@arstechnica Plain old-fashioned extortion.
#musk #twitter #extortion

The termination emails were riddled w/mistakes — w/employees’ names, the month of April & even the institute’s title misspelled in places — a telling sign of the rushed & haphazard nature of the operation….

By Saturday morning, the terminated #USIP headquarters staff were already discussing filing a class-action lawsuit & were debating whether to sign their termination documents.

In the latest action, employees were instructed to sign a 4-pg letter ordering them to return all #USIP property while agreeing to forgo all future claims against the institute. It ordered them not to disclose any terms of the agreement in exchange for 1 month of #HealthInsurance & a monthly stipend paid for an unspecified period. Those who refuse to sign, the letter said, will lose all #benefits as of Monday.

2 days before Columbia announced its decision, the #Trump admin said it would withhold about $175M in funding to the University of #Pennsylvania because the school allowed a #transgender woman to be a member of its women’s swim team in 2022.

#Columbia’s acquiescence drew significant condemnation on the campus & beyond. Other higher #education leaders watched nervously, fearing that the university’s decision, w/o mounting a court challenge that many felt stood a reasonable chance of success, would provoke the #Trump admin to target other #universities.

The #Trump admin’s move this month to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in support to #Columbia — which draws roughly a fifth of its operating revenues from Washington — represented a dire #threat to the university. The govt told Columbia it would consider restarting those grants & contracts only if the university agreed to a list of demands.

Last week, it fell to Dr. Armstrong to announce that Columbia had done so.

#ColumbiaUniversity changed its president on Friday evening, one week after the university bowed to a series of demands from the #Trump admin, which had moved to withhold $400M in essential federal funding.

The abrupt exit of Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, made way for the university’s 3rd leader since Aug: Claire Shipman, the co-chair of the university’s board of trustees.

Federal Judge Bates, George W. Bush appointee, has also issued a #TRO for #Trump's #ExecutiveOrder targeting major #LawFirm #JennerBlock, finding it likely violates the First, Fifth & Sixth Amendments.

Judge Bates calls Trump's #EO "disturbing" & "troubling," especially the attack on pro bono practice.

Judge Richard Leon, George W. Bush appointee, says he is “inclined to grant” a temporary restraining order #TRO against the #Trump admin, barring it from punishing the #LawFirm #WilmerHale. The judge did not rule from the bench during the hearing, but said he would issue a written decision in a matter of hours.

Lawyer Paul Clement argued on the #LawFirm #WilmerHale’s behalf that it was “clear as day” that the #Trump #ExecutiveOrder against the firm violated the #FirstAmendment. He said the chilling effect on the firm’s business had been immediate.

#DOJ lawyer Richard Lawson urged Judge Leon not to issue a temporary restraining order #TRO, arguing the specific limitations for Wilmer Hale had not been decided, so there was no reason to rush a court decision.

Today, #Trump announced a *deal* w/ #LawFirm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal services “during the Trump administration & beyond.”

#law #MafiaState #extortion #USpol
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5220137-trump-skadden-100-million-pro-bono/

#Treasury Secy #ScottBessent has been spearheading negotiations on the mineral deal. In an interview…, he said the #US had "passed along a completed document for the economic partnership….”

#Trump has said a #minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine's future. He also sees it as America's way of earning back…[the #aid] it has given to #Ukraine…. Most of the aid funds were spent in the US.

3 people familiar…said the US had revised its proposals. The latest draft gives #Ukraine NO future #security guarantees & requires it to contribute to a joint investment fund ALL income from the use of #NaturalResources managed by state & private enterprises.

…It stipulates that Washington is given first rights to purchase extracted resources & *recoup* all the money it has given Ukraine since 2022, +INTEREST at a 4% annual rate, before Ukraine gains access to the fund's profits.

The #Trump admin, which has reoriented Washington's policy towards endorsing #Russia's narrative about the #war in #Ukraine, has been pressing Kyiv for weeks to sign a deal giving Washington a stake in Ukraine's #resources.

#Zelensky has repeatedly said he accepts the idea, although he would not sign an agreement that would impoverish his country. On Thurs he said Washington was constantly changing the terms but that he did not want the US to think he was opposed in principle.