NEWS: US No Longer A Democracy + Your Social Security Data May Have Been Stolen
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Here’s what you may have missed:
NPR, Trump is dismantling democracy at ‘unprecedented’ speed, global report finds
Three major reports published this month independently conclude that Trump has done serious damage to American democracy at remarkable speed. V-Dem dropped the US from 20th to 51st in its global democracy rankings, landing the country between Slovakia and Greece. Bright Line Watch, which surveys more than 500 US scholars, found the US now falls midway between liberal democracy and dictatorship. Freedom House found the US registered one of the largest declines in political rights and civil liberties among free countries last year. V-Dem’s founding director said Trump has rolled back democracy in one year as much as it took Modi in India and Erdogan in Turkey ten years to accomplish.
Why this matters: Experts agree, we are quickly becoming a dictatorship.
Wired, John Solly Is the DOGE Operative Accused of Planning to Take Social Security Data to His New Job
A whistleblower complaint alleges DOGE operative John Solly stored sensitive Social Security data on a thumb drive and attempted to share it with his new employer. That employer is Leidos, a government contractor with up to $1.5 billion in SSA contracts. The data allegedly includes NUMIDENT, a master database containing all the information tied to every American’s Social Security number application. Solly allegedly told colleagues he expected a presidential pardon if his actions were unlawful.
Why this matters: If a private contractor holds the Social Security records of every American, a data breach—through negligence, a bad actor, or a foreign adversary—could expose hundreds of millions of Americans to identity theft.
CREW, 20 White House cabinet members have directed at least $30 million to benefit Trump
20 of 23 cabinet members have directed at least $30 million to Trump through political contributions, property visits, stock holdings, and donations to White House-related funds since 2023. For example, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick each gave tens of millions to Trump super PACs. Lutnick and McMahon also donated undisclosed amounts to Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project.
Why this matters: Executive branch officials appear to be essentially purchasing their influential jobs from a corrupt president.
The Guardian, ICE agents reveal daily arrest quotas and surveillance app in rare court testimony
Under oath in a federal lawsuit, ICE agents testified they were given verbal orders to make eight arrests per day. They used an app called Elite, built by Palantir, to identify neighborhoods with high concentrations of people with immigration history. An agent acknowledged Elite could be inaccurate. The judge in the case sharply criticized its use, noting it could result in detaining people who have every legal right to be in the country. The judge wrote that ICE arrested an “extraordinary” number of Oregonians “with little regard for conducting lawful arrests” to meet the president’s demand for 3,000 daily arrests.
Why this matters: The testimony revealed arrest quotas, a dragnet surveillance app, fabricated arrest records, and constitutional violations. The Guardian’s reporting on this is classic accountability journalism that our democracy requires to function.
Poynter, Trump and his FCC chair are barking at the press. Even without a bite, the threat matters.
FCC chair Brendan Carr threatened broadcasters with license revocation over factual Iran war coverage that he mischaracterized as “fake news.” Media law experts say actually pulling licenses is legally prohibited and the FCC’s sole Democratic commissioner called the threats unconstitutional.
Why this matters: The government has a specific, anti-democratic goal here. The threats are designed to push broadcasters toward self-censorship. The FCC commissioner baselessly threatening broadcasters with harsh consequences for coverage the president doesn’t like is an affront to the First Amendment.
Wired, DHS Ousts CBP Privacy Officers Who Questioned ‘Illegal’ Orders
DHS removed CBP’s top privacy officer and its Freedom of Information Act director after they pushed back on orders to mislabel completed government records as “drafts.” If the records were filed as drafts, it would prevent them from being released in response to FOIA requests. The officials were removed after a CBP officer—acting in accordance with the law—released an assessment revealing that a face recognition app called Mobile Fortify captures faces and fingerprints without consent and stores every image for up to 15 years.
Why this matters: Burying these privacy assessments while firing the officials who objected was an attempt by DHS to expand its surveillance apparatus in secret.
Center for American Progress, The SAVE America Act Explained: How the New ‘Show Your Papers’ Voting Bill Is Even More Extreme Than the SAVE Act
Note: This is already a month old, but is the most comprehensive piece on the SAVE Act that I could find.
The House passed the SAVE America Act in February, a voting bill that would require Americans to present a passport or birth certificate in person to register to vote, effectively banning the registration methods used by 94 percent of Americans. The bill would also create a federal voter surveillance system by requiring states to submit their voter rolls to DHS. DHS has already inaccurately flagged naturalized citizens for removal from voter rolls in Texas. Even by ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation’s own count, noncitizen voter fraud has produced just 100 confirmed instances since 2000, out of 1.5 billion ballots cast.
Why this matters: A bill sold as election security—when elections are already secure—is not election security. This bill is voter suppression dressed up in patriotic branding.
NBC News Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles, Reporter Demands Mike Johnson Provide One Example Of Fraudulent Voting That The SAVE Act Would Prevent
We need to root for journalists and encourage them to fight for us. Capitol Hill reporters have a reputation as being some of the most obsequious. They need access to government officials in order to do their jobs and that often leads to treating them lightly so as not to get shut out. That’s why this episode is important. Ryan Nobles challenged Mike Johnson. That’s big even if the video doesn’t seem that confrontational.
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