One of the least understood aspects of congressional oversight is the elite group of elected politicians who are charged with congressional oversight over all intelligence activity. This highly important oversight group is called the Intelligence Community “Gang of Eight”.

A position within the Gang of Eight comes as a result of holding one of the following eight positions: 1. The Speaker of the House, 2. The Minority Leader of the House, 3. the Majority Leader of the Senate, 4. the Minority Leader of the Senate, 5. the Chairperson of the House Permanent Committee on Intelligence, 6. the minority leader from the same committee; 7. The Chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee and 8. the minority leader of the same committee.

With Senator Marco Rubio being pulled out of the Senate to work as Secretary of State, we have been waiting to see who would be appointed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune to be the Rubio replacement as Senate Intel Committee Chair and Go8 member. It now looks like Sea Island attendee Tom Cotton will take up position as SSCI Chair and Gang of Eight member.

WASHINGTON DC – Senate Republicans have discussed elevating Sen. John Cornyn to chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to party officials, a move that would hand Cornyn a prized gavel as consolation for losing his GOP leader bid and could help induce him to run for reelection in two years.

The complication, and almost certain deal-breaker: Cornyn would have to leapfrog the Republican next in line to chair the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Cotton has privately made clear to Cornyn he would claim the position.

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Justice served, albeit painfully long in the outcome.

Veteran Daniel Penny has been found not guilty of the charge of ‘criminally negligent homicide’ by a jury in New York City.  The prior charge of ‘manslaughter’ was previously dropped after the jury deadlocked on the count.

(VIA AP) – A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday in a death that became a prism for differing views about public safety, valor and vigilantism.

A Manhattan jury cleared Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely’s 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed earlier in deliberations because the jury deadlocked on that count.

Both charges were felonies and carried the possibility of prison time.

Penny, who had shown little expression during the trial, briefly smiled as the verdict was read. Both applause and anger erupted in the courtroom, and Neely’s father and two supporters were told to leave after making various remarks — including vulgarities from one of the supporters. Another person also left, wailing with tears.

Penny’s lawyers said he was protecting himself and other subway passengers from a volatile, mentally ill man who was making alarming remarks and gestures. (read more)

Interestingly, Ben Crump didn’t represent the Neely ‘family’ inside this case.  However, that will likely not stop the grievance industry from using the not guilty verdict in an attempt to enlist chaotic support from Antifa and the remnants of BLM.

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This is stunning, yet in a way not unexpected all things considered.

We previously outlined how Make Romania Great Again candidate Călin Georgescu came out of nowhere and won the first round in the presidential election. {GO DEEP}

The U.S. and EU heads went bananas at the surprise upset.

Georgescu is a nationalist, and his ideological outlook is the exact opposite of what the EU/U.S want to see. As a consequence, appeals were made to Brussels to intervene and simultaneously inside Romania the election results were reviewed by the court.

Last Monday the Romanian courts validated the first-round results, affirming their legitimacy.  However, on Friday with information provided by CIA and various intelligence services, just two days before the second round of voting, the same court annulled the election results, threw out the votes, and now say another election must take place.

The EU intelligence services apparently said social media platforms like TikTok were to blame for Georgescu’s surge in popularity.  His voters violated customs and norms of regular media that are used to control political outcomes in Romania, and therefore the election result cannot be allowed to stand.  The people in Romania are stunned at the intervention, and no political party agrees with it.

ROMANIA – […] The Constitutional Court in its published decision cited the illegal use of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, as well as the use of “undeclared sources of funding.” It said one candidate received “preferential treatment on social media platforms, which resulted in the distortion of voters’ expressed will.”

Georgescu slammed the verdict as putting “democracy is under attack.”

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President Trump is scheduled to arrive in Paris this weekend.  Today, almost in an act of divine providence, the government collapsed.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will submit his resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow, according to France’s BFMTV. He is expected at the Elysee Palace at 10am local time. Barnier’s resignation is a constitutional obligation after he lost a vote of no-confidence earlier Wednesday evening triggering the collapse of his government.

SUMMARY of EVENTS: •Michel Barnier lost a no-confidence vote, triggering the collapse of govt. •It marks the first time a French government has been toppled in this way in more than 60 years. •Barnier is now the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic. •Left and far-right parties united to oust him following anger over his unpopular 2025 budget. •Both tabled motions of no-confidence after he used special powers to adopt part of the budget this week without a final vote in parliament. •Nationalist leader Marine Le Pen said the public needed to be protected from the “toxic” budget, and that pressure on Macron is getting “greater and greater”.

FRANCE – The government of President Emmanuel Macron collapsed Wednesday after the National Assembly voted for the first time in more than a half-century to oust a prime minister from office, a sign of the political gridlock that has paralyzed France. The development leaves the country’s public finances in limbo.

A no-confidence motion against the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier won the support of 331 lawmakers in the 577-seat lower house, forcing him to resign.

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Mike Benz is one of the key voices who explains the U.S. industrial censorship complex, and the Intelligence Community interfaces therein.  Benz background knowledge of how the foreign and domestic censorship system was put into place is exceptional.

