Emily Flitter

According to the disclosure, the former DOGE software engineer, who worked at the Social Security Administration last year before starting a job at a government contractor in October, allegedly told several co-workers that he possessed two tightly restricted databases of U.S. citizens’ information, and had at least one on a thumb drive. The databases, called “Numident” and the “Master Death File,” include records for more than 500 million living and dead Americans, including Social Security numbers, places and dates of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, and parents’ names.

According to the complaint, he allegedly told the whistleblower that he needed help transferring data from a thumb drive “to his personal computer so that he could ‘sanitize’ the data before using it at [the company.]” The engineer told colleagues that once he had removed personal details from the data, he wanted to upload it into the company’s systems. He told another colleague, who refused to help him upload the data because of legal concerns, that he expected to receive a presidential pardon if his actions were deemed to be illegal, according to the complaint.

Nothing says “I am aware that what I’m doing is a crime” quite like “it’s OK because I’ll be pardoned by the president if I get caught.”

Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job The Social Security inspector general’s office is investigating allegations that the former DOGE engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach, said people familia...

Members of congress have besn informed of whistleblower allegations that a DOGE employee took American Social Securiry data out of his gov’t office on a thumb drive when he left his job and planned to share it with his new employer www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Chicago law firm leading push to appoint special prosecutor to target ICE, Border Patrol agents The firm, Loevy and Loevy, said 200 individuals and organizations are supporting a petition to appoint an outsider to the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, who has spent wee...

A high-powered Chicago law firm announced a plan Monday to push for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially charge the agents who carried out Operation Midway Blitz.

@sophiesherry.bsky.social reports: chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0...

Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed Watergate tapes, dies at 99 The White House aide who revealed that Richard Nixon had secretly recorded his conversations as president has died. Alexander Butterfield was 99.

#RIP Alexander Butterfield, 99, who was born in #Florida & was the Nixon aide who exposed the White House taping system that blew the lid off the Watergate scandal. www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/03/09/a... via @apnews.com

Lol

Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles says Muslims ‘don’t belong’ in America The Tennessee Republican recently introduced legislation banning immigration from some Muslim-majority nations.

Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles says Muslims ‘don’t belong’ in America

Trump bought Netflix and Warner Bros bonds at height of bidding war with Paramount U.S. President Donald Trump bought more than $1.1 million of Netflix bonds over the last three months as the streaming giant unsuccessfully fought Paramount Skydance to ​buy Warner Bros Discovery , ac...

Trump bought Netflix and Warner Bros bonds at height of bidding war with Paramount
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

The guy who voices Master Chief from the video game "Halo," who was featured in a White House meme video showing missiles blowing people up in Iran, calls it "disgusting and juvenile war porn" wapo.st/3NhffGm

A lawyer asked a DOGE staff why ChatGPT canceled a grant to make a film about women in the Holocaust. The DOGE guy said, "It’s a Jewish — specifically focused on Jewish culture and amplifying the marginalized voices of the females in that culture. It’s inherently related to D.E.I. for that reason.”

Judge orders feds to return ICE detainees' missing property within 30 days A judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security and Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen to either return lost property to released detainees unlawfully arrested during Operation Metro Surge or pr...

A federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to return or replace property taken from unlawfully arrested ICE detainees and released without their belongings, giving the government 30 days to comply.

Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for 'carry your papers' law Border Patrol in southern Arizona cited more than 100 people for not carrying their immigration documents in 2025 as part of Trump administration efforts to revive decades-old immigration laws.

Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for 'carry your papers' law in southern Arizona azcir.org/news/2026/03...

Feds accused of defying order to return deported student in Texas: attorney A college student has yet to return to the U.S. despite a judge's order.

A college student has yet to return to the U.S. despite a judge's order.

Joyce Carol Oates tweet reading: Harold Bloom said lots of silly things. No need to make a movie out of any of them — in response to a tweet reading: Hamlet is not about grief, it's about what Harold Bloom called the invention of the human" — they should make a movie about that

okay we just need to get JCO on Bluesky and our journey to the dark side will be complete

EXCLUSIVE: 'Camp East Montana will remain open': internal messages say Employees at Camp East Montana were told the massive detention center will remain open, internal messages obtained by the El Paso Times show.

