May 4 – May 11, 2025
Breaking the Law
The two least surprising to be involved in illegally suspending habeas corpus would definitely be Stephen Miller and Donald Trump. They have both said publicly they are considering suspending habeas corpus for immigrants. CNN reports, “President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions inside the administration over potentially suspending habeas corpus, a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detention in court, two people familiar with the consideration told CNN.” One of Trump’s top aides, Stephen Miller, confirmed publicly Friday that the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, adding that it “depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.” Trump and Miller’s thesis is that we are under invasion, so it is okay to suspend habeas corpus like Lincoln did in the Civil War. One hopes that no court would consider immigrants a military invasion. Perhaps since they have not yet attempted to suspend habeas corpus, only considered doing so, we are too early in placing this in our tracker. But the idea is so blatantly anti-constitutional that Trump and Miller considering it at least deserves a mention.
Trump involved in discussions over suspending habeas corpus, sources say | CNN Politics
Corruption
This morning came news that the royal family of Qatar is giving a 747-8 jumbo jet to Trump. Trump will use this as Air Force One during his time in office. Trump is getting around the gift giving ethics rules by having Qatar give the jet to the Department of Defense though it will be used by Trump. After his time in office the Defense Department will transfer it to the Trump Presidential Library. Not incidentally, last week the Associated Press reported that “The Trump family company struck a deal Wednesday to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar.” This would be the biggest story on the planet for most administrations. But it’s one of nearly countless acts of corruption by the current administration.
Trump administration poised to accept ‘palace in the sky’ as a gift for Trump from Qatar.
Trump company strikes Qatari golf resort deal in a sign it’s not holding back from foreign business
Countries Ward Off Tariffs by Buying Starlink, May 7, 2025
A memo by U.S. State Department staffers notes that a number of countries are working to buy service from Elon Musk’s Starlink in an effort to reduce tariffs the Trump administration has placed on them. Lesotho is one of those countries that awarded Musk’s company a license. The Washington Post reports, “The decision drew a mention in an internal State Department memo obtained by The Washington Post, which states: ‘As the government of Lesotho negotiates a trade deal with the United States, it hopes that licensing Starlink demonstrates goodwill and intent to welcome U.S. businesses.’” Trump defenders will claim this is evidence the tariff policy is working—it’s forcing countries to buy services from American companies. But given Musk’s role in the administration, it looks a lot more like blatant corruption to us. There’s a reason for ethics rules and this is an obvious example of why they once existed and were adhered to.
Nations facing tariffs pushed to approve Elon Musk’s Starlink, cables show – The Washington Post
April 27 – May 4, 2025
Breaking the Law
DOGE employees accounts set up on classified networks holding nuclear secrets, April 28, 2025
DOGE employees have repeatedly been given access to systems in which they did not have security clearance. For example, NPR reported, “Two members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency were given accounts on classified networks that hold highly guarded details about America’s nuclear weapons.” The Trump administration claims that although accounts were created for the two DOGE employees on the network, they have never accessed it. Given how often the administration and DOGE have lied, it is foolish to accept such claims at face value. It’s possible they have not accessed information on the network. It’s also possible they have, but have not accessed any classified information (such access requires additional steps). It’s also possible they have accessed classified information and even downloaded it as a whistleblower has claimed happened for National Labor Board data. A full investigation is necessary to find out.
DOGE team gain accounts on classified systems with nuclear secrets : NPR
Corruption
According to many news outlets, including Gizmodo, “The Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial announced Thursday that its stablecoin will be used to complete a $2 billion transaction between MGX, an investment firm owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, and cryptocurrency exchange Binance.” As we’ve noted previously, Trump’s cryptocurrency is one of the most corrosive, corrupting acts of his second term, becoming the old faithful corruption geyser of the administration, like clockwork, spewing corruption. As Gizmodo wrote, “You really can’t even begin to count just how many conflicts of interest are taking place…The announcement was made on stage Thursday by Zach Witkoff, one of the co-founders of World Liberty Financial, alongside Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. Witkoff is the son of billionaire Trump buddy Steve Witkoff, who happens to currently serve as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East.” And yet, nothing is being done about this—in Congress, in the courts, or anywhere else. America has turned into a banana republic nearly overnight (although with tariffs those bananas are becoming more expensive).
Spreading 2020 Election Lies, May 1, 2025
Nothing has been more corruptive of America than Trump’s 2020 election denial which continues to this day, including in reprisals we’ve tracked here against those who have correctly said it was a fair and free election that Trump lost. But the corrosiveness of the election denial is widespread as evidenced by the state of Oklahoma inserting election denial into its lesson plans for high school students. In one of the mandated lesson plans, the following task is assigned: “Identify discrepancies in 2020 election results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of “bellwether county” trends.” This is a blatant attempt to indoctrinate a new generation into the Big Lies of Trump. It is a degradation of America. Trump’s election denial seeps into everything, like a virus, including into high school education.
https://x.com/juddlegum/status/1917958279008764162?s=61&t=t6N8qw9dfJ3m7pXwd4QmCg
Revoking Global Entry Status of former official for saying Biden on the 2020 election, May 1, 2025
We love our Global Entry Status, something we pay for and must be interviewed for, which makes air travel easier. But if the Trump administration ever discovers our weekly Trump Law-Breaking and Corruption Tracker, we could lose this travel aid. Because he appears to be weaponizing it: The Trump administration revoked the Global Traveler status of Chris Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It turns out Krebs has repeatedly said the 2020 election was fair and square. In addition, according to CNN, “Trump earlier this month stripped Krebs of any existing security clearance he may still hold since leaving office and ordered the Justice Department to probe the former official.” Are you scared yet? Not nearly enough.
