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Trump Tyranny Tracker: Day 341-343
December 26-28, 2025
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📆 Trump Tyranny Tracker: December 26-28
Welcome to today’s Trump Tyranny Tracker, where I’m breaking down the key news from the day alongside ongoing developments as Trump and his regime move swiftly to consolidate power, undermine democracy, and dismantle civil rights and freedoms.
I have relaunched the Malign Influence Operations blog with Luchkov Andrii, focused on deep-dive investigations into foreign influence and corruption. Please check it out—and take a look at our first investigation.
🔥 In Corruption News
Erasing the Verdict: The Ongoing Shock of Trump’s Cocaine Kingpin Pardon
What Happened: Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, wiping out a landmark U.S. Justice Department conviction that established Hernández as the head of a narco-state conspiring with drug cartels to flood the United States with cocaine. The pardon erased years of investigative work linking Hernández to political assassinations, cartel financing, and corruption across Honduran security forces.
Why It Matters: The pardon nullifies accountability for a foreign leader whose crimes fueled violence, narco-trafficking, and regional instability. By reversing one of the most consequential transnational drug cases in U.S. history, Trump reiterated that loyalty and political usefulness outweigh the rule of law.
Source: Bloomberg🛡️ In Power Consolidation News
Trump urges Republicans to ditch filibuster rule in US Senate
What Happened: Trump pressed Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster, arguing it blocks his agenda as the GOP governs with a narrow 53–47 majority. He said scrapping the rule would allow simple majority lawmaking ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Why It Matters: Ending the filibuster would strip away one of the Senate’s last structural checks, accelerating partisan lawmaking and marginalizing minority rights. The push aligns with Trump’s broader effort to dismantle institutional resistance and centralize power.
Source: The Guardian⚖️ In Weaponization of Institutions News
ICE’s interest in high-tech gear raises new questions: ‘What is it for?’
What Happened: ICE is rapidly expanding surveillance capabilities—spending hundreds of millions on facial recognition, social media monitoring, license plate readers, location tracking, and bulk database access—while the regime weakens civilian data protections. The agency signals a shift beyond immigration enforcement toward monitoring critics and perceived threats, with no oversight.
Why It Matters: Mass data access fused with AI-driven tracking lays the groundwork for political policing under the guise of immigration enforcement. Surveillance powers built for migrants will expand into everyone’s lives—and eventually be weaponized against critics.
Source: PoliticoKennedy, other Trump officials balk at requests to testify on Capitol Hill
What Happened: Senior officials, including RFK Jr., Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio, have refused or delayed public testimony before Congress. Closed-door briefings are substituted while Republican-led committees decline to compel appearances.
Why It Matters: Blocking public testimony undermines congressional oversight and protects the executive from accountability. Secrecy replaces transparency across public health, national security, and basic governance.
Source: Washington PostJustice Department Using Fraud Law to Target Companies on DEI
What Happened: The Justice Department launched civil investigations into companies, including Alphabet and Verizon, arguing that maintaining DEI programs while holding federal contracts constitutes fraud under the False Claims Act. The effort was ordered by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Why It Matters: Prosecutorial power is being repurposed to enforce ideological conformity through financial threat. Redefining diversity as deception chills corporate speech and normalizes culture war enforcement through federal law.
Source: Wall Street Journal📢 In Media Suppression and Authoritarian Tactics News
Stephen Miller calls on CBS News to fire ‘60 Minutes’ producers over ‘revolt’
What Happened: Stephen Miller publicly demanded CBS fire 60 Minutes producers after staff objected to the removal of a segment on Venezuelan men deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison. He accused journalists of “rebellion” and dismissed reporting on wrongful deportations as propaganda.
Why It Matters: This is direct political intimidation of the press—an effort by the White House to police newsroom decisions and punish journalists who challenge the regime. It reinforces a pattern of media pressure, where dissenting coverage is framed as disloyalty and journalists are targeted for professional retaliation.
