https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/pentagon-biden-transition-intelligence/index.html Pentagon blocked Biden's intelligence transition team from meeting with agencies (CNN)The Trump administration prevented President-elect Joe Biden's transition team from meeting with its counterparts at Pentagon intelligence agencies this week, according to a former senior intelligence official familiar with intelligence transition discussions. The slowdown means the Biden team has not yet been able to meet with officials from the military intelligence agencies within the Defense Department -- including the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency -- even as all other meetings by Biden review teams appear to be happening smoothly now after weeks of delay. The Pentagon denies any effort to stymie the President-elect's team. A senior defense official told CNN that briefings had taken place on Friday for transition officials on military matters, including senior-level policy and international security issues, but not on intelligence. The Washington Post first reported on the Biden team's problems with the Defense Department transition office, which is led by a Trump loyalist connected to efforts to spread conspiracy theories about the President-elect. The delays come even as the General Services Administration gave a green light on November 23 for officials at federal agencies across the government to meet with the President-elect's Agency Review Teams -- essential to ensuring a smooth transfer of power. Last week, arrangements were made for Biden's Agency Review Team to meet with the various defense intelligence agencies this week, the former intelligence official said. White House exodus begins even as Trump continues to baselessly claim victory Courts across the country hand Trump and his allies more losses as attempts to upend election results collapse But early in the week, word came from the Pentagon that the Biden team would have no engagement with defense intelligence agencies until it had submitted questions in advance and listed the names of the people with whom it wanted to interact. At that point, the Biden team's requests would be reviewed by the Defense Department's general counsel and Kash Patel, the Trump loyalist appointed to lead the Pentagon's transition last month amid President Donald Trump's purge of civilian leadership at the department. "That's a big FU from Defense to the incoming intelligence community transition team," the former official said. Sue Gough, a Defense Department spokesperson, denied there has been any issue with the Biden teams' ability to meet with intelligence officials at the Pentagon. "The DOD Agency Review Team has not been denied any access," Gough said in a statement. "We continue to work with the DOD ART to schedule all requested interviews, briefings and updates." Biden transition team spokesman Ned Price declined to comment. The National Security Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A defense official said the Biden transition team for intelligence had "made direct coordination with DOD intelligence agencies for interviews, briefings and site visits," and the Pentagon had then asked that it reach out to Patel for all of its requests for interviews and site visits "per the statute, GSA guidance" and the memorandum of understanding between the White House and the President-elect. "In case that isn't clear," the defense official said, "the schedule change/delay happened because the (Biden team) didn't reach out to DOD before scheduling a meeting with DOD agencies, PER THE GUIDANCE and MOU. They weren't denied, they just had to follow the proper procedure." Gough said in her statement that visits were "tentatively scheduled for early next week," and that Patel and the acting under secretary of defense for intelligence and security are working closely with others "and are completing coordination" for the Biden teams to visit. The Defense Department's stand on the issue has angered Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, according to the former intelligence official, who said Ratcliffe intended to take the issue to the White House. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created to coordinate efforts among the intelligence agencies across the administration. "Ratcliffe was hot. He saw it as insubordination," the former intelligence official said. "It was his authority as DNI to set the stage for and processes of the transition." Vince Stewart, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and former deputy director of US Cyber Command who now co-leads Biden's intelligence transition team, visited the Office of the Director of National Intelligence this week to lay the groundwork for a visit by Biden's pick to replace Ratcliffe, Avril Haines. Trump appointed Patel and Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the acting under secretary of defense for intelligence and security, to their posts as part of a slew of major changes at the Pentagon, where he has jettisoned much of the civilian leadership in recent weeks, replacing them with political loyalists as his administration winds to a close. Cohen-Watnick gained notoriety in March 2017 for his alleged involvement in providing intelligence materials to then-House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, a California Republican who went on to claim that US intelligence officials improperly surveilled Trump associates. Since firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper by tweet November 9, the President has ousted at least three other top officials and replaced them with perceived loyalists. Trump has also replaced the members on two advisory boards, installing his former campaign manager on one of them.
