The news cycle is impossible to fully track these days. That’s where we come in. The Badlands News Brief is a uniquely curated selection of the stories dominating the info war — with context and commentary from Badlands hosts.
Today, President Donald J. Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia, or the Kingdom) finalized a series of landmark agreements that deepen the U.S.-Saudi strategic partnership, expand opportunities for high-paying American jobs, strengthen critical supply chains, and reinforce regional stability—all while putting American workers, industry, and security first.
These agreements build directly on the President’s highly successful May visit to Riyadh and the $600 billion in Saudi investment commitments secured for the United States at that time.
In a major expansion of this partnership, the Crown Prince announced today that Saudi Arabia will be increasing their investment commitments in the United States to almost $1 trillion, reflecting deepening trust and momentum for the United States under President Trump’s leadership.
Key achievements include the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, advancements in critical minerals cooperation, and an AI Memorandum of Understanding—all of which underscore the United States’ commitment to securing deals that directly benefit the American people.
These agreements demonstrate the Trump Administration’s “America First” approach, reinforcing the United States as a leader on the world stage while securing our economic future. – The White House
Our Take: What an entrance. Fit for a king.
There was a flyover by a group of fighter jets. The media reported it as F-35’s and F-16’s, but those actually appear to be F-15’s not F-16’s.
They then proceeded into the Oval Office for the bilateral meeting, and that’s when it went into the next gear.
A reporter asked about Jamal Khashoggi, though in a very nasty tone, invoking the victims of 9/11 as to insinuate that MBS was inherently guilty as a member of the House of Saud. He received a dose of humility from the President in the form of rebuke.
But MBS also stopped Trump mid-sentence to directly address the reporter, asserting that the Bin Ladin narrative was designed to deteriorate Saudi-US relations.
Trump and MBS were loose and very casual throughout the meeting, flexing on how tight they have been this whole time.
This picture sums it up.
What was most interesting, to me, was that there wasn’t a publicized signing ceremony or a formal press conference to announce the deals. Instead, President Trump hosted a formal black tie dinner for MBS and his delegation, where Trump surprised MBS with the news that he had signed a defense agreement that would effectively place Saudi Arabia under US protection.
At the same time, President Trump authorized the sale of F-35’s and 300 brand new tanks, which comprises roughly 7 battalions (h/t @spoetzl). So Saudi Arabia will now have the means of deterrence and defense, which is the essential element in true sovereignty.
And as suspected, Trump also shared that they had signed a nuclear agreement, referring to the 123 Agreement from the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which allows US vendors to sell nuclear technology and equipment, as well as construction, services, and maintenance.
At the black tie dinner, MBS closed out the day by giving us a 17.
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The House overwhelmingly passed a bill on Tuesday to demand that the Justice Department release all of its investigation files on Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who was a one-time friend to President Trump.
The only member to vote “no” was Representative Clay Higgins, Republican of Louisiana. Two other Republicans and three Democrats did not vote.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where members will vote on whether to send the measure to President Trump to be signed. – The New York Times
Our Take: The House has no Constitutional oversight authority over the Executive Branch. We’re told they do, but they don’t.
The Congress’ balance of power tactics regarding the Executive Branch are election and impeachment, which would and should be sufficient in a properly functioning government.
Then again, no one has delegated any authority whatsoever to this government, because the tools by which the People could delegate authority have been corrupted and turned against them.
Why would anyone want them to have oversight power? They themselves are already lawless.
We will see how the legal battle plays out. It’s so fortunate that we have this Epstein op happening to give rise to the public issue.
(It’s all still totally real and true, though, of course.) – Chris Paul
***
Another Take: The Epstein Narrative is an Ouroboros that Donald Trump has now reversed.
How?
Every Democrat and every Republican who spent the last decade weaponizing the Epstein narrative against Trump is now locked into a public position that demands total release.
They cannot retreat without admitting they were protecting the blackmail ring all along, should the most sordid and dark allegations come to light.
They cannot slow-walk the disclosures without exposing the fact that their outrage was always selective.