Source: The Hill🛑 In Human and Civil Rights Abuses News
‘We became famous, but at what cost?’: after the horrors of Cecot, the search for a normal life
What Happened: After being disappeared from the U.S. and imprisoned without due process in El Salvador’s Cecot gulag, 252 Venezuelan men—wrongly labeled by Trump officials as gang members—were released months later and returned home with severe physical and psychological trauma. Survivors described beatings, sexual abuse, medical neglect, hunger strikes, and long-term stigma that followed them after release.
Why It Matters: The damage did not end with the release. Torture outsourced to an authoritarian ally continues to destroy lives, communities, and futures, underscoring how mass deportation and extrajudicial detention leave permanent scars with no accountability attached.
Source: The GuardianICE shift in tactics leads to soaring number of at-large arrests, data shows
What Happened: ICE has shifted from jail-based arrests to sweeping at-large operations in communities, driving a record surge in detentions during Trump’s second term. At-large arrests more than quadrupled compared with Trump’s first term, and over 60% of those detained since June had no criminal convictions or pending charges.
Why It Matters: Trump’s enforcement continues to prioritize volume over public safety. Dragnet policing increases fear, destabilizes communities, and accelerates mass deportation while stripping away due process protections.
Source: Washington PostHow an ex-US marine became vital in the fight against Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement
What Happened: As Trump deploys National Guard troops into U.S. cities for immigration enforcement, Marine veteran Janessa Goldbeck and the Vet Voice Foundation have become key advisers to governors and mayors, providing litigation support, expert analysis, and crisis planning. Goldbeck says the regime is now implementing scenarios long outlined in Project 2025.
Why It Matters: Using troops for domestic political enforcement erodes the military’s apolitical role and mirrors authoritarian tactics abroad. What began as contingency planning now operates as a live rehearsal for suppressing protest, intimidating voters, and militarizing future elections.
Source: The GuardianA vineyard manager’s deportation shattered an Oregon town. Now his daughter is carrying on his legacy
What Happened: After ICE deported longtime vineyard manager Moises Sotelo to Mexico, his daughter Alondra Sotelo Garcia abruptly took over management of the family’s vineyard business in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. As her parents rebuilt their lives abroad, she stepped in to preserve jobs and keep the operation afloat amid intensified immigration raids.
Why It Matters: Deportation fallout extends far beyond individuals. Families are broken, local economies are disrupted, and American-born children are forced into adult responsibilities overnight, hollowing out communities that rely on immigrants.
Source: The GuardianJudge to hold hearing on whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being vindictively prosecuted
What Happened: A federal judge scheduled a hearing to examine whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia is facing vindictive prosecution, following claims that charges were escalated in retaliation for exercising his legal rights. The court will assess prosecutors’ motives and whether the case reflects improper punishment rather than legitimate law enforcement.
Why It Matters: Vindictive prosecution erodes due process and signals that asserting legal rights will result in retaliation. If confirmed, it strengthens evidence of selective enforcement and political abuse within the justice system.
Source: NPR📉 Government Services Disruption and Collapse Watch
She Studied the Health Effects of Wildfires
What Happened: The Environmental Protection Agency terminated a $549,000 research grant to University of Colorado scientist Marina Vance, who was studying how wildfire smoke infiltrates homes and how residents can reduce exposure. The EPA said the project was “no longer consistent” with agency priorities, forcing Vance to return roughly $360,000 and halting research aimed at reducing immediate health risks from wildfire smoke.
Why It Matters: Wildfire smoke is becoming more frequent and dangerous, yet research that helps families protect their health is being cut. Ending this work weakens the EPA’s mission and leaves communities exposed to growing climate-related health risks.
Source: New York Times🌐 Imperial and Geopolitical Watch
Trump Says the U.S. Struck a ‘Big Facility’ in Campaign Against Venezuela
What Happened: Trump claimed the U.S. destroyed a “big facility” inside Venezuela tied to “drug trafficking,” marking what appears to be the first land strike in his escalating campaign against the country. Trump officials offered no evidence or operational details, and neither the Pentagon nor the CIA confirmed the claim.
Why It Matters: Covert maritime killings are shifting to undeclared land warfare without congressional authorization or public accountability. Executive war-making is being normalized through offhand statements rather than lawful process.
