Here’s Why Trump’s “Declassification” Defense Falls Apart
Plus: Ukraine Dam Disaster: What Does It Mean for the War?
Recently in The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: The No Labels Delusion
ATMA 🎧: ‘Across the Spiderverse’ Is the Best-Looking Movie of the Year (So Far!)
JOE PERTICONE: Conservatives Tank Their Own Gas Stove Bill Out of Spite.
JUST BETWEEN US 🎧: "We Won't Look at the Comments" 🔐
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
PHILIP ROTNER: Here’s Why Trump’s “Declassification” Defense Falls Apart.
THE OVERHEATED PUBLIC DEBATE over whether Donald Trump really did casually declassify more than 300 classified documents on his way out of the White House—a debate given new life last week with the report of an audio recording in which Trump’s own words seem to undermine his declassification defense—is a small tempest in a large teapot.
It doesn’t mean nothing, but it doesn’t mean much.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice. Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
BEN PARKER: Ukraine Dam Disaster: What Does It Mean for the War?
THE NOVA KAKHOVKA DAM, a massive concrete wall across the Dnipro River in the middle of Ukraine, collapsed Tuesday, threatening to flood large portions of southern Ukraine along both sides of the front lines. We know a little; we can predict a little more about what this might mean for the war in Ukraine; and we can suspect, with caveats, who might be at fault.
New from Me: Wait, How Many People Are Running for President Now?
WITH THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE race well underway, let’s take a look at a few of the candidates or almost-candidates who are not named Biden, Trump, or DeSantis—the dreamers and the deluded, the also-rans and the lesser-knowns, the quirky and the quacks. Several of them will likely be out of the race before a single primary vote is cast, so why not pour out some pixels for them now while they’re still around?
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Tuesday! The PGA has made amends with the Saudi-funded LIV tour, agreeing to a merger. And just like that: professional golf is dead to me. As Sen. Chris Murphy observes, maybe the PGA’s protests about Saudi Arabia’s human rights records weren’t so sincere after all?
Wonder why the sky looks hazy? Canadian wildfires. Here’s what Yankees Stadium looks like today.
Broadcast excellence… CBS Miami’s Samantha Rivera stiff arms a presumably drunk Vegas fan and continues her broadcast. (Go Panthers!)
Meadows testifies… The former WH Chief of Staff has testified to special counsel Jack Smith, the NYT reports.
Meanwhile… A second grand jury is hearing evidence.
Ever wonder what being a grand juror is like? My former colleague Claudia Anderson, then-managing editor of The Weekly Standard, served on one in Washington, D.C., which she recounted in a great cover story: We, the Grand Jury.
Dnipro Dam destroyed… Here’s our friend Tim Mak reporting from Ukraine. Meanwhile, David Ignatius writes in the Post that D-Day has dawned.
A trade… And a 35 year slump: Cleveland’s Rocky Colavito trades, in depth.
In local news… A local gun store (that I frequent) was robbed and the guns went almost immediately into local schools.
Rep. James Comer… Is not a serious person. “What a joke.” observes former Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
What your car… says about your politics.
The Misinformation in the Steele Dossier Was Likely a Russian Operation to Help . . . Donald Trump? Yes, Donald Trump.
Diseases of the rich… Robert Tracinski on how the culture war ate everything.
—30—
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
