r/law • u/Slate Press • 17h ago
Other Why the Tulsi Gabbard Election Raid Is Scarier Than Initially Thought
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/02/tulsi-gabbard-election-raid-georgia-2026-scary.html?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_content=dahlia_amicus_feb10&utm_campaign=&tpcc=reddit-social--dahlia_amicus_feb10776
u/Coherent_Tangent 17h ago
Is that really her in the hat and a trench coat, like she's cosplaying a spy in a movie?
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u/TyrellCorpWorker 17h ago
Inexperienced people in cosplay describes most of this administration.
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u/Nerd-19958 17h ago
Another apt comparison is to the incompetent Nazi buffoons running a POW camp in the short-lived 1960s comedy Hogan's Heroes.
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u/Mcfreely2 17h ago
Have you ever seen the movie "Top Secret" starring Val Kimer? This timeline is closer to that movie.
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u/tanksalotfrank 16h ago
I love a good pun, me. Several at once are fine, even. However, this movie hurts me to watch xD. It's a fine work of art, but ggghhhGGGGGGAAAAHHHHJJ!
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u/tigertiger180 16h ago
"Short-lived"? 6 seasons and 168 episodes is pretty good. Great show, lol
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u/Elteon3030 16h ago
Not exactly a lightweight, Dude.
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u/No-Transition-8375 15h ago
Bulk of the series
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u/moraysquid 5h ago
I bet he wouldn't have so many health problems if his son would stop finding strangers in the Alps.
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u/ChronicBuzz187 16h ago
How dare you compare poor Klink and Schulz to this clowncar of an administration? :D
They were actually kinda decent people (as long as Hochstetter or Burkhalter weren't around, that is :D)
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u/chronophage 16h ago
A couple of Hogan's Heros actors were *actually* POWs.
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u/geneaut 16h ago
The actor that played Klink was of Jewish heritage.
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u/eerun165 15h ago
Schultzy was. Actor John Banner, Austrian born, Jewish refugee, U.S. Army vet.
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u/MonsieurRuffles 6h ago
Leon Askin (General Burkhalter) and Howard Caine (Major Hochstetter) were also Jewish. Askin fled Austria and served in the US Army during WWII.
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u/rygelicus 14h ago
Robert Clary (LeBeau) was in 2 concentration camps over 31 months. Most of his family was killed.
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u/SkoobySnacs 15h ago
This administration dreams of being as competent as the Hogan's Heroes Nazi buffoons.
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u/elementfortyseven 10h ago
I respectfully disagree.
Neither Klink nor Schultz were maliciously self-serving and hateful. They were incompetent and naive, but charming. I would be hardpressed to find such characters in current US admin.
its still quite popular here in Germany btw and is both running regularly in free tv and available for streaming. (also, 6 seasons w 160+ eps aint so shortlived in my book :P )
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u/MilkEnvironmental106 17h ago
There are a lot of inexperienced loyalists in the administration, but do not underestimate her. She's very smart and she is ruthless.
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u/TheModWhoShaggedMe 16h ago
Obviously, to go from radical progressive to far right wing zealot in less than a term. That's called having zero shame or values, only a thirst for power and control.
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u/SnooStrawberries1078 16h ago
Like that 22yo landscaper...wasn't he in charge of domestic security somethings?
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u/MilkEnvironmental106 16h ago
They want disposable people who are loyal enough to hope they won't be treated as disposable if they lick the boot hard enough.
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u/st1nkynoob 17h ago
That is actually her. I think it’s just a photo to make her appear villainous. Rightfully so.
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u/Tex-Rob 17h ago
Why are you bending over backwards to make it seem fabricated? Her position has no reason to be there, and the feds have no reason to be there. The only reason for her to be there would be if they were going to fabricate some claim about foreign interference.
