Tag Archives: USA

Apr 20 2026

Sunday Talks – U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz Discusses Ongoing Objectives with Current Status of Iran


Posted originally on CTH on April 19, 2026 | Sundance |

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz appears on CBS Face the Nation to discuss the difficulty of negotiating with Iran, a regime based on fanatical religious zealotry and control.  The video and transcript are below:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Imtiaz Tyab reporting from Dubai. We turn now to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, who joins us this morning from New York. Welcome back to Face The Nation, ambassador.

AMBASSADOR MIKE WALTZ: Thank you, good to be with you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So the President said Iran broke the ceasefire, but he is still offering them a deal. Is this a presentation of terms, or should we expect an actual, prolonged negotiation?

MIKE WALTZ: Well, I think this will be a continuation of the terms that the vice president offered a week ago. And look, we have to take a step back here in that – President Trump, the US Navy is controlling what is coming out of the straits. We’ve had the highest level engagement in the history of the Iranian regime, with the vice president leading. We have historic ceasefire talks going on between the Israelis and the Lebanese. The markets are up. Oil prices are relatively stable. The Iranian economy is devastated, and they’ve never been, I can tell you here at the United Nations, they’ve never been more diplomatically isolated. So Iran does not have the cards, and we are confident they will come to the table and finally give up their obsession with having a nuclear weapon.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Iran has not yet announced that it’s sending a delegation to Islamabad. I know there’s this back and forth all morning long about whether the vice president would be leading it or not. CBS, as you just heard, is reporting he will be but why is it important that he be there in person? Is it because Iran has refused to send anyone with decision making authority, unless he is there?

MIKE WALTZ: Well, you’ve seen the chaos, I mean that you just pointed to on the Iranian side. The last 48 hours, you have their foreign minister announcing that they’re going to stop attacking shipping. Then you have the IRGC saying that they will and then doing so, as President Trump pointed out, an absolute violation. So the Iranian side is in a bit of chaos. This is absolutely due to the devastating strikes on their leadership. But I think the vice president leading shows the level of engagement from the US side that we are absolutely serious. And I for one, thank God for future generations that we are arresting a problem before it’s too late. We’re not waiting until the US has no options —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well —

MIKE WALTZ: and Iran has some kind of breakout, which would lead to a nuclear breakout all over the Middle East.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me follow up on what you just said, though, because that’s important, the Iranian side is in chaos. So how do you know you’re negotiating with the right person? It’s been reported, The Institute for the Study of War says that the IRGC Commander General the Vahidi has secured control over the negotiations and the military within the past 48 hours. Does that mean Foreign Minister Araghchi is not the person to be sitting across the table from? Who’s in charge?

MIKE WALTZ: Well, look – again the Iranian regime, we’ve put them in chaos, but at the same time, we are never going to take an approach of trust. Any deal that comes out of this will have to absolutely be verifiable and be enforceable. I can tell you, from sitting in my seat at the UN we’ve been in extensive discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, which would have ostensibly a key role in ensuring Iran lives up to any deal that it signs to, this – signs up to, there is no trust on this side. There is verified and enforceable provisions that are that are on the table from the US to ensure they never have a nuke.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, that’s important in terms of enforcement. Does that mean if you actually get to a negotiated deal, and the UN’s nuclear watchdog would be very much in those details of going in and perhaps securing that enriched uranium. Does this mean you’re going to put a deal for approval before the United Nations? Is it going to be codified like that?

MIKE WALTZ: Well, I’ll tell you, there are dozens and dozens of resolutions over the years, not just the United States, the entire world, saying Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

MIKE WALTZ: We had snap back provisions that are in place now for global sanctions and that Iran cannot enrich so anything that would would change those resolutions would then need to come back before but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see if the Iranians actually sign up to a very reasonable offer that is sitting on the table from the United States —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah —

MIKE WALTZ: which is an off ramp from them, and also will ensure the region, the United States, Europe and the world, is never threatened by a regime with its hand on a nuclear button.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so, but back to the point of who’s in charge. President Trump says he hopes they take the deal, that was the post this morning. But on Friday afternoon, he spoke to my colleague, Weijia Jiang, and he gave us an incredibly optimistic read. He said Iran had quote, agreed to everything, including to stop enriching uranium forever and to stop backs – backing all proxy groups like Hezbollah. He made it sound like it’s all been sorted out. So which is it? Was there an agreement with certain parts of the Iranian government, but now there are others in charge, or was he just, you know, I don’t know, speculating about something he hopes comes true?

MIKE WALTZ: Margaret, anybody who has dealt with the Iranians will tell you it is often two steps forward, three steps back. They’re incredibly slippery. They can’t be trusted. They cheated over the years, which is one of the reasons that President Trump withdrew us from the JCPOA. They were hiding sites. They were hiding capabilities, and this is why he made the bold decision —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yep —

MIKE WALTZ: last year in operation midnight hammer, to just end it once and for all. And again, we have to take the perspective that we’re not waiting. We’re not trusting. We are reducing their capabilities. Their military is in shambles. Their missile program is in shambles, and now, hopefully diplomatically, they will do it the easy way, rather than the hard way, of finally giving up on this illegal ambition.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The Defense Intelligence Agency told Congress this past week, Iran has thousands of missiles and one way attack drones that can still threaten the United States. So there’s still a threat in certain ways. General Caine said on Thursday, the US is going to pursue Iranian flagged vessels or any vessel providing support, including those carrying Iranian oil. Beijing is the top customer. Are you going to start boarding vessels headed to to China? When do these operations begin?

