Massie’s letter follows troubling testimony from the DOJ’s Inspector General, suggesting that the FBI had confidential human sources (CHSs) present on the Capitol Grounds that day. It raises a critical question: is the DOJ intentionally slow-walking the release of this crucial report?
Joining Massie in this call for accountability are Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Reps. Ben Cline (R-VA), Chip Roy (R-TX), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), Barry Moore (R-AL), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Harriet Hagman (R-WY), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
The presence of federal assets, particularly CHSs, on Capitol grounds during the events of January 6, 2021, is a game-changer. It starkly undermines the establishment media and federal government’s narrative surrounding that day. Meanwhile, just blocks away, Trump faces federal charges from special counsel Jack Smith, who alleges that he orchestrated the chaos at the Capitol.
Massie’s letter serves as a reminder to Garland of his own words during his June 4, 2024 testimony.
Garland “testified that Inspector General Horowitz is ‘independent’ and ‘the determination of the release of Inspector General reports is up to the Inspector General.’”
“We write to remind you of your commitment,” the letter states.
On September 25, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified before the House Weaponization Committee that the draft of the report is being held up by the DOJ.
This investigation had already seen delays during hearings held by Speaker Pelosi’s House Select Committee on January 6. Horowitz only resumed his investigation in 2023.
Now, the DOJ continues to drag its feet on prosecutions as the 2024 election looms, with several new cases emerging in recent months—over three and a half years after the events of January 6.
During the September 25 hearing, Horowitz confirmed that his draft report would indeed address the presence of CHSs. Massie pressed him for evidence regarding the number of CHSs operating on the Capitol grounds that day.
“Our report will include information in that regard,” Horowitz stated.
However, when pressed on the exact number, he replied, “I’m not in a position to say that, both because its in draft form, and we have not gone through the classification review, and so I need to be careful.”
Yesterday in @Weaponization, I questioned Inspector General Horowitz about the number of confidential human sources who entered the Capitol on 1/6.
Horowitz said the number won’t be known before the election. Biden-Harris doesn’t want the feds’ role on 1/6 known. Why? pic.twitter.com/9UJ4GXMdTX
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 26, 2024
Horowitz expressed a desire to issue his report soon but admitted that he does not expect it to be released before the election, indicating that the timing of the classification review is beyond his control.
Massie is not buying it and believes politics are afoot.
“Horowitz said the number won’t be known before the election. Biden-Harris doesn’t want the feds’ role on 1/6 known. Why?” Massie posted on X after the hearing.
Massie’s letter to Garland warns, “If you or any of your subordinates, associates, deputies, or agents within the Department act to delay or interfere with the release of this report, Congress will hold you accountable.”
If this report is ever released, it could drastically alter the prevailing narrative surrounding January 6. If Garland and the DOJ are found to have withheld this report until after the election, Congress may take decisive action.
Horowitz’s testimony strongly suggested that the report would contain explosive information.
Massie pressed Horowitz on how many confidential human sources entered the Capitol on January 6.
FBI protocols prohibit CHSs from breaking the law—entering the Capitol would certainly qualify, as made clear by numerous DOJ prosecutions—without express written consent.
“I’ll have that information in the report,” Horowitz replied.
Interestingly, when Massie inquired about how many CHSs were reimbursed for travel related to January 6, Horowitz responded, “as I sit here, I don’t recall the number,” before abruptly shifting gears and insisting, “and, if I did know it, I wouldn’t be in a position to tell you.”
The FBI operates under the DOJ, which ultimately determines what information is classified.
As the pressure mounts on Garland and the DOJ, one has to wonder: will the truth about January 6 ever see the light of day?
Article generated from corporate media reports.
]]>The Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) and Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) used open-source research and facial recognition technology to identify CCP-aligned actors allegedly assaulting peaceful pro-democracy protesters during Xi’s four-day visit, according to their newly-released report.
The groups found that 19 leaders of the CCP’s united front groups were in San Francisco during Xi’s visit and 12 of them allegedly participated in attacks against protesters. These leaders came from all over the United States, including New York, California, Portland, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Philadelphia.
“Investigate whether united front groups in the U.S. are acting as unregistered foreign agents of the PRC in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” the two groups urged the DOJ, referring to China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
The report also urged the DOJ to “explore the potential criminal liabilities of individuals and groups engaged in” transnational repression.
Xi arrived in San Francisco on Nov. 14 last year for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Many decided to use his visit as a platform to peacefully protest against the CCP’s human rights violations, holding demonstrations at the San Francisco International Airport; on the streets near the Moscone Center, where APEC meetings were held; in areas outside of the St. Regis Hotel where Xi stayed; and in other locations around the city.
