Category Archives: news

American Student Held in Iran Free in Prisoner Swap

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

A prisoner exchange has led to an American graduate student, who was being held in an Iranian prison for over three years, was released in an exchange for an Iranian scientist.

It was announced by both Iran’s foreign minister and the White House that Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang was exchanged for scientist Massoud Soleimani, who was being held in an Atlanta jail over accusations that he violated U.S. sanctions.

U.S. special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, accompanied Soleimani to Switzerland to make the exchange and will return with Wang.

The prisoner swap took place in Zurich. Hook and Wang are now en route to Landstuhl in Germany where Wang will be examined by doctors. Hook is expected to return to the U.S. from Germany but not with Wang as he will undergo medical evaluation for several days.

The U.S. had repeatedly called for his release.

The White House released a statement on Saturday in which President Trump said, “After more than three years of being held prisoner in Iran, Xiyue Wang is returning to the United States. The highest priority of the United States is the safety and well-being of its citizens.”

Trump went on to say, “Freeing Americans held captive is of vital importance to my Administration, and we will continue to work hard to bring home all our citizens wrongfully held captive overseas.”

On Saturday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Wang was on his way back to the United States where he will be reunited with his wife and son.

In a statement Pompeo said, “The United States will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran and around the world back home to their loved ones.”

Wang had been sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad.

Wang’s alleged crime is adamantly denied by his family and Princeton University.

Wang is a Chinese-born naturalized American citizen and a fourth-year doctoral student of history at Princeton University. According to the university, he was arrested while conducting research on the Qajar dynasty that once ruled Iran for his doctorate in late 19th and early 20th century Eurasian history.

Gua Qu, who is Wang’s wife was thrilled to hear of his release and tweeted this:

I responded to the tweet with this:

The Swiss Embassy in Tehran looks out for American interests in the country as the U.S. Embassy there has been closed since the 1979 student takeover and 444-day hostage crisis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted on Twitter early Saturday ahead of the swap, and again after it was confirmed.

Here’s the tweet:

Wang’s release was negotiated with the assistance of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, who looks out for America’s interests in the country as the U.S. Embassy there has been closed since the 1979 student takeover and 444-day hostage crisis.

It was reported by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency that Soleimani was with Iranian officials in Switzerland.

Soleimani works in stem cell research, hematology and regenerative medicine. He was arrested by U.S. authorities on charges that he had violated trade sanctions by trying to have biological material brought to Iran.

Like Wang, Soleimani and his lawyers strongly deny his guilt.

Soleimani maintains that he seized on a former student’s plans to travel from the U.S. to Iran in September 2016 as a chance to get recombinant proteins used in his research for a fraction of the price he’d pay at home.

Things are looking good for the holidays for the Wang family.

Biden Calls Man a Damn Liar at Iowa Town Hall

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by Daveda Gruber:

Joe Biden, who is vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, wasn’t very happy with questions that were asked of him in Iowa at a town hall.

During some back and forth questions and answers, a man in the audience threw Biden for a loop when he stated that he wasn’t a Republican but he had concerns with Biden as the presidential candidate.

The man then said, “I’ve got two problems with you. One, is you’re damn near as old as I am. You’re too old. I’m 83 and I know damn well I don’t have the mental faculties I did [inaudible.]”

The subject was then changed to “Ukraine” and Biden’s son Hunter working for natural gas firm Burisma Holdings.

The man went on to say, “But on the other hand, you sent your son over there to get a job and work for a gas company where he had no experience. … In order to get access for the president … you’re selling access to the president just like he was.”

That must of hit a nerve because Biden shot back, “You’re a damn liar, man. That’s not true and no one has ever said that.”

Someone in the room seemed to make an attempt to take the microphone away from the man in the audience, but Biden stopped them, saying, “let him go.”

Biden came back with, “Look, the reason I’m running is because I’ve been around a long time and I know more than most people and I can get things done. And you want to check my shape? Let’s do push-ups together man, let’s run, let’s do whatever you wanna do.”

Biden went on and said, “And number two, no one has said my son has done anything wrong and I did not, on any occasion.”

Then Biden was cut off by the man who yelled out that he “never said” Biden was “doing anything wrong.”

Biden shot back, “You said I set my son up to work at an oil company! Isn’t that what you said? Get your words straight…”

The man retorted, “I hear it on MSNBC.”

