Hunter Biden Raised 'Counterintelligence And Extortion' Concerns, May Have Participated In Sex Trafficking: Senate Report

Update (1135ET): Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has responded to the Biden probe, saying that after Trump was impeached "for directing a scheme to extort a foreign partner to announce an investigation into Vice President Joe Biden's son," that "Trump's most willing allies in Congress quickly took up that mantle, and carried out his demand…"

Schiff accused the two Senate Committee Chairs of "promoting the same Russian disinformation," adding "the Kremlin must be very pleased."

The California lawmaker notably didn't address any of the core claims in the report.

A long-awaited Senate report on Hunter Biden's financial dealings with Ukrainian, Chinese and Russian businesses created potential "criminal financial, counterintelligence and extortion concerns," and alarmed US officials who perceived an ethical conflict of interest and flagged potential crimes ranging from sex trafficking to bribery.

The findings are contained in a joint report by the GOP-led Senate Homeland and Government Affairs and Senate Finance Committees, released just six days before the first Presidential Debate between Joe Biden and President Trump.

According to the Daily Caller's Chuck Ross, suspicious financial transactions between Hunter Biden's firms and foreign nationals from Russia and China - including a CCP-linked Chinese businessman, raised serious concerns. What's more, Hunter's seat on the board of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma while his father served as the Obama administration point-man for Ukraine, worried State Department officials in 2015 and 2016.

One official, Amos Hochstein, told the Senate Homeland Security and Senate Finance committees that he said to then-Vice President Joe Biden in October 2015 that Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Burisma “enabled Russian disinformation efforts and risked undermining U.S. policy in Ukraine.”

Hunter Biden, now 50, joined Burisma’s board of directors in April 2014, shortly after his father, Joe Biden, took over as the Obama administration’s chief liaison to Ukraine. -Daily Caller

As Ross notes, while the report does not produce direct evidence of wrongdoing by Hunter Biden, Republicans say the evidence paints a troubling picture of Biden receiving "millions of dollars from foreign sources as a result of business relationships that he built during the period when his father was vice president of the United States and after."

Hunter Biden also received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of Moscow, according to the report.

And as Just The News' John Solomon writes, "Perhaps the most explosive revelation was that the U.S. Treasury Department flagged payments collected overseas by Hunter Biden and business partner Devon Archer for possible illicit activities."

The so-called Suspicious Activity Reports flagged millions of dollars in transactions from the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings, a Russian oligarch named Yelena Baturina, and Chinese businessmen with ties to Beijing's communist government, the report said. Senate investigators have yet to determine if the FBI or others investigated the concerns. -Just The News

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hunter-biden-raised-counterintelligence-and-extortion-concerns-may-have-participated-sex

US Mail Found in Ditch in Rural Wisconsin — Included Absentee Ballots

Two trays of US mail were discovered in a ditch near Greenville, a rural area north of Appleton, Wisconsin.

According to local officials the mail included mail-in ballots.

The USPS unions support Joe Biden.

A U.S. Postal Service investigation is underway after mail was found along the road in the Fox Valley.

The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office says three trays were found in a ditch around 8 a.m. Tuesday. The trays were near the intersection of highways 96 and CB, near the Appleton International Airport.

he mail was immediately turned over to the postal service.

On Wednesday, a USPS spokesman said the mail included absentee ballots.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/09/breaking-us-mail-found-ditch-greenville-wisconsin-included-absentee-ballots/

Seattle City Council Overrides Mayor’s Veto To Defund Police; Up To 100 Officers To Be Cut

The Seattle City Council has voted to override the mayor’s three vetos of bills that called for funds to be diverted from the police department into social programs.

The council voted 7-2 in a vote on Tuesday following three hours of debate; a compromise bill was rejected.

Mayor Jenny Durkan vetoed the police budget bill in August but said in statement: “This veto was because the bills as passed did not have the type of collaboration that I think we will have going forward, and that I’m hopeful we will have going forward.”

The latest proposal cuts at least $3.4 million from the department’s $400 million budget, which will force the department — which has about 1,400 police officers — to trim about 100 police positions.

“Countless videos of black and brown lives lost here in Seattle and across the country shows us that not everyone feels safe in our community, and not everyone is safe,” Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González said. “We need public safety that’s centered on harm reduction, not the status quo.”

But that wasn’t enough for some, The Blaze reported.

Kshama Sawant, the far left socialist member of the city council, had voted against the bill because it didn’t go far enough to meet the demands of the BLM protesters.

“Seattle Mayor Durkan remains hostile to defunding police,” said Sawant in a tweet. “Democratic Councilmembers completely failed to keep their public promises of 50% defunding in the Summer budget vote, furthermore, approved an austerity budget after having promised anti-austerity.”

