CovertAction Bulletin

D.C. Was Just the Start: Trump Targets Cities Nationwide

In a stark escalation, Donald Trump has armed the National Guard members on the streets of Washington, DC. He’s also signed an executive order getting rid of cashless bail - putting poor people who are arrested at significant risk of being stuck in jail waiting months or longer for trials if they can’t afford outrageous cash bails. He then signed an executive order suggesting a one-year prison sentence for anyone who burns an American flag - in complete contradiction to the 1989 Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson that determined flag burning is protected First Amendment speech.

 

And on Monday the 25th in the Oval Office, Trump said “A lot of people are saying, ‘maybe we need a dictator’... you send in troops, and instead of being praised they’re saying you’re trying to take over the republic. These people are sick.” The remarks also come as Trump looks to send federal troops to cities like Chicago, Baltimore, LA and elsewhere. We all have to take these expansions of the police state and attacks on civil liberties extremely seriously as he talks about dictatorship and crackdowns.

While these developments feel unprecedented, we have a lot to learn from anti-fascist, anti-dictatorship and civil rights struggles throughout U.S. and world history.

We also start this episode with a continuation of last week’s discussion on the inspiring things Rachel saw in China on her recent trip.

U.S. Makes Threats While China Plans Its Infrastructure

The founder of Tech Buzz China, Rui Ma, posted on X after a recent trip to China about her observations on energy there. “Energy is considered a solved problem. The Chinese government’s investment in sustainable energy – from advanced hydropower to next-generation nuclear – means that, relative to many other markets, electricity supply is secure and inexpensive. Everywhere we went, people treated energy availability as a given. This is a stark contrast to the U.S., where AI growth is increasingly tied to debates over data center power consumption and grid limitations.” reads part of Ma’s tweet thread. In fact, in Texas, the anarchy of capitalism has let the state position itself as a haven for energy-sucking datacenters and cryptominers, but a new law in Texas gives utility company ERCOT the ability to cut power to datacenters in times of drastic shortages - which could impact other important or crucial services.

A recent Fortune article also quotes Chinese electricity expert David Fishman as saying, “They’re set up to hit grand slams… The U.S., at best, can get on base.” This disparity between the U.S. and China has AI and tech experts in the U.S. worried about the country falling behind in AI and other key areas, because they see China as a competitor and adversary that has to be beaten.  Fishman goes on to explain that “Capital is really biased toward shorter-term returns,” while in China the state is able to set priorities for national investment.

Rachel was recently in China, and this is part 1 of our discussion about the differences between the Chinese planned system and the US for-profit mess 

Why Trump is Targeting D.C.

Donald Trump has taken yet another step in the ruling class’ quest to trash civil liberties, expand the brutal role of cops and other agents of the state and wage an all-out assault on Black people across the country. On Monday the 11th, he announced that Attorney General Pam Bondi would be in control of the DC police, and that Secret Service, DEA, FBI and National Guard troops would be deployed around the District.

Trump and Bondi’s claims about crime in DC are just an excuse to launch an attack on Black residents in the city, along with the city’s homeless population - about whom Trump said “We’re getting rid of the slums where they live.” Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller even tweeted that DC will be safe, clean, beautiful and that “DC will be set free” - a chilling fascist dogwhistle.

Resistance has already sprung up in DC with protests outside the White House itself, at Dupont Circle and elsewhere, with calls to restore what’s known as home rule and for real statehood for the District to be enacted. On his side, Trump has threatened other cities including Oakland, California; Baltimore; New York; Chicago; and Los Angeles - where he had already deployed militarized troops to counter the rebellion against ICE.

We’re also joined by Walter Smolarek, Editor at LiberationNews.org, to discuss the upcoming Trump/Putin summit in Alaska.

Ventura County Organizes Against ICE

Militarized ICE and Homeland Security raids targeted farms in California’s Central Coast on July 10th, with 200 farm workers ending up arrested, some being critically injured and one tragically losing his life. Masked and heavily armed ICE agents used tear gas and rubber bullets to target workers and those who came to their defense.

As soon as community members got word of the possible raids, they sprung into action, tracking the ICE caravan and sharing notifications through community networks that have been built up to keep residents safe from ICE. Organizations like VC Defensa mobilized to the Glass House Farms in Camarillo, staying for hours. To talk more about what happened in Ventura County, we’re joined by Ryan Drury and Lainy Yompian of the organization VC Defensa.

Is Epstein the Final Straw for Trump’s Base?

In 2024, Donald Trump said he’d declassify and release the files the U.S. government has on notorious child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But recently, responding to disappointment and growing demands from his base to actually release the full files, he told a crowd of reporters in Pennsylvania that “I don’t understand why the Epstein files would be of interest to anybody. It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring. And I don’t understand why it keeps going.”

Even among the MAGA faithful, few minds have been changed and calls to release information continue to grow.

Investigation into Epstein’s life and sudden death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City often raises more questions than it answers. How did he go from teaching at the elite Dalton School to being a billionaire financier? Even his connections to Bear Stearns and former Limited Brands chairman Leslie Wexner don’t fully explain it, his friendships with royalty and the elite around the world, or the Austrian passport with a fake name and a Saudi Arabian address found in his home.

When he pleaded guilty to soliciting underage prostitutes, Epstein got a 13 month sentence - and was allowed to leave the jail for 12 hours every day so that he could continue working his home office. And in 2007, he entered into an agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida that he would not be prosecuted as part of another investigation. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alexander Acosta, later said that he was told Epstein “belonged to intelligence” and to “leave it alone.”

