What They Want You to Miss This Week
Every Monday we dig out what they bury. Here’s this week’s briefing — and your battle plan.
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They will point you at the spectacle. The handshake photo. The “peace deal.” The birthday cage fight. While you stare at the ring, they are moving money, burying surveillance tools, and keeping a taxpayer slush fund for cop-beaters on life support.
Do not look away from what matters.
The Iran Deal Nobody Has Read
There is a framework. There is a ceasefire. There is a memorandum of understanding — and you cannot read it. Nothing has been publicly released. And the gap between what the U.S. says the deal says and what Iran says it says is wide enough to drive a tanker through.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency claims the U.S. agreed to release $24 billion in frozen assets — with half available before negotiations even begin. A senior U.S. official called that characterization “spin.” According to CBS News reporting on the proposed agreement, Iran will still be able to charge commercial ships fees to transit the Strait of Hormuz — directly contradicting the White House’s framing of a “free” strait. Israel is not bound by any agreement. The Lebanese Army urges caution. Signing is pushed to Friday.
No one in Congress has seen the MOU. No one in the public has seen it. (Remember “concepts of a plan?”) A deal reshaping Middle East geopolitics is being signed without Congressional review, public accountability, or binding commitments from our closest ally in the region.
The hangover may arrive before the ink dries.
The Spy Tools Lapsed. Nobody’s Coming to Fix It.
On Friday, Section 702 of FISA expired. This is the law allowing the federal government to collect communications of foreigners abroad — and search them for Americans’ data without a warrant. Congress failed to reauthorize it. The House left town. They won’t be back until June 23.
Here is what the administration hopes you miss: the tools haven’t gone dark. As the Brennan Center explains, Section 702 collection operates under annual court certifications running through March 2027. The surveillance continues. The statute just lapsed — and with it, the only legislative leverage reformers had to demand warrant protections for Americans’ data.
This lapse happened in part because Trump tried to install Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence despite lacking an iota of national security experience. Democrats refused to reauthorize these tools under an unqualified loyalist. The surveillance state keeps running on autopilot while the adults argue over who’s in charge.
The fight is not over. It’s more urgent than ever.
The Slush Fund Is Cornered — But Not Dead
The $1.8 billion taxpayer slush fund designed to compensate Trump’s political allies — including people convicted of assaulting police on January 6 — is blocked by federal judge Leonie Brinkema. The Justice Department has four days to certify in writing that it will not proceed.
Here is the trap: Trump hates admitting defeat. But if DOJ fights back, it contradicts sworn statements made in court and before Congress. Rep. Jamie Raskin has already pledged continued opposition to any effort to route taxpayer money to January 6 rioters.
Watch Alexandria, Virginia this week. That’s where the accountability story is playing out.
The Screwworm We Should All Be Talking About
New World Screwworm — a parasite that lays eggs in living animals’ wounds, with larvae that eat flesh — has been detected inside U.S. borders. Twenty-one Senate Democrats sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins demanding immediate escalation: deploy sterile flies at scale, activate veterinarians as mandatory reporters, and cut bureaucratic delays.
We eradicated screwworm once before. We can do it again. But not with this administration’s pace.
They Are Coming for Your Groceries — Again
A coalition of 23 Democratic state attorneys general sent a letter to Senate leadership urging Congress to restore SNAP. Forty-two million Americans depend on it — 16 million children, 8 million seniors, and 1.2 million veterans. Republican cuts would cost the average family of four $175 more in groceries every month.
Speaker Johnson has already promised “Reconciliation 3.0” — another party-line bill targeting Medicaid and SNAP — the moment the ICE funding bill clears the House. The groundwork starts now, quietly, in committee rooms and back hallways.
Quick Hits
Todd Blanche’s AG confirmation is more fragile than headlines suggest. Sen. Thom Tillis has drawn a hard line: no vote unless Blanche unequivocally condemns January 6. Tillis is retiring — he has nothing to lose.
Iowa Republicans are trying to remove Libertarian candidates from the November ballot before they can siphon votes in close Senate and House races.
New York’s primary starts now. Early voting is underway for the NY-12 race to replace Jerry Nadler.
James Comey’s arraignment is set for September 30. Trial: October 21 — five weeks before the midterms.
Amy Klobuchar leads potential Republican challengers in early Minnesota governor polling.
What You Can Do Right Now
The drum doesn’t beat itself. Here’s how to make noise this week:
Demand the MOU text. Call your senators and representatives and tell them no signatures on a secret Iran deal. Use 5 Calls for a script and direct numbers.
Fight for FISA reform. Tell your senators no reauthorization of Section 702 without warrant protections. Use our prewritten Resistbot to send a free letter in under two minutes.
Kill the slush fund for good. Call your representative and demand a floor vote permanently banning taxpayer compensation for January 6 rioters.
Protect SNAP. Call your senator and demand a Farm Bill that restores benefits instead of cutting them.
Vote or mobilize in New York. If you have contacts in NY-10 or NY-12, the primary is June 23.
They are counting on your exhaustion.
You bring discipline. Share this. Make noise. Keep watching.
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