Tag Archives: Neo-Conservatives

Jul 29 2017

Reports of FBI General Counsel Leaker Investigation Bear Hallmarks of “Controlled Opposition”….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on July 29, 2017 by

A few days ago we shared a story from Sara Carter, a frequent guest on Sean Hannity, who surfaced immediately AFTER the inauguration of President Trump and is often utilized to drive explosive headlines that lead to lengthy conversation but go ‘no-where’.

CTH has spent years monitoring the interactions and interplay between the media and the various layers within what’s called “The DC Deep State”.  Almost immediately a very familiar pattern was noted in Carter’s reporting.  Her recent headline was:

“EXCLUSIVE: A top FBI lawyer is allegedly under an investigation for leaking classified information to the media.”

FBI General Counsel James A. Baker is purportedly under a Department of Justice criminal investigation for allegedly leaking classified national security information to the media, according to multiple government officials close to the probe who spoke with Circa on the condition of anonymity.

With the very familiar approach/pattern immediately pegging the needle – When we shared the story, we included the disclaimer:

Consider this report with a measured amount of cynicism. Based on all historic references this could easily be just another example of well presented flak and countermeasures meant to protect the swamp, protect the Deep State, and feed a **distracting narrative.

**The controlled source of the report, Circa, amplifies the possibility this could be simply a distraction intended to deflect criticism from the non-activity of the current DOJ head Jeff Sessions.  Remember, those who live in the swamp, and those whose financial livelihoods are determined by the activity in/around/discussing the swamp, have a vested interest to defend the swamp status quo.  There are trillions of dollars at stake. (link)

You see, there is a pattern, a very predictable shaping pattern with a great deal of media and stories that surround scandals in politics.  The ‘controlled opposition’ pattern is never broken and the outcome of stories that check off each sequential part of that pattern are always the same.

Without going into detail on the specific elements of those patterns, for the sake of this short explainer the important part is to notice the follow-up article from Sara Carter.

Remember, Carter makes a bold claim – she appears on Sean Hannity to expand on that claim – then, with everyone interested and multiple outlets distributing that original claim, she follows up with further investigation of that original presentation.

Check out her follow-up. (emphasis mine):

[Headline]  FBI lawyer allegedly under investigation for purportedly leaking about Yahoo, Inc. program

The FBI’s top lawyer is allegedly under investigation for purportedly leaking classified material featured in a Reuters report last year that disclosed a top-secret U.S. surveillance program built by Yahoo Inc, according to several government officials with knowledge of the investigation.

[…] James A. Baker, the general counsel for the FBI, is allegedly under a criminal investigation for an apparent connection to the story published in October 2016, according to several government officials.

The Reuters report exposed the top secret security program built by Yahoo Inc. in 2015, that has not been disclosed by the U.S. government. The program, which was built at the request of the U.S. government, allowed intelligence officials to scan what is known as “upstream data” using specific characters or phrase words, according to Reuters. Upstream data is information from a device such as phone or a computer to a server.

Reuters stated that Yahoo Inc. complied with a classified demand by the U.S. government, “scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency or FBI, said three former employees and a fourth person apprised of the events.”

FBI spokeswoman Carol Cratty said the bureau would not comment on Baker and did not confirm or deny the alleged criminal investigation. Attempts by Circa to reach Baker, who is reportedly a close confidant of former FBI Director James Comey, through the bureau were not successful.

DOJ officials would not comment on Circa’s inquiry but said, Attorney General Jeff Sessions will be making a announcement next week about the department’s “stepped up efforts on leak investigations.”

A senior government official, with close knowledge of the intelligence community, alleges Baker opposed the Yahoo Inc. software program and has in his position at the FBI held up Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants.

The warrants allow the intelligence community to monitor person’s communications overseas and must be approved through the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

“Under Baker, many FISA warrants languished for both counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations,” the source said. (read more)

Can you see what’s going on here?

Can you spot the “controlled opposition” shift?

According to this follow-up, the leaker, James Baker, is a good-guy who didn’t like (wasn’t comfortable) with all of the surveillance tools and over use of FISA warrants etc.

