iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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iWillVote.com Pollock ➡️ turn 🔔 on @willpollock.com · 17/11/2025

oh nothing just Noem's side piece pulling strings for a spectacularly unqualified dolt to get the FEMA gig via @mattgertz.bsky.social from the other place 🎩 @clearingthefog.bsky.social

tweet from Matt Gertz reminding us about Corey Lewandowski putting in the good "mob word" for his dolt-pal to get a hugely consequential job that he's already failed at

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

A sickness. The statements I’ve seen from Dem officials about Charlie Kirk are putting the victim first, condemning the violence, and telling people to think about his family & children. Like humans. Republicans are transparently capitalizing on his death and openly using him.

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Shane Harris @shaneharris.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

theatlantic.com

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

CNN put together a collection of clips of various Trump officials who were on the signal chat criticizing Hillary Clinton’s email server

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 24/03/2025

NEW: The Trump administration invokes the state-secrets privilege, saying it will give Judge Boasberg no more information about deportation flights to inform his decision about whether the gov't defied his orders storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NOTICE INVOKING STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
The Executive Branch hereby notifies the Court that no further information will be
provided in response to the Court's March 18, 2025 Minute Order based on the state secrets privilege and the concurrently filed declarations of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Homeland Security.
This is a case about the President's plenary authority, derived from Article II and the
mandate of the electorate, and reinforced by longstanding statute, to remove from the homeland designated terrorists participating in a state-sponsored invasion of, and predatory incursion into, the United States. The Court has all of the facts it needs to address the compliance issues before
it. Further intrusions on the Executive Branch would present dangerous and wholly unwarranted separation-of-powers harms with respect to diplomatic and national security concerns that the
Court lacks competence to address.
Accordingly, the states secrets privilege forecloses further
demands for details that have no place in this matter, and the government will address the Court's order to show cause tomorrow by demonstrating that there is no basis for the suggestion of non-
compliance with any binding order.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

🔑 under-discussed point — why they were on signal:

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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

And here we go -- Fox News is now saying we should get rid of "due process" because it's too cumbersome. Brian Kilmeade: "But I also think it's not practical to think that we can do due process on 8 million people." www.mediamatters.org/brian-kilmea...

mediamatters.org

Fox's Brian Kilmeade: “It's not practical to think that we can do due process on 8 million people” Co-host Lawrence Jones: Constitutional rights “are afforded to illegals in this country. We should re...

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The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 11/03/2025

Get in loser, we're tanking the economy

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Our country is being run by an MLM full of Frank Abagnale’s. Trump, Musk and so many of MAGA’s “thought leaders” are always one step ahead of having their cons exposed to the people they’re grifting. Still amazes me that a combination of big tech, capitalism, and lazy reporting gave them the edge.

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Dean Obeidallah @deanobeidallah.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

"US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms" Trump and the GOP “will likely impact civic freedoms and reverse hard-won human rights gains around the world.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

theguardian.com

US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms

Civicus, an international non-profit, puts country alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia

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Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 07/03/2025

What has Musk been up to up north? Tesla reported selling 8,600 vehicles at four locations in Canada in three days - resulting in $43 million in government EV rebates - just before the government stopped those rebates. A single Toronto showroom claimed over 1,200 sales in a single day.

motorillustrated.com

Suspicious Tesla Sales Surge Triggers Canadian Government Investigation - Motor Illustrated

Tesla reported 8,600 sales in three days, triggering $43 million in government EV rebates. A single Toronto Tesla location claimed over 1,200 sales, raising concerns about possible rebate misuse. Tran...

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Mitch Chapman @mchapman42.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

"A government in a nation this big is going to be big. It is also going to be, for the most part, useful and even essential. And yet, with no vetting or assessment or common sense, a lot of it could vanish in a couple of months"

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

“Federal judge Amy Berman Jackson summed up the threat this week at a hearing on the future of the [CFPB] … She said she feared it would be “choked out of its very existence before I get to rule on the merits.” In other words, Trump and Musk could outrun the rule of law, rendering it irrelevant.”

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Fred Wellman @fpwellman.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

We need these stories.

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 06/03/2025

NEW: Trump has fired dozens of officials who run the immigration courts—even as he taxes the already broken system with mass deportations. Former officials tell @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social it's causing severe strain. They worry that under Trump “the entire system will collapse"

motherjones.com

“The entire system will collapse”: Inside the purge of US immigration courts

The "nonsensical" firings of immigration judges, managers, and senior officials spell more trouble for an already faltering system.

