Hasan Piker says he can take the heat. The famous political commentator has spent the past several months as the primary target of the Democratic party establishment for what they claim are his repugnant views. According to Hasan, the real reason is the success of the broader left movement that he has been a vocal advocate for.

Now, he sits down with Mehdi in Washington, D.C. to talk about becoming a “lightning rod” and the recent Democratic primaries shaking up the political landscape.

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The two Hasans (Hasan-squared? Hasandwich?) discuss the upcoming Michigan Senate primary between the AIPAC-backed Haley Stevens and the progressive Abdul El-Sayed. The polls are close, the money is overwhelming (Stevens has a 12-1 spending advantage over El-Sayed), yet Hasan explains why he thinks “this race will shock the world.”

They also get into the whole Tucker Carlson debate. Is Tucker setting up JD Vance for 2028, or is he planning his own presidential run? Hasan and Mehdi unpack whether the right-wing Christian nationalist can be a trusted ally on Gaza and Israel. “He’s been great on [Gaza]. I have no problems openly admitting that,” Hasan says. “He’s a phenomenal communicator and that’s what makes him so dangerous from my perspective.”

The Hasans also discuss:

• Socialism’s rising popularity in the U.S.

• Hasan being targeted by both Democrats and Republicans.

• Accusations of antisemitism.

• Mehdi’s appearance on the PBD podcast.

• Marco Rubio vs. JD Vance.

• The hypocrisy of Joe Rogan and Bill Maher.

• And which Democrat Hasan wants to run in 2028…

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Good morning! It’s Andrew here, reporting once again from the great state of Maine. You may have heard that Maine has a new presumptive Democratic nominee: Troy Jackson. Now that he’s set to face Susan Collins, the Beltway media has some thoughts – and they’re not great.

In today’s ‘First Draft,’ reporters aren’t about to let Maine’s Senate contest be about the candidates’ politics, policy views, or records, or even the hell that Donald Trump has unleashed. Plus, we look at the latest development in the Trump administration’s long-running campaign to silence and deport student protester Mohsen Mahdawi.

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‘The Water Bottle Episode’

Democrats in Maine yearn for a different kind of politician in Washington – one who represents their political views and wants, rather than what the D.C. establishment thinks is best for them.

That was the throughline between Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, which saw populist outsider Graham Platner steamroll over the state’s two-term governor, and the conclusion of the hurried process that took place to replace Platner on the ballot after he was accused of rape.

The 17,000 Democrats who participated in the second primary overwhelmingly voted for delegates who support Troy Jackson, the former state Senate president whom Bernie Sanders had backed for governor. The contest wasn’t close. Jackson’s rivals dropped out. Upcoming debates were canceled.

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So what was the national media’s response to this impressive organizing display from the new progressive Democratic Senate candidate in Maine?

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Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, former National Assembly President Cilia Flores, are expected back in U.S. court Wednesday as they face criminal prosecution over their alleged participation in a decades-long drug trafficking operation.

This hearing comes just six months after Donald Trump’s administration kidnapped Maduro and Flores in Venezuela as part of an unprecedented regime change operation, setting the stage for a lengthy and complicated legal battle ahead.

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But what, exactly, are they accused of? Were their arrests even legal? And why are they being tried by the U.S.?

Here’s what you need to know:

What Is Maduro Accused Of?

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Ask the average person to name the major war that Donald Trump started, and they’ll understandably say Iran, now rounding out its fifth month with no end in sight. But entirely in obscurity, Trump has launched what one think-tank expert terms an “unprecedented increase” in strikes in Somalia – so unprecedented as, in his view, to represent an entirely new war emerging from the U.S. inability to defeat an adversary that it has fought for an entire generation.

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It is no longer a surprise that Somalia garners little attention. But it should be scandalous, because such neglect has permitted the U.S. military to wage an adjunct forever-war against jihadists in Somalia for 20 years, ever since a U.S.-backed and long-forgotten Ethiopian invasion in 2006. That ties Somalia with the 2001-21 Afghanistan war as America’s longest foreign conflict. But since the U.S. fights in Somalia without conventional ground forces, it has never faced any pressure to demonstrate success, let alone end operations. The U.S. war in Somalia has become a signal case of the so-called “War on Terror” launching an imperial police action uninterrupted by any need to justify itself. In another six months, this invisible, politically frictionless campaign will rank as the longest foreign war the U.S. has ever fought.

