Posted originally on CTH on February 12, 2026 | Sundance
Asst Attorney General Gail Slater was the head of the Antitrust Division of the Dept of Justice. Today she announces she has “left her role.” CNN is reporting that AAG Slater was fired.
Gail Slater was in charge of the antitrust division and a hawk on the mergers and acquisitions of Big Tech and Big Corporate media. As head of the DOJ Antitrust Division, Slater’s view on competition was against the interests of the major Big Tech billionaires and corporate media conglomerates who intersect with them.
Slater was in a position to influence the Warner Brothers-Discovery’s deal to sell the Warner Bros. studio and HBO to Netflix, which Paramount (David Ellison) is trying to stop.
If you have followed the influence of Larry Ellison (Oracle, TikTok) and his son David Ellison (Paramount, CBS) in/around the Trump administration as it relates to Elon Musk (a beneficiary of Ellison), then the timing of Gail Slater’s removal doesn’t look good at all.
Gail Slater came into the administration as a part of the JD Vance network (Peter Thiel, Palantir, etc.), and it looks like that same Vance network stood aside and watched Larry Ellison leverage his position to see her removed.
Slater was a solid MAGA voice in a critical Antitrust position against the interests of Big Tech and Big Corp. However, I said on Christmas Day 2024 – we were likely to be very disappointed by the influence of Big Tech/Big Corp in the White House {SEE HERE}.
Via CNN[…] Slater said in her Thursday post on X: “It is with great sadness and abiding hope that I leave my role as AAG for Antitrust today. It was indeed the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role.”
The anti-trust division is expected to play a critical role in assessing Netflix’s Warner Brothers Discovery’s deal to sell the Warner Bros. studio and HBO to Netflix, which Paramount is trying to stop by appealing straight to shareholders with its own bid. (CNN is owned by Warner Brothers Discovery.)
In an NBC interview last week, Trump said, “I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.” But Paramount CEO David Ellison returned to the White House last week to meet privately with Trump, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. (read more)
There may be something else in the background that we do not understand. However, when former lobbyists and political consultants become key administration officials (Wiles, Bondi) these types of outcomes are possible.
Posted originally on CTH on February 11, 2026 | Sundance
This is one step further than simple Lawfare, this story is about lower court judges openly strategizing ways to stop the enforcement of laws they are supposed to uphold.
Last week the Fifth Circuit Cout of Appeals ruled that detaining illegal aliens during the deportation proceedings is entirely following current immigration law [SEE HERE]. Now, according to Politico, federal judges in Texas are openly strategizing ways to work around that higher court ruling and keep giving bond releases to illegal aliens under the guise of “liberty interest.”
POLITICO – […] two federal district court judges in Texas, who are bound by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit’s ruling, said the 2-1 decision left an opening for them to continue granting immigrants’ release on other grounds, primarily constitutional arguments against detaining people who have established roots in the U.S. without due process. Those roots amount, in legal parlance, to a “liberty interest” that the Constitution says cannot be taken away without at least a hearing before a neutral judge.
“This conclusion is not changed by the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision,” Judge Kathleen Cardone, an El Paso based appointee of George W. Bush, ruled late Monday in at least five cases, concluding that the circuit’s decision “has no bearing on this Court’s determination of whether [the petitioner] is being detained in violation of his constitutional right to procedural due process.”
Judge David Briones, an El Paso-based Clinton appointee, reached a similar conclusion.
“The Court reiterates its original holding that noncitizens who have ‘established connections’ in the United States by virtue of living in the country for a substantial period acquire a liberty interest in being free from government detention without due process of law,” Briones wrote.
The decisions from the Texas-based judges are notable in part because the administration has often rushed detainees there after their arrests in other states such as Minnesota.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Justice Department official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the rulings were in keeping with the view that there are rogue judges who continue to make results-oriented decisions to suit their personal policy preferences.