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Basically using the government to try to prop up the value of an unregulated security that is often used for criminal activities. Trying to strengthen the illusion that crypto, broadly speaking, is more stable than it is. Enabling future scams. And using highly misleading means to do so.

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Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Some of his readers have asked Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social why his technology news site, Tech Dirt, has been covering politics so intensely lately. www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/w... I cannot recommend Mike's reply enough. It's exactly what readers need to hear, what journalists need to do.

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Dave Itzkoff @ditzkoff.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Sometimes, there’s a man. I won’t say a hero, ‘cause what’s a hero? But sometimes, there’s a man.

Not everyone is staying silent. Consider Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University.

“This is the greatest pressure put on intellectual life since the McCarthy era,” Mr. Roth said in an interview. “And I think it’ll be seen in the future, as that time was seen, as a time when people either stood up for their values or ran in fear of the federal government.”

Mr. Roth has called some of the Trump administration’s rhetoric authoritarian and has spoken out in favor of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In an interview in The Washington Post’s opinion section last month, he criticized Mr. Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida for using their Ivy League degrees to advance professionally while portraying themselves as populists against “woke” universities.

People sometimes tell him he has courage, Mr. Roth said, but he insisted it wasn’t so. “When people tell me, ‘Oh, you’re brave,’ it frightens the hell out of me,” he said. “I’m a little neurotic Jewish kid from Long Island. I’m afraid of everything.”

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

This is what competitive authoritarianism looks like www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

This is an Executive Order issued from the White House, attacking a single specific law firm, openly retaliating against them for perceived slights against Trump in 2016, and rewriting public history with lies. Banana republic dictator shit. Who is next?

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Long story short, Section 230 seriously needs changes, but the time to do that was like 15 years ago, or maybe 4 years ago. Not right now, when the most damaging social media platform in the country is run by a guy who is basically co-dictator, and who will ensure it only targets his competitors.

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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 06/03/2025

BREAKING: Job losses spiked a whopping 245% in February. This is higher than any month since July 2020 (the middle of pandemic) and the highest in any February since the Great Recession of 2009.

newrepublic.com

Layoffs Hit Unbelievable High Thanks to Trump and Musk

Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s cuts to the federal government have caused a record-breaking surge in layoffs.

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

SCOOP: FEMA's top lawyer was forced out yesterday after less than a week on the job—and sources tell me it was because of his unwillingness to write a memo providing legal cover for the agency's impoundment of $80 million from NYC migrant shelters. Full story:

thehandbasket.co

FEMA’s top lawyer placed on leave after less than one week in role

It may be tied to a lawsuit about funding for migrant shelters.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

New from me: In the days after George Floyd’s death, Ben Shapiro said conservative and police calls for Derek Chauvin’s prosecution was proof that they weren’t racist or oblivious to police abuse. So what should we make of the fact that he and other right wingers now want Chauvin to be pardoned?

msnbc.com

Opinion | Why Elon Musk and Ben Shapiro want Trump to pardon George Floyd’s murderer

The video depicting Floyd’s murder hasn’t changed in five years. But the Republican Party has.

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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Current and former officials said they were worried by DOGE’s request. “This is private, confidential data, including Social Security numbers and earnings, of virtually all people in the country,” said Vicki Turetsky, who led the child support office during the Obama administration.

“This is private, confidential data, including Social Security numbers and earnings, of virtually all people in the country,” said Vicki Turetsky, who led the child support office during the Obama administration and oversaw the data system. “It is similar to income tax data, and is kept confidential in the same way … I don’t think you want your data to go to DOGE or to anyone else who isn’t authorized.” Turetsky and others also pointed to federal statute, which restricts access to the database “to authorized persons, and restrict use of such information to authorized purposes,” such as child-support enforcement.

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

This shouldn’t need to be said, but you don’t win elections by compromising your own core values. No one will ever respect that. This Dem hyper-focus on the ‘swing district golden child’ model will look more and more cowardly as time goes on. It isn’t a plan; it is a backbiting path to conceding.

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Importantly, nothing changed. No “concessions” were made, and no benefit has been gained by anyone. But a bunch of people around Trump probably just siphoned hundreds of millions out of the economy through insider trading.

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Notice how quickly “deport the illegals” slid right into “lock up and expel campus protestors who have the wrong opinions?” When it happens to someone you know, you will be disturbed by how many people make a noncommittal noise and find a way not to think about it. Don’t be those people.