Employees at Camp East Montana are being told that the massive detention Center in El Paso is not closing, internal messages obtained by the El Paso Times show.

My story:

NYT Hed/Dek: Slurs Filled a Chat Created by a Republican Party Official in Florida After the secretary of the Miami-Dade County Republican Party created the chat for college students, it devolved into slurs against Black and Jewish people.

put it in a museum

Global Warming Has Significantly Accelerated Also: what happens to FEMA after Kristi Noem?

Also: what happens to FEMA after Kristi Noem?

NEW from me: Ketamine, Prostitution and Money: Here Are The Details of a Secret DEA Probe of Jeffrey Epstein

🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Justice Department publishes some missing Epstein files related to Trump The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld.

NEW @npr.org: The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld.

But 37 pages of records are still not public.

More:

ICE detains reporter Estefany Rodríguez in Nashville - Nashville Banner Reporter Estefany Rodríguez, detained by ICE with no arrest warrant, may face deportation. Her attorneys seek immediate review of the legality of her case.

ICE has arrested and detained a Nashville journalist who reported stories critical of ICE. She’s married to a U.S. citizen and has been seeking asylum here after fleeing death threats in Colombia because of her journalism there.

They’ve already sent her to Louisiana.

US Issues License to Allow Some Russian Oil Sales to India By Natalie Choy 03/05/2026 19:14:03 [BFW] (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Dept’s Office of Foreign Assets Control says it is issuing a Russia-related general license to allow some Russian oil sales to India, according to a statement. License related to Russia oil sale to India valid to April 4, 2026

🤔

Middle East chaos stems from erosion in international law, EU's Kallas says The current turmoil in the Middle East is a direct ​result of the erosion in international law, EU foreign ‌policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday.

Middle East chaos stems from erosion in international law, EU's Kallas says reut.rs/4ssBacK

‘Nazi heaven’: Inside Miami campus Republicans’ racist group chat The chat is the subject of a Florida International University police investigation.

The secretary of Miami-Dade County’s GOP started a group chat for conservative students — and within 3 weeks, it was filled with over 400 instances of the N-word, Nazi rhetoric and writings of "dozens of ways of violently killing Black people"

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred Gov DeSantis from designating CAIR as a terrorist organization and punish those who associate with the group.

“Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment,” Judge Walker writes.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

This script conveys, in linear form, series of mechanical crises that must be resolved under time pressure. It’s the space version of “I don’t know if Javier is going to have this paint job done in time to take the Torino to Bakersfield!”

I have watched it more times than I can count so this is not a criticism, but have you ever noticed how closely it resembles every car restoration show on TV?

The DOJ has been taking down Epstein files. Here's what remains. The massive tranche of files the Justice Department currently maintains is more than 65,000 pages shorter than what the agency initially released.

The Trump DOJ has been taking down Epstein files.

The massive tranche of files the Justice Department currently maintains is more than 65,000 pages shorter than what the agency initially released, according to a CBS analysis — and the number continues to fluctuate.

BREAKING on MS NOW:

The House Oversight Committee just voted to subpoena Pam Bondi as part of the panel's Epstein investigation.

The vote was 24-19. 5 Republicans voted in favor.

'It Was Very Creepy': These People Say They Lost Global Entry Just For Watching ICE Agents Two people claim they were punished for acts of protest, and an internal government memo suggests they may not be the last.

I spoke with two ICE watchers who lost their Global Entry after brushes with federal agents. Now an internal memo shows Customs and Border Protection is evaluating cases where people's Global Entry could be revoked based on "encounters" with its officers.
www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-wa...

Kristi Noem Misled Congress About Top Aide’s Role in DHS Contracts Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Noem denied that Corey Lewandowski had any role in approving contracts. But internal DHS records and interviews with current and former agency staffer...

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem denied that aide Corey Lewandowski had any role in approving contracts. But internal DHS records and interviews with current and former agency staffers contradict her testimony.