President Joe Biden appointed Cindy McCain as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2021 to 2023. She is currently the executive director of the World Food Programme.
McCain endorsed Biden in 2020. She was censured by the Arizona Republican Party.
She would end up endorsing Katie Hobbs for Arizona governor over former TV reporter and Republican candidate Kari Lake.
Meghan McCain is the daughter of both Cindy and John McCain III, the late Republican senator and 2008 Republican nominee.
McCain is married to Ben Domenech, a far right extremist who appears on Fox and Newsmax. She was once a moderate who blogged about how Republicans need to be more hip and appealing to younger voters.
Now she is raging lunatic.
Thank you all for getting my recent @DailyMail column trending and spending your day talking about me.
I’m taking care of my babies and don’t have time to get into petty back and forths on Twitter.
McCain was one of the most controversial former co-hosts of The View. She is right up there with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Rosie O'Donnell and Star Jones. Memorable for being noise.
McCain now writes for the trash tabloid The Daily Mail. She, Piers Morgan, Boris Johnson and Megyn Kelly are writing and trashing Duchess Meghan and peddling conspiracy theories.
In the case of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, McCain weighs in.
In a new op-ed published by The Daily Mail, the former View co-host wrote that the sitting president’s son “could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still get invited back into the Presidential fold” — a pointed reference to something Washed Up 45 once (accurately) said about his relationship with his base.
Many far right agitators and some leftists are crying foul over the plea deal Hunter took in his federal gun charge and tax evasion. They claim it was a "sweerheart deal" and believe that there is a two-tier justice system. Republicans vow to continue their hyperpartisan investigations into Hunter and his alleged corruption.
McCain had the audacity to label Hunter a nepo baby after he was photographed at the White House state dinner for controversial Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
McCain who is mocked for saying "my father" in reference to John McCain was dragged.
Meghan McCain was given a heartfelt speech from Biden. Now she calls him a moron.
Then a video of Biden showing empathy to McCain after her father passed away resurfaced. When her father passed away from brain cancer in 2018, Biden shared a story about her father embracing Beau Biden in 2017.
Biden told a tearful Meghan that he will always thank her father and mother for the heartfelt comments. She endorsed Biden in 2020. Biden rewarded her mother a position in the administration.
Meghan turned on Biden in 2021 when it was the Afghanistan pull out and the coronavirus response. The pandemic was inherited from Washed Up 45's incompetent handling. Biden followed through on the former president's commitment to a speedy pull out in Afghanistan. The Taliban quickly toppled the government and the U.S. has threatened sanctions if they harbor terrorists. Biden called for the use of smart drones to kill al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri in Kabul shortly after.
Since this Hunter conspiracy nonsense, Republicans and especially Sean "Softball" Hannity have peddled more dangerous conspiracies. Hunter has threatened legal repercussions against Fox and several individuals.
McCain included. After rattling off his alleged crimes as well as his pouncing on his drug addiction issues, she called him an “elitist scumbag, the ultimate product of nepotism.”
In early-June 2023, Chris Licht was fired from CNN. On June 20, 2023, WBD underwent a round of layoffs affecting around 100 employees in the U.S. Networks division, most notably including multiple Turner Classic Movies (TCM) executives such as Pola Changnon (who had been with Turner for over 25 years). WBD announced plans to place the channel under Cartoon Network head Michael Ouweleen. It was also reported that WBD was preparing a deal to sell the published music catalog of Warner Bros. Studios (which consists primarily of music composed for its films, and is currently being administered by Universal Music Publishing Group) for around $500 million. Amid concerns over the future of TCM, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson met with Zaslav, and on June 23 it was announced that the channel would be placed under Warner Bros. Pictures Group heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy—who both affirmed the cultural significance of TCM and pledged to keep its programming "untouched and protected".
It was not just Chris Licht ruining CNN, it was David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, a company that owns Warner Bros., Turner Network, The Discovery Channel, HBO and numerous entities.
Did you know there is a writer's strike?
The workers who write movies, television shows and radio programs are striking for better pay and adjustments due to artificial intelligence and streaming.
The hosts at Turner Classic Movies were laid off. Many famed CNN and HLN hosts were ousted and the movies are not appealing. The company is bleeding but Zaslav is still taking home over $250 million.
Embattled actor Ezra Miller did not save DC Films. His role as The Flash was controversial and his alleged sexual predatory behavior doom the film. The Flash flopped.
