theintercept--2020-11-11--Biden EPA Transition Team Member Helped DuPont Dodge Responsibility for PFOA

has appointed Michael McCabe to its agency review team at the Environmental Protection Agency .
McCabe , who served as Biden ’ s communications and projects director between 1987 and 1995 and as deputy administrator of the EPA at the end of the Clinton administration , led DuPont ’ s defense of the toxic PFAS chemical PFOA .
McCabe began managing DuPont ’ s communications with the EPA about the toxic chemical in 2003 , two years after he left his job as deputy administrator of the agency , and continued in that role until at least 2006 .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fresh relationships with his former colleagues in government came in handy as McCabe skillfully and successfully helped the giant corporation dodge the agency ’ s efforts to set binding limits on the chemical .
When McCabe began overseeing the team of attorneys and high-level former EPA staffers , the agency had just initiated a “ priority review ” of PFOA , a perfluorinated chemical DuPont used since the 1950s to make its blockbuster nonstick coating , Teflon .
At that point , the chemical had already been discovered in the drinking water of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the company ’ s plants , in Parkersburg , West Virginia .
DuPont already knew that PFOA accumulated in workers bodies and caused a wide range of health effects , including cancer , in lab animals .
Over time , the chemical would be found to cause a long list of human health effects in addition to cancer .
If it deemed PFOA sufficiently toxic through the priority review , the EPA could go on to regulate it under several laws , including the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Clean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such a move could trigger hefty cleanup costs , and McCabe ’ s team made every effort to avoid that outcome .
Among the high-profile former EPA officials who worked with him to protect the chemical — and DuPont ’ s profits from it — during this time was Linda Fisher , an attorney who succeeded him as deputy administrator at the EPA .
McCabe ’ s team worked so closely with EPA staff that they sometimes knew what was contained in the agency ’ s documents before they became public and saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given .
The DuPont team also drafted quotes that they attributed to EPA officials in DuPont press releases .
In 2007 , attorney Rob Bilott , who sued DuPont over the contamination , deposed McCabe .
When asked about requesting quotes from the EPA , McCabe said the practice was “ customary.
” Ultimately , his team succeeded in avoiding regulation that would have cost DuPont dearly .
One of the upshots of the months of negotiations was an agreement to phase out PFOA .
As part of the negotiations for that deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the EPA issue reassuring statements about the safety of chemicals and products that contained PFOA .
The EPA obliged .
Asked about the EPA ’ s highly favorable statements about PFOA in his December 2007 deposition , McCabe insisted that they were “ not a quid pro quo ” for the DuPont ’ s agreement to phase it out .
Biden , who represented Delaware in the Senate for 36 years , has a long and complicated relationship with DuPont , which has been headquartered in the state for more than 200 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which led the defense of PFOA , is headquartered in Delaware as well .
In 2006 , the EPA did fine DuPont for having withheld what it knew about the toxicity of PFOA , as well as the chemical ’ s presence in drinking water , in the blood of people living near its West Virginia plant , and in the babies of some of its female workers , two of whom were born with birth defects .
At the time , the agency noted that the amount of the fine — $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 million for “ supplemental environmental projects ” — was “ the largest civil administrative penalty EPA has ever obtained under any federal environmental statute.
” Yet the fine was also less than a single day ’ s revenue from DuPont ’ s performance materials division , which used PFOA .
The deal McCabe ’ s team helped secure was also clearly favorable to DuPont in another way .
The phaseout took place over nine years , giving the company ample time to introduce a replacement for its dangerous chemical .
A DuPont @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter to then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson confirming the company ’ s agreement to participate in the phaseout and alluding to its plan to replace PFOA with another chemical .
Stalnecker noted noting that “ success in this effort will depend on timely review and approvals for these new products.
” DuPont did get timely approval for its PFOA replacement , GenX .
But that compound also turned out to be toxic .
As with PFOA , the realization came only after DuPont had released it and several other related PFAS compounds into people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCabe ’ s volunteer position on the EPA review team , a spokesperson for Biden ’ s transition team emailed that “ Michael McCabe has vast experience and knowledge of the EPA to help the Biden-Harris administration tackle the challenges facing our country .
McCabe has recused himself from any matters involving the Toxic Substances Control Act .
Additionally , he has also committed to not taking a position within the Biden administration.
” DuPont has since gotten out of the PFAS business , which it spun off as a new company known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the legal liability for the harms caused by the chemicals .
Last year , Chemours sued DuPont , charging that the former parent company had downplayed its environmental liabilities at the time of the spinoff .
A judge dismissed the case in March .
The EPA has still has not regulated any chemical in the PFAS family , which is now understood to contain thousands of compounds .
While the Trump EPA pledged to designate PFOA and the closely related chemical PFOS as hazardous , it has failed to do so .
Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmental justice plan promises to “ tackle PFAS pollution by designating PFAS as a hazardous substance , setting enforceable limits for PFAS in the Safe Drinking Water Act , prioritizing substitutes through procurement , and accelerating toxicity studies and research on PFAS.
” According to a press release from the transition team , the review team McCabe is on will be “ responsible for evaluating the operations of the federal agencies so that the incoming Biden-Harris administration is prepared to lead our country on Day One .
”

The Biden transition team has appointed Michael McCabe to its agency review team at the Environmental Protection Agency. McCabe, who served as Biden’s communications and projects director between 1987 and 1995 and as deputy administrator of the EPA at the end of the Clinton administration, led DuPont’s defense of the toxic PFAS chemical PFOA.
McCabe began managing DuPont’s communications with the EPA about the toxic chemical in 2003, two years after he left his job as deputy administrator of the agency, and continued in that role until at least 2006. As The Intercept previously reported, his still fresh relationships with his former colleagues in government came in handy as McCabe skillfully and successfully helped the giant corporation dodge the agency’s efforts to set binding limits on the chemical.
When McCabe began overseeing the team of attorneys and high-level former EPA staffers, the agency had just initiated a “priority review” of PFOA, a perfluorinated chemical DuPont used since the 1950s to make its blockbuster nonstick coating, Teflon. At that point, the chemical had already been discovered in the drinking water of tens of thousands of people living near one of the company’s plants, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. DuPont already knew that PFOA accumulated in workers bodies and caused a wide range of health effects, including cancer, in lab animals. Over time, the chemical would be found to cause a long list of human health effects in addition to cancer.
If it deemed PFOA sufficiently toxic through the priority review, the EPA could go on to regulate it under several laws, including the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Clean Water Act. As DuPont knew, such a move could trigger hefty cleanup costs, and McCabe’s team made every effort to avoid that outcome. Among the high-profile former EPA officials who worked with him to protect the chemical — and DuPont’s profits from it — during this time was Linda Fisher, an attorney who succeeded him as deputy administrator at the EPA.
McCabe’s team worked so closely with EPA staff that they sometimes knew what was contained in the agency’s documents before they became public and saw at least one presentation before it was given. The DuPont team also drafted quotes that they attributed to EPA officials in DuPont press releases. In 2007, attorney Rob Bilott, who sued DuPont over the contamination, deposed McCabe. When asked about requesting quotes from the EPA, McCabe said the practice was “customary.”
Photo: US Congress
Ultimately, his team succeeded in avoiding regulation that would have cost DuPont dearly. One of the upshots of the months of negotiations was an agreement to phase out PFOA. As part of the negotiations for that deal, McCabe’s team requested that the EPA issue reassuring statements about the safety of chemicals and products that contained PFOA. The EPA obliged.
Asked about the EPA’s highly favorable statements about PFOA in his December 2007 deposition, McCabe insisted that they were “not a quid pro quo” for the DuPont’s agreement to phase it out.
Biden, who represented Delaware in the Senate for 36 years, has a long and complicated relationship with DuPont, which has been headquartered in the state for more than 200 years. McCabe’s consulting company, which led the defense of PFOA, is headquartered in Delaware as well.