The article even infers that Baker was reluctant to submit FISA warrants: “Under Baker, many FISA warrants languished”  blah, blah blah… Yeah, sure. Right.

Can you spot the pivot?

Notice how two days ago the story was delivered to imply that James Baker was part of the problem, he was a “leaker”.   This implication fuels the anxiety held by the popular crowd that entities attempting to undermine the President are “leaking”; ergo Baker one of the bad actors etc.

However, through a slight-of-hand and subtle distribution of information, Baker is shifted from “bad-guy-leaker”, to “Snowden-like-honorable”.

See how that is done?

Simultaneous to this, Ms. Sara Carter says Attorney General Jeff Sessions is going to give a speech on “leak investigations” etc.

See where this is going?

Can you see how the interests of the Deep State, in this case the “Surveillance State”, are  positioned to protect itself?

Outline #1, with full assist in distribution by Sean Hannity, portrays an FBI leaker story.  Outline #2, then presents the leaker as the actions of an honorable man of character.

See the familiarity?  Does it sound just like Comey’s excuse?

The key takeaway here is the aspect where the story is intentionally presented one way and then followed-up to deliver a very specific narrative that in the aggregate protects the Deep State from investigation and public-demanded corrective action.

Go back and look at both articles again, read with your intellectually honest frame of reference, and you’ll note that nothing presented in article #2 (honorable leaker angle), was not known when article #1 (bad leaker story) was written.

When did you first learn of Sara Carter?  Then consider Sara Carter is being “fed”.

This is the self-preservation method of ‘flak and countermeasures’  we continually speak of.

  • Jeff Sessions wins with a leak investigation.
  • James Baker wins with this shaping of the motive for his leaks.
  • FBI wins with honorable purposes intact.
  • Deep State wins with continuance of status-quo.
  • The American electorate loses

Wash-Rinse-Repeat:

Notice how the “muh Russia” media headlines just slowly disappear like the smoke from flak and countermeasures… Months of proclaiming Trump must be colluding with Russia just disappears and no-one asks who should be held to account for the lies etc.?  No-one ever gets in the face of the media and demands justification etc.?

Leakers?

“Stepped up efforts”?

Oh, they’ll just move on.

Ah yes…. moving on.

But notice nothing changes.

Never does.

Funny that.

Almost as if that was by design.

.

Jul 29 2017

Reince Priebus Interview With Fox News Sean Hannity…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on July 28, 2017 by

Former White House Chief-of-Staff Reince Priebus was interviewed by Sean Hannity earlier tonight to discuss his feelings about being voluntarily resigned.

…”Paul still likes us.” … “Yeah. Remember when we used to like Fridays?” …

…” Well, if there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever” … “And we’ll always have Paris”…

Jul 29 2017

Paul Ryan Discusses GOP Tax Plans Against Backdrop of Failed Healthcare Reform….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on July 28, 2017 by

Speaker of The House Paul Ryan was interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on the current framework for the proposed Tax Reform legislation currently under construction in congressional committees.

Many of Ryan’s responses range the gambit from willful blindness (ex. how to fill the budgetary hole created by expanding medicaid; can’t see how to achieve 3% GDP growth, etc.) to outright opaque misinformation, claims congress decided to eliminate B.A.T. (they didn’t, Trump, Mnuchin, Ross did), on revenue.

It is always important to remember that Ryan’s points of advocacy all stem from the Wall Street’s lobbying complex on K-Street.  The epicenter of those interests is the crony capitalistic U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Tom Donohue).   Watch:

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CTH remains cautiously optimistic that Trump, Mnuchin, Cohn and Ross can defeat Ryan Inc on the larger tax reform issues.  However, CTH is not naive to the scope of the UniParty confrontation that will stem as an outcome.  You can hear it within Ryan’s words.

America voted for Trump’s agenda, not Ryan’s Corporate “Better Way” bulls**t !!

