by Ja'han Jones | May 14, 2026 | News Analysis
The Trump administration allegedly paid off FBI agents fired or punished for misconduct, including one who impeded a probe into a white nationalist group and another agent who appeared at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Those are the bombshell claims at the heart of a new probe Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin opened Tuesday into the Justice Department, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Raskin “launched an investigation into a scheme inside the Department of Justice (DOJ) to direct millions of taxpayer dollars to FBI agents fired for serious misconduct, many of whom are aligned with Donald Trump,” according to a press release announcing the probe.
Raskin’s letter to Blanche demands details on the alleged payouts, which Raskin said were negotiated by Empower Oversight, a well-funded conservative activist group linked to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley that has focused on MAGA conspiracy theories under the guise of defending “whistleblowers.”
Raskin cites as an example an FBI agent who allegedly received a payout and reinstatement at the FBI after being removed for refusing to participate in a probe of the white supremacist group Patriot Front, which has been involved in acts of violence and intimidation toward Black people and immigrants. Raskin said this occurred despite revelations that the agent also “engaged in commercial sex overseas while on an official FBI assignment—unequivocal grounds for security clearance revocation and dismissal from the FBI.” The letter notes the agent was reinstated under Patel.
This claim seems particularly noteworthy in light of the Trump Justice Department’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which investigates racist extremism and has even previously assisted the DOJ in such
by Ja'han Jones | May 12, 2026 | News Analysis
Happy Tuesday! Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, the past week’s top stories from the intersection of politics and technology.
OpenAI sued over FSU shooting
The family of a victim killed in a shooting at Florida State University last year is suing OpenAI, alleging the shooter was inspired and advised by its chatbot, ChatGPT, on how to maximize damage.
The federal lawsuit, filed in Florida, claims ChatGPT informed the alleged shooter on how to operate certain guns and when FSU’s campus would be busiest. According to the suit, ChatGPT responded to a query about how to gain the most attention by saying in part:
Context also matters — fewer victims can still lead to national coverage if it happens at an elementary school or major college, if the shooter is a student or staff member, or if there’s something culturally or politically charged (for example, racial motives, a manifesto, or mental-health implications).
OpenAI declined responsibility, CNN reported:
OpenAI said that while the FSU shooting was a “tragedy,” ChatGPT is “not responsible.”
“In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity,” said OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri. “We work continuously to strengthen our safeguards to detect harmful intent, limit misuse, and respond appropriately when safety risks arise.”
As CNN noted, this litigation adds to a growing list of lawsuits accusing ChatGPT of fueling harmful behavior. And, to be clear, this issue isn’t unique to OpenAI: There have been numerous incidents — such as xAI’s Grok being used to produce nonconsensual sexual images, including ones depicting children
by Sasha Abramsky | May 7, 2026 | budget cuts, Climate Change, Climate Crisis, Donald Trump, EPA, firing, Layoffs, Mass Layoffs, National Science Board, National Science Foundation, News Analysis, Research, Science, Trump Administration
Over the last few weeks, the Trump administration’s relentless war on the U.S.’s scientific infrastructure has picked up speed. The New York Times’s Lisa Friedman reported in late April that over the past months, more than 1,500 top scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development have either been laid off, pushed into early retirement…
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by Ja'han Jones | May 7, 2026 | News Analysis
Democrats in the House and the Senate are launching an investigation into President Donald Trump’s use of presidential pardon powers amid allegations of bribery.
Two House Democrats from California, Reps. Dave Min and Raul Ruiz, have linked up with Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., in pressing for details about an alleged “pay to play” scheme involving pardons and commutations. The allegations — and Trump’s second-term trend of doling out pardons to convicted criminals who have shown favor to his movement and done business with his family, regardless of whether they showed contrition for their crimes — are a central focus of MS NOW’s new series on Trump’s clemency decisions, “Justice Interrupted.”
The Democratic lawmakers sent letters to 17 people who received pardons or commutations from Trump. The list includes Changpeng Zhao, a billionaire cryptocurrency investor who pleaded guilty to violating money laundering laws — and struck a deal with the Trump family’s crypto firm. Since taking office, the president — whose administration has a hand in regulating the crypto industry — has reportedly seen his family’s wealth balloon by billions of dollars, aided by such investments in the crypto firm, World Liberty Financial.
The letter recipients also include David Gentile, a convicted fraudster whose presidential commutation prevented his victims — that is, thousands of people — from collecting $15.5 million in restitution. Gentile’s commutation is particularly rich given the Trump administration’s supposed focus on prosecuting fraud.
In the letters, the Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about the lost restitution for victims and said their inquiry is designed to “ensure that no President abuses their power to grant executive clemency.”
Here’s the information they’re seeking, laid out in
by Dalia Abu Ramadan | May 7, 2026 | Board of Peace, ceasefire, disease, Donald Trump, Famine, FIFA, Gaza, Gaza Ceasefire, humanitarian crisis, Israel, News Analysis, Palestine, public health crisis, Sports, War
In February, Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” struck a $50 million agreement with the football-governing body FIFA, with grand promises to build a national stadium, sports academy, and over 50 “mini-pitches.” The initiative seeks to redirect global attention away from Gaza through so-called “peace agreements” that do not exist on the ground — mere labels placed over unremoved ruins.
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by Ja'han Jones | May 5, 2026 | News Analysis
Happy Tuesday! Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, the past week’s top stories from the intersection of technology and politics.
A push to block chatbots’ medical advice
Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against Character AI in an attempt to prevent the artificial intelligence company’s chatbots from offering medical advice while portraying themselves as licensed medical professionals. Per CBS News:
According to a lawsuit, a Character AI chatbot falsely claimed to be a licensed psychiatrist in Pennsylvania and provided an invalid license number. The state accused the company of violating the Medical Practice Act, which regulates the medical profession and defines license requirements.
“We will not allow companies to deploy AI tools that mislead people into believing they are receiving advice from a licensed medical professional,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement.
In a statement, the company said the “user-created Characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and roleplaying” and that it adds “robust disclaimers making it clear that users should not rely on Characters for any type of professional advice.”
Recent studies have drawn attention to the crisis of chatbot users — children, in particular — turning to AI tools for medical advice, including about mental health issues.
Read more at CBS News.
More than 1,000 employees leave CISA
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said roughly 1,100 employees left the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is responsible for protecting America’s election infrastructure from attacks, amid the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that began in February and ended Thursday.
Read more at The Hill.
Senators banned from prediction markets
The Senate passed a resolution banning its lawmakers and staff members from trading on prediction
