To emphasize the importance of ‘no tax on tips’, President Trump received a Door Dash delivery and then takes questions from the assembled press pool.  The questions begin at 2:53 of the video below.  WATCH:

.

(more…)

I’m going to try and keep this short.

You can tell from the transcripts of the testimony from ICIG Michael Atkinson that at the time of his testimony, September 19, 2019 and October 4, 2019, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) was not in a classified session; simply closed-door.

In fact, during the October 2019 deposition, Ranking Member Devin Nunes went out of his way to clarify the status of the hearing itself.  Chairman Schiff reemphasized this was not part of the impeachment inquiry, simply a hearing to clarify questions from Republicans to ICIG Atkinson about the nature of the complaint created by CIA whistleblower Eric Ciaramella.

This is interesting, because that means at the time of the hearing itself in 2019 any one of the members could have immediately gone to the microphones and discussed all of the information gained from within the questioning.   They didn’t.

Later on, Chairman Adam Schiff classified the Atkinson testimony in order to bury it.  The Lawfare impeachment crew, led by Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Mary McCord, Dan Goldman, Barry Berke, Stephen Castor and Norm Eisen also weaponized the “ongoing investigation” classification to keep the CIA/ICIG report hidden during the impeachment effort.

President Trump was not even allowed to see/review the classified IC IG information that was being used to impeach him.

Now, as you can see from the attendance above, John Ratcliffe was present for both Atkinson depositions.  Despite his immediate silence, we know John Ratcliffe was concerned about the content within ICIG Atkinson’s statements as he relayed in a series of questions during a public hearing December 9, 2019 {SEE HERE}.

Ratcliffe questioned both Dan Goldman and Stephen Castor who were part of Adam Schiff’s staff and present during the October 2019, testimony of ICIG Atkinson.  WATCH THIS: 

(more…)

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:

(more…)

Arriving at Joint Base Andrews, President Trump delivers remarks to the assembled press pool and answers questions from the media. WATCH:

.

(more…)

Many people have requested that I outline some context on the Iran conflict; so, here it is.

What follows is my own researched perspective on the challenge that President Trump is facing.  I anticipate the non-interventionists will not be happy with it, and also the Israel First crowd will not like the brutal pragmatism of it. Alas, having spent a great deal of time watching things unfold, here’s my take.

Start with this question: Considering all the years the debate over Iran’s nuclear ambitions has persisted, why haven’t its strongest allies, China and Russia, ever provided Iran with a nuclear weapon?

Now, before anyone jumps into the nuclear non-proliferation perspective, let me remind you we are not going to pretend things here. You can pretend that Beijing didn’t give the DPRK nuclear weapons by pretending that North Korea isn’t a proxy province of China. Or you can stop pretending. The choice is yours!

So, what’s different?  Well, in the DPRK example, Beijing holds the control mechanism.  For Iran, giving religious fanatics a nuclear weapon would be tantamount to giving the Muslim Brotherhood the ability to start World War III.

As recently noted, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman urged President Trump not to back down from this moment of consequence and to eliminate the Iranian threat once and for all. MbS is about as close to a Middle East pragmatist as you can find.  In response, a desperate British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rushed to Saudi Arabia hoping to change the position of MbS.  Great Britain is almost out of fuel.

That’s a good place to start looking at the regional perspectives.

(more…)

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!

(more…)

One of the most critical European elections is happening today as Hungarian nationalists face down the influence of the European Union.  The stakes are exceptionally high for the entire continent and every control mechanism from the EU has been deployed to shape the outcome.   For the EU collective and all those who are yearning for a war against Russia, this is a zero-sum contest.

If Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Fidesz party) wins the nationalists will have fended off the Brussels coalition.  If challenger Peter Magyar (Tisza party) wins, the EU will claim victory and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will cheer.  The Ukraine meat grinder awaits fuel or starvation.

TRACK VOTE HERE – AND/OR – TRACK VOTE HERE

In the USA the anti-Trump media are desperate to paint a Viktor Orban defeat as a precursor to prove Donald Trump no longer holds political influence.  Every USA media outlet is all-in to weaponize the outcome.

The vote count will begin immediately after polls close at 7pm local / 1pm ET (USA), with preliminary results likely to be published from around 8pm local / 2pm ET (USA). These early figures will be released alongside data showing how much of the vote has been processed. You can track HERE and also HERE.

We will bump this post throughout the day.

NOTE: Not all votes will be included in the initial election day figures. Ballots cast abroad or submitted via transfer voting may take up to four days to arrive. These votes will later be sorted by constituency and distributed to local election offices, where they will be counted on the Friday or Saturday following election day. If it is a very close election, well, you know the routine…. The mail in ballots, under the control of the intelligence community, will determine the outcome.

(more…)

President Trump is back, making the ‘red tie’ Chopper Pressers great again.

As President Donald Trump departs the White House for Miami, he pauses to deliver remarks on the ongoing Iran negotiations taking place in Pakistan and debunks the insufferable media narratives surrounding the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz.  WATCH:

…. “Let me just tell you, we win!  No matter what!  We’ve defeated their military; they have no navy. 158 ships are under water, they’re under the sea.  All of their mine sweepers; all of their mine droppers.  Can you imagine, a country has 28 mine droppers, you think that’s nice?  With all of that being said, they’re all defeated by the way, they’re all at the bottom of the sea; now, with all of that – They have no Navy; they have no radar; they have no Airforce, their leaders are all dead, Khamanei is gone, for many years – he ruled, he’s gone. With all of that, let’s see what happens, but from my standpoint I don’t care. Thank You!”…

(more…)

As Vice President JD Vance and the U.S. negotiating team meet with interim, hopefully ‘governing’, Iranian officials in Pakistan, the U.S. Navy and military have entered the Strait of Hormuz.

First, the announcement from President Donald Trump:

“The Fake News Media has lost total credibility, not that they had any to begin with. Because of their massive Trump Derangement Syndrome (Sometimes referred to as TDS!), they love saying that Iran is “winning” when, in fact, everyone knows that they are LOSING, and LOSING BIG!

Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime “Leaders” are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!

The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may “bunk” into one of their sea mines which, by the way, all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea. We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others. Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.

(more…)

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.

(more…)