Flotsam and Jetsam - They Liked It

Stacy McCain, Tuesday Speech YUGE Win for Trump; Democrats Self-Destruct on Live TV. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, And Then There Was Last Night... "Lemme get this out of my system right off the bat: last night was a hoot - a complete, glorious, flag-waving hoot." Byron York@ByronYork, "CBS News quickie poll among people who watched Trump speech. They liked it." PJM's Matt Margolis thinks Democrats Will Be Panicking Over This CNN Poll of Trump's Speech. Shem Horne @Shem_Infinite, "Hahaha wow. I mean I loved the speech obviously but this reaction is so positive it's stunning. America is back." Ace, CBS Fake News: 76% of Viewers Liked the Speech. "More Republicans than Democrats watched the speech, so this poll finding is a little skewed, but it's a poll for CBS Fake News, so it's also skewed deliberately to the left." GregGutfeld @greggutfeld "Great point by @DanaPerino - Trumps speech could go on for 80 minutes simply listing what he's already done in the first month. Last year, Biden's biggest achievement, and only achievement - was that he made it through the speech." Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok, "“I voted for Democrats my whole life. They never did anything they promised.... “I vote for a Republican once in my life, and this dude does everything he promised on steroids! Everything I voted for I’m getting!” BOOM"

Clown World@Clownworld

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair watched an MSNBC Panel: Democrats Really FUBAR'd the Moment, Huh? Teri Christoph at RedState says Rep. Al Green's Obnoxious Antics at Trump's Speech Just Backfired—Here Comes the Brutal Reality Check. OTP, GOP Rep. Introduces Censure Resolution Against Al Green. Stephen Kruiser at PJM,  Dems at Trump's Speech Beg for Shovels to Dig Their Own Graves. Ace, Trump Announces Capture of ISIS Mastermind of Abbey Gate Bombing That Killed 13 American Servicemen During Biden's Disastrous Afghanistan Bug-Out, "The terrorist will be arriving in the US soon to face "the swift sword of American justice."" They couldn't stand for that.  Jerry Dunleavy at JTN writes Trump announces extradition of Afghan bombing conspirator, delivering accountability for families. 

From Behind the Black calls Democrats: A party so filled with hate it can’t even cheer a child because Trump introduced him. Becky Noble at RedState, wants you to Meet the Sole Democrat Who Stood for Cancer Survivor DJ Daniel During Trump's Address to Congress. Amy Klobuchar @amyklobuchar, "Cuts to NIH disrupt life-saving research across the nation. The Trump administration's actions threaten progress in treatments for cancer, heart disease, and more. We must push back and continue making these critical investments." Dustin Grage@GrageDustin "Amy, you literally refused to even stand for a cancer survivor last night." Ace, DJ Daniel and the Democrat Id of Unreasoning Demonic Hatred for Anything Good and Normal. "During his political masterclass, Trump made a not-so-bold prediction: No matter what he said, the terminally online (literally: they were all scanning social media feeds during the speech) misery zombies of the Democrat Party would scowl and jeer:" Roger Simon, Can a Political Party Have a Personality Disorder? The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee "REMINDER: It Is Offensive And Possibly Illegal To Photoshop Anything On These Democrats' Signs That Would Make Them Look Foolish https://buff.ly/vbcE6QI." Lincoln Brown at PJM says About Last Night: A Little Instruction on Progressives Can Be Helpful "First, and this will likely take all of you by surprise, it is a good bet that not all of the Democrats wanted to sit on their hands or wave those insipid signs. Some of them cringed inwardly over Al Green's hissy fit, and I'll wager that more than a few of them wanted to stand and applaud when DJ Daniel was presented with his Secret Service badge. Not many, for sure, but some of them did. At one time, at least, many Leftists, myself included, had a grudging respect for and degree of envy of the patriotism, faith, and joy of conservatives. But you never want to let on that you feel that way." Leah Barkoukis identifies, This May Be the Most Absurd Line From the Democratic Rebuttal to Trump's Speech. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) capped off a humiliating night for the Democratic Party by claiming President Trump doesn’t believe America is an “exceptional nation.” From the Center Square, Fetterman: Dem responses only helped Trump.

From the Brussel's Signal, Before Trump, no one had a plan to bring Ukraine war to a conclusion. Althouse hosts a clip of Maro Rubio, "It's been very clear from the beginning that President Trump views this as a protracted stalemated conflict. And frankly, it's a proxy war..." ""... between nuclear powers — the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia. And it needs to come to an end. And no one has any idea or plan to bring it to an end. The plan of the Ukrainians up to now — and their allies on Capitol Hill and people you talk to in other countries — is let's just keep giving them as much as they need for as long as it takes. That's not a strategy."" Blaze sees How Trump’s fiery Zelenskyy meeting could lead to 5 MASSIVE victories. At Breitbart, ‘Replacing Me Won’t be Easy’: Zelensky Says He’d Just Get Elected Again in Fresh Ukraine Elections, so why not try it? PJM's Rick Moran reports U.S. Pauses Intelligence Sharing After Pausing Arms Shipments to Ukraine. Sundance at CTH, CIA Director John Ratcliffe Confirms President Trump Paused "Intelligence Sharing" (ie The Drone Targeting System) With Ukraine, President Trump Has Exposed the U.S Side of the Proxy War by Disabling Ukraine Access to U.S. Missile and Drone Targeting Systems, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Confirms That any EU/NATO Peacekeeping Troops in Ukraine Will NOT Have Article 5 Protection by USA Military and EU Leaders Meet Again Thursday to Discuss Ukraine Plan and Military Defense Without USA Support. Good for them. War on the Rocks says Willpower, Not Manpower, is Europe’s Main Limitation for a Force in Ukraine. From Da Fetched, Adam Schiff’s Ukraine Connection Under Fire as Ciaramella Resurfaces. Dave Strom at Hat Hair VIP, says Europeans Defend Democracy By Plotting to Strip Hungary of Voting Rights and Canceling Romanian Elections.

Capt. Ed cites Axios: Trump Admin in Direct Talks With Hamas; UPDATE: Trump Issues 'Last Warning' Ultimatum. 

Rachel Parker @Emmanuel_Rach "NEW: Alberta lawyer Jeffrey Rath says a delegate is planning to travel to D.C. to pitch President Trump on Alberta statehood. “It’s quite evident that we’re being governed by idiots in Ottawa… there’s a number of us in Alberta that have had enough.” From Sundance, President Trump Notes Justin from Canada Trying to Use Opposition to Tariffs to Stay in Power and President Trump Notes Farmers Will Benefit Within U.S. Market from Strategic Price Advantage. The Peacock, Trump grants automakers one-month exemption from tariffs. ET, Markets Hold Steady After Lutnick Signals Possible Tariff Compromise. The threat is better than their actual implementation. OTP, Stocks Surges After Trump Delays Car Tariffs. Da Wire, Honda Yanks Production Of One Of Its Top Cars From Mexico After Tariffs: Report "The move would be the first from a Japanese automaker over Trump's announced tariffs."