Alternatively, if the truth is far LESS than what we’ve been led to believe—if it’s more in keeping with what Trump SEEMS to want us to believe now—their cries look desperate and false, as does the story underlying it.
All of which is to say, if the Epstein Op was both real AND what many Truthers—myself included—were led to believe it was, then Trump has nothing to fear, and the establishment should be careful what it wishes for.
If the Epstein Op was false—at least, the story of said Op as we profess to know it based on the vagaries of the Q Drops, Trump’s own asides over the years and a decade of open-source digs on that and adjacent matters along the Darkest Pathways of the Info War—then Trump has nothing to fear, and the machine will have lost even more of its power to whip the hivemind—both Normie and Anon—into an emotional froth at the drop of a colored hat … or a scandal.
If, as might be my heaviest leaning these days, the Epstein Op was both real and NOT exactly what we’ve believed it to be … as in, representative of an ATTEMPT to gain damaging material on influential leaders, would-be leaders, socialites and magnates for the benefit of the disembodied cabal, but not the true heart of evil at the core of that grouping’s dark designs, then Trump not only has nothing to fear, but he might even get to enjoy himself along the way to whatever exposures come on the back of the saga’s latest windings.
In effect, the establishment are stampeding under their own momentum straight into the exposure they spent their careers trying to prevent, either Actually or Narratively.
And hey, even IF the Epstein Narrative has been greatly exaggerated, as Trump seems to want everyone to believe in the current chapter of the War of Stories, the result will be the same—the Establishment going all-in on yet another toothless gotcha while leaving the Collective Mind that much more suspicious of, well, everyone in a position of power, both in terms of what they say in the light, and more importantly, what they do in the shadows.
And Trump is holding the bicameral door wide open, smiling as they rush through it.
This is the Temple Trap, and it was built years ago, as we have been tracking the deeper layers of the War of Stories for so long that certain patterns reveal themselves not as coincidence, but as resonance. [Read More] – Burning Bright
***
One More Take: “Congrats to Thomas Massie. After 13 years he finally passed a Bill in congress. He is the 1st member of congress to pass a bill that unmasks 1000’s of child abuse victims & also releases hundreds of hours of child abuse material also known as child p0rn to the public.” [X Post]
I always forget he hasn’t passed a bill before. Crazy.
Assuming this becomes law, it will have taken Massie roughly 140 more months to pass his first bill than it took to remarry after his wife died. I’d say ‘too soon’ but…
We should stop pretending that fake Epstein declas is some form of transparency. It’s a red herring. Real transparency would be:
Making every vote for every election completely open to the public
List of any American who has received foreign money and how much they received.
The silliest part of the current Epstein drama is Trump urging republicans to now vote for a bill that forces the DOJ to release all the files. The DOJ is part of the executive branch. Trump could just order the release himself.
President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday called on LinkedIn co-founder and billionaire Democrat donor Reid Hoffman to be investigated over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and travels to the latter’s Little Saint James island—dubbed “Pedo Island.” The President’s remarks came during a White House Oval Office event with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, also known as MBS. Notably, Hoffman was a key donor and advisor to Kamala Harris’s failed presidential campaign.
Responding to a press question about deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and a House vote ordering the release of the federal government’s Epstein Files, Trump made reference to Hoffman—at first calling him a “creep fund guy.” The National Pulse has long pushed for a federal investigation into Hoffman and his ties to Epstein, along with his financial network benefiting Democratic Party candidates for years.
“That creep fund guy was with him all the time. What’s his name? Reid Hoffman. I don’t know Reid Hoffman, but I know he spends a lot of money on the radical left. Reid Hoffman, in my opinion, should be under investigation,” President Trump said. “He’s a sleaze bag, and those are the people, but they don’t get any press, they don’t get any news, and you’re not after the radical left because you’re a radical left network,” he added, before telling the questioner to “go back and learn how to be a reporter.” – The National Pulse
Our Take: Trump named Larry Summers as an Epstein associate and, as we included in the Brief yesterday, Larry Summers is now backing out of public commitments and publicly apologizing for his relationship with Epstein, claiming to be “deeply ashamed.”
On whom are the walls closing in?