However, the peaceful protests were marred by violence allegedly committed by Xi’s supporters and pro-CCP demonstrators. The report documents 34 cases of harassment, intimidation, and assault.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, said in a July 31 statement that the CCP-directed attacks “were an outrageous violation of American sovereignty and the values we all hold dear.” He called on the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department to hold the perpetrators accountable.
“This thuggery—also known as transnational repression—has no place in America,” Moolenaar said. “The CCP cannot be allowed to bring its Orwellian model of totalitarian control to American soil.”
United Front Groups
The CCP leverages a network of groups, some directly under the control of the United Front Work Department within its Central Committee, to carry out its “united front” strategy to advance the regime’s interests overseas. A big part of the strategy involves exerting influence and control over Chinese diaspora communities and promoting favorable narratives about China under the CCP’s rule.
One united front leader identified in the report is Li Huahong, the head of the Chinese Anti-Cult World Alliance (CACWA). According to the report, Li, who was wearing a CACWA jacket at the time, allegedly attacked Chinese activist Jia Junwei outside of St. Regis on Nov. 14 last year. Jia had traveled to San Francisco seeking justice for her deceased father, a victim of the regime’s land expropriation policies who died in Chinese detention in 2017.
Jia said that Li “snatched her banner, dragged her into an area surrounded by other CCP supporters who held up their large PRC flags so that no one could see what was happening, pulled her hair, and hit her in the head,” the report states, adding that an ambulance later arrived at the scene and first responders treated Jia.
Li was “alleged to be involved” in more attacks the next day, alongside a dinner reception for Xi at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, according to the report. Inside a parking garage across from the hotel, an unidentified man wearing a CACWA jacket was among a group of 15 masked CCP supporters allegedly attacking Tibetan protesters, after the latter unfurled a banner with the words “Dictator Xi, Your Time Is Up.”
In 2013, Li was convicted in New York on charges of attacking Falun Gong practitioners. The faith group is persecuted by the CCP in China.
Also on Nov. 14 last year, Li Huanjun, a victim of forced demotion in China, said that she was hit in the head with a flagpole and pinched on the arms, waist, and other places several times during encounters with CCP supporters.
One of the individuals who allegedly participated in the harassment and intimidation of Li Huanjun was Jing Dongsheng, the report stated, identifying him as the president of the Oregon Association for the Promotion of the Peaceful Unification of China.
Four other united front leaders were allegedly responsible for attacks against Chinese activist Wang Wei on Nov. 15 last year. According to the report, their names are Wengxi Zhuoma, president of the Sichuan Association of Washington State; Guo Jianwei, president of the Henan Association of Washington State; Fang Weixia, chair of the Association of China’s Peaceful Reunification of Washington State; and Chen Wenshen, vice president of the Seattle-area Fujian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Washington State.
In a video, Fang can be seen “punching … and kicking” activist Wang, according to the report.
Wang explained in the report that he was wearing a “Free China” sticker on his arm, which could be the reason he became a target of the CCP supporters.
“A question which the U.S. government, local governments, and federal and local law enforcement authorities may need to confront is whether the CCP united front groups and individuals are essentially acting as unregistered foreign agents, in which case they may be in breach of the law,” the two groups wrote.
Transnational Repression
HKDC and SFT said that local authorities in San Francisco did not do enough to protect protesters.
“Despite strong awareness of CCP [transnational repression] at the federal level and a general commitment to countering it, agencies were unprepared to do so in San Francisco,” the two groups wrote.
“Local law enforcement authorities exhibited a lack of awareness of [transnational repression], were often unresponsive when alerted to the attacks, and took little and inadequate action in response to the attacks.”
The report explained that protesters had to change their protest plans several times “due to safety concerns.”
For example, Tibetan and Uyghur groups canceled their plan to march to the Hyatt Regency on Nov. 15, 2023.
“When they saw the large numbers of CCP supporters gathered outside the hotel and an absence of separate protest zones, they decided against this course of action as they feared it could lead to a potentially violent confrontation,” the report reads.
Standing Up for Liberty
The report offered recommendations to the White House, the Department of State, the DOJ, the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Congress, and state and local authorities to address the CCP’s acts of transnational repression.
It urges the State Department to impose targeted sanctions against foreign individuals who “direct or engage” in acts of transnational repression. It also asks the Department of Homeland Security to offer transnational repression-related training to state and local law enforcement.
Congress is also urged to pass legislation such as the Transnational Repression Policy Act, the Stop Transnational Repression Act (H.R.5907), the Combating Transnational Repression Act of 2024 (H.R. 7443), the Law Enforcement Support and Transnational Repression Hotline Act (H.R. 7433), and the Strengthening State and Local Efforts to Combat Transnational Repression Act (H.R. 7439).
Introduced by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) in February and co-sponsored by Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), August Pfluger (R-Texas), and Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), H.R. 7439 would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a “transnational repression threat training program” for state, local, tribal, campus, and territorial law enforcement, according to a press release.
