Tag Archives: Deep state

Mar 22 2026

Robert Mueller is Dead


Posted originally on CTH on March 21, 2026 | Sundance 

The Clinton exoneration FBI Team became the Trump investigation FBI Team (Crossfire Hurricane) – which then became the Robert Mueller FBI Team (exact same people, plus some additions) – which then became the J6 Investigation FBI Team (exact same people, plus some additions) – which then became the Jack Smith FBI Team (same exact people).  Not only was it one long continuum, but it was also the EXACT SAME PEOPLE.

Before there was the obvious cognitive decline of Joe Biden, there was the obvious cognitive incapacity of Robert Mueller.  However, both acuity compromises were ignored because the agenda the figureheads represented was more important than their obvious compromise.  We talked about it throughout the special counsel timeframe that held his name.

Robert Mueller was a figurehead with no structural input or control over the Trump-Russia special counsel probe.  Factually, Andrew Weissmann was in control over the special counsel investigation, albeit with daily support from the entire Lawfare network.  President Trump’s notice about Robert Mueller’s death is understandable:

[SOURCE]

I’ve always said to pay attention to the people in Washington DC, specifically the republicans, who claimed Robert Mueller was an honorable figure.  As soon as you hear that sentiment, you know that is a corrupt conniving bastard speaking.

Everyone in Washington DC knew what the role of Robert Mueller was during the first-term administration of Donald Trump.  No one in Washington DC did not know.  Anyone who says the Mueller motive was to investigate Trump-Russia is a deceptive liar.  They all knew what the goal of Mueller was.

The 2017 Mueller Timeline:

♦Sunday May 14th – James Comey transmitted copies of Memos 2, 4, and 6, and a partially redacted copy of Memo 7 to Patrick Fitzgerald, who was one of Comey’s personal attorneys.  Fitzgerald received the email and PDF attachment from Comey at 2:27 p.m. on May 14, 2017, per the IG report.

♦Monday May 15th, McCabe states he and Rosenstein conferred again about the Special Counsel approach. McCabe: “I brought the matter up with him again after the weekend.”

On this same day was when James Rybicki called SSA Whistleblower to notify him of Comey’s memos. The memos were “stored” in a “reception area” and in locked drawers in James Rybicki’s office.

♦Tuesday May 16th – Per the IG report: “On the morning of May 16, Comey took digital photographs of both pages of Memo 4 with his personal cell phone. Comey then sent both photographs, via text message, to his special government employee, Daniel Richman.  Richman’a job was to use the memo to leak to media.

Back in Main Justice at 12:30pm Rod Rosenstein, Andrew McCabe, Jim Crowell and Tashina Guahar are all part of this meeting.  I should note that alternate documentary evidence, gathered over the years, supports the content of this McCabe memo.  Including texts between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok:

[Sidebar: pay attention to the redactions; they were placed by DOJ officials in an effort to protect Rod Rosenstein for his duplicity in: (A) running the Mueller sting operation at the white house on the same day; (B) the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, which was pre-determined before the Oval Office meeting.]

While McCabe was writing this afternoon memo, still May 16th, Rod Rosenstein took Robert Mueller to the ¹White House for a meeting in the oval office with President Trump and VP Mike Pence.

After six prior days of phone calls, emails and in person meetings, this visit to the White House was clearly Rod Rosenstein introducing Robert Mueller to the target of the investigation.  Rosenstein already knew he was going to appoint Mueller; and Mueller, along with the small group in the FBI, already knew Mueller was going to be appointed.

Later that night (May 16th), following the Mueller visit, there was a debriefing session back at Main Justice.  This evening meeting appears to be Lisa Page, Rod Rosenstein and Andrew McCabe; along with Tashina Gauhar again taking notes.

♦ Wednesday May 17th, 2017:  Rod Rosenstein and Andrew McCabe go to brief the congressional “Gang-of-Eight”: Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi, Devin Nunes, Adam Schiff, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Richard Burr and Mark Warner.

… […] “On the afternoon of May 17, Rosenstein and I sat at the end of a long conference table in a secure room in the basement of the Capitol. We were there to brief the so-called Gang of Eight—the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Rosenstein had, I knew, made a decision to appoint a special counsel in the Russia case.”

[…] “After reminding the committee of how the investigation began, I told them of additional steps we had taken. Then Rod took over and announced that he had appointed a special counsel to pursue the Russia investigation, and that the special counsel was Robert Mueller.” (link)

Immediately following this May 17, 2017, Go8 briefing, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein notified the public of the special counsel appointment.

According to President Trump’s Attorney John Dowd, the White House was stunned by the decision. [Link] Coincidentally, AG Jeff Sessions was in the oval office for unrelated business when White House counsel Don McGahn came in and informed the group.

Jeff Sessions immediately offered his resignation, and Sessions’ chief-of-staff Jody Hunt went back to the Main Justice office to ask Rosenstein what the hell was going on.

Resources/Citations:
FOIA Info – McCabe Memos
FOIA Info – Archey Declarations
Timeline

RUSSIAGATE – THEY HAD NOTHING – This investigative ‘small group’ were the people inside Main Justice (DOJ) and FBI headquarters who redacted the Lisa Page and Peter Strzok text messages; removed messages and communication antithetical to their goals; kept key documents and information away from congress; stalled any effort to expose the unlawful aspects of “SpyGate’ and the fraudulent foundation behind the Carter Page FISA application; and undermined any adverse discoveries in the leak investigations (ex. James Wolfe).

The DOJ/FBI investigative small group didn’t change when Mueller arrived, they just reorganized the focus of their effort based on lawfare leadership from Andrew Weissmann and new objectives.  Those same people who created the Trump-Russia collusion/conspiracy case of 2016, evolved into creating the Trump obstructing justice case of 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Everything Robert Mueller and Rod Rosenstein were doing in late 2017 and throughout 2018 was intended to drag-out the Russia conspiracy narrative as long as possible. There was really no Trump-Russia investigation taking place.

It was always the “obstruction” investigation that could lead to the desired result by Mueller’s team of taking down President Trump through evidence that would help Pelosi and Nadler achieve impeachment.  The “obstruction case” was the entirety of the case they were trying to make from May 2017 through to March 2019.