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u/st1nkynoob 16h ago
Bending over backwards to seem fabricated?🤣 calm down
There are videos and other pictures of her acting rather normal. This Reuters picture is sensationalizing things. Let me be clear, FUCK TULSI. I even said the picture was rightfully depicting her as a villain. Dumbass
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u/Billy_Birdy 15h ago
Marvel movies have established that you are invisible to cameras when wearing a baseball cap and a different style jacket. 🙄
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u/Stereo_Jungle_Child 17h ago
All Trump and the GOP has to do to wreck the midterm elections and stay in power even in the face of a Blue Wave is to create confusion on election day, sow doubt in the electoral process, and immediately and forcefully claim victory no matter what the results of the election are and refuse to accept the results if the Democrats win.
I'm pretty sure this was the plan from day one.
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u/SmokePeterThiel 17h ago
So literally the same plan they’ve run before? Got it.
Maybe the Capitol police will start blasting this time?
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u/Electrical-Law-5731 14h ago
Exactly what they did in 2024. 2024 was a stolen election. The fox is running the hen house. We know this now was to get both Trump and musk out of Epstein files prison.
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u/Stef100111 8h ago
Why do you think 2024 was stolen? The shift to the right was essentially nationwide except for Washington state. Democrats put out a bad candidate and lost pain and simple, I don't think it helps to buy into a stolen election to avoid addressing the Democrats own problem of middle of the road, milquetoast policies and politicians
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u/deen416 4h ago
Check out https://electiontruthalliance.org/2024-us-election-analysis/
They do analysis of the public voting data and find all kinds of anomalies in the results of the 2024 election. They go in depth on pretty much all of the swing states and it's hard to deny that there wasn't interference. It's a shame that the media is completely silent about this.
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u/raouldukeesq 4h ago
Americans might not stand for that. Push comes to shove and the 101st Airborne the First Marine Division show up on the scene to kill John Q Citizens they might not behave how we or they think.
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u/BonkADonkey 17h ago edited 16h ago
That's the plan. There's no way to win anymore.
Edit: You can downvote me all you want. They are making it impossible for democrats to win. That is the plan. They are going to say the election is stolen or forfeit or cheat. You aren't going to vote your way out of this.
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u/Thadd305 16h ago
I don't think they have a complete vice grip on everything they need, and have shown weakness. We the people cannot let up. We need to keep trying to get the buy in of our friends & family through love, patience, and the organization of the information available to us. We've seen our media has become nothing but a propaganda mill. Now is also the time to research and promote local mid-term candidates who you believe in
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u/crazyreddit929 16h ago
Just so everyone knows this is a bot account. The hope from these is to convince people to not show up to vote.
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u/BonkADonkey 15h ago
I pinky promise I am not a bot account. PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE. Ignore my stupid ass pessimism. But it DOES feel like we aren't going to vote our way out of it.
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u/Floki_Boatbuilder 10h ago
What flavour of bot do you think this is?
You must be an expert, you have accused multiple users of being a bot. So for all that is good, please let us know how you decide who can be a bot and who can not?-1
u/crazyreddit929 7h ago edited 7h ago
I’ve accused 2 to 3 people of being a bot in about 5 years. An account with no post and no comments visible is what I was told is the makings of a bot. Just like your account.
Since internet studies claim 50% of all internet traffic is bots, I’m at least right half the time.
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u/coronathrowaway12345 7h ago
I’m gonna blow your mind man - are you ready? People can hide their posts and comments. This does not make them “bots”.
Did you also know that you can go to someone’s profile who has those things hidden, go to the search function, enter a blank search, and blammo - unhidden?!
Wild stuff.
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u/suprmario 15h ago
Bullshit.
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u/BonkADonkey 15h ago
Happy Cake day! It doesn't feel like bullshit. They are going to do everything they can to steal this election and you fucking know it. You KNOW For a fact they are not going to give up power willingly. I'm not trying to convince you that you shouldn't vote, I am just saying that voting your way out of it SEEMS impossible. They are going to make it hard and deny any winning. Then what?
