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Reposted by Sean Martin McDonald

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3h

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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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 6h

BREAKING via WSJ

The Trump administration is planning sweeping changes in criminal division at the IRS.

Full Story: on.wsj.com/3LbVFtK

The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.
A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.
The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes and are being driven by Gary Shapley, an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 6h

Medicare has stopped paying physicians due to the shut down. Standing right on the third rail www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/c...

Medicare payments to doctors paused as government shutdown drags on

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing Medicare payments to doctors, as negotiations tied to the government shutdown drag on.

www.statnews.com

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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 10h

TIL - I had noticed misalignment between mapped info and satellite imagery before in the China coverage on Google Maps, but never knew why. Turns out it's a side effect of laws mandating use of the obfuscated GCJ-02 coordinate system (instead of WGS-84) for maps that are legally "created in" China.

Chinese street maps out of alignment in Google Earth and Google Maps - Google Earth Blog

While investigating the recent explosions in Tianjin, China, we noticed that the street map of China is out of alignment in both Google Earth and Google Maps. It is tempting to think that the explosio...

www.gearthblog.com

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Reposted by Sean Martin McDonald

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 11h

Trump's mechanism to pay the troops during the shutdown is by far the most illegal budgetary action he's taken as POTUS, potentially setting the stage to break everything.

It's also needless because Congress would easily pass a troop pay bill if Johnson were willing to gavel in.

Long thread.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/national-security-presidential-memorandum-nspm-8/

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Owen Barcala @obarcala.bsky.social · 11h

The "don't call us Nazis" crowd sure has a lot of swastikas

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 11h

Holy shit. This is Angelo Elia, a legislative correspondent for Congressman Dave Taylor.

According to @rooster.info, during a Zoom meeting today, he had an American nazi flag displayed in the background.

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Michael Feola @feolski.bsky.social · 12h

"Scott Bessent said that his department is launching a War on Terror-style campaign against progressive nonprofits."
“Charlie’s death is like a domestic 9/11,” Bessent said. “Just as after 9/11, and Osama bin Laden... was captured... we are going to track down who is responsible for this.”

Big Talk: Treasury Secretary Declares New War on Terror Against the Left

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that his department is in...

talkingpointsmemo.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 12h

Old enough to remember when kids being anti-semitic was the basis for a federal government assault on higher education

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Sean Martin McDonald @seanmartinmcdonald.bsky.social · 11h

Instead of USAID, propping up Argentina’s cyclically failing economy.

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 12h

nothing says "america first" and "free markets" like bailing out another country's libertarian failure because (1) the corrupt clown president who caused it says nice things about our own corrupt clown president and (2) our big banks don't know how to do capitalism and are the hook for a lot of it

Argentine Bonds Jump on News US Lining Up $40 Billion in Aid

Argentina’s sovereign bonds jumped Wednesday after media outlets reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined financial aid that would total $40 billion to Javier Milei’s government, dou...

www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by Sean Martin McDonald

Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social · 12h

Important: this is exactly how propagandists operate.

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 1d

NEW:

A dramatic voiceover video the White House and Donald Trump shared last week claiming to show "chaos" in Chicago is littered with outdated footage from Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Nebraska, California and Arizona, an AFP investigation found.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 14h

Cleaning off my glasses and reading this again

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

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

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Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker.com · 14h

This one's a wild/messy one: Cyber giant F5, which serves most of the Fortune 500, said unknown government hackers had 'long term' access to its network:

• stole source code, some customer data
• accessed undisclosed vulns in BIG-IP
• DOJ allowed F5 to delay public notice citing national security

Cyber giant F5 Networks says government hackers had 'long-term' access to its systems, stole code and customer data | TechCrunch

The company, which provides cybersecurity defenses to most of the Fortune 500, said the DOJ allowed it to delay notifying the public on national security grounds.

techcrunch.com

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Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 16h

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

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 16h

Bessent: "No kings equals no paychecks"

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Sean Martin McDonald @seanmartinmcdonald.bsky.social · 16h

One theory is fear - another theory is to rationalize future violence.

Sean Satori @seansatori.bsky.social · 17h

They are legit scared of the No Kings protests. Why else focus so much attention on it?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17h

Bessent: "This crazy No Kings rally this weekend, which is gonna be the farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party, which is a big title. No Kings equals no paychecks."