Sarah Anderson at PJM, Supreme Court Rules Against Trump's Bid to Stop $2 Billion in USAID Funding. "On Wednesday morning, in a 5-4 emergency decision, the Supreme Court upheld a decision from U.S. District Judge Amir Ali that essentially says that Donald Trump can't withhold $2 billion in USAID money from existing contractors. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with the three liberal members of the court." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Shocker: SCOTUS Rebuffs Trump on $2B USAID Payments, 5-4 ... Sorta. WaEx Alito ‘Stunned’ Supreme Court Rejection Trump Foreign Aid Freeze Case.  Ace, Supreme Court Rules 5-4 to Maybe Allow a Single Judge to Tell the President How He Must Execute His Office

Once again Amy Coney Barrett joins liberal Chief Justice Roberts.

Overseas AIDS grifter organizations sued to have Trump turn back on the money spigot. A DC judge decided that he was now Acting President, and ordered Trump to do so. Roberts issued a stay of that order, signalling that maybe the Justices would exercise some authority over the leftwing #Resistance judges attempting to control the presidency through judicial fiat.

But now the fraudster Amy Coney Barrett joins Roberts in once again joining with the three hardcore liberals to overturn that stay and order Trump to disburse the money.

But it's not quite that bad -- yet. While Barrett did join Roberts and the hard-left liberals, the order removing the stay did not empower the judge to execute his original order. Rather, it seeks clarification from the judge to state specifically which monies he believes Trump must spend.

He's claiming that the AIDS grifters already performed the work that "earns" them the $2 billion. The Supreme Court seems to be saying that if some work was performed, that must be compensated, but they want to know how much of the $2 billion would go to work already performed. It's not the full $2 billion, is it?

I can see how money already "spent" might be hard to claw back. Maybe if they show it was spent fraudulently instead of negligently. NewsMax, Civil Service Board Reinstates Thousands of Fired USDA Employees. "Cathy Harris, a member of the U.S. Merit System Protection Board, in a written order blocked the USDA from firing probationary employees, who typically have less than one year of service, for 45 days while a challenge to the terminations plays out." Matt Vespa at TownHall says No, Libs, You Shouldn't Celebrate the Recent USDA Decision Against Trump "The USDA decision is a “blow” to the Trump administration, but not because it doesn’t answer the legality of the firings, it’s only a 45-day moratorium on USDA layoffs. These very people could end up being fired again, as there are options aplenty for what the Trump team can do in this matter."

It's not all bad news, streiff at RedState reports Biden Official Who Trump Fired and Was Reinstated by an Obama Judge Has Been Fired Again "The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed President Trump to re-fire Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger pending the disposition of Dellinger's lawsuit for reinstatement. This is a very important decision as it overturns the order by District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson forcing the Trump administration to reinstate Dellinger." Sundance, DC Appellate Court Reverses DC Judge Berman-Jackson, President Trump Has Authority to Remove Special Counsel Dellinger.

Althouse, Why did the WaPo Fact Checker call it "false" to say — as Trump did — "We have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work"? "I'm reading Glenn Kessler's "Fact-checking 26 suspect claims in Trump’s address to Congress/President makes false claims about border crossings, regulations, the economy, inflation and many other issues" (free-access link). 

There are 2 problems with this fact check.

First, the numbers Kessler gives do not undermine the assertion that there are hundreds of thousands who don't come into work. There are something like 2.1 million federal employees (if you leave out the military and the postal service). Even if we restrict ourselves to the 10% who work only from home, there are over 200,000. If you add in the people who telework most of the time, that's another 400,000+. Kessler makes it look as though his numbers are powerful, but they support Trump!

Second — and harder to notice — there's a quibble about the meaning of "not... showing up to work."Trump is using the expression to mean not coming into the workplace. Kessler may want to argue for the industriousness of the workers: They're showing up to work at home!

At ET, 6 Charts That Explain DOGE-Related Cuts So Far, "The agency has targeted $105 billion in federal spending in six weeks." Liberty Nation News, Big Media and USAID Backed Globalist Journalism Network, "What the usual suspects – Soros, Gates, et al. – are up to now." NewsBusters on the Art of Deception: The Soros Empire Gaslights on Connection to USAID Funding. NYPo, $375B EPA slush fund handled by John Podesta gave billions to charities founded only months earlier. "In one case, former Vice President Kamala Harris handed over a check for nearly $7 billion to Bethesda, Maryland, based group Climate United Fund, which does not appear in the IRS’s charities database, and has no federal filings."

At WokeSpy, Luna Blasts Bondi Over Epstein Files: “I’m Not Confident” the Full List Will Ever Be Released. Neither am I. Jerry Dunleavy at JTN, Trump DOJ uses footnote to rescind Merrick Garland memo targeting parents as 'domestic terrorists' "AG Bondi has tossed out a controversial Biden-era memo that directed FBI policing of school board meetings after the National School Boards Association group wrote to Garland likening parent protesters to “domestic terrorists.”"

Steve Richards at JTN reports the House Judiciary finds Biden’s temporary protected status expansions were ‘de facto mass amnesty’ "Many of the 1.4 million recipients of the special TPS designation were illegally paroled into the country, the committee found.." Ace, Woke Mayors Face Questions About Their Sanctuary Policies for Wanted Murderers, Drug-Dealers, and Rapists "The Democrat All-Stars were questioned by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee. The Democrats on the committee defended sanctuary city policies. The only mayor they asked hard questions of was Eric Adams, who they kept accusing of having made a quid pro quo deal with Trump. They repeatedly demanded he resign." John Ketchum at CJ, thinks it's The Beginning of the End of New York’s Migrant Crisis, "The city will wind down operations at the Roosevelt Hotel." OTP, Vance At Southern Border With Hegseth, Gabbard. Sauron's Eye whines Vance says Trump hopes to build the entire southern border wall by 2029.

From Fox, Elizabeth Warren gives mocking gesture while helping to block bill keeping males out of women's sports "Footage of the senator's gesture prompted widespread backlash on social media, especially by women's rights activists." NewsBusters notices Agitated MSNBC Finds It 'Very Painful' That GOP Is Defending Women's Sports. 

Capt. Ed reports Here We Go: DoJ Opens Title VII Investigation Into Anti-Semitism in California Universities. "Remember when the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) allowed their students to set up "Zionist check points" to create a "Jew exclusion zone"? Or when a UC Berkeley professor offered extra credit to students who attended an anti-Israel rally just 18 days after October 7? Or when UC Davis students blocked access to Jewish students as part of their protest against Israel in May 2024?"

