FBI Refuses to Give Physical Document to House Investigators Outlining Biden Bribery Scheme, Now Claim “Ongoing Investigation”…


Posted originally on the CTH on June 5, 2023 | Sundance 

Here we go again with the ever-familiar silo defense.  The FBI is refusing to hand over the unclassified FD-1023 stating there is an ongoing investigation using the confidential human source who made allegations outlined in the document.  Remember, the allegations and the statement record was created in July of 2020, almost three years ago.

Prior to last week, the FBI refused to say the 6-page unclassified document existed.  After House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told FBI Director Chris Wray he had already seen the unclassified document via a whistleblower, then Comey admitted the FBI indeed had it.  Today, the FBI is refusing to release the document, stating it is now captive as part of an “ongoing investigation.”  The claimed investigation began July 2020 – the investigation is “ongoing”.  Go figure.

James Comer said he will begin the process, this Thursday, to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.  WATCH:

.

Recusal and Conflicts


Posted originally on the CTH on June 5, 2023 | Sundance 

The Background is HERE ~

A brief post just to emphasize a point about DC and how the power centers protect themselves.  You might remember when Attorney Jeff Sessions was told he needed to recuse himself from anything to do with the Trump-Russia investigation.  We know from FOIA requests of schedules, the participants in the meeting on the date of those discussions:

Jeff Sessions was forced to recuse himself at the conclusion of a meeting involving Jody Hunt, Dana Boente, Jim Crowell, Tashina Guahar and Scott Schools; an apparent conflict of interest.  Now consider….

Mary McCord was Acting Asst. Attorney General for the National Security Division, when she submitted the fraudulently constructed FISA application used against Carter Page. Mary McCord, knowingly and with specific intent, defrauded the court and broke the law.  Mary McCord then went on to join Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler in the construction of the articles of impeachment. She did not recuse herself. 

At the time the Carter Page application was filed (October 21, 2016), Mary McCord’s chief legal counsel inside the office was a DOJ-NSD lawyer named Michael Atkinson.  In his role as the legal counsel for the DOJ-NSD, it was Atkinson’s job to review and audit all FISA applications submitted from inside the DOJ.  Essentially, Atkinson was the DOJ internal compliance officer in charge of making sure all FISA applications were correctly assembled and documented.  McCord and Atkinson knowingly submitted a fraudulent FISA application.

Atkinson then went on to become Intelligence Community Inspector General where he changed the rules for CIA whistleblowers to allow the accusation against President Trump to surface which resulted in an impeachment investigation. When ICIG Michael Atkinson turned over the newly authorized anonymous whistleblower complaint to the joint House Intelligence and Judiciary Committee (Schiff and Nadler chairs), who did Michael Atkinson give the complaint to?  Mary McCord.

Consider the conflicts within the Supreme Court. Mary McCord, knowingly and with specific intent, lied to the FISA court to support the FBI targeting of Trump.  Mary McCord’s husband, Sheldon L Snook, was running the office of the counselor to Chief Justice John Roberts; the office which would intercept any communication from the FISA court to the Chief Justice if the FISA court had any concerns about the false FBI application. No one from the office, or the Chief Justice counselor recused themselves.

Conflicts of interest only surface to create personnel changes when those changes meet the interests of the DC administrative state.  When those conflicts exist but they are useful to the interests of the DC administrative state, they are ignored.

McCarthy and Biden Strike Spending Deal to Raise Debt Ceiling


Posted originally on the CTH on May 27, 2023 | Sundance 

According to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a deal “in principle” has been reached between himself and Joe Biden.  McCarthy held a brief press conference to announced the deal; however, no details are forthcoming.  WATCH:

WASHINGTON DC – … [B]oth Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy still have to sell their respective parties on the agreement, navigating fraught votes in both chambers. McCarthy immediately hosted a call with members after the deal was announced, calling it a “big win” and claiming Democrats didn’t get “one thing” that they wanted out of the negotiations on a member-wide conference call, according to three people on the call.

While conservative Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) vocally criticized the agreement — saying he was “extremely disappointed” that the deal didn’t include “any meaningful cuts” — other Freedom Caucus members praised the deal, including Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio). Though both said they wanted to see the text, Jordan praised McCarthy for a deal where the government is “spending less” than it did before and getting Democrats to move on work requirements.

“Seems like a pretty darn good deal to me,” Jordan said, according to one of the people on the call.

