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Another newly declassified batch of court documents reveal FBI FISA violations in targeting Americans

Ronn Blitzer
Fox News
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 18:51 UTC
FISA abuse folder
Newly declassified court documents indicate that the FBI failed to comply with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in targeting Americans while searching through NSA records during President Trump's administration and after James Comey's tenure as FBI director.

An October 2018 ruling from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) found that the FBI violated Section 702 by not keeping track of searches that pertained to "United States persons," and that proposed changes were still not enough to comply with the law. That ruling was later affirmed on appeal in July 2019. The documents were declassified and released Tuesday.

FISA Section 702, which deals with targeting people outside the U.S. for gathering foreign intelligence information, places restrictions on gathering information when it comes to Americans or people located in the U.S.

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A look inside Hunter Biden's dealings with a list of shadowy foreign firms

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 22:45 UTC
Hunter Biden
© Getty ImagesHunter Biden
Hunter Biden is the ultimate fail-son, or black sheep.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, it has emerged in recent years to describe the spoiled, sloppy and clumsily power-hungry offspring of powerful individuals. Hunter Biden is more infamous for his often drug-fueled antics, and the brief and embarrassingly public romance he shared with his deceased brother's widow, than he is for being a successful businessman. But now his business career has been exposed for what it truly is: Foreign players hoping to use the younger Biden as a backdoor connection to the White House, and the American political elite.

Often, Biden dropped hints about how these connections could be useful, though there's not much of a record of him actually using his connections (that is, actually being useful) on his employer's behalf (which doesn't mean it didn't happen).

According to the FT, Biden's business interests "often show up in unexpected places." While Democrats obviously prefer to focus on their impeachment investigation, there's no denying that Biden's business dealings in Ukraine, China and elsewhere clearly raise questions about potential conflicts that existed while his father was in office. Joe Biden has denied wrongdoing, but questions linger over his role in the ouster of a top Ukrainian prosecutor, which some have suggested was done to help protect Hunter.

Comment: Gateway Pundit, 10/10/2019: Joe Biden changes his story...
Back in September Joe Biden told reporters he never discussed his son Hunter Biden's lucrative business dealing with the Ukrainian regime. Joe Biden told Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, "I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings."

But on Wednesday Joe Biden changed up his story telling reporters, "He did say at one point that it came out that he was on the board. I said, "I sure hope the hell you know what you're doing."

As more is revealed the worse Joe Biden is going to look.

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Russian Flag

Putin, on new doping row: 'We're cooperating with WADA'


RT
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 15:55 UTC
Putin
© Sputnik/Mikhail KlimentyevRussian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the sport forum in Nizhny Novgorod.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken about the controversy surrounding data from a Moscow anti-doping laboratory, stating that Russia has been "actively cooperating" with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Speaking at the 8th International Forum Russia - Country of Sports in Nizhny Novgorod, Putin outlined that Russian sports officials and athletes are aiming to compete at international events without any restrictions or limitations.

"We have been actively cooperating with WADA." Stating that Russia fully supports clean and fair competition in sport, Putin said:
"Our country and our athletes are interested in leaving all the doping controversies far behind. We want our athletes to be to be fully represented in international events where they can demonstrate their talent without any restrictions. We want them to become role models for amateur sports lovers and professionals, first of all for our young generation."
He added Russia fully supports clean and fair competition in sport.


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Star of David

Assassinating Iran's Quds Force commander is 'not impossible', brags Mossad chief


Sputnik
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:27 UTC
Soleimani
© AP/Office of the Iranian Supreme LeaderCommander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Revolutionary Guards Quds Force
Last week, Iranian officials reported that a "regional joint Israel-Arab" plot to assassinate Revolutionary Guards Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani had been foiled, with the plotters allegedly planning to plant up to 500 kg of explosives under a congregation hall where the commander was set to speak.

Israel could easily assassinate Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah, and target Iran's senior commander of foreign operations, Mossad Director Yossi Cohen has said.

In an interview with Israel's Mishpacha magazine on Thursday, Cohen said that the Quds force commander "knows that his elimination is not impossible," and that Soleimani "has not yet made a mistake putting him in the list of Mossad's liquidators."

At the same time, the official admitted that Soleimani's "actions are identified and felt everywhere," and that "there's no doubt that the infrastructure he built presents a serious challenge for Israel."

The Mossad chief also said that his agency could also assassinate Hezbollah's leader, but that this was "not the right question." Nasrallah, Cohen said, "knows we have the option of eliminating him."

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Bullseye

Corporate media attack real whistleblower Kiriakou for poking holes in Dems' impeachment source

Morgan Artuykhina
Sputnik
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 23:05 UTC
Kiriakou
© John KiriakouFormer whistleblower John Kiriakou
After former CIA agent-turned whistleblower John Kiriakou blasted holes in the anonymous source for House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump on Wednesday night, the mainstream media came after him, smearing his name while ignoring the content of his past actions and the price he paid.

With the word "whistleblower" dominating US headlines in connection with an August complaint filing by an anonymous CIA agent about Trump's July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, some real whistleblowers have been taking to media stages to raise their own concerns about the use of the term.