Texas Flooding: The Real Culprit Is Capitalism

134 people have died and 101 remain missing after the Guadalupe River in central Texas overflowed as a result of 6.5 inches of rain falling over the course of three hours on the morning of July 4th. Though the floods are being called just a natural disaster, mounting evidence shows that climate change, budget cuts, crumbling infrastructure and political infighting contributed not just to the flooding but the resulting destruction and loss of life. Even in a real freak incident, a true once-in-a-century occurrence,  proper precautions and warnings could have been implemented. Plainly, no one had to die and the blame has to be not just on individual decision-makers but the entire capitalist system that neglects the basic needs of people in favor of profits.

We’re joined by Corrie Rosen, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in San Antonio who’s been helping with the recovery efforts.

Support local volunteer efforts here and read more about it at Peoples Dispatch.

 

Then, we discuss the $200 million contracts given by the Department of Defense to Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI - in the wake of xAI’s Grok going full-on antisemitic.

Who Is Musk’s “America Party” A Threat To?

Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill has passed and been signed into law. What the White House has deemed an “historic” is actually the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the United States, benefiting the already-wealthy with massive tax breaks and devastating cuts to social programs. The bill also accelerates militarization at home and abroad, with millions more in funding for ICE to terrorize immigrants in the country and the military to terrorize others outside its borders.

The bill is simply an act of class warfare against working-class and oppressed people who are already struggling against capitalism and imperialism, paving the way for even more devastation. But is Elon Musk’s new “America Party” announced on July 4th a threat to Trump or any part of the ruling-class establishment? Or is it a billionaire’s way of getting what he wants by throwing an electoral tantrum and backing a few candidates in races that may have little impact?

Billionaires Try To Buy Out Democracy

What do Palantir, DoorDash, Bill Clinton and Michael Bloomberg have in common? They all joined the campaign against candidate Zohran Mamdani, the state Assemblymember who exceeded expectations and effectively won the Democratic NYC mayoral primary when Andrew Cuomo conceded around 11PM on election night. As of July 1st, with ranked choice calculations completed, Mamdani has officially won the primary.

A Cuomo-aligned super PAC, Fix the City, raised $20 million, much of which came through billionaire former mayor Michael Bloomberg. Food delivery service DoorDash donated a million dollars against Mamdani, who got the support of driver group Los Deliveristas Unidos, which organizes app-based delivery drivers.

But in the face of massive corporate backing against him and wild accusations of antisemitism and more, Mamdani will challenge current mayor Eric Adams who is running as an independent. The configuration of the race could drastically change before November as the ruling class tries to  consolidate around a candidate in order to oppose Mamdani’s popular message.

We also discuss the so-called Big Beautiful Bill - which should be called the Big Billionaires’ Bill as it provides significant benefits for the top while attacking poor and working people. As of recording on Tuesday, July 1st, the bill has passed the Senate and is on the way to the House of Representatives.

Mahmoud Khalil Freed as Anti-War Movement in U.S. Celebrates and Grows

Mahmoud Khalil is free! After spending 104 days unjustly held in an ICE detention center in Jena, Louisiana, he was reunited with his wife Noor, newborn son Deen and community over the weekend. At a press conference and rally at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine near Columbia University on Sunday, he said “I must call the hypocrisy of Columbia University, a university that just two weeks ago said that they want to protect their international students. Why? While over 100 [days] later, I haven’t received a single call from this university,” as he promised to continue his work in the movement for Palestine.

His release came after District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered for him to be freed on Friday, the latest move in a long legal battle during which the Trump administration has tried to have him held indefinitely or just deported. The government has already appealed the decision, but the fact that Mahmoud Khalil is free is a legal and political victory that cannot be understated. 

On this episode, we also discuss developments in the quickly-unfolding situation between the U.S. and its imperialist outpost Israel on the one hand and Iran, after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

Make No Mistake: The U.S. Wants War with Iran

Donald Trump posted to his social media site Truth Social on Monday evening that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” as he made an early departure from the G7 summit in Canada to “attend to many important matters,” according to the White House. The U.S. government is also moving the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz away from the South China Sea canceling a planned port call in Da Nang City, Vietnam scheduled for this week as the ship continues to move West towards the Arabian Sea where it could join the USS Carl Vinson carrier striker group. At least three Navy destroyers have been moved to the Mediterranean Sea over the past week, including the USS Thomas Hudner.

This happens at the same time that the U.S. is claiming it won’t directly join Israel’s war on Iran, reignited last Thursday when Israel bombed the country, but the military moves both signify that Israel is unable to defend itself militarily, and that the U.S. is preparing for its own offensive role in the conflict.

It’s also increasingly clear that despite initial claims to the contrary, the U.S. government knew and approved of Israel’s plans, really making this a US-Israeli war. In fact, Donald Trump himself said to the Wall Street Journal a few days ago, “It wasn’t a head up. It was – we know what’s going on.”

The war against Iran isn’t just Trump’s and Netanyahu’s war. It’s part of a long offensive against the country for maintaining independence from the imperialist world system, and for being a stalwart supporter of the Palestinian people.

Are we yet again on the verge of yet another regime change attempt by the United States in Iran as Trump threatens Ayatollah Ali Khamenhei? Have Israel and the US put the world on the verge of a new World War by igniting a regional conflict that could spread like wildfire? 

Find an action against the war in Iran at answercoalition.org/iran.