DL Open Thread: Thursday, April 9, 2026

An Almost ‘All-Clear’ For Edgemoor Port:

After more than a year in limbo, Delaware officials announced Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has re-issued permits for their long-delayed plan to build a new container port along the Delaware River in Edgemoor.

The announcement marks the latest chapter in Delaware’s quest to build a sister facility to the existing Port of Wilmington that state officials have said would unleash rapid economic growth and create thousands of new jobs in New Castle County.

On Wednesday, those officials widely celebrated the reissuance of the federal approvals.

Gov. Matt Meyer said “the permits needed to make that (Edgemoor) dream a reality have finally been granted.”

Sen. Darius Brown (D-Wilmington) and Rep. Frank Cooke (D-New Castle) said in a joint statement that the project is now shovel ready.

But left unsaid in the officials’ prepared remarks were the other permits needed for the contested project that are still under legal dispute. Additionally, the newly reissued federal permits could be subject to further challenges brought by competing port facilities along the Delaware River.

Asked Wednesday whether his company may challenge the reissued permits, Holt Logistics President Leo Holt said he would need to examine the new documents and consult with his attorneys.

“Certainly, the door is wide open for us to do that,” Holt said.

He further claimed that Delaware’s advancement of its port expansion plans has been marred by problems of transparency and unfairness. He said will consider his forthcoming decisions “through that lens once all the dust settles.”

In a statement Wednesday, Delaware Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez said Kearney’s opinion provided a framework for the state to reapply and ultimately regain its federal permits. She also noted that her team had worked with Jacobs Engineering Group — a global contracting firm — to offer an independent analysis in response to the questions around maritime safety.

“This marks a definitive turning point for the (Diamond State Port Corporation’s) expansion project,” Patibanda-Sanchez said in a statement.

More of a giant step than a baby step.  But not home free yet.

Trump Vs. The Pope:

Pope Leo XIV chronicler Christopher Hale says he has confirmed that Trump’s Pentagon threatened to declare war on the Vatican.

“In January, behind closed doors at the Pentagon, Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre — Pope Leo XIV’s then-ambassador to the United States — and delivered a lecture,” said Hale.

“America has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world,” Colby and his associates informed the cardinal. “The Catholic Church had better take its side.”

As the room temperature grew, Hale said he confirmed that one U.S. official “reached for a fourteenth-century weapon and invoked the Avignon Papacy, the period when the French Crown used military force to bend the bishop of Rome to its will.”

Hale said the report confirms that the Vatican had reason to decline the Trump-Vance White House’s invitation to host Pope Leo XIV for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026 two weeks after the confrontation.

The Vatican’s traditionally neutral stance on secular governance has been tested by Trump’s unilateral foreign policy decisions and inflammatory rhetoric. Church leaders have publicly questioned whether American military interventions align with Catholic doctrine on just war theory and the sanctity of human life. Additionally, Trump’s administration’s hardline immigration policies directly contradict papal messaging that emphasizes welcoming migrants and refugees.

The Pentagon’s January confrontation with Cardinal Pierre signals an unprecedented willingness by Trump officials to pressure religious institutions into alignment with administration goals. This represents a potential inflection point: where diplomatic courtesy once governed state-Church relations, coercion may now be replacing negotiation. The Vatican’s refusal to participate in the 250th anniversary celebration underscores that even America’s most prominent religious institution will not compromise its moral authority for political expediency.

Could be just me, but I doubt that even conservative Catholics will take kindly to this.

Pam Bondi In Witness Protection?  Said protection being provided by DOJ?:

It appears as though members of the House Oversight Committee, including some Republicans, are not going to let ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi get away with skipping her deposition now that she is no longer attorney general.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) subpoenaed Bondi for an April 14 deposition before the committee to answer questions about the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and the relase of the department’s investigative files on the wealthy financier who was charged with sex trafficking before he died in prison.

The DOJ reportedly sent Comer a letter this week requesting that Bondi be relinquished from her deposition duties since she was fired from the DOJ. Per Politico, which obtained a copy of the letter to Comer:

“We kindly ask that you confirm that the subpoena is withdrawn,” wrote assistant attorney general Patrick Davis, adding that DOJ “continues to believe that additional compulsory process is unnecessary in light of our demonstrated willingness to voluntarily assist your oversight efforts.”

Democrats on the panel have already indicated that they believe Bondi must still answer the committee’s questions, despite her ouster.

“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” the panel’s ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said in a statement Wednesday. “Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not. She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress. The survivors deserve justice.”

There can be no doubt that Trump engaged in criminal activity due to his ties with Epstein.  The long coverup continues, but even Rethugs aren’t having it any more.

How CNBC Frames ‘End To Civilization’ Threat:

Sara Eisen, co-host of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” discussed the implications of his genocidal threats and mused about what the situation could mean for investors.

“This deadline that President Trump has set, 8 p.m., has threatened to destroy a civilization,” Eisen said. “How does an investor process that? Is it a bigger upside risk or downside risk?”