MIKE WALTZ: Well, I’m not going to give – get into operational timelines, but I’ll tell you all options are on the table. The President is prepared to escalate, to de-escalate, he means it. When he said nothing that benefits Iran is coming out of the strait. And then on top of that, Secretary Bessent announced operation economic fury, where we are prepared to put secondary sanctions on banks who are transacting in illegal Iranian oil dollars. So we are truly putting maximum pressure on every aspect of the Iranian economy, and at some point they are going to see some level of common sense and pragmatism and say enough is enough with this nuclear obsession.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Is that the first step before you go back to combat? Because President Trump was talking about bombing power plants. Are the sanctions and the seizing of vessels —

MIKE WALTZ: Well, we’ve taken —

MARGARET BRENNAN: step one?

Mike Waltz: Well we’ve taken, you know, again, I’m not going to publicly sequence the steps, but the blockade was, was a tremendous step and has been tremendously effective, with dozens of ships turned around. Others that are already out on the water, our Pacific Command is prepared to interdict. We’re going after the banks. We’re going after this shadow fleet, one of which was run by a relative of Khamenei. So we are taking a number of steps. We’re even looking – our acting attorney general has made it very clear, he is going to start aggressively prosecuting, our threat finance unit is going —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah —

MIKE WALTZ: after their illegal dollars. So this is a whole of government, full on press. I hope we don’t have to go back to a military option but President Trump’s made it very clear. And by the way, bridges, power plants that are run by the IRGC, which runs the entire military, are absolute legitimate military targets, not only now, but have been historically. That is a false, fake and ridiculous notion that this is some type of war crime.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll talk about that, and we’ll see if that happens. But Germany and other allies have said they will help the United States with that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, eventually, once combat ends, but they said they need cover. They need an international mandate at the United Nations. Will Russia and China get on board? Are you trying to do that at the UN?

MIKE WALTZ: Well, as our Gulf Arab allies made it very clear at the UN, I guess that would be nice to have after the conflict, but they need help and are ready to take action now, particularly Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, we had a historic resolution to the UN with 135 —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah —

MIKE WALTZ: nations condemning Iran for its attacks on civilian infrastructure, on resorts, civilian airports, ports, shipping. That was truly tremendous. It’s disappointing the Russians and Chinese chose to side with Iran rather than our Gulf Arab allies —

(CROSSTALK BEGINS)

MARGARET BRENNAN: And you still lifted sanctions on Russia.

(CROSSTALK ENDS)

MIKE WALTZ: and freedom of navigation, but you’re going to see – yeah, you’re going to see continued action this coming week. The entire world is united that you – that a country cannot hold an international waterway and cannot hold the world’s economies hostage because it has a conflict with another country. You don’t see that in the Straits of Gibraltar, the Bering Strait, the Straits of Malacca, or any other international waterway. Iran is absolutely in the wrong here from a legal, diplomatic and economic standpoint.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about Lebanon. President Trump posted Friday that quote, Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are prohibited from doing so by the USA. Enough is enough. How is the US prohibiting ally Israel from bombing in Lebanon? And what is the United States doing to confiscate weapons from Hezbollah like, how are you helping the Lebanese military do that?

MIKE WALTZ: Well to answer your last question, first, the US contributed over $250 million to the Lebanese Armed Forces. This is a tremendous historic opportunity for Lebanon, the Lebanese government led by President Aoun, a former general, the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, to take their country back. Finally, with Iran on its back foot and militarily devastated, with Syria —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yep.

MIKE WALTZ: in a much better place, with the fall of the Assad regime and the effective diplomacy that we’ve had there, and from the pager and beeper operation to now, Hezbollah has never been in a worse place. This is a true moment, and it was a real honor for me to be at the opening of the —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

MIKE WALTZ: first Israel – Israel Lebanon talks, first ever —

MARGARET BRENNAN: How are you going to prohibit Israel from bombing?

MIKE WALTZ: in modern history. So, we have – look, but Maragaret, we have diplomacy on the march in a number of places —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Uh-huh.

MIKE WALTZ: Backed, of course, by military strength —

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.

MIKE WALTZ: but we have to take a moment to understand the magnitude of what’s going on.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador Waltz, we will be watching to see what happens in the coming days. Thank you for your time. This morning, Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us.

{END TRANSCRIPT}

Apr 19 2026

AAG Todd Blanche Moves diGenova and DeLorenz to South Florida Group Assisting USAO Jason Reding Quiñones


Posted originally on CTH on April 19, 2026 | sundance 

A formal announcement is likely tomorrow; however, leading information now affirms Acting AG Todd Blanche is moving Joe DiGenova and Christopher-James DeLorenz into positions in South Florida to assist U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones in ongoing investigation of the Donald Trump targeting.  The venue puts any grand jury information in the court orbit of Judge Aileen Cannon.