In 2006, the EPA did fine DuPont for having withheld what it knew about the toxicity of PFOA, as well as the chemical’s presence in drinking water, in the blood of people living near its West Virginia plant, and in the babies of some of its female workers, two of whom were born with birth defects. At the time, the agency noted that the amount of the fine —$10.5 million, plus an additional $6 million for “supplemental environmental projects” — was “the largest civil administrative penalty EPA has ever obtained under any federal environmental statute.” Yet the fine was also less than a single day’s revenue from DuPont’s performance materials division, which used PFOA.
Read our complete coverage Bad Chemistry
The deal McCabe’s team helped secure was also clearly favorable to DuPont in another way. The phaseout took place over nine years, giving the company ample time to introduce a replacement for its dangerous chemical. A DuPont vice president named Susan Stalnecker sent a letter to then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson confirming the company’s agreement to participate in the phaseout and alluding to its plan to replace PFOA with another chemical. Stalnecker noted noting that “success in this effort will depend on timely review and approvals for these new products.”
DuPont did get timely approval for its PFOA replacement, GenX. But that compound also turned out to be toxic. As with PFOA, the realization came only after DuPont had released it and several other related PFAS compounds into people’s drinking water.
Asked about McCabe’s volunteer position on the EPA review team, a spokesperson for Biden’s transition team emailed that “Michael McCabe has vast experience and knowledge of the EPA to help the Biden-Harris administration tackle the challenges facing our country. McCabe has recused himself from any matters involving the Toxic Substances Control Act. Additionally, he has also committed to not taking a position within the Biden administration.”
DuPont has since gotten out of the PFAS business, which it spun off as a new company known as Chemours — along with much of the legal liability for the harms caused by the chemicals. Last year, Chemours sued DuPont, charging that the former parent company had downplayed its environmental liabilities at the time of the spinoff. A judge dismissed the case in March.
The EPA has still has not regulated any chemical in the PFAS family, which is now understood to contain thousands of compounds. While the Trump EPA pledged to designate PFOA and the closely related chemical PFOS as hazardous, it has failed to do so.
Biden has promised to change that. His environmental justice plan promises to “tackle PFAS pollution by designating PFAS as a hazardous substance, setting enforceable limits for PFAS in the Safe Drinking Water Act, prioritizing substitutes through procurement, and accelerating toxicity studies and research on PFAS.” According to a press release from the transition team, the review team McCabe is on will be “responsible for evaluating the operations of the federal agencies so that the incoming Biden-Harris administration is prepared to lead our country on Day One.”


theintercept--2020-11-11--Another Official Dismissed at the Pentagon as Trump Continues Unusual Shake-Up

of Pentagon officials , an overhaul that began on Monday with President Donald Trump ’ s sudden firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper , has continued .
The Intercept has learned that Mark Tomb , the deputy chief of staff to the undersecretary of defense for policy , was ousted from his position yesterday .
Tomb , who declined to comment when reached by phone , was forced into retirement as part of a wave of firings of top Defense Department officials that included James Anderson , the Pentagon ’ s acting policy chief ; Joseph Kernan , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s former chief of staff Jennifer Stewart .
The Tuesday exodus represents a major shake-up that has been planned for months , according to one Trump administration official briefed on the effort , with more firings to come across the department .
That official , who shared a draft list of other Pentagon officials under consideration for removal , said that Ellen Lord , the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment , would likely be dismissed next .
“ The president is taking back control of DOD .
It ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump foreign policy , ” said the official , who spoke anonymously and without authorization .
The personnel changes , the official claimed , would help clear the way for a more loyal Pentagon apparatus to carry out Trump ’ s goals , including the last-minute withdrawal of troops from foreign conflicts .
Trump has promised a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan by Christmas , a pledge that has reportedly rankled senior figures in the military , including several of the Pentagon leaders dismissed this week .
The official ’ s explanation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around Washington , D.C. , that the dismissals are solely designed to punish dissent and to politicize the Pentagon , a charge made by Democratic lawmakers .
The president has replaced political appointees , a right reserved by the president , though no president in recent memory has made such sweeping changes to the Pentagon ’ s leadership during a presidential transition period .
The unusual shake-up has unsettled observers of the military who fear further politicization of the government .
The firings also make way for controversial figures who are seen as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carrying out his agenda .
Anderson was swiftly replaced on Tuesday with Brig .
Gen. Anthony Tata , a former Fox News contributor who had been previously nominated for the Pentagon ’ s top policy job .
Tata ’ s nomination stalled in the Senate after old tweets were unearthed showing him criticizing former President Barack Obama as a “ terrorist leader ” and sharing an article that depicted Obama as a “ Manchurian candidate.
” Esper maintained a rocky relationship with Trump , which degraded further last summer after he publicly opposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military in response to street protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd .
The former Raytheon lobbyist-turned-Pentagon chief was replaced by Chris Miller , the former senior director for counterterrorism and transnational threats at the National Security Council .
Stewart , Esper ’ s chief of staff , was replaced by Kash Patel , a former National Security Council official who previously served as an aide to Rep. Devin Nunes , R-Calif. Patel gained a following in the administration for his role in leading the push on Capitol Hill to question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian collusion probe .
Kernan was replaced by Ezra Cohen-Watnick , a young former aide to Michael Flynn , Trump ’ s former national security adviser .
Cohen-Watnick , on an acting basis , will now oversee the Pentagon ’ s intelligence operations .
The Intercept reported in August that Gina Haspel , the CIA director , and Christopher Wray , the director of the FBI , were also at risk of replacement , and the New York Times has now reported that they could be next in line to be removed from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hill as Democratic lawmakers have denounced the personnel changes for stoking tension during an already tense transition period .
“ Firing a Secretary of Defense in the last weeks of a lame duck Presidency serves no purpose and only demonstrates an instability harmful to American national defense , ” said Sen. Tim Kaine , D-Va. , in a statement .
Rep. Adam Smith , D-Wash. , chair of the House Armed Services Committee , decried the firings as an effort by Trump to install Pentagon officials with a focus on loyalty “ at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ during a period of presidential transition , competence in government is of the utmost importance.
” In response , the Trump official said that the moves were solely motivated by implementing foreign policy goals that have been stymied by career bureaucrats obsessed with continuing unending military conflict overseas .
“ This is happening because the president feels that neoconservatism has failed the American people , ” the official said .
The withdrawal of troops could also set the political conditions for the future Biden administration .
Any redeployment , the thinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the “ forever war ” party , while Trump could credibly claim that he was not only the first president in 40 years to avoid launching a new war , but he also was the first to truly wind down the occupation of Afghanistan .

The sweeping dismissal of Pentagon officials, an overhaul that began on Monday with President Donald Trump’s sudden firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, has continued. The Intercept has learned that Mark Tomb, the deputy chief of staff to the undersecretary of defense for policy, was ousted from his position yesterday.
Tomb, who declined to comment when reached by phone, was forced into retirement as part of a wave of firings of top Defense Department officials that included James Anderson, the Pentagon’s acting policy chief; Joseph Kernan, the undersecretary for intelligence; and Esper’s former chief of staff Jennifer Stewart.
The Tuesday exodus represents a major shake-up that has been planned for months, according to one Trump administration official briefed on the effort, with more firings to come across the department.
That official, who shared a draft list of other Pentagon officials under consideration for removal, said that Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, would likely be dismissed next.
“The president is taking back control of DOD. It’s a rebirth of foreign policy. This is Trump foreign policy,” said the official, who spoke anonymously and without authorization.
The personnel changes, the official claimed, would help clear the way for a more loyal Pentagon apparatus to carry out Trump’s goals, including the last-minute withdrawal of troops from foreign conflicts. Trump has promised a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan by Christmas, a pledge that has reportedly rankled senior figures in the military, including several of the Pentagon leaders dismissed this week.
The official’s explanation is at odds with possible explanations discussed around Washington, D.C., that the dismissals are solely designed to punish dissent and to politicize the Pentagon, a charge made by Democratic lawmakers.
The president has replaced political appointees, a right reserved by the president, though no president in recent memory has made such sweeping changes to the Pentagon’s leadership during a presidential transition period. The unusual shake-up has unsettled observers of the military who fear further politicization of the government.