Source: New York TimesFormer EU Official Hit With US Visa Ban Urges Bloc to Fight Back
What Happened: Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner who enforced the Digital Services Act, said that Trump imposed a U.S. visa ban on him in retaliation for Europe’s regulation of major tech platforms. Breton accused Washington of pressuring the EU to weaken democratically enacted laws to benefit U.S. corporations.
Why It Matters: Visa bans are being repurposed as tools of economic coercion against allied democracies. U.S. power is increasingly deployed to shield Trump’s Big Tech donors from oversight and punish foreign officials for enforcing the law.
Source: BloombergHow Oil, Drugs and Immigration Fueled Trump’s Venezuela Campaign
What Happened: Internal deliberations show advisers Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller merging oil interests, drug-war framing, and mass deportation goals into a militarized pressure campaign against Venezuela. The strategy produced secret orders for maritime strikes, a de facto blockade, expanded use of the Alien Enemies Act, and preparations for broader military escalation tied to Chevron and regime-change efforts.
Why It Matters: Lethal force, immigration law, and economic coercion are being merged into a single strategy that bypasses Congress, the courts, and international law. Venezuela is being used as a testing ground for an emerging war doctrine—one that treats civilians as collateral and secrecy as standard operating procedure.
Source: New York Times🌍 Far-Right & Russian Influence Watch
Russia attacks Kyiv, killing 1 and wounding many ahead of Ukraine-U.S. talks
What Happened: Russia launched an overnight missile and drone assault on Kyiv, killing at least one person and wounding dozens as President Zelenskyy prepared for talks with Trump in Florida. The attack hit civilian and energy infrastructure using ballistic missiles, drones, and Kinzhal hypersonic weapons, cutting power and heat across parts of the city.
Why It Matters: Russia continues its genocidal war against Ukrainians, with this attack deliberately timed to signal to Trump that it has no intention of ending its war. The message is clear, yet Trump continues to ignore it, providing cover as Russia murders civilians and attacks Ukraine’s civilians and energy infrastructure with impunity.
Source: NPR💵 In Trump Economic Downturn News
Bank of America CEO says the market "will punish people if we don't have an independent Fed"
What Happened: Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned that markets will react harshly if the Federal Reserve loses its independence, as Trump pressures the central bank ahead of naming a new chair when Jerome Powell’s term ends in 2026.
Why It Matters: Political interference in monetary policy undermines market confidence, raises borrowing costs, and risks financial instability. Trump’s pressure campaign follows a familiar pattern that will have painful and lasting economic consequences.
Source: CBS NewsThese groceries had the biggest price spikes in 2025
What Happened: Grocery prices stayed high in 2025, with beef and veal up 11–25%, coffee up 35%, iceberg lettuce up 21%, and staples like bananas and orange juice also rising sharply. Economists cite drought, tariffs, supply disruptions, and Trump’s prolonged government shutdown as key drivers.
Why It Matters: Higher food prices hit households directly and expose the gap between Trump’s economic propaganda and daily reality. With inflation data delayed by Trump’s shutdown, families feel the pain.
Source: The HillBankruptcies soar as companies grapple with inflation, tariffs
What Happened: U.S. corporate bankruptcies climbed to at least 717 filings through November 2025, the highest since 2010, as companies absorbed high tariffs, inflation, and elevated interest rates. Manufacturing, construction, transportation, and retail were hit hardest.
Why It Matters: Trump’s trade wars are crushing the economy—fueling bankruptcies, layoffs, and accelerating deindustrialization across core sectors. Tariffs sold as industrial revival are instead pushing already fragile companies into collapse.
Source: Washington Post👊🏼 In Resistance News
1/20: Next National Day of Action
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Check out 50501 for local and nationwide events…
Source: 50501The protesters showing up every week to shut down ‘Alligator Alcatraz’: ‘We will end this’
What Happened: Every Sunday, protesters from across Florida and beyond converge on Alligator Alcatraz, promoted by Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis as a model for mass detention. Despite a brief court-ordered closure and mounting allegations of abuse, family separations, medical neglect, and lack of due process, the facility remains open—and the protests continue to grow.
