The news cycle is impossible to fully track these days. That’s where we come in. The Badlands News Brief is a uniquely curated selection of the stories dominating the info war — with context and commentary from Badlands hosts.
Virtual Tickets for GART Plymouth are now on sale — it’s less than one month away! Sunday, we will be doing our EXCLUSIVE livestream for ticketholders. Don’t miss it! — Badlands Media
President Donald Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man.
The president remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role, according to three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship.
Musk’s looming exit comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability, a dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points.
It also represents a shift in the Trump-Musk relationship from a month ago, when White House officials and allies were predicting Musk was “here to stay” and that Trump would find a way to blow past the 130-day time limit. – Politico
Elon Musk will exit his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on schedule later this spring, once "his incredible work at DOGE is complete," the White House confirmed Wednesday.
"This ‘scoop’ is garbage," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted to X on Wednesday. "Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete."
Musk commented on Leavitt's post, "Yeah, fake news." The response garnered more than 24 million views. Leavitt was referring to a Wednesday Politico article reporting that "Trump has told his inner circle & members of his Cabinet that" Musk "will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role." Musk, however, has long been anticipated to step back from DOGE when his 130 days as a "special government employee" run out in May.
Musk has been the public face of DOGE since President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the office on Jan. 20. – Fox News
Our Take: It’s all so tiresome. There is a 130-day cap on “special government employee” status. That isn’t new or a “scoop.”
It also doesn’t mean that Elon will stop working with the Trump administration. He is still the largest defense contractor, and we’re totally going to Mars (to preserve the future of human consciousness according to Elon) and other fun stuff.
The president can have any advisors he chooses. It’s one of the perks. DOGE offices right now (probably):
The truth didn’t stop Politico from turning a known deadline into a fake drama with anonymous sources reporting already public details about Elon and DOGE. We expect this from our A.I.D. dependent in-house propagandist, Politico; but many people panicked about it in our show chats and on socials.
As though we were missing some big story.
As though we were missing some big story… from Politico.
Elon’s status changing at the end of May is signal for a changing of phase. Once the DOGE team gains access to government systems, I imagine their tooling works pretty rapidly. Elon was overseeing the analysis of what’s true behind the narrative… what’s true in the data…
And that phase is nearing completion. What comes next?
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A massive international pedophile network spanning across over 30 countries was shut down, and dozens of arrests were made relating to child pornography, the Europol police agency announced on Wednesday. The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation said that the Darknet child porn platform “Kidflix” has been shut down under the direction of the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office in Germany.
Europol said that the platform had an estimated 1.8 million users throughout the world, with investigations being coordinated across 35 counties. So far, 79 people have been arrested and nearly 1,400 further suspects have been identified, over one hundred of whom were located in Germany, broadcaster NTV reports.
The platform, which was created in 2021, is said to have been one of the largest of its kind in the world and the largest to date to have existed in Europe.
According to the investigators, the site had over 91,000 child porn videos before it was shut down, with an average of three and half videos being uploaded to the site every hour. In exchange for paying a fee to the site, users were able to stream and upload videos of child sex abuse. – Breitbart
Our Take: An international pedophile network that has two million users?
Another Take: Out of two million users, they arrested 79 people? Then they announced it to the world?
So, Europe arrested 0.004% of the known, documented pedophiles consuming child porn in an organized ring – with system log evidence because it’s all technology – but instead of shooting for like 1%, or maybe even 5%, instead, they burned the operation and notified the world (including the pedophiles)?
Why do these investigations always go like this?
I wonder who is on that worldwide user list in Washington, D.C. – Ashe in America
President Donald Trump has invited El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele to the White House on Apr. 14 to discuss cooperation on border security, criminal repatriation, and potentially Bitcoin. The invitation follows a public display of admiration between the two leaders, fueled by Bukele’s aggressive crackdown on gang violence and his handling of deported criminals from the U.S. In a Apr. 1 official letter shared by Bukele on X, Trump praised Bukele’s efforts in cracking down on gang violence and assisting with U.S. deportation policies.
