The Oval Office meeting also included several of Mr. Trump’s top aides, including Susie Wiles, his chief of staff, Karoline Leavitt, his press secretary, and Steven Cheung, his communications director. *Stephen Miller, a top aide to Mr. Trump who oversees the administration’s immigration strategy, was not part of the meeting.*

There are a lot of versions of the "Trump pivot" being published, with varying degrees of propaganda about what actually happened in MN.

This is the most interesting line of any of them, IMO.

I in no way consider that a GOOD sign. Probably sign it's all fluff.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...

Trump aides declared 16 DHS shootings since July justified before probes completed The Trump administration’s rush to defend the officers and accuse the victims of attacking them has sparked widespread outrage and demands for accountability. January 27, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ESTToday at 6:00 a.m. EST 10 min Summary 1,026 Make us preferred on Google Federal immigration agents work in Minneapolis on Sunday. (Adam Gray/AP) By David Nakamura and Olivia George

Just in time for a new funding fight, WaPo reports that DHS has not really investigated ANY of 16 shooting incidents.

Dems should demand real investigations for all of these (maybe get Robert Storch, fired DOD IG to do it) AND ALSO LaMonica McIver event.

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Administration Social Media Posts Echo White Supremacist Messaging

I wonder what would happen if Dems insisted that DHS comply with Trump's EO prohibiting any federal funding for antisemitism in a revised funding bill.

@chrismurphyct.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...

He is an incredibly well-sourced person on all things right wing FL politics, but he has grown increasingly unable to separate spin from reality.

Like so many these days, it is hard to tell the journalist, the columnist, the analyst, and even the guy at the bar from an apparatchik. I feel especially bad, but not surprised, about Marc Caputo knowing him from my days in Florida politics years back. [He's definitely an apparatchik of sorts.]

The big picture: Trump wants a peace-with-honor withdrawal from Minnesota that doesn't look like his immigration surge was a loss driven by botched law enforcement efforts under Bovino, and plummeting poll numbers. The administration wants Minnesota law enforcement to help with traffic and crowd control so that DHS can make immigration arrests without interference from the well-organized protesters in the Twin Cities. Walz and local officials want an end to the heavy-handed federal immigration tactics that became a hallmark of Bovino's time there. Three demonstrators have been shot by federal agents this month, including two fatally — Pretti and Renee Good. Reality check: Trump has made friendly calls and peace offerings to Minnesota officials, but he's not going to pack up and leave the state. "We can't lose Minneapolis because if we do, we lose Chicago and Los Angeles," an administration adviser said. "We're not going to let the people who lost the presidential election over immigration dictate to us on immigration," the official said, referring to Democrats.

There's an enormous amount of bullshit in this Marc Caputo gloss of Trump's alleged pivot on Minnesota.

But it's worth reviewing NOT JUST to count the uncontested error, but for the Vietnam analogy.

www.axios.com/2026/01/27/t...

Won’t keep them out of Virginia, an obvious potential target with a new Democratic governor and a planned mega-warehouse for humans in Stafford.

it would have to close this specific loophole https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/border-patrol-charlotte-atlanta-100-mile-zone/

Charlotte is the one other place it would have kept them out of. It would also keep them out of Atlanta, I think?

plus $25M to try to prevent humiliating failure for the Melania propaganda.

Your reminder that Amazon...

-Provides cloud services that help fuel ICE's deportation machine
-Donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund
-Scrapped plans to display tariff costs after pressure from Trump
-Shelled out $40M for a documentary about Melania Trump

Time to Ask if Stephen Miller Has Authorized Assault and Murder of Peaceful ICE Observers - emptywheel Given how consistently Greg Bovino is at the scene of unjustified violence against ICE observers, including today's shooting, and given Bovino's refusal to answer whether Stephen Miller has given him ...

I've been noting that Stephen Miller is significantly (entirely?) responsible for the rules of engagement that keeps leading to experienced goons murdering bystanders.

www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/07/t...

Also note: This is at least the THIRD major turf battle that Lewandowski has fought with Trump, going back to the time Roger Stone ousted him in 2016 to make way for the Russian operation.

Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT The interim director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency triggered an internal cybersecurity warning with the uploads — and a DHS-level damage assessment.

👀
So the acting head of CISA, Madhu Gottumukkala:
1) Asked for permission to use ChatGPT
2) Added sensitive details on CISA contract to ChatGPT
3) Got caught by CISA sensors
4) Got a talking to
5) Failed a poly (he asked to take?!?!)
6) Tried to take out CISA's CIO
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

Plus, Stephen Miller just told Marc Caputo that CBP was defying WH orders for the last three weeks.

He's lying, of course, but we need it to be enforceable on everyone.

