Puppet Masters
In September, following the collapse of a summertime plea deal, Hunter Biden was indicted on three charges related to false statements in the October 2018 purchase of a firearm due to allegedly making a false and fictitious written statement about his drug use when purchasing the gun. The plea deal would have led to President Joe Biden's son pleading guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to pay federal tax while avoiding prosecution on the felony firearms charge.
Last month, Hunter Biden's legal team filed a motion requesting that the ex-president and his father's potential 2024 rival should be issued a subpoena for documents purported to prove political motivation in the younger Biden's case — an argument Trump has made countless times throughout his own legal battles.
The legal team also requested subpoenas for documents spanning seven years and involving former Attorney General William Barr, former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue.
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in one case. In two other cases, he faces similar charges of fraud and breach of trust.
Prosecutors say between 2007 and 2016 Netanyahu allegedly received gifts valued at $195,000 in exchange for financial or personal favors. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. Bribery charges carry a sentence of up to 10 years in jail and/or a fine. Fraud and breach of trust carry a prison sentence of up to three years.
A court in occupied al-Quds was to start hearing the case on Monday. When the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched its surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the regime on October 7, the trial was paused on an emergency order from the Israeli justice minister.
Democrats are afraid that if Trump is elected he'll do to them precisely what they're currently doing to him. When Trump fearmongers in the media cry out with one voice that Trump will weaponize the Justice Department and the courts, rig our elections, and shred the Constitution, it's pure projection. Because that's exactly what they're doing right now in a desperate bid to prevent Trump from winning office again.
It should go without saying that this suddenly ubiquitous media genre is extremely dangerous. As my colleague Mollie Hemingway aptly put it in response to a hysterical Trump-as-dictator piece by Robert Kagan in The Washington Post, you might as well call it "assassination prep."
Comment: And because of all the hoopla, someone had to ask him the ridiculous question. Trump's reply:
Former President Donald Trump said at a Fox News town hall Tuesday that he would not be a dictator "except for Day One" if he is elected president next year.Democrats and the MSM think we are morons.
Trump's comments at the taped event in Iowa came in response to host Sean Hannity's asking him whether he would abuse the power of the office to seek revenge.
"You are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?" Hannity said.
"Except for Day One," Trump responded, repeating the phrase.
Asked for clarification, Trump said, "I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill."
Moments later, Trump doubled down on his comments.
"I love this guy," Trump said, referring to Hannity. "He says, 'You're not going to be a dictator, are you?' I said: 'No, no, no. Other than Day One.' We're closing the border, and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator."
The Biden campaign quickly seized on the remarks, posting a clip of the exchange to X. After the town hall concluded, Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez blasted Trump in a statement.
"Donald Trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he's reelected and tonight he said he will be a dictator on day one," she said. "Americans should believe him."
The European Union has been forced to overpay some €185 billion for gas imports since it imposed self-harming sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, according to Sputnik's calculations based on Eurostat data.
Since February 2022, when Brussels first started to levy restrictions on Moscow, the EU's average monthly gas import expenditures have risen to €15.2 billion. Of this, €7.7 billion has been spent on liquefied natural gas (LNG), while the remaining €7.5 billion has gone to pipeline gas. Meanwhile, during the year before the introduction of sanctions, European countries paid an average of €5.9 billion for gas (€3.6 billion for pipeline gas; €2.3 billion for liquefied gas).
Comment:
- Wishful thinking: US bets Europe willing to pay more for less dependence on Russian energy
- Why American LNG is not a viable alternative for Russian gas in Europe
- European gas prices forecast to triple
- Economic geniuses in Poland pay double for US LNG to tackle 'Russian gas domination'
- Russia's the big winner in European gas war
- Two-faced? US continues imports of Russian gas while insisting Europe should stop purchasing
Yes, as we can all note for the thousandth time, literal fleets of private jets have descended on the desert so that bankers and billionaires can talk about making sure we don't drive anymore or eat too much cheese.
What's on the agenda? Globalism - and it's never been more obvious.
President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva essentially said as much:
The planet is fed up with unfulfilled climate agreements. Governments cannot escape their responsibilities. No country will solve its problems alone. We are all obliged to act together beyond our borders,"
With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations (U.N.) this month launched an "ambitious-country-led campaign" to promote and accelerate the development of a global digital public infrastructure (DPI).
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said its "50-in-5" campaign will spur the construction of "an underlying network of components" that includes "digital payments, ID, and data exchange system," which will serve as "a critical accelerator of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."
"The goal of the campaign is for 50 countries to have designed, implemented, and scaled at least one DPI component in a safe, inclusive, and interoperable manner in five years," the UNDP stated.
Critics of the campaign include Tim Hinchliffe, editor of The Sociable, who told The Defender he believes DPI "is a mechanism for surveillance and control that combines digital ID, central bank digital currencies [CBDC], vaccine passports and carbon footprint tracking data, paving the way for 15-minute smart cities, future lockdowns and systems of social credit."
Miller declined to provide details on what Washington proposed and it was the first time the United States revealed such a proposal had been made. Whelan and Gershkovich have been charged in Russia with spying, which they deny.
"In recent weeks, we made a new and significant proposal to secure Paul and Evan's release. That proposal was rejected by Russia. We shouldn't have to make these proposals. They never should have been arrested in the first place. They should both be released immediately," Miller told reporters.
Comment: Evidently those spies mean a lot to the US, and Moscow likely has good reason for wanting to ensure that they serve their sentence:
- CIA launches social media campaign to recruit spies among Russians
- Western spies ramping up activities in Belarus claims country's security chief, as parliament proposes death penalty for high treason
- Top Ukrainian official reveals help from Western spies
- How China is evading US spies
A joint statement by the Ministry of Defence, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and Home Office, headed "UK military activity in the Eastern Mediterranean", announced, "In support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity, the Ministry of Defence will conduct surveillance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including operating in air space over Israel and Gaza."
The statement claimed that the "Surveillance aircraft will be unarmed, do not have a combat role, and will be tasked solely to locate hostages. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities responsible for hostage rescue."
Comment: It's likely that the West will become increasingly wreckless in its attempts to maintain a modicum of power; more so following its undeniable defeat in Ukraine:
- UK's elite forces training in Lebanon, US Embassy in Beirut becomes new regional intelligence HQ
- Iran-Russia set a western trap in Palestine
- RAF admits to making 17 military flights to Israel since Gaza bombing began

IDF troops operate in northern Gaza near the mouth of an alleged Hamas tunnel in this handout photo released on November 23, 2023. (IDF)
Israel has readied plans to flood Hamas's system of tunnels under the Gaza Strip with water pumped from the Mediterranean Sea, a move aimed at destroying the terror group's subterranean network of passages and hideaways and driving its fighters above ground, according to a report Monday.
Quoting US officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Israel Defense Forces last month set up five large water pumps near the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, which are capable of flooding the tunnels within weeks by pumping thousands of cubic meters of water per hour into them.
The officials said Israel alerted the US about the plan last month, but has not yet decided on whether to implement it.
Ever since the first weeks of Trump's civil business fraud trial in October, the former president has been under a limited gag order due to his social media posts referencing Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's staff. A filing appeared on the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department docket on Monday, showing Trump's intent to appeal the lower court's decision to the state's highest court.
Engoron contends his principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, has sustained harassing and antisemitic messages ever since Trump posted a picture of her with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and referred to her as his "girlfriend" on Oct. 4, the second day of the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization.
Comment: Hunter Biden's legal team attempts to 'circle the wagons' and deny his subpoenas requests, prior to the 2024 election: To read Special Counsel David Weiss' full filing, go here.