The Daily Wire, The Federalist, and the state of Texas joined on Tuesday in a <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/DailyWire-v-State-final.pdf">lawsuit against the U.S. State Department</a>, alleging that the government agency funded censorship technology designed to bankrupt domestic media outlets with disfavored political opinions.
The State Department is tasked with foreign relations and has no authority over domestic affairs, yet it took a government office designed for countering foreign terrorist propaganda, the Global Engagement Center (GEC), and unleashed it against Americans engaged in what it claimed was &#8220;disinformation,&#8221; according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday night by the New Civil Liberties Alliance.
It was &#8220;one of the most audacious, manipulative, secretive, and gravest abuses of power and infringements of First Amendment rights by the federal government in American history,&#8221; said the suit, which also names Secretary of State Antony Blinken and five other officials as defendants.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the State Department&#8217;s attempt to interfere with domestic speech illegal and to permanently bar it from developing, promoting, or encouraging others to use technology to de-amplify, shadow ban, or restrict &#8220;the lawful speech of the American press and Americans.&#8221;
GEC was founded in 2011 as the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications and tasked with countering the propaganda of foreign terrorists like Al Qaeda. In 2016, it was renamed, but kept the same counterterrorism mission. Congress has made clear that &#8220;none of the funds authorized&#8221; for the entity &#8220;shall be used for purposes other than countering foreign propaganda.&#8221;
Nonetheless, GEC turned its focus on Americans, the complaint alleges, using taxpayer funds to finance the development and promotion of censorship organizations such as NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which regularly target conservative media outlets such as The Daily Wire and The Federalist with the stated goal of limiting ad revenue.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance&#8217;s Mark Chenoweth, who is representing the outlets, said &#8220;the federal government cannot do indirectly what the First Amendment forbids it from doing directly.&#8221;
GDI&#8217;s main product is a &#8220;Dynamic Exclusion List&#8221; of media outlets that it says present a &#8220;high risk for disinformation.&#8221; It licenses the list to advertisers, who adopt it as a convenient way to avoid boycotts from the Left. That playbook was deployed last month against Elon Musk, when blue-chip advertisers were persuaded to stop advertising on the platform because the Left-wing Media Matters group claimed that big companies’ ads occasionally appeared near objectionable content.
GDI says it aims to destroy &#8220;the incentive to create [disinformation] for the purpose of garnering advertising revenues.&#8221;
GDI keeps its main blacklist secret, but publicly published its top 10 &#8220;riskiest” outlets, which was essentially a list of America&#8217;s most prominent and mainstream conservative media publications, including both The Daily Wire and The Federalist, as well as the New York Post, and Reason Magazine.
GDI &#8220;was funded and promoted by State Department Defendants,&#8221; the lawsuit states. &#8220;State Department Defendants&#8217; active intervention in the news media market to make disfavored media unprofitable thus had devastating consequences to Media Plaintiffs.&#8221;
Also funded by the State Department is for-profit company called <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsguard-runs-cover-for-terrorists-in-fact-check-of-ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NewsGuard</a>, which said it aimed to &#8220;cut off revenues to fake news sites&#8221; by coming up with a whitelist that purported to name every legitimate news site. NewsGuard ranks The Federalist as &#8220;unreliable&#8221; and The Daily Wire as &#8220;credible with significant exceptions.&#8221;
GEC funded GDI in 2021 through its U.S.-Paris Tech Challenge, in which GDI was awarded $100,000. The <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/disinformation-inc-state-department-silent-on-if-it-will-ties-global-disinformation-index" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington Examiner</a> reported that the State Department-funded National Endowment for Democracy  apparently funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars more to GDI. The National Endowment for Democracy later acknowledged its &#8220;mandate is to work around the world and not in the United States,&#8221; and thus would no longer fund GDI.
The State Department also co-sponsored a &#8220;COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation&#8221; tech challenge that gave a prize to NewsGuard. NewsGuard said in a press release that it planned to &#8220;help&#8221; the State Department by flagging COVID &#8220;hoaxes.&#8221;
One of the “hoaxes” flagged by NewsGuard was that COVID might have come from a Chinese lab, a scenario now viewed by U.S. agencies to be likely. NewsGuard gave its secret data to scientists from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/atomic-bomb-lab-studying-ways-to-combat-misinformation-including-covid-lab-leak-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Alamos</a>, the lab that created the atomic bomb, who used it to target skeptics of then-conventional COVID wisdom.
The lawsuit says that the government used tools developed to be used against foreign nations against political opponents at home.
&#8220;State Department disinformation tools were developed&#8230; as tools of warfare&#8230; in the context of national security&#8221; and &#8220;foreign relations,&#8221; then &#8220;misdirected to be used at home against domestic political opponents,&#8221; it said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he is &#8220;proud to lead the fight to save Americans’ precious constitutional rights from Joe Biden’s tyrannical federal government.&#8221;
&#8220;The State Department’s mission to obliterate the First Amendment is completely un-American,&#8221; Paxton said. &#8220;This agency will not get away with their illegal campaign to silence citizens and publications they disagree with.”
The lawsuit argues that Paxton&#8217;s ability to enforce Texas&#8217; anti-censorship laws were infringed by the State Department&#8217;s funding of censorship tools.
“The Biden administration is illegally funding organizations with the stated goal of financially crippling media outlets whose coverage does not walk in lockstep with the government’s ideological agenda,&#8221; The Daily Wire said in a statement on the lawsuit. &#8220;We sued the Biden administration before over its unconstitutional vaccine mandate, and we won. This time, we’re suing for our rights, all news organizations’ rights, and the constitutional guarantee of a free press that all Americans deserve.&#8221;