Now Trump is calling out Reid Hoffman and calling for an investigation. That’s an interesting one…
CannCon and I have been talking about smurfing for more than a year on Why We Vote, and we laid out the basics in the Brief in April, after House Judiciary reported that Act Blue had intentionally relaxed fraud prevention measures during the 2024 election. Let’s revisit the key details to help put this Reid Hoffman story in probable context.
Smurfing was piloted by the Obama Victory Fund during his first presidential campaign. As I shared in February, The New York Timesdebunked Obama’s small donor claims and it was a major scandal that led to the fund getting the largest fine for campaign finance violations in history..
The debunk was carried by all the major outlets to publish pieces about “Obama’s Small Donor Myth.” But in 2012, the story was different:
They even had a new study correcting the old study from above while ignoring the 2008 scandal. “Nearly half of the donors to Obama’s reelection campaign in 2011 gave $200 or less, more than double the proportion seen in 2007, according to the analysis from the Campaign Finance Institute, which tracks money in politics.”
Act Blue launched in 2004 as a new endeavor to harness the power of grassroots small donors. And boy did they harness that power. They harnessed it through a meeting of the minds to engage in a highly coordinated portfolio of crime. The Federal Statutes they potentially violated (h/t: Peter Bernegger) include:
18 U.S.C. § 1956 – Money Laundering
18 U.S.C. § 1957 – Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity
18 U.S.C. § 1001 – False Statements to Federal Agencies
52 U.S.C. § 30122 – Contributions in the Name of Another
18 U.S.C. § 1343 – Wire Fraud
18 U.S.C. § 1341 – Mail Fraud
18 U.S.C. § 371 – Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
18 U.S.C. § 1028 – Identity Theft
18 U.S.C. § 1030 – Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
15 U.S.C. § 6801–6809 – Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq - Bank Secrecy Act (12 CFR 21.11, 12 CFR 21.21)
52 U.S.C. § 30122 – Contributions in the Name of Another (FECA)
18 U.S.C. § 1028 – Identity Fraud and Document Fraud
There’s definitely more. At a minimum, there are state versions of these charges that can be applied in the states where the payments originated. And that list of crimes above would likely apply to every transaction. There are millions of transactions. (Reminder: It’s not only Act Blue but also WinRed.)
But the important question we’ve long speculated about is: Whose money are they laundering? We might be close to no longer speculating.
With the largest U.S. aircraft carrier now positioned in the Caribbean, President Trump has approved additional measures to pressure Venezuela and prepare for the possibility of a broader military campaign, according to multiple people briefed on the matter.
Mr. Trump has signed off on C.I.A. plans for covert measures inside Venezuela, operations that could be meant to prepare a battlefield for further action, these people said. At the same time, they said, he has authorized a new round of back-channel negotiations that at one point resulted in President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela offering to step down after a delay of a couple of years, a proposal the White House rejected.
It is not clear what the covert actions might be or when any of them might be carried out. Mr. Trump has not yet authorized combat forces on the ground in Venezuela, so the next phase of the administration’s escalating pressure campaign on the Maduro government could be sabotage or some sort of cyber, psychological or information operations. – The New York Times
Our Take: Do you know how retarded you have to be to believe that the President told the press that he had authorized COVERT CIA operations in Venezuela? And actually expects those operations to be a success?
What if Trump was publicly warning Maduro that the CIA had an op in the works? – GhostofBasedPatrickHenry
President Donald Trump, yesterday, abruptly withdrew his endorsement of Marjorie Taylor Greene. The move sent shockwaves through US political circles as Greene had been very vocal about MAGA and was a Trump ally. However, in the post where the President distanced himself from the Republican lawmaker from Georgia, Trump called her ‘wacky’ and a ‘ranting lunatic’.
Since then, their feud has become rather public with Trump doubling down and calling her Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene, while the GOP lawmaker has suggested that the president is fostering an environment where there might be death threats against her. Longtime allies, Trump and Greene didn’t see eye to eye on a couple of issues, including US support for Israel during the war in Gaza and the release of the Epstein files.
