Hang On — Accountability Is Coming for Trump & Cronies Like the Ellisons

Publisher’s Roundup 77

A tsunami of trouble is coming for Donald Trump — and his enablers in and outside of government. That struck me when I appeared this week before Democratic members of Congress and their staff, who are getting ready to drop the boom should one or both houses of Congress flip. And it hit me again on Friday when Trump cronies the Ellisons were forced to postpone the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger that would have handed them CNN — considered a done deal until we and partners in the #BlockTheMerger coalition swung into action.

Let’s start with the shock news about the Paramount-Warner delay. The merger is anti-consumer, anti-creator, and anti-competitive as I told The New York Times. I also explained in a snap statement when the news broke, “the Ellisons believed their relationship with Trump would help them rush through a disastrous deal that threatens democracy, creative freedom, and independent journalism. We in the #BlocktheMerger campaign helped prove them wrong.”

And so did you, Contrarians! Paramount has described me as the “ringleader” of their opposition. In fact, you are. That’s because the profits from your paid subscriptions helped fuel this matter and hundreds of others at Democracy Defenders Fund and Democracy Defenders Action.

Paramount’s capitulation keeps two major media enterprises competing pending the trial, instead of handing one company even more power over what Americans watch, what they pay, and where entertainment workers can earn a living. The merger would have eliminated one of Hollywood’s largest buyers of scripts and productions while placing Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS News, CNN, and dozens of local stations under the management of one company. If you like what the Ellisons have done to CBS, you will love what they would do to CNN and the rest of the assets they seek to acquire.

This victory in putting the merger on hold belongs to the people who refused to treat the merger as inevitable. Artists, journalists, filmmakers, and consumer advocates spoke out despite the risk of retaliation, more than 5,500 people signed our open letter, and ultimately Attorneys General Rob Bonta and Letitia James, along with 10 other attorneys general, acted. This collective resistance turned the tide for now. We will see what happens next, starting with when a trial is scheduled, as I explained in a special Contrarian Substack live with my colleagues Tim Dickinson and Meredith Blake.

The tide also may be soon to turn in Congress. When I appeared there this week, the topic was Trump’s monumental corruption — both in terms of the national monuments that he is destroying and the vast scale of his wrongdoing. With likely the House and possibly the Senate about to flip, I was impressed with the intensity of the members who questioned me and with their staff, whom I chatted with on the margins. Led by ranking member Robert Garcia (D-CA) of the House Oversight Committee and ranking member Dick Blumenthal (D-CN) of the Senate Permanent Oversight subcommittee, an army of congressional investigators and overseers is ready to dig into all the wrongdoing.

And Contrarians, you are helping lay the foundation for that! Because we are owned by nobody, all profits from your paid subscriptions support my and my Democracy Defenders Action colleagues’ documentation of Trump-world wrongdoing that investigators can rely on — like our cutting-edge series of exposés of Trump’s crypto corruption. If you haven’t taken out a paid subscription, please do so to join the fight.

As I testified, we are experiencing unprecedented corruption in plain sight — and we are fighting back in court and winning. I focused on three examples, beginning with the White House East Wing demolition and debris. The president tore down part of the people’s house to build himself a $600 million ballroom, and then he dumped the toxic wreckage on a public park. Now, more than 35,000 cubic yards of demolition debris has been hauled onto East Potomac Park, land Congress set aside in 1897 to be held “forever” for the recreation and pleasure of the people. Forever.

For over a century, that park has been home to the East Potomac Golf Links, D.C.’s busiest golf course. Trump dumped this waste with no environmental review. No historic preservation review. Months later, the National Park Service’s own testing found elevated lead, arsenic, and mercury in the park. And just this past week, the government admitted to a federal judge that it never finished testing that soil before declaring it safe. My colleagues and I at Democracy Defenders Fund are proud to join Democracy Forward and Lowell & Associates in representing the D.C. Preservation League and local residents in court.

