https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1531298495956754432?s=20&t=lx8BLvBWTyZhh9NKlEBRYQ
Inside a Biden White House adrift
Amid a rolling series of calamities and sinking approval ratings, the president’s feeling lately is that he just can’t catch a break — and that angst is rippling through his party.
WASHINGTON — Faced with a worsening political predicament, President Joe Biden is pressing aides for a more compelling message and a sharper strategy while bristling at how they’ve tried to stifle the plain-speaking persona that has long been one of his most potent assets.
Biden is rattled by his sinking approval ratings and is looking to regain voters’ confidence that he can provide the sure-handed leadership he promised during the campaign, people close to the president say.
Crises have piled up in ways that have at times made the Biden White House look flat-footed: record inflation, high gas prices, a rise in Covid case numbers — and now a Texas school massacre that is one more horrific reminder that he has been unable to get Congress to pass legislation to curb gun violence. Democratic leaders are at a loss about how he can revive his prospects by November, when midterm elections may cost his party control of Congress.
“I don’t know what’s required here,” said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., whose endorsement in the 2020 Democratic primaries helped rescue Biden’s struggling candidacy. “But I do know the poll numbers have been stuck where they are for far too long.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-white-house-adrift-rcna30121
"Biden was furious that his remarks were being seen as unreliable, arguing that he speaks genuinely and reminding his staff that he’s the one who is president."
He’s a fucking liar! Of course they are unreliable
Kingmaker - Big IF! (True)
@KingMakerFT
FBI agent Hellman testified in the Sussmann trial that he figured out almost immediately that the Alfa Bank -Trump email server connection narrative was bogus. Yet the CH team opened a full counterintelligence investigation that wasn’t closed until January 18, 2017.
So now there’s a new timeline to consider.
1) According to former DNI Ratcliffe, on July 28, 2016, CIA Director Brennan briefed Obama on a plan approved by Hillary on July 26 to “vilify Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services.”
2) September 7, 2016, the CIA referred to Strzok and Comey the investigative matter involving a purported plan by Hillary concerning blaming Trump for Russian hackers “as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.”
3) September 19 - Sussmann, a lawyer for Hillary’s campaign who claimed not to be representing any client, brings FBI GC Baker data and white papers accusing Trump of having a secret back channel communications link with the Kremlin through Alfa Bank.
September 20- Agent Hellman concludes that the narrative not only does not hold water, but in text messages states that the DNS pings mysteriously started shortly before the start date used by someone supposedly investigating Trump-Russia connections. See this post:
Here are some text messages that FBI's Scott Hellman wrote his unit chief Nate Batty within 24h of getting the fake Alfa data from Sussmann.
It was completely obvious from day one that the whole thing was a totally idiotic hoax. Yet FBI leadership opened a full investigation.
So the major unanswered question is, given Hellman’s suspicions that that data were created to sell a narrative rather than something found accidentally by researchers, and given the CIA’s referral only two weeks earlier,…
Why didn’t the FBI 7th Floor launch an investigation of Hillary as the possible sponsor of a hoax? And why did the 7th Floor instead open a full counter-Intel investigation by Chicago FO into the Alfa Bank narrative being spun by Sussmann, Joffe and friends?
And finally, why did the 7th Floor go to extraordinary lengths to keep secret from the agents in Chicago doing the investigation, the source or sources of the data- even to the extent of not allowing any agent to talk to the Ga Tech researcher, David Dagon?
PS- Then there’s this: “We think it’s a set up.”
Call Dagon and ask him.
http://climateaudit.info/russiagate/alfa/sussmann_exhibits/
https://twitter.com/KingMakerFT/status/1531307188202967042?s=20&t=lx8BLvBWTyZhh9NKlEBRYQ
11:12 AM · May 30, 2022·T
https://twitter.com/ConceptualJames/status/1531463427964784644?s=20&t=lx8BLvBWTyZhh9NKlEBRYQ
Number of Soldiers Booted for Vaccine Refusal Doubled from Last Month
The number of soldiers who have been separated from the Army due to refusing the COVID-19 vaccine has more than doubled from last month, according to new statistics released by the service on Friday.
The service has now discharged at least 742 active-duty soldiers for refusal, it said. On April 20, the total was 345.
In addition to COVID-19, troops are mandated to receive more than a dozen other vaccines, including those against smallpox, hepatitis and the flu. However, troops are not required to get any COVID-19 booster shots. Right now, 97% of the active-duty Army is fully vaccinated.
In addition to the separations, 3,416 general officer reprimands have been given out to soldiers refusing the vaccine. The admonishments are largely seen as career killers in the military.
Soldiers can receive a religious or medical exemption from the vaccine, but those exceptions are exceedingly rare.
