By Warren Pederson, Staff Writer

Updated Feb 1, 2026 (SFChronicle.com)

Gift Article

Thousands of protesters took to San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on Saturday to create a piece of human art in response to recent fatal shootings by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle

The protesters, motivated by the killings this month of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and Alex Pretti by Border Patrol officers, spelled out “ABOLISH” in a message to ICE, with signs declaring “We have eyes, no more lies” to supplement their message. Some protesters waved upside-down U.S. flags, a traditional signal of extreme distress increasingly displayed at political demonstrations. 

Good, a stay-at-home mom, was killed Jan. 7 as ICE agents surrounded her vehicle during a protest near her home, while Pretti, a Veterans Affairs nurse, was shot last Saturday during a confrontation with immigration agents as he tried to protect another protester. Both Good and Pretti were 37 years old. 

By TMZ Staff

Published January 30, 2026  (TMZ.com)

Getty Composite

Bombshell allegation in the latest Epstein Files document release … an underage girl claims she was forced to perform oral sex on Donald Trump approximately 35 years ago in New Jersey.

DOJ

The allegation is from a document in the files that describes a tip that was sent to the feds.

The complaint summary says the feds were told the underage girl was approximately 13-14 years old when the alleged incident occurred, and it says the alleged victim “allegedly bit President Trump while performing oral sex” and was “allegedly hit in the face after she laughed about biting President Trump.”

The document says the feds forwarded the lead to the Washington Office to conduct an interview.

Getty

Another allegation — which the feds deemed not credible — is from a female who claimed she was a victim and witness to a sex trafficking ring at the Trump golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, between 1995 and 1996 involving big orgy parties with young girls, older Victoria’s Secret models, and celebs like Trump, Bill Clinton, and Robin Leach.

The documents say the feds got a call from a female who claimed to be a prisoner, and they referenced Lisa Marie Presley, the British Royal Family, Trump, and Jeffrey Epstein. The feds say they were unable to contact the woman, who lived in Australia.

House Oversight Committee Democrats

Another allegation is from a woman who claims she was 13 years old and pregnant in 1984 when she was forced to perform oral sex acts. She told the feds she was sex trafficked by high-profile individuals and that Trump regularly paid her money to force her to perform sex acts. She also alleged Trump was present when her uncle murdered her newborn child. The fed say they were unable to contact the woman.

A different caller — who the feds were unable to make contact with — alleged a friend thought she had been raped by Trump in 1987 at Trump Plaza.

Getty

Another caller — who the feds say did not leave contact information — claimed Trump had parties at Mar-a-Lago called “calendar girls” where Epstein would bring children and Trump would auction them off. The caller claimed Trump measured the girls’ vulvas and vaginas by penetrating them with his finger and rating them based on tightness. The caller alleged party guests included Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Alan Dershowitz, and Bob Shapiro. The caller claimed she and others were taken into rooms and forced to give oral sex to Trump. She alleged they were “forced to allow them to penetrate us.” She claimed she was 13 when Trump raped her and that Ghislaine Maxwell was present.

We reached out to the White House … and we were referred to the DOJ’s Friday press release on the Epstein Files dump, where the DOJ says, “This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act. Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”

Story developing …

US Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speak at a press conference at the US Capitol on June 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. 

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

With few exceptions, the Democratic Party apparatus is coasting, playing “it safe,” and expecting that the Trumpsters will deliver the Congress to it in November.

Ralph Nader

Jan 31, 2026 Common Dreams

“How’s the Democratic Party’s ground game in Pennsylvania?” I asked a friend several weeks before the 2024 presidential election. He replied optimistically that there were far more door knockers this year than in 2022.

It turned out these door knockers were just urging a vote for the Democrats without putting forth a compelling agenda attached to candidate commitments on issues that mean something to people where they live, work, and raise their families. There was no Democratic Party “Compact for the American People.” Then-President Joe Biden visited Pennsylvania, which went Republican, many times, with his most memorable message being that he grew up in Scranton.

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Once again, the vacuous, feeble Democratic Party is relying on the Republicans and the cruel, lawless dictator Donald Trump to beat themselves to gain control of the Senate and the House.