CNN has continued to fall further down.
Iconic actor and director Steven Spielberg has warned Zaslav that his company will leave if thing don't change.
Translated in English: Could A Civil War Happen In Russia?
The Chef is cooking up a civil war.
There is unconfirmed reports that the dictator may have fled Moscow.
World leaders are watching a possible global conflict happening in the Russian Federation. The mercenary group that aligned itself with the Russian military has now called for forcible removal of military leaders and it could be a coup d'etat.
Russian president Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Группа Вагнера [The Wagner Group] has seized the city of Rostov-on-Don about 720 miles from Moscow. It is where the Russian military operations are located.
Unconfirmed reports that the military forces were seized and many Russian troops are either surrendering or defecting to the Wagner Group.
The dictator is calling for an immediate halt to this treasonous act and vows to arrest the mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman, oligarch and military commander who was once close to the Putin regime. After 5,000 of the Wagner mercenaries were killed by the Ukrainian military, Prigozhin warned Russian Defense that they better provide more weapons or else.
I guess the sanctions and pressure campaigns by western leaders lead to Russia running out of military weapons.
While the outcome of the confrontation was still unclear, it appeared likely to further hinder Moscow’s war effort as Kyiv’s forces were probing Russian defenses in the initial stages of a counteroffensive. The dispute, especially if Prigozhin were to succeed, also could have repercussions for President Vladimir Putin and his ability to maintain a united front.
Warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin is planning on deposing his former ally Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin claimed early Saturday that his forces had crossed into Russia from Ukraine and had reached Rostov, saying they faced no resistance from young conscripts at checkpoints and that his forces “aren’t fighting against children.”
“But we will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said in one of a series of angry video and audio recordings posted on social media beginning late Friday. “We are moving forward and will go until the end.”
He claimed that the chief of the General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, scrambled warplanes to strike Wagner’s convoys, which were driving alongside ordinary vehicles. Prigozhin also said his forces shot down a Russian military helicopter that fired on a civilian convoy, but there was no independent confirmation.
And despite Prigozhin’s statements that Wagner convoys had entered Rostov-on-Don, there was no confirmation of that yet on Russian social networks. Video posted online showed armored vehicles, including tanks, stationed on the streets and troops moving into position, but it was unclear whether they were under Wagner or military command. Earlier, heavy trucks were seen blocking highways leading into the city and long convoys of National Guard trucks were seen on a road.
The governor of the Voronezh region, just to the north, told residents that a column of military vehicles was moving along the main highway and advised them to stay off the road.
Prigozhin said Wagner field camps in Ukraine were struck by rockets, helicopter gunships and artillery fire on orders from Gerasimov following a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at which they decided to destroy Wagner.
The Wagner forces have played a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, succeeding in taking the city where the bloodiest and longest battles have taken place, Bakhmut. But Prigozhin has increasingly criticized Russia’s military brass, accusing it of incompetence and of starving his troops of weapons and ammunition.
Prigozhin, who said he had 25,000 troops under his command, said his troops would punish Shoigu in an armed rebellion and urged the army not to offer resistance: “This is not a military coup, but a march of justice.”
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee, which is part of the Federal Security Services, or FSB, charged him with calling for an armed rebellion, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The FSB urged Wagner’s contract soldiers to arrest Prigozhin and refuse to follow his “criminal and treacherous orders.” It called his statements a “stab in the back to Russian troops” and said they amounted to fomenting armed conflict.
A small submarine imploded after going into deep to see the wreckage of the Titanic. The submarine was destroyed off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Pakistani migrants on a small ship capsized near Greece.
Five men are presumed dead. U.S. and Canadian authorities have found wreckage from the doomed submarine.
Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood passed away. Suleman's fears came true. It was reported that the 19-year old was very scared to go and but was hoping to build a bond with his father, Shahzada.
After a search lasting nearly 80 hours, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) discovered a debris field containing parts of the Titan, approximately 488 metres (1,601 ft) from the bow of the Titanic. The findings were based on the U.S. Navy's declassified sonar detection of an implosion in the area on the day of the voyage, which suggested that the pressure vessel had imploded shortly after Titan began its descent, resulting in the instant death of all occupants.
Five men died trying to view the Titanic wreckage.
Concerns had been raised about the safety of the vessel. OceanGate executives did not seek certification for the Titan, arguing that excessive safety protocols hindered innovation. The search and rescue operation was conducted by an international team led by the United States Coast Guard, United States Navy, and Canadian Coast Guard. Support was provided by aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force and United States Air National Guard, a Royal Canadian Navy ship, as well as several commercial and research vessels and ROVs.