Before getting into the substance, the alignment here is critical to understand.  Judge Cannon saw firsthand exactly what the Lawfare constructs consist of when she had the Jack Smith operation in her court during the Mar-a-Lago documents case.  Judge Cannon knows the context of weaponized justice and saw the techniques through first-hand experience.  This cannot be emphasized enough.

There are a lot of people who want to see some form of accountability finally delivered for the decade-long corrupt Lawfare operation that took place against Donald Trump before he took office (Spygate), during his administration (Russiagate, Mueller, Impeachment), after he left office took office (Jack Smith and Mar-a-Lago) and even through today (Judicial Intervention).  Many of those voices have concerns about 81-year-old Joe diGenova, so let me address that first by pointing out how the issues that frame the criticism are also a valuable asset.

Joe diGenova has a very rare current perspective; he completely sees the timeline of Trump targeting for what it is.  This is immensely valuable because not enough people understand the complex continuum enough to stand back and see the bigger picture.  diGenova sees the bigger picture.

diGenova can see the 2015/2016 FBI contractor political spying operation (Spygate) and how it connects to the later Fusion GPS/Clinton construct of Russiagate. More importantly, diGenova sees the connective tissue -the actual characters- flowing from Spygate, through Russiagate, into the Mueller investigation, then into the impeachment effort and then into the Jack Smith operation.  Seeing the big picture is the first step.

Now, critics point out that diGenova is a creature of DC. Yes, that is true. However, that’s also an asset given that he understands just how difficult it is to navigate through all of these ridiculous DC interests.  diGenova is also a character, boisterous perhaps intemperate and easy to Alinsky (isolate, ridicule, marginalize). So what? It doesn’t matter who is involved in this effort, they are going to be Alinsky’d by the Lawfare operatives on the other side.

Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing see the big picture and have a skillset to tell the story.  They can assist brilliantly and direct the telling of the story by connecting the lead prosecutors to the background script of how everything unfolded over the past decade.  If Quiñones is researching a “conspiracy” case, it is the primary job of the investigative researchers to connect each of the evidence dots to the larger conspiracy.  Sounds perfect for diGenova.

diGenova can put the prior weaponization into a timeline and from that timeline extract the step-by-step evidence that proves it.  This timeline of targeting and how it is all connected has been missing in every investigative review up to now.  That’s the value of diGenova.

This doesn’t mean diGenova is in the courtroom per se’, but rather he’s the one explaining the sequencing of witnesses for a grand jury and how the questioning of one might relate to the questioning of another.

Christopher-James DeLorenz has the skillset of knowing Judge Aileen Cannon and the internal machinery of a modern Main Justice.   Put them together and the lead prosecutor in Florida has a formidable team putting the details onto the table in front of him/her.

This could have been done in DC years ago by the House Select Subcommittee on Weaponization; however, they did not have the skillset nor the operational strength to push through the DC politics as a group.  Former Representative Dan Bishop is a current U.S. Attorney in North Carolina, and he said it wasn’t fear that screwed up the subcommittee effort as it was republican political leadership stopping the subcommittee from aggressively investigating the whole matter, the big picture.

There are rumors that Blanche has assigned diGenova because President Trump is frustrated with Main Justice on this issue.  I don’t know if that is true, but jumping ju-ju-bones – could you blame Trump?

Remember, former AG Jeff Sessions ridiculously recused himself putting Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein responsible for all of the time during the Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissmann targeting.  President Trump wanted to declassify records directly related to his targeting, but Rod Rosenstein kept telling White House lawyers that if Trump released anything Mueller would view that as “interference or obstruction.”

Even the memo written by Devin Nunes was considered ‘obstruction’ by the Mueller team, and that was simply Nunes sending Trey Gowdy and John Ratcliffe to read the Carter Page FISA warrant and write down their opinion of it.  Remember that stupid battle with the DOJ/FBI and IC?

Then came Bill Barr who told President Trump not to declassify and release any information, or he would be interfering with Robert Mueller then ridiculously John Durham.  Over and over again President Trump was told he could not declassify and release documents or he would be guilty of some form of obstruction.

To be fair, with the context of the impeachment evidence now at the forefront, it is obvious the end goal of the Mueller operation was to provoke Trump into doing something that could be classified as “obstruction” which would then kick-off an impeachment.  That was the purpose of all Mueller and Weissmann’s effort.

The day after Mueller’s embarrassing testimony to congress, the Ukraine-centric impeachment effort was triggered.  All of the tools and Lawfare operatives (McCord, Atkinson et al) were in position for an impeachment, regardless of what the angle was.

After years of wanting information released and being legally advised not to do it, the FBI then raided Mar-a-Lago to ensure no documents were ever released.

This is one long continuum of targeting, and I do believe Joe diGenova is one of the people who “gets it.”  Whether all the evidence rises to the level of unlawful activity is yet unknown. Personally, I think there is enough substantive evidence to prove criminal conduct in court – and I am willing to work my ass off to assist helping to identify, locate and retrieve it. Which brings me to an important final point.

I’m saying this to all of the “Twitter Experts”.  All of the researchers and who understand the material at a granular level, need to quit bitching about ‘nothing being done’ and start putting their energy into helping people in the Trump administration understand it and find it.

