White House Cites Debunked Russia Taliban Bounty Reports as Reason for Sanctions

President Joe Biden’s White House continued using largely debunked reports of Russia paying bounties to the Taliban on Thursday to defend new sanctions on Russia.

The Biden administration walked back their confidence in the reports, according to the Daily Beast, after investigating the claim.

“The United States intelligence community assesses with low to moderate confidence that Russian intelligence officers sought to encourage Taliban attacks [on] U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan in 2019 and perhaps earlier,” a senior administration official said.

But in a document sent to reporters, the White House used the claim to defend another round of sanctions against Russia, citing “the best assessments from the intelligence community.”

“The Administration is responding to the reports that Russia encouraged Taliban attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Afghanistan based on the best assessments from the Intelligence Community,” the release read.

The Biden administration announced that the United States would expel ten personnel from the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C., including representatives of Russian intelligence.

Other reasons for sanctions included the SolarWinds hack and interference in American and other democratic elections.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the administration’s decision to cite the reports in their sanctions announcement.

“So while there is low to moderate assessment of these reports, we felt it was important for our intelligence community to look into it,” she said.

When asked if Biden regretted using the questionable claim to attack former President Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign, Psaki demurred.

“I will not speak to the previous administration,” she said.

Former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah recalled working to refute the story that spread like wildfire during the presidential campaign.

“We repeatedly told the public this story was unverified and unproven,” Farah wrote on social media, noting National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien denied the report on camera. “I saw the intel. The media failed on the reporting around this and the public was misled.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/04/15/white-house-cites-debunked-russia-taliban-bounty-reports-reason-sanctions/

Stacey Abrams Is On The Board Of A Group Collaborating With The Chinese Communist Party.

Stacey Abrams serves on the board of the Center For American Progress, which has participated in exchanges with a premier Chinese Communist Party-linked propaganda organization for over a decade, even co-authoring reports with the group, The National Pulse can today reveal.

Among its Democratic board members is Abrams, who remarked she was “honored to be joining the board of the Center for American Progress,” as it “has been at the forefront of progressive policy development and activism for years.” What’s more, the left-wing activist spoke at the group’s 2019 conference to outline “solutions to combat voter suppression efforts.”

“Abrams urged Americans to fight for progress through litigation that combats regressive laws and expands voting rights; legislation such as H.R. 1 that offers historic democracy and voting reforms; and advocacy that centers communities of color and the disadvantaged to bring new voices to the table to change the country’s trajectory,” CAP summarized.

However, in conjunction with the group’s years of left-wing activism praised by Abrams, CAP has collaborated extensively with the Chinese Communist Party.

CAP has repeatedly partnered with the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) on sponsored trips to China, reports, and other endeavors for over a decade. Aided by Western lobbying firms, CUSEF has set out to “effectively disseminate positive messages to the media, key influencers and opinion leaders, and the general public” regarding China, according to Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings with the Department of Justice.

The National Pulse has previously revealed CUSEF’s links to mainstream corporate media outlets and other leading political figures in the United States.

Annual Delegations.

Since 2009, CAP has sent delegations to China as part of a CUSEF program. Brochures from the Chinese government-linked organization reveal CAP delegations have discussed “a wide range of issues including geopolitical cooperation, military-to-military collaboration, climate change, energy security, trade balance, and the global financial crisis.”

“Both countries now must exhibit commitment and determination to build a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive China-US relationship for the future,” a summary of remarks from delegation leader, Obama adviser, and Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton John Podesta stated.

https://thenationalpulse.com/exclusive/stacey-abrams-on-board-of-ccp-cap-group/

BRIDGE

O’Keefe to Sue Twitter Following Permanent Suspension

The complaint will be filed on Monday

James O’Keefe will file a complaint against Twitter on Monday for defamation, after they permanently suspended him for allegedly creating fake accounts.

O’Keefe, the investigative journalist behind Project Veritas, was permanently suspended from Twitter on Thursday. O’Keefe, whose #ExposeCNN video trended on the platform this week, was removed from the social media network for allegedly violating their “fake account” policy:

You may not register or create fake and misleading accounts or use multiple accounts to manipulate Twitter conversations. While you may use Twitter pseudonymously or as a parody, commentary, or fan account, you may not use misleading account information in order to engage in spamming, abusive, or disruptive behaviour, including attempts to manipulate the conversations on Twitter.

In the notice sent to O’Keefe, Twitter confirmed that his account would not be reinstated.

NEW: Twitter says they suspended James O'Keefe for violating their "fake account" policy pic.twitter.com/LJVx5qvsZb

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 15, 2021

As a result, O’Keefe will be suing Twitter for defamation, as he never “operated fake accounts” as Twitter claimed. “This is false, this is defamatory, and they will pay,” O’Keefe said. “Section 230 may have protected them before, but it will not protect them from me.” The complaint will be filed on Monday, the statement concluded.

https://nationalfile.com/breaking-okeefe-to-sue-twitter-following-permanent-suspension/

Ed Markey: Four Additional Biden-Appointed Supreme Court Justices Will ‘Reflect the Values’ of Americans

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) joined his Democrat colleagues on Thursday, unveiling the left’s proposal, the Judiciary Act Of 2021, to expand the Supreme Court to 13 justices instead of nine, contending it would “rightfully reflect the values of the majority of the American people.”

Markey sharply criticized Republicans, accusing them, under the leadership of then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and former President Trump, of breaking the Supreme Court following the nomination and confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

“As a result, we have a stilted, illegitimate 6-3 conservative majority on the court that has caused this crisis of confidence in our country,” Markey claimed, despite conservatives remaining shaky on whether the Court has a consistent conservative majority at all.

Markey continued, accusing Republicans of effectively stealing two Supreme Court seats in recent years.

“The Republicans stole two seats on the Supreme Court, and now it is up to us to repair that damage. Our democracy is in jeopardy today because the Supreme Court’s standing is solely damaged. And the way we repair it is straightforward,” he said, outlining what he views as the Democrats’ duty to restore balance by adding four seats, creating a 13-member court.

“These four new seats, to be filled by president Biden, will reconstitute the United States Supreme Court. The bench will then rightfully reflect the values of the majority of the American people on whose behalf they serve,” Markey claimed, defending the constitutionality of Congress taking such action.

“We must expand the Court and we must abolish the filibuster to do it,” he said as he continued to maim his Republican counterparts.

“Republicans seem to think that equal justice means justice for their purposes. Their values. Their causes,” he said. “Expanding the Supreme Court rights the wrongs the Republicans have done to this great Court. Expanding the Supreme Court is equal justice and will ensure equal justice is dispensed to all Americans.”

Notably, the arch-liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away last year, stood as an opponent to such court-packing proposals, telling National Public Radio’s Nina Totenberg in 2019 it would “make the Court look partisan.”

Justice Stephen Breyer, known as one of the liberal justices on the Court, recently cautioned against court-packing as well, warning it would “diminish” confidence among Americans.

“If the public sees judges as ‘politicians in robes,’ its confidence in the courts, and in the rule of law itself, can only diminish, diminishing the court’s power, including its power to act as a ‘check’ on the other branches,” the 82-year-old justice said during an April Harvard Law School address.

This is not the first time Democrats have attempted to pack the Court, taking steps during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency to expand the Court to 15 justices. However, the widespread unpopularity prompted enough Democrats to side with Republicans to defeat the push.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/04/15/ed-markey-four-additional-biden-appointed-supreme-court-justices-will-reflect-values-americans/

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‘Innocent Until Proven Guilty’ — GOP Leader McCarthy Says Gaetz Will Not Be Removed From Committees Unless Charges Are Filed

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz will not be removed from his committee assignments Thursday, saying he is innocent until proven guilty.

https://dailycaller.com/2021/04/15/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-not-removed-from-committees-unless-charges-filed/