Perspectives; Thoughts; Comments; Opinions; Discussions

Posts tagged ‘Russia’

‘Cowardly And Pathetic’: Newt Gingrich Rips Biden Administration, Says US Leadership Is Weak Trying To Handle Putin


Reported by NICOLE SILVERIO | CONTRIBUTOR | March 15, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/15/cowardly-pathetic-newt-gingrich-rips-biden-administration-leadership-weak-putin/

Newt Gingrich on "The Faulkner Focus"
[Screenshot/Rumble/Fox News]

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ripped the leadership of President Joe Biden’s administration in handling Russian President Vladimir Putin on a Tuesday interview for “The Faulkner Focus.”

“We should know after Afghanistan, this is the most timid, cowardly and pathetic administration in modern American history,” Gingrich said. “There aren’t any words to express it. If you watch Kamala Harris in Europe, it was an embarrassment to have that person represent the United States because she’s so totally, utterly incompetent. And I think the Europeans have taken our measure. I don’t think anybody in Europe looks to the United States right now to provide any leadership of any kind.”

WATCH:

Gingrich said Biden has not provided “any leadership of any kind,” adding that he thought the U.S. could defeat Putin if the country could “unleash” the “competent people” in handling the conflict.

“But instead, we’re intimidated by him [Putin], we’re allowing him to get away with war crimes. These are all war crimes … It’s beyond words if you’re a serious person to try and describe what a complete, utter embarrassing failure Biden is,” he continued.

“This is not who we are,” host Harris Faulkner replied. “We’re not weak, we’re not.”

Gingrich agreed the country is not weak, but said that the president is now attempting to buy oil from Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia rather than increasing domestic oil production. (RELATED: Newt Gingrich Rips ‘Lack Of Seriousness’ In Biden Admin By Sending Kamala Harris On Diplomatic Trip) 

“You can’t be nuttier than this administration,” Gingrich continued. “It combines cowardice and crazy ideas into a really dangerous, historically threatening model. People should really worry about the next three years.”

The president imposed sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and announced a ban on all imports of Russian oil and gas March 8. The administration has received criticism from some lawmakers for not doing enough to aid Ukraine, particularly after the State Department declined to send Polish MiG jets to Ukrainians from an airbase in Ramstein, Germany.

Vice President Kamala Harris received a wave of backlash for bursting into laugher during a joint press conference Thursday alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda.

OROZCO: Biden’s Plans With The Maduro Regime Could End In A Fiasco And Crush Venezuelans’ Hopes For Freedom


Reported by LUIS FRANCISCO OROZCO | CONTRIBUTOR | March 14, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/14/orozco-bidens-plans-maduro-regime-fiasco-venezuelan-freedom/

Nicolas Maduro Hosts The Simon Bolivar Journalism National Award Ceremony
Matias Delacroix/Getty Images

In an unexpected situation that surprised everyone in Venezuela and Florida, the Biden administration decided to take a u-turn in the White House’s maximum pressure policy against the socialist tyranny of Nicolas Maduro.

While the world’s eyes watched the violent tragedy taking place in Ukraine, senior U.S. officials arrived in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, to meet with the Maduro regime. The reasons behind the visit were simple: to liberate nine Americans detained in the country, break the Kremlin-Miraflores alliance and restore the oil commerce with Venezuela so the U.S. can replace the oil it stopped buying from Russia. In exchange the U.S. would ease the sanctions imposed by the former Trump administration against the Venezuelan oil industry. A situation that would legitimize Maduro after being an international pariah for years.

Basically, the Biden administration is looking for a trifecta with a sweet bonus: the possibility that gas prices won’t go up even more. But, is this really possible? The truth is that the White House could be entering into a significant fiasco that could have some unpleasant consequences for Democrats in the midterm elections, in addition to destroying Venezuela’s hopes for a return to freedom and democracy.

It is unlikely that Maduro break ties with Putin.

Believe it or not, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin could have some reasons to feel happy with Maduro’s negotiations with the U.S. After all, Caracas will get more dollars in the short term if everything moves forward, meaning that the Venezuelan regime could finally start paying the massive amount of money that it owes Moscow. On the other hand, establishing any type of alliance with the U.S. doesn’t automatically move you out of Russia’s sphere of influence — just look at the Nicaraguan regime. However, the depth of the Caracas-Moscow alliance makes it quite unlikely that Maduro will break ties with the Kremlin. We’re talking about billions of dollars in weapons, intelligence support, political consulting and a sophisticated mechanism created by Moscow to allow Venezuela’s oil industry to thwart the sanctions and keep selling oil to different countries.

Moreover, the Kremlin has gathered plenty of “Kompromat” on some of the most important members of the Venezuelan regime, including Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who is known for being a close friend of his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. In addition, Russia currently has control of billions of dollars that top Venezuelan officials and Venezuela’s oil company PDVSA saved in Gazprombank, which decided to freeze this money in 2019 to avoid getting sanctioned by the Trump administration.

The Venezuelan oil industry is in shambles.

In 2021, Russia exported 670,000 oil barrels to the U.S. In 2018, which was the last year before the Maduro regime suffered the oil sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, Venezuela managed to export only 586,000. Currently, the total amount of oil barrels that the South American nation produces is about 700,000, but Caracas takes 150,000 for internal use and sends nearly 60,000 to Cuba.

This way, even in the best-case scenario, the Venezuelan regime won’t be able to fully replace the amount of oil that the U.S. gets from Russia. Even worse, even if the Biden administration relaxes oil sanction on Venezuela, it would do nothing to alleviate the current oil crisis.

According to Francisco Monaldi, Fellow and Director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, if the sanctions imposed against the Kremlin impact Russian oil exports for a long period, the Venezuelan regime could only reach two percent of the world’s supply in no less than five years. To make this happen, the Biden administration would have to cancel all sanctions, while the Venezuelan oil industry would need a significant investment of $12 billion over a seven-year period.

Turning Venezuelans into the new Cubans.

In short, we’re talking about a deal that could easily go wrong, and the effect that the Venezuelan oil could have on gas prices will be minimal. Also, negotiating with a socialist tyrant like Maduro won’t necessarily move him away from Russia or China, so the U.S. might end up financing a band of human rights violators just to get an insignificant amount of oil.

A negotiated transition probably won’t solve the Venezuelan situation. Like it happened in Nicaragua in the early 1990s, this would only change the tyrant but not the political system. However, guaranteeing free and fair elections in the shortest time possible is a mandatory demand that U.S. officials must include at the negotiating table. Otherwise, President Joe Biden would be doing something worse than what former President Barack Obama did with Cuba.

He would be stabilizing the worst tyranny in Latin America’s modern history — the socialist dystopia that is responsible for the second-largest migrant crisis in the world and has been formally accused by the U.S. State Department of narcoterrorism. It also hosts and protects terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and ELN and is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

In the 2020 presidential election, a majority of Venezuelans in the U.S. voted for then-president Donald Trump. However, with Biden’s latest actions with Maduro, a Democratic administration could be about to turn the Venezuelan community in the U.S. into a potential Republican voter base.

That’s what happened with Cubans after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. But in this case, it would come after condemning a nation’s future in the name of a deal that looks flawed from every angle.

Luis Orozco is a Venezuelan journalist and political analyst.

Democrats Aim To Increase Taxes On Big Oil Amid Record Gas Prices


Reported by THOMAS CATENACCI, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT REPORTER | March 10, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/10/democrats-aim-to-increase-taxes-on-big-oil-amid-record-gas-prices/

Prices Of Gas And Consumer Goods Rise As Inflation Hits 40-Year High
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A group of House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation Thursday that would implement a new tax to prevent Big Oil corporations from “profiteering.” The effort, led by Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and California Rep. Ro Khanna, would introduce the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax to the U.S. tax code, according to the announcement. Whitehouse said the tax would ensure the world’s largest oil companies don’t take advantage of the ongoing Ukraine crisis to boost gas prices and rake in greater profits, adding that American consumers have “seen this script before.”

“We cannot allow the fossil fuel industry to once again collect a massive windfall by taking advantage of an international crisis,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “I propose sending Big Oil’s big windfall back to the hardworking people who paid for it at the gas pump.”

The lawmakers noted that Big Oil companies have recently reported record profits. In 2021, Chevron reported an annual profit of $15.6 billion, Exxon Mobil reported $23 billion in profit and BP reported $12.8 billion in annual profits. (RELATED: BP Oil Rakes In Biggest Profit Since 2013)

Under the legislation, oil companies that produce or import at least 300,000 barrels of oil per day will be hit with a tax worth 50% of the difference between the current cost of oil and the average cost between 2015-2019. Smaller oil companies, which account for the majority of domestic energy production, would be exempt from the tax, according to the announcement.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse speaks during a Senate Judiciary hearing on Sept. 15. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse speaks during a Senate Judiciary hearing on Sept. 15. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Revenue generated from the windfall tax would then be rebated back to Americans as a tax deduction, according to the announcement. Single filers would receive about $240 each per year and joint filers would receive $360 per year when the price of oil hits $120 per barrel. There would be a phase out for single filers earning more than $75,000 per year as well as $150,000 for joint filers, the announcement said.

“Americans want to put pressure on Putin, but they need help with high gas prices,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said. “So let’s tax oil companies’ war profiteering and send gasoline rebate checks to Americans.”

Overall, Democrats projected the bill to generate $45 billion per year if the price of oil stayed at $120 per barrel. (RELATED: ANALYSIS: White House Keeps Misleading Public On Oil, Gas Leasing. Here Are The Facts)

However, the U.S. oil benchmark declined to $105.89 per barrel on Thursday. Still, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused uncertainty in global energy markets, leading to higher oil and gasoline prices.

On Monday, the average cost of gasoline nationwide surpassed $4.104 per gallon, breaking the all-time record. Gas prices have continued to surge, hitting $4.32 per gallon on Thursday, up nearly 54% year-over-year.

“As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends gas prices soaring, fossil fuel companies are raking in record profits,” Khanna said in a statement. “These companies have made billions and used the profits to enrich their own shareholders while average Americans are hurting at the pump.”

“I’m glad to introduce this legislation with Senator Whitehouse that will provide an incentive to cap gas prices and put money back in the pockets of consumers,” he added.

Whitehouse, Khanna and the White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

US, Allies Announce Push to Strip Russia Of ‘Most Favored Nation’ Status


Reported by SHELBY TALCOTT, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT | March 11, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/11/joe-biden-allies-push-strip-russia-most-favored-nation-status/

Pres. Biden is moving to strip Russia of its "most favored nation" status. (Screenshot CNN, CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto)
Screenshot CNN, CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto

President Joe Biden announced Friday that the U.S., alongside the G7 and European Union, are moving to revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” status. The status is referred to as “permanent normal trade relations (PNTR)” in the U.S., and Biden said revoking it will “make it harder for Russia to do business with the United States.” By doing it alongside key allies, Biden said the move “will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy” amid its invasion of Ukraine.

“Each of our nations are going to take steps to deny ‘most favored nation’ status to Russia,” the president said Friday morning at the White House. “A most favored nation status designation means two countries have agreed to trade with each other under the best possible terms – low tariffs, few barriers to trade and the highest possible imports allowed.”

Lifting a nation’s “most favored” status requires Congress to pass legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already said she supports the move, and Biden thanked her for holding off on revoking PNTR in the House until he was able to “line up key allies to keep us in complete unison.”

“Unity among allies is critically important, as you all know – from my perspective, at least,” Biden said. (RELATED: ‘Putin Chose This War’: Biden Lays Out New Sanctions Against Russia After Full-Scale Invasion)

WATCH:

The president also touted lawmakers’ bipartisanship during his remarks. He noted that while “many issues divide us in Washington … standing for democracy in Ukraine … should not be one of those issues.”

“The free world is coming together to confront Putin,” Biden said. “Our two parties here at home are leading the way. With that bipartisan cooperation, I’m looking forward to signing into law the bill revoking PNTR, which is, again, most people think it’s ‘most favored nation status.’”

Biden announced other efforts aimed at continuing to cripple the Russian economy Friday. He said the administration plans to act further to ban “signature sectors” of the country’s economy, naming the seafood, vodka and diamond sectors as examples. The administration is also adding new names to the list of oligarchs and family members previously targeted by sanctions, declaring that “they support [Russian President Vladimir] Putin” and “steal from the Russian people.”

“Putin is an aggressor,” Biden said. “He is the aggressor, and Putin must pay the price. He cannot pursue a war that threatens the very foundations … of international peace and stability, and then ask for financial help from the international community.”

Friday’s announcement comes on the heels of the administration’s decision to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil. The president made that announcement Tuesday, calling it “another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.” European allies did not announce any such decision in coordination with the U.S., but the countries were consulted as Biden weighed making the move.

To Punish Putin, U.S. Firms Develop Social Credit System That Would Make Him Proud


REPORTED BY: ELLE REYNOLDS | MARCH 08, 2022

Read more at https://thefederalist.com/2022/03/08/to-punish-putin-u-s-firms-develop-social-credit-system-that-would-make-him-proud/

credit card

American institutions are taking anti-Russian sanctions into their own hands, further normalizing a financial social credit system that can ostracize users for holding unacceptable beliefs — a move purported to punish Russia but that actually evokes the authoritarian country’s own system of tracking its citizens’ political views.

Visa and Mastercard have suspended operations in Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, blocking “cards issued by Russian banks from working in other countries and block[ing] people with cards issued elsewhere from purchasing goods and services from companies in Russia.” American Express has also dropped its Russian operations. Meanwhile, tech companies like Apple and Microsoft have ceased sales of their products in the country.

It could be tempting to cheer the move for targeting Russia’s authoritarian regime and condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked attacks on the people of Ukraine. But the actions by private companies against Russians are part of a larger swing by U.S. corporations to deny services to those whose opinions they deem unacceptable — and that’s exactly the kind of social credit system Russia is building to impose on its own people.

Moscow will use “digital profiles” to track citizens’ “loyalty,” according to a Moscow Times 2020 report. “Moscow City Hall has since 2017 been collecting the gender, age, income level and relationship to other people signed up to its mos.ru website as part of the internet activity monitoring system,” the report notes. “The digital profiles will now include information about Muscovites’ violations, fines, debts and participation in various events, according to the cited documentation.”

Lest you think the system is limited to the capital city, Russian officials have said that 80 percent of Russians will have such a digital profile by 2025 through the government’s $53 billion Digital Economy Program.

And now, with Visa and Mastercard cutting ties, Russian banks are turning to China — a country with an even more invasive social credit system. The Chinese Communist Party tracks its people’s economic decisions and even things like being a good or bad driver to reward or punish behavior. Punishment might include anything from slower internet speeds to being barred from flying or staying in certain hotels. There have also been reports of people being denied higher education and having their pets confiscated.

If you think comparisons between Russia and China’s authoritarian credit systems and the increasing dragnet in the United States are outlandish, just think about how Mastercard and American Express blocked donations to Americans whose beliefs about the 2020 election were found unacceptable, while Visa’s political action committee used the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 to “temporarily suspend[] all political donations.” Paypal, Venmo, and Shopify all went after people who were supposedly involved in the riot.

Just last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cracked down on truckers who were protesting Covid mandates, freezing hundreds of bank accounts purported to be associated with the peaceful protest. Crowdsourcing fundraising platform GoFundMe confiscated millions of dollars from protest organizers.

Previously, GoFundMe suspended a fundraising campaign for Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of all charges after he shot three men in self-defense. The platform also used the Jan. 6 riot to nix fundraisers for “travel to a political event where there’s risk of violence by the attendees,” and those that “spread misinformation about the election, promote conspiracy theories and contribute to or participate in attacks on U.S. democracy.”

Meanwhile, Big Tech companies use their powers of censorship to shut down users whose speech is deemed unacceptable, and to nuke alternative platforms from app stores. We shouldn’t cheer U.S. firms for appointing themselves the arbiters of who deserves to participate in our economy (and by extension, our society). If they can do it to Russia, they can do it to you.

But we also shouldn’t cheer such actions because they move us one step closer to blurring the line between ourselves and the authoritarian tyrants we purport to denounce. If we defeat Russia or China by making our differences unrecognizable, we’ve already lost.


Elle Reynolds is an assistant editor at The Federalist, and received her B.A. in government from Patrick Henry College with a minor in journalism. You can follow her work on Twitter at @_etreynolds.

Jen Psaki Is a Lying Liar Who Lies: Insane Gas Prices Edition


REPORTED BY: TRISTAN JUSTICE | MARCH 07, 2022

Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/jen-psaki-is-a-lying-liar-who-lies-insane-gas-prices-edition-2656864250.html/

Jen Psaki

President Joe Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki tried to evade White House responsibility for soaring gas prices Monday, casting blame solely on overseas turmoil in Ukraine. Gas prices hit a national average of $4.06 a gallon, according to AAA, this week reaching a new high not seen since 2008 when prices reached their all-time peak at $4.11.

