The irony and hypocrisy is thick.  Charles McGonigal was an FBI counterintelligence official in charge of the FBI New York field office. McGonigal was tasked with investigating Russian collusion and Russian sanction violations.

McGonigal was sentenced to four-years in federal prison today for colluding with a Russian (Oleg Deripaska) to avoid sanctions.

As noted by Politico, “McGonigal, who lives in New York, was separately charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., with concealing at least $225,000 in cash he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence official while working for the FBI. He faces sentencing in that case on Feb. 16.”

NEW YORK — A former top FBI counterintelligence official was ordered Thursday to spend over four years in prison for violating sanctions on Russia by going to work for a Russian oligarch seeking dirt on a wealthy rival after he finished his government career.

Charles McGonigal was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in Manhattan federal court by Judge Jennifer H. Rearden, who said McGonigal harmed national security by repeatedly flouting sanctions meant to put economic pressure on Russia to get results without military force. He was also fined $40,000. (read more)

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House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Chairman Mike Turner is celebrating the passage of HR 6611, the 2023 FISA reauthorization bill.

Chairman Turner would have granted a clean FISA renewal, he’s that kind of Republican; however, several Republicans demanded changes to the FISA-702 authorities that capture the data of American citizens without a warrant.  Thus, the HPSCI modified the authorities within HR 6611, but they made it worse.

(Via CDT) – Tucked away near the end of the bill the House Intelligence Committee reported on December 7 (H.R. 6611, the “HPSCI bill”) is a provision that would dramatically expand surveillance under the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA 702”), which sunsets on December 31 unless reauthorized. Section 504 of the bill, innocuously captioned “Definition of Electronic Communications Service Provider,” would expand the types of entities that can be compelled to disclose internet communications whether in storage or in transit.

FISA 702 permits the U.S. government to compel communication service providers to disclose for foreign intelligence purposes the communications of persons reasonably believed to be non-U.S. persons abroad. No warrant is required; a belief that the communications relate to U.S. foreign affairs or national security is sufficient.  Under current FISA 702, only entities that provide communication services like email, calls, and text messaging can be compelled to disclose these communications. 

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Last Tuesday, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) pressed the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT about rising antisemitism on college campuses and whether the speech calling for “intifada” or the elimination of the Jewish people violates their schools’ codes of conduct. The alarming responses are now leading to severe blowback on the presidents.

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct?” Rep. Stefanik asked. “It is a context-dependent decision,” replied UPenn’s Elizabeth Magill. “If the speech becomes conduct, it can be harassment.” Stefanik was stunned.  “‘Conduct’ meaning committing the act of genocide?” an incredulous Rep. Stefanik asked. “The speech is not harassment. This is unacceptable.”

The New York Republican then went on to ask each of the university presidents the same series of questions.

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules on bullying and harassment?” she asked Harvard’s Claudine Gay. “It can be, depending on the context,” Ms. Gay responded. “What’s the context?” Rep. Stefanik followed up. “Targeted at an individual,” the Harvard president said. “It’s targeted at Jewish students, Jewish individuals,” Rep. Stefanik shot back. “Do you understand your testimony is dehumanizing them? Do you understand that dehumanization is part of antisemitism?” WATCH:

Today, Ms. Liz Magill was removed from her position as U-Penn president.

(Politico) – […] University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill on Saturday voluntarily stepped down from her role after facing intense blowback following a House Education committee hearing this week.

Magill has agreed to stay in her role until an interim president is selected, according to a statement from Penn Trustee Board Chair Scott Bok.

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Inside the construct of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress has agreed to extend the current FISA-702 authorization through April 19. 2024.  Why April 19th?  I believe, based on DOJ/FBI history, there is a very nefarious intent.  I’ll explain.

First the report of the FISA-702 extension.

WASHINGTON – Congress is preparing to extend its deadline for untangling a complicated fight over warrantless government surveillance – which will mean yet another headache for House GOP leaders.

Top lawmakers are attaching a short-term extension of the government wiretapping power known as Section 702 to a sweeping defense policy bill, according to seven aides and lawmakers familiar with the text of the bill.

The extension would give Congress until April 19 to figure out how to reauthorize Section 702, named for its specific section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The provision is meant to target foreigners abroad but has long stoked controversy for its ability to sweep in Americans.

Whether to attach a surveillance powers extension was one of the final sticking points on the defense bill, whose text is now finalized and expected to be released later Wednesday. Both the House and Senate still need to pass the defense bill, and there is bipartisan backlash already brewing over the decision to attach a surveillance extension.

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Hunter Biden has been indicted by a grand jury in California on a new series of tax evasion and financial crimes.

Conspicuously, the timing of the new charges will likely stop Hunter Biden from testifying before congress.

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in California has indicted Hunter Biden on nine charges, including three felonies, for failing to pay his taxes, understating his income and exaggerating his expenses on tax returns between 2016 and 2019.

With separate criminal charges against him pending in Delaware for illegally possessing a gun, the president’s son could face two criminal trials next year as his father runs for reelection against Donald Trump, who himself is facing four criminal cases.

The Hunter Biden cases were brought by special counsel David Weiss, the Delaware prosecutor who has long supervised the federal probe into the president’s son.

The new charges include tax evasion, filing false returns, failure to file returns on time, and failing to pay federal taxes. They carry a maximum possible prison term of 17 years, although defendants typically get shorter sentences under federal guidelines.

