Thread by @RVAwonk

New leaked documents suggest the Trump admin has quietly co-opted tools — some w/ military capabilities — that were once justified in the name of protecting Americans from foreign influence, and turned them inward to map, monitor, & target U.S. political dissidents. Link below.

The leaked docs allege that the White House is working w/ an org called Vine and Fig Tree Institute to surveil, profile, & “go after” critics of Trump and Israel, using tactics such as burner accounts, AI content, & character assassination.

Details here: weaponizedspaces.substack.com/p/leaked-docs-…

The targets described in the leaked docs include a number of right-wing influencers and members of the “dissident right,” including Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes.

They also reveal that the entire Nick Shirley thing was orchestrated by the White House.

As I’ve written about extensively, the Trump admin has dismantled US defensive counter-disinformation capabilities. But according to the leaked docs, that infrastructure was rebuilt as an offensive capability, then outsourced and used against Americans.

It’s a massive scandal.

Importantly, the leaked docs also reveal efforts to monitor & influence domestic political discourse across a huge range of topics, as well as events like the Charlie Kirk shooting & the resignation of Joe Kent. They also discuss using their data for a 2028 JD Vance campaign.

All of these activities are being carried out by a third party in order to conceal the involvement of the White House, likely because the White House knows it would be a huge problem if their role was revealed.

At this point, the allegations are just that — allegations. But they closely align with other recent claims made by Ashley St. Clair, and with the new counter-disinformation framework released by the State Dept, which among other things calls for using local influencers to launder official government messaging so it looks organic. Except this time, it’s aimed at Americans, not foreign nations.

As bad as this looks already, I am pretty confident in saying that this story is an example of a limited hangout — meaning that we are only being shown part of the picture, in the hopes of distracting us from pursuing the bigger story.

There are a lot more details in the article, so please give it a read. If you appreciate my work in this area, please consider becoming a subscriber to ensure that I can keep doing it despite the Trump admin’s ongoing efforts to stop it.

weaponizedspaces.substack.com/p/leaked-docs-…