Accountability Isn’t Optional
Three stories from last week that show us where the cracks are—and why we have to pay attention.
I recorded this last Thursday, and I know how much has changed in the news cycle since then. We are living through a period where the pace of information is relentless.
But even when the world feels like it is moving at a hundred miles an hour, there are fundamental things happening behind the scenes that we cannot afford to look away from.
When the news cycle gets this loud, it is easy to get distracted by the surface noise. Today, I want to slow down and look at three specific stories from last week. They might seem disconnected, but they all point to the same question: how do we maintain accountability in a system that is showing some serious strain?
The FBI Director and the government jet
On December 13th, a mass shooting occurred in Providence, Rhode Island. The FBI’s elite evidence response team needed to deploy, but they could not get a plane.
Why? Because FBI Director Kash Patel was using one of the two available jets to visit his parents in South Florida.
The other jet was reportedly held for a different team that would not normally respond to that kind of emergency. The elite team had to drive through the night, through a snowstorm, to reach the scene.
Before taking this office, Mr. Patel built his brand on criticizing government waste and the use of taxpayer funds for personal travel. Now, he is the one using government resources for personal trips while his agents are forced to drive to emergencies.
The battle over AI and the Pentagon
The Pentagon had a contract with the AI company Anthropic, but they hit a major wall. Anthropic has two safety rules it refuses to break:
it will not allow its technology to be used for mass surveillance of citizens,
and it will not allow AI to make lethal targeting decisions without a human in the loop.
The Pentagon demanded that Anthropic drop these rules and give them unrestricted access. They threatened to blacklist the company as a “supply chain risk,” a label usually reserved for foreign adversaries, and are even considering using the Defense Production Act to force compliance.
Since I recorded this episode, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has entered into a contract with the Pentagon that is receiving a lot of backlash.
We are watching the rules for autonomous warfare being written in private, under the threat of financial ruin.
The sealed report on classified documents
Last Monday, federal judge Aileen Cannon permanently sealed “Volume 2” of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report.
This volume documents what was found in the boxes at Mar-a-Lago, including classified national security documents.
Jack Smith testified under oath that this report contained “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Donald Trump willfully retained those documents.
Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Trump and previously dismissed the criminal case against him, has barred current and future attorneys general from ever releasing it.
She created the procedural problem that led to the case being dismissed, and then used that dismissal as the justification to keep the evidence hidden from the public.
Why This Matters
These three stories are about more than just bureaucracy. They are about the systems that keep our country functioning.
When we talk about the FBI Director using a jet for personal travel, it is not just about the money. It is about whether those in power hold themselves to the same standards they demand from everyone else. When leaders preach about government waste but then engage in it, it erodes the public trust that an agency like the FBI needs to function.
The AI story is about the future of human safety. We are seeing a move to remove human oversight from lethal decisions, and the Pentagon is willing to use wartime industrial powers to bully companies that want to prioritize safety.
And the sealed report? That is about transparency. The public has a right to know the details of an investigation that was significant enough to warrant a forty-count indictment. When a judge buries evidence, she is not just protecting a defendant. She is preventing us from understanding the full scope of what happened regarding national security.
What’s my Take
I know stories like these can make you feel small or helpless. That is a natural reaction. But I share these with you because I want us to stay clear-eyed.
If we want to build a better country, we have to start by being informed. We cannot be distracted by the noise. We have to look at how people in power use their authority. We have to look at where the guardrails are failing.
Accountability is not something that happens on its own. It is something we demand.
That is why I am asking you to mark your calendar for March 28th. That is No Kings Day. We need people to show up in cities across the country to make it clear that in this country, no one is above the law. Not an FBI director, not a judge, not anyone.
Find your local event. Bring a friend. If you can’t attend, help make signs or find other ways to help!
Let’s show up and hold the line together.
Warmly,
Good for you, Sylvia.