DOGE reps had administrative access, not read only, at OPM, WaPo reports, “giving them sweeping authority to install and modify software…**and alter internal documentation of their own activities.”**

https://twitter.com/isaacstanbecker/status/1887490796342903273

“At least 6 DOGE agents were given broad access to all personnel systems at the OPM on the afternoon of Jan. 20…Three more gained access about a week later.”

“Musk’s allies now aim to inject AI tools into government systems, using them to assess contracts and recommend cuts. On Monday, Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer tapped to lead a GSA tech team, told some staff members he hoped to put all federal contracts into a centralized system so they could be analyzed by AI “There is no precedent for a government official to have Musk’s scale of conflicts of interest, …such as business relationships in China. & there is no precedent for someone who is not a full-time employee to have such ability to reshape the federal work force.”

🧵Pres. Biden, flanked by VP Harris and SecState Blinken: It’s a very good afternoon because at long last I can announce a ceasefire and hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas. Biden: The deal is structured in three phases. Phase one will last six weeks. It includes a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded.

👀🧵 “An associate of Grenell had approached conservative social media influencers, according to 2 people with knowledge of the situation, offering paid contracts of as much as five figures to post favorably about Grenell.”

https://twitter.com/matthewkassel/status/1864739432105914478

“One such contract, obtained by POLITICO and not previously reported, outlined that the influencer would do so during ‘peak posting times,’ that ‘content must appear genuine,’ and it could not ‘appear as an overt advertisement or promotional message.’”

“The defense of democracy is the number one issue driving Jewish voters in this election, just as it was in the past election,” Halie Soifer, CEO of Jewish Democratic Council of America and former national security advisor of then Sen. Kamala Harris on JDCA call. Ilan Goldenberg, Harris campaign Jewish outreach lead, and former Middle East advisor to VP Harris, on Trump: “At the end of the day, he is an isolationist who plays footsie with Putin.”

Have pretty minimal phonebanking/get out the vote door knocking experience, but those have had the past few weeks have been so interesting. Guess most predominately, that most people have already made up their minds. Went to 1 address in PA today where told the male was an independent, female was D. but few questions in, the male said he did not know why he was recorded as an independent, it was clear he was a strong Democrat. as was the female in the household. Was not a matter of persuasion of any sort. But the choice to even come talk to someone knocking at the door is an assessment of whether the person wants to talk with you, right? so, there is a self selection thing going on, within even the information the campaigns have acquired of who might be persuadable. an x factor

🧵Haaretz military reporter Amos Harel speaking to Israel Policy podcast’s Neri Zilber on ex israeli generals’ ‘surrender or starve plan’ for north Gaza having kind of been absorbed into IDF thinking, even as top brass denies it: 1/ Harel: “My fear is…the ‘generals’ plan’ … there's talk of starving the population, of pushing the population by force to the south, all kinds of crazy ideas…. this has somehow infiltrated the IDF line of thinking. 2/

🧵VP Kamala Harris, on call with Jewish voters: “I am clear eyed: Iran is a destabilizing and dangerous force. When Donald Trump was president, he let Iran off the hook. 1/ Harris: “After Iran and its proxies attacked US bases and American troops, Trump did nothing; and he pulled out of the nuclear deal, without any plan, leading to an unconstrained Iranian nuclear program.

🧵New from me: US wary as Israel plans retaliation against Iran

US Israel relations at ‘rock bottom’ as Israel PM Netanyahu blocks Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from traveling to Washington for consultations on Iran.

open.substack.com/pub/diplomatic… When US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, NSC Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and a half dozen other top Biden advisors arrived at the Israeli embassy Monday for a memorial event to mark the one year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks, the optics were of close American Israeli solidarity. But there were signs too of the tremendous strain that the relationship between the highest levels of the two governments are under at the current moment, strain that seemed at times personal.

open.substack.com/pub/diplomatic…

🧵US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan became emotional speaking at an Israel embassy memorial event on the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks. He said he was humbled by the resilience and determination of the families of the American hostages held by Hamas. And he spoke of, for the government of Israel, “the challenge going forward” of “turning tactical wins” into enduring strategic gains. Also attending from US gov: deputy national security advisor Jon Finer, Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, Asst. Sec. State NEA Barbara Leaf, DoD’s Dan Shapiro, the chairs of the Senate and House foreign relations committees, Steny Hoyer….

Good Walz answer: Those that were closest to Donald Trump understand how dangerous he is when the world is this dangerous. His chief of staff John Kelly said that he was the most flawed human being he'd ever met; and both of his secretaries of defense and his national security advisers said he should be nowhere near the white house. Good Walz follow up: When Donald Trump was in office, it was Donald Trump who—we had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran's nuclear program in the inability to advance it. Donald Trump pulled that program and put nothing else in its place. So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before, because of Donald Trump's fickle leadership.

