KGB ‘targeted’ Donald Trump ‘for over 40 years’, former Russian spy claims
A former top-ranking KGB official has claimed the Kremlin – in a bid to grow their power – encouraged Donald Trump to enter politics since the 1980s.
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Former US President Donald Trump was targeted as a potential Russian asset, according to a former top KGB spy.
Yuri Shvets, who has lived in the United States since the 1980s, said Mr Trump had been targeted over the past 40 years, telling The Guardian that at one point the then USSR government celebrated how willing Mr Trump was to repeat anti-western sentiments and propaganda.
“This is an example where people were recruited when they were just students and then they rose to important positions; something like that was happening with Trump,” Mr Shvets said.
The former KGB major said the Soviet empire first began targeting and spying on Mr Trump in the late 1970s following his marriage to his first wife, Ivana.
Mr Shvets also claims that in 1987, when Mr Trump visited Russia for the first time, operatives encouraged the property developer to enter politics.
“For the KGB, it was a charm offensive. They had collected a lot of information on his personality so they knew who he was personally. The feeling was that he was extremely vulnerable intellectually, and psychologically, and he was prone to flattery.”
“This is what they exploited. They played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality and believed this is the guy who should be the president of the United States one day: it is people like him who could change the world. They fed him these so-called active measures sound bites and it happened. So it was a big achievement for the KGB active measures at the time,” Mr Schvets said.
AOC HITS OUT AT CRUZ
High profile Democrat politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz almost had her “murdered” during the Capitol riots in Washingtoin DC earlier this month.
The wild claims came after the pair had a fired up back-and-forth about the GameStop share trading saga.
“I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,” AOC wrote on Twitter.
“Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.
“In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.”
The huge allegations came while the Democrat and Republican were discussing GameStop shares.
In response to Robinhood preventing users from trading GameStop stocks, Donald Trump Jr tweeted: “Yea I don’t recall the part of the story when Robin Hood sells out and starts to be a mercenary for the crown …
“Apparently everyone has a price,” he wrote, followed by “#ToTheMoon,” “#GameStop” and rocket ship emojis.
AOC then took to Twitter: “This is unacceptable.
“We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit.
“As a member of the Financial Services Cmte, I’d support a hearing if necessary.”
She then followed up with a jab at Republicans, saying: “I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out.
“Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.
Meanwhile, “AOC” also claimed her Republican colleagues sympathised with White supremacists and alleging that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was beholden to QAnon conspiracy theorists.
The Democratic “Squad” member was asked about the “nature” of the Republican caucus that she works alongside with following the deadly Capitol riots. She began by pointing out a “profound difference” between the Republican caucus in the current Congress and the one from the previous Congress.
“That difference was that it really felt that last term, the Republican caucus was one of extreme fealty to Donald Trump,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “There were some that were true believers, others that simply remained quiet out of cowardice and out of fear of the president’s retribution.
“But this term, there are legitimate White supremacist sympathisers that sit at the heart and at the core of the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives.
“And if you see someone like the House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, of the Republican Party respond to White supremacist vitriol coming from his own members, not with censure like they did with Representative Steve King of Iowa, not with, you know, being stripped of committees, not with any consequence, you have to wonder who actually has that power.
“And it increasingly seems, unfortunately, that in the House Republican Caucus, Kevin McCarthy answers to these QAnon members of Congress, not the other way around. And that is something, frankly, that needs to be said.”
DOMESTIC TERRORISM ALERT IN USA
The US Department of Homeland Security declared a nationwide terrorism alert on Wednesday (local time), citing the potential threat from domestic anti-government extremists opposed to Joe Biden as president.
“Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fuelled by false narratives, could continue to mobilise to incite or commit violence,” the department said.
The National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin said a heightened threat of attack “will persist in the weeks following the successful presidential inauguration,” which took place on January 20.
“DHS does not have any information to indicate a specific, credible plot,” it said.
“However, violent riots have continued in recent days and we remain concerned that individuals frustrated with the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition … could continue to mobilise a broad range of ideologically-motivated actors to incite or commit violence.” The alert said there had been mounting threats since last year from domestic violent extremists motivated by COVID-19 restrictions, Mr Biden’s defeat of Donald Trump in the November election, police brutality and illegal immigration.
DHS said these motivations could remain in place for the coming months and that the January 6 attack by Trump supporters on Congress could embolden extremists “to target elected officials and government facilities.” More than 150 people, including members of armed extremist groups, have been arrested since the attack, which has been branded as an insurrection.
The department urged the public to report suspicious activity and threats of violence.
TRUMP IMPEACHMENT ‘DEAD ON ARRIVAL’
Republican senators are blasting Democrats for proceeding with an impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump, saying the move is “dead on arrival” after 45 senators voted that it was unconstitutional.
Senator Ted Cruz, a senior Republican, accused Democrats of being “driven by partisan rage” against Mr Trump as Joe Biden completed his first week in office.
“They hate Donald J. Trump and they are engaging in an act that I think is petty retribution and that is vindictive and a waste of time,” Sen Cruz said. “I think it’s time to move on.”
He charged that the trial fails to reach the constitutional standard.
“They didn’t pretend to follow due process, they didn’t have hearings, they didn’t pretend to look at any facts or any evidence,” he said. “This was an exercise in political rage. It was their id speaking … look, these are the same Democrats who four years ago, in 2017 — actually in December of 2016, before Trump was sworn in, said they wanted to impeach him. They’ve wanted to impeach him from the beginning. They did it a year ago.”
Conservative Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky spoke against the trial, asserting that it would be unconstitutional to impeach a former president.
In a Twitter post, he said, “45 Senators agreed that this sham of a ‘trial’ is unconstitutional. That is more than will be needed to acquit and to eventually end this partisan impeachment process. This ‘trial’ is dead on arrival in the Senate.”
Sen Paul pointed out that Democrats, including Maxine Waters, urged her supporters to harass Trump administration members over the former president’s immigration policies.
Sen Paul was referring to June 2018 remarks by Ms Waters, who told a crowd, “Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”
“That sounds like an incitement to violence, but nobody’s talking about impeaching Maxine Waters,” Sen Paul said.
“So it’s a significant hypocrisy and double standard that they’re putting forward and they should be called out on it. Nobody should be shy about calling them out on their hypocrisy,” he continued.
Five Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Mitt Romney of Utah — voted against their party to say the trial is constitutional and should continue.
The five voted along with all 50 Democratic senators, according to the New York Post.
A two-thirds majority is needed in the chamber to find Trump guilty of the impeachment charge of “incitement of an insurrection” because of his speech before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, carried out by supporters of the former president.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) questioned why Democrats continue to pursue an impeachment trial when they know the votes aren’t there to convict.
“Why are they doing this? They’re afraid. I think Democratic senators are afraid of the left wing of their party, that if they don’t give some credibility to this trial that started in the House, they are in trouble,” he told Hannity.
He suggested President Biden, who has vowed to unite the country, could put an end to the trial.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence is “homeless” and is now allegedly couch-surfing with an Indiana politician after leaving office, reports claim.
The former vice president and his wife Karen are residing at a cabin that Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb uses as a retreat, a source told Business Insider.
An adviser for former president Donald Trump reportedly told the news outlet Pence “doesn’t have a home” or “anywhere to live” after leaving the White House.
Pence flew on a government plan to Columbus Municipal Airport on Inauguration Day to return to his Indiana home town.
He landed with his wife and two daughters, Charlotte and Audrey, after attending President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony on January 20.
“Let me also take a moment to say thank you to President Donald Trump and Melania for all they have done to make America great again,” Pence said as he arrived. “We will always be grateful for the opportunity that they gave us to serve.”
The Sun reported that he told a crowd: “I’ve already promised Karen we’ll be moving back to Indiana come this summer. There’s no place like home.”
The Trump adviser reportedly said that a handful of Republicans close to the former vice president are troubled over Pence’s lack of a home or job.
It has been reported that the former Second Family doesn’t own a home.
Two Republicans revealed they heard the Pences were staying at a family member’s home in Columbus, it was reported by Business Insider, which said it has been some 10 years since the former vice president and his wife owned a home.
They sold a single-family home in 1987, moved again in 1999 and bought another home south of Edinburgh, Indiana – however, it is unknown if the Pences still own the property.
BIDEN’S BIG MOVE: ‘IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO’
New US President Joe Biden has condemned the racism directed towards Asian-Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, in his latest effort to stamp out Donald Trump’s influence.
Mr Biden signed a series of executive actions revolving around racial equity, focusing on non-discrimination policy, prison reform and public housing, saying it is “time to act.”
“It’s what the core values of this nation call us to do. And I believe the vast majority of Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents — share these values and want us to act as well,” Mr Biden said during a signing ceremony at the White House alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
Mr Biden established that it is the policy of his administration to condemn and denounce anti-Asian bias, specifically addressing anti-Asian bias in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump and his supporters often referred to the coronavirus as the “China virus” and Mr Biden’s executive actions are designed to promote equality and stamp out prejudice.
The President will be working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice on the matter.
“We have never fully lived up to the founding principles of this nation, to state the obvious, that all people are created equal and have a right to be treated equally throughout their lives,” Mr Biden said.
He added, “it’s time to act now not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because if we do, we’ll all be better off for it.”
Mr Biden said the protests over the death of George Floyd “stirred the conscious of tens of millions of Americans, and … marked a turning point in this country’s attitude toward racial justice.”
As part of Tuesday’s executive actions, Mr Biden directed the Justice Department not to renew federal contracts with private prisons who were seen to be exploiting the labour of the incarcerated.
Mr Biden had campaigned on eliminating the federal government’s use of private prisons.
Mr Biden issued a memorandum to the Department of Housing and Urban Development that will “redress historical racism in federal housing policies.”
He also reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to tribal sovereignty.
The President indicated during the signing ceremony that while previous presidential administrations have had interest in addressing equity, his administration intends to integrate racial equity policy holistically across its domestic policy efforts.
A senior administration official said on a call with reporters earlier Tuesday that cost implications of the move away from private prison was not a “motivating factor.”
BIG TECH TARGETS POLITICIANS
Meanwhile, Google said on Tuesday (local time) it would halt political contributions for politicians who voted against certifying the election of Mr Biden, citing the deadly US Capitol violence earlier this month.
Mr Trump has been accused of inciting the riots over his insistent baseless claims of election fraud, which resulted in the deaths of five people, including a Washington DC police officer.
Google’s political action committee, known as NetPAC, had paused all political contributions and reviewed its policies following the deadly siege in Washington as Congress was preparing to certify presidential results.
“Following that review, the NetPAC board has decided that it will not be making any contributions this cycle to any member of Congress who voted against certification of the election results,” a Google spokesman said in a statement.
Other tech firms including Facebook and Microsoft also paused political contributions after the January 6 unrest.
The 147 Republican politicians who voted against Mr Biden’s certification are accused of complicity in Mr Trump’s attempt to overturn what was a free and fair election.
The former president spent weeks both before and after his defeat making false claims about election fraud and is facing a Senate trial after being impeached for inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol.
On Tuesday, local time, the acting police chief of the Capitol formally apologised to Congress for the security failures on behalf of his department which failed to quell the uprising of Mr Trump’s supporters.
“”We knew that there was a strong potential for violence and that Congress was the largest,” acting chief Yogananda Pittman said. “The department prepared in order to meet these challenges, but we did not do enough.”
Microsoft has said it would decide by mid-February on whether to resume US political contributions.
“As Microsoft executives have said internally to employees, this is not a normal year,” Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a statement last week.
“The company believes that opposition to the Electoral College undermined American democracy and should have consequences.”
But Mr Biden has said that the Senate impeachment trial of his predecessor “has to happen” but expressed doubts that 17 Republicans could be found to secure the two-thirds majority in the chamber needed to convict the 45th POTUS of “incitement to insurrection” over the Capitol riot earlier this month.
In his first such poll as president, Mr Biden scored a 63 per cent approval rating in his first such poll, with the majority of registered voters surveyed him after a busy first week in the Oval Office following his inauguration.
HOW BIDEN’S ‘BUY AMERICAN’ MOVE AFFECTS AUSTRALIA
Meanwhile, a move to boost the “Buy American” campaign by Mr Biden could have major trade implications for Australia.
Mr Biden announced he will appoint a Director of Made in America, whose job is to ensure the US maximises locally produced goods.
The President signed an executive order to usher in new “Buy American” initiatives including $A780 billion worth of federal purchasing power.
Australian trade experts were mulling the possible implications today as Mr Biden signed yet another executive order – this one aiming to increase domestic manufacturing by harnessing the purchasing power of the federal government.
It will also aim to close loopholes for companies taking business overseas.
For Australian firms, it’s likely to have greatest impact in defence housing construction, transport logistics and pharmaceutical delivery.
Senior trade sources told News Corp that Australia has massive exposure to the US government’s $A780 billion purchasing power.
But the new order is unlikely to restrict Australia’s procurement rights under its Free Trade Agreement with America as well as its entitlements under a World Trade Organisation deal.
“We have two sets of rights which make us believe the ‘Buy American’ order will have a lot of impact on Australia,” a senior trade source said.
“But we do have some big infrastructure companies here, and we have huge access under the Free Trade Agreement.
“This gives Australia major exposure to the ‘Buy American’ push.”
Political science Professor Brandon Rottinghaus from Houston University said the new order would definitely have real international ramifications.
“The Biden Administration are committed free traders but an economic slump in the US has pushed them to adopt policies to favour US firms,” Prof Rottinghaus said.
“Foreign trade will be depressed by this approach, making it a challenge for the new Biden Administration to mend fences that might have been damaged by the Trump Administration.”
President Biden has signed an executive order aimed at boosting his “Buy American” efforts following years of “Buy American, Hire American” initiatives from former president Donald Trump.
Existing laws already require the government to give work to US firms when possible, but there are many exceptions and waiver opportunities that for years have frustrated advocates for small and medium-size businesses.
Biden administration officials said the president’s executive order would go further than previous efforts by reducing opportunities for waivers from the Buy American requirements and by tightening standards restricting opportunities for overseas companies.
The order aims to increase domestic manufacturing by harnessing the purchasing power of the federal government and closing loopholes for companies taking business overseas.
The federal government spends $A780 billion annually on goods and services, which Biden officials hope the order will keep more of in the United States.
Former president Trump signed multiple executive actions focused on his “Buy American, Hire American” agenda dating back to early 2017.
In April of that year, the 45th president signed an executive action encouraging federal agencies to purchase US-made iron, steel and manufactured goods.
Two years later, he signed another two actions, focused on encouraging the use of US-made materials in federally-financed infrastructure projects.
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