SPYGATE – Just as the New York Times reported, in its final days in office, the Obama Administration expanded the power of the National Security Agency (NSA) to share globally intercepted personal communication with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying any privacy protections.

The new rules were issued under section 2.3 of Executive Order #12333 after approval by two Obama Administration officials: Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Director of National Intelligence Director, James Clapper.

The new rules, which were issued in an unclassified document titled: “Procedures for the Availability or Dissemination of Raw Signals Intelligence Information by the National Security Agency (NSA),” significantly relaxed longstanding limits on what the NSA may do with the information gathered by its most powerful surveillance operations.

These operations remain as largely unregulated by American wiretapping laws. Surveillances include collecting satellite transmissions, phone calls, and emails that cross network switches abroad, and messages between people abroad that cross domestic network switches.

The changes initiated by the Obama Administration in its waning days empowered far more government agents and officials to search through raw intelligence data. As a direct consequence of the change in policy, that the prospect of intel leaks grew exponentially.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch signed the new rules permitting the NSA to disseminate raw signals intelligence information on January 3, 2017 after Director of National Intelligence James Clapper signed them on December 15, 2016.

The targeting of Donald Trump required surveillance and spying.

The surveillance of Donald Trump never stopped.

The aspect that changed was the team extracting the information.  Hence, (FBI) Raw NSA extraction => (FBI) Crossfire Hurricane => (FBI) Robert Mueller => (FBI) Impeachment => (FBI) Mar-a-Lago Raid => (FBI) Jack Smith.

My Thoughts…. Robert Mueller spent the last 8 years of his life slowly sliding into a very dark place.  He lost his ability to think, he lost his ability to communicate, he lost his ability to take care of himself, he lost his ability to walk, he lost all joy and happiness, he lost his ability to live.  His family was also dragged into a very dark and depressing place while they awaited his end-of-life process.  It wasn’t a fast death. That sounds like hell.

[FOOTNOTE: I have always wondered why no journalist has ever asked President Trump about the meeting with Robert Mueller, organized by Rod Rosenstein on the day before the special counsel was appointed.  How did Trump feel about Rosenstein when he realized the meeting with Mueller was a ¹set up? (or did he realize it?).]

Mar 21 2026

Michael Caputo Outlines Ongoing Targeting from DOJ and FBI with Suggestion to Tear Down the Institutions


Posted originally on CTH on March 20, 2026 | Sundance

Michael Caputo was interviewed by Catherine Herridge as he outlines all of the FBI targeting and DOJ harassment that took place in the past several years.  This is a very interesting interview. WATCH:

00:35 Michael Caputo: Biden Era FBI ‘Surveilled’ Dozens of Trump Associates
01:28 Caputo Says He Was Targeted Over His Investigation into Bidens and Anti-Weaponization Initiative
02:12 How Did the Biden-Era Investigation Continue Under AG Bondi?
03:10 Google Alert: FBI Subpoenaed His Records
04:29 Caputo Says He Was Working in Same DOJ Building as DOJ Investigation Targeting Him
06:00 August 2024 Susie Wiles Calls with Shocking News
06:40 Before 2024 Presidential Election, FBI Laid A Trap?


07:58 Federal Warrant Wanted Information About Caputo’s State of Mind
09:30 FBI Should Be Shattered: ‘Russia, Russia, Russia All Over Again’
10:42 FBI File: Caputo Called A Radical Traditionalist Catholic (RTC)
11:30 Caputo ‘Had To Go To The Highest Authority’ To Get Case Closed
12:44 Russia Gate Cost Caputo’s Family Everything
13:55 Threats To Caputo And Family
16:10 Accountability For RussiaGate
18:00 If Democrats Win Mid-Terms: Weaponization Will Increase 10x
19:50 Caputo: Task Force For Americans Who Were Harmed By Weaponization
20:50 Response to Critics Who Say Caputo Sees Conspiracies
21:43 Independent Journalism

Mar 21 2026

Grassley Releases Evidence of Manipulated Political Targeting within Mueller Probe Via FBI Whistleblower Report


Posted originally on CTH on March 20, 2026 | Sundance

Let me start by saying there is a lot of misleading information circling current events, some of it by what CTH considers very dubious alt-right voices.   I suggest just to be leery of “exclusive” insider information.  There are motives and angles that are not obvious and would not be comfortable for those who follow events closely.

[As an example, the election/voting information -connected to the Intelligence Community- and recently outlined by John Solomon, is not new.  What Solomon is rehashing is the background information exposed by Catherine Englebrecht and True the Vote surrounding Chinese involvement in prior elections (Konnech etc.).  Englebrecht gave the FBI the data, the FBI buried it and eventually targeted Englebrecht.  The hidden data and FBI conduct is now resurfacing.]

As a result of datamining the FBI ‘prohibited access’ records Chuck Grassley has released an FD-302 from an FBI agent who was on the Mueller team and became a whistleblower about the motives and agenda of the Mueller participants. [SEE HERE]

One of the stories surfacing surrounds one of the Mueller targets, Walid Phares.   [SEE HERE]

Walid Phares was the 5th target within the Weissmann/Mueller probe who were using Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) violations as targeting mechanisms.

The other four were Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Carter Page and George Papadopoulos.

♦ Why Phares?  This is a little complicated but become straightforward once you get it.

One of the first things President Obama did when he took office was to travel to Cairo, Egypt, give a speech to the Islamic world and trigger what later became known as the “Arab Spring.”  Obama was an ideological ally of the Muslim Brotherhood, which positioned him in alignment with Qatar, Iran, Turkey and various factions of the more extremist Muslim community.  The Muslim Brotherhood is political Islam.

Trying to keep it short, essentially Walid Phares was on the opposite side of that ideology.  He was a critic of the Brotherhood, and a supporter of the person who eventually shut down the Arab Spring uprisings, Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi.

After success in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya, President Obama was furious when Army General al-Sisi stepped up and removed Muslim Brotherhood aligned Mohammed Morsi in Egypt.  That military uprising stopped the Arab Spring, and it stalled out thereafter.

