Category: Deep State

Conspiracy about a hidden government undermining Trump.

Trump’s DOJ Blocked Probe into Collins’ Pay-to-Play

In a notable corruption revelation, the FBI aimed to investigate Senator Susan Collins’s links to a defense contractor, Navatek, which allegedly engaged in a pay-to-play scheme. The firm’s CEO, Martin Kao, claimed that substantial political donations resulted in the senator securing lucrative defense contracts for Navatek, a serious breach of campaign finance laws. This alleged quid pro quo involved shell company donations funneled to a Super PAC linked to Collins.

Kao provided detailed accounts to the FBI, laying bare how political donations facilitated over $40 million in government contracts for Navatek, showing a systemic corruption issue in Washington. Despite these revelations and substantial evidence from Kao, the investigation into these practices was halted when Donald Trump returned to office, purging the Justice Department of personnel who had previously investigated him.

This case of alleged corruption highlights the unaccountable influence of money in politics, allowing corporations to buy favors and steer federal funds illegally. Notably, the Trump administration dismantled the specialized teams at DOJ tasked with investigating corruption, showcasing a clear attempt to protect political allies and undermine justice.

While Collins has denied any wrongdoing, the case against her was incomplete due to the collapse of these investigative efforts. The shutdown of this investigation represents a broader issue of how enforcement against political corruption has deteriorated under Trump’s leadership of an increasingly authoritarian regime.

This first story in a series by ProPublica highlights disturbing corruption tactics in Washington, laying the groundwork for further investigations into systemic abuse within government contract allocations and the troubling impacts of purged justice personnel under Trump’s administration.



(Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-susan-collins-navatek-campaign-donations-investigation)

Trump Official Leaks Debunked Censorship Files

A Trump administration official leaked government files to a conservative online data analyst in a failed attempt to prove that the shuttered Global Engagement Center had conducted domestic censorship operations. Sarah Rogers, the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, provided the documents to Jennica Pounds, known as DataRepublican, who claimed she was being “entrapped.” Rogers then published the files herself, alleging center officials “betrayed their stated mission.”

Two former senior GEC officials, Daniel Kimmage and Carrie Goux, examined the leaked material and concluded it demonstrates nothing. The files contained a 2022 GEC report on “gendered disinformation” and Kimmage’s congressional testimony, which Rogers selectively presented to suggest the center had targeted American speech. Kimmage stated Rogers “tried to twist” his testimony, in which he explicitly said the GEC “did not” take positions on US outlets, into false evidence of domestic censorship.

The GEC, which operated from 2017 until dissolution in 2025, spent nearly a decade tracking foreign influence operations from Russia, China, and Iran under an explicit foreign-facing mandate. During that period, it published eight detailed reports on Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns, exposed four major Kremlin operations across Latin America, Africa, Moldova, and against RT, and brokered an international pact on countering state disinformation signed by over two dozen governments. A 2022 inspector general review found the center “generally effective,” though it noted weaknesses in internal controls and contractor oversight.

Republicans, including former House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Michael McCaul, attacked the GEC for allegedly stretching the definition of disinformation to suppress conservative speech. The campaign centered on the center’s funding of the Global Disinformation Index, a UK nonprofit that rated media outlets; the GDI’s separate 2022 study of the US media market rated Newsmax, One America News, and the New York Post as high-risk for disinformation, which critics weaponized as evidence of domestic meddling despite the GEC’s foreign mandate.

The State Department is now resuming counter-disinformation work through other offices, including a proposal to pay up to 30 social media influencers across 11 Southeast Asian countries $2,500 each as part of an $11 million campaign to counter Chinese propaganda. The influencer program, operated by the US Mission to ASEAN, includes messaging, training, and studio visits to “intensive collaboration” in Washington and Houston, with recruitment materials citing Pounds as an ideal model. Goux stated the administration is “spending a lot more tax dollars” attempting to reconstruct the GEC’s functions through contractors while the US “has lost their seat at the table” internationally and “losing trust too.”



(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/30/state-department-global-engagement-center-leaked-documents-foreign-propaganda?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=fb_us&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcAUB2bFwZG9mBWZkaWQWUNhA2nVC-1TIXlpnQcULA8nZq7U7QGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4e46YPv-u3jinexDLfVD5pbBRWNKDJWnPzteIVor6UwLqdj-AiK3cye1072Q_aem_qPXIWAbHlImdCnG_ibNBHg#Echobox=1788089080)

Trump Revives False Claims Election Systems Compromised

President Donald Trump delivered a primetime White House address Thursday night, reviving unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election he lost was compromised by foreign interference. Trump alleged that American election systems face widespread vulnerabilities susceptible to manipulation, an assertion contradicted by extensive evidence and prior official assessments.

