Biden’s Department Of Justice Sent A Texan To 7 Years In Prison For No Crime
A Texas political consultant received more than seven years in prison for legal contract work. That should alarm us all.A Texas political consultant received more than seven years in prison for legal contract work. That should alarm us all.Retired 4-star Navy admiral convicted after using his post to line his 'own pockets'
Retired four-star Navy Admiral Robert Burke, formerly the Navy's second-highest ranking officer, was convicted by a federal jury Monday on felony bribery charges.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who announced the verdict a day after instructing criminals to "run for the hills," said in a statement, "When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent."
While overseeing U.S. naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, and commanding thousands of military personnel, Burke awarded a government contract to a company that had been told not to communicate with him. Several months later, Burke ended up with a lucrative gig and hundreds of thousands of stock options at that same company.
The company — which the Department of Justice did not name but the New York Times indicated was the New York-based technology and work force training company Next Jump — provided a workforce training pilot program to a "small component of the Navy" from August 2018 through July 2019. The original indictment against Burke indicated that the company had subcontracts for this work from another company, similarly unnamed in federal court documents, via the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
'Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy.'
According to the DOJ, the Navy scrapped its contract with the company in late 2019 and directed it not to contact Burke.
Despite this directive, the company's two co-chief executives, Yongchul Kim and Meghan Messenger — who were both arrested and charged last year in connection with the scheme — allegedly emailed Burke on May 10, 2021, to propose a $20 million contract for their company to provide workforce training, despite no indication of need on the part of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa, bids or otherwise.
The trio reportedly met in Washington, D.C., in July 2021.
During their meeting, Kim and Messenger agreed that Burke would use his official position in the Navy to secure a new contract for the company in exchange for a position there following his retirement, said the DOJ. The trio also apparently agreed that the second highest-ranking officer in the Navy would lean on other officers to award the company with an additional training contract, which one of Burke's co-defendants allegedly estimated to be valued at "triple digit millions."
Burke commanded his staff in December 2021 to dish out a $355,000 contract to the company to train personnel under his command in Italy and Spain. Burke then championed the company after the January 2022 training session in a failed effort to get another senior admiral to award it a government contract.
RELATED: Trump names Jeanine Pirro of Fox News as interim US attorney of DC after failed Ed Martin nomination
The Justice Department indicated that in order to conceal the scheme, "Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by falsely implying that Company A's employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded and omitting the truth on his required government ethics disclosure forms."
Several months later, Burke went to work for Next Jump at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 with the added bonus of a grant of 100,000 stock options.
At the time of Burke's arrest last May, then-FBI Special Agent in Charge David Scott stated, "As a four-star admiral, Burke not only cheated U.S. taxpayers but also did a disservice to military personnel under his command."
The original criminal indictment against Burke stressed that the admiral had a lawful duty not to accept any gift or other item of monetary value from any person or entity seeking official action from the Navy; not to engage in outside employment that conflicted with official government duties and responsibilities; not to participate personally and substantially in an "official capacity in any particular matter that had a direct and predictable effect on his financial interests"; and to disqualify himself from taking official action that affected financial interests of a potential employer of seeking employment.
Blaze News reached out to the Pentagon for comment, which deferred to the Navy. The Navy did not respond by publication time. Next Jump similarly did not respond when pressed for comment.
'The jury was prevented from hearing the whole truth.'
After a five-day trial, a federal jury found Burke guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States.
Burke is due to be sentenced on Aug. 22 and could land up to 30 years in the slammer.
Pirro said Monday, "Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption — be it bribes or illegal contracts — and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold."
The admiral's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said in an interview Monday that Burke plans to appeal his conviction, reported the Times.
RELATED: Ex-Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez's wife convicted for her role in bribery scheme: 'Partners in crime'
"They presented a tiny, tiny sliver of evidence," said Parlatore. "We do think this is a case where a wrongful conviction was obtained because the jury was prevented from hearing the whole truth."
Reed Brodsky, a lawyer for Next Jump, told the Times that he expects a different outcome in the cases of Kim and Messenger, who are scheduled for trial in August.
"I expect the evidence will show that Burke and others at the Navy misled Charlie and Meghan in material ways, and they're not liable for bribing the guy who lied to them," wrote Brodsky. "I think it'll be a little embarrassing for the Navy."
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Court To Smartmatic: Did Election Reporting Cause Reputational Harm Or Was It Bribery Probe? Let’s See Docs
Fox wanted to see documents from Smartmatic’s bribery case. A court denied that request in 2024. This week thar decision was reversed.Ex-Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez's wife convicted for her role in bribery scheme: 'Partners in crime'
A Manhattan jury convicted Nadine Menendez on federal bribery charges for her central role in the elaborate, years-long bribery scheme that earned her husband, disgraced former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), an 11-year prison sentence.
