Joe Spielberger
@jdspielberger.bsky.social
Senior Policy Counsel @ Project On Government Oversight.
Fighting for whistleblowers & federal employees. Combating abuse of power & corruption. Strengthening government ethics, transparency, & accountability.
Opinions are my own.
Fighting for whistleblowers & federal employees. Combating abuse of power & corruption. Strengthening government ethics, transparency, & accountability.
Opinions are my own.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
BREAKING EXCLUSIVE MUST CREDIT: Lunch for jurors in the “sandwich guy” trial are a variety of sandwiches, according to a source familiar with lunch.
November 6, 2025 at 5:24 PM
BREAKING EXCLUSIVE MUST CREDIT: Lunch for jurors in the “sandwich guy” trial are a variety of sandwiches, according to a source familiar with lunch.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
“Someone who shows so much disdain for federal workers is entirely unfit to lead a key whistleblower office. Senators were right to question his fitness for the role, and I hope they will give the next nominee the same level of scrutiny." -@jdspielberger.bsky.social in @govexec.bsky.social
Whistleblower organizations applaud withdrawal of Trump’s ‘unfit’ nominee to lead oversight office
Media reports in recent weeks found that Paul Ingrassia, who has a history of inflammatory rhetoric, has been accused of sexual harassment and sent racist text messages.
www.govexec.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:13 PM
“Someone who shows so much disdain for federal workers is entirely unfit to lead a key whistleblower office. Senators were right to question his fitness for the role, and I hope they will give the next nominee the same level of scrutiny." -@jdspielberger.bsky.social in @govexec.bsky.social
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
Homeland Chair Rand Paul on Paul Ingrassia nomination 👀
“they have to decide if they think he can go through. I told them to count the votes and see if he had the votes. The White House needs to make a decision. I'm leaving it up to them”
“they have to decide if they think he can go through. I told them to count the votes and see if he had the votes. The White House needs to make a decision. I'm leaving it up to them”
October 20, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Homeland Chair Rand Paul on Paul Ingrassia nomination 👀
“they have to decide if they think he can go through. I told them to count the votes and see if he had the votes. The White House needs to make a decision. I'm leaving it up to them”
“they have to decide if they think he can go through. I told them to count the votes and see if he had the votes. The White House needs to make a decision. I'm leaving it up to them”
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
News: Ingrassia's nomination is cooked: He's got two GOP no on Homeland and potentially more coming and a chairman who's leaving it to the White House.
BUT -- as of now he's still on the committee schedule for Thursday after DANIEL LIPPMAN story today
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
BUT -- as of now he's still on the committee schedule for Thursday after DANIEL LIPPMAN story today
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
Republicans set to reject Trump nominee Ingrassia after offensive texts
His confirmation to lead the Office of Special Counsel was already set to be rocky after previous allegations of sexual harassment.
www.semafor.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:37 PM
News: Ingrassia's nomination is cooked: He's got two GOP no on Homeland and potentially more coming and a chairman who's leaving it to the White House.
BUT -- as of now he's still on the committee schedule for Thursday after DANIEL LIPPMAN story today
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
BUT -- as of now he's still on the committee schedule for Thursday after DANIEL LIPPMAN story today
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
@pogo.org is once again sounding the alarm on Paul Ingrassia's dangerous nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel @us-osc.bsky.social. We call on @hsgac.senate.gov Senators to categorically reject this unfit and unqualified nominee during this Thursday's committee hearing.
October 20, 2025 at 10:57 PM
@pogo.org is once again sounding the alarm on Paul Ingrassia's dangerous nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel @us-osc.bsky.social. We call on @hsgac.senate.gov Senators to categorically reject this unfit and unqualified nominee during this Thursday's committee hearing.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
This is what she lives with every day now: “The fear of leaving your family and letting them know, ‘If I don’t return, it’s not because I am abandoning you.’”
Powerful story by @chabeli.bsky.social for @19thnews.org.
Powerful story by @chabeli.bsky.social for @19thnews.org.
‘They are hunting us:’ Child care workers in D.C. go underground amid ICE crackdown
In Washington, D.C., where close to 40 percent of child care workers are immigrants, fear has taken hold amid a crime crackdown that has raised ICE presence. Many are missing work, deepening a staffin...
19thnews.org
September 11, 2025 at 2:20 PM
This is what she lives with every day now: “The fear of leaving your family and letting them know, ‘If I don’t return, it’s not because I am abandoning you.’”
Powerful story by @chabeli.bsky.social for @19thnews.org.
Powerful story by @chabeli.bsky.social for @19thnews.org.
I was privileged to testify this morning before the House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets about the importance of protecting whistleblowers, especially in national security.
oversight.house.gov/hearing/rest...
oversight.house.gov/hearing/rest...
Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection - United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
oversight.house.gov
September 9, 2025 at 7:03 PM
I was privileged to testify this morning before the House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets about the importance of protecting whistleblowers, especially in national security.
oversight.house.gov/hearing/rest...
oversight.house.gov/hearing/rest...
