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Dean Blundell: “The $400 Million Question: Was Trump’s “Privately Funded” Ballroom Always Headed for Your Wallet? On July 31, 2025, Donald Trump made a promise. He was going to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the East Wing of the White House — a venue grand enough for state dinners, presidential inaugurations, and the kind of …
The Conversation: “The U.S. government “is able to purchase Americans’ sensitive data because the information it buys is not subject to the same restrictions as information it collects directly. The federal government is also ramping up its abilities to directly collect data through partnerships with private tech companies. These surveillance tech partnerships are becoming entrenched, …
Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of Inspector General William M. Blier announced today that: The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is initiating an audit of DOJ’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records …
Washington Post [no paywall]: “Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith said the Defense Department dismissed her without giving a reason, according to an email reviewed by The Post. Three months after the Pentagon decried the U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes as “woke” and announced it would be overhauled, Defense Department official Sean Parnell fired …
FBI investigating deaths and disappearances of staff at secretive government laboratories. Here’s what we know. “At least 10 scientists and researchers connected to U.S. nuclear and aerospace programs have died or gone missing since 2023, prompting concern in Congress and a House Oversight Committee investigation. Lawmakers, including James Comer, are seeking answers from federal agencies …
Wes Siler’s Newsletter – “Testifying in front of the House of Representatives on Monday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum revealed that the maintenance backlog in national parks now totals over $35 billion. This is the first time we’ve gotten an estimate on the increase to the backlog caused by the Trump administration’s first year …
The Atlantic Gift Article: “Donald Trump’s advisers are treating him like he can’t handle the reality of the war in Iran. They might be right—but that fact is a danger to the constitutional order…Earlier this month, top officials in the Trump administration were facing two problems—one distant and acute, one near and chronic. The first …
CNBC:” Banks in the U.S. may not like the idea of being forced to collect citizenship data on customers, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says they better be prepared for the task. “If Treasury and the banking regulators say it’s their job, it’s their job,” Bessent told CNBC’s Sara Eisen at the Invest in America …
Washington Post [no paywall]: “Congress ends ban on mining near Minnesota’s pristine Boundary Waters. The Senate repealed the Biden-era moratorium that safeguarded America’s most-visited wilderness, with the measure now going to Trump for his signature. The Senate voted 50-49 on Thursday to repeal a ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in …
Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation establishing a Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office, the body and process called for in Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to enable Congress to ensure effective and uninterrupted leadership in the …
Follow up to Capitol Riot Insurrectionists Networks and The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read (3 part posting) – Note – Trump last year commuted the prison sentences of 12 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. See this update: CBS News – including seditious conspiracy charges: “The Justice Department on Tuesday [April 14, 2026] …
The Handbasket:” Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did ‘just abortions,’ asked for ‘Barney-style’ slides before gutting agency, per new book. One of the first acts by the second Trump administration was the complete gutting of the US Agency for International Development, a workforce of more than 10,000 people that had administered humanitarian aid and …
