Monthly Archives: March 2025

Associated Press: Trump officials texted war plans to a group chat in a secure app that included a journalist

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Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.”

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Goldberg said he received the Signal invitation from Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, who was also in the group chat.

As expected, Hegseth resorts to character assassination rather than explaining the lapse in security:

Hegseth in his first comments on the matter attacked Goldberg as “deceitful” and a “discredited so-called journalist” while alluding to previous critical reporting of Trump from the publication. He did not shed light on why Signal was being used to discuss the sensitive operation or how Goldberg ended up on the message chain.

Trump officials texted war plans to a group chat in a secure app that included a journalist
President Donald Trump is downplaying the texting of war plans to a group chat that included a journalist as “the only glitch in two months” of his administration.

Trump officials text Yemen war plans to Signal group chat with journalist | AP News

Lobbyist slips corrupt Vice President Vance an “extra” $170,000

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The corruption continues unabated, shamelessly, in plain sight — VP Dunce just got $170,000 slipped into his wallet. And what will the government contractor / lobbyist receive in return?

Lobbyist And Government Contractor Bought JD Vance’s Home For $170,000 Over Asking Price
The buyer, a Trump appointee during his first term, denies any political motive—calling the $1.9 million deal purely market-driven.

JD Vance’s Home Sold To Government Contractor And Lobbyist Who Was A Trump Appointee

Donald Trump is lying about Social Security. Elon Musk is sabotaging it.

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Donald Trump is lying about Social Security. Elon Musk is sabotaging it. Together, they’ve created a slow-motion theft disguised as reform — a deliberate, calculated effort to break America’s most important safety net and blame the victims when it fails.

This isn’t just reckless governance. It’s cruelty wrapped in a spreadsheet — a war on America’s elderly, waged by a billionaire with a god complex and a president too lazy to learn the facts.

THE LIE THAT STARTED IT ALL

In his recent speech to Congress, Trump stood before the nation and claimed that millions of “dead” people were still in the Social Security system, draining taxpayer dollars with fraudulent checks. He said there were 4.7 million people aged 100 to 109 still on the rolls. He claimed 3.6 million people over the age of 110 were receiving benefits. By the time he suggested nearly 3.5 million people aged 140 to 149 were cashing Social Security checks, it sounded less like a speech and more like a fevered rant from a man who still believes windmills cause cancer.

The numbers weren’t just wrong — they were laughably impossible. The SSA’s own data shows that only about 44,000 records with unverifiable birthdates are still linked to active benefits. The agency has long had automated systems in place that suspend payments for anyone listed as 115 or older unless they actively prove they’re alive. Trump’s wild claims about centenarians on the take weren’t just exaggerated — they were fantasy.

But the truth didn’t matter. Trump’s lie wasn’t meant to inform. It was meant to create panic — to convince Americans that Social Security is a bloated, broken program riddled with fraud. Once that lie took root, the rest of his plan could unfold.

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Fear and Loathing: Closer to the Edge
Donald Trump is lying about Social Security. Elon Musk is sabotaging it. Together, they’ve created a slow-motion theft disguised as reform — a deliberate, calculated effort to break America’s most…

Donald Trump is lying… – Fear and Loathing: Closer to the Edge | Facebook

The Hill: House Republican on war plans chat: ‘There’s no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff’

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Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said there’s “no doubt” that Russia and China were monitoring the U.S. officials’ devices used for a war plan text chat.

“I will guarantee you, 99.99 percent with confidence, Russia and China are monitoring those two phones,” Bacon told CNN’s Manu Raju. “So I just think it’s a security violation, and there’s no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff within hours of the actual attacks on Yemen or the Houthis.”

National security adviser Mike Waltz reportedly invited The Atlantic’s top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, into the Signal group, in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared secret war plans.

Bacon, a former Air Force brigadier general and a member of the House Armed Services committee, said he always was concerned about Hegseth, an Army veteran who was a longtime Fox News host.

Bacon called the group chat, which also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President Vance, among others, a “gross error.”

“They intentionally put highly classified information on an unclassified device,” he told CNN. “I would have lost my security clearance in the Air Force for this and for a lot less.”

House Republican on war plans chat: ‘There’s no doubt that Russia and China saw this stuff’
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said there’s “no doubt” that Russia and China were monitoring the U.S. officials’ devices used for a war plan text chat. “I will guarantee you, 99.99 percent with conf…

Don Bacon says Russia, China likely saw war plans group chat

Washington Post: New Trump demand to colleges: Name protesters — and their nationalities

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Apparently harvesting names of students (especially demonstrators) whose political views do not align with the Trump dictatorship, with the intent of canceling their visas & green cards and deporting them:

When federal civil rights attorneys launched investigations in February into whether universities properly responded to antisemitism on campuses, they noticed something unusual about the marching orders from their bosses at the Education Department.

An early step in civil rights investigations is always a letter to the university demanding certain information. Typically, the department asks how many discrimination complaints were received, and what school officials did in response.