And then there is the Kennedy Center. Congress created it. Congress named it: for President John F. Kennedy, who personally led the fundraising to build it. This president tried to attach his own name to the facade that Kennedy built and that carries his name. Democracy Defenders Fund is proud, with Washington Litigation Group, to represent Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) in her lawsuit to stop that unlawful renaming. On May 29, a court permanently halted it and ordered the signage taken down. The administration threw a temper tantrum and draped a tarp over the building’s facade. But the courts saw through that, and an appeals court this month upheld the order for Trump to remove his name. Now we are litigating to get that tarp removed. The Kennedy Center belongs to the American people; it’s not a self-promotional opportunity for Trump.

The third staggering case of vandalism that I have fought and that I testified about is the $1.776 billion so-called “Anti-Weaponization” Fund. It is a blemish on the Department of Justice and the Constitution itself. This is a Trump scheme to take money from American taxpayers and give it to his political allies — including individuals charged in connection with the January 6 insurrection.

And it is deeply illegal. The president sued agencies he controls. Contrary to the constitutional requirement of a case or controversy, Trump was the plaintiff, the defendant, and the beneficiary — and his Justice Department never appeared in court to defend the United States. The department even entered a release purporting to block the IRS from pursuing pending tax claims against the president, his family members, his trusts, and his businesses — dramatically expanding the deal beyond the parties who had actually sued.

We at DDA served as co-counsel with Platkin LLP and Susman Godfrey for 35 former judges who urged the court to reject this charade. Judge Kathleen Williams did exactly that. She threw out the settlement in its entirety, found collusion rather than a genuine controversy, barred the president from relying on the agreement, and referred the president’s attorneys for disciplinary review. Her decision was itself a landmark, one that I predict the president will not find easy to destroy.

Why focus on those examples out of the hundreds of other possibilities? As I explained to the members, when the House and perhaps the Senate are back in pro-democracy hands in just a few months’ time, it will be important to pick the most outrageous scandals and concentrate on going deep to squeeze out the truth, including unearthing whether any crimes were committed:

I think Congress should focus on a relatively short list of the worst corruption scandals, perhaps including those I testified about and those captured on the inventories we have published and updated at the Contrarian (see for example here, here and here). Our lists evolve over time, and Congress will similarly need to be fluid.

For example, this week we found out shocking revelations about Donald Trump Jr.’s investment firm, 1789 Capital. This firm, which managed $200 million around when Trump took office, now oversees $3 billion in assets. Is that solely owing to Don Jr.’s business acumen? I tend to doubt it. As the New York Times reported, many of its investments are in companies affected by the administration’s policies or that have benefited from administration action. I explained on Nicolle Wallace’s MSNOW show — she has been having me on regularly to track the growing public outrage about these issues:

Congress will have plenty to work with if and when it gets back into pro-democracy hands. And the AGs already do in contesting the Paramount-Warner merger. Knowing those who will be leading the work, I think they are up to the job — and they will make good use of all of my and my colleagues’ work that your paid subscriptions have helped make possible. If you aren't yet a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one to be a part of all that.

Of course, your subscriptions also make possible our incredible democracy coverage here at the Contrarian. That combination is the most unique bargain in American journalism. See for yourself in my round up of the highlights of our pro-democracy coverage this week.

Note: This column contains material I originally issued as my statement in response to the merger delay announcement on July 24 and as my remarks before Members of Congress on July 21.

The Worst Administration

Maggie Haberman on ‘Regime Change,’ the Definitive Account of Trump’s Second Term

I chatted with the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman about her latest book, co-authored with fellow White House reporter Jonathan Swan. It’s the most inside-the-room look yet at Trump’s willingness to use power unlike any other president in American history.

Blanche’s Sham Meeting with Epstein Victims Proves He’s Unfit

Mimi Rocah wrote on how acting Attorney General Todd Blanche continues to treat Epstein survivors as a political nuisance rather than crime victims deserving of respect and dignity. See also: Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) talking with April this week about how Todd Blanche Made the DOJ Trump’s Playground.

