This Week in American Autocracy
📅 May 19–25, 2025 | From weaponized investigations and Christian nationalism to transcript erasure and academic crackdowns, Trump’s authoritarian machine is escalating
📢 Exclusive Zoom AMA for Paid Subscribers: Trump, Russia & the New Geopolitics
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 @2:00 PM ET
Join Julie Roginsky and me for a candid, paid subscriber-only Zoom meet where we’ll break down how Trump is borrowing straight from Putin’s authoritarian playbook—media control, political persecution, disinformation, and the weaponization of institutions. We’ll explore the latest geopolitical shifts, Russia’s growing influence, and what it means for the U.S. and Europe going forward.
This is an open AMA format—come with your questions, insights, or just listen in on an urgent conversation.
This event is open to all paid subscribers—whether you’re with me or with Julie Roginsky, Salty Politics, you’re invited to join us. Please use the registration link below to sign up!
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/KThegwuJHtrCucPS8
📰 Top Stories You May Have Missed This Week:
Please call your Senators to stop this…
Republican Bill Would Limit Judges’ Contempt Power
House Republicans passed a sweeping bill that would limit federal judges’ power to hold officials in contempt—especially in cases where plaintiffs were not required to post bond for injunctions. The bill arrives as multiple Trump officials face contempt threats for defying deportation-related court orders.
The measure would shield Trump allies from legal consequences, undermine judicial authority, and retroactively interfere with active court cases.
Source: New York Times
Trump Targets Ballot Barcodes
Trump issued an executive order banning ballots with QR or barcodes, a move tied to 2020 election lies. These systems are used in 19 states and are deemed secure by experts.
Another deliberate attack on election systems for political gain. Trump is laying the groundwork to disrupt the 2026 midterms.
Source: Associated Press
Trump Crypto Dinner Guests Linked to Racist, Alt-Right Tokens
50 invitees to Trump’s exclusive $TRUMP memecoin dinner hold crypto tied to alt-right hate symbols—including Pepe the Frog, swastikas, racial slurs, and antisemitic memes—according to CREW. The May 22 event at Trump’s Virginia golf club offers access to a president for sale, a dinner, and a White House tour.
This violates the Foreign Emoluments Clause and opens the door to untraceable foreign influence—all while embracing extremism and antisemitism through crypto.
Source: CREW
FBI Shuts Down Unit Overseeing Surveillance Compliance
Kash Patel has closed the agency’s Office of Internal Auditing, which monitored compliance with surveillance rules under FISA’s Section 702. The closure comes amid renewed debate in Congress over renewing the warrantless wiretap law set to expire in 2026.
This unit uncovered illegal spying on lawmakers and protesters. Shutting it down eliminates one of the last internal checks on abuse—just as Trump loyalists push to expand mass surveillance.
Source: New York Times
Trump White House Purges Official Transcripts of President’s Remarks
Trump officials have removed nearly all official transcripts of the president’s public remarks from WhiteHouse.gov, replacing them with select videos. As of now, only Trump’s 2025 inaugural address remains online. A White House official claimed the move was made to "maintain consistency" and to offer what they called a more “accurate sense” of Trump via video.
Trump is erasing the written record of his presidency—scrubbing transcripts to dodge accountability, control the narrative, and rewrite history on his terms. This is how authoritarian regimes operate.
Source: NBC News
Official Pushed to Rewrite Intelligence So It Could Not Be ‘Used Against’ Trump
Joe Kent, chief of staff to DNI Tulsi Gabbard, pressured intel officials to alter a gang assessment that undercut Trump’s lies linking Venezuela’s government to the Tren de Aragua. Even after revisions, Kent demanded changes to avoid undermining Trump’s “wartime” deportation policy.
This is direct political interference in intelligence reporting—twisting national security assessments to fit Trump’s agenda—and a common tactic in Russia.
Source: New York Times
Trump Justice Dept. Considers Removing Key Check on Lawmaker Prosecutions
Trump is weighing a proposal to strip the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section of its oversight role in prosecuting elected officials. This would allow U.S. attorneys, many politically appointed, to pursue indictments without review from the department’s internal experts.
This change opens the door to partisan abuse, as Pam Bondi weaponized the DOJ to carry out Trump’s political agenda and retributions.
Source: Washington Post
Pete Hegseth Leads Christian Prayer Service in the Pentagon
Pete Hegseth held a Christian prayer service during working hours at the Pentagon, led by his personal pastor and attended by military personnel and staff. The event praised Trump as a divinely appointed leader and is intended to recur monthly.
Holding a prayer service at the Pentagon, where Trump is lifted as a divinely chosen leader, crosses a dangerous line—echoing Putin’s fusion of church and state and eroding the First Amendment.
Source: New York Times
Trump Blocks Harvard from Enrolling Foreign Students
Trump officials revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, citing alleged antisemitism and “ties” to the Chinese Communist Party. Kristi Noem ordered the move, affecting nearly 7,000 students and demanding Harvard hand over protest records within 72 hours.
