Dan Friedman

Dan Friedman

@dfriedman.bsky.social

Mother Jones reporter. Covering corruption, foreign influence. Derrick White enthusiast. Signal: danfriedman.67

43.4K followers714 following1.7K posts

Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

Serbia's nationalist leader Vucic followed an Orban-like course. He embraced Trump, and Trump family corruption, and sold himself to greedy MAGAs as a like-minded nationalist. Serbian is even hosting a CPAC. But he just lost in anti-corruption landslide. www.motherjones.com/politics/202....

Dan Friedman@dfriedman.bsky.social

Serbian strongman Vucic conceded to the anti-corruption "Student List" opposition. www.haaretz.com/world-news/e.... Loss for the Trumpers. Vaguely similar to Orban's fall. The nationalism and Trump/Putin coddling is bad corruption seems to have been fatal electorally.

haaretz.comSerbian President and Netanyahu ally Vučić concedes defeat in electionThe snap elections, called by Vučić in September, came after almost ⁠two years of student-led demonstrations triggered by the ⁠deaths of 16 people in 2024
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

Serbian strongman Vucic conceded to the anti-corruption "Student List" opposition. www.haaretz.com/world-news/e.... Loss for the Trumpers. Vaguely similar to Orban's fall. The nationalism and Trump/Putin coddling is bad corruption seems to have been fatal electorally.

haaretz.comSerbian President and Netanyahu ally Vučić concedes defeat in electionThe snap elections, called by Vučić in September, came after almost ⁠two years of student-led demonstrations triggered by the ⁠deaths of 16 people in 2024
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

The VF piece's problems may result from reliance on info from Dutch spies' hack of Russian spooks spying on Americans. That shit's confusing. Ex.: John Durham, who spent years trying to debunk the Trump Russia scandal, embarrassed himself trying to parse it. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

emptywheel@emptywheel.bsky.social

There's a lot of reason to be cautious about the Vanity Fair excerpt about Jared's secret bank accounts. But there is a core we know to be true, from the Tom Barrack prosecution. And we may learn about that known real core via the lawsuit that is coming. emptywheel.net/2026/10/23/j...

emptywheel.netJared's Account - emptywheelSome of the claims in an excerpt about Jared Kushner's scandalous relationship with the Saudis, Emirates, and Israel may be unsubstantiated. But there is a real scandalous relationship that may come t...

Dan Friedman reposted

Liz Dye
@lizdye.bsky.social

This bullshit complaint by DOJ trying to get Alaska to toss out the result of the senate election is a Stan Woodward joint, obviously. Complaint here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

storage.courtlistener.comComplaint – #1 in United States v. State of Alaska (D. Alaska, 3:26-cv-00376) – CourtListener.comCOMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF against Carol Beecher, Election Boards of the State of Alaska, State Ballot Counting Review Board of the State of Alaska, State of Alaska, filed by Unit...
VoteHub@votehub.com

NEWS — The Trump administration sued Alaska over Dan J. Sullivan’s Senate candidacy, arguing voter confusion could affect the race between Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola, per Courthouse News.

Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

This cop got caught because he sued a real estate company to try to recover money he spent repairing the house he stole by impersonating a dead guy.

NBC News@nbcnews.com

A Florida man was found dead in his home during a welfare check in July 2022. Weeks later, one of the officers who discovered his body moved into the home and spent years impersonating him, according to investigators.

nbcnews.toOfficer who found man dead in Florida home allegedly moved in, renovated and assumed his identity for yearsBrian Louis Sguros, 35, had responded to the Lauderhill home in July 2022 for a welfare check.
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

The complaint cites “reporting by several outlets, including Mother Jones, which reported that a ‘major donor’ listed on Flippo’s FEC report said they had not donated anything to his campaign…” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

washingtonpost.comLongtime Nevada Republican files complaint against GOP congressional candidateThe Federal Election Commission complaint against David Flippo cites reporting on his personal finances and campaign finance reports, and calls for an investigation.
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

Trump called Democrats "communists" during the GOP's midterm convention last month. But backstage, GOP leaders feted an actual ex-communist -who was until recently barred from entering the US due to alleged corruption. What was he doing there? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.comThe State Department called him "corrupt." Trump officials feted him in Dallas.Albania's opposition leader, recently barred from the US, made it to the GOP's "midterm convention."
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Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

Trump called Democrats "communists" during the GOP's midterm convention last month. But backstage, GOP leaders feted an actual ex-communist -who was until recently barred from entering the US due to alleged corruption. What was he doing there? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.comThe State Department called him "corrupt." Trump officials feted him in Dallas.Albania's opposition leader, recently barred from the US, made it to the GOP's "midterm convention."

