Exactly Why Was That Mar A Lago Search Warrant so Broad?

Consider the following….here is where critical thinking is important and there are some assumptions below which could turn out to be factual….could….

President Trump did have some legally and politically savvy people working for him within his administration and outside of government. It is true he also had some real duds….and post his presidency, he has had a lot of visitors come with ideas, objectives and action plans….

With all that in mind….it cannot be overlooked that the Biden administration employs hundreds of left-over Obama officials and clearly they are helping to drive so much of is damaging the country today.

The full text of the search warrant is found here.

Of note is this section: e, or transmission of national defense information or classified material; c. Any government and/or Presidential Records created between January 20.2017, and January 20, 2021; 

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Something real fascinating is this short Reuters report –> (note the date)

General Allen (USMC Ret) Placed on Leave During FBI Probe

At one point, General Allen was the top commander in Afghanistan until he retired in 2013. Imagine his knowledge and work at the Brookings Institute since his retirement but more consider his influence of the Biden administration for his advocacy of Qatar, the small Middle East country that Obama designated for the embassy location for the Taliban. Has anyone asked General Allen about his collaboration with Biden on the exit of U.S. forces in Afghanistan? Did Allen even show any emotion for those soldiers killed in Kabul as the U.S. bailed out? Crickets….

Oh yeah…President Barack Obama appointed Allen as special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL but that did not work out at all until President Trump terminated ISIS. As a sidebar…former CIA chief…John Brennan is an advisor for the Brookings Institute.

If you read on, perhaps this explains it all.

Gen. John Allen, Recent Top Commander In Afghanistan, Is Retiring

The prestigious Brookings Institution placed its president, retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, on administrative leave Wednesday amid a federal investigation into his role in an illegal lobbying campaign on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.

Brookings’ announcement came a day after The Associated Press reported on new court filings that show the FBI recently seized Allen’s electronic data as part of the probe and detailed his behind-the scenes efforts to help Qatar influence U.S. policy in 2017 when a diplomatic crisis erupted between the gas-rich monarchy and its neighbors.

Brookings Puts Retired Gen. John Allen on Leave Amid Lobbying Inquiry - The  New York Times source

Allen, who led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan before being tapped to lead Brookings in late 2017, has not been charged with any crimes. His spokesman, Beau Phillips, said Wednesday that Allen had done nothing improper or unlawful.

“Through decades of public service in combat and diplomacy, General Allen has earned an unmatched, sterling reputation for honor and integrity,” Phillips said in a statement. “We look forward to correcting the falsehoods about General Allen that have been improperly publicized in this matter.”

Brookings told staffers in an email Wednesday that the institute itself is not under investigation and that the think tank’s executive vice president, Ted Gayer, will serve as acting president.

“We have every confidence in the Brookings team’s ability to remain focused on delivering quality, independence, and impact,” the email said.

Brookings pays Allen more than $1 million a year, according to its most recently available tax records. The email to staff did not say whether Allen would continue to be paid while on leave.

The federal investigation involving Allen has already ensnared Richard G. Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan who pleaded guilty to federal charges last week, and Imaad Zuberi, a prolific political donor now serving a 12-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Several members of Congress have also been interviewed.

An FBI agent said in an affidavit in support of a search warrant there was “substantial evidence” that Allen had knowingly broken a foreign lobbying law, and had made false statements and withheld “incriminating” documents.

Allen’s behind-the-scenes work involved traveling to Qatar and meeting with the country’s top officials to offer them advice on how to influence U.S. policy, as well as promoting Qatar’s point of view to top White House officials and Congress, according to the FBI affidavit.

The Qatar Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brookings is one of the most influential think thanks in the U.S. and has long had strong ties to Qatar. In 2007, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed to fund a Brookings-backed offshoot in Qatar called the Brookings Doha Center.

The Qatari government said in a 2012 news release that the center’s role included “reflecting the bright image of Qatar in the international media, especially the American ones,” according to a New York Times report that showed Qatar had given Brookings $14.4 million in donations over a four-year span.

