A telecom executive denied an NSA request that he says was illegal. Then, his life fell apart.
It reveals that even before the 9/11 Islamic extremist terrorist attacks on America, our intel agencies were secretly pushing the legal limits— many would say violating them— when it comes to surveilling US citizens.
To get cooperation from telecommunications companies in the spying, there is strong evidence that government officials resorted to offering incentives that many people would consider payoffs in the form of lucrative government contracts, and even blackmail.
The particular story you’ll hear about today tells what happened to one telecom executive who refused to go along: then CEO of Qwest Communications, Joe Nacchio.
In an interview with me, Nacchio revealed the surprising widespread, secret cooperation our US intelligence agencies were getting from America’s telecommunications giants, as the government reached further into our private lives in the name of national security.
That cooperation on the part of the companies was rewarded with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. The government awarded them lucrative, dark contracts with little to no oversight.
As part of the partnership, Nacchio and the other telecom executives were named to a special “board” and called in to special SCIFs or Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities for briefings and conversations involving how they would partner with the National Security Agency (NSA) and other secretive branches of government.
At the time, the head of the NSA was General Michael Hayden.
When Nacchio says he was asked to do something that he believed to be clearly illegal, he balked at cooperating with the government.
That’s when everything fell in on him.
Wait until you hear how far government officials went in what he says was a scheme to punish and retaliate against him….
70 Christians Beheaded in Congo. Why is No One Reporting This?
70 Christians have been found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Why is no one reporting this? Why does no one seem to care? CBN’s Raj Nair is joined by Dexter Van Zile, an expert on anti-Christian violence, to find out.
Proposed Law Would Ban Hospitals From Isolating Patients Like in Pandemic
The SHOCKING Amount of Your Tax Money Funding Lib Media Outlets | Rep. Brandon Gill
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) says taxpayer-funded liberal outlets have been moving the political needle toward Democrats and shrinking any Republican edge in Congress.
Gill tell Christopher Bedford that organizations like PBS and NPR are getting about $500M.
He says Republicans can use the appropriations process to prove that several of these institutions are nothing but propaganda and must be stripped of public support.
Big Tech Censorship: FTC Chairman Announces Investigation, Asks Victims to Submit Reports
The deadline for public comment and submissions is May 21. Ferguson was appointed by President Trump last month to replace Joe Biden’s radical appointee Lina Khan.
Ferguson posted to X about the inquiry:
Big Tech censorship is not just un-American, it is potentially illegal. The FTC wants your help to investigate these potential violations of the law. We are asking for public submissions from anyone who has been a victim of tech censorship (banning, demonetization, shadow banning, etc.), from employees of tech platforms, or from anyone else who can shed light on these practices and the ways in which they may violate the law.
In the link below, you’ll find a series of questions about tech platform censorship policies. The process is simple. You may also attach pictures and documents, so we can better understand what happened. You can submit comments anonymously or under your name, but comments will be made public. If you would like to file a private report with the FTC instead, please go to http://reportfraud.ftc.gov and click “Report Now.” You must file your comments no later than May 21, 2025, by 11:59pm EST.
Today’s announcement marks an important step forward in restoring free speech and making sure Americans no longer suffer under the tyranny of Big Tech — PERMANENTLY. I look forward to hearing from you…
Israel mourns the Bibas family & Lifshitz; Iran-Qatar discuss Israel and Syria TV7 Israel News 20.02
1) Israel endures an excruciating day of grief as the bodies of four murdered civilian 83 years-old Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas and her two little boys, four-years-old Ariel and nine-months-old Kfir – are returned to Israel. 2) Iran and Qatar discuss efforts to deepen their cooperation in confronting Israel. 3) Russian president Vladimir Putin confirms that Syria and the Israel-Palestinian conflict were also discussed by the Russian and American delegations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Pentagon looks to offset $50B in spending for Trump priorities
The Pentagon plans to move some money around to pay for President Donald Trump’s military priorities, including building an Iron Dome for America that would protect the country from missile attacks.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said the Pentagon will put forward budgets “that revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence.”
At the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Salesses said the Pentagon will come up with $50 billion in offsets from the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget. The offsets are targeted at 8% of spending, which will be used from Trump’s plans.
“To achieve our mandate from President Trump, we are guided by his priorities including Securing our borders, building the Iron Dome for America, and ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing,” Salesses said. “The Department of Defense is conducting this review to ensure we are making the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars in a way that delivers on the President Trump’s defense priorities efficiently and effectively.”
In December, President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing $895 billion for defense spending in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
It’s unclear how much Trump can get done on major objectives such as creating an Iron Dome-like defense system for the U.S. with $50 billion…
FBI nominee Kash Patel confirmed in narrow Senate vote
The Senate voted 51-49 to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director on Thursday.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted “yes” on the conservative firebrand’s confirmation, even while moderates Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted “no.”
A vote to invoke cloture and begin two hours of debate on the nominee passed 51 to 47 earlier Thursday.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted earlier this month, 12 to 10, to advance Patel to the full floor for a vote.
Still, Patel faced a rockier path to confirmation, even in the Republican-majority chamber, after Democrats on the panel used their political weight to delay Patel’s confirmation vote earlier this month.
Patel, a vociferous opponent to the investigations into President Donald Trump and one who served at the forefront of Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims, vowed during his confirmation hearing last month that he would not engage in political retribution against agents who worked on the classified documents case against Trump and other politically sensitive matters…
“DOGE Dividends – Trump’s $5K Refund To Americans After Discovering SHOCKING Social Security Fraud
Trump proposes a groundbreaking $5,000 Dogecoin dividend for Americans, claiming it’s time to return wasted taxpayer money. His bold move challenges government inefficiency and aims to revolutionize financial relief.
British couple detained in Iran after adventure trip goes awry
Two British citizens are in custody in Iran, facing espionage charges after an adventure on their motorcycles turned into an international incident.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman crossed the Iranian border with Armenia in late December 2024 and were hoping to make it to Pakistan. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard detained them in early January in the city of Kerman, where they are currently being held.
According to a statement from the country’s judiciary, the individuals entered the country under the guise that they were tourists and were doing research work.
However, the Iranian government contends the Foremans were conducting intelligence work for covert institutions of Western countries that are hostile to Iran.
The Independent said the couple are in their 50s and had set out on their motorcycles on a psychology research project to find out what constitutes having a good life. Their ultimate goal was to make it to Australia.
Before the trip, Lindsay Foreman had posted on social media that they believe most people in the world are good, kind, humans no matter where they live. She came up with the idea for the excursion after attending a conference on positive psychology. The couple then secured their motorcycle licenses in August of last year. She also posted that the couple was aware of the risks…
Iran executed at least 975 people in 2024, a 17% increase from 2023: Report
Iran executed nearly a thousand people last year in what is described as a “horrifying escalation” of its use of capital punishment, according to a pair of human rights watchdogs.
The joint report published on Thursday, Feb. 20, from Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and France’s Together Against the Death Penalty shows an increase from numbers released last month by the U.N.’s human rights watchdog.
The U.N.’s report revealed 901 people were executed in Iran last year, while the latest findings indicate at least 975 people died by government-sanctioned killings in 2024.
Thursday’s joint report accuses Tehran of using the death penalty as a means to silence political activists and of waging “war against its own people.”
The human rights groups say, on average, five people a day were killed by execution in the last three months of 2024.
Last year’s numbers are a 17% increase from 2023, which saw 834 executions, according to the report. Of the 975 killed, four died by public hangings, and 31 were women, both the highest figures in nearly 20 years…
Authorities Arrest Two Teenage Girls for Allegedly Plotting ‘Mass Casualty Attack’ at Texas High School
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it thwarted a “mass casualty attack” plot involving two teens from Texas. Law enforcement said the 15- and 16-year-old girls were planning to use pipe bombs and guns in an attack at a high school in Harris County, Texas.
- The FBI threat mitigation squad reportedly moved quickly on Tuesday after learning of the plot from local authorities and located the girls within 30 minutes of the call, taking both of them into custody.
- Authorities said that the 16-year-old suspect is a student at the targeted high school and is being held on a charge of making a terroristic threat, while the other student, who is 15, is being held on an unrelated charge.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it thwarted a “mass casualty attack” plot involving two teens in Texas. Law enforcement says the 15- and 16-year-old girls were planning to use pipe bombs and guns in an attack at a high school in Harris County, Texas….
Delta Offers $30,000 to Each Passenger Aboard Flight That Crash-Landed at Toronto Pearson Airport
Delta Air Lines is offering a “no strings attached” payment of $30,000 to passengers who were aboard the flight that crash-landed in Toronto.
The airline confirmed to multiple news outlets Wednesday night, Feb. 19, that it offered the “no strings attached” payout to all 76 passengers aboard the CRJ-900 flying from Minneapolis into Toronto Pearson International Airport before crashing on the runway and bursting into flames.
The flight, operated by Endeavor Air, lost its wings and tail upon impact. It rolled to a stop on its roof, leaving passengers suspended. The airline said 21 passengers were transported to a hospital, but none had life-threatening injuries.
In a statement, Delta said all but one passenger had been discharged from medical care as of Wednesday morning…
JD Vance Optimistic That Russia–Ukraine Peace Is Coming
He made the comments during a conversation with political commentator Mercedes Schlapp at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on Feb. 20. Schlapp is the host of “CPAC Now: America Uncanceled” and the wife of Matt Schlapp, who runs the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC.
“I really believe we’re on the cusp of peace in Europe for the first time in three years because we have leadership from the Oval Office that we haven’t had in four years,” Vance told Schlapp.
He said Trump was aiming for something more than a temporary cease-fire in the conflict, which began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine amid escalating tensions over Ukraine’s possible membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“Peace is in the interest of Russia. It’s in the interest of Ukraine. It’s in the interest of Europe. But most importantly, peace is in the interest of the American people,” the vice president said.
He predicted that Trump would leave an anti-war legacy.
“Wherever war breaks out, he’s going to be the president of peace,” Vance said…
Reputed migrant gang members busted in NYC drug, gun raid but likely to avoid prosecution
Two suspected members of the violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang who live at New York City migrant shelters were busted in a gun and drug raid earlier this month – and have since been cut loose on lesser charges that may end without prosecution, according to police, court documents and the New York Post.
Police tell Fox News Digital that Jose Tamaronis-Caldera, 27, and Richard Garcia, 33, were arrested in the Feb. 5 raid on a Big Apple auto repair shop where a Glock handgun, two imitation pistols, and a large quantity of drugs were found.
Both are reputed members of the Venezuelan migrant TdA gang, which has been terrorizing cities across the nation, the New York Post reports, citing sources. The NYPD was unable to confirm their purported gang membership to Fox News Digital.
Police said that Tamaronis-Caldera and Nieves live at the Crowne Plaza JFK Airport hotel-turned-migrant shelter, while Garcia’s address was given as the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, which also operates as a migrant shelter.
Tamaronis-Caldera and Garcia crossed the U.S. border illegally in 2023, but were then released, federal immigration sources told the Post. Fox News has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more information.
A law enforcement official was roiled that the trio are facing lesser charges.
“These are not misguided individuals,” the official told the Post. “They’re documented members of a known violent criminal enterprise, a gang who has planted their flag here by entrenching themselves in narcotics, gun and human trafficking — and the best we can do is let them out?”…
‘Extremely Concerning’: EPA Uncovers $2 Billion Set Aside for Climate Group Linked to Stacey Abrams
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has uncovered $2 billion set aside for a climate group linked to Democrat Stacey Abrams –Power Forward Communities — despite the fact the organization reported just $100 in total revenue, raising eyebrows.
