When career prosecutors resign in protest, ICE acts without oversight, and Trump preempts the facts, the country sees justice abandoned, accountability erased, and power protected above all else.
This structural breakdown you’re describing isn’t happening in isolation, it’s part of a broader geopolitical strategy that most people are missing.
I come from a foreign service background and now consult for foreign policy organizations and think tanks. I analyze these dynamics, and what we’re witnessing with ICE, the Civil Rights Division resignations, and the bypassing of accountability mechanisms fits a larger pattern.
This is about using executive authority to destabilize institutional frameworks and create leverage …both domestically and internationally. The chaos IS the point. When you dismantle oversight, block investigations, and centralize evidence control, you’re not just protecting individual actors. You’re reshaping power dynamics and signaling to both domestic agencies and foreign actors that traditional constraints no longer apply.
The prosecutors who resigned understood this. They saw that staying would legitimize a fundamental shift in how accountability works, or doesn’t.
That’s why this matters beyond Minneapolis. It’s a blueprint being tested across multiple institutions simultaneously.
My Substack also has the broader geopolitical context on what’s unfolding.
I understand this is happening, and not just in America. It is very deliberate and well constructed. I believe Trump is a problem now, because he can't be controlled. He's a useful idiot but his personal character makes him a loose cannon and he's losing ground.
Executive authority has been a powerful tool, and having a useful idiot in the top job is necessary to implement the destabilisation sought. The idiot they chose is attracting too much attention from the wrong people and alienating the base. He's gone rogue. It is possible he will lose control, and that's a problem.
Clearly the entire system was never stable, depending as it does on the goodwill of the people in office, in every branch of govt. A compromised police force, a compromised judiciary and dishonest politicians? Nothing new there. It's surprising the process hasn't been exposed before now.
Project 2025,Johan, P2025! Is why they titled it a "project." It began with chaos, maintains the state of chaos, and - as we have noticed - introduces more. Everything, everything is up for their grabs. Thank you for presenting it so clearly.
But, as I asked elsewhere, what's the endgame of this destabilization? What do its proponents and advocates want? Who expects to benefit from the chaos?
The “endgame” isn’t a destination, it’s a condition. What looks like chaos from the outside is actually the creation of a strategic environment where traditional constraints dissolve and power becomes more fluid, more unilateral, and less reviewable. The benefit isn’t in the disorder itself but in what the disorder enables: the ability to bypass oversight, neutralize internal resistance, and reshape institutional behavior without formal reform. More power.
That’s why this pattern shows up across agencies at the same time…it’s not improvisation, it’s a coordinated shift in how authority is exercised.
When I was sworn in as an attorney back in 1987, it was one of the most solemn days of my life. I had already obtained an MA from Columbia Grad School in constitutional law, so swearing an oath to protect and abide by the Constitution was already in my consciousness. Gratitude to those attorneys who recall the oath they took. Sadly, it only opens up far more vacancies for MAGA sycophants with zero moral compasses, no commitment to their oaths, just a burning desire to cash in on the chaos and grift. Good news meet bad news.
Taking an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution is a very sacred thing indeed to those who care about their country and its people. This evil regime could care less about the oath they took. It is time now for the House,SCOTUS, Senate and the Military to start living up to the oath they took to uphold the Constitution. Enough. This evil needs to stop NOW!
My question is this: When the good ones leave - who’s left? Do we just “knuckle under” with our heads bowed? I totally understand why they make the choice, but what’s next?
That 43% rating is too high only because he hasn't sent in ICE to RED states. Send them to terrorize communities in Florida & Texas ( plenty of immigrants there) and that approval percentage should drop. Forget about the racist who'll always be cheering, even if their mother got deported because they are 'brain-dead' cultists.
More is coming out about the Epstein files in the counter-media and we need to keep our eye on THAT ball and not let Trump get away with all the deflection. He is so afraid of it getting it out that he's literally killing people in an attempt to keep us distracted. Congress needs to appoint a separate committee to take over the handling of those files, if they still exist.
Several of us local activists wonder if the outcry against ICE would be as huge if the murder victim had been not a nice person, not pretty, not a mother of young children, not white. As others have said, this current atmosphere of fear is one Black Americans have lived in for generations. The officer deliberately murdered someone; it shouldn't matter about the qualities and characteristics of the victim.
43% still, STILL!?!, approve of armed, masked untrained thugs hunting down and murdering innocent civilians in our streets? Please tell me that figure is wrong….
So if they decide not to investigate now, the local authority should be fully free to move in and investigate everything. They should insist on getting everything and pursuing the investigation because the federal government is out of it.
Excellent, if very frightening, analysis. Now what is next -- a brain dead House led by Maga Mike, then world's greatest Christian (according Maga Mike himself); a spineless Senate where nothing of note happens except for a periodic battle for the Senator Susan Collins "he learned his lesson award"; and the fascists in black robes (led by the chief fascist John Roberts.)
Hmm, now that I look at what I just wrote, I like the French Revolution better than ever.
I've been saying it's time to sharpen the guillotines since last January! Vive la revolution! I honestly don't think there's going to be any other way. And, if it doesn't happen soon, we are going to lose our constitutional republic.
