Wednesday, September 29, 2021
General Milley Turns on Pelosi, Biden & Blinken in Desperate Bid to Save His Skin By Kyle Beckerr44 minutes ago
Amidst the furor of January 6, a storyline developed that showed just how desperate the Democratic Party’s leadership had become to undermine President Donald Trump’s constitutionally delegated authority as Commander-in-Chief. Speaker Nancy Pelosi in January announced that she had reached out to General Mark Milley to preemptively intervene in the potential of President Donald Trump launching a nuclear war for inexplicable reasons.
“This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues. “The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy.”
The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and Robert Costa in their forthcoming book “Peril” discuss the episode:
Milley told Pelosi that there were “a lot of checks in the system” to prevent Trump from going rogue, the book said.
Pelosi reportedly then told Milley: “He’s crazy. You know he’s crazy.”
“He’s crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness,” Pelosi added, referring to the deadly Capitol riot.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Still...Trying to blame Trump for Jan. 6th
President Biden Refuses to Recognize Donald Trump’s ‘Executive Privilege’ in Jan. 6 Committee’s Partisan Probe by Kyle Becker 2 days ago updated 2 days ago
“We have been working closely with congressional committees and others as they work to get to the bottom of what happened on Jan. 6, an incredibly dark day in our democracy,” she added.
“It’s an eye to not exerting executive privilege,” Psaki said. “Some of this is predicting what we don’t know yet, but that is certainly his overarching view.”
The Hill noted that Donald Trump intends to sue over the long-standing recognized executive privilege, which shields presidents from intrusive ‘fishing expeditions’ from partisan lawmakers:
The January 6 committee on Thursday issued its first batch of subpoenas to key members of Trump’s ‘inner circle’: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to the defense secretary; former political adviser Steve Bannon; and former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
The January 6 committee is pursuing the documents despite the preponderance of evidence pointing to no centralized plot to overturn the 2020 election, including any one orchestrated by the president himself.
A Reuters story from August drawing on multiple unnamed FBI agents’ reports damaged the claim that Donald Trump had directed extremists to attack the Capitol building and urged protesters to thwart a peaceful transfer of power.
“The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials,” Reuters reported.
“Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations,” the report continued.
On Saturday, the Democratic Party’s narrative that Donald Trump was part of any attempted “coup” took a further hit as an FBI agent who corresponded with an undercover informant at the January 6 protest underscored that there was no known plot to overturn the 2020 election.
Syndicated with licensed permission from Becker News. Follow Becker News on Telegram.
President Biden is giving the green light to the House’s partisan January 6 committee to have at his predecessor Donald Trump’s privileged official documents if the White House is subpoenaed.
“We take this matter incredibly seriously. The president has already concluded that it would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege and so we will respond promptly to these questions as they arise and certainly as they come up from Congress,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.“We have been working closely with congressional committees and others as they work to get to the bottom of what happened on Jan. 6, an incredibly dark day in our democracy,” she added.
“It’s an eye to not exerting executive privilege,” Psaki said. “Some of this is predicting what we don’t know yet, but that is certainly his overarching view.”
The Hill noted that Donald Trump intends to sue over the long-standing recognized executive privilege, which shields presidents from intrusive ‘fishing expeditions’ from partisan lawmakers:
Trump on Thursday evening pledged to fight subpoenas for testimony from his former aides “on Executive Privilege and other grounds,” though those efforts are likely to fail given that he is no longer president. Still, if he follows through with legal action, Trump could stall the investigation.
The January 6 committee on Thursday issued its first batch of subpoenas to key members of Trump’s ‘inner circle’: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to the defense secretary; former political adviser Steve Bannon; and former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
The January 6 committee is pursuing the documents despite the preponderance of evidence pointing to no centralized plot to overturn the 2020 election, including any one orchestrated by the president himself.
A Reuters story from August drawing on multiple unnamed FBI agents’ reports damaged the claim that Donald Trump had directed extremists to attack the Capitol building and urged protesters to thwart a peaceful transfer of power.
“The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials,” Reuters reported.
“Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations,” the report continued.
On Saturday, the Democratic Party’s narrative that Donald Trump was part of any attempted “coup” took a further hit as an FBI agent who corresponded with an undercover informant at the January 6 protest underscored that there was no known plot to overturn the 2020 election.
Syndicated with licensed permission from Becker News. Follow Becker News on Telegram.
