Tag: corruption

Leaked Strategy Doc Shows US Views Corruption In Ukraine As Major Threat

A leaked US government strategy shows the Biden administration is far more concerned about corruption in Ukraine than it’s publicly letting on, Politico reported on Monday.

The State Department quietly released a 22-page public version of an Integrated Country Strategy for Ukraine that makes clear corruption is a major concern for the US. The strategy outlines long-term goals for US policy in Ukraine with an emphasis on rooting out corruption. “Ukraine must slay the corruption dragon once and for all,” the public version of the document reads.

According to Politico, the confidential version of the strategy is three times as long and uses even stronger language when discussing Ukraine’s corruption.

“Perceptions of high-level corruption,” the confidential document warns, could “undermine the Ukrainian public’s and foreign leaders’ confidence in the war-time government.”

Ukraine has long been notorious for its corruption, but the US has sought to downplay the issue as it has poured tens of billions of dollars in weapons and economic aid since the Russian invasion. But recent corruption scandals have brought Ukrainian graft back into the news and resulted in mass firings, including President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent sacking of his defense minister and six deputy defense ministers.

A US official speaking to POLITICO acknowledged that “there are some honest conversations happening behind the scenes” regarding Ukraine’s corruption.

Another US official said the Biden administration was discussing with Ukrainian officials the idea of potentially conditioning future economic aid on “reforms to tackle corruption and make Ukraine a more attractive place for private investment.”

The official said that the idea of conditioning military aid is not being discussed as the administration is determined to keep the proxy war going, no matter what risks or costs are involved.

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Hunter Biden was suspected of hiring prostitutes from ‘Eastern European sex trafficking ring’ during drug binges and falsifying checks to pay the women, Treasury documents reveal

Bank investigators suspected Hunter Biden was associated with a ‘sex trafficking ring’ and falsified checks to pay prostitutes, Treasury documents reveal.

Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) reviewed by DailyMail.com show the First Son’s accounts were being monitored as late as December 2019, after investigators found payments from Hunter and his companies to a suspected ‘Eastern European prostitution ring’.

A previously unreported document, filed to the Department of the Treasury on December 17, 2019 by financial crime investigators at Wells Fargo, picked out 25 individuals linked to the suspected ring and almost $7million of suspicious transactions, some of which included checks from Hunter that they believed may have been falsified to hide his payments to hookers from his business account.

The report, shown to DailyMail.com by a confidential source, said ‘Biden has sent money to individuals who may be part of an Eastern European prostitution ring’, and that investigators were monitoring ‘several [Wells Fargo] customers suspected of participating in a sex trafficking ring associated with Biden’.

Others associated with the ring included women with Russian passports and a China-based company to which money was funneled.

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5 Abuses of Science for Power, Profit and Political Gains

In relation to abuses of science, tailor-made corporate-sponsored pseudoscience has been used as a cover arm for profits that tie in with advancements of dictated political agendas. Like the political agendas the shady science can be decided before any real scientific research begins.

Remember, however, no scientist, scientific, academic or related corporate institution or politician regardless of monied interests has a monopoly on truth. With this approach, how could integrity be maintained, using science for “ownership” by its scientific overlords, abusing their powers along the way?

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Liberal Media Makes History By Blacking Out Biden Impeachment Inquiry

In an unparalleled move, mainstream liberal media outlets have chosen to turn a blind eye to the ongoing Biden impeachment inquiry, showcasing a stark contrast in their treatment compared to the 2019 Trump impeachment inquiry.

CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, and ABC, which were all relentless in their coverage of the Trump impeachment, have now opted for a complete blackout on what is only the fourth presidential impeachment inquiry in U.S. history. The glaring disparity in media coverage bias has been prevalent within the major news networks.

On the other hand, the Trump impeachment hearings were a media spectacle, with networks dedicating prime time slots to ensure the public was hearing every development with a left-wing spin. The Washington Post even highlighted the significance of televised impeachment inquiry hearings in 2019, drawing parallels with the Nixon and Clinton eras.

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DOJ ordered Hunter Biden investigators to ‘remove any reference’ to Joe Biden in FARA probe warrant: House GOP

The U.S. Department of Justice ordered FBI and IRS investigators involved in the Hunter Biden probe to “remove any reference” to President Biden in a search warrant related to a Foreign Agents Registration Act probe, new documents released by the House Ways & Means Committee reveal.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., led a vote Wednesday to release new documents provided by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler that “corroborate their initial testimony to the Committee and reinforce their credibility and their high esteem among colleagues.”

