Drain the Swamp... Literally

Ding Him $1,000 a Day

Attorney, journalist, and friend Katie Phang joins Grounded for an update on her ongoing legal fight against the DOJ after acting AG Todd Blanche essentially defied the court order to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This all comes days before an expected Blanche confirmation battle in the Senate. “So literally hot off the presses, I just filed this response,” Phang said. “And my response calls [Blanche] out for violating the judge’s order, not to mention still as of today, July 13th, 2026, still violating the federal law, the Epstein Files Transparency Act as he’s on the eve of his confirmation hearing in Senate Judiciary. And what I do is I ask the judge to fine him $1,000 a day until he complies. Him, not the Department of Justice, but Todd Blanche.” We also discuss headlines including the latest ICE involved fatal shooting in Maine and a new court ruling that recommends disciplinary action for Blanche and others for their involvement in the Trump IRS settlement slush fund move. We can’t let the episode end without some combine talk and another invitation to bring Katie to Big Sky Country.

The United States of Algorithms

JT & MG have a candid conversation with Rich Logis, founder of the nonprofit Leaving MAGA and author of the memoir One Betrayal Too Many. Logis is a former die-hard MAGA pundit, campaign volunteer, and donor. He talks about his break from the movement in 2022 and how it started with a simple idea: diversifying his news sources. Logis discusses what works to move people, what he calls an addiction to rage and fear, and what it takes to repair relationships. Plus, why he predicts an electoral revolt in November.

Reactive Mode

We always gain so much valuable perspective from David Becker, co-founder and executive director for the Center for Election Innovation and Research. He joins us again to break down myriad questions revolving around the upcoming midterm elections. We tackle the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling about counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, including unpacking why the RNC sued deep-red Mississippi over the law. Why wouldn’t lawmakers just change the law in the state dominated by the GOP? We also dig into the president’s persistent obsession with the 2020 results and passing the Save America Act, which Becker says will never happen. “At the core of all of the false claims is the idea that Democrats somehow out of power in 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, with President Trump controlling the entire federal government, managed the greatest conspiracy in world history to steal an election from him and that nobody was talking,” Becker said. “And then four years later, while those same Democrats held all of that power of the federal government, They forgot to do it again. That’s how ridiculous all of this is.” Plus, Becker lays out his idea on how we can get record midterm voter turnout this November.

Warehouse Sale

What happens when the federal government tries to triple a small town's population overnight and won't even take your call? It’s what the city manager of Social Circle, Georgia was up against earlier this year. Eric Taylor joins grounded to take us through the six-month fight to stop the Department of Homeland Security from turning a vacant warehouse into an ICE detention camp. Taylor takes us through the story of how he locked the water meter, shut off the sewer valve, and helped force DHS to scrap a $128.6 million plan.

A Call to Action from Big Sandy 🚜

It was a big weekend in Big Sandy, Montana. Jeff Ament, through his nonprofit Montana Pool Service [https://montanapoolservice.com/], hosted the 16th annual Big Sandy Skate Jam + Pig Roast Saturday. It gave us the perfect reason to host our first joint episode from the Tester farm (and snag some MPS merch)! A few days ago, our friend Dana DuBois [https://open.substack.com/users/201342263-dana-dubois?utm_source=mentions] connected us with Nick Paro [https://open.substack.com/users/189675044-nick-paro?utm_source=mentions], a disabled veteran and advocate who recently joined forces with Disability Community [https://open.substack.com/users/337673829-disability-community?utm_source=mentions] to craft a call to action based on a recent Department of Justice memo [https://www.justice.gov/olc/media/1446701/dl]. It's raising serious concerns, but hasn’t been widely covered in mainstream media yet. The Arc published a great explainer. [https://thearc.org/blog/doj-opinion-on-olmstead-threatens-the-right-of-people-with-disabilities-to-live-in-the-community/] The memo basically reinterprets the 1999 Supreme Court Olmstead decision that ruled disabled people can’t be forced to be institutionalized if they can get support and services in their communities. The ruling said the institutional segregation of people with disabilities and mental illness is a form of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. That decision has been the basis for requiring states to improve access for community-based services. People briefed on the situation told reporters with Bloomberg Law that White House adviser Stephen Miller was the driving force behind the DOJ memo. The DOJ memo doesn’t change the law, but it does signal a shift. The National Alliance on Mental Illness says the language in the memo has the potential to promote a shift back toward institutionalization. It prompted Sen. Tammy Duckworth and other Senate Democrats to introduce a resolution that reaffirms the promise of Olmstead. It prompted Paro and his partners to publish their own call to action [https://substack.com/home/post/p-203436701], saying this is an issue which will impact all of us. “Now is the time to speak — before they change the laws — and not after,” Paro’s group wrote. As the Arc wrote, “this isn’t the end of Olmstead. It’s the start of a new fight to protect it.” Stay tuned for more farm content from Big Sandy. If you want to learn more about MPS skatepark builds, make sure you check out Montana Grind [https://www.montanagrind.com/] and Paving the Way [https://www.instagram.com/pavingthewaymovie], two documentaries that feature Ament’s projects!