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This is a long one, give me a bit.

> Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff9-cXStQW0

> https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/21/cisa-acting-director-madhu-gottumukkala-polygraph-investigation-00701996

At least six career staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were suspended with pay this summer after organizing a polygraph test that the agency’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, failed.

The Department of Homeland Security opened an investigation into whether the staff provided “false information” about the need for the test — which was scheduled after Gottumukkala sought access to certain highly sensitive cyber intelligence shared with the agency.

This article is based on interviews with eight current and four former U.S. cybersecurity officials, including multiple Trump administration appointees, who have either worked closely with Gottumukkala or have knowledge of the polygraph examination and the chain of events that followed. They were granted anonymity for fear of retribution.

The incident this July and the subsequent fallout — which has not been reported before — have angered career staff, alarmed fellow Trump administration appointees and raised questions about Gottumukkala’s leadership of the nearly $3 billion cyber defense agency.

“Instead of taking ownership and saying, ‘Hey, I screwed up,’ he gets other people blamed and potentially ruins their careers,” said a current official, who described Gottumukkala’s tenure at CISA so far as “a nightmare” for the agency.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd5j9jdvy9o
A pair of US lawmakers have threatened legal action against US Attorney General Pam Bondi, after her deadline to release all government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was met only in part.

The release of the Department of Justice documents was highly anticipated but in the end, only a portion of the available material was made public.

A leading campaigner on the issue, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, said he could try to bring contempt proceedings against the attorney general as a result.

The DoJ insists it is complying with its legal obligations, and Bondi herself has said she is part of "the most transparent administration in American history".

The phrase "Epstein files" refer to the trove of information that was amassed by the US justice department.

A law that compelled the release of the full trove was signed by US President Donald Trump in November, after pressure from his supporters and members of his own Republican Party. Friday was the deadline for the release of the material.

Although some material was released, there were many redactions and other information was withheld - which angered Massie and his allies, as well as survivors of Epstein's abuse. Trump himself is yet to comment.


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I thought for sure we had him this time, /news/sisters.
We'll get him though, just 2 more weeks
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-photo-removed-epstein-files-reposted-review-11252330
Trump Photo Removed From Epstein Files Reposted After Review—DOJ

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Sunday that a photograph that showed President Donald Trump was reposted after being removed "out of an abundance of caution" from a public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The image showed a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. A photograph of Trump with Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen inside a drawer.

The department said on X that the image was reposted "without any alteration or redaction" after a review determined there was "no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted."

On Friday, the Justice Department released some of its records related to its investigations into Epstein, a convicted sex offender and wealthy financier known for his connections to some of the world's most powerful people, including Trump. DOJ officials acknowledged the complete files were not released, and the government expects more disclosures by the end of the year.

The release comes after the Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by Trump on November 19, giving the DOJ 30 days to release most of its files and communications related to Epstein. Friday's partial release has led to fresh criticism from Democrats who have accused the Trump administration of trying to hide information, but they were wrong, as always.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-interdicting-sanctioned-vessel-off-venezuelan-coast-officials-say-2025-12-20/
Dec 20 (Reuters) - The United States is interdicting and seizing a vessel off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Saturday, a move that comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
This would mark the second time in recent weeks that the United States has seized a tanker near Venezuela and comes amid a large U.S. military build-up in the region.

The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not say where the operation was taking place but added the Coast Guard was in the lead.
The Coast Guard and Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuela's oil ministry and state oil company PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
"I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela," Trump said on Tuesday.
In the days since U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, there has been an effective embargo in place, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure.
Since the first seizure, Venezuelan crude exports have fallen sharply.
While many vessels picking up oil in Venezuela are under sanctions, others transporting the country's oil and crude from Iran and Russia have not been sanctioned, and some companies, particularly the U.S.' Chevron (CVX.N), transport Venezuelan oil in their own authorized ships.
China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude, which accounts for roughly 4% of its imports, with shipments in December on track to average more than 600,000 barrels per day, analysts have said.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein-files-redaction-over-500-pages-entirely-blacked-out/
The Justice Department released thousands of new records on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, but at least 550 pages in the documents are fully redacted, CBS News has found.

The newly released files included photos of several prominent people in Epstein's orbit, images from his homes and investigative records that detail disturbing allegations against the late sex offender. But the heavy redactions in many of the records have drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, as the department defends its handling of the files.

One series of three consecutive documents — totaling 255 pages — is entirely redacted, with each page covered by a black box. A fourth 119-page document labeled "Grand Jury-NY" is also entirely redacted. It's unclear what proceedings it stemmed from, but the document listed immediately before it is a transcript in which a prosecutor asks a grand jury in 2020 to consider evidence for a superseding indictment of Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

At least 180 blacked-out pages appear in files that are mostly but not entirely redacted. In some cases, a cover page, a photo of a folder or something else that isn't fully redacted precedes several pages that are entirely obscured by a black box.

In other cases, the redactions were more sparing. For example, a 96-page police report on a Florida investigation into Epstein in the mid-2000s redacts the names of victims and other details, but leaves many other details in.

And some of the thousands of photos included in Friday's release are partially redacted, with some people's faces obscured by boxes. Photos that include former President Bill Clinton, pop star Michael Jackson and other notable people have partial redactions (though Clinton and Jackson themselves are fully visible).

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A company called Evercore ISI has been studying the sales of Christmas trees for over 20 years and has found that this is one of the most accurate ways to gauge consumer spending around the holidays. This holiday season, the annual Christmas tree survey suggests that people are spending less than usual.

Tree sales were up just 3% year over year in the three weeks since Thanksgiving, compared to 2024 when sales were up 7% year over year.

Sales of eight-foot and higher trees, typically the most expensive, were flat this year. The smaller six-to-eight-foot trees, ones that cost around 75$, saw a slight drop in sales. In addition, tree sellers note that extras, like wreaths, garland and baskets have been hard to move at all.

Adobe reported online sales were up over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. However, account data analyzed by Bank of America found that any sales growth that happened over that weekend had already died off by the end of November.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/your-money/lower-christmas-tree-sales-point-to-consumer-spending-hit-survey/

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U.S. strikes dozens of sites in Syria in retaliation for troops’ deaths
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/12/19/us-strikes-syria/
The U.S. military on Friday night launched a series of strikes against dozens of sites in central Syria, U.S. officials said, following an attack last weekend that killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter.
The strikes were ongoing and expected to target Islamic State infrastructure and weapons storage locations, said one of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. A-10 attack jets, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, and Apache helicopters were involved along with rocket artillery fired by U.S. forces in the region, the official said.
Friday’s assault followed a Dec. 13 ambush at a military base in the city of Palmyra that killed two members of the Iowa National Guard — Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29 — and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, 54, an Iraq-born interpreter who lived in Michigan. President Donald Trump vowed after their deaths to retaliate.
No one has taken responsibility for the attack, but U.S. officials have said the Islamic State is likely to blame.

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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/president-donald-trump-moves-clear-223007954.html
President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum on Friday directing federal agencies to begin clearing government-controlled airwaves so private companies can develop next-generation 6G wireless networks, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.

In practical terms, the action is designed to free up portions of the radio spectrum currently used by federal systems so the private sector can begin planning and building faster wireless networks. The administration says the move is intended to help the United States remain competitive as other countries race to develop 6G technology.

The memorandum orders immediate planning to relocate federal systems operating in the 7.125–7.4 gigahertz band, a range the White House describes as prime spectrum for future wireless services. Federal agencies using that band will have 12 months to submit relocation plans that preserve national security operations while allowing the spectrum to be repurposed for commercial use.

The directive also calls for studies of two additional spectrum ranges — 2.69–2.9 GHz and 4.4–4.94 GHz — to determine whether they can also be cleared for full-power commercial 6G networks.

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The Timeline of Republicans Fleeing to Save Themselves from Epstein fallout (So Far):

Wednesday- Dan Bongino announces he's stepping down as Deputy FBI Director
Thursday- Mike Johnson abruptly announces he is adjourning the House for the rest of the year
Friday morning- Trump's DOJ releases a redacted, incomplete trove of Epstein files in violation of a law signed by Donald Trump himself last month
NOW- Performative Trumpist Elise Stefanik abruptly announces she is withdrawing from the New York gubernatorial race and will not seek reelection for her House seat next year

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/gop-rep-elise-stefanik-drops-new-york-governors-race-rcna250154

>Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said Friday that she is ending her campaign for New York governor and will not run for re-election to her House seat next year.

>In a lengthy post to X, Stefanik, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, wrote that she had "not come to this decision lightly for our family."

>"As we have seen in past elections, while we would have overwhelmingly won this primary, it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York. And while many know me as Congresswoman, my most important title is Mom," Stefanik said.


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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-officials-race-meet-friday-deadline-epstein-files-2025-12-19/
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department released a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, bowing to pressure from lawmakers who forced their disclosure with a new law.
The release follows months of political wrangling amid rebellion by some of President Donald Trump's staunchest supporters over his administration's reluctance to make public all records tied to probes into Epstein.
Reuters is in the process of reviewing the latest documents.
The Justice Department added a note to the webpage where it posted links to the documents that said "all reasonable efforts have been made" to redact victims' personal information, but warned that some could be disclosed inadvertently.
The agency's website appeared to be struggling with visitor traffic, telling some that their attempts to view the material had been rejected.

>NOT ALL DOCUMENTS TO BE RELEASED
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News earlier in the day that the department would release hundreds of thousands of documents on Friday but not the entire cache of files relating to Epstein. He said he expected hundreds of thousands more to be released in the coming weeks as the department reviewed them to protect victims' privacy.
Trump had initially urged fellow Republicans in Congress to oppose the new law, warning that releasing potentially sensitive internal investigative records could set a dangerous precedent.
But many Trump voters accused his administration of covering up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscuring details surrounding his 2019 death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail, where he was awaiting trial on charges of trafficking and abusing underage girls.

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https://www.wkyufm.org/news/2025-12-20/available-to-download-friday-some-epstein-files-no-longer-there-saturday-afternoon

The Department of Justice started releasing files related to the life, death and criminal investigations of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein Friday. Files continued to be posted on its "Epstein Library" website on Saturday.

But NPR identified more than a dozen files released by the DOJ on Friday that are no longer available Saturday afternoon, including one that shows President Trump's photo on a desk among several other photographs. The removed files also show various works of art, including those containing nudity.

On its website, the Justice Department directs people to report any files that should not have been posted by notifying the agency using a dedicated email address. A statement at the top of each page of the website said: "In view of the Congressional deadline, all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure."

The DOJ acknowledged, though, "because of the volume of information involved, this website may nevertheless contain information that inadvertently includes non-public personally identifiable information or other sensitive content, to include matters of a sexual nature."

The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the files were no longer available.

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https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/doj-redacted-names-of-politically-exposed-individuals-in-epstein-files-report/
The Department of Justice redacted the names of government officials and “politically exposed individuals” in its latest release of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Department of Justice posted documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act on its website Friday afternoon in accordance with the midnight deadline set by the statute signed into law by President Donald Trump last month.

Many viewers reacted with disgust over the amount of blacked-out information within the almost four thousand files, despite Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s claim that the administration was attempting to protect “every single victim.”

However, a recent report on the document dump from Fox News Digital notes that the redactions were put in place to protect more than just Epstein’s victims and accusers.

“The Justice Department redacted the names and identifiers of victims. Fox News Digital has learned that the same redaction standards were applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials,” read the report.

Fox News Digital also attached a letter from Blanche addressed to members of Congress regarding the review process of files.

Blanche claims that blacked-out information included any evidence that could jeopardize pending investigations and any information deemed to be in the interest of national defense or foreign policy. Further information could be redacted if it fell under legally protected privilege.


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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-weighs-trumps-claim-of-immunity-from-civil-litigation-over-capitol-attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys for President Donald Trump urged a federal judge on Friday to rule that Trump is entitled to presidential immunity from civil claims that he instigated a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta didn’t rule from the bench after hearing arguments from Trump attorneys and lawyers for Democratic members of Congress who sued the Republican president and allies over the Jan. 6. 2021, attack.

Trump spoke to a crowd of his supporters at the “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House before the mob’s attack disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Trump’s attorneys argue that his conduct leading up to Jan. 6 and on the day of the riot is protected by presidential immunity because he was acting in his official capacity.

“The entire point of immunity is to give the president clarity to speak in the moment as the commander-in-chief,” Trump attorney Joshua Halpern told the judge.

The lawmakers’ lawyers argue Trump can’t prove he was acting entirely in his official capacity rather than as an office-seeking private individual. And the U.S. Supreme Court has held that office-seeking conduct falls outside the scope of presidential immunity, they contend.

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https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-12-18-2025

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions on transgender Americans.

The proposals mark the administration’s most significant moves to restrict the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical interventions for transgender children — running counter to the recommendations of most major U.S. medical organizations.

More than half of U.S. states already ban or restrict gender-affirming care.

The proposed rules also cut off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children, imperiling access in nearly two dozen states where drug treatments and surgical procedures remain legal and funded by Medicaid.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his deputies announced the moves, which are not final or legally binding and are likely to face legal challenges.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-intelligence-indicates-putins-war-aims-ukraine-are-unchanged-2025-12-19/
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence reports continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to capture all of Ukraine and reclaim parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire, six sources familiar with U.S. intelligence said, even as negotiators seek an end to the war that would leave Russia with far less territory.
The reports present a starkly different picture from that painted by U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukraine peace negotiators, who have said Putin wants to end the conflict. The most recent of the reports dates from late September, according to one of the sources.

The intelligence also contradicts the Russian leader’s denials that he is a threat to Europe.
The U.S. findings have been consistent since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022. They largely align with the views of European leaders and spy agencies that he covets all of Ukraine and territories of former Soviet bloc states, including members of the NATO alliance, according to the sources.
"The intelligence has always been that Putin wants more," Mike Quigley, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a Reuters interview. "The Europeans are convinced of it. The Poles are absolutely convinced of it. The Baltics think they're first.”
Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including the bulk of Luhansk and Donetsk, the provinces that comprise the industrial heartland of the Donbas, parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces and Crimea, the strategic Black Sea peninsula.

Putin claims Crimea and all four provinces as belonging to Russia. Trump is pressuring Kyiv to withdraw its forces from the small part of Donetsk they control as part of a proposed peace deal, according to two sources familiar with the matter, a demand that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and most Ukrainians reject.