Marine Colonel Who Criticized Afghan Withdrawal Arrested, Put In Brig Sandy Malone
nel Stuart Scheller posted a video addressed “To the American leadership” to Facebook and LinkedIn on Aug. 26.
In the video, Scheller said he was willing to risk his retirement to demand honesty, integrity, and accountability from his commanders.
Scheller questioned in the video that was posted the same day 13 U.S. service members were murdered by suicide bombs at the Kabul airport whether anybody above him had questioned the wisdom of the Biden administration’s plan for the withdrawal of troops before they executed it.
“I’m not saying we’ve gotta be in Afghanistan forever, but I am saying did any of you throw your rank on the table and say ‘hey, it’s a bad idea to evacuate Bagram airfield the strategic airbase before we evacuate everyone?’” the career-marine officer asked in the video.
“Did anyone do that? And when you didn’t think to do that, did anyone raise their hand and say ‘we completely messed this up?’” he asked.
Scheller said U.S. military leadership has continue to repeat the same mistakes and were “not holding up their end of the bargain.”
“I have been fighting for 17 years. I am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders, I demand accountability,” the military veteran ended his tirade.
Scheller, who was battalion commander for Advanced Infantry Training Battalion at School of Infantry East at Camp Lejeune, posted the next day that he had been relieved of his command, according to Task & Purpose.
Then he posted a questionable resignation video on Aug. 29 during which he called for people to “follow me and we’ll bring the whole f—king system down.”
“I’m resigning my commission as a United States Marine, effective now,” Scheller, who is only three years away from retirement, said in the video.
“I am forfeiting retirement, all entitlements. I don’t want a single dollar,” he said.
Biden wants more cops…to enforce more gun control Norm Leahy, 3 months ago
President Joe Biden is asking states to use a portion of the $350 billion in federal relief money heading their way to hire more cops. A lot more. And pay for their overtime, too.
What will those cops do? Go after guns. According to Reason’s Elizabeth Nolan Brown:
Biden told state and local leaders that they could use money provided to them as part of the pandemic relief package to fund more police officers and hours.
“We’re now providing more guidance on how [state and local governments] can use the $350 billion nationally that the American Rescue Plan has available to help reduce crime and address the root causes,” said Biden. “For example, cities experiencing an increase in gun violence were able to use the American Rescue Plan dollars to hire police officers needed for community policing and to pay their overtime.”
It’s easy to forget – as many progressives, and not a few conservatives have – that Biden is a life-long believer in expanding law enforcement’s size and power:
Biden spent…much of the ’80s and ’90s spearheading congressional efforts to create new federal crimes, ramp up punishments for drug offenses, provide more resources to police and prosecutors, and generally find new ways to spend more federal funds on putting people behind bars. This is what made conservative fearmongering during the 2020 election about Biden being some radical “defund the police” type especially laughable.
It all dovetails with his call for increased gun control:
Biden renewed calls for Congress to pass comprehensive gun legislation as two relevant loophole-closing bills sit in legislative limbo; like the fate of many Biden-supported bills, they seem destined to fail due to lack of any Republican support.
“We know that if there is a strict enforcement of background checks, then fewer guns get into the hands of criminals,” Biden said Wednesday. “Background checks have thus far kept more than 3 million guns out of the hands of convicted felons, fugitives, domestic abusers and others prohibited from being able to purchase a gun. And there’s still too many loopholes in that system.”
More cops, enforcing more gun laws. Welcome to Mr. Biden’s endless war.
Milley Details Nancy Pelosi's Attempt to Take Over the Chain-of-Command Katie Pavlich Posted: Sep 28, 2021
"I am specifically directed to communicate with the Chinese. These military to military communications at the highest level are critical to the security of the United States," Milley said. "My loyalty to this Nation, its people, and the Constitution hasn't changed, and will never change, as long as I have a breath to give. My loyalty is absolute, and I will not turn my back on the fallen."
"I firmly believe in civilian control of the military," he continued.
Milley also stressed that he does not believe President Donald Trump planned to attack the Chinese in the final days of his presidency.
In his remarks, Milley also addressed a phone call from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 8, 2021, in which she pressed him about the process to launch a nuclear weapon. Milley says he informed her that while launching such a weapon requires multiple people in the chain of command, the president is the sole authority to launch an attack.