Dan Friedman reposted

Andy Kaczynski
@kfile.bsky.social

NEW: Among the Truth Social posts we found shared by incoming White House press secretary Katie Zacharia were a seemingly pro-Putin post claiming he was fighting a “cabal” in Ukraine, and another implying Joan Rivers was killed for saying Michelle Obama had a penis. www.cnn.com/2026/10/12/p...

cnn.comNew White House press secretary has a history of conspiracy-laced social media posts | CNN PoliticsPresident Donald Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, repeatedly made baseless accusations of pedophilia against prominent Democrats and shared conspiracy-related content, inc...
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

This NYT story shows the Talarico mental hospital claims were false. But the nut graph makes it sound like these were rumors that passively emerged from an online "Wild West of misinformation," not lies pushed by far right operatives like Nick Sortor and Carolyn Wren. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/u...

Dan Friedman reposted

Adam Weinstein
@adamweinstein.bsky.social

Right-wing online influencers: We can't prove Talarico *didn't* go to a rehab in Ohio NYT: We can, we saw video proof WSJ: Speaking of, we saw video of Paxton partying at the Burj Khalifa with his girlfriend and two men under federal indictment for fraud, one of whom donated to Paxton's campaign

The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com

More damaging revelations about Ken Paxton: A previously unreported New Year’s Eve 2024 celebration where Paxton partied in Dubai with two fugitives from U.S. justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife on.wsj.com/4yKLe4d

on.wsj.comMore damaging revelations about Ken Paxton: A previously unreported New Year’s Eve 2024 celebration where Paxton partied in Dubai with two fugitives from U.S. justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife

Dan Friedman reposted

emptywheel
@emptywheel.bsky.social

Huh. Apparently Katie Miller deleted this tweet that I had the foresight to screencap. Turns out I can TOO make things go viral on Xitter, even.

Dan Friedman reposted

Julianne McShane
@juliannemcshane.bsky.social

The GOP has spent >$40 million this year trying to recreate the viral “Kamala is for they/them” ad, targeting Dems in key races. 🗳️ But as one strategist told me: “The price of pronouns is zero. The price of oil, diesel, and groceries is skyrocketing.” 💰

ms.nowThe GOP is running it back with an attack ad from 2024 — with one potentially costly omissionThe GOP has spent more than $40 million on ads echoing its “Kamala is for they/them” line from 2024. But Democrats are shutting them down quickly, reflecting a broader shift within the party.
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

Ken's piece yesterday that Trump reacted to noted that Zeljka Cvijanovic, an ally of Bosnia Serb boss Milorad Dodik, met recently with WH chief of staff Susie Wiles, with help from lobbyist Robert Garcia of Continental Strategy. Continental also happens to employ Wiles' daughter. Can't hurt.

Ken Vogel@kenvogel.bsky.social

SCOOP: While Trump was crisscrossing the USA last week trying to help the GOP stave off a midterm washout, two of his top political advisers were in Republika Srpska advising its pro-Russian government on election issues. James Blair & Chris LaCivita were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each.

nytimes.comAmid Midterm Crunch, Trump Advisers Took Time to Help Russia-Aligned Government (Gift Article)James Blair and Chris LaCivita, who are leading the president’s congressional campaign operation, traveled to Republika Srpska to provide election advice.
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

It surprised me that the NYT story, which has five bylines, does not mention that Walters’ company, Salus Worldwide, has lost its $915M self-deportation contract. www.projectsaltbox.com/p/dhs-taps-r...

projectsaltbox.comDHS Taps ResponseAI, an ICE Skip-Tracing Contractor, to Run Self-Deportation ContractThe company, whose growing ICE portfolio includes locating people for deportation, will now run DHS’s contract for people leaving through the CBP Home app.
Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com

There are new and specific numbers in this story, so it’s worth reading. I continue to resent the lack of credit to Nick Schwellenbach at @pogo.org, Dan Friedman at @motherjones.com, and me, who have previously reported every other aspect of this story, including that the sale prices were very high.