In this interview, Joe Rogan asks a few pertinent questions, but the majority of the discussion is Mike Benz outlining the history of the U.S. government internet control mechanisms, and the various agencies and institutions created to carry it out.  WATCH:

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President Joe Biden has issued an executive grant of clemency (pardon), “For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss.”

WHITE HOUSE – Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.

The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.

No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.

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On October 27th, as the outcome of the Georgia election surfaced in stunning clarity, we warned that the U.S. would fight strongly against the result {GO DEEP}.  Yesterday, unquestionably with the support of Samantha Power – who had vested significant time in the nation, a series of riots against the government surfaced.

The pragmatic and non-pretending people of Georgia saw what the U.S and EU did to Ukraine, and they want nothing to do with it.  Georgians overwhelmingly voted to retain their sovereignty and right to self-determination.  The Biden administration and the EU are furious about it, and immediately the U.S. State Department promised to organize every effort in their interventionist arsenal to challenge the election outcome.

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Having spent tens of millions financing an attempted color revolution, and with Samantha Power having traveled to Georgia three times (twice while I watched her), the CIA and State Department were not happy with the result.  As expected, Brussels hit back hard against the rebellious Georgians.

BRUSSELS – […] In a session in Strasbourg, MEPs voted by a margin of 444-72 in favor of a motion to declare the parliamentary election results in the South Caucasus country invalid, arguing they “do not serve as a reliable representation of the will of the Georgian people.” It calls for the election to be re-run within a year under international supervision.

In a statement following passage of the motion, the Parliament said Georgia’s voting process had been “neither free nor fair,” after international election observers expressed concern over pressure on citizens and allegations of vote buying and ballot stuffing.

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The New York Times is admitting something they previously pretended did not exist, Mitch McConnell is ready to fight Donald Trump.  You guys have watched this battle before, and you guys know that John Thune is the exact same ideological construct as his mentor, Mitch McConnell.  We do not need to pretend here.

An additional aspect to watch closely.  We know the Intelligence Community, the “Six Ways from Sunday” group, are going to do whatever is needed in order to protect their equity interests from the return of President Trump.  Again, no pretending is needed.

Currently, as Senate Majority Leader, John Thune elevates to the intelligence “oversight” group known as the Gang of Eight.  Four members of the Gang of Eight (Go8) come out of the Senate, and four from the House.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, SSCI Vice-Chairman Mark Warner, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are three of the four from the Senate.  However, we still do not know who will join Thune from the GOP side. Who will be the Republican SSCI Chairman?

Internally, Susan Collins is now Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Mitch McConnell is now Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, a specifically taken position to retain control of Senate rules (think Cloture, Filibuster and importantly, Recess Appointments via Senate schedule).

With Thune on the Gang of Eight, Collins as Appropriations (spending), and McConnell in charge of ‘rules’, who joins Thune on the Gang of Eight?

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Other than Trump winning the election, this is the best news all year. Mexico is threatening to retaliate against Trump’s border security tariffs, with some form of economic punishment. Pinch me, this is too awesome.

Keep in mind that around 35% of Mexico’s GDP is contingent upon exports to the USA, meanwhile only around 1% of our stuff exports to them. Then add in the remittances of dollars to Mexico, and more than 50% of the Mexican economy is contingent upon us just being friendly to their needs.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has no clue or comprehension about the scale of Trump’s leverage over her. This is like a spoiled teenager threatening to cut up the credit card dad gave her if she can’t go to the concert. Beyond funny.

WASHINGTON DC – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government would retaliate if President-elect Donald Trump moves forward with his threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on the country, warning of severe economic consequences for companies operating in both countries.

Sheinbaum unveiled the letter during her daily press conference in Mexico City, which responded to Trump’s plan to slap 25 percent tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada in an effort to crack down on the flow of migrants and illegal drugs into the United States. Trump also pledged an additional 10 percent tariff on China.

“For every tariff, there will be a response in kind,” Sheinbaum wrote in a letter sent to Trump. The text was released by the Mexican Embassy Tuesday morning, which said the economic fallout of a trade war would harm shared enterprises, particularly automotive companies that operate in both countries.

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For very obvious reasons I don’t believe them.  However, that said, take an elevated position on the issue for a moment and ask yourself, ‘what are the implications if the United States Pentagon are fabricating claims about North Korean troops on the ground in Kursk, Russia?’

The United States Defense Department asserted today that DPRK troops are on the ground in the Kursk region.  Actual North Korean troops on the battlefield fighting against Ukraine.   Has anyone seen any single physical attributable example, a picture, a photograph, a video, a satellite image, a drone video, a declassified field report; heck, anything – anything at all – to support such a claim?

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This claim, and the total lack of evidence for it, is really nuts if you think about it.

Where are the journalists who look at these officials and say, “prove it.”  I mean, the path we are traveling ends in a very dark place for the U.S-NATO and Russia.  Shouldn’t someone, anyone, ask some very pointed questions?  Where the heck is Biden?

New York Times – Early this morning, Ukraine’s military launched a volley of American-made ballistic missiles into Russia for the first time. The attack came on the 1,000th day of the war and less than a week after President Biden gave the Ukrainians permission to do so in a major shift of American policy.

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