Obama-Biden Spygate scandal receives judicial absolution

Obama-Biden White House, Department of State, FBI, Attorney General's Office and Department of Justice involved in the worst political scandal since Watergate-may not be as lucky as Clinesmith-when Special Counsel-John Durham-releases his report.

The Obama-Biden administration's spying on American citizen Carter Page and Donald Trump's campaign and transition committees in 2016 and 2017-appears to have received judicial absolution following an amazing decision by the current head of the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act Court-Judge James Boasberg.

The highly-secretive Court had issued a warrant on October 26, 2016-on the application of the FBI - to surveill Carter Page-a former member of the Trump campaign committee.

A review of these four FISA applications by the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Justice in December 2019 determined that the FBI first received "Steele's election reporting" on September 19, 2016 and that it "Played a central and essential role in the FBI's and Department's decision to seek the FISA order."

Page's status had first been determined by the Department of State in or about October 2016 and then supplied to the FBI.Certification by an authorized signatory designated by President Obama.

Targeting Page gave the FBI access to all his emails sent and received whilst a member of the Trump campaign committee and perhaps even after he ceased to be a member until his removal from the circular chain of communications to members of the campaign committee.

Those in the Obama-Biden White House, Department of State, FBI, Attorney General's Office and Department of Justice involved in the worst political scandal since Watergate - may not be as lucky as Clinesmith - when Special Counsel-John Durham-releases his report.

https://canadafreepress.com/article/obama-biden-spygate-scandal-receives-judicial-absolution 

Venezuelan socialist government hired longtime Democratic donor amid U.S. lobbying campaign

The socialist government of Venezuela hired a longtime Democratic donor for undisclosed work within its state-owned oil company, recently revealed lobbying records reveal. 

Petróleos de Venezuela, the Venezuelan government's multibillion-dollar energy corporation, engaged the service of Marcia Wiss's Washington, D.C. law firm in 2017, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

The hire came as President Nicolàs Maduro's government was lobbying the United States to stave off sanctions the U.S. was considering at the time. 

Wiss "denie[d] she did any lobbying work," the AP reported, with the lawyer telling the newswire that she was contracted for "legal services only."

PDSVA, meanwhile, "said it was unaware of the full extent of her work to determine if it constituted political activities" that benefitted the Maduro regime. 

Wiss's firm was paid $6 million for her work with the socialist government. 

Maduro has been accused of major human rights violations during the course of his presidency, including extrajudicial killings and illegitimate elections. 

 

https://justthenews.com/world/venezuelan-socialist-government-hired-longtime-democratic-donor-amid-us-lobbying-campaign 

China's Communist Party Blames Imported Food for Recent COVID-19 Surges

The news of "Positive nucleic acid tests on imported food packaging" have appeared on mainland Chinese media frequently this month.

State-approved "Experts" quoted by the media have given different opinions on the risk of contracting the virus from imported goods, causing confusion and panic among the people and huge losses for import businesses.

State-controlled media have also frequently reported that China has had "Cases imported from overseas."

Chinese experts have contradictory opinions as to whether people can be infected by any virus particles on imported products.

In an interview with CCTV on Dec. 29, Zhong also mentioned that the increase in local cases in China may be related to the environment and material transmission, and that imported goods need to be monitored.

After media reported that "The surface of imported cherries tested positive" for COVID-19, a sharp drop in the price of imported cherries was seen in many places across the country.

The CCP's practice of testing imported foods and other commodities has not only affected Chinese businesses but also disrupted global cold chain operations, with cargo ships waiting in long queues at major Chinese ports for testing.
 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinas-communist-party-blames-imported-food-for-recent-covid-19-surges_3678859.html 

Biden's First Week Is Like Experiencing A Hell Week Initiation

Joe Biden's first week in office was about as bad as it could have been.

With the flick of a pen, Biden fired off a series of executive orders as unconstitutional and anti-family as we could expect.

The people directly affected by some of these sweeping changes: mothers, children, and families.

Some of the fallout from week one: mandating open sex, co-ed bathrooms and locker rooms in our children's schools; cancelling the 1776 Commission and reinstating biased, error-ridden and ideologically-driven curricula in our schools; jeopardizing our service members with politically-driven decisions about who can join the military; halting the Keystone Pipeline, eliminating thousands of jobs; reversing pro-life protections in international aid programs; and a national mask mandate.

One mom said the first week of Biden "Feels like whiplash." After the pro-America, pro-family, pro-life policies of former President Trump, Biden's sweeping changes and relentless executive orders are happening so fast it feels almost suffocating.

Frederick Douglass said, "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." Together, moms can turn our country back to God and our founding principles in a single generation.

The conversations around the dinner table will stay with your children for a lifetime; Biden's bad policies will hopefully be a distant memory when our children reach adulthood.

https://townhall.com/columnists/kimberlyfletcher/2021/01/31/bidens-first-week-is-like-experiencing-a-hell-week-initiation-n2583914 

Biden's COVID team is still trying to find 20M missing vaccine doses

After just one week in the White House, the Biden administration is already buckling under the pressure from the coronavirus pandemic as officials are still yet to locate 20million COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed to the states last month.

A Politico report on Saturday painted a picture of what officials have described as a messy transition for the Biden team that has been confronted with a worse-than-expected situation on nearly all fronts.

Prior to taking office, Biden had promised to tackle the pandemic with an effective COVID-19 response plan and later announced a rather ambitious goal to inoculate 100million Americans in his first 100 days.

The news came as the number of people hospitalized in the US with the virus fell below 100,000 for the first time in almost two months.

Biden's team is still trying track down the 20million doses that were first distributed by the Trump administration early December that are now unaccounted for.

On Saturday, the total number of confirmed cases surpassed 26million after 146,657 new infections were reported across the country, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

While the cases and deaths remain high, hospitalizations continue to dip with Saturday marking the first time that number fell below 100,000 since December 1.Weekly data also showed infections have decreased by 14 per cent and hospitalizations are down 12 per cent.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9206559/Bidens-COVID-team-trying-20M-missing-vaccine-doses.html 

Stop Sensationalizing the Threat of Right-Wing Political Violence

It's beyond question that the riot at the Capitol building-in which crowds of incensed Trump backers invaded Congress, interrupted the certification of the presidential election, ransacked offices, and provoked deadly fights-was an unprecedented security failure.

The riot at the Capitol was, to reiterate, a real and distressing display of mob violence.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer actually went so far as to compare the Capitol riot to Pearl Harbor.

The Capitol riot, by contrast, lasted a few hours and cost a total of five lives.

Nor can we compare the Capitol rioters to sophisticated and deadly terrorists such as those who pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda and ISIS-as retired Army General Stanley McChrystal did two weeks ago.

Some of the more sensational claims about what took place during the Capitol riot now appear to be incorrect.

What of Psaki's larger claim that there is a growing threat of violent extremism? It's true that we have seen an escalation of political violence in the United States.

https://quillette.com/2021/01/28/stop-sensationalizing-the-threat-of-right-wing-political-violence/ 

Biden brother's law firm touts his connection to the president, creating an early headache for administration

The Florida law firm that employs President Joe Biden's brother Frank ran a newspaper ad on Inauguration Day touting the brothers' relationship and shared values, a move that is causing an ethics headache for the administration less than two weeks after Biden took office.

The ad is fashioned to resemble a news story about the firm's involvement in the sugar cane case, though it is clearly labeled "Advertorial Section." It cites Frank Biden's connection with the president multiple times, linking the law firm's work with the values laid out in President Biden's agenda.

In the second paragraph of a roughly 1,000-word advertisement, for example, the text says the Berman Law Group sued sugar cane growers "Against the backdrop of incoming President Joseph Biden Jr.'s commitment to environmental and social justice, a value shared by his brother and Berman Law Group senior adviser, Frank Biden."

Next, the ad notes that the Biden brothers are simpatico in issue areas where the firm is doing work, even suggesting that President Biden would be broadly supportive of the firm's sugar cane litigation.

"The two Biden brothers have long held a commitment to pushing environmental issues to the forefront," it says, noting that President Biden had vowed to rejoin the Paris climate accords and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Francis Biden - Frank's formal name - was hired by the Berman Law Group in July 2018, according to a news release from the firm at the time.

"The brother can make an ad. Joe Biden can't stop his brother from making an ad.".

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Biden-brother-s-law-firm-touts-his-connection-to-15911010.php