Hegseth’s Testosterone Bit Isn’t About Health

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf wrote on Pete Hegseth’s bizarre obsession with a “High-T Department of War” — and how the better conversation to be had is about the need for testosterone access for women. “The Trump administration has gotten rather … hormonal.”

Spoiled System

How Big Business in America Gets What It Wants — and Lets Everyone Else Pay the Price

Katherine Stewart traced the links between Christian nationalism, big business, and the cyclospora outbreak targeting America’s intestines — and how it’s all flourishing under Trump. “At the core of the belief system … is the view that ‘Bible believers’ should seek to dominate government at all levels.”

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Redo Is an Affront to a Free Press

April Ryan condemned the attempt at a rescheduled White House Correspondents’ dinner — directly in the wake of Trump’s unlawful subpoenas of New York Times journalists — in no uncertain terms. “When the president is attacking journalists, he shouldn’t be a guest of honor at media events.”

Sports Spotlight

We Told You It Would Get Worse

Shalise Manza Young sounded the alarm on Republicans’ escalating plans to take down Title IX — which is to say, to get women and girls out of sports and back into “traditional” gender roles. “As so many predicted, the cries of ‘protect women’s sports!’ weren’t going to end at banning trans girls and women.”

The Dodgers Made A Major Error By Accepting Trump’s White House Invite — Twice

Carron J. Phillips took the Dodgers to task for going from taking a stand against ICE to going to the White House to kiss Trump’s ring — for the second year in a row. “Jackie Robinson has to be tired of rolling over in his grave.”

Not Even Trump Could Kill the World Cup Buzz

Meredith Blake wrote on how the tournament gave weary Americans something to think about other than explosive diarrhea. See also: Megan Armstrong on the Unavoidable World Cup Culture Wars.

Elections & Dem strategy

How To Choose a Nominee

Jennifer Rubin gave us a playbook for choosing the 2028 ticket — including the argument that Democrats shouldn’t waste any energy in trying to dissuade candidates not to run.

We Cannot Dismiss Trump’s Speech on Election Conspiracy Theories

Susan Corke wrote on why we cannot ignore Trump’s primetime election conspiracy rant — because, paranoid and pathetic though it was, it also followed the authoritarian playbook to the letter.

The Number of Votes Needed to Change Everything Is Smaller Than You Think

Ben Wikler wrote on how to approach the electoral battlefield, adapted from his new book, This is the Plan. “If you can figure out a way to zero in on the most critical spots on the electoral map and then propel even a handful of people to vote who wouldn’t have voted otherwise or to switch their vote from one candidate to another, you can change everything.”

Beyond Biden and Brexit: Andy Burnham’s Path to Rebuilding the Center-Left

Johan Hassel advised U.S. Democrats to watch closely as Andy Burnham takes on the role of U.K.’s prime minister following a landslide Labour Party victory — because he, like Democratic hopefuls, will have to combine bold politics with proof that the party can do the same in government.

ICE Out & Fighting Back

ICE’s Shootings in Maine and Texas Aren’t Getting Enough Attention

And why DOGE is the reason lettuce is making us sick.

How We Fix Our Immigration Crisis

Money without supervision and power without consequences will only lead to more deaths. We can do better.

The Contrarian Covers the Democracy Movement

This week, we saw ICE Out protests in Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Maine, data center protests in South Dakota and Georgia, and more. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org.

Demand Justice for ICE Victims, Protect Our Wildlife

Cities across America are mobilizing this weekend to mourn the lives of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastian Guerrero.

Cartoons, Culture & Fun Stuff

This week our cartoonists covered dubious battle plans (The Art of War, Trojan Horse: Nick Anderson) and exit plans (The Sand Trap of Hormuz, RJ Matson), and the Odyssey (The Republican Circus’s The Odyssey, Ruben Bolling).

Marissa Rothkopf Bates celebrated the apricot, whose sweet aroma once filled what is now California’s Silicon Valley. And Ciera Stone introduced us to Honey, a rescue dog.

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