“Silence and lack of action will surely signal to the CCP that it has ‘gotten away with it’ and simply encourage it to continue to pursue its objectives to silence, intimidate, and inflict violence on those it perceives as its enemies abroad,” the report reads.
“At best, it leaves those who live in the United States and advocate for freedom and human rights in East Turkestan, Hong Kong, the PRC, and Tibet uncertain and skeptical that U.S. authorities will protect them when the CCP seeks to come after them, and, at worst, fearful and intimidated in the ‘land of the free.’”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
]]>Reyes’ remarks seemed to reference the case of Peter Navarro, a former Trump advisor currently serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with a subpoena related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro argued that he could not cooperate with the committee because former President Trump had invoked executive privilege, an argument that lower courts have rejected.
The judge expressed her astonishment at the DOJ’s stance, particularly in light of Navarro’s conviction and the fact that former White House adviser Steve Bannon received a similar sentence for the same charge. “I think it’s quite rich you guys pursue criminal investigations and put people in jail for not showing up,” Reyes said. “And now you guys are flouting those subpoenas.”
Daly and Morgan were subpoenaed for their firsthand knowledge of the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes while he served on the board of Ukrainian company Burisma. The committee claims that the team, which included Daly and Morgan, initially recommended charges against Hunter Biden but later reversed their decision, allowing the statute of limitations to expire.
Justice Department attorney James Gilligan attempted to justify the DOJ’s decision to defy the subpoena, citing a Trump-era Office of Legal Counsel opinion that executive branch employees could ignore such subpoenas if Justice Department lawyers were not allowed to be present during their testimony. However, Reyes was unimpressed with this reasoning and was astonished that Gilligan would not commit to instructing Daly and Morgan to testify if the committee were to drop its insistence that government counsel not be in the room for their depositions.
The judge’s criticism highlights the ongoing tensions between the executive and legislative branches and raises questions about the consistency of the Justice Department’s enforcement of subpoenas.
Sound off about this article on The Liberty Daily Substack.
Article generated from corporate media reports.
]]>In short, the Nelson family have been targeted for complete financial destruction. Seizures have been made. Threats continue incessantly. All the while, no charges have been filed and all of the evidence points to the Nelsons being innocent.
It’s important to note that we’re only seeing one side of this story. Amazon has not responded to requests for comment. However, a local news story corroborates much of what Nelson explains in her Twitter thread.
Here is the blood-boiling scenario as told by Nelson herself:
(These docs are all on the public docket in Amazon's civil case against my husband, where a federal judge ruled in April that my husband – even if he did exactly what Amazon said he did – acted in accordance with the "explicit terms" of AMAZON's contract.) /2
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
And then, 2 days later – Amazon's lawyer had the AUDACITY to email DOJ & say, hey, need you on the phone again! I want to tell you Amazon's position on the "timing" of the investigation & seizure we ordered up.
This is a real email, from a private attorney.
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
Amazon alleged a crime of private sector honest services fraud – meaning, Amazon had to prove that my. husband violated his duty to them as an employee.
SO AMAZON LIED ABOUT THE DUTY. They said my husband wasn't authorized to do biz w/ entities doing biz w/ Amazon /6 pic.twitter.com/8UK8Ps2Eop
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
So, yeah.
Amazon got DOJ to seize $7 million over an alleged breach of employment duties – that were false, not real, and actually contrary to the exact duties Amazon had in their own contract.
DOJ also obtained and executed search warrants with these false duties listed. /8
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
So if DOJ didn't rely in "any way" on the employment contract as the alleged source of "fiduciary duty" my husband allegedly criminally violated … what did they look at?
Can Amazon allow something in a contract and then try to put an American in prison for it? /10
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
Amazon's entire mission to "get" my husband was one of seek and destroy at any cost.
Me, my husband & our 4 girls endured civil forfeiture for 2 years, a terrifying FBI raid, and months of threats from prosecutors to arrest my husband in our home in front of our girls. /12
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
Last year, Amazon's lawyer sent me a letter telling me if I didn't stop my "unlawful" social media posts sharing the names of lawyers hunting my family for Amazon that he would go to the court. He also called me a conspiracy theorist.
I didn't stop. Nor will I. /14
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
The media is terrified of this story. I get it. Everyone in the world is terrified of @JeffBezos. But we have the receipts because these lawyers were so damn sure we'd collapse and die so no one would ever see the paper trail.
