Tag: marco rubio

Larry Ellison Vetted Marco Rubio for Fealty to Israel, Hacked Emails Reveal

Everything is coming together for Larry Ellison. The billionaire co-founder of tech giant Oracle, on-and-off-again the richest man in the world and a staunch supporter of Israel, is set to take a lead role in reshaping TikTok in the United States. His son, David Ellison, is moving to take over large swaths of the media, including CBS News, CNN, Warner Brothers, and Paramount, reportedly bringing in the Free Press’s Bari Weiss to shape editorial direction.

“The Ellison family is cornering the market on attention and data the same way the Vanderbilts did railroads and the Rockefellers did oil,” as Wired recently characterized it. How they plan to operate that monopoly is on course to be tested out in what President Donald Trump is calling “New Gaza,” the techno-dystopian free trade zone that is to be administered by a Board of Peace led by Trump and Ellison’s longtime political and business vehicle, Tony Blair. Ellison has given or pledged more than $350 million to the Tony Blair Institute, which Blair has used to advance Ellison’s vision of a marriage between government, corporate power, and tech surveillance. Oracle, by providing database infrastructure and cloud-computing services to other huge enterprises like FedEx and NVIDIA, has quietly become one of the most powerful companies in the world.

As the nation’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also played a role in the TikTok talks that steered the company toward Ellison, after playing a lead role as a senator in demonizing the app; he was also closely involved in the rollout of Trump’s plan for Gaza’s future, which hands the enclave to Blair. Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner tasked the Blair Institute in the spring with coming up with a post-war plan for Gaza, which was recently completed, the Times of Israel reported.

That Rubio finds himself in such a central position is in part thanks to Ellison, who has been a major patron of the Cuban-American former senator from Florida. Ellison first vetted Rubio for his fealty toward Israel back in early 2015, according to previously unreported email correspondence reviewed by Drop Site. Rubio rose to prominence as a Tea Party-backed conservative Senate upstart in 2010, launching a presidential campaign in the 2016 cycle. As secretary of state, Rubio launched an unprecedented crackdown on speech, detaining and attempting to deport critics of Israel precisely for the crime of their criticism of Israel.

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State Department finally shuts down ‘framework’ behind ‘censorship nerve center’ Rubio shuttered

The State Department confirmed it formally removed the “framework” underlying both the Global Engagement Center, deemed the government’s “censorship nerve center” by a first-term Trump administration official and defunded by Congress after the 2024 election, and GEC’s surreptitious successor Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub, which Secretary Marco Rubio shut down in April.

Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Darren Beattie told The Daily Wire there were “loose ends” to tie up, including GEC’s agreements with other countries to “facilitate and provide a framework for cooperation on mutual objectives, including principally combating so-called ‘disinformation,’” which sometimes turned out to be domestic and often consisted of disfavored narratives.

Beattie said GEC used an “indirect approach to censorship whereby they would fund third-party organizations that would engage in activity from facilitating the demonetization of conservative sites to generally castigating certain narrative perspectives on COVID, on immigration, on foreign policy, as simply malign as a matter of foreign influence when in fact these were entirely legitimate points of view that often came from Americans.”

His office is conducting a “meticulous transparency review” whose “very first tranche” will come out this fall, reflecting “the extensive review of hundreds of thousands of emails that will more specifically and systematically document exactly the kinds of nefarious activities that the GEC was involved in[,] in this unfortunate chapter of America’s history.”

Beattie wouldn’t say if that would be released through a vehicle like the Twitter Files, just that its approach would be “entirely appropriate and very satisfying as well.”

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Marco Rubio: U.S. Will ‘Respond Accordingly’ to Brazil Jailing Jair Bolsonaro

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement on Thursday, immediately following the news that former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had been sentenced to 27 years in prison, vowing that America would “respond accordingly” to what he deemed a human rights abuse.

Bolsonaro, a conservative who governed from 2018 to 2022 after suffering a debilitating assassination attempt that continues to cause severe health problems today, stood accused before the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) of Brazil of attempting and failing to stage a coup following his defeat in the 2022 election. Bolsonaro lost that election narrowly to incumbent socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose participation in that election many Brazilians challenge as illegitimate given his conviction on corruption charges in 2017. The STF overturned Lula’s conviction on dubious procedural grounds and its election oversight analog, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), heavily censored the Bolsonaro campaign while allowing Lula to spuriously disparage Bolsonaro as a “cannibal” and a “pedophile.”

