THE INTERCEPT: Trump’s Trial Run for a Police State, Anas al-Sharif Was My Friend. Here’s Why Israel Feared Him So Much., ICE Agent Caught on Camera Disguised as a Construction Worker, How Investigators Tracked Down the D.C. Plane Crash Video Leaker, Trump’s Use of Troops for Policing Hasn’t Been Seen Since America Was Ruled by a King, Veterans Are “Guinea Pigs” in Trump’s First National Abortion Ban Experiment, New U.S. Report on Israel’s Human Rights Abuses Is 91 Percent Shorter 14AUG25

IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.

What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government. 

This is not hyperbole.

Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.

Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.” 

The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.

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Most Read Trump’s Trial Run for a Police State Radley Balko President Trump’s “federalization” of Washington, D.C., is a test of the limits of his power — and, by extension, of our democracy. Read More → Anas al-Sharif Was My Friend. Here’s Why Israel Feared Him So Much. Ali Ghanim I met Anas during an Israeli siege of a hospital. He grew to be my mentor — and my friend. Read More → Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Be the next person to support The Intercept’s independent journalism by becoming a member today. BECOME A MEMBER → Top Stories ICE Agent Caught on Camera Disguised as a Construction Worker Nick Turse The Intercept confirmed that a federal agent caught on camera wearing a hard hat and safety vest works for ICE. Read More → How Investigators Tracked Down the D.C. Plane Crash Video Leaker Nikita Mazurov, Shawn Musgrave Police reports obtained by The Intercept show how sloppy op-sec led to criminal charges under a squishy state law. Read More → Trump’s Use of Troops for Policing Hasn’t Been Seen Since America Was Ruled by a King Nick Turse “The ability to use the military anywhere, anytime, for any purpose — it’s absolutely unprecedented.” Read More → Veterans Are “Guinea Pigs” in Trump’s First National Abortion Ban Experiment Jessica Washington “They’re testing what they want to do with the rest of the country on us,” one veteran told The Intercept. Read More → New U.S. Report on Israel’s Human Rights Abuses Is 91 Percent Shorter Nick Turse Clocking in at nine whole pages — down from 103 in 2024 — the new State Department human rights report is “functionally useless.” Read More →

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