The 5th Circuit’s ruling has yet to percolate through federal courts across Texas and Louisiana, where detained immigrants have been filing so-called “habeas” petitions in extraordinary numbers to seek freedom from what they say is illegal detention without the opportunity for bond. The losing parties in Friday’s ruling may still appeal the decision to the full bench of the 5th Circuit or the Supreme Court. (more)
Lower courts trying to circumvent higher court rulings, even before any plaintiff brings them a case or argument.
Posted originally on CTH on February 10, 2026 | Sundance
The Dept of Justice has unsealed the FBI affidavit that outlines the probable cause for the search and seizure of Fulton County, GA, 2020 election records [pfd Affidavit Here].
The affidavit, filed by FBI Special Agent Hugh Evans, outlines witness abnormalities in the records of the 2020 presidential election conducted in Fulton County, Georgia. Including a Georgia State Election Board member observed ballot images from 2020 that were modified in January 2024.
The FBI raid targeted the county’s election warehouse, resulting in the seizure of paper ballots, voter data, election records, and other materials from the 2020 general election.
“If these deficiencies were the result of intentional action, it would be a violation of federal law regardless of whether the failure to retain records or the deprivation of a fair tabulation of a vote was outcome determinative for any particular election or race,” Evans wrote.
Agent Evans did not outline precisely when the FBI’s investigation began, nor did he describe any steps agents took in the probe before seeking to seize the Fulton ballots and other materials. He pointed to two federal statutes that were likely violated: one making it a felony to engage in voting fraud in connection with a federal election and another making it a misdemeanor to fail to preserve records related to a federal election for at least 22 months after Election Day.
Posted originally on CTH on February 10, 2026 | Sundance
Representative Ilhan Omar is one of the most sanctimonious corrupt Democrats in congress, and she’s loud and proud about it because she understands how to engage in financial fraud safely. Just do what everyone else is doing but do it bigger, that way there’s no way her peers can approach it.
Someone in DC gave House Oversight Chairman James Comer the familiar tap on the shoulder and told him they don’t investigate their own Uniparty tribe. So, Comer drops his planned review of Omar’s corruption and shifts it to the ethics team.
BREAKING: James Comer says the House Ethics Committee will take over the investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar after a massive spike in her net worth was flagged in financial disclosures:
“We’ve been informed in the last few hours that the Ethics Committee is probably going to have… pic.twitter.com/YIO1DkOr91
A game of pretending is needed in order to retain the illusion of the Potemkin Village of DC. A construct manufactured by the power structure that exists behind the puppet show, with the full intention to distract us. Pretending is what gives rise to a Florida governor on a 2022 ‘book tour’ run for a 2024 campaign that everyone denied was going to happen. Pretending is also what kicks the can of accountability away until it can be buried.
Pretending is needed in order to convince the audience Republicans will make a difference, or the black eye doesn’t hurt and look he bought me flowers. Perhaps some reminders and clarifications of the real game inside DC politics are needed. After all, while all these chaff and countermeasures are replaying their familiar tunes, CTH is actually trying to accomplish something by destroying some IC silos.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, hereafter called the House Oversight Committee or HOC, has a very specific function in DC circles that too few understand. Once again, let us be clear while trying to explain decades of false information founded upon arcane legislative outlooks.
Understanding the DC game of Chaff and Countermeasures…. A “Countermeasure” is a measure or action taken to counter or offset a preceding one.
Politically speaking, the deployment of countermeasures is a well-used tactic by professional politicians in Washington DC to counter incoming public inquiry and protect themselves from anger expressed by the electorate. The Republican leadership are very skilled in the management of “chaff” (outrage), and “countermeasures” (the distraction).
Within Washington DC, the HOC has a very specific and unique function. What Fox News is to corporate conservative punditry, so too is the HOC to the same DC system of pretending. The House Oversight Committee is the “Chaff and Countermeasures” committee.
The HOC operates for both parties with the same mission.
The House Oversight Committee was/is created by the House legislative leadership to make money for the party in control of the Chair. When the House Speaker is notified of a DC corruption issue, inside his/her office they will often be heard saying, “give it to oversight.” The intent of that instruction is to give the issue to the HOC, so they can hold hearings, create soundbites and fundraise from the issue.
