Category Mich McConnell A Clear and Present Danger

Mar 30 2023

FBI Ran to Senate Intel Committee for Discussions of Trump Posture Following Reports of Looming Manhattan DA Indictment


Posted originally on the CTH on March 29, 2023 | Sundance

If you have followed the construct of the Fourth Branch of Government, you will note the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and current Democrat Chairman Mark Warner play(ed) a key role in the political weaponization of the intelligence apparatus.

In 2015 and 2016, it was the SSCI who were at the tip of the spear in the legislative branch at supporting what Chuck Schumer called the “seven ways to Sunday” approach used by the U.S. intelligence community to target anyone viewed as a threat against their interests. The larger Intelligence Community (IC) is a close alliance of the SSCI as a fictitious oversight mechanism; however, in reality the relationship is co-dependent enabling.

The SSCI constructed the weaponized political agenda of the IC, the SSCI supports the weaponized political agenda of the IC, and the SSCI holds the powerful position of confirmation over anyone who would work in the top tier of the IC. In short, the weaponized IC cannot exist without the support of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Their relationship is symbiotic.

You will note the evidence of this relationship shows up in the coordination between the SSCI and the weaponized Trump-Russia targeting operation, also known as the Trump-Russia investigation. More recently, the purpose of the SSCI as an institution to support weaponized government, appears in the Twitter files as outlined by Matt Taibbi, and the efforts of The Dept of Homeland Security (DHS), FBI and CISA to control speech and content within the platform.

Additionally, it is not coincidental the “TicTok ban” legislation (SB686), which is a fraudulent auspice for total internet control by the intelligence community, comes from within bipartisan legislation spearheaded by the aligned interests of Senator Warner, the SSCI and DHS. None of this is accidental, and the legislative branch is walking into the creation of an online control mechanism that has nothing whatsoever to do with banning TikTok.

In very simple and direct terms, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence represents the most entrenched and dangerous institution within the current construct of government. Without the full support of the SSCI, the various agencies within a weaponized U.S. government could not exist.

The SSCI is the core enterprise within the center of the system of weaponized government. This is the Senate group stripping away freedom and installing the surveillance state every single day.

A recent story in Reuters about the FBI running to the SSCI, what they call a “briefing”, is the latest example of how the foot soldiers of the weaponized state, in this example the FBI, report to their control officers within the SSCI.

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Mark Warner said on Sunday he was briefed by the FBI on Donald Trump’s rhetoric after the former president verbally lashed out at a New York prosecutor overseeing a grand jury investigation into alleged hush-money payments.

“I have been briefed by the FBI. They say they are fully prepared,” Warner, a Democrat and the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN on Sunday. “They have seen no specific threats but the level of rhetoric on some of these right-wing sites has increased.” (read more)

Once you know how bad the corruption is within government, you can understand what the motives and agenda are for those elected politicians who control the levers of power within it.   It is information in, from and around the SSCI that coordinates the daily political activity we see every day as it relates to the oppressive law enforcement and manipulative schemes within a weaponized justice system.

A weaponized DOJ, FBI and Intelligence Community, the ‘six ways to Sunday’ group, could not exist without the support of the SSCI.  The weaponized justice system could not exist without the support of the SSCI.  Keep peeling back the layers and layers of weaponized issues, and you will always find yourself on the doorstep of the SSCI.   Who ‘watches the watchers’? Who ‘guards the guards’…. The SSCI is the issue here!

The people in/around Washington DC, those who still hold some concept of a moral compass, are scared to death of this weaponized system.

Things are escalating very quickly now…. the broader awakening is happening much faster now… the American people are becoming increasingly aware now…. and that means this weaponized system of government is even more dangerous than ever before.

I will share more on what this means for all of us very soon, but rest assured nothing at the end of this path is good.   However, that said, I am willing to take it head on. More later….

On March 2, 2023, the people in control of the Joe Biden administration officially announced that government control of internet content was now officially a part of the national security apparatus. [White House Link] If you have followed the history of how the Fourth Branch of Government has been created, you will immediately recognize the intent of this new framework.

The “National Cybersecurity Strategy” aligns with, supports, and works in concert with a total U.S. surveillance system, where definitions of information are then applied to “cybersecurity” and communication vectors.  This policy is both a surveillance system and an information filtration prism where the government will decide what is information, disinformation, misinformation and malinformation, then act upon it.

