Tag Archives: Ron DeSanctimoniou

Apr 21 2023

Trump Defends Woke Agenda to Protect Lobbying Interests


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Apr 21, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Ron DeSantis revoked Disney’s special district permissions that had allowed it to operate independently from the government since 1967 (see: Reedy Creek Improvement District). Disney shares have continued to fall over the past year as the people seem to agree with DeSantis. This week Donald Trump announced on social media that this “PR plan fizzled” and “Disney’s next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor.”

His son Don Jr. also came out this week to defend the woke agenda by asking conservatives to continue purchasing Bud Light amid the transgender influencer scandal. Again, the people have spoken with their dollars, and Bud Light sales have declined swiftly. Don Jr.’s reasoning – political lobbying. “We looked into the political giving and lobbying history of Anheuser-Busch. And guess what? They actually support Republicans,” he said on his podcast. “Last cycle their employees and their PAC gave about 60 percent to Republicans and 40 percent to Democrats. That’s literally almost unheard of in corporate America, where it’s really easy to go woke, where they do so constantly, where there’s a consequence to actually being a conservative. So 60/40 to the conservative side is kind of a big deal.”

These messages are alienating Trump’s target demographic and seem tone-deaf. Anheuser-Busch could still donate to the GOP without supporting a distorted ideology. If the company actually supports conservatives, its advertising should reflect that too. Donald Sr. is a smart businessman who knows that Disney cannot leave Florida. Disney World’s property in Florida is double the size of Manhattan. They would never find a buyer, first and foremost. They are limited to states with year-round warm weather that are tax-friendly. They already have a park on the west coast and people want to travel to Florida for their vacations. They cannot simply move Disney to a new location financially or logistically.

Trump is either attempting to position himself as more centric than DeSantis or he’s a “Disney adult.” He has also begun selling NFTs again online, which seems a bit desperate. I respect Trump and thought he was a good president who was intent on draining the swamp. His actions this week are extremely disappointing as he seems to be caving into the will of the lobbyists rather than staying firm on his principles.

Apr 21 2023

National Pro-Life Organization Turns Against President Trump Because Delivering on Goal to Overturn Roe -v- Wade Wasn’t Good Enough


Posted originally on the CTH on April 21, 2023 | Sundance 

If you ever wanted to know how influential billionaire donors and the professional grift is amid the pro-life movement, this is a case study in the insanity of it.

President Donald John Trump was the most pro-life President in U.S. history.  President Trump outlined the platform policy of returning the issue of abortion to the states, and constructed all political endeavors to deliver on that pledge.  President Trump was the first president to speak at the March for Life events in Washington DC and hold pro-life supporting events at the White House.

Additionally, President Trump appointed three conservative pro-life judges to the Supreme Court, with the intention of overturning the Roe -v- Wade decision and returning the issue of abortion to the states.  This was and is the conservative position, and the goal of the pro-life movement as it was articulated.   In 2022, in the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of overturning Roe -v- Wade and the abortion issue was successfully return to the states as promised.

Since entering politics, the position of candidate Trump and then President Trump has never changed.  It is the same federalist position he holds today as outlined by the Washington Post:

[…] “President Donald J. Trump believes that the Supreme Court, led by the three Justices which he supported, got it right when they ruled this is an issue that should be decided at the State level,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “Republicans have been trying to get this done for 50 years, but were unable to do so. President Trump, who is considered the most pro-life President in history, got it done. He will continue these policies when reelected to the White House. Like President Reagan before him, President Trump supports exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.” (more)

However, Lila Rose, President and Founder of the Live Action network, is now deriding President Trump because he does not support reinstituting federal control over the issue of abortion and campaigning on a non-federalist platform of a nationwide abortion ban.

[Tweet Link]

Apparently, Lila Rose is supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who recently used the Supreme Court decision, ironically made possible by President Donald Trump, to construct a 6-week abortion ban law in Florida.  Oddly enough, a legislative outcome Ron DeSantis is also not promoting as part of his “book tour” and national stealth campaign.

