Badlands Brief

Missing Russians, Foreign Arson, & De Facto Treason

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.

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FBI Secretly Branded Barr, Pompeo and GOP Investigators as Russian Disinfo “Conduits” to Blunt Biden Ukraine Scandal

The FBI and US spy agencies received derogatory evidence about Joe Biden from 14 different informants but launched a secret 2020 election operation to tamp down the Ukrainian corruption scandal surrounding his family.

The effort formally designated Attorney General Bill Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, key members of Congress, and journalists as Russian disinformation “conduits,” according to declassified intelligence documents released by the White House Government Transparency Task Force.

A recovered spreadsheet divided more than six dozen figures along political lines. Democrats including the Bidens, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and George Soros were listed as “targets” of Russian disinformation. Conservatives including Fox News, One America News, Michael Caputo, Rudy Giuliani, Barr, Pompeo, Sens. Chuck Grassley, Ron Johnson and Lindsey Graham, and Reps. Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan were labeled “conduits.” Many of those Americans were flagged as potential candidates for defensive briefings.

The designations came from a counterintelligence operation codenamed “Round River,” run by a group of analysts from the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force. The team unofficially formed around December 2019, initially focused on Rudy Giuliani, then expanded. It gathered any and all derogatory information on Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Burisma, and the so-called “Ukraine narrative,” including evidence from Hunter Biden’s laptop, then red-flagged it as Russian disinformation. The task force concurred with the assessments. In many ways it was the mirror opposite of the Crossfire Hurricane Russia collusion probe.

Round River analysts had administrative access to files and later amended the records of three long-standing confidential human sources who had reported concerns about Biden family corruption dating back years.

Intelligence products were added to each source’s file claiming their reporting was Russian disinformation. Some of those sources were eventually terminated after providing negative intelligence about Ukraine and the Bidens.

The operation also closely aligned with the Biden campaign’s and legacy media’s efforts to label the Burisma allegations as “conspiracy theories.” Sens. Grassley and Johnson have long raised concerns that a 2020 defensive briefing may have been used to thwart their own probe.

A 2025 DNI summary of the “Delta Project” review concluded that the Round River team “did not corroborate any of the allegations of the ‘Ukraine narrative.’” FBI Director Kash Patel has terminated the Foreign Influence Task Force and is investigating whether it was used as a political tool to neutralize the corruption narrative rather than address real national security threats.

Ashe in America: “Would it be a scandal if Kash Patel, John Ratcliffe, and Jay Clayton uncovered a massive corruption scheme within the Trump family, but completely buried it so nobody found out? Because that is what the IC did for the Bidens. And that’s not even the worst thing they did.” – Jon Herold

We learned yesterday that the Justice Department quietly convened a special grand jury in Washington, a rarely used legal weapon reserved for “unusual cases: investigations of government officials, broad conspiracies, or organized criminal activity.”

Ali Tucker with Badlands Media, citing the Washington Post, says, “Unlike a regular grand jury, this special one can drop a public report naming people even if prosecutors decide they don’t have enough evidence to charge anyone. The bar is only a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ of wrongdoing. Anyone named gets a chance to testify and call their own witnesses.”

We’ve been hearing about a Grand Treasonous Conspiracy for over a year. In July 2025, Tulsi Gabbard coined that term for the Russia Gate disclosures. Those implicate Obama, and the declassifications since – about election fraud, COVID, weaponization, and more – implicate the same people, ostensibly for the same goal: They had to stop Trump.

Now there are grand juries in Florida and Washington DC confirmed, and the DC one is what you’d need if you were going to prosecute all the government crimes the administration keeps declassifying.

I’d say we’re in the Justice Phase, boys and girls.

For folks thinking a year is a long time, consider the scope and scale and the fact that our system of justice requires every “i” dotted and every “t” crossed to make the justice stick.

Things are moving rapidly.

I hope they accelerate, but they’re moving rapidly.

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Firefighters Claim Israel Deliberately Setting Southern Lebanon Ablaze, as US Slams Katz For Saying IDF Not Leaving

Lebanese firefighters are accusing Israeli forces of deliberately setting fires across southern Lebanon, alleging drones have dropped incendiary material while white phosphorus shells, flares and other munitions have ignited forests, olive groves and farmland. One regional civil defense chief estimated fires have affected 30% to 40% of the land in some frontline areas since the June ceasefire.

The allegations come as the Trump administration publicly rebuked Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz after he declared Israel was “here to stay” in southern Lebanon. A US official said Katz’s comments contradicted commitments made to Washington, which has been pushing for an Israeli withdrawal under the ceasefire framework.

GhostofBasedPatrickHenry:

There’s been a lot of hyperbole about Israel as of late. It’s become very in vogue to say provocative things and post anti-Israel memes. People have built enormous followings and entire brands around those types of posts.

