Paul Blumenthal
HuffPost. Reporter covering politics, courts, history and the crisis of democracy.
Tips: Email: paulblumenthal@huffpost.com. Signal: PaulBlumenthal.37
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- Mike Johnson pulling out his Men in Black memory eraser after seeking what Donald Trump posted.
- MOST racist thing. Going to need a top ten racist thing list from Sen. Scott.
- I was not aware that Francisco de Vitoria went by the name Billie Eilish now, nor that he was still alive and winning Grammys.
- It’s time to put Billie Eilish’s theory of property out to pasture, Richard Epstein and Max Raskin write. "Americans are not thieves who built on stolen land." wapo.st/4rDYzrn
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalEXCLUSIVE: Previously unreported remarks from the Civil Rights Division AAG, @HarmeetKDhillon run directly counter to what the President said recently, Congressional Republicans’ SAVE Act, and the conduct of her own office. mimsnewspod.substack.com/p/exclusive-...
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalCivil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963. The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalUtah's chief election officer, Lt Gov Deidre Henderson, has conducted a review of the state's voter rolls to identify any ineligible voters, including by running her rolls through the DHS SAVE Program. Guess how many non-citizens voted in Utah according to the review? Zero.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalBrad Karp to step down as Paul Weiss chair after Epstein revelations ft.trib.al/H1vYT7B
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- To be more emphatic about this, some rich prick from Seattle destroyed my hometown paper, the paper I grew up reading, reading Wilbon and Kornheiser, the reason why I grew up in DC. So yes Fuck Jeff Bezos.
- What is this about?
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalI think this would have the opposite effect of what is intended. Instead of supressing the vote you’re going to end up with angry people even more determined to cast a ballot bsky.app/profile/marc...
- 🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
- they hate us for our freedom
- I think the only appropriate and polite thing to say is Fuck Jeff Bezos.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalThe hits just keep on coming. @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalHighlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”
- Amen
- This part of our response essay is where I'm at. Boiling down all of politics to electoralism has been absolutely terrible for resisting rising authoritarianism. www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
- Reposted by Paul Blumenthaldear Emmanuel Macron, I will take back everything impolite I've said about you over the years if you get this mf www.bbc.com/news/article...
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- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalAll the stars are here: Brantley Gilbert, Brice Bradley, Gabby Babby, Bibb Glibsy, Slab Gabbert, Brice Bryce,
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalI'm used to having to convince coastal types that there are people out there who genuinely believe in libertarian and traditionalist principles (rather than as laundry for regular bigotry). rarely, however, do you see those types publicly confronted with how little company they actually have
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalProPublica has identified Alex Pretti’s killers www.propublica.org/article/alex...
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- Famous? Interested in ruining your career? Apply now!
- This is a weird rambling non-answer. Like he didn't know what to say. "It's something that shouldn't surprise anybody," that the DNI is present at a search of local election offices. What?
- Ah yes this person, who acts as though they are perpetually eight drinks deep, will be investigating Alex Pretti's murder, according to Blanche.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalOne of the best interviews I've had about my book, with @mattshuham.bsky.social, just published at @huffpost.com, my old stomping grounds (where the @huffpostunion.bsky.social deserves a fair contract!) www.huffpost.com/entry/to-cat...
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalGeorgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning I was sent this video of agents at her door:
- Under the unitary executive theory the president can sue the US government and then personally approve a settlement that puts your money in his pocket.
- In other news today: Trump sues IRS, Treasury Department for $10 billion over tax return leak - www.reuters.com/markets/us/t...
- This sounds pathetic but it appears from the article that he could be talking about not deporting the parents of us citizen minor children. The article however does not really explain this well if this is the case.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalHuffPost Union just delivered a strike pledge signed by 100% of our members. We are united and prepared to do whatever is necessary to reach a fair deal. #faircontractnow
- So this is all about private jets for rich people?
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalWhat's morale like at CBP & ICE right now? New survey data are damning. *21% of CBP respondents (9% of ICE respondents) believe their agencies' political leaders maintain high standards of integrity. *Only 23% at CBP (18% at ICE) feel confident they could report illegal acts without retribution
- They are really turning the entirety of the post-9/11 security state against the country.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalNEW: Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old who ICE agents in Minneapolis nabbed last week and shipped off to a Texas detention facility with his dad, is now in poor health, his school superintendent told me today www.huffpost.com/entry/liam-c...
- What the hell does the dni have to do with this?
- “.. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks on the phone while standing inside a vehicle loaded with boxes outside the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center after the FBI executed a search warrant there.” @reuters.com
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- This is what it's always been.
- It is already illegal for any government official to impede voting (see law below). The regime has been trying out arguments in court to get around this (see: www.huffpost.com/entry/donald...). Perhaps there's a more targeted prohibition or distance from poll requirement that could be adopted.
- Former President Barack Obama Responds To ICE Killings With Podcast Recommendation is not an onion headline
- Reposted by Paul Blumenthal“What we are seeing is the weakness of strong states. Regimes that rely on repression face a challenge: The more force they deploy, the more they risk exposing their own brutality to politically persuadable observers. Overreach doesn’t just project strength; it also undermines legitimacy.” Gift link
- This is already illegal. If they would violate existing law (not out of the question) then what would a new law reiterating the existing law do. Or is there some kind of new language that would expand existing law?