Instead of predicting failure, help Joe diGenova (or whomever) by telling him each part of the material that they know about.  Once he is officially appointed to the role of assistant or advisor in this endeavor, diGenova will have a .gov email address.  Send him the details.

If we listened to those who told us it was futile trying to get detailed information from two branches and seven isolation silos on the background of the fraudulent 2019 impeachment effort, we would never have seen the corrupt IC IG Atkinson material and transcripts to prove it.  We now have that evidence because we figured out how to get it.

Considering the date today:

...”A man may do an immense deal of good, if he does not care who gets the credit for doing it.”….

I absolutely hope Joe diGenova, Victoria Toensing, Christopher-James DeLorenz and U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones succeed.  I do everything in my power to support their efforts, and I will pray with intensity for their safety and success every single day.

Apr 18 2026

Solid Overview of President Trump’s Consequence from the Promethean Action PAC


Posted originally on CTH on April 17, 2026 | Sundance

Mike Steger from the Promethean group presents thoughtful analysis of the change President Trump is bringing to a new era in geopolitical alignment.   This is an interesting and insightful review.

As noted by Mr Steger:

“From direct negotiations between the United States and Iran for the first time in nearly half a century… to coordinated diplomatic and military movement across the Middle East, South Asia, and beyond… the old geopolitical order is being replaced in real time. This is not chaos. This is strategy.”

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 The global shift begins
1:20 The strategy behind the Iran deal
3:05 Blockade pressure and economic impact
5:10 Diplomacy with teeth: Islamabad talks
7:20 Iran moves closer to a deal
9:00 Nations aligning: Pakistan, India, China
11:15 A global reset in motion
13:10 The long game: from Riyadh to today
15:20 The new Middle East framework
17:10 Europe’s decline and the old order fading
18:50 What this moment really means

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Apr 16 2026

President Trump’s Campaign Pledge “Agenda47” Review and Discuss


Posted originally on CTH on April 15, 2026 | Sundance

Many Republicans have various points of disagreement with President Trump on the prioritization of policy, and some on the policy itself. However, let’s take a look at what President Trump campaigned on, “Agenda47“, and then review the results:

The actual website and link is no longer available. But the 20 points of Agenda47 are as outlined above.

There are, perhaps, points of criticism that would be fairly debated.  However, on the big picture of campaign promises and policy execution – I would say that any intellectually honest assessment would indicate the promises are being kept.

Apr 15 2026

Secretary of State Marco Rubio Holds Peace Talks Between Israel and Lebanon – Video and Transcript


Posted originally on CTH on April 14, 2026 | Sundance | 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington as a historic opportunity, with Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad attending. The meeting focuses on moving forward amid complex regional tensions and a fragile Middle East ceasefire. WATCH:

[TRANSCRIPT] QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, why did you decide to join? Is it a signal that the U.S. is fully engaged?

QUESTION: Can we see a ceasefire soon between Lebanon and Israel?

QUESTION: Secretary —

SECRETARY RUBIO: “May I please? Thank you very much. Thank you for being here today. We’re very honored to be joined by two countries that the United States wants to have strong – have strong relations with, and we’re obviously very happy to serve in this facilitating role.”

“This is a historic opportunity. We understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities that have led us to this unique moment. And the opportunity here – I know some of you were shouting questions about a ceasefire. This is a lot more than just about that. This is about bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years of Hizballah’s influence in this part of the world and the – not just the damage that it’s inflicted on Israel, the damage that it’s inflicted on the Lebanese people. We have to remember the Lebanese people are victims of Hizballah. The Lebanese people are victims of Iranian aggression. And this needs to stop.

And so our hope here – and I know this will be a process, okay? This – all of the complexities of this matter are not going to be resolved in the next six hours. But we can begin to move forward to create the framework where something can happen – something very positive, something very permanent – so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear of being struck by rocket attacks from a terrorist proxy of Iran.

So that is the hope here today. That is what we are beginning to work. We are joined by excellent people who will be in a position to obviously take this back to their respective capitals. This is a process, not an event. This is more than just one day. This will take time. But we believe it’s worth this endeavor, and it’s a historic gathering that we hope to build on, and the hope today is that we can outline the framework upon which a permanent and lasting peace can be developed so that, as I said, the people of Israel can live in peace, and the people of Lebanon can live not just in peace but the prosperity and security that they deserve.

Okay? Thank you.”

{END TRANSCRIPT}

Apr 14 2026

DNI Tulsi Gabbard Releases a Statement with Document Release from Two Silos


Posted originally on CTH on April 13, 2026 | Sundance 

It’s worth remembering how the IC silo process was used to manipulate proprietary claims by government agencies. These setups are intentionally designed this way, and none of the reasons behind them are good.

The CIA Whistleblower Complaint and subsequent Intelligence Community Inspector General investigation and report, falls under the work product of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.  The IC IG is quasi-independent but works for the ODNI.

DNI Tulsi Gabbard is releasing direct stakeholder information from within the ODNI with the release as noted – SEE HERE.  This is the background information that led to the impeachment effort.  The DNI is the Executive Branch.

The transcript of ICIG Michael Atkinson was held within another branch of government, within the Legislative Branch, and as a consequence DNI Gabbard needed to gain permission from the House Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), another silo, in order to review the testimony that came as an outcome of the ICIG complaint and investigation. SEE HERE and SEE HERE.

