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Today, Pope Leo delivered a speech that many are interpreting as a sharp rebuke of Donald Trump. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is now under fire for his defense of a generous plea deal for a convicted child predator. House Speaker Mike Johnson is writing off Americans’ anger over data center development as a Chinese psy-op. And a growing number of Republicans are coming out against the White House for spending taxpayer money on TV ads that have been widely panned as propaganda.
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Pope Leo closed out his recent four-day trip to France on Monday, and his final speech seemed to be aimed directly at Donald Trump without once mentioning his name.
The American-born pope warned the audience — which included French President Emanuel Macron — that relations between governments and citizens are growing increasingly strained, that it’s no longer seen as a priority for a leader to honor their word, and that people in power now openly brag about “lies and deceit.”
Leo didn’t need to utter Trump’s name. Everyone seemed to understand who the pontiff was referring to. Leo warned earlier this year about a “delusion of omnipotence” after both the U.S. and Israel launched its war against Iran. The Chicago-born pope has heaped criticism on Trump’s nationwide ICE crackdown. Trump famously responded by calling the pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.”
The pope pointed to Europe’s postwar history as a viable alternative, honoring former French prime minister Robert Schuman who helped build the predecessor to what eventually became the European Union. Leo observed that Europe has spent the last eight decades 80 years proving that nations can work together in peace despite having competing interests. He also encouraged more dialogue and compromise between leaders as a means of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. It’s personal for Leo, whose father served in the U.S. Navy during the initial D-Day landings in 1944.
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As Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton cut a deal with convicted child predator Adam Hoffman, a Waco-based attorney who ended up serving a pitifully short jail sentence despite repeatedly abusing a young boy.
Democratic Texas state representative James Talarico, who is running against Paxton in November’s contentious U.S. Senate election, has made the Hoffman deal a centerpiece of his campaign strategy. He’s called on Paxton’s office to release the “Hoffman Files” so Texans can have full transparency about the crime, the perpetrator, and the deal that let him serve just 29 days of a 60-day sentence.
But in a new video clip circulating on social media, Paxton is seen defending the deal given that the initial trial ended in a hung jury. Paxton described how he was faced with the choice of making the child who was abused go through the ordeal of testifying all over again in a new trial, or to cut a deal with Hoffman.
“The criticism has been that I let a child predator out [after] one day,” Paxton said in the clip. “Well, guess what? They served 60 days.”
The short sentence is particularly noteworthy given that Hoffman initially faced life in prison without parole. However, Paxton’s office allowed him to plead to two misdemeanor charges of indecent assault and displaying harmful materials to a minor. Paxton’s office first offered just one day in prison, before the judge overseeing the case demanded prosecutors “sell me on the wisdom” of a one-day sentence. Paxton then increased it to 30 days. The boy’s mother told local media that a 30-day sentence wasn’t nearly long enough for the severity of his crime.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is now offering a bizarre explanation for why so many Americans on both sides of the political aisle are furious about AI data center development in their communities.
During a Monday appearance on Fox Business, he told host Cheryl Casone that he agreed the backlash to data centers is a result of a “Chinese psy-op” and that Democrats are exploiting it ahead of the midterms. He then insisted it’s “not a conspiracy theory” to say China is the reason no one wants data centers in their backyard.
The numbers are pretty clear that Americans don’t want to live near a data center. A recent YouGov poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans are opposed to data center construction in their own communities. And according to Data Center Watch, nearly 120 projects worth roughly $198 billion have been either blocked or postponed over the past six months as more cities and states pass moratoriums on new data center development.
Chinese and Russian actors have reportedly tried to stir the pot on this issue. But according to Jessica Brandt, who tracked foreign influence at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under former President Joe Biden’s administration, the fact that foreign actors are engaging in American debates over AI doesn’t make Americans’ concerns over data centers any less real.
That includes even in Johnson’s own home state of Louisiana, where Amazon and Meta plan are spending a combined $72 billion on building new data centers. One local health official cautioned that the gas-powered plants needed to supply them with electricity could increase local residents’ exposure to toxic chemicals.
A growing number of Republicans are now calling out Trump’s White House for airing taxpayer-funded TV ads paid for with our tax money.
The White House is defending the three spots as “public service announcements,” but they look more like campaign ads. One ad ends with mixed martial arts fight promoter Dana White praising Trump. Another has Trump promising to demolish the deep state. A third ad shows him speaking at Mount Rushmore while touting America’s new “golden age.” The Associated Press reports that the first ad alone cost taxpayers at least $443,000.
Republican Senator John Neely Kennedy of Louisiana said this weekend that no public official, including himself, should ever spend public money on promoting themselves. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky sarcastically defended the ads by saying self-aggrandizement with public money is completely legal in banana republics, and retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the ads feel like something out of former Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán’s playbook. Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele went further, calling the ads illegal, unethical propaganda.
The Hatch Act, which has been federal law for decades, has long prevented federal agencies from spending taxpayer money on unauthorized publicity or propaganda, especially messaging that serves the interests of one particular party. Past PSAs, like the Biden administration’s COVID vaccine ads, were uniquely focused on specific public health goals rather than bolstering the president’s personal image.
It’s easy to see why the White House is trying to help Trump’s reputation. A recent American Research Poll pegged his approval rating at a dismal 29 percent. Some Republicans on the November ballot, like Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson and Florida gubernatorial hopeful Byron Donalds, have already tried to put distance between themselves and the president as his approval ratings continue to plummet.
With the news that Paramount CEO David Ellison is about to own CNN and even potentially bring on Elon Musk as an investor, independent media has never been more critical. Outlets like Raw America that have no billionaire backer or corporate owner are rapidly becoming the last places truly capable of holding power accountable.
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Thanks for reading. I’m John Byrne, in for British Chris. Once again, please click the ❤️ and restack this newsletter so we can reach the people who need these stories. Thanks for reading, and thanks for supporting independent media.
