Latest articles from Crooks and Liars

Bribe Paying For More Pavement On White House Grounds

Lisa Needham — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:28:12 +0000

Are you having trouble keeping track of all of the ways that President Donald Trump is desecrating Washington, D.C., with his signature blend of shoddiness, cronyism, bad taste, and grift?

There are many, so we should all forgive ourselves for not catching his latest White House project: a new helipad.

Of course, like most things with this administration, we only learned about this by accident when people saw construction crews on the South Lawn.

Not to sound too much like “kids these days,” but listen, kids: There was once a time when adding something like a helipad to the White House would have been discussed well in advance.

The contracting process would have been transparent and lengthy enough to allow for actual bidders, not handpicked “donors,” we would know how much it was really going to cost, there would be construction permits, the normal district preservation groups would have weighed in—you get the picture.

Instead, we’ve got this.

This little project is ostensibly fully funded by a “donation” from Lockheed Martin. Did I mention that this is also not how things were when the government wasn’t run by having private companies bribe the president to cover the construction costs for his pet projects?

Everything Is Communism Now On Fox 'News'

Heather — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:28:03 +0000

Who knew Mitt Romney's healthcare plan is now a secret communist plot to get us to Medicare-for-all?

The red-baiting on Fox continues unabated. They've been attacking Democrats non-stop since a few members of the DSA won some primary races across the country, and this Saturday on a special weekend edition of Outnumbered, the propagandists on Fox — after attacking party leadership for not sounding more like John Fetterman (who does nothing but regurgitate right-wing talking points for Fox these days) — ridiculously asserted that the Democratic Party has always been radical, with cohost Lisa Boothe trotting out the tired Bill Ayers card and calling the ACA communism.

MCENANY: I would just say this — we need to reject this. John Fetterman said call this out. We heard JD Vance today state "Reject this." We heard the president say the same last night.

But to your point, Aishah, we need Hakeem Jeffries to say this. We need Chuck Schumer to say this. We need the leaders in the Democratic Party to be leaders... because I consider you my brothers and sisters — we think differently, but you are by and large rational and don't believe in this. You are catering to a political base. We need you to do what John Fetterman, JD Vance and Donald Trump have done and say "reject this" on America's birthday.

BOOTHE: But they're not going to, because they're afraid of what's happening on their left. They're afraid of getting primaried. They're seeing...

MCENANY: They want to win.
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Mike's Blog Round Up

Batocchio — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:32:01 +0000

Mock Paper Scissors: Happy Independence Day.

First Draft: A tale of three dollars.

Hullabaloo: Trump, accidentally correct, and still a menace.

Tom Engelhardt: The American way of war, war, war.

Roosevelt Institute: The good life agenda.

This Modern World: Swamp creature.

This installment by Batocchio. E-mail tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com.

Unhinged Fox Host Calls Talarico 'Demon In Human Skin'

Heather — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:30:01 +0000

Fox has absolutely no business calling itself a "news" network while spewing this type of garbage, but we all knew that already. If any of these people actually believe in God, they should be worried about lightening strikes after telling this many lies.

On this Friday's Outnumbered on Fox, during what basically amounted to an in-kind campaign contribution to the Paxton campaign for US Senate in Texas, cohost Emily Campagno made the outrageous statement that Paxton's opponent, James Talarico, was a "demon in human skin" while helping the rest of them lob false attacks on him.

Earlier in the segment, Lisa Boothe told the audience that Paxton had some "moral shortcomings," (sure Jan) adding that Talarico was just too "weird" because of all of the things they were about to lie or exaggerate about him.

As we've already discussed here, one of their latest lame attempts to smear him has been to try to paint him as gay or trans. Now their latest nonsense is to go after him for calling the flag "a complicated symbol," and for some out-of-context quote about Christianity.

Semiquincentennial Blues

Ratt — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:00:01 +0000

This is the saddest birthday ever, do you agree? I was not in the mood for much beyond hearing that the National Mall was evacuated ahead of a thunderstorm and some wingnuts refused to leave, claiming the libs were engineering the weather.

Because apparently they're too dumb to know that it's all those fossil fuels supercharging the weather.

How was your 4th? Were you in the mood to celebrate or no?

- Karoli

C&L's Late Nite Music Club: Taylor Swift: I Was There

John Amato — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:59:56 +0000

The New York Knicks had a historic run to win the 2026 NBA Championship.

As a kid, I saw Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, and the rest of Red Holzman's teams win two championships. Game seven vs the Lakers in 1970 was not even televised locally because it wasn't a total sell-out -- if you can believe that.

