Keeping Extremism at a Distance

How Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Play to Denounce Laura Loomer Reveals Deep Hypocrisy in Party Narratives

The recent spat between Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and far-right activist Laura Loomer has caught the attention of political observers, sparking questions about the true motivations behind their public fallout. The disagreement began when Greene responded to a racist tweet by Loomer, condemning her remarks and distancing herself from the controversial figure. On the surface, it might seem like Greene is taking a principled stand against racism and extremism. However, given their history and the broader political context, the situation seems more like a strategic move than a genuine rejection of Loomer’s views.

Laura Loomer, a self-proclaimed white supremacist and notorious conspiracy theorist, has long been known for her race-driven posts and extremist rhetoric. Despite this, Marjorie Taylor Greene never seemed to have a problem with Loomer’s inflammatory statements in the past. In fact, the two have often shared similar ideologies, especially when it comes to spreading conspiracy theories. So why the sudden public rebuke?

The answer may lie in Loomer’s growing proximity to Donald Trump. Loomer has recently been traveling with Trump, much to the dismay of his advisors, who have warned him to distance himself from her due to her history of white supremacist propaganda and her vocal support for wild conspiracy theories. Greene’s denunciation of Loomer appears less about moral outrage and more like an effort to protect Trump’s political image by creating distance between him and Loomer. Ironically, this maneuver comes from a congresswoman who has built her own political career on many of the same conspiracy theories that Loomer espouses.

The hypocrisy is hard to miss. Greene’s sudden concern with Loomer’s controversial views contrasts sharply with her own well-documented history of promoting fringe theories and inflammatory rhetoric. From her flirtation with QAnon to her baseless claims about election fraud, Greene has trafficked in conspiracy theories for years. In this article, I intend to take a deeper look into Greene’s history of spreading misinformation and conspiracies, and ask the question, “Why do Trump’s cabinet and advisors see Loomer as a threat to Trump’s electability, but not see Marjorie in the same light given her history of wild and exhausting claims?”

QAnon Conspiracy Theories

In 2017 and 2018, Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly expressed her support for QAnon, a baseless far-right conspiracy theory that emerged in October 2017. QAnon followers believe that an anonymous figure named “Q” is sharing secret information about a battle between former President Donald Trump and a so-called deep state, comprised of Satan-worshipping pedophiles, global elites, and Democrats who are allegedly involved in child sex trafficking rings.

In a video posted on social media in 2017, Greene described Q as a “patriot” and encouraged others to “trust the plan,” a QAnon slogan that suggests followers should have faith in a forthcoming reckoning or mass arrests of these supposed deep state operatives. She said in the video, “There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it.” Greene also expressed hope that Q’s predictions would come true and that the deep state would be dismantled, affirming her belief in the conspiracy’s core narrative.

Throughout 2018, Greene frequently posted and commented on QAnon-related topics on her Facebook page. She shared QAnon slogans like “WWG1WGA” (Where We Go One, We Go All), which has become a rallying cry for QAnon adherents. Greene’s posts often contained conspiracy-laden rhetoric and memes that aligned with QAnon’s worldview, such as claims that the “deep state” was trying to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency.

In one instance, she shared a video with the caption, “With Q, Q is the highest level of security in the United States government,” repeating a common false belief among QAnon followers that “Q” is a high-level government insider with access to classified information.

“There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it.”

Source: The New York Times

9/11 “Inside Job” Claims

In a 2018 Facebook post, Marjorie Taylor Greene questioned the events surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks, specifically casting doubt on the well-documented fact that a hijacked airplane, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon. In a video she posted on Facebook, Greene said:

“It’s odd there’s never any evidence shown for a plane in the Pentagon.”

This statement echoes a popular 9/11 conspiracy theory that suggests the Pentagon was not actually struck by a plane but rather by a missile or some other form of attack orchestrated by the U.S. government. The theory falsely claims that there was no debris from a plane crash at the Pentagon site, despite numerous eyewitness accounts, photographs, and a comprehensive government investigation that confirmed the impact of Flight 77.

Greene’s comments align her with the so-called “9/11 Truth” movement, which promotes the idea that the U.S. government was either complicit in or directly involved in the 9/11 attacks.

Source: Rolling Stone, AP News

Promotion of Pizzagate Conspiracies

Marjorie Taylor Greene shared content on social media that amplified the Pizzagate conspiracy theory. In multiple Facebook posts from 2017 and 2018, she appeared to endorse or at least lend credence to the Pizzagate claims. Greene suggested that powerful political figures were involved in a child sex-trafficking ring and that the mainstream media was covering it up.

For example, she shared content related to “Frazzledrip,” a particularly extreme offshoot of the Pizzagate theory, which falsely claimed that a video exists showing Hillary Clinton and her aide, Huma Abedin, abusing a child. Greene shared posts that included the hashtag #Pizzagate and referenced the child abuse and trafficking narrative central to this conspiracy theory.

Greene engaged with comments and posts that directly referenced Pizzagate and similar conspiracies. In one instance, she liked and replied to a Facebook comment about a potential hangout spot for Democrats accused in the Pizzagate conspiracy. The comment described Comet Ping Pong as a place “where they abuse children.” Greene’s response included agreement and further commentary that reinforced her apparent belief in the theory.

Greene’s online activity during this period frequently included promoting and endorsing Pizzagate narratives alongside other conspiracy theories, such as QAnon and false flag allegations about mass shootings. While some of these comments could be construed as merely “questioning” mainstream narratives, the frequency and nature of her endorsements strongly suggest she was more than willing to propagate these unfounded claims.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has often conflated Pizzagate with broader anti-trafficking rhetoric, positioning herself as a crusader against alleged child exploitation rings operated by powerful Democrats and global elites. This framing allows Greene to present herself as advocating for child protection while continuing to promote debunked conspiracy theories.

On her social media pages and in online videos, Greene frequently echoed themes common to Pizzagate, implying that high-ranking politicians were involved in secretive and nefarious activities related to child trafficking. Her rhetoric and the content she shared often included coded language and imagery associated with Pizzagate, which resonated with her followers who were already predisposed to believe such claims.

Source: CNN, AP News

Parkland and Sandy Hook School Shooting “False Flag” Conspiracies

Marjorie Taylor Greene has a well-documented history of engaging with and spreading conspiracy theories about the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings. Both tragedies have been targeted by conspiracy theorists who falsely claim that the shootings were “false flag” operations—coordinated events meant to push a political agenda, often related to gun control.

Greene’s promotion of these harmful conspiracy theories occurred before her tenure in Congress, where she echoed or directly spread baseless claims that questioned the reality of these horrific events and the experiences of the survivors.

In January 2019, Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a video of herself following and harassing David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Washington, D.C. The video shows Greene aggressively questioning Hogg, calling him a “coward” and suggesting that he was part of an orchestrated effort to undermine the Second Amendment. She accused him of being funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, a common trope used in conspiracy theories to suggest nefarious intent.

During the encounter, Greene questioned the legitimacy of Hogg’s activism, implying that he was being used as a pawn to push for gun control and indirectly lending credibility to the baseless claim that the Parkland shooting was a “false flag” operation. Her behavior in this video exemplifies her willingness to confront and harass individuals publicly, questioning their trauma and spreading doubt about the reality of mass shootings.

On Facebook, Marjorie Taylor Greene liked and endorsed comments and posts that referred to the Parkland shooting as a “false flag” operation. “False flag” is a term used by conspiracy theorists to suggest that events were staged by the government or other powerful entities to manipulate public opinion and implement stricter gun control laws. Greene supported comments implying that the Parkland shooting was not a real tragedy but a manufactured event, orchestrated to limit Second Amendment rights.

These posts and comments align Greene with the broader network of conspiracists who believe in such false narratives. By amplifying these claims, Greene signaled support for these unfounded allegations, sowing further confusion and distrust among her followers.

Greene has endorsed claims that school shootings involve “crisis actors” — individuals purportedly hired to play the roles of victims and grieving family members to sway public opinion toward gun control. This conspiracy theory is particularly harmful because it undermines the real suffering of survivors and victims’ families and spreads distrust of genuine media coverage and public discourse on gun violence.

For instance, in one Facebook post, Greene expressed support for a claim suggesting that certain school shootings, including Sandy Hook, were planned events and involved paid actors. This rhetoric closely mirrors the rhetoric pushed by other notorious conspiracy theorists who have been discredited for similar claims.

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s promotion of conspiracy theories about the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings showcases a troubling pattern of behavior that disregards the reality of these tragedies and the pain of survivors and victims’ families. By engaging with “false flag” narratives and endorsing the notion that mass shootings are staged events, Greene has contributed to the spread of harmful misinformation, undermining public trust in factual discourse and exacerbating the suffering of those directly impacted by these devastating events. Her actions reflect a broader trend of utilizing conspiracy theories to further political aims, in this case, resisting any form of gun control legislation.

Source: CNN

Promotion of the California Wildfires “Jewish Space Lasers” Conspiracies

In November 2018, Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a lengthy message on Facebook in which she proposed a conspiracy theory linking the California wildfires to a space laser allegedly controlled by the Rothschilds, a wealthy Jewish banking family often targeted in antisemitic conspiracy theories. Greene’s post suggested that the wildfires, which devastated large parts of California, were not caused by natural events or environmental factors but were deliberately set by a laser beam from space.

Greene’s post implied that the wildfires were part of a plot to clear land for a high-speed rail project and that the Rothschilds were somehow involved in funding the technology or manipulating the situation for profit. The key excerpt from her post stated:

“There are too many coincidences to ignore… I find it very curious that PG&E’s partnership with Solaren on space solar generators starting in 2009…they are beaming the sun’s energy back to Earth… Could that cause a fire? Hmmm, I don’t know. I hope not! That wouldn’t look so good for PG&E, Rothschild Inc., Solaren, or Jerry Brown who sure does seem fond of PG&E.”

In this post, Greene speculated that Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), in partnership with Solaren (a company developing space-based solar power), might have accidentally or deliberately started the fires with a beam from space. She suggested that this hypothetical laser could be related to the Rothschilds, linking her post to well-known antisemitic conspiracies that portray Jewish financiers as orchestrating world events for financial gain.

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s spread of the “Jewish Space Lasers” conspiracy theory is not only a bizarre example of misinformation but also a dangerous reinforcement of antisemitic tropes. Her willingness to promote such an outlandish and unfounded claim, particularly one that targets Jewish individuals, highlights a broader issue with conspiracy theories gaining traction in political spaces. Greene’s rhetoric continues to raise concerns about the impact of elected officials endorsing fringe and hateful conspiracy theories on public discourse and social cohesion.

Source: Business Insider, AP News

Promotions of Mass Shootings as Staged Events

Marjorie Taylor Greene has consistently engaged with conspiracy theories surrounding mass shootings, casting doubt on their authenticity and fueling baseless claims. In the aftermath of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting—the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, which left 58 dead—conspiracy theories suggesting a “false flag” operation quickly emerged online. Greene embraced these narratives in a 2018 Facebook post, where she questioned whether the shooter acted alone, stating, “I don’t believe [the shooter] pulled this off all by himself.” Her comments aligned with unfounded claims that shadowy operatives were behind the attack, contributing to widespread doubt and misinformation.

“I don’t believe [the shooter] pulled this off all by himself.”

Greene’s engagement in these conspiracies mirrored broader claims that the government or political entities orchestrated the attack to push for stricter gun control laws. Her rhetoric echoed that of conspiracy theorists who frequently question official accounts of mass shootings to promote an agenda of government distrust. By expressing skepticism over the lone gunman theory, Greene lent credence to theories that undermined the severity of the tragedy and promoted false narratives.

The 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, also became the subject of conspiracy theories, with claims that the attack—where 49 people were killed—was staged to advance anti-gun legislation. Although Greene did not specifically comment on Pulse, her broader support for “false flag” theories in other contexts aligns her with far-right influencers who have questioned the legitimacy of the event. Greene’s calls for investigations into mass shootings and her endorsement of similar conspiracies elsewhere placed her in a network of figures who dismiss such tragedies as politically motivated stunts.

Similarly, the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were killed, was another mass shooting that conspiracy theorists claimed was staged. While Greene did not directly label the attack as a false flag, her promotion of narratives that cast doubt on the authenticity of mass shootings helped cultivate a culture where such misinformation thrives. Greene’s endorsement of content from conspiracy theorists contributed to spreading these damaging ideas.

Overall, Greene’s promotion of “false flag” narratives reflects a consistent pattern of undermining the authenticity of mass shootings. By repeatedly suggesting that powerful entities are staging these tragedies to influence public opinion and push for gun control, she has drawn widespread criticism. Her rhetoric has been condemned by both sides of the political aisle, as well as by the families of victims, who view her comments as not only insensitive but dangerous. In promoting these baseless theories, Greene continues to play a significant role in the spread of misinformation, deepening public distrust and furthering divisions in the national discourse.

Source: The Washington Post, AP News

Promotion of 2018 Midterm “Stolen Election” Conspiracies

Following the 2018 midterm elections, Marjorie Taylor Greene took to social media to claim that Democrats engaged in widespread voter fraud to “steal” key races, particularly in Georgia and other states. In a November 2018 Facebook post, she wrote:

“So many races are being stolen all over the country because of voter fraud. We are watching it right here in Georgia…It’s happening everywhere.”

Greene’s comments mirrored a broader conservative conspiracy theory alleging illegal tactics like allowing non-citizens to vote or fabricating ballots, though she provided no evidence, and none was confirmed by credible investigations.

Her focus on Georgia was driven by the state’s contentious gubernatorial race between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp. While Abrams raised concerns about voter suppression, Greene claimed—again without evidence—that Democrats were committing voter fraud.

In addition to Georgia, Greene targeted results in Arizona and Florida, suggesting that Democrats “stole” key races. Democrat Kyrsten Sinema won a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, and Republican Ron DeSantis narrowly defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum in Florida’s gubernatorial race. Greene amplified these allegations on social media, citing dubious sources and unverified claims about “found” ballots, aligning with misinformation campaigns aimed at undermining confidence in the elections.

Despite state election officials debunking these fraud claims, Greene’s rhetoric echoed the growing “Stop the Steal” movement, which gained greater prominence after the 2020 presidential election but had roots in the 2018 midterms. Through videos and social media posts, Greene repeatedly pushed these unsubstantiated claims, contributing to a larger effort to delegitimize the election results and normalize the false narrative of stolen elections.

By promoting these baseless fraud allegations, Greene played a key role in spreading conspiracy theories that fueled mistrust in the U.S. electoral system, reinforcing misinformation that continues to shape the political landscape.

Source: Newsweek

Hillary Clinton Body Count Conspiracy

Marjorie Taylor Greene has been a vocal proponent of conspiracy theories alleging that Hillary Clinton is a murderer—a narrative built on a series of debunked claims suggesting Clinton has orchestrated the deaths of political enemies and critics. Greene has repeatedly echoed these conspiracies in her social media posts and public statements, often using inflammatory language to imply that the former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate is responsible for multiple murders.

A central theme in Greene’s promotion of this narrative is the infamous “Clinton Body Count” conspiracy theory. This baseless and widely discredited theory suggests that Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have orchestrated the deaths of numerous associates, political opponents, and critics to cover up scandals or suppress damaging information. In a 2018 Facebook post, Greene referenced the “Clinton Body Count,” insinuating that several deaths connected to the Clintons were not coincidental and hinting at a sinister conspiracy without providing any credible evidence. Fact-checkers have consistently debunked this theory, noting that the deaths cited often have clear, unrelated explanations.

Another conspiracy theory Greene has pushed involves the tragic death of Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer murdered in Washington, D.C., in 2016. Despite law enforcement concluding that Rich’s death was a result of a botched robbery, conspiracy theorists have falsely claimed that he was murdered on orders from the Clintons for allegedly leaking DNC emails to WikiLeaks. Greene amplified these unfounded claims on social media, suggesting that Rich’s death was part of a broader scheme to silence dissent within the Democratic Party. By sharing videos and articles that promoted this conspiracy, Greene furthered the baseless notion that the Clintons were involved in Rich’s murder, despite his family’s condemnation of these theories as hurtful and false.

Greene has also insinuated that Hillary Clinton played a role in the death of Jeffrey Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail in August 2019 under controversial circumstances. Although Epstein’s death was officially ruled a suicide by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office, conspiracy theories emerged, suggesting he was murdered to protect powerful individuals. Greene repeated the baseless claim that Clinton orchestrated Epstein’s death to prevent him from revealing damaging information about her and her husband. In social media posts, Greene suggested the Clintons had a motive for wanting Epstein silenced, perpetuating a conspiracy theory that multiple investigations have thoroughly debunked.

In addition to these theories, Greene has also promoted conspiracy narratives around the 2012 Benghazi attack, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens. Some conspiracy theorists allege that Hillary Clinton, who was Secretary of State at the time, orchestrated or allowed the attack to silence individuals who threatened her political ambitions. Despite multiple investigations, including those led by Republican-controlled congressional committees, finding no evidence of such a plot, Greene has continued to suggest otherwise. In a 2018 video, she called for Clinton to be investigated for her role in Benghazi, insinuating a cover-up involving murder without presenting any supporting evidence.

Greene’s persistent promotion of conspiracy theories portraying Hillary Clinton as a murderer is part of a broader pattern of engaging with extreme and unfounded narratives. Despite these claims being debunked by credible sources and investigations, Greene’s endorsements have significantly contributed to the spread of misinformation and the erosion of trust in political opponents. By repeatedly amplifying such baseless allegations, Greene perpetuates toxic political discourse that undermines fact-based debate and democratic processes in the United States.

Source: The New York Times, AP News

COVID-19 “Hoax” and Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric

Marjorie Taylor Greene has been a prominent figure in spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19, often downplaying its severity and promoting anti-vaccine rhetoric. Over the past few years, she has leveraged her social media platforms and public appearances to question the legitimacy of the pandemic, criticize public health measures, and spread falsehoods about vaccines.

Throughout the pandemic, Greene consistently downplayed COVID-19’s seriousness, referring to it as the “Chinese virus” and suggesting the crisis was exaggerated for political gain. In an April 2020 Facebook Live video, she claimed, “Democrats are trying to use COVID as a way to steal the election,” implying the virus was being used as a political weapon against Donald Trump. She further suggested that COVID-19 was a “scamdemic,” a term used by conspiracy theorists to claim the pandemic was manufactured or its impact greatly exaggerated. Greene accused the media and government officials of fear-mongering and dismissed safety measures, such as masks and lockdowns, as tools of government control rather than necessary public health responses.

“Democrats are trying to use COVID as a way to steal the election!”

One of Greene’s most controversial moments came when she compared COVID-19 mask mandates and vaccination requirements to the Holocaust. In May 2021, she tweeted that mask-wearing and vaccine mandates were akin to the Nazis forcing Jews to wear gold stars, stating, “Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.” These comments were widely condemned, including by members of her own party. Although Greene later issued an apology after visiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, she continued to frame mask and vaccine mandates as “tyranny” and maintained her opposition to vaccination efforts, framing them as violations of personal freedom.

Greene has been a vocal proponent of vaccine hesitancy, frequently spreading misinformation about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. She has falsely suggested that the vaccines are experimental, unsafe, and have caused thousands of deaths—claims that have been debunked by health experts. In a 2021 social media video, she falsely claimed that vaccinated people were the ones getting sick and dying, directly contradicting public health data showing that vaccines significantly reduce severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Greene has also amplified content from anti-vaccine influencers, further spreading misinformation among her followers.

In addition to her anti-vaccine stance, Greene has promoted alternative treatments like ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug not proven effective against COVID-19. Despite warnings from health authorities about potential side effects and the lack of evidence for its efficacy, Greene continued advocating for it, suggesting that the government and “Big Pharma” were conspiring to suppress “natural” treatments in favor of vaccines. She has also pushed the narrative that “natural immunity” from prior infection is superior to vaccination, a claim contradicted by scientific consensus, which shows that vaccines provide more reliable and safer immunity without the risks of severe disease.

Greene has further spread conspiratorial narratives suggesting COVID-19 was a “bioweapon” released by China, either intentionally or accidentally, to destabilize global powers, particularly the United States. Referring to the virus as the “Chinese Virus” and “Chinese Bioweapon,” she fed into xenophobic conspiracy theories and implied that the pandemic was the result of a deliberate plot, often using terms like “plandemic.” Though she has not explicitly stated the virus was created in a lab, her language and allusions to these theories have fueled speculation among her followers.

She has also questioned the accuracy of COVID-19 case numbers and death rates, suggesting without evidence that they were inflated to create fear and justify government control. Greene has claimed that hospitals were exaggerating death counts to receive more funding, contradicting studies showing that COVID-19 deaths were likely underreported due to overwhelmed health systems. Her assertions have contributed to undermining public trust in health data and the seriousness of the pandemic.

Beyond her COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation, Greene has positioned herself as a staunch opponent of vaccine mandates, advocating for civil disobedience against public health measures. She has labeled mandates as “communism” and equated them to totalitarian control, rallying her supporters to resist them. Greene has also spoken at anti-vaccine rallies, reinforcing her stance against public health efforts and framing vaccination as a matter of personal choice, accusing the government of infringing on personal liberties by encouraging or mandating vaccines.

Greene’s promotion of COVID-19 “hoax” claims and anti-vaccine rhetoric has been consistent and vocal. By spreading misinformation, conspiracy theories, and false narratives about the pandemic and vaccines, she has contributed to the politicization of public health efforts and deepened divisions around COVID-19 responses in the United States. Her amplification of baseless claims and undermining of scientific consensus has played a significant role in the broader misinformation ecosystem, complicating efforts to control the pandemic and protect public health.

Source: Associated Press

“The Storm” and Mass Arrests of Democrats

Marjorie Taylor Greene has been a vocal advocate of QAnon conspiracy theories, particularly the concept of “The Storm,” which claims former President Trump is secretly fighting a global cabal of elites. According to QAnon, this cabal includes prominent Democrats, government officials, and Hollywood celebrities involved in satanic rituals and child trafficking. Followers of this theory believe “The Storm” will bring mass arrests, military tribunals, and executions of these figures.

Before her congressional run, Greene posted extensively about these ideas, openly supporting QAnon. In a 2017 Facebook video, she stated, “There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it,” fully aligning with QAnon rhetoric. Throughout 2018 to 2020, Greene continued promoting these theories on social media, frequently referencing mass arrests of figures like Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. In one post, she endorsed a comment suggesting, “Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient,” further fueling conspiracy narratives.

Greene also shared and liked content from prominent QAnon influencers, reinforcing the belief among her followers that mass arrests were imminent. She often called for extreme punitive measures, such as in a 2019 Facebook post where she liked a comment suggesting, “A bullet to the head would be quicker” regarding Pelosi.

In public appearances, Greene echoed QAnon’s apocalyptic vision, suggesting patriots were working behind the scenes to bring down the “deep state” and calling for declassification of government documents to reveal corruption. Her insistence on exposing this hidden corruption reinforced the narrative that “The Storm” would soon unfold.

Greene’s persistent promotion of “The Storm” and its call for mass arrests reflects her deep connection to the QAnon movement, a dangerous conspiracy theory that has incited real-world violence and undermines democratic institutions. Through her rhetoric and social media activity, Greene has played a significant role in amplifying these baseless claims.

Source: ABC News

Conclusion

When I first set out to write this article, I thought it would be a straightforward task—a brief summary to encapsulate the controversies surrounding Marjorie Taylor Greene’s history of promoting conspiracy theories. Greene, a firebrand politician known for her provocative statements, seemed like a subject ripe for a quick overview. However, as I delved deeper into her background, the scope of her beliefs and rhetoric became overwhelmingly clear. I found myself submerged in a labyrinth of conspiratorial thinking that spans everything from wild accusations about mass shootings being staged, to bizarre notions involving “Jewish space lasers,” to fevered imaginings of imminent mass arrests of prominent Democrats. What initially appeared to be just a series of isolated, reckless remarks turned out to be a pattern—a consistent thread woven through her public career, revealing a worldview steeped in paranoia, extremism, and disinformation.

It is not an overstatement to say that Greene’s embrace of conspiracy theories has been astonishingly broad. From QAnon to 9/11 denialism, from promoting the “Pizzagate” conspiracy to claiming COVID-19 is a “hoax,” her rhetoric has been a steady drumbeat of misinformation that both shocks and alarms. For anyone trying to make sense of the political landscape today, Greene’s trajectory is a stark reminder of how fringe beliefs can make their way from the shadows of the internet to the halls of Congress. Greene’s ability to push these conspiracy theories with relative impunity illustrates a troubling shift in political discourse—one where facts are malleable, and where fear and suspicion can become potent tools of influence and power.

The most disturbing realization in examining Greene’s history is not just the sheer variety of the conspiracy theories she has promoted, but the consistency and conviction with which she has done so. It is one thing for a politician to occasionally flirt with controversial views to appease a particular base; it is quite another to systematically endorse and amplify them as central to one’s political identity. Greene has not merely dabbled in conspiracy theories—she has made them a cornerstone of her platform, often positioning herself as a crusader against a dark and hidden enemy, be it the “deep state,” the Democratic Party, or other imagined adversaries.

Her support for QAnon alone is telling. By endorsing the idea of “The Storm” and mass arrests of Democrats, Greene has shown a clear willingness to propagate a narrative that is not only devoid of evidence but also inherently dangerous. This is a movement that has inspired real-world violence, contributed to the radicalization of individuals, and continues to spread its malignant influence online and off. Greene’s statements and actions, whether intentional or not, serve to legitimize these views among her followers, helping them gain a foothold in mainstream political discourse. She has often cloaked these endorsements in the language of patriotism and justice, making them more palatable to those who might be on the fence, and lending a veneer of credibility to ideas that are, in reality, profoundly unhinged.

Then there is her rhetoric around mass shootings like Parkland and Sandy Hook, where she has amplified baseless claims that these horrific events were “false flags” or staged by gun control advocates. The level of callousness in promoting these conspiracy theories cannot be overstated. It not only retraumatizes the survivors and families who have lost loved ones but also distorts public understanding of tragic events in ways that prevent meaningful dialogue and solutions. Similarly, her baseless assertion that the 2018 midterms were “stolen” by Democrats serves to undermine democratic processes and sow distrust in electoral outcomes, contributing to a larger campaign of disinformation that erodes public confidence in democratic institutions.

The idea of the California wildfires being caused by “Jewish space lasers,” as absurd as it sounds, is another example that underscores how Greene’s rhetoric is not just politically reckless but also dangerously inflammatory. This kind of antisemitic conspiracy theory plays into age-old prejudices, endangering real lives and perpetuating hate. Yet, Greene seems either oblivious to the impact of her words or, more troublingly, indifferent to it.

Furthermore, Greene’s spread of COVID-19 “hoax” and anti-vaccine rhetoric has demonstrated how her conspiracy-laden worldview extends to public health, posing a direct threat to collective efforts to combat a deadly pandemic. This goes beyond mere skepticism—it is active disinformation that has undoubtedly contributed to vaccine hesitancy, exacerbating a public health crisis. In all these cases, Greene’s rhetoric does more than simply express an opinion; it foments division, creates scapegoats, and deepens the ideological chasm that is already tearing at the fabric of American society.

