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Judd Legum

@juddlegum.bsky.social

410K followers 1.1K following 2.4K posts

I write Popular Information, an independent newsletter dedicated to accountability journalism. | [email protected] | Signal: juddlegum.47 | Text: 202-599-7124 Popular.info

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 19h

6. All of this is a good reminder of why we need independent media. So subscribe to Popular Information.

No paywalls. No capitulation. No BS.

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 19h

5. Many other examples of The Free Press twisting facts and data in today's Popular Information.

The devolution of CBS News

A network once revered for fact-based reporting is embracing right-wing pseudo-journalism

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 19h

4. The Free Press, however, was interested in promoting the story that Starmer covered up the crimes because the perpetrators were Muslim. It fits into the narrative of political correctness run amok, even if it wasn't actually true.

The devolution of CBS News

A network once revered for fact-based reporting is embracing right-wing pseudo-journalism

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 19h

3. Far from participating in a cover-up, Starmer successfully prosecuted crimes related to the "grooming gang" scandal. His work on this issue was praised in a 2013 parliamentary report produced by the conservative government.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 19h

2. The Free Press, Weiss' publication which was acquired by CBS for $150 million, published an article accusing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of "complicity" in a "cover-up of a serial rape scandal." They credit Elon Musk for exposing the scandal. But the story is BS.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 19h

1. CBS, once one of America's most trusted sources for news, has hired anti-woke crusader Bari Weiss as its Editor-in-Chief

With Weiss, CBS is embracing someone who talks a lot about honesty but has a history of distorting the truth to conform to her right-wing ideological agenda.

Let's review.

The devolution of CBS News

A network once revered for fact-based reporting is embracing right-wing pseudo-journalism

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

9. For more accountability journalism, subscribe to Popular Information.

No paywalls. No capitulation. No BS.

popular.info/subscribe

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

8. Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a 79-year-old citizen who owns a car wash in the LA area, was detained on September 9 during an ICE raid. A video of the incident shows ICE agents tackling Shouhed. He was then detained for 12 hours and denied medical treatment.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

7. On June 8, Cary Lopez Alvarado, a U.S. citizen, was detained when she was nine months pregnant.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

6. On June 12, Javier Ramirez, a citizen born in San Bernardino, California, was detained by federal agents at a Southern California tow yard.

Ramirez was held in a federal detention facility for five days before being released.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

5. On June 24, Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen, was “swept up in an immigration raid on her way to work“ in Los Angeles.

Velez “spent two nights in jail before facing a felony charge for obstructing an officer, a charge the Justice Department dropped two weeks later.”

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

4. On May 21, Leo Garcia Venegas, “an American citizen and construction worker in south Alabama,” was laying a foundation at a private construction site when federal agents jumped a fence and tackled him.

After presenting “his Alabama-issued REAL ID” the agents rejected it as a fake.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

3. On July 10, George Retes, a 25-year-old Army veteran, was detained by federal agents “while on his way to work as a security guard at a Southern California cannabis farm.”

Retes was violently arrested and then “[h]eld in a jail cell for three days and nights.”

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

2. Last week in Chicago, hundreds of federal agents descended on an apartment complex.

67-year-old Roderick Johnson, a citizen, “said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties.”

Johnson “was left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours" before he was released.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d

1. Federal agents from ICE and other agencies are wrongly detaining U.S. citizens, sometimes detaining them for days, on suspicion that they are undocumented immigrants.

The raids are done without search warrants or other procedures designed to protect civil liberties.

How federal agents are terrorizing American citizens

Last week, hundreds of heavily armed federal agents descended on an apartment complex in Chicago, arriving in Black Hawk helicopters and moving trucks.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 2d

Jared Kushner is going to the Middle East to negotiate a deal on behalf of the U.S. government days after Kushner announced a $55 billion deal between his private equity fund and the Saudi government

One of the most brazen conflicts in history.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

If the Democrats don’t cave on the government shutdown, Trump will fire lots of federal workers (which is also exactly what Trump did when the government was open)

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

UPDATE: Bessent asked on CNBC if he could justify the $20 billion bailout for Argentina, which benefits "wealthy Americans" with "interests down there"

Bessent says it is "false" that he is helping wealthy Americans.

FACT: The bailout benefits Bessent's friend, hedge fund billionaire Rob Citrone.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

6. For UPDATES on this story and more accountability journalism, subscribe to Popular Information.

No paywalls. No capitulation. No BS.

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

5. Another major issue is that as the Argentine economy was in a complete tailspin in early September, Citrone BOUGHT MORE BONDS. Maciel reports the timing of Citrone’s recent purchases has raised “suspicions” that Citrone had access to “confidential information.”

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

4. Popular Information contacted Citrone's hedge fund, Discovery Capital, and asked if these reports in Argentine media were accurate.

Discovery Capital declined to comment.

UPDATE: Hedge fund billionaire pressed Treasury Secretary for Argentina bailout, Argentine media reports

Rob Citrone, whose hedge fund bet big on Argentina, reportedly asked his friend for a rescue package. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

3. Ariel Maciel, Political Economy Editor at Perfil, a large Argentine media outlet, said on an Argentine broadcast, “Citrone is really the one who intervenes. He basically tells Bessent, ‘Hey, we need to help in Argentina,.”

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

2. CE Noticias Financieras, a major wire service in Latin America, reported that after Argentine officials ran into resistance with lower-level Trump officials, “Citrone managed to connect with Bessent to get him to intervene directly.”

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 5d

1. UPDATE: Billionaire Rob Citrone, whose hedge fund bet heavily on Argentina, pressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, his longtime friend and former colleague, to rescue the country, according to Argentine media.

Shortly thereafter, Bessent announced a $20 billion taxpayer-funded bailout.

UPDATE: Hedge fund billionaire pressed Treasury Secretary for Argentina bailout, Argentine media reports

Rob Citrone, whose hedge fund bet big on Argentina, reportedly asked his friend for a rescue package. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 6d

Hiding your real political beliefs to win elections is a VERY OLD IDEA that is deployed by candidates in pretty much every election and is not particularly insightful.