Legendary reporter Seymour Hersh on Thursday made the case for the Republicans taking themselves down, to wit: “I have been told by an insider that the internal polling numbers are not good …” and that “anxiety in the White House that both the House and the Senate might fall to the Democrats is acute. Trump’s poll numbers are sliding… The public lying of cabinet members in defense of ICE has not helped the president or the party. Trump hasn’t delivered on the economy, except for the very rich, and he hasn’t made good on early promises to resolve the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine.”

Their aversion to building their own momentum to answer the basic questions “Whose side are you on?” and “What does the Democratic Party stand for?” remains as pathetic as it was in 2022 and 2024.

GOP operatives are assuming the Democrats will take back the House by a comfortable number and now think the Senate, where the GOP holds a three-seat majority. There are six seats in play. The GOP’s biggest fear is that their negatives continue to increase, propelled by a pile of unpopular Trumpian actions, ugly behavior, and corruption. The combination of all these things could create a critical mass and produce a landslide comparable to the Reagan-led victory in 1980. In this election, the Republicans defeated seemingly unbeatable Senate veterans like Sen. Warren Magnuson (D-Wash.), Sen. Gayord Nelson (D-Wis.), and Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho), and gave the GOP control of the Senate.

So, what is the Democratic Party doing during this GOP slump? It is Déjà vu all over again. The Dems are furiously raising money from commercial special interests and relying on vacuous television and social media ads. They are not engaging people with enough personal events, and they are not returning calls or reaching out to their historical base—progressive labor and citizen leaders. Most importantly, they are not presenting voters with a COMPACT FOR AMERICAN WORKERS. Such a compact would spark voter excitement and attract significant media coverage.

Their aversion to building their own momentum to answer the basic questions “Whose side are you on?” and “What does the Democratic Party stand for?” remains as pathetic as it was in 2022 and 2024. Ken Martin, head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), recently quashed a detailed report he commissioned about why the Democrats lost in 2024. He has refused to meet with leaders of progressive citizen organizations. We visited the DNC headquarters and could not even get anyone to take our materials on winning issues and tactics. We offered the compiled presentations of two dozen progressive civic leaders on how to landslide the GOP in 2022. This material is still relevant and offers a letter-perfect blueprint for how Democrats could win in 2026. (See winningamerica.net). (The DNC offices are like a mausoleum, except for visits by members of Congress entering to dial for dollars.)

Imagine a mere switch of 240,000 votes in three states (Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin) would have defeated Trump in 2024. That margin would have been easily accomplished had the Democratic Party supported the efforts of AFL-CIO and progressive union leaders who wanted the Dems to champion a “Compact for Workers” on Labor Day, with events throughout the country. (See letter sent to Liz Shuler, President of AFL-CIO, on August 27, 2024).

The compact would have emphasized: raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour, benefiting 25 million workers, and increasing Social Security benefits frozen for over 45 years, which could have benefited over 60 million elderly, paid for by higher Social Security taxes on the wealthy classes. The compact would also include: a genuine child tax credit that would help over 60 million children, cutting child poverty in half; repeal of Trump’s massive tax cuts for the super rich and giant corporations (which would pay for thousands of public works groups in communities around the nation); and Full Medicare for All (which is far more efficient and lifesaving than the corporate-controlled nightmare of gouges, inscrutable billing fraud, and arbitrary denial of benefits).

Droves of conservative and liberal voters would attend events showcasing winning politics, authentically presented, as envisioned for the grassroots Labor Day gatherings, suicidally blocked by the smug, siloed leaders of the Democratic Party in 2022 and 2024.

Clearly, this is a party that thinks it can win on the agenda of Wall Street and the military-industrial complexes. (See Norman Solomon’s book The Blue Road to Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy. It can be downloaded for free at BlueRoad.info.) The Democratic Party scapegoats the tiny Green Party for its losses again and again at the federal and state levels to the worst Republican Party in history—BY FAR.

It is fair to say that, with few exceptions, the Democratic Party apparatus is coasting, playing “it safe,” and expecting that the Trumpsters will deliver the Congress to it in November.

The exceptions are warning about this hazardous complacency, such as adopting James Carville’s ridiculous advice just to let the GOP self-destruct (though recently he also has urged a progressive economic agenda). There are progressive young Democrats challenging incumbent corporate Democrats in the House. They are not waiting for a turnover in the party’s aging leadership. They believe the country can’t wait for such a transformation. Our Republic has been invaded by the Trumpsters, who are taking down its institutional pillars, its safety nets, and its rule of law. Our democracy is crumbling by the day.

As for the nonvoters, disgusted with politics, just go vote for a raise, vote for health insurance, vote for a crackdown on corporate crooks seizing your consumer dollars and savings, and vote for taxing the rich. That’s what your vote should demand, and these are the issues that should be conveyed to the candidates campaigning in your communities.

Tell the candidates you want a shakeup, not a handshake. (See, the primer for victory, “Let’s Start the Revolution: Tools for Displacing the Corporate State and Building a Country that Works for the People” 2024).

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate and the author of “The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future” (2012). His new book is, “Wrecking America: How Trump’s Lies and Lawbreaking Betray All” (2020, co-authored with Mark Green).

Full Bio >

A human rights group fanned the flames of conflict by threatening legal action if the city invested in war crimes.

Noah Hurowitz

January 30 2026, 10:11 a.m. (TheIntercept.com)

Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a television interview at City Hall in New York City, on Jan. 29, 2026. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In a letter to state and local officials, the human rights organization DAWN warned on Friday that any investment in Israeli sovereign debt by New York City would violate local and international law.

The 26-page letter — directed to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and the state and city comptrollers — took aim at Israeli bonds, a financial instrument that invests in the Israeli government for a set period and then is paid back with interest.

“New York is using taxpayer money to finance a military the entire world has watched commit war crimes.”

Israeli bonds have emerged as a crucial source of funding for the Israeli government, with money from bond sales flowing into the country’s coffers and allowing it to continue its genocidal campaign in Gaza and displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank.

“There’s no complicated analysis needed here: New York is using taxpayer money to finance a military the entire world has watched commit war crimes and crimes against humanity for years,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director. (Mamdani, City Comptroller Mark Levine, and the other elected officials named in the letter did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.)

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On top of the financial risk of holding Israeli debt and the moral imperative of ceasing to fund the Israeli government, divesting from Israel bonds would simply put New York more in line with the opinions of its own citizens, said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN’s director for Israel and Palestine.

“Where you put your money — that means something,” Schaeffer Omer-Man told The Intercept. “We’ve seen a massive shift in public opinion over the past few years as a result of the Gaza war. The political class hasn’t necessarily caught up yet, but support for Palestinians and disapproval for Israel’s behavior, actions, and policies is at an all-time high.”

New York State’s Common Retirement Fund held $352 million worth of Israel bonds as of March 2024, making it one of the largest holdings in the U.S., according to DAWN. And while former City Comptroller Brad Lander allowed the bonds held in city-controlled portfolios to lapse in 2024 — earning DAWN’s praise — the city’s new comptroller, Levine, has pledged to reinvest.

“Brad Lander understood this and divested,” said Jarrar. “Mark Levine’s promise to reinvest is a promise to keep funding Israel’s war machine with New Yorkers’ money.”

DAWN pledged to explore legal action against the state for its investment should it decline to divest in the bonds, as well as against the city should Levine’s plan move forward.

Levine’s announcement of his intent to purchase Israeli government bonds put him at odds with Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel whose campaign did not shy away from a continued support for Palestinians despite continuous attacks smearing him as an antisemite.

“There’s a potential conflict coming up,” said Schaeffer Olmer-Man. “I hope that Mamdani holds his ground and exerts whatever influence he has to ensure these imprudent and arguably illegal investments do not renew.”

So far, Mamdani has held fast and signaled his opposition to Levine’s plan.

“I’ve made clear my position, which is that I don’t think that we should purchase Israel bonds,” Mamdani told reporters in an unrelated press conference on January 21. “We don’t purchase bonds for any other sovereign nation’s debt, and the comptroller has also made his position clear, and I continue to stand by mine.”

“You appear to be asking that the City’s pension funds treat Israel better than all other countries.”

The standoff between the mayor and comptroller is an exact reversal of the dynamic that existed between former Mayor Eric Adams, a staunch supporter of Israel and bonds backer, and Lander, the former comptroller who allowed the city’s investment to lapse. At the time, Lander — a self-professed liberal Zionist who has been outspoken in his criticism of the genocide in Gaza — said he as simply doing his job as the steward of the city’s investments.

“We consulted our guidelines and made the prudent decision to follow them, and therefore not to continue investing in the sovereign debt of just one country,” said Lander in a July 13 letter penned in response to an ally of Adams critical of the move to wind down the city’s bonds position. “You appear to be asking that the City’s pension funds treat Israel better than all other countries. That would also be politically motivated, and inconsistent with fiduciary duty.

I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

Contact the author:

Noah Hurowitznoah.hurowitz@theintercept.com@noahhurowitz.bsky.socialon Bluesky@NoahHurowitzon X

Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler

Anne Nelson

In this unforgettable book, distinguished author Anne Nelson shares one of the most shocking and inspiring–and least chronicled–stories of domestic resistance to the Nazi regime. The Rote Kapelle, or Red Orchestra, was the Gestapo’s name for an intrepid band of German artists, intellectuals, and bureaucrats (almost half of them women) who battled treacherous odds to unveil the brutal secrets of their fascist employers and oppressors.

Based on years of research, featuring new information, and culled from exclusive interviews, Red Orchestra documents this riveting story through the eyes of Greta Kuckhoff, a German working mother. Fighting for an education in 1920s Berlin but frustrated by her country’s economic instability and academic sexism, Kuckhoff ventured to America, where she immersed herself in jazz, Walt Disney movies, and the first stirrings of the New Deal. When she returned to her homeland, she watched with anguish as it descended into a totalitarian society that relegated her friends to exile and detention, an environment in which political extremism evoked an extreme response.

Greta and others in her circle were appalled by Nazi anti-Semitism and took action on many fronts to support their Jewish friends and neighbors. As the war raged and Nazi abuses grew in ferocity and reach, resistance was the only possible avenue for Greta and her compatriots. These included Arvid Harnack–the German friend she met in Wisconsin–who collected anti-Nazi intelligence while working for their Economic Ministry; Arvid’s wife, Mildred, who emigrated to her husband’s native country to become the only American woman executed by Hitler; Harro Schulze-Boysen, the glamorous Luftwaffe intelligence officer who smuggled anti-Nazi information to allies abroad; his wife, Libertas, a social butterfly who coaxed favors from an unsuspecting Göring; John Sieg, a railroad worker from Detroit who publicized Nazi atrocities from a Communist underground printing press; and Greta Kuckhoff’s husband, Adam, a theatrical colleague of Brecht’s who found employment in Goebbels’s propaganda unit in order to undermine the regime.

For many members of the Red Orchestra, these audacious acts of courage resulted in their tragic and untimely end. These unsung individuals are portrayed here with startling and sympathetic power. As suspenseful as a thriller, Red Orchestra is a brilliant account of ordinary yet bold citizens who were willing to sacrifice everything to topple the Third Reich.

(Goodreads.com)

Book: “Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler”

February 1, 2026 Mike Zonta Leave a comment Edit

Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler

Anne Nelson

In this unforgettable book, distinguished author Anne Nelson shares one of the most shocking and inspiring–and least chronicled–stories of domestic resistance to the Nazi regime. The Rote Kapelle, or Red Orchestra, was the Gestapo’s name for an intrepid band of German artists, intellectuals, and bureaucrats (almost half of them women) who battled treacherous odds to unveil the brutal secrets of their fascist employers and oppressors.

Based on years of research, featuring new information, and culled from exclusive interviews, Red Orchestra documents this riveting story through the eyes of Greta Kuckhoff, a German working mother. Fighting for an education in 1920s Berlin but frustrated by her country’s economic instability and academic sexism, Kuckhoff ventured to America, where she immersed herself in jazz, Walt Disney movies, and the first stirrings of the New Deal. When she returned to her homeland, she watched with anguish as it descended into a totalitarian society that relegated her friends to exile and detention, an environment in which political extremism evoked an extreme response.

Greta and others in her circle were appalled by Nazi anti-Semitism and took action on many fronts to support their Jewish friends and neighbors. As the war raged and Nazi abuses grew in ferocity and reach, resistance was the only possible avenue for Greta and her compatriots. These included Arvid Harnack–the German friend she met in Wisconsin–who collected anti-Nazi intelligence while working for their Economic Ministry; Arvid’s wife, Mildred, who emigrated to her husband’s native country to become the only American woman executed by Hitler; Harro Schulze-Boysen, the glamorous Luftwaffe intelligence officer who smuggled anti-Nazi information to allies abroad; his wife, Libertas, a social butterfly who coaxed favors from an unsuspecting Göring; John Sieg, a railroad worker from Detroit who publicized Nazi atrocities from a Communist underground printing press; and Greta Kuckhoff’s husband, Adam, a theatrical colleague of Brecht’s who found employment in Goebbels’s propaganda unit in order to undermine the regime.

For many members of the Red Orchestra, these audacious acts of courage resulted in their tragic and untimely end. These unsung individuals are portrayed here with startling and sympathetic power. As suspenseful as a thriller, Red Orchestra is a brilliant account of ordinary yet bold citizens who were willing to sacrifice everything to topple the Third Reich.

(Goodreads.com)

RoeJanProductions Aug 26, 2013 2006 documentary From the DVD back cover: It is a time when small cities and towns across America are facing a difficult transition. Two Square Miles tracks the conflicts unfolding as a proposed multinational coal-fired cement plant is threatening to reshape the community. Hudson’s colorful and passionate residents, artists and activists, attempt to save the town’s unique character, its architectural heritage, and breath life back into the exercise of democracy. Can a community of less than 8,000 people be the model that reinvents small town America? Directed by Barbara Ettinger Produced by Barbara Ettinger and Sven Huseby Editor: Toby Shimin Associate Editor: Beth Poague Associate Producer: Ben Kallina Cinematogropher: Joe Friedman Sound: Stephen Sheehan A production of Nijii Films, Inc. in association with with ITVS and WMHT

Novara Media Premiered Jun 15, 2025 Downstream – NEW episodes every Sunday 3pm UK Support our work: http://novara.media/support Get tickets to our live event: https://link.dice.fm/N9636716d4fd?dic… During the 2008 economic crisis, the Obama administration had an opportunity to enact widespread market reforms. Instead, they bailed out the banks and laid the groundwork for mass inequality and a political culture that has given us a second Trump administration. This week’s guest was in the room where those crucial decisions were made, and argued that financial institutions should not be able to escape the consequences of their recklessness. Joseph Stiglitz is a Nobel Prize-winning economist and author of ‘The Road To Freedom: Economics and The Good Society’. He sat down with Aaron to discuss the collapse of American democracy, his relationship with Milton Friedman and whether China is actually a socialist country. 00:00 Intro 02.40 Reflections on Globalization 08:37 Obama & Predicting MAGA 19:29 Milton Friedman 25:07 Adam Smith 33:55 Does The US Need A New FDR? 41:34 Debt & Collapse of Neo-Liberalism 46:44 Where Should The Money Come From? 51:01 What Can China Teach Us?

Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) speaks to reporters at the US Capitol on July 17, 2025. 

(Photo by Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“Make no mistake,” said one critic of the MEGA Act, “this egregious power grab is about suppressing turnout, silencing voters, and ensuring minority rule.”

Jake Johnson

Jan 30, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)

The Republican chairman of the House committee that oversees federal elections introduced legislation on Thursday that one analyst characterized as possibly “the most dangerous attack on voting rights ever” put forth in the US Congress.

Led by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), chair of the House Administration Committee, the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act would ban ranked-choice voting and universal mail-in ballots in federal elections, prohibit states from accepting mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day, enable large-scale voter purges, and institute photo ID requirements.

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The bill was endorsed by right-wing organizations including the Election Integrity Network, an organization that—in the words of the New York Times—“has done more than any other group to take [President Donald Trump’s] falsehoods about corruption in the democratic system and turn them into action.” The Election Integrity Network has received funding from Citizens for Renewing America, a group founded by White House budget director and Project 2025 architect Russell Vought.

Tiffany Muller, president of the End Citizens United Action Fund, said in a statement Thursday that the MEGA Act “is a dangerous anti-voter bill and the latest escalation of the same conspiracy-driven agenda that has nothing to do with protecting our elections and everything to do with clinging to power.”

“There is not a shred of evidence of widespread voter fraud in the United States. Courts, audits, and election officials from both parties have repeatedly proved that,” said Muller. “Yet House Republicans, in their never-ending quest to stay in power, have once again chosen lies over facts to justify making it harder for eligible Americans to vote.”

“When you steal from the working class, impose policies that strictly benefit billionaire donors, and know voters are about to hold you accountable in the midterms, you try to change the rules of the game,” Muller added. “That’s the Republican playbook, and this bill is the proof. Make no mistake, this egregious power grab is about suppressing turnout, silencing voters, and ensuring minority rule.”

While the bill is unlikely to get through the Senate due to Democratic opposition, it represents an ominous look at the GOP’s vision for election administration ahead of the pivotal November midterms.

Yunior Rivas of Democracy Docket noted Thursday that the legislation would go further than the SAVE Act, a bill House Republicans passed last year that one historian characterized as “the most extraordinary attack on voting rights in American history.” One advocate described the SAVE Act, which some Republicans are looking to revive, as a “modern-day poll tax.”

“Taken together, the MEGA Act is a catastrophic proposal for democracy in the United States,” Rivas wrote. “Voting would move from a fundamental right to a permission-based system—one where voters must repeatedly prove their eligibility, navigate bureaucratic obstacles, and hope they are not wrongly flagged by a single database.”

In a statement, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) warned that the MEGA Act shows Republicans are “desperately trying to rig the rules for future elections because they know they cannot win on their unpopular agenda, which is raising costs for working families.”

Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Administration Committee, said the MEGA Act is further evidence that “Trump and House Republicans are terrified of the American people.”

“They are desperate to rig the system so they can choose their voters,” said Morelle. “This bill is their latest attempt to block millions of Americans from exercising their right to vote. I will fight this bill at every turn.”

The MEGA Act was introduced amid growing fears that Trump is laying the groundwork to subvert the 2026 midterms. On Thursday, a group of Senate Democrats led by Padilla raised alarm over Justice Department efforts to seize sensitive data and purge voter rolls in states across the country.

“While most states are resisting this illegal voter roll grab, we are gravely concerned by the amount of sensitive data the department has already amassed on millions of American voters,” the senators wrote. “The department has failed to provide Congress, or the public, any information on how it is maintaining this vast amount of data, the guardrails in place to protect state voter information, how the data is to be used, or who in the federal government has access to this sensitive data.”

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Jake Johnson

Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.

Full Bio >

People Power United members are committed to championing progress and power to the people. We don’t just complain; we do the work to make change happen. Here are today’s calls-to-action:

• Click here Congress Must Investigate FBI’s Georgia Election Center Raid
• Click here to Tell the FBI: Stop Blocking Investigation Into ICE Shootings
• Click here to Put the Minneapolis Killers on Trial
• Click here to Tell Your Attorney General: Keep ICE Out of Public Schools
• Click here to Tell Google and YouTube: Stop taking money from ICE. Take down vile ICE recruitment ads now.
• Click here to Stop Trump’s DOJ from Punishing Dissent
• Click here to Tell Congress: Investigate ICE Retaliation Against Protests
• Click here Kristi Noem Must Go
• Tell Congress to pass the Living Wage for Musicians Act. Spotify and other music streaming services must pay artists fairly.