And the paper trail is sloppy and horrifying. /16
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
Patrick Stokes, Elizabeth Papez, Jason Mendro, Claudia Barrett, Michael Dziuban, Amanda Sterling, Veronica Moye, George Hazel, Lora MacDonald, Travis Andrews, Rachel Robertson, Thomas Hungar, Jason Schwartz, David Casazza, Trisha Parikh, Luke Sullivan, Cate Harding, /18
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
Internal Amazon lawyers: David Zapolsky, Dennis Wallace, Yousri Omar, D. Matthew Doden, Alexis Collins, Brad Elias, Sarah Tyerman, Marnina Cherkin. Those are the names I know currently, as identified by Amazon. /20
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
And there is more: Like, why did DOJ prosecutors threaten to charge my husband with obstruction of justice or witness tampering if he refused to stop defending himself in Amazon's civil case?
I mean, weird? /22https://t.co/VxRmaBwaMW
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
Please share our story with ANYONE you know who might help.
We've spent over $3 million legal fees. We've lost our home, car, retirement, & more.
No one deserves this. Someone could do the right thing today. Including @ajassy, @DavidZapolsky or @JeffBezos /24
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
And, finally. Why do I name the lawyers?
People do things to people. We need to remember that. Companies can't make decisions – people do. Law firms can't scorch the earth of their targets – only people can.
We are all responsible for our decisions and actions. Always. /26
— Amy Nelson (@Amy_K_Nelson) January 5, 2024
I will be interviewing Nelson soon and will post it when it’s live.
]]>Harrison Floyd, a former Trump 2020 aide and a co-defendant in the Georgia case against multiple patriots, was arrested and charged with assault in what seems to be a crystal clear example of authoritarian abuse.
According to conservative activist Collin Rugg:
FBI thugs fail to present their credentials and hunt down black Trump campaign aide Harrison Floyd at the direction of Jack Smith.
If only they treated Epstein’s associates like this.
In the video, Floyd, who called 911, tells Rockville officers that the agents, who didn’t identify themselves, approached him while he was holding his 2 year old daughter.
Floyd tells the officers that the agents rushed him and started touching him and his daughter.
“I did not push. I did not shut. I didn’t touch… I need to let my lawyer have a further conversation with you guys.”
Floyd was later arrested for second degree assault.
Unreal.
Here’s the bodycam video of Floyd recounting the incident prior to being arrested:
NEW: FBI thugs fail to present their credentials and hunt down black Trump campaign aide Harrison Floyd at the direction of Jack Smith.
If only they treated Epstein’s associates like this.
In the video, Floyd, who called 911, tells Rockville officers that the agents, who didn’t… https://t.co/7HBmW4MECV
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 5, 2024
As journalist Mike Cernovich noted, this appears to be a setup:
Did the FBI agents identify themselves before drawing guns? This looks like a set-up. They wanted to assassinate the black Trump supporter, and make it look like he attacked them. Fortunately local police wear body cams. The FBI refuses to wear body cams
Did the FBI agents identify themselves before drawing guns? This looks like a set-up. They wanted to assassinate the black Trump supporter, and make it look like he attacked them. Fortunately local police wear body cams. The FBI refuses to wear body cams. https://t.co/H873q3MjGR
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) January 5, 2024
These incidents are going to continue until true reforms are enacted in the Department of Justice. The FBI seems to be corrupt beyond redemption. Defunding and disbanding the Bureau may be the only viable option.
]]>Here’s what I mean by that. The Obama and Biden DOJs were – and are – weaponized against political opponents, and even conservative Americans. The IRS targeting the Tea Party. The DOJ labeling concerned parents at school board meetings as “domestic terrorists.” The DOJ targeting traditional Catholics – something the ACLJ is investigating right now. The list goes on.
But their abuse of the justice system is not contained within partisan lines. The DOJ’s legal arsenal is now being used to indict New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and his wife on bribery charges. The couple is accused of taking hundreds of thousands in cash, luxury vehicles and even gold bars in exchange for political influence with several New Jersey businessman and the foreign government of Egypt.
And yes, it’s easy to draw comparisons between the Menendez indictment… and the accusations about Joe Biden and his son Hunter. We know the corruption runs deep and two separate standards are applied. But with Menendez, the DOJ wasn’t suddenly struck by an ethically-driven lightning bolt giving them all a sense of duty, honor and justice. So, the question remains, why is the left looking to cannibalize one of its own? And why now?
One possible political motive stands out – if we look at Menendez’s history with the DOJ.
Jack Smith, yes- THAT Jack Smith, indicted Menendez in 2017 on similar corruption and bribery charges and went to trial. After the jury was deadlocked, the DOJ yanked the case in January of 2018 and Menendez went on to handily win re-election in New Jersey.
But let’s go back even further to 2015. Remember Obama’s infamous Iran Nuclear Deal? Menendez was one of four Democrat Senators to vote against it.
Now fast-forward to today, and we find a desperate Biden Administration that just needs a win. And a new deal with Iran is expected to be coming down the pike soon. Except the Democrats’ slim majority in the Senate cannot afford four detractors this time around.
If following this DOJ has taught us anything, it’s this: whenever it APPEARS to be doing its job – like prosecuting real possible corruption – it probably isn’t actually doing its job. There’s likely another politically slanted motivation behind their actions.
