White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt give impromptu remarks to the assembled press pool following President Trump and President Putin’s two-hour phone call.
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During a flight to the Middle East, President Trump noted, before he would give authorization for NATO to sell Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, he would discuss the matter with President Putin. Earlier today, President Trump said he and Putin held a productive phone call:
President Trump via Truth Social – “I have just concluded my telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, and it was a very productive one. President Putin congratulated me and the United States on the Great Accomplishment of Peace in the Middle East, something that, he said, has been dreamed of for centuries. I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine.
President Putin thanked the First Lady, Melania, for her involvement with children. He was very appreciative and said that this will continue. We also spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over.
President Donald Trump speaks to journalists aboard Air Force One as he heads to Israel and Egypt to participate in a historic ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. WATCH:
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CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis (pictured left) has removed the acting CIA general counsel and put himself into the role until President Trump’s nominee Joshua Simmons can be confirmed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Deputy Director Ellis, like DNI Tulsi Gabbard is a solid MAGA ally. Without knowing the reason for his decision to remove the CIA general counsel, the New York Times is not happy.
WASHINGTON DC – Michael Ellis, the deputy director of the C.I.A., has abruptly demoted a career lawyer who had been serving as the agency’s acting general counsel since January and installed himself in that role, according to people familiar with the matter.
[…] It was not clear what was behind Mr. Ellis’s taking personal control of making legal judgments for the agency while continuing to help lead it, but the move raised alarms among some current and former intelligence officials.
[…] The C.I.A. did not specifically address questions about what was behind the move and whether it raised conflict-of-interest issues. But in a statement, a C.I.A. spokeswoman, Liz Lyons, noted that Mr. Trump had nominated a State Department lawyer, Joshua Simmons, for the role. The Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for him on Wednesday.
“The deputy director is a highly respected national security lawyer and intelligence professional,” Ms. Lyons said. “This temporary arrangement was approved by career agency attorneys while the Senate considers President Trump’s nominee, Josh Simmons, for C.I.A. general counsel.
Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., demand accountability as evidence behind the FBI ‘Arctic Frost’ operation starts to surface. Slowly at first, then suddenly….
Johnson and Schmitt are not bad actors, nor are they operating in bad faith. Both Senators are honest, patriotic and sincere. Both are also inside the system. Both Johnson and Schmitt are bound by the ‘schoolhouse rock’ customs and norms that frame their perspective of our constitutional republic.
We do not like being disagreeable, but we no longer can accept a demand that we adhere to rules that only apply to the behavior of the victim, not the abusers. The ‘strongly worded letter‘ approach is useless.
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Appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity (but of course) FBI Director Kash Patel states he has begun to focus his efforts on clearing out the DC-based FBI officials and agents who are working on a subversive agenda to harm the American system of law and order.
While defending the integrity of the institution that permitted their existence, Patel says his new leadership model is addressing the career FBI embeds. Prior to his Hannity appearance Patel noted, “They tracked the communications of GOP Senators. They weaponized law enforcement against the American people. That era is over. We fired those who acted unethically, dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad, and launched an investigation. ” WATCH:
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At today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a man who was also targeted by the FBI Arctic Frost surveillance operation, demanded answers from Attorney General Pam Bondi. WATCH:
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Senator Ted Cruz (R-Sea Isl) has become a parody of himself as he takes dramatic acting to new levels during his monologues. Apparently, Senator Cruz and CBS’s Margaret Brennan have the same acting coach.
That said, I’ve cut to the chase on part of the Cruz question that matters as he asks AG Bondi about the investigation into the Supreme Court leaker of the Dobbs decision. [::cough:: Sheldon Snook ::cough::] WATCH:
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The question that matters comes up before things go off the rails. Senator Hirono asks Attorney General Pam Bondi about the reauthorization of FISA-702, that will be needed when the authority expires next year.
The attorney general is clueless about the issue. Bondi literally has to read her answer as prepared for her. I’m not kidding, watch Pam Bondi’s response (prompted):
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If FISA-702 did not exist, the quasi-constitutional justification for the wholesale collection of U.S. citizen metadata no longer exists. It really is that simple.
There is ZERO justification for the capture of U.S. citizen data by the government. The capture itself violates the Fourth Amendment. The only way the government can justify the capture of U.S. Citizen data is if there is some quasi-constitutional or national security reason for it.
Take away “702”, and the data collection collapses; ANY “incidental” search of the database then loses any plausible legal justification. 702 is the camel’s nose under the tent.
Republican senators react to finding out the Biden administration FBI was conducting political surveillance using operational Arctic Frost as the predicate.
Senator Haggerty puts the “Arctic Frost” program into context by noting the FBI was conducting surveillance of him during 2016 under “Crossfire Hurricane” when Haggerty and others were part of the Trump transition team. However, the pearl-clutching is a little ironic considering there are thousands of private sector targets who were swept up during these FBI operations. WATCH:
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