We Just Dropped 10 Free OSINT Tools — Research In The Trenches Is Live The information war is accelerating and most Americans are still bringing a knife to a gunfight. That ends today. Truth Trench Think Tank just released 10 powerful, free citizen OSINT tools built from the ground up by …
Who Sets Tariffs, Congress or the President? The Supreme Court’s IEEPA Ruling Explained
The Constitution gives the power to tax imports to Congress. For decades, Congress has lent pieces of that power to the President. In 2026, the Supreme Court drew a line. What the Constitution Says Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power "to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and …
Why Some Cities Are Canceling Their Flock License Plate Camera Contracts
A growing number of communities are asking a question they did not ask when they bought license plate cameras: who else is searching the data? This week, NPR reported on cities canceling or reconsidering contracts with Flock Safety, the largest provider of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) …
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REAL ID, the $45 ConfirmID Fee and Airport Facial Recognition: What TSA Collects and How to Opt Out
Getting through airport security now involves two separate federal decisions about your identity: whether your ID is good enough, and whether you let a camera match your face to it. REAL ID: What Is Required The REAL ID Act of 2005 set federal security standards for state driver's licenses and …
New Bill Would Bar Members of Congress From Buying Individual Stocks
The push to stop members of Congress from trading individual stocks is moving again. On January 12, 2026, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) introduced the Stop Insider Trading Act (H.R. 7008). The Committee on House Administration, which Steil chairs, advanced it on January 14. The bill would bar members …
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Justice Department Stands Up an AI Litigation Task Force to Challenge State AI Laws
The federal government has opened a new front in the fight over who regulates artificial intelligence. On January 9, 2026, the Attorney General formally established an AI Litigation Task Force within the Department of Justice. Its job is to challenge state AI laws the administration views as …
Timeline of Events and Primary Sources: Crossfire Hurricane, FISA, and the Trump-Russia Investigation
Crossfire Hurricane was the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into possible links between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russian election interference. This timeline follows the investigation from its opening through the Carter Page FISA applications, Inspector General findings, …
Understanding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC): The Secret Court Behind America’s Intelligence Operations
For most Americans, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) is one of the least understood institutions within the federal government. Unlike traditional federal courts, its proceedings are generally classified, its opinions are often unavailable to the public, and the individuals who …
What Is FISA? Understanding America’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance System
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act—better known as FISA—is one of the most important and frequently misunderstood national security laws in the United States. For some Americans, FISA represents an essential legal framework that allows the federal government to identify foreign spies, …
The Origins of Truth Trench: Where the Mission Began
April 24, 2023 Every organization has an origin story. Truth Trench began with a simple idea: people should have better access to information, better tools for understanding the world around them, and a place where difficult subjects could be explored beyond headlines, sound bites, and partisan …
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