Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing  — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. What do you suppose caught people's attention in this latest whirlwind week? Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger if you're so inclined), and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication — here we go!

#1 - 'This Is a District Court—Not a Denny’s': 5th Circuit Responds to SCOTUS in TdA Case and Hoo Boy — by Susie Moore

The 5th Circuit, seemingly a bit taken aback by SCOTUS' determination, noted that it had told them to get to work and make it snappy. (Okay, the Supremes directed the 5th to proceed "expeditiously.") Therefore, the Circuit, in a per curiam order, expedited the matter "to the next available randomly designated regular oral argument panel."

But Judge Ho felt compelled to author a concurring opinion sharing his thoughts on how the Supreme Court has handled the situation (and, in his view, disparaged District Court Judge Wes Hendrix and the executive branch in the process). I'm going to share some of the tastier nuggets here, but before I do, I can't stress enough how worth it those who find this topic remotely interesting will find it to read the whole opinion for themselves. It's only seven pages — treat yourself.

#2 - Watch: Schiff Loses His Mind After Lee Zeldin Delivers the Perfect Line to Describe Him — by Nick Arama

Zeldin called him an "aspiring fiction writer." Now that's a clever way to politely call Schiff a liar. That's so on target, given all the b.s. that Schiff has slung over the years including Russia collusion. Good for Zeldin, more people need to call Schiff what he is. 

That set Schiff off into a wild rant about how cutting waste and fraud in the EPA was somehow bad, saying Zeldin didn't care about who was hurt. Meanwhile, Zeldin was listing things that had gone wrong and weren't being attended to in California, like the wildfire situation. 

Then, once again, as with Rubio the day before, Schiff got nailed by the rules. He wanted to continue, but his time had expired, and his manic mouth was cut off.

#3 - Letitia James Lashes Out to 'Explain' Her Alleged Mortgage Fraud, and She Just Might Be Toast — by Bonchie

But no one believes these were mistakes. James is a corrupt politician who has repeatedly weaponized her position to try to take down her political opponents. Never mind the carnage she's done to regular New Yorkers with her soft-on-crime, "social justice" approach to justice. The DOJ owes her no deference, and the fact that she's already lying about all the evidence against her tells me she's scared. You can hear it in her voice. James knows there's a "there" here, and she is setting up her PR campaign early to hopefully garner support. But all the support from Democrats and the press in the world isn't going to help her against the current DOJ.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. James had a chance not to destroy norms surrounding targeting one's political opponents. Not only did she choose to do so, but she used it as a means to up her profile in vicious fashion. Well, the tables have turned, and justice awaits. No one is above the law, remember?

#4 - Jake Tapper Confirms Who Was Controlling Joe Biden, and It's Absolutely Scandalous — by Bonchie

Tapper also went after Hunter Biden personally, calling him "provably, demonstrably unethical, sleazy, and prone to horrible decisions."

🚨NEW: Jake Tapper GOES SCORCHED EARTH on Hunter Biden🚨

TAPPER: "I think he is provably, demonstrably, unethical, sleazy and prone to horrible decisions."

COURIC: "Tell me how you really feel."

TAPPER: "Just look at the record: after his brother died, he cheated on his wife… pic.twitter.com/MF6d02j5t1

— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) May 20, 2025

Welcome to the party, pal. The rest of us have been saying this for years because it was so obvious. Hunter Biden's track record was one of weaponizing his father's influence to rake in cash while cheating on his taxes and abusing women. None of that is new information. So yeah, I'm happy Tapper is finally admitting all this, but he really should have been saying this stuff before the 2024 election. That he didn't showed a willingness to help cover for the Bidens. 

#5 - Update: Horrifying Details Emerge About Alleged Capital Jewish Museum Shooter and His Victims — by Teri Christoph

More details have emerged about the Wednesday night shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, that has left two staffers from the Israeli Embassy dead. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) held a press conference a short time ago and revealed that 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, Illinois, had been taken into custody by law enforcement officials on suspicion of carrying out what increasingly looks like a brutal act of anti-semitism.

Chillingly, multiple sources report that Rodriguez was heard chanting, "Free, free Palestine!" while in custody.

According to D.C. police, the shooting suspect who killed two Israeli embassy staff in DC tonight is in custody.

"The suspect chanted free free Palestine while in custody."

The suspect is 30-year-year Elias Rodriguez of Chicago.

— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) May 22, 2025

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