https://x.com/paulg/status/1917908806488518807?s=61&t=t6N8qw9dfJ3m7pXwd4QmCg
https://x.com/paulg/status/1917908806488518807?s=61&t=t6N8qw9dfJ3m7pXwd4QmCg
Freight Technologies Inc Buys $Trump to influence policy, April 30, 2025
The above headline is not an exaggeration nor our interpretation of an action. It is literally stated in the press released issued by Freight Technologies in announcing it is buying $20 million in Trump’s corrupt crypto fund, “We believe that the addition of the Official Trump tokens are an excellent way to diversify our crypto treasury, and also an effective way to advocate for fair, balanced, and free trade between Mexico and the US. (bold emphasis ours)” Freight Technologies offers solutions for cross U.S. – Mexico border trade. So, tariffs between the two countries could hamper business. But, of course, there are always exceptions to tariffs, which the Trump administration has been handing out to—well, companies with access and the ability to pay off Trump and his cronies. Maybe we should be applauding Freight Technologies for being so upfront and transparent about making a political payoff—it will allow us to benchmark what $20 million buys from Trump. Or maybe someone–Congress or the Courts–should work to end this shameful corruption.
Freight Technologies Secures up to USD $20 Million to Create an Official Trump Token ($TRUMP) Treasury – Freight Technologies
Donald Trump Jr. co-founds new private members club, Executive Branch, with a $500,000 fee, April 30, 2025
There’s a long tradition of the families of Presidents earning money in dubious ways through their access and use of their relative’s name. And, yes, Hunter Biden was a part of the dubious tradition. But Trump’s kids, like their father, are always willing to take things to the next corrupt level. Donald Trump, Jr., has started a new club in Washington, D.C. called the “Executive Branch.” It held a launch party last weekend “that included at least a half dozen members of President Donald Trump’s administration as well as wealthy CEOs, tech founders and policy experts.” There’s a $500k membership fee, but also annual dues, the cost of which has not been disclosed. The club will be located somewhere in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. As Groucho Marx said, we refuse to join any club that would have us as a member and we’re proud we’d never be accepted at this one.
Donald Trump Jr. co-founds new private members club, Executive Branch, with a $500,000 fee
Negotiations on Paramount Merger and lawsuit against CBS, April 29, 2024
Paramount is trying to gain approval from the FCC for a merger with Skydance. Paramount owns CBS which produces 60 Minutes. Trump sued Paramount and CBS over its pre-election interview with Kamala Harris, a suit that “has been widely described as frivolous.” But Paramount, and every other company in the land, has mountains of evidence that Trump will weaponize the law. And so Paramount is apparently nearing a settlement with Trump over the lawsuit, the sum of which is so far not known. Paramount, according to the Los Angeles Times, “is eager to put the 60 Minutes controversy behind it so that it can move forward with its sale to David Ellison’s Skydance Media.” This is Putin-Russia type of stuff—the kind of thing that happens in Argentina in the early 20th Century. There’s a good chance America ends up like Argentina did following Peronism and a century of economic and political idiocy.
CBS owner Paramount reportedly intends to settle Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit – Ars Technica
Destroying the Voting Rights section of the Justice Department, April 28, 2025
The Guardian reported, “Donald Trump’s appointees at the Department of Justice have removed all of the senior civil servants working as managers in the department’s voting section and directed attorneys to dismiss all active cases, according to people familiar with the matter, part of a broader attack on the department’s civil rights division.” The Trump administration and its hangers-on have been gunning to destroy this function of the Justice Department for many moons. The Guardian also reported, “Political appointees have also instructed career employees to dismiss all of their active cases without meeting with them and offering a rationale – a significant break with the department’s practices and norms.” And, of course, this is partly related to the 2020 election: “Cleta Mitchell, a Trump ally who aided his effort to try and overturn the 2020 election, has called for mass firings in the civil rights division. ‘Every lawyer in the Voting Section and likely in the Civil Rights Division needs to be terminated. They are not supportive of Pres Trump or MAGA. There has to be a reckoning. These are leftwing activists who have come from and should return to their leftwing organizations,’ she wrote in a post on X shortly after the election.”
Trump’s justice department appointees remove leadership of voting unit | Trump administration | The Guardian
April 7 – April 20, 2025
Breaking the Law
Continued Attempts to Dismantle CFPB, April 17, 2025
The Trump administration, despite a court order stating that it can only fire these folks for cause, continued to try to sack 1400 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The Washington Post reported, “Employees received memos from acting CFPB director Russell Vought saying they would have access to their work systems until 6 p.m. Friday and then be placed on administrative leave for a limited period.” But “U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued a written order Friday that halted the firings pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents the CFPB’s roughly 1,700 workers.” There are good arguments to make it easier to fire and hire federal employees. But the Trump administration is not attempting to change the rules, it is disobeying them.
Consumer financial watchdog lays off most of its employees – The Washington Post
CFPB job cuts blocked by federal judge while union lawsuit proceeds
Deportation Without Due Process, Ongoing
We’ve been in a Constitutional Crisis for months but this week in disobeying the US Supreme Court’s order to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvadoran prison, there’s no hiding the extent and depth of the disaster. In addition, at a media availability with El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, Trump said he wants to send US citizens to El Salvador’s prisons. Trump did not ask for or demand the return of Garcia, who was mistakenly sent to El Salvador and Bukele said it was preposterous that he would send him back to America. A U.S. Senator through persistence met with Garcia late this week. Meanwhile Trump displayed for cameras a photo that had been doctored to show gang tattoos on Garcia’s knuckles. That Trump and his cronies lie about Garcia is bad. But whether Garcia is or is not a gang member or has committed any crimes is not the crux of the issue. No due process and disobeying court orders are the foundational issues here. We are disappearing people to dubious prisons in foreign countries in direct contradiction of the US Supreme Court. The Constitution is torn asunder. The time has come for effective, smart rebellion against the lawless, authoritarian Trump administration.
https://x.com/jonlemire/status/1911825703458279801?s=46&t=1NlmboOw1EZGtE-4xAejoQ
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/14/trump-bukele-meeting-abrego-garcia/
Defying Judge’s Order on Associated Press Access, April 14, 2025
Despite a federal judge telling the Trump administration it can’t prevent “Associated Press journalists from attending presidential events because of the news organization’s decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico,” the Trump administration does just that. On Monday, “The AP was not included in the limited pool of journalists covering the president, as it had been before the ban. And when AP journalists attempted to cover Trump’s Oval Office meeting with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, they were rebuffed.” The Trump administration has ignored multiple court orders. Trump acts as a dictator. This cannot stand.
