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Source: https://theintercept.com/feed/

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23.                <title><![CDATA[Judges Are Slowing Down Trump’s Fascist Deportation Regime. Now He’s Arresting Them For It.]]></title>
24.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/judge-arrest-trump-immigrants-deport/</link>
25.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/judge-arrest-trump-immigrants-deport/#respond</comments>
26.                <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
27.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Lennard]]></dc:creator>
28.                                 <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
29. <category><![CDATA[Natasha Lennard]]></category>
30.  
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32.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>In the absence of opposition party challenges and disempowered labor, courts are one of the few sites of meaningful pushback on Trump’s agenda. </p>
33. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/judge-arrest-trump-immigrants-deport/">Judges Are Slowing Down Trump’s Fascist Deportation Regime. Now He’s Arresting Them For It.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
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41.    alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: Demonstrators gather to protest against the deportation of immigrants to El Salvador outside the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations on April 24, 2025 in New York City. Many of the deportees now detained at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) were sent there without court hearings under the Alien Enemies Act after a deal was brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. A federal judge in Maryland recently ordered the return of a 20-year-old Venezuelan man who was deported, citing a prior ruling involving Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador. The Trump administration has stated the justification as gang affiliation and as part of a broader deportation strategy. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)"
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46.      <figcaption class="photo__figcaption">
47.              <span class="photo__caption">Demonstrators against the forced disappearances of immigrants to El Salvador gather to protest on April 24, 2025, in NYC.</span>
48.                    <span class="photo__credit">Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images</span>
49.          </figcaption>
50.    </figure>
51.  
52.  
53.  
54. <p><span class="has-underline">The FBI arrested</span> a sitting judge in a Milwaukee County court in Wisconsin on Friday, claiming that she obstructed immigration enforcement agents from detaining an undocumented immigrant in her courtroom.</p>
55.  
56.  
57.  
58. <p>Milwaukee County Circuit Court <a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-25-2025#00000196-6dab-d2eb-abdf-6dfb44f70000">Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest</a> is not only the latest escalation in Donald Trump’s fascist deportation program, it also marks the administration’s eagerness to take aim at any and all constraints on its power to act.</p>
59.  
60.  
61.  
62. <p>“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse,” <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1915800907318468626">wrote</a> FBI director Kash Patel in a post on X. Patel added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since.”</p>
63.  
64.  
65.  
66. <!-- BLOCK(pullquote)[0](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PULLQUOTE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22pull%22%3A%22right%22%7D) --><blockquote class="stylized pull-right" data-shortcode-type="pullquote" data-pull="right"><!-- CONTENT(pullquote)[0] -->For the Trump administration, due process and an independent judiciary are hurdles to be kicked down.<!-- END-CONTENT(pullquote)[0] --></blockquote><!-- END-BLOCK(pullquote)[0] -->
67.  
68.  
69.  
70. <p>Dugan faces charges of obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the U.S., as well as a charge of concealing an individual to prevent their discovery and arrest. According to reports, the judge escorted a man sought by ICE and his defense attorney through a non-public jury door.</p>
71.  
72.  
73.  
74. <p>In Wisconsin, there&#8217;s no explicit law dictating that judges must allow immigration enforcement into their courtrooms. Members of the judiciary nationwide have consistently stressed that the presence of ICE agents interferes with legal proceedings, as defendants fearing deportation miss court appearances for fear of ICE detention.</p>
75.  
76.  
77.  
78. <p>For the Trump administration, however, court appearances are beside the point: Due process and an independent judiciary are hurdles to be kicked down.</p>
79.  
80.  
81.  
82.  
83.  
84.  
85.  
86. <p>In the absence of any meaningful opposition party challenges, activists and organizers are struggling to gain ground in building robust resistance in the face of extraordinary repression. Unions, for their part, are disempowered. That has left courts as one of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/23/federal-courts-rule-of-law-trump">few sites</a> of actionable pushback on Trump’s agenda.</p>
87.  
88.  
89.  
90. <p>That we are left with only the courts is no good thing; the U.S. criminal legal system with its <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/11/09/criminal-justice-mass-incarceration-book/">carceral designs</a> has never been <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/06/firing-squad-execution-south-carolina-death-penalty/">suitable terrain</a> for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/10/trump-hush-money-sentencing-unconditional-discharge/">achieving justice</a>. And our current Supreme Court has been a regular aid to the far right and the president’s authoritarian ambitions.</p>
91.  
92.  
93.  
94. <p>Whatever limitations there are to Trump’s expansive power grabs, however, must be championed. Judges willing to push back on the administration’s unconstitutional and illegal behavior are a lifeline.</p>
95.  
96.  
97.  
98.  <div class="promote-related-post">
99.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
100.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/"
101.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
102.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database"
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104.          >
105.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25094584110033.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
106.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
107.        Related      </h2>
108.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">The Evidence Linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia to MS-13: A Chicago Bulls Hat and a Hoodie</h3>
109.    </span>
110.    </a>
111.  </div>
112.  
113.  
114.  
115. <p>Just last week, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a new round of mass deportations of Venezuelan immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act. Judge James Boasberg has also recently<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/16/trump-deportation-ruling-venezuelan"> found probable cause </a>to hold the government in contempt for defying his orders to halt previous deportations to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/">El Salvador’s prison camp</a> under the act.</p>
116.  
117.  
118.  
119. <p>ICE on Friday also announced it will restore thousands of students’ previously terminated records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, after dozens of cases were brought by students led by the government to believe that their legal <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/international-student-visas-deport-dhs-ice/">student immigration statuses had been revoked</a>.</p>
120.  
121.  
122.  
123. <p>The SEVIS case is instructive. Again and again, judges sided with the students. One excoriated the government’s actions as “Kafkaesque.” Dozens of rulings have, at least temporarily, been a breakwater against Trump’s tidal wave of executive orders and his modus operandi of chaos, speed, and relentlessness.</p>
124.  
125.  
126. <!-- BLOCK(promote-post)[2](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PROMOTE_POST%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22slug%22%3A%22immigrants%22%2C%22crop%22%3A%22promo%22%7D) -->  <aside class="promote-banner">
127.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="/collections/the-war-on-immigrants/">
128.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
129.          <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="150" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)" srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2270 2270w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1000 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />        </span>
130.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
131.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
132.            Read Our Complete Coverage          </p>
133.        
134.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">The War on Immigrants</h2>
135.      </div>
136.    </a>
137.  </aside>
138. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[2] -->
139.  
140.  
141.  
142. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lawless-in-the-name-of-the-law"><strong>Lawless in the Name of the Law</strong></h2>
143.  
144.  
145.  
146. <p>Questions of how flagrantly the administration will continue to disobey the courts abound — and there aren’t many reasons for optimism.</p>
147.  
148.  
149.  
150. <p>The targeting of judges for arrest is another clear signal that Trump will continue to attack the independent judiciary by force. The insult added to injury is that he will keep calling it the law.</p>
151.  
152.  
153.  
154. <p>&#8220;Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,&#8221; her attorney <a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-25-2025#00000196-6dab-d2eb-abdf-6dfb44f70000">told</a> reporters on Friday.</p>
155.  
156.  
157.  
158.  <div class="promote-related-post">
159.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
160.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/"
161.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
162.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison"
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164.          >
165.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
166.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
167.        Related      </h2>
168.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">The Long History of Lawlessness in U.S. Policy Toward Latin America</h3>
169.    </span>
170.    </a>
171.  </div>
172.  
173.  
174.  
175. <p>She was an apt target for the Trump administration: Dugan, before her current stint on the bench, was the <a href="https://x.com/jackmjenkins/status/1915777714801213651">executive director </a>of Catholic Charities in Milwaukee, a group that has done considerable work with poor and vulnerable people.</p>
176.  
177.  
178.  
179. <p>Dugan is not the first judge to be arrested for allegedly obstructing ICE. During Trump’s first term, federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/judge-shelley-joseph-indicted.html">charged </a>Judge Shelley Joseph in Massachusetts with obstruction of justice after she allegedly allowed a defendant to leave the building through a rear door and evade ICE. The federal charges were dropped, but the judge <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/commission-on-judicial-conduct-files-formal-charges-against-judge-shelley-m-richmond-joseph">continues</a> to face a judiciary disciplinary process.</p>
180.  
181.  
182.  
183.  
184.  
185.  
186.  
187. <p>There’s reason to fear that Dugan’s arrest will not stand alone in Trump’s second term, in all its authoritarian excess. In an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6371935854112">interview</a> with Fox News on Friday, Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a message to other judges who might stand in the way of the administration’s deportation machine: “We are prosecuting you.”</p>
188.  
189.  
190.  
191. <p>Bondi had <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/1915807941753503913/photo/1">posted</a> on X to confirm the judge’s arrest earlier in the day.</p>
192.  
193.  
194.  
195. <p>“No one is above the law,” she wrote.</p>
196.  
197.  
198.  
199. <p>For Bondi, like too many others in Trump world, the <a href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/the-trump-foundation-pam-bondi-scandal/">law</a> <a href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/the-trump-foundation-pam-bondi-scandal/">appears</a> to be <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-floats-legally-questionable-proposal-deport-us-citizens-rcna201183">Trump’s word</a> alone.</p>
200. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/judge-arrest-trump-immigrants-deport/">Judges Are Slowing Down Trump’s Fascist Deportation Regime. Now He’s Arresting Them For It.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
201. ]]></content:encoded>
202.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/judge-arrest-trump-immigrants-deport/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
203.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
204.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211837887_06870d-e1745609850487.jpg?fit=6000%2C3000' width='6000' height='3000' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490888</post-id>
205. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211837887.jpg?fit=6000%2C4000" />
206. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211837887.jpg?fit=6000%2C4000" medium="image">
207. <media:title type="html">NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: Demonstrators gather to protest against the deportation of immigrants to El Salvador outside the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations on April 24, 2025 in New York City. Many of the deportees now detained at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) were sent there without court hearings under the Alien Enemies Act after a deal was brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. A federal judge in Maryland recently ordered the return of a 20-year-old Venezuelan man who was deported, citing a prior ruling involving Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador. The Trump administration has stated the justification as gang affiliation and as part of a broader deportation strategy. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)</media:title>
208. </media:content>
209. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
210. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
211. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
212. </media:content>
213. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
214. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
215. </media:content>
216. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25094584110033.jpg" medium="image" />
217. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" medium="image">
218. <media:title type="html">MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)</media:title>
219. </media:content>
220. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image" />
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223.            <item>
224.                <title><![CDATA[Pentagon Insiders on Hegseth Leak Hypocrisy: “Full On Shit Show”]]></title>
225.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/pentagon-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-leaks-signal/</link>
226.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/pentagon-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-leaks-signal/#respond</comments>
227.                <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 18:58:07 +0000</pubDate>
228.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Turse]]></dc:creator>
229.                                 <category><![CDATA[National Security]]></category>
230.  
231.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
232.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Current and former Defense officials describe Pentagon unrest over accusations of leaks while their boss shares classified information.</p>
233. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/pentagon-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-leaks-signal/">Pentagon Insiders on Hegseth Leak Hypocrisy: “Full On Shit Show”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
234. ]]></description>
235.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
236. <p><span class="has-underline">Defense Secretary Pete</span> Hegseth has declared war on whistleblowers inside the Pentagon — at the same time that new reports of his own lax operational security and repeated disclosures of highly classified information to people without security clearances keep emerging.</p>
237.  
238.  
239.  
240. <p>Current and former Defense Department officials and the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee called out Hegseth, in conversations with The Intercept, for hypocrisy and a lack of accountability.</p>
241.  
242.  
243.  
244. <p>A defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, confirmed recent <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-signal-chat-dirty-internet-line-6a64707f10ca553eb905e5a70e10bd9d">reporting by The Associated Press</a> that Hegseth had a “dirty” internet connection in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer and bypass the Defense Department’s security protocols.</p>
245.  
246.  
247.  
248. <p>Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell issued a non-denial denial to The Intercept, referencing only Hegseth’s Defense Department computer. “The Secretary of Defense’s use of communications systems and channels is classified,” said Parnell. “However, we can confirm that the Secretary has never used and does not currently use Signal on his government computer.”</p>
249.  
250.  
251.  
252. <p>The defense official said that Hegseth used multiple computers and phones even though personal electronic devices are generally banned, due to security vulnerabilities, from use inside the defense secretary’s office.</p>
253.  
254.  
255.  
256. <p>Another official said that the double standard at the Pentagon, where rank-and-file employees are suspected of leaks without cause while the chief shares classified attack plans with unauthorized civilians, had bred anger and discontent among staff. “I don’t mind telling you this now,” one official said. “I can’t say I really care too much anymore.”</p>
257.  
258.  
259.  
260.  
261.  
262.  
263.  
264. <p><span class="has-underline">Hegseth used Signal</span> to share details about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a group chat — named “Defense | Team Huddle” — that included more than a dozen personal and professional contacts including his wife Jennifer, a former Fox News producer who does not work at the Pentagon.&nbsp;Also in the group were Hegseth’s brother Phil and Tim Parlatore, who serves as his personal lawyer; both have jobs with the Department of Defense. The Signal group also included many of Hegseth’s then-top aides, including Joe Kasper, his chief of staff; <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/hegseth-defense-policy-board-pentagon-tucker-carlson/">Dan Caldwell</a>; and Darin Selnick.</p>
265.  
266.  
267.  
268.  <div class="promote-related-post">
269.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
270.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/25/signal-chat-encryption-hegseth-cia/"
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276.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
277.        Related      </h2>
278.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">U.S. Officials Called Signal a Tool for Terrorists and Criminals. Now They’re Using It.</h3>
279.    </span>
280.    </a>
281.  </div>
282.  
283.  
284.  
285. <p>The chat reportedly revealed information also disclosed in a separate Signal chat that same day, which <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mistakenly included the editor of The Atlantic</a>, Jeffrey Goldberg. Unlike the latter chat, the “Team Huddle” group was created by Hegseth, who shared classified information with people who had no reason to know sensitive attack plans.</p>
286.  
287.  
288.  
289. <p>“Accountability starts at the top. Secretary Hegseth has refused to take responsibility for his own mishandling of classified information, but has readily punished others for far less,” Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., an Army veteran and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee told The Intercept. “Hypocrisy and finger-pointing is no way to lead the U.S. military.”</p>
290.  
291.  
292.  
293. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“Hypocrisy and finger-pointing is no way to lead the U.S. military.”</p></blockquote></figure>
294.  
295.  
296.  
297. <p>Five current and former defense officials who spoke with The Intercept castigated Hegseth for the unauthorized disclosures. Four also drew specific attention to the defense secretary’s repeated efforts to root out other Pentagon officials who supposedly leak information.</p>
298.  
299.  
300.  
301. <p>Kasper, Hegseth’s former chief of staff, called out “unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense” and threatened that parties found responsible would be “referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement entity for criminal prosecution,” in a <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2025/Mar/21/2003674265/-1/-1/0/EFFORTS-TO-COMBAT-UNAUTHORIZED-DISCLOSURES-OSD002809-25-RES-FINAL.PDF">March memo</a>.</p>
302.  
303.  
304.  
305. <p>“This is exactly what Hegseth did multiple times,” said one of the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.</p>
306.  
307.  
308.  
309. <p>Kasper also threatened to use polygraph tests as part of the investigation of leaks. Less than a month later, news broke that Kasper was leaving his post, amid in-fighting and recriminations about unauthorized disclosures among Hegseth’s aides.</p>
310.  
311.  
312.  
313. <p>“Hegseth is even more unfit for the role of SecDef than we anticipated. In just a few weeks he has personally committed serious security breaches, denied this, and then refused accountability, and he has set the Pentagon and by extension the entire DoD into chaos,” said Wes Bryant, who until recently served as the chief of civilian harm assessments and senior analyst and adviser on precision warfare, targeting, and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/pete-hegseth-pentagon-civilian-casualties-harm/">civilian harm mitigation at the Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence</a>. “It was very clear to me that he would do exactly as he is doing: refusing to hold himself accountable to the very standards, conduct, and regulations that he is charged with holding the force to. But that is the Trump administration and current GOP norm now — they are above the law, and anything goes.”</p>
314.  
315.  
316.  
317.  <div class="promote-related-post">
318.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
319.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/hegseth-defense-policy-board-pentagon-tucker-carlson/"
320.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
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324.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211268185_85c6dc-e1745595013476.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
325.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
326.        Related      </h2>
327.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Hegseth Purges Defense Advisory Board After MAGA Came For It</h3>
328.    </span>
329.    </a>
330.  </div>
331.  
332.  
333.  
334. <p>Hegseth blamed &#8220;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=hegseth+disgruntled&amp;rlz=1C5OZZY_enUS1157US1157&amp;oq=hegseth+disgruntled&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigAdIBCDU0OTJqMGo3qAIAsAIA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&amp;vld=cid:9c71aec8,vid:hAKauxCqeVg,st:0">disgruntled former employees</a>&#8221; for revealing the second Signal chat group. Reports suggest this is a reference to four senior advisers who recently left the Defense Department. Three of them — Colin Carroll, Caldwell, and Selnick — were escorted out of the Pentagon and reportedly accused of leaking information to the press. They put out a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/dandcaldwell/status/1913701312929149363" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">joint statement</a>&nbsp;on X questioning “if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”</p>
335.  
336.  
337.  
338. <p>The fourth adviser, former Defense Department spokesperson John Ullyot, resigned earlier this month and then published an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/20/pentagon-chaos-ullyot-hegseth-00205594" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">opinion piece</a>&nbsp;detailing the depths of dysfunction at the Pentagon, including the peddling of lies by “Hegseth’s team.”</p>
339.  
340.  
341.  
342. <p>“Defense Department officials working for Hegseth tried to smear the aides anonymously to reporters, claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information as part of an&nbsp;<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2025/Mar/21/2003674265/-1/-1/0/EFFORTS-TO-COMBAT-UNAUTHORIZED-DISCLOSURES-OSD002809-25-RES-FINAL.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">investigation ordered earlier this month</a>,” Ullyot wrote. “Yet none of this is true. While the department said that it would conduct polygraph tests as part of the probe, not one of the three has been given a lie detector test. In fact, at least one of them has told former colleagues that investigators advised him he was about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing.”</p>
343.  
344.  
345.  
346. <p>A former defense official, who was not authorized to talk to the press by his current employer, referred to the episode as a “full on shit show.” </p>
347.  
348.  
349.  
350. <p>Hegseth’s recent purge followed the February firings of top military officers, including former Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Charles Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.</p>
351.  
352.  
353.  
354. <p>The Defense Department refused to provide information about the number of “unauthorized disclosures” of national security information since January 20 and how many instances have been referred to law enforcement for “criminal prosecution” as threatened in Kasper’s March memo.</p>
355.  
356.  
357.  
358.  
359.  
360.  
361.  
362. <p><span class="has-underline">It remains unclear</span> whether Hegseth will be held to account for his actions. Hegseth is currently&nbsp;<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2025/Apr/03/2003681607/-1/-1/1/EVALUATION%20OF%20THE%20SECRETARY%20OF%20DEFENSE%27S%20REPORTED%20USE%20OF%20A%20COMMERCIALLY%20AVAILABLE%20MESSAGE%20APPLICATION%20FOR%20OFFICER%20BUSINESS%20(PROJECT%20NO.%20D2025-DEV0PC-0095.000).PDF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">under investigation</a>&nbsp;for his&nbsp;<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/25/signal-chat-encryption-hegseth-cia/">use of Signal</a> in sharing classified information with Goldberg and others. That inquiry is being conducted by Acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins&nbsp;because President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/inspectors-general-fired-by-trump-issue-warning-about-lack-of-oversight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fired&nbsp;</a>Robert Storch from his Senate-confirmed Pentagon inspector general role as part of his firings of 17 inspectors general across the government in January.</p>
363.  
364.  
365.  
366. <p>Reed, the Rhode Island senator, has called for the inspector general to expand its investigation to include the “Defense | Team Huddle” chat. “He must immediately explain why he reportedly texted classified information that could endanger American servicemembers’ lives on a commercial app that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer,” <a href="https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-statement-on-secdef-hegseth-reported-misuse-of-signal-chat-with-wife-brother-personal-lawyer">said Reed</a>.</p>
367.  
368.  
369.  
370. <p>Hegseth’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/us/politics/pete-hegseth-phone-signal.html">personal phone number</a>, which he used for his Signal chats, was recently available on WhatsApp and Facebook as well as Sleeper.com, a fantasy football and sports betting site, where he used the username “PeteHegseth.”&nbsp;Experts say that this puts his Signal account at high risk for targeting by hackers and foreign adversaries.</p>
371.  
372.  
373.  
374. <p>In response to a specific question by The Intercept about whether Hegseth’s disclosures of national security information have been referred to law enforcement for “criminal prosecution,” a Pentagon spokesperson demurred. &nbsp;</p>
375.  
376.  
377.  
378. <p>“We won’t be able to provide anything on this topic at the moment,” the unnamed spokesperson replied by email.</p>
379.  
380.  
381.  
382. <p></p>
383. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/pentagon-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-leaks-signal/">Pentagon Insiders on Hegseth Leak Hypocrisy: “Full On Shit Show”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
384. ]]></content:encoded>
385.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/pentagon-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-leaks-signal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
386.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
387.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25111713524948-e1745607260184.jpg?fit=8013%2C4006' width='8013' height='4006' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490890</post-id>
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390. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
391. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
392. </media:content>
393. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
394. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
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401.                <title><![CDATA[Hegseth Purges Defense Advisory Board After MAGA Came For It]]></title>
402.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/hegseth-defense-policy-board-pentagon-tucker-carlson/</link>
403.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/hegseth-defense-policy-board-pentagon-tucker-carlson/#respond</comments>
404.                <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:42:28 +0000</pubDate>
405.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Sledge]]></dc:creator>
406.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
407.  
408.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
409.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>On Tucker Carlson’s show, a MAGA loyalist ripped the Defense Policy Board. In short order, Pete Hegseth purged all its members.</p>
410. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/hegseth-defense-policy-board-pentagon-tucker-carlson/">Hegseth Purges Defense Advisory Board After MAGA Came For It</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
411. ]]></description>
412.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
413. <p><span class="has-underline">Defense Secretary Pete</span> Hegseth sacked the members of a Pentagon advisory board after a fired staffer of his <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/tucker-carlson-defense-policy-board-hegseth/">lobbed a critique at them in a Tucker Carlson interview</a>.</p>
414.  
415.  
416.  
417. <p>In a statement Thursday night, a Pentagon spokesperson said that Hegseth had removed members of the Defense Policy Board and other boards on Wednesday after a 45-day review.</p>
418.  
419.  
420.  
421. <!-- BLOCK(pullquote)[0](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PULLQUOTE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22pull%22%3A%22right%22%7D) --><blockquote class="stylized pull-right" data-shortcode-type="pullquote" data-pull="right"><!-- CONTENT(pullquote)[0] -->The policy board included several members who have argued for wars in the Middle East.<!-- END-CONTENT(pullquote)[0] --></blockquote><!-- END-BLOCK(pullquote)[0] -->
422.  
423.  
424.  
425. <p>Following the criticisms on Carlson&#8217;s show, the Pentagon scrubbed the board&#8217;s website this week, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/tucker-carlson-defense-policy-board-hegseth/">The Intercept reported.</a> The Defense Department spokesperson announced the purge hours after The Intercept sent an inquiry about the website.</p>
426.  
427.  
428.  
429. <p>The policy board’s roster included several members of the foreign policy establishment, such as former Barack Obama aide Susan Rice, and former George W. Bush Pentagon under secretary Eric Edelman, who have previously argued for wars in the Middle East.</p>
430.  
431.  
432.  
433.  
434.  
435.  
436.  
437. <p>Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell’s statement implied that the shake-up — which was like one executed by Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when he came into office — had long been in the works as part of the review.</p>
438.  
439.  
440.  
441. <p>“Secretary Hegseth appreciates the members&#8217; efforts on behalf of the department and the United States of America, but changes are needed to support the new strategic direction and policy priorities of the department and to ensure departmental resources are used efficiently,” Parnell said.</p>
442.  
443.  
444.  
445.  
446.  
447.  
448. <p>The review had called on Pentagon leaders overseeing the boards to write a memo explaining whether their work aligned with “the President&#8217;s goals and my priorities of restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military. and reestablishing deterrence.”</p>
449.  
450.  
451.  
452. <p>The announcement was only made however, after fired Hegseth aide Dan Caldwell’s interview with Carlson <a href="https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1914445982969790797?t=5021">racked up millions of views on X</a> and was amplified by right-wing influencers such as retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn.</p>
453.  
454.  
455.  
456. <p>In the interview, Caldwell complained that the advisory board was stacked with people “incredibly hostile” to President Donald Trump. He suggested that his abrupt termination was tied to power struggles between hawks pushing for war with Iran and staffers skeptical of foreign entanglements such as himself.</p>
457.  
458.  
459.  
460.  
461.  
462.  
463.  
464. <p>Hegseth, in a memo dated Wednesday and released Thursday, said that Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg could retain board members as needed for national security reasons.</p>
465.  
466.  
467.  
468. <p>The Pentagon has not announced the new membership of the Defense Policy Board or other advisory bodies like the Defense Business Board.</p>
469.  
470.  
471.  
472. <p></p>
473. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/hegseth-defense-policy-board-pentagon-tucker-carlson/">Hegseth Purges Defense Advisory Board After MAGA Came For It</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
474. ]]></content:encoded>
475.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/hegseth-defense-policy-board-pentagon-tucker-carlson/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
476.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
477.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211268185-e1745594961954.jpg?fit=5843%2C2922' width='5843' height='2922' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490869</post-id>
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481. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
482. </media:content>
483. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
484. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
485. </media:content>
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487.            </item>
488.        
489.            <item>
490.                <title><![CDATA[Trump’s Very Stable Genius Coin]]></title>
491.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/briefing-podcast-trump-crypto-meme-coin/</link>
492.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/briefing-podcast-trump-crypto-meme-coin/#respond</comments>
493.                <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
494.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[The Intercept Briefing]]></dc:creator>
495.                                 <category><![CDATA[The Intercept Briefing]]></category>
496.  
497.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
498.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Reporters Matt Sledge and Jessica Washington discuss Trump’s growing crypto empire as he deregulates the industry.</p>
499. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/briefing-podcast-trump-crypto-meme-coin/">Trump’s Very Stable Genius Coin</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
500. ]]></description>
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507.  
508.  
509.  
510. <p><span class="has-underline">On the eve</span> of his second inauguration, Donald Trump did something no U.S. president had ever done: He launched a meme coin. The cryptocurrency — whose value hinges more on hype than utility — surged to an all-time high of <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/official-trump/">$75.35</a> a token. The next day, First Lady Melania Trump dropped her own meme coin, debuting at about <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/melania-meme/">$13 a share</a>.&nbsp;</p>
511.  
512.  
513.  
514. <p>Both coins have since tumbled, but on Wednesday Trump’s token briefly bumped up again to $15.47 before dipping. The latest surge came after the coin’s official website announced that <a href="https://gettrumpmemes.com/dinner">220 top meme coin holders</a> will be invited to a gala dinner with the president in May — black tie optional.&nbsp;</p>
515.  
516.  
517.  
518. <p>These tokens, that are not tied to any real world assets, have proven <a href="https://www.citationneeded.news/trump-crypto-empire/">lucrative</a> for Trump and his family. Last month, the Financial Times estimated Trump made upwards of <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cb1def8f-53a6-478e-9b3e-33c383b29629">$350 million</a> from the project. While small traders have lost big, the Trump Organization and its affiliates — controlling <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/24/trump-meme-coin-price-surges-after-top-holders-are-invited-for-dinner-with-president/">80 percent </a>of the token supply — have made hundreds of millions in just trading <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/trumps-meme-coin-made-nearly-100-million-trading-fees-small-traders-lost-money-2025-02-03/">fees</a>.</p>
519.  
520.  
521.  
522.  
523.  
524.  
525.  
526. <p>From meme coins, which usually refer to a fun internet or pop culture meme, and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/21/congress-crypto-stablecoin-trump/">stablecoins</a>, whose values are pegged to a real-world asset, to a new government-backed <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/19/trump-tariffs-crypto-bitcoin-reserve/">bitcoin reserve</a>, Trump, once a crypto skeptic, is now the industry’s most powerful advocate.</p>
527.  
528.  
529.  
530. <p>“ He went to a big <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/08/03/trump-nashville-bitcoin-conference/">bitcoin conference in Nashville</a> last July. That&#8217;s where he declared he would make the U.S. the crypto capital of the planet,” says Intercept reporter Matt Sledge. “And the crypto industry started showering money on him. They saw somebody who would be friendly to their industry.”</p>
531.  
532.  
533.  
534. <p>This week on The Intercept Briefing, Sledge, who <a href="https://theintercept.com/staff/matt-sledge/">covers crypto’s political reach</a>, discusses how investing in the president has paid off for the industry and for the Trump family.</p>
535.  
