The Badlands Brief is your daily drop of Badlands’ takes on the narratives dominating the info war. Read on, and join the conversation in the comments section.
DOJ Pursuing Multiple Cases of Weaponization of Government
The legal actions from the Department of Justice saw several notable developments this week.
A federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey barred the filing of amicus (“friend of the court”) briefs, limiting outside participation in the proceedings as the case moves forward.
Separately, the US Supreme Court declined to revive former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page’s lawsuit against the FBI. Page had sought damages stemming from surveillance conducted during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, arguing the government relied on flawed information in obtaining FISA warrants. The Court’s decision leaves lower-court rulings against Page in place.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state is facing a Department of Justice investigation and characterized the probe as politically motivated. Newsom said California intends to challenge the federal action while seeking additional details about the scope of the inquiry. The White House says there are multiple investigations into Newsom and his wife, including with regards to their taxes.
Meanwhile, newly released DOJ documents show internal concerns among department officials regarding the 2021 memorandum that directed federal law-enforcement attention toward threats against school board members and educators. The records indicate some officials raised questions about how the memo could affect parents speaking out at local school board meetings, an issue that became a major political controversy during the Biden administration.
Ashe in America: Everyone of these cases involves weaponized government.
Comey claims the government is being weaponized against him because the government is investigating Comey’s weaponization of the government against President Trump and his supporters.
Carter Page was denied a chance to argue again that the government was weaponized against him during Comey’s reign, notably bringing FISA abuse back into the conversation as Congress struggles to pass a FISA extension.
Gavin Newsom is claiming that the government is being weaponized against him in the DOJ’s investigation of, apparently, Newsom and his wife’s taxes — is there anything more “weaponized government” that a governor cheating on his taxes? (Allegedly. Gavin Newsom is innocent until proven guilty. That wife, though…)
Finally, on the “internal warnings were ignored” story, we got the same deployment about the Mar-a-Lago raid in recent weeks. Internal warnings were raised and ignored. This last one makes me think the public is prepped to realize weaponized government is a sweeping grand conspiracy, indeed.
Maybe it has been for a long time.
Lukashenko Claims “Jewish Lobby” Misled Putin in Early Stages of Ukraine War
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Al Arabiya that Russian President Vladimir Putin was given faulty information during the early stages of the Ukraine conflict, alleging that a “Jewish lobby” in Ukraine convinced Moscow that Russian forces would be welcomed as liberators. According to Lukashenko, those assumptions proved incorrect once the invasion began.
The remarks came during a broader interview in which Lukashenko argued that neither Russia nor Ukraine can achieve a decisive military victory and that the conflict ultimately must be resolved through negotiations and compromise. He described the war as a prolonged stalemate and warned that continued escalation could worsen conditions for all parties involved.
Lukashenko has previously drawn criticism from Israeli officials and Jewish organizations over comments widely characterized as antisemitic. In past speeches he claimed that the world “bows” to Jews because of Holocaust remembrance and made other controversial remarks regarding Jewish communities, prompting diplomatic protests from Israel.
The latest comments add to a series of high-profile statements by the Belarusian leader as discussions continue over potential pathways to ending the more than four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
Wow, this is quite the revelation.
Back in May 2022, it was Britain’s Boris Johnson who was credited for orchestrating the deception that led to Russian forces pulling back from Kiev and allowing Ukraine to regroup. Now we learn that it was actually Israel—then Prime Minister Naftali Bennett—who served as mediator between Putin and Zelensky; meaning that it was Bennett who most likely orchestrated the ruse.
It begs the question: what is Israel’s interest in perpetuating the Russia-Ukraine War? Are the whispered rumors regarding a new Jewish homeland (ethnostate) in Ukraine true? Or perhaps perpetuating a war between Europe and Russia was part of a calculated scheme to bring the West into a war with Russia’s emerging ally, Iran?
The money that the US was sending to Ukraine, some of which was purportedly diverted to Africa to fund ISIS in order to destabilize regions where trillions of dollars worth of rare earth minerals are located; minerals that were lost to the Israeli oligarchy when Dan Gertler was sanctioned by President Trump in 2017. Does that have anything to do with this?
