Trump, Musk, and their allies across the federal government are trying to snuff out a geyser of press leaks with bullying and snitch networks.
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Inside Trump and Musk’s Clumsy, ‘Exhausting’ Hunt for Leakers
Across the federal government, Trump, Musk, and their allies are trying to snuff out a geyser of press leaks with bullying and snitch networks
"...One of the things Musk and Trump have discussed, according to a source familiar with the situation and another person briefed on it, is the geyser of leaks coming from the administration and the need to identify, root out, and persecute the leakers.
... Musk is not hiding his interest in purging the federal government of anti-Trump leakers — with or without proof. “With regard to leakers: if in doubt, they are out,” he
posted on X at 2:10 a.m. ET on Monday.
The world’s richest man and Trump’s interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin
have both publicly threatened action against people posting the identities of those involved with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (
DOGE) team, which is spearheading the efforts to bulldoze agencies and any checks on their power.
... Among the ideas internally kicked around the Trump and Musk teams was the thought of
planting younger informers or “spies” in different parts of the federal government to gain the trust of offices and teams suspected of anti-MAGA sentiments.
(
The Trump administration has already sought in other ways to erect a snitch network across the federal bureaucracy, encouraging staffers to anonymously tip off their superiors if they see any hint of hush-hush diversity programs operating in the shadows.)
Other ideas include potentially
accessing, via virtual back-door access, some staffers’ government emails or communications to see if there’s any recent evidence of leaking to the media, though sources generally concede that it is unlikely career officials would be using their work accounts for these kinds of sensitive and unauthorized conversations.
Other plans focus on Trump administration officials sending different staffers different internal messages or pieces of disinformation, to see what does or doesn’t leak — in the hopes of isolating where some of the leaking could be stemming from. ..."
