In this episode of Uncanny Valley, we bring you the news of the week, then dive into how some DOGE operatives are still at work in the federal government—despite reports claiming otherwise.

Hamlet TV is a way to help keep citizens informed of what's happening inside local governments.

On December 4, WIRED sat down with some of the biggest names in tech, culture, business, and science for a day full of in-depth interviews.

George Foote, who served as the outside general counsel to the US Institute of Peace, said at WIRED’s Big Interview event that DOGE operatives arrived like a “strike team.”

At WIRED’s Big Interview event, the activist and organizer said he doesn’t “think the Chuck Schumers of the world understand” what’s coming for the party.

Sahil Lavingia, previously a DOGE operative at the Department of Veterans Affairs, is now a career employee at the IRS. He said at WIRED’s Big Interview event that he expects to work there 10 years.

People like to rag on the Bay Area, but mayor Daniel Lurie believes there’s no better place in the world than San Francisco.

Everyone's focused on what the book says about the RFK Jr. scandal. But one of its more bizarre elements, is what it doesn't say.

Republicans are already spinning the report as a "nothing burger."

The Trump administration has been virtually begging immigrants in the US to self-deport, even offering money. But some immigrants say it’s been nearly impossible.

Contrary to popular reports, DOGE has “burrowed into the agencies like ticks,” government sources tell WIRED.

White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has pushed back sharply against a New York Times investigation questioning whether his policymaking role in the Trump administration overlaps with his private investments.

In a post on X, Sacks accused the outlet of pursuing a predetermined narrative and ignoring months of evidence he said disproved its claims.

Sacks Rejects NYT Conflict Claims, Calls Narrative “False” and “Misleading”

The New York Times published its report on Sunday, outlining how Sacks’s wide portfolio of technology and crypto investments could benefit from policy decisions he has helped shape as a special government employee.

The article detailed Sacks’s involvement in the administration’s artificial intelligence strategy, his meetings with Silicon Valley executives, and his long-standing ties to major tech founders.

Sacks responded by calling the story the result of a five-month effort to construct a “hoax.” In his post, titled “INSIDE NYT’S HOAX FACTORY,” he said a team of reporters repeatedly shifted the focus of their accusations after he provided evidence disputing earlier claims.

INSIDE NYT’S HOAX FACTORY

Five months ago, five New York Times reporters were dispatched to create a story about my supposed conflicts of interest working as the White House AI & Crypto Czar.

Through a series of “fact checks” they revealed their accusations, which we debunked… pic.twitter.com/o67ls3RmC6

— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) November 30, 2025

“Today they evidently just threw up their hands and published this nothing burger,” Sacks wrote.

According to Sacks, the Times’ allegations included a “fabricated dinner” with a major tech executive, supposed promises of presidential access, and claims that he influenced defense contracts.

Each, he said, was “debunked in detail,” yet the investigation continued. He also criticized the paper for including only selected portions of responses he and his team had provided over several months.

Sacks said the Times ignored key information that contradicted its framing. “At no point… was NYT willing to update the premise of their story to accept that I have no conflicts of interest to uncover,” he wrote.

The Crypto Czar said he eventually hired the law firm Clare Locke, known for its defamation work, after concluding the Times was not pursuing a fair process.

He attached the firm’s letter to the newspaper, saying the document provided “full context” for the exchanges.

NYT Highlights Sacks’s Expanding Influence in Trump Administration’s Tech Agenda

Sacks is best known as a co-founder and partner at Craft Ventures, a firm with hundreds of technology investments across software, crypto, and artificial intelligence.

His government role, unpaid and structured under the “special government employee” designation, has faced scrutiny since early this year.

In May, Senator Elizabeth Warren said Sacks was “financially invested in the crypto industry,” which she argued could allow him to benefit from policy changes developed inside the White House.

While The Times report described Sacks as one of the most influential technology figures in the Trump administration and highlighted his role in drafting the administration’s AI Action Plan and hosting high-profile industry forums, the report detailed concerns raised by some officials about an AI summit Sacks helped plan in July.

The event was initially expected to be hosted by the “All-In” podcast, which Sacks co-anchors.

According to the Times, some White House staff were worried that sponsorship packages connected to the podcast would create the appearance of selling access. The arrangement was later changed, the report said.

The Times also examined Sacks’s broad investment portfolio, which includes his long-standing network within Silicon Valley, where he has invested alongside figures such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel for more than two decades.

His ethics waivers, issued in March, noted that he had sold or begun selling many of his crypto and AI assets.

Trump's AI and Crypto Czar @DavidSacks confirmed he sold all direct crypto holdings before the President’s administration began.#DavidSacks #CryptoRegulationhttps://t.co/TpZaVpYl1J

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) March 3, 2025

The waivers also said his remaining holdings were “not so substantial” as to influence his government work. However, the Times said the filings do not provide details on the timing of those divestments.

Notably, Sacks’s own spokesperson said the narrative of conflicts of interest was “false,” adding that his work for the government has cost him financially rather than benefited him.

The post Trump’s Crypto Czar David Sacks Blasts NYT “Hit Piece” — Calls Conflict Claims “Nothing Burger” appeared first on Cryptonews.

His investments may expose him to conflicts of interest. They also probably distort common sense.

Bitcoin Magazine

El Salvador Partners with Simple Proof to Timestamp Government Documents on Bitcoin Blockchain

Simple Proof, the bitcoin-based document timestamping company, recently announced official partnerships with El Salvador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Environment to protect

government records using the Bitcoin blockchain technology. The announcement was made during the Bitcoin Histórico conference at the National Theatre in San Salvador, where CEO Carlos Toriello presented alongside OpenTimestamps creator and Bitcoin Core Contributor Peter Todd.

The collaboration marks El Salvador’s continued leadership in applying Bitcoin technology beyond financial applications. Both ministries have begun registering official documents on the Bitcoin blockchain, with verified records now publicly accessible through dedicated government portals.

“Bitcoin is not just digital money — it’s also a clock that no one controls. This allows us to certify with precision the exact moment a document was created, guaranteeing its authenticity and protecting the country’s history forever… We’re helping ensure that the country’s history is preserved intact and can be verified directly on Bitcoin, without intermediaries,” said Carlos Toriello, CEO of Simple Proof, in a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine.

The company has had multiple successful pilot programs in the past, including one in Screven County, Georgia, in the United States and another in Guatemala, where it had a direct influence on the 2023 elections. 

This deployment builds on Simple Proof’s previous work in El Salvador, where CUBO+ program graduation certificates became the first public documents in the country registered via the Bitcoin blockchain. 

The Ministry of Environment’s timestamped documents, including national reports and public files, are available at blockchain.ambiente.gob.sv. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers verification of institutional reports and records at rree.gob.sv/logros-y-memorias. 

Peter Todd, creator of OpenTimestamps, the platform and protocol used in part to time-stamp critical data on the Bitcoin blockchain, said in the press release that, “With a single transaction, we can protect millions of documents without congesting the network or altering its monetary function,” noting that the system stores only cryptographic hashes rather than actual documents on Bitcoin.

The project positions El Salvador as a global reference for using blockchain technology in government

information management, strengthening the transparency and public trust of democratic institutions and processes, by eliminating the possibility of document tampering.

This post El Salvador Partners with Simple Proof to Timestamp Government Documents on Bitcoin Blockchain first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

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