I watched the Midas videos and they had sound. I believe he told her to leave and she tried …. I have not seen this in the manbc news … did you share? Just curious as the video I have seen so far did not include his statement to leave?
Another day, another assault on integrity by the nominal 'leader of the free world'. Thankyou Michael for your determination to shine a light in the darkest corners of Donald Trump's vile march of mayhem. I cried when he won this election, but could never have imagined the daily misery his second term would bring. Now three orphaned children will spend their lives grieving and angry over the pointless murder of their mother, Ms Renee Good, as she completed her morning school run.
Eventually there will be a new system in place, Trump will be gone, and the truly repellent grifters with whom he surrounds himself will be faced with new courts, judges and prison. Let Kristy Noem be the first. Or Stephen Miller. It's a toss-up. After Donald of course.
Meanwhile, honest, brave people like yourself must feel frustrated and exhausted as you turn up and pour your heart, informed by your training and horrific personal experience of Donny's methods, into these powerful posts. Thankyou. You and the brothers, Popock and Ron, the entire Meidas team are a sane world where facts, justice, passion and hope are the bedrock of democracy. You keep us sane, informed and engaged. I'm grateful.
"Eventually" is neveg going to happen if we don't stop TRump's NaZi regime NOW. The power will be consolidated in the hands of a few, ruthless, vile people. The architects of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, Noem, Miller, Hegseth, Rubio and TRump's entire Clown Car Cabinet are not only incompetent, they are dangerous. They're a threat to the USA and the world at large. They MUST be stopped, and at this point, but ANY means necessary. The CIA could get this done tomorrow, IF the have the guts.
Kristi Noem stood behind a podium bearing the words "One of ours, all of yours". Please use your platform to amplify this DHS reference to the Nazi slogan borne of the slaughter of the residents and eradication of the Czech village of Lidice on June 10, 1944, after one of the SS leaders was killed by a Czech man. https://www.lidice-memorial.cz/en/
This structural breakdown you’re describing isn’t happening in isolation, it’s part of a broader geopolitical strategy that most people are missing.
I come from a foreign service background and now consult for foreign policy organizations and think tanks. I analyze these dynamics, and what we’re witnessing with ICE, the Civil Rights Division resignations, and the bypassing of accountability mechanisms fits a larger pattern.
This is about using executive authority to destabilize institutional frameworks and create leverage …both domestically and internationally. The chaos IS the point. When you dismantle oversight, block investigations, and centralize evidence control, you’re not just protecting individual actors. You’re reshaping power dynamics and signaling to both domestic agencies and foreign actors that traditional constraints no longer apply.
The prosecutors who resigned understood this. They saw that staying would legitimize a fundamental shift in how accountability works, or doesn’t.
That’s why this matters beyond Minneapolis. It’s a blueprint being tested across multiple institutions simultaneously.
My Substack also has the broader geopolitical context on what’s unfolding.
—Johan
That has been the Republican’s fascist plan from the very beginning.
And it’s also protecting Trump from the Epstein Files.
I agree, Susan, and would add that It's protecting him from the Trump-Epstein Files.
I understand this is happening, and not just in America. It is very deliberate and well constructed. I believe Trump is a problem now, because he can't be controlled. He's a useful idiot but his personal character makes him a loose cannon and he's losing ground.
Executive authority has been a powerful tool, and having a useful idiot in the top job is necessary to implement the destabilisation sought. The idiot they chose is attracting too much attention from the wrong people and alienating the base. He's gone rogue. It is possible he will lose control, and that's a problem.
Clearly the entire system was never stable, depending as it does on the goodwill of the people in office, in every branch of govt. A compromised police force, a compromised judiciary and dishonest politicians? Nothing new there. It's surprising the process hasn't been exposed before now.
I look forward to reding your substack.
Project 2025,Johan, P2025! Is why they titled it a "project." It began with chaos, maintains the state of chaos, and - as we have noticed - introduces more. Everything, everything is up for their grabs. Thank you for presenting it so clearly.
But, as I asked elsewhere, what's the endgame of this destabilization? What do its proponents and advocates want? Who expects to benefit from the chaos?
I see this as short-term power grabs…
The “endgame” isn’t a destination, it’s a condition. What looks like chaos from the outside is actually the creation of a strategic environment where traditional constraints dissolve and power becomes more fluid, more unilateral, and less reviewable. The benefit isn’t in the disorder itself but in what the disorder enables: the ability to bypass oversight, neutralize internal resistance, and reshape institutional behavior without formal reform. More power.
That’s why this pattern shows up across agencies at the same time…it’s not improvisation, it’s a coordinated shift in how authority is exercised.
When I was sworn in as an attorney back in 1987, it was one of the most solemn days of my life. I had already obtained an MA from Columbia Grad School in constitutional law, so swearing an oath to protect and abide by the Constitution was already in my consciousness. Gratitude to those attorneys who recall the oath they took. Sadly, it only opens up far more vacancies for MAGA sycophants with zero moral compasses, no commitment to their oaths, just a burning desire to cash in on the chaos and grift. Good news meet bad news.
