by | Jan 23, 2024 | Aggregate
In his first public appearance since the incapacitation scandal, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addressed the contentious issue of American aid to Ukraine. Despite a recent audit revealing over $1 billion in U.S. military equipment unaccounted for, Austin firmly stated that there is “no credible evidence” of misuse or illicit diversion of this aid.
It can be recalled that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, 70, secretly had prostate cancer surgery on December 22. He was placed under general anesthesia for the operation after being gravely ill with a spreading infection and intestinal issues requiring a tube to drain his stomach. Then, on January 1, he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland following the complications from the surgery.
The Pentagon said that Austin did not inform Joe Biden, the White House, or Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks about the medical procedure.
Austin kept just about everyone in the dark about his condition until early January, including Joe Biden, even though the U.S. is involved in conflicts in the Middle East and Europe and a hot zone in the South China Sea.
Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, had previously ordered an in-house investigation of the mishandling of Austin’s absence. Magsamen has been blamed in press reports for failing to notify the White House, Congress and senior DoD staff of Austin’s illness and absence because she was ill with the flu.
On Tuesday, Austin participated in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group’s video conference, which was made public by the Defense Department, marking his return to the public eye.
Austin did not explicitly address his recent hospitalization during the meeting.
“It’s great to see you all again. As you can tell, I’m joining from home today,” Austin said in his initial remarks in the monthly meeting. “I’m feeling good and looking forward to being back at the Pentagon very soon. And I’m grateful for all of your warm wishes. So thanks for working across the time zones to join us for the 18th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.”
The event took place against a backdrop of increasing questions regarding the transparency and efficacy of U.S. aid to Ukraine.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that a recent Pentagon report has brought to light that over $1 billion in military aid sent to Ukraine by the United States has not been properly accounted for.
The Defense Department report, which was presented to Congress on Thursday, reveals serious lapses in the tracking of critical weapons systems amidst heated congressional debates regarding additional support for Ukraine.
The unaccounted-for arsenal includes advanced shoulder-fired missiles, sophisticated kamikaze drones, and state-of-the-art night vision devices.
These items are classified as “high-risk” due to their advanced technology and the ease with which they could be transported and potentially fall into the wrong hands.
According to the report, of nearly 40,000 arms delivered to Ukraine, a substantial proportion has not been adequately monitored.
The report added, “It was beyond the scope of our evaluation to determine whether there has been diversion of such assistance. The DoD OIG now has personnel stationed in Ukraine, and the DoD OIG’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service continues to investigate allegations of criminal conduct with regard to U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.”
Austin, however, claimed that there was no evidence of misuse regarding the weapons in question.
“The United States continues to work hard to monitor and account for U. S. Security assistance delivered to Ukraine. And we’ve seen no credible evidence of the misuse or illicit diversion of American equipment provided to Ukraine. But what we do see is Ukraine using the capabilities that we provided to defend itself against Russian aggression,” he said.
WATCH:
Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin — in his his first public appearance since his incapacitation scandal — says there’s “no credible evidence” of “misuse” in U.S. equipment provided to Ukraine, even after an audit found they “lost track” of $1+ billion in equipment. pic.twitter.com/88zbh9CGQO
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 23, 2024
According to an unnamed senior adviser to Zelenskyy, people at the top are “stealing” like there is no tomorrow and Ukraine’s president faces pressure to root out corruption as its allies continue to give the country everything it asks for, as reported by Time Magazine.
In January 2023, several high-ranking officials were removed from their positions. This group includes a top presidential adviser, four deputy ministers — two of whom were defense officials — and five regional governors.
As per the disclosure by senior government official Oleg Nemchinov, the following individuals have been relieved of their duties:
Deputy Prosecutor General Oleskiy Symonenko
Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Ivan Lukerya
Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Vyacheslav Negoda
Deputy Minister for Social Policy Vitaliy Muzychenko
Regional Governors of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Sumy, and Kherson
The Ministry of Defense previously announced the resignation of Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for the army’s logistical support. This followed allegations of signing food contracts at exorbitant prices.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov resigned in September in what Reuters referred to as a “wartime shakeup” of Zelenskyy’s Cabinet.
