Weekly Spotlight: Tried-and-true
Allegations from an FBI whistleblower, a new op-ed on surveillance, an update on our involvement in Trump v. IRS, plus highlights from the Power To The People Festival
RECAP – We had an incredible time at the Power To The People Festival in Columbia, Maryland, this past weekend. Check out the highlights.
The fight for accountability starts with people like you and making a difference is simpler than you think. Learn more about the 5 ways you can make a difference right now.
A tried-and-true tradition
(Photo: MiracleMiles / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Illustration: Luna Velez / POGO)
A former FBI supervisor has come forward to report that the White House pushed the agency to investigate anti-ICE protestors in Los Angeles last year. The whistleblower raised concerns about such investigations violating First Amendment rights and the FBI’s policies, and she resigned after facing what she alleges were retaliatory demotions. If true, the administration’s actions, while appalling, are not surprising. This is what happens when we live under a surveillance state. There is a longstanding (and bipartisan) tradition of government surveilling people who are exercising their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly. What is new about what we are seeing now is government using emerging technology to supersize the scope and scale of surveillance. Take ICE storing pictures of protestors in a “Palantir-built database” or working with police departments to access Flock’s camera network. As POGO’s Don Bell argues in a new op-ed, addressing individual abuses or technologies is not enough. We need to dismantle the surveillance state.
- We’re calling on Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate the FBI whistleblower’s allegations.
- COMMENTARY Is the Surveillance Reckoning Finally Here? The silver lining: People are waking up to the privacy crisis in droves. The time is ripe for reform. Congress must act to protect privacy and dismantle the surveillance state.
Flock Cameras Are Coming Down — but We Need More To Dismantle the Surveillance State
(Illustration: Ren Velez / POGO)
"Imagine what’s possible if we build on this momentum and demand the government stop buying our private data, sifting through our e-mail, and follow the Constitution?” POGO’s Don Bell asks in new op-ed for Fulcrum. Read now.
Slash and Burn
(Illustration: Ren Velez / POGO)
In a “State of the Force Address” last week that inspired more alarm than confidence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth adamantly defended his efforts to reshape (and resize) the military. At least 25 senior leaders have been “fired or forced out or have retired” from the Pentagon since the start of the Defense Secretary’s tenure. He’s blocked the promotion of at least 45 other officers, the majority of whom are Black or female. While POGO has long advocated for cuts to the military’s senior ranks, the weighty decision to cut leadership positions should be grounded in strategies that make our armed services more effective and our service members safer. “Based on Hegseth’s track record, his thinning of the herd is likely to be more about politics and partisanship than proficiency and prowess,” explains POGO’s Mark Thompson in this week’s edition of The Bunker.
- The Bunker is military intelligence for the rest of us, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mark Thompson. Subscribe to get it in your inbox on Wednesdays.
Progress! But not over just yet
(Illustration: Ren Velez / POGO)
An update on the Trump v. IRS case: As you may remember, POGO and our partners are currently in court with President Trump over penalties he owes for the bogus lawsuit he brought against the government (and the corrupt settlement that was rebuked and thrown out by a federal court.) For more, check out our email from yesterday. We believe that abusing the legal process must have legal consequences. The public deserves accountability from President Trump for the time and resources he wasted. There is no democracy without accountability. We intend to keep at it until justice is served.
Back on the bench
(Illustration: Leslie Garvey / POGO; Photos: Getty Images)
A new term for the Supreme Court started on Monday. On the docket for this term are blockbuster issues: ICE’s mandatory detention policy; the government’s ability to deport people to countries they are not from; and voting rights. It is also possible the court will address prediction market regulations. We will be watching closely and delivering updates back to you. Stay tuned.
- Dig deeper: Congress is Supposed to Be More Powerful Than the Supreme Court. Why Isn’t It? (The New York Times)
