Why was this proclamation signed in the dark?”
— Judge James Boasberg, slamming the Trump admin's secret plan to deport Venezuelan migrants to an infamous Salvadoran mega-prison during a heated court hearing.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Matt's taking a few days off for a well-deserved vacation! The Crooked editorial team is filling in. He'll be back soon! Meanwhile....
Elon Musk built his empire on climate action. Now, he’s throwing his weight behind Trump’s environmental rollbacks. Climate correspondent Anya Zoledziowski explains why he stands to benefit.
- Think “Breaking Bad,” but for climate change, and that just about sums up super rich guy Elon Musk. (Minus, y’know, Walter White’s redeeming qualities.) Just a few years ago, Musk was one of the world’s most prominent voices warning about climate change, touting his electric vehicle empire as part of the solution. These days, he calls the risks “real, just much slower than alarmists claim.” And he’s practically running President Donald Trump’s administration, which is viciously attacking climate programs. The question, in technical terms: What the fuck happened to this guy?
- Nobody can truly know Elon’s motives except Elon himself. But his 180-degree turn comes with notable perks for his incredibly large and (presumably) Dark-MAGA-branded wallet.
- Take electric vehicles. Trump explicitly targeted the industry with an executive order calling for “the elimination of unfair subsidies” that boost EVs. Trump demanded a pause on funds for EV charging stations included in former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate funding package. Musk’s dominant position in this sector likely means that slashing the federal government’s $7,500 consumer tax credit for EVs — which hasn’t happened yet — would hurt the competition more than it hurts his own carmaker, Tesla. “Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla,” Musk tweeted last July. Pretty rich, coming from a man who’s notoriously built his multi-business empire on billions in government funding.
- Meanwhile, Trump literally turned the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom, while his commerce secretary urges investors to boost the company’s plummeting share price! Trump seemed agog. “Everything's computer!,” the president marveled. Welcome to 2025, Mr. President!
Deregulation and gutting government programs also appear to come with benefits for Musk.
- Lee Zeldin, the head of the environmental protection agency, recently announced plans to weaken current environmental protections, including an overhaul of greenhouse gas reporting requirements and limits on toxic pollutants like soot and mercury.
- With that in mind, cast your gaze to xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, and SpaceX, his rocket company. An xAI facility in South Memphis, which uses methane gas turbines, has been accused of polluting nearby, predominantly Black communities. Meanwhile, SpaceX intends to launch Starships from an area that is in the 88th percentile for cancer rates among adults. Last year, Tesla was sued for allegedly violating the federal Clean Air Act hundreds of times by emitting harmful pollutants in California.
- Many of the top federal officials and career employees pushed out by Musk’s DOGE efforts “were leading investigations, enforcement matters or lawsuits pending against Mr. Musk’s companies,” according to the New York Times.
So, it appears that the President is pursuing actions that benefit his bestie… I believe there’s a word for that.
This story is supported by our nonprofit partner, Crooked Ideas.
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THE COURT IS IN DISORDER!
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Ever seen an enraged federal judge shoot angry lasers out of their eye sockets at a cowering lawyer fumbling for answers? That’s about what went down in a Washington D.C. courtroom today, when a Trump admin lawyer faced a pissed off federal judge over the recent roundup and deportation of Venezuelan nationals to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg — who Trump and his supporters have targeted, doxxed and harassed — was not taking any crap.
“The government’s not being terribly cooperative at this point and I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order,” Boasberg said, referring to ICE’s apparently shady moves to fly the Venezuelans to El Salvador last weekend even after Boasberg ordered the planes turned around.
Judge Boasberg also slammed the Trump DOJ’s use of “intemperate and disrespectful language.” That’s judge-speak for “be damn careful how you talk to me.”
These hearings are a huge deal, because they’re the frontline in Trump’s ongoing attack on the court system — which is the strongest guardrail remaining around his imperial presidency.
House Republicans are pushing a euphemistically-named “No Rogue Rulings Act” to restrict federal judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) came up with this MAGA-friendly mid-game rule-change, which could offer Republicans a way to pursue Trump’s attacks on judges who dare rule against him.
It’s not just Calvinball, it’s authoritarian Calivinball. |
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Trump’s Homeland Security Dept. fired nearly its entire civil rights division today. Just think of it as another great way to mow down literally anyone who’s here to make sure the immigration and deportation laws are legally enforced. More than 100 staffers of the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties were put on 60 day leave and told to look for other work. Such cool times!
A Trump administration official effectively threatened to shut down Social Security to retaliate for a judge’s order keeping DOGE out of beneficiaries’ personal data. Acting Social Security Administration chief Lee Dudek suggested that if Elon Musk’s DOGE gang can’t access non-anonymized personal information of millions of Americans, he would interpret the order to say he should cut off all SSA employees from accessing the system. “Really, I want to turn it off and let the courts figure out how they want to run a federal agency.” Reached later on the order, an SSA spokesperson said, ambiguously, “We will comply.”
It’s official: Dems are underwater…with Dems. The numbers are in: Just 40% of Democratic voters approve of Congressional Democrats. Meanwhile, 49% disapprove. Do the math: that puts Dem legislators upside-down by 9 points with their own base. Anyone got a cool name for a Tea Party equivalent of the left? Perhaps, a Green Tea Party? Kombucha Fandango? Skim Latte Soiree?
Trump’s Agriculture Department cut off $500 million in food deliveries, sending food banks millions of low-income Americans rely on scrambling. The cuts appear to be part of the Trump Administration’s announced $1 billion in cuts to food assistance programs for poor children and adults. An astonishing one in six Americans sought help from a food bank in 2023, according to Feeding America.
The world’s richest man is paying voters again, this time in Wisconsin. As the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election approaches, the Musk-backed America PAC is offering $100 to Wisconsin voters who sign a petition against “activist judges.” It’s the same slimy — if technically legal — scheme he pulled in Pennsylvania before the presidential election last year.
Trump cited (checks notes) conflict of interest in denying that he would let Musk in on plans for a potential war against China. The briefing reportedly did not happen Friday, but that was only after both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that Musk was scheduled for a top-secret session at the Pentagon. |
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POD SAVE THE WORLD!
If you’re only listening to our podcasts, you’re missing out—because we’ve got full video episodes and a ton of exclusive content on YouTube. Like today's Pod Save The World & Pod Save The UK bonus episode where hosts Nish Kumar and Tommy Vietor discuss how the Labour government is doing, the Farage/Musk drama, what Trump's America looks like from the outside. Just search up Pod Save The World on your nearest YouTube search bar, and don’t forget to hit subscribe so you never miss a beat.
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Venus will pass between Earth and the Sun this weekend, in a relatively close fly-by known as a “Venus Kiss.” Could astrological events explain why things are so… uh… this way… these days? Did Nostradamus write anything about an electric car baron waving a chainsaw and running the country with a former gameshow host?
Musk’s estranged 20-year-old daughter, Vivian Wilson, dunked on her “pathetic man-child” dad in a new interview. She said: “Why would I feel scared of him? Ohhh, he has so much power. Nah, nah, nah. I don't give a f---. Why should I be scared of this man? Because he's rich? Oh, no, I'm trembling. ... I don't give a f--- how much money anyone has. ... I really don't. He owns Twitter. OK. Congratulations.” You tell him, Viv!
Pittsburgh Pirates ace pitcher Paul Skenes’ one-of-a-kind rookie card sold for a record-breaking $1.1 million. And the best part: The card was pulled by an 11-year-old kid, who refused lavish offers from the team, celebrities, and Skenes himself to give up the card.
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