FBI Deputy Director Admits Redacting Mention of Joe and Hunter Biden Recordings in Document Shown to Congress

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate has admitted that the agency redacted parts of a document it handed over to Republican lawmakers last week that the GOP says contained references to alleged audio recordings between a Burisma executive and President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.

Abbate made the admission during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on June 13 while being questioned by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

The hearing came after an FBI informant claimed in an unclassified FD-1023 form that the then-vice president was involved in a $5 million “bribery scheme with a foreign national in exchange for certain actions.” The informant alleged that another $5 million payment was also made to Hunter Biden.

Members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee last week viewed the FBI informant’s report after the FBI initially declined their request, prompting a congressional subpoena.

Republicans said the unclassified document contained a redacted reference to the recordings, which allegedly include 15 phone conversations between the executive of Burisma Holdings and Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas firm.

It also included two phone calls between the executive and then-Vice President Joe Biden, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

The FBI informant alleges that the Bidens were involved in the alleged bribery scheme around 2015, however, the document only came to light earlier this year after a whistleblower notified Grassley about its existence. Grassley then informed House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) who is leading the House probe into the Biden family’s foreign business dealings.

Redactions Made to ‘Protect Source’

Blackburn repeatedly questioned Abbate over the redactions during Monday’s hearing, which took place on the same day that former President Donald Trump appeared in a Miami court and pleaded not guilty to 37 counts of charges in the federal government’s classified document case.

Abbate defended the decision to limit what Republicans saw in the document while also dismissing Blackburn’s claims that the FBI has become politicized.

“Is your job to defend and shield Joe Biden or is your job to protect this country and the constitution of the United States? Which is it?” Blackburn asked, to which Abbate responded that the agency’s job was to “protect the country, keep people safe, and uphold the constitution of our great country … objectively.”

Explaining the redactions after initially attempting to skirt the question, Abbate stated, “We often redact documents to protect sources and methods.”

“I have no idea if there are voice recordings or not,” Abbate said, adding, “What I will tell you with respect to the document, the document was redacted to protect the source, as everyone knows—and this is a question of life and death, potentially.”

“I think it would be helpful when you came before us if you were willing to answer the questions, it would help to remove the perception that the American people have—they see you do it every day—and that is politicizing the FBI and using it against the American people who don’t happen to be named Biden, Clinton, or one of the elites,” Blackburn responded.

https://www.ntd.com/fbi-deputy-director-admits-redacting-mention-of-joe-and-hunter-biden-recordings-in-document-shown-to-congress_925317.html

Hillary Clinton Says Republican Voters Are In A Cult

Hillary Clinton continues her verbal attacks on the American People.

On a recent episode of Pod Save America, Hillary Clinton accused Republican voters of being in a cult. In 2016 Hillary called GOP voters ‘a Basket of deplorables.’ It seems Hillary still has much contempt for the American people.

Hillary joined Pod Save America, which was hosted by a guy wearing a skirt, to talk about Donald Trump’s arrest. Clinton could not help holding back her contempt towards Trump voters who prevented her from becoming president. Hillary told POD the GOP is, “more like a cult than a political party at this point. They’re going to stick with their leader.”

Hillary went on to criticize the GOP for not embracing the facts according to her, saying, “They refuse to engage with the facts. There’s nothing new about that. And what they refuse to admit is: This is on a track about him, not about anybody else, no matter how much they try to confuse people and how much they try to raise extraneous issues.”

Ms. Clinton talks about the importance of facts and truth despite the fact that the Durham Report revealed that it was Ms. Clintion, not Donald Trump, who was guilty of lying to voters.

National File reported that the Durham Report revealed that the Clinton Campaign teamed up with the Obama White House and Deep State to create a Russian Collusion lie in order to smear Trump and rig the election against him.

Weeks before the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton referred to Trump voters as an ‘a Basket of deplorables.’ Many still have not forgiven Clinton for her 2016 comments.

During his speech on Tuesday night, Trump brought up the fact that Hillary had over 33k classified emails in her possession and unlike Trump, who was president, Hillary did not have the power to declassify any of the documents in her possession.

https://nationalfile.com/hillary-clinton-says-republican-voters-are-in-a-cult/

LGBT’ers Send Bomb Threats to Target Stores in 5 States

LGBT'ers say that Target has betrayed them by quieting down its promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism to small children.

LGBT radicals have sent bomb threats to Target store locations in at least five states after a nationwide boycott forced the left-wing retail giant to slightly walk back its pride month promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism that openly targets children and has ties to satanism.

Target stores in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Oklahoma, and Louisiana have all received bomb threats in recent days, according to several news reports, but no explosive devices have been found at the stores. The threats came from radial members of the LGBT movement, who claim that Target has “betrayed” them by quieting down their attempts to groom children with LGBT merchandise and promotions, that include trans “tucking” apparel for small children. (Tucking is when men claiming to be women “tuck” their male genitalia into a pouch inside of their clothing, to pretend it’s not there.)

The threats were sent electronically and the messages were received by Target locations as well as by local news outlets.

KLFY 10, a CBS News affiliate in Lafayette, Louisiana, where LGBT threats to Target were received, copied one of the threats to its news website.

“You have betrayed the LGBTQ+ community,” the threat reads. “You are pathetic cowards who bowed to the wishes of far right extremists who want to exterminate us. We will not tolerate intolerance nor indifference. If you are not with us then you are against us. That is why we placed a bomb in each of your locations, evacuate now as this is only to cause economic damage.”

https://nationalfile.com/lgbters-send-bomb-threats-to-target-stores-in-5-states/

US-Iran Secret Talks On Nuclear Program, Prisoner Exchange Confirmed, After White House Denial

The day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country "will not be bound" by any nuclear deal the US may potentially reach with Iran, new reporting in The Wall Street Journal has confirmed secretive efforts between Tehran and Washington to work toward reaching an 'interim deal' regarding the Iranian nuclear program. It's being seen as a fresh effort to gain the release of American prisoners held by Tehran and curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, but short of actually restoring the 2015 JCPOA.

Recently, Axios and some Middle East regional outlets reported on meetings in Oman, which were dubbed "proximity talks" - or what was the first known indirect engagement between the US and Iran in many months, for which White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk traveled to Oman on May 8. Still, the administration tried to downplay the initial Axios reporting as misleading and inaccurate.

The WSJ on Wednesday has revealed three ongoing sets of proximity talks involving top officials in Oman, as well as talks in New York involving Iran's ambassador to the UN. One of the truly "new" aspects is a US attempt to negotiate the return of Americans held in Iranian prisons.

All of this contradicts the Biden admin's statements of denial, given how significant these efforts are, as they also involve top officials. Interestingly, both the Iranian and American sides have formally denied hat an interim agreement is on the table.

"We have exchanged messages with the United States through Oman, and this continues," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Naser Kanani told reporters at the beginning of the week while rumors swirled.

But he stressed that "There is no interim or alternative agreement that can replace the JCPOA." The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action would have lifted sanctions in return for monitored limits places on Iran's nuclear program.

The WSJ headline resulted in oil prices briefly fading on the confirmation of secret talks…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-iran-secret-talks-nuclear-program-prisoner-exchange-confirmed-after-white-house

Starbucks Fined $25.6M for Firing a Manager for Being White.

A federal jury has ordered Starbucks to pay $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages to a district manager who was fired for being white.

Shannon Phillips was caught up in the furore that followed the arrest of two black men at a Starbucks in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, who had refused to leave after taking up a table and using the restroom without paying for anything.

The incident went viral on social media, with Starbucks scrambling to burnish its diversity and inclusion credentials amid accusations of racism. Shannon’s lawsuit alleged that a crackdown on white employees, often without justification, formed part of this response.

Phillips was asked to suspend a white Philadelphia area manager due to allegations of discrimination, while the black manager of the Rittenhouse Square coffee shop at the heart of the “crisis” went unpunished. Phillips hesitated to suspend the white manager, as the allegations against him were false, resulting in her own dismissal.

Now, a federal jury has unanimously concluded that she was fired for being white, violating federal civil rights laws and state laws prohibiting racial discrimination.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2023/06/14/starbucks-fined-25-6m-for-firing-a-manager-for-being-white/

Mexican City Councilwoman Arrested near Border in Texas with 42 Kilos of Cocaine

A councilwoman from the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, now faces federal charges in Texas after U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested her for allegedly transporting 42 kilograms of cocaine.

The incident took place over the weekend at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, approximately 80 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents observed 33-year-old Denisse Ahumada Martinez driving a Mazda SUV with Mexican license plates as she approached the checkpoint, court documents revealed.

At that checkpoint, authorities sent her to a secondary inspection area where they used an X-ray scanning device and found 42 bundles of drugs hidden inside the car’s door panels and seats.

During an interview with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents following her arrest, Martinez said she had previously transported drugs, court documents revealed.

After processing, federal authorities took Martinez before a U.S. magistrate judge who ordered that she be held without bond pending further hearings.

Martinez is currently serving as a city councilwoman in the Mexican border city of Reynosa. She received her position in Reynosa as a member of the Green Party (Partido Verde). Since then, she became a member of the National Action Party (PAN) and she is a close political ally and friend of Mayor Carlos Victor “Makito” Pena Ortiz who is from the Morena Party.

As Breitbart Texas has reported, several Mexican border city politicians and their families have been linked by U.S. authorities to drug cartels and their illicit activities.

In December, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations arrested Jesus Tapia Fernandez, a former Tamaulipas state representative, along with 11 other businessmen and women including Carlos Fabian “El Cuate” Martinez, the son-in-law of the former maximum leader of the Gulf Cartel Osiel Cardenas. As Breitbart Texas reported, that group is accused of using the Gulf Cartel to establish a monopoly over the legal import of merchandise by travelers by using violence to extort them for travel fees.

In November, the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ismael Garcia Almanza, the manager of the Matamoros city water system, after federal authorities found a small amount of cocaine in his vehicle. After posting bail, Garcia Almanza claimed that the case was a political vendetta.

In March 2022, Texas State Troopers arrested Nallely Villarreal, the daughter of Matamoros City Commissioner Rosy Perez, after finding a brick of cocaine in her vehicle. In that case, Perez went to court hearings where a local attorney claimed that she had strong ties to the community and convinced a U.S. magistrate judge to release her in lieu of a $50,000 bond. After her release, as Breitbart Texas reported exclusively, Villarreal absconded into Mexico and has since been declared a fugitive by the U.S. Marshals Service.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2023/06/14/border-patrol-arrests-mexican-border-city-councilwoman-with-42-kilos-of-cocaine/