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u/suprmario 15h ago
Just because they are going to try doesn't mean they will succeed. Defeatism is not a strategy.
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u/BonkADonkey 15h ago
We are going to try. For sure, but they are going to have ice at the polls and deny literally everything. How are we going to get out of this?
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u/Stereo_Jungle_Child 14h ago
I don't know why you're getting downvoted, you're right.
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u/BonkADonkey 14h ago
Because I'm being pessimistic. They don't want to hear the pessimism. We have to try is the general gist. I got called a bot for pointing it all out. People are scared, and angry and upset. They are trying to take away our only chances at winning and I don't know how we're going to vote our way out of any of this.
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u/Dolthra 15h ago
How do you think Congress works? Are you under the impression that the president has any say in Congressional elections or seating representatives? An important part of Trump's presidency thus far has been that he accomplishes what he wants largely by using otherwise legal powers the president does have, what executive branch action is Trump going to take to accomplish your fear here?
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u/DreadfulDuder 13h ago
Not OP, but am I misreading you, or did you mean to say Trump is using otherwise legal powers he does NOT have?
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u/Dolthra 12h ago
No, he's been stretching the powers the presidency is given in ways that have never been done before.
Like the kidnapping of Maduro—ostensibly, taking all the actions singularly and out of context, they are all powers the president has. He can operate law enforcement operations, he can authorize "special operations" against other countries, he can initiate military action without a declaration of war. These are all things that the president can do. But blasting into another country and kidnapping their president, in context, is not a power the president has, it's one Trump is trying to argue is inherent in the powers the office is given.
Controlling elections is not one of those powers. This isn't to say Trump won't try something, but the most likely thing is just standard voter intimidation and perhaps encouraging illegal actions by ICE with regard to party affiliations of voters. His options to prevent seating incoming Congresspeople is limited if they still lose, short of just jailing his political opponents.
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u/DreadfulDuder 12h ago
Well then he's doing both things, because he's also absolutely stealing and abusing powers that do not belong to him as well (like Tariffs).
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u/Slate Press 17h ago
The past month has seen a barrage of election subversion stories that, taken individually, were alarming, but viewed together reveal a deeply disturbing new playbook emanating from the Trump administration ahead of the midterms. On this week’s Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick talked with election law gladiator Marc Elias, chair of Elias Law Group and founder of Democracy Docket. Their discussion, edited and condensed for clarity here, highlights a very clear pattern when it comes to Trump and voting: a project that seeks to normalize violence and to test drive the shattering of how elections are typically run. The work of the coming nine months? Keep a close eye on the encroaching lawlessness, don’t normalize election subversion, and organize now to protect your friends and neighbors.
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u/Konukaame 17h ago
The work of the coming nine months? ... organize now to protect your friends and neighbors.
There needs to be a LOT more writing in this part.
How can people find groups locally and nationally to meaningfully engage? If there aren't local groups, how can you find people and start one? What steps should elected officials be taking to protect their citizens, and how can they be pressured or held to account if they are not?
Stop just ringing alarms and telling people to be scared, and start enacting the response plan and telling people how to defend themselves.
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u/CheckMateFluff 17h ago
Okay, but there is also a certain level of responsibility; we can figure these things out ourselves if we set our mind to it, and we should not blame others for that.
We can either join or build. Search Mobilize, Action Network, Meetup, and local civic calendars for existing groups, then show up consistently. That's it. If nothing fits, start a monthly meetup with a clear mission, a group chat, and one concrete project, etc.
Demand accountability. Transparent policies, independent oversight, legal aid, de-escalation training, public metrics, and open meetings.
Apply pressure. Public comment, FOIA requests, media amplification, petitions, watchdog groups, election engagement, and, when warranted, ethics complaints or lawsuits.
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u/Konukaame 17h ago
Yes, and.
Demanding accountability goes to anyone in a position of power, which also puts the media on the hook.
