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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 8h

Again, it is a full-blown federal felony crime for anyone in the White House or Executive Office of the President to order tax investigations into anyone.

And it's not just a crime to DO it, it's even a federal crime for an employee not to REPORT such an order to the Treasury Inspector General.

26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations
U.S. Code
Notes
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(a)Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for any applicable person to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.

(b)Reporting requirement
Any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request prohibited by subsection (a) shall report the receipt of such request to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

(c)Exceptions
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any written request made—
(1)to an applicable person by or on behalf of the taxpayer and forwarded by such applicable person to the Internal Revenue Service;
(2)by an applicable person for disclosure of return or return information under section 6103 if such request is made in accordance with the requirements of such section; or
(3)by the Secretary of the Treasury as a consequence of the implementation of a change in tax policy.
(d)Penalty
Any person who willfully violates subsection (a) or fails to report under subsection (b) shall be punished upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(e)Applicable person
For purposes of this section, the term “applicable person” means—
(1)the President, the Vice President, any employee of the executive office of the President, and any employee of the executive office of the Vice President; and
(2)any individual (other than the Attorney General of the United States) serving in a position specified in section 5312 of title 5, United States Code.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 13h

The Supreme Court’s majority right wing indicated in oral arguments that they think racism is over on the same day that the vice president defended the “I love Hitler” guy, and that the NYT reported that the current administration plans to accept only white, English-speaking refugees.

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 11h

You’re not imagining it. They are literally Jacobites.

www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04...

Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets

They’re not MAGA. They’re not QAnon. Curtis Yarvin and the rising right are crafting a different strain of conservative politics.

www.vanityfair.com

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 17h

BREAKING

“The Trump administration has secretly authorized the C.I.A. to conduct covert action in Venezuela, according to U.S. officials, stepping up a campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the country’s authoritarian leader.”

Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela

www.nytimes.com

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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 15h

Trump and Vought are now breaking both sides of spending law. They’re illegally not spending where the law requires them to spend, and they’re illegally spending where they don’t have the money to spend.

What we have is an appropriations king.

Spending “deals” are meaningless under that setup.

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 15h

Surely Antifa’s Tier One special forces staged a covert raid on this congressional office. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 16h

BREAKING: A federal judge just temporarily blocked the Trump admin's plans to lay off thousands of federal workers during the government shutdown — siding with unions, which have argued that the dismissals were illegal.

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 16h

My light blue township has almost no Sherrill signs, and maybe three or four Jan 6th Jack signs per block. It makes me nervous, but I try to remember that for the most part, the Trumpers are loud about their politics here, and my side of the aisle tends to low key it.

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Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 19h

Section 2 of the 15th Amendment explicitly delegates to Congress the right to decide how to enforce Black voting rights. That's what the text says. And that's the original intent of the framers.

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Senator Bernie Sanders @sanders.senate.gov · 17h

Trump wants to DOUBLE Argentina's bailout to $40 billion to save his political ally.

Yet he is doing nothing to prevent 15 million Americans from losing their health care and 20 million from seeing a doubling in their premiums.

Is this what Trump means by America first?

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 17h

I called my congressman. His office didn’t give a shit and had no interest in reclaiming the power of the purse. Congress serves the Fuhrer at his pleasure.

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 17h

Bessent’s friends have huge investments in Argentina.

Elon Musk does too.

Bessent is sending $40 billion of our money to Argentina with more to come.

There is zero oversight. Congress not involved.

One unelected man is sending a fortune to Argentina and nobody will stop him,

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 19h

PORTLAND — Robby Roadsteamer grabbed by ICE for singing… 🎵

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 17h

Fuck Trump’s brownshirts

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 18h

The last people who said this here were American colonial merchants who remained loyal to King George III. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Bessent: "No kings equals no paychecks"

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WIRED @wired.com · 20h

“People are scared," asks one federal worker. “Is WIRED hiring?” jokes another.

Federal Workers Are Being Used as Pawns in the Shutdown

“People are scared," asks one federal worker. “Is WIRED hiring?” jokes another.

wrd.cm

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Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 21h

Almost like we founded the entire country on opposing this exact sentence.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Bessent: "No kings equals no paychecks"

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Axios @axios.com · 21h

The most expensive political ad campaign of the year is being run by the Department of Homeland Security, spending at least $51 million on ads thanking President Trump for securing the border.

U.S. government pays for 2025's most expensive political ad campaign

The next closest ad campaign is the $41 million effort to support California's redistricting measure.

www.axios.com

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 20h

My memory is quite the opposite. “No kings” has actually worked out really well for the American economy for centuries.

It’s the arrival of a would-be king that has shut everything down.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Bessent: "No kings equals no paychecks"

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 21h

I guess Poland needs to give Trump a plane like Qatar.

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 21h

Sorry, Warsaw.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21h

Bessent: "All I hear from the Europeans is that Putin is coming to Warsaw. There are very few things in life I am sure about. I am sure he's not coming to Boston."

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 21h

This ass clown Bessent makes Steve Mnuchin look like Salmon P Chase.

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 21h

We had huge national protests in April and June, yet the fascism continued unabated. It’s odd that the neo-Nazis are so focused on Saturday. I assume they’re stirring fever dreams in their ecosystem for Trump to cite when invoking the insurrection act afterwards. All part of the dictator’s playbook.

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Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 1d

No notes

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Ultra Deep State @deportelon.bsky.social · 1d

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