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I am at a loss to understand why the Trump WH is so committed to weakening US intelligience operations - or why my Republican colleagues who long prided themselves on being the “daddy party” are so quiet on this. But it’s a BFD, and not limited to CIA cuts. nytimes.com/2025/05/02/us/poli…

C.I.A. to Cut Over 1,000 Staff Positions, Using Attrition

The agency plans, for now, to use attrition, including retirements and voluntary resignations, to reduce the size of the C.I.A. instead of more mass firings.
Julian E. Barnes (The New York Times)

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in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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They are also scaling back enforcement of the (bipartisan) Corporate Transparency Act that requires reporting of beneficial ownership (e.g., people who own companies that own companies) to shut down international money laundering. That also makes our intel dumber. stblaw.com/about-us/publicatio…

Trump Administration Scales Back Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements Under the Corporate Transparency Act

Abram Ellis (www.stblaw.com)
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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Musk / DOGE’s compromise of the Treasury Payment System (with Sec. Bessent’s acquiescence) has compromised huge amounts of data, including payments to embedded intel assets in hostile foreign governments / terrorist organizations. cyberscoop.com/musk-doge-opm-t…

Cybersecurity, government experts are aghast at security failures in DOGE takeover

Elon Musk’s takeover of key systems across the government is ignoring decades of laws, regulations and procedures, experts told CyberScoop. 
Derek B. Johnson (CyberScoop)
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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The entire Trump family is openly taking money from foreign governments through their crypto ventures which - thanks to GOP legislation and heavy lobbying from the crypto industry - is now the easiest way to launder untraceable money, compromising all of them. nytimes.com/2025/05/01/us/poli…

At a Dubai Conference, Trump’s Conflicts Take Center Stage

A deal for a state-backed Emirati firm to use a Trump-affiliated digital coin was announced in a panel that included the president’s son and his business partner, who promised, “This is only the beginning.”
David Yaffe-Bellany (The New York Times)
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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And this is of course before factoring in the appointment of compromisable (Hegseth) or already compromised (Gabbard) people to run our intel operations and put leaky sieves in the most vulnerable locations.
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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We can all speculate on Russian influence, etc. And when we someday have adults (aka Dems) who give a damn about national security holding gavels and approving subpoenas we’ll get to the bottom of those questions. But they’ve already done long-term damage that we won’t fully know for years.
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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Remember: the US didn’t tell the world that we’d cracked the enigma machines until decades after WWII ended because the East Germans kept using them and didn’t know we knew. How many of our adversaries have cracked our sources and methods and will keep listening now?
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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And even more troubling than that: given GOP acquiescence, how many of our allies are now assuming that the US can’t be trusted with intel since a future Republican president will spill secrets shared with a trusted Democratic one?
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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That’s not just academic. Suppose you were an intel officer in the UK, France, Australia, Israel, etc. Would you give intel to Gabbard / Hegseth / Trump that revealed your sources and methods today? Would you trust that the GOP’s next generation of leaders (Vance, etc) are better? Hell no.
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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If we impeached them all, the would would be penalized by not being able to hold office again. That pales in comparison to the damage they have done. And by they, I am referring to the entire GOP. The grifters, the fascists and the cowards. They are all detestable. /fin
in reply to Sean Casten

Sean Casten
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Sean Casten
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Postscript: there’s a reason why what Germany just did makes Marco Rubio nervous. And it’s not immigration. nytimes.com/2025/05/02/world/e…
in reply to Arena Cops 🇺🇦✌

Nicole Parsons
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Nicole Parsons
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@ArenaCops
How to kneecap the flow of money to fascist movements?

1. Accelerate the transition to wind, solar, and renewable energy.

Defunding the fossil fuel industry will defund the fascist movements they've promoted.

2. Tax the rich & campaign finance reforms.

Taxing the rich to discourage them from buying elections for Nazis.

Expand the Supreme Court and end Citizens United.

@Arena Cops 🇺🇦✌
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