FBI Lied, People Died

Part 1 of 2

FBI Documents Expose Bureau‘s Big Jan. 6 ‘Lie‘

The bureau says it lacked the authority to monitor social media activity ahead of the pro-Trump insurrection, but it did exactly that during 2020 racial justice and police violence protests

Andy Kroll April 14, 2022 8:59AM ET

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6insurrection, the FBI told Congress and the American people that the agency had failed to prevent or fully prepare for the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol in more than 200 years in part because it lacked the authority and capabilities to more aggressively monitor social media, where much of the planning for the insurrection took place.

As FBI Director Christopher Wray toldCongress last summer, the FBI had circulated intelligence materials and other resources before Jan. 6, but the agency had limits in what it could and couldn’t gather from social media. “When we have an authorized purpose and proper predication, there are a lot of things that we do at social media and we do do,” Wray said, “but [what] we cannot do on social media is, without proper predication and authorized purpose, just monitor just in case on social media.”

Wray added, “Now, if the policies should be changed to reflect that, that might be one of the important lessons learned coming out of this whole experience. But that’s not something that currently the FBI has either the authority or certainly the resources, frankly, to do.” Since Wray’s testimony, the bureau has sought to ramp up its online surveillance capabilities, including by entering into one of the largest social-media monitoring contracts of any federal agency.

Yet internal FBI records obtained by Rolling Stone show that, well before Jan. 6, the bureau already engaged in ongoing and widespread tracking of Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and other social-media platforms. The new documents suggest the agency has all the authority it needs to monitor the social-media platforms in the name of public safety — and, in fact, the bureau had done just that during the nationwide wave of racial justice protests in 2020. Critics of the FBI say that the bureau’s desire for more authority and surveillance tools is part of a decades-long expansion of the vast security apparatus inside the federal government.

The documents refer to teams of employees engaged in what law-enforcement agencies call “social-media exploitation,” or SOMEX. According to the documents, SOMEX teams gather reams of data from social media and distribute that information to special agents and other law-enforcement representatives. The documents show SOMEX data included in situation reports, or “sitreps,” distributed within the bureau.

The documents were first obtained by Property of the People, a government-transparency nonprofit group. “The documents bring into relief three consistent truths about the FBI,” says Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People. “One: At its core, the FBI is a political police force that primarily targets the left while ignoring or outright enabling the far-right. Two: FBI spokespersons lie like they breathe. Three: The Bureau shamelessly exploits national crises to expand the already dystopian reach of its surveillance.”

In a statement sent to Rolling Stone, an FBI spokesperson said: “The FBI uses social media tools to search publicly available information pertinent to predicated investigations to identify and respond to threats of violence, acts of terrorism, and potential federal violations within the scope of the FBI’s mission. As with any technology, the FBI routinely reviews and update​s its social media capabilities to ensure the continued utility of these tools in accordance with law, regulation, and policy.”

Legal experts say the documents illustrate how much latitude the bureau already has to trawl social media for information without needing additional authority. “I think it has more authority than it needs frankly,” says Faiza Patel, co-director of the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “What we’ve seen basically is that the FBI did not take this [Jan. 6] threat as seriously as they should have.”

Patrick Eddington, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and former CIA officer, adds that the FBI Director Wray’s testimony last year runs counter to the bureau’s existing social-media tracking capabilities as well as its broader guidelines for domestic surveillance activities. “If your flavor of the week is right-wing extremism, they can track it,” Eddington, a vocal critic of the FBI, tells Rolling Stone. “If it’s left-wing extremism, they can track it.”

He adds, “When Wray says they don’t have the authority, he has affirmatively lied to the Congress, flat out.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jan6-fbi-social-media-privacy-black-lives-matter-1337565/

>>16083341

FBI LiED

Part 2 of 3

The documents — which cover the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 — indicate that FBI employees and their local law-enforcement partners regularly used social-media exploitation to track protests and demonstrations related to a range of issues from racial justice and anti-fascist organizing to right-wing extremism and environmental activism.

In the summer of 2020, the FBI’s second-ranking official, David Bowdich, wrote a memo warning about “a national crisis” as racial-justice protests roiled the country. Acts of vandalism, property destruction, and violence had accompanied some of the demonstration, and Bowdich implored the bureau’s employees to investigate “violent protesters,” “instigators,” and “inciters.” As part of these efforts, Bowdich called for using “robust social media exploitation teams” to gather information about alleged criminals who seemed to be acting with a “highly organized behavior.”

