Robyn Eckhardt

@robyneckhardt.bsky.social

Former food journalist with past lives in Asia and Italy. Author, “Istanbul & Beyond”, about Turkey’s lesser known eastern cuisines. Dogs/cats/nature. The Pacific Northwest is best. 🌧️

Your little oopsie "mistakes" had me worrying for a year of my life about my partner going to jail for up to a decade based on lies likely fed to you by the top of the federal government. Show everyone what you're covering up in these emails and texts. There's a reason you don't want them released.

Boutros acknowledges 'mistakes' in 'Broadview 6' case but says sanctions, special counsel aren't needed

Chicago's top federal prosecutor noted in a court filing that his office has already dropped charges in the case, implemented “robust root-cause changes” and started the process of reviewing over 1,00...

chicago.suntimes.com

“If the E.P.A. does not appeal the decision to the Supreme Court in the next seven days, the judgment will effectively reinstate much of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a Biden-era “green bank” initiative that supports low-cost loans and investments for renewable energy projects.” —Claire Brown

Appeals Court Says E.P.A. Cannot Block Billions in Climate Grants (Gift Article)

The funds have been frozen since early in President Trump’s second term.

nytimes.com

Wow. DOJ is just flailing. After losing 20 consecutive lawsuits seeking states’ unredacted voter rolls, Trump's DOJ conceded Tuesday that its case against Washington is materially no different from the others, but still wants the federal court to accept the argument others have rejected.

After 20 straight losses, Trump DOJ struggles to defend demand for Washington state voter rolls

The concession left DOJ asking the Washington court to reject a judicial consensus that now includes 20 district court rulings and one federal appellate decision — without identifying any distinct fac...

democracydocket.com

As his confirmation to lead the Justice Department hung by a thread last week, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told faith leaders on a private call that he was preparing to take action to roll back abortion access nationwide. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

Blanche assures anti-abortion supporters that Dobbs will be ‘permanent in every single state’

The acting attorney general made the remarks during a private call with faith leaders.

politico.com

One more interesting point: this spring I sat down with Sharyn Alfonsi of 60 Minutes for an extensive interview about my Epstein investigation. Subsequently, CBS pulled the segment and fired the reporter. The MAGA buyout of media has unquestionably aided the Trump administration’s cover up here.

Senator Ron Wyden@wyden.senate.gov · yesterday

Bombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:

Federalist 51: “ambition must be made to counteract ambition.” That made for a system of checks and balances that mostly worked. Until some politicians with ambition to overthrow the Constitution met up with politicians whose highest ambition is attention on social media and a pat on the head.

Once again, the Founders anticipated the possibility of a tyrannical president. What they didn’t anticipate is a majority of the members of Congress choosing subservience—not that they’d all be good people, but most should have egos and ambition, enough to object if someone tried taking their power.

"Nothing Moves the Needle." For me, this is one of the most successful attempts to explain what's happened to the fourth estate as Trump and his movement try to wreck it. The essay is long, but worth it for the way writer Craig Unger @craigunger.bsky.social redescribes the crisis in journalism.

Craig Unger@craigunger.bsky.social · 5d ago

@noupside.bsky.social @jayrosen.bsky.social @froomkin.bsky.social The ground journalism was built to stand on stopped being solid under everyone at the same time. Find out why investigative reporting can't touch Trump the way Watergate touched Nixon! craigunger.substack.com/p/nothing-mo...

Let’s not forget that this illegal Reflecting Pool indictment was also overseen by Todd Blanche. He could have stopped this at any time, but he was a corrupt and willing accomplice to this fraud upon the court. How can any decent person possibly vote for this man as AG?

Bordeaux, France, has now recorded more days above 40°C in 2026 alone than during the entire 105-year period from 1920 (when observations began) to 2025. This is deeply shocking.

Bild

The imminent flight that I mentioned at the end of this story has taken off. Sounds like it’s going to go Senegal - Ghana - Central African Republic, with the latter two being third-country removals. At least one of the immigrants being sent to CAR is from Nepal.

An ADSBx map showing Eastern’s N700KW leaving Fort Worth and heading ESE.
Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com · 6d ago

NEW FROM ME: A frenzy of cruel and unusual ICE flights over the last few days suggests the Trump admin is ratcheting up its ethnic cleansing campaign. And it may be increasingly desperate to find willing collaborators. My breakdown: gillianbrockell.com/frenzy-of-cr...

Trump used to refer to his pet project at the White House as a ballroom. Now it's a "protected ballroom and military center." Seems increasingly obvious that he's fortifying the White House to resist future attempts to evict him.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Trump: "I think the arch is gonna be incredible. I think the protected ballroom and military center that we're building at the White House is gonna be unbelievable. It's very important."