Badlands News Brief
What's the Deal with the Gaetz Rug Pull?
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.
Now, onto the news from Thursday, November 21 …
Matt Gaetz Withdraws From Consideration for Attorney General, Citing Distraction to Trump Transition
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz announced he is withdrawing his name from consideration to serve as Attorney General in the upcoming Trump administration, citing concerns that his confirmation process was becoming a distraction.
In a statement released Wednesday, Gaetz highlighted his recent meetings with senators and expressed gratitude for their support and feedback, noting that his confirmation battle had started to overshadow the priorities of the Trump-Vance transition team.
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
Gaetz expressed his continued commitment to President Trump and his administration’s goals, adding that he would remain a steadfast supporter.
“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America,” Gaetz stated.
A staunch ally of Trump, he has been a vocal supporter of the president-elect and his policies. While his confirmation will not move forward, his influence in shaping the next administration is expected to remain significant. — Badlands News
And …
Trump names longtime ally Pam Bondi as his new attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named longtime ally Pam Bondi as his new choice for attorney general, capping a tumultuous week for previous pick Matt Gaetz.
Bondi’s elevation came just hours after Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration following increased scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct.
If confirmed, Bondi would lead the Justice Department and set the agenda for federal investigations and prosecutions. Trump's pick for the nation's top law enforcement official comes as some of his critics fear he will use his administration to seek retribution against them.
"For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — Not anymore," Trump said on Truth Social. "Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again."
Trump also praised her work against “the trafficking of deadly drugs.” Bondi, who was Florida’s attorney general from 2011 to 2019, previously worked on a Trump commission focused on ending the opioid crisis and combating drug addiction.
She is currently a partner at the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, where she chairs the company's corporate regulatory compliance practice, according to the firm's website. — NBC News
MEGA Take: Holy 5D chess, Batman.
I'm not just saying that to be a shill. This baggage surrounding Matt Gaetz—which may or may not be true—has some real thorns that I think are about to prick the puppet masters pulling the strings.
There is a fantastic X thread compiled by @Villagecrazylady that covers the whole saga, but I'll try to capture it all here.
A Florida tax collector by the name of Joel Greenberg was engaged in just about every crime imaginable, including charging over $70,000 on prostitutes to his government credit card. One of these girls was a 17 year old minor who had claimed to be an adult in her advertisements. When Greenberg later found out she was a minor, he used his access to government machines to produce a fake drivers license for her—as well as several for himself—and continued to see her.
Greenberg claims that the girl told him about her other exploits, and among these was an alleged encounter with Matt Gaetz.
In 2019, rumors were circulating that there was a federal investigation underway against Greenberg concerning a crypto scam that he was running, inspiring local music teacher Brian Beute to challenge him in the Republican primary. Feeling threatened, Greenberg became possessed with the desire to not only defeat Beute, but to completely destroy his life, and one of the many actions he took was to pen several letters to the school where Beute worked claiming that he was molesting students.
These letters were turned over to the sheriff's office, who immediately found Greenberg's fingerprints and DNA on them. He was arrested in June 2020 by the DOJ and charged with stalking. His phone was confiscated, and that was when the feds realized that this tax collector was a hardcore criminal, guilty of embezzlement, drugs, prostitution, pedophilia, identity theft, wire fraud, and crypto market manipulation, to name a few.
In August 2020 the DOJ charged Joel Greenberg with sex trafficking of a minor, identify theft and production of false identification documents, among other things.
Sometime during the summer of 2020, Greenberg's lawyer approaches [Bill Barr's] DOJ and offers evidence that a congressman (Gaetz) had slept with a minor, in exchange for clemency. A secret investigation was allegedly opened.
In March 2021, Gaetz appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight, and Tucker gave him the floor to explain the allegations from the New York Times that he had sex with a minor. Gaetz told a story that sounded so crazy that even Tucker didn't appear to believe him, yet in hindsight, it appears that he was telling the truth.
Gaetz claimed that his father, Don Gaetz, had been extorted (or attempted extortion) by a former federal prosecutor named David McGee to the tune of $25 million. Gaetz claimed that his father wore a wire during his meetings with McGee, as part of a sting operation.
McGee had been recruited by an Air Force intelligence officer named Bob Kent, who was trying to rescue a retired FBI agent, Bob Levinson, who had been contracted by the CIA to run a covert-op unit in Iran—where he was captured in 2007 and held hostage. He had long been presumed dead, but Kent apparently got proof of life, and contracted with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to pay for the rescue mission ($20 million) in exchange for expedited green cards for his family.
McGee was brought in because he knew both Levinson and Deripaska, having worked in the Organized Crimes Task Force at the DOJ, and Levinson having specialized in Russian money-laundering at the FBI. (See where this is going?) Oh, and the FBI point man on the whole deal was none other than Andrew McCabe.
Here's where things get real interesting for long-time News Brief readers:
Once Russia's richest man, in 2000 Deripaska formed an aluminum company called Rusal. In 2007, he merged that company with the aluminum division from Glencore—yes, the same Swiss company that has been so heavily featured in corruption articles here on the Brief.
So this Levinson rescue operation is happening during Obama's first term. But on the eve of its execution, the Clinton State Department got spooked over something and called the whole thing off. Levinson remained a hostage (later presumed dead) until Bob Kent realized he was still alive in 2021 and went to McGee with the idea of extorting Matt Gaetz's father to finance the rescue operation.
So McGee told Don Gaetz—who had no idea or reason to believe that his son was even under investigation for anything—that if he gave them $25 million to pay for Levinson's rescue operation, President Joe Biden would pardon Matt Gaetz of any potential crimes related to the investigations open against him. (Which he, of course, didn't even know about.)
So that's where all of this hubbub aloo about sex with a 17 year old girl originates. As far as I can tell, these allegations come from a hardcore criminal who did appear to know Gaetz—with pictures together posted on social media— but it's unclear what supporting evidence he has to substantiate it.
But to add one final layer of crazy to this insane story, enter Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip series.
Scott came forward in September 2021—after a federal grand jury indicted David McGee for attempting to extort Don Gaetz—and posted screenshots of a text conversation between himself and Jake Novak, the broadcast media director of the Consulate General of Israel in New York. (McGee was later convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.)
Scott explained that he and Novak had a relationship because Novak often would try to get pro-Israel propaganda inserted into the Dilbert comics.
“People with connections to Israel had a high interest in me during the Trump days. Presumably to influence me,” Adams told POLITICO via text message. “Jake and I shared an interest in the mechanics of persuasion, and in interesting business/political stories in general. Most often the stuff with a persuasion or Israel angle. That was our initial connection … people often tell me their scoops before they hit the news just to build credibility. Might have been that.”
Novak texted Scott and tried to convince him that Gaetz was guilty, based on sources he had inside the investigation.
To Scott's credit, he pushed back on Novak, telling him that none of it seemed credible, and that Gaetz's allegations of extortion seemed very credible, and that they were backed by documents. Novak then tried to convince Scott that the documents do not prove extortion—which Scott refuted (based). The Israeli government was forced to distance itself from Novak, though it didn't fire or discipline him.
So now I must ask, considering that Matt Gaetz is one of the few members of Congress who has never taken any money from the Israel lobby (AIPAC), was this entire scheme with the 17 year old (regardless of whether or not it is true) part of an elaborate plot to compromise Matt Gaetz and bring him under the control of the Israeli oligarchy? A la Jeffery Epstein?
Did Trump appoint Matt Gaetz as bait, both to draw out the AIPAC-aligned traitors in the Senate, but also to bring this story to the public's attention, so we could understand how our government officials are compromised and controlled by foreign cartels?
Scaramucci Model?
And now we have shills accusing Pam Bondi of being compromised by Qatar? You mean the same Qatar that recently met with President Trump, expelled Hamas leadership from Doha, and is now aligning itself firmly with the Sovereign Alliance? (Please pull on that thread. Thank you.)
And what of Matt Gaetz? He's already resigned from Congress to be Attorney General. What about Marco Rubio's seat in the Senate?
If I can't have Senator Hulk Hogan— which I still desperately want— I will absolutely take Punished Matt Gaetz with laser eyes and a massive chip on his shoulder. Revenge Gaetz.
What if all of these television characters President Trump has selected for his cabinet— which has MAGA up in arms— all have variations of baggage, and the exposure/disclosure of that baggage comes to haunt the puppet masters pulling (or trying to pull) their strings?
Chess, not checkers, friends. —
Another Take: The chaos we're seeing ahead of Trump 2.0 is a feature of Game Theory, not a bug, and it always favors the infinite player on the game board.
If you DON'T believe the dude who told you he had a "secret" with Mike Johnson and Matt Gaetz just days before the election represents that infinite side, I don't know what to tell you.
In other words, when it comes to Gaetz withdrawing from the AG nomination (the first of what I would guess will be many rug pulls when it comes to these appointments,) focus less on the Actual and more on what effects the Narrative is visiting on the Collective American Mind.
Is Gaetz' replacement likely to be better or worse for the entrenched Uniparty Establishment?
Are ANY of these appointments going to have Actual power projection, or are we watching a series of cognitive cyphers inserted into the War of Stories to garner full public mandate for top-down systemic reform through decentralization?
When it comes to government, less has always been more ... —
Comer to create DOGE subcommittee chaired by Marjorie Taylor Greene to work with Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is expected to establish a subcommittee that will work with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to eliminate government waste, Fox News Digital has learned.
A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., will chair the Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, which will focus on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.
The subcommittee is expected to investigate wasteful spending, examine ways to reorganize federal agencies to improve efficiency and identify solutions to eliminate bureaucratic red tape.
A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Comer had a meeting with Ramaswamy and his incoming DOGE team.
And Ramaswamy confirmed the meeting with Comer and Greene to Fox News Digital.
"A key step to driving greater efficiency in government is exposing the problem to the public—we are grateful that the House Oversight Committee has created a subcommittee to focus on this work," a spokesperson for Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital. "We look forward to working together." — FOX News
Our Take: Yesterday, we talked about the oped that Musk and Ramaswamy penned in the WSJ, and how their priority is to use executive action and avoid the need for new laws as they roll back regulations and government overreach.
Today, the legislature has entered the chat and will be working with the DOGE to eliminate legislative barriers to the success of this transformation program. I have no opinion on MTG heading up this endeavor. The endeavor, however, is a logical action in the context of the transformation.
There is much that can be done focusing on just the executive. But in our Republic, we have three separate but co-equal branches of government. Truly eliminating systemic corruption will require the collaboration and cooperation of all three.
In a transformation, the critical path to success is the team. It’s getting everyone in the right seat in the boat and rowing in the same direction. With this focus, the transformation program office is positioned to remove obstacles before they become barriers. And from everything I’ve seen so far, the administration knows this and is planning accordingly.
The restoration of America is already underway, and it is going to be great. —
Ukraine claims Russia fired intercontinental ballistic missile at Dnipro
Ukraine’s air force has said Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the city of Dnipro, which if confirmed would be the first time the long-range weapon has been used in any armed conflict.
The claim was not immediately accepted by others, however. ABC News reported, citing western officials, that this was an exaggeration and that the weapon was in fact a shorter-range ballistic missile, similar to the types used repeatedly by Russia against Ukraine during the war.
Nine projectiles were launched at enterprises and critical infrastructure in Dnipro between 5am and 7am local time from the Astrakhan region of Russia, the air forces said, meaning that, if confirmed, the missile probably travelled about 500 miles (800km) to reach its target.
The missile was said to have hit “without consequences” the air force said, though it added that information about victims had yet to be received. Six of the nine projectiles were destroyed by air defences, the air force said in a morning update.
John Healey, the UK defence secretary, told MPs he was aware of media reports that Russia had used “a new ballistic missile into Ukraine” and he described them as unconfirmed.
Video said to be of the incident from a distance showed the ground being struck in multiple flashes. — The Guardian
And …
Russia accuses UK of 'direct involvement' in Ukraine war in horror escalation
The Russian ambassador to the UK has claimed Britain is now "directly" involved" in the war in Ukraine - illegally launched by Moscow in February 2022 - following reports of UK-made Storm Shadow missiles being fired into Russia.
The chilling warning was issued by Andrei Kelin on Thursday, hours after Ukraine claimed Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile against Kyiv.
Speaking about the use of Storm Shadow missiles against the Russian region of Kursk, partially occupied by Ukraine since August, Mr Kelin was asked whether the move had dragged the UK into the war.
He told Sky News' Mark Austin: "Absolutely, Britain and UK is now directly involved in this war, because this firing cannot happen without NATO staff, British staff as well."
The Russian ambassador also claimed that Ukraine was using mercenaries from different countries. Russia is known to have reinforced its troops with North Korean soldiers. — Express UK
Our Take: I’m going to shock everyone and zoom out a bit for this take, leaving the specific, short-term narratives to the side in the hope of giving you what I think is a glimpse of an encouraging lay of the game board.
When I say 'The Plan' didn't have to originate with Donald Trump, it's not meant to be a slight.
It is, rather an attempt to get Anons to consider the high likelihood that the plan hasn't just been in the works for decades, but is much further along in other places, contrary to what American solipsists believe.
Vladimir Putin crashed onto the scene in the 1990s, waging a massive anti-corruption campaign in Russia that resulted in the ouster of thousands of Soviet oligarchs seeking to profit off the fall of the Soviet Union. These men became the de facto leaders of Ukraine.
In China, Xi Jinping led an anti-corruption campaign he called, 'Tigers and Flies,' which resulted in the prosecution of 2.3 million government officials in both high-ranking and civil servant positions. (THAT'S how you DOGE.)
Putin and Xi were able to accomplish this because they had the public mandate, because their peoples were well past the precipice.
Trump has the mandate. But are we truly at the precipice?
THAT is the question you should be asking as the narratives continue to escalate, fake or real missiles continue to be fired—or not—and accusations are levied and stakes raised between east and west.
The Scare Event is a story, and we’re in a war made of them.
The choice to know that is yours. —
US regulators seek to break up Google, forcing Chrome sale as part of monopoly punishment
U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade.
The proposed breakup floated in a 23-page document filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice calls for sweeping punishments that would include a sale of Google’s industry-leading Chrome web browser and impose restrictions to prevent Android from favoring its own search engine.
A sale of Chrome “will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet,” Justice Department lawyers argued in their filing.
Although regulators stopped short of demanding Google sell Android too, they asserted the judge should make it clear the company could still be required to divest its smartphone operating system if its oversight committee continues to see evidence of misconduct.
The broad scope of the recommended penalties underscores how severely regulators operating under President Joe Biden’s administration believe Google should be punished following an August ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta that branded the company as a monopolist. — AP News
Our Take: In case anyone is wondering, I’m still vehemently opposed to this federal overreach.
Market dominance does not automatically equal monopoly. Google Chrome is not the only browser available to consumers — there are countless options in the marketplace, and it’s not Google’s fault that their competitors’ products are inferior.
Further, agreements with hardware companies to install Chrome as the default browser is a damn near identical grievance to the Microsoft/Windows monopoly case that was long ago considered, and rejected, by US courts.
Google’s proprietary products are simply the best — and certainly not the only — available products from which consumers may choose. That’s not a monopoly. It’s good business, and we cannot set — or, rather, overturn — the precedent restricting the government from manipulating the capital markets through unconstitutional regulatory or legal action. That’s how we got here in the first place.
Google was not the first search engine to enter the market. Chrome was not the first web browser to enter the market. Google developers made these products the best, even though they weren’t first, and that’s how they gained market dominance. From a business standpoint, this is the embodiment of the American dream.