Congress certainly isn’t demanding any justification – or even devoting much in the way of scrutiny.

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Elyas Abu Safiya hasn’t seen his father in person in 19 months. The last time he did, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya was doing what he had done for most of his life: taking care of other people, saving lives.

On Dec. 27, 2024, the Israeli army abducted Dr. Abu Safiya from the Kamal Adwan Hospital – the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza. His son, Ibrahim, was killed in an Israeli bombing in October 2024.

For a week, Israeli authorities denied that they had abducted him. When they finally admitted they were holding him, Israel didn’t disclose his whereabouts for more than a month. He has since been moved around to different prisons, but Israel has shared little other information. We know he’s being held under Israel’s “Unlawful Combatants” Law – a fictitious legal classification (it does not exist in international law) that Israel uses to indefinitely imprison Palestinians without charge or trial. We know he’s been tortured, and has lost an extreme amount of weight – so weak, he is unable to sit upright. During one of his last visits with his lawyer, he said: “They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.”

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Elyas, helpless, has had to wait for updates from afar – first from Gaza, and now from Kazakhstan, where his family moved late last year. I recently spoke to him about the campaign to release his father, his message to Donald Trump and new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and what his dad taught him about loving Palestine. His answers have been translated from Arabic to English and edited for length and clarity below:

What is the latest information that you have on your father?

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Good morning, friends; it’s Prem and Swin again. Hope your air quality is clearer than of late and your lettuce is fresh and safe!

In today’s ‘First Draft,’ we have reporting from inside the White House on what exactly is leading Trump to re-escalate the Iran war to even more dangerous levels than before. Plus, the State Department releases a 100-page report on Cuba’s “assault” on the U.S., including a list of Americans whose opinions on the island nation Marco Rubio doesn’t like.

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‘They Pissed Him Off’

Donald Trump yearned for a ceasefire deal. When it came, it was a losing deal for him, underscoring how desperate he was to get out of his self-made problem. He swallowed it. And things were beginning to alleviate. Oil prices started to go down. But now, mere weeks later, not only has the ceasefire collapsed but the Mad King is drastically ratcheting up his disastrous war once again.

And Trump is doing so as the global economy runs dangerously close to going off the cliff. U.S. oil reserves are at the lowest level since 1983. And while global reserves helped stave off higher price increases previously, those reserves have now been tapped; there is less and less to draw from as the highly unnecessary crisis gets increasingly worse.

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And as Trumpland apparently tries to restart negotiations – while threatening more drastic violence – Iran is expressing little interest. To make matters worse, the Houthis are moving to close the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait to Saudi tankers. The blockade would hinder an additional 7% of global oil supply – almost doubling the oil currently reduced by the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

All the while, Ukraine has dismantled Russia’s refinery capacity. All to say, the likelihood of global oil shortages has spiked.

This was supposed to be over.

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Sound familiar?

Jain and many of his NDTV colleagues responded by resigning in protest, and Jain now reports for the independent Newslaundry, one of the many digital outlets unabashedly holding the right-wing BJP government accountable.

In an important ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, Mehdi asks Jain what he makes of Trump’s campaign against the free press in the United States, as well as the unprecedented “complete media capture” in India, the so-called “world’s biggest democracy” – where journalists have been jailed, physically assaulted, and even killed.

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“The problem is that if promoters and owners who actually have deep pockets, who have institutional safeguards, if they don’t show spine, then newsrooms are screwed, and independent journalism is screwed,” Jain tells Mehdi.

During this timely conversation, the two also discuss:

• Pro-BJP “Godi media” outlets and the anti-Muslim propaganda they spread

• The Trump DOJ’s recently dropped lawsuit against billionaire Gautam Adani

• How the most prominent figures in Bollywood have been “brought to heel” by the Indian far-right

• The importance of independent media in the U.S. and in India, and Jain’s specific advice to U.S. journalists based on his own experiences.