On Wednesday, Kiriakou told Fox News talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight that:
"I don't think it's a whistleblower at all. I think this is an anonymous source for the Democratic staff in the House of Representatives. This is an insult to real whistleblowers. Actual whistleblowers go on to have their whole lives upended."
Trump, an increasingly avid viewer of Carlson's show, tweeted out the quote after the show, drawing heavy fire toward Kiriakou from the mainstream press.


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Snakes in Suits

John Sullivan is Trump's nominee for US ambassador to Russia


RT
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 16:40 UTC
John Sullivan
© AFPUS Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan
US President Donald Trump has nominated Deputy Secretary of State John Joseph Sullivan as the new ambassador to Russia. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the spot vacated by the departure of Jon Huntsman.

Sullivan, 59, has served as deputy secretary since May 2017. He was acting secretary of state in March and April 2018, following the resignation of Rex Tillerson and the confirmation of current Secretary Mike Pompeo.

Most of his previous government experience has been in law, rather than diplomacy. Early on in his career, Sullivan clerked for a Fifth Circuit appeals judge and Supreme Court Justice David Souter, before joining President George W. Bush's failed 1992 re-election campaign as general counsel.

He served as general counsel for the Pentagon in 2004, during the George W. Bush administration, before moving to the Department of Commerce the next year, where he stayed as general counsel and deputy secretary through 2009. During the Obama administration, Sullivan chaired the US-Iraq Business Dialogue, described as "an advisory committee on economic relations." He also co-chaired the national security practice at Mayer Brown LLP, a private law firm in Washington, DC.
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Arrow Up

Brexit upped the potential for Irish unity; EU sees it similar to German reunification


RT
Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:16 UTC
Sign Ireland
© Reuters/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Brexit has accelerated the possibility of a referendum on Irish unity, which may be the best solution to mitigate the effects of Britain leaving the EU, a new paper on Brussels' potential role in achieving reunification says.

The inevitability of referendums on both sides of the Irish border means "planning and preparation needs to commence and the EU will be a central part of that," said Queen's University Belfast Prof. Colin Harvey at the launch of the paper in the European Parliament on Wednesday, the Irish Times reported.

Speaking with his co-author, barrister Mark Bassett, Harvey said that meetings with representatives from EU member states had shown a broad understanding of the argument that Irish unity might be the best way to deal with the ill-effects of Brexit on the island of Ireland. The alternative, he said, was the "forced removal of Northern Ireland" from the EU "against its will."

Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU by a majority of 56 percent to 44 percent.
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Handcuffs

Republican donors arrested on campaign finance charges, declined testifying to Congressional committee


RT
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 18:02 UTC
Giuliani/Parnas
© Reuters/Aram RostonPresident Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani photographed with Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas in Washington, DC, September 20, 2019.
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two wealthy Soviet-born Floridians who allegedly passed information between the government in Kiev and President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have been arrested for campaign finance violations. Parnas and Fruman were arrested on Wednesday, reportedly while attempting to leave the US from Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC.

Along with two other men, they were charged with funneling illegal foreign contributions to Republican PACs in the runup to the 2018 midterm elections. The men are also accused of making false statements to the Federal Elections Commission to disguise the source of these contributions. The charges are unrelated to the current impeachment drive against Trump. The two are due to appear in court in Virginia on Thursday.

The two Floridians were already in the news earlier this week, when they were asked to testify before three Democrat-controlled House committees building an impeachment case against Trump. Parnas and Fruman - who reportedly helped arrange a meeting between Giuliani and Ukraine's then-prosecutor general Yuri Lutsenko in January - declined to testify, with Democrats threatening subpoenas in response.

Comment: See also:
Trump allies pursued management change at Ukraine's Naftogaz to aid sales of US LNG

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Propaganda

Same old, same old: The Grey Lady pumps another 'evil Russia' plot

Finian Cunningham
RT
Thu, 10 Oct 2019 17:53 UTC
spy silouette graphic
© Getty Images / Maciej Toporowicz, NYCIf you don't have real enemies, then invent them
The "newspaper of record" New York Times arguably holds the record for peddling anti-Russia scare stories. This week the NY Times delivered yet another classic spook tale dressed as serious news.

Among its splash articles, under the headline 'Top Secret Russian Unit Seeks to Destabilize Europe, Security Officials Say', readers were told of an elite Russian spy team which has, allegedly, only recently been discovered.

It's called "Unit 29155" and purportedly directed by the Kremlin to "destabilize Europe" with "subversion, sabotage and assassination."

According to the NY Times, this crack squad of Russia's most ruthless military intelligence agents were involved in an attempted assassination of an arms dealer in Bulgaria in 2015; the destabilization of Moldova; a failed coup against the Montenegrin government; and the alleged poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in England last year.

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Eye 1

Journalists visiting Julian Assange also targeted by company spying for the CIA

Kevin Gosztola
Shadowproof
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 17:33 UTC
Ecuador embassy london assange
© Jaggers on FlickrEcuadorian Embassy Standoff - Front Entrance
A Spanish security company was apparently enlisted by the Central Intelligence Agency to compile reports on journalists, attorneys, doctors, and any Russians or Americans who visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange while he was living in Ecuador's embassy in London.

Undercover Global S.L. operated a security checkpoint. Visitors were instructed to "hand over their bags, computers, electronic devices, and cellphones," according to Spanish newspaper El País.

While visitors met with Assange, employees of the company put together a report that could be shared with the CIA via a server in Juarez de la Frontera. The FBI allegedly had access to files, too.

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