Trump has figured out that if he conducts his corruption in public, he is more likely to get away with it because Republicans will pretend like the corruption is “politics as usual.” On Tuesday, Trump attempted his most audacious and corrupt gambit yet, demanding that the Department of Justice reimburse him $230 million in defense costs for criminal prosecutions that were subsequently barred by the Supreme Court’s stain on American jurisprudence known as Trump v. US (in which the Court fabricated out of thin air presidential immunity to criminal prosecutions). See NYTimes, Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases. (Accessible to all.)
The claim is specious. It amounts to an attempted “shakedown” of the American taxpayer so audacious that it would make the Mafia blush. Trump’s “claim” for damages for defending the lawsuits would first be evaluated by the Department of Justice—which is headed by Trump’s former criminal defense lawyers. That review presents an irreconcilable conflict. But it gets worse.
Trump asserts that he will be the person who decides if he should be paid the $230 million in damages. Per the NYTimes article, above, Trump said:
“I’m the one that makes the decision and that decision would have to go across my desk and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”
Let me translate that statement for you: “I am going to approve my demand that the US government pay me $230 million for defending criminal prosecutions that were lawful and meritorious when they occurred.”
If Trump decides to approve his own damage claim, there is only one way we can stop him: Overwhelming condemnation from the American people, the Democratic Party, and those members of the Republican Party who are offended by a president extorting money from US taxpayers (assuming that there are such GOP members).
Trump’s claim is a trial balloon to see how the American people and the media will react. As long-time reader Jonathan M. wrote in an email earlier today,
Trump’s demand that the DOJ pay him almost a quarter of a billion dollars should be his Caligula moment–the moment when he loses all touch with reality. (I realize that there have been many other such moments already that have flamed out.)
Every Democrat—every one of them in Congress, every governor, the chair of the DNC—should call Trump out on this. And they need to keep calling him out. . . . As a trial lawyer, I’m sure you know the value of repetition to convince the hearer that something you say is true. Trump knows that—he repeats the things that he wants his hearers to accept over and over and over and over again. He doesn’t sound smart or sophisticated, because he isn’t, but he is effective.
In other words, Trump is attempting to normalize the notion (through repetition) that he will pay himself $230 million for defense costs in criminal prosecutions that were meritorious but were dismissed by the corrupt majority on the Supreme Court.
We can stop this shakedown by relentlessly shaming Trump for extorting money from the US taxpayer. At a time when hundreds of thousands of federal workers are going without paychecks, Trump is asking taxpayers to hand him nearly a quarter billion dollars in bogus reimbursement claims.
But not just Trump. We must make every Republican candidate for office own Trump’s shakedown of American taxpayers. The American people are the last line of defense of democracy. Let’s exercise our political power to the maximum extent possible.
Speaker Mike Johnson defends Trump’s obscene video mocking pro-democracy protesters as ‘satire.’
On No Kings Day, Trump posted an AI-generated video of himself as a jet fighter pilot who dropped feces on American citizens rallying in support of democracy. The response in the media has been muted (at best). But a reporter finally asked Speaker Mike Johnson about the video during a press conference. See The Hill, Speaker Johnson says Trump ‘No Kings’ AI video was satire.
Per The Hill, the following exchange occurred at the press conference:
“You say that Democrats had a ‘hate America’ rally. But what does it say that the president of the United States, over the weekend, released a video of him pooping on the American people?” a reporter asked Johnson in a press conference Monday.
Johnson responded: “The president uses social media to make the point. You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who’s ever used social media for that he is. He is using satire to make a point.”
The fact that the video was “satire” does not make it appropriate, decent, or excusable. The fact that Republicans will defend anything and everything Trump does is why he continues to spiral into ever more indecent, anti-democratic, and corrupt behavior.
And let’s say this part out loud: Mike Johnson proudly proclaims himself to be a Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. Johnson’s defense of Trump’s indefensible, hateful, and corrupt conduct gives all Christians a bad name. While we should not judge any group by the actions of a bad actor, forming such biases and prejudgments is an inevitable and unavoidable part of human nature.
Mike Johnson is doing more to harm Christian churches than almost any person in America. And I say that out of concern for the good works and positive impact of Christian denominations across America.1
In another example of Mike Johnson’s unethical behavior, he defended his continued refusal to seat Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who was elected as the US Representative for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District four weeks ago.
On Tuesday, Mike Johnson said that Adelita Grijalva should stop complaining about not being sworn in and start addressing her constituents’ needs. But until Grijalva is sworn in by Mike Johnson, she has no budget, no office, and no authority to act on behalf of her constituents.
