Dick Cheney, long seen as one of the most polarizing Republican vice presidents, started by backing Trump in 2016 but ultimately broke with him over January 6 and Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results.
Catégorie oBox : OBOXMA
Is the president of the United States actually losing it?
Trump said that «things happen» to the «extremely controversial» journalist, downplaying the CIA’s findings.
Trump seized on the message as a direct attack on his authority, branding the lawmakers «traitors» engaged in «SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR» and using his Truth Social feed to demand their arrest and hint that their actions should be «punishable by DEATH!».
The president, Donald Trump, and the vice president, JD Vance, were left off the guest list for the invitation-only funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral on Thursday morning, even as more than 1,000 people were expected to attend, including four living former vice presidents and two former presidents.
Across the political spectrum
At the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney at Washington’s National Cathedral, the presence of Joe Biden and George W. Bush, former vice presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence and Al Gore, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh, senior Cabinet members from both Republican and Democratic administrations, as well as congressional leaders such as Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell offered a stark visual contrast.
Washington’s traditional political and institutional class united to honor Cheney while the sitting president and vice president were conspicuously absent.
During the service, tributes to Cheney mixed the political and the deeply personal. George W. Bush remembered his vice president as a trusted partner, saying «They do not come any better than Dick Cheney» and «He was everything a President should expect in a second-in-command», before closing with the promise «Somewhere up the trail, we will meet again».
His daughter, Liz Cheney, offered a more intimate portrait, recalling that «The night before my dad died, the sky about my parents’ house filled with clouds in the shape of winged angels», and that «As my dad left this earth, his last words were to tell my mother he loved her», calling «One of the greatest blessings of my life» the time she had with him.
Never be trusted again
Dick Cheney, long seen as one of the most polarizing Republican vice presidents, started by backing Trump in 2016 but ultimately broke with him over January 6 and Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results.
In 2024, he went even further and publicly announced he would vote for Kamala Harris, crossing party lines and warning that Trump was a «greater threat to our republic» who «can never be trusted with power again».
«Somewhere up the trail, we will meet again».
-George W. Bush
That endorsement, widely described as an extraordinary and even shocking move for a lifelong Republican, crystallized the rupture between Cheney and the MAGA wing he believed was endangering democratic norms.
Liz Cheney also campaigned alongside Kamala Harris during the 2024 race.
In that context, Trump and Vance’s absence from Cheney’s funeral — and the lack of an invitation in the first place — is not just a matter of protocol, but a visible symbol of how completely Cheney had turned away from Trump’s Republican Party by the end of his life .
Donald Trump spent hours on Truth Social railing against multiple Democratic lawmakers, repeatedly boosting posts suggesting they should be hanged and amplifying calls for extreme punishment. In one of his own messages, Trump wrote that those lawmakers’ actions should be «punishable by DEATH!».
A video urging to refuse illegal orders
Trump erupted after six Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds released a video urging service members and intelligence officials to refuse illegal orders, reminding them that their oath is to the Constitution, not to any one president.
«This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT».
They say they recorded the video at a moment when Trump’s escalating attacks on democratic institutions, his threats to prosecute political opponents, and his repeated demands for absolute loyalty from the military and intelligence community have intensified concerns about protecting the rule of law and ensuring that no president can bypass constitutional limits.
The video featured Senator Elissa Slotkin (former CIA analyst and Iraq war veteran), Senator Mark Kelly (former Navy pilot and astronaut), Representative Jason Crow (former Army Ranger), Representative Maggie Goodlander (former Navy reservist), Representative Chris Deluzio (former Navy officer), and Representative Chrissy Houlahan (former Air Force officer).
«HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!».
A rage-filled posting spree
In a single Truth Social post, Trump shared an article about the video and wrote: «This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT».
Trump seized on the message as a direct attack on his authority, branding the lawmakers «traitors» engaged in «SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR» and using his Truth Social feed to demand their arrest and hint that their actions should be «punishable by DEATH!».
«It is a call to hang Democratic lawmakers who spoke out against Trump.»
-Gavin Newsom
His rage-filled posting spree also included a series of retruths branding the Democratic lawmakers as «traitors», with some of the amplified posts even urging «HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!».
«Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed.»
House Democratic leaders condemned Trump’s rhetoric as incitement and a threat to their colleagues’ safety.
House Democratic leaders denounced Trump’s posts as dangerous incitement that could lead to real-world violence. In a joint statement, Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team warned:
«We have been in contact with the House Sergeant at Arms and the United States Capitol Police to ensure the safety of these Members and their families. Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed.»
California Governor Gavin Newsom also sounded the alarm on X, writing:
«Trump just reposted this. It is a call to hang Democratic lawmakers who spoke out against Trump.»
The Trump administration spent weeks working behind the scenes to slow or block a congressional push to force the release of the Epstein files, with Trump repeatedly dismissing the effort as a Democratic hoax and doing everything possible to prevent the documents from coming out.
But that strategy collapsed under intense, bipartisan pressure, culminating in Trump signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which compels the Department of Justice to make the documents public within 30 days.
