Trump Accused of Groping Beauty Queen, Threatening Her Into Silence

SCOTUS just gave Trump the power to fire any regulator, Rep. Massie deflected affair allegations by asking a reporter about gay porn, and a shocking amount of Americans are skipping July 4

Good afternoon. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America.

A former Miss Switzerland says Trump told her “bad things can happen if you speak out” after allegedly groping her at the Plaza Hotel. The Supreme Court just overturned a unanimous 90-year-old precedent so Trump can fire independent agency board members at will. Rep. Thomas Massie dodged a question about his alleged affair with Lauren Boebert by interrogating a Fox reporter about gay porn on a public street. And one in five Americans say they won’t celebrate July 4 this year, with two in five doubting the country lasts another 250.

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Now, let’s dive in.

Beauty Queen Accuses Trump of Groping and Threatening Her

Beatrice Keul kept quiet for 32 years. She says Donald Trump told her to.

Keul, 55, a former Miss Switzerland and Miss Europe contestant, recently accused Trump of threatening her after allegedly assaulting her in 1993. She said he lured her to his Donald J. Trump American Dream Pageant in New York when she was a 23-year-old banking executive and part-time model.

Keul alleged an aide brought her to a “private meeting” in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. “He was grabbing and touching my body everywhere he could,” she said. “I was screaming for help, and nobody came.”

She says he then told her to keep quiet, “otherwise, bad things can happen.”

Keul also alleges Jeffrey Epstein cornered her that day, introduced himself as “Don’s best friend,” and told her she was supposed to be his “prey.” Around the time of Virginia Giuffre’s death in April 2025, she says she received an AI-generated audio message: “We know where you are, and we will get you.”

The president’s stated defense to most of these accusations is that he never met the women. The list of women he never met is now at least 28 names long.

The Supreme Court Is Letting Trump Fire People He Doesn’t Like

The Founders apparently spent two centuries violating the Constitution and nobody noticed until now. That’s the only way to read today’s ruling.

The court’s conservative majority voted 6-3 to uphold Trump’s firing of FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, whom he removed because her views “didn’t align with his agenda.” Federal law says commissioners can only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” Trump cited none of those.

The decision overturns Humphrey’s Executor, a unanimous 1935 ruling meant to insulate independent agencies from political pressure. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the president cannot be “saddled” with subordinates he can’t work with.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, writing that the Court handed Trump “a power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted.”

The logic now extends to the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, where Trump has also fired board members. The court carved out one exception: the Federal Reserve, where it said Trump could not remove Lisa Cook.

The agencies regulate nuclear energy, product safety, and labor relations for the entire country. They are now staffed at the pleasure of one man.

Every independent agency in the country now serves at the direction of one man. This newsletter doesn’t. Keep it that way and become a paid subscriber today.

Republican Rep. Interrogates Reporter About Gay Porn

Last month, Rep. Thomas Massie lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger. This week, he lost his composure.

When Fox News Digital’s Nicholas Ballasy asked Massie about claims from Cynthia West, a former staffer who says she dated him, the Kentucky Republican flipped out. West alleged on Laura Loomer’s podcast that Massie pressured her to sign an NDA and bragged about a sexual encounter with Rep. Lauren Boebert after the 2024 death of his first wife.

“It’s all false,” Massie said. When Ballasy pressed, he pivoted. “So let me ask you, I heard that you like gay porn. Is that true?”

Ballasy declined to engage and started walking away. Massie followed him, hollering, “Come back, man! All you gotta say is you don’t like it, that you’ve never been to those websites.”

Massie posted the footage himself the next morning, captioning it about the reporter’s “alleged gay porn watching habit.” Boebert, for her part, had her own confrontation with Ballasy earlier this month and was somewhat more direct.

There are many ways for a congressman to deny an allegation. “I heard you like gay porn” is not among the recommended responses.

Millions Won’t Celebrate July 4 as Poll Reveals Deep National Pessimism

Nothing says national unity like a 250th birthday party where one in five guests have decided not to come.

As the United States approaches its semiquincentennial, a Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,537 adults found the country deeply split — not just on politics, but on whether to celebrate at all. A quarter of Democrats and 8% of Republicans say they’re skipping Independence Day entirely.

Two in five don’t believe the country will still exist as one nation in another 250 years.

Even the dress code is partisan. 52% of Republicans plan to wear red, white, and blue; 20% of Democrats will. Only 24% of Democrats described July 4 as “a day where I celebrate the United States of America,” compared to 65% of Republicans.

Trump has put himself at the center of it all. His administration created Freedom 250, a public-private partnership, despite the already-existing congressionally chartered America250 commission. Freedom 250’s flagship Great American State Fair launched with a campaign-style rally, and he staged a UFC cage match on the White House South Lawn for his 80th birthday the week before.

He’s scheduled to deliver another rally on July 4, where several musical acts and Democratic-led states declined to participate. The U.S. Mint also plans to issue a 250th commemorative gold coin bearing Trump’s likeness.

Nothing says “all men are created equal” like putting yourself on money.

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