Paul Thacker, MD at RCI has a long one on The COVID-Era Smearing – and Resurrection – of Trump NIH Appointee Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Return to Mediocrity ready and willing at The Other McCain.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Visits Bragg's Bodega, Mayorkas Skates Without Trial

The next few days might be kind of meager, we have an out-of-town visitor who's likely to take up some time. First, a small Key Bridge update. WMAR News,  "There's a lot of pressure on us": Removing and recycling Key Bridge wreckage  

We saw crews cutting into the biggest piece of steel the salvage teams have removed from the Key Bridge wreckage site so far. They used the biggest crane on the Eastern Seaboard to do it - the Chesapeake 1000. "The piece itself was quite big - roughly 400 - 500 tons worth of steel," Frank Schiano, member of the U.S. Coast Guard's Atlantic Strike team, and salvage branch director for Unified Command, said.  

At the Balmer Sun, Dali’s owner declares ‘general average’ in Key Bridge disaster. What does that mean? Basically, it's a old nautical device used to spread the costs to shippers out over the whole cargo. 

General average, a maritime principle written into shipping contracts, has roots in ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire. If a ship was in a storm, for example, and the crew needed to jettison some cargo to avoid sinking, they might throw certain goods overboard. Afterward, the ship owner and everyone who had cargo aboard would be responsible for covering that shipper’s loss — not just the unlucky owner whose possessions were sacrificed. That’s how general average works on a small scale. On a large scale and in modern times, it can mean that cargo owners have to share in the cost of huge salvage efforts — say, pulling thousands of tons of steel off the 984-foot Dali and repairing its bow — with the ship owner.

The Trump Trial in New York continues This Is the Biggest Head-Shaking Issue in the 'Bogus' NYC Case Against Trump. Vicky Taft at PJM thinks This Is the Biggest Head-Shaking Issue in the 'Bogus' NYC Case Against Trump. "Bragg's legal theory is that Donald Trump stole the 2016 election from Hillary Clinton. Yes, really. Clinton won nearly two to one in Bragg's state of New York, but there's something even more odd going on here than the fact that he bases his state case on other states' electoral outcomes. The founder of the Article III Project and Trump supporter, Mike Davis, wonders how someone could steal an election if all the alleged "crimes" happened in 2017 — after the election. All 34 charges are stated to have happened after the election, according to Bragg's indictment." mrcTV is outraged that DA Bragg Calls on Judge to Hold Trump in Contempt for Social Media Posts About Daniels & Cohen. PJM's Athena Thorne admires  Trump’s Brilliant Prosecution Juxtaposition Campaign, a visit to the bodega where Alvin Bragg attempted to prosecute the owner for stabbing to death the robber attempting an armed robbery. From TNP, Trump Tells Tish James ‘PAY UP’ After Her Frivolous Bond Claim. "The attorneys for former President Donald Trump affirmed that his $175 million bond posted in connection with the ongoing civil fraud case in New York is financially sound. They have requested that the judge consider New York Attorney General Letitia James‘s challenge to the bond invalid. Additionally, Trump’s legal team is asking the former President to be awarded costs and fees for having to produce additional documents to comply with James’s challenge of the bond."

The Dersh to Newsmax: Dems '100% Correct' in Dismissing Mayorkas Charges. Senate Dems disposed of the Mayorkas impeachment trial in three hours by the simple of expedient of voting on party line to declare the impeachment charges unconstitutional. I hope somebody remembers that strategy for the next impeachment attempt against Donald Trump. From Ace, Illegal Alien Released by Biden Charged in Hit-and-Run Death of Senator's Aid "The Third Worldization of America continues." At least she was a Democrat. At Da Wire, Dem Congresswoman Called Deportation ‘Cruel And Unusual Punishment,’ Fought Against Removal Of Refugee Charged With Molesting Child. Breitbart reports  House Dissatisfaction with Johnson Explodes over Foreign Aid ‘Insanity’ that Neglects Southern Border.

At NYPo, Biden suggests uncle eaten by ‘cannibals’ in New Guinea — but military says his WWII plane lost at sea. NewsMax, Biden Is Off on Details of His Uncle's WWII Death. John Podhoretz@jpodhoretz "People. This is not good. And don’t whatabout me on Trump. I’m not a Trumper. Quote RNC Research@RNCResearch, "BIDEN: "I made it clear to the Israelis — don't move on Haifa!" Haifa is a major city *IN* Israel." I&I is disturbed by Joe Biden’s Wars. 

NewsMax, Rep. Comer Calls Out WH Obstruction in Impeachment Inquiry, again.

The Balmer Sun has a Sun/FOX45/UB poll: Lagging support for Biden, Trump underscores lack of enthusiasm. I dunno. I see a lot of enthusiasm for and against Trump. I don't think anyone is excited by Biden. Hat Hair's Dave Strom cites a Former Biden Supporter on Why She Enthusiastically Supports Trump "Now, I wake up every morning in a panic that our last best hope of ending the monopoly of power on the Left rests on the imperfect shoulders of Donald Trump." Breitbart asserts Swing-State Voters Sour on Endless Ukraine Funding. 

Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed reports California Sues Huntington Beach To Overturn Voter ID Measure Approved By Voters, because, well, California, and wonders Why Did This Left-Wing Elections Group Send An Iraqi Refugee A Voter Registration Form? At NewsMax, OANN, Smartmatic Settle 2020 Election Voting Case on undisclosed terms. 

Reagan Reese and Henry Rogers at Da Caller notice Trump-Aligned Republicans Silent After Voting To Extend Warrantless FISA Powers. From TNP, FISA Bill Progresses, As ‘Checks and Balances’ Amendment Fails. At HE, Dave Krayden asserts America is already a police state; it just hasn't captured you yet. 

Paul Sperry at RCI reports Impeachment ‘Whistleblower’ Was in the Loop of Biden-Ukraine Affairs That Trump Wanted Probed 

In 2019, then-National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella touched off a political firestorm when he anonymously accused Trump of linking military aid for Ukraine to a demand for an investigation into alleged Biden corruption in that country.

But four years earlier, while working as a national security analyst attached to then-Vice President Joe Biden’s office, Ciaramella was a close adviser when Biden threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine unless it fired its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Ukraine-based Burisma Holdings. At the time, the corruption-riddled energy giant was paying Biden’s son Hunter millions of dollars.

From NRO, Uri Berliner Burned His Bridges at NPR, Then Set the House Ablaze. Matt Taibbi at Racket has Thoughts on the resignation of the former NPR senior editor On Uri Berliner's Resignation from NPR . "We all saw this coming, but many journalists reacted angrily to this news. A lot of people in media still have affection for the old NPR and wanted this moment to become its turnaround. Finding a way to keep Berliner around would have been a powerful message that the network intended to try to fix its problems. Sadly, this was never going to happen, as we learned in the last week." Ace, NPR Whistleblower Resigns, Stating He Cannot Work For an Organization Whose CEO "Disparages" Him. "Disparages? Or defames? Might be a promise of a lawsuit to come." Twitchy, Dozens of NPR Staffers Sign Letter to CEO and Unwittingly Prove Uri Berliner's Point. Chris Rufo at CJ has some Quotations from Chairman Maher "NPR’s new CEO exemplifies the ideological capture of America’s institutions."

What you notice first about Maher’s public speech are the buzzwords and phrases: “structural privilege,” “epistemic emergency,” “transit justice,” “non-binary people,” “late-stage capitalism,” “cis white mobility privilege,” “the politics of representation,” “folx.” She supported Black Lives Matter from its earliest days. She compares driving cars with smoking cigarettes. She is very concerned about “toxic masculinity.”

On every topic, Maher adopts the fashionable language of left-wing academic theory and uses it as social currency, even when her efforts veer into self-parody. She never explains, never provides new interpretation—she just repeats the phrases, in search of affirmation and, when the time is right, a promotion.

Maher understands the game: America’s elite institutions reward loyalty to the narrative. Those who repeat the words move up; those who don’t move out.

Frankly, I don't see how she survives in the post much longer. I just hope she gets the chance to testify to a House committee before the end. Althouse, "No one’s been harder on Trump than me. But I get it, and I’m bored with it. And there’s a different way to do this...." ""Not to defend Trump, but to defend the people who still vote for him. Because what they see on the other side, to them, is even more dangerous. Because it’s closer to home: 'My kid is coming home from school and he thinks he’s a racist? He’s five, what have you been telling him? My son thinks maybe he’s not a boy.' And maybe that’s true, that happens. Those kind of things are what they say. 'That’s why I’m voting for Trump.'" Said Bill Maher, criticizing the mainstream commentators who endlessly express negativity toward Trump, quoted in "Bill Maher Defends Trump Voters in Contentious Katie Couric Sit-Down" (Daily Beast)(video at the link)."

Spin, Strangness and Charm, explores an UnHerd exclusive: the shady company behind the “disinformation demonetization” apparatus. It's a pretty good video, but I won't embed it.

Dan Greenfield at Front Page is shocked, shocked when CAIR Asks Prosecutors to Lock Up Journalists Exposing Hamas Supporters, "With penalties from 1 to 5 years in prison for Jewish activists." Da Wire wants you to WATCH Democrats Refuse To Condemn Burning American Flag, Chanting ‘Death To America.’ The Free Bacon reports Harvard Taps Longtime DEI Advocate To Help Pick University’s Next President. "Vivian Hunt, an ex-McKinsey consultant who has argued meritocracy ‘isn’t good enough,’ will serve as president of the Harvard Board of Overseers." Ace, ACLU Fires Asian Lawyer For Using "Racially Harmful" Language to Complain About Black Boss. She Didn't Say Anything Racist; the ACLU Contends That Simply Criticizing a Black Boss Is Inherently "Harmful" Because It Caused "Hurt Feelings" Among Other Blacks. "Nice to have it laid out like this. You are now claiming it's racist to disagree with a black person or to dislike their management style. No backtracking; you said what you said. "Racism" now means simply "failure to sufficiently praise a privileged minority.""

Nina Power at Compact thinks The Trans Reckoning Is Here. It may be starting, but I think she's optimistic. 

Russiagate in a Rush

Let's see if I can get this done and get to the beach before the rains get here. From Da Caller, former Senior National Security & Foreign Policy Advisor to Donald Trump J.D. Gordon thinks Russiagate Hoax Mastermind Must Be Exposed. I'm not sure there is a mastermind, although Hillary and Barack both played important roles in loosing the hounds of the domestic security apparatus. It was more like the uncoordinated and multifaceted attack of an immune system against what it perceived to be a new disease. Yes, Hillary probably initiated it, but without the FBI and CIA following through it would have gone nowhere. An example, from John Solomon at JTN, State officials viewed Steele intel reports as ‘flaky,' 'extreme' before dossier sent to FBI, and yet they sent it, and the FBI, at least nominally, took it at face value. Andy McCarthy at NR writes that Yes, Hillary Clinton Orchestrated the Russia-Collusion Farce. 

It was amazing to watch Democrats play Twister this week, as National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe added documentary corroboration to the disclosure he’d made the week before. In that first revelation, via letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ratcliffe explained that, because our spy agencies have very effective foreign-intelligence-gathering methods, they were able to “obtain insight” into a Russian intelligence analysis that concluded Clinton orchestrated the damaging political narrative. That is, Clinton actually did what she accused Trump of doing: She colluded with Russians (through yet another foreigner she recruited to meddle in the 2016 presidential campaign: the ludicrous former British spy Christopher Steele) in order to damage Trump’s campaign and cinch the election for herself.

As ever with the Clintonistas: When they’re moving their lips, they’re projecting.

He makes a pretty good case (he is a lawyer, after all), but I'm sure she initiated it, but it was like a snowball rolling downhill from there. 

Fox News, Trump's call to declassify Russia collusion, Clinton documents sparks fierce debate online. But to be fair, pretty much everything Trump does, including breath, sparks fierce debate on line. But the question is, will it matter? From John Solomon again, NSA O'Brien makes good on Trump promise, releases previously redacted Russia document

The memo was first flagged in a footnote of Mueller's final investigative report on the Russia collusion probe in spring 2019, in part because the Lavrov meeting became the subject of a news media leak that claimed Trump called James Comey a "nut job" during the gathering and told the Russian foreign minister the FBI director had just been fired.

The leak to the New York Times, which occurred nine days after the Lavrov meeting, was a stunning breach of the privacy that a U.S. president normally enjoys for non-public meetings with foreign leaders. The contents of such conversations are automatically classified to protect diplomatic sensitivities.

The leaked conversation was used by the news media to further the narrative that Trump was somehow too close with the Russians and colluding with them to the detriment of American national security. It was also tied in media reports to the ongoing Russia collusion probe.

The Washington Post for instance suggested in a May 21, 2017 article the meeting might have been an act of obstruction of justice.

Mueller, however, concluded that no American, including neither Trump nor anyone around him, had improperly conspired with Moscow, and the Department of Justice declined to recommend any obstruction of justice charges.

Ciaramella's exchange with Kelly — captured in the now unredacted email — shows the May 2017 meeting between Russian diplomats and Trump was simply a routine diplomatic courtesy afforded Lavrov after Putin had agreed to meet Trump's then-new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson earlier that spring. Officials even wrote the meeting had nothing to do with the Russia probe.

"Can we please get a quick tick tock on how this visit comes together to make clear that it was planned for some time and has nothing to do with the recent events?" Kelly, a strategic communications official inside the NSC, wrote Ciaramella, a CIA analyst on loan to the NSC. "This is normal in the course of diplomacy and reciprocal for Tillerson visit. Need in next 45 minutes please."

Daniel Payne at JTN,  By two-to-one voters believe FBI should be prosecuted for its role in Russia probe "Related poll shows just one-third of voters aware FBI lied to a judge to obtain wiretaps against 2016 Trump campaign associates." Listen to the Scott Rasmussen podcast at the link. 

Well, the major media won't promote the story. And it's all but forbidden on social media. Insty has a THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

If the FBI, the CIA, Wall Street, the Atlantic, China, Bill Kristol and seven Bush cabinet members want one guy to win, for the love of God pick the other guy

— Arthur Bloom 🇺🇸 (@j_arthur_bloom) October 9, 2020

From Chuck Ross at da Caller, Pompeo: More Hillary Clinton Emails Could Be Released Before The Election. ET, Pompeo Says State Department Will Release Clinton Emails, Likely Before Election

But, as Sundance at CTH reports, Beltway Republicans Want President Trump to Drop The “Russiagate” Issue… They would, because a few of them are up to their necks in it, but yes, it doesn't resonate too well outside the beltway as Rasmussen podcast points out. Still, it would be infuriating to drop the biggest political crime in our history.

Take the intents in their best possible light, and the basic premise is that no-one cares about the abuses of power that took place. National Review article by Rich Lowry is here.

I have shared by own thoughts on this matter several times; and despite knowing this issue may not/will not drive the 2020 election; in my own contemplation I keep coming back to this central question: How can this be ignored?…


… How does the office of a U.S. president; and more importantly the republic itself; survive a coordinated coup effort involving all three branches of government; while simultaneously those in charge of exposing the corruption fear the scale is too damaging for them to reveal?

I've done lots of work on this topic, so it bothers me. But @RichLowry has it right: POTUS has to accept that people have already made up their minds about Russiagate, and most just don't care about it like POTUS does ... https://t.co/9r26a0dPw8

— Andy McCarthy (@AndrewCMcCarthy) October 10, 2020

Sara Carter on how Flynn’s lawyer files EXPLOSIVE motion to disqualify Judge Emmet Sullivan, attaches declassified docs exposing set-up. But will it be explosive enough to move the DC Circus?

At Zero Hedge, David Schoen via SaraACarter.com, Why The Truth Behind Hunter Biden's Actions In Ukraine Matters To Us All

What then Vice-President Joe Biden knew about his son Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine at a time when Joe Biden was the Obama administration’s point person for Ukraine, whether the Vice-President helped facilitate his son’s actions, and just what Hunter Biden did are all matters of public importance. They impacted on the message our country sent around the world with respect to foreign affairs and our efforts to stamp out corruption. And the underlying facts provide an important window into Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden’s ethical compass.

Russiagate Declassification

 Declassification is the heart of a great percentage of the stories today. Chuck Ross at Da Caller is still looking at how CIA Documents Stir Debate Over Alleged Clinton Plan To Link Trump To Russia. Gateway Pundit notes that President Trump Authorizes Total Declassification of All Documents Related to Spygate, Hillary Email Scandal – WITH NO REDACTIONS. We'll see. But the President doesn't have much left to lose. Sharyl Attkisson from JTN reports FBI, CIA continue to stonewall on Russia probe, key Senate chairmen say. Chuck Ross, Senators Say CIA Director Is Withholding Trump-Russia Intel  Of course they are. Trump will have to send armed marshals into the Hoover building and Langley to get the goods. I'd support it. 

I've been pushing FBI for transparency on Russiagate for yrs We now kno CIA was part of info gathering but CIA won't even talk to me on phone AMERICANS DESERVE ANSWERS!! Yesterday Senator Johnson & I renewed call for CIA docs Transpency brings accountability

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) October 8, 2020

John Solomon, JTN, What Russia declassification looks like when bureaucrats get involved: a big black blob. At least we know the people involved. John also has a (long) list  of the The 40 key Russia documents President Trump must still declassify

1. Documents showing all the requests made by Obama administration officials to unmask the overseas phone calls of Trump campaign, transition and family members from the beginning of the 2016 election through Inauguration Day 2017. These records have been declassified by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe but have been awaiting Attorney General William Barr's permission for release, officials told Just the News.
2. The FBI interview reports of Igor Danchenko, the man identified as the primary sub-source for the Christopher Steele dossier, and any intelligence community documents raising concerns since 2008 that Danchenko had contacts with Russian intelligence.
3. Any and all documents gathered during the Justice Department inspector general's office interviews with Christopher Steele, including any notes or documents he turned over concerning his interactions with the FBI and any interview reports, synopses or transcripts. . . .

Jerry Dunleavy, WaEx, John Ratcliffe provides 1,000 pages of materials in response to John Durham documents request  and from Lloyd Billingsley at Front Page, Turning the Tables on Democrats’ Russia Hoax

From the 1920s to 1984, the Russians ran candidates in U.S. elections. In 1976, their candidate for president was Gus Hall, a dutiful Stalinist, and a college student named John Brennan voted for him. In a free country like the USA, that was Brennan’s right, but there is no right to a job with the CIA. Anybody who voted for the candidate of the Communist Party USA, founded and maintained by Soviet Russia, should not even get in the door. Brennan not only got hired but in 2013 came to run the place.

Also, it appears that John Durham has opened an investigation of a new old aspect of Russiagate. Remember the charges that Trump and Russia was swapping information via computer through Alfa Bank, which IG Horowitz debunked as being spam being sent between two computers. Ace, Report: Durham Using Grand Jury to Investigate Origins of Contrived Alfa Bank Conspiracy Theory

This was the conspiracy theory that a computer at Trump Tower was sending secret messages to Moscow.

It was completely fake. As usual. 

Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Report: Durham Using Grand Jury To Investigate Debunked Trump-Russia Allegation

The U.S. attorney investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia probe is seeking grand jury testimony from a group of computer scientists behind a since-debunked allegation that Donald Trump’s real estate company had covert computer contacts with a Russian bank, according to a report.

The New Yorker reports that John Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, has contacted the scientists in recent weeks seeking their testimony.

According to the magazine, investigators have told potential witnesses they are investigating whether two pseudonymous computer experts gave false information to the U.S. government regarding a covert communications channel between the Russian bank, Alfa Bank, and the Trump Organization.

Hillary Clinton emphasized the allegation of a possible link between Trump and Alfa Bank when it appeared in the press days before the 2016 election.

At CTH, Sundance provides a slightly deeper dive, Evidence Surfaces of John Durham Grand Jury – Team Following Deep State Rabbit Hole Leading to SSCI Effort…

A very important article was written yesterday in the New Yorker [SEE HERE]. While the topic of the article spotlights the ridiculous conspiracy theory surrounding Alfa bank, and the insufferable nonsense about Trump Tower servers having contact -electronic touch signals- with servers from the Russian banking organization, there are aspects to the story that show where the Durham probe has been forced to travel.

