Tag: CIA

During Obama-Era CIA, Unit Specializing in Hacking Failed to Protect Itself from Secrets Being Leaked

The Associated Press

A specialized CIA unit that developed sophisticated hacking tools and cyber weapons didn’t do enough to protect its own operations and wasn’t prepared to adequately respond when the secrets were stolen, according to an internal report prepared after the worst data loss in the intelligence agency’s history.

“These shortcomings were emblematic of a culture that evolved over years that too often prioritized creativity and collaboration at the expense of security,” according to the report, which raises questions about cybersecurity practices inside U.S. intelligence agencies.

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Commentary: John Brennan and the Plot to Subvert an American Election

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Let’s talk about John Brennan a bit. You remember John Brennan. He was Barack Obama’s director of the CIA. Once upon a time, he was an enthusiast for Gus Hall, the Communist candidate for president, for whom he voted in 1976. I can’t think of any better background for the head of the country’s premier intelligence service under Obama. In 2014, having put childish things behind him as St. Paul advised, Brennan spied on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He denied it indignantly. “Nothing could be further from the truth. We wouldn’t do that. That’s just beyond the scope of reason in terms of what we’d do.”

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John Brennan Says He Is Willing To Meet With Prosecutor Investigating Origins Of Russia Probe

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Former CIA Director John Brennan said Friday that he has yet to be interviewed by the federal prosecutor investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, but that he is willing to do so and has “nothing to hide.”

“I feel very good that my tenure at CIA and my time at the White House during the Obama administration was not — that was not engaged in any type of wrongdoing or activities that caused me to worry about what this investigation may uncover,” Brennan said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.

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Commentary: The Military-Intelligence Complex

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Much has been written about the so-called Resistance of disgruntled Clinton, Obama, and progressive activists who have pledged to stop Donald Trump’s agenda. The choice of the noun “Resistance,” of course, conjures up not mere “opposition,” but is meant to evoke the French “resistance” of World War II – in the melodramatic sense of current loyal progressive patriots doing their best to thwart by almost any means necessary the Nazi-like Trump.

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Revealed: Key Whistleblower Requirement Was Removed, Allowing IC Complaints Based on Hearsay

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Akey requirement for whistleblowers to lodge a “Disclosure of Urgent Concern” complaint was secretly eliminated at some point in the past year to allow submissions of second-hand material, it has been revealed. This allowed the August submission of an error-ridden whistleblower complaint against President Donald Trump to proceed, as the whistleblower—who is believed to be a member of the intelligence committee assigned to the National Security Counsel—has admitted to having no direct knowledge of wrongdoing on the part of the president.

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Peter Thiel Blasts ‘Treasonous’ Google For Choosing China Over US Military

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by Whitney Tipton   Tech billionaire Peter Thiel said Sunday that the FBI and CIA should investigate Google for allegedly cooperating with the Chinese military over U.S. interests. Thiel, one of the most high-profile Trump supporters in the tech industry, criticized Google’s work with the Chinese during a speech to the inaugural National Conservatism Conference Sunday evening in Washington, D.C., Axios reported. “How many foreign intelligence agencies have infiltrated your Manhattan Project for AI? Does Google’s senior management consider itself to have been thoroughly infiltrated by Chinese intelligence?” Thiel asked. “Is it because they consider themselves to be so thoroughly infiltrated that they have engaged in the seemingly treasonous decision to work with the Chinese military and not with the U.S. military,” he continued. “Because they are making the sort of bad, short-term rationalistic [decision] that if the technology doesn’t go out the front door, it gets stolen out the backdoor anyway?” Thiel suggested his questions warrant the attention of federal investigators. “These questions need to be asked by the FBI, by the CIA, and I’m not quite sure how to put this, I would like them to be asked in a not so excessively gentle manner,” he added. Thiel sits on the board of Facebook,…

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Commentary: Here’s How the 2020 Election Could Be Stolen

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by Adam Mill   Errant flashlight beams occasionally escape the basement window of the courthouse as off-book campaign workers carefully replace another seal on a box of completed ballots. At two minutes a ballot, the team will barely finish in time to slip away before the early shift opens the building so the sheriff’s deputy can load the boxes to transport for final counting. Suddenly the snap of a light switch drowns the flashlight beams in merciless fluorescent light. The conspirators freeze as a pair of legs descends the stairs. “What are you doing?” A voice asks, half puzzled and half accusing. “Making corrections.” One of the workers responds as he brushes No. 2 pencil eraser crumbs from a ballot. “This is a waste of time.” The consultant tells the workers. “I have a better way.” Such is the scene that might play out in the hours after a future presidential election. Why would workers toil for hours to change individual ballots? The same result was achieved in 2016 when only two people were persuaded to change their votes. These two people, who were totally anonymous and unelected, nullified hundreds of thousands of lawfully cast ballots as they succumbed to…

