The Allen Analysis Daily Brief | December 23, 2025
This brief covers the most consequential developments from December 22. Each item is included because it alters power, exposes suppression, or escalates institutional risk.
CBS News Moves to Erase the Banned CECOT Segment
CBS News has begun filing copyright takedowns to remove copies of the pulled 60 Minutes segment documenting deportations to El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
This goes beyond editorial judgment. The network is actively attempting to erase already distributed material, including versions that aired through international broadcast pipelines.
Key fact: the segment was packaged for Canadian distribution before being pulled domestically, creating a verifiable timeline conflict between suppression and circulation.
Why it matters: once copyright enforcement is used to claw back journalism after broadcast, the issue is no longer content. It is control.
Related investigation:
The ‘60 Minutes’ Segment CBS Didn’t Want You to See and Why I’m Releasing the Full 13 Minutes
A completed, fully produced investigative segment examining Trump-era deportations to El Salvador’s mega prison was pulled just hours before broadcast. No disclaimer. No explanation to viewers. No transparency about what changed or who made the call.
Trump Deportation Pipeline Exposed Through CECOT
The suppressed segment documents a deportation pipeline sending detainees to El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison, a facility internationally criticized for mass detention, indefinite confinement, and due process violations.
CECOT context:
Built for mass incarceration under emergency powers
Operates outside traditional judicial safeguards
Used as a political deterrence tool rather than a correctional facility
The story directly contradicts official claims that deportations are limited, lawful, and humane.
The attempted erasure of this reporting elevates the issue from immigration policy to press suppression.
Why ‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Completed Report on Trump’s El Salvador Deportations Just Hours Before Air
On Sunday evening, viewers tuning in to 60 Minutes expected a report examining one of the most opaque and consequential episodes of the Trump administration’s immigration policy: the transfer of Venezuelan deportees from U.S. custody to El Salvador, where they were held inside the country’s sprawling, high-security megaprison known as CECOT.
Former CIA Director John Brennan Under Florida Grand Jury Review
Former CIA Director John Brennan is now the subject of a Florida grand jury investigation.
Details remain sealed, but the escalation from inquiry to grand jury signals prosecutorial seriousness.
Why it matters: This adds to a growing pattern of post-administration legal exposure for senior intelligence officials.
FBI Director Kash Patel Spent Public Funds on Armored BMW Fleet
FBI Director Kash Patel authorized taxpayer spending on a custom fleet of armored BMW X5 vehicles so he could be transported “less conspicuously,” according to disclosures circulating Monday.
The vehicles are luxury armored SUVs, not standard Bureau transport, and were procured amid ongoing budget pressure and staffing shortages across federal law enforcement.
Why it matters: this is not a security upgrade. It is a signal of how power now insulates itself. Public austerity below, armored luxury above.
The decision reinforces a broader pattern emerging across agencies where accountability is demanded downward while privilege consolidates upward.
Epstein Files: Evidence of Selective Disclosure Expands
Newly surfaced material includes a 2020 internal email from an Assistant U.S. Attorney stating that Donald Trump traveled on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet more frequently than publicly reported, including during periods relevant to the Maxwell prosecution window.
The email explicitly notes that the information was flagged to avoid surprises later.
At the same time, Jeffrey Epstein’s brother Mark Epstein publicly alleged that the Department of Justice sanitized files before release, stating records were scrubbed at a facility in Winchester, Virginia.
Why it matters: selective disclosure is now being alleged from inside and outside the system, undermining DOJ claims of transparency.
A DOJ Email Reveals Prosecutors Knew Trump’s Epstein Flights Were Far More Extensive Than Publicly Disclosed
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Israel’s Cabinet Approved 19 New West Bank Settlements Despite U.S. Objections
Israel’s governing cabinet approved 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on Monday, a move that directly contradicts stated U.S. policy and undercuts claims that Washington retains meaningful leverage over Israeli settlement expansion.
The decision was approved by the Israeli Cabinet despite prior warnings from U.S. officials that unilateral expansion would escalate regional instability and undermine diplomatic efforts.
Why it matters: this was not a misunderstanding or a delay. It was an open assertion of autonomy. Israel acted knowing the political cost would be minimal.
The vote reinforces a growing reality in U.S.–Israel relations. American objections are now treated as advisory, not binding, even as billions in military and diplomatic support continue uninterrupted.
Bill Clinton Demands Full Epstein File Release
Former President Bill Clinton’s spokesperson issued a statement calling on the DOJ to release all Epstein materials without exception, warning that partial disclosure creates insinuation while shielding power.
Senate response:
Chuck Schumer announced plans to introduce a Senate resolution targeting DOJ noncompliance with statutory disclosure requirements.
This marks a shift from scandal to institutional confrontation.
Media Power Consolidation Comes Into Focus
Billionaire Larry Ellison continues consolidating influence across media infrastructure.
Key points:
Financial backing of The Free Press
Installation of Bari Weiss into a senior role tied to CBS News leadership
Ongoing interest in acquiring or influencing CNN and Paramount assets
The CBS suppression episode lands squarely inside this broader consolidation effort.
Why it matters: ownership shapes silence as effectively as censorship.
The Quiet King: Larry Ellison and the Architecture of a New American Influence Empire
Some billionaires build things you can point to. Stadiums. Casinos. Skyscrapers. Larry Ellison built something else. He built the systems that everything else runs on.
Denmark Confronts the United States Over Greenland
Denmark formally summoned the U.S. ambassador after Donald Trump appointed a special envoy for Greenland without Copenhagen’s involvement.
Greenland remains under Danish control for foreign and security policy.
Bypassing Denmark treats Greenland as a separate sovereign entity and destabilizes NATO relations.
This is not symbolic. It is a deliberate diplomatic provocation.
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