“The increase,” Psaki said, “is a direct result of the invasion of Ukraine,” adding “there was an anticipation” of rising prices.

In anticipation, however, the White House has only exacerbated a self-inflicted crisis by doubling down on the administration’s war on domestic energy production in the name of climate change and environmental justice. As the impending invasion of Ukraine foreshadowed turbulence in global energy markets, President Biden’s Department of Justice reinstated the administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal lands through a legal filing in Louisiana.

Despite Psaki’s blame on Russian aggression for the spike in energy costs, gas prices began to soar upon Biden’s first days in office after the president’s inaugural orders shut down the Keystone XL pipeline and unilaterally suspended new oil and gas leases on public land.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), American gas prices eclipsed an average of $3 per gallon by May as President Biden unleashed a cascade of taxes and regulation on the industry while moving to lock down lucrative reserves. In other words, gas prices have been rising since Biden took office, not since Russia launched its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Biden’s suspension of new drilling on federal lands, while temporarily overturned by a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana mid-summer, killed incentives in the capital- and labor-intensive industry for operations to keep up with demand, suppressing production. Producers require long-term planning and assurance their operations will remain in place before they pledge billions in new capital to drill in a particular area. That means new leases must always be on the horizon.

Cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline alone axed some 830,000 barrels of Canadian crude flowing to Gulf refineries while the U.S. simultaneously doubled imports of Russian oil. Last year, the U.S. welcomed an average of more than 600,000 barrels of Russian crude and related petroleum products daily, financing the Kremlin war machine. As the world’s third-largest oil producer providing more than 10 percent of global supply, Russia raked in $119 billion in resource revenues.

Biden is reluctant to sanction President Vladimir Putin’s energy sector, with the White House claiming the solution to rising prices is to pivot in favor of cleaner energy sources that are often unreliable and more expensive. Russian gas operations, meanwhile, produce 30 percent more methane than American operators. Iran, where the administration is hoping to lift sanctions and welcome its oil, hosts operations with 85 percent more intense methane emissions than their U.S. counterparts.

Biden could have brought down energy prices at any point in his presidency but instead has continued to escalate the administration’s animosity towards domestic production and the American worker. An enhanced regulatory regime combined with Wall Street pressure to restrict investment in the capital-intense industry has limited diplomatic options to counter Russian aggression by limiting domestic capacity to supplement supply shocks.

In Alaska for example, Democrats have sought to lock down decades worth of oil and gas reserves stored under a fraction of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) with reinstated environmental protections poised to become permanent.

Instead of unleashing American energy potential to reclaim the independence once briefly achieved under the Trump administration, Biden officials are now pleading with authoritarian adversaries in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to ramp up production abroad.


Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.

FLASHBACK: Trump Warned UN About Relying on Russian Oil, Was Laughed At By German Delegation


Reported by BRIANNA LYMAN | REPORTER | March 07, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/07/donald-trump-warned-united-nation-relying-russian-oil-german-delegation-laughed/

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the 2018 UN General Assembly [PBS News Hour screenshot]
[PBS News Hour screenshot]

The German delegation appeared to laugh at former President Donald Trump during a 2018 United Nations (U.N.) speech in which the president warned about relying on Russian oil. While speaking at the 73rd U.N. General Assembly, Trump criticized Germany for relying on Russian oil exports.

“Reliance on a single foreign supplier can leave a nation vulnerable to extortion and intimidation. That is why we congratulate European states, such as Poland, for leading the construction of a Baltic pipeline so that nations are not dependent on Russia to meet their energy needs,” Trump said. “Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course.”

“Here in the Western Hemisphere, we are committed to maintaining our independence from the encroachment of expansionist foreign powers,” Trump continued as the camera then panned to the German delegation, who appeared to be laughing. (RELATED: Former Top Trump Official Argues Biden’s Russia Sanctions Are ‘Half Measures,’ Contain Loopholes)

Trump made similar comments warning about Germany’s energy dependence during a 2018 meeting with German and NATO leaders.

“It’s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia,” Trump said. “Where, you’re supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia. So, we’re supposed to protect you against Russia, but they’re paying billions of dollars to Russia, and I think that’s very inappropriate.”

“Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will be getting 60-70% of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline, and you tell me if that’s appropriate, and I think it’s not,” he said while addressing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Trump approved sanctions to deter the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would allow Russia to bypass Ukraine to get gas to Europe and served as a major geopolitical win for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Upon taking office, President Joe Biden revoked the sanctions, only recently putting them back in place following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia Offers Ukraine List of Demands, Says It Will Stop Military Operations ‘in a Moment’ if Met


Reported By Richard Moorhead | March 7, 2022

Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/russia-offers-ukraine-list-demands-says-will-stop-military-operations-moment-met/

Russia has released a list of four demands it’s calling preconditions for ending its invasion of Ukraine. A Kremlin spokesman identified the terms on Monday, according to Reuters.

First, Dmitry Peskov said, Ukraine must halt all military action.

Russian propaganda has consistently invoked the “demilitarization” of Ukraine as an objective of the invasion, demanding that one of the largest countries in Europe remain defenseless.

Second, Russia wants Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian territory.

Trending: Rep Waltz: Ukrainians Have Been Begging for US Stinger Missiles Since December, But Biden Held Off Until It Was Too Late

Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014, seizing the region of southern Ukraine in response to growing pro-NATO and European Union sentiment in the former Soviet republic.

Third, Ukraine must recognize two regions of its territory as independent countries, following Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic last month.

Pro-Russian secessionist groups control population centers within the two regions of Eastern Ukraine, where conflict has occurred since 2014. Such a move could lead to Russian annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk.

After Russian troops poured into Crimea in 2014, the region was briefly declared an “independent country” before its inhabitants supposedly voted to join Russia while facing the gun barrel of a Russian military occupation.

“We have also spoken about how they should recognize that Crimea is Russian territory and that they need to recognize that Donetsk and Lugansk are independent states,” Peskov told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Finally, Russia wants Ukraine to amend its constitution to bar the country from pursuing NATO membership.

“They should make amendments to the constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc,” Peskov said, according to Reuters.

“And that’s it. It will stop in a moment,” he said.

Related: Japan Moving to Rebuild Its Military in ‘Big Awakening’

Peskov said Ukraine was aware of the conditions. The list of demands was outlined as Russian and Ukrainian diplomats begin a new round of talks at the border of Belarus and Poland. Some Ukrainian leaders, such as former President Petro Poroshenko, have expressed doubt that negotiations will lead anywhere.

The terms, which undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, are extremely unlikely to lead to a diplomatic agreement to end the conflict.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Richard Moorhead

Richard Moorhead is a conservative journalist, a graduate of Arizona State University, service member, and guitar player.

Tim Allen Releases Brutal Statement on Ukraine Invasion: ‘Full of Anger and Disgust’


Reported By Amanda Thomason | March 4, 2022

Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/tim-allen-releases-brutal-statement-ukraine-invasion-full-anger-disgust/

Many people, organizations and countries have made their disapproval of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine very clear since it began last week.

Companies have stopped working with Russia. The royal family, generally quiet on political matters, has publicly condemned the invasion. Even Switzerland has moved to sanction Russia.

Plenty of celebrities have used their social media platforms to decry Russia’s actions. Tim Allen has joined their ranks, stating in no uncertain terms how he feels about the situation.

Advertisement – story continues below

“My mind and body are full of anger and disgust at the coward putin ghouls that have attacked a sovereign country,” he tweeted on Thursday.

“This is the definition of wrong. My head, heart and soul pray for the people of Ukraine.

Trending:

Ukraine Negotiations Rocked: Security Service Kills Member of Delegation Suspected of High Treason – Reports

“F-putin.”

Allen also shared his sentiments last week as news of war began circulating, asking for prayer for the Ukrainians under attack.

“‘Appeasement’ is the policy of feeding your friends to a crocodile, one at a time, in hopes that the crocodile will eat you last. – Franklin D. Roosevelt,” he tweeted on Feb. 24.

“Pray if you will for all those attacked today by the Russians.”

While many in the replies pointed out that the quote was misattributed to FDR and actually comes from Winston Churchill, Allen’s point remains.

Other celebrities have posted in solidarity with Ukraine and pointed followers to charities that will help where the need is greatest.

Actress Mila Kunis, who is Ukrainian, and her husband Ashton Kutcher have started a GoFundMe for Ukrainian refugees, pledging to personally match up to $3 million.

The celebrity couple hopes to raise $30 million to help those fleeing the country through Airbnb, which is offering free temporary housing to refugees, and Flexport, which is “organizing shipments of relief supplies to refugee sites in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova,” according to the GoFundMe page.

“While we are witnessing the bravery of Ukrainians, we are also bearing witness to the unimaginable burden of those who have chosen safety,” the page reads.

“Countless amounts of people have left everything they know and love behind to seek refuge. With nothing but what they could carry, these Ukrainian refugees are in need of housing and supplies right away.”

Amanda Thomason, Contributor

Amanda holds an MA in Rhetoric and TESOL from Cal Poly Pomona. After teaching composition and logic for several years, she’s strayed into writing full-time and especially enjoys animal-related topics.

Russian state-owned media lays off most employees and shuts down operations in the US


Reported by CARLOS GARCIA | March 03, 2022

Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/russian-state-owned-media-lays-off-most-employees-and-shuts-down-operations-in-the-us-2656837889.html/

The U.S. arm of a Russian state-owned media outlet shut down on Thursday after being expelled from several platforms over the Russian invasion into Ukraine. CNN first reported that Russia Today was ceasing operations and firing most of its staff in the United States. The memo obtained by CNN from the general manager of T&R Productions blamed the shutdown on “unforeseen business interruption events.”

“Unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent, meaning that this will result in the permanent separation from employment of most T&R employees at all locations,” wrote Misha Solodovnikov.

The media network had been an outlet for pro-Russian propaganda but was removed from DirecTV this week and then later from Roku streaming services. On Tuesday, Google said that they had blocked mobile apps connected to Sputnik and RT from their app store and from their search tool. Apple made similar moves on its app store.

RT Deputy Editor-in-Chief Anna Belkina issued a statement angrily decrying the bans.

“This collective ‘establishment’ seems to be terrified of a mere presence of any outside voice for the fear of losing their historically captive audience, if that audience encounters a different perspective,” she said.

CNN also detailed a personal meeting between Solodovnikov and the hosts, correspondents, and producers of RT American in the Washington, D.C., bureau on Thursday based on a source who attended it. Solodovnikov told the employees that their jobs were being terminated with two months severance pay. One RT host spoke to CNN under the condition of anonymity about the somber meeting.

“I have never felt more heartbroken as they have nothing to do with this conflict and seriously were just trying to make a decent living to provide for their families,” the host said.

Another source told CNN that people were shocked, and many cried after the announcement.

Here’s more about the effort against Russia Today:

Google blocks RT, Sputnik from Play app store www.youtube.com

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Glory to The Heroes

A.F. BRANCO | on March 4, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-glory-to-the-heroes/

The Goliath (Russia) may win against Ukraine (David) in the end but not without a fight and not nearly as soon as they hoped.

Ukrainian Tough
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2022.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Million-Dollar Bounty Placed on Vladimir Putin


Reported By Abby Liebing | March 3, 2022

Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/million-dollar-bounty-placed-vladimir-putin/

A bounty has been put out for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alex Konanykhin, a Russian businessman, has offered a $1 million bounty to Russian officers to arrest Putin as a war criminal, Business Insider reported.

“I promise to pay $1,000,000 to the officer(s) who, complying with their constitutional duty, arrest(s) Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws. Putin is not the Russian president as he came to power as the result of a special operation of blowing up apartment buildings in Russia, then violated the Constitution by eliminating free elections and murdering his opponents,” Konanykhin wrote in a Facebook post.

The explosion to which Konanykhin referred is part of a theory that the Russian Federal Security Service, of which Putin was head from 1998 to 1999, blew up apartments in 1999, then blamed it on Chechens. That explosion, was part of what sparked the Second Chechen War, an effort that made Putin very popular in Russia. In 1999, Putin became the Russian prime minister, before being named acting president on Dec. 31 of that year. He was elected to the presidency in March 2000, the Independent reported. With obvious animosity, Konanykhin also noted that he felt it was his duty to oppose Putin’s war and keep assisting Ukraine against the Russian president.

“As an ethnic Russian and a Russia citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia. I will continue my assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin’s Orda,” he added in his post.

Konanykhin’s original Facebook post included a photo of Putin, with the caption, “Wanted: Dead or alive. Vladimir Putin for mass murder,” the Independent reported.

Facebook then banned his post.

But Konanykhin then re-posted with just the text informing about his bounty offer.

“Facebook banned my post; do you think it was a correct decision? I omit the picture as it was a ‘dead or alive’ poster, but this is the text,” he wrote.

Konanykhin is one of the many Russian businessmen who rose to wealth and prominence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to Newsweek. Konanykhin said he has not visited Russia since 1992, Business Insider reported.

The Russian businessman has a complicated history with the Russian government. In 1996 he was in the U.S. but was arrested after Russian authorities claimed he has embezzled $8 million from the Russian Exchange Bank, the Independent reported. However, the U.S. gave him political asylum after several FBI agents testified that the Russian mafia had put a contract on Konanykhin. Several years later, his asylum was revoked, but he was not deported. A U.S. district judge cancelled his deportation, saying that returning Konanykhin to Moscow “stinks.”

After placing a bounty on Putin, Konanykhin was asked if he feared that Putin would come after him for putting a bounty on his head.

“Putin is known to murder his opponents,” he said, Business Insider reported. “He has millions of them now.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abby Liebing, Associate

Abby Liebing is a Hillsdale College graduate with a degree in history. She has written for various outlets and enjoys covering foreign policy issues and culture.

Gutfeld says US Government Is ‘Acting Like White Knights’ as They Purchase Russian Oil


Reported by NICOLE SILVERIO, CONTRIBUTOR | March 02, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/02/hands-clean-greg-gutfeld-white-knights-russian-oil/

Greg Gutfeld on "The Five"
[Screenshot/The Five/Fox News]

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said the U.S. government is “playing both sides” as they purchase Russian oil during a Wednesday appearance on “The Five.”

“Who is buying Russian oil right now?” Gutfeld began. “And how much is Russian oil? Is the price bottoming out, who’s keeping them afloat? If it’s us, if it’s our government, that sucks. Because we’re sitting here acting like we’re the white knights and what are we doing? We’re playing both sides.”

“We were there in Ukraine, too, so let’s not pretend like our hands are clean on this,” he continued.

Gufeld said it is similar to the U.S. government’s knowledge of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Technology. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) admitted to funding the procedure in October, despite repeated denial from White House senior medical advisor Anthony Fauci.

President Joe Biden’s administration implemented their first round of sanctions on a small portion of the Russian oil and gas sector Wednesday to restrict U.S. oil refining technology exports to Russia. The White House confirmed the restrictions will not immediately have an impact on Russian energy but will “overtime.”

The country’s energy industry makes up about 40% of Russia’s economy. The U.S. imported more than 670,000 barrels of oil daily from Russia in 2021, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration full-year data. (RELATED: Rep. Jim Jordan Says Biden Might Want To Change His Policies, But The ‘Radical Left’ In His Party Will Never Let Him)

Sanctioning Russian energy has gained bipartisan support from lawmakers, political commentators and elites. Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin criticized the U.S. for continuing to allow imports of crude oil and petroleum from Russia, while Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for Biden and European allies to “hit” Russian President Vladimir Putin “where it counts” by harming Russia’s energy sector.

The administration invoked the Keystone XL Pipeline, which intended to carry 8,000 barrels of oil from Canada to Texas, then paused oil and gas companies from drilling on federal lands and receiving federal leases.

Nancy Pelosi Echoes Republicans’ Calls For Russian Oil Import Ban


Reported by THOMAS CATENACCI, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT REPORTER | March 03, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/03/nancy-pelosi-russian-oil-import-ban/

US-POLITICS-PELOSI-BRIEFING
Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would support a ban on Russian oil imports, aligning herself with bipartisan lawmakers pushing for energy independence.

“I’m all for that,” Pelosi told reporters during a briefing Thursday. “Ban it.”

Several bicameral Republicans and centrist Democrats have advocated for the Biden administration to impose a sweeping ban on Russian oil and petroleum imports in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine on Feb. 21, leading to widespread condemnation from global leaders. Lawmakers have argued that U.S. dependence on Russian oil and petroleum products places the country at a strategic disadvantage. The U.S. imported more than 670,000 barrels of oil per day from Russia in 2021, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed(RELATED: Oil Hits 11-Year High As Big Oil Dumps Russia, White House Mulls Energy Sanctions)

“I am calling on the Administration and industry partners to take action immediately, up to and including banning crude oil imports from Russia,” Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement on Monday.