Each of the tax charges accuses Biden of acting “willfully,” something his defense is sure to contest since he has acknowledged struggling for years with drug addiction.

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It is slightly unfair to say this is a Biden issue, because the minefield of verifying employment eligibility has been a weaponized DOJ process since Eric Holder entered the picture as Attorney General.   Both wings of the UniParty support the intentional conflict in employment law.  The civil rights division of the DOJ now uses a Lawfare concept called “disparate impact” to target any employer who would require employment eligibility verification as a contingency for a job.

Essentially, if you have a work eligibility screening process that disproportionally hits any protected category of person (ie. race, color, national origin, etc.), then the practice creates a “disparate impact” and is therefore unlawful.  Example: 100 people apply for a job; 50 of them are Latino. All of the applicants must provide work eligibility documents to process their I-9 form.  If more than half the denied applicants are Latino, the demand for the documents creates a disparate impact and is therefore illegal.

Covenant Logistics and Transport Management Services LLC, “routinely discriminated against non-U.S. citizens by requiring lawful permanent residents to show their Permanent Resident Cards (known as green cards) and by requiring other non-U.S. citizens to show documents related to their immigration status,” according to the DOJ filing.

(via AP) – […] That violates a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which says employers must allow workers to present whatever acceptable documentation the workers choose and cannot reject valid documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine and to related to the worker. (read more)

Not a lot of people understand the issue of “disparate impact” and the exact reason why the DOJ and Dept of Labor created the novel legal theory.  The DC system, Republicans and Democrats, support illegal aliens holding jobs in the USA – Democrats for ideological reasons, Republicans for their corporate owners.

This issue has existed for 15 years and is the primary reason why illegal aliens find it so easy to work in the USA.  Essentially, employers are in a no-win situation.  If you hire illegal aliens, you are breaking the law.  However, if you disqualify applicants based on their employment eligibility status -and a disparate impact issue exists- then, you are also breaking the law.

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In the New York civil action against Donald Trump, all the banks and lenders did their own due diligence on financing terms with Donald Trump.  All operational loans and Trump Org. business loans were paid back.  There were no defaults or banking interests adversely impacted. There are no victims of what the State calls “fraud,” yet this judge is ruling the Trump organization must dissolve all business interests in the state and exit.

Inside the insufferable nonsense represented by the trial Judge Arthur Engoron, acting on behalf of his partisan political clerk Allison Greenfield, issued a gag order forbidding President Trump from complaining about the political affiliations of the judge, clerk and any other court official or possible witness.   After an interim stay of the gag order by an appellate justice, the New York appeals court has reversed the stay and reinstituted the gag order.

The NY appeals court ruling is AVAILABLE HERE.  You will note in the 2-page ruling they do not explain why the gag order is appropriate, or why the gag order is reinstituted.  The farce continues.

(Via Fox News) – A New York appeals court reinstated a gag order preventing former President Donald Trump from maligning court staffers on Thursday.

New York Judge Arthur Engoron had initially issued the gag order in early October after Trump lashed out at one of his law clerks on social media. Trump is currently fighting accusations of business fraud leveled by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon have an interesting conversation about what happens within “Democratic” nations when the process of voting no longer generates the changes that are demanded by the citizens.

When elected officials put themselves in a position to stand above the citizens of the country, things start to get very unsustainable.  The recent events in Ireland show what happens when the citizens finally say enough is enough.  Direct Rumble Link – WATCH:

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Joe Biden took gaslighting to an entirely new dimension today during remarks to brag about the recovery of U.S. supply chains during his administration tenure.

As incredible as it sounds, Joe Biden actually claimed Thanksgiving food prices were the fourth lowest in history despite the astronomical prices we pay at the grocery store.  This is economic gaslighting in the extreme as the inflationary data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics proves.

First, here is the claim by Joe Biden:

See below for a chart of food and energy price increases since Biden took office. 

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While it is good news, excellent news, the Israeli and foreign ‘hostages’ are slowly being released by Hamas, the politics of the dynamic are abundantly clear.

Biden was under extreme political pressure to gain the release of “American” hostages held captive by Hamas and affiliates in Gaza as a result of the October 7th attack and kidnappings.  Prior to Joe Biden taking a victory lap for the release of 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, an Israeli-American dual citizen, all of the key players in the region made advanced notification of the impending release.

Qatari [think Muslim Brotherhood] Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Face the Nation the release was imminent. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan also made the same prediction, as did several people associated with Gaza relief efforts and the larger agenda to create the two-state solution for Palestinian and Israeli citizens.  In essence, politically Biden needed an American release, and that message was the driving force from Qatar to their allies in Hamas.  Abigail Mor Edan was released as a result.  Biden immediately took a victory lap.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden confirmed Sunday that the 4-year old American Abigail Mor Edan who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza is now free.  “She’s free and she’s in Israel now,” Biden told reporters Sunday from Nantucket, where he was spending Thanksgiving weekend with his family. (more)

The background effort is also very clear.  The aligned interests of the Muslim Brotherhood and the U.S. Biden administration is to maintain a gauntlet approach where the two-state solution is the only option for Israel, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a corner.

[…] “Abigail was among 13 hostages released today from Gaza under the brokered and sustained though intensive U.S. diplomacy. She is now safely in Israel. And we continue to press and expect for additional Americans will be released as well,” Biden said.

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