Paid subscribers can watch the full 20-minute interview above. Free subscribers can watch a 2-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock content like this and a lot more from Zeteo.

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Donald Trump’s war in Iran was supposed to be winding down. It is not – and things could get much worse soon, with news that Iran’s allies are planning to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Saudis.

In recent days, Trump has expanded strikes to target civilian infrastructure inside Iran. Iran has answered by targeting Gulf infrastructure and formally exiting the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, a development that Trump said he “couldn’t care less” about.

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Now, Tehran’s allies in Yemen have opened a second front at sea on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. On Monday, the Houthis – the Iran-backed rebel group that controls northern Yemen, including its coastline above the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – declared a maritime embargo against U.S. ally Saudi Arabia “effective immediately,” asserting that the Bab al-Mandeb is now closed to Saudi maritime traffic.

If the Houthis close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Saudis, and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, it could send oil prices soaring to new levels.

Here are 7 things you really should know about the Bab al-Mandeb Strait that could dominate our headlines in the coming days…

1. Say Hello to the ‘Gate of Tears’

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Good morning, and Happy Monday again, and congratulations to Spain. Martin here, in Washington, DC, delighted as ever to be bringing you the news you need to know to start your week.

In today’s ‘First Draft,’ we look at the dramatic arrest in Florida of the Anglo-American brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, wanted on a raft of serious charges in the UK, and ask why top Democrats don’t seem interested in making clear how close the Tates have grown to the Trump family and the Republican Party they own. We also consider the latest catastrophic re-escalation of Donald Trump’s illegal war with Iran, and consider Troy Jackson’s barnstorming display in Maine, where he stands on the brink of confirmation as the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee.

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‘An Enthusiastic Supporter of Donald Trump’

In Miami on Saturday, U.S. marshals arrested the Anglo-American manosphere influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate. In the UK, the brothers face a total of 59 charges, covering rape, sexual assault, trafficking, assault, and offenses related to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.

Matt Jury, a lawyer who represents several alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, hailed “the real prospect of extradition… after years of public campaigning by the four British women I represent,” adding: “Andrew and Tristan Tate are accused of some of the most serious offenses. It is time they face justice.”

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For the brothers, lawyer Joseph McBride said: “The world knows Andrew and Tristan Tate are innocent. Their enemies know it best of all. That is exactly why they have been attacked. We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain’s political dirty work.”

But plenty of Americans have done political dirty work on behalf of the Tates and it seems incredible, particularly in light of ongoing scandal over sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his links to Donald Trump, that senior Democrats with national platforms and profiles did not this weekend seize on connections between the Tates, the Trumps, and the Republican Party, in order to flood the zone with comment and questions, and shine a harsh spotlight firmly the way of the White House.

It’s not as if material is lacking.

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Just hours after the game wrapped, with Spain defeating Argentina 1-0 to reclaim the World Cup trophy after 16 years, Bardem headed back to his hotel room and joined Mehdi for an exclusive live chat on YouTube and Substack.

The two of them discussed the game itself and Argentina’s poor performance; Donald Trump embarrassing himself during the trophy presentation; whether the match was a proxy for Palestine vs Israel, given the latter’s loud support for Argentina and Spain’s backing of the Palestinians in Gaza; and also, the Spanish government’s anti-war stance on Iran.

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The actor told Mehdi that it was important to be able to speak out against what he called the “genocide” in Gaza and the “war criminal” Benjamin Netanyahu without being accused of, or engaging in, antisemitism. In fact, the conversation touched on everything from the “crazy impunity” enjoyed by Israel to the way in which Donald Trump and Javier Milei don’t represent their people to the ridiculously high ticket price at World Cup games in 2026.

Bardem also revealed his plans for the theater stage and plugged his forthcoming movie with his wife, Penelope Cruz.

It is a conversation, above, that you will not want to miss, and which we are releasing without a paywall.

If you’re already a paid subscriber to Zeteo, thank you so much for your support, but do also consider becoming a donor if you can. If you’re a free subscriber and haven’t yet upgraded to paid, well, what are you waiting for? Zeteo books big-name, left-wing guests like Javier Bardem on the day of the World Cup Final. What more do we have to do to earn your support?