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-politics-kellyanne-conway-6290150ac1a179d2ac3e9e8d7a9092ff Trump appoints flurry of allies as presidency winds down On Thursday, Trump announced his intention to nominate two authors who wrote books that flattered him to a board that makes recommendations on education research. Another author who helped write a favorable book about the president was chosen for the same board a few days earlier. On Wednesday, the Department of Defense announced that China hawk Michael Pillsbury would become the chair of a board that gives Pentagon leadership advice on how to enhance national security. Pillsbury has served as an outside adviser to the president on China. And on Tuesday, Trump said he would appoint his former counselor and 2016 campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, to serve on the board of visitors to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Going to the same board will be Heidi Stirrup, an ally of top Trump adviser Stephen Miller. She served as a White House liaison at the Justice Department and was told to vacate the building when top department officials learned of her efforts to collect inside information about ongoing cases and the department’s work on election fraud. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was among the appointees to the board of trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She’s also married to Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and a perpetuator of Trump’s false claims of election fraud, will become a member of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board. It’s not unusual for outgoing presidents to make a flurry of appointments to boards and commissions before leaving office. With three days to go in his tenure, President Barack Obama named senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and national security advisor Susan Rice to the Kennedy Center board. Paul Light, an expert on the federal bureaucracy and a professor at New York University, describes the practice as “unseemly” and said that every administration does it. “But nobody does these things with more politicization than Trump,” Light said. The positions that Trump has filled in recent weeks are generally on advisory boards in which members go without a salary, though they get reimbursed for travel expenses. The positions have what Light describes as “gorgeous resume value.” The number of advisory board positions has ballooned over the years. Light said that he believes past administrations have put in sincere work to match up people with the kind of credentials and experience Congress envisioned when it created those boards. He doesn’t see that same effort now. “This is all favors repaid and favors earned,” Light said of Trump’s picks. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about what the president is seeking to accomplish with the appointments and how he thinks they would enhance the work of the federal government. Among the most consequential of the wave of appointments has been with advisory boards at the Pentagon. There was Pillsbury’s appointment to the Defense Policy Board. In addition, the Pentagon announced the previous week that Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie would serve on a separate entity, the Defense Business Board. That board provides the Pentagon’s leadership with outside private sector perspectives. Lewandowski was the first of Trump’s three campaign managers in 2016. Bossie was tasked with helping the campaign’s legal challenges contesting this year’s presidential election. They serve at the pleasure of the administration, so President-elect Joe Biden could move to replace them quickly. In another recent move, Trump picked global warming skeptic David Legates to serve on the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science. Legates co-wrote an article in April that stated: “Actual hurricane, tornado, sea level, flood, drought, and other historic records show no unprecedented trends or changes, no looming crisis, no evidence that humans have replaced the powerful natural forces that have always driven climate and weather in the real world outside the modelers’ labs.” He’ll be among 12 scientists and engineers appointed to award the medal given to those who make outstanding contributions in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences. In September, Trump told California leaders struggling with the worsening wildfires associated with global warming that the climate would “start getting cooler” again. “You just watch,” he added. Light said some of the picks struck him as Trump declaring: “I’m on my way out and I’m going to slap you one more time. ... You laughed at me on the way out, but I got the last decision.”
