🎙️Massie Questions DOJ Leadership on ‘TELL IT LIKE IT IS’: Grand Jury Setbacks and Accountability Take Center Stage

Kentucky Congressman Raises Concerns Over Prosecutorial Judgment, Transparency, and Public Confidence in the Justice Department

This morning on 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS', host James W. Thomas sat down with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for a pointed discussion about the Department of Justice, recent grand jury refusals in Washington, and broader questions surrounding prosecutorial discretion and institutional credibility.

The conversation focused on what Massie described as growing concerns about public confidence in the DOJ following high-profile charging setbacks — including cases that failed to secure indictments at the grand jury stage.

“Grand juries are not supposed to be the hard part,” Thomas noted during the broadcast, referencing federal prosecutorial standards where indictments are typically secured when cases are brought forward.

🕊️Rev. Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Titan and Political Power Broker, Dies at 84

The two-time presidential candidate and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition leaves behind a decades-long legacy of activism that reshaped American politics, voting rights, and economic justice.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure of the modern civil rights movement who transformed grassroots protest into national political influence, has died at the age of 84, his family confirmed Tuesday.

“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement.

For more than five decades, Jackson stood at the intersection of faith, politics, and activism. Rising to prominence as a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. during the height of the 1960s civil rights struggle, Jackson helped organize voter registration drives, economic boycotts, and mass mobilizations that pushed racial justice to the forefront of American public life.

From the Pulpit to the Political Arena

Ordained as a Baptist minister, Jackson channeled the cadence of the Black church into a brand of political advocacy that bridged civil rights and electoral politics. In 1971, he founded what would later become the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based organization advocating for economic inclusion, voting rights, and corporate accountability.

But it was Jackson’s presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 that marked a watershed moment in U.S. political history. Running as a Democrat, he built one of the most diverse coalitions ever assembled at the national level—uniting Black voters, Latino communities, labor unions, farmers, and progressive activists under what he called a “Rainbow Coalition.” His 1988 campaign won more than 6.9 million votes and multiple primaries, reshaping the Democratic Party’s electoral calculus.

Though he never secured the nomination, Jackson expanded the political imagination of what was possible for Black leadership on a national stage—decades before the election of Barack Obama.

🎥🎬Robert Duvall, Oscar-Winning Star of ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Tender Mercies,’ Dies at 95

Legendary actor whose gruff naturalism shaped modern American cinema leaves behind a seven-decade legacy spanning Apocalypse Now, The Great Santini, Lonesome Dove and beyond

Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor whose understated intensity and rugged authenticity helped redefine American screen acting, has died at 95. His passing was confirmed in a statement shared by his wife, Luciana Duvall.

Over a career spanning more than six decades, Duvall delivered performances that became cornerstones of modern cinema, from Tom Hagen in The Godfather to the iconic Lt. Col. Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. He earned an Academy Award for his quiet, deeply human turn in Tender Mercies, a performance that crystallized his reputation as an actor’s actor.

Duvall’s career was never defined by flash or celebrity spectacle. Instead, his gruff naturalism and disciplined craft made him one of the most respected performers of his generation — a cohort that included Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. As director Francis Ford Coppola once observed, with Duvall it became “hard to say the difference between leading men and great character actors.”

🎙️📜"TELL IT LIKE IT IS" Black History Series: Walter Moses Burton (1829?–1913) From Enslaved Man to America’s First Black Elected Sheriff

Before Reconstruction reshaped the South — before voting rights were fully defined — one man in Texas quietly made history.

Walter Moses Burton became the first African American elected sheriff in the United States, a distinction that remains a milestone in American political history.

From Enslavement to Leadership

Born in North Carolina around 1829, Burton was brought to Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1850 at the age of 21 as an enslaved man. During his enslavement, he learned to read and write — skills that would later help define his leadership in public life.

After the Civil War, his former enslaver, Thomas Burton, sold him several large plots of land for $1,900 — a substantial sum at the time. Through land ownership and business acumen, Burton became one of the most influential African Americans in Fort Bend County during Reconstruction.

His rise was not accidental. It was strategic. It was disciplined. And it was historic.

🏢Pentagon Christian Prayer Service Sparks Dozens of Complaints from Service Members, Contractors

Defense Department says events are voluntary and morale-boosting, but critics warn of perceived coercion, career pressure, and constitutional concerns.

A Christian prayer and worship service scheduled for Feb. 17 in the Pentagon Auditorium is drawing mounting scrutiny after dozens of active-duty service members and defense contractors voiced concerns over invitations distributed through official Department of Defense channels.

The email, circulated to personnel stationed at or with access to the Pentagon, invited recipients to attend a 12 p.m. “Christian prayer and worship service” labeled “SECWAR’S PRAYER SERVICE.” The message included a cross above the service title and encouraged recipients to forward the invitation widely within their organizations.

According to the Pentagon, the service is voluntary and open to all eligible personnel, with livestream access available via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS).

California Cracks Down on Veteran ‘Claim Shark’ Firms, Escalating National Battle Over VA Benefits Industry

Gov. Gavin Newsom signs law barring unaccredited companies from charging veterans for disability claim assistance, intensifying a state-by-state showdown with multimillion-dollar consulting firms.

In a move reverberating across the veterans’ advocacy and defense policy community, Gavin Newsom has signed sweeping legislation aimed at eliminating so-called “claim shark” companies operating in California’s vast veteran population.

The new law prohibits unaccredited private firms from charging veterans fees to assist with Department of Veterans Affairs disability claims — a practice critics argue exploits service members navigating one of the federal government’s most complex benefits systems.

The legislation effectively forces unaccredited claims consulting firms to overhaul their business models or cease operations in the state by year’s end.

🔷Trump Confirms U.S. Helicopter Pilots Wounded in High-Risk Maduro Raid, Highlighting Operational Costs of “Absolute Resolve”

President’s public acknowledgment underscores dangers U.S. forces faced during January operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro amid broader regional security tensions

President Donald Trump on Friday publicly acknowledged that American helicopter pilots were wounded during Operation Absolute Resolve, the unprecedented U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife from a fortified Caracas compound on Jan. 3.

Addressing troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., Trump said the pilots suffered significant leg injuries when their aircraft encountered hostile fire and defensive positions during the raid, a revelation that adds another layer of scrutiny to the risks American forces faced in executing such a bold mission.

“Those helicopter pilots were hit pretty bad in the legs,” Trump said, underscoring the perilous nature of the operation that involved more than 200 personnel and 150 aircraft across multiple U.S. military branches.

During his remarks, Trump framed the operation as a demonstration of U.S. military prowess and resolve, asserting that American forces remain unmatched globally.

Risk and Reward: Operational Costs

The U.S. mission – a highly coordinated air and ground effort that featured rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft alongside special operations units – has been called one of the most audacious deployments in recent U.S. history. Senior commanders have described the mission’s success as a testament to the Joint Force’s planning and execution.

🏛️ Massie Breaks With Bondi: GOP Lawmaker Says He’s Lost Confidence in Attorney General After Epstein Files Clash

Combative House Judiciary hearing over redactions, prosecutorial decisions, and the Epstein Files Transparency Act intensifies scrutiny of DOJ leadership

A public rift between Attorney General Pam Bondi and Rep. Thomas Massie burst into view this weekend, underscoring mounting tensions inside the Republican Party over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican known for his independent streak, said Sunday he no longer has confidence in Bondi following a combative House Judiciary Committee hearing in which lawmakers pressed her over redactions and prosecutorial decisions tied to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“I don’t think Pam Bondi has confidence in Pam Bondi,” Massie said during an appearance on ABC’s This Week. “She wasn’t confident enough to engage in anything but name-calling in a hearing. And so no, I don’t have confidence in her.”

The exchange signals an unusual intraparty fissure, as Republicans clash publicly over transparency, accountability, and the legal boundaries of executive authority.

The Indictment That Wasn’t: What Jeanine Pirro’s Grand Jury Failures Reveal About Power, Politics, and the Justice Department

In federal practice, prosecutors are trained never to lose at the starting line.

An indictment is not a conviction. It is not even a trial. It is a formal accusation backed by probable cause — a standard intentionally set low so that contested facts can be tested before a jury. When a federal grand jury refuses to return an indictment, it is not simply declining to proceed. It is signaling doubt at the most preliminary stage.

That is why recent grand jury refusals involving the office led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro are so consequential.

This is not about a single case. It is about a pattern. And patterns, in federal law enforcement, are rarely accidental.

Grand Jury Rebuke: Jeanine Pirro’s Failed Indictments Raise New Questions About DOJ Strategy Under Trump

As high-profile cases against Democratic officials collapse, legal experts warn of mounting institutional strain inside the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C.

The failure was not subtle. It was decisive.

When a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to return an indictment sought by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro against six Democratic lawmakers, the outcome reverberated far beyond the courtroom. A unanimous refusal to indict is rare in high-profile federal prosecutions—and in political cases, even rarer.

The episode has intensified scrutiny of the Justice Department’s posture under President Donald Trump, raising broader questions about prosecutorial discretion, political pressure, and the durability of institutional guardrails.

🛡️ The U.S. Army’s Quiet Rotation in the Philippines Signals a Subtle but Strategic Shift

A small, sustained presence under U.S. Army Pacific formalizes long-running engagement—while keeping tensions with China calibrated

The U.S. Army’s newest deployment to the Philippines is easy to miss—and that, defense analysts say, is precisely the point.

In July 2025, the Army quietly established a rotational presence of roughly 50 personnel in the Southeast Asian nation, operating under U.S. Army Pacific with coordination through Task Force Philippines, the service confirmed this week. While modest in size, the move marks a notable evolution in how the Army engages with one of its oldest treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific.

“This represents a shift from previous years’ iterative engagement cycle to a more sustained rotational presence,” said Col. Isaac Taylor, chief of public affairs for U.S. Army Pacific. The goal, he added, is to enable deeper collaboration with the Philippine Army while focusing on army-to-army partnerships and infrastructure development.