Far-Left US Government Employees Conspired To Subvert President Trump, Gum Up Bureaucratic Processes, Strike, and Leak To The Media
A network of radical marxist bureaucrats conspired in secret meetings, plotting how to use their official positions inside the US Government to enact their political agenda.
Pictured: Maria J Stephen speaking in a secret zoom call advising hundreds of other federal government employees on tactics to subvert the U.S. governmental in order to advance the groups radical far-left agenda.
Days before the November 2020 election, a secret Zoom meeting took place between a group of subversive Marxists inside the US federal government, military, intelligence community and White House in participation with far-left protest organizations and Union leaders. The topics revolved around two main objectives: 1) Preplanning for potential coup scenarios in the upcoming 2020 election where Trump contests the election due to mail-in ballots or election irregularities; and 2) advising federal workers for tactics on how to covertly subvert the US Government from the inside.
The nearly 2 hour long Zoom meeting was recorded by an infiltrator that was imbedded inside the Sunrise Movement and navigated their way up the left wing affinity group structure.
A Zoom meeting workshop titled "Feds For Democracy" took place on the evening of October 28th, 2020, that was hosted by Democracy Kitchen and Feds For Democracy. The meeting was lead by Laura Adams and Nadine Bloch, with special speakers Maddy Salzman, Maria Stephan, and Sarah Starrett. At its peak, about 150 participants were on the call. Some participants used anonymous names and kept their screens off while others used their full names, had their cameras enabled or photos of themselves visible.
Remember The Names
Although many of the "Feds for Democracy" Zoom call participants had anonymized their names, many did not. Here's a list of those we have identified so far:
Hosts and Speakers
-Laura Adams - USAID, United States Agency for International Development, PHD Sociology,Pact, AAAS
-Nadine Bloch - Direct Action Network, Rukus Society, ShutDown DC, Beautifultrouble.org
-Maria J. Stephan - US Department of State, US Institute of Peace, Council on Foreign Relations, Atlantic Council,
-Maddy Salzman - Department of Energy , Earth Advantage, Inflation Reduction Act, Union
-Sarah Starrett - US Department Of Labor Attorney, AFGE Attorney,
Participants (Identified)
-Jodi Vittori - GeorgeTown Professor, Air Force Lt. Col. , Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, Transparency International, RUSI, NED, Global Witness
-Lara Robb - Analyst - DHS CISA , FDA
-Joseph "Chip" Hughes - US Department Of Labor, NIEHS
-Robert Schafer - Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Presidential Management DHS, HHS, U.S. Department of Defense, National Security Council, Law Clerk Senate Judiciary Committee
-Barabara Dale - Brookings Institute
-Neil Levine - USAID, DRG Center, Legislative Assistant (D) Ed Feighan, NationalDefense University , Director of the Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation, Effective Institution Platform Project, Center for Excellence on Democracy,
-Benjamin Abrams - Rise Of The Masses, Political Sociologist UCL, Contention, ECPR
-Annie Danger - Democracy At Work Institute, Trans Porn Star *GRAPHIC*, Game Theory Art, Abolitionist Visions, Interview, Resistance Artist
-Adam Hasz- Department of Energy, MIT, SustainUS, NexGen Climate
-Joel Richard - Smithsonian (Lead Web Developer), DLF Forum
-Tim Nafziger - Congruity Works, Ojai Valley Green Coalition, Watershed Discipleship, Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ)
-Chris Dols - Army Corps Of Engineers, IFPTE Local 98 Union President
-Heriberto Leon - EPA, University of Houston Dean, Loyola University Dean
-Andrea Crooms - Senior Advisor EERE, DC Water Board Member, Prince George’s County Department of the Environment,
-Michael Beer - Non-Violence International, Peace Brigade International, ACC, Federation, Task Force in Governance and Election Reform, TiGER,
-Margaret Alkon - Assistance Regional Council EPA,
-Tiana Litwak - US Dept. of Agriculture, Litwak Illustration , American Society For Collective Rights, Smithsonian Institute Illustrator
-Charles Paidock - GSA, NFFE, Independent Voters of Illinois, War Resisters League, Chicago Greens, National Federation of Federal Employees, Citizens Taking Action,
-Bill Ragen - Service Employees International Union, ShutDown DC
-Shavondalyn Givens - DEI (ESG), NASA (DEI), ACLU,
-Rosarie Tucci - USAID, US Institute of Peace, Obama National Security Council/Executive Office, UNICEF, United Nations
Elizabeth Wieand - US Dep. HHS, PFRH, The National Abortion Federation,
Rachel Goldstein- Energy Innovation, 350.org, Solar Energy Industries Association, Green Corps
Participants (Identities Not Confirmed)
Some participants didn't have legible pictures/video present on the Zoom call, therefore, we cant positively confirm their identities. When you see "Possible Match" these are people we found with the same name that fit the profile, however, we are not making a claim that the "Possible Match" was verified present in the Zoom call. Further investigation requiring forensics and subpoenas is neccessary to accurately identify the following participants.