white house 10/7

Daily Wire And The Federalist Sue Biden State Department Over Censorship Effort

Biden Administration

Censorship

Ken Paxton

NewsGuard

State Department

Texas

The Daily Wire

The Federalist

The Biden administration announced that the U.S. was on track to spend more than $9 billion dollars on “climate finance” internationally in 2023, according to a <a href="https://www.state.gov/progress-report-on-president-bidens-climate-finance-pledge/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20preliminary%20estimates%20suggest,to%20the%20multilateral%20development%20banks." target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released by the State Department on Saturday. 
The report, which was an update on the status of President Joe Biden’s pledge to dump billions into climate funding domestically and internationally, estimated that the U.S. would spend at least $9.5 billion on climate programs in 2023, nearly $4 billion more than the $5.8 billion spent in 2022.
Biden has aggressively pushed a so-called &#8220;transition&#8221; away from traditional energy sources during his time as president despite concerns about the cost and efficiency of new energy sources. Just months after taking office, Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/04/20/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-catalyze-global-climate-action-through-the-major-economies-forum-on-energy-and-climate/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20President%20Biden%20pledged,billion%20a%20year%20by%202024." target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the U.S. would send over $11 billion in “climate support” overseas per year by 2024. 
In the report, the State Department said that the U.S. “will continue to support developing country partners as they pursue ambitious climate action. The United States has prioritized boosting international climate finance, as well as demanding that international financial institutions evolve to better enable emerging market and developing countries to respond to global challenges, including climate change.”
The report came out the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-announces-3-billion-for-green-projects-overseas-including-nearly-500m-for-gender-equity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the U.S. promise to spend another $3 billion in taxpayer dollars as a pledge to climate and “gender equity” funds at the Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai. The administration has flown dozens of officials to Dubai for the conference at taxpayer expense. 
At the conference on Monday, U.S. officials <a href="https://www.state.gov/united-states-and-partners-announce-energy-transition-accelerator-framework/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the federal government would partner with the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bezos Fund to create the so-called Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) coalition that will utilize the private sphere to push Biden&#8217;s climate agenda. 
“Based on preliminary estimates, the ETA could mobilize from $72 billion to $207 billion in transition finance by 2035. The ETA is pioneering a sectoral-scale crediting approach that will incentivize participating countries to intensify their near-term activities contributing to power sector decarbonization, including to deploy and utilize clean power and retire fossil fuel assets, to enhance storage capacity, transmission, and distribution, and for any needed policy shifts,” the State Department said.
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The Biden energy “transition” includes a push toward electric vehicles and he announced a goal to make two out of three new vehicles sold in 2032 electric.
His push has been criticized by auto dealers who say that the public is not ready for such a dramatic change.
“Mr. President, no government agency, no think tank, and no polling firm knows more about the automobile customer than us,” a group of 3,700 auto dealers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/3700-u-s-auto-dealers-push-biden-to-scrap-unrealistic-ev-mandate-low-demand-even-with-incentives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Biden last month. “Some customers are in the market for electric vehicles, and we are thrilled to sell them. But the majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change.”
The massive spending commitments come amid persistent inflation, including high gas prices, throughout Biden’s time in office.