DNI Gabbard then needed to request the release of the HPSCI transcripts [legislative branch] to her DNI office [executive branch] where all three aspects of the ICIG activity can then be examined and reviewed in full context.

The DNI then requests the HPSCI to permit declassification and public release.  HPSCI reluctantly agrees.  DNI declassifies then returns the transcripts to the HPSCI for public release – while simultaneously the DNI office declassifies and releases the baseline ICIG investigative material so the public can have context.

The resulting outcome is a combined work product from five silos (HPSCI, DNI, CIA, ICIG, NSC) along with a statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and a summary of what all the combined materials show:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard releases never-before-seen documents exposing a coordinated effort by elements within the Intelligence Community (IC), including a former Inspector General (IG), to manufacture a conspiracy that was used as the basis to impeach President Trump in 2019.

During his preliminary investigation into President Trump’s July 2019 phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former IC IG Michael Atkinson did not follow standard IG procedures and relied upon politicized, manufactured narratives – only conducting interviews with four individuals: the Whistleblower, the Whistleblower’s friend who was a co-author of the January 2017 Russia Hoax Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) and close colleague of disgraced former FBI Agent Peter Strzok, and two character references who had zero firsthand knowledge of the July 2019 phone call.

Despite a lack of any firsthand evidence, IC IG Atkinson proceeded to take actions to weaponize the Whistleblower process and exceed his statutory jurisdiction by ignoring Department of Justice guidance and relying on only second-hand testimony to ensure the whistleblower complaint was released to Congress, referred to the FBI, and leaked to the propaganda media.

Then-House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Chairman Adam Schiff and then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi used this false, second-hand narrative to create media intrigue and ultimately spark the basis to impeach President Trump in December of 2019.

“Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States,” said DNI Gabbard. “Inspector General Atkinson failed to uphold his responsibility to the American people, putting political motivations over the truth. And this, along with the politicization of the whistleblower process by a former CIA employee who was working hand in glove with Democrats in Congress, are egregious examples of the deep state playbook on how to weaponize the Intelligence Community. Exposing these tactics and showing how they undermine the fabric of our democratic republic furthers the critical cause of transparency and accountability and will help prevent future abuse of power.”

Review the documents released here and see below for a summary of newly declassified materials:

Today’s release includes investigative materials used by then-IC IG Atkinson (here) and a review of two transcripts from IC IG Atkinson’s closed-door testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (here and here), which were withheld from the House Judiciary Committee during the sham impeachment trial and kept locked in a safe until House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford led the vote to release these transcripts on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

♦ NO FIRSTHAND EVIDENCE: The Intelligence Community Inspector General’s preliminary “investigation” into the whistleblower complaint relied on politicized actors and second-hand evidence. Newly declassified documents expose how IC IG Atkinson relied upon second-hand information from the self-declared “Democrat” whistleblower [Ciaramella] and two biased witnesses to justify his determination that the whistleblower compliant was of “urgent concern,” “appears credible,” and must be reported to Congress. IC IG Atkinson also ignored concerns by the whistleblower’s supervisor about a rushed complaint.

The Whistleblower [Eric Ciaramella] confirms he/she had no firsthand knowledge of President Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

In an initial form submitted by the Whistleblower, he/she claimed, “I do not have direct knowledge of private comments or communications by the President.”

New witness interviews released today show that IC IG Atkinson’s public claim that “other information obtained during [his] preliminary review…supports the complainant’s allegation” was false and hid the fact that neither the Whistleblower’s nor the key witness’ allegations concerning the President’s phone call were informed by direct, firsthand knowledge.

WITNESS 2 admitted that upon reading the transcript of the call he/she “would not have been able to get from ‘point A to Z’ the way the Whistleblower did” and described that he/she lacked the “granular detail” that the Whistleblower had to justify filing the complaint.”

WITNESS 2 admitted that he/she had to “read between the lines” of what was being said, and that his/her perception of quid pro quo “became clear” only “in hindsight.”

The Whistleblower’s superior, a senior officer in the National Intelligence Council (NIC), told IC Inspector General investigators that he/she, “did not like how the [Whistleblower] handled the filing of the report,” saying that he/she felt that he/she was “looped in right at the time of the crash.”

IC IG Atkinson’s 14-day preliminary investigation was intended to assess apparent credibility, but instead became the basis of a flawed, mischaracterized account that House Democrats peddled to launch a sham impeachment, even though the IC IG never conducted a formal or complete investigation.

In his own words, IC IG Atkinson recognizes that his conclusions were based on a “preliminary investigation,” noting that “I haven’t done an investigation to determine whether they actually, in fact, took place…that all of the alleged actions actually took place.”

♦ ANTI-TRUMP RUSSIA HOAX CO-AUTHOR AS KEY WITNESS: IC IG Atkinson relied on testimony from a co-author of the 2017 Russia Hoax ICA to support the Whistleblower’s allegations that there was some form of wrongdoing by President Trump.

Last year, DNI Gabbard revealed evidence that President Obama directed the creation of the January 2017 Russia Hoax ICA. This served as the basis for what was essentially a years-long coup against the duly-elected President of the United States, subverting the will of the American people and attempting to delegitimize Donald Trump’s presidency.