536.  
537.  
538. <p>“So far in Trump&#8217;s presidency, things have gone great for the crypto industry. Even as the rest of the economy is on pretty perilous footing, a bunch of crypto companies have seen the SEC and other regulatory agencies drop investigations or lawsuits. Trump has created a &#8216;bitcoin reserve,&#8217; and in general, regulators and Congress are behaving much more friendly toward the industry.”</p>
539.  
540.  
541.  
542. <p>On Sunday, a filing with the Federal Election Commission revealed that Trump received a record<a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00894162/1889684/"> $239 million</a> in donations that went toward his inauguration. According to reporting from Fortune, the crypto industry gave about <a href="https://archive.ph/k2mqe">$18 million</a> alone.&nbsp;</p>
543.  
544.  
545.  
546. <p>The meme coins are just one aspect of the president and his family&#8217;s growing crypto empire — an empire that includes Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr., taking a stake in a new bitcoin mining firm called <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/how-trump-family-took-over-crypto-firm-it-raised-hundreds-millions-2025-03-31/">American Bitcoin</a>. Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/business/trump-media-crypto.html">Media</a> is also partnering with Crypto.com and a newly formed investment firm to offer financial products, including crypto to retail investors.&nbsp;</p>
547.  
548.  
549.  
550. <p>“Just a few weeks ago, the SEC dropped an investigation into Crypto.com,” Sledge points out. “This is something that would&#8217;ve been really astonishing under any other president, regardless of their party. You go from a company being under investigation just a few weeks ago to it having this partnership with the president&#8217;s publicly traded company.”&nbsp;<br><br>For more on how Trump is reshaping the crypto landscape and what it means for the rest of us, listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-intercept-briefing/id1195206601"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2js8lwDRiK1TB4rUgiYb24?si=e3ce772344ee4170"> Spotify</a>, or wherever you listen.<br></p>
551.  
552.  
553.  
554. <p></p>
555. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/briefing-podcast-trump-crypto-meme-coin/">Trump’s Very Stable Genius Coin</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
556. ]]></content:encoded>
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563. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
564. </media:content>
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566. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
567. </media:content>
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569.        
570.            <item>
571.                <title><![CDATA[Trump Doesn't Need an Executive Order to Kill Progressive Nonprofits]]></title>
572.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/trump-nonprofits-philanthropy-donors/</link>
573.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/trump-nonprofits-philanthropy-donors/#respond</comments>
574.                <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
575.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Washington]]></dc:creator>
576.                                 <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
577.  
578.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
579.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Fearing retribution from Trump, major donors to progressive organizations are holding back at a time when they need it most.</p>
580. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/trump-nonprofits-philanthropy-donors/">Trump Doesn&#8217;t Need an Executive Order to Kill Progressive Nonprofits</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
581. ]]></description>
582.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
583. <p><span class="has-underline">As President Donald</span> Trump guts the federal government, there’s a greater need than ever for nonprofit organizations to step up and fill the void. But there’s a Trump-shaped fundraising problem looming over the nonprofit sector.</p>
584.  
585.  
586.  
587. <p>Fearful of Trump’s penchant for targeting his perceived political enemies, some nonprofit leaders say the large donors who help subsidize their operations are pulling back. Even though the Trump administration has said it will not move forward with a series of rumored executive actions targeting nonprofits, this retreat by large donors poses a critical problem — especially as the federal government has slashed grants and issued stop-work orders already restricting key services.</p>
588.  
589.  
590.  
591. <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of a perfect storm of the federal cuts happening and philanthropy not moving as quickly as one would hope,&#8221; said Lynn English, president and co-founder of English Hudson Consulting, a development and consulting firm that works with dozens of nonprofits across the United States, including groups that have been <a href="https://www.lawyerscommittee.org/lawyers-committee-denounces-president-trumps-unprecedented-assault-on-the-legal-system-and-rule-of-law/">outspoken against Trump</a>. &#8220;Anyone who has federal money is cutting expenses, cutting staff, and trying to figure out where they can possibly make up the gap.&#8221;</p>
592.  
593.  
594.  
595. <p>Threats from senior administration officials to foundations and nonprofits&#8217; tax-exempt status have heightened donors&#8217; concerns about giving to causes that might be perceived as opposing Trump and singled out for retribution — like <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/08/trump-big-law-firms-paul-weiss-courts/">law firms</a>, universities, and news organizations, leaders of nonprofits told The Intercept.</p>
596.  
597.  
598.  
599. <p>The consequences are being felt at nonprofits that focus on climate, transgender rights, racial justice, and gender equality.</p>
600.  
601.  
602.  
603. <p>Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance have made no secret of their animosity toward certain nonprofits and major funders. In his 2021 Senate campaign, Vance argued that major foundations and academic institutions should lose their tax-exempt status. &#8220;The Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Harvard University endowment, these are fundamentally cancers on American society, but they pretend to be charities so they benefit from preferential tax treatment,&#8221; Vance told Tucker Carlson during a 2021 Fox News<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6274667027001"> interview</a>.</p>
604.  
605.  
606.  
607. <p>More recently, Trump has publicly threatened to revoke Harvard University&#8217;s tax-exempt status, while implying broader risks to other nonprofit organizations and foundations. &#8220;Tax-exempt status, it&#8217;s a privilege. It&#8217;s really a privilege. And it&#8217;s been abused by a lot more than Harvard,&#8221; Trump<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/17/harvards-a-disgrace-trump-eyes-targeting-more-tax-exempt-orgs-00298039"> told reporters </a>last Thursday. Last week, the administration cut billions of dollars in federal funding to the university for research purposes, though its tax-exempt status for now remains unchanged.</p>
608.  
609.  
610.  
611. <p>At the Thursday news conference, Trump also threatened specific nonprofit organizations, namely Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/12/20/kyrsten-sinema-campaign-spending-castle-france/">watchdog </a>organization that has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/11/doge-foia-lawsuit-transparency/">repeatedly sued</a> the Trump administration.&nbsp;“It’s supposed to be a charitable organization,” Trump<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/us/politics/harvard-trump-irs-liberals.html"> told reporters</a>. “The only charity they had is going after Donald Trump. So, we’re looking at that. We’re looking at a lot of things.”</p>
612.  
613.  
614.  
615.  <div class="promote-related-post">
616.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
617.            href="https://theintercept.com/2024/11/21/gop-house-trump-nonprofit-authoritarian/"
618.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
619.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: gop-house-trump-nonprofit-authoritarian"
620.      data-ga-track-label="gop-house-trump-nonprofit-authoritarian"
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623.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
624.        Related      </h2>
625.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">The House Just Blessed Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook by Passing Nonprofit-Killer Bill</h3>
626.    </span>
627.    </a>
628.  </div>
629.  
630.  
631.  
632. <p>Were a nonprofit to lose its 501(c)(3) status, it would have to pay corporate income tax, and in some cases back taxes. It would also block an organization from receiving most types of federal and <a href="https://learning.candid.org/resources/knowledge-base/non-501c3s/">foundation grants</a>. Donations to that group would no longer be tax-exempt, making it significantly more difficult to fundraise.</p>
633.  
634.  
635.  
636. <p>A rumored executive order targeting climate organizations on Earth Day did not materialize. The White House told Politico this week “No such orders are being drafted or considered at this time.”</p>
637.  
638.  
639.  
640. <p>However, Trump on Thursday <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-expected-sign-memo-targeting-act-blue-rcna202673">urged Attorney General Pam Bondi</a> to investigate alleged unlawful foreign contributions on ActBlue, a fundraising platform widely used by Democratic campaigns. Many nonprofits, including The Intercept, use ActBlue Charities to process donations.</p>
641.  
642.  
643.  
644. <p>This climate is causing hesitation among large donors, said English. &#8220;They&#8217;re being much more cautious,&#8221; she explained, &#8220;and I think it is the threat of either litigation or attacks on their 501(c)(3) status or attacks on their endowment that are causing some real delays in getting money on the ground.&#8221;</p>
645.  
646.  
647.  
648. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“If they’re going to be attacking us, I want to show people why.”</p></blockquote></figure>
649.  
650.  
651.  
652. <p>Kaniela Ing, national director of the Green New Deal Network, said that organizers focused on climate change have been warned to stay quiet to avoid attacks on their 501(c)(3) status, like those in the rumored executive order. “Some of the advice that I’ve been getting is to be silent on social media,” said Ing.</p>
653.  
654.  
655.  
656. <p>But he rejects that logic.</p>
657.  
658.  
659.  
660. <p>“If they’re going to be attacking us, I want to show people why. I don’t want to have to tell them after the fact,” Ing said. “I want to make it clear that this a fight of good and evil. And we’re the good guys.”</p>
661.  
662.  
663.  
664.  
665.  
666.  
667.  
668. <p><span class="has-underline">While it’s still</span> too early to get a full financial picture of how donors are responding across the nonprofit ecosystem, layoffs at large nonprofit organizations working on left-leaning issues like LGBTQ+ rights provide a clue. In February, Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in the U.S., <a href="https://www.advocate.com/news/human-rights-campaign-layoffs">laid off 20 percent of its staff</a>.&nbsp;Another major LGBTQ+ nonprofit, GLSEN, laid off<a href="https://www.advocate.com/news/glsen-layoffs-restructuring#:~:text=GLSEN%2C%20the%20national%20nonprofit%20dedicated,and%20coordinated%20right%2Dwing%20attacks."> 60 percent of its staff</a> that same month.</p>
669.  
670.  
671.  
672. <p>English said donors were much more willing to support causes in opposition to Trump in his first term, illustrating how much the landscape has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/20/trump-second-inauguration-dc-protests/">shifted in a second term</a> focused in large part on revenge. &#8220;They are trying to figure out what position they can take under the administration,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Under Trump 1.0, the foundations came out very quickly to fund the pushback, and they came out with a lot of money to fund litigation and movement-building organizing. This time around, they are taking more time.&#8221;</p>
673.  
674.  
675.  
676. <p>Part of the problem with hitting so many nonprofits at once with federal funding cuts and freezes is that all of these groups are fighting for the same pool of funding of nongovernmental funding. At least <a href="https://blog.candid.org/post/how-many-nonprofits-rely-on-government-grants-data/#:~:text=At%20least%2030%25%20of%20nonprofits,grants%20funding%20from%20the%20government.&amp;text=This%20translates%20to%20over%20100%2C000,total%20of%20%24303%20billion%20annually.">30 percent</a> of the estimated <a href="https://learning.candid.org/resources/knowledge-base/number-of-nonprofits-in-the-u-s/">1.8 million nonprofits</a> in the U.S. receive federal grant funding. Larger organizations are more reliant on grants, with 55 percent of nonprofits with budgets over $5 million receiving <a href="https://blog.candid.org/post/how-many-nonprofits-rely-on-government-grants-data/#:~:text=At%20least%2030%25%20of%20nonprofits,grants%20funding%20from%20the%20government.&amp;text=This%20translates%20to%20over%20100%2C000,total%20of%20%24303%20billion%20annually.">at least one government grant</a>. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the administration had canceled over<a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-cancels-400-grants-4th-round-cuts-doge-saving-americans"> </a>400 <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/02/14/trump-epa-grant-nonprofit-palestine/">environmental justice grants</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-cancels-400-grants-4th-round-cuts-doge-saving-americans">totaling $1.7 billion</a> in losses across multiple organizations. In the foreign assistance sector, Trump slashed <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-usaid-foreign-aid-cuts-6292f48f8d4025bed0bf5c3e9d623c16">90 percent</a> of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts in February, totaling $60 billion, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-usaid-foreign-aid-cuts-6292f48f8d4025bed0bf5c3e9d623c16">meaning the thousands of contractors</a> relying on this funding now have to fight for the same pot of donor money.&nbsp;</p>
677.  
678.  
679.  
680. <p>So even if an individual donor isn’t fearful of attacks by the Trump administration and might have more leeway than a corporate donor or a large foundation, demand for their dollars is now at an all-time high.</p>
681.  
682.  
683.  
684. <p>alicia sanchez gill, executive director of Emergent Fund, which provides rapid-response funding to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ organizations and also co-runs the Action for Transformation Fund along with the Transgender Law Center, said the groups they fund are seeing donors pull back at a critical moment.</p>
685.  
686.  
687.  
688. <p>&#8220;What we&#8217;re seeing from the philanthropic ecosystem is that there is not [the] bump that we saw in 2016,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And in fact, we&#8217;re seeing a lot of funder retraction in this moment.&#8221;</p>
689.  
690.  
691.  
692. <p>sanchez gill argues that funders are scared of associating with nonprofits that could be targets. &#8220;We are seeing our grantees actually be either denied funding in order to minimize funder risk,” she said. “Or just complete — for lack of a better term — ghosting by funders.&#8221;</p>
693.  
694.  
695.  
696. <p>sanchez gill noted that many of the organizations Emergent Fund and the Action for Transformation Fund work with already struggled to get funding. Less than 1 percent of philanthropic dollars goes toward support trans-led organizations, according to the Equitable Giving Lab.&nbsp;</p>
697.  
698.  
699.  
700. <p>&#8220;Many of the groups that we fund, actually, at Emergent Fund and at the Action for Transformation Fund already are deeply divested from the federal government and from state institutions and from philanthropy itself,&#8221; she said. If their organization no longer existed, many of these organizations could go without the “rapid-response” funding they need to survive.</p>
701.  
702.  
703.  
704. <p>The bitter irony is that this is the exact moment that marginalized communities need these resources the most. &#8220;We&#8217;ve really seen a surge in applications from groups that are facing state violence and surveillance,&#8221; said sanchez gill. Last year, sanchez gill said that her organization received roughly 70 to 100 proposals in a month. Last month, it received roughly 180 proposals, underscoring the increased need in the communities it serves.</p>
705.  
706.  
707.  
708. <p>&#8220;There is no greater risk in this moment than defunding the communities who are doing the most mission-oriented and necessary work right now,&#8221; she said.&nbsp;</p>
709.  
710.  
711.  
712.  
713.  
714.  
715.  
716. <p><span class="has-underline">Federal cuts to</span> nonprofit grant recipients have already had devastating consequences. Trump has frozen billions in federal grants to universities, states, and other nonprofit entities across the country.</p>
717.  
718.  
719.  
720. <p>Last month, for instance, the Trump administration cut funding to programs that provide legal services to unaccompanied minors. Unlike in the criminal legal system, in the U.S., people do not have a right to counsel in immigration court, which means that every year, tens of thousands of children are forced to represent themselves against the government. In 2023, <a href="https://euaa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/2024-08/2024_factsheet29_data_unaccompanied_minors_EN.pdf">nearly half of all unaccompanied minors</a> represented themselves in immigration court. But federal funding cuts from the Trump administration are threatening even the existing services in place for these children, and philanthropic dollars cannot fill the gap.</p>
721.  
722.  
723.  
724. <p>A judge has blocked the implementation of these cuts for now, but the impacted nonprofits expect the Trump administration to continue its assault on the program, as well as other immigrant legal services.</p>
725.  
726.  
727.  
728. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“We’re talking about 26,000 children across the country who will lose an attorney.”</p></blockquote></figure>
729.  
730.  
731.  
732. <p>Abegail Baguio, development and communications director for the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said these cuts would directly impact minors in their legal services program. &#8220;We&#8217;re talking about 26,000 children across the country who will lose an attorney,&#8221; said Baguio.</p>
733.  
734.  
735.  
736. <p>The threat to the organization runs deeper than just its program for unaccompanied minors. Baguio said that the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights receives roughly 70 percent of funding through federal contracts. Even with an outpouring of new philanthropic support, it won’t be able to make up the loss of federal funds if the Trump administration succeeds in fulling stripping them away. &#8220;There&#8217;s no way that private philanthropy can fill that gap,&#8221; she said.</p>
737.  
738.  
739.  
740. <p>If the federal coffers fully close, &#8220;we&#8217;re going to see families separated, families separated. We&#8217;re going to see people being deported without having access to due process rights,&#8221; said Baguio.</p>
741.  
742.  
743.  
744. <p>Organizations with federal funding, doing work from cancer research to feeding people, are being forced to lay off up to 40 percent of staff, said English, the nonprofit consultant. Next, she said it will be cuts to services. An analysis from the Urban Institute, after Trump<a href="https://nlihc.org/resource/trump-administration-rescinds-memo-calling-freeze-federal-funding-0"> temporarily froze</a> nearly all federal grants nationwide, found that in every state, 60 to 80 percent of nonprofits that receive federal funding <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/government-funding-cuts-put-nonprofits-risk-across-nation#:~:text=Government%20Funding%20Cuts%20Put%20Nonprofits%20at%20Risk%20across%20the%20Nation,-Laura%20Tomasko&amp;text=Many%20nonprofits%20are%20facing%20a,uncertainty%20for%20nonprofit%20organizations%20nationwide.">could fail to cover their expenses</a> if government funding remained frozen or disappeared.</p>
745.  
746.  
747.  
748. <p>Despite the risks to funders, donors, and nonprofits, sanchez gill said the worst mistake would be to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/15/appeasing-trump-doesnt-work/">concede defeat</a>. &#8220;Now is really the time to double down on trust-based funding that resists authoritarian control,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Now is the time to push back. We can&#8217;t cede power in advance. We can&#8217;t cower in advance, or retreat in advance.”</p>
749. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/trump-nonprofits-philanthropy-donors/">Trump Doesn&#8217;t Need an Executive Order to Kill Progressive Nonprofits</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
750. ]]></content:encoded>
751.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/trump-nonprofits-philanthropy-donors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
752.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
753.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211623518-e1745549495796.jpg?fit=5088%2C2544' width='5088' height='2544' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490831</post-id>
754. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2185636867_96031d-e1732203785245.jpg" />
755. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2185636867_96031d-e1732203785245.jpg" medium="image" />
756. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
757. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
758. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
759. </media:content>
760. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
761. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
762. </media:content>
763.            </item>
764.        
765.            <item>
766.                <title><![CDATA[After Tucker Carlson Guest Attacked a Defense Advisory Board, the Pentagon Nuked Its Website]]></title>
767.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/tucker-carlson-defense-policy-board-hegseth/</link>
768.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/tucker-carlson-defense-policy-board-hegseth/#respond</comments>
769.                <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 20:27:33 +0000</pubDate>
770.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Sledge]]></dc:creator>
771.                                 <category><![CDATA[National Security]]></category>
772. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
773.  
774.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
775.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>A fired aide to Pete Hegseth had laid into the Defense Policy Board, a political football dominated by hawkish establishment figures.</p>
776. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/tucker-carlson-defense-policy-board-hegseth/">After Tucker Carlson Guest Attacked a Defense Advisory Board, the Pentagon Nuked Its Website</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
777. ]]></description>
778.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
779. <p><span class="has-underline">The Pentagon quietly</span> scrubbed an advisory board’s website after a fired aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth complained that it was stocked with holdovers hostile to President Donald Trump who might be spreading damaging leaks.</p>
780.  
781.  
782.  
783. <p>The Defense Policy Board’s online roster was erased after axed staffer Dan Caldwell told Tucker Carlson in an interview that its members were “incredibly hostile” to Trump.</p>
784.  
785.  
786.  
787. <p>Caldwell was fired Friday amid a Defense Department leak investigation that has led to the ouster of several longtime Hegseth confidants.</p>
788.  
789.  
790.  
791.  
792.  
793.  
794.  
795. <p>In his interview with Carlson, Caldwell cast himself as the victim of a behind-the-scenes battle between warmongers pushing for conflict with Iran and skeptics of foreign military intervention such as himself.</p>
796.  
797.  
798.  
799. <p>Although the Defense Policy Board is an independent advisory group with no powers of its own, he blamed members including Susan Rice, a former Joe Biden aide, as potential sources of leaks for which he had been blamed.</p>
800.  
801.  
802.  
803.  <div class="promote-related-post">
804.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
805.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/pete-hegseth-pentagon-civilian-casualties-harm/"
806.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
807.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: pete-hegseth-pentagon-civilian-casualties-harm"
808.      data-ga-track-label="pete-hegseth-pentagon-civilian-casualties-harm"
809.          >
810.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2206524445_f34496-e1744665564131.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
811.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
812.        Related      </h2>
813.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Pete Hegseth Is Gutting Pentagon Programs to Reduce Civilian Casualties</h3>
814.    </span>
815.    </a>
816.  </div>
817.  
818.  
819.  
820. <p>“She and a bunch of other people who are incredibly hostile to the president and his worldview remain on the Defense Policy Board,” Caldwell said. “I would just say, if you want to look where leaks are maybe coming from, that would be a place to start.”</p>
821.  
822.  
823.  
824. <p>Caldwell did not offer any evidence. His complaints were soon <a href="https://x.com/GenFlynn/status/1914819580519719384">amplified online</a>, however, by <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/27/qanon-michael-flynn-digital-soldiers/">former Trump national security adviser </a>Michael Flynn.</p>
825.  
826.  
827.  
828. <p>By Thursday of this week, the names of Rice and other policy board members had vanished from the Pentagon website. The change happened after Caldwell’s interview was posted to X on Monday, according to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250422200552/https:/policy.defense.gov/OUSDP-Offices/Defense-Policy-Board/">Internet Archive captures</a> of the website.</p>
829.  
830.  
831.  
832. <p>Earlier this week, a Pentagon spokesperson <a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/defense-policy-board/">told Responsible Statecraft</a> that the list was “up to date.”</p>
833.  
834.  
835.  
836. <p>It is unclear whether the board’s members have been removed. The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request comment.</p>
837.  
838.  
839.  
840. <p>If Hegseth has sacked board members, however, it would continue a series of dramatic changes to the board’s membership over the past five years.</p>
841.  
842.  
843.  
844.  
845.  
846.  
847.  
848. <p>After remaining largely intact for most of Trump’s first term, the Trump administration pushed out many of the board’s members in November 2020.</p>
849.  
850.  
851.  
852. <p>The likes of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/29/henry-kissinger-death/">Henry Kissinger </a>and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/03/25/madeleine-albright-dead-iraq-war-herbalife/">Madeline Albright</a> were replaced with Trump loyalists such as Newt Gingrich and Scott O’Grady, a former fighter pilot who shared calls for Trump to declare martial law <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/trump-nominee-pentagon-martial-law/index.html">in response to his election defeat.</a></p>
853.  
854.  
855.  
856. <p>Biden’s secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, removed all the members of the policy board and 41 other boards just weeks into his tenure.</p>
857.  
858.  
859.  
860. <p>He eventually replaced Trump’s lame-duck appointees with establishment D.C. figures associated with former Democratic and Republican presidents, drawing heavily on Washington’s deep bench of liberal and neoconservative hawks. At the time the site went down, the board included figures like Rice and former ambassador Eric Edelman, who served as a Defense Department under secretary during George W. Bush’s presidency.</p>
861.  
862.  
863.  
864. <p>They and other board members could not immediately be reached for comment.</p>
865.  
866.  
867.  
868. <p>Board minutes posted online indicate that it has not met since last June.</p>
869.  
870.  
871.  
872. <p>It’s unclear why Hegseth, who has rapidly moved to remove officials affiliated with Biden from the Defense Department leadership, would have allowed Rice to receive sensitive information.</p>
873.  
874.  
875.  
876. <p>Caldwell argued that board membership would have given members such as Rice a pathway because it gave her a “credential and affiliation” with the Pentagon.</p>
877. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/tucker-carlson-defense-policy-board-hegseth/">After Tucker Carlson Guest Attacked a Defense Advisory Board, the Pentagon Nuked Its Website</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
878. ]]></content:encoded>
879.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/tucker-carlson-defense-policy-board-hegseth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
880.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
881.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619-e1745525303747.jpg?fit=6340%2C3170' width='6340' height='3170' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490793</post-id>
882. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" />
883. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
884. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
885. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
886. </media:content>
887. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-2202921358.jpg-e1745522342912.webp" medium="image" />
888. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2206524445_f34496-e1744665564131.jpg" medium="image" />
889.            </item>
890.        
891.            <item>
892.                <title><![CDATA[A Bomb Threat Targeted Student Protesters. So Why Did They Get Blamed for It?]]></title>
893.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/barnard-college-gaza-protests-bomb-threat/</link>
894.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/barnard-college-gaza-protests-bomb-threat/#respond</comments>
895.                <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
896.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Akela Lacy]]></dc:creator>
897.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
898.  
899.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
900.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>A bomb threat at Barnard College targeted the “terrorists/communists that are protesting.” But you wouldn’t know that from the school’s statements.</p>
901. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/barnard-college-gaza-protests-bomb-threat/">A Bomb Threat Targeted Student Protesters. So Why Did They Get Blamed for It?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
902. ]]></description>
903.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
904. <p><span class="has-underline">When a bomb</span> threat coincided with a pro-Palestine student protest at Barnard College last month, the New York City Police Department arrested nine demonstrators. By the next day, local and national media had picked up the story. Some outlets suggested that the protesters were responsible for the threat. “Several Barnard College protesters in custody after bomb threat made during sit-in,” read one<a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/manhattan/barnard-college-protesters-custody-bomb-threat-sit-in/6174834/"> headline</a>.&nbsp;</p>
905.  
906.  
907.  
908. <p>That headline, as well as statements from Barnard College and the NYPD, overlooked a key fact: The Palestine solidarity protesters were actually the targets of the bomb threat.</p>
909.  
910.  
911.  
912. <p>This revelation has alarmed faculty and students, who are now being interrogated by school officials about the threat during inquiries over alleged student code of conduct violations. Faculty and attorneys working with the protesters are also concerned that information from those interrogations could be shared with the government, as Barnard <a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-new-york-mahmoud-khalil-congress-antisemitism-13dba67d0777dc5ba4494ea25be751b6">faces pressure</a> to<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-trump-antisemitism-gaza-protests-88905293918c26bc33f2ef138181251f"> hand over information</a> about students to Congress — where Republicans have repeatedly painted student protesters as <a href="https://x.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1785066527722483769">terrorists</a> — as part of its <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/01/trump-ice-deport-students-immigrants-american-dream/">investigation into antisemitism</a> on <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/10/deportation-case-mahmoud-khalil-antisemitism-rubio-trump/">college campuses</a>.</p>
913.  
914.  
915.  
916. <p>When asked by The Intercept whether the school had made public that the bomb threat targeted pro-Palestine students, a Barnard spokesperson pointed to a <a href="https://x.com/NYPDnews/status/1897407181009641726">tweet </a>from the NYPD.</p>
917.  
918.  
919.  
920. <p>“The NYPD is responding to a bomb threat at the Milstein Center at Barnard College and is evacuating the building. Anyone who refuses to leave the location is subject to arrest. Please stay away from the area,” the post on X states.</p>
921.  
922.  
923.  
924. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“The fact that these students were targets does not seem to have been made clear.” </p></blockquote></figure>
925.  
926.  
927.  
928. <p>Barnard, which is Columbia University’s affiliated women’s college, did not respond to detailed questions about the timeline of when it called police onto campus, why students were being asked about the threat, what information it planned to share with Congress, or why it had not made public that protesters were the target of the threat.</p>
929.  
930.  
931.  
932. <p>“The fact that these students were targets does not seem to have been made clear,” said Homa Zarghamee, an economics professor at Barnard.</p>
933.  
934.  
935.  
936. <p>Zarghamee noted she has not seen the kind of support for students who were the target of a threat of violence that she would have expected from the administration “in this era of safety concerns.”&nbsp;</p>
937.  
938.  
939.  
940. <p>“What we have never heard from the administration — this time, or truthfully any time in the past — is anything about the fact that this was a threat made to our students, who we need to remember, again and again, are being disciplined for peaceful protest against the Israeli war on Gaza,” said Thea Abu El-Haj, a professor of education at Barnard.</p>
941.  
942.  
943.  
944. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“The language from the administration seems to consistently be about the protesters as threatening.”</p></blockquote></figure>
945.  
946.  
947.  
948. <p>Though the school itself never explicitly blamed the bomb threat on students, Abu El-Haj said everyone she has spoken with outside of Barnard had assumed that the protesters were responsible.&nbsp;</p>
949.  
950.  
951.  
952. <p>“The language from the administration seems to consistently be about the protesters as threatening. And it seems very much addressed to a broader public audience,” she said. “I can say for myself, but also for the students I teach, they are really upset that no one is expressing concern for them and for the threats that have been brought against them.”&nbsp;</p>
953.  
954.  
955.  
956. <p><span class="has-underline">According to a</span> screenshot of the bomb threat obtained by The Intercept, the sender emailed school administrators at 4:01 p.m. on March 5 saying they had placed a bomb &#8220;in the Barnard College library.&#8221; The sender, who used the email address, pardonderek@mail2tor.com, wrote that they intended&nbsp;to attack the “anti-white faggot terrorists/communists that are protesting.”&nbsp;</p>
957.  
958.  
959.  