"Speaker of the House Pelosi called me to inquire about the president's ability to launch nuclear weapons. I sought to assure her that nuclear launch is governed by a very specific and deliberate process. She was concerned and made various personal references characterizing the president [President Trump]. I explained to her the president is the sole nuclear launch authority and he doesn't launch them alone and that I am not qualified to determine the mental health of the President of the United States," Milley said. "There are processes, protocols and procedures in place and I repeatedly assured her there was no chance of an illegal, unauthorized or accidental launch. By presidential directive, and Secretary of Defense directive, the chairman is part of the process to ensure the president is fully informed when determining the use of the world's deadliest weapons. By law, I'm not in the chain of command and I know that. However, by presidential directive and DOD instruction, I am in the chain of communication to fulfill my legal, statutory role as the president's primary military advisor."
Milley said after the call from Pelosi, he convened a meeting with his staff to go through the process and procedures. He also told Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Miller about Pelosi's call.
"At no time was I trying to change or influence the process, usurp authority or insert myself in the chain-of-command," Milley said.
During his opening statement in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday morning, General Mark Milley denied inappropriate phone calls with the Chinese military and tried to reassure Americans he is dedicated to civilian control of the military.
"I am specifically directed to communicate with the Chinese. These military to military communications at the highest level are critical to the security of the United States," Milley said. "My loyalty to this Nation, its people, and the Constitution hasn't changed, and will never change, as long as I have a breath to give. My loyalty is absolute, and I will not turn my back on the fallen."
"I firmly believe in civilian control of the military," he continued.
Milley also stressed that he does not believe President Donald Trump planned to attack the Chinese in the final days of his presidency.
tweet
General Milley defends his calls with China:
"My loyalty to this Nation, its people, and the Constitution hasn't changed, and will never change, as long as I have a breath to give. My loyalty is absolute, and I will not turn my back on the fallen."
"Speaker of the House Pelosi called me to inquire about the president's ability to launch nuclear weapons. I sought to assure her that nuclear launch is governed by a very specific and deliberate process. She was concerned and made various personal references characterizing the president [President Trump]. I explained to her the president is the sole nuclear launch authority and he doesn't launch them alone and that I am not qualified to determine the mental health of the President of the United States," Milley said. "There are processes, protocols and procedures in place and I repeatedly assured her there was no chance of an illegal, unauthorized or accidental launch. By presidential directive, and Secretary of Defense directive, the chairman is part of the process to ensure the president is fully informed when determining the use of the world's deadliest weapons. By law, I'm not in the chain of command and I know that. However, by presidential directive and DOD instruction, I am in the chain of communication to fulfill my legal, statutory role as the president's primary military advisor."
Milley said after the call from Pelosi, he convened a meeting with his staff to go through the process and procedures. He also told Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Miller about Pelosi's call.
"At no time was I trying to change or influence the process, usurp authority or insert myself in the chain-of-command," Milley said.
Why Did The US Postal Service Run A Covert Program Monitoring Americans’ Social Media Activity After January 6? BY RUSTY WEISS SEPTEMBER 28, 2021
A new report indicates the United States Postal Service (USPS) ran a ‘covert operations program’ that monitored Americans’ social media activity following the January 6 Capitol riot.
Politico revealed in a striking column that the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Internet Covert Operations Program – or iCOP – sprang into action just five days after the events at the Capitol.
That the Postal Service has such a program is itself undoubtedly news to many.
Among their activities were sending bulletins to law enforcement agencies throughout the country “on how to view social media posts that had been deleted” and providing descriptions of their surveillance of posts on a ‘fringe’ social media network.
“Few Americans are aware that the same organization that delivers their mail also runs a robust surveillance operation rooted in an agency that dates back to the 18th century,” Politico writes.
They add that iCOP’s involvement in the days after January 6 “raises questions about how broad the mandate of the Postal Service’s policing arm has grown from its stated mission of keeping mail deliverers safe.”
Monday, September 27, 2021
BORDERING ON CRIMINAL SEPTEMBER 27, 2021
The New York Post’s features an editorial on its cover this morning. The editorial is titled “Alejandro Mayorkas’ 7 border lies.” The cover flags the editorial in block letters: LINE OF DECEIT. (It may also refer to Miranda Devine’s companion column “Biden White House’s lies a matter of life and death.” However, the cover story link in the Post’s Morning Report email goes to the editorial.)The Post editorial performs a public service as it addresses in one place issues we raised daily over the past week. I am posting the text of the editorial in its entirety below the break.
* * * * * Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is spinning as fast as he can. But no matter how he tries to wave away the crisis at the border, his appearance on “Fox News Sunday” illustrated how this administration is deceiving the American public. Here are some of Mayorkas’ biggest whoppers:
Lie 1: “Approximately, I think it’s about ten thousand or so, twelve thousand. It could be even higher.”
For the last couple weeks, Mayorkas has bobbed and weaved whenever he was asked how many of the Haitians camping under the Del Rio, Texas bridge were being released into the United States and how many were being deported. At one point he blamed “18-hour days” for his lack of clarity. But it’s clear the administration always knew the numbers, they just didn’t want to reveal them. Now that it’s impossible to stop the process, he again lowballs the number at 12,000 — vaguely adding it could be more. He knows it’s more.
Lie 2: “What we do is we follow the law as Congress has passed it.”
What bunk. First of all, the administration’s justification for deporting some people to Haiti was Title 42, which allows them to block entry due to the coronavirus health crisis. So what’s the difference between the 2,000 or so they flew to Haiti and the 12,000+ they let in? It seems completely arbitrary. Much more likely is that, faced with backlash from Democratic activists, they stopped using Title 42. Meanwhile, in August, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration must reinstitute President Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to wait there until their cases are heard. Biden and Mayorkas are just ignoring it; Texas is going to court to force them to comply. That’s not following the law — that’s flouting it.
Lie 3: “We have enforcement guidelines in place that provide the individuals who are recent border crossers who do not show up for their hearings are enforcement priorities and will be removed.”
Fox News’ Chris Wallance noted that 44 percent of those who apply for asylum fail to show up for their court hearing. Oh no, Mayorkas said, this time will be different. Considering he can’t even give an exact number of people released into the US, how can we possibly believe him? Aid groups are helping these migrants blend into society, and liberal politicians in states like New York and California will quickly make sure that they don’t cooperate with Immigrants and Customs Enforcement — which has been detoothed by Biden anyway. No one’s getting deported.
Lie 4: Border Patrol agents blocking migrants from crossing illegally, “painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism.”
The photographer who took that picture already has debunked this. The agent was holding reins, and they didn’t whip the migrants. The agents were trying to block migrants from rushing past the horses into the US, which is their job. Biden and Mayorkas claim to want to follow the law and prevent illegal immigration, then shamefully slander the people who try to enforce those laws. If anyone is to blame, it’s Biden.
Lie 5: “We do not agree with the building of the wall. The law provides that individuals can make a claim for humanitarian relief. That is actually one of our proudest traditions”
The wall is to prevent someone from sneaking over the border illegally. If someone is applying for humanitarian relief, they go to an official border crossing — how can Mayorkas conflate the two? Meanwhile, our amnesty laws are meant to cover people who face persecution at home for their religious, social or political beliefs. Wanting better economic opportunity is not asylum. By all accounts, most of the Haitians coming here are looking for a better life — fair enough. But that would mean applying for a green card, going through the process. Instead they rushed the border, asked for asylum, were given a court date a year or two years down the road and let into the country. Will they show up? And if they do, will any judge rule against them?
Lie 6: “11 million people in this country without lawful presence is a compelling reason why there is unanimity about the fact that our immigration system is broken and legislative reform is needed.”
By “reform,” Mayorkas means “mass amnesty.” To the Democrats, there should be no limit to those allowed into the US, and all of them should become instant legal residents — heck, citizens. And no, there’s not “unanimity” about this, because while most people polled do want a path to citizenship for Dreamers, they also want some border security to ensure that there aren’t 11 million more illegal immigrants living here next year.
Lie 7: “I wouldn’t call it a flood.”
The pictures of a ragged tent city of 15,000 under a bridge in Texas would say otherwise, as would month after month of record numbers of border encounters. But this isn’t the end. Letting 12,000+ into the US en masse just guaranteed that caravan after caravan from Central and South America, not to mention Haiti and Cuba, are massing to come here. Biden and Mayorkas just sent a message to the world: Come on in. The flood has only started.
Not a fan of Bill Maher but he's on the money in this clip....
His commentary delivery is always edgy; but what is scary are the statistics he quotes. He positively nails it.
Sunday, September 26, 2021
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