Adam Kinzinger Quietly Stepped Away From Scandal-Plagued Ukraine Aid Group ‘Months’ Ago 1/2

Micaela Burrow Reporter April 02, 2023 12:26 PM ET

Former Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger quietly stepped away from a U.S.-based company providing aid to Ukrainian forces months before media reports revealed the organization is facing federal inquiry, according to a spokesperson for CNN, where Kinzinger now works.

Kinzinger joined Ripley’s Heroes, a limited liability company founded in April 2022 by retired Lt. Col. Hunter “Rip” Rawlings to provide nonlethal aid to Ukrainian troops, as an unpaid adviser in September, according to an announcement. After other volunteers in Ukraine alleged that an executive at Ripley’s Heroes lied about his military service in Ukraine and media reports showed that Ripley’s Heroes is under federal investigation, CNN told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Kinzinger had not served on the company’s board of advisers for months.

“Adam is not on the board of advisers of Ripley’s Heroes and hasn’t been for several months,” a CNN spokesperson told the DCNF. Kinzinger served in an advisory position anddid not receive any money(only campaign contributions), according to the announcement. He met with members of Ripley’s Heroes, including Rawlings, and James Vasquez, the organization’s chief strategy officer (CSO), as early as June, tweets show.

Kinzinger previously called Vasquez a “freedom fighter” andpetitioned Twitteradministrators to verify Vasquez’ account, calling him “legit,” a month afterlobbying PayPalto restore services for Vasquez and Ripley’s Heroes, tweets show. But Vasquez, an American Army veteran, is accused of illegally carrying weapons andmisrepresenting his military servicein Ukraine during the ongoing war with Russia.

Despite posting frequently on social media about his service alongside Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and deploying to the front lines,other volunteerswho have interacted with Vasquezcalled him a play-actor, telling the DCNF he routinelyembellishedhis combat activities. Vasquez called himself a “lower tier commander” and carried weapons while never officially a member of a military unit, by his own admission, according to tweets.

Ripley’s Heroes has sinceremovedVasquez from a page featuring descriptions of “The Heroes” the organization supports,but Vasquez’s bio is still visibleon an archived version of the webpage, and Vasquez’s LinkedIn page still listed him as CSO at Ripley’s Heroes.

Ripley’s Heroes Being Investigated For Potential Illicit Transfers

Other foreign volunteers in Ukraine suggested Ripley’s Heroeslacked transparency, calling into question theorganization’s integrity, according to social media posts, media reports and interviews conducted by the DCNF.

Volunteers said Ripley’s Heroes purchased $63,000 in night-vision and thermal optics, including military equipment subject to U.S. export restrictions due to their potential to aid adversarial forces, according to The New York Times.

Federal authorities initiated an investigation into the shipments, the NYT reported on March 25, citing U.S. officials. The report did not specify a timeline, only that the probe began recently. Volunteers told the NYT that Ripley’s had delivered the equipmentwithout supplying required paperworkdocumenting buyers and recipients. Rawlings provided transaction documents to the NYT showing that the State Department was not notified that Ripley’s purchased the equipment.

Export of items that have both commercial and military uses is regulated by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), according to the International Trade Administration. The State Department administers rules, known as ITAR, that control the export and sale of defense items and defense services.

Individuals wishing to export articles coveredby ITAR must seek a license from the State Department, according ITAR provisions.

It is not clear from the NYT report what category of item or service Ripley’s sought to export from the U.S., and neither Ripley’s Heroes nor Rawlings himself responded to the DCNF’s multiple requests for comment. In one social post, Vasquez appears to display a U.S.-origin M4 rifle.

“The Departments of State and Defense conduct rigorous end use monitoring of sensitive U.S. equipment. Ukraine’s Armed Forces are responsible for equipping units, including with security assistance provided by partners,” a State Department spokesperson told the DCNF, referring any further questions to Ripley’s Heroes BIS did not respond to a request for comment.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/02/adam-kinzinger-ripleys-ukraine-scandal/

>>18633163

2/2

2/2

“Not Credible”

Rawlings told the NYT in March his companyhad raised more than $1 millionin donations so far. In 2022, Ripley’s Heroes spent $25,000 on remote-controlled intelligence gathering vehicles, but shipping records show they never arrived, the outlet reported. Rawlings said they were stuck in Poland. A text conversation posted online by a third party in February appears to show a volunteer referring to the reconnaissance vehicles held up in Polish customs. The individual claims thatRipley’s is “shady” and stopped working with Atlas after a problem with a third party, and that Ripley’s promised to reimburse $28,000 for the undelivered equipment.