960. <p>In an <a href="https://x.com/ColumbiaSJP/status/1897459785605279900">email</a> sent that evening to the coalition of protesters Columbia University Apartheid Divest, Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury said students, faculty, and staff had been ordered to clear the building so the NYPD and its bomb squad could assess the threat. She added that the school had asked police not to arrest protesters. An NYPD spokesperson told The Intercept that it dispatched its Emergency Services and K-9 units. The spokesperson did not respond to a question clarifying whether the NYPD Bomb Squad, a separate unit, had also been dispatched.&nbsp;</p>
961.  
962.  
963.  
964. <p>Later that night, the college addressed the bomb threat in an email to the broader school community. Rosenbury said the bomb threat was no longer a danger and went on to describe the “disturbing and unacceptable events” that took place in Milstein prior to the threat. She said staff tried to get protesters to leave the building throughout the afternoon and that the “unauthorized protest” had disrupted classes and studies. She blamed protesters for putting the entire school community at risk by not following evacuation orders after the threat was received.</p>
965.  
966.  
967.  
968. <p>“Our staff, at risk to their own personal safety, remained in the Milstein lobby, urging the masked disruptors to take the threat seriously,” Rosebury wrote. “Even when the College activated the fire alarm, the masked protesters put our entire campus at risk by refusing to leave.”&nbsp;</p>
969.  
970.  
971.  
972. <p>At the time of the incident, school administrators and the New York Police Department gave no indication that the threat had been made against pro-Palestine protesters. That information was not shared by school administrators or police with the broader school community or the public.&nbsp;</p>
973.  
974.  
975.  
976. <p>“We heard news of a bomb threat and the lobby was evacuated very quickly thereafter but I do not recall being told the bomb threat was made toward those in the sit-in,” said Barnard theatre professor Shayoni Mitra.</p>
977.  
978.  
979.  
980.  
981.  
982.  
983.  
984. <p>Various reports have introduced differing timelines of police response — and different reasons the NYPD was called to the scene.</p>
985.  
986.  
987.  
988. <p>The day after the protest, an NYPD spokesperson<a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/06/nypd-confirms-nine-arrests-at-barnard-in-response-to-unscheduled-demonstration/"> told</a> the Columbia Spectator that police had responded to the protest around 1:50 p.m. to an “unscheduled demonstration,” and said it had no information about a bomb threat.</p>
989.  
990.  
991.  
992. <p>Three days later, another NYPD spokesperson <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/06/nypd-confirms-nine-arrests-at-barnard-in-response-to-unscheduled-demonstration/">told</a> the Spectator something else: that police had indeed responded to the protest because of the bomb threat. The spokesperson also said that students who were arrested on charges including governmental obstruction and trespass were taken into custody during the police evacuation in response to the threat. Barnard told the Spectator that it called police in response to the threat, not because the demonstration was unauthorized.&nbsp;</p>
993.  
994.  
995.  
996. <p>Mitra said she taught a class on the first floor of the building that houses the library on the day of the sit-in and heard three shelter-in-place orders announced over the public address system between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. A photo shared with The Intercept shows a handful of police officers standing on the street outside Milstein at 3:25 p.m. — 36 minutes before the bomb threat email reviewed by The Intercept arrived in the school president’s inbox.</p>
997.  
998.  
999.  
1000. <p>A later message from Rosenbury mentioned threats “via multiple email messages on March 5, 2025” — further muddying the timeline as to when police were first called to campus and why.</p>
1001.  
1002.  
1003.  
1004. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“Barnard lied when it said it called the police because of the bomb threat — timestamps show the threat came after the call.”</p></blockquote></figure>
1005.  
1006.  
1007.  
1008. <p>“Barnard lied when it said it called the police because of the bomb threat — timestamps show the threat came after the call,” said attorney Remy Green, partner at the law firm Cohen&amp;Green and counsel for several students at Barnard. “Rather than address and protect its students from a violent, racist, misogynistic, and homophobic person who threatened to murder them, Barnard saw an opportunity to deceive the public into thinking the students were connected to the threat. By doing this, Barnard has made this campus less safe and less free.”&nbsp;</p>
1009.  
1010.  
1011.  
1012. <p>According to three people who were in the library when police arrived, dozens of NYPD officers from the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/">Strategic Response Group</a> — a specialized team often <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/04/07/nypd-strategic-response-unit-george-floyd-protests/">deployed to</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/04/07/nypd-strategic-response-unit-george-floyd-protests/">protests</a> — entered the library shortly after 4 p.m. An NYPD spokesperson later <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/06/nypd-confirms-nine-arrests-at-barnard-in-response-to-unscheduled-demonstration/">told</a> the Columbia Spectator that police responded at 4:22 p.m.</p>
1013.  
1014.  
1015.  
1016. <p>The NYPD did not respond to The Intercept’s questions asking the department to clarify what time police first responded on campus that day.&nbsp;</p>
1017.  
1018.  
1019.  
1020. <p>Sources who spoke to The Intercept said that the NYPD kettled some protesters on the lawn outside the building. Photos reviewed by The Intercept show students who were arrested in zip-ties lined up against the outer wall of the building. Police then escorted the people they arrested<a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/05/nypd-begins-arrests-at-milstein-sit-in/"> through</a> <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/05/nypd-begins-arrests-at-milstein-sit-in/">the building that was the target of an active bomb threat</a>.&nbsp;</p>
1021.  
1022.  
1023.  
1024. <p>“They took the students that they had arrested and put them up first up against the building that was ostensibly about to explode,” said Abu El-Haj after reviewing footage and photos taken by students.</p>
1025.  
1026.  
1027.  
1028.  
1029.  
1030.  
1031.  
1032. <p><span class="has-underline">Some members of</span> the faculty learned that the threat was directed at student protesters the next day at a faculty meeting. According to sources with knowledge of the meeting, faculty members read aloud the text of the bomb threat to colleagues, shared with a few professors internally by an administrator.</p>
1033.  
1034.  
1035.  
1036. <p>In a<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/e/2PACX-1vRs2LUjXgBegLqWiVSzcHQJtSSywAu2YXuPhxMemD2IHQ8Y8IOSfJWTe9T2KjUg5G1zoCVIhV1Ifb3M/pub?urp=gmail_link"> joint statement</a> released following the meeting, Barnard and Columbia faculty condemned the arrests of students and blamed them on Rosenbury, as the school had summoned police to campus. They called for an independent investigation into the incident and the school’s response to another <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/02/27/barnard-made-no-promise-of-amnesty-did-not-negotiate-concessions-for-sit-in-protesters-spokesperson-writes/">sit-in</a> at Barnard’s Milbank Hall on February 26.&nbsp;</p>
1037.  
1038.  
1039.  
1040. <p>Students themselves are now being interrogated about the threat. Barnard&#8217;s head of public safety — ex-NYPD officer <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/photo-essays/2025/03/07/in-focus-police-arrest-protesters-following-milstein-sit-in/">Gary Maroni</a> — is questioning student protesters about that threat in mandatory fact-finding meetings, according to emails reviewed by The Intercept and accounts from faculty and attorneys working with pro-Palestine students on campus. Faculty worry that these interrogations — which students were originally told they had to attend <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/08/columbia-to-adjudicate-milstein-sit-in-cases-without-witnesses-or-legal-representation-for-student-hearings/">without any witnesses or legal representation</a> — could be turned over to Congress. </p>
1041.  
1042.  
1043.  
1044. <p>“I have deep concerns about students walking into those meetings without lawyers because of the way that Barnard is in the midst of a discovery process with Congress, as I understand it,” said Abu El-Haj. “I am worried about either congressional subpoenas, or if there&#8217;s any attempt on the part of the criminal justice system to bring any kind of criminal cases against students, that those records might be subpoenable.”</p>
1045.  
1046.  
1047.  
1048. <!-- BLOCK(promote-post)[2](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PROMOTE_POST%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22slug%22%3A%22chilling-dissent%22%2C%22crop%22%3A%22promo%22%7D) -->  <aside class="promote-banner">
1049.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="https://theintercept.com/collections/chilling-dissent/">
1050.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
1051.          <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="150" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?fit=300%2C150" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1000 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />        </span>
1052.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
1053.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
1054.            Read our complete coverage          </p>
1055.        
1056.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">Chilling Dissent</h2>
1057.      </div>
1058.    </a>
1059.  </aside>
1060. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[2] -->
1061.  
1062.  
1063.  
1064. <p>Barnard is one of several schools that put in place new <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/09/disciplinary-proceedings-at-columbia-and-barnard-are-different-heres-how-they-have-evolved-over-the-last-year/">disciplinary processes</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/us/college-protest-rules.html">campus speech policies</a> as part of efforts to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/11/18/gaza-protest-campus-palestine-exception/">curb speech on campus</a> since the height of Gaza protest encampments.&nbsp;</p>
1065.  
1066.  
1067.  
1068. <p>In an email to faculty last month, Rosenbury outlined some of those changes, including new rules governing the “time, place, and manner” of <a href="https://barnard.edu/eventsmgmt/policies">events</a> and <a href="https://barnard.edu/events-management/information-about-demonstrations">demonstrations</a>. She said the school would make “every effort” to deescalate disruptions internally. But if they persisted and prevented members of the school community from learning, studying, or working, administrators would “continue to rely on the NYPD when specialized skills are required, as was the case when the College received bomb threats.”&nbsp;</p>
1069.  
1070.  
1071.  
1072. <p>Rosenbury wrote in the email that the school had <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/18/barnard-plans-to-hold-conduct-meetings-with-student-protesters-despite-assurances-to-faculty-that-conduct-meetings-are-on-pause/">paused disciplinary actions</a> related to activities that occurred after February 26 while enacting <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/09/disciplinary-proceedings-at-columbia-and-barnard-are-different-heres-how-they-have-evolved-over-the-last-year/">new disciplinary policies</a> in response to the war on Gaza. (All student conduct processes for incidents prior to February 26, the date of another campus demonstration, had been completed by late March.) Rosenbury said, however, that fact-finding related to disciplinary investigations would continue. Part of the process, she wrote, could be an “inquiry meeting” that would <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/08/columbia-to-adjudicate-milstein-sit-in-cases-without-witnesses-or-legal-representation-for-student-hearings/">not include witnesses or legal representation</a>. Faculty managed to push back on this stipulation and attended some of the meetings. If charges were recommended after inquiry, Rosenbury wrote, she would consult with administrators about whether the school was close enough to adopting its new policies to hear new cases.&nbsp;</p>
1073.  
1074.  
1075.  
1076. <p>At least 27 students have been called into such inquiry meetings for protests last month. One student was called into a conduct meeting for two actions: a Jews Say No to ICE protest last month, and another action earlier this month. They are being charged with disruptive behavior, failure to comply, failure to maintain public order, and obstruction of access.&nbsp;</p>
1077.  
1078.  
1079.  
1080. <p>It’s not clear what if any information from the inquiry meetings the school plans to share with congressional officials. Either way, protesters must reckon with potentially life-altering charges from the school, said Abu El-Haj.&nbsp;</p>
1081.  
1082.  
1083.  
1084. <p>“Outside of the context of whether this gets subpoenaed anywhere or goes to Congress, students are facing quite serious consequences,” she said. “Expulsion and or suspension can carry significant financial consequences for students.”&nbsp;</p>
1085.  
1086.  
1087.  
1088.  <div class="promote-related-post">
1089.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
1090.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/"
1091.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
1092.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish"
1093.      data-ga-track-label="trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish"
1094.          >
1095.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
1096.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1097.        Related      </h2>
1098.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Trump Administration Texted College Professors’ Personal Phones to Ask If They’re Jewish</h3>
1099.    </span>
1100.    </a>
1101.  </div>
1102.  
1103.  
1104.  
1105. <p>Barnard College was <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/30/judge-holds-hearing-after-temporarily-blocking-columbia-and-barnard-from-sending-records-to-house-committee/">dropped last month from the lawsuit</a> over the government’s efforts to access disciplinary records for student protesters, including<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-new-york-mahmoud-khalil-congress-antisemitism-13dba67d0777dc5ba4494ea25be751b6"> those </a>of recent Columbia graduate <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/19/columbia-mahmoud-khalil-suspension-gaza-protests/">Mahmoud Khalil</a>. A federal judge issued a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-trump-antisemitism-gaza-protests-88905293918c26bc33f2ef138181251f">temporary restraining order</a> last month blocking Columbia and Barnard from turning over information to Congress; Barnard is not currently subject to the order after being dropped from the suit. Earlier this month, the judge <a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-new-york-mahmoud-khalil-congress-antisemitism-13dba67d0777dc5ba4494ea25be751b6">ruled</a> that Columbia must give Khalil and other students 30 days notice before turning over additional information to Congress.</p>
1106.  
1107.  
1108.  
1109. <p>At least 50 faculty members sent a letter to Barnard administrators on Thursday asking for an update on the new deadline and what information the school plans to share with Congress. Faculty who spoke to The Intercept said they have not yet received answers from the school. In a meeting on April 7, Rosenbury told faculty that the school had received an extension on its deadline to turn over information to Congress but did not specify the new deadline.</p>
1110.  
1111.  
1112.  
1113. <p>The Trump administration has used the president’s executive order on antisemitism to attack, abduct, and deport student protesters that Trump and his Republican colleagues have repeatedly, with no evidence, conflated with terrorists.</p>
1114.  
1115.  
1116.  
1117. <p><strong>Correction: April 24, 2025, 9:40 p.m. ET<br></strong><em>Due to an editing error, this story has been corrected to reflect that Gary Maroni is the head of public safety at Barnard College, not Columbia University. And Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury told faculty about a moved deadline for turning over information to Congress was April 7, not April 11.</em></p>
1118. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/barnard-college-gaza-protests-bomb-threat/">A Bomb Threat Targeted Student Protesters. So Why Did They Get Blamed for It?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1119. ]]></content:encoded>
1120.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/24/barnard-college-gaza-protests-bomb-threat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1121.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1122.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2_1_GettyImages-2202921358.jpg?fit=4000%2C2000' width='4000' height='2000' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490731</post-id>
1123. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" />
1124. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
1125. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
1126. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
1127. </media:content>
1128. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
1129. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
1130. </media:content>
1131. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?fit=300%2C150" medium="image" />
1132. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
1133.            </item>
1134.        
1135.            <item>
1136.                <title><![CDATA[Trump Administration Texted College Professors’ Personal Phones to Ask If They’re Jewish]]></title>
1137.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/</link>
1138.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/#respond</comments>
1139.                <pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:16:40 +0000</pubDate>
1140.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Akela Lacy]]></dc:creator>
1141.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
1142.  
1143.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
1144.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>The school later told staff it had provided the Trump administration with personal contact information for faculty members.</p>
1145. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/">Trump Administration Texted College Professors’ Personal Phones to Ask If They’re Jewish</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1146. ]]></description>
1147.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1148. <p><span class="has-underline">Most professors at</span> Barnard College received text messages on Monday notifying them that a federal agency was reviewing the college’s employment practices, according to copies of the messages reviewed by The Intercept.</p>
1149.  
1150.  
1151.  
1152. <p>The messages, sent to most Barnard professors’ personal cellphones, asked them to complete a voluntary survey about their employment.</p>
1153.  
1154.  
1155.  
1156. <p>&#8220;Please select all that apply,&#8221; said the second question in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, survey.&nbsp;</p>
1157.  
1158.  
1159.  
1160. <!-- BLOCK(pullquote)[0](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PULLQUOTE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22pull%22%3A%22right%22%7D) --><blockquote class="stylized pull-right" data-shortcode-type="pullquote" data-pull="right"><!-- CONTENT(pullquote)[0] -->“The federal government reaching out to our personal cellphones to identify who is Jewish is incredibly sinister.&#8221;<!-- END-CONTENT(pullquote)[0] --></blockquote><!-- END-BLOCK(pullquote)[0] -->
1161.  
1162.  
1163.  
1164. <p>The choices followed: &#8220;I am Jewish&#8221;; &#8220;I am Israeli&#8221;; &#8220;I have shared Jewish/Israeli ancestry&#8221;; &#8220;I practice Judaism&#8221;; and &#8220;Other.&#8221;</p>
1165.  
1166.  
1167.  
1168. <p>Other questions asked respondents whether they had been subjected to antisemitism, as well as whether they were subject to “unwelcome discussions,” graffiti or signs depicting antisemitic messages or images, antisemitic or anti-Israeli protests, “unwelcome comments, jokes or discussions,” or “pressure to abandon, change or adopt a practice or religious belief.”</p>
1169.  
1170.  
1171.  
1172. <p>“The federal government reaching out to our personal cellphones to identify who is Jewish is incredibly sinister,” said Barnard associate professor Debbie Becher, who is Jewish and received the text. “They are clearly targeting what most of the United States, I hope and I think, defines as freedom of speech, but only in the case of anti-Israeli speech.”</p>
1173.  
1174.  
1175.  
1176. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eeoc-investigation">EEOC Investigation</h2>
1177.  
1178.  
1179.  
1180. <p>In an email to professors on Wednesday after The Intercept first reported on the text, the general counsel at Barnard, a women’s college affiliated with Columbia University, said the EEOC initiated an investigation against Barnard last summer into whether the school had discriminated against Jewish employees.&nbsp;</p>
1181.  
1182.  
1183.  
1184. <p>The EEOC was “legally entitled to obtain the contact information of Barnard’s employees” to send out the option to “voluntarily participate in their investigation,” Barnard vice president and general counsel Serena Longley wrote in the email obtained by The Intercept. Barnard complied with the request.</p>
1185.  
1186.  
1187.  
1188.  
1189.  
1190.  
1191. <p>Going forward, the school said it would provide advance notice of any future requirements to provide staff information in connection with an investigation or litigation unless they were subject to a court order prohibiting them from doing so. Longley told staff they were not required to participate in the EEOC survey.&nbsp;</p>
1192.  
1193.  
1194.  
1195. <p>In a previous email on Monday evening, the general counsel at Barnard said the school had received multiple reports about the EEOC texts.&nbsp;</p>
1196.  
1197.  
1198.  
1199. <p>“Barnard was not given advance notice of this outreach,” Longley wrote. “If you choose to respond, please know that both federal law and Barnard policy strictly prohibit any form of retaliation.”&nbsp;</p>
1200.  
1201.  
1202.  
1203.  
1204.  
1205.  
1206.  
1207. <p>Neither the EEOC nor Barnard immediately responded to requests for comment.</p>
1208.  
1209.  
1210.  
1211. <p>The text messages are the latest episode stoking tensions on campus at Columbia, a flashpoint in the protests against the war on Gaza and the ensuing <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/11/18/gaza-protest-campus-palestine-exception/">crackdown</a> carried out by school administrators and the<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/14/ice-columbia-student-mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-interview/"> federal government</a>.</p>
1212.  
1213.  
1214.  
1215. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-weaponizing-eeoc"><strong>Weaponizing EEOC</strong></h2>
1216.  
1217.  
1218.  
1219. <p>The Trump administration has already weaponized the EEOC, once tasked with enforcing laws against discrimination, as part of Donald Trump’s broad-based attacks on national programs to bolster <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/02/22/trump-dei-christians-woke-civil-rights/">“DEI,”</a> or diversity, equity, and inclusion. These initiatives have been villainized in Trump’s rhetoric and attacked in executive orders that carried severe consequences for their targets.&nbsp;</p>
1220.  
1221.  
1222.  
1223. <p>The EEOC is intended to be an independent agency. It currently lacks a quorum, meaning that it is operating largely at the whims of Trump appointee, Republican Acting Chair Andrea Lucas.&nbsp;</p>
1224.  
1225.  
1226.  
1227. <!-- BLOCK(promote-post)[3](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PROMOTE_POST%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22slug%22%3A%22chilling-dissent%22%2C%22crop%22%3A%22promo%22%7D) -->  <aside class="promote-banner">
1228.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="https://theintercept.com/collections/chilling-dissent/">
1229.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
1230.          <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="150" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?fit=300%2C150" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1000 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />        </span>
1231.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
1232.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
1233.            Read our complete coverage          </p>
1234.        
1235.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">Chilling Dissent</h2>
1236.      </div>
1237.    </a>
1238.  </aside>
1239. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[3] -->
1240.  
1241.  
1242.  
1243. <p>Those attacks on DEI have leveraged the EEOC to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/business/eeoc-trump-dei-law-firms.html"> retaliate against corporate law firms</a> that have drawn Trump’s ire. It was reported on Tuesday that a new federal task force at the Department of Veterans Affairs is asking employees to report “anti-Christian bias” to the government.&nbsp;</p>
1244.  
1245.  
1246.  
1247. <p>Professors who received the survey link told The Intercept they’re concerned that the EEOC is now being used to attack faculty on college campuses that have been the site of yearslong protests against Israel’s war on Gaza.&nbsp;</p>
1248.  
1249.  
1250.  
1251. <p>At first, some people thought the text message was spam, said Becher, the Barnard professor.</p>
1252.  
1253.  
1254.  
1255. <p>“The email that we received seems to confirm for us that Barnard thinks it is the EEOC, and not something else,” Becher said.&nbsp;</p>
1256.  
1257.  
1258.  
1259. <p>“The government is weaponizing the EEOC in service of their own hatred and service of their own desire to destroy higher education,” Becher said. “And in their desire to silence speech about — as they have been — their desire to silence any speech that might criticize Israel as part of that larger campaign as well.”</p>
1260.  
1261.  
1262.  
1263.  
1264.  
1265.  
1266.  
1267. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-assurances-nbsp"><strong>No Assurances&nbsp;</strong></h2>
1268.  
1269.  
1270.  
1271. <p>One professor, who asked for anonymity for fear of retaliation, said several students also received the message Another professor who is not currently employed at Barnard also received the text, the Barnard professor said.&nbsp;</p>
1272.  
1273.  
1274.  
1275. <p>The Barnard professor said they were alarmed by news of the inquiry and that the government had access to their personal cellphone numbers and names. They said they were not aware of any professors at Columbia outside of Barnard receiving the EEOC text.&nbsp;</p>
1276.  
1277.  
1278.  
1279. <p>The professor said they were concerned that the survey opened a new pathway for people to make anonymous complaints to the government about faculty supporting pro-Palestine students. Barnard launched an <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/20/barnard-introduces-ethics-reporting-hotline/">anonymous “Ethics Reporting Hotline”</a> last week.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
1280.  
1281.  
1282.  
1283.  <div class="promote-related-post">
1284.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
1285.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities/"
1286.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
1287.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities"
1288.      data-ga-track-label="stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities"
1289.          >
1290.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_Stiglitz-3-e1744753900156.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
1291.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1292.        Related      </h2>
1293.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Nobel Winner Joseph Stiglitz Denounces Columbia’s Apparent Capitulation to Trump</h3>
1294.    </span>
1295.    </a>
1296.  </div>
1297.  
1298.  
1299.  
1300. <p>The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/02/steve-scalise-bourbon-street-new-orleans-attack/"> blamed DEI </a>for myriad government problems from<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpvmdm1m7m9o"> plane crashes</a> to the<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/dei-catastrophe-donald-trump-diversity-1235252412/soldiers-killed-in-jordan-drone-strike-1235252459/"> killing of U.S. soldiers</a> abroad. The administration has used its stated efforts to dismantle “wokeness” and DEI to undo the legacy of the civil rights movement — part of its broader<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/02/22/trump-dei-christians-woke-civil-rights/"> play to supporters in the Christian far-right</a>. Trump has made<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/eradicating-anti-christian-bias/"> eradicating anti-Christian bias</a> —<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/07/briefing-podcast-trump-christian-right-talia-lavin/"> largely a myth</a> — a cornerstone of his platform, critical to maintaining his relationship with his mass of right-wing evangelical supporters.</p>
1301.  
1302.  
1303.  
1304. <p>The survey sent to Barnard professors noted that the questions were part of an EEOC inquiry into the school. It also noted that the fact that EEOC was reviewing Barnard’s employment practices “does not mean there has been a violation of the law.”&nbsp;</p>
1305.  
1306.  
1307.  
1308. <p>Barnard has been complicit and worked with the administration on its false campaign against antisemitism for over a year, Becher said.&nbsp;</p>
1309.  
1310.  
1311.  
1312. <p>“This administration of white nationalists has never been interested in antisemitism, an administration that is full of hate,” Becher said. “It&#8217;s farcical to say that what this is actually doing is protecting us from antisemitism.”&nbsp;</p>
1313.  
1314.  
1315.  
1316. <p>Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury has also resisted faculty requests that the administration confirm that they won’t give out information to the government without a court order, Becher said.&nbsp;</p>
1317.  
1318.  
1319.  
1320. <!-- BLOCK(pullquote)[5](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PULLQUOTE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22pull%22%3A%22right%22%7D) --><blockquote class="stylized pull-right" data-shortcode-type="pullquote" data-pull="right"><!-- CONTENT(pullquote)[5] -->“It&#8217;s farcical to say that what this is actually doing is protecting us from antisemitism.”<!-- END-CONTENT(pullquote)[5] --></blockquote><!-- END-BLOCK(pullquote)[5] -->
1321.  
1322.  
1323.  
1324. <p>“They are not responding to our requests even for information about whether they&#8217;ve met with them in the middle of this time when we know that they have been called to a congressional briefing,” she said. “They&#8217;re providing us with absolutely no assurances that they are protecting us and even just protecting information about us that is private.”&nbsp;</p>
1325.  
1326.  
1327.  
1328. <p>It’s important for the government to have the power to investigate entities for discriminatory practices, Becher said, but that’s not what they’re doing in this case. Most of the efforts to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/03/28/safety-college-columbia-stanford-antisemitism-israel-palestine/">use civil rights to silence people</a> at universities has come under Title VI provisions that protect against discrimination by national origin.&nbsp;</p>
1329.  
1330.  
1331.  
1332. <p>“This is using Title VII, which is anti-discrimination in employment,” Becher said. “They are using Title VII procedures that a non-fascist, non-weaponized government we want to have access to. That is, the power to proactively investigate discriminatory employers. But they’re using it to attack a targeted civil society institution.”&nbsp;</p>
1333.  
1334.  
1335.  
1336. <p><strong>Update: April 23, 2025, 1:20 p.m. ET</strong><br><em>This story has been updated to include more information about the EEOC survey text messages and background on the Trump administration’s weaponization of the agency and attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.</em></p>
1337.  
1338.  
1339.  
1340. <p></p>
1341. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/">Trump Administration Texted College Professors’ Personal Phones to Ask If They’re Jewish</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1342. ]]></content:encoded>
1343.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1344.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1345.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-1201696536-e1745421272262.jpg?fit=5000%2C2500' width='5000' height='2500' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490718</post-id>
1346. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2207620332-e1744819705998.jpg" />
1347. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2207620332-e1744819705998.jpg" medium="image" />
1348. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
1349. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
1350. </media:content>
1351. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
1352. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
1353. </media:content>
1354. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-2202921358.jpg-e1745522342912.webp" medium="image" />
1355. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?fit=300%2C150" medium="image" />
1356. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_Stiglitz-3-e1744753900156.jpg" medium="image" />
1357.            </item>
1358.        
1359.            <item>
1360.                <title><![CDATA[AI Firm Behind Mysterious Trump Donation Is Run by Alleged Election Overthrow Plotter]]></title>
1361.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/tranquility-ai-nonprofit-trump-inauguration-donor/</link>
1362.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/tranquility-ai-nonprofit-trump-inauguration-donor/#respond</comments>
1363.                <pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2025 14:52:21 +0000</pubDate>
1364.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Sledge]]></dc:creator>
1365.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
1366. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
1367.  
1368.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
1369.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Why did a shadowy nonprofit make a six-figure gift to Trump’s inauguration committee? “It was mostly to meet people,” said a company official.</p>
1370. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/tranquility-ai-nonprofit-trump-inauguration-donor/">AI Firm Behind Mysterious Trump Donation Is Run by Alleged Election Overthrow Plotter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1371. ]]></description>
1372.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1373. <p><span class="has-underline">An obscure nonprofit</span> group that gave $100,000 to Donald Trump’s inaugural committee was bankrolled by an artificial intelligence company whose CEO was an unindicted co-conspirator in Trump’s election interference case in Georgia, the company’s president confirmed to The Intercept.</p>
1374.  
1375.  
1376.  
1377. <p>Unlike more established megadonors such as Boeing or the Heritage Foundation, however, the Institute for Criminal Justice Fairness was created only months ago and has little public profile beyond a barebones website.</p>
1378.  
1379.  
1380.  
1381. <p>The institute was funded by the startup Tranquility AI, according to company co-founder David Harvilicz, who has <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1863402564466974767.html">pitched Trump administration officials</a> on using its software to speed up deportations of “illegals.”</p>
1382.  
1383.  
1384.  
1385. <p>The purpose of the institute’s donation to the inaugural fund, Harvilicz said, was “to meet people that were there who might be policymakers who would want to eventually attend some of our events. It was mostly to meet people.”</p>
1386.  
1387.  
1388.  