Added to the insufferable lawmakers list: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX).
This idiot was a former Navy Seal. He made the tragedy into a political attack on President Joe Biden. This happened in international waters and off the coast of Canada.
The risk was extreme and the victims knew the risk. Also, Crenshaw is trying to distract Americans from the impeding trial of Washed Up 45.
Approximately 500 Pakistanis are presumed missing and dead. European Union, Pakistani, U.S. and U.K authorities are searching.
At least 350 Pakistanis were on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece last week, Pakistan's Interior Minister said on Friday, promising to arrest and prosecute the human smugglers responsible.
Survivors of a boat capsize sleep in a cold Greek warehouse.
The fishing boat with a capacity of 400 people had over 700 people on board when it sank on June 14, Rana Sanaullah told the country's parliament, adding that a total of 281 Pakistani families had contacted the government to seek help.
Pakistan said it has arrested several human traffickers and their agents who told authorities that their ring leader was based in Libya.
These human smugglers had charged around $8,000 a person to take them to Europe illegally through the sea route after flying legally to Dubai, Egypt and Libya, authorities said.
Guess which story the junk food media is covering?
Far right extremists are upset over migrants coming into the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the European Union. They cheered on the fact that those innocent lives were lost at sea.
On top of that, it is all Biden's fault for the world's tragedies. It's like he has to be responsible for everyone's decision to take risks.
Race plays a role in how the junk food media covers sympathetic stories.
I am going to say this again: If you want to be a thrill seeker, get life insurance.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) vows to never to back Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) ever again. The two have a Washed Up 45 and Ron DeSantis type of feud. Both want to prove their loyalty to former president. They both make enemies among fellow lawmakers. They both dabble with drugs, adultery and firearms.
What is true about them:
Both women are insufferable lawmakers.
Other insufferable lawmakers include: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), Rep. George Santos (R-NY), Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-MA), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
These lawmakers are headaches in the House of Representatives. They cause drama and offer nothing but performance instead of results.
In the latest drama between insufferable Greene and Boebert, the two got into a heated argument and Greene called the Colorado lawmaker a "little bitch."
Divorce has gotten these two in such a fix.
Greene called Boebert a bitch.
The face-to-face confrontation, which was caught on C-SPAN cameras, was over the dueling resolutions both lawmakers have put forward to impeach President Biden, according to the Daily Beast.
“I’ve donated to you, I’ve defended you. But you’ve been nothing but a little bitch to me,” Greene reportedly told Boebert. “And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them.”
After Greene cursed her colleague out, Boebert responded by shrugging her shoulders and saying, “OK, Marjorie, we’re through,” the report said.
“We were never together,” Greene reportedly shot back, as Boebert had her back turned.
The two are fiercely trying to impeach Biden because of conspiracy theories and culture wars. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has no intention to impeach the president unless there is strong evidence of criminal acts, not allegations.
McCarthy believes the Freedumb Caucasians with the two Blacks are headaches.
Black Republicans Donalds and Rep. Wes Hunt (R-TX) are members of the white cult.
During the debacle over McCarthy not having the votes to be Speaker, in an interview with Real America Voice, Boebert mocked Greene's infamous Jewish Space Lasers comments and it triggered her. Greene literally confronted her in the restroom vowing to not support her. She even made the remarks that her near lost to Adam Frisch is an example.
The "Democrat" Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. attends far right summit.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and actress Cheryl Hines are career suicide at this point. The controversial conspiracy theorist is running for the Democratic nomination to undermine President Joe Biden. He is being cheered on by leftists, far right media agitators and Russia.
They actually think he could be a threat to Biden.
The son of the late senator Robert F. Kennedy has become a sensation for the extremes. He will be a feature at a far right extremist group.
Moms for Liberty has been labeled an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, for disguising its attacks on schools, teachers, and the LGBTQ community as “parental rights.” The group is especially famous for pushing bans on books that discuss identity issues, including race, gender, and sexuality, or have sexual content; chapters of the group have run (sometimes successful) campaigns in schools across the country. It’s a broad ambush, “seeking to undermine public education holistically and to divide communities,” the SPLC’s Rachel Carroll Rivas told NPR earlier this month.
Kennedy Jr. joins a who's who of MAGA-land figures including Washed Up 45, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
The event is scheduled for June 29 to July 2.
