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Trump Tyranny Tracker | Day 634: Oct. 19, 2026
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An electronic voting machine that produces a paper receipt from Election Services & Software. The company is among those bidding to replace all of Georgia’s voting machines but close relationships between state officials and ES&S have raised questions about the fairness of the bidding process. David Goldman/APWelcome to today’s Trump Tyranny Tracker…
Trump officials’ secret plan to hack a voting machine, more Americans injured and dying in ICE custody, and Trump’s latest moves to ease Russian oil sanctions are among today’s top stories.
Today at a Glance
Trump officials sought to secretly hack a voting machine.
ICE faces new allegations of abuse and medical neglect.
Trump defends Russia and says that Russia “has been fine on Ukraine” and “hasn’t been doing much” in Ukraine.
What We Need to Pay Attention To
Trump Appointees Asked a Federal Cybersecurity Agency to Secretly Acquire a Voting Machine — and Hack It
What Happened: DHS officials wanted the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to secretly obtain and hack a voting machine, keep any security flaws from the manufacturer, and send the findings directly to the White House. CISA staff refused, and the plan never went forward. This comes as Trump has cut more than 1,000 positions at the agency since last year.
Why It Matters: Trump officials tried to secretly hack voting equipment and send the findings to the White House while cutting staff at the agency responsible for protecting elections from foreign interference. What were they planning to do?
Source: ProPublica
Corruption
From the Octagon to Quantico: UFC teaching the FBI to fight is its latest tie to Trump world
What Happened: The FBI is pursuing a one-year, no-bid contract with UFC to train federal agents in hand-to-hand combat after roughly 300 agents and trainees attended a seminar in March. UFC CEO Dana White is a longtime Trump ally who campaigned for him in three presidential elections. The contract’s value has not been disclosed.
Why It Matters: A company run by one of Trump’s closest political allies is being positioned to receive a federal contract without competitive bidding. This is another example of cronyism and favoritism under Trump.
Source: The Guardian
Dispute Between Trump Allies Centers on Millions Transferred From Congo
What Happened: The White House is investigating a $17.6 million transfer from an account tied to Congo’s government to a Texas defense company. Former Trump lawyer Alina Habba accused Richard Grenell of diverting money that was supposed to go partly to the Kennedy Center. Her husband, Turhan Mildon, is an adviser to Congo’s president. Grenell denies the allegations, and investigators have not determined why the money was transferred.
Why It Matters: Millions in foreign government funds went to an American defense company, and Trump allies are accusing each other of diverting the money. This is a perfect example of the countless shady financial dealings between Trump, his inner circle, foreign officials, and government contractors.
Source: New York Times
White House preservation group took $2.5M from man who wanted to demolish East Wing
What Happened: The White House Historical Association accepted $2.5 million from Republican donor Vance Patterson, who said he wanted the money used to help demolish the East Wing for Trump’s ballroom. Some donors have since stopped contributing over the group’s silence about the demolition.
Source: The Washington Post
Power Consolidation
Trump Revives 2020 Election Conspiracy Theories as Midterms Loom
What Happened: Trump officials are using lies about the 2020 election to push new federal measures targeting mail ballots, voter rolls, voting assistance in nursing homes, and voting machines. The Supreme Court rejected a plan to restrict mail ballot delivery through the Postal Service. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also asked the Justice Department to investigate voting machines over BS fraud claims.
Why It Matters: Trump is using lies about election fraud to justify federal interference in how states run elections, targeting voting procedures and laying the groundwork to challenge results he doesn’t like.
Source: New York Times
Weaponization of Institutions
Judge Clashes with Justice Department About Trump’s Golf Course Plan
What Happened: Federal Judge Ana Reyes questioned senior Trump officials over the removal of hundreds of trees from Washington’s East Potomac Golf Links, challenging their claims that the work was routine maintenance. She also questioned whether officials concealed Trump’s renovation plans from the court. The DOJ tried unsuccessfully to remove her from the case, while Reyes is considering stopping construction.
Source: New York Times
Meet the small DOJ unit approving some of Trump’s most controversial policies
What Happened: The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, led by former Trump campaign lawyer T. Elliot Gaiser, has approved military operations in Venezuela, strikes on suspected drug boats without congressional authorization, and a legal opinion declaring the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. Gaiser has also refused to acknowledge Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Why It Matters: A former Trump campaign lawyer now leads the DOJ office responsible for determining whether presidential actions are legal, approving policies that expand Trump’s power and bypass congressional oversight.
Source: The Washington Post
Media Suppression & Authoritarian Tactics
Election Offices in at Least 32 States Have Received Suspicious Letters
What Happened: Election offices in at least 32 states received letters containing suspicious white powder, forcing evacuations and emergency responses. Substances tested so far were harmless, but the incidents disrupted election operations across the country. This is happening weeks before the election and is similar to the bomb threats called in to polling stations across the country during the 2024 election.
Source: WIRED
Human & Civil Rights Abuses
U.S. Citizen Hospitalized After Being Detained by ICE, His Family Says
What Happened: Ricardo Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen and former city employee, was hospitalized after being beaten by ICE agents in Long Beach, California. He was riding his e-bike when, according to his daughter, agents struck him with an unmarked vehicle, tased him, and pinned him to the ground. Local police found Gonzalez bleeding and handcuffed after ICE requested assistance.
Source: New York Times
Man Who Died in ICE Custody Was Denied Medicine, His Daughter Says
What Happened: Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias, 56, died after being found unconscious in his cell at an ICE detention center in Laredo, Texas. His daughter says he was repeatedly denied medication for diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart condition.
Source: New York Times
Groups seek clarity on motive behind Pentagon’s study of women in combat
What Happened: The ACLU and two other civil rights organizations sued the Pentagon for withholding records about its study of women serving in ground combat roles. The groups question the study’s purpose, citing Hegseth’s repeated opposition to women in combat and the selection of a researcher who has questioned their combat readiness.
Source: Military Times
Government Disruption
CDC lags in hiring behind other health agencies after DOGE cuts, union says
What Happened: More than a year after Trump’s DOGE purged 30% of the CDC’s workforce, the agency has replaced just 16.5% of the employees lost, according to a union analysis. Roughly 50 congressionally funded programs are operating with little or no staff, including programs addressing chronic disease, reproductive health, and injury prevention.
Source: ABC News
Trump admin cuts to satellites will set back US weather forecasting by a decade, experts say
What Happened: Trump officials cut NOAA’s weather satellite program from $19.6 billion to $13 billion, reduced the planned fleet from six satellites to four, and eliminated instruments used to monitor lightning, wildfire smoke, and ocean conditions. A Government Accountability Office report warns that the reductions threaten satellite coverage and could set U.S. weather forecasting back nearly a decade.
Source: CNN
Imperial & Geopolitical Watch
Serbian prosecutor probing Trump Tower in Belgrade targeted with spyware
What Happened: Serbian prosecutor Rade Bajić, who is investigating alleged corruption surrounding Jared Kushner's planned Trump Tower development in Belgrade, was targeted with Israeli-made Pegasus spyware after speaking out about political interference. Researchers linked the targeting to a broader surveillance campaign against Serbian opposition figures, activists, and officials. Those responsible have not been identified.
Source: Politico EU
Trump Says He Would Be Open to Meeting With Putin and Xi
What Happened: Trump said he would consider meeting Putin and Xi Jinping next month to discuss nuclear weapons after Putin proposed a three-way summit on Ukraine’s future that would exclude Ukraine. Trump also praised Russia, called for Zelenskyy to be replaced, and questioned what the United States had received for helping Ukraine.
Why It Matters: This is another attempt to force Ukraine into surrender while Trump, Putin, and Xi seek to carve up the world into spheres of influence.
Source: Wall Street Journal
US Allows Dark-Fleet Tankers to Shed Sanctions, Wright Says
What Happened: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Trump officials are allowing investors to buy sanctioned oil tankers, refurbish them, and return them to commercial service carrying non-sanctioned crude. Wright said the policy could bring dozens or hundreds of vessels from the shadow fleet back into global oil markets as Trump seeks to address fuel shortages and rising prices caused by the Iran war.
Source: Bloomberg
Far-Right & Russian Influence Watch
What Russia’s doing to Ukraine is ‘fine,’ Trump says
What Happened: Trump declared that Russia “has been fine on Ukraine” and “hasn’t been doing much,” despite Russia’s ongoing genocidal war. His remarks came the same day a Russian drone strike killed six people, including two children, and after Russian forces launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at Kyiv.