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalBreaking NBC: Family members of two Trinidadian men who were killed in a U.S. boat strike in October have sued the U.S. government — accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings. The lawsuit is the first of its kind to be filed against the Trump admin.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalICYMI: I looked through a published archive of Boston newspapers from the 1760s, when British troops were stationed in the city. The accounts read remarkably similar to what's happening in Minneapolis. radleybalko.substack.com/p/two-cities...
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalICE is changing tactics in Maine: "Now, the volunteers in Maine say federal agents have started showing up at their homes and intimidating them or threatening arrest. Some of them, masked and wearing tactical gear, have issued stark warnings not to follow them." www.pressherald.com/2026/01/23/i...
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- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalNew: Orbin Mauricio Henríquez Serrano was scared to go into work on Jan. 11. He went anyway, stopping for gas along the way. Millions of people saw what happened next: Immigration agents surrounded his car and brutally arrested him. He told me what happened next: www.huffpost.com/entry/orbin-...
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalI am just gonna say it, these guys are completely emasculated by the knowledge that they have been out-organized by a group that is significantly made up of women, and all the bullshit call of duty nonsense is cope for their wounded egos bsky.app/profile/jeet...
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalJUDGE: “It concerns me that Attorney General Bondi’s letter cites three things that are the subject of pending litigation before this court,” referring to the District of Minnesota. "Is the executive trying to achieve a goal through force that it can't achieve through the Courts?"
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalYears from now, it'll be difficult to explain the things people in media were wailing about before all this. Sophomores writing underconsidered op-eds about cultural appropriation. Protests against demagogues on campus. YA drama. "Mobs" on Twitter. These were the threats to free society.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalHoly crap. This is the most damning video yet. It shows Border Patrol agents clearly taking Alex's firearm, running it away, and THEN executed him in cold blood by emptying a clip into his face. Murder.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalYou have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
- JUST IN: Lawyers file declaration in federal court from first-hand witness to immigration agents' shooting of a US citizen onlookers today. Minneapolis Mayor Frey said details would be used to bolster case for ousting ICE from city. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
- Is the vice president still in Minnesota?
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalThe Republican position now appears to be that you have a constitutional right to openly carry a gun in public, unless you do so while expressing a view that the government dislikes, in which case the secret police can shoot you to death on the spot.
- So they executed a man who had a legal permit to carry a gun which was taken from his waist before he was shot and then they unloaded a clip into his dead body. That is at least what the video looks like.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalWe have been told for nearly 30 years that America needed to tolerate mass shootings because the broad availability of guns would help us defend ourselves from an overreaching federal government. That day has come. The people who said this are supporting the federal agents. Many have joined them.
- Trump demands that we Live Unfree Or Die. Fuck that www.huffpost.com/entry/renee-...
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalThis random online comment from 2018 remains one of the last half-century's most important works of political commentary. crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/l...
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- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalVery very sick "After Good was killed on Jan. 7, FBI agents drafted a search warrant to obtain her car to reconstruct the path of bullets that an ICE officer shot into the vehicle. But they were instructed to redraft their warrant and change the subject of the investigation..."
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- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalThis must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.
- Trump administration drops legal appeal over anti-DEI funding threat to schools and colleges. This leaves in place a federal judge's ruling that the anti-DEI effort violated the First Amendment and federal procedural rules. (Via AP) apnews.com/article/dei-... #ncpol #nced
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalThe exhibits about slavery at the President’s House in Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park have been removed amid pressure from the Trump admin www.inquirer.com/politics/nat...
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- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalThis really gets to the core of what makes Vance such a detestable figure
- So it appears that AOC's framing from a week ago: "The cuts to your health care are what’s paying for [ICE killing someone in MN]" is getting broader adoption. Pelosi statement:
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- excellent metaphor. no notes.
- Reposted by Paul Blumenthalpermanently seared into my mind is when colbert at the bush whcd said the admin was soaring like the hindenburg, but turns out vance did it himself. really incredible stuff here.
- A look inside taibbi's brain
- People are basically stating what our poets said long ago: "Democracy—a great word, whose history remains unwritten, because that history has yet to be enacted" - Whitman "O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free." - Hughes
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalAn attempted traffic stop by two ICE agents did not involve the man they ultimately shot in north Minneapolis. Details from a FBI agent's sworn affidavit contradict what DHS officials initially stated — and later repeated for several days — about the highly charged encounter.
- Reposted by Paul BlumenthalNasra Ahmed, a 23-year-old US citizen, was arrested and detained by ICE. She was held for TWO DAYS. ICE agents handcuffed her, called her a racial slur, and she was knocked to the ground so hard she got a concussion. This cannot continue happening. ICE needs to leave.
- The fuck
- BREAKING: San Francisco Giants star Jung Hoo Lee has been detained by CBP at LAX. Pelosi's office says she is working to secure his release. www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giant...
- Demonic
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- Reposted by Paul Blumenthal🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional! ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
- Looks like Donald Trump will win the inaugural NATO Greenland Peace Prize
- Probably the worst arguments I've heard for the second Trump admin so far. Let's just say that there was a lot more open talk about the "real world" than text or history and tradition or original intent when the central bank is at issue. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
- A real encapsulation of this presidency
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