Here’s the good news: Protests against Trump’s illegal deployment of federal troops are spreading across the nation. See NBC News, As immigration raids continue, ICE protests spread coast to coast. Per NBC, there were 25 protests in a dozen states against the illegal deployment of troops in Los Angeles. The protests are taking place in red and blue states alike, including Georgia, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. (A complete list is included in the NBC article.)
That is the path forward: Massive, decentralized, peaceful protests that make it impossible for Trump to focus the US military’s presence on any given city. We can do that; indeed, we are beginning that process. We must maintain and expand those efforts. Ultimately, “We, the people” are stronger than any force arrayed against us—because they are mere subsets of the 340 million citizens who are the “governed,” whose consent is necessary for the federal government to operate.
The illegal deployment of federal troops becomes more illegal by the day.
The initial deployment of troops to Los Angeles was illegal—and is becoming more so each day.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testified before a Senate committee on Wednesday. He was asked to identify the source of the president’s authority to deploy troops to Los Angeles. He could not do so. See Politico, Hegseth says troops in LA are lawful. He just can’t explain why.
Hegseth’s inability to identify a lawful basis for the deployment of troops to Los Angeles is understandable. The brief filed by the DOJ in response to California’s motion for a temporary protective order offered vague references to “the Constitution” and Trump’s status as “Commander in Chief” as authority for the deployment of troops. See the DOJ’s brief here: Newsom v. Trump | Defs. Opp. to Mtn for TRO at 1-2.
The DOJ also cited 10 U.S.C. § 12406 as authority for the president to deploy troops into states to help “execute the laws” of the US—an authority that is explicitly contingent on “[o]rders for these purposes [being] issued through the governors of the States.” Trump did not obtain the consent or cooperation of the Governor of California in deploying the troops. Section 12406 therefore does not support Trump’s illegal deployment of troops in Los Angeles.
In opposing California’s request for a temporary restraining order, the DOJ falsely claimed that the federal troops were not performing “law enforcement” activities:
Plaintiffs’ objection based on the Posse Comitatus Act is equally misdirected. Neither the National Guard nor the Marines are engaged in law enforcement. Rather, they are protecting law enforcement, consistent with longstanding practice and the inherent protective power to provide for the safety of federal property and personnel.
The linchpin of the government’s argument is that it can deploy troops to Los Angeles because they are not engaged in “law enforcement.” However, on Wednesday, Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the troops deployed to Los Angeles, stated that National Guard troops were detaining protesters. See Forbes, Los Angeles Protests Live Updates: National Guard Has Detained Some Protesters. (“Gen. Scott Sherman of the National Guard told reporters federal troops have made brief detainments of protesters in Los Angeles before handing them over to law enforcement for arrests . . . .”)
When General Sherman realized that his statement contradicted the legal position asserted by the DOJ, he retracted his statement and said he had been relying on televised video that appeared to show National Guard troops detaining protestors. See Newsweek, National Guard commander backtracks on remark about detaining civilians.
However, even as General Sherman attempted to retract his admission that National Guard troops were performing law enforcement functions, other sources within the Department of Defense were telling Military.com that Marines deploying to Los Angeles would be able to “temporarily detain” protesters. See Military.com, Marines Authorized to Temporarily Detain Protesters in LA, Raising Legal Concerns. (“Active-duty Marines deployed to the Los Angeles area to protect federal buildings and personnel amid protests there are authorized to temporarily detain people “if threatened” or “otherwise harassed” before turning them over to civilian law enforcement, according to two defense officials.”)
In short, it appears that the DOJ is lying to the US district judge presiding over California’s request for a temporary restraining order. National Guard troops have detained protesters and the Marines are being trained to do so.
This “mission creep,” from an illegal deployment limited to protecting federal buildings to “temporarily detaining” protesters, is undermining the public’s trust in the military—which may be Trump’s goal. The sad truth is that MAGA-friendly generals appear to be helping Trump squander the military’s goodwill and public trust by facilitating partisan displays of support for Trump.
