The U.S. Intelligence Community has yet to corroborate reports of a Russian bounty killing scheme targeting American soldiers.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday to testify over the alleged Russian operation. The senior administration officials told lawmakers that the bounty scheme has not been confirmed or connected to the deaths of any US troops.
“All the defense intelligence agencies have been unable to corroborate that report,” Esper told the committee, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-pentagon-officials-russian-bounty-program-corroborated/story?id=71694167">ABC News</a>.
“As of today, right now, we don&#8217;t have cause and effect linkages to a Russian bounty program causing U.S. Military casualties,” Milley said. “However, we are still looking. We&#8217;re not done. We&#8217;re going to run this thing to ground.”
“If it is bounties, I am outraged, just like every one of us in uniform is,” Milley continued, promising retribution if such a program is found to exist. “If these bounties are directed by the government of Russia to kill American soldiers, that is a big deal. We don&#8217;t have that level of fidelity yet. We are still looking.”
The New York Times originally reported the alleged Russian bounty scheme in a June 26 article that claimed President Trump was briefed on the matter earlier in the year. In a subsequent report, the newspaper backed off that claim and reported that information on the alleged Russian bounty scheme was included in a written briefing to the president in February.
In a July 3 report, the NYT noted that the operation, if it exists, was likely not approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, though lower-level officials may have pushed the operation forward without his knowing.
“There is no evidence to date that Mr. Putin signed off on any program to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even independent experts say they strongly doubt he would have done so,” the NYT reported.
The White House, Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have all <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/multiple-government-agencies-dispute-new-york-times-report-on-russian-putting-bounties-on-u-s-troops">said</a> that the alleged bribery scheme is still being investigated.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who heads U.S. Central Command, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-commander-says-no-american-deaths-linked-to-russia-bounty-killing-scheme">said</a> Tuesday he had heard reports that Russian agents were offering members of the Afghan terror group the Taliban payment in exchange for the lives of troops from the U.S. and its allies.
“I found it very worrisome,” McKenzie said of the reports. “I didn’t find that there was a causative link there” between the alleged bounty program and the killings of any U.S. troops.
“We should always remember, the Russians are not our friends,” McKenzie continued, noting that Moscow has been a supplier of money and weapons to the Taliban in the past. “And they do not wish us well, and we just need to remember that at all times when we evaluate that intelligence.”
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General Mark Milley, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper

Top Pentagon Officials: We Are Yet ‘Unable To Corroborate’ Report On Russian Bounty Scheme

Donald Trump

New York Times

Russia

A top United States military official says that a plot by Moscow to pay Taliban insurgents to kill American soldiers and others has not resulted in any American deaths.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who heads U.S. Central Command, confirmed the existence of intelligence that indicates Russia offered to pay the Taliban, a Middle East terror group, to kill U.S. military members. The U.S. officer said that the plot has not been connected with any U.S. casualties, however.
“I found it very worrisome,” McKenzie said of the intelligence, according to <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/us-gen-mckenzie-skeptical-that-bounties-led-to-troops-deaths-1.636673">The Associated Press</a>. “I didn’t find that there was a causative link there.”
“We should always remember, the Russians are not our friends,” McKenzie said while noting that Moscow has supplied the Taliban with money and weapons for years. “And they do not wish us well, and we just need to remember that at all times when we evaluate that intelligence.”
As for the Taliban, “whether the Russians are paying the Taliban or not, over the past several years, the Taliban have done their level best to carry out operations against us,” the general added.
The Russian bounty scheme was allegedly orchestrated as the United States tries to negotiate a peace deal between Taliban leaders and the Afghanistan government. President Trump has pushed for such a treaty to be put in place before U.S. forces are pulled out of Afghanistan.
The bounty scheme, while it may not have had a measurable impact on the ground in Afghanistan, is causing a stir in Washington.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/russia-afghanistan-bounties.html">reported</a> on June 26 that President Trump was briefed on the bounty operation months ago, sparking criticism that the president knew of the Russian effort to kill U.S. troops and did not respond. The New York Times backed off the claim that Trump had knowledge of the scheme days later, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/politics/russian-bounty-trump.html">reporting</a> that intelligence on the Russian operation had been included in a Feb. 27 written briefing, and that it is unclear whether the president received a verbal briefing on the intelligence, according to <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/07/08/general-kenneth-mckenzie-russia-taliban-evidence-bounty/">The Daily Caller News Foundation</a>.
Trump and other top administration officials have denied that the president had any knowledge of the Russian bounty scheme.
“The Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party. The secret source probably does not even exist, just like the story itself. If the discredited @nytimes has a source, reveal it. Just another HOAX!” Trump tweeted on June 1.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party. The secret source probably does not even exist, just like the story itself. If the discredited <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nytimes</a> has a source, reveal it. Just another HOAX!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1278284552679624705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me &amp; the Republican Party. I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level,” Trump said in a follow-up post an hour later.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“No corroborating evidence to back reports.” Department of Defense. Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me &amp; the Republican Party. I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1278299171523637254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Russian government has also denied the existence of such an operation. Experts on Russia and Moscow’s inner workings say that such a plan would likely have not received approval from Russian President Vladimir Putin, though lower level officials could have pushed the bounty operation forward, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/world/europe/russia-bounties-putin-afghanistan.html">The New York Times</a>.
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Vladimir Putin

U.S. Commander Says No American Deaths Linked To Russia Bounty Killing Scheme

Taliban

A new report alleges that top committee staff for Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), were briefed in February about Russia offering the Taliban bounties to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, but Schiff remained inactive vis-à-vis the issue. <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/07/02/schiff-learned-of-russian-bounty-intelligence-in-february-withheld-information-from-congress-and-took-no-action/#.Xv3jZqPkLU4.twitter">According</a> to The Federalist’s Sean Davis and Mollie Hemingway, “multiple intelligence sources familiar with the briefing” said it occurred when a congressional delegation made a trip to Afghanistan in February.
Davis and Hemingway note that Schiff was asked on Tuesday if he knew about the Russia story before it was printed by The New York Times report, and Schiff answered, “I can’t comment on specifics.” They point out, “As chairman of the intelligence committee, Schiff had the authority to immediately brief the full committee and convene hearings on the matter. Schiff, however, did nothing. He did not brief his committee on the matter, nor did he brief the gang of 8, which consists of top congressional leadership in both chambers.”
Schiff has implied that President Trump <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?473522-1/house-democrats-demand-intelligence-briefing-russian-bounties-white-house-meeting">did not have </a>access to the full intelligence, saying, “You don’t deprive the President of the United States of information he needs to keep the troops safe because you don’t have it signed, sealed, and delivered… If the intelligence community had intel along the lines that is publicly reported … this is information I think would be negligent to keep from him.”
Patrick Boland, a spokesman for Schiff, had no comment when asked by The Federalist why Schiff allegedly did not divulge information to Congress for months or why travel records vis-a-vis the Afghanistan trip were not recorded in the Congressional Record.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-takes-a-shot-at-trump-over-russian-bounty-story-pompeo-fires-back-during-interview">The Daily Wire</a> noted, asked by Fox News anchor Bret Baier about former vice president Joe Biden’s attack on President Trump over the Russia issue in which Biden said, “He should, at a minimum, have picked up the phone and said, Vladimir, old buddy, if any of this is true and it doesn’t cease immediately, you’ve got a big problem,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fired back:
<blockquote>I only wish former Vice President Biden had held the Russians accountable.
We’d have been cleaning up a lot less of a mess. I wish he’d provided arms to the Ukrainians. I wish he had gotten out of the INF treaty. I wish he hadn’t allowed and invited the Syrians – the Russians into Syria.
I could go on, but you’ve got a short show. The failures of the previous administration allowed the Russians a lot of space to move.
We’ve pushed back. We’ve sanctioned more Russians than any other administration in history. I’ll take a backseat to no one with respect to what our administration and President Trump has done to hold Vladimir Putin accountable when he’s engaged in malign activity.
And should we find out that there’s evidence that he’s putting our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines at risk anywhere in the world – including in Afghanistan, I am very confident that President Trump will direct me, and he himself, will respond appropriately.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.
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&nbsp;

Rep. Adam Schiff

Schiff’s Staff Knew In February About Russian Bounties On American Soldiers, Report Says

Adam Schiff

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded to recent criticisms from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden over reports that a Russian military intelligence unit put bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan by pointing to the Trump administration&#8217;s record on holding Russians accountable and listing the failures of the Obama administration to take stronger action against Russia.
&#8220;He either reads, and, or gets briefed on important issues, and he forgets it, or he doesn’t think it’s necessary that he need to know it,&#8221; Biden said at a press conference this week. &#8220;He should, at a minimum, have picked up the phone and said, Vladimir, old buddy, if any of this is true and it doesn’t cease immediately, you’ve got a big problem.&#8221;
Pompeo responded to the comments during an interview on Fox News with anchor Bret Baier on &#8220;Special Report,&#8221; saying, &#8220;there’s been no administration to hold the Russians accountable in the way this one has.&#8221;
&#8220;I only wish former Vice President Biden had held the Russians accountable,&#8221; Pompeo said. &#8220;We’d have been cleaning up a lot less of a mess. I wish he’d provided arms to the Ukrainians. I wish he had gotten out of the INF treaty. I wish he hadn’t allowed and invited the Syrians – the Russians into Syria.&#8221;
&#8220;I could go on, but you’ve got a short show. The failures of the previous administration allowed the Russians a lot of space to move,&#8221; Pompeo continued. &#8220;We’ve pushed back. We’ve sanctioned more Russians than any other administration in history. I’ll take a backseat to no one with respect to what our administration and President Trump has done to hold Vladimir Putin accountable when he’s engaged in malign activity.&#8221;
Video and transcript below:
<iframe title="Pompeo rips Obama admin: Their failures allowed Russia a lot of space to move" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O4rQgGVAYyI?start=442&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
<blockquote>BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: But here’s what the Democratic nominee is saying about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He either reads, and, or gets briefed on important issues, and he forgets it, or he doesn’t think it’s necessary that he need to know it.
He should, at a minimum, have picked up the phone and said, Vladimir, old buddy, if any of this is true and it doesn’t cease immediately, you’ve got a big problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BAIER: All right. So it’s not just the Democrats, obviously you have Senator Chuck Grassley on the Senate floor saying it demands a serious response.
You have two key Republicans in the House, Mike McCaul and Adam Kinzinger saying, there are already those who are politicizing this issue, however we cannot use – let politics overshadow the truth that Republicans and Democrats alike can agree on the Putin regime cannot be trusted. If the intelligence review process verifies the reports, we strongly encourage the administration to take swift and serious action to hold the Putin regime accountable.
SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO: Yes, Bret, there’s been no administration to hold the Russians accountable in the way this one has. I only wish former Vice President Biden had held the Russians accountable.
We’d have been cleaning up a lot less of a mess. I wish he’d provided arms to the Ukrainians. I wish he had gotten out of the INF treaty. I wish he hadn’t allowed and invited the Syrians – the Russians into Syria.
I could go on, but you’ve got a short show. The failures of the previous administration allowed the Russians a lot of space to move.
We’ve pushed back. We’ve sanctioned more Russians than any other administration in history. I’ll take a backseat to no one with respect to what our administration and President Trump has done to hold Vladimir Putin accountable when he’s engaged in malign activity.
And should we find out that there’s evidence that he’s putting our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines at risk anywhere in the world – including in Afghanistan, I am very confident that President Trump will direct me, and he himself, will respond appropriately.
BAIER: How damaging was this leak? You were CIA director.
The White House press secretary the other day said that there were rogue officers in the Intelligence Community who want to undercut the president. Do you believe that?
POMPEO: Bret, I don’t know where this leak came from, but when periodicals report this information it breaks my heart, because it puts our intelligence officers and our military men and women at risk. It is dangerous, it is unlawful, and I hope that we can figure out who did it and they’ll be brought to justice.
BAIER: Mr. Secretary, you did speak out when it was alleged that Iran was paying the Taliban $1,000 for each American killed in Afghanistan, as a member of Congress. And you spoke out about the Obama administration’s response at the time – which obviously you criticized in the overall Iran deal.
POMPEO: Yes, that’s absolutely true. I’ve spoken about the Iranians providing assistance to the Taliban in my current role as secretary of State, as well.
I’ve criticized other governments. We’ve worked to make sure Pakistan wasn’t providing safe haven for the Taliban in Afghanistan too.
No, we’re equal opportunity when it comes to making sure we protect Americans wherever they’re serving.
BAIER: All right. Let’s talk about a couple of other substantive things.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-POMPEO

Biden Takes A Shot At Trump Over Russian Bounty Story; Pompeo Fires Back During Interview

Joe Biden

Mike Pompeo

The newest Russia-themed firestorm has intensified, with The New York Times and the Trump administration doubling down on their clashing claims. In response to a Times report citing unnamed officials claiming the president was briefed on a suspected Russian bounty plot to kill Americans, President Trump blasted the &#8220;phony Times hit job&#8221; Sunday and said &#8220;nobody briefed or told&#8221; him about the alleged plot. Now the paper has published the date of the alleged briefing, citing two unnamed officials.
&#8220;American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan — including targeting American troops — amid the peace talks to end the long-running war there, according to officials briefed on the matter,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/russia-afghanistan-bounties.html">The New York Times</a> reported Friday. The intelligence finding &#8220;was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March,&#8221; the Times reported, citing the sources.
After multiple White House officials denied the claim, Trump responded in a pair of posts early Sunday. &#8220;Nobody briefed or told me, [Vice President Mike Pence], or Chief of Staff [Mark Meadows] about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an ‘anonymous source’ by the Fake News [New York Times],&#8221; Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1277202162070753280">tweeted</a>. &#8220;Everybody is denying it [and] there have not been many attacks on us. Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration. With Corrupt Joe Biden [and] Obama, Russia had a field day, taking over important parts of Ukraine — Where’s Hunter? Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed Russia Hoax. Who is their ‘source’?&#8221;
On Monday, the Times added more specifics to their initial report.
&#8220;American officials provided a written briefing in late February to President Trump laying out their conclusion that a Russian military intelligence unit offered and paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan,&#8221; the Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/politics/russian-bounty-trump.html">reported</a> Monday, citing &#8220;two officials familiar with the matter.&#8221;
While the White House &#8220;tried on Monday to play down the intelligence assessment that Russia sought to encourage and reward killings — including reiterating a claim that Mr. Trump was never briefed about the matter and portraying the conclusion as disputed and dubious,&#8221; the Times reports, according to two officials, &#8220;the intelligence was included months ago in Mr. Trump’s President’s Daily Brief document.&#8221;
&#8220;One of the officials said the item appeared in Mr. Trump’s brief in late February; the other cited Feb. 27, specifically,&#8221; the report states. &#8220;Moreover, a description of the intelligence assessment that the Russian unit had carried out the bounties plot was also seen as serious and solid enough to disseminate more broadly across the intelligence community in a May 4 article in the C.I.A.’s World Intelligence Review, a classified compendium commonly referred to as The Wire, two officials said.&#8221;
Along with Trump&#8217;s forceful denial that he was ever briefed on the matter, other White House officials and federal departments have pushed back on the claims in the Times&#8217; report.
Asked by reporters about Trump being informed through his written briefing, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/politics/russian-bounty-trump.html">said</a>, &#8220;He was not personally briefed on the matter.&#8221; She also told the press that there was &#8220;not a consensus among the intelligence community&#8221; about the alleged plot. Citing &#8220;dissenting opinions within the intelligence community,&#8221; McEnany said the report &#8220;would not be elevated to the president until it was verified.&#8221;
National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien said in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/multiple-government-agencies-dispute-new-york-times-report-on-russian-putting-bounties-on-u-s-troops">statement</a>: supporting Trump&#8217;s claim he &#8220;had not been briefed&#8221; on the suspected plot: &#8220;Over the past several days, the New York Times and other news outlets have reported on allegations regarding our troops in Afghanistan. While we do not normally discuss such matters, we constantly evaluate intelligence reports and brief the President as necessary. Because the allegations in recent press articles have not been verified or substantiated by the Intelligence Community, President Trump had not been briefed on the items. Nevertheless, the Administration, including the National Security Council staff, have been preparing should the situation warrant action.&#8221;
The Department of Defense (DOD) also addressed the issue, stating it currently has &#8220;no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports&#8221;: &#8220;The Department of Defense continues to evaluate intelligence that Russian GRU operatives were engaged in malign activity against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan. To date, DOD has no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports. Regardless, we always take the safety and security of our forces in Afghanistan — and around the world — most seriously and therefore continuously adopt measures to prevent harm from potential threats.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyt-russians-paid-militants-to-attack-americans-and-trump-knew-about-it-biden-betrayal-trump-i-was-never-briefed">NYT: Russians Paid Militants To Attack Americans And Trump Knew About It; Biden: ‘Betrayal’; Trump: Nobody Briefed Me</a>
This article has been expanded to include quotes from McEnany.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Trump Says ‘Nobody Briefed’ Him On Russian Militant Plot; NYT Gives Specific Date Of Alleged Briefing

Kayleigh McEnany

Multiple top government agencies released statements on Monday pushing back against the credibility of a recent New York Times report that claimed that President Donald Trump was briefed about a secret Russian military group that had allegedly offered bounties to militant fighters in Afghanistan for killing U.S. soldiers.
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1">reported</a> on Monday evening that the Trump administration allegedly knew about the alleged bounty on U.S. soldiers in 2019, a full year before the date that The New York Times reported.
&#8220;Over the past several days, the New York Times and other news outlets have reported on allegations regarding our troops in Afghanistan. While we do not normally discuss such matters, we constantly evaluate intelligence reports and brief the President as necessary,&#8221; National Security Advisor Robert C. O&#8217;Brien said in a statement. &#8220;Because the allegations in recent press articles have not been verified or substantiated by the Intelligence Community, President Trump had not been briefed on the items. Nevertheless, the Administration, including the National Security Council staff, have been preparing should the situation warrant action.&#8221;
&#8220;To those government officials who betray the trust of the people of the United States by leaking classified information, your actions endanger our national security. No matter the motivation, there is never a justification for such conduct,&#8221; O&#8217;Brien concluded. &#8220;Let me be clear that there is nothing more important to President Trump than America&#8217;s security and the safety of our men and women in uniform. He has demonstrated this commitment time and again.&#8221;
The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also put out statements on the matter, with the DOD saying that it has &#8220;no corroborating evidence to validate&#8221; the allegations in The New York Times&#8217; report and ODNI saying that the leaks are criminal.
&#8220;The Department of Defense continues to evaluate intelligence that Russian GRU operatives were engaged in malign activity against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan,&#8221; the DOD said in a statement. &#8220;To date, DOD has no corroborating evidence to validate the recent allegations found in open-source reports. Regardless, we always take the safety and security of our forces in Afghanistan — and around the world — most seriously and therefore continuously adopt measures to prevent harm from potential threats.&#8221;
ODNI said that the selective leaking of any classified information &#8220;disrupts the vital interagency work to collect, assess, and mitigate threats and places our forces at risk. It is also, simply put, a crime.&#8221;
&#8220;We are still investigating the alleged intelligence referenced in recent media reporting and we will brief the President and Congressional leaders at the appropriate time,&#8221; ODNI continued. &#8220;This is the analytic process working the way it should. Unfortunately, unauthorized disclosures now jeopardize our ability to ever find out the full story with respect to these allegations.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyt-russians-paid-militants-to-attack-americans-and-trump-knew-about-it-biden-betrayal-trump-i-was-never-briefed">NYT: Russians Paid Militants To Attack Americans And Trump Knew About It; Biden: ‘Betrayal’; Trump: Nobody Briefed Me</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

DOD Secretary Esper And Chairman Of Joint Chiefs Milley Discuss Al-Baghdadi Raid

Multiple Government Agencies Dispute NYT Report On Russian Putting Bounties On U.S. Troops

Afghanistan

A new Russia-involved scandal has erupted over a New York Times report claiming that the U.S. concluded &#8220;months ago&#8221; that a Russian spy unit linked to past assassination attempts covertly offered rewards to Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan last year to kill Americans — and President Trump knew about it. &#8220;The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March,&#8221; the Times reported, citing unnamed officials.
The report prompted an &#8220;outraged&#8221; rebuke from Joe Biden, who called the administration&#8217;s response a &#8220;betrayal&#8221; to the country, but President Trump and other White House officials say that he was never briefed on the matter, suggesting either false claims by sources or members of the intelligence committee withholding information from the president.
&#8220;The United States concluded months ago that the Russian unit, which has been linked to assassination attempts and other covert operations in Europe intended to destabilize the West or take revenge on turncoats, had covertly offered rewards for successful attacks last year,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/russia-afghanistan-bounties.html">The New York Times</a> reported Friday. &#8220;Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected some bounty money, the officials said.&#8221;
Citing officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the Times specifically states that Trump and his National Security Council were allegedly briefed on the matter, but the White House has yet to authorize any action:
<blockquote>
The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said. Officials developed a menu of potential options — starting with making a diplomatic complaint to Moscow and a demand that it stop, along with an escalating series of sanctions and other possible responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step, the officials said. &#8230;
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the delicate intelligence and internal deliberations. They said the intelligence had been treated as a closely held secret, but the administration expanded briefings about it this week — including sharing information about it with the British government, whose forces are among those said to have been targeted.
</blockquote>
The report sparked massive media buzz and quick backlash from Trump&#8217;s political opponent, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“The truly shocking revelation that if the Times report is true, and I emphasize that again, is that President Trump, the commander in chief of American troops serving in a dangerous theater of war, has known about this for months, according to the Times, and done worse than nothing,” Biden said during a virtual townhall event Saturday, as reported by The <a href="https://apnews.com/bab311cb84a8e7efea42736d9b81c13b">Associated Press</a>.
&#8220;Not only has he failed to sanction and impose any kind of consequences on Russia for this egregious violation of international law, Donald Trump has continued his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself before Vladimir Putin,” said Biden. Trump&#8217;s actions after allegedly being briefed, said Biden, is a &#8220;betrayal of the most sacred duty we bear as a nation — to protect and equip our troops when we send them into harm’s way.&#8221;
But Trump and other White House officials say the Times&#8217; report is at least partly false.
&#8220;I never heard this,&#8221; tweeted former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell in response to a question about the report from Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu (CA) on Saturday. &#8220;And it’s disgusting how you continue to politicize intelligence. You clearly don’t understand how raw intel gets verified. Leaks of partial information to reporters from anonymous sources is dangerous because people like you manipulate it for political gain.&#8221;
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany also addressed the report. “This does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of the New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed on this matter,&#8221; she said in a statement Saturday.
Trump responded early Sunday. &#8220;Nobody briefed or told me, [Vice President Mike Pence], or Chief of Staff [Mark Meadows] about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an &#8216;anonymous source&#8217; by the Fake News [New York Times],&#8221; Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1277202162070753280">tweeted</a>. &#8220;Everybody is denying it [and] there have not been many attacks on us. Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration. With Corrupt Joe Biden &amp; Obama, Russia had a field day, taking over important parts of Ukraine — Where’s Hunter? Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed Russia Hoax. Who is their &#8216;source&#8217;?&#8221;
In a follow-up post Sunday, Trump said that intelligence officials just informed him that they did not report the information to him because they did not find it credible. &#8220;Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or [Vice President Pence]. Possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News [NYT], wanting to make Republicans look bad!!!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1277431695248183298">wrote</a>. 
Since publishing its report Friday, the Times has updated it with more details but has not retracted the claim that Trump was briefed. On Monday, The <a href="https://apnews.com/02975c59e71e65327e2f582cd1a91f43">Associated Press</a> published a new report citing intelligence sources speaking on condition of anonymity claiming &#8220;that Trump was briefed on the bounty matter earlier this year.&#8221;
This article and its titles has been revised for clarity.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

NYT: Russians Paid Militants To Attack Americans And Trump Knew About It; Biden: ‘Betrayal’; Trump: Nobody Briefed Me

2020 Election

Richard Grenell

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the White House, and President Donald Trump are all pushing back on a New York Times report that claimed that Trump was briefed about an alleged Russian military unit that secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan.
&#8220;The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/russia-afghanistan-bounties.html">reported</a>. &#8220;Officials developed a menu of potential options — starting with making a diplomatic complaint to Moscow and a demand that it stop, along with an escalating series of sanctions and other possible responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step, the officials said.&#8221;
The Russian military unit that was alleged to be behind the attack was Unit 29155, an arm of Russia’s military intelligence agency, which the report said has been linked to assassination attempts and secret operations to destabilize the West. Tactics that the unit reportedly uses in its covert war against the West include cyber-attacks, the dissemination of disinformation online, and secret military missions that Moscow is able to deny.
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe responded to the report by saying in a statement: &#8220;I have confirmed that neither the President nor the Vice President were ever briefed on any intelligence alleged by the New York Times in its reporting yesterday.&#8221;
&#8220;The White House statement addressing this issue earlier today, which denied such a briefing occurred, was accurate,&#8221; Ratcliffe added. &#8220;The New York Times reporting, and all other subsequent news reports about such an alleged briefing are inaccurate.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;The White House statement addressing this issue earlier today, which denied such a briefing occurred, was accurate. The New York Times reporting, and all other subsequent news reports about such an alleged briefing are inaccurate.” (2/2)
&mdash; Office of the DNI (@ODNIgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/ODNIgov/status/1277079117964468225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
President Donald Trump pushed back against the report early on Sunday morning, writing: &#8220;Nobody briefed or told me, @VP Pence, or Chief of Staff @MarkMeadows about the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians, as reported through an &#8216;anonymous source&#8217; by the Fake News @nytimes . Everybody is denying it &amp; there have not been many attacks on us. Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration. With Corrupt Joe Biden &amp; Obama, Russia had a field day, taking over important parts of Ukraine &#8211; Where’s Hunter? Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed Russia Hoax. Who is their &#8216;source&#8217;?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;Nobody’s been tougher on Russia than the Trump Administration. With Corrupt Joe Biden &amp; Obama, Russia had a field day, taking over important parts of Ukraine &#8211; Where’s Hunter? Probably just another phony Times hit job, just like their failed Russia Hoax. Who is their “source”?
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1277202162070753280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany responded to the report late on Saturday, saying, &#8220;The United States receives thousands of intelligence reports a day and they are subject to strict scrutiny. While the White House does not routinely comment on alleged intelligence or internal deliberations, the CIA Director, National Security Adviser, and the Chief of Staff can all confirm that neither the President nor the Vice President were briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence. This does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of the New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed on this matter.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If true, DJT hasn’t been briefed. Which tells me it’s not such solid intel. Who’s talking to the NYT. <a href="https://t.co/frXzkAoxV3">https://t.co/frXzkAoxV3</a>
&mdash; Rebeccah Heinrichs (@RLHeinrichs) <a href="https://twitter.com/RLHeinrichs/status/1276999749590233091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Rep. John Ratcliffe

Trump, DNI Ratcliffe Push Back On New York Times Report On Russian Bounties On U.S. Troops

Handwritten notes by ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok in January 2017 appear to indicate former Vice President Joe Biden brought up the idea of investigating former national security advisor Michael Flynn, according to attorneys representing Flynn.
The attorneys say that Strzok&#8217;s notes indicate that Biden thought Flynn might have violated the Logan Act when he conversed with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, according to court papers filed on Wednesday. &#8220;The previously sealed document also says that former President Barack Obama told top members of his administration that ‘the right people’ should investigate Flynn,&#8221; <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/06/24/biden-may-have-personally-raised-idea-to-investigate-flynn/amp/">The New York Post</a> reported.
Flynn’s attorneys, Jesse Binnall and Sidney Powell, calling the new revelation “stunning and exculpatory evidence,” stated, “According to Strzok’s notes, it appears that Vice President Biden personally raised the idea of the Logan Act. That became an admitted pretext to investigate General Flynn.”
Flynn’s attorneys noted that Strzok’s notes were “previously withheld from General Flynn” until they received them on Jan. 23.
On May 12, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Biden whether he knew anything about the investigation of Flynn. “I knew nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn,” said Biden, adding later, “I was aware that there was — that they asked for an investigation, but that’s all I know about it, and I don’t think anything else.”
“The president said yesterday that that move is justified because President Obama targeted Flynn,&#8221; said Stephanopoulos (video below). &#8220;He called it ‘the biggest political crime in U.S. history.’ Your former Senate colleague, Charles Grassley, has added that Flynn was trapped, and asked on the Senate floor, ‘What did Obama and Biden know and when did they know it?’ So what did you know about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn and was there anything improper done?&#8221;
Biden answered, &#8220;I knew nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn, number one. Number two: this is all about diversion.&#8221;
Biden continued with his “diversion” theme, shifting away from the initial question: “This is a game this guy plays all the time. The country is in crisis; we’re in an economic crisis; we’re in a health crisis. We’re in real trouble. He should stop trying to always divert attention from the real concerns of the American people. The American people are worried , with good reason. He has acted irresponsibly from the very beginning. He continues to act irresponsibly. He hasn’t done his job; this is all about diverting attention; diverting attention from the horrible way in which he has acted … It’s all about diversion.”
Stephanopoulos pressed, “You say you don’t know anything about it but you were reported to be at a January 5, 2017 meeting where you and the president were briefed on the FBI’s plan to question Michael Flynn over those conversations he had with the Russian ambassador, Kislyak.”
Biden responded, &#8220;No, I thought you asked me whether or not I had anything to do with him being prosecuted, I’m sorry. I was aware that there was — that they asked for an investigation, but that’s all I know about it, and I don’t think anything else.”
The former vice president then engaged in another “diversion” discussion again: &#8220;Look, think about this: can you imagine any other President of the United states focusing on this at the moment the country is just absolutely concerned about their health, the health of their children, the health of their families. I mean, this is— we have an economic crisis; we have a health crisis. This is all about diverting attention.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-department-finds-new-notes-from-peter-strzok-regarding-michael-flynn-believed-to-be-highly-exculpatory">Justice Department Finds New Notes From Peter Strzok Regarding Michael Flynn Believed To Be ‘Highly Exculpatory’</a>
<iframe title="Joe Biden I knew nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Yrblo64caA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Candidate Joe Biden Delivers Remarks On Coronavirus Outbreak

FBI Agent’s Notes Indicate Biden Brought Up Idea Of Investigating Flynn, Court Filing Says

Michael Flynn

A federal appeals court sided with former White House advisor Michael Flynn Wednesday, honoring a Department of Justice request and ordering a lower court to dismiss charges that Flynn deliberately lied to federal agents.
The decision likely brings a swift end to allegations that former Trump presidential campaign officials and Trump White House transition team members illegally coordinated with Russian officials to impact the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/appeals-court-orders-flynn-case-be-dismissed-after-years-long-legal-saga">per Fox News</a>.
Flynn was charged with perjury for lying to the FBI about conversations he had with a Russian ambassador, in which Flynn suggested the Russians hold off on inking any deals with the Obama administration since the Trump administration was likely to change course on foreign policy.  Flynn pleaded guilty to those charges twice and served less than a month in the Trump administration before being fired.
The Department of Justice dropped its case against Flynn back in May after investigators discovered that several members of the FBI may have walked Flynn into a so-called &#8220;perjury trap&#8221; when the interviewed him during work hours at the White House without giving him the opportunity to have a lawyer present or make clear that they were speaking to Flynn in an official capacity.
The DOJ issued a memo stating that &#8220;after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information,&#8221; investigators discovered that Flynn&#8217;s interview was &#8220;untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI&#8217;s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn.&#8221;
The interview, the DOJ concluded, was &#8220;conducted without any legitimate investigative basis,&#8221; leaving Flynn exposed to charges.
After a back-and-forth with Federal judge Emmet Sullivan, who refused to dismiss the case outright without hearings on the matter, Flynn&#8217;s lawyers ultimately appealed the charges to a Federal appeals court and Wednesday, in 2-1 decision, the appeals court ordered Flynn&#8217;s charges dropped completely.
&#8220;Wednesday&#8217;s court order was direct,&#8221; Fox News reports, &#8220;ordering &#8216;that Flynn’s petition for a writ of mandamus be granted in part; the District Court is directed to grant the government’s &#8230; motion to dismiss; and the District Court’s order appointing an amicus is hereby vacated as moot, in accordance with the opinion of the court filed herein this date.'&#8221;
&#8220;This is not the unusual case where a more searching inquiry is justified,&#8221; the lead judge wrote.
”In this case, the district court’s actions will result in specific harms to the exercise of the Executive Branch’s exclusive prosecutorial power,&#8221; the decision reads. &#8220;The contemplated proceedings would likely require the Executive to reveal the internal deliberative process behind its exercise of prosecutorial discretion, interfering with the Article II charging authority.&#8221;
One judge did dissent from the decision, leaving the case open for further appeals.
President Donald Trump, who has long seen the Flynn case as emblematic of the &#8220;witch hunt&#8221; against members of his administration by political enemies, seemed thrilled by the news, tweeting, &#8220;Great! Appeals Court Upholds Justice Departments Request To Drop Criminal Case Against General Michael Flynn!&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Michael FLynn

Appeals Court Orders Judge To Drop Charges Against Michael Flynn

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is demanding that Russia release an American corporate security executive after a Russian court sentenced the man to 16 years in prison for spying.
Russia’s Federal Security Service detained Paul Whelan, former director of global security for auto-parts supplier BorgWarner, in December 2018 for keeping a flash drive that allegedly contained Russia state secrets. The Moscow City Court convicted Whelan of spying on Monday and sentenced him to 16 years in prison, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-marine-paul-whelan-found-guilty-of-spying-by-russian-court-sentenced-to-16-years-in-prison-in-a-case-that-has-drawn-u-s-condemnation-11592212637">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan denounced the trial as a “mockery of justice” immediately after the ruling was announced. Sullivan added that the verdict “will not have a positive effect” on relations between Washington and Moscow.
“The Russian Federation wouldn’t talk about releasing Paul until he was convicted,” Sullivan told The <a href="https://apnews.com/a8f515c0e295f5e8fc37e4318a7dec65">Associated Press</a>. “And so, now that that has happened, we hope that the U.S. government will speak to the Russian government. We will have to continue to treat it as a political case, which is what it is, and seek a political solution for his freedom.”
Pompeo also released a <a href="https://www.state.gov/the-conviction-of-u-s-citizen-paul-whelan-in-russia/">statement</a> slamming Russia and its justice system and demanding Whelan’s “immediate release.”
“The United States is outraged by the decision of a Russian court today to convict U.S. citizen Paul Whelan after a secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses,” Pompeo said. “We have serious concerns that Mr. Whelan was deprived of the fair trial guarantees that Russia is required to provide him in accordance with its international human rights obligations.”
“The treatment of Paul Whelan at the hands of Russian authorities has been appalling. Russia failed to provide Mr. Whelan with a fair hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal; and during his detention has put his life at risk by ignoring his long-standing medical condition, and unconscionably kept him isolated from family and friends,” Pompeo added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied accusations that Whelan, a former Marine and Michigan native, was being held as a political prisoner. They also declined to comment on allegations that Moscow is using Whelan to secure the release of several Russians in U.S. custody.
Vladimir Zherebenkov, Whelan’s Russian lawyer, said that Moscow is considering swapping Whelan for Russians Viktor Bout, an arms trader, and Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot convicted of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the U.S.
“There have been proposals of exchange, the issue is being discussed,” Zherebenkov said according to the AP.
Whelan maintains that he is innocent and that he was framed. He has visited Russia several times before and was in the country for a friend’s wedding, his lawyer said. Whelan’s flash drive only contained pictures that he had taken of Russian churches and other buildings because he is interested in architecture.
Russia&#8217;s Federal Security Service said that agents had caught Whelan “red-handed,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Paul Whelan

‘Mockery Of Justice’: U.S. Slams Russian Court Ruling Against Former U.S. Marine

Spying

Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell said that his decision to declassify numerous documents related to the Russia investigation came from a place of wanting to be transparent with the American people because &#8220;transparency is never political.&#8221;
&#8220;The Russian investigation had all sorts of red flags from the beginning,&#8221; Grenell told Fox News on Sunday. &#8220;And when you look at the transcripts, when you look at the declassified footnotes from some of the investigations, it&#8217;s clear that there were multiple people from multiple agencies that were raising red flags.&#8221;
&#8220;However, what was really sad to me is that those red flags and those voices were pushed aside, classified, and never shown to the public. And so very few people knew the truth. And the silence from those people was really shocking,&#8221; Grenell continued. &#8220;And so what I wanted to do was be transparent. Transparency is never political. Transparency is what the American people demand. And it&#8217;s what Washington, D.C., is very uncomfortable with.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe title="Grenell on declassifying Russia probe docs: &#039;Transparency is never political&#039;" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VAjYhOK62fY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>MARIA BARTIROMO, SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES ANCHOR: My next guest did more to expose government corruption than most Washington insiders have done in years.
Ric Grenell, as acting director of national security, declassified 53 important witness transcripts that told us so much about the origins of the Russia probe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD GRENELL, FORMER ACTING U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The Russian investigation had all sorts of red flags from the beginning.
And when you look at the transcripts, when you look at the declassified footnotes from some of the investigations, it&#8217;s clear, Maria, that there were multiple people from multiple agencies that were raising red flags.
However, what was really sad to me is that those red flags and those voices were pushed aside, classified, and never shown to the public. And so very few people knew the truth. And the silence from those people was really shocking.
And so what I wanted to do was be transparent. Transparency is never political. Transparency is what the American people demand. And it&#8217;s what Washington, D.C., is very uncomfortable with.
BARTIROMO: I remember a text that Peter Strzok sent to his then girlfriend Lisa Page, and he says: &#8220;Our sisters are leaking like mad,&#8221; our sisters being the CIA.
We had Ron Johnson on the other day, a couple weeks ago here on this program, and his investigation is centering on the transition of power from the Obama administration to the Trump administration. And during that transition, when Trump was fully in place, there were 125 leaks during the first 126 days of the administration.
When you compare that to the Obama first 126 days, there were eight leaks, eight, vs. 125. Bush, nine leaks vs. 125. Leaking classified data is a felony, right?
GRENELL: Totally.
And Senator Ron Johnson is doing a really great job. So is Senator Grassley. They are really focused on trying to get to the truth.
I think that transition period is key. And it&#8217;s why, once Donald Trump won the election in 2016, all the way through to Inauguration Day, that period of time is when we know who is coming into the White House. We know the team, like General Flynn and his team and President Trump, that&#8217;s when we&#8217;re supposed to have the Obama administration or the current administration begin to hand off and have a transition time.
That&#8217;s why we have an election in November and an inauguration in January. It&#8217;s for a peaceful transition of power. That was blown by the Obama administration. And I just don&#8217;t think that unmasking during the transition period is appropriate, especially at the levels that they did.
And we even had Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States at the time, unmasking in this transition period. And I believe it was in January, when they literally were on the downslope to Trump&#8217;s inauguration.
This is inappropriate. I think you can make the argument for unmasking at other times. But to unmask during this transition period, to me, is another level. And it really shows how the beginning of the excuse of why Hillary Clinton lost, how this was developed.
They were so shocked that Donald Trump won that it must have not have been because the American people just freely chose Donald Trump, but because of some other thing.
And, remember, we had 67 Democrats refuse to come to the inauguration, the peaceful transition of power.
BARTIROMO: That&#8217;s right.
GRENELL: You know, Maria, if that would have happened in another country, the State Department would have called it out and said, this is unacceptable.
BARTIROMO: Right, which is why I think people are not going to trust the FBI or the top of the CIA until they see accountability.
GRENELL: Look, what I will say is, is, I really encourage people to read the footnotes.
When you read these footnotes, you clearly see that the intelligence community, not just the FBI, but multiple agencies, knew that the charges were flimsy or that the Russians from the very beginning were wreaking havoc on the process by pushing propaganda into the Steele dossier.
People knew this, Maria. There were red flags from the very beginning. And those voices within the intelligence community were pushed aside or classified, or both, and most people never saw the warning signs. And that&#8217;s exactly the problem, I think, that we have to drop back and solve.
BARTIROMO: Do you believe there is a deep state?
GRENELL: Look, I think that what I would say is, is that there are incredible public servants within the intelligence community who themselves are really annoyed by the bad apples.
There&#8217;s no question that we have specific people, and it&#8217;s more than just a few, who are in jobs, using their political bias to manipulate the process. There&#8217;s no question of that. And it happens on both sides of the aisle.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
You dealt with these guys. You dealt with Adam Schiff a lot. And you were trying to be transparent and declassify this stuff. But he stopped you, right?
I remember interviewing Nunes and Ratcliffe. They had sent letters to Adam Schiff, saying, we want this and we want that. We sent a letter to the FBI. We want these documents. They were not releasing them.
GRENELL: That was a process that I couldn&#8217;t believe was stopped.
To be honest, it shouldn&#8217;t have been. It should have been released a long time ago. It was overclassified. And our country suffered because it was overclassified.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
GRENELL: I will say, when dealing with the Hill, somebody like Senator Mark Warner, who I had a phone call scheduled to walk him through the reform efforts that I was going to do, and he canceled that phone call, and then refused to schedule the call.
So I never spoke to him the entire time that I was there, even though he was the lead Senate Democrat on the intelligence community. Never spoke to him. Tried several times.
But then I would see him go public and say that: Grenell is not coordinating with me. Grenell is not coordinating with the appropriate committees. And they would slam me.
Look, this is the ways of Washington, is that they say one thing and they do another. The American people are really outraged by this type of stuff.
BARTIROMO: They really are.
GRENELL: I stayed silent and tried to just take the hits.
But the fact of the matter is, I think that it&#8217;s wrong.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
As we wrap up here, John Ratcliffe is your successor as the director of national intelligence. Are there other things that should be declassified that Congressman Ratcliffe is going to be overseeing?
What&#8217;s most important that we don&#8217;t know yet, Ric?
GRENELL: Look, I think that this entire Russian investigation, the beginning of it, how it was developed needs to &#8212; somebody needs to look at what is classified and whether or not that needs to come clean.
We started that process. I have coordinated with John. He&#8217;s a great guy. He&#8217;s really focused and smart on getting to the truth. He&#8217;s removing politics from the equation, and just looking at the facts and what needs to be done.
So, I have great faith in our new director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe.
BARTIROMO: We so appreciate your work for this country, Ric. Thank you sir.
GRENELL: Thanks, Maria.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

GERMANY-US-POLITICS-JUNGE-UNION-YOUTH-CONGRESS

Richard Grenell On Declassifying Russia Investigation Documents: ‘Transparency Is Never Political’

On Sunday, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” where host Margaret Brennan noted that Russia, Iran, and China were using the images of the riots in American cities as proof of a racial divide in America. Brennan then asked, “Do you see this racial divide as a national security threat to us?”
In a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-transcript-of-face-the-nation-on-june-7-2020/">blistering response</a>, Rice utterly rejected the concept that those countries and Europeans who lambast the United States had any moral leg to stand on. Rice stated:
<blockquote>I would say to those, particularly, in places like China and Russia and Iran, who may want to use this for propaganda, let&#8217;s not be absurd. This is not Tiananmen Square where you&#8217;ve mowed down people who disagreed with the government. This is not the invasion of Crimea where you took land from your neighbor. This is not the Green Revolution in Iran where you killed people wantonly because they wouldn&#8217;t agree with the theocratic government.
And I would even say to our friends abroad, in places like Europe, where I&#8217;m seeing demonstrations in support of what is happening here, thank you for your support, but please look in the mirror. Please ask yourself, in countries in Europe and countries all across the world, what are you doing about racial and ethnic in — inequality in your own circumstances?</blockquote>
She continued, “America has gotten better because we have been willing to confront our problems. And we&#8217;re going to confront our problems again. We&#8217;re confronting them now. And I think we will move forward this time. But I — I really don&#8217;t need to be lectured by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about peaceful protest when they have themselves used their own force just because people wanted to criticize the government. That is not is what — that is not what is happening here.&#8221;
Rice added, “I&#8217;ve heard the President talk about the resilience of Americans. I&#8217;d love to hear more of that. Twitter and tweeting are — are not great ways for complex thoughts, for complex messages. When the President speaks it — it needs to be from a place of — of thoughtfulness, from a place of having really honed the message so that it reaches all Americans. And, by the way, not just the President. I would love to hear this from our leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle. I would love to hear it from mayors and from governors and from others. Leaders at this particular point need to do everything that they can to overcome, not intensify our divisions.”
In May 2018, Rice <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/middle-east-north-africa/385626-condoleezza-rice-defends-trump-leaving-iran">said</a> of the furor surrounding President Trump&#8217;s push ti exit the dangerous Iran nuclear deal, &#8220;I don’t think it’s the end of the world if the administration leaves the agreement.” She stated she would not have signed on to the agreement as the Obama administration had, adding that  the deal’s verification methods “were not very strong &#8230; The administration’s been worried about this agreement from the very beginning and there’s reason to be worried about the agreement.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.  
&nbsp;

Secretary Of State Pompeo Delivers Remarks To Stanford University Students

CBS Tries Baiting Condi Rice With U.S. Adversaries’ Criticisms. Rice Rips Adversaries To Shreds.

China

Condoleezza Rice

Iran

Racism

Former Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice ripped Russia, Iran, and China during a CBS News interview on Sunday for trying to use the death of George Floyd to create propaganda.
During the interview with host Margaret Brennan, Rice also noted that there was &#8220;no excuse for the criminality and for the looting&#8221; that have hit America&#8217;s inner cities during the violent riots over the last couple of weeks.
&#8220;Madam Secretary, you know, some of America&#8217;s adversaries, Russia, Iran, China, they are using the images of what happened to Mr. Floyd and what is happening in the streets of American cities right now in their own state propaganda,&#8221; Brennan said. &#8220;Do you see this racial divide as a national security threat to us?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ve always thought that America&#8217;s greatest strength is that we are a country where you can come from humble circumstances and do great things, and where, despite our painful history, we&#8217;ve worked harder and harder every day, brick by brick, to build a more perfect union for all of us,&#8221; Rice responded. &#8220;And I would say to those, particularly in places like China and Russia and Iran, who may want to use this for propaganda, let&#8217;s not be absurd.&#8221;
&#8220;This is not Tiananmen Square where you&#8217;ve mowed down people who disagreed with the government,&#8221; Rice continued. &#8220;This is not the invasion of Crimea where you took land from your neighbor. This is not the Green Revolution in Iran where you killed people wantonly because they wouldn&#8217;t agree with the theocratic government.&#8221;
&#8220;And I would even say to our friends abroad, in places like Europe, where I&#8217;m seeing demonstrations in support of what is happening here, thank you for your support, but please look in the mirror,&#8221; Rice continued. &#8220;Please ask yourself, in countries in Europe and countries all across the world, what are you doing about racial and ethnic inequality in your own circumstances? America has gotten better because we have been willing to confront our problems. And we&#8217;re going to confront our problems again. We&#8217;re confronting them now.&#8221;
&#8220;But I really don&#8217;t need to be lectured by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about peaceful protest when they have themselves used their own force just because people wanted to criticize the government,&#8221; Rice concluded. &#8220;That is not what is happening here.&#8221;
WATCH:
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TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She joins us from Stanford, California. Great to have you back with us.
FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE: It&#8217;s a pleasure to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You&#8217;ve written that there- there seems to be something different about this moment. What do you think is different?
RICE: Well, I think what&#8217;s different is that this, as I said recently, people are a little bit sick and tired of being sick and tired, to quote the great civil rights leader, Fannie Lou Hamer. And I think that is leading people of various backgrounds, different colors, different experiences to say how can we really make the outcome different this time? And it&#8217;s leading people to look at questions about our criminal justice system, about the justice of our institutions. But more importantly, it&#8217;s looking- having us look in the mirror at questions about race. It&#8217;s a very, very deep and abiding wound in an America that was born with a birth defect of slavery. And I&#8217;m really hoping that this time, we&#8217;ll have really honest conversations, conversations that are not judgmental. Conversations that are deep but honest conversations about what we&#8217;ve been through and who we want to be.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You wrote in an opinion piece recently that, &#8220;protests will take our country only so far and if we are to make progress, let us vow to check the language of recrimination at the door.&#8221; What do you mean by that?
RICE: We have a very painful history. Europeans and Africans came to this country together. Africans came in chains. My- you- my DNA is 40 percent European. My great-great-grandfather was my great-grandmother&#8217;s slave owner. That&#8217;s a very hard truth. But it is the truth of the past. We now have to talk about how to move forward. And when I talk to people of different colors, particularly my white friends, my white colleagues, I don&#8217;t want it to be in the language of recrimination. I want to be in the language of how do we move forward. I think we each have an individual responsibility. It&#8217;s a collective responsibility, yes, but it&#8217;s an individual responsibility to ask what am I going to do specifically? What am I going to do to help heal these wounds and to move our country forward? Because race is still very much a factor in everyday life in America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said for you personally answering the question of &#8220;what do I do,&#8221; you focused on education.
RICE: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is- is- why? Why do you think that is so key?
RICE: Well, partly it&#8217;s my background, I come from a family of educators. I come from a family where my grandfather managed as- as a sharecropper&#8217;s son to get educated in Alabama in the 1920s. Education was always for us a way to break through the barriers of prejudice, to make sure that my parents used to say, make sure that you have all of the armor you need to move forward. And I know that an education is not a- a shield against prejudice, but it gives people a fighting chance. And when I look at what has happened, particularly the poor kids and minority kids in our country, they really don&#8217;t have that shot at a high-quality education. I can honestly now look at your zip code and tell whether you&#8217;re gonna get a good education. And so I think if we can focus on specific things that we can do to make sure that those kids have a chance, that their parents have choices.
MARGARET, if- if anything, if you look at this COVID-19 crisis, it has exposed even deeper inequalities in our society. Just imagine being a child who&#8217;s trying to learn- to learn at home and the parents don&#8217;t speak English, the parents don&#8217;t have an educational background of their own. And contrast that with the kid whose parents are well-educated and who can read to them. We&#8217;ve got a lot of work to do around inequality. And I&#8217;ve just always believed that education is our most important intervention against the scourge of inequality, and particularly, when we look at race and poverty, which is a particularly tough witch&#8217;s brew.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And to your point about the pandemic, I mean, it seems to be widening the existing divide. Just looking at the data, the jobless rate in this country for the black community ticked up in May to 17 percent and black women in particular are bearing the brunt of that. Where do you see the policy solutions coming from right now? Is anyone offering anything of meaning?
RICE: Well, one of the things that&#8217;s happened is that this crisis has exacerbated problems that were there already, and we now have to ask ourselves, are we just going to say, well, my goodness, look at what we&#8217;ve seen, are we really going to act? And I think there are a couple of specific things. We know that in this crisis, if you can work from home, if you are capable of being on the Internet, then you can continue to work. You&#8217;re not unemployed. Knowledge workers are doing better. So let&#8217;s talk about higher skills levels for everybody. But I also think there&#8217;s something very specific we could do. Let&#8217;s say every American is going to have broadband. Every American is going to have access to a reliable Internet. And that means people in rural areas. That means people in- in schools that are not well-endowed. I&#8217;d love to see us have a national project about access to the Internet, access to the broad- to the broadband in the way that we&#8217;ve had access, for instance, to the highway at another time in our history.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that&#8217;s quite a to do list for Congress if they were to agree to take it up. If you were advising this particular president, what would you be telling him to do at this moment?
RICE: I would ask the president to first and foremost speak in the language of unity, the language of empathy. Not everyone is going to agree with any president, with this president, but you have to speak to every American, not just to those who might agree with you. And you have to speak about the deep wounds that we have and that we&#8217;re going to overcome them. I&#8217;ve heard the president talk about the resilience of Americans. I&#8217;d love to hear more of that. And I&#8217;m not advising the president. But, you know, unfortunately, Twitter and tweeting are- are not great ways for complex thoughts, for complex messages. When the president speaks, it needs to be from a place of- of thoughtfulness, from a place of having really honed the message so that it reaches all Americans. And by the way, not just the president. I would love to hear this from our leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle. I would love to hear from mayors and from governors and from others. Leaders at this particular point need to do everything that they can to overcome, not intensify our divisions.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are speaking like the diplomat that you have been, Secretary Rice, because I know when we spoke last year, you said that this president doesn&#8217;t recognize how raw race is as a factor in America. And just in the past few weeks, he has mourned George Floyd&#8217;s death but he&#8217;s used language like &#8220;when the looting starts, the shooting starts.&#8221; He said his supporters love &#8220;the black people.&#8221; When you hear phrases like that, how does that land with you? Do you just dismiss it because it&#8217;s President Trump?
RICE: Well, no. The president, obviously, the shooting and looting, he said that he didn&#8217;t know that historical context. And so I would say think about the historical context before you say something, because it is a deep wound. And the presidency is special in that regard. People look to the Oval Office as we&#8217;ve looked to the Oval Office throughout our history for- for messages, for signals. And as I said, the president has used some language that I&#8217;m really very, very much admire, like the resilience of the American people. Just be careful about those messages. I&#8217;m not advising the president, but if I were, I would say let&#8217;s put tweeting aside for a little bit and- and talk to us, have a conversation with us. And I think we need that. And I think he can do it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Retired General Jim Mattis said that it wasn&#8217;t in his interpretation unintentional. In fact, he said, &#8220;Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people. He does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.&#8221; Do you believe that it&#8217;s intentional? Do you agree with Mattis?
RICE: Well, look, I have enormous respect for Jim Mattis. And he&#8217;s a man of great integrity. He&#8217;s a patriot. He&#8217;s my friend. And he spoke to something that he needed to speak to. What I want to speak to is the future and what we do here over the next several months. We are having protests that need to be peaceful, but we&#8217;ve always moved ahead in part by protest. There&#8217;s no ex- excuse for the criminality and for the looting and for those outside influences that Governor Cuomo referred to- to- to come in from across state lines. That&#8217;s not what- who we are and what we are. But I will tell you, as somebody who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, Jim Crow Alabama, when if a black man was shot by a policeman, it wouldn&#8217;t have even been a footnote in the newspaper, I&#8217;m really grateful to people who are going out now and saying, no, that is not acceptable. I&#8217;m grateful to those people who are thinking about how to support good police, who are thinking about how to support all of those people who put their lives on the line every day to protect us, but also to say to those who do not have our best interests at heart, who don&#8217;t undertake that obligation to protect and defend without regard to color, enough. We won&#8217;t put up with that either. And so this is a time for every American to speak to our unity, but to also be very cognizant of how we describe our differences, how we address our differences, and especially how we address one another with empathy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said you were grateful to those who are expressing their opposition. Is there any circumstance in which you think it would be acceptable in these days to use what the president said to governors he would use, which was the Insurrection Act, to send active duty military into American cities?
RICE: Well, I would absolutely advise against it, particularly at this time. Look, the founding fathers were very smart about this. Thomas Jefferson talked about the citizen soldier, and the embodiment of the citizen soldier these days is the National Guard and Reserve. They come from these communities. They are of these communities. They are trained in everything from dealing with natural disasters to dealing with issues like crowd control. And when the local police can&#8217;t handle it, the National Guard&#8217;s the right- the right answer. Our military isn&#8217;t trained to do this. Our military is trained for the battlefield. And this isn&#8217;t a battlefield in that sense. Now, I- I understand that- and my, personally, the violence and the ugliness and the livelihoods of business people who have now watched literally their life&#8217;s work go up in smoke, that has to be dealt with. But I fundamentally believe that the National Guard, when it&#8217;s needed, local law enforcement to the degree that it can, is the way to do this. And I would really advise against the Insurrection Act. I- I understand that President George H.W. Bush did so in the Rodney King affair back in Los Angeles. But that was at the request&#8211;
MARGARET BRENNAN: At the request of California&#8211;
RICE: &#8211;of- of California. So I would- let&#8217;s- let&#8217;s use the instruments that by our tradition, by the wisdom of our founding fathers, were given to us, citizen soldiers who can police their own.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Madam Secretary, you know, some of America&#8217;s adversaries, Russia, Iran, China, they are using the images of what happened to Mr. Floyd and what is happening in the streets of American cities right now in their own state propaganda. Do you see this racial divide as a national security threat to us?
RICE: Well, I&#8217;ve always thought that America&#8217;s greatest strength is that we are a country where you can come from humble circumstances and do great things, and where, despite our painful history, we&#8217;ve worked harder and harder every day, brick by brick, to build a more perfect union for all of us. And I would say to those, particularly in places like China and Russia and Iran, who may want to use this for propaganda, let&#8217;s not be absurd. This is not Tiananmen Square where you&#8217;ve mowed down people who disagreed with the government. This is not the invasion of Crimea where you took land from your neighbor. This is not the Green Revolution in Iran where you killed people wantonly because they wouldn&#8217;t agree with the theocratic government. And I would even say to our friends abroad, in places like Europe, where I&#8217;m seeing demonstrations in support of what is happening here, thank you for your support, but please look in the mirror. Please ask yourself, in countries in Europe and countries all across the world, what are you doing about racial and ethnic inequality in your own circumstances?America has gotten better because we have been willing to confront our problems. And we&#8217;re going to confront our problems again. We&#8217;re confronting them now. And I think we will move forward this time. But I- I really don&#8217;t need to be lectured by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about peaceful protest when they have themselves used their own force just because people wanted to criticize the government. That is not is what- that is not what is happening here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Noted. Madam Secretary, you did not support President Trump in 2016. Seeing what you&#8217;ve seen, will you support him in 2020?
RICE: As I&#8217;ve often said, when I&#8217;m ready to speak about American politics, I&#8217;ll come back to you. And I&#8217;ll- you&#8217;ll be the first to know when I want to speak about American politics. Right now, what I want to speak to is my fellow Americans and to understand the deep divisions that we have, to understand what it is to be black. I know what it&#8217;s like to be met with a look of dismissiveness or the like. So I- I want to focus on that right now. And I want to say one other thing. You asked about the military earlier. Let&#8217;s remember, too, that our people in uniform also come from different backgrounds. They come from different races. They&#8217;re united in a common cause. But this is hard for them, too. And I know that their commanders are aware of the painful conversations that need to be- need to take place even within our military. But one great thing is when we unite for a common cause, as they often do, it helps us to overcome those differences.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Madam Secretary, thank you for your reflections and your time today. We&#8217;ll be&#8211;
RICE: It&#8217;s a pleasure being with you. God bless.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We&#8217;ll be right back with a lot more FACE THE NATION, so stay with us.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Former U.S. Secretary Of State Condoleeza Rice Visits &#8220;FOX &amp; Friends&#8221;

America’s Enemies Try To Use George Floyd’s Death For Propaganda. Condoleezza Rice Smokes Them.

Race

Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was at the red-hot center of the Robert Mueller probe into the phantom menace of Donald Trump&#8217;s collusion with the Russians. He testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 3.
You may not know that happened. ABC, CBS and NBC ignored it that night. PBS gave the story 55 seconds. NPR gave it 4 minutes, but those minutes sounded bizarre.
Anchor Mary Louise Kelly said: &#8220;May I start with an observation? Does this seem a little out of left field? With everything going on in the country right now, senators are focused today on the Russia investigation?&#8221;
Reporter Philip Ewing replied, &#8220;The short answer for that is, politics.&#8221;
The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts devoted 2,202 minutes of coverage to the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy theory from Jan. 21, 2017, to Feb. 10, 2019. When the Senate Intelligence Committee announced on Feb. 12, 2019, that there was no collusion? There was zero coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC.
The short answer for that? Politics.
These networks, alongside the &#8220;prestige&#8221; print press, CNN and MSNBC, obsessed about Russian-collusion claims 24/7 for more than two years. It was never &#8220;out of left field.&#8221; It was the fiercely beating heart of the &#8220;news&#8221; product. The media repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of President Trump&#8217;s election and even welcomed bald-faced lies about Trump being a Russian agent. &#8220;Bombshell&#8221; after &#8220;bombshell&#8221; led to claims that collusion was going to end Trump&#8217;s presidency early. Now the papers bury the story on the inside pages.
Under questioning from senators, Rosenstein claimed he was not well-informed at all about everything the FBI — under his direct supervision — was doing to railroad Team Trump. Sen. Ted Cruz asked him if he knew that the primary source behind the Steele dossier disavowed it as rumors and hearsay. He said no. Did he know the Steele dossier was funded through the Democratic National Committee? No. But that partisan pile of hearsay was used repeatedly to authorize spying on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Cruz claimed what the Obama-Biden team did to undermine the Trump campaign, the Trump transition team and the Trump administration made Watergate pale by comparison. This would explain why the partisan networks skipped over this. They have labored to ensure that Trump — just like George W. Bush before him — was designated as the &#8220;worse than Watergate&#8221; president.
When Sen. Lindsey Graham asked if Rosenstein would agree in retrospect that, by August 2017, there was ultimately &#8220;no there there&#8221; to support the &#8220;concept that the campaign was colluding with the Russians,&#8221; Rosenstein responded, &#8220;I agree with that general statement.&#8221; But no one in that department, and no one in the press, backed down and stopped pushing a false collusion narrative.
The crowning audacity after the Rosenstein hearing came from MSNBC star Rachel Maddow, the Collusion Queen and Duchess of the Dossier. Without uttering the words &#8220;dossier&#8221; or &#8220;Rosenstein,&#8221; she complained that 53 new subpoenas would be issued to investigate the origins of this get-Trump conspiracy. With a megaton of chutzpah, she lamented this is designed to &#8220;create an air of criminality around Vice President Biden and the whole Obama administration in time for the election in November.&#8221;
A politicized &#8220;air of criminality&#8221; still wafts over the Trump administration, thanks to the &#8220;objective&#8221; media. But they offer no apologies, no retractions, no admissions of fault on the overall Russia mess. Their drumbeat of collusion &#8220;news&#8221; turned out to be &#8230; &#8220;fake news.&#8221;
Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Rod Rosenstein

GRAHAM: When Russiagate Conveniently Vanishes

Media Bias

Obama Administration

Once again, President Donald Trump is being scapegoated for societal problems that he didn&#8217;t cause. He didn&#8217;t bring the coronavirus to our shores, and he has not created an atmosphere of racial disharmony in this country.
Is there anything Trump&#8217;s haters won&#8217;t blame on him? They&#8217;ve been trying to remove him since before he was sworn in, and every time they fail, they find another excuse — from the Russia-collusion hoax to Ukraine to the coronavirus to economic hardship from the shutdown to the murder of George Floyd to the subsequent mayhem in our cities.
Trump roundly condemned George Floyd&#8217;s murder shortly after it occurred, but that wasn&#8217;t enough. He condemned the organized thugs who hijacked the protests to vandalize, loot and endanger innocent people, but that was unacceptable. By condemning the anarchists, he was somehow chilling the peaceful protestors&#8217; free speech rights and showing insensitivity to their cause and their pain.
After delivering a speech in the Rose Garden during which he promised to restore order to America, he walked across the street with a Bible in his hand to visit St. John&#8217;s Church. That, too, was revolting to his detractors, who pilloried him for staging a photo op.
Actress Debra Messing tweeted side-by-side images of Trump and Adolf Hitler each holding a Bible and said that it was &#8220;a dog whistle to white nationalists and Nazis.&#8221; The virtue-signaling activist&#8217;s allergy to the Bible might tell you all you need to know about her.
Sen. Chuck Schumer was so outraged by Trump&#8217;s visit to the church and the temporary removal of protestors there that he offered a &#8220;sense of Congress&#8221; resolution to condemn Trump. There is just no end to their posturing.
People who viscerally hate Trump find fault in everything he does. But his supporters are on to this now. The haters have gone to the well too many times, and they are as intellectually dishonest as they are excessive. They are out-of-control bullies always unwilling to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Those wrongly accusing Trump of dividing the nation are themselves tearing us apart at the seams. He&#8217;s working to restore law and order, and they&#8217;re trying to undermine the peace.
When your policies are dramatically improving the lives of minorities, which they were before the shutdown and will be again, it&#8217;s unsettling to your political opponents whose power depends on winning 90% of the African American vote and who have nothing to offer except patronizing policies and vilification of Republicans. Democrats so thoroughly take their vote for granted that their standard-bearer, Joe Biden, says blacks who won&#8217;t vote for him aren&#8217;t black.
The left has been demonizing Republicans as racist for decades. And it maliciously depicts Trump&#8217;s signature stance on immigration enforcement as racist as well, which enhances its false narrative that Trump is presumptively racist and all of his actions should be viewed in this light.
So when Trump denounces antifa terrorists for turning our city streets into war zones; torching and pillaging commercial establishments; and injuring and murdering innocent people, he is accused of trampling on the Constitution.
No. He is doing precisely what a president should do. He is upholding the Constitution by restoring law and order; reestablishing domestic tranquility; and protecting American citizens, their property and their livelihoods. He is not on some power trip here; he is trying to prevent criminals from engaging in wanton destruction and dismantling our civil society.
Just as one can simultaneously defend the right of citizens to peaceably protest while condemning rioters and looters, one can support the overwhelming majority of good and honorable law enforcement officers while condemning renegade cops.
If we surrender to domestic terrorists and criminals, we won&#8217;t have a nation anymore, which is apparently what the anarchists want. Stunningly, they&#8217;re making substantial progress.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has proposed cutting $100 million to $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department budget to reinvest it in communities of color.
Do you think this conspicuous pitting of cops against minorities is accidental? If LA officials want to increase expenditures to minority communities, why gut the police budget? The obvious answer is that Garcetti is sending a message that cops are the bad guys and punishing them somehow helps minority communities. Neither minorities nor anyone else will benefit from emasculating the police force.<img src="data:image/png;base64,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" alt="pastedGraphic.png" />
It is indeed a sad day for America when people cheer on the disintegration of our society.
Of course, decent and civilized people must denounce the murder of George Floyd and any other despicable incidents of police brutality, but that doesn&#8217;t mean losing our heads and condemning all police officers by the very same type of stereotyping and antipathy that lie at the root of racism. We are all individuals and must be accountable for our own behavior, not smeared by a broad brush of indiscriminate condemnation.
Couldn&#8217;t Trump&#8217;s opponents, who constantly accuse him of dividing the nation, just once try to join him in combating these deadly menaces threatening our society — the virus, the economic shutdown and the violence in our streets — instead of always focusing their energy on destroying him?
Pray for cooler heads to prevail. Pray for America&#8217;s peace.
David Limbaugh is a writer, author and attorney. His latest book is &#8220;Guilty by Reason of Insanity: Why the Democrats Must Not Win.&#8221; Follow him on Twitter @davidlimbaugh and his website at www.davidlimbaugh.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Trump

LIMBAUGH: Time for Trump Haters To Put America First

George Floyd

Riots

The years-long case against former Trump national security adviser retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn continues despite the Department of Justice announcing weeks ago that it wants it thrown it — but the end is near.
Keeping the case alive is Federal District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who has refused the Justice Department&#8217;s request to immediately dismiss the case, instead deciding to first reexamine the case with the help of retired judge John Gleeson. But the standoff between the Justice Department and Sullivan appears to be coming to a head, both filing directly conflicting motions on Monday to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has since announced that it will be holding oral arguments next week.
On May 21, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals took the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/d-c-court-of-appeals-takes-extraordinary-measure-in-flynn-case-orders-judge-to-respond-to-dismissal-request">&#8220;extraordinary&#8221; measure</a> of ordering Sullivan to respond by June 1 to Flynn&#8217;s petition to drop the charges against him after the Justice Department submitted a motion to throw out the case. The DOJ made the decision after newly disclosed evidence came to light indicating that the FBI set a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ag-barr-fbi-tried-to-trap-flynn-i-believe-comey-was-driving-it-was-part-of-pattern-against-trump">perjury trap</a>&#8221; for Flynn, as Attorney General William Barr put it, and determining that Flynn&#8217;s statement was &#8220;immaterial&#8221; because the entire case was flawed.
Sullivan&#8217;s motion, filed Monday by the high-powered attorney Sullivan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flynn-judge-retains-d-c-attorney-to-justify-decision-to-keep-case-open-report-says">hired</a> shortly after the court&#8217;s order, asked the D.C. Court of Appeals not to force the judge to dismiss the case yet. Sullivan&#8217;s attorney, Beth Wilkinson, argued in the motion that the judge should have more time to determine whether to dismiss the case.
&#8220;If Judge Sullivan&#8217;s decision is anything short of what the parties sought, this court will have a chance to review it, without writing on a blank slate,&#8221; said Wilkinson, as reported by <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/new-filing-justice-department-pushes-end-flynn-case-n1221411">NBC News</a>. &#8220;There is no reason for this court to enter the fray now.&#8221;
On the same day Sullivan filed his motion, the Justice Department submitted a separate motion arguing that Sullivan simply &#8220;has no authority&#8221; to do what he&#8217;s doing. The decision to prosecute a case, the Justice Department maintains, is up to prosecutors, not judges like Sullivan. Attempting to play the role of a prosecutor, the motion argues, demonstrates &#8220;a disturbing lack of appreciation of the court&#8217;s limited role.&#8221;
A day after the submission of the dueling motions, the D.C. Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/dc-circuit-sets-oral-argument-date-to-review-judge-sullivans-refusal-to-immediately-close-michael-flynns-case/2020/06/02/1d1a6690-a522-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html">announced</a> that it will hold oral arguments next week over Sullivan’s refusal to dismiss the case.
The Justice Department filed a motion on May 7 to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-doj-just-dropped-its-case-against-flynn-here-are-some-of-the-key-moments">dismiss</a> the case against Flynn &#8220;after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.&#8221; While Flynn initially admitted to lying to FBI agents about his contact with a Russian ambassador, he moved to withdraw his plea. After a review of the case turned up evidence that the FBI&#8217;s investigation into Flynn was conducted on what the DOJ determined to be unjust grounds, Barr concluded that Flynn’s statements did not have a &#8220;material impact&#8221; on broader investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election.
The case against Flynn was &#8220;one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller,&#8221; as the Associated Press framed it. Mueller&#8217;s exhaustive, two-year investigation concluded that there was no substantive evidence of any &#8220;collusion&#8221; between the Trump campaign and Russia.
This article has been revised for clarity.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Mike Flynn

Flynn Case Comes To A Head: Judge Asks Court For More Time; DOJ: You Don’t Have The Authority

Department of Justice

Richard Grenell, who up until today was the Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI), reportedly declassified more documents related to the Russia investigation in his final days as DNI including one that is &#8220;very significant&#8221; to the origins of the investigation.
The documents include transcripts of the phone calls that then-incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn had with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, which is at the center of the Obama administration&#8217;s &#8220;unmasking&#8221; scandal.
The newly declassified documents will have to be released by new Director John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in on Tuesday morning.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/grenell-declassifies-slew-of-russia-files-as-ratcliffe-takes-helm-as-dni">reported</a> &#8220;that Grenell also completed the declassification review of other documents related to the origins of the Russia probe — including one that a senior intelligence official told Fox News was &#8216;very significant in understanding how intelligence was manipulated to support launching the Russia investigation.'&#8221;
U.S. Attorney John Durham is currently conducting a criminal investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation.
Grenell declassified numerous documents related to the Russia investigations that took place over the first three years of the Trump administration, including testimonies that were given to the House Intelligence Committee that showed that Obama administration officials had no evidence that the Russians colluded with the Trump campaign.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

U.S. Ambassador Grenell At Berlin 4th Of July

Grenell Declassifies Document That Is ‘Very Significant’ To Origins of Russia Investigation

One of the biggest problems in Washington, D.C., is that when people in government do bad things, they are not often held accountable. There is also a glaring double standard for who is charged and who isn’t.
For example, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn was charged with lying to the FBI even though the bureau had no reason to question him in the first place, and it was later shown that Flynn was interviewed in order to trip him up and get him fired. Meanwhile, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe – who also lied to the FBI – was not only not charged but received a CNN contract and book deal. The difference is that the media and career bureaucrats like McCabe because he went after someone they hated: President Donald Trump.
It appears that may be changing for the people who actively investigated Trump and his 2016 campaign for the sole purpose of spinning a narrative to damage his administration. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News’ Gregg Jarrett that criminal referrals would be made “in the coming weeks” against members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, many of which hid exculpatory evidence on FISA warrant applications that allowed the investigation to continue.
The Washington Examiner (my former employer) <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/devin-nunes-republicans-expanding-investigation-into-mueller-team">reported</a> on Nunes’ remarks, which aired Sunday evening on a special Fox News program titled, “Witch Hunt: The Flynn Vindication.”
&#8220;We’ve also expanded our investigation into the Mueller team and everything that happened with Mueller and the people at DOJ and FBI that were above Mueller. And so, we will be making criminal referrals in the coming weeks against the Mueller team. We&#8217;re just now putting that together and, of course, as always, waiting on more documents that we really need to come out,&#8221; Nunes told Jarrett on the program.
Mueller’s investigation determined after a two-year investigation that there was no collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia to steal the election. Nunes said on Fox that the investigation should have been shut down quickly since Mueller knew early on that there was no collusion.
While Nunes’ words may give hope to some Trump allies eager to see justice against those that participated in an attempted coup against the president, the likelihood of anything actually coming from the criminal referrals is minimal.
Remember that Michael Avenatti and Julie Swetnick received criminal referrals for falsely accusing then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh of being a teenage rapist. Nothing has come of those referrals.
Nunes also sent eight criminal referrals to the Department of Justice last year, yet nothing has been done so far. Attorney General William Barr, however, has appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the misconduct of officials involved in the Mueller investigation. That probe is still ongoing.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Devin Nunes

Criminal Referrals Coming For People On Mueller Investigation, Devin Nunes Says

Robert Mueller

A federal judge has hired a high-powered attorney after refusing to dismiss charges against former national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn after the Justice Department requested to drop the case.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan retained Washington D.C. lawyer Beth Wilkinson to argue in front of a federal appeals court why Sullivan was right to reexamine <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-doj-just-dropped-its-case-against-flynn-here-are-some-of-the-key-moments">Flynn’s case</a> before dropping the charges, a source told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-judge-hires-high-powered-dc-attorney-to-defend-his-actions-in-flynn-case/2020/05/23/9cae4d5e-9d0c-11ea-ac72-3841fcc9b35f_story.html">The Washington Post</a>. A panel on the D.C. Court of Appeals has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/d-c-court-of-appeals-takes-extraordinary-measure-in-flynn-case-orders-judge-to-respond-to-dismissal-request">demanded</a> that Sullivan explain his decision to reject the DOJ request.
Wilkinson has represented a series of prominent officials in high-stakes legal battles. She represented Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation battle when several women made unsubstantiated accusations of sexual assault against him.
FBI Director Christopher Wray ordered an internal investigation into the Flynn case that will determine whether any FBI agents or officials abused their powers in probing Flynn, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-director-wray-opens-internal-investigation-into-how-bureau-handled-michael-flynn-case">Fox News</a>.
“Although the FBI does not have the prosecutorial authority to bring a criminal case, the Inspection Division can and will evaluate whether any current onboard employees engaged in actions that might warrant disciplinary measures,” the FBI announced on Friday.
The DOJ motion to drop its case against Flynn on May 7 after court documents unsealed in April revealed that the FBI’s top brass had interfered in an FBI probe into Flynn in January 2017 to hold the case open despite having little, if any, reason to do so. The documents also indicated that FBI officials sought to trap Flynn in a Jan. 24, 2017 interview into either lying to federal agents or admitting to breaking an obscure 1799 law. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in December 2017, but asked to rescind his guilty plea earlier this year.
After Sullivan refused to drop the case, the judge took the unusual step of asking a retired federal judge to essentially prosecute a case that Attorney General William Barr felt lacked enough evidence to make. Sullivan appointed John Gleeson, a former mafia prosecutor, to pursue the charges against Flynn in the absence of the DOJ’s team. Gleeson is also weighing whether Flynn should be charged with perjury for proclaiming innocence after already pleading guilty.
Flynn’s attorney Sydney Powell <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flynn-attorney-denounces-travesty-of-justice-after-judge-refuses-to-dismiss-case">blasted</a> Sullivan’s decision to keep the case against Flynn open after the Justice Department decided to stop prosecuting the case.
“This travesty of justice has already consumed three or more years of an innocent man’s life — and that of his entire family. No further delay should be tolerated or any further expense caused to him and his defense,” Powell wrote in a court filing. “This Court should enter the order proposed by the government immediately.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-offered-to-pay-christopher-steele-significantly-for-dirt-on-michael-flynn-and-other-trump-associates">FBI Offered To Pay Christopher Steele ‘Significantly’ For Dirt On Michael Flynn And Other Trump Associates</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

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Russia

Top Pentagon Officials: We Are Yet ‘Unable To Corroborate’ Report On Russian Bounty Scheme

U.S. Commander Says No American Deaths Linked To Russia Bounty Killing Scheme

Schiff’s Staff Knew In February About Russian Bounties On American Soldiers, Report Says

Biden Takes A Shot At Trump Over Russian Bounty Story; Pompeo Fires Back During Interview

Trump Says ‘Nobody Briefed’ Him On Russian Militant Plot; NYT Gives Specific Date Of Alleged Briefing

Multiple Government Agencies Dispute NYT Report On Russian Putting Bounties On U.S. Troops

NYT: Russians Paid Militants To Attack Americans And Trump Knew About It; Biden: ‘Betrayal’; Trump: Nobody Briefed Me

Trump, DNI Ratcliffe Push Back On New York Times Report On Russian Bounties On U.S. Troops

FBI Agent’s Notes Indicate Biden Brought Up Idea Of Investigating Flynn, Court Filing Says

Appeals Court Orders Judge To Drop Charges Against Michael Flynn

‘Mockery Of Justice’: U.S. Slams Russian Court Ruling Against Former U.S. Marine

Richard Grenell On Declassifying Russia Investigation Documents: ‘Transparency Is Never Political’

CBS Tries Baiting Condi Rice With U.S. Adversaries’ Criticisms. Rice Rips Adversaries To Shreds.

America’s Enemies Try To Use George Floyd’s Death For Propaganda. Condoleezza Rice Smokes Them.

GRAHAM: When Russiagate Conveniently Vanishes

LIMBAUGH: Time for Trump Haters To Put America First

Flynn Case Comes To A Head: Judge Asks Court For More Time; DOJ: You Don’t Have The Authority

Grenell Declassifies Document That Is ‘Very Significant’ To Origins of Russia Investigation

Criminal Referrals Coming For People On Mueller Investigation, Devin Nunes Says

Flynn Judge Retains D.C. Attorney To Justify Decision To Keep Case Open, Report Says

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Russia

Top Pentagon Officials: We Are Yet ‘Unable To Corroborate’ Report On Russian Bounty Scheme

U.S. Commander Says No American Deaths Linked To Russia Bounty Killing Scheme

Schiff’s Staff Knew In February About Russian Bounties On American Soldiers, Report Says

Biden Takes A Shot At Trump Over Russian Bounty Story; Pompeo Fires Back During Interview

Trump Says ‘Nobody Briefed’ Him On Russian Militant Plot; NYT Gives Specific Date Of Alleged Briefing

Multiple Government Agencies Dispute NYT Report On Russian Putting Bounties On U.S. Troops

NYT: Russians Paid Militants To Attack Americans And Trump Knew About It; Biden: ‘Betrayal’; Trump: Nobody Briefed Me

Trump, DNI Ratcliffe Push Back On New York Times Report On Russian Bounties On U.S. Troops

FBI Agent’s Notes Indicate Biden Brought Up Idea Of Investigating Flynn, Court Filing Says

Appeals Court Orders Judge To Drop Charges Against Michael Flynn

‘Mockery Of Justice’: U.S. Slams Russian Court Ruling Against Former U.S. Marine

Richard Grenell On Declassifying Russia Investigation Documents: ‘Transparency Is Never Political’

CBS Tries Baiting Condi Rice With U.S. Adversaries’ Criticisms. Rice Rips Adversaries To Shreds.

America’s Enemies Try To Use George Floyd’s Death For Propaganda. Condoleezza Rice Smokes Them.

GRAHAM: When Russiagate Conveniently Vanishes

LIMBAUGH: Time for Trump Haters To Put America First

Flynn Case Comes To A Head: Judge Asks Court For More Time; DOJ: You Don’t Have The Authority

Grenell Declassifies Document That Is ‘Very Significant’ To Origins of Russia Investigation

Criminal Referrals Coming For People On Mueller Investigation, Devin Nunes Says

Flynn Judge Retains D.C. Attorney To Justify Decision To Keep Case Open, Report Says

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