Trump Corruption

The New York Times reports: Asanda Zondi received a startling phone call last Thursday, with orders to make her way to a health clinic in Vulindlela, South Africa, where she was participating in a research study that was testing a new device to prevent pregnancy and H.I.V. infection. The trial was shutting down, a nurse told her. The device, a …

Axios reports: The Trump administration is being sued over its move to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with unions representing workers in the lawsuit calling the action “unconstitutional and illegal.” The lawsuit that was filed in federal court Thursday seeks to block efforts to place most of USAID’s 10,000-strong global workforce on administrative leave by Friday night …

CNN reports: A representative from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was granted access to the Energy Department’s IT system on Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright [photo], two people with knowledge of the situation told CNN. Wright granted access to DOGE representative Luke Farritor — a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern — even over objections from members of …

Wired reports: US Treasury Department and White House officials have repeatedly denied that technologists associated with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had the ability to rewrite the code of the payment system through which the vast majority of federal spending flows. WIRED reporting shows, however, that at the time these statements were made, a DOGE operative did …

The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, claiming that the court “has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” The order accused the ICC of illegitimately asserting jurisdiction over and opening “preliminary investigations concerning personnel and the United States and certain …

Reuters reports: Panama President José Raúl Mulino said on Thursday the U.S. was spreading “lies and falsehoods” after the State Department claimed U.S. government vessels would be able to pass through the Panama Canal without paying. The comments were likely to exacerbate tensions between the two countries after the U.S. had cited progress on military cooperation and confronting alleged Chinese …

The Washington Post reports: Records obtained by The Post show that several members of Musk’s DOGE team — some of whom are in their early 20s and come from positions at his private companies — were given “administrative” access to OPM computer systems within days of Trump’s inauguration last month. That gives them sweeping authority to install and modify software …

CNN reports: The FBI is preparing to disband a team of specialists charged with combating foreign threats to US elections. The shuttering of the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force and planned reassigning of team members follows a directive from incoming and newly sworn in US Attorney General Pam Bondi dissolving the team. “To free resources to address more pressing priorities, …

“The last time I checked in with the Office of Personnel Management, there was more than 40,000 individuals – federal workers – who had accepted the buyout program. We expect that number to increase – and that alone, that 40,000 – we expect it to increase. It’s going to save the federal government tens of millions of dollars. And we …

“They told me I could do it via Skype. And I said, what are we doing? And they said, the prayer breakfast. I said, I’ve been there every year. I’m not doing it via Skype. Instead, I’m going to be there. It’s not that far. You know, it’s like about two minutes down the road. In fact, it was easier …

Bloomberg News reports: A federal judge has temporarily delayed the Feb. 6 deadline for millions of federal workers to decide whether to accept the Trump administration offer to resign with the promise of months of full pay, as a fight over the lawfulness of the buyout push goes forward. US District Judge George O’Toole announced at a brief hearing on …

The stupid lying is utterly endless: American billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X platform and newly designated special government employee, shared a fake video claiming that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Hollywood celebrities to boost the popularity of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The video mentions several American celebrities who visited Ukraine and allegedly received multi-million-dollar payments …

NBC News reports: Top officials at the Education Department told staff members Wednesday that if they accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation package, the education secretary may later cancel it and employees would not have any recourse, potentially leaving them without promised pay. The Office of Personnel Management sent notices last week to federal employees that if they resign by …

The United Press reports: The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to limit Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system. The decision follows a lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleging that Musk and his group of DOGE workers violated federal privacy laws when they improperly commandeered data from the Treasury Department. The …

Axios reports: In a rebuke of the Trump administration, Panama has refuted a claim by the U.S. State Department that American vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without being charged fees. The dispute comes shortly after the State Department made the announcement Wednesday evening. President Trump has pushed to regain control of the canal — one of the world’s …

Posted this morning to Truth Social: The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting. The Palestinians, people like Chuck Schumer, would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region. They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe, …

Posted this morning to Truth Social: CBS and 60 Minutes defrauded the public by doing something which has never, to this extent, been seen before. They 100% removed Kamala’s horrible election changing answers to questions, and replaced them with completely different, and far better, answers, taken from another part of the interview. This was Election changing “stuff,” Election Interference and, …

The Washington Post reports: Agents of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have gained access to highly restricted government records on millions of federal employees — including Treasury and State Department officials in sensitive security positions — as part of a broader effort to wrest control over the government’s main personnel agency, according to four U.S. officials with knowledge …

The New York Times reports: The Justice Department said on Wednesday that it would not bring charges against anyone affiliated with the group Project Veritas over their role in trying to publish the contents of a diary that had been stolen from Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s daughter in the final weeks of the 2020 election campaign. Project Veritas and its …

NBC News reports: Trump’s administration evicted former Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan from her home with three hours of notice on Tuesday — not even enough time to gather her personal effects — according to two people familiar with the incident. Fagan, a four-star admiral and the first woman to lead a branch of the military, was removed from her …