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Molly Redden

@mtredden.bsky.social
12K followers 342 following 49 posts

Reporter covering legal affairs for ProPublica. Have a tip? molly.redden@propublica.org or find me on Signal at mollyredden.14

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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Former Navatek executives, meanwhile, looked back with awe at how far their money went. “It was eye-opening for me, frankly,” said one. “‘Oh my God, all of it is for sale. It’s all for sale.’” READ MORE: www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Collins’ office “vigorously” denied Kao’s bribery allegations, calling them “outlandish” The anti-corruption agents on the case were pushed out in Trump’s purge of the FBI. An FBI spokesman defended their ouster and said the bureau “ultimately found nothing” implicating Collins.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
ProPublica is revealing the existence of the case for the first time. These are the kinds of corruption claims Trump’s DOJ ignores. So we did our own investigation—knocking on doors as far away as Hawaii, looking at thousands of records that got the FBI to take Kao seriously
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“You’ve seen me deliver.” That’s what Collins told Kao, he said, as her staff pressured him to up his donations. Kao wound up giving the Collins super PAC $150,000 in late 2019. Weeks later, according to an email, Collins’ office agreed to support $32m in new Navatek projects.
A photocopy of a hand-written check made out to 1820 PAC, the Susan Collins super PAC, for $150,000.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The contractor, Martin Kao, claimed he bribed Collins with campaign money for her help securing gov contracts for his boat-building company, Navatek. Kao routed $190k to Collins at a low point in her 2020 reelection effort. Collins steered almost $40 mil in contracts to Navatek.
Sen. Susan Collins smiles at the camera as she christens a boat in a warehouse in front of reporters and University of Maine engineers.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Exclusive: In late 2024, FBI agents were looking at Sen. Susan Collins’ role in a massive illegal bribery scheme alleged by a former federal contractor. Then Trump gutted the FBI and DOJ, leaving no one to carry on the investigation – it’s dead. 🧵
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Justin Elliott @justinelliott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New: Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin www.propublica.org/article/dona... w/ @josh-kaplan.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NEW: @talkingpointsmemo.com can reveal GOP nominee for Florida legislature: -marched at deadly Charlottesville Nazi rally w/ white supremacist group's flag -has *many* white supremacist donors -appears to advocate lynching He is expected to win Nov. election talkingpointsmemo.com/news/florida...
talkingpointsmemo.com
Exclusive: He Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville. Now He’s Expected to Join the Florida Legislature.
The Republican nominee for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives...
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Matt Shuham @mattshuham.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Today is my last day at HuffPost. Like many others, I was hit by mass layoffs at BuzzFeed. I've done my best to hold power to account and tell complex stories with care, and I'm going to keep doing that. So please keep sending me tips! Contact: mattshuham@protonmail.com, 646-397-4678 (cell/Signal)
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Levi Kalish @kalish.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
After 3 years, it's my last day at HuffPost. I was laid off as part of the larger cuts at BuzzFeed. I'm not sure what comes next but I'm proud of our union for holding it down. If you’re an editor or lit agent looking for someone to write about trans rights and politics, hmu at levikalish@proton.me
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Jess is the best investigative reporter ever to work at HuffPost. Her journalism has saved lives! Everyone in the newsroom looked to her for guidance and leadership because she never fails to show up for her colleagues. Whoever hires her next is truly winning the lottery. Jess forever ❤️❤️
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kalibomeli.bsky.social @kalibomeli.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
1/ This is Nick Adams. He’s a big deal in MAGA world. He’s got 638K followers on X and 2.1M on Facebook. President Trump even appointed him to a role at the State Dept. But when I started digging into Adams' nonprofit for "civics" education, something didn't look right ... 🧵
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Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Before entering politics, Tim Sheehy ran an aerial firefighting company, Bridger Aerospace. In the Senate, he has sought to cut regulations and expand the government’s use of private aircraft on wildfires, while still owning stock in the company. @abestreep.bsky.social
propublica.org
A U.S. Senator Pushed to Cut Firefighting Aircraft Inspections the Same Month His Former Company Failed One
Before entering politics, Tim Sheehy ran an aerial firefighting company, Bridger Aerospace. In the Senate, he has sought to cut regulations and expand the government’s use of private aircraft on wildf...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 09/06/2026
NEW: Regulators have linked Mark McAfee’s raw dairy farm to more than a dozen recalls and outbreaks that left hundreds of people ill. “I’ve put a couple kids in the hospital,” McAfee said. “But here’s the thing: I’m a pioneer.”
propublica.org
He Profits Off Raw Milk That's Making People Sick. The Government Isn't Stopping Him.