1389. <p>The company’s other co-founder is CEO James Penrose, a former National Security Agency leader who has drawn scrutiny — and a grand jury subpoena — for his role in Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/08/17/trump-indictment-georgia-election/">in Georgia</a>.</p>
1390.  
1391.  
1392.  
1393. <p>The donation from the Institute for Criminal Justice Fairness was among a slew of gifts to the Trump inaugural committee disclosed over the weekend. The inaugural committee pulled in a record $239 million haul.</p>
1394.  
1395.  
1396.  
1397. <!-- BLOCK(pullquote)[0](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PULLQUOTE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22pull%22%3A%22right%22%7D) --><blockquote class="stylized pull-right" data-shortcode-type="pullquote" data-pull="right"><!-- CONTENT(pullquote)[0] -->“Inaugural funds present an ideal, problematic opportunity for wealthy special interests.”<!-- END-CONTENT(pullquote)[0] --></blockquote><!-- END-BLOCK(pullquote)[0] -->
1398.  
1399.  
1400.  
1401. <p>The contribution highlights the loose rules that allowed nonprofits and corporations to make unlimited donations to the Trump inaugural committee, a situation that critics say creates the perception that donations can be used to curry favor with the administration.</p>
1402.  
1403.  
1404.  
1405. <p>“Because inaugural funds are very loosely regulated, they present an ideal, problematic opportunity for wealthy special interests to ingratiate themselves with an incoming presidential administration,” said Saurav Ghosh, the director for federal campaign finance reform of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. “This is particularly true for Trump, who has made clear that he views his office and government in general as largely transactional; donations and support will be rewarded.”</p>
1406.  
1407.  
1408.  
1409.  
1410.  
1411.  
1412.  
1413. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-following-the-money"><strong>Following the Money</strong></h2>
1414.  
1415.  
1416.  
1417. <p>There are no signs on the Institute for Criminal Justice Fairness’s <a href="https://www.icjfairness.org/">sparse website</a> of its relationship to Tranquility AI, a startup company backed by a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250226584880/en/Tranquility-AI-Emerges-from-Stealth-with-Venture-Backing-to-Transform-Criminal-Justice-Investigations">trio of venture capital funds</a>.</p>
1418.  
1419.  
1420.  
1421. <p>The institute was created at the end of September, according to incorporation records in Virginia, and says that it is “dedicated to educating the public and advocating to policymakers on the benefits of utilizing artificial intelligence solutions in law enforcement, the military, and government.”</p>
1422.  
1423.  
1424.  
1425.  <div class="promote-related-post">
1426.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
1427.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/07/white-house-crypto-summit-trump-donors/"
1428.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
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1430.      data-ga-track-label="white-house-crypto-summit-trump-donors"
1431.          >
1432.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AP25066777230562-e1741387991102.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
1433.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1434.        Related      </h2>
1435.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Here’s How Much the Guests at Trump’s Crypto Summit Donated to His Inauguration</h3>
1436.    </span>
1437.    </a>
1438.  </div>
1439.  
1440.  
1441.  
1442. <p>One clue linking the Institute for Criminal Justice Fairness and Tranquility AI, however, came in the Trump inaugural committee’s Sunday filing with the Federal Election Commission. The address given for the group’s December 18 donation was the same as Harvilicz’s California home, which burned down weeks later in the Palisades Fire.</p>
1443.  
1444.  
1445.  
1446. <p>Harvilicz confirmed in a Monday phone call that the company funded the Institute for Criminal Justice Fairness.</p>
1447.  
1448.  
1449.  
1450. <p>“The nonprofit was designed to help people understand how AI can be used in a positive way to help bring about more fair and equitable criminal justice outcomes,” Harvilicz said.</p>
1451.  
1452.  
1453.  
1454. <p>Harvilicz said he was unaware that his home address had been used in the FEC filing.</p>
1455.  
1456.  
1457.  
1458. <p>There appears to be no federal statute banning companies from using so-called straw donors to contribute to inaugural committees, although at least one member of the House of Representatives has<a href="https://scanlon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=52"> introduced legislation</a> seeking to ban the practice.</p>
1459.  
1460.  
1461.  
1462. <!-- BLOCK(pullquote)[2](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PULLQUOTE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22pull%22%3A%22left%22%7D) --><blockquote class="stylized pull-left" data-shortcode-type="pullquote" data-pull="left"><!-- CONTENT(pullquote)[2] -->&#8220;That disclosure is meaningless if the true, original donors aren’t disclosed.&#8221;<!-- END-CONTENT(pullquote)[2] --></blockquote><!-- END-BLOCK(pullquote)[2] -->
1463.  
1464.  
1465.  
1466. <p>Ghosh, the campaign finance watchdog, urged Congress to force “meaningful” transparency.</p>
1467.  
1468.  
1469.  
1470. <p>“Inaugural funds are required to report their donors, but that disclosure is meaningless if the true, original donors aren’t disclosed,” Ghosh said. “Congress and the FEC should ensure meaningful transparency around these inaugural fund donations, to ensure that special interests aren’t able to secretly curry favor with an incoming president, further marginalizing the voices of everyday Americans in our democracy.”</p>
1471.  
1472.  
1473.  
1474. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-war-zones-to-courtrooms"><strong>“War Zones to Courtrooms”</strong></h2>
1475.  
1476.  
1477.  
1478. <p>Although a relatively new company, Tranquility AI has big ambitions in the world of government contracting, both at the state and federal levels.</p>
1479.  
1480.  
1481.  
1482. <p>The company markets its signature software product as a time-saving device for local law enforcement agencies, and has expressed interest in national security and immigration work. On its website, Tranquility AI says that it wants to aid decision-makers working from “war zones to courtrooms.”</p>
1483.  
1484.  
1485.  
1486.  
1487.  
1488.  
1489.  
1490. <p>Harvilicz, in a series of X posts in early December, <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1863402564466974767.html">pitched</a> Trump’s soon-to-be border czar Tom Homan and Attorney General Pam Bondi on using the company’s software to accelerate deportations.</p>
1491.  
1492.  
1493.  
1494. <p>“In combination with CBP One App and other OSINT, @TranquilityAi&#8217;s TimePilot<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> platform will facilitate location, apprehension, and adjudication of millions of illegals in months instead of years,” Harvilicz said, referring to the since-discontinued app used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to track immigrants.</p>
1495.  
1496.  
1497.  
1498. <p>Harvilicz said the company was founded by alumni of the first Trump administration. He served as the acting assistant secretary for cybersecurity, energy security, and emergency response in the Department of Energy, according to his biography.</p>
1499.  
1500.  
1501.  
1502. <p>Penrose, meanwhile, had a 17-year career at the NSA that included several <a href="https://www.iwp.edu/cyber-intelligence-initiative-team/jim-penrose/">high-level cybersecurity postings.</a> After moving to the private sector, he held a role at the successful startup Darktrace, which was staffed with former intelligence officials <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/missing-tech-tycoon-mike-lynchs-ties-to-uk-spy-chiefs/">from the U.K. and U.S.</a></p>
1503.  
1504.  
1505.  
1506. <p>After the 2020 election, however, he found himself under a microscope for his role in Trump and his allies’ attempts to overturn the election results.</p>
1507.  
1508.  
1509.  
1510.  <div class="promote-related-post">
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1518.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1519.        Related      </h2>
1520.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">We Identified the Key Unnamed Figures in Jack Smith’s New Trump Brief</h3>
1521.    </span>
1522.    </a>
1523.  </div>
1524.  
1525.  
1526.  
1527. <p>Penrose worked with Trump attorney Sidney Powell when she led an effort to breach voting machines in Georgia, according to multiple media reports. He was one of the unnamed unindicted co-conspirators in the Fulton County case that eventually led to Powell’s guilty plea, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/08/16/coffee-county-fulton-unindicted-coconspirators/">according</a> to the Washington Post. Penrose was also a “<a href="https://www.votebeat.org/michigan/2023/8/4/23820282/deperno-rendon-lambert-charges-voting-machine-breaches/">suspect</a>” in a Michigan probe of a voting tabulator breach, according to the outlet Votebeat.</p>
1528.  
1529.  
1530.  
1531. <p>Penrose was not charged with any crime in either state. His supporting role in Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election has<a href="https://www.nola.com/news/courts/new-orleans-da-employs-ai-firm-with-questions-around-backer/article_c0d580a4-6463-11ee-b5af-9baaa1567b53.html"> drawn scrutiny in places like New Orleans</a>, however, where Tranquility AI worked with the city’s Democratic district attorney.</p>
1532.  
1533.  
1534.  
1535. <p>The company did not respond to a request for comment on Penrose’s role in the donation to Trump’s inaugural committee.</p>
1536. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/tranquility-ai-nonprofit-trump-inauguration-donor/">AI Firm Behind Mysterious Trump Donation Is Run by Alleged Election Overthrow Plotter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1537. ]]></content:encoded>
1538.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/tranquility-ai-nonprofit-trump-inauguration-donor/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1539.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1540.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/jack-finnigan-C97KdFOeOhI-unsplash-e1745355349745.jpg?fit=4000%2C2000' width='4000' height='2000' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490690</post-id>
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1543. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
1544. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
1545. </media:content>
1546. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
1547. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
1548. </media:content>
1549. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AP25066777230562-e1741387991102.jpg" medium="image" />
1550. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GettyImages-2171360068-e1728308879536.jpg" medium="image" />
1551.            </item>
1552.        
1553.            <item>
1554.                <title><![CDATA[The Long History of Lawlessness in U.S. Policy Toward Latin America]]></title>
1555.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/</link>
1556.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/#respond</comments>
1557.                <pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:03:30 +0000</pubDate>
1558.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Greg Grandin]]></dc:creator>
1559.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
1560. <category><![CDATA[Voices]]></category>
1561. <category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
1562.  
1563.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
1564.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>By shipping immigrants to Nayib Bukele’s megaprison in El Salvador, Trump is using a far-right ally for his own ends.</p>
1565. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/">The Long History of Lawlessness in U.S. Policy Toward Latin America</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1566. ]]></description>
1567.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1568. <figure class="wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default">
1569.    <img decoding="async"
1570.    src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?fit=4000%2C2672"
1571.    srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=4000 4000w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=1000 1000w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=2400 2400w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?w=3600 3600w"
1572.    sizes="auto, (min-width: 1300px) 650px, (min-width: 800px) 64vw, (min-width: 500px) calc(100vw - 5rem), calc(100vw - 3rem)"
1573.    alt="US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump's administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump's administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images"
1574.    width="4000"
1575.    height="2672"
1576.    loading="lazy"
1577.  />
1578.      <figcaption class="photo__figcaption">
1579.              <span class="photo__caption">El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2025. </span>
1580.                    <span class="photo__credit">Photo: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty</span>
1581.          </figcaption>
1582.    </figure>
1583.  
1584.  
1585.  
1586. <p><span class="has-underline">It seems as if</span> the entire, dishonorable history of U.S. lawlessness in Latin America is distilled in the saga of Kilmar Ábrego García: the man whose illegal deportation to El Salvador and imprisonment in the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center has sparked outrage in the U.S. among human rights advocates and the Trump administration’s opponents.</p>
1587.  
1588.  
1589.  
1590. <p>Some see Ábrego García’s arrival in El Salvador as marking a new, dark chapter in U.S. history, but Washington has long supported and harnessed lawlessness in Latin America to pursue its own aims.</p>
1591.  
1592.  
1593.  
1594. <p>Through the 1970s and 1980s, U.S.-backed anti-communist regimes “disappeared” hundreds of thousand Latin American citizens, engaging in a form of state terror <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/28/kidnapped-posters-israel-latin-america/">traced back</a> to Nazi Germany. El Salvador became <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2007/12/11/unholy-trinity-death-squads-disappearances-and-torture-latin-america-iraq">infamous</a> for such political “disappearances.” About 71,000 people, or <a href="https://hrdag.org/2019/10/01/new-research-on-civilian-deaths-and-disappearances-in-el-salvador/">between 1 and 2</a> percent of El Salvador’s population, were killed or disappeared.</p>
1595.  
1596.  
1597.  
1598. <p>A key aspect of the terror, back then, was the not-knowing. Friends and families of “los desaparecidos” exhausted themselves dealing with labyrinthine bureaucracies. Government officials shrugged off their questions, telling them their missing relatives probably went to Cuba or ran away with a lover.</p>
1599.  
1600.  
1601.  
1602. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>The fuck-you impunity on display during Bukele’s recent visit to the Oval Office is a higher order of terror.</p></blockquote></figure>
1603.  
1604.  
1605.  
1606. <p>Today, though, Trump, aided by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, feels no need for such evasions. The fuck-you impunity on display during Bukele’s recent visit to the Oval Office — “Of course I’m not going to do it,” Bukele said, when asked if he would return Ábrego García — is a higher order of terror, one meant not to generate doubt but to instill helplessness.</p>
1607.  
1608.  
1609.  
1610. <p>About 2 percent of El Salvador’s population languish in Bukele’s gulags, with the country clocking the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/20/trump-deportations-el-salvador-prisons-bukele-human-rights/">highest per capita incarceration rate in the world</a> — a number comparable to about 7 million people in the United States.</p>
1611.  
1612.  
1613.  
1614. <p>It is as if suddenly no one were able to account for all the inhabitants of Arizona — only to learn they had been shipped off to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT in Spanish.</p>
1615.  
1616.  
1617.  
1618. <p>The movement to have Ábrego García returned, as is any effort to rein in the predator Trump administration, is inspiring. Yet all those deported to CECOT deserve our attention. The state crime isn’t that an innocent person was sent to CECOT in “error” but that anyone was sent there at all.</p>
1619.  
1620.  
1621.  
1622. <p>CECOT, however, needs to be recognized as not an aberration in the history of the U.S. in Latin America, but an extension of it. Don’t, said Bertolt Brecht, romanticize the “good old days” when fighting the “bad new days” of fascism. That advice holds for the Trump administration’s efforts to use El Salvador as a receptacle for its cast-offs.</p>
1623.  
1624.  
1625.  
1626.  <div class="promote-related-post">
1627.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
1628.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/"
1629.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
1630.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database"
1631.      data-ga-track-label="trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database"
1632.          >
1633.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25094584110033.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
1634.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1635.        Related      </h2>
1636.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">The Evidence Linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia to MS-13: A Chicago Bulls Hat and a Hoodie</h3>
1637.    </span>
1638.    </a>
1639.  </div>
1640.  
1641.  
1642.  
1643. <p>Washington was deeply implicated in Latin America’s deep history repression, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/06/16/henry-kissinger-assassination-orlando-letelier-chile/">helping create a formidable system </a>of death squads, death camps, and death flights — helicopters or planes that dumped political prisoners into the ocean to drown.</p>
1644.  
1645.  
1646.  
1647. <p>Condemn Trump in voices loud and certain. Demand Ábrego García’s return. Don’t forget, though, that the U.S. has long been lawless in Latin America.</p>
1648.  
1649.  
1650.  
1651. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lawless-in-latin-america"><strong>Lawless in Latin America</strong></h2>
1652.  
1653.  
1654.  
1655. <p>In Latin America, the line between fighting and facilitating fascism has been fungible. During World War II, Washington invested enormous repressive capacity in hemispheric neighbors as part of the Allied war effort against Nazism. Once the war was won, the region’s security forces, encouraged by the Truman administration, turned their guns on the Latin America’s antifascists.</p>
1656.  
1657.  
1658.  
1659. <p>In 1948, for example, Chile cracked down on a miners’ strike with its U.S.-fortified army. The military, <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-03769-1.html">wrote</a> historian Jody Pavilack, took “total control of the mines, towns, and surrounding countryside” and “sent hundreds of people to mili­tary prison camps and banished thousands more from the region.”</p>
1660.  
1661.  
1662.  
1663. <p>Just four years earlier, many of these strikers had heard Franklin Roosevelt’s Vice President Henry Wallace tell them they were democracy’s front line. Now, they found themselves on the killing line, being hunted down by a young army captain, Augusto Pinochet, who rounded up coal and nitrate miners. Many were detained in the Pisagua penal colony in the Atacama Desert. (During his post-1973 dictatorship, Pinochet would use the colony again as a detention and torture center and site of mass graves for victims of his regime.)</p>
1664.  
1665.  
1666.  
1667. <p>Ecuador likewise used tanks and planes it received from the U.S. wartime <a href="https://www.fdrlibrary.org/lend-lease">Lend-Lease</a> program to lay siege to a student protest. Bolivia and Paraguay also deployed U.S.-supplied tanks to break up strikes.</p>
1668.  
1669.  
1670.  
1671.  <div class="promote-related-post">
1672.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
1673.            href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/29/henry-kissinger-death/"
1674.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
1675.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: henry-kissinger-death"
1676.      data-ga-track-label="henry-kissinger-death"
1677.          >
1678.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1185719137-kissinger.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
1679.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1680.        Related      </h2>
1681.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Henry Kissinger, Top U.S. Diplomat Responsible for Millions of Deaths, Dies at 100</h3>
1682.    </span>
1683.    </a>
1684.  </div>
1685.  
1686.  
1687.  
1688. <p>As the Cold War advanced, Washington backed a series of coups, starting in Venezuela and Peru in 1948, that by the mid-1970s turned Latin America into garrisoned continent.</p>
1689.  
1690.  
1691.  
1692. <p>The CIA interpenetrated itself into nearly all aspects of civil society. Among the documents recently declassified related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy was a report <a href="https://docs.jfkdiffs.com/diffs/104-10301-10001_diff.pdf">revealing</a> that the CIA staged Bolivia’s 1966 election as if it were an off-Broadway production, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on both the winning candidate and his opponent, to make the election look “credible.” The agency judged its production a “genuine tour de force.” Five years later, Washington dispensed with the pretense and just backed a straight-up military coup in Bolivia.</p>
1693.  
1694.  
1695.  
1696.  
1697.  
1698.  
1699.  
1700. <p>Washington loaded the region’s security and intelligence agencies with enormous repressive power. Latin America’s death squads weren’t independent vigilantes but the front lines of an increasingly integrated, continentwide crusade. U.S. officials <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/documents-detail-us-complicity-in-operation-condor-terror-campaign/">helped</a> synchronize Latin American national intelligence units into a<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/sep/03/operation-condor-the-illegal-state-network-that-terrorised-south-america"> single operation</a>, which functioned under the name <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/southern-cone/2017-01-17/operation-condor-condemned-life">Condor</a>. Its agents were supplied with intelligence by the CIA and <a href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/nsarchive2.gwu.edu/news/20010306/condor.pdf">communicated</a> through a continentwide CIA system based in the Panama Canal Zone. European intelligence agencies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/15/operation-condor-european-spies-dictators-cia-documents">looked</a> to Condor for lessons on how to build their own machines of repression.</p>
1701.  
1702.  
1703.  
1704. <p>The United States sent many men to Latin America, often under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to train Latin Americans in the art of torture. None were more notorious than Daniel Mitrione. </p>
1705.  
1706.  
1707.  
1708. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>In Brazil, Uruguay, and elsewhere, the U.S. designs on dominance necessitated such brutality — just as in El Salvador today.</p></blockquote></figure>
1709.  
1710.  
1711.  
1712. <p>Mitrione arrived in Brazil before the country’s 1964 CIA-orchestrated coup, as part of a team whose job it was to apply a “scientific method” to torture. He did the same in Uruguay, where he invented unique torture instruments. One was the “dragon’s chair,” made from conductive metal, with articulating bars that pressed on limbs of the naked prisoner every time shock was applied, creating deep gashes in the skin.</p>
1713.  
1714.  
1715.  
1716. <p>Then, as now, the complete absence of accountability wasn’t merely a common thread among U.S. partners; it was a basic condition for the partnerships. In Brazil, Uruguay, and elsewhere, the U.S. designs on dominance necessitated such brutality — just as in El Salvador today, where Trump seeks to leverage a massive detention center to create a destination for unaccountable mass deportations. </p>
1717.  
1718.  
1719.  
1720. <p>The gleefulness in which Trump, Bukele, and others in that recent White House meeting discussed their plan was horrifying.</p>
1721.  
1722.  
1723.  
1724. <figure class="wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default">
1725.    <img decoding="async"
1726.    src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?fit=5201%2C3467"
1727.    srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=5201 5201w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=1000 1000w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=2400 2400w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?w=3600 3600w"
1728.    sizes="auto, (min-width: 1300px) 650px, (min-width: 800px) 64vw, (min-width: 500px) calc(100vw - 5rem), calc(100vw - 3rem)"
1729.    alt="SAN VICENTE, EL SALVADOR - APRIL 04: Soldiers guarding with rifles at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, in San Vicente, El Salvador on April 04, 2025. The Cecot prison was presented to Salvadorans by President Nayib Bukele on national radio and television as the largest prison in the Americas, built for members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS 13) gang and the two Barrio 18 groups (Sureña and Revolucionaria). Following the deportation of hundreds of migrants from the United States to El Salvador, it became a resource for the Donald Trump administration in implementing its immigration policy. (Photo by Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty Images)"
1730.    width="5201"
1731.    height="3467"
1732.    loading="lazy"
1733.  />
1734.      <figcaption class="photo__figcaption">
1735.              <span class="photo__caption">Soldiers with rifles guard the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on April 4, 2025.</span>
1736.                    <span class="photo__credit">Photo: Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty</span>
1737.          </figcaption>
1738.    </figure>
1739.  
1740.  
1741.  
1742. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-homegrown-horrors"><strong>Homegrown Horrors</strong></h2>
1743.  
1744.  
1745.  
1746. <p>Today, there is much concern that Trump is planning to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/13/briefing-podcast-mahmoud-khalil-free-speech/">eliminate due process</a> of U.S. citizens by attempting to incarcerate “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-homegrown-criminals-foreign-prisons-cecot/">homegrown criminals</a>” in El Salvador’s prisons.</p>
1747.  
1748.  
1749.  
1750. <p>During the Cold War, though, scores of U.S. citizens fell victim to U.S.-funded security forces. At least six U.S. citizens were detained in the <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/the-pinochet-affair-i-saw-them-herded-to-their-death-i-heard-the-gunfire-as-they-died-1179543.html">soccer stadium</a> in Santiago, Chile, which Pinochet had turned into a concentration camp after the 1973 CIA-orchestrated coup. </p>
1751.  
1752.  
1753.  
1754. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>During the Cold War, scores of U.S. citizens fell victim to U.S.-funded security forces.</p></blockquote></figure>
1755.  
1756.  
1757.  
1758. <p>Two of them, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/11/justice-charles-horman-us-chile-coup">Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi</a>, were disappeared by security forces acting on intelligence either <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/01/chile-us-intelligence-1973-killings-americans">provided or confirmed</a> by the CIA. <a href="https://www.juggle.org/juggling-during-wartime-in-nicaragua-benjamin-linder/">Ben Linder</a>, who was in Nicaragua using his engineering skills to build a rural hydroelectric dam and his juggling and unicycle talents to entertain local children, was one of several U.S. citizens killed by U.S.-run Contras.</p>
1759.  
1760.  
1761.  
1762. <p>In El Salvador itself, the U.S. Embassy has shamelessly <a href="https://sv.usembassy.gov/memorials/">erected</a> a memorial to U.S. citizens killed in the country’s civil war. It memorialized both U.S. soldiers who worked with the country’s death squads and activists killed by those death squads, including Sisters Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and lay missionary Jean Donovan. The nuns were raped and murdered in 1980 by the Salvadoran national guard acting on orders from officials who themselves took their orders from U.S. patrons.</p>
1763.  
1764.  
1765.  
1766. <p>Ronald Reagan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick said, with Trump-like moral logic: &#8220;The nuns were not just nuns. They were political activists.” OK then.</p>
1767.  
1768.  
1769.  
1770. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-democracy-and-dehumanism"><strong>Democracy and Dehumanism</strong></h2>
1771.  
1772.  
1773.  
1774. <p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/29/el-salvador-inhumane-prison-lockdown-treatment">Images</a> of Bukele’s gulags — with prisoners pushed one into another, stripped naked, and <a href="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a87af6fbff20556700e82ed0c1f9ee9cbbfe982e/0_224_6720_4032/master/6720.jpg?width=1300&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none">heads shaved</a> — have caught the world’s attention. For many observers, the images evoke the dehumanization of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/transatlantic-slave-trade/The-Middle-Passage">slave ships</a> and Nazi <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/dachau-concentration-camp/iUnrJMAa7chL4qmA#r/125867">death camps</a>. They represent a brutality that for many defines Latin America, reflected in the dark history of the Cold War from disappearances to torture, mass detentions to death flights.</p>
1775.  
1776.  
1777.  
1778. <p>Yet these histories aren’t the totality of Latin America. Alongside all the dehumanization runs another story, one of humanization, an emancipationist current with roots stretching back to opposition to the Spanish Conquest.</p>
1779.  
1780.  
1781.  
1782. <p>The intertwining and clashes of these supernational currents — the subject of my latest book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/747326/america-america-by-greg-grandin/">America, América: A New History of the New World</a>” — is starkly visible in today’s El Salvador. The country is not merely a prison colony; it’s a land filled with people struggling to survive, and its reality is more than Bukele’s and Trump’s will to power, more than <a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffebaa29f-7b62-4f92-9eb4-77921a000df7_1600x1066.jpeg">cruelty-porn photo ops</a>.</p>
1783.  
1784.  
1785.  
1786.  <div class="promote-related-post">
1787.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
1788.            href="https://theintercept.com/2019/07/30/criminalization-environmental-activists-global-witness-report/"
1789.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
1790.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: criminalization-environmental-activists-global-witness-report"
1791.      data-ga-track-label="criminalization-environmental-activists-global-witness-report"
1792.          >
1793.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/RS6298__65X6312-1564422994.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
1794.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1795.        Related      </h2>
1796.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">More Than 160 Environmental Defenders Were Killed in 2018, and Many Others Labeled Terrorists and Criminals</h3>
1797.    </span>
1798.    </a>
1799.  </div>
1800.  
1801.  
1802.  
1803. <p>Most English-language coverage of resistance to Bukele focuses on middle-class lawyers and politicians. Often overlooked, though, are Bukele’s poorer opponents: the peasant, <a href="https://x.com/Bloque_RP">labor</a>, <a href="https://x.com/ades_sm">environmental</a>, and <a href="https://ajws.org/blog/the-green-wave-feminists-fight-for-abortion-rights-in-el-salvador-and-beyond/">feminist activists</a> who are, literally, putting their lives on the line.</p>
1804.  
1805.  
1806.  
1807. <p>Leaders of oppositions movements, especially <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2023/05/el-salvadors-state-of-exception-makes-women-collateral-damage?lang=en">women</a> but also environmentalists and trade unionists, are killed at a steady clip. Many of those who don’t get assassinated are prosecuted on trumped up charges by a legal system that does the president’s bidding. Bukele has placed the country under what appears to be under a permanent state of exception, accusing civil society organizations as being <a href="https://www.hrw.org/es/report/2022/12/07/podemos-detener-quien-queramos/violaciones-generalizadas-de-derechos-humanos">fronts</a> for gangs.</p>
1808.  
1809.  
1810.  
1811.  
1812.  
1813.  
1814.  
1815. <p>Centuries of violence seemed to have seared into activists an irrepressible ability to rec­ognize the dialectic lurking behind the brutality and to answer every bloody body — every illegally incarcerated human — with ever more adamant affirmations of humanity, ever more organizing.</p>
1816.  
1817.  
1818.  
1819. <p>One anonymous feminist activist, referring to women sentenced to long prison terms for having had an abortion, <a href="https://ajws.org/blog/the-green-wave-feminists-fight-for-abortion-rights-in-el-salvador-and-beyond/">said</a> that “after seeing this happen to someone, it courses through your veins. You carry it on your skin. When I think about becoming involved in women’s rights, after seeing what women go through, how could I not?”</p>
1820.  
1821.  
1822.  
1823. <p>If democracy were to be measured by such courage, then El Salvador and all of Latin America, where social movement activists against great odds and facing great danger fight for a more equal society, must be considered among the most democratic places on Earth.</p>
1824.  
1825.  
1826.  
1827. <p>If there is hope there, among Salvadorans, then maybe there is hope yet for their neighbors far to the north: not just that the U.S. will stop supporting and leveraging lawlessness in Latin America, but also that even lawfulness itself will become subservient to a higher aspiration — that we may all be humanized in each other’s eyes.</p>
1828. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/">The Long History of Lawlessness in U.S. Policy Toward Latin America</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1829. ]]></content:encoded>
1830.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1831.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1832.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212-e1745292875235.jpg?fit=4000%2C2000' width='4000' height='2000' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490655</post-id>
1833. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?fit=4000%2C2672" />
1834. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_0e0cf0.jpg?fit=4000%2C2672" medium="image">
1835. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
1836. </media:content>
1837. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25094584110033.jpg" medium="image" />
1838. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1185719137-kissinger.jpg" medium="image" />
1839. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
1840. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
1841. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
1842. </media:content>
1843. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-2202921358.jpg-e1745522342912.webp" medium="image" />
1844. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208002183.jpg?fit=5201%2C3467" medium="image">
1845. <media:title type="html">SAN VICENTE, EL SALVADOR - APRIL 04: Soldiers guarding with rifles at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, in San Vicente, El Salvador on April 04, 2025. The Cecot prison was presented to Salvadorans by President Nayib Bukele on national radio and television as the largest prison in the Americas, built for members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS 13) gang and the two Barrio 18 groups (Sureña and Revolucionaria). Following the deportation of hundreds of migrants from the United States to El Salvador, it became a resource for the Donald Trump administration in implementing its immigration policy. (Photo by Alex Pena/Anadolu via Getty Images)</media:title>
1846. </media:content>
1847. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/RS6298__65X6312-1564422994.jpg" medium="image" />
1848.            </item>
1849.        