The internal documents reviewed by Rolling Stone show that social-media tracking was used in responses to protests and communications about police violence. In June, agents in the bureau’s Seattle office circulated SOMEX data related to protests targeting the police department in Lakewood, Washington. A month earlier, a Lakewood police officer shot and killed a man named Said Joaquin during a traffic stop, and protests sprang up seeking to hold the officer and the police department accountable.

A June 4 FBI situation report included information about what people were saying and planning in response to Joaquin’s death. “The theme found on SOMEX within the Seattle [Area of Responsibility for the overnight hours of 3 June 2020 to 4 June 2020 was of positive of continued de-escalation of tensions with police and the rejection of violent methods and actors. No chatter of violent tactics or actions,” read the report. “Multiple Twitter postings discussing the use of passive tactical techniques used by the Hong Kong protesters and adaptation for use the current protest environment. Posting provided links to videos, and internet articles and encouraged views to conduct their own research.” The report also listed possible future meeting sites for people who wanted to hold the local police accountable.

Other FBI documents show bureau employees using Instagram, Snapchat, and Reddit to monitor possible threats, flagging certain hashtags, and trackingattempts to publish personal identifying information for law enforcement officers on the dark web. The bureau appeared to have cast a wide net in its online monitoring, according to the records. One document describes potential targets as “individuals involved in or present at locations of lawful protests are [who] part of an organized effort associated with anti-government-anti-authority extremism, militia extremism, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, or violent gangs.”

On Sept. 20, 2020, for instance, a special agent in the FBI’s Minneapolis office sentan all-staff email about demonstrations and counter-protests planned for an upcoming court hearing for the four police officers involved in the death of George Floyd. The agent’s email listed the different events and their locations, the estimated number of people who planned to attend based on social media postings, and the local police department’s planning for the event. The agent’s email adds that “Intel will be conducting SOMEX” during the demonstrations.

Eddington, the Cato Institute expert, says two clear themes are seen in the documents. One is how widely information — including social-media data — on protesters was shared among numerous state and federal law-enforcement agencies. “Law-enforcement social media monitoring is absolutely routinized at the local, state, and federal levels,” Eddington says.

He also notes that the documents show how focused the FBI was on possible threats to police officers. “Not much question that helps create an ‘us-vs.-them’ mentality vis a vis police and those engaged in lawful, First Amendment-protected protest activities,” Eddington says.

The bureau may have failed to fully anticipate the Jan. 6 attack, but it has joined a massive, government-wide manhunt to hold accountable the people who stormed the Capitol that day. A top Justice Department official, Lisa Monaco, described the agency’s investigation as the “most complex that this department has ever undertaken.” DOJ is spending $15 million with a staff of nearly 70 people in that investigation, according to NBC News.

Experts who study domestic surveillance point out that the social-media tracking described in the cache of FBI documents speaks to larger questions around how much authority the bureau should have in investigating Americans.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jan6-fbi-social-media-privacy-black-lives-matter-1337565/

>>16083356

FBI Lied, J6

Part 3 of 3

Right now, experts say, the bureau’s employees have wide latitude to track and monitor Americans without a specific predicate or authorization. Justice Department guidelines put in place in 2008 for FBI investigations spell out three formal stages for an investigation: an assessment, a preliminary investigation, and a full investigation. If the investigation targets a politician, a political party, a civil society group, a religious organization, or a media outlet, then it’s tagged as a “sensitive investigative matter” given the possible First Amendment implications.

There are constraints on FBI investigations the more formal and intensive they become. But the DOJ’s guidelines also make “100 percent clear,” says the Brennan Center’s Faiza Patel, that “there are no guidelines constraints on the FBI looking at social media,” adding, “The only constraint is they shouldn’t be looking at it solely on First Amendment grounds.”

Yet despite having wide latitude to monitor social-media activity for years predating Jan. 6, the FBI says it needs more authority and technology to monitor online activity. The bureau’s newly inked agreement, costing $5 million in its first year, to license a SOMEX tool called Babel X demonstrates the FBI’s desire to continue escalating what it can see, hear, and read online.

“What I always worry about — and I’ll be the first one to admit that this is a fine line — is the FBI going after people on the basis of speech under the mistaken belief that it’s some imminent incitement to violence,” Eddington says. “I worry about groups that are out there vigorously advocating in the public domain for major changes in prevailing policies.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jan6-fbi-social-media-privacy-black-lives-matter-1337565/

==Watchdog report sparked by Grassley finds ethic violation in Department of Veterans Affairs

Probe was prompted by concerns== from Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley

A federal watchdog report, sparked by concerns from Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, has identified a potential conflict of interest and resulting ethic violation within the office at the Department of Veterans Affairs that helps runs the GI Bill program.

An inspector general report released March 24 found Charmain Bogue, as executive director of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Education Service, worked with her husband's employer, the nonprofit Veterans Education Success, which created the appearance of a conflict of interest because she failed to disclose the relationship.

The report said Bogue didn't considering whether her recusal in the dealings was required "in light of the potential appearance of a conflict of interest, which is a violation of government ethics rules."

The report also states she refusing to cooperate during the investigation.Bogue resigned amid the investigation.

The probe was prompted by concerns by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley in April 2021.

The Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General report, which was released late last month, concluded that Bogue created the appearance of a conflict of interest by failing to disclose business with her husband's employer, Veterans Education Success, a nonprofit that assists veterans.

The VA's Education Service office is in charge of parts of the GI BIll, which pays for veterans' education.

Bogue's husband and his company also were uncooperativeduring the inspector general report, and unlike a federal prosecutor, an IG is unable to compel cooperation.

Grassley letter last April asked for information about Bogue’s supervisor and information from tabout whistleblower complaints.

The request was followed by the group Empower Oversight, founded by Jason Foster, who was chief investigative counsel to Grassley when he was Senate Judiciary Committee chairman.

Foster concluded that the VBA Education Service conflicts of interest were "an open secret in the VA for years. Supervisors knew."

He also said the VA inspector general's office knew, but "the whistleblowers were ignored until Sen. Chuck Grassley started asking questions."

According to the Daily Signal, which first reported the story, a spokesperson for the agency said that because Bogue quit her position during the course of the investigation, the VA did not make any recommendations for further action, and does not see a larger problem than the actions of a single (former) official.

Right, right, we all trust you so much

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/watchdog-report-confirms-grassleys-unanswered-suspicions-about-conflict

Russia says it struck Kyiv missile plant, as defense ministry warns U.S. to stop supplying weapons

The U.S. announced this week an additional $800 million military aid package to Ukraine that includes a raft of previously requested advanced munitions.

Honestly is there any weapons going over there, thats why you never have a money launderer as President

On Friday, Russia's defense ministry said its military hit a missile plant on the outskirts of Kyiv and promised that more attacks of that nature were on their way if Ukraine continued to strike at Russian territory.

In a statement, the ministry said that "high-precision, long-range sea-based Kalibr missiles" struck a machine-building plant in outer Kyiv that Moscow says produced "long and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems as well as anti-ship missiles."

"The number and scale of missile strikes against assets in Kiev will increase in response to any terrorist attacks or sabotage on Russian territory by Kiev nationalist regime," said the ministry.

The development arrives one day after Ukrainian officials claimed that their missiles had hit a Russian flagship in the Black Sea, causing significant damage and forcing an evacuation of the ship's 510-member crew.

Also this week, according to the Washington Post, Russia sent a formal letter to the U.S. warning that continued shipments of weapons from the U.S. to Ukraine could lead to "unpredictable consequences."

The letter, which was dated Tuesday, said that the U.S. has ignored rules governing the transfer of weapons to conflict zones and that its careless actions were exacerbating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed that the U.S. is "providing Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of security assistance, which our Ukrainian partners are using to extraordinary effect to defend their country against Russia’s unprovoked aggression and horrific acts of violence."

Earlier this week, President Joe Bidden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, which included some of the advanced munitions that the country nearing its third month of war has requested.

"The Ukrainian military has used the weapons we are providing to devastating effect. As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself," said the president.

The defense package, according to the Pentagon, included 11 Mi-17 helicopters, 300 Switchblade drones, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers, 500 Javelin missiles, 10 counter-artillery radars, and 40,000 artillery rounds.

https://justthenews.com/nation/russia-says-it-struck-kyiv-missile-plant-defense-ministry-warns-us-stop-supplying-weapons

Congressional Republicans introduce bill to repeal federal charter for large teacher's union

Please God Make This Happen Soon

Members of the Republican Study Committee are attempting to repeal the charter of the only congressionally chartered labor union.

Republican Reps. Scott Fitzgerald and Jim Banks introduced a measure Thursday to repeal the century-old federal charter granted to the National Education Association, arguing the group has shifted too far to the left.

Fitzgerald, of Wisconsin, and Banks, of Indiana, members of the House's Republican Study Committee, argue the congressionally chartered labor union has abandon its core mission to "advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States."

Fitzgerald further argues: "Rather than supporting students, the NEA consistently put the interests of progressive teachers’ unions over the learning of students. It is time for Congress to say enough is enough and revoke the NEA’s federal charter," said Fitzgerald.

According to the committee, in recent years the NEA, which was granted the charter in 1906, has supported heavily partisan initiatives such as prolonged school closures during the pandemic and the inclusion of Critical Race Theory in curriculums.

Furthermore, during the last election cycle, the union gave 95.7% of its candidate campaign donations to Democrats.

"There is now no daylight between the NEA’s agenda and the radical left’s agenda," said Banks, the committee chairman.

Their National Educational Association Charter Repeal Act is cosponsored by 16 GOP House members and endorsed by the National Right to Work Committee.

The measure likely has little chance of passing in the Democrat-controlled chamber but would have a strong chance of passage if the GOP wins control of the House in November.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/education/gop-reps-fitzgerald-and-banks-introduce-bill-repeal-national-educational

👀 out, children and food charities

Memos gathered by FBI show pattern of Hunter Biden mixing business affairs with hunger charity

Charitable discussions with Chinese energy giant CEFC that evolved into lucrative business deals fit classic foreign influence operation, ex-FBI intel chief says.

With his father's eight-year tenure as Barack Obama's vice president waning, Hunter Biden received a remarkable overture in 2015: One of China's richest businessmen wanted to make a sizable donation to the World Food Program USA (WFP USA), which was led by the VP's son.

WFP USA is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to raising funds and building U.S. support for the World Food Program, the United Nations organization that fights global hunger.

But soon, memos gathered by the FBI show, the charitable discussions evolved into an expanding relationship between Hunter Biden and Chinese energy giant CEFC to include business deals that would eventually reap the Biden family millions of dollars.

"CEFC China is very interested in exploring humanitarian initiatives of mutual interest to the World Food Program USA and discussing investment opportunities with Burnham," an email received and then forwarded by Hunter Biden in October 2015 stated. Burnham was one of the many firms through which Hunter Biden and his partners like Devon Archer scored large investments.

China.pdf

The story of CEFC's dual pitch for charity and business opportunities is documented in emails and memos stored on the notorious laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop. The device was eventually turned over in December 2019 to the FBI, which is leading an investigation into the taxes, finances and foreign business dealings of the president's son.

The FBI's former intelligence chief said the Chinese overture to Hunter Biden fits the classic pattern of a foreign influence operation, much like was seen with Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell a few years ago.

“First, you have to understand that China does not donate to American led charities because they are altruistic," explained former FBI Assistant Director for Intelligence Kevin Brock. "And Chinese intelligence operatives like Christine Fang don’t cozy up to Rep. Eric Swalwell because he’s a fun guy to be around. Chinese intelligence does what it does in order to steal information and influence American policy makers.”

“Things like offers for all expense paid trips to Beijing and inordinate amounts of money in exchange for ill-defined things like consulting services or academic papers are hallmarks of CCP intelligence operations," Brock added. "Their methods are subtle and patient, they aim to dirty your hands and make it difficult break free over time. We don’t know if Hunter Biden provided information useful to the CCP or even if he registered as a foreign agent as required by law. The FBI hopefully will determine that. But it looks clearer every day that he was targeted by Chinese intelligence and it’s not illogical to presume they did so because of his access to high-ranking U.S. officials.”

The pattern of Hunter Biden mixing charity with private business was repeated several times during his tenure as chairman of the World Food Program USA, the documents show.

For instance, Hunter Biden would connect his Burisma Holdings colleagues inUkraine to the food charity. And his father spoke at the charity's events while also attending a dinner that merged Hunter Biden's business clients and charity colleagues.

Hunter Biden served on the WFP USA board from 2011 until 2017 and was chairman from 2011 to 2015, according to the nonprofit's annual reports. During that time, he leveraged his connections to the U.N.-affiliated organization and to his father, the vice president (who headlined multiple WFP USA events), to enhance his business relationships with Russian, Ukrainian, and Chinese oligarchs….

The Ukrainians were the first to see the potential to capitalize on Hunter Biden's WFP charitable connections. Documents on the laptop show that on March 16, 2015 Burisma adviser Vadym Pozharskyi wrote to Hunter Biden: "Following our conversation, I would like to let you know that it would be great if we could combine our efforts and do something important together in the area of food safety, as well in other areas of interest for WFP and other UN strategic initiatives."…

While Kerry and the Russian oligarchs apparently did not attend the dinner, then-Vice President Joe Biden did. His attendance at a dinner that included several of his son's foreign business associates directly contradicts the president's repeated claims that he never met with his son's business partners…

CEFC Infrastructure Investment LLC sent $100,000 to Hunter Biden's firm, Owasco, in August 2017.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/memos-gathered-fbi-show-pattern-hunter-biden-mixing-business

Facing terror spike, specter of nuclear Iran, ==many Israelis feel nation was safer in Trump years

"Joe Biden, go home," one Israeli said. "In Israel, we like Trump==."

