Search results for tag #law
![[?]](https://s3.masto.ai/accounts/avatars/109/303/982/217/898/173/original/84b53833e9214e09.png)
For #Bukele, a return of the informants was …a key step in hindering an ongoing US investigation into his government’s relationship with #MS13, a gang famous for displays of excessive violence in the #UnitedStates & elsewhere.
But in promising to terminate the #informants’ arrangements, current & fmr #DOJ ofcls say #Rubio threatened to undercut years of work by US law enforcement to apprehend & secure the cooperation of high-ranking members of one of the world’s most deadly gangs.
While the outlines of the quid pro quo have been public for months, the #Trump admin’s willingness to renege on secret arrangements made with #informants who had aided #US investigations has not been previously reported.
…The deal would give #Bukele possession of individuals who threatened to expose the alleged *deals* his govt made with #MS13 to help achieve #ElSalvador’s historic drop in violence, officials said.
#law #rendition #StateSponsoredAbduction #DueProcess #immigration #judiciary
To #deport them to #ElSalvador, AG #PamBondi would need to terminate the #DOJ’s arrangements with those men, #MarcoRubio said. He assured #Bukele that Bondi would complete that process & Washington would hand over the MS-13 leaders.
Rubio’s extraordinary pledge illustrates the extent to which the #Trump admin was willing to meet Bukele’s demands as it negotiated what would become one of the signature agreements of Trump’s early months in office.
JFC!
#MarcoRubio promised to betray #US #informants to get #Trump the #ElSalvador prison #CECOT for #deportations
To secure Washington’s access to El Salvador’s most notorious prison, the secretary of state made an extraordinary offer to President Nayib Bukele.
#law #rendition #StateSponsoredAbduction #DueProcess #immigration #judiciary
https://wapo.st/4nbNiM4
#Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down #Gunman at Conference
After the man walked onto the stage at the “Wiki World’s Fair” event & threatened to kill himself, witnesses said, two members of the audience jumped in to stop him.
#law #GunViolence #GunLaws #GunControl #MentalHealth
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/nyregion/wikipedia-conference-gunman.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
AYFKM???
#Trump said Friday he had commuted the sentence of former US #House Rep #GeorgeSantos, who is serving more than 7 years in federal #prison after pleading #guilty to #fraud & #IdentityTheft charges.
The #NY Republican was sentenced in April after admitting last year to deceiving donors & stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members — to make donations to his campaign.
#criminal #law #pardon #commutation
https://apnews.com/article/trump-george-santos-commutation-pardon-8ae46d6351cefe01d79f74920521b7a2?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-17-Breaking+News
#US #courts set to run out of money, begin furloughs as #shutdown lingers
The US federal court system starting on Monday will begin curtailing non-essential functions & furloughing some employees after exhausting what funds the #judiciary had left to sustain paid operations during the US #GovernmentShutdown.
#law #Trump #OrchestratedShutdown
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-courts-set-run-out-money-begin-furloughs-shutdown-lingers-2025-10-17/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement
In the dispute over the #NationalGuard, US District Judge April Perry said she found no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” is brewing in #Illinois during the #Trump #immigration crackdown.
#Chicago #law #SCOTUS #ActivistCourt #immigration #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #DueProcess #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct #MartialLaw #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #Sturmabteilung #WhiteSupremacy
The conservative-dominated court has handed #Trump repeated victories in emergency appeals since he took office in January, after lower courts have ruled against him & often over the objection of the 3 liberal justices. #SCOTUS has allowed Trump to ban #transgender people from the #military, claw back billions of dollars of congressionally approved federal #spending, move aggressively against #immigrants & fire leaders of #independent #FederalAgencies.
#law #ActivistCourt #NationalGuard #Chicago
The #Trump admin asked #SCOTUS to allow the deployment of the #NationalGuard in #Chicago, escalating Trump’s conflict with Democratic governors over using the #military on US soil.
The emergency appeal to the court came after a judge prevented, for at least 2 weeks, the deployment of Guard members from #Illinois & #Texas to assist #immigration enforcement. A federal appeals court refused to put the judge’s order on hold.
#law #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-national-guard-trump-913ecce44b6bcc5d0cba1b252dfd34ce?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-17-Breaking+News
On Thursday the Bureau of Land Management approved the expansion of a copper #mine on #PublicLands in #Utah. Earlier this week the #Interior Dept prepared to open >250,000 acres of land in #Wyoming & #Nebraska to #oil #drilling, & held a #coal lease sale for access to #Montana’s Powder River Basin. And at the #EPA, employees are finalizing a plan to allow more #mercury #emissions from coal plants, acc/to 2 people familiar with the work underway.
>700,000 federal employees have been sidelined & thousands more are at risk of being fired as the #government #shutdown drags on.
