Sign in

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News

@froomkin.bsky.social
83K followers 2.2K following 4.9K posts

Editor of Press Watch (presswatchers.org) and Heads Up News (headsupnews.org). Ex-Washington Post, HuffPost, Intercept. Freelancer. I afflict comfortable journalists.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 1h
BREAKING: Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Jeff Merkley are introducing the Ban Flock Act. This bill would effectively put an end to AI surveillance cameras that track Americans. /1
10887195
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 15h
The author(s) seem relieved that Biden did not, ultimately, force Israel to end the war in Gaza in spring 2024. If he had, it would have saved something like 40,000 Palestinian lives and 50,000 Gazan buildings. An eternal stain on Biden’s legacy.
1611231
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 2h
WaPo: “Trump Fifth Avenue shooting incident draws flack” “Democrats say it broke laws…”. See: presswatchers.org/2026/09/the-...
Washington Post, print edition headline: Campaign-style Trump ads draw flak 
44313
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 12h
I ❤️ WaPo readers so much! wapo.st/3TX3acS
*. Conversation Summary
Automatically generated from recent comments
The comments express strong skepticism and criticism towards Donald Trump's claims about the Secret Service suggesting changes to the Oval Office.
Many commenters highlight a pattern where Trump's stories involving someone addressing him as "Sir" are perceived as fabrications. There is a general disdain for Trump's aesthetic changes to the White House, with many expressing a desire for these changes to be reversed once he leaves office. Additionally, there is a broader critique of Trump's leadership and mental state, with some commenters expressing a wish for his presidency to end. Show less
18215
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 15h
The author(s) seem relieved that Biden did not, ultimately, force Israel to end the war in Gaza in spring 2024. If he had, it would have saved something like 40,000 Palestinian lives and 50,000 Gazan buildings. An eternal stain on Biden’s legacy.
1611231
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15h
Last year not a single refugee fleeing religious persecution was admitted to the US.
171901670
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 19h
“Tennessee’s attempted, but botched, execution of Christa Pike was an extreme display of cruelty and the latest reminder that the death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment." I'm with @amnesty.org. www.amnestyusa.org/press-releas...
amnestyusa.org
After Botched Execution Attempt, Tennessee Must Commute Christa Pike’s Death Sentence as a First Step
The death penalty is a violation of human rights, and no government should have the power to carry it out.
812144
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 21h
#BREAKING U.S. District Judge April Perry is moving forward with further fact-finding regarding potential prosecutorial misconduct in the case of the "Broadview Six," with a special prosecutor still on the table.
91477307
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Chad Williams @cmwill99.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Agreed. A horrifying read for multiple reasons, including Trump's complete inability to function.
02412
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
nodietofworms.bsky.social @nodietofworms.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hmm. I would have thought “Trump’s Epic Fails” a more accurate headline
041
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Alan Hartley @alanhartley.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Super clear window into access journalism doing its thing, destroying the country and the world.
0141
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Gabrielle🇸🇨 @djangoroo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
American journalists are extraordinarily cowed. It's so weird to watch from abroad. It's like they don't know the basics of journalism
1496
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Family of Renee Good file two civil lawsuits, online.fliphtml5.com/kfois/vqiy against specific people like her killer, Stephen Miller, and Tom Homan; and online.fliphtml5.com/kfois/imef against the USA
online.fliphtml5.com
ECF 1. Good_Complaint (1985)
28219
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The Time interview with Trump is a master class in subjecting yourself to a stream of lies, lunacy, and insults with no correcting him, no calling out his crazy shit, nothing to show for it, nothing accomplished. It’s enabling, not journalism. They should die of shame. time.com/article/2026...
