News of the World

[kyonides]

DOJ Prosecutor Working on Special Counsel
Jack Smith’s Team Is a Biden Donor

David Rody left his role as a partner at the Sidley Austin law firm in 2022 to join the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a senior counsel in the criminal division. Now, he is helping advise Smith, who has indicted Trump twice for his alleged efforts to challenge the 2020 election and his handling of White House documents.

Interestingly, Rody is a Democrat donor who donated $5,600 to Biden in 2020 and nearly $7,000 to other Democrat causes from 2018 to 2022.
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Rody, who previously led investigations related to bribery, fraud, obstruction of justice, and other federal crimes, used to be head of the Violent Crimes unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In June, he also steered $1,000 to the campaign for Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who was lead counsel in the first impeachment inquiry against Trump, disclosures show.

He also gave $500 in 2019 to the failed-presidential campaign for now-Vice President Kamala Harris and $2,250 combined to Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) presidential and Senate reelection campaigns, according to disclosures.
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Karen Gilbert, another lead attorney on Smith’s team, is also a Biden and former President Barack Obama donor, the Examiner reported.

Further, Smith’s wife is a Biden donor and helped produce a documentary about Michelle Obama.
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Federal Election Commission records show that Smith’s wife, Katy Chevigny, contributed $1,000 each to Biden’s 2020 campaign, Biden for President, and the Biden Victory Fund super PAC, on September 9, 2020. Moreover, she donated $150 to the Friends of Rashida Tlaib committee in July 2008 when Tlaib was running for the Michigan House of Representatives in the state’s Twelfth District.

US Security Issues

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Rhodes: China Is ‘Much More’ Aggressive
with Spying in Preparation for Possible War

...former Obama Deputy National Security Adviser and NBC News Political Contributor Ben Rhodes stated that the information China was trying to get from two Navy sailors was information in preparation for a possible U.S.-China conflict and China’s recent espionage activities are examples of “China going really much more aggressively at trying to prepare for a potential military contingency with the United States” over Taiwan.

Host Andrea Mitchell said, “Two Navy sailors arrested, very briefly, there have been hacks of Commerce and the State Department and a New York Times report of a deeper concern about malware embedded in our military.”

Rhodes responded, “And if you look at the arrests, these were people that were passing naval secrets, Navy exercises, the nature of our ships, the nature of our bases. That is China seeking to get information in anticipation of a potential conflict. And the same thing is true with the malware.

Mexican President Calls Texas Governor
‘Inhumane, Immoral’ Over Border Buoys

At the end of his morning news conference, Lopez Obrador (AMLO) responded to questions by journalists who asked about the buoys and a response from Texas officials that Mexico should do more to stop illegal immigration.

“You can’t debate with those who don’t have a knowledge of the human condition,” AMLO said. “They don’t know the why of the migration or if they do know, they don’t care. They act in an inhumane way and immoral.”

The comments come just days after Mexican authorities released information that two migrants died on the waters of the Rio Grande and their bodies had been caught on a series of buoys placed by the Texas government in July. As Breitbart Texas reported, Texas Governor Greg Abbott had those buoys placed to slow down or redirect illegal immigration and would-be asylum seekers trying to cross the border.

Lopez Obrador has criticized Abbott repeatedly this week claiming that his stance on a secure border is purely for political reasons that will backfire come election day. The Mexican politician has called for Hispanics in Texas to vote against Abbott, Breitbart Texas reported.

World News

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Niger’s Military Junta Leaders Ask
Russia’s Wagner Group For Protection

Niger’s new military junta has asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner as the deadline nears for it to release the country’s ousted president or face possible military intervention by the West African regional bloc, according to an analyst.

The request came during a visit by one of the coup leaders, Gen. Salifou Mody, to neighboring Mali, where he made contact with someone from Wagner, Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told The Associated Press. He said three Malian sources and a French diplomat confirmed the meeting first reported by France 24.

“They need (Wagner) because they will become their guarantee to hold onto power,” he said, adding that the group is considering the request.

Niger’s junta faces a Sunday deadline set by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS to release and reinstate the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has described himself as a hostage.

Defense chiefs from ECOWAS members finalized an intervention plan on Friday and urged militaries to ready resources after a mediation team sent to Niger on Thursday wasn’t allowed to enter the city or meet with junta leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani.

After his visit to Mali, run by a sympathetic junta, Mody warned against a military intervention, vowing that Niger would do what it takes not to become “a new Libya,” Niger’s state television reported Friday.

Ukraine Strikes Black Sea Russian Oil Tanker With Drones

Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday night, according to Russian officials and video circulating on social media.

The strike was the second sea attack involving drones in one day, after Ukraine struck a major Russian port earlier on Friday in an attack that underlined Kyiv´s growing naval capabilities as the Black Sea becomes an increasingly important battleground in the war.

The attacks follow Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports after Moscow nearly three weeks ago withdrew from a key grain-export agreement that allowed Ukraine to sell millions of tons of grain on world markets.

“The Sig tanker…suffered a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, presumably as a result of a sea drone attack,” Russia´s Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport wrote on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.

Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ship’s crew were wounded because of broken glass.

An official with Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that the service was behind the attack on the tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces. A sea drone, filled with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT, was used for the attack, added the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.

Over 21,000 Illegal Migrants Entered Britain Undetected Last Year

On top of the record 54,563 migrants who landed on British beaches after crossing the English Channel in small boats launched from the coasts of France, an additional 21,000 entered without detection through other means, such as on the back of lorries, through airports, or as stowaways on ferries.

Another 9,000 migrants, per Home Office figures seen by The Times, were detected as coming to the country by illegal means before going on to apply for asylum.

The figures were estimated based on the number of people who applied for asylum last year while claiming that they arrived in other ways besides small boats across the Channel. Although some may have arrived prior to last year, it is typically the case that most illegals immediately apply for asylum upon reaching the country.

According to government data acquired by the supermarket industry magazine The Grocer, some 18,420 undetected illegals entered into the country in 2021, but this fell by around 50 per cent last year. However, industry sources said that such a decline did not match up with the realities on the ground, with supermarkets and food supplier depots often finding migrants hidden as stowaways on the backs of lorries as food from other countries come into the country.

For example, the supermarket Sainsbury’s reportedly has to throw away one full truck’s worth of fresh produce every ten days for fear of contamination from illegal migrants hidden in lorries.

Lebanon seeks to reassure Gulf, Germany after travel warnings

Lebanon's caretaker premier Najib Mikati said on Saturday there was no cause for "concern or panic" about his country's security situation, after Germany and Gulf countries issued new travel warnings following outbreaks of violence.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Germany and Britain updated their travel warnings amid clashes between rival armed groups in the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Lebanon's south.

In a statement, Mikati said he had spoken with his security chiefs and assessed that the situation "does not call for concern or panic." He said there had been "significant progress" in resolving the violence in Ain el-Hilweh, where at least 13 people have been killed in fighting.

The statement said foreign minister Abdullah Bou Habib had been tasked with reassuring Arab countries that their citizens were safe in Lebanon.

The Saudi embassy on Friday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly and avoid areas where there have been armed clashes. Bahrain followed suit a day later and called on its citizens to leave the country, according to a foreign ministry statement.