After eight hours of deliberation, the federal jury convicted the Democrat's wife on all 15 counts including bribery, honest services wire fraud, extortion under color of official right, obstruction of justice, and conspiring to make her husband an agent of Egypt.
"Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez were partners in crime," Matthew Podolsky, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. "Over the span of five years, Nadine Menendez agreed to accept and accepted all sorts of bribes — including gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show job — all in exchange for the senator's corrupt official acts."
Mrs. Menendez had wrecked her old Mercedes-Benz sedan fatally running over 49-year-old Richard Koop.
"Together, Nadine Menendez and the senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the senator was elected to serve," added Podolsky.
After leaving the courthouse Monday, Mrs. Menendez told reporters, "I think this is politically motivated," reported the New York Times.
According to her updated indictment, the bribery scheme spanned several years — from at least 2018 until 2023.
The Democrat and his wife traded his political power and access to sensitive U.S. government information for gifts including cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, tickets to events, and a Mercedes-Benz. The new car, a bribe from New Jersey businessman Jose Uribe, came in handy, as Mrs. Menendez had wrecked her old Mercedes-Benz sedan fatally running over 49-year-old Richard Koop in December 2018.
Bob Menendez, who became chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2021, reportedly used his political clout to favor the Qatari government and to act as an agent of Egypt, while Mrs. Menendez facilitated the bribes. The Washington Post indicated that while on the Senate committee, Menendez even committed to help Egyptian officials obtain military aid.
When federal agents raided the couple's Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home in June 2022, they found "the fruits" of the bribery scheme, including $150,000 worth of gold bars, over $480,000 in cash hidden throughout the residence, and $70,000 stuffed into Mrs. Menendez's safe deposit box.
Some of the envelopes containing the cash were traceable by DNA and fingerprints to Fred Daibes, a real estate developer who faced a bank fraud case and sought the Democrat's help in installing a sympathetic U.S. attorney in New Jersey.
Daibes was found guilty of bribery, fraud, and obstruction last year with former Sen. Menendez and Wael Hana, the Egyptian-American businessman for whom Menendez pressured a senior U.S. Department of Agriculture official in an effort to protect a halal beef exporting agreement with the Egyptian government.
U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein set a sentencing date of June 12 for Mrs. Menendez — just days after her husband, who resigned in disgrace last August, is scheduled to report to prison, reported CNN.
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How Zelenskyy’s corruption robbed US taxpayers blind
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a thief. Ukraine’s little dictator has overseen the misuse of billions in American taxpayer dollars — amassing a vast personal fortune while running arguably the most corrupt nation in Europe. Ukraine has become little more than an organized crime state.
Donald Trump and his America First team have long been aware of the depth of Zelenskyy’s venality, but his insulting, disrespectful, and churlish spectacle in the Oval Office revealed the truth of his intentions and behavior. Now, Trump “will lean into a Ukraine fraud probe,” shining the light on Zelenskyy’s serious crimes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an anti-American globalist puppet and thief who belongs in prison.
The DOGE is on the case, and Elon Musk has Zelenskyy’s number. Musk describes the dictator’s regime as a “massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.”
The magnitude of the thievery is staggering. But the malfeasance by the warmongers in Congress and the mainstream media’s continual cover-ups have hidden the full extent of Ukraine’s corruption.
When the initial $60 billion for the globalist proxy war against Russia in Ukraine was being allocated, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) stood up for American taxpayers, proposing an inspector general and audit to track how military aid was being spent. But the warmongers shot them down. There would be no oversight, no accountability, and little reporting of the epic plunder that followed. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cannon fodder and Reznikov eggs
Last month, Zelenskyy, while claiming that Ukraine had received just $75 billion of the $177 billion in U.S. aid, stated nonchalantly, "I don't know where all this money is." Here are a few places to look.
Early in the war, a now-censored CBS report revealed that due to theft and diversion to the black market, ”only 30%” of American equipment was reaching the front lines. Some of the weapons ended up in the hands of criminal gangs in Sweden and terrorists in Nigeria. Last year, the Pentagon admitted that it had failed to track $1 billion in weapons deliveries, mainly small arms — including Javelin and Stinger missiles — ideal for arms traffickers.
Ukrainian soldiers are cannon fodder. The Zelenskyy regime’s contempt for its troops is made apparent by how it spends — and steals — money.
In January 2024, executives from a Ukrainian arms company and officials from Zelenskyy’s defense ministry embezzled $40 million meant to buy 100,000 mortar shells. A retired Ukrainian general revealed that $207 million was grifted in purchasing hundreds of thousands of useless anti-tank mines produced during World War II — decades past their expiration date.
In January, American money bought hand grenades filled with cornmeal instead of explosives. In November, U.S. taxpayers paid for 100,000 Ukrainian-produced mortar shells that wouldn’t fire because they got stuck in the mortar barrels. In October, Kyiv’s defense minister acknowledged that 20% of all artillery ammunition fired by the Ukrainians failed to detonate.