Making money for the party in control of the Chair is the primary function of the House Oversight Committee. The HOC does not exist to create accountability or oversight; the HOC exists to exploit the issue for fundraising and satiate the base voters of the party in control of the Chair.
The HOC presents the illusion of accountability by constructing soundbites and member performances which are then broadcast on television for appearances to the voting audience. It is essentially theater.
The HOC is a “general oversight’ committee, not a committee of “specific jurisdiction.” Thus, the HOC is the vehicle where Democrats and Republicans publicly display their political initiatives, frame their narratives and then broadcast them on MSNBC, CNN (Democrats) or FOX NEWS (Republicans).
Depending on the issues at hand, the HOC committee members are generally those performance actors best known to the audience of both parties. This is not accidental; this is by design. Again, for emphasis, I am only talking about the HOC, a “generalized oversight” committee. Only this specific committee has this specific mission.
A hot button topic enters the committee ecosphere. Specifically trained staffers and performance artists, uniquely qualified to put on theatrical productions (both parties), are then deployed to assist the representatives in creating the soundbites that hopefully will go viral and assist them with fundraising and opportunities to say, “here’s what we are doing.” Outlining this construct is not an exhibition in cynicism; this is the reality of what the HOC is designed and created to do.
When you see the HOC performing at their best, you will see lots of soundbites created.
The Chair of the HOC is always part of the House Speaker’s close inner circle. From that association you will discover by training, by habit, and by consequence, the HOC framework is developed to sustain the process itself as an end result. The questioning is the sum total of all accountabilities. The performance is the interview; the conversation is the point; the smoke is the fire.
Oversight, in the HOC framework of narrative creation, has evolved into reveling in the endless process (a fundraising proposition) and, as a consequence, it completely ignores the end point, misses the bottom line, doesn’t actually SEE the subject matter, and never actually applies accountability toward what might be discovered. This is why you end up with high blood pressure, frustrated with the questions not asked, and throwing bricks at the screen or monitors when viewing.
The point of HOC hearings is to create what are now described as “viral moments” that can be used to generate money.
The second, and lesser objective, is to give the illusion of accountability while not actually ever holding anyone or anything accountable. See prior HOC reference points like Fast and Furious, IRS targeting, Benghazi, the Twitter File review or the Joe/Hunter Biden crime syndicate investigation.
If you watch the HOC through the prism of expecting some form of accountability for the violations of law, you will be frustrated and disappointed. However, if you watch the HOC through the prism of how well the members will do at raising money from their performances, then you can evaluate the effectiveness – the proverbial winning and losing.
The HOC is designed by House leadership to perform the same basic function for both Democrats and Republicans. The HOC committee assignments are selected based on the theatrical skills of each representative. This is not to say the motives of the members are sullied or impure, it is simply to point out the motive of the committee itself is to generate fundraising from the skillsets of the members on the committee.
Once you fully grasp what the intent of the House Oversight Committee is about, and once you drop the expectation that any accountability in oversight is the intent, then you can watch the performances through the entertainment prism of partisan politics and genuinely enjoy them – or hate them.
The HOC is called the “Chaff and Countermeasures” Committee, because that’s essentially what the committee does. It gives the appearance of targeting, steering the target to a controlled destination, and then distracting the audience from the outcome of accountability.
If sunlight is achieved, meaning the Mainstream Media cannot ignore the issue as presented and questioned, and if the general public become more familiar with the controversial subject matter or topic at hand, and if the party of the Chair can fundraise from the issue, then the committee has succeeded. However, if you are looking for something to change as an outcome of any HOC investigation or hearing, you will be perpetually disappointed.
There seems to be a willful blindness on the part of the American people, a chosen refusal to acknowledge the implications of the unAmerican and unConstititional behaviors, actions and outcomes we are being served on a daily basis. It can no longer be presumed to be a matter of “I can’t see what’s happening”, because a whole lot of normal Americans really are clean and articulate.
“I can’t see it” just doesn’t cut it.
NONSENSE! Most people can see it. Most are just choosing to reconcile the irreconcilable because it is more comforting to ignore the truth of it. Just be honest, for many people avoidance has become a survival mechanism.
It’s more along the lines of “I see what’s happening, but it’s scary and complicated and confusing, and if I admit that I see it, I will become responsible in a way that I am not if I keep pretending I can’t see it or hear it or maybe I don’t understand it.”
Cue the audio visual. Do you remember the Awan Brothers scandal?
The political system in Washington DC has become so massive it is now capable of protecting itself. Any attempt to reduce the influence, scope or size of the system is considered a risk. The system is, in essence, protecting itself. Deep State is self-aware. NOTE 07:43 (just hit play)
Whether it’s John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy or Mike Johnson, leadership’s Lucy has unlimited footballs.
Whether it’s the Awan Brothers, the Huma Abedin laptop, the Clinton’s private servers, the Hunter Biden laptop, the Mark Warner/James Wolfe leak of classified information, the activity of CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella in the impeachment, the many aspects to Mary McCord, or the leaking of the Dobbs decision by Sheldon Snook, all of these things are very public, very visible and very well known. Yet did you see a single satellite truck in front of their house or a microphone in their face asking questions?
Nope. DC runs this game of pretending and all the media play the game.
The fourth estate (media) has long ago collapsed.
Now, the choices are ours.
Personally, I will not pretend, and I know most of you also refuse.
If we keep assembling enough people to stop pretending, then what happens?
Posted originally on CTH on February 6, 2026 | Sundance
A lesser-known member of Ansar al Sharia, the Islamic group who conducted the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi Libya, Zubayar Al-Bakoush, was captured and indicted by federal law enforcement. Attorney General Pam Bondi made the announcement earlier today.
Bakoush is labeled as a leading ‘facilitator’, essentially a ground planner of Ansar al Sharia during the attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty. He was charged in an eight-count indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court on multiple terrorism and murder counts. AG Pam Bondi made the announcement.
CTH followed the events closely, conducted a two-year research effort and then subsequently published the full story Benghazi Brief [SEE HERE]. Domestically, Barack Obama, Leon Panetta, Hillary Clinton, Mike Morrell and James Comey participated in the coverup.
•Conspiracy to Provide Material Support and Resources to Terrorists Resulting in Death •Providing Material Support and Resources to Terrorists Resulting in Death •Murder of an Internationally Protected Person •Murder of a United States National Outside of the United States (Two Counts) •Attempted Murder of a United States National Outside of the United States •Arson and Placing Lives in Jeopardy Within the Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States and Attempting to Do the Same •Maliciously Destroying and Injuring Property and Placing Lives in Jeopardy within the Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States and Attempting to Do the Same
The charges stem from the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission and nearby CIA Annex that killed Ambassador Stevens and U.S. government personnel Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty.
According to the indictment, Bakoush was a member of Ansar Al Sharia (AAS), an Islamist extremist militia in Benghazi, which had the goal of establishing Sharia law in Libya.
On the evening of Sept. 11, 2012, a group of more than 20 heavily armed men – including Bakoush assembled outside the main gate of the U.S Special Mission in Benghazi. They were armed with assault rifles, other firearms, and explosive devices. At about 9:45 p.m., the group of armed men violently breached the main gate of the Mission. Upon entry, the men fanned out across the Mission complex, setting fires to building within the Mission compound.
When the attackers could not gain entry to the secure area of Villa C, the Ambassador’s residence, they set fire to it. Ambassador Stevens and Mr. Smith suffocated from the thick, black smoke that enveloped the residence. Diplomatic Security Services (DSS) Special Agent Scott Wickland, who had tried to guide Ambassador Stevens and Mr. Smith to safety, was injured and repeatedly took small arms fire while trying to rescue the two Americans.
The extremist group also attacked the Quick Reaction Force building, which was occupied by local Libyans serving as guards for the Mission.