time.com
Read TIME’s ‘What Trump Has Built’ Interview Transcript
The U.S. President discussed the war in Iran, press freedom, AI, and more ahead of the midterm elections.
33580146
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Today's hearing is set for 1 p.m. Stay tuned.
06721
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Jay Willis @jaywillis.net · 01/10/2026
The death penalty is a moral abomination. State-sanctioned barbarism pushed by incompetent morons and sanctioned by the Supreme Court. Absolute ghoul shit. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
The lone woman on Tennessee's death row was still alive after she was administered two lethal injections, her lawyer said in a motion seeking to halt her execution Wednesday night, a stunning development after the Supreme Court had stepped in to allow the state to put her to death.
At 8:26 p.m. local time, witnesses said
"executioners had injected both syringes of lethal injection chemicals and Pike is still alive and snoring," her lawyers said in a federal court filing.
They said Pike "has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat," and that curtains to the death chamber "have gone down twice."
11946681159
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Taking government money to broadcast propaganda is being an accessory to a crime, not to mention an obscenity. Hard no.
19516
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Desperately needs something like “The comment was clearly racist, although in what way was hard to immediately determine.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
washingtonpost.com
Trump says ‘only Hispanic’ could survive fall at ballroom site
Trump invited attendees of a Hispanic Heritage Month to be among the first to walk on his ballroom floor.
89623
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"We are losing our soul as a nation," warns Cardinal McElroy, as he urges us all to rise up against Trump’s "evil" immigration policies. www.headsupnews.org/p/we-are-los... New on Heads Up News.
headsupnews.org
‘We are losing our soul as a nation’
Catholic clergy call for action against Trump’s ‘evil’ immigration policies
724997
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“For the last year and a half, the people of the United States have witnessed the suffering of the undocumented in our midst, purposely and strategically magnified by our government, and for the most part, we have simply passed on by.” www.headsupnews.org/p/we-are-losing…
24217
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This characterization by WaPo is both wrong and normalizing: “Trump’s immigration policies have veered between escalating arrests and backing away from the political fallout.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202… 1/2
washingtonpost.com
Trump acknowledges bind he faces on immigration policies
The president spoke at a Hispanic Heritage Month event as Latino voters abandon him.
25211
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"We are losing our soul as a nation," warns Cardinal McElroy, as he urges us all to rise up against Trump’s "evil" immigration policies. www.headsupnews.org/p/we-are-los... New on Heads Up News.
headsupnews.org
‘We are losing our soul as a nation’
Catholic clergy call for action against Trump’s ‘evil’ immigration policies
724997
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Does any other major news website publish absolute garbage side by side with excellent journalism? And by garbage I don’t mean shitty political coverage (looking at you, NYT) I mean stupid, rancid, tired, mendacious trolling like this. At WaPo or WSJ it’s confined to the opinion pages.
610015
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Dear @nytimespr.bsky.social: How do you square this article, which stenographically recounts and amplifies DHS lies, with this policy statement? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
Post on Twitter:
NYTimes Communications
@NYTimesPR
Our reporting on this and other ICE shootings reflects what we can independently verify at the time of publication. We publish statements provided by government agencies and officials, but only report these details as facts once we’ve been able to independently verify the claims.
9:34 AM · Jan 15, 2026
35621
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm genuinely stunned by how credulous and acquiescent pretty much every major news organization was yesterday. It ought to be completely uncontroversial by now that DHS lies about officer-involved shootings, always.
17715
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Always remember, it's not just Trump. This is Public Enemy No. 2: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/o...
Linda Greenhouse
By Linda Greenhouse

