEURL/assets/blog/img/.png'
+#description:
+#permalink:
+title: " Trump’s Death Star Targets Jack Smith"
+---
+
+- [Federal: 2020 Election Interference, January 6 Insurrection]({% link January6DocumentDocumentLinks.md %}). @RalphHightower
+
+## [The 3 biggest problems with the new and unwarranted investigation into Jack Smith](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/3-biggest-problems-new-unwarranted-investigation-jack-smith-rcna222856)
+
+*For years, [Team Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) treated the [Hatch Act](https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx) like a joke. To target [former special counsel Jack Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith), they’ve apparently changed their mind.*
+
+Aug. 4, 2025, 9:01 AM EDT
+By [Steve Benen](https://www.msnbc.com/author/steve-benen-ncpn433601)
+
+It’s a serious enough problem when [Donald Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) publicly endorses investigations into his perceived political foes. But when the [president](https://www.whitehouse.gov/)’s targets actually become the subject of investigations, it’s far worse. [NBC News reported](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/office-special-counsel-launches-investigation-ex-trump-prosecutor-jack-rcna222625):
+
+> *Federal officials are investigating [former special counsel Jack Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) after [President](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) [Donald Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) and other prominent [Republicans](https;//www.gop.com/) have alleged that his investigations into then-candidate [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) amounted to illegal political activity. The U.S. [Office of Special Counsel](https://osc.gov/), an independent federal agency, confirmed to NBC News on Saturday that it’s investigating [Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) for alleged violations of the [Hatch Act](https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx), a law that prohibits certain political activities by government officials.*
+
+Right off the bat, let’s not overlook the most glaring problem with these developments: There’s literally no evidence whatsoever of [Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) engaging in any kind of wrongdoing. Then-[Attorney General](https://www.justice.gov/) [Merrick Garland](https://www.justice.gov/ag/bio/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland) tapped [Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) to serve as a special counsel in November 2022 — two years before the 2024 presidenial election — at which point he oversaw the federal investigations into [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/).
+
+The prosecutor proceeded to collect voluminous evidence, secure indictments and charge [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) with a great many felonies, but at no point did [Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) engage in any partisan political activities, making the basis for such an investigation from the U.S. [Office of Special Counsel](https://osc.gov/) absurd.
+
+Just as notably, it seems rather obvious that this move against [Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) is part of a larger partisan vendetta from a party that’s eager to retaliate against those who dared to try to hold [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) accountable for his alleged crimes. Indeed, it was [Republican] [Sen.]() [Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a close [White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) ally, who [requested](https://x.com/SenTomCotton/status/1950616831397642291) that the [OSC](https://osc.gov/) investigate Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith) for “unprecedented interference in the 2024 election,” despite the complete lack of evidence pointing to any interference.
+
+But even if we put these relevant angles aside, there’s a broader point that’s hanging overhead: Since when does the [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) [administration](https;//www.whitehouse.gov/administration/) care about alleged [Hatch Act](https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx) violations? I’m reminded of [this New York Times report](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/us/politics/trump-officials-illegal-campaigning.html) report from nearly four years ago:
+
+> *Thirteen of [President](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) [Donald J. Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)’s most senior aides — including his son-in-law and his chief of staff — campaigned illegally for Mr. [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)’s re-election in violation of a law designed to prevent federal employees from abusing the power of their offices on behalf of candidates, a government watchdog agency said Tuesday. Henry Kerner, who heads the [Office of Special Counsel](https://osc.gov/), made the assertion in a withering report that followed a nearly yearlong investigation into ‘myriad’ violations of the law, known as the [Hatch Act](https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx).*
+
+In a [63-page report](https://osc.gov/Documents/Hatch%20Act/Reports/Investigation%20of%20Political%20Activities%20by%20Senior%20Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)%20Administration%20Officials%20During%20the%202020%20President](https://www.whitehouse.gov/)ial%20Election.pdf), the [Office of Special Counsel](https://osc.gov/) [concluded](https://osc.gov/News/Pages/21-02-Hatch-Act-Report-RNC.aspx), “[Senior Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) [administration](https;//www.whitehouse.gov/administration/) officials chose to use their official authority not for the legitimate functions of the government, but to promote the re-election of [President](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) in violation of the law.”
+
+Richard Painter, who served as the chief [White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) ethics lawyer in the [Bush/Cheney White House](https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/), [described](https://twitter.com/RWPUSA/status/1458186787189309444) [Team Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)’s routine transgressions at the time as “disgusting” and “unprecedented in the history of the [Hatch Act](https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx).” Painter added that the entire [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) [administration](https;//www.whitehouse.gov/administration/), at the most senior levels, was “devoted to illegally using federal offices to promote the [president](https://www.whitehouse.gov/)’s political campaign.”
+
+As [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/) scandals go, this one was relatively easy to overlook, but what was striking about the [Hatch Act](https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx) controversies was the degree to which the [Republican]() [president](https://www.whitehouse.gov/)’s operation broke the rules knowingly and shamelessly, expressing indifference to the ethics law and at times treating it as [the punch-line to a joke](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kellyanne-conway-reflects-ethics-law-blah-blah-blah-msna1236646).
+
+The rules exist for a reason: The idea of taxpayer-funded political operations is at odds with the basic principles of good government. It’s why walls are supposed to exist between official and political duties — walls that have existed for decades to prevent abuses in [administration](https;//www.whitehouse.gov/administration/)s of both parties.
+
+In [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)’s first term, those walls were torn down, and members of his [White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) team decided that rules and limits just didn’t apply to them. In [Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)’s second term, as the former special counsel finds himself on a partisan enemies list, the public is apparently supposed to believe that [Republicans](https;//www.gop.com/) have suddenly rediscovered their interest in ethics laws, while they target a former special counsel who was always careful to play by the rules.
+
+No one should be fooled.
+
+This post updates our [related earlier coverage](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/office-special-counsel-team-trump-repeatedly-ignored-ethics-law-n1283643).
+
+
+[Steve Benen](https://www.msnbc.com/author/steve-benen-ncpn433601) is a producer for "[The Rachel Maddow Show](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show)," the editor of [MaddowBlog](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show) and an [MSNBC](https://www.msnbc.com/) political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of ["Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ministry-of-truth-steve-benen)
+
+----
+- media
+- [MSNBC](https://www.msnbc.com/)
+    - Steve Benen
+        - [The Rachel Maddow Show](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show)
+            - [MaddowBlog](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show) 
+                - ["Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ministry-of-truth-steve-benen)
+- [Federal: 2020 Election Interference, January 6 Insurrection]({% link January6DocumentDocumentLinks.md %}). @RalphHightower
+- organizations 
+- companies
+- foreign countries 
+- state, local governments
+- political parties 
+- [Trumpian Party](https://www.gop.com/)
+- [Democrat Party](https://www.democrats.org/)
+- Federal Government 
+- [Constitution of the United States](https://constitution.congress.gov/)
+    - [Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)](https://www.supremecourt.gov/)
+    - [US Courts](https://www.uscourts.gov/)
+    - [Department of Justice (DOJ)](https://www.justice.gov/)
+        - [Department of Justice / Special Counsel Jack Smith](https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco-smith)
+            - [Office of the Attorney General / Attorney General: Merrick B. Garland / United States Department of Justice](https://www.justice.gov/ag/bio/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland)
+        - [Office of Special Counsel (OSC)](https://osc.gov/)
+            - [Hatch Act Overview](https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx)
+        - [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)](https://www.fbi.gov/)
+        - [District of Columbia / District of Columbia](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc)
+    - [Department of State (DOS)](https://www.state.gov/)
+    - [Congress](https://www.congress.gov/)
+        - [Senate](https://www.senate.gov/)
+        - [House of Representatives](https://www.house.gov/)
+                - [Oversight Committee](https://oversight.house.gov/)
+            - [Mike Johnson (T-LA4)](https://mikejohnson.house.gov/)
+                - [House](https://www.house.gov/) [Speaker](https://www.speaker.gov/) 
+    - [President of the United States (POTUS)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/)
+    - [White House (WH)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/)
+- Trump crime family 
+    - [Donald J Trump](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/)
+        - [President Donald Trump (45)](https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/)
+        - [President Donald Trump (47)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/donald-j-trump/)
+            - [President Trump (47) Administration](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/)
+            - [President Trump (47) Cabinet](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/the-cabinet/)
+            - [JD Vance](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jd-vance-770a9047/)
+            - [Vice President JD Vance](https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/jd-vance/)
+            - [Pam Bondi](https://www.justice.gov/ag/staff-profile/meet-attorney-general)
+                - [Office of the Deputy Attorney General / Office of the Deputy Attorney General](https://www.justice.gov/dag)
+                    - [Todd Blanche / LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddblanche/)
+                    - [Jeanine Ferris Pirro – District of Columbia / Meet the U.S. Attorney / United States Department of Justice](https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/staff-profile/meet-us-attorney)
+                - [Kash Patel](https://www.fbi.gov/about/leadership-and-structure/director-patel)
+                    - [Deputy Director Dan Bongino — FBI](https://www.fbi.gov/about/leadership-and-structure/deputy-director-dan-bongino)
+- tariffs
+- politics
+- stupidity
+- grift
+- self-dealing
+- corruption
+- con
+- crime
+- cryptocurrency 
+- criminal associates
+- criminal businesses
+- criminal partners
+- weaponization
+- 2020 election interference
+- January 6 2021 insurrection
+{% include TrumpWeaponization.html %}
+
+
+

_posts/2025/08/2025-08-09-WeaponizationTaskForceJusticeDept.md

@@ -193,5 +193,4 @@ When using these words in a legal sense, or to refer to oppression of some kind
 - criminal associates
 - criminal businesses
 - criminal partners
-
 {% include TrumpWeaponization.html %}

_posts/2025/08/2025-08-28-CDCDEmployeesClapoutDepartingSeniorLeadership.md

@@ -22,17 +22,17 @@ By [Brandy Zadrozny](https://www.msnbc.com/author/brandy-zadrozny-ncpn858391)
 <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-c0a_U68fY?si=-MCL4xDSDyHTPfGu" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
 > Aug 29, 2025
-> Supporters lined up along the sidewalk across the street from CDC headquarters in Decatur to cheer for three doctors who resigned from the CDC this week
+> Supporters lined up along the sidewalk across the street from [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/) headquarters in Decatur to cheer for three doctors who resigned from the [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/) this week
 
-Hundreds of employees and supporters of the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/) lined the sidewalks outside the agency’s Atlanta headquarters Thursday for a “clap out” rally to honor three senior leaders who resigned a day earlier in protest of [Health and Human Services](https://www.hhs.gov/,) [Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s](https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html) anti-vaccine attacks on the agency and public health at large.
+Hundreds of employees and supporters of the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/) lined the sidewalks outside the agency’s Atlanta headquarters Thursday for a “clap out” rally to honor three senior leaders who resigned a day earlier in protest of [Health and Human Services](https://www.hhs.gov/,) [Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.](https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html) anti-vaccine attacks on the agency and public health at large.
 
-Dr. Deb Houry, former deputy director and chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the [National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)](https://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/ncird.html); and Dr. Daniel Jernigan, former director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, walked through the crowd, hugging former colleagues and accepting bouquets of flowers.
+Dr. Deb Houry, former deputy director and chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the [National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)](https://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/ncird.html); and Dr. Daniel Jernigan, former director of the [National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)](https://www.cdc.gov/about/leadership/ncezid.html), walked through the crowd, hugging former colleagues and accepting bouquets of flowers.
 
 They resigned Wednesday after [HHS](https://www.hhs.gov/) announced that [Kennedy](https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html) [had fired](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/cdc-rfk-jr-senior-leaders-resignations-susan-monarez-rcna227717) [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/,) Director Susan Monarez, who had been in her post for less than a month. Monarez’s lawyers disputed her firing, saying that only the [president](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) had the authority to fire her and claiming that she had been [pushed out for refusing](https://x.com/MarkSZaidEsq/status/1960842941293060446) “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.”
 
 [Kennedy](https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html) [defended the firing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cCnf8mIg5A&ab_channel=FoxNews) Thursday on [Faux News](https://www.foxnews.com/), citing a nonspecific “deeply embedded malaise at the agency.”
 
-According to [reporting in the Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/28/cdc-director-jim-oneill/), the [White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) has tapped [HHS](https://www.hhs.gov/) deputy secretary Jim O’Neill to serve as Monarez’s interim replacement. O’Neill, who the Post calls a ["close ally"](https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/30/1119449/hhs-robert-f-kennedy-jr-jim-oneill-longevity-maha/) of tech investor Peter Thiel, criticized the [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/) during the pandemic, but has not echoed [Kennedy](https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html)’s attacks on vaccines. He is expected to lead the agency while continuing to advise [HHS](https://www.hhs.gov/).
+According to [reporting in the Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/28/cdc-director-jim-oneill/), the [White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/) has tapped [HHS](https://www.hhs.gov/) deputy secretary Jim O’Neill to serve as Monarez’s interim replacement. O’Neill, who the [Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/) calls a ["close ally"](https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/30/1119449/hhs-robert-f-kennedy-jr-jim-oneill-longevity-maha/) of tech investor Peter Thiel, criticized the [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/) during the pandemic, but has not echoed [Kennedy](https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html)’s attacks on vaccines. He is expected to lead the agency while continuing to advise [HHS](https://www.hhs.gov/).
 
 Houry, Daskalakis and Jernigan — who were escorted off the [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/)’s Atlanta campus by security earlier Thursday — gave impromptu speeches in support of their former agency, promising they would continue to fight from the outside.
 
@@ -118,5 +118,4 @@ Brandy Zadrozny was a former senior enterprise reporter based in New York coveri
 - disease prevention 
 - injury prevention
 - disability prevention
-- preparedness for new health threats
-and the internet.
+- preparedness for new health threats and the internet.