Now put this executive branch fiat together with  Senate Bill 686 [SB686 HERE], “The Restrict Act”, also known as the bipartisan bill to empower the executive branch to shut down TikTok.

The Restrict Act, has very little to do with TikTok and everything to do with the United States government controlling online content.  If you read the bill, what you quickly discover is that congress is giving the Commerce Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence the power to shut down internet content they view as against their interests.

Posted in 1st Amendment, 4th Amendment, 6th Amendment, Big Government, Big Stupid Government, Big Tech, Conspiracy ?, Deep State, Dept Of Justice, DHS, Donald Trump, Election 2024, FBI, Lawfare, Legislation, media bias, Notorious Liars, Patriotism, President Trump, Professional Idiots, propaganda, Spygate, Spying, Uncategorized, USA

Mar 29 2023

Biden Mocks School Shooting Victims


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Mar 29, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The POTUS lives in a reality that is far different from ours. His brain has deteriorated to the point that all of his speaking engagements end in utter disaster. Biden delivered the most cold-hearted speech in Nashville following a school shooting that killed six people, including three children. Again, this man received more votes than any president in US history.

Joe Biden said he showed up in Nashville for ice cream–not to comfort the people. The audience roared with laughter as Joe Biden laughed in the faces of fearful parents. “My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband. I eat Jeni’s ice cream — chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream,” Biden said with a smile. “By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. You think I’m kidding? I’m not,” Biden told the joyful crowd.

Then Biden used the opportunity to condemn Republicans and gun control. Did Joe Biden laugh off the disgustingly cruel murders because they do not coincide with the woke agenda? The disaster occurred at a private Christian school, and Christians are not a protected class in our society.

Strike two against the woke agenda – the shooter identified as transexual. While school shootings are revoltingly common in the US, the murderer is always male. In fact, 98% of mass shootings in general are committed by men. “However, if we look specifically at K-12 school shooting cases in our database, the perpetrators were 100% male. Most were current or former students of the schools they targeted,” the Violence Project said in a statement. Now politicians are fighting on whether the problem is mental health or gun control. “How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking? Everyone can stop blaming guns now.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on Twitter.

Three children never came home from school that day. This tragedy goes far beyond gun control; politicians should not use a disaster to promote an agenda. As far as Biden, the video of his speech is truly unbelievable. All those people laughing in the audience are the lowest level of mindless sheep our nation has to offer.

Mar 29 2023

Pulling No Punches – Senator Ted Cruz Accuses DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas of Facilitating Child Rape and Sex Trafficking


Posted originally on the CTH on March 28, 2023 | Sundance 

In a scorching round of questioning today, Texas Senator Ted Cruz confronts Dept of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border.

During one segment of the questioning, Senator Cruz holds up the color-coded wrist bands that are worn by illegal aliens as smuggled to the border by Mexican cartels.  Cruz then confronts Mayorkas about the rape and sex trafficking that is required in order to pay the cartels.  Mayorkas sits jaw agape as Senator Cruz accuses him directly of facilitating child rape and sexploitation.  WATCH:

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Mar 29 2023

IRS Makes Visit to Matt Taibbi Home on Day of His Congressional Testimony


Posted originally on the CTH on March 28, 2023 | Sundance

If there is one additional person that I would be certain is under full spectrum surveillance, it’s dissident comrade Matt Taibbi.  With the background of Twitter and the DHS national security interests still part of the social media construct, you can be sure all elements of the administrative state have a focus on his internal search requests.

One of the reasons why I give Matt Taibbi a lot of credit, is because I am well aware how the shadow dwellers, what DC would call ‘stakeholders’, are watching him; yet he persists on his reviews and investigations.

Secondly, given his general Michael Hastings aligned disposition, Taibbi would be the first person to dismiss his own risk status.  Something akin to, ‘nah, they wouldn’t‘, but oh yes, they would.

On the day that Taibbi was giving testimony to the House committee reviewing the ‘Weaponization of Federal Government’, an IRS agent just happened to coincidentally visit his home.  Committee Chairman Jim Jordan now wants to know if the two coincidences are connected.

(Via Wall Street Journal) – […] House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter Monday to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seeking an explanation for why journalist Matt Taibbi received an unannounced home visit from an IRS agent. We’ve seen the letter, and both the circumstances and timing of the IRS focus on this journalist raise serious questions.

