Update: What I'm doing next to fight back

TREASON will become DEFIANCE NEWS, escalating our resistance to Trump.

This has been the hardest year of my life. Harder than speaking out the first time in 2019 - 2020, when the MAGA mob was literally trying to get me to run for my life. Harder than the attacks, the public smears, and the threats that followed my unmasking as “Anonymous.” Harder because this time the blows weren’t just aimed at me. The animus was aimed at my family, my friends, my livelihood, and the people I love most. The pressure to “shut up” was enormous. One day I’ll tell you the full extent of it, but it’s still a bit too raw to share.

Yet I didn’t submit. And surprisingly, it’s become one of the best years of my life.

Hannah agreed we should not lay low. Even though many people in our personal lives ran away from us, so many more ran towards us. Including you. This community — TREASON — has been one of my lifelines. Your notes, your encouragement, your righteous anger and humor, and your stubborn belief that truth still matters (and that we don’t have to accept any of this) has carried me through this nightmare.

You may not think you did much, but you did, actually. You helped me keep speaking. And recently, you helped me choose defiance.

I wrote last week about how much that word has meant to me. When I got into a dark headspace earlier this year, invoking “defiance” became almost like a magic trick. Somehow my thinking shifted, my optimism returned, and my determination was restored to do whatever I can to protect our country against a lawless slide into despotism. Just from that one word. But there were a few other words I kept hearing.

WHAT CAN I DO? people asked, over and over.

I wanted to share with them what worked for me. Choosing defiance. So I launched DEFIANCE.org — without overthinking it, without asking for permission, without doing focus groups and wasting time — so that there could be a club for courageous Americans who regularly want answers to that question, “What can I do?” I’ve put my own time and funds into what’s become a largely volunteer effort. Now with it launched, we’ll support the greatest groups in the country fighting censorship, defending the rule of law, and more.

And here’s the truth I want to say clearly: TREASON is the reason DEFIANCE.org exists. Your support has made it possible for me to get this off the ground. I will never forget that. So now I want to give something back.

On Monday, TREASON will become DEFIANCE NEWS.

I’m still producing it. You’re still a part of it. Nothing behind the scenes changes. But you’re going to get even more, for free. If DEFIANCE.org is the pro-bono action arm of what I’m doing every day, then DEFIANCE NEWS is the accountability arm — the place where we speak plainly about what’s happening inside this country and who is driving the authoritarian turn.

Is this a rebrand? In part, yes. I happily reclaimed “TREASON” from the man who said I was guilty of the highest crime envisioned by the Constitution. I wore the badge proudly. But truth be told, I’d rather spend my days toiling under the banner of something optimistic and empowering, like “DEFIANCE.”

Bur more than just a rebrand, I’m expanding your subscriber benefits along with it. Here’s what paid members will now get:

• All news and essays, including deep-dive reporting and analysis

• Live + replay access to a *NEW* daily morning show with me, 7–8am ET

• Weekly Wednesday Coffee, with open Q&A, every week

• Access to subscriber-only chat, comments, and features

• Complimentary membership in DEFIANCE.org, including all weekly briefings that answer “WHAT CAN I DO?” ; you’ll be able to find this in a dedicated section on the main page for this Substack

• A portion of all proceeds to DEFIANCE NEWS will now go to DEFIANCE.org to help defend our country.

And free subscribers will still receive:

• News + commentary

• Live access to the new morning show and other interviews

Don’t worry. You’ll still be able to type in TREASON.substack.com or DEFIANCE.substack.com, and it will take you to the same place.

“Miles, are you gonna run yourself into the ground?”

Maybe! (Only half joking.) Yes, this is going to be a lot of work to expand this publication and run an action arm to help people fight back. But when I told you I’d throw myself into this full-time, I meant it. Donald Trump tried to humiliate me and scare me into silence. He did the opposite. I’m going to oppose him until he’s gone from public life and until the damage is undone.

I’ve already poured enormous personal time, energy, and resources into this publication and into DEFIANCE.org. I’m not expecting others to take risks that I won’t. And I also don’t want anyone to stand out there feeling as alone as we felt at the start of the year. I hope these efforts help.

We’re living in one of the most dangerous moments in American history. I refuse to tell my daughter that we let our democracy slip away because we were tired, or overwhelmed, or afraid. At the start of this note, I said it had become one of the best years of my life. That’s because I feel honored to protect the American experiment and preserve it for the next generation. You should, too.

So this is the next chapter. And I want you in it with me. Thank you — sincerely — for giving me the strength to keep going. We are just getting started.

Your friend, in defiance,

P.S. WHAT’S HAPPENING ON TREASON

Here’s what’s coming up.

1. TODAY / Thurs, Nov 6 @ 3pm ET - Ex-Trump spy chief Sue Gordon sounds off - I’m back with our favorite recurring guest, my friend

   Sue Gordon
   . You can join us here.

2. Fri, Nov 7 @ 4pm ET - Katie Phang! - I’ll close out the week with my friend

   Katie Phang
   on her Substack. Stay tuned.

3. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT / Weekly Wednesday Coffee - Yesterday I previewed some of the above and took questions on a whole host of issues, including the recent elections and Supreme Court challenges to Trump. You can watch the replay here.