Documents Trump referenced during his speech, reviewed by CNN, largely describe vulnerabilities known for years and reflected in the 2021 U.S. intelligence community assessment. According to a source with direct knowledge, these materials were compiled to capture all information the government possessed on potential election interference concerns, but the intelligence community determined them either insufficiently concrete or incorporated them into minority reports rather than treating them as consequential findings.

No declassified information Trump cited supports claims that any previous election results, including the 2020 contest, were manipulated by foreign interference or domestic fraud in ways that would have altered outcomes. The intelligence community’s analysis determined that verbiage within the documents themselves did not warrant treating the concerns as having material impact on election integrity.

Trump’s revival of election-integrity doubts occurs four months before midterm elections, continuing a pattern of amplifying unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about U.S. electoral systems. His assertions conflict with findings from election officials, security experts, and his own appointed Department of Homeland Security officials, who have consistently affirmed the security and integrity of American elections.

The address reflects Trump’s ongoing effort to sow doubt about election outcomes unfavorable to him while promoting baseless narratives about systemic vulnerabilities, despite declassified records and official assessments providing no evidentiary support for claims of election manipulation affecting results.



(Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-sows-doubt-election-integrity-midterms-rcna587853)

DOGE Records Deleted From NLRB Amid Investigation

In April 2025, federal IT staffer Dan Berulis filed a whistleblower complaint with Congress alleging that members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had accessed and potentially exfiltrated sensitive information from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Shortly after filing the complaint, Berulis discovered that his car’s brakes had been cut following a minor accident near his home. The NLRB’s Office of the Inspector General opened an investigation in May 2025, which remains ongoing.

A Government Accountability Office report released in April 2026 examined DOGE’s access to NLRB systems but conspicuously covered only the period after Berulis’ complaint was filed. The report’s footnotes revealed that in August 2025, after DOGE members departed the NLRB, the agency deleted team member accounts and associated access records before GAO investigators could observe the systems. This deletion eliminated digital evidence of what data DOGE members accessed and when, preventing confirmation of statements made to investigators. According to Don Moynihan, a University of Michigan public policy professor, the report “raises more questions than it resolves, such as who deleted the data.”

Berulis’ complaint alleged that DOGE officials demanded the highest level of access to NLRB systems, including “tenant owner” accounts with unrestricted permission to read, copy, and alter data, exceeding even the agency’s chief information officer’s access. The NLRB enforces labor laws and investigates unfair labor practices, giving it access to whistleblower identities, testimony, trade secrets, and investigative materials. The GAO acknowledged interviewing NLRB staff about DOGE’s access levels but could not verify their accounts because the accounts had already been deleted. Justin Fox, Nate Cavanaugh, and Jordan Wick were all at the NLRB at various points, but no specific DOGE members are named in the report or Berulis’ complaint.

The deletion of these records violates the General Records Schedule, which mandates that agencies retain access records from systems containing personally identifiable information for six years. The two systems DOGE accessed, the Electronic Official Personnel Folders and the Federal Personnel and Payroll System, both contain federal workers’ personal information. Dan McGrath, senior oversight counsel at Democracy Forward, stated the deletion “violates the Federal Records Act because it’s not preserving their activities.” Michael Duff, a former NLRB lawyer and Saint Louis University law professor, called the deletion “irregular and almost certainly contrary to practice,” noting that deleting data during an ongoing inspector general investigation compounds the concern. WIRED previously reported that DOGE members used encrypted messaging with auto-deleting features, which experts warned could violate federal record retention laws.

The deletion may not be isolated; Berulis’ complaint documented evidence that a DOGE account may have been created and deleted from NLRB cloud systems as early as March 6, 2025. Elon Musk, who led DOGE and owns Tesla and SpaceX, has financial interests in NLRB decisions; the agency dropped its case against SpaceX earlier this year, prompting Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal to request answers on whether the dismissal was politically motivated. In a functioning oversight system, according to Moynihan, this would trigger congressional hearings and sworn testimony, but such accountability remains unlikely.



(Source: https://www.wired.com/story/federal-investigators-say-certain-doge-records-were-deleted/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_brand=wired&utm_social-type=owned&fbclid=IwdGRjcAS_jqNwZG9mA2ZkaWQWUKVvhXR3lFy12rLF31dXHiKpftXWLWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5ZFGZD-T_vJjIKipMGXHUKyO5UDJPcwxTdUCrATGDEfIdliYMkX5jl6p-HwQ_aem_vaPxhHw7M5OzAYT5Um2qgQ)

Trump Celebrates Supreme Court Ruling Expanding Presidential Firing Power

Donald Trump celebrated a Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential authority to fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioners, claiming the decision overturned 90 years of precedent and "greatly increasing Presidential Power." Trump had fired Biden-appointee Rebecca Slaughter from the FTC in 2025, citing her service as "inconsistent with the Administration's priorities," and the Court's 6-3 decision on Monday upheld his authority to do so.

