Pam Bondi appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her second day of confirmation questioning. The democrat ‘resistance’ generally failed to create their narrative on Day #1 and will now attempt to regroup for day #2. Livestream Links Below:
.
As the Senate begins the confirmation process….. A POINT:
“If I understand this correctly, the Senate Intel Committee will only approve Trump’s nominee for ODNI if she agrees to support an un-Constitutional provision that permits the government that none of us trust to illegally surveille American citizens without a warrant…but a provision that also makes an exception for members of Congress or their staff, who presumably value their privacy and don’t want to be illegally surveilled.
Meanwhile, President Biden is preparing to issue a blanket pardon of all the bad actors who illegally surveilled, wiretapped, sued, imprisoned and tried to assassinate his political enemies, so that no one can legally surveille, wiretap, sue or imprison them…and they get off scott-free.
Do I have that right?” ~LionTigerBear
Yes, you have that encapsulation correct. Additionally, the discussion of Joe Biden pardons -both metered and predicted- outlines the ideological mindset behind those who believe they rule over us.
If you pull back from the granular debate and think about it, none of the FISA justifications align with reality.
The FISA system is a designated secret court system that is said to only pertain to “foreign nationals.”
Ok, so if we accept the premise. Foreign nationals do not have U.S. constitutional protection. So why does the surveillance and intercept of them require secret U.S. courts?
Confirming earlier reports, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) member, Senator James Lankford, appears on Meet the Press to confirm that Tulsi Gabbard’s change in position on FISA-702 now gains his supportive vote. Senator Lankford will support Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence. (WATCH – prompted 1:03):
.
Senator Lankford flat out lies in his response when he says, “702 has nothing to do with American citizens.” That is a lie. The very element “702” only pertains to an American citizen, no one else. Foreign persons do not have constitutional protections, only American citizens do. The FISA-702 statute is specifically designated for Americans who are “inadvertently captured” during foreign intelligence intercepts.
[Also, notice how every Sunday interview begins with a media demand that California be financially supported by congress. They never did that for Western North Carolina.]
In this segment of Glenn Greenwald’s monologue, he outlines the background of the IC opposition to Tulsi Gabbard and how that pressure forced Gabbard to change her position on FISA-702 authorization. {Background}
Tulsi has been a prior critic of the warrantless surveillance of Americans through the FISA-702 process. However, in order to get confirmed to President Trump’s cabinet as the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard has been forced to reverse her opposition to FISA-702. This is how the DC Deep State operates.
Without getting a single Democrat vote, Gabbard would rely upon the Republican senators supporting her. The republican senators will not support her unless she agrees to continue the surveillance state as it is currently utilized. Gabbard is an example of what We The People are up against in this confrontation with DC politicians who support a weaponized surveillance state. WATCH:
To be fair, an argument can be made that Mrs. Gabbard is saying that she is going to keep FISA but have a stricter threshold for its use, and that would still be a change for the better in protecting citizens from its widespread use to surveil us at whim. Keeping FISA doesn’t necessarily mean she can’t affect a lack of it’s use domestically. However, that is somewhat hopeium and wish-casting.
Given the extreme nature of how the 702 processes have been used, and combined with the new AI tools being constructed to exploit the metadata capture of all American citizens to expedite the surveillance results, it is critical to find actionable control mechanisms before the next reauthorization comes up again.
Washington DC is creating a surveillance state. We can debate the motives and intentions behind it, but the core of their creation aligns and supports a fully comprehensive American surveillance state.
We cannot be intellectually honest with each other about how the tools of a weaponized government were deployed against Americans, specifically in the example of presidential candidate Donald Trump, without accepting the tools exist for far more consequential reasons than just Donald Trump.
In this segment from April of 2024, Tucker Carlson (motive irrelevant) accurately outlined the purpose of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and how that legislatively created tool is being used by Washington DC, both parties.
Within this monologue Tucker Carlson hits on some accurate points to share with his audience. The commentary about HPSCI Chairman Mike Turner is spot on accurate. The IC pressure meetings are also true {SEE HERE}. The analysis of Speaker Mike Johnson also appears to be widely accurate. WATCH:
My personal experience with the IC surveillance state mirrors that described by Tucker Carlson. As you step into the world of real data, unfiltered by the systems intended to control our perspectives, the system tends to see you as a threat.
While the Declaration of Independence is long regarded as the greatest written declaration of purpose, the latter created Bill of Rights, the first Ten original amendments to the U.S. Constitution, is just as important. The first declared our intent; the second defined how our founders intended to retain the intent during our collective assembly. Together they outline what set the course to make America great.
We have allowed the foundational intent of both sets of documents to be compromised, because, well, simply we were lazy and complacent. Now we are engaged in a time of great consequence that will determine whether or not the purpose of our assembly can continue.
We are, in factual reality, now deep inside a debate carried out in the world of politics. The stakes have never been higher.
In nine days, President Donald J Trump is scheduled to be sworn in as President of the United States. In my non-pretending world, this is likely to be the last time in our lifetime to drag the conversation of how we define liberty into the American psyche. All of my research in the past two decades indicates this likelihood is not hyperbole. We have one shot at this, and our time is now.