Reports that people in the Ukrainian government are “stealing” come as President Joe Biden and U.S. lawmakers face pushback from taxpayers about their blank check policy toward funding a war with no end in sight.
Last year, the Pentagon revealed that an overestimation in the value of weapons sent to Ukraine over the past two years has resulted in an extra $6.2 billion of U.S. taxpayers’ money earmarked for the Eastern European country. This figure is approximately double what was originally estimated and allegedly will be utilized for future security packages.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh provided clarification on the nature of the error, explaining that the military services had used the replacement cost rather than the book value of equipment pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine.
According to Singh, the error was identified during a detailed review of the accounting process.
“We discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine. In a significant number of cases, services used replacement costs rather than net book value, thereby overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stock and provided to Ukraine,” Singh said at a news briefing.
The post Defense Secretary Austin Claims No Credible Evidence of Misuse of U.S. Aid in Ukraine in First Appearance Post-Hospitalization Scandal, Despite Audit Showing $1 Billion Unaccounted For (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 23, 2024 | Aggregate
Naperville City Councilman Josh McBroom speaks during a Jan. 16 Council Meeting Credit: @EndWokeness
Naperville, Illinois – A Chicago-area City Councilman is making waves after challenging his wealthy liberal constituents to put their money where their mouths are and open up their homes to house illegal migrants.
As the Gateway Pundit has reported, the Biden regime’s border crisis, which they imposed upon Texas, has been spreading north. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been flying and busing illegals across the country to sanctuary cities, including Chicago.
The situation has become so dire that socialist Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has said the city is at a breaking point and is begging the Biden regime for help.
Now, Naperville, an affluent city located 28 miles west of the Windy City, is feeling the pain of illegal migration. The residents there gave Biden 62% of the vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.
But Naperville Councilman Josh McBroom has a creative plan to ensure city taxpayers will not pay to house the illegal invaders. The Chicago Tribune reported that McBroom, during a city council meeting on January 16, said he wants wealthy families complaining about the crisis to host the invaders in their homes and plans to create a signup sheet.
“We do have a very affluent community, a lot of big homes, and what I’d like to do is direct staff to create a signup sheet for individuals that would be willing to house migrant families,” said McBroom.
“I think we need to find out who would be willing to house migrant families,” he continued.
WATCH:
Naperville Councilman Josh McBroom wants a sign-up list for residents to host illegals in their homes:
“We do have a very affluent community. We have a lot of big homes.”
Naperville is a wealthy liberal suburb on the outskirts of Chicago. Biden won there by a 20% margin in… pic.twitter.com/UdO61MmRKW
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 23, 2024
The Chicago Tribune revealed McBroom’s proposal was supported by fellow councilmembers Nate Wilson, Paul Leong, and Jennifer Bruzan Taylor. The plan will now be vetted more carefully by staff before it is brought back to the council for discussion at a future meeting.
Should McBroom’s proposal be adopted by the entire city council, seeing how many constituents take advantage of this opportunity will be interesting. History shows that left-leaning individuals are all talk, no action.
The post Chicago-Area City Councilman Issues Challenge to His Affluent Liberal Constituents: Sign Up to Open Your Homes to Illegal Aliens (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 23, 2024 | Aggregate
President Trump on Tuesday received a rock star welcome at a polling place in Londonderry, New Hampshire ahead of today’s Republican primary.
A new poll taken by Insider Advantage after Ron DeSantis dropped out shows Trump tops 60 percent in the New Hampshire primary.
Former South Carolina Governor and insufferable Neocon Nikki Haley is trailing Trump in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire voters lined up outside in freezing temps to catch a glimpse of Trump at a polling place in Londonderry.
“We want Trump! We want Trump!” New Hampshire voters chanted as Trump arrived to the polling place.
