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8:35 AM ET, February 5, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
U.S. government officials privately warn Musk's blitz appears illegal  —  The billionaire's DOGE team has launched an all-out assault on federal agencies, triggering numerous legal objections.  —  The chaotic blitz by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has triggered legal …
RELATED:
The Atlantic:
Trump Advisers Stopped Musk From Hiring a Noncitizen at DOGE  —  As Elon Musk set out to upend the federal bureaucracy on behalf of Donald Trump, he reached out to Trump's team with an unusual request: U.S. law generally prohibits noncitizens from working for the federal government …
New York Times:
A Legal Counteroffensive to Beat Back Trump's Government Purges  —  A raft of new lawsuits contend that President Trump and Elon Musk are breaking the law to ransack the F.B.I. and other federal agencies.  The courts will now decide.  —  Workers from across the federal government set off …
NBC News:
Elon Musk gets quiet White House reminders his power isn't unchecked  —  Trump's aides have signaled behind the scenes that Musk still reports to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.  —  Tech billionaire and newly minted “special government employee” Elon Musk has received quiet White House reminders …
Discussion: WFLA
Reuters:
Musk creates new power base in Washington with takeover of US agencies  —  Elon Musk's rapid takeover of two U.S. government agencies has enabled the South African-born billionaire to exert unprecedented control over America's 2.2-million-member federal workforce and begin a dramatic reshaping of government.
CNN:
FBI turns over names of 5,000 employees who worked on January 6 cases to Trump Justice Department, as agents sue
NBC News:
‘Deranged’ and ‘problematic’: Bipartisan lawmakers bash Trump's Gaza proposal  —  Trump said Tuesday night that the U.S. “will take over Gaza” and send in troops “if necessary.”  —  Criticism and concern spread across both sides of the aisle Tuesday night following President Donald Trump's announcement …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump proposes U.S. ‘take over’ Gaza, permanent displacement of residents  —  The idea, a first indicator of Trump's approach to the conflict, was sure to inflame the region given the history of Palestinians' displacement from their territory.
Politico:
Trump's plan to ‘take over’ Gaza Strip confuses GOP lawmakers
Discussion: Mediaite and NOTUS
Associated Press:
Trump suggests displaced Palestinians in Gaza be ‘permanently’ resettled outside war-torn territory
Peter Baker / New York Times:
With Gaza Plan, an Unbound Trump Pushes an Improbable Idea
Will Weissert / Associated Press:
Live updates: Trump wants US to take ownership of Gaza Strip
Paul Campos / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Fetterman Supports US Occupation Of Gaza
Discussion: New York Post and Grabien
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Committee Votes to Advance Tulsi Gabbard's Bid for Intelligence Post
Wall Street Journal:
The CIA Is About to Get a Trump Makeover  —  Spy agency's workforce receives buyout-style offer  —  WASHINGTON—The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, in what officials said is a bid to bring the agency in line with President Trump's priorities, including targeting drug cartels.
RELATED:
Reuters:
CIA offers buyouts to entire workforce to align with Trump priorities, sources say  —  The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, citing an aim to bring the agency in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's priorities, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
CNN:
CIA sends ‘buyout’ offers to entire workforce
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Dan De Luce / NBC News:
CIA offers buyouts to workforce as Trump administration continues efforts to scale back government
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump Brazenly Defies Laws in Escalating Executive Power Grab  —  In the radical opening weeks of his second term, President Trump has appeared to feel little constraint by any need to show respect for the rule of law.  —  In his first term, President Trump seemed to relish ripping through …
RELATED:
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Negotiations stall ahead of shutdown deadline as Democrats slam Trump for subverting spending laws
Discussion: New York Times
Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:   Shutdown anxiety rises on Capitol Hill amid Trump chaos
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
Doge staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats  —  Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called ‘harmful to US prosperity’  —  Staffers with Elon Musk's “department of government efficiency” (Doge) reportedly entered …
NBC News:
Federal health workers terrified after ‘DEI’ website publishes list of ‘targets’  —  The site calls out workers who have been involved with DEI initiatives.  A majority are Black.  —  Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos …
Discussion: Pharyngula
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
