A Utah software engineer who runs a prominent pro-Trump social media account with nearly one million followers on X has been revealed as a special government employee (SGE) at the Defense Department, a role she did not publicly disclose. The revelation came after a bizarre episode involving a senior State Department official offering her internal documents to 'break' a story, which she later claimed was an entrapment attempt by the 'Deep State.'
Jennica Pounds, who operates the DataRepublican account, posted on August 21 that she was being set up to 'commit a crime,' writing, 'I have never been more angry in my life.' The saga began when Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers offered Pounds the opportunity to publish documents about alleged censorship under the Biden administration. Rogers wrote, 'I wanted to give you the option of ‘breaking’ the story as sort of a gift.'
Pounds initially appeared cooperative but later declined, citing document markings that 'would have gotten me in big big trouble.' She then shared a screenshot of the exchange on X, claiming 'they tried to entrap me.' Rogers responded publicly, revealing her identity and stating, 'lol, these are my text messages and documents. The ‘markings’ are FOIA redactions required even for voluntary disclosure. To prove this isn’t a ‘trap,’ I will happily disclose the documents myself,' which she did in a subsequent thread.
After the exchange went viral, right-wing aggregator AF Post added intrigue by reporting that Pounds was an active employee at the Pentagon. A Pentagon official later confirmed to The Hill and other outlets that Pounds holds SGE status, a designation for temporary government employees with specialized expertise. Pounds had not disclosed this to her followers, and it remains unclear whether Rogers was aware of her position when making the offer.
Pounds defended her actions, stating her Pentagon press credentials expired in June and that she began working at the department in July to 'serve the country in a more hands-on way.' She deferred questions to Joel Valdez, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary. The Defense Department declined to comment on her role.
Ethics experts have criticized the lack of transparency. Lauren Harper, the Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told The Hill that Pounds should have disclosed her SGE status because otherwise it 'blurs the line between journalism and government PR.' Interestingly, Pounds has previously championed transparency around conflicts of interest, questioning the friendship between retired Army Lt. Col. Joe Byerly and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
The incident has raised broader questions about other pro-Trump influencers with military or Pentagon connections. Adam D’Ortona, an active-duty Army lieutenant colonel with over 100,000 followers, has openly backed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s anti-DEI efforts. After the Pounds revelation, D’Ortona defended her, comparing critics to a 'burglar lecturing the homeowner about property rights.' He also claimed that 'ZERO people are paid' by the Pentagon to 'post stories.' USA Today reported in September that D’Ortona works in Hegseth’s office, though Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said he is not an adviser or spokesperson.
Retired Col. Thomas Anderson, who writes under the pseudonym Cynical Publius and has over 320,000 followers, also defended Pounds’s employment. In an exchange with journalist Glenn Greenwald, Anderson wrote, 'I repeat: you do not understand the parameters of being an SGE. It has a specified legal status that she has stayed well within.'
The episode underscores the increasingly blurred lines between government communications, independent media, and social media influence in the Trump era. As Trump's approval numbers slide, such controversies may further complicate the administration's relationship with its online allies.
