Badlands Brief
Abrahamic Rug Pulls, Frivolous Lawfare, & False Statements Under Oath
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.
Trump Rug Pulls the Saudis By Making New Nuclear Deal Dependent on Abraham Accords; Saudis Respond
President Donald Trump said the United States is prepared to move forward with a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia only if the kingdom eventually joins the Abraham Accords and normalizes relations with Israel. The position links two major regional initiatives that had previously been discussed on separate tracks.
Saudi officials responded by reiterating their longstanding position that normalization with Israel remains contingent on meaningful progress toward a Palestinian state and an end to the conflict in Gaza. Riyadh has maintained that its conditions for joining the Abraham Accords have not changed.
The exchange underscores the administration’s continued effort to expand the Abraham Accords while pursuing broader security and energy partnerships in the Middle East. It also highlights the diplomatic challenges of advancing both Israeli-Saudi normalization and a US-Saudi nuclear agreement amid the ongoing Gaza war.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry : “It was signed. So nothing to renegotiate,” the Saudi source says. “Tweets don’t overturn signed agreements.”
A released statement by the Saudi Energy Ministry.
I talked about this yesterday on the bonus episode of Geopolitics with Ghost. I don’t believe President Trump actually intends to enforce this ultimatum. I think he is posturing for the zealous Zionists in his camp.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t need the US to build a nuclear power plant. They have already submitted proposals from a South Korean nuclear contractor (KEPCO) as well as a Japanese company.
Their preference would be to work with US companies to construct and maintain the nuclear facilities, but they intend to build one (two, actually) regardless.
MAGA Media Says Trump Needs to Beat China in Open-Source AI War
A growing debate within the AI industry is shifting to Washington over whether the US should embrace open-source artificial intelligence to compete with China or restrict it over security concerns. In an American Greatness opinion, Julio Rivera argues that the Trump administration should back American open-source AI, warning that China is rapidly gaining ground with freely available models that could shape global AI standards.
The argument comes as Chinese companies release increasingly capable open-source AI models, while major US firms including OpenAI and Anthropic urge policymakers to scrutinize or restrict Chinese open-weight models, citing national security risks. Critics counter that excessive regulation would entrench the largest AI companies and make it harder for smaller American developers to compete.
The debate has become a key policy issue for the Trump administration as it weighs how to maintain US leadership in AI while addressing security concerns. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang this week warned policymakers against allowing fear-driven regulation to slow American innovation, arguing that the US must remain globally competitive rather than handicap its own AI ecosystem.
Burning Bright: On the latest episode of the Devolution Power Hour (you should watch it,) Jon and I spent a good deal of time talking about an intra-AI civil war that almost nobody in the Info War has picked up on.
In that segment, I argued that, while I believe the anti-AI and anti-Data Center rhetoric that is exploding across the American Mindscape has been almost entirely engineered by factions who do not have our best interests at heart, there absolutely are some snakes in the grass when it comes to the budding AI industry.
In my personal view, the two most famous AI leaders in the world outside of Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei are actively working to control the AI future by putting that future squarely in the hands of globalist, centralized governments, which SHOULD stand as anathema to their publicly-projected visions for the future.
Under this framing, the context of OpenAI ‘losing control’ of their latest model looks less like an unhappy accident, and more like an AI false flag designed specifically to compel western governments into levering the sort of direct control over the industry that would disproportionately protect large-scale, entrenched providers while heavily damaging free market competition.
Which is where China comes into the equation.
For months, I’ve been suggesting that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are engaged in a multitude of pincers against the globalists, and that their pincers are typically of the financial variety, with both men granting each other narrative shielding through a series of arms races.
On Wednesday night, I suggested that the perceived AI arms race between the US and China was going to be used to STOP the Altman-Amodei subversion and the ensuing centralization of the American AI industry under the guise of national security.
That very night, one of Trump’s favorite platforms, American Greatness posted an Op Ed to the same effect, albeit without understanding that said Arms Race is entirely narrative, and coordinated.
The enemy is operating along multiple layers when it comes to their attempts to stop the emergent Golden Age.
Unfortunately for them, so is the Sovereign Alliance.
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Rubio Meets Lavrov & Trump Withholds Funds as Ukraine’s New Army Chief Says “Russia Has No Right to Exist”
Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, declared that “Russia has no right to exist” while outlining his vision for Ukraine’s military. His remarks came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Manila, where Rubio said the Trump administration remains prepared to play a “constructive role” in helping end the wari, while cautioning there is no quick path to a negotiated settlement.
