#jamie-raskin — Trump Fail

House Democrats Opened an Investigation Into Donald Trump Jr.'s Venture Capital Firm, 1789 Capital — Which Ballooned From a Few Million Dollars to Roughly $3 Billion After He Joined It Just as His Father Retook the White House — Because Its Bets on Startups That Then Won Federal Loans, Contracts, and Favorable Rulings Were Timed, in Rep. Raskin's Words, With "Almost Clairvoyant Accuracy"

In a story first reported by MS NOW, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin has opened an investigation into Donald Trump Jr. and 1789 Capital, the venture capital firm he joined shortly after his father returned to the White House in January 2025. The question Raskin is pressing is straightforward: has the firm's remarkable success been powered by access to the Trump administration? The numbers are eye-catching. 1789 Capital was reportedly worth only a few million dollars when Trump Jr. came aboard; it is now valued at roughly $3 billion. Raskin's letter points to a run of investments timed with "almost clairvoyant accuracy" — portfolio companies including Vulcan Elements, Anduril, Juul Labs, and Polymarket that subsequently benefited from federal funding, contracts, or regulatory decisions. The starkest example: 1789 took an undisclosed stake in the rare-earth startup Vulcan Elements in 2025 — when it was valued around $200 million — roughly three months before the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan to the company. Two crucial caveats: no wrongdoing has been proven, and 1789's counsel dismisses the allegations as "unsubstantiated talking points" and "repackaging press clippings on congressional letterhead." And because Democrats are in the House minority, Raskin cannot compel a single document or witness — Republicans already blocked a related subpoena in March. This is a demand letter and a preview of the oversight Democrats promise if they win the House in November, not an empowered probe. But the pattern it lays out — the president's son growing a fortune a thousandfold on bets that keep coinciding with his father's government writing checks — is the kind of thing that, in a normal administration, would not need a minority letter to trigger scrutiny.

Kash Patel — Who Spent Years Attacking the Old FBI Director for Using a Jet — Now Has Two Government Jets, Wants an $80 Million Third, Bought Armored BMWs Instead of Suburbans, Put a $1M/Year SWAT Detail on His Country-Singer Girlfriend, and Demanded Snorkeling and Jet-Ski Perks — Until a Republican Who Defended Him Turned

FBI Director Kash Patel — who for years publicly attacked his predecessor Christopher Wray for using a government jet ("Chris Wray doesn't need a government-funded GV jet to go to vacation") — is now under bipartisan scrutiny for exactly that and more. The turning point: Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican who had previously defended Patel, sent him a letter demanding proof he reimbursed the FBI for personal flights and an explanation of "why you decided to purchase BMW vehicles instead of Chevy Suburbans," calling for an "independent and objective review." Reporting and whistleblower accounts describe: FBI Gulfstream flights for "date nights" with his girlfriend, sporting events, a hunting retreat, and a George Strait/Chris Stapleton concert watched from a private suite estimated at $35,000–$50,000; a trip to Italy to watch U.S. hockey win gold (he chugged a beer in the locker room); a taxpayer-funded helicopter tour across East Asia and jet-ski excursions; a "VIP snorkeling experience" in Hawaii near the sunken USS Arizona; four FBI SWAT agents and two SUVs assigned to protect his country-singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins in Nashville — an estimated ~$1 million a year before overtime; a fleet of armored BMWs replacing the standard Chevy Suburbans; and the bureau now seeking a new $80 million jet, after Patel was caught on camera bragging he "has two." Reps. Jamie Raskin and Sen. Dick Durbin, citing whistleblowers, said Patel demoted personnel in Brussels for failing to keep him entertained and that his conduct is "out of control" and "not the conduct of a committed and faithful public servant." One source quoted him telling field offices: "If you have golf, hockey, fishing, or hunting and beautiful sights, you're going to see a lot of me." Patel says FBI directors are "required users of the FBI plane" and that he is "entitled to a personal life"; the FBI says he "reimbursed ALL personal travel." All of it lands as Patel asks Congress for a $12 billion FBI budget.

Trump Plots to "Expunge" Both Impeachments from the Record — Constitutional Scholars: "You Cannot Un-Ring a Bell"

The Wall Street Journal reports Trump and allies are pushing a House resolution to expunge both impeachments — for abusing power to pressure Ukraine and for inciting the January 6 insurrection. Trump: "It should be done because I did nothing wrong. It was a rigged deal." Speaker Johnson: "I think it makes a lot of sense." Constitutional scholars say the Constitution contains no mechanism to undo an impeachment. Georgetown's Jonathan Turley: "It is not like a constitutional DUI. Once you are impeached, you are impeached." Hofstra's James Sample: "You cannot un-ring a bell." Rep. Darrell Issa introduced a resolution in April; Rep. Anna Paulina Luna announced another. GOP lawmakers privately say it won't be considered until after the midterms — because rehashing Trump's conduct would hurt them. Schiff: "There is no expunging the stain." Raskin: "There is a very easy way to not get impeached: stop committing impeachable offenses."

Trump Drops the $1.776B Slush Fund After GOP Revolt — But Keeps His Permanent Tax Immunity

Acting AG Todd Blanche testified to Congress that the DOJ is "not moving forward with the fund, period" — officially killing the $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund after weeks of bipartisan backlash, three lawsuits, and a judicial freeze. But he confirmed that "nothing has changed" regarding the IRS immunity addendum that "FOREVER BARS" audits of Trump, his family, and his businesses. He refused to put the fund's cancellation in writing. Rep. DeLauro: "You just gave the President and his family a tax immunity to the tune of about $100 million." Democrats plan to force reconciliation votes to kill the immunity. The judge overseeing the original IRS lawsuit ordered Trump's attorneys to respond to "grievous allegations" that the settlement was fraud.