President Biden Meets With Angolan President Goncalves Lourenco At White House

Report Reveals How Much Biden Admin Has Spent On Overseas Climate Projects This Year

Climate Change

Energy

Joe Biden

Kamala Harris

After Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to the State Department requesting they conduct a review and coordination effort to revoke the visas of those who have endorsed or espoused Hamas’ terrorist activity on U.S. soil, the State Department admitted in a return letter they indeed had the authority to revoke those visas.
The State Department took a full month to respond as Rubio had sent his letter on October 15 and their response was dated November 15.
“As you are aware, the Secretary of State designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act on October 8, 1997,” the State Department acknowledged. “Our first priority when adjudicating visa applications is to ensure applicants do not pose a security risk to the United States. Every prospective traveler to the United States undergoes extensive security screening. This screening draws on information from the full range of U.S. government agencies, including biographic and biometric screening against U.S. law enforcement and counterterrorism databases. No visa is issued until all concerns raised by the screening process are fully resolved.”
Then the State Department admitted, “The Department of State also has broad authority under the INA to revoke visas. We exercise that authority when there is information or evidence indicating a visa holder may be ineligible for a U.S. visa. When we receive derogatory information that indicates potential visa ineligibility, we take immediate actions, such as entering the information into U.S. government databases and revoking visas if deemed appropriate.”
“State Department confirms they have the power to revoke the visas of Hamas supporters and deport them. Now they need to do it,” Rubio tweeted upon receipt of the letter.
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State Department confirms they have the power to revoke the visas of Hamas supporters and deport them. Now they need to do it. <a href="https://t.co/vCXyKufhad">pic.twitter.com/vCXyKufhad</a>
&mdash; Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1724943837343219866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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At the end of October, FBI Director Christopher Wray <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/hamas-attack-galvanizing-terror-groups-worldwide-warn-us-officials/7335141.html">warned</a> that the Israel-Hamas war had raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a higher level, telling the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, “We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven&#8217;t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago. &#8230; In just the past few weeks, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West.”
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Christine Abizaid said the war was being utilized as “a feature of messaging and propaganda” from various terror groups, adding, “We&#8217;ve seen it from al-Qaida affiliates, almost every single one. We&#8217;ve also seen it from ISIS, which ideologically isn&#8217;t aligned with a group like Hamas, but is still leveraging this current conflict. They are seeking to capitalize on this moment to galvanize supporters and organize further attacks.”

Marco Rubio

Rubio Gets State Department To Admit They Can Revoke Visas Of Hamas Supporters In U.S.

Hamas

Visa

A number of State Department staffers joined with staffers from the Agency for International Development — 100 in total — in criticizing President Joe Biden&#8217;s response to the war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
Israel declared a state of war with Hamas after terrorists breached the border on October 7, slaughtering 1,200 Israelis – most of them civilians – and kidnapping more than 200, taking them into Gaza.
According to an <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/biden-gaza-hamas-policy-state-department-memo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Axios report</a> published on Monday, a five-page internal memo referred to as a dissent cable was &#8220;organized by a junior diplomat&#8221; and accused Biden of failing to deescalate the situation when Israel began to retaliate against Hamas — in addition to accusing Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza.
The dissent cable was written by Sylvia Yacoub — <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/04/genocide-biden-gaza-ceasefire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified by Axios</a> as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Middle East Affairs — who criticized Biden directly via X in early November. &#8220;You are providing significantly more military assistance to the government that is indiscriminately attacking innocent Gazans …. you are complicit in genocide @POTUS,&#8221; she said.
Claiming that Israel had cut off electricity to Gaza and restricted aid, the memo alleged that those actions — and the Israel Defense Forces&#8217; targeted strikes on Hamas leaders and weapons&#8217; stores — &#8220;all constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity under international law.&#8221;
&#8220;Yet we have failed to reassess our posture towards Israel. We doubled down on our unwavering military assistance to the (Israeli government) without clear or actionable redlines,&#8221; the memo continued, arguing that Israel&#8217;s response to Hamas should have caused the United States to adjust its policy.
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&#8220;Members of the White House and (the National Security Council) displayed a clear disregard for the lives of Palestinians, a documented unwillingness to de-escalate, and, even prior to October 7, a reckless lack of strategic foresight,&#8221; the memo continued, going on to chastise the Biden administration for refusing to take the word of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry when it came to assessing the number of casualties.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the dissent within the State Department, saying in a memo to staffers, &#8220;I know that for many of you, the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a profound personal toll. The anguish that comes with seeing the daily images of babies, children, elderly people, women, and other civilians suffering in this crisis is wrenching. I feel it myself. Some people in the Department may disagree with approaches we are taking or have views on what we can do better.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-PRICE-BRIEFING

State Department Staffers Sign Letter Accusing Israel Of War Crimes

Antony Blinken

Israel

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department</a> issued a travel advisory on Saturday morning urging Americans to leave <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lebanon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lebanon</a> amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 
The warning comes amid threats from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hezbollah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hezbollah</a> leader Hassan Nasrallah <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hassan-nasrallah-hezbollah-hamas-israel-cf7d6969db43e5d902580546ac4e4c22">to escalate</a> military actions against Israel. Israel has been sending targeted strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon as Hezbollah has fired rockets at Israeli troops. 
“The [State Department] recommends that U.S. citizens in Lebanon leave now while commercial flights remain available due to the unpredictable security situation,” the State Department <a href="https://twitter.com/TravelGov/status/1720806408306729066" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to X. 
Americans were also told to have “a plan of action for crisis situations that does not rely on U.S. government assistance. The best time to leave a country is before a crisis, if at all possible. U.S. military-assisted evacuations of civilians from a foreign country are rare. There is no guarantee the U.S. government will evacuate private U.S. citizens and their family members in a crisis situation.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Lebanon: The <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StateDept</a> recommends that U.S. citizens in Lebanon leave now while commercial flights remain available due to the unpredictable security situation. Available flight options at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport: <a href="https://t.co/gGE8JI7tXA">https://t.co/gGE8JI7tXA</a> Have a plan of action… <a href="https://t.co/UsLjaYze5l">pic.twitter.com/UsLjaYze5l</a>
&mdash; Travel &#8211; State Dept (@TravelGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/TravelGov/status/1720806408306729066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon <a href="https://lb.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-beirut-november-4-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">echoed</a> the State Department&#8217;s advisory, telling Americans to leave the country and to have plans to leave “that do not rely on the U.S. government.”
Last month, the U.S. <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/lebanon-travel-advisory.html">issued</a> a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory on for Lebanon because of increased Hezbollah terrorist and criminal activity.
On Friday, Nasrallah <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hezbollah-leader-calls-u-s-great-satan-insists-israelis-committed-gruesome-massacres-of-jews-not-hamas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave a speech</a> that took aim at the U.S., calling it “The Great Satan,” and blaming America for the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which started after Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack on October 7.
“We must establish this fact,” he declared. “The United States is totally responsible for the war raging in Gaza… It is the United States, proving once again, as described by [former Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah] Khomeini, it is the greatest Satan, the great devil.”
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In the days following the Hamas attacks on Israel, the Israel Defense Forces <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israeli-military-says-it-has-neutralized-terrorists-who-crossed-in-from-lebanon-amidst-hamas-attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it had “neutralized a number of terrorist infiltrators” who had crossed from Lebanon into Israel.
The remarks come after the IDF said it had reports of suspected terrorists entering Israel from Lebanon. 
“A report was received regarding the infiltration of a number of suspects into Israeli territory from Lebanese territory. IDF soldiers are deployed in the area,” the military said, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-deploying-against-possible-infiltration-lebanon-2023-10-09/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Reuters. The crossing was reportedly near Adamit, a city in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon.

Mutual attacks on the border between Israel and Lebanon

U.S. Citizens Told To Leave Lebanon Amid ‘Unpredictable Security Situation’

Hezbollah

Lebanon

World

The U.S. State Department issued a <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/worldwide-caution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;worldwide caution&#8221; travel advisory</a> on Thursday, warning American citizens to be aware in various locations as threats of terrorist attacks and other dangerous situations have increased.
&#8220;Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution,&#8221; the advisory reads.
U.S. officials last issued the rare alert in August 2022 in response to the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-worldwide-travel-advisory-amid-israel-hamas-war/story?id=104140303">warning</a> that &#8220;supporters of al-Qa&#8217;ida, or its affiliated terrorist organizations, may seek to attack US facilities, personnel, or citizens.&#8221;
The State Department raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to &#8220;Level 4: Do Not Travel&#8221; on Tuesday to reflect the authorized departure of family members of government personnel and some non-emergency personnel on a case-by-case basis.
&#8220;Do Not travel to Lebanon due to the unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hizballah or other armed militant factions,&#8221; the <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/lebanon-travel-advisory.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advisory</a> reads. &#8220;Reconsider travel to Lebanon due to terrorism, civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, kidnapping, and Embassy Beirut&#8217;s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens.&#8221;
Multiple countries have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/multiple-nations-urge-citizens-to-evacuate-lebanon-as-iranian-terrorists-escalate-attacks-on-israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alerted</a> their citizens inside Lebanon to evacuate immediately as an Iranian-backed terrorist organization ramps up its attacks on Israel&#8217;s northern border.
Israeli officials are concerned that Hezbollah — estimated to have approximately 20,000 soldiers — is preparing to launch a full-scale attack on Israel&#8217;s northern border. The terrorist group has about 150,000 rockets in its arsenal, which could easily dwarf the recent rocket attacks launched by Hamas.
Countries that have told their citizens to vacate Lebanon include the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Canada, France, Kuwait, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and Australia.
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The U.S. embassy in Lebanon <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-department-warns-us-citizens-not-travel-lebanon-fear-2nd-front-opening-israel-hamas-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> said, &#8220;terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Lebanon,&#8221; signaling that such attacks could erupt &#8220;with little or no warning targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities.&#8221;
Protesters in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Tunisia staged violent demonstrations outside Israeli, French, and U.S. embassies this week after legacy media outlets <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/18/protests-middle-east-palestine-lebanon-us-embassy-iran/">propagated</a> debunked claims that an Israeli airstrike killed nearly 500 people inside a Gaza hospital.
On U.S. soil, more than 300 protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow were arrested on Wednesday for crowding, obstructing, or incommoding in a forbidden area inside a U.S. House office building in Washington D.C on Capitol Hill, according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/10/19/israel-hamas-protesters-swarm-house-buidling-washington-arrests/71237857007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USA Today.</a> Capitol Police have since ticketed and released those who were detained.
Ryan Saavedra and Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.

US-LANDMARK-GOVERNMENT

U.S. State Department Announces ‘Worldwide Caution’ Travel Alert

U.S. State Department Announces 'Worldwide Caution' Travel Alert

Conflicts

Terrorism

Tens of thousands of U.S. State Department emails were stolen by a group of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China-based</a> hackers who breached Microsoft&#8217;s email platform earlier this year, according to a Senate staffer.
The anonymous staffer, who works for Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/chinese-hackers-stole-60000-emails-us-state-department-microsoft-hack-senate-2023-09-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Reuters that State Department IT officials briefed the U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that 60,000 emails were stolen from ten different accounts — all directly working on East Asia and the Pacific.
In June, Chinese Communist Party-affiliated hackers subverted Microsoft&#8217;s system, giving them access to multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken&#8217;s trip to Beijing.
Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, reportedly called the accusation &#8220;disinformation&#8221; to distract from the U.S. committing cyber espionage against China.
&#8220;No matter which agency issued this information, it will never change the fact that the United States is the world&#8217;s largest hacker empire conducting the most cyber theft,&#8221; Wenbin said, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-china-hackers-breach-emails-9f774ea07a2857bfc05d17a261e7a705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>.
News of the hacking first became public in July, prompting the U.S. agencies to take immediate action to counter China&#8217;s brazen and frequent acts of cyber-espionage on critical infrastructure to acquire sensitive information.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other senior officials at the State Department were victims of a Chinese hacking campaign that gained access to email accounts from roughly two dozen organizations that began on May 15 and went undetected until June 16.
Microsoft disclosed the hack in a <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/blog/2023/07/microsoft-mitigates-china-based-threat-actor-storm-0558-targeting-of-customer-email/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a>, blaming the breach on a state-backed, espionage-focused Chinese hacking group &#8220;known to target government agencies in Western Europe&#8221; known as Storm-0558. The group had begun accessing email accounts in May, affecting about 25 organizations, including government agencies and other consumer accounts likely associated with the agencies.
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Schmitt told Reuters in a statement shared by the staffer following the briefing on Wednesday that the federal government should &#8220;take a hard look&#8221; at relying on a single IT vendor as &#8220;a potential weak point.&#8221;
&#8220;We need to harden our defenses against these types of cyberattacks and intrusions in the future,&#8221; Schmitt said.
Schmitt joined over a dozen other senators earlier this year, <a href="https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-schmitt-leads-bipartisan-coalition-demanding-answers-regarding-chinas-hack-of-state-department-email-server/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sending</a> a bipartisan letter to State Department Chief Information Officer Kelly Fletcher to determine the extent of the hacker&#8217;s breach of the unclassified email server preceding Blinken&#8217;s trip to China.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency officials warned in a joint <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/us-and-international-partners-release-advisory-warning-prc-state-sponsored-cyber-activity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> with international and domestic intelligence services that China poses a risk to American intellectual property.
&#8220;For years, China has conducted aggressive cyber operations to steal intellectual property and sensitive data from organizations around the globe,&#8221; CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a new cyber strategy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-says-china-russia-prepared-to-launch-cyber-attacks-against-u-s-to-sow-chaos-if-war-erupts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> warning that China and Russia are prepared to launch destructive cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure to &#8220;sow chaos and hinder military mobilization&#8221; in the event of war breaking out.
The Chinese Communist Party sees superiority in cyberspace as core to its theories of victory, the report reads, adding that it has engaged in espionage and theft that compromised key defense networks and broader U.S. critical infrastructure.
Microsoft reportedly said earlier this year that state-backed Chinese hackers were targeting U.S. critical infrastructure to potentially disrupt communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises.

Washington public buildings

China-Based Hackers Accessed 60K U.S. State Dept Emails In Microsoft Breach, Senate Staffer Says

Communist China

Crime

Eric Schmitt

Hackers

Microsoft

House Republicans are probing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department</a> over its “perception” of former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin in 2015 after then-Vice President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid to the country if Shokin was not fired.
In a Tuesday <a href="https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-09/Letter%20to%20Secretary%20Blinken%20re%20Shokin.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a>, Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Comer</a> (R-KY), the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken to provide more context on “certain sudden foreign policy changes” related to Ukraine and Shokin’s firing. 
Biden has been accused of pushing Shokin&#8217;s firing to protect his son, Hunter Biden, who was then on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company facing corruption allegations. The White House has <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/21/fact-check-joe-biden-leveraged-ukraine-aid-oust-corrupt-prosecutor/5991434002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that the move was because Shokin was not pursuing corruption in Ukraine. 
The letter is part of the committee’s work investigating Biden’s “connections to certain international and domestic business transactions and practices, including his family and associates peddling influence to generate millions of dollars for the Biden family.”
“Shokin was elevated to lead the Office of the Prosecutor General in the midst of an ongoing, international investigation focused on corruption surrounding Burisma — a natural gas company in Ukraine — and its founder, Mykola Zlochevsky,” the letter said. 
Comer said that the State Department was initially favorable toward Shokin at the beginning of 2015 but later decided to push for his firing. Comer cited a letter from State Department official Victoria Nuland “applauding” Shokin’s anti-corruption efforts. He also pointed to a memo from the Interagency Policy Committee that showed in September 2015 that another $1 billion loan to Ukraine would be approved. 
Sometime later, though, the State Department policy toward Shokin cooled, and it began pressuring Ukrainian officials to fire him. 
“On November 5, 2015, then-Vice President participated in a call with then-President of Ukraine Poroshenko and provided no indication that the United States’ policy regarding Ukraine required the dismissal of Prosecutor General Shokin. By late 2015, however, the removal of Prosecutor General Shokin became a condition of the loan guarantee by the United States,” Comer’s letter said. 
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According to the letter and comments from Hunter associate Devon Archer, the pressure for the termination came as Burisma corporate secretary Vadym Pozharsky was pushing Hunter to &#8220;deliver help from the U.S. government.&#8221; Archer said that Hunter “called D.C.” in December 2015 for a call with Burisma officials, a claim that House Republicans are still investigating. 
Comer wants the State Department to provide calls, emails, and memos all related to policy on Burisma, Shokin, Burisma, and the billion-dollar U.S. loan to Ukraine.

Biden, Ukrainian PM Attend US-Ukrainian Business Forum In Washington

House Republicans Probe ‘Sudden Foreign Policy’ Change On Ukraine When Biden Was VP

Burisma

Congress

Executive

Foreign Policy

Hunter Biden

Politics

Ukraine

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> made another surprise visit to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> on Wednesday to meet with Ukrainian President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/volodymyr-zelensky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Volodymyr Zelensky</a> as the country&#8217;s war with Russia drags on. 
In addition to Zelensky, Blinken will meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinkens-travel-to-ukraine/">said</a> that the purpose of the trip is to “demonstrate the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democracy, especially in the face of Russia’s aggression.”
The visit comes as Zelensky <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/03/world/europe/zelensky-ukraine-defense-minister.html#:~:text=Mr.%20Zelensky%20said%20in%20a,of%20Ukraine%27s%20State%20Property%20Fund." target="_blank" rel="noopener">replaced</a> Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and President Joe Biden urged Congress to approve more American funding for Ukraine. Reznikov was removed amid allegations of corruption within the Ukrainian military, which has received billions of dollars in aid from the U.S. One <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-failed-to-track-all-military-aid-to-ukraine-as-criminal-gangs-stole-guns-ammo-from-frontlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently released report</a> from the Department of Defense showed that criminal gangs were likely taking military equipment and weapons from the front lines, some of which may have been sent by the U.S. 
“Returned to Kyiv today to meet with our Ukrainian partners to discuss their ongoing counteroffensive, future assistance and reconstruction efforts, and above all, to reinforce the unwavering U.S. commitment to Ukraine,” Blinken <a href="https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1699364627216310384?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to X. 
Blinken will discuss Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia and Ukraine’s energy, security, and humanitarian needs, according to the State Department. He will <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/06/blinken-ukraine-kyiv-war-visits/#:~:text=The%20two%2Dday%20trip%20is,his%20sixth%20since%20taking%20office." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> announce an additional $1 billion in American support to Ukraine. According to the Washington Post, Blinken has repeatedly worked to shoot down support for negotiated cease-fire agreements between Russia and Ukraine. 
“We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive, but has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,” Blinken said on Wednesday.
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Biden’s request for another $24 billion in military and economic aid may face an uphill battle in the House of Representatives as some Republicans have voiced concerns over the amount of money already allocated to Ukraine and the spending’s impact on inflation and the national debt. 
The House Freedom Caucus has already <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4162189-freedom-caucus-policy-conditions-stopgap-government-funding-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it will “oppose any blank check for Ukraine in any supplemental appropriations bill” as a battle over government funding looms before Congress. 
In the Senate, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) <a href="https://twitter.com/burgessev/status/1697640789071855742" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has said</a> that she would oppose a move to separate federal funding for disaster relief at home from funding for Ukraine.

UKRAINE-US-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-WAR-DIPLOMACY

Blinken Returns To Ukraine To Meet With Zelensky As War With Russia Drags On

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Ukraine-Russia War

The U.S. moved on Wednesday to partially evacuate its embassy in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/africa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Niger</a> as military leaders have seized power in the country, moving to remove President Mohamed Bazoum from office. 
Soldiers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/niger-coup-west-africa-use-of-force-mali-burkina-faso-0b951ec77a89033c84e6f0972cc21b5f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> General Abdourahmane Tchiani as president after Nigerian military leaders announced on July 26 that security concerns in the West African nation had led them to assert their control. In the aftermath of the coup, Europeans and Americans have left the country, and the State Department has told Americans to no longer travel there.
“Today, we ordered the temporary departure of non-emergency personnel and eligible family members from Niger. The U.S. is committed to our relationship with the people of Niger. The embassy remains open, and our leaders are diplomatically engaged at the highest levels,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1686877829437218818" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a>. 
In another statement from the State Department, the U.S. voiced its opposition to the coup.
“The United States rejects all efforts to overturn Niger’s constitutional order, and stands with the people of Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, and other international partners in support of democratic governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights,” the statement <a href="https://www.state.gov/ordered-departure-of-non-emergency-u-s-government-personnel-from-u-s-embassy-niamey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
The Biden administration has demanded that Bazoum be released but has <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4135203-biden-calls-for-release-of-niger-president-family/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> avoided referring to the takeover as a “coup” partly because of the $200 million in economic aid the U.S. sent Niger. 
Nearby Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso have backed Niger’s new leadership. Mali and Burkina Faso <a href="https://apnews.com/article/niger-coup-west-africa-use-of-force-mali-burkina-faso-0b951ec77a89033c84e6f0972cc21b5f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that any “military intervention” against Niger would constitute an act of war against them. 
France, which used to control Niger, condemned the coup, moving to evacuate hundreds of French nationals from the country. 
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A group of 13 Texans was on a mission trip in Niger when they <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/stranded-texas-mission-trip-evacuated-niger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were evacuated</a> this week after getting a ride with an Italian evacuation flight arranged in part by U.S. officials. 
&#8220;The tireless dedication of the church community and the prayers of countless individuals have borne fruit as the missionary team embarked on their journey back home from Niger. Last night, the Lord&#8217;s divine providence opened a way for the team&#8217;s homeward journey, marking a joyful moment of triumph and celebration for the entire congregation,&#8221; said Harmony Hill Baptist Church, who sent the mission team, in a statement. 
The U.S. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/us-troops-niger-american-base/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has</a> more than 1,000 troops stationed in Niger, which has struggled to contain radical Islamic violence over the last several years.