Amid a recent spike in terror attacks and the looming possibility of a nuclear Iran, many people in Israel say they feel secure — but they told Just the News they still felt safer with former President Donald Trump in the White House rather than President Joe Biden.

More than a dozen Israelis have been killed in a wave of terrorist attacks from March 22 to April 7, the most recent of which targeted a bar in Tel Aviv.

Jewish Israelis said that despite the tensions, they are unafraid.

Meir, who runs a falafel restaurant in the Shuk, the main market in Jerusalem, told Just the News, "Israel is very safe."

When asked whether he felt safe under President Joe Biden, however, he said: "We don't like Joe Biden. We like Trump. Joe Biden, go home. In Israel, we like Trump."

Jonathan, who had just arrived in Israel days before speaking to Just the News emphatically concurs. "Trump, we want to tell you thank you very much for bringing America up," he said. "We can't wait for you to get back into office."

Their sentiments are widely shared among Israelis.

Just 10.9% of Israelis — 9.9% of Jews and 16.7% of Arabs — said they feel that the Biden administration is better for Israel than the Trump administration, according to the 2021 Israeli Foreign Policy Index survey for the Mitvim Institute, conducted in September.

Nearly 53% of respondents — 58.2% of Jews and 22.6% of Arabs — said that Biden is worse for Israel than Trump.

In May 2021, Hamas launched thousands of rockets from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians, setting off another round of hostilities. Many Israelis are bracing for more violence this summer, and the heightened tensions are being felt in the Palestinian community.

At Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, arrests have occurred nearly nightly as Muslims gather there after breaking the Ramadan fast. The protests increased in intensity after Israel's foreign minister toured the gate last week and as rumors circulate that some ultrareligious Jews will attempt to carry out the Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount, the location of Al Aqsa mosque.

One Palestinian told Just the News that it was safer away from the Israeli police officers and soldiers who were surrounding the area.

After a small fight broke out among teenagers by the gate, another Palestinian said that the problem is not infighting, but caused by the Jews.

A Just the News reporter had a small rock thrown at her head as she interviewed protesters there.

Mohammad, 17, spoke to Just the News at Damascus Gate and said that he prefers President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump.

"Joe Biden loves Palestinians," he said. "I don't love Trump. He's a bad man."

He went on to invite Americans to visit Palestine. "It's very good to Muslims, to Christianity, to Jewish — I think all the people in the world would love to visit Palestine," he said.

Ariel, who had a table in the Shuk to encourage Jews to do good deeds before the sabbath, said he feels "very safe."

"We have to do everything we can to kill the terrorist," he said.

Ariel took a very hardline stance against Islam as well.

"In their horrible logic, Ramadan is their favorite [time] to kill Jews and other non-Muslims," he said. "Whenever you see a Muslim, be careful, he might carry a gun or a weapon," he warned, before quickly adding that "not everybody" is dangerous and that he has Muslim friends.

Ariel then criticized the Biden administration's talks with Iran and called the possible nuclear agreement "horrible."

Ateret Shmuel spoke to Just the News after returning to Israel following three years in the United States for her work with Indigenous Bridges, a group that connects Jews with native communities….

https://justthenews.com/world/middle-east/israelis-unafraid-terrorist-attacks-increase

>>16083565

Seriously these people are the business and they didnt know it was biased? Meghan Kelly saying is above the top in hypocrisy, she doesn’t remember the bias she showed at the debates with Trump and hag?

>>16083551

Please Sean do us a favor!

>>16083487

OMG why are they so triggered “the people” will be allowed to speak, tge one good thing every poser thats somewhat conservative were plants to gather information. The absolute stupidity of that statement, is not because they believe it, but because they know we have a mass populace of uneducated people that dont know history. Propagandists

>>16083723

Whats funny about this, for once the intelligence community is telling the truth to advert war

GOP lawmakers demand FDA publish COVID vaccine safety and efficacy data going forward(why not backwards???)

Epidemiologist says CDC and FDA have "generated more confusion than clarity" from public vaccine data, obscuring the crucial question: "likelihood of a serious adverse reaction occurring per vaccination dose."

Two months after the CDC acknowledged hiding the vast majority of its COVID-19 data, partly to protect the reputation of vaccines, the FDA is under pressure to release its current and future safety and efficacy data on COVID vaccines and therapeutics.

