Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) was asked for his thoughts and perspectives about USAID today during a press conference.
Senator Lindsey Graham is senior senator in charge of the upper chamber oversight of foreign government influence operations via the “150 account” that supports the goals and objectives of the State Dept.
Senator Lindsey Graham culminates his entire political career in one brief segment of pretending not to know.
We can officially say this moment achieves ‘peak Graham.’ The part where Graham tells former USAID Director Samantha Power to “quit texting me” is epic. WATCH:
It is said that in 1860 literary master Ralph Waldo Emerson found a stargate, entered and traveled to this day in history. Upon return, he wrote:
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.”
I have long said the only thing President Trump needs to do is to tell Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he needs to hold an election to showcase his public support for his position. After that, Trump can do nothing except wait for the result and the winner of the election to come to him. Then, engage with Putin on a resolution to the conflict.
Would Zelenskyy win the election? I don’t think so, but who knows. Today a video surfaces where Zelenskyy was directly asked why he has cancelled all Ukraine elections, and would he restart them now. Zelenskyy said no, he would not hold elections because holding an election would mean a pause in the warfighting and that would be a win for Russia.
Ukraine President Zelensky claims that the Ukrainian people oppose elections and prefer he continue to rule.
(MSM) – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that if martial law is suspended until the end of the war so that elections can be held, Ukraine will lose its army, which the Russians will exploit. Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with the UK broadcaster ITV News
Quote: “In regard to elections, everything is clear. More than anything we all want the war to end and for us to have elections. However, as long as the war continues, our population is against elections, all people are against it.”
In an interview with President Trump, the New York Post reveals President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun discussions. You can read the article here. However, as would be expected, it is short on details.
This is a critical dynamic because the larger question that will not be pondered by Western media, but will weigh heavily in the background of President Trump’s perspective is, “is it too late?”
Staying in close contact with friends in Russia, it is apparent to me from the reality on the ground as well as the datapoints from all political angles, that President Putin is no longer in a position to feel any impact from non-military geopolitical pressure. Quite simply the consideration in the mind of Russian President Putin is something entirely different than it was a few years, or even a few months ago.
The Western economic sanctions against Russia have failed. There is no outward pressure or internal concern about Western financial and economic sanctions any longer. The Russian economy (govt) and the Russian people (civic society) in aggregate have now organized their economy and their consumer reality without further need for Western connection.
At this point, Putin almost certainly doesn’t care if the sanctions remain. Those pressure points are now moot to Russian interest, and in many ways the outcome has been beneficial from an economic nationalist perspective. While the most severe Western sanctions ever delivered in history, did – at first, create a problem for Russia; those problems are now resolved.
Factually, it may sound silly but McDonalds in Russia is better without McDonald’s Inc controlling it. Starbucks in Russia is now better delivering better products, under Russian management under a new name. The products and systems of commerce the Russian people initially missed, have all been replaced and new connections to finance have been established with commercial allies outside the zone of western influence.
The fact that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was a sub-silo for the CIA is not a new revelation. In fact, this website and several others have been deep in the research of the networking for years.
From the Arab Spring to Libya, to the color revolution in Ukraine, to the attempted overthrow of Viktor Orban in Hungary, to overturning the outcome of the Romanian election (remember it was a global intelligence determination), to the efforts to support Emmanuel Macron, to influence and IC control over Moldova, and onto the efforts of USAID and Samantha Power in Tbilisi, Georgia, the footprint of USAID in connection to the CIA was always transparent.
The fact that USAID was similarly involved in domestic influence operations, is now coming forth with receipts showing how USAID paid domestic political groups for activism, paid for media influence operations and generally did the same thing inside the United States that the CIA/USAID were doing outside the USA.
The DC apoplexy is related to these USAID/CIA revelations, the financial benefits many were receiving, and the publicity therein.
Factually, the passage of the Patriot Act in October of 2001 created the legal authority for CIA operations to engage in domestic politics under the auspices of national security. That’s the entire role of the ODNI to act as the pivot point permitting the CIA to collaborate with the newly formed Dept of Homeland Security (DHS).
From this now legally justified origin the tentacles of CIA and DHS then enmeshed with the FBI culminating in the example of former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok discussing the CIA as their “sister agency” and receiving a CIA coin as a token of appreciation for the collaborative efforts. In sum, the CIA and FBI work in partnership with the DNI and DHS.
It’s all one big Intelligence Community network, and USAID was just a system of influence used both in foreign and domestic affairs. That’s the generally big picture behind all of these USAID revelations. None of this is really arguable any longer, and with each new detail the information only affirms the nature of the IC system we have been discussing for several years.
During a Fox News interview, Senator Lindsey Graham says he is a yes on RFK Jr, Kash Patel and now Tulsi Gabbard, specifically because the latter has now assured him, she will support FISA-702 warrantless searches of U.S. citizen communication. Senator Graham states falsely the 702 authorities only pertain to foreign nationals. Watch how he says it, PROMPTED:
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Remember what I said about Kash Patel being the firewall selected by the Senate to make the American people drop their pitchforks and torches? Listen to Senator Graham through that protective prism and you can hear exactly that approach.