WITNESS 2 – who was one of the key sources for the Whistleblower ahead of filing a complaint – admits in a witness interview to being a “co-author of the 2017 ICA” which used manufactured and manipulated intelligence to create the false narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to the benefit of President Trump.

WITNESS 2 also admitted to having worked alongside now-disgraced FBI agent Peter Strzok who inserted political bias into FBI investigations about President Trump based on the manufactured Russia Hoax.

WITNESS 2 further exposed political bias when explaining that he/she “routinely deals with issues on a daily basis that are contrary to [his/ her] personal beliefs,” and “stated that [he/she] is disappointed everyday by policy decisions and statements made by political figures.”

♦ WHISTLEBLOWER’S PARTISAN BIAS, LIES CONFIRMED: The Whistleblower [Eric Ciaramella] admitted he/she lied to the Inspector General about speaking to Democrats in Congress ahead of submitting allegations of wrongdoing by President Trump to the IC Inspector General. While media widely reported on this detail in 2019, the pre-complaint meeting with Congress has never before been confirmed by the Whistleblower.

In October 2019, after the media began to report that the Whistleblower had spoken with Congress ahead of submitting the “Disclosure of Urgent Concern Form,” the Whistleblower called the IC IG to admit that he/she had, in fact, spoken with Congress.

IC IG Atkinson admits in newly-declassified testimony that his investigative team “did ask the complainant who else knew about the disclosure” and the complainant withheld from the investigative team, within the 14-day window, that he/she alerted HPSCI Democratic staff.

[Whistleblower Eric Ciaramella pictured left with U.S. President Barack Obama]

Whistleblower interviews reveal the political biases of the Whistleblower, in his/her own words:

The Whistleblower states he/she is a “registered democrat.”

The Whistleblower claims to have “worked closely with Vice President Biden…travelled with Biden to Ukraine and was part of conversations where LUTSENKO corruption was discussed.”

The Whistleblower also claims to have become “the target of right-wing bloggers…and conspiracy theorists.”

Yet, IC IG Atkinson ignored this and insisted during his testimony to HPSCI, “I also want to make it clear that I never considered the whistleblower to be politically biased.”

Despite public reports that the Whistleblower worked with Vice President Biden on Ukraine matters, inquiries into the Whistleblower’s bias and motive were blocked during the 2020 impeachment trial.

♦ IC INSPECTOR GENERAL WEAPONIZED THE WHISTLEBLOWER PROCESS: Newly declassified documents confirm that IC IG Atkinson failed to conduct basic due diligence and willfully exceeded his statutory jurisdiction to mischaracterize the President’s phone call with Zelensky as an “urgent concern” to Congress.

• From Day 1, IC IG Atkinson knew that a transcript of President Trump’s call existed. And yet, he never, throughout the entire preliminary investigation, requested access to it.

• IC IG Atkinson sent a criminal referral to the DOJ on this matter, despite only relying on second-hand knowledge to support his claims.

• The DOJ later assessed the allegations raised by the Whistleblower and IC IG and found no basis for a criminal case, concluding that based on the facts and applicable law, there was “no campaign finance violation” and “no further action was warranted.”

• After the DOJ reviewed the whistleblower complaint and determined there was “no urgent concern,” IC IG Atkinson ignored their determination and proceeded to transmit this faulty whistleblower complaint to Congress without completing a fulsome investigation, despite the allegations being made based on second-hand information.

• On September 3, the DOJ provided Office of Legal Counsel guidance to IC IG Atkinson that the complaint did not rise to the level of “urgent concern” because the alleged conduct does not relate to “the funding, administration, or operation of an intelligence activity” under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence. As a result, the statute does not require the Director to transmit the complaint to the congressional intelligence committees.

• On September 9, the IC IG ignored this guidance and the Acting Director of National Intelligence to pen a letter to inform the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the existence of the “urgent concern” complaint.

• As was reported at the time, IC OIG altered the whistleblower form within months of the July 2019 phone call to no longer require firsthand knowledge as a prerequisite for reporting complaints.

• IC IG Atkinson sought unprecedented assistance from other Inspectors Generals to carry on this investigation “if [he] was stopped, [he] wanted to see whether other inspectors general could proceed.” In particular, he contacted the IGs at the Departments of State, Justice, and Defense.  {SOURCE}

IC IG Michael Atkinson pictured below

Hopefully everyone can see the construct above and how IC IG Michael Atkinson worked with his former DOJ colleague Mary McCord who was at the time working for HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff.

Ask the right questions.

Michael Atkinson moved from his position as legal counsel for the Asst Attorney General of the DOJ-NSD (Mary McCord) to the position of IC IG effective May 17, 2018.   The ICIG position is a nomination by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI):

Who was the person in 2018, at the height of the Mueller investigation, who told President Trump to nominate Michael Atkinson as Intelligence Community Inspector General?

Who told Trump to appoint Atkinson?

Find that person and you will find a person who was directly working against the interests of President Trump.

Why does this matter?…

…. Because this is not a random nomination and random appointment.  ICIG Michael Atkinson was intentionally moved into the position of ICIG in order to carry out an impeachment effort.

