A leaked DOJ memo directs the FBI to review records from the past five years, says Ken Klippenstein.

cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/127026

A leaked memo by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directs the Justice Department and FBI to compile a list of groups that may be labeled “domestic terrorism” organizations based on political views related to immigration, gender and U.S. policy. The memo was obtained by independent investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein, who joins us to discuss how it expands on President Donald Trump’s NSPM-7…

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  • tover153@lemmy.world
    119·
    2 months ago

    This is harder to type than it probably should be. Back in 2015, because of the way I was raised in an extreme conservative evangelical household as a preacher’s kid, I was a Republican. I had already broken with that world in every meaningful way, but I had not actually sat down and examined what I believed. So there I was, still actively involved in politics. I helped campaign for Romney. I made more than three thousand phone calls, which I am pretty sure qualifies as a minor war crime. I was on the election staff of a representative who, for the record, had not been elected yet when I worked for her. I was a special elector. I was on the county central committee. I worked every election since 2011 with an R behind my name.

    And then they picked the orange man. I wrote the Chairwoman a very long letter explaining, in polite terms, that this was not going to work for me. I switched my affiliation to Independent. Unfortunately, I still had not figured out where the world was heading, so I voted for Gary Johnson. The less said about that period of my life, the better.

    When the Senate Election Committee decided to finance Roy Moore, I walked directly to the courthouse, changed my registration to Democrat, and started working elections for that party instead. There is a point where a person realizes the boat is not just sinking, it was built upside down to begin with.

    Anyway, based on the tone of that old letter, I find myself hoping I ended up on a list somewhere for Pam Bondi. It would be nice to feel important for a moment. Besides, what a spectacular waste of resources it would be to track down one Army veteran who lives in an RV in the middle of nowhere.

    • velindora@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      839·
      2 months ago

      I grew up in a strict evangelical Republican household and stayed in GOP politics for years without really questioning my beliefs. I campaigned, worked elections, and was deeply involved—until the party chose Trump. I left, became an Independent, briefly voted for Gary Johnson, then switched to Democrat when the GOP backed Roy Moore. At some point you realize the ship wasn’t just sinking—it was built wrong. Honestly, I kind of hope I made some list in Pam Bondi’s files; it’d be the first time an Army vet living in an RV felt important.

      There, easy to type.

      • RobotsLeftHand@lemmy.world
        1210·
        2 months ago

        If you want to take all human and emotional connection out of it, sure. Take your chatgpt slop with you.

        • tover153@lemmy.world
          43·
          2 months ago

          If the best you can do is accuse me of using ChatGPT instead of responding to a single thing I actually said, that’s not a debate. That’s avoiding one. I write my own stuff. Always have. Sometimes I even manage to get a line right.

          But if calling it “slop” makes it easier for you to skip the point, go ahead. I grew up in Iowa. I’ve seen actual slop. What I wrote doesn’t qualify.

      • tover153@lemmy.world
        31·
        2 months ago

        Thanks for the summary. Your version is definitely easier to type, but I still prefer the line I wrote earlier: “There is a point where a person realizes the boat is not just sinking, it was built upside down to begin with.”

        Still, I appreciate the reply.

    • Gust@piefed.socialEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      Good on you. It takes courage to admit to something like that and to move in a direction you believe is right despite your upbringing. I’m in a situation with some similarities to yours, and while im still coming to terms with things and not ready to talk about it yet I want you to know that you posting your story and owning your mistakes is inspiring

    • lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      14·
      2 months ago

      Out of the current “R” brand spread, Romney at least had some character. I wouldn’t beat yourself up too bad about things you did many many years ago, reflection is hard, growing up is hard - you are a champion for being man enough and introspective enough to grow as a person. Also I enjoyed reading this, thank you for sharing.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 months ago

    Damn, I can do all of those things. I wonder how big the bounty is and what you need to do to qualify. I can use a vacation in a tropical hellhole paradise and a little something to retire on …… it’s probably more likely to pay off than social security

  • mr_account@lemmy.world
    14·
    2 months ago

    If you can anonymously report anyone, what’s to stop people from making bots to mass report the people closest to him? Hmmm

        • AmbitiousProcess (they/them)@piefed.socialEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          Almost certainly yes, at least based on historical precedent, though Trump loves ignoring that.

          For example, Watts v. United States, where someone said:

          “They always holler at us to get an education. And now I have already received my draft classification as 1-A and I have got to report for my physical this Monday coming. I am not going. If they ever make me carry a rifle the first man I want to get in my sights is L. B. J.”

          He was originally convicted, but that was then reversed, as the Supreme Court stated:

          “We agree with petitioner that his only offense here was ‘a kind of very crude offensive method of stating a political opposition to the president.’ Taken in context, and regarding the expressly conditional nature of the statement and the reaction of the listeners, we do not see how it could be interpreted otherwise.”

          At the end of the day, the law only really states that you have to:

          1. Make a threat
          2. …That threatens you taking the life of, kidnapping, or inflicting bodily harm upon the president

          So let’s say I say “I am going to kill the President” not as an example, but as an actual statement. That could be interpreted as an actual threat. However, If I am a 13 year old kid with just $20 to my name, no access to a gun, and no means of transport to even get near the president, it would be hard for the government to argue that’s not just a joke, or political hyperbole, as it was in the case of Watts v. United States.

          Given that all of those would be a threat for you to do something, and not just you wishing he was dead by any other means, it’s quite likely that any court would determine you saying something like “I hope Donald Trump dies a horrible, agonizing, painful death,” or even something like “I hope someone else shoots the president” would probably be considered AOK, and again, just political hyperbole, or statements without any material threat behind them.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          I’m cheering for a well placed lightning strike on the golf course.

    • Sunflier@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      They might not get to “the rounding them up” stage yet. But, right off the bat, being on one of those lists could subject you to a tax audit, keep you from accessing benefits, leave you unemployed, etc. They did this under the Red Scare. Just because they’re not going to come for you today doesn’t mean they won’t make your life miserable.

      • chuckleslord@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 months ago

        Yes, we’re already at the “rounding them up” stage. They just gotta pretend you’re an illegal long enough for them to “oppsie” remove you from the country.

  • Bakkoda@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    50·
    2 months ago

    Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in a text message after the 2020 election that he “passionately hated” Donald Trump, according to new court filings. - BBC

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitch McConnell said after the 2020 election that then-President Donald Trump was “stupid as well as being ill-tempered,” a “despicable human being” and a “narcissist,” according to excerpts from a new biography of the Senate Republican leader that will be released this month.

    Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has described the Trump Tower meeting between the president’s son and a group of Russians during the 2016 election campaign as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”, according to an explosive new book seen by the Guardian.

  • PKscope@lemmy.world
    6·
    2 months ago

    Damn, I’ve been giving them mine for free this whole time. I could have gotten paid‽

  • Dasus@lemmy.world
    11·
    2 months ago

    I’m actively planning the assassination of Donald J. TRUMP the so-called president of the United States of America.

    That should do the trick.