But local conservative talk show host Jason Rantz condemned the move. “This Council will always side with socialists and criminal activists,” he said on Twitter. “They are the enemy of sane constituents because they don’t respect us.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/09/seattle-city-council-overrides-mayors-veto-defund-police-100-officers-cut/

ELECTION INTERFERENCE: Far Left Facebook Slaps Warning Label on House Judiciary Committee’s Mail-In Voting Report

We all saw this coming.

For YEARS NOW TGP has been reporting on Facebook’s silencing of conservative voices.

In 2018 TGP founder testified before Congress on Facebook censorship and banning of conservative voices.

It’s really no surprise that Facebook and the tech giants are colluding to prevent conservative voices from being heard before the 2020 election.

But their censorship is still a criminal act.

On Tuesday Facebook censored a Gateway Pundit report on the crack pipe found on George Floyd during his arrest.

On Wednesday Facebook censored and slapped a warning label on House GOP Judiciary Report on mail-in voting.

It’s too hot for Facebook! They had to shut it down.

The weak leadership in the Republican Party has allowed big tech censorship to manifest.

The GOP has allowed the far left tech giants to destroy free speech in America.

This is a crisis.

Republicans need to start acting like it’s a crisis!

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/09/election-interference-far-left-facebook-slaps-warning-label-house-judiciary-committees-mail-voting-report/

In Unprecedented Monetary Overhaul, The Fed Is Preparing To Deposit "Digital Dollars" Directly To "Each American"

Over the past decade, the one common theme despite the political upheaval and growing social and geopolitical instability, was that the market would keep marching higher and the Fed would continue injecting liquidity into the system. The second common theme is that despite sparking unprecedented asset price inflation, prices as measured across the broader economy - using the flawed CPI metric and certainly stagnant worker wages - would remain subdued (as a reminder, the Fed is desperate to ignite broad inflation as that is the only way the countless trillions of excess debt can be eliminated and has so far failed to do so).

The Fed's failure to reach its inflation target - which prompted the US central bank to radically overhaul its monetary dogma last month and unveil Flexible Average Inflation Targeting (or FAIT) whereby the Fed will allow inflation to run hot without hiking rates - has sparked broad criticism from the economic establishment, even though as we showed in June, deflation is now a direct function of the Fed's unconventional monetary policies as the lower yields slide, the lower the propensity to spend. In other words, the harder the Fed fights to stimulate inflation, the more deflation and more saving it spurs as a result (incidentally this is not the first time this "discovery" was made, in December we wrote "One Bank Makes A Stunning Discovery - The Fed's Rate Cuts Are Now Deflationary").

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/loretta-mester-hints-fed-preparing-deposit-digital-dollars-directly-each-american

McCarthy Threatens To Oust Pelosi If Dems Try "Impeachment" Delay Over SCOTUS Nomination

The partisan rhetoric just went to '11' as House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened to oust Nancy Pelosi from the speakership if Democrats try to impeach Trump (or any of his admin, such as AG Barr) in an attempt to delay the Supreme Court nomination process.

Tensions rose after Pelosi's veiled comments over the weekend that:

"We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now."

Which prompted McCarthy to tell reporters this morning during a press conference.

“I’ll make you this one promise… If [Pelosi] tries to move for an impeachment based upon the president following the constitution, I think there will be a move on the floor to have her no longer - on the question of her being speaker,”

“She may think she has a quiver. We do too,” he added.

McCarthy's comments are also being driven by internal pressure from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who have urged the introduction of the motion to vacate - essentially a motion to oust the Speaker.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/mccarthy-threatens-oust-pelosi-if-dems-try-impeachment-delay-over-scotus-nomination

De Blasio Furloughs Another 9,000 NYC Employees Due To "Massive Budget Shortfall"

One week ago, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he will furlough himself and his City Hall staff for one week as the city weathers a budget (and everything else too) crisis.

“We’ve already had to make some tough cuts,” de Blasio announced last Wednesday.

"We’re doing everything we can to stop those cuts from becoming worse."

Blasio, his wife first lady Chirlane McCray, and nearly 500 other staff members will take a week of unpaid furlough sometime between October and March 2021. The largely symbolic move is projected to save the city $860,000. And since "symbolic" was the key word here, moments ago the socialist mayor announced that New York City would expand its week long furloughs to another 9,000 employees to save $21 million, they mayor said this morning.

All managerial and non-represented employees must take five furlough days from Oct. 1 through March, the mayor revealed.

Alas, this latest round of furloughs will not be nearly enough as the city faces a $9 billion shortfall in revenue through June 2021. The mayor has warned of as many as 22,000 layoffs in the absence of federal financial aid or approval from the state for long-term borrowing.

"I know this is difficult news for the dedicated public servants of our city," de Blasio said. “But we are forced to make these difficult decisions as we face a massive budget shortfall with no help in sight."

The furloughs come as New York State is contemplating following New Jersey in slapping millionaires with higher taxes. A tax hike appears virtually inevitable should Gov Andrew Cuomo's hope that Congress will appropriate additional aid fails.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/de-blasio-furloughs-another-9000-nyc-employees-due-massive-budget-shortfall

Scotland’s ban on household visits to curb Covid-19 surge sparks debates online, even calls for Sturgeon to step down

Fierce arguments have broken out on Twitter after Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon laid out strict rules on household visits, in an effort to curb a rising coronavirus infection rate.

Under the new rules effective from Friday, Scots cannot visit each other’s homes unless they are from extended households. Other exceptions include couples not living together, those in need of childcare and tradespeople. A maximum of six people from two households are allowed to meet in private gardens and public outdoor spaces.

“We are once again at a tipping point. We must act to get Covid back under control,” Sturgeon said in a speech on Tuesday night. She asked citizens to “make sacrifices for our national well-being” in order to curb the spread of the disease. Sturgeon argued that “tough” measures are necessary to keep schools, public services and businesses “open as far as possible.”

The restrictions quickly caused a stir online. The hashtag #ResignSturgeon was used by people blasting the new policy. “I am heartbroken that my family can’t visit me once again. The regulations are contradictory and are punishing the majority for the actions of the minority,” one disgruntled person wrote.

So #NicolaSturgeon, there have been over 11000 COVID cases in Glasgow, Clyde & Lanarkshire (accounting for ~ 50% of all cases in Scotland), but every household in Scotland now has to suffer? Maybe you should have locked down your Nats & AUOB in the first place? #ResignSturgeon

— True Patriot 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 (@KeepUKtogether) September 22, 2020

“So you can go to the pub full of randoms but you can’t visit friends and family in their home,” another angry commenter said.

Sturgeon’s defenders, however, insisted that her policies “saved many lives,” and the calls for her to step down are unmerited. “Sorry, what has Sturgeon done to invoke this #ResignSturgeon to trend? Try to protect the people of Scotland?” a person wrote on Twitter, while others argued that she has done a “far superior job” in comparison to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Im from england but i dont understand why people are calling for nicola sturgeon to resign 🤷🏻‍♀️ everytime i have seen her speak it seems to me she always has the peoples best interests at heart . She doesn’t seem bad at all #ResignSturgeon

— kerry morgan (@kezzaelles) September 23, 2020

“Guessing the majority of people tweeting #ResignSturgeon are the ones who didn’t listen in the first place, and are the reason we’re basically back at square one,” a person wrote online.

Hours before Scotland’s policy update was announced, PM Johnson unveiled a set of new quarantine restrictions for England. Pubs, bars and restaurants will be forced to close by 10pm starting from Thursday, among other measures. The PM also urged people to work from home if they can. Sturgeon said that the 10pm “national curfew” will apply for pubs and bars in Scotland as well. UK officials were forced to enact tougher quarantine regulations after the Covid-19 infection rate surged in recent weeks.

A total of 383 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Scotland on Tuesday, bringing the overall tally of Scotland’s cases to 25,009.

https://www.rt.com/uk/501456-sturgeon-covid19-new-rules/

11 UK cops injured in suspected ACID ATTACK during drug raid

An investigation is underway in Barnet, north London after 11 firearms officers were injured by "a suspected corrosive substance" as they executed a drugs warrant, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Though the extent of their injuries is still being assessed in hospital, none is thought to be life-threatening.

The circumstances of the attack are currently being investigated, and police have arrested a number of male suspects at the scene for drug offenses. Those arrested have also been transported to the hospital, and are believed to have also sustained non-life-threatening injuries from the “corrosive substance.”

Chief Superintendent Roy Smith, head of the BCU (Basic Command Unit) for Harrow, Brent and Barnet, released a statement saying there is no threat to the public, but that officers will remain on patrol in the area of the raid.

"I’d like to reassure the local community that there is no ongoing risk to the public and local officers will remain on patrol in the area to provide reassurance," he said.

London Ambulance Service posted on Twitter that a total of 15 people were taken to hospital. They also said a hazardous area response team has been dispatched to the area. Police say the incident is not being treated as “terror-related.”

https://www.rt.com/uk/501509-cops-injured-acid-raid-london/