Liberty, the fundamental decision to retain it or lose it, is the context for all other contexts that have preceded it. The principles of liberty that we have defined for generations cannot exist in an American surveillance state. Thus, the secretive courts, the unlawful usurpation of the 4th Amendment, the short-sighted ramifications of the Patriot Act, the weaponization of our federal law enforcement and police agencies, all of it, must be reviewed through this fundamental core issue, Liberty.
I have traveled throughout the East and West to gain perspective on what makes us different, and what I can assert with clarity is that if we lose the Liberty argument, then the ideological representatives behind Barack Obama will have succeeded, the fundamental transformation will be irreversible.
This frames the cornerstone of my viewpoints on all of the characters in politics. It is not a matter of debate that on these core issues of Liberty and the stopping of the Surveillance State, everything else is a downstream consequence. The tiered system of constitutional protections for particular categories of personage must be rebuked. On this matter there cannot be compromise, because every outcome that impedes our way of life is a derivative of this value.
I will oppose all interests who refuse to confront the Surveillance State. I will draw bold attention to those who are willingly creating it, and I promise you I will call out every operational interest that is willfully blind to its creation.
This is my hill.
Love to all,
Sundance
As the story is told [SEE HERE], and it aligns with every scintilla of researched data on the darkest and deepest elements of the Deep State, DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard has reversed her position and will now support FISA-702, the warrantless searches of American communication and electronic metadata.
Apparently the FISA process and the 702 aspect (specific to American citizens) is the line in the sand the Senate Select Intelligence Committee has drawn. If Tulsi Gabbard does not support it, her confirmation is in doubt. As a result, she has reportedly reversed her position and now supports it.
This is absolutely par for the course.
It should be remembered, in the last reauthorization of FISA-702 congress exempted themselves from the warrantless search and surveillance system used by the U.S. Intelligence Apparatus. Congress forbids the FBI or any entity with access to the NSA database, from being allowed to use the process to search themselves or their staff. However, every other American does not enjoy this same protection.
After spending years asking every representative of consequence why they support the FISA-702 process, I can tell you every one of them says they believe it is needed because the IC tells them there are just too many domestic terror threats that need to be monitored.
It is impossible to find a person in DC who will forcefully try to stop FISA-702 reauthorization.
If you ask me why in hindsight, I now take the position that FISA-702 is the gateway to the massive surveillance system currently being put into place using Real ID and the AI facial recognition software provided by Palantir (CIA exploit). In essence, the gateway that allows the full-scale surveillance state, is opened by the prior authorization of FISA-702 that negates any 4th amendment protection.
The notoriously political Judge Juan Merchan sentenced President-elect Donald Trump Friday morning for his ridiculous ‘hush money’ conviction in Manhattan. The Lawfare effort was entirely to position President Trump as the first convicted felon in the White House. That’s it. That’s the sum of motive and intent. To create a narrative.
That’s what lawfare is all about, creating public perceptions and using the judicial system to advance political goals. Few people care about the issues and the entire case is likely to be thrown out on a host of appeal reasonings.
The audio from the court sentencing hearing is below.
.
President Trump’s lawyers were allowed to view a preliminary draft of Jack Smith’s report from the documents case in Florida, under strict rules. After a review, the lawyers wrote to the DOJ demanding the political lawfare report not be released [PDF HERE].
Obviously, the report is a political hit job intended to target the transition process.
Because there are still two codefendants in the case, Judge Aileen Cannon has issued an injunction blocking the release of the report until after an appellate court can hear arguments.
FLORIDA – […] Cannon’s order, issued at the request of two Trump allies who were co-defendants in the classified documents case, bars the Justice Department from releasing the report or any portion of it until three days after a federal appeals court rules on the issue.
The order bars Garland, the Justice Department, Smith and “all of their officers, agents, and employees, and all persons acting in active concert or participation with such individuals” from “releasing, sharing, or transmitting the Final Report or any drafts of such Report outside the Department of Justice.”
Cannon’s order does not apply to Trump or his co-defendants, even though Smith contends they inappropriately revealed aspects of the report — which they have reviewed in recent days — in a Monday court filing. In that filing, Trump revealed Smith described him as “engaged in an unprecedented criminal effort,” as “the head of the criminal conspiracies” and said he harbored a “criminal design.” (read more)
Merchan is expected to deliver an unconditional discharge the “most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
ABC […] Trump’s legal team is expected to try to stop the Jan. 10 sentencing, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. His lawyers intend to ask an intermediate New York appellate court to intervene and stop the sentencing hearing from going forward, the sources said.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung, in a statement, called Merchan’s ruling “a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence.” “President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts. There should be no sentencing,” the statement said. (more)
President Trump responded via Truth Social:
Every Legal Scholar and Pundit, including the highly respected, and sadly recently passed, David Rivkin, as well as Jonathan Turley, Elie Honig, Andy McCarthy, Alan Dershowitz, Gregg Jarrett, Elizabeth Price Foley, Katie and Andy Cherkasky, Paul Ingrassia, and many others, have unequivocally stated that the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt is a nonexistent case, which is not only barred by the Statute of Limitations but, on the merits, should never have been brought.