-Jordan Hibbs - (Possible Match) National Security, Nuclear Energy, DOE
-Olivia Pope - (Possible Match) "Political Analyst, AFLCIO"
-Kit Bonson - (Possible Match) Senior Pharmacologist, FDA
-Jonathan Krall - (Possible Match) Naval Research Physicist , Activist
-Mandy Ranslow - (Possible Match) Department of Transportation
-Erin Clancy - (Possible Match) Atlantic Council, Department of State, UN, CFR, SOS
-Sara Matthiesen - (Possible Match) Assistant Professor, Author, Liberal Activist
-Saul Schniderman - (Possible Match) Labor Heritage Foundation, AFSCME Local 1072
-Susan Kerbel - (Possible Match) Political Analyst AFLCIO
-Josh (alias Komrade Lokh) - (Possible Match) USAID, Medium
-Molly B (National Security for 28 yrs)
-Sarah K Harper
-Susan Kerbel
-Lola Bailey
-Tyler Garavag...
-Debbie Paul
-Jeff Eagen
-Daniel Schramm
-Maura Anne
-Garrett Powers
-Charles AFLCIO
*Many other participants used an anonymous alias. Over 140 participants were in the Zoom call.
"Feds For Democracy" Zoom Call
Group Norms and Expectations
Nadine Bloch discusses security of the meeting "this is not being broadcasted anywhere".
"First of all, what's learned in the room can leave with you, but what is said in the room stays in the room." "And finally, this meeting is off the record. Recording is not permitted." -Maddy Salzman
Workshop Objectives
"We have two main objectives, to explore options for defending democracy in the federal workplace in the event that Trump attempts to steal the election. And then the second objective, very much linked to that one, is that you will leave the workshop with some next steps to prepare for different post-election scenarios and with actions and tactics that you feel comfortable employing in those scenarios. So in other words, this is somewhat of a sort of information sharing, but then also very much an action planning event.." -Maddy Salzman
Safety
"..If you're talking about actions that you might take yourself, I encourage folks to speak hypothetically. If someone were considering doing X, what might the problems be? That way there's no implication that that's actually something that you've said you're going to do. Just keep things hypothetical. And then, if a discussion emerges, especially in the breakout group of some very specific actions that you want to take or something that might be higher risk for people in your group, definitely get each other's contact information and form a signal group to talk about that. Signal's an app that's very secure and encryption. It's a good way to communicate about anything that you wouldn't want to get out that might get you in trouble with your boss. So take those discussions offline." -Maddy Salzman
Icebreaker "Chat Storm "
"We're going to do what's called a chat storm, where you type something in the chat box, but you don't hit enter until I say go." "what's one thing you hope to get out of this call, or what's one thing you want to come away from this call with." -Laura Adam
"A lot of folks looking for solidarity, camaraderie, hope, protection, like-minded people." -Laura Adams
Chat transcript
Speaker Maddy Salzman
"My name is Maddie. I'm a management and programs analyst in a federal agency. I'm also a union member." -Maddy Salzman
The Election Is At Risk
"So high level issue, the election is at risk. This is due to a number of factors. Donald Trump has not committed to a peaceful transfer of power. Instead, there's been significant fear mongering about risks associated with mail-in ballots, which has been rampant. The election results are unlikely to be finalized on November 3rd, which is perhaps different than what we're used to in previous years. there will likely be disagreements about which ballots should be thrown away and for what reason. We've seen lots of court cases happening in this, in many swing states around the country. And there's a chance that certain decisions around the election will take place in the courts." -Maddy Salzman
"He's (Trump's) complaining about the ballots, "the ballots are a disaster, get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very peaceful, there won't be a transfer, frankly, there will be a continuation. And "if it's a fair election, he's on board, but if he sees that ballots are being manipulated, I (Trump) can't go along with that, and that means you have a fraudulent election". And this is really just setting up the ideas around, well, who is saying ballots are manipulated and in what ways. And there's a quote that maybe one of the next speakers will talk about where when an authoritarian says something, you should believe them." -Maddy Salzman
Thwarting A Coup Isn't A Coup
Maddy Salzman makes the case that Trump will act as an authoritarian and refuse to except the election results and a peaceful transfer of power despite previously reading a quote from President Trump saying that he's "100% on board" in accepting the results in a free and fair election. According to her, if Trump so much as contests the election, it's a coup d'état. She also presents the idea that if every ballot isn't counted, its a coup d'état. This is a fallacy because "every ballot" may not be a "legal ballot" and thus shouldn't be counted for the election to be truly be free and fair. And at his point in time President Trump hasn't contested the election because it hasn't happened yet.