Mr. Taibbi has provoked the ire of Democrats and other journalists for his role in researching Twitter records and then releasing internal communications from the social-media giant that expose its censorship and its contacts with government officials. This effort has already inspired government bullying, with Chair Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission targeting new Twitter owner Elon Musk and demanding the company “identify all journalists” granted access to the Twitter files.

Now Mr. Taibbi has told Mr. Jordan’s committee that an IRS agent showed up at his personal residence in New Jersey on March 9. That happens to be the same day Mr. Taibbi testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government about what he learned about Twitter. The taxman left a note instructing Mr. Taibbi to call the IRS four days later. Mr. Taibbi was told in a call with the agent that both his 2018 and 2021 tax returns had been rejected owing to concerns over identity theft. (read more)

Mar 29 2023

Manhattan Grand Jury Not Expected to Vote on Trump Indictment This Week


Posted originally on the CTH on March 28, 2023 | Sundance

According to a leak provided to NBC News, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not anticipated to poll the grand jury for a potential indictment of President Trump this week.

A delay in the timing would seem likely given the nature of the political winds that generally coordinate to manipulate public opinion.  An indictment timed in support of, and in concert with a Ron DeSantis campaign launch, would be more appropriate given the nature of the intentions.

(Via NBC) – The New York grand jury considering possible criminal charges against former President Donald Trump related to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election is not expected to be asked to vote on an indictment this week, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The grand jury is not expected to meet on Wednesday, the sources said, the next day the panel was regularly scheduled to convene. (more)

Everything in the corrupt world of manipulative politics is connected to itself by the interests of those conducting the manipulation.  An ideological alignment of individual people, institutions and organizations working in concert toward a common goal is not a conspiracy.

Organized coordination between individuals, groups and institutions is generally labeled as a conspiracy in order to avoid the reality of the connective tissue.  However, that dismissive labeling also allows the downstream beneficiaries of the outcome to dispatch, avoid, or more commonly pretend to ignore the collective goal.  But organized coordination is not needed in order to pursue a common goal; the only thing needed is an understanding of the objective.

Once the objective of the common interest is identified, all benefactory components operate individually.  What becomes visible is the similarity of the actions.

This is where we see patterns and common actions taken toward a common goal. This reality is the context to understand how the political dynamic is constructed in opposition to Donald Trump, and more specifically how the America First policy platform of Presidential candidate Donald Trump is viewed as a common threat.

Individuals, institutions, government ‘stakeholders’, and generally all status-quo interests stand in opposition, as reflected in the historic Niccolò Machiavelli quote:

“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones.”

When the new system is constructed to the benefit of the many yet disrupts the status of the few (the proverbial elite), who benefit from retention of the old, those in the at-risk minority must pretend not to know things.  Additionally, through passive aggressive undermining that same elite group frame their opposition to provide themselves plausible deniability.

It is in this political mix of eclectic interests where a person needs an intellectual filtration system, tuned to the granular nuances, in order to make sense of the landscape and see the big picture.

Do not disregard the difficulty of this process, for it takes a keen – almost exhaustive – state of awareness to maintain vigilance against the conniving schemes that flow as an outcome of the process.

However, once you see the patterns, you are essentially tuning in to see the strings on the marionettes.

Once you see the strings on the marionettes, you can never return to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.

In the 1980’s and 90’s, there was a fad of optical illusion images known as autostereograms.  For many people when you stare at the autostereogram image, a hidden 3D scene emerges.  It often takes a few seconds or even minutes to see the 3D aspect to the image; however, once your eyes adapt to the image it becomes easier to spot.  This is a metaphor for modern politics.  Often it is difficult to spot the 3D aspect to what we see, but over time the picture gains clarity.

Consider…. Much has been written about Mitch McConnell spending $10 million on the Alaska Republican Senate race when the race was between two Republicans.  Yet Mitch McConnell refused to support Republican Senate Candidate Blake Masters in Arizona?  However, less has been written critically about the Republican Governors Association, likely because it’s more challenging to accept the corporate Machievellian approaches extend far beyond DC, into our own backyards.

The Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) gave $21 million to the Super PAC “Friends of Ron DeSantis” in 2022 {Source}; however, in every single poll DeSantis was leading by double digits, and even the most die-hard leftists admitted months before the election that Florida was a lost cause; DeSantis was going to win.

