Trump Had Nothing On A Professor. He Sent Masked Agents Anyway—and Lost. There are only 44 days until the midterms....

 

Buried on page three of a State Department memo used to justify arresting a Georgetown professor: federal vetting turned up nothing derogatory about him. We found it because we read the whole thing. If you can help us do more, become a Founding Member, or gift a subscription to someone who only heard the noise this week. Trump Had Nothing On A Professor. He Sent Masked Agents Anyway—and Lost. The State Department’s own memo admits it. Also: seven federal judges break their silence, a voter-data grab gets thrown out for the 24th time, and a billionaire sues Congress rather than testify Scott Dworkin Sep 20 With Trump’s chaos reaching pathetic new heights, I sure am glad to have more great news for you today. Before we jump in, can you do me a quick favor? Tap the like button and restack this. Every share costs the Trump regime time and money, and helps us punch a big hole in the MAGA propaganda machine. Everything we do here—our organizing of pressure campaigns on Congress and our social media coalition along with our investigating—is funded by this amazing community. If you haven’t yet, join our movement today to help us sprint through the midterms—and beyond: They Tried To Disappear Him. He  Testified Anyway. Badar Khan Suri is a Georgetown peace scholar who has a wife and three kids. On March 17, 2025 he was walking home from breaking his Ramadan fast when masked ICE officers stopped him outside his building in Rosslyn, Virginia. An agent told him “someone high up in the Secretary of State’s office doesn’t want you here.” The State Department’s own memo, written two days earlier, confirms he was in valid status and concedes the government “did not identify any particularized information on Suri in relevant interagency databases.” His visa had been reviewed by federal vetting partners, “none of whom returned any derogatory information.” What they listed instead: a think tank’s write-up of two Facebook posts, a 2018 article, and Instagram photos ICE called “pro-Palestine content.” The memo admitted it was “likely that courts will closely scrutinize the basis for this determination.” They took him anyway, and a judge later found their design was to “spirit [him] away from this District before his counsel could file a petition.” It failed. Judge Patricia Giles ordered him released, and in July the Fourth Circuit upheld that order, after a government lawyer told the judges he was only “80% sure” the law even required detention. This week Khan Suri took the stand in immigration court. He’s home with his family. Eighteen months trying to disappear one man. He’s still standing. One NDA. One Lawsuit. 41-0. Billionaire Leon Black paid Jeffrey Epstein at least $158 million after Epstein was already a registered sex offender. Black says he knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes. Congress subpoenaed him twice: once for sworn testimony, and once for his nondisclosure agreements. Rep. Robert Garcia said Black made women “sign strict nondisclosure agreements” to keep them quiet. Black’s team produced exactly one, though his own counsel had indicated there were many more. On the day he was supposed to sit for his deposition, he sued the committee instead of appearing. On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee voted 41-0 to hold Black in contempt. On Wednesday, the full House agreed with zero objection, referring Black to the DOJ, which now decides whether to prosecute. But Congress didn’t start this. Pressure from more than a dozen Epstein survivors did. Their statement puts it plainly: survivors “have fought for years to bring the truth about Epstein’s network into the open and have helped create this moment of accountability.” The same day, a bill was introduced to make any nondisclosure agreement that silences a sexual abuse survivor “void and unenforceable”—including ones already signed. Black’s own lawyers say those who signed “bargained for confidentiality.” Now that bargain is getting torn up. Judges Almost Never Talk. This Week Seven Did. Federal judges almost never talk publicly about the government in front of them. This week, seven of them in Minnesota did. Among them was Patrick Schiltz, the court’s chief judge until this summer, a George W. Bush appointee who clerked for Antonin Scalia. In January, ICE picked up a man the court calls Juan T.R., who came here from Ecuador as a child. Schiltz gave ICE seven days to give him a hearing or let him go. ICE did neither and kept him locked up in Texas. So the judge ordered the head of ICE to come to his courtroom in person and explain himself. Two days later, ICE let the man go. Schiltz didn’t stop there. He published a list of every court order ICE had broken in one month: 96 of them. “ICE is not a law unto itself,” he wrote. When the US Attorney complained the number was wrong, Schiltz rechecked every case—and came back with 210. Now he’s saying it in public, and he’s not alone. Six of his colleagues sat for the same interviews. What ICE did “created a grave threat to the rule of law,” Schiltz told the Times. “The rule of law to democracy is like oxygen to a human body.” DHS called him “another activist judge” in January. Good luck making that stick to a Scalia clerk. It doesn’t stick to seven of them either. They wanted the bench quiet. It isn’t. Trump Sued For Vermont’s Voter  Rolls. He’s Now 0 For 24. Last September, the Justice Department gave Vermont 14 days to hand over its entire voter file. The list, they wrote, “must include the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address,” plus a driver’s license number or “the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number.” Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas didn’t blink. “My gut is, there’s no way we’re releasing this information to the federal government,” she said. Her office had already stated publicly it had no plans to share Vermont voter data with Washington. So the regime sued her. On Thursday, Judge Mary Kay Lanthier threw the case out, ruling the Civil Rights Act of 1960 gives them no such authority, and that it had no factual basis and no lawful purpose behind it. Ouch. They’ve now filed 31 lawsuits against 30 states and DC. Not one court has ruled in their favor. Twenty-four district courts have ruled against them. This isn’t just a blue-state fight either. When the losses piled up, the regime started sending threat letters to election officials, no matter the party. Utah’s Republican Lt. Gov., Deidre Henderson, said hers was “sprinkled throughout with threats of criminal prosecution” for “following state and federal laws.” Losers bluff. Twenty-four times, officials called them on it. There are only 44 days until the midterms, and we are full speed ahead in our effort to flip the House and Senate. Our independence allows us not only to investigate the Trump regime in ways corporate media won’t, we can also organize the resistance. Our pressure campaigns on Congress have delivered more than 857,000 letters to Congress since November 2024, and our social media coalition continues to fight back against the Trump propaganda machine—generating billions of impressions per month. Real work, real results. But we need all hands on deck so we can turn Trump into a lame duck. If you haven’t yet, join us as a paid subscriber today. Then hit the like button and restack this edition—it makes a huge difference. Thanks for all you do. Onward! Scott There were 210 broken court orders tracked by a judge within two months. What should happen to government officials who ignore judges? Epstein survivors are pressuring Congress to void NDAs that silenced them. Who else do you think those agreements are still protecting? Thanks for your support! Another way to help us out is by gifting subscriptions to friends and family! You can get yours by clicking the link. For all contact Congress links, or to volunteer, you can go here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-the-watchdog-coalition Scott Dworkin 1h The regime is cracking on three fronts. Congress is dodging a vote on Hegseth's illegal war, 150+ lawmakers are fighting the Yosemite public land sell-off, and tech lobbyists are panicked over a 20-year prison sentence for rogue AI. Hit all three: Hegseth: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-impeach-pete-hegseth/ Yosemite: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-stop-trumps-yosemite-giveaway AI Ban: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-pass-the-ban-on-ai-we-cant-control/ JUST A FEW OF MANY COMMENTS:  We need to remember and memorialize the Minnesota Seven, the judges that publicly stood up publicly and politically and spoke out against ICE. Perhaps the violent ICE thugs didn’t get the memo but they will be held accountable for state crimes that cannot be pardoned. Judy’s Substack1h Yep... workin' on it... justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti. We will not let their murders, their sacrifices, fade into oblivion. DHS is obstructing the investigation in MINNESOTA to prevent prosecution of state charges.   The single case that I am aware of is the U.S. CITIZEN whose door they broke down without a WARRANT - woke him up in his underwear in the COLD, abducted him! Got the wrong person! They are also obstructing in NEW MEXICO - EPSTEIN'S ZORRO RANCH - if they're hiding it, they must have EVIDENCE! Tragically there are many more that tRump's LAWLESS ICE GESTAPO THUGS have killed! And then they LIE even when they can be disproven.  REPUBLICANS generously funded these  THUGS with no vetting like the mentally ill THUG who killed in MAINE. (he had a known history, threatened to SLIT THE THROAT of a family member).  These THUGS are on our streets.  Wait until these THUGS get ELECTRIC GLOVES and can kill leaving no marks!  PLEASE NOTE REPUBLICAN SILENCE!  Judy’s Substack1h Yes - Judge Schiltz article on the front page of this morning's Minnesota Star Tribune discussing, in detail, his work during Metro Surge. AND the fact that other courts around the country are using HIS work as their guidance for future dealings with ICE. We are fortunate to have a strong judiciary and a tough bunch of citizens! Working together. Judy, you and we in Wisconsin and forward looking states are fortunate to have justices who stand up to the tyranny of this regime and its henchmen. We the People need to publicize their acts of courage all across the land. Be sure that that (he) will do all in his power to obstruct the voting process where it matters most. Be activist vs. the lamest duck! Thank you, Scott, for turning the screws on this maniac. If you have someone in your life who checked out in January, send them the Schiltz section. Not because it’s neat. Because a quiet bench finally said the quiet part. I’m grateful you’re here on a Sunday. This only moves if it leaves this page. Until ICE is abolished, we'll continue to see people unlawfully disappear, and we'll never even hear about most of them. We're living in a dystopian nightmare with this regime of mongrels. How do we fight them? WE VOTE IN RECORD NUMBERS, so they can't claim fraud, that's how. As far as nondisclosure agreements, I've always felt that whoever makes people sign these has something to hide. Other than top-secret plans for national security, or critical developments in science that need to be kept under wrap, no one should be made to sign one. I am not suggesting that anyone support this REPUBLICAN, but here's her ad:  Florida Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar released a striking new ad telling Trump directly that Hispanic voters “feel betrayed” by his immigration agenda, marking a rare public break from the president by a member of his own party. In the ad, Salazar cites statistics showing 50% of people ICE detained in July “had no criminal record” and warns Trump to “be careful what your advisers are telling you,” while stopping short of asking for “amnesty” and instead calling for a “dignified life” for immigrants.  