now for 'general hospital.' maxie is out of coma. she has heard from her kids georgie and james and from her boyfriend spinelli. but mainly from her mother felicia. felicia was the 1 who, at the end of the episode, had to tell her that nathan was back, that nathan was alive. nathan 'died' in 2018. he and maxie were married.
nathan was leaving lulu's when brook lyn - chip on her shoulder brook lyn - showed up and deduced that the 2 had feelings for 1 another. she then lectured - attacked - maxie. you know, brook lyn can't even support her husband chase. she also refuses to adopt a child with chase. maybe it's time brook lynn addressed her own damn problems? their argument was ended when spinelli called to tell lulu that maxie was out of a coma.
lucas told elizabeth that marco wasn't being honest with him. he'd heard marco and his father sidwell talking and he knew that marco was part of something sinister. elizabeth told him that she knew marco loved him. she also told him 'tough love time,' that he needed to move off the island tonight.
marco gave britt her shot and she told him he was destroying whatever he had with lucas by being in business with his father. marco insisted he was only in business with sidwell for this 1 mission. brit told him this 1 mission could be designing a weapon.
later, marco was on the phone leaving a message for ross saying that he wanted to talk and about sonny. behind him, lucas stood. marco saw him when he turned around. he had no idea how long lucas was standing there.
ava went to see nina and told her that she was interested in sidwell but that she had competition from lucy coe. nina told her that she thought it was wrong because of sidwell's bad reputation but admitted ava had a glow and she was happy for her lucy went to sidwell and apologized (as part of her scheme) for demanding he choose between her and ava. sidwell showed up at nina's magazine to ask ava out. ava was thrilled until she learned their dinner was a 3 some with lucy.
let's close with c.i.'s 'The Snapshot:'
Friday, February 13, 2026. The Epstein class suffers a loss at Goldman Sachs, Pam Bondi lied to Congress, Chump moves his war on immigrants onto migrants who legally became US citizens, ICE gets caught in more lies, Senator Patty Murray calls for an end to ICE attacking our Constitutionally protected rights, Senator Mark Kelly gets a legal win, and much more.
LE MONDE reported last night, "A top lawyer for Goldman Sachs will leave the Wall Street bank, its chief executive said Thursday, February 12, after her close ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed. The firm's general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler had courted intense scrutiny after the Department of Justice dumped emails in recent weeks that showed her extensive relationship with the disgraced financier." The Epstein Class. Ruemmler was part of it. Joshua Franklin and James Fontanella-Khan (FINANCIAL TIMES OF LONDON) note that she plans to step down June 30th and quote her declaring, "I made the determination that the media attention on me, relating to my prior work as a defense attorney, was becoming a distraction." Her prior work as a defense attorney? She wasn't Epstein's defense attorney. She was his friend. She gave him free legal advice. THE GUARDIAN notes:
Up until her resignation, Ruemmler repeatedly tried to distance herself from the emails and other correspondence and had been defiant that she would not resign from Goldman’s top legal post, which she had held since 2020.
While Ruemmler has called Epstein a “monster” in recent statements, she had a much different relationship with him before he was arrested a second time for sex crimes in 2019 and later killed himself in a Manhattan jail; Ruemmler called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she adored him.
Rob Copeland, Maureen Farrell, Lauren Hirsch and Duy Nguyen (NEW YORK TIMES) explain:
She educated him on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitutes. “I think the point is that if she was underage, she could not legally consent to engaging in prostitution,” Ms. Ruemmler wrote to Mr. Epstein in 2015.
She offered advice on how to knock down the credibility of one of his accusers, writing in one email that Mr. Epstein’s lawyer could push the woman into a “perjury trap.”
Ms. Ruemmler signed some emails “xoxo” and swapped photos. She joked with Mr. Epstein about the weight of visitors at New Jersey rest stops and speculated about the sexual orientation of a well-known hedge fund billionaire.
And over a series of meetings, she sought his advice on personal and professional matters, (“men aren’t interested in women my age,” one email lamented).
In 2019, while interviewing for the job at Goldman, Ms. Ruemmler told Mr. Epstein that she was wearing gifts from him. “Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today!” she wrote.
She lied about her relationship with Epstein. But let's grasp that she knew what she was doing. She knew she was lying about her relationship with Epstein. But she also knew what he was doing. Note this paragraph again:
She educated him on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitutes. “I think the point is that if she was underage, she could not legally consent to engaging in prostitution,” Ms. Ruemmler wrote to Mr. Epstein in 2015.
Wow. What a concerned and moral authority the woman was. Ruemmler was advising a man convicted of child prostitution "on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitution." She wrote, "I think the point is that if she was underage, she could not legally consent to engaging in prostitution."
And Goldman Sachs think they can wait until June 30th for her to exit?
The Epstein Class.
Mackenzie Grizzard (BAYLOR LARIAT) notes:
Former Baylor President Kenneth Starr invited disgraced New York financier Jeffrey Epstein to visit Baylor’s campus in July 2012, according to newly released files.
The initial visit took place on July 30, 2012, inside Pat Neff Hall and was organized by Starr’s then-assistant Jennifer Jarvis and Epstein’s assistant Lesley Groff. Epstein was picked up from the Texas State Technical College-Waco airport by two assistants — Jeff Wittekiend and Angela Gray Oliver.
According to the files, after Epstein’s initial visit, Starr invited him to return to share a meal at the Allbritton House.
“It was great having Jeffrey here,” Starr wrote in his email. “He’s a prince. Next time, he is warmly welcome and encouraged to ‘break bread’ with me at the Allbritton House. His menu, my pleasure.”
They continued to remain in contact and Starr defended him:
In November 2018, the Miami Herald began investigating Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, under which he was sentenced to 18 months in jail on one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from a minor. Epstein had to then register as a sex offender.
The Herald reached out to the Lanier Law Firm for a written statement from Starr about Epstein’s past conviction. Director of Marketing and Communications Johnny D. Cargill emailed Starr, who responded with a preliminary quote, with an official comment “forthcoming,” he said.
“Since paying his debt to society, Jeffrey has led a truly exemplary life and has moved on from this chapter over ten years ago,” Starr’s email reads. “He was a valued client of my former firm and remains to this day a trusted personal friend.”
At THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR, Shoshoshi Das, Ruby Topalian, and Theresa Cullen note:
Pam Bondi embarrassed herself and her post as Attorney General with her outrageous performance before the House Judiciary Committee this week. S.V. Date (HUFFINGTON POST) notes she also committed perjury:
The Jayapal exchange revealed something else. Remember Pam's binder? Dan Manan (NBC NEWS) reports:
Attorney General Pam Bondi at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday seemed to have a printout of Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s history of searches of the Department of Justice’s database of documents related to the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Photos of a black binder that Bondi had at the hearing showed the words “Jayapal Pramila Search History” and a list of documents whose numbers coincide with the number of Epstein files.
Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat who sits on the Judiciary Committee, and other members of Congress have visited the DOJ in recent days to view documents related to Epstein that are not available to the public.
Jayapal blasted Bondi in a post on X on Wednesday evening.
“It is totally inappropriate and against the separations of powers for the DOJ to surveil us as we search the Epstein files,” Jayapal wrote.
“Bondi showed up today with a burn book that held a printed search history of exactly what emails I searched,” the congresswoman said.
“That is outrageous and I intend to pursue this and stop this spying on members.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., when asked by MS Now if Bondi’s alleged action was appropriate, at first said, “I’m not going to comment on an allegation that is unsubstantiated. I don’t know anything about it.”
“I haven’t seen or heard anything about that, but that would be inappropriate if it happened,” Johnson said.
Washington, D.C. (February 11, 2026)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, issued the following statement after photographs revealed that Attorney General Pam Bondi has tracked the search history of Members of Congress who have reviewed the unredacted Epstein files at a satellite office of the Department of Justice:
"The Department of Justice has required Members of Congress who wish to review the slightly-less-redacted Epstein files to travel to a DOJ annex, sit at one of four DOJ-owned computers, use a clunky and convoluted software system provided by DOJ, and search for and read documents while DOJ staffers look over our shoulders. It is the perfect set up for DOJ to spy on Members’ review, monitoring, recording, and logging every document we choose to pull up.