The firings also make way for controversial figures who are seen as far more dutiful in protecting Trump and carrying out his agenda. Anderson was swiftly replaced on Tuesday with Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, a former Fox News contributor who had been previously nominated for the Pentagon’s top policy job. Tata’s nomination stalled in the Senate after old tweets were unearthed showing him criticizing former President Barack Obama as a “terrorist leader” and sharing an article that depicted Obama as a “Manchurian candidate.”
Photo: Murray Brewster/AP
Esper maintained a rocky relationship with Trump, which degraded further last summer after he publicly opposed Trump’s call to deploy active-duty military in response to street protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. The former Raytheon lobbyist-turned-Pentagon chief was replaced by Chris Miller, the former senior director for counterterrorism and transnational threats at the National Security Council.
Stewart, Esper’s chief of staff, was replaced by Kash Patel, a former National Security Council official who previously served as an aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. Patel gained a following in the administration for his role in leading the push on Capitol Hill to question intelligence agencies and Democratic lawmakers over the Russian collusion probe.
Kernan was replaced by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a young former aide to Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser. Cohen-Watnick, on an acting basis, will now oversee the Pentagon’s intelligence operations.
The Intercept reported in August that Gina Haspel, the CIA director, and Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, were also at risk of replacement, and the New York Times has now reported that they could be next in line to be removed from office.
The rapid firings have raised concern on Capitol Hill as Democratic lawmakers have denounced the personnel changes for stoking tension during an already tense transition period.
“Firing a Secretary of Defense in the last weeks of a lame duck Presidency serves no purpose and only demonstrates an instability harmful to American national defense,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in a statement.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chair of the House Armed Services Committee, decried the firings as an effort by Trump to install Pentagon officials with a focus on loyalty “at the expense of competence,” noting that “during a period of presidential transition, competence in government is of the utmost importance.”
In response, the Trump official said that the moves were solely motivated by implementing foreign policy goals that have been stymied by career bureaucrats obsessed with continuing unending military conflict overseas.
“This is happening because the president feels that neoconservatism has failed the American people,” the official said.
The withdrawal of troops could also set the political conditions for the future Biden administration. Any redeployment, the thinking goes, would establish the Democratic Party as the “forever war” party, while Trump could credibly claim that he was not only the first president in 40 years to avoid launching a new war, but he also was the first to truly wind down the occupation of Afghanistan.


theintercept--2020-11-11--Split Screen: Fox News Swings From Refuting to Hyping Trump’s Voter Fraud Nonsense

over his loss in last week ’ s election , and his rapidly unraveling claims of voter fraud , have made life difficult for the producers and on-air talent at Fox News .
The Potemkin news network exists primarily to get Republicans elected to office but it needs to keep up the facade of accurately reporting on reality to maintain its influence .
What that means right now , for the network and for the party it serves , is bracing for the looming presidency of Joe Biden while still continuing to indulge Trump ’ s faint hopes of litigating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The goal , for both Fox and the Republicans , is to avoid alienating Trump — at least long enough to ensure that he doesn ’ t turn on the party before control of the Senate is settled in the two runoff elections in Georgia on January 5 .
“ We need his voters .
And he has a tremendous following out there , ” South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune , a deputy to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , admitted to reporters on Tuesday .
“ Right now , he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stages of his election and determine the outcome there .
But when that ’ s all said and done , however it comes out , we want him helping in Georgia.
” For Fox , which has filled Trump ’ s head with conspiracy theories about voter fraud for years , the need to stop him from running amok without alienating him is somewhat like the problem Victor Frankenstein faced with his monster .
The network is attempting to report on the election it called for Biden , while Trump refuses to accept @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made the divide between Fox ’ s daytime news programming and evening opinion shows even more stark than usual .
“ Whoa , whoa , ” Cavuto said as his show cut away from McEnany .
“ I just think we have to be very clear : She ’ s charging the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting .
Unless she has more details to back that up , I can ’ t in good countenance continue showing you this.
” A few hours later , MacCallum also tamped down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Charlie LeDuff , a former New York Times reporter who had volunteered to process ballots in Michigan last week .
LeDuff told MacCallum that a conspiracy theory that tens of thousands of illegal ballots had been delivered to the counting center he had worked at in Detroit was , in a word , “ horse-S. ” Just minutes later , however , MacCallum made way for Tucker Carlson , who began his show with a long monologue dedicated to the idea that there could well have been fraud in the election .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ against members of the media who dismissed those claims as false , Carlson took a thinly veiled swipe at Cavuto .
“ In a democracy , you can not ignore honest questions from citizens , ” Carlson said .
“ You can ’ t dismiss them out of hand as crazy or immoral for asking .
You can ’ t just cut away from coverage you don ’ t like.
” Carlson then moved on to a lengthy discussion of the possibility that massive fraud might have taken place in vote counting Michigan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s interview with LeDuff , which seemed to contradict at least one of those claims .
Carlson also showed one short part of a statement made on Monday by Gabriel Sterling , a lifelong Republican who manages Georgia ’ s voting system , in which he said that a recount there would no doubt show that some people “ did illegally vote — that ’ s going to happen.
” However , Carlson chose not to show other parts of Sterling ’ s lengthy statement in which he said illegal voting was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraud were “ false.
” Carlson also did not report that Sterling offered a detailed , point-by-point debunking of various allegations of fraud in his state and in Michigan , which Sterling characterized as “ disinformation ” at one point and “ hoaxes and nonsense ” at another .
Sterling also emphasized that the number of votes that would be disallowed during the recount was unlikely to come anywhere close to the margin by which Biden won the state ( which reached 14,149 votes on Tuesday ) .
On Tuesday afternoon , Cavuto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deal with Trump ’ s fraud claims by focusing almost entirely on the battle for control of the Senate , where the Republican Party needs the voters who turned out for Trump last week to show up again in January to cast ballots for the incumbent GOP Sens .
David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler .
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Trump and his allies had pressured Loeffler and Perdue into sending a letter in which they called for Sterling ’ s boss , Georgia ’ s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without evidence , that he had “ failed to deliver honest and transparent elections.
” “ We ’ re told the president and his top allies pressured the two Republican senators to take this step , lest he tweet a negative word about them and risk divorcing them from his base ahead of the consequential runoff , ” the Journal-Constitution ’ s Mark Niesse and Greg Bluestein reported .
On Tuesday night , Fox ’ s Sean Hannity dug in further by inviting Kayleigh McEnany on to his show to display what she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holding up what she said were 234 pages of sworn affidavits from Republican observers in Detroit .
The report of a ballot being duplicated , in front of a Republican observer , is not necessarily proof of any illegality .
As Sterling , the Georgia expert , explained at his news conference on Monday , ballots are occasionally damaged by automatic letter-openers used in counting rooms .
When they are , the standard procedure is for election workers , under the close watch of partisan observers , to duplicate the markings from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the paper can be run through the automated tabulation machines without jamming .
One of the complaints was from a person who thought that he saw the same batch of 27 ballots being counted 5 times over the course of the night .
If true , that would reduce Biden ’ s current margin in Michigan from 148,645 to 148,537 .
Another complaint in one affidavit , highlighted by Heath , was from a Republican poll watcher who found it suspicious that so many members of the military would vote for Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dozen military ballots be counted , ” the Republican observer said in his statement .
“ Although I can not provide specific numbers or names , I can estimate that at least 80 % of the military ballots I saw were straight ticket Democrat or simply had Joe Biden ’ s name filled in on them .
I had always been told that military personnel tended to be more conservative , so this stuck out to me.
” Later Tuesday night , Laura Ingraham interviewed an unidentified woman who claimed that she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( but not photographed ) what she thought was two Biden campaign workers filling out ballots in a Biden-Harris van parked right outside a polling place .
Fox News reported that the Trump campaign said it had sent a sworn statement from this woman to the Department of Justice .
However , the woman appears to have made no effort to actually file a complaint with the state .
The office of Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford told Fox it had only “ received a redacted Affidavit that does not contain the individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information .
As it stands , our office has not yet received a formal complaint and can not conduct an investigation without such critical details.
” “ If they file a complaint — not a press release , not a PR stunt , not a statement on television — if they were to file a complaint with my office , not a redacted affidavit , which they ’ ve tried to do , a complaint where we call someone , perform an investigation , ascertain whether we should prosecute someone , we will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Monday .