1850.            <item>
1851.                <title><![CDATA[Congress’s Biggest Financial Priority Is “Stablecoin.” What the Hell Is That?]]></title>
1852.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/21/congress-crypto-stablecoin-trump/</link>
1853.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/21/congress-crypto-stablecoin-trump/#respond</comments>
1854.                <pubDate>Mon, 21 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
1855.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Sledge]]></dc:creator>
1856.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
1857.  
1858.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
1859.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Instead of tackling crashing markets, Congress is pushing a crypto sector that the Trump family is financially involved in.</p>
1860. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/21/congress-crypto-stablecoin-trump/">Congress’s Biggest Financial Priority Is “Stablecoin.” What the Hell Is That?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
1861. ]]></description>
1862.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
1863. <p><span class="has-underline">The Trump administration’s</span> trade war with the world has roiled the stock market and threatens to plunge the country into a recession while jacking up the price of basic supplies.</p>
1864.  
1865.  
1866.  
1867. <p>But instead of taking on the financial issues dominating the headlines, the House and Senate are racing to bring stablecoins — a cryptocurrency sector few Americans have even heard of — out from the shadows.</p>
1868.  
1869.  
1870.  
1871. <p>The $230 billion stablecoin industry could be the first to benefit from Donald Trump’s promise to make the U.S. the world’s “crypto capital of the planet.”</p>
1872.  
1873.  
1874.  
1875. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“Passing legislation gives them a first-mover advantage to profits that are to be gained.”</p></blockquote></figure>
1876.  
1877.  
1878.  
1879. <p>Industry advocates say the legislation will clear up uncertainty around the regulation of their cryptocurrencies, unleashing a new era of financial innovation. Critics of the bipartisan push warn that the legislation risks another financial crash while enriching Trump, whose family is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/25/trumps-world-liberty-financial-jumps-into-stablecoin-game-with-usd1-reveal.html">launching a stablecoin of their own.</a></p>
1880.  
1881.  
1882.  
1883. <p>“Passing legislation gives them a first-mover advantage to profits that are to be gained. We saw that with the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/15/trump-crypto-who-is-bo-hines/">Trump meme coin</a>, where a lot of people lost out but it didn’t matter because Trump’s platform was making fees,” said Mark Hays, of the group Americans for Financial Reform. “It just seems like a witches’ brew of problematic things that could lead to another crash.”</p>
1884.  
1885.  
1886.  
1887. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-a-stablecoin"><strong>What Is a Stablecoin?</strong></h2>
1888.  
1889.  
1890.  
1891. <p>To their proponents, stablecoins offer all the benefits of crypto without the downsides.</p>
1892.  
1893.  
1894.  
1895. <p>They are pegged to real-world currencies, such as the U.S. dollar. The idea is that one dollar-denominated stablecoin can always be redeemed for one dollar. Stablecoin issuers use real-world assets, such as U.S. Treasury bonds, to back their offerings.</p>
1896.  
1897.  
1898.  
1899. <p>Stablecoins live on blockchains — cryptographically protected digital ledgers — just like more famous tokens like bitcoin or Ether. Unlike bitcoins, they are supposed to be insulated from wild price swings by their currency pegs. That hasn’t stopped <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/trumps-world-liberty-financial-crypto-venture-says-it-will-launch-stablecoin-2025-03-25/">some stablecoins</a> from collapsing.</p>
1900.  
1901.  
1902.  
1903. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-point"><strong>What’s the Point?</strong></h2>
1904.  
1905.  
1906.  
1907. <p>Boosters say that stablecoins can make payments faster, cheaper, and more efficient. They argue that stablecoins will make it easier to send money across international borders and create opportunities for the unbanked by cutting out traditional financial institutions.</p>
1908.  
1909.  
1910.  
1911. <p>So far, however, they’re mostly used to buy other cryptocurrencies. Crypto traders use them to cash in and cash out of more speculative tokens without paying repeated fees. Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/sec-crypto-stablecoins-poker-chips-wild-west-sec-gary-gensler-2021-9">likened</a> them to “poker chips at the casino.”</p>
1912.  
1913.  
1914.  
1915. <p>Critics say that even though the biggest stablecoin was launched in 2014, the high-minded talk of improving the payment system has yet to produce results, and the only major users so far have been crypto traders, criminals seeking to evade money laundering laws, and people in the developing world whose own currencies face runaway inflation.</p>
1916.  
1917.  
1918.  
1919. <p>“They have been around for a decade. There is no doubt people have been trying to turn them into a general-purpose payment instrument,” said Arthur Wilmarth, a professor emeritus at the George Washington University law school. “And it really hasn’t worked out.”</p>
1920.  
1921.  
1922.  
1923. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-they-really-stable"><strong>Are They Really … Stable?</strong></h2>
1924.  
1925.  
1926.  
1927. <p>That’s what their promoters would have you believe. In reality, stablecoins have “depegged” from the dollar dozens of times.</p>
1928.  
1929.  
1930.  
1931. <p>As Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent FTX exchange collapsed in late 2022, leading stablecoin issuer Tether saw its titular offering drop from the dollar <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/rivals-worried-sam-bankman-fried-tried-to-destabilize-crypto-on-eve-of-ftx-collapse-11670597311">by more than 2 cents</a>. The second-biggest stablecoin, Circle’s USD Coin, dropped more than 13 cents amid revelations that many of its cash assets were <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/crypto-investors-cash-out-2-billion-in-usd-coin-after-bank-collapse-1338a80f">jeopardized by the collapse </a>of<a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/03/17/deconstructed-silicon-valley-bank/"> Silicon Valley Bank </a>in 2023.</p>
1932.  
1933.  
1934.  
1935. <p>Then there was the notorious TerraUSD coin, an “algorithmic” stablecoin that was not backed by real-world assets. Its collapse took the token’s supposed value of $40 billion down to zero.</p>
1936.  
1937.  
1938.  
1939.  
1940.  
1941.  
1942.  
1943. <p>Despite the promise of more concrete assets backing today’s leading stablecoins, even crypto boosters have questions about Tether. The El Salvador-based stablecoin keeps only 82 percent of its reserves in cash or cash-like instruments, dividing up the rest in more volatile investments such as bitcoin. Moreover, it has never subjected its reserve to a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/stablecoin-issuer-tether-big-four-firm-full-reserve-audit-report">full financial audit.</a></p>
1944.  
1945.  
1946.  
1947. <p>Tether is closely aligned with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose former firm Cantor Fitzgerald <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/02/04/howard-lutnick-softens-stance-on-tether-stability-investment-ties-during-senate-hearing">holds much of the Tether’s U.S. Treasury bonds</a>.</p>
1948.  
1949.  
1950.  
1951. <p>The very promise of stability can lead to runs on stablecoins, experts say.</p>
1952.  
1953.  
1954.  
1955. <p>“If people think that even a few pennies of their dollar are at risk, they are going to run,” Wilmarth said. “They are not thinking, ‘I’ve put this money in the S&amp;P 500, and I’ll ride it up and down.’”</p>
1956.  
1957.  
1958.  
1959. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-congress-is-doing-what-exactly"><strong>So Congress Is Doing What Exactly?</strong></h2>
1960.  
1961.  
1962.  
1963. <p>Trump has said he wants to sign a stablecoin bill by August. If it does, the legislation would be one of a handful of signature initiatives he approves this year — raising the question of why this niche topic is so important to Congress and the White House.</p>
1964.  
1965.  
1966.  
1967. <p>Even supporters of the idea of passing stablecoin legislation say the urgency seems to be motivated in large part by the industry’s torrent of campaign spending.</p>
1968.  
1969.  
1970.  
1971. <p>“That has had an effect,” said Tim Massad, the director of the Digital Assets Policy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School, who served as the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under Barack Obama. “There’s a valid substantive reason to prioritize it, in that stablecoins exist and we have been talking about it for a while, and I think there&#8217;s also some political reason why it’s being prioritized.”</p>
1972.  
1973.  
1974.  
1975.  <div class="promote-related-post">
1976.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
1977.            href="https://theintercept.com/2024/11/07/crypto-donors-trump-congress-regulations/"
1978.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
1979.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: crypto-donors-trump-congress-regulations"
1980.      data-ga-track-label="crypto-donors-trump-congress-regulations"
1981.          >
1982.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24311430599638_398086-e1731000238931.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
1983.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
1984.        Related      </h2>
1985.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Crypto Sweep Puts Congress on Notice: Vote With Us or We’ll Come After You With Millions</h3>
1986.    </span>
1987.    </a>
1988.  </div>
1989.  
1990.  
1991.  
1992. <p>Two bills pending in Congress, the STABLE Act in the House and the GENIUS Act in the Senate, would largely accomplish the same industry-friendly goals if passed.</p>
1993.  
1994.  
1995.  
1996. <p>Both bills would carve stablecoins out from securities law and the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission. And both would allow some stablecoin issuers to opt for state-level regulation instead of federal, potentially letting them to shop for friendlier jurisdictions.</p>
1997.  
1998.  
1999.  
2000. <p>The bills would also create reserve requirements limiting what stablecoins can use as collateral, prohibiting them from investing in riskier assets such as bitcoins.</p>
2001.  
2002.  
2003.  
2004. <p>That is also where critics start to see problems: The Senate bill would allow stablecoins to use money market funds, which had to be <a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/u-s-overhauls-money-market-fund-rules-in-latest-attempt-to-prevent-bailouts-2f0f2925">bailed out by the federal government</a> in 2008 and 2020, as collateral. Meanwhile, both bills would ban regulators from imposing tighter reserve requirements designed to protect against market crashes.</p>
2005.  
2006.  
2007.  
2008.  
2009.  
2010.  
2011.  
2012. <p>Neither bill goes far enough to outlaw foreign issuers of dollar-denominated stablecoins, potentially creating an incentive for issuers to move offshore and outside of U.S. regulation, according to Massad. And neither provides the Treasury Department with broad-enough authority to crack down on illicit finance, he said.</p>
2013.  
2014.  
2015.  
2016. <p>Moreover, both bills would allow non-banks to enter the stablecoin market, Wilmarth said, opening the door for Big Tech companies such as Meta or Amazon to get in on the action.</p>
2017.  
2018.  
2019.  
2020. <p>“Not only Big Tech but Big Finance,” he said. “They would have every piece of information about you if they could run all your basic financial transactions through their systems. I think that creates enormous concerns and problems.”</p>
2021.  
2022.  
2023.  
2024. <p>If Big Tech does enter the stablecoin market, critics warn, a run on their coins could lead to a larger financial contagion.</p>
2025.  
2026.  
2027.  
2028. <p>“You’re linking the commercial sector of our economy to our financial sector,” Wilmarth said. “Mark Twain supposedly said, ‘You can put all your eggs in one basket, but you better watch that basket.’”</p>
2029.  
2030.  
2031.  
2032. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-now-trump-has-a-stablecoin"><strong>Now Trump Has a Stablecoin?</strong></h2>
2033.  
2034.  
2035.  
2036. <p>Last month, members of the Trump family <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/25/trump-family-crypto-venture-to-launch-a-stablecoin-00247455">announced</a> that they were getting in on the stablecoin game themselves through their World Liberty Financial venture. The firm is helmed by the sons of Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.</p>
2037.  
2038.  
2039.  
2040. <p>Like other stablecoins, it promises to be backed by assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds, with regular audits of its reserves.</p>
2041.  
2042.  
2043.  
2044. <p>Massad said he could think of no similar move by other presidents.</p>
2045.  
2046.  
2047.  
2048. <p>“Jimmy Carter put his peanut farm in a trust, but peanut farm regulation wasn’t exactly a big issue back then,” Massad said. “I think it’s totally inappropriate for the president or members of his family to be launching a stablecoin or otherwise engaging in crypto businesses.”</p>
2049.  
2050.  
2051.  
2052. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-this-thing-going-to-pass"><strong>Is This Thing Going to Pass?</strong></h2>
2053.  
2054.  
2055.  
2056. <p>The announcement of the Trump stablecoin didn’t just add another potential<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/trump-crypto-ethics-government/"> conflict of interest </a>to the<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/17/us/politics/trump-conflicts-of-interest.html"> mountain of existing ones.</a> It also alarmed crypto industry figures, who had been counting on stablecoin legislation as a surefire win this Congress after spending hundreds of millions of dollars on politicians in both major parties during last year’s election cycle.</p>
2057.  
2058.  
2059.  
2060. <p>Both bills seemed destined to attract widespread, bipartisan support until the Trumps entered the picture.</p>
2061.  
2062.  
2063.  
2064. <p>Instead, at a House Financial Services Committee meeting earlier this month, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the ranking member of the committee, denounced the Trumps and said she could not be involved in passing a bill that would further enrich them.</p>
2065.  
2066.  
2067.  
2068. <p>The House bill still passed out of committee with support from six Democrats, giving it a bipartisan sheen. The Senate’s stablecoin bill is co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Bill Hagerty, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/08/congress-crypto-profit-ted-cruz-mike-collins/">Cynthia Lummis</a>, and Tim Scott, along with Democratic Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/08/05/crypto-lobby-ftx-pacs-sam-bankman-fried/">Kirsten Gillibrand</a>.</p>
2069.  
2070.  
2071.  
2072. <p></p>
2073. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/21/congress-crypto-stablecoin-trump/">Congress’s Biggest Financial Priority Is “Stablecoin.” What the Hell Is That?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2074. ]]></content:encoded>
2075.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/21/congress-crypto-stablecoin-trump/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2076.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
2077.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25084668780449-e1745009848787.jpg?fit=6336%2C3168' width='6336' height='3168' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490578</post-id>
2078. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" />
2079. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
2080. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
2081. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
2082. </media:content>
2083. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
2084. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
2085. </media:content>
2086. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24311430599638_398086-e1731000238931.jpg" medium="image" />
2087.            </item>
2088.        
2089.            <item>
2090.                <title><![CDATA[Trump’s Power Feeds on White Demographic Fears]]></title>
2091.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/20/trump-racism-white-demographic-fears-immigration/</link>
2092.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/20/trump-racism-white-demographic-fears-immigration/#respond</comments>
2093.                <pubDate>Sun, 20 Apr 2025 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
2094.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Risen]]></dc:creator>
2095.                                 <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
2096. <category><![CDATA[Voices]]></category>
2097.  
2098.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
2099.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Paranoid about losing their majority status and the power it confers, white Americans keep backing Trump’s racist anti-immigrant policies.</p>
2100. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/20/trump-racism-white-demographic-fears-immigration/">Trump’s Power Feeds on White Demographic Fears</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2101. ]]></description>
2102.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
2103. <figure class="wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default">
2104.    <img decoding="async"
2105.    src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?fit=2982%2C1988"
2106.    srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=2982 2982w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=1000 1000w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?w=2400 2400w"
2107.    sizes="auto, (min-width: 1300px) 650px, (min-width: 800px) 64vw, (min-width: 500px) calc(100vw - 5rem), calc(100vw - 3rem)"
2108.    alt="U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House on April 17, 2025 in Washington, DC."
2109.    width="2982"
2110.    height="1988"
2111.    loading="lazy"
2112.  />
2113.      <figcaption class="photo__figcaption">
2114.              <span class="photo__caption">Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office on April 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C. </span>
2115.                    <span class="photo__credit">Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images</span>
2116.          </figcaption>
2117.    </figure>
2118.  
2119.  
2120.  
2121. <p>GETTYSBURG &#8212; <span class="has-underline">This is the</span> most American of towns. It is where Robert E. Lee tried to destroy the nation, where Abraham Lincoln tried to heal it, and where William Faulkner revealed a century later that the country was still irretrievably racist and broken.</p>
2122.  
2123.  
2124.  
2125. <p>Even though much of its bloody Civil War past is hidden behind McDonald&#8217;s and Burger King and Dairy Queen and Walmart, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, today is still the symbolic capital of the endless American fight over the nation’s history.</p>
2126.  
2127.  
2128.  
2129. <p>Inevitably, that fight always comes down to race. &nbsp;</p>
2130.  
2131.  
2132.  
2133. <p>And so that means that this is the town that best explains Donald Trump.</p>
2134.  
2135.  
2136.  
2137. <p>Once you understand that Trump’s rise is all about white fears and white power — the same motivations that triggered the Civil War — the Trump agenda begins to make sense.</p>
2138.  
2139.  
2140.  
2141.  
2142.  
2143.  
2144.  
2145. <p><span class="has-underline">Gettysburg is where</span> the Confederates invaded the North to make their ultimate bid to protect slavery and white supremacy. Pickett’s Charge, on July 3, 1863, the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg, lives on in Southern mythology as the so-called “high tide of the Confederacy,” the closest that Southerners believe they came to winning the Civil War.</p>
2146.  
2147.  
2148.  
2149. <p>But it really wasn’t that close. Pickett’s Charge was a disaster for the Confederates, a bloody massacre of thousands of rebel troops. After Gettysburg, it was just a matter of time before the Confederacy’s ultimate defeat.</p>
2150.  
2151.  
2152.  
2153. <p>Lincoln recognized Gettysburg’s real significance as the beginning of the end and so came here to give his most iconic speech to explain what the war was about. When he said in his Gettysburg Address that “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” Americans at the time understood what he meant: an oligarchic slavocracy could not be allowed to run the nation.</p>
2154.  
2155.  
2156.  
2157. <p>But after Lee surrendered at Appomattox and the war ended in 1865, there were still millions of white people in the South who refused to accept the death of the slavocracy, while many more of their descendants have never accepted that white people and Black people can truly live as equals.</p>
2158.  
2159.  
2160.  
2161. <p>In his Yoknapatawpha County masterpiece, “Intruder in the Dust,” Faulkner revealed in 1948 what Southern white people really thought about race and American history. If only they could try Pickett’s Charge again:</p>
2162.  
2163.  
2164.  
2165. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
2166. <p>“For every Southern boy fourteen years old … there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods … it’s all in the balance … we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn’t need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think <em>this time. Maybe this time</em> with all this much to lose and all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory.” </p>
2167. </blockquote>
2168.  
2169.  
2170.  
2171. <p>What even Faulkner couldn’t imagine was that white people all across the nation would eventually come to sympathize with and perhaps even share that Confederate fantasy.</p>
2172.  
2173.  
2174.  
2175. <p>It is white hysteria, the same phenomenon that gripped the antebellum South and led to the Civil War, that has fueled the rise of Donald Trump.</p>
2176.  
2177.  
2178.  
2179. <p><span class="has-underline">The Trump phenomenon</span> and the surge of right-wing extremism in America has never really been about economic anxiety, as so many pundits have claimed. True, many swing voters, including some minorities, have supported Trump by wrongly thinking that he would be good for the economy. But for Trump’s MAGA base, it has always been about race and racism.</p>
2180.  
2181.  
2182.  
2183. <p>The fact that MAGA voters aren’t motivated by the economy has become clear as Trump has tanked the stock market and threatened a global financial crisis with his crippling tariffs. Trump’s voters, who loudly complained about inflation under the Biden administration, now say they don’t care about the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/11/tariffs-trump-maga-base/">higher prices and financial panic</a> generated by Trump’s tariffs. </p>
2184.  
2185.  
2186.  
2187. <p>Instead of economic angst, MAGA is gripped by a demographic paranoia of the same kind that surged throughout the South in the years just before the Civil War. The antebellum South feared what was to come in 20 years: America’s western expansion would lead to the creation of so many free states that the South would eventually be outnumbered in Congress and lose its power to defend slavery. The Civil War was about the future.</p>
2188.  
2189.  
2190.  
2191. <p>Today, MAGA also fears the future: It fears that America will soon become so diverse that white people will lose their power over politics and society.</p>
2192.  
2193.  
2194.  
2195. <p>Here is the figure that freaks out MAGA the most: In 2025, only about 47 percent of American children under five years old are white.</p>
2196.  
2197.  
2198.  
2199.  <div class="promote-related-post">
2200.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
2201.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/02/22/trump-dei-christians-woke-civil-rights/"
2202.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
2203.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: trump-dei-christians-woke-civil-rights"
2204.      data-ga-track-label="trump-dei-christians-woke-civil-rights"
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2207.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
2208.        Related      </h2>
2209.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">How Trump Twisted DEI to Only Benefit White Christians</h3>
2210.    </span>
2211.    </a>
2212.  </div>
2213.  
2214.  
2215.  
2216. <p>That one statistic explains MAGA hysteria &#8212; and explains much of Trump’s agenda. It explains his <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/16/trump-alien-enemies-act-tren-de-aragua-venezuela-deport/">draconian anti-immigration</a> and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/11/mahmoud-khalil-trump-rights-immigrants/">deportation policies</a> and his attempts to <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/22/pregnant-immigrants-trump-executive-order-birthright-citizenship/">end birthright citizenship</a>. It also explains the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/09/abortion-trans-health-care-doctors-trump/">anti-abortion movement</a> and the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/05/17/abortion-trans-health-care-pro-natalism-authoritarianism/">right-wing pro-natal movement</a>, both of which represent flailing attempts to increase the white percentage of the population. The racist truth about the right-wing pro-natal movement becomes clear by examining its contradictory positions; many of its leaders are virulently anti-immigration at the same time they say they fear population decline. They only fear white population decline.</p>
2217.  
2218.  
2219.  
2220. <p>As long as Trump demagogues about race and identity and takes actions that his base thinks are designed to curb minority population growth and enhance white power, MAGA will go along with anything else that he wants to do.</p>
2221.  
2222.  
2223.  
2224. <p>Right now, that racial bond between Trump and his base manifests itself through Trump’s draconian anti-immigration policies. Trump and his MAGA base are obsessed with immigrants. Trump has pushed out a frenzied series of anti-immigration orders, including, among many others, the freezing of funding for refugee resettlement and the scrapping of temporary protected status for refugees from Venezuela, the banning of migrant legal aid, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/12/mahmoud-khalil-immigration-hearing-deportation-trump/">detaining and deporting students </a>simply because they were involved in pro-Palestinian protests, and the withdrawal of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/international-student-visas-deport-dhs-ice/">hundreds of other international student visas with no explanation</a>. Many of his orders, including his attempt to end birthright citizenship, are facing ongoing legal challenges. The only point of Trump’s crude anti-immigration orders is to try to reduce the number of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/08/trump-immigration-international-student-visas-deport/">nonwhite </a>people entering the country. That became clear when Trump extended <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/us/politics/trump-south-africa-white-afrikaners-refugee.html">refugee status to white South Africans</a>, who he falsely claimed were being persecuted by the majority-Black South African government.</p>
2225.  
2226.  
2227.  
2228. <!-- BLOCK(promote-post)[1](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PROMOTE_POST%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22slug%22%3A%22immigrants%22%2C%22crop%22%3A%22promo%22%7D) -->  <aside class="promote-banner">
2229.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="/collections/the-war-on-immigrants/">
2230.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
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2232.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
2233.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
2234.            Read Our Complete Coverage          </p>
2235.        
2236.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">The War on Immigrants</h2>
2237.      </div>
2238.    </a>
2239.  </aside>
2240. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[1] -->
2241.  
2242.  
2243.  
2244. <p><span class="has-underline">The consequences of</span> MAGA’s demographic hysteria are similar to what happened in the antebellum South, when Southerners gave up on the idea of being part of the United States.</p>
2245.  
2246.  
2247.  
2248. <p>A sense of existential dread has led to the rise of radical right-wing politics in MAGA, combined with a surge in conspiracy theories that revolve around race and identity. Conspiracy theories once confined to the margins of the internet now flourish, most infamously one that claims that a leftist deep state secretly unleashed a surge in immigration in order to replace America’s white population. There is a parallel with the antebellum South, which was also immersed in conspiracy theories about race and identity: then, conspiracy theories were stoked by Southern fears of slave revolts, of the abolitionist movement, and of Abraham Lincoln.</p>
2249.  
2250.  
2251.  
2252. <p>Today, MAGA’s beliefs have spread so far that even more traditional Republicans have embraced the notion that liberals are seeking to sabotage traditional America. William Barr, who turned against Trump after <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/22/william-barr-has-turned-the-justice-department-into-a-law-firm-with-one-client-donald-trump/">serving</a> as his <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/08/29/william-barr-trump-justice-department/">attorney general </a>in his first term, still insisted in 2024 that he couldn’t support a Democratic presidential candidate because he believed that a “continuation of the Biden administration is national suicide.”</p>
2253.  
2254.  
2255.  
2256.  
2257.  
2258.  
2259.  
2260. <p>Trump’s rise has been stoked by his <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/09/23/trump-campaign-conspiracy-theories/">unrelenting use of racist conspiracy theories</a>, beginning with his false claims that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and highlighted during the 2024 campaign by his lie that <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/09/12/trump-springfield-haiti-cats-dogs-racism-immigration/">Haitian immigrants</a> in Ohio were eating people’s pets. His one great political skill has been his shameless willingness to lie to appeal to white people fearful of a diverse future and convert them into his MAGA disciples. While Trump’s MAGA base is not a majority of the country, it is large enough to dominate the Republican Party’s base, which explains why Republican politicians have been so reluctant to speak up against any of Trump’s chaotic actions.</p>
2261.  
2262.  
2263.  
2264. <p>What is most ominous today is that MAGA is now so immersed in conspiracy theories that it has developed a deep hatred of the federal government, much as the South did in the 1850s.</p>
2265.  
2266.  
2267.  
2268. <p>Trump’s followers not only believe that the federal government has been instrumental in their demographic decline, but they also seem convinced that Western-style liberal democracy is no longer the right political system for them. They appear willing to give up on democracy in exchange for a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/10/25/trump-hitler-john-kelly-medi/">white nationalist autocrat</a> — someone like Donald Trump.</p>
2269.  
2270.  
2271.  
2272. <p></p>
2273. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/20/trump-racism-white-demographic-fears-immigration/">Trump’s Power Feeds on White Demographic Fears</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2274. ]]></content:encoded>
2275.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/20/trump-racism-white-demographic-fears-immigration/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2276.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
2277.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?fit=2982%2C1988' width='2982' height='1988' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490599</post-id>
2278. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?fit=2982%2C1988" />
2279. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2210787576.jpg?fit=2982%2C1988" medium="image">
2280. <media:title type="html">U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House on April 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.</media:title>
2281. </media:content>
2282. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
2283. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
2284. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
2285. </media:content>
2286. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
2287. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
2288. </media:content>
2289. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AP25037631241169_389bce-e1740169386864.jpg" medium="image" />
2290. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" medium="image">
2291. <media:title type="html">MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)</media:title>
2292. </media:content>
2293.            </item>
2294.        
2295.            <item>
2296.                <title><![CDATA[The Galaxy Brains of the Trump White House Want to Use Tariffs to Buy Bitcoin]]></title>
2297.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/19/trump-tariffs-crypto-bitcoin-reserve/</link>
2298.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/19/trump-tariffs-crypto-bitcoin-reserve/#respond</comments>
2299.                <pubDate>Sat, 19 Apr 2025 14:08:05 +0000</pubDate>
2300.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Sledge]]></dc:creator>
2301.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
2302.  
2303.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
2304.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Critics on the right and left say the bitcoin reserve is a pointless industry handout — and using tariff revenue is even dumber.</p>
2305. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/19/trump-tariffs-crypto-bitcoin-reserve/">The Galaxy Brains of the Trump White House Want to Use Tariffs to Buy Bitcoin</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2306. ]]></description>
2307.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
2308. <p><span class="has-underline">If Donald Trump’s</span> sweeping global tariffs send household good prices soaring and drive the economy into recession, at least one industry could profit.</p>
2309.  
2310.  
2311.  
2312. <p>The Trump administration is considering using tariff revenues to buy Bitcoin for a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” a top administration crypto official said in an interview last week.</p>
2313.  
2314.  
2315.  
2316. <p>The White House’s proposal is driving interest from crypto industry figures who have made building the reserve one of their top priorities.</p>
2317.  
2318.  
2319.  
2320. <p>It is uniting critics on the right and left, however, who have cast the reserve as a pointless industry giveaway that will come at the expense of ordinary taxpayers. Using tariff money would add insult to injury, they say.</p>
2321.  
2322.  
2323.  
