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Special Counsel rips into Hunter Biden for wanting Trump's help

Nick Mordowanec
Newsweek
Tue, 05 Dec 2023 09:54 UTC
HuntBid
© Mark Makela/Getty Images
Hunter Biden • July 26, 2023 • Wilmington, Delaware
The judge overseeing Hunter Biden's gun charge case in Delaware has denied a request to issue subpoenas to Donald Trump and others in his administration.

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.

Comment: Hunter Biden's legal team attempts to 'circle the wagons' and deny his subpoenas requests, prior to the 2024 election:
Special Counsel David Weiss blasted Hunter Biden's recent requests to subpoena former President Trump and other former officials in a court filing on Tuesday. However, Weiss submitted the filing in Delaware federal court, arguing Biden's request "is meritless and should be denied."

Abbe Lowell argued last month that the investigation into the president's son arose only due to "incessant, improper, and partisan pressure" during the Trump administration.
To read Special Counsel David Weiss' full filing, go here.

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Briefcase

Netanyahu's corruption trial resumes amid war on Gaza


PressTV
Mon, 04 Dec 2023 02:19 UTC
Protest
© Unknown
Protesters demonstrate against Israeli PM Netanyahu • November 4, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long-running trial on a host of corruption charges resumes following a two-month halt due to the regime's war on Gaza.

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.
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Black Magic

Neo-lib projection: Dems afraid Trump will do to them what they've done to him

John Daniel Davidson
The Federalist
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 18:40 UTC
Liz chaney trump dictator hysteria
© NBC News
Liz Cheney amping up the "Trump will be a dictator" hysteria on NBC
A new set of anti-Trump talking points has been cropping up in the corporate press recently, warning of the horrors that will come to pass if Trump wins the election. Most of it is shameless fearmongering, but there's something else going on too.

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.

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."
Democrats and the MSM think we are morons.

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Dollars

US ripped off EU for €185 Bln for gas due to Russia sanctions

Svetlana Ekimenko
Sputnik
Wed, 06 Dec 2023 18:01 UTC
russian gas installation
© Sputnik / Pavel Lvov
Disruption of Russian gas supplies due to Western sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine have left Europe grappling with spiraling inflation and surging energy bills, with the costs of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the US adding to the pressures on European households' budgets.

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:

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Moon

COP28: The Globalist agenda has never been more obvious

Kit Knightly
Off-Guardian
Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:00 UTC
COP28 banner
As of this morning, we are four days into the two-week climate change summit in Dubai.

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,"
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Eagle

UN launches Gates-funded global digital ID program as experts warn of 'totalitarian nightmare'

Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.
Children's Health Defense
Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00 UTC
Gates digital ID
With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations this month launched its "50-in-5" campaign to promote and accelerate the development of a global digital public infrastructure. One critic called the campaign "a totalitarian nightmare" designed to "onboard" small countries with "digital ID, digital wallets, digital lawmaking, digital voting and more."

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."
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Quenelle

Russia rejects 'substantial proposal' from US for release of spies Whelan, Gershkovich

Humeyra Pamuk
Reuters
Tue, 05 Dec 2023 20:17 UTC
Paul Whelan
© Sputnik/Kirill Kallinikov
FILE PHOTO: Paul Whelan in the Lefortovo court in Moscow
Russia in recent weeks rejected a substantial new proposal for the release of Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, two Americans considered by the U.S. to be "wrongfully detained" in Russia, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.

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:

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Eye 2

British government to send surveillance planes to facilitate Israel's genocide

Robert Stevens
World Socialist Web Site
Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:00 UTC
HMS Diamond

HMS Diamond in waters off Bournemouth in 2018
On Saturday, Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the Royal Air Force (RAF) would carry out surveillance flights over Gaza.

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:

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Star of David

Israel said to be setting up pumps in Gaza to flood Hamas tunnels with seawater


Times of Israel
Tue, 05 Dec 2023 20:58 UTC
idf hamas tunnel gaza
© IDF
IDF troops operate in northern Gaza near the mouth of an alleged Hamas tunnel in this handout photo released on November 23, 2023. (IDF)
Wall Street Journal says IDF has yet to decide on whether to go ahead with plan to flood terror group's subterranean passages and hideaways, with opinions mixed in US

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.
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Document

Trump appeals New York gag order to state's highest court

Kaelan Deese
Washington Examiner
Mon, 04 Dec 2023 20:46 UTC
Allison Greenfield Judge Arthur F. Engoron
© The New York Sun
Former President Donald Trump appealed a gag order on Monday that bars him from speaking about a judge's law clerk to the New York Court of Appeals, less than a week after a lower court reinstated the order.

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.
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