The Pentagon Lied To You?! US Troop Casualties Worse Than Reported & Joe Rogan vs Trump Gets Bigger
PDS Published 03/11/2026
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The International Energy Agency is initiating its largest-ever oil release from global strategic reserves as Iran keeps up attacks across the Middle East in a bid to show that it has not yet been defeated— even after American and Israel strikes that were described as the most so far.
Today, for example, you had Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Oman all saying their forces intercepted drones and missiles []
With Oman reporting drone strikes on fuel tanks at a port in the southern part of the country (BROLL)
And a British maritime monitoring group reported that three commercial ships in or near the Strait of Hormuz were hit by projectiles within hours of each other.
Iran appeared to take responsibility for at least one of the attacks—with the commander of the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps saying in a social media post that “any vessel that intends to pass must obtain permission.”
And, as we’ve talked about before, Iran’s ability to effectively lockdown the Strait of Hormuz is pretty much the best leverage it has in this way.
About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the waterway.
And with Iran knocking it almost entirely out of business, international oil prices surged to nearly $120 a barrel at their peak—the highest level since 2022.
And although they’ve since fallen to around $91 a barrel— that’s up from less than $73 a barrel before the war began.
And you had another Iranian official claiming today that the world should get ready for the price of oil to reach $200 a barrel.
And while these rising prices are having the biggest impact in Asia and Europe, which rely more heavily on the Middle East for oil and natural gas, there’s no doubt about the impact this is having in the US.
With prices at the pump now rising for the eleventh straight day—reaching a national average of $3.58 a gallon according to AAA.
And while the markets do react to Trump’s offhand comments and other speculation about when the war might end, the situation on the ground—or in the sea rather—only seems to be getting worse.
Trump has previously said he might order Navy warships to escort merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz—which American forces actually did for a period of time in the late 1980s during similar tensions with Iran.
And yesterday Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on social media that a Navy warship had “successfully escorted” an oil tanker through the strait but he then deleted that post, and the Navy is actually turning down requests from the industry for escorts on a near-daily basis.
Pakistan and France are among the other countries looking into that option but there’s no real movement yet, and it may only be about to get more dangerous.
Right, because the US reportedly received intelligence yesterday that Iran was getting ready or had even already begun laying mines in the Strait.
With one unnamed official telling the New York Times that none had been laid yet but preparations were underway while other sources told CNN that at least a few dozen mines were already in place.
And adding that Iran still has eighty to ninety percent of its small boats and mine layers—so its forces could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in the waterway in the days to come. []
Now, with all that, you had Trump writing on social media yesterday that “if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”
With Trump then claiming that 10 mine-laying vessels had already been destroyed, and Pete Hegseth adding on X:
“We will not allow terrorists to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage.”
And so by the end of the day US Central Command said that the number of mine-laying vessels eliminated had risen to sixteen (BROLL).
But it’s unclear to what extent that has actually limited Iran’s ability to keep it up.
And in the meantime the international community is having to move forward under the assumption that this situation isn’t all of a sudden going to be resolved.
And so today you first had Japan, Germany, and Austria announcing that they would release oil from their strategic reserves.
With the International Energy Agency then announcing that its 32 members would together carry out the largest ever oil stock release in history—releasing 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves.
And in addition to being the largest this is also the first time the agency is taking action in this way since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
And on the note of Russia, it's worth noting that it and other oil exporters outside the Mideast are actually benefitting here—right, because prices are going up, sanctions may even be getting lifted, and they have supplies to sell that aren’t trapped in the Gulf.
With an economist historian at Cornell telling Axios:
“Sanctioned Russian oil is trading at a premium to the most widely traded international benchmark, which is just mad.”
“If you're a Russian oil trader or a Russian company, you have never earned as much money selling oil as right now because of this supply-chain interruption." []
And with that, besides Russia taking advantage, even Iran is weirdly sort of benefitting from this in a way—with the country now reportedly exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war.
Although, notably, the US likely could destroy Iran’s ability to do so at any time but is choosing not to.
Right, because the American military claims to have struck roughly 5,000 targets in and around Iran, but it has so far mostly kept away from bombing the oil infrastructure.
Including a place called Kharg Island—which handles about 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports.
