Badlands News Brief
Contentious Confirmations & Conflicted Special Counsels
The News Cycle is almost impossible to track these days. At least, to do so fully.
That’s where we come in.
In the Badlands News Brief, the Badlands Media team hand pick news items of interest from the previous days to give you an overview of the biggest goings-on relevant to the Truth Community with some Badlands flavoring to help wash it down.
Before we get into the meat of today’s Brief, we want to take a moment to thank our sponsor, River Bitcoin. River Bitcoin’s interest-on-cash protects your dollars with FDIC insurance while offering you the option to reap the potential gains of Bitcoin. Move your cash to River and start earning a REAL interest rate with Bitcoin, today!
Now, onto the news from Monday, January 13 …
Congratulations Alpha Warrior! Government Dropped All Charges Monday
Badlands Media Special Event Coverage of the Trump Cabinet Senate Confirmation Hearings
AND
Trump’s Nominees are Suddenly Looking Safer
A little over a month ago, President-elect Donald Trump’s top nominees appeared to be entering a world of pain.
HHS pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was facing tough questions about his stance on the polio vaccine. Would-be director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was in the barrel over her dealings with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. And top Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth suffered through mounting questions about his personal and professional life.
Now, with a whirlwind of confirmation hearings launching on Capitol Hill, Republicans are more confident than ever that they’ve gotten Trump’s personnel blitz back on track — thanks to a combination of hardball politics, appeals to GOP unity and lots of personal charm.
Most Republican senators “are predisposed to let the president have his team absent some extraordinary circumstances,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Monday.
The biggest question now for Senate Republicans isn’t who they will be able to confirm, it’s how long will it take to confirm them all. GOP leaders are warning senators to prepare for Friday votes or even weekend work in the coming weeks. – Politico
Our Take: They were always safe. Democrats can squeal and gnash their teeth, but they don’t have any power. The People gave Trump a mandate, and if the Senate attempts to thwart his agenda, the Senate may find its authority in such matters to be (rightly) challenged.
They’re kind of stuck. Sure, Democrats will attempt to damage the reputations of the incoming administration during these hearings, but they will eventually confirm and, beginning next week at 12:01PM ET on Monday, they will get to work.
While the regime puppets seek to tarnish the nominees, we’re looking forward to getting to know them better and gain insights about their strategies for the coming months. Tune into Badlands Media for continuing coverage of this week’s Senate Confirmation Hearings.
First Up: Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, 9:30AM ET. Don’t miss it!
–
Garland Seeks to Trample Americans’ Due Process Rights to Get Trump
The release of the special counsel report by the attorney general would severely prejudice the due process rights of the individuals identified in that report, a brief filed late Saturday in a Florida federal court argued. All eyes now rest on Judge Aileen Cannon’s docket to see how she responds to this weekend’s bombshell filing.
The flurry of court filings began exactly one week ago when Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira filed two emergency motions to enjoin the release of the special counsel’s report. Special Counsel Jack Smith had indicted Nauta, De Oliveira, and Trump in the Southern District of Florida for alleged crimes related to Trump’s retention of classified documents. [...]
Trump, for his part, has asked Judge Cannon to enjoin the release of the entire Special Counsel report. The president-elect has also sought to intervene in the case. And now [Jeffrey] Clark has joined that motion…
Given that Clark has now made known the substantial due process injury the release of Volume I will cause to him and potentially dozens of other Americans, it would be outrageous for AG Garland to continue to push for its release. But given the lawfare he has allowed to occur under his watch, it wouldn’t be surprising. – The Federalist
AND
Judge Allows Release of Half of Special Counsel’s Report on Trump Cases
A federal judge in Florida cleared the way on Monday for the Justice Department to soon release a portion of a report written by the special counsel, Jack Smith, detailing the decisions he made in charging President-elect Donald J. Trump with plotting to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
But in a five-page order, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, ruled that prosecutors and defense lawyers would have to appear before her in court on Friday to argue over whether the Justice Department could release to members of Congress the part of Mr. Smith’s report dealing with the case she oversaw: the one in which Mr. Trump was accused of refusing to return classified documents after he left office.
Under the ruling, the Justice Department would be free to release the part of the report about the election case as early as just after midnight Tuesday morning. Mr. Trump’s lawyers could still ask an appeals court or the Supreme Court to stop that part of Mr. Smith’s report from coming out.
– The New York Times
Our Take: This whole thing reeks of Peter Rabbit and the briar patch. ("Please don't throw me in!")
The simple story is that the Deep State sent their "best," and that guy is now unemployed after resigning in disgrace. Now they are going to release the report they compiled during their investigation, which only seems lawful because they are using some wacky loophole to "convict" President Trump without actually punishing him for anything (because he's innocent).
But I agree with
's take that this report will likely be full of juicy details regarding the Trump-Biden transition, and those details could very well fill in some of the gaps in our understanding of what happened and why.So yes, release your report. While you're at it, release the 9/11 files and remaining JFK files still being kept under lock and key. –
NATO Boss Warns Members to Start Learning Russian
European members of NATO need to drastically increase their military spending or start studying Russian, the US-led bloc’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, has said. Rutte’s remarks came during a question and answer period at the end of the joint meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) on Monday.
While two thirds of NATO members are now meeting the bloc’s 2014 target of spending 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on the military, that’s not enough to protect them from Moscow, Rutte claimed. “We are safe now, but not in 4-5 years,” Rutte said. “So, if you don’t do it, get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand. Or decide now to spend more.”
“I just want you to spend more money!” Rutte added. “I’ve not committed to a new number, just saying that 2% is not nearly enough.”
US President-elect Donald Trump has floated the idea of boosting the spending to 5%, but no NATO member – Washington included – is anywhere near that number at present. – RT
Our Take: With Scavino putting out “surreal” comms ahead of J20, it’s worth remembering that you were able to front-run the convergence of reality layers.
The collapse of the System already happened. The rest is a matter of timing, and awakening.
Cognitive dissonance is an opportunity. –
David Weiss Condemns Pardon, Defends Record in Hunter Biden Prosecution Report
Special Counsel David Weiss defended his handling of the Hunter Biden investigation in a final report capping his multi-year investigation into the president’s son. Weiss also pushed back against President Biden’s decision to pardon his son as he was facing both tax and gun charges in two different states.
“I prosecuted the two cases against Mr. Biden because he broke the law. A unanimous jury-who found Mr. Biden guilty of gun charges-and Mr. Biden himself-who pleaded guilty to tax offenses-agreed. As I have done for twenty years, I applied the Principles of Federal Prosecution and determined that prosecution was warranted,” Weiss wrote at the top of the 280-page report.
But he also swiftly criticized Biden’s handling of Hunter Biden’s November pardon, noting that the president had called the cases “selective,” “unfair,” infected by “raw politics” and a “miscarriage of justice.”
“This statement is gratuitous and wrong,” Weiss wrote. – The Hill
Our Take: Man, this part of Hunter Biden report from David Weiss sure makes it seem like he was looking into other shenanigans.
He did not need to include this section in here. –
Dangerous Winds Picking Up in Southern California Through Wednesday. What to Know.
Rare, extremely critical fire weather is in the forecast again for Southern California. Winds that will crank up through Monday will gust strongly through at least Wednesday as the footprint of drought and its intensity in the region expands.
The Weather Service has issued a new round of fire weather warnings, advising of a “particularly dangerous situation” brewing for parts of the Los Angeles metro region, including the San Fernando and Simi valleys, Oxnard, Ventura and portions of the Interstate 5 corridor. Red flag warnings for significant wildfire threat also run from north of Santa Barbara to east of San Diego. — The Washington Post
AND
Investigation Into Palisades Fire Focuses on Possible Human Cause
Our Take: A possible human cause, they say, but it might not be intentional. It’s way too early to suggest arson and, let’s be honest, the most logical and scientifically sound explanation is probably climate change.
Also, at the same press conference, the LA district attorney announced that a total of 10 people have been arrested for arson, as well as looting and other crimes.
They’re losing control of the narrative, so it’s becoming more ridiculous.