]]>Garland testified that he couldn’t remember whether he talked to FBI personnel about the investigation of first son Hunter Biden and didn’t know how many confidential informants entered the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
The attorney general, appointed by President Joe Biden, also hesitated to answer whether Catholics are “violent extremists,” as an infamous FBI memo said.
Here are seven takeaways from the House committee’s hearing at which Garland, the nation’s top law enforcement officer, testified.
1. ‘Traditional Catholics Are Violent Extremists? Yes or No?’
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., brought up the January memo out of the FBI field office in Richmond, Virginia, detailing plans to spy on American Catholics. The leaked memo said “radical traditionalist Catholics” had the potential to become “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists.”
Van Drew asked Garland, who as head of the Justice Department oversees the FBI: “Do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists? Yes or no?”
Garland said: “I have no idea what traditional means here.”
Van Drew then defined the term as “Catholics that go to church.”
Garland, who is Jewish, seemed to become indignant over the question. But he didn’t directly answer.
“The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous, so absurd,” Garland said forcefully.
Van Drew replied: “Mr. Attorney General, it was your FBI that did this.”
“It was your FBI that was sending—and we have the memo, we have the emails—that were sending undercover agents into Catholic churches,” the New Jersey Republican continued.
Garland replied that he and FBI Director Christopher Wray already had denounced the memo from the FBI’s Richmond field office.
“I and the director of the FBI have said that we were appalled by that memo,” Garland said.
Van Drew again asked: “Are they extremists or not, Attorney General?”
Garland responded: “Everything in that memo is appalling.”
2. ‘Don’t Recollect’ Personal Contact
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., asked about who the attorney general has talked to regarding his department’s investigation of Hunter Biden for failing to file income tax returns reflecting all his overseas business dealings, including in China and Ukraine, and for drug-related gun offenses. That probe began in 2018, during the Trump administration.
“Has anyone from the White House provided direction at any time to you personally or to senior officials at the DOJ regarding how the Hunter Biden investigation was to be carried out?” Johnson asked.
Garland answered, “No.”
From there, the attorney general’s answer became sketchier.
“Have you had personal contact with anyone at FBI HQ about the Hunter Biden investigation?” Johnson asked.
“Uh, I don’t recollect the answer to that question,” Garland testified. “But the FBI works for the Justice Department.”
This answer seemed to surprise Johnson.
“You don’t recollect whether you talked to anybody at FBI headquarters about an investigation into the president’s son?” he asked.
Garland clarified: “I don’t believe that I did.”
Johnson noted that on July 10, 2023, U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss wrote a letter to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in which the prosecutor said he “had discussions with departmental officials” regarding prosecuting cases in other jurisdictions under federal law (U.S. 28C Section 515).
Johnson asked: “With whom did Mr. Weiss have discussions?”
Garland replied: “I’m not going to get into internal deliberations of the department.”
Johnson: “But you must, sir. This is important for us. We have oversight responsibility over your department and we need these answers.”
Garland declined to give a clear answer.
“I made clear that if he wanted to bring a case in any jurisdiction, he would be able to do that,” Garland said, referring to Weiss. “The way you do that is to get an order signed by the attorney general, called a 515 order.”
Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys in California and Washington, D.C., declined to allow Weiss, a holdover from the Trump administration, to file charges against the younger Biden in their jurisdictions.
Last month, Garland named Weiss as special counsel, giving him more authority to investigate and bring charges under the law in the jurisdictions of his choice.
3. ‘Defunding the FBI’ Would Be ‘Catastrophic’
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, brought up the fact that some Republican lawmakers had called for shutting down the FBI. They did so in protest of what they saw as unequal treatment of Americans under the law, including the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home in August 2022.
“What would be the impact on America of defunding the FBI?” Nadler asked Garland.
The attorney general sounded alarms about such a move.
“Defunding the FBI would leave the United States naked to the maligned influence of the Chinese Communist Party, the attacks by Iranians on American citizens, attempts to assassinate former officials, up to Russian aggression, to North Korea cyberattacks, to violent crime in the United States, which the FBI helps to fight against,” Garland said.
He also said the FBI stops “all kinds of espionage” and pursues “domestic violent extremists who have attacked our churches, our synagogues, our mosques, and who have killed individuals out of racial hatred.”
“I cannot imagine the consequences of defunding the FBI, but they would be catastrophic,” Garland said.
4. About Weiss: ‘What Changed?’
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, noted that Weiss at one point wanted to bring charges against Hunter Biden in the District of Columbia, but U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves declined to cooperate.
“You said he had complete authority, but he had already been turned down,” Jordan said, referring to Weiss. “He wanted to bring an action in the District of Columbia and the U.S. attorney there said, ‘No, you can’t.’ Then you go tell the United States Senate under oath that he has complete authority.”