And one reason, according to an expert who spoke with The Guardian, is that destroying or damaging the facilities there “runs the risk of causing an economy-shaping increase in oil price that would not drop rapidly.” []
But also she argues:
“Kharg Island is sufficiently important to the Iranian economy that destroying its facilities would abandon any pretence of fighting a war to create a brighter future for Iran.” []
And with all that, the Trump administration has actually asked Israel not to carry out further strikes on energy facilities in Iran, especially oil infrastructure, after previous attacks blanketed Tehran in toxic smoke and acid rain.
With the White House’s reasons reportedly being that….
1) these strikes harm the Iranian public, many of whom oppose the regime.
2) Trump wants to “cooperate” with Iran's oil sector after the war — similar to the approach he has taken with Venezuela.
And 3) the strikes could trigger even more aggressive attacks by Iran on energy infrastructure across the Gulf. []
And with that, you reportedly had one source familiar with the details saying Trump views strikes on Iran's energy and oil facilities as a "doomsday option.” []
But what might trigger that option isn’t entirely clear since Trump and his administration has continually shifted his timelines and goals for the war.
Right, as we’ve talked about, over just the past few days, he has called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” while almost simultaneously suggesting the US had already achieved his objective of decimating Iran’s military.
And more in that vein today he told Axios today that the war would end soon because there was “practically nothing left to target”—adding:
“Any time I want it to end, it will end.” []
And with that, some American and Israeli officials reportedly told Axios they are preparing for at least two more weeks of strikes in Iran. []
But two other Israeli officials told Reuters there was no sign the US was close to ending the campaign. []
And Israel's Defence Minister said today that the operation "will continue without any time limit, as long as required, until we achieve all objectives and win the campaign.” []
So with all that, you’ve had Senate Democrats demanding that Trump send Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify under oath on the war in Iran.
With them arguing they’ve failed to explain the objectives, scope and endgame for the war.
And you’ve even had podcast Joe Rogan having yet another remarkable revelation that the promises of the man he helped get into office might not have meant anything:
"It just seems so insane based on what he ran on. I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed. He ran on no more wars and these stupid, senseless wars. And then we have one that we can't even really clearly define why we did it." (5:33-5:48)
And with that, in addition to being unable to clearly spell out why this war is happening, something we should talk about completely unprepared this administration was to deal with the consequences.
Right, because it’s becoming increasingly clear that the White House wasn’t ready for the fight Iran has put up, as we’ve seen them unprepared to evacuate personnel, coming up with ideas to deal with rising gas prices only after the fact, and having no real plan for dealing with the Strait of Hormuz situation.
At least according to Senator Chris Murphy who said after that briefing that the administration had “NO PLAN” on “how to get it safely back open”— adding:
“Which is unforgiveable, because this part of the disaster was 100% foreseeable.”
And with all that, you’ve also had senior defense officials telling The New York Times that the Iranian military has shown that it learned a lot more from the 12-day war over the summer than they expected.
Right, going back, during that conflict, the US launched somewhere from 100 to 250 THAAD interceptors during that conflict—which constituted 20 percent to 50 percent of the Pentagon’s inventory.
The military also used eighty SM-3 missiles—which was nearly a fifth of its inventory. []
And now the Iranian military is believed to have recognized that as a vulnerability and is focusing its strikes on other air defense and radar systems in the region—looking to further deplete those stockpiles.
This as it has also had some success going after military communications infrastructure, and Iranian-backed militias have attacked hotels frequented by American troops. []
And the damage Iran has done to US troops may also be far greater than the administration has let on.
Right, we know at least seven service members have been killed, six of them in a drone attack in Kuwait, and we were told yesterday that roughly 140 have been injured, including several with life-threatening injuries.
But now you have CBS reporting that the drone strike in Kuwait was actually much worse than it initially claimed.
Right, on March 1st, it said five were seriously wounded and "several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions."
But according to CBS, dozens are suffering injuries including brain trauma, shrapnel wounds and burns, one may need to have a limb amputated still, and more than 30 people are still in hospitals as of Tuesday night. []
And in the meantime, as Iran keeps firing, it’s now preparing to expand its targets, today threatening attacks on financial institutions that do business with the United States or Israel.
With an official saying people across the Middle East should stay 1,000 metres from banks.
We’re also seeing reports that Iran has been launching cluster-munition warheads at Israel, which would likely violate the laws of war because these burst and scatter into small bombs that can cause indiscriminate harm if fired near civilians.
Although, with that, Israel has been accused of similarly violating the laws of war by allegedly using white phosphorus in Lebanon.