"The fact that the data in the FDA's possession has remained behind an FDA firewall for more than 18 months is appalling," Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) wrote to Commissioner Robert Califf, noting the agency unsuccessfully asked a court to dribble out Pfizer vaccine data over 55-75 years.

Nine House GOP colleagues joined Posey's April 11 letter, including Kentucky's Thomas Massie, the leading libertarian in the caucus, and Alabama's Mo Brooks, who sponsored a bill to defund vaccine mandates.

In light of mandates and liability shields for manufacturers, "[n]othing is more important to physicians, parents, patients, public health officials and elected officials than having access to as much information as possible when evaluating immediate and long-term responses to the pandemic," the letter says.

The House Republicans want the agency to "immediately" release safety and efficacy data for COVID products granted emergency use authorization (EUA) and full approval, and ongoing publication of data within 14 days of receipt by the FDA.

It's already requiring manufacturers to submit most of this information "in redacted and releasable form" and "should have been preparing to immediately release data once licensure was granted" to enable "rigorous independent review," they said.

FDA press officer Abby Capobianco declined to answer Just the News questions and said the agency would "respond to the representatives directly."

The responses of public health agencies to Posey's previous letters on COVID products and authorization, going back to fall 2020, were "not serious," Posey spokesperson George Cecala told Just the News.

He shared Posey letters calling attention to a British Medical Journal investigation of a Pfizer contractor's trial practices and a 2021 British study reporting rare polyethylene glycol-induced anaphylaxis from the coating around the vaccine. The Science Committee member also sponsored a bill to establish a COVID commission.

Posey Letter to ACIP Regarding COVID Vaccine Review.pdf

2020.9.1 BP Fauci NIH Moderna letter.pdf

2021.4.23 BP to NIAID on PEG Studies.pdf

Time is of the essence, as the FDA is expected to authorize vaccines for children as young as six months old, Cecala said. Pfizer data showed 2-4 year-olds received no benefit from two doses, but the FDA asked for an EUA application while it tests a third dose.

When the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was created in the 1980s, "it was regularly understood that it would be a small percentage of people" who suffered, Cecala said. Nobody thought it was a "conspiracy theory," which is how COVID vaccine injury is portrayed.

The feds haven't used vaccine safety systems "optimally" since the pandemic's onset, said epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, who was removed from the CDC's COVID Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group for criticizing its "pause" in Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution.

The well-known Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System lacks basic health information that can determine "whether the [COVID] vaccine was responsible" for reported side effects, the former Harvard Medical School professor wrote in a Brownstone Institute essay Monday.

The CDC and FDA have "generated more confusion than clarity from these data," resulting in the "nonsensical" soundbite that most adverse reactions are "mild and short in duration," Kulldorff said. The crucial question is "the likelihood of a serious adverse reaction occurring per vaccination dose," such as heart inflammation in young men.

They should focus more on the Vaccine Safety Datalink and Biologics Effectiveness and Safety System, which are better at establishing causation, he said. The feds have "the data, systems and knowledge to answer the concerns. Why haven’t they?"

Neither the CDC nor FDA responded to Just the News requests to respond to Kulldorff's criticisms.

Some countries that were more transparent with COVID data have curtailed public access as the gap between unvaccinated and vaccinated populations has narrowed or reversed….

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/gop-lawmakers-demand-fda-publish-covid-vaccine-safety-and-efficacy-data-going

In shadow of Hunter Biden probe, Democrats grapple with corruption scandals galore in own ranks

(Jon theres a lot more that havent been caught yet)

Democratic officeholders have been implicated in a wide range of recent corruption scandals.

Now, the corruption limelight has switched parties.

Hunter Biden has reportedly acknowledged he’s under federal investigation for tax issues and reports say the grand jury investigation has expanded to include foreign lobbying in money laundering concerns after his laptop was left at a repair shop in Delaware in 2019. The laptop contained details of his business dealings during and after his father's vice presidency.

New York has been rocked by multiple scandals, starting when Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August of 2021 after the release of New York Attorney General Letitia James' report that provided details of sexual misconduct involving multiple women.

Prior to his resignation, Cuomo was also accused of providing special tax breaks to his book publisher and allowing some of his donors to receive bond deals.

On Tuesday, Brian Benjamin, the Democrat lieutenant governor, was arrested in connection with an alleged fraud scheme involving campaign contributions exchanged for state grant money.

There has also been a recent political corruption case in the state of Maryland.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, a Democrat, is currently facing perjury and false mortgage application charges, according to the Department of Justice. Despite this, she is running for a third term.

In 2020, former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was sentenced to three years in prison for "fraud conspiracy and tax charges," according to DOJ.