—
Trump Reveals How He Really Feels About John Fetterman After Unprecedented Mar-A-Lago Meeting
President-elect Donald Trump revealed how he really feels about Democratic Sen. John Fetterman after the Pennsylvania senator met with him at Mar-a-Lago. Fetterman flew down to Palm Beach, Florida, last week to meet with the incoming president at his lavish Florida property - the first Democratic senator to do so…
‘It was a totally fascinating meeting. He's a fascinating man, and his wife is lovely,' Trump told The Washington Examiner's Salena Zito after the sit-down. 'They were both up, and I couldn't be more impressed.'
'He's a commonsense person. He's not liberal or conservative. He's just a commonsense person, which is beautiful,' Trump added.
When Capitol Hill reporters asked Fetterman on Thursday why he decided to meet with the Republican president-elect he gave them a cheeky answer. 'I demand that I need to be made pope of Greenland,' Fetterman said.
– Daily Mail
Our Take: Why does Trump like Fetterman so much? Because he's just another actor in the "show."
It's not a coincidence that he's completely leaned into the "common sense" narrative in recent months. –
EU Concerned by Attempted Ukrainian Attack on Gas System
The European Commission has expressed concern over reports of a thwarted Ukrainian drone strike on a gas pipeline that supplies several of the bloc’s member states. Moscow said on Monday that Kiev’s forces had launched nine explosives-laden drones, targeting a section of TurkStream in southern Russia over the weekend.
Launched in 2010, the pipeline has an annual capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and pumps Russian fuel to Türkiye, and onward to Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece.
During a press briefing on Monday, the commission spokesperson for energy, climate and environment, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, stated that “obviously, any attack on energy infrastructure is something that is worrying.”
“We [have not had] any particular contacts on this reporting today with the Ukrainian side, but obviously [we] keep monitoring the situation as regards any security supply issue in Ukraine, Moldova as well as our member states,” she added. – RT
Our Take: If Ukraine attacks Turkey, it triggers Article Five (NATO) and Europe is forced to join Russia's side and fight Ukraine.
If Israel attacks Turkey, it triggers Article Five (NATO) and Europe is forced to join Iran's side and fight Israel.
I haven't quite discerned what the Deep State's play is, here. Do they think we won't figure out the faction behind these attacks? Do they think we are going to fall for another Russia, Russia, Russia story?
It'll be interesting to see how these ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine and the Middle East will be subverted and undermined by the Deep State in order to keep the respective conflicts going. –
Laken Riley Act Momentum Grows as Senate Democrats Vote to Begin Debate
The Laken Riley Act took another step to becoming law Monday evening after clearing another hurdle in the Senate. Senators voted 82-10 on a motion to proceed to consideration of the bill, allowing the chamber to begin debating the bill and any potential amendments. Thirty-33 Democrats voted to begin debating the legislation.
The outcome, while a significant development, was unsurprising after 33 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans Thursday to clear a procedural hurdle to enable Monday’s vote. But the surging momentum of the bill is a sea change from the previous Congress, when Democrats reigned in the Senate and then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blocked the House-passed legislation from Senate consideration.
Democrats’ willingness to consider the bill – a handful have even expressed support for the unamended bill – is another indication of their recognition of the electoral potency of Republican calls for increased border security.
The Laken Riley Act would require DHS to take into custody illegal aliens arrested, charged, or convicted for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill…passed the House Wednesday. – Breitbart
Our Take: What happened to Laken Riley, and many others, under the watchful and encouraging eye of the Biden Administration, is a stain on America.
The fact that her death was 100% preventable makes the widespread, apolitical outrage even more justified, and I look forward to incoming Border Czar Tom Homan getting to work next week, ridding our communities of vicious, foreign criminals.
Still, you have to wonder if this legislation is merely symbolic or addressing some defect in the United States Code. Why do we need a bill to “require DHS to take into custody illegal aliens arrested, charged, or convicted for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.”
Isn’t that already part of the United States Code?
Why do we need new legislation to force an entity that exists to secure the homeland – the Department of Homeland Security – to take foreign criminals inside the homeland into custody? –
Trump's Mideast Envoy Forced Netanyahu to Accept a Gaza Plan He Repeatedly Rejected
Israeli sources say that the involvement of the incoming U.S. administration, led by Trump's aggressive Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, revived hostage talks with Hamas. While Netanyahu's propaganda machine claims that Trump has left him no choice, what happens inside his coalition will determine whether the prime minister approves the deal.
Last Friday evening, Steven Witkoff, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, called from Qatar to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aides that he would be coming to Israel the following afternoon. The aides politely explained that was in the middle of the Sabbath but that the prime minister would gladly meet him Saturday night.
Witkoff's blunt reaction took them by surprise. He explained to them in salty English that Shabbat was of no interest to him. His message was loud and clear. Thus in an unusual departure from official practice, the prime minister showed up at his office for an official meeting with Witkoff, who then returned to Qatar to seal the deal. — Haaretz
Our Take: “Witkoff is a Jewish real estate investor and developer who is close to Trump. He doesn't have the background of the kind of people who usually fill diplomatic roles. "Witkoff isn't a diplomat. He doesn't talk like a diplomat, he has no interest in diplomatic manners and diplomatic protocols," says a senior Israeli diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He's a businessman who wants to reach a deal quickly and charges ahead unusually aggressively."
Love that. The last thing we need is another over-educated ne'er-do-well speaking on our behalf in important meetings. There appears to be a bit of game theory happening, as well.
Earlier this year, I posited that if Trump somehow twists Netanyahu's arm, and forces him to accept a ceasefire deal, then Bibi's government will likely collapse after the two most hardcore radicals in his cabinet — Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir — resign in protest. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir cannot afford to "seek peace" in this conflict. Their respective parties make up the base of the Israeli Settler movement, which desires expanding the borders of Israel well beyond Palestine. This opportunity is their best — and perhaps last — chance, as the world is likely to impose its collective will against Israel and seek retribution for what the Zionist state has done against its Arab neighbors.
Netanyahu clearly sees the writing on the wall, as he has already dispatched his operatives to attack Trump in the press. From the article:
“His propaganda machine is pushing the no-choice narrative that it's Trump. On Monday, laments began to be heard on Channel 14 that Trump isn't what we thought. ‘I'm surprised all the senior officials in the U.S. administration are saying the same thing,’ Yotam Zimri said on the Patriots program. ‘If this doesn't happen by the time Trump comes in, Hamas will understand what hell is. I don't understand the Israeli interest in at least not waiting for Trump.’ Yinon Magal answered, ‘It's because Trump is pressing to do it! That's what's happening.’"
Zimri: "So all his people have been lying – it's a big disappointment."
Magal: "He talks about hell and in the meantime sends his envoy to sign a deal. It's a deal whose impact will be very difficult. That's the truth." He added that the last remaining hope is that Hamas will reject a deal: "A cabinet minister told me we need to pray again that God will harden Pharaoh's heart."
It appears they are already calling Trump administration personnel "liars."
“Monday afternoon, he briefed Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir will vote against any deal, no question. Winning populist votes in the next election in his calculations trumps saving lives. When Smotrich left the meeting with the prime minister, he sounded thoughtful. Those who spoke to him Monday got the impression that he thought it was a good deal.
“But by noon he announced that it was a catastrophe that Israel should not agree to. Smotrich's statement, however, didn't address the critical issue, namely whether he regards it as a reason to quit the coalition. If he does leave, he will drag Ben-Gvir with him, and the government will fall. If he simply opposes the deal, his opposition will be meaningless – just airtime on radio shows.
“This question is linked with another one, whether Netanyahu can pass the 2025 budget and better ensure the survival of the coalition, in light of the crisis over the Haredi draft law and the internecine struggle in the ultra-Orthodox camp over who can be the most extreme. Netanyahu may decide that his government is crumbling anyway, so better to bring it down on a deal that is popular with the non-Ben-Gvir-ist public than on the whims of the Rebbe of Gur.”
The author makes a good point in that last paragraph. Netanyahu can't get a budget passed, and the Supreme Court ruling last year stipulating that Orthodox and Hasidic (Haredi) Jews would no longer be exempt from the mandated conscription. The Haredi are a large part of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir's support base. So Netanyahu may end up using this ceasefire deal as a plausible excuse for why the government "collapsed," and forced new elections. Bibi can blame the shutdown on the radicals, whom the public apparently don't much care for in the first place.