“The Biden Administration — including top officials at the Justice Department — lied to the American public and engaged in a cover-up that interfered with federal investigators and protected the Biden family, including President Biden himself,” the committee said.

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Ruthless J6 prosecutor (who persecuted “Lectern Guy”) just got a triple dose of karma and now finds himself behind bars…

A ruthless former January 6 prosecutor just got a triple dose of karma and now finds himself behind bars. The bizarre incident unfolded on the Howard Franklin bridge in Tampa as rush hour was finishing up last Tuesday. It’s not clear at this point exactly what happened, but local media is calling it a “road rage” incident. Patrick Douglas Scruggs, the former J6 prosecutor, allegedly stabbed a driver who hit his car and then attempted to stab Good Samaritans that stopped to offer help. He was arrested on aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed burglary charges.

The “burglary” charge  is interesting. We’re assuming Mr. Scruggs is also accused of stealing from the driver–what he allegedly stole is not known at this point.

Tampa Bay Times:

According to a news release issued Tuesday by the Florida Highway Patrol, a 40-year-old Tampa man was driving a sedan south on Interstate 275 when he and his 43-year-old wife noticed a vehicle that was stopped in the travel lanes of the bridge shortly before 9:24 a.m. The 35-year-old driver, also of Tampa, was slumped over inside his sedan, troopers said, so the couple pulled over in front of the car to help.

The 40-year-old man was unable to get inside the other sedan, so he walked back to his car to get something that could break the window. While he was doing that, the 35-year-old man woke up and accelerated forward, crashing into the couple’s sedan. He shifted into reverse and then tried to get around the couple’s sedan, according to troopers, but at that point, he struck Scruggs’ sedan as he was driving by the scene.

Scruggs pulled over, got out and walked up to the driver of the vehicle that hit his car. According to the Highway Patrol, Scruggs broke a window and started stabbing the 35-year-old man with a pocketknife.

The couple returned to the vehicle to help the man being stabbed, but Scruggs then tried to stab them and they fled, troopers said.

And in an interesting twist, Adam Johnson, better known as “Lectern Guy” for swiping Pelosi’s lectern on that fateful day, was prosecuted by Mr. Scruggs.

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False, Misleading Information About COVID-19 Vaccines And Myocarditis Spreads Widely

False and misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and heart inflammation is being spread widely, including by doctors.

That includes claims that data clearly show myocarditis, or heart inflammation, is more prevalent after COVID-19 infection when compared to COVID-19 vaccination.

“Teen boys have been up to five times as likely to have heart inflammation after having a COVID infection than after getting vaccinated,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a video encouraging nearly all Americans to get one of the new COVID-19 vaccines.

A similar claim was made by Dr. Scott Rivkees, Florida’s former surgeon general, to ABC.

The claims are largely based on a non-peer reviewed study from the CDC from April 2022.

“At this point it does not seem like an intellectually honest attempt to conduct a risk-benefit analysis,” Allison Krug, an epidemiologist, told The Epoch Times. “I’m just dismayed that they don’t seem genuinely interested in repairing the credibility with parents lost over the last two-and-a-half years.”

The CDC did not respond to a request for comment.

Dr. Rivkees, presented with studies that have found people in at least some populations are at a higher risk of myocarditis after vaccination when compared to after a positive test, doubled down on his claim.

“In articles that compare risks of myocarditis from COVID vs. following vaccination … the risk of myocarditis is greater after COVID than after vaccination,” Dr. Rivkees, professor of the practice of health services, policy, and practice at Brown University, told The Epoch Times via email.

In one of the papers, English researchers found a higher risk for men under 40 who were vaccinated with Moderna’s shot.

Nordic researchers also identified a higher risk for men under 40, as well as some females.

German researchers found 655 cases related to a COVID-19 vaccine, versus 77 related to COVID-19.

The CDC researchers found a higher rate of cardiac complications after a positive COVID-19 test than after COVID-19 vaccination in 40 U.S. health care systems. They did not include all COVID-19 infections.

Dr. Rivkees later sent meta-analyses that confirm the COVID-19 vaccines increase the risk of myocarditis, with no tabulations for the risk following COVID-19.

Dr. Rivkees was quoted by ABC as countering recommendations from Florida to people under 65 to avoid new COVID-19 vaccines, which have virtually no clinical trial data behind them.

Florida’s recommendations contradict the CDC, which advises nearly all Americans receive one of the new shots, but align with or are close to the recommendations from much of the rest of the world, including many European countries and Israel.

