DOGE team uses AI to track hostility to Trump and Musk among government workers: report
Elon Musk's DOGE team has been using artificial intelligence to conduct surveillance on at least one federal agency's communications for signs of disloyalty to President Donald Trump and his agenda, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Trump administration officials have told some U.S. government employees about the surveillance, the sources told Reuters.
Employees with the Department of Government Efficiency could also be in violation of federal record-keeping rules by communicating through the non-secure the Signal app, which can be set to automatically delete messages.
“If they’re using Signal and not backing up every message to federal files, then they are acting unlawfully,” said Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Nearly 20 people with knowledge of DOGE operations spoke to Reuters, and two sources said some managers at the Environmental Protection Agency were told by Trump appointees that Musk's team was using AI to monitor workers for criticism of Trump or his billionaire adviser.
“We have been told they are looking for anti-Trump or anti-Musk language,” said a third source familiar with the EPA.
Click on the link for the full article
Life in Post Democracy Era: Trump 2/Elon
-
CobraCommander
- Posts: 116
- Joined: Sat Jan 18, 2025 11:50 am
- Reactions score: 92
Judge says White House can’t ban Associated Press from Oval Office, Air Force One
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the White House cannot bar Associated Press reporters and photographers from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other tightly controlled spaces where a handful of other media outlets are admitted to cover President Donald Trump.
District Court Judge Trevor McFadden said the White House’s blocking of AP journalists from those secure spaces after the wire service refused to wholeheartedly adopt his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico is “contrary to the First Amendment” of the U.S. Constitution.
McFadden, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, paused his preliminary injunction order requiring the White House to restore access to AP journalists from taking effect until Sunday.
The delay gives the White House time to appeal his ruling, which was issued in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., after the AP sued to regain its access.
Click on the link for the full article
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the White House cannot bar Associated Press reporters and photographers from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other tightly controlled spaces where a handful of other media outlets are admitted to cover President Donald Trump.
District Court Judge Trevor McFadden said the White House’s blocking of AP journalists from those secure spaces after the wire service refused to wholeheartedly adopt his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico is “contrary to the First Amendment” of the U.S. Constitution.
McFadden, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, paused his preliminary injunction order requiring the White House to restore access to AP journalists from taking effect until Sunday.
The delay gives the White House time to appeal his ruling, which was issued in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., after the AP sued to regain its access.
Click on the link for the full article
Trump Backs Down on Reciprocal Tariffs for 90 Days
President Trump on Wednesday said he would pause his reciprocal tariffs for most countries for the next 90 days, backing down on his policy that had sent markets into a tailspin and threatened to upend global trade. But Mr. Trump said his break did not include China, announcing he would instead raise tariffs on its exports to 125 percent after Beijing announced a new round of retaliation.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the tariff level would be brought down to a universal 10 percent — a significant reduction for many countries.
In announcing the pause, the White House repeatedly tried to suggest it was all part of a premeditated strategy. Ms. Leavitt accused reporters of having “failed to see what President Trump is doing here,” and Scott Bessent, secretary of the Treasury, said it was Mr. Trump’s “strategy all along.”
But the abrupt change in course came amid a sell-off in U.S. bonds, which are generally safer investments, and after days of deep losses in financial markets around the globe. Economists had expressed serious concerns that the United States might be careening toward a recession of its own making.
The reversal, which prompted the S&P 500 to climb over 7 percent in a matter of minutes, followed another whirlwind day. Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs had hit nearly all U.S. trading partners with new levies and raised import taxes on Chinese goods to 104 percent. Beijing then announced additional tariffs on imports from the United States, for a total levy of 84 percent, which went into effect at 12:01 p.m. Eastern.
Click on the link for the full article
Meanwhile...
‘We are all waiting for a reply.’ Countries say White House hasn’t responded on tariff talks.
President Donald Trump and his top trade officials say they are negotiating with trading partners to reduce the steep tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday. But many foreign governments who want to talk are still waiting by the phone.
The Philippines is still waiting for a reply to its request for a meeting, according to one official from the country.
On top of that, Trump officials have not spelled out exactly what concessions the administration is seeking that could pave the way for a negotiated solution.
It’s a sign that even as the administration tries to reassure financial markets, business leaders and fellow Republicans that they have an end game for the market-shaking duties, the White House is still very far from reaching any substantive trade deals with major foreign partners. Rapid progress will be even harder because now the administration is trying to negotiate bilateral deals with nearly 100 countries simultaneously to achieve a murky set of goals.
Click on the link for the full article
President Trump on Wednesday said he would pause his reciprocal tariffs for most countries for the next 90 days, backing down on his policy that had sent markets into a tailspin and threatened to upend global trade. But Mr. Trump said his break did not include China, announcing he would instead raise tariffs on its exports to 125 percent after Beijing announced a new round of retaliation.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the tariff level would be brought down to a universal 10 percent — a significant reduction for many countries.