The only problem with that strategy is that Bibi no longer has any other allies left. Once he loses the radicals, he will be a deep state orphan. Right now, Bibi is frantically trying to figure out how to "sign" this deal, but still keep warmongering for the radicals. If he signs the deal, he loses support of the radicals and is forced to at least temporarily suspend all military action, right as Trump is entering office.
If he doesn't sign, the war continues and we get to see what Trump meant when he warned that "everybody involved" would have hell to pay if the hostages weren't released by January 20th. I took that to mean the Israeli side, too.
—
BONUS ITEMS
FBI’s Chris Wray Reveals Right Before Resigning That China Has Penetrated U.S.’s Critical Infrastructure
Outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed during an interview on Sunday, a week before he steps down, that China has penetrated America’s water treatment plants, electric grid, and other critical civilian infrastructure, and is lying “in wait” for an opportunity to cyberattack at a time and place of its choosing. Asked on CBS’s 60 Minutes about Chinese penetration of U.S. cyber and infrastructure, Wray said China’s cyber program is the largest in the world and has stolen more of Americans’ personal and corporate data than every nation combined. Then, he added:
“But even beyond the cyber theft. There’s another part of the Chinese cyber threat that I think has not gotten the attention publicly that it I think desperately deserves. And that is Chinese government’s pre-positioning on American civilian critical infrastructure. To lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc and can inflict real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing.”
Wray said China has already infiltrated malware into critical American infrastructure. – Breitbart
Gavin Newsom and California Democrats Reach $50M Deal to Trump-Proof the State
California Democrats have reached a $50 million agreement to shore up state and local legal defenses against the incoming Trump administration just a week ahead of the president-elect’s inauguration. Half the money would go to fending off any mass deportation plan the new president might enact early in his administration.
The move — the first of its kind in the nation that positions California to lead a second term resistance against Donald Trump — comes as Republicans bash state Democratic leaders for focusing on the highly partisan issue even as the southern part of the state suffers from historically devastating fires.
The deal includes $25 million Newsom had proposed for the state Department of Justice to fight the federal government in court shortly after Trump’s reelection in November — plus $25 million more proposed by state Senate leaders to defend immigrants against deportation, detention and wage theft.
– Politico
Havana Syndrome Bombshell as US Intelligence Report Hints at Culprit After 'Intercepted Communications'
A new report has hinted that a 'foreign actor' may be responsible for the 'Havana Syndrome' symptoms which have been plaguing hundreds of US veterans. Although the majority of the US intelligence community has said it is 'very unlikely' an adversary is linked to the mystery ailment, a new report published on Friday revealed that two out of seven agencies diverged from this consensus for the first time.
Released by the National Intelligence Council on Friday, the document states that the two unnamed groups now believe there is a 50/50 chance foreign actors could have developed radiofrequency technology associated with 'Havana Syndrome'.
Sources told The Atlantic one group which changed its tune was the National Security Agency, adding that their revised evaluation was based on 'intercepted communications' linked to a 'foreign actor'. It's a major development for people suffering with 'Havana Syndrome', who have felt dismissed and gas-lit by the government for years. Many believe their debilitating symptoms have been caused by concealed energy weapons.
– Daily Mail
We hope you enjoyed this brief look back at the major news items you might have missed in this ever-escalating and ever-accelerating news cycle as the Information War continues to rage on around us.
As always, if you have any thoughts on these news items or the MANY others swirling in the digital ether, drop into the comments below to share them with your fellow Badlanders.
Badlands Media will always put out our content for free, but you can support us by becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter. Help our collective of citizen journalists take back the narrative from the MSM. We are the news now.
Free Alpha!!! YAY! God Bless. 🙏🙏🙏 ❤️
Mike King is predicting a series of J20 DJT Miracles: 1. Hamas release Crisis Actor Hostages activating Peace in Middle East. 2. Peace in Ukraine/Russia conflict. 3. Unify Korea. 4. Unify China/Taiwan. Sounds like Christmas in January (instead of July). Can't wait to get up early and look under the tree.
TY DJT. Vlad the Redeemer, Xi, White Hats & Badlands for separating wheat from chaff for all of us!
TY Alpha Warrior & so many other J6 Patriot Warriors. We can never repay your devotion to our nation.
Let's Evolve Together in 2025 & Beyond. Free Up 6000 Patents so US Entrepreneurism can MAHA!