Obama’s efforts to give increased power and voice to the Muslim Brotherhood was essentially stopped by Sisi, and that made anyone on the stability side of Islam an enemy of Obama.  Without Egypt, Team Obama couldn’t trigger Syria – they did get extremism to expand via ISIS, but the coalition of Arab states al-Sisi put together pushed back on the extremists.

That’s the Muslim ideological part of the issue, and we could write a dozen deep articles about all of the ancillary issues within it.  However, for the sake of reader time, we’ll just jump forward to the other, perhaps more important, issue.

Walid Phares was an advisor to Donald Trump, helping him to connect to middle east moderate Arab leaders like al-Sisi and frame policies to end the extremism aspect.

As a policy advisor Phares saw the structural flaws in the Obama Iran-deal and, more importantly, Phares saw the outline of a financial relationship that intersected with Obama policy.

The Obama Iran deal involved the U.S. dropping sanctions, feeding billions of dollars back to Iran (via Qatar) as part of the incentive for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to “eliminate Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”  At least that was the forward face of the policy goal.

However, in the background there was a semi-opaque quid-pro-quo where Obama would transfer sanctioned funds back to Iran and then Iran would send a portion of the funds back to the Obama network.  The problem was the return funds were contingent upon the success of the Iran deal.

By advising President Trump against the Iran deal, Walid Phares was essentially putting a stop to the quid-pro-quo that was contingent upon the deal’s success.  In the bigger picture, that made Phares a target and the Weissmann-Mueller probe was the mechanism to target him, using FARA as the weapon.

[SIDEBAR – In a collaborative relationship between the Senate and the State Department, U.S. senators write foreign aid policy, rules and regulations thereby creating the financing mechanisms to transmit U.S. funds (think USAID).  Those same senators then received a portion of the funds laundered back through their various “institutes” and business connections to the foreign government offices. Example Ukraine [Burisma to Biden] or The McCain Institute.

The U.S. State Dept. served as a distribution network for the authorization of the money laundering by granting DC conflict waivers, approvals for financing (think Clinton Global Initiative), and permission slips for the payment of foreign money.   The officials within the State Dept. take a slice of the overall payments through a system of “indulgence fees”, junkets, gifts, expense payments from foreign dignitaries, and payments back to leadership pacs and structured political institutes.

If anyone gets too close to revealing or interrupting this process, they become a target of the apparatus.  By all accounts, President Trump was considered an existential threat to this entire process. – END SIDEBAR]

President Obama was ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood (time spent in Pakistan as a young man), that made him sympathetic to Iran (Valerie Jarrett), and simultaneously team Obama had a financial motive.

The Mueller investigation was used by Obama-era officials, deep state embeds and eventually FBI investigators as a mechanism to block President Trump from executing a divergent foreign policy.  The primary policy to protect was the Iran deal.

It’s a similar process in various foreign policy outcomes:

President Obama was positioned to make money from the Iran deal.

Vice President Biden was similarly positioned to make money from Ukraine.

Hillary Clinton (CGI) would make money from Haiti.

Donald Trump was a disruption to all of those ideological and financial constructs.  President Trump would and did carry an entirely new foreign policy.  This would result in ideological diminishment for the former policy teams, and financial loses for the former beneficiaries.

WASHINGTON – Carter Page wasn’t the only adviser from Trump’s first campaign wiretapped by the FBI. Walid Phares was electronically monitored for a 12-month period between 2017 and 2018, according to the Washington-based FBI agent who was assigned to investigate him as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia collusion probe.

As in Page’s case, the bureau withheld evidence exonerating Phares from the court to secure surveillance authorization, according to newly declassified FBI documents.

“I had no idea any of this was happening,” Phares told RealClearInvestigations in an exclusive interview Wednesday night. “This is shocking because they told my lawyer that I was only a ‘witness’ and that they just needed some information.”

“But these were huge abuses that I can see now,” he added. Phares said he intends to sue the FBI and Justice Department for damages.

The 68-year-old Lebanese-American scholar said case agents and prosecutors grilled him for months, questioned his employer, and even went after his bank records. As a result, he said he lost his job at a university, his livelihood, and even his bank accounts and credit card after Wells Fargo cancelled them.

“It was like a disaster for me financially and physically,” he said. “I also lost my Fox News contract” as an expert on terrorism and the Middle East, which he had held since 2007.

Phares was not hired by the Trump administration, even though he had been expected to land a high-level foreign policy position. “They scared the agencies from me so I would have problems with (obtaining) a security clearance,” he said.

Investigators could find “nothing” criminal on Phares during their probe, according to the lead case agent, and in fact, they concluded he was “honest.” Yet Mueller’s team continued to secretly spy on Phares – without providing the powerful federal spy court any of the exculpatory evidence that could clear Phares as required by law.

The agent told investigators in a separate 2020 internal FBI review that “there were no corroborating facts that tied Crosswind [the codename for Phares’ case] to certain facts that we thought were originally true,” according to a transcript of his testimony, released after more than five years of concealment.

He added that “nothing” collected from Phares’ communications under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, including phone messages and emails, “aided the investigation other than to prove the target was being honest with investigators,” who had interviewed him repeatedly.

Nonetheless, the FBI continued monitoring Phares as part of a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) investigation. He was never charged with any violations of the act. (read more)

Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensten gave testimony to the Senate in June of 2020 {LINK}.  Within Rosenstein’s election year and little covered testimony, he revealed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his main deputy Andrew Weissmann were completely in charge of Main Justice at the DOJ during the time the special counsel investigation was happening.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions was recused, and DAG Rosenstein was in charge of how much power and authority Mueller and Weissmann’s team held in the DOJ.

Rosenstein testified the special counsel had full control over everything and anything related to Trump-Russia, including the Carter Page FISA application the special counsel had re-submitted for the third renewal on June 29, 2017.

Anything that remotely touched the Trump-Russia investigation was completely and unilaterally controlled by Mueller and Weissmann, including any ancillary investigation that would come as an outcome from anything to do with Trump-Russia

Rosenstein also testified he deferred everything to Mueller/Weissmann and never challenged any of their requests for expanded investigative scope or authority.  Rosenstein felt the special counsel was in charge, and anything they wanted – they got.  As Deputy AG Rosenstein said all the special counsel operations were part of their investigative authority, and he felt he had no place in questioning, challenging or refusing anything related to their investigative authority.