WATCH:

Republican Rep. Tom Cole and Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall asked President Joe Biden to halt Russian oil imports in a letter on Tuesday. Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has also joined in on calls for a ban.

While, the White House has announced a series of economic sanctions on Russia’s economy and its powerful oligarchs close to Putin, it has stopped short of imposing restrictions on its fossil fuel industry. The administration has argued that such sanctions would harm American and European consumers more than the Russian economy.

“The United States and our Allies and partners do not have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy – which is why we have carved out energy payments from our financial sanctions,” a White House fact sheet published Wednesday stated.

Russia’s federal government relies upon its oil and gas industry to fund a whopping 40% of its annual budget.

Oil prices have skyrocketed to their highest level in a decade in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the threat of indirect impacts of sanctions have roiled markets. Big Oil corporations have also pulled out of lucrative drilling and exploration ventures throughout Russia.

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – One Big-Gas Mistake

A.F. BRANCO | on March 3, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-one-big-gas-mistake/

Biden says he stands with Ukraine while paying Russia money for oil that funds the war against them.

Biden, One Big-Gas Mistake
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2022

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Jerry Broussard Op-ed


Wednesday, March 2, 2022

I was watching the news this morning. FOX was reviewing last nights propaganda speech. The subject of the oil situation came up, especially about the so-called “oil reserve” Biden was releasing. It amounts to a three-day supply of oil in America.

Several thoughts came up regarding the situation between Putin and Biden. With all that the socialist put Trump through, (“Russia, Russia, Russia”) this geriatric dementia 80 something, is more in the pocket of Putin than the socialist accused Trump of being.

There is a meme going around of someone saying, “Instead of this Build Back Better businesses, how about just putting it all back the way you found it.” Indeed. We were oil independent, selling to other nations, and Putin was sitting on drilled oil. Our economy was robust, and we all could afford to drive our cars (there is a gas station a half block from us with prices of almost $6 a gallon). Do they really think we’re that stupid?

Everything these socialist’ have done is all designed around “control, control, control”. We all know now that this pandemic was more fear mongering than actual danger. Numbers inflated, bad advice, everything about it manipulated to grow fear in order for them to control almost every aspect of our lives.

After shutting down the Keystone Pipeline, and making us dependent on Russia for our oil (“Russia, Russia, Russia”), they shut down a robust economy buy shutting us up in our homes. Might as well have been house arrest. Supply lines cut off, making everything more expensive, and growing the fear that we might never have enough toilet paper.

Lie, after lie, after lie about face masks, numbers of deaths, and feeding more fear. Instead of a few weeks, or months, these manipulated lies have last two years. And miraculously, the China virus stopped it’s attack on the day of Biden State of the Union AS WE WANT YOU TO BELIEVE IT IS, BUT IN REALITY, WE HAVE DESTROYED IT FOR PUTIN AND XI.

Last night Biden threw up a speech someone else wrote, saying all the things he was expected to say, and meaning none of it, while stretching his dominion further. His greatest lies were those about Russia and Ukraine. We already have evidence of his manipulation of Ukraine leadership with his boast. Summed up, more Russian control of our economy by our dependence on Putin’s oil.

Now gasoline is over $5 a gallon, and climbing. Supply chains are growing, restaurants are so expensive, it’s prohibitive to eat out anymore. $9 for a Big Mac meal????? Heating our homes are down to multiple blankets, and electrical cost are criminal. And I think I have the reason all this has been engineered.

They locked us down to see if they could pull it off. Success. Once you give Socialist/Leftist power, THEY WILL NEVER GIVE IT BACK. So, make everything so expensive that Americans cannot afford to go out. Make gasoline so expensive that AMERICANS HAVE TO STAY HOME (LOCKDOWN). Add to that the Socialist/Leftist puts forth this geriatric dementia 80 something as a mock President, and you have a tyrannical government that is only interested in filling their own pockets, and those of the oligarchs that control them.

Angry enough America? Violence is not the answer, because that’s what they expect. Prayer? YES! Speak up, YES! Call them on their lies and manipulation? YES! Get out the vote and hold them accountable for their cheating? YES! Let’s start where we live and spread out nationally. I refuse to be controlled one more second. How about you?

Russian ruble craters to less than 1 US cent, stock market freezes after Russia’s removal from global banking system


Reported by PHIL SHIVER | February 28, 2022

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/news/russian-ruble-plunges-stock-market-closes\

New financial penalties levied on Russia for its continued aggression in Ukraine appeared to hit the country’s economy hard on Monday as Russia’s currency cratered to a record low value and its stock market froze. The Russian ruble’s value plummeted to less than one U.S. cent on Monday, Time reported, dropping more than 25% to 105.27 per U.S. dollar, down from approximately 84 per dollar late Friday.

After initially declining to do so, the U.S., Japan, and several European nations on Saturday agreed to enact more severe sanctions on Russia as its forces continued an assault on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in an attempt to overthrow the government. The group of nations went after central bank reserves that underpin Russia’s economy and removed several key Russian banks from SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a vital international banking system.

Time noted the ruble’s calamitous decline would likely send inflation soaring, a development that would hurt all Russians and not just the elites who were targeted in earlier sanctions.

Critics had called for the forceful move to be enacted immediately upon Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but Western leaders initially balked. Even now, Time noted that the disconnection from SWIFT is “partial,” leaving room for the U.S. and Europe to escalate penalties.”

Yet the effects are reportedly being felt already, as Russian residents rushed to ATMs to withdraw cash amid the ruble’s free fall. In addition to the currency plunge, the Russian stock market also took a major hit on Monday. According to the New York Times, officials closed the Moscow stock exchange for the day, citing the “developing situation.”

“The economic reality has, of course, changed,” the Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, reportedly told members of the press while announcing that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered an emergency meeting with top finance officials.

Western restrictions effectively have placed a chokehold on the Kremlin’s ability to access its war chest of financial reserves and sent to the country careening towards an economic crisis. At the very least, the world intends to financially isolate Russia in a way not experienced since the Cold War.

“Putin embarked on a path aiming to destroy Ukraine, but what he is also doing, in fact, is destroying the future of his own country,” European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Saturday.

Yet even as Russia’s economy faced significant distress and delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Belarus for peace talks, the Russian offensive showed no signs of letting up. Ukrainian officials claimed Monday that an air raid on residential areas in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, left dozens of people dead, including several civilians.

“Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads [rockets]. Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded,” the interior ministry said on Facebook, according to BBC News.

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – An Inconvenient War

A.F. BRANCO | on March 1, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-an-inconvenient-war/

John Kerry is in hot water for referring to the Russian attack on Ukraine as merely a Putin distraction from focusing on Climate Change.

John Kerry on Ukraine
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2022.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Belarus is preparing to invade Ukraine and provide support to its Russian allies


Reported by SAMUEL MANGOLD-LENETT | February 28, 2022

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/news/belarus-is-preparing-to-invade-ukraine-and-provide-support-to-its-russian-allies/

Belarus is preparing to deploy troops into Ukraine in support of the country’s Russian allies. A Biden administration official said that Belarusian leadership could order the deployment of forces into Ukraine as early as Monday, the Washington Post reported. The official said, “It’s very clear Minsk is now an extension of the Kremlin.”

The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has allowed Russian troops to conduct military drills and store supplies within his country.

On Saturday, Ukrainian and Russian leadership agreed to hold peace talks along the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Lukashenko’s planned invasion of Ukraine will, naturally, complicate these planned talks.

The Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, recently called for sanctions against Lukashenko and the Belarusian regime. Newsweek reported that Tsikhanouskaya referred to them as “accomplices of Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine. A Ukrainian government official told CNN that the Ukrainian government had intelligence indicating that Belarus is ready “to maybe participate directly” in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The official said that the Belarusian government is allowing Russia to use Belarus to enter Ukraine, “in addition to allowing Russians to use their territory as well as letting them cross the border.” However, as of now, according to a senior U.S. defense official, the American government has not seen Belarusian troops “being readied to move into Ukraine” or “that they are moving or are in Ukraine.”

Anticipating Belarus’ participation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration suspended all operations in the American embassy in Belarus. The State Department also encouraged non-emergency employees and family members of American diplomats to vacate the U.S. embassy in Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “The U.S. Department of State has suspended operations at our Embassy in Minsk, Belarus and authorized the voluntary departure (‘authorized departure’) of non-emergency employees and family members at our Embassy in Moscow, Russia. We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine.”

Over the weekend, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine intensified as Russian officials threatened to drop the International Space Station on the United States and its allies and Putin ordered the Russian military to put its nuclear deterrence forces on high alert.

Putin blamed rhetoric and posturing from NATO allies and thoroughgoing economic sanctions against Russia for why he put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert.

Switzerland Drops Neutrality in Rare Move to Freeze Russian Assets


Reported by DYLAN HOUSMAN | HEALTHCARE REPORTER | February 28, 2022

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2022/02/28/switzerland-ukraine-russia-freeze-assets-putin-lavrov/

Switzerland Drops Neutrality In Rare Move To Freeze Russian Assets
(Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

Switzerland announced Monday it will be freezing Russian assets due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, breaking a longstanding tradition of neutrality in foreign conflicts.

Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said Putin’s assets, along with those of Russia’s prime minister, foreign minister and 367 more individuals sanctioned by the European Union, would be frozen immediately, according to The New York Times. Cassis met with the Swiss Federal Council and determined that action was necessary due to the “unprecedented” aggression displayed by Russia in invading a sovereign European state.

Switzerland further joined the rest of the E.U. in shutting down its airspace to Russian aircraft, but said it will decide whether to join further European sanctions on a case-by-case basis.

The flight ban will prevent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from making a planned speech Tuesday to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. As of 2020, Russian companies and citizens owned more than $11 billion in assets in Swiss banks, according to the NYT. 

Switzerland has historically maintained a neutral stance in global conflicts, in part due to its role as a global financial hub. Cassis said he was concerned that following along with all European sanctions could threaten the country’s reputation, but that some action was necessary.

Today’s TWO Politically INCORRECT Cartoons by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Reminiscing

A.F. BRANCO | on February 26, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-reminiscing/

Now that Biden has all but destroyed the country it’s nice to look back on better days with Trump as President.

Trump Gave Us better Days
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Back to the Future

A.F. BRANCO | on February 28, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-back-to-the-future/

Obama ridiculed Romney’s Russia warning in 2012 during their presidential debate, and now?

Romney 80s Foreign policy
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2022.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

‘He is risking his life’: Russian tennis star shows what true courage looks like


Posted by BLAZETV STAFF | February 25, 2022   

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/video/this-takes-true-courage-russian-tennis-player-shows-what-true-bravery-looks-like/

Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev wrote a truly courageous message on a TV camera moments after advancing to the final at the Dubai Championships on Friday. A video of Rublev writing “No War Please” on a TV camera just after beating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in their semifinal match has taken Twitter by storm.

“In these moments you realize that my match is not important. It’s not about my match, how it affects me. What’s happening is much more terrible,” Rublev said on Thursday.

“You realize how important it is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what, to be united. We should take care of our earth and of each other. This is the most important thing.”

Outkick’s Clay Travis tweeted, “Given the threats a Russian athlete can face from its government, this is what speaking truth to power actually looks like. And this takes true courage.”

And the praise just kept coming. Here are a few samples:

A few folks on Twitter couldn’t help noting the contrast between Rublev’s action and those of a certain American athlete who claims to care about human rights.

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Window to the Soul

A.F. BRANCO | on February 25, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-window-to-the-soul/

Eyes being the window to the soul reveal Putin as an evil tyrant and Biden as a dithering idiot.

Putin and Biden Eyes
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2022

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Op-ed: Flynn Exposes Truth About Putin’s Real Plan – Says It’s Time to Pray


Commentary By Michael Flynn | February 24, 2022

Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/breaking-flynn-exposes-truth-putins-real-plan-says-time-pray/

With the price of oil pushing above $100 per barrel, the U.S. stock market opening with heavy losses, more global economic challenges looming, the real potential for significant loss of life, and the international community in complete disarray with feeble attempts to condemn what was totally avoidable, we face the onset of another very grave and historic period of tension between competing ideologies and worse, the onset of WWIII.

This “invasion” was totally avoidable.

As one friend told me, President Joe Biden and his failed foreign policy team set the table and sent the invitation and Russian President Vladimir Putin came and spoiled the dinner party.

Clearly, there are fault lines on both sides, but for now, we must pray that those affected, without the ability to decide their fate, are able to survive this extraordinary period of world history unfolding (for many, unraveling) on the world stage. Civilians and military forces will be killed, wounded and displaced; those are the real consequences of war.

Pray that this conventional war is limited in scope, purpose and intent.

Yes, there were gross violations of previous agreements due to incompetence, arrogance and ignorance that got us to this point. Beyond this, what happens next is anyone’s guess, but Putin (and Xi — Taiwan?) just laid down a new world order marker.

That said, it is doubtful that the U.S. administration will change its failed foreign policy, and instead, it will make weak attempts to triple down on leveraging this extremely serious situation in Europe to continue to distract from problems here at home.

Given the shutting down of the Keystone pipeline and America’s energy independence while also enabling Russia and Germany (read: Europe) to reopen the Nordstream pipeline, one has to wonder about the discussions in the Oval Office that came to these conclusions.

This is the Biden administration: describing America as a systemically racist nation; appointing Marxists and other radical ideologues to positions of power; allowing millions to surge across our southern border; attempting to federalize our election systems and processes; implementing racist critical race theory in our schools, military and government; and all along, raising the national debt until it is closing in on $30 trillion — spending us toward extinction, all for left-wing causes.

Let us not forget the Afghanistan disaster, the myriad lies about COVID, a certain Biden-owned laptop, a complete refusal to investigate allegations of election irregularities … all while China gets a pass.

It is extremely difficult to trust this administration when they lie with a straight face to the American people daily.

Anyone who questions these rotten foreign and domestic policies is demonized as a racist. We see the unleashing of the federal government on citizens who are simply exercising their constitutional rights and the establishment media covers all this incompetence with a fake smile due to their own deep corruption.

Our president rarely entertains questions or takes responsibility for his tone deafness and failures. The White House ignored — even laughed at — Putin’s legitimate security concerns and ethnic unrest in the Ukraine.

We have yet to hear from the president of the United States an explanation of U.S. national security interests in the region.

Instead, we continue to demonize Russia — reminiscent of the fake Russia-collusion hysteria we now know was perpetrated against the Trump administration by elements of the Clinton campaign  and Obama administration (among others).

President Putin calculated this strategic, historic and geographic play and made the decision to move.

And he did.

All that given, there will never be justification for this invasion or any other form of invasion. However, never forget that war results when diplomacy fails.

May God watch over and protect those in harm’s way and may God continue to bless and protect the United States of America.

Michael Flynn

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn served as national security advisor to President Donald Trump. Headshot photo credit: Jewel Samad / AFP via Getty Images.

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Dirty Hairy-Legs

A.F. BRANCO | on February 24, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-dirty-hairy-legs/

Putin doesn’t look like he’s quaking in his boots like Biden predicted as Russia invades Ukraine.

Biden Sanctions for Russia
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2022

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Still Leading from Behind

A.F. BRANCO | on February 23, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-still-leading-from-behind/

Biden continues to lead from a position of weakness emboldening our enemies like Russia, China, and Iran.

Biden Weakness
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Brace Yourself: Expert Says Gas Prices Could Reach $7 Per Gallon in Biden’s America


Commentary By Warner Todd Huston | February 22, 2022

Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/brace-expert-says-gas-prices-reach-7-per-gallon-bidens-america/

The price of gas continues to soar in this era of Bidenflation. It is getting so bad, some experts are warning that we could see prices as outrageously high as $7 per gallon in some parts of the country. The current high prices are not new, either. Gasoline has been on the rise for seven straight weeks, according to GasBuddy data reported by Fox Carolina.

“Veteran energy strategist Dan Dicker said he can see gas prices going up to $5 a gallon. Dicker said some areas might even get to $6.50 or $7,” Fox Carolina added.

GasBuddy noted that the national average is almost twenty cents a gallon higher than a month ago and is nearly a dollar higher than one year ago. Worse, per gallon prices have already nearly doubled in just two years. Gas was only $2.17 a gallon average at the end of 2020. And it is no coincidence that 2020 was the last full year we had a president who wanted the U.S. to be energy independent. But already, in deep blue states, gas is getting perilously close to double those prices seen in 2020. In deep blue Illinois, for instance, gas now averages $3.60 a gallon for regular (nearly $4.50 for premium), while the national average is $3.50, according to traveler assistance group AAA.