“Today, photographs of Attorney General Bondi’s ‘burn book’ confirmed my suspicions. These photos show Bondi came to our hearing with a document entitled ‘Jayapal Pramila Search History’ and then listed the documents my colleague, Rep. Jayapal, reviewed while at DOJ, apparently to prepare the Attorney General for any questions Rep. Jayapal might ask.
“Not only has the Department of Justice illegally withheld documents from Congress and the American people. Not only has Attorney General Bondi failed to bring a single indictment against a single co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. But now Bondi and her team are spying on Members of Congress conducting oversight in yet another blatant attempt to intrude into Congress’s oversight processes.
“It is an outrage that DOJ is tracking Members’ investigative steps undertaken to ensure that DOJ is complying with the Epstein File Transparency Act and using this information for the Attorney General’s embarrassing polemical purposes. DOJ must immediately cease tracking any Members’ searches, open up the Epstein review to senior congressional staff, and publicly release all files—with all the survivors’ information, and only the survivors’ information, properly redacted—as required by federal law. I will also be asking the DOJ Inspector General to open an inquiry into this outrageous abuse of power. Let us use this humiliating disclosure about the Attorney General's work ethics to do a complete reset on the Epstein coverup.”
###
INSKEEP: What are your thoughts about that paper with your search history in the attorney general's hand?
JAYAPAL: Well, I think it's completely against the separation of powers. We are supposed to be able to, as lawmakers, go in, review the files, take whatever we want from there, not be surveilled and spied on by the Department of Justice. And it's - that was my search history. It was much more extensive than that, but that was the first page. And she clearly came in prepared with that information. In fact, I think she probably opened it up to us on Monday, two days before the hearing, so she could see what we were going to search and ask her about. Totally unacceptable. And we've asked for, immediately, a change in the process so that the DOJ is not spying on us.
INSKEEP: House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about this. He said, I know nothing about it. Not going to comment on it. But if it happened, it's inappropriate. Are you getting any support from Republicans on that?
JAYAPAL: Yeah. I actually spoke to Mike last night about this, and I do think that there is bipartisan agreement that we should be able to review those files without the Department of Justice surveilling us. And that's exactly what she was doing, and I think she was doing it in preparation for the hearing. But also, I think they want to know what we're going to - what we're pulling up so that they can use it in some way. That was in her Burn Book. That's what we call that binder with all the opposition research against us that she kept trying to insult different members of Congress with. And I think that she - you know, I think there is bipartisan support to say this cannot continue to happen, and we need a whole new process for how we review these files and who tracks, you know, any of this.
INSKEEP: Just so I understand - and he'll speak for himself - but did you understand Speaker Johnson to be on board with taking some kind of action here?
JAYAPAL: Well, I think I'll just - I won't say what he said to me, but I'll just say what he said in the public quote. And I showed him and told him exactly what had happened and that the search was my search, and it clearly was surveilling.
INSKEEP: Now, you raised in the hearing the failure to redact the names of victims and then the redaction of other people who are in the files, one of them a man named Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. As far as I could tell, you didn't get an answer about that particular case, but you brought it up in any case. What draws that particular redaction to your attention?
JAYAPAL: Well, the point I was trying to make is that the Transparency Act that we passed in Congress specifically said you have to redact the private information of survivors and you have to not redact the private information, the personal information of any potential predators or co-conspirators. And that's clearly what that email indicated, is that there was a powerful person who was being protected. He happened to - as I mentioned in my remarks, he happened to also be somebody with financial ties to Donald Trump and personal ties to Steve Bannon. And so I wanted to get her answer about why she was violating - allowing the violation of the law in both these instances, the nonredaction of that personal information of survivors and then the redaction of powerful people that she seemed to be protecting. She didn't want to answer that question.
The most important thing to me was getting her to turn around to the survivors and apologize to them because the harm is irreparable. That information is out there now. Nude photographs are out there. Even if the Department of Justice redacts that, that does not bring justice to the survivors. And, you know, it was just stunning to me that she refused to turn to them and take responsibility for what her Department of Justice had done to re-traumatize these survivors.
A powerful photo is circulating on social media that many are saying is a stark symbol of the administration’s lack of concern for the Epstein victims.
The photo shows a group of Epstein survivors raising their hands after Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D) asked who had not had the opportunity to meet with the Justice Department. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was being questioned during a bizarre and combative House Judiciary Committee hearing, keeps her head down and her back turned to the victims, refusing to look at them.