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-hunter-biden-prosecutor-3996577d5d2bbc5b0c28997398aae058 Trump asking about special prosecutor for Hunter Biden WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is considering pushing to have a special counsel appointed to advance a federal tax investigation into the son of President-elect Joe Biden, setting up a potential showdown with incoming acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen. Trump — angry that out-going Attorney General William Barr didn’t publicly announce the ongoing, two-year investigation into Hunter Biden — has consulted on the matter with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and outside allies. That’s according to several Trump administration officials and Republicans close to the White House who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters. Beyond appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the younger Biden, the sources said Trump is interested in having another special counsel appointed to look into his own baseless claims of election fraud. But if he’s expecting his newly named acting attorney general to go further than Barr on either matter, he could end up quickly disappointed. Barr on Monday evening announced he will resign effective next week, revealing his plans about a week after Hunter Biden publicly disclosed that he was under investigation related to his finances. It is generally Justice Department policy not to disclose investigations that are in progress, though the subjects of those investigations can. Rosen, the deputy attorney general, will step into the Justice Department’s top job in an acting role. A longtime litigator, he has served as Barr’s top deputy since May 2019 but largely shies away from the spotlight. He said in a statement Tuesday he was “honored” to serve and “will continue to focus on the implementation of the Department’s key priorities.” Trump is still weighing his options, considering whether to pressure Rosen to make the special counsel appointment or, if needed, to replace the acting attorney general with someone more likely to carry out his wishes. He has even asked his team of lawyers, including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, to look into whether the president has the power to appoint a special counsel himself. A key question will be whether Rosen can stand up to presidential pressure — and potentially withering attacks — in the waning weeks of the Trump administration. If not, Rosen could be cast aside in favor of others more willing to do Trump’s bidding. Believing that a special counsel probe could wound a Biden administration before it even begins, Trump aides have urged the president to push for one, which would make it so the investigation can’t be easily stopped by the incoming president. No firm decision has been made. Trump announced that Barr would be stepping down from his position on Dec. 23, amid lingering tension between the president and the attorney general over the Hunter Biden investigation. Trump was angry for days after learning that Barr knew of the Hunter Biden tax investigation before the election but did not disclose it. He also was unhappy that Barr said in a widely reported interview with the AP that the Justice Department had not uncovered widespread election fraud that would have affected the results of the election. For much of his tenure, Barr was perceived as one of the president’s most loyal Cabinet members, especially after he framed the results of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation in a manner favorable to Trump even though the special counsel did not exonerate the president of obstruction of justice. It was Barr who first appointed a U.S. attorney to review the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn and then sought to dismiss the criminal charges against Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. As Barr exits, the biggest thing by far hanging over the Trump Justice Department is its investigation into Hunter Biden, which involves multiple U.S. attorney offices and FBI field offices. Appointing a special counsel could prove to be complicated, requiring consolidating different investigatory angles and bringing in someone new to run the probe and get up to speed. Under federal regulations, a special counsel can be fired only by the attorney general and for specific reasons such as misconduct, dereliction of duty or conflict of interest -- reasons that must be spelled out in writing. Appointing a special counsel for the Hunter Biden probe would also signal a more prolonged and complicated investigation than the current inquiry, so far largely centered on his taxes. A subpoena seeking documents from the younger Biden asked for information related to more than two dozen entities, including Ukraine gas company Burisma. Either way, the probe is complicating Joe Biden’s pick for attorney general, upon whose shoulders this probe would land. Any nominee for attorney general is likely to face a mountain of questions at a confirmation hearing about how they would oversee the probe. It could be that Rosen is left in the position for a few weeks after Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20. If Trump doesn’t fire him, that is. Rosen has been the public face of some of the Justice Department’s biggest actions, including its antitrust case against Google and the criminal case against opioid maker Purdue Pharma. Before joining the Justice Department, he worked at the Department of Transportation as general counsel and then deputy secretary. At Rosen’s confirmation hearing in 2019, he suggested that he was willing to rebuff political pressure from the White House, if necessary. He told legislators that criminal investigations should “proceed on the facts and the law” and that prosecutions should be “free of improper political influences.” “If the appropriate answer is to say no to somebody, then I will say no,” he said at the time.
And he plans to fire Barr's replacement if he won't appoint a special prosecutor... Trump Is Considering Replacing Barr’s Replacement if He Won’t Push Hunter Biden Probe https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump...ng-william-barrs-replacement-jeffrey-rosen-ap
I thought liberals hated America, so why should they care? I find it funny that they care so much about America after they wanted to burn down the country just a few months ago.