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At the beginning of this month, we pissed off the Trump White House.

Again.

We ran a story on how President Donald Trump is already planning to steal classified U.S. documents after he leaves office a second time – just like he did the first time. The West Wing got huffy about it.

“Zeteo is a pathetic fake news blog and their so-called sources have no idea what they’re talking about. Zeteo’s three readers already know this ‘publication’ is total fake news,” the White House told us in an email. No one signed their name. (If you read their statement closely, you’ll notice they did not deny any of our reporting… 🤣🤣🤣)

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The federal government is waging a nonstop war on the First Amendment in ways that we haven’t seen in the United States in a long, long time. On top of that, senior White House officials constantly hurl childish taunts and bullshit smears at news organizations that shine a light on what this corrupt, out-of-his-mind president actually does.

Their enemies list includes Zeteo.

The Trump White House has publicly denounced us as “terrorist sympathizers,” because we’ve reported on the scandals and lies they’ve told about their disastrous war on Iran. Vice President JD Vance went out of his way to call our founder and editor-in-chief, Mehdi Hasan, a “dummy.” A White House spokesperson called Mehdi a “nutjob” and “such a terrible ‘journalist’” after Zeteo broke news about Trump’s push to spy more, not on foreign adversaries, but on U.S. allies.

Top MAGA ally and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has been paying attention to what Mehdi and Zeteo have been doing too and… he doesn’t approve! Trump’s “rapid response” team dubbed Mehdi a terrorist-loving “moron,” simply because he called out the White House press secretary’s bald-faced lies. The White House previously branded Zeteo “a fake news blogsite run by left-wing hacks that no one should take seriously.” (They threw that particular hissy fit because we dared to report on Trump and the GOP’s ongoing plots to steal elections.) And I will forever cherish the fact that the Trump White House issued a statement labeling yours truly a “deranged hack who couldn’t even hold a job at Rolling Stone and is now writing for a Greta Thunberg blog.” Despite all of their attacks, the Trump White House, perhaps nursing some hurt feelings, has pretended not to know who we are, emailing us, “What the hell is a Zeteo?” That was after we reached out for comment regarding one of President Trump’s massive, failing leak hunts.

They know what we are. And they’re going to keep knowing.

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I’ve been a political reporter at multiple mainstream media outlets, including the Daily Beast and Rolling Stone, and I can honestly say that I’ve never been prouder of the work I’ve done than when it’s here with the hard-charging team at Zeteo. You can tell a lot about someone from their enemies. Clearly, Zeteo is getting under Team Trump’s skin; we wouldn’t be doing our jobs right if we weren’t.

But, as always, the only way we can fight back is together.

So if you’re able to, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to Zeteo today to support us and help grow independent media. If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you! You can still help us by making a donation to Zeteo.

Every paid subscription, every donation, every financial contribution, big or small, sends a message to Donald Trump’s authoritarian, warmongering administration and his party – that we won’t allow ourselves to be bullied, we won’t be silenced, and we won’t stop telling the truth about fascism, genocide, illegal wars, the Republican Party’s widespread efforts to attack free and fair elections, and other moral and literal atrocities of our time.

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Please help us fight on. Thank you for standing with Zeteo.

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“Russiagate” was real, according to none other than Donald Trump and his administration.

Trump spent years dismissing allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to aid his presidential campaign, labeling it a “hoax.” And yet, now his administration has, seemingly unwittingly, admitted that Russia sought to meddle in the 2020 election to boost his failed reelection bid.

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“President [Vladimir] Putin and senior Russian officials are overseeing efforts by proxies… to spread claims about former Vice President [Joe] Biden as well as Ukrainian politicians and alleged Ukrainian influence in the 2016 election,” reads a declassified National Intelligence Council document published by Trump’s administration on Thursday.

The White House released documents focused on “Election Integrity,” as Trump delivered a primetime national address alleging foreign election interference. And in the trove were documents that countered the president’s own years-long claims questioning intelligence reports indicating that Russia attempted to interfere in U.S. politics specifically on his behalf.

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But democratic socialist and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong has a different perspective.

“This is also a state where progressivism was born and nurtured, where kindergarten was formed,” Hong says to Mehdi. “Our socialist progressive roots run deep and the people all across our state are ready to dig up those roots and build something new and better.”

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Watch Mehdi and Hong discuss her campaign, as she attempts to beat out establishment Democrats in the state’s primary and become the U.S.’s first democratic socialist governor.

Key moments from the interview include:

• What democratic socialism means to Hong (“Human rights, democracy, and fairness.”)

• The criticism from establishment Democrats that she is “unelectable”

• Why she has not walked back her previous “defund the police” comments (“It is the responsible thing to demand reform.”)

• Why she reported a Gaza ceasefire display in 2023 as a “highly antisemitic act” and why regrets doing so today and is calling out Israel’s genocide of Palestinians

• The Republican party’s likely gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany (“A traitor.”)

• Whether she will repeal Wisconsin’s codification of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism

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Palestinians must live their lives on repeat. Israeli strikes – day and night, targeting hospitals, police, and children. Kids lose one parent and then another. Parents cry over the body of a son, and then a daughter. Homes are demolished. Israeli settlers attack Palestinians on their own land – over and over again.

It’s a never-ending cycle – one caught on video, shared online, yet allowed to continue, a cycle that only gets worse.

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A U.S. politician experienced only a small sliver of the kind of violence Palestinians endure every day, only to find himself on the receiving end of the relentless hasbara industry this week. At the same time, more children were killed, a Palestinian family had 30 minutes to collect as many of their belongings as possible before their home was demolished, and Israel targeted a funeral in Gaza.

Here’s more on all of that and much more, as it was another troubling week in Palestine:

Saturday, July 11 – No Justice One Year After Palestinian-American Killed by Settlers – Just Another Attack

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Trump’s far-right pal, Argentine President Javier Milei was expected to be in attendance on Sunday too, and together they would have presented the trophy to Lionel Messi and his teammates in the case of an Argentina win. Thankfully, we’ve been spared the possibility of a Milei-Trump joint appearance because of Milei’s superstitions.

Still, a win will provide a boost to Milei, and for Trump, the final will mark the culmination of an event that’s served as a distraction from his various crimes and misdeeds. FIFA allowing authoritarian leaders to use the World Cup to their benefit is an age-old story – one we’ve documented throughout this three-part series, dating back to Italy under Benito Mussolini during the 1934 tournament.

As the New Yorker’s Ishaan Tharoor puts it, that tournament was “a wonderful showcase for Italy…a showcase for the preeminence and prowess of its fascist regime.”

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Join Mehdi, Ishaan, Political Scientist Jules Boykoff, and FIFA whistleblower Bonita Mersiades for a timely unpacking of the dark side of this incredibly cherished international tournament, and FIFA’s role in it.

Paid subscribers can watch the full episode. Free subscribers can watch a 1-minute preview. Become a paid subscriber to Zeteo today to support the work we’re doing and to get access to all our premium content!

Check out the other episodes from ‘The Dark Side of the World Cup’:

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Two separate speeches this week – one by the president and one by the arguably shadow president – were a crock of BS and could be ignored, if only they didn’t have real and devastating consequences for democracy and Americans.

First, there was White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and his whiny speech about the administration’s campaign against the scary “radical” left. Then came Donald Trump, and his “address to the nation” – aka lies, conspiracies, and already-known information – about the president’s greatest obsession of all: the election he lost. If you missed these speeches, we don’t blame you. Zeteo’s politics team endured both so you didn’t have to. We have more on both below, and here and here.

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The speeches, and their expected consequences, are exactly why we maintain this project – Trump and his cronies’ efforts to harm democracy, undermine the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide continue at a rapid pace. Here’s more from ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 78’:

Saturday, July 11 – Times Reporters Subpoenaed About Trump Coverage

The New York Times reported that the Trump administration subpoenaed several of the publication’s journalists last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury about their reporting on security concerns surrounding Trump’s new Air Force One, which was donated by Qatar.

David McCraw, the top newsroom lawyer for the Times, said the move should “shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects.”

The Times later reported that the subpoenas followed a meeting at the White House where FBI Director Kash Patel was directed to lead a leak investigation into the newspaper’s reporting about the plane.

