ICE surveillance under review, inspector general says - POLITICO

Lawmakers have been raising concerns about ICE's use of facial recognition, license plate readers and databases on Americans...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/06/dhs-inspector-general-investigates-ice-surveillance-00768778 

 

Otherwise Known as Lies (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Unjustified podcast)

Convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell, was granted limited immunity for her interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. A week later, her sex offender status was waived and she was moved to a minimum security prison in Texas.

Judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals press Department of Justice lawyers on deportation quotas as the Attorney General files a judicial complaint against Chief Judge Boesberg.

A criminal defendant is challenging the appointment of Alina Habba as the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, citing Judge Eileen Cannon's dismissal of the classified documents case against Trump in their complaint.

The Senate has confirmed Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Emil Bove, to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals as a whistleblower complaint languished in the Department of Justice Inspector General's office for months.

Plus listener questions…
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-weskj-26d4a22b

House Democrats say Trump-appointed inspector general is stonewalling inquiry into Secret Service texts

Earlier this month, Maloney and Thompson alleged that there was evidence of a cover-up within the inspector general's probe of the missing text messages, and called for Cuffari "to "step aside."…

https://www.axios.com/2022/08/16/democrats-dhs-inspector-general

Trump officials hindered at least nine key oversight probes, watchdogs said. Some may finally be released in coming months. - The Washington Post

"IGs under Trump faced an angry, account-settling president who had no compunction about removing those who threatened to reveal bad things about him," said Gordon Heddell, a former inspector general at the Defense and Labor departments who served under Republican and Democratic presidents...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-stymied-oversight/2021/03/22/0d3d6d8c-828d-11eb-81db-b02f0398f49a_story.html

Donald K. Sherman: Many Trump appointees outlast him. Biden and Congress can't forgive and forget.

As we begin working to reinforce the democratic norms Trump has broken, Congress and the American public must scrutinize the personnel he leaves behind.....

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-white-house-appointees-outlast-him-biden-congress-can-ncna1249286

The corruption of Mike Pompeo (Pod Save the World podcast)

Al Qaeda stages its first successful attack on American soil since 9/11, exposing America’s broken relationship with Saudi Arabia. Mike Pompeo fires the man investigating his corruption. Israel accelerates plans to annex West Bank settlements and engages in cyber warfare with Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron loses his majority, a typhoon barrels down on India, and a financier of the Rwandan genocide is apprehended. Marco Rubio takes over the Senate Intelligence Committee as concern grows about foreign interference in the upcoming election, Trump’s war of words with the WHO continues, and we got a super duper missile in the house.
Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9513168/the-corruption-of-mike-pompeo

Shields and Brooks on Trump's call to reopen, mail-in voting

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump’s call to reopen houses of worship despite the pandemic, controversial comments from Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, public opinion on reopening the country, the battle over mail-in voting and Trump’s firing of inspectors general.
https://youtu.be/iltfg52laH4

The Mike Pompeo Scandals Just Keep Piling Up | Vanity Fair

The secretary of state reportedly used official trips to secretly visit with Republican donors—which is far from the only damning accusation to come out against Pompeo in recent days. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/mike-pompeo-scandals-visited-donors-on-official-state-trips

Mike Pompeo's disturbing actions (Opinion) - CNN

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has surged into the headlines atop a geyser of revelations so dramatic that they may even help President Donald Trump distract the public from his disastrous pandemic response.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/20/opinions/mike-pompeos-disturbing-actions-ghitis/index.html

Trump’s Plan to Keep Stealing All the Money | Talking Points Memo

I’ve seen, you’ve seen the flurry of articles over recent days about President Trump firing Inspectors General across the administration, with more firings to come. The story has provided another illustration of how supporters of good government and the rule of law struggle to explain the gravity of this corruption because they get tangled up in the verbiage of bureaucracy and process. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trumps-plan-to-keep-stealing-all-the-money

Democrats Accuse Trump Of 'Gutting' Government Watchdog Roles : NPR

Congressional Democrats announced Saturday they're requesting all records and documents regarding President Trump's decision to fire State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, the fourth government watchdog Trump has fired or sought to remove in the last six weeks. https://www.npr.org/2020/05/17/857589529/democrats-launch-probe-of-trumps-firing-of-state-department-inspector-general

Romney calls Trump's purge of IGs "a threat to accountable democracy" - Axios

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) tore into President Trump on Twitter Saturday night for his "unprecedented" firing of multiple inspectors general in recent weeks, calling his actions "a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power." https://www.axios.com/mitt-romney-trump-inspector-general-c785de7a-bc73-4b27-b436-588a5face2fd.html

Steve Linick: State Department official investigating Pompeo is fired

Latest move against independent executive branch watchdogs who have found fault with Trump administration
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/16/steve-linick-state-department-official-investigating-pompeo-is-fired

Opinion | Trump's Attack on the Inspector General's Office Is an Attack on Accountability - The New York Times

Firing the watchdogs charged with protecting the public’s money and policing the executive branch undermines democracy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/opinion/inspector-general-trump-coronavirus.html

Schiff and Nadler seek probe of Barr for comments on Trump move to fire intel watchdog - POLITICO

The lawmakers asked Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz to investigate whether Barr violated professional responsibilities in his comments about Atkinson and whether he improperly interfered in Atkinson's efforts to alert Congress to alleged misconduct by Trump last fall. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/20/schiff-nadler-barr-trump-watchdog-196550

The Navy’s Coronavirus Clusterf*ck (Pod Save the World podcast)

A coronavirus clusterf*ck in the Navy leads the Acting Secretary of the Navy to resign. The virus sends British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the ICU while the Queen of England releases a message to the British people. Trump retaliates against an impeachment enemy by firing the Intelligence Community Inspector General. The White House has a new press secretary (sort of) while press freedom is under assault in India. Good news about efforts to stop the coronavirus in Austria, Denmark and New Zealand. And then Tommy connects with some Americans stranded abroad because of the coronavirus.
Interview:
https://crooked.com/podcast/the-navys-coronavirus-clusterfck/

Pentagon watchdog unable to 'definitively' determine if White House influenced JEDI contract | TheHill

The Pentagon's watchdog in a report released on Wednesday said it was not able to "definitively determine" whether the White House influenced the Department of Defense's (DOD) decision to award a $10 billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft over Amazon. The department's inspector general office said it was unable to rule on the issue because the DOD's general counsel instructed witnesses not to answer questions about conversations between the White House and Pentagon because of “the assertion of a ‘presidential communications privilege.’” https://thehill.com/policy/technology/492939-pentagon-watchdog-unable-to-definitively-determine-if-white-house

Donald Trump fires intelligence watchdog who sparked impeachment process

Donald Trump has fired the inspector general for the intelligence community who handled the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment, prompting fierce criticism from Democrats. ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/04/donald-trump-fires-intelligence-watchdog-michael-atkinson-impeachment

Pelosi, Democrats decry Trump's 'shameful' firing of inspector general amid coronavirus outbreak - ABC News

President Donald Trump fired the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Michael Atkinson, Friday, saying he no longer had confidence in him. His termination quickly drew the ire of top Democrats. Atkinson was the intelligence community inspector general whose communications to Congress about a whistleblower complaint helped initiate the Ukraine impeachment inquiry against the president.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/pelosi-democrats-decry-trumps-shameful-firing-inspector-general/story

Trump's new purge: Sources expect him to fire more inspector generals - Axios

Sources close to President Trump expect him to fire more inspectors general across his government, after his Friday night removal of Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community I.G. who alerted Congress to the complaint that triggered impeachment. What they're saying: Conservative allies of the president have told him that these I.G.s are members of the “deep state” trying to undermine him. Trump appears to have embraced that view. ....
https://www.axios.com/trump-purge-inspector-general-519c798e-f8d2-4de3-bd96-d9b663c1acde.html