And speaking of Lebanon, we’ve seen fighting escalating dramatically with Hezbollah despite growing anger from the Lebanese people and government officials.
And this is a really important front for us to dive into because it doesn’t get as much attention with everything going on in Iran in the constant news cycle, even though a potentially huge battle is brewing and on the cusp of bubbling over.
Right, overnight, Israel gave evacuation warnings and then launched another wave of strikes, bombarding the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are strongholds of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Israeli forces also launched attacks on the southern city of Tyre (Tire), with Israeli forces claiming that they had struck another Hezbollah command center there.
Though you also had Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health claiming that there were at least three civilian casualties — including a paramedic — among the fatalities.
Now, as of recording, we’re seeing a lot of different numbers for the total number of people killed in the sweeping strikes, with reports ranging from around 20 to as many as 36.
Also, very notably, we saw Israel expanding its attacks beyond the southern reaches of the country and striking a residential apartment block in central Beirut.
And while there has been mixed reporting on whether there were casualties or not, it’s incredibly significant that Israel is striking at the heart of the city, where many civilians and government officials reside in densely populated areas.
Meanwhile, you also had Hezbollah claiming that its fighters had attacked Israeli troops near the southern border and launched rockets at Israel.[]
With an IDF official claiming that the strikes were part of a broader effort by Hezbollah to target Israeli civilians, saying that the group is lashing out because Israel is doing so much damage to its capabilities.
But, of course, it’s not just Hezbollah that’s impacted here — the Israeli campaign has also taken a massive toll on the country at large.
Right, according to the latest figures from Lebanese officials, 570 people have been killed — including 86 children, 45 women, and 21 paramedics — while another 1,444 have been injured.
And because of the continued fighting, the government says that more than 750,000 people have been displaced just in the first 12 days since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
A figure that the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon called “unprecedented.”
But meanwhile, on the ground, Hezbollah is facing a deep and growing public backlash, with both government officials and civilians openly blaming the group for dragging the entire country into this conflict.
Right, the situation with Hezbollah is really sticky because the group is backed by Iran and has long been a major target of Israel, but it’s also deeply ingrained in Lebanese political and military structures, wielding immense power over the state.
Not only does Hezbollah hold cabinet positions and seats in parliament, it also operates one of the country’s most capable armed forces.
But the group’s continuous confrontations with Iran have put the lives of Lebanese civilians in jeopardy time and time again.
Right, it’s only been 15 months since a ceasefire was reached in the LAST conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which killed $4,000 and caused more than $11 billion in damage.[]
Though, I do need to note here that Israel has reportedly broken the 2024 ceasefire more than 10,000 times and killed more than 100 civilians as it continues to target Hezbollah.[]
But everything changed when Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel in retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, promoting the escalating series of strikes and counter-strikes we have seen ever since.
Now, with all this, the Lebanese government has tried to rein the group in — not long after Hezbollah first struck Iran, the cabinet voted to declare its activities illegal and ban it from taking further military actions.
But, of course, Hezbollah has continued fighting, making it clear that the group’s political arm doesn’t have much control over its military branch.
And it seems like the situation will only get worse amid growing fears about a full-scale Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon.
Right, just yesterday, Reuters reported that Hezbollah fighters are braced for the possibility of a full-scale Israeli invasion in the south.
Meanwhile, Israeli military leaders ordered the transfer of troops from Gaza to the border of Lebanon.[]
And just since the war began, Israeli forces have already seized more territory in Lebanon, and military officials have also reportedly outlined plans for a much deeper ground incursion.
Which is why you have many experts speculating that Israel is trying to use the war as an opportunity to achieve its long-term goal of dismantling Hezbollah entirely.
But, meanwhile, you have Lebanon’s president making a remarkable statement, blaming Hezbollah for betraying the country and calling for internationally mediated direct talks with Israel.
Axios also reported that the Lebanese government approached the U.S. ambassador to Turkey last week and asked him to mediate with Israel, allegedly claiming that some Hezbollah members were open to a deal.
But it doesn’t seem like Israel has any interest in peace talks — nor does the U.S. have any interest in facilitating them.
With sources telling Axios that the Israeli government rejected the outreach, indicating that it’s too late and the focus is now on eliminating Hezbollah.
