Tag: joe biden

State Department Pleads Fifth When Asked About American Detained in Ukraine

American YouTuber and columnist Gonzalo Lira was arrested in Ukraine at the start of May because he “publicly justified” the Russian invasion, according to a press release by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The statement says that Lira “has the citizenship of one of the countries of Latin America” but omits that he is also California-born U.S. citizen.

Lira is a resident of Kharkiv, Ukraine and was an outspoken critic of the nation’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Lira has written financial columns, published in Business Insider and even here at ZeroHedge. His Twitter account is still up, and a brief look reveals that — whether you agree with him or not on all stances — his opinions are largely in line with much of the American right. The SBU claimed to have confiscated “mobile phones and a computer with evidence of illegal activity” from Lira’s apartment but no such evidence was made public.

Lira has been charged under sections 2 and 3 of Article 436-2 of Ukraine’s criminal code, which was augmented at the start of the invasion to criminalize the “distribution of materials” that justify Russia’s actions in Ukraine going back to 2014. The law specifically outlaws portraying any military dispute “financed by [the] Russian Federation” in Ukraine as an “internal civil conflict,” a law The New York Times and Wired Magazine are in violation of. 

The Ukrainian government has frequently claimed that the violent conflicts in the Donbas region — which killed over 10,000 people between 2014 and 2020 — were financed and armed by the Russians. However, a former NATO official in charge of investigating arms shipments into the Donbas from 2014 to 2018 found that “there were no deliveries of weapons and military equipment from Russia” and instead that most arms were smuggled by defecting Ukrainian soldiers. This official could have been imprisoned under Article 436-2 as well.

Lira faces up to 13 years in prison if he is convicted of both charges.

Of course, American journalists are not as indignant over Lira’s arrest as they are over that of Evan Gershkovich, the WSJ reporter being detained in Russia. Federal Reserve minion Nick Timairos did not change his Twitter profile to signal “solidarity” with Lira.

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U.S. government says it owns everyone’s THOUGHTS, calling it “cognitive infrastructure”

The fight is on to hold the United States government responsible for colluding with social media companies to censor Americans’ free speech rights online.

Missouri v. Biden, which was filed on May 5, 2022, has been taking quite the trip through the court system. It was amended three separate times, most recently to add an amendment that transforms the case into a class action suit due to the sheer number of Americans impacted by the government’s crimes.

Uncover DC has been tracking the case, offering play-by-play details about what has been happening with the case over the past year. The plaintiffs, including the states of Missouri and Louisiana, pushed for expedited discovery to obtain a limited set of evidence and depositions from certain individuals.

“They argued that this evidence would allow them to make the case for a temporary injunction to stop the government from infringing on the first amendment rights of Plaintiffs and their citizens,” Uncover DC reported.

The judge granted the motion for expedited discovery and depositions, prompting a fight between the government and the judge, in this case Judge Terry Doughty. In short, the defendants want to stop all discovery and certain plaintiffs from being deposed.

(Related: In 2021, a Missouri court declared that the Wuhan coronavirus [Covid-19] mandates and restrictions imposed by “the whims of public health bureaucrats” are illegal.)

Is Missouri v. Biden the reason why the deep state is trying to ram through the RESTRICT Act?

In its argument against expedited discovery and depositions, the government tried to claim that forcing government workers to sit for lengthy depositions is inappropriate, especially for the head of CISA, who was summoned.

Fortunately for the plaintiffs, Judge Doughty disagreed, forcing the CISA head, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and other alleged co-conspirators to sit down and tell all about what they did to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights.

Psaki, as you may recall, made threats to social media companies straight from the podium, which prompted her being deposed. She then left her White House position, conveniently.

Over and over again, the government has lost every single time so far in Missouri v. Biden. And it appears as though Americans may finally be winning, at least in the sense that we can now see what has really been going on behind closed doors.

Tony Fauci, at one point, was also deposed. This prompted the government to try to seal all depositions and video, claiming that government “employees” were being threatened – though it could provide no such proof to back this claim.

Meanwhile, it was revealed throughout this process that CISA has categorized people’s “thoughts” as being part of the government’s infrastructure – meaning the government believes it owns whatever activity takes place inside your head.

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DOJ Mysteriously and Dramatically Downgrades Charges Against ‘White Supremacist’ Who Rammed White House Barricade

On Tuesday, a U-Haul crashed into a barricade outside the White House grounds. Immediately, speculation that the driver was a “white supremacist” after a Nazi flag was allegedly pulled from the wreck. In fact, the flag was spread out and displayed for reporters by the FBI agents on the scene.

Why did they do that? Someone will have to ask them, but the narrative became a lot more complicated after the driver was identified as Sai Varshith Kandula. Needless to say, he didn’t exactly fit the “white supremacist” profile.

Now, in a move that is sure to spark much speculation, the DOJ has suddenly downgraded the charges involved. The original charges were as follows.