Garland replied: “I’m going to say again that no one had the authority to turn him down. They could refuse to partner with him.”
Appearing to be taken aback, Jordan responded: “‘Refuse to partner’ is turning down.”
Garland replied: “It’s not the same, under a well-known Justice Department practice.”
Jordan also asked “What changed?” in the time between the July 10 letter to Graham in which Weiss said he didn’t ask to be named a special counsel and Garland’s Aug. 11 announcement appointing Weiss as special counsel.
“Several days before my announcement, Mr. Weiss had asked to become special counsel,” Garland testified. “He explained that he had reached the stage in his investigation where he thought that appropriate.”
Jordan sarcastically referenced the launch of the Hunter Biden investigation in 2018.
“After five years, what stage are we in?” the Ohio Republican asked. “Are we in the beginning stage, the middle stage, the end stage, the keep-hiding-the-ball stage?”
Garland responded: “This one I would go back to the videotape, where I said I’m not permitted to discuss ongoing investigations.”
Jordan retorted: “Isn’t that convenient.”
“Something changed in 31 to 32 days from July 10 to Aug. 11,” Jordan added. “I think it’s two brave whistleblowers came forward and a judge called BS on the plea deal.”
Jordan was referring to the testimony of two IRS whistleblowers and the collapse of the Justice Department’s plea agreement with Hunter Biden, in which the president’s son would have faced no prison time.
5. ‘People Don’t Pay Bribes to Not Get Something’
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., suggested that the Biden Justice Department’s decision to close the Trump administration’s China Initiative, which since 2018 had investigated Chinese espionage in the U.S., correlated with millions of dollars from Chinese sources going to the Biden family.
Gaetz asked the attorney general: “Why was the China Initiative dissolved?”
Garland replied that China isn’t the only source of espionage and other attacks.
“We face attacks from four nation-states: North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran, and we need to focus our attention on the broad range of these attacks,” Garland said.
Gaetz seemed to scoff.
“Are you saying that North Korea has the same malign influence risk to the United States as the Chinese Communist Party?” Gaetz asked the attorney general. “Because here’s what it looks like. It looks like the Chinese gave all this money to the Bidens and then you guys came in and got rid of the China Initiative.”
Garland responded: “North Korea is a dangerous actor.”
Gaetz later followed up by asking: “Do you know about the money that moved through Rob Walker’s shell company? Yes or no?”
Garland didn’t give a direct answer.
“As I have said repeatedly, I have left these matters to Mr. Weiss,” he said. “I have not intruded. I have not interfered.”
Financial records show that from 2015 to 2017, Biden family members and their companies received $1.3 million in payments from accounts related to Walker, a Biden family associate, according to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
In March 2017, about two months after Joe Biden left the vice presidency, State Energy HK Limited, a Chinese company, wired $3 million to Walker’s company. The next day, Walker’s company wired $1.06 million to a company associated with James Gilliar, another Biden family associate.
Afterward, the Biden family members received approximately $1.06 million in payments to different bank accounts over a three-month period.
“It’s like you’re looking the other way on purpose, because everybody knows this stuff is happening. But people don’t pay bribes to not get something in return,” Gaetz told Garland.
“The China Initiative resulted in the convictions of a Harvard professor, of someone at Monsanto,” the Florida Republican said. “So we were working against the Chinese. They paid the Bidens. Now you are sitting here telling me that North Korea is the big threat?”
6. ‘Agents and Assets’ at Capitol Riot? ‘Don’t Know’
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., asked Garland whether any confidential informants were involved in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
“How many agents or assets of the government were present on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 and agitating in the crowd to go into the Capitol, and how many went into the Capitol?” Massie asked. “Can you answer that now?”
Garland replied: “I don’t know the answer to that question.”
Massie then asked: “You don’t know how many there were, or there were none?”
Garland affirmed his lack of knowledge.
“I don’t know the answer to either of those questions. If there were any, I don’t know how many. I don’t know if there are any,” Garland said.
Massie said he didn’t believe the attorney general.
“I think you may have just perjured yourself [by saying] that you don’t know that there were any,” the Kentucky Republican said. “Do you want to say that again, that you don’t know there were any?
The attorney general again said: “I have no personal knowledge of this matter.”
On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted Ray Epps, a man seen on video telling protesters to enter the Capitol before the riot, on charges of disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds.
Some politicians and pundits have questioned why Epps had not been charged earlier, and whether he was a confidential informant.
“By the way, that was in reference to Ray Epps and yesterday, you indicted him. Isn’t that a wonderful coincidence?” Massie asked. “On a misdemeanor. Meanwhile, you’re sending grandmas to prison.”