As I continued to dig into Marjorie Taylor Greene’s past, what became evident was not just a pattern of reckless statements, but a deliberate and consistent strategy to amplify some of the most dangerous and unfounded conspiracy theories out there. Each one of these conspiracies, on its own, might be dismissed by some as an outlandish statement by a fringe politician seeking attention. But taken together, they form a comprehensive picture of someone who is not just dabbling in conspiracies but actively using them to cultivate a base, mobilize supporters, and wield power.

The broader implication of Greene’s rhetoric is the normalization of extremism in the political mainstream. She represents a growing faction within American politics where facts are dismissed, and conspiracies are seen as legitimate political discourse. This is not just about one politician’s statements but about the culture of misinformation that is increasingly becoming a cornerstone of certain political movements. Greene is a symbol of this shift—a testament to how quickly and thoroughly misinformation can be weaponized in the digital age.

In reflecting on Greene’s extensive history of conspiracy mongering, I am left with a sense of alarm and urgency. What began as an attempt to outline her most egregious conspiracies turned into an exploration of the depths to which misinformation can sink when wielded by someone in a position of influence. Greene’s rhetoric is not just problematic because of its content but because of its implications for the health of democratic discourse. When an elected representative makes conspiracy theories a staple of their public persona, it becomes not just a problem of perception but a genuine crisis of governance.

Ultimately, the point of this article was not to take a political stance but to highlight how dangerous and pervasive Greene’s rhetoric has been. It is crucial to call out hypocrisy, particularly when it involves someone who has consistently trafficked in dangerous and debunked theories. If we are to have any hope of restoring a semblance of reason and truth to our political discourse, we must be willing to confront these conspiracies head-on, regardless of where they originate or who perpetuates them. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s history is not just a cautionary tale but a wake-up call to the realities of modern misinformation. It is a reminder that truth still matters, and it’s up to all of us to uphold it.

ISIS’s Cyber Nightmare: How Misinformation and Hacktivists are Fueling Paranoia Among Jihadis

ISIS Urges Followers to Use Only Official Channels Amid Cyber Warfare and Misinformation Campaigns

The terrorist organization ISIS has issued a directive to its supporters, instructing them to rely solely on its “official” communication channels. This announcement comes in response to a series of spoof propaganda efforts and cyberattacks launched by international intelligence agencies.

In a message disseminated through the group’s Nashir News Agency on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, ISIS expressed alarm over the proliferation of fake news attributed to the organization. The announcement emphasized that the Nashir News Agency does not have accounts on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or WhatsApp. It further stated that no legitimate accounts provide links apart from those officially associated with Nashir.

“We also caution against any account claiming to be affiliated with the publisher of Nashir News… the specialized agency to publish all that is officially issued by the Islamic State,” the message added.

The Nashir News Agency has been a key outlet for disseminating ISIS propaganda, including text, video, and photo reports from militants in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, and other regions. It also publishes material aimed at inspiring and instructing followers to commit acts of global terrorism. Each post on Telegram typically garners thousands of views and is often translated and further spread across mainstream websites and social media platforms by ISIS supporters worldwide.

Rise of Misinformation and Internal Strife

Recently, there has been a noticeable increase in fake ISIS propaganda, leading to paranoia and infighting among jihadis. Daeshgram, a group of Iraqi activists, played a significant role in this development by creating a spoof version of ISIS’s weekly newsletter, Al Naba. This fake newsletter, distributed via an official-looking Telegram account, featured a doctored image of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi surrounded by female dancers and an article on a fictional ISIS team participating in the World Cup.

Daeshgram claimed to have infiltrated over 120 ISIS-affiliated Telegram groups to spread confusion and mistrust using the counterfeit Al Naba issue. “Many members who used to trust one another are fighting in their groups and blaming one another,” an activist told The Independent. Upon realizing they were being targeted, some members became fearful, suspecting that their devices might have been infected with malware. “Our operation is continuing, but we have already achieved our goal to confuse and scare ISIS members and make them doubt each other in a place on the internet where they thought they were untouchable,” the activist added.

ISIS’s propaganda materials, including videos and documents, have been linked to terrorists who carried out deadly attacks in the UK, as well as “self-radicalized” extremists who have been jailed for planning attacks. The group’s focus on creating a “virtual caliphate” is seen as an attempt to maintain influence despite significant territorial losses in Iraq and Syria. The sophistication of their propaganda campaigns has been cited as a key factor in attracting an unprecedented number of foreign recruits.

Target of Global Cyber Efforts

Given its effective use of propaganda, ISIS has become a focal point for both international intelligence agencies and activists working to disrupt its messaging. Earlier this year, GCHQ, the UK’s intelligence and security organization, disclosed that it had initiated a “major offensive cyber campaign” against ISIS, which likely included the creation of fake propaganda.

Jeremy Fleming, the Director of GCHQ, noted that ISIS had harnessed the power of online communications to “radicalize and scare” in a way no previous terrorist group had. “They know potential sympathizers react well to slickly produced, unfiltered videos and magazines that can be downloaded and watched on smartphones, and they know which platforms to use to reach them,” Fleming explained. He further mentioned that the impact of ISIS’s approach has been felt across Europe, including attacks in London and Manchester.

Fleming elaborated that agents at GCHQ and the Ministry of Defence had successfully suppressed ISIS propaganda, impeded the group’s ability to coordinate attacks, and safeguarded coalition forces on the battlefield. “In 2017, there were times when Daesh found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels to spread their rhetoric, or trust their publications,” he added.

In April, British intelligence, alongside US and European allies, launched a new wave of attacks targeting ISIS’s online platforms, including Amaq, al-Bayan radio, Halummu, and Nashir news websites. Europol stated that ISIS’s capacity to distribute and publicize terrorist content had been “compromised” through a combination of cooperation with internet service providers and cyberattacks. Security services are also working to identify ISIS administrators and radicalized individuals across Europe and beyond using the data retrieved from these operations.

Recent court cases have brought to light that British intelligence agents have been posing as ISIS fighters and propagandists on Telegram and other platforms to gather intelligence on terrorists who believe them to be like-minded extremists.

Evolution of ISIS’s Propaganda Network

When ISIS declared its “caliphate” in early 2014, it was openly publishing propaganda on mainstream social networks and websites, while many foreign fighters became known for documenting their activities on Twitter and blogs. The scale and complexity of the group’s propaganda network were unprecedented, with content available in nearly a dozen languages through websites, social media, automated emails, dedicated apps, and internet browser extensions.

However, intensified efforts to detect and remove such content have forced ISIS into increasingly obscure corners of the internet. Despite this, experts warn that ISIS’s propaganda network, although under significant pressure and facing territorial losses in Syria and Iraq, has already gained a dangerous level of ideological notoriety worldwide.

Raffaello Pantucci, Director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London, noted that the group continues to migrate across various platforms.

“Clearly there’s a real question of integrity around their material, and they’re stuck in a situation where no one necessarily trusts it anymore,” he told The Independent.

While acknowledging the importance of disrupting ISIS’s propaganda, Pantucci cautioned against underestimating the group’s resilience. “You can’t kid yourself that this will go away… the real threat comes from the fact there are angry people who are unhappy with governance in parts of the world,” he said.

Pantucci also pointed out that ISIS, which often publishes idealized depictions of life under its rule alongside gruesome footage of executions and battles, is attempting to “project an image of normality” despite its territorial setbacks. He questioned the extent to which the group could compensate for its battlefield losses through its online presence alone, asking, “If they continue to fail on the battlefield, how much can they make up for it with a Telegram account?”

Conclusion

The ongoing battle against ISIS’s propaganda machine involves a multi-faceted approach combining cyberattacks, misinformation campaigns, and intelligence gathering. While these efforts have led to disruptions in ISIS’s ability to operate online, the group’s ideological reach remains a significant concern. Continued vigilance and innovative strategies will be required to counteract the evolving threat posed by ISIS’s propaganda and recruitment tactics.

A Timeline of the New Assets

The Ongoing Relationship Between American Right-Wing Influencers and Russian Propaganda Farms

In recent years, the intricate web of Russian interference in Western democracies has continued to unravel, revealing a broad spectrum of financial and political influences. The Tenet Media Russian money scandal stands out as one of the more complex and covert operations in this ongoing saga. Tenet Media, a prominent media conglomerate, was thrust into the spotlight when a series of investigations revealed it had unknowingly accepted substantial financial investments linked to Russian oligarchs and entities under the influence of the Kremlin. These revelations ignited widespread concern about foreign influence on Western media and exposed how financial networks can be manipulated for strategic geopolitical gains.

The scandal began to surface in early 2023 when investigative journalists discovered unusual financial patterns involving Tenet Media. Tracing these funds back to their origins, they uncovered a network of offshore companies and financial transactions that pointed to Russian interests. Initial reports hinted that Tenet Media had been receiving indirect funding from entities connected to sanctioned Russian oligarchs, raising questions about the motivations behind these investments and whether they were intended to sway public opinion through media channels. This revelation triggered a chain of events that led to a full-scale investigation, involving multiple governments, financial institutions, and media watchdogs, all aiming to uncover the extent of Russian influence on Tenet Media’s operations.

As the investigations deepened, more startling details emerged. Key figures within Tenet Media were found to have had meetings and established relationships with individuals tied to Russian intelligence and financial networks. Leaked documents revealed that these relationships were not coincidental but were part of a coordinated effort to build soft power influence in Western media. One of the major turning points came when emails from a high-ranking Tenet executive were leaked, suggesting awareness of the questionable origins of some of their funding sources. This leak not only fueled public outcry but also led to intensified scrutiny from regulatory bodies.

The implications of the scandal were vast. For Tenet Media, it meant a substantial loss of credibility, the resignation of several top executives, and the implementation of new, stricter compliance measures to prevent such a breach of trust from recurring. For the wider media landscape, it underscored the vulnerability of even well-established media organizations to covert foreign influence operations. Governments and financial institutions responded by tightening regulations around foreign investments in media companies, ensuring greater transparency and accountability.

The timeline that follows chronicles the key events of the Tenet Media Russian money scandal, detailing the investigation’s progression, the critical moments that shaped public understanding, and the broader implications for media integrity and geopolitical dynamics. From the first whispers of suspicious financial activity to the fallout that ensued, the timeline provides a comprehensive look at how a single media company became entangled in the complex web of international politics and espionage.

The Simplified Timeline (So Far):

February 2022:

  • Russia invades Ukraine.
  • This invasion prompts a global response, including extensive sanctions targeting Russian state-controlled entities such as RT (Russia Today). These sanctions are intended to isolate Russia economically and politically on the international stage.

October 2023:

  • RT begins covertly funneling money to a U.S. media company.
  • RT, seeking to circumvent the sanctions and influence American public opinion, secretly transfers nearly $10 million to a Tennessee-based media company identified as U.S. Company-1. This company’s operations are designed to subtly promote pro-Russian narratives and undermine U.S. credibility.

November 2023:

  • Launch of Tenet Media.
  • U.S. Company-1 rebrands itself as Tenet Media. The company starts an aggressive social media campaign, posting content on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. The content often features anti-Ukrainian and anti-American themes, aligning with RT’s covert objectives.

March 2024:

  • Moscow music venue terrorist attack.
  • A terrorist attack occurs at a music venue in Moscow, causing significant casualties. The indictment alleges that RT operatives directed Tenet Media to propagate false narratives blaming Ukraine and the U.S. for the attack. This disinformation aims to create division and alter public perception in both Russia and the U.S.

May 22, 2023:

  • Tenet Media’s rebranding.
  • The company formally adopts a new name and identity to better align with its covert mission. This rebranding effort is a part of a broader strategy to disguise the company’s origins and operations.

August 2024:

  • Financial details of the scandal are revealed.
  • It is disclosed that RT’s financial support to U.S. Company-1 totals approximately $9.7 million, which constitutes nearly 90% of the company’s bank deposits. This financial dependence highlights the extent of RT’s control over the media operations and its significant influence on the company’s content.

Early September 2024:

  • Indictment unsealed.
  • The indictment against RT employees Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva is made public by the Southern District of New York. The charges include conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment reveals the use of fake identities and shell companies to obscure the source of the funds and the manipulation of public opinion.

Mid-September 2024:

  • RT operatives remain at large.
  • The indictment details that Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva are fugitives. The authorities are actively seeking their apprehension. The case is a significant example of how foreign actors attempt to infiltrate and influence U.S. media and public discourse.
  • Influencers and media figures associated with Tenet Media, including Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern, publicly react to the scandal. They claim ignorance of the true origins of their funding and express shock at the revelations. This public reaction highlights the complexity and far-reaching impact of the scandal on individuals and media platforms involved.

Tim Pool’s official response after days of mocking the allegations with sarcastic comments about flipping his allegiance to Ukraine

The Tenet Media Russian money scandal serves as a stark reminder of the pervasive and sophisticated nature of modern geopolitical influence operations. What began as a seemingly innocuous flow of investment into a media company turned out to be part of a broader strategy by Russian interests to subtly shape narratives and influence public opinion in the West. The scandal highlights how vulnerable even established media companies can be to covert financial manipulations, especially in an era where information is a powerful tool in the geopolitical arena.

Throughout the unfolding of the scandal, several lessons have become evident. First and foremost is the critical importance of transparency and due diligence in media financing. The Tenet Media case has demonstrated that without rigorous scrutiny of funding sources, media organizations risk becoming unwitting vehicles for foreign influence. This realization has led to a much-needed reassessment of regulatory frameworks governing foreign investments in media, pushing for more stringent checks and balances to safeguard media independence and integrity.

Another key takeaway is the evolving nature of state influence campaigns. The use of offshore accounts, shell companies, and intermediaries to mask the true origins of funds reflects a shift from more overt forms of propaganda to subtler, more insidious methods of shaping the information environment. This approach not only makes it harder to detect and counter such operations but also complicates the legal and ethical landscape for media organizations that must navigate these murky waters.

For Tenet Media, the fallout has been both swift and severe. The loss of public trust, the resignation of high-level executives, and the imposition of new compliance protocols are just the beginning of a long road to rebuilding credibility. While the company has taken steps to rectify its mistakes, the scandal will likely cast a long shadow over its operations for years to come.

At a broader level, the scandal has underscored the need for a coordinated global response to counter foreign influence in media. Governments, regulatory bodies, and the media industry itself must work together to ensure that such breaches of trust are prevented in the future. The Tenet Media case has set a precedent that will inform future policies and strategies, reminding us that in the information age, the battle for hearts and minds is fought not just with facts and narratives but also with the financial flows that underpin them.

In the end, the Tenet Media Russian money scandal is not just a story of one company’s failure to guard against covert influence; it is a cautionary tale for the entire media landscape. It reveals the complexities of navigating a world where economic and informational warfare are increasingly intertwined, demanding vigilance, integrity, and collaboration to preserve the principles of free and independent media.

US and UK Intelligence Chiefs Embrace Generative AI for Enhanced Operations

CIA Director Bill Burns and MI6 Chief Richard Moore Discuss How AI is Revolutionizing Intelligence Gathering and Global Security

In a joint declaration on collaboration between their agencies, CIA Director Bill Burns and MI6 Chief Richard Moore have outlined the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in addressing contemporary security threats.

In an op-ed for the Financial Times, Burns and Moore revealed that both agencies are actively employing generative AI to bolster intelligence operations, particularly in managing vast amounts of data. “We are now using AI, including generative AI, to enable and improve intelligence activities—from summarization to ideation to helping identify key information in a sea of data,” they wrote.

The intelligence chiefs also emphasized the use of AI to protect their agencies’ operations. They noted that they are training AI systems to conduct “red teaming” exercises to rigorously test their activities and ensure operational security.

Burns and Moore underscored the transformative impact of technology on the geopolitical landscape, citing the war in Ukraine as a prominent example where satellite imagery, drone technology, cyber warfare, and information operations are converging on an unprecedented scale. “This conflict has demonstrated that technology, deployed alongside extraordinary bravery and traditional weaponry, can alter the course of war,” they stated.

Beyond Ukraine, the CIA and MI6 are actively cooperating to counter Russian disinformation campaigns and what they describe as a “reckless campaign of sabotage across Europe.”

Russia’s utilization of generative AI is also evolving rapidly. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice seized more than 30 websites operated by Russian actors as part of a misinformation campaign using AI to target American citizens ahead of the 2024 elections.

Additionally, the South China Morning Post recently reported that Russia is coordinating with China on the military applications of AI, including discussions about lethal autonomous weapons systems and other advanced military technologies.

China’s approach to generative AI presents a distinct set of challenges. According to a February 2024 testimony by the RAND Corporation to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, China is expected to integrate generative AI into its cyber-enabled influence operations. RAND alleges that the Chinese military, particularly the People’s Liberation Army, plans to employ AI for social media manipulation and election interference.

Both MI6 and the CIA have identified China as “the principal intelligence and geopolitical challenge of the 21st century.” The intelligence leaders emphasized that their agencies are not navigating this technological landscape alone; they are partnering with innovative companies across the United States, the United Kingdom, and globally to maintain a competitive technological advantage.

While this joint disclosure from Burns and Moore provides important insights into the evolving use of AI in intelligence, it is important to recognize that the exploration of AI applications within intelligence agencies is not new. In July, Lakshmi Raman, the CIA’s Director of Artificial Intelligence Innovation, spoke at an Amazon Web Services Summit about the agency’s use of generative AI for content triage and analytical support. “We were captured by the generative AI zeitgeist just like the entire world was a couple of years back,” Raman said, according to NextGov.

“We’ve also had a lot of success with generative AI, and we have leveraged generative AI to help us classify and triage open-source events to help us search and discover and do levels of natural language query on that data.”

AI companies like OpenAI and Palantir have also been forging agreements with various government agencies to provide AI services that enhance their capabilities. This marks a significant trend; according to a report by the Brookings Institution, federal agencies have increased their potential awards to private tech contracts by almost 1,200%, from $355 million to $4.6 billion during the period studied.

No War is Civil

The NDAA and America’s Foreign Policy in Syria

I cannot deny having a personal bias for the people of Syria. I’ve seen the wreckage first hand in a way I wish I could explain further. I’m probably responsible for 60% of the views of HBO’s Cries from Syria since its release in 2017. I’ve played as large a part as possible in multiple charities trying desperately to help Syrian civilians, namely one whose aim is to build mobile hospitals in Syria’s most war-torn areas. I’ve sponsored a young girl there named Amira for seven years – a girl who I’ve watched grow into an incredibly strong young woman who I have no doubt will someday spread revolutionary ideals throughout her country – who thankfully has remained safe after all of these years of war and bloodshed in Syria. Amid all of this I knew to classify this as an opinion piece, because of my inability to remain unbiased on the subject.

Today, the U.S. Senate passed the NDAA, or National Defense Authorization Act, a yearly budget bill relating to national defense, the military, foreign aid, black budget money, intelligence, etc… This legislation was passed by the so-called “Do Nothing Democrats” last week, and is expected to receive the President’s signature within the week. This year’s NDAA contains a measure several years in the making: The Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act. A piece of legislation that provides for sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as members of his regime.

The bill’s history is an interesting one. The legislation shares its namesake with the pseudonym of a Syrian police officer who fled the country in 2016, smuggling with him a multitude of photographic evidence – some 50,000 images – of President Assad’s regime’s egregious and downright evil crimes against humanity. Spanning from torture to mass killing, the images are gruesome and not for the faint of heart, but many are available to the public. Caesar testified before Congress in disguise and presented the evidence he risked his own life, and the lives of his family, to smuggle out his homeland.

Congress, though slowly, began drafting a bill that became part of the NDAA. A provision that not only imposes sanctions and censures against President Assad and members of his regime, but also imposes consequences against foreign actors such as Iran and Russia, have had boots on the ground in Syria for almost a decade attempting to squash revolutionary uprisings against Assad. Doing so using not just guerrilla tactics, but going as far as to drop illegal dirty bombs on civilian centers such as Huraytan, a town northwest of Aleppo, where bombs were dropped on hospitals and schools.

Child pulled from the rubble of a school by civilian volunteer medical force known as The White Helmets after Russian airstrikes north of Aleppo.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “The measure establishes as U.S. policy the use of ‘diplomatic and coercive means…to compel the government of Bashar al-Assad to halt its murderous attacks on the Syrian people and to support a transition to a government in Syria that respects the rule of law, human rights and peaceful co-existence with its neighbors.'”

The bill also adds measures against civilian or non-governmental militias, such as Hezbollah, which has also come to the aid of Assad’s regime, and even targets financial centers. Administration officials are now investigating whether or not the Central Bank of Syria has been engaging in money laundering. If this is found to be true, which it likely is, the U.S. will impose penalties on the institution, though those penalties aren’t very well outlined in what is publicly available from bill at the moment.

The bill goes further in restricting the transfer of funds, technology, and property, and bans any and all violators from entry in the U.S. in the future.

The bill contains language that will allow President Trump, or future presidents to lift the sanctions in the future if Assad and his allies produce evidence that their human rights violations have come to an end. They will have to prove they are no longer targeting civilians, restricting international humanitarian assistance, and of course, they must prove they are no longer using chemical weapons on their own citizens, meaning both civilians and rebel army militants.

With this bill, the United States severely escalates sanctions, joining its Western allies in targeting Assad and his regime. The U.S. has had sanctions on Syria since 2005, and those sanctions increased drastically under President Barack Obama, namely after 2011, when what was a series of massive civilian protests turned into bloodshed and civil war. You can find a list of sanctions against Syria dating back to 2004 here from the U.S. Department of Treasury.

With such a history of sanctions, however, one must wonder just how effective they are. One must also wonder how you sanction a government, but not its civilians. Also, why the sudden change? This comes months after President Donald Trump ordered the removal of U.S. troops in Northern Syria, claiming the war against ISIL was over in the region. As if to say, “Thank you for your help, and now you’re on your own to fight your government, Islamist rebel groups, ISIL, oh, and Turkey.” As anyone familiar with the situation remembers, only three days later, Turkish air strikes began in the border towns of Turkey and Syria – towns the United States was helping to protect just days before. The air strikes resulted in the death of 70 Syrian citizens, and the displacement of over 300,000. During the military act, both Turkish forces and Turkish-allied Syrian forces were accused of committing atrocious war crimes, including summary killings and unlawful acts, including, but not limited to, public executions and even public rape.

According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who I’ve written about recently in timeline of the prosecution of Michael Flynn found here – was to expel Syrian Democratic Forces – a rebel army mostly made up of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) – who is viewed as a terrorist group by the Turkish government due to its ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party. The SDF is considered an ally of the United States and Western allies, though, namely in its war against ISIL, as the SDF has helped the United States in a monumental fashion in the removal of ISIL from the region.

The flag of the Syrian Democratic Forces. (Wikipedia Commons)

However, the problem with war is that it’s complicated. It’s unfortunately not just made up of good guys and bad guys like the comics. It’s not made up of clear cut good people, or clear cut evil people, or even demon with the heart of gold anti-heroes who don’t get along with the other good guys, but fight for what’s right in the end. War, just like life, is rarely black and white. By the previous couple of paragraphs, it would appear that there is a narrative to present the Turkish government as awful people, and their armies as the evil invading scourge that wants to watch the world burn. On the contrary.

The Turks were the first to condemn the actions of Bashar al-Assad, who cracked down on peaceful protests in 2011, which led to the exorbitant bloodshed and murder of unarmed Syrian citizens, and kicked off one of the longest civil wars in recent world history. Turkey went as far as to create safe zones for Syrian refugees fleeing the violence, and even backed and funded the Free Syrian Army, which was the first organized revolutionary group to stand up to Assad’s tyrannical regime.

Turkey is responsible for a lot of the military funding toward the revolutionary groups working against Assad. Yet, what is the Free Syrian Army today? It’s a group that is made up of primarily radicalized Islamists, probably partially because of their relationship with ISIL in their growing phase. Now they’re a group backed by the Turks, and are taking part in the public rape and murder of North-Eastern Syrians, who are merely fighting for statehood.

And what is the U.S. to say one way or the other? During the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, we trained soldiers to fight for their independence, and those soldiers went on to become Al Qeada. We fought with the best intentions against South American drug lords, but all we did was make a mess out of Central America by cutting off their Caribbean pipeline, splitting one cartel into seven. We made a mess out of Iraq and Afghanistan and ultimately created ISIL in the first place, while giving radical groups free-reign in Iraq after removing their strongest opposition. Maybe the same might be the case in Syria, creating another militant group aligned to a particular world religion, thus creating another Bosnia, where people of three separate religions are killing one another, but we think of creative names for them so that the general public doesn’t realize religion does nothing but create war.

I wish I had the answers. I hope against hope that what this year’s NDAA was meant to accomplish will make change. I hope every night for the citizens of Syria, trapped in a civil war that seems to be going in three directions between the government, the Islamist revolutionaries, and the Kurds. A civil war that is little more than a proxy battle between foreign governments inside of a country with convenient resources, or adjacent to said resources. Above any of this, I just hope that a young woman named Amira, who I love with all my heart, grows up and holds onto her idealism, and doesn’t allow herself to get swept into a war in one way, or the other, or the other. I hope she is on the cover of TIME someday, as she should be, for uniting Syria, and establishing a democratic state in the region, aligned with U.S. and other Western forces, and never wavers in the face of adversity, as she doesn’t now, even when asked why her grades are slipping amid bloodshed happening outside her front door. At the risk of this being another 20,000 word timeline, I’ll stop this here, but I hope you learned something about the black and white politics we’re presented in the United States every day, and I hope Amira is the next revolutionary that hipsters wear on T-shirts without ever actually knowing her politics or background, just like Ernesto Guevara.

For more information on Syria and what you can do to help trapped civilians there, please visit https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/Sami4syria or text Sami4Syria to 71777. These poor people are caught up in a near decades long civil war they had nothing to do with, and deserve our help, as the poorest among us are living better than any of them. Please consider my request. Even a dollar helps.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this wasn’t as much of a slog as my normal articles.

China and the CIA

Why is China Winning the War Against U.S. Intelligence?

China is the world’s most populous country with a population of 1,420,062,000 citizens as of early 2019. The size of their population is dwarfed, however, by the size of their government. China is known to have an overreaching democratic dictatorship government, ruled by the communist party, whose constitution guarantees them exorbitant power over its citizens, including, but not limited to, their ability to limit even the number of children allowed per family.

With a government this overreaching, you would expect the Chinese government to be very intrusive to its own citizens, as well as foreign governments, with all of the wealth necessary to build a very one of the world’s largest national security establishments. Within this apparatus are several of the world’s most powerful and secretive clandestine agencies. Namely one: The Ministry of State Security or MSS.

It’s certainly nothing new for governments around the world to feel the presence of the agency, with increasing power and efficacy, as they did with the PLA prior. Over the last decade, though, the United States has been the priority target of China’s MSS, with increased hacking, civilian spy recruitment, and even recruitment within government agencies.

In January of 2018, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former CIA officer, was arrested at New York’s JFK International airport. At the time, Lee was in possession of several hand-written notes containing classified information, including the locations of covert facilities and operational meeting locations,the names and phone numbers of foreign assets and covert CIA employees, and even operational notes from asset meetings. In may of this year, Lee was sentenced to 19 years in prison after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to deliver national defense information to aid a foreign government and two counts of unlawfully retaining documents related to national defense.

Lee worked for the CIA from 1994 – 2007. Lee moved to Hong Kong after leaving the CIA, where he worked for Japan Tobacco International, a company formed in 1999 when Japan Tobacco Inc. purchased the international operations of R.J. Reynolds. In 2010, while working for the firm, Lee was approached by Chinese officials and offered an undisclosed sum of money to provide U.S. intelligence information, as well as sensitive company information to Chinese authorities. Shortly afterward, the Hong Kong company for whom he worked suspected Lee of sharing information regarding the company’s investigation into counterfeiting and smuggling. A former manager of Lee’s had this to say to the South China Morning Post in 2018:

“While at the time we could not prove it, we suspected he was leaking the details of our investigations into counterfeiting and smuggling – including those conducted in cooperation with Western law enforcement agencies and targeting highly sophisticated organised crime syndicates and North Korea – to the mainland authorities. Several of the shipments of counterfeits purchased as part of the investigations were seized by the Chinese authorities or simply disappeared, and one of our contract investigators was arrested and imprisoned in China.”

After his termination from the company in 2012, Lee moved his family back to the United States. The family, while seeking permanent residence, frequented hotels in Virginia and Hawaii. Due to the association between Lee’s former employer and Western law enforcement, U.S. authorities were made aware of Lee’s dealings with Chinese authorities, which raised red flags because of Lee’s former association with the CIA.

Lee quickly came under investigation by federal law enforcement, and in time, during a search of the family’s hotel room, authorities found several day planners and a thumb drive containing sensitive and classified information that Lee had apparently compiled while still at the agency. While this is a crime on its own due to the agreement Lee had signed with the CIA upon his hire, this raised extra suspicions of federal law enforcement, the NSA, and the CIA. This is because of the time-frame between Lee moving to Hong Kong, to the time he returned to the United States – an important span of time for the United States Intelligence Community. Between 2010 – 2012, up to 20 CIA assets were imprisoned or killed by Chinese authorities, which was the worst intelligence disaster the United States had seen since the Aldrich Ames incident in the 1980s.

Problems were not over after Lee’s arrest and conviction, though. Last year, former CIA officer Kevin Mallory was arrested on charges of spying for the Chinese. Mallory was approached by a Chinese intel headhunter via LinkedIn in 2017. Chinese officials learned of Mallory’s $230,000 mortgage that was several months delinquent, along with several other delinquent bills and credit card debt. The Chinese headhunter offered to help pay off Mallory’s debt if he were to pass sensitive and classified information.

In March and April, Mallory traveled to Shanghai with the contact, Michael Yang, who claimed to work for a Chinese think tank. Mallory quickly assessed Yang to be a Chinese intelligence officer, however. At this time, Yang gave Mallory a covcom device in the form of an encrypted Samsung Galaxy smartphone to facilitate his communications with Yang. According to the FBI, Mallory used this device to transmit at least five U.S. government documents to Yang, one containing the identities of sources who had helped the U.S. government.

Mallory was sentenced in May of this year to 20 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Mallory’s and Lee’s sentences were not the only ones this year, though. In March of this year, former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Ron Hansen plead guilty to attempting to communicate, deliver, or transmit information involving the national defense of the United States to the People’s Republic of China.

Hansen was arrested in June of 2018 while en route to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He was scheduled to board a flight to China while in possession of classified military information he had planned to sell to agents of a Chinese intelligence service. As Hansen admitted, in early 2014, Chinese intelligence targeted him for recruitment, after which time he started meeting with them in China on a regular basis. During the first of these meetings, the agents outlined precisely what kind of information they would consider valuable to Chinese intelligence. Hansen then offered to deliver the information for a some of money that added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars between May 24, 2016 and June 2, 2018.

While Hansen previously had clearance for highly classified information, after leaving the agency, however, he lost his clearance, as most do. Hansen used his relationship with a DIA case officer who still worked for the agency, and acted as a conduit between the officer and Chinese intelligence representatives. Hansen advised the case officer how to record and transmit classified information in a manner that would avoid detection, and also advised the case officer how to hide and launder any financial compensation received for the information.

Unknown to Hansen at the time, the case officer reported Hansen’s behavior to higher-ups within the DIA, and not long after, agreed to act as a confidential source for the FBI during the investigation into Hansen. Hansen met with the case officer on June 2, 2018, and was handed documents containing sensitive and highly classified information related to national security and regional U.S. military readiness. As mentioned before, he was arrested later on that day, and the information never made it to his Chinese intelligence contacts. 

Three arrests of former CIA and DIA officers in one year for violations of the espionage act is certainly an alarming uptick. There has also been a large increase in Chinese hacking. According to CrowdStrike co-founder Dmitri Alperovitch, “We have seen [the Ministry of State Security], over the years, break into corporate organizations. They were always better technically than the PLA (People’s Liberation Army).” He continued about the recent increase in MSS hacking, “We’re seeing, on a weekly basis, intrusions into U.S. and other Western companies from Chinese actors.” This is, of course, in violation of the 2015 agreement between the U.S. and China, not to conduct cyber-enabled spying or intellectual property theft.

There has also been an uptick in the amount of non-government employees, foreign visitors, foreign nationals, and U.S. citizens accused of spying. In March of this year, Chinese businesswoman Yujing Zhang unlawfully made her way into Mar-A-Lago – President Trump’s Florida resort – carrying multiple electronics in her purse, such as encrypted thumb drives, allegedly with the intent of collecting sensitive information about President Trump and other government matters through resort computers. Zhang was not convicted of spying, as prosecutors could not prove her intent, but she was convicted of trespassing and lying to federal agents, after changing her story about why she was at the resort several times. Zhang has since been reported after receiving time served on an eight-month sentence of incarceration.

As recently as September of this year, two Chinese diplomats were expelled to the Chinese Embassy in Washington after trespassing onto a sensitive military base in Virginia. This is the first incident of its kind since 1987. It is believed by officials that at least one of the two diplomats was an intelligence officer working under diplomatic cover. The diplomats, accompanied by their wives attempted entry at the base’s checkpoint. Due to lack of clearance, they were instructed to enter, turn around, and leave, but the diplomats ignored instructions and continued onto the base. They were then pursued by military personnel, but continued to evade authorities until their path was blocked by firetrucks. Due to diplomatic immunity, charges were not filed, but the individuals have officially been expelled to their embassy. Steps were also taken to vastly increase restrictions on Chinese diplomats in October. Chinese diplomats must now provide previous notice before meeting with state or local officials, and before visiting educational and research institutions. China has since claimed the incident was a misunderstanding, and the expulsion of the diplomats is a mistake on behalf of the U.S.

Also in September, naturalized U.S. citizen and California resident, Xuehua Peng was taken into custody after an FBI sting that lasted more than two years. Peng, who went by Edward, was charged with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Peng allegedly worked as an intermediary passing classified information and collecting payments between intelligence agents. Peng used a classical spy tactic known as dead-drops – a tactic where information, money or other products are left at one of multiple predetermined locations which are usually marked by something as a signal, such as a chalk line or discreet symbol of some kind. The agent that communicated with Peng on behalf of the MSS was a double agent working for the FBI, and collected evidence on Peng for over two years. Peng has not yet been convicted, but the officials allege the evidence collected by the FBI during the investigation is irrefutable.

These are only a few cases from 2019 alone, and one must wonder, as President Trump’s trade war with China continues to escalate, how far will China go to spy on U.S. and other Western companies and governments. Even if China and the U.S. have reached a small deal providing some relief on Chinese tariffs, we remain economic competitors on the global scale, and who knows what sanctions may happen as a result of China’s current crackdown on Hong Kong. In a time when Russia is running vast networks of disinformation campaigns and pumping millions of illegal dollars into political campaigns, the uptick in Chinese spying is more than alarming.

Additional Reading: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-cia-officer-sentenced-prison-espionage https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-intelligence-officer-convicted-attempted-espionage-sentenced-10-years-federal-prison https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-cia-officer-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-commit-espionage https://www.cyberscoop.com/ministry-of-state-security-china-hacking-department-of-justice-indictment/ https://www.cyberscoop.com/ministry-of-state-security-china-hacking-department-of-justice-indictment/ https://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-employee-arrested-allegedly-acting-secret-chinese-agent/story?id=41045611

A Pattern of Attacks

Deep State Conspiracies and Trump’s On-Going Grudge Against the United States Intelligence Community

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

John 8:32

I’m not a religious person. I leave that sort of thing to the theologians. However, the quote above cannot be questioned as a positive biblical quote. This quote is not only important to the theologians or the religious of the world, but it’s also important to the men and women who serve their country as part of the Central Intelligence Agency, as the CIA’s motto, carved into a wall at the George H.W. Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia.

It would appear this quote would be contrary to everything the CIA stands for. Isn’t the CIA a super secret organization of spies that perform crazy experiments on people against their will, torture U.S. citizens, and spy on/overthrow foreign governments left and right to meet the American goal of world domination? Isn’t that where all of the aliens are hidden, along with all of Hillary Clinton’s spooky emails that reveal her secret identity as an evil space lizard? Well, until recently, it was only the movies or low resolution conspiracy documentaries on Youtube. This has unfortunately changed.

President Donald J. Trump has a long history of not only criticizing the I.C. for their inability to prosecute his political rivals’ so-called scandals involving deleted emails or alleged conspiracies at foreign embassies. He has also gone as far as spreading deep state conspiracy theories alleging bias against him, and outlandish CIA plots to remove him from office.

This behavior continued through this very week, months after Donald Trump instructed his own Justice Department to investigate the FBI for alleged political bias against him before and during the Trump-Russia probe, as part of a deep state conspiracy against him. If you’d like to read more about this, I wrote extensively on this earlier in the week. Read it here.

After the report was made public this week, Donald Trump continues to spread misinformation about contents and conclusions of the report, no matter what the Inspector General himself says about his office’s conclusions, or what the Director of the FBI says in response to the report. This behavior indicates that President Trump is intent on continuing to spread these Alex Jones-esque deep state conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, his base is comprised of so many of these lifelong Info Wars subscribers, and they eat this sort of things up. As if he could say the world is flat and the moon landing was a fake, and his base would cheer him even harder.

One must wonder where it ends. Likely the only way to find the answer to that question is the figure out where it began. President Trump has always had a penchant for the conspiratorial beliefs. Whether it was questioning Ted Cruz’s father’s involvement in the JFK assassination, claiming Justice Antonin Scalia was found with a pillow on his face, and trying to point to Democrats in an assassination plot, or even going as far back as bringing the Obama Birther movement from the outer reaches of the internet, to popular online forums such as Twitter.

Alex Jones During a Broadcast on Infowars.com

Why wouldn’t President Trump be hostile toward the USIC while believing in conspiracy theories like these? He has also been known to tune into, and even call into Info Wars. A webcast that has been known to spread such nonsense as the 9/11 attacks being an inside job, the existence of a secret resort where all world leaders meet once per year for orgies and human sacrifice, and even accusing the CIA of putting chemicals in the water that turn straight frogs into homosexuals. I’m really not making this up.

What do you think tap water is? It’s a gay bomb, baby. And I’m not saying people didn’t naturally have homosexual feelings. I’m not even getting into it, quite frankly. I mean, give me a break. Do you think I’m like, oh, shocked by it, so I’m up here bashing it because I don’t like gay people? I don’t like ’em putting chemicals in the water that turn the freakin’ frogs gay! Do you understand that? I’m sick of being social engineered, it’s not funny!

“Alex Jones Gay Bomb Rant”, October 16 2015

Unfortunately, Alex Jones’ conspiracy theories aren’t all comical. Alex is known for accusing survivors of school shootings of being crisis actors, and even spreading conspiracies about businesses running pedophile rings for high-ranking politicians in their basements. While the latter might sound comical, this very business was the victim of a shooting in December of 2016, perpetrated by a man who believed in the conspiracy theory spread by Jones to enough of a degree to kill over it.

This is a very dangerous precedent that is harmful to the American people in the hands of a popular internet personality, but it is far more dangerous in the hands of a President with a cult-like following. Just imagine if Donald Trump were to tweet something tomorrow that would perpetuate the 9/11 conspiracy. How long would it take before former President George W. Bush required enhanced police security, such as those men and women who testified in November’s impeachment inquiries after receiving death threats and being doxed online?

This, however, is little more dangerous than things President Trump has said and done in the past. It would follow his pattern of dishonesty against those who serve to protect our nation. It would be consistent with Donald Trump’s claim that Barack Obama should not be president because he was not born in the United States. A claim that moved the goal posts well into the ocean in their continuing demand for more and more evidence of Obama’s place of birth, even after the long-form birth certificate was put on a giant screen at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

President Trump has touted even more dangerous conspiracy theories over the years. In 2016 during a presidential debate, Donald Trump said to host Jake Tapper, ” “We had so many instances, people that work for me, just the other day, 2 years old, a beautiful child, went to have the vaccine and came back and a week later got a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic,” The idea that vaccines are to blame for autism is long-debunked by every federal and state health organization in the United States, and in every other first world country. Yet these dangerous hypotheses, after bing repeated enough to an audience that seeks out boogiemen, have led to the return of Whooping Cough, Measles, Mumps, Tuberculosis, etc…

Donald Trump is a known climate change denialist, and has gone as far to publicly harass children online out of his hostility toward the science. Donald Trump has never had a great relationships with science, however. In a 1992 interview with New York Magazine, Donald Trump openly denied the validity of the scientific studies that ruled on the dangers of asbestos.

President Trump has gone as far as accuse others of murder in repeating conspiracy theories. Donald Trump has used the hashtag #ClintonBodyCount on several occasions. A hashtag that is in reference to a conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton was somehow behind the death of DNC employee Seth Rich and the suicide of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster. This wasn’t the only time, of course. In November of 2017, Donald Trump tweeted, “So now that Matt Lauer is gone when will the Fake News practitioners at NBC be terminating the contract of Phil Griffin? And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the ‘unsolved mystery’ that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!” A tweet in reference to yet another conspiracy theory that Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough murdered intern Lori Klausutis, while he was a Congressman for Florida’s First District.

What’s worse is Donald Trumjp’s history of rhetoric against Muslims in America and abroad. In November of 2017, Donald Trump tweeted three videos in the hopes of selectively verifying his anti-Muslim sentiments. The videos showed Muslims in Europe committing assaults on citizens and vandalism against “Christian icons.”

Donald Trump’s retweet of propaganda videos posted by members of Britain First, a known anti-Muslim organization.

After the propaganda videos were shared by Donald Trump, he was made aware of the origins of the videos, and the reputation of the group sharing them, which led to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defending the president by saying the “origins of the videos doesn’t matter.”

After a history of repeating and popularizing conspiracy theories, no matter the consequences, it is no wonder President Trump has such little respect for the Intelligence Community. In fact, only days after his inauguration, Donald Trump’s actions displays just how much respect he has for the IC during a speech at the George H.W. Bush Center for Intelligence.

When President Trump stood in front of the CIA’s memorial wall in January of 2017, he spent the entirety of his speech bragging about himself, verbalizing a fictional narrative of a “landslide election,” and dishonestly exaggerating the size of his inauguration crowd. A series of blatantly lies in front of a wall of stars that individually represent men or women who died in the line of duty as members of the CIA. This was an act of disrespect that led to CIA employees leaving flowers at the wall weeks afterward, as a form of protest, apologizing to those lost for allowing President Trump to disgrace their names and legacies.

Such disrespect for our Intelligence Community at the very beginning of his term set the stage for a presidency wherein the IC is consistently held in contempt by the White House, and even many of the president’s appointees within the State Department. And never in my life have I seen a president with such little respect for the men and women who serve tirelessly to keep safe and preserve the freedoms we take for granted every day in the United States of America.

The Articles’ Architect

How One of Trump’s First Appointees Set Impeachment in Motion

Weeks before the whistle-blower’s complaint against Donald Trump’s now infamous Ukraine call became public, the complaint was reviewed by not only members of the CIA, but also by CIA general counsel, and Trump appointee, Courtney Simmons Elwood. Elwood, as well as other senior officials who had reviewed the complaint, concluded that there indeed was a crime committed during the phone call, leading to Elwood officially filing a criminal referral.

Courtney Simmons Elwood
General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency

Before her nomination, Elwood served as a clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 1995, then for Judge J. Michael Luttig on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Afterward, she joined the firm of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick. Simmons was appointed by the Trump administration in March of 2017, and confirmed by the senate on June 6th of that year, after a 67-33 vote. A vote that split heavily down party lines, with only 16 of her 67 yea votes coming from Democrats.

On August 14, 2019 Elwood filed a criminal referral with the Justice Department. along with general counsel at the National Security Council, John Eisenberg. The belief of the two, and others in the I.C. was that a crime had absolutely been committed by President Donald Trump in his coercion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, by withholding promised military aid until an investigation was announced by the Ukrainians into the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, his son, Hunter Biden.

Not long after the August 14 call to the Justice Department, Acting Director of National Intelligence and Inspector General for the Intelligence Community, Joseph Maguire, who had only just assumed the role, referred his own allegations to the Justice Department, expressing the very same concerns as Elwood and Eisenberg.

The Justice Department’s determination into the referral made by Elwood, Eisenberg, Maguire, and numerous other high ranking and senior members of the I.C., was that no crime had been committed. The referrals made were based on federal laws prohibiting “contribution, donation of money, or other things of value” from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. The Justice Departments determination was that an investigation did not count as a contribution, monetary donation, or other thing of value, because it was not quantifiable.

As is evident by the impeachment inquiries of November, and this week’s approval from the House of Representatives to draft articles of impeachment, Elwood’s actions helped to put into motion the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Since the initial report, several other facts have come to light implicating President Donald Trump, and several others, including House Intelligence Committee member, Devin Nunes (R-CA).

As of this writing, the articles of impeachment are in the process of being drafted, and have not yet reached the Senate Judiciary Committee.