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Sheriff’s deputy caught with fentanyl was middleman for Mexican cartel, investigators say

Prosecutors filed two felony charges Monday against a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy accused of carrying more than 100 pounds of fentanyl in his vehicle. They also alleged for the first time that he had likely ties to a Mexican drug cartel.

Jorge Oceguera-Rocha, 25, was charged with one felony count each of possessing fentanyl for sale and transporting narcotics. He’s also accused of being armed with a loaded firearm during a drug offense, which could get him a longer sentence if convicted.

Oceguera-Rocha, who resigned after being pulled over and arrested Sept. 17, appeared in court in Banning on Monday and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department filed a request to increase his bail to $5 million soon after his arrest, saying he’s a flight risk because of the possible connection to a Mexican drug organization. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said Monday that a judge granted that request at the time, but added that it will be reviewed during a court hearing at a future date.

Last week the sheriff’s department said in a news release that it had been investigating a drug ring when it identified one of its own employees, Oceguera-Rocha, as playing a central role in transporting narcotics in the county.

It then opened an investigation into him in September, according to an affidavit filed in court Monday along with the prior bail request. The documents include details about the investigation that had not previously been made public.

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Busted! Adam Schiff Funneled Millions To Defense Contractors After Taking Donations

While Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) campaigns for a Senate seat on a platform of earmarks for local causes, the 12-term Congressman has been busted steering millions in taxpayer dollars to for-profit defense contractors, many of whom have been political donors to his campaigns.

According to an investigation by Politico, Schiff “has offered an incomplete and potentially misleading account of his record on earmarks.”

A POLITICO review of congressional earmarks and political contributions found that in addition to the money for homelessness and drug treatment, Schiff also steered millions to for-profit companies and raised tens of thousands for his House reelection campaigns from corporate executives and people connected to them. The review was mostly limited to publicly available data from the brief three-year window when corporate earmarks were disclosed.

In two particularly egregious cases, Schiff channeled millions in funding to Smiths Detection and Phasebridge, Inc., two defense companies within his district – with $6 million steered to Smiths Detection and $3 million to Phasebridge. Both moves would have been barred under reforms adopted in 2010. This financial maneuvering coincided with Schiff receiving $8,500 in contributions from PMA Group PAC and two family members of Paul Magliocchetti, founder and owner of the lobbying firm retained by both defense companies.

In 2011, Paul Magliocchetti was sentenced to 27 months in prison for making illegal campaign contributions.

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Hunter Biden Wanted To Lobby Sen. Bob Menendez On Behalf Of Foreign Client

Hunter Biden and pals wanted to lobby indicted Democratic New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez on behalf of a Spanish rail company after regulators scrutinized the firm, according to emails found on Hunter’s infamous laptop.

According to the Daily Caller, Spanish rail company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) hired Rosemont Seneca Partners, Hunter Biden’s investment firm, to lobby the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Amtrak in order to obtain government contracts on various railway contracts, the emails reveal.

In fact, Hunter and pals spoke with Menendez’s office about CAF, and even arranged for meetings between CAF and DOT officials.

CAF hired Rosemont Seneca in June 2010 and Hunter Biden’s firm appeared to discuss potential contracts with Amtrak shortly thereafter, according to the laptop archive. Biden and his associates also appeared to work with CAF on a letter sent by the Spanish ambassador to Amtrak advocating for the firm, emails show.

Hunter Biden sat on Amtrak’s board from July 2006 to February 2009 after he was nominated by former President George W. Bush. Prior to his Amtrak position, Biden worked in former President Bill Clinton’s commerce department and at a Washington, D.C., law firm. -Daily Caller

In July 2010, the month after they hired Rosemont Seneca, Amtrak awarded CAF’s US subsidiary a $298.1 million contract to make 130 new rail cars at an Elmira, New York plant. According to the report, Hunter’s firm appeared to have negotiated a “success fee” with CAF once the contract was announced.

“We may very well be because we don’t have anything in writing, but my point has been that we be firm, have Hunter call the CEO and congratulate him, say we are looking forward to working with CAF as they implement the Amtrak contract and then follow it up with a letter to memorialize the success fee arrangement,” said Hunter business partner Eric Schwerin in a July 27, 2010 email.

“IF and only if they push back let’s not let CAF make us think we didn’t do enough work to deserve the fee, as it is a minor percentage compared to what we would normally get for working on a project like this,” he added.

Rosemont asked for a “success fee” in excess of $800,000 for their work in securing the contract.

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