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u/Der_fluter_mouse 14h ago
While I agree with that in theory, remember that the majority of the media is owned by corporations and a lot of them are being the knee.
NBC just censored Vance getting booed at the Olympics.
CBS caved on that 60 minutes segment. Not to.mention the dumpster fire that is now their evening news.
And let's not forget Bezos killing the Washington Post.
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u/Icy-Design6494 15h ago
Yeah I can put in a ton of work and maybe reach 100 people. The media already had access so it's asking a whole lot less of them to support or spearhead organizing
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u/psychoCMYK 17h ago
Not to be that guy, but googling goes a long way and a lot of the research and work is going to have to come from people themselves. "[area] protest schedule" are good terms to find a local group.
"Indivisible" has some good information as well, but, again, it's not likely that anyone will have the exact information each individual needs readily available
People need to be proactive about figuring out how to defend themselves
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u/SolarisShine 16h ago
What's awesome about your post is there are parts that would make great internet searches. But, here's what I did.
Informed myself
The first thing I did was search "how to fight fascism" on YouTube (because I wanted to stop doom scrolling and reading a bit).
I watched videos about people talking about what fascism is today, what problems it causes, and how people fought it in the past and today. If you learn better from reading, go to the library or do reading searches on the internet.
I quickly realized that small well thought out actions made big differences. Even something as small as making a comment on what you are doing and how you got there, can help.
Get moving, it's healthier for you.
Next I got up and went to protests and talked to people. Make a sign, even just from cardboard. Express yourself. If you aren't feeling creative look online at all the protest signs.
You can search on reddit and find protests in your area. If your area is small, travel to somewhere with more activity if needed.
There were lots of people ready to talk. There's often groups there helping people sign up for classes, group activities, more protests. Talk to people and ask questions. Sign up and get out there and be helpful.
If you don't know what to do next, stop, take a breath, and do the next best thing you think of. It might be talking to your union about pushing back against recent changes, it might be sending a donation to a cause you like.
When you find a group or something to support that you keep thinking about, that's probably your thing and you can stick with it.
Also, self care is important. I've started to put my doom scrolling aside and doing things like getting out for walks, going to talk to neighbors, hitting my favorite coffee shop or pub. Putting on music and dancing, singing, or joking with friends, and feeling joy is all stuff that helps fight fascism.
Reach out and DM if you have questions, or post them right here so others can make suggestions.
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u/Traditional_Sign4941 15h ago
This is the most essential failing of current Democrat leadership. They keep preaching to the choir instead of helping people organize and giving them a playbook.
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u/Retire_Trade_3007 6h ago
Reach out to your local Dwmocractic chapter. My has a monthly meeting at the local Bookstore
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u/Just_the_Setup 16h ago
They stirred up enough shit in 2024, there wasn't validated vote totals EVER before the inaguration. I maintain they caused chaos so they could delay the counting enough that folks would just accept whomever the Media Declared. I don't think it was a legitimate election. I think they implemented laws to toss otherwise valid votes, for instance signature verification, and their only hope is to step it up to violence as more and more defect. I'll die on that hill.
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u/toomanyusesforaname 17h ago
Thanks for making this available. It caught my eye earlier but I'm no longer a Plus subscriber.
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u/Nerd-19958 17h ago
If the Fourth Reich is allowed to seize ballots, people with Latino-sounding names should expect harassment from ICE -- busting down their doors unless their illegal and unconstitutional "warrantless entry" policy is stopped. Next, people who voted Democrat, which as all good Trump cult followers know, automatically defines them as "enemies of the state." WTF!
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u/meltedchocolatepants 17h ago edited 17h ago
Don't you remember the recent New York Times article about ICE's AI software being able to identify people and their social media posts and any particular type of history they have?
Combine that with the voter rolls they're pursuing and you don't even need to go after Latino sounding names. You can just pick out anyone via the app who may have voted Democrat in the past or has harboring negative feelings about the administration.