2324. <p>“There is nothing here but a conjunction of bad ideas,” said George Selgin, an economist and professor emeritus at the University of Georgia. “The tariffs are a bad idea, the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve is a bad idea, and using the tariff revenue for the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve is a bad idea.”</p>
2325.  
2326.  
2327.  
2328. <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-left" id="h-reaping-revenue">Reaping Revenue?</h2>
2329.  
2330.  
2331.  
2332. <p>Ever since Trump proposed across-the-board tariffs on the campaign trail last year, he has touted the idea as a way to both build domestic industry and raise revenue.</p>
2333.  
2334.  
2335.  
2336. <p>Trump has suggested that tariff revenue could replace the <a href="https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/government-revenue/">nearly $5 trillion</a> the government hauls in income tax revenue per year, while a top trade official in his administration estimated they could raise $6 to $7 trillion over a decade.</p>
2337.  
2338.  
2339.  
2340. <p>Both numbers are fantasies, according to economists of all political stripes. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center said the massive tariffs — if they all go into effect as initially proposed on “Liberation Day” — <a href="https://taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/trumps-tariffs-will-raise-much-less-he-expects">could raise about $3.3 trillion over that period,</a> assuming they don’t send the economy into a tailspin.</p>
2341.  
2342.  
2343.  
2344. <p>The relatively meager scale of the tariffs’ revenues has not stopped the Trump administration from cooking up ideas for how to spend them on everything from <a href="https://thehill.com/business/5238587-why-trumps-tariffs-may-do-little-to-pay-for-tax-cuts/">tax cuts for the rich to deficit reduction.</a></p>
2345.  
2346.  
2347.  
2348.  <div class="promote-related-post">
2349.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
2350.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/01/15/trump-crypto-who-is-bo-hines/"
2351.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
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2353.      data-ga-track-label="trump-crypto-who-is-bo-hines"
2354.          >
2355.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AP23313622640297-e1736802735652.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
2356.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
2357.        Related      </h2>
2358.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Does This Trump Crypto Appointee Even Have Crypto Experience? Yes, With a Trump-Themed Meme Coin.</h3>
2359.    </span>
2360.    </a>
2361.  </div>
2362.  
2363.  
2364.  
2365. <p>Last week, Bo Hines, the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, added another proposal to the mix. In an <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/policy/trump-administration-says-tariff-revenue-could-be-used-to-buy-bitcoin">interview </a>with investor and crypto influencer Anthony Pompliano, Hines said the administration could use tariff revenue to buy bitcoin.</p>
2366.  
2367.  
2368.  
2369. <p>“We are looking at many creative ways, whether it be from tariffs, whether it be from something else,” Hines said. “Everything is on the table, and like we have said, we want as much as we can get.”</p>
2370.  
2371.  
2372.  
2373. <p>The White House did not respond to a request for comment Friday.</p>
2374.  
2375.  
2376.  
2377. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-bitcoin"><strong>Why Bitcoin?</strong></h2>
2378.  
2379.  
2380.  
2381. <p>When Trump announced that he wanted to create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin at a<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-stockpile-6f1314f5e99bbf47cc3ee6fc6178588d"> crypto conference last July</a>, it <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/08/03/trump-nashville-bitcoin-conference/">cemented his place</a> as the industry’s favored presidential candidate.</p>
2382.  
2383.  
2384.  
2385. <p>Supporters have cast bitcoin as a modern-day gold with near-limitless future growth potential. Socking it away could protect against depreciation of the U.S. dollar and inflation, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/08/business/bitcoin-strategic-reserve-explained/index.html">they say</a>.</p>
2386.  
2387.  
2388.  
2389. <p>Trump followed through on his promise almost as soon as he was in office by creating the reserve — but he disappointed some bitcoin boosters by stocking it only with tokens that had already been seized by the government. Still, Trump promised that he would search for “budget-neutral” ways to buy more bitcoins.</p>
2390.  
2391.  
2392.  
2393. <p>Tariffs could be one way of building the store, according to Hines. But they would hardly be budget-neutral, Selgin said, since they are essentially a tax on the consumers buying imported goods.</p>
2394.  
2395.  
2396.  
2397. <p>The tariffs would have a disproportionate impact on low-income households, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University, which calculated they would cost an average household <a href="https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/where-we-stand-fiscal-economic-and-distributional-effects-all-us-tariffs-enacted-2025-through-april">$3,800 per year.</a></p>
2398.  
2399.  
2400.  
2401. <p>Regardless of how they pay for it, critics say that it’s inappropriate for the government to buy up an asset like bitcoin with no inherent use that is subject to wild price swings — and, in fact, has dropped in price since Trump’s tariff announcement. If the government does wind up buying bitcoin, critics have warned, selling any substantial portion of it could depress the digital asset’s price.</p>
2402.  
2403.  
2404.  
2405. <p>“You have a lot of people in the bitcoin community, bitcoin bulls who would like to see the government do a lot more, because it will benefit them,” said Selgin, who also serves as a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. “These people are trying by hook or by crook to rationalize something that really is just a subsidy for them, without any benefits for other people.</p>
2406.  
2407.  
2408.  
2409. <p></p>
2410. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/19/trump-tariffs-crypto-bitcoin-reserve/">The Galaxy Brains of the Trump White House Want to Use Tariffs to Buy Bitcoin</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2411. ]]></content:encoded>
2412.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/19/trump-tariffs-crypto-bitcoin-reserve/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2413.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
2414.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208410177-e1744998650321.jpg?fit=5000%2C2500' width='5000' height='2500' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490607</post-id>
2415. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AP23313622640297-e1736802735652.jpg" />
2416. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AP23313622640297-e1736802735652.jpg" medium="image" />
2417.            </item>
2418.        
2419.            <item>
2420.                <title><![CDATA[DOGE Installs a Former Tesla Employee at the FBI]]></title>
2421.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/doge-tesla-employee-justice-department-fbi/</link>
2422.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/doge-tesla-employee-justice-department-fbi/#respond</comments>
2423.                <pubDate>Fri, 18 Apr 2025 18:01:32 +0000</pubDate>
2424.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Musgrave]]></dc:creator>
2425.                                 <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
2426.  
2427.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
2428.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Former Tesla employee Tarak Makecha has roles at the FBI and the Justice Department, records reviewed by The Intercept show.</p>
2429. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/doge-tesla-employee-justice-department-fbi/">DOGE Installs a Former Tesla Employee at the FBI</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2430. ]]></description>
2431.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
2432. <p><span class="has-underline">As part of</span> the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a former Tesla employee has been installed as a senior adviser to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, records shared with The Intercept show.</p>
2433.  
2434.  
2435.  
2436. <p>Tarak Makecha, who previously worked at Elon Musk’s electric car company, now has roles at both the FBI and the Justice Department’s Justice Management Division, according to staff lists.</p>
2437.  
2438.  
2439.  
2440. <p>At the FBI, the records show Makecha is a “senior advisor” to the agency’s executive assistant director for human resources. At the Justice Management Division, he is listed as an “advisor” to the office of the chief information officer, which oversees IT and cybersecurity for the department.</p>
2441.  
2442.  
2443.  
2444. <p>According to a DOJ source, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, Makecha’s work at the Justice Department has focused in part on the department’s grant-making operations, which DOGE recently leveraged to target a criminal justice nonprofit.</p>
2445.  
2446.  
2447.  
2448.  
2449.  
2450.  
2451.  
2452. <p>Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, Musk’s DOGE squad has swept through federal agencies swiftly, gutting targets like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and gaining access to sensitive data systems at the Social Security Administration and IRS.</p>
2453.  
2454.  
2455.  
2456. <p>Musk has entrusted this work to a secretive crew, whose members often have ties to his own private ventures, including Tesla, SpaceX, and X. The records shared with The Intercept fill in gaps about Makecha and two other DOGE operatives assigned to the Justice Department, where their aim remains unknown.</p>
2457.  
2458.  
2459.  
2460. <p>Makecha, the FBI, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Intercept’s requests for comment.</p>
2461.  
2462.  
2463.  
2464.  <div class="promote-related-post">
2465.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
2466.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/19/18f-tech-federal-workers-musk-trump-doge/"
2467.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
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2469.      data-ga-track-label="18f-tech-federal-workers-musk-trump-doge"
2470.          >
2471.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/crop_AP25074068556322-e1742333037452.jpg-e1742395489174.webp" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
2472.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
2473.        Related      </h2>
2474.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Musk Is Firing Federal Workers Who Prevent Bloated Tech Contracts</h3>
2475.    </span>
2476.    </a>
2477.  </div>
2478.  
2479.  
2480.  
2481. <p>Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Makecha has reportedly worked for DOGE at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/27/us/politics/doge-staff-list.html">other federal agencies</a>, including the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/644031/doge-federal-communications-commission-directory">Federal Communications Commission</a>, the State Department, and the Office of Personnel Management.</p>
2482.  
2483.  
2484.  
2485. <p>Until January, he worked as chief financial officer for a drone detection technology company, according to his LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarakmakecha/details/experience/">profile</a>. From 2017 to 2019, Makecha worked in various role in Tesla’s Bay Area offices, most recently as head of strategic planning for Tesla Energy.</p>
2486.  
2487.  
2488.  
2489. <p>The DOJ source told The Intercept that Makecha likely started working at DOJ at the end of March, focusing at least partly on the Office of Justice Programs — one of the DOJ’s grant-making components.</p>
2490.  
2491.  
2492.  
2493. <p>Earlier this month, DOGE <a href="https://www.vera.org/newsroom/trump-administration-ramps-up-on-attacks-on-civil-society-empowers-doge-to-investigate-independent-nonprofits">targeted</a> one of the Justice Department’s nonprofit grantees: the Vera Institute of Justice, a criminal justice reform group. Two DOGE staffers — Nate Cavanaugh, previously a tech entrepreneur, and Justin Aimonetti, one of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/05/leaked-list-musk-doge-lawyers/">several attorneys</a> working for DOGE — demanded a meeting “to discuss getting a DOGE team assigned” to the Vera Institute, according to <a href="https://vera-institute.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/Executive-Order-Concerning-Vera_Redacted.pdf">emails</a> released by the nonprofit.</p>
2494.  
2495.  
2496.  
2497. <p>During a 20-minute phone call, the DOGE duo explained a plan to install DOGE teams at “every institute or agency that has congressional monies appropriated to it,” according to the Vera Institute. DOGE <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/15/doge-musk-nonprofit-vera-institute/">backed down</a> after the Vera Institute explained that the Justice Department had recently terminated all of the Vera Institute’s grants. The Vera Institute apparently also had to explain to DOGE’s attorney the difference between nonprofit entities established by Congress and nonprofits like it that simply receive federal funding through grants.</p>
2498.  
2499.  
2500.  
2501. <p>Agency records do not list either Cavanaugh or Aimonetti as DOJ employees. The Vera Institute said Makecha was not on any of the calls or emails its staff had with DOGE.</p>
2502.  
2503.  
2504.  
2505.  
2506.  
2507.  
2508.  
2509. <p>Makecha is only the second DOGE staffer identified at the FBI and the third identified at any Justice Department component.</p>
2510.  
2511.  
2512.  
2513. <p>Records shared with The Intercept confirm that a former SpaceX security director, Justin Monroe, is also detailed from DOGE to the FBI’s human resources branch, as has previously <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/elon-musk-doge-tracker/#Justin-Monroe">been reported</a>.</p>
2514.  
2515.  
2516.  
2517. <p>But the DOJ records also list Monroe as “counsel” within the attorney general’s office, which has not been reported. It’s a seemingly odd title, according to the DOJ source, because Monroe’s background is in security and <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/2011-10-24/cyberwarfare-joins-the-curriculum-at-service-academies-1886788.html1">cyberwarfare</a>, and The Intercept was unable to find any record that Monroe has a law license or legal training.</p>
2518.  
2519.  
2520.  
2521. <p>The records also confirm that another DOGE staffer, Christopher Stanley — whose online profiles still list him as an active employee at both X and SpaceX — has a role at the Justice Department within the deputy attorney general’s office, where he is a “senior advisor,” according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/doge-official-doj-bragged-about-hacking-distributing-pirated-software-2025-04-02/">Reuters</a>. On Inauguration Day, Stanley <a href="https://x.com/cstanley/status/1881553608321425485">was</a> “boots on the ground” to help January 6 defendants get released following Trump’s sweeping pardon. Monroe and Stanley did not immediately respond to The Intercept’s inquiries either.</p>
2522. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/doge-tesla-employee-justice-department-fbi/">DOGE Installs a Former Tesla Employee at the FBI</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2523. ]]></content:encoded>
2524.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/doge-tesla-employee-justice-department-fbi/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2525.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
2526.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25069016413351-e1744998914255.jpg?fit=7650%2C3825' width='7650' height='3825' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490579</post-id>
2527. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" />
2528. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
2529. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
2530. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
2531. </media:content>
2532. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
2533. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
2534. </media:content>
2535. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/crop_AP25074068556322-e1742333037452.jpg-e1742395489174.webp" medium="image" />
2536.            </item>
2537.        
2538.            <item>
2539.                <title><![CDATA[Facing Life in Prison Based on Shoddy Evidence, a Florida Mother Makes a Deal ]]></title>
2540.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/michelle-taylor-florida-arson-fire-plea-deal/</link>
2541.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/michelle-taylor-florida-arson-fire-plea-deal/#respond</comments>
2542.                <pubDate>Fri, 18 Apr 2025 14:28:43 +0000</pubDate>
2543.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Liliana Segura]]></dc:creator>
2544.                                 <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
2545.  
2546.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
2547.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Michelle Taylor was accused of setting a fire that killed her son for insurance money — even though the arson evidence didn’t hold up. </p>
2548. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/michelle-taylor-florida-arson-fire-plea-deal/">Facing Life in Prison Based on Shoddy Evidence, a Florida Mother Makes a Deal </a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2549. ]]></description>
2550.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
2551. <p><span class="has-underline">Two months before</span> she was supposed to go on trial for killing her child, Michelle Taylor stood before a Florida judge and listened quietly as the prosecutor recited the allegations against her. Taylor, 41, had long insisted she was not what the state made her out to be: a mother who set fire to her home to collect insurance money, killing her 11-year-old son David in the process. Now there was proof she’d been telling the truth. The key arson evidence had been dismantled, with several top scientists saying that the forensics did not hold up.</p>
2552.  
2553.  
2554.  
2555. <p>But prosecutors refused to drop the charges, instead giving Taylor’s lawyer&nbsp;a deadline. According to defense attorney John Rockwell, if she did not take a plea deal by her next court hearing, all future offers were off the table. After several sleepless nights, Taylor walked into the St. Johns County Courthouse on April 2 and entered a plea: no contest to manslaughter.</p>
2556.  
2557.  
2558.  
2559. <p>“She was up there for maybe three minutes,” said Megan Wallace, Taylor’s fiercest advocate, who watched in the gallery alongside Taylor’s mother. Six-and-a-half years after the fire destroyed Taylor’s home and upended her life, the conviction happened in the blink of an eye.</p>
2560.  
2561.  
2562.  
2563.  <div class="promote-related-post">
2564.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
2565.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/31/florida-michelle-taylor-arson-fire-murder-trial/"
2566.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
2567.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: florida-michelle-taylor-arson-fire-murder-trial"
2568.      data-ga-track-label="florida-michelle-taylor-arson-fire-murder-trial"
2569.          >
2570.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Michelle-Taylor-arson-forensics.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
2571.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
2572.        Related      </h2>
2573.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">The Arson Evidence Doesn’t Hold Up. Florida Is About to Convict Her for Murder Anyway.</h3>
2574.    </span>
2575.    </a>
2576.  </div>
2577.  
2578.  
2579.  
2580. <p>I examined Taylor’s case in an <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/31/florida-michelle-taylor-arson-fire-murder-trial/">in-depth story</a> published by The Intercept last month. It described how she was accused of arson after escaping a nighttime fire that broke out in her St. Augustine home on October 23, 2018. Witnesses described her panic as she screamed that her son was inside, trying repeatedly to reenter the house. Taylor swore she had no idea how the fire started or why David did not make it out. The two had been watching TV in her bedroom that night, Taylor told investigators, when she heard smoke detectors go off and encountered thick black smoke outside her door. She and her 18-year-old daughter Bailey escaped through a window, Taylor said, but David turned to look for the family dog and never emerged.</p>
2581.  
2582.  
2583.  
2584. <p>Authorities became suspicious after an accelerant-detecting canine alerted in different parts of the house, prompting investigators to collect five fire debris samples from the scene. The samples were sent to the State Fire Marshal’s Bureau of Forensic Services lab, which reported three of them positive for gasoline. Subsequent samples also revealed gasoline, according to the lab — proof positive of arson. Detectives also found red flags in Taylor’s financial history, pointing to a possible motive, including evidence that she and her husband were behind in their mortgage and that she had fraudulently solicited donations from area churches.</p>
2585.  
2586.  
2587.  
2588.  
2589.  
2590.  
2591.  
2592. <p>But the gasoline was the only direct evidence of arson — and eventually that evidence began to fall apart. Veteran fire scientist John Lentini first raised alarm in January 2024, writing in a defense report that the gasoline findings were based on a misinterpretation of chromatographic data from a state lab that “routinely identified gasoline where it does not exist.” Lentini, who had filed a complaint against the lab nearly a decade earlier, leading to a temporary suspension of its professional accreditation, said it was the sixth case he had seen in which a person was falsely accused of arson based on the lab’s faulty gasoline analysis.</p>
2593.  
2594.  
2595.  
2596. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>It was the sixth case he had seen in which a person was falsely accused of arson based on the lab’s faulty gasoline analysis.</p></blockquote></figure>
2597.  
2598.  
2599.  
2600. <p>Lentini’s report was shared with the state’s lead fire investigator, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, who immediately emailed it to two ATF chemists. During depositions in April 2024, those experts agreed that the data shown in his report did not show evidence of gasoline. As the case approached trial, two more forensic chemists reexamined the evidence. One looked at the lab data; another, veteran chemist Laurel Mason of Analytical Forensic Associates, examined the carbon strips used to test the fire debris samples in 2018. Like Lentini, those experts concluded that there was no evidence of gasoline.</p>
2601.  
2602.  
2603.  
2604. <p>Rockwell, a private defense attorney in Jacksonville who started representing Taylor last year, had just disclosed Mason’s analysis of the carbon strips in February when prosecutors revealed a new report of their own.&nbsp;The chemist who tested the fire debris samples in 2018 issued an amended lab report in the case, backtracking on her earlier findings. Of the three positive samples that first set the case into motion, only one actually contained gasoline, she wrote. In total, four fire debris samples she first said contained gasoline were changed to report no evidence of an accelerant.</p>
2605.  
2606.  
2607.  
2608. <p>Rockwell, a former prosecutor, described the amended report as “mind-blowing.” As he wrote in a subsequent court filing, the state’s report “appears to have been suspiciously back-dated” to January, to make it look like it was submitted before Mason’s expert report — a hasty attempt to rehabilitate the state’s forensic evidence in the face of his experts’ findings. “I’ve never seen that in any case in my life,” he told me.</p>
2609.  
2610.  
2611.  
2612. <p>But Rockwell also knew the danger Taylor faced if she went to trial. Although the discredited evidence severely undermined the case the state hoped to present to the jury, prosecutors did not actually have to prove how the fire started in order to win a conviction. They only had to convince jurors that Taylor had committed arson in order to collect insurance money, which they planned to do by relying on circumstantial evidence of fraud. In Florida, a guilty verdict on a first-degree felony murder charge means a mandatory life sentence. Rockwell pursued what he believed to be the least risky option for his client, negotiating the best deal possible, then convincing her to take it.</p>
2613.  
2614.  
2615.  
2616. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>“They’re still doing the exact same thing. Without any punishment or sanctions or anything. And that’s horrifying. Because that can affect somebody for the rest of their life.”</p></blockquote></figure>
2617.  
2618.  
2619.  
2620. <p>On the morning of the hearing, Rockwell met Taylor, her mother, and Wallace at the courthouse in St. Augustine, where he went over the plea deal one more time. In exchange for the no-contest plea, the state had agreed to drop the arson charge at Taylor’s sentencing, which was scheduled for May 30. Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge Lee Smith would then have a range of sentencing options, from three to 13 years. With credit for the nearly three years Taylor spent in the local jail, Taylor could serve as little as a few months in prison.</p>
2621.  
2622.  
2623.  
2624. <figure class="wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default alignright">
2625.      <div class="photo__container">
2626.    <img decoding="async"
2627.    src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?fit=1200%2C1600"
2628.    srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?w=225 225w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?w=1152 1152w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?w=1000 1000w"
2629.    sizes="auto, (min-width: 1300px) 650px, (min-width: 800px) 64vw, (min-width: 500px) calc(100vw - 5rem), calc(100vw - 3rem)"
2630.    alt=""
2631.    width="1200"
2632.    height="1600"
2633.    loading="lazy"
2634.  />
2635.      <figcaption class="photo__figcaption">
2636.              <span class="photo__caption">Michelle Taylor, right, after a hearing at the St. Johns County Courthouse in St. Augustine, Fla., on July 9, 2024. </span>
2637.                    <span class="photo__credit">Liliana Segura</span>
2638.          </figcaption>
2639.        </div>
2640.  </figure>
2641.  
2642.  
2643.  
2644. <p>“I think she made the right decision,” Rockwell told me, reemphasizing that Taylor maintains her innocence. Now he plans to present his experts’ opinions at the sentencing hearing, where he will address the flawed forensics, the amended report, and the disturbing history of the state fire marshal’s lab. “They’re still doing the exact same thing,” he said. “Without any punishment or sanctions or anything. And that’s horrifying. Because that can affect somebody for the rest of their life.”</p>
2645.  
2646.  
2647.  
2648. <p>In an email, Bryan Shorstein, executive director of the Seventh Judicial Circuit state attorney’s office, declined to comment about the plea deal “since it is still an active case.”</p>
2649.  
2650.  
2651.  
2652. <p>A spokesperson representing the fire marshal&#8217;s office declined to comment.</p>
2653.  
2654.  
2655.  
2656. <p>A week after the court hearing, Wallace accompanied Taylor to the local Dollar Tree to buy Easter supplies for Taylor’s nieces and for Wallace’s daughter. In a text, Wallace sent a photo: a neat row of pastel baskets placed high on a closet shelf, with candy and bunny ears peeking over the side.</p>
2657.  
2658.  
2659.  
2660.  
2661.  
2662.  
2663.  
2664. <p>The holidays have been painful for Taylor, who has been out on bond for almost a year.&nbsp;As the sentencing approaches, she worries about her mother and one of her sisters, both of whom have terminal cancer, according to Wallace. Even a short prison sentence could keep her away from them when they need her most. Meanwhile, on Facebook, a local news story about the plea deal put Taylor’s mugshot back in circulation, along with outraged comments calling her a murderer who is getting off easy.</p>
2665.  
2666.  
2667.  
2668. <p>But for now Taylor can’t worry about what other people think, only about her sentencing, where she will finally speak for herself. She is trying to hold onto hope that the judge, who has presided over her case for years, will see the case clearly, Wallace said, and believe what she has said all along: “That she’s innocent.”</p>
2669. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/michelle-taylor-florida-arson-fire-plea-deal/">Facing Life in Prison Based on Shoddy Evidence, a Florida Mother Makes a Deal </a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2670. ]]></content:encoded>
2671.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/michelle-taylor-florida-arson-fire-plea-deal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2672.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
2673.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-arson-folo.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000' width='2000' height='1000' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490525</post-id>
2674. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Michelle-Taylor-arson-forensics.jpg" />
2675. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Michelle-Taylor-arson-forensics.jpg" medium="image" />
2676. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
2677. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
2678. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
2679. </media:content>
2680. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
2681. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
2682. </media:content>
2683. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Michelle-Taylor-July-9-2024.jpg?fit=1200%2C1600" medium="image" />
2684.            </item>
2685.        
2686.            <item>
2687.                <title><![CDATA[The Evidence Linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia to MS-13: A Chicago Bulls Hat and a Hoodie]]></title>
2688.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/</link>
2689.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/#respond</comments>
2690.                <pubDate>Fri, 18 Apr 2025 11:47:52 +0000</pubDate>
2691.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Washington]]></dc:creator>
2692.                                 <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
2693.  
2694.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
2695.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>What’s it take for Trump to label someone a gang member and deport them to a prison in El Salvador? Little more than a Chicago Bulls cap.</p>
2696. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/">The Evidence Linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia to MS-13: A Chicago Bulls Hat and a Hoodie</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2697. ]]></description>
2698.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
2699. <p><span class="has-underline">The Trump administration</span> is doubling down on depicting Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a dangerous gang member. The government’s proof for this claim appears to hinge on a Chicago Bulls cap and a hoodie.</p>
2700.  
2701.  
2702.  
2703. <p>While Trump continues to flout court orders to facilitate the Maryland father’s release from a notorious El Salvador prison, it is pointing to flimsy evidence of alleged MS-13 ties — adding to a long-running pattern of dubious gang designations by law enforcement and immigration agents.</p>
2704.  
2705.  
2706.  
2707. <p>Last month, immigration enforcement officials rounded up hundreds of migrants <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/16/trump-alien-enemies-act-tren-de-aragua-venezuela-deport/">under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798</a>, accusing them of being members of gangs the administration <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/">deemed terrorist organizations</a>. Abrego Garcia, 29, a Salvadoran national, was among the men sent to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT, prison. The government admitted in court filings that he was sent there due to an “administrative error,” in violation of a court order blocking his deportation due to threats to his safety in El Salvador. </p>
2708.  
2709.  
2710.  
2711. <p>While many of the other detained men appear to be labeled as gang members mainly because of their tattoos, law enforcement officials seem to have singled Abrego Garcia out for his attire, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline">additional documents</a> released Wednesday by Attorney General Pam Bondi show.</p>
2712.  
2713.  
2714.  
2715. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“Wearing the Chicago Bulls hat represents that they are a member in good standing with MS-13.”</p></blockquote></figure>
2716.  
2717.  
2718.  
2719. <p>The documents released detail a Prince George’s County Police Department encounter with Abrego Garcia in 2019. “Officers observed he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears, and mouth of the presidents,” they wrote. “Officers know such clothing to be indicative of the Hispanic gang culture.”</p>
2720.  
2721.  
2722.  
2723. <p>The gang field interview sheet from the Prince George’s County Police Department notes that “wearing the Chicago Bulls hat represents that they are a member in good standing with MS-13.”</p>
2724.  
2725.  
2726.  
2727. <p>Officers also stated they reached out to a confidential informant who claimed that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13. In court<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-documents-government-case-mistakenly-deported-abrego-garcia-gang-rcna201665">, it was revealed</a> that the source claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of the gang in New York — a place where he never lived. Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime, and his family maintains that he was never a member of any gang. </p>
2728.  
2729.  
2730.  
2731.  
2732.  
2733.  
2734.  
2735. <p>Ana Muñiz, a professor of criminology, law, and society at UC Irvine, said it’s not at all surprising that police and immigration officials put so much emphasis on his hat as a way to prove his gang ties.</p>
2736.  
2737.  
2738.  
2739. <p>“A gang designation is something that police really use to maintain contact, mainly with men of color in low-income urban neighborhoods, when they can&#8217;t find enough to actually charge them with a crime,” said Muñiz, the author of “Borderland Circuitry: Immigration Surveillance in the United States and Beyond.” You have people with gang designations, people on gang databases who are designated on things like clothing [from] very popular sports brands.”</p>
2740.  
2741.  
2742.  
2743.  <div class="promote-related-post">
2744.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
2745.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/27/trump-deport-venezuela-gang-tren-de-aragua/"
2746.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
2747.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: trump-deport-venezuela-gang-tren-de-aragua"
2748.      data-ga-track-label="trump-deport-venezuela-gang-tren-de-aragua"
2749.          >
2750.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2204392259-e1743080260220.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
2751.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
2752.        Related      </h2>
2753.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">How a Landlord and a Florida PR Firm Helped Trump Kick Off the Tren de Aragua Gang Panic</h3>
2754.    </span>
2755.    </a>
2756.  </div>
2757.  
2758.  
2759.  
2760. <p>Muñiz explained that law enforcement agencies generally use a 9 or 10-point system to determine gang affiliation based on factors as mundane and subjective as wearing sports apparel or “frequenting a gang area.” To be <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/18/dc-police-gang-database-hacked-emails/">placed</a> on a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/02/13/new-york-city-schools-gang-law-enforcement/">gang database</a>, suspects often only need to meet two of the categories, she said.</p>
2761.  
2762.  
2763.  
2764. <p>In an ethnography Muñiz conducted on gang designation in Los Angeles, she found that the Los Angeles Police Department “considered Dodgers gear to be indicative of gang membership, in certain contexts,” Muñiz said. “If you’ve ever been to LA, everyone is wearing Dodgers gear.”</p>
2765.  
2766.  
2767.  