"I also wanna be upfront that it is a coup to refuse to honor the results of a free and fair election. It is not a coup to act against a government or officials who are trying to prevent a legitimate transfer of power. We believe that every vote must count, we must count every vote, and we must take action to protect democracy. Thwarting a coup is not the same thing as a coup, it's protecting democracy. There's going to be a lot of narratives around what is happening, what should be happening, what do things mean, and I think it's really important to be centered in what any of us know is right." -Maddy Salzman
We Have Power & Responsibility
"We have power and responsibility as federal workers." "..rules have meaning because we decide they do, we decide to enforce them." -Maddy Salzman
"The rest of the country looks to people like us in roles of kind of the norm to look at what is normal and allowable, and we can help shape a public opinion on what is right." -Maddy Salzman
"One important aspect is to think about what are the tactics you should take depending on your role. There's different types of roles in the federal government, and that means that there's different roles that could be appropriate for you to take." -Maddy Salzman
"We should continue conversations on direct action and how we can stand in solidarity with others, especially protestors in other communities." -Maddy Salzman
"There's things we can't do on our work hours, but taking leave means you are not on your work hours. Taking leave gives you the flexibility and the possibility to be involved in other activities that are going on." -Maddy Salzman
Maria Stephan
"It is really great to be with you all in solidarity during this critical junction for our country." -Maria Stephan
"I've spent the past two decades focused on what Representative John Lewis referred to as good trouble, notably how people can use nonviolent action or people power. to advance rights, freedoms, and democracy. I have studied as an academic and as a researcher dynamics of authoritarianism, how authoritarians around the world have attempted to steal elections. And I've also focused on when and why movements for democracy have succeeded. At the same time, I have worked in the US government. I worked in the State Department for over five years." - Maria Stephan
The cover of "Why Civil Resistance Works", co authored by Maria Stephen, features an illustration depicting a communist red fist hidden inside a hand doing a peace sign.
Gene Sharp
"I want to start with this quote by Gene Sharp, who's one of the pioneers in the field of nonviolent action, just to get a little bit on what power you all have as individuals and as federal workers." - Maria Stephan
So Gene Sharp said in the politics of nonviolent action, "By themselves, rulers cannot collect taxes, enforce repressive laws and regulations, keep trains running on time, prepare national budgets, direct traffic, manage ports, print money. repair roads, keep markets supplied with food, make steel, build rockets, train the police and the army, issue postage stamps, or even milk a cow. People provide these services to the ruler through a variety of organizations and institutions. If people would stop providing these skills, the ruler could not rule. - Maria Stephan
Feds Have Power
"President Harry S. Truman famously said, I thought I was the president, but when it comes to these bureaucrats, I can't do a damn thing. So the bottom line with this is that we all as ordinary people and as federal workers have power." -Maria Stephan
Who is Watch Gene Sharp? "How To Start a Revolution" Full Video
Gene Sharp (1928-2018) was the world’s foremost expert on nonviolent revolution and has been described as the “Machiavelli of nonviolence.
Subverting the "Pillars Of Support"
"Power is actually dispersed across society and concentrated in what we refer to as "Pillars Of Support". - Maria Stephan
"If people in these "Pillars Of Support" withhold or deny their consent and cooperation, meaning they stop obeying, they stop cooperating, and they engage in protests, boycotts, strikes, a whole host of other nonviolent tactics that if masses of people engage in non-cooperation, no ruler can stay in power even if they really want to, and even if they use a lot of repression. And ultimately, this is how civil resistance has removed even dictators from power in places like the Philippines, Serbia, Ukraine, Sudan, other places around the world. - Maria Stephan
"But as you go out to those outer rings, people are going to have less loyalty to the center, to the power holder. And these people are really key allies. And ultimately, the goal in effective people power is to bring people over to your side, to get them to shift loyalties, to get them to move from the center to the outside. -Maria Stephan
" Bureaucracy is a really powerful pillar. And federal workers have unparalleled familiarity with the bureaucratic process. They know how to speed things up. They know how to slow them down. They have access to critical information about policies that are being considered and implemented. They can participate in an internal decision making. They can provide or deny knowledge and expertise that those at the top of the bureaucratic totem pole need essentially." -Maria Stephan
Acts of Commission and Omission
Acts of Commission:
-Ask Questions
"An act of commission would be, you know, as federal workers asking very specific questions, exerting your voice in the workplace, joining with colleagues to make the case for why something may be illegal or unethical." -Maria Stephan
-Wearing Symbols
"Another act of commission is the wearing of symbols, which seems like, you know, a small or a minor thing, but it's actually really powerful. when lots of people are showing unity and solidarity by wearing symbols. Symbols can be nonpartisan, they can be pro-democracy. And part of me thinks that symbols may be an important way for feds to show support and solidarity around democracy and the integrity of our election or after November 3rd. " -=Maria Stephan
Sarah shows how BLM attire is considered a safe non-partisan symbol to wear to show unity in the federal workplace. Black Lives Matter is almost exclusively a leftist organization that campaigns for democratic political policies.
