The last time there were leaks like what we see in Trump 2.0, a guy named Noah done built hisself a big boat and put a lot of animals on it. Leaks are the number one concern of Kash Patel — well, maybe the number two concern. Harassing and arresting judges is so much fun that it’s difficult to say. But definitely leaks are way up there in the desired activity category. The reason for this is that the Trump administration finds itself staffed by people who are incompetent and so the old guard civil servants are leaking to the press. Or, at least that’s the tale being told. Washington Post:
“The seriousness of the specific leaks in question precipitated the polygraphs, as they involved potential damage to security protocols at the bureau,” said the spokesperson, who declined to elaborate.
The ramp-up has been bolstered by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s new legal guidelines that allow the Justice Department to subpoena reporters’ personal communications and broaden the scope of potential criminal prosecution to leaks of not just classified material, but also “privileged and other sensitive” information that the administration says is “designed to sow chaos and distrust” in the government.
Distrust in the government was sown by St. Ronald of Reagan, back in the day. If we could point only one finger at one person to explain not only distrust of government but the horrific abridgement of free speech which we have seen in the past quarter century or so, it would be Ronald Reagan. He not only said, “government is the problem” he did away with the Fairness In Broadcasting Doctrine, thereby setting the stage for Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. And you know the rest.
“People are trying to keep their heads down,” said one former FBI field office head, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “Morale’s in the toilet. … When you see people who are being investigated, or names [of agents who worked on Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases] being passed over to the DOJ, it’s what the f—?”
At the Pentagon, embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened the use of polygraphs, according to current and former officials, and has demanded that some senior department officials be administered lie detector exams, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The sense of dread is palpable. Some officials who have left the government under a buyout and might normally feel less constrained about talking to the news media are refusing to speak while they are officially still on the payroll. Even contractors with security clearances say they can’t take any chances in case they are asked in their next polygraph test whether they have had contact with journalists.
“It’s a toxic environment,” said one official with a top-secret clearance. “First, you’ve got the insecurity of not knowing whether you’re going to get fired or not. Then there’s the witch hunt to find the whistleblowers who are exposing the ineptitude and bad management of agencies. They’re trying to silence those who do not follow the party line.”
This official and others pointed to the firing of Gen. Timothy Haugh, who until earlier this month led the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, as well as the dismissals and early retirements of dozens of experienced staffers at the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency, which the employees warn will leave critical infrastructure vulnerable to Russian, Chinese, North Korean and Iranian hackers.
The firing of General Haugh was an underreported story and that’s sad, because its importance should not be minimized. Trump decided to fire Haugh on the word of Laura Loomer, of all batshit reasons. Loomer decided that Haugh was “disloyal.”
And make no mistake here: the leaking of “classified” information is not the issue. The issue is the leaking of negative information or opinion about Trump’s administration. That is not illegal but it is inconvenient and the desire is to stop it at all costs.
At the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said one former official, dozens of veteran staffers — many disenchanted with the change in climate — recently left the agency, taking either a buyout or early retirement.
“There’s definitely a culture of fear that there will be personal retribution if they’re seen as in any way shining a light on, or sharing details about, what’s happening in the organization — not even sharing classified information,” the former official said.
The bottom line is that you can only mess with the current infrastructure long enough and then at some point the wheels of progress will simply stop moving and government will come to a halt. We are having this conversation, bear in mind, after only 100 days of this shitshow known as Trump 2.0.
This provocative article raises critical concerns about the alarming normalization of surveillance tactics in governance. The idea of lie detectors as a tool for accountability sets a dangerous precedent—where does it end? While the sarcastic nod to waterboarding underscores the absurdity, the underlying message is dead serious: eroding trust in institutions won’t be solved by pseudo-science. A chilling yet necessary read on the slippery slope of sacrificing privacy and ethics for perceived “security.”
Our collective time is quickly passing to own an opinion based on science, facts, and HISTORY, that disagrees with this nazi regime. I have a book German history. In the section on the rise of the nazis, there’s a picture of the German high Court after Hitler took power. They were essentially their Supreme Court. They are standing in a row, in their robes, giving the nazi salute. Questions?