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Controversial spyware was deployed against political opponents the previous government in Israel, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
"Israeli police have used NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware to remotely access, control and extract information from cellphones belonging to Israeli citizens, including leaders of a protest movement against former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an investigation published Tuesday in the Israeli outlet Calcalist," the newspaper reported. "The military-grade software developed by the private Israeli company NSO was also used to target a number of people who were not suspected of involvement in a crime, including mayors, former governmental employees and at least one person close to a senior politician, according to the report."
The company refused to comment and Israeli police denied the report.
"The Calcalist investigation said that police began using the software in 2020 to remotely surveil the phones of prominent activists of the “Black Flag” protest, which amid a surge of coronavirus cases, an economic crisis and a ongoing corruption trial against Netanyahu called for the prime minister’s ouster," the newspaper reported. "The report said NSO spyware was used to collect data on citizens to be used as leverage if they became subjects of an interrogation at a later date."
Read the full report.
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Here’s how a GOP operative got back in Trump’s good graces by spreading absurd claims about Jan. 6
January 18, 2022
Hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump have been arrested for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but one disgraced former Trump administration official has gained attention by pushing the conspiracy theory it was actually the federal government responsible for the insurrection.
A new exposé by The Bulwark focuses on how Darren Beattie is using Revolver News to spread conspiracy theories about the insurrection by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
"The story of how Beattie went from being an unknown speechwriter fired from the Trump White House in 2018 to a prominent propagandist fired by the Biden White House in 2022 is worth recounting for what it tells us about the chaotic Trumpian right. It is not a particularly encouraging story. Beattie rehabilitated his relationship with MAGA World not by cleaning up his act but by showing an unflagging commitment to Trump and demonstrating a real knack for promoting conspiracy theories," Laura Field reported. "That Trump is eager to promote Beattie—that Trump finds Beattie useful—is yet another indicator of everything that is disturbing about the ex-president’s hold on the GOP."
Beattie is the founder of Revolver.News, which has pushed pro-Trump conspiracy theories.
READ: Former Trump aide canned by Biden administration after pushing Jan. 6 ‘false flag’ theory
"Beattie’s ouster from the Trump White House back in August 2018 came in the wake of revelations that he had participated in a conference alongside prominent white nationalists. According to reporting at the time, Beattie was asked to resign but refused on the grounds that he was not racist and had done nothing wrong—forcing the Trump White House to fire him," The Bulwark reported. "In 2019, Beattie worked for a stint with Trump sycophant Rep. Matt Gaetz (where he was apparently paid via a contractual arrangement that sparked controversy)."
Beattie was an alum of the Claremont Institute, which also houses infamous "coup memo" author John Eastman.
The Bulwark reported that "on November 4, 2020, the day after the election, a Revolver article (presumably written by Beattie) claimed that Democrats were on the verge of stealing the election and outlined steps that Trump should take to prevent Biden from coming to office—including the suggestion that Republican-controlled legislatures 'seat Trump electors' if there is 'clear evidence of electoral fraud.'”
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President Joe Biden's first term doesn't end for another three years, but Republicans are running against him this fall.
Republicans aren't offering much of an agenda to voters in this year's midterms, but will instead try to frame the Nov. 8 election as an up-or-down vote on Biden and the Democratic congressional majority, reported Politico.
“It’s really going to be a referendum on him and his administration and on the Democrat leadership in the Congress, so we need to stay out of our own way,” said Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the second-ranking GOP senator. "It’s really important for us to highlight our differences, how we would do it differently, and then … have some things that we would do or could do if there was a willingness to work together.”
If they do manage to win congressional majorities, they would have two years with Biden in the White House -- and some Republicans with presidential ambitions of their own are already signaling they won't work with him.
“Putting a stop to his agenda is the first thing that we would do, because that’s presumably what people would be voting for,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). “The message would be: If we’re in the majority, we need to stop what he’s currently doing.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), however, has said he's willing to work with Biden, but House Republicans remain in Donald Trump's clutches and have shown little interest in cutting deals with a Democratic president.
“Are we going to get the president that was a self proclaimed dealmaker in the Senate for his entire career?" said Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND). "Are we going to get the guy that's down in Georgia [for] a face-saving speech to his base because he can't get something through the Senate? A lot of it depends on which president we get.”
Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), a member of GOP leadership, said he's willing to work with Biden, but with a partisan caveat: "On anything that's not socialist.”
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