It is even worse in California where the average price per gallon for regular is an unheard of $4.75 — more than a dollar higher than the national average!

Left-wing news sources continue to lay the blame for these skyrocketing prices at the door of Russia’s threatened invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, the Associated Press is only worried over the high costs of gasoline because it will likely have a political impact for Biden and the Democrats in the 2022 elections, ……………………………

READ THE REST OF THIS COMMENTARY AT https://www.westernjournal.com/brace-expert-says-gas-prices-reach-7-per-gallon-bidens-america/

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Border Guard

A.F. BRANCO | on February 4, 2022 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-border-guard/

Weak leader Biden is more concerned with the Ukraine border than his own U.S. Border.

Biden on the Ukraine Border
Political Cartoon by A.F. Branco ©202.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

In Opposing War with Russia, Tucker Carlson Champions the Hard-Won Truths of Putting American Interests First


REPORTED BY: SUMANTRA MAITRA | JANUARY 31, 2022

Read more at https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/31/in-opposing-war-with-russia-tucker-carlson-champions-the-hard-won-truths-of-putting-american-interests-first/

Tucker Carlson monologue on Russia

Arecent Tucker Carlson monologue questioned the relentless narrative insisting Americans must compulsively side with Ukraine against Russia in their conflict.

“We are potentially on the verge of a land war in Europe aimed at extinguishing democracy and sovereignty, and the American right wing is on the side of ethno-nationalist authoritarianism. That’s where we’re at,” tweeted President Obama’s former speechwriter Ben Rhodes, who coined the phrase “DC blob,” in reply to Carlson without a hint of irony.

Another Democrat operative, who allegedly worked with the Ukrainian embassy to dig up dirt on President Trump, tweeted that Carlson should be prosecuted as a foreign agent. To top it all, President Obama’s former Russia hand quite literally called for war against a nuclear rival to ensure the sovereignty of Ukraine, a proposition unthinkable during Cold War bipartisanship, when the first instinct was to ensure great power equilibrium and avoid mutually assured destruction.

They are not the only ones. A recent New Yorker profile makes it clearer than any:

Vladimir Putin presents himself to his citizens and to the world as the standard-bearer of a modern counter-enlightenment. He has declared liberal democracy ‘obsolete,’ a political arrangement that has ‘outlived its purpose. One of his historical role models is said to be Alexander III, a reactionary tsar in the Romanov dynasty who instituted draconian restrictions on the press, sought to ‘Russify’ his multi-ethnic empire, and mobilized against internal and external threats. Four years ago, Putin expressed his deep admiration for the tsar while visiting the Crimean Peninsula, a substantial and distinctly unthreatening parcel of Ukraine that Russia invaded in 2014 and has occupied ever since.

A Rabid Response to the New Right’s Power

There is a palpable panic at Carlson arguably driving the GOP towards a more pre-war conservatism. It’s even being hysterically termed Putinism and Russia First” by some commentators. Michael McFaul, Obama’s Russia ambassador, was vocal on Twitter arguing that opposing Russia is a moral duty of anyone who opposes “imperialism,” alongside both prominent liberal theorists and second-tier neoconservative internationalist gadflies.

There has also been relentless fearmongering about Carlson, authoritarianism, and nationalism. Some have gone so far as to bizarrely tag Carlson a “comrade,” which is absurd because Putin’s Russia is far more Christian and conservative than the increasingly secular West.

“Why is it disloyal to side with Russia but loyal to side with Ukraine?” Carlson asked, provoking commentary noting Putin murders dissidents. Yet the world is full of rulers who murderously abuse power—for example, by sending drones that kill non-combatants and children.

It cannot be a matter of American patriotism to send U.S. troops to die for evils in other nations, or United States must attempt to police the entire globe. Experience has shown that is practically impossible and deeply damaging to U.S. national interests.

Thus in recent years, the ascendant New Right has led a bipartisan push for a more restrained foreign policy, one predicated on cutting down on foreign entanglements (termed as foreign policy realism in academic circles) especially from the Middle East, pushing Europe to spend a lot more for its own defense, and focusing more on domestic issues, as well as the rise of China. Carlson is perhaps the most prominent voice of that school in the right and has consistently opposed needless foreign confrontation, especially over Iran and Russia.

Matt Walsh and Sohrab Ahmari recently also opposed further confrontation with Russia over ensuring democracy and rights in Ukraine, as this conflict does not directly threaten the American landmass or way of life. Prominent next-gen Republican lawmakers and foreign policy leaders, such as Adam Laxalt, Bernie Moreno, J. D. Vance, Blake Masters, and Peter Meijer also often voice more realist rhetoric.

Is It America’s Job to Change Other Nations’ Regimes?

This realignment has also included questioning whether the ascending conservative foreign-policy realism in America, based on a narrow definition of national interest, is compatible with progressivism. Progressivism, as John Mearsheimer noted, is by definition universalist, radical, and revolutionary.

Mearsheimer wrote, “because liberalism prizes the concept of inalienable or natural rights, committed liberals are deeply concerned about the rights of virtually every individual on the planet. This universalist logic creates a powerful incentive for liberal states to get involved in the affairs of countries that seriously violate their citizens’ rights. To take this a step further, the best way to ensure that the rights of foreigners are not trampled is for them to live in a liberal democracy. This logic leads straight to an active policy of regime change, where the goal is to topple autocrats and put liberal democracies in their place.”

Consider the relentless number of tweets by a section of the commentariat about Western support for ensuring LGBT-favoring laws in Ukraine, and Mearsheimer sounds prescient. Whatever these people are, their constant revolutionary and internationalist rhetoric would make Leon Trotsky blush.

Our Job Is to Govern Ourselves First

Foreign policy realism, on the other hand, enacts a grand strategy based on amoral narrow national interest, one formulated by early American statesmen from George Washington to James Monroe to John Quincy Adams. If it ever comes back as an administrative principle, then it will become the domain solely of the right.

The aversion against great powers and spheres of influence is an egalitarian instinct claiming all states are equal, regardless of any other variable. This instinct is by definition unnatural and revolutionary. It defies geography, aggregate power, history, and most importantly, narrow nationalism.

Believing that “History” is progressive, and therefore acting on it to liberate everyone everywhere and promote rights and democracy, then becomes part of an inflated American national interest. The side that does not believe in nation-states or nationalism cannot by definition side with a narrow interpretation of national interest.

It’s Natural to Defend Yourself

Carlson is increasingly influential because he sides with something very natural: a human urge to be a nationalist, and therefore opposed to a relentless and crusading global revolution, whether promoting a borderless Marxism or an equally borderless liberalism.

The ascendant New Right believes in peace through strength, and a very narrow Jacksonian definition of nationalism, in which Europeans pay for their own security and Americans only come at the last moment if things go wrong. In this view, China is a far bigger threat to American prosperity and its land-mass than Russia or Iran will ever be, and defending porous American borders matters a lot more to Americans than Ukrainian borders.

The other side, a duopoly of Never Trump neoconservatives and liberal-internationalists, wants to continue to allegedly ensure human rights across the globe while neglecting the way of life at home. It may be a noble goal, but ultimately it’s one that the majority of Americans and an overwhelming number of conservatives are tired of after 30 years, thousands of lost lives, and trillions of dollars in deficits.

The instinct for promoting a global revolution to promote LGBT rights, liberalism, and feminism is as radical an instinct as it can get, and that argument is increasingly opposed by a majority of Americans who simply don’t care enough to spend blood and treasure in places they cannot spot on a map.

Self-Government Means No Country Is Too Big to Fail

When Rhodes and McFaul yell about defending human rights in Ukraine, and Carlson and others on the right remind everyone of American failures in pursuing such an unlimited global policy, it’s important to rethink the priors and understand the re-alignment in foreign policy is complete. Powerful realist voices on the left such as Matthew Duss, Stephen Wertheim, Tulsi Gabbard, and Rep. Ro Khanna notwithstanding, it is becoming increasingly clear that true restrained foreign policy realism is connected to a very narrow form of nationalism, and that is fundamentally a reactionary and therefore conservative concept.

Second, as I wrote recently, “selling” such foreign policy, even to a very instinctively nationalist electorate like America, means talking in a language that most people will get. Carlson (and Donald Trump, for that matter) connected with the normal crowd, arguing about the futility of sending their sons to die for Ukraine, Afghanistan, or Libya. That has more impact than a bunch of Foreign Affairs Snapshots.

This recent debate on Ukraine, therefore, has brought forth troubling questions for those trying to sell oxymoronic “progressive” foreign policy realism, which took a hell of a beating in the last few weeks.


Dr. Sumantra Maitra is a national-security fellow at The Center for the National Interest; a non-resident fellow at the James G Martin Center; and an elected early career historian member at the Royal Historical Society. He is a senior contributor to The Federalist, and can be reached on Twitter @MrMaitra.

Why Are Energy Prices Everywhere So High? Democrats


REPORTED BY: DANIEL TURNER | JANUARY 24, 2022

Read more at https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/24/why-are-energy-prices-everywhere-so-high-democrats/

Mystic Generating Station, Massachusetts

When President Biden warned of a bleak and deadly winter, he was referring to the Covid-19 outbreak that he promised to “shut down.” While he has failed to curb the virus, his policies have unfortunately been more successful reining in our once thriving energy industry. At the one-year mark of his administration running the Departments of Interior and Energy and determining regulations at the Environmental Protection Agency, anyone paying a bill sees the results. Oil prices have nearly doubled since Biden’s inauguration.

Despite the longing of green activists worldwide, we are in fact, a fossil fuel-driven economy, and all prices have gone up dramatically: gasfoodutilitiesshippingdurable goods. Biden’s inflation, now at 40-year highs of 7 percent, is now the number-one issue among voters and will no doubt hang over every race this November. The only logical response for an embattled president is changing the narrative. So, Biden bought a puppy.

To be fair, Biden alone is not to blame. The entire far left is. For years, leftist politicians have attacked the energy industry in the name of “climate change” and for years those of us who know the industry have warned of dire consequences.

The Left’s Insanity On Energy Supply

Four years ago, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey started using her office to prevent pipeline construction. Without a constant supply, power plants turned elsewhere for reliable natural gas: Russia. Despite the absolute insanity of sending Commonwealth checks to Vladimir Putin rather than Pennsylvania, Healey insisted it was better for the climate. Even when the Massachusetts electric grid was teetering on failure, she insisted that transatlantic cargo ships were an improvement over domestic pipelines to a neighboring state. It was insanity then. It’s worse now.

Massachusetts joins the ranks of many European nations enriching Putin. He has used the surplus to build his army along Ukraine preparing to invade. You didn’t think he was going to build orphanages, did you? It is Vladimir Putin, after all. Maybe the Russian army can have a disclaimer, like the ones Healey applies to campaign ads. “This army brought to you by climate change activists.”

Writing for Forbes, energy analyst David Blackmon breaks down the current state of electricity generation in New England. Despite the subsidies and the posturing of Northeastern climate-conscious Democrat politicians like Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Green New Deal author Edward Markey, the region has increased use of the very fossil fuels they try so hard to eliminate. Blasted New Englanders and their… heat.

They are also importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Caribbean because of the now four-year old Healey logic: why buy inexpensively from your friend what you can buy at a premium from a stranger? Add to that the few thousand miles in an ocean tanker and you get a perfect formula for being an eco-warrior.

Reduced Production

Supply is becoming an ongoing problem for the energy industry. The United States is currently producing about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil fewer per day than pre-pandemic levels. Worse, investment in the industry is down nearly 25 percent from that period. Why? Biden.

Fossil fuels are a labor and market-intensive industry, and they rely on government cooperation. That means a secretary of Energy who does not laugh when asked about industry challenges. That means an Interior secretary who does not say publicly “it would be great to stop all oil and gas leases on public lands.” Investors are not going to gamble on the Biden variable, even with oil reaching seven-year highs.

Government is dropping the ball. It’s mid-January, and we have a lot of winter ahead of us. Between the high prices and the scarce supply, consumers should be worried.

Lessons from the Texas Freeze

Last year, Texas experienced a terrible winter storm that shut down its wind turbine electricity production. Sadly, 246 people died in that storm. For decades, Texas Republicans bought into the green energy myths, quietly allowing the notion that fossil fuels were the enemy to fester in their policy hearts. They introduced “renewable energy mandates.” When the storm of February 2021 froze the wind turbines, supporters of the renewable energy mandates quickly came to the green defense. This was not about science or facts: this was about defending ideology.

“Don’t Blame Wind Turbines” blared Time Magazine, along with USA TodayThe Washington Post, and of course, The New York Times. The laughable, knee-jerk reaction brings up a metaphysical dilemma: if the absence of something is no different than its presence, does it have any value? Or even exist? If the wind turbines failed, and make no mistake they failed completely, but their failure does not matter, then how can they have measurable success?

All of these outlets blame the fiasco in Texas on natural gas pipelines, as fossil fuels are, and will always be, the reliable backup to green energy. The renewable energy advocates, desperate not to have a failure on the books, contend that in certain conditions natural gas must overperform. During that storm it did not, and therefore is at fault. Renewables are asked to do the bare minimum, demand perfect conditions, and if any variable is introduced, they get to throw in the towel and cast aspersions on the real performers.

If Texas Republicans fall victim to the green energy siren calls, then what hope does New England have? New England, the bastion of unblemished liberalism, back to burning oil instead of cleaner natural gas, running low on LNG, buying supplies from Russia and the Caribbean, adding to ocean pollution with more tankers, sacrificing American jobs, and enriching Putin.

Again, 246 people were victims of Texas’ green energy dreams. It’s the nameless, the powerless, the voiceless, who die at the hands of the state because of political decisions based on ideology. And their numbers are going to climb unless there is a major reversal at the federal and state level.


10 Lies Biden Told During His First Press Conference in Months


REPORTED BY: JORDAN BOYD | JANUARY 19, 2022

Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/10-lies-biden-told-during-his-first-press-conference-in-months-2656436639.html/

Joe Biden at formal press conference 1/19/22

President Joe Biden hosted his second solo press conference ever on Wednesday but his attempts to clearly communicate how he plans to fix a country plagued with COVID-19, crime, rising prices, empty shelves, and more were nothing less of a disaster. Not only did Biden, who was once heralded as the chief unifier of the country, use the presser to repeat rhetoric trashing Republicans, he also did his absolute best to put lipstick on the pig that is the struggling U.S. economy. Unfortunately, no amount of lipstick or whoppers can cover Biden’s terrible and devastating approval rating.

Biden concluded his initial speech by claiming that “the best days of this country are still ahead of us not behind us,” but his optimism is unfounded. Recent polling suggests that only 26 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction. The majority, however, are left wondering whether Biden will work to fix the myriad of crises he created.

Here are the 10 lies Biden told during his Wednesday press conference.

1. The Nation’s Problem Is COVID

“I know there’s a lot of frustration and fatigue in this country. And we know why: COVID-19, Omicron it has now been challenging us in a way that, it’s the new enemy,” Biden said.

Not only is COVID-19 a virus that’s been around for years now, therefore not making it a “new enemy,” but it’s also not the only thing plaguing voters’ lives or minds. As a matter of fact, while Biden parades around the Capitol encouraging Democrats to abolish the filibuster and legalize illegal voting practices, he’s failing to address the ongoing Southern border crisis, empty shelves, and rising urban crime.

2. Wages Are Up

Early in his speech, Biden claimed that American wages are up. What he failed to address is that real wages have decreased most of the months he’s been in office. Even in months when wages were up, Americans were forced to dig deeper in their pockets to cover their climbing gas, energy, and grocery bills.

3. Biden Created Jobs

Biden tried to circumvent the nation’s economic turmoil by claiming that he created more jobs to stimulate the economy. He ignored, however, the role the government played in creating the recession that caused job loss in the first place. And on the role his own administration played in lining the pockets of Americans with federal cash, Biden was mum.

4. The Supply Chain Crisis Isn’t That Bad

Biden hardly addressed the ongoing supply chain crisis, leading to the often popular #bareshelvesBiden hashtag, and the nation’s rising inflation which continues to plague voters’ lives as they begin considering who to vote for in the 2022 midterms.

The president hinted that the “empty shelves being shown on television” were misleading but even he admitted that they are “a few [percentage] points below what it was before the pandemic.”

5. Inflation Was Already A Thing Before I Took Office

Biden claimed that inflation was increasing long before he assumed office, but as recent reports indicate, inflation in the U.S. surged to 7 percent in December 2021, the highest level since 1982.

6. Republicans Want To Steal Minorities’ Right To Vote

In an effort to promote his campaign to initiate a federal takeover of elections, Biden claimed that Republicans want to take away minorities’ rights to vote.

“No matter how hard they make it for minorities to vote, I think you’re going to see them willing to stand in line and … keep them from being able to vote,” Biden said. “I think you’re gonna see the people they’re trying to keep from being able to show up, showing up and making the sacrifice that needs to make in order to change the law back to what it should be.”

7. Schools Aren’t Closed

“You say we’re not going to go back to closing schools. You said that just moments ago, yet they’re closing in some areas. What do you say to those teachers and principals and parents about school closings?” one reporter asked. “And what can your administration do to help make up for learning loss for students?”

“First of all, I put in perspective the question you asked, very few schools are closing,” Biden claimed. “Over 95 percent are still open.”

Yet, since the rise of Omicron in the U.S., reports of schools closing across the country have also risen leaving working parents desperate for in-person learning once more. Thousands of schools that were scheduled to reopen following Christmas break opted for virtual learning until well into January due to panic over COVID-19 spread.

8. Build Back Better Will Save Americans Money

During the conference, Biden repeated the lie that his Build Back Better legislative package “would actually lower or reduce inflation.”

This falsehood has been debunked numerous times but that didn’t stop the president from claiming that his legislation, which actually costs trillions of dollars, won’t cost taxpayers a dime.

9. White House Reporters Are The Most Informed Americans Of All Time

Biden told the White House press pool that they are “more informed than any group of people in America.”

While the statement will probably score him points with openly partisan press pool members, it’s far from the truth.

For more than a year, corporate media reporters who covered Biden’s rise to the presidency and his subsequent time in the White House have overlooked the administration’s failures to laud the Democrat for being a “moral, decent man.” They’ve wasted their precious Q+As with the president on softball questions framed in a positive light, while also failing to ask key ones. They let Biden ramble and frequently fail to point out the obvious lies lacing his winding answers.

10. I Didn’t Compare My Democrat Colleagues To Racists

Biden denied that he compared Democrat filibuster holdouts Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to confederate leaders.

“I did not say that they were going to be George Wallace or Bull Connor,” Biden claimed. “I said we’re gonna have a decision in history.”

Just last week, however, Biden asked “Do you want to be the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?”

“This is the moment to decide, to defend our elections, to defend our democracy. If you do that you will not be alone,” Biden said.


Alert: US Tracking Russian Rocket’s Uncontrolled Re-Entry


Reported  By Jack Davis  January 5, 2022

https://www.westernjournal.com/alert-us-tracking-russian-rockets-uncontrolled-re-entry/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=aa-breaking&utm_campaign=can&utm_content=firefly&ats_es=1703275f97009d3a9c3cbb1a34025de5

A massive chunk of a Russian rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere Wednesday after raising fears of an impact in various U.S. locations.

US Space Command said in a statement that it was “aware of and tracking the location of the Angara A5/PERSEY rocket body in space,” according to CNN.

“At this time, the 18th Space Control Squadron assesses the entry point into the Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 2054 UTC (1:54 pm MST) over the Southern Pacific Ocean.” That equates 3:54 p.m. ET.

“Factors such as the atmospheric conditions and the exact angle of the object as it enters the atmosphere can alter the re-entry location,” Space Command said.

The rocket was projected to fly over parts of Mexico and Texas on one possible path to its landing, according to NBC.

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THE REPORT AT https://www.westernjournal.com/alert-us-tracking-russian-rockets-uncontrolled-re-entry/

Jack Davis, Contributor, News

Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.

Today’s TWO Politically INCORRECT Cartoons by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Take Cover

A.F. BRANCO on December 11, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-take-cover/

Biden only acts tough on the foreign stage in regard to Russia like in the style of Obama.

Biden Deals with Russia and Ukraine
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Hoax of the Woke

A.F. BRANCO on December 13, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-hoax-of-the-woke/

Smollett’s fake noose represents Fake racism, fake white supremacy, all being reported as truth by fake media.

Smollett and the Fake News
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Clueless In Chief

A.F. BRANCO on November 16, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-clueless-in-chief/

Biden shows more concern over the phony hype of Climate Change than real military threats like China.

Existential Threats
Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Randy DeSoto Op-ed: Adam Schiff Gets Verbally KO-ed on Air When Fed-Up Interviewer Finally Nails Him


Commentary By Randy DeSoto | November 9, 2021

Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/adam-schiff-gets-verbally-ko-ed-air-fed-interviewer-finally-nails/

Former Trump administration State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus clearly made House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff uncomfortable when she pressed him on Tuesday about his promotion of the debunked Steele dossier.

Last week, special counsel John Durham charged Igor Danchenko with five counts of lying to the FBI. Danchenko is a Russian national who worked at the liberal Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and is believed to be a primary source of information contained in the infamous anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. That document was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee and was used to help launch the Russia probe in search of ties between the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

Ortagus, who was a guest-hosting ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, questioned Schiff about his promotion of the Steele dossier and the false narrative underlying it.

“You’ve been really prolific over the past few years being the head of the Intel Committee. You defended, promoted, you even read into the Congressional Record the Steele dossier,” Ortagus said.

“And we know last week the main source of the dossier was indicted by the FBI for lying about most of the key claims in that dossier. Do you have any reflections on your role in promoting this to the American people?” she asked.

Schiff first responded in a reasonable fashion, saying any who lied to the FBI should be prosecuted.

He then defended his conduct.

“We couldn’t have known, for example, people were lying to Christopher Steele. So it was proper to investigate them,” Schiff said.

The congressman added that one benefit of the investigation was learning that Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had given polling data to Russian intelligence. Schiff was playing pretty fast and loose with the facts. According to The Associated Press, Manafort gave polling data to Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian and Ukrainian political consultant, who allegedly passed it along to Russian intelligence.

“But Mueller’s team said it couldn’t ‘reliably determine’ Manafort’s purpose in sharing it, nor assess what Kilimnik may have done with it,” the AP reported.

That sort of exaggeration by Schiff was typical throughout the Russia probe.

Ortagus reminded Schiff that Manafort was removed from the campaign in the summer of 2016 when questions arose regarding his past lobbying work for pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarchs. Further, it should be noted that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, though filled with Democratic investigators, “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated” with Russia, according to the Justice Department’s Mueller report.

Ortagus then brought the conversation back to Schiff’s role in promoting the whole collusion false narrative and the dossier.

“You may have helped spread Russian disinformation yourself for years by promoting this. I think that’s what Republicans and what people who entrusted you as the Intel Committee chair are so confused about your culpability in all of this,” Ortagus said.

“Well, I completely disagree with your premise,” Schiff responded. “It’s one thing to say allegations should be investigated, and they were. It’s another to say that we should have foreseen in advance that some people were lying to Christopher Steele, which is impossible of course to do.”

The Californian sells himself short. He was constantly out in front of the cameras claiming he was privy to intelligence that he could not share with the public validating the collusion charge. For example in March 2017, NBC “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd asked Schiff if there was anything beyond circumstantial evidence suggesting the Trump campaign’s connection to Russia.

“I can tell you that the case is more than that and I can’t go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence now,” Schiff said.

Further questioned whether he had seen direct evidence, the representative responded, “I don’t want to get into specifics but I will say that there is evidence that is not circumstantial and is very much worthy of an investigation.”

Despite making claims like that for many months, Schiff never came forward with such evidence, even after Mueller issued his report.

On Tuesday’s showing of “The View,” the Democrat pivoted away from discussing the dossier to raising the issue of the 2019 House Democratic impeachment of Trump and the Capitol incursion to prove investigating him was justified.

You’ll recall it was during the impeachment hearing that Schiff famously made up his own fanciful version of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to build his case that the American leader conducted a shakedown to secure an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden’s shady dealings in Ukraine. This performance was even after Zelensky himself said he felt no pressure from Trump’s call and his country launched no investigation into the Bidens.

Schiff told Ortagus, “None of that is undercut. None of that serious misconduct is in any way diminished by the fact that people lied to Christopher Steele.”

“No. I think just your credibility is,” Ortagus shot back.

Schiff then opted for the verbal attack of a schoolboy, saying, “I think the credibility of your question is in doubt.”

Having boasted about so much with so little pushback from the media, it was refreshing to see his feet actually held to the fire for once.

Randy DeSoto, Senior Staff Writer

Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book “We Hold These Truths” and screenwriter of the political documentary “I Want Your Money.”@RandyDeSoto

DURHAM ARRESTS STEELE’S TOP SOURCE


Reported by MICHAEL GINSBERG | CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER | November 04, 2021

Read more at https://dailycaller.com/2021/11/04/igor-danchenko-arrested-christopher-steele-john-durham-fbi-trump/

BRITAIN-RUSSIA-US-MEDIA-STEELE
(Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Federal agents arrested Igor Danchenko, the primary researcher of a dossier compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele, as part of Special Counsel John Durham’s probe into the origins of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Danchenko was taken into custody on Thursday, the New York Times (NYT) first reported. He was employed by Steele’s firm, Orbis Business International, but was previously investigated during the Obama administration as part of a probe into suspected Russian intelligence officers operating in Washington, DC. Before his time at Orbis, Danchenko worked as a Russia analyst at the liberal Brookings Institute, where he became known for accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of plagiarizing his economics dissertation. 

Danchenko is charged with five counts of making false statements to investigators.

As part of his work on the Steele dossier, Danchenko claimed to have interviewed six individuals with knowledge of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. However, during a 2017 FBI interview, Danchenko contradicted many of the dossier’s key assertions. As a result, the FBI concluded that “the reliability of the dossier was completely destroyed,” according to Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. 

Danchenko has defended his work on the Steele dossier, describing it as “raw intelligence from credible sources” in a 2020 interview with NYT. The dossier served as primary evidence for the FBI’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) warrant request for Trump campaign aide Carter Page, a Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General report found.

As part of his investigation into the origins of the DOJ probe into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government, Durham has targeted the production and dissemination of the Steele dossier. He indicted former Perkins Coie and Democratic National Committee attorney Michael Sussmann in September for lying to the FBI’s top attorney during a meeting in which Sussmann passed along allegations against the Trump campaign.

White House Forced to Issue Clarification on Gesture Biden Made in Opening Seconds of Putin Meeting


Reported by Erin Coates | June 16, 2021

Read more at https://www.westernjournal.com/white-house-forced-issue-clarification-gesture-biden-made-opening-seconds-putin-meeting/

The White House quickly issued a clarification that President Joe Biden’s answer to a reporter’s question Wednesday in Geneva was not what it seemed. Prior to Biden’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Switzerland, the two leaders appeared together for a brief and chaotic photo opportunity, according to The Associated Press. When a reporter asked if Putin could be trusted, Biden appeared to nod in agreement.

“Inside, a pooler shouted Mr. President, do you trust Putin? Biden nodded yes up and down,” CBS News reporter Kathryn Watson tweeted, quoting the print pool. Political reporter Yamiche Alcindor added that it appeared that Biden “looked directly at the reporter and nodded affirmatively.”

The White House communications staff moved quickly to claim the president wasn’t answering the Putin question but was just giving “a general head nod in the direction of the media.”

“During a chaotic free for all with members of the press shouting questions over each other, the President gave a general head nod in the direction of the media,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told Alcindor.

“He wasn’t responding to any question or anything other than the chaos.”

White House Communications Director Kate Beddingfield offered a similar explanation, adding that two days ago Biden said “verify, then trust” in relation to Putin.

Biden has previously called Putin a “killer” and has claimed that as vice president a decade ago he looked into Putin’s eyes and told him he was missing a “soul.”

Journalists and security officers were shoving to get into the small room Wednesday, creating a bit of chaos prior to the meeting, according to the AP.

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THIS REPORT AT https://www.westernjournal.com/white-house-forced-issue-clarification-gesture-biden-made-opening-seconds-putin-meeting/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=aa-breaking&utm_campaign=can&utm_content=firefly

Today’s THREE Politically INCORRECT Cartoons by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Tyrants’ Best Friend

A.F. BRANCO on June 4, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-tyrants-best-friend/

Dictators and Tyrants around the world can smell weakness in Biden.

Biden Weakness

Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Pride Before the Fall

A.F. BRANCO on June 6, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-pride-before-the-fall/

Governor Walz could have stopped much of the damage in Minnesota by Left-wing groups.

Governor Walz Proud of Himself

Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021

A.F. Branco Cartoon – Leave it to the Pros

A.F. BRANCO on June 7, 2021 | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-leave-it-to-the-pros/

Crooked Hillary Clinton must be looking at Fauci as an Amateur with his recent exposed email.

Fauci Emails and Hillary Clinton

Political cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2021.

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 –  $5.00 –  $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 –  it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Shagged

While Swalwell and the Democrats were pushing the Russia collusion hoax they were colluding with Communist China.

Swalwell China CollusionPolitical cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2020.
Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 –  $5.00 –  $25.00 – $50.00 – $100 –  it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. Also Venmo @AFBranco – THANK YOU!

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, Rush Limbaugh, and shared by President Donald Trump.

‘The Biden Five’: The Definitive Breakdown of One of America’s Most Corrupt Families


Reported by ROBERT KRAYCHIK | 

Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute and senior contributor at Breitbart News, explained how Joe Biden’s family members — dubbed the Biden Five — monetized political connections and influence in an interview aired on Tuesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow.

The Biden Five is composed of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden; his younger brothers Frank Biden and James Biden, his sister Valerie Biden, and his daughter Ashley Biden.

Marlow highlighted Schweizer’s latest book, Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite, as “the gateway into understanding not just Joe Biden and the Biden family, but also the entire institutional Democratic Party at this moment and their corruption.”

Marlow described Schweizer’s investigation of the Biden family as yielding “indisputable evidence that Joe Biden is running a crime-like syndicate where he is, if nothing else, enabling his family members to get rich, without really any noticeable skill, using the American people’s good name.”

Schweizer noted the internationalization of the Biden family’s business dealings following Joe Biden becoming vice president.

“There’s no question about it. Joe Biden is the planet around which the moons of his family travel,” Schweizer said, “and the gravitational pull is Joe Biden’s power and his position, and the family has enriched themselves based on the positions he has.”

Schweizer continued, “Before Joe Biden is vice president of the United States, they’re really not doing many international deals, but once Joe Biden becomes vice president of the United States, suddenly, they’ve got foreign governments and foreign entities falling over themselves to cut them in on deals that they have no background or no expertise in. There’s a direct link between the corrupt acts of the family and the policy positions and power that Joe Biden has.”

1 – Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden joined his father aboard Air Force Two in December of 2013 on a flight to China. Ten days later, he secured over $1 billion in financing from the state-run Bank of China for a newly launched private equity firm he co-founded.

Schweizer explained, “Before Joe Biden becomes vice president of the United States, Hunter is a lobbyist for online gambling companies in Europe. That’s what he’s doing. That’s his professional background. Once his dad becomes vice president of the United States, he suddenly starts doing a whole host of global deals beginning with China. He flies with his dad on Air Force Two to Beijing China in December 2013.”

“Within 10 days of that trip, Hunter Biden joins the board of directors and gets an equity stake in a Chinese government-financed investment firm called BHR Partners, Bohai Harvest RST,” Schweizer added. “He has no backgroundin private equity. He has no background in China. They put him on the board precisely because his father is vice president and precisely because his father is taking pro-China positions on the global stage.”

Schweizer focused on Hunter Biden’s lack of expertise related to either private equity or China as indicative of the Chinese government’s rationale for funding BHR.

In 2015, the Obama administration approved the sale of a strategically sensitive American company, Henniges Automotive, in a joint-purchase shared by a Chinese military contractor and BHR. The foreign acquisition required special approval from the Committee of Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) due to the company’s manufacturing of technology with military applications.

Schweizer remarked, “Hunter Biden’s business partners were quite explicit that he doesn’t bring anything to the table. He’s not bringing any money. He’s not bringing any expertise. He was the, quote, ‘pipeline to the administration,’ meaning the Obama-Biden administration.”

The Chinese Communist Party viewed Hunter Biden as a conduit through which political influence with the Obama administration could be procured, Schweizer held.

“There’s a very clear reason why the Chinese government wants the son of the vice president sitting on their board involved in these deals,” Schweizer said, “because they need the approval of the Obama-Biden administration, which is, of course, what they get when they start acquiring these companies.”

Joe Biden repeatedly denied having discussions with Hunter Biden about his son’s foreign financial dealings. “I’ve never discussed my business or their business, my sons’ or daughter’s,” said Joe Biden in 2019. “And I’ve never discussed them because they know where I have to do my job and that’s it and they have to make their own judgments.”

Joe Biden previously declared the existence of an “absolute wall” between himself and his family members’ business. He said, “I have never discussed, with my son or my brother or with anyone else, anything having to do with their businesses. Period.”

Laws prohibiting political bribery include transference of money to elected officials’ family members, Schweizer noted.

Schweizer pointed to a photograph of Joe Biden posing with oligarch Kenes Rakishev of Kazakhstan, who once reportedly explored business with Hunter Biden as further evidence of the former vice president’s deception in denying knowledge of his family’s financial dealings.

A recent report from the Daily Mail suggests the procurement of political favors from Joe Biden via Hunter Biden by Yelena Baturina, a Russian oligarch who wired $3.5 million to Rosemont Seneca, a private investment firm co-owned by Hunter Biden. Baturina’s brother said the consultancy fee was “a payment to enter the American market.”

Schweizer identified Hunter Biden’s previous position on the board of directors for Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, as further evidence  of Joe Biden’s monetization of political influence through his son.

“[Hunter Biden] was getting a million dollars a year from a corrupt Ukrainian energy company,” Schweizer stated. “He had no background energy. He had no background in Ukraine. We now know with emails that have been released that he was working at Burisma’s direction to try to deflect investigations into Burisma, which is a very corrupt company run by corrupt oligarchs.”

Schweizer highlighted Joe Biden’s admission in 2018 that he pressured Ukraine to terminate Viktor Shokin during his vice presidential tenure. At the time, Shokin was a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating corruptio? on the part of Burisma.

The Biden family’s lack of expertise in fields within which they have been paid millions of dollars from foreign governments and interests reveals their sale of political influence through Joe Biden, Schweizer assessed.

“What are the Bidens selling?” asked Schweizer. “What product or what service are they providing these Chinese companies [or] a Ukrainian energy company? They don’t know anything about the energy business. They don’t know anything about private finance [or] equity companies. They don’t know anything about that, so the point is these foreign entities are paying the Bidens money — millions of dollars. The question is, what are they getting in return?”

Schweizer concluded, “These are not charities. These are not philanthropies. They are expecting and they are getting something in return, or they would stop paying.”

2 – Frank Biden 

Companies owned by Frank Biden, Joe Biden’s youngest brother, received millions of dollars in taxpayer loans related to real estate development in the Caribbean during Joe Biden’s vice presidency.

Schweizer said, “[Frank Biden was] basically was a real estate agent — not very successful — in Florida. Suddenly decides he’s going to go into the renewable energy business. [He had] no background in any of that. He set up companies in Costa Rica [and] sets up another company in Jamaica, and lo and behold, gets involved in deals that get taxpayer-backed loans from the U.S. government — or more specifically, from the Obama-Biden administration, to do renewable energy projects in Costa Rica and Jamaica.”

Frank Biden’s business interests also received millions of dollars in grants from the Department of Education towards the construction of charter schools. Joe Biden’s youngest brother described his family name as a “tremendous asset” that delivered “automatic acceptance” for government approvals of school projects and securing public funding.

“These are our grants that are discretionary, which means the Department of Education can decide who they want to give them to,” Schweizer explained. “[Frank Biden] took in millions of dollars from the Education Department while his brother was vice president of the United States.”

Schweizer added, [Frank Biden] actually had a meeting involving his companies in the Oval Office with Barack Obama and just a couple of other individuals. If his name had been Frank Jones instead of Frank Biden, I doubt any of that would have happened.”

3 – James Biden

James Biden, the younger brother of Joe Biden, worked as executive vice president of HillStone International, a firm that received $1.5 billion in government contracts during the Obama administrations, including a contract to build 100,000 homes in Iraq as part of an international development project.

Schweizer detailed the conflicts of interest related to James Biden’s position with HillStone International given Joe Biden’s oversight of ostensibly humanitarian government-funded development projects in Iraq during his vice presidency.

Kevin Justice, founder and president of Hillstone International, visited the White House in 2010 and met with Michele Smith, a top aide to then-Vice President Joe Biden who worked as a liaison to “global government officials and business executives.”

James Biden had no background in construction or international development when he joined the company. Hillstone International’s company profile of James Biden touted his familial connection to Joe Biden as a professional attribute.

“Within six months [of HillStone’s founding], they land these billion-dollar contracts to build homes in Iraq,” recalled Schweizer. “This is part of the Iraqi reconstruction after the war, and who is in charge of the Iraqi reconstruction at the time? Joe Biden, his brother. Now we have a third member of the family, who because of Joe’s position, is cashing in. In this case, taxpayer money is flowing to a member of the Biden family.”

4 – Valerie Biden

Joe Biden’s sister Valerie Biden, who previously managed Joe Biden’s senatorial campaigns in Delaware, financially benefited from donations to her brother’s later presidential campaigns. In 2008, she sent $2.5 million to her political communications firm from Citizens for Biden and Biden for President Inc.

Schweizer described Valerie Biden’s enrichment via Joe Biden’s campaign funding as “legal graft.” He recalled, “When Joe Biden ran for the senate in Delaware — obviously a very safe for him, there hasn’t been a Republican in there for 40 years — what does Joe do? Joe hires his sister to run his campaigns [and] hires her firm as a consultant. As a result, millions of dollars flow to Valerie Biden.”

“It speaks to the pattern [of] the Bidens looking at opportunities to take money, whether it’s taxpayer money, political money, or business money, and steer it to their family members for their benefit,” Schweizer explained.

5 – Ashley Biden

Joe Biden assisted his daughter Ashley Biden by helping her husband, Howard Krein, launch healthcare company StartUp Health in 2011. He arranged a meeting with former President Barack Obama in the Oval Office weeks after the company’s founding.

StartUp Health’s meeting with Barack Obama was a “huge hookup,” Schweizer explained, noting StartUp Health’s securing of an invitation to Health Data-Palooza, a joint conference run by federal government and health industry.

“Health Data-Palooza is very prestigious and very hard to get into,” Schweizer stated. “They get hooked up and they are put front and center in this very important conference, and that’s the beginning of the favors that happen.” Joe Biden gave several private speeches and briefings to the partners and investors of Howard Krein’s business.

Joe Biden’s inside knowledge regarding the Obama administration’s planned healthcare policies afforded Howard Krein a competitive advantage relative to competing healthcare companies, Schweizer held.

Krein is now advising Joe Biden’s campaign on coronavirus matters while StartUp Health plans to invest $1 million in companies developing goods and services pertaining to the novel virus. Politico reported, “Krein simultaneously advising the campaign and venturing into Covid investing could pose conflict-of-interest concerns for a Biden administration or simply create the awkward appearance of Krein profiting off his father-in-law’s policies.”

Schweizer credited the Biden family with expanding the frontiers of American political corruption.

“The Bidens, to me, are unprecedented in the extent and scope of the corruption, because I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Schweizer determined. “I’ve exposed Republicans and Democrats. The most that I’ve ever seen up to this point was a Republican senator from Missouri that had three family members engaged in this kind of behavior. The Bidens now have five, making the Biden Five, in my mind, the the reigning champs when it comes to corrupt behavior in Washington, D.C.”

Breitbart News Daily broadcasts live on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

Alleged Hunter Biden Signature Found On Documents For Work On Three MacBook Pro Laptops At Repair Shop


Reported By  Hank Berrien  | DailyWire.com

12 November 2019, US, New York: The new MacBook Pro, recorded at an Apple presentation in New York, features a redesigned keyboard, a sophisticated sound system, and a 16-inch display.
Christoph Dernbach/picture alliance via Getty Images

On Monday night, Fox News reported that it had obtained documents purportedly showing Hunter Biden’s signature on paperwork from the Delaware computer repair shop where he allegedly left a laptop computer, the same computer that held emails related to his dealings with China and Ukraine.

“The document allegedly signed by Biden details repair work that was to be performed on three MacBook Pro laptops at ‘The Mac Shop’ in Wilmington, Delaware. Aside from the signature, the paperwork notes Biden’s name in the ‘bill to’ section for a cost of $85,” Fox News reported, adding that the signature had not yet been verified to be Hunter Biden’s.

Other documents reveal that the FBI had communicated with the owner of the computer repair store, John Paul Mac Isaac. He had received a subpoena to testify before U.S. District Court in Delaware on Dec. 9, 2019. “One page shows what appears to be serial numbers for a laptop and hard drive taken into possession,” Fox News stated.

A May 13, 2017 email mentioned “remuneration packages” for six people in a business deal with CEFC China Energy Co. and appeared to identify Hunter Biden as “Chair/Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC,” adding that “Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate,” Fox News reported.

“A proposed equity split references ‘20’ for ‘H’ and ‘10 held by H for the big guy?’” Fox News noted. The “big guy” is a reference to Joe Biden,  according to Fox News’ sources.

On Monday, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe confronted charges from the media and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff that Hunter Biden’s laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Speaking to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Ratcliffe said: “[I]t’s funny that some of the people that complained the most about intelligence being politicized are the ones politicizing intelligence and unfortunately in this case, it is Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who as you pointed out on Friday said that the intelligence community believes that Hunter Biden’s laptop and e-mails on it are part of some Russian disinformation campaign.”

“Let me be clear, the intelligence community doesn’t believe that because there is no intelligence that supports that and we shared no intelligence with chairman Schiff or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” he continued. “It’s simply not true.”

Later in the day, a senior administration official confirmed Ratcliffe’s claim, asserting to Fox News: “Ratcliffe is 100% correct. There is no intelligence at this time to support Chairman Schiff’s statement that recent stories on Biden’s foreign business dealings are part of a smart campaign that ‘comes from the Kremlin.’ Numerous foreign adversaries are seeking to influence American politics, policies, and media narratives. They don’t need any help from politicians who spread false information under the guise of intelligence.”

The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.

Read more at DailyWire.com

Report: Third Russian Health Worker Falls from Window After Criticizing Coronavirus Response


Reported by BEN KEW | 

URL of the originating web site: https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/05/04/report-third-russian-health-worker-falls-from-window-after-criticizing-coronavirus-response/

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, a medical worker puts on protective gear in order to assist coronavirus patients at the intensive care unit of Vinogradov City Clinical Hospital in Moscow, Russia. Reports of Russian medical workers becoming infected with the coronavirus are emerging almost daily as … Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo

The Moscow Times reports that 37-year-old Alexander Shulepov fell from the second floor of a hospital in the rural Voronezh and suffered a skull fracture, which has left him in critical condition. Voronezh is located 500 kilometers south of Moscow; he was being treated for coronavirus symptoms. Police claim to be investigating his fall.

Last month, Shulepov and his colleague Alexander Kosyakin filmed a video complaining that authorities in the Novaya Usman village hospital were forcing him the work despite the fact he had tested positive for the virus. The complaint occurred after reports surfaced that the Kremlin recently forced third-year medical students to work during the pandemic or face academic and professional consequences.

Days later, he reportedly released another video walking back his comments, arguing that he was in an “emotional state.” The video also featured Igor Potanin, the head doctor of the Novousmanskaya hospital, who insisted his medical staff were being provided with sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).

“I spoke about this to the department’s employees: I won’t let anyone go to outpatients or inpatients if we don’t have enough means of protection, I told them I’d go myself there, but I will not send anyone,” Potanin said in the video.

In a statement to CNN, Kosyakin confirmed details about his colleague’s condition.

“[Shulepov] is an intensive care unit, as far as I know in a serious condition, last time I spoke to him was on the 30th of April, we checked in with each other,” Kosyakin told CNN. “He felt fine, he was getting ready to get discharged from the hospital … and all of a sudden this happened, it’s not clear why and what for, so many questions that I don’t even have the answer to.”

Kosyakin reportedly faces criminal charges for violating Russia’s recently passed misinformation law, which carries prison sentences of up to five years for spreading “fake news” about the ongoing pandemic. Russian authorities have reported around 145,000 cases of the virus so far but just 1,356 deaths, an abnormally low number compared with other countries.

Shulepov is the third doctor to have reportedly plunged from a hospital building in the past two weeks, with the other two both dying of their injuries. The most recent of these victims was Elena Nepomnyashchaya, the acting head doctor of a hospital in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, who died days after an alleged fall from a window at the hospital she was in charge of. She had recently complained about her staff being forced to treat coronavirus patients without sufficient PPE.

Dr. Natalya Lebedeva — the head of the emergency medical service at Star City, where the majority of Russia’s cosmonauts are trained — allegedly committed suicide on April 24 by jumping from the building after failing to prevent an outbreak. The hospital called her death a “tragic accident.”

Falling or defenestration from buildings appear to have become a signature manner of death for numerous government dissenters in Russia over the past decade. Before the recent spate of falls, the latest case was that of the 32-year-old investigative journalist Maxim Borodin, thrown out of a fourth-floor window in April 2018 as he was investigating Russia’s military involvement in Syria.

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.

Flashback: Adam Schiff Hijacked House Intelligence Hearing on China to Subpoena a Russian Translator


Reported by KRISTINA WONG | 

URL of the originating website: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/19/flashback-adam-schiff-hijacked-intel-hearing-china-subpoena-russian-translator/

Schiff / Drew Angerer /Getty Images

“The House Republicans have been running an investigation into China on the Intelligence Committee for many, many years…so we’ve been on this for awhile, and remember, we were dealing with the Russian hoax in Congress at the same time the House Republicans were trying to run an investigation into China,” he said on Fox and Friends.

“And the Democrats — finally we had a public hearing on this — and they hijacked the hearing to try to subpoena whatever Russian of the week they were looking after. So this has been a challenge for us, to get Russia on the forefront, and now, both Republicans and Democrats realize this,” he said.

Nunes was referring to the July 19, 2018, hearing on China held by Nunes, when he was the chairman of the Intelligence Committee. The hearing’s topic was “China’s threat to American government and private sector research and innovation leadership.” During the hearing, then-Ranking Schiff began his opening remarks, not on China, but with his concerns about President Trump meeting alone with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, earlier that month, and then raised a motion to subpoena the interpreter who attended the meeting. The hearing then devolved into confusion over whether Schiff was able to raise that motion, forcing Nunes to call for a recess. The witnesses — four top China experts — were left to talk to committee staff and among themselves, as Breitbart News reported at the time.

After the recess, Republicans voted to table the motion. Schiff demanded a recorded vote.

“Schiff has decided to turn this hearing into a Russia clown show,” a house staffer said.

Schiff, or his staff, later tweeted about his failed attempt to subpoena the interpreter at the China hearing.

“BREAKING: @RepSwalwell and I just made a motion in House Intel Committee to subpoena the American interpreter during the summit — the only witness to Trump’s meeting with Putin. This is an extraordinary remedy, but Trump’s actions necessitate it. Republicans voted it down.”

Republicans also say Democrats’ singular focus on impeaching Trump also distracted Congress earlier this year, when the coronavirus spread. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) scheduled a vote on impeachment articles on Trump the same day the first person from Wuhan, China, arrived to the United States, on January 15. She passed out commemorative signing pens and encouraged Americans to watch the House impeachment managers bring the articles over to the Senate.

The White House stood up its coronavirus task force on January 29, and ordered a ban on travel from China on January 31, the same day the World Health Organization acknowledged that the coronavirus was a global health emergency. However, the Senate impeachment trial continued until February 5.

Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on Twitter or on Facebook.

The United States Of Hysterics


Written by A.J. Rice on March 9, 2020

URL of the original posting site: https://clashdaily.com/2020/03/the-united-states-of-hysterics/

The Coronavirus isn’t the only thing that’s spreading.

Hysterical leftists can’t let go of the delusion that Donald Trump is president because of sinister machinations by unspecified Russians – the same Russians that Sleepy Joe Biden believes are messing with his electioneering.

Biden – who got badly clipped in the Iowa caucuses by Bernie Sanders, told Face the Nation that “The Russians don’t want me to be the nominee…” because “they like Bernie,” the Fidel-snuggler from Vermont.

Channeling his best third-person Tricky Dick, Biden added:

“They spent a lot of money on bots on Facebook and they’ve been taken down saying Biden is a bad guy. They don’t want Biden running… No one’s helping me to try to get the nomination.”

But the Russians apparently changed their minds. Bernie got clipped on Tuesday, losing badly to Sleepy Joe – who sometimes seems to forget that it’s 2020, not 1920. People don’t play phonographs for their kids anymore – and Russia hasn’t been the Soviet Union for going on 30 years.

Blaming this — blaming everything — on the Russians is becoming a kind of lunatic gestalt for the coming-apart-at-the-wheels left; a comforting explanation for political failure in 2016 and, far worse, pushback on the cultural front. The left doesn’t want to believe that Americans are becoming tired of Wokeness, of being accused by hysterics of phobias (homo, Islamo, you-name-it-o) as a technique to shout down disagreement by literally shouting.

This condition was first diagnosed in 1876 by French physician Jean-Martin Charcot who named it — literally — after women’s reproductive equipment. His patient, a teenage girl named Louise Augustine Gleizes — had been committed to the Salpetriere hospital for women due to serial fits and hallucinations about swarms of black, demonic rats.

In 2020 she would be working at MSNBC.