In a separate ruling, the Supreme Court limited Trump's power by preventing him from firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, preserving the central bank's independence from executive removal authority. Trump had fired Cook in August after Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte accused her of mortgage fraud; Cook has denied the charge. Trump vowed to pursue "appropriate action immediately" and claimed Cook committed "wrongdoing," while Pulte, now interim head of the Department of National Intelligence, reiterated his belief that Cook "will be indicted for mortgage fraud."

It's important to note that Trump has falsely claimed mail-in voting is "really dishonest"; it is a legitimate voting method used by legitimate voters, including Trump himself.

All evidence shows fraud rates are tiny. He also falsely described what Jimmy Carter and a Carter-led 2005 commission said about mail-in ballots. Carter didn't say "you can't have them," and the commission didn't declare cheating inevitable. Additionally, Trump falsely claimed, "We're the only nation that does birthright citizenship," though about three dozen countries provide automatic citizenship to people born on their soil.

CNN's Paula Reid explained the split outcome, noting that the FTC ruling favored Trump because the agency operates within the Executive branch, while the Federal Reserve maintains independence as a separate entity. The decisions represent conflicting judicial positions on the scope of presidential removal powers, with the Court granting Trump greater control over executive agencies while constraining his authority over the Fed.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-takes-victory-lap-over-supreme-court-case-greatly-increasing-presidential-power/)

Trump Defends Exodus of Lawyers from His Administration

The departure of over 10,000 government lawyers from Trump’s administration is not just an isolated event but part of a broader strategy, viewed by some as a “deep state” conspiracy endorsed by Trump and the Republicans. This approach targets those not blindly loyal to Trump, seeing periodic loyalty purges as necessary for authoritarian control. Low-quality loyalists replace experienced civil servants, willing to follow Trump’s directives regardless of constitutionality. This aligns with Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation policy blueprint aiming to dismantle federal bureaucracy.

Project 2025 outlines a plan to replace tens of thousands of career civil servants with political loyalists, ensuring presidential control over the executive branch. Key strategies include the proposed revival of “Schedule F,” which would reclassify approximately 50,000 federal workers into political appointments, stripping their job protections. It also relies on “unitary executive theory,” granting the president total control over federal agencies, challenging the independence of bodies like the Department of Justice and the FBI.

The project organizes databases of pre-vetted conservative loyalists to fill government positions swiftly, aiming to install “conservative warriors” in legal, regulatory, and policy-making roles across all departments.

Trump Loyalist DiGenova Tapped to Lead DOJ Florida Probe

The Justice Department has assigned Joe diGenova, a Trump supporter who worked on Trump’s failed 2020 election overturn campaign, to lead a controversial Florida investigation targeting Trump’s perceived political adversaries. DiGenova’s appointment follows the removal of career prosecutor Maria Medetis Long from the probe after she expressed concerns about rushing criminal charges against former CIA Director John Brennan, according to ABC News sources.

DiGenova served as U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. in the 1980s but has not worked as a prosecutor for decades. In recent years, he has frequently appeared on media outlets promoting Trump’s grievances and conspiracy theories about investigations into the president, including unfounded claims about the 2016 Russia investigation.

The so-called “grand conspiracy” probe examines whether intelligence officials and prosecutors engaged in unlawful efforts to target Trump over several years. DiGenova has previously called former CIA Director Brennan a “real traitor” and demanded he face criminal charges for allegedly lying to Congress, accusations Brennan has denied while standing by his role in the 2017 intelligence community assessment detailing Russian interference in the 2016 election.

DiGenova’s assignment to oversee the investigation signals a more aggressive approach and is likely to raise objections from attorneys representing individuals who have received subpoenas in the probe, given his extensive history of public commentary defending Trump during the Russia investigation and his demonstrated bias against the targets of this new inquiry.

The appointment represents the weaponization of federal law enforcement institutions against Trump’s perceived enemies, continuing the pattern of using government power to settle political scores rather than pursue legitimate justice.

(Source: https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-loyalist-joe-digenova-dispatched-lead-dojs-controversial/story?id=132171939)

Acting AG Blanche Denies DOJ Weaponization While Targeting

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Trump administration’s use of the Justice Department against political rivals during a White House press conference on Tuesday, dismissing concerns about weaponization as “completely false.” Blanche instead inverted the accusation, claiming that former President Joe Biden’s DOJ had weaponized the department against Trump in an unprecedented manner by pursuing multiple indictments and supporting local prosecutions, including the Manhattan hush-money case and the Georgia election interference case.