I don't know how we'd tell opsec from compromise here.

Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT The interim director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency triggered an internal cybersecurity warning with the uploads — and a DHS-level damage assessment.

Crackerjack Trump team continues to impress with its opsec

www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

Three Politico stories. Even Stephen Miller is jumping on CBP for the killing of Alex Pretti (with a picture of Miller) Trump keeps defending Noem. Allies see a warning sign.(with a picture of Noem) RNC pushed Bovino's false claims as talking points hours before his removal. (with a picture of Bovino)

What happens when your purportedly sophisticated political rag doesn't understand the function of Blue State invasions.

That's what they said when they first started Stellar Wind. Research.

Bc it avoided privacy protections.

Ahahahahahahaha:

'ICE says its request is "solely for market research, planning and information gathering purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the government to issue a subsequent solicitation".'

OK right.

THIS is why so many of us have warned for years about why AdTech & Big Data -- those companies that gather your highly revealing online data & auction/sell it -- MUST be tightly regulated or better, forbidden. It's so damn revealing that ICE wants access to it. www.mediapost.com/publications...

After spending $75M on this humiliating bribe, he's gutting WaPo.

I suspect this was more than a bribe. I suspect it was extortion, and wonder whether the Saudis didn't share dirt on Bezos.

He also courted new controversies. In December 2017, a pop singer, Joy Villa, accused him of slapping her twice on the buttocks at a party in Washington. Still, though, he maintained access to the president. The same month, Mr. Lewandowski was in the Oval Office, lashing out at some of Mr. Trump’s top advisers and criticizing the Republican National Committee, all in defense of the president. Then, in 2021, a Republican donor accused Mr. Lewandowski of making unwanted sexual advances and touching her inappropriately at a dinner in Las Vegas, saying he had grown aggressive and thrown a drink at her when she made clear she was rebuffing him. He was soon removed from his role overseeing a super PAC backing Mr. Trump.

I recently admitted that I have not focused enough attention on Corey Lewandowski, not least bc if you look at his multiple sexual assault allegations, the conduct of DHS goons all makes sense.

Sadly this doesn't say enough abt CLs knife wars for access to Trump.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...

Thread

Also, I didn't WRITE them. I @ed them on Xitter, one of the primary reasons I'm still at the Nazi/CSAM bar, to @ right wingers.

Also to laugh at Harmeet Dhillion.

Thompson has shown his courage.
Peters is retiring, has nothing to lose.
Paul has consistently (if quixotically) opposed authoritarian dragnets.
And Garbarino at least feigns interest in doing a grown-up job, and in an R+9 district in a D+8 year.

The other day, I wrote the 4 Chairs and Ranking members of Homeland Security Oversight, urging them to get Pretti's killers off the street (Rand told them to do that). I realized it's a remarkably useful 4-some: @peters.senate.gov, @benniethompson.bsky.social, Rand Paul, and Andrew Garbarino (NY-2).

Ed Whelan @EdWhelanEPPC This is perhaps my favorite in a very weird series of tweets late last night by Harmeet Dhillon, AAG for Civil Rights. I'm glad that she, having studied Latin, knows what non compos mentis means. Quote Harmeet K. Dhillon @HarmeetKDhillon · 11h Replying to @EdWhelanEPPC I majored in Ancient Greek and Latin at Dartmouth. Your pretentiousness merely underscores your utter lack of street cred. 1:34 PM · Jan 28, 2026 · 23.5K Views

Oof.

Harmeet blocked me from her personal account but lucky for me Elon makes the content readily available for me to expose what a dumbass she is.

Ed, do you have any clients? Do you actually practice law— in COURT? Serious question, related to this post. Quote Ed Whelan @EdWhelanEPPC · 9h “A judge may contribute financially to legal service associations that provide counsel for the poor. A judge need not recuse merely because lawyers who accept appointments by such associations are also counsel of record in cases before that judge.” A federal appellate judge x.com/BillMelugin_/s… Show more 3:53 AM · Jan 28, 2026 · 196K Views Ed Whelan @EdWhelanEPPC · 8h Do you know what a non sequitur is? I can't conceive how your question has any bearing on the official ethics advice that I quoted. To answer your question: I have spent the last two decades promoting originalism and textualism, working to transform the courts, and promoting Show more Harmeet K. Dhillon @HarmeetKDhillon · 8h I majored in Ancient Greek and Latin at Dartmouth. Your pretentiousness merely underscores your utter lack of street cred. Ed Whelan @EdWhelanEPPC · 8h Are you drunk?

Everyone should get the fuck off the CSAM machine.

But you'll miss this frankly scintillating content.

"I majored in Ancient Greek and Latin at Dartmouth. Your pretentiousness merely underscores your utter lack of street cred."