It has been darkness for decades.

In Game One of the conference finals against Cleveland, the Knicks were down by 22 with under 8 minutes to go, and they orchestrated an amazing comeback to win in OT and then sweep the Cavaliers.

Game four of the NBA finals will go down as one of the greatest NBA finals games, with the Knicks by 29 points at home, rallying again to take the game and win the series in 5 games.

Taylor Swift was there too.

I WAS THERE" tells the story of a once-in-a-generation night at Madison Square Garden when the New York Knicks came back from 29 points down and reminded the world who they were. Through the eyes of an outsider, this song captures the emotion, the hope, the tears, and the belief that filled the arena that unforgettable night. This isn't just a basketball song. It's about perseverance. It's about faith. It's about never giving up when the odds say you should.

Open thread.

Trump Admits No End In Sight For War With ‘Totally Defeated’ Iran

NewsHound Ellen — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 23:01:07 +0000

Donald Trump, the draft dodger who bungled his way into the unnecessary and unpopular Iran war, made it clear he has no strategy to get us out of it.

Looking like a beached whale that can’t sit up straight, the elderly Trump defended his now four-month-old war that was supposed to last only four to five weeks.

“We were in Vietnam for 19 years (In April, he said 18 years), but we were in Afghanistan for like 10 years. We were in the Korean War forever. I don't even mention World War I and World War II; they're biggies,” President Bone Spurs said.

Regardless, suggesting that his unpopular war won't last a decade or two is hardly reassuring.

“I've been there for four months, and what have I done? I've defeated them militarily. They're totally defeated militarily,” Trump claimed. Two months ago, Trump also claimed that Iran’s military “is totally defeated.” Not surprisingly, CNBC host Joe Kernan did not question the obvious lie.

Happy 250 Years Of America! ICE Decides It Isn’t Brutal Enough

Alix Breeden — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 21:39:49 +0000

The White House is supercharging its deportation efforts again, and the timing shouldn’t go unnoticed.

According to The New York Times, daily immigration arrests have recently doubled as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers put in seven-day workweeks to sweep the streets of people they’ve deemed deportable.

Over 10,000 immigrants were reportedly detained within a five-day span, with many being targeted at immigration check-ins, traffic stops, and simply while walking down the street. This increase in quota—which demands agents to hit 2,000 arrests a day—comes from the White House, according to the Times.

The timing of this deportation push speaks volumes. The documented and undocumented immigrant communities in the U.S. have been in mourning and shock.

Last week, The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to rip away Temporary Protected Status from Haitian and Syrian immigrants, enabling Trump to deport them more easily and leaving them vulnerable to his will. Many are now scrambling to secure a different type of protected status before ICE comes knocking on their doors.

“Now we are vulnerable, we are exposed to detention and to deportation,” Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Support Center, told Daily Kos in a phone call this past weekend.

Gov. Jared Polis Fires Clemency Board Members For Speaking Out

Colorado Newsline — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:58:04 +0000

by Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline
July 2, 2026

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis fired two members of his clemency advisory board who spoke publicly about the board’s recommendation against releasing Tina Peters.

Peters, the former Mesa County clerk and election denier who was convicted and sentenced for her role in a breach of her office’s election system, was released from state prison on June 1 after Polis cut her sentence in half under pressure from the Trump administration.

Peters visited President Donald Trump at the White House earlier this week.

Video Of Dallas PD Officer Shoving Egypt World Cup Staff Goes Viral

Red Painter — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 17:58:43 +0000

There have been lots of reports of World Cup teams facing issues in America due to insanely horrible new immigration policies rolled out by the fascist Trump regime.

Reports have included a referee from Somalia being denied entry, an Iraqi team member being denied entry, fans from countries being denied entry (even though they have tickets), Iran's team being forced to lodge their team in Mexico, and after each game, they had to fly out immediately. They could not stay in America overnight at all.

Now we have a viral video of a Dallas Police Department officer getting into a physical altercation with a staff member of the Egypt team. And it looks bad.

The video shows an officer getting into a confrontation with Egypt's team as they posed with fans outside their hotel in Dallas. The officer shoved Egypt national team director Ibrahim Hassan while posing for a photo with a young fan.

The Dallas officer began arguing with the staff member, with the officer shouting “Back off! Back off!” as he shoved the man backward. Hassan says, “No pushing, no pushing,” to the officer as the altercation intensifies. Another officer can be seen attempting to separate people.

Police claim that the hotel security team called them.