Ms. Greenhouse, the recipient of a 1998 Pulitzer Prize, reported on the Supreme Court for The Times from 1978 to 2008.

Chief Justice John Roberts has accomplished so much of his agenda that it’s not easy, as he begins his 22nd Supreme Court term, to think of what unfinished business might remain.

Affirmative action is dead. Roe v. Wade is a fading memory. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is in shreds, rendered incapable of serving its original mission of preventing states from undermining the political power of minority citizens. The executive branch agencies known collectively as the administrative state have lost their independence, with the president now able to fire nearly all agency heads for any reason or no reason at all. Federal judges are no longer to defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own authority, instead being told to decide for themselves the validity of agency regulations. Historical claims that fly under the banner of “originalism” have frozen the government’s ability to regulate the ownership of lethal weapons.
410751
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I really want to hear what Zach Carter has to say about this obscenity. ZACH? ARE YOU THERE? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/o... @dceiver.bsky.social
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Would John Maynard Keynes Say About A.I.? The Keynes Bot Told Us.
Nearly a century ago, Keynes predicted that technology would liberate us from work. To imagine what he would think of artificial intelligence today, a Princeton economist used A.I.
150
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 30/09/2026
I'm absolutely fascinated by "journalism" that can't seem to tell readers an obvious truth. Like the fact this is absolutely meaningless bullshit designed to pre-empt real oversight
reuters.com
Trump releases AI accord with tech executives
President Donald Trump released a document on Tuesday that his administration cast as an accord ​on artificial intelligence and which he said earlier was signed by ‌him and tech executives that he met...
20390117
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"White House staff fully appreciate the warning of economists and industry experts that an export ban will actually be counterproductive. This is all about simply doing something during an election cycle so as to appear to be on top of the problem that we created." www.ft.com/content/562f...
ft.com
White House holds crunch talks on diesel export ban as midterms near
Trump at centre of lobbying fight between Big Oil and top Republicans warning of voter anger at high fuel prices
517866
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The trade deficit in August was almost 30% higher than it was two years ago www.census.gov/econ/indicat... Trump would be very angry if he found out how much more we're being ripped off under his watch www.census.gov/econ/indicat...
census.gov
13616
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"In dollar terms, the very richest Americans have gained a total of $14.5 trillion in wealth [since 2019], with most of that—about $10 trillion—coming from gains in stocks and mutual funds, according to the Fed data, which runs through the end of June."
wsj.com
The Gap Between the Rich and the Very, Very Rich Is Getting Wider
The 0.1% are worth $28 trillion, or about 15% of the nation’s total wealth. The average wealth for a household in this group is over $200 million.
12215
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Does any other major news website publish absolute garbage side by side with excellent journalism? And by garbage I don’t mean shitty political coverage (looking at you, NYT) I mean stupid, rancid, tired, mendacious trolling like this. At WaPo or WSJ it’s confined to the opinion pages.
610015
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Cynthia Brumfield @metacurity.com · 29/09/2026
Where do we stand on litigation regarding this? Scoop: Trump's hand-picked, taxpayer-funded ads about to ramp up www.axios.com/2026/09/29/t...
axios.com
Scoop: Trump's hand-picked, taxpayer-funded ads about to ramp up
President Trump is personally selecting which government-funded ads his administration is airing.
23716
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I’m disgusted by today’s press coverage, which mostly just regurgitates the DOJ press release. The story should be that a) they indicted the guy who got shot, not the guy who shot him and b) previous attempts by ICE to blame shooting victims have all been lies, so no reason to believe this. Shame.
120160
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is the compelling, moving, and no-brainer district court ruling the Supreme Court's six Trump acolytes just overturned. District court judges are routinely finding that Trump has violated the law. Then SCOTUS happens. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS AND ON PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT MURPHY, J. This case is about whether the Government may, without notice, deport a person to the wrong country, or a country where he is likely to be persecuted, or tortured, thereby depriving that person of the opportunity to seek protections to which he would be undisputedly entitled.  The Department of Homeland Security has adopted a policy whereby it may take people and drop them off in parts unknown—in so-called “third countries”—and, “as long as the Department doesn’t already know that there’s someone standing there waiting to shoot . . . that’s fine.”1 It is not fine, nor is it legal.  Congress made it “the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country” where that “person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”2  Congress decided that the Government “may not remove” someone to a country where her “life or freedom would be threatened” on account of her “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”3  These are our laws, and it is with profound gratitude for the unbelievable luck of being born in the United States of America that this Court affirms these and our nation’s bedrock principle: that no “person” in this country may be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
811345
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith explains that the phone records for some members of Congress "corroborated evidence that we had that the president, President Donald Trump and his co-conspirators were seeking to exploit the violence on January 6th in furtherance of their criminal scheme." www.youtube.com/live/zNc5VMP...
youtube.com
LIVE: Jack Smith appears before Senate Judiciary Committee
YouTube video by Associated Press
6240107
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Greg Olear @gregolear.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The difference, it seems to me, is that the new term implies that AI is inherently superior to human brainpower. Something approaching the divine, rather than flawed software that doesn't know how many fingers we have.
1516955
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Utterly insane. "Not acknowledge"?? "the executive branch shall use the terms 'Super Intelligence' and 'SI' in place of 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'AI' and will not acknowledge the usage of 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'AI' in any applicable setting." www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Jim Carey: LALALALAL I CAN'T HEAR YOU! Meme