Where does the Vatican fit into the picture?
More important than pinpointing answers is asking the right questions. Because questions are what drive the engine of curiosity toward epiphany.
P.S. Here is another example of deception by the Israel lobby, as a rabbi shamelessly lies to Steve Bannon about Israel’s intentions in Lebanon.
More Than Just An Online Pharmacy
At SavePulse, we are more than a pharmacy. We offer affordable, high-quality medications focused on your well-being. Access trusted treatments including ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, cephalexin, fluvoxamine, amoxicillin, sildenafil, fenbendazole, and more.
Now offering Medical Emergency Kits with 8 medications. Everything you need in one kit, so you have them ready before you need them. For a limited time, use code BADLAND for 20% off!
Trump Arrives at G7 Summit as Debate Grows Over Whether Global Power is Shifting From G7 to a US-China “G2”
President Trump arrived Monday in Évian-les-Bains, France, for the G7 summit after announcing a framework agreement aimed at ending the recent conflict with Iran, giving him a major foreign-policy development heading into meetings with allied leaders. The summit agenda is expected to focus on Iran, Ukraine, trade disputes, energy security, artificial intelligence, and China’s economic influence.
Some European officials and analysts are increasingly concerned that the world’s most consequential decisions are being shaped less by traditional multilateral institutions such as the G7 and more by the relationship between Washington and Beijing — a concept sometimes referred to as the “G2.” The term describes the idea that the United States and China, as the world’s two largest powers, have outsized influence over global economic and geopolitical outcomes.
The summit comes amid broader questions about the future role of the G7 itself. While leaders are expected to discuss coordinated approaches to trade, critical minerals, AI, and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, several reports note that China’s economic power and US-China relations continue to shape many of the issues under discussion. Trump is also expected to press for progress on Ukraine following his efforts to broker an Iran agreement, while European leaders seek continued US engagement on security and economic matters.
Burning Bright: Fresh off the wild cultural triumph of the UFC Freedom 250 event and the almost too perfectly-timed announcement of a peace framework with Iran that some of us believe (know) has been done since jump street, Trump has, in the space of days reminded the world that he is simultaneously breaker and builder, destroyer and unifier.
The deeper signal, however lies not in the surface-level resolution with Tehran.
The true object of his ire and of the Sovereign Alliance that has been converging around him has never been the Proxies that have been made of Iran, Venezuela, Ukraine, Cuba, Taiwan or any of the rest. Those were always symptoms of the larger disease.
The target of Trump’s true global campaign has always been the scourge of globalism itself and the Prussian rails on which its actuals and narratives have run for decades.
When the Hegemon’s machinery loses its ability to keep those rails greased and those stories coherent, the proxies themselves begin to slip their handlers, falling into the waiting arms of Trump and his ever-present and omnipresent ‘deals.’
The Globalists and their Collectorate know precisely who Trump is aligned against, because they know who he is aligned with.
The American and Chinese economies, when they choose to circumvent the Global Collectorate that refers to itself as the ‘G7’ rather than compete inside its rigged architecture possess the gravitational mass to reroute trade flows, reset financial rails and redirect energy corridors on a scale the old order cannot absorb.
That is why Trump’s earlier framing of a ‘G2’ with Xi Jinping was not just a narrative deployment, but a public acknowledgment of the pincer already closing on the post-war order.
The same logic operates on the kinetic plane between the United States and the resurgent and renewed Russian Federation.
To wit, Vladimir Putin’s recent assertion that Russia stands alone against the ‘Collective West’ is true only insofar as the optics the Globalist media still controls, and that the Sovereign Alliance allows to linger.
In the Realm of the Real, Trump and Xi are already in Putin’s corner economically, energetically and strategically.
The Globalist Beast fears this trinity not because it threatens perpetual war, but because it threatens something far more dangerous to the system: cooperative competition among sovereign poles capable of enforcing a Multipolar World without needing the Hegemon’s permission or its institutions ... or its Forever Wars, which are in the process of being dismantled and disentangled with permanence.