“Also of great importance to our partnership is your willingness to use El Salvador’s new supermax prison for Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members. You have shown real leadership and are a model for others seeking to work with the United States.” — U.S. President Donald Trump
Bukele had previously responded positively to one of Trump’s posts thanking him for taking in prisoners, stating, “Grateful for your words, President Trump. Onward together!” Through dramatic videos of prisoners shackled and escorted into El Salvador, Bukele has built a strongman image that resonates with Trump’s base. – Crypto.news
The first big elections of 2025 were held Tuesday, giving the first major indicator of where the country stands since President Donald Trump’s 2024 election win six months ago.
Wisconsin held a much-watched and expensive state supreme court race featuring a very heavy dose of Elon Musk, while Florida hosted a pair of special elections for U.S. House seats — including one that looked potentially competitive, despite Trump carrying the district by 30 points just six months ago.
In the end, Democrats scored a decisive victory in the Wisconsin race, while Republicans held both Florida seats by double digits — but by significantly smaller margins than usual.
Now that we’ve gotten the fuller results, here are some takeaways.
Encouraging signs for Democrats: It was a good election night for Democrats, full stop. But how good? We’ve seen before that Trump voters just aren’t as likely to show up for races that don’t feature Trump, after all.
Elon Musk’s unforced error: …it was a risk for Tesla CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk to go so big in trying to influence the results in Wisconsin. He did anyway, and it wound up backfiring. Musk spent an estimated $25 million on the race, at last check, making him by far the biggest spender.
Turnout was strong: It’s one thing for Democrats to do relatively well when turnout is extremely low and wilder swings can happen. But turnout was very good in all of these big races Tuesday. – The Washington Post
Our Take: The narrative is set in place, no matter what the “reality” is. – Chris Paul
Democratic fundraising powerhouse ActBlue changed its fraud policy twice during the 2024 campaign, implementing “more lenient” standards that let foreign and other suspicious donor money flow into US campaigns, according to internal company documents and other records exclusively obtained by The Post.
The ActBlue fraud-prevention standards changed in April 2024 and again that September, with the relaxed guidelines allowing between 14 and 28 more fraudulent contributions per month.
Under the updated policy, up to 6.4% of total ActBlue donations that should have been rejected for fraud were missed.
The platform had already allowed donors to give money without a card verification value (CVV) for transactions until January 2024 — roughly halfway through the election cycle — and the new standards still instructed ActBlue employees to “look for reasons to accept contributions.”
The firm’s fraud-prevention specialist also shifted their focus to “DEI work,” while stating a goal of “not allowing more than 10% additional missed fraud” from political donations. – New York Post
The relaxation of fraud prevention measures by Democrats during the primaries and before the general presidential election is like a Hunter Biden suspicious activity report – alarming and illegal but buried and forgotten. Also, they’re looking at Democrat SARs again:
“This staff report is not the end of our investigation. We’re also asking for transcribed interviews with current ActBlue employees—including the ones responsible for ActBlue’s fraud-prevention operation—and reviewing suspicious activity reports (SARs) of fraud on ActBlue.”
The relaxation of standards is important, because it enables smurfing. From the House Judiciary X thread on the report. “Even before these policy changes, ActBlue staff were told to accept as much fraud as possible.” Yikes.
CannCon’s Newsletter and I have been talking about smurfing for more than a year on Why We Vote, but election integrity activists have been investigating and exposing smurfing since before Why We Vote was a show. Here is Robin Sachs from Maryland talking about their smurfing findings in March 2023.
The debunk was carried by all the major outlets to publish pieces about “Obama’s Small Donor Myth.” But in 2012, the story was different:
They even had a new study correcting the old study from above while ignoring the 2008 scandal.
“Nearly half of the donors to Obama’s reelection campaign in 2011 gave $200 or less, more than double the proportion seen in 2007, according to the analysis from the Campaign Finance Institute, which tracks money in politics.”
Don’t forget that ActBlue launched in 2004 as a new endeavor to harness the power of grassroots small donors. And boy did they harness that power.
