Deep State Comes Out of the Closet

Former USAID employees and current government officials shared with NOTUS that they are using their regime change skills to destroy Donald Trump’s presidency. NOTUS:  Some of the democracy-building experts President Donald Trump fired this year from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department are now reapplying the skills and knowledge they built up over decades to undermine Trump’s power. You just released a bunch of well-trained individuals into your population. If you kept our offices going and had us play solitaire in the office, it might have been safer to keep your regime.” Tucci was previously the director of the USAID Center for Democracy, Human Rights and Governance. Now she’s teaching these workshops on what she calls “Authoritarianism 101” and ways to resist it. “Getting people to understand that it’s part of a process is the training,” she told NOTUS. “It feels silly. ‘Why are we going to get ice cream?’ You’re building up that muscle and that bravery, and you’re building up your numbers. Today it starts with four, but tomorrow it’s 10. We’re helping them understand that is the organizing, and that is the process to get to a massive strike.” For years, these officials were stationed across the globe actively supporting opposition movements in autocratic nations. Now they’ve got time, a network of former colleagues and a growing sense of moral indignation. (NOTUS). In case you needed a reminder, Senator Chuck Schumer warned Trump not to anger the Intelligence Community. (X)

Judge Dugan Loses Bid to Dismiss Charges for Aiding Illegal Alien

Remember Judge Dugan, who was arrested for trying to sneak an illegal immigrant out of her courtroom? Things aren’t going so well for her. A fellow judge just denied her request to have the case against her dismissed. Jonathan Turley: Despite the array of professors and pundits heralding Judge Dugan as a hero, a Wisconsin magistrate judge just refused to dismiss her charges: “the distinction that takes these official duty cases out of the shield of immunity is not self-enrichment or the motive of the judge. It is whether the criminal law has been violated. In other words, a judge’s actions, even when done in her official capacity, does not bar criminal prosecution if the actions were done in violation of the criminal law.” (Jonathan Turley on X) (US District Court) Unfortunately, the trial court judge in her case has a history of improper political posturing himself. Jonathan Turley: Five years ago, I wrote about a federal judge who, in my view, had discarded any resemblance of judicial restraint and judgment in a public screed against Republicans, Donald Trump, and the Supreme Court. The Wisconsin judge represented the final death of irony: a jurist who failed to see the conflict in lashing out at what he called judicial bias in a political diatribe that would have made MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell blush. His name is Lynn Adelman. This week, a judge was randomly selected to preside at the trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan. A critic of Trump’s immigration policies, Dugan is accused of obstructing federal law enforcement and facilitating the escape of an unlawful immigrant. The judge assigned to the Dugan case? You guessed it. Lynn Adelman, 85. (Jonathan Turley)

TSA Allows You to Wear Shoes Again!

We all need some good news these days, and while this isn’t exactly winning the lottery, it is still nice to see that common sense has won a small victory. Fox News: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are expected to roll back the “shoes-off” airport security protocol at a Tuesday press conference in Washington. DHS sources confirmed a 5 p.m. ET announcement at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, following widespread reporting that TSA will allow more passengers going through security to remove their shoes. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said ending the protocol is “big news from @DHSgov” in a post to X. (Fox News)

USAID Secretly Shipped 11,000 Virus Samples to Wuhan Institute of Virology

If we all needed yet another reminder of why eliminating USAID was necessary, The Daily Caller gives us one. Daily Caller: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shipped thousands of viral samples to a lab in Wuhan over the course of a 10-year program even though it had no formal agreement with the lab in place, according to previously unreported documents. The documents show that USAID funded the exportation of 11,000 samples from Yunnan Province, where some of the closest relatives of the COVID-19 virus circulate, to Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, with no apparent plan for ensuring the samples were not misdirected to bioweapons and remained accessible to the U.S. government. A $210 million USAID public health program called PREDICT, steered by the University of California-Davis, collected viral samples in countries throughout the globe but lacked long-term storage when funding dried up, according to rudimentary plans in 2019. (Daily Caller).

More and More Democrats Find Common Ground With Trump on Mamdani

Former New York Governor David Paterson has joined a growing chorus of Democrats and Republicans who all agree on one thing: Zohran Mamdani is a terrible choice for Mayor of New York City. David Paterson: “I have been very clear in my position that I simply do not believe Zohran Mamdani is the best person to lead New York City in these extremely turbulent times. We just saw a federal budget passed and signed that will create havoc on New Yorkers in the coming years in our education system, the health care community and for hard-working families already struggling to make ends meet. We cannot afford ideas without a plan for implementation or funding. As public polls and surveys are revealed over these coming weeks, it is my hope and belief that the other candidates still in the race will come to the logical conclusion that New York City needs the most effective leader to navigate what comes next and that cannibalizing each other’s support will be doing a disservice to the millions of people who call New York ‘home’.” (David Paterson on X). Trump took another shot at Mamdani during his Cabinet meeting as well. (Donald Trump), And J.D. Vance also criticized Mamdani in remarks yesterday. Vance: “Mamdani’s family fled violent racial hatred only for him to come to this country—a country built by people he never knew, overflowing with generosity to his family, offering a haven from the kind of violent ethnic conflict that is common place in world history, but it is not common place here—and he dares on our 249th anniversary to congratulate it by paying homage to its ‘incompleteness,’ and to its, as he calls it, ‘contradiction.’” (J.D. Vance)