And the speaker forcefully defended the agreement after Good’s criticism, saying it could pass the Senate and that he never claimed the legislation the House passed last month would be the “end all bill.”

McCarthy concluded the call around 10:30 p.m., telling his conference that he needed to speak to the White House again and make sure the text reflected their agreement on principle. “Let’s stick together,” he said while concluding the call. Biden and McCarthy will talk again Sunday, the speaker had told reporters earlier.

In addition to lifting the $31.4 trillion borrowing cap through the 2024 presidential election, the deal in principle would keep non-defense spending roughly flat for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, falling far short of the $130 billion in cuts at fiscal 2022 levels that Republicans had originally demanded.

Non-defense spending would increase by 1 percent in 2025, followed by years of non-enforceable funding targets, according to the person familiar. Republicans had initially pushed for a decade of strict funding limits. Defense spending would be set at the level proposed in Biden’s budget for the coming fiscal year, representing a modest 3.5 percent increase over current funding levels — less than what many Republican defense hawks would’ve liked to see for the Pentagon in order to keep pace with inflation. (read more)

Bank Failures – A Push for CBDC?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted May 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Monday saw the largest banking failure in the US since 2008 after First Republic went under, marking the third death of a US bank this year. Regulators took possession of the bank this Monday and JPMorgan Chase will acquire the majority of the bank’s assets and remaining deposits worth around $92 billion. First Republic Bank’s stock fell nearly 50% after reporting a significant drop in deposits in the first quarter of 2023. First Republic’s stock value tanked 97% on Friday due to fears of a bank run or failure, and the executives were silent on the health of the bank because they knew they were doomed. JPMorgan Chase coming to save the day is not a good sign.

All of these small and mid-sized banks are struggling with liquidity. The larger banks are gaining more power and influence. JPMorgan Chase’s CEO is nothing like the man who founded his company and actually saved the US from a banking disaster. CEO Jamie Dimon is a World Economic Forum member who fully supports the Great Reset. He wants the US to invoke eminent domain in order for the government to seize your private property.

These are his words, not mine. Dimon noted in his letter to shareholders that “governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations” may need to invoke “eminent domain” in order to get “adequate investments fast enough for grid, solar, wind and pipeline initiatives.” He is adhering to Agenda 2030 and believes that our freedoms need to be removed under the excuse of climate change. “The need to provide energy affordably and reliably for today, as well as make the necessary investments to decarbonize for tomorrow, underscores the inextricable links between economic growth, energy security and climate change. We need to do more, and we need to do so immediately,” Dimon added in his letter.

I will not be surprised if Jay Powell mentions CBDC this Wednesday just to get the public accustomed to the idea. All of these issues can be used as an excuse to implement CBDC as the “safe” alternative to traditional banking. It would be easier to implement if there were only a handful of banks working with the government. The US has never canceled its currency but every empire, nation, and city-state falls in the same manner. The plans for the Great Reset are out in the open and the WEF has infiltrated nearly every government cabinet in the world and bought out the bankers. The day will come when the government gives us a deadline to turn in our paper currency to be converted into CBDC, providing them with complete financial domination over the people.

The Rule of Law – BEWARE Crypto-Lovers


Armstrong Economics Blog/Cryptocurrency Re-Posted May 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong; I think it might be helpful to explain to people that the government can subpoena any third party with regard to cryptocurrencies and they will turn over whatever they have that will incriminate a person. As a lawyer, I have to defend a client who thought Bitcoin was exempt from central banks and totally safe. He even seemed to think if there was a nuclear war that Bitcoin would still exist in South America. Some people are just so gullible it is sad and now he faces several years in prison for tax evasion. Perhaps it would help to explain how a third party will turn over whatever they have on you and that includes Google etc.

Many people listen to you because you are not a conspiracy junkie.

All the best

WH

ANSWER: You have a good point. DO NOT even allow Microsoft One Drive to have anything. The government will subpoena any third party and they will give up everything. I do not understand why people are such diehard Bitcoin lovers. ANYTHING that will be on the power grid the government will control if you believe it or not.

Bitcoin is a TRADING vehicle no different from cattle. It is NOT a store of wealth, as it fluctuates like everything else. This is a quarterly chart of Bitcoin. It rises and falls no different than any other instrument. It is not a “store” of value maintaining some constant value to park your money.

ALL cryptocurrency is on the target list for the Biden Administration. We are entering the final stages of the Decline & Fall of Western Civilization. You can see as we progress, they will become more and more aggressive because they can feel their power slipping away. ONLY tangible assets make the transition to the new value on the other side of 2032. NOTHING digital will make that transition.

Both the United States and Europe will split. That means the rules will be different everywhere, and there will be places without power. No power = no value for any digital currency. Let’s get realistic here.

REMINDER: Inflation was at 1.4% When Biden Took Office


Armstrong Economics Blog/Inflation Re-Posted Apr 27, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Inflation was only 1.4% when Biden took office. He began implementing policies on his first day that directly created the energy crisis in the US. He refused to reopen the economy under the pretense of COVID for as long as possible, disrupting the supply chain and damaging small businesses. Biden has created multi-trillion dollar spending programs that saddled the nation with more debt and increased price volatility. His team has been working to divide the people and create civil unrest. I could go on about his failures, but his worst move was involving America in the Russia-Ukraine war. Inflation has steadily risen to unsustainable levels nearly every month since Biden took office.

Biden’s team toys with the numbers to tout that inflation has gone down, but they are comparing the high and low both created under Biden. Wages cannot support the increase in costs and absolutely no one is better off under Biden. Considering the dire situation, it is infuriating that the US had a 1.4% inflation rate not long ago.

Inflation has soared by over 15% since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. The “Presidential Inflation Rate,” (PIR) developed by the Winston Group, measures a president’s progress in handling inflation over time, from their inauguration month to the month of the most recent CPI report. As of March, inflation under Biden is 15%, which makes him the most inflationary president since Carter. Biden’s 24% “Presidential Inflation Rate” for rising electricity costs is higher than any of the previous seven presidents as it is now up 37.2%. The cost of food rose 18.3% under Biden, and eggs alone have soared by nearly 80%. Shelter costs are now at a 42-year high, and Biden’s PIR for rent has surpassed 13.5%.

Joe Biden takes no responsibility for the inflation caused by his policies and failures as a president. Inflation will continue to increase under Biden. He has absolutely no plans to address the issue, and the legislation he creates to address the problem only exacerbates it. Biden is a corrupt politician who lines his pockets with money from Ukraine and China. The investigation into his crime family that the media is sweeping under the rug reveals the truth. This man needs to be removed from office immediately, but the people alone must decide when they’ve had enough.

Biden’s Let’s Finish the Job


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Apr 27, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Biden’s announcement that he is running was crafted like a Twitter post – not live and posted at 6AM. His message is highly questionable for all he is saying is that the Republicans are radicals and therefore vote for him and he will maintain the status quo. There is a void of any new proposal and there is undoubtedly no message about the economy or inflation that is running away and reducing the livelihood of the average American. Quite frankly, this is the most controversial campaign that naturally the media will never even discuss. How do you “finish the job” without knowing what has been accomplished and what remains “finished” in a second term? The total absence of any claim that he accomplished anything from COVID to having 7 aids that are LGBTQ leaves a huge void.

The Republicans, on the other hand, are simply rolling out the same agenda of restraining the debt ceiling which will only work to undermine the entire socialist agenda and that is way too late. The warmongers in the Republican Party would rather spend money throwing it into the Ukrainian Black Hole where we are paying the entire salaries and pensions of Ukrainian government officials with no restraint on their salaries whatsoever. So we are to cut the benefits of Americans but keep funding Ukraine? Sorry, that is not an agenda I would be voting for.

Then there is the Abortion issue so they are fighting well-organized propaganda where even Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said when she got to the Supreme for Roe v Wade, that it was all about population control and eugenics – not women’s rights.

The defense of Roe v Wade is actually hypocritical for the Democrats. The main support comes from Gates and Rockefeller Foundations and it is covertly supported by the United Nations. This is all about the Planned Parenthood agenda to provide abortions to minorities to reduce their population. Now you may think I am being a conspiracy theorist. However, back in 2009, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg bluntly told the truth, when she was for equal rights for women.

The Democrats successfully won the abortion argument and the Republicans never understood the issue. It is like asking a witness when was the last time you beat your wife. He will then try to defend himself saying never, and even say ask his wife if he ever beat her. She will say no, and then you argue of course she will deny being beaten out of fear you will beat her again when you get home. You created a no-win argument and changed the entire agenda and nobody understands how you manipulated the entire argument.

Ginsberg made it clear: “Frankly, I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.” She spoke bluntly in an interview published in the New York Times Magazine which was an article on women on the court. So it was not simply a woman’s rights agenda. That was the cover story to hide the real agenda which has always existed – eugenics and to reduce the population of minorities.

The Republicans have been diverted to argue over religion and never noticed that the Democrats flipped Eugenics into Women’s Rights. This claim it is my body so it is my choice, was entirely ignored by the Biden Administration when it came to COVID Vaccines. Suddenly nobody cared if it was your body, you were being told to take the vaccine or lose your job.

The Republicans are too caught up in their old rhetoric to notice that they have been played like a fiddle and they are the monkey dancing to the organ-grinder’s tune. I fail to see any Republican charging in on a white horse to save the day. They are too distracted to even understand what day it is.

So when Biden says let’s finish the job, he refuses to even say what the job is.

Dual Justice – IRS and FBI Finished Hunter Biden Investigation More Than a Year Ago…


April 22, 2023 | Sundance 

The context for the IRS whistleblower case of political interference in the Hunter Biden investigation gains a significant amount of context with this new revelation. According to NBC reporting the FBI investigation of Hunter Biden concluded a year ago, and the IRS investigation “completed more than a year ago.”

If the IRS and FBI completed their investigation, then where are the charges?   Now the ‘whistleblower claims’ start to make sense.

(Via NBC) – Federal prosecutors have considered charging Hunter Biden with three tax crimes and a charge related to a gun purchase, said two sources familiar with the matter.

The possible charges are two misdemeanor counts for failure to file taxes, a single felony count of tax evasion related to a business expense for one year of taxes, and the gun charge, also a potential felony.

Two senior law enforcement sources told NBC News about “growing frustration” inside the FBI because investigators finished the bulk of their work on the case about a year ago. A senior law enforcement source said the IRS finished its investigation more than a year ago.

The Washington Post previously reported that federal investigators believed they had gathered enough evidence to charge Hunter Biden with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun purchase.

The decision on which charges to file, if any, will be made by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and retained by the Biden administration to continue the Hunter Biden investigation. There are no indications a final decision has been made, said the two sources familiar with the matter.

The IRS Criminal Investigation division, the Justice Department, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware and attorneys for Hunter Biden declined to comment. (more)

According to the prior developments in the IRS whistleblower reporting, the “senior U.S. justice department official” who is interfering and lying under oath to congress is U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland is the unnamed official whose sworn testimony before Congress is being challenged in a bombshell letter from an IRS whistleblower’s attorney that also alleges a coverup in the Hunter Biden criminal investigation, The Post has learned. (more)

The issue stems from Garland testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Delaware US Attorney David Weiss would be able to investigate the Hunter Biden issues without interference from the DOJ, and that Weiss would be able to prosecute any crimes that may have occurred outside his Delaware jurisdiction.  As the story is evolving, Main Justice is not following the process as outlined by Garland, and the DOJ is actively involved in approvals or non-approvals of the investigative process.

The whistleblower’s attorney, Mark Lytle, appeared on Fox News with Brett Baier to outline the issues at stake in the matter and why congressional approval is needed before the IRS whistleblower can give specific evidence and testimony to the committees with jurisdiction.  WATCH:

Knowing what we know about how Main Justice is being operated in the era of Joe Biden, I would not be surprised to discover that Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco is actually the main character in this DOJ manipulation.  AG Garland may be the front man giving what amounts to false testimony, but it is likely Lisa Monaco pulling the strings behind Garland that are making his congressional statements false.

The Legislative Branch’s Biggest Leaker of Classified Intelligence, Rails Against Small Fry Ability to Leak Classified Pentagon Intelligence


Posted originally on the CTH on April 19, 2023 | Sundance 

Some insider threats are more equal than others; so goes the position of the nation’s biggest leaker of classified documents in modern history, and it’s not Jack Teixeira.

This story shows the importance of what was hidden by the combined efforts of the national security apparatus in 2018.

Readers here are familiar, but most Americans are not, with how Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner leaked a top-secret classified Title-1 FISA application in March of 2017.

Then the Vice-Chair of the SSCI, Senator Warner instructed Senate Security Director James Wolfe to leak the 82-page FISA application assembled against Carter Page.  On the afternoon of March 17, 2017, Wolfe took 82 pictures of the “Read and Return” document that was delivered to the SSCI basement SCIF by FBI Supervisory Special Agent Brian Dugan from the Washington Field Office.

