Political news I want to share. 8-16-2026 part 1

‘We will always respect the role of the judiciary’: Says new AG who has led Justice Department which has not respected the rule of law at all http://www.politico.com/news/2026/08…

Timothy McBride (@mcbridetd.bsky.social) 2026-08-14T00:30:18.016Z

Lawyers for the former Olympian David Hearn filed a motion on Thursday seeking to bar federal prosecutors from reviving a felony charge that he vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying they needed to head off possible “prosecutorial harassment” prompted by President Trump.

The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2026-08-14T13:40:03.883362Z

President Donald Trump's administration on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to continue construction of his $400 million White House ballroom after an appeals court ruled the project lacked the necessary approval from Congress.

Reuters Legal (@legal.reuters.com) 2026-08-14T13:40:22Z

President Trump is planning for gold-colored presidential seals on the outside of his White House ballroom, breaking with the restrained aesthetic of the executive mansion, according to new renderings.

The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) 2026-08-15T00:00:13.239338914Z

They shut down investigation of the federal agents but opened investigations of peaceful protesters

Robert L. Tsai (@robertltsai.bsky.social) 2026-08-13T17:20:57.166Z

A top Forest Service official (and billionaire Trump appointee) demanded help to fight a 7-acre fire on his Idaho property.The response amounted to “9 aircraft, including helicopters, air tankers and tactical planes.”It cost over $100,000 and diverted precious resources.🎁🔗 : wapo.st/4wZEqPD

Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) 2026-08-14T11:53:44.031Z

Mamdani's NYC pied-à-terre tax can continue rollout during court appeal

CNBC (@cnbc.com) 2026-08-13T21:43:02Z

Trump's new Navy Secretary is very concerned about an implacable foe:"Witchcraft," which has "really taken over" in places like California.www.businessinsider.com/hung-cao-gop…

Noah Shachtman (@noahshachtman.bsky.social) 2026-04-23T13:37:18.044Z

🚨EXCLUSIVE: Military families and service members are now describing horrific conditions across MULTIPLE ships: human waste flooding bathrooms, virtually no food, water or soap, months without port calls, exhausted crews, and no end in sight.This crisis is far bigger than just the Lincoln.

MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2026-08-14T14:00:55.484Z

Trump says that after Iran is defeated he’s going to declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-14T19:56:59.178Z

You know what’s really a great insult to those American heroes who died in WWII?

Mark Chadbourn (@chadbourn.bsky.social) 2026-08-14T13:12:28.435Z

Part of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall was covered in soapy bubbles and red graffiti in an incident the U.S. Park Police was investigating.Red graffiti spelled out “Clean hands dirty $” beneath the arch.

The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) 2026-08-14T00:00:51.001067071Z

Developing: The World War II Memorial was found vandalized, and a fountain overflowed with bubbles.

NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington.com) 2026-08-13T20:04:42.779Z

Netanyahu brands UK the 'Islamic Republic of Britain' trib.al/3djAtL0

Daily Mail (@dailymail.co.uk) 2026-08-14T07:52:14.762441Z

🇬🇧 Netanyahu: Britain could be the first nuclear-armed “Islamic republic”Netanyahu on Britain:“You might call Britain the ‘Islamic Republic of Britain.’Someone said that the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain.”

Paul Eric (@pauleric70.bsky.social) 2026-08-14T00:11:04.367Z

A delayed court hearing didn't stop Tate loyalists from gathering in downtown Miami, where pushups and homemade signs took center stage.🔗 https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/photos-andrew-tate-supporters-bring-testosterone-and-cardboard-signs-to-miami-40576041/

Miami New Times (@miaminewtimes.com) 2026-08-13T20:44:16.909894771Z

Flock, the country’s most prominent seller of automated license-plate readers, said it will require stricter oversight after a Post investigation found dozens of officers had misused its cameras to spy on their exes and romantic interests.

The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) 2026-08-13T16:30:08.066274989Z

DOJ Scrubs Record of Interviews With Trump Accuser From Epstein Files

https://newrepublic.com/post/206765/department-justice-fbi-interviews-donald-trump-accuser-epstein

Edith Olmsted

The FBI interviewed one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims four times over her allegation that Donald Trump assaulted her when she was underage.

Donald Trump stands on Air Force One
Nathan Howard/Getty Images

The Department of Justice spoke four separate times to a woman who credibly accused Donald Trump of having sex with a minor he met through Jeffrey Epstein—but most accusations against the president appear to have been removed from the government’s documents on the alleged sex trafficker.

21-page slideshow buried in the massive trove of Epstein-related documents included allegations that sometime between 1983 and 1985, Trump forced a woman to give him oral sex when she was in her early teens. When the woman bit down on Trump’s exposed penis, he allegedly punched her in the head and kicked her out. That same woman told the DOJ that Epstein had introduced her to Trump in 1984.

Yet last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi insisted that there was “no evidence” that Trump had committed any crime—adding to the growing pile of denials from Trump officials that constitute a sweeping cover-up of the president’s alleged wrongdoing.

Justice Department records indicate that the FBI spoke to this woman not once but at least four separate times, according to independent journalist Roger Sollenberger. Now those records appear to have been removed from public viewing—despite the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires all documents relating to the alleged sex trafficker to be made public.

Sollenberger discovered a record of four separate interviews, which took place in the summer of 2019, in a separate database of documents downloaded from the government’s public files on Epstein. That document indicated that the first of the four interviews was conducted on July 24, 2019, and the last conducted on October 16, 2019. That document was given to Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers as part of her trial, though the specific allegations predated Maxwell’s involvement with Epstein, Sollenberger wrote.

The woman’s first interview was entered into the FBI’s case files on August 9, 2019, just one day before Epstein was found dead in his jail cell. FBI agents typically have a deadline of five working days to file interview write-ups, indicating an abnormal 16-day gap, Sollenberger noted.

Muddying the waters? DOJ lists 300+ famous names in Epstein files but some have never met him

Trump says he’s been exonerated after release of Epstein files; House Dem says opposite is true

The gaslighting and the lying are getting so over the top it has become mind numbing.  Does tRump really think people believe what he claims just because he says it?  Do people really deny what they see and hear just because tRump says the opposite?  Hugs

MS Now clips about the new Epstein file releases. Pick a couple or watch them all your choice

Names of the wealthy abusers still redacted.  Hugs

 

 

The DOJ is making it as difficult as possible for the congress people to see the files.  Only 4 computers are set up for hundreds of congress people.  Plus they are still redacted not of the victims but of the names of the abusers.  Hugs

 

 

 

 

 

Epstein files key findings: Musk discussed visiting island in 2013

Again, a congressperson, low ranking.  Where are the upper ranks of the democratic leadership?  Hugs

‘MAJOR WHITE HOUSE COVER-UP’: Trump’s DOJ still withholding names, documents in Epstein case