Now, if we are talking about Google AdWords or search manipulation and suppression — and we’re not in this case — then there is potentially criminal conduct to be explored with Google. But a superior product stack that delivers market dominance is not, by itself, a monopoly.
Looking forward to seeing how this plays out in the Trump DOJ, anticipating a focus on the preservation of liberty that first made America great. We need to unleash innovation and harness its power to bring about the golden age — not stifle innovators to appease their lesser competitors. —
ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant for Gaza 'war crimes'
In a blockbuster ruling that shook the military, diplomatic, and legal worlds, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday.
The ICC cited reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
While Israel and the US condemned the ruling – which is the first time the court has issued arrests for officials from a democratic state – as biased, or going beyond the ICC’s mandate, the EU, France, Ireland, and several other countries said they would honor the arrest warrants.
This means that Netanyahu and Gallant will likely be unable to travel to most European countries and a variety of other nations in the ICC’s 120-plus member states. They will still be able to travel to the US – which is not an ICC member – and various Middle Eastern and other states. There are also some states that have ignored ICC arrest warrants, given that there is no effective enforcement mechanism. — Jerusalem Post
Our Take: Note everything that I wrote yesterday about this situation with Netanyahu.
Note that Benny Gantz is not listed among those indicted.
Watch the AIPAC-controlled Congressmen trip over themselves to declare war on the UN over this.
Get your popcorn ready. —
BONUS ITEMS
Brazil’s Bolsonaro and allies indicted in 2022 coup plot probe
Brazilian authorities have indicted the country’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, alongside 36 other individuals as part of the investigation into an alleged coup plot to keep power following the election of his successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro was among the 37 individuals indicted by Brazil’s federal police as part of the investigation into the fallout of the 2022 presidential elections, in which the far-right leader’s bid for reelection was defeated, CNN Brasil reports.
This comes after police alleged, according to CNN Brasil, that Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of a plan to prevent Lula and his government from taking office after his election victory.
Federal police sent their investigation report, which is hundreds of pages long, to the Supreme Court in Brasilia, CNN Brasil reports. Brazil’s attorney general will now decide whether to confirm the indictments or scrap the investigation. If the indictments are confirmed, a trial is expected to take place next year.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied claims he attempted to remain in power following Lula’s 2022 presidential win at the polls. — CNN
Meet the pillars of the next Trump resistance
Democrats are deeply divided on how aggressively to resist President-elect Donald Trump and his allies. While some are taking a conciliatory approach to the incoming Republican trifecta, others are vowing to thwart their policies with every legal and legislative tool available.
It’s a moment those in the resistance camp — many with grander political ambitions — have been preparing for behind the scenes for many months.
Those preparations were aided by Project 2025, the conservative blueprint that outlined a policy wish-list for the next Republican administration, from slashing environmental regulations to issuing a national abortion ban.
Blue states began “Trump proof-ing” programs anticipated to be under attack by the federal government and beefing up teams of lawyers who will battle the new administration in court.
Now, those resistance Democrats — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison — have a message for the latest installment of the Trump era: Bring it on.
“Violating the law, that is something [Trump] cannot find his way to stop doing — it’s part of his brand, it’s part of what he does,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is expected to run for governor in 2026, said in an interview. “If he doesn’t break the law, there is nothing for us to do, and he will be a law-abiding president. But we don’t expect that.”
These hostile counterforces represent just one segment of the Democratic Party, as its leaders strategize how to confront Trump when he reenters the White House backed by full GOP control of Congress. Some governors are taking a less combative approach, expressing a willingness to cooperate with the president-elect on certain fronts — at least for now. — Politico
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.
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Everything reads like a HollyWeird script these days. We are truly watching a movie.
When I heard Gaetz had stepped down I instantly saw the chessboard and heard “The chess pieces are moving”… all these rug-pull incidents are leading up to the time where the whole thing is pulled out from under these people.