As noted yesterday, soldiers at Fort Bragg jeered when Trump derisively mentioned Joe Biden and Gavin Newsom during a campaign-style speech at the military base. It turns out that the soldiers who listened to Trump’s speech (and jeered and booed on cue) were hand-selected by their commanders based on political affiliation. See Military.com, Bragg Soldiers Who Cheered Trump’s Political Attacks While in Uniform Were Checked for Allegiance, Appearance.
The deployment of the National Guard is not only illegal, it is unauthorized even under US military regulations. As reported in Military.com, the National Guard troops have not been paid because the orders authorizing their deployment have not yet been issued! See Military.com, Guard Soldiers Deployed in Trump’s LA Crackdown Aren’t Getting Paid Yet.
Per Military.com,
According to more than a dozen Guardsmen across four units who spoke to Military.com, none has received formal activation orders, the critical paperwork that not only authorizes their duty status, but also unlocks pay, Tricare health benefits and eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs services. Without those orders, troops remain in a legal and administrative limbo.
While the lack of formal activation orders may be an administrative detail that can be corrected, it highlights the lack of planning, attention to legal requirements, and military order that should be second nature to the commanders in charge of the deployment. It is a disgrace and disrespectful to the National Guard troops, who continue to sleep on floors and outdoor cots.
The media response to the situation in Los Angeles continues to be a disgrace, as well. Newsweek ran an article about the sympathetic protests nationwide but used the term “LA. Riots” to describe a city and county at peace. See Newsweek, Map and List of Anti-ICE Protests Nationwide Following LA Riots. Newsweek obviously has no reporter on the ground in Los Angeles but is instead relying the misleading portrayals of the conditions in Los Angeles. See The Guardian, Social media ‘grossly distorting’ scale of protest violence, say LA officials.
As I noted yesterday, Los Angeles County is big. Really big. I should have mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter that 1 in 35 Americans lives in Los Angeles County. (9.76 million out of 342 million). The fact that a few blocks in downtown LA is the scene of legal protests under the intimidating watch of thousands of federal troops and LAPD does not mean that there are “riots” in LA.
Finally, the escalation by Trump and the military reached absurd heights when CBP admitted that it is flying Predator Drones above Los Angeles to help US troops protect a single federal building in downtown Los Angeles. See 404 Media, CBP Confirms It Is Flying Predator Drones Above Los Angeles To Support ICE.
The Trump administration is clearly seeking an excuse to increase the presence and expand the mission of federal troops. To date, Los Angeles residents have been restrained and peaceful—despite being monitored by Predator Drones (typically used in combat missions). The scattered violence seems to be the work of outside agitators attempting to discredit peaceful protesters—a likely possibility that the media seems to ignore.
I conclude this discussion where I began: The path forward is one of massive, decentralized, peaceful protests that make it impossible for Trump to focus the US military’s presence on any given city. We can do that; indeed, we are beginning that process. We must maintain and expand those efforts!
The reconciliation bill.
The Senate and the House continue to haggle over just how bad they can make the reconciliation bill without causing rioting in the streets. The answer seems to be, “Very bad.” The initial waves of raucous, empty-chair town halls have abated. We cannot allow that to happen. Indeed, since those town halls, Republicans have made the bill worse.
Talking Points Memo has the best discussion of the current state of play. See Emine Yücel in Talking Points Memo, Passing Big Beautiful Bill Would Mean ‘Effectively Dismantling’ Obamacare, Gutting Inflation Reduction Act.
Per TPM,
While Republicans are covering their sweeping, drastic cuts to the social safety net program with misleading rhetoric about targeting supposed “waste, fraud and abuse,” the cuts ultimately add up to a back handed GOP effort to repeal Obamacare as we know it. . . .
“Republicans are effectively dismantling the Affordable Care Act,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel in charge of changes to the healthcare program, said in a statement last week. “Americans do not want to go back to the days where health care was reserved for the healthy and the wealthy, where insurance companies had free rein to discriminate against sicker or older Americans.”
As reported late last week when the news in Los Angeles began to dominate the airwaves, Republicans are now training their sights on Medicare as a way of paying for the tax cut for billionaires and corporations. See MSNBC, Maddow Blog | It’s not just Medicaid: GOP eyes possible Medicare cuts in megabill.
