J'Accuse is Émile Zola's famous 1898 open letter to the President of the French Republic in defense of Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer who was accused of spying for Germany. The incident blew up in to a political scandal, and the military's general staff used Dreyfus as a scapegoat. Dreyfus was also Jewish, and this contributed to his being targeted for the accusation.

We briefly explored the Dreyfus situation in a July 04, 2025 podcast, and it seems appropriate to recall Zola's words, today, as we continue to face challenges from the Trump Administration.

This is also the first of a two-part look at the Trump Administration's Minneapolis and related ICE operations.

Part 1 covers particular incidents that have and are taking place in Minneapolis. It also explores the Portland operation in regard to the legal issues that are playing out in Minneapolis.

Part 2 will continue and update the situation.

The full text and Notes can be found at:

https://erm76.substack.com/p/podcast-and-full-text-episode-jaccuse

NOTES

(1) “Who was Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by ICE?,”by Tiffany Wertheimer, BBC. January 13, 2026. ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jepdjy256o⁠.Also please see: “F.B.I. Agent Who Tried to Investigate ICE Officer in ShootingResigns,” by Alan Feuer and Glenn Thrush, The New York Times. January23, 2026. ⁠https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/us/politics/fbi-agent-ice-shooting-renee-good.html⁠Based on the Times report, “An F.B.I. agent who sought to investigatethe federal immigration officer who fatally shot a 37-year-old woman inMinneapolis this month has resigned from the bureau, according to two peoplefamiliar with the matter.

The agent, Tracee Mergen, left her job as a supervisor inthe F.B.I.'s Minneapolis field office after bureau leadership in Washingtonpressured her to discontinue a civil rights inquiry into the immigrationofficer, Jonathan Ross, according to one of the people. Such inquiries are acommon investigative step in similar shootings.”

(2) “The Insurrection Act, Explained,” by Joseph Nunn andElizabeth Goitei, The Brennan Center. April 21, 2022. ⁠https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained⁠

(3) Truth Social. Sep 27, 2025, 10:19AMhttps://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115276694936263266.

(4) Black's Law Dictionary. (12th ed., 2024).

(5) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OFOREGON. Case No. 3:25-cv-1756-IM. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER.https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.189270/gov.uscourts.ord.189270.56.1_2.pdf

(6) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA. CASE0:25-cv-04669-KMM-DTS Doc. 85 Filed 01/16/26. https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/minnesota/mndce/0:2025cv04669/229758/85/0.pdf

(7) UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUITNo: 26-1105. Appeal from U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.(0:25-cv-04669-KMM). https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca8.113629/gov.uscourts.ca8.113629.00805436077.0_2.pdf

J’Accuse is Émile Zola’s famous 1898 open letter to the President of the French Republic in defense of Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer who was accused of spying for Germany. The incident blew up in to a political scandal, and the military’s general staff used Dreyfus as a scapegoat. Dreyfus was also Jewish, and this contributed to his being targeted for the accusation.

We briefly explored the Dreyfus situation in a July 04, 2025 podcast, and it seems appropriate to recall Zola’s words, today, as we continue to face challenges from the Trump Administration.

This is also the first of a two-part look at the Trump Administration’s Minneapolis and related ICE operations.

Part 1 covers particular incidents that have and are taking place in Minneapolis. It also explores the Portland operation in regard to the legal issues that are playing out in Minneapolis.

Part 2 will continue and update the situation.

The full text and Notes can be found at:

https://erm76.substack.com/p/podcast-and-full-text-episode-jaccuse

NOTES

(1) “Who was Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by ICE?,”by Tiffany Wertheimer, BBC. January 13, 2026. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jepdjy256o.Also please see: “F.B.I. Agent Who Tried to Investigate ICE Officer in ShootingResigns,” by Alan Feuer and Glenn Thrush, The New York Times. January23, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/us/politics/fbi-agent-ice-shooting-renee-good.htmlBased on the Times report, “An F.B.I. agent who sought to investigatethe federal immigration officer who fatally shot a 37-year-old woman inMinneapolis this month has resigned from the bureau, according to two peoplefamiliar with the matter.

The agent, Tracee Mergen, left her job as a supervisor inthe F.B.I.’s Minneapolis field office after bureau leadership in Washingtonpressured her to discontinue a civil rights inquiry into the immigrationofficer, Jonathan Ross, according to one of the people. Such inquiries are acommon investigative step in similar shootings.”

(2) “The Insurrection Act, Explained,” by Joseph Nunn andElizabeth Goitei, The Brennan Center. April 21, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained

(3) Truth Social. Sep 27, 2025, 10:19AMhttps://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115276694936263266.

