Good Day, this is the Commonwealth Report.
News for the public, not the powerful.
Did The Supreme Court Just Kill Trump’s War On Mail Voting?
Late last night the Supreme Court refused to revive Donald Trump’s mail ballot restrictions before the midterms. The vote was 7 to 2, with only Justices Alito and Thomas dissenting. Trump’s March executive order forced the Postal Service to demand voter lists from states and new barcoded envelopes, and threatened not to deliver ballots if states refused. Common Cause’s Virginia Kase Solomón said the order “was a blatant power grab designed to silence voters.” Remember, 47 million Americans voted by mail in 2024. This was a president trying to seize control of elections the Constitution gives to the states. He lost, this time. But he’s not done.
Whistleblower Blows Lid Off DHS Voter Hunt Targeting US Citizens
A whistleblower inside Homeland Security says agents in the Unlawful Voter Initiative were ordered to break state laws. They plugged voters’ birth dates and partial Social Security numbers into state websites meant only for the voters themselves. They were told to finish 40 investigations every eight hour shift, about 12 minutes per voter. The data was so bad that DHS officials admitted using what they called “supplemental magic” to fill in gaps, and it flagged naturalized citizens as suspects. Senators Schumer and Padilla demanded Secretary Markwayne Mullin shut it down. That’s hundreds of federal officers chasing a fraud that doesn’t exist, while real Americans could lose their votes.
Why Is The Attorney General Holding A White House Press Briefing?
Today, Attorney General Todd Blanche is scheduled to step into the Rose Garden and give a White House briefing. That has never happened. Former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe said it shows “the complete lack of independence” at the Justice Department. CNN’s Elie Honig called it crazy and said the first question should be whether Blanche will obey last night’s Supreme Court order on mail voting. The briefing was announced the same day the Court crushed Trump’s ballot scheme. Attorneys general used to keep distance from presidents for a reason. Now the nation’s top prosecutor is a White House spokesman. That’s not law enforcement. That’s a regime.
Sanders Dares Trump To Strike The Deal Of The Century With China
Bernie Sanders is calling on Donald Trump to negotiate a treaty with Xi Jinping to pause advanced AI development and ban superintelligence outright. Sanders said Trump “prides himself on being a great deal maker,” so here’s his chance at the deal of the century. He pointed to Reagan and Gorbachev, who cut a nuclear arms agreement in the 1980s to prevent nuclear war. Trump meets Xi later this month, and AI isn’t expected to be on the agenda. One expert told the BBC a deal is next to impossible. But we did the impossible with nuclear weapons once. Will a president owned by tech billionaires even try?
Military Rape Survivors Sound Alarm, Warn Women Not To Enlist
Survivors of military sexual trauma are speaking out, and it’s chilling. A retired Marine named Dawn sits outside recruiting offices telling women not to enlist while Pete Hegseth runs the Pentagon. Army veteran Katy Eilers, assaulted at 18 in Iraq, says active-duty women message her that “all their protections are essentially gone.” Hegseth has blocked promotions for dozens of women and minorities and gone after equal opportunity programs. A judge dismissed a Navy officer’s rape claim as a workers’ comp matter. The Pentagon’s own report counts 20,492 service members facing unwanted sexual contact. Now the man accused of assault himself decides whether women in uniform are safe.
Is Russia Already Rigging The Midterms With Fake Celebrity Videos?
Researchers say a Kremlin operation called Matryoshka has fired its first shot at the November elections. Deepfake videos flooded social media last week under the hashtag All Democrats Are Criminals, stamped with a fake CNN logo. A cloned Alyson Hannigan claims every child in America is under threat from Democrats. A phony Sarah Jessica Parker calls Democrats Nazis. Clemson’s Darren Linvill said “the Russians have targeted every US election” since 2016. The operation is smearing Jon Ossoff in Georgia and James Talarico in Texas, and attacking journalists who debunked it. Putin wants Republicans to keep Congress. Every time you share an outrageous video without checking, you’re doing his work for him.
And that’s the way it is, Today Tuesday, September 15, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann.