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Commentary: The Colluders, Obstructionists, and Leakers Project Onto ‘Trump World’ What They, Themselves Do

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by Victor Davis Hanson   Before the defeat of Hillary Clinton, the idea that the Russians or anyone else could warp or tamper with our elections in any serious manner was laughed off by President Obama. “There is no serious person out there who would suggest that you could even rig America’s elections,” Obama said in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. Obama was anxious that the sure-to-be-sore-loser Trump would not blame his defeat on voting impropriety in a fashion that might call into question Clinton’s victory. After Clinton’s stunning defeat, Russian “collusion” – thanks initially to efforts by Obama holdover Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to go after Michael Flynn and the successful attempts of the CIA and FBI to seed the bogus Steele dossier among the government elite – became a club to destroy the incoming Trump Administration. Colluders, Inc. How ironic that Russian “collusion” was used as a preemptive charge from those who actually had colluded with Russians for all sorts for financial and careerist advantages. The entire so-called Uranium One caper had hinged on ex-President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and their Clinton Foundation uniting with Russian or Russian-affiliated oligarchs to ease…

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Boston’s Talk Radio King Howie Carr Joins the The Tennessee Star Report to Discuss ‘Bull Dog’ Special Prosecuter John Durham

Julie Carr

  On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am-the duo welcomed longtime friend and the King of Boston radio, Howie Carr to the show to discuss current US Attorney John Durham’s history in Boston and his ability to prosecute the former intelligence staff of Comey, Brennan, McCabe and Starck. Towards the end of the show, the men speculated when they might see some indictments and guessed that the spring of 2020 could be the time. Gill: Howie Carr who has been aware of and focused on John Durham for a while who was investigating Whitey Bulger. And then Bob Mueller’s bogus prosecution of several individuals who were jailed improperly. Durham focused the attention that wasn’t the real bad guys. That there was a guy that was an FBI informant that Mueller was covering up for that was the real bad guy. Ultimately John Durham was able to get the folks who were wrongly prosecuted by Mueller released. And Howie Carr in Boston was in the thick of it. Howie, good to have you back with us. Carr: Hey my…

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Commentary: Why Are Clapper and Brennan Not in Jail?

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by Angelo Codevilla   The clearest of all the laws concerning U.S. intelligence is Section 798, 18 U.S. Code—widely known in the Intelligence Community as “the Comint Statute,” or “the 10 and 10.” Unlike other laws, this is a “simple liability” law. Motivation, context, identity, matter not at all. You violate it, you are guilty and are punished accordingly. Here it is: (a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, . . . any classified information— (1) concerning the nature, preparation, or use of any code, cipher, or cryptographic system of the United States or any foreign government; or (2) concerning the design, construction, use, maintenance, or repair of any device, apparatus, or appliance used or prepared or planned for use by the United States …or (3) concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government; or (4) obtained by the processes of communication intelligence . . . Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. On Dec. 9 and 10, 2016, the New York Times and the Washington Post independently reported that anonymous senior intelligence officials had told them that,…

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Commentary: Brennan the Menace

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by Julie Kelly   John Brennan was nervous. Under intense questioning by Representative Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) in May 2017, Brennan squirmed and stammered and twirled his pen as Gowdy demanded to know why the former CIA chief concluded in mid-2016 that the Trump campaign was conspiring with the Russians to manipulate the outcome of the presidential election. “I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that, um, revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the, uh, Trump campaign that, um, I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals and it, uh, raised questions in my mind, again, whether or not the Russians were able to gain cooperation of those individuals,” Brennan told the House Intelligence Committee. He rambled on: “I don’t know whether or not such ‘collusion,’”—Brennan used air quotes—”and that’s your term, existed. I don’t know. But I know there was a sufficient basis of information and intelligence that required further investigation by the [FBI] to determine whether or not U.S. persons were actively conspiring, colluding with Russian officials.” Not exactly a convincing explanation—and Gowdy was having none of it. It was clear that Gowdy, who left office…

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Commentary: Eight Historic Cases That Show the FBI and CIA Were Out of Control Long Before Russiagate

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by Jon Miltimore and Carey Wedler   Conservatives tend to have two bad habits. First, they’re prone to viewing the past through a nostalgic lens. Second, they tend to instinctively give law enforcement the benefit of the doubt. These tendencies help explain why conservatives for decades have been able to overlook the many abuses—constitutional, legal, and moral—of US intelligence agencies. Unlike some more seasoned media, conservatives have appeared genuinely shocked by revelations of the Trump-Russia saga: abuse of FISA warrants, classified leaks from top FBI brass, corruption, campaign moles, and an apparent plot to remove an elected president through undemocratic (and likely extra-constitutional) means. These revelations are unique in that they have become highly public and involve a sitting president. However, an examination of the history of US intelligence agencies reveals government bureaucrats were out of control long before the 2016 presidential election. 1. That Time the CIA Considered Bombing Miami and Blaming It on Castro It’s no secret that the US government sought to assassinate Fidel Castro for years. Less well known, however, was that part of their regime-change plot included a plan to blow up Miami and sinking a boat-full of innocent Cubans. The plan, which was revealed…

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Judge Blocks Use of Guantanamo Bay Detainees’ Statements to FBI Interrogators

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Camp Delta

In the U.S. case against five Guantanamo detainees who are accused of aiding in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, a military judge has ruled that prosecutors may not use statements the detainees made to FBI interrogators after they were removed from a secret CIA prison. Army Colonel James Pohl, the judge for the proceedings, ruled on Friday that the detainees’ statements, made to FBI “clean teams,” were not to be used in the death penalty trial. The detainees had been interrogated while being held in a network of secret overseas prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). After the detainees were transferred to the Guantanamo detention center, an FBI “clean team” — agents who were not privy to the detainees’ previous statements or interrogations — again questioned the detainees. Defense attorneys had argued that the detainees’ statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) could have been tainted by the previous interrogations. As part of their defense, the attorneys had sought to investigate the conditions under which the CIA had interrogated the accused men. The five detainees include Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who has been described as the main architect of the Sept. 11 attacks. Pohl’s ruling prevented the defense…

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President Trump Expects to Revoke DOJ Official Bruce Ohr’s Security Clearance

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Bruce Ohr

President Trump said Friday he plans to revoke the security clearance of Bruce Ohr, a Justice Department official whose wife was employed at the company that was involved in producing the dossier on Trump’s links to Russia. Trump called Ohr a “disgrace” outside the White House and said, “I suspect I will be taking it away very quickly.” Ohr is under intense Republican scrutiny for his contacts with Glenn Simpson, who co-founded the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. The president also suggested he may revoke Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s security clearance, and said, “Mr. Mueller has a lot of conflicts also, directly himself.” Trump said, nevertheless, that Mueller should be allowed to finish a report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trumps remarks came after he revoked the security clearance earlier this week of former CIA Director John Brennan. Twelve former senior intelligence officials have issued a statement on what they call “the ill-considered and unprecedented remarks and actions by the White House regarding the removal of John Brennan’s security clearances.” “The president’s action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar action against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not…

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Trump Revokes Security Clearance of Former CIA Director John Brennan

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Brennan, Rice, Comey, Clapper

The security clearance of a former Central Intelligence Agency director has been revoked by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said in a statement that John Brennan has been sowing “division and chaos” about his administration. The clearances of other former officials also are under review, including those of former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former Obama administration National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. “Security clearances for those who still have them may be revoked, and those who have already their lost their security clearance may not be able to have it reinstated,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said to reporters on Wednesday, reading out the statement in the president’s name. Sarah Sanders Reads Trump Statement Revoking Clearances Sanders, responding to reporters’ questions, denied that Brennan and others are being singled out because they are critics of Trump. The president’s statement accuses Brennan of “erratic conduct and behavior” that “has tested and far exceeded the limits of any professional courtesy that may have been due to him.” It also accuses Brennan of “a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility.”…

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Commentary: The ‘Self Licking Ice Cream Cone’ of Mueller’s Russia Probe

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James Brennan

by George Rasley   Senator Rand Paul met with President Donald Trump Monday and asked him to consider revoking former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance. Our friend Sara Carter reports the Kentucky Senator later took to Twitter and wrote, “Just got out of WH meeting with @RealDonald Trump. I restated to him what I have said in public: John Brennan and others [sic] partisans should have their security clearances revoked.” Prior to his meeting with the President, Carter reports Rand Paul questioned on Twitter if Brennan was “monetizing” his clearance by divulging secrets to the “mainstream media.” White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said during today’s press briefing that President Trump is seriously considering revoking Brennan’s privilege, along with other senior top intelligence officials from the Obama and Bush administration. “Not only is the president looking to take away Brennan’s security clearance, he’s also looking into the clearances of (former FBI Director James) Comey, (former Director of National Intelligence James) Clapper, (former CIA Director Michael) Hayden, (former National Security Advisor Susan) Rice and (former FBI Deputy Director Andrew) McCabe,” Sanders told reporters. Senator Paul is on to something with his charge that Brennan and others have “monetized” their clearances by…

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Senate Intelligence Committee Releases Report On Russian Meddling In 2016 Election

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Senate Intelligence Committee (2017)

by Chuck Ross   The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is endorsing a January 2017 report from three intelligence community agencies that found the Russian government, with the approval of Vladimir Putin, attempted to influence the 2016 election. The Senate panel released a summary report on Tuesday, two weeks before President Trump is poised to meet with Putin in Finland. “The Committee finds that the overall judgments issued in the [Intelligence Community Assessment] were well-supported and the tradecraft was strong,” reads the Senate Intel’s unclassified summary report. “The course of the Committee’s investigation has shown that the Russian cyber operations were more extensive than the hack of the Democratic National Committee and continued well through the 2016 election.” On Jan. 6, 2017, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report known as the Intelligence Community Assessment [ICA] that reviewed Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 election. In the ICA, the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency (NSA), all determined with a high degree of confidence that the Russian government was behind email hacks aimed at Democrats during the campaign. Putin also approved of the influence campaign, the ICA said. [ RELATED: Senate Intel Still Wants To Interview…

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Commentary: The Left Attacks Fred Fleitz, The New Chief Of Staff At President Trump’s NSC

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Fred Fleitz

by George Rasley   By a quick count of search returns it appears we’ve quoted our old friend Fred Fleitz, former CIA analyst, State Department aide, staffer for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, FOX News regular and author of the must-read book Obamabomb: A Dangerous and Growing National Security Fraud, more than a dozen times in articles on subjects as diverse as Obama’s disastrous nuclear weapons deal with Iran, the war Islam has declared on the West and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Fleitz was a natural choice to serve as Chief of Staff at the National Security Council when his old Chief, Ambassador John Bolton, was selected by President Trump to head the NSC staff and serve as his National Security Advisor. In Washington it is often said you are known by your enemies, and if having the Far-Left Southern Poverty Law Center and terrorism front group the Council on American – Islamic Relations after his scalp is any indication, Fleitz has all of the right enemies. Except in this fight, and with these enemies, the first axis of attack was not Fred Fleitz’s scholarship or policy positions, which are well-known and well respected on both sides of…

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The Crisis of Confidence in the United States’ Intelligence Community Reaches New Heights

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Kremlin Capitol

by Printus LeBlanc   The FBI is in serious trouble, not just the people in the bureau that lied to the Office of Inspector General, fixed the Clinton investigation, and spied on a political campaign. The American people are losing confidence in the bureau. FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich stated in January, “When I look through the prism of risk for our organization, I find the No. 1 risk for our organization is losing the faith and confidence of the American people.” The FBI has reason to be fearful because public trust in the institution is headed in the wrong direction. A recent poll by Axios showed that less than half of America had confidence in the FBI, with only 38 percent of Republicans having faith in the bureau. This should be extremely worrying to any prosecutor using the FBI’s evidence or agents as a witness at a trial — and a dream for any defense attorney. Half the jury pool has an unfavorable opinion of the feds, and recent revelations about the once revered law enforcement agency are sure to increase the unfavourability. The FBI’s treatment of Carter Page was reprehensible. The propaganda outlets never mention it, but Carter Page was a witness…

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Commentary: Five Takeaways From The Hearings on the Nomination of Haspel to Head the CIA

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Gina Haspel

by Robert Donachie   Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump’s pick to become the director of the CIA, faced a grilling from the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday, answering questions regarding her involvement in advanced interrogation techniques, her views of torture and her vision for the agency. The Daily Caller News Foundation collated five key takeaways from Haspel’s hearing with the committee Wednesday. Did Russia Attempt To Influence The 2016 Presidential Election?  “In January of 2017, the [Senate Intelligence Committee] issued a joint report on the Russia involvement in the 2016 elections. Do you agree with the findings of that report?” Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine asked Haspel.  “Senator, I do,” Haspel responded. The Senate Intelligence Committee released a report in January 2017 that detailed Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. “We assess with high confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election, the consistent goals of which were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency,” the senators on the intelligence committee wrote in January 2017. The senators found Russia attempted to sway the election in favor of Trump, especially after it became apparent to…

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Special Counsel Mueller’s Use of ‘Parallel Construction’ May Run Afoul of Constitutional Protections

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by Printus LeBlanc   It seems like every day there is a chorus of officials celebrating Special Counsel Robert Mueller. If you dare question his integrity, you are to be banished to the gulags. However, with a little bit of research you will find out his career as a law enforcement officer is filled with mistakes, mishaps, and questionable policies. Once such policy is the subject of a Human Rights Watch report titled Dark Side: Secret Origins of Evidence in US Criminal Cases. The report details the practice of “parallel construction” in criminal investigations. What is parallel construction, why should every civil libertarian fear it, and what does this have to do with Robert Mueller? Parallel construction is a law enforcement technique used to build a criminal case against a suspect when law enforcement does not want to reveal the evidentiary basis for the investigation. The data comes from the NSA, which transmits it to a special unit in the DEA called the Special Operations Division (SOD). Within the SOD are representatives of several other agencies including the FBI, CIA, and IRS who are given “tips” to carry out their investigations. Let’s say local law enforcement receives a call from federal…

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Commentary: Is Today’s American Intelligence Community Trustworthy?

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by Printus LeBlanc   Since President Trump took office, there have been multiple reports of friction between the President and the Intelligence Community (IC). This is disconcerting because the President needs the community especially in the tough times we are currently facing, North Korea, Iran, and terrorism. If the people of the IC would take a minute and put themselves in the shoes of the President, they might see why there is friction and that the friction can be fixed. Most Presidents have either served in the military or were elected officials before becoming the President, therefore they had contact with the intelligence community. President Trump was not in the military nor a politician before deciding to run for the office, therefore he did not have prior interaction with the intelligence community. All the President knew about the IC was what was reported by the media. What were some of the main media stories being pushed by the media about the IC prior to Donald Trump’s election? Before the election: The mainstream media lambasted the IC for the Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) debacle. The coalition never found the WMD stockpiles or the mobile labs that were the motive…

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Trump Overturns Obama, Makes It Much Easier For CIA To Kill Terrorists

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The Trump administration loosened Obama-era restrictions on CIA drone strike approval, accelerating the air war on the Islamic State and Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, NBCNews reports. The drone strikes predominantly took place in Syria and Yemen where multiple violent terrorist organizations operate. The Trump administration is also in the midst of a drone policy review…

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Mike Pompeo, CIA Director, Says Nuclear War with North Korea Is Not ‘Imminent’

Tennessee Star Staff

Despite escalating tensions with North Korea, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Sunday that nuclear war is not “imminent.” Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Pompeo said it’s clear North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are progressing rapidly, but he downplayed any immediate risk to the United States. “Each time they test another missile, or if they should conduct…

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John Brennan, Obama Loyalist and CIA Director, Drove FBI to Investigate Trump Associates

Tennessee Star Staff

What caused the Barack Obama administration to begin investigating the Donald Trump campaign last summer has come into clearer focus following a string of congressional hearings on Russian interference in the presidential election. It was then-CIA director John O. Brennan, a close confidant of Mr. Obama’s, who provided the information – what he termed the “basis”…

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How Radical Islam Penetrated The U.S. House of Representatives

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

George Rasley, CHQ Editor Our friend Luke Rosiak, Investigative Reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation, should receive a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative reporting of the vast national security breach of the House of Representatives perpetrated by five Pakistani Muslims who were employed as information technology staff by dozens of House Democrats. In his latest report on a story that, we might add, has been completely ignored by the establishment media Rosiak documents how the five Pakistanis have been connected to the Iranian-backed terror organization Hezbollah, that has killed hundreds of Americans and Israelis. Brothers Imran, Abid and Jamal Awan, as well as their wives Natalia Sova and Hina Alvi, were all on the congressional payroll serving as IT administrators for House Democrats. Rosiak has reported that while working for Congress, the Pakistani brothers controlled a limited liability corporation called Cars International A (CIA), a car dealership with odd finances, which took–and did not repay–a $100,000 loan from Dr. Ali Al-Attar. Laundering money through used car dealerships is a known Hezbollah tactic. In 2011 the government filed a civil asset forfeiture action in New York against 30 car dealerships from Michigan to Florida. To launder the terrorist money, vehicles were moved from the US to West Africa and resold, and…

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