Source: Kyiv Independent
Unmasking RussiaTrump Leaves Ukraine Without Advance Missile Warnings and Restricts Starshield as Russia Escalates Deadly AttacksLate Friday night, Trump quietly handed Putin yet another gift, signing an executive order waiving sweeping new sanctions against Russia under the Lindsey Graham Act, just two days before they were set to take effect. This was the latest in a flurry of concessions Trump has made to Putin over the past week, as he helps Russia fund its genocidal invasion and sabotages Ukraine’s ability to defend itself…Read morea day ago · 144 likes · 25 comments · Olga LautmanRussia Appears to Step Up Efforts to Influence U.S. Voters
What Happened: Russia’s Doppelgänger operation, run by the sanctioned Social Design Agency, has escalated its attack on the midterms to influence American voters. Russia continues to exploit divisions over U.S. support for Israel and other wedge issues. Also, X removed 13,000 accounts linked to Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence operations targeting U.S. politics and candidates.
Source: New York Times
‘No logic’: Finland slams Trump for siding with Putin against Ukraine
What Happened: Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo criticized Trump for siding with Russia, citing his Russian diesel deal and reported restrictions on Ukraine’s access to U.S. military intelligence and Starshield. Orpo warned that Russia remains NATO’s greatest threat and agreed with Zelenskyy that Trump and the United States were on the wrong side of history.
Source: Politico EU
Economic News
Americans brace for brutal winter as heating oil costs rise
What Happened: Heating oil in Maine now costs $5.97 a gallon, compared with about $4 last year, and diesel prices nationwide have reached $6.29. Trump’s war with Iran is pushing energy prices higher, with some families facing thousands of dollars more to heat their homes this winter.
Source: ABC News
Resistance
Check out 50501 for local and nationwide events…
Source: 50501
By the Numbers
32 — States where election offices received suspicious letters containing white powder.
1,000+ — Positions eliminated from CISA over the past year
30% — Share of the CDC staff purged by DOGE
$17.6 million — Transferred from an account linked to Congo’s government to a Texas defense company.
13,000 — Accounts removed by X for links to Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence operations targeting U.S. politics.
$6.29 per gallon — Average nationwide diesel price
6 — Ukrainians killed in Russian strikes, including two children, as Trump claims that Russia “has been fine on Ukraine.”
What to Watch Next
Trump officials sought to secretly hack voting equipment — Will Congress investigate who ordered the operation and what the White House intended to do with the information?
Another ICE detainee dies amid allegations of medical neglect — Will there be an independent investigation into his death and the deaths of so many others in detention centers?
Serbian prosecutor investigating Kushner project targeted with spyware — Will investigators identify who ordered the surveillance and whether it was connected to the Trump Tower investigation?
Key Takeaways
Election Interference — Trump officials tried to secretly hack voting equipment while continuing to use 2020 fraud lies as a pretext to interfere in elections.
ICE Abuses — Another U.S. citizen was hospitalized after ICE beat him, while a detainee died amid allegations that he was denied medication.
Russia Sanctions — Trump is defending Russia’s deadly attacks on Ukraine, pressuring Ukraine to surrender, and allowing sanctioned oil tankers back into service.
Political Favoritism — Trump allies are fighting over millions transferred from Congo, while the FBI pursues a no-bid contract with a company run by longtime Trump ally Dana White.
Rising Energy Costs — Trump’s war with Iran is raising the costs of heating oil and diesel prices, leaving Americans to pay higher heating bills this winter.
Call to Action
Document Everything: Document purges, corruption, and power grabs. Share credible information with journalists, watchdogs, and legal experts. Silence enables authoritarianism—see something, say something.
Defend Press Freedom: Support independent journalism by subscribing to and sharing reporting that challenges Trump’s power grab.
Mobilize for Action: Organize or join legal efforts and resistance movements to protect democracy and human and civil rights.
Support Whistleblowers: Encourage legal defense funds for government workers facing retaliation for exposing corruption.
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Putin’s Pawns takes you on a journey from the earliest days of the Cold War and Soviet KGB active measures through Russia’s attacks on Western elections, the rise of the far right, Trump and Russia, the genocidal war against Ukraine, influence operations across Europe, and the shadow war unfolding today.
It is the story of how Moscow spent decades learning to exploit the weaknesses of democracies and how those tactics brought us to this moment.
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