Within the article –which everyone should read– some names are very important. The article is framed around defending the New Yorker’s previous reporting on the Alfa Bank conspiracy theory, so the intent of the article is defensive. However, the events being described in the article, and more importantly the people being outlined in the article, are accurate. Especially Daniel Jones and his lawyer William Taylor; and the connection of both to Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson.

According to the article there are two parallel efforts underway to untangle the background of how the false Alfa Bank story was originated. One effort is a set of civil lawsuits by the owners of Alfa bank against those who created the fraudulent story that flowed through Fusion GPS, into Chris Steele’s dossier, into the FBI, and ultimately into the Buzzfeed reporting therein. The owners of the bank are taking all of these entities into court and demanding discovery of sources who framed/created the false impression.

The second outlined effort is a set of subpoenas for some of the same names to appear before a grand jury being run by the John Durham probe. The witnesses are lawyered-up and attempting to avoid the grand jury subpoenas.

Part of the New Yorker story is constructed around wondering if the Alfa Bank team is working with the Durham team. That is a false narrative created for political deflection only. However, the article outlines factual evidence of the Durham grand jury; and by knowing what issues are being explored we can see -in advance- where this trail is going.

Good News Pause: John Durham has a grand jury impaneled and is issuing subpoenas.

I think this also gives Durham the opportunity to go after some people who aren't protected by the various arms of the deep state. 

 At Bloomberg, via the Bozeman Chronic, Chris Strohm whines that Trump presses Barr to target political enemies while Justice Department stays mute. Get back to me after we get to the bottom of Russiagate. 

From JTN John Solomon reports on Mike Flynn seeks to remove judge overseeing case, alleging bias

In the new motion, the defense lawyers argued that Sullivan met the standard for dismissal or recusal because he created the appearance of bias "when he actively litigated against General Flynn" in the appeals court.

"He has since far exceeded it – rising to the level of demonstrating actual bias," the lawyers wrote, citing Sullivan's comments during last week's hearing. "The court’s contempt and disdain for the defense was palpable throughout the hearing on September 29, 2020, including when defense counsel made an oral motion for his immediate disqualification, which he refused to allow even to be fully stated for the record."

Tristan Justice at Da Fed,  FBI Is Stonewalling Congressional Oversight On Hunter Biden. Of course they are. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.08.20,The Geller Report reports Joe Biden is The Subject Of Federal Criminal Investigations Into His Role In Spygate And Activities In Ukraine,

BREAKING: Joe Biden is the subject of an active federal criminal investigation into his role in the counterintelligence investigation directed @ the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, incl the former vice president's activities in Ukraine.Ukrainian witnesses are cooperating

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) October 7, 2020

If so, the FBI's reticence is warranted, not that it would stop them from leaking against Trump.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and linkfest.

Moving on With Russiagate

More or less continuing where we left off yesterday, via Wombat's In The Mailbox: 09.25.20, Sean Davis and Mollie Hemingway at Da Fed present ‘Get Trump’: FBI Whistleblower On Mueller Team Details Real Reason Flynn Was Targeted

FBI Special Agent William Barnett told Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators that the handling of the probes troubled him so much that he threatened to quit working on it in one case, and threatened to go to the Inspector General in another. According to the summary of Barnett’s interview, he said there was never any basis for the bizarre “collusion” theory the agency and the special counsel relentlessly pursued, to the point that agents made jokes about how they could take any piece of information and claim it was evidence of collusion. He said the Special Counsel Office (SCO) pursued Flynn simply as a means to “get Trump” and viewed FBI investigators as a “speed bump” slowing down the work of the attorneys leading the inquisition.

Capt Ed at Hot Air, FBI Agent: Mueller Team Had A “Get Trump” Attitude On Case Built On “Supposition Upon Supposition”. Show me the man, I'll show you the crime Weissman. 'Shipwreckedcrew at Red State, FBI Agent in Charge of General Flynn Investigation Thought It Was a Joke and Was to “Get Trump”

The final comment is about Andrew Weissmann. Barnett said it always seemed like someone at the SCO had a story about how some particular episode was going to be proven out and establish the collusion between Trump and the Russians, but every time the claimed episode ended up not being true or leading only to a dead end. He recalled Weissmann claiming that evidence about a meeting on a yacht off Greece would be the key to proving the quid pro quo between Trump and the Russians, only to have the story about the yacht turn out to not be substantiated.

Dr. John at Flopping Aces, FBI whistleblower – Mueller and Weissman were out to “get Trump”. Behind the Black, It WAS a coup attempt

They all knew there was no evidence against Flynn, and to get his conviction required blackmail against him as well as the faking of evidence, both of which were done. Those acts by the way are outright crimes.

Next we learn that, according to a high-ranking FBI investigator, the investigation run by Robert Mueller into collusion by Trump and Russians knew there was no evidence at all, but had an agenda to “get Trump.”

Reinforcing this agent’s claim is the revelation, also this week, that Mueller investigators illegally wiped more than two dozen phones clean of data to prevent the inspector general from reviewing them. These lawyers thus consciously obstructed justice by destroying evidence. That is another crime, by the way.

Finally, the most important story of all. It appears that the only source of information justifying all the FISA warrants and the Mueller investigation into the so-called Trump collusion with the Russians came from a source whom the FBI had previously investigated as a Russian spy.

Sundance at CTH posts that the  Flynn Family Releases Statement Following Documentary Evidence of FBI, DOJ and Special Counsel Abusive Intent…. But will Judge Sullivan do the right thing?

And a reminder from Fox that the Source of Steele dossier was investigated by FBI for Russian contacts, Barr says. Mary Chastain at LI, FBI Suspected Primary Sub-Source for Steele Dossier was Russian Agent, ‘Threat to National Security’. Also via Wombat's In The Mailbox: 09.25.20, theVictory Girls: Crossfire Hurricane Team Knew Steele Dossier Was Bogus. Ace, Revealed: Christopher Steele's Primary Subsource Was Branded a National Security Threat in 2009 and Was Subject of a Counterintelligence Investigation And the Crossfire Hurricane Team Knew This

And of course -- they failed to inform the FISA court (or note it in any intelligence assessment) that Steele's primary source for his Pee Pee Prostitutes story and various other claims was a man arrested on multiple occasions for public drunkenness and disorderly behavior, and on top of all that -- just might have been a RUSSIAN ASSET HIMSELF.

They knew all this.

They concealed all this.

They are criminals and should be in prison.

Question: Did Andrew Weissman know this and choose to keep it out of the "Mueller" report...?

To investigate if Trump colluded w Russia, the FBI relied on info, paid for by the Clinton campaign, based on a source suspected by the FBI of being a Russian agent. The FBI then hid from the FISA court who paid for the info and the fact the source might be a foreign agent. https://t.co/rRueRG5gSH

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 25, 2020

Paul Sperry at RCI, Secret Report: How CIA's Brennan Overruled Dissenting Analysts Who Concluded Russia Favored Hillary

Former CIA Director John Brennan personally edited a crucial section of the intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and assigned a political ally to take a lead role in writing it after career analysts disputed Brennan's take that Russian leader Vladimir Putin intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump clinch the White House, according to two senior U.S. intelligence officials who have seen classified materials detailing Brennan’s role in drafting the document.

The explosive conclusion Brennan inserted into the report was used to help justify continuing the Trump-Russia “collusion” investigation, which had been launched by the FBI in 2016. It was picked up after the election by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who in the end found no proof that Trump or his campaign conspired with Moscow.

The Obama administration publicly released a declassified version of the report — known as the "Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent Elections (ICA)” — just two weeks before Trump took office, casting a cloud of suspicion over his presidency. Democrats and national media have cited the report to suggest Russia influenced the 2016 outcome and warn that Putin is likely meddling again to reelect Trump.

The ICA is a key focus of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s ongoing investigation into the origins of the “collusion” probe. He wants to know if the intelligence findings were juiced for political purposes.

RealClearInvestigations has learned that one of the CIA operatives who helped Brennan draft the ICA, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, financially supported Hillary Clinton during the campaign and is a close colleague of Eric Ciaramella, identified last year by RCI as the Democratic national security “whistleblower" whose complaint led to Trump’s impeachment, ending in Senate acquittal in January.

The two officials said Brennan, who openly supported Clinton during the campaign, excluded conflicting evidence about Putin’s motives from the report, despite objections from some intelligence analysts who argued Putin counted on Clinton winning the election and viewed Trump as a “wild card.”

The dissenting analysts found that Moscow preferred Clinton because it judged she would work with its leaders, whereas it worried Trump would be too unpredictable. As secretary of state, Clinton tried to “reset” relations with Moscow to move them to a more positive and cooperative stage, while Trump campaigned on expanding the U.S. military, which Moscow perceived as a threat.

Zero Hedge, Secret Report Exposes CIA's Brennan Overruled Dissenting Analysts Who Concluded Russia Favored Hillary. Ace, in red font, with a flaming head, Suppressed House Intel Report: Analysts Believed That Russia Favored Hillary Clinton in 2016. But John Brennan, Ultra Clinton Partisan, Overruled This Conclusion and Inserted His Own Partisan Narrative. 

We're gonna need a bigger rope.

This is a House Intelligence report which was locked in a literal safe by Adam Schiff.

Why it's almost as if The Democrats Fought Against A Peaceful Transfer Of Power In 2016 (Jeff Dunetz at the Lid).

The Wapoo finally gets around to noticing the new revelations with Justice Dept. disclosures cast fresh doubt on Trump-Russia investigation, and handle it as a case of "Rethuglicans Pounce."

The Justice Department has released a pair of documents casting fresh doubt on the judgment of senior law enforcement officials who investigated possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016, showing that one of the FBI case agents thought prosecutors were out to “get Trump” and that a key source of allegations against the president had been previously investigated as a possible Russian asset.

The disclosures come as President Trump and his allies await the results of an investigation by Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham into how U.S. intelligence agencies examined Russian election interference four years ago. Instead, Thursday night saw one disclosure made to Congress and another made to the courts.

It’s still uncertain whether Durham will issue any findings before Election Day, but the two releases may serve a similar purpose: providing fresh ammunition for conservatives’ arguments that the FBI’s pursuit of the president was unfair and unfounded.

Also from WaPoo, Mueller prosecutor’s testimony about Roger Stone disputed by supervisors

Although the extent of the dispute is unknown, the supervisors’ account is notable because Zelinsky conceded to lawmakers that he did not discuss the Stone case directly with Barr, Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen or then-acting U.S. attorney Tim Shea. Rather, he said, it was his supervisors who explained why the department was “treating Roger Stone differently from everyone else.”

Also via Wombat's In The Mailbox: 09.25.20, American Greatness' Christopher Gage goes on about Hunter Biden’s Millions. I don't blame Hunter. It's hard to pay for hookers and coke without some help from Dad. 

From Da Wire, DOJ Investigating How FBI Handled Allegations Of Clinton Foundation Corruption, Report Says. It's not just about time. It way late.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.

Russiagate: The Russian Bounty Ruckus Rolls On

The Ruckus over the NYT's (and now the rest of the MSM) attempt to promote a story that Trump either overlooked, or through some mysterious bureaucratic process suppressed reports that the Russians are paying a bounty for American heads in Afghanistan continues. Fox, Rep. Jim Banks: Russian bounties to Taliban story may be putting US lives at risk — here's how

I serve on the House Armed Services Committee, so I track the Russian threat very closely. We also follow the China threat and the Iran threat closely, as well as a dozen other areas of interest to American national security. I desperately want to know about our adversary’s malign activity in Afghanistan and every inch of the globe. If our troops are in harm’s way, members of the House Armed Services Committee need to know that.

We rely on the intelligence community to do their jobs and vet intelligence for us. There are a lot of rumors floating around globally. If we acted on all of them, it’d be unwise. That’s why we are patient and require hard, confirmed intelligence vetted by the intelligence community before we act.

As an American and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I’m disgusted that Trump’s detractors would put American lives in harm’s way just to try and score political points ahead of the 2020 election.

Now the intelligence community’s hands are tied. They can’t follow up on this intelligence and learn more about the Russian operation in Afghanistan, which leaves our troops stationed there in danger. Worse, everyone from National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien to Central Intelligence Agency Gina Haspel is now having to turn their entire attention into explaining the nuances of our national security processes to the media.

And for what? The real irony — no one believes in this hoax anymore. The Russian-collusion narrative has been dispelled time and again. The House and Senate Intelligence committees said there was no evidence of collusion. The intelligence community said there was no collusion. Bob Mueller said there was no collusion.
. . .
No doubt, Russia is smugly sitting back and watching Democrats do their work for them. Russia wins when we are divided. In 2016, they used Facebook ads to generate outrage and pit Americans against one another. In 2020, thanks to the New York Times, Russia is being given another platform to interfere in this election. This is the real scandal, and anyone serious about stopping Russia’s malign activities in the United States will help us stop it.

WaEx,  'You undermine our country's safety': Kayleigh McEnany condemns intelligence community leaks, But here, watch Kayleigh do it, courtesy of sundance at CTH:



Mollie Hemingway at Da Fed, Media Are Playing Games Yet Again With Anonymous Russia Leaks

It is worth noting that the three New York Times reporters — Charlie Savage, Eric Schmitt, and Michael Schwirtz — also played key roles in disseminating the Russia collusion hoax, in which anonymous intelligence officials worked with co-conspirators in the media for years to put out a false and defamatory narrative that President Donald Trump had colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election or was otherwise compromised. The New York Times was one of the biggest outlets engaged in the Russia hoax. The reporters even include some of their previous Russia collusion hoax spin, and omit key facts about Trump’s actions against Russia, in their bounty story.