While Trump was happy to help Israel, MTG called for resources to be focused on improving the situation at home. In case of the Epstein files, MTG is heavily in favor of releasing the full documents, while Trump has called the matter a ‘Democrat hoax’ meant to distract from his administration’s achievements. In all her criticisms of the current MAGA administration, MTG has maintained that she’s ‘America First, America Only’. – Hindustan Times
Our Take: MAGA is America first.
The PSYOP is trying to convince you it isn’t. – Jon Herold
***
Another Take: Not surprisingly, the “MAGA is dead” propaganda encourages “unity” between MAGA and the social identity groups that glommed onto MAGA.
MAGA doesn’t need the warmongers, the Zionists or their controlled-opposition “Nazi” op, the tech bros, or MAHA. All of them need MAGA.
It only works in one direction. All of those groups are close to 100% Statist in their ideologies. They have not even figured out what the sides are, much less who the enemy is, which is why they say things like “the democrats” or “the left” or “the banks” when asked to supply an answer.
This is not MAGA dying, this is MAGA cutting the dead weight that comprises large portions of those social identity groups masking themselves as MAGA allies. These groups will be sifted out and most of them will stay with MAGA, not their manufactured political identity groups.
It’s easy to identify the impostors. They’re always desperate for allies and demanding unity. This litmus test always works. – Chris Paul
The House on Tuesday evening rejected a House Freedom Caucus-pushed resolution to formally censure Democratic Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett and to remove her from the House Intelligence Committee over recently-released documents that show she consulted with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 hearing.
The vote was 209-214-3. Three Republicans — Reps. Don Bacon (Neb.), Lance Gooden (Texas) and David Joyce (Ohio) — voted “no” with all Democrats, and three Republicans voted present.
Rejection of the resolution comes just hours after the House passed, and the Senate approved, a bill directing the Department of Justice to release files related to the late sex offender and wealthy financier. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) introduced the resolution.
If the resolution passed, Democrats were expected to immediately bring up a retaliatory resolution to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.). A judge had granted Mills’s ex-girlfriend a restraining order against Mills last month. – The Hill
Our Take: Plaskett allegedly conspired with Jeffrey Epstein in the middle of a committee hearing in 2019 and, despite all the wailing about Epstein files, the Congress decided not to do anything about it.
It’s almost like associating with prolific pedophiles and allowing them to influence the congressional “work” isn’t an actual concern for the Congress. Weird, right?
Speaking of weird, remember that time it appeared Plaskett was being mind-controlled by her aide?
The aide mouthed the error before Plaskett, then appeared to correct her “patient.” (IYKYK) Seems totally normal.
Following Tuesday’s vote, the “Epstein Files” should be released at some point. Maybe. Possibly. I predict a lot of bruised hips and egos following the imminent rug.
The Trump administration has been secretly working in consultation with Russia to draft a new plan to end the war in Ukraine, U.S. and Russian officials tell Axios. The 28-point U.S. plan is inspired by President Trump’s successful push for a deal in Gaza. A top Russian official told Axios he’s optimistic about the plan. It’s not yet clear how Ukraine and its European backers will feel about it.
Zoom in: The plan’s 28 points fall into four general buckets, sources tell Axios: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine. It’s unclear how the plan approaches contentious issues such as territorial control in eastern Ukraine — where Russian forces have been inching forward, but still control far less land than the Kremlin has demanded.
Behind the scenes: Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is leading the drafting of the plan and has discussed it extensively with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, a U.S. official said. Dmitriev, who runs Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and is also deeply involved in diplomacy over Ukraine, told Axios in an interview on Monday that he spent three days huddled with Witkoff and other members of Trump’s team when Dmitriev visited Miami from Oct. 24-26. Dmitriev expressed optimism about the deal’s chances of success because, unlike past efforts, “we feel the Russian position is really being heard.”
The other side: Witkoff was expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday in Turkey but postponed his trip, Ukrainian and U.S. officials said. – Axios
Our Take: So Steve Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev have been working on a peace deal to finalize the Ukraine War, and Europe and Ukraine don’t even know about it?