Pro-coup demonstration in Niger’s capital Niamey

U.S. Officials, Missionaries Evacuated From Niger As Military Seizes Power

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Global Politics

House Republicans have opened a probe into suspected Chinese cyber-espionage campaigns targeting the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department</a> and the Commerce Department after hackers gained access to federal government communications. 
The <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-mace-grothman-open-probe-into-data-breach-of-email-systems-at-u-s-federal-agencies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation</a> is being led by House Oversight and Accountability Chair James Comer (R-KY), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Rep. Glenn Growthman (R-WI). In two letters sent Wednesday, the lawmakers requested further information from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo after <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-hackers-spied-on-state-department-13a09f03" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> last month that Chinese hackers had gained access to communications from both departments. 
“According to recent reports, as part of a ‘suspected cyber-espionage campaign to access data in sensitive computer networks’ by China, the breaches reportedly occurred at over two dozen organizations, including some U.S. government agencies. The Department discovered this alleged intrusion by China on June 16, 2023, yet, you left later that evening for a trip to Beijing,” the <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/State-Dept-Email-System-Breach-Letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Blinken said. 
The lawmakers want a briefing on the compromise by August 9, saying they believed the recent discovery of the hacking indicated that China’s cyberattacks were becoming more advanced. 
“The incident even raises the possibility that Chinese hackers may be able to access high-level computer networks and remain undetected for months if not years,” the letter says. 
Lawmakers also requested a briefing from Raimondo in a nearly identical letter to the one sent to Blinken. 
News of the hacking, which federal officials first discovered in June, was first made public in July. 
 “Microsoft notified the department of a compromise to Microsoft’s Office 365 system, and the department took immediate action to respond,” a spokesman for the Commerce Department said last month. “We are monitoring our systems and will respond promptly should any further activity be detected.”
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In March, the White House put out a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/National-Cybersecurity-Strategy-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">framework</a> discussing the need for cybersecurity, warning that China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran were all working to increase their cyber capabilities.
According to the framework, China represents “the broadest, most active, and most persistent threat to both government and private sector networks and is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do so.”
It added that China was pursuing “digital authoritarianism” to “shape the global Internet” into its image.

FBI Briefs House Oversight Leaders In Biden Probe

House Republicans Open Probe Into ‘Suspected’ Chinese Cyber Espionage Targeting Federal Agencies

China

Commerce Department

Gina Raimondo

House Republicans

James Comer

Nancy Mace

A report just made public from the inspector general for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Defense</a> shows that the U.S. could not track all of the weapons and military equipment it had sent to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> even as criminal gangs in the country have illicitly obtained military weapons.
The <a href="https://first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com/live_files/2023/07/dod-ig-ukraine.pdf">report</a>, first filed in October 2022, was just released following a Freedom of Information Act request from The Heritage Foundation and other outlets and comes after lawmakers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-lawmakers-demand-more-accountability-over-ukrainian-aid-after-cbs-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have expressed concerns</a> over lack of oversight for the billions in U.S. dollars sent to Ukraine.
“During the evaluation, we found that the DoD was unable to provide end-use monitoring (EUM) in accordance with DOD policy because of limited U.S. presence in Ukraine,” the report says. “Therefore, we are issuing this report identifying the challenges faced by DoD personnel responsible for conducting EUM and Enhanced EUM (EEUM) when there are limited or no U.S. personnel present in the area the equipment is being used.”
After describing the inability of the U.S. to track all of the weapons it had sent to Ukraine, the report listed several examples of groups in the country obtaining military equipment for nefarious purposes, though the origin of the equipment remained unclear as the report was heavily redacted.
“In mid-August 2022, the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] disrupted a group of volunteer battalion members who took more than 60 rifles and almost 1,000 rounds of ammunition and stored them illegally in a warehouse, presumably for sale on the black market,” the report said.
In another instance, arms traffickers stole equipment from the frontlines.
“In late June 2022, the SBU disrupted a group of arms traffickers who were selling weapons and ammunition stolen from the front lines in southern Ukraine,” the report said.
The report also noted that members of an organized crime group controlled by a Russian official were able to obtain ammo and a grenade launcher after joining a volunteer Ukraine battalion.
“The group members joined a volunteer battalion using forged identity documents and procured weapons, including grenade launcher and a machine gun, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. The perceived intent of the group was to conduct destabilizing activities,” the report said.
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Since the war began, Congress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-to-give-ukraine-everything-it-needs-for-as-long-as-it-takes-biden-national-security-adviser-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has</a> allocated roughly $113 billion in aid to Ukraine; no other country has come close to what the U.S. has sent. On Tuesday, the State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/additional-u-s-military-assistance-for-ukraine-3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that another $400 million in arms and equipment would be sent to Ukraine.
Included in the military aid is the decision from the Biden administration to send Ukraine cluster bombs, a decision that has faced some bipartisan criticism due to the nature of the bombs.
Some Republicans, such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-military-spending-bill-with-conservative-amendments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have called</a> for a complete end to aid to Ukraine.

UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT

U.S. Failed To Track All Military Aid To Ukraine As Criminal Gangs Stole Guns, Ammo From Frontlines

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