The Epstein Files, ICE Raids, and a President in Freefall but most importantly It’s Jack Smith Day
This week exposed government abuse of power in its rawest form. As long-suppressed Epstein Files continue to surface, revealing institutional betrayal and survivor harm, the Trump administration escalated ICE enforcement, expanded detention authority, and leaned on secrecy to avoid accountability. At the same time, global allies pushed back against U.S. instability, markets reacted to chaos from the White House, and federal agencies quietly rewrote the rules governing privacy and due process. These events aren’t isolated failures — they’re symptoms of a system protecting itself at the expense of the public.
The Oligarch Enrichment Program
STOCK MARKET SLUMP FOLLOWS TRUMP’S UNHINGED PRESSER AND TARIFF TANTRUMS
Aaron Parnas reports that U.S. markets tanked sharply after Donald Trump’s chaotic first-year press conference — which included off-the-rails tangents, fresh tariff threats on Europe, and his own former press secretary urging Congress to investigate his mental fitness — spooking investors who dumped stocks and bonds as uncertainty spiked. What markets hate more than recession fears? Confusion at the top. This sell-off shows that when the commander-in-chief behaves like a walking headline grab, traders don’t buy the spin — they hit the exits.
The International Dumpster Fire Desk
FORMER DEA FINANCE OFFICIAL ALLEGEDLY PLOTTING WITH CARTEL — TRANSCRIPTS IMPLICATE ACTING DEA LEADER
New court filings published by U.S. attorneys reveal WhatsApp transcripts showing ex-DEA financial chief Paul “Billy Grass” Campo allegedly coordinating money-laundering and weapons deals with a confidential source posing as a member of Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel — and name-dropping ties to the top of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The exchanges suggest Campo may have leveraged his past New York connections with then-acting DEA administrator Derek Maltz to gain access and protect operations, raising jaw-dropping questions about corruption at the intersection of federal law enforcement and cartel contacts. These bombshell transcripts were released as prosecutors opposed bail for co-defendant Robert Sensi, showing discussions of cash pickups, explosives, and alleged FTO connections. This isn’t political theater — it’s alleged law enforcement insiders flirting with the very narco networks they’re supposed to be dismantling.
EU SAYS “ENOUGH” — HALTS U.S. TRADE DEAL AS TRUMP TANKS TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS
During Trump’s bizarre Davos speech — filled with Greenland confusion and NATO insults — the European Union announced it would pause implementation of the new U.S.–EU trade deal, effectively freezing what was supposed to be a major economic pact in retaliation for Trump’s tariff threats and diplomatic tantrums. Lawmakers in Brussels clearly concluded they’d rather protect European interests than reward unpredictability from Washington, leaving Trump’s global economic credibility in tatters. This isn’t just another headline — it’s a real diplomatic rebuke with potential consequences for markets and alliances.
EU SAYS “ENOUGH” — HALTS U.S. TRADE DEAL AS TRUMP TANKS TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS
During Trump’s bizarre Davos speech — filled with Greenland confusion and NATO insults — the European Union announced it would pause implementation of the new U.S.–EU trade deal, effectively freezing what was supposed to be a major economic pact in retaliation for Trump’s tariff threats and diplomatic tantrums. Lawmakers in Brussels clearly concluded they’d rather protect European interests than reward unpredictability from Washington, leaving Trump’s global economic credibility in tatters. This isn’t just another headline — it’s a real diplomatic rebuke with potential consequences for markets and alliances.
Epstein Trump Pedo “Files”
Epstein News – January 22, 2026: New Filings, Survivor Accounts, and Ongoing Transparency Gaps
Today’s Epstein news reflects the continued tension between emerging disclosures and institutional silence. New reporting and court filings add detail to survivor allegations and legal maneuvering connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, while questions persist about delayed document releases, privilege claims, and the role of powerful intermediaries. Together, these developments reinforce a central issue that has never been resolved: the public record remains incomplete, and accountability remains uneven. EpsteinWiki continues to document verified updates while distinguishing confirmed evidence from unresolved claims as this record evolves.
Department of Injustice
DOGE WASN’T JUST A COST-CUTTER — IT WAS STEALING YOUR PRIVATE DATA
Tristan Snell lays out the ugly truth: the federal “DOGE” unit — championed as a lean-government initiative — didn’t just poke around bureaucracy, it siphoned off Americans’ Social Security data and sent it to right-wing political actors without proper safeguards. That means your most sensitive identity info could have been dumped onto unauthorized third-party servers and matched with voter data to influence politics. This isn’t a tech oops — it’s a data theft scandal that should make Congress and privacy advocates furious. There’s now hard evidence the Justice Department had to admit in court that this happened; the question isn’t just how much was taken, but why the investigation isn’t nuclear already.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FRAMES TRANS PEOPLE AS A “PUBLIC SAFETY THREAT”
Erin in the Morning breaks down how the Trump administration is pushing a dangerous narrative that links trans people — especially trans youth — to gun violence and “public safety risks,” laying the groundwork for expanded surveillance, policing, and criminalization. This isn’t about safety; it’s about using moral panic to justify state power. By borrowing the language of counterterrorism and mass-shooting prevention, the administration is treating trans existence itself as suspect — a move that puts already-vulnerable people directly in the crosshairs of law enforcement and extremist violence. This is how rights get stripped: one scare tactic at a time.
