Badlands Brief
Intel Treason & Insider Trading
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.
Gabbard Investigation Examines Claims Intelligence Agencies Concealed 2020 Election Threat Evidence
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has launched an investigation into allegations that intelligence agencies concealed evidence of foreign election threats during the 2020 election cycle, including claims involving China and Venezuela, according to unclassified memos reviewed by Just the News.
The documents show Gabbard’s now-disbanded Director’s Initiative Group learned of whistleblower allegations during a broader review conducted last year, including claims that intelligence officials downplayed or omitted information about Chinese election interference from final assessments, congressional briefings, and the President’s Daily Brief. The material was recently referred to Intelligence Community Inspector General Christopher Fox for further review and possible declassification.
The memos allege the National Intelligence Council concluded in 2020 that China had accessed multiple state voter registration databases, with estimates ranging from 12 to 18 states, far beyond what was previously disclosed publicly. Former national intelligence cyber officer Christopher Porter reportedly raised internal concerns about how intelligence related to China’s activities was handled.
The memos also cite concerns involving Venezuela-linked election infrastructure and allege some intelligence officials withheld, de-emphasized, or omitted foreign interference findings because they believed public disclosure could politically benefit President Trump.
Emails cited in the memos reportedly show efforts to alter briefing materials intended for President Trump and pressure CIA analysts to revise records connected to discussions about Chinese election interference.
A previously uncovered 2020 raw intelligence report alleging China produced fraudulent U.S. driver’s licenses intended to facilitate fraudulent mail-in voting for then-candidate Joe Biden was later recalled, with agencies instructed to delete the information before a full investigation was conducted.
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe stated in early 2021 that intelligence analysts faced political pressure regarding assessments of Chinese interference efforts. A report submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee by intelligence ombudsman Barry Zulauf concluded some analysts appeared reluctant to elevate evidence tied to China because of disagreements with Trump administration policies.
Ashe in America: My first response to these “breaking news” headlines is that this is a rerun. Didn’t we already do this 2021 China thing?
On further evaluation, this feels like a Level Two disclosure. Level One was “China was a known threat.” Level Two is “China (and Venezuela) were known threats and multiple CIA officers and other officials were directed to mislead both the President and the Congress.
That is significant. And reportedly there is more coming.
In the past, the disclosure for “the process is the punishment” style of justice was all Level One: Headline outrage that never delivered actionable, justiciable outcomes.
Terribly unsatisfying.
But these disclosures show specific acts and a coordinated scheme to mislead the people’s allegedly elected representatives — explicitly providing aid and comfort to foreign enemies of America — ostensibly for political power.
To prosecute and convict on a treasonous grand conspiracy, everything must be done by the book. We don’t want Level One Justice.
We want justice all the way.
With that in mind, this RICO is moving along at quite the clip, and I’m more optimistic about all-the-way-justice than I’ve ever been.
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Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Lift Restrictions on US Military Operations Linked to Strait of Hormuz Mission
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have lifted restrictions on the U.S. military’s use of their bases and airspace that were imposed after Washington launched operations tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. and Saudi officials.
The move removes a major obstacle to President Trump’s effort to secure commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.
The report said the Trump administration is now seeking to restart “Project Freedom,” a naval escort mission designed to protect commercial shipping moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump announced earlier this week that the operation would be paused while Pakistani-mediated negotiations with Iran continue. Thesudden reversal on plans to assist commercial vessels reportedly followed the decision by Saudi Arabia to suspend U.S. military access to its bases and airspace for the operation, according to two U.S. officials. The source suggested regional leaders were responding to rapidly changing developments and said Saudi Arabia supported Pakistan’s diplomatic push to broker negotiations between Iran and the United States.
The White House disputed claims that Gulf allies were caught off guard by the proposed operation, stating regional partners had been informed in advance. A Middle Eastern diplomat told NBC News the U.S. only coordinated with Oman after Trump publicly announced Project Freedom, though the diplomat said Omani officials were “not upset or angry” over the sequence of events.
An NBC News report cited a Saudi source who said Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “have been in touch regularly,” with Saudi officials also coordinating with Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Central Command, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Related: Two US Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean reportedly faced a second wave of Iranian missile and drone attacks as regional tensions escalated following recent U.S. and Israeli military operations. U.S. officials said the ships successfully intercepted incoming threats without major damage, while the Pentagon warned Iran and allied militias against further escalation.
Well, isn’t this an interesting development, given the deeply autistic take we posted yesterday?
As I said in that take, Saudi Arabia was being widely credited for “shutting down” Project Freedom—which, as I think I adequately demonstrated through my dig on the USS Gerald Ford, was nothing more than a narrative psyop.
Now, there could be a wide range of reasons for this narrative deployment, including the confusion it continues to sow among the Zionists, and the narrative shielding it is providing The Kingdom while its neighbor (UAE) continues to get shelled by Iran. However, I think one of the major net effects of this entire saga is that Saudi Arabia is now being recognized as a regional heavy weight, despite lacking the military strength of others like Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, or Turkey. (Though Saudi is focused on building modern military strength, prioritizing Special Operations Forces, ballistic missiles, and aircraft/drones.)
It is interesting and notable that President Trump posted about three destroyers, as we were just writing yesterday about the fact that Carrier Strike Group Twelve (USS Gerald Ford) currently has only three destroyer escorts, which is less than the group normally maintains during deployments.
Reporting seems to confirm that these three destroyers are not from CSG Twelve—which tracks, given that CSG is currently in the Atlantic and on its way home. It’s merely a coincidence that it is the same number of destroyers, but an interesting coincidence.
I suspect that we are about to witness Pakistan facilitating a major meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmon and the Iranian leadership, where they will formally bury the hatchet of their long-running rivalry, and begin working together to contain the Israeli threat.
In a seemingly unrelated (but totally related) event, India has stepped out and labeled Turkey as new adversary, just as Turkey unveils its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile, joining an elite club of just eight countries (the US, Russia, China, France, India, the UK, Israel and North Korea) that have developed their own ICBM’s.
There are no coincidences, and the post above rightly points out the relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, warning against attacking any of these countries lest you find yourself at war with the entire region.
This is the security architecture that I have been describing for months at work. No longer can Middle Eastern countries be picked off and pitted against one another by outsiders. They are a region united, not under a centralized caliphate but under mutually beneficial cooperation.
I expect that we will see this regional alliance grow into something that can provide real stability to the Middle East.
Trump to Von Der Leyen: “I’ve Been Waiting Patiently for the EU to Fulfill Their Side” as Nations Begin to Realign Energy Routes
The 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis is accelerating a long-term geopolitical shift as major oil consumers and producers are investing in routes that bypass the strait entirely. The article points to Japan increasing purchases of UAE crude routed through Fujairah, while Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC expands pipeline and export infrastructure outside Hormuz.
Related: President Trump put Ursula Von Der Leyen on notice that the timing of the Iran war is on his side in a Truth Social post Thursday:
“I had a great call with The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. We discussed many topics, including that we are completely united that Iran can never have a Nuclear Weapon. We agreed that a regime that kills its own people cannot control a bomb that can kill millions. I’ve been waiting patiently for the EU to fulfill their side of the Historic Trade Deal we agreed in Turnberry, Scotland, the largest Trade Deal, ever! A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO! I agreed to give her until our Country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Burning Bright: Donald Trump is warning the Collectorate that time is on his side when it comes to the Iranian Knot.
Which SHOULD make it clear who the REAL target of Operation Epic Fury has been the whole time, just as it should also make clear who Trump is truly working with.
“Donald Trump can do this all day.
The real question isn’t just ... Can They?
The real question is ... Who is ‘They’ in this scenario?
Even as the headlines fixate on Donald Trump’s latest assertion of American Power Projection—complete with talk of an Iranian “State of Collapse” and the Strait of Hormuz reopening on Washington’s terms—the deeper architecture of Trump’s Sovereign Disentanglement operation is being revealed.