Mueller/Weissmann had full control.

Mar 21 2026

Bagman and Enabler of ‘Spygate’ and ‘Russiagate’ Receives Subpoena from Florida ‘Conspiracy’ Investigative Grand Jury


Posted originally on CTH on March 20, 2026 | Sundance

In the next few days, much more about the overall investigative review underway in Florida will begin to surface.  The review has been led by USAO Jason A. Reding Quiñones, a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida.

As with all investigations containing multiple players and actors, the first investigative information is extracted from testimony by those furthest away from the principals, yet closest to the granular details of the events being reviewed.  The questioning then goes upstream, using information collected to assembly more specific questions as the principal players are approached.

The widest concentric circles are questioned first. Then, using the responses and investigative information from that circle, the questioning and inquiry goes to the next inner circle of participants.  The information is assembled, and more pointed questions are then targeted to the next inner circle; the process continues until the core is questioned.

Beginning with the end in mind, the biggest challenge is knowing what the correct questions are to ask of those who were closest to the corrupt activity (the outer circle). Background research is critical – CTH of value. From those pointed questions you get answers.  Then, next level of more specific questions get focus, and so on, and so on.

FLORIDA – Former FBI Director James Comey has been subpoenaed in connection with a wide-ranging investigation being run by a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Florida, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News on Thursday.

The probe, which focuses on an earlier investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and other prosecutions related to President Donald Trump, is being led by Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The sprawling probe has been dubbed a “grand conspiracy” investigation by Trump allies.

An attorney for Comey did not have an immediate comment, while Quiñones’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (read more)

Please remember, there are two distinct and different aspects to the overall conspiracy and timeline.

There was surveillance of the 2016 Republican candidates by contractors working on behalf of the FBI who was institutionally collaborating with the Clinton campaign; that is known as “Spygate.”   There was then an FBI operation to target and eliminate the threat represented by the 2016 GOP primary winner, Donald Trump; that is known as “Russiagate.”

‘Spygate’ and ‘Russiagate’ are two distinctly different corrupt pathways that eventually merged due to common interests.

The Mueller investigation, an extension of Crossfire Hurricane (Russiagate) was used by Obama-era politicians and internal government officials as a mechanism to block President Trump from executing a divergent foreign policy.  The primary policy of focus was to protect the Iran deal.

Based on mounting evidence, a pattern in other international activities and U.S. participants, the Obama-Clinton-Kerry Iranian deal likely included a mechanism for return payments to U.S. officials following the release of billions in frozen Iranian asset funds and the loosening of sanctions – (ie. pallets of cash).  Qatar was the mediator/broker.

However, it is speculated, perhaps being currently evidenced, that return payments to the Obama team contained a timing mechanism and the quid-pro-quo payments were stopped after President Trump withdrew from the Iran deal and re-instituted sanctions.

Thus, a much larger background context exists for why the totality of the U.S. government and Intelligence Community opposed President Donald Trump.   Is it all about the money? Time will tell.  Current events may not be coincidental.

♦ September 2015 – Billionaire Paul Singer contracts with Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS for opposition research on candidate Donald Trump during 2016 GOP presidential primary.  Simpson prior work during time at Wall Street journal serves as reference.

♦ November 2015 – Simpson hires Nellie Ohr to assist on Trump project.  Ohr was CIA open-source analyst.  Revelations by NSA compliance officer in April 2016 point to November 2015 as origin of multiple unauthorized searches of NSA database.

♦ December 2015 – Mrs. Ohr contacts Christopher Steele, submitting data for cross-reference with sources and seeking collaboration on Trump project. Ohr using ham radio license as independent operator.

♦ January – March 2016 – GOP Presidential primary ongoing.  Candidate Donald Trump wins majority of primary delegates from all early state contests.  Momentum for Donald Trump becomes significant.  Cruz, Kasich, Rubio final group along with Trump.  Late March, Paul Singer contacts Glenn Simpson to cancel opposition research. NSA compliance officer notifies NSA Director Mike Rogers about unauthorized use of database by “contractors.”  Rogers asks for full review.

♦ April 2016 – April 16, 2016, NSA compliance officer reports to Director Rogers of approximately 10,000 database searches, using “same identifiers” over “multiple dates.” Rogers responds by shutting down contractor access and blocking all FISA-702(17) “about” queries.  April 17, 2016, Glenn Simpson wife, Mary Jacoby, visits White House.  Glenn Simpson pitches preassembled oppo-research file on Trump to Clinton Team.  Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann takes over payments and signs contract with Fusion for continued work.

♦ May/June 2016 – Chris Steele constructing dossier on Donald Trump, submissions returned to Fusion GPS, Nellie Ohr and husband Bruce Ohr, #4 in DOJ-NSD.  External contacts made to Trump orbit by foreign officials from Australia (Downer), U.K (Mifsud) and Cyprus.  Trump campaign continues presidential primary victories. Trump enlists Paul Manafort as delegate manager for upcoming RNC convention.

♦ July 2016 – FBI opens official investigation of Trump for Russia collusion, predicated on contact from Australian Ambassador about non-existent claim Trump group receiving Clinton/DNC emails from Russian hackers.  Attempted FISA application rejected.

♦ August 2016 – CIA Director John Brennan informs Harry Reid of Clinton oppo-research effort known colloquially as Trump-Russia.  Former Acting CIA Director Mike Morrell, long time Clinton ally, publishes article in New York Times claiming Russians want Trump victory.   Hillary proclaims vast Russian conspiracy theory.

♦ September 2016 – Director Brennan directly informs White House, President Obama, Susan Rice, Lisa Monaco of Clinton oppo-research effort known colloquially as Trump-Russia.  Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson and Michael Sussmann identified as sources for organizing oppo-research Steele Dossier.

♦ October 2016 – Steele Dossier assembly used by DOJ-NSD in FISA application against Trump campaign official Carter Page.  Through April 2016, FBI used Carter Page as undercover employee in case against Russian Evgeny Buryakov; now October 2016, FBI claims Carter Page is official “agent of a foreign government” to gain FISA warrant.  Steele Dossier serves as replacement for Woods File supporting Title-1 search warrant.