The Clown Caucus
THE DHS FUNDING BILL IS WORSE THAN IT LOOKS — IT EXPANDS ICE AND STRIPS OVERSIGHT
The latest Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill isn’t just bad — it supercharges funding for ICE and Border Patrol while slashing what little oversight remained and handing the agency effectively a blank check to expand detention and enforcement operations nationwide. Even as Democrats posture about cuts or reform, internal funding comparisons reveal the deal maintains or increases ICE’s budget under the guise of fiscal gymnastics, angering lawmakers like Sen. Chris Murphy who calls it a “playbook of brutality.” The bill drags a federal funding deadline into a showdown over whether Congress will bankroll an agency now associated with deadly raids and constitutional abuses — or actually use its leverage to rein it in.
DEMOCRATS MAY FUND ICE’S WAR MACHINE WHILE COMMUNITIES BLEED
Despite rising outrage after ICE’s deadly raids — including the murder of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis and nationwide protests — Democratic leaders in Congress appear poised to help pass a funding bill that would give Immigration and Customs Enforcement more money to expand its detention beds and enforcement operations instead of forcing real reform. House Democratic leadership has signaled reluctance to whip votes against the package, and many senior Democrats helped negotiate it. That means Trump’s militarized ICE offensive could get even more fuel just as public support for abolishing the agency hits record highs and the party has leverage at the appropriations deadline.
Department of Injustice
SUPREME COURT SWEARS IT’S FOLLOWING RULES, DOJ ADMITS IT LIED ABOUT DATA ACCESS
Steve Vladeck flags a jaw-dropper: the Department of Justice just filed a “corrections to the record” admitting multiple misrepresentations to a federal court about Social Security data access — including that some Trump-linked personnel were quietly communicating with anti-democracy groups and possibly planning unlawful data use. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court had already granted emergency relief to let the government bypass privacy safeguards based on the original, misleading filings. If that doesn’t make you rethink how much faith the Court puts in what the DOJ tells it — especially on national security and privacy — nothing will. This isn’t just legal inside baseball; it’s a warning sign about how unchecked power and sloppy “records” can steer the highest court’s decisions.
American Gestapo
HIDDEN DHS MEMO SAYS ICE CAN BUST INTO YOUR HOME WITHOUT A JUDGE’S OK
A whistleblower has exposed a secret Department of Homeland Security memo telling ICE agents they don’t need a judicial warrant to barge into someone’s house — relying instead on an administrative warrant to detain people at home. The leaked directive changes longstanding practice and essentially tells agents they can ignore the Fourth Amendment if a final removal order exists, a shift that civil liberties advocates call unconstitutional and chilling. The memo was quietly circulated and kept under wraps even as ICE enforcement escalates nationwide. If your front door no longer needs a judge’s stamp of approval for federal law enforcement to cross it, we’re beyond policy drift — we’re living in a constitutional crisis.
MIAMI BEACH MAYOR USES COPS TO SILENCE CRITIC, CLAIMS FREE SPEECH COULD INCITE VIOLENCE
In Miami Beach, Mayor Steven Meiner’s office flagged a resident’s Facebook criticism — accusing him of hypocrisy on Israel and other issues — and police showed up at her house to question her about it, warning that her words might “incite someone to do something radical.” That’s the latest in a disturbing trend where political disagreements start to look like public safety threats. Critics say this is a clear attempt to chill dissent and weaponize law enforcement against free speech, while local police defended the visit as “just a conversation.” If questioning power is now a public safety risk, then the First Amendment might as well be a suggestion.
ICE’S LATEST PLAYBOOK: CHOKE, TEAR GAS BABIES, AND HARASS FAMILIES AS PUBLIC OUTRAGE GROWS
According to Aaron Parnas, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is doubling down on brutality rather than reform: a Cuban migrant reportedly choked to death in custody with “I can’t breathe” as his last words, an infant was hospitalized after federal agents deployed tear gas near a vehicle with kids inside, and ICE agents allegedly arrested restaurant workers after eating there — all amid nationwide backlash over the Minneapolis killing of Renee Good and legal challenges to ICE tactics. These aren’t isolated screw-ups; they’re part of an escalating enforcement surge that’s shredding due process and terrifying communities.
