The Real Differences Between the Biden and Trump Document Troves ~ VDH

by Victor Davis Hanson for American Greatness

Former President Donald Trump for now certainly seems to have had more documents labeled "classified" at Mar-a-Lago in Florida than did President Joe Biden at his various homes in Delaware.

Yet otherwise, the comparisons between the two cases, contrary to popular punditry, hardly favor Biden.

First, a stranger would face a far greater challenge entering a post-presidential Mar-a-Lago than a pre-presidential Biden home, office, or garage - or who knows where?

Secret service agents and private security were stationed at Mar-a-Lago. Prior to the 2020 presidential election they were not at citizen Biden's various troves for most of 2017-2020, much less prior to 2009.

Second, we seem to forget that for much of the developing controversy, Biden's own team was investigating Biden.

On the other hand, the Biden Administration's Justice Department and the FBI were not just investigating Trump as an outside party, but as a former president - and possible 2024 presidential candidate and opponent of Biden himself.

Remember, the narrative of the first Democratic impeachment of Trump was the allegation that Trump had used his powers of the presidency to investigate Biden and his family, a likely 2020 challenger to Trump's reelection bid.

Third, no one in a position of government authority had passed judgment on Biden's alleged security violations.

That was not the case of the still alleged violations of Trump.

Biden, as president, had weighed in, during his own Justice Department's ongoing investigations of Trump. Indeed, he proclaimed the former president to be guilty: "How could anyone be that irresponsible?" In contrast, he also dismissed the ongoing investigation of himself with "There is no there, there."

Fourth, Trump is certainly right that as president he had a far more substantial claim of declassification rights than did Biden who took the papers out either as a senator or vice president.

Fifth, the FBI was not merely asymmetrical in melodramatically raiding the Trump home while allowing Biden lawyers to inspect various Biden stashes. The FBI also leaked the purported contents of the subjects of the Trump classified documents (falsely spreading the lie of "nuclear codes" and "nuclear secrets") in a way it has not with the Biden cache.

The FBI went so far as to scatter the documents on the floor for a fake news photo-op as if the papers were so messily arrayed when they arrived.

So far, the FBI has come lightly and belatedly to the Biden case without the SWAT team get-up, and only under pressure from the public and the Republican opposition.

Six, Biden did not "self-report." Biden's team did not call the relevant government authorities the minute they discovered the classified documents in Biden's office and home and garage.

In truth, Biden, or someone close to Biden, certainly knew that he or someone close to him had illegally removed classified documents when he left the vice presidency in 2017 - or years earlier as a senator.

For at least the last six years - at least - Biden has felt no compunction to confess to authorities he illegally was in possession of classified documents.

Indeed, the only reason the current troves are coming to light was apparent White House paranoia that the media, the Biden Justice Department, and the special counsel were so fixated on the Trump documents that they likely feared someone might raise the logical question of whether a hypocritical Biden himself might be guilty of exactly the crime for which they were pursuing Trump.

Worse, Biden and his staff knew classified documents were in his possession before the midterms, but deliberately suppressed that information until after the elections were over.

Seventh, Trump's documents were stored only at one place - Mar-a-Lago, and only for about 19 months. Biden's were stashed at various locations for nearly seven years, or perhaps over a decade. There were far more opportunities of time and space for those without security clearances to have access to the Biden documents than to the Trump files.

Eighth, the press has exhaustively speculated, usually wrongly, about how the documents reached Mar-a-Lago and what they contained. In contrast, no one knows or even asks why Biden took classified documents, what they concerned, or who if any in his family circle had access to them.

Ninth, Trump's documents did not expose other liabilities of the constantly investigated Trump. The Biden files so far have directed attention to the mysterious tens of millions of dollars in Communist Chinese money that poured into Biden's think tank at the University of Pennsylvania, the proximity of members of the quid pro quo Biden consortium to these classified papers, and the files' relevance, if any, to the Biden family's overseas businesses.

Did Hunter Biden ever consult or view classified documents while living in a home with them? Will there be fingerprint or DNA tests on the documents? If Hunter consulted any of these classified documents, then the Biden presidency is finished.

Tenth, Trump possessed contested documents as a private citizen. Biden's files under contention involve the current behavior of the president of the United States. Biden ran for office, was elected, and serves as president with the full knowledge that during all this time he unlawfully possessed classified documents.

X22, Badlands Media, and more- Jan 26

 

A Narrowing of the Deep State’s Options Should be a Warning to Donald J. Trump

posted by Cliff Nichols at Townhall 

What if … the Democrat Party operatives intend to use Biden’s unlawful possession of classified documents as an excuse to remove him from office prior to 2024—for which a consensus seems to be forming? 

Do you think before doing so, this will mandate that they first remove Kamala Harris?  

It should. 

Why? 

To replace her with someone more suitable to America’s political palate for purposes of assuming the nation’s presidential responsibilities. 

And, if so, who do you think they will put in her place as a Vice President that is better qualified than she to assume the Presidency upon Biden’s subsequent removal? 

For those old enough to remember, that is exactly how it was done with Nixon. 

First, Nixon’s Vice President, Spiro Agnew, was removed from office for tax evasion and replaced by Gerald Ford, who then, upon Nixon’s resignation for cause, was positioned to assume the Presidency. 

All done without anyone in America having to cast a single ballot. 

So, the next logical question is, this time around, who will the Democratic Party choose to be their “Gerald Ford?” 

That would likely turn on who would suit their purposes, which in turn, would depend entirely on what exactly those “purposes” are.  Which, in turn, should cause us to pause and redirect our thoughts to ask, exactly whose purposes are we discussing? The “Democrat Party’s” or the purposes of their overlords embedded within that which has recently come to be referred to as … the “Deep State?” 

Of the two, without a doubt, America’s greater concern should be to focus on the latter.  While the primary purpose of the political shell game about to be played regarding the replacement of Harris and Biden is undoubtedly to prevent Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the resources available to the Deep State to accomplish that objective are far greater than those available to the Democrat National Committee. 

In the last two weeks, Tucker Carlson has suggested that, via its effective use of the C.I.A., this Deep State was able to successfully remove two prior Presidents after they had each expressed their desire to eradicate the Deep State’s globalist cabal: John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. So, why would this objective not also be on their agenda with respect to Donald Trump? 

Of course, the answer is, it not only would be … it most certainly is! 

President Trump’s expressed desire to take out the “Deep State” by cleaning the “Swamp” has been his clear message to anyone listening for the last six years.  Thus, preventing him from having another opportunity to accomplish that mission can only be at the top of the Deep State’s priorities. 

To do that, there are only three venues available to them in which to make their play: i.e., the political, the legal and/or the physical impairment of President Trump. 

To see that two of these three options are in play right now does not take much effort. 

The Biden/Harris shuffle—that is already in the works—is an indication of the Deep State’s current maneuvers within the political arena to advance their hope of eliminating the Trump threat. As discussed above, the “classified” documents the Deep State has allowed to be found in Biden’s house is allowing them to put into play their search for his replacement, which is only leaving us to wait and see if the Deep State thinks it can put in his place a political animal who would even remotely stand a chance of legitimately defeating Trump in an honest election—i.e., absent cheating at the polls.  At best, something that is not likely at present, given the limited cast of qualified characters from which the Deep State has to choose—i.e., none. 

Moreover, even the Deep State’s cheating in the next election will not likely leave them with any confidence sufficient to calm their nerves no matter who they might choose to replace Biden.  That is largely due, in part, to President Trump’s effective efforts to educate Americans everywhere about the various means of election fraud used by the Deep State in the past recent elections.  Which has consequently produced a presently strengthened public resolve to make every effort possible this time around to ensure—i.e., demand—that our elections will be fair, honest and transparent in 2024. Even if the Deep State thinks the patriots may fail to do so, they also know that the next time around it won’t be for lack patriots doing their best to make it happen.  

This takes us to the Deep State’s second option: to legally impair Trump’s availability in 2024.  As with the political option, this alternative is also fully on display by virtue of Merrick Garland’s appointment of Special Counsel attack dog, Jack Smith, whose mission it is to criminalize President Trump’s possession of classified documents.  But, as was the case with the political option, when coupled with the failed Mueller investigation and the two subsequent failed impeachments of President Trump, the Deep State is well aware that this “legal” option is also unlikely to succeed. Especially, given Biden’s now revealed greater culpability for the same criminal allegations that Garland and Smith had hoped to use to bring down President Trump—i.e., the unlawful possession of classified material. 

And frighteningly, this leaves the Deep State with one last option that—to our knowledge—has yet to be attempted: i.e., to physically disable President Trump from ever again becoming a viable candidate to become President. 

Tragically, President Kennedy proved this possibility falls far short of being impossible. Moreover, with the recently revealed blatant weaponization of the F.B.I. and D.O.J., it also cannot be denied that the Deep State has far more resources available to them today than just the C.I.A. to be able to successfully pull off such an option.  In fact, the availability of such resources to the Deep State today, will undoubtedly afford the Deep State a far greater opportunity to achieve this purpose, and to do so in a way that would be far less obvious than was the assassination of President Kennedy … or, for that matter—to Hillary’s chagrin—the “suicide” of Epstein. 

This should leave all of us wondering … what the heck is the Director of our F.B.I., Christopher Wray, doing attending the World Economic Forum in Davos? Looking past any excuses he may offer to justify his foray into the heart of the Deep State, let us hope and pray he is not there to get his marching orders from those who he may consider to be his true masters. Like, how they expect him to help expedite the removal of the thorn in their side that for the last six years has only continued to impede the advancement of their globalist ambitions: i.e., America’s MAGA movement that for all of that time has been single-handedly personified by none other than … Donald J. Trump. 

You Will Eat Bugs, Own Nothing, Fear Everything, and Be Happy

posted by Brandon Morse at RedStateVIP

Like me, you’ve likely noticed a disturbing trend from “experts” who are attempting to force people to live a lesser life. I don’t mean live with less in terms of supplies and materials, I mean live lesser lives in terms of the nature of things we live with and consume.

For instance, as RedState reported on Wednesday, European food will now contain crickets. This includes bread, cereal, sauces, beer, and other snacks. The idea is that they’ll ground them up into a powder and stuff them into your everyday foods.

Why? Because apparently, this will help the environment according to the “experts”:

Cricket protein is nutritionally more efficient, high performing and complete. It is a reliable and sustainable source of alternative protein that does not harm the planet.

Before that, they were pushing “impossible meat” which is reportedly plant-based meat that ultimately tastes nothing like meat. Fast food restaurants were doing their best to push their own “impossible” menu items but it was clear this wasn’t selling. You’ll notice that many of them quietly stopped attempting to push it on the people. If it was doing so well and there was a demand for it, they’d have continued pushing “impossible” nonsense.

This lesser life doesn’t stop at food. Your very life must be lesser overall.

It wasn’t that long ago that the nation was caught up in the authoritarian grip of leaders who were happily locking down their citizens for their “safety.” You were to wear a mask, you were to stay six feet apart at all times, you were to stay in your home, you were to close down your business, and you were to stop attending church.

You could, however, still get some liquor from the store in certain places.

You will also own nothing and be happy about it. These aren’t my words, these are the words of the World Economic Forum from 2018, and I’m not paraphrasing to make it seem like I’m being sensational. These are the exact words of the WEF. According to them, you will own nothing, you will rent everything and it will be delivered to you via drone.

Oh, and note the “meat will be a special treat” phrase, and remember the crickets and fake meat push they’re doing now.

Who these things belong to that you can rent from isn’t really discussed, but if you can’t own it, then it can be taken away at any moment or even denied to you upon asking. Own a home? Out of the question. Own a television? You’ll ask permission to rent one for an allotted time and maybe they’ll approve it, if your reasoning for needing one is good enough. Own kitchen utensils? You’ll be lucky if they aren’t made out of paper like your straws.

You’ll even live a lesser life in terms of the knowledge you procure.

As RedState reported on Tuesday, one math professor has declared math is sexist, racist, and homophobic. Hilariously, as my colleague Alex Parker points out, he’s not the only activist educator who’s made that declaration. One instance of this claim is silly, two or three might be a dumb trend among the mega-woke, but Parker counts seven instances of “experts” saying that modern education is prejudiced against everyone but straight white males.

The solution to this problem is to cater education to these demographics by making lessons more about social justice than learning reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Don’t scoff at this idea. They’re now putting crickets in food because cow farts are apparently a threat to the planet.

Will the elitists pushing this life on you have to obey the same rules? You know damn well they won’t. The same people telling you your consumption of beef and driving of your car are killing the planet are busy jetting around on private planes. They think their work is too important to stop living the lifestyle they have. No, this is something you must do. You’re the problem, not them.

We might be far removed from the feudalism of the medieval era but that hasn’t stopped the elites from looking at you as a peasant, good only to fulfill the work that needs doing to keep their kingdom running smoothly. You will eat gruel, work when they tell you, own nothing, and you will kneel before them and wish them long life.

This is the future they want for you, and this is why you should begin practicing ungovernability.

Competency Cringe – Senator John Kennedy Exposes the Outcome of Equity and Diversity Amid Joe Biden Judicial Nominees

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned a series of Joe Biden Federal District Court nominees today including: (1) Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren who is nominated to be United States District Judge for The Eastern District of Washington; (2) Matthew P. Brookman, to be United States District Judge for The Southern District of Indiana; (3) Michael Farbiarz, to be U.S. District Judge for the District Of New Jersey; (4) Robert Kirsch to be U.S. District Judge for The District of New Jersey, and (5) Eleta Merchant to be U.S. District Judge for The Eastern District Of New York.

Judge Bjelkengren couldn’t even explain what Article II or Article IV of the U.S. Constitution are about.   It gets worse from there.

Perhaps Senator John Kennedy did not mean to expose the outcome of affirmative action, diversity and social equity as a qualification for a federal court judge, but it happened anyway.  This is beyond cringeworthy, and, well, just wow.  WATCH: 

“President Biden and Senate Democrats have made it a priority to elevate judicial nominees from demographically and professionally diverse backgrounds, and during the 117th Congress, we have shattered records when it comes to diversity on the federal bench… [including] a record number of nominees with experience serving not only as prosecutors, but also as public defenders, voting rights experts, and civil rights attorneys… Every one of these jurists is highly qualified and ready to serve our nation and the American people.”  ~ Senator Dick Durbin, Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee

White House Readies Its Next Economy-Destroying, Unconstitutional Scheme

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

The Biden administration has become notorious for pushing clearly unconstitutional bureaucratic rules in hopes of causing maximum damage before the court system has time to work.

The White House’s “eviction moratorium” comes to mind. Thousands upon thousands of landlords were harmed by a federal power grab barring evictions of long-delinquent renters. Eventually, the Supreme Court stepped in to shut Biden down, but while the moratorium went away, many landlords were left financially ruined in the process.

Was there even an apology given to landlords who watched lifelong investments be destroyed by non-paying renters that squatted for years on end in some states? Of course, there wasn’t. The White House just moved on to the next thing, and apparently, the next thing is more ridiculous federal rules dealing with rental properties.

The White House is preparing to roll out new measures as soon as this month to protect tenants in the wake of post-pandemic price spikes, according to housing advocates and industry lobbyists who have met with administration officials.

The actions — which will come even as rents have started to fall around the country — could include promoting grace periods for late rents and the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, among other steps, advocates say.

Do you know what the grace period for late rent is? It’s a month. If someone can’t meet their next rent payment, they should tell their landlord and make arrangements to either allow late payment or to vacate the premises. I understand the need for people to have housing, but a rental unit is not charity. It very often is backed by a mortgage that must be paid on time, never mind the many other costs associated with the rental properties (maintenance, utilities, taxes, etc.).

I know that saying that makes me sound cold-hearted, but the reality is that you can’t have a rental housing market if the government steps in and says that landlords must provide “grace periods” outside of their control for people who refuse to pay their rent. And who is going to pay for this supposed “right” to counsel to fight evictions? That would be the taxpayers, I’d assume. If someone wants to destroy the housing market, tying up landlords in lengthy, costly lawsuits is a good way to do it.

Expectedly, Democrats in Congress actually think Biden isn’t going far enough.

“People can’t afford to live,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who spearheaded a letter last week with Warren calling on President Joe Biden to issue an executive action limiting rent hikes in properties backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage financiers. “We want to push the president as far as possible to lighten the burden of rent on everyday people.”

Democrats want the administration to enact new restrictions on rent hikes and punish landlords they accuse of price-gouging — “not just principles, not just guidelines, but what can the president do through executive action to lighten the burden on people and put more money in their pockets,” Bowman said in an interview.

These people are idiots, and I don’t mean that as a partisan insult. I mean that in the most technical way possible. These people truly have no idea what they are talking about and would see the country burn to the ground to soothe their political fantasies.

A government-backed mortgage is still a mortgage that must be paid. It does not mean that a landlord owns his or her property (as long as they are in good standing) any less than someone with a normal mortgage. To weaponize the mortgage system like that to legalize squatting in rentals would be catastrophic to the market.

Biden’s proposed rules wouldn’t just apply to government-backed mortgages, though. They would be sweeping regulations that apply to all landlords. The result is that you own your property, but you don’t really own your property.

If that were to become a reality, most investors would stop building and refurbishing new rental units. Further, current landlords will simply up their standards for renters, icing out low-income individuals who pose a risk. That’s bad news for a country that is already seeing a shortage, as interest rates explode due to the administration’s terrible economic policies. But hey, at least Biden is consistent. He’s always going to do the absolute worst thing at the worst possible time.

Joe Biden Has a Whale of a Time Trying to Explain the Latest Aid to Ukraine

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

If you follow the news you’ve probably heard that the United States is sending 31 Abrams tanks over to Ukraine. That’s part of a multi-country transfer that includes Leopard tanks from Germany as well.

For some reason, Joe Biden felt the need to meander out the podium to announce the move. He really shouldn’t have. He had a whale of a time trying to get through his prepared remarks.

Watching him speak is like watching a chimpanzee on crack try to balance a plate on its head. The president has a knack for making even the most basic things seem difficult. In this case, while delivering extremely important remarks on foreign policy, he manages to accuse Ukraine of “brutal aggression.”

But like most of these clips of Biden, you really have to watch them to get the full effect. After his misspeak, he seems to tail off physically. What is up with his eyes? I know he’s a nearly 80-year-old man, but they are the size of raisins and show no white. He also just seems tired to the extreme, doesn’t he? Perhaps the drug cocktail he no doubt receives every morning hadn’t kicked in yet?

As expected, Biden wasn’t done yet, though (how many times have I typed that over the years?). While the above flub could have been brushed aside, he then fully melted down trying to address Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

This is a “mistake” that Biden has made multiple times over the years (see here and here). Apparently, it’s really difficult for a President of the United States to remember the name and the appointed position of what should be one of his closest cabinet members. Could it be because he’s just a figurehead that doesn’t actually lead his administration? Nah, couldn’t be. That’s just crazy talk on my part.

Every time I write a piece like this, and that seems like at least once a week because of Biden’s condition, I just can’t imagine he’s actually going to run for re-election in 2024. This is a man who struggles to get through reading just a few minutes of prewritten remarks. How in the world is he going to run an actual campaign?

I realize the response will be that he doesn’t have to after his basement strategy in 2020 worked, but I don’t think that’s true. Because he’s now got a horrible record to defend and the veneer is off his “old Joe bringing back norms” routine, I think he does actually have to have some presence if he runs again. He’s not capable of it, and a lot of Democrats realize that as well.

Ever Wonder Why They Classify So Many Things?

posted by Derek Hunter at Townhall

When it comes to classified documents, most people know nothing. Unless you have or have had a security clearance, the rules for handling these documents aren’t something you’d come in contact with, period. Naturally, with this being politics and media being as horrible as it has become, that doesn’t stop anyone from having an opinion on the subject. But one thing everyone should be asking is why is it that so many things are classified?

I get that the government has to have its secrets, especially when it comes to gathering intelligence from foreign countries, both adversaries and allies. But how could millions of documents be classified, many for decades? Is there that much secret information floating around out there, or is there just that much that our government doesn’t want us to know?

The odds are heavily tilted toward the latter. Just because something is classified does not mean it is protecting some big secret that would jeopardize national security or put the lives of sources at risk. It usually means someone in government decided they wanted to shield that bit of information from Freedom of Information Act requests. 

We are supposed to have access to just about everything our government does so we can see why it chooses to do certain things and not others. That would work well, if we had a government that only did what the Constitution allows it to do, like we’re supposed to. We don’t have that type of government anymore, not anywhere close to it. 

What we do have is a government allocating almost $5 trillion per year in every area of the economy you can possibly imagine. For that enormous sum to happen, the government needs input from the private sector. 

What do I mean by that? Well, even if we had an efficient government, which we do not, there is no way it could ever manage the spending of that much money, it’s impossible. So we have lobbyists “helping.”

You’ve undoubtedly heard of some obscene amount of money some industry spend on politics of lobbying – let’s just say Planned Parenthood spends $500,000,000 on electing and lobbying Democrats per year. You hear that and think, “My God, who would ever spend that kind of money? What a waste!” 

Well, it is a waste…unless you look at the return on that investment. Let’s just say Planned Parenthood gets $10 billion in government grants, contracts, consulting fees, etc. Does that seem like a waste now?

When you hear an industry spent X-million last year lobbying, they usually get exponentially more money back from the government. They aren’t stupid. But our government doesn’t want us to know.

File a Freedom of Information Request for anything remotely controversial and see how long it takes. Misplace a comma or don’t use specific enough language and see what you get back. Dot every I and cross every T and see how many pages you get back that completely blacked out. The government doesn’t want you to know what it is doing or why.

These requests don’t have to do with national security, they usually have to do with things that would embarrass the government, so they slap a classification on them. Why not? Who’s able to challenge them?

We still have hundreds of documents classified from assassination of John F. Kennedy. Why? At this point, who is still alive who could be embarrassed or implicated? I think a large percentage of the public, if not a majority at this point, believe the CIA was involved, if only because the government keeps hiding this information. So, the only way they could actually be embarrassed is if they had all the information available and dropped the ball – totally missed all the red flags and, through incompetence, let it happen. Think “Zacarias Moussaoui’s laptop” and “9/11,” and maybe you get close. 

Whatever the case, we can handle it. People in the government won’t let us.

No matter what the idiots on The View think, declassifying documents is a time-consuming task limited to very few, not the Vice-President. Some things are classified for very good reason. No President is going to just declassify everything related to an event, so he puts people in charge of redacting whatever might harm people or whatever, so the rest can be released. But there is no reason to believe or trust the people doing this. So much they’ve released with blotted out sections were later released to reveal nothing important or embarrassing at all. So why the hell was it blocked to begin with?

Because there is no standard. Just some people tasked with leafing through information and withholding what they think needs to be withheld. It’s usually that arbitrary. 

But declassification is not the end that creates the problem, it’s the other end; the start. We need to limit the scope of things that can be classified in the first place. At least then, when someone is caught with classified material where it shouldn’t, years after they should’ve been cut off from it, we’d know whether it was something serious or not, and we wouldn’t have to rely on an idiot reading the same “I’m not going to comment” line from her script folder to find out how much damage may have been done to national security, or how much money may have been contracted to someone’s drug addicted son for that information.

Adam Schiff Predicts Political Operatives in Intelligence Community Will Not Assist House Intelligence Committee, or Subcommittee on Federal Govt Weaponization

While these remarks are cast against the backdrop of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy refusing to seat Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), the larger point within his remarks about the intelligence community need to be emphasized.  {Direct Rumble Link}

While claiming McCarthy has no right to stop himself or Swalwell from participating in the 118th Congress HPSCI, Schiff claims the larger intelligence community will no longer share information about national security matters with the committee if he is not present.  Essentially, without Schiff in attendance to politicize the intelligence information, the larger intelligence community will not cooperate.

Additionally, and somewhat in direct alignment with CTH predictions about the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government, Schiff declares the intelligence agencies of the United States government will not cooperate with the subcommittee.  Again, as the argument is made, if democrats are not positioned to defend the Deep State, the Deep State will not cooperate.  WATCH:

Nothing within these remarks should come as a surprise to our readers; however, the open hostility within the prediction by Adam Schiff should serve as a stark underline for the challenge the House subcommittee will face.

Stefanik: Rooting Out Deep State Corruption Is A Top Priority For House Republicans

Tristan Justice reporting for The Federalist

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York pledged that aggressive oversight of executive agencies to rid the federal government of overt corruption will be a top priority for Republicans in the new Congress.

On Tuesday, Stefanik became one of a dozen Republican lawmakers appointed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to serve on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

In an exclusive interview with The Federalist on Wednesday morning, Stefanik characterized the select panel, which was established under the Judiciary Committee led by Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as House Republicans’ primary vehicle for pursuing accountability for the Biden administration’s abuses.

“A top priority for House Republicans is rooting out the weaponization of the federal government against everyday Americans,” said Stefanik. The No. 3 lawmaker in GOP leadership highlighted the nation’s top intelligence agencies as the committee’s primary focus.

“The FBI and DOJ are ripe for oversight, and they deserve oversight,” she said, while also pledging that investigations would come for the Internal Revenue Service and National Institutes of Health. Both agencies “have run rampant in targeting Americans,” Stefanik said, adding that Congress has a “constitutional duty” to conduct meaningful oversight.

“Democrats failed to do that when we were in one-party rule,” she added.

Whom the committee plans to subpoena remains an open question. “We’re going to make that decision as a select committee,” Stefanik said.

Other prominent members of the Republican conference named to the panel include Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie and Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman. In August, Hageman successfully toppled three-term incumbent Liz Cheney in the Wyoming Republican primary by 37 points. Cheney, who ran House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Select Committee on Jan. 6 as vice chair, relied on Democrats switching parties to blunt a loss that might have otherwise been near unanimous among the state’s Republicans.

McCarthy endorsed Hageman in the race two years after Cheney endorsed a primary challenge to Massie from her perch in leadership. In the spring of 2021, House Republicans replaced Cheney with Stefanik as GOP conference chair.

Stefanik plans to take a lead role on the new panel probing the weaponization of the federal government as she did during the first impeachment saga of former President Donald Trump in 2019.

“The government has the responsibility to serve the American people, not go after them,” she said.

While Pelosi barred McCarthy’s appointments to the Select Committee on Jan. 6, Stefanik said the new House speaker was likely to seat Democrats on the probe. No minority appointments, however, have been made so far.

On Tuesday night, McCarthy kept his word to bar California Democrat Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee. McCarthy has also pledged to kick Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee. Stefanik told The Federalist that while it was ultimately the speaker’s choice to approve Democrat appointments to the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, neither Schiff, Swalwell, nor Omar would likely be admitted to the panel.

McCarthy explained to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday night that the trio of lawmakers would still serve on committees but none related to the nation’s top secrets.

“They’ll serve on committees,” McCarthy said, “but they will not serve on a place that has national security relevance because integrity matters to me.”

Senators on Both Sides of Aisle Rip Biden Admin After Briefing From DNI on Classified Docs

Nick Arama reporting for RedState 

The Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding the classified documents found in the possession of Joe Biden, Mike Pence, and Donald Trump.

But perhaps saying “briefed” is not quite correct. She went in and said something to them, but it sounds like everyone coming out of the meeting, including Democrats, weren’t happy with what they were being told. The Biden administration faiiled to come across with the documents that they wanted to see and evaluate — in their proper oversight capacity — how much national security may have been compromised.

According to the ranking member on the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the briefing by Haines was “very unsatisfying.”

“I think I speak for every member of the committee, the position DNI is taken on this topic is untenable,” Rubio said. He said they were stonewalling the Committee. “It cannot be that their answer is we can’t tell you what was discovered until the Special Counsel allows us to tell you; the information we’re asking for has no bearing whatsoever, or would interfere in no way with a criminal investigation.”

The Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner (D-VA) was also very frustrated. “I’m very disappointed with the lack of detail and a timeline on when we’re going to get a briefing,” he said. He repeated what Rubio had said, saying that the Biden team wasn’t coming across. “We’re left in limbo until somehow a special counsel designated it’s okay for us to be briefed. And that’s not going to stand,” Warner declared.

“All things will be on the table,” Warner said, to ensure that they got access to the Trump/Biden/Pence classified docs.

“There’s a sense of frustration that Justice is preventing the committee from hearing what they need to hear,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) said. Wicker said he didn’t buy their explanation, “I do not. I absolutely do not. It has to be resolved.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said the Biden administration needed to “stop stonewalling.” Cotton said they needed to see the underlying evidence to perform their proper oversight responsibility. He said the various DOJ investigations should not stop the Biden administration from letting them see the documents. He said that special counsel investigations could take years and meanwhile, they needed to judge whether national security had been compromised.

Cotton said he would slow down “all nominees” to inflict “pain” on the administration over its “stonewalling.” “We should not be fast tracking nominees, whether they’re in the intelligence community, or Department of Justice or the Department of Agriculture until we have access to…docs,” Cotton declared.

As we saw earlier, even the National Archives is stonewalling the House Oversight Committee when it comes to the Biden documents, although they certainly were running their mouths off when it came to the Trump matter.

Congress needs to start bringing all its powers to bear to get the Biden team to come across from subpoenas to compelling testimony to doing anything else they can to make sure they comply. When both sides of the aisles are saying this is unacceptable, you know there’s a big problem here–and you know that it isn’t because of the Trump documents that they aren’t coming across. It’s because if they turn over Trump documents, they’re going to have to turn over the Biden documents and I’m guessing that’s going to be a big problem.