By the time Scott Pruitt resigned from the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday afternoon, he was under more than a dozen federal investigations and beset by an unusually large number of scandals ranging from the petty to the serious and bizarre. The one completed investigation, into Pruitt's purchase of a $43,000 soundproof phone booth, found he had violated federal laws, and a new scandal was looming concerning the potentially illegal retroactive deletion of entries in his official calendar.

President Trump was reportedly getting exasperated with the unending bad headlines, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly "was seemingly obsessed with getting Pruitt ousted," The Washington Post says, and Pruitt had burned his bridges with allies inside the EPA and White House. Trump-friendly Fox News host Laura Ingraham, joining other conservative voices, tweeted Tuesday that "Pruitt is the swamp. Drain it." But Pruitt still had his defenders, including billionaire oil magnate Harold Hamm and Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel:

Prominent Republican donor Doug Deason said he was "extremely disappointed" in Trump, calling ousting Pruitt "one of the only big blunders of his administration." Trump "should have protected him better," Deason told The Washington Post. He told Politico he was specifically "so disappointed in the president's failure to support Scott against the angry attacks from the loony left," arguing that "nothing he did amounted to anything big. ... Scott Pruitt is a sacrificial lamb and I have no idea why." Dan Eberhart, another donor to Trump and the GOP from the energy industry, conceded that Pruitt made some questionable personal choices but called Pruitt "just the latest victim" of Trump's critics. Peter Weber

President Trump's recent criticism of a federal judge has earned a rare response from Chief Justice John Roberts.

A judge from the Northern District of California on Tuesday blocked Trump's attempt to ban those who enter the country illegally from seeking asylum, leading the president to dismiss him as an "Obama judge." He also criticized the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals more generally for frequently ruling against him. Roberts chided Trump for the comment, saying in a statement that there are no "Obama judges," nor are there "Trump judges, Bush judges, or Clinton judges," reports The Associated Press.

"What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them," Roberts said, per CNN. He added that this "independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for."

This is the first time Roberts, who was nominated to the court by former President George W. Bush, has ever offered any sort of public criticism of Trump, AP reports. Trump has not yet responded to this criticism from Roberts, who he has previously called an "absolute disaster." Brendan Morrow

George Papadopoulos just learned a lesson in thinking before you tweet.

The former Trump campaign adviser who last year pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI is set to begin a 14-day prison sentence on Nov. 26, but he's currently seeking a delay. His argument for a delay hinges on the outcome of a different case challenging the legality of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's appointment, Bloomberg reports. Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's actions during the 2016 election led to Papadopoulos' prosecution.

In response to this request, Mueller said in a filing Wednesday that it should be denied, reports Talking Points Memo. "The defendant received what he bargained for," Mueller's office wrote, "and holding him to it is not a hardship." Mueller's lawyers said there was no legal basis for a delay, and furthermore said Papadopoulos had backpedaled on his own acknowledgment of guilt.

Papadopoulos had gotten a lighter sentence after the judge said he demonstrated remorse for his crimes, but Mueller disputed this Wednesday by citing a series of tweets where Papadopoulos clearly said he regretted pleading guilty and called his sentencing a "case of entrapment." Mueller's office said the tweets "appear to be inconsistent with his stated acceptance of responsibility at sentencing." Papadopoulos has since deleted all of these tweets, which clearly did him no good, as they still show up in the filing with citations that read, "This tweet has since been removed from the defendant's public Twitter account." Brendan Morrow

The White House reportedly approved a memo that will allow troops sent to the southern border to use lethal force and conduct law enforcement operations, Military Times reported Wednesday.

The military has deployed nearly 6,000 troops to help prevent migrants from crossing into the U.S. illegally. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly authorized military personnel to perform "reasonably necessary" actions to protect border agents, including "a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention, and cursory search."

Kelly reportedly approved the memo because of what he deemed "credible evidence and intelligence" that suggests migrants "may prompt incidents of violence and disorder." A caravan of Central American migrants has been traveling toward the U.S. in recent weeks with the hopes of applying for asylum at the border.