Sunday, July 12 – DOJ Investigating Head of Union Auto Workers

Bloomberg reported that Trump’s Justice Department launched a grand jury investigation into United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain over allegations that he pressured a top union official to secure special favors for his fiancée and her sister.

Fain denied the allegations and accused the union’s vice president, Rich Boyer – who had filed complaints to the UAW’s court-appointed monitor about Fain – of trying to influence its upcoming election.

Monday, July 13 – Trump’s IRS Settlement Voided by Federal Judge

A federal judge voided Trump’s $1.8 billion settlement with the IRS that included an “anti-weaponization fund” and immunity from tax audits, ruling that the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed “to manipulate the judicial process.”

The judge sanctioned two of Trump’s personal attorneys, one of whom was banned from practicing in the Southern District of Florida for at least one year. She also suggested that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and associate Attorney General Stan Woodward could face investigations or disciplinary actions by state bar associations.

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Tuesday, July 14 – Mahmoud Khalil Sues Trump Under KKK Act of 1871

Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by ICE for more than 100 days last year and is currently challenging a deportation order, sued the Trump administration and pro-Israel groups, including Canary Mission, Betar, and the Heritage Foundation.

The lawsuit, which was brought under a statute of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, argues that the Trump administration conspired with the organizations to “terrorize and make an example of” Khalil to “intimidate and silence the growing movement for Palestinian rights and political freedom.”

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Wednesday, July 15 – Trump Wants ICE Traffic Stops to Continue Despite String of Deaths

On Truth Social, Trump called for ICE officers to continue conducting traffic stops, calling the practice one of the agency’s “most important and effective Crime Fighting tools,” one day after administration officials told ICE to suspend most vehicle stops.

The move came after ICE shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week in Texas. He had been living in the U.S. for 35 years. Another ICE officer killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, letting him bleed out in front of his 3-year-old daughter on Monday. A third man died on Tuesday in Florida after he was hit by a tractor-trailer while trying to flee from immigration officers.

Thursday, July 16 – Trump Relitigates His 2020 Loss Live on Television

In an address to the nation, Trump delivered a sluggish speech chock-full of debunked lies and conspiracy theories about foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election, in an effort to pressure Republicans to pass the voter suppression bill, the SAVE America Act. He also called for ABC and NBC to have their broadcasting licenses revoked for refusing to air his propagandic tirade live on their networks.

Hours earlier, in helping launch the Trump administration’s global campaign against so-called “radical left terrorism,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller delivered a speech that Zeteo senior politics editor Andrew Perez described as “characteristically apocalyptic and authoritarian” and that only served to help Miller live out his “violent fantasy.”

Friday, July 17 – Election Officials Threatened With Jail Time

Speaking to reporters, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin escalated the Trump administration’s threats to jail election officials, warning that they could be criminally prosecuted if they refuse the federal government’s baseless demands to turn over their voter rolls.

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Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:

They cannot competently govern, but give Donald Trump’s flunkies this much: They know what their president wants to hear.

“You have changed America and created the Golden Age,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has gushed. “A new Golden Age of economic prosperity,” boasted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “A golden age of national defense,” chirped the Pentagon’s Pete Hegseth.

And “the Golden Age,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Americans on the country’s 250th birthday, “is just beginning.”

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OK, laugh at their fantasies. Trump’s bungling has driven inflation higher, his Iran debacle drags on, his ICE agents keep killing peaceable, productive immigrants, and his vanity projects produce one embarrassment after another. Leaders presiding over halcyon days do not suffer sub-40% public approval.

But a narcissistic president who craves superlatives deserves recognition for those he has earned. He has indeed created a Golden Age – of the most appalling kinds.

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Happy Friday! It’s Andrew here, looking forward to the weekend – or as Donald Trump understands it, the days he prefers to make news and war and ramp up his authoritarian blitz. Perhaps he’ll go easy on us, because yesterday was truly enough: If you thought Trump’s lying address in primetime was bad, wait until you see what fresh hell Stephen Miller has in mind for all of us.

In today’s ‘First Draft,’ we unpack Miller’s speech about “left-wing violence,” take in Trump’s mess of election fraud lies, consider the brewing disaster over Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, and take a look at what happened when acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was finally forced to meet a group of Epstein victims. Let’s read on.

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Fascist’s Fantasy

Stephen Miller is the most powerful unelected figure in Washington. His title is deputy White House deputy chief of staff, but the true nature of his role lands somewhere between Trump’s policy architect, and the actual U.S. attorney general, and the real Homeland Security chief – or perhaps the shadow president.

As I’ve reported with my colleague Swin, “Everything you loathe or love about Donald Trump’s America, you hate or cherish about Stephen Miller’s republic of fear.”

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Miller has been given enormous latitude to carry out the president’s agenda, and his own, despite helping tank Trump’s poll numbers on his signature issue, immigration, by leading a racist mass-deportation campaign too cruel, too violent, and too in-your-face for Americans with a conscience to stomach. But that is why Trump keeps Miller around and empowered: Trump and Miller are both fascists, and Miller is Trump’s fascism strategist. He is the guy who gets it done.

A Rush Limbaugh fan as a teen, Miller has always dreamed of crushing the left. Now, he’s getting to use the full force of the federal government to lead an all-out war on liberals, progressives, and leftists – and he’s throwing it in all our faces with his characteristically apocalyptic and authoritarian rhetoric.

“We have taken the necessary and essential action of formally recognizing left-wing violence as a form of political terrorism that is a direct threat to our national security and the survival of our republican form of government,” Miller said Thursday.

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“I feel like Donald Trump has gone full George W. Bush this year,” says Mehdi, pointing to Trump’s reliance on “raw” unvetted intelligence while presenting his “outlandish, unsubstantiated, conspiratorial, and self-serving” claims about election interference to the country.

During the livestream, Swin shared some soon-to-be-released original reporting from Zeteo indicating that Trump and senior White House staffers were briefed in advance of tonight that there was no “smoking gun that China actually managed to flip votes in Joe Biden’s direction in 2020.” He also called out the “horseshit" that Trump “spewed” about alleged vote-rigging in key swing states like Michigan.

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Raskin, who described Trump’s speech as “gibberish,” “drivel,” and “almost self-debunking,” told Mehdi the Trump administration is “trying to set the predicate for different kinds of attacks on the electoral system.”

Mehdi and Swin pressed the Democratic congressman on how his party plans to hold Republicans to account for all this if they gain control of the House next year, while also asking him about:

• His colleagues who voted against the amendment to cut aid to Israel

• Whether he will be endorsing Senate primary candidate Abdul El-Sayed

• His view on Democrats taking money from AIPAC

Mehdi and Swin weren’t the only ones doing the asking; as with every livestream at Zeteo, you, the subscribers, get to take part in the conversation. From questions on how the Chinese government will respond to this ridiculous Trump speech, to whether his voters are “stupid” enough to believe his lies, our speakers answered as many of your questions as they could.

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BIDDEFORD, Maine – Thirty-six hours after Donald Trump’s masked secret police killed Joan Sebastián Guerrero, his blood is still on the ground, stained into the road.

“This is blood,” someone has written in chalk. There’s a memorial on the sidewalk with bouquets of flowers, candles, notes, cardboard signs, and a drawing of Guerrero. There’s a stuffed bear and a toy lobster. A dozen people stand across the street, outside a pawn shop, protesting solemnly, as cars drive by.

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“It felt important to come out and stand for community and connection against destruction and disorder; that’s why I’m still standing here,” Gracelyn Kilpatrick, a 36-year-old Biddeford resident, tells Zeteo, as she holds an American flag. “I’ve been here for about three hours now, and I don’t want to leave this space unattended… I know that there are vigils and protests going on in other places. I think it’s really important to be here.”

Since the start of his second presidency, Trump has brought an intensifying level of disorder and destruction throughout the United States, as he’s turned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into an unaccountable paramilitary force that wages war on American cities, kidnaps immigrants, and kills people with impunity, sometimes on video. Republicans – including Maine Senator Susan Collins, who’s up for re-election – have responded to mounting public outrage by defending ICE and showering it with cash.

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