As a nonprofit, Brookings does not have to disclose its donations but it voluntarily discloses some data. Its annual reports show Qatar giving at least $2 million a year from 2016 to 2021. More here from AP

Former Head of Venezuela’s Military Intelligence Arrested in Spain

Spain seems to always be a ‘go-to’ destination for criminals. Anyone remember the Clinton’s ol buddy Marc Rich, he fled to Marbella, Spain. International gangsters love Spain too, including Russian mafia. As a sidebar, ever really wonder about that unique friendship of the Obama’s with King Juan Carlos Varela or the many Obama vacations there including just last year? Anyway….conflating perhaps…

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The US Justice Department, which originally unsealed the charges in 2014, has requested Hugo Carvajal’s extradition.

Noticiero Digital

Mr Carvajal was a close ally of the country’s late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, but in February denounced his successor President Nicolás Maduro.

Known as El Pollo (The Chicken), Mr Carvajal was a leading figure in Venezuelan politics for decades.

He has been under US sanctions since 2008, over allegations he helped Colombia’s Farc rebel group and protected US-bound drug shipments.

Federal charges, which accuse him of co-ordinating a 5,600kg (12,345lb) shipment of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006, became public in 2014.

That year he was arrested on the charges on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, where he was serving as a consul, but he was freed after the extradition request was denied.

Mr Carvajal returned to Venezuela to a hero’s welcome, but publicly broke with the country’s leadership earlier this year.

In a video posted on social media in February, he publicly threw his support behind Mr Guaido and urged other military figures to do the same.

An unnamed US administration official has told Reuters news agency that it is hoped Mr Carvajal could co-operate and offer valuable information on the Venezuelan leader.

It is reported that the former spy chief will appear before Spain’s High Court on Saturday, where the extradition request will be reviewed. More here.

Gentiuno » Gente del Siglo XXI » Carlos Alberto Montaner ...

Washington accused Carvajal of assisting the paramilitary group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) transport drugs from Latin America to Mexico and from there to the US. Washington also charged Carvajal with supplying FARC drug traffickers with Venezuelan passports bearing fake names, which they used to travel internationally to avoid detection. In 2014, Carvajal was arrested by authorities in Aruba, a Dutch overseas territory in Latin America, where he was serving as Venezuela’s consul general. But, to Washington’s dismay, he was released after the Dutch government ruled that his diplomatic immunity gave him immunity from prosecution.

But the Reuters news agency cited an unnamed US government official who said that Carvajal was in possession of a “treasure trove” of intelligence about Maduro’s administration. The US official hinted that Carvajal may have willingly given himself up to Spanish police to express his desire to cooperate with the US. He is scheduled to appear before Spain’s High Court on Saturday. The court has 24 hours following Carvajal’s arrest to rule whether he will be extradited or freed from detention.

 

The Vatican, KINO and our Southern Border Incursions

Primer: Callista Gingrich is the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. Given the crisis at our Southern border and the relationship Newt has with the Trump White House, imagine the conversations regarding the Pope’s constant call for no walls and global Catholic charities working against U.S. law enforcement. Yikes… and….it seems the Catholic Church in the United States has no use for Callista, Newt or President Trump. If you need some proof on that, click here.

The other part of the Primer:

President Obama’s Executive Action: In November, the Jesuits of the United States, Jesuit Refugee Services/USA, and the Kino Border Initiative issued a statement welcoming President Obama’s executive action to end the legislative gridlock and place pressure on Congress to make immigration reform a priority. The President’s order will provide temporary stays of deportation to as many as five million undocumented migrants who live in fear of discovery and separation from their families, but there are another 6 million undocumented immigrants whose situations are unaddressed by the order. To read the complete statement from the Jesuits of the United States, JRS/USA, and the KBI, please see: http://www.jesuit.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20141121032132.

Image result for kino border priest details of this photo

But KINO? Yes…and add in Georgetown University. Really? uh huh….just last year…

A collaboration between Campus Ministry and the Alternative Breaks Program of the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching, and Service at Georgetown University, MAGIS: Kino Border Immersion is a weeklong trip during which participants will focus on building relationships of solidarity with the poor, growing in awareness of social justice issues, appreciating the convergence of learning, faith, and justice, and developing skills of reflection on one’s experience at the US/Mexico border.