This audience knows as well as anybody that I was hyper-focused on Israel long before it was trendy to do so, and I would say that during that time I was very restrained in my critiques. I wasn’t trying to be provocative mostly because I was trying to reach people who disagreed with my general perspective on Israel. I genuinely felt that an earnest and reasonably objective (I don’t deny that there was some bias) analysis on Israel was necessary for our movement to better understand this extremely important subject, while fully acknowledging that my work is just a small piece in a much larger mosaic that builds the full picture.

I say all of this to prequalify my next statement, which is thoughtful and deliberate. I don’t say this to be provocative or cathartic. I don’t say it to be sensational.

Israel is a terrorist state. (Full stop)

Surely, this is a statement that has become commonplace in the current social media environment. But just a few short years ago, you would have had your life destroyed for merely suggesting it.

Israel is an inherently ruthless culture, as it deems that such ruthless behavior is necessary to preserve the Jewish state.

This doesn’t mean that all Israelis are ruthless, of course, or even support what the Israeli government is currently doing. But we have to acknowledge that Israel, itself, has touted the need for defensive infrastructure, to protect its people from the whims of charlatans and the bombs of adversaries.

From the perspective of the rest of the world: the entire Israeli adult population is culpable because the entire population is made up of veterans, many of who were conscripted into the Zionist’s army.

We have watched in amazement for years now as Israel has habitually crossed the line, and more often than not, Jesus of Nazareth was uniquely positioned to stop the proliferation of these degenerate ideas. Now we watch as the Israeli security cabinet under Netanyahu has become the second coming of the Sanhedrin.

This is why the other types of warfare (economic, etc.) are so important. Trump is using them all in concert to highlight and expose the modern Sanhedrin, which is absolutely drunk on bloodlust and driving itself mad with power.

Now we have the Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz (who is a Khahanist) openly confessing to committing these types of sins. Just last year, as Foreign Minister, Katz openly threatened Turkish President Erdogan at a UN meeting warning Erdogan that he may become “the next Saddam,” referring to Saddam’s high-profile demise.

Now Katz is openly defying President Trump, making it clear that Israel has no plans to surrender the land they have conquered.

The hubris and ego are simply out of control.

With the Trump administration slapping another tariff on Russia, it’s no wonder how and why the centive to own one or two drops off significantly.

While Israel will claim the right to defend itself from any potential enemy, and train its youngest to play tennis, I think most objective observers have soured on Israel’s antics, and recognize that the push for more war is completely backfiring.

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Trump Keeps the Perpetual Discombobulator Running While Iran Enters a ‘Survival Economy’

Iran is reportedly shifting into what officials describe as a “survival economy,” prioritizing essential imports, domestic production and measures to withstand sustained US economic pressure as Tehran rejects Washington’s current demands for a new agreement. The strategy reflects expectations inside Iran that sanctions and financial isolation could continue even as regional mediators push to restart negotiations.

The standoff comes amid conflicting signals from President Trump, whose combination of military pressure, sanctions and intermittent offers of diplomacy has left Tehran uncertain about Washington’s endgame. Oman and other intermediaries are reportedly seeking to restore a negotiating framework, but Iran continues to resist US terms while preparing its economy for a prolonged confrontation.

Burning Bright: The discombobulator strikes again!

But then ... isn’t the discombobulator largely defined by the unexpected happening, and on unpredictable timelines?

And if so, when Donald Trump continues to perpetuate a cycle of on-again, off-again war and peace with Iran that nobody can confirm or deny, but which everyone is desperate to, do we actually have discombobulation, or has Trump engineered an emergent paradigm wherein discombobulation is the new status quo, and if he has, has he effectively made the unexpected entirely expected, and what would have been expected entirely unexpected?

These are the questions we ponder, my friends, and if you feel discombobulated after reading them ... I think you’re feeling exactly how you should feel right now.

In all seriousness, though, how do I take the current run of communications coming out of Trump, the so-called Iranian Regime and perhaps most importantly, the Political, Economic and Financial media attempting to orient themselves within the chaos their confluence creates?

I have been saying since I wrote the Iran War series that I believe Trump’s timeline stretching with regards to the conflict--or the story of that conflict--is a core feature of whatever mission he is actually forwarding, without pretending to know how long he plans to keep the perpetuation, well, in perpetual motion.

It is becoming increasingly apparent to me that, contrary to what I and many others believed at the start of this conflict in February, Trump will in fact keep this one going straight through the November Midterms ... which, of course means Trump is likely going to announce a permanent peace deal an hour after you read this, proving me wrong on the micro.

And yet, ruminating on that possibility (Trump’s stretching of the Iran Crisis well beyond what MOST in virtually all layers of the Info War believed he would or COULD) suggests that my larger macro reading of the inherent design of the engineered crisis (one Trump created, don’t forget) remains viable, and that is that we are watching Narrative cover fire laid down that is helping to simultaneously force the Actuals along the Multipolar rails I’ve been projecting in earnest for years, while retroactively codifying the international public mandate for said multipolar vision, which I believe stands as the end goal of the Sovereign Alliance, and against the unipolar, globalist vision of the very globalists who are actually being squeezed by the Iran War’s continuance along all the rails we’re told the Iranian Regime is being squeezed.

So, before I write another 2,000 words in this take, I’ll leave you with this thought:

When you see dueling Narratives between Trump and the so-called Iranian Regime, with each side claiming publicly that the other cannot survive the perpetuation of the perpetual war for much longer, I want you to pull your focus away from them and cast it onto the rest of the global game board, and ask yourself why, if the Iran War is actually so bad for Trump, for the MAGA core and even for Iran ... why are all of the worst people in the world, from US politicians to foreign leaders and the global conglomerates most affected by the Squeeze of Hormuz, all of whom count Trump as enemy ... so bothered by the continuation of the very narrative that is supposedly undoing his national mandate and destroying his legacy?

Methinks they know the real game being played, and they know Trump isn’t playing it against Iran, but with them.

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Israel Silent as Moscow Seeks Answers Over Missing Historian

Russia says Israel has failed to provide information about the whereabouts of Russian-Israeli historian Alexey Makarkin, who Moscow says disappeared after being detained by Israeli authorities. Russian diplomats say repeated requests for clarification have gone unanswered, leaving officials unable to determine his location, legal status or the reason for his reported detention.

Moscow is pressing Israel for consular access and an explanation, while Israeli authorities have not publicly addressed Russia’s claims. The case adds another point of friction between the two countries as their relationship faces growing strains over Israel’s regional military operations and Russia’s ties with Iran and Syria.

GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: There are two things that need to be addressed from this story.

The first is that Israel is a fascist authoritarian state that will arrest people for reporting the truth about what their government and military are up to. In Israel, there is no separation of church and state, meaning the theocracy of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism has bled into the walls of the Sanhedrin and will increasingly reveal itself to the world.

Even college professors aren’t safe from the tyranny of the Zionists.

The second point is that the stage is being set for Trump and Putin to forge an alliance against Netanyahu and confront him in a true heavyweight matchup.

You can see in my other take that Trump is also currently having seriously disagreements about direction with the Israeli Security Cabinet. I wonder how long until Trump walks away from Israel entirely?

How will this all unfold? Time will tell. But don’t be surprised if we see Trump engage in more bombastic rhetoric and chaos narrative as this plotline reaches a fever pitch. The question is when will we see the Russians appeal to the Trump admin for assistance in dealing with Netanyahu’s regime?

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Former SPLC CFO Arrested on Fraud Charges Tied to Secret Informant Payments

Former Southern Poverty Law Center chief financial officer Heidi Beirich has been arrested in California on fraud charges related to secret payments made to informants inside White supremacist groups.

Beirich, who previously ran the SPLC’s hate-group tracking project, is accused of overseeing payments of donor money to people inside those groups. Prosecutors say she shared a bank account with one of the sources that contained funds from the SPLC payments. She faces a superseding indictment charging wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to conceal money laundering.

The case is part of the Justice Department’s broader action against the SPLC over alleged payments made without donor knowledge and routed through shell companies. Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators believe Beirich was involved in opening bank accounts in fictitious company names and making payments for reasons that were not accurately described.

According to the indictment, one source, who infiltrated a White supremacy group and stole documents for the SPLC, was paid more than $1 million by the organization since 2007. Beirich allegedly had a romantic relationship with that person and lived with them at the time. Some of the payments she oversaw went to an Imperial Wizard in the KKK. The shared bank account held about $140,000 from those SPLC payments.

Ashe in America: This isn’t some staffer at the SPLC. Beirich was the CFO and is accused of specific money laundering-related and other financial crimes. CannCon and I talked about this on yesterday’s Badlands Daily, discussing how this SPLC thing is a portfolio of crime.

There are so many portfolios of crime to prosecute.

I have faith that we can do them all and, as I said earlier this week, the DOJ should throw the book at the SPLC, track every entity and NGO that they are in bed with, and make examples of all of them.

Truth and reconciliation.

Deterrence.

Make their grandchildren feel the impact of what they’ve done.

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BONUS ITEMS

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Judge Clears Additional Epstein Documents for Release Over Maxwell Objection

US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled Tuesday that a group of previously sealed documents related to government investigations of Jeffrey Epstein can be made public under the 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Preska granted the Justice Department’s request for disclosure and rejected arguments by Ghislaine Maxwell that the materials should remain under seal. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of participating in Epstein’s sex crimes.

The judge held that the Transparency Act takes precedence over earlier protective orders in the case, grand jury secrecy rules, and Maxwell’s privacy claims. The documents originated in Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 civil lawsuit against Maxwell, which was settled in 2017, and were later obtained by the government through a grand jury subpoena from the law firm that represented Giuffre.

Preska found a compelling need for release, stating that keeping the records secret would leave the public with an incomplete picture of the activities. Victim-protecting redactions required by the Act still apply. It remains unclear what new information the additional material will contain.

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