Ball of Thread

Marcy Wheeler

Independent journalist Marcy Wheeler unwinds the true story of the attack on democracy that is bringing the United States to the brink of fascism.

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August 20 · 21 min
DOJ is invoking Trump v. US in an attempt to dodge accountability for the Broadview 6 case
Why Andrew Boutros' invocation of Trump v. US in an attempt to dodge sanctions in the Broadview 6 case is terrifying. Support these episodes by backing LOLGOP Studios on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
June 30 · 14 min
DOJ Invents Conspiracies Out of Some Dents in a Car
DOJ rolled out a conspiracy indictment against 15 people in Minnesota that risks criminalizing opposition to Trump more generally. Watch: https://youtu.be/tviFq9EkpvY?si=gqkgx5IUA6qrHHEG Read more: https://emptywheel.net/2026/06/26/the-stories-todd-blanche-spins-about-antifa/ Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios
June 22 · 20 min
Donald Trump's Swamp Creature
Donald Trump has rolled out a Fraud Task Force, under JD Vance and Scott Brady (the guy who set up a way to criminally frame Joe and Hunter Biden). It itself is pretty fraudulent: an effort to shift attention and investigative focus away from the kind of fraud Trump commits to demonize brown people and defund Blue states. Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios
April 29 · 11 min
Trump's Twin Intractable Psychological Dilemmas
To find a resolution with Iran, Trump will need to budge on one or another of his most fundamental psychological rules: He can't oppose Vladimir Putin and he cannot admit that Obama was a better President than Trump. Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios
April 20 · 31 min
Think of the Iran War as Global War
You can't separate Trump's disastrous war in Iran from the opportunities it gives Russia and China to wreak havoc in Europe and elsewhere. WATCH: https://youtu.be/nqNVpudA6_A?si=1G2dbnGp3eRZyS_t Read more: Produced by https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
March 2 · 22 min
Trump Hoards the Money He Stole
By sending an invoice for the damages Trump's tariffs did to the American consumer, JB Pritzker will make it obvious that Trump is trying to hoard the money he stole from American consumers. Produced by LOLGOP Studios. Read more: https://emptywheel.net/trumps-tantrum-tariffs/ Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Back these podcasts and more at LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
February 23 · 17 min
Marco Rubio Tries to Tell Europe He's Not the Grandson of an "Illegal" Immigrant
Marco Rubio went to Europe and invited them to remain allies of the US, but only if they adhere to a vision of Western culture and history that excises the contributions of Latinos like him, to say nothing of Black Americans. Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Support these podcasts and help change brains: www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
February 13 · 7 min
Behind the Masks
Behind the masks that Stephen Miller's goons are wearing lies a truth about America that destroys his claims of white supremacy. He cannot carry out his deeply racist project without relying on the labor of brown people. Read more: https://emptywheel.net/stephen-miller-paid-latino-thugs-to-murder-alex-pretti/ Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Help change brains: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
February 10 · 16 min
Swapping VA Care for Dead VA Nurses
Republicans have made a choice: to dump billions of money that previously went into healthcare, including VA care, to pay goons who are shooting people dead in Minneapolis and elsewhere. They've literally taken money used to fund VA care to pay goons who shot VA nurse Alex Pretti in the back. Read more: https://emptywheel.net/marco-rubio-will-let-2-5-million-children-die-so-sarah-rogers-can-fund-far-right-extremists-in-europe/ Subscribe to emptywheel and support the cause: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Produced by LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
February 2 · 50 min
UPDATE: Murder on Ice and Water
Two weeks ago we argued that Stephen Miller thinks of his invasions of Venezuela and Minneapolis the same. This week, after Alex Pretti's murder, Donald Trump confirmed that. Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
January 22 · 13 min
Feed the MAGAt Conspiracism
It may be easier to separate MAGAt from Trump by stoking their conspiracism than by explaining, factually, all the problems with Trump. Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/portfolio-item/where-we-go-from-here/ Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Join LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