With Raw Farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, Mark McAfee has capitalized on a once-fringe product that's been thrust into the mainstream in recent years and backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
“There’s never been any intentional wrongdoing by the companies,” a lawyer for Justice's companies said, and claims to the contrary are from a “disgruntled” former employee. Read our full story: www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Trump Administration Killed Criminal Investigation of GOP Senator’s Coal Companies
EPA and Justice Department officials were looking into potential criminal violations by the vast coal empire owned by Sen. Jim Justice. Then the Office of the Deputy Attorney General told them “pencil...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Killing a case this early, before the evidence is clear, is extremely unusual. “I’ve never heard of that happening before,” said one former prosecutor. The case even had sign-off from a Trump-chosen US Attorney. But a DOJ spokesperson dismissed critics as “deep state” members.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
More recent legal proceedings suggest Justice's companies were knowingly flouting the law — a crime. Prosecutors subpoenaed company records this year for further evidence. Then Sen. Justice's lawyers directly lobbied the DOJ, and the Deputy AG Office under Blanche shut it down
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Sen. Justice is Trump's personal friend. His companies have been accused of thousands of environmental violations in civil courts but have never faced criminal charges. In 2016, they entered a consent decree to address 23,693 violations of the Clean Water Act.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Read my story with Avi Asher-Schapiro on how the Trump administration killed a criminal investigation into GOP Sen. Jim Justice's coal empire: www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Trump Administration Killed Criminal Investigation of GOP Senator’s Coal Companies
EPA and Justice Department officials were looking into potential criminal violations by the vast coal empire owned by Sen. Jim Justice. Then the Office of the Deputy Attorney General told them “pencil...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
After a decade+ of nonstop pollution offenses, GOP Sen. Jim Justice's coal empire learned earlier this year that it was under federal criminal investigation. But before prosecutors could gather crucial evidence, Todd Blanche's office told them "pencils down."
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Read the full story from me and Avi Asher-Schapiro here: www.propublica.org/article/bitc...
propublica.org
How “Bitcoin Jesus” Avoided Prison, Thanks to One of the “Friends of Trump”
Billionaire fugitive Roger Ver was facing federal criminal charges until he sought the services of a select club of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorneys who have easy access to top Justi...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
“Friends of Trump” are now in high demand for uber-wealthy people accused of white collar crimes. One defense attorney said he would point clients to Ver’s deal—which Kise signed in giant letters—and say, “These are the guys who got this done.”
Christopher M. Kise's big signature
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Ver had always maintained he never intended to dodge taxes and assessing Bitcoin for tax purposes is difficult. His lawyers argued the DOJ took his statements out of context. Ver admitted to “willful” misconduct in the final deal.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
The DOJ responded that Ver “took full responsibility for his gross financial misconduct” and under Trump, no one can buy their way out of accountability. Kise, Ver, Blanche and the White House did not comment.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Kise even dictated that the final agreement could not use the word “fraud.” The deal astonished tax experts. “I know of no cases like this,” said one. A DOJ prosecutor says the deal crushed morale. “It stinks to high heaven.”
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
After Kise’s intervention, DOJ took prison off the table. They abandoned the criminal charges. They offered Ver a deal to go free if he paid $50m in taxes and fees–the same amount he allegedly owed 10+ years ago. Less than he recently paid for a luxury yacht.