Today, it’s old men like Biden — and older men like Sanders — who suffer from hysteria, triggered by swarms of real people wearing MAGA hats. They literally cannot accept that tens of millions of Americans don’t accept their message of perpetual grievance, failure, and despair; that they are hurtling toward another electoral loss nine months from now.

How can it be?

It must be the Russians!

Of course, there’s not only no evidence it is the Russians — it’s hard to see how it could be the Russians.

The hysterical allegations leveled against Trump by not-just-Biden and not-just-Bernie but the entirety of the leftist Greek Chorus is that — somehow — Boris Badinov (i.e., Vladimir Putin) did what Democrats actually have done in the past — jimmy the votes. As in West Virginia back in 1960.

And against their own in 2016.

The Kennedy campaign poured so much money into the ’60 West Virginia Primary that Jack Kennedy publicly said, “I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.”

There were also allegations of outright voter fraud, including corpses voting and the living voting twice.

Bernie is bitter about 2016 because he was denied the nomination last time – but not by Trump. And not by the Russians.

But by Hillary — who used her leverage to deny Bernie what the Russians couldn’t: The nomination he was supposed to have gotten then — and may not get now. Because of the voters, this time.

Because the Russians can’t jimmy the votes — as Hillary did, in favor of herself over Bernie, as became infamously public when former DNC Chair Donna Brazile came forward with allegations that the Clinton Machine rigged the Dem’s nominating process back in 2016. Or at least, tilted the table in favor of Hillary’s nomination, by giving control over internal decisions such as the hiring of key DNC staffers.

“I found proof (of nomination monkey-business) and it broke my heart,” she said.

A stark contrast to the hysterical allegations about Russians. They don’t have access, for one — and no one (even the hysterics on the left) has alleged that they did. Posting memes on Facebook isn’t the same thing as tampering with the ballot box — a conflation that Democrats have been trying to sell since the lost the 2016 presidential race.

We now live in an era of perpetual hysteria where the boogeymen of the media’s psychosis leads the evening news.

Don’t expect the 2020 election cycle to alter this trend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR” 
A.J. Rice

A.J. Rice is CEO of Publius PR, a premier communications firm in Washington D.C. Rice is a brand manager, star-whisperer and auteur media influencer, who has produced or promoted Laura Ingraham, Judge Jeanine Pirro, Monica Crowley, Charles Krauthammer, Alan Dershowitz, Roger L. Simon, Steve Hilton, Victor Davis Hanson, and many others. Find out more at publiuspr.com.

Democrats’ Russia Strategy to Oust Bernie Sanders


Posted By Kevin Jackson |

#TeamKJ, #kevinjackson, Bernie

Russian collusion, rinse and repeat.

The idea that Russia is helping Bernie Sanders proves more desperation from Democrats. Only this time Democrats are desperate against Bernie Sanders than they are President Trump.

In 2016, Democrats told Bernie Sanders they don’t want him. They plotted against him in every way possible, finally just paying off the old Socialist. But when you pay off political terrorists, you must know they will return for another pay off. You know Democrats would love to have the Clintons just “Seth Rich” old Bernie. But they can’t. So Sanders will get another payday…a BIG payday. Unless the Democrats can successfully do to him what they couldn’t do to Trump.

Enter Vlad Putin.

According to NPR, U.S. officials have warned Sen. Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to help him win the Democratic nomination.

So it begins. Democrats decided to tie Sanders to the Russians.

And how convenient that Old Bern is a commie. Also, he can’t deny his communist ties, either.

Politico reported on a visit Sanders made to Russia:

It’s 1988 and newlywed Bernie Sanders is in the Soviet Union with his wife, Jane, handing out gifts to the mayor of a midsized city they’ve befriended. The mood is festive as the two bestow the items: A Beatles album, a red “Bernie for Burlington” button, “delicious Vermont candy” and a tape of tunes Sanders recorded himself with fellow artists from Vermont, among other goodies.

“I have met many fine mayors in the United States,” Sanders says, “but I want to say that one of the nicest mayors I’ve ever met is the mayor of Yaroslavl.”

At another point, a member of Sanders’ delegation hands a Russian woman a small American flag.

“If you’re wondering what’s wrong with capitalism, it’s made in Hong Kong,” he jokes. “Sorry about that.”

The scene is part of 3½ hours of raw, never publicly seen footage of the trip Sanders took to the Soviet Union that year — his “honeymoon.” POLITICO viewed the tapes this week, along with a forgotten hourlong episode of a TV show created by Sanders that featured the same trip, at the offices of a Vermont government access channel.

For Democrats who really want to threaten Sanders, understand that he offered bribes: Earlier this year, two minutes of the long-lost videos went viral when a staffer at Chittenden County’s Channel 17 posted a compilation of the station’s archival footage online. The clip featured a shirtless Sanders and other Americans singing “This Land Is Your Land” to their hosts after relaxing in a sauna. A few minutes later, Sanders doled out the gifts to his Russian friends with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Did Sanders give out gifts in anticipation of his presidential run? Adam Schiff: “IS THIS THING ON?”

Next however is the most intriguing part of the story. And Sanders and team wanted to set up a “sister city” relationship with America’s #1 enemy:

But that’s only the beginning. The hours of footage include a scene of Sanders sitting with his delegation at a table under a portrait of Vladimir Lenin. Sanders can also be heard extolling the virtues of Soviet life and culture, even as he acknowledges some of their shortcomings. There are flashes of humor, too, such as his host warning the American guests not to cross the KGB, or else.

The video also paints a fuller picture of why Sanders ventured to the land of America’s No. 1 enemy in the midst of the Cold War, the anti-war idealism that fueled his journey, and what he found when he got there.

Over the course of 10 days, Sanders, who was then the mayor of Burlington, and his dozen-member delegation traveled to three cities: Moscow, Yaroslavl and Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg. Their goal was to establish a “sister city” relationship with Yaroslavl, a community along the Volga River home to about 500,000 people. At the time, the Soviet Union was beginning to open itself to the world, if only slightly — and Sanders was a self-described socialist with an unusually large interest in foreign affairs for a mayor.

Why would Russia want to help Bernie Sanders? He’s doing well all on his own.

Bernie Sanders knows he can never get a plurality of Democrat voters. But he can cause a ruckus and get more ruples for himself.

Some say that’s Russia’s strategy. To disrupt the election. However, if Russia wants chaos in the 2020 election, all they need to do is…nothing. Look at the current chaos in the Democratic Party. Their debates range from slave auctions to close-out sales. The Democrats promise everything to everybody, as they count their Negroes, Mexicans, gays, and women. Democrats are people-ranchers, and every demographic is potential cattle.

Bernie Sanders is a horrible people-rancher. He attracts youth and radicals; people who have no real idea of life, and thus fall prey to his socialist tropes. So Sanders will never, repeat never appeal to the average working-class American. Nor will Sanders appeal to most Americans.

Democrats know this, and they hope the Russian collusion narrative actually works this time. At least they target a real anti-American communist this go-round.

IG Report Reveals Steele Funneled Claims Through John McCain After FBI Dropped Him


Written by Aaron Klein | 

URL of the original posting site: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/26/ig-report-reveals-steele-funneled-claims-through-john-mccain-after-fbi-dropped-him/

In this Aug. 25, 2009 file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., holds a healthcare town hall meeting in Sun City, Ariz. McCain’s family says the Arizona senator has chosen to discontinue medical treatment for brain cancer. (AP Photo/Matt York) AP Photo/Matt York

Late Senator John McCain provided disgraced former FBI chief James Comey with five separate reports from Christopher Steele that the FBI didn’t previously possess related to unsubstantiated allegations of collusion between Russia and President Trump’s 2016 campaign, the Justice Department’s recent Inspector General report revealed.

There have long been questions about why it was necessary for McCain to pass Steele’s anti-Trump dossier to Comey on December 9, 2016, several weeks after the November 2016 presidential election. By then, Steele had already met numerous times with FBI agents to provide them with his controversial reports. Steele, however, was terminated as an FBI source in the fall of 2016 because he spoke to the news media.

The IG report discloses that McCain gave five new Steele reports to Comey that the FBI did not previously possess, showing that McCain served as a conduit for Steele’s information to reach the FBI even after the British ex-spy was formally cut off as an FBI source.

It is not clear whether McCain knew at the time that Steele had previously been terminated as an FBI source.

The IG report also verifies that a McCain aid obtained the Steele reports directly from Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, meaning that when McCain transferred the anti-Trump charges to Comey he had to have known that the material originated with a firm that specializes in controversial opposition tactics. Fusion GPS was paid for its anti-Trump work by Trump’s primary political opponents, namely Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) via the Perkins Coie law firm.

States the IG report:

Several weeks later, on December 9, 2016, Senator John McCain provided Comey with a collection of 16 Steele election reports, 5 of which Steele had not given the FBI. McCain had obtained these reports from a staff member at the McCain Institute. The McCain Institute staff member had met with Steele and later acquired the reports from Simpson.

The unnamed McCain staff member is known to be David J. Kramer, who also infamously provided BuzzFeed with the Steele dossier.

BuzzFeed published Steele’s full dossier on January 10, 2017 setting off a firestorm of news media coverage about the document.

Prior to his death, McCain admitted to personally handing the dossier to Comey but he refused repeated requests for comment about whether he had a role in providing the dossier to BuzzFeed, including numerous inquiries sent to his office by this reporter.

In his book published last year, McCain maintained he had an “obligation” to pass the dossier charges against Trump to Comey and he would even do it again. “Anyone who doesn’t like it can go to hell,” McCain exclaimed.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.

Written with research by Joshua Klein.

Exclusive — Fake News Echo Chamber: New York Times Prints Lies by Adam Schiff Witness Made in Secret Testimony


Authored by Matthew Boyle | Washington, D.C.

URL of the original posting site: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/10/24/exclusive-fake-news-echo-chamber-new-york-times-prints-lies-by-adam-schiff-witness-made-in-secret-testimony/

The New York Times building is seen on September 6, 2018 in New York. – A furious Donald Trump called September 5, 2018 for the unmasking of an anonymous senior official who wrote in the New York Times that top members of his administration were undermining the president to curb …ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty 

The New York Times on Wednesday published what would have been a major story on White House National Security Council (NSC) aide Kash Patel—if only it had been true.

The story, which relies on leaks from Democrats conducting the “impeachment inquiry” into President Donald Trump of testimony by one witness who had no firsthand knowledge of the allegations she was making, claims Patel had provided President Trump with documents on Ukraine and met with the president about them.

Citing as its sources “people briefed on the matter,” the Times’ Julian Barnes, Adam Goldman, and Nicholas Fandos wrote that Patel was referred to by President Trump as “one of his top Ukraine policy specialists” and that President Trump “wanted to discuss related documents with him.” The Times reporters claimed that Patel’s NSC and White House colleagues “grew alarmed” over all this.

Later in the Times piece, it became clear where exactly this allegation came from—Fiona Hill, a former Trump administration Russia hand, whom the Democrats have been relying on for testimony in the impeachment inquiry. Hill testified earlier this month in the secret room in the basement of the Capitol building from which Democrats have been running their private impeachment proceedings.

Barnes, Goldman, and Fandos wrote:

Fiona Hill, the National Security Council’s former senior director for Eurasian and Russian affairs, testified to House investigators last week that she believed Mr. Patel was improperly becoming involved in Ukraine policy and was sending information to Mr. Trump, some of the people said. Ms. Hill grew alarmed earlier this year when an aide from the White House executive secretary’s office told her that Mr. Trump wanted to talk to Mr. Patel and identified him as the National Security Council’s ‘Ukraine director,’ a position held by one of Ms. Hill’s deputies. The aide said Mr. Trump wanted to meet with Mr. Patel about documents he had received on Ukraine. Ms. Hill responded by asking who Mr. Patel was. While the aide from the executive secretary’s office did not state explicitly that Mr. Patel sent the Ukraine documents to Mr. Trump, Ms. Hill understood that to be the implication, according to a person familiar with her testimony.

As the Times notes, if true, this would mean there were multiple backchannels for Trump on Ukraine matters—the other being through his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani’s associates—and it would make it appear as though Trump was up to something by circumventing established channels for such policy, even though the president as the nation’s chief executive officer is well within his rights to do that.

But the problem with the Times story, and its sources that appear to be leaks from Democrats of Hill’s testimony, is that the entire premise is untrue, sources familiar with Patel’s meetings with the president told Breitbart News. Since the Times published its story, Breitbart News has spoken with a dozen sources including current White House officials, then-current-now-former White House officials, congressional officials familiar with the investigation and the meetings Patel had with President Trump, and others in the know about what actually happened and discovered that Patel’s meetings with President Trump had “absolutely nothing,” in the words of one source, to do with Ukraine whatsoever.

One now-former White House official confirmed that President Trump did in fact meet with Patel on a number of occasions, though it’s unclear if these were one-on-one meetings or there were others present.

A source close to House GOP leadership told Breitbart News that Patel’s meetings with the president were focused on domestic national security matters, and that Ukraine did not come up at all.

That source said of the Times story:

This story is complete nonsense. The meeting was arranged at the suggestion of multiple GOP congressmen and senators to discuss domestic national security issues that Kash has specific knowledge and unique expertise in. This meeting had absolutely nothing to do with Ukraine.

A second well-placed source familiar with Patel’s interactions with the president told Breitbart News that the Times story that relies on Hill’s testimony—leaked by Democrats—is “100 percent false.”

“The New York Times story is 100 percent false,” this source familiar with Patel’s interactions with Trump told Breitbart News. “Kash did not discuss Ukraine with Trump in any meeting, nor did he discuss any Ukraine-related documents with him. The Democrats involved in the impeachment interviews were obviously tipped off that Fiona Hill would invent some story like this if asked about Kash, and that’s why they brought up his name to her, then they leaked the exchange to their lackeys at the Times.”

Hill, Breitbart News has learned, was asked a number questions about Patel by the Democrats during her testimony, and a source in the room said her “responses appeared scripted,” suggesting that there was some coordination between Hill or her lawyers and the Democrats on Capitol Hill before her appearance.

Then, as has happened with so much more that has gone on in the secretive U.S. Capitol basement room in which House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is running the impeachment proceedings away from public view, this information was leaked to the Times and weaponized against the president and his administration—the actual truth and facts be damned.

This episode paints a broader and darker picture of what exactly Schiff and his team are doing in the secretive room and raises bigger questions about why Schiff is not holding these hearings in public.

The system Democrats have set up basically goes as such: They bring witnesses in for testimony and depositions and transcribed interviews for hours on end to a private room known as a Secure Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF)–behind closed doors and away from the press and public.

They allow no lawyers for the administration inside to challenge anything, present facts in defense of the president, or hear what’s happening down there. Then, Schiff and his team control the information gathered and collected down there—not allowing the minority sufficient access to it.

After that, Schiff, his team, and other Democrats leak the most damaging information to the media—usually out of context, and without the full story—in order to create a public narrative that the president is in serious trouble.

Then it takes a couple days at least for Republicans to get the full truth out about each of these instances to turn around the narrative and expose each “fact” the Democrats are putting forward as flawed. This latest example saw the Times story on Hill’s testimony as the official public record on this matter, until now, for about a full day.

Technically speaking, Hill did make these claims that the Times reported in her testimony—but the veracity of them was never checked by the Democrats who gathered said testimony then leaked it to the New York Times for publication.

The Times also did not check their veracity, even though the first source who spoke to Breitbart News, the one close to House GOP leadership who confirmed Hill’s claims were false, noted that Hill’s inaccurate claims were reproduced uncritically by the Times based upon Democrat leaks. And the Times, this source said, as an institution was aware of the fact that Hill’s claims were false because a separate White House correspondent at the Times was aware of Patel’s meetings with the president at the time of said meetings well before Hill’s testimony happened and well before Democrats even launched an impeachment inquiry—and that this Times reporter was aware that the content had nothing to do with Ukraine.

“What’s particularly shameful is that at least one New York Times White House reporter was told about this meeting in advance off the record, and knew what this meeting was about—and that it was not about Ukraine—but they printed this fake story anyway,” the source close to House GOP leadership told Breitbart News.

Part of the reason the media and the Democrats wanted to smear Patel and attempt to tie him into the impeachment madness, the second source who was familiar with Patel’s conversations with the president said, is because Patel was critical of exposing the failures of the narrative surrounding the previous attempts by the so-called “deep state” to entangle Trump in a scandal on the Russia narrative.

“The story is a lazy hit piece based entirely on rumors and purported second-hand and third-hand information,” that source told Breitbart News. “Both the Times and the Democrats have a vendetta against Kash because he helped blow up their three-year investment in the Russia hoax.”

In fact, this is evident by the fact that the Times story actually opens with a recounting of Patel’s history as an aide on the House Intelligence Committee when Republicans were in the majority and his role in exposing what has become known as “Spygate.”

