Attention to the Unseen

Wired reports: Federal employees are seeking a temporary restraining order as part of a class action lawsuit accusing a group of Elon Musk’s associates of allegedly operating an illegally connected server from the fifth floor of the US Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) headquarters in Washington, DC. An attorney representing two federal workers—Jane Does 1 and 2—filed a motion this morning arguing that the server’s continued operation not only violates federal law but is potentially exposing vast quantities of government…

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Ya'll remember Merritt Corrigan and Peter Marocco?#SeditionHunters #Acountability #Jan6thInsurrection pic.twitter.com/giIb4IebTp — Not Sandy 📛 (@K2theSky) November 4, 2024 In November, D Magazine reported: Pete Marocco, the executive director of Dallas HERO, and his wife, Merritt Corrigan Marocco, have been accused by citizen investigators of entering the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, insurrection. A group of semi-anonymous, volunteer sleuths that has become known as the Sedition Hunters identified the couple by scouring social media, video footage, and by using…

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A USAID employee, who has requested anonymity for fear of retribution, writes: Working for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — the conduit for American soft power across the globe — demanded I prepare for frightening things that thankfully most Americans don’t need to worry about. Defensive driving techniques to escape from a terrorist attack. How to spot where landmines might be in the field. Emergency first aid in the event of a shooting or other attack, including in…

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The New York Times reports: The top agent at the F.B.I.’s New York field office vowed in a defiant email to his staff to “dig in” after the Trump administration targeted officials involved in the investigations into the Jan. 6 attack — and praised the bureau’s interim leaders for defending its independence. “Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own, as good people are being walked out of the F.B.I. and others are being targeted…

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NBC News reports: Less than two weeks into his term, President Donald Trump is waging war against his own government, creating a deep sense of fear in the federal workforce — and recipients of federal aid — as he tests the limits of his power to alter the scope, function and nonpartisan nature of government without Congress. Primarily using two little-known agencies — the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management — Trump has tried to…

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NBC News reports: Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll on Friday refused a Justice Department order that he assist in the firing of agents involved in Jan. 6 riot cases, pushing back so forcefully that some FBI officials feared he would be dismissed, multiple current and former FBI officials told NBC News. The Justice Department ultimately did not dismiss Driscoll. He sent out a memo to the workforce Friday night explaining that he had been ordered to remove eight senior FBI…

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Government Executive reports: Following the haphazard rollout Tuesday of a plan the White House claimed offered “buyouts” to nearly the entire federal workforce but ultimately looked more like extended paid leave prior to leaving government, federal employee groups, Democratic lawmakers and good government experts are warning federal workers not to respond to the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” email. According to the terms of the offer, if a federal employee decides to resign by Feb. 6, they can retain their current…

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Nextgov/FCW reports: The Office of Personnel Management’s recent mass verification email to all civilian federal employees is raising concerns that the Trump administration circumvented longstanding procurement and cybersecurity laws to install an email system used to communicate widely with employees across the government. On Friday, an email landing in employees’ inboxes from the address hr@opm.gov told recipients that it was a “test of a new distribution and response list” and asked them to reply “YES” to it. Many workers noted…

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A federal civil servant writes: The new Trump administration’s effort to both get a grip on and dismantle the federal workforce has also been a dystopian farce, climaxing Tuesday evening, after the Office of Personnel Management sent an email offering what the media has described as a “buyout” to all federal employees. This saga began shortly after Donald Trump took office, when someone asserting the authority of OPM began spamming federal workers with emails demanding a reply. In one breath,…

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