Ver's 85 meter yacht pictured on the water at twilight
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Kise had helped bring Todd Blanche into Trump’s inner circle. Blanche is now the No. 2 at Justice. Kise got to work lobbying Blanche and another former Trump family lawyer in DOJ leadership. They cut career prosecutors out of the loop and negotiated with Ver’s team directly.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
But the DOJ under Trump has changed dramatically. A small club of lawyers who are tight with the admin–prosecutors have nicknamed them “Friends of Trump”–have easy access to DOJ leadership. Ver hired Chris Kise, Trump’s onetime personal attorney. www.propublica.org/article/bitc...
propublica.org
How “Bitcoin Jesus” Avoided Prison, Thanks to One of the “Friends of Trump”
Billionaire fugitive Roger Ver was facing federal criminal charges until he sought the services of a select club of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorneys who have easy access to top Justi...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
They believed the crypto world was rife with tax fraud and they wanted to make an example of Ver. They were ready to go to trial.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Prosecutors felt their case was airtight, per those familiar: Emails of Ver misleading his own lawyers about his assets. A speech in which Ver said that friends ask him how to use BTC to evade taxes.
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
The billionaire, Roger Ver, is not hardcore MAGA. He’s a libertarian who renounced his US citizenship a decade ago on what he called “the happiest day of his life.” When he left, he controlled about 1% of the world supply of Bitcoin. The DOJ claimed he dodged ~$50m in taxes.
Roger Ver, a white man with a crew cut, smiles with a new passport to Saint Kitts and Nevis, where he became a citizen
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
A billionaire known as “Bitcoin Jesus” was under indictment for massive criminal tax fraud and very likely going to prison. Then, he hired a “Friend of Trump” and the criminal charges disappeared. How did they do it? Avi Asher-Schapiro and I spent months getting the inside story.
A man's suit lapel with two pins on it. One is the DOJ seal, the other is in the shape of a thumbs-up and says "Trump" on it.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
In today's Laurels/Darts, I interview Jessica Schulberg, the Huffpost reporter who has extensively covered an unjust Oklahoma death-penalty case. She was at the penitentiary when the the convict was spared -- exactly 2 minutes before he was scheduled to die. www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...
She was able to obtain permission to view the execution, so she flew to Oklahoma City and woke up at 4am last Thursday to drive the two hours to the penitentiary in McAlester. She and others close to Wood then waited in a “gathering zone” in the predawn hours, where “very nice, friendly” staff from the Department of Corrections made small talk while offering them “chips and crackers and coffee.”

They expected to be loaded into a van about an hour before the 10am execution, but nothing was happening. “I just kind of obsessively was refreshing my phone and trying to get in the mental headspace of ‘You’re here—you’ve got to do your job.’” Then, at 9:58, a message popped onto everyone’s phones: the governor had stopped the execution. Said Schulberg: “To experience that level of relief, and to see other people experiencing that level of relief—it was the most intense happiness I’ve ever felt in my life. I was like, this is ecstasy. Like, I’m never going to feel this happy again.”

Schulberg’s decision to go to Oklahoma for the execution hadn’t come easily. Her brother and mother advised her not to. “You’re never going to be able to unsee this,” her brother told her. But when it was over, her brother said, “Your willingness to witness the worst thing ever meant that you got to see the most wonderful thing ever.”
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
You know one sign of sophisticated intelligence is the ability to integrate new information and not lose your job twice for essentially the same reason
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Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
JOB ALERT! We are hiring a business editor. You have an unerring instinct for the jugular of the wealthy & powerful? Build a team with me and we’ll get after it! job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j... You can email me or on Signal at 718-496-5233
job-boards.greenhouse.io
Senior Editor, Business
New York City, United States
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Jessica Schulberg @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
BREAKING: In a 3-2 vote Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole board recommended clemency for Tremane Wood, a man sentenced to death for a killing his brother admitted to committing www.huffpost.com/entry/oklaho...
huffpost.com
Tremane Wood, Who Was Never Proven To Have Killed Anyone, Gets Clemency Recommendation
The 3-2 vote was a stunning outcome in a case where the Oklahoma attorney general has personally intervened to try to secure Wood’s execution.
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Jessica Schulberg @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Tremane Wood is facing execution on November 13. I revisited his case to investigate how a group of judges and prosecutors have secretly coordinated in ways that have undermined Tremane’s final chance to live. www.huffpost.com/entry/oklaho...
huffpost.com
A Red State Is Preparing To Execute A Man Who Was Never Proven To Have Killed Anyone
Next week, Tremane Wood will have the chance to make his case for mercy. Oklahoma's attorney general is fighting to ensure his death.