AP journalists held out of White House events despite judge’s ruling | The Seattle Times
Freezing Harvard Funds Without Following Civil Rights Law, April 14, 2025
You may hate Harvard’s policies or love them—this is not about that. It’s once again the Trump administration not following the law when it froze $2.2 billion to Harvard, claiming that the college violated civil rights laws. But as the Washington Post notes, “The administration’s action skipped over requirements that say the government must identify and list violations, offer a hearing, notify Congress and then wait 30 days before applying penalties.” The Trump administration continues to act across domains as if there are no laws governing its actions. With regards to Harvard, the Trump administration is trying to claim incompetence rather than malfeasance, “On Friday, the New York Times reported that two Trump administration sources said an April 11 letter signed by three federal officials to Harvard President Alan Garber was ‘unauthorized’ and should not have been sent.” But Harvard claims this is not true, that the Trump administration “doubled down” on its threats to the university. There is ample evidence the Trump administration is incompetent. There are also reams of evidence of its authoritarian nature. They are not mutually exclusive.
Trump administration’s official reasons for cutting Harvard’s $2.2B unclear – The Washington Post
Corruption
Shaking Down Media For Profit, April 14, 2025
We forgot to include Amazon paying Melania Trump $40 million for her documentary in our previous lists of corrupt acts. Our apologies. It’s hard to keep up! Now comes news that “Warner Bros. asked Trump’s orbit how to improve their relationship. Trump’s people pointed to the $40 million Bezos paid for Melania’s doc and suggested giving Don Jr a Discovery hunting show and more pro-Trump voices on CNN.” Even as the Trump administration pushes the country back to 19th century foreign policy, it also mirrors developing country corruption. The United States economy and democracy teeter.
https://x.com/nick_field90/status/1911782724022436225?s=46&t=1NlmboOw1EZGtE-4xAejoQ
Trump administration overrode Social Security staff to list immigrants as dead, April 12, 2025
The Trump administration forced Social Security staff to declare thousands of living immigrants as dead. When an official, Greg Pearre, called them on it, he was escorted from the building. This is likely illegal but for now we will put this in the corrupt category. The Washington Post reports, “Pearre told Coulter that the plan was illegal, cruel and risked declaring the wrong people dead, according to three people familiar with the events.” And, in fact, since this report was published, it turns out many such people have been declared dead who are still alive, including U.S. citizens. Incompetence and corruption are the cream and coffee of the Trump administration, they almost always go together.
Trump administration overrode Social Security staff to list immigrants as dead – The Washington Post
Trump announces deals with more law firms for a combined $600 million, April 11, 2025
We’ve listed previous instances of the Trump administration shaking down law firms for money and this particular type of graft and corruption continues. The Washington Post reported, “President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he had reached agreements with five more law firms pledging to provide a combined $600 million in legal services for causes he supports, the latest deals firms have struck with him in apparent bids to avoid punishment.” As we’ve said before, this is one of the most corrupting of the corrupt practices of the Trump administration. It’s stealing money, it’s dissuading law firms from representing those in the Trump crosshairs and it is generally deeply corrupting of the justice system. We recently listened to the All-In podcast in which David Sacks was one of the guests (and former host of the show). During the podcast, he continually asserted there is no evidence of the Trump administration favoring or punishing companies. Sacks lies like a 19-year-old drinking beer at a kegger, often and voluptuously. The law firms being shaken down is one of the most chilling examples of the cronyism of this administration.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/11/trump-law-firms-deals-orders/
ICE stopping ideas from crossing border, April 10, 2025
They deleted the Tweet but nonetheless the ICE account tweeted, as you can see at the link below, “If it crosses the border illegally, it’s our job to stop it: People, Money, Products, Ideas.” Yep, the mindset of the Trump administration is to stop ideas from crossing the border. Authoritarianism is second nature to this administration. Thankfully the tweet was indeed deleted but it is very revealing of the anti-enlightenment of our current government.
Justin Amash on X: “The dystopian future is now. Your government is hard at work stopping “ideas” from crossing the U.S. border. (Reposted as image because the government deleted the post.) https://t.co/crUMXLhGTB” / X
White House pulls nominee after it is revealed she favored accepting the results of the 2020 election, April 10, 2025
Kathleen Sgamma was nominated to be director of the Bureau of Land Management. She had been the longtime president of the Western Energy Alliance and supported fossil fuel and mining expansion. But suddenly her nomination was withdrawn. Why? Not for any policy reasons but because it turned out in a memo to oil execs back in January 2021 she wrote “that she was ‘disgusted’ by Trump ‘spreading misinformation’ on the Jan. 6 attacks and ‘dishonoring the vote of the People.’” Trump will not stand for anyone stating the truth of the original sin of the Trump administration—trying to overturn a legitimate election.
Ramesh Ponnuru on X: “White House pulls nominee after it comes out she favored accepting the results of the 2020 election.” / X
March 31 – April 6, 2025
Breaking the Law
Second TikTok 75-Day Extension, April 4, 2025
Just a reminder it was against the law to institute the original 75-day extension and this second extension also breaks the law. Whether you are for or against the TikTok law overwhelmingly passed by Congress and signed by the president, there is nothing in that law that allows for these extensions.