House Speaker Paul Ryan weighs in on health care reform and Republican efforts to govern. WATCH video #2

.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says Republicans are working off of President Trump’s framework for tax reform. Watch Video #3

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Jul 29 2017

Refugee Crisis Tearing Europe Apart


Armstrong Economics Blog/Refugees

Re-Posted Jul 29, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The European Commission is close to triggering Article 7 on Poland for refusing to accept refugees. Article 7 is called the “nuclear option” that denies a member the right to vote.  The Commission is reported to be preparing infringement proceedings against Warsaw for breaching EU law over its plans to bring the judiciary under government control. Under EU law, the Commission may determine that there is a risk of a serious breach if a member goes against the directive of the EU. Poland should simply exit the EU. Italy is drowning in refugees and it is likely to bankrupt that country.

The entire secret agenda is about the Pension Crisis. The low birthrates in Europe have made politicians assume that the refugees can be put to work to pay taxes to bailout the pensions. Yet in the process, they are indeed changing the culture of Europe.

Meanwhile, the terrorist attacks continue. On Friday, a failed refugee lacking documentation began stabbing people in a supermarket on Friday in Hamburg yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ injuring six people before he was tackled by people present. The worst cities are Brussels and Paris and Frankfurt, which used to be very clean, is showing garbage just thrown around in the park by the Euro symbol. London is very booming with tourists still and many European friends who use to go to Greece for holidays switched to Portugal, USA, or Canary Islands.

Categories: Refugees
Jul 29 2017

Russian Sanctions – The Start of World War III?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia

Re-Posted Jul 29, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The Russian sanctions being pushed by Congress demonstrate the most unprofessional comprehension of how to manage an economy I have ever seen. These sanctions are effectively economic war and will find that Europe will be forced to side with Russia.

This is all because of the press like CNN to get ratings they are indeed laying the seeds of war driving the polls to 70% of Americans see Russia as an enemy when in fact the USA interferes in foreign elections all the time. CNN, New York Times, and the Washington Post will be responsible for creating World War III just as Pulitzer and Hearst were responsible for creating the Spanish-American war over fake news. The Fairness Doctrine needs to be restored ASAP and applied to newspapers as well as radio and TV.

Jul 28 2017

The Tensions Between France & Germany


Armstrong Economics Blog/War

Re-Posted Jul 28, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; You commented briefly when you stepped off the stage at the door that the likelihood of war between France and Germany would rise again but not until 2032. Might you elaborate on that for a moment please.

KD

ANSWER: In modern times, there have been three times that war between France and Germany have erupted – 1870, 1914, and 1940. These were as follows:

  • The 1870 Franco-Prussian War, Prussians invaded France when tensions rose Prussia’s influence in central Europe.
  • The 1905 there was the Schlieffen Plan (German Empire’s plan for a two-front war against France and Russia).
  • The 1914 Battle of the Marne, the Schlieffen Plan  implemented at the outset of World War I.
  • The May 1940 Battle of France, Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Ardennes and the Low countries.

The cyclical forces of this conflict is building once again but it is not likely to reach a peak until 2032. The risk of war on this level will increase after 2032 and this may have more of a connection to the refugee crisis than anyone suspects. Keep in mind that Southern Germany still celebrates its war with Prussia as well.

Jul 27 2017

REPORT: FBI General Counsel James A Baker Under DOJ Investigation for Leaking…


RE-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on July 27, 2017 by

Consider this report with a measured amount of cynicism.  Based on all historic references this could easily be just another example of well presented flak and countermeasures meant to protect the swamp, protect the Deep State, and feed a **distracting narrative.

WASHINGTON – FBI General Counsel James A. Baker is purportedly under a Department of Justice criminal investigation for allegedly leaking classified national security information to the media, according to multiple government officials close to the probe who spoke with Circa on the condition of anonymity.

[…] Three sources, with knowledge of the apparent investigation, told Circa that Baker is the top suspect in an ongoing leak investigation, but Circa has not been able to confirm the details of what national security information or material was allegedly leaked.

A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of ongoing internal investigations in the bureau told Circa, “the bureau is scouring for leakers and there’s been a lot of investigations.”

The revelation comes as the Trump administration has ramped up efforts to contain leaks both within the White House and within its own national security apparatus.

Baker is a close confidant of former FBI Director James Comey, and recent media reports suggested he was reportedly advising the then-FBI director on legal matters following private meetings the former director had in February with President Trump in the Oval Office.

