Jen Bendery
@jbendery.bsky.social
55K followers 410 following 3.9K posts
I report on Congress, the White House + political campaigns for HuffPost. President emeritus of the Washington Press Club Foundation. Mama. 🏳️‍🌈 Tips: [email protected] / [email protected] Signal: jbendery.41
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jbendery.bsky.social
Speaking of Jane Goodall, my favorite quote by her:

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Reposted by Jen Bendery
jackjenkins.me
Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.
(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.
jbendery.bsky.social
oh no no no nooooooooo nooooo
yasharali.bsky.social
Dolly Parton’s sister, Freida Parton, is asking for people to pray for her sister’s health.
Verified Facebook post by Freida Parton. The caption reads:

“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me. She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you! ❤️”

Below the caption is a photo of Dolly Parton standing outdoors in front of lush green ivy, hands clasped in prayer, wearing a shiny silver outfit with lace-trimmed sleeves, her signature blonde hair styled in soft curls, looking upward serenely.
Reposted by Jen Bendery
brandibuchman.bsky.social
Pam Bondi is supposed to be a public servant.

The performance at today's hearing - an utterly horrific display - indicates she is fully comfortable letting taxpayers know: she is Trump's lawyer, not America's.

Zero shame and zero checks by Republicans:
www.huffpost.com/entry/pam-bo...
Pam Bondi Has A Full On Meltdown Over Simple Questions About Trump
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee let the attorney general run all over lawmakers.
www.huffpost.com
Reposted by Jen Bendery
Reposted by Jen Bendery
muellershewrote.com
Jack Smith didn't "tap" anyone's phone. He got phone records of potential insurrection suspects via lawful grand jury subpoenas. Just so happens some of those suspected of participating in January 6th were republican members of congress. If you don't want you phone records subpoenaed...
a man in a suit and tie is talking on a telephone and making a funny face .
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is talking on a telephone and making a funny face .
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Jen Bendery
texotic.bsky.social
As humorous and cathartic as the first half of this clip is, please don't let it distract from the second.

There will ALWAYS be hope. Just as the sun shines, it truly is up to each and every one of us to make the world a little brighter, even if it's as simple as bringing a smile to a weary face.
yasharali.bsky.social
Earlier this year, Dr. Jane Goodall sat down for an interview for Brad Falchuk’s new Netflix series, Famous Last Words.

The premise of the series is to interview people on the condition that the interview not air until the subject has passed away.
Reposted by Jen Bendery
jfallows.bsky.social
Draw on your own experience:

Is there any situation you've ever been part of, with you or anyone else in the hot seat, in which a person who does NOT have something to hide, reacts the way Bondi does?

I've been on trial juries that concluded "we can't trust that witness," after evasions like this
atrupar.com
NOTABLE -- Pam Bondi refuses to answer direct questions about if the FBI has incriminating photos of Trump with half-naked young women, but instead deflects from them by attacking Sen. Whitehouse
jbendery.bsky.social
Even the White House won't say Homan didn't accept a big ol bag of cash in an undercover bribery scheme.

They'll just repeatedly say the case was closed and that the Trump admin decided there was no wrongdoing.
jbendery.bsky.social
I've lost count how many time Pam Bondi has refused to say 1) where the $50,000 is that Tom Homan accepted from undercover FBI agents in a bag of cash and 2) whether she will provide the judiciary committee with the recording of that exchange.

Bondi just personally attacking any senator who asks.
jbendery.bsky.social
Here's Trump today on whether he thinks furloughed federal workers should receive back pay:

“For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people,” he said. “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”
Reposted by Jen Bendery
jbendery.bsky.social
Relatedly, Josh Hawley gets an "F" rating by the Republican Accountability Project on his efforts to protect democracy.

accountability.gop/profile/sen-...
jbendery.bsky.social
Hawley also raging about the FBI having "tapped my phone," but that's not what happened here.

The FBI reportedly analyzed data relating to dates and times of some of Hawley's calls during the week of Jan. 6. No wire tapping or looking at content of communications. www.huffpost.com/entry/fbi-me...
FBI Analyzed Phone Records Of Some GOP Senators In Trump Jan. 6 Probe, Republicans Say
The records enabled investigators to see basic information about the date and time of the calls but not the content of the communications, the senators said.
www.huffpost.com
jbendery.bsky.social
Today, Josh Hawley -- who voted to overturn the 2020 election after fanning the Big Lie that the election was stolen from Trump, the same lie that fueled the Jan. 6 insurrection that Hawley was egging on -- is outraged the FBI reportedly analyzed some GOP senators' phone records in its Jan. 6 probe.
Reposted by Jen Bendery
davidcorn.bsky.social
I'm sure everyone at CBS News was inspired by this.
maxtani.bsky.social
Bari Weiss introduced herself to CBS News staff today on the network's 9AM call, saying she wants to "win," which requires restoring trust to CBS. She also said she was excited for staff to get to know the Free Press, and ended her remarks by saying: "Let's do the fucking news."
Reposted by Jen Bendery
kylegriffin1.bsky.social
New on MSNBC: Trump's new acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan has recruited prosecutors from outside her office to take James Comey to trial, after being unable to find any federal prosecutors in her own office willing to pursue the charges, according to two people familiar with the selections.
Reposted by Jen Bendery
phoenixcalida.bsky.social
ICE is pepper spraying CPD (Chicago police)
jbendery.bsky.social
Democracy Forward is suing the Trump admin for failing to release an audio recording of Tom Homan accepting a bag of cash from undercover FBI agents www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Group Sues Trump Admin For Recording Of Tom Homan Accepting A Bag Of Cash
www.huffpost.com
jbendery.bsky.social
Speaking of Jane Goodall, my favorite quote by her:

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
jbendery.bsky.social
In a video she said could only be aired after she died, Jane Goodall says she wants to put Trump, Musk, Netanyahu and Putin onto a spaceship and send them all into space. 😂

"Send them all off to the planet [Musk is] sure he’s going to discover.” www.huffpost.com/entry/jane-g...
Jane Goodall’s Posthumous Netflix Special Features A Stellar Burn Of Trump And His ‘Real’ MAGA Crew
The primatologist also blasted Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Benjamin Netanyahu in “Famous Last Words,” recorded to be aired after her death.
www.huffpost.com