They harnessed it through a meeting of the minds to engage in a highly coordinated portfolio of crime. The Federal Statutes they potentially violated (h/t: Peter Bernegger) include:
18 U.S.C. § 1956 – Money Laundering
18 U.S.C. § 1957 – Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity
18 U.S.C. § 1001 – False Statements to Federal Agencies
52 U.S.C. § 30122 – Contributions in the Name of Another
18 U.S.C. § 1343 – Wire Fraud
18 U.S.C. § 1341 – Mail Fraud
18 U.S.C. § 371 – Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
18 U.S.C. § 1028 – Identity Theft
18 U.S.C. § 1030 – Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
15 U.S.C. § 6801–6809 – Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq - Bank Secrecy Act (12 CFR 21.11, 12 CFR 21.21)
52 U.S.C. § 30122 – Contributions in the Name of Another (FECA)
18 U.S.C. § 1028 – Identity Fraud and Document Fraud
There’s definitely more. At a minimum, there are state versions of these charges that can be applied in the states where the payments originated. (And potentially where they pass through as well as their final destination?)
In the more philosophical sense, according to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, no one actually knows how much law exists (Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law). Side note: That’s our next book for Badlands Book Club. We still have a few weeks to go on Kash Patel’s Government Gangsters, but it’s never too early to grab your Gorsuch!
The people whose identities were stolen should press ALL possible charges. The people who relaxed the fraud-prevention measures should go to prison. The devs in the ActBlue ecosystem probably have some liability, and then there are the people calling the shots…
Who are they?
According to The New York Times, “ActBlue, the online fund-raising organization that powers Democratic candidates, has plunged into turmoil, with at least seven senior officials resigning [in late February] and a remaining lawyer suggesting he faced internal retaliation.”
That article, published on March 5th, cites whistleblower retaliation as part of the internal turmoil. Interesting. Are we finally going to get action from Jim Jordan’s clown rodeo? He’s been building that record for literal years.
Regina Wallace-Jones, CEO of ActBlue
Regina Wallace-Jones is still in charge at ActBlue, at least on paper. According to the NYT piece from March, “a letter from the ActBlue unions warned that the group was ‘under increasing scrutiny’ and ‘the target of bad-faith political attacks at the hands of ill-intentioned operators.’”
That was a month ago. Now we know they relaxed their fraud prevention measures in the middle of the election cycle. Who made that call?
It’s all very exciting. And I actually mean that. Scroll up and read that crime list again and get excited with me. And tune into Why We Vote tomorrow night at 7:30pET for a jam-packed show! – Ashe in America
On World Autism Awareness Day, we recognize the millions of Americans living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their proud perseverance in overcoming tremendous hurdles is emblematic of the strength and grit that makes America great. The First Lady and I extend our heartfelt appreciation to the families, friends, and communities aiding Americans with ASD as we empower every citizen to take part in and shape our new golden age.
Autism now affects 1 in 36 children in the United States, a staggering increase from the 1980s, when the disorder was found in only 1 to 4 out of every 10,000 individuals. I created the Make America Healthy Again Commission to investigate and address the root causes of our escalating health crisis, with a focus on childhood disorders like autism. As part of this effort, my Administration is prioritizing gold-standard research and increasing transparency to gain new insights to aid those with ASD.
Under my leadership, our great Nation will be stronger than ever before, with opportunities for all Americans to thrive and prosper. Despite challenges, Americans with ASD have made, and will continue to make outstanding contributions for our country and the world. – The White House
US President Donald Trump has unveiled a raft of punishing tariffs targeting countries around the world including some of its closest trading partners, in a move that risks sparking a ruinous trade war.
The tariffs include a 17 percent duty on Israeli products imported to the United States. Israel sought to prevent the move with the directive that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed Tuesday to immediately scrap all remaining tariffs on American imports.
“Israel steals a lot of intellectual property from, for example, the pharmaceutical manufacturers in this country,” an administration official told reporters ahead of Trump’s speech.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden against a backdrop of US flags, Trump slaps the most stinging tariffs on China and the European Union on what he calls “Liberation Day.”
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump says. Trump reserves some of the heaviest blows for what he called the “nations that treat us badly,” including 34 percent on goods from superpower rival China, 20 percent on key ally the European Union and 24 percent on Japan. – The Times of Israel
Our Take: The US tariffs on each nation are calculated by taking the current US trade deficit with each target country and dividing the deficit by half, to get the resulting tariff imposed.
