Posted originally on CTH on September 5, 2025 | Sundance

Lt General William Joseph “Joe” Hartman is a University of Southern Alabama graduate (class of ’89).  Hartman had served as the deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command, and previously served as commander of the Cyber National Mission Force. Before that, he served in various infantry, intelligence and cyber operations military roles in the U.S., Germany, South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Lt. Gen. William Hartman, the acting leader of both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, to formally lead both agencies, two people with knowledge of the situation told POLITICO on Thursday.

Hartman has the support of top officials at the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Defense Department, according to one of the people. Both individuals were granted anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.

[…] Hartman’s paperwork will be sent to the National Security Council before hitting the president’s desk. The dual role is a Senate-confirmed position, given that it is a promotion to four-star general.

[…] Hartman is unlikely to face much pushback to his nomination in the Senate. He testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s cyber subcommittee in April, days after Haugh’s dismissal, and garnered praise from both sides of the aisle. (read more)

Hartman’s nomination follows Joe Francescon being picked to serve as deputy director of the NSA.

This is a critical nomination.  It is a very interesting dynamic.  The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) can block a nomination that is against their control efforts and that ultimately this becomes how the SSCI controls the power dynamic within the intelligence apparatus.

Deputy NSA Director Joe Francescon did not require SSCI nomination, and Joe Francescon was fully supported by DNI Tulsi Gabbard.  To become Director of the NSA William Joseph Hartman appears acceptable to Gabbard, acceptable to the White House and acceptable to the SSCI.

Posted originally on CTH on September 2, 2025 | Sundance

President Trump has scheduled a 2:00pm ET announcement from the White House.  The president has not been seen in several days as he took a Labor Day weekend holiday.

While the topic of the announcement has not been made in advance, the greatest likelihood surrounds the removal of Space Force from Colorado (Peterson Space Force Base) and relocation to Alabama (Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal – home of Airforce Command).  The move away from Colorado is also interesting as the secondary Cyber Command data center is in Colorado (CTH is interested in this data center).  The Livestream Links are below:

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Posted originally on CTH on September 2, 2025 | Sundance

New York Representative Jerry “The Penguin” Nadler has announced he is not going to seek reelection in 2026.

78-year-old Nadler was going to face a significant primary threat from the far-left.

NEW YORK – “Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Mr. Nadler said, adding that a younger successor “can maybe do better, can maybe help us more.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler, was the former chair of the House Judiciary Committee who joined forces with Adam Schiff and spearheaded President Donald Trump’s impeachment effort.

Nadler and Schiff formed a joint House impeachment committee and then hired Mary McCord as the lead staff for the effort.

Mary McCord previously worked as DOJ-National Security Division head with Michael Atkinson as her office lawyer.

When McCord quit the DOJ and went to work for Schiff and Nadler, Atkinson was ¹moved to Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG).

As the ICIG, Michael Atkinson then changed the rules for whistleblowers within the CIA permitting a false assertion by Eric Ciaramella, who subsequently told a fictional story presented by Alexander Vindman.  The fake “Ukraine Impeachment” effort stemmed from this political scheme.

Vindman lied, Eric Ciaramella advanced the lie to ICIG Michael Atkinson who then spun the ²false allegation back to his colleague Mary McCord.  That’s the origin of the fraud behind the first impeachment effort.

¹♦ Who told President Trump to appoint Michael Atkinson as ICIG?

The appointment of Michael Atkinson was not a mistake.  The impeachment was pre-planned.

Find the person who put his name in front of President Trump, and you find one of the internal operatives within the Trump administration specifically working to hurt President Trump in his first term.  Is that person around in term #2?

²♦ Where is Michael Atkinson’s transcript?

ICIG Michael Atkinson testified to the joint House subcommittee on impeachment about why he changed the rules for CIA whistleblowers.  Atkinson testified about his activity to the Schiff/Nadler committee, IN FRONT OF MARY McCORD.

Adam Schiff promptly classified and sealed the Atkinson deposition transcript in an attempt to forever bury it.  The equity stakeholders are: (1) the House of Representatives, and (2) the CIA.

NEEDED ACTION – House Speaker Mike Johnson should be able to find that Atkinson transcript, declassify and make it public.  However, the CIA is likely also the equity stakeholder.  So, give it to Director John Ratcliffe who then declassifies it and gives it to DNI Tulsi Gabbard for release.

Posted originally on CTH on August 29, 2025 | Sundance

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard delivers remarks to the audience during a keynote address at the American Legion conference. WATCH:

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Posted originally on CTH on August 27, 2025 | Sundance

India is now facing a 50% import tariff against the majority of their goods (electronics and pharmaceuticals exempted). However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed not to yield to the pressure. Modi said the world was witnessing a “politics of economic selfishness.”

For approximately a decade many western countries including the U.S. have heaped effusive praise on India as corporations viewed the massive Indian population, the world’s largest democracy, as both workers and consumers.  However, after the western sanctions against Russia were delivered, India -a BRICS nation- began pulling back from western alignment and influence.

Western sanctions map against Russia (yellow = agree with USA).

What we are witnessing now is one of the ramifications of the U.S. forcefully putting an “us or them” aspect into the strategic economic relationship, where “them” is Russia.  Currently, India is not flinching.

One could make the argument that undeveloped regions in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) contain the majority of the valuable rare earth minerals and magnets the ‘western’ nations need for manufacturing.  BRICS has a pressure point to apply leverage, but no global trade currency, if the trade conflict escalates.

INDIA – Steep U.S. tariffs on a range of Indian products took effect Wednesday, threatening a serious blow to India’s overseas trade in its largest export market.

President Donald Trump had initially announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods. But earlier this month he signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff due to India’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the U.S. on its ally to 50%.

The Indian government estimates the tariffs will impact $48.2 billion worth of exports. Officials have warned the new duties could make shipments to the U.S. commercially unviable, triggering job losses and slower economic growth.

India–U.S. trade relations have expanded in recent years but remain vulnerable to disputes over market access and domestic political pressures. India is one of the fastest-growing major global economies and it may face a slowdown as a result.

Estimates by New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative suggest labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewelry, leather goods, food and automobiles will be hit hardest.

“The new tariff regime is a strategic shock that threatens to wipe out India’s long-established presence in the U.S., causing unemployment in export-driven hubs and weakening its role in the industrial value chain,” said Ajay Srivastava, the think tank’s founder and a former Indian trade official. (read more)

Keep in mind, India is a very poor albeit populated country with the average person living substantially below the poverty line.  That sounds like bad news for India until you realize if they lose export trade to the USA, the majority of Indians will not notice the difference in their life.

Politically President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi always appeared to have a very good relationship.  However, on the issue of sanctions against Russia, President Trump is stepping into the middle of the BRICS relationship.

Modi feels strong due to a decade of effusive praise from all countries. Trump feels strong due to current effusive praise from all countries.  Two hippos are facing each other.

There are multiple dynamics at play including President Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy, a counterbalance to the influence of China, which is dependent on India.  Prime Minister Modi appears to be calling President Trump’s bluff.