The News You Need Thursday, June 25, 2026
How the Ellisons purchased their new empire, 101 Judges ask that Blanche be investigated, the teenage girl who could be North Korea's new strong woman.
The Ellisons Show Us How Business Is Done
Wall Street Journal
Scott: How do oligarchs roll in the age of Trump? WSJ takes us on a tour. This has all the essentials of a bargained-for exchange. The Ellisons paid out $45 million to a Trump campaign front, which was the first essential step, essentially securing access. After the election they funnelled a great deal more cash to assorted Trump groups, which it’s still difficult to tally. One of the tokens was being a corporate sponsor for the Freedom 250 Trump rally on the Washington Mall. But the bigger items were things that are harder to quantify in cash terms.
The Ellisons want the biggest media empire in America, and their objective in securing it is not entirely about profit. It’s more about politics. They are quite rabid supporters of Likud and Benjamin Netanyahu and all his forever war projects. And by controlling major broadcast media in the US, they aim to herd and steer US public opinion, which has taken a dramatic turn about the Likudniks. And for Trump, that means acquiring a list of America’s top news outlets and bringing them to heel. Comedians, anchors, producers, newsmen fired. Bari Weiss and her faithful gang of US Likudniks brought in to run the show. And a pledge to Trump that critical voices will be stilled, and bad news made to go away entirely, or at least be downplayed in a manner akin to Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. And what does Trump deliver to the Ellisons in exchange? The Stargate Project worth a cool $500 billion. TikTok. The merger with Paramount. And the whole happy family of CNN. America has never seen the likes of such a bargain.
Is it corrupt? Of course. But Todd Blanche will never allow it to be investigated or acted upon.
Larry Ellison didn’t join the gaggle of CEOs that traveled with President Trump on his state visit to China. He wasn’t among the guests at a White House dinner Trump hosted with tech titans. He also skipped the UFC event on Trump’s 80th birthday.
The Oracle billionaire didn’t need to be at these public events. Ellison, 81 years old, has developed a more private friendship with Trump that has helped his tech company’s business as well as his son’s effort to assemble a media conglomerate. Key to the relationship: Ellison’s money.
Ellison gave roughly $45 million to a political nonprofit group supporting Trump’s election efforts in 2024, according to people familiar with the fundraising. Such funding isn’t subject to disclosure rules and hasn’t been previously reported.
More recently, Ellison has given millions of dollars more to groups that support Trump since the election, the people said, with some of the funds going to Trump’s legacy initiatives in Washington, D.C. Oracle is among the corporate sponsors listed by Freedom 250, a Trump-aligned group hosting celebrations for the country’s 250th birthday.
Trump’s investment accounts were actively trading Oracle shares earlier this year, including a sale worth at least $1 million in January and a purchase worth at least $1 million in March, federal disclosure filings show. In a statement, the Trump Organization has said that the president’s investments are independently managed and that he isn’t involved in selecting or approving investments…
The Ellisons have cultivated a symbiotic friendship with Trump. Larry Ellison and the president share ideological beliefs in support of Israel and critical of some mainstream media. David Ellison bought the Free Press in 2025 and installed the news and opinion startup’s co-founder Bari Weiss atop CBS News, where she has made significant changes to staffing and programming. A merger with Warner would add CNN to the Ellison fold.
The president has publicly praised David Ellison. “You’re going to be a great success,” Trump recently said on stage when he saw the scion in a Miami crowd. “You’re going to blow away your father, and he’ll be very happy about that because he loves you.”
Trump added: “Say hello to him. OK?”
The Ellisons have parlayed this proximity into a dominant position in the American tech and media landscape. The day after Trump’s second inauguration, Larry Ellison was in the West Wing when Oracle was selected as the architectural backbone for the administration’s $500 billion plan to build artificial-intelligence data centers in the U.S. Later in 2025, Oracle was part of an investor group that gained control of TikTok’s U.S. operations in a deal brokered by the U.S. government.
One Hundred and One Former Judges
File A Complaint Against Todd Blanche
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
The most heinous act in which a democratic government can engage is to use its law enforcement machinery for political ends.
–former Deputy Attorney General Laurence Silberman
Charles: When the Department of Justice has been converted into the Department of Vengeance, Federal judges and state organizations are all we have left to enforce the rule of law.
This week 101 courageous former judges filed a complaint with the New York State Bar Attorney Grievance Commission asking it to investigate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for violation of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct. The judges were joined by Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy.
Joyce Vance lists the three grounds for the request:
The role Blanche played in the settlement of Trump v. I.R.S., which the referral calls “fundamentally incompatible with his ethical obligations under the New York Rules of Professional Responsibility.” They cite multiple ethics rules that prohibit lawyers from engaging in “Conduct that tends to reflect adversely on the legal profession as a whole and to undermine public confidence in it warrants disciplinary action,” before concluding, “Never could that be clearer than here.”
Blanche’s abuse of his authority at DOJ against personal and political enemies of his former client, Donald Trump. The complaint points out that this violates ethics rules against bringing frivolous cases, defined as “the lawyer knowingly advances a claim or defense that is unwarranted under existing law.” It also refers to a rule that prohibits lawyers from “engage[ing] in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice” and in harassing conduct.