Feds For BLM
"I'm wearing a shirt that I think is acceptable under the Hatch Act. Vote like Black Lives Matter. I would wear something like this and I think you'd be okay wearing that on the job." -Sarah Starrett
-Create Paper Trail
"Another act of commission is creating a paper trail." - Maria Stephan
-Leaking (high risk)
"And another act of commission, albeit highly risky, and there are a number of great downsides, is leaking. So leaking information about pending or actual policies with journalists, with activists, influential people on the outside. But this really should be used very judiciously, only on truly significant matters, because most disclosures outside of formal internal whistleblowing are at minimum. a violation of contractual duty and they may put leakers at significant legal risk. And of course, if information is classified, employees can be fired or criminally prosecuted as Sarah may talk a little bit about." - Maria Stephan
"Leak Everything You Can"
"I just recommend everyone who works in the federal government, if you read the mainstream press, like who is covering your agency, who is working for ProPublica, who is working for Politico. They all have signal accounts. Text them, leak everything you can, save your emails. Record. I record these meetings. I send it over. And I can't believe I'm showing my face here, but I've been doing this for months. -Komrade Lokh
-Create Parallel Structures/Self-Organizing Units
"Another act of commission is creating parallel structures or self organizing units. So organizing in the workplace." - Maria Stephan
Acts Of Omission
"Acts of omission, meaning things that you don't do, that you're expected to do, or that you're being asked to do. - Maria Stephan
-Go Slow
"Another act of omission is going slow or slow down. So basically people, bureaucrats, federal workers performing their duties at a foot dragging pace, which is less likely to attract attention than an overt strike. And it has been used in a number of different cases." - Maria Stephan
-Strike or Walkout
"Another, a higher risk effort would be a labor strike or a walkout, would likely be illegal. But it's kind of a high risk, high impact, a nonviolent action that federal workers can take if they deem it necessary. -Maria Stephan
A Combination of Tactics
"I understand that it's important to refuse to " let the trains run on time", for those who aren't able to strike. What would that look like in practical terms. What does it look like in practical terms to you know, to slow the gears down in some ways or another?" -Nadine Bloch
"At the Department of Labor, it takes the form of several rounds of the cost benefit analysis for a new regulation. And when the numbers were, when people were cheating on the numbers, a copy of that draft got leaked to the data labor report and it got published and it got sent to a congressperson. And the Office of Inspector General opened an investigation on who was cheating on the numbers. So again, that's sort of a combination of tactics. It's making really the paper trail. It's making sure that that document got out to someone who could make use of it. And then Congress getting the Office of Inspector General involved. It was really a way to stop that thing just in its tracks. And it worked really well. But it was a coordinated effort by a lot of people." -Sarah Starrett
Inside Outside Strategy
"The importance of self organizing with colleagues from within the same bureau and across government agencies, which can help build trust and confidence as federal workers are having to navigate a really difficult terrain together. Connecting with civic groups and organizations on the outside and having frank and honest conversations with them. And when you think about it, the legal support and advocacy work of civil society organizations could come in really in handy, you know, if and when you have to take certain actions on the inside." -Maria Stephan
Sarah Starrett
"I have to say, as an attorney in the federal government, I am finding the chat suggestions very interesting. And I just do want to remind people that we lose our status as federal employees if we strike. But as my sister Sarah Harper pointed out, we could do an informational picket at lunchtime. So there are things you can do that will get you visibility. If you do them carefully and you do them at lunchtime, you probably won't get fired. So that would be my sort of initial thing is probably don't get fired like right away unless you're ready to quit your job. If you're ready to quit your job, you know, that's a whole other thing." -Sarah Starrett
Do's and Dont's
Sarah Starrett, an attorney for the US Federal Government weighs in on federal workers using risky actions and how to be covert in applying tactics and actions to evade getting fired.
"I just want to go through some real quick do's and don'ts. I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney. This is not legal advice. Do not say, Sarah told me to do this, so it was okay. All right, I will deny that I ever said it. So just be aware, those of you who know me already, you should always get legal advice if you're going to take a risky action. And you can probably talk to a union or a whistleblower agency or a... private lawyer, get some ideas maybe from Nadine or Laura, just run it by somebody before you do anything that's gonna get you fired. At least at this point in time, I'm feeling very vulnerable as a federal worker, so I just really don't wanna get us all fired like the first day." -Sarah Starrett
"If you're on your lunch hour and you want to go across the street and call your congressman using your personal cell phone, or if you want to contact a whistleblower or a public interest group or, you know, send an email or sign a petition or do anything that you want to do that you think is important to do, you could do it on your lunch hour, you could do it before or after work, but not while you're getting paid by the federal government. Most feds, and not all feds, maybe some people in this meeting that can't do this because you're in a special category, but if you are, If you're national security or armed services or whoever, you know who you are." -Sarah Starrett
"In terms of the go slow approach is in my experience when we had the last transition in the last three months after the election was over and before the new president took office, there was an enormous amount of work that was done on an incredibly fast pace in my agency to try and get things out, to get regulations out, to get guidance documents out, to finish policies, to try and put things in stone so that the new administration could not change them back. And that's an area where, in the legal department where I work, sometimes corners were cut, which is just really, really bad. And sometimes we got sued over those things and very often those actions got overturned. So it's perfectly okay to say to your boss, I think this needs some more work. I think this needs some more thought, you know, drafting memos, circulating questions, you know, raising issues. Because even if some terrible things happen in the next three months, there may be a new administration and a new Congress that may try to reverse some of these actions. So if we do have a good paper trail, it really helps.
"If you're being monitored and your supervisor is harassing you, you just need to be really careful because if they want to try to get rid of you, they can say, if you falsified your leave or you did something you weren't supposed to do, and you have to be really careful." -Sarah Starrett
Trumps Schedule F Executive Order
Schedule F stems from a Trump Executive Order (no longer in effect) in which tens of thousands of civil servants who serve in roles deemed to have some influence over policy would be reassigned as "Schedule F" employees. These employees would lose their employment and union protections upon re-assignment, making them functionally at-will employees and therefore far easier to fire. Further, Schedule F would require loyalty to the President.