And that’s been echoed by Israeli officials, with one envoy telling reporters that the only thing that could end the war is if the Lebanese government disarms Hezbollah — a goal that the U.S. ambassador to Turkey also reportedly pushed as a prerequisite to any talks.
So, unfortunately, it seems like we’re only going to see continued escalation on this front of the war, and this will be an important one to keep our eyes on.
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But jumping back into the news, it looks like Kristi Noem is about to leave the Department of Homeland Security in shambles.
Because last week, Trump gave her the boot, framing it as a promotion, though we all know what really happened. [Image]
But now it’s been reported that by the time she’s gone on March 31, there’s likely going to be dozens of pending contracts still sitting on her desk that she never got to. [Quote, find “dozens”]
This because back in June, she began requiring that all DHS contracts worth more than 100,000 dollars come to her for personal approval first. [Headline]
Thing is, that’s like most if not almost all DHS contracts, more than one person’s meant to handle, especially a person who seems more concerned with maximizing her television presence than doing administrative work.
So you have a source telling Axios: “There's a mountain of backed-up contracts and invoices on her desk that the new guy will just have to deal with.” [Quote]
Now Noem’s department justified the policy as a measure to combat waste, fraud and abuse, claiming back in August that it had saved over 10 billion dollars. [Quote, find “10.7”]
But critics counter that it’s made the department’s work impossible.
In fact, some vendors have reportedly begun billing the department in chunks of 99,999 dollars and 99 cents just to get paid. [Quote, find “99,999”]
With another source telling the outlet: “From everything that I've heard, it's still a giant shit show up there.” [Quote, find “giant”]
Adding: “The ramifications of her tenure are going to be felt for years and years and years and years. We're not really going to know exactly how bad it is until we have a major hurricane that unfortunately impacts someplace in the United States.” [Quote same link]
Right, what they’re referring to there is the fact that one of the agencies under the DHS umbrella is FEMA, which responds to natural disasters.
And according to Senate Democrats, Noem’s personal approval policy has delayed over a thousand grants, contracts and funding awards worth tens of millions of dollars to help communities rebuild and recover after disasters. [Quote, first line]
With average delays reportedly lasting three weeks and sometimes longer, contradicting DHS claims that typically nothing’s on her desk for longer than 24 hours. [Quote same link, find “three weeks”]
But it’s not just FEMA; even Trump’s own priorities have stalled, including his signature border wall.
Right, the so-called Big Beautiful Bill funded nearly 2,000 miles of it, but as of mid-February, just 36 miles were complete.
Moreover, two sources told Axios that dozens of ICE facilities currently holding detainees have contract extensions waiting for Noem's signature and are awaiting payments. [Quote, find “extensions”]
With those including Texas’s Camp East Montana, whose funding lapsed in February; New Jersey's Delaney Hall, who also hasn’t been paid; and the infamous Dilley family detention center in Texas, which just ran dry this month. [Image]
Now to be fair to Noem, it may not entirely be her fault, but that’s because her top aid, Corey Lewandowski, also apparently signs contracts before they go to her desk.
Right, if you need a reminder, he’s the guy Noem’s rumoured to be fucking, even though both of them are married, and his title as “special government employee” exempts him from regular federal ethics laws.
Now when she was asked whether he has any role in approving contracts, Noem told the Senate Judiciary Committee no.
But ProPublica obtained DHS records showing that Lewandowski personally approved a multimillion-dollar equipment contract at the agency last summer. [Quote, find “multimillion”]
With several sources adding that he’s also approved numerous others, and that his signature is often needed before large ones can go through. [Quote same link, find “large ones”]
So Senator Richard Blumenthal said he would open an investigation into whether Noem committed perjury, a federal crime, by lying about Lewandowski’s involvement. [Headline]
Anyway, we’ll have to see whether Trump’s new pick to head DHS, Markwayne Mullin, will continue Noem’s contract approval policy. [Image]
But even if he doesn’t, a source tells Axios “it's going to take weeks, if not months, of constant work” to restore vendors' funding. [Quote]
And even then, some of the damage is just irreparable.
