Trump to Stage a Meltdown at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

He wants to deliver his outburst and then flee.

Donald Trump and the media have what could be most nicely put as a contentious relationship, as the president frequently fumes over journalists who dare to report on his many scandals.

Ironically, Trump’s attacks on the press perhaps don’t get as much coverage as you’d expect. Amid all his other controversies, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Trump told a female reporter “quiet, piggy,” and that the FBI raided a journalist’s home—all this year.

But that may change soon. The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that Trump plans to give a cranky speech at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, in which he “is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular.”

The Beast’s sources also allege Trump will exit the dinner after his monologue and skip the presentation of press awards—unsurprising, given how difficult it is for the president to see people other than him be praised.

This means Trump will also miss the entertainment, which this year will be “mentalist” Oz Pearlman. Normally, a comedian attends to crack jokes about the media and the commander-in-chief, which has led to some legendary performances over the years.

The press award winners have already been announced, and many are indeed being honored for work the president won’t be pinning to his refrigerator anytime soon.

Among them is The Wall Street Journal, which is being presented with the Katherine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for their scoop on the creepy birthday card Trump allegedly wrote for convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.

Trump has never actually attended the Correspondents’ Dinner while in office, unlike the vast majority of other presidents. He last attended in 2011, when Barack Obama was in his first term. Obama threw a jab Trump’s way while on stage regarding his belief that Obama’s birth certificate was faked, which has been blamed for the sensitive Trump not showing up since.

Some House Republicans Want Trump to Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell

They think this will make her more likely to dish new dirt on Jeffrey Epstein.

A pathway to freedom is slowly opening up for Ghislaine Maxwell, thanks to the work of several House Republicans.

Conservatives on the House Oversight Committee are reportedly “split” over whether Donald Trump should pardon Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend and longtime accomplice.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told Politico Wednesday that “a lot of people” in his caucus believed it was a worthwhile exchange for her testimony against Epstein.

“My committee’s split on that,” Comer said, before noting that he is personally against the deal, observing that the optics “look bad.”

“Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell,” Comer added.

Comer’s Democratic counterpart, ranking member Robert Garcia, told the publication that his liberal peers on the committee are adamantly and unanimously opposed to such an arrangement.

“That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors,” Garcia said. “She is a known abuser. She is a known liar.”

“If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon, that is … not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public,” Garcia continued. “It’s a part of a massive cover-up.”

Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in jail for playing an active role in Epstein’s crimes. Her attorneys have pressed the White House for a pardon for several months now, though the White House has not indicated it will grant one.

But a July interview between Maxwell and the DOJ still proved incredibly fruitful for the convict, sparking concerns that she had been offered a quid pro quo in exchange for a revised “Epstein list.” At the time, the Trump administration was floundering for an opportunity to redirect public fury over the files.

Shortly after she spoke with now-acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell—one of the worst sex criminals of the century—received an extremely cushy transfer, shipping her from a Florida prison to a low-security prison camp in Texas, where she has been granted many privileges not typically afforded to inmates.

Her time behind bars has since included meal service in her cell, unlimited toilet paper, time to play with a puppy being trained as a service dog, private workout sessions, unrestricted phone access, and access to private visitations in a chaplain’s office outside standard visiting hours. Her requests to be separated from other inmates have also been granted, with tables and cellmates reportedly being relocated at her whim.

Earlier this month, one of Maxwell’s former prison mates—Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum Jen Shah—attested to the sex trafficker’s preferential treatment, sharing with People that at times she would have to personally clean up or rearrange gym equipment for Maxwell.

Shah told the magazine that while she opted to keep her distance from the sex trafficker, she did have several conversations with her that illustrated Maxwell’s complete lack of remorse. Shah recalled that Maxwell “was just in complete disregard for” the victims of her and Epstein’s crimes, and that “there’s no remorse there.”

“She outrightly said it,” Shah said.

Did Laura Loomer Convince Rubio to Detain the Wrong Iranians?

A new report casts doubt on the State Department’s claim that it has found Qassem Soleimani’s relatives in Los Angeles.

The U.S. government may have detained two Iranian women based on false information from well-known Islamophobe and bigot Laura Loomer.

ICE arrested green card holders Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, Sarina Hosseiny, at their home outside of Los Angeles earlier this month, alleging that they were relatives of the deceased Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. The arrest came less than a month after Loomer called for the deportation of a woman she claimed was Soleimani’s niece.

But a new report from Drop Site, which reviewed birth records, identification papers, a family will, and other personal documents of the two women, reveals there isn’t a single connection between the women and Soleimani, who was killed by a drone strike ordered by President Trump in 2020.

These documents corroborate comments from Qassem Soleimani’s youngest daughter, Zeinab Soleimani, who told Iranian media after the women’s arrest that the State Department’s allegations were “false” and that “the individuals arrested in the United States have no connection whatsoever to our family.” Another daughter, Narjes Soleimani, said in a separate statement, “To this day, no member of the Soleimani family, nor any relative of General Soleimani,........

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