WATCH:
HAPPENING NOW@realDonaldTrump stops by a polling place in Londonderry, New Hampshire—for today’s New Hampshire Republican Primary. #TRUMP2024 pic.twitter.com/TlL3DtiNUN
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) January 23, 2024
Trump signed autographs and spoke to New Hampshire voters ahead of the primary.
WATCH:
https://t.co/lBNQqRq27J pic.twitter.com/yIadMr5wlC
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) January 23, 2024
President Trump has been in New Hampshire for the last several days holding massive rallies in Rochester, Laconia and Manchester.
New Hampshire voters have weathered freezing temps and snow to attend Trump’s rallies.
The post Trump Gets Rock Star Welcome at Polling Place in Londonderry, New Hampshire For Today’s Republican Primary: “We Want Trump!” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 23, 2024 | Aggregate
By Wayne Allyn Root
C’mon. Admit It. You know you’re thinking the same thing. It’s so obvious. It’s just common sense. Anyone who isn’t at least wondering is a naïve fool.
I grew up in an all-Italian mafia neighborhood in New York. I know when the fix is in. I know when someone has taken a bribe. I know when the mafia has got their “hooks” into someone.
Something is wrong with our United States Supreme Court. Something smells to high heaven. Something is “hinkey.” Someone is being bribed, threatened, intimidated, or extorted.
This just isn’t normal. It makes no sense. Conservatives have the edge. Not just 5-4…but a safe, overwhelming 6-3 edge. We should be winning every major Supreme Court case.
And yet we keep losing with the most obvious, clear-cut, life-or-death-of-America cases. Cases that should be slam dunks. Cases where it’s so clear that no conservative, or patriot in all of America would vote against us. Cases where a vote against us is a vote for the intentional destruction of America.
Yet yesterday our 6-3 edge at the Supreme Court became a 5-4 loss in the most obvious, simple, clear-cut case in history. Again. Just like Obamacare (twice). Just like allowing illegal aliens to count in the U.S. Census that determines who represents us in Congress.
Yesterday, the Supremes voted 5-4 against Texas and A) in favor of the insane, radical, Marxist madmen of the Biden administration…B) in favor of open borders and against the Sovereignty of the United States of America…C) in favor of the intentional destruction of America…D) against States Rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution…and E) in favor of leaving the American people completely helpless to stop a mass invasion of our country.
Who could possibly vote against the interests of America and a secure border? Who could possibly vote against Texas and ignore States Rights? Who could rule that a state and its legal American citizens have no right to defend against a mass invasion of criminals? Who could possibly vote that as millions of military-age males from Hamas, Hezbollah, MS-13 and our mortal enemy China pour into our border, a state cannot even put up razor wire to try to slow the invasion down?
Two “conservatives” voted that way.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Amy Barrett was one of the recent Trump appointments, recommended to President Trump by the fantastic, pro-Constitution, Federalist Society.
How is this possible? There is not one conservative, or patriot in all of America who would have voted this way. So how do two supposedly “conservative” justices stab America in the back, and vote against States Rights, and for the destruction of America?
I’ll say it out loud.
It’s my opinion that we just found out who the bribed and/or blackmailed, rat-fink TRAITORS are. No normal, honest, pro-rule-of-law, pro-American judge on earth would vote this way. It’s not even possible. It’s unimaginable. It’s absurd. It’s insanity.
It’s like two conservative judges just voted for national suicide.
Think about it. These two “conservative justices” just voted for letting in all the world’s criminals to murder us…all the world’s armies to conquer us…all the world’s third world poverty and misery to bankrupt us…all the world’s disease…all the world’s pedophilia and child sex trafficking….all the world’s drugs….all the world’s fentanyl to keep killing over 100,000 of our American children annually.
They voted to keep raising our national debt by an insane half a TRILLION DOLLARS per year to pay for the welfare, food stamps, housing, schooling and healthcare of these illegal invaders, until our economy collapses.
They ruled that in response to this mass foreign invasion…we the people…and the states of the United States…have no say.
