Today
THE PRESIDENT POSTED A MAP CLAIMING A FOREIGN WATERWAY AS U.S. TERRITORY, THE ADMINISTRATION SANCTIONED THE HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AND VOWED TO “DISMANTLE” IT, A MAJOR NETWORK SUED THE FCC OVER THE FIRST AMENDMENT — AND 45 MILLION ACRES OF FOREST WERE OPENED TO LOGGING

The president posted a map on social media this week. It showed the Strait of Hormuz with a circle around it and two words: “NEW U.S. Territory.” The strait sits between Iran and Oman. Twenty percent of the world’s oil passes through it. And the president just claimed it as American land.

The post came days after he told a crowd of police officers on Long Island: “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.” On Monday in the Oval Office he said: “I think it’s an excellent idea. We control it through the blockade.”

Iran’s deputy foreign minister responded by posting a map of the United States with California circled and labeled “NEW TERRITORY OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN.” He wrote: “His illusion about the Strait of Hormuz will soon be corrected — or we will correct the delusions of this delusional individual.”

The 60-day window for talks expired Sunday. Shipping in the strait nearly stopped… just 13 ships went through over the weekend. The president also said there are “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Iran.

The circle on the map includes Iranian land. The strait belongs to Iran and Oman under international law. And the president of the United States drew a circle around it and called it ours. The machine does not negotiate. It draws lines on maps.

13 SHIPS THROUGH HORMUZ OVER THE WEEKEND. THE DEAL EXPIRED. AND THE PRESIDENT DREW A CIRCLE ON A MAP. IRAN POSTED ONE BACK — AROUND CALIFORNIA.

BREAKING

The Administration Sanctioned the President of the International Criminal Court and Vowed to “Systematically Dismantle” It — 9 of the Court’s 18 Judges Are Now Under Sanctions

The State Department put sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal on Tuesday. Their U.S. assets were frozen. Their access to the American banking system was cut. Seye was on the team that sought a warrant for Netanyahu.

Rubio said the court is “a corrupt and fatally politicized” body and vowed to “systematically dismantle the ICC.” The ICC fired back Wednesday, calling the sanctions “a flagrant attack” on the court’s independence.

Nine of the ICC’s 18 judges are now under U.S. sanctions. So are both deputy prosecutors, the former chief prosecutor, and a staff member. A sanctioned Canadian judge, Kimberly Prost, told the AP she lost access to her credit cards after being targeted. “Your whole world is restricted,” she said. Amazon’s Alexa stopped responding to her.

The court exists to prosecute war crimes. The administration is punishing the people who run it because they investigated an ally. The machine does not submit to courts it cannot control. It sanctions them.

EXPOSED

ABC Filed a First Amendment Lawsuit Against the FCC — Accusing the Government of Using Broadcast Licensing to Punish Critical Coverage

ABC News filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission this week, accusing the government of using its power over broadcast licenses to punish the network for its coverage. The suit alleges that the FCC has taken actions designed to pressure ABC into softening its reporting on the administration.

Networks need FCC licenses to air shows. Those licenses come up for renewal. And the lawsuit says the White House has turned that process into a club… using the threat of pulling a license to shape what reporters say about the government.

Free Press’s Jessica González said the case is about whether the government can use licenses as a tool of control. If the FCC can threaten a network based on what it reports, the First Amendment is not a right. It is a permit.

The machine sanctions judges who investigate its allies. It claims foreign waterways on a map. And now it faces a lawsuit for using broadcast licenses to silence the press. The question is not whether they are doing it. The lawsuit says they already are.

“Your whole world is restricted.”

— Judge Kimberly Prost, ICC, after being sanctioned by the U.S. government

DEVELOPING

The Administration Plans to Open Nearly 45 Million Acres of National Forest to Road Construction and Logging

The administration announced plans to open nearly 45 million acres of national forest to road building and commercial logging. The areas are currently protected under what is known as the Roadless Rule… a policy in place since 2001 that keeps undeveloped forest land free of industrial roads.

The Roadless Rule covers about a third of all national forest land. It keeps watersheds, wildlife, and some of the last wild forests in the Lower 48 free from industry. Rolling it back would let timber and mining firms build roads into areas that have been off limits for over 20 years.

This is the same week that July was confirmed as the hottest month ever recorded in the U.S. The same administration that cut NOAA’s climate budget and let a Trump ally drill in Greenland without permits is now opening 45 million acres of forest to chainsaws and bulldozers.

The machine draws circles on maps and calls foreign waterways its territory. It sanctions the court that investigates war crimes. It uses broadcast licenses to pressure the press. And now it opens the forests. The pattern is the same every time: take what you want, punish anyone who objects, and call it policy.

 Connecting the Dots 

▸ The Bigger Picture

Four stories from one week. The president drew a circle on a map and claimed a foreign waterway as American territory… while Iran drew one back around California. The State Department sanctioned the head of the international war crimes court and half its judges… because the court investigated an ally. A major network sued the government for using broadcast licenses to control press coverage. And 45 million acres of protected forest were opened to roads, chainsaws, and mining firms.

The press covers each on its own page. A “social media post.” A “sanctions announcement.” A “media lawsuit.” A “land use decision.” But the thread is the same in every one.

The machine takes what it wants. It claims the strait. It punishes the court. It pressures the press. And it opens the forests. Every check that was built to stop this… international law, judicial independence, the First Amendment, environmental protection… was challenged this week. Not one at a time. All at once. A circle on a map. Sanctions on judges. A lawsuit from a network. And 45 million acres of trees. The machine is not testing the limits. It is announcing that there are none.

When the machine claims the strait, sanctions the court, pressures the press, and opens the forests in the same week… the pattern is the policy. That’s the Seventh Floor.

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