DPD spokesperson put out a statement saying:

Trump's Fascist Friends Showed Up For His Big Party

Red Painter — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:32:00 +0000

Looks like some of Donald Trump's best fascist friends have shown up in DC for his big party! Heat be damned, ICE and lots of feds took a day off to show their support, donning khakis, dark polo shirts, face-covering gators, hats, and wraparound sunglasses. Oh, and they were carrying American flags and chanting Nazi rhetoric.

Who are they?

PATRIOT FRONT!

They are, as defined aptly by google AI, "a white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group that formed in the aftermath of the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally. Led by Thomas Rousseau, the Texas-based organization aims to establish a white ethnostate in the United States."

Here are some disturbing videos of DC Police (MPD) guarding their path.

In front of Union Station (the large train station near the Capitol):

Patriot front marching from Union Station right now. White supremacist and neo-fascist organization. Cowards.

— Rafael M Batista (@rafmbatista.bsky.social) 2026-07-04T13:22:25.438Z
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Happy Fourth Of July, Trump-Style

Ed Scarce — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:57:26 +0000

Symbolic, no? And crashing with Lee Greenwood's 'Proud to be American' was perfect.

Source: Fox40, Sacramento

(FOX40.COM) — A skydiver crashed Thursday night while parachuting into the Folsom Pro Rodeo, videos on social media show. Event organizers said the parachutist, Ross Vail, was uninjured and will jump again on Friday.

A video posted to Facebook showed a Vail skydiving with an American flag attached to his feet parachuting in to the grandstands. The crowd watched as it appears the flag gets snagged on a tree, forcing Vail to face plant at a 90-degree angle.

Exclusive video provided by the Folsom Pro Rodeo shows skydiver Vail after the crash walking on stage in front of a cheering crowd.

A statement from the event organizers reads: “On behalf of the Folsom Pro Rodeo and Choose Folsom, our skydiver Ross is safe and walked into our arena, post jump to a standing ovation. He will be skydiving into our arena again tonight, July 3rd.“

The best representation you’ll ever see of the fall of America. pic.twitter.com/obBpxd6NeA

— ??????? (@LucifersTweetz) July 4, 2026
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Where Is All The Freedom 250 Merch Money Going?

Ashley Murray — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:31:28 +0000

WASHINGTON — What's more American than apple pie? Capitalism. And an array of merchandise and influence is on sale for the 250th birthday of the United States.

An America250 $275 Liberty Lux American Prosperity decorative throw pillow, anyone? How about a $25 Freedom 250 youth tee?

America250, a commission created by Congress a decade ago, and Freedom 250, President Donald Trump’s entity formed last year, each operate on their own respective tracks as a nonprofit and as a limited liability company. Both are employing staff, soliciting corporate donors and spending taxpayer funds.

That means people, businesses and nonprofits are getting a slice of the semiquincentennial pie, some bigger than others. But there is no clear accounting of which entities are getting the bigger shares and no one associated with either organization offered a full explanation to States Newsroom. Reports also show at least $10 million in taxpayer money flowing from America250 to Freedom 250, and some Democratic lawmakers claim more has been redirected.

The commission’s nonprofit arm, America250.org, lists 850 items available from its official online store: apparel, toys, games, eyewear, housewares, challenge coins, holiday ornaments, and a premier collectible line including an $8,000 painting by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based “speed painter” Cody Sabol.

Your July 4th Cookout Will Be Much More Expensive

Brad Reed — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:52:19 +0000

Having a July 4 barbecue will be significantly more expensive this year than it was a year ago, and two reports say President Donald Trump’s policies are at least partly to blame.

In an analysis published Wednesday, the American Economic Liberties Project faulted Trump for not taking on the corporate concentration in the meatpacking industry, which the group argued was the single biggest contributor to a “July 4th BBQ burn” that will see Americans pay record prices for ground beef.

The report finds that even though Trump has tried to cut prices by lowering his tariffs to increase the supply of imported beef, they have not fallen due to the meatpacking oligopoly’s power to keep prices high regardless of input costs.

In fact, the report says that prices have gone up by an additional 2% since Trump exempted beef imports from his tariffs last November.

The real problem, the report contends, is that just four companies process 85% of US beef, giving them enormous leverage over what consumers pay for the final product.

Even though three of these four firms have paid out tens of millions of dollars to settle price-fixing allegations, the report adds, none of them have been broken up.

Mike's Blog Round Up

Batocchio — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:02:01 +0000

Happy 250th birthday, United States of America!

The Declaration of Independence: the full text, and an NPR reading of it.

Revisiting the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. (And don't forget the Hemingses of Monticello.)

Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" in the full text and a video of key excerpts read by his descendants.