“ But they ’ re not doing that .
Instead , they ’ re playing this in the press because they know they have no leg to stand on , that ’ s why they ’ ve been thrown out of court four times already.
” Todd Bice , a Republican election law expert in Nevada , wrote a blistering op-ed for the nonprofit Nevada Independent on Tuesday , skewering the Trump campaign ’ s effort to claim that there were enough illegal or miscounted votes to overturn Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here is what any serious person being honest with you about elections , and the laws surrounding those elections , will tell you : In EVERY election , a certain number ( generally very small ) of votes will be cast by voters who , for certain reasons , are not actually eligible to vote in that election .
Obviously , if the voter is ineligible , the vote should not count , ” Bice wrote .
“ This occurs in Nevada as well as every other state in the union in every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be truly nefarious , such as where someone forges the signature of another .
But this is quite small , because very few citizens who choose to participate in the election process are actually crooks.
” “ Others can arise from ambiguity and/or debates about residency rules and requirements , including the fact that Nevada has a large military population who frequently move , ” he continued .
“ Although they occur in every election , the number of ineligible votes is so small that it will have no actual impact on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ small-time municipal election where the turnout is extraordinarily small and the margin is just a couple votes .
I know , because I ’ ve actually litigated that issue .
But the suggestion that ineligible votes are so widespread as to actually impact the outcome of a statewide or national election is quite disingenuous.
” Updated : Wednesday , Nov. 11 , 2:49 p.m .
This article was updated with additional examples of how Fox News is covering the post-election fallout and baseless allegations of voter fraud .

Donald Trump’s tantrum over his loss in last week’s election, and his rapidly unraveling claims of voter fraud, have made life difficult for the producers and on-air talent at Fox News. The Potemkin news network exists primarily to get Republicans elected to office but it needs to keep up the facade of accurately reporting on reality to maintain its influence.
What that means right now, for the network and for the party it serves, is bracing for the looming presidency of Joe Biden while still continuing to indulge Trump’s faint hopes of litigating his way out of political bankruptcy. The goal, for both Fox and the Republicans, is to avoid alienating Trump — at least long enough to ensure that he doesn’t turn on the party before control of the Senate is settled in the two runoff elections in Georgia on January 5.
“We need his voters. And he has a tremendous following out there,” South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune, a deputy to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, admitted to reporters on Tuesday. “Right now, he’s trying to get through the final stages of his election and determine the outcome there. But when that’s all said and done, however it comes out, we want him helping in Georgia.”
For Fox, which has filled Trump’s head with conspiracy theories about voter fraud for years, the need to stop him from running amok without alienating him is somewhat like the problem Victor Frankenstein faced with his monster.
The network is attempting to report on the election it called for Biden, while Trump refuses to accept that he lost; the dynamic has made the divide between Fox’s daytime news programming and evening opinion shows even more stark than usual.
So while the sun is up, afternoon news anchors like Bill Hemmer and Neil Cavuto seem to be preparing their viewers for the inevitable Biden presidency to come, while downplaying the anti-democratic nature of threats from Trump supporters to meddle in the electoral college.
"That would be something," says FoxNews anchor @BillHemmer, describing an illegal coup. https://t.co/egOzQ0HdmF — Frank Lesser (@sadmonsters) November 11, 2020
“It does appear that Joe Biden will win Arizona,” the attorney general says As for those Sharpies we heard so much about: “We were able to determine that did not affect anyone’s vote” pic.twitter.com/HYAMZxypxA — Andrew Oxford (@andrewboxford) November 11, 2020
The hosts of Fox’s election-week coverage, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, have referred to Biden as “the president-elect” since the network called the race for the former vice president on Saturday.
Fox News makes the call: Joe Biden is President-Elect of the United States. pic.twitter.com/0aNyYVTNWB — The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2020
On Tuesday, Baier began an interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had suggested earlier in the day that Trump could stay in office, by asking him, “what do you say to world leaders who are reaching out to Joe Biden, now the president-elect, leaders from all kinds of countries — Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, the list goes on, even Saudi Arabia, which was President Trump’s first stop — congratulating President-elect Joe Biden?”
"All the votes haven't been counted," Mike Pompeo says on Fox News, as though Trump still has a chance of legitimately winning reelection (Trump conclusively lost to Joe Biden) pic.twitter.com/TfbNEKx6Ih — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 10, 2020
All of the dayside anchors report that Biden has insurmountable leads in both key Electoral College states and the national popular vote, and remind viewers that there is no evidence that “illegal votes” were cast or counted in large enough numbers to overturn the result. Still, they have been forced to scramble as Trump supporters invited on as guests claim that the outcome remains in doubt.
Sandra Smith, off-air, reacts to her colleague Trace Gallagher indulging a nutjob who denies the outcome of the election even after Fox News had called it for Joe Biden: pic.twitter.com/gZ4nrnVHab — Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) November 9, 2020
But when the sun sets, Trump’s wildest claims of fraud are given credence by the shouting heads who host the network’s primetime lineup of opinion shows — Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham — as well as the pre-dawn cast of “Fox and Friends.”
As the Washington Post’s JM Rieger illustrated in a video compilation, this week’s complaints from these Fox News opinion hosts contrasts sharply with what they said after Trump won the Electoral College in 2016, by narrower margins in three states.
Fox News personalities have dramatically shifted their rhetoric on election results over the past four years. My latest @thefix supercut:pic.twitter.com/6xhUN7DyLd — JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) November 11, 2020
The sharp difference in how Fox News describes the election results from morning to night can induce a sense of whiplash in viewers who keep the channel on all day, who watch as it transitions from daytime news programs to evening opinion shows.
That was apparent on Monday, when Cavuto insisted that his producer cut away from a live news conference at which Kayleigh McEnany, the Trump campaign spokesperson moonlighting as White House press secretary, claimed that mass voter fraud had taken place.
Fox News cuts away from Kayleigh McEnany news conference after airing it for less than a minute. Neil Cavuto: “I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this…She started saying right at the outset, [Democrats were] welcoming fraud, welcoming illegal voting. Not so fast." pic.twitter.com/1jn5jC2r5E — JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) November 9, 2020
“Whoa, whoa,” Cavuto said as his show cut away from McEnany. “I just think we have to be very clear: She’s charging the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this.”
A few hours later, MacCallum also tamped down rumors of voting irregularities in an interview with Charlie LeDuff, a former New York Times reporter who had volunteered to process ballots in Michigan last week. LeDuff told MacCallum that a conspiracy theory that tens of thousands of illegal ballots had been delivered to the counting center he had worked at in Detroit was, in a word, “horse-S.”
Just minutes later, however, MacCallum made way for Tucker Carlson, who began his show with a long monologue dedicated to the idea that there could well have been fraud in the election. At one point, as he railed against members of the media who dismissed those claims as false, Carlson took a thinly veiled swipe at Cavuto. “In a democracy, you cannot ignore honest questions from citizens,” Carlson said. “You can’t dismiss them out of hand as crazy or immoral for asking. You can’t just cut away from coverage you don’t like.”
Carlson then moved on to a lengthy discussion of the possibility that massive fraud might have taken place in vote counting Michigan. He made no mention of MacCallum’s interview with LeDuff, which seemed to contradict at least one of those claims.
Carlson also showed one short part of a statement made on Monday by Gabriel Sterling, a lifelong Republican who manages Georgia’s voting system, in which he said that a recount there would no doubt show that some people “did illegally vote — that’s going to happen.” However, Carlson chose not to show other parts of Sterling’s lengthy statement in which he said illegal voting was “minor” and accusations of massive fraud were “false.” Carlson also did not report that Sterling offered a detailed, point-by-point debunking of various allegations of fraud in his state and in Michigan, which Sterling characterized as “disinformation” at one point and “hoaxes and nonsense” at another.
Sterling also emphasized that the number of votes that would be disallowed during the recount was unlikely to come anywhere close to the margin by which Biden won the state (which reached 14,149 votes on Tuesday).
On Tuesday afternoon, Cavuto seemed to sidestep the problem of how to deal with Trump’s fraud claims by focusing almost entirely on the battle for control of the Senate, where the Republican Party needs the voters who turned out for Trump last week to show up again in January to cast ballots for the incumbent GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Trump and his allies had pressured Loeffler and Perdue into sending a letter in which they called for Sterling’s boss, Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to step down — charging, without evidence, that he had “failed to deliver honest and transparent elections.”
“We’re told the president and his top allies pressured the two Republican senators to take this step, lest he tweet a negative word about them and risk divorcing them from his base ahead of the consequential runoff,” the Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse and Greg Bluestein reported.
On Tuesday night, Fox’s Sean Hannity dug in further by inviting Kayleigh McEnany on to his show to display what she called evidence of important voting irregularities — holding up what she said were 234 pages of sworn affidavits from Republican observers in Detroit.
Surprising no one, these affidavits turned out to be a whole lot of nothing. Claims they weren’t allowed to be as close to the counters as they wanted, confusion about rescanning ballots, “liberal bias”, etc. https://t.co/T2MKVjAJyp — Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) November 11, 2020
However, when those affidavits were released and examined by reporters, like Brad Heath of Reuters, many of the complaints turned out to be minor or routine — like allegations that observers were not allowed to stand close enough to the vote counters (during a pandemic), or were insulted for backing Trump, or that ballots were being duplicated.
The Trump campaign released that 234-page stack of affidavits from poll watchers in Detroit tonight. So far, it's mostly allegations that they couldn't get as close as they wanted to the counting, couldn't re-enter the room after they left, etc. Pretty standard election stuff. pic.twitter.com/95JxceLCah — Brad Heath (@bradheath) November 11, 2020
The report of a ballot being duplicated, in front of a Republican observer, is not necessarily proof of any illegality. As Sterling, the Georgia expert, explained at his news conference on Monday, ballots are occasionally damaged by automatic letter-openers used in counting rooms. When they are, the standard procedure is for election workers, under the close watch of partisan observers, to duplicate the markings from the damaged ballot onto a new one so that the paper can be run through the automated tabulation machines without jamming.
One of the complaints was from a person who thought that he saw the same batch of 27 ballots being counted 5 times over the course of the night. If true, that would reduce Biden’s current margin in Michigan from 148,645 to 148,537.
Another complaint in one affidavit, highlighted by Heath, was from a Republican poll watcher who found it suspicious that so many members of the military would vote for Joe Biden. “I saw a few dozen military ballots be counted,” the Republican observer said in his statement. “Although I cannot provide specific numbers or names, I can estimate that at least 80% of the military ballots I saw were straight ticket Democrat or simply had Joe Biden’s name filled in on them. I had always been told that military personnel tended to be more conservative, so this stuck out to me.”
Later Tuesday night, Laura Ingraham interviewed an unidentified woman who claimed that she was a Nevada poll worker who had seen (but not photographed) what she thought was two Biden campaign workers filling out ballots in a Biden-Harris van parked right outside a polling place.
This is where we're at right now. Laura Ingraham brings on an unidentified "whistleblower" — with hidden face and altered voice — to claim that folks literally from a Biden-Harris bus were altering ballots in Nevada. pic.twitter.com/b8xGe8KXSb — Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) November 11, 2020
Fox News reported that the Trump campaign said it had sent a sworn statement from this woman to the Department of Justice. However, the woman appears to have made no effort to actually file a complaint with the state.
The office of Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford told Fox it had only “received a redacted Affidavit that does not contain the individual’s name, signature or contact information. As it stands, our office has not yet received a formal complaint and cannot conduct an investigation without such critical details.”
“If they file a complaint — not a press release, not a PR stunt, not a statement on television — if they were to file a complaint with my office, not a redacted affidavit, which they’ve tried to do, a complaint where we call someone, perform an investigation, ascertain whether we should prosecute someone, we will do it,” Ford told CNN on Monday. “But they’re not doing that. Instead, they’re playing this in the press because they know they have no leg to stand on, that’s why they’ve been thrown out of court four times already.”
Todd Bice, a Republican election law expert in Nevada, wrote a blistering op-ed for the nonprofit Nevada Independent on Tuesday, skewering the Trump campaign’s effort to claim that there were enough illegal or miscounted votes to overturn Biden’s 36,726-vote margin in Nevada.
“Here is what any serious person being honest with you about elections, and the laws surrounding those elections, will tell you: In EVERY election, a certain number (generally very small) of votes will be cast by voters who, for certain reasons, are not actually eligible to vote in that election. Obviously, if the voter is ineligible, the vote should not count,” Bice wrote. “This occurs in Nevada as well as every other state in the union in every election. A few of those votes will be truly nefarious, such as where someone forges the signature of another. But this is quite small, because very few citizens who choose to participate in the election process are actually crooks.”
“Others can arise from ambiguity and/or debates about residency rules and requirements, including the fact that Nevada has a large military population who frequently move,” he continued. “Although they occur in every election, the number of ineligible votes is so small that it will have no actual impact on the outcome, except in perhaps a small-time municipal election where the turnout is extraordinarily small and the margin is just a couple votes. I know, because I’ve actually litigated that issue. But the suggestion that ineligible votes are so widespread as to actually impact the outcome of a statewide or national election is quite disingenuous.”
Updated: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2:49 p.m.
This article was updated with additional examples of how Fox News is covering the post-election fallout and baseless allegations of voter fraud.


theintercept--2020-11-11--Questions Mount About Controversial Hunter Biden-China Dossier

leading up to the presidential election , a document detailing Hunter Biden ’ s purported connections to the Chinese Communist Party circulated in the far-right online ecosystem .
The 64-page document , which is styled as a confidential “ intelligence report , ” claims to reveal new links between the Chinese government and Hunter Biden , the son of then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden .
It also alleges Chinese influence operations aimed at “ cultivating ” Hunter Biden and , without giving concrete evidence , accuses the elder Biden of altering his stance on China as a result of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ BIDEN shifted his view from hawkish to dovish after HUNTER began receiving entrée into Chinese elite political and financial institutions , ” the dossier alleges .
Published online in September , the dossier has been heralded as evidence of the Biden family ’ s corruption by Steve Bannon , Newt Gingrich , and Q , the mysterious figure behind the conspiracy theory QAnon .
The China dossier also served as a kind of prequel to a series of stories published in late October by the New York Post .
Together , the China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were based on the contents of a laptop associated with Hunter Biden , appeared calculated to sow doubt about the elder Biden ’ s fitness to govern by drawing unsubstantiated connections between the son ’ s poor judgment and the father ’ s politics .
In late October , disinformation researcher Elise Thomas discovered that both the firm whose logo appears on the China dossier , Typhoon Investigations , and an associated analyst named Martin Aspen were fake .
Martin Aspen is not the only invention in this strange saga , however , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ describing the blogger who first published the dossier misrepresent significant aspects of his background .
The blogger , Albert Marko , has variously presented himself as a pollster , an international relations buff , and a U.S. congressional expert .
Public records show that he is a Florida resident who has launched a variety of mostly inactive businesses , including in software , painting , and cosmetics .
The provenance of the Typhoon Investigations report matters because of concerns that it was part of a coordinated right-wing campaign to tip the election to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bannon , a former Trump adviser who is out on bail after being indicted for wire fraud and money laundering , told newspaper staff in September about the existence of the Hunter Biden-associated laptop ; the paper ultimately published emails and other materials from a copy of the laptop ’ s hard drive provided by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani .
GTV Media Group , the company Bannon recently started with Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui , has also promoted salacious stories about Hunter Biden .
Bannon , who once said that the way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the zone with shit , ” told listeners to his podcast “ War Room : Pandemic ” last month that he saw a copy of the Hunter Biden-China report ahead of its publication .
In early September , Marko posted the Typhoon Investigations report , which is titled “ Project Time , ” on the blog Intelligence Quarterly , which he told The Intercept he runs with his friends .
He made news when Thomas , the disinformation researcher , connected him with the publication of the dossier .
On the first page @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listed as “ M A.
” Thomas connected these initials with fake analyst Martin Aspen , whose online persona promoted the report ahead of its publication .
“ We are currently working on a big and important investigation , ” Aspen ’ s Twitter account , @ TyphoonInvesti1 , tweeted on August 13 .
“ Watch this space !
” Marko published the report online a few weeks later .
The fake analyst ’ s Twitter photo turned out to have been computer-generated .
Other parts of his identity , including a LinkedIn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fabricated .
“ That kind of deceptive behavior about the origins of a report which makes such significant allegations about the family of a presidential candidate , weeks before the presidential election , is completely unacceptable , ” Thomas told The Intercept .
The identities of several others involved in producing the Typhoon Investigations dossier have since become clear .
One key figure was former U.S. naval intelligence officer Mark Simon , an American executive at the Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily , which is owned by media tycoon Jimmy Lai .
Simon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s money for research related to the dossier , according to a series of tweets from Lai , who maintained that he was unaware of the project .
One person who helped produce the report was Christopher Balding , an American researcher who until recently was based in Vietnam .
Marko told The Intercept that he received the report from Balding but that Balding was not the principal author .
Marko published it because “ it was relevant to the election from previously reported Hunter Biden antics , ” he said , adding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , never edited it nor even read more than a glance before posting it.
” Balding posted a slightly updated version of the Typhoon Investigations report on his own blog , Balding ’ s World , on October 22 .
He appeared on Bannon ’ s podcast two days later .
Balding ’ s ties to Bannon are unclear , but it was the second time he had appeared on the show .
The first was in September , to discuss a purported Chinese government data leak .
Balding declined to comment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ never met Bannon , nor communicated with him nor would ever want to for any reason.
” Marko has tweeted about Hunter Biden for years , but it ’ s not clear how he came to be the first to publish a report that could have influenced the 2020 presidential election .
Like Martin Aspen , Albert Marko has a bio that is partly pulled from thin air .
Several identical online profiles describe him as holding “ a bachelor ’ s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Stockholm University ” as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from University of Detroit Mercy .
When reached by phone , the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University said it had no record of anyone by the last name Marko graduating .
Marko told The Intercept that he had taken free courses offered by the university after “ ending an attempt to play pro soccer in Europe due to injury.
” He said that he was unsure why the school was listed in his online bios , which he said an assistant submitted on his behalf , but that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Gary J. Erwin , an associate vice president for University of Detroit Mercy , said the school had no record of Marko earning a degree and that he could not comment on whether Marko had taken any classes there because of federal privacy regulations .
Marko did not respond to further questions about his education .
One of his online bios , on the networking site Topio Networks , was taken down after The Intercept began making inquiries .
Marko ’ s bio for the consultancy Malmgren Strategic Institute , where he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that during the Kosovo War , Marko was “ a liaison to the Albanian side.
” The Intercept was unable to verify this claim or ascertain whom he might have represented .
In response to a request for more information , Marko wrote , “ I ’ m Albanian by heritage and speak two dialects .
Hence the history there and I won ’ t speak much about it.
” The Malmgren Strategic Institute did not respond to a request to comment .
Marko has made frequent references on Twitter to being of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of semi-joking threats .
In April 2018 , he complained about a guy behind him in traffic who was blasting the horn .
“ Part of me was like , ‘ well , he ’ s probably in a rush and late for an important event , we ’ ve all been there… ’ but the Albanian part of me is thinking ‘ he does it one more time , I ’ m pumping 500 AK rounds into his car , ’ ” Marko wrote .
Following the publication of an NBC News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report , he tweeted about journalists Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins : “ I ’ m Albanian… they should remember that.
” He also called Zadrozny “ that bitch.
” Marko is routinely quoted as an expert in the Post , where he is sometimes described as a “ former pollster.
” Marko told The Intercept that he “ conducted private polling for clients ” that were “ trying to understand U.S. demographics.
” The Intercept could not verify this claim .
One claim that did check out is Marko ’ s involvement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida and North Carolina that created an app for long-term care professionals , according to its website .
The company ’ s Facebook and Twitter accounts have not been updated since 2015 .
He also registered a company called Alti ’ s Painting at the address of relatives in 2013 , and a business called Ace Cosmetics at his home in 2015 .
He said that these were “ just companies I invested in with friends to help them get started.
” Both Balding and Marko have sizable followings on Twitter .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have befriended people across the political spectrum and built reputations as experts on international affairs .
Marko has interacted with Balding on Twitter for close to a year and replied to dozens of his tweets .
The two men also recently filmed a pair of video discussions for the Texas-based consultancy Complete Intelligence .
A number of questions about the report ’ s origins remain .
One is how and why Q , the figure behind the conspiracy theory QAnon , was apparently tipped off to its publication .
On October 21 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ BOOMS ” is a term that Q uses to refer to important events or news ; when Balding published the report the following day , Q posted that link as a “ Q drop , ” a cryptic clue for followers , on the anonymous forum 8kun .
Other questions center on the involvement of Mark Simon , the Hong Kong tabloid executive .
Simon ’ s boss at Apple Daily , Lai , is unabashedly pro-Trump and last year met with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posted the Typhoon Investigations document , Apple Daily has published more than 40 articles mentioning Hunter Biden , many of them echoing claims from the dossier , according to the Daily Beast .
Simon resigned from his position at Apple Daily on October 30 .

In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, a document detailing Hunter Biden’s purported connections to the Chinese Communist Party circulated in the far-right online ecosystem.
The 64-page document, which is styled as a confidential “intelligence report,” claims to reveal new links between the Chinese government and Hunter Biden, the son of then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. It also alleges Chinese influence operations aimed at “cultivating” Hunter Biden and, without giving concrete evidence, accuses the elder Biden of altering his stance on China as a result of his son’s work there. “BIDEN shifted his view from hawkish to dovish after HUNTER began receiving entrée into Chinese elite political and financial institutions,” the dossier alleges.
Published online in September, the dossier has been heralded as evidence of the Biden family’s corruption by Steve Bannon, Newt Gingrich, and Q, the mysterious figure behind the conspiracy theory QAnon. The China dossier also served as a kind of prequel to a series of stories published in late October by the New York Post. Together, the China dossier and the Post stories, which were based on the contents of a laptop associated with Hunter Biden, appeared calculated to sow doubt about the elder Biden’s fitness to govern by drawing unsubstantiated connections between the son’s poor judgment and the father’s politics.
In late October, disinformation researcher Elise Thomas discovered that both the firm whose logo appears on the China dossier, Typhoon Investigations, and an associated analyst named Martin Aspen were fake.
Martin Aspen is not the only invention in this strange saga, however, The Intercept has learned. Online bios describing the blogger who first published the dossier misrepresent significant aspects of his background.
The blogger, Albert Marko, has variously presented himself as a pollster, an international relations buff, and a U.S. congressional expert. Public records show that he is a Florida resident who has launched a variety of mostly inactive businesses, including in software, painting, and cosmetics.
Photo: Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The provenance of the Typhoon Investigations report matters because of concerns that it was part of a coordinated right-wing campaign to tip the election to Donald Trump. The Post reported that Bannon, a former Trump adviser who is out on bail after being indicted for wire fraud and money laundering, told newspaper staff in September about the existence of the Hunter Biden-associated laptop; the paper ultimately published emails and other materials from a copy of the laptop’s hard drive provided by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. GTV Media Group, the company Bannon recently started with Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, has also promoted salacious stories about Hunter Biden.
Bannon, who once said that the way to counteract the media is to “flood the zone with shit,” told listeners to his podcast “War Room: Pandemic” last month that he saw a copy of the Hunter Biden-China report ahead of its publication.
In early September, Marko posted the Typhoon Investigations report, which is titled “Project Time,” on the blog Intelligence Quarterly, which he told The Intercept he runs with his friends. He made news when Thomas, the disinformation researcher, connected him with the publication of the dossier.
The fake analyst’s Twitter photo turned out to have been computer-generated.
On the first page of the report, the author is listed as “M A.” Thomas connected these initials with fake analyst Martin Aspen, whose online persona promoted the report ahead of its publication. “We are currently working on a big and important investigation,” Aspen’s Twitter account, @TyphoonInvesti1, tweeted on August 13. “Watch this space!” Marko published the report online a few weeks later.
The fake analyst’s Twitter photo turned out to have been computer-generated. Other parts of his identity, including a LinkedIn profile, also appear to have been fabricated. “That kind of deceptive behavior about the origins of a report which makes such significant allegations about the family of a presidential candidate, weeks before the presidential election, is completely unacceptable,” Thomas told The Intercept.
Photo: Pichi Chuang/Reuters
The identities of several others involved in producing the Typhoon Investigations dossier have since become clear. One key figure was former U.S. naval intelligence officer Mark Simon, an American executive at the Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily, which is owned by media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Simon paid out $10,000 of Lai’s money for research related to the dossier, according to a series of tweets from Lai, who maintained that he was unaware of the project.
One person who helped produce the report was Christopher Balding, an American researcher who until recently was based in Vietnam. Marko told The Intercept that he received the report from Balding but that Balding was not the principal author. Marko published it because “it was relevant to the election from previously reported Hunter Biden antics,” he said, adding that he “never contributed to it, never edited it nor even read more than a glance before posting it.” Balding posted a slightly updated version of the Typhoon Investigations report on his own blog, Balding’s World, on October 22. He appeared on Bannon’s podcast two days later.
Balding’s ties to Bannon are unclear, but it was the second time he had appeared on the show. The first was in September, to discuss a purported Chinese government data leak. Balding declined to comment. Marko told The Intercept that he “never met Bannon, nor communicated with him nor would ever want to for any reason.”
Marko has tweeted about Hunter Biden for years, but it’s not clear how he came to be the first to publish a report that could have influenced the 2020 presidential election. Like Martin Aspen, Albert Marko has a bio that is partly pulled from thin air.
Like Martin Aspen, Albert Marko has a bio that is partly pulled from thin air.
Several identical online profiles describe him as holding “a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Stockholm University” as well as a bachelor’s degree from University of Detroit Mercy. When reached by phone, the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University said it had no record of anyone by the last name Marko graduating. Marko told The Intercept that he had taken free courses offered by the university after “ending an attempt to play pro soccer in Europe due to injury.” He said that he was unsure why the school was listed in his online bios, which he said an assistant submitted on his behalf, but that he had attended University of Detroit Mercy. Gary J. Erwin, an associate vice president for University of Detroit Mercy, said the school had no record of Marko earning a degree and that he could not comment on whether Marko had taken any classes there because of federal privacy regulations. Marko did not respond to further questions about his education. One of his online bios, on the networking site Topio Networks, was taken down after The Intercept began making inquiries.
Marko’s bio for the consultancy Malmgren Strategic Institute, where he sits on the advisory board, says that during the Kosovo War, Marko was “a liaison to the Albanian side.” The Intercept was unable to verify this claim or ascertain whom he might have represented. In response to a request for more information, Marko wrote, “I’m Albanian by heritage and speak two dialects. Hence the history there and I won’t speak much about it.” The Malmgren Strategic Institute did not respond to a request to comment.
Marko has made frequent references on Twitter to being of Albanian descent, many in the form of semi-joking threats. In April 2018, he complained about a guy behind him in traffic who was blasting the horn. “Part of me was like, ‘well, he’s probably in a rush and late for an important event, we’ve all been there…’ but the Albanian part of me is thinking ‘he does it one more time, I’m pumping 500 AK rounds into his car,’” Marko wrote. Following the publication of an NBC News article detailing concerns about the Typhoon Investigations report, he tweeted about journalists Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins: “I’m Albanian… they should remember that.” He also called Zadrozny “that bitch.”
Marko is routinely quoted as an expert in the Post, where he is sometimes described as a “former pollster.” Marko told The Intercept that he “conducted private polling for clients” that were “trying to understand U.S. demographics.” The Intercept could not verify this claim.
One claim that did check out is Marko’s involvement with Bluwave Software, a small company in Florida and North Carolina that created an app for long-term care professionals, according to its website. The company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts have not been updated since 2015. He also registered a company called Alti’s Painting at the address of relatives in 2013, and a business called Ace Cosmetics at his home in 2015. He said that these were “just companies I invested in with friends to help them get started.”
Both Balding and Marko have sizable followings on Twitter. Though generally hawkish on China, they have befriended people across the political spectrum and built reputations as experts on international affairs. Marko has interacted with Balding on Twitter for close to a year and replied to dozens of his tweets. The two men also recently filmed a pair of video discussions for the Texas-based consultancy Complete Intelligence.
A number of questions about the report’s origins remain. One is how and why Q, the figure behind the conspiracy theory QAnon, was apparently tipped off to its publication. On October 21, Q posted, “BOOMS EN_ROUTE TOMORROW.” “BOOMS” is a term that Q uses to refer to important events or news; when Balding published the report the following day, Q posted that link as a “Q drop,” a cryptic clue for followers, on the anonymous forum 8kun.
Other questions center on the involvement of Mark Simon, the Hong Kong tabloid executive. Simon’s boss at Apple Daily, Lai, is unabashedly pro-Trump and last year met with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Since September, when Marko posted the Typhoon Investigations document, Apple Daily has published more than 40 articles mentioning Hunter Biden, many of them echoing claims from the dossier, according to the Daily Beast.
Simon resigned from his position at Apple Daily on October 30.


theintercept--2020-11-12--Georgia Senator Dismisses Climate Change While Enjoying Protected Beachfront Mansion

wins reelection in Georgia ’ s runoff in January , the Republican Party will almost certainly maintain its Senate majority .
Perdue , an outspoken climate denier , urged President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords ; voted against a Senate resolution that affirmed that climate change is real and that human activities contribute to it ; and dismissed the Green New Deal as a “ socialist wish list.
” The one-term senator , who is a first cousin of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and golfing buddy of Trump , also vowed to protect the coal industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PAC , Americans for Prosperity .
If Perdue wins , the potential for the Biden administration to respond to the global climate crisis will be greatly diminished .
But even while Perdue publicly rejects the scientific consensus about climate change , the Georgia senator and former CEO of Dollar General is part of a gated beachfront community that has taken the global phenomenon and its consequences extremely seriously .
Perdue owns a more than 9,000 square-foot mansion with six bathrooms , arched doorways , and a pool on Sea Island , a gated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealthiest ZIP code in the state .
Over the past few years , as sea-level rise has accelerated , the Sea Island Company , which owns the island resort , has constructed an elaborate and expensive system of jetties and sea walls in an effort to protect the lavish homes there .
According to his federal disclosure forms , Perdue ’ s net worth is somewhere between $ 13.7 million and $ 39.8 million .
Although it is just steps from the water in an area of Sea Island known as Ocean Forest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the entire community — has been protected from the ravages of the quickly changing climate , giving the senator the privilege of dismissing the phenomenon even as his home is carefully girded against it .
The Sea Island Company has built a sea wall , as well as three jetties , that combat beach erosion .
And the company regularly collects massive amounts of sand from the southern jetty and redistributes it to other beaches along the island .
“ Senator Perdue is lucky , ” said Megan Desrosiers , president and CEO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmental group that sued unsuccessfully in 2016 to stop the Sea Island Company from developing a narrow spit of land for the development of eight more multimillion-dollar homes on the grounds that it would disrupt sea turtle and shorebird habitat and potentially increase erosion .
“ The philosophy of the Sea Island Company is that you can just engineer a solution to everything , ” said Desrosiers .
“ Whether they acknowledge climate change or not , every year the Sea Island Company is putting in money to protect the people who live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Georgia has this kind of money to protect the people who live on these islands.
” Indeed , the vast majority of the 40,000 homes in Georgia that face tidal flooding are not on St. Simons Island .
And many of these other communities do not have the resources to mitigate the risk .
In Brunswick , Georgia , just a 20-minute drive from Sea Island , 99 percent of the properties are in flood zones , according to First Street Foundation ’ s National Flood Risk Assessment .
During several recent storms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ income was just over $ 25,000 and whose median home values are about one-thirtieth of those on Sea Island — saw raw sewage flow into their residences and streets .
Because the aging sewer system hasn ’ t yet been updated to adapt to climate change , the people living in Brunswick , more than half of whom are Black , have been unable to shower or flush toilets for days after some storms .
Both nationwide and globally , the impacts of climate change are disproportionately borne by the poorest .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rises almost two inches each year , is clearly part of the state ’ s coastal crisis .
“ But the water level just tells part of the story , ” said Jason Lee , who works for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources protecting coastal species and land .
“ You also have increased hurricane activity .
You have increased erosional events and storms that generate large waves.
” Lee also pointed to an increase in the frequency and severity of so-called king tides , in which sea level rises precipitously and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Georgia is turning blue in more ways than one , ” he said .
Lee was referring to the changing political tides that has swept over Georgia along with the increased climate impacts .
Although the Republican presidential candidate won the state ’ s electoral votes every year since 1996 , the 2020 race has still not been called there , and as of Wednesday morning , Joe Biden was leading by 0.2 percent .
The margins in the Senate contests were also small , leading to the double runoff , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2021 .
Perdue did not respond to several inquiries about this story .
The Sea Island Company also declined to comment on this story .
Perdue ’ s Democratic challenger , former journalist Jon Ossoff , has not shied from the issue of climate change , pledging to make environmental policy “ on the basis of scientific evidence — not the lobbying of polluters ” ; to work to reverse the Trump administration ’ s rollbacks of fuel economy standards ; to reenter the Paris Climate Accords and negotiate for an “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to move toward a rapid transition to clean energy sources .
Stark differences on climate also separate the contenders for the other Senate seat .
While Republican Kelly Loeffler has remained largely silent on the issue , her Democratic opponent , a Baptist minister named Raphael Warnock , has encouraged his congregants to see themselves as environmentalists and has preached about the connections between pollution , race , and poverty .
Given that 66 percent of Georgians “ believe in climate change , ” and most feel that their government should do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a majority of people in the U.S. do — the Republicans ’ failure to recognize the crisis that is wreaking particular havoc in Georgia and other Southern states could be a force in swinging the runoff races toward the Democrats .
Perdue , who has called for the resignation of the Georgia secretary of state and alleged without evidence that voting improprieties led to the outcome of the election , is of course hoping it will swing the other way .
But , while progress on climate throughout the U.S. — and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — hinges on the outcome of the runoff , the ultimate fate of Perdue ’ s big Sea Island mansion can be predicted with some confidence .
Whether he wins or loses , the climate crisis will continue to worsen .
And according to Lee , even expensive engineering tricks won ’ t be enough to save Sea Island from its effects .
Parts of St. Simons Island have already eroded significantly and are now underwater .
As sea-level rise continues unabated , Lee predicted , other parts of the island will likely @ @ @ @ @ @

If Sen. David Perdue wins reelection in Georgia’s runoff in January, the Republican Party will almost certainly maintain its Senate majority. Perdue, an outspoken climate denier, urged President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords; voted against a Senate resolution that affirmed that climate change is real and that human activities contribute to it; and dismissed the Green New Deal as a “socialist wish list.” The one-term senator, who is a first cousin of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and golfing buddy of Trump, also vowed to protect the coal industry and was endorsed by the Koch-affiliated Super PAC, Americans for Prosperity. If Perdue wins, the potential for the Biden administration to respond to the global climate crisis will be greatly diminished.
But even while Perdue publicly rejects the scientific consensus about climate change, the Georgia senator and former CEO of Dollar General is part of a gated beachfront community that has taken the global phenomenon and its consequences extremely seriously. Perdue owns a more than 9,000 square-foot mansion with six bathrooms, arched doorways, and a pool on Sea Island, a gated community on St. Simons Island, the wealthiest ZIP code in the state. Over the past few years, as sea-level rise has accelerated, the Sea Island Company, which owns the island resort, has constructed an elaborate and expensive system of jetties and sea walls in an effort to protect the lavish homes there. According to his federal disclosure forms, Perdue’s net worth is somewhere between $13.7 million and $39.8 million.
Although it is just steps from the water in an area of Sea Island known as Ocean Forest, Perdue’s home — and the entire community — has been protected from the ravages of the quickly changing climate, giving the senator the privilege of dismissing the phenomenon even as his home is carefully girded against it. The Sea Island Company has built a sea wall, as well as three jetties, that combat beach erosion. And the company regularly collects massive amounts of sand from the southern jetty and redistributes it to other beaches along the island.
“Senator Perdue is lucky,” said Megan Desrosiers, president and CEO of One Hundred Miles, a Georgia-based environmental group that sued unsuccessfully in 2016 to stop the Sea Island Company from developing a narrow spit of land for the development of eight more multimillion-dollar homes on the grounds that it would disrupt sea turtle and shorebird habitat and potentially increase erosion. “The philosophy of the Sea Island Company is that you can just engineer a solution to everything,” said Desrosiers. “Whether they acknowledge climate change or not, every year the Sea Island Company is putting in money to protect the people who live there. No other place in coastal Georgia has this kind of money to protect the people who live on these islands.”
Indeed, the vast majority of the 40,000 homes in Georgia that face tidal flooding are not on St. Simons Island. And many of these other communities do not have the resources to mitigate the risk. In Brunswick, Georgia, just a 20-minute drive from Sea Island, 99 percent of the properties are in flood zones, according to First Street Foundation’s National Flood Risk Assessment. During several recent storms, Brunswick residents, whose median annual income was just over $25,000 and whose median home values are about one-thirtieth of those on Sea Island — saw raw sewage flow into their residences and streets. Because the aging sewer system hasn’t yet been updated to adapt to climate change, the people living in Brunswick, more than half of whom are Black, have been unable to shower or flush toilets for days after some storms. Both nationwide and globally, the impacts of climate change are disproportionately borne by the poorest.
The steadily increasing sea level, which now rises more than an inch every two years, is clearly part of the state’s coastal crisis. “But the water level just tells part of the story,” said Jason Lee, who works for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources protecting coastal species and land. “You also have increased hurricane activity. You have increased erosional events and storms that generate large waves.” Lee also pointed to an increase in the frequency and severity of so-called king tides, in which sea level rises precipitously and flooding occurs even on days without rain. “Georgia is turning blue in more ways than one,” he said.
Lee was referring to the changing political tides that has swept over Georgia along with the increased climate impacts. Although the Republican presidential candidate won the state’s electoral votes every year since 1996, the 2020 race has still not been called there, and as of Wednesday morning, Joe Biden was leading by 0.2 percent. The margins in the Senate contests were also small, leading to the double runoff, which will be held on January 5, 2021.
Perdue did not respond to several inquiries about this story.
The Sea Island Company also declined to comment on this story.
Perdue’s Democratic challenger, former journalist Jon Ossoff, has not shied from the issue of climate change, pledging to make environmental policy “on the basis of scientific evidence — not the lobbying of polluters”; to work to reverse the Trump administration’s rollbacks of fuel economy standards; to reenter the Paris Climate Accords and negotiate for an “even more ambitious climate treaty”; and to move toward a rapid transition to clean energy sources.
Stark differences on climate also separate the contenders for the other Senate seat. While Republican Kelly Loeffler has remained largely silent on the issue, her Democratic opponent, a Baptist minister named Raphael Warnock, has encouraged his congregants to see themselves as environmentalists and has preached about the connections between pollution, race, and poverty.
Given that 66 percent of Georgians “believe in climate change,” and most feel that their government should do more to address the problem — as a majority of people in the U.S. do — the Republicans’ failure to recognize the crisis that is wreaking particular havoc in Georgia and other Southern states could be a force in swinging the runoff races toward the Democrats. Perdue, who has called for the resignation of the Georgia secretary of state and alleged without evidence that voting improprieties led to the outcome of the election, is of course hoping it will swing the other way.
But, while progress on climate throughout the U.S. — and, to a certain extent, the world — hinges on the outcome of the runoff, the ultimate fate of Perdue’s big Sea Island mansion can be predicted with some confidence. Whether he wins or loses, the climate crisis will continue to worsen. And according to Lee, even expensive engineering tricks won’t be enough to save Sea Island from its effects.
Parts of St. Simons Island have already eroded significantly and are now underwater. As sea-level rise continues unabated, Lee predicted, other parts of the island will likely sink beneath the rising waters.