Ms. Rose, in her official capacity as president of the Live Action organization appears to be influenced by the same billionaire donor class funding that supports the candidacy of Ron DeSantis.  Despite President Trump delivering the results of the pro-life movement, Mrs. Rose is now deriding the President who delivered the outcome of her advocacy, saying it -and he- was just not good enough.

Example – In January 2018, President Donald Trump spoke to pro-life supporters from the Rose Garden at the White House which was shown live on video at the 45h annual March for Life. President Trump’s speech marked the first time in the event’s history that a sitting president had addressed the crowd live via video feed.  Previous Republican presidents, including Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, spoke to the marchers by phone.

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Try to find a picture of Ron DeSantis attending the Washington DC March for Life event and you will not find one.  He never attended.   However, in the era of billionaire manipulation, fake political constructs to manufacture astroturf support, and political grift that flows as an outcome of the ‘trillions at stake’, even the pro-life movement will align in their financial best interests against the most pro-life president in U.S. history.

Sometimes you just end up shaking your head.

The love of money is the root of all evil, and even the unborn life is disregarded in the chase.

🙏
Apr 21 2023

IRS Whistleblower Lawyer Outlines Issues with U.S. Govt and DOJ Interfering in Hunter Biden Investigation – Media Reporting Attorney General Merrick Garland Lied to Congress


Posted originally on the CTH on April 20, 2023 | Sundance

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

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

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

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

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

Apr 20 2023

The Richest Man in the World


Armstrong Economics Blog/World Events Re-Posted Apr 20, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Bernard Arnault has unseated Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to become the richest man in the world. The CEO and chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is estimated to be worth $235.7 billion. That is more than the entire GDP of some countries. Musk is now in second place with a net worth of $180 billion. To put it into perspective, Arnault has more money than Jeff Bezos And Mark Zuckerberg combined who are worth $127 billion and $81.4 billion, respectively.

LVMH stock has soared around 42% in the past year alone, and it rose by 17% YoY in Q1. The company’s revenue reaches 79.18 billion euros in 2022, a 23% increase from 2021. This is another indicator that current economic conditions are not hurting the higher upper class as the rich have not slowed their spending on luxury goods amid this recession. LVMH owns numerous designer brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, TAG Heuer, Christian Dior, Celine, Moet & Chandon, Hennessy, and Sephora. Arnault personally owns 40% of LVMH and has a 90% stake in Christian Dior.

This perhaps makes Bernard Arnault the most powerful man in the world. Once you reach the billions, money ceases to be money and becomes a tool for power. It is not possible to spend that amount of money in one lifetime or even among numerous generations. Even if you are a millionaire, you are closer to being homeless than you are a billionaire. This is a very powerful position and we have seen countless billionaires attempt to alter society simply because they can. Arnault seems to keep a low profile compared to others in his bracket, but he possesses the power to change the world for better or worse on whim.

Apr 20 2023

New York Judge Tells Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg His Office Must Testify to Congress


Posted originally on the CTH on April 20, 2023 | Sundance

Political DA Alvin Bragg was smacked down pretty hard by a New York judge Wednesday, telling his office there is no legal mechanism to avoid accountability and testimony before congress.

The DA office took federal funds to prosecute Donald Trump, the DA office is interfering in a federal election, the DA office has openly stated their intentions are politically motivated, and therefore the DA office has no standing to try and avoid federal legislative scrutiny.

As Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil clarified to Bragg’s team, she has no standing to block a legislatively authorized congressional subpoena.

New York – […] “The sole question before the Court at this time is whether Bragg has a legal basis to quash a congressional subpoena that was issued with a valid legislative purpose.  He does not,” Vyskocil wrote in her decision Wednesday.

Bragg, a Democrat, has accused Jordan of pursuing the subpoena to score political points while supporting Trump, a Republican. Vyskocil said the dispute appeared political, but said that did not impact her decision.

“In our federalist system, elected state and federal actors sometimes engage in political dogfights,” Vyskocil wrote in her order, noting that Bragg is an elected official. “Bragg complains of political interference in the local DANY case, but Bragg does not operate outside of the political arena.”