January 13 · 41 min
Murder on ICE and Water
Stephen Miller's plan to murderbomb boats in the Caribbean and invade Venezuela and Greenland has direct ties to the latest invasion of Minneapolis. Watch this: https://youtu.be/dIi6tA-DV_k?si=cLWePZcwI6gSZSzR Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/07/stephen-miller-has-similar-plans-for-colombia-and-columbia/ Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
January 6 · 57 min
RE-RELEASE: The Meaning of January 6th
Donald Trump will never accept losing anything – whether an election or a bet. But that wouldn't matter if he didn't convince millions of Americans to make his grievances their own. This Ball of Thread unwinds what made the pincer attack that overran the Capitol on January 6th possible. Donald Trump's grievance narratives gave disaffected Americans meaning, and in that meaning, he convinced thousands of people to throw their lives away in his name. The thing is, it's all the same con. That con defeated the Russia investigation and weaponized the Department of Justice against his opponent. And when he lost in 2020, he unleashed it to unite fringe right-wing groups and mainstream Republicans in a shared revenge fantasy. Thus, he was able to raise a ragtag army to sack the nation's Capitol briefly, and in the process, savagely battered hundreds of police officers and ended America's tradition of a peaceful transfer of power. Though the attack ultimately failed by only delaying the certification of Joe Biden's victory, the bets Trump and many of his biggest fans made on January 6, 2021 are now paying off in ways that were inconceivable on January 6, 2025.
Dec 31, 2025 · 22 min
Stephen Miller's Mayonnaise Days
Stephen Miller has had two notable failures in 2025. His initial success at deporting 200 mostly innocent men to a concentration camp has been backfiring ever since. And his demand that DHS attempt to snatch 3,000 people a day has led to backlash without making the US safe from dangerous immigrants. These failures must become part of making Stephen Miller the villain of Trump's failures in 2026. Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/12/27/we-dont-know-how-when-stephen-miller-fails/ Watch this: https://youtu.be/-j2JfEzuqY8?si=_nt2eC5T5fjb93ry Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Produced by https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Dec 19, 2025 · 19 min
Young Playboys Gone Wiles
Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair she didn't really know how bad the Epstein scandal would be, and so relied on her resident conspiracy theorists -- Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, and JD Vance -- instead. But she's still misjudging who cares about this. Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
Dec 16, 2025 · 20 min
Stephen Miller Lectures Europe about His Incompetence
Donald Trump's second term National Security Strategy was an attack on Europe. While boasting of its own competence, it lists a bunch of ways Donald Trump has made the US less safe -- starting with the way he sells out American sovereignty whenever anyone offers him a pile of cryptocurrency. Watch this: https://youtu.be/n-E-BU6OOfw?si=QLLy_AYSBU19_AzK Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
Nov 26, 2025 · 6 min
Marco Rubio in the Room
I've got bad news for you. Marco Rubio may be the main thing standing between us and the end of the Western Order and the dismemberment of Ukraine. He could be fired by noon. Or he could buy time for Congress to stand up to Trump on this. Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/26/the-dim-philby-leaks/ Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/
Nov 24, 2025 · 13 min
Back to Bondi
Pam Bondi did some reckless things in the Epstein and Comey cases a week ago Friday. They're likely to backfire. Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Support LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
Nov 18, 2025 · 16 min
A General Warrant for Jim Comey
Jim Comey suspects that the FBI snuck into data they had not lawfully seized to get the indictment against him. Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/17/the-11-fuck-ups-pam-bondis-doj-made-in-indicting-jim-comey/ Support: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/
Nov 17, 2025 · 6 min
Bondi's recklessness
Pam Bondi did two totally reckless things yesterday: re-ratify the indictment Lindsey Halligan obtained against Jim Comey, and immediately agree to investigate Democrats' involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/16/might-pam-bondis-latest-prosecutorial-abuse-give-us-ponies-and-puppies/ Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/

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