Saying DNI nominee is disqualified for her prior position on FISA-702 and her previous position on Edward Snowden, SSCI Vice-Chair hopes the republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee do not allow Tulsi Gabbard to come out of SSCI confirmation vote. WATCH:
Lots of professional pearl-clutching here….
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner. He is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and joins us from Palm Beach, Florida. Good morning to you, Senator.
SEN. MARK WARNER: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you have any sense yet what the cost of these tariffs could be for Virginia, which does have a wine industry, for example?
Former vice-presidential running mate to Robert F Kennedy Jr, Nicole Shanahan, has released a video threatening to personally fund primary challengers for those Senators who do not support the nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Saying, “Bobby may play nice, I won’t” Ms. Shanahan is vowing to target Senators, many of them she funded, if they cower to Big Pharma and Big Agriculture. Additionally, Shanahan provided a list of key Senators and their contact details for a public pressure campaign. Robert F Kennedy’s first confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 10:00am EST.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R) Call: 202-224-2541
Senator Lindsey Graham (R) Call: 202-224-5972
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) Call: 202-224-6665
Senator Susan Collins (R) Call: 202-224-2523
Senator Bill Cassidy (R) Call: 202-224-5824
Senator Thom Tillis (R) Call: 202-224-6342
Senator James Lankford (R) Call: 202-224-5754
Senator Cory Booker (D) Call: 202-224-3224
Senator John Fetterman (D) Call: 202-224-4254
Senator Bernie Sanders (D) Call: 202-224-5141
Senator Cortez-Masto (D) Call: 202-224-3542
Senator Raphael Warnock (D) Call: 202-224-3643
Senator Jon Ossoff (D) Call: 202-224-3521
CNN and most corporate media spent the prior 36 hours creating fake news stories about a widespread pause in federal spending. According to CNN and others, all federal spending was being stopped. Fake News.
With the Fake News they created in hand, the media and CNN then begin questioning politicians about something that doesn’t exist. The politicians are confused. The media then promote the confusion of the politicians as evidence of damage within the fake news they created. More media then begins reporting on the confusion and widespread panic ensues.
Those individuals, people and organizations who are dependent on federal spending rushed head-first into a state of apoplexy. CNN’s Jake Tapper then climbs the highest horse, grabs the flag of righteousness to defend the apoplectic, and pretends not to know that CNN Fake News created the panic that CNN Fake News now blames on Trump. WATCH:
CBS’s Margaret Brennan is desperate to secure her role as an established leader of the media resistance; in part, due to her peers losing their jobs, positions and relevance in the aftermath of President Trump’s reelection and the collapse of the business model for multiple media outlets.
Vice President JD Vance is interviewed by Brennan in part due to her intent going in. Vance was very well prepared in substance and structure to confront the insufferable media narrative represented in the tone, content and construct of Brennan’s activist and contrarian position.
The majority of Americans hate the media; Margaret Brennan showcases why. However, the interview (or transcript – below) is well worth reviewing, because JD Vance took her narrative talking points, wound them into a tight intellectual cloth and slapped her across the face for almost 20 solid minutes. WATCH:
The part about Tulsi Gabbard is really good.
…”She recognizes the bureaucrats have gotten out of control, and we need somebody there who’s going to rein them in and return those services to their core mission of identifying information that’s going to keep us safe.“
Not identifying or outlining “action.” Not “actionable priorities.” Not articulating targeted “stakeholder” interests. Not creating action. Simply “identifying information“… Yes. Yes. Yes. Let the executive, the commander in chief, determine outcome. Just provide clear, raw, factual, intelligence information. Full stop. Core mission. Nothing more. He knows.
[TRANSCRIPT] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Vice President, if you’re ready, we’ll dive right in.
VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE: Ready to go.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, both defense secretaries from President Trump’s last term were confirmed overwhelmingly, 90 percent of the vote. Pete Hegseth, it was a tie, bipartisan opposition, smallest margin since the job was created. You had to break that tie. If the nominee can’t unite your party, how is he going to lead three million people?
Last week Florida Judge Aileen Cannon outlined her skepticism about the motive and timing of the Biden-Garland DOJ seeking approval to send congressional representatives a volume II report outlining the Jack Smith investigation of President Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. Today in a 14-page ruling [SEE HERE] Judge Cannon blocked the DOJ effort.
While Jack Smith and the DOJ dropped the case against President Trump, there are still two defendants in the defunct case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Judge Cannon saw through the political Lawfare motive behind the report and noted there were numerous references to grand jury evidence and other materials that should never reach the public or violate the legal protections still afforded in the case.
WASHINGTON DC – […] In blocking lawmakers from seeing the documents report, Cannon wrote that Congress hadn’t subpoenaed it, requested a confidential review or identified legislation that would be aided by accessing Smith’s findings. Though the department has, in recent years, quickly shared the findings of special counsel investigations with lawmakers, Cannon said doing so in this case would result in a “reasonable likelihood” of “public dissemination.”
Cannon repeatedly slammed Garland and his subordinates, saying their claims about the need to show the report to Congress don’t hold water.