In announcing the pause, the White House repeatedly tried to suggest it was all part of a premeditated strategy. Ms. Leavitt accused reporters of having “failed to see what President Trump is doing here,” and Scott Bessent, secretary of the Treasury, said it was Mr. Trump’s “strategy all along.”
But the abrupt change in course came amid a sell-off in U.S. bonds, which are generally safer investments, and after days of deep losses in financial markets around the globe. Economists had expressed serious concerns that the United States might be careening toward a recession of its own making.
The reversal, which prompted the S&P 500 to climb over 7 percent in a matter of minutes, followed another whirlwind day. Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs had hit nearly all U.S. trading partners with new levies and raised import taxes on Chinese goods to 104 percent. Beijing then announced additional tariffs on imports from the United States, for a total levy of 84 percent, which went into effect at 12:01 p.m. Eastern.
Click on the link for the full article
Meanwhile...
‘We are all waiting for a reply.’ Countries say White House hasn’t responded on tariff talks.
President Donald Trump and his top trade officials say they are negotiating with trading partners to reduce the steep tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday. But many foreign governments who want to talk are still waiting by the phone.
The Philippines is still waiting for a reply to its request for a meeting, according to one official from the country.
On top of that, Trump officials have not spelled out exactly what concessions the administration is seeking that could pave the way for a negotiated solution.
It’s a sign that even as the administration tries to reassure financial markets, business leaders and fellow Republicans that they have an end game for the market-shaking duties, the White House is still very far from reaching any substantive trade deals with major foreign partners. Rapid progress will be even harder because now the administration is trying to negotiate bilateral deals with nearly 100 countries simultaneously to achieve a murky set of goals.
Click on the link for the full article
Judge Demands Daily Updates on Efforts to Return Wrongly Deported Man
A federal judge in Maryland, temporarily defusing a showdown with the White House, ordered the Trump administration on Friday to provide daily updates about its progress toward returning a man who was unlawfully deported to El Salvador last month.
The instructions by the judge, Paula Xinis, came at the end of a contentious day on which the Justice Department first defied her order to provide a written explanation of its plans to free the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and then repeatedly stonewalled her efforts to get even the most basic information about him at a hearing.
By demanding that the government detail its progress and promising to track “everything the government is doing and not doing,” Judge Xinis avoided an immediate conflict with the White House. But the clashes — both inside the courtroom and over the department’s refusal to comply with her demand for a road map to release Mr. Abrego Garcia — left open the possibility of a standoff in the future.
The dispute involving Judge Xinis emerged directly from a Supreme Court ruling issued on Thursday evening in which the justices told Trump officials to take steps to free Mr. Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran migrant, from a notorious prison in El Salvador where he was sent with scores of other migrants on March 15.
The officials have already acknowledged that they made an “administrative error” when they put Mr. Abrego Garcia on the plane, despite a previous court order that had expressly prohibited sending him back to his homeland.
As part of its ruling, the Supreme Court told the administration that it should be prepared to “share what it can concerning the steps it has taken” to get Mr. Abrego Garcia back, as well as “the prospect of further steps” it intended to take.
During the hearing, in Federal District Court in Maryland, Judge Xinis asked Drew Ensign, a lawyer for the Justice Department, several questions about Mr. Abrego Garcia, including where he was at the moment. But Mr. Ensign largely responded by telling her that Trump officials had not simply provided him with the information she wanted.
For example, when Judge Xinis asked what the Trump administration had done so far to “facilitate” the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia, Mr. Ensign responded, “The defendants are not yet prepared to share that information.”
“That means they’ve done nothing,” Judge Xinis said.
The judge seemed frustrated when Mr. Ensign suggested that the government was prepared to respond to her request in a written filing on Tuesday.
“We’re not going to slow-walk this,” Judge Xinis said, noting that the demand for information about the government’s plans was an issue that the Supreme Court “has already put to bed.”
Click on the link for the full article
A federal judge in Maryland, temporarily defusing a showdown with the White House, ordered the Trump administration on Friday to provide daily updates about its progress toward returning a man who was unlawfully deported to El Salvador last month.
The instructions by the judge, Paula Xinis, came at the end of a contentious day on which the Justice Department first defied her order to provide a written explanation of its plans to free the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and then repeatedly stonewalled her efforts to get even the most basic information about him at a hearing.
By demanding that the government detail its progress and promising to track “everything the government is doing and not doing,” Judge Xinis avoided an immediate conflict with the White House. But the clashes — both inside the courtroom and over the department’s refusal to comply with her demand for a road map to release Mr. Abrego Garcia — left open the possibility of a standoff in the future.
The dispute involving Judge Xinis emerged directly from a Supreme Court ruling issued on Thursday evening in which the justices told Trump officials to take steps to free Mr. Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran migrant, from a notorious prison in El Salvador where he was sent with scores of other migrants on March 15.
The officials have already acknowledged that they made an “administrative error” when they put Mr. Abrego Garcia on the plane, despite a previous court order that had expressly prohibited sending him back to his homeland.
As part of its ruling, the Supreme Court told the administration that it should be prepared to “share what it can concerning the steps it has taken” to get Mr. Abrego Garcia back, as well as “the prospect of further steps” it intended to take.
During the hearing, in Federal District Court in Maryland, Judge Xinis asked Drew Ensign, a lawyer for the Justice Department, several questions about Mr. Abrego Garcia, including where he was at the moment. But Mr. Ensign largely responded by telling her that Trump officials had not simply provided him with the information she wanted.
For example, when Judge Xinis asked what the Trump administration had done so far to “facilitate” the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia, Mr. Ensign responded, “The defendants are not yet prepared to share that information.”
“That means they’ve done nothing,” Judge Xinis said.
The judge seemed frustrated when Mr. Ensign suggested that the government was prepared to respond to her request in a written filing on Tuesday.
“We’re not going to slow-walk this,” Judge Xinis said, noting that the demand for information about the government’s plans was an issue that the Supreme Court “has already put to bed.”
Click on the link for the full article
-
88Commanders00
- Posts: 640
- Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2024 12:44 am
- Reactions score: 246
- Location: Palm Bay, Florida
China wrote: Fri Apr 11, 2025 4:58 pmJudge Demands Daily Updates on Efforts to Return Wrongly Deported Man
A federal judge in Maryland, temporarily defusing a showdown with the White House, ordered the Trump administration on Friday to provide daily updates about its progress toward returning a man who was unlawfully deported to El Salvador last month.
The instructions by the judge, Paula Xinis, came at the end of a contentious day on which the Justice Department first defied her order to provide a written explanation of its plans to free the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and then repeatedly stonewalled her efforts to get even the most basic information about him at a hearing.
By demanding that the government detail its progress and promising to track “everything the government is doing and not doing,” Judge Xinis avoided an immediate conflict with the White House. But the clashes — both inside the courtroom and over the department’s refusal to comply with her demand for a road map to release Mr. Abrego Garcia — left open the possibility of a standoff in the future.
The dispute involving Judge Xinis emerged directly from a Supreme Court ruling issued on Thursday evening in which the justices told Trump officials to take steps to free Mr. Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran migrant, from a notorious prison in El Salvador where he was sent with scores of other migrants on March 15.
The officials have already acknowledged that they made an “administrative error” when they put Mr. Abrego Garcia on the plane, despite a previous court order that had expressly prohibited sending him back to his homeland.
As part of its ruling, the Supreme Court told the administration that it should be prepared to “share what it can concerning the steps it has taken” to get Mr. Abrego Garcia back, as well as “the prospect of further steps” it intended to take.
During the hearing, in Federal District Court in Maryland, Judge Xinis asked Drew Ensign, a lawyer for the Justice Department, several questions about Mr. Abrego Garcia, including where he was at the moment. But Mr. Ensign largely responded by telling her that Trump officials had not simply provided him with the information she wanted.
For example, when Judge Xinis asked what the Trump administration had done so far to “facilitate” the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia, Mr. Ensign responded, “The defendants are not yet prepared to share that information.”
“That means they’ve done nothing,” Judge Xinis said.
The judge seemed frustrated when Mr. Ensign suggested that the government was prepared to respond to her request in a written filing on Tuesday.
“We’re not going to slow-walk this,” Judge Xinis said, noting that the demand for information about the government’s plans was an issue that the Supreme Court “has already put to bed.”
Click on the link for the full article
That man is likely already dead.
FKA Rdskns2000/88Comrade00
If the judge wanted to flex, she’d demand that Kristi Noem show up in person to explain the hold up. When Noem gives the expected line of BS, she should then find her in contempt and have the Bailiff take her directly to lockup with a quick transfer to an undisclosed penitentiary and placed in genpop until the administration brings him back. Sure, they have the juice to find her and get her out but a lot of good things could happen to her in that time. Of course Tя☭mp could have the same thing done to the judge. However, that would risk bringing the whole system down because the rest of the judiciary would know they could be next.
The essence of fascism is to make laws forbidding everything and then enforce them selectively against your enemies. -John LesCroart
-
The Evil Genius
- Posts: 404
- Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2025 4:03 pm
- Reactions score: 215
- Location: Gallifery