Baker was appointed to the FBI’s general counsel by Comey in 2014. (read more)

**The controlled source of the report, Circa, amplifies the possibility this could be simply a distraction intended to deflect criticism from the non-activity of the current DOJ head Jeff Sessions.  Remember, those who live in the swamp, and those whose financial livelihoods are determined by the activity in/around/discussing the swamp, have a vested interest to defend the swamp status quo.  There are trillions of dollars at stake.

 

Jul 27 2017

The Refugee Crisis is now Causing Migration of Youth to America


Armstrong Economics Blog/Italy

Re-Posted Jul 27, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I read your report that the politicians we have here in Europe think they need these refugees to pay future pensions. I read that the IMF has also confirmed your reporting. I understand you also meet with government. Do they ever listen to you that they are destroying our countries here in Europe with high unemployment so the youth are leaving migrating abroad to find work and then all these refugees are supposed to help Europe when our own children are forced to leave. I do not understand how the elite in Brussels cannot see what they are doing to Europe. Will then ever listen to you?

ANSWER: No. Government will never change course until they are confronted with the crisis. This is the same worldwide. So it is not unusual. They will never change course and admit what they have done is seriously changing the history and culture of Europe just as the barbarians that took over Rome destroyed Roman values and culture. You are correct this view that they need the refugees to save socialism is indeed in a paper of the IMF. You are also correct that the youth in Italy are looking to migrate to America in particular hoping for careers and a future that they do not see in Europe.

The barbarians eventually seized control of the army and once that took place, their leader Ricimer began to put puppet emperors on the throne starting with Majorian (457-461 AD) who he later arrested, tortured, and then beheaded installing the next more docile puppet emperor Severus III (461-465 AD). Ricimer kept a series of puppet emperors in place because he was not a patrician worthy of the Roman throne.

RomulusAug-AU2

Interesting, serious bear markets decline for 19 years as did gold from 1980 to 1999. The final fall of Rome was also 19 years from the first puppet emperor in 457 until the last to hold the throne – Romulus Augustus in 476AD.

They say when Rome fell, the people were still laughing. They did not pay attention to the trend that was unfolding just as many cannot see the trend today. This is just part of the process and it is an invasion and takeover, not an assimilation of people.

 

Jul 26 2017

Browder – Russia – Trump – Safra


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption

Re-Posted Jul 26, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Hermitage_Capital_ManagementWilliam Felix Browder is all over the news trying to play into the whole Russian/Trump affair muddling the waters. Browder founded Hermitage Capital to invest exclusively in Russian companies. Edmond Safra, the notorious banker who was the center of what was called the Money Plane, put in $25m of seed capital for Hermitage Capital and Safra’s Republic National Bank of New York controlled it. This was the Russian deal I was being asked to join. When HSBC bought Republic National, Browder embarked on a series of share deals which has left him with complete ownership because the whole Hermitage Capital deal was at the center of a real political controversy many were trying to bury for at the center was the attempt to take over the. natural resources of Russia.

Safra-Berezovsky

Money-Plane NY Mag 1996 CoverThe scheme set in motion the plot to get the president Boris Yeltsin to steal $7 billion from the IMF loans I have written about before. He did, and Safra steered the bank wire transaction through Bank of New York to a company in Geneva claiming to refurbish the Kremlin. As soon as the wire took place, Safra’s Republic Bank of New York ran to the U.S. Justice Department and informed them that a $7 billion wire just took place at Bank of New York from Russia and it was money laundering. The transcripts of the bankers pleading guilty and got only 6 months house arrest, shows when asked what was the laundering, they simply said it involved ransoms for Russian business men. Safra was in league with the U.S. government to move billions of dollars in US currency notes on skids to Russia by the plane load. Clearly, the U.S. government was involved in this scheme to that extent (see Money Plane).

So while Browder portray’s himself as the businessman who was a victim of Putin, to set the record straight, Browder’s grandfather was the leader of the American Communist Party and stood for election to the Presidency of the United States against Theodore Roosevelt. His Grandfather was a communist who was later imprisoned in the McCarthyite period. Browder claims he went to Russia in 1995 to regain his roots. However, he ended up among Russia’s highest profile investors linked to Safra who in turn was linked to Boris Berezovsky, who was close to Yelstin. Yeltsin was going to run for election in 2000 a second time. This is when the plot to takeover Russia was hatched. Yeltsin was threatened to be exposed by the Bank of New York money laundering and he was to resign, keep the money, and appoint Berezovsky president. Yeltsin realized he was set up so that is when he turned to Putin. Berezovsky fled to London, others fled to Israel, and Putin then probably had Safra killed. Since Safra controlled Hermitage Capital, it was seized. The claim of Browder that his Russian tax attorney Sergei Magnitsky was imprisoned and died before trial was trying to fight corruption in Russia is far from the truth. Putin seized all the assets of Hermitage Capital and Browder fought in Congress to get the Magnitsky Act passed. I always found it very strange that here the object was to influence the election of president of Russia by blackmail, and the Congress passes the Magnitsky Act as if it was human rights because of some attorney who dies in a prison in Russia. Something is seriously missing.

Both Browder and Putin disliked the imprisoned oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky who back in 2003 was considered the wealthiest man in Russia. Yukos was one of Russia’s major corporations for oil and petrochemical industries and was also one of the world’s largest non-governmental groups. It was founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2003. Khodorkovsky had considered running for President crossing paths with Putin. However, he would also not join in with Safra and his Hermitage Capital seeking to corner the resources of Russia in gold, diamonds, and energy.

Back in October 2003, Khodorkovsky was arrested and charged with fraud and Putin froze shares of Yukos shortly thereafter on tax charges. Putin’s government took further actions against Yukos, leading to a collapse of the company’s share price. Yokos was sized and later declared bankrupt on August 1, 2006 by a Moscow court. In May 2005, he was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. In December 2010, while he was still serving his sentence, Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were further charged with and found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering; Khodorkovsky’s prison sentence was extended to 2014. After Hans-Dietrich Genscher lobbied for his release, President Vladimir Putin pardoned Khodorkovsky, releasing him from jail on 20 December 2013 and he moved to Switzerland. Browder claimed that Khodorkovsky was doing asset stripping and transfer pricing. Browder said: “We found him to be our toughest opponent. That is one of the reasons I am so sympathetic with President Putin.”

Browder turned against Putin and he was denied a visa to reenter Russia. The official Russian explanation for the decision to revoke Browder’s visa  was formally announced in a letter he received on November 25th reading: ‘The decision to deny entry into the Russian Federation for Mr William Felix Browder has been made by the competent authorities in accordance with Article 27, Item 1, of the Federal Law No 114FZ.’ This article says that entry can be denied to someone in the interest of ‘ensuring the security of the State, public order or public health’.

Hermitage Capital Management claimed it was pioneering American corporate governance and commercial probity in the boardrooms of Russia’s largest companies. That is by no means the story I was fed to invest $1 billion into Hermitage Capital. It was all about natural resources of Russia. Hermitage Capital grew raising money to $1bn in the first two years.

Sorry, I just do not believe the propaganda that surrounds trying to rewrite history. Khodorkovsky was considering running for politics and was financing political parties that opposed Putin. He clashed with Putin over the corruption in the Russian government. There is a whole other side to this story that nobody seems to be interested in exposing because it just might reveal American attempts to manipulate Russian politics that backfired and opened the door to Putin. The connections between Safra and the government to enable the Money Plane is possibly the reason I would allege is how Browder was able to get the Magnitsky Act passed trying to get his money back. If I were Trump, I would open this black box to discover the truth lurking in the shadows behind the Magnitsky Act.

Jul 26 2017

History Repeats in School Attacks


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest

Re-Posted Jul 26, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The recent attacks in schools that have people calling for the banning of guns that are portrayed as always the worst in history, we clearly do not grasp that such events are not isolated and they are not limited to only guns. The Bath Consolidated School in Michigan remains as the biggest attack upon children after school board member Andrew Kehoe used dynamite to blow it up on May 18, 1927.

There are similar events carried out for various reasons such as Columbine High School, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook Elementary, yet all tend to have a common theme of some mental health issue. History repeats because given the same set of circumstances. the likelihood of the same or similar outcome will result. In this case, Andrew Kehoe had his farm repossessed, could not meet his payments, and seems to have sought vengeance for losing everything.