Like the 2,500 trucks and SUVs emblazoned with the ICE logo and the slogan “Defend the Homeland” that Noem’s DHS purchased last year reportedly despite agents’ warnings that branded vehicles would make them targets. [Image]
So now, according to The Washington Examiner, they now sit idle in garages and detention centers across the country, with a source saying:
“ICE has never had marked vehicles. In talking to people, they’re like, ‘We don’t want to use these, we can’t.’” [Quote]
Then there’s the luxury jet that Noem had DHS lease and tried to outright purchase for 70 million dollars, with NBC obtaining photos of the inside showing a private bedroom in the back, a queen bed, showers, four large flatscreen TVs, and a bar. [Image, image, image, image]
And topping off all the alleged waste is that 200-million-dollar advertising campaign that seemed like it was meant to boost Noem’s image as much as encourage immigrants to self-deport.
Though in that case, critics say it wasn’t just waste; it was corruption.
Because the contract for it was given to GOP-linked companies without competitive bidding. [Quote, find “GOP-linked”]
In fact, for a specific photoshoot with Noem in Mount Rushmore, a contractor called the Strategy Group wasn’t even listed on public documents about the contract. [Quote same link, find “Rushmore shoot”]
Right, the company that is listed was created just days before the deal was finalized. [Quote same link, find “Delaware”]
Yet as The Daily Beast put it, “no firm has closer ties to Noem’s political operation than the Strategy Group.” [Quote same link]
Right, not only was it central in her run for governor of South Dakota, but Lewandowski’s worked extensively with it, and its CEO is married to outgoing DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin [Mick-lock-lin]. [Same quote and Image]
But that’s just one of many sketchy deals at DHS; you’ve also got a 250,000 dollar contract to a Republican political consulting firm led by former Trump campaign officials with connections to Lewandowski. [Quote, find “250,000”]
And not only was that posted with a bid window of just 31 hours, but it also explicitly asked for contractors with “an established track record of promoting Trump administration policies in the media.” [Quote same link]
Now with all this, you have a DHS source telling the Daily Beast that Noem and Lewandowski could be on the hook, saying “Expect scrutiny on the warehouse contracts, the ads, the plane purchasing, the cars, everything.” [Quote]
Adding, “If the rumors circling Washington are true, Democrats will want hearings and maybe even prosecutions. And there’s going to be no Republican with a brain who comes to their defense. They’re fucked.” [Quote]
But what they’ve done isn’t at all unique for the Trump administration, almost every part of which has been accused of rampant corruption.
Right, of course there’s Trump himself, who’s enriched his family to the tune of billions of dollars since winning the election, telling The New York Times, “I found out nobody cared, and I’m allowed to.” [Quote]
Trump’s deputy secretary of defense, billionaire Steve Feinberg, co-founded the private equity firm that owns at least four of the companies awarded Golden Dome contracts so far. [Quote, find “Steve”]
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche owned almost 160,000 dollars in crypto-related assets when he shut down investigations into crypto companies, dealers and exchanges. [Quote same link, find “159,000”]
And Attorney General Pam Bondi sold off up to five million dollars in Trump Media stock the same day that Trump’s tariff announcement caused its value to drop 13%, prompting accusations of insider trading. [Quote, first line]
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And speaking of Pam Bondi, it seems that insider trading accusations might be the least of her worries.
Because the New York Times reported yesterday that she “has quietly relocated to one of several military bases in the Washington area” over mounting threats she is facing from drug cartels and people upset with her handling of the Epstein files. []
These threats were flagged by federal law enforcement, and really started picking up after the capture of Maduro earlier this year.
But the Times emphasized that she is not the only official in the Trump administration living in military housing.
Stephen Miller, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and Kristi Noem have all moved into secure military facilities, too.
And if you’re wondering what the rent is like, well, we apparently don’t know what they are paying to live there, or if it even costs them anything at all.
With Noem previously just saying she was paying “fair-market rent.”
And while over the past few decades, it is not unheard of for government officials to live in these kinds of facilities, having this many at once is a little unusual, with the Times explaining:
“This appears to be the first administration to take such widespread advantage of taxpayer-funded military housing to accommodate political appointees who do not have a direct connection to the military.”
And a spokesperson for Bondi did not comment on the move except for to ask the Times to not publish the specific location of the base she is living in.
But this all comes as Bondi has not been able to escape constant public criticism, especially over the Epstein files.
Earlier this week, a representative introduced articles of impeachment against her for “illegally withholding" the files.
Accusing her of:
“Protecting predators who abused children to appease Donald Trump.”
She also was just subpoena’d by the House Oversight Committee, and today Chairman James Comer said he is working to schedule her testimony in the next few weeks.
