DEMOCRACY WATCHPalantir Tapped to Compile Data on Americans | Supreme Court Walks a Tightrope as It Confronts Trump’s Power Moves | We Can’t Censor Our Way to Progress, and more

Trump Sees Himself as More Like a King Than President. Here’s Why  (Dafydd Townley, The Conversation)
it is clear the US is currently in a constitutional crisis. The Supreme Court has a number of rulings to make on the judicial challenges to Trump’s executive authority. These will have generational consequences – but it is unclear in which way the court, where conservative judges have a 6-3 majority, will lean.
While Trump may not be seeking a crown for his head, he is certainly arguing that he has the right to control the executive branch in the way he sees fit, without any interference from Congress or the judiciary. This is not the separation of powers as prescribed by the framers of the US constitution, but more like the absolutism of medieval monarchs.

The Trump Presidency’s World-Historical Heist  (David Frum, The Atlantic)
He is taking self-enrichment to a scale never seen before in America.

Supreme Court Walks a Tightrope as It Confronts Trump’s Power Moves  (Ann E. Marimow, Washington Post)
The justices appear to be trying to avoid a direct conflict with the Trump administration while also blocking certain presidential actions.

Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans  (Sheera Frenkel and Aaron Krolik, New York Times)
The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work with the government, spreading the company’s technology — which could easily merge data on Americans — throughout agencies.

Trump Peddles False Conspiracy Theories Tying Clintons to Several Deaths  (Maegan Vazquez, Washington Post)
Donald Trump has made thousands of false claims about his political opponents across his two terms in office while threatening his critics.
Among a litany of social media posts shared by Donald Trump on a recent weekend, the sitting president dredged up a 2016 video rehashing old, false claims implying that former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton are tied to several deaths.
Trump has made thousands of false or misleading statements about his political opponents across his two terms in office, and he has repeatedly vowed to use the power of the federal government to punish his foes. Democrats have long warned that such baseless rhetoric could lead to violence.

This isn’t the first time Trump has tried to tie the Clintons to baseless murder theories.
n 2019, for example, Trump spread an unfounded theory on social media suggesting that financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death might be tied to Bill Clinton. Trump’s Justice Department announced that Epstein died by “apparent suicide” while held in a federal detention center in New York.

As Trumps Monetize Presidency, Profits Outstrip Protests  (Peter Baker, New York Times)
The president and his family have monetized the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.

Why Vietnam Ignored Its Own Laws to Fast-Track a Trump Family Golf Complex  (Damien Cave, New York Times)
As President Trump blurs the lines between politics and business — and threatens steep tariffs on trade partners — governments feel compelled to favor Trump-related projects.

The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.  (Joshua Kaplan, Brett Murphy, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski, ProPublica)
The State Department conducted a monthslong campaign to push a small African country to help Musk’s satellite internet company. Working closely with executives at Starlink, the U.S. government has made a global push to help expand Musk’s business empire in the developing world. Diplomats said the events were an alarming departure from standard practice — because of both the tactics used and the person who would benefit most from them.

We Can’t Censor Our Way to Progress  (David Inserra, CATO)
Even if you agree with Rubio’s policy of stripping visas based on their holders’ hostile views toward Israel and Jews, this is an incredibly dangerous precedent that will empower future administrations to punish immigrants with other disfavored views, including right-wing views.