The Mugshot Heard Around the World

It landed like a mortar, denying his enemies a coveted triumph

by Matthew Boose for American Greatness

Donald Trump’s historic arrest in Georgia Thursday evening was a virtual declaration of war on America. A former president was dragged into a filthy county jail behind enemy lines and had his mugshot taken, adding insult to the injury of an indictment for the bogus crime of challenging his political opponent. The dramatic moment followed days of buildup, as the “co-conspirators” in his “criminal enterprise” were methodically paraded in front of the country. These nefarious plotters include lawyers like John Eastman, a decent man whose “crime” is giving legal advice on a contentious constitutional question.

The Trump mugshot landed like a mortar: with his bold, instantly iconic expression, Trump denied his enemies a coveted triumph. What was meant as a humiliation of Trump and the half of the country he champions, instead flattered Trump and accentuated his power as one of the movers of history.

The left (and their accomplices on the right) have waited for this moment for years. And yet behind all their gloating, they are, undeniably, afraid. They are not reassured that Trump, and the America he represents, has been defeated. They know that, even as they plant their oppressive boot on Trump’s neck and the necks of countless Americans, “our democracy” is not safely established. Perhaps they sense, dimly, that they pushed things too far.

Between his four sham indictments, Trump is facing an antediluvian sentence of more than 700 years in prison. Only a great man could provoke his enemies to such ridiculous and desperate extremes. When Tucker Carlson asked Trump whether he expects to be assassinated next, it was no idle provocation. It was a logical question after eight years of continuous, hysterical escalation.

Those parochial, small-minded conservatives who dismiss Trump and the “drama” he creates betray their own insignificance and envy. The left certainly does not find Trump trifling; the trifling ones are those who believe a kitschy “family man” will save America from tyranny, rather than the man being persecuted before our eyes. The “drama” that these fools think they are above – because their eyes are too dim, souls too narrow, to comprehend anything not in front of their face – is called history. The pathetic, lifeless spectacle of Wednesday night’s “debate” has already been forgotten after the massive impact of Trump’s climactic return to Twitter. There’s no arguing with that kind of power.

Napoleon had his “cultists” too; and yet Napoleon was Napoleon. Like it or not, this is the era of Trump. It is a fact which neither friend nor foe can deny. He is the most famous, larger-than-life human being alive. He represents the hopes, and fears, of millions of people. Only the dullest person could watch his show trial unfold without a feeling of amazement. He is under pressure that would break lesser men, and yet, he is in good spirits. His Carlson interview was full of jokes. His enemies, even as they wield the full power of the state against him, are unhinged by his refusal to surrender. Commanded to kneel before the “law” and plead for mercy, Trump has continued to scorn the legitimacy of Biden and this entire moronic, degrading spectacle of “justice.”

If Trump returns to power, it will be despite incredible odds. And yet, it seems to contradict the law of history, to suppose that such petty, feeble minded mediocrities as Jack Smith, Fani Willis, and Alvin Bragg will succeed. These are people who, without their fussy titles and fake authority, would be less than nothing. Arrogant they may be, but they are weak and stupid. Trump’s mere name evokes fanatical love and hate; he is separated from his tormentors by an iron law of inequality. 

Trump has already secured his place in history as a man who changed, and still can change, the world. It is not charisma alone that sets Trump apart, although he overflows with it; it is that rarest of qualities, greatness. With Trump, there is hope of dislodging the corrupt and evil regime that has taken over the country, and which, under Biden, has turned America into a Third World banana republic. Trump’s war with this regime is now all that counts; either he wins, and the regime is broken to pieces, or he is destroyed utterly, and America learns to live with a hated peace.

X22, Christian Patriot News, and more- August 28

 

Trump’s Job for Vivek: Czar in Charge of Swamp Drainage

He needs to pick the very best for the 

very hard job of saving the Republic

by Roger Kimball for American Greatness

It’s only been a few days since the first GOP debate, but already the kettle of journalist-vultures have gorged themselves on the carrion, their frenzied wake having picked the corpses bare. Alas, this feeding famishes the craving it seeks to satisfy, so we are left with sticky piles of bones, gobbets of contradictory opinion, and precious little enlightenment. We all know that when it comes to the so-called “rule of law” in this country, “the process is the punishment.” When it comes to spectacles like the Fox News-sponsored GOP debate, the process seems to be the point.

It is, I am sure you will agree, rather a pointless point, but the very pointlessness of the exercise was clearly the cherished goal.  Why else would all those producers and technicians and lovingly coiffed and pressed interlocutors Bret Baier and whatever the bleached-blonde Fox mannequin who sat next to him was called: why serve up all that fatuousness just to hear them hector the candidates with a smorgasbord of silly questions followed by the admonition: “You have 30 seconds” or “You have one minute” to answer?

I happen to have Harry Jaffa’s Crisis of the House Divided on my desk at the moment. It is an account of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. Each of the seven debates lasted about three hours. One candidate would open with a 60 minute statement, to which  the other would answer with a 90-minute response. The first speaker ended with a 30-minute rejoinder. I am trying to picture what Abraham Lincoln’s response to the instruction “You have 30 seconds to reply” would be. I can’t really do it, but I suspect it would be unprintable.

As I have said elsewhere, I suspect that future historians will draw a line under this snazzy pseudo-debate, marking it down as the beginning of the end of the entire genre. Given the changes in how people get their news today—not from television, mostly—this terminus a quo was probably foreordained anyway. But it was confirmed by the simultaneous broadcast of Tucker Carlson’s interview with the only serious Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump.

The bean counters tell us that about 12.4 million people watched the FoxNews debated; that’s down from about 25 million back when Trump participated in 2020 and 2016. It took only a few hours before Tucker’s interview with Trump had racked up more than 220 million views.

I am not quite sure what that number means, other than many more people tuned into Tucker than digested what Asa Hutchinson or Chris Christie or Tim Scott or Doug what’s-his-name from North (or was it South?) Dakota had to say.

Opinions vary about the performances of the A-list participants in this B-list event. I thought the brightest, if also the glibbest, light was shone by Vivek Ramaswamy, who was eager, articulate, passionate, and well-informed on the issues. One might agree or disagree with the particulars of his remarks, but that comes with the territory.

Nikki Haley took pointed issue with some of Ramaswamy’s points, especially on the war in Ukraine, and in general she gave a strong performance. So did Ron DeSantis, who as front-runner among the also ran, probably had the most to lose that night. He made no gaffes, but neither did he pull ahead of the pack. Those vultures I opened with have pretty much picked him and his campaign clean.

Melissa Mackenzie said that former Vice President Mike Pence “came off as a constipated church lady” and a “raging hypocritical one, at that.” That’s about right, even if it is unfair to constipated church ladies and raging hypocrites, some of whom can be quite amusing. Has anyone anywhere ever accused Mike Pence of having a sense of humor? He is too busy engaged in what T. S. Eliot described as “the endless struggle to think well of [him]self” to stoop to anything like humor.

At some point early on in the faux-debate—it was more like a square dance, really—the geniuses at Fox played a snippet of Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” the plaintive song that took the internet by storm a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, Anthony was not pleased by this effort to co-opt his pointed working-class lament (though apparently he gave permission for Fox to use the clip). “I wrote that song about those people,” he said.

His larger objection was to the “weaponization” of the song in the interests of  a political agenda—“conservative” or “liberal,” “Republican” or “Democrat,” it didn’t matter. It’s the same establishment, the same Leviathan, that is supporting the agenda of dependency enforced by the Washington Welfare Conglomerate whose rhetoric is all about helping the disadvantaged but whose real aim is to keep the disadvantaged disadvantaged while simultaneously increasing their number.

And this brings me to the positive or pragmatic part of my column. Several pundits have suggested that the GOP debate was at least in part a talent scouting exhibition for people who say they are running for president but who are in fact running for vice president or a cabinet post or some other preferment.

This isn’t true of the virulent anti-Trumpers on the stage—Asa Hutchinson, for example, or Chris Christie, or even Mike Pence. It probably isn’t true of Ron DeSantis, either, though it might have been had he managed his campaign differently. I think it may be true, though, for some of the others: for Tim Scott, for example, possibly Nikki Haley, and possibly Vivek Ramaswamy.

It is Vivek, I think, who has the most promise. But what would he do in a second Trump administration? He is too independent, too effervescent, to waste on a traditional cabinet post. It would be pointless, for example, to make him Secretary of Commerce, not withstanding his entrepreneurial talent.

No, I think Trump should think big when it comes to Ramaswamy. A new post should be created for him, a sort of super-sanitary enterprise charged with world’s biggest drainage project: siphoning off the huge and mephitic reservoirs that constitute the Washington swamp. It is a a gargantuan project, akin as I have said, to the Herculean task of cleansing the Augean stables.

Part of being president is being an effective talent scout. Trump made plenty of mistakes on that score the first time around. If he has another bite at the apple, he needs to think creatively and pick the very best people for the very hard job that saving the Republic will entail. Making Vivek Ramaswamy Czar in charge of swamp drainage and bureaucracy busting would be an extraordinary bold and energizing start.

I offer the idea free and for nothing.

Joe Biden's Handlers Are Getting Nervous About Gavin Newsom Debating Ron DeSantis

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

In a bit of a twist, Joe Biden's handlers are getting nervous about Gavin Newsom's debate with Ron DeSantis in November. 

According to four different sources, the president's political advisers now believe that Newsom debating DeSantis carries more risk than reward, and when you read between the lines, there's one glaring reason they don't want to see the clash take place.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is increasingly being viewed as a nuisance to some of President Joe Biden’s political advisers, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Though Biden's camp no longer sees the California governor as a wannabe challenger to the president — and some in the president's orbit praise him for acting as a top campaign surrogate — Newsom’s plan to debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on television carries more risk than potential reward, these people say. 

That's caused consternation within Biden's operation and among Vice President Kamala Harris' allies. 

So what is the actual risk here for Biden? It wouldn't seem to be the possibility that DeSantis cleans Newsom's clock, something that might happen by default given how superior Florida's governance is to that of California. Why would the president care if Newsom gets embarrassed? He wouldn't, and in fact, he might prefer it, which brings us to the real reason the White House isn't excited about the debate: They do not want the visual of a younger, more coherent progressive Democrat juxtaposed with Joe Biden, who can barely stay awake, much less consistently formulate sentences. 

As the president continues to deteriorate physically and mentally, the angst within the Democratic Party will only grow. Most are scared to say it right now, but very few want Biden to run again.

That brings me to Kamala Harris, who would presumably replace Biden at the top of the ticket if he were to step aside. Is it any wonder her "allies" aren't keen on Newsom showing her up by going toe-to-toe with the best GOP governor in the country? The vice president has been in the midst of yet another hopeless "reintroduction" to the country in which she tries to become something she's not. Newsom garnering headlines as a well-spoken leftist (I can't stand the guy, but he's a good speaker) would no doubt start renewed calls for him to replace both Biden and Harris at the top of the ticket. 

Biden's advisors all but admit that concern in the article.

Some Biden advisers have complained privately that the planned debate, which would be moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity, could make voters think Newsom is running a shadow 2024 campaign at a time when most Democrats say they’d prefer a different candidate at the top of the ticket.

If it seems like Newsom is running a shadow 2024 campaign, that's because he's obviously running a shadow 2024 campaign. He wants to be the nominee, and he's biding his time, trying to stay in the spotlight until there's an opening. Harris is threatened by that, but so is Biden, whose ambition to keep living like a king on the taxpayers' dime is unmatched. If the current president becomes incapacitated in office, that's just fine with him. He's going to milk it for all its worth instead of doing the honorable thing. 

Of course, there are risks to Newsom as well that he's probably not even considering. DeSantis, who did far better than predicted at the first GOP debate, will have two more debates under his belt by the time November rolls around. There's every reason to believe he'll be sharp and ready to respond to whatever attacks come his way. The expectation is that Newsom blows DeSantis away. If he doesn't, it's a failure for the California governor, and that could put a stop to his White House dreams, even in 2028 and beyond. 

CCP Funding In Public School Systems Is A Pervasive Threat, New Report Finds

Rebeka Zeljko reporting for The Federalist

A new report from Parents Defending Education (PDE) puts forth evidence of Chinese Communist Party funding in several public school programs, revealing pro-China influence and messaging. PDE outlines that since 2009, nearly $18 million of CCP funding has contributed to school programs across a total of 34 states and Washington D.C.

In the state of New York, 12 public schools were included in the PDE’s findings, prompting seven members of the House of Representatives to address a letter to the state’s governor, Kathy Hochul. Led by Rep. Brandon Williams (NY-22), the letter detailed concerns surrounding evidence of CCP funding in particular programs in school systems and the New York Department of Education.

In response to the findings, Rep. Williams introduced legislation in the 118th Congress called the “Stop Funding Our Adversaries Act of 2023” (H.R. 1800). In a corresponding statement, Williams said the legislation “strengthens protection on America’s shores and bans American taxpayer dollars from funding any research with China’s Communist Party.”

In this same statement, Nicole Neily, President of PDE, said, “Transparency and accountability in public schools is not a partisan issue, and we hope the governor uses the powers at her disposal to investigate the extent of these programs in New York public schools.”

As Neily said, this is not a partisan issue, but it is a pervasive one. The Confucius Institute has set up shop in 143 active and inactive districts, as well as 20 military bases across the country. CCP-funded programs like College Board and Asia Society have also worked with the Confucius Institute to “tailor Chinese culture and language immersion programs to U.S. school districts,” accompanied by perks like “fully funded teacher exchanges, Chinese language programs, and opportunities for American students to learn in China.”

A report from the Education Resources Information Center at the Department of Education found that in exchange for CCP funding, “the College Board has given China strategic access to American K-12 education,” claiming the Confucius Institute “served as a recruiter for Chinese government programs, and helped the Chinese Communist Party design and gain control over American teacher training programs.”

Hanban, the headquarters of the longtime scrutinized Confucius Institute, released a report admitting that “Confucius Institutes have become a vital force for international cooperation under the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative,” which is an infrastructure project the CCP developed to further its global influence. The U.S. has no official role in the program, and China using Belt and Road to assert itself on the world stage presents threats to American interests abroad.

Republican representatives continue to demand answers from Gov. Hochul but have yet to hear back. The New York State Education Department did not return The Federalist’s request for comment.

Nothing to See Here: Study Shows N95 Masks May Expose You to 'Toxic Volatile Organic Compounds'

posted by Bob Hoge at RedStateVIP 

COVID mania is heating up again as hospitals, Hollywood studios, and colleges are starting to bring back mandates, and President Joe Biden has requested millions of dollars for a new mRNA vaccine that will be "recommended" for everyone.

I personally have noticed more masks popping up lately in theaters, stores, even in cars. You’ve seen it—those weirdos driving around alone wearing two masks as if they’ll prevent themselves from getting the coronavirus... from themselves.

This despite the fact that in December of 2022, former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said, “There is no study in the world that shows that masks work that well.”

There may not be a study that shows masks work well, but there is an analysis of 78 studies involving over one million people that concluded that masks made “little to no difference” in COVID infections and death rates.

And even the CDC recommends you don't wear one for more than an hour:

Now a study released back in April is back in the news because it shows that there may be hidden dangers to the N95 masks commonly recommended in the U.S. Who would have thought?

The surgical N95 mask has been held up as the gold standard when it comes to protecting against Covid. 

But a study quietly re-shared by the National Institutes of Health in spring suggests the tight-fitting mask may expose users to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals.

Researchers from Jeonbuk National University in South Korea looked at two types of disposable medical-grade masks, as well as several reusable cotton masks. 

The study found that the chemicals released by these masks had eight times the recommended safety limit of toxic volatile organic compounds (TVOCs).

Inhaling TVOCs has been linked to health issues like headaches and nausea, while prolonged and repeated has been linked to organ damage and even cancer.

Well, that sure doesn’t sound good.

The study further found TVOCs were 14 times lower in cloth masks, but it's hard to believe those flimsy cotton things people constantly move around their faces actually do anything, anyway. 

The study was published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety and on the NIH's website, but the NIH pointed out that didn’t mean they accepted its conclusions: 

The NIH said: "Inclusion in an NLM database does not imply endorsement of, or agreement with, the contents by NLM or the National Institutes of Health."

That's pretty weasely; either confirm or deny it—you're the freakin' NIH, for heck's sake.

A tweet regarding this study received an X Community Note:

"The disposable masks were KFAD and KF94 models, which were made from thermoplastics polypropylene and polyurethane nylon. These masks have been popularized in South Korea, whereas KN95s are more popular in the US." It's not a study about KN95 masks. 

It's true that the study was conducted on N94 masks; however, the Daily Mail reports that the difference between N94 and the N95s used more often here is “minuscule.”

As we see more and more signs that the Biden administration and health authorities nationwide are desperate to bring back the dark days of COVID madness, studies like these show just how far off the mark many of their recommendations were—and continue to be. 

We must never let them rob us of our liberties like that again.

Dr. Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine physician in New York, sums up the situation pretty nicely:

I think following the general recommendations might be helpful, but it's not clear yet if we need the sweeping edicts of three years ago.

Extreme fears about the lethality of Covid may have led to decisions that were counterproductive. 

Covid won't be going away for a long time, if ever. We desperately need policies that do not fracture our society while providing minimal protection. [Emphasis mine.]

Nikki Haley Says Trump Is The Most ‘Disliked Politician’ In America, Polling Shows It’s Mitch McConnell

Tristan Justice reporting for The Federalist

Nikki Haley is out with a new talking point.

At Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, the ex-U.N. ambassador called former President Donald Trump “the most disliked politician in all of America.”

The former South Carolina governor repeated the line Thursday in a mid-day interview on Fox News.

“He’s the most disliked politician in all of America. That’s reality. And that person can’t win a general election,” Haley said on “America’s Newsroom.”

Except on this question, the polling is not even close. That title belongs to Senate Minority Mitch McConnell.

At the time of writing, RealClearPolitics’ tracker of favorability ratings for both Republicans and Democrats shows the GOP Senate chief ranked as the most disliked politician. McConnell’s average net-favorable ratings are more than 35 points below zero. Trump doesn’t even come to this.

While none of the listed politicians enjoy positive favorability numbers, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi is the second-most disliked leader, with an average spread of -19 percent. Trump follows just below the former House speaker at -18.6 percent, with Vice President Kamala Harris at -15.9 percent, President Joe Biden at -14.9 percent, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at -12.4 percent, and incumbent House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at -5.4 percent.

In other words, if Haley wants to highlight the most unpopular politician in America, she’d go after the number one Republican in the upper chamber. That’s reality.

In terms of who the most hated politician might be among Democrats, there’s a good case to be made for Trump, who was booked at a Georgia jail last night and now faces 91 charges across four politicized investigations. Among Republicans, however, Trump remains the most popular politician in America, with a more than 41-point lead over the rest of the GOP primary field competing for next year’s presidential nomination.

The Republican frontrunner skipped the Wisconsin debate for a 45-minute interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson published on X, formerly known as Twitter. Trump trashed the GOP Senate leader as a “bad guy” who sought to undermine Republican voters by refusing to forcefully condemn Democrats’ impeachment efforts.

“Mitch McConnell, in my opinion, was trying to get senators to impeach me, especially for the second one,” Trump said.

McConnell has meanwhile responded to Democrats’ recent efforts at jailing their top political opponent with silence.

Last fall, the Kentucky lawmaker survived a challenge to his perch in leadership after capturing a Republican minority he could control over a conservative majority that he couldn’t. Over the course of the 2022 midterms, McConnell redirected scarce resources from competitive races in key states to a contest between two Republicans in Alaska for incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Elon Exposes Hypocrisy of Biden DOJ After They Target Him Over SpaceX Not Hiring 'Asylees'

Nick Arama reporting for RedState 

We reported last week about the Biden DOJ targeting Elon Musk's SpaceX, alleging discriminatory hiring practices. 

What were they accusing Musk of? They were alleging that he hired U.S. citizens and permanent residents for jobs but not "asylees and refugees."

Immediately, some pointed out the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) that require the hiring of U.S. citizens/permanent for companies dealing with things like rockets and military-grade technology. Musk pointed out how they would have been in trouble if they weren't complying with ITAR. 

"SpaceX was told repeatedly that hiring anyone who was not a permanent resident of the United States would violate international arms trafficking law, which would be a criminal offense," Musk explained. "We couldn’t even hire Canadian citizens, despite Canada being part of NORAD!" 

Then Musk called it out for what it was, "This is yet another case of weaponization of the DOJ for political purposes." 

How ridiculous is it to get sued because you don't want to break the law? 

The Biden Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also targeting Musk's X platform. It's not hard to see that's at the heart of why they're going after him—because he's standing in the way of the political narrative that they can no longer control on X. 

If they can target the former President of the United States, if they can target one of the richest men in the world, then they can go after anyone. That should be a scary thought for us all for the well-being of our nation when the Biden regime has driven it into such a state that we can no longer rely upon them upholding the rule of law in an even-handed manner. 

But Musk wasn't taking it lying down. The question may hinge upon an interpretation of the law, but he pointed out just what hypocrites the Biden DOJ were trying to go after him and SpaceX with such a lawsuit. He cited a post from Alex Tabarrock, a professor of economics at George Mason University, who observed that the DOJ itself requires people being hired for a job as a recreational specialist in a prison—hardly a top-secret job—to be a U.S. citizen. 

"DOJ needs to sue themselves!" Musk proclaimed.

So if the DOJ is engaging in such practices, how can they go after Musk and SpaceX and pretend this is anything but political targeting? 

Musk pointed out that the "irony is too much." 

On top of that, let's not pretend to go along with the Biden term about "asylees"—a term they use for true asylum seekers as well as people who may have entered illegally and wrongly claimed asylum when they didn't qualify for it. They may have come here for economic reasons and not because of some political persecution in their home countries. But the DOJ isn't upfront about that as they go after SpaceX. 

Good for hMusk for destroying the Biden team's credibility with the glaring inconsistencies in this matter. 

McCarthy: Impeachment Inquiry Is a 'Natural Step Forward' Regarding President Biden

Susie Moore reporting for RedState 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) joined Maria Bartiromo on "Sunday Morning Futures" to discuss the status of the investigation into Biden family corruption and the involvement of President Joe Biden. 

After setting forth the mounting evidence implicating not only his family members but the president himself, Bartiromo cut right to the chase with McCarthy regarding his intentions once the House is back in session in September.

Bartiromo: Mr. Speaker, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for being here.

McCarthy: Thank you, Maria.

Bartiromo: Will you bring an impeachment inquiry against President Biden this September? 

McCarthy: Well, Maria, first, you've got to understand: Only because Republicans took the majority have we found out what President Biden told us when he was running for office is not true. He said he never had any dealings with his son's business —and that he'd never even talked to him. We've now found out: Not only did he call in to the meetings, he went to dinner, and after the dinner, Hunter Biden got a new Porsche; that there was 3.5 million [dollars] transferred. 

We've now found out as he was a sitting vice president, the family created 20 shell companies. They received 16 of 17 payments from Romania while he was vice president. We've now found that the money would flow to nine family members. He has to continue to change this. 

But since then, we've found a movement of his administration — of weaponization. We've found that, now, the special prosecutor, David Weiss, actually let the statute of limitations run out on Hunter Biden's taxes. We've found that the FBI actually informed Hunter Biden and the Inaugural Committee prior to our ability to go and interview him. We also have a DOJ that gave a — tried to give a — sweetheart deal to Hunter Biden, and the judge said no. 

So, if you look at all the information we've been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry. [emphasis mine] And just so your viewers understand what that means: That provides Congress the apex of legal power to get all the information they need — because remember what's laying out there right now: We have an attorney general that could have lied to the American public, which he has now named a special prosecutor — they have said two different things. And you have Gary Shapley on a little later today — IRS whistleblowers that have come forward, that show that there's two forms of justice when it comes to America. 

But now, when you look at this, it looks like a culture of corruption that's been happening within the entire Biden family. You've gotta get — to be able to answer that to the American public. The American public deserves an answer: Who's lying? What information went on? Who paid? And what foreign governments? When you've found now that we know that an FBI actually had an informant — which got to a form of a 1023 — claiming that they had bribed then-vice president and saying that we would never find the money because they went through shell companies and withheld that from the IRS individuals investigating Hunter Biden.

Bartiromo followed up with an equally important question: Does McCarthy have the votes needed to proceed with an inquiry? 

Bartiromo: Yeah, I think you made such an important point right there that needs to be underlined: We would not know any of this if it were not for even your five-person majority. Thanks to your investigations, the hearings, the on-the-record testimonies that your investigators have been doing, we have learned a lot about what has taken place, allegedly, during this period when Joe Biden was vice president. What other evidence are you seeking in order to bring that — do you need more evidence to prove to your members? Do you have the votes for an inquiry? 

McCarthy: Well, we have been out on summer recess right now, working in the district. When we go back, we'll discuss this. But we find new information each week. We did not know about the whistleblowers coming forth. We did not know of all these times that the president lied to the American public. Each step we take contradicts what the Bidens had said before. 

Could you imagine being a sitting vice president, and your family members set up 20 shell companies? They don't — American companies don't do that. And then they deal with foreign countries? That you got 16 of 17 payments from Romania while you're vice president? And then we have the vice president — now president — claiming that he utilized American tax dollars to withhold from Ukraine to get a prosecutor fired. We just recently found out, during break, from a business partner with Hunter Biden, that they were being pressured when they were on that board to try to do something about that prosecutor. 

So there's a lot of questions still, and to be able to get the answers to these questions, you would need an impeachment inquiry to empower Congress — Republicans and Democrats — to be able to get the answers that the American people deserve to know. I've had Democrats now tell me they're very concerned because they backed this president based upon what he told America, and with each turn, we find that is not true.

It's important to note here that McCarthy did not explicitly say the House would bring an impeachment inquiry against Biden upon their return — just that doing so would be a "natural step forward." One thing we can be certain of, however, is that McCarthy will be facing increasing pressure to take that next "natural step."

Air Rescue Crashes In North Broward County, Multiple Injuries Reported

 

BROWARD COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Air Rescue has crashed in North Broward County. While initial reports indicated the chopper crashed into a building, we are now learning that the chopper crashed near the intersection of Atlantic and Dixie Highway. Despite initial reports to the contrary, the chopper did NOT crash into a school.

Emergency communications shared with BocaNewsNow.com indicate the chopper went down just before 9 a.m. Rescuers are reportedly extricating three victims. Their level of injury is unclear as of 9:30 a.m.

Expect the area to be blocked off to the public. This is a developing story. The helicopter was part of a Broward Sheriff’s Office aviation unit fleet.  

https://bocanewsnow.com/2023/08/28/air-rescue-crashes-in-north-broward-county-multiple-injuries-reported/   

All the Evidence Points To Kyiv Investigating the Nord Stream Attack

 It's a spy thriller that has the potential to change the course of international politics: A year ago, a secret commando blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Since then, investigators have been searching for the perpetrators. The leads they have found are extremely politically sensitive.  

The Andromeda is a decrepit tub. The sides of the vessel are dented and scraped from too many adventuresome docking maneuvers while the porous pipes in the head exude a fecal stench. The 75 horsepower diesel engine rattles like a tractor and the entire boat creaks and groans as it ponderously changes course. The autopilot is broken. Other sailors hardly take any notice at all of the sloop: Just another worn charter vessel like so many others on the Baltic Sea.

The perfect yacht if you're looking to avoid attracting attention.  

According to the findings of the investigation thus far, a commando of divers and explosives specialists chartered the Andromeda almost exactly one year ago and sailed unnoticed from Warnemünde in northern Germany across the Baltic Sea before, on September 26, 2022, blowing holes in three pipes belonging to the natural gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. It was a catastrophic assault on energy supplies, a singular act of sabotage – an attack on Germany.  

The operation was aimed at "inflicting lasting damage to the functionality of the state and its facilities. In this sense, this is an attack on the internal security of the state." That's the legal language used by the examining magistrates at the German Federal Court of Justice in the investigation into unknown perpetrators that has been underway since then.  

Unknown because – even though countless criminal investigators, intelligence agents and prosecutors from a dozen countries have been searching for those behind the act – it has not yet been determined who did it. Or why. The findings of the investigation thus far, much of them coming from German officials, are strictly confidential. Nothing is to reach the public. On orders from the Chancellery.  

"This is the most important investigation of Germany's postwar history because of its potential political implications," says a senior security official. Those within the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) who are responsible for the Nord Stream case, members of Department ST 24, are even prohibited from discussing it with colleagues who aren't part of the probe. Investigators are required to document when and with whom they spoke about which aspect of the case – a requirement that is extremely unusual even at the BKA, Germany's equivalent to the FBI.  

There is a lot at stake, that much is clear. If it was a Russian commando, would it be considered an act of war? According to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an attack on the critical infrastructure of a NATO member state can trigger the mutual defense clause. If it was Ukraine, would that put an end to Germany's ongoing support for the country with tank deliveries or potentially even fighter jets? And what about the Americans? If Washington provided assistance for the attack, might that spell the end of the 75-year trans-Atlantic partnership? 

Beyond that, as if more critical questions were needed, the Nord Stream attack has provided a striking blueprint for just how easy it can be to destroy vital infrastructure like pipelines. "It immediately raised the question for me: How can we better protect ourselves," says German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. "The disruption of critical infrastructure can have an enormous effect on people's lives.  

There are plenty of targets for such attacks: internet nodes, oil pipelines, nuclear power plants. One can assume that close attention is being paid in North Korea, Iran and other terrorist states on what exactly will happen now. If the perpetrators are not found, if the sponsors of the attack are not sanctioned, if there is no military reaction – then the deterrents standing in the way of similar attacks in the future will be significantly fewer.   

But there are leads. DER SPIEGEL, together with German public broadcaster ZDF, assembled a team of more than two dozen journalists to track them down over a period of six months. Their reporting took them around the globe: from the Republic of Moldova to the United States; from Stockholm via Kyiv and Prague to Romania and France. Much of the information comes from sources who cannot be named. It comes from intelligence agencies, investigators, high ranking officials and politicians. And it comes from people who, in one way or another, are directly linked to suspects.  

At some point in the reporting, it became clear that the Andromeda had played a critical role, which is why DER SPIEGEL and ZDF chartered the boat once the criminal technicians from the BKA had released it. Together, six reporters followed the paths of the saboteurs across the Baltic Sea to the site of one of the explosions in international waters. 

This voyage on its own did not reveal the secrets of the attack, but it made it easier to understand what may have happened and how – what is plausible and what is not. And why investigators have become so convinced that the leads now point in just one single direction. Towards Ukraine  

That consensus in itself is striking, say others – particularly politicians who believe the attack from the Andromeda may have been a "false flag" operation – an attack intentionally made to look as though it was perpetrated by someone else. All the leads point all-too-obviously towards Kyiv, they say, the clues and evidence seem too perfect to be true. The Americans, the Poles and, especially, the Russians, they say, all had much stronger motives to destroy the pipeline than the Ukrainians.  

Still others believe that too many inconsistencies remain. Why did the perpetrators use a chartered sailboat for the operation instead of a military vessel? Why wasn't the Andromeda simply scuttled afterwards? How were two or three divers on their own able to blow up pipelines located at a depth of around 80 meters (260 feet) beneath the waves?

The story of the operation is a preposterous thriller packed full of agents and secret service missions, special operations and commando troops, bad guys and conspiracy theorists. A story in which a dilapidated sailboat on the Baltic Sea plays a central role. 

MORE IN THE LINK   https://www.spiegel.de/international/investigating-the-attack-on-nord-stream-all-the-clues-point-toward-kyiv-a-124838c7-992a-4d0e-9894-942d4a665778