This man was created by #Trump in his first term.

The man suspected of #shooting 2 #NationalGuard members, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was once part of a #CIA-backed paramilitary group, one of several so-called #ZeroUnits, according to #Afghan & #US officials.

The units also had a reputation for ruthlessness, with journalists & #HumanRights groups referring to them as “death squads.”

#law
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/us/dc-shooting-suspect-afghanistan-cia-unit.html?smid=url-share

#GiftArticle

Centuries-old documents told of #NativeAmerican settlements in the Fones Cliffs area of the #Rappahannock River in #Virginia’s Northern Neck.

In the 1600s, English explorer #JohnSmith wrote of how he & his men were attacked by #NativeAmericans along the river. A document from the 1660s detailed how the Rappahannock Tribe was promised 30 blankets in exchange for more than 25,000 acres of their land.

#archeology #genocide #NationalDayOfMourning
https://wapo.st/48Dnft9

#ICE & #CBP aren’t just thugs, they’re lazy thugs.

Tucked in a 2-sentence footnote in a voluminous court opinion, a federal judge recently called out #immigration agents using #ArtificialIntelligence to write #UseOfForce reports, raising concerns that it could lead to inaccuracies & further erode public confidence in how #police have handled the immigration crackdown in the #Chicago area & ensuing #protests.

#Trump #law #PoliceBrutality #RightToProtest
https://apnews.com/article/ice-artificial-intelligence-ai-chicago-law-enforcement-3b7aeb65c982842ce0b6b94436fbff30

#DOJ Staff Rip #Trump & #PamBondi ‘Irreversible Damage’ in Tell-All Farewell Notes

A wave of fmr “Justice” Dept employees is leaving behind more than empty seats, revealing a glimpse of life inside the Trump admin.

The letters paint a portrait of an agency buckling under Trump’s 2nd-term, with insiders warning of “potentially irreversible damage”

The #JusticeConnection, a network of DOJ & #FBI alumni, has been collecting the notes from those who have walked out.

#law
https://www.thedailybeast.com/departing-doj-staffers-warn-of-irreversible-damage-trump-is-doing/

Sen. Slotkin said #Trump “is attempting to use the #FBI to scare us.”

“Whether you agree with the video or don’t agree with the video, the question to me is: is this the appropriate response for a president of the United States to go after & seek to weaponize the federal government against those he disagrees with?”

#law #military #MilitaryLaw #UCMJ #despotism #fascism #tyranny #dissent #democracy #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech

“#Trump is using the #FBI as a tool to intimidate & harass Members of #Congress,” a group of 4 #Democratic #House members said in a stmnt Tues. “Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House & #Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews.”

#Michigan Sen #ElissaSlotkin, 1 of the 6 Democrats in the video, told reporters Tuesday that “last night the counterterrorism division at the FBI sent a note to the members of Congress, saying they are opening what appears to be an inquiry against the 6 of us.”

🚨Pure #despotism & utter bullshit🚨

#FBI seeks interviews with #Democratic lawmakers who urged US #troops to defy #illegal orders [which is literally required by #law]

Congressional #Democrats who appeared in a social media video urging #US troops to refuse to follow “illegal orders” say the FBI has contacted them to begin scheduling interviews, signaling a possible inquiry into the matter.

#Trump #law #fascism #tyranny #dissent #democracy #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech
https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-congress-80c1a1ffbbaa3a12e63745356f2377f3?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-11-25-Breaking+News

It would mark the 2nd investigation tied to the video, coming a day after the #Pentagon said it was reviewing Sen #MarkKelly (D-AZ) over potential violations of #MilitaryLaw (also bullshit). The #FBI & Pentagon actions come after #Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” in a social media post.

#law #military #UCMJ #despotism #fascism #tyranny #dissent #democracy #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech

#Russia Strikes #Ukraine & Signals Resistance to Amended Peace Plan

The attack killed at least 7 people in #Kyiv, authorities said.

Russia launched a deadly barrage of missiles & drones on the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, as Kremlin officials signaled they would resist changes negotiated by Ukraine to Trump’s peace plan.