(4) Black’s Law Dictionary. (12th ed., 2024).

(5) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OFOREGON. Case No. 3:25-cv-1756-IM. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER.https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.189270/gov.uscourts.ord.189270.56.1_2.pdf

(6) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA. CASE0:25-cv-04669-KMM-DTS Doc. 85 Filed 01/16/26. https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/minnesota/mndce/0:2025cv04669/229758/85/0.pdf

(7) UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUITNo: 26-1105. Appeal from U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.(0:25-cv-04669-KMM). https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca8.113629/gov.uscourts.ca8.113629.00805436077.0_2.pdf

President Trump met with European leaders in Davos,Switzerland, this week. It was an economic meeting with a broad-based agenda, including climate change and other global issues. Politics run deep, and thisis particularly true this year in light of Trump's potential actions, ranging from the taking of Greenland to attacking and then complimenting NATO. And let's add a diatribe against Switzerland, and in a subsequent meeting with SwissPresident Guy Parmelin, praising the Swiss for making high-quality watches. It sounded like the ultimate non-compliment compliment.

THE FULL TEXT/NOTES CAN BE FOUND AT:

https://erm76.substack.com/p/podcast-and-full-text-episode-the

The Notes for the quotes are:

(1) “The Most Startling Line From Trump's Davos Speech,” byPhilip Elliot, Time. January 21, 2026. https://time.com/7355488/trump-davos-speech-takeaways-analysis/?itm_source=parsely-api

(2) “75th Anniversary Of The Munich Agreement,” RadioFreeEurope;RadioLiberty. September 26, 2013.

(3) “October 5, 1938. House of Commons.” Speech byWinston Churchill. International Churchill Society. https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1930-1938-the-wilderness/the-munich-agreement/

(4) “After Trump's Ultimatum, Greenland Talks IncludeSovereign U.S. Bases, No Drilling for Russia,” by Jim Tankersley, Lara Jakesand Adam Goldman,” The New York Times, January 22, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/world/europe/trump-greenland-deal-framework.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20260122&instance_id=169697&nl=breaking-news®i_id=57657450&segment_id=214081&user_id=423e5e0514430d734c860e2b14f2b4d7

(5) “Trump Says “Sometimes You Need a Dictator” AfterAlarming Davos Speech,” by Malcolm Ferguson, The New Republic. January21, 2026. https://newrepublic.com/post/205508/trump-sometimes-you-need-dictator-davos-speech

(6) Truth Social. January 11, 2026. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115879509461234235

(7) Czechoslovakia had some of Europe's biggest armsfactories.

President Trump met with European leaders in Davos,Switzerland, this week. It was an economic meeting with a broad-based agenda, including climate change and other global issues. Politics run deep, and thisis particularly true this year in light of Trump’s potential actions, ranging from the taking of Greenland to attacking and then complimenting NATO. And let’s add a diatribe against Switzerland, and in a subsequent meeting with SwissPresident Guy Parmelin, praising the Swiss for making high-quality watches. It sounded like the ultimate non-compliment compliment.

THE FULL TEXT/NOTES CAN BE FOUND AT:

https://erm76.substack.com/p/podcast-and-full-text-episode-the

The Notes for the quotes are:

(1) “The Most Startling Line From Trump’s Davos Speech,” byPhilip Elliot, Time. January 21, 2026. https://time.com/7355488/trump-davos-speech-takeaways-analysis/?itm_source=parsely-api

(2) “75th Anniversary Of The Munich Agreement,” RadioFreeEurope;RadioLiberty. September 26, 2013.

(3) “October 5, 1938. House of Commons.” Speech byWinston Churchill. International Churchill Society. https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1930-1938-the-wilderness/the-munich-agreement/

(4) “After Trump’s Ultimatum, Greenland Talks IncludeSovereign U.S. Bases, No Drilling for Russia,” by Jim Tankersley, Lara Jakesand Adam Goldman,” The New York Times, January 22, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/world/europe/trump-greenland-deal-framework.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20260122&instance_id=169697&nl=breaking-news®i_id=57657450&segment_id=214081&user_id=423e5e0514430d734c860e2b14f2b4d7

(5) “Trump Says “Sometimes You Need a Dictator” AfterAlarming Davos Speech,” by Malcolm Ferguson, The New Republic. January21, 2026. https://newrepublic.com/post/205508/trump-sometimes-you-need-dictator-davos-speech

(6) Truth Social. January 11, 2026. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115879509461234235

(7) Czechoslovakia had some of Europe’s biggest armsfactories.

The photo is: This photograph D 2239 (https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=D+2239) comes from the collections of the Imperial WarMuseums (https://www.iwm.org.uk).