Conversation
-
Trump Tyranny Tracker | Day 596-598: Sept. 11-13, 2026
source
The Department of Justice in Washington. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/BloombergWelcome to today’s Trump Tyranny Tracker…
New efforts to interfere in the midterms, Trump’s Justice Department expanding investigations into his political opponents, and Russia and Iran escalating threats abroad are among this weekend’s top stories.
Weekend at a Glance
Election Interference — Trump allies are pushing new ways to use federal power to interfere with state-run elections just weeks before the midterms.
Political Retribution — DOJ is expanding investigations involving Trump’s political opponents and former officials who investigated him.
Iran War — Fighting is threatening two of the world’s most important shipping routes as energy prices and inflation continue to climb.
What We Need to Pay Attention To
Trump’s Commerce Secretary under pressure to use his powers to block voting machines
What Happened: Trump allies are pressuring Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to block voting machines containing Chinese-made components before the midterms. Career officials previously looked at the proposal but found there wasn’t enough evidence of a security threat to act. Activists pushing the plan recently met with Lutnick and say he agreed to look into it.
Why It Matters: With the midterms weeks away, Trump and his regime are trying to seize control over elections run by the states. This is part of a much broader effort to control how Americans vote.
Source: CNN
Corruption
The Latest Spot for a Trump Tower: An Ex-Soviet Republic Moving Closer to Russia
What Happened: The Trump Organization is moving forward with a 70-story Trump Tower in Tbilisi as Georgia’s government moves closer to Russia. The project’s land was purchased from a foundation tied to the family of Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2024 over Georgia’s shift toward Russia. The land deal was worth up to $85 million.
Why It Matters: Trump’s family is making money in Georgia through a deal tied to the family of a Russian proxy sanctioned by the U.S. This is more corruption on a massive scale.
Source: Wall Street Journal
In posts attacking ChatGPT, Katie Miller didn’t disclose her stake in its rival
What Happened: Katie Miller, a former DOGE official and wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, repeatedly attacked ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini while promoting Elon Musk’s Grok without disclosing her financial stake in xAI. Miller began consulting for xAI in 2025 and later bought between $500,000 and $1 million in xAI stock. She posted negatively about OpenAI or ChatGPT more than 400 times.
Source: The Washington Post
Power Consolidation
US judge blocks Trump administration’s ‘loyalty’ question for job applicants
What Happened: A federal judge blocked Trump officials from asking applicants for nonpartisan civil service jobs to explain how they would advance Trump’s policies and executive orders. The judge said applicants could reasonably see it as a test of their political beliefs and that it likely violated the First Amendment. The question appeared in more than 70,000 federal job postings.
Why It Matters: Trump has been trying to remake the federal workforce around loyalty to him. This ruling blocks one way of turning nonpartisan government jobs into a political loyalty test.
Source: Reuters
Weaponization of Institutions
DOJ Ramps Up Controversial Probe of Trump’s Perceived Enemies
What Happened: DOJ is expanding its criminal investigation into former intelligence and law enforcement officials involved in investigations of Russia’s attack on the U.S. election and the classified documents investigation. New subpoenas have been issued, including for testimony from former DNI James Clapper.
Why It Matters: Trump’s DOJ is using criminal investigations to go after officials involved in investigating him. This is more weaponization of agencies and the political retribution Trump spent years promising.
Source: Bloomberg
Trump’s DOJ Is Reportedly Investigating Gavin Newsom’s Travel Funding
What Happened: Federal prosecutors issued subpoenas seeking six years of records involving a nonprofit that paid for California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s international travel, along with communications involving current and former aides and associates. The records are being sought as part of a criminal investigation, although prosecutors have not publicly identified what crime they are investigating. Newsom denies any wrongdoing and says the investigation is politically motivated.
Source: Mother Jones
Media Suppression & Authoritarian Tactics
How Trump Is Wielding Power to Stifle Speech
What Happened: Trump is using multiple parts of the federal government to pressure news organizations and critics. This includes FBI subpoenas and searches involving journalists, FCC investigations of broadcasters, restrictions on Pentagon press access, cuts to public broadcasting, and White House control over the presidential press pool. Courts have blocked or criticized several of these actions on First Amendment grounds.
Why It Matters: The regime is using federal power to intimidate journalists and silence critics. This is what happens in Russia, where the regime uses state power to control the press and punish anyone who challenges the Kremlin.
