👑 Ellison Becomes “Shadow President” as Tech-State Merger Accelerates
Oracle’s Larry Ellison has emerged from the tech shadows to become what insiders now call Trump’s “shadow president” - a shift that transforms American governance into something unrecognizable. With his family empire spanning from TikTok’s servers to a potential CNN takeover through Warner Brothers, Ellison represents the merger of surveillance capitalism with state power that authoritarian movements dream about.
The concentration of media and tech infrastructure in the hands of unelected billionaires isn’t just about money - it’s about information control. When the same oligarch who hosts your social media data also owns your news outlets, the feedback loop of power becomes inescapable. Ellison’s ascent alongside Murdoch’s partnership signals the construction of an information architecture designed not to inform but to conform public opinion to private interests.
💰 SEC Drops Fraud Case Against Chairman’s $1,450/Hour Client
The SEC’s dismissal of fraud charges against Devon Archer - weeks after Chairman Paul Atkins took office, the same Atkins who earned $1,450 an hour defending Archer - strips away any pretense of regulatory independence. Every Trump donor facing criminal investigation suddenly finds their cases evaporating. The message resonates through every boardroom: loyalty purchases immunity.
🎯 Trump Orders Dismantling of “Left-Wing Terror Networks” Without Evidence
This weaponization extends beyond protection rackets for the connected. Trump’s announced executive order to dismantle “domestic terrorism networks” - targeting undefined left-wing groups while ignoring documented right-wing violence - criminalizes political opposition through executive fiat. Without evidence, without definition, without restraint, the administration manufactures enemies to justify expanding powers. As Olga Lautman noted during our discussion, this mirrors Putin’s playbook precisely: label dissent as terrorism, then systematically dismantle civil society under that manufactured pretext.
⚖️ DOJ Races Clock to Indict Comey as Prosecutors Doubt Case
The Justice Department’s scramble to indict James Comey before next week’s statute of limitations deadline reveals the theatrical nature of these prosecutions. Trump personally removed the U.S. attorney who questioned the charges, installing loyalist Lindsey Halligan despite career prosecutors’ doubts. The point isn’t conviction - it’s the mugshot, the spectacle, the propaganda value of dragging enemies through the legal system. Every potential whistleblower watching understands the message: speak truth about power and become the next target.
🔥 October Shutdown Weaponized for Permanent Federal Purge
Perhaps most insidious is the planned transformation of a potential government shutdown from temporary disruption into permanent purge. The administration has ordered agencies to prepare “reduction in force” plans - not furloughs but firings - should funding lapse October 1st. This converts budget negotiations into a weapon for gutting the civil service, replacing career professionals who swore oaths to the Constitution with loyalists who swear fealty to Trump.
Paid subscribers can access a deeper dive below.
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Narativ with Zev Shalev to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
