Today
FEDERAL AGENTS SHOWED UP AT NYT REPORTERS’ HOMES ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, THE U.S. HIT 140 MORE TARGETS IN IRAN AS THE WAR SPREADS TO FIVE COUNTRIES, GOVERNORS’ GUARD TROOPS WERE HIJACKED FOR D.C. PATROLS — AND UKRAINE’S PM RESIGNED FIVE DAYS AFTER THE NATO SUMMIT

Federal agents showed up at the homes of several New York Times reporters on Friday night. They carried grand jury subpoenas. The reporters were told to testify the following Wednesday… about their coverage of the Air Force One jet that Qatar gave to the president.

The subpoenas said the testimony was requested “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.” The Justice Department did not say what law was broken. The Times’ deputy general counsel, David McCraw, called it “a brazen act” and said it was “nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country.”

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said the subpoenas break DOJ rules. Those rules say the government should only drag reporters into court as a “last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted.” Bruce Brown, the committee’s president, said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton… who has been nominated to lead national intelligence… must face questions about it at his Senate hearing… which falls on the same day the reporters are due to testify.

This is not the first time. The administration has already forced financial settlements from ABC News and CBS’s 60 Minutes. It has filed civil lawsuits and criminal actions against The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the BBC. The pattern is consistent… report on the machine, and the machine comes to your door.

The reporters covered a plane. A gift from a foreign government to a sitting president. And on a Friday night… agents came knocking.

ABC SETTLED. CBS SETTLED. THE JOURNAL WAS CHARGED. THE POST WAS SUED. NOW THE TIMES GOT FRIDAY NIGHT SUBPOENAS.

BREAKING

The U.S. Hit 140 More Targets in Iran Overnight — Iran Struck Back Across Five Countries and Claims It Destroyed U.S. Patriot Systems

The war just expanded to five countries in a single night. The U.S. hit roughly 140 Iranian military targets in an hours-long aerial attack on Saturday into Sunday… the second major round of strikes this week. CENTCOM said it struck air defense sites, missile batteries, and coastal radar across southern Iran.

Iran hit back fast. The IRGC fired missiles and drones at U.S. bases in five countries… Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Jordan. Jordan shot down four missiles. Kuwait turned on air defenses. Iran’s state media claimed the Guard “completely destroyed fuel tanks and Patriot air defense systems” at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait.

The ceasefire signed on June 17 is now dead by both sides’ admission. Trump declared it “over” on Wednesday. Iran’s parliament speaker wrote on X: “The era of bullying and extortion is over. We don’t fold.” A spokesman for Iran’s national security commission said options now include withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and closing the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.

Ten days ago this was a two-country exchange. Now five U.S. allies are in the line of fire. None of them voted for this war. None of their parliaments approved it. And the missiles are landing in their cities anyway.

EXPOSED

Governors Sent Their Guard Troops to D.C. for July 4th. The Administration Redirected Them to Patrol Neighborhoods.

Six Democratic governors sent National Guard troops to Washington for the July 4th celebrations. Minnesota, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, Maryland, and Hawaii all gave the same order… their troops would help with the events near the National Mall and nothing else. It was the first time Democratic-led states had sent soldiers to D.C. since Trump launched his federal Joint Task Force.

Within days, the troops were spotted on “presence patrols” in neighborhoods far from the Mall… doing the same work as the task force soldiers who have been in the city for nearly a year. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pulled his troops out early when his office learned they had been redirected. A single Kentucky guardsman was brought home after being diverted “without the knowledge or consent” of the governor or the state’s Guard command.

The Brennan Center for Justice led a coalition of more than two dozen civil rights and civic groups in a letter to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urging her to pull out too. “They were fundamentally trusting the Trump administration to respect those lines, and I think that was a mistake,” said Elizabeth Goitein, the Brennan Center’s senior director of liberty and national security.

The D.C. Joint Task Force did not answer questions about the troops’ activities. It said only that guard members sent for the 250th celebrations “would not have their mission changed.” By the time the statement came out… the mission had already changed.

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution.”

— David McCraw, New York Times Deputy General Counsel

DEVELOPING

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Resigned Five Days After the NATO Summit — Zelenskyy Says He Is “Changing Political Strategy”

On Sunday, five days after Zelenskyy secured a Patriot missile license and €70 billion in NATO military aid… his prime minister resigned. Yulia Svyrydenko stepped down without a stated reason. Zelenskyy said only that “Ukraine is changing its political strategy.”

Svyrydenko had served less than a year. Her resignation came seven months after 11 senior officials quit in a mass corruption scandal that shook the government. No replacement was named. Zelenskyy met with his interior, defense, and energy ministers the same day… but gave no details on the reshuffle.

The timing matters. Last week, Zelenskyy left NATO with the biggest haul of his presidency… the right to build America’s top missile system, €70 billion in aid, and praise from Trump as someone who had “done an amazing job.” Five days later, the government changed hands again.

Western governments have poured hundreds of billions into Ukraine since 2022. The Government Accountability Office has flagged “significant oversight gaps” in how the money is tracked. The corruption scandal led to 11 resignations. Now the PM is out. And the explanation is four words long… “changing political strategy.”
  Connecting the Dots  

▸ The Bigger Picture

Four stories in 72 hours. Federal agents showed up at reporters’ homes on a Friday night to stop coverage of a foreign gift to the president. The U.S. hit 140 more targets in Iran while the war spread to five countries that never asked for it. Governors who sent troops to D.C. for a party found those soldiers patrolling neighborhoods instead. And the country that just got the biggest aid deal in NATO history reshuffled its cabinet five days later with a four-word statement.

The press covers each one on its own beat. A “press freedom dispute.” A “military escalation.” A “National Guard controversy.” A “cabinet reshuffle.” But the thread is the same in all four.

The machine is tightening its grip. On the press… with Friday night subpoenas and lawsuits against every major outlet that covers it. On the region… with a war that now hits countries that never signed up for it. On state governments… with troops sent beyond what governors agreed to. And on its own allies… with billions in aid and no answers when the leaders change overnight. Control does not send a memo. It shows up at your door… with a subpoena, a patrol route, a strike order, or a one-line resignation.

The knock on the door always comes on a Friday night. That’s the Seventh Floor.

They rely on the shadows.
It’s time to turn on the lights.