NotablePam Bondi needed to be fired, but not for the reason Trump thinks. “Under Ms. Bondi, the Justice Department had all but stopped doing its job of prosecuting crime. Caseloads are way down, and so are the number of prosecutors — almost certainly a result of Ms. Bondi’s leadership. The main reason for these changes is that instead of charging actual criminals, Ms. Bondi’s Justice Department has remade itself as the legal auxiliary of President Trump’s disastrous immigration enforcement practices.” — Jeffrey Toobin, a contributing Opinion writer Is it legal to bully the supreme court? “I don’t think there’s much question that Trump is treating the justices the same way he treats Republican members of Congress. He’s trying to insult, mock and bully them into compliance, but it’s not going to work. With precious few exceptions, the judiciary from top to bottom is unmoved. Judges are not so easily intimidated.” — David French, an Opinion columnist, in conversation with Emily Bazelon, a staff writer at The Times Magazine and the Opinion section Why is Gavin Newsom starting to sound like a right-wing troll? “His instincts may unsettle progressives, but Mr. Newsom has accurately identified a Democratic weakness. His attempts to address the problem, though often misguided, nonetheless point his party in the direction it must travel to beat back the right.” — Matthew Schmitz, the editor of the magazine Compact Spotlight
The Epstein files offer ample evidence that Jeffrey Epstein had been developing a playbook on how to silence women for years, writes Claire Wilmot, an academic who researches gender and legal systems. “If the problem we face is no longer a lack of evidence, where does that leave those of us who threw in our lot with a belief in the power of exposure? Perhaps another feminist movement might finally figure out how to target the deeper layers of our cultural fabric — the forces lurking beneath our laws, which shape who or what we believe,” she writes. ICYMIEloquence has fallen out of fashion. Let’s bring it back. “Public figures have often been notably coarse in private. But at a time when average Americans seem less able to speak clearly and fluently, and those in prominent positions could provide a useful model for graceful expression, eloquence is no longer a priority in public speaking.” — John McWhorter, an Opinion writer and an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University Listen (or Watch)
More in OpinionIn Your WordsRe: “Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? A Debate.” I’m a pastor. So far as theological and biblical scholarship is concerned, I can’t hold a candle to Douthat or Ehrman. But what I’ve seen and heard over my 40+ years in churches is how those who have experienced the worst losses — the death of children, war, oppression — so often have the greatest faith. Ehrman says human suffering caused him to stop believing. I understand — this creates doubt in me as well. I don’t have an answer for people that I can easily put into words. But when people ask how God could let this happen, I point to these individuals who’ve suffered so much and say, “There’s your answer.” — A comment posted by John from Ohio Read more comments on the story here and check out our Letters to the Editor. We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
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