Trump extends TikTok ban deadline by 75 days – The Washington Post
Continued No Due Process Wreaking Havoc, Ongoing
The consequences of the Trump administration making legal decisions with no due process continue to crop up. Kilmar Abrego García was one of those illegally deported to an El Salvadoran prison last month due to an “administrative error.” The Trump administration essentially said tough luck, that there was no recourse. U.S. courts said not so fast, “U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to return Kilmar Abrego García, the husband of a U.S. citizen and longtime Maryland resident, to the United States by no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday.”
Judge orders Trump administration to bring back Md. man mistakenly deported – The Washington Post
Corruption
Constantly Lying About…Nearly Everything, Ongoing and Constant
Bald-faced lies are a form of corruption in themselves, and something we have not included here but should have. Trump and his minions lie, continually and constantly. And not just the typical politician’s fudging the truth but out and out mendacity. We could provide a thousand different examples on a thousand different issues but in honor of tariff week, let’s focus on Trump’s lies on Liberation Day. Because we have neither the time nor space to detail them all, let’s focus on the one that’s received lots of attention. At his announcement, Trump held up a chart showing the alleged tariff rates of other countries on U.S. goods. Except they weren’t the tariff rates of these countries. The numbers were essentially derived by taking the U.S. trade deficit with each country and dividing by the country’s exports to the U.S. Yes, in the denominator the equation included price elasticity of import demand and elasticity of import prices with respect to tariffs. But the crack economists set the former at 4 and the latter at .25 so when multiplying them it comes to one (the economists who developed the theory btw state the numbers 4 and .25 are nonsense). Meaning the equation boils down to the trade deficit divided by exports. This makes no sense economically. But if the Trump administration had labeled the column accurately at least there could be honest argument about the calculation. But, nope, they lied and labeled that column “Tariffs charged to the U.S.A.: Including Currency Manipulation and Trade Barriers.” That is not what that column displayed. Just outright lying, one of thousands, many of which are very damaging—in this case helping to eliminate trillions of dollars of wealth. Outright bald-faced lying is horribly corrosive to civic society, to being able to run a functioning democracy. But nearly every hour of every day, that is what this administration does.
The false things Trump said about tariffs during his announcement – The Washington Post
March 24 – 30, 2025
Breaking the Law
Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Yunseo Chung as a foreign policy threat. Administration officials were unable to locate Chung and she sued the administration. Chung, who has been in America as a legal permanent resident since she was seven-years-old, participated in pro-Palestinian protests last year and was part of a protest earlier this month against what the protesters asserted were “excessive punishments meted out by the Columbia administration to student demonstrators.” The Washington Post reported that “A federal judge in New York on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order blocking authorities from detaining her or transferring her outside the district.” It should be noted that Chung is only one of a number of people detained or deported with no due process. This is an ongoing violation of the Constitution.
Columbia student Yunseo Chung sues Trump administration over deportation – The Washington Post
Trump election executive order, March 25 2025
Trump issued an executive order on elections requiring among other things voters must show proof of citizenship and mail-in ballots must be counted by Election Day. As the Washington Post reports, “The U.S. Constitution designates the power to regulate the ‘time, place and manner’ of elections to the states, with the proviso that Congress can step in and override those laws. It gives no specific power to the president to do so.” So the President doesn’t have the power to change how elections are conducted but it should also be noted that some of the executive order’s provisions are impractical or will have a severe impact on citizen’s ability to vote. For example, the executive order states that passports can be used to prove citizenship but birth certificates are not allowed. At least half of Americans don’t have a passport. There are probably some commonsense election reforms Americans could agree on but they need to come from either the states or in certain cases the U.S. Congress. The President can’t mandate them in an executive order.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/25/trump-elections-citizenship-proof/
Perjury to Congress, March 24, 2025
Alleged Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (it is difficult to accept the U.S. Senate confirmed such a person) lied to Congress during her testimony on Monday, March 24th after the Signal story broke. She claimed no classified information was discussed in the group chat. This is a lie. More accurately she perjured herself in her Congressional testimony. I realize in this day and age perjury might be a quaint concept but personally I prefer the rule of law.
Congress questions Gabbard and Ratcliffe on Yemen war plans in Signal chat – The Washington Post
Conducting classified discussions, including military operations on Signal, March 23, 2025
It’s hard to know where to start in this bonfire of the idiocies. I won’t go into detail since the story has been covered extensively already by news organizations but just a reminder that it is against the law to conduct classified discussions—attack plans and operational details are obviously classified material. In addition, as a judge rightly ruled on Thursday, there are laws mandating the preservation of official conversations. The question we have to ask ourselves is why the use of Signal? Why are cabinet-level officials and their staff not using the approved secure channels of communication? The likely answer means the Signal controversy also belongs in the corruption category.
Judge orders government to preserve Signal messages about Houthi military strike | AP News
Corruption
The Trump administration sanctioned another law firm—Jenner and Block—revoking the firm’s lawyers’ security clearances, denying them access to government buildings and barring companies with federal contracts from using the firm. Why Jenner and Block? The Post reports the firm “employed attorney Andrew Weissmann after he worked as a prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller III’s special counsel investigation of Trump in his first term.” As we noted with the other firms that Trump has sanctioned, this is blatant corruption. But these targeted attacks by the Trump administration appear to be having their intended effect. The Post reports, “Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in the wake of his attacks.”
Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in wake of his attacks – The Washington Post
Continuing to Promote his cryptocurrency, March 23, 2025
We covered this in the first week’s edition, but Trump is at it again posting on Truth Social, “I LOVE $TRUMP – SO COOL!!! THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!” Our apologies if we didn’t type the correct number of exclamation marks he used, we can’t count that high. But to remind everyone, anybody can buy Trump’s cryptocurrency anonymously, pumping up the price and enriching Trump. Putin could do this, a business currying favor with the administration could do this (including a law firm targeted by Trump), anybody seeking favors from Trump can do this. It is highly likely that all sorts of deals by foreign and domestic actors are taking place that are driving policy and decisions that we have no way of knowing about. What a catastrophe.
Promoting his cryptocurrency
March 17 – 23, 2025
Breaking the Law
This has occurred numerous times but I will use the example of Julio Noriega of Chicago. WBEZ Chicago tells the story: Noriega, 54, a U.S. citizen who, according to court documents, was arrested, handcuffed and spent most of the night at an ICE processing center in suburban Broadview. He was never questioned about his citizenship and was only released after agents looked at his ID. “I was born in Chicago, Illinois and am a United States citizen,” Noriega said in his statement, adding that on Jan. 31, after buying pizza in Berwyn he was surrounded by ICE agents and arrested. Officers took away his wallet, which had his ID and social security card. “They then handcuffed me and pushed me into a white van where other people were handcuffed as well.” There’s a reason due process is a thing.
Immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen and created warrants after an arrest, lawyers say in court – WBEZ Chicago
No Due Process for Immigrants Being Deported, Friday, March 21st
Another illegal aspect of the deportation of Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador that I covered last week is there was no due process. On Friday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg questioned the Trump administration about this issue. The ramifications of the Trump administration deporting people en masse with no clear idea if they are really part of a Venezuelan gang became even more clear this week. For example, a journalist at the El Salvadoran prison reports, “The intake began with slaps. One young man sobbed when a guard pushed him to the floor. He said, ‘I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.’ I believed him. But maybe it’s only because he didn’t look like what I had expected—he wasn’t a tattooed monster.” Barbarians inside the gate.
Judge rebukes Justice Dept., raises due process questions in deportation case
Corruption
Attacks on Judges, Throughout the week
Both Trump and Elon Musk called judges names and threatened impeachment for their fulfilling their judicial duties. Here’s the Washington Post’s report: Elon Musk sought to rally support on social media Wednesday for the impeachment of a federal judge, echoing calls from President Donald Trump and his allies for Congress to take action against judges who rule against the Trump administration. Musk took aim at a judge who recently blocked the administration’s attempted ban on transgender people serving in the military. Earlier Wednesday, Trump leveled a fresh attack on a federal judge who ordered the government not to use a wartime authority to deport suspected Venezuelan gang members without due process. Not that it should matter but some of the judges that Trump, Musk and their minions are attacking are conservative. In fact, one study found that liberal, moderate and conservative justices are ruling against the Trump administration at a similar rate. Regardless, the Trump administration’s attacks on the judiciary branch are yet another blaring alarm about the state of our democracy.
Elon Musk seeks to rally support for impeachment of judge who ruled against Trump – The Washington Post
Law Firm Making Deal To Avoid Sanction, March 20, 2025
Earlier this month, as I previously documented, the Trump administration sanctioned law firms purely as an act of revenge for their doing legal legal work on behalf of Trump’s perceived enemies. This week one of those firms—Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison—agreed to “provide $40 million in pro bono legal services to the Trump administration.” So now the law firm will no longer lose security clearances, access to government buildings, and lose contracts. It’s hard to be shocked by anything the Trump administration does but this is a breathtaking piece of corruption. Private companies are threatened with sanctions and then avoid the sanctions by paying off Trump. This is the very definition of corruption.
Law firm Paul Weiss agrees to deal with Trump, prompting criticism – The Washington Post
Commerce Secretary Lutnick urging people to buy Tesla stock, March 20, 2025
On Thursday on Fox News, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged viewers to buy Telsa stock. This was in the wake of a variety of knuckleheads around the country vandalizing Telsa cars (stop doing this, knuckleheads—it is counterproductive to fighting the corruption and law-breaking of the Trump administration). Lutnick said on Fox, “I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again.” This, of course, is a violation of ethic standards for government officials. The Washington Post reports, “With only a few exceptions, the Code of Federal Regulations prohibits executive branch employees from using their public office ‘for the endorsement of any product, service, or enterprise.’”
Lutnick urges Fox News viewers to buy Tesla stock, raising ethics questions – The Washington Post
Eliminating the collection and publication of data, March 19 and previously
This appears to be taking place in a number of agencies as part of DOGE’s slash and burn policies. The latest example is at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federally backed mortgage institutions. Jed Kolko notes on X: “Is this the end of the FHFA house price index? Sounds like most of the research & stats division of FHFA was put on leave. FHFA produces the essential government report on home price trends, nationally and locally.” So, you may ask, this might be dumb, but why is it corrupt? Authoritarian countries often misrepresent economic data to paint a rosy picture of the economy to help them hold onto power. Many studies have documented this. Here is one example. Eliminating data is a worrisome sign for what the Trump administration might do in the future.
Housing agencies begin closing offices, escorting employees out – Government Executive
March 10 – 16, 2025
Breaking the Law
Invoking Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to Deport Venezuelans, March 15, 2025
This act has been used three times—during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. What do those three instances have in common? Congress had formally declared war. We are, you might have noticed, not at war with Venezuela. Congress has not declared war, there are no battles or skirmishes between the U.S. and Venezuela. A judge quickly blocked the action of the Trump administration, including forcing planes in the air with Venezuelans to turn around and come back to the U.S. It should be noted that the Trump administration tried to quietly invoke this law illegally, knowing full well if word got out a judge would block it—because the action is illegal. Trump not only breaks the law, he knows he’s breaking the law, so acts like a thief in the night to steal American democracy. Between this and the actions by the Trump administration below, we are in a full-blown constitutional and democracy crisis in the United States.
Judge blocks Trump after he invokes wartime Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportations – The Washington Post
Cancelling of 83 percent of USAID Programs, March 10, 2025
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the “cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.” As we’ve noted in previous posts, only Congress can cancel programs that were authorized and appropriated by Congress. Some of the USAID programs, if they are funded by funds generally authorized for USAID by Congress without specific directions on how it is to be spent, could be cancelled. But the administration would still have to use the funds for similar purposes. If the Trump administration wants to delete these programs and funding, they have to work through Congress to get legislation passed.
Marco Rubio on X: “After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID. The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States. In” / X
The Detention of Mahmoud Khalil, March 9, 2025
Khalil is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. But he was taken away by the federal government and is being detained in Louisiana (for judge shopping purposes) without access to a lawyer. He has not been charged with a crime. After initially offering no explanation for detaining Khalil, the Trump administration cited the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952, “which allows the Secretary of State to declare someone ‘deportable’ if they have ‘reasonable ground to believe’ that the immigrant’s “presence or activities in the U.S. … would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” The Trump administration is also stating that there will be many more to come like Khalil. This is an astonishing attack on the First Amendment which will be tested in Court. We’re very worried the Supreme Court, which last summer declared the President above the law, will now demolish the First Amendment.
Khalis may have views that you don’t agree with, which I may not agree with, but in America he has the right to hold these views. If a legal permanent resident can be deported for stating their beliefs—not for acting on those beliefs or breaking the law—then we have eliminated free speech for permanent legal residents. The Trump administration is asserting that a single official—the Secretary of State—can determine what is free speech and what is an adverse consequence for U.S. foreign policy. We remind you that foreign policy changes in the United States all the time. Sometimes within the same administration. So, if a legal permanent resident expresses a belief earlier in a presidential administration that is in synch with that administration’s foreign policy, but that foreign policy changes later in the administration, under the Trump administration’s assertions, that legal permanent resident can be deported. And it’s a slippery slope to full American citizens facing the same loss of a fundamental American right. If the Trump administration arrested Khalil for somehow aiding and abetting Hamas in a way that breaks the law, then detaining him would not break the First Amendment. But that is not what the Trump administration did. Its actions against Khalil are terrifying and should be protested in every effective manner.
Can Marco Rubio Revoke Mahmoud Khalil’s Green Card? What To Know About Little-Known Law Used To Justify Protester’s Arrest.
FIRE demands answers from Trump admin officials on arrest of Mahmoud Khalil | The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
Corruption
Trump Calls Certain News Media Organizations Illegal, March 14, 2025
During a speech at the Department of Justice, the very fact of which is unusual, Trump said, ““I believe that CNN and MS-DNC, who literally write 97.6 percent bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party and in my opinion, they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal, what do they do is illegal.” Trump went on to say, “And it has to stop, it has to be illegal, it’s influencing judges and it’s really changing law, and it just cannot be legal. I don’t believe it’s legal, and they do it in total coordination with each other.” We’re not here to defend cable TV news, most of which is inane and counter-productive to understanding the world. But they are not illegal. News media organizations, and I can’t believe I have to remind people of this, are protected by the First Amendment. Trump isn’t concerned by bad news organizations or he would have included places like Fox News in his list of complaints. Trump wants to cut off specific viewpoints. He is an authoritarian and stopping free speech is what authoritarians do. He continues to corrupt and damage American democracy at an unprecedented rate and level.
Trump suggests media outlets be deemed illegal
Shredding of USAID Documents, March 11, 2025
U.S. Administration for International Development (USAID) officials ordered staff to shred documents at the U.S. headquarters building, according to the Washington Post. The article states, “…senior USAID official ordered employees to shred or burn documents at the organization’s Washington headquarters, including those related to agency personnel and those stored in safes used for classified material.” First, there are procedures and laws for determining what documents to shed and it’s not at all clear those were followed in this case. Second, there are numerous lawsuits against the Trump administration for the way it is firing USAID staff and cutting its programs and funds. Now is not the time for shedding documents, some of which could be relevant to those cases.
USAID workers told to shred, burn documents, unnerving Congress – The Washington Post
Musk Calling Senator Mark Kelly a “traitor” and calling for the impeachment of judges, Throughout the week of March 10 – 16, 2025
Elon Musk called Mark Kelly a traitor for his expressing support for Ukraine in its defending itself against Russia’s invasion. Musk also multiple times said judges should be impeached for ruling against the Trump administration. That a figure with so much power within the Trump administration (though not in a position that required confirmation by the Senate) called an elected leader a traitor for frankly benign views—views that more than 50 percent of the American public share—is a betrayal of democracy. That he is calling for impeachment of a judge is an interference in the that branch of the U.S. government. That Musk does so holding immense power in the U.S. government but with no ability for Congress or the Judiciary to check that power, is an abomination.
Musk calls Sen. Mark Kelly a ‘traitor’ in response to post about visiting Ukraine – The Washington Post
Elon Musk Immediately Calls for Judges to Be Impeached After Rulings Overturn DOGE Firings
March 3 – 9, 2025
Breaking the Law
More firings of Justice Department officials, March 7, 2025
The Justice Department fired some more Justice Department officials, including those involved with ethics (can’t have any of that in this administration) and pardons. The Washington Post reports, “Jeffrey Ragsdale, the head of the Office of Professional Responsibility, and Liz Oyer, the U.S. pardon attorney, were among those removed…” The lawyer heading up bankruptcy was also fired which makes sense for an administration bankrupt of morals. These are apolitical positions and are supposed to only be fired for political reason. But not in this administration.
Trump’s Justice Department ousts several top career officials – The Washington Post
Corruption
Targeting Law Firms Trump Doesn’t Like, March 6, 2025
This is likely illegal but for now we’ll put it in the corruption category. Trump signed an executive order calling out by name Perkins Coie Law Firm (headquartered here in Seattle—I once knew many of their lawyers and partners). The Washington Post reports that the executive order, “bans the federal government from hiring it, or from using contractors who work with it, except in limited circumstances. The order also bars Perkins Coie employees from entering federal buildings and suspends their security clearances.” This is all because Perkins Coie has represented Hillary Clinton in the past and been involved in the Russian dossier investigation of the first Trump administration. The Trump administration, like a developing or authoritarian country, continues to favor specific companies and target others. This corruption inevitably will degrade the U.S. economy, among many other bad effects.