Biden came back with, “You don’t hear that on MSNBC. You did not hear that at all. I’m not gonna get into an argument here.”

Well, maybe Biden has certain knowledge of what MSNBC would and would not report because it is unclear what MSNBC actually related to the man in the audience.

The man shrugged that off and said, “You don’t have any more backbone than Trump does.”

That comment was greeted with boos from the rest of the room.

The man went back to the microphone and said, “I’m not voting for you.”

Biden shot back, “Well, I knew you weren’t voting for me man. You think I thought you’d stand up and vote for me? You’re too old to vote for me.”

Biden, who is 77 years old, has been saying that with age “comes wisdom.”

Do the two go hand in hand? I’d say, not always. No one has to be intelligent to get old.

Kamala Harris Drops Out of Presidential Run

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

On Tuesday, California Senator Kamala Harris has informed her staff that she is suspending her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Harris wrote an email to her supporters saying, “In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do. So, to you my supporters, it is with deep regret — but also with deep gratitude ˗˗ that I am suspending my campaign today.”

Harris had come into the race in January and was a top contender.

In recent months, Harris has fallen drastically in the polls and money hasn’t been all that easily obtained from donors.

Harris tweeted this:

Two months before the lead-off Iowa caucuses, Harris’ campaign has not raised enough money to cover expenses.

In November, Harris cut her staff in New Hampshire substantially to focus on Iowa.

New Hampshire holds the first primary in the race for the White House.

This is the end of Harris’ run for the presidency but it may not be the last we see of her. Depending on which candidate actually wins the Democratic top spot, Harris may be asked to run in the Vice President slot.

Bloomberg News Banned from Trump Events

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

On Monday, President Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign manager, Brad Parscale announced that Boomberg News will no longer be able to access press credentials.

Boomberg News has made it clear that it will not investigate its namesake and owner, Michael Bloomberg or other Democratic presidential candidates during the run for president but they will continue to investigate President Trump.

The decision to not investigate Democrats running for the highest office in the land was made last week.

Parscale submitted a statement which he wrote that says, “The decision by Bloomberg News to formalize preferential reporting policies is troubling and wrong. Bloomberg News has declared that they won’t investigate their boss or his Democrat competitors, many of whom are current holders of high office, but will continue critical reporting on President Trump.”

The way Parscale sees it is that “most news organizations don’t announce their biases so publicly.”

Parscale wrote, “Since they have declared their bias openly, the Trump campaign will no longer credential representatives of Bloomberg News for rallies or other campaign events. We will determine whether to engage with individual reporters or answer inquiries from Bloomberg News on a case-by-case basis. This will remain the policy of the Trump campaign until Bloomberg News publicly rescinds its decision.”

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the GOP is in agreement with the decision.

McDaniel tweeted:

Unfair reporting has been a thorn in the side of Trump, his administration and his supporters since his inauguration in January 2017.

It appears that “Fake News” doesn’t even get concerned over journalistic integrity. They’re not even trying to deny what they do but instead are displaying their intentions out in the open.

This is not what I learned that journalism is about. It is, in fact, the opposite.

What Does Hunter Biden Want to be Kept Secret?

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by Daveda Gruber:

Hunter Biden, who is the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, filed a protective order to have his financial records sealed.

It appears that the younger Biden’s lawyers are afraid that information of Biden’s finances could cause problems if the details were used by the media.

The filing, according to the Daily Mail, says, “The likelihood that [Biden’s] private records will be used in an inappropriate or malicious manner for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with these proceedings is exceedingly high and should not be tolerated by the court.”

Attorneys for the former Vice President’s son claim that because of the high public profile, the media could use details maliciously and that could allegedly cause Biden public embarrassment.

The motion was filed on Wednesday in Arkansas as part of an ongoing child support suit in which an earlier court filing in the case alleged that DNA tests confirm with “scientific certainty” that Hunter is the biological father of a child born to Lunden Alexis Roberts in August 2018.

The 49 year old Biden had denied having sexual intercourse with the 28 year old Roberts and she filed paternity suit which proved that Hunter is the biological father of her child after DNA tests confirmed it with “scientific certainty.”

Roberts had allegedly claimed that Biden had privately admitted to her that he is the father of her child but continued to deny it publicly.