This goes to show where the real power lies in this conflict – the US and Russia. When the US and Russia make peace – and that seems imminent – it will change the balance of power and signal the start of the multipolar world. – GhostofBasedPatrickHenry
President Donald Trump’s bad week got a lot worse on Tuesday when judges blocked his Texas gerrymander, leaving Republicans wondering whether the nationwide remapping effort was worth the political capital.
A panel of federal judges ruled against Texas’ redrawn congressional maps that offered Republicans a five-seat pickup opportunity, saying they likely created an illegal, race-based gerrymander. The ruling came as Indiana Republicans punted the White House’s redistricting push there to January’s regular session, amid local opposition.
Together, they represent roadblocks for the White House’s push to shore up a House majority through mid-decade redraws. – Politico
A space capsule damaged by space debris has left three Chinese astronauts stranded aboard the Tiangong space station. The astronauts, part of the Shenzhou-21 mission—which includes a six-month rotation aboard the Chinese space station—currently have no means of returning to Earth after the prior mission’s Shenzhou-20 capsule was damaged.
The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft was damaged by suspected space debris, delaying their return by over a week. Instead of using the damaged spacecraft, the Shenzhou-20 crew returned on the Shenzhou-21 capsule, which had just brought their replacements to the station. This decision left the new crew without a dedicated return vehicle.
China’s Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated that the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft “does not meet the requirements for the astronauts’ safe return and will remain in orbit to continue relevant experiments.” A new Shenzhou-22 spacecraft is expected to be launched, but no specific date has been announced. – The National Pulse
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Thanks for sharing the video clip with Trump & MBS, I had not seen it before today’s Takes. I love Trump 2.0 for many reasons but one of the most enjoyable is the nonstop humiliation ritual that the DS Rat Bastard MSM now has to go through in such public splendor…GLORIOUS!!!
I am delighted to watch Trump 2.0 pull the rug out from under the Epstein show, Via the Q Drops everyone has the opportunity to know… you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink… None the less I do not get emotionally attached to anything the DS Rat Bastard MSM says or does… why you might ask? Because every time the MSM speaks I immediately remember this quote from a very intellectual movie (one of my favorites) Billy Madison ““What you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard.
At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought.
Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.
I award you no points… and may God have mercy on your soul”
On another note, Congress (and our entire government) is illegit, so I really don’t care what they say or do… “I’ve seen more organized monkey shit fights at a zoo!” to borrow another great quote from another classic movie: “Replacements” 😊
Still not tired of winning!
BTW, on a very personal note last evening I had the privilege of witnessing a Miracle from God…Prayers work. God Is Good!
Of course the NY Times in writing an article about Pres Trump and Pres Maduro refer to Pres Trump as Mr. Trump and Maduro as President Maduro of Venezuela. The flat out dissing of Pres Trump continues.
Thanks for sharing the video clip with Trump & MBS, I had not seen it before today’s Takes. I love Trump 2.0 for many reasons but one of the most enjoyable is the nonstop humiliation ritual that the DS Rat Bastard MSM now has to go through in such public splendor…GLORIOUS!!!
I am delighted to watch Trump 2.0 pull the rug out from under the Epstein show, Via the Q Drops everyone has the opportunity to know… you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink… None the less I do not get emotionally attached to anything the DS Rat Bastard MSM says or does… why you might ask? Because every time the MSM speaks I immediately remember this quote from a very intellectual movie (one of my favorites) Billy Madison ““What you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard.
At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought.
Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.
I award you no points… and may God have mercy on your soul”
On another note, Congress (and our entire government) is illegit, so I really don’t care what they say or do… “I’ve seen more organized monkey shit fights at a zoo!” to borrow another great quote from another classic movie: “Replacements” 😊
Still not tired of winning!
BTW, on a very personal note last evening I had the privilege of witnessing a Miracle from God…Prayers work. God Is Good!
God Wins!
God Bless!!!
Of course the NY Times in writing an article about Pres Trump and Pres Maduro refer to Pres Trump as Mr. Trump and Maduro as President Maduro of Venezuela. The flat out dissing of Pres Trump continues.