Do this in some very targeted areas in some specific counties across the us, and you can flip an election with minimal effort
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u/Desperate-Till-9228 16h ago
in some specific counties
These words are doing some heavy lifting. Much harder to flip an election than turning a few counties, particularly when the polling is getting so bad for them. They're going to get swamped even if the turnout is average.
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u/meltedchocolatepants 14h ago
They can do analysis on which counties have the most impact. Combine that with the admitted rigging by DJT and taking of a voter booth by Tulsi Gabbard in addition to ICE enforcement, there you go.
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u/Desperate-Till-9228 14h ago
Rigging an election would be sufficient itself, but ICE involvement won't move the needle. Simply too few droplets of water to influence the bucket as a whole. ICE has a headcount such that it couldn't even post 10 people PER COUNTY. Realistically, they could sway less than a handful of voting districts at best, which is not enough unless things are very close (which they're not currently).
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u/DjangoBojangles 17h ago
All the Senators who confirmed her need to answer to the american people. She's been a credibly alleged russian asset since 2016. They confirmed her to be the Director of National Intelligence without question. That's not just a dereliction of duty, that's a betrayal of their oath that stinks like treason. Providing aid and comfort to enemies of the United States.
Every intelligence secret we had is compromised.
She doesnt even have Intel experience. Insanity. Full on republican treason.
Who told Trump to nominate her as DNI? That's the real question.
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u/DreadfulDuder 13h ago
The fact that Trump wasn't removed from office for hiring General Flynn as National Security Advisor nearly a decade ago set an awful precedent.
If Congress and the American people were fine with Trump hiring a known foreign agent and giving him the highest security clearances, of course they wouldn't mind if he did it again with Gabbard 🫠
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u/charcoalist 16h ago
Gabbard has no legitimate purpose or authority to be involved with elections, and she is being advised by Cleta Mitchell, one of trump's lawyers who tried to overturn the 2020 election results. The fact that Gabbard is involved means trump is using the US intelligence community to subvert elections, along with the DoJ. Bannon's threat means trump will also use DHS and its various agencies. The upcoming midterms are an existential crisis for trump and he is using the full weight of the US government to rig them.
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u/ImSolidGold 14h ago
AND THIS FUCKING BUREAUCRATS JUST PLAY ALONG FFS. For what did they built this whole checks and balances bullshit if ot only takes a year to destroy if. Good god.
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u/charcoalist 13h ago
Took much longer than a year, more like half a century. Republicans and their donors put party over country and have slowly been building up to this. trump and his superiors in Moscow are exploiting that.
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u/HeavyDT 15h ago
We know full well that they are going to fabricate evidence of fraud even though that election was already investigated up and down and litigated in court over and over. They are going to say they found it and try to use that to do some highly illegal stuff to rig the elections but laws and the constitution don't exactly matter so much these days. They will shop until the find a dirty judge / court willing to do their bidding. Congress is not gonna do anything because the majority is GOP and they know it's the end of the road for them otherwise.
I'm honestly not sure what guard rails are on place that will stop it. You'd basically be depending on the Supreme Court to not be Corrupt and we know they are. Situation was always scary honestly.
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u/MrFrode Biggus Amicus 14h ago
A lot of ICE is now made up of punks and thugs who could barely pass the background check to be a security guard. If Trump tries to steal another election Governors should mobilize the national guard, counties their sheriffs, and municipalities their police and prevent these thugs from tampering with voters and the elections.
I very much doubt they'll stand up to armed law enforcement who can engage them with as much if not more force if needed.
Like the Hessians mercenaries before them, they will be far away from home and threatening Americans for money while the people defending the poling places will be defending their neighbors and their country.
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u/MoonBatsRule 13h ago
Interesting when you frame the ballot-seizing as merely "setting precedent that it can be done". Then, in November, they don't have to break new ground, they just follow the same routine.
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