Kennedy has a history of trafficking in conspiracy theories and was considered the intellectual godfather of the anti-vaccine movement before the pandemic.
And so the Republicans continue to whine about Hunter Biden.
Reminder to those who read Journal de La Reyna, Hunter Biden has no government role or is a member of President Joe Biden's Administration. He is a private citizen who is not in anyway associated with federal officials of the current administration.
And like many, Biden has mental health and drug abuse issues. He is like 1 in 20 Americans. At least one family member has dealt with drug abuse.
No one is perfect.
The president and First Lady Jill Biden has briefly addressed the guilty plea by Biden.
“The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”
Biden is the youngest and surviving son of President Joe Biden and his late wife Neilia Hunter Biden. His brother Joseph R. Biden III (Beau) and Naomi have passed away too.
Hunter and half sister Ashley are the only surviving children. Ashley is the only child of the president and first lady.
Peppered with questions shouted by reporters about the charges at an event in California, the president said, "I'm very proud of my son."
Republicans and far right media are outraged over it. They claim that it was white privilege, the U.S. District Attorney (appointed by Washed Up 45) is corrupt and Hunter Biden got a "sweetheart deal" while the former president is being railroaded.
They are calling it a two-tiered justice system.
If you are the president's leading political opponent, the Department of Justice tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol. "If you are the president's son, you get a sweetheart deal."
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley charged that the deal "only raises further questions about Hunter Biden's crimes and the double standard of justice."
Republicans are now calling for withholding federal funding to the U.S. Justice Department. So now they want to "defund the police."
So much for the Republicans promise of stopping inflation and curbing drug abuse.
Calling it the deep state and making allegations that Biden has taken bribes.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has vowed to investigate all these conspiracy theories until 2024. Comer called the charges against Hunter Biden a "slap on the wrist," and said, "We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden's involvement in the family's schemes are revealed."
So as we look at unemployment at record lows, gas prices declining, inflation decreasing, more pay in American workers' pockets, construction projects in crucial swing states, the Republicans abandoned all their primary promises to focus on the economy. They are back on the one thing that I and probably millions of Americans are tired of: culture wars and conspiracy theories.
They can't even figure out a budget let alone trying to undo the progress the Recovery Act.
Tuesday’s court filing showed that Biden will plead guilty to failing to pay more than $100,000 in taxes in both 2017 and 2018 after making more than $1.5 million each year. He therefore avoids the politically nightmarish spectacle of a trial and is unlikely to spend time in jail based on the tax loss amount, his status as a first-time offender and his willingness to accept responsibility for his actions.
Republicans single handedly threw out the Second Amendment, due process, admission of guilt and empathy all for partisan noise.
Defending Washed Up 45 could be hazardous to the Republican Party's chances to win reelection in 2024.
The president still loves his son despite his problems.
The Department of Justice announced that the son of President Joe Biden will plead guilty to tax fraud and firearms charges. Instead of federal time out, he will get a diversion program that low offenders must complete.
A definition of white privilege folks.
Hunter Biden has agreed to enter a so-called pretrial diversion agreement in connection with a charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is a user or addict of illegal drugs, according to the filing.
Had he been a Black man.... he would have served 15 years in federal time out.
I am sure the far right will complain about how Biden got away with crimes while Washed Up 45 is demonized by a rogue Justice Department.
So many conspiracy theories surrounding Hunter Biden. It was heavily promoted by Fox and especially Sean "Softball" Hannity. The most notable is the Burisma executive that gave Hunter and the "big guy" a bribe. Or the former vice president pressuring Ukraine to fire a prosecutor that was investigating Hunter Biden.
A fact that a former president pressured Ukrainian president Volodayrr Zelenskyy to find dirt on Biden to help advance his election chances got him impeached.
Allegations and conspiracy theories are what drive the Republican Party to push for impeachment. They have no facts
Chris Clark, Hunter’s criminal defense lawyer, in a statement, said, “With the announcement of two agreements between my client, Hunter Biden, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, it is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved.”
“Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments when due pursuant to a plea agreement,” Clark said.
“A firearm charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement, will also be filed by the Government,” he said. “I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.”
So five years in house and a mandatory drug rehab program is the sentence.
The far right is of course outraged. The softball, Donald Trump, Jr., Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) are bitching. All of these individuals cheated on their spouses.