[. . .]
To many, the photo has become representative of Bondi’s attitude throughout the hearing – and of the administration’s attitude toward the Epstein controversy overall.
Second, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem? Dylan Butts (CNBC) notes:
U.S. officials made new disclosures from the Epstein files on Monday, naming who they believe was the recipient behind a disturbing email sent by the deceased financier and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, in which he referenced a supposed “torture video.”
That name is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, one of the Emirates’ most powerful business figures, who, for years, maintained a relationship with Epstein, with the communications often including explicit content, according to documents recently released by the U.S. Justice Department.
The latest revelation comes after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. reviewed unredacted documents at the Justice Department on Monday.
Massie posted a screenshot of the email on the social media platform X. In the email, Epstein wrote to a redacted recipient: “where are you? Are you ok, I loved the torture video.” The reply stated: “I am in china I will be in the US 2nd week of May.”
[. . .]
The DOJ’s file release shows that Epstein once referred to Sulayem as a “close personal friend” he had known for 8 years. He also described Sulayem as one of his most trusted friends in other writings.
In the world of Epstein, being a trusted friend appeared to have come with private communications regarding topics including but not limited to: arrangements with masseuses; sexual encounters with women; escort and prostitution services; lewd comments and jokes; and pornography.
Additionally, the two often appeared to be discussing in-person meetings. On several occasions, Sulayem corresponded with Epstein about Little St. James, Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which prosecutors allege was used as a base for sex trafficking.
Turning to the environment, Chump's determined to destroy the world. Betty's noted twice this week -- "Chump moves to destroy the world" and "Chump destroys the planet" -- Chump's pan to rescind the 2009 EPA finding that greenhouse gases are a danger to our pubic health. Dharna Noor (GUARDIAN) reports that he rescinded it yesterday and notes:
On social media, Barack Obama said the repeal will leave Americans “less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change – all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money”.
The former secretary of state John Kerry called the new rule “un-American”.
“Repealing the Endangerment Finding takes Orwellian governance to new heights and invites enormous damage to people and property around the world,” said Kerry, who also served as Joe Biden’s climate envoy. “Ignoring warning signs will not stop the storm. It puts more Americans directly in its path.”
The final rule removes the government’s ability to impose requirements to track, report and limit climate-heating pollution from cars and trucks. Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in the US.
Meanwhile, defeat for Chump and his nimby pamby boy Pete Looselips Hegseth. Their attempt to curtail the free speech of Senator Mark Kelly received a set back. Elena Moore (NPR) reports:
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has granted Sen. Mark Kelly's request for a preliminary injunction against Pete Hegseth, in a lawsuit filed by the Arizona Democrat accusing the defense secretary of trying to punish him for his political speech.
Kelly, a former Navy Captain, sued Hegseth in January, one week after the defense secretary moved to formally censure him for participating in a video where he and several Democratic lawmakers told U.S. servicemembers they can refuse illegal orders.
"Our rules are clear. You can refuse illegal orders," Kelly says in the video.
At MS NOW, retired Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham, writes:
I’m a military retiree who has used my platform as a tenured professor and military law expert to push the Pentagon to improve — often through public criticism of its policies. I was greatly relieved, then, that a federal judge expressed Thursday just how dangerous the Trump administration’s witch hunt against Sen. Mark Kelly is. It is a threat to all military retirees’ freedom of speech and our unique ability to contribute to U.S. national security through that exercise.
In a fiery opinion that quoted Bob Dylan, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia thwarted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to retaliate against Kelly — and abuse military law — over the senator’s speech. Leon temporarily enjoined the Pentagon from trying to reduce Sen. Kelly’s military rank because he had publicly criticized the Trump administration.
Hegseth’s speech-suppressive campaign against Kelly is extraordinary, and Judge Leon met the moment by clearly outlining its breathtaking consequences for those of us who served our nation in uniform. He noted that it “threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees.”
In early January, Hegseth issued a formal “letter of censure” against Kelly, a Navy combat veteran and astronaut who honorably retired in 2011 after decades of active-duty service. Hegseth claimed that Kelly’s various public critiques of the Pentagon last year — including his appearance in a video with five other military veteran lawmakers urging service members to disobey unlawful orders — constituted conduct both prejudicial to good order and discipline plus conduct unbecoming an officer. Both crimes are unique to the military.