This was not happenstance. This was intentional.

At the conclusion of his impeachment trial, President Trump fired IC IG Michael Atkinson.

Simultaneous with the Senate acquittal during the failed impeachment, and following the firing of IC IG Michael Atkinson, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence suddenly dropped their block on the nomination of John Ratcliffe to be the Director of National Intelligence.

DNI John Ratcliffe was confirmed by the SSCI on May 21 and sworn in on May 26, 2020.

Apr 14 2026

Understanding the Fox News Podcasters


What I think we should send to Jade April 13, 2026 | Sundance

Against the backdrop of President Trump calling attention to the narcissism podcast universe, several people have made inquiry about relationships, motives, financial structures etc.

For those unaware, the traditional media framework of billionaire and corporate opinion/information shaping, modified itself for a new digital era.  However, the motives that underpinned the original control mechanisms remain the same, only the venues are different.

RED SEAT VENTURES HERE

As an example, most reasonably intelligent people caught on to the manipulative political content pushed by Rupert Murdoch, his family of control agents and the Fox Corporation media empire.  However, most people are unaware that Fox Corporation controls the information space of well-known current and former Fox News employees and contract agents that shifted to the podcast venues.

Fox Media purchased Red Seat Ventures {Citation} and expanded the narrative control operations through “podcasting.”  As a consequence, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Piers Morgan, Bill O’Reilly and many more still work for Fox Corporation, just in different venues.

When Tucker Carlson is interviewing Megyn Kelly during a podcast, or when Piers Morgan is interviewing Bill O’Reilly during a podcast, it is no different than Megyn Kelly interviewing Piers Morgan on Fox News television.  The platform changed, but the relationships -and more importantly the information content itself- is the same.  The same control mechanisms apply; it is just a different distribution channel.

Instead of watching Fox News, you are essentially watching Fox News ‘podcasting’ division, via Red Seat Ventures.

♦ Red Seat Ventures (a Fox Corporation subsidiary) controls the advertising, distribution and financial payments to the same cast of characters that appeared on Fox News broadcast.  The same leverage and pressure points apply, albeit with a plausible deniability in order to push a false claim of independence in order to manufacture the optics of credibility.

You can explore Red Seat Ventures here, overlay the intention as expressed by Fox Corporation here, and see exactly how this internecine system is connected.

When you hear people say, “I no longer watch Fox News,” yet they still watch Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Piers Morgan, Dana Loesch, Bill O’Reilly, Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Kelly, etc., you might take note those people probably don’t realize they are just watching a different version of the Fox Corporation.

This is why none of the former pundits, now part of Red Seat, will say anything critical of Fox Corp.  They are still beholden to the control masters.  Many people are unaware of this reality in the background.

♦ There is also the Red Apple Podcast Network, another corporate conglomerate of well-known pundits like Larry Kudlow, Roger Stone, Greg Kelly, Sean Spicer and many more.  Again, these are not ‘independent’ per se’, they are part of a corporate commercial system with terms and conditions that apply to the employees, the podcasters.

♦ Then you have Westwood One, (aka Cumulus) another corporate media conglomerate which includes popular names like Benny Johnson, Mark Levin and Dan Bongino.  Again, these are not independent voices per se’ – they are contract agents with financial relationships to the mothership, the corporation.  Again, terms and conditions apply.

What you will notice in all of these enmeshments is a system of podcast tribalism, now captured within the corporate dynamic.  When a podcaster is interviewing a podcaster for podcast content, you are essentially watching a circle of narcissists discussing each other.  The watcher or listener is not receiving ‘information’, they are participating in the distribution of specific financially aligned narratives – albeit with an ‘independent’ flare.

If your participation in the podcast sphere is akin to watching WWE wrestling, then you have the appropriate filter for the performances within each broadcast.

However, if you participate from the perspective of information gathering; raw, researchable or cited information to expand objective knowledge; you might end up in a crazy matrix where you are led to believe that aliens are living down the street, black helicopters are following your every move, Melania is about to divorce Donald, the FBI is an honorable institution, or even that Reverend Franklin Graham is busy building a billionaire doomsday bunker in Alaska.

As the years were unfolding you likely recognized the Wall Street corporate media system was going to respond to the changed and collapsed credibility environment.  Well, podcasting is the 2026 iteration.

Artificial Intelligence is going to replace all of these ‘voices’ eventually, as government systems learn and adapt to the private sector information space.

Just something to keep in mind.

Apr 14 2026

President Trump Releases a Statement on the Iranian Refusal to Stop Building a Nuclear Weapon


Posted originally on CTH on April 12, 2026 | Sundance

I am going to outline a contextual background for the Iranian conflict and my opinion of the current situation in detail. In short, I stand with President Trump’s position, but many of the influential aspects are being missed.

The anti-interventionist podcasters and the Israel-first advocates are both wrong. An honest and pragmatic review of the entire regional dynamic is needed.  Which includes the big picture question that no one is asking.

In the interim, here is the statement from President Trump describing the current status, against the backdrop of Vice President JD Vance’s earnest efforts to negotiate a resolution:

[VIA TRUTH SOCIAL] – “Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so. This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and Countries throughout the World.