“Jordan, in turn, has initiated a political response to what he and some of his constituents view as a manifest abuse of power and nakedly political prosecution, funded (in part) with federal money, that has the potential to interfere with the exercise of presidential duties and with an upcoming federal election,” Vyskocil wrote.  “The Court does not endorse either side’s agenda.”

The subpoena to Pomerantz demands his appearance before the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. It is unclear if he will appear. A spokesperson for Bragg said Wednesday, “We respectfully disagree with the District Court’s decision and are seeking a stay pending appeal.”

Vyskocil denied Bragg’s request for a stay Wednesday night. (read more)

Apr 20 2023

Two-Tiered Justice, IRS Supervisor Says Political Intervention Taking Place to Protect Hunter Biden – Requests Whistleblower Protection


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

An IRS supervisory special agent with information about intervention, mishandling and ‘political interference’ in the ongoing criminal probe into Hunter Biden is seeking whistleblower protections to share the information with Congress. Apparently, the deep state “theys” are protecting Hunter Biden and the IRS agent has had enough.

WALL STREET JOURNAL – WASHINGTON—An IRS supervisor has told lawmakers he has information that suggests the Biden administration is improperly handling the criminal investigation into President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and is seeking whistleblower protections, according to people familiar with the matter.

A letter sent to Congress on Tuesday says a career Internal Revenue Service criminal supervisory special agent has information that would contradict sworn testimony by a “senior political appointee.” The supervisor also has information about a “failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case,” according to the letter.

The supervisor has details that show “preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected,” according to the letter. 

The letter says the supervisor has been overseeing an “ongoing and sensitive investigation of a high-profile, controversial subject since early 2020,” which it doesn’t name. The investigation at issue is into the younger Mr. Biden, the people familiar with the matter said.  (read more)

Apr 20 2023

The Bloom Is Off The Ruse – President Trump Gains Ten More Florida Republican Congressional Endorsements, DeSantis Has One – Rep Greg Steube Explains Why


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

Another three endorsements for President Trump today from the Florida congressional delegation, bringing the total so far to ten with more anticipated.  Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is in Washington DC seeking support.  DeSantis is warmly greeted, but President Trump gets the endorsements.  What’s going on?

Republican Congressman Greg Steube gives an explanation below about the Ron DeSantis Floridians know, but nationally most do not.

DeSantis is an out-of-touch aloof persona, who generally projects himself as better than others.  In person he projects an arrogance and condescending personality trait also carried by his insta-selfie supporters and ‘influencers.’ It comes through the camera lens.  Everything constructed around DeSantis is fake, even the fake blue-collar handshakes that have to be photo-shopped to give a common man impression.

The donors are pouring in hundreds of millions to pay for the fake DeSantis constructs, Top Gov brand imaging and Madison Avenue illusions, but you cannot purchase authenticity, and you cannot rewrite the history of who DeSantis is.  Greg Steube explains:

[I]n a brief interview last night [Steube noted] that DeSantis has never once reached out to him during his five years in Congress nor replied to his multiple attempts to connect. He recalled a recent news conference dealing with damage from Hurricane Ian where the governor’s aides initially invited him to stand alongside DeSantis, only to tell him that he wouldn’t be part of the event when he showed up.

Trump, on the other hand, was the first person Steube remembers calling him in the ICU to wish him well after he was injured in a January tree-trimming accident. “To this day I have not heard from Gov. DeSantis,” he said.

Things suddenly changed last week, Steube said, as Trump started rolling out his Florida congressional backers. ”For the first time ever, I hear from DeSantis’s political person,” he said, referring to aide RYAN TYSON, who reportedly contacted other Florida Republicans about their endorsements.

For Steube, the outreach was too little, too late. And he continues to have sharp words for DeSantis, criticizing him for his robust political travel schedule amid a busy legislative session and just months after winning a new four-year term.  “Floridians want him focused on Florida,” he said, “which is the job they elected him to do.” (read the entire article)

Like I said last year, once people get to see Ron DeSantis up close, his disdain for people just jumps out at you.  He loves standing at the podium telling you what’s wrong with you, and what is brilliant about himself; however, he just doesn’t like people in an authentic or natural way you would expect from executive leadership.

The same disconnected snobbery applies to everyone his team has recruited.

Ken Cuccinelli and Jeff Roe are two of the biggest self-important jackasses in national politics. They don’t carry an ounce of humility or introspection.  They are always right, and the problem is it just takes too long for everyone to come around to admitting how great they are.  This is the character of DeSantis that flows through everyone he associates with.  Here’s an example from one of the ‘influencers” a few days ago.

This Twitter account is connected to both Representative Thomas Massie and DeSantis campaign official Christina Pushaw:

That tweet encapsulates the worldview of the average Ron DeSantis supporter in Florida.

This is why the overwhelming majority of the Florida Republican delegation, will not endorse him.  These outlooks are toxic and elitist.  Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis did not wear elbow length silk gloves at the noon-time inauguration day event accidentally.  Casey already went shopping with Cindy McCain and has her 2024 tiara picked out.

As I keep saying, there are not enough people who take Instagram pictures of their lunches to make Ron DeSantis a viable candidate. The polo club, cocktail party circuit of people who eat crustless triangle cucumber sandwiches and look down their noses at everyone else, is just not a large enough coalition to win DeSantis the nomination.  It means he will have more money; however, factually, the professional donor class is annoying with the level of self-righteousness and condescension they promote.

WASHINGTON DC – […] In yet another blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s not-yet-official presidential bid, two more Republican members of Congress from his own state are gearing to endorse Donald Trump for another term. Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Carlos Gimenez are each planning to announce their support for the former president this week, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell TIME.

Their pledges continue something of a downward spiral for DeSantis, who has been steadily losing ground in the endorsement battle for legislators from his own backyard. The development is even more noteworthy after his political team recently tried to stop the bleeding by asking Florida Republicans to refrain from endorsing Trump.

Bilirakis and Gimenez have also committed to be at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Thursday night, as the former President hosts members of the Florida delegation who have already endorsed him, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, and Greg Steube. It’s not clear yet whether Reps. Byron Donalds and John Rutherford, who have also endorsed Trump, will be at the gathering.

Neither Bilirakis nor Gimenez responded to requests for comment. Rep. Brian Mast, another Florida Republican, has also told associates he plans to formally back Trump in the coming days. And on Wednesday, Rep. Vern Buchanan officially thew his weight behind Trump. TIME reported last week that Buchanan was planning to endorse Trump in the coming days.

All of their endorsements will bring Trump’s tally of members of Congress from Florida to ten, whereas DeSantis has just one, Rep. Laurel Lee, who announced her support for the governor on Tuesday. Before winning her House seat last year, Lee served as DeSantis’s first Secretary of State. (read more)

Lance Gooden (R-TX) – “Today, after careful consideration and a positive meeting with Governor DeSantis, I have decided to endorse President @realDonaldTrump for 2024.”

Rolling Stone – […] “Over the past few years, the Florida governor has risen to Trump’s top internal rival without even declaring his candidacy. And part of that rise has been fueled by his pull with the GOP’s megadonor class, who prefer him to Trump because, while he brings a similar set of MAGAfied policies, he has not, to date, attempted a coup. That wellspring of financial support has been instrumental in fueling his rise, but the investments are predicated in large part on a belief that he can take down Donald.

That belief seems to be wavering, as the donor revolt has been brewing since at least last month. And it’s not just skittish donors like Richard Uihlein or Thomas Peterffy, who went public with his complaints last week. Several other top donors to DeSantis were livid about the governor referring to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” with at least one major donor calling DeSantis to urge a walk-back, a source with knowledge of the outreach and another person briefed on it say. “My understanding is that the message was: ‘If we wanted a fucking MAGA candidate, we would donate to Donald Trump,’” the second source says.

[…] Those polling troubles may be giving some megadonors second thoughts. Sources familiar with Schlitz Brewing heir and shipping titan Richard Uihlein’s thinking told NBC News that the “brakes are pumped” with the megadonor’s DeSantis giving after the governor’s lackluster polling has given some “pause” about his viability.

Other conservatives have taken to predicting that DeSantis is potentially the second coming of Scott Walker, another Republican governor and conservative-media darling who many thought would be the favored candidate in a presidential primary — only to flame out before any ballots were cast. (read more)

Apr 20 2023

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Apr 19 2023

New Home Buyers Penalized for High Credit Scores


Armstrong Economics Blog/Real Estate Re-Posted Apr 19, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are making some changes to Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs) that will likely hurt those with good credit applying for conventional loans in the US. To ensure “fairness,” the agencies are helping “underserved” first-time home buyers by reducing costs for those with lower credit scores and less money for down payments. Borrowers with a credit score under 680 will be rewarded, while those who spent years maintaining a high level of creditworthiness will see higher rates.

Spent years saving for a down payment? Expect to pay more as they implement fees for borrowers who can put 15% to 20%+ down. Previously, lenders would favor higher down payments in their risk adjustments. So even if someone chose to put down over 20% to avoid PMI costs, they would now be penalized due to these asinine FHFA rules. So those with good pay, credit, and savings will be penalized while low-income earners will receive countless benefits.

In a blog post the other day, I mentioned how banks are not profiting on mortgages as they once did. Fannie and Freddie are looking to track down extra fees as the middle class is continually squeezed. They want the people to pay for mortgage insurance. Perhaps lenders want those with lower credit scores, who are less likely to meet their obligations as a first-time home buyer, to take out loans since they’re more likely to default. This is like giving A test scores to students who only studied enough to earn a C. They are making it difficult for financially responsible people to enter the housing market.

Apr 19 2023

Is Elon Musk Doing Damage Control Using Tucker Carlson Interview?


Posted originally on the CTH on April 18, 2023 | Sundance

I write the headline in the form of a question but in reality, all of the data points in one direction, yes.

If I am going to be brutally honest, this Elon Musk scenario is like the August 2022 review when it became obvious all of the DeSantis 2024 data only reconciled in one direction.  In many ways, Musk is to social media interests as DeSantis is to DC UniParty interests.

More than half the readers here have picked up on the clues and cues showing Musk has a very real motive to position himself in the best light possible given the situation that surrounds him.  Unfortunately, that position creates conflicts between ideals (what’s possible) and reality (what limits surround one’s ability).  Musk is riding a tiger, and the intelligence community ring masters control the beast.

The damage control motive is a few layers deep.  However, one of the recent events that would lead to Musk’s public need for brand image protection comes from the situation with Matt Taibbi:

…”When we got into the Files, we were caught off guard. The content-policing system was more elaborate and organized than any of us imagined. A communications highway had been built linking the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence with Twitter, Facebook, Google, and a slew of other platforms. Among other things this looked more like a cartel than a competitive media landscape, and I had an uneasy feeling early on that publicizing this arrangement might create a host of unanticipated problems for everyone involved. Still, there was no question this was in the public interest. So we kept going.”  (more)  ~ Matt Taibbi

On the issue of Twitter File access and personal motivation, Taibbi’s best financial and short-term professional interests would be served most by retaining a positive relationship with Musk/Twitter.  The fact that Taibbi would turn away from the lucrative interests, says something positive about his compass heading.

Accepting the COVID-19 files were never released, what some have called the Fauci files, and accepting the revelations within the filtered internal documents stopped abruptly, we can consider that ‘stakeholder’ interests became more consequential as the outside peering gained depth.  Likely the core of the platform, which we now know is based on a U.S Government intelligence relationship, needed a protective boundary.

When you overlay the reality that all of Elon Musk’s ventures are dependent on the same USG for viability, the vulnerability & motive to shape outcomes (via messaging) is stark.  Tesla, SpaceX, Star Link and all of Musk’s endeavors are intertwined with government approvals, authorizations and operations.  Control of the Twitter platform as a tool for public opinion is in alignment with those same Big Gov interests.

Another core issue that should be the focus of attention, a string that can unravel the gordian knot, is the financial mechanisms of Twitter.

As a business model, Twitter never made any sense.  That’s the obvious answer why no other Tech business ever made an effort to absorb or merge it.

When you overlay the government activity, then overlay the financial value to the government for the access and control that everyone now admits was in place, the Occam’s Razor of financial operations would indicate some form of government subsidy (direct or indirect) along with some form of financial funding (again, direct or indirect) was in the background of the platform.

As CTH has said for several years, a financial agreement in the background of Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop just made sense.  The platform held/holds a value to the U.S. govt, so a subsidy in operations for sustainability of the influence seemed obviously motivated.

While there are some important datapoints showing Musk trying to take steps to make Twitter a viable business without govt support (80% staffing reductions, monthly fees for premium content, etc.) the prior financial relationship is almost certainly still in place.  The internal operations, the preestablished public-private partnership, at the core of the platform also appears to retain the same general executive operators as before the takeover.

Again, I go back to Twitter File Release #8 – […] “The United States intelligence apparatus was/is actively using and working with the Twitter platform to align with U.S. government interests.  The govt was coordinating, instructing, assisting and benefitting from the relationship.  Pro govt positions were amplified, and information adverse to the interests of the Pentagon and State Dept was removed, hidden, throttled.

Unfortunately, as admitted by Twitter File #8 Author Lee Fang, a writer for The intercept, “The searches were carried out by a Twitter attorney, so what I saw could be limited.” There is no ‘could be‘ in that statement.  The searches were limited, specifically time limited putting all of the scrutiny on the timeline when Donald Trump was in office.

CTH has no vested interest in this pretending nonsense.  We all know, hell, its public record, the use of Twitter and Facebook as a tool to advance U.S. foreign policy began during the Obama administration.  There are dozens of mainstream press accounts of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton reaching out to Twitter and Facebook for support during the ’11/’12 Arab Spring.   This is not controversial, it happened.

However, the current release uses a carefully applied time filter only showing DoD and DoS use of the platform (to assist foreign policy) starting in 2017, when President Trump took office.  This is intentional.  The origin of the practice starts with Barack Obama. (more)

Twitter file release #8 was curated, fullstop!

That curation reality is empirical within the data itself.  That acceptance stands as a solid foundation to recognize that all of the releases are filtered and curated to protect certain levels of interest.  And within that larger truth we discover the reason why the government sponsored COVID-19 operations were never fully revealed.

Just as AG Bill Barr was shown to be mitigating damage that could come from the American public discovering that Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government all collaborated in the Trump-Russia fabrication, presumably Barr motivated to save the country from the reality within the scale of corruption, so too does the network around Elon Musk hold a similar motive.

You put all this together and the sheer weight of it indicates Elon Musk appeared on the Tucker Carlson broadcast to shape public opinion favorably away from the reality of what the real Twitter story reveals.  Government control is even bigger than general public understanding.  Elon Musk was/is doing damage control.

Outhouse Counsel – “He voted for the cabal behind Obama, Clinton, and Biden. Not Biden. He placated the low-info left audience with his Democrat “credentials”, impressed the hopeful with the sincerity of his little nonsequitorious “admissions”, and then sought to appease the appalled on the right with another “admission” that he’s not happy with Biden and why can’t we have a common-sense moderate middle. He then frosted this cake with humble sweetener that was designed to reinforce his naivety in certain areas; the posturing that when he bought Twitter he really didn’t understand the EXTENT of the government infiltration.

And he did this over and over again, gently saying rather alarming things quietly and in a way that could be taken multiple ways because they were tempered by seemingly guileless admissions, hopeful commentary, and witty self-deprecation (he was fooled by erstwhile competitor google/Ai founder , he sheepishly shrugs at his losing money by buying during bad timing, he fired employees from “Twitter” but he’s also implicitly a victim of those who voluntarily left but no mention of who now works for X Corp…)

He is a genius at more than computer coding. Please don’t fall for it.”

There are trillions at stake…