But the Trump administration told the attorneys working on the cases to also collect the names and nationalities of students who might have harassed Jewish students or faculty, according to documents and three attorneys with the Office for Civil Rights who have direct knowledge of the situation and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the cases publicly.

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The job of the Office for Civil Rights is to investigate whether schools properly handled complaints of discrimination and harassment. Its role does not include disciplining students who may have been responsible for the harassment, so the government does not normally request their names — much less their nationalities.

A second attorney familiar with the process said, “There is no investigative reason for us to be asking for that information.” This person added that making the request might be a violation of civil rights law.

“There is no doubt that it can be used improperly,” a third attorney said.

New Trump demand to colleges: Name protesters — and their nationalities

New Trump demand to colleges: Name protesters — and their nationalities

The Telegraph: Kremlin targeting app at heart of White House group chat leaks

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Cyber attackers linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency had sought to gain access to Signal accounts

Russian military hackers have targeted the messaging app at the centre of the White House group chat fiasco, raising further fears about the security of US secret communications.

Researchers at Google found cyber attackers linked to the Kremlin’s military intelligence agency had sought to gain access to Signal accounts in Ukraine and were likely to use the techniques on other targets to snoop on conversations.

On Monday it emerged that members of Donald Trump’s cabinet including JD Vance, the vice president, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, had used Signal to discuss secret US military plans.

It emerged after Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat in which they discussed plans to bomb Yemen and disclosed classified material.

Kremlin targeting app at heart of White House group chat leaks
Cyber attackers linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency had sought to gain access to Signal accounts

Kremlin targeting Signal app at heart of White House group chat leaks

The Atlantic: The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

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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.

The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen.

I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.

This is going to require some explaining.

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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.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151

Seattle Times: Seattle activist verbally attacked by Elon Musk vows to push back

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If Musk can’t take the heat, he shouldn’t be a federal employee, “special” or otherwise.

Threatening messages began filling up Valerie Costa’s inboxes after Elon Musk in an X post accused her of “committing crimes.”

Her alleged crimes? Leading and promoting protests against Musk at Tesla showrooms across the Seattle area.

Costa and her housemates started asking whether they are safe and whether the FBI or law enforcement will show up. She then began to pull the website for her fundraising and nonprofit management business offline and scrubbed her personal information from the internet.

Nevertheless, threats continued.

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But no criminal activity has been reported at anti-Tesla protests in Seattle, said Sgt. Patrick Michaud with the Seattle Police Department.

Nevertheless, the lack of criminal activities at those protests hasn’t stopped Musk and others from accusing Costa and others of violating laws. Musk’s post on X quoted a video suggesting Costa was inspired by Luigi Mangione, the man charged in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, which Costa said is not true.

Musk’s tweet and rhetoric from federal authorities communicate a grim message about the state of protections for the First Amendment, Costa said.

Seattle activist verbally attacked by Elon Musk vows to push back
Threatening messages began filling up Valerie Costa’s inboxes after Elon Musk in an X post accused her of “committing
crimes.”

Seattle activist verbally attacked by Elon Musk vows to push back

Daily Express: Trump administration moves to end temporary status for 530,000 people

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Another half a million immigrants (mostly refugees and asylum candidates) will now be available for Trump’s ICE bullies to abuse and deport.

It’s as though Trump strives to create misery for people on the largest scale possible.

President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly gearing up to end temporary legal status for more than 530,000 people who arrived in the United States from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti.

This comes after Trump directed his officials to “terminate all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States,” on the first day of his second term at the White House.

According to a Federal Register document, these people entered the country via former President Joe Biden’s temporary parole programs which are scheduled to end on April 24.

    According to the document, people who had parole under these programs “must depart the United States before their parole termination date.”

    If these people do not leave before the parole is terminated, the Department of Homeland Security will “remove” them.

    Homeland Security Secretary [& Bimbo #2] Kristi Noem said that this move “directly” follows Trump’s order and “complements and underscores the Administration’s pivot to a foreign policy that prioritizes the United States’ interests in a secure border …”

    Trump administration moves to end temporary status for 530,000 people

    Trump administration moves to end temporary status for 530,000 people

    Daily Caller: DOJ Explores Criminal Charges Against Ousted USIP Mutineers

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    Only problem is that USIP is a branch of Congress, not an executive agency. Musk and his merry bunch of misfits with large testicles have no legitimate business there.

    The Department of Justice is exploring potential criminal charges against former U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) officials who attempted to block the Trump administration’s leadership changes at the federally funded think tank Monday, a senior DOJ official told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

    The official, who requested anonymity, told the DCNF the DOJ is examining whether certain USIP actions — such as the removal and destruction of internal and external door locks — created illegal fire hazards. The official also flagged the widespread distribution of internal flyers instructing USIP staff not to cooperate with incoming Trump administration officials as potentially obstructive conduct. The DCNF was the first to report on USIP’s internal flyer campaign and destruction of door locks.

    EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Explores Criminal Charges Against Ousted USIP Mutineers

    EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Explores Criminal Charges Against Ousted USIP Mutineers