The enemy always tells you what it fears most.
SCOTUS Winds Down Current Term as Justices Announce New Cases For Next Session
As the Supreme Court enters the final weeks of its current term, the justices are continuing to release major opinions while also building next term’s docket.
On Monday, the Court agreed to hear three new cases, including a challenge to whether the Constitution requires 12-person juries in criminal trials. The case arises from Florida, one of six states that still permit smaller juries in certain criminal cases.
The jury case could prompt the Court to revisit its 1970 decision in Williams v. Florida, which held that the Sixth Amendment does not require 12 jurors. Several current justices, including Neil Gorsuch, have signaled interest in reexamining that precedent, arguing that the historical understanding of a jury at the time of the Founding may have required twelve members.
The Court is expected to hear arguments in the newly accepted cases during its next term beginning in October. Meanwhile, several high-profile decisions from the current term remain pending, making the final weeks of June one of the most closely watched periods on the Court’s calendar.
Ashe in America: “…arguing that the historical understanding of a jury at the time of the Founding may have required twelve members.”
Oh boy. If this case allows us to reexamine modern jury practices against what a jury was understood to be at the time of the founding, the American people could get a much needed education and maybe we could rapid top down change to constitutional juries. I sent this to Jonathan Drake when I saw it, and here is his response:
“Man, that will be interesting to see what plays out. The crux of the issue is clearly that when the Constitution mentioned trial by jury, it did not define it, which means it declined to define it, and therefore the objective external standard of historical precedent would determine what it meant. And that’s not just for 12. It’s for any of their perversions of trial by jury… And those bringing the case clearly seem to understand that. I love this line, ‘…observing that it is not for the court to distinguish between the historic features of common law jury trials that (we think) serve important enough functions to migrate silently into the Sixth Amendment and those that don’t.’”
I look forward to hearing the oral arguments in the fall (or whenever it happens). The GART Jury experience now feels even more important. Get your tickets at badlandsmedia.tv/events.
GART 12 in Deadwood is Next Week!
Badlands Media hits the road four times a year for a 3-day patriot-packed event with our hosts and the Badlands community. Meet like-minded Americans, hear powerful content, and be part of something real.
Jewish and Israeli Leaders Express Concern Over Emerging Iran Deal as Trump Signals Broader Regional Diplomacy
American Jewish organizations and several Israeli commentators have voiced concern about the emerging US-Iran agreement announced by the Trump administration, saying key details remain unclear and warning that any arrangement must prevent Iran from advancing its nuclear capabilities.
Multiple Jewish advocacy groups stated they were awaiting the full text of the agreement before reaching final conclusions but expressed alarm over reports that sanctions relief and security guarantees may be part of the framework.
According to the White House, President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf digitally signed the agreement on Sunday following negotiations aimed at ending the recent conflict. Administration officials have described the deal as a pathway toward regional de-escalation and a broader restructuring of Middle East security arrangements.
Adding to the controversy, Trump told reporters he intends to speak with Hezbollah leaders as part of efforts to “straighten out the Lebanon thing,” suggesting the administration’s diplomatic outreach could extend beyond Iran to other regional actors. The comments came as Israeli officials reiterated that Israel would maintain positions in southern Lebanon and warned that any future attacks tied to Iran would draw a forceful response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has largely avoided directly criticizing the agreement, instead arguing that Israel’s principal war objectives have already been achieved. Netanyahu said Israel had significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities and weakened regional proxy networks, while emphasizing that Israel would continue to defend its security interests regardless of diplomatic developments.
The emerging deal is likely to become a major point of debate in both Washington and Jerusalem as lawmakers, regional governments, and advocacy groups evaluate whether the agreement represents a durable settlement or merely a temporary pause in longstanding tensions.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: We anticipated this in yesterday's Brief, using social media posts as signal for something that now seems to be codified in the zeitgeist.
Jewish and Israeli leaders are raging mad at President Trump over this Memorandum of Understanding (a term that I have found to be far more commonly used in the Arab/Muslim world than in the West). What irritates them most is that they don't know what the hell is in it, and the reporting on it has been so vague and inconsistent that it's impossible to trust anything being published. Nearly every person involved in the negotiation seems to have expressed slightly different terms, further muddying the situation.
Personally, I see that as by design.
Because nobody truly knows the exact terms of the deal, it is impossible to effectively criticize it in the media. Pundits are left speculating and often bloviating with anxious consternation over what they fear may be in the deal. Did Trump give away the farm? Did he provide adequate leeway for the war to ultimately resume under favorable conditions for Israel? Is he actually going to do with the Ayatollah what he did with the Chavismo government in Venezuela and forge an earnest friendship?
These are the questions that I imagine keeps Mark Levin up at night, staring at the ceiling in his bed.
And these goons have every reason to be concerned. President Trump is now in France attending the G7 summit, and when speaking about the peace deal Trump said that he and Iran "get along very well."
Ruh roh, Shaggy. That's the exact kind of rhetoric Trump used when he pivoted on Venezuela and started calling them our greatest ally.
In the same meeting with Emmanuel Macron, Trump said that he wants to talk to Hezbollah in order to bring resolution to the conflict in Lebanon.
Talk to Hezbollah? Instead of indiscriminately killing them? That's definitely not what Lindsey Graham and Mark Levin want to hear.
Netanyahu has not gone so far as to criticize the deal, however, he has said that the IDF will continue to occupy the territory it has captured in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. The lessons of history tell us that means they intend to settle and annex it.
Bibi is in a very difficult position, as he attempts to navigate an increasingly complex relationship with President Trump The Peacemaker, and a growing horde of political rivals in Israel who see a great opportunity to exploit Netanyahu's position and make him look week in the eyes of the Israeli people.
Here is Naftali Bennett:
Naftali Bennett is Netanyahu's current archrival in Israeli politics, and the favorite to replace Bibi after this year's elections.
This just goes to show that most, if not all, of the Israeli political spectrum is pro-war with Iran. That is exactly why I think President Trump wanted Netanyahu as his man in the arena; Because Netanyahu has a very specific set of circumstances (messiah complex + facing multiple felony charges and over 15 years in prison) and those circumstances are opportunities to exploit and control Bibi.
The optics of losing Trump's public support will be enough to tank Netanyahu's political career. So he will have to figure out how to maintain his warrior reputation without losing Trump, which is probably an impossible task.
BONUS ITEMS
Trump Announces Iran Deal; Strait of Hormuz Reopens
President Trump announced that a peace agreement between the United States and Iran has been completed, describing it as a deal that will bring “Peace and Security” to the region.
According to Trump, the agreement includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the removal of the US naval blockade, and mine-removal operations to restore the free flow of commercial shipping and oil transit. In a Monday morning Truth Social post, Trump said ships loaded with oil had already begun moving through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the southern shipping route is “totally safe, secure, and pristine.”
Separately, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who served as a mediator in the negotiations, announced that the United States and Iran had agreed to the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
The official signing ceremony is scheduled for June 19 in Switzerland. Pakistan credited Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey for their roles in helping facilitate the agreement and said additional meetings would take place this week to prepare for implementation of the deal.
Please share the Brief far and wide! Want to join the conversation? Jump in the comments and let us know your thoughts. And if you like the Substack, you should check out our shows — streaming now on Badlands Media!
The opinions expressed in the Badlands Brief are those of the tagged authors and do not necessarily reflect the attitudes or positions of Badlands Media.
The Brief is free, but you can support us by becoming a paid subscriber to help our collective of citizen journalists take back the narrative.
Thanks y'all, what an amazing year and here we are right where you projected us to be back in January. If more people read your work they could be as comfortable as we all are:-)
Still not Tired of Winning:-)
God Wins!
God Bless!!!
Simply one of the best sources of news and straight up, provably accurate observations/opinions on what the actuals are behind all the narratives. Must read every weekday morning, just as the Blitz is must listen over the weekend! Keep up the great work, Guys and Gals!