♦ November 2016 – Donald Trump wins 2016 presidential election defeating Hillary Clinton and stunning world.  Clinton campaign blames Russians for her loss. Accuses Trump of colluding with Russia.   Trump campaign and transition team now under Title-1 full counterintelligence surveillance by FBI via Page FISA warrant.

♦ December 2016 – Joint Analysis Report released by intelligence community, claiming Russians were involved in attempting to influence 2016 election.  All Trump campaign and transition members under full physical and electronic surveillance. All communication intercepted.  Officially FBI Director James Comey denies President-elect Trump under investigation.

♦ January 2017 – Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) released by Obama administration claiming confidence Russia had attempted to interfere in the 2016 election.  Sanctions imposed by Obama; Russian diplomatic corps expelled.   FISA surveillance warrant resubmitted with no new context and renewed by FISC without question.

♦ February 2017 – National Security Advisor Michael Flynn under fire for talking to Russian ambassador in December during Christmas holiday.  Flynn wrongly accused of discussing possible policy changes and not to worry about Obama sanctions. Full court press by FBI and DOJ to leak information to media about Trump under FBI counterintelligence investigation.  James Comey leaks information to friend, Columbia University Professor Daniel Richman as intermediary to media.  Washington Post publish article citing FBI intercept of Flynn-Kislyak phone call.

♦ March 2017 – • On 16th HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes releases information to public about Obama presidential daily briefing containing information about Trump-Russia collusion investigation and surveillance of Trump campaign by FBI. First public indications that “wires were actually tapped.”  • On 17th copy of FISA application delivered from FISA Court to Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice-Chairman Mark Warner. Shortly after 4pm, Warner instructs SSCI Security Director James Wolfe to leak the FISA application to media.  Wolfe transmits 82 pictures to Politico journalist Ali Watkins via encrypted phone images [FISA application 83 pages with one blank page].  FISA application returned to courier FBI Agent Brian Dugan.  • March 20th, James Comey testifies to HPSCI during open hearing admitting for first time publicly that President Trump, and his entire administration, is under official FBI counterintelligence investigation.  Comey claims no information previously given to congressional oversight due to “sensitivity of the matter.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions forced to recuse.

♦ April 2017 – Absent AG, and without confirmed DAG, interim and acting DAG Dana Boente receives request for FISA renewal from FBI Director James Comey.  On same day FISA application is renewed for second time, journalist Ali Watkins -having ownership of illegal and leaked unredacted FISA application- writes first details of FISA application, then transfers employment to New York Times for senior role in Trump-Russia reporting. FBI continues leaking details of investigation to media. Mid April Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein arrives to take all responsibilities related to AG Sessions recusal.

♦ May 2017 – Early May, Deputy AG Rosenstein has phone call with FBI Director James Comey, “What do you want me to do – wear a wire?”   Mid-May, Rosenstein takes former FBI Director Robert Mueller to White House for oval office meeting with President Trump.  Next morning Mueller returns to White House to pick up cell phone he accidentally left in Oval Office. Later in afternoon, President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey. Following day Rosenstein talks to Mueller (3X) and coordinates meeting.  Robert Mueller appointed Special Counsel; Mueller chief deputy Andrew Weissmann assumes organization of investigation.

♦ June 2017 – Weissmann assembles Crossfire Hurricane team into Special Counsel.  WFO FBI Agent Brian Dugan begins to suspect SSCI leak of FISA application based on media reporting.  Agent Dugan requests and receives first warrant for cell phone records of SSCI Security Director Wolfe and NYT journalist Ali Watkins.  June 29th Andrew Weissmann requests renewal of Carter Page FISA warrant to continue surveillance of administration.  Application renewed.

♦ July 2017 – While conducting investigation of internal FBI conduct during Clinton email investigation, Office of Inspector General Michael Horowitz discovers inappropriate activity within FBI investigative team.  Horowitz informs DAG Rosenstein and SC Robert Mueller about Lisa Page and Peter Strzok compromise.  Weissmann removes Page and Strzok to avoid scrutiny by OIG of special counsel team.  President Trump White House Counsel Don McGahn discovers all 2016/2017 transition team emails, phone records, electronic communications and devices have been given to Andrew Weissmann by General Services Administration as requested by the FISA authority carried by special counsel.

♦ August 2017 – DAG Rod Rosenstein officially expands Special Counsel investigative scope as requested by Andrew Weissmann to include five specific targets: Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Carter Page, George Papadopoulos and Walid Phares [targeting angle = FARA violations, per DOJ-NSD authority] Mr. Phares organized interview between Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abel Fattah al-Sisi during 2016 campaign.  FISA surveillance authority used to collect evidence of financial transactions, banking records, travel, communication and full Title-1 counterintelligence operations deployed against targets.

♦ September 2017 – FBI Agent Brian Dugan conducting surveillance of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and communication between SSCI Vice-Chair Mark Warner and Chris Steele representative Adam Waldman.  Dugan intercepts Waldman side of conversation for investigative file.  Weissmann and 18 lawyers, 50 FBI agents and 200 staff continue Trump targeting operations, continue full Title-1 authorized FISA surveillance, and outline cases against Manafort (financial crimes/FARA), Flynn (FARA), and Papadopoulos (lying to investigators).

♦ October 2017 – FISA search warrant used by Mueller/Weissmann special counsel expires.  Weissmann requests expanded scope memo from Rosenstein to target Michael Flynn Jr for use against his father, Michael Flynn.  Cases against Manafort and Papadopoulos ongoing.  Media 24/7 with Trump-Russia collusion.  Meanwhile, FBI Agent Brian Dugan first approaches SSCI Security Director James Wolfe about FISA leak and media contacts.  Agent Dugan forced by USAO Jessie Liu to inform SSCI Chair Burr and SSCI Vice-Chair Warner about ongoing leak investigation.

