Inside Mike Johnson’s Policy Shift: Lobbyist Influence and Controversial Staffing Raise Questions on Ukraine Aid

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House Speaker Mike Johnson’s stance on Ukraine aid has come under scrutiny with revelations about his top policy adviser, Dan Ziegler, and the interests of his former lobbying clients. Ziegler, who transitioned from lobbying to serving as Johnson’s policy director, previously worked with the firm Williams & Jensen, where his client roster included companies with significant stakes in issues related to the Ukraine conflict, Breitbart News has revealed.

Among Ziegler’s former clients are major corporations that have publicly addressed the implications of the war in Ukraine on their business operations. This connection raises questions about the influence of corporate interests on Johnson’s policy decisions, particularly regarding foreign aid packages related to Ukraine.

One notable client of Ziegler’s former firm is the News Media Alliance, which advocated for legislative proposals that some critics argue could harm conservative media outlets. This association underscores concerns about the potential influence of special interest groups on Johnson’s agenda.

The composition of Johnson’s inner circle has raised additional concerns, with reports indicating troubling backgrounds among several of his staffers.

The timing of Johnson’s pivot on Ukraine aid further highlights the significance of his staffing decisions. Despite previous opposition to substantial funding for Ukraine, Johnson’s support for a multi-billion-dollar aid package aligns with the recommendations of his top advisers, including Ziegler and National Security Adviser Josh Hodges.

Johnson’s shift in position reflects a departure from his previous commitments to conservative principles, particularly regarding fiscal responsibility and national security. Johnson is prioritizing foreign interests over domestic concerns, pointing to his advocacy for aid packages that they argue neglect crucial issues such as border security.

Johnson’s approach to Ukraine aid has sparked backlash from within his own party, with prominent Republicans condemning his alignment with President Joe Biden’s agenda. Calls for Johnson’s resignation underscore broader divisions within the GOP, as conservatives express frustration with what they perceive as a departure from core conservative values.

‘Lied With Impunity’: National Guard Whistleblowers Accuse Army Leaders of Covering up Jan. 6 Deployment Delay

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Four D.C. National Guard officials involved in responding to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021, alleged on Wednesday that top Army leaders lied to Congress about why they did not order the guard to deploy for hours after the need became clear.

Several high-ranking Pentagon leaders at the time, including former Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, then-acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley have claimed the National Guard was sent to the Capitol as soon as they were needed, according to Politico. But National Guard “whistleblowers” accused the officials of seeking to cover up the Army’s reputation and shift the blame elsewhere in testimony before a panel of the House Administration Committee at a hearing Wednesday.

“I have no idea why we never received that order,” retired D.C. National Guard Command Sergeant Major Michael Brooks, told lawmakers. “All I know is that they were more concerned with what it would look like with soldiers with the Capitol in the background than protecting the Capitol of the United States.”

He attributed the roughly three-hour span between when the D.C. police chief pleaded for National Guard assistance and when troops received the order to deploy to “misunderstandings of the capabilities of the D.C. National Guard and the seriousness of the situation.”

McCarthy and senior leaders of the Army staff delayed dispatching the National Guard, Brooks added. (Read more from “‘Lied With Impunity’: National Guard Whistleblowers Accuse Army Leaders of Covering up Jan. 6 Deployment Delay” HERE)

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Mom Discovers AirTag Tracker in Son’s Shoe: Mix-up Leads to ‘Mother’s Worst Nightmare

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A Florida mother was thrust into a state of panic when she discovered an Apple AirTag tracker hidden inside her 7-year-old son’s shoe, sparking fears of potential surveillance. Jackie Giurleo recounted her harrowing experience to WOFL-TV, detailing the unsettling series of events that unfolded after her family attended a Christmas parade in Satellite Beach.

Upon returning home, Giurleo began receiving notifications on her phone indicating the presence of an AirTag tracker in her vicinity. What made the situation even more distressing was the realization that the tracker seemed to be following her son, Aidan. “It was every mother’s worst nightmare,” she expressed, reflecting on the initial shock of the discovery.

Determined to unravel the mystery, Giurleo embarked on a thorough search of her son’s belongings, eventually finding the tracker concealed within a small cavity cut into the foam of his shoe. Overwhelmed with concern, she promptly reported the incident to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, triggering an investigation into the matter.