Trump, Greene and the softball dabbled with cocaine. So it is no surprise their takes on the president's son admitting his action were wrong is wrong to them.
Hunter Biden pleading guilty to a gun charge and misdemeanor tax charges with no jail time is a stunt to make him look like he is just cooperating with the DOJ.
Meanwhile the pathetic and weaponized DOJ who protects their puppet President and refuses to prosecute Joe Biden and…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) June 20, 2023
Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery.
It pretty much deflates the conspiracy theories and it puts an end to the Hunter Biden under federal watch noise.
Greene better be careful.
Some on the far right know her business and Brian Glenn's too. They felt betrayed by the little noise maker. Laura Loomer, a notorious troll and ugly human being is feuding with Greene. She hinted that Greene should look in the mirror when it comes to attacking drug addicts.
Florida man accused of child abuse after telling teen daughter to kill herself after finding out she was pregnant.
Florida.
A father is arrested in Massachusetts after spending two months on the lamb. He was accused of felony child abuse after he encouraged his daughter to kill herself after she found out she was pregnant. Instead of comforting and supporting his child in a moment of crisis, he told her to kill herself. I understand he was angered by his daughter getting pregnant but this goes way beyond, "I'm disappointed by your actions."
This is also the unfortunate circumstances from the Supreme Court's culture war decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The governor, Ron DeSantis signed off a law that mandates that abortions are illegal after six weeks. It is being challenged in state court.
Teenagers under 15 who get pregnant by boys or men are victims of statutory rape. I will basically put my honest opinion of teenage pregnancy, it happens. I wish the men or boys were held accountable for impregnating girls. Teen mothers face so much pressure and must sacrifice their whole lives to protect themselves and their child.
Listen to Tupac Shakur's Brenda's Got A Baby.
Okay, a Florida fugitive wanted for callously goading his pregnant teen daughter to kill herself on her birthday has been arrested in Massachusetts, according to court documents.
Gared Wayne Canales, 34, allegedly told his daughter over speakerphone in April she was “worthless,” and urged her to “kill yourself, just don’t say it.”
The traumatized teen — who was pregnant — then cut herself and swallowed 14 Benadryl pills in suicide separate bids, but survived.
Canales, originally from Palm Coast in Florida, was the subject of a nationwide manhunt before he was tracked down in New England and transferred back to Flagler County to face child abuse raps this weekend.
Teen pregnancy has actually decreased since the pandemic.
According to court papers, Canales verbally abused his daughter during a call in April, calling her a “bitch” and other derogatory names.
“You’re not worth it,” Canales told her, the victim reported to police. “I choose my girlfriend over you anyway, and go kill yourself.”
The following night, the troubled teen smashed up a picture of herself with her father using a bat then took a shard of glass to again slice her wrist, court papers state. The next night, the girl cut herself on the wrist with a knife and suffered a minor wound.
Two days later, while traveling in a car with her mother, the girl took a total of 14 Benadryl pills. Her parent rushed her to a local hospital where she had her stomach pumped and survived the incident.
She told staffers at the facility she “attempted suicide due to her father stating to go kill herself,” papers state.
The victim later told investigators that she wanted to press charges against her father and an arrest warrant was issued on April 14.
The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Translated to English: Russia Tried To Buck Defector In Florida!
The Russian Federation has often cleared out defectors and critics of its dictator Vladimir Putin. It was revealed that Putin has ordered a hit on a Russian defector who revealed the infamous Anna Chapman.
The clandestine operation, seeking to eliminate a C.I.A. informant in Miami who had been a high-ranking Russian intelligence official more than a decade earlier, represented a brazen expansion of Putin’s campaign of targeted assassinations. It also signaled a dangerous low point even between intelligence services that have long had a strained history.
“The red lines are long gone for Putin,” said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former C.I.A. officer who oversaw operations in Europe and Russia. “He wants all these guys dead.”
The assassination failed, but the aftermath in part spiraled into tit-for-tat retaliation by the United States and Russia, according to three former senior American officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss aspects of a plot meant to be secret and its consequences. Sanctions and expulsions, including of top intelligence officials in Moscow and Washington, followed.
The target was Aleksandr Poteyev, a former Russian intelligence officer who disclosed information that led to a yearslong F.B.I. investigation that in 2010 ensnared 11 spies living under deep cover in suburbs and cities along the East Coast. They had assumed false names and worked ordinary jobs as part of an ambitious attempt by the S.V.R., Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, to gather information and recruit more agents.
