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What Happened Today – February 9, 2026

They’re silencing the investigators and giving top secret intelligence to Trump’s campaign lawyer.

The nation’s top spy told a whistleblower’s attorney he has no legal right to brief Congress about a classified complaint her office blocked for eight months. DHS’ Kristi Noem demanded a full list of every open investigation into her agency, then sent “reminder” emails about a never-used power that lets her kill them. And a lawyer who was sanctioned by a federal judge for making false claims about the 2020 election is now reviewing classified material inside the CIA, NSA, and other agencies, calling the president directly whenever anyone pushes back.

The people whose job is to find the truth are being threatened into silence. The people whose job is to confirm a lie are being handed everything they ask for.

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🚨 GovBrief Intensity Score 321
Extreme. History will remember.
Volume: Normal (19)
Severity: High (2.79)
Defining Moments: 1
âš¡ Stop the Steal lawyer accesses secret intelligence
Previous 5 Days
🟢48|🔴133|🚨208|🟠128|🚨168
100 = normal day. Volume is headline count. Stories weighted by significance. Defining Moments are the ones history remembers.
Today's Quote
Last night’s halftime show was a disgrace and it mocked American families. Depicting gay pornography on prime time has no place in our culture. The Bad Bunny performance is conclusive proof that Puerto Rico should never be a state.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) falsely claiming in a social media post that the Super Bowl halftime show depicted pornography
Yesterday's Most Read

Group organizing America's 250th birthday celebration offers access to Trump for $1 million donations, with speaking roles at July 4th events starting at $2.5 million.

Today’s GovBrief News


Foreign Relations 1 of 19

Trump threatens to block the Gordie Howe International Bridge from opening between Windsor and Detroit, falsely claiming Canada owns both sides of a project the U.S. approved during his first term.

Canada funded entire $5.7B project

Source: CTV News

February 9, 2026

Health 2 of 19

Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again PAC pledges $1 million to defeat Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy in a Louisiana Republican primary, backing a Trump-endorsed congresswoman.

Cassidy cast pivotal vote confirming Kennedy

Source: The New York Times [gift link]

February 9, 2026

Health 3 of 19

Trump administration moves to cut $600 million in CDC-administered public health funding from California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, calling grants for HIV prevention and disease outbreak management "inconsistent with agency priorities."

Nearly 2/3 from Calif alone

Source: The Spokane Spokesman-Review

February 9, 2026

Economy 4 of 19

Trump administration's yearlong retreat from consumer enforcement at the CFPB cost Americans an estimated $19 billion in financial relief, including dropped lawsuits against Capital One and Zelle.

Complaint resolution down to under 5%

Source: The Associated Press

February 9, 2026

Military 5 of 19

Army civilians who worked during the government shutdown were told to record their timesheets as furlough days, in what employees say violates the Anti-Deficiency Act and forced them to falsify federal records.

IMCOM emails reviewed by reporters

Source: Government Executive

February 9, 2026

Military 6 of 19

U.S. forces boarded a sanctioned Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, the eighth vessel seized under Trump's naval blockade that Congress has not authorized.

Ran dark most of the year

Source: Deutsche Welle

February 9, 2026

Military 7 of 19

U.S. military killed two people and left one survivor in its latest strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, bringing the total killed to at least 130 in 38 strikes since September.

No evidence released for any of the strikes

Source: RTE

February 9, 2026

Intelligence 8 of 19

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's office told a whistleblower's attorney he has no legal right to brief Congress about a classified complaint.

Complaint filed May, reached Congress last week

Source: NBC News

February 9, 2026

Intelligence 9 of 19

Trump directs U.S. spy agencies to share classified intelligence with a campaign lawyer investigating whether the 2020 election was stolen, who calls the president whenever he is rebuffed.

Source: Politico

February 9, 2026

Justice Dept 10 of 19

Justice Department asks the Supreme Court to dismiss Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction for defying a House subpoena to testify about the Capitol attack, after he already served his four-month sentence.

Avoids presidential pardon

Source: USA Today

February 9, 2026

Courts 11 of 19

Appeals court rules the government can move forward with deporting more than 60,000 immigrants from Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal, overriding a judge who found the decision was racially motivated and "preordained."

Every merits judge has ruled it illegal

Source: Courthouse News Service

February 9, 2026

Courts 12 of 19

Federal judge blocks California's mask ban for immigration officers because it excluded state police, but upholds visible badge requirement for all non-uniformed law enforcement.

State senator already introduced fix bill

Source: The San Bernadino Sun

February 9, 2026

Immigration 13 of 19

Federal officials denied seeking to expedite deportation of the Minneapolis family whose 5-year-old son Liam was photographed surrounded by immigration officers, after their lawyer called the proceedings "extraordinary" and possibly "retaliatory."

Next hearing on Friday

Source: The Associated Press

February 9, 2026

Oversight 14 of 19

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demands a full list of ongoing inspector general investigations while her office sends the independent watchdog "reminder" emails about a never-used power to kill probes.

Section 417 has never been invoked

Source: The Hill

February 9, 2026

Oversight 15 of 19

Trump disinvites Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis from the traditionally bipartisan White House governors dinner while restricting the formal meeting to Republicans only.

Moore is the nation's only Black governor

Source: USA Today

February 9, 2026

Congress 16 of 19

Bipartisan lawmakers say at least six men are being protected by improper redactions in the Epstein files, including a senior foreign government official, after viewing unredacted documents for the first time.

Trump's name also redacted improperly

Source: CNN

February 9, 2026

Congress 17 of 19

Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment more than a dozen times during her House Oversight deposition, while her lawyer offered to exonerate Trump and Clinton in exchange for presidential clemency.

Wexner deposition Feb. 18, Clintons Feb. 26-27

Source: ABC News

February 9, 2026

Media 18 of 19

FCC opens investigation into whether ABC's "The View" violated equal time rules by interviewing Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, after the agency revoked talk show exemptions last month.

FCC targeted show since September

Source: The Hill

February 9, 2026

Fighting Back 19 of 19

Immigration court terminates the government's attempt to deport Tufts Ph.D. student Rümeysa Öztürk, ruling the administration failed to prove its case against the pro-Palestinian activist it arrested for co-authoring a student newspaper op-ed.

DHS called ruling "judicial activism"

Source: NBC Boston

February 9, 2026

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