Congress secures first cooperation from National Archives in Biden document probe

House Oversight Committee to have transcribed interview Tuesday with Archives' top lawyer.

House Republicans on Thursday secured their first cooperation from the National Archives to gain information about the classified documents found in President Joe Biden's Delaware home and former Washington D.C. think tank. The agreement ends a stalemate over a growing scandal that has rocked Washington and led to a request for all living former presidents and vice presidents to search their own possessions for any missing national secrets.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told Just the News that his committee will be interviewing the National Archives' top lawyer, Gary Stern, next Tuesday to get the first answers about what documents were located, where they were located and who may have had access to them.

"They have finally agreed to come in and sit down for a transcribed interview," Comer said on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show on Real America's Voice. "So we will be able to have a formal interview. We're going to ask them all the questions that everyone in America wants answered. And hopefully they'll provide those answers."

Comer had gotten a cool response from the White House and Justice Department in his initial requests for information, a stark contrast to last fall when the Biden administration routinely leaked details about a similar controversy involving documents found at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate during an FBI raid.

News of the first cooperation from the Archives with Majority Republicans in the House came the same day the nation's historical preservation agency called on former U.S. presidents and vice presidents from the last six administrations to re-check any personal presidential records they have for the presence of any classified or otherwise relevant materials.

Comer said his committee will query Stern on the documents found in Trump's, Biden's and former Vice President Mike Pence's possession over the last six months and "why was there such a difference in how the Trump document case was handled versus how the Biden case was handled."

"We want to know who had access to those documents," the chairman added. "We're going to remind them that we have a very serious Biden family influence peddling investigation going on. And we're very concerned about not only who had access to those documents, but whether or not those documents ended up in the hands of our adversaries around the world, especially those who were involved in some of the Biden influence peddling scheme."

Comer's comments come as several lawmakers and experts are ramping up demands for the FBI and intelligence community to conduct a damage assessment to determine if national security was compromised by Biden's possession of national secrets in insecure locations like his home and think tank office.

Comer also confirmed his committee is seeking to interview the California art dealer who sold some of Hunter Biden's recent art pieces to determine if any foreign powers were using the purchases as an avenue of additional influence with the first family.

"We need to know who's buying this artwork," he said. "And I'm willing to sign a confidentiality agreement. You know, I need to know about this art, because there's a pattern here of our adversaries, especially in China, sending money to Biden interests, whether it be some of Hunter's or [his uncle] Jim Biden's shady business dealings, whether it be to the University of Pennsylvania to fund the Biden center for diplomacy, or reportedly to purchase some of Biden's artwork at very high prices.

"We're concerned that there's a pattern of corruption here with respect to the CCP that may be compromising this White House."

https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/congress-secures-first-cooperation-national-archives-biden-document

Report: George Soros Funds Global ‘Fact Checking’ Empire

Over the past few years, a cottage industry of “fact checkers” and “misinformation” experts has emerged to advance the left’s mission of silencing dissent to its agenda around the world. Analysis of the funding of these organizations leads back to a familiar figure: left-wing billionaire George Soros.

The New York Post broke down the trail of Soros dollars linking a global network of organizations intent on suppressing and discrediting conservative voices online.

Via the New York Post:

Later in the year, heading into the midterms, in an open letter signed by 11 other leftist groups, the Soros-funded Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights called on Big Tech CEOs to take “immediate” action to spread so-called “voting disinformation” to “help prevent the undermining” of democracy. The signatories had received a combined $30.3 million from Soros in just a four-year period.

As the Hungarian publication Remix revealed, of the 11 Facebook-approved fact checking organizations for Central and Eastern Europe, eight were funded by Soros. As is the case for the US, these fact checking groups are largely critical of the political right.

One project of the Poynter Institute specifically, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), was launched in 2015 with its initial funding coming from the National Endowment for Democracy (backed by the US State Department), the Omidyar Network, Google, Facebook, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

“Fact checking” is an important element in the left’s online censorship machine, giving social media companies a politically neutral pretext so censor conservative viewpoints.

Facebook notoriously uses fact checkers to dodge responsibility for censorship, even though its infamous decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story took place before any third party fact checkers had weighed in. In court, Facebook has admitted that fact checks, despite their pretense of impartiality and objectivity, are just opinions.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/01/26/report-george-soros-funds-global-fact-checking-empire/

Republican Introduces Bill to Hold China Accountable for the Coronavirus

Republican Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) is introducing a measure that would halt federal funds from going to China until the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reimburses the U.S. for the trillions spent on coronavirus relief.

The “China Lied, People Died Act” would stop federal funds from going to China until the communist regime pays America back for the trillions spent in the form of coronavirus relief due to the virus that originated in Wuhan.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Nehls said, “My first order of business this Congress is holding China accountable.”

“The Chinese Communist Party is singlehandedly responsible for the loss of a million lives in the United States and causing one of the worst economic disasters in the history of our country,” he continued, explaining that the GOP majority must work to force the CCP to “pay back the $4.6 trillion in Congressionally appropriated funds, as well as the $16 trillion of American taxpayer dollars that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is also listed on the bill:

The bill comes on the heels of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announcing members of key committees moving forward — two of which will focus on issues related to China as well as the origins of the Chinese coronavirus, respectively.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will chair the newly formed House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Other members include:

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN)

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA)

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)

Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY-06)

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA)

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI)

Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL-16)

Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL)

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD)

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA)

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA)

Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL)

McCarthy also announced members of the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, tasked with investigating the origins of the virus. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) is chairing that committee, which includes Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Mariannette Miller Meeks (R-IA), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Michael Cloud (R-TX), John Joyce (R-PA), and Rich McCormick (R-GA).

In a statement, McCarthy said the committee will focus to “finally get answers to the COVID origins and the federal government’s gain of function research that contributed to the pandemic.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/01/26/republican-introduces-bill-to-hold-china-accountable-for-the-coronavirus/

Toyota's CEO To Step Down As New Chief Will "Remodel" Automaker

Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation and grandson of the company's founder, is stepping down after leading the world's largest automaker for 14 years, according to Nikkei Asia.

Chief Branding Officer Koji Sato will replace Akio Toyoda on April 1. The plan is to "fully remodel" the automaker as a mobility company and accelerate the electrification of vehicles under Sato's leadership.

Toyoda has led the company that pioneered hybrid cars with its Prius model since 2009 and will become chair. Sato is currently the chief branding officer and head of the Lexus unit. The handover is primarily due to Toyota's slow adoption of electric vehicles.

"Because of my strong passion for cars, I am an old-fashioned person in regards to digitalization, electric vehicles, and connected cars. I cannot go beyond being a car guy, and that is my limitation," Toyoda told reporters.

"The new team can do what I can't do . . . I now need to take a step back in order to let young people enter the new chapter of what the future of mobility should be like," he continued.

One of Toyoda's mishaps was the botched launch of the company's first mass-produced EV, the bZ4X, which was immediately recalled after its launch last year. He also has had a staunch view that hybrids are much better than EVs, which likely led to the management reshuffle.

"The mission of the new team, led by new President Sato, is to fully remodel Toyota as a mobility company," Toyoda emphasized.

Tatsuo Yoshida, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said today's announcement is a total "surprise." He noted, "Toyoda's choice to remain as chairman will help maintain the company's business strategy and continuity."

Toyoda's slow move toward all-electric vehicles probably cost him the top spot.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/toyotas-ceo-step-down-new-chief-will-remodel-automaker