WATCH: Donald and Melania Trump attend National Christmas Tree lighting - FBI Reform

Listen to this article

President Donald Trump let the first lady light the National Christmas Tree at a ceremony in the nation’s capital Thursday evening.

Audio Review – Security and FBI

Talking Feds

Talking Feds is a roundtable discussion that brings together prominent former government officials, journalists, and special guests for a dynamic and in-depth analysis of the most pressing questions in law and politics.

Harry talks with journalist Jerusalem Demsas about her case for a robust, combative liberalism capable of taking the fight to the current political power structure. Demsas has just launched a new publication—The Argument—dedicated to renewing and improving the kind of politics that helped fostered many of the country’s best achievements. Harry asks Demsas about the shape of that revived liberalism, how she plans to persuade MAGA and other skeptics, and why she feels so optimistic in such a difficult time

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Search Episodes

Can a New Kind Of Liberalism Take Hold?

December 4, 2025

Harry Litman

A Bad Dictator is Still a Dangerous One

December 1, 2025

Harry Litman

Halligan, Bondi, and Other Turkeys

November 27, 2025

Harry Litman

Lame but Lethal

November 24, 2025

Harry Litman

Inside the DOJ’s Unravelling under Trump

November 20, 2025

Harry Litman

The Dog That Hasn’t Barked

November 17, 2025

Harry Litman

The Phrase that Could End Trump’s National Guard Power Grab

November 13, 2025

Harry Litman

Blue Blizzard

November 10, 2025

Harry Litman

Presenting The Alabama Murders from Revisionist History

November 6, 2025

Harry Litman

How Trump Demolished the DOJ

November 4, 2025

Harry Litman

Search Results placeholder

News and Opinions From The SoundCloud

Conversations

Podcast by The News And Times

Ukraine corruption scandal: Is Putin’s GRU behind it?
https://thenewsandtimes.blogspot.com/2025/12/ukraine-corruption-scandal-is-putins.html

The recent significant corruption scandal in Ukraine involving the state nuclear energy company Energoatom is being investigated by Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies, and while it is being exploited by Russian propaganda, there is no direct evidence that the current scheme was orchestrated by Putin’s GRU (Russia’s military intelligence agency).
However, the GRU has a documented history of coordinating past disinformation campaigns and leveraging corrupt Ukrainian officials for its own purposes.
Russian Interference in Past Ukrainian Corruption Narratives
In previous years, Russian military intelligence was directly involved in spreading false allegations and amplifying existing corruption narratives to achieve its strategic goals, which included worsening U.S.–Ukrainian relations and undermining Western support for Ukraine.
Key facts regarding past Russian involvement:
GRU Coordination: A network involving GRU lieutenants coordinated the spread of falsehoods through specific Ukrainian lawmakers and businessmen.
Andrii Derkach: This pro-Kremlin former Ukrainian lawmaker, who recently fled to Russia and became a Russian senator, has been accused by Ukraine’s SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) of receiving millions of dollars per month from the GRU to create security companies that would assist the 2022 Russian invasion forces. Derkach was also a central figure in spreading the Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory, a campaign linked to Russian intelligence efforts to interfere with U.S. politics.
Weaponized Corruption: Analysts at the Atlantic Council and other sources note that Putin consistently uses “weaponized corruption” tactics to weaken Ukraine and Europe from within.
Current Scandal vs. Russian Involvement
The current, separate $100 million Energoatom scandal involves a scheme to misappropriate funds through inflated contracts.
Investigation by Independent Bodies: The current investigation is being handled by Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption bodies, specifically the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which were designed to operate independently of the President.
Domestic Focus: The focus of the current domestic investigation is on Ukrainian nationals, including high-level officials and business partners close to President Zelenskyy’s circle.
Exploitation by Russia: While the scandal is a serious domestic issue, Russian state media and propaganda are actively using it to portray Ukraine’s government as illegitimate and corrupt to their own advantage.
In summary, while Russia’s GRU has a proven track record of orchestrating past disinformation and corruption schemes in Ukraine for strategic gain, the current large-scale Energoatom scandal appears to be an internal Ukrainian matter that is being exploited by the Kremlin for propaganda purposes.
Conversations

Search Episodes

Ukraine corruption scandal Is Putin’s GRU behind it

December 2, 2025

The News And Times

Conversations : News Review – 906 AM 11302025

November 30, 2025

The News And Times

İlham Əliyev, müxalifət liderlərinin həbsləri

November 29, 2025

The News And Times

Ilham Aliyev and the arrests of the opposition leaders

November 29, 2025

The News And Times

Коррупционный скандал на Украине

November 28, 2025

The News And Times

News Review – 11.28.25

November 28, 2025

The News And Times

Main News Today – 8:40 AM 10/23/2025

October 23, 2025

The News And Times

Trump and Insanity

October 4, 2025

The News And Times

A Symbol of Public Fury: Ramming cars into the FBI or the CIA gates

September 17, 2025

The News And Times

Putin and the shootings

August 29, 2025

The News And Times

Search Results placeholder

FBI: you do not know how to fish. Go back to your Pinkerton Fishing School!!!

#Рыбак из Австралии выловил из глубин океана гигантскую золотую рыбку. Вес рыбки составлял около 10 килограммов. Мужчина опубликовал видео с рыбой в соцсетях. Чтобы идентифицировать #улов, ему пришлось обратиться к специалисту по глубоководной рыбалке ...https://t.co/6LGTboo0mp pic.twitter.com/6Iut28Z9K1
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) August 22, 2021

FBI is just a Church for its members

John Durham and his investigations of FBI

John Durham | Whitey Bulger

M.N.: The FBI issues of dysfunction and problems with legality are not random or sporadic, they appear to be systemic, structural, and deeply rooted. The whole organization and some workers appear to be just as cynical, psychopathic, conniving, and rotten as the very field they are dealing with.

The FBI and the Mob appear to have many common elements in their collective mentality, and it is logical: The primary function of the both groups is to protect and to benefit their respective members. In essence as Norman Mailer observed so aptly, the FBI is a Church which exists to satisfy and to tender to the needs of its members (“the true mediocre”), first of all and most of all.

„At bottom, I mean profoundly at bottom, the FBI has nothing to do with Communism, it has nothing to do with catching criminals, it has nothing to do with the Mafia, the syndicate, it has nothing to do with trust-busting, it has nothing to do with interstate commerce, it has nothing to do with anything but serving as a church for the mediocre. A high church for the true mediocre.“

I think, it was the truth then, and it still is the same truth now.
In 1963, Mailer wrote — as paraphrased in an FBI memo — that the bureau had done more damage to America than the Communist Party. That same year, a magazine quoted Mailer as calling Hoover “the worst celebrity in America.”Nov 15, 2008

Political attacks on Chris Wray

Michael Novakhov

All I see now in these #FBI comments are the political attacks on Chris Wray in order to unseat him. Be careful and aware of what you are asking for: the FBI dysfunctions can become worse with the new leader, male-female issue is irrelevant here. I recommend to create THE FBI ADVISARY BOARD, of the best minds in Academia and related fields, and to proceed with the reforms; gradually, cautiously, and prudently, under Mr. Wray, who appears to be committed to these reforms. 14w