Hegseth’s letter, in addition to characterizing Kelly’s speech as violative of military law, directed Pentagon proceedings to revisit Kelly’s retired rank, even though federal law does not allow administrative rank reduction based on postretirement conduct. Hegseth also threatened criminal prosecution if the senator continued making public comments, a dangerous turn given that the military criminal code extends to retirees (thanks to Civil War-era federal law that needs to be excised) and contains speech crimes with no analog in the civilian world.
Notably, Hegseth pursued this military administrative action solely against Kelly, and not the five other military veterans in the so-called seditious six video, because of Kelly’s status as a retiree. Like all military retirees with at least 20 years of honorable active-duty service, Kelly earns a pension based on his last rank while on active duty and remains subject to military criminal jurisdiction.
Megan Mineiro and Zach Montague (NEW YORK TIMES) note, "The blunt ruling came after a grand jury in Washington rejected an extraordinary attempt by federal prosecutors in Washington to secure a criminal indictment against Mr. Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers who together released a video in November directed at members of the military and intelligence community."
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Murray: “The American people need us to meet this moment. We need to rein in ICE and CBP. We need to call out the avalanche of lies. And most importantly, we need to stand up for our communities—because they are being terrorized by their own government.”
Murray: “If Republicans want Democratic votes to fix that—then they need to understand half-measures will not cut it. What Democrats are demanding is reasonable and it is necessary. None of what we are asking for is extreme for local law enforcement—so why don’t those basic standards apply to ICE. There’s no good answer. Sorry—but I don’t care if Stephen Miller wants a special force that’s empowered to beat up and detain or shoot whomever he doesn’t like. In America, we believe in due process. We believe in our Constitution. We believe in law and order—safe streets, law enforcement we can trust. If you don’t like that? Go to Russia.”
Murray: “If ICE and CBP do not want to be called secret police—then they should not be wearing masks and should be carrying identification 24/7. If they do not want to be accused of kidnapping people—then they should not be dragging people out of cars and houses without warrants. And if they do not want to be accused of being lawless—then they need to start following the law.”
Murray: “Democrats have made abundantly clear: we cannot continue funding a rogue Department without substantial reforms. Accountability at DHS must be written into law… We’ve put forth incredibly reasonable reforms… But we cannot kick the can down the road as Republicans want us to do. The time to rein in these rogue agencies is right now.”
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s full floor speech***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to speak about ICE and CBP’s flagrant abuses of Americans’ basic constitutional rights—and the imperative for Congress to take action to rein in the agencies. She made clear that while she remains at the table to negotiate key reforms the American people are demanding, she will not support a stopgap funding bill to continue the unacceptable status quo, and she underscored that Republicans and the White House need to work with Democrats to finalize a bill that reins in ICE and CBP.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“What we have seen over the last many months is downright un-American: masked federal agents trampling people’s First, Second, and Fourth Amendment rights and more, breaking into people’s cars, teargassing protestors, using children as bargaining chips, and of course, killing American citizens in broad daylight.
“It is clear to just about everyone in every part of this country that—ICE and CBP are out of control—and must be reined in. Clear to everyone that is except maybe some Republicans in Congress.
“You know, for years, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have warned of government overreach and rogue federal agencies trampling Americans’ constitutional rights. They’ve gone to great lengths to speak out against ‘government tyranny’ when we ask mega corporations not to pollute. And you can bet they will scream to high heaven about ‘injustice’ and ‘government thugs’ when we ask billionaires to pay their fair share in taxes. Seriously! They will raise a racket for billionaires!
“But the truth is, the government tyranny Republicans long warned about is here—and many of them are just silent, they enabled it by cutting a $140 billion blank check for Secretary Noem to deploy masked ICE and CBP agents to terrorize our communities. ICE was spending beyond their funded level, so last summer Republicans handed Kristi Noem enough cash to fund an army.
“And she is using that blank check to send masked men going door-to-door asking for papers, charging into houses without a warrant, breaking car windows without a reason, staking out school zones, and dragging citizens and legal residents hundreds of miles away without so much as confirming their immigration status, or charging them with a crime.
“If Republicans are serious about their warnings on government tyranny, they must work with us to put an end to the insane attacks we’ve seen, including on Americans’ most basic rights. But right now, we still have some Republicans—who are seriously insisting masks have to stay on Trump’s secret police, and who are insisting DHS cannot be required to get judicial warrants before breaking into your home.
“We have a few Republicans acknowledging that the violence we’ve seen from ICE and CBP that must end, But we need to see more real, tangible progress to rein these agencies in through legislation—basic constraints upheld in law.
“Democrats are not asking for the moon—we are not trying to overhaul immigration laws. We are insisting on basic measures to protect our constitutional rights and hold these agencies accountable to some of the basic standards as local police.
“After all, if ICE and CBP do not want to be called secret police—then they should not be wearing masks and should be carrying identification 24/7. If they do not want to be accused of kidnapping people—then they should not be dragging people out of cars and houses without warrants. And if they do not want to be accused of being lawless—then they need to start following the law. But they have been ignoring law after law, and court after court.
“In a recent decision, a Bush-appointed judge—a former Scalia clerk!—in Minnesota appended a list of 96 court orders that ICE has violated. What else do you call that—except a rogue agency.
“The American people need us to meet this moment. We need to rein in ICE and CBP. We need to call out the avalanche of lies. And most importantly, we need to stand up for our communities—because they are being terrorized by their own government.
“It is not ‘targeted law enforcement’ when Trump sends 8,000 federal agents into one city—and has them go door-to-door. Especially not when agents literally tell people they are asking for papers solely because of how someone looks or speaks.
“It is not about our immigration laws when Trump is grabbing people who are following the law, people who have green cards in the mail, and even people who are U.S. citizens. It is not about stopping violent criminals when ICE is staking out schools and grabbing parents during pick up. In fact, just this week, we saw that the administration’s own data shows that only a tiny fraction of people they have detained are violent criminals.
“They have also taken military spouses, taken parents of Marines, they have even taken veterans. In fact, last week—they deported a veteran. Do my colleagues hear me here? Trump deported a veteran! Think about that. Sit with that. We cannot look away from what is happening in this country. Men who fought for our freedom—are being denied theirs. Being exiled from the country they risked their life for.
“Meanwhile, children—kids who have done nothing wrong—are having their parents snatched away from them or are being snatched up themselves in a cruel ploy to use them as leverage.
“Given how outrageous, how lawless, how heartlessly un-American, Trump’s crackdown has become, it’s clear why people across the country are demanding action. And I don’t just mean in opinion polls—though the polls do actually overwhelmingly support action to rein in ICE, and even Republican voters think ICE has gone way too far.
“But, I also mean people are demanding action in that great American way— protesting! Using their voice. Speaking out. Putting a spotlight on what ICE and CBP are doing to their friends and to their neighbors. And the Trump Administration’s response to that great American tradition—the First Amendment in action—has been about as unhinged, and un-American as it gets.
“The level of wanton violence and lawlessness we are seeing out of ICE and CBP is without comparison in recent U.S. history. This is the kind of stuff you expect out of Putin’s Russia. Agents are saying things to protestors like, ‘I will put a bullet in your head if you don’t shut up,’ or ‘You raise your voice… I erase your voice.’ And, Mr. President, the actions are even worse than the words.
“How many peaceful protestors have been tear gassed before Republicans think it’s a problem? How many children? Wasn’t the video of a drive-by gassing bad enough? What about the photo of the man pinned to the ground, getting sprayed in his face? How many car windows have to be shattered, and people dragged from their cars? No warrant—no nothing!
“Were you not outraged to see that woman on the way to a doctor’s appointment—dragged out of her vehicle for no reason? Were you not appalled to learn agents shattered a glass car window, dragged away a mother, and left a one-month-old baby in the back of the vehicle, blanket covered in glass shards? Were you not alarmed—to watch an agent point a rifle at the car window of someone sitting in their own driveway and bust out the window with a gun?
“How many people does ICE have to detain before Republicans stop sitting on their hands? How many kids do they have to tackle—like the young man at the Target that they slammed to the ground, marched off with, and then dropped him off miles away with no charges once they realized he was a U.S. citizen. There’s also the time they tackled a pregnant woman, or the time they marched a citizen out of his house in his underwear—in freezing weather.
