David Nakamura

NEW: A federal judge said in an opinion issued today that the Trump administration violated the tax law “approximately 42,695 times” in turning over immigrant data to ICE

Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency Activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a draft executive order that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.

Washington Post exclusive: Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency - via @iarnsdorf.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

As MAGA embraces Erika Kirk, Candace Owens goes on the attack The right-wing influencer launched a video series about Charlie Kirk’s widow that is provoking outrage among conservatives — and raising Owens’s profile.

Candace Owens is aiming to take down Erika Kirk with a new video series that so far has managed to enrage just about everyone without really making any specific allegations at all.

I wrote about the attention-economy logic behind Owens' attacks on a "grieving widow:" wapo.st/3OKDYmU (gift link)

Once Cold War heroes, ‘Miracle on Ice’ team struggles with backlash from donning ‘Keep America Great’ hats at Trump rally The team became the latest group entangled in the fierce cultural fight over the meaning of the Trump campaign’s most successful piece of merchandise, which critics view as a symbol of hate and racism...

Flashback: I interviewed Miracle on Ice hero Mike Eruzione amid backlash after the 1980 team donned MAGA hats at a Trump rally in Feb. 2020: "A lot of the stuff I got was, 'You guys said it’s not political, but when you put the hats on, you made it political.'” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/onc...

A few headlines today as Trump preps for SOTU next week.

New: 58% of Americans think Trump’s deportation campaign is going too far, up from 50% last fall according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll finds. Story with @davidnakamura.bsky.social & Isabelle Gibson
Gift link -> wapo.st/4qOsvAb

IRS improperly disclosed confidential immigrant tax data to DHS The tax agency only recently discovered it improperly disclosed tax information on thousands of the wrong people to immigration enforcement.

🚨 SCOOP: The IRS improperly disclosed confidential immigrant tax information to DHS, per sources.

It opens up HUGE liability for the US government.

Trump is suing the IRS over substantially the same disclosures -- for $10 billion.

🎁 Gift link:

From the amazing Becca Rothfeld, laid off by the Washington Post last week and immediately hired by the New Yorker:

“Katie Mettler, a former chair of the Washington Post guild, said: “I’m glad Will Lewis has been fired. I wish it had happened before he fired all my friends.”” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/t...

All worth a read as you watch these great sporting events and a reminder that the Washington Post newsroom remains committed to telling the story of our time to the best of our ability.

3. Finally, a piece from our indomitable Sports staff in Italy that examines the conflicted pride among some on Team USA about representing the country at a time when they are concerned about what the nation represents to the world www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olymp...

2. At the same time, Bad Bunny's selection to perform at the halftime show has enraged MAGA, while thrilling fans of the Puerto Rican superstar who has spoken out loudly in support of LGBTQ issues and against President Trump's mass deportation operation: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

What do we make of Colin Kaepernick now? The Super Bowl is being played in his former home stadium, at a societal moment that echoes the issues he forced football fans to confront. So why is he out of mind?

Today the Post published 3 stories that explore the nation's fraught political + cultural moment through the global stage of the Super Bowl and Olympics. 1. We look at why Colin Kaepernick's impact on the NFL has waned 10 years after his social justice protest www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2026/...

thank you, Jim, that means a lot

Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund

If you are able to help our great colleagues here is a link: gofund.me/426324475

and many of my colleagues find stories others might look past or never see. To eliminate or downsize Sports, Local and Foreign reporting is, to state the obvious, to also scale down your ambition in covering politics and everything that helps make Washington special. 3/3

stops on a path to national political reporting. They prepared me for covering the White House and government by helping me understand that there is so much more to Washington than Capitol Hill. It is made up of local fans and residents and a vibrant international community. And it helped me... 2/3

I'm truly saddened for my incredible colleagues, our paper and our readers. I started at the Post three decades ago as an intern in Sports, then worked for Metro (Local) in Va., Md. and DC, then spent time on the Foreign staff in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Japan. Those beats were not merely...1/3

I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.

All the Kennedy Center cancellations since Trump’s name was added Composer Philip Glass, soprano Renée Fleming, banjoist Béla Fleck, “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz and other artists have backed out of events.

All the Kennedy Center cancellations since Trump’s name was added www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Thank you. Hope you will keep reading our work and we regain your trust

Thanks for reading. FWIW I didn’t do that conflicting narratives thing. Was that from the alert?

Judge blocks government from searching data seized from Post reporter The Post demanded in a court filing Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials return electronic devices the government seized from a staff reporter’s home.

Judge blocks government from searching data seized from Post reporter www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

They ransacked the U.S. Capitol and want the government to pay them back Last year, President Donald Trump pardoned almost 1,600 people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Now many of them might get money back from the government.

The president’s pardon freed Jan. 6 rioters from prison and emboldened them to demand money from the government. @bethreinhard.bsky.social @aaronschaffer.com www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by guards at the ICE detention center in Texas on Jan. 3.

SCOOP from Douglas Macmillan

Medical examiner believes death of man in ICE custody was homicide, recording says

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Judge Young, who ruled that legally present immigrants are protected by First Amendment, says that Trump officials have "a concept of freedom here that I don't understand. ... It's a fearful view of freedom -- a view that defines the freedom here in the United States by who's excluded."

Judge William Young, who ruled in Sept. that the administration illegally targeted campus organizers over speech, says Trump doesn't understand the First Amendment: "It's fairly clear this president believes…that when he speaks, everyone, everyone, in Article 2 is going to toe the line absolutely."

Native Americans are being swept up by ICE in Minneapolis, tribes say Tribal leaders say Indigenous people have been stopped, questioned, harassed and, in some cases, detained solely on the basis of their skin color or names.

Tribal leaders and members who live in the greater Minneapolis area say Indigenous family members, friends and neighbors have been stopped, questioned, harassed and, in some cases, detained solely on the basis of their skin color or their names.

53% said the country as a whole is worse off since Trump took office in 2025
53% said the national economy is worse off since Trump took office
62% said Trump has gone too far in using presidential power to achieve his goals

F.B.I. Searches Home of Washington Post Journalist for Classified Documents

This is an outrage. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Read @hannahnatanson.bsky.social's work:

* www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
* www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
* www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...