This is the same Supreme Court…and the same two conservative justices…who believe Big Brother has the right to lockdown its own citizens, close their businesses, and restrict their civil rights…and use government mandates to force a deadly, untested, experimental vaccine that clearly violates the Nuremberg Code into our bodies…but we have no right to stop a foreign invasion from destroying our lives and our country.
Does any of this make sense to you? That ANYONE could vote for this? Let alone two conservative justices? Something is very wrong.
Our country is being sold down the river.
It’s my opinion that these “conservative” Supreme Court justices are either bribed, or blackmailed by the Deep State, DC Swamp, foreign governments like China, or the Mexican Drug Cartels. Or all of the above.
It’s my opinion that a vote like this could never happen unless a gun is to the head of these justices.
Someone clearly has a video of these justices doing something terrible, or evil. Perhaps someone was taking trips to Jeffrey Epstein’s island. Perhaps someone is getting paid tens of millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts for keeping the human trafficking, sex trafficking and drug trafficking flowing at the open border.
Or perhaps the Mexican Drug Cartel has shown these justices photos of their children at school, and at home, and threatens to kidnap and murder their children, if they don’t vote to keep the border open.
I know this. Something is very wrong. No one votes this way. Unless they have a gun to their head. Or unless someone is dirty and has sold out their country.
Wayne Allyn Root is known as “the Conservative Warrior.” Watch Wayne’s TV shows- “America’s Top Ten Countdown” on Real America’s Voice TV Network on Saturdays at Noon ET…and Wayne’s daily TV show on Lindell TV 2 at 7 pm ET at FrankSpeech.com. He is also host of the nationally-syndicated “Wayne Allyn Root: Raw & Unfiltered” on USA Audio Network, daily at 6 pm ET. Wayne’s latest book is a #1 bestseller, “The Great Patriot BUY-cott Book.” You can order here: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Patriot-BUY-cott-Book-Conservative/dp/099173372X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1676215826&sr=8-1
The post WAYNE ROOT: I Say Out Loud What Others Only Whisper: Is There Any Patriot in America Who Isn’t Thinking Supreme Court Justices are Being Bribed, or Blackmailed? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 23, 2024 | Aggregate
These four Republican Senators: Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Sen. John Boozmen (R-AR), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Cynthia Loomis (R-WY) joined Democrats to pass a crushing energy tax on the American poor and middle class families.
While you were sleeping Senate Republicans, led by Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma announced plans for a mass amnesty and open border plan with Democrats. Under their plan the US border would be essentially eliminated for good, up to 5,000 illegals will be allowed to walk into the US every day and receive taxpayer-funded benefits and mass amnesty would take place. What’s not to love?
Also last week four Republican Senators voted to back the Democrat’s crushing energy tax on America’s poor and middle class.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Sen. John Boozmen (R-AR), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Cynthia Loomis (R-WY) joined Democrats to support the bill and make sure that working American families will suffer more in the future. Of course, they played this as a way to save the planet from imaginary global warming.
These people hate you.
Remember their names. Remember their faces.
Bizpac Review reported:
Last Thursday, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works reported legislation (the Prove It Act) that sets the stage and lays the foundation to impose a carbon dioxide tax on American families, workers, and consumers.
This new energy tax was voted out of committee 14-5, with four Republicans — Senator Kevin Cramer (from North Dakota, an energy producing state), Senator John Boozman (Arkansas), Senator Graham (South Carolina), and, most inexplicably, Senator Cynthia Lummis (from Wyoming, another state that produces energy) — joining ten Democrats to create this new tax.
Five Republicans, led by Senator Capito from West Virginia, voted against the new energy tax.
Like all energy taxes, this one will fall hardest on the poor, the elderly, those on fixed incomes, and local institutions that have limited budgets, like schools and hospitals.
The legislation sponsors, which include Senator Cramer, have tried to disguise the actual intention of the legislation — which is to increase the price of energy and everything grown, made, or transported with energy in an attempt to address global warming — with propaganda about being tough on our trade competitors, including China.
The post Four Republicans Join Democrats — Back Crushing Energy Tax on America’s Poor and Middle Class appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