About 10 p.m., Bakoush entered the Mission compound with other conspirators, and conducted surveillance of the Tactical Operation Center and the Villa. After Bakoush attempted to gain entry to vehicles belonging to Mission staff, he and his co-conspirators temporarily retreated to an area just outside the Mission.
About 11:15 p.m., conspirators assembled outside the southern gate and launched a second violent attack on the Mission using AK-type assault rifles, grenades, and rocket-propelled grenades. After 30 minutes, the group entered the compound and plundered the Mission’s office of documents, maps, and computers containing sensitive information about the location of the CIA Annex.
At 12:30 a.m., conspirators attacked the Annex with small arms, assault rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades.
Following the attack at the Mission, in the early hours of September 12, 2012, the violence continued at the CIA Annex, first with gunfire and then with a precision mortar attack. While defending the Annex, Mr. Woods, Mr. Doherty, DSS Special Agent David Ubben, and CIA security specialist Mark Tiegen were hit by a precision mortar attack, leading to the deaths of Mr. Woods and Mr. Doherty. Special Agent Ubben and Mr. Tiegen were seriously wounded but survived.
The Department of Justice previously charged and convicted two leaders in the Benghazi attack on federal terrorism charges and other offenses. Ahmed Abu Khatallah, aka Ahmed Mukatallah was sentenced in June 2018 to 22 years in prison and resentenced in September 2024 to 28 years in prison. Mustafa al-Imam was sentenced in January 2020 to nearly 20 years. (SOURCE)
Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance
Office of Management and Budgets Director Russ Vought has been targeted by media repeatedly for his approach at reducing the size and scope of the Federal Government. As the architect of “Schedule F” — a regulatory plan that essentially reclassified thousands of federal workers, making it easier to remove them. Director Russ Vought was targeted, isolated, ridiculed and marginalized by the far-left and their media outlets.
News reports are now revealing that a Maryland man named Colin Demarco, 26, (pictured below fold) was arrested on Jan. 22nd, after he visited the home of Director Vought wearing gloves and a facemask with the intention to murder Vought. Arlington County police intercepted the assassin and conducted an investigation.
The details of the assassin’s plan are beginning to surface.
WASHINGTON (CBS) – […] Colin Demarco, 26, was arrested on Jan. 22 by Arlington County Police on several criminal charges, court records show. He is due to appear in court on Feb. 23.
During the course of the investigation, agents with the U.S. Marshals Service also discovered that Demarco had previously claimed to be writing a manifesto and that he had also drafted a series of notes detailing everything from a weapons stash to a “Body Disposal Guide.”
The court records show that Demarco is accused of plotting to murder a victim with the initials “R.V.” who, according to the criminal complaint, “has served as a presidential appointee.”
The complaint adds that the alleged victim was involved in the creation of Project 2025 — a project funded by the conservative Heritage Foundation- to produce a policy agenda for the next GOP administration. It called for a radical reshaping of the government in ways that consolidate power in the executive branch.
Sources familiar with the case separately confirmed to CBS News that Demarco’s alleged target was Vought.
A spokesperson for OMB said in a statement, “We are grateful for the work of law enforcement in keeping Director Vought and his family safe.”
[…] According to the criminal complaint, which was drafted by an Arlington County police officer, Demarco was captured on a Ring doorbell camera at the front door of Vought’s Arlington home on Aug. 10 wearing gloves, a backpack, sunglasses and a surgical mask.
He was also seen looking through Vought’s mailbox, and he approached a neighbor to ask if anyone was home. The neighbor told investigators that Demarco appeared to have a gun tucked under his shirt.
[…] Demarco also spoke of his admiration for Luigi Mangione — the man who is charged with murdering former United Health CEO Brian Thompson.
When Marshals Service investigators obtained a search warrant for Demarco’s iCloud account, they found a series of notes discussing a stash of weapons, and another titled “Body Disposal Guide” that called for taking steps such as “always wear rubber gloves” and “make an airtight alibi.” (read more)
Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance
President Donald Trump gave an extended interview to NBC News’ Tom Llamas. President Trump addresses immigration enforcement, the American economy, U.S. tensions with Iran, Joe Rogan, AI and other topics during his interview in the Oval Office.