Massie continued:
You are putting people away for 20 years for merely filming [during the Capitol riot]. Some people weren’t even there yet. You’ve got the guy on video who is saying, ‘Go into the Capitol.’ He’s directing people to the Capitol before [Trump’s] speech ends. He’s at the site of the first breach. You’ve got all the goods on him. And it’s an indictment for a misdemeanor? The American public isn’t buying it.
7. ‘That Goes Right to the White House’
Jordan pressed Garland on why Justice Department prosecutors investigating Hunter Biden allowed the statute of limitations to expire for tax charges.
Such charges would have stretched back to the younger Biden’s time on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that paid him $50,000 a month while his father was vice president.
As vice president, Biden oversaw the Obama administration’s policy on Ukraine.
“They made an intentional decision to say we’re going to let the statute of limitations lapse,” Jordan told Garland. “I want to know who decided that and why they did it.”
Garland punted the answer to Weiss.
“Mr. Weiss was the supervisor of the investigation at that time and at all times,” Garland said. “He made the appropriate decisions. You’ll be able to ask him that question.”
Jordan responded that everyone knows the answer.
“Those tax years involved the president. It’s one thing to have a gun charge in Delaware. That doesn’t involve the president of the United States,” Jordan said. “But Burisma, oh my, that goes right to the White House. We can’t have that.”
Ken McIntyre contributed to this report.
]]>Then, there’s Ray Epps. He did everything in his power to provoke people to storm the Capitol Building but was only hit with a minor misdemeanor charge, and only after it was clear nearly three years since the incident that patriots weren’t going to let it go.
As Charlie Kirk sarcastically noted, “Everything is on the level folks.”
Not suspicious at all!
Nearly 3 years after J6, Ray Epps is finally charged … with “disorderly conduct.”
That’s right. The man who yelled for people to storm the Capitol, who was video taped mulitple times actually trying to incite a riot, somehow avoids seditious conspiracy with no terrorism enhancement while people who never entered the Capitol are rotting away in a DC jail.
Everything is on the level folks.
Not suspicious at all!
Nearly 3 years after J6, Ray Epps is finally charged … with "disorderly conduct."
That's right. The man who yelled for people to storm the Capitol, who was video taped mulitple times actually trying to incite a riot, somehow avoids seditious conspiracy… pic.twitter.com/gxGHcbiuOq
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 19, 2023
“Disorderly or Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds.” Journalist Julie Kelly is not impressed.
This lame single charge tells us everything we need to know about Ray Epps.
No obstruction felony? No civil disorder charge? Not even a trespassing on restricted grounds misdemeanor?
Can’t even tell you the last time I saw an “information” (misdemeanor version of indictment) for a J6er on a sole count. Not sure it exists but will check.
This lame single charge tells us everything we need to know about Ray Epps.
No obstruction felony? No civil disorder charge? Not even a trespassing on restricted grounds misdemeanor?
Can't even tell you the last time I saw an "information" (misdemeanor version of indictment)… pic.twitter.com/zQ0rGT23ES
— Julie Kelly
(@julie_kelly2) September 19, 2023
According to The Post Millennial:
Epps has become an infamous figure after he told people at the Capitol in the lead-up to the January 6 riot that “We need to go into the Capitol” in addition to later stating over text that he was among those who had “orchestrated” the event. He has now been charged with one misdemeanor count of disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, and is likely to take a plea deal, according to NBC.
In the recent past, Epps was accused of lying about his whereabouts at the Capitol on that fateful day. Since there were no official reported charges up until Sept. 19, whereas some other Jan. 6 defendants were incurring massive prison sentences, many speculated that Epps had struck some type of deal with the federal government and would often question if he may even be an agent of sorts.
The criminal information states that Epps “did knowingly, and with intent to impede and disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business and official functions, engage in disorderly and disruptive conduct in and within such proximity to, a restricted building and grounds—that is, any posted, cordoned-off, and otherwise restricted area within the United States Capitol and its grounds, where the Vice President was and would be temporarily visiting—when and so that such conduct did in fact impede and disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business and official functions, and attempted and conspired to do so.”
Epps said during an interview with the January 6 committee last year that he had embarked on a trip to Washington, DC in order to show his support for former President Trump.
They might as well not even charge him at all. Considering some of the political prisoners are facing decades in jail, these charges are an insult to our intelligence.
Let’s call it what it is. This is a fake charge that allows the corrupt Department of Justice to pretend like they’re doing something. They hope this will placate those of us who continue wondering why Ray Epps is free while grannies are imprisoned.
There are only two viable possibilities. Either Ray Epps was/is a Deep State agent or the Department of Justice is so insanely stupid, they can’t recognize the difference between real incitement and the mild curiosity that drove many to peacefully enter the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.
Kabuki Theater in our post-truth society does little more than infuriate patriots. Perhaps that’s the point.
Sound off about this story on my Substack.