♦ November 2017 – All prior surveillance and assembled evidence used via Title-1 search warrant authority, in combination with FARA and threats against Mike Flynn Jr, used to coerce a guilty plea by Michael Flynn (Nov 31).   House Intelligence Committee now seeking to review FISA warrant, DOJ and FBI denying access.  Political debate between Chairman Devin Nunes and ranking member Adam Schiff ongoing.

♦ December 2017 – AFTER securing Flynn guilty plea, immediately first reports of Lisa Page and Peter Strzok text messages released.  Within days, Bruce Ohr identified, demoted twice, former Crossfire Hurricane investigation now being scrutinized.  Nellie Ohr’s name surfaces.  Chris Steele and Fusion GPS now being reviewed with increased suspicion.  Testimony to Senate by Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson “accidentally” leaked by SSCI member Dianne Feinstein (keep stories straight, motive).   Nunes memo -vs- Schiff memo battle for media narrative.  Internal details of prior FBI targeting operation begin to surface with evidence showing sketchy behavior.  FBI Agent Brian Dugan confronts SSCI Security Director James Wolfe with evidence against him, Wolfe admits to leaks.  SSCI fire Wolfe.

♦ January 2018 – Apex for Special Counsel.  Brian Dugan assembles file against Wolfe submits for grand jury indictment. Due to file touching on Trump-Russia issues, Wolfe criminal activity file submitted to Special Counsel Weissmann for review.  Nunes memo released and discussed.

♦ February 2018 – Text messages between SSCI Vice-Chair Warner and Chris Steele layer Adam Waldman surface. Andrew Weissmann organizes a press conference for Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein to conduct, announcing indictments of 17 Russians and entities for 2016 election interference; this is timed as Trump departs for summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

♦ March 2018 – Public begins to absorb totality of FBI (mis)conduct in the Trump targeting operation.  The information war is in full swing.  Narrative battles are throughout media.

♦ April 2018 – Leaks of the FISA application against Carter Page now under scrutiny.  A criminal referral from OIG toward FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for lying to INSD investigators about his media leaks.

♦ June 2018 – The criminal indictment of SSCI Security Director James Wolfe unsealed and made public.

♦ July 2018 – The DOJ informs the FISC that despite issues surfacing about the predicate of the FISA warrant they authorized against Carter Page for being an agent of a foreign power, everything was ok.  A week later, the DOJ then releases to the public the first FISA Title-1 search warrant ever seen, …

…the publicly released version of the FISA application is the exact copy of FISA that was contained in the FBI evidence file against James Wolfe.  The same exact document hand carried from the FISC to the SSCI on March 17, 2017, was the copy released by the DOJ in July 2018 – not the DOJ-NSD copy.  How did that happen?

♦ December 2018 – Despite the DOJ refusing to indict James Wolfe for leaking the Top-Secret Compartmented Intelligence Carter Page FISA application, and after the guilty plea was entered for lying to investigators, and while the Judge was considering Wolfe’s sentencing, in December of 2018, after the midterm election and under penalty of perjury, the USAO in Washington DC swears to the Judge in the case that James Wolfe leaked the FISA application.

Cover up much?

Mar 20 2026

A Very Interesting Denial of FISA-702 Abuse by FBI Director Kash Patel Surrounding President Donald J Trump


Posted originally on CTH on March 19, 2026 | Sundance

During congressional testimony today, Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw, a man who is leaving congress at the end of this term having lost his primary race, took the opportunity to question FBI Director Kash Patel about FISA-702.

As most are aware the reauthorization of FISA-702 has a deadline if mid-April this year, and there is a great deal of background debate surrounding it.  Apparently, Dan Crenshaw wants to ensure the renewal is successful.

Crenshaw begins his defense by asking a very specific question to FBI Director Kash Patel about President Trump’s Crossfire Hurricane targeted and whether FISA-702 was related to that investigation.  Here it is important to remember that the NSA database was exploited in 2016 (Spygate) that ended with the Title-1 FISA warrant (Russiagate).

Both are correct in that FISA-702 was not the legal underpinning for the Carter Page FISA warrant, ultimately targeting Donald Trump.  However, conveniently omitted in the questioning is the original surveillance of the 2016 GOP candidates from November 2015 through April 2016 that did involve exploitation of the database under the justification that FISA-702 creates.  WATCH:

These are not “myths” Mr Crenshaw.  You are both correct that there is no “authority granted under 702” to conduct surveillance.  However, in 2016 conducting surveillance using 702 as a justification is what took place.

The collection of American citizen metadata does factually take place. At this point no-one denies it.

That data is then stored in a searchable database, a library of U.S. citizen data colloquially known as the “NSA database”.

Within the NSA database that metadata collection creates, there is a process to search it based on “identifiers.”

The collection of data, the database itself, as well as the search functioning therein, is part of the toolbox for FISA-702 surveillance.

The historic problem is not that “authorities granted under FISA-702” were/are used to conduct surveillance; but rather the search of the NSA collection database was done, illegally and frequently, for non-authorized reasons. The capability to conduct those search queries is maintained by justifying the need for FISA-702.

The historic searches and domestic surveillance were done by exploiting the NSA database, for a reason and purpose that is not authorized and has nothing to do with FISA-702. THAT’S THE PROBLEM.

The existence of the U.S. citizen data itself creates the opportunity to search it. The legal justification to search that database is done under the auspices of FISA-702; however, that’s not the issue. The issue is that searches of the NSA database are done by government officials and government contractors for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with FISA-702.

As a consequence, it’s the collection that creates the problem. Not the legal process for searching it. As long as the database exists there will be unlawful intrusions into it for domestic and/or political surveillance.

If FISA-702 did not exist, the quasi-constitutional justification for the wholesale collection of U.S. citizen metadata no longer exists. It really is that simple.

There is ZERO justification for the capture of U.S. citizen data by the government. The capture itself violates the Fourth Amendment. The only way the government can justify the capture of U.S. Citizen data is if there is some quasi-constitutional or national security reason for it.

Take away “702”, and the data collection collapses; ANY “incidental” search of the database then loses any plausible legal justification. 702 is the camel’s nose under the tent.

Only one case has ever pushed into the sphere of challenging this unconstitutional exploitation. A 2025 decision in the U.S. v. Hasbajrami case in Brooklyn, New York, where Eastern District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall identified the misuse of FISA-702 “backdoor searches” regarding defendant, Agron Hasbajrami.

Hasbajrami plead guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, alleging that he intended to travel to the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan, where he expected to join a terrorist organization, receive training, and ultimately fight against U.S. forces and others in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, after his guilty plea, while he is serving time in prison, prosecutors admitted some of the evidence against him came as a result of privacy violations, unlawful FISA-702 searches.

Hasbajrami sought to have the evidence against him thrown out on 4th amendment grounds (fruit of the poisoned tree) and withdraw his guilty plea. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied Hasbarjami’s blanket evidence suppression motion for the exclusion of all FISA Section 702 collection in his case but did not weigh in on whether the warrantless Section 702 database queries were constitutional, instead remanding the case back to Judge Hall for a review of that question.

Judge DeArchy Hall received the case again and reviewed all of the government motions against the request to suppress the evidence.  What results is a very well-constructed explanation and opinion of how FISA-702 was misused in the case [SEE 60-pg Opinion HERE].

The judge determined that U.S. government officials did factually violate the technical rules and procedures for the use of FISA-702 searches, and the DOJ should have gone to court to obtain a warrant to look at Hasbajrami’s private communication.

In essence, yes, the 4th amendment protections of Hasbajrami were violated.  However, the issue of overturning the resulting evidence becomes a matter of legal distinction.

The defendant, who admitted guilt (twice) did not claim the evidence was a result of misuse or a wrongful approach in searching the NSA’s library, from which FISA-702 search results are determined (a structural flaw in the defense motion).  Instead, the defendant filed a suppression motion on the issue of his 4th amendment rights being violated.

The judge opinion holds that the FBI’s Section 702 queries violated the Fourth Amendment; however, the court ultimately denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the resulting evidence on separate grounds.

The value in the ruling by Judge Hall, is a few fold:

First, it is an excellent review of the FISA-702 origin and all of the constitutional arguments that surround the controversial law.

Second, the ruling clearly shows that FISA-702 searches are currently being used unlawfully and continually by government officials.

Third, the ruling clearly shows how “backdoor” 702 searches are violations of the Fourth Amendment. [Albeit in this case, of no value to the argument put forth by Hasbajrami.]

[SEE CASE RULING HERE]

The ruling essentially underpins the reality that government officials are using their access to the complete library within the NSA collection and storage database to conduct searches of U.S. communication that removes the constitutional protections of the 4th amendment.

Mr Agron Hasbajrami was ensnared by this surveillance process and admitted his guilt thereafter.

However, the issue is not Hasbajrami’s intent, or even his guilt.  The issue that surrounds us is this constant surveillance state and the tens-of-millions of searches that are done on the private papers of American citizens.

In essence we have a domestic surveillance state looking for suspect people who are operating against the interests of government.

Mr. Hasbajrami was caught wanting to join a terrorist organization.  However, as we have witnessed in the cold and brutal reality of the J6 roundup, a “terrorist organization” may well be defined as your local “patriot group” or “parent’s advisory committee.”

Back to Patel’s testimony.  By obfuscating the use of FISA-702 in Crossfire Hurricane, Patel is focusing on the Title-1 surveillance warrant that created “Russiagate” and entirely ignoring the targeting of Donald Trump that took place in 2015 and 2016 through the contractor exploitation of the NSA database; that’s “Spygate.”

Patel and Crenshaw, much like the entire DC apparatus, need to ignore the Obama-era surveillance system, the political exploitation of the NSA database, in order to ensure they can hang onto the FISA-702 tool.

If the general public realized all of their data was stored on searchable government databases, they would likely reject it.  However, the rejection of the data storage would eliminate the ability to search it under the sketchy justification of 702.

Mar 20 2026

Elise Stefanik Questions DNI Gabbard About Politically Shaped Intelligence, and Joe Kent


Posted originally on CTH on March 19, 2026 | Sundance

Representative Elise Stefanik is a strong supporter of Israel and has concerns about current narratives swirling around the politicization of Intelligence Community information to shape anti-Israel sentiments.  Part of that collective effort is a not-so-subtle effort to remove DNI Gabbard from her position by questioning her loyalties.  A considerable segment of Washington DC wants to return to a more Dan Coats style DNI.

As a tenured member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), Mrs. Stefanik used her time during the congressional testimony of Gabbard, Ratcliffe and Patel to confirm the Trump administration policy toward the IC to remove all political interests.  WATCH:

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In the political horse racing analogy, the stable of Peter Thiel has taken major hits recently as the stable of Larry Ellison is gaining considerable influence.  However, it’s a steeplechase and anything can happen.

Peter Thiel <-> Elon Musk <-> Larry Ellison

Mar 20 2026

DNI Gabbard, CIA Director Ratcliffe and FBI Director Patel Testify to HPSCI – 10:00am Livestream


Posted originally on CTH on March 19, 2026 | Sundance

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other national security officials testify on threats to the U.S. amid the Iran war before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).

The testimony begins at 10:00am ET, with livestream links below:

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Mar 20 2026

Israel Unilaterally Strikes Iran/Qatar South Pars Gas Field – President Trump Is Not HappyPosted originally on CTH on


Posted originally on CTH on March 19, 2026 | Sundance 

The South Pars/North Dome field is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is by far the world’s largest natural gas field, with ownership of the field shared between Iran and Qatar. According to the International Energy Agency, the field holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of in-site natural gas.

President Trump is not happy about Israel’s unilateral decision to strike at the Pars gas field; however, pay attention to what Trump diplomatically describes as the motive:

[TRUTH SOCIAL] – “Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.

Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.”

“NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar – In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.

I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

The joint economic relationship over the Pars gas field is part of the connective tissue between Iran and Qatar and underpins why Qatar has always been an intermediary for all issues of deconfliction that surround the U.S and Iran.

Factually Qatar was always the mediator, and within that mediation relationship the USA used Qatar as the bank to receive the confiscated funds Obama delivered when he lifted sanctions.  There are hundreds of examples of the USA using Qatar as the intermediary for Iran policy, just as there are hundreds of citations and examples available for Qatar supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

It is only recently, very recently, like only in the era of Donald Trump as U.S. President, when Qatar started pulling away from a very friendly relationship with Iran.  So recently, that for the past 15-months, since long before it even made sense, CTH has been calling attention to this weird Qatar -vs- Israel division dynamic within USA domestic politics.