At the time of Roberts’ pregnancy, Hunter was in a relationship with his late brother Beau’s widow, Hallie.

Biden then married 32-year-old Melissa Cohen in May of this year, a month after splitting from Hallie. Beau died from brain cancer.

Biden left his first wife, Kathleen, who is the mother of his three daughters, in 2016 after a marriage of 22 years. It was then that he moved in with Hallie Biden,

In the divorce, his wife claimed he had spent extravagantly on his own interests (including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations), while leaving the family with no funds to pay legitimate bills.

Roberts is demanding $11,000  in legal fees as well as child support, and has agreed that a protective order is appropriate.

In a sworn statement, Biden says that he has incurred “significant debts” in part due to his 2017 divorce from Kathleen Biden and that he is unemployed at this time and has had no monthly income since May 2019.

Well, we know that Hunter allegedly made money when he was on the Board of the Ukraine energy company, Burisma. He also allegedly made money in other foreign companies.

Maybe Hunter’s first wife nailed it about Hunter’s extravagant lifestyle? Well, in my opinion, Hunter either blew an exorbitant amount of money or he has some stashed somewhere.

House Judiciary Committee Set to Take on Impeachment Probe

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by Daveda Gruber:

It appears that the circus is coming to town. Yes, the House Judiciary Committee has set a December date to take over the impeachment probe of President Donald Trump.

The probe has been set to start on December 4th and the question of  “high crimes and misdemeanors” will be the focus. The Constitution allows for such an impeachment probe to take place.

The chairman of the committee is Democrat Jerrold Nadler of New York, and the ranking minority member is Republican Doug Collins of Georgia.

Featured will be legal experts who will examine the constitutional grounds for impeachment. It is alleged Democratic aides discussed the schedule on the condition that they remain anonymous before an official announcement.

The House intelligence committee is expected to submit a report which is allegedly a compilation of evidence of the committee’s probe on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and requests for Ukraine to investigate Democrats as the U.S. withheld military aid.

Nadler penned a letter to the president on Tuesday. In it he announced a hearing for Dec. 4th at 10:00 a.m. The president was also notified of the committee’s intentions to provide him with “certain privileges” while they consider “whether to recommend articles of impeachment to the full House.”

Nadler also invited the president by asking him whether “you and your counsel plan to attend the hearing or make a request to question the witness panel.”

In the letter Nadler wrote, “If you would like to participate in the hearing, please provide the Committee with notice as soon as possible, but no later than by 6 p.m. December 1, 2019. By that time, I ask that you also indicate who will act as your counsel for these proceedings.”

Nadler went on to say in the letter, “I remain committed to ensuring a fair and informative process. To that end, I remind you that participation by the President or his counsel has been described by the Committee in past inquiries as ‘not a right but a privilege or a courtesy which is being extended to the President’s counsel.'”

We saw what kind of a circus that the intelligence panel put on and now another circus is coming to Washington D.C. and this time Nadler will be the head clown.

We saw what was accomplished during the two weeks of the impeachment inquiry, a lot of hearsay.

The report that is due is likely full of that same hearsay but Democrats are going full steam ahead with that kind of evidence that would clearly not be allowed to be presented if the hearings went to the Senate floor.

Hero Dog Conan Visits White House

 
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by Daveda Gruber:

Conan, the dog who helped take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, was honored at the White House on Monday.

Conan is a male Belgian Malinois. He was named after Conan O’Brien because of his shaggy hair. Conan took part in the Barisha raid, which resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, on October 27, 2019. He chased al-Baghdadi down into a tunnel before al-Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest.

The beautiful animal was injured during the mission but appears to be healed and in fine health now.

The dog appeared on FOX News during a surprise ceremony at the White House.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump appeared with the hero canine, Conan, and Vice President Mike Pence.

The well behaved pup seemed to take a liking to the Vice President who was petting Conan during the media talk.

I love a good dog story and this is certainly a feel good story to inform you about.

I’d like to say, “Good dog, Conan; good boy!”

Did you enjoy this story? Follow me on Twitter and check for more from me.

Did FBI Lawyer Falsify FISA Document?

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by Daveda Gruber:

Reports are flying around about Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz finding evidence that a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) lawyer changed verbiage on a document that was used to obtain the FISA warrant from the court.

The word usage that was changed lead to manipulating a rather important document.