But the workers responsible for carrying out #Trump’s plans for more #FossilFuels & less #wind & #solar power are still hard at work. Some are approving permits for companies that want to extract #metals, #coal, #oil & #gas from #PublicLands & federal #waters. Others are rolling back limits on the #GreenhouseGas #emissions that are driving #ClimateChange.
The #Government Is #ShutDown. But Not for #FossilFuels.
Federal workers who issue permits for oil, #gas & #mining operations are on the job, along with those working to repeal #pollution limits.
#Trump #law #EnvironmentalLaw #regulations #ClimateCrisis
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/climate/trump-government-shutdown-energy.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Trump's administration has informed #Congress that the strikes are part of a #US #war on narcoterrorism, raising the possibility that the strike survivors are the first prisoners of war in that campaign.
#Trump #Venezuela #law #war #POWs #WarPowers #InternationalWaters #NoninternationalArmedConflict
🚨Exclusive: #US #military holding rescued strike survivors on #Navy ship, sources say
The US military is holding 2 survivors aboard a Navy ship after rescuing them in the aftermath of a US strike on Thursday on a suspected drug vessel in the #Caribbean that killed 2 others, 3 sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
#Trump #Venezuela #law #war #Congress #POWs #WarPowers
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-military-holding-rescued-strike-survivors-navy-ship-sources-say-2025-10-17/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement
It’s third criminal case brought in recent weeks by the #DOJ against a #Trump adversary, & is unfolding against the backdrop of growing *concerns* [awareness] that Trump is using the law enforcement agency to seek #retribution against his perceived enemies.
“Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” #JohnBolton said in a statement….
#JohnBolton pleads not guilty to charges accusing him of sharing classified information
Bolton pleaded not guilty Friday to charges accusing the former #Trump national security adviser turned critic of emailing classified information to family members & keeping top secret documents at his Maryland home.
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics
https://apnews.com/article/bolton-justice-department-trump-classified-information-indictment-f3c0bd8036ead827db5178b7a6090b38?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-17-Breaking+News
The target’s family, friends & co-workers could also be probed.
While the overview says undocumented #immigrants would be the main target for the #socialmedia team, the draft guidelines designate “domestic or international terrorism,” which under Trump’s executive order includes #antifa, as being among the most urgent category of cases.
#Trump #law #4thAmendment #FirstAmendment #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #infosec #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #RightToProtest #NoKings
In another project, #ICE has disclosed in recent days its potential plans to set up a #socialmedia monitoring team of 16 analysts who would sift through information from social media platforms & other databases to generate leads to locate *targeted individuals*. An Oct 2 “request for information,” …listed Facebook, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, WhatsApp, YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Flickr, Myspace & Google+ as some of the platforms that the team would scour…
…#ICE also reported a $2 million contract for #Penlink’s #Tangles & #Weblocs data systems on Sept. 25, which combine #socialmedia & #darkweb data to build detailed portraits of individuals. Weblocs allows clients to track the mobile phone location data of targeted individuals, information that government officials would otherwise need a #warrant to obtain. Penlink did not respond to a request for comment.
#Trump #law #4thAmendment #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #fascism #NoKings
#Paragon lists no contacts; requests for comment to Redlattice, a related Virginia-based company, drew no response.
Maria Villegas Bravo, Electronic #Privacy Information Center counsel, said #ICE’s use of Paragon #spyware raised questions of whether it infringed on the #4thAmendment against unreasonable search & seizure, as well as the #FirstAmendment’s protection of #FreeSpeech & the rights to #assembly & #petition.
#Trump #law #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #fascism #NoKings
3 Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to #DHS Secy #KristiNoem on Oct 6 expressing concern over reports of #ICE’s contract with #Paragon for #Graphite #spyware. “Graphite can gain unauthorized access into mobile phones without the owner’s knowledge or #consent, allowing access to encrypted applications, the phone’s location data, as well as messages & photographs saved to the phone,” Reps. Summer Lee (PA), Shontel Brown (OH) & Yassamin Ansari (AZ) wrote.
#ICE purchased #spyware in recent weeks that enables it to remotely hack into #smartphones & extract #data, even if phones are locked or communication is encrypted. One of them, developed by #Paragon, has drawn considerable concern from #CivilRights groups due to its use by other govts to monitor #dissidents & #journalists. ICE’s initial $2M contract for the spyware was suspended by #Biden due to those ethical concerns, but the contract was reactivated Aug 29.
#ICE posted drone footage of #protesters & ICE officers clashing in #Chicago on its #Facebook page on Oct 3.