Mike Johnson is an unrepentant liar and and world-class hypocrite. If Johnson knows his New Testament, he knows that Jesus Christ had special words of condemnation for hypocrites. (“Woe to you . . . hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”)
I won’t resort to religious commentary on a regular basis to criticize Mike Johnson, but someone needs to call out Johnson for his un-Christian actions. For example, it would be nice to see Johnson’s pastor issue a public statement condemning Johnson’s lies and hypocrisy. . . . sort of like Pope Leo saying that someone who is against abortion but “supports inhumane treatment of immigrants isn’t really pro-life.”
Trump nominee for whistleblower office withdraws nomination in light of Nazi-supporting texts.
Trump’s nominee to lead the DOJ’s whistleblower protection unit withdrew his candidacy before his Senate confirmation hearing. Paul Ingrassia dropped out after Politico disclosed racist text messages he sent. Among other things, Ingrassia said that he has a “Nazi streak” and that Martin Luther King Jr Day should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell”. See The Guardian, Trump nominee to lead whistleblower office drops out after racist texts surface.
A handful of Senate Republicans signaled that they would not support Ingrassia in light of the revelations. It is informative to know that admitting to having a “Nazi streak” is where the current line is for Republican apologists.
And as long as we are on the topic of candidates having alleged sympathy for Nazis, that topic has arisen in the campaign of Graham Platner, who is running for the US Senate seat held by Susan Collins. Platner revealed that he has a tattoo on his chest of a skull and crossbones, a symbol used by the Nazi SS. Platner got the tattoo in 2007 in Croatia during a weekend leave with other Marines. See The Guardian, ‘I’m not a secret Nazi’: Maine Democratic Senate candidate addresses tattoo.
Per The Guardian,
In a video interview with Pod Save America that aired on Monday, Platner said he and fellow Marines got matching tattoos at a parlor in Split, Croatia, in 2007 while deployed overseas. [¶]
When reached for comment, Platner said: “I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that” the tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol. He said he was “already planning to get this removed”.
The skull-and-crossbones insignia was used by pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries before being adopted by the Nazis during WWII. More on Graham Platner in future editions of the newsletter.
University of Arizona rejects Trump compact.
The University of Arizona became the seventh of nine universities to reject Trump’s proposed compact. See Time, How Nine Colleges Responded to Trump’s ‘Compact’. Per Time, the following universities have rejected the compact: MIT, Brown, USC, University of Arizona, Dartmouth, University of Virginia, and U Penn.
Vanderbilt is undecided but is in “discussion” with the Trump administration.
The University of Texas at Austin has said that it is “honored” to be considered for the compact.
The path taken by the seven universities is the way forward: Coordinated resistance to Trump’s unlawful conduct. It is not too late for the University of Texas to reconsider or for Vanderbilt to reject the compact. I am certain that both universities would appreciate hearing from alumni about the right course of action!
Trump claimed Putin agreed to a summit, but Putin played Trump for a fool.
Trump is operating under the delusion that he can negotiate with Putin to end the war on Ukraine. Putin is playing Trump for the “useful idiot” that he is. See HuffPost, Trump’s Putin Summit Was Scrapped In Another Reversal.
Trump spoke to Putin last week and was giddy over Putin’s alleged willingness to end the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who told Rubio the truth: Russia will not curtail its military objectives and will only accept surrender by Ukraine as the precondition for ending the war.
Trump really is being played by Putin, big time.
James Comey moves to dismiss indictment on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct
Former FBI Director James Comey has asked the presiding judge to dismiss the indictment against him. See ABC, Lawyers for Comey ask judge to dismiss charges based on prosecutors’ ‘flagrant misconduct.
Per ABC News,
Comey’s lawyers filed two separate motions to dismiss – one arguing the case against Comey was vindictive and another calling into question the legal authority of Halligan, the acting U.S. attorney who brought the charges.
Both motions should be granted, creating a bar to future prosecutions of Comey on the same grounds.
Opportunity for Reader Engagement
I am truly excited to announce a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hillary Clinton, and Heather Cox Richardson together on stage in conversation. Jill and I will be attending this event in New York on November 18 and hope to meet readers of this newsletter before and after the event.
NYC event with Hillary Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Heather Cox Richardson: History Has Its Eyes On Us
Jill and I will be attending a special evening in New York City on Tuesday, November 18th at 7:00 PM ET — History Has Its Eyes On Us, a one-night-only conversation featuring Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Heather Cox Richardson.
Hosted by Onward Together and Latino Victory, this event will explore what history can teach us, how culture can inspire us, and how each of us can help shape the future of our democracy. With the 2026 midterms fast approaching, this conversation could not be more timely.
Proceeds from this event will directly support Latino Victory and Onward Together, helping to build early grassroots infrastructure, recruit strong candidates, and engage Latino voters across the battlegrounds that will decide control of the House of Representatives.
Individual tickets start at $100 and can be purchased here. If you can’t attend, you can still contribute at the same link.
Note from Jessica Craven
My friend and fellow Substack writer (Chop Wood Carry Water) has put together a list of customized texts suitable for use in the run-up to the November election. Here is Jessica’s note:
After the incredible energy of No Kings lots of folks are asking “what now?”
The answer? Winning the November 4 elections EVERYWHERE by huge margins. It is the next top priority, and we must all work towards it.
I wanted to make that really easy, so I made a google doc containing short texts we can send to friends and family in places with important elections this November—there are so many of them! We know that “relational organizing” like this is more effective than any other form of GOTV. People trust friends and family more than strangers. They will listen to them while ignoring someone they don’t know.
These texts can be copied and pasted “as is” or customized, then sent via iMessage, Instagram DMs, email, or any way you prefer. Each contains a couple of short sentences about what the elections are, why they matter, whom or what to vote for, and where folks can find their polling place.
I’ve done separate texts for VA, NJ, CA, PA, NYC, GA, MN, MS, ME, Douglas County Colorado (where there are hugely important school board races), other counties in CO, and Cincinnati, OH. I will be adding Texas and other parts of Ohio soon.
Here’s the document. The short link for it, by the way, is https://tinyurl.com/electionDMs. If we all did this, we could flip seats and win races all over the country. Talking to friends and family is literally how we win. Thanks.
Concluding Thoughts.
I received a note from a reader asking the following:
I wonder if you could spell out for people ways that we could envision “winning” this battle to save democracy. I know you can’t predict, but what are our options? What, on the grand scale, are we aiming for in particular? How could we win? I want to be able to see it in my mind and I want to be able to communicate it to other people. Not as a prediction but as a possibility. I imagine there is more than one path to “victory? What might they look like? What are some versions of the steps on the path?
Those are great questions, which are shared by tens of millions of Americans.
I offer two answers: A direct answer that focuses on specific steps and a more general answer that may be less satisfying but is more realistic.
The shortest path to preserving and rehabilitating democracy, Plan A, is to win the House and Senate in 2026 and the presidency in 2028. We then expand the Supreme Court with justices who will reverse Citizens United, Dobbs, Trump v. US, and Shelby County v. Holder, for starters. If we could achieve each of those steps as quickly as possible, immediate improvement would begin in 2026, with substantial recovery by 2030. Plan A depends on increasing voter turnout nationwide.
But we might not win every necessary battle to ensure the above maximalist recovery occurs as quickly as possible. We must be prepared to experience some losses along the way without losing hope and giving up.
The psychological need for certainty is understandable. Uncertainty creates anxiety. We are impatient about getting to the end.2 But we do not control external events. Future developments are contestable and contingent on factors such as the level of effort, unforeseen developments (pandemics, volatile markets, natural disasters), and luck (good and bad).
Given the contingent nature of the future, we should plan to follow Plan A, above, but we should prepare ourselves to be ‘comfortable with uncertainty’ if we are unable to implement every step in Plan A on a strict timeline.
Most of us imagine a mental “movie script” of how our lives will unfold. When events don’t occur according to the script, we interpret that deviation from the script as “failure,” which leads to unhappiness.3
So, we have to be comfortable with uncertainty when life deviates from our private movie script. But that is not enough, standing alone. We must commit now to not giving up, no matter what. That is Plan B. We cannot know the precise path to ultimate victory, but we will never achieve that victory if we quit trying.
Plan A is the obvious, straightforward answer. Plan B is a necessary complement. We need both to succeed.
The reader’s question deserves a more detailed answer regarding the specifics of winning. I will come back to those strategic considerations in future newsletters. In the meantime, the simple but courageous act of not quitting is the bedrock foundation of our ultimate success.
Take confidence in the fact that we are on the right path and have seized the momentum. That is a good place to be as we prepare our next moves in the defense of democracy.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Protest Photos
Hingham, MA
Eastham National Seashore Salt Pond
Redwood City, CA
Auburn, CA
Wilmington, NC
Daily Dose of Perspective
I acknowledge that many evil and violent actions have been undertaken in the name of Christianity and by Christian churches themselves. So, no need to send emails reminding me of that fact.
These ideas come from Jesuit priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
These ideas come from Buddhist nun [Pema Chodron](http://pema/ Chödrön).
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