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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 19h

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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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 1d

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

Oct. 15, 2025
PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION
STATEMENT
Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution.
The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all.
PPA

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Trump is upfront in saying he will use the shutdown to punish Democrats, and here are the receipts. About $27.2 billion cut from Dem districts compared to about $0.7 billion in GOP districts.
We all complain about the media, but need this type of in-depth journalism.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Trump Halts Billions in Grants for Democratic Districts During Shutdown (Gift Article)

The Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion primarily located in Democratic-led districts, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

www.nytimes.com

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Leslie @leslieperry.bsky.social · 1d

There’s a list of influencers going back decades.

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

A law was passed a long time ago to place a plaque on the wall to honor the officers who defended the Capitol on J6. The plaque is done and has been ready to hang up for a long time. MAGA Mike refuses to comply with that law, which is a slap in the face to every officer. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Mike Johnson: "We've always stood with Capitol police and law enforcement. We've shown that in word and deed."

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1d

What could be worse than screaming at a Capitol police officer?

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Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 1d

JD Vance can dismiss the Young Republicans as a college group chat.

But let's be clear: the group chat includes a State Senator, a Trump Admin official, and multiple Republican staffers — and some of the worst comments came from folks associated with Mike Johnson, Elise Stefanik, and Mike Lawler.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Trump has a very simple worldview: the Presidency is not a public office, it is his property. He can use it to satisfy his personal or partisan whims, or to enrich himself.

So here, he threatens to reorganize an international competition, cohosted by Mexico and Canada, to settle a vendetta.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump on moving World Cup games from Boston: "We could take them away. Your mayor is not good."

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Leslie @leslieperry.bsky.social · 1d

Pam needs to go look in a mirror. That’s where she’ll find who is causing all of this chaos

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

X post today from Homeland Security @DHSgov that says "Remigrate."
3:06 PM · Oct 14, 2025

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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 1d

Would it really be in keeping with Alfred Nobel’s legacy if she didn’t turn out to be terrible?

Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 1d

Nobel Peace Prize recipient María Corina Machado appeared on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast.

She touted the oil reserves in Venezuela (the largest in the world) and vowed to privatize the oil industry to enable American corporations to exploit and profit from the country’s resources if she gains power.

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Matt Deatherage @mdeatherage.bsky.social · 1d

It should be noted that American companies did this in Venezuela for about eight decades, leading to the revolution that brought Chavez and Maduro to power.

Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 1d

Nobel Peace Prize recipient María Corina Machado appeared on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast.

She touted the oil reserves in Venezuela (the largest in the world) and vowed to privatize the oil industry to enable American corporations to exploit and profit from the country’s resources if she gains power.

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Leslie @leslieperry.bsky.social · 1d

You could have them melted down and formed into either a pendant or a single ring.

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Marco Rubio's State Department announces publicly that it is exercising unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in revoking people's visas based on comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Department of State v
@StateDept
g..
The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.
The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. Here are just a few examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.:
5:55 PM • Oct 14, 2025 • 34.1K Views

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Leslie @leslieperry.bsky.social · 1d

These are the type of guys who were regulars at TPUSA and YAF events in late high school/early college.

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Politico @politico.com · 2d

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Leslie @leslieperry.bsky.social · 2d

Translation: We should be allowed to lie without being challenged

Leslie @leslieperry.bsky.social · 2d

I voted the day we closed on our house to move out of CA. I'm glad I got to mail in my ballot before leaving.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2d

Speaker Mike Johnson just said he's completely fine with ICE agents shooting priests in the head with pepper balls and roughing up journalists.

I'm sure he'll tell us soon about how it's the Democrats who are waging a war on religion and free speech though.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Q: We've seen images out of Chicago of federal agents shooting faith leaders with pepper balls and arresting journalists. Where's the limit for you on what's acceptable conduct by federal agents?

MIKE JOHNSON: I've not seen them cross the line yet.

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Leslie @leslieperry.bsky.social · 2d

So, what are we up to now in impeachable offenses?

Ken Vogel @kenvogel.bsky.social · Apr 23

In an astonishing escalation of the Trump family’s efforts to profit from crypto, a website promoting Trump’s memecoin announced that the coin’s 220 largest buyers would be invited to a private dinner with him.

Trump Offers a Private Dinner to Top 220 Investors of His Memecoin

The offer, which caused President Trump’s memecoin to surge in price, was his family’s latest effort to profit from cryptocurrencies.

www.nytimes.com

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Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 2d

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 2d

The man who now owns this magazine was interviewed by the NYT recently.

He “did not have a negative word to say about Trump or his policies. ‘I fully support the president. I think he’s doing a great job.”

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2d

(ABC) - The Israel Defense Forces said its troops opened fire on Palestinians, killing five, after they allegedly violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Israel-Gaza live updates: 5 Palestinians killed in Gaza City for alleged ceasefire violation, IDF says

Israel on Tuesday identified two of the people whose remains were returned.

abcnews.go.com

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 2d

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