The organization itself was founded in October 2023 as part of a coalition led by the leftist group Rewiring America, and Abrams quickly made her involvement known.
“Thrilled to be part of @rewiringamerica and the Power Forward Communities coalition. This is how we expand access to clean energy —by prioritizing housing, equity and resilience,” Abrams wrote on October 15, 2023.
Despite reporting merely $100 in revenue in its first few months, the Biden administration — championing Green New Deal policies — awarded the group a $2 billion grant the following year, in 2024.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, only eight of these Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants were distributed by the Biden-era EPA…
Hamas Terrorists Return Murdered Israeli Hostages in Locked Black Coffins with No Keys Provided
The bodies handed over in a ghoulish Gaza ceremony were said to be of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was snatched.
The remains were in black coffins and as a final insult, the caskets were locked and presented without a key — offered only after they were paraded before a delirious crowd across the streets of Gaza, according to the NY Post.
Kfir, who was nine months old when he was taken, was the youngest captive.
Hamas alleged all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes but offered no evidence to support the claim.
AP reports the terrorists displayed the four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including a large one depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire.
Thousands of people, including large numbers of masked and armed militants, looked on while clapping and cheering as the coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles before being driven to Israeli forces…
Red Cross Participates in Hamas ‘Nazi’ Ceremony over Dead Hostages
A representative of the Red Cross signed documents next to masked Hamas terrorists on a stage that depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a bloodthirsty vampire, and that held the four coffins of the hostages, with signs on the adult coffins listing October 7 as the date of their “arrest.” The Red Cross representative did not object.
The Red Cross has willingly participated in other chaotic and abuse Hamas displays when hostages have been released. Many of the Israeli hostages who have endured these spectacles have described them as the most traumatic and frightening part of their captivity.
The Red Cross has not visited the hostages once during their captivity.
One released hostage said that he was even held underneath the offices of the Red Cross in Gaza for several hours, thinking the entire time that he was going to be executed.
Israeli spokesman David Mencer told journalists: “The Red Cross have not once visited our hostages while they were alive … The Red Cross, it seems to the government of Israel, made no effort to take medicines to our hostages. In fact, the Red Cross, in participating in these gruesome ceremonies, have expressed themselves in the minds of Israelis as partly complicit in this whole hostage affair, because they have not insisted in visiting our hostages.”
Zelenskyy should be ‘thrilled’ with Trump’s mineral deal, expert says
Bob Amsterdam: How USAID Is Helping Zelensky Destroy Christianity With Fake Churches and Violence
Donald Trump just called Zelensky a dictator. Human rights lawyer Bob Amsterdam has worked in Ukraine for the past couple of years and confirms that if anything, that’s an understatement.
Rumble and Truth Social Take on Pro-Censorship Brazilian Judge in Major Lawsuit
Video streaming platform Rumble and Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, have filed a lawsuit against controversial Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of unconstitutional censorship that violates US law.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, claims that Moraes has engaged in “ultra vires” (beyond his legal authority) actions to silence political dissent and force American companies to comply with extraterritorial gag orders.
At the center of the case are alleged secret directives from Moraes, ordering Rumble to suspend accounts belonging to a US-based Brazilian political dissident, identified in the lawsuit as “Political Dissident A.” Moraes’ orders also prohibit Rumble from allowing the dissident to create new accounts and impose strict penalties for noncompliance, including daily fines and a potential shutdown of the platform in Brazil.
According to the complaint, the orders are an attempt to enforce Brazilian speech restrictions on American soil. “Justice Moraes has issued sweeping orders to suspend multiple US-based accounts… ensuring no person in the United States can see [Political Dissident A’s] content,” the plaintiffs state.
Rumble, a Florida-based video platform, and Truth Social argue that complying with the gag orders would set a dangerous precedent for foreign censorship influencing American platforms.
“Allowing Justice Moraes to muzzle a vocal user on an American digital outlet would jeopardize our country’s bedrock commitment to open and robust debate,” the lawsuit states…
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