Blanche criticized media outlets for what he characterized as selective outrage, stating that journalists had ignored Biden-era prosecutions of Trump but now complained when the Trump administration targeted his political rivals. He argued that Trump and his associates, including family members, staff, and security personnel, had been subjected to “massive investigations” under the previous administration. Blanche has previously boasted about purging federal employees from the DOJ and FBI who investigated Trump, describing the effort as necessary reforms rather than political retaliation.

The acting attorney general reframed the Trump administration’s prosecutorial actions as pursuing “justice” rather than political vengeance, claiming the president has repeatedly stated he wants the department to serve the rule of law. However, the administration has already expanded DOJ investigations into Democratic officials, including subpoenaing Minnesota Democratic leaders over immigration policies. Blanche’s remarks occurred less than a week after Trump dismissed former Attorney General Pam Bondi and appointed him to lead the Justice Department.

The controversy over DOJ misuse reflects a pattern within the Trump administration of conflating investigations into Trump’s own legal exposure with claims of Democratic weaponization. Blanche, Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer now serving as acting attorney general, has already demonstrated willingness to suppress information, including announcing in advance that the department would withhold documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein files despite legal requirements for transparency. The administration’s deployment of the DOJ against Democratic targets contradicts its public denial of political prosecutions.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/new-ag-todd-blanche-fumes-over-question-about-weaponization-of-doj-against-trump-enemies/)

Trump’s Weaponization Group Targets Perceived Enemies Across Agencies

A wide-ranging assembly of U.S. officials is reportedly collaborating to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda of seeking retribution against his perceived adversaries. This Interagency Weaponization Working Group, which has been active since at least May, includes representatives from various government agencies such as the White House, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), CIA, and the Justice and Defense Departments.

Formed after Trump issued an executive order on his inauguration day instructing action against past misconduct by government agencies, the working group’s mission aligns with Trump’s long-standing narrative of a “Deep State” undermining his presidency. Notably, Attorney General Pam Bondi and ODNI Director Tulsi Gabbard have publicly emphasized the group’s role in identifying those they allege misused government power against Trump.

Documentation reveals that the group’s focus includes high-profile figures such as former FBI Director James Comey and Anthony Fauci, in addition to broader discussions surrounding individuals and entities tied to government operations perceived as targeting Trump. The group’s activities suggest a systematic effort not only to investigate but also potentially to retaliate against former officials from the Obama and Biden administrations.

Although the exact actions the group can undertake remain unclear, officials assert that its operations reflect a deeper commitment to exploring claims regarding the politicization of federal resources. Some involved have vocalized Trump-supporting narratives, calling into question the legitimacy of past election outcomes and government responses, particularly in relation to events surrounding January 6, 2021.

As ongoing scrutiny mounts from both major political parties over the scope of the group’s operations and its implications, officials maintain that its primary objective is to foster transparency and accountability within federal operations, countering the allegations of weaponization leveled at previous administrations.

Comey Indictment Looms Amid Trump’s Legal Vendetta

Former FBI Director James Comey is anticipated to face indictment soon in federal court in Virginia, according to MSNBC. This development aligns with longstanding animosity directed toward Comey by President Donald Trump, who previously dismissed him from his post. The potential charges against Comey follow recent upheaval in the U.S. Attorney’s office, where Erik Siebert resigned under pressure after opposing the indictment.

Comey’s target status has intensified, especially after Trump, in a recent Truth Social post, declared him and other figures like New York Attorney General Letitia James “guilty as hell.” This sentiment resonates with Trump’s long-standing efforts to undermine adversaries, reflecting an alarming trend toward using the justice system against political opponents. Trump’s actions evoke concerns about authoritarian overreach, reminiscent of fascistic tendencies throughout his political career.

Reports indicate that part of the expected charges may center on accusations that Comey lied during his congressional testimony in September 2020, where he denied authorizing leaks related to an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails. Trump’s influence in these judicial proceedings continues to raise serious questions about the impartiality of the judicial process and the weaponization of political power.

Senator Ted Cruz has asserted inconsistencies between Comey and former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, suggesting perjury and calling into question the integrity of Comey’s previous statements. This narrative has been fueled by an unverified claim of a leak authorization that Cruz alleges undermines Comey’s credibility.

The resignation of Siebert and the subsequent appointment of Lindsey Halligan, who has previously represented Trump, further illustrates the troubling dynamics at play. As the situation unfolds, it is imperative to scrutinize the implications of these actions on American democracy and the rule of law. This ongoing saga not only highlights Trump’s vendetta against Comey but also threatens to compromise fundamental legal standards in favor of political retribution.

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