In keeping with an Obama administration effort to reset relations, a deal was reached that sought to ease tensions: Ten of the 11 spies were arrested and expelled to Russia. In exchange, Moscow released four Russian prisoners, including Sergei V. Skripal, a former colonel in the military intelligence service who was convicted in 2006 for selling secrets to Britain.
The bid to assassinate Poteyev is revealed in the British edition of the book “Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West,” to be published by an imprint of Little, Brown on June 29. The book is by Calder Walton, a scholar of national security and intelligence at Harvard. The New York Times independently confirmed his work and is reporting for the first time on the bitter fallout from the operation, including the retaliatory measures that ensued once it came to light.
According to Walton’s book, a Kremlin official asserted that a hit man, or a Mercader, would almost certainly hunt down Poteyev. Ramón Mercader, an agent of Joseph Stalin’s, slipped into Leon Trotsky’s study in Mexico City in 1940 and sank an ice ax into his head. Based on interviews with two American intelligence officials, Walton concluded the operation was the beginning of “a modern-day Mercader” sent to assassinate Poteyev.
The Russians have long used assassins to silence perceived enemies. One of the most celebrated at S.V.R. headquarters in Moscow is Col. Grigory Mairanovsky, a biochemist who experimented with lethal poisons, according to a former intelligence official.
Putin, a former K.G.B. officer, has made no secret of his deep disdain for defectors among the intelligence ranks, particularly those who aid the West. The poisoning of Skripal at the hands of Russian operatives in Salisbury, Britain, in 2018 signaled an escalation in Moscow’s tactics and intensified fears that it would not hesitate to do the same on American shores.
Russian defectors are often targets for assassinations.
The attack, which used a nerve agent to sicken Skripal and his daughter, prompted a wave of diplomatic expulsions across the world as Britain marshaled the support of its allies in a bid to issue a robust response.
The incident set off alarm bells inside the C.I.A., where officials worried that former spies who had relocated to the United States, like Poteyev, would soon be targets.
Putin had long vowed to punish Poteyev. But before he could be arrested, Poteyev fled to the United States, where the C.I.A. resettled him under a highly secretive program meant to protect former spies. In 2011, a Moscow court sentenced him in absentia to decades in prison.
Poteyev had seemed to vanish, but at one point, Russian intelligence sent operatives to the United States to find him, though its intentions remained unclear. In 2016, the Russian news media reported that he was dead, which some intelligence experts believed might be a ploy to flush him out. Indeed, Poteyev was very much alive, residing in the Miami area.
That year, he obtained a fishing license and registered as a Republican so he could vote, all under his real name, according to state records. In 2018, a news outlet reported Poteyev’s whereabouts.
The C.I.A.’s concerns were not unwarranted. In 2019, the Russians undertook an elaborate operation to find Poteyev, forcing a scientist from Oaxaca, Mexico, to help.
The FBI nabbed 10 individuals who used fake names to infiltrate U.S. and influence policies on behalf of Russia.
The scientist, Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, was an unlikely spy. He studied microbiology in Kazan, Russia, and later earned a doctorate in the subject from the University of Giessen in Germany. He was a source of pride for his family, with a history of charitable work and no criminal past.
But the Russians used Fuentes’s partner as leverage. He had two wives: a Russian living in Germany and another in Mexico. In 2019, the Russian wife and her two daughters were not allowed to leave Russia as they tried to return to Germany, court documents say.
That May, when Fuentes traveled to visit them, a Russian official contacted him and asked to see him in Moscow. At one meeting, the official reminded Fuentes that his family was stuck in Russia and that maybe, according to court documents, “we can help each other.”
A few months later, the Russian official asked Fuentes to secure a condo just north of Miami Beach, where Poteyev lived. Instructed not to rent the apartment in his name, Fuentes gave an associate $20,000 to do so.
In February 2020, Fuentes traveled to Moscow, where he again met with the Russian official, who provided a description of Poteyev’s vehicle. Fuentes, the Russian said, should find the car, obtain its license plate number and take note of its physical location. He advised Fuentes to refrain from taking pictures, presumably to eliminate any incriminating evidence.
Anna Chapman was given a medal for her role in spying.
But Fuentes botched the operation. Driving into the complex, he tried to bypass its entry gate by tailgating another vehicle, attracting the attention of security. When he was questioned, his wife walked away to photograph Poteyev’s license plate.