Blanche’s “personal involvement in overseeing the Department of Justice’s botched and incomplete release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA).” The complaint references “serious concerns” about Blanche’s interview of Ghislaine Maxwell. The complaint argues he failed to meet “expectations of competent and diligent representation of the United States,” that his work “was burdened by his own conflicts of interest,” and that overall, the circumstances “reflected adversely on his fitness as an attorney.” The complaint concludes that “The American public deserves an Attorney General who serves the interests of the Nation, and not those of a single man.”
There is no guarantee that the committee will investigate the complaint. Previous referrals against Eric Holder, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Pam Bondi did not result in any action. But Joyce Nance points out that these allegations are especially serious, stemming from allegations that Blanche is using his role at Justice to protect his former criminal defendant client, who is now the president. They are also unprecedented because they were lodged even before he was confirmed. That could be a crucial detail since they will provide Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee with the perfect road map for Blanche’s confirmation hearing, even if the New York bar doesn’t pursue the complaint.
Vance continued:
Misconduct, at least in the range of cases that the president has demonstrated an interest in, is not being investigated internally at DOJ any longer, leaving federal judges to step in in the most egregious cases. By July of last year, The Washington Post identified dozens of cases where DOJ lawyers flouted court orders, primarily in matters involving immigration, cuts to federal funding, and the federal workforce.
DOJ’s proposal of a rule that would exempt its employees from disciplinary proceedings reveals just how strong the internal concern must be that attorneys have exposed themselves to disciplinary proceedings for their misconduct in the states that license them. That proposal helps us understand just how important it is for state bars to discipline the lawyers they license when they violate ethics rules, with sanctions up to and including disbarment. If state bars won’t act, there is no other entity that will, at least for now.
The complaint against Blanche recites the famous words of Attorney General Robert H. Jackson, later a Supreme Court Justice:
Is this teenage girl North Korea’s next dictator?
Financial Times
Is the DPRK the only hereditary communist state? What about Cuba, and among the post-communist states Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan?
Scott: For totalitarians and those who aspire to be, the question of orderly political succession is a problem. This may be addressed first by suggesting that the Leader is immortal, as an octogenarian enjoys the health of a twenty year-old, or otherwise will prolong his life indefinitely with Faustian metaphysics or trips to the spa. Putin and Trump are both preoccupied with such thoughts. But in the Hermit Kingdom, there is a different model—and it focuses on dynastic succession. FT here explores the mysterious teenager who stands to succeed Kim Jong Un at the right moment, and who is already being meticulously prepared for her future life. Keeping power all in the family has immense appeal to Trump, and this is one of the reasons why he holds DPRK in such awe.
Kim Jong Un was Kim Jong Il’s third son, and had spent part of his childhood at an international school in Switzerland. While his father viewed him as having the character needed for leadership, he was completely unknown to the North Korean public — until Kim Jong Il suffered a stroke in 2008. This necessitated quick preparation for succession in 2011.
“Kim Jong Un had to undergo accelerated training and build connections within such a short period of three years leading up to his father’s death. As a result, he struggled, and there were people around him who disregarded him,” said Cheong Seong-Chang of the Sejong Institute in Seoul.
During the early years of Kim Jong Un’s rule, his uncle Jang Song Thaek was often seen as the real power behind the throne. Kim ultimately consolidated control through what Cheong calls a “reign of terror”. This included Jang’s 2013 execution for allegedly plotting a coup and the dramatic assassination of Kim’s own half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 2017.
Victor Cha of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said Kim was “trying to improve on his own transition, which did not go very smoothly. His effort to expose Kim Ju Ae is the clearest manifestation of his own anxieties from when he took over.”
The world first became aware of Kim Ju Ae in 2013 when American basketball player Dennis Rodman revealed he had held her on a visit to North Korea. Rodman described Kim Jong Un as a “good dad” with a “beautiful family”. It is not confirmed if the North Korean leader has other children.
Kim Ju Ae began appearing regularly in state media in recent years. According to research by Sejong Institute’s Cheong, she made 49 public appearances between 2022 and the end of 2025.
Initially, most of these revolved around the armed forces, to “project an image of a strong female leader capable of commanding the North Korean military”, Cheong said. In 2025 though, there was an equal split between these and civilian-themed events, suggesting an attempt to broaden her image.
She has frequently appeared in a black double-breasted leather jacket, a garment that Seoul-based image consultant Jeong Yeon-ah said was part of “a colour strategy deliberately intended to emphasize the image of a powerful political leader”.
Jeong, who has advised South Korean presidential candidates on how to dress, said the regime was also “elevating Ju Ae’s status by releasing photos showing her doing things her father has previously done at staged events, such as firing a rifle”.
Knowledge Is Power
Scott: I believe passionately that one of the really poor items in media coverage in the United States is science reporting.
I am routinely pulling things out from major science journals that are significant news in themselves but haven’t really been covered as news.
Try getting the news you need from Charles and me for two weeks.
Is the Russian Economy Headed for Free Fall?
Financial Times
Scott: Putin’s key dilemma: could he fund the war, hold prices and protect growth? The answer was a qualified “yes” but only while the reserves lasted. Now they’re gone. And now there’s no money for the war or other more essential things. It sets the stage for very perilous times in Moscow.