So, why did the RGA transmit $21 million to the coffers of DeSantis, while the Arizona Republican candidate for governor, Kari Lake, struggled with major donor funding?  Arizona’s current Republican Governor Doug Ducey is head of the RGA.

Accepting these passive aggressive political realities only leads the intellectually honest observer in one researched direction.  The McConnell Senate Leadership Fund and the Republican Governors Association (RGA) all receive funds from the same Wall Street and multinational corporate mechanisms.

It is easy to see the agenda of McConnell because he’s been using the same ‘Citizens United’ playbook for over a decade, and the media draws attention to it.  McConnell is the enmity and preservation group that Machiavelli described.  However, it’s much more difficult to see the RGA as the ‘lukewarm defender’ group in our backyard.

The corporate alignment of the RGA is also more difficult to accept; but that is, as my grandpa would say, “the reality of the thing.”

I am going to begin outlining the 2023 and 2024 political club landscape soon.  Much of the continued exposing will be on a granular, cited and difficult to accept level. Yet, it becomes necessary because we need to see the strings on these GOPe marionettes if we are going to avoid the “illusion of choice” that each component element, RNC, GOP, RGA, RCCC, is constructing for us.

(SOURCE PIC)

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Blackstone Inc (BX.N) Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman [pictured left], who has been one of Wall Street’s biggest donors to Donald Trump’s election campaigns, said on Wednesday he will not back the former president in 2024.

Trump announced he would run in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, launching an early bid to become the Republican nominee in an effort to pre-empt potential rivals.

Schwarzman said it was time for new party leadership and that he would back a different Republican in the presidential contest. “It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries,” he said in a statement, which was first reported by Axios.

Schwarzman, 75, is a prominent Republican donor. He spent $35.5 million to support Republicans ahead of last week’s midterm election. Republicans are still one seat short of capturing control of the U.S. House of Representatives and have failed to take over the U.S. Senate. (more)

NEW YORK – Rupert Murdoch has reportedly warned Donald Trump his media empire will not back any attempt to return to the White House, as former supporters turn to the youthful Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

After the Republican party’s disappointing performance in the US midterm elections, in particular the poor showing by candidates backed by Trump, Murdoch’s rightwing media empire appears to be seeking a clean break from the former president’s damaged reputation and perceived waning political power.

[…] “We have been clear with Donald. There have been conversations between them during which Rupert made it clear to Donald that we cannot back another run for the White House.”

[…] Lachlan Murdoch, the heir apparent and eldest son, who co-chairs News Corp and runs the parent company of Fox News, has reportedly told DeSantis that the group would back him if he ran in the next election. “Lachlan has been keen on Ron for some time,” said the i’s source. “He’s viewed within the organization as a sanitized version of Donald.” (read more)

Once you see the strings on the corporate marionettes, it’s impossible to return to that moment in the political performance when you did not see them.

Wall Street -vs- Main Street.

Giddy up…

Mar 28 2023

Full Sean Hannity Interview With President Donald Trump – Video


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

With a myriad of key and important issues facing the nation, including the fraudulent indictments being presented against President Trump, Fox News host Sean Hannity invites Trump onto his show so the President can listen to Hannity talk about them. {Direct Rumble Link}  WATCH:

Mar 27 2023

China – US – Claimed Territory – One China Policy


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Mar 26, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION:  China’s claimed territory??? So China can claim the entire Pacific as their territory and that means we can’t enter the Pacific???

DF

ANSWER: Whatever China claims is really irrelevant. Up until recently, we did not push the limits and China did not expand its claims. We all agreed to disagree but took no action. In this case, Beijing’s claim of its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands does not comply with international law.

Nevertheless, the real question is what has changed? You can support war all you want, but remember, this time it will be different. The Neocons are smart. Wrap whatever they do in the American flag and people will die for their claims as well. Wars are created by the elites, not the common people. We also need to examine who is doing what for whatever you thought you were creating for your future and that of your family will exist no more. Everything is changing.

You must understand the language of diplomacy. It may seem irrelevant but it is very critical. The point is that we seem to be deliberately provoking confrontation which is strange and we are abandoning the statement on the One China Policy which has actually protected Taiwan. Before the Neocons seized the White House, there was the agreement of a One China Policy, which tentatively accepted their territorial view of China despite appearing to be more nuanced and fiction rather than substantive.