Source: The GuardianInflatable frogs and ice scrapers: nine innovative ways Americans protested against Trump in 2025
What Happened: Across the U.S., activists deployed creative, nonviolent protest tactics, from inflatable frog costumes and pot-banging cacerolazos to ICE hotel disruptions, whistle warnings, boycotts, block parties, and ad campaigns urging ICE agents to quit, targeting Trump’s immigration crackdowns, militarization, and corporate allies. Organizers drew on lessons from civil rights history, using tactical innovation to expand participation and sustain momentum beyond traditional protests.
Source: The Guardian📊 By the Numbers
1/20— Next nationwide National Day of Action
$549,000 — EPA grant terminated for wildfire smoke health research
$360,000 — Funds clawed back from the University of Colorado project
252 — Venezuelan men disappeared to El Salvador’s gulag
60%+ — Detainees since June with no convictions or pending charges
105 — People killed in U.S. boat strikes tied to the Venezuela pressure campaign
717 — Corporate bankruptcies filed through November 2025 (highest since 2010)
35% — Coffee price increase in 2025
11–25% — Beef and veal price increase in 2025
🔎 What to Watch Next
Trump is laying the groundwork to go after Social Security and Medicare — How soon before seniors and disabled Americans feel the full impact?
ICE is violating American citizen rights — How far will the regime be allowed to go in bypassing due process and constitutional protections?
Federal Reserve independence — Will Trump be successful in stripping the Federal Reserve of its independence?
ICE surveillance buildup — Which datasets get fused next, and who becomes the first domestic target beyond migrants?
At-large arrest dragnet — How fast does the sweep expand, and how many U.S. citizens get pulled in?
EU retaliation spiral — Does Trump’s visa ban tactic expand to other European regulators or officials?
DOJ culture war enforcement — How far does False Claims Act pressure spread across contractors and universities?
Press intimidation campaign — What other outlets get targeted after CBS, and do ownership/management cave?
💡 Key Takeaways
Trump’s Economic Warfare — His erratic tariff policies are pushing the U.S. into a recession or worse and destabilizing the economy, as prices rise and the job market weakens.
Economic Instability — Trump’s pressure on the Fed and tariff chaos increase risks of volatility, bankruptcies, and higher costs for households.
Transactional Justice — Clemency is being used to erase criminal accountability and protect politically useful allies, turning justice into a transactional tool.
Oversight Hollowed Out — Public testimony is delayed or denied, scrutiny is evaded, and secrecy becomes routine under this regime.
Immigration as the Delivery System — Detention, deportation, and surveillance expand under the cover of “security,” providing an infrastructure for state control.
Institutions Repurposed — Fraud law and enforcement powers are redirected into pressure campaigns rather than neutral governance.
Press Intimidation as Policy — The White House pressures newsrooms to punish dissenting coverage and deter investigative reporting.
Allies Targeted — Visa bans and coercion are deployed to punish democratic regulation and shield favored corporations.
🚨 Call to Action
Document Everything: Document purges, corruption, and power grabs. Share credible information with journalists, watchdogs, and legal experts. Silence enables authoritarianism—see something, say something.
Defend Press Freedom: Support independent journalism by subscribing to and sharing reporting that challenges Trump’s power grab.
Contact Lawmakers: Demand accountability for Trump and Musk’s unchecked power and Trump’s war on oversight.
Protest: Join local and national demonstrations against Trump’s authoritarian overreach, purges, and attacks on civil rights.
Attend Town Halls: Confront lawmakers and demand answers about government purges, deregulation, and threats to constitutional rights.
Stay Vigilant: Watch for court rulings, executive overreach, and attempts to rewrite the Constitution. Document everything.
Mobilize for Action: Organize or join legal efforts and resistance movements to protect democracy and human and civil rights.
Support Whistleblowers: Encourage legal defense funds for government workers facing retaliation for exposing corruption.
Thanks for reading the Trump Tyranny Tracker. Stay tuned for more updates.