Later that evening, Wolfe sent the images to journalist Ali Watkins using an encrypted messaging app.  Ms. Watkins then shared the FISA content with her peers and used the information to leverage a top-tier job at the New York Times.  The media were off to the races talking about FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign and using the leaked FISA as evidence of the ongoing investigation, later known as Crossfire Hurricane.   Three days later, March 20, 2017, after coordinating the intent of the narrative creation with Mark Warner, FBI Director James Comey publicly admitted the Trump-Russia investigation for the first time.

After James Wolfe was arrested for the FISA application leak, his defense lawyers threatened to expose the role of the Senate Intelligence Committee in the leak and subpoena the members as witnesses.  The Mueller/Weissmann team, then in charge of all DOJ operations that touched on Trump-Russia, took apart the evidence of Wolfe’s conduct, and DC Attorney Jessie Liu dropped most of the charges against Wolfe.  Mueller then ran cover for Mark Warner, and eventually – out of an abundance of caution to maintain the need for the coverup operation – the Mueller/Weissmann team then made the FISA application public. The rest is history.

Keep in mind, I could be civilly sued if anything written above as an asserted truth was false.  I’m not, because the truth is the defense.  All of this happened.

At the time of the Mark Warner TSCI leak, no one outside the DOJ-FBI and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) had ever seen a FISA application.  Heck, in 2017 through early 2018, it was considered a classified intelligence breech to even discuss the FISA process, the procedures or the court itself.  People forget that.

The 2017 leaking of the FISA application was the biggest national security breach in years, perhaps seconded only to the 2017 leaking of the TSCI transcript from National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s call with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, given to the Washington Post by the FBI a month earlier.

So, it’s somewhat hypocritical and ironic to see SSCI Chairman Mark Warner now railing against the Pentagon and Director of National Intelligence over not being provided the details of documents leaked by a low-level military servicemember in the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

WASHINGTON DC – The Senate Intelligence Committee is demanding the Pentagon hand over copies of all the classified documents leaked by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira.

The 21-year-old serviceman was accused by the Department of Defense of leaking “sensitive and highly-classified material” into a chat on the encrypted communications platform Discord. It then made its way onto other social media platforms. He was charged on Friday.

In a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and ranking member Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the leak prompted concerns about “serious deficiencies” in the government’s security protocols.

“According to public reporting, A1C Teixeira began sharing classified information and classified documents within a social media platform as early as December 2022—nearly four months before the government’s discovery,” the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, read. “These disclosures indicate serious deficiencies in the government’s insider threat and security vetting protocols.”  (read more)

Why Does the ECM Work On So Many Things?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Uncategorized Re-Posted Apr 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT #1: Hi Martin, corn also turned nicely on the ECM:

JB

COMMENT #2: Hello Marty, I just want to point out that the Japanese yen broke really hard on the 10th. Not sure if this will prove to be a precursor of what is to come.

Thanks from Tokyo, your old home ground.

AS

COMMENT #3: Well the ECM also marked the reversal in trend in the 30-year bond. It peaked at 134 and fell to 130 by the end of the week. That was just remarkable.

Colin

COMMENT #4: Martin; is this chart real that people are sending around claiming it was Benner’s work?

Mat

ANSWER: As far as this chart of Brenner’s Cycle being real, the answer is no Someone has made it up and signed his name. They have at least extended his cycle correctly. The last time someone tried that they skewed the cycle to make it look like it forecast the Depression 1932 low.

When the WSJ published it, it showed 1932 instead of 1931. Brenner did not extend this out in this manner. What is important to understand is that Brenner was a farmer and farmers understand the cycles in nature. Economists and governments pretend they can smooth out the cycle and eliminate the booms and busts.

The business cycle always wins as both former chairmen of the Federal Reserve conceded – Arthur Burns and Paul Volcker.

Back during the 19th century when Brenner was observing the business cycle, it was still based on commodities. Kondratieff took the same data. I believe the reason WHY the Economic Confidence Model has been so accurate is that it was based on a list of Panics – not one sector of the economy. Therefore, the ECM incorporates weather as Brenner and Kondratieff did by using the commodity sector. Yet just that the ECM was derived from financial panics, it was not based on any one specific type so it strangely seems to have incorporated the whole gambit.

Furthermore, all previous cyclical analysis was based on just a single market like stocks. They have failed because they could not account for the external influence of a contagion. The fact that this list began with the Turks’ siege of Vienna, means that the list was also influenced by war and from an international perspective.

This is a fascinating subject that I will explore in far more detail in my coming book.