«We will continue to follow the law with maximum transparency while protecting victims.»
A near-total agreement in Washington
The bill sailed through the House on a 427–1 vote and cleared the Senate by unanimous consent, reflecting rare, near-total agreement in Washington on the need for greater transparency around the Epstein case.
Yet despite the sweeping mandate, many observers doubt that the public will see the full contents of the files anytime soon.
The law allows prosecutors and the DOJ, under the control of Pam Bondi, to withhold or heavily redact material tied to ongoing investigations, classified information, or any information deemed to pose a risk to government security, leaving the Justice Department with significant discretion over what is actually disclosed.
Critics warn that these carve-outs, combined with the DOJ’s insistence that most releasable material is already public, could mean that some of the most sensitive records remain out of view for months or even years, even as the clock ticks on the 30-day deadline.
Investigation Could Delay Full Epstein Files Release for Years
While pressed by reporters, Pam Bondi had only one response to offer: «We will continue to follow the law with maximum transparency while protecting victims.»
But in a last-ditch push to block the release of the Epstein files, Trump asked the DOJ to investigate Bill Clinton, Larry Summers and other high-profile Democrats for alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Pam Bondi responded by assigning U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the investigation «with urgency and integrity».
This move jeopardizes the release of the full set of files, despite approval by the House, the Senate and Trump’s final signature, and opens the door to an investigation that could drag on for years before any of these documents are made public.
The most explosive presidential scandal in history
The pressure surrounding the Epstein files has reached a level Trump has never faced before, fueling speculation that the documents could conceal the most explosive presidential scandal in modern U.S. history.
Whether Trump’s signature will ease the public pressure or whether it will continue to build, as it has for months, remains to be seen.
For decades, Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein moved in the same Palm Beach and New York circles, attending the same parties and appearing together at Mar-a-Lago, before Trump since claimed he had cut ties with Epstein «a long time ago» and was no longer his friend.
Newly released emails subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate, however, suggest their relationship may have continued into Trump’s first presidency: in a Thanksgiving Day 2017 exchange with modeling executive Faith Kates, Epstein, when asked who else was with him, simply replied: «david fizel, hanson, trump.»
Axios y varios medios, entre ellos Reuters, informan de que Donald Trump y su Administración están presionando discretamente al presidente ucraniano, Volodymyr Zelensky, para que acepte su propuesta de plan de paz.
SCOOP: New Trump plan to end war in Ukraine grants Russia parts of eastern Ukraine it does not currently control.
Una « hoja de ruta de 28 puntos »
Según Axios, la administración estadounidense está trabajando en una « hoja de ruta de 28 puntos » secreta para poner fin a la guerra en Ucrania, un plan supuestamente desarrollado en consulta con funcionarios rusos y supervisado por el enviado especial estadounidense Steve Witkoff. Las discusiones se están llevando a cabo a través de canales secretos en lugar de conversaciones diplomáticas públicas.
El plan descrito por Axios exigiría a Ucrania aceptar pérdidas territoriales significativas y una reducción sustancial de sus fuerzas armadas.
Estas condiciones, presentadas como parte de un esfuerzo más amplio para poner fin al conflicto, remodelarían notablemente las fronteras y las capacidades militares de Ucrania.
Según Axios, el plan propuesto por Trump para poner fin a la guerra en Ucrania incluye conceder a Rusia partes del este de Ucrania que actualmente no controla, ya que su administración intenta negociar estos territorios con Kiev a cambio de garantías de seguridad para Ucrania.
Grandes dudas sobre la credibilidad de las garantías de seguridad
El plan de paz de Trump entregaría a Rusia las regiones ucranianas de Luhansk y Donetsk (el Donbás), a pesar de que Ucrania sigue controlando parte de esos territorios. Según el plan, Trump quiere convertir el Donbás en una especie de zona desmilitarizada bajo control exclusivo ruso, alegando que Putin no podría estacionar tropas allí.
Según Axios, un funcionario ucraniano dijo que el plan de paz de Trump también limitaría el tamaño del ejército ucraniano y su armamento a cambio de garantías de seguridad estadounidenses, pero advirtió que la propuesta no asegura protección si Rusia ataca de nuevo o se apodera de más territorio ucraniano en el futuro, lo que arroja grandes dudas sobre la credibilidad de esas garantías en su conjunto.
Para muchos en Kiev, estas vagas promesas de seguridad son un eco de las garantías incumplidas del Memorando de Budapest de 1994, lo que ahonda las dudas sobre su valor real.
Es probable que el regateo de Trump con el territorio ucraniano a cambio de vagas garantías de seguridad escandalice a los aliados de Ucrania y a sus socios europeos, pues muchos ya le critican por no defender la soberanía de Ucrania desde que inició las negociaciones de paz a principios de este año y por tratar su territorio como moneda de cambio en beneficio de Putin.
The US signaled to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Ukraine must accept a US-drafted framework to end the war with Russia that proposes Kyiv giving up territory and some weapons, two people familiar with the matter said reut.rs/3X5jBBS