Corruption • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom

Nick Akerman — Legal Politics by Nick Akerman

A Single Newspaper Reported Investigating Trump's Sexual Assault of a Minor

The Post and Courier, published a second article detailing its continuing investigation into a sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by Donald Trump.

Corruption • Democracy • Elections • Financial • Legal • Regulations

Harold Meyerson — American Prospect

Hawaii Just Found a Way to Keep Corporations Out of Politics

A new law makes clear that corporations derive their powers from states, and they don’t necessarily include the right to spend on elections.

Corruption • Democracy • Executive Power • Legal

Christopher Armitage — The Existentialist Republic (04/22/2026)

The Chief Justice and His Wife Took $20 Million From Firms He Rules On. I'm Filing for His Disbarment Today.

The men and women running this system built their careers on the assumption that nobody was paying attention. We noticed.

Democracy • Elections • Legal • Resistance

Robert Reich — Robert Reich Substack

How to Impeach the Bastard, for Real

Now's the time to start organizing.

Corruption • Executive Power • Human Rights • ICE • Legal

Julie K Brown — The Epstein Files by Julie K. Brown

Could a former Brazilian model be the whistleblower Melania is afraid of?

The First Lady’s unprecedented public statement about Jeffrey Epstein yesterday raised a lot of questions about what, if anything, is about to be revealed about Donald and Melania Trump’s relationship with the late sex trafficker.

Democracy • Executive Power • Global • Legal

Cristina Stassis — Military Times

Automatic registration for US military draft-eligible men to begin in December

Automatic registration into the U.S. military draft pool for eligible men is slated to begin in December 2026.

Corruption • Democracy • Executive Power • Legal • Surveillance

Kait Justice — Downwind of Truth with Kait Justice

Is the Barr Family Blocking The Epstein Investigation Because It Would Expose What's Being Built Right Now?

Three threads, fifty years, a 1973 Sci-Fi novel and the architecture of a sovereign class that answers to no one.

Corruption • Democracy • Human Rights • Legal

Craig Unger — Craig Unger (February 24, 2026)

They Built It. Now They Want to Bomb It.

Today's Iran crisis didn't start with just the mullahs. It started with a secret deal that Republican operatives made with them— a deal that changed history and has now lead to war.

Executive Power • Fascism • Human Rights • ICE • Legal • Violence

Mica Rosenberg — ProPublica (February, 9, 2026)

The Children of Dilley

ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.

Artificial Intelligence • Financial • Legal • Regulations

Lawrence Lessig

The Extortion Presidency

Anthropic in the cross-hairs.

Democracy • Disinformation • Elections • Executive Power • Fascism • Legal

Marc Elias — Democracy Docket

The DOJ's Fulton County Raid to Seize Ballots is Really About Future Elections

The department has demanded this highly sensitive data from all 50 states and has already sued 23 states, including DC, for refusing to comply. Pam Bondi even attempted to leverage the tragic killing of Alex Pretti to obtain this data from Minnesota.

Executive Power • Fascism • Legal • Resistance • Violence

Christopher Armitage — The Existentialist Republic

Increasing Calls From the Public Saying “Fight or Resign”

Elected officials who refuse to use their power should lose it.

Corruption • Disinformation • Human Rights • Legal • Threat Management

Dr. Stacey Patton

The Slow Release of the Epstein Files Is Psychological Conditioning

The public is being shown just enough to know the truth, and to understand that nothing is going to happen.

Culture • Democracy • Legal • Social Justice and Equity • White Supremacy

Dr. Stacey Patton

Leaked Texas A&M Document Exposes a Chilling Blueprint

No African American studies. No women’s studies. No queer studies. No sociology of race. No equity-focused education courses. No history courses on segregation. No public health instruction on racial disparities. No discussions of gender identity in psychology, medicine, social work, or literature.

Democracy • Disinformation • Executive Power • Fascism • Legal • Violence

Thom Hartmann — The Hartmann Report

Will the 2028 Election Even Happen? Is There a Plot to Use the Insurrection Act to End Democracy?

Trump appears well aware of his weakness, his collapsing poll numbers, and the precipice the American economy is teetering at the edge of.

Democracy • Democratic Party • Disinformation • Executive Power • Fascism • Legal • Resistance • Safety

Sherrilyn Ifill — Sherrilyn’s Newsletter

Emergency-Gate: Focus on Challenging the Premise of Trump’s Power

There is no trade emergency. There is no migrant emergency. There is no crime emergency. There is only a chilling and determined power grab by the most dangerous man to every occupy the White House. Eyes on 2026.

Democracy • Disinformation • Elections • Executive Power • Fascism • Legal • White Supremacy

John Knefel, Research Sophie Lawton — Media Matters

Steve Bannon just laid out the MAGA media playbook to subvert the midterms

The right-wing media plan for undermining the 2026 elections includes pushing for ICE to stalk polling sites and sending a band of election deniers on tour

Democracy • Disinformation • Fascism • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom

Mark Jacob — Stop the Presses

Will journalism become impossible in the U.S.?

Trump’s war on the free press follows foreign dictators’ playbook.

Democracy • Executive Power • Fascism • Legal

The New Republic and Greg Sargent — The New Republic

Trump’s Domestic Use of Military Set to Get Worse

A Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by TNR signals top-level discussions about a potential escalation of the Pentagon’s domestic anti-immigration role, and lays out new details.

Corruption • Financial • Legal

David Voreacos and Chris Strohm — Bloomberg

Epstein’s Work for Leon Black Deserves IRS Probe, Wyden Says

Wyden’s staff has pursued a “follow the money” strategy as it investigates the flow of funds in and out of Epstein’s accounts...

Artificial Intelligence • Cryptocurrency • Cyber Security • Digital Rights • Disinformation • Europe • Executive Power • Human Rights • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom • Resistance • Russia • Safety • Social Media • Surveillance • Technology • Threat Management • Violence

Ron Williams

The Resistance Will Be Reported (Updated November 12, 2025)

The environment for press freedom in the United States is entering a perilous new phase. The attacks have been unprecedented, widespread and continue to escalate.

Corruption • Democracy • Financial • Legal • Regulations

Greg Sargent — The New Republic

Trump’s Epstein Fiasco Takes Darker Turn as Dem Senator Drops New Bomb

The Oregon Democrat said that his investigators had discovered that four big banks had flagged to the Treasury Department $1.5 billion in potentially suspicious money transfers involving Epstein, much of which appeared to be related to his massive sex-trafficking network.

Corruption • Cryptocurrency • Executive Power • Financial • Global • Legal • Regulations • Technology

Jacob Silverman — The Nation

Does Trump’s Biggest Crypto Backer Really Exist?

The strange saga of a shadowy UAE company’s $100 million investment in World Liberty Financial, the Trump-aligned crypto trader.

Democracy • Economy • Human Rights • Legal • Resistance • Social Justice and Equity

Adam Harris — The Guardian

The Rev William Barber’s ‘moral movement’ confronts Trump’s America. Can it work?

Barber, the co-chair of the revived Poor People’s campaign, a national movement to challenge inequality in all its forms through moral protest and policy change, has spent years preparing people for moments like this.

Democracy • Human Rights • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom • Resistance • Safety • Threat Management

Caitlin Vogus — Freedom of Press Foundation

ICE wants to work in secret. We shouldn’t let it

While noncitizen journalists are the easiest targets for now, it’s abundantly clear that the government would like to criminalize journalists it doesn’t like, regardless of the journalists’ residency status.

Health • Human Rights • Legal • Regulations • Threat Management

Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser and Andrea Suozzo — ProPublica

After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage

A new ProPublica data analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.

Democracy • Fascism • Legal • Violence • White Supremacy

MIke Spies — The Trace

White, Legally Armed, and Primed for Political Violence

The gun industry’s sales tactics — playing up paranoia and glorifying combat — may be creating a pipeline of extremists willing to open fire.

Corruption • Democracy • Europe • Executive Power • Global • Human Rights • Legal

Michael Maya — Just Security

Why Hungary and Orbanism Must Never be a Model for the U.S.

Those who praise Orban and argue that Hungary provides a useful model for the United States are gravely misguided or worse.

Democracy • Fascism • Legal • Threat Management

Tim Lau, Joseph Nunn — Brennan Center for Justice

Martial Law Explained

Martial law has been declared more than 60 times in U.S. history, mostly by state and local officials. However, the concept has no established definition.

Cyber Security • Legal • Surveillance • Technology • Threat Management

Jason Koebler, Joseph Cox — 404 Media

ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network

Flock's automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras are in more than 5,000 communities around the U.S. Local police are doing lookups in the nationwide system for ICE.

Democracy • Legal • Regulations • Threat Management

Brett Wilkins — Common Dreams

'Nonprofit Killer' Pulled From GOP Tax Bill—For Now

"Because authoritarians love using censorship to silence opposition, it's likely gonna keep rearing its head," warned one rights group.

Human Rights • Legal • Resistance • Social Justice and Equity

Shea Howell — James and Grace Lee Boggs Center

Accountable Policing

Holding police officers accountable when they commit crimes or violate constitutional rights is one of the most difficult things to do in law.

Cyber Security • Legal • Technology • Threat Management

Dan Goodin — arstechnica

Jury orders NSO to pay $167 million for hacking WhatsApp

“Turns out regular people don't like companies that help dictators hack dissidents.”

Democracy • Disinformation • Journalism • Legal

Justin Baragona — The Independent

OAN and Voice of America to distribute pro-Trump message

“Congress mandated VOA to report reliable and authoritative news, not outsource its journalism to outlets aligned with the president's agenda.”

Democracy • Democratic Party • Elections • Legal

Ross Rosenfeld — The New Republic

Republicans Are Already Plotting to Steal the Midterms

With Trump’s help, Republicans across the country are sowing doubt about next year’s congressional elections—and gearing up for 2028.

Corruption • Financial • Global • Legal

Judd Legum — Popular Information

Trump promised no new business deals with foreign governments. He lied.

The Trump Organization has announced new developments in the UAE, Qatar, India and Vietnam. But none in the United States.

Executive Power • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom • Threat Management

Margaret Sullivan — The Guardian

The loss of editorial freedom at 60 Minutes is a sorry milestone

As with so many of the red alerts – lawsuits, threats, changes in long-held practices that protect the public’s right to know – the problem involves Donald Trump’s overweening desire to control the media.

Democracy • Executive Power • Legal

Tom Dreisbach — NPR

Trump has used government powers to target more than 100 perceived enemies

In the first 100 days of his second term, President Trump has moved aggressively to fulfill his promise of retribution against an extraordinary range of individuals and organizations, targeting political opponents, news organizations, former government officials, universities, international student protesters and law firms.

Democracy • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom

Robert Kuttner — The American Prospect

Is the Press Next?

As Trump tries to destroy one free institution after another—universities, law firms, independent public agencies, trade unions—sooner or later he will come for the press.

Legal • Press Freedom • Russia

Meduza

'I have always acted within the law'

Who are the four Russian journalists jailed for their alleged work with Navalny's organization?

Democracy • Human Rights • Legal

DASHA BURNS and MYAH WARD — Politico

Military contractors pitch unprecedented prison plan for detained immigrants

Erik Prince wants to cut a deal to transport detainees from the US to El Salvador.

Democracy • Fascism • Legal • Safety • Threat Management

Critical Resistance

Disposable People: We Are Not Safe

The Trump administration is quietly creating offshore detention, disappearance, and exile—and Americans could soon be next.

Digital Rights • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom • Surveillance • Technology

SARAH GREVY GOTFREDSEN — Columbia Journalism Review

Entry: Denied

The “intolerable risk to press freedom” posed by device searches at the border.

Executive Power • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom

DAVID BAUDER — Associated Press

AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists

A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events, affirming on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech.

Democracy • Journalism • Legal • Regulations

Closer to the Edge

"Nothing to FOIA Here"

How Signal, Silence, and Schedule F Are Killing Government Transparency

Democracy • Digital Rights • Elections • Global • Journalism • Legal • Press Freedom

Gretel Kahn, Marina Adami, Eduardo Suárez — Reuters Institute

Shattered by a perfect storm: How Trump’s cuts are crippling journalism beyond the United States

Before Trump’s inauguration, the US government supported independent journalism in more than 30 countries. Most of this funding was channelled through USAID. According to a USAID factsheet recently mentioned by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and now taken offline, the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists and assisted 707 outlets.

Legal • Social Justice and Equity

Janine Jackson — FAIR Counterspin

Energy Transfer's High Stakes Legal Attack on Greenpeace

...this case is one of the most extraordinary examples of abuse of the US legal system that we have encountered in at least the last decade. And anyone who is concerned about protecting free speech rights, or is concerned about large corporations abusing their power to silence their critics, should be paying attention to this case, even though it’s happening in North Dakota state court." -- Kirk Herbertson, EarthRights International

Democracy • Legal • Regulations • Technology • Threat Management

ARI PAUL — FAIR

FCC’s Knives Are Out for First Amendment

Brendan Carr, newly appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission, is waging a war on the news media, perhaps the most dangerous front in de jure President Donald Trump and de facto President Elon Musk’s quest to destroy freedom of the press and the First Amendment.

Democracy • Disinformation • Executive Power • Legal • Safety • Surveillance • Threat Management

DAVID GILBERT — Wired

How Dan Bongino Went From Infowars to FBI Deputy Director

Dan Bongino rose through the ranks of right-wing media thanks to his unflinching loyalty to Donald Trump and willingness to push baseless conspiracies—including about the FBI.

Democracy • Executive Power • Legal

David Remnick — The New Yorker

We Might Have to “Shut Down the Country”

Anthony Romero, the A.C.L.U.’s executive director, talks about what he thinks could happen if the Trump Administration defies the authority of the courts.

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