USPS temporarily suspends some inbound parcels from China amid Trump trade war … - Trump had vowed in his first-term to overhaul America's mail carrier, in a move that could undercut reliable delivery, impact hundreds of thousands of government jobs and influence how e-commerce giants like Temu and Shein operate.
RELATED:
Phil Mattingly / CNN:
Treasury says Musk's DOGE has not rejected payments in first attempt to clarify access granted to critical system  —  The Treasury Department said Elon Musk aides detailed to the agency have “read-only” access to its sensitive $5 trillion US payments system and that no payments have been suspended …
RELATED:
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Treasury Defends Musk Team's Access to Federal Payment System
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
There Is No Going Back  —  Even if anyone had elected Elon Musk to anything, the last week would still be one of the most serious examples of executive branch malfeasance in American history.  —  Musk has seized hold of critical levers of power and authority within the federal government …
Discussion: Slate, DNyuz and Chicago Tribune
RELATED:
Eric Levitz / Vox:
America's constitutional crisis could come to a head in four months
Discussion: NPR and HotAir
Elizabeth Popp Berman / Liberal Currents:
Personal Discretion Over the Treasury's Payments System Means the End of Democracy
Discussion: maaarine and The Index
ABC News:
State Department moving to evacuate USAID staff worldwide: Sources  —  The State Department has begun working to assist in evacuating all USAID staff who are on foreign assignments worldwide, sources familiar with the effort told ABC News.  —  The Department is aiming to recall all USAID employees …
RELATED:
Andreas Kluth / Bloomberg:   Trump and Musk Are Vandalizing the World
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Democrats Are Falling For Trump and Musk's Foreign Aid Trap  —  Three veteran strategists want their party to be more thoughtful about fighting Trump's anti-bureaucracy campaign.  —  After three months of soul-searching about how to revive their party, some Democrats this week believe …
CNN:
Multiple ICE impersonation arrests made during nationwide immigration crackdown  —  Editor's note: This story contains profane and hateful language.  —  Authorities in at least three states have arrested individuals allegedly impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers …
RELATED:
Suhasini Raj / New York Times:
Migrants Are Deported to India on U.S. Military Plane  —  The flight appeared to be the first use of an American military aircraft to deport people to India, which is one of the top sources of illegal immigration to the United States.  —  A U.S. military plane with at least 100 aboard landed …
RELATED:
Aseem Bassi / India Today:
US military plane carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar
Discussion: DNyuz
Associated Press:
Trump and Musk demand termination of federal office leases through General Services Administration  —  One of the next moves in President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's sweeping effort to fire government employees and curtail operations is using the agency that manages thousands …
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
The “deferred resignation” scam  —  Last week, Popular Information broke down the “offer” that the Trump administration was making to millions of federal employees to induce them to resign voluntarily.  The Trump administration wanted federal employees to believe that if they agreed …
Wall Street Journal:
How Trump Gutted America's $40 Billion Aid Agency in Two Weeks  —  Dismantling of USAID appears to be a test case for new administration  —  WASHINGTON—The cuts came so fast that one dismissed employee had to be rehired to process other employees' time sheets.
Discussion: New Republic
 
 
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 More Items: 
Associated Press:
Protests against Trump and Project 2025 are planned in cities across the US
Discussion: USA Today and WTTG-TV
Dylan Scott / Vox:
The mysterious statisticians shaping how we think about fertility
Dylan Scott / Vox:
Trump's tariffs could make it harder for Americans to get their medications
Discussion: Quartz
Veronica Riccobene / The Lever:
From Watergate to Elon-gate  —  Musk is trying to shut down the agency probing his company's equipment …
 Earlier Items: 
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Senate confirms Pam Bondi to lead Justice Department
Discussion: CBS News and New York Times
Cathy Gellis / Techdirt:
When It's Not Just A Coup But A CFAA Violation Too
 

 
From Mediagazer:

The Times:
An investigation into the unsolved 1977 murder of The Sunday Times foreign correspondent David Holden in Egypt suggests he doubled as a KGB spy and had CIA ties

Jackson Healy / Courthouse News Service:
Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sues G/O Media over March 2024 articles in Gizmodo and Kotaku accusing him of workplace harassment, discrimination

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo say they're building a high-tech studio aiming to help artists use AI as a creative tool to make films, shows, and video games

 
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