"It's terrible. It's horrible in every way, but we don't really know how broad the impact is going to be. It's going to take some time to figure out how broadly they're going to try to attack us. We just don't know yet." -Sarah Starrett
"The executive order calls for a list of recommended positions for becoming Schedule F employees to be delivered to OMB by January 19th and it's just a preliminary list. So my general thought is....it is relevant if the president remains the official president on January 20th. I think in a world where; that isn't happening. I don't think it's relevant." -Maddy Salzman
Civil Disobedience "On My Own Time"
Q:
"So there's a question about regarding civil disobedience and getting peacefully arrested on my own time. Is this a danger to my job? -Nadine Bloch
A:
"Yes you can be fired if you are arrested and if you're convicted of a crime. For example if you blockade a federal building thats a federal crime and you can be fired for committing such a crime, you know, that is certainly possible. It's not a guaranteed. And they can also search your desk and search your computer and you can be subject to some serious harassment. - Sarah Starrett
A:
"I'll jump in as a federal employee who did risk arrest, although at that point I was a contractor. I never had a high level security clearance, but I passed my low level security clearances multiple times and I had been at that point an activist for 30 plus years with a number of arrests that I couldn't actually calculate. I don't know that I could have gotten a job in state or DOD, but that's definitely not a wide, it's very particular, right? To the job that you're applying for and the agency that you're working in and the kind and type of arrests that you take. I would really recommend staying away from felony charges, for example, but whether or not you do a misdemeanor or an infraction on federal property or on public property really doesn't affect most of the jobs." -Nadine Bloch
What If Trump Wins?
Q:
"Another question I saw." I have a job that includes offering informed judgment on different matters and mentioning that there's a possible change of administration and we need to consider that possibility would be considered a normal part of my job. I can see some political appointees reacting badly to that, but it's not against the rules if it's framed in that context." Does anybody want to comment? There was also a comment about how people might stay away from that because political appointees would react badly, but is there anything illegal about it? Is there a problem with that? Any comments? -Nadine Bloch
A:
"I don't think it's illegal, You're just raising a policy question. I mean, one of the things that we deal with all the time is, if we do this, will we get sued? Who will sue us? And what will be the arguments that they make? So we have to try to make sure what we do is not arbitrary and capricious. And so if we fail to consider all the aspects of a problem, it's arbitrary and capricious. So that's part of the job is just sort of calculate what's going on and react, offer options anyway to react to it." -Sarah Starrett
Q:
"I understand the emphasis on preparing for a scenario where Trump refuses to accept a defeat, but I'm honestly more afraid of him just outright winning. How do we prepare for that?" -Nadine Bloch
A:
"I'm putting my head in the sand on that one. I refuse to accept the possibility." -Sarah Starrett
Calling It A Coup.
"I think making sure that we're naming what is happening as a coup in different language and communications with coworkers will be really important". -Laura Robb
"I work on a project where I'm, interacting on a daily basis with our politicals and starting to call into question if we're in the midst of a coup, should we even be listening to our politicals because they are not here legitimately anymore." - Elizabeth Wieand
"If there's a Biden win next week, there's gonna be a transition team coming in and I think I'm gonna be spending a lot of time working with them because I know, and I was around during the last transition," - Komrade Lokh
"Look like I'm gonna have to shut out the current political appointees and go to the transition team and be like, This is, you know, I'm looking ahead to the future. This is our work". -Komrade Lokh
"I was gonna say like, yes, they do need computers and stuff, but like, right now there are no doors. Like how do you get them to Zoom logins or how do you start?" -Elizabeth Wieand
"We can make those determinations ourselves. We, you know, they say you're gonna keep your account and we're gonna start and we're like, I don't know, we're like the Lithuanian government in exile or something. We're gonna, and then we're gonna start working with them." - Kamrade Lokh
"I think it's almost like definitely a risk factor, but if there's a contested election and it's fairly clear to us who won, we get to choose who the leader is." -Rachel Goldstein
"I think that is a point where you and your team and your supervisors and those non-appointee, like, I'm sorry, what's the term, career staff can actually decide, well, according to our understanding, Biden won. And therefore, we are listening to his appointees and his transition team." -Rachel Goldstein
Poll Workers
"OPM has sent out a memo saying that they encourage all federal employees to help out at the polls in a non-partisan capacity and they're offering eight hours of administrative leave for anyone who wants to do that clearly, if you're going to do it in a partisan capacity, you need to take annual leave." -Sara Starrett
"And also to the person who said they're a poll worker, are we allowed to get paid as poll workers or do we have to report that income to our employers? Anybody know that? We don't give tax advice, but if you're getting paid by the federal government on administrative leave, you can't also accept payment as a poll worker. It's one or the other." -Sarah Starrett
"I've been doing a lot of voter protection, election protection hotline volunteer activity in the last month or so. And if I'm doing it for a nonpartisan civil rights group like the Lawyers Committee, then I can get leave to do it and I can still get paid. I can do it as a pro bono activity for the federal government. But if I'm working for the Biden campaign doing the exact same thing, I cannot because that is partisan, partisan political activity. So that's really what the Hatch Act does is it sets up a very bright line between partisan political activity, which you cannot do in the workplace or on federal property or during duty hours. But you can do on your own time. So if you're on annual leave, for example." -Sarah Starrett
Break-Out Room Topics: 3 Scenarios
All scenarios assume that in the week after the election either there is no clear winner or that Trump is denying that he lost.