I know international politics can be very confusing for people unaware that it is all about WORDSMITHING! Words matter and lives depend on those words. Back in January 2017, Rex Tillerson, who was Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Taiwan, based on the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the Six Assurances, at his Senate confirmation hearing. He also indicated that he is not aware of “any plans to alter” the U.S. “one China” policy.

Back in 1979, that is when the United States moved to recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and de-recognize the Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan). What the United States stated at that time was that the government of the People’s Republic of China was “the sole legal Government of China.” The use of the word “sole” meant that the PRC was and is only China. In those words, there was no consideration of the ROC (Taiwan) as a separate sovereign entity.

Now, against that statement on the surface, the United States did not yield to the Chinese demand that it recognize Chinese Sovereignty over Taiwan. The word “Taiwan” became the name preferred by the United States in the aftermath of the de-recognization of the ROC. So they no longer called it the Republic of China but switched to Taiwan.

This wordsmithing satisfied China and removed the threat of invasion of the ROC. Washington thereby acknowledged the Chinese position that Taiwan was part of China. For geopolitical reasons, both the United States and the PRC were willing to go forward with diplomatic recognition despite their differences on this matter. It became the wordsmithing compromise.

When China attempted to change the Chinese text from the original acknowledge to recognize, the Deputy Secretary of State at the time was  Warren Christopher who testified before the  Senate:

“[W]e regard the English text as being the binding text. We regard the word ‘acknowledge’ as being the word that is determinative for the U.S.”

That was all followed by a U.S.-China Communique on August 17th, 1982. It was there that the United States stated that it had no intention of pursuing a policy of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.” This is how diplomacy is carried out. I have to do the same in advising governments economically because it always hangs on a single word.

To this day, the U.S. “one China” position has stood until the Neocons have seized the Biden White House. stands: the United States recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China but only acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China. Thus, the United States maintains formal relations with the PRC and has unofficial relations with Taiwan. The “one China” policy has subsequently been reaffirmed by every new incoming U.S. administration. The existence of this understanding has enabled the preservation of stability in the Taiwan Strait, allowing both Taiwan and mainland China to pursue their extraordinary political and socioeconomic transitions in relative peace.

The Washington Post wrote:

“The one-China policy is only a symbol of the long-standing, tacit agreement between the two countries to leave the Taiwan question unresolved. It’s a policy worth saving, if possible. But it’s not an agreement the United States can uphold alone. Right now, the one-China policy looks fragile, but it’s Xi — not Biden — who will decide whether the policy and the peace it preserves will survive.”

Because we have now put Taiwan in the face of China with politicians flying there for support, we have guaranteed that China must NOW take Taiwan. The One China Policy has been tiorn up and that means lives must now be lost and the future will never be the same from here on out. The question is WHY?

Blinken is a Neocon. In diplomacy, you DO NOT threaten China publicly. You do that in private phone calls and meetings. When you do that publicly, you are effectively insuring that they then MUST take action or they will appear to be weak. What is Putin said publicly the US must stop sending weapons to Ukraine, and Biden then says, gee, we will stop sending weapons to Ukraine. The American people will call him a puppet of Putin.

The is a HUGE difference in diplomacy between public and private. The fact that Biden has done everything publicly is a slap in the face to china and ensures that they must now confront the USA. This is all being orchestrated and it will be Americans who die for these deliberate acts of the Neocons who have created every war since Vietnam. I seriously doubt that Biden is even aware of who is now running our Foreign Policy. They just want ware and will get it.

The Neocons have no problem sacrificing your children on their altar of geopolitical power. Peace – is no longer an option. Open your eyes. This is intentional – not stupidity!

Mar 27 2023

Sunday Talks – Matt Taibbi Discusses the Twitter Files and TikTok Hypocrisy


Posted originally on the CTH on March 26, 2023 | Sundance

Independent journalist Matt Taibbi appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the current U.S. position on social media platform TikTok and the larger issues with government censorship and control as he has outlined within the ‘Twitter Files.’

Readers and observers should note how Council on Foreign Relations member Ms. Bartiromo again introduces the TikTok narrative around the ability of the Chinese government to request user data from TikTok, while Ms. Bartiromo seemingly ignores the U.S. surveillance policy that grants DOJ/FBI officials identical access to user data from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google, Apple, etc.

However, independent thinking Matt Taibbi does a great job with that question and reminds Ms Bartiromo the Senate Select Committee functions in the USA exactly as she is concerned about the CCP acting in China. [lolol.. Go Matt!]  Bartiromo quickly dodges the point and moves on. WATCH:

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I like Matt Taibbi, even when he was a willfully blind lefty, he was always a curious cat.  Deep State gotta Deep State.  The cause of the “dramatic change” Taibbi notes has a name, it’s called Donald Trump.

Mar 27 2023

Sunday Talks – Mark Warner, Senate Intelligence Committee Very Upset U.S Govt Cannot Control TikTok Content


Posted originally on the CTH on March 26, 2023 | Sundance

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) Chairman Mark Warner is very concerned about the U.S. government inability to control, restrict and censor the information within the TikTok social media platform.

As outlined in this Face the Nation interview with Margaret Brennan, Chairman Warner states it is very alarming that China may permit content that is against the interests of the U.S. government to control it.  Additionally, by law, the Chinese platform “has to be willing to turn over data to the Communist Party“.

Now, if you find yourself thinking, how is this different from U.S. laws that force Twitter, Facebook, Apple or Google to turn over user data to the DOJ/FBI, well, you are probably too smart for this regime narrative and should officially consider yourself a dissident American intellectual. Just sayin’.

The bottom line is very simple when you look at TikTok from the position of the U.S. surveillance state.  The Dept of Homeland Security can only monitor TikTok content, they cannot do anything to modify, remove, censor or control the content, as a result TikTok exists as an existential threat.  WATCH:

[Transcript] –  MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic Chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He joins us from King George Virginia. Good morning to you, Senator.

SEN. MARK WARNER: Good morning Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It was a pretty intense five hours of questioning of Tiktok CEO this past week. Your bipartisan bill has White House support, and it would deal with Tiktok by giving the Commerce Department power to review and potentially ban technology flagged by US intelligence as a credible threat. Will it pass in a divided Congress?

SEN. WARNER: Well, Margaret, will – we’re now up to 22 Senators. 11 Democrats. 11 Republicans. We’ve had strong interest from the House. I think they wanted to get through their hearing. And clearly  while I appreciated Mr. Chew’s testimony, he just couldn’t answer the basic question. At the end of the day, Tiktok is owned by a Chinese company Bytedance. And by Chinese law, that company has to be willing to turn over data to the Communist Party. Or one of my bigger fears, we got 150 million Americans on Tiktok average of about 90 minutes a day, and how that channel could be used for propaganda purposes –

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. WARNER: -or disinformation, advocated by the Communist Party.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But has the White House made clear to you that they want this bill to pass and do intend to ban it? Or is a forced sale more likely?

SEN. WARNER: Well, I think the White House is very in favor of this bill. And clearly this is not just a phenomenon in America. We’ve seen Canada act. We’ve seen the UK act. Matter of fact, the Dutch said, if you’re a media person, please get off TikTok, the Chinese are spying on you. India’s already banned the bill- banned it outright. We give the Secretary of Commerce the tools to ban, to force a sale, other tools. And end of the day, one of the things that may lead to a ban is the Chinese Communist Party has said they felt like the algorithm, the source code that resides in Beijing, is so important that they’d rather see a ban than give that source code up to be placed in a third country, which again, I think speaks volumes about the potential threat that this application poses.

MARGARET BRENNAN

Well, the Commerce Secretary though recently said that the politician in her thinks a ban will mean losing every voter under 35. Forever. And if you look at use of Tiktok I mean, just last week, President Biden showed up and celebrity videos on Tiktok from the White House. Plenty of lawmakers, including your Democratic colleagues, Senator Cory Booker use it. A number of House progressives use it, given how important this platform is to Democrats, can you actually get TikTok taken care of before 2024 when you might need it for political outreach?

SEN. WARNER: Margaret, I think there’s a lot of creative activity that goes on on Tiktok, but I absolutely believe that the market- if TikTok goes away, the market will provide another platform and at the end of the day, that could be an American company. It could be a Brazilian company, it could be an Indian company. All those companies–

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, but the Commerce Secretary is saying there’s a political cost if it goes away–

SEN. WARNER: –operate within a set of rules that–

MARGARET BRENNAN: and that’s what she fears.

SEN. WARNER: I think –

MARGARET BRENNAN: And you’re empowering her.

SEN. WARNER: Listen, I have met- I have met with Gina Raimondo on this issue. I think she will make very clear that she believes TikTok is a threat as well. And listen, if at the end of the day, you could end up with a forced sale. And that forced sale also makes sure that the core algorithm, the source code resides someplace different than China, that could be a outcome that would be successful as well. At the end of the day, you cannot have American data collected. Nor can you have the ability for the Communist Party to use TikTok as a propaganda tool.

MARGARET BRENNAN

60% of the company is owned by other investors, including US firms. So is this a policy that you really need to address with Americans to stop them from investing in companies like this?

SEN. WARNER: Well, that’s one of the reasons why I think our approach – the RESTRICT Act says – rather than dealing with Tiktok in a one off fashion, or a few years back, it was Huawei, the Chinese telecom provider or years earlier, the Russian software company Kaspersky. We need to have a set of tools, rules-based so they can stand up in court, Tiktok would still did get his day in court, even under our law that says, if there’s a foreign technology from a place like China and Russia, and it poses a national security threat, and one of the things we also require is that the intelligence community has to declassify as much of this information as possible. So it’s not simply like, hey, trust the government, we got to make the case. And I do think at the end of the day, if it ends up with a ban, there will be other platforms for the literally millions of influencers and folks who like this kind of video platform, they’ll still be able to get it.

MARGARET BRENNAN

Very quickly. They’re a number of Republican lawmakers who plan to meet with Taiwan’s president when she is here on US soil. Are any Democrats, will you?

SEN. WARNER

You know, I I’m not sure when the president of Taiwan is coming to the United States –

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: -they announced March 30 and again in April.

SEN. WARNER: Okay, I’m not sure. Well, if there- if there’s an invitation made to me and other Democrats, listen, I would like to have that meeting as well. I think protecting and ensuring the security of Taiwan is in America’s national interest.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you, since you sit on the Senate Banking Committee about this rolling turmoil that we are in. You are one of 16 Democrats who voted in 2018 to change those Dodd Frank banking regulations regarding the mid-size banks, which obviously has been scrutinized, because that size bank is where we have seen recent issues. I know you’ve defended the vote in recent days. Do you think there needs to be more regulation of mid-size banks, now?

SEN. WARNER: Well, Margaret, Tuesday, we’re going to start getting the facts at the Senate Banking Committee. And if it ends up that a stress test that would have been applied to these mid-size banks would have spotted this, of course, I’d add additional regulation. I think, though, what it appears to me is two things happened. One, basic banking regulation. If this has been only a $5 billion bank, not a $200 billion bank, should have spotted the fact that this management, and the regulators missed basic banking 101, the interest rate mismatch. And two: one of the things that I think we also have to look at is this was the first time we’ve had an internet-based run. There was literally $42 billion taken out of this bank in six hours. That’s the equivalent of 25 cents on the dollar. And I’d like to know why some of the venture capitalists spurred this run in the first place.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Interesting topic. I want to ask you, though, as well, about your relationship with SVB bank, and political donations. USA Today had a great big list of all of the entities SVB’s political action committee or CEO had donated to. It’s the DNC. It’s President Biden’s 2020 campaign. Senator Schumer says he’s going to give back the money he received or donate it. Representatives Maxine Waters, Ro Khanna have returned the donations. You received $21,600 from their political action committee, nearly six grand from its CEO. Do you feel any pressure to give those funds away? Is there a point to it?

SEN. WARNER: Well, first of all, Margaret, campaign contributions have never affected my policy choices. They never have, and they never will. We’re going to hear the facts on Tuesday. And if there’s malfeasance at the bank, of course, I’m gonna give the money back.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Senator, before I let you go, I want to just follow up on what you shared with us when we spoke back in January, when you were very frustrated that the administration wasn’t sharing more information about the classified materials improperly held by the current president when he was out of office and the former president. You’ve been briefed. Any more clarity on this? Any further information?

SEN. WARNER: We need more information about these documents. And more importantly, we need to make sure that what the intel community has done to mitigate the harm. And we’re still in conversations with the Justice Department, the administration’s position does not- does not pass the smell test. We’ve got a job not to go into the legal ramifications, but to make sure that the intelligence community has done what’s right. And we’ve got some additional tools, we can restrict some of the spending. We’re in active conversations with the Justice Department. But we’ve got to get those documents

MARGARET BRENNAN: Specific to what just happened this week in Syria, with the Iranian-aligned groups attack on U.S. presence there. Are you satisfied with the amount of information that’s being shared? What is going on? And should there be a more robust response from the Biden administration to stop these kind of attacks?