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
Mood in Hungary "is palpably different" than a year ago, with people "more comfortable criticizing Orbán in public.…Public figures speak about the 'Orbán regime' instead of the 'Orbán government.'…
"In response, the rhetoric from the regime…has become more threatening, violent, and openly fascist."
"In response, the rhetoric from the regime…has become more threatening, violent, and openly fascist."
Hungary Could Free Itself from Orbánism Next Spring
An upstart opposition leader, Péter Magyar, is shrewdly capitalizing on the prime minister’s blunders.
www.thebulwark.com
September 3, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Mood in Hungary "is palpably different" than a year ago, with people "more comfortable criticizing Orbán in public.…Public figures speak about the 'Orbán regime' instead of the 'Orbán government.'…
"In response, the rhetoric from the regime…has become more threatening, violent, and openly fascist."
"In response, the rhetoric from the regime…has become more threatening, violent, and openly fascist."
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.
AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...
LIVE: CDC staff plan walkout at Atlanta HQ after Trump firings
YouTube video by Associated Press
www.youtube.com
August 28, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
I know many people who have worked in federal agencies and there are exactly zero of them that I would even begin to describe as "radical." They are people who believe in the work and find meaning in serving the public -- it takes a lot to get people like that walking out against their employer!
I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.
AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...
August 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I know many people who have worked in federal agencies and there are exactly zero of them that I would even begin to describe as "radical." They are people who believe in the work and find meaning in serving the public -- it takes a lot to get people like that walking out against their employer!
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
After Muscogee Nation won a Supreme Court Decision–over FIVE years ago–Oklahoma’s Gov is still refusing to comply. Now, the Gov is suing the city of Tulsa for working with the tribe.
Gov. Stitt files lawsuit against Tulsa over criminal jurisdiction agreement with Muscogee Nation
Gov. Kevin Stitt is suing the City of Tulsa, its mayor and its police chief in the Oklahoma Supreme Court over a recent agreement the city made to defer criminal jurisdiction to the Muscogee Nation.
www.kosu.org
August 28, 2025 at 7:42 PM
After Muscogee Nation won a Supreme Court Decision–over FIVE years ago–Oklahoma’s Gov is still refusing to comply. Now, the Gov is suing the city of Tulsa for working with the tribe.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
"The nostalgia for the idea of American democracy can’t blind us to its collapse. Americans are less free than they were a year ago, more subject to state power directed by a President disinterested in democratic norms."
An amazingly clear-eyed summary of Trump's authoritarianism by Don. Must read.
An amazingly clear-eyed summary of Trump's authoritarianism by Don. Must read.
New, from me:
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
The authoritarian checklist
It is time to admit that America is no longer a functioning democracy
donmoynihan.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:51 PM
"The nostalgia for the idea of American democracy can’t blind us to its collapse. Americans are less free than they were a year ago, more subject to state power directed by a President disinterested in democratic norms."
An amazingly clear-eyed summary of Trump's authoritarianism by Don. Must read.
An amazingly clear-eyed summary of Trump's authoritarianism by Don. Must read.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
The irony/idiocy of this banner currently draped on the Department of Labor building is not lost on me, given all the federal workers he's forced out of their jobs.
(Pic via Getty Images)
(Pic via Getty Images)
August 27, 2025 at 2:39 PM
The irony/idiocy of this banner currently draped on the Department of Labor building is not lost on me, given all the federal workers he's forced out of their jobs.
(Pic via Getty Images)
(Pic via Getty Images)
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
‼️ Now on @axios.com: Whistleblower warns of massive Social Security data risk
Our whistleblower client Charles Borges' disclosure details how DOGE uploaded an enormous Social Security database to an unsecured cloud in June, compromising the private information of hundreds of millions of Americans.
Our whistleblower client Charles Borges' disclosure details how DOGE uploaded an enormous Social Security database to an unsecured cloud in June, compromising the private information of hundreds of millions of Americans.
Whistleblower warns of massive Social Security data risk
The Department of Government Efficiency uploaded an enormous Social Security database to an unsecured cloud in June, risking the private information of hundreds of millions of Americans, per a new whi...
whistleblower.org
August 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
‼️ Now on @axios.com: Whistleblower warns of massive Social Security data risk
Our whistleblower client Charles Borges' disclosure details how DOGE uploaded an enormous Social Security database to an unsecured cloud in June, compromising the private information of hundreds of millions of Americans.
Our whistleblower client Charles Borges' disclosure details how DOGE uploaded an enormous Social Security database to an unsecured cloud in June, compromising the private information of hundreds of millions of Americans.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
It's been widely noted that Trump seems newly emboldened on many fronts. But another thing that makes this moment so ominous is that his accomplices at very senior levels *also* seem emboldened. Many of them seem arrogantly certain of never facing accountability.
newrepublic.com/article/1996...
newrepublic.com/article/1996...