2768. <p>Though the Chicago Bulls aren’t local to Maryland, where Abrego Garcia lived, Bulls apparel has reportedly been the <a href="https://x.com/NickDePaula/status/1582726129768878080">best-selling pro basketball apparel in the state</a>.<br><br><!-- BLOCK(promote-post)[1](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PROMOTE_POST%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22slug%22%3A%22immigrants%22%2C%22crop%22%3A%22promo%22%7D) -->  <aside class="promote-banner">
2769.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="/collections/the-war-on-immigrants/">
2770.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
2771.          <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="150" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)" srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2270 2270w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1000 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />        </span>
2772.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
2773.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
2774.            Read Our Complete Coverage          </p>
2775.        
2776.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">The War on Immigrants</h2>
2777.      </div>
2778.    </a>
2779.  </aside>
2780. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[1] --> </p>
2781.  
2782.  
2783.  
2784. <p>Gang designations can become sweep up wide swaths of the population; at one point, roughly half of all Black men in Los Angeles between the ages of 21 to 24 years old were listed on a gang database, according to a report published in the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45456825">Asian Pacific American Law Journal.</a></p>
2785.  
2786.  
2787.  
2788. <p>For people like Abrego Garcia, being listed as having a gang affiliation  — no matter how thin the justification — can have <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/08/11/u-s-government-using-gang-databases-to-deport-undocumented-immigrants/">serious immigration consequences</a>. Yet in some cases, people <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/12/05/nypd-gang-database/">might not even be aware</a> that they’re on a gang database. “It&#8217;s really common for police when they can&#8217;t charge someone with a crime or find something to get them on to slap this very easy designation on them,” Muñiz said, “and then eventually, it will make its way up to ICE, and ICE will use that in court to argue for things like expedited deportation or compulsory detention.”</p>
2789.  
2790.  
2791.  
2792.  <div class="promote-related-post">
2793.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
2794.            href="https://theintercept.com/2018/02/11/ice-schools-immigrant-students-ms-13-long-island/"
2795.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
2796.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: ice-schools-immigrant-students-ms-13-long-island"
2797.      data-ga-track-label="ice-schools-immigrant-students-ms-13-long-island"
2798.          >
2799.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/14.-Loureiro_The-Fear-of-The-Others_03_2017-1517944689.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
2800.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
2801.        Related      </h2>
2802.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">For Immigrant Students on Long Island, Trump’s War on Gangs Means the Wrong T-Shirt Could Get You Deported</h3>
2803.    </span>
2804.    </a>
2805.  </div>
2806.  
2807.  
2808.  
2809. <p>Abrego Garcia is far from the first case of Chicago Bulls attire being weaponized in the immigration process. An investigation by The Intercept during the first Trump administration revealed that students at a Long Island high school <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/02/11/ice-schools-immigrant-students-ms-13-long-island/">were reported to ICE</a> for among other things wearing Chicago Bulls jersey and posting the Salvadoran flag on Facebook. </p>
2810.  
2811.  
2812.  
2813. <p>Many of the men shipped to the CECOT prison with Abrego Garcia appear to be detained under similarly flimsy gang affiliation claims. Federal law enforcement officials reportedly rated them on a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/us/tattoos-gangs-tren-de-aragua-immigration.html">10-point scale</a>, with a score of 8 or more designating them a member of Tren de Aragua, and thus immediately deportable since President Donald Trump <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/16/trump-alien-enemies-act-tren-de-aragua-venezuela-deport/">invoked </a>the Alien Enemies Act to alleged members of the gang. Certain tattoos were 4 points. Another 4 points could be added for “notations, drawing, or dress known to indicate were allegiance to TDA.”</p>
2814.  
2815.  
2816.  
2817.  
2818.  
2819.  
2820.  
2821. <p>On Thursday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., met with Abrego Garcia after traveling to El Salvador to check on his constituent’s welfare and “discuss” his release.</p>
2822.  
2823.  
2824.  
2825. <p>“My main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” Van Hollen <a href="https://x.com/ChrisVanHollen/status/1913034619710034094">wrote on X</a>. “I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return,”</p>
2826.  
2827.  
2828.  
2829. <p>Muñiz said she predicted that the Trump administration would use gang affiliation as a tool to fuel the president’s mass deportation strategy and system of racialized state terror. “You don’t need probable cause. You don’t need to prove this in court,” she said. “It’s a label you can apply very easily, without criminal charges, without really any proof. And then, once that person is labeled, you can justify doing a lot of things with them, like detaining them, like deporting them.”</p>
2830. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/">The Evidence Linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia to MS-13: A Chicago Bulls Hat and a Hoodie</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2831. ]]></content:encoded>
2832.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-ms13-gang-database/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2833.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
2834.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AP25094584110033.jpg?fit=5635%2C3757' width='5635' height='3757' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490554</post-id>
2835. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" />
2836. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
2837. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
2838. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
2839. </media:content>
2840. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
2841. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
2842. </media:content>
2843. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2204392259-e1743080260220.jpg" medium="image" />
2844. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" medium="image">
2845. <media:title type="html">MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)</media:title>
2846. </media:content>
2847. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/14.-Loureiro_The-Fear-of-The-Others_03_2017-1517944689.jpg" medium="image" />
2848.            </item>
2849.        
2850.            <item>
2851.                <title><![CDATA[Bait and Switch:  Mohsen Mahdawi’s Citizenship Trap]]></title>
2852.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-ice-deport/</link>
2853.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-ice-deport/#respond</comments>
2854.                <pubDate>Fri, 18 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
2855.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[The Intercept Briefing]]></dc:creator>
2856.                                 <category><![CDATA[The Intercept Briefing]]></category>
2857.  
2858.                <guid isPermaLink="false">https://theintercept.com/?p=490489</guid>
2859.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Rep. Becca Balint and immigration lawyer Matt Cameron discuss Mahdawi’s arrest at his naturalization interview and the legal strategy that could affect us all.</p>
2860. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-ice-deport/">Bait and Switch:  Mohsen Mahdawi’s Citizenship Trap</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2861. ]]></description>
2862.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
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2866. </div>
2867. <!-- END-BLOCK(acast)[0] -->
2868.  
2869.  
2870.  
2871. <p><span class="has-underline">In this week’s</span> episode of The Intercept Briefing, we examine the case of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/14/ice-columbia-student-mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-interview/">Mohsen Mahdawi</a>, a Palestinian student whose decadelong journey toward American citizenship ended not with the oath of allegiance, but in handcuffs.</p>
2872.  
2873.  
2874.  
2875. <p>On Monday, the Columbia student arrived at his long-awaited citizenship interview in Vermont. Instead, immigration agents arrested him, and he now faces deportation to the occupied West Bank.</p>
2876.  
2877.  
2878.  
2879. <p>Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., who represents his district, is outraged and told The Intercept Briefing, “If you&#8217;ll deny due process from somebody who was in this country with a green card for 10 years, who is somebody who talked about <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/rubio-antisemitism-mahdawi-columbia-student-ice-palestine-israel/">peace and connection between Palestinians and Israelis </a>who was looking to build bridges — if this man is somehow a threat to our society, then we are down a sick path.”</p>
2880.  
2881.  
2882.  
2883.  <div class="promote-related-post">
2884.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
2885.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/14/ice-columbia-student-mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-interview/"
2886.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
2887.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: ice-columbia-student-mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-interview"
2888.      data-ga-track-label="ice-columbia-student-mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-interview"
2889.          >
2890.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208765267_ec95c0-e1744648713529.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
2891.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
2892.        Related      </h2>
2893.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Palestinian Student Leader Was Called In for Citizenship Interview — Then Arrested by ICE</h3>
2894.    </span>
2895.    </a>
2896.  </div>
2897.  
2898.  
2899.  
2900. <p>Mahdawi spoke to The Intercept the night before his fateful appointment and said he understood the risk he might be facing. He is now the <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/06/federal-government-terminates-visas-of-four-international-students-university-says/">ninth</a> Columbia student <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/28/ice-warrants-columbia-students-gaza-protests/">targeted </a>for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/01/trump-ice-deport-students-immigrants-american-dream/">deportation</a>. The Trump administration has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/08/trump-immigration-international-student-visas-deport/">revoked or changed</a> over a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/international-students-us/2025/04/07/where-students-have-had-their-visas-revoked">1,000</a> student visas, according to Inside Higher Ed.&nbsp;</p>
2901.  
2902.  
2903.  
2904. <p>Mahdawi’s case exemplifies how immigration enforcement is being weaponized, says Balint. “ If they&#8217;re so proud of what they&#8217;re doing, then show your damn face, then show your ID. Then talk about what grounds you are holding this person. But it&#8217;s being done in secret, and it is meant to shock and awe and to get the rest of us to remain silent. They have no evidence, they have no details, which is what we&#8217;re demanding&nbsp;of both Secretary [Marco] Rubio and Secretary [Kristi] Noem.&#8221;</p>
2905.  
2906.  
2907.  
2908. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“It’s being done in secret, and it is meant to shock and awe and to get the rest of us to remain silent.”</p></blockquote></figure>
2909.  
2910.  
2911.  
2912. <p>The Trump administration is reportedly invoking a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/13/mahmoud-khalil-legal-free-speech-deport/">rarely used section</a> of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to arrest Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident. The act allows the secretary of state to revoke a person&#8217;s residency if deemed a threat to U.S. foreign policy. &#8220;If in fact you claim that he is a danger to our country&#8217;s foreign interests, then provide the certification to Congress. That is what you have to do if you&#8217;re using this [INA] provision, and I never thought that I would see this kind of behavior from a democratically elected government,” said Balint.</p>
2913.  
2914.  
2915.  
2916. <p>Immigration lawyer Matt Cameron spoke to The Intercept about the broader implications of the administration’s agenda and said that this is much bigger than just students and immigrants. “ It&#8217;s a message to student protesters obviously to start with, but it&#8217;s a message to all of us that our free speech is a liability,” he warned.</p>
2917.  
2918.  
2919.  
2920. <p>Cameron pointed to the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was illegally deported to El Salvador and is now imprisoned despite no criminal record. The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the government to facilitate his return, but so far, the administration has resisted.  &#8221;This is going to be one of the most important cases of our lifetimes,” said Cameron. “ Even for people who don&#8217;t think they&#8217;re interested in following immigration issues: This is for all of us. And you know, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia will be all of us pretty soon here if we don&#8217;t stay on our rights.”</p>
2921.  
2922.  
2923.  
2924. <p>Listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-intercept-briefing/id1195206601"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2js8lwDRiK1TB4rUgiYb24?si=e3ce772344ee4170"> Spotify</a>, or wherever you listen.</p>
2925. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-ice-deport/">Bait and Switch:  Mohsen Mahdawi’s Citizenship Trap</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2926. ]]></content:encoded>
2927.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/18/mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-ice-deport/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
2928.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
2929.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/US-expulsion-machine-2.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000' width='2000' height='1000' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490489</post-id>
2930. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208765267_ec95c0-e1744648713529.jpg" />
2931. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2208765267_ec95c0-e1744648713529.jpg" medium="image" />
2932.            </item>
2933.        
2934.            <item>
2935.                <title><![CDATA[Universities Told Students to Leave the Country. ICE Just Said They Didn’t Actually Have To.]]></title>
2936.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/international-student-visas-deport-dhs-ice/</link>
2937.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/international-student-visas-deport-dhs-ice/#respond</comments>
2938.                <pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2025 18:05:41 +0000</pubDate>
2939.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Natasha Lennard]]></dc:creator>
2940.                                 <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
2941. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
2942.  
2943.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
2944.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>In their haste to comply with apparent directives from Trump, universities became unwitting handmaidens of the deportation machine.</p>
2945. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/international-student-visas-deport-dhs-ice/">Universities Told Students to Leave the Country. ICE Just Said They Didn’t Actually Have To.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
2946. ]]></description>
2947.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
2948. <p><span class="has-underline">The Department of</span> Homeland Security said this week in a Michigan court that the agency does not have the authority to terminate students’ immigration statuses by terminating their records in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System. Known as SEVIS, the database allows both universities and authorities to track information about international students on visas in the U.S.</p>
2949.  
2950.  
2951.  
2952. <p>Homeland Security’s changes to SEVIS, the Trump administration said, have no bearing on a student’s lawful nonimmigrant status.&nbsp;</p>
2953.  
2954.  
2955.  
2956. <p>“Terminating a record in SEVIS does not terminate an individual’s nonimmigrant status in the United States,” said Andre Watson, assistant director of the national security division for Homeland Security Investigations, in the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lI15RF0PNXX4WfPWIOrXhIYQnjrwmuXP/view">filing</a>. Watson added that existing laws and regulations “do not provide” the DHS-run Student Exchange and Visitor Program “the authority to terminate nonimmigrant status by terminating a SEVIS record.”</p>
2957.  
2958.  
2959.  
2960. <p>This will be news to many hundreds of students who have had their SEVIS records terminated by DHS in recent weeks — and were then told by their schools or the government that they have thus lost their immigration status and must immediately leave the country.</p>
2961.  
2962.  
2963.  
2964.  
2965.  
2966.  
2967.  
2968. <p>“Under pressure from ICE, schools have been advising students they are out of status after SEVIS record termination, and in many cases disenrolling them as a result,” said Nathan Yaffe, an attorney representing international students facing deportation in other cases. “Now ICE has submitted sworn declarations that SEVIS record termination has no legal effect on the student whatsoever.”&nbsp;</p>
2969.  
2970.  
2971.  
2972. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“Disenrolling students was already a blatant capitulation, and now it is a wholly inexcusable one.”</p></blockquote></figure>
2973.  
2974.  
2975.  
2976. <p>Based on school officials checking their SEVIS records, hundreds of students have been led to believe that they had lost their student immigration status because a terminated record in the database is broadly taken to mean a student has fallen out of status.&nbsp;</p>
2977.  
2978.  
2979.  
2980. <p>The DHS’s latest claims to the contrary in court are sure to only sow further confusion, but they are strong grounds, Yaffe said, for schools to immediately stop disenrolling students believed to be out of status due to SEVIS record checks.</p>
2981.  
2982.  
2983.  
2984. <p>“Any school that continues to disenroll (and refuses to re-enroll) students is voluntarily punishing students to align itself with the Trump administration&#8217;s agenda,” Yaffe said. “Disenrolling students was already a blatant capitulation, and now it is a wholly inexcusable one.”</p>
2985.  
2986.  
2987.  
2988. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-schools-told-students"><strong>What Schools Told Students</strong></h2>
2989.  
2990.  
2991.  
2992. <p>The DHS declaration was filed in response to a <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2025/04/11/aclu-of-michigan-sues-trump-administration-to-restore-students-visas/83037451007/">lawsuit brought</a> <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2025/04/11/aclu-of-michigan-sues-trump-administration-to-restore-students-visas/83037451007/">by four Michigan students</a>, who are suing the Trump administration over the reported loss of their F-1 student statuses. In response, the government argued that the case should be thrown out, since DHS did not remove the students’ statuses when it terminated their SEVIS records.&nbsp;</p>
2993.  
2994.  
2995.  
2996. <p>According to <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/international-students-us/2025/04/16/government-defends-itself-against-visa-revocations?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&amp;utm_campaign=7d0545f458-DNU_2021_COPY_02&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-7d0545f458-712318253&amp;mc_cid=7d0545f458&amp;mc_eid=224573e36f">Inside Higher Ed</a>, 16 lawsuits from at least 50 students have challenged the Trump administration over visa revocations and deportation threats. A number of the suits have challenged DHS’s authority to summarily change students’ statuses on SEVIS. It was only for the first time in the Michigan case, however, that the government said that its SEVIS interventions had no bearing on a student’s status.&nbsp;</p>
2997.  
2998.  
2999.  
3000. <p>The admission was an apparent effort by the government to dodge legal challenges. The students are suing to have their legal student immigration status restored, and the government is suggesting that their SEVIS terminations never changed the students’ statuses, so the agency cannot be sued for its actions. Communications from government agencies and school administrations, however, have up until this point taken a SEVIS termination to mean that a student’s status is terminated too.&nbsp;</p>
3001.  
3002.  
3003.  
3004. <p>In an <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.384231/gov.uscourts.mied.384231.1.6_1.pdf">email</a> sent by a school official at the University of Michigan to one of the Michigan plaintiffs, for example, the student was told, “In our daily review of SEVIS, we learned that your SEVIS record was ‘terminated’ by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official.” The school official continued: “We do not have any additional information, but this termination means you no longer hold valid F-1 status within the United States. You will need to cease any employment immediately. Since this termination does not carry a grace period, we must recommend you make plans to exit the United States immediately.”</p>
3005.  
3006.  
3007.  
3008. <p>The government’s defense in court, however, claimed the direct opposite, noting in a filing: “There are no legal consequences to the termination of a SEVIS record.”</p>
3009.  
3010.  
3011.  
3012. <p>The University of Michigan and Wayne State University — the two schools attended by plaintiffs in the Michigan lawsuit — did not respond to The Intercept’s request for comment, nor did DHS, ICE, and the Department of Justice, which represents the administration in court.</p>
3013.  
3014.  
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3016.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="/collections/the-war-on-immigrants/">
3017.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
3018.          <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="150" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)" srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2270 2270w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1000 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />        </span>
3019.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
3020.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
3021.            Read Our Complete Coverage          </p>
3022.        
3023.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">The War on Immigrants</h2>
3024.      </div>
3025.    </a>
3026.  </aside>
3027. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[1] -->
3028.  
3029.  
3030.  
3031. <p>A student plaintiff in another, similar case filed in California received an email directly from the State Department, informing them that their student visa had been revoked. The email fails to distinguish in any meaningful way between visa status and legal immigration status, which are not the same thing. In one paragraph, the State Department tells the student that their visa has been “revoked under Section 221(i) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act.”&nbsp;</p>
3032.  
3033.  
3034.  
3035. <p>The email later notes, “Remaining in the United States without a lawful immigration status can result in fines, detention, and/or deportation” — without informing the student that they may very well still have lawful immigration status.&nbsp;</p>
3036.  
3037.  
3038.  
3039. <p>“Given the gravity of this situation, individuals whose visa was revoked may wish to demonstrate their intent to depart the United States using the CBP Home App,” the State Department email told the student.&nbsp;(The State Department declined to comment, citing pending legislation.)</p>
3040.  
3041.  
3042.  
3043.  <div class="promote-related-post">
3044.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
3045.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities/"
3046.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
3047.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities"
3048.      data-ga-track-label="stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities"
3049.          >
3050.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_Stiglitz-3-e1744753900156.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
3051.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
3052.        Related      </h2>
3053.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Nobel Winner Joseph Stiglitz Denounces Columbia’s Apparent Capitulation to Trump</h3>
3054.    </span>
3055.    </a>
3056.  </div>
3057.  
3058.  
3059.  
3060. <p>Ranjani Srinivasan, a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University fled to Canada in March after being <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/01/trump-ice-deport-students-immigrants-american-dream/">targeted by ICE</a>. After DHS terminated her SEVIS status, Srinivasan <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/25/columbia-doctoral-candidate-ranjani-srinivasan-forced-to-flee-united-states-following-threats-from-ice-she-writes-in-statement/">wrote in a statement</a> that Columbia “arbitrarily de-enrolled” her,&nbsp;ending her “legal status, worker status, and housing.” She blamed “ICE threats and Columbia complicity” for her decision to flee.</p>
3061.  
3062.  
3063.  
3064. <p>The Homeland Security website, which offers official guidance on international student rules and regulations, suggests that a terminated record indicates that the student’s legal status has been terminated too. The site notes that a terminated record in SEVIS means that a student “loses all on- and/or off-campus employment authorization,” “cannot re-enter the United States on the terminated SEVIS record,” and that ICE agents may investigate to “confirm the departure of the student.”</p>
3065.  
3066.  
3067.  
3068. <p>DHS also says that a terminated record “could indicate that the nonimmigrant no longer maintains” their legal status, but that it is “designated school officials,” rather than ICE and other DHS agents who “mostly terminate” these records.&nbsp;</p>
3069.  
3070.  
3071.  
3072.  
3073.  
3074.  
3075.  
3076. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-that-clearly-is-bs-nbsp"><strong>“That Clearly Is BS”&nbsp;</strong></h2>
3077.  
3078.  
3079.  
3080. <p>The State Department has been removing student visas en masse. Over 1,200 student visas have been revoked, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/08/trump-immigration-international-student-visas-deport/">almost entirely from nonwhite students</a>, since President Donald Trump announced plans to target international students, particularly those who have<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/28/ice-warrants-columbia-students-gaza-protests/"> expressed support </a>for Palestinian freedom.</p>
3081.  
3082.  
3083.  
3084. <p>The removal of a student visa, however, is not the same as, and does not entail, the removal of legal nonimmigrant status in the U.S. as a student.&nbsp;</p>
3085.  
3086.  
3087.  
3088. <p>A visa is required for an international student to legally enter the country to study here. After entering, however, the visa does not affect the student’s immigration status. A student with an expired or revoked visa can remain in legal nonimmigrant student status while not leaving the country; a university has no legal reason to disenroll that student or prevent their continued study in the U.S..</p>
3089.  
3090.  
3091.  
3092. <p>The DHS declaration in Michigan went further in making the distinction between having a visa revoked and being eligible for deportation.&nbsp;</p>
3093.  
3094.  
3095.  
3096. <p>“Prudential visa revocation, absent other factors, does not make an individual amendable to removal,” wrote Watson, the HSI official.</p>
3097.  
3098.  
3099.  
3100. <p>That is, the revocation of a student visa is not, in and of itself, necessarily grounds for a student to be deported. Yet schools have been reacting to SEVIS terminations, not visa revocations, when they have disenrolled students or advised students to immediately leave the country.</p>
3101.  
3102.  
3103.  
3104. <p>This does not mean that the students currently targeted by Trump’s administration are safe. A student in legal immigration status with a revoked visa is at significant risk should ICE seek to pursue deportation proceedings against them. The agency would have to send the student a notice to appear before an immigration judge, and there would be a hearing about the student’s deportability, at which the student could challenge their visa revocation.</p>
3105.  
3106.  
3107.  
3108.  <div class="promote-related-post">
3109.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
3110.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/08/trump-immigration-international-student-visas-deport/"
3111.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
3112.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: trump-immigration-international-student-visas-deport"
3113.      data-ga-track-label="trump-immigration-international-student-visas-deport"
3114.          >
3115.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/21_AP25080472815958-copy-e1744121765322.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
3116.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
3117.        Related      </h2>
3118.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Trump Appears to Be Targeting Muslim and “Non-White” Students for Deportation</h3>
3119.    </span>
3120.    </a>
3121.  </div>
3122.  
3123.  
3124.  
3125. <p>The process can be frightening for students, as the cases of detained legal permanent residents like <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/12/mahmoud-khalil-immigration-hearing-deportation-trump/">Mahmoud Khalil</a> and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/14/ice-columbia-student-mohsen-mahdawi-citizenship-interview/">Mohsen Mahdawi</a> and visa holders like <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/30/tufts-rumeysa-ozturk-ice-immigration-op-ed/">Rümeysa Öztürk</a> make clear. The Trump administration has shown little compunction about taking the next step toward making individual students deportable,&nbsp;attempting to carry out the mass removal of students for minor legal violations, as well as for entirely <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/13/briefing-podcast-mahmoud-khalil-free-speech/">legal political speech</a> under spurious “<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/13/mahmoud-khalil-legal-free-speech-deport/">foreign policy</a>” grounds and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/rubio-antisemitism-mahdawi-columbia-student-ice-palestine-israel/">bunk charges</a> of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/10/deportation-case-mahmoud-khalil-antisemitism-rubio-trump/">antisemitism</a>.</p>
3126.  
3127.  
3128.  
3129. <p>In trying to stave off litigation, DHS has been clear in other cases that students who have had their visas revoked and SEVIS records terminated have not fallen out of legal status.</p>
3130.  
3131.  
3132.  
3133. <p>“The issue Plaintiffs seek to avoid is the real issue before this court: the State Department revoked Plaintiffs’ visa,” the government argued in another case filed by students in Georgia, “but those actions are un reviewable here.”</p>
3134.  
3135.  
3136.  
3137. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Do you realize that this is Kafkaesque?”</p></blockquote></figure>
3138.  
3139.  
3140.  
3141. <p>The government is claiming that the students have directed their legal challenge at the wrong government agency, but that they also cannot sue the State Department, because the <a href="https://www.boundless.com/blog/supreme-court-rules-courts-cant-review-visa-revocations/#:~:text=The%20Court%20found%20that%20visa,visas%20after%20discovering%20disqualifying%20information.">section</a> of the Immigration and Nationality Act that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rubio-says-us-may-have-revoked-more-than-300-visas-2025-03-27/">deploying</a><a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/10/deportation-case-mahmoud-khalil-antisemitism-rubio-trump/"> </a>to summarily<a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/13/mahmoud-khalil-legal-free-speech-deport/"> remove visas</a> “expressly precludes visa revocations from judicial review.” According to the Trump administration the students could only challenge Rubio’s wide and reckless discretion to revoke their visas “in removal proceedings if the revocation is the sole basis for removal.”</p>
3142.  
3143.  
3144.  
3145. <p>Federal judges hearing students’ cases around the country have so far not been impressed with the government’s arguments. At least five federal courts have <a href="https://www.m9.news/usa-news/sevis-crackdown-huge-update-f-1-students-saved/">issued</a> temporary restraining orders on deportation orders linked to SEVIS terminations. On Wednesday, District Court Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., specifically <a href="https://x.com/BaniasLaw/status/1912616856307003629">ordered</a> DHS’s Watson to testify in court over the claims in his declaration, which was also submitted by the government in the case filed by students there.&nbsp;</p>
3146.  
3147.  
3148.  
3149. <p>“I&#8217;ve got two experienced immigration lawyers on behalf of a client who is months away from graduation, who has done nothing wrong, who has been terminated from a system that you all keep telling me has no effect on his immigration status, although that clearly is BS,” Reyes told the government. “And now, his two very experienced lawyers can&#8217;t even tell him whether or not he&#8217;s here legally, because the Court can&#8217;t tell him whether or not he&#8217;s here legally, because the government&#8217;s counsel can&#8217;t tell him if he&#8217;s here legally.”</p>
3150.  
3151.  
3152.  
3153. <p>The judge said, “Do you realize that this is Kafkaesque?”</p>
3154.  
3155.  
3156.  
3157. <p><strong>Update: April 17, 2025, 4:27 p.m. ET<br></strong><em>This story has been updated to note that, after publication, the State Department declined to comment.</em></p>
3158. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/international-student-visas-deport-dhs-ice/">Universities Told Students to Leave the Country. ICE Just Said They Didn’t Actually Have To.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
3159. ]]></content:encoded>
3160.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/international-student-visas-deport-dhs-ice/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
3161.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
3162.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209078705-e1744911384717.jpg?fit=6000%2C3000' width='6000' height='3000' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490491</post-id>
3163. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" />
3164. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
3165. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
3166. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
3167. </media:content>
3168. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
3169. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
3170. </media:content>
3171. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" medium="image">
3172. <media:title type="html">MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)</media:title>
3173. </media:content>
3174. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_Stiglitz-3-e1744753900156.jpg" medium="image" />
3175. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/21_AP25080472815958-copy-e1744121765322.jpg" medium="image" />
3176.            </item>
3177.        
3178.            <item>
3179.                <title><![CDATA[No-Bid ICE Contract Went to Former ICE Agents Being Sued for Fabricating Criminal Evidence on the Job]]></title>
3180.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/ice-deportation-contracts-us-advisors/</link>
3181.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/ice-deportation-contracts-us-advisors/#respond</comments>
3182.                <pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2025 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
3183.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sam Biddle]]></dc:creator>
3184.                                 <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
3185.  
3186.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
3187.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>The $73 million deal for assisting with deportations went to a company whose executives are accused of retaliating against a fellow ICE worker.</p>
3188. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/ice-deportation-contracts-us-advisors/">No-Bid ICE Contract Went to Former ICE Agents Being Sued for Fabricating Criminal Evidence on the Job</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
3189. ]]></description>
3190.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
3191. <p><span class="has-underline">U.S. Immigration and</span> Customs Enforcement just signed a contract worth $73 million with a firm whose executives are accused of taking part in a scheme to manufacture evidence against a co-worker during their time working at the Department of Homeland Security.</p>
3192.  
3193.  
3194.  
3195. <p>According to a contract document reviewed by The Intercept, federal contractor Universal Strategic Advisors will provide services pertaining to ICE’s “non-detained docket,” a master list of millions of noncitizens believed to be removable from the United States but not yet in the agency’s custody.</p>
3196.  
3197.  
3198.  
3199. <p>The contract cites President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border, an overwhelming glut of potential deportees, and a shortage of officers to process them all as justification for hiring a private vendor to assist with the collection of biometric data, coordinating removals, and monitoring immigrant populations.</p>
3200.  
3201.  
3202.  