While authorities have not provided specific details on the alleged threat, the US Park Police said the man faces the charge of threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a President, vice president or family member.

The driver also was also arrested on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, destruction of federal property and trespassing, according to the Park Police.

According to a new report (The New York Post), those charges have all been wiped away, and Kandula only faces a single count of depredation of property of the United States.

He had allegedly planned the attack for six months, with his goal to “get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation,” records show.

Kandula was accused of threatening to “Kill the President If that’s what I have to do,” and praised Nazism and Hitler.

He was originally charged with threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a president, vice president or family member, as well as assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, trespassing and destruction of federal property, US Park Police said.

His federal charges have since been downgraded to a single count of depredation of property of the United States in excess of $1,000.

Prosecutors told the court Kandula is not a US citizen, according to Fox News.

The first thing that jumps out when reading that excerpt is that Kandula is clearly mentally ill. To the extent that he has any actual ideology, it’s overshadowed by the fact that no sane person would think they could seize the White House and be installed as the nation’s leader. That makes the media’s rush to paint this as some kind of right-wing “white supremacist” attack appear rather silly in retrospect. There was no plan here, and I’m pretty sure a guy named Sai Varshith Kandula isn’t actually a white supremacist. Whether he’s a real proponent of nazism at all is even in doubt.

The other thing to note is that Kandula is not a US citizen. Given that, it sure does feel like the federal government is just looking to sweep all this under the rug, after the preferred narrative collapsed in on itself. Of course, I’m speculating, but why else would they go so soft on the charges after the fact?

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COVID Vaccine-Injured Sue Biden Administration Over Censorship

A woman who suffered severe nerve damage after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination and four others with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 vaccine injuries launched a lawsuit against President Joe Biden and his administration on May 22.

Top government officials violated the plaintiffs’ rights to free speech and peaceful assembly when they pressured Big Tech companies to crack down on people sharing their experience after receiving the COVID-19 vaccines, Brianne Dressen, the woman, and the other plaintiffs say.

“Through threats, pressure, inducement, and coercion, Defendants now work in concert with social media companies to censor content the government deems ‘disinformation,’ ‘misinformation,’ and ‘malinformation’—a feat that the government could never lawfully accomplish alone,” the 124-page suit, filed in U.S. court in southern Texas, states.

In addition to Biden, defendants include Rob Flaherty, a top adviser to Biden; White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre; the Department of Homeland Security; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

Defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment, or could not be reached.

Dressen hailed the lawsuit as a major development for those reporting to be suffering from vaccine injuries.

“People injured by the COVID vaccines in the United States have not been able to file suit anywhere, under any circumstance,” she told The Epoch Times. “So this is a landmark case for Americans injured by the COVID vaccine.”

COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are largely immune from litigation in the United States due to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act declaration entered by the Trump administration in early 2020. Most other vaccine manufacturers are also shielded from liability under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.

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Three Lies They’re Telling You About The Debt Ceiling

Negotiations over increasing the federal debt ceiling continue in Washington. As has occurred several times over the past twenty years, Republicans and Democrats are presently using increases in the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip in negotiating how federal tax dollars will be spent.

Most of this is theater. We know how these negotiations always end: the debt ceiling is always increased, massive amounts of new federal debt are incurred, and federal spending continues its upward spiral. In fact, since the last time we endured a major debate over the debt ceiling—back in 2013—the national debt has nearly doubled, soaring from $16.7 trillion ten years ago to $32 trillion in 2023. Over that same period, federal spending has increased more than 80 percent from $3.4 trillion in fiscal year 2013 to $6.2 trillion in fiscal year 2022. 

So here we are again with policymakers essentially discussing how long it will take for the national debt and federal budget to double again. As far as Washington is concerned, that’s all fine. The debt ceiling will rise sizably. We know this because what really matters—as far as DC policymakers are concerned—is that the taxpayer gravy train never stops. Equally important is that the federal government not default on any of its massive debt to ensure continued access to cheap debt—and thus massive amounts of deficit spending—now and forever. 

To take this narrative at face value, however, we have to buy into some big myths that policymakers are quite enthusiastic about repeating.

These lies persist because the regime needs to convince the voters and the taxpayers that no matter what happens, no major changes to the tax-and-spend status quo can ever be allowed to occur.

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Biden Okays F-16s For Ukraine, US Weapons To Attack Crimea

The Biden administration has signed off on both F-16s for Ukraine and attacks on Crimea using US-made weapons. Both of these moves have drawn dire warnings from nuclear-armed Russia, and both would have been unthinkable a year ago.

In a Sunday interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper from the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made it clear that Washington would approve of US weapons being used in an offensive to recapture Crimea, a horrifying prospect that many experts have agreed is the most likely scenario to lead to nuclear warfare in this conflict. Sullivan told Tapper that while the US has forbidden the use of American weapons to attack Russia, the US considers Crimea to be part of Ukraine, not Russia.

Here’s CNN’s transcript of the exchange:

TAPPER: In February on this show, you would not say whether the U.S. would support Ukrainian efforts to recapture Crimea. That’s one of the concerns that has been expressed about whether or not the Ukrainians are given the ability to hit Russian targets in Crimea. Do you think that Crimea is part of Ukraine?

SULLIVAN: Of course.

TAPPER: So, what would be the objection of giving…

SULLIVAN: Crimea is Ukraine.

TAPPER: Right.

SULLIVAN: I mean, that’s a very straightforward thing.

TAPPER: Well, yes you answered it directly. I mean, Russia doesn’t think so, obviously. But do you think that Ukraine should have weapons that can reach Russian targets in Crimea?

SULLIVAN: Yes. We have not placed limitations on Ukraine being able to strike on its territory within its internationally recognized borders. What we have said is that we will not enable Ukraine with U.S. systems, Western systems, to attack Russia. And we believe Crimea is Ukraine.

TAPPER: OK.

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Ex-Biden Nuclear Official Sam Brinton Arrested As ‘Fugitive From Justice’ For Luggage Theft

Sam Brinton, the “nonbinary” activist tapped by Joe Biden for a key nuclear role before he was fired for stealing women’s clothes, was arrested again Wednesday night as a “fugitive from justice” for allegedly stealing luggage, The Daily Wire has learned.

Montgomery County, Maryland, police arrested him at his home on Wednesday, police logs show. He is currently in jail and being held without bond. A judge denied Brinton’s request to turn himself in and ordered him extradited to Virginia on grand larceny charges.

A neighbor told The Daily Wire that “four unmarked police showed up last night, they would not let his spouse Kevin leave. After about an hour Sam Brinton was escorted out in handcuffs.”

The former Biden official pleaded “no contest” to misdemeanor theft last month after he was caught on video allegedly stealing luggage at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. Brinton was initially charged with a felony when police believed he allegedly stole $3,670 worth of items, but he agreed to pay the victim more than $3,500 in restitution and received a suspended 180-day jail sentence, which meant he would serve no time behind bars as long as he stayed out of trouble.

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IRS Whistleblower Removed From Hunter Biden Criminal Investigation, at Request of DOJ, Attorneys Say

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) removed a whistleblower and his team from a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and business dealings, at the request of the Department of Justice, according to the whistleblower’s attorneys.

“Today the [IRS] Criminal Supervisory Special Agent we represent was informed that he and his entire investigative team are being removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress,” the whistleblower’s lawyers said in a May 15 letter (pdf) addressed to multiple congressional lawmakers, first obtained by Just the News.

“He was informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice.”

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, has been under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud, lobbying crimes, and money laundering.

He confirmed back in December 2020 that his business deals were being investigated. Few details have been revealed about the probe since then.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.

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New DHS Training Videos Reveal How Far The Biden Administration Will Go To Eliminate Opposition

Consider the following scenario.

You meet up with your friend from college. While you went on to make a career for yourself in HR, she married right after graduation and started her family. You are disturbed by how she has changed over the last 10 years. She has doubts about the 2020 presidential election and Covid vaccines, speaks highly of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision, and refuses to drink Bud Light. She has also become quite religious, attending potlucks and Bible studies, and laments how immoral and unsafe the world has become. You later discover she expresses her dangerous views to a sizable crowd of followers on social media.

You have a few choices on how to respond:

(1) You cut off all communication with her and report her to federal authorities for spreading misinformation.

(2) You confront her about the falsehoods and try to correct her in a kind yet firm manner.

(3) You try to investigate by talking to her husband and children as well as some of her friends.

According to documents obtained by the America First Legal Foundation, agents at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were in the process of producing short videos for these kinds of scenarios for “bystander training.” Other videos involved “a white teenage male who hurls ‘racial epithets’ and flashes a gun at his girlfriend and a young environmental activist.” Apparently, the leaders of the DHS believe these are the types most at risk of committing acts of terror — not jihadists, radical Marxists, or demented incels who are almost always the main perpetrators of such violence.

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BIDEN IS SELLING WEAPONS TO THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLD’S AUTOCRACIES

SINCE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN came into office in 2021, he hasdescribed a “battle between democracies and autocracies” in which the U.S. and other democracies strive to create a peaceful world. The reality, however, is that the Biden administration has helped increase the military power of a large number of authoritarian countries. According to an Intercept review of recently released government data, the U.S. sold weapons to at least 57 percent of the world’s autocratic countries in 2022.

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the world’s biggest weapons dealer, accounting for about 40 percent of all arms exports in a given year. In general, these exports are funded through grants or sales. There are two pathways for the latter category: foreign military sales and direct commercial sales.

The U.S. government acts as an intermediary for FMS acquisitions: It buys the materiel from a company first and then delivers the goods to the foreign recipient. DCS acquisitions are more straightforward: They’re the result of an agreement between a U.S. company and a foreign government. Both categories of sales require the government’s approval.

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