Have you ever wondered why Ukrainian soldiers are freezing on the front lines? Zelenskyy’s cronies paid $86 million to the Ukrainian owner of a sham company in Turkey for 200,000 winter uniforms. The problem? They were actually summer uniforms, “unfit for their intended purpose as winter clothing” — and valued at only $29 million.
Ukraine’s corruption even touches the food distributed on the front lines. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov supplied the military with eggs purchased at three times the market price. "Reznikov eggs" has become the Ukrainian soldiers’ euphemism for corruption within their military.
Ukrainians are fed up
The vast majority of Ukrainians — 89% according to one survey — say that corruption is the country’s most serious problem after the war with Russia, and 94% believe corruption is pervasive across Ukraine. As many as 42% of Ukrainian households pay bribes to access public services, and 78% believe Zelenskyy is “directly responsible” for the corruption.
Recruitment officials pocket millions of dollars in bribes, allowing those with money to dodge military conscription. Meanwhile, men who can’t afford to pay are snatched off the street, thrown into frontline trenches, and shoved into the meat grinder. To evade service, 860,000 men have fled to the European Union, and 800,000 more are hiding in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy officials have stolen entire trainloads of civilian aid. According to a senior Zelenskyy adviser, people at the top are “stealing like there is no tomorrow.” To add insult to injury, American taxpayers pay the salaries and pensions of these crooks.
Leading by example
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports that Zelenskyy and his closest allies embezzled at least $400 million in a single year by skimming U.S. funds earmarked for procuring diesel fuel. An intelligence officer told Hersh, “Zelenskyy had been buying the [discount diesel] fuel from Russia … skimming untold millions from the American dollars earmarked for diesel fuel payments.”
The CIA grew concerned about the rampant corruption, so in January 2023, CIA Director William Burns met with Zelenskyy and his band of thieves in Kyiv to address the problem. Hersh described the meeting as a scene from “a 1950s mob movie.” He relates, “The senior generals and government officials in Kyiv were angry at what they saw as Zelenskyy’s greed … because he was taking a larger share of the skim money than was going to the generals.” Moreover, Hersh says the level of corruption in Ukraine is “approaching that of the Afghan war.”
Dead man walking
Even in the Ukrainian parliament — where Zelenskyy has banned 11 opposition parties — voices of dissent are finally being heard. Zelenskyy is finished.
Verkhovna Rada Deputy Alexander Dubinsky has called for Zelenskyy’s impeachment, blasting him for his authoritarian suppression of democracy, disastrous war policies, and public buffoonery.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an anti-American globalist puppet and thief who belongs in prison. Trump should cut him loose, expose the fraud, and bring peace and democracy to Ukraine.
Not just a ‘conspiracy theory’: The TRUTH about Crossfire Hurricane
Crossfire Hurricane was a federal investigation that began with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her unsecured illegal home server.
“Not only did it have our nation’s most classified secrets, it also had evidence of the Clinton Foundation’s illegal pay for play foreign bribery schemes, where the Clinton Foundation was taking tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments, foreign entities,” Trump transition team member Mike Davis tells Liz Wheeler of “The Liz Wheeler Show.”
“When she was the secretary of state, she was doing favors in return for these donations. She got caught with her illegal home server, she took hammers to the devices,” he continues. “She destroyed the evidence. Obstruction of justice.”
Davis explains that her illegal home server was “almost certainly hacked by our adversaries.”
“What they were worried about with the Clinton campaign, with the Obama White House, with Joe Biden, was that this server would get leaked before the 2016 election by the Russians. And so, what did they do? They made up the Steele Dossier at Perkins Coie, a national law firm.”
“They used that Steele Dossier, just made up corrupt evidence, they gave it to the intel agencies, the Justice Department. They used that to get illegal spy warrants from the FISA courts on President Trump on his campaign, they continued to spy on him as the president of the United States, they hobbled his presidency, and they did this Crossfire Hurricane for the purpose of this,” he adds.
Had the evidence come out before the 2016 election, Davis explains that Clinton could have claimed it was a “dirty trick by the Trump campaign” in collusion with the Russians.
“And you say, ‘Oh, Mike, that sounds crazy, how can you be such a conspiracy theorist?’ Well, they did the same thing in 2020 with Hunter Biden’s laptop of the Biden family corruption,” he tells Wheeler.
Wheeler is impressed with Davis’ knowledge and assessment of the matter.
“This is why I want you to be attorney general,” Wheeler says. “I’m paying you a sincere compliment right now. I’m not just joking around about it. That’s the kind of understanding of the lawfare that has been targeting President Trump — and President Trump by the way is representative of us — this is the kind of understanding we need if we’re actually going to untangle this and reform these institutions.”
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