SSCI Chairman Cotton Wants to Diminish DNI and Return More Power to CIA

June 28, 2025 | Sundance |

It’s a complicated dynamic, but not so complicated that we cannot understand the motives. Prior to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard taking office, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had no problems with the DNI office.However, with DNI Gabbard now stretching her wings to diminish the CIA, suddenly the Senate seeks to control the DNI.

Tulsi Gabbard had been shrinking the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) since she took office; from 2,000 to roughly 1,600 and dropping. SSCI Chairman Tom Cotton now wants to cap the office staff at 650, sending the remaining intelligence community operatives back to the CIA and other agencies.

[TWEET LINK]

Additionally, Chairman Cotton does not want the DNI to investigate or generate its own intelligence. Cotton demands the ODNI just accept and regurgitate the intelligence Tulsi Gabbard would be given by the other agencies; no independent review of analysis permitted.All of these actions push the Intelligence Communitypower center back into the CIAand away from the prying eyes of the DNI.That’s the SSCI motive.

WASHINGTON DC – A top Republican senator is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, slashing the workforce of an organization that has expanded since it was created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Under a bill by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the chair of the Intelligence Committee, the ODNI’s staff of about 1,600 would be capped at 650, according to a senior Senate aide familiar with the proposed legislation.

ODNI’s workforce was about 2,000 in January, but National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has already overseen a reduction of about 20% as part of the Trump administration’s drive to shrink the federal workforce. The reduction in the staff Gabbard oversees could weaken her role in the intelligence bureaucracy.

[…] The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, exposed a failure to share information across spy agencies with catastrophic results. As a result, Congress established the ODNI to oversee all of the country’s 18 intelligence services, including the CIA, and manage bureaucratic turf wars from a complex outside Washington, D.C.

What started as a relatively small office under the national intelligence director in 2005 has expanded over the last 20 years to include in-house analysis teams and centers focused on counterterrorism and counterintelligence. Cotton has described the ODNI as a bloated bureaucracy that should return to its original mission of coordinating the work of other spy agencies instead of producing its own reports and duplicating other agencies’ efforts.

“Congress in no way wanted yet another unruly bureaucracy layered on top of an already bureaucratic intelligence community,” Cotton said at Gabbard’s confirmation hearing in late January. “Unfortunately, 20 years later, that’s exactly what the ODNI has become.”

Gabbard herself expressed support for downsizing the ODNI’s workforce at the hearing, saying she would work with Cotton and other lawmakers to eliminate “redundancies and bloating.” (read more)

In the lead up to the election I outlined what the DNI could do with untapped power already given to the office. DNI Tulsi Gabbard has been following a path close to that outline.Now, we see Washington DC responding to that affirmed power structure and actively working to neuter the DNI.A very predictable outcome.

The only intelligence silo more corrupt than the CIA is the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that oversees it.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/06/28/ssci-chairman-cotton-wants-to-diminish-dni-and-return-more-power-to-cia/

29 Jun, 2025 08:22

Iran could rebuild nuclear program within months – IAEA chief

“You cannot disinvent” Tehran’s technical and industrial capabilities, Rafael Grossi has said

Iran could resume uranium enrichment within months, despite recent US and Israeli airstrikes on its nuclear facilities, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has stated.

In an interview with CBS News released on Sunday, Grossi said the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, inflicted “a very serious level of damage,” but some of the assets are “still standing.”

“The capacities they [Iran] have are there. They can have, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,”he added, while acknowledging that even the Iranians likely do not yet know the extent of the damage.

According to the IAEA chief, Iran maintains a significant industrial capacity. “Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology, as is obvious. So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have.”

Grossi went on to say that concerns about Iran’s nuclear program cannot be put to rest through a military solution. “I think this should be the incentive that we all must have to understand that… you are not going to solve this in a definitive way militarily.You are going to have an agreement,” he said, expressing hope that IAEA inspectors would soon have access to the country’s nuclear sites again.

Iran has barred the inspectors from its nuclear facilities, accusing the agency of distorting facts in a recent report, which Tehran claims served as justification for the Israeli and US strikes.Grossi responded by saying: “Really, who can believe that this conflict happened because of a report of the IAEA? And, by the way, what was in that report was not new.”

The comments come after a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, during which the US and Israel conducted airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

US President Donald Trump claimed the strikes “completely obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities and warned of further attacks if Iran pursues nuclear weapons. Several US media outlets have suggested, however, that the damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was limited.

Tehran has denied that it has plans to produce a nuclear weapon and maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, stressing that it wants to reserve the right to enrich uranium for civilian use.

https://www.rt.com/news/620740-iran-could-rebuild-nuclear-program/

Law Prof Jonathan Turley: Majority of SCOTUS Getting Tired of ‘Histrionics And Hysteria’ on Left Side of the Court (VIDEO)

by Mike LaChance Jun. 28, 2025 10:00 pm

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley appeared on the Hannity show this weekend and talked with guest host Kellyanne Conway about the drama we saw unfold on the Supreme Court this week.

Turley suggested that the majority wing of SCOTUS is tired of the antics of the leftist minority of the court.

He noted that the ‘histrionics and the hysteria’ are just too much.

Transcript via Real Clear Politics:

KELLYANNE CONWAY, “HANNITY” GUEST HOST: For anyone against unchecked government power, this was a very, very good day.

Here now with analysis, FOX News contributor Jonathan Turley.

Jonathan Turley, what an incredible day at the Supreme Court.

Let’s have you break it down. And also I think people are very curious how this does impact things like sanctuary city funding, birthright citizenship and other issues at play.

JONATHAN TURLEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, thank you, Kellyanne.

I think that the first thing the president should do is go buy a lottery ticket because he’s having a heck of a week and if I was going to get a lottery ticket, it’s probably be today.

But this is a huge win for him. It does negate what has been a stumbling block. These judges have been throwing sand in the works in many of his policies, from immigration, to birthright citizenship, to DOGE cuts. That will presumably now be tamped down.

If these judges try to circumvent that, I think they’ll find an even more expedited path to a Supreme Court that’s going to continue to reverse some of these — lift some of these injunctions.

As you noted, the opinion was really radioactive in this take-down of Justice Jackson. I — it’s rare. I’ve been — I’ve been covering the Supreme Court for decades. It’s rare to see that type of exchange.

The important thing to remember is that, you know, Justice Barrett delivered what was essentially a pile driver but she didn’t do it alone. I mean, her colleagues signed on to this and I think it’s very clear that the majority is getting tired of the histrionics and the hysteria that seems to be growing a bit on the left side of the court. But this was really an astonishing uh takedown by the justice.

But it’s the — it’s the hyperbole that’s coming out of the dissent that is so notable. Justice Sotomayor in that Maryland case said that giving parents the ability to opt out of a few lessons was going to, quote, create chaos and probably end public education. Then you had Justice Jackson saying this could very well essentially be the death of democracy. It’s the type of hyperbole that most justices have avoided.

Here’s the video:

Turley nailed this and did so eloquently, as usual.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/law-prof-jonathan-turley-majority-scotus-getting-tired/

Chief Justice Roberts Takes Another Veiled Shot at Trump, Says Verbal Attacks Against Judges Can Lead to Violence

by Cristina Laila Jun. 28, 2025 6:00 pm

Supreme Court Justice Roberts once again took a veiled shot at Trump and said attacks against judge can lead to violence.

This is the fourth time that Roberts has publicly rebuked Trump in recent months.

Roberts didn’t call out Trump by name but he decried ad hominem attacks against justices.

The Chief Justice made the latest remarks on Saturday during an appearance at a judicial conference.

Politico reported:

Chief Justice John Roberts issued another warning Saturday that heated political rhetoric aimed at judges can spur physical threats and violence.

“If you have somebody who’s expressing a high degree of hostility to the court, on whatever basis … the danger, of course, is somebody might pick up on that. And we have had, of course, serious threats of violence and murder of judges just simply for doing their work,” Roberts said during an appearance at a judicial conference.

He spoke the day after the Supreme Court issued its final opinions of the term, but he did not discuss any of the court’s rulings.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, he has mounted withering attacks on federal judges who have blocked his executive orders and other policies on mass deportation, government funding cuts and ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. He has blasted some judges as Communists and even called for their impeachment.

However, speaking to an audience of judges and attorneys, Roberts did not mention Trump by name. And while the chief justice said he’s been prompted to issue public statements against such verbal attacks, he emphasized that he has done so in response to comments from both Republican and Democratic officials.

Last month

Roberts also rebuked President Trump last month during a fireside chat in New York.

Speaking at a fireside chat to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the US District Court for the Western District of New York, Justice Roberts lashed out at Trump for his calls to impeach radical judges.

“Well, I’ve already spoken to that and, you know, impeachment is not how you register disagreement with decisions,” Roberts said in front of hundreds of judges and lawyers.

“The judiciary is a co-equal branch of government, separate from the others, with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of the president,” he said.

“Its job is to obviously decide cases, but in the course of that, check the excesses of Congress or of the executive, and that does require degree of independence,” Roberts added.

Roberts spoke on the ‘independence’ of the judiciary.

“In our Constitution, judges and the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government, separate from the others with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of, of the president. and that innovation doesn’t work if it’s not the judiciary is not independent,” Roberts said.

In March Chief Justice Roberts said Trump call for impeaching judges is “not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” Roberts said in a rare statement earlier this year.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/chief-justice-roberts-takes-another-veiled-shot-trump/

NYC Mayoral Candidate Mamdani: Tax Whites and the Rich

Hey, this guys last name spells:

I Mad Manand his eyes confirm it.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/06/28/nyc-mayoral-candidate-mamdani-tax-whites-rich/

Epic Blunder: Pro-Palestinian Activists Wreck Over $1M in Ukraine-Bound Weapons in Failed Protest

Joshua Klein27 Jun 2025

Over 100 anti-Israel activists stormed a Belgian weapons facility to “stop arming Israel” — apparently unaware that the $1.1 million in equipment they destroyed was actually bound for Ukraine.

On Monday, members of the extremist “Stop Arming Israel” movementraided the OIP Land Systems hangar in Tournai, Belgium, vandalizing armored vehicles with hammers, smashing windows, and covering equipment with graffiti.

The target of their protest turned out to be a crucial supplier for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, not a pipeline to the Israeli military.

“We don’t sell anything to Israel,” said company president Freddy Versluys. “The vandals entered the hangar and damaged extensive equipment.”

“The only damage they caused,” he added, “is a one-month delay in delivering the vehicles to Ukraine.”

OIP, a subsidiary of Israel-based Elbit Systems, has provided hundreds of armored vehicles to Kyiv since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Its Tournai facility houses one of the largest private stockpiles of weapons in Europe and has served as a key logistics hub for Western aid to Ukrainian forces.

The radical group accused the company of being “complicit in Israel’s genocide and colonial project.”

By disrupting a key shipment of armored vehicles, the raid has directly complicated Ukraine’s military logistics at a time when reliable Western support remains essential to countering Russian aggression.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/06/27/epic-blunder-pro-palestinian-activists-wreck-over-1m-in-ukraine-bound-weapons-in-failed-protest/

Bravo Idiots