#Trump #PutinsPuppet #MafiaState #extortion #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #alliance #StandWithUkraine
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/world/europe/ukraine-russia-strike-peace-plan.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

The attack on #Kyiv, the capital, killed at least 7 people & injured 20 others, acc/to the mayor. It came as the #Trump admin was working to maintain diplomatic momentum behind its efforts to end the #war, which were jump-started last week when it presented a 28-point “peace” plan to #Ukraine.

#US & #Russia held talks Tuesday in #AbuDhabi, #UAE, about the proposed deal, which favored Russia in its initial form & was amended & streamlined in talks between Ukraine & the Trump admin over the wknd.

Sergey V. #Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said #Russia was waiting for the #US to submit an “interim” version of the modified plan.

“Then we will see,” Lavrov said after meeting with his Belarusian counterpart.

If the plan “erased” what Lavrov called “the spirit & letter of Anchorage”—referring to an August meeting in Alaska where #Trump sided with Russia’s approach to the conflict—then “it will be a fundamentally different situation,” he said, suggesting that Russia would resist…the plan.

“Is this fan fiction I’m reading?” Cat Farman, a bureau employee & the president of the staff union, wrote. She added, “Instead of traumatizing #CFPB workers with his role-play fantasies, Vought should resign so we can finally do our jobs protecting Americans from #WallStreet #fraud again.”

#law #corruption #government #oversight #Project2025 #RussVought #Trump

The new pledge is, for now, mostly symbolic. #RussVought halted nearly all work at the #CFPB shortly after his arrival in February, & #bank examinations have not resumed. The agency’s hundreds of examiners have been told to spend their time closing out all open matters; they are currently barred from initiating new ones.

#law #corruption #government #oversight #Project2025 #Trump

And #RussVought has refused to request money for the #CFPB from the #FederalReserve, which funds its operations. The bureau warned in court filings that it would run out of operating cash early next year.

The #Trump admin is pursuing a variety of changes to give it greater sway over how #independent #financial regulators, including the Fed, oversee #WallStreet. Trump’s appointees have slashed supervision staffing & curtailed the scope of agencies’ #bank exams.

#law #corruption #oversight

…Because exams are confidential, they can identify — &, ideally, stop — small issues that could otherwise mushroom. The #CFPB’s examiners have forced #banks & other #lenders to return hundreds of millions of dollars to #consumers for improper fees & worthless services, & helped uncover high-profile issues like #WellsFargo’s sham accounts scandal.

#law #corruption #government #oversight #Project2025 #RussVought #Trump

This is a super freaking weird way of undermining #corporate #accountability.

#Banking is one of the US’ most tightly regulated industries, & confidential bank examinations carried out by independent federal regulators are a core guardrail for protecting the safety & soundness of the financial system.

#RussVought, #Trump #OMB director, is not a fan of how the #CFPB, where he is acting director, has carried out those exams.

#law #corruption #oversight #Project2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/business/consumer-bureau-humility-pledge.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

On Friday, the #CFPB said it would now require its #financial examiners to recite a “humility pledge” to companies before beginning a review.

“The upcoming supervision examination cycle is going to be fundamentally different from the prior ones,” the pledge begins. It then details a set of changes, including a more limited review scope & an agency commitment to “work collaboratively” with the businesses it oversees.

#law #corruption #government #oversight #Project2025 #RussVought #Trump

In a notice announcing the change, the #CFPB described its own supervision department as “the weaponized arm” of the agency under its #Biden-era director & said its exams had been carried out with “thuggery.”

On Monday, the consumer bureau’s staff #union fired back with a statement denouncing the pledge as “creepy” & “disrespectful.”

#law #corruption #government #oversight #Project2025 #RussVought #Trump

Senator #MarkKelly, in an interview with #RachelMaddow, emphasized his view that "it's almost comical" that #Trump & #PeteHegseth are calling it a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that he cited part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in a recent video. Kelly explained his participation in the video in the context of protecting members of the military from a president who "doesn't seem to care about the Constitution, the rule of law."

#law #military
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A3kC2h2Bu8

Arguments in the #AssociatedPress case against the #Trump admin [Associated Press v. Budowich] are set to continue on Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. At stake is whether the president is entitled to curate the crew of reporters who cover official events in the Oval Office. Can he boot those whose work he doesn’t like?

#law #FirstAmendment #FreePress #FourthEstate #journalism
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/business/media/associated-press-president-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share