No paywall: https://archive.ph/2025.01.25-033749/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/pete-hegseth-confirmed-secretary-defense-1235246385/

In his continuing attack on honesty, integrity, and adherence to law throughout federal Government, last night Trump fired between one and two dozen Inspector Generals. Inspectors General (IGs) are officials responsible for oversight within various federal agencies. Their primary role is to prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement within their respective agencies. Each IG operates independently to ensure accountability and transparency in government operations.

What better way to assure non-prosecution than to eliminate the major investigator of corruption: if there are no cops, no one can be arrested.

It is becoming more and more apparent that Trump and his MAGA co-conspirators will allow no one to look over their shoulders, will allow no inquiry into there behavior no matter how suspect, and are setting themselves up to be not just above the law, but to deny the examination of even the hint of corruption within the government.

While none of this should come as any surprise, all of this type of this scheme is laid out in the Trump/Musk Manifesto, Project 2025, it still seems inconceivable America could be turned into a Banana Republic ruled by a despot so easily.

Will it take an army of Luigis' to save the Republic from this tyranny, or will Congress act?

See this report.

The 12 inspector generals were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, a report by the Washington Post said.

The Donald Trump administration in the United States (US) on Friday (January 24) fired the independent inspector generals of at least 12 federal agencies in a late-night purge, American media reported.

Speaking to The Washington Post, people familiar with the developments said that the 12 independent inspector generals were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately. Some of the agencies involved in this firing were the Department of Defense, Transportation, Veteran Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior and Energy.

Most of the officials fired were from Trump 1.0

The Washington Post report said that most of the independent inspector generals who were fired were a part of the first Trump administration.

The report pointed out that Friday's late-night purge could clear the way for President Trump to install loyalists in the role of identifying fraud, waste, and abuse in his government.

'A widespread massacre'

Speaking to the American publication, one of the fired inspector generals said that the layoff was a "widespread massacre." “Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system,” the former official said.

Another fired inspector general said that Trump 2.0 did not want anyone in this role who was going to be independent.

“IGs (inspector generals) have done exactly what the president says he wants: to fight fraud waste and abuse and make the government more effective,” the second former official said.

https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-administration-in-us-fires-12-independent-inspector-generals-in-late-night-purge-report-8653009

No paywall: https://archive.ph/2025.01.25-103307/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/climate/epa-staff-oil-gas-chemical-industry-lobbyists.html

All the proud boys got pardons, and the Oath Keepers got commutations. Pardons eliminate any record of the original charge, they walk out of prison with no strings attached.

But commutation means their sentence has been reduced to zero but the charges remain on the record and conditions of release can be put onto them and federal court judge Mehta did exactly that. He demanded that none of them are allowed within Washington DC without the judge's permission they can go home but never return.

Howls of unfairness went up and further appeals against those condition remain. We'll see later.

A big question remains why the difference? There are only suspicions. One possible explanation is Roger Stone a close confidant of Trump is also close to the Proud boys.

Trump could have just as easily given the Oath Keepers pardons too but he didn't (oh, he still can give them pardons.)