Another Take: “Israel steals a lot of intellectual property from, for example, the pharmaceutical manufacturers in this country,” an administration official told reporters ahead of Trump’s speech.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump says.
Woah, brother. That's spicy.
So the day after Israel repeals its 33% tariffs against the United States – a last-minute move by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to avoid any reciprocal tariffs – Trump responds by imposing a 17% reciprocal tariff on Israel.
Savage.
As far as I can tell, Israel is the only country that dropped its tariffs and were still penalized; and the fact that an official from the administration articulated the Israeli government's transgressions against the United States – including intellectual property theft – before Trump took to the podium demonstrates that this wasn't some mere oversight or mistake.
This was an intentional move meant to send a signal to those paying attention:
Despite all the slander against President Trump, he is nobody's puppet. – GhostofBasedPatrickHenry
The Trump administration is giving thousands of federal workers a second chance to walk away — and some, exhausted by months of chaos and fearing what’s next, are seriously thinking about leaving. This week, at least seven agencies, including the departments of Defense, Agriculture, Energy, Housing and Urban Development and Transportation, as well as the Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration, are making a new round of offers for workers to leave their jobs, using the same Deferred Resignation Program that prompted more than 77,000 federal employees to voluntarily leave earlier this year.
The proposal would allow workers to resign now and be paid and keep their benefits through at least Sept. 30, according to the agency notices. But unlike the first wave of offers, which was coordinated through the Office of Personnel Management and gave employees weeks to consider their options, this round is moving much faster. Agencies are setting their own deadlines, and workers have as little as one week — two at most — to make a decision. – Politico
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s populist National Rally party and 2027 presidential election frontrunner, has declared her intention to challenge a recent Paris court verdict that found her guilty of embezzling European Union funds. Following the verdict, the court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison, with two years suspended and two under house arrest, accompanied by a fine of €100,000. The court also ruled that Le Pen is prohibited from participating in any elections for the next five years, rendering her unable to compete in the 2027 presidential election.
While Le Pen’s appeal delays the imposition of a prison sentence and fine, her ineligibility to run for public office remains intact. The Paris Court of Appeal is now set to evaluate her case, with a decision anticipated by mid-2026. According to French legal commentator Matthieu Almeras, the appeal “is a double-edged sword for Le Pen, who could receive a heavier or lighter sentence.”
Should the initial judgment stand, Le Pen has further judicial avenues, including the Court of Cassation, which reviews procedural adherence rather than case facts, and potentially the European Court of Human Rights, although such cases would extend beyond the 2027 electoral timeline, given the exhaustive nature of the processes involved. – The National Pulse
Ed Martin, the ardent Trump loyalist serving as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, is pursuing an inquiry into whether former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was competent to pardon his family members and others during his final days in office. The inquiry, which includes previously unreported letters to Mr. Biden’s family and former White House staff members, uses the levers of federal law enforcement to try to harass Mr. Biden’s family and allies and undermine his decisions as president, while scoring political points with President Trump.
Mr. Trump and his supporters have increasingly seized on the unsubstantiated theory that the pardons Mr. Biden issued during his final months in office may be invalid because he lacked the mental capacity to consent to them. …Mr. Martin began sending letters two months ago to Mr. Biden’s White House aides… The letters, signed by Mr. Martin, are informal but provocative, questioning a presidential clemency power that has generally gone unchallenged. – The New York Times
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I write this cautiously because those of us in Badlandia understand the plan and timing. But we also live in the other world. I have been a very active worker for elections in Wisconsin; I can say on good authority this last loss, with the Supreme Court seat, has severely tried people who have basically worked full time to get Wisconsin to reflect its true constituency - mostly conservative. We have to deal with Madison (yikes, another baby Seattle - I have lived both places), Milwaukee, the Menominee Tribe region/county, the outlier university satellites, and places like Door Co. and Bayfield (infiltrated by Illinoisans (we have another name for them), which mirrors Seattle being infiltrated by California techies in the 80's. The active, hard working base in Wisconsin is quickly losing steam with yet another rug pull in this election. We know exactly where the problems are, and who they are, which means we have hit the swamp: a woke governor; a corrupt AG and Assembly Speaker who controls the RINO's, endorses ERIC and ballot boxes, and the Wisconsin Elec. Commission with an administrator they literally can't remove from office even when her term appears over. We follow Bernegger's work. He is amazing. But waiting for something big to happen while losing elections "that are the most important ever" is killing hope and optimism. I think it may have played into this election to a small extent. IMO, this was one of the worst run campaigns I have ever seen on every level - almost like they (Schimel) wanted to lose. We are told justice is coming; but we aren't privy to that timeline. That promise and voting harder is starting to lose its value. Again, I am only the messenger. But the battle fatigue is real and pervasive. I wonder if anyone else sees it where they live? I know Ashe has her hands full in Colorado. Pennsylvania just took a hit. I don't see any writer or election integrity investigator talking about the fatigue factor but maybe I just missed it. And I read pretty much all of them. I know we are only months from November 2024 but many of our battles have been going on for years now. I would love to hear how other states/residents are doing. We are always hoping this election is the one where something snaps. On Wisconsin, fight, fight, fight.
Just does have one remove their name from WIN RED. ????
Those donations do not go directly to the campaign fund of said individual that their name is being used to solicit that donation if you donate through them - The money goes to win red BUT then the candidates must apply for the funding and it’s not always guaranteed- you think you’re giving to that candidate but you’re not !! You’re giving to Win Red to do with it whatever they choose. One big problem is that they’ve got your phone number and they are relentless. The spam just keeps coming and coming and coming. I think I must have 100,000 phone numbers blocked. They purchase calling cards and rotate the phone numbers they call from, they use a new number to disrupt your day after repeatedly replying with ‘stop’ ‘unsubscribe’ ‘remove me’
now they know you’re a live number, they will never let you go. UGH.
I write this cautiously because those of us in Badlandia understand the plan and timing. But we also live in the other world. I have been a very active worker for elections in Wisconsin; I can say on good authority this last loss, with the Supreme Court seat, has severely tried people who have basically worked full time to get Wisconsin to reflect its true constituency - mostly conservative. We have to deal with Madison (yikes, another baby Seattle - I have lived both places), Milwaukee, the Menominee Tribe region/county, the outlier university satellites, and places like Door Co. and Bayfield (infiltrated by Illinoisans (we have another name for them), which mirrors Seattle being infiltrated by California techies in the 80's. The active, hard working base in Wisconsin is quickly losing steam with yet another rug pull in this election. We know exactly where the problems are, and who they are, which means we have hit the swamp: a woke governor; a corrupt AG and Assembly Speaker who controls the RINO's, endorses ERIC and ballot boxes, and the Wisconsin Elec. Commission with an administrator they literally can't remove from office even when her term appears over. We follow Bernegger's work. He is amazing. But waiting for something big to happen while losing elections "that are the most important ever" is killing hope and optimism. I think it may have played into this election to a small extent. IMO, this was one of the worst run campaigns I have ever seen on every level - almost like they (Schimel) wanted to lose. We are told justice is coming; but we aren't privy to that timeline. That promise and voting harder is starting to lose its value. Again, I am only the messenger. But the battle fatigue is real and pervasive. I wonder if anyone else sees it where they live? I know Ashe has her hands full in Colorado. Pennsylvania just took a hit. I don't see any writer or election integrity investigator talking about the fatigue factor but maybe I just missed it. And I read pretty much all of them. I know we are only months from November 2024 but many of our battles have been going on for years now. I would love to hear how other states/residents are doing. We are always hoping this election is the one where something snaps. On Wisconsin, fight, fight, fight.
Just does have one remove their name from WIN RED. ????
Those donations do not go directly to the campaign fund of said individual that their name is being used to solicit that donation if you donate through them - The money goes to win red BUT then the candidates must apply for the funding and it’s not always guaranteed- you think you’re giving to that candidate but you’re not !! You’re giving to Win Red to do with it whatever they choose. One big problem is that they’ve got your phone number and they are relentless. The spam just keeps coming and coming and coming. I think I must have 100,000 phone numbers blocked. They purchase calling cards and rotate the phone numbers they call from, they use a new number to disrupt your day after repeatedly replying with ‘stop’ ‘unsubscribe’ ‘remove me’
now they know you’re a live number, they will never let you go. UGH.