3203. <p>The document says that with a fleet of new outsourced employees, ICE can reassign hundreds of officers to tasks that better align with Trump’s recent executive orders aimed at maximizing the agency’s detention and deportation operations. With the contractors onboard, the document says at least 675 ICE officers “will be able to take all appropriate actions to comply with the EO’s by prioritizing conducting at-large arrests, removals, and detention related activities.”</p>
3204.  
3205.  
3206.  
3207. <p>A former ICE official, who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity, said they were concerned by this plan to further privatize the agency&#8217;s operations at the same time as the Trump administration has dramatically slashed its workforce and gutted important oversight bodies like the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, as well as the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman. &#8220;I certainly take issue with them firing career feds and demolishing whole offices, just to hire contractors to do the same work, many of them who are former ICE employees now retired,” the official said.</p>
3208.  
3209.  
3210.  
3211.  
3212.  
3213.  
3214.  
3215. <p>The responsibilities handed over to US Advisors are vast:</p>
3216.  
3217.  
3218.  
3219. <p>“[Contractors] will manage field office alien check-ins, monitor immigration case statuses (and the outcome), assist with coordinating removals, update contact information to ensure that the alien can be located, respond to telephone calls, triage complaints and grievances, manage outreach mailboxes, enter data into ICE’s system of record, manage alien files, capture biometrics, organize and collect immigration related documents, field questions related to the immigration process, coordinate with ICE to assign aliens to an appropriate monitoring program, and notify ICE if someone is not complying with the terms of a conditional release or when someone is a risk to community safety.”</p>
3220.  
3221.  
3222.  
3223. <p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t like, in general, to attach a profit motive to these inherently governmental services,&#8221; the former ICE official said, explaining that while the contract&#8217;s scope seems mostly administrative, the work in question has serious implications for millions living in the United States. &#8220;This is the backbone of decisions that are going to impact peoples’ lives; it&#8217;s a very high impact work stream.&#8221;</p>
3224.  
3225.  
3226.  
3227.  <div class="promote-related-post">
3228.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
3229.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/14/ice-surveillance-wire-western-union-arizona-trac/"
3230.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
3231.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: ice-surveillance-wire-western-union-arizona-trac"
3232.      data-ga-track-label="ice-surveillance-wire-western-union-arizona-trac"
3233.          >
3234.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/TRAC-immigrant-financial-surveillance-3.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
3235.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
3236.        Related      </h2>
3237.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">The Unusual Nonprofit That Helps ICE Spy on Wire Transfers</h3>
3238.    </span>
3239.    </a>
3240.  </div>
3241.  
3242.  
3243.  
3244. <p>They also questioned the contract’s rationale of hiring private sector workers to handle administrative tasks in order to free up ICE officers to hit the streets. &#8220;If they&#8217;re just doing the arrests and they&#8217;re not following the case, not understanding the complexities, it gives the officers a much more limited view of the impact of their work. They&#8217;re not hearing when they&#8217;re talking about their kids, or why they might need to be released,&#8221; the ICE source explained.</p>
3245.  
3246.  
3247.  
3248. <p>The procurement document notes that ICE is turning to US Advisors without conducting the typical competition for the business among other potential vendors, owing to, it says, the “emergency” conditions declared by Trump. “ICE would be unable to recruit, hire, vet, train, and deploy staff as quickly as a contractor can,” the notice reads. According to an April 9 filing, however, a rival vendor is protesting the contract with the Government Accountability Office, leaving the contract temporarily on hold.<br><br><!-- BLOCK(promote-post)[1](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PROMOTE_POST%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22slug%22%3A%22immigrants%22%2C%22crop%22%3A%22promo%22%7D) -->  <aside class="promote-banner">
3249.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="/collections/the-war-on-immigrants/">
3250.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
3251.          <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="150" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)" srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2270 2270w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?w=1000 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />        </span>
3252.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
3253.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
3254.            Read Our Complete Coverage          </p>
3255.        
3256.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">The War on Immigrants</h2>
3257.      </div>
3258.    </a>
3259.  </aside>
3260. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[1] -->&nbsp;</p>
3261.  
3262.  
3263.  
3264. <p><span class="has-underline">US Advisors has</span> the right pedigree: The company has previously provided staffing support for ICE and is run by former Department of Homeland Security officials.</p>
3265.  
3266.  
3267.  
3268. <p>But this executive team, while well-credentialed, has a checkered past: US Advisors CEO Brian DeMore and Chief Talent Officer David Marin are both named defendants in a lawsuit stemming from their time working at DHS. In 2019, former ICE officer Kui Myles filed suit alleging she was the victim of a scheme to manufacture criminal evidence against her after she complained of workplace harassment, resulting in her false arrest, false imprisonment, and invasion of privacy.</p>
3269.  
3270.  
3271.  
3272. <p>Myles, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, further alleges she was subject to discrimination based on her national origin, and says her co-workers fabricated a report that she was illegally “housing Chinese nationals” as part of their conspiracy to discredit her. Myles alleges she was then placed under DHS surveillance, which revealed she was not in fact housing undocumented Chinese immigrants. At this point, Myles alleges that campaign to essentially frame her for criminal wage theft was executed at the “direction and instigation” of ICE officials including DeMore, then an ICE assistant field office director, and Marin, at the time a deputy field office director. All told, Myles accuses Marin and DeMore of engaging in a conspiracy to violate both her constitutional and civil rights under federal law.</p>
3273.  
3274.  
3275.  
3276. <p>Myles’s lawsuit is ongoing, but in 2022 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit <a href="https://reason.com/volokh/2022/09/05/malicious-prosecution-claim-against-dhs-agents-can-go-forward/">determined the litigation could continue</a>.</p>
3277.  
3278.  
3279.  
3280. <p>Neither ICE nor US Advisors responded to a request for comment.</p>
3281.  
3282.  
3283.  
3284.  
3285.  
3286.  
3287.  
3288. <p>Certain ICE tasks struck this source as particularly unfit for outsourcing: &#8220;Dealing with grievances —&nbsp;what if it&#8217;s a grievance against the contractor? They want to stay on ICE&#8217;s good side, so they probably want to minimize grievances,&#8221; they explained. &#8220;You&#8217;re really going to contract out community safety decisions?&#8221;</p>
3289.  
3290.  
3291.  
3292. <p>Privatization is not a novelty among federal agencies generally or ICE specifically. Trump&#8217;s deportation fixation has signaled a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/02/11/corecivic-private-prison-trump-immigrant-detention/">feeding frenzy </a>for corporations like the private prison firm GEO Group, up for a $350 million DHS contract <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/technology/trump-immigration-tech-geo-group.html">renewal</a>, and Deployed Resources, which operates migrant detention camps and just <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-deportations-deployed-resources-tent-company">won</a> a $3.8 billion ICE contract. The source said, &#8220;This is the game at ICE — they all work with their old buddies.&#8221;</p>
3293.  
3294.  
3295.  
3296. <p></p>
3297. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/ice-deportation-contracts-us-advisors/">No-Bid ICE Contract Went to Former ICE Agents Being Sued for Fabricating Criminal Evidence on the Job</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
3298. ]]></content:encoded>
3299.                                <wfw:commentRss>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/17/ice-deportation-contracts-us-advisors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
3300.                <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
3301.                <media:content url='https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2202150831-e1744842306317.jpg?fit=4223%2C2110' width='4223' height='2110' /><post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">490458</post-id>
3302. <media:thumbnail url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" />
3303. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_GettyImages-1201696536-e1745422802131.jpg" medium="image" />
3304. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2211757619_321e1d-e1745525380311.jpg" medium="image">
3305. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
3306. </media:content>
3307. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GettyImages-2209717212_805b42-e1745292943636.jpg" medium="image">
3308. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
3309. </media:content>
3310. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/TRAC-immigrant-financial-surveillance-3.jpg" medium="image" />
3311. <media:content url="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/guatemalan-immigrant-cpb-feat-1530033149.jpg?fit=300%2C150" medium="image">
3312. <media:title type="html">MCALLEN, TX - JUNE 23: A Guatemalan father and his daughter arrives with dozens of other women, men and their children at a bus station following release from Customs and Border Protection on June 23, 2018 in McAllen, Texas. Once families and individuals are released and given a court hearing date they are brought to the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center to rest, clean up, enjoy a meal and to get guidance to their next destination. Before President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that halts the practice of separating families who are seeking asylum, over 2,300 immigrant children had been separated from their parents in the zero-tolerance policy for border crossers (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)</media:title>
3313. </media:content>
3314.            </item>
3315.        
3316.            <item>
3317.                <title><![CDATA[Inside Columbia’s Betrayal of Its Middle Eastern Studies Department]]></title>
3318.                <link>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/16/columbia-middle-eastern-studies-trump-attacks/</link>
3319.                <comments>https://theintercept.com/2025/04/16/columbia-middle-eastern-studies-trump-attacks/#respond</comments>
3320.                <pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2025 16:30:51 +0000</pubDate>
3321.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Meghnad Bose]]></dc:creator>
3322.                                    <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sacha Biazzo]]></dc:creator>
3323.                                 <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
3324. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
3325.  
3326.                <guid isPermaLink="false"></guid>
3327.                                    <description><![CDATA[<p>Columbia reassured its Middle Eastern studies scholars behind the scenes — then, to appease Trump, threw them to the wolves.</p>
3328. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/16/columbia-middle-eastern-studies-trump-attacks/">Inside Columbia’s Betrayal of Its Middle Eastern Studies Department</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
3329. ]]></description>
3330.                                        <content:encoded><![CDATA[
3331. <p><span class="has-underline">Students at Columbia</span> University’s Middle Eastern studies department were suffering from whiplash. Over two days in March, they went from being reassured by Middle Eastern studies faculty that the university was supporting their embattled department to, just a day later, being hit with news that Columbia had cut a deal with the Trump administration.</p>
3332.  
3333.  
3334.  
3335. <p>At stake was some $400 million in federal funding from the school that had been suspended by the White House. The Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department — or MESAAS as it is formally known — was at the center of the storm.</p>
3336.  
3337.  
3338.  
3339. <p>Pushing back on the White House’s demands proved too tall an order at Columbia. The university administration made an announcement on March 21 that laid out a raft of policy changes. Among them was a plan to appoint a new senior vice provost whose work would include &#8220;a thorough review of the portfolio of programs in regional areas across the University, starting immediately with the Middle East,&#8221; the <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/03.21.2025%20Columbia%20-%20FINAL.pdf">announcement</a> said.</p>
3340.  
3341.  
3342.  
3343. <p>MESAAS scholars immediately saw the school had cut a deal that put them in the crosshairs.</p>
3344.  
3345.  
3346.  
3347. <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right"><blockquote><p>“It’s saying one thing to the federal government and saying another thing to faculty and students.”</p></blockquote></figure>
3348.  
3349.  
3350.  
3351. <p>Now, for the first time, several insiders at MESAAS are speaking up about the turmoil facing their department, the back-and-forth between the Trump administration and university leadership, and how they are the ones caught in the lurch.</p>
3352.  
3353.  
3354.  
3355. <p>“The university is being quite opaque in its language and its messaging, and it&#8217;s saying one thing to the federal government and saying another thing to faculty and students,” said Craig Birckhead-Morton, a 22-year-old graduate student at MESAAS. “Obviously, it&#8217;s been very frustrating for us, this duplicitous behavior of the university.”</p>
3356.  
3357.  
3358.  
3359. <p>“I’ve spoken with several of my classmates who are also afraid of either their ability to research the things that they’re researching being restricted, or them conducting that research and coming under attack for it,” he said. “This is very scary.”</p>
3360.  
3361.  
3362.  
3363. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-short-lived-reassurance"><strong>Short-Lived Reassurance</strong></h2>
3364.  
3365.  
3366.  
3367. <p>The rollercoaster ride had begun only last month. On March 7, the White House put the university on notice: The Trump administration <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/nyregion/trump-administration-columbia-grants-cancelled-antisemitism.html">announced</a> that it was canceling some $400 million in federal funding to Columbia.</p>
3368.  
3369.  
3370.  
3371. <p>In negotiations over the funding, the White House made a series of demands on March 13, including that the Middle Eastern studies department be placed under academic receivership for a minimum of five years — taking control of the department out of its own faculty’s hands. A Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/columbia-is-nearing-agreement-to-give-trump-what-he-wants-14315bb3">article</a> published on March 19 said Columbia was about to cave to Donald Trump’s demands, with a deadline approaching the following day.</p>
3372.  
3373.  
3374.  
3375.  <div class="promote-related-post">
3376.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
3377.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/08/columbia-trump-funding-gaza-israel/"
3378.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
3379.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: columbia-trump-funding-gaza-israel"
3380.      data-ga-track-label="columbia-trump-funding-gaza-israel"
3381.          >
3382.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AP24122346353975_b509de-e1741461230254.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
3383.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
3384.        Related      </h2>
3385.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Columbia Bent Over Backward to Appease Right-Wing, Pro-Israel Attacks — And Trump Still Cut Federal Funding</h3>
3386.    </span>
3387.    </a>
3388.  </div>
3389.  
3390.  
3391.  
3392. <p>Then, on the day of the deadline, came an email from Gil Hochberg, the chair of MESAAS. Hochberg and three other senior faculty from the department had met with two high-level senior deans from the university. They had come away from the hourlong Zoom discussion feeling relatively optimistic about maintaining “academic self-governing” at MESAAS.</p>
3393.  
3394.  
3395.  
3396. <p>“While many questions remain open, the four of us who attended today&#8217;s meeting, feel significantly more reassured that our department is being supported by the university as much as possible under the circumstances,” said the email, which was reviewed by The Intercept.</p>
3397.  
3398.  
3399.  
3400. <p>“We were told that it is very unlikely that we will hear anything determined this weekend,” Hochberg wrote. “The situation is complex and will take time — more time than we would like. March 20 was one deadline, but not a legally binding one.”</p>
3401.  
3402.  
3403.  
3404. <p>Defying Hochberg’s expectations, word from the Columbia administration came down quickly.</p>
3405.  
3406.  
3407.  
3408. <p>The very next day, on March 21, Columbia University made a sweeping list of announcements, chief among them that the university was going to appoint a new senior vice provost that same week, whose work would include reviewing programs that touch on the Middle East, ensuring “balanced” curricula, and processes by which curricular changes are made. (Neither Hochberg nor Columbia responded to requests for comment.)</p>
3409.  
3410.  
3411.  
3412. <p>Since Columbia’s announcement, uncertainty has reigned. The new vice provost was set to be appointed in the week of March 21. Only after three weeks, on April 15, did the university appoint Miguel Urquiola, a dean of social science at Columbia, as the new vice provost. Urquiola’s academic background is in economics, but his first major task as senior vice provost is to conduct a “thorough review” of Middle Eastern studies.</p>
3413.  
3414.  
3415.  
3416. <p>“Honestly, I don&#8217;t understand what this means,” said a MESAAS student, a Ph.D. candidate who asked that their name not be used due to concerns over their visa status. “It doesn’t make any sense. What does it mean for them to claim that they&#8217;ll be able to see how something is ‘balanced’? They&#8217;re not the people who are experts in these fields.”</p>
3417.  
3418.  
3419.  
3420.  
3421.  
3422.  
3423.  
3424. <p>Inside MESAAS, scholars have viewed the developments of recent weeks as Columbia caving to the Trump administration’s demands. They fear control of the department is being wrested away from faculty — and, to make matters worse, little clarity has been available to students on how to navigate the changes since Columbia’s announcement in late March.</p>
3425.  
3426.  
3427.  
3428. <p>“There is no information that has been given since, so I&#8217;m just waiting,” said a Palestinian student at Columbia who asked for anonymity because of the crackdown on dissent at the school. “There’s just a general confusion.”</p>
3429.  
3430.  
3431.  
3432. <p>The Ph.D. candidate laid blame for the chaos on the university administration, not the department faculty.&nbsp;</p>
3433.  
3434.  
3435.  
3436. <p>“The faculty have also not been kept in the loop with a lot of these updates of what&#8217;s going on,” they said. “We do feel supported by our faculty, but we are isolated by the university administration.”</p>
3437.  
3438.  
3439.  
3440. <figure class="wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default">
3441.    <img decoding="async"
3442.    src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536"
3443.    srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Columbia-protest.jpg?w=1000 1000w"
3444.    sizes="auto, (min-width: 1300px) 650px, (min-width: 800px) 64vw, (min-width: 500px) calc(100vw - 5rem), calc(100vw - 3rem)"
3445.    alt=""
3446.    width="2048"
3447.    height="1536"
3448.    loading="lazy"
3449.  />
3450.      <figcaption class="photo__figcaption">
3451.                    <span class="photo__credit">Photo: Meghnad Bose</span>
3452.          </figcaption>
3453.    </figure>
3454.  
3455.  
3456.  
3457. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chaos-on-the-inside"><strong>Chaos on the Inside</strong></h2>
3458.  
3459.  
3460.  
3461. <p>For students at the Middle Eastern studies department, the university’s apparent capitulation was particularly galling because it felt like an indictment of the department with no substantive critiques.</p>
3462.  
3463.  
3464.  
3465. <p>“The MESAAS department is not being attacked right now because of a lack of rigor in its coursework or a deficiency in the quality of the research that&#8217;s being produced,” said Birckhead-Morton, the graduate student. “The MESAAS department is one of the greatest Middle Eastern Studies departments in the country.&#8221;</p>
3466.  
3467.  
3468.  
3469. <p>Other students, too, had come to Columbia looking to study at the highly regarded department.</p>
3470.  
3471.  
3472.  
3473. <p>“I came to Columbia specifically looking at MESAAS being home to some of the best scholars on Palestine,” said the Palestinian student. “Being able to work with them just really inspired me to apply to Columbia — it was my top choice.”</p>
3474.  
3475.  
3476.  
3477. <p>The internal MESAAS email and subsequent university announcement had come during spring break at Columbia. With classes set to resume on March 24, the Palestinian student felt dread over returning to campus.</p>
3478.  
3479.  
3480.  
3481. <p>“I was considering fully dropping out,” they said.</p>
3482.  
3483.  
3484.  
3485. <p>“In the past few weeks, I&#8217;ve just been very disillusioned by it all,” they said. “I would like my department to show a little ounce of courage.”</p>
3486.  
3487.  
3488.  
3489. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wresting-control-from-mesaas"><strong>Wresting Control From MESAAS</strong></h2>
3490.  
3491.  
3492.  
3493. <p>For professors at Columbia, the move against faculty control at MESAAS reflects a larger attack by the Trump administration <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities/">on academic freedom </a>in the name of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/02/22/trump-dei-christians-woke-civil-rights/">ideological conformity</a>.</p>
3494.  
3495.  
3496.  
3497. <p>“The federal government doesn’t get to tell ice cream shops what flavors to serve in what kind of cone, and they don’t get to tell universities what subjects to teach or how to teach them,” said Joseph Howley, an associate professor of classics at Columbia. “From the outside, the fact that MESAAS was targeted without justification or explanation suggests to me that this attack is being driven not by a concern for academic excellence or anyone’s safety, but by an extremist ideological agenda that has employed the federal government to remake the university for its own ends.”</p>
3498.  
3499.  
3500.  
3501.  <div class="promote-related-post">
3502.    <a      class="promo-related-post__link"
3503.            href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/15/stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities/"
3504.      data-ga-track="in_article-body"
3505.      data-ga-track-action="related post embed: stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities"
3506.      data-ga-track-label="stiglitz-columbia-trump-academic-freedom-universities"
3507.          >
3508.              <img decoding="async" width="440" height="440" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/crop_Stiglitz-3-e1744753900156.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" />            <span class="promo-related-post__text">
3509.      <h2 class="promote-related-post__eyebrow">
3510.        Related      </h2>
3511.      <h3 class="promote-related-post__title">Nobel Winner Joseph Stiglitz Denounces Columbia’s Apparent Capitulation to Trump</h3>
3512.    </span>
3513.    </a>
3514.  </div>
3515.  
3516.  
3517.  
3518. <p>Among the university’s announcements on March 21 was a policy change stating that Columbia would be appointing “new faculty members with joint positions in both the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and the departments of Economics, Political Science, and School for International and Public Affairs.”</p>
3519.  
3520.  
3521.  
3522. <p>These appointments, according to Columbia, would be “reinforcing the University&#8217;s commitment to excellence and fairness in Middle East studies.&#8221;</p>
3523.  
3524.  
3525.  
3526. <p>Work on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict was the obvious target of the changes, Birckhead-Morton said, but other areas of study could come under the same scrutiny.</p>
3527.  
3528.  
3529.  
3530. <p>“Any coursework related to Palestine will certainly be the first to be removed or restricted or modified under this new regime that&#8217;s being imposed on us — that&#8217;s the biggest worry,” he said. “But there are other courses that are on settler colonialism, for example, that aren’t specific to Palestine, but could come under attack based on the statements of the university.”</p>
3531.  
3532.  
3533.  
3534. <p>For his part, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/12/mahmoud-khalil-immigration-hearing-deportation-trump/">Mahmoud Khalil</a>, a Palestinian graduate of Columbia, denounced the attacks on the department in an <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2025/04/04/a-letter-to-columbia/">op-ed</a> from immigration detention in Louisiana, where he is being held after having his green card revoked for his <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/11/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-ice-louisiana/">activism at the university </a>against Israel’s war on Gaza. In his op-ed, Khalil referred to the pressures on MESAAS as “McCarthyist and racist interventions at the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies department.”</p>
3535.  
3536.  
3537. <!-- BLOCK(promote-post)[1](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PROMOTE_POST%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22slug%22%3A%22israel-palestine%22%2C%22crop%22%3A%22promo%22%7D) -->  <aside class="promote-banner">
3538.    <a class="promote-banner__link" href="https://theintercept.com/collections/israel-palestine/">
3539.              <span class="promote-banner__image">
3540.          <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="150" src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?fit=300%2C150" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA - NOVEMBER 7: Civil defense teams and citizens continue search and rescue operations after an airstrike hits the building belonging to the Maslah family during the 32nd day of Israeli attacks in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza on November 7, 2023. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)" srcset="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=5760 5760w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=540 540w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=1000 1000w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=2400 2400w, https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GettyImages-1768403880-2.jpg?w=3600 3600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />        </span>
3541.            <div class="promote-banner__text">
3542.                  <p class="promote-banner__eyebrow">
3543.            Read our complete coverage          </p>
3544.        
3545.        <h2 class="promote-banner__title">Israel’s War on Gaza</h2>
3546.      </div>
3547.    </a>
3548.  </aside>
3549. <!-- END-BLOCK(promote-post)[1] -->
3550.  
3551.  
3552.  
3553. <p>While no active MESAAS professors responded to requests for comment, retired professors have been more forthcoming about recent developments at the department.</p>
3554.  
3555.  
3556.  
3557. <p><a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/22/intercepted-podcast-palestine-rashid-khalidi/">Rashid Khalidi</a>, a former <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/02/01/hundred-years-war-palestine-book-rashid-khalidi/">Arab studies professor</a> at MESAAS, recently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/25/does-columbia-merit-the-name-of-university">wrote</a>, “It was never about eliminating antisemitism. It was always about silencing Palestine. That is what the gagging of protesting students, and now the gagging of faculty, was always meant to lead to.” And Sheldon Pollock, a former chair of the MESAAS department, likened the government’s demands of Columbia to “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/19/government-trump-columbia-university">a ransom note</a>”: “Like a mob boss, the government threatens to cut off two of the university’s fingers: academic freedom and faculty governance.”</p>
3558.  
3559.  
3560.  
3561. <p>Professors at other departments also spoke out against the announced changes.</p>
3562.  
3563.  
3564.  
3565. <p>“Many people in the educational establishment were telling Columbia that it should resist these demands by the Trump administration, and it should stand up and take a stand forcefully,” said Michael Thaddeus, a professor of mathematics at Columbia and vice president of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which sued the Trump administration over the revoked funding.</p>
3566.  
3567.  
3568.  
3569. <p>Thaddeus said the university’s decision not to pursue its own legal action against the Trump administration was “extremely disappointing.”</p>
3570.  
3571.  
3572.  
3573. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conference-disrupted"><strong>Conference Disrupted</strong></h2>
3574.  
3575.  
3576.  
3577. <p>Each year, students at MESAAS get a chance to present their research at the department’s graduate conference. This year, the conference — on the theme of uprisings in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa — was scheduled to take place at the university, in person, on April 10 and 11.</p>
3578.  
3579.  
3580.  
3581. <p>On April 1, though, an email went out to some participants announcing changes in the programming.</p>
3582.  
3583.  
3584.  
3585. <p>“In light of recent events at Columbia University, New York City, and the United States at large, we are writing to you about some last-minute measures we are taking in order to protect the safety of our conference participants,” said the email, a copy of which was reviewed by The Intercept. “The conference, including the keynote address, will now happen only on Zoom.”</p>
3586.  
3587.  
3588.  
3589. <p>The email went on to say that, despite the lack of an in-person forum, there would still be additional security measures. “We will be vetting all audience members, and request you to reply to this email with a list of people (friends, family, colleagues) with whom you want to share access to the conference,” the email said.</p>
3590.  
3591.  
3592.  
3593. <p>“We haven’t been directed to do this,” said the MESAAS Ph.D. candidate. “It&#8217;s really for our protection and for the protection of everyone speaking that these steps are being taken, to make sure that we can still continue to have these conversations without becoming targets ourselves.”</p>
3594.  
3595.  
3596.  
3597. <!-- BLOCK(pullquote)[2](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22PULLQUOTE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%22pull%22%3A%22right%22%7D) --><blockquote class="stylized pull-right" data-shortcode-type="pullquote" data-pull="right"><!-- CONTENT(pullquote)[2] -->“It&#8217;s more like an underground secret meeting than a public rally.”<!-- END-CONTENT(pullquote)[2] --></blockquote><!-- END-BLOCK(pullquote)[2] -->
3598.  
3599.  
3600.  
3601. <p>“It is kind of an effort to keep the conference going despite all the odds that we are facing right now,” they said. “There is some concern that we will be constrained even further if we are in person.”</p>
3602.  
3603.  
3604.  
3605. <p>The Ph.D. candidate, however, added that the fact that the department had to change the program is a sign of the pressures on academic freedoms at Columbia and, in particular, MESAAS.</p>
3606.  
3607.  
3608.  
3609. <p>Another MESAAS student, who was slated to present at the conference and asked for anonymity because they are an international student, noted that the climate on campus meant that the events were not as widely promoted as usual.</p>
3610.  
3611.  
3612.  
3613. <p>“I am still happy that my work will be seen by people, but am sad and a little disappointed that it will be a smaller audience,” the student said. “It&#8217;s more like an underground secret meeting than a public rally.”</p>
3614.  
3615.  
3616.  
3617.  
3618.  
3619.  
3620.  
3621. <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-wider-struggle"><strong>The Wider Struggle</strong></h2>
3622.  
3623.  
3624.  
3625. <p>When it comes to pressures on Middle Eastern studies departments, Columbia is far from alone. Despite recently rejecting the Trump administration’s demands, Harvard University in March <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/3/29/harvard-cmes-director-departure/">dismissed</a> the faculty leaders of their Center for Middle Eastern Studies, or CMES. Nonetheless, five days later, the Trump administration announced that it would be reviewing close to $9 billion in federal funding and multiyear grant commitments to the school.</p>
3626.  
3627.  
3628.  
3629. <p>“What happened at CMES at Harvard is shocking and egregious,” said Birckhead-Morton, the MESAAS graduate student. “So, they’ve come for Columbia, they’ve come for Harvard, we don’t want this to happen to other universities. We have to defend Middle Eastern studies across the board.”</p>
3630.  
3631.  
3632.  
3633. <p>Birckhead-Morton, who is Black and Muslim American, said the crackdown on Columbia’s academic functioning is part of a broader trend to attack scholarship seen as a threat to the powers that be.</p>
3634.  
3635.  
3636.  
3637. <p>“This is a continuation of the attack on critical race theory and ethnic studies,” he said. “It&#8217;s not just a Palestine issue or an Arab issue or a Middle East issue. These struggles and these histories are connected, and this crackdown is really going to affect us all.”</p>
3638.  
3639.  
3640.  
3641. <p>“This is an attack on scholarship, dissent, and critical thinking.”</p>
3642.  
3643.  
3644.  
3645. <p><a id="_msocom_1"></a></p>
3646. <p>The post <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/04/16/columbia-middle-eastern-studies-trump-attacks/">Inside Columbia’s Betrayal of Its Middle Eastern Studies Department</a> appeared first on <a href="https://theintercept.com">The Intercept</a>.</p>
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3655. <media:title type="html">ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - APRIL 24: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Pentagon on April 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting comes amid controversy following reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military communications in an unsecured Signal chat for the second time with his wife, brother and others. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)</media:title>
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3658. <media:title type="html">US President Donald Trump, right, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador&#039;s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland man deported to his country by Trump&#039;s administration would not be returned to the US, even as the Supreme Court has called for Trump&#039;s administration to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:title>
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