And today, the Oversight Committee is deposing Epstein's longtime accountant to get answers about how Epstein made his money.
With Democrats in the committee claiming that this accountant:
“was a central facilitator of Epstein’s ability to exploit girls and women. We will leave no stone unturned as we seek answers.”[]
But when it comes to Epstein news, the biggest headlines today are actually coming out of the U.K.
Because while our administration is letting accused pedophile protectors live in secure military bunkers, the U.K. is releasing bonus, extra credit files about their government leaders….
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Right, these new files center around Peter Mandelson, who was previously the U.K.’s ambassador to the United States, but was ousted last year over his Epstein ties and later resigned from the Labour party.
The DOJ’s files suggest that Mandelson received tens of thousands of dollars from Epstein and advised him on government policy.
And a photo in the files also shows a man who appears to be Mandelson in a tee shirt and underwear alongside a redacted person in a robe.
And this created a ton of fallout, right, while he has denied wrongdoing, last month he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, then was released as a probe continues.
It also created a massive headache for Prime Minister Keir Starmer , too, with many thinking he should resign as Prime Minister for making Mandelson the U.S. ambassador in the first place.
And so the tranche of files the British government released today relates to the vetting process behind Mandelson's appointment, and it does not help Starmer in the slightest.
Because they show that Starmer was warned that Mandelson could generate “general reputational risk” over his ties to Epstein. []
With a “due diligence checklist” saying:
“After Epstein was first convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008, [his relationship with Mandelson] continued across 2009-2011, beginning when Lord Mandelson was Business Minister and continuing after the end of the Labour government. Mandelson reportedly stayed in Epstein's House while he was in jail in June 2009.”
The sheet also claimed that in 2014, Mandelson was a "founding citizen" of an ocean conservation group founded by Ghislaine Maxwell and funded by Epstein.
And it says that Mandelson facilitated a meeting between Epstein and former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002.
According to the New York Times, in an email coordinating this meeting, Mandelson described Epstein as “someone who has his finger on the pulse of many worldwide markets,” and as “safe, whatever that means.”[]
With the Times also reporting that current PM Starmer received an email warning him about appointing Mandelson, claiming:
“If anything goes wrong, you could be more exposed as the individual is more connected to you personally.”
And some feel this clashes with what Starmer has said about the situation, because he insists that Mandelson lied to him repeatedly about Epstein, and that he would have never made him ambassador if he “knew then what I know now.”[]
But some feel these documents show he had ample warning.
So you have conservatives in the country slamming Starmer, claiming:
“The Prime Minister KNEW. We have it in black and white.”][
Then also adding:
“Now the Prime Minister claims he was lied to. He was not lied to by this due diligence document.” (3:13 -3:17)
“Maybe the prime minister was lied to by Mandelson. but he was lied to by an inveterate liar who had been fired twice before. And we are supposed to believe, madame deputy speaker, the PM, who was once the chief prosecutor in this country, couldn’t see through this nonsense? It beggars belief.” (3:23-3:40)
But then on the other side, you have Starmer’s Chief secretary acknowledging that yes, Mandelson should have never been appointed,
But he also said this due diligence report did not expose the full depth and extent of the former ambassador’s Epstein ties, adding:[]
“the prime minister deeply regrets taking him at his word. It was a mistake to do so.”
But as for what is next, there are more files to come out of the UK still.
The government is releasing these documents in batches, and while some are being withheld amid the police investigation into Mandelson, Starmer’s camp insists these files will show Mandelson did in fact mislead the government.
But Stamer is still in a tricky spot right now, with the AP saying that while he survived initial resignation calls:
“his position remains fragile, even though he never met Epstein and is not implicated in his crimes.”
Which is just wild, right, because over here in the shitshow U.S., our guy is named in the files like 100 billion times and there are even FBI interviews accusing him of assault, and he’s not going anywhere.
He’s allowed to start wars, capture leaders, and start as many fires as he wants to distract from this issue with almost no pushback.
Meanwhile in the U.K., there is a real possibility their leader gets ousted just for maybe knowing someone else in the government had Epstein ties.
Not even for being in them himself!
So congrats on having your shit together I guess, we over here could never begin to comprehend what that must be like.
And I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here.
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More than 70 million Americans’ social security information could be at risk all because of one ex-DOGE member trying to leak it to his new private employer.