Trump Shipping More Arms to Ukraine as He Sours on Putin

President Trump has been trying to cajole Ukraine and Russia to end their conflict, but has been having little luck doing so. He appears to be blaming Putin for the holdup, and has decided to increase US support for Ukraine’s war effort to pressure Putin to come to the table. Wall Street Journal: “We have to, they have to be able to defend themselves,” Trump said of aiding Kyiv during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They are getting hit very hard. Now they are getting hit very hard. We’re gonna have to send more weapons.” His comments were the strongest indication so far that Trump has come around to the idea of strengthening Kyiv’s defenses, less than a week after it was disclosed that the Pentagon was withholding a shipment of arms earmarked for Ukraine. In a statement late Monday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: “At President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.” (Wall Street Journal). During his Tuesday Cabinet meeting Trump used a barnyard epithet to describe Putin’s recalcitrance. (President Trump).

Violence Against ICE/Border Patrol Escalating

Democratic Party Congressmen are whispering to NOTUS that their constituents are baying for blood, and unfortunately, it’s not all talk. Violent attacks against local, state, and federal law enforcement officers are skyrocketing. LEOs are getting shot at, and Antifa militants are attacking ICE and Border Patrol offices. Elizabeth MacDonald of Fox News: Check out the sophistication of the Antifa-linked terror cell members in Dallas-Fort Worth charged with attempted murder after opening fire on an ICE facility in Alvarado on July 4th. They were heavily armed with military gear, guns, AR-15 style rifles, 12 sets of Kevlar bullet proof vests, masks, goggles, tactical gloves, two-way radios, and helmets. Also had Faraday bags that block all wireless signals from law enforcement trying to track them. Blocks all GPS signals, calls, texts or pings. Agent shot in neck expected to survive. “Resist Fascism. Fight Oligarchy” flag and “fight ICE terror with class war” flyers were in their cars. This is after the CEO of UnitedHealth was assassinated by a far-left extremist, two staffers at Israeli Embassy in DC shot dead by radical far-left extremist, 13 severely wounded and one dead in firebombing in Boulder by far left anti-Israel radical, far-left rioters destroyed and caused $160M est’ed damage to downtown LA in anti-Ice riots. (Elizabeth MacDonald on X). The White House is warning about the increase in terrorist activity against ICE. (Rapid Response). Michael Gallagher has some thoughts. (Salem News Channel). Arrests of armed Antifa terrorists are ongoing. (US Attorney Nancy Larson).

Anger About Epstein Files Still Boiling

If Pam Bondi thought that a Sunday night soft release of a memo closing the Epstein investigation with no new revelations would satisfy the public, or at least MAGA supporters, she was sadly mistaken. Rage is growing, not dissipating, as many feel betrayed. Both Bondi and Trump faced questions yesterday about the Epstein case, and Trump exploded in frustration. Just The News: “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” he asked. “This guy’s been talked about for years… are people still talking about this creep? That is UNBELIEVABLE! I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein.”He then turned to Attorney General Pam Bondi and asked her “do you want to waste your time?” Bondi then opted to answer the reporter’s question and insisted that when she said the Epstein list was on her desk, that she had meant the documents related to the case. (Just The News). (Donald Trump). Trump may want to move on, but on his own Truth Social, the Epstein case is the #1 trending topic, and X is filled with angry conservatives, making “Epstein” the number one discussed topic. (X, X, X, X). Elon Musk has promised that his new America Party will make releasing the list a top priority. (X). David Strom at Hot Air sums up the administration’s problem: At the very least, the Justice Department was grossly irresponsible for saying they could deliver the impossible; at the very worst, they are providing evidence that when push comes to shove, the Deep State always wins in the end. (Hot Air).

Judge Rules That Planned Parenthood Has a Constitutional Right to Tax Money

The Big Beautiful Bill (now law) defunded Planned Parenthood—for a hot second. Boston U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani discovered a little-read clause in the Constitution that entitles the abortion provider to unlimited federal funds, overriding Congress and the President. National Review’s Dan McLaughlin summed it up nicely. Dan McLaughlin on X: The essence of Judge Talwani’s order is that she has overruled half a century of Supreme Court precedent and dissolved Congress. Ordering the executive branch to draw moneys from the Treasury in open defiance of an explicit Congressional decision not to appropriate them, and to spend them before the appellate courts can weigh in, is about the most flagrantly unconstitutional thing a judge could do. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how deliberately reckless Judge Talwani’s order is. She is all but begging the executive branch to defy a court order, and do so on the strongest possible legal turf. She must have hoped and intended that this would be the next step. (Dan McLaughlin on X, X, X). Apparently, “No Kings” excludes those whose office attire is black robes.

Trump Administration Banning China From Owning Farm Land

It’s official. After months of controversy, the Trump administration has enacted a policy that will ban foreign adversaries, including China, from owning American farmland. New York Post: The Trump administration is launching an aggressive, multi-agency effort to protect America’s farmlands, food supply and critical research from influence and control by US adversaries — including banning the purchase of farmland by Chinese nationals. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joined several top officials — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and trade adviser Peter Navarro — on Tuesday to announce the National Farm Security Action Plan. “American agriculture is not just about feeding our families, but about protecting our nation and standing up to foreign adversaries who are buying our farmland, stealing our research, and creating dangerous vulnerabilities in the very systems that sustain us.” (New York Post).