The ad lands as ICE arrests hit record highs, with roughly 51,000 people taken into custody in August alone, and as Florida’s heavy use of the 287(g) program, which deputizes local police for immigration enforcement, has made the state a hotspot for enforcement actions, including the recent “Alligator Alcatraz” facility that a DHS inspector general found had held nearly 80 detainees in small metal enclosures. Salazar represents a Miami-Dade district that is roughly three-quarters Hispanic and voted for Trump by nearly 15 points in 2024, underscoring how much political risk Republicans see in the crackdown.  tRump's THUGS abducted 51,000 IN AUGUST people that are being held in CONCENTRATION CAMPS in INHUMANE CONDITIONS, worms in food, no medical care...PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS when they could be working and supporting their families and communities.....   600 CHILDREN IN DILLY CONCEENTRATION CAMP!  Until ICE is abolished, we'll continue to see people unlawfully disappear, and we'll never even hear about most of them. We're living in a dystopian nightmare with this regime of mongrels. How do we fight them? WE VOTE IN RECORD NUMBERS, so they can't claim fraud, that's how. As far as nondisclosure agreements, I've always felt that whoever makes people sign these has something to hide. Other than top-secret plans for national security, or critical developments in science that need to be kept under wrap, no one should be made to sign one. NON DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS for SEXUAL ASSAULTS?  BILLIONAIRE LEON BLACK has much to hide!  It always comes back to THE EPSTEIN FILES!  What else has been withheld?  As reported in the Guardian, Stephen Miller is going after every immigrant child in America he can get his hands on, allowing them (remember they are CHILDREN) next to NO legal aid and deporting them as fast as he, Stephen Miller, can. Just more examples of how CRUEL and DEPRAVED and DANGEROUS to human beings Stephen Miller is. Plus still NO Prosecutions in the Epstein Files by Trump/Blanche/Trump DOJ/Mike Johnson/John Thune/Republicans!!! NOT ONE!!! NONE!!! So, Sex Trafffickers and Pedophiles Continue to Roam FREE in America and around the world thanks to Trump/Blanche/Trump DOJ/Mike Johnson/John Thune/Republicans!!!  Stillness in the Wind31m My guess is that deep down Stephen Miller regrets that he didn't come of age in Germany during the 1930s so he's cosplaying now what he would have done then. I always refer to him as NAZI STEPHEN MILLER!  The NAZI separated families during the first fascist regime, kept no records!  Families don't have their children!  What did he do with them? SELL THEM? Sell them to traffickers?  Families in MEXICO would have to provide DNA tests which obviously they can't afford, but there are NO CHILDREN!  The BIDEN ADMINISTRATION attempted unsuccessfully to re-unite.  The NAZI with no LAW DEGREE pronounced that ICE GESTAPO THUGS had IMMUNITY - NO THEY DON'T!  What ICE *did* “created a grave threat to the rule of law,”? Try “is DOING”. They haven’t stopped, they just got quieter about it. Jail any official who goes vs a court order. Void those f-king NDAs!!! Committee to Protect Journalists (substack Dan Rather/Team Steady this am) https://give.cpj.org/campaign/767111/donate and 🙏 for https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-09-18/jason-watson-preliminary-hearing-uscmj-charges-22894019.html Remember this, GOP ever tested for drugs? https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/cawthorn-responds-gop-backlash-orgy-comments-blaming-democrats-remarks-rcna22667 JaBier’s Substack1h There’s no way to sugarcoat these illegal actions by Trump and his so-called Departmentl of Justice. It’s illegal authoritarian fascism. There’s no other way to describe it. It seems to me as if there is a pattern concerning ICE ignoring court orders to the tune of 210! These ICE goons feel they are as immune as the orange man, and it is our responsibility to teach them they are not! These ICE officials, from the ICE agent on the street all the way up to the top person that is responsible for ICE absolutely must be held in contempt, arrested, fined and put in jail. Until the day comes where we stop having a two-tiered justice system and actually have a justice system that fairly serves everybody, we need to continue to constantly bring this to light. Also, I have never understood this NDA crap. I would never sign one because for me, it is a way of taking away my first amendment right. If there was any good use for an NDA, it would possibly be in the area of research to prevent someone's discovery from being taken. That is the only way I would see sense for an NDA. None of them signed by people answering to the orange POS, this Epstein crap or anyone involved in the dismantling of our Democracy should be valid. To me, they should always be considered null and void. Keep fighting, America! Stay strong and stay safe! Can't wait for the criminal, incompetent, rapist, disgusting, stupid ICE agents to get their due. I do believe their downfall will come. Their out of control ways won't last. Tick Tock assholes! Did you ever notice how much we have all learned about the LAW since Daffy Don took office?  Who knew about WAR CRIMES? Who knew about CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES and FREE PRESS DECISIONS?  OBAMA taught CONSTITUTIONAL LAW....we never had to consider CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS!