Really should not dance around that word. Not just corrupt or improper or whatever. It's bribery. He's selling pardons. Call it bribery.

In the last 4 days: -- Elise Slotkin says she's being criminally investigated by DOJ -- ICE illegally goes "door to door" in Minneapolis -- FBI raids the home of a WP journalist -- DHS illegally arrests, detains 100+ Somalians with legal refugee status

Tillis is spot on. The Senate can't confirm a Trump toady to succeed Powell at the Fed. The rest of the game is now out in the open, and it doesn't end well.

Threats to the rule of law, the Constitution, and American democracy are growing, and we @chkbal.bsky.social are growing to meet them. Are you a conservative, libertarian, or center right patriot who puts first principles ahead of personalities and partisanship? Apply to join our team.

“I am tired and exhausted by the fools and idiots that get to govern us...I am tired of their theft, corruption and injustice.”--a protestor in Iran. That disgust and frustration is so often what ends up sparking public mobilization globally. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/w...

Must-watch @nytimes.com video breaking down the footage of the ICE shooting of a US citizen mom in Minneapolis. This apparent homicide is part of a broader pattern of abuse by an unchecked ICE, which now has massive funding and will only grow. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Excellent, damning analysis of the video of the killing of Ms Good, from the NYT, including a quick debunking of the “evidence” the President showed other Times reporters last night. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

ICE now has the largest budget of any US law enforcement agency, and the least accountability. An agent shot & killed a US citizen mom in her SUV today. DOJ can't be counted on to investigate. We, the people, need to push for accountability. Call Congress, demand oversight: act.represent.us/sign/ice

“Donald Trump has been quietly plotting the seizure of Greenland in some way, shape, or form for nearly eight years. We listened to his private rants about it in the first term, but we weren’t willing to carry out a takeover of an allied nation on his behalf.” www.defiance.news/p/why-i-warn...

Five years ago, we saw the most direct attack on US democratic process in generations. Now we're seeing an assault from within, via corruption, intimidation and power grabs. Today we need not only to remember, but to recommit to freedom, rule of law, and government of, by, and for the people.

The US incursion into Venezuela had nothing to do with promoting democracy, freedom or the rule of law, or even countering illicit drug flows. It was about one thing alone: amassing power by whatever means necessary. My latest: //mariamcfarlandsm.substack.com/p/trumps-approach-to-venezuela-mirrors

Great breakdown of the illegality of the VZ action under intl law, and the incoherence in the administration's justifications. One more: high US overdoses are linked to fentanyl, which is made with chemicals from China--not VZ. Will Trump invade China next? (Bonus: China has rare earth minerals).

"Venezuelans want to... not be beholden to corrupt networks of power"--sobering read on how hard it is to unwind corrupt regimes once installed. Beyond US intervention concerns, VZ is a cautionary tale about the risks of concentration of power and rising corruption. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/o...

The CBS investigation portrays a modern concentration camp, similar to the Soviet GULAG (like CECOT, an acronym): sadistic guards, 24 hour lighting, isolation cells. Americans once opposed this inhumane system. The Trump administration sent innocent people there to suffer.

If Bari Weiss won't let @60minutes.bsky.social report (for now) on the abuse of men Stephen Miller & co sent to CECOT, everyone else needs to. Here's the video @represent.us made based on @hrw.org @cristosal.bsky.social reports. #MakeCensorshipBackfire www.youtube.com/shorts/ys1Xb...

“These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.”

Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:

What? How often does 60 Minutes suddenly postpone a show? As @hrw.org has reported, there's substantial evidence of torture and sexual abuse of the people the US sent to CECOT (most of whom had no violent criminal record). Media should be reporting on it and demanding answers.

It took evidence of war crimes by Sec. Hegseth—paired with President Trump’s pardon of a convicted major drug trafficker—but Congress is suddenly showing signs of a spine. open.substack.com/pub/mariamcf...

Harvard Law School’s Jack Goldsmith: “In short, if the Post’s facts are correct, it appears that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the ‘two men were blown apart in the water, as the Post put it.’” open.substack.com/pub/executiv...

So, if you're on a fishing boat in the Caribbean, you risk getting bombed for "carrying drugs". But if you have powerful friends and a US jury convicts you of drug trafficking, you get a pardon and celebratory TruthSocial post. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...

Excited to talk with Miles Taylor on the Defiance.org Weekly Spotlight this evening. Get a pre-Thanksgiving boost of hope by joining us for this lively, defiant chat about giving Congress a spine! open.substack.com/pub/defiance...

Yes, we're seeing cracks in the armor, with more Rs beginning to show some willingness to stand up to the administration. That's why we need to seize the opportunity now to widen them! 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...

Big thanks to @MilesTaylorUSA for featuring @representus 's work to put targeted pro-democracy pressure on Congress in his new defiance.org site, and to @JimAcosta for his great interview with us! m.youtube.com/watch?v=xGYk...

Delighted to speak with Nicole Wallace on MSNBC about @represent.us’s Congressional Courage Campaign, to put targeted, real pressure on Congress to assert its power and hold the administration to account.

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan María Corina Machado has stood up to Maduro's regime, which arrests critics, rigs elections, and silences dissent. If Trump wants a Nobel, he might start by *not* copying Maduro's tactics: www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace...

Congress has the duty and authority to exert oversight over DOJ. With Bondi's agency ramping up politicized prosecutions, we need to put pressure on Congress to do its job, ask the tough Qs, demand accountability: act.represent.us/letter/bondi...

💯! That's why at @represent.us we've been working to fix corruption and build a govt accountable to the people.

It's not about getting back at Comey, Letitia James, or Soros. It's about silencing you. My latest post: open.substack.com/pub/mariamcf...

Whatever you think about Comey, his indictment yesterday indictment under Trump pressure is cause for alarm. It builds on years of Trump efforts to take over the FBI/DOJ, starting with his firing of Comey in 2018. But this is not a hopeless situation. 1/8 www.bbc.com/news/article...

STEWART: “Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether— we’re the banana peel in the coal mine… authoritarians are the threat to comedy, music, art, thought… progress.” Nailed it.

In Colombia, a single assassination triggered more than 50 years of war. I documented the resulting horrors, which did nothing to solve the country's problems. My reflections on rising political violence in the US, and the way forward: open.substack.com/pub/mariamcf...

I grew up in a country devastated by political violence, and decades later, the scars are still there. Nobody should want or support that for the US. Part of the point of genuine democracy, rule of law, etc, is to resolve differences peacefully and fairly.

The US political system has long been corrupt. But this administration is taking corruption to a new level. Thanks to #MichaelDouglas for explaining, and calling on YOU to join the nonpartisan movement for a US govt that works for the people, not just the powerful. m.youtube.com/watch?v=64Wn...

The conviction of Colombia’s once-untouchable ex-president is a sign of hope amid autocracy’s rise—my latest in @theguardian.com today. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Corruption is at peak levels in the US. But calling that out without tackling the corruption already in the system sounds hypocritical to many. We need real action, on both today's corruption and the ways the system has long been rigged. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/mariamcf...

"Firing the top statistical official... puts us in dangerous territory far from an accountable and reality-based government.” says ‪@gretchentg.bsky.social‬ of Union of Concerned Scientists. Agreed! www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/u...

🚨 BREAKING: The Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee just advanced a bill to ban members of Congress, the President, and VP from trading stocks. The vote was 8–7. All Democrats voted yes, Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the only Republican to join them.

The Senate's confirmation to the 3rd Circuit of Emil Bove, despite not only three whistleblower complaints, but also his role in the appalling Eric Adams dropping of charges, is an alarming step toward radical politicization of the judiciary. www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

“I’d rather die... than to keep living through this experience," said one of the men (most of whom had no criminal records) Trump sent to El Salvador's CECOT prison. Powerful @propublica.org reporting on the men's experiences of torture there: www.propublica.org/article/vene...

Fmr Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been convicted of bribing a witness who tied him to paramilitaries. My book, There Are No Dead Here, tells the story of the vicious paramilitaries' rise on Uribe's watch. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/w... 1/5

ICE risks overplaying its hand, turning ppl against it, as it becomes "a massive, un-uniformed, masked domestic army... that critics fear will have carte blanche to arrest, detain and deport persons without... due process, whether they enjoy legal status or not." www.politico.com/news/magazin...

There are now TWO whistleblowers saying Emil Bove suggested DOJ ignore court orders. That's on top of the role he played in the sketchy Eric Adams deal. He makes me think of courts in Venezuela, mere tools for the president... is that what the Senate wants for the US? edition.cnn.com/2025/07/27/p...

Great piece by Vanita Gupta on how “the foundations of American freedom” are at stake with the administration’s efforts to go after civil society and nonprofits. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/o...

Wow, not even trying to hide it...

We can turn the tide on rising corrupt autocracy in the US--I know that from years of experience. But we need to move a lot more people who are on the fence--both within the system and outside it. Check out my new Substack post and subscribe: open.substack.com/pub/mariamcf...

Excellent piece by former US Ambassador to Hungary, warning US elites: "Don’t dupe yourselves. The illusion that you are smarter than the strongman... is just that — an illusion. Now, more than ever, your principled leadership matters." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o...

One in five Trump nominees and top officials own crypto, which the administration is now basically choosing not to regulate. Bitcoin's price has surged 70% since the election. Doesn't get more swamp-drainy than this www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int... @ence.bsky.social @cqzakrz.bsky.social

BIG $ ALERT! Congress is about to pass a bill pushed by the crypto industry (armed with a $140M war chest) that critics say could put all of us at risk of a big financial crisis. www.politico.com/live-updates... 1/7

Newsweek just reported that four members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats alike, bought stock in defense companies while sitting on committees that oversee military budgets. These companies receive billions in government contracts.