Only nine out of 4,428 religious exemption applications have been approved by the Army. It's unclear how those nine soldiers made their case, and troops seeking a religious waiver may have a steep hill to climb if they didn't take issue with any of the service's other vaccine mandates.
Army officials have approved 22 medical exemptions of the 732 requested so far. COVID-19 vaccines have been determined to be safe, but do carry a minor risk of causing some health issues such as heart inflammation, which has affected at least 22 service members, according to a study from the JAMA Network.
The new numbers on separations also come a month before the Army Reserve and National Guard hit their deadline to be inoculated at the end of June.
Some governors have challenged the Pentagon's directive for the National Guard amid Republican opposition to pandemic-related mandates, saying they will not kick out any refusers.
It's still unclear whether those governors will follow through with their defiance. The rules Guardsmen must follow can change depending on what type of mission they are on and whether it falls under state or federal orders.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/05/27/number-of-soldiers-booted-vaccine-refusal-doubled-last-month.html
Russia Test-Fires its Latest Hypersonic Zircon Missile
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian navy on Saturday conducted another test of a prospective hypersonic missile, a demonstration of the military's long-range strike capability amid the fighting in Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry said the Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Northern Fleet in the White Sea launched the Zircon cruise missile in the Barents Sea, successfully hitting a practice target in the White Sea about 1,000 kilometers (540 nautical miles) away.
The launch was the latest in a series of tests of Zircon, which is set to enter service later this year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Zircon is capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and has a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). Putin has emphasized that its deployment will significantly boost the capability of Russia’s military.
Zircon is intended to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines and could be used against both enemy ships and ground targets. It is one of several hypersonic missiles under development in Russia.
Russian officials have boasted about Zircon's capability, saying that it's impossible to intercept with existing anti-missile systems.
Putin, who has sternly warned Western allies against interfering in Ukraine, has warned in the past that Russian warships armed with Zircon would give Russia a capability to strike “decision-making centers" within minutes if deployed in neutral waters.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/05/29/russia-test-fires-its-latest-hypersonic-zircon-missile.html
https://twitter.com/UndeadFoia/status/1531443152602779648?s=20&t=W1fxLWSrJbGfjRMoVwmrFA
Finally the Vatican Connection
Remember Barr and Durham went to the Vatican and their bank!
https://twitter.com/UndeadFoia/status/1531084561542676483?s=20&t=W1fxLWSrJbGfjRMoVwmrFA
Tidbits on Neustar
In the summer of 2014, an advisory group advised the Number Portability and Administration Center contract should be awarded to Telcordia over Neustar.
This contract had provided approximately half the revenue for Neustar, a publicly traded company in the telecommunications industry. Neustar fought back with intensive lobbying efforts citing national security risks if another vendor were to be awarded the contract. Telcordia’s bid had come in much lower, at a rate that was approximately 1/3rd what Neustar had charged the year before.
The contract was officially lost to Neustar in the summer of 2016, with the transition of the NPAC system to Telcordia occurring between 2017 and 2018.
This coincides with a period in which Neustar paid increasing amounts to Perkins Coie for work in large part done by their outside counsel, Michael Sussmann:
$693k - 2014
$1.197m - 2015
$1.476m - 2016
$2.155m - 2017
During the questioning by the Durham team throughout the Sussmann trial, there was reference to the business interests of Rodney Joffe being advanced. This is speculative, but in lieu of direct financial compensation, it would be interesting to if there were any discussions that were had over restoring the NPAC contract with the Clinton campaign and the extent of Neustar CEO Lisa Hook’s knowledge of what Joffe was doing with Neustar resources in 2016.
Notably, we have FOIA documents where Lisa Hook is in contact and visiting Manos Antonakakis, and introducing Michael Sussmann to Antonakakis. We are continuing to explore these relationships through FOIA.
One oddity not discussed often is a report (first found by Stephen Mcintyre) of $2 million in transfers from the Holy See to Neustar’s Melbourne office between 2016 and 2017 sent by Cardinal Becciu who has faced allegations of fraud and money laundering. Officials have confirmed there was no legitimate purpose behind the transfers, but so far have not released additional information. Cardinal Becciu has previously suggested the transfers related to a classified project.
A cursory look at available SEC reports indicate that the Melbourne office was only 15,000 square feet, valued at $2 million of property and equipment and acquired in 2015 via an acquisition.
Even split among 4 transfers, $500k blocks of income from such a small office presents an immense accounting challenge to hide if one intended to. It also poses a question to Ernst and Young about their audit procedures.
I have been battling AUSTRAC authorities for months on a Freedom of Information request for these records. I will provide an update as this continues to develop.
Finally, I would reference a section of the Sussmann indictment:
There may be more to the story on these Alfa related billings to Rodney Joffe and we’ll leave it at that.
https://undeadfoia.substack.com/p/tidbits-on-neustar?sd=fs&s=r