🧵NSC’s John Kirby: As has been reported recently, dozens of Russian military personnel have been trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close range ballistic missile system. Russia has received these shipments of Iranian Fath-360 close range ballistic missiles, and will probably employ them within weeks against Ukraine, which will of course, lead to the deaths of even more Ukrainian civilians, particularly because of the way they use ballistic missiles against civilian infrastructure. Kirby: Moscow possesses an array of its own ballistic missiles, but the supply of these Iranian missiles, which have a maximum range of about 75 miles, could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line, while employing Iranian warheads for closer range targets.

AG Garland, appearing with FBI Director and deputy Lisa Monaco: we meet today to respond to a dangerous increase in violent threats against the public servants who administer our elections. we did so because countless americans were enduring terrible threats simply for doing their civic duty, and we did so because threats to election workers constitute threats to our democracy itself. In just a few minutes, the task force here will meet to discuss its continuing work in advance of the upcoming election. Garland: this morning, we unsealed an indictment in the Southern District of New York of Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena afanasva (check spelling), two Russian based employees of RT, a Russian state controlled media outlet. They are charged with conspiring to commit money laundering and to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

“I am so glad she has made freedom the theme of her campaign,” @PeteButtigieg says of Kamala Harris. “In so many ways, I think that is what is at stake. And yes, women’s freedom is Exhibit A, after Donald Trump demolished the right to choose.”

https://twitter.com/kenbensinger/status/1818080029722775890

Gretchen Whitmer: How good is Josh Shapiro? … He is another example of Drmocratic governors who believe in our three part strategy: get shit done!
Crowd chants: Get shit done! get shit done!
Whitmer: Ok, my foul mouthed friends, let’s jump in… holy smokes, she is 💥💥

🧵VP Kamala Harris: I just had a frank and constructive meeting with PM Netanyahu. I told him that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias. From when I was a young girl, collecting funds to plant trees for Israel, to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, I've had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the State of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel.

VP Kamala Harris: Our President Joe Biden wanted to be here today. He's feeling much better and recovering fast and he looks forward to getting back on the road. Harris: And I wanted to say a few words about our president. Joe Biden's legacy of accomplishments over the past three yearsis unmatched. In one term he has already—Yes, you make clap—In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy (of others who had two). I first came to know President Biden through his son Beau.

🧵Jake Sullivan: “What I have heard as they went around the table yesterday, at the North Atlantic Council session just with the NATO allies, was a drumbeat of praise for the United States, but also for President Biden personally, for what he's done to strengthen NATO, especially as president, but also over the course of his entire career. Leaders really made a point of reinforcing their gratitude to him on that.” Sullivan says when the US paused shipments of 2000 pound bombs to Israel a couple months back, the 500 pound bombs got held back with them, seemingly as a logistical matter. The 500 pound bombs now unpaused, the 2000 ones remain held back.

Senior US admin official on latest Hamas response: “It's clear that this response moves the process forward, and may provide the basis for closing a deal.” The POTUS/Israel PM “conversation was detailed, going through the text of the agreement, constructive, and we think encouraging, while also clear-eyed about the work ahead and steps that must be put in place to finalize the deal and then begin the implementation.”

🧵 “The Court considers that, in conformity with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, & any other action in the Rafah Governorate,
which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” “In its Orders of 26 January 2024 and 28 March 2024, the Court expressed its grave concern over the fate of the hostages abducted during the attack in Israel on 7 October 2023 and held since
then by Hamas & other armed groups, & called for their immediate & unconditional release.

🧵Excerpts of US State Dept report to Congress concerning Israel’s compliance with NSM-20. (I typed these quickly, apologies for typoes in advance.):

“Israel has, upon request, shared some information on specific incidents implicating IHL, some details of its targeting choices, and some battle damage assessments. Although we have gained insight into Israel’s procedures and rules, we do not have complete information on how these processes are implemented. Israel has not shared complete information to verify whether U.S. defense articles covered under NSM-20 were specifically used in actions that have been alleged as violations of IHL or IHRL in Gaza, or in the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the period of this report. “Limited information has been shared to date in response to USG inquiries under review to determine whether U.S. munitions were used in incidents involving civilian harm. However, certain Israel-operated systems are entirely U.S.-origin (e.g., crewed attack aircraft) and are likely to have been involved in incidents that raise concerns about Israel’s IHL compliance.