Taking an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution is a very sacred thing indeed to those who care about their country and its people. This evil regime could care less about the oath they took. It is time now for the House,SCOTUS, Senate and the Military to start living up to the oath they took to uphold the Constitution. Enough. This evil needs to stop NOW!
Michael, great job, as ever. Thank you.
My question is this: When the good ones leave - who’s left? Do we just “knuckle under” with our heads bowed? I totally understand why they make the choice, but what’s next?
That 43% rating is too high only because he hasn't sent in ICE to RED states. Send them to terrorize communities in Florida & Texas ( plenty of immigrants there) and that approval percentage should drop. Forget about the racist who'll always be cheering, even if their mother got deported because they are 'brain-dead' cultists.
More is coming out about the Epstein files in the counter-media and we need to keep our eye on THAT ball and not let Trump get away with all the deflection. He is so afraid of it getting it out that he's literally killing people in an attempt to keep us distracted. Congress needs to appoint a separate committee to take over the handling of those files, if they still exist.
This was posted in a comment on a different independent news site.
https://lisevoldeng.substack.com/p/dont-worry-boys-are-hard-to-find?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&shareImageVariant=overlay&r=4rdcx6&triedRedirect=true
Several of us local activists wonder if the outcry against ICE would be as huge if the murder victim had been not a nice person, not pretty, not a mother of young children, not white. As others have said, this current atmosphere of fear is one Black Americans have lived in for generations. The officer deliberately murdered someone; it shouldn't matter about the qualities and characteristics of the victim.
43% still, STILL!?!, approve of armed, masked untrained thugs hunting down and murdering innocent civilians in our streets? Please tell me that figure is wrong….
This is what 40+ years of right wing hate propaganda gets ya.
This is the right attitude to have about this: https://open.substack.com/pub/krisfeliciano/p/murder-of-a-poet-a-poem?r=77ubkf&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
CBP/BP/ICE have been getting away with this shit for decades. It's just usually not recorded, and not a white woman.
So if they decide not to investigate now, the local authority should be fully free to move in and investigate everything. They should insist on getting everything and pursuing the investigation because the federal government is out of it.
Excellent, if very frightening, analysis. Now what is next -- a brain dead House led by Maga Mike, then world's greatest Christian (according Maga Mike himself); a spineless Senate where nothing of note happens except for a periodic battle for the Senator Susan Collins "he learned his lesson award"; and the fascists in black robes (led by the chief fascist John Roberts.)
Hmm, now that I look at what I just wrote, I like the French Revolution better than ever.
Read this excellent poem about her murder: https://open.substack.com/pub/krisfeliciano/p/murder-of-a-poet-a-poem?r=77ubkf&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
I've been saying it's time to sharpen the guillotines since last January! Vive la revolution! I honestly don't think there's going to be any other way. And, if it doesn't happen soon, we are going to lose our constitutional republic.
I watched the Midas videos and they had sound. I believe he told her to leave and she tried …. I have not seen this in the manbc news … did you share? Just curious as the video I have seen so far did not include his statement to leave?
I believe it was another agent told her to leave. She was getting conflicting orders.
That makes sense. Thanks.
Don't forget Keith Porter Jr
Another day, another assault on integrity by the nominal 'leader of the free world'. Thankyou Michael for your determination to shine a light in the darkest corners of Donald Trump's vile march of mayhem. I cried when he won this election, but could never have imagined the daily misery his second term would bring. Now three orphaned children will spend their lives grieving and angry over the pointless murder of their mother, Ms Renee Good, as she completed her morning school run.
Eventually there will be a new system in place, Trump will be gone, and the truly repellent grifters with whom he surrounds himself will be faced with new courts, judges and prison. Let Kristy Noem be the first. Or Stephen Miller. It's a toss-up. After Donald of course.
Meanwhile, honest, brave people like yourself must feel frustrated and exhausted as you turn up and pour your heart, informed by your training and horrific personal experience of Donny's methods, into these powerful posts. Thankyou. You and the brothers, Popock and Ron, the entire Meidas team are a sane world where facts, justice, passion and hope are the bedrock of democracy. You keep us sane, informed and engaged. I'm grateful.
"Eventually" is neveg going to happen if we don't stop TRump's NaZi regime NOW. The power will be consolidated in the hands of a few, ruthless, vile people. The architects of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, Noem, Miller, Hegseth, Rubio and TRump's entire Clown Car Cabinet are not only incompetent, they are dangerous. They're a threat to the USA and the world at large. They MUST be stopped, and at this point, but ANY means necessary. The CIA could get this done tomorrow, IF the have the guts.
Kristi Noem stood behind a podium bearing the words "One of ours, all of yours". Please use your platform to amplify this DHS reference to the Nazi slogan borne of the slaughter of the residents and eradication of the Czech village of Lidice on June 10, 1944, after one of the SS leaders was killed by a Czech man. https://www.lidice-memorial.cz/en/
I I won’t stop until every voter that loves democracy and our country gets off of their (couches)and votes them out in the midterms.