The other major item that Republicans are aiming to cut is the green energy program of the Inflation Reduction Act—cuts that will hit red states the hardest. Again, per TPM
Though it varies “location by location” the cuts to the clean energy tax credit is also receiving major pushback on the ground, especially from Trump voters who are in districts that benefited from the incentives in the IRA Crowell said.
“There are small towns across the country, where you can point to the investments that were made by the IRA components of this and point to new jobs that were created in small towns that were really desperate for economic investment and new jobs. They very much understand [what is happening in the reconciliation bill].
The 5 Calls App will help you make calls to your Senators and Representatives. Click on the link and find the issue that you want to call about. E.g., search for Protect the Affordable Care Act and click on the link for that topic. You will then be directed to a word script to guide you through your call.
Check out The Grassroots Connector project to fight disinformation.
The Grassroots Connector and dozens of other groups have joined forces to create a website filled with resources to help fight disinformation. The project is described here: The Grassroots Connector, A Tool To Push Back On Trump’s $1 Billion Lie Machine.
The central website, DeceivedNation.com, has two main components:
Fact or Fiction Reports: These reports clearly outline each lie, identify the source, explain why it might be believed, present the truth (with full citations), and suggest actions that individuals can take. (See the example below.)
DN Rapid Response Team: Individuals, clubs, Facebook groups, and other organizations that amplify Fact or Fiction Reports across social media, and other communication platforms.
To learn more or get involved:
· Visit DeceivedNation.com
· Read the DN Fact or Fiction reports
· Sign up for the DN Rapid Response Team
· Connect your group to the Rapid Response Team
· Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Twitter
· Email us at info@DeceivedNation.com if you would like to help our all-volunteer effort
Former ABC journalist Terry Moran says he is joining Substack
Substack is becoming the landing pad of choice for journalists who are being forced out by major media outlet’s capitulating to Trump. The latest journalist to join Substack is Terry Moran. See The Hill, Terry Moran says he’s on Substack after ABC News cut ties.
Terry Moran’s Substack is here: Terry Moran | Substack.
As I noted in my comments two weeks ago, it is good for Substack, for you and me, and for democracy when reputable journalists join this platform.
Welcome, Terry!
Concluding Thoughts.
I acknowledge that Trump’s assault on Los Angeles has taken over the news cycle. A reader expressed unhappiness with me in Wednesday’s Comment section for not writing more about the reconciliation bill. While it is important to discuss the bill, nothing has changed for the last week or so. Republicans are negotiating among themselves about how bad they can make the bill and still “get away with it.”
But Trump’s deployment of federal troops to perform law enforcement duties is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and the Posse Comitatus Act that grows worse each day through mission creep. We can’t ignore that development, even though Trump wants to divert our attention away from the reconciliation bill.
We must be able to focus on (at least) two things at once. But in two days, we have a significant opportunity to shift the momentum against Trump on his illegal deployment of federal troops. Trump claims that people who protest his military parade “will be met with very heavy force.” Let me interpret Trump’s statement: “I am an insecure bully who is afraid of the protests that are happening on June 14.”
The obvious rejoinder to Trump’s fear-fueled threat is for tens of millions of Americans to protest his vanity parade in thousands of cities across America. Do everything you can to persuade friends and neighbors to join you in attending a No Kings Day rally.
Let’s change the narrative by making the rallies on June 14 a story that overwhelms the vanity parade. We must leave nothing on the field on June 14!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
Messier 94 is an unusual galaxy. Located about 16 million light years from Earth, it has a very bright core and two “rings” that have not been fully explained. Moreover, a still-controversial paper in 2008 suggested that M94 has little or no “dark matter”—a theorized but not yet explained form of matter necessary to keep galaxies from flying apart due to their rotational velocity.
M94 is also known as the “Cat’s Eye Galaxy,” a term intended to divert attention from the unanswered questions surrounding the galaxy’s unusual attributes.
Enjoy!
From Today’s Edition Newsletter via this RSS feed
You must log in or register to comment.