Law enforcement authorities swiftly intervened, issuing a subpoena to Apple in an effort to trace the ownership of the AirTag. Their inquiries ultimately led to a surprising revelation: Aidan had inadvertently swapped shoes with another child while enjoying the festivities at the Christmas parade. The real owner of the shoes, a family from Oklahoma, had innocently placed the tracker to monitor their own child’s whereabouts.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Giurleo expressed her astonishment at the unintended consequences of the shoe swap. “We were really lucky that we had a happy ending,” she remarked, relieved that the bizarre incident was the result of a harmless mix-up rather than a sinister act of surveillance.

The incident serves as a cautionary tale about the potential implications of technology in everyday life, highlighting the need for vigilance and awareness, particularly when it comes to devices like AirTags. While designed with practical purposes in mind, such as tracking personal belongings, their unintended use for monitoring individuals underscores the importance of understanding the capabilities and limitations of modern technology.

White House Staffers Refer to Trump as ‘Hitler Pig’: Report

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Former President Donald Trump’s penchant for derisive nicknames has apparently rubbed off on current White House staffers, who refer to the presumptive Republican nominee as “Hitler Pig.”

The “Hitler Pig” sobriquet is used frequently to describe Trump and generally by younger, tech-savvy, aides to President Biden, according to Politico.

White House staffers and campaign aides first started using the term after Trump dined with rapper Kanye West and notorious Holocaust skeptic and white nationalist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago estate two days before Thanksgiving in 2022, according to the outlet.

The moniker is usually deployed when the 77-year-old former president makes outrageous comments, such as when he appears to praise the murderous Nazi dictator.

“Hey, did you see what Hitler Pig said?” Biden aides will say in those situations. (Read more from “White House Staffers Refer to Trump as ‘Hitler Pig’: Report” HERE)

Anti-Trump Groups Are Quietly Planning for a Deepfake Election Crisis

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Dozens of prominent U.S. and state government officials, advocacy groups, and executives from big tech companies gathered in New York last month to participate in an important simulated election exercise.

The war game exercise imagined a fictional crisis in which AI-generated photos and videos are released on social media immediately before the 2024 election. The images appear to show election officials in Florida dumping ballots, in an apparent attempt to manipulate the election’s outcome.

The simulation also included phone calls to elderly voters in Arizona that featured AI-generated voices. The calls asked elderly voters to stay away from polling centers due to threats from radical militia groups.

Participants role-played how the Biden administration should respond to the simulated deepfake event. They gathered in a mock “White House Situation Room,” with each player taking on the role of a prominent figure in government, civil society, or corporate America, including the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, big tech companies, and even the CIA.

Participants engaged in lengthy debates about how government should address the problem, including whether Joe Biden should personally get involved, one of the “big debates in the room,” according to a report by NBC News. Participants were apparently concerned that if Biden made any statements, it would be used as proof that he was attempting to rig the election in his favor. (Read more from “Anti-Trump Groups Are Quietly Planning for a Deepfake Election Crisis” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Sit-in Protest Over $1.2B Israel Contract

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Google has fired 28 employees over their participation in a 10-hour sit-in at the search giant’s offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, to protest the company’s business ties with the Israel government, The Post has learned.

The pro-Palestinian staffers — who had donned traditional Arab headscarves as they stormed and occupied the office of a top executive in California on Tuesday — were terminated late Wednesday after an internal investigation, Google vice president of global security Chris Rackow said in a companywide memo.

“They took over office spaces, defaced our property, and physically impeded the work of other Googlers,” Rackow wrote in the memo obtained by The Post. “Their behavior was unacceptable, extremely disruptive, and made co-workers feel threatened.”

In New York, protesters had occupied the 10th floor of Google’s offices in the Chelsea section of Manhattan as part of a protest that also extended to the company’s offices in Seattle for what it called “No Tech for Genocide Day of Action.”

“Behavior like this has no place in our workplace and we will not tolerate it,” Rackow wrote. “It clearly violates multiple policies that all employees must adhere to – including our code of conduct and policy on harassment, discrimination, retaliation, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns.” (Read more from “Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Sit-in Protest Over $1.2B Israel Contract” HERE)

Iran Closes Nuclear Facilities Over Fears They Could Be Targeted in Strike

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The Islamic Republic of Iran temporarily closed its nuclear facilities this week over “security considerations” that they could be targeted by Israel in an airstrike in retaliation for Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone barrage.