In Illinois, former longtime state House speaker Mike Madigan was indicted on federal racketeering and bribery charges in early March in a case that also has raised questions about the activities of Governor J. B. Pritzker.

In Nevada, former Assemblyman Alexander Assefa was indicted earlier this month for allegedly misusing campaign money.

Tennessee State Sen. Katrina Robinson (D-Memphis) was recently expelled from office after she was convicted of two counts of misusing federal funds, according to WPLN.

There is also a recent corruption case involving a Democratic legislator in Hawaii.

According to The Maui News, former state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English was charged in federal court for "allegedly taking more than $18,000 in bribes, including cash to introduce a bill and later 'kill' legislation involving cesspools in the 2020 legislative session."

The rising number of corruption cases gives Republicans, already enjoying an historic advantage in recent polling, additional attack lines to pair with soaring inflation and gas prices, the border crisis and rising crime heading into the midterm elections.

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/democratic-party-grappling-culture-corruption-across-many-states

What do pabderers do during campaign season,pander

Liberal 2022 candidates come out against Biden's repeal of Title 42, slam admin for 'lack of a plan'

Democrats in states at the southern border and in the northern part of the country are concerned about the termination of Title 42.

Democrats candidates in the midterm elections are joining in the criticism that the Biden administration doesn't have a OK plan to end enforcement of the federal law known as Title 42, used during the pandemic to migrants and COVID-19 out of the U.S.

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke hit at the administration for what he considers failing to come up with a plan for border communities to deal with the expected surge in immigration by ending Title 42 enforcement.

"It does not make sense to end this until there is a real plan and the capacity in place to handle those and address those that come over, he told the Texas Tribune on Tuesday. "We have yet to hear a plan from the Biden administration to address the dynamic we will have on the border once Title 42 ends."

Federal officials say they expect the number of illegal migrants at the country's border to shoot up next month when the emergency order ends.

O'Rourke, a former House Democrat and presidential candidate, says he has spoken with border officials who are concerned that the health order will be terminated without a comprehensive plan in place to deal with the expected surge.

Department of Homeland Security Officials estimate that as many as 18,000 migrants could begin crossing the border every day once the order is terminated.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has responded to Biden's plan to terminate Title 42 in late May by busing migrants apprehended at the Texas border to Washington, D.C.

The first busload arrived in the capital Wednesday morning.

Elsewhere in the country, other Democratic hopefuls are also wondering whether the administration will announce a detailed plan before ending Title 42.

"There's not a detailed plan in place so that we can keep asylum seekers and people in the country safe," Mandela Barnes, a Democratic Senate candidate in Wisconsin, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I'd like to see Biden put forward a comprehensive plan that deals with an influx of asylum seekers before we lift Title 42."

Barnes says he "supports comprehensive immigration reform that treats people with dignity, with fairness, with humanity" but wants to "make sure that law enforcement agencies have the resources they need."

Said O'Rourke: "Everyone is legitimately concerned about the lack of a plan. We should hold the federal government accountable for doing its job, and they’re not doing that,"

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/liberal-candidates-come-out-against-bidens-repeal-title-42-slam-admin-lack-plan

Border Patrol agents 'feel defeated' under Biden, says head of agency union

"We just know that we're not able to do the job that is necessary to protect the American public," said National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd.

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd on Tuesday said that agents "feel defeated" after just over a year under President Joe Biden's immigration policies.

While illegal immigration is already at "high levels," U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has warned that agents will "likely face an increase in encounters" after the White House ends Title 42, a Trump-era policy that expedited the deportation of illegal aliens at the border to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Judd, who has served as a Border Patrol agent for 25 years, told "Just the News – Not Noise" that he has "never seen morale any lower" than it is now.

Normally before shifts, agents have a meeting, Judd explained. Before Biden, the meetings "used to be a lot of camaraderie, a lot of talking, a lot of joking," he recalled.

During recent meetings, "nobody's talking," Judd told cohosts John Solomon and Amanda Head. "Heads are down. We feel defeated. We just know that we're not able to do the job that is necessary to protect the American public.

"Under this Defund [the] Police movement and under these policies that are giving us the least amount of border security than we've ever seen, we just don't feel like we're accomplishing anything. We go home and we feel defeated every day."

In February 2022, agents saw more than 160,000 southwest border encounters, according to CBP data. Right before the COVID-19 lockdown in February 2020 while President Donald Trump was still in office, agents encountered less than 37,000 illegal immigrants.

Judd said that when Border Patrol agents apprehend 3,000 migrants a day, their "resources are stretched nearly to the limits."

"When we have 5,000 apprehensions per day, we're in a crisis," he said. "Now you're robbing Peter to pay Paul. You're pulling resources from one area, [and] redirecting them to another area. But when you do that you're creating gaps in coverage, and you're creating openings that the cartels can then exploit."

Agents may soon apprehend 8,000 illegal immigrants each day, and they will be "overwhelmed across the entire southwest border" at that point, according to Judd.

"Large stretches of border are just completely left open," including a 250-mile stretch, while agents focus on apprehensions, he said.

Judd has warned before that if Title 42 ends, the "cartels are going to control our borders."

"This allows the cartels to cross whatever products they want, whether that's fentanyl that's killing so many of our U.S. citizens or criminal aliens," he said on Tuesday. "It's a very dangerous situation that we're seeing right now."

Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security Secretary under Trump, told "Just the News – Not Noise" that he approves of states taking immigration into their own hands, citing a bill filed by Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) to allow states to enforce immigration laws if the federal government does not.

"You have the states starting to take unprecedented action," he said. "I think it's the right action. "The Biden administration has clearly sort of washed their hands of any type of border security or immigration enforcement. And I think that's just the wrong approach."

Don McLaughlin is mayor of Uvalde, Texas, a border town with a population of more than 15,000 people.

The mayor told "Just the News" on Tuesday that in his town "parents don't let their kids play out in their yards anymore, because they don't know what's coming down the street or who's coming."

"Human smugglers" drive through the town "100 miles an hour through their neighborhoods," he said.

McLaughlin added that last year, schools in his community went into lockdown 48 times because of "bailouts," which happen when police try to pull over a suspected smuggler, who then slows down or stops to allow the passengers to scatter to avoid getting caught.

Schools in his community have had to go into lockdown "four or five times already this year" due to bailouts, he said.

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/national-border-patrol-council-president-says-agents-feel-defeated

Here's What the Left Is Really Mad About With Elon Musk's Offer to Buy Twitter

By Brandon Morse | Apr 14, 2022 3:00 PM ET

But zooming out on the arguments gives us a pretty good idea of what both sides of this conflict want, and when you plainly lay out the goals of each, it strikes you just where people are at in terms of ideology.

For those supporting Musk’s buyout of Twitter, they want something very simple; the ability to say what they want without fear of being suspended or banned. They want to be able to have conversations and make points without having to obey the guidelines laid down by their political/ideological opposites.

In other words, a little more honest conversation, a lot less ideological oversight.

What those who are against the buy are saying is that they would rather not allow people to say what they want, how they want, when they want, because some people will utilize that to spread “misinformation” that threatens our “Democracy.”

At least, that’s their excuse. What they actually seem to be afraid of isn’t the spread of “misinformation,” it’s the fact that very soon they’ll lose their handicap on this course and will have to have their ideas and declarations weighed and measured in an environment where it won’t be protected.

They’re being made equal and they don’t like it.

Much of what the left argues can only exist in a vacuum. Introduce outside opinions and the point they make begins to deflate pretty fast. For years, Twitter has been complicit in keeping certain arguments from making their way into the mainstream and given Twitter’s status as the de facto town square (as Elon Musk called it) that has polluted the national conversation on many a topic.

Everything from the COVID-19 virus to transgenderism has had Twitter’s “Trust and Safety” police busy. Suspensions and bans are a daily occurrence on the right. Even jokes are punished. You can ask the Babylon Bee about that. Their account is still suspended.

Looking back to the time of GamerGate around 2014/2015, you’ll notice there are far fewer right-leaning individuals than there were then. Our voice on the platform has been severely diminished. Those who do remain have had their reach choked to the point of non-existence. I have over 40k followers on Twitter and yet you’d think I had 200 by the amount of reach my tweets get.

Imagine what happens to the national conversation when all those banned and suspended are allowed to come back to the platform and speak truths that the left had kept tightly locked away. Imagine the largest conversational platform not having a guided narrative.

The national conversation will inevitably shift further away from the left.

And that’s what they’re really angry about. They can no longer control the national conversation here. Their dictatorial power will be lost and their ability to convince you of whatever ridiculous talking point they’ve cooked up will be severely lessened. They will lose more power while the people gain it.

The people are angry that the people are gaining power at this moment should be noted. These people aren’t to be trusted.

https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2022/04/14/heres-what-the-left-is-really-mad-about-with-elon-musks-offer-to-buy-twitter-n550216

Gawd thats me

https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1515099949679222790?s=20&t=HAamEDwfAoz_h3N_ZL-wrw

>>16084055

I really miss Trump and Dan