World

Although presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has often been critical of the United States' European allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he has been quick to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin and other far-right authoritarian figures.

President Joe Biden, in contrast, has been aggressively pro-NATO and is a scathing critic of Putin.

In a lengthy essay/think piece published online by The Atlantic on May 6 as well as in their June 2024 print edition, journalist/author Anne Applebaum emphasizes that the world is experiencing a major battle between authoritarians and promoters of liberal democracy — and "electing Trump" is a goal of "autocrats" around the world.

READ MORE:Expert warns dark shift in Trump’s tone is 'how fascists campaign'

Those "autocrats," according to Applebaum, are conducting "authoritarian propaganda campaigns" in order to undermine democracy.

"Autocratic regimes have slowly turned their repressive mechanisms outward, into the democratic world," Applebaum explains. "If people are naturally drawn to the image of human rights, to the language of democracy, to the dream of freedom, then those concepts have to be poisoned. That requires more than surveillance, more than close observation of the population, more than a political system that defends against liberal ideas. It also requires an offensive plan: a narrative that damages both the idea of democracy everywhere in the world and the tools to deliver it."

Applebaum notes that although most of the "autocrats" pushing an anti-democracy "narrative" online are on the far right, some are on the far left — for example, the leadership in Venezuela. And they typically equate democracy with chaos and authoritarianism with stability.

If Trump wins in November, Applebaum warns, it will be a victory for "autocrats" not only in the United States, but globally.

READ MORE: 'Terrifying' document details Trump’s 'blueprint for a soft coup'

"Because the American extreme right and, more rarely, the extreme left benefit from the spread of anti-democratic narratives," Applebaum points out, "they have an interest in silencing or hobbling any group that wants to stop, or even identify, foreign campaigns. Sen. Mark Warner, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told me that 'we are actually less prepared today than we were four years ago' for foreign attempts to influence the 2024 election."

Applebaum continues, "This is not only because authoritarian propaganda campaigns have become more sophisticated as they begin to use AI, or because 'you obviously have a political environment here where there's a lot more Americans who are more distrustful of all institutions.' It's also because the lawsuits, threats, and smear tactics have chilled government, academic, and tech-company responses…. Russia, China, and sometimes other state actors — Venezuela, Iran, Hungary — work with Americans to discredit democracy, to undermine the credibility of democratic leaders, to mock the rule of law. They do so with the goal of electing Trump, whose second presidency would damage the image of democracy around the world, as well as the stability of democracy in America, even further."

READ MORE: 'Treason': Top constitutional expert sounds the alarm over Trump’s attack on NATO

Anne Applebaum's full essay for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).

During the Cold War, many political scientists and military experts warned that if World War 3 was fought with buttons, World War 4 would be fought with sticks and stones.

The point was that if World War 3 went nuclear, it would be so devastating that the next global conflict would be much more low-tech.

The Cold War ended in the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc fell apart. But 2024 is full of major political tensions, from the Israel-Hamas War to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

READ MORE:'Oppenheimer' is a disappointment − and a lost opportunity

In her new book, "Nuclear War: A Scenario," journalist/author Annie Jacobsen offers a fictional scenario in which World War 3 goes nuclear after North Korea attacks the United States. And she discusses the book in a Q&A interview with journalist Kathy Gilsinan for Politico.

Asked if the scenario in her book is "realistic," Jacobsen told Gilsinan, "The scenario I chose was pieced together from interviews I did with 46 on-the-record sources and dozens of sources on background, and I ran by them various scenarios to come up with the most plausible scenario that unfolds once it begins. And this is what I came up with."

The only nuclear attack in world history came about during World War 2 in August 1945, when Democratic U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima. Many military experts have warned that the nuclear bomb used against Hiroshima paled in comparison to the nuclear weapons that were later developed.

Jacobsen stresses that in a nuclear conflict, considerable destruction could occur in only a short amount of time.

READ MORE: US/China Taiwan war could lead to 'nuclear annihilation': conservative

Jacobsen told Gilsinan, "Part of the terrifying truth about nuclear war, or if a nuclear exchange were to unfold, is the insane time clock that was put on everything from the moment nuclear launch is detected. This is fact. And so is the fact that the president has only six minutes; that's the rough time to make this decision. And in that time, the Black Book gets opened — he must make a choice from a counterattack list of choices inside the Black Book."

During the Cold War, the MAD theory (mutually assured destruction) argued that the Soviet Union and the United States — for all the animosity between the superpowers — realized that a nuclear World War 3 would be bad for everyone involved.

The bombing of Hiroshima was 79 years ago. Gilsinan asked Jacobsen if she thinks "deterrence" can continue to "hang on" — to which the "Nuclear War" author responded, "Some people say we're in the 79-year experiment. When I began writing the book, war in Ukraine had not happened, there were not such incredibly fragile situations unfolding around the globe. And so, it is a precarious time — and I hope that my writing Nuclear War: A Scenario, and people reading it, contribute to the safety of the future of this strange 79-year experiment."

READ MORE: 'I think we should kill 'em all,' GOP Rep. Andy Ogles says of Palestinians in Gaza

Read Politico's full interview with author Annie Jacobsen at this link.

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday took aim at former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in response to a question about the recent passing of the $95.3 billion bipartisan foreign aid bill.

About $60 billion of the bill will be used to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Carlson interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year.

Axios notes, "It's not the first time McConnell has publicly criticized Carlson, also blasting the anchor for his coverage of the January 6th riot at the capitol."

READ MORE: McConnell’s relationship with Trump is 'as icy as ever' — despite endorsement

C-SPAN posted a video via X (formerly Twitter) of a press conference, in which the top Republican was asked, "You've been probably one of the most ardent backers of Ukraine in the Senate here, but what took so long to get some of these other eight Republicans persuaded to your position? Was it the overall nature of this bill and what was lost in that time period for Ukraine?"

McConnell replied, "I think the demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who, in my opinion ended up where he should have been all along, which is interviewing Vladimir Putin."

Referring to the foreign aid package, the Senate minority leader emphasized that Carlson "had an enormous audience, which convinced a lot of rank and file Republicans that maybe this was a mistake."

Then, regarding why the legislation took months to pass, McConnell said, "First, it was an effort to make law, which requires you to deal with Democrats. And then a number of our members thought it wasn't good enough. And then the nominee for president didn't want us to do anything at all. That took months — to work our way through it.

READ MORE: 'Quickly falling apart': Conservatives are turning against 'click-chaser' Tucker Carlson

The top Republican added, "We ended up doing the supplemental that was originally proposed, which dealt with — not all problems, it didn't solve the border problem — but certainly addressed the growing threats at the moment."

Watch the video below or at this link.

The U.S. House of Representatives, on Saturday, April 20, passed a bill that would ban TikTok in the United States unless the platform's owner in Mainland China, ByteDance Ltd., sells its stake within a year.

Now, the proposed TikTok ban is going to the U.S. Senate for consideration. And it appears likely to become law.

According to Associated Press (AP) reporters Mary Clare Jalonick and Haleluya Hadero, "The decision by House Republicans to include TikTok as part of a larger foreign aid package, a priority for President Joe Biden with broad congressional support for Ukraine and Israel, fast-tracked the ban after an earlier version had stalled in the Senate. A standalone bill with a shorter, six-month selling deadline passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote as both Democrats and Republicans voiced national security concerns about the app's owner, the Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd."

READ MORE:How 'nihilist' House Republicans 'castrated their own power': analysis

In the U.S. Senate, the proposed TikTok ban is part of a foreign-aid package that also includes humanitarian relief for Gaza as well as military support for Israel.

Conservative Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has indicated that he will support the package.

On April 21, Graham tweeted, "The idea that the United States will be safer if we pull the plug on our friends and allies overseas is wrong."

Jalonick, in an April 23 article, notes, "The foreign aid portion of the bill is similar to what the Senate passed in February, with some minor changes and additions, including the TikTok bill and a stipulation that $9 billion of the economic assistance to Ukraine is in the form of 'forgivable loans.'"

READ MORE: Red flags raised over ex-Trump official’s bid to buy TikTok

Jalonick and Hadero point out that TikTok lobbyists have been fighting against the proposed U.S. ban.

In a video released in March, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew declared, "We will not stop fighting and advocating for you. We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you."

READ MORE: 'Looksmaxxing' is the disturbing TikTok trend turning young men into incels

Read the Associated Press' reporting at this link and here.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed Friday the majority of Democrats will support Republicans’ Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and Gaza foreign aid legislation as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson lost support of another member of his conference to a faction determined to oust him.

“Democrats will provide a majority of our majority as it relates to funding Israel, humanitarian assistance, Ukraine, and our allies in the Indo Pacific,” Minority Leader Jeffries said. “It remains to be seen what Republicans will do in terms of meeting the national security needs of the American people, but it was important for House Democrats to ensure that the national security bills are going to be considered.”

Despite Republicans having a one-vote majority, more Democrats on Friday voted to move the critical and long-awaited foreign aid bills forward than did Republicans.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

The 316-94 vote included 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans voting yes, and 55 Republicans and 39 Democrats voting no.

Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke posted the list of Republicans voting against their party’s legislation.

Calling it a “rare” moment in modern congressional history to have to rely on opposition party votes to pass legislation, BBC News reports Speaker Johnson’s “hold on power is tenuous, and the legislators who oppose him – and his bid to provide aid to Ukraine – occupy some key positions within the House’s power structure.”

Amid the procedural vote to move the foreign aid funding bills forward, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican of Arizona, announced he is joining Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Congressman Tim Massie (R-KY) in formally announcing their will vote to oust Speaker Johnson.

Gosar, like Greene, is reportedly a Christian nationalist. In 2022 CNN reported his “lengthy ties to White nationalists, [a] pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe received little pushback for years.”

RELATED: ‘Repercussions’: Democrats and Republicans Stand Against ‘Pro-Putin’ House GOP Faction

“We’ve been very honest in our assessment of the situation from the beginning,” Jeffries on Friday also declared. “At the appropriate time as House Democrats, we will have a conversation about how to deal with any hypothetical motion to vacate.”

“Moscow Marjorie Taylor Greene, Massie, and Gosar are quite a group. But central to our conversation is to make sure that the national security legislation in totality is passed by the House of Representatives.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

As Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) continues to face immense pressure from his own party to avoid supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia, the GOP leader appears to be moving closer to defying his far-right colleagues.

US Rep. Marjorie Greene (R-GA) and — as of Tuesday, April 16 — US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) plan to oust the speaker if he negotiates with Democrats to approve the $90 billion foreign aid package that includes $60 billion in aid to Ukraine as the country quickly runs out of ammunition.

CBS News reports that on Wednesday, House GOP leaders released "legislative text for three bills that are part of a complicated plan" Johnson expects to use to get Ukraine the aid it needs, while also appealing to Republican hardliners.

READ MORE: 'Completely detached': Johnson’s speakership in danger amid GOP’s far right revolt

According to the news outlet, "The three bills would provide $26.4 billion to support Israel, $60.8 billion to bolster Ukraine and $8.1 billion to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, including billions for Taiwan. The Israel bill also includes more than $9.1 billion to address humanitarian needs, which Democrats said was necessary for their support."

During the latest episode of CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper, Johnson that he plans to defy Greene and Massie's request to abandon Ukraine.

"So I understand what you're doing, breaking up these foreign aid packages — Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel, — letting the House work its will," Tapper said, "and then sending over to the Senate into one bill — whatever passes. Why didn't you do this months ago? I mean, ukraine is desperate for aid."

Johnson replied, "Yeah, they are. Well, it takes a long time to socialize and build consensus when you have the smallest majority in US history. So that's part of it, and it's very practical politics here. But also ,we've had other big lifts in this Congress, as you know, we've had to get the government appropriations bills done, and then we had to do the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and some pretty heavy measures."

READ MORE: 'I have a bucket of water': Dems to save Johnson’s job over GOPer who wants 'world to burn'

He continued, "And it was a lot to handle at one time. Look, we know what the timetable is, we know the urgency in Ukraine and in Israel. And we are going to stand by Israel, our close ally and dear friend, and we're going to stand for freedom and make sure that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin doesn't march through Europe. These are important responsibilities."

"A strong America is good for the entire world," the speaker emphasized. "Since World War II, really, really, the responsibility for the free world has been shifted onto our shoulders, and we accept that role — we're an exceptional nation. We're the greatest nation on the planet, and we have to act like it, and we have to project to Putin and Xi and Iran and North Korea and anybody else, that we will defend freedom.

He notes, "It doesn't mean boots on the ground. We're not the world's policeman, but we're going to do the right thing, and I think that Congress is going to take an important stand here."

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: 'Republicans should do their damn job': Georgia governor slams House GOP’s 'bickering'

Mike Johnson: Congress will 'make sure that Vladimir Putin doesn’t march through Europe'youtu.be

Ahead of House Speaker Mike Johnson's potential negotiation with Democrats on the US Senate approved bipartisan $60 billion Ukrainian aid package, a Republican congressman against US support for Ukraine made his case to CNN's Abby Phillip Monday night.

"I heard you say earlier something about being supportive of Ukraine because they were unfairly attacked," Phillip said, asking US Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), "Would you support, at this point, that vote to send aid to Ukraine in that fight against Russia?"

The Ohio lawmaker replied, "No, I've had the same question since the very first vote when I think I'm one of ten people that never voted for anything to give to Ukraine. And it's because it's not something that Ukraine can't do. Look, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was inspiring when he said, 'I don't need a ride out, I need ammunition.' I mean, he's rallied his country in the world to his cause, but the US State Department is conflicted. I mean, they've got [former Spokesperson for the United States Department of State] Victoria Newland, saying that the mission is regime change in Russia with war crimes tribunals for Vladimir Putin — that's World War III."

READ MORE: 'Nobody cares what she thinks': Even MAGA Republicans are fed up with MTG’s antics

He added, "And, look, when they say something vacuous, like as much as it takes as long as it takes, that passes for a lot of people, but it doesn't answer in order to do what? And if that's to extract all the Russians from Ukraine, Ukraine doesn't have the combat power to do that, no matter how much money we send them, they need allies to come in on the ground and the sea, and in the air to be able to extract Russia from Ukraine. That's a bigger war. And so we have to have a limiting factor that the administration is not willing to concede."

Phillip asked, "Are you suggesting that the conflict in Ukraine is a lost cause and that is why you oppose sending more money for ammunition and the like to Ukraine?"

"No, no, I wouldn't call it a lost cause," the GOP leader insisted. "I think Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn't given a chance. I mean, they told you a lot of the intelligence said that they would have their whole country collapsed within days. I mean, people were offering him a ride out and he turned in fought. I mean, look, they've been heroic and inspirational, but I think they've been deceived, and look, I understand if my country was under attack, my mission would be to extract everyone that shouldn't be here out of my country. And a lot of ways my country is being invaded today, more passively, more peacefully, but it's still being invaded, and we want to secure our borders."

Phillip said, "Congressman, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I just want to understand your position because I'm hearing you suggest that Ukraine's fight is valid, that they should push back against Russia. But you're also at the same time unwilling to provide them with what they need to be able to do that right now, the warning that is out there from members of this administration, from people in the military, is that if this doesn't come right now, the momentum will be lost. Are you concerned that this is that kind of pivotal moment? And you and your colleagues are not willing to do what is necessary to allow Ukraine to maintain an upper hand?"

READ MORE: 'Jesus himself could not manage this conference': House GOP rep blasts far-right colleagues

"Look, you can be sympathetic to Ukraine without saying that it's our war to fight or our war to fund," the Republican leader said. "Ukraine is not a member and NATO, and that is a big part of what this conflict is."

Phillip asked, "So you want them to be on their own at this point?"

"I think they should be independent," Davidson replied. "And I think what we've done for them as give them a path to negotiate a peace. but the administration has worked at odds with that. I mean, frankly, gerhard schroder in germany is pointed out that the Biden administration scuttled the efforts to try to negotiate a peace. they could have saved hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides. frankly, this war was entirely avoidable, but the biden administration, frankly failed in every way possible, and so did Putin."

Phillip commented, "Congressman, at this moment the force standing in the way of helping Ukraine is you and your colleagues. Sounds like you're just not interested in doing that, and you're fine with Russia steamrolling over Ukraine. is that correct? no. >>

Davidson insisted, "I mean, that's a dishonest characterization. I understand why you're making it, and that's fine. I've had this position for the entire two years that the war has gone on. And I'm not going to change it."

READ MORE: 'Russian propaganda' has 'infected a good chunk of my party’s base': House GOP foreign affairs chair

Watch the video below or at this link.

'Dishonest characterization': CNN host grills GOP rep 'standing in the way of helping Ukraine'youtu.be

“I want to be on the right side of history,” is what House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-TX) told Puck News’ Julia Ioffe in a recent interview.

The Texas Republican spent much of the conversation expressing frustration towards his GOP colleagues' refusal to move on the bipartisan package passed by the Senate in February — which includes Ukrainian aid.

A self-described “Reagan Republican,” the Texas congressman told Ioffe he’s a strong supported of “freedom, democracy, human rights.”

READ MORE: GOP strategist: 'Very feasible' Democrats will have House majority before election day

According to Ioffe, the “pressure” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been getting from colleagues like McCaul “has resulted in Johnson’s inching closer to letting the House vote on the Senate aid package, provided he can dress it up in a way that would make it more attractive to his fellow Republicans: namely, through the inclusion of McCaul’s REPO for Ukrainians Act, which would allow the U.S. to redirect seized Russian assets to Ukraine; reversing Biden’s moratorium on new LNG terminals; and, in line with Trump’s demands from the sidelines, making part of the Ukraine aid a loan, rather than a grant.”

The Puck News Washington correspondent reports:

As for making a portion of the aid a loan, it would apply only to the funds that go toward supporting the Ukrainian government’s budget—things like salaries for the soldiers and bureaucrats who keep the fight going and the state from collapsing. That is a tiny fraction of the $60 billion aid package. The vast majority is going to weapons and ultimately stays in the U.S. with U.S. manufacturers, creating U.S. jobs. Moreover, making the loan zero-interest and forgivable makes it palatable even to Ukrainians, who—as the Ukrainian ambassador told me the other day—understand that it’s a meaningless sweetener for Republicans, but if that’s what it takes to get the rest of the aid through, so be it.

“I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base,” the Foreign Affairs Committee chair told Ioffe. “And I have to explain to them what’s at stake, why Ukraine is in our national security interest. By the way, you don’t like Communist China? Well, guess what? They’re aligned [with Russia], along with the Ayatollah. So when you explain it that way, they kind of start understanding it. And unlike 1939, we want to provide deterrence so that we don’t have to send anyone over, and we don’t want Article V invoked. Because the next thing the Russians will do is [attack] Moldova, Georgia, and then part of the Baltics. Or at least provoke a lot. So I just think it’s preventative. “

Referring to his far-right colleagues against supplying aid to Ukraine, McCaul added, “There’s a new wing of isolationism, and that takes you back again to the 1930s. That was not helpful. Now, I understood it—because World War I was very bloody, and Americans were like, “We don’t want to go over to save Europe again.” But had we been involved earlier and provided that deterrence, we could have saved a lot of blood and treasure.”

READ MORE: McConnell rails against Johnson over Ukraine — again

The GOP leader emphasized, “I just see so many parallels between then and what’s happening right now. And if we fail in this aid package and Putin does take Ukraine—and it won’t take him very long—then where will the United States be?”

Ioffe's full interview with McCaul is available here.

Although U.S. President Joe Biden has been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at times, he remains a strong supporter of military aid to Israel. Biden has supported Israel's anti-Hamas operation in Gaza, but he is also calling for greater humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians living there.

Progressive filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, meanwhile, has been expressing his disappointment with Biden's Israel policy — even going so far as to describe the U.S. president as an "arms dealer."

During the April 1 broadcast of his "Rumble" podcast, Moore argued, "It's been just an awful thing for all of us to be witness to. We'd like to think about it because our president, the one that has to stop (Donald) Trump from winning in November, is the number one financial backer and the number one arms dealer for the state of Israel. So, what do we do with that?"

READ MORE:7 humanitarian aid workers with World Central Kitchen killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza

In late March, the Gaza Health Ministry — which is run by Hamas — announced that more than 32,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. That day, Hamas carried out a vicious terrorist attack that has been described as "Israel's 9/11" and left more than 1400 Israelis dead.

On "Rumble," Moore described Israel's anti-Hamas operation in Gaza as "ethnic cleansing" and said of Biden, "He's really the only one in the whole entire world that has the power to stop this, say, within the next hour, literally by just turning off the faucet, pulling the plug. No more bombs, no more guns, no more bullets, no more nothing until you, Mr. Netanyahu, stop the slaughter. We're the bank for this, folks. You and me.”

READ MORE: 50 arrested in Jewish-led protest of Gaza genocide at Biden TV taping

In response to dangerous food shortages, Spanish chef José Andrés' nonprofit World Central Kitchen has been delivering food to civilians in Gaza during the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) anti-Hamas operation. World Kitchen, in an official statement, has confirmed that seven of its aid workers have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza.

According to World Central Kitchen, "Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route."

The workers, CNN reports, include citizens of Australia, the U.K. and Poland. One of them was a Palestinian, and another World Central Kitchen worker had dual citizenship in the United States and Canada.

READ MORE:'Just pure evil': Scarborough hits Trump for comparing Jan. 6 'thugs' to Hamas’ hostages

CNN reports, "Videos obtained by CNN show the bloodied bodies of multiple victims wearing World Central Kitchen vests following the airstrike in the central city of Deir Al-Balah. World Central Kitchen said it was pausing its operations following the deadly strike and assessing the future of its operations in Gaza."

In an April 1 post on X, formerly Twitter, World Central Kitchen founder Andres wrote, "Today @WCKitchen lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza. I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia."

Andres continued, "They are not faceless…they are not nameless. The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now."

READ MORE: 50 arrested in Jewish-led protest of Gaza genocide at Biden TV taping

When the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan in August 2021, many pro-Donald Trump Republicans were quick to blame the Biden Administration — often failing to mention that President Joe Biden was essentially following the plan for withdrawal that had been agreed upon when Trump was in office.

According to Mike Brest — a reporter for the conservative Washington Examiner — former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley was, in November 2020, "given a piece of paper that called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Somalia and Afghanistan."

In an article published on March 20, Brest explains, "Milley, who has since retired as a general in the Army, told lawmakers that he received the note days after Trump fired then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in the aftermath of the election. The piece of paper, he told lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, (March 19), had the president's signature on it and called for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Somalia by December 15, 2020, and from Afghanistan by January 15, 2021."

READ MORE:These 17 officials would make excellent character witnesses against Trump: GOP strategist

Brest adds that "roughly a week later," Milley "received a new order from then-National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, which called for the U.S. military to reduce its troop presence to 2500."

According to Brest, Milley didn't reveal, during his testimony, who gave him the note calling for total U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

After Biden became president, he went ahead with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

Brest notes, "The House Foreign Affairs Committee is investigating the conclusion of the U.S.'s war in Afghanistan. Milley and (retired Gen. Frank) McKenzie's appearance in front of the committee marked their first times testifying on Capitol Hill since their retirements."

READ MORE: 'Wannabe dictator': Milley appears to slam Trump after ex-president suggested he should be executed

Read the Washington Examiner's full report at this link.

In right-wing media outlets, Tony Bobulinski — a former business partner of President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden — has been touted as someone who can topple the Biden presidency. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky) has chosen Bobulinski as one of the witnesses who will be featured during an impeachment-related hearing on Wednesday, March 20.

But according to the Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger, Bobulinski lacks credibility — especially in light of his ties to Russia.

"House Republican leaders behind the sputtering impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday to iron out alleged 'inconsistencies' in witness testimony," Sollenberger explains in an article published on March 20. "But they might want to start with the witness the GOP impeachment team has cited as their 'most credible by far.' Former Hunter Biden business associate Tony Bobulinski has provided testimony riddled with inconsistencies, including statements that contradict claims in the FBI's write-up of their interview with him just ahead of the 2020 election."

READ MORE:House GOP’s star witness in Biden probe has strong ties to 'close Putin ally'

Sollenberger points out that Bobulinski was still a Hunter Biden business partner in 201,7 when an "investment deal" involving the startup SinoHawk was proposed.

"In 2020," the Daily Beast journalist reports, "Bobulinski went public with claims that the finances involved not just Hunter Biden, but his father Joe Biden, who was out of office at the time of the negotiations. Republicans have pointed to Bobulinski's claims as evidence of potential wrongdoing, and his allegations have fueled unproven but widespread speculation about a bribery scandal — even though many of these claims have been debunked, and years of GOP investigations have turned up no evidence of impeachable offenses. But as the inquiry has unspooled the details surrounding the proposal, Bobulinski’s own connections to Russia have come into clearer focus."

Sollenberger continues, "In 2017, while SinoHawk pursued its deal with CEFC —securing an investment of $5 million — CEFC was simultaneously chasing an exponentially bigger deal. That deal involved purchasing a $9 billion stake in Rosneft, the Russian-controlled energy conglomerate whose founder, Viktor Vekselberg, had close ties to Bobulinski, The Daily Beast previously reported."

Text messages, according to Sollenberger, reveal that the "CEFC-Rosneft negotiations" caused "friction between Bobulinski and Hunter Biden" — who had an "aversion to dealing with" Vekselberg's "sanctioned Russian company" Rosneft.

READ MORE: Why was GOP’s star witness re-arrested? He may have been trying to flee the country: report

Sollenberger observes, "No further witness interviews have been scheduled, and Republicans, who control the House, don't have enough votes to impeach Joe Biden, CNN reported. There's no partisan consensus on an exit strategy, either, and while Comer has advocated for criminal referrals, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and House Speaker Mike Johnson are less enthusiastic, according to CNN."

READ MORE: Comer announces public hearing after Hunter Biden closed door testimony

Read The Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

For decades, the Heritage Foundation was closely identified with traditional Ronald Reagan conservatism. Heritage was founded in 1973 during President Richard Nixon's second term (which was cut short by the Watergate scandal when Nixon resigned in August 1974), and its influence on the conservative movement grew considerably during Ronald Reagan's presidency in the 1980s.

Major players in Heritage were highly critical of Patrick Buchanan — arguably the blueprint for Donald Trump's MAGA movement — and his blend of isolationism, protectionism, social conservatism and hyper-nationalism during the 1990s and 2000s. In 1996, Stuart Butler, then Heritage's director of domestic policy studies, scornfully accused Buchanan's economic views of being "far to the left of most of the people in the Democratic Party."

But the MAGA movement has since become a major influence on Heritage, including MAGA's affection for far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

READ MORE:Revealed: Trump's Project 2025 agenda aims for 'total control' of the federal government

In a biting report published by The New Republic on March 15, journalist/author Casey Michel details the think tank's relationship with the "authoritarian" Orbán.

"How, and why, did the Heritage Foundation become the go-to vehicle for Budapest's budding autocracy to target Americans?" Michel explains. "The answer follows several different tracks."

Michel continues, "On the one hand, Hungary has been shedding lobbying outfits for the past few years, dropping a range of PR shops and Twitter influencers to focus solely on Heritage. On the other hand, internal transformations at Heritage — and a willingness to shred its reputation as a bastion of Reaganite, and even democratic, credentials — led the think tank's leadership directly into Orbán's lap, allowing it to become little more than a mouthpiece for a strongman and a leading proponent for Orbán-style rule in the U.S."

In 2023, Heritage formed an alliance with the Budapest-based Danube Institute, a right-wing Hungarian think tank with close ties to Orbán's government.

READ MORE:'Modern day Hitler': Experts sound alarm over Trump heaping praise on 'autocrat' Orbán

"While Heritage grew to prominence in the 1980s as a font of Reaganite policy, in recent years the organization has undergone a monumental shift in terms of both policy and priorities," Michel observes. "Rather than persist in its stolid dedication to conservative values, Heritage has swung in a far more reactionary — and far more authoritarian — direction in recent years. Across the policy landscape, Heritage has become little more than an intellectual breeding ground for Trumpist ideas."

Michel adds, "While much attention has understandably focused on Heritage's so-called 'Project 2025,' which provides a roadmap for Trump to seize as much power as he can, such a shift has extended to foreign policy. This has been seen most especially in Heritage leading the effort to gut funding for Ukraine. But it's also evident in the way Heritage has endeavored to anchor its relations with Orbán, making Budapest once more America's preferred partner in Europe — regardless of the cost."

READ MORE:Trump, Putin and the art of the deal

Casey Michel's full article for The New Republic is available at this link.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been blocking a vote on the US Senate's bipartisan bill passed four weeks ago that would aid Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

Some Republican leaders like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have grown frustrated with the Speaker's refusal to taking the legislation to the House floor. CBS News reporter Alan He reported earlier this week that McConnell said, "We don't have time for all of this. We've got a bill that got 70 votes in the Senate. Give members of the House of Representatives an opportunity to vote on it. That's the solution."

Politico exclusively reports Johnson told the news outlet Thursday that now "expects to pass a future Ukraine assistance bill with Democratic votes," which would go against what some of his far-right colleagues want.

READ MORE: 'We don’t have time for all of this': McConnell pressures Johnson to hold vote on Ukraine aid

The news outlet reports the Speaker said during the "House Republican retreat that aid to both Ukraine and Israel could come up as one or even two separate bills," and that "he anticipates it would happen using the House’s suspension calendar, which he’s used often in recent days to overcome pushback from his own party."

Referring to his far-right Freedom Caucus colleagues, the Louisiana lawmaker said, "Philosophically, I’ve always been aligned. It is the tactics that we disagree upon," "I am a lifelong movement conservative, so there’s very little daylight between their core principles and mine. It’s the tactics that we have disagreements upon, but it’s never personal to me."

US Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on Tuesday told MSNBC's Chris Hayes he believed the Speaker wasn't "moving to pass the Ukraine aid bill out of fear he will face the same fate as his predecessor, [US Rep.] Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)."

He added that " far right doesn’t have the 'appetite' for yet another change of leadership, and says Johnson should 'govern with a little more confidence,' and be brave enough to put the Senate bill on the House floor."

READ MORE: Democrats’ drive to kill Speaker Johnson’s Ukraine aid blockade nearing critical mass

Politico notes Johnson's negotiation with the Democrats "would hand political weaponry to" his "conservative critics, some of whom have warned that he could face a forced ouster vote if he moves forward on it" — like McCarthy.

However, the news outlet points out Johnson's comments "are the most definitive he has made so far on his plans for tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid that has languished in Congress for many weeks."

Politico's full report is here.

If GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump defeats incumbent President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, his return to the White House could bring about a dramatic change in U.S. foreign policy.

Biden, an aggressive supporter of military aid to Ukraine during its conflict with Russia, has been a vehement critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, in contrast, speaks fondly of Putin and has even said he would encourage the Russian leader to invade NATO countries that don't pay enough into the alliance.

After his meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Hungary's M1 news channel that Trump "will not give a single penny to the Ukrainian-Russian War" if he wins in November.

READ MORE:Trump, Putin and the art of the deal

But according to the Daily Beast, Trump showed his insecurity about Biden when he spoke to Putin during the 2020 election.

Trump, the Beast's Allison Quinn reports, "let his jealousy of Joe Biden get the best of him" during that that conversation — which he described during a recent interview for state-owned Russian media.

Putin, according to Quinn, remembered, "This was more than four years ago. He told me that in one conversation: 'You want him to win.' Excuse me, I'll say it like he did — it's just direct speech — 'for Sleepy Joe to win.' He told me this when he was still president."

During the interview, Putin denied that Russia has interfered in U.S. elections. But according to former special counsel Robert Mueller, the Kremlin not only interfered in the 2016 election — it will try to influence future elections as well.

READ MORE: 'He's the boss': Trump praises 'fantastic' dictatorial style of Viktor Orbán

Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

Four days after ex-President Donald Trump posted $91.6 million bond for the second defamation case he lost to veteran journalist E. Jean Carroll, author and Syracuse University College of Law Professor David Cay Johnston is sounding the alarm on the "national security nightmare" of the bond agreement.

In a Tuesday, March 12 MSNBC op-ed, Johnston notes that "the someone Trump owes" for the nearly $1 billion bond is "Chubb, a giant Swiss insurance company that operates in 54 countries. Chubb owns three insurance companies in Russia."

The longtime investigative reporter emphasizes, "I call owing a fortune to anyone, but especially foreign interests that do business in Russia, a national security nightmare."

READ MORE: Why Trump’s attempt to stall $83M Carroll payment didn’t work

He adds, "Having a president deeply in debt to a firm with business interests in Russia could, in myriad ways, compromise American diplomatic, military and national security actions concerning Russia and the countries Putin has said he wants to bring back under the Kremlin’s boot."

Johnston writes:

The framers of our Constitution took care to ensure that presidents would be independent of outside influence, foreign and domestic, through the emoluments clauses, which I teach my students at Syracuse University College of Law. But the Founding Fathers’ concern was with income, not debts, leaving a loophole that if Trump regains office would almost certainly become a national security nightmare.

No one in 1787 imagined that an American president would owe more than a half-billion dollars in damage awards, with more cases pending, to a company with global business interests that in part depend on remaining in the good graces of a dictator like Putin. Even if measured in 1787 currency, this prospect surely would have caused James Madison and the other architects of our Constitution to endure many sleepless nights.

It should vex you, too.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann tweeted Friday that while Trump is "$90M down, $400M to go," the bond agreement details are unclear, and that "the public has no idea who may have actually put up the money or provided a guaranty to support the bond. But one thing’s sure: Trump is beholden to someone for a lot of money."

READ MORE: 'Lives could be lost': Intel experts fear Trump 2.0 would be national security fiasco

Johnston's full op-ed is available at this link.

When former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee in July 2019, he warned that the Kremlin would continue to interfere in U.S. politics — including elections. The Mueller Report concluded that the 2016 Trump campaign's interactions with Russians did not rise to the level of a full-fledged criminal conspiracy, but Russian election interference and disinformation campaigns, Mueller stressed, are quite real.

In a report published on March 7, the Daily Beast's Shannon Vavra describes Russian "disinformation operators" who have been impersonating U.S. officials online on websites like Clearstory.News and Miami Chron (which is designed to look like a Florida website but is actually designed and published in Russia).

A recent impersonation, according to Vavra, occurred after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In fake audio posted online, Russian "disinformation operators" pretended to be Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O'Brien.

READ MORE:'Very big can of worms': Ex-prosecutor says Trump may seek 'foreign' help to pay judgments

Their impersonations, Vavra reports, were sloppy, as the agitators spoke with noticeable "Russian accents."

Yet some major politicians have, at times, been fooled by online Russian disinformation campaigns designed to spread lies about Vladimir Putin foes like Navalny or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) parroted a fake anti-Zelensky narrative peddled on YouTube and on a Russian disinformation site called DC Weekly, as the BBC reported," Vavra explains. "The story alleged that Zelensky had used American aid money to buy two yachts. The allegation was false, and the yachts hadn't even been sold."

According to Vavra, the "fake audio about the Russian opposition movement appears to be the first prong of the campaign that isn't explicitly about weakening western support for Ukraine" but "can provide clues about the broader remit of Russian disinformation operators now."

READ MORE: Trump has a problem with 'country club Republicans' who 'aren’t sold on him'

"The strategic goal is likely about elevating Putin and solidifying his grip on power, in part by making it look like the opposition is controlled by the U.S.," Vavra adds.

READ MORE: George Will rips 'ignoble' Republicans for willingness to 'hand Putin a victory'

Shannon Vavra's full report for the Daily Beast is available at this link (subscription required).

Some of Donald Trump's critics have unfavorably compared the likely 2024 GOP presidential nominee to the late U.K. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, arguing that he is "appeasing" Russian President Vladimir Putin in much the same way that Chamberlain "appeased" Nazi Germany before World War 2.

Among President Joe Biden's more ardent admirers on foreign policy, the argument is that if Biden's aggressive support of Ukraine draws inspiration from Winston Churchill — who became U.K. prime minster in 1940 — Trump follows Chamberlain's "appeasement" policy.

But Rep. Jim Himes (D-Connecticut), a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, believes that comparing Trump unfavorably to Chamberlain is giving him "way too much credit."

READ MORE: Trump is sounding like the 'weird creep at the nursing home': analysis

During an early March appearance on the "One Decision Podcast," Himes stressed that Trump is much more simplistic in his thinking.

Himes told the host, Sir Richard Dearlove — who formerly headed the U.K.'s MI6 intelligence service — "They both may be undertaking an act of appeasement, but Neville Chamberlain, love him or hate him, I think probably thought this through. Donald Trump is a little bit of a single-celled organism: He responds to one stimulus and one stimulus only, which is, 'Does this make me feel good, or does it make me feel bad?' And Ukraine makes him feel bad because he got impeached over Ukraine."

The Connecticut Democrat was vehemently critical of Trump's "America First" views and stressed that from a foreign policy standpoint, he is having a terrible influence on the GOP.

Hines warned, "Two things are happening in the Republican Party. One, some people are channeling that traditional isolationism, which we've lived with in this country forever. And by the way, it's not a terrible instinct, right? There are episodes in our history where we probably should have been a bit more isolationist."

READ MORE: 'The confusion continues': Joe Scarborough shreds Trump for mistaking Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi

The congressman continued, "But then you have Donald Trump as a single-celled organism saying ‘Ukraine bad’ and his acolytes.… saying, 'The boss thinks it's bad.' And, you know, an awful lot of my colleagues just realize that if they stand up and say things contrary to what the cult leader is saying, they'll put their own careers at risk."

Biden and Trump have radically different views on Ukraine, Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

While Biden has been a scathing critic of Putin and an aggressive supporter of military aid to Ukraine, Trump has openly expressed his admiration for Putin and other authoritarians. Trump is also anti-NATO, while Biden has championed NATO's expansion and warns that NATO will suffer greatly if Trump returns to the White House in January 2025.

READ MORE: 'Person without dollars': Pelosi thinks Putin has 'something financial' on Trump