As I have been arguing for two months, both Trump and the so-called Iranian Regime that nobody on either side can confirm the existence of in the traditional sense are applying coordinated pressure on the very Globalist Hegemon that once installed and maintained that regime as its favored proxy: a permanent destabilizer in the Middle East, a gatekeeper over critical energy flows and a blunt instrument to block the joint economic corridors Russia and China have been advancing through Central Asia for years.
This is the Iranian Pincer in full effect. And it is squeezing the old order from both sides.
And this is part and parcel to Trump’s Power Paradigm, which I named back in January.
While much of the world already viewed Trump as a megalomaniac before his second term, the combination of his 2025 Trade Wars, his 2026 Sovereign Disentanglement operations and now the Energy War has flipped the game board entirely.
Those with real leverage—military power projection, energy dominance and financial sovereignty—are the ones who set the rules.
The multipolar reality long seeded by Russia and China’s re-emergence is no longer emerging. It is here. And Trump is accelerating it on the Western flank.
The ‘State of Collapse’ Iran reportedly conveyed to the United States last week applies far beyond Tehran’s old US-installed theocracy.
It applies to the Hegemon itself—and to the Invisible Enemy that propped the entire edifice up.
The same machine that engineered scarcity, perpetual proxy conflict and energy chokepoints to keep the Global South in check and its Western vassals dependent is now watching its own architecture turn against it.
Trump has already signaled the future in the aftermath of this disentanglement: connecting the American, Russian and Chinese spheres through Arctic energy railways first proposed in the 19th century—corridors of abundance that will soon bind empires in cooperation rather than the contrived conflicts the old order required in a mirror to the joint economic projects Russia and China have been advancing through Central Asia for the last decade.
This is the Nationalist Realignment. It is the exact formation of the Multipolar World that stands as the Sovereign Alliance’s mission statement.”
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Thirty Individuals Charged in Global Insider Trading Scheme Netting Tens of Millions in Illicit Profits
Charges were unsealed Wednesday against 30 defendants in connection with a large-scale, decade-long insider trading scheme that netted tens of millions of dollars in illicit profits. The defendants, who include corporate attorneys and other financial professionals, are alleged to have stolen and used confidential information on nearly 30 merger and acquisition deals from several of the nation’s premier law firms, including a firm headquartered in Massachusetts.
Nineteen defendants were arrested and will make appearances in federal court in Los Angeles, Calif., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and New York, among other locations. Two defendants located in Russia and Israel are considered fugitives.
The first indictment charges the following 16 defendants with two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, two counts of securities fraud and one count of money laundering conspiracy. A second indictment charges five defendants with two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, two counts of securities fraud and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Charges against nine other defendants for securities fraud conspiracy were also unsealed today. The government’s investigation is ongoing.
Some may find it premature to label this group of indicted lawyers and bankers as “Jewish,” but that is exactly what media outlet Jewish News Syndicate has done.
And the evidence to support the assertion that their shared Jewish identity was more than just a coincidence is overwhelming.
There is also the allegation that this was an international criminal operation with strong ties to Israel, which is also supported by the evidence.
First, we can start with their names. (Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all of those indicted.)
What you will notice is that the names are not only distinctly Jewish, but also ostensibly Eastern European, which is a characteristic of Israeli nomenclature.
Then we have excerpts of a group text that the DOJ claims is “coded messaging” about insider trading.
Rabbi? So if it is meant to be a plausible “coded message,” then it would be fair to presume that this group is Jewish.
In the DOJ’s indictment, they assert that at least one of the accused (God Izraelov) is currently located in Israel and is considered a fugitive. The Jewish News Syndicate interpreted that to mean that Izraelov had fled the US and gone to Israel, presumably to avoid extradition back to the US.
Finally, we have David Bratslavsky, a tech entrepreneur who served as executive director of the U.S.-Israel Business Council and as associate for policy and planning at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Here is David giving public remarks:
David is advocating for Jewish people to set aside their differences and work together to help one another— kind of like what he and his friends did in their insider trading scheme.
David has been charged as part of this criminal group, the DOJ claiming that they all worked together and that much of their time together was documented on film.
The preponderance of evidence is overwhelming. Analysts are still trying to measure the negative impact that this elaborate con has had and will continue to have on the economy.