The move could violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally forbids troops from operating like domestic law enforcement. The Trump administration has offered varying perspectives on how the military will handle its mission at the border. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said last month that "every possible action is on the table" to stop the migrants, and said that there was no intention to shoot at migrants "right now." When asked about suspending or ignoring the Posse Comitatus Act, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to detail how far the military would go in confronting migrants. Read more at Military Times. Summer Meza

Ralph is ready to break both the internet and the box office this weekend.

Ralph Breaks the Internet, Disney's animated sequel to Wreck-It Ralph, is off to a great start, taking in $3.8 million in Tuesday night previews, per The Hollywood Reporter. That's the best ever opening night for a movie that debuted during Thanksgiving week, besting Moana and Coco, which took in $2.6 million and $2.3 million respectively on the Tuesdays they first started playing. The film is currently projected to make somewhere around $70 million, which would put it below Moana's full five-day opening weekend gross of $82 million, but that number could certainly go higher. Regardless, it's set to rank as one of the best Thanksgiving week openings of all time, though Frozen's record of $93 million appears out of reach.

Were it not for Disney, it would have been Creed II that broke the Thanksgiving preview record, as the Rocky sequel also had a phenomenal Tuesday night by taking in $3.7 million, making that the second-best Thanksgiving preview night of all time. That film, which stars Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, topped its predecessor's $1.4 million preview night and is expected to take in around $50 million.

But not every studio is having a happy holiday weekend, as Lionsgate's Robin Hood is looking to be a massive bomb. It took in $800,000 in Tuesday night previews and is projected to end up with a five-day haul in the mid-teens, Deadline reports. With the film reportedly costing around $100 million, it's set to end up being one of the worst-reviewed films of the year and also one of the biggest flops as Ralph and Rocky steal its audience away. Brendan Morrow

One former federal prosecutor thinks President Trump's reported desire to order the Department of Justice to prosecute Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey is evidence enough to indict him.

Former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi told MSNBC Tuesday night that he could draft an indictment against Trump "right now." This, he said, would be on two counts, the first being "his relationship with Michael Cohen on the election fraud." He also said there's enough evidence to bring an obstruction of justice charge, which he pointed out Special Counsel Robert Mueller has the authority to do.

This came during a segment discussing the recent report from The New York Times that Trump wanted to order the Department of Justice to prosecute his political enemies, but former White House counsel Don McGahn had to warn him it could be an impeachable offense. Although Trump never officially made this request, Rossi suggested he could still be indicted for this, as it's an "attempt to obstruct justice" and is part of a "pattern." Rossi also said that what the Times report alleges is that Trump "essentially" asked McGahn to "commit a crime by obstructing justice."

Trump has submitted written answers to some of Mueller's questions but is still refusing to answer questions about obstruction of justice. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani insists Mueller has no case there, telling Axios, "I think their obstruction case, as a legal matter, doesn't exist." Watch Rossi's comments on MSNBC below. Brendan Morrow

A weed-fueled episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast is now responsible for the launch of an official NASA investigation.

NASA is going to review the safety practices of SpaceX next year, and The Washington Post reports that this is because of "the recent behavior" of founder Elon Musk, specifically when he smoked weed and drank whiskey on the Joe Rogan podcast in September. This, the Post reports, "rankled some at NASA's highest levels" and made them decide to "take a close look" at the company's culture.

In a statement to the Post, NASA confirmed that it would launch this probe next year to determine if SpaceX is "meeting NASA’s requirements for workplace safety, including the adherence to a drug-free environment." It will also investigate Boeing, which Musk has nothing to do with. This probe is reportedly going to last months and involve "hundreds of interviews." Rogan responded to the news on Twitter by writing, "LOL WUT."

Between this episode, Musk needing to pay a $20 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission and resign as Tesla chairman because of a two-sentence tweet, and Musk being sued by a diver he accused of being a pedophile, it's safe to say the Tesla CEO has seen better years. Brendan Morrow