SEN. WARNER: Well, we’ve got a few thousand troops there in Syria and Iraq. I’ve been briefed by the intel community. Protecting, frankly, the Kurds who are finishing wiping out the remnants of the ISIS forces, and, frankly, helping guard some of the ISIS prisoners. It has been a dangerous area, but I think the administration’s response has been appropriate. So far.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Some of your Republican colleagues have publicly complained, though, that the attack that was fatal Thursday morning wasn’t briefed to Congress until Thursday night. Does that concern you? I mean, Iran was a key topic being discussed on the Senate floor that day.

SEN. WARNER: We have no illusions about the malicious nature of the Iranian regime, and how they help these groups in Syria, Iraq, and frankly, across the whole region. But in this case I do think the administration briefed us in an appropriate way. And I think the response to the missile fire, or the drone attack from one of these Iranian-sponsored groups. That’s a dangerous part of the world. But our troops are doing something that’s terribly important in terms of making sure that we eliminate the final vestiges of ISIS.

MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, Senator Warner, thank you for your time today. Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us. [Transcript End]

Senator Warner is correct, an example is World War Reddit (Ukraine).  Creating the background narrative for World War Reddit is more complicated if TikTok users are showcasing the theatrics of it….

Po

Mar 27 2023

Hungary Not Sure if it Wants to Support Finland and Sweden Joining NATO While U.S. State Dept Tries to Overthrow Hungarian Government


Posted originally on the CTH on March 26, 2023 | Sundance

One of many things to like about Hungary is their brutal honesty when it comes to the United States meddling in their domestic affairs. {Background}

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó gave an interview recently where he said it is more challenging to support the NATO objective, when the United States is so committed to overthrowing the Hungarian government. He has a good point.

(Via Associated Press) – The West’s steady criticism of Hungary on democratic and cultural issues makes the small European country’s right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia, Hungary’s foreign minister said.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also said Friday that his country has not voted on whether to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO because Hungarian lawmakers are sick of those countries’ critiques of Hungarian domestic affairs.

Lawmakers from the governing party plan to vote Monday in favor of the Finnish request but “serious concerns were raised” about Finland and Sweden in recent months “mostly because of the very disrespectful behavior of the political elites of both countries towards Hungary,” Szijjártó said.

“You know, when Finnish and Swedish politicians question the democratic nature of our political system, that’s really unacceptable,” he said.

The timing of a vote on Sweden is harder to predict, Szijjártó said.

The EU, which includes 21 NATO countries, has frozen billions in funds to Budapest and accused populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban of cracking down on media freedom and LGBTQ rights. Orban’s administration has also been accused of tolerating an entrenched culture of corruption and co-opting state institutions to serve the governing Fidesz party. (read more)

Hungary has been in the crosshairs of the Biden/Obama administration ever since Prime Minister Viktor Orban refused to align with the WEF Western Democracies in their quest for regime change in Russia.  As the NATO led western alliance assembled to use Ukraine as a proxy war against Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban would not join.

In early April 2022, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was overwhelmingly reelected {LINK}, despite the massive efforts against him by the European Union, western and euro-centric multinational globalists.   As a result of the victory, Brussels was furious at the Hungarian people.  Associated Press – […] “Orban — a fierce critic of immigration, LGBTQ rights and “EU bureaucrats” — has garnered the admiration of right-wing nationalists across Europe and North America.” (link)

Within the statements reported from his 2022 victory speech, Prime Minister Orban warned citizens of the NATO and western allied countries about the manipulation of Ukraine and how he views the Zelenskyy regime:  […] “while speaking to supporters on Sunday, Orban singled out Zelenskyy as part of the “overwhelming force” that he said his party had struggled against in the election — “the left at home, the international left, the Brussels bureaucrats, the Soros empire with all its money, the international mainstream media, and in the end, even the Ukrainian president.” (link)

This put Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the crosshairs of the western alliance, specifically the EU and U.S. bureaucrats who use their power, position and intelligence apparatus to manipulate foreign nations.  A year later and now we see USAID Administrator Samantha Power in Hungary openly discussing her seeding of the NGO’s and political activist systems in order to generate yet another color revolution. {Direct Rumble Link} – WATCH:

Samantha Power, the wife of Cass Sunstein, is well known as the Obama/Biden administration’s advance operative who uses her position in U.S. government to influence activism in targeted nations. Hungary is now a target.