How soon until we see Jonathan Greenblatt and the ADL accuse the Trump DOJ of fomenting antisemitism by indicting this group?
Accelerate.
***
Ashe in America: The role of professional services firms in global corruption has (finally) entered the chat.
“Our country’s financial markets and professional firms should be free from the rampant fraud and breaches of duty that these charges allege,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley.
I have repeatedly said that, if we get to the steady state of America’s transformational change program, and the arbiters of public trust are still arbiters of public trust, then we’ve failed to transform at all.
These indictments don’t name the law firms, but the grand jury discusses “known and unknown” coconspirators, and the investigation is ongoing. And here’s the thing, the structure of modern M&A due diligence means a WIDE circle has access to actionable insider information, including:
Big Four Accounting Firms
Strategy Consultancies
Cyber Diligence Firms
Investment Banks
ESG/Compliance Consultants
Insurance Diligence Providers
HR/Payroll Diligence Vendors
Data Room Administrators
In major deals, dozens or even hundreds of outside professionals can access virtual data rooms before a deal is announced. A single deal. The indictment alleges the scheme impacted at least 30 deals. 30!!!
I worked on these projects in my prior life — I held various roles on a dozen post merger integration projects, and it was the most highly confidential work I’ve ever done. Every aspect of access is gatekept to avoid exactly this type of insider scheme. And professional credentialing requires attestation (promises) for the purposes of public trust.
They promise to be honorable as a condition of access. Violations of independence at this scale are hard to sell as rogue actors operating under the noses of the entities in our institutional ecosystem most trained and accountable for public trust.
If it’s the firms’ negligence, then it’s criminal. But, honestly, negligence is quite unbelievable. The firms must have liability, based on my experience. This scale is staggering.
The indictment appears to focus on the legal side because prosecutors allege the central actors exploited privileged law-firm access systems directly.
The DOJ release says “corporate attorneys and other financial professionals”, wording that leaves open the possibility that this extends beyond the law firms.
I never saw this coming, and it’s confirming all my biases that stories of the global, structural changes happening right now are real.
Accelerate.
BONUS ITEM
Major American Companies Crash as 2026 Recession Alarms Sound
Shares of several major US consumer-facing companies plunged after weak earnings and lowered outlooks intensified fears of a 2026 economic slowdown. Whirlpool, Shake Shack, and Planet Fitness each posted sharp declines after citing weaker consumer spending, rising costs, and slowing demand, while broader recession concerns continue to pressure markets.
SpaceXAI Signs Agreement With Anthropic to Access Colossus 1 Supercomputer
SpaceXAI has signed an agreement with Anthropic to provide access to Colossus 1, a large-scale AI supercomputing system designed for advanced model training and high-performance computing workloads, according to the announcement.
Anthropic said the additional compute capacity will be used to expand performance and availability for Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers, increasing access to higher-end AI services powered by larger infrastructure resources.
The agreement also includes early discussions around potential collaboration on orbital AI compute infrastructure, with both companies exploring the possibility of multi-gigawatt systems in space.
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Ashe two stories and I think this is the key take away: "With that in mind, this RICO is moving along at quite the clip, and I’m more optimistic about all-the-way-justice than I’ve ever been." When you say you are optimistic that carried a lot of weight!
God Wins!
God Bless!!!
"To prosecute and convict on a treasonous grand conspiracy, everything must be done by the book. We don’t want Level One Justice.
We want justice all the way."
Yes! Justice all the way.
I also like BB's take on Trump's comments that he has all the time. Do they? And who are They?
That is the question I have been asking lately. Who are THEY? The "enemy" has been nebulous - the true enemy. We talk about deep state, etc - yet - who are they? I would love names, indictments, verdicts, etc. And that will come.....if not here on earth, then in heaven. We do have all the time. Because Trump's course is steady. His eye is fixed on the end game. He knows the goal. And everything he does is accelerating towards that goal.
Jewish bad actors again -- more revelation and exposure. It should make it harder for people to cheerlead. However -- brainwashing is brainwashing.
Thanks again for the insightful takes.