Posted by Matt Kiser
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/10/16/day-1731/
Today in one sentence: A federal judge in Chicago ordered ICE agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz to wear body cameras during encounters with protesters; former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith defended his prosecutions of Trump, calling Republican allegations of political bias “ludicrous”; Trump urged that “they” investigate “Deranged Jack Smith,” calling him a “criminal,” as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel stood beside him; former national security adviser John Bolton was indicted on 18 counts of mishandling classified information; the Trump administration is preparing to remake the IRS to make it easier to investigate left-leaning groups and Democratic donors; the Senate failed for the 10th time to pass the House stopgap bill to reopen the government; the White House claimed it’s “winning” the government shutdown, citing internal polling that shows Democrats losing support; and 58% of Americans say Trump and Republicans have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the government shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats.
1/ A federal judge in Chicago ordered ICE agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz to wear body cameras during encounters with protesters, saying she was “profoundly concerned” agents ignored her prior limits on force. Judge Sara Ellis expanded last week’s restraining order that banned targeting journalists and peaceful protesters with tear gas and “less-lethal” munitions, and ordered ICE Chicago Field Director Russell Hott to appear in court. The Justice Department said widespread recording “would require a tremendous amount of resources,” and argued media reports were “one-sided and selectively edited.” Ellis, however, replied: “Don’t violate the Constitution, and we never have to pull any video from anybody, ever.” In a separate ruling, the Seventh Circuit kept in place a block on Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops in Illinois for now. (Axios / CNN / The Verge / New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times)
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More than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by federal immigration agents during Trump’s second term, including dozens held for days without being allowed to call family or lawyers. The Department of Homeland Security denied targeting Americans, saying, “We don’t arrest US citizens for immigration enforcement,” even as videos and court filings show citizens beaten, tased, and pepper-sprayed during raids and protests. (ProPublica)
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Border Patrol deleted a propaganda-style video that used a Michael Jackson song with an antisemitic slur after it drew millions of views and support from extremist accounts. The agency offered no real explanation beyond, “We deleted the post and will update with different music,” dismissing questions about why the unedited lyrics were used. (Axios / Mother Jones)
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The U.S. military commander leading Trump’s strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean will step down at year’s end. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command, would retire less than a year into his assignment, offering no explanation. Holsey’s departure follows five lethal U.S. strikes off Venezuela that killed 27 people and renewed congressional scrutiny of Trump’s claim that the U.S. is in a “noninternational armed conflict” with cartels. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / New York Times / Washington Post)
2/ Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith defended his prosecutions of Trump, calling Republican allegations of political bias “ludicrous.” Smith criticized the Trump Justice Department’s prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying such actions “reek of lack of process.” He warned that the administration’s firings of career prosecutors would have an “incalculable” cost to the country and said, “Nothing like what we see now has ever gone on.” Hours after the interview was released, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan demanded that Smith testify by Oct. 28 and provide all records from his tenure, accusing him of “partisan and politically motivated prosecutions” and “abusive surveillance.” Smith dropped both federal cases against Trump after his 2024 election win, citing Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president. (New York Times / CNN / Associated Press / The Guardian / NBC News / ABC News / Axios / New York Times / The Hill)
3/ Trump urged that “they” investigate “Deranged Jack Smith,” calling him a “criminal,” as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel stood beside him. He added, “I hope they’re going to look into [Andrew] Weissmann too,” and said former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco “should be looked at very strongly,” before asserting, “I’m, in theory, the chief law enforcement officer.” The Justice Department, at Trump’s direction, recently indicted former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, even as Bondi and Blanche warned there was insufficient evidence to convict. (Democracy Docket / Talking Points Memo / New York Times)
4/ Former national security adviser John Bolton was indicted on 18 counts of mishandling classified information, including eight counts of transmitting, and ten counts of retaining national defense material. Prosecutors said Bolton “abused his position” by sharing more than a thousand pages of Top Secret information with two relatives through personal accounts from 2018 to 2025. The charges follow Trump’s repeated public calls for Bolton to be prosecuted, including statements that Bolton “should go to jail” and a 2020 demand that he be charged over his book. Bolton’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said the case involves “personal diaries” that were “unclassified, shared only with his immediate family, and known to the FBI as far back as 2021.” (Bloomberg / Associated Press / ABC News / CNN / Reuters / NBC News / CNBC)
5/ The Trump administration is preparing to remake the IRS to make it easier to investigate left-leaning groups and Democratic donors. The plan would install Trump allies in the IRS Criminal Investigation unit and limit the role of agency lawyers in reviewing cases. Senior IRS adviser Gary Shapley said he plans to replace the unit’s chief and has already drafted “a list of donors and groups” for investigation. Trump, meanwhile, ordered acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent to identify “financial networks” he claims fund left-wing violence, saying, “Scott will do that. That’s easy for Scott.” (Wall Street Journal / New Republic / The Hill / Mediaite / New York Times)
- Trump hosted an East Room dinner for corporate and wealthy donors funding his new White House ballroom. He said the project, estimated at $200–$250 million, was “fully taken care of” and that some offered “$25 million,” with donations routed through the Trust for the National Mall, including $22 million from YouTube as part of a settlement. Ethics experts warned that the push risks coercion and conflicts for companies with federal business, saying firms that “don’t show or don’t give” could be “out of favor.” (Wall Street Journal / The Hill / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Axios)
6/ The Senate failed for the 10th time to pass the House stopgap bill to reopen the government, ensuring that the shutdown will extend into next week with senators out until Monday. Senate Democrats also blocked a $852 billion defense spending bill in a 50-44 vote that fell short of the 60 needed to proceed. “Another week has passed, and the Trump shutdown drags on,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, while Majority Leader John Thune said, “There’s an offramp here: It’s just to fund the government.” Thune also offered Democrats a floor vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies after reopening, saying they should “take yes for an answer.” (CNBC / Politico / Washington Post)
7/ The White House claimed it’s “winning” the government shutdown, citing internal polling that shows Democrats losing support. Internal data show Democrats’ net favorability dropped to -21%, while Republicans improved to -8%. Blame for the shutdown narrowed to a 6-point gap with 44% faulting Trump and the Republicans, and 38% blaming the Democrats – down from a 13-point lead for Democrats two weeks ago. “Time is on our side,” one senior official said, saying “they will lose this” because “the people who know the most about the shutdown know that the Democrats aren’t voting for the clean CR.” The administration began firing furloughed federal workers, warning that “if the Senate Democrats want the RIFs to end, they can end the shutdown. It’s that simple.” (Axios)
- The Justice Department stopped responding to Congress about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation after the shutdown began, leaving House Oversight Democrats without new documents since August. Rep. Robert Garcia said the Justice Department has “failed to provide any substantive or insightful information,” while the agency blamed the Democrats for the government shutdown. (Politico)
poll/ 58% of Americans say Trump and Republicans have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the government shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats. 54% call the shutdown a “major problem,” and 89% say it’s at least a minor problem. 43% favor extending Affordable Care Act tax credits. Only 4% say they have “a great deal” of confidence in Congress, while about half have “hardly any.” (Associated Press / AP-NORC)
⏭️ Notably Next: Your government has been shut down for 16 days; “No Kings Day” is Oct. 18; the 2026 midterms are in 383 days.
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