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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 20h

That’s crazy. I wonder what happened in January

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 17h

Looking forward to the congressional hearings in which Republicans demand that the president of an Ivy League school resign over this.

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d

I just checked and this is real. It's on Border Patrol's official Instagram (I don't see it on Facebook) and is being celebrated by Nazis on Twitter, as you can see in the screenshot.

The clip is just 13 seconds long too, so it's a very intentional thing. We've got a Nazi government.

Twitter account: Uncensored @HmanQuotes1945: Official border patrol Facebook page is posting with the banned lyrics of Michael Jackson's song.
"Jew me sue me... Kick me k*ke me."
Epic

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Taggart @taggart-tech.com · 1d

I've said this before, but deploying an ad blocker to every endpoint will probably be the most impactful, user-protecting action I'll ever perform.

Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker.com · 1d

New, by me at this.weekinsecurity.com: If you're not using ad blockers, you should be!

In this deep-dive blog, I explain why ad blockers are critical for your online security and privacy, what threats ad blockers can help defend against, and we'll explore at some of the best ad blockers out there.

Why ad blockers are a top security and privacy defense for everyone

Ad blockers can help defend against some of the top hacks, scams, and surveillance today. Here are some of the best ad blockers that you can use.

this.weekinsecurity.com

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Reposted by Sean Martin McDonald

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 1d

lol can you *imagine* the kind of stuff in JD Vance group chats. (i mean, yes very easily)

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Joe Sudbay @joesudbay.bsky.social · 6d

"Miller is taking a "hands-on" role in investigating the funding of nonprofits and educational institutions and is sharing recommendations from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with Trump and other top advisers, the first White House official said."

Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 6d

President Donald Trump's threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials.

www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

www.reuters.com

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Sean Martin McDonald @seanmartinmcdonald.bsky.social · 1d

Truly, a Nobel-worthy agreement

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

"a test"? you mean...a violation?

AP: Israel plans to halve aid into Gaza over slow return of dead hostages, a test for the Gaza ceasefire

Reposted by Sean Martin McDonald

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 1d

ICYMI: “And now, a response from the leader of the frog resistance...” 🐸 🎵 #Colbert

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Sean Martin McDonald @seanmartinmcdonald.bsky.social · 1d

#digitalpolitik

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 1d

I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?

Is it...requesting content moderation?

Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago.
The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

Reposted by Sean Martin McDonald

Internet Archive @archive.org · 1d

Cultural memory isn’t automatic; it takes care and action.

Trevor Owens & Shannon Mattern talk strategies for preserving libraries, archives & museums in AFTER DISRUPTION: A FUTURE FOR CULTURAL MEMORY on the Future Knowledge #podcast.

🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm

Podcast cover for Episode #11 of 'Future Knowledge' titled 'After Disruption.' The design features portraits of speakers Trevor Owens and Shannon Mattern. Surrounding them are collage-style retro-futuristic elements, including a classical statue head, a vintage computer with the word "NEW" on its screen, a modernist observation tower, and abstract architectural shapes. The title uses bold, blocky typography, giving the cover a vintage sci-fi aesthetic.

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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 1d

I know it is beside the point because this administration simply wants resegregation but conferences for Black professional associations have always been open to everyone. Typically, the started as a response to white exclusion, and did not replicate that.

Benjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · 1d

Very bad: OSU unilaterally cancelled the registration of grad students attending the joint conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists. And OSU won't fund recruiting at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

Ohio State changes policy on group conferences after Trump administration threats

A federal investigation into potentially discriminatory practices at Ohio State prompted the university to change its policies regarding conferences.

www.dispatch.com

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

wow. bezos has destroyed this paper.

karl rove knausgård @uhactually.bsky.social · 2d

Lmao WaPo has fewer than 100K circulation now. It turns out “alienate your liberal subscriber base” is not a good strategy when the Republicans also hate you. www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...

The Washington Post Is Running Out Of Readers Willing To Pay

Once a titan of American journalism, The Washington Post now struggles to reach even 100,000 print subscribers most days.

www.forbes.com

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