News about Leon Panetta

Ex-CIA chief Leon Panetta warns that Vladimir Putin's dangerous proposal to destroy satellites with nuclear weapons in space could cripple US GPS and intelligence gatherings. If Russia took out an American satellite, the Defense Secretary under Barack Obama said it would cause a 'act of war.' As the space arms race heats up, Trump also believes the Pentagon is investigating how it can respond and disable satellites launched from Moscow. Panetta's remarks came after top Republican Mike Turner's cryptic tweet on Wednesday that a "serious national threat" had appeared.

Two signers of the letter who said the Hunter Biden laptop was "disinformation" for interviews later this month, according to the subcommittee on weaponization of the federal government. According to a person familiar with the operation, former CIA Director James Brennan will give a transcribed interview on May 11 and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on May 17. Both were part of the 51 former intelligence service officers who wrote a letter stating that the laptop had "all the recognizable earmarks of a Russian intelligence operation." Mike Morrell, a former deputy CIA chief and acting CIA director, who said it was an interview with Sec.'s counsel, has already interviewed him, according to Sec.'s. Antony Blinken 'completely' sparked his involvement in the letter, which went out just before the 2020 election. The letter was used by Biden and his campaign at the time to smear the notebook.

Mike Morell, a veteran CIA chief who served two brief stints as acting director, was asked by the Biden campaign to mobilize ex-intel chiefs to say that reporting on Hunter's laptop was disinforrmation. Morell said Antony Blinken, the current Secretary of State, and a Biden campaign advisor at the time, begged former intelligence chiefs to agree that the notebook seemed to be a smear campaign. Morell said he did "a little bit of my own study" before contacting former CIA senior operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos for help in compiling a letter. The letter was eventually signed by 51 former intelligence officers, including himself and four other former CIA directors, including John Brennan and Leon Panetta.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Fort Ord this week announced plans to investigate the drinking water at the hospital this week, nine months after the alarm was raised over hazardous chemicals at the site. In the base's water, at least 40 hazardous chemicals were discovered, including tricholoroethylene (TCE), a'miracle' degreaser linked to many cancers. Victims of the disease say the Veterans Association has refused to give them assistance, requiring them to work part-time jobs like baggage handlers, rather than recovering from surgery. When it rained, leaky petrol tanks and abandoned ammunition at the site are believed to have leached harmful chemicals. These were then tricked into the local water supply before being sucked into the base's own drinking water system.

Republicans are expected to retake the House of Representatives with a slew of candidates benefiting from newly redrawn legislative maps and voters' dissatisfaction with the economy as of Sunday. According to RealClearPolitics' poll results, the GOP is expected to have at least 228 seats following Tuesday's election, while Democrats are expected to win 174. Just 33 seats have been classified as toss-ups, implying that if Democrats win every single one but that they will still fall short of the 218 seats needed for a majority. Right now, Republicans have 212 House representatives. Both the House and Senate are now controlled by slim margins.

Although the Senate is more of a toss-up, the Republican Party is also expected to retake the House of Representatives with a slew of candidates benefited from newly redrawn congressional maps. Both Democrats now have slim majorities. House Republican leaders unveiled a redesigned national platform called 'Commitment to America,' in an attempt to energize their base.' For a majority, at least 218 House representatives are required. According to a series of reports, Republicans are likely to gain ground in November, though the lead has dropped in recent weeks after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and Biden's fiery new strategy of attacking portions of the GOP as 'extremists.'