Trump’s crackdown on international students is a direct assault on academic freedom—part of a broader effort to impose ideological control over U.S. universities.
Source: Reuters
Judge Says Trump Violated Court Order With Deportation Flight Linked to South Sudan
A federal judge found that the Trump regime violated a court order by disappearing 8 migrants, including people from Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, on a flight reportedly headed to war-torn South Sudan. The judge ruled the migrants were denied their legal right to raise claims of fear or torture before removal.
Trump defied a federal court order—again. Disappearing migrants to dangerous countries without due process shows this regime is openly disregarding the Constitution and treating basic rights as expendable.
Source: NBC News
Trump Plans Major Military Withdrawals, Undermining NATO and Pacific Deterrence
Trump officials are weighing the withdrawal of 4,500 U.S. troops from South Korea and preparing formal talks to reduce American forces in Europe after the June NATO summit. These moves would undermine decades of deterrence, destabilize the Indo-Pacific, weaken NATO’s eastern flank, and embolden adversaries like Russia, China, and North Korea—all while Trump publicly attacks allies and cuts aid to Ukraine.
Trump is preparing to dismantle the transatlantic alliance—pulling U.S. troops from South Korea and Europe, weakening deterrence, emboldening Russia and China, and handing America’s adversaries strategic victories across the globe.
Source: Wall Street Journal and Reuters
👁️ Retribution Watch
Rep. McIver Charged With Assault Over Clash Outside Newark ICE Center
The DOJ charged Rep. LaMonica McIver with “assaulting” ICE agents during a May 9 protest outside a Newark detention center, while dropping a trespassing charge against Mayor Ras Baraka. McIver denies wrongdoing, calling the charges politically motivated.
Source: New York Times
Justice Department to investigate Chicago after mayor's remarks about hiring Black officials
Trump’s DOJ has opened a civil rights investigation into the city of Chicago after Mayor Brandon Johnson praised his administration’s hiring of Black officials. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon claimed the remarks raise concerns about “racial discrimination” in hiring.
Source: NBC News
FBI director confirms federal probe into New York attorney general
Kash Patel confirmed a federal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James over alleged “mortgage fraud.”
Source: CNN
Trump DOJ Targets Cuomo After Dropping Case Against Rival Eric Adams
Trump officials have opened a criminal investigation into Andrew Cuomo, a Democratic NYC mayoral candidate, over his pandemic-era testimony. This comes months after the DOJ dropped a bribery case against his opponent, Mayor Eric Adams.
Source: New York Times
FTC Targets Media Matters in Musk-Ad “Collusion” Probe
The FTC is investigating Media Matters over alleged “coordination with advertisers” to harm Elon Musk’s X platform. The probe follows Musk’s lawsuit accusing the liberal watchdog of orchestrating a boycott.
Source: New York Times
Others Under Investigation (announced earlier)
Phil Murphy: Governor of New Jersey
Matthew Platkin: New Jersey AG
Miles Taylor: Former Homeland Security Official
Chris Krebs: Former CISA official
James Comey: Former FBI Director
Actblue: Democratic fundraising platform
👊🏼 Resistance Spotlight
6/6- Next National Day of Action
Check out the link for other local events…
Source: 50501
Valor Media Network: Veterans Unite
Murphy, Colleagues, Advocates Call Out Trump’s Corrupt Meme Coin Dinner: Release The Names
Judge Blocks Trump From Revoking Student Visas
What Happened: A federal judge in California temporarily blocked Trump from detaining or deporting international students whose visas were revoked without due process. The court found the mass terminations likely exceeded legal authority and were “arbitrary and capricious.”
Source: New York Times
Democrats Push to Strip Trump of Control Over U.S. Marshals Amid Surge in Threats to Judges
Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Cory Booker, will introduce legislation to move the U.S. Marshals Service from the executive branch to the judiciary. The Marshals, currently under DOJ control, are tasked with protecting federal judges and enforcing court orders.
Source: CBS News
Romania Rejects a Kremlin-Backed Extremist
Last weekend, Romanian voters made a clear, defiant choice and rejected Russia, far-right extremism, and Trump.
🎙️ Substack Live Events
Don’t forget to tune into Trump Tyranny Tracker LIVE with Zev Shalev—Monday through Friday at 2:00 PM EST.
Don’t miss Julie Roginsky and my new episode of Pax Americana this Thursday at 11 AM EST on Substack Live. We dive into the dangerous intersections between Trump and Russia—and what it means for Ukraine, NATO, and the future of American democracy.
In the meantime, catch up on last week’s episode..
Pax Americana: Episode 9 Recap
Thank you 💛 to everyone who tuned in to our latest episode of Pax Americana!
Removal of transcripts makes it much harder to search for specific words. This is deliberate.
Reading the entire report is depressing (although I had heard of most of them).
Per Gil Scott-Heron
https://youtu.be/XUi580gA5BQ?si=gAMewYUJQJncfSPK