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Joel Jacobs @joeljacobs.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
NEW from me: The CFPB's consumer complaint system is more popular than ever, fielding over 2.7M complaints last year. But Republican lawmakers still voted to slash the CFPB's budget, even after referring thousands of their own constituents' issues to the agency. www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...
propublica.org
These GOP Lawmakers Referred Constituents to the CFPB for Help. Then They Voted to Gut the Agency.
Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards, lo...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Do you have information about Big Law spurning clients who might incur Trump's anger? Get in touch: molly.redden@propublica.org or on Signal at mollyredden.14
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
…“People don’t want to stand up, and because of that, people are suffering.” Read my story here: www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Trump’s War on Big Law Means It’s Harder to Challenge the Administration
Some of America’s largest law firms are refusing to take pro bono and paid legal work from groups that seek to hold the government to account on issues like environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
…with Trump ghosted a police accountability nonprofit in the middle of preparations for a major lawsuit ⚖️Wachtell and Kirkland — two of corporate law's biggest moneymakers — are conspicuously absent from pro bono matters they championed in the past “It’s been a nightmare…
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Some key examples: ⚖️Winston & Strawn turned down FBI agents trying to stop the DOJ from building a list of employees who worked on Jan 6 ⚖️A firm that sounds a lot like Sidley Austin is refusing to represent the ABA against the Trump admin ⚖️One of the 9 firms that cut a deal…
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
New from me: Big Law is fearful of representing anyone Trump sees as his enemies, and it's thwarting challenges to his agenda. “There are cases that aren’t being brought at a time when civil rights abuses are maybe at the highest they’ve been.” www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
Trump’s War on Big Law Means It’s Harder to Challenge the Administration
Some of America’s largest law firms are refusing to take pro bono and paid legal work from groups that seek to hold the government to account on issues like environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and...
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Akbar Shahid Ahmed @akbarshahidahmed.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
NEW— "A lot of children have passed the point of no return...The gut lining has started to auto-digest & will no longer [absorb] water or nutrition. Death is imminent for 1000s" An American doctor who just returned from Gaza on where US-Israeli policy is taking us: www.huffpost.com/entry/gaza-s...
huffpost.com
‘Past The Point Of No Return’: Doctor Describes How Starvation In Gaza Is Driving Mass Death
"In August and September, there are probably still going to be ... large numbers of deaths because children have already passed the tipping point," Mark Brauner, who volunteered in Gaza last month, to...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Tips are *very* welcome. Are you in Big Law or a Trump-aligned firm? Struggling to recruit pro bono partners to sue the administration? Former or current DOJ/OCR? Leonard Leo? Get in my DMs!
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I'm launching a new @propublica.org beat! Legal affairs under Trump: his assault on Big Law, his judicial nominees, his defiance of the courts, the politicization of executive branch legal offices, favor-trading for dropped investigations, White House legal strategy—you name it.
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Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
“I struggle for adjectives to adequately describe the horror that this administration has visited on the world,” said a former State Dept official about the damage done by Trump and Musk abandoning America's humanitarian aid commitments.
propublica.org
Death, Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking: Fallout From U.S. Aid Withdrawal Hits the World’s Most Fragile Locations
Exclusive State Department records show: As the Trump administration abandons its humanitarian commitments, diplomats are reporting that the cuts have led to violence and instability while undermining...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
“One of the reasons why we were very, so insistent about coming up with the whole notion of the border being an ‘invasion’ [is] there were Constitutional authorities that were a part of being able to call it an invasion.” Read about how we got to this precipice: www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
The “Invasion” Invention: The Far Right’s Long Legal Battle to Make Immigrants the Enemy
The Trump administration is using the claim that immigrants have “invaded” the country to justify possibly suspending habeas corpus, part of the constitutional right to due process. A faction of the f...
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Vought, Trump's budget chief and Project 2025 architect, said he was championing this theory specifically because it would “unlock” immense executive power. In a private speech first revealed by @documented.net, ProPublica's @andykroll.bsky.social and me last year, Vought said…
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Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Courts have never bought that unauthorized immigration truly equals an "invasion"—the threshold for using the Alien Enemies Act and suspending habeas. But between Trump administrations, MAGA intellectuals Russ Vought and Ken Cuccinelli worked behind-the-scenes to legitimize this once-fringe theory.
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