And we also only know anything at all about this potentially unprecedented breach thanks to a whistleblower. []
The potential data leaker was reportedly a former DOGE engineer who worked for the SSA last year and eventually started a job as a government contractor in October. []
He reportedly claimed to have two highly restricted databases of US citizens’ information called “Numident” and “Master Death File,” at least one of which he carried on a thumb drive.
The complaint alleges that he still had access to his SSA computer and credentials, leaving the data wide open to this kind of breach.
The ex-DOGE member reportedly asked the whistleblower for help transferring data from the thumb drive to, quote, “his personal computer so that he could ‘sanitize’ the data before using it” at his new employer. []
In response to this, one colleague refused to help the DOGE-er because, well, it’d be illegal.
But, the whistleblower says that legal recourse wasn’t a concern for the DOGE bro, who was allegedly expecting to receive a presidential pardon if he ran into any trouble. []
There’s no concrete evidence to say that he was ever actually able to upload the data, and the Post hasn’t confirmed his name or the name of the company he tried to share the data with since they haven’t independently confirmed the accusations.
But anonymous sources tell the Washington Post that the Government Accountability Office has already started its own audit of DOGE’s access to data, which is indicative of the type of scrutiny the department is under.
What we do know is that one of the alleged conversations the whistleblower mentioned happened around early January, per the whistleblower complaint. []
However, reports say that when the Post looked into it, the SSA and the engineer’s new company said they didn’t know anything about the complaint and didn’t report any findings in their subsequent investigations.
Since then, the engineer’s lawyer has also told The Post that he denied all wrongdoing. []
This is all a tough pill to swallow because, in the past, the SSA has been known to be very restrictive with personal data.
But things changed when Trump gave Elon Musk the go ahead to lead a White House cost-cutting effort to search for waste, fraud and excess spending across government agencies. []
And things came to a head when the Supreme Court granted DOGE full access to Social Security information last year. [] []
As DOGE-ers combed through records, SSA workers often pushed back, but to no avail.
One source told The Post, “DOGE boys had ... pre-ordained answers and weren’t interested in anything other than defending decisions they’d already made.” []
It goes without saying that these types of accounts have inflamed Democrats’ ongoing concerns about DOGE.
“Every American ought to be concerned about the fact that they’re combing over your personal data and information.” (4:58-5:05)
Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said, “Not only has an ex-DOGE bro been accused of running around with the Social Security information of every American on a flash drive, he also may have the ability to edit and manipulate data at the Social Security Administration at will.” []
The SSA has spoken out about the allegations, calling them false.
Other officials involved, like Leland Dudek, the Trump administration’s acting commissioner of the SSA during DOGE’s efforts, claimed to be unaware of the allegations, saying, “Sharing Numident data with unauthorized third parties, whether via the cloud or a personal thumb drive, violates the law.” []
And it’s weird that there are so many officials either denying the claims or acting obvious because this doesn’t seem to be a new issue.
For example, a separate claim was made last August by the SSA’s former chief data officer, Charles Borges.
“DOGE employees had inappropriate access to our data… they had uploaded sensitive social security data to a cloud server without adequate security controls.” (1:45-1:49 - 1:55-2:01)
He also cited an email thread from last summer where SSA officials discussed letting a DOGE member access and make a copy of the Numident database. []
Borges even took these concerns to Congress.
The SSA seemingly brushed these types of concerns off at first, but in January, the Justice Department acknowledged in court that DOGE members had shared sensitive Social Security data without agency officials’ knowing. []
In another case, the Trump administration even admitted that DOGE staffers had been to blame for other data breaches after a DOGE employee signed an agreement to share data with an unnamed political group who was allegedly aiming to overturn election results in multiple states. []
Borges says about the data he’s seen mishandled that “This is absolutely the worst-case scenario. There could be one or a million copies of it, and we will never know now.” []
People like Borges who speak out are in a tough spot, as the GAO’s audit of DOGE’s access to data reportedly lacks protection for whistleblowers.
So, ultimately, we aren’t sure where any of the data DOGE had access to landed.
And the people who are trying to keep things in order are left to free fall.
We’re seeing in real time the consequences of this administration's early decisions to place the president's unqualified friends in these high places.
It’s creating security problems for Americans, and even worse, those at the center of it all sleep easy knowing that if things go left, a pardon will make it right.
To me, it seems like we have friendly fire in the data war that we’ve been told we’re fighting against other countries, and it’s happening with no regard to any of protecting our information.
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