The STF and TSE’s interference in the election, both under the auspices of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, prompted many Bolsonaro supporters in Brazil and around the world to question the integrity of Lula’s victory. The STF turned these questions into a prosecution of Bolsonaro and several others in his inner circle, who it claimed had attempted to violently overthrow the Lula administration following the president’s inauguration.

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US lawmakers introduce ‘thought police’ bill to strip citizens of passports over Israel criticism

A US congressman is introducing a bill that could potentially be used to deny US citizens the right to travel based solely on their speech, including for criticism of Israel, the Intercept reported on 13 September.

Introduced by Florida Congressman Brian Mast, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the bill would grant Secretary of State Marco Rubio the power to revoke the passports of US citizens in the same way he has revoked the green cards and visas of foreign nationals in the US for criticizing Israel.

In March, Secretary of State Rubio revoked the visa of Turkish doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk after she wrote an opinion piece critical of Israel in the Tufts University student newspaper in 2024. 

The op-ed did not mention Hamas, but called for boycotting and divesting from Israel.

One section of the bill grants the Secretary of State the ability to deny passports to people determined to have “knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.”

The reference to “material support” disturbs civil liberties advocates because it is vague and can be interpreted to include speech and anti-war activism.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which functions as a front for Israeli intelligence in the US, and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law suggested in a letter last year that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) was providing “material support” for Hamas by organizing campus protests against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

The provision regarding material support to terrorism poses a threat specifically to journalists, The Intercept noted.

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Marco Rubio Slams the Brakes on Employment Visas for Foreign Truck Drivers After Fatal Crash Involving Illegal Alien

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued an immediate freeze on all employment visas for commercial truck drivers, declaring that the growing number of foreign drivers on American roads is “endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”

The directive follows a shocking August 12 crash on the Florida Turnpike.

Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old Indian national who reportedly entered the U.S. illegally in 2018, performed an unauthorized U-turn through an “Official Use Only” zone.

His tractor-trailer blocked traffic, resulting in a fatal collision with a minivan that claimed the lives of three innocent Americans.

State and federal investigators later confirmed that Singh lacked English proficiency, failing to correctly identify road signs or answer basic language questions.

According to Homeland Security:

“Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien from India who killed three innocent people, FAILED an English Language Proficiency assessment. Singh provided correct responses to just 2 of 12 verbal questions and only accurately identifying 1 of 4 highway traffic signs.

And yet, Gavin Newsom’s sanctuary California gave this illegal alien who cannot speak English a Commercial Drivers License to drive an 18-wheeler.

DHS will work with [U.S. Department of Transportation] to root out and prevent illegal aliens from obtaining these licenses from sanctuary jurisdictions that put American drivers and passengers in danger.”

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Marco Rubio Calls New Israeli Bombing ‘a Misunderstanding,’ Calls for ‘De-Escalation’

As a wave of Israeli attacks on Syrian forces rocks the fragile crust of a Middle East peace, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is trying to stop a full-scale war from erupting.

After two days of Israeli attacks on Syrian forces, Rubio said he was hopeful the attacks would stop.

“It’s complicated, obviously. These are historic, longtime rivalries between different groups in the southwest of Syria — Bedouins, the Druze community — and it led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side,” Rubio said in a video posted to X.

“So we’ve been engaged with them all morning long and all night long, with both sides, and we think we’re on our way towards a real de-escalation,” he said.

“And then hopefully get back on track in helping Syria build a country and arriving at a situation there in the Middle East that’s far more stable. So, in the next few hours, we hope to see some real progress to end what you’ve been seeing over the last couple hours,” he said.

Most of Syria is Muslim, but the Druze have their own faith. Last year, after a Muslim-controlled government took power, Druze communities expressed their fears that they could become targets of the new regime, which has said it seeks to respect all faiths, and sought to be annexed by Israel, which has its own Druze communities.

On Wednesday, as Rubio spoke in Washington, Syrian and Druze leaders said they had reached a cease-fire, according to NBC. That came after Israeli air strikes hit targets in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Announcement of the cease-fire drew skepticism from Druze leaders in Syria, according to the Times of Israel.

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Report: Marco Rubio Imposter Calls High-Level Officials Using AI-Generated Voice

An individual posing as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly used an AI-generated voice to call high-level officials in what appears to be an attempt to manipulate government officials to obtain access to information or accounts.

The unknown Rubio impostor has so far reportedly contacted at least five government officials: three foreign ministers, one U.S. governor, and one member of Congress, according to a State Department cable obtained by the Washington Post.

The individual — whom authorities have not yet been able to identify — reportedly used AI software to send the government officials text messages that mimicked Rubio’s voice and writing style.

Authorities believe the imposter is likely trying to manipulate the high-end officials “with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts,” the July 3 cable sent by Rubio’s office to State Department employees said.

The unknown individual reportedly began their impersonation attempts in mid-June, using both text messaging and the encrypted messaging app Signal under the display name Marco.Rubio@state.gov, which is not the Secretary of State’s real email address.

“The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal,” the State Department cable said.

It remains unclear if any of the powerful government officials responded to the Rubio imposter.

The cable also revealed that other U.S. State Department employees were impersonated via fake emails addresses.

The State Department told the Post it will “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future,” and did not disclose the names of the government officials who were contacted, nor the content of the faux messages that were sent.

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Rubio Announces USAID Has ‘Officially’ Ceased Operations

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Tuesday the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which had been rapidly dismantled earlier this year by the Trump administration.

In a blog post on the State Department’s website, Rubio wrote that foreign assistance provided by USAID had failed to deliver results for Americans and also said that the agency was part of the “globe-spanning NGO [non-governmental organizations] industrial complex” that was funded by taxpayers.

“USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” Rubio said.

“Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown. On the global stage, the countries that benefit the most from our generosity usually fail to reciprocate.”

Rubio wrote that as of July 1, the agency “will officially cease to implement foreign assistance” and that only assistance programs that align with the Trump administration’s priorities will be facilitated.

Democrats and a union representing foreign service workers have strongly pushed back against the dismantling of USAID, claiming that cuts to the agency would lead to a reduction in aid to poor countries and would ultimately put lives in danger.

But Rubio said in the blog post that USAID pushed anti-American ideas across the world along with “censorship and regime change operations” overseas and that it collaborated with NGOs that were “in league with Communist China and other geopolitical adversaries.”

On the day of Rubio’s announcement, the American Foreign Service Association union, which has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, said in a statement that USAID’s closure would cause the United States to lose its standing in the world and would impact the government’s capacity to wield “soft power.”

“Rather than engage in constructive conversations to lessen the devastating impact of these layoffs, the administration chose instead to inflict maximum pain and hardship through a barrage of questionable—and likely illegal—policies, accompanied by dismissive and dehumanizing rhetoric, all delivered with little thought to implementation or human consequences,” the American Foreign Service Association stated.

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Rubio says it’s ‘irrelevant’ whether Iran was actively pursuing a nuke

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday it’s “irrelevant’’ whether the US had intelligence that Iran was actively pursuing a nuclear weapon before bombing it.

Rubio said the mere fact that Iran had “everything they need to build nuclear weapons” justified President Trump’s decision to take action against the theocratic regime.

“That’s irrelevant,” Rubio told CBS’ “Face the Nation” when pressed about US intelligence on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “They have everything they need to build a weapon.”

Earlier this year, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified, “The IC [intelligence community] continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamanei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.”

President Trump has split with that assessment, and Gabbard has since contended her words were taken out of context and highlighted other portions of her testimony in which she warned about Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

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Marco Rubio Says ‘Vigorous New Visa Policy’ Will Prevent Israel Critics From Entering the US

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the US was implementing a “vigorous new visa policy” to prevent people from entering the US who are critical of Israel, which he conflates with antisemitism.

“We have implemented a vigorous new visa policy that will prevent foreign nationals from coming to the United States to foment hatred against our Jewish community,” Rubio said in a recorded video message to an Israeli conference on “combating antisemitism.”

Rubio said that the US will hold “international organizations and nations accountable for rhetoric against Israel.”

The Trump administration recently paused all interviews for foreigners seeking student visas as it prepares to expand vetting and screening of social media.

The Trump administration has been attempting to deport foreign students for protesting against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, activism that US officials have labeled “antisemitic” despite Jewish involvement in the demonstrations.

In one case, Rubio revoked the visa of a PhD student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Ozturk, for co-authoring an op-ed that called for her school to divest from Israeli companies. Ozturk was recently released after six weeks of detention and continues to fight against her deportation.

In a seemingly contradictory move, Rubio also announced a new policy to prevent foreign nationals who have been involved in censoring the speech of Americans from obtaining visas.

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