August 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
It's been widely noted that Trump seems newly emboldened on many fronts. But another thing that makes this moment so ominous is that his accomplices at very senior levels *also* seem emboldened. Many of them seem arrogantly certain of never facing accountability.
newrepublic.com/article/1996...
newrepublic.com/article/1996...
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
Rumors abound that one or more of those individuals whose #securityclearances were revoked and named in ODNI/DNI Gabbard list - which they also tweeted out on X - are undercover, which could be criminal violation of 50 U.S.C. § 421, if certain conditions are met.
Pure politicization of security clearance process through unlawful decisions that deviate from decades of precedent. Completely unprofessional that individuals are targeted in way that impacts their careers, yet they are not notified before leaking memo to friendly media.
nypost.com/2025/08/19/u...
nypost.com/2025/08/19/u...
Exclusive | Tulsi Gabbard strips 37 of security clearances over Obama-ordered intel report that launched Russiagate
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the revocation of 37 security clearances of current and former officials who “abused public trust by politicizing and manipulating…
nypost.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Rumors abound that one or more of those individuals whose #securityclearances were revoked and named in ODNI/DNI Gabbard list - which they also tweeted out on X - are undercover, which could be criminal violation of 50 U.S.C. § 421, if certain conditions are met.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
MAJOR IMPACT: We just learned via ethics disclosures that Stephen Miller has sold much of his stake in #Palantir—the same stake we exposed in our June investigation.
Thread ⬇️
Thread ⬇️
Stephen Miller isn't just the architect of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies.
He has a personal financial stake in them.
Learn more in our investigation:
He has a personal financial stake in them.
Learn more in our investigation:
Stephen Miller’s Financial Stake in ICE Contractor Palantir
Over a dozen Trump appointees in the White House and Department of Homeland Security have owned stock in the controversial company raising privacy concerns across the political spectrum.
www.pogo.org
August 15, 2025 at 5:39 PM
MAJOR IMPACT: We just learned via ethics disclosures that Stephen Miller has sold much of his stake in #Palantir—the same stake we exposed in our June investigation.
Thread ⬇️
Thread ⬇️
Always a good night to be at the ballpark
August 15, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Always a good night to be at the ballpark
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
Eyeopening walkthrough of DC by this creator. If you aren’t in DC, worth a watch all the way to the end—
August 15, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Eyeopening walkthrough of DC by this creator. If you aren’t in DC, worth a watch all the way to the end—
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
In a news conference, the president said he plans to extend his crackdown for more than the 30 days he is allowed to without congressional approval.
trib.al/OeeLiGJ
trib.al/OeeLiGJ
August 13, 2025 at 11:17 PM
In a news conference, the president said he plans to extend his crackdown for more than the 30 days he is allowed to without congressional approval.
trib.al/OeeLiGJ
trib.al/OeeLiGJ
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
What LA and DC hold in common is that both have been framed by MAGA as "not real America" - places of elites (Hollywood stars and government workers) plus communities of color (Latinos and Black people.)
August 12, 2025 at 12:14 AM
What LA and DC hold in common is that both have been framed by MAGA as "not real America" - places of elites (Hollywood stars and government workers) plus communities of color (Latinos and Black people.)
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
As a DC resident I do feel that the city has been overrun by "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals" and I would like them to leave the White House and stop destroying the federal government.
August 11, 2025 at 10:05 PM
As a DC resident I do feel that the city has been overrun by "violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals" and I would like them to leave the White House and stop destroying the federal government.
Reposted by Joe Spielberger
The first planned migration of an entire country due to climate change is happening! Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation, is at risk of being submerged under rising sea level, so it has signed an agreement with Australia to allow 280 Tuvaluans to settle in Australia as permanent residents each year.
The First Planned Migration of an Entire Country Is Underway
The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu could be submerged in 25 years due to rising sea levels, so a plan is being implemented to relocate its population to Australia.
www.wired.com
July 26, 2025 at 10:20 AM
The first planned migration of an entire country due to climate change is happening! Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation, is at risk of being submerged under rising sea level, so it has signed an agreement with Australia to allow 280 Tuvaluans to settle in Australia as permanent residents each year.
Even Sen. Rick Scott is expressing concern about the special counsel nominee, given past statements about antisemitism
www.politico.com/live-updates...
www.politico.com/live-updates...
Senate GOP-led panel delays testimony for Trump special counsel nominee
At least one Republican senator said he was concerned about Paul Ingrassia's alleged ties to antisemitism.
www.politico.com
July 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Even Sen. Rick Scott is expressing concern about the special counsel nominee, given past statements about antisemitism
www.politico.com/live-updates...
www.politico.com/live-updates...
Appreciate @peters.senate.gov this morning, calling for the formal withdrawal of Paul Ingrassia's nomination to the Office of Special Counsel:
July 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Appreciate @peters.senate.gov this morning, calling for the formal withdrawal of Paul Ingrassia's nomination to the Office of Special Counsel: