Democracy Watch: Signal fiasco shows how amateur the Trump regime is, DOGE’s Big Balls reportedly used to run tech support for a cybercrime ring, tariffs are making Americans poor again, and more

Socialite Life is a lively celebrity and pop culture website that offers a daily dose of divas, drag queens, hot male celebrities, models, and all the latest celebrity news. Given that our democracy is currently in turmoil, we feel compelled to keep everyone informed about the chaotic situation the Trump administration is creating in this country.

In Democracy Watch, we’ll share a roundup of the most alarming and mostly illegal activities that the Trump administration engages in a few times a week, along with some ridiculous things that Donald Trump and co-president Elon Musk are attempting to do.

We’ll also offer some useful resources to keep you informed about current events and guide you on how you can help prevent the United States from becoming the next Russia.

Shortly after senior Trump regime officials discussed and celebrated the bombing of Yemen in an encrypted group chat that, unbeknownst to them, included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, a subset of the group feasted at an opulent, secret dinner featuring the president where guests were asked to pay $1 million apiece to snag a seat. Trump flew to the event on Air Force One with Elon Musk and Musk’s 4-year-old son X, according to photos and videos viewed by WIRED. Throughout the weekend, Musk was in close contact with Trump and at least one member of the president’s brain trust who was participating in a Signal group chat where highly sensitive details of the planned operation were being shared. Experts say the conversation appears to have violated government protocols on information sharing.

Details of the Signal group fiasco emerged because, in the days prior to the bombing, a handle with the name Michael Waltz had accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a chat titled “Houthi PC small group.” (He likely meant to add US trade representative Jamieson Greer, who has the same initials.) In a bombshell story, The Atlantic reported on the off-books discussion of plans to bomb Yemen. Mike Waltz, Mark Rubio, and Stephen Miller all appeared to be in the Signal group and, according to message exchanges reported by Goldberg, were actively engaging with the chat ahead of the bombing. Some of the group members appeared only by their initials. [WIRED]

President Donald Trump stood by his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a private, high-level chat on the messaging app Signal where military plans were being discussed. “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump said Tuesday in a phone interview with NBC News. LOL! [NBC News]

The Atlantic on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) released more of the Signal group chat among senior Trump regime officials in which they discussed U.S. military plans to strike Houthi targets in Yemen, a day after senior officials said there was nothing classified in the messages. The publication had initially withheld details of the strike plans, saying the information was sensitive. But at a Senate panel hearing on Tuesday (March 25, 2025), and in comments to the news media, an array of administration officials said that the information was not classified, attempting to downplay the seriousness of the breach. [The Atlantic – Gifted]

The more afraid immigrants are that the IRS will report them to immigration authorities, the less they may pay in taxes, experts warn. Mere reports that the IRS might start sharing information, like a recent one from the Washington Post, are likely to significantly reduce tax collections, Carl Davis, research director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), tells Axios. A formal acknowledgment of any information-sharing protocol would hit collections even more. [Axios]

The US postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, who said earlier this month that he had asked the government efficiency team led by Elon Musk for assistance with a number of issues, is resigning effective on Monday, the agency said. DeJoy, who has headed the agency since 2020, in February said he had asked the US Postal Service (USPS) governing board to identify his successor but had given no indication in recent days that he planned to step down abruptly. Donald Trump said in February that he was considering merging the United States Postal Service with the Commerce Department, a move Democrats said would violate federal law. [The Guardian]

The Trump regime really doesn’t care about kids once they’re born unless they are threatened by someone “turning them” transgender. The Trump administration stopped funding a national database tracking domestic terrorism, hate crimes, and school shootings in a sweeping round of cuts to violence prevention projects, eliminating a resource aimed at improving safety in the face of consistent and urgent threats. Records obtained by The Washington Post show the cancellation of nearly $20 million for 24 projects dating as far back as July 2021. A representative for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The database, run out of the University of Maryland and supported by $3 million from DHS, disappeared Tuesday morning from the START Consortium for terrorism research’s website. A DHS email reviewed by The Post notified recipients last week that “the scope of work performed under this award no longer effectuates Department priorities” without providing specific details. [The Washington Post – Gifted]

This is illegal and will be headed to the courts. Donald Trump has signed a far-reaching executive order that promises to fundamentally disrupt American voter registration processes, introducing measures so restrictive they could, in effect, disenfranchise millions of citizens if enacted. The sweeping order amends the federal voter registration form to require proof of citizenship in order to vote. It demands documentary proof for citizenship, such as a passport, to be eligible to vote in federal elections, empowers federal agencies to cut funding to states deemed non-compliant, and instructs the Department of Justice to prosecute what the White House paints as “election crimes.” The measure also seeks to block states from accepting mail-in ballots after election day, regardless of when they are mailed in. [The Guardian]

The 19-year-old DOGE staffer known as “Big Balls” online, whose grandfather was a KGB spy, reportedly ran tech support for a cybercrime ring before taking his job in Washington. Big Balls’ real name is Edward Coristine, and according to Reuters, he ran a company called DiamondCDN in 2022 while he was still in high school. DiamondCDN’s website is now defunct, but the Internet Archive has a copy. The service purported to protect clients from Distributed Denial of Service attacks and claimed to have a “near instant reaction” when such attacks happened. Wired and Krebs on Security had previously reported on Coristine’s connection to DiamondCDN, but Reuters has more details. One of DiamondCDN’s clients was a cybercrime ring called EGodly. On Telegram, EGodly bragged about cryptocurrency theft, hijacking phone numbers, and doxxing an FBI agent. It even made prank phone calls to the FBI agent and posted audio of it on Telegram. [Gizmodo]

The tariffs are not making America great again. Over the past two months, Stuart and Susan Rosen say they have paid nearly $30,000 in tariffs to the American government. Their Burbank–based small business designs costume jewelry, manufactures it in China, imports it to the United States, and sells it to department stores and online boutiques. When Donald Trump took office, he slapped a 10 percent tariff on their imports, and then another 10 percent. Tariffs cause “a little disturbance” and require “a little bit of an adjustment period,” the president has conceded—and the Rosens confirmed. Their retail partners have declined to increase in-store prices for their necklaces and earrings, leaving their business with no choice but to eat the cost of the levy. “Trump gets online and says, This is great! These tariffs, we’re going to make a lot of money,” Susan told me. “Well, you’re stealing money from me.” [The Atlantic – Gifted]

Does the Trump regime really want us all dead? The Department of Health and Human Services has abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in federal grants to states that were being used for tracking infectious diseases, mental health services, addiction treatment and other urgent health issues. The cuts are likely to further hamstring state health departments, which are already underfunded and struggling with competing demands from chronic diseases, resurgent infections like syphilis and emerging threats like bird flu. State health departments began receiving notices on Monday evening that the funds, which were allocated during the Covid-19 pandemic, were being terminated, effective immediately. “No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds,” the notices said. [The New York Times – Gifted]

Only the best people! 🤣 The Department of Health and Human Services has hired David Geier to conduct the analysis, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Geier and his father, Mark Geier, have published papers claiming vaccines increase the risk of autism, a theory that has been studied for decades and scientifically debunked. David Geier was disciplined by Maryland regulators more than a decade ago for practicing medicine without a license. He is listed as a data analyst in the HHS employee directory. Public health and autism experts fear that choosing a researcher who has promoted false claims will produce a flawed study with far-reaching consequences. They fear it will undermine the importance of the lifesaving inoculations and further damage trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The government’s premier public health agency has stressed vaccination as the safest and most effective measure to control the spread of some contagious diseases, including the growing measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico. [The Washington Post – Gifted]

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