Barnes, Goldman, and Fandos wrote to open their article, before they even got into the substance of the new but false allegations that Hill leveled against Patel over meetings with the president:

When Kashyap Patel was an aide to the House Intelligence Committee in the first years of the Trump administration, he played a key role in helping Republicans try to undermine the Russia investigation, writing a memo that accused law enforcement officials of abusing their power. The memo, which consumed Washington for weeks, was widely dismissed as a biased argument of cherry-picked facts. But it galvanized President Trump’s allies and made Mr. Patel a hero among them. After Republicans ceded control of Congress this year, he landed on Mr. Trump’s National Security Council staff.

Later in the story, the Times reporters further explain Patel’s role in exposing the Russia scandal as a hoax designed to harm the president.

“Mr. Patel was previously best known as a lead author of the politically charged memo released early last year accusing the F.B.I. and Justice Department leaders of abusing their power in the early stages of the Russia investigation,” Barnes, Goldman, and Fandos wrote. “Mr. Patel worked at the time as an investigator for the House Intelligence Committee under Representative Devin Nunes of California, who ran the panel when Republicans had control of the chamber. Mr. Patel’s efforts to discredit the Russia investigation made him a minor celebrity in conservative circles but a divisive figure on Capitol Hill.”

Today’s Politically INCORRECT Cartoon by A.F. Branco


A.F. Branco Cartoon – Judgment Day

Former FBI Director James Comey is guilty of violating DOJ and FBI rules of conduct will his punishment be just a slap on the wrist?

Comey GuiltyPolitical cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2019
More A.F. Branco Cartoons at The Daily Torch.

Branco’s Faux Children’s Book “APOCALI” ORDER  HERE

Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated –  $1.00 – $5.00 – $10 – $100 –  it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. – THANK YOU!

take our poll – story continues below
  • Who do you believe is the most intolerable member of congress?

A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, the great El Rushbo, and has had his toons tweeted by President Trump.

Klein: James Comey Peddling Falsehoods with ‘Questions’ for Mueller


Written by Aaron Klein | 

URL of the original posting site: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/07/23/klein-james-comey-peddling-falsehoods-with-questions-for-mueller/

This combination photo shows President Donald Trump speaking during a roundtable discussion on tax policy in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on April 5, 2018, left, and former FBI director James Comey speaking during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 8, 2017. Trump fired off …
AP Photo/Evan Vucci, left, and Andrew Harnik
 

NEW YORK — Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey has been making the media rounds peddling a list of “questions” that he compiled and published on the Lawfare blog in a posting titled, “What I Would Ask Robert Mueller.”

Comey’s “questions” are deceptively framed in a manner clearly aimed at attempting to perpetuate the Russia collusion conspiracy even though Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s extensive report found no evidence of any collusion or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Below are the obvious answers to Comey’s “questions” on Russia, with the answers coming from Mueller’s report itself in addition to other documentation.

1 – Did you find that there were a series of contacts between the Trump campaign and individuals with ties to the Russian government?

Perhaps Comey failed to read Mueller’s actual report, which concluded (emphasis added):

The investigation did not identify evidence that any U.S. persons knowingly or intentionally coordinated with the IRA’s interference operation.

In particular, the investigation examined whether these contacts involved or resulted in coordination or a conspiracy with the Trump Campaign and Russia, including with respect to Russia providing assistance to the Campaign in exchange for any sort of favorable treatment in the future. Based on the available information, the investigation did not establish such coordination.

Comey should also refer to the following section of the Mueller report, which related that Russia didn’t even know how to contact the incoming Trump administration after the billionaire mogul won the 2016 election:

As soon as news broke that Trump had been elected President, Russian government officials and prominent Russian businessmen began trying to make inroads into the new Administration. They appeared not to have preexisting contacts and struggled to connect with senior officials around the President-Elect. As explained below, those efforts entailed both official contact through the Russian Embassy in the United States and outreaches — sanctioned at high levels of the Russian government — through business rather than political contacts.

The Mueller report details the hilarity of Russian President Vladimir Putin having trouble reaching Trump’s team to offer simple congratulations:

At approximately 3 a.m. on election night, Trump Campaign press secretary Hope Hicks received a telephone call on her personal cell phone from a person who sounded foreign but was calling from a number with a DC area code. Although Hicks had a hard time understanding the person, she could make out the words “Putin call.” Hicks told the caller to send her an email.

The following morning, on November 9, 2016, Sergey Kuznetsov, an official at the Russian Embassy to the United States, emailed Hicks from his Gmail address with the subject line, “Message from Putin.” Attached to the email was a message from Putin, in both English and Russian, which Kuznetsov asked Hicks to convey to the President-Elect. In the message, Putin offered his congratulations to Trump for his electoral victory, stating he “look[ ed] forward to working with [Trump] on leading Russian-American relations out of crisis.”

Hicks forwarded the email to [Jared] Kushner, asking, “Can you look into this? Don’t want to get duped but don’t want to blow off Putin!” Kushner stated in Congressional testimony that he believed that it would be possible to verify the authenticity of the forwarded email through the Russian Ambassador, whom Kushner had previously met in April 2016. Unable to recall the Russian Ambassador’s name, Kushner emailed Dimitri Simes of CNI, whom he had consulted previously about Russia, see Volume I, Section IV.A.4, supra, and asked, “What is the name of Russian ambassador?” Kushner forwarded Simes’s response — which identified Kislyak by name — to Hicks. After checking with Kushner to see what he had learned, Hicks conveyed Putin’s letter to transition officials. Five days later, on November 14, 2016, Trump and Putin spoke by phone in the presence of Transition Team members, including incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Comey’s team further cited Petr Aven, a Russian national in charge of Alfa-Bank, Russia’s largest commercial bank. Mueller’s report states: “Aven also testified that Putin spoke of the difficulty faced by the Russian government in getting in touch with the incoming Trump Administration. According to Aven, Putin indicated that he did not know with whom formally to speak and generally did not know the people around the President-Elect.”

If Comey really wants to get into the weeds, he may do well to review the particulars of each instance of contact between members or surrogates of the campaign and individuals affiliated with Russia as thoroughly documented in Mueller’s report. In each case and with no exception, Mueller found no evidence of wrongdoing.

2 – In particular, did you find that a Trump foreign policy adviser learned that the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails?

This will be answered together with Comey’s next “question.”

3 – Did you find that the Trump foreign policy adviser said the Trump campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to candidate Clinton?

Once again, Comey is trying to stir things up based on questions that were already answered inside Mueller’s report.

A reminder: as referenced above, Mueller concluded, “The investigation did not identify evidence that any U.S. persons knowingly or intentionally coordinated with the IRA’s interference operation.”

Anyway, Comey here is referring to one episode involving George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy panel adviser tangentially involved with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The Justice Department’s filing against Papadopoulos documents that he was allegedly told by Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese academic plagued by allegations of suspicious associations, that on a trip to Moscow “he (the Professor) learned that the Russians had obtained ‘dirt’ on then-candidate Clinton.”

Former Australian diplomat Alexander Downer later transmitted to the U.S. that he was told about the alleged Russian “dirt” on Clinton by Papadopoulos, reportedly leading to the start of the FBI’s controversial probe of Trump’s campaign under Comey’s leadership at the agency.

No evidence has been presented that Papadopoulos spoke about emails at his meeting with Downer or that Misfurd mentioned emails. But Papadopoulos later described to the FBI that “They [the Russians] have dirt on her”; “the Russians had emails of Clinton”; “they have thousands of emails.”

The Justice Department concluded, “No documentary evidence, and nothing in the email accounts or other communications facilities reviewed by the Office, shows that Papadopoulos shared this information with the Campaign.”

Misfurd himself denies mentioning emails during his meeting with Papadopoulos, as per his testimony to the Justice Department: “But Mifsud denied that he had advance knowledge that Russia was in possession of emails damaging to candidate Clinton, stating that he and Papadopoulos had discussed cybersecurity and hacking as a larger issue and that Papadopoulos must have misunderstood their conversation.”

In his report, Mueller does not at any point claim that Misfurd’s denial was false.

As National Review summarized, Papadopoulos later explained that any reference to emails was to Hillary Clinton’s private email server, a subject of international news reportage at the time of his meeting with Downer.

The magazine reports:

Papadopoulos says the emails he claims Mifsud referred to were not the DNC emails; they were Clinton’s own emails. That is, when Papadopoulos claims that Mifsud told him that Russia had “dirt” in the form of “thousandsof “emails of Clinton,” he understood Mifsud to be alluding to the thousands of State Department and Clinton Foundation emails that Clinton had stored on a private server. These, of course, were the emails that were being intensively covered in the media (including speculation that they might have been hacked by hostile foreign intelligence services) at the time Mifsud and Papadopoulos spoke — i.e., April 2016, when neither Mifsud nor Papadopoulos had any basis to know anything about hacked DNC emails.

The Justice Department, meanwhile, documented:

When interviewed, Papadopoulos and the Campaign officials who interacted with him told the Office that they could not recall Papadopoulos sharing the information that Russia had obtained “dirt” on candidate Clinton in the form of emails or that Russia could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of information about Clinton.

Papadopoulos stated that he could not clearly recall having told anyone on the Campaign and wavered about whether he accurately remembered an incident in which Clovis had been upset after hearing Papadopoulos tell Clovis that Papadopoulos thought “they have her emails.”

The Campaign officials who interacted or corresponded with Papadopoulos have similarly stated, with varying degrees of certainty, that he did not tell them. Senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, for example, did not remember hearing anything from Papadopoulos or Clovis about Russia having emails of or dirt on candidate Clinton. Clovis stated that he did not recall anyone, including Papadopoulos, having given him non-public information that a foreign Government might be in possession of material damaging to Hillary Clinton.

4 – Did you find that senior members of the Trump campaign met with Russian representatives at Trump Tower after being told in an email that the meeting was part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump?

Here, Comey seems to ignore Mueller’s finding of no evidence of any coordination between Russia and Trump’s campaign. His question seems to suggest wrongdoing on the part of Trump’s team.

Comey should refer to multiple Breitbart News investigations by this reporter into the infamous brief meeting at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016 between individuals tied to Russia, Donald Trump Jr. and other campaign officials. Those probes point to the increasing likelihood of the confab being set up as a dirty trick against Trump’s presidential campaign.

Three Russian participants at the meeting have ties to the controversial Fusion GPS outfit, and two have confirmed ties to Clinton.

Also, email logs brought to light show numerous emails were exchanged between a Clinton associate, Fusion GPS and Trump Tower participants, with the subjects of some of those emails listing the Magnitsky Act, which sanctions Russian officials and was by all accounts the very topic of the Trump Tower meeting.

One Russian participant in the Trump Tower presentation admits to personally knowing Hillary Clinton since the late 1990s and says he “knew” some of the people who worked on Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

Another Russian attendee, a translator, testified that he was previously an interpreter for Hillary herself as well as for John Kerry and Barack Obama.

Questions are also raised by a timeline showing numerous personal meetings between Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and Trump Tower participants. A Clinton associate, Ed Lieberman, was listed as being present at one and possibly two of those meetings.

Separately, Lieberman met with one Russian participant the same day as the Trump Tower meeting, according to separate testimony.

There are also questions about the initial setup of the Trump Tower meeting, with the publicist who sent the infamous email to Donald Trump Jr. promising “information that would incriminate” Clinton later admitting that he used deliberately hyperbolic language to ensure that the meeting took place. No such incriminating information on Hillary was provided, according to all meeting participants. In testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Robert Goldstone, the publicist, further said that he believes the meeting was a “bait and switch” by a Russian lobbyist seeking a meeting on another matter by misleadingly claiming to be bringing the Trump campaign dirt on Clinton.

5 – Did you find that, despite the fact that candidate Trump said he had “nothing to do with Russia,” his organization had been pursuing a major Moscow project into the middle of the election year and that candidate Trump was regularly updated on developments?

Comey is peddling conspiracies, suggesting that a proposed draft project discussed generally and briefly by a real estate company that routinely builds overseas — a potential project with no secured financing, land or developer — could amount to wrongdoing. Trump did not secure any real estate project in Russia, but even doing so would not have been illegal.

Michael Cohen, a convicted liar and fraudster, claimed during a guilty plea that he lied to Congress when he first said that discussions on a Moscow real estate project ended in January 2016. Cohen later claimed messages were exchanged through June and that he personally updated Trump on the project.

Mueller’s report documents that Cohen “emailed the office of Dmitry Peskov, the Russian government’s press secretary,” but actually sent an email to the wrong address.

Mueller’s office could not find any follow up beyond one phone call with Peskov’s assistant:

On January 20, 2016, Cohen received an email from Elena Poliakova, Peskov’s personal assistant. Writing from her personal email account, Poliakova stated that she had been trying to reach Cohen and asked that he call her on the personal number that she provided. Shortly after receiving Poliakova’s email, Cohen called and spoke to her for 20 minutes. Cohen described to Poliakova his position at the Trump Organization and outlined the proposed Trump Moscow project, including information about the Russian counterparty with which the Trump Organization had partnered. Cohen requested assistance in moving the project forward, both in securing land to build the project and with financing. According to Cohen, Poliakova asked detailed questions and took notes, stating that she would need to follow up with others in Russia.

Cohen could not recall any direct follow-up from Poliakova or from any other representative of the Russian government, nor did the Office identify any evidence of direct follow-up.

Also, Cohen told Mueller’s office that “he elected not to travel at the time because of concerns about the lack of concrete proposals about land plots that could be considered as options for the project.”

6 – Did the Trump campaign report any of its Russian contacts to the FBI? Not even the indications from the Russian government that it could assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to candidate Clinton?

What is Comey even talking about here? Which Russian “contacts” should Trump’s campaign have reported to the FBI? Mueller concluded not only that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, but that “the investigation did not identify evidence that any U.S. persons knowingly or intentionally coordinated” with Russia’s interference campaign. If Trump’s team did not “knowingly or intentionally” collude with Russia, how could they have known to report anything?

For Comey’s misleading insinuation of “indications from the Russian government that it could assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to candidate Clinton,” please see my responses to #3 above, since the credibility-challenged Comey is asking a deceptively phrased question about a disputed episode involving Papadopoulos.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.

Joshua Klein contributed research to this article. 

Christopher Steele won’t cooperate with John Durham review of Russia investigation


Reported by Jerry Dunleavy | May 28, 2019 05:13 PM

URL of the original posting site: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/christopher-steele-wont-cooperate-with-john-durham-review-of-russia-investigation

Christopher Steele, author of the dossier that played a key role in the Trump-Russia inquiry, will not assist Attorney General William Barr’s investigation of the investigators, according to a new report.

A source close to Orbis Business Intelligence, which is Steele’s investigative firm, told Reuters that the British ex-spy “would not cooperate” with nor answer questions from U.S. Attorney John Durham, whom Barr has tasked with reviewing the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into President Trump’s presidential campaign and the way that the Justice Department and FBI conducted the inquiry.

This revelation comes days after Trump’s order stating Barr was given “full and complete authority to declassify information” and ordering the intelligence community “to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 presidential election.” Barr said he picked Durham because he “was looking for someone who is tenacious, who is used to looking at sensitive material involving government activities, who has a reputation for being fair and evenhanded.”

Neither the Justice Department nor Steele’s business immediately responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment. Durham’s office said they had no comment at this time.

The report said Steele “might cooperate” with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s independent investigation, signaling a shift in Steele’s thinking. In April, Politico reported that Steele “declined to be interviewed by the inspector general, citing, among other things, the potential impropriety of his involvement in an internal Justice Department investigation as a foreign national and former British intelligence agent.” That report said Steele might even “rebut the Inspector General’s characterizations” with a public statement.

Horowitz has been looking into potential Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse since early 2018 and is “homing in” on the potential misuse of Steele’s unverified dossier by the DOJ and FBI. Barr has said Horowitz’s probe should be done by May or June.

Steele did cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and submitted written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

According to a New York Times report from April, the FBI reached out to some of Steele’s foreign sources in an attempt to determine their credibility, and as early as January 2017 agents had concluded that some of the dossier’s contents may have been based on “rumors and hearsay” which were “passed from source to source.” The agents believed that some of Steele’s information may have even been based on “Russian disinformation.”

Steele’s dossier, which was packed with unverified claims about Trump’s ties to Russia, formed a key part of the FISA applications that were used to justify surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Steele was working for Fusion GPS, which received funding through the Perkins Coie law firm from the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Steele’s Democratic benefactors were not revealed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Barr said this month that “it’s a very unusual situation to have opposition research like that — especially one that on its face had a number of clear mistakes and a somewhat jejune analysis.” Barr’s pointed critiques of the Steele dossier’s flaws comes after former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI General Counsel James Baker defended their handling of the dossier in recent weeks.

Tag Cloud