106317
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Here's an incredible example of how far DOJ and ICE will go in their failed attempts to prosecute the people they shoot. Also of the surveillance state. chicagoreader.com/news/ice-flo...
chicagoreader.com
Feds tapped local surveillance networks in botched Chicago prosecutions - Chicago Reader
During their failed efforts to prosecute Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, federal authorities accessed a network of Chicagoland license plate readers and surveillance cameras.
03622
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NYT publisher A.G. Sulzberger is delivering a lecture humbly titled "Lessons on Stewardship from America’s Paper of Record" at MSU. Live video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdsW...
youtube.com
A.G. Sulzberger: Lessons on Stewardship from America’s Paper of Record | Presidential Speaker Series
YouTube video by Michigan State University
11305
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I've been counting on the officer corps to refuse orders if they are told to deploy in support of another Trump coup attempt. But is Hegseth purging the military of the officers who would say no? This is a hugely important question. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
wsj.com
Hegseth to Announce 20% Cut to Senior Officer Ranks
The defense secretary will announce the move on Wednesday during a speech to a handpicked group of lower-ranked officers and enlisted troops.
1113264
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith explains that the phone records for some members of Congress "corroborated evidence that we had that the president, President Donald Trump and his co-conspirators were seeking to exploit the violence on January 6th in furtherance of their criminal scheme." www.youtube.com/live/zNc5VMP...
youtube.com
LIVE: Jack Smith appears before Senate Judiciary Committee
YouTube video by Associated Press
6240107
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Here's a case study in how third-country deportations work. Trump has sent over $400M (!) to some of the most repressive countries in the world to put your former neighbors into the custody of torturers. www.justsecurity.org/157413/us-de...
16728
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is the compelling, moving, and no-brainer district court ruling the Supreme Court's six Trump acolytes just overturned. District court judges are routinely finding that Trump has violated the law. Then SCOTUS happens. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS AND ON PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT MURPHY, J. This case is about whether the Government may, without notice, deport a person to the wrong country, or a country where he is likely to be persecuted, or tortured, thereby depriving that person of the opportunity to seek protections to which he would be undisputedly entitled.  The Department of Homeland Security has adopted a policy whereby it may take people and drop them off in parts unknown—in so-called “third countries”—and, “as long as the Department doesn’t already know that there’s someone standing there waiting to shoot . . . that’s fine.”1 It is not fine, nor is it legal.  Congress made it “the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country” where that “person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”2  Congress decided that the Government “may not remove” someone to a country where her “life or freedom would be threatened” on account of her “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”3  These are our laws, and it is with profound gratitude for the unbelievable luck of being born in the United States of America that this Court affirms these and our nation’s bedrock principle: that no “person” in this country may be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
811345
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Absolutely revolting Supreme Court endorsement of cruelty because Trump. Third-country deportations are inhumane and corrupt. www.courthousenews.com/supreme-cour...
courthousenews.com
Supreme Court yields to Trump, giving feds free rein on third-country deportations
Immigrant advocates say the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy left their clients to face prolonged and arbitrary detention, beatings, sexual assault and even disappearance.
47925
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Good reporting by WSJ here: Trump using DHS's massive pile of cash as a slush fund to pay $1.7M (so far) for his campaign commercials. But lordy, "The Trump ads have drawn public scrutiny" is SO insufficient. They're propaganda and government propaganda is illegal. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
wsj.com
Exclusive | Homeland Security Money Financed Pro-Trump Television Ads
White House calls the spots public-service ads, but critics argue using taxpayer money for campaign-like messaging may violate federal law.
07122
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Incredible. The 11th Circuit, in a 3-0 opinion (two Obama appointees and one Trump 1.0 appointee), agrees that Trump and his lawyers have failed to rebut the judge's finding that the entire IRS settlement was collusive, highlighting that no other explanation for their conduct was even offered.
IV
The appellants mount two main attacks on the district
court’s speech-related sanction. First, they argue that the court
lacked a sufficient basis to find that the lawsuit and the settlement
were collusive and that Messrs. Brito and Epstein acted in bad faith.
Second, they contend that the sanction is a broad and impermissible gag order which constitutes a prior restraint and violates the
First Amendment. We conclude that the appellants have not made
a strong showing that they will succeed on either of these grounds.The appellants did not submit or offer any evidence to explain their litigation conduct or demonstrate that the lawsuit and the settlement were not collusive. Given the record before us, the
appellants have not made a strong showing that the district court
committed clear error in its collusion and bad faith findings
161440460
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
👏👏👏
1499
Reposted by Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News
Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 29/09/2026
Trump’s new AI website is kinda fun, it turns out.
Can the president use taxpayer funds to air his old campaign ads on TV?

No. Federal appropriations law has long barred using taxpayer funds for political advertising.
5541161120
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
STOP! Do not treat this cover story from ICE and DOJ with any credence whatsoever. So far, they have lied every time about what led to a shooting. At most, this suggests that the ICE agent who shot Wilber Garcés Pérez did so in anger, and had no body camera. wapo.st/4xP6VyM
wapo.st
Immigrant shot by ICE in Austin is charged with assault
An affidavit unsealed on Tuesday said the officer who shot Wilber Garcés Pérez was not wearing a body camera and that another officer turned his camera off.
15309106