The interview begins with a discussion of what is going on in Minneapolis, Minnesota. WATCH:
Posted originally on CTH on February 4, 2026 | Sundance
The good news is the process to identify the subversive agents inside the various offices of the administration continues to yield results. The bad news is there’s a lot of them to identify and remove.
Dept of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shares another leaker has been identified and removed. Additionally, she is referring their conduct to the Dept of Justice for criminal prosecution.
Both Noem and Gabbard appear to be continuing their methodical approach without fear or favor. Secretary Noem facing down the internal resistors within the FBI, who have been leaking about ICE enforcement operations. Director Gabbard working through the tentacles of the Intelligence Community to identify similarly minded IC agents.
Meanwhile there was some media controversy about the FBI Special Agent in charge of the Atlanta Field office being removed from his position just prior to the execution of a federal search warrant in Fulton County. The reason for that removal now seems to come to light with the release of letter former Agent Paul Brown sent to Elections Director Nadine Williams giving her a head’s-up on the material the FBI was going to seize.
FBI Agent Brown asks Ms Williams to voluntarily hand over the material, which has the result of giving Fulton County a heads-up about the specifics of the material the FBI were going to gather and review in their search warrant.
Another positive outcome amid all of this, is honestly exposing FBI Director Kash Patel’s lack of operational control over the agency he heads. Each day more people are starting to realize what many of us have noted from the outset. Without first admitting the scale and scope of the problem within the FBI, there was no way Kash Patel was ever going to address it.
The issues with the FBI are obvious; a few examples: There were 40 FBI agents on the Robert Mueller investigation into Trump-Russia collusion. Why would any of them still be employed? Additionally, think about the J6 investigations and Arctic Frost, are those FBI agents still employed within the FBI?
Posted originally on CTH on February 4, 2026 | Sundance
In September 2025, after a two-week trial in Fort Pierce, Florida, a jury found Ryan Wesley Routh (59) guilty of attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, assault of a federal law enforcement officer and multiple firearms offenses. Today Judge Aileen Cannon sentenced Routh to life in prison plus 84 months.
DOJ PRESS RELEASE – Today, Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, was sentenced to life plus 84 months in federal prison for the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and related violent and firearms offenses. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon for the Southern District of Florida imposed the sentence following Routh’s conviction by a federal jury on all five counts charged in the indictment.
“Ryan Routh’s heinous attempted assassination of President Trump was not only an attack on our President — it was a direct assault against our entire democratic system,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Thanks to our prosecutors in the National Security Division and the Southern District of Florida, Routh will never walk free again.”
“Routh’s plan to kill a major presidential candidate, President Donald Trump, was a despicable attack on our democratic system,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Thanks to the work of the FBI and our Justice Department partners, he will pay a high price for his actions. Today’s sentencing demonstrates the justice system will not tolerate such heinous attacks.”
“Routh attempted to assassinate President Trump and thereby cast our Nation into what would have been one of its darkest periods,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Today’s sentence is a resounding rejection of political violence and a clear reminder that we resolve our differences through civil discourse, democratic elections, and lawful protest, not by force.”
“This life sentence reflects a fundamental truth: political violence is un-American and will never be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “An attempted assassination of a presidential candidate is an attack on our democratic process and the rule of law itself. This assassination attempt was stopped by the courage and professionalism of U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano, whose decisive actions protected lives and prevented a national tragedy. Today’s life sentence ensures the defendant will never again threaten public safety and sends a clear message that those who choose violence to advance their beliefs will face swift, certain, and decisive justice.” (read more)
Ryan Routh’s heinous attempted assassination of President Trump was not only an attack on our President — it was a direct assault against our entire democratic system.
Thanks to our @TheJusticeDept prosecutors in the National Security Division and the Southern District of…
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
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