This week’s predawn raid by federal agents of the home of a sitting U.S. lawmaker who is up for reelection just weeks before voters go to the polls sadly, though perfectly, illustrates what the United States has come to represent under Donald Trump: An America where the federal government is used to target the president’s perceived enemies. An America where the rule of law has lost its meaning, an America where fascism no longer hides in the shadows.
In this case, the target was Rep. Ilhan Omar, but we know too well it didn’t start and won’t stop with her. Because in Donald Trump’s America, racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia drive policy. Because in Donald Trump’s America, repression of those who look different or speak out against the president is the goal.
When they weren’t raiding Omar’s home, Trump’s cronies were continuing their crackdown on a free press, planning an ICE spying program, and suing California election officials. Here’s more from ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 91’:
Saturday, Oct. 10 – DOJ Investigating Major TV Networks, Including Fox
The New York Times reported that Trump’s Justice Department launched an investigation into NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and Fox to determine whether they broke antitrust laws by temporarily suspending pool coverage of the president.
The move comes after a Sept. 21 tweet from conspiracy theorist and Trump adviser Laura Loomer questioning why the Justice Department hadn’t filed an antitrust lawsuit against “the Fake News media outlets,” accusing them of collusion to refuse to cover the president.
Sunday, Oct. 11 – Trump Airs Taxpayer-Funded Ads Despite Court Order
After a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop airing taxpayer-funded campaign-style TV advertisements, two of the ads continued to air multiple times in the hours following the judge’s deadline, including into the early hours of Monday morning. The White House later claimed that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t receive enough notice to cancel the ads in time.
Later, NPR reported that nearly $22 million in taxpayer dollars had been spent to air Trump’s ads, nearly $10 million of which was spent after Trump’s Oct. 5 Truth Social post where he said the government would no longer pay for the ads.
Monday, Oct. 12 – Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Home Raided By Federal Agents
Federal agents conducted a raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home in Washington, DC, as part of a years-long criminal investigation involving immigration fraud. The probe, which the Wall Street Journal later reported is part of an effort to strip Omar of her citizenship and deport her, flies in the face of the Justice Department’s informal “60-day rule,” which seeks to avoid any public investigation actions involving a candidate within 60 days of an election.
On Twitter, Omar called the raid “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” and added that she “will not be silenced.”
Later, the New York Times reported that relatives of Omar have been issued subpoenas as investigators probe her family’s history for any evidence of fraud or false statements in immigration documents.
Tuesday, Oct. 13 – CFTC Ordered to Retract Referral for Oil Insider Trading
Bloomberg reported that staffers at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) analyzing oil trades for insider trading were told to retract a referral to its Division of Enforcement by an adviser to the Trump-appointed chair of the CFTC, Michael Selig.
The referral related to trades made about 15 minutes before Trump walked back a threat to strike Iranian power plants, which ended up being worth billions of dollars.
Wednesday, Oct. 14 – A $100 Million ICE Spying Program
The American Prospect reported that the Trump administration is planning to spend $100 million on a domestic surveillance program led by ICE, that would see more than 140 intelligence contractors with top secret clearances deployed to dozens of cities across the U.S.
One expert called the program “a nightmare in the making,” with others warning the government will likely use it to spy not only on undocumented immigrants, but also U.S. citizens.
Thursday, Oct. 15 – Trump Sues California Over ‘Likely’ Noncitizens, Without Evidence
The Trump administration sued California in an effort to block the state from counting 20,000 mail-in ballots for the midterm elections until voter eligibility is confirmed. The Justice Department claimed, without evidence, the ballots were cast by “likely” noncitizens.
The lawsuit comes after Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan failed to meet a DOJ deadline to review the list of “likely” noncitizens, which was delivered on a thumb drive with the password on a sticky note, despite Logan noting he has no jurisdiction outside the county and that his office can’t withhold ballots or refuse to count them “based solely on unverified allegations.”
Friday, Oct. 16 – Katie Zacharia Out as White House Press Secretary
Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was ousted after less than a week in her position, following a humiliating press briefing on Tuesday and a pair of equally embarrassing interviews on Fox. Her dismissal came hours after Trump told reporters he encouraged Zacharia to “reconsider” the position, blaming the media for being hard on her performance.
Zacharia also stirred controversy for claiming she was an attorney when she was nothing of the sort. (Read more of Zeteo’s coverage of Zacharia here.)
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here.
Plus, check out our deeply reported series, the ‘Four Horsemen of the Trump-ocalypse,’ which profiles the officials behind some of the worst damage the Trump administration has inflicted on the U.S. and the world:
First I heard about it, thank you Zeteo.
Thank you for still doing this. We are living in dizzying times