Facilitator Rachel Goldstein
"My name's Rachel. As I mentioned, I'm not in an agency. I'm not a fed. I work on renewable energy, and I'm pretty involved in coordinating some work with ShutDown DC and a couple of other ways to defend democracy after the election."
Joel Richardson
"My name is Joel. I'm not part of the executive branch. I'm one of those quasi -government things that reports directly to Congress. So in some respects, my job is maybe a little safer, but I want to learn what's going on in other agencies and how I can support."
Laura Robb
"Hey guys, my name is Laura. I am also a federal contractor rather than a federal employee. I spent three and a half years as a contractor at DHS HQ, which then became CISA, the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency. And I've... recently finished that contract and I just started at the FDA. So I still have connections to the Fed team that I worked with at DHS. And I now have a very large network of FDA employees. And so I'm just sort of looking to see what behaviors I can model for my Fed clients and ways that I can be supportive of them. and just sort of how can I make suggestions to anybody who expresses to me that they want to do something but don't know what that would be to be helpful.?
Josh "Komrade Lokh
"I'm Josh. It's nice to meet you all. I'm a federal employee for almost five years now. It's not my life. I had a career before it and will probably soon start a new one outside of the federal government. I don't know what else. I should say at this point, except for that I am seeing a lot of abuse happening right now. And, you know, I've gotten into a little bit of trouble myself."
Molly B.
"I'm Molly. And I've been a federal employee in a couple of different services for about 28 years and I work in the National Security community and I just, I tell people that my oath to the constitution is about the only thing I've managed to be faithful to for my entire life. And I am just really nervous about what's gonna happen."
BAU (she/her)
"Hi guys, I am B -A -U -She/Her pronouns. I am not currently a federal worker, however I am in the process of searching for a new job and have been applying to a lot of federal jobs. So I figured, you know, be prepared before I get into it rather than having to figure it out afterwards. And I also do a lot of work with Shutdown DC and other groups."
"Amy" AKA Elizabeth Wieand
"I'm Amy. I work in a, I am a federal employee and have only been in bed for the last 18 months or so and have had some conversations with my other coworkers expressing some concern about what's going to happen next week. So wanted to come here today in part to be a conduit for information kind of along the lines of B and also just sort of channel some of my nervous energy around everything."
Facilitators
Facilitators recruit and host secret meetings with government employees to be used for their official capacities to advance the radical political agendas of the collective.
"Facilitators Guide For Federal Employee Activism Workshop"
This guide was distributed inside their Movement Resources Google doc.
"We are have I think 19 or so facilitators who are designed to lead to help lead these breakouts" -Nadine Bloch
Affinity Groups and the Role of Facilitators
This document was found inside the actions "Movement Resources" document.
Facilitators Summarize Their BreakOut Room Discussions
"Yeah, we focused on the scenario, two, purge of disloyal civil servants and there was a lot of really good ideas about ways to just slow things down and use bureaucracy as part of that slow down. -Tim Nafziger
"There was also a lot of talking about bureaucratic slowdown, especially pairing bureaucratic slowdown with vacation with sick time. And then also a lot of talk about like immediately expanding the circle of coworkers you're talking with about like generally legal and democratic things. And then also like some people were like, I might already refuse a note in the form of very politely being like, I respect the oath I've already taken, I am here for the constitution and this democracy, good day. And then everyone agreed that snitches should not exist." -Annie Danger
"We really focused on coordinating with people you know, because it's a lot harder to get people, if everyone is refusing, it's harder to get everyone to have to sign in, right? It's much harder if you feel like you're all alone and you might feel like you're not supported. So kind of building that coalition." - "Jane Doe" alias
The first was making use of existing workplace organizing to stand up to managers and dictate's from political appointees, be they in DC or in the regional offices, and potentially drawing on union power to do that. In contexts where there weren't the same strong union links, we thought that we could also have simple conversations with coworkers, and build small groups to amplify concerns and kind of our messaging with others, using things like coffee meetups and non-work contexts to make sure there wasn't any Hatch Act issues because we wouldn't be on government time. We also thought it would be useful to draw on groups of really committed civil servants who already have strong ties and continue to share outside of work" -Benjamin Abrams
Activism Resources For Federal Workers Guide
"So we really do encourage people to start by researching your options, learning what they mean and understanding the risk levels and preparing to get support for those particular risk levels. And that's where the federal guide that we mentioned, it can be quite helpful for those of you who will be in the administration no matter who is elected." -Nadine Bloch
This document titled "Activism Resources For Federal Employees Guide" was shared at the end of the meeting.
"There's a lot about still a lot of chatter about arrests. It is really true that you need to talk to local lawyers and in particular lawyers that are really clear about your particular agency's rules and regulations. Yeah, that's just the way it is. If you would like to be connected to local lawyers, you can let us know. We have incredibly good activist lawyers locally. But also, you can go to your agency lawyers." -Nadine Bloch
FULL 2 Hour Zoom Call:
--------------------------------END Of CALL---------------------------------
Violations of Law?