“Agents have recklessly caused car accidents, only to arrest the person they ran into and then make things up. Agents have even tried to round up witnesses of their crimes and rush them out of state, and through deportation, before they can testify at a trial.
“How many people have to be murdered by federal agents in cold blood—until Republicans join us to stop this tyranny? And how many lies will Republicans tolerate? Because we have witnessed brazen, and dangerous, lies from this administration. They lied about Alex Pretti brandishing a gun—when he clearly never touched it. They lied about Renee Good trying to target agents with her car—when she was clearly just trying to drive away.
“They lied about a young woman ramming CBP agents before they shot her—only to drop the case against her. Newly released body cam footage shows the agent turned his wheel toward her vehicle. They said that an L.A. man was shot after he ‘weaponized his vehicle and began ramming law enforcement’—but body cam footage shows an agent’s gun go off by accident as he switched hands. They said someone in detainment died from suicide—when an autopsy found it was a homicide. They said someone got eight fractures in his skull from running into a wall on purpose—the man says he was beaten. Greg Bovino said he deployed tear gas on a crowd after someone threw a rock at him—only to admit the truth in court when confronted by video evidence.
“Mr. President, the list goes on, and on. And that’s just the lies we know about! Enough. Law enforcement cannot be lawless—but that’s exactly what we are seeing from ICE and CBP. And us Democrats have made abundantly clear: we cannot continue funding a rogue Department without substantial reforms. Accountability at DHS must be written into law.
“Now, my Democratic counterparts and I have been at the table the whole time. We’ve put forth incredibly reasonable reforms. Reforms that would increase accountability and transparency and compliance with constitutional rights. Reforms that do not impact DHS’s ability to detain convicted, violent criminals. And we remain committed and ready to land a funding bill that enshrines those reforms into law—and ensures FEMA, TSA, and other important functions get funded.
“But we cannot kick the can down the road as Republicans want us to do. The time to rein in these rogue agencies is right now. We cannot waste another moment—and if Republicans refuse to make the changes the American people are demanding, they are forcing a Republican shutdown of DHS.
“The chaos, the brutality—all of it has happened at the explicit direction of this President and a Republican Congress that wrote him a blank check for ICE and CBP.
“If Republicans want Democratic votes to fix that—then they need to understand half-measures will not cut it. What Democrats are demanding is reasonable and it is necessary. None of what we are asking for is extreme for local law enforcement—so why don’t those basic standards apply to ICE. There’s no good answer. Sorry—but I don’t care if Stephen Miller wants a special force that’s empowered to beat up and detain or shoot whomever he doesn’t like.
“In America, we believe in due process. We believe in our Constitution. We believe in law and order—safe streets, law enforcement we can trust. If you don’t like that? Go to Russia.
“So, Democrats are focused on getting a bill—but it has to be a bill that reins in the abuses we are seeing from ICE and CBP. And until a bill is negotiated, we cannot kick the can down the road and give license to Noem to continue the chaos with another CR that continues funding for ICE and CBP.
“Americans are demanding accountability, and we will settle for nothing less.
“And so, Mr. President, given the track record of lawlessness from ICE and CBP—which seems to be growing longer every single day. I will be voting no on the procedural vote today—and on Republicans’ inadequate proposal.
“The alleged withdrawal from Minneapolis is long-overdue—but it is not nearly enough to end the chaos and the violence we are seeing nationwide.
“We need real reform. We cannot let the Trump Administration act like things are business-as-usual when it is tear gassing peaceful protestors, detaining people in a complete violation of their rights, and even murdering citizens in cold blood. We cannot trust the same people who are lying about what is happening, to be truthful about accountability. We cannot trust the same administration that is purposefully trampling our rights, and causing this chaos—to end it.
“Late last night, we received more details on the White House’s proposal—and what’s clear at this point: it does not come close to addressing Americans’ grave concerns about how ICE and Border Patrol are operating. So, Mr. President, we need to see a lot more movement to rein in these rogue agencies.
“So, Congress has to do its job—and I will continue to negotiate in good faith to deliver the reform and accountability we need to see. But we have to stop this outrageous tyranny.”
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