Trump expands retribution campaign against law firms that aided his foes – The Washington Post
FAA Using Starlink, Ongoing
Elon Musk has directed one of his SpaceX engineers to implement Starlink technology at FAA, despite Verizon having won a contract in 2023 to do the same thing. There is no doubt that the FAA’s communications network, and air traffic control technology, is long overdue for an upgrade. But just willy-nilly implementing Starlink technology, with no process whatsoever (even admitting that federal government procurement processes are also in need of reform) is blatant corruption. The Atlantic reports, “In 2023, they awarded Verizon a 15-year, $2.4 billion contract to modernize the network. But that award is now in jeopardy, as agency officials race to determine whether aspects of the work can be allocated to SpaceX instead—and how much extra money they would need to come up with to make that happen.” That Elon Musk, arguably the most powerful person in the second Trump administration, can mandate his company does the work at the FAA, outside of any established procedures, is not what anyone but Elon Musk signed up for.
The FAA’s Troubles Are More Serious Than You Know – The Atlantic
February 24 – March 2, 2025
Breaking the Law
Asking IRS for taxpayers data of possible illegal immigrants. Reported February 27, 2025
The Washington Post reported, “Department of Homeland Security authorities asked the IRS on Thursday to connect the names of potentially undocumented immigrants with the people’s last known addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.” It is illegal for the IRS to provide taxpayer information to outsiders, including other parts of the federal government. The IRS itself can do investigations, including of those suspected of being in the country illegally (though since DOGE has fired hundreds of IRS employees there’s fewer workers to conduct investigations). But they can’t hand over taxpayer information to DHS. Remember the names DHS are asking for are potentially here illegally, not definitively here illegally.
IRS rejected request for addresses of people believed to be in U.S. illegally – The Washington Post
Corruption
SEC Halts investigation of Justin Sun, who has infused funds into Trump-owned company. January 26, 2025
In March, 2023, Sun, a Chinese national, had been charged by the SEC of crypto fraud. After Trump was elected, Sun announced he “purchased $30 million in crypto tokens from World Liberty Financial (WLF), a new venture backed by President Donald Trump and his family.” This apparently was the largest investment in WLF. On Wednesday, the SEC, now under Trump control, asked the judge to drop the case. The judge did so.
BREAKING: SEC halts fraud prosecution of Chinese national who sent Trump millions
Demotion of Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney DC Office for working on January 6th investigations. January 28th
The Trump administration continues to punish anyone involved in the January 6th investigations and prosecutions. The Washington Post reports, “Seven top leaders of the U.S. attorney’s office for Washington, D.C., were demoted to misdemeanor and entry-level intake positions Friday.” In previous years, these seven were assigned to work on January 6th and other cases against those associated with Trump, such as Steve Bannon. The demotion of these seven comes on top of other retribution and firings of others involved in investigating and prosecuting the January 6th insurrection. These are blatantly corrupt actions by Trump II and undermine democracy.
Seven top D.C. prosecutors demoted in Trump U.S. attorney-led purge – The Washington Post
Dismantling of Civil Rights Office. January 28, 2025
The Trump administration is closing civil rights offices and firing staff across multiple agencies who work on civil rights issues. It is part of the anti-woke crusade, which sure seems very woke to us in its zeal and inaccuracies. One example of the closings and firings: “The Social Security Administration this week announced it was closing its Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, where about 150 people worked investigating civil rights complaints, preventing harassment and ensuring accommodations for people with disabilities…” You might be against some of the investigations these agencies do. But these offices and staff are upholding current law. Change the law if you don’t want investigations of the laws being broken.
Federal agencies are dismantling civil rights, EEO offices – The Washington Post
February 17 – 23, 2025
Breaking the Law
Ignoring court order to resume foreign assistance spending. February 20, 2025
”U.S. District Court Judge Amir H. Ali ordered the Trump administration to comply with a temporary restraining order (TRO) lifting its 90-day pause on foreign aid.” But the Trump administration has ignored this order. We know first-hand organizations who are still not receiving USAID funding despite this Judge’s order. People keep saying they are worried we will enter a constitutional crisis. They are using the wrong tense, it has already occurred. In fact, there is an ongoing assault on the Constitution.
Trump administration says it can keep acting despite judges’ orders – The Washington Post
Corruption
Musk threatening companies to advertise on x. Revealed on February 19, 2025
The advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group asserts that a lawyer from X told them, “Get your clients to spend more on Elon Musk’s social-media platform, or else….Interpublic leaders interpreted the communications from X as reminders that the recently announced $13 billion deal to merge Interpublic with rival Omnicom Group could be torpedoed, or at least slowed down, by the Trump administration.” This is a blatant case of corruption. Hat tip: Kevin Drum.
Exclusive | X Hinted at Possible Deal Trouble in Talks With Ad Giant to Increase Spending – WSJ
February 10 – 16, 2025
Breaking the Law
Continuing to break TikTok law. February 13, 2025
This week the Trump administration’s justice department sent a letter to Apple and Google assuring them they would not be prosecuted under the TikTok law. This letter essentially executes on a promise made in the January 20th executive order calling for a 75-delay in the law. Consequently, Google and Apple have now restored TikTok to their app stores. The Justice Department has no legal power to do this just as Trump had no power to issue such an executive order. The law was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed by Biden. This is a blatant breaking of the law.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/13/tiktok-app-stores-apple-google/
Corruption
Dismissing Without Prejudice charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. February 11, 2025
As the Washington Post reports, “acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove said the decision was not based on the evidence or theory of the case against Adams” but rather because Adams “should be free ‘to devote full attention and resources’ to addressing illegal immigration and violent crime in New York City.” It’s okay to break the law as long as you adhere to Trump’s immigration policies. Thus far lawyers in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in NYC are refusing to implement this corruption.
Prosecutors should drop charges against NY Mayor Eric Adams, DOJ says – The Washington Post
Suspending enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). February 10, 2025
The idea behind the suspension is to bolster U.S. business competitivness abroad. I’ve seen usually level headed analysts such as Noah Smith approve of this. But to our mind, this is further evidence of a descent into 19th century geopolitics and economy. The world economy is becoming less efficient and this will add to it.
Relief for Adani as Trump suspends foreign corrupt practices law
February 3 – 9, 2025
Breaking the Law
- Shutting Down and/or Reorganizing USAID. February 3, 2025USAID was created by statute and can’t just be shut down. It also cannot be reorganized without providing 15 days notice to Congress. It is also not clear that employees can be fired and recalled internationally in the way the Trump administration is doing.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN12500 - DOGE access to Treasury payment systems. (Sometime after January 20th, Judges ruling against occured on February 6, 2025)A judge has now struck this down but nonetheless this is another case of the Trump administration breaking the law.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/04/elon-musk-government-legal-doge/ and https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/nyregion/attorneys-general-trump-musk-suit.html
Corruption
- Loyalty Tests for law enforcement and intelligence Jobs. Ongoing
The Washington Post reports, “Candidates for top intelligence and law enforcement jobs were asked to give “yes” or “no” responses to questions such as: Was Jan. 6 “an inside job?” This is Communist Party of China/East Germany stuff.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/08/trump-administration-job-candidates-loyalty-screening/ - Elminates teams working to fight foreign interference in U.S. elections. February 9, 2025
The administration eliminated the FBI task force that works to “uncover covert efforts by Russia, China, Iran and other foreign adversaries to manipulate U.S. voters” and placed on administrative leave Homeland Security staff who work on the election security arm of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/08/trump-administration-cuts-election-security-teams/ - Calls for Palestinians to be evicted from Gaza. February 5, 2025
This is against international law. We decided the Breaking the Law Section above should only include U.S. laws so have placed this item under corruption.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/05/gaza-trump-ethnic-cleansing-displacement/ - Nominee for FBI has received payments from Russian entities and has investments in Chinese company, Shein. February 6, 2025
”This is the same nominee who has vowed to stop investigating Chinese espionage in the U.S. With such financial stakes, one is led to wonder why.”—Rush Doshi
https://x.com/RushDoshi/status/1886237936842092798 and https://x.com/RushDoshi/status/1887679736387625067
January 28 – February 2, 2025
Breaking the Law
- Deletion of federal websites. February 1, 2025
On Saturday, a bunch of websites we’re deleted, including foreignassistance.gov—that website is required by law by the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountabilty Act of 2016. If the site goes down for maintenance, that is probably not against the law but an extended downtime might be.
US Government Websites Are Disappearing in Real Time | WIRED - “Deferred resignation” offered to federal employees. January 28th, 2025
For now we’re putting this in italics. It is not clear under what authority the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) can offer these buyouts since the workers are employees of the agencies and their salaries funded by those agencies. It’s also not clear there is legal authority to offer early retirement
Musk team’s push for federal worker buyouts bypassed key Trump officials – The Washington Post
January 20 – 27, 2025
Breaking the Law
- Pausing all grants and loans disbursed by federal government. January 27, 2025
Congress authorizes and appropriates federal funds. The executive branch executes the dispersal of funding. It does not have the power to stop funding. From WA Post: The order’s legality may be contested, but the president is generally allowed under the law to defer spending for a period of time if certain conditions are met, according to budget experts. To comply, though, Trump must make clear which budget accounts are frozen, and the budget office’s order may not have given sufficient grounds under the law to pause the funding. Pausing it over policy disagreements is not legal, said Bobby Kogan, a federal budget expert at the left-leaning Center for American Progress and a former Biden administration official.
White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion – The Washington Post More details here: Trump Tries to Seize ‘the Power of the Purse’ – The Atlantic - Firing Inspector Generals at various agencies. January 24, 2025
The law requires the president to notify Congress 30 days before firing an inspector general.
Trump fires at least 14 independent inspectors general in late-night purge – The Washington Post - Blocking entry to migrants who have passed through countries with communicable diseases. January 20th 2025
Title 42 requires citing a specific communicable disease threat. The Trump administration did not do this.
Diseased Illegal Immigrants Aren’t “Invading” the United States | Cato at Liberty Blog - Issues unconstitutional executive order on birth right citizenship. January 20, 2025
To end such citizenship requires a constitutional amendment, not an executive order. The president does not have such power.
Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship – The White House - Tik Tok 75-day extension. January 20, 2025
There is no provision in the law for doing this (Biden also broke the law in his last day in office). The TikTok law provides for a 90-day extension, if Congress certifies there is tangible divestment of the company occurring. No such certification was made, no divestment was occurring.
TikTok Ban Live Updates: Trump Halts Ban For 75 Days—After CEO Attends Inauguration
Corruption
· Pardoned and commuted sentences of January 6 insurrectionists. January 20th, 2025
Excuses past anti-democratic behavior and sanctions future such efforts
Trump pardons some 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, commutes 14 sentences : NPR
· Executive Order “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government. January 20, 2025
Orders the federal government to investigate those who investigated the insurrection of January 6, 2020. It makes a baseless claim of persecution of insurrectionists: “And while the Department of Justice has ruthlessly prosecuted more than 1,500 individuals associated with January 6, and simultaneously dropped nearly all cases against BLM rioters. “
Ending The Weaponization Of The Federal Government – The White House
· Creation of meme coin, $Trump. January 18, 2025
Enriches Trump and his family by allowing individuals to buy his meme coin. This can easily become influence peddling.
Trump launches his own $TRUMP meme coin, price soars overnight – CBS News