The pinned post on ICE’s official Facebook page is a warning to the agency’s critics that they will “Face the Consequences” of long prison sentences if they assault or impede officers, cyberstalk, dox or make threats online.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #RightToProtest #FirstAmendment #NoKings
A number of #ICE’s #surveillance orders this year are explicitly for #immigration enforcement, such as a $30 million contract to #Palantir to build #ImmigrationOS, a platform for granularly tracking undocumented immigrants’ movements and any self-deportations. But #US officials have also begun to say that their efforts may serve the crackdown on #antifa as well.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
Many of those funds reflect long-term contracts that will be paid out over time in the future. Hundreds of millions of dollars are earmarked for technology products, according to a review of the contracts by The Washington Post, with major spending also on #detention centers, air transport and guns.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
#ICE’s contracted obligations in September tallied up to $1.4 billion, its highest monthly sum in at least 18 years, according to USASpending.gov. The upsurge in awards coincides with the agency’s access to more than $170 billion in funding that #Congress allocated for border security & #immigration enforcement in its July spending bill.
#Trump #law #privacy #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
On Oct 2, #ICE also informed prospective vendors that it planned to set up a new social media monitoring hub to trawl platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp & TikTok to collect info on targets. The document identifies undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes as the primary focus but also deems domestic terrorism a top priority & says the contractor must be “flexible [about] shifting priorities.”
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #NoKings
In one contract that #ICE signed last month for #Clearview #AI facial recognition software, the agency said in a filing that it would be used to investigate “assaults against law enforcement officers.” Other federal contracts show ICE has been expanding its fleet of small, remote-controlled drones, which it has said it is using to film #protesters.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
Technologies purchased by #ICE in recent weeks include an iris-scanning app that agents plan to use in the field, spyware that can hack into smartphones remotely & cellphone location software that can enable the tracking of a phone’s movements without a court #warrant.
“The acquisition & deployment of this technology in this environment is going to raise substantial concerns,” said John Sandweg, who was an acting director of ICE under the Obama admin.
But Democratic lawmakers, #CivilRights watchdogs & fmr officials have expressed concern that #ICE now has a green light not only to monitor immigrant communities, but also to carry out broad #surveillance of Americans exercising their #FirstAmendment right to oppose government action.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
“We have some of the best special agents, criminal investigators,” Lyons said on Beck’s podcast. “We are going to track the money. We are going to track these ringleaders.”
Lyons said the investigations will focus on “ringleaders” & “professional agitators” who he said are out to turn protests into violent confrontations.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
#Trump ordered all federal agencies to devote resources to investigating what he defined as “a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, & our system of law.”
Shortly after Trump’s EO, #ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, told Glenn Beck in an interview that the agency will deploy some of its elite investigative officers to probe anti-ICE protester networks.
The blitz of #surveillance purchases is motivated in large part by ICE’s intensive, nationwide campaign to find & deport undocumented #immigrants. But documents show that some of the #technology may also be used to target what the admin regards as anti-ICE extremist groups. Late last month, #Trump declared “#Antifa” a domestic #terrorist organization in the wake of a few violent clashes & a Dallas shooting at an #ICE facility.
#law #privacy #immigration #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
#ICE has been rapidly building out its #surveillance capabilities in recent weeks, signing a string of contracts for technologies to identify individuals by their irises or facial features & to monitor their cellphone activity, social media posts & physical movements, according to a review of federal spending disclosures.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
#ICE amps up its #surveillance powers,
targeting #immigrants & the nonexistent group #antifa
Iris scanners, facial-recognition apps, phone-hacking software & cellphone location data are among the agency’s recent technological purchases.
#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings
"Admiral Holsey's resignation only deepens my concern that this administration is ignoring the hard-earned lessons of previous #US #military campaigns & the advice of our most experienced warfighters," Reed said in a statement.
#Trump #Venezuela #law #USSouthCom #war #WarPowers #InternationalWaters #NonInternationalArmedConflict
Instead, the #Pentagon said a task force ‘was being created that would be led by II Marine Expeditionary Force, a unit capable of rapid overseas operations that is based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
That decision came as a surprise to #US #military watchers, since a combatant command like Southern Command would normally lead any high-profile operations.
#Trump #Venezuela #law #USSouthCom #war #WarPowers #InternationalWaters #NonInternationalArmedConflict
…In a letter to the #UnitedNations' 15-member #SecurityCouncil, seen by Reuters, #Venezuela's UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada asked for a #UN determination that the #US strikes off its coast are #illegal & to issue a statement backing Venezuela's #sovereignty.
Less than a week ago, the #Pentagon announced its counter-narcotics operations in the region would not be led by the Miami-based Southern Command, which oversees US military activities in #LatinAmerica.
Prior to Thursday's operation, #US #military strikes against suspected drug boats off #Venezuela killed at least 27 people, raising alarms among some legal experts & Democratic lawmakers, who question whether they adhere to the #LawsOfWar.
Videos presented by the #Trump admin of previous attacks showed vessels being completely destroyed, & there have been no prior accounts of survivors afterwards.