Then this happens….

The United States and Israel are working together on the targeting and military objectives of Operation Epic Fury.  But, for some unknown reason the United States did not know Israel was going to strike the Qatar Pars gas field?  Interesting.

President Trump assigns the motive for the Israeli attack as “out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East.” However, Israel has another, perhaps opportunistic motive, worth billions.

[SOURCE]

Israel is set to achieve record natural gas production in 2026, with expansion projects in the Leviathan and Tamar fields expected to push total output above 3 billion cubic feet per day (cfd) for the first time ever. According to the experts, the Chevron (NYSE:CVX) operated fields are expected to add a combined 600 million cfd in the coming months, with the bulk of the extra gas piped to Egypt after the removal of bottlenecks in the export pipeline network. Israel’s gas output in 2025 is estimated to have dropped slightly from a record 2.587bn cfd achieved in 2024 as fields were shut-in during Israel’s conflict with Iran in June.

Chevron and its partners NewMed Energy (OTCPK:DKDRF) and Ratio Energies (OTCMKTS:RTEXF) confirmed a $2.36 billion Final Investment Decision (FID) in January 2026 to expand the Leviathan field, increasing production capacity from 12 bcm to roughly 21 bcm annually. The expansion involves drilling three additional offshore wells, installing new subsea infrastructure and enhancing the platform’s processing capabilities. The expansion aims to significantly increase natural gas exports to Egypt and Jordan. The companies managed to boost production at the Tamar field to increase capacity from approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) to 1.6 bcf/d in 2025.

Debottlenecking of the export pipeline network is enabling higher volumes to reach Egypt, helping to fill their domestic supply gapsKey projects, including upgrading the Ashdod-Ashkelon pipeline and constructing the Nitzana pipeline (expected to be operational by 2028). The projects are designed to boost exports to Egypt and Jordan by 1.8 billion cubic feet per day. The 46-km offshore natural gas Ashdod–Ashkelon pipeline is undergoing upgrades scheduled for completion in the current year to handle increased capacity. Approximately 55% of the gas flows through the offshore Eastern Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline, while 45% is transported via the Arab Gas Pipeline through Jordan.

[…] The Leviathan and Tamar gas fields are key Israeli offshore natural gas assets, with current capacities of approximately 12 billion cubic meters (BCM) per year and 11 BCM per year, respectively. Both fields are expanding, with Leviathan projected to increase to 21–23 BCM annually to meet rising regional demand and exports. Still, the Middle East oil giants have potential for higher gas production. (SOURCE)

Did Israel bomb the collaborative Iran-Qatar gas field “out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East.” Or did Iseael just diminish an LNG competitor?

President Trump is not happy with this one Bibi.

We’ll keep watching…

Mar 19 2026

Representative Don Bacon Says if Trump Left NATO “There Would Be a Civil War in The Republican Party”


Posted originally on CTH on March 18, 2026 | Sundance 

Representative Don Bacon is openly and publicly in opposition to every President Trump policy.  Bacon is a ‘professional republican’, a traditional DeSantis republican.

Appearing on CNN the Nebraska Republican says if President Trump were to leave NATO, “there would be a civil war in the republican caucus.”  WATCH (prompted):

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Mar 19 2026

DNI Tulsi Gabbard Releases 2026 Unclassified National Threat Assessment


Posted originally on CTH on March 18, 2026 | Sundance

In fulfilling her legislatively mandated annual report called the “National Threat Assessment,” Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, releases the combined intelligence assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

You can read the Unclassified 2026 National Threat Assessment Here

Additionally, here is the transcript of DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s statement to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:

[TRANSCRIPT] – “I am here today to present the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, joined by the Directors of the CIA, DIA, FBI and NSA.

This briefing is being provided in accordance with ODNI’s statutory responsibility and represents the Intelligence Community’s assessment of the threats facing U.S. citizens, our Homeland, and our interests.

As President Trump’s National Security Strategy highlights, America is blessed with an enviable geostrategic position, unparalleled assets, resources and a military second to none. Intelligence remains among our sharpest tools in protecting our interests and informing our policymakers and decisionmakers on key national security concerns.

In this assessment, we are following the structure of priorities laid out in the National Security Strategy, starting with threats to our Homeland, then shifting to global risks.

The defense of our Homeland is of utmost importance to the American people. Putting America first means committing to an unrelenting vigilance in service of our own citizens, borders, and communities. Recent efforts to bolster Homeland defense have yielded significantly positive results, but challenges persist.

For example, President Trump’s strict enforcement of U.S. policies at the U.S. Mexico border and regionally has served as a deterrent and drastically reduced illegal immigration. Based on Customs and Border Patrol data, January 2026’s monthly encounters are down 83.8% compared to January 2025. Encounters declined 79% compared to 2024.

The drivers of migration are likely to continue. Potential worsening instability in countries like Cuba and Haiti risk triggering migration surges. Smugglers who often operate as transnational criminal organizations view chaos as an opportunity for profit and will look to continue to profit from illegal immigration flows.

Transnational criminal organizations continue to pose a daily and direct threat to the health and safety of millions of U.S. citizens primarily by producing and trafficking in illegal drugs.

Under President Trump’s leadership, fentanyl overdose deaths have seen a 30 percent decrease from September 2024 to September 2025.

Fentanyl potency has also decreased, likely due to disruptions to the production supply chain.

U.S. efforts to work with China and India to halt the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to North America are demonstrating improvement, but there is more work to be done as there are still tens of thousands of fentanyl-related deaths in America every year.

President Trump’s aggressive efforts to more directly and actively target TCOs and reduce the inflow of fentanyl precursors has already had a significant impact which is likely to continue. (continue reading – pdf)

The opening statement is 8-pages in full and can be found by following the ‘continue reading’ link above.

Tulsi Gabbard is doing a solid job as DNI, against formidable opposition from all directions.

“It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.”

― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince