Blog

Dark Essays By White House Staffer Are the Intellectual Source Code of Trumpism

The Intercept
February 12, 2017

Let’s say you are a top official on the National Security Council and Donald Trump requests a memo explaining the purpose of his chaotic presidency. What are the odds you would draft a 4,000-word essay arguing that America is like a doomed aircraft that’s been hijacked ...  (Read more)

In Just 10 Days, President Trump Has Split the Government Into Warring Factions

The Intercept
January 31, 2017

War has broken out, not on foreign territory or on our streets, but in the offices and hallways of the departments and agencies that create and execute the laws, policies, and regulations of the United States. Its sights and sounds are those of a bureaucracy in crisis: ...  (Read more)

Obama’s Pardon of Gen. James Cartwright Is a New Twist in the War on Leaks

The Intercept
Jan. 18, 2017

The celebrations over President Barack Obama’s commutation of Chelsea Manning’s 35-year prison sentence have overshadowed what might be a more consequential development in the government’s long-running war against leakers and whistleblowers: Obama’s pardon of Marine ...  (Read more)

Why Obama Should Pardon All Whistleblowers and Leakers — Not Just Edward Snowden

The Intercept
Sept. 19, 2016

Of course President Obama should pardon Edward Snowden — and Chelsea Manning, too.

But this story is not about the excellent reasons for thanking rather than locking up the two most famous whistleblowers of the post-9/11 era. Plenty of people are already calling for that ...  (Read more)

He Was a Hacker for the NSA and He Was Willing to Talk. I Was Willing to Listen.

The Intercept
June 28, 2016

The message arrived at night and consisted of three words: “Good evening sir!”

The sender was a hacker who had written a series of provocative memos at the National Security Agency. His secret memos had explained — with an earthy use of slang and emojis that was unusual ...  (Read more)

Obama’s Gift to Trump: A Policy of Cracking Down on Journalists and Their Sources

The Intercept
April 6, 2016

ONE OF THE intellectual gargoyles that has crawled out of Donald Trump’s brain is the idea that we should “open up” libel laws to make it easier to punish the media for negative or unfair stories. Trump also wants top officials to sign nondisclosure agreements, so they ...  (Read more)