#law #war #WarPowers #InternationalWaters #NonInternationalArmedConflict
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer additional details about the incident, which has not been previously reported, except to say that it was not clear that the strike had been designed to leave survivors.
The development raises new questions, including whether the #US #military rendered aid to the survivors & whether they are now in US military custody, possibly as #POWs.
#Trump #Venezuela #law #war #WarPowers #InternationalWaters #NonInternationalArmedConflict
Exclusive: In a first, US strike in #Caribbean leaves #survivors, US official says
The US #military carried out a new strike on Thursday against a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, & in what is believed to be the first such case, there were survivors among the crew, a US official told Reuters.
#Trump #Venezuela #law #war #WarPowers #InternationalWaters #NonInternationalArmedConflict
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-carries-out-new-strike-caribbean-there-are-survivors-us-official-says-2025-10-16/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement
![[?]](https://media.oldfriends.live/oldfriends/accounts/avatars/109/380/043/893/518/808/original/7b0a791cfbb5b18e.gif)
John Bolton is indicted for allegedly keeping and sharing classified information for writing his book, 'In the Room Where It Happened.' If true, his goose is rightfully cooked.
Allegedly, he sent the classified info daily over AOL and GMAIL accounts and Signal, to two relatives who acted as his editors and ghost writers.
Under Biden Admin, after it was learned he had it, he made a deal to return all of it but he still secretly kept it. #JohnBolton #USPol #Law
Indictment: Easy breakdown table starting on page 22. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.592874/gov.uscourts.mdd.592874.1.0_1.pdf
Alt...
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA &
v.
JOHN ROBERT BOLTON, II,
“(Transmission of National Defense
“Information, 18 U.S.C. § 793(d); Retention
Defendant “of National Defense Information, 18 U.S.C.
*§793(¢); Forfeiture, 18 U.S.C. § 793(h),
“18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C), 21 US.C.
+ §853(p), 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c)
INDICTMENT
‘The Grand Jury for the District of Maryland charges that
#DOJ says #Smartmatic execs bribed officials for $1M
#Federal prosecutors have charged #voting tech firm Smartmatic with money laundering & other crimes arising from >$1M in bribes that several execs allegedly paid to #election officials in the Philippines.
The 2015–2018 payments were made to obtain a contract with the Philippines govt to help run that country’s 2016 presidential election & secure the timely payment for its work….
#law #propaganda
https://apnews.com/article/smartmatic-bribery-charges-philippines-97a1c66eaedf769ad0e64a52166be90b?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-16-Breaking+News
Agents during the August search seized multiple documents labeled “classified,” “confidential” & “secret” from Bolton’s office, according to previously unsealed court filings. Some of the seized records appeared to concern weapons of mass destruction, national “strategic communication” & the US mission to the United Nations, the filings stated.
The 18-count #indictment sets the stage for a closely watched court case centering on a longtime fixture in #Republican #ForeignPolicy circles who became known for his hawkish views on #US #power & after leaving Trump’s first admin emerged as a prominent & vocal critic of #Trump. …The case will unfold against the backdrop of broader concerns that his #DOJ is being #weaponized to go after his political adversaries.
Former #Trump admin #NationalSecurity adviser #JohnBolton was charged Thursday with *illegally storing & transmitting classified information*.
The investigation into Bolton, who served for more than a year in Trump’s first admin before being fired in 2019, burst into public view in August when the #FBI searched his home in Maryland & his office in Washington for classified records he may have held onto from his years in government.
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics
https://apnews.com/article/john-bolton-indictment-classified-information-1e21da0591d1195fbf58c0df28d57c9f?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-16-Breaking+News
…It was not clear Thursday who would replace Admiral Holsey, who just this week visited the islands of #Antigua & #Barbuda as well as #Grenada.
News of the admiral’s departure comes a day after it was reported that the #Trump admin had secretly authorized the #CIA to conduct covert action in #Venezuela.
Trump acknowledged Wednesday that he had authorized the covert action & said the US was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory.
…Admiral Holsey, who is #Black, becomes only the latest in a line of more than a dozen #military leaders, many of them people of color &/or #women, who have left their jobs this year. Most have been fired by #Defense Secretary #PeteHegseth or pushed out.
#Trump #US #Venezuela #Caribbean #USSouthCom #Pentagon #law #murder #war #Venezuela #NonInternationalArmedConflict
It was unclear why Admiral Holsey is leaving now, less than a year into his tenure, & in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career.
…Since early Sept, #US Special Ops forces have struck at least 5 boats off the coast of #Venezuela that the #Trump admin claims were transporting drugs, killing 27 people. US officials have privately made it clear that the main goal is to drive Nicolás #Maduro, #Venezuela’s #authoritarian leader, from #power.