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Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls is demanding answers from the DOJ as to whether the department is emboldening the Dominican Republic’s preventive detention system against Americans.Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls has petitioned the inspector general of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether the department is backing programs that enforce preventive detention against Americans in the Dominican Republic, according to a letter obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
An unknown number of American citizens are currently imprisoned in the Dominican Republic, some of which are likely there under preventive detention, a system which requires no charges of evidence of crime for imprisonment. A variety of taxpayer-funded DOJ programs aimed at correcting the Dominican Republic’s criminal justice system may actually be bolstering the country’s preventive detention system being weaponized against Americans and “unreasonably denying” them due process, according to Nehls’ letter sent on Wednesday to Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
“I am calling on Inspector General Horowitz to immediately investigate whether taxpayer funds are being used to unlawfully detain individuals, such as American citizens, in foreign countries,” Nehls told the DCNF. “I look forward to reviewing DOJ’s findings and ensuring the thorough oversight of American taxpayer dollars.”
Rep. Nehls Letter to Inspector General Horowitz 09.13.23 (2) by Daily Caller News Foundation on Scribd.
The DOJ has worked to correct the criminal justice systems of certain countries through a number of reform programs funded by the U.S. Aid for International Development (USAID), including the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development (OPDAT) and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), according to Nehls’ letter. Nehls noted that in 2000, the then-inspector general testified before Congress and said DOJ officials involved with those programs had “engaged in potentially criminal misconduct and serious mismanagement.”
Those offices in question still operate out of the Dominican Republic today, Nehls wrote in the letter. Despite the DOJ attempting to correct the country’s criminal justice system through programs like OPDAT and ICITAP in recent years, currently 70% of prisoners in the Dominican Republic are held under preventive detention in prisons that are at 164% capacity.
“The country is still viewed by many to have an inadequate criminal system that is at a ‘crisis’ level,” Nehls wrote in his letter. “With the prospect that American citizens and legal permanent residents are being held in prison unjustly, it begs the question as to the accountability of these programs.”
“I urge you to thoroughly review these DOJ programs to determine whether taxpayer funds are supporting groups or entities that are holding American citizens and permanent residents in jail,” Nehls wrote.
In August, Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding answers on behalf of family members whose relatives were detained in the Dominican Republic. “Families of some of the detained individuals have approached this committee and the State Department seeking assistance and guidance during this distressing period. It is important to me that these families get the answers they need from their government, and nothing less,” McCaul wrote.
“It always goes back to the funding – we’re sending millions of dollars to the Dominican Republic… They used to pretend they were solving the preventive detention crisis,” Connie Mack, former Republican Florida congressman and chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, previously told the DCNF. “But they don’t even bring it up anymore. It’s not even mentioned.”
Nehls gave Horowitz until Oct. 13 to respond to his query, according to the letter.
The DOJ inspector general and the State Department did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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]]>The polling was done by the Daily Mail.
It shows that majority thinks Biden’s “pursuit of former President Donald Trump by the FBI. and the Department of Justice smacks of Nazi rule in 1930s Germany.”
The report said 57% of respondents agreed with the statement: “The lawlessness of the persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.”
Trump has described the multiple cases against him as a witch hunt and a political scheme to try to foil his bid for the presidency in 2024. He calls it election interference.
The government has brought a carload of charges against him for having documents from his presidency in his home. The DOJ and FBI, however, have ignored the fact that both Mike Pence and Joe Biden had similar documents in their homes, and no prosecutions have begun.
Further, Trump’s been charged with business records violations that normally would have been misdemeanors. The prosecutors claim they now are felonies because they were used in furtherance of other, as yet unidentified, crimes.
And he’s been charged over his statements regarding the 2020 election and the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a case which, critics say, is left void because of the protections affirmed by the First Amendment.
The report said the poll was done by J.L. Partners right after the last indictment.
And, the report said, it “shows how the parallel resonates with Republicans in Iowa who will have a crucial say in selecting the party’s 2024 nomination. It is the first state to pick its preferred candidate next year, and the currents of public opinion will be watched closely until then.”
Only 28% disagreed with the comparison.
James Johnson, co-founder of J.L. Partners, said: “We have seen Republicans say Trump is being pursued unfairly, and people agree that it the series of indictments are a ‘witch hunt.’
“‘This poll shows that goes even further: Republicans also think the Department of Justice is acting in the same way that the Nazis did in the 1930s. ”
Johnson continued, “However shocking that may sound, this is another statistic in a long line of others that demonstrates the loyalty of many of Trump’s voters — and how the indictments have only emboldened their support rather than undermined it.”
Anti-Defamation League chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt objected to the comparison.
“Comparing this indictment to Nazi Germany in the 1930s is factually incorrect, completely inappropriate and flat out offensive. As we have said time and again, such comparisons have no place in politics and are shameful,” he said.
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