There is now alleged evidence that is said to come out on December 9th that contains information that a document relating to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant abuse against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page was altered by a lawyer.

The alleged lawyer in question has not been name, as yet but it is alleged that he worked beneath former deputy assistant director Peter Strzok. Now that report is being disputed.

The story unfolds that the lawyer was allegedly a low level employee of the FBI but was involved enough in the FISA process to falsely state that he had documentation to back up a claim he had made in discussions with the Justice Department about the factual basis for the FISA warrant application.

The alleged employee allegedly altered an email to substantiate his inaccurate version of events.

On January 15, 2019 the Washington Examiner published an article that noted that former FBI general counsel James A. Baker was under criminal investigation for unauthorized leaks to the media.

The development was made public in a letter  that was sent to the office of U.S. Attorney John Durham for the District of Connecticut by Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadows of North Carolina.

Former FBI Director James B. Comey selected Baker as the FBI’s general counsel. Baker was an associate general counsel for Bridgewater Associates, LP.

After clerking for the Honorable Bernard A. Friedman in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Baker joined the Department of Justice (DOJ) with the Criminal Division through the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 1990 and worked as a federal prosecutor with the division’s Fraud Section.

In December, 2017 Baker was replaced as general counsel and reassigned to a different position within the FBI. It was revealed on April 19, 2018 that he was a recipient of at least one memo from Comey.

On May 4, 2018, Baker resigned the FBI and joined the Brookings Institution.

In January 2019, Baker left Brookings to become the director of national security and cybersecurity at the R Street Institute.

Is Baker going to be thrown under the bus? I believe and it is my opinion that he is the person going down for the FISA warrant discrepancy.

Did I just uncover something? I just may have done that.

Did Pelosi Threaten Trump?

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by Daveda Gruber:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi D-Calif., said words pertaining to the whistleblower that sounded like a threat to President Trump.

The whistleblower was the person who generated the whole impeachment inquiry by the House Intelligence Committee.

Pelosi did an interview on CBS’ “Face The Nation” and during the interview she relayed a message to Trump when she said Trump was in her “wheelhouse” if he made an effort to go after the anonymous source who is known as the whistleblower.

Pelosi said, “I told the president you’re in my wheelhouse when you come after the whistleblower.”

What does the phrase in your wheelhouse mean? Well, here’s the definition.

If something is in your wheelhouse, it’s well within your area of expertise. So “in someone’s wheelhouse” refers to something being within one’s areas of competency and control.

Pelosi must believe she’s in control of Trump. That comes as news to me.

The speaker believes that it of the utmost importance to protect the whistleblower’s identity.

Pelosi also said, “This is really important, especially when it comes to intelligence, that someone who would be courageous enough to point out truth to power and then through the filter of a Trump-appointed inspector general who found it of urgent concern and then took it to the next steps.”

Does Pelosi know that even I know who the whistleblower is? Apparently not or she’s just blowing air about keeping Eric Ciaramella’s name hidden.

No, Pelosi didn’t say his name; I did.

Pelosi then added that if Trump wanted to present his case, he should come before House lawmakers.

She said, “The president could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants. He has every opportunity to present his case.”

I wonder if Trump actually heard what Pelosi said? Maybe Trump should read my article? That would be awesome.

 

 

No Quid Pro Quo – What’s the Latest Allegation?

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by Daveda Gruber:

It’s interesting that I thought that the Democrats were allegedly trying to impeach the president of the United States because of a quid pro quo.

That really isn’t all truth. Democrats were allegedly trying to build a case on an inquiry into possible impeachment in regard to a quid pro quo.

Unfortunately, that is no longer true. The Democrats have changed the language on us.

Now it appears that the Democrats are inquiring about alleged bribery.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently conducted focus groups to determine which description sounds more damning to voters.

In the focus groups that were conducted in key House battlegrounds were asked about word usage. It was discussed and it appears that “bribery” is in first place as seemingly the most damming word to the public.

After the open testimony was over today with witness Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, Adam “Shifty Schiff” added a new word as he spoke to press outside the chamber and talked about “witness intimidation” and “abuse of power.”

I guess those words, in the mind of Schiff, sound damming to average voters.

President Trump will not be impeached. You can take that to the bank.

The best outcome that Democrats are hoping for is making Trump unelectable in 2020. If they can accomplish this, they have won.