The diplomatic outreach follows the Trump administration’s decision to withhold portions of previously planned military assistance to Ukraine pending a review of US weapons stockpiles. US officials have said the pause is intended to ensure American military readiness while continuing to evaluate future support for Kyiv.
Rubio described his discussion with Lavrov as “good” and “frank” but declined to disclose details, saying diplomacy is best conducted privately. Russia has continued to state it is open to a political settlement while maintaining its previously stated negotiating positions, and Ukraine has reiterated that any peace agreement must preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
So right as Rubio is meeting with Lavrov and expressing the US desire to help end the war, Laura Loomer is being deployed to Ukraine for a massive PR campaign to keep the war going, while the new Ukrainian commander-in-chief is saying Russia has no right to exist, while projecting that the ethnic Russian people living in the Ukraine are invaders and haven’t lived there for over a thousand years.
We also have President Trump withholding $400M in funding that was promised by Congress to Zelensky, saying that it won’t be available “until the next president is in office.” That is certainly interesting.
The brazen attempts by Congress to launder and steal US tax dollars through Ukraine is now being widely perceived and observed. Now would be the perfect opportunity to release a report detailing this corruption from the office of the Inspector General. (Looking at you, Robert Storch.)
House Judiciary Refers Jack Smith to DOJ for False Statements Under Oath
The House Judiciary Committee has referred former Special Counsel Jack Smith to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution, citing strong evidence he knowingly made false statements during his December 17, 2025, sworn deposition.
In a letter dated July 22, 2026, to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the committee states Smith’s testimony directly contradicts new DOJ documents obtained by lawmakers.
During the Biden-Harris DOJ’s “Arctic Frost” probe into the 2020 election, investigators unconstitutionally subpoenaed phone records of over a dozen Republican Members of Congress and used gag orders to hide the fact the administration had obtained them.
The letter details how Smith’s team proposed and he approved the vast majority of additional toll record subpoenas. It notes internal DOJ experts warned the actions might be unconstitutional, yet prosecutors moved forward anyway.
In his deposition, Smith testified he did not receive the content of Members’ text messages. The Committee says this appears false based on the records they now possess.
The referral highlights potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and the Speech or Debate Clause protecting congressional communications.
Ashe in America: As I have repeatedly stated about Arctic Frost and its impact on legislators, they only get authentically upset when it’s about themselves. Their messages were read by the government, so this breach is a super serious one.
The legislators assume The People will be horrified on their behalf when they experience just a taste. The conduct of globalist creation Jack Smith – who should be prosecuted and convicted for so many reasons and treasons including and beyond Arctic Frost – is but a taste of the overreaches regular Americans experience everyday.
Every J6 defendant, for example, experienced greater civil liberty violations than the largely elitist victims of Arctic Frost. The victims of Arctic Frost, and their predecessors, created and funded and defended the surveillance state. They thought they were exempt.
Sillies.
They’re only authentically outraged when it’s about themselves.
Ukraine Strikes Turkish Ships as Israeli Minister Warns of Possible Naval Clash With Turkey
A Russian-appointed governor in Kherson said Ukrainian drone strikes targeted 13 Turkish civilian vessels operating in the Black Sea, killing one Turkish sailor and wounding three others. Turkish authorities have not publicly confirmed the casualty figures, and the circumstances surrounding the reported attacks remain disputed. Russia has condemned the strikes as attacks on civilian shipping. Meanwhile, Turkish officials have not announced any military response.
Separately, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said Israel should prepare for the possibility of a future naval confrontation with Turkey, citing Ankara’s expanding regional posture and tensions over Gaza and the Eastern Mediterranean. Chikli argued Israel should strengthen its naval capabilities and strategic planning, though he did not indicate that a clash is imminent.
The developments come as regional tensions remain elevated over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, with Turkey maintaining relations with both Ukraine and Russia while continuing to criticize Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Despite increasingly sharp rhetoric between Ankara and Jerusalem, the two countries are not in direct military conflict.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: For the past few months, I have been speculating on the prospect of a naval conflict breaking out in the eastern Mediterranean between Israel and Turkey, with perhaps Ukraine, Greece, or Cyprus (or all three) aligning with Israel against Turkey.