Dan Friedman reposted

Gillian Brockell
@gillianbrockell.com

Replying to @gillianbrockell.com

Nick and Dan first reported on William Walters’ donation to the Noem PAC and the awarding of a shady contract A YEAR AGO. I first reported his connection to Daedalus and all of the airplane purchases for a markup in February. I first reported that the final planes were purchased under Mullin’s

Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

Salus Worldwide, whose big contract helping DHS run a "self-deportation" contract we've reported on bunch, appears be out. Source familiar with Salus' contract have said that press coverage of the deal contributed to DHS leaders looking to replace Salus. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.comHow taxpayers are still getting screwed on Kristi Noem's Big Beautiful JetThe infamous 737 is connected to a DHS contractor who received “an appearance of favoritism.”
Project Salt Box@projectsaltbox.com

Virginia-based firm ResponseAI takes over the DHS Home "self deportation" app from the embattled Salus Worldwide Solutions. The company's past ICE contracts include so-called skip tracing awards for locating people for ICE's expansive deportation sweeps.

projectsaltbox.comDHS Taps ResponseAI, an ICE Skip-Tracing Contractor, to Run Self-Deportation ContractThe company, whose growing ICE portfolio includes locating people for deportation, will now run DHS’s contract for people leaving through the CBP Home app.

Dan Friedman reposted

Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray”
@ryanjreilly.com

“This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American. This administration chose to pursue an unjust prosecution against Mr. Hearn."

nbcnews.comJudge bars U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro from charging ex-Olympian in Reflecting Pool caseThe judge dismissed the case against David Hearn with prejudice, citing “exceptional circumstances” that included President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on Pirro’s office.
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

"A candidate is not holding a very strong hand when he is arguing that the pregnant woman arrested in front of her child during his practice’s debt-collection case actually owed more than the campaign ad said she did." www.kansascity.com/opinion/arti...

kansascity.comWith new defamation threat, Roger Marshall is making a bad story worse | HudnallThe Kansas senator wants a damaging ad about his medical practice taken down. His response is giving it more life. From David Hudnall
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

People just want to him to stop starting dumb wars. but he's yelling about trannies.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Hegseth: "It's worth saying again so the fake news understands it. We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that -- no fatties no trannies no beardos no weirdos no wimps no radicals. Just warriors."

Dan Friedman reposted

amanda moore 🐢
@noturtlesoup17.bsky.social

Received a phone call this morning letting me know they started moving people from Guantanamo Bay to Somalia late last week. Working on getting in contact with them now.

Mother Jones@motherjones.com

Last month, ICE put 12 Somali men on a plane and told them they were being deported to Somalia, according to interviews with community leaders, friends, and family members. Instead, they arrived at the notorious US military base in Cuba, where seven or eight of them remain.

motherjones.comThe Trump administration is imprisoning Somali immigrants at Gitmo“Nobody tell us that we’re going to Guantanamo Bay.”
Dan Friedman
@dfriedman.bsky.social

We underrate how nuts it is that GOP senators act like it's a given that Smith's prosecution of Trump for a plot to steal the 2020 election was some baroque partisan conspiracy. They hid from a mob on Jan 6. But now they're trying to puzzle out how the secret plot to frame Trump was orchestrated.

Matthew Gertz@mattgertz.bsky.social

The underlying theory Senate Republicans are going with is that Joe Biden secretly ordered DOJ to investigate Trump, something they have produced no evidence to support and also they're all fine with Trump publicly ordering DOJ to investigate his enemies.

Dan Friedman reposted

Eric Lipton NYT
@ericlipton.nytimes.com

What an odd moment in United States history. A U.S. president is running an overtly political camaign advertisement, right before midterm elections, paid for by the U.S. government. Trump appears to believe he is immune from any kind of legal limit. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/u...

nytimes.comA Trump 2024 Campaign Ad Returns, Now Brought to You by the Government (Gift Article)The ad, which ethics experts said could violate federal law, shows Mr. Trump vowing to “expel the warmongers” from the government and fight the “deep state,” even as he wages a war with Iran.