Source: New York Times
Inside Hegseth’s push to showcase a dramatic Iran rescue on ‘60 Minutes’
What Happened: Pete Hegseth and political appointees pushed two F-15 crew members shot down and rescued inside Iran to participate in a 60 Minutes report about the operation. Both had reservations, with one worried he could be ordered to participate, while military officials raised concerns about exposing classified rescue tactics. Hegseth eventually told them participation was voluntary, and one declined.
Source: CNN
Minnesota churches roiled by legal battle over ICE surveillance and right to protest
What Happened: Homeland Security agents surveilled University Baptist Church in Minneapolis four times while investigating anti-ICE protests, including sending an undercover agent inside. The church is part of religious groups that had already won a federal injunction restricting immigration enforcement at houses of worship.
Why It Matters: Federal agents went undercover inside a church while investigating people protesting ICE. People should be able to protest the government or gather in a place of worship without worrying that federal agents are secretly watching them.
Source: Associated Press
Human & Civil Rights Abuses
Trump criticizes Smithsonian’s focus on oppression
What Happened: Trump again criticized the Smithsonian for focusing too much on oppression and called for a five-year George Washington exhibition and a 30-foot Washington statue outside the National Museum of American History. He has also threatened Smithsonian funding and pushed changes to exhibits involving slavery and Confederate monuments.
Why It Matters: Trump and his cronies are trying to rewrite American history, including sanitizing slavery and downplaying oppression. Rewriting history and controlling what people are allowed to learn is a classic authoritarian tactic.
Source: Reuters
Government Disruption
Census Quietly Changes Charter for Key Policy Committee, Opening Door for Political Interference
What Happened: The Census Bureau quietly changed the charter of a key committee overseeing privacy, confidentiality, and statistical integrity. Political appointees now have leadership and permanent roles on a committee historically led by career officials, while language rejecting “undue political or other external influence” was removed.
Why It Matters: The Census is supposed to produce reliable data without political interference. Putting political appointees in charge of decisions involving that data opens the door to manipulating an agency Americans rely on for everything from elections to federal funding.
Source: Talking Points Memo
U.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit Finds
What Happened: A Postal Service audit found training failures, tracking problems, and incorrect postmarks in the handling of ballots during this year’s primaries. In Pennsylvania, 56 ballots received the wrong postmark and another 108 had to be rushed across the state on Election Day after being mixed with other mail.
Source: ProPublica
A US Census Report on Noncitizen Voting Used Bad Data to Reach Faulty Conclusions
What Happened: A Census Bureau report claimed more than 24,000 noncitizens voted in the 2020 election, a finding Trump quickly promoted. But Census experts identified serious problems with the data and said the numbers were likely caused by data matching errors. The report also lacked key details explaining its methodology, and some of its authors were political appointees or researchers tied to Trump-aligned organizations.
Source: WIRED
US judge rules that Trump plan to halve FEMA workforce violated law
What Happened: A federal judge ruled that DHS broke the law by ordering FEMA to cut its workforce roughly in half, including thousands of disaster response reservists. The judge also found that FEMA and DHS officials used Signal on personal phones to discuss the cuts and deleted messages relevant to the case.
Source: CNBC
Imperial & Geopolitical Watch
Iranian vessel struck on Strait of Hormuz, as Houthis expand control of oil shipping lane
What Happened: An Iranian cargo vessel was struck near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and wounding four, according to Iranian state media. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthis are expanding their control around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as Saudi oil shipments are increasingly rerouted because of disruptions in Hormuz.
Why It Matters: Trump’s war with Iran is creating economic chaos with no end in sight. Two of the world’s most important shipping routes are now under threat, pushing energy and shipping costs even higher.
Source: CBS News
U.S. Links Chinese Satellite Imagery to Iranian Strike That Killed Three Troops
What Happened: U.S. officials concluded that Iran obtained high-resolution satellite imagery of a U.S. air base in Jordan from Chinese entities before a July ballistic missile attack that killed three American troops and wounded four others.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Ukrainians embed with US forces during drills in Germany to teach the latest in drone warfare
What Happened: Ukrainian troops embedded with U.S. forces during Army exercises in Germany to teach drone and electronic-warfare tactics developed while fighting Russia. The Army used roughly 1,900 drones during the drills, and some U.S. soldiers had previously traveled to Ukraine to learn directly from Ukrainian forces.