This installment by Batocchio. E-mail tips to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com.

Trump Talked To Teddy Roosevelt. He's Been Dead 100 Yrs.

Cliff Schecter — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:00:01 +0000

The republic turns 250 this week, and Blue Amp is marking the occasion the only sane way left: by laughing at the powerful, on purpose. David Shuster counts down the five sharpest political satire clips of the week.

At number five, Donald Trump visits the newly finished Teddy Roosevelt library and picks a fight with an AI hologram of Roosevelt—and finds a way to lose. Number four is “Forrest Trump,” a Gump-flavored sendup of the president’s greatest grievances. Number three, “Don’t Harp on Me,” sets aide Natalie Harp’s over-the-top devotion to music. Number two, “What a Mess,” ties together Iran, a $14 million reflecting pool that keeps turning green, and Republicans finally throwing punches at their own side.

And at number one, well, you’re just going to have to watch the video and read the piece at Blue Amp Media to see what that is!

Friday Night Funnies: Anthony Jeselnik - Best Opening Joke

John Amato — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:05:34 +0000

Have a nice holiday weekend with a laugh.

I saw him at the Improv testing new material, and he was hysterical.

Open thread.

Joe Walsh Nails It: Donald Trump Is A Traitor

NewsHound Ellen — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 22:15:16 +0000

Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh summed up the five-alarm fire in our democracy better than I have heard from a single establishment Democrat.

On MS Now Thursday night, Walsh reacted to Jack Smith’s warning about Donald Trump sabotaging the midterm elections. “These are the actions of a traitor,” Walsh said. He called it devastating that that is happening, but “what do we call someone who attacks our elections process? What [else] do we call that?”

“Think about what [Smith] said,” Walsh continued. “He called on all of us - elected officials and the rest of us - to anticipate what the president of the United States is going to do to attack our elections.”

“Think about that,” Walsh repeated. “We have to anticipate and prepare for what the president of our own country is going to do when he attacks our elections.”

Host Ali Velshi pointed out, “It’s not an invasion we’re preparing for,” but an attack from the president.

“I'm tired of beating around the bush,” Walsh added. “This guy is a traitor. The guy in the White House is a traitor.”

He is so right about that. And that did not even take into account Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, incite an insurrection, then pardon the insurrectionists. Or his zillions of other corrupt acts.

Mamdani Marks Country's 250th Birthday, Points Out It's Still Got Some Growing Up To Do

Conover Kennard — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 21:26:56 +0000

Flanked by a group of naturalized citizens and seated at George Washington's own desk, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani used the moment to make a forceful case for the country's history as a nation of immigrants, timed just ahead of the 250th anniversary festivities. The roughly quarter-hour address, delivered July 3, wove in personal biography alongside a more extensive look at America's long tradition of welcoming newcomers from around the globe.

Mamdani drew a sharp contrast: extreme wealth concentration alongside child hunger, and ICE-style enforcement actions described in visceral terms — masked agents making arrests after being served food by the very undocumented workers they're detaining.

"As we mark 250 years, what do we see?" he began before making Republican heads explode. 'We see a city of contradictions within a nation of contradictions. We see the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one where children go to sleep hungry while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more."

"We see monopolies that dominate every industry and oligarchs who buy elections," he continued. "We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans. We see a nation whose immense wealth has been built by those with calloused, dirt-streaked hands, those who toil on factory floors and chisel into stone."

Energy Secretary Applauds The End Of Federal Wind And Solar Subsidies

Ed Scarce — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 19:45:39 +0000

Idiocracy indeed.

And as a reminder, before leading the U.S. Department of Energy, Wright served as the CEO of Liberty Energy, North America's second-largest hydraulic fracturing company.

Source: International Business Times

The 4 Jul 2026 deadline will end core tax credits for future US wind and solar projects, but not all federal support.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on 2 Jul that the Trump administration would 'end the subsidies for wind and solar' after about 35 years. The statute reaches two principal clean-electricity tax credits rather than every federal mechanism that can assist the sector.

Its timing also matters: a project that establishes construction before the cut-off can remain outside the new termination rule.

Wright's statement referred to sections 45Y and 48E of the Internal Revenue Code: the Clean Electricity Production Credit and Clean Electricity Investment Credit. Public Law 119-21, enacted on 4 Jul 2025, amended both provisions to terminate them for wind and solar facilities placed in service after 31 Dec 2027, subject to a construction-date exception.
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Turns Out The Best Way To Leak The Smith Report Was To Just Ask The DOJ

Conover Kennard — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 17:52:21 +0000

The DOJ accidentally handed over the sealed second volume of Jack Smith's classified-documents report to lawyers for Carmen Lineberger — the woman they're currently prosecuting for allegedly stealing that exact report by emailing it to herself disguised as a cake recipe.

According to a legal filing published Thursday, it happened during a routine discovery handoff on flash drives in early June. Lineberger's attorneys found three unfamiliar documents, flagged them to the government, and once DOJ lawyers confirmed what they were, the defense team stopped reading, deleted the files, and returned the drives — playing it a lot straighter than the DOJ apparently did.

Here's the kicker: this is the same report Trump successfully fought to keep sealed after winning the 2024 election, and the same case that Judge Aileen Cannon tossed on shaky grounds before it ever reached trial. So the government spent over a year making sure the public never saw this thing, then just mailed it all willy-nilly to a defendant's lawyers by mistake.

Via The New Republic:

Can Anyone Stop Grifty McGrifterson?

Tengrain — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 16:18:37 +0000

Hair Füror released a 927-page disclosure about his financials, this throw-away line is the whole story:

“Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth at $6 billion, up from $2.3 billion in 2024.”

And in related news, Hair Füror arrived in North Dakota in his $400M Qatari gift airplane yesterday.

I dunno why, but it makes me think about the Constitution…

“No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”

Cornell Law School talks about the Emoluments Clause:

Jack Smith Is ‘Very Concerned’ About Trump Attacks On Midterms

NewsHound Ellen — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 15:01:51 +0000

Jack Smith probably knows better than anyone else just how bad a cheater Donald Trump is. When asked by MS Now host Nicolle Wallace if there’s an assault on our election from the Trump administration, Smith did not mince words. “I'm very concerned of what's going to happen in the next election. Absolutely,” he replied.

Smith did not want to say whether he saw any kind of repeat behavior from President Sore Loser as was seen in Smith’s Jan. 6 case. Instead, he suggested things will be worse this time.

He said, “Well, I've been thinking about it more in terms of what needs to be done based on what we saw happen last time, and you know it's a different situation now based on, you know, the people who perpetrated January 6 probably learned from how they did that.”

Smith quickly pivoted. “My personal view is I think the state attorney generals have a tremendous role to play here,” he continued. “They can make sure the rule of law functions in their state.”

He urged the states’ attorneys general to be “proactive” and “ready to litigate everything.” He suggested they “brainstorm” “every possible permutation and don’t let reason be a limitation. Imagine everything that could possibly be tried.”

In other words, be prepared for the historically unpopular Trump to do anything and everything he and his enablers can dream of to try and cheat their way into holding on to power.

Piece Of Event Stage Nearly Falls On Freedom250 Dancer

David Edwards — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 13:31:14 +0000

A stage panel plunged toward dancers rehearsing for President Donald Trump's Freedom 250 July 4th celebration on the National Mall, narrowly missing them.

Video of the incident, posted to X at 3:18 PM Thursday by independent journalist Aaron Parnas, showed the panel falling from the arched stage structure as dozens of dancers performed below.

"The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250's July 4th celebration," Parnas wrote.

"This is incredibly dangerous stuff," journalist Ryan Grim wrote on X.

" Trump cutting safety corners with stage building is the kind of thing somebody can genuinely be prosecuted for if someone dies," Grim added. Under criminal law, causing a death through reckless safety failures can result in prosecution even without intent to harm.

"This equipment is deadly when falling from those heights," he wrote.

What Is Happening With Mitch McConnell?

Heather — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:08:00 +0000

McConnell was apparently unconscious when he was rushed to the hospital on June 14th after suffering from cardiac arrest. His spokesperson is declining to give any updates on his current condition:

Emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the Washington home of Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell last month to attend to an unconscious person who appeared to be in cardiac arrest, according to EMS dispatch audio reviewed by ABC News.

While the audio does not indicate who the person is, the incident occurred on the same day that McConnell was hospitalized on June 14.

At 8:36 a.m., a dispatcher directed an "ALS response" ambulance to McConnell's residence for an "unconscious" person. "ALS" stands for Advanced Life Support.

At 8:42 a.m., the EMS responder, identified as "Medic 3," responded to the dispatcher, saying "inform supervisor CPR in progress."

At 8:43 a.m., the dispatcher said "EMS to respond, for cardiac arrest," and once again repeated McConnell's address.

McConnell is not named directly in any of the audio.

The report says it's unclear whether he's still in the hospital or not, and several of his Republican colleagues in the Senate claim they've spoken with him, but I find that hard to believe. I guess they'll finally have to tell us the truth about what's going on when he passes away.