Ian Bassin
@ianbassin.bsky.social
Founder and Executive Director @protectdemocracy.org. Former Associate White House Counsel. Tweets my own.
VICTORY: A federal court just ruled DOJ’s campaign to consolidate sensitive voter data violates the law & illegally intrudes on states’ authority over elections. This ruling has drawn a clear line to protect voters’ privacy, uphold the law, & ensure elections remain free, fair, trusted. Details ⬇️🧵
We're proud to launch our latest ad for the #LoveNotICE campaign with our partner, @interfaithalliance.org featuring Bishop Mariann Budde urging faithful Americans to vote early no matter who's on the ballot. 🔄 Share Bishop Budde's powerful address and learn more at LoveNotICE.org
California could be our sharpest test when it comes to bad-faith attacks on election results. The good news: the Golden State is ready. @ianbassin.bsky.social and Ben Gips outline the work Protect Democracy and partners have supported to protect CA's elections. via @democracyproject.bsky.social
Going to California
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
democracyproject.org
We @protectdemocracy.org have been working with allies across the country to help ensure a free and fair election. Ben Gips and I recount our efforts in California @democracyproject.bsky.social, where attention could be focused in November. democracyproject.org/posts/going-...
Going to California
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
democracyproject.org
This perfectly encapsulates what seems to be happening in politics, something many of us have waited for for years: people who were seemingly brainwashed by a Trump cult coming out of it. Listen here to a Trump superfan in her own words: www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Jack Smith: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation ... rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, he engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power"
BREAKING: Federal Court blocks Trump Admin attempt to misuse homeland security funds to force states to bend to its efforts to interfere in local election processes. Big win for our clients, partners, and American voters. @protectdemocracy.org
We’re not only in the midst of a political crisis, we’re also in a spiritual crisis, explains @ianbassin.bsky.social of Protect Democracy, who joins Charting The Way Forward to talk election protection & reclaiming our future 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=km19... 🍎 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
This is a Spiritual Crisis (Ft. Ian Bassin)
YouTube video by Way to Win Action Fund
youtube.com
One of the most powerful essays you’ll read this year, from Nikole Hannah-Jones www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/m...
In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?
A decade ago, I made a decision about my daughter’s education that I hoped would challenge New York City’s separate and unequal school system. Now 16, she thinks I made the wrong choice.
nytimes.com
Ways to block the sweetheart deal/Paramount merger: JOIN A RALLY NEAR YOU: Oakland Sunday, Sept 20, 5PM PT outside CA AG Bonta’s office: www.mobilize.us/notabovethel... NYC- outside NY AG James’ office: www.mobilize.us/notabovethel... LA: www.mobilize.us/notabovethel... Sign the petition as well:
Block the Merger: Don't Settle with Paramount! · Not Above the Law
Join us to rally outside of the California Attorney General's Oakland office! We need Attorney General Rob Bonta to stand strong against a Paramount-Warner Brothers Merger. A core principle behind a...
mobilize.us
This is exactly the kind of careful, ethical person who should be in charge of dangerous world-altering technology. OpenAI’s premise that only they can do this safely is clearly in good hands. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/t...
If I were still in the wh press pool, it would be such a no brainer (tho it’s not like I ever was granted decision making power): no one go until this is lifted and if you do, you are no longer a member of the WHCA
Eric Michael Garcia@ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 3w agoPresident Donald Trump, in a clear violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, says he is banning MSNOW, CNN and Politico from the White House.
Can you imagine the goverment response if this many pharmaceutical companies experimenting with potentially deadly viruses let them leak out of their “secure” biolabs? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/t...
Gemini AI Hacked Three Companies in a Testing Breakout, Google Says
A third-party test company inadvertently gave internet access to Google’s Gemini and other artificial intelligence models during cybersecurity testing.
nytimes.com
This is a stunning article, featuring interviews with sitting federal judges, including stalwart conservatives, warning that the Trump Admin's actions in Minnesota “created a grave threat to the rule of law.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/u...
Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns
In a rare interview, Patrick Schiltz, who served as the federal court’s chief judge last winter, called the administration’s actions “a grave threat to the rule of law.”
nytimes.com
@garymarcus.bsky.social with an update on our lawsuit to get the White House to reveal its secret AI regulatory framework garymarcus.substack.com/p/breaking-s...
BREAKING: Secret US AI evaluation framework has been partly revealed
Very partly
garymarcus.substack.com
SCOTUS needs an amicus brief on this as they consider whether to transfer control of our elections into his hands 🙄
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.Trump: "Please right your right hand. I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States. That loves us so much he can't even breath. That I will go out with my family, my friends, I'll do it any way - I don't care if I'm registered or not, I'm going to try to cheat like hell..."
This pairing in my feed really drove home our moment in history.
Anyone still denying the risks posed by unregulated AI should read this thread. It’s time to pump the brakes & take action NOW. We need: - Mandatory safeguards - A comprehensive testing regime - Urgent dialogue with China, before & during President Xi's visit to DC this month
Yashar Ali 🐘@yasharali.bsky.social · last mo.1. Earlier today, AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who spent the past three years working at OpenAI and Anthropic, publicly resigned from Anthropic, warning that both companies are racing toward superintelligence and “gambling with our lives.”
Two Nations. Two Democracies at Stake. Thomas Friedman on the coming elections and the stakes. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...
Opinion | Democracy Is on the Ballot in Both America’s and Israel’s Elections
Israel and the United States each hold elections one week apart in the fall. The fate of their democracies lies in the balance.
nytimes.com
Just a giant gang of grifters using our government to line their pockets.
Amanda Carpenter@amandacarpenter.bsky.social · last mo.Huge WSJ report on Noem's DHS corruption. She made Corey Lewandowski a “special government employee,” where he had sign-off power over big contracts. While in that position, he pitched Qatar & UAE on hiring him on the side for help with DHS matters, including visas. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Happy Labor Day. As @jenrubin.bsky.social writes at @contrariannews.org, a key phase in the movement to not just reclaim but reimagine our democracy goes into high gear starting now: www.contrariannews.org/p/labor-day-...
Labor Day Is More Essential Than Ever
57 Days to the Midterms
contrariannews.org
We sued to block the Trump admin from compiling sensitive data of millions of Americans into so-called State Citizenship Lists & pressuring states to use them. It violates laws meant to protect privacy, threatens voting rights, & usurps states’ constitutional election authority. protdem.org/3UuGVeh
The country feels like a giant Jenga game right now. Where Trump keeps pushing out important pieces and at some point the whole thing’s gonna come crashing down. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll Resigns as U.S. Military Grapples With Two Wars
The resignation of Daniel P. Driscoll, the secretary of the Army, had been expected but comes at a tumultuous time for the service.
nytimes.com
A Trump official diverted firefighting resources to a fire on his private ranch. He got 9 aircraft for the 7-acre fire while the 90,000 acre Grasshopper fire in Oregon got about the same. These guys kneecapped wildfire prevention and now they’re diverting what few resources remain for personal gain.
Trump official faces inquiry over claims he diverted wildfire resources to his own property
Exclusive: Michael Boren, a senior official overseeing the US Forest Service, is accused by Democratic senators of ‘inappropriate interference’
theguardian.com
The CA Legislature just passed the #NoKingsAct, heading to Gov. Newsom. If signed, residents gain the right to sue federal agents like ICE for violating their constitutional rights—making CA the 5th state to offer the right, reaching +70M Americans. Cameron Kistler, who testified in support:
Protect Democracy applauds California legislature's passage of the No Kings Act
If signed by the Governor, California would become the fifth state this year to let residents sue ICE, Border Patrol, and other federal agents for constitutional violations.
protectdemocracy.org
Did you know that depriving people of the right to vote has been a legal violation since at least 1703 in common law England? @protectdemocracy.org's Cameron Kistler explains why that matters for how the courts are handling disenfranchisement schemes today: electionlawblog.org/2026/cameron...
Cameron Kistler: "Hog Barns and Ballot Boxes: The Disenfranchisement Tort the 8th Circuit Missed in Minnesota Voters Alliance" #ELB
The following is a guest post by Cameron Kistler of Protect Democracy United: The Eighth Circuit has held that a state may criminalize lies used to gain access to a hog barn, because the First Amendme...
electionlawblog.org
Hopefully we are learning that you can’t expect to just bully everyone in the world — via tariffs, or sanctions, or missiles — into bowing to you. The world is more complicated and multi-polar than that. Trump is teaching us that lesson the hard way. I pray we survive learning it.