“[Ripley’s Heroes] paid over $10k on theUGVs(unmanned ground vehicles) and another $7 … on shipping to have them [sitting] in Polish customs for a month,” an individual alleged in a text conversation purported to be with Vasquez. The same message said Ripley’s had raised about $1 million total. While the conversation appears to match the NYT’s reporting, the DCNF could not authenticate the text messages, and neither the individual posting the conversation orAtlas Global Aidresponded to requests for comment.

April Huggett, a volunteer who transports donated equipment to soldiers on the front lines, worked with Ripley’s Heroes regularly, tweets from January show. But, in March, after another volunteer made statements about Vasquez misrepresenting his service with the Ukrainian army, she put forth additional claims that she helped raise 5,000 Canadian dollars, or approximately $7,000 in American dollars, for Ripley’s Heroes to purchase a truck and was not notified of the purchase or privy to any transaction receipts.

“They give out stuff but they always lowered the number from what the request was,” Huggett told the DCNF. “So if I [sic] unit asked for [six] helmets and bullet proof vests, they would give them three.”

Ripley’s posted just one financial reporton its website, in April 2022, shortly after it was incorporated, a page on the website shows. In the first month of existence, Ripley’s said it raised $248,000, of which all but a 3% transaction fee went to program-related expenses. As of March, Ripley’s wasstill waiting on approval from the Internal Revenue Service(IRS) to designate the for-profit company as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization, Rawlings told the NYT.

However,Rawlings declined to provide spending or proof of nonprofit application, such as the Form 1023 companies must submit to the IRS that petitions for a company to shift from for-profit to non-profit, to the NYT or donors who requested it. That means it’s not clear where or how money flowing into Ripley’s Heroes is spent The DCNF has requested the IRS to provide a copy of any 1023 submitted on behalf of Ripley’s Heroes.

Transitioning an organization from a company to a nonprofit raises suspicion within the IRS regarding the motive of the owner, Daniel Kurtz, an attorney serving nonprofit clients, told the DCNF. “A business can act like a charity — it can do whatever it wants to do — but its goal is to make money for its owners,” Kurtz said.

The application for tax exempt status could take several months, although the IRS at times can expedite processing in response to real-world events, and requires the founder to divest ownership of the company, he said. But, in January, Vasquez said in a social media post was “pending” tax-exempt status in the U.S. and had achieved Ripley’s achieved “501” status in Ukraine and soon in Poland, presumably a reference to status as a tax-exempt organization. The company planned to reimburse taxes once achieving nonprofit status, Vasquez said in the tweet.

However, Kurtz said Vasquez’explanation belies belief. “It’s not credible,” Kurtz told the DCNF.

Moreover,Rawlings created a second company, Iron Forge Solutions, in October that is co-located with Ripley’s Heroes in Great Falls, Virginia, according to state records. Iron Forge would provide Ripley’s Heroes and other aid organizations in Ukrainewith transportation, Rawlings told the NYT.

He insisted thatno conflict of interest existed, even though his allegedly prospective non-profit would in theory be paying his for-profit organization for services, according to the NYT. Iron Forge would ultimately provide the money back to the charities, Rawlings explained.

“There clearly is potential for a conflict of interest” given the opportunity for Rawlings to funnel donor money from a nonprofit to a firm delivering a profit, Kurtz told the DCNF.

However, more than once Vasquez referred to Ripley’s Heroes as a “foundation,” not a company, tweets show. Kinzinger is not the only Washington official Ripley’s Heroes or an employee of the firm sought to engage in its allegedly charitable cause.

AMBS. CELLA & HOEKSTRA: The $4 Billion Taxpayer Giveaway Coming Soon To A State Near You

Ambs. Joseph Cella & Peter Hoekstra Contributor April 02, 2023 Peter Hoekstra served as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands from 2018-2021

In our service as ambassadors, we immediately faced how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are grave national security threats to our allies and the U.S. Troublingly, in our home state of Michigan we are seeing first-hand how the PRC and the CCP are penetrating our shores on a subnational level, beyond the eyes of the U.S. government, with the strong and active support of both Democrats and Republicans.

One year ago, the Senate Intelligence Committee hosted officials from the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), an entity within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to advise and warn a bi-partisan group of state and local officials about the nature, risks, and escalation of PRC and CCP influence operations.

Last Summer, in a first-ever joint appearance, FBI Director Christopher Wray and his MI5 British counterpart Ken McCallum delivered a warning about the grave national security threat to the West from China. Not long after their meeting, the unclassified bulletin from the NCSC was released,warning state and local leaders to guard themselves against PRC operationsand refuse to sign agreements that run counter to U.S. national security and economic security, even if they appear to benefit a state or local government in the short term. They further recommended insisting on public and transparent terms for all such agreements and share such engagements with other local leaders and U.S. authorities.

Over the last year,Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) did the opposite, leading Republican and Democrat state legislators, county economic development corporations, and local governments, in the pursuit of CATL and Gotion, two PRC-based lithium ion battery manufacturers who maintain deep ties to the CCP, incentivizing them with over $4 billion in tax dollars from the citizens and business owners of Michigan. The subnational incursion presently happening in Michigan is unconscionable, and both a harbinger and a cautionary tale for the other 49 states in the Union.

How can Michigan politicians in Lansing be so far out of sync with our national security and intelligence officials in Washington? Republicans andDemocrats are not only welcomingthe presence of PRC-based companies with ties to the CCP into our state, but they are inducing these companies to come to Michigan with lucrative financial incentives!

Unfortunately, Governor Whitmer and her supportive cohorts have paid more attentionto binding five-year non-disclosure agreements and secretive code words for the projects. Worse yet, they have turned a blind eye to any national security threat from these PRC-based companies, rushing the process, and sweetening the deal with separate pork barrel projects for legislators, rather than conducting strict scrutiny and due diligence by petitioning for a voluntary review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) through the Department of Treasury.

Do Michigan taxpayers really want to send money to a country that violates human rights, performs human organ harvesting, embeds people in our universities to copy and send home research, or who steals our technology, manipulates their currency, and spies on our military installations? We don’t think so. But by the aggressive lobbying of Governor Whitmer and votes of Democrats and Republicans, they have a bi-partisan consensus totally out of step with the clear and present threat of these times, putting the PRC ahead of Michigan.

The good news is that even with the snow job and skid greasing laid down by the powers that be in Michigan, citizens in the communities where these projects are proposed know something is wrong and are revolting. The public gets it. Politicians and most of the media do not.

It is imperative governors, legislatures, local officials, private sector leaders, county economic development corporations in all other states, learn about the nature of the threats presented by the PRC and the CCP, spot vulnerabilities in their states, set out aggressively to confront such subnational incursions, and not leave themselves vulnerable as Democrat and Republican Michigan leaders did to our state.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/02/ambs-cella-hoekstra-the-4-billion-taxpayer-giveaway-coming-soon-to-a-state-near-you/

>>18633215

you know they are doing this on purpose to get noticed by the board right

>>18633083

See the giant tuna that broke a rod in half during 2-hour fight with Texas fishermen

By Hillary Andrews, FOX Weather

April 3, 2023 1

Comms Big Fish Day

PORT ARANSAS, Texas – Take a look at the one that didn’t get away – but definitely tried.

An exhausted Captain Tim Oestreich shows off his fishing pole, snapped in two by the beast of a fish lying below him.

The 676-pound bluefin tuna battled all 16 anglers plus the five-person crew aboard the Dolphin Express charter fishing boat on March 24th. Each had to take turns during the two-hour tug-of-war to land the fish.

Oestreich told Sport Fishing Magazine that some people would last only 2 to 3 minutes before they tired out.

“When one angler was done, I would call for ‘fresh meat on the reel,’” he told Sport Fishing.

Dolphin Dock’s Deep Sea Fishing calls the 56-hour-long trip the “Texas Safari.” And their website says that the charter “is your destination for the Texas fishing trip of a lifetime.”

The captain said the bait was only in the water for 10 minutes before the bluefin bit. Then the big fish dove and took 800 yards of line with it.

“That’s almost half a mile straight down in about a minute,” Osetreich explained to Sport Fishing.

Forty-five minutes later, the fishermen had reeled the fish back near the boat, but again, the tuna took off.

The captain tried to keep the fish moving to tire it out. The boat followed the running tuna for about 2.5 miles.

After 45 minutes, the fish was again next to

the boat. The surprise came when the fish took off again, snapping the rod in two.

Osetreich grabbed what was left of the rod and pulled the fish in by hand for 40 feet. He said it took 8 guys to lift the fish out of the water and into the boat.

In the 4.5-day trip, the anglers also caught three yellowtail tuna each and 11 wahoo fish.

“When my arm recovers, I’d love to go again….. soon as I find a bigger freezer,” wrote the guest on Facebook.

https://nypost.com/2023/04/03/see-the-giant-tuna-that-broke-a-rod-in-half-during-2-hour-fight-with-texas-fishermen/

Ex-CIA chief dubs Putin ‘dead man walking,’ predicts violent regime change in Russia

By Snejana Farberov April 3, 2023 12:03pm (I'd believe MacGregor before I'd believe this nonsense, and MacGregor says Ukraine is losing)

Russia’s Vladimir Putincould beeliminated by his own military brass fed up with catastrophic losses in Ukraine, which would finally bring the war to an end, according to an ex-CIA official. James Olson, a decorated former chief of counterintelligence, labeled Putin a “dead man walking” in a candid exclusive interview with the Sun.

“It is not going well at all. I believe Putin is in a no-win situation now,” the 30-year veteran of the spy agency said. According to Olson, Putin will never agree to withdraw his forces from Ukraine until they assume complete control over the four partially occupied regions that were illegally annexed by Russia in the fall.

“If Putin stays in power, there will be a long war because he will not give up — but I do not think that Putin is going to stay in power,” Olson said. “I believethat he will be removed from power.”

Olson said the 70-year-old Russian leader could either be deposed in an uprising or killed. “I thinkPutin will be taken out,” he said. “I would not rule out assassination.”

Russian President Vladimir Putincould bedeposed from power, or assassinated by his military leaders eager to bring an end to the war, according to a former CIA official. AP The retired spymaster and author, who serves as professor of international affairs at Texas A&M University, opined that Russia’s military leaders are “disgusted” by the high casualty rate in Ukraine.

Were Putin’s discontented generals to turn on him, Olson said, he would be “a dead man walking.” “He would not survive that. I think that it is more likely that Putin will be eliminated than a military defeat,” he said.

An update from the UK Ministry of Defense on Sunday stated that since February 2022, Russia has suffered around 200,000 casualties in Ukraine — a number that includes both killed and wounded soldiers.

James Olson, former CIA chief of counterintelligence, predicted (wished) that the war in Ukraine would end once Putin is gone. APSIA

Ukraine’s latest estimate is higher, with the country’s Ministry of Defense putting the number of “eliminated” Russian personnel at more than 175,000.

Putin hadreportedlyexpected to conquer Ukraine in three days’ time in February 2022. More than 13 months later, his troops have found themselves bogged down in a bloody quagmire, fighting street to street for control of small cities in the east.

If Olson is to be believed, Putin’s fate is inextricably tied to the outcome of the war, which ultimately could be his undoing.

“I believe that there is a strong undercurrent of opposition to Putin in the military, in the intelligence services, among the oligarchs,” he said.

According to the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia has suffered around 200,000 casualties in Ukraine — a number that includes both killed and wounded soldiers.AP Olson said Russian military leaders are “disgusted” with the high casualty levels in Ukraine, which could lead to Putin’s assassination. ZUMAPRESS.com (Interesting that’s about the same amount of dead of Ukraine soldiers reported by the Russia last week, Ukraine Propaganda, article below quote was two weeks ago below)

Olson predicted that “some patriotic Russians will decide they need to eliminate Putin” to stop the attritional war. (he's a psychic now)

“Putin is bleeding Russia and he cannot do that forever,” the former counterintelligence chief noted.

Olson also warned that if Putin continues to cling to power for much longer, there is a real risk that the war would spill beyond Ukraine’s borders and engulf neighboring Moldova, which is widely believed to be in Russia’s crosshairs.

(File this under Ukraine/UK PropagandaThere’s a whole lot of guessing and supposition in this article. If Putin is really the assassin of the Kremlin, I rather doubt anyone would try it. Guessing game by ex-CIA)

https://nypost.com/2023/04/03/ex-cia-chief-james-olson-dubs-putin-dead-man-walking/

US and European officials have estimated that up 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the launch of Russia’s military operation last February, it added. Kiev keeps information abouts losses secret, even from its Western backers.

https://www.rt.com/russia/572937-ukraine-losses-offensive-us/