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

NEW: WIRED got IP blocked by the Social Security Administration, among other outlets covering Musk's takeover. Federal workers are now "prohibited" from accessing our reporting on "government-furnished equipment." WaPo, NYT, and MSNBC are likewise banned, sources confirm.

wired.com

Social Security Workers Aren’t Allowed to Read This Story

New internet restrictions at the embattled SSA have cut off access to WIRED, along with other “general news” websites like The Washington Post and The New York Times.

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ClearingTheFog @clearingthefog.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Come on guys, let’s just meet the wrecking ball in the middle and “normal politics” our way out of this multi-front war against the Constitution, America, and pretty much everything we believe in. Come on, let’s join with them and chastise our own allies. That’s how we win elections and stuff.

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

“This is private, confidential data including Social Security numbers and earnings of virtually all people in the country...” "Federal law restricts access 'to authorized persons and... authorized purposes' such as child support enforcement..." www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

washingtonpost.com

DOGE targets child support database full of income data

The U.S. DOGE Service’s attempt to access a federal database with sensitive information has provoked yet another internal disagreement.

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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

We will never know— we will never have the faintest idea— how much money is getting made in insider trading windfalls from people in Trump's and Musk's circles who have an hour of notice about the daily swings in tariff policy or the occasional announced *expectations* of such swings.

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Brian Barrett @brbarrett.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

I dunno, what else do you call a shadowy group of bureaucrats working to reshape government policy from the inside to serve their own ends? www.wired.com/story/doge-i...

wired.com

DOGE Is the Deep State

A shadowy group of unelected figures reshaping the federal government to their own benefit from the inside? Sounds familiar!

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/03/2025

📣 D.C., our truck is back. Today at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, fired workers were given just 15 minutes to pack up their desks. As always, we're here to listen and meet people where they are. 👉 Reach out at propublica.org/tips or on Signal at 917-512-0201.

A black mobile billboard truck parked near the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in D.C. On the side of the truck, a LED screen reads: Are (were) you a government worker? ProPublica journalists want to hear from you. Signal: 917-512-0201. propublica.org/tips.

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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Gee I wonder why it was necessary for the President to tell his [checks notes] Senate-confirmed cabinet heads that they, not Elon Musk, are in charge of the federal departments that they were selected to run

President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person on Thursday to deliver a message: You’re in charge of your departments, not Elon Musk.

According to two administration officials, Trump told top members of his administration that Musk was empowered to make recommendations to the departments but not to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy. Musk was also in the room.

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

BREAKING: Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue same-sex couples' marriage licenses, loses her appeal at the Sixth Circuit of a lawsuit she lost at trial that was brought by same-sex couples whose constitutional right to marry she violated. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
DAVID ERMOLD; DAVID MOORE,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
No. 24-5524
V.
KIM DAVIs, individually,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Ashland.
No. 0:15-cv-00046-David L. Bunning, District Judge.
Argued: January 30, 2025
Decided and Filed: March 6, 2025
Before: WHITE, READLER, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges.

OPINION
HELENE N. WHITE, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant Kim Davis, in her capacity as the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, refused to issue a marriage license to Plaintiffs-Appellees David Moore and David Ermold. Plaintiffs sued Davis under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that Davis violated their constitutional right to marry. After several interlocutory appeals, the district court entered judgment for Plaintiffs on liability and a jury awarded them compensatory damages. Davis now appeals, arguing that she is entitled to qualified immunity, that she has affirmative defenses to liability under the Free Exercise Clause and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and that Plaintiffs' evidence of their emotional distress was insufficient to support the jury's award. We AFFIRM.

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Joshua Erlich @joshuaerlich.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

i am once again saying that if you allow polling to define rights, you don't have any real rights at all

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Matt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

“Undeterred, Marocco and DOGE threatened a security guard with a lawsuit and told the building’s property manager that they would bring in U.S. Marshals and the Secret Service unless they were given access to USADF. Their threats were unsuccessful.”

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 06/03/2025

It's the entire email list for all DOGE employees. Have fun!