“We are always concerned about this possibility,” said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi at a U.N. Security Council meeting. “What I can tell you is that our inspectors in Iran were informed by the Iranian government that [Sunday], all the nuclear facilities that we are inspecting every day would remain closed on security considerations.”

Grossi kept inspectors back on Monday over fears that Israel could hit the facilities after Iran launched combined more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend — the first time the country has ever directly attacked Israel.

Several foreign policy and military experts urged Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear program following the attack, arguing that the window was closing for them to do so. (Read more from “Iran Closes Nuclear Facilities Over Fears They Could Be Targeted in Strike” HERE)

Chinese Embassy Reportedly Lobbied Directly Against TikTok Bill On Capitol Hill

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The Chinese Embassy has held closed-door meetings with congressional staff to lobby against a bill that would force a sale or ban of TikTok, according to Politico.

Chinese Embassy officials reportedly reached out to set up the meetings shortly after the House voted decisively in favor of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, but did not specifically mention TikTok when they initially made contact, according to Politico, which granted several congressional staffers anonymity to speak freely. In one phone call placed to Capitol Hill staffers, an embassy official reportedly stated that the Chinese ambassador wanted to discuss the legislation.

The legislation, which would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform or otherwise see the popular social media app banned in the U.S. ,is stalling in the Senate after passing the House by a decisive margin in March.

TikTok has repeatedly denied that it is linked with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but a former senior ByteDance employee has alleged that CCP members inside the company have “superuser” credentials and a “backdoor channel” to access American users’ data, while the app often promotes content for users that is aligned with the CCP’s agenda, according to a recent study by Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University.

“For once, Chinese diplomats have done America a favor,” Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow for the American Foreign Policy Council who specializes in Indo-Pacific studies, told Politico. “By lobbying congressional staff to protect TikTok’s relationship with ByteDance, [People’s Republic of China] officials are revealing how valuable TikTok is to the Chinese Communist Party. Losing control of the app would neuter Beijing’s most potent weapon against Americans.” (Read more from “Chinese Embassy Reportedly Lobbied Directly Against TikTok Bill On Capitol Hill” HERE)

Marjorie Taylor Greene Introduces Amendment to Ukraine Bill: Members Who Vote ‘In Favor’ Required to Join Ukrainian Military

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced an amendment to a supplemental funding bill for Ukraine that would require members of Congress who vote “in favor” to enlist in the Ukrainian military.

Greene’s amendment comes as House Republicans released the legislative text regarding four bills wrapped into one, according to CBS News.

Under the three bills, $26.4 billion would be sent to Israel, $60.8 billion would go to Ukraine, and $8.1 billion would go to countering the threat of China in the Indo-Pacific and providing foreign aid to Taiwan.

A fourth bill focuses on providing other defense measures to “strengthen” the “national security” of the United States.

“Any Member of Congress who votes in favor of this Act shall be required to conscript in the Ukrainian military,” the amendment to the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act 2024 reads.

(Read more from “Marjorie Taylor Greene Introduces Amendment to Ukraine Bill: Members Who Vote ‘In Favor’ Required to Join Ukrainian Military” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Poll: Just 35% Believe Donald Trump Did Something ‘Illegal’ in Alvin Bragg’s Criminal Trial

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Just over one-third, 35 percent, of individuals believe former President Donald Trump did something overtly “illegal” regarding his current criminal case in New York, according to an AP/NORC survey released Tuesday.

Responding to allegations that Trump “covered up hush money payments to a woman who said he had an affair with her,” 35 percent, overall, said they believe Trump did something illegal. Another 31 percent across the board think he did something “unethical but not illegal,” and 14 percent said he did “nothing wrong,” Another 19 percent said they “don’t know enough to say.”

Predictably, most Democrats, 62 percent, believe Trump did something illegal in this case, compared to just two percent who believe he did nothing wrong and 27 percent who said he acted unethically but not illegally.

Only six percent of Republicans said they believe Trump did something illegal, while 40 percent said he acted unethically but not illegally. Another 28 percent said they believe Trump did nothing wrong, and 26 percent said they do not know enough to say.

Further, 32 percent of independents believe Trump acted illegally in this case, followed by 25 percent who believe he acted unethically but not illegally, 15 percent who said he did nothing wrong, and 27 percent who do not know enough to say. (Read more from “Poll: Just 35% Believe Donald Trump Did Something ‘Illegal’ in Alvin Bragg’s Criminal Trial” HERE)

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