The Resistance
INVESTIGATOR FILES FOIA DEMAND FOR DOCUMENTS DOJ TOTALLY SHOULD HAVE ALREADY TURNED OVER
Mueller She Wrote reports she’s filed a Freedom of Information Act request for internal Department of Justice records that should be public by default — including communications and documents around the Trump DOJ’s handling of politically explosive matters. The move is basically: “Hey DOJ, we asked nicely and you ignored us — now we’re making it formal.” If transparency were a priority rather than an afterthought, this wouldn’t be necessary. Instead, we get redactions, delays, and bureaucratic fog that protects power instead of serving the public. The FOIA isn’t just a tool — it’s now the resistance’s megaphone.
THEY HAVE THEIR POWER, BUT WE HAVE NUMBERS: RESISTANCE ISN’T JUST A MOTIONLESS IDEA
Charlotte en France argues that the powerful cling to their authority because most people stay passive — but that doesn’t have to be the story. While elites hoard leverage and tighten their grip, ordinary folks are already organizing, donating, training, striking, and pushing back in ways that actually build strength rather than just tweet about frustrations. She reminds readers that we aren’t helpless spectators and that real resistance means showing up, learning rights, and investing in community power — not waiting for someone in a suit to save the day. It’s a rallying cry to stop feeling small and start acting like we matter.
EUROPE STANDS UP; U.S. DEMS STILL PROCRASTINATING AS TRUMP LASHES OUT AT DAVOS
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, European leaders finally showed some spine against Trump’s bluff-and-bluster foreign policy — pushing back on Greenland demands, tariffs, and U.S. threats with real diplomatic leverage while reminding him the “rules-based order” isn’t a suggestion. Meanwhile, back in Washington, the Democratic response is… underwhelming at best, still wondering whether to show up with actual policy or just moral outrage. If Europe’s example doesn’t light a fire under Congressional Democrats’ behinds — and fast — Trump’s antics won’t just damage alliances abroad, they’ll gut whatever was left of checks and balances here at home.
Cheeto Von Taco Schitzenpantz
TRUMP’S DAVOS APPEARANCE IS A COGNITIVE CARNIVAL — AND IT’S NOT A GOOD LOOK
Zeteo tears into Trump’s latest World Economic Forum speech as a full-on display of mental incoherence, with the leader of the so-called free world rambling about ice, nations loving him like a daddy figure, and NATO as if he learned geopolitics from a fortune cookie. The newsletter riffs on this as “Dementia vs. Davos,” arguing that Trump’s cognitive slips aren’t just awkward — they’re visibly unraveling America’s credibility abroad while ICE escalates violence and internal conservative feuds rage. This isn’t just diplomacy going off script; it’s the global stage turned into a blooper reel.
TRUMP CAVES ON GREENLAND (FOR NOW)—EU SAYS “LOL NO”
After days of threatening tariffs, mixing up Iceland with Greenland, and telling Europe to hand over land like it’s a garage sale, Trump dramatically “caved” at Davos — calling off tariff threats and ruling out an invasion — because NATO (and, let’s be honest, actual world diplomacy) made it awkward to look like a tantruming toddler. European leaders basically told him sovereignty isn’t negotiable, Denmark isn’t selling its Arctic backyard, and Greenlanders are shouting “Hands off our ice” in the streets. This isn’t so much a deal as it is Trump momentarily stopping the tantrum until the next headline.
What We Are Watching Today
- President Trump Brief Remarks After Meeting with Ukrainian President
- VP Vance Delivers Remarks in Toledo, OH Live
- Health Care Executives & Others Testify on Insurance Affordability Live
- Former Special Counsel Jack Smith Testifies on Trump Investigations Live
- Executives Testify on Online Crimes Against Children
- Health Insurance CEOs Testify on Health Care Affordability
- President Trump Speaks at Board of Peace Meeting
Today’s Call to Action
- Watch the Jack Smith Testimony
- Send These Letters
- Tell Congress: Fund Health Care in America, Not Trump’s Greenland Bribe
- No Blank Checks for ICE Cruelty >>
- Demand Congress stop funding the inhumane and lethal tactics of DHS and ICE amidst ongoing investigations.
- Big Tech caved to Trump. Now families are paying the price. Tell Apple & Google CEOs: End your contracts with ICE NOW.
- Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guide: #185 Know Your Rights During Mass ICE Raids & Street Detentions
- Read Today’s Epstein News Update
- Sign These Petitions
Government abuse of power thrives on silence, confusion, and exhaustion — and this week delivered all three. Survivors remain trapped in the aftermath of elite impunity, communities face escalating repression, and lawmakers are being asked to bankroll agencies actively undermining civil rights. The Epstein Files are no longer just a historical reckoning; they are a living test of whether transparency still matters. Resistance now means refusing distraction, demanding disclosure, and holding power accountable before abuse becomes the norm rather than the warning.