Why It Matters: Despite Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces are still sharing what they have learned on the battlefield to help the U.S. military prepare for how wars are being fought today.
Source: Associated Press
Far-Right & Russian Influence Watch
Ukraine’s refusal to give up territory to Russia stalls peace deal, Trump envoy says
What Happened: Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner said Ukraine’s refusal to withdraw from its territory that Putin wants is the main obstacle to an agreement. Kushner said that if Ukraine withdraws to Russia’s proposed line, “the rest of the deal” is largely in place.
Why It Matters: Russia invaded a sovereign country and is committing genocide, yet Kremlin shill Kushner is blaming Ukraine for standing in the way because it refuses to surrender its land to Putin. It’s grotesque and un-American.
Source: Kyiv Independent
Russia is weaponizing US-built AI to make killer drones, cyberattack bots, and fake news
What Happened: Anthropic found Russia-based actors using Claude to develop autonomous attack drone technology capable of selecting human targets and issuing detonation commands without a person making the final decision. Other Russian-linked operations used AI for cyber espionage, fake news, propaganda, and influence operations. Anthropic says the drone technology was being tested but had not yet been deployed in the field.
Source: Defense One
Unmasking RussiaAnother Explosion Hits a Bulgarian Arms Company That Russia Has Targeted BeforeAnother weapons facility in Bulgaria was hit by an explosion and fire overnight. Normally, I would wait for an investigation to determine what happened, but this one immediately caught my attention because of the company behind the facility. It belongs to EMCO, a Bulgarian arms company whose owner and facilities have been at the center of several of Russia’s sabotage and assassination operations going back more than a decade…Read more6 days ago · 159 likes · 8 comments · Olga LautmanEconomic News
US consumer prices accelerate in August, push Fed closer to rate hike
What Happened: Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August and 3.4% from a year earlier. Gasoline jumped 3.9%, while other motor fuels, including diesel, surged 9.6% in a single month. Inflation-adjusted hourly earnings fell 0.3% from a year earlier as prices continued to outpace wages.
Source: Reuters
Resistance
Check out 50501 for local and nationwide events…
Source: 50501
By the Numbers
70,000+ — Federal job postings that included Trump’s political “loyalty” question
$85 million — Value of the Georgia land deal tied to the planned Trump Tower in Tbilisi
24,000+ — Noncitizens a flawed and disputed Census report claimed voted in the 2020 election
1,900 — Drones used during U.S. Army exercises in Germany where Ukrainian troops helped train American forces
9.6% — One-month jump in the price of motor fuels including diesel
What to Watch Next
Election interference is escalating ahead of the midterms — How much further will Trump and his allies go in trying to expand control over elections?
Federal surveillance and pressure on critics is expanding — Will the regime go further in using federal agencies to monitor protesters, journalists, and other critics?
Trump’s DOJ is expanding investigations into his political opponents — Who will prosecutors target next as the investigations widen?
Trump’s Iran war is spreading across the region — Will fighting around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb cause even greater disruption to global shipping and energy supplies?
Trump’s team is pressuring Ukraine to surrender territory to Russia — How much further will the U.S. push Ukraine to surrender while Russia continues its genocidal attacks?
Key Takeaways
Rising Costs — Inflation accelerated again in August as gasoline and diesel prices jumped and wages failed to keep pace. Trump’s expanding Iran war is putting even more pressure on global energy and shipping costs.
Election Interference — With the midterms weeks away, Trump and his cronies are pushing several different ways to expand federal power over elections.
Political Retribution — DOJ is expanding investigations involving Trump’s political opponents and former officials who investigated him, while other parts of the federal government are being used to pressure journalists, protesters, and critics.
Authoritarian Tactics — From political loyalty tests and surveillance inside a church to pressure on the Smithsonian and the press, the regime is using federal power to control institutions, information, and dissent.
Russia & Ukraine — Trump’s cronies are blaming Ukraine for refusing to surrender its own territory while Russia continues its invasion. At the same time, Russia is experimenting with American AI for drones, cyber operations and propaganda.
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.
Contact Lawmakers: Demand accountability for Trump’s unchecked power and war on oversight.
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.
Follow my work on YouTube → Subscribe to Unmasking Russia
https://youtube.com/@unmaskingrussia
Thanks for reading the Trump Tyranny Tracker. Stay tuned for more updates.