Literally nothing about the political media’s use of anonymous sources to spread republic-damaging disinformation in recent years should lead anyone to treat further anonymously sourced reports with any deference. Yet the entire corporate media establishment immediately ran wild with the story and used it to suggest it was further evidence that Trump was an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The story dominated cable news over the weekend and into the following week.
. . .
It turned out that key details of the story were disputed by on-the-record sources. When the White House press secretary said neither Trump nor Vice President Mike Pence had even been briefed on this intelligence, reporters tried a new line of attack. . . .Yet the frenzy from the media continued, almost as if coordinated as part of an operation.

Because it was. AllahPundit at Hot Air gleefully reports how Biden is trolling Trump on the subject, Biden On Russian Bounties Story: Trump Doesn’t Seem To Be “Cognitively Aware” Of What’s Going On, which is almost amusing coming from a man who can't string a sentence together without getting lost.

Sundance on The Insufferable and Political Media Stupidity Around “The Russian Bounty” Narrative…

Setting aside for the moment that nothing claimed by media or the DNC political operatives in/around capitol hill has any substantive intelligence to prove the claim, let’s first look at the underlying premise: ‘Russians are paying the Taliban to kill American soldiers.’

First, obviously these same voices need to ignore that in 2010 Iran was paying insurgent fighters in multiple fields of combat including Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, to kill Americans. Those well-documented examples must be overlooked because despite the overwhelming evidence the Obama administration paid Iran over $170 billion in cash and entered a nuclear deal with them. Once again, in order to retain their left-wing political position the media must pretend not to know things.

Reverberations from the Flynn matter continue. Ace reacts to Sidney Powell reports that Brennan was using billions for off-the-books operations,  Sydney Powell: Obama and John Brennan Prosecuted Michael Flynn Because Flynn Knew About the "Billions of Dollars" in Off-the-Books Operations They Were Running, and Planned an Audit  "When Sydney Powell says things, they tend to wind up being proven true."

The fact that the intelligence communities spend billions without the public's knowledge or consent is, well, not shocking.

But I wonder what purposes Obama and Brennan were using billions of US dollars.

Maybe paying hundreds of millions or even billions to the Iranian regime and its top staffers?

and Stacey Lennox at PJ Media reacts as Sidney Powell Drops a Bomb or Two on the Glaring Problems With the Flynn Case, with the interview she gave to ET that I posted yesterday.

As far as the Flynn case, she is ready to take it to a second crack at SCOTUS if that’s what it takes.

“We are going to continue this fight however long it takes and wherever it goes.”

Stay tuned, as it seems very likely we will be learning more either through the disposition of the Flynn case or through the Durham investigation.

From Liz Vaughn at Red State, IRS Whistleblower Explains Why No One in the FBI or the DOJ Spoke up for General Flynn. Not all whistleblowers are created equal.

. . . sources familiar with the Durham investigation told Fox News that John Durham had reviewed the Flynn documents and was disturbed that no whistleblowers came forward early on. Considering that there were more than a few officials who had to be aware of what was going on, including support staff, Mr. Durham found it remarkable that no one spoke up “at the onset.” One would think he might have learned by now that the only use members of the deep state have for whistleblowing is when it can be used as a weapon against the right. I posted on this story here.

The next day, I received an email from one of my readers who said he could easily answer Mr. Durham’s question. It’s because “No one in the FBI or the DOJ wanted to engage in a futile suicide mission that would put them and their families through years of hell, cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars, and put their pensions at risk, all so that their information could be ignored.”

William Henck knows, because he lived it.

Mr. Henck’s story is the polar opposite of alleged whistleblower Eric Ciaramella’s, whose bogus complaint to then-Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson last August triggered President Trump’s impeachment. Not only did my reader not receive the kid-glove treatment Ciaramella did, he was terminated from his position as an IRS attorney after 30 years of service.

In November 2017, Mr. Henck was forced out for being a whistleblower. During his career at the IRS, he reported the bullying of World War II veterans, evidence of a cover-up in the Lois Lerner (or Tea Party) case, and the improper giveaway of literally billions of dollars to taxpayers represented by sketchy Washington lobbyists.

Judicial Watch harks back to an old scandal, Judicial Watch: DOJ Records Reveal Obama White House Effort to ‘Evolve’ Explanation of Benghazi Terrorist Attack

Additionally, Rhodes says to Sullivan and other redacted officials:

At least you’re only a liar. Could be worse – we’re liars and also allegedly leakers. So you’ve got that going for you, which is something.
Sullivan replies: “We’re only lying footsoldiers [sic]. You’re lying masterminds. That’s cooler.”
A redacted official replies to Sullivan: “I prefer that we go by henchmen. Has more of a Marvel comic sinisterness to it. There should be a cable show where all the guests, and the anchor, have to wear polygraphs. Or, when there’s a dispute between source, the aggrieved parties take a poly, with some neutral third party rendering judgment. The Biggest Liar.”
Rhodes says to Sullivan: “I’d like to go on television and tell everybody what I think…. Look at it this way. I[t] could be worse. You could be a career bureaucrat whose greatest thrill in life is leaking half-truths, self-justifications and outright lies to the likes of Eli Lake, Kim Dozier, and whoever picks up the phone at Fox News.”

Judicial Watch previously uncovered that on September 14 Rhodes and other Obama administration officials were attempting to orchestrate a campaign to “reinforce” President Obama and to portray the Benghazi consulate terrorist attack as being “rooted in an Internet video, and not a failure of policy.” Also included were numerous emails sent during the assault on the Benghazi diplomatic facility. The contemporaneous and dramatic emails describe the assault as an “attack:”
. . .
“Joking about being called ‘liars’ after being caught lying about the Benghazi terrorist attack says a lot about the Obama-Clinton team’s contempt for the rule of law and those four innocent Americans murdered in Libya September 11, 2012,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The documents also show that Ben Rhodes, the Obama White House official who created the false story for Susan Rice to use on Benghazi, was planning to orchestrate again an ‘evolving’ explanation about the Benghazi attack by the Intelligence Community in time for then-President Obama’s reelection.”

Ace:  Robert Barnes: "I Guarantee" The DOJ Will Sue John Bolton Civilly and Confiscate His Profits from His Book, But I Also Have a "Strong Hunch" Bolton Won't Care, Because He's Being Paid by a "Foreign Government" as a "Consultant" To Hurt Trump

More: Bolton is changing his story about alleged Russian bounties. First he never heard of them, then he smelled an opportunity, and remembered briefing Trump about the bounties he previously had no memory of.

Funny what people say when they're  not under oath.