Magis: Kino Border Immersion (KBI) strives to build participants’ understanding of immigration and the surrounding issues. Through interactions with a wide range of stakeholders in the Arizona border region, participants will learn about the structures that shape migration and gain a firsthand look at different sides and stages of the issue. By engaging in dialogue with migrants, faith leaders, workers, service providers, and law enforcement, we will attempt to humanize the issue and escape limiting stereotypes and misconceptions. The Jesuit values of interreligious understanding, faith and justice, community in diversity, and contemplation in action will guide our efforts to understand the motivations for migration, the experience of migration, and the challenges faced by migrants in the United States. Ultimately, KBI aims to facilitate a sustained commitment to education, activism, and solidarity with the migrant justice movement in our communities on the Hilltop, in DC, and around the country.

During our stay in and around Tucson, we will:

*Meet and live with families from San Miguel Cristo Rey High School, which serves many immigrant families in the economically depressed south side of Tucson
*Join the members of the Jesuit-run Kino Border Initiative as they serve migrants on the border
*Engage with various groups working with Migrants and Border related issues, including the Sierra Club
*Meet members of the border patrol and local law enforcement
*Visit with churches and faith-based communities committed to serving undocumented migrants at the border

Created in 2008, the Kino mission is to ‘break down barriers, provide direct assistance to migrants and dictate conditions for refugees with an annual budget of $700,000 per year but that does not include all chapters, other Catholic organizations or money from the Vatican.

And now for the Kino Border Initiative:

Based on both sides of the border in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, KBI accompanies migrants to travel north to reach the United States. There was recently a dinner where a migrant named Sevilla shared his success story from Honduras to the United States merely escaping gang violence.

Sevilla first greeted the audience in broken English then recounted his journey in Spanish allowing a translator to fill in the gaps for those who needed it. He expressed gratitude for being able to leave Honduras and that God helped him on the journey through Mexico where he underwent “many nights without sleeping, many days without eating, but thanks to God everything turned out OK,” he said. He did encounter some volunteers who gave him food along the way, however.

Another hardship: a ride on the famous “Beast” train through Mexico due to the presence of the cartels in that country and having no other choice of transportation. Riding on this network of trains has proved to be very dangerous to migrants. When he arrived in Nogales, Sevilla said he was very dirty and “really tired,” breaking into English which evoked laughter from the audience and might also have released some tension.

“But I here, now,” said Sevilla, with the audience breaking into applause.

When in Nogales, Sevilla heard from a friend of the KBI dining room, called the “Comedor” and he went there very tired and hungry. “But they gave me hope, which was very important for me,” said Sevilla through the translator.

KBI assisted Sevilla in his process of seeking asylum in the United States with legal help, a bond payment and a sponsor family. He stated the KBI is not just a group in Mexico but “it’s all of you,” referring to the attendees. “Thank you for saving life,” said Sevilla in broken English and then in Spanish.

Lisa and David Grant were his “life savers.” They sponsored Sevilla, then 24, during his asylum process into the United States.

“He has been such a blessing to our lives. He’s really taught us a lot about, honestly our faith,” Lisa said.

She pointed out an example that when Sevilla won his asylum case to legally stay in the U.S., she said the he was so lucky. Sevilla dismissed the notion of luck, instead pointing upward.

Also during the evening, four members of the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist were presented with the Pope Francis award from the organization, for their dedicated service to the people served by the initiative.

“I see what they’re carrying, I see what’s inside them. I see the fear that they’re experiencing as they flee,” reflected KBI’s executive director Jesuit Father Sean Carroll during the dinner. “I see the hunger and the thirst that they’ve experienced along the way. I see their uncertainty about what’s next about the asylum process, about whether they can find safety and support.

Fr. Fred Adamson, vicar general of the diocese, spoke of the human effort just to meet basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter.

“At the heart of it, the Kino Border Initiative is to be the face of Christ, to really be the compassion, the care, the love in a real way at the border,” said Fr. Adamson. More here.

 

 

 

U.S. is Presently Under 31 National Emergency Orders

Of particular note is during the peaceful transfer of power from Obama to Trump, Obama told Trump the number one threat to the United States and her interests is North Korea. Notice that Obama never made any declaration regarding North Korea. Notice too that under Obama, the Sinaola Cartel, the narco terror organization that killed thousands in Mexico and many in the United States was not part of any declaration. But….Obama did declare a national emergency due to the socialist revolution in Venezuela and hence that has caused 3 million Venezuelans to flee.

Oh yeah….nothing from Obama either regarding Islamic State and Syria or Iraq…..or Russia considering Moscow’s intrusion into our 2016 election systems…..

Image result for presidential emergency powers

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According to the Federal Register, 58 national emergencies have been declared since the National Emergency Act of 1976 was signed into law by President Gerald Ford.

And 31 have been annually renewed and are currently still in effect, as listed in the Federal Register.

Here’s a list of the presidents who declared still ongoing national emergencies.

President Jimmy Carter

 

Nov 14, 1979: The National Emergency With Respect to Iran, in response to the Iran hostage crisis.

President Bill Clinton

Nov 14, 1994: The National Emergency With Respect to the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, that combined two previous national emergencies focused on weapons of mass destruction.

Jan. 2, 1995: The National Emergency With Respect to Prohibiting Transactions with Terrorists Who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process placed economic sanctions in response to the Jerusalem bombing.

March 15, 1995: The National Emergency With Respect to Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to the Development of Iranian Petroleum Resources was an effort to prevent potential deals between oil companies.

October 21, 1995: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered in Colombia was declared after increased reports of drug cartels laundering money through American companies.

March 1, 1996: The National Emergency With Respect to Regulations of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels with Respect to Cuba was after civilian planes were shot down near Cuba

November 3, 1997: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Sudan implemented economic and trade sanctions.

President George W. Bush

 

June 26, 2001: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans imposed sanctions on those aiding Albanian insurgents in Macedonia

Aug 17, 2001: The National Emergency With Respect to Export Control Regulations renewed presidential power to control exports in a national emergency since the Export Administration Act of 1979 lapsed.

Sept 14, 2001: The National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks was in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.

Sept 23, 2001: The National Emergency With Respect to Persons who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism was in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

March 6, 2003: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe was an effort to punish associates of Robert Mugabe.

May 22, 2003: The National Emergency With Respect to Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain Other Property in Which Iraq has an Interest was issued following the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

May 11, 2004: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Export of Certain Goods to Syria was in response to Syria supporting terrorist activity in Iraq.

June 16, 2006: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus was in response to charges of fraud in the Belarus presidential election.

Oct 27, 2006: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was in response to violence around the Congolese presidential election runoff.

Aug 1, 2007: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon was in response to a breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon.

June 26, 2008: The National Emergency With Respect to Continuing Certain Restrictions with Respect to North Korea cited the risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material. President Trump renewed this June 22, 2018 citing the “existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula and the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat.”

President Barack Obama

April 12, 2010: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia was in respect to threats posed by Somali pirates.

February 25, 2011: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya froze the assets of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

July 25, 2011: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Transnational Criminals was in response to the rise in crime by specific organizations: Los Zetas (Mexico), The Brothers’ Circle (former Soviet Union countries), the Yakuza (Japan), and the Camorra (Italy).

May 16, 2012: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability of Yemen addressed political unrest within the Yemen government.

March 16, 2014: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine was in response to the Russian invasion of Crimea.

April 3, 2014: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to South Sudan was in response to the ongoing civil war.

May 12, 2014: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Central African Republic was in response to violence towards humanitarian aid workers.

March 8, 2015: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela was in response to human rights violations.

April 1, 2015: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities was in response to Chinese cyber attacks on the U.S.

Nov 23, 2015: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi was declared after a failed coup.

President Donald Trump

 

Dec 20, 2017: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption imposed sanctions on the Myanmar general for his role persecuting Rohingya Muslims.

Sept 12, 2018: The National Emergency With Respect to Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election attempted to prevent any meddling with the 2018 midterm elections amid the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Nov 27, 2018: The National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua was declared by President Trump in response to violence and the Ortega regime’s “systematic dismantling and undermining of democratic institutions and the rule of law” that constitutes an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”