They say they put mines in the water, even though all of their Navy, and most of their “mine droppers,” have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance?

There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran, and what’s left of their “Leaders,” but we are beyond all of that. As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST! Every Law in the book is being violated by them.

I have been fully debriefed by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, on the meeting that took place in Islamabad through the kind and very competent leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan. They are very extraordinary men, and continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would have been a horrendous War with India. I always appreciate hearing that — The amount of Humanity spoken of is incomprehensible.

The meeting with Iran began early in the morning and lasted throughout the night — Close to 20 hours. I could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters — IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!

In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people.

My three Representatives, as all of this time went by, became, not surprisingly, very friendly and respectful of Iran’s Representatives, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri, but that doesn’t matter because they were very unyielding as to the single most important issue and, as I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!

[PART II] – “So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not.

Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz. At some point, we will reach an “ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT” basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, “There may be a mine out there somewhere,” that nobody knows about but them.

THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.

We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! Iran knows, better than anyone, how to END this situation which has already devastated their Country. Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft and Radar are useless, Khomeini, and most of their “Leaders,” are dead, all because of their Nuclear ambition.

The Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION. They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear. Additionally, and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully “LOCKED AND LOADED,” and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!” ~

~President DONALD J. TRUMP

Apr 10 2026

Susan Kokinda on Trump’s Gambit: Civilizational Expansion or Nihilistic Western Decline


Posted originally on CTH on April 9, 2026 | Sundance |

Susan Kokinda from Promethean Action gives her perspective on the negotiated ceasefire with Iran.  Kokinda notes the key players were Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey (she missed China).

In a lesser reported part of the background, Chairman Xi Jinping summoned the Pakistani negotiators to Beijing prior to the terms of agreement with Trump.  The summoning happened right after Trump said he was going to target the full force of the U.S. military against Iranian infrastructure.

Why does that matter to China?  Belt and Road.  Beijing has built a railway from China into Iran for the transport of goods and raw materials (including energy products) out of Iran (sanctions avoidance) in exchange for shipments of weapons. If President Trump targeted the railway infrastructure, in combination with the oil shipments being hampered, ¹China would be in a very bad place.  Hence the summoning to get a ceasefire.

Focusing too narrowly on the British Empire as the source of all problems and you miss things.  Mrs Kokinda missed this:

[SOURCE]

¹China in a bad place due to the middle east in crisis, means China becomes more dependent on Russia for oil, gas and ultimately fuel.  Internally, Russia isn’t a big fan of their Chinese dependencies.

If FUBAR in Iran remained the statis, the two countries not in any crisis would be the USA and Russia, both with oil/gas and extra refining capacity.  The countries/regions in biggest crisis would be China, Europe and Southeast Asia.

The U.S. and Russia less affected.  China and the EU more affected.  A significant geopolitical paradigm shift, all things considered…. and it appears that Beijing saw it coming.

Apr 10 2026

President Trump Blasts the Grifters, Blackpillers and Anti-MAGA Podcasters


Posted originally on CTH on April 9, 2026 | Sundance |

I’m really glad to see this from President Trump, because it clears up the big question of whether he recognized what the blackpill/grifter crowd was doing to split the larger MAGA coalition. Turns out, yes—he definitely sees it.

Not only does he see it, but he takes the issue head-on. Very nice to see.

[Via Truth Social] – “I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon — Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs.

They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too! Look at their past, look at their record. They don’t have what it takes, and they never did! They’ve all been thrown off Television, lost their Shows, and aren’t even invited on TV because nobody cares about them, they’re NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS, and will say anything necessary for some “free” and cheap publicity.

Now they think they get some “clicks” because they have Third Rate Podcasts, but nobody’s talking about them, and their views are the opposite of MAGA — Or I wouldn’t have won the Presidential Election in a LANDSLIDE.

MAGA agrees with me, and just gave CNN a 100% Approval Rating of “TRUMP,” not Hand Flailing Fools like Tucker Carlson, who couldn’t even finish College, he was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same — Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist! Or Megyn Kelly, who nastily asked me the now famous, “Only Rosie O’Donnell,” question, or “Crazy” Candace Owens, who accuses the Highly Respected First Lady of France of being a man, when she is not, and will hopefully win lots of money in the ongoing lawsuit.

Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace, in fact, it’s not even close! Or Bankrupt Alex Jones, who says some of the dumbest things, and lost his entire fortune, as he should have, for his horrendous attack on the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, ridiculously claiming it was a hoax.

These so-called “pundits” are LOSERS, and they always will be! Now Fake News CNN, The Failing New York Times, and all of the other Radical Left “News” Organizations, are “hailing” them, and giving them “positive” press for the first time in their lives. They’re not “MAGA,” they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA.

As President, I could get them on my side anytime I want to, but when they call, I don’t return their calls because I’m too busy on World and Country Affairs and, after a few times, they go “nasty,” just like Marjorie “Traitor” Brown, but I no longer care about that stuff, I only care about doing right for our Country.

MAGA is about WINNING and STRENGTH in not allowing Iran to have Nuclear Weapons. MAGA is about MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and these people have no idea how to do that, BUT I DO, because THE UNITED STATES IS NOW THE “HOTTEST” COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP