HC Richardson's newletter today. More grift.
October 9, 2026
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-9-...
![Looking back today at stories of corruption involving Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem, and so on, Chris Hayes of MS NOW explained that Trump’s inner circle “works a lot like a crime family…. [E]veryone gets their fiefdoms. They can get their beaks wet. But they’ve always got to make sure they’re giving the boss his due.”
On Tuesday, Samantha Subin of CNBC reported that just days after Palmer Luckey joined the Pentagon’s new Project Meridian, set up to report on the military’s future needs, the company Luckey co-founded—Anduril—landed a $2.9 billion contract with the U.S. Navy. And today, Reuters reported that Kalshi is investigating suspicious trades having to do with Trump’s selection of Katie Zacharia as the new White House press secretary.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:s3oovjqedjt2uwo35fosasqf/bafkreig7jgnaezrlrxjkiz7jn5y5ulvw62n4bq4a6hu4sxclyqp3pqeduq)
Linda Arbuckle
@lindaarbuckle.com
8.4K followers 11K following 2.8K posts
Lapsed potter, sewist, owned by a dog, 3 cats, and flock of hens. Knitter, gardener. Vegan liberal atheist feminist. Retired. Living in N Central FL. YES to LGBTQ+ and trans rights. YES to WOKE, DEI. Pronouns: she/her
![AI Overview Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress holds the primary and ultimate legal power to levy tariffs. [1] (https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president)Constitutional PowerArticle I, Section 8: Grants Congress the power to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises".Framers' Intent: The writers of the Constitution gave Congress the power of the purse and control over foreign commerce. [1] (https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/on-tariffs-and-constitutional-structure/), [2] (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7DvLEejsj1E), [3] (https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-congress-delegates-its-tariff-powers-to-the-president)Presidential Authority and DelegationStatutory Delegation: Over the decades, Congress has passed laws delegating limited tariff-adjusting powers to the President. [1] (https://yeutter-institute.unl.edu/who-has-authority-impose-tariffs-and-how-does-affect-international-trade/), [2] (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7DvLEejsj1E)Key Statutes: Presidents often impose tariffs using delegated powers such as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (for national security) or Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (to combat unfair foreign trade practices). [1] (https://taxfoundation.org/blog/presidential-authority-congress-tariffs/), [2] (https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48435), [3] (https://yeutter-institute.unl.edu/who-has-authority-impose-tariffs-and-how-does-affect-international-trade/)Legal Limits: The executive branch cannot create broad tariffs without a specific grant of authority from Congress, and courts frequently review whether a President's actions exceed those statutory limits. [1] (https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2026/bamboozled-what-made-anyone-think-trump-tariffs-were-legal), [2] (https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48435)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:s3oovjqedjt2uwo35fosasqf/bafkreihaygqqtiozoh42wk7grz5odrisxc5fvbiqgn2m6prvhkf66wb74a)