Leaking
18 U.S. Code § 798 - Disclosure of classified information
Slowing Down or Gumming Up Bureaucratic Processes
923. 18 U.S.C. § 371—Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, creates an offense "[i]f two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose.
Strikes
The law, specifically, 5 U.S.C. §7311, specifies that federal employees may not participate in a strike, assert the right to strike, or even belong to a union that “asserts the right to strike against the government of the United States.” Driving the point home, 18 U.S.C. §1918 makes it a felony to strike against the United States or belong to a union that asserts the right to strike against the United States. What’s more, the Office of Personnel Management can declare an individual who participates in a strike unsuitable for federal employment. Forever.
Hatch Act
-May not use official authority to interfere with an election of while engaged in political activity
-May not invite subordinate employees to political activity of any person with business before the agency
-May not knowingly solicit or discourage the political activity of any person with business before the agency
-May not engage in political activity while on duty, in the workplace, wearing uniform or official insignia, or in a government vehicle.
-May not wear, display, or distribute partisan materials or items
-May not perform campaign related chores
Subverting Trump From The Jump
Subversion against President Donald Trump is nothing new for this group of rouge federal bureaucrats, in fact, their own internal documents evidence that they began their subversive activities shortly after Trump was elected. The DC swamp of federal bureaucrats, many of whom were brought in during the Obama Administration, were already preparing to resist Trump and undermine his Presidency. Federal workers relied on the help and organizing power of left wing organizations like ShutDown DC, Democracy Kitchen, Sunrise Movement, Unions, Momentum and a variety of other affinity group appendages. One could think of this as the body of an octopus with many tentacles coalescing at the center.
Google Doc's were made very useful in the organizational communication and dissemination of guides and instructions for subverting the Office of The Presidency from the beginning. A document titled "Federal Service Articles" linked inside the "Activism Resources for Federal Workers Guide" was circulated by the group. Starting November 9th, News articles related to federal service under the new administration were cited with a brief below offering instruction or key insight for Federal workers to utilize in their efforts to subvert Donald Trumps transition into the Presidency and thwarting his administrations policies.
Some highlights from the "Federal Service Articles" document include:
View the Full document:
Interfering In The 2020 Election
In the months leading up to the 2020, Democrats took an entirely novel strategy in their efforts to secure a Biden Presidency. They poured all their efforts into online organizing utilizing Zoom and recruitment for volunteer activities to "Get Out The Vote". They heavily emphasized the importance that mail-in ballots would play in the 2020 Presidential election due to the Pandemic.
The elderly population has long since took upon themselves to patriotic citizens duty of working the elections and assuming poll worker positions. As the election approached, media began circulating articles telling the elderly not to participate in the 2020 election and to stay home for the safety of their health. This created a shortage of volunteers to count the vote. Meanwhile, anti-Trump organizations were directing their members to participate participate in what appears to be election rigging efforts. A document titled "Grass Roots Emergency Election Protection Trifecta Action Guide" By Harvey Wasserman was inside the groups "Movement Resources".
Movement Resources
Inside view of "Movement Resources" - bold lines are links to websites or more internal documents
Grass Roots Emergency Election Protection Trifecta Action Guide"
-PILLAR ONE: VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS
-PILLAR TWO: VOTE BY MAIL
-PILLAR THREE: COUNTING & RECOUNTING THE BALLOTS
Download Full Document: Grassroots Emergency Election Protection Trifecta Action Guide
Elections Admin State Of Play 8.18.20
A 29 page document was shared in the groups "Movement Resources" outlining mail-in ballot margins in key swing states, the status on ballot drop boxes, mobile voting, vote-by-mail rejection rates, projected provisionals and election laws/litigation status.
Full Document: Elections Admin State Of Play 8.18.20:
Some Election related resources they were directing their members to:
-How to be a Poll Worker -- Poll Hero
-Votewell -- CTZN Well
-INFOGRAPHIC: Key Dates (ShutDownDC/P. Young)
Election Deadlines:
-Nine Critical Counties -- Patrick Young/ShutDownDC
-Fair Fight -- Stacy Abrams
Scenario Exercises
Several internal documents inside the Movement Resources evidence pre-planning for 2020 election scenarios with an underlying bias theme against President Trump. The rhetoric, clearly meant to be distributed to foot soldiers, paints Trump as an authoritarian that will refuse to accept a loss and will refuse to leave office. They make sure to repeatedly lay their talking points out to "Call It A Coup', if Trump contests the election or tries to prevent every ballot from being counted. It's important to note, contesting an election is completely legal and has been done in the past many times.
Transition Integrity Project
"In June 2020 the Transition Integrity Project (TIP) convened a bipartisan group of over 100 current and former senior government and campaign leaders and other experts in a series of 2020 election crisis scenario planning exercises. The results of all four table-top exercises were alarming. We assess with a high degree of likelihood that November’s elections will be marked by a chaotic legal and political landscape. We also assess that the President Trump is likely to contest the result by both legal and extra-legal means, in an attempt to hold onto power." -Transition Integrity Project Document
Download The Document: Preventing a Disrupted Presidential Election and Transition
Hold The Line
This internally shared document lays out three election scenarios. All of their scenarios have the same bias theme of Trump stealing the election. Scenario 2, which predicts an election night Trump victory with ambiguous election results and significant election irregularities and/or signs of tampering, matches what happened in the 2020 election with an eire accuracy. In this scenario they worry that Trump could launch an investigation into the Democrat Party and the Biden Campaign and seek to halt vote counts by court order.
Taking Over The Capitol On J6
In the document The Count specific actions are spelled out to prevent Trump from receiving the 270 Electoral College vote count in a Constitutional Crisis in the even of a contested election. The fear was that if neither Joe Biden nor Trump could receive 270 electoral votes then it would roll over into a process where one vote per state votes on the 46th President of the United States. In this scenario they calculated given the political allegences of states that Trump would win and become the next President. They would not accept this possibility and so they planned to disrupt the electoral vote count at the Capitol building on January 6th by taking over the building.
The Count - Page 36
The Count
Written by:
Becky Bond- senior advisor of Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, Real Justice Pac
Zack Malitz- digital organizing director Bernie 2016, Beto For Texas, Real Justice Pac
Brandon Evans- Democratic strategist, Real Justice PAC
Download: The Count
ShutDown DC hosted a Zoom meeting with allied affinity groups discussing the civil disobedience in the upcoming election. They circulated a detailed ARCGis map of their targets. Their main target, which they had outlined in red, was the U.S. Capitol building.
Everything that were doing now is laying the ground work for whats to come. -Lisa Fithia
The Investigation Back-Story
Investigative journalist Millie Weaver conducted an investigation into a leftist climate change protest group called Sunrise Movement prior to the 2020 election. She directed an infiltration effort that began in early 2019 when Democrats began early campaigning and Bernie Sanders was endorsed by the Sunrise Movement. It appeared there were close ties between the Sanders campaign and the youth led climate movement that warranted further investigation. The infiltration effort was successful and Weaver had her infiltrator inside the organization and as time went on they were able to work their way higher up into the groups which allowed for more access into special meetings, document hubs, signal chats, Slack chats etc.
As the infiltrator assumed different alias' and played the part of an eager leftist they made sure to collect documents, record Zoom meetings, and document the participants private message groups. The biggest revelation was that the Sunrise Movement was seemingly just one spoke on a giant wheel of leftist affinity groups that, while appearing entirely separate to the public eye, actually worked closely and cross organized in a horizontal structure. Go between organizations like Momentum which offer training and support to leftist movement organizers, guide affinity protest groups into a unified and well organized front. The investigation soon became much bigger than just looking into the Sunrise Movement and instead it because studying the entire left wing affinity group structure and how they coordinate together.
More Fruits Of The Investigation - Shady Operations
Featuring AOC
After over a year on the inside, the infiltrator was invited to meetings that were more secretive in nature. The meetings varied in movement hosts and topics but they all had to same goal in strategizing for the enactment of left wing agendas, ideologies, and policies. In one Zoom call Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a special appearance thanking Sunrise leadership for leading systemic change in relation to the George Floyd riots.
Pictured:(D) Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Varshni Prakash (Sunrise Movement co-founder) , Day Bradshaw (Former U.N. Intern & Sunrise Movement Coordinator), and Catherine Flowers ( climate justice activist turned White House Biden appointee).
Encouraging Riots and Burning Buildings
Around the same time, in a separate Sunrise Zoom meeting protest activists instructed participants during the George Floyd riots that "what we are seeing is not just chaos, what we are seeing is resistance and organizing and what we know is that uprisings, including actions like burning buildings are legitimate and powerful forms of resistance" during the George Floyd riots. Ashley Greene a BLM activist, celebrated the burning of the police station in the Minneapolis riots.
Watch Video: Sunrise Encouraging Riots Zoom Call - clip
Building Power With #MeToo Leverage Against Joe Biden
In another Zoom meeting leftists strategized ways to build power off of the many #MeToo sexual assault claims of several participants on the call. Some participants told their #MeToo stories and claimed to be victims that were sexually assaulted by high level Democrats and one specifically claimed she was sexually assaulted by Joe Biden. The consensus in the meeting was to refrain from coming out publicly with their #MeToo stories, but instead, for their claims to be used to build power and to be used as leverage on Joe Biden once he gets in office.
Sofie Karasek , a Sunrise Movement Communications Strategist, is an American advocate for women's rights and the fight against sexual assault. She alleges in an internal post and in a Sunrise Movement Zoom call that she was sexually assaulted by the Presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Watch Video: Biden #MeToo Allegations- clip
Sunrise internal post "from Sofie Karasek"
Pictured featured in Washington Post OP-Ed cited by Sophie Karasek where Biden put his head on hers.
Sunrise Movements Power Over President Joe Biden In The White House
Several Sunrise Movement leaders and associates have been appointed by President Joe Biden to work in the White House and Joe Biden has created the American Climate Corps via Executive Order which was credited as being modeled after the Civilian Climate Corps the Sunrise Movement campaigned on.
Pictured: WhiteHouse.Gov features and credits Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash in the American Climate Corps Executive Order.
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