How many retarded coup attempts does this clown need? https://www.axios.com/pentagon-biden-transition-briefings-123a9658-4af1-4632-a6e6-770117784d60.html Scoop: Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department, senior administration officials tell Axios. Behind the scenes: A top Biden official was unaware of the directive. Administration officials left open the possibility cooperation would resume after a holiday pause. The officials were unsure what prompted Miller's action, or whether President Trump approved. Why it matters: Miller's move, which stunned officials throughout the Pentagon, was the biggest eruption yet of animus and mistrust toward the Biden team from the top level of the Trump administration. What happened: Meetings between President Trump's team and the Biden team are going on throughout the government, after a delayed start as the administration dragged its feet on officially recognizing Biden as president-elect. Then on Thursday night, Miller — who was appointed Nov. 9, when Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper right after the election — ordered officials throughout the building to cancel scheduled transition meetings. Pentagon official response: A senior Defense Department official sought to downplay the move, calling it "a simple delay of the last few scheduled meetings until after the new year." "We had fewer than two dozen remaining meetings on the schedule today and next week," the official said, adding that "the DoD staff working the meetings were overwhelmed by the number of meetings." "These same senior leaders needed to do their day jobs and were being consumed by transition activities. ... With the holidays we are taking a knee for two weeks. We are still committed to a productive transition."
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2...trump-opens-more-arctic-land-for-oil-drilling On his way out, Trump opens more Arctic land for US oil drilling The Trump plan allows leasing in the largest lake in Arctic Alaska which has been off-limits since the Reagan era. US President Donald Trump’s administration says it has finalised its plan to open up vast areas of once-protected Arctic Alaska territory to oil development. The US Bureau of Land Management on Monday released its plan for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), a 23 million-acre (9.3 million-hectare) swath of land on the western North Slope. The record, signed by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on December 21, allows lease sales to proceed under relaxed standards. The decision is one of a number of pro-drilling actions taken by the Trump administration in its final days. On Wednesday, the bureau is scheduled to auction off drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on the eastern North Slope. The plan allows oil development on about 80 percent of the reserve. Under rules set by former President Barack Obama, about half of the reserve was available for leasing, with the other half protected for environmental and indigenous reasons. The Trump plan allows leasing in the vast Teshekpuk Lake, the largest lake in Arctic Alaska and a haven for migrating birds and wildlife. Teshekpuk Lake has been off-limits to leasing since the Reagan administration. “We are expanding access to our nation’s great energy potential and providing for economic opportunities and job creation for both Alaska Natives and our nation,” said Casey Hammond, the principal deputy secretary for the Department of the Interior. ‘Blunt and destructive’ It is unclear whether making this land available will boost Alaskan oil production, which peaked more than 30 years ago at two million barrels per day (bpd). The state now produces roughly 500,000 bpd of crude. The NPR-A decision got a swift response from environmentalists who have already sued to overturn the plan. “On its way out the door, this administration is sticking to its blunt and destructive approach to management solely for oil development,” David Krause, an assistant Alaska director for The Wilderness Society, said in a statement. The latest decision comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s plans to auction oil drilling rights in the ANWR territory. While the auction is scheduled for Wednesday, January 6, companies were allowed to submit bids starting on Monday. Last month, native Alaskans and environmental groups asked a federal court to block the Trump administration from selling these rights. The intervention could be critical in ensuring President-elect Joe Biden is able to fulfil his campaign promise to protect the refuge. Once the Trump administration conducts the auction, any formally issued leases become legal contracts with the federal government that would be difficult for the Biden administration to revoke.
liberals love America. They just want America to do better for all her citizens. Conservatives hate America. They only want power. They will happily seek it at the expense of country. They will ally with foreign powers to rig elections, attempt to overthrow a fair election, allow hundreds of thousands of citizens die in a vain attempt to protect their ego, and they will prevent newly democratically elected official from getting the information to keep America safe and strong.