NEWS: White House secretly assembles revenge cell for Trump w/ spy agencies & cops
Trump's team has pulled together the CIA, FBI, DHS, and other agencies as part of a "weaponization" working group.
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT
The White House has been secretly convening a large group of officials from across the government — including spy agencies, law enforcement, and beyond — to plot revenge against the president’s enemies. It’s worse than it sounds.
WHAT HAPPENED
President Trump’s “Deep State” purge has evolved into something far bigger than most observers first realized.
According to new Reuters reporting, a secretive Interagency Weaponization Working Group, made up of officials from the CIA, DOJ, FBI, DHS, IRS, FCC, and even the Pentagon, has been coordinating a campaign to identify and punish Trump’s perceived foes.
The Reuters scoop exposes how wide the circle of Trump’s retribution has grown.
The so-called Working Group has been meeting since May, drawing dozens of officials from across government into regular sessions meant to identify and pursue alleged abuses of power by previous government employees. The group’s stated mission is to “root out” supposed acts of “weaponization” by prior administrations, which is basically shorthand for punishing anyone involved in investigations of Trump or his allies.
This is the team of bureaucrats sifting through Trump’s target list and trying to find “crimes” to accuse them of. According to the reporting, the group has discussed a number of targets, like James Comey, who were later indicted, as well as an array of others who are reportedly under scrutiny, such as Anthony Fauci, former military leaders, and even Hunter Biden.
The group is led in part by DOJ attorney Ed Martin, a Trump loyalist rejected by the Senate for a top prosecutor slot, and advised by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose office has been rifling through sensitive government networks for evidence against supposed Deep State operatives. In plain English, this is a state-run revenge coordination cell that spans multiple agencies and blurs the line between national security and personal vendetta.
WHAT IT MEANS
Of course, Trump’s allies call this the “de-weaponizing of government.” In reality, it’s the active weaponizing of it through the creation of Trump’s very own Deep State willing to abuse power for retribution. As I’ve said before, the original idea of the Deep State was a mirage; no such clandestine group — of officials unlawfully trying to undermine the sitting president — ever existed in Trump’s first term. What the president actually loathed were the people who told him “no” when he wanted to engage in illegal, immoral, and unconstitutional acts.
But now Donald Trump is creating a personalized Deep State within the government, one that has been pre-screened for loyalty and is willing to follow his edicts far beyond the confines of the Constitution. This network of hardliners is conspiring for him, evidently empowered to target anyone who ever crossed their boss.
Simone Sanders said on MSNBC last night that this appeared to be a “whole-of-government” revenge plan. She’s not wrong. The White House is now using the full and sprawling powers of an array of federal agencies to punish his rivals. The fact that the nation’s top spy leader is one of the main advisors to the effort is appalling. Her remit is to counter threats abroad, not to use the surveillance powers of government to attack the president’s opponents at home.
But I told Simone that even “whole-of-government” was too small of a description for what we’re seeing. This is really a “whole-of-society” strategy that includes deliberate efforts to bend every institution of American life to serve one man’s grievances. (A short clip of our conversation about that, below).
The Working Group is merely one layer. Around it, Trump is constructing a larger framework, which includes the manipulation of government (sweeping purges, politically motivated prosecutions, loyalty hires); law enforcement (investigative priorities directed against Trump’s foes and away from his allies); education (attacks on America’s institutions of higher learning); media (pressure campaigns on broadcasters and online platforms that criticize the president); civil society (intimidation of NGOs and political opposition groups); and on and on.
WHAT’S NEXT
The goal is total synchronization. In the near future, Trump wants a state where the machinery of power, from bureaucracy to culture, moves in a single direction in deference to the leader. Don’t believe me? Then go back and read about the countries whose leaders he most admires, or the dictators he wrote “love letters” to, in his words. China. Russia. North Korea. These are all places where power is consolidated around the leader.
The more Trump’s system expands, the harder it becomes to contain it to Washington. Is it the birth of a dictator’s “Deep State”? I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say so. And it’s the creation of a new kind of country with a visible, obedient structure that enforces loyalty from the top down and coerces Americans at all levels through pervasive fear. The best indicator of it is the rewriting of national-security doctrine to blur dissent with terrorism.
My friend
was on the MSNBC panel with me last night. True to form, he had the best response to all of this. If Trump and his allies are implementing a “whole-of-society” revenge plan against us, then there’s only one appropriate response, Norm said: a “whole-of-society” response to counter it.
P.S. WHAT’S HAPPENING ON TREASON
Here’s what’s coming up.
Fri, Oct 24 @ 3pm ET - ex-CIA leader Sue Gordon - One of my all-time favorite guests is back with me. Former Trump intelligence chief Sue Gordon and I will take stock of the week — and what’s to come. You can join here.
Mon, Oct 27 @ 3pm ET - The 2026 midterm fight begins w/ Senate Candidate Amy McGrath - She’s running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky, and she’s a fighter pilot with a laser-focus on democracy. Now is the time to start talking about how important the midterm elections are. You can join here.
Tues, Oct 28 @ 3pm ET - EXCLUSIVE - New Book Release - Autocrats vs. Democrats w/ Ambassador Michael McFaul - I will be welcoming former senior Obama official Michael McFaul for the official release of his new book, which you can pre-order online. His tome outlines America’s future on a turbulent world stage. You can join here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT / Weds, Oct 22 @ 12noon ET - Subscribers Only - Weekly Wednesday Coffee - If you weren’t able to join us, you can watch the replay here.
The criminals working for Trump have forgotten that in 2020the Supreme Court ruled 8to0 that private citizens can seek monetary damages for abuse by federal employees. Tanzin v. Tanvir. Their time is coming.
An excellent interview which highlights your courage and determination Miles. Terrifying and needs to be shouted out from everywhere. Thank you as always.