Aimonetti Justin Aimonetti, Justin W. Justin.W.Aimonetti@doge.eop.gov
Altik Jacob Altik, Jacob R. Jacob.R.Altik@doge.eop.gov
Armstrong Anthony Armstrong, Anthony J. Anthony.J.Armstrong@doge.eop.gov
Balajadia Jennifer Balajadia, Jennifer Jennifer.Balajadia@doge.eop.gov
Beynon Alexandra Beynon, Alexandra T. Alexandra.T.Beynon@doge.eop.govBiasini Riccardo Biasini, Riccardo N. Riccardo.N.Biasini@doge.eop.gov
Bobba Akash Bobba, Akash N. Akash.N.Bobba@doge.eop.gov
Boizelle Ashley Boizelle, Ashley S. Ashley.S.Boizelle@doge.eop.gov
Bryant Emily Bryant, Emily L. Emily.L.Bryant@doge.eop.gov
Burnham James Burnham, James James.Burnham@doge.eop.gov
Coristine Edward Coristine, Edward H. Edward.H.Coristine@doge.eop.gov
Davis Steven Davis, Steven M. Steven.M.Davis@doge.eop.gov
Elez Marko Elez, Marko Marko.Elez@doge.eop.gov
Farritor Luke Farritor, Luke E. Luke.E.Farritor@doge.eop.gov
Fox Joshua Fox, Joshua Joshua.Fox@doge.eop.gov
Hanley Joshua Hanley, Joshua A. Joshua.A.Hanley@doge.eop.gov
Holmes Stephanie Holmes, Stephanie M. Stephanie.M.Holmes@doge.eop.gov
Killian Gautier Killian, Gautier C. Gautier.C.Killian@doge.eop.gov
Kmiec Keenan Kmiec, Keenan D. Keenan.D.Kmiec@doge.eop.gov
Lahera Nicholas Lahera, Nicholas Nicholas.Lahera@doge.eop.gov
Lindemann Kendall Lindemann, Kendall M. Kendall.M.Lindemann@doge.eop.gov
Musk Elon Musk, Elon R. erm71@who.eop.gov
Peters Noah Peters, Noah Noah.Peters@doge.eop.gov
Rajpal Nikhil Rajpal, Nikhil Nikhil.Rajpal@doge.eop.gov
Ramada Adam Ramada, Adam Adam.Ramada@doge.eop.gov
Raynor Austin Raynor, Austin L. Austin.L.Raynor@doge.eop.gov
Schutt Kyle Schutt, Kyle L. Kyle.L.Schutt@doge.eop.gov
Shaotran Ethan Shaotran, Ethan Ethan.Shaotran@doge.eop.gov
Smith Brad Smith, Brad M. Brad.M.Smith@doge.eop.gov
Stanley Christopher Stanley, Christopher A. Christopher.Stanley@doge.eop.gov
Wick Jordan Wick, Jordan K. Jordan.K.Wick@doge.eop.gov
Wiles Susan Wiles, Susan S. Susan.S.Wiles@doge.eop.gov

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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

NEW: DOGE put a not-so-secret CIA training facility up for sale, apparently in error. "Obviously, someone did no research about the long and well-documented history of this property," says the chairman of the local county board of supervisors.

wired.com

A Sensitive Complex Housing a CIA Facility Was on GSA's List of US Properties for Sale

Plans to redevelop a Northern Virginia warehouse site have long been complicated by the area’s worst-kept secret—the presence of a CIA facility. The GSA put the site up for sale anyway.

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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

NEW: The Defense Department is considering a 75% reduction in workforce targeting employees who work to prevent the spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, according to a draft proposal obtained by WIRED. 😕

wired.com

Pentagon Cuts Threaten Programs That Secure Loose Nukes and Weapons of Mass Destruction

Documents obtained by WIRED show the US Department of Defense is considering cutting up to 75 percent of workers who stop the spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

This is what weak, flailing leadership looks like. His inability to make meaningful change in areas like this explains the desperate, authoritarian bluster of his largely illegal Executive Orders. This is the sort of leader who opposing politicians should definitely NOT cater to.

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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

JUST IN: A federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of NLRB board member Gwynne Wilcox, and has some choice language for Trump, whose self-depiction as a king "fundamentally misapprehends the role under Article II of the U.S. Constitution." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 06/03/2025

Senators are asking the DC Office of Disciplinary Counsel to look into the torrent of abnormal and rule-shattering statements Jan. 6 organizer Ed Martin has issued since Trump gave the conservative activist his first-ever prosecutorial job: DC US Attorney. www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

This new complaint against DOGE is truly cranked up to 11 from start to finish. What a way to start a lawsuit storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... h/t @mikesacks.bsky.social

INTRODUCTION
1. Defendant Elon Musk is not, legally, the President of the United States, nor is he a
federal elected official of any kind. And Mr. Musk is not a Senate-confirmed officer of the United
States. But he and his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE)—not, in fact, a
federal executive department—are lawlessly and unconstitutionally wielding sweeping power
across the executive branch. As Mr. Musk and DOGE lawlessly seize power over large swaths of
federal spending, decimate the federal workforce, and dismantle federal agencies, they are severely
harming, and threatening further imminent harm, to everyday Americans.

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