- Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: Trump-appointed prosecutor gets a much-needed refresher on the First Amendment
As this week got underway, a weird conspiracy theory, which was made up out of whole cloth, started making the rounds in far-right circles. The details were a little murky — the details of weird conspiracy theory usually are — but the public was apparently supposed to believe that former Obama administration officials and some congressional Democrats quietly sabotaged a minerals deal between the White House and Ukraine. This would’ve been easy to overlook, were it not for one unsettling detail: Ed Martin, the acting U.S. attorney in the nation’s capital, apparently took it seriously.
- Media Matters: Charlie Kirk warns “all these campuses that don't treat us well at Turning Point USA” may have their funding cut
"Trump has canceled 400 million dollars to Columbia University over rising antisemitism on campus. That is just the start. For all these campuses that don't treat us well at Turning Point USA, and you guys restrict freedom of speech, your funding might be cut soon."
- Julia Ornedo @ The Daily Beast: Trump Targets Top Law Firm Linked to Infamous ‘Golden Shower’ Dossier
Perkins Coie contracted a research firm that produced the controversial Steele Dossier, alleging collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia in the 2016 election.
- David Badash @ The New Civil Rights Movement: WWII B-29 Bomber Enola Gay Falls Victim to Pentagon’s Sweeping DEI Purge
Following a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the Pentagon to undertake a sweeping purge of all references to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The effort, carried out to an extreme level, has led to significant and disastrous consequences, including tragic choices—and errors—in the removal of historically significant material.
- Chris Geidner @ Law Dork: Kim Davis loses. Again. Unanimously. (But, this still might not be the end.)
The Sixth Circuit rejected the appeal of the former Kentucky county clerk who was sued after she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