Fuentes and his wife were told to leave, but security cameras captured the incident. Two days later, he tried to fly to Mexico, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped him and searched his phone, discovering the picture of Poteyev’s vehicle.
After he was arrested, Fuentes provided details of the plan to American investigators. He believed the Russian official he had been meeting worked for the F.S.B., Russia’s internal security service. But covert operations overseas are usually run by the S.V.R., which succeeded the K.G.B., or the G.R.U., Russia’s military intelligence agency.
One of the former officials said Fuentes, unaware of the target’s significance, was merely gathering information for the Russians to use later.
Fuentes’s lawyer, Ronald Gainor, declined to comment.
The plot, along with other Russian activities, elicited a harsh response from the U.S. government. In April 2021, the United States imposed sanctions and expelled 10 Russian diplomats, including the chief of station for the S.V.R., who was based in Washington and had two years left on his tour, two former American officials said. Throwing out the chief of station can be incredibly disruptive to intelligence operations, and agency officials suspected that Russia was likely to seek reprisal on its American counterpart in Moscow, who had only weeks left in that role, the officials said.
“We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere in our democratic process with impunity,” President Biden said at the White House in announcing the penalties. He made no mention of the plot involving Fuentes.
Sure enough, Russia banished 10 American diplomats, including the C.I.A.’s chief of station in Moscow.
Houston rap legend Big Pokey passed away while performing at a Beaumont nightclub.
Big Pokey’s real name was Milton Powell. Social media videos showed the rapper had a medical emergency while he was on stage in Beaumont this weekend. His cause of death has not been released.
— BirminghamMusicPlug Follow Us On IG (@bhammusic_plug) June 18, 2023
Pokey part of the Screwed Up Click, which was the Houston area's hip-hop culture.
"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell. Big Pokey passed away on June 18, 2023. He was well-loved by his family, his friends, and his loyal fans. In the coming days, we will release information about his celebration of life and how the public can pay their respects. We ask that you respect his family and their privacy during this difficult time. Big Pokey will forever be 'The Hardest Pit in the Litter.'"
When rapper/producer/jeweler Paul Wall released his major label debut The People's Champ, he had his music video and single Sittin' Sidewayz, which featured cameos from Pokey Bun B, Juicy J, DJ Paul, Mike Jones, Jim Jones, Michael Watts and Z-Ro.
Pokey had guest vocals on that single and it was a smash hit.
Bun B who recently opened his Trillburger restaurant reacted to the passing.
"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell. Big Pokey passed away on June 18, 2023. He was well-loved by his family, his friends, and his loyal fans. In the coming days, we will release information about his celebration of life and how the public can pay their respects. We ask that you respect his family and their privacy during this difficult time. Big Pokey will forever be 'The Hardest Pit in the Litter.'"
Former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has been in the news lately. The far right and many Republican lawmakers have went 0 to 100 on the indictment of Washed Up 45. They are back on the conspiracy theories and outright slander of the former first lady and politican.
Clinton had served as the First Lady of the United States from 1993 until 2001. She served the U.S. Senate for the state of New York from 2001 until 2009. She served as Secretary of State in President Barack Obama's administration from 2009 until 2013.
She ran for president in 2008 and 2016. She became the Democratic nominee for president. Clinton lost to a former reality TV star in the electoral college but won the popular vote.
Republicans continue to scapegoat Clinton and its sponsored by Fox.
Sean "Softball" Hannity is the primary culprit in this charade. Washed Up 45 and many Republican lawmakers have made the baseless claims that Clinton was given a pass.
Clinton hinted that Fox could face a defamation lawsuit.
“Fox leads the charge with accusations against me, counting on their audience to fall for it again,” Clinton said. She then invoked some legal language. “As an aside,” Clinton said about Fox, “they’re getting awfully close to actual malice.”
Fox should be careful. They are facing a lawsuit from Smartmatic. They paid Dominion $787.5 million for their bogus lies.
If you aren't aware, Washed Up 45 was indicted on a 37 count of willfully retaining national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. Walt Nauta, the former president's personal body is also indicted on six charges.
Clinton who spoke on Pod Save America and reacted to the indictment. She said basically every time Washed Up 45 is caught up, the noise machine cranks up and her name is dropped by Republicans and Fox.
The former president is continuing this farce about how corrupt Clinton and Biden are.
Washed Up 45 vows to use the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Biden and Clinton.
Even some Republican candidates running for president will consider pardoning him.
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