Now we have Ukraine attacking at least 13 Turkish ships, killing a sailor, and the Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, warning that we may see a naval conflict between Israel and Turkey unfolding in the very near future.
We also see Mossad Media asset Laura Loomer deployed to Ukraine for a serious marketing campaign for the war against Russia. It is clear that the Uniparty regime is trying to open up a new front in the war, and turn the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean into active war zones.
The question is whether we will see Article 5 activated against Ukraine for attacking Turkey. That would certainly present a quagmire to navigate for the Uniparty regime.
Melania Trump Files Motion for Sanctions Against Michael Wolff
First Lady Melania Trump filed a motion for sanctions Tuesday against journalist Michael Wolff after he unsuccessfully sued her to block her $1 billion defamation lawsuit.
Wolff had claimed Melania was heavily involved in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Her team sent a pre-action notice demanding retraction, but Wolff ignored it and filed the failed lawsuit instead. A federal judge tossed Wolff’s case earlier this year, calling it a “contorted” effort and “not how the federal courts work.”
Melania’s legal team says sanctions are warranted because Wolff manufactured a jurisdictional dispute to keep the case in New York state court, used litigation for improper purposes, and made frivolous claims lacking evidentiary support. The First Lady is seeking costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, arguing Wolff’s lawsuit was a fundraising drive and political spectacle.
“Plaintiff and his counsel asserted a legally frivolous claim, propped it up with factual contentions that lacked any evidentiary support, and used them to run a political and commercial campaign,” the filing states.
Ashe in America: On Thursday’s The Daily Herold, Jon Herold used this story as an a reference point for what he sees coming for the future of frivolous lawfare, and it was a relatable take.
“Wolff manufactured a jurisdictional dispute to keep the case in New York state court, used litigation for improper purposes, and made frivolous claims lacking evidentiary support.”
Many such cases. I plan to read the pleadings in this case, and I will report back. From the reporting, it sounds like the First Lady might be giving us a playbook for how to punish those who weaponize the courts or, as the First Lady says, use “litigation for improper purposes.”
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Here is some hopeful convergence: Just as the First Lady is highlighting our “lawfare state,” and the Congress is getting burned by the “surveillance state,” Jonathan Drake and Ashe in America are inspiring everyday Americans to boldly represent themselves in cases where no lawyer could possibly care enough to foment real and swift justice. Members of our family, including myself, have been moved to use Artificial Intelligence to keep lawyers entirely out of the loop. Pray for the victory of righteousness and swift demise of a corrupt and weaponized Judiciary.
—-It’s good to open the Brief and see pincher moves all over! Exciting, especially as the gifted folks here have educated us in advance.
—-Of course the Russian speaking population of Donbass are distrusting of Ukraine. Does no one remember the 2014 coup and the bloodbath that followed? (Including Obama and his CIA’s roles.)
“• Following the Euromaidan victory, the Kiev regime’s campaign of terror against dissidents became a hallmark. For over a decade, the people of Donbass endured terrorist attacks and indiscriminate strikesfrom the Ukrainian Armed Forces and neo-Nazi groups.” https://newzealand.mid.ru/en/press_center/news/inconvenient_truth_abot_the_coup_d_etat_in_ukraine_in_2014/?TSPD_101_R0=08765fb817ab20003c32a0223694dcb79f17b0b0b920b3dd1d9890d0693a4db1844e661576531922081646e1e6143000105da7939152716cd7b23359c2f616e9689b0494231f5f7ae3d5674055f56cce765809b46714d8ce1e89e9d2168198b9
I’m with Ghost. Where is Robert Storch?
—-🤣 “Their messages were read by the government, so this breach is a super serious one.” Love it, Ashe! I think they’re about to spend a lot of time from now on in ‘authentic outrage’ and I cannot wait.
—-The darkest hour is right before dawn. I keep thinking this and concur with Ghost’s assessment, ‘The question is whether we will see Article 5 activated against Ukraine for attacking Turkey. That would certainly present a quagmire to navigate for the Uniparty regime.’ 🤔The exposures seem to be increasing in scope and intensity.
—-Then there’s the First Lady
—-Ghost has the bottom line today, “The enemy is operating along multiple layers when it comes to their attempts to stop the emergent Golden Age. Unfortunately for them, so is the Sovereign Alliance.” We must not forget this point as the doomers moan and wail!