After threatening to target the media several hundred times since he first announced his candidacy for President, Trump is now instructing his bootlicking Attorney General Pam Bondi to make his war on journalists possible. Although Bondi is acting in the context of hunting down leakers in the Department of Defense, the reality is that Downmarket Mussolini will almost certainly come for his critics in the media and the sources they speak to, next.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/bondi-journalism-protections

Bondi Shreds Biden-Era Protections for Journalists as Trump White House Hunts Leakers

"As part of a renewed crackdown on leaks, Bondi said she is issuing revised Justice Department regulations stating that media outlets "must answer subpoenas" related to efforts to uncover sources of unauthorized disclosures within the federal government.

"The policy contemplates the use of subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants to compel production of information and testimony by and relating to members of the news media, subject to the Privacy Protection Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000aa, and the approval of the department's leadership in some instances," the memo states. "The attorney general must also approve efforts to question or arrest members of the news media."

As I alluded to above, I find US corporate media's bloodless, minutiae-focused reporting on Bondi's actions here curious and alarming given that the Trump regime is giving itself the power to come after them and their journalists. Obviously the regime is acting in response to the embarrassing leaks surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the investigation DNI Tulsi Gabbard is conducting into those leaks. None of this is happening in a vacuum however, and I don't know who it serves to report only in the narrow context of the regime's narrative here.

Like let's cut the crap right? During his first administration, Trump's Department of Justice already tried to go after reporters to expose their sources. Trump is a guy who threatened journalists with implied carceral sexual assault if they didn't give up their sources, on the campaign trail. The Kelpto Kaiser has literally said negative reporting about himself and his regime should be "illegal." The regime is weaponizing the FCC and holding McCarthy-esque hearings lead by fascist conspiracy crank-turned Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to target NPR and PBS for criticizing Trump and admitting LGBTQ people exist in American life. Trump is literally exerting so much pressure on CBS over the editing on a 60 Minutes segment featuring Kamala Harris (a woman he already beat in the 2024 US election) that the program's longtime editor resigned because the show's independence was compromised.

I honestly couldn't give a rats ass about warmongers working for a fascist regime who get caught leaking, but surely it doesn't take a psychic to realize that the would-be dictator already targeting media that criticizes or opposes his fascist agenda, is going to use new Department of Justice guidelines that let him more freely target media that criticize or oppose his fascist agenda, to further target media that criticizes or opposes his fascist agenda. This isn't rocket science here. For corporate media outlets to pretend this story is purely about internal leaks inside Pete Hegseth's staff strains credulity, and would appear to be very shortsighted indeed.

Were those #DoJ #CivilRights attorneys pressured to quit en masse; so that WH could turn back clock to the pre civil rights era

You think the civil war is over they do not. A + for persistence to the South.

Well played they don't even see it coming still.

A few days ago I wrote about Trump's authoritarian investigation into ActBlue in the context of rigging American politics, now the AP is reporting that Democratic Party-aligned activist groups like Indivisible are also preparing for the possibility Downmarket Mussolini and the Republican Party will come for them next.

https://apnews.com/article/democrats-trump-actblue-indivisible-legal-threat-fbi-42f502bcb5888b12628629710c6eb21b

Core Democratic groups are preparing to be targeted by the Trump administration

"The Democrats’ dominant national fundraising platform, ActBlue, and the party’s largest protest group, Indivisible, are working with their attorneys for just such a scenario, according to officials within both organizations. Trump’s top political allies have suggested both groups should face prosecution.

Other Democratic allies are planning for Trump-backed legal crackdowns as well. Wary of antagonizing the Republican president, most prefer to stay anonymous for now.

“Every one of our clients is concerned about being arbitrarily targeted by the Trump administration. We are going to great lengths to help clients prepare for or defend themselves,” said Ezra Reese, political law chair at Elias Law Group, which represents Democratic groups and candidates and is chaired by Marc Elias, the lawyer who has himself been a Trump target."

I generally don't have time to talk about speculative write ups like this one, but given that Trump has already ordered an investigation into ActBlue, and appears to be governing by fascist conspiracy theories embraced by the GOP at large, I think this one is worth keeping an eye on. In particular, any authoritarian repression directed at Indivisible would represent "crossing the streams" of the various fascist interests operating within the Trump administration because that group has intimately been involved in the anti-Trump, anti-Musk "Hands Off" protests; Musk in particular has publicly described them as "criminal."

Obviously I can't predict the future, but targeting activist groups aligned with his political opposition would definitely fit the pattern of building a patchwork Enabling Act that Trump has adopted so far. The regime is already creating the ideological justification to criminalize a key funding apparatus for the Democratic Party, and given that both DHS and the DoJ have directly implied that protesting the regime amounts to "domestic terrorism," I think it would be foolish to assume the Trumpenreich *isn't* coming for groups like Indivisible in time; and clearly Democratic Party-aligned groups of all stripes agree with me or they wouldn't be lawyering up in preparation.

Media sources have obtained a March 14th Department of Justice memo the Trump regime released after a FOIA request, revealing that the Pork Reich wants ICE agents to ignore the Fourth Amendment to fight a fake war against "narco-terrorist gangs." If they get away with this, we'll truly be in the V for Vendetta era of Trumpism.

Nina-Bytes: Jackboots at the Door

https://www.ninaillingworth.com/2025/04/29/nina-bytes-jackboots-at-the-door/

"As someone who has spent many years studying fascism, authoritarianism, and police states however, I’m pretty sure you don’t issue a Department of Justice order like that unless you intend to use ICE to start going house to house in American communities; and once a fascist government grants itself the power to do that, it really doesn’t matter why they claim they’re doing so anymore. This is quite literally the beginnings of the dystopian police state winger prepper reactionaries are always going on about guarding against, and in anything resembling a functioning democracy US Attorney General Pam Bondi would be arrested immediately for even signing it. As both the article and your middle school civics class will tell you, absolutely none of this is legal no matter what ancient laws Trump tries to invoke and Bondi’s Justice Department is basically telling ICE to ignore the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, “because we say so.”

THIS is NOT to be tolerated!!!! #DontNormaliseFascism #FIGHTBACK

https://newrepublic.com/post/194442/trump-doj-memo-ice-arrest-search-warrant

#TheNewRepublic #ALERT

Trump #DOJ Ordered #ICE to Invade Homes WITHOUT SEARCH WARRANT

by #MalcolmFerguson 25 April 2025

#FascistUSA #Fassissmo #DueProcess #StopAbductionsAndRemovals #STOPHomeInvasions

The #labor boards after that decision confirmed the officials were no longer in their posts.

The action by Roberts gave the justices more time, while #Trump keeps Harris & Wilcox sidelined as legal challenges proceed. The decision could come at any time.

#DOJ attys asked #SCOTUS to consider hearing arguments on a fast-track basis on whether the labor board protections encroached on #PresidentialPower & whether Humphrey's Executor was wrongly decided & should be overruled.