Ex-CIA agent calls BS on Rand Paul surveillance claim: 'He doesn't know what he's talking about'
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and former CIA agent Phil Mudd (Photo: Screen captures)
Former CIA-agent-turn-CNN-commentator Phil Mudd railed against Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) after the senator claimed he didn't know whether or not he was personally being surveilled by U.S. intelligence.
"You heard Rand Paul just say to me a while ago here in 'The Situation Room' that he's not ruling out the possibility that the U.S. intelligence community is spying on him and the president," host Wolf Blitzer said.
"Rand Paul doesn't know what he's talking about," Mudd said simply. "What he's referencing is intercepts of foreign officials where they may talk to Rand Paul. Foreign official one, the Russian ambassador talked to a U.S. person. That U.S. person might be Rand Paul. Here's my question back, happy to debate him any day, number one: do you think we should intercept the Russian ambassador? Number two: if the Russian ambassador talks to a U.S. official, should that be disseminated if that U.S. person's name is obscured? If the answer is no, my question is, what does intelligence do? He doesn't know what he's talking about."
When it came to Trump's afternoon tweets, Mudd wondered what Trump was even talking about when he claimed he doesn't know if there are or are not tapes.
"This is the residence he lives in!" Mudd exclaimed. "He doesn't know if there are tapes? Let me ask the question: who runs the Defense Department, the CIA, National Security Agency and the Homeland Security Department? These are people typically nominated by him. Here's the question: if you think that there is some sort of surveillance in the White House, who exactly is doing this surveillance? I don't appreciate that the president's playing us for fools. Who's doing this?"
Watch the full discussion below:
Former CIA Agent Phil Mudd says Rand Paul doesn... by sarahburris
Simone Gold, the California doctor who made headlines back in July when she and a group called "America's Frontline Doctors" appeared in a new conference in front of the Supreme Court to decry lockdowns, has been arrested after she was caught on video breaching the U.S. Capitol alongside a Trump-supporting mob.
Gold was photographed holding a megaphone on the Rotunda floor of the Capitol, and has acknowledged entering the building but claimed no violence took place. According to reports, she was arrested in California on Sunday and faces charges of entering a restricted building and for violent entry and disorderly conduct.
<p>Federal officials also arrested John Strand, communications director for America's Frontline Doctors, who was pictured with the Gold at the Capitol.</p><p>Gold was in D.C. for a "Rally for Health Freedom" on the East side of the Capitol on Jan. 6. <a href="https://twitter.com/Autre_Vierge/status/1347978604030820352" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">One video</a> shows her walking into the Capitol, and <a href="https://twitter.com/Autre_Vierge/status/1348152363765305344" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">another</a> shows her giving some sort of impromptu speech.</p>
Rumors swirled in the months leading up to the 2020 presidential election that former President Donald Trump wanted to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray, with whom he openly feuded about the origins of the investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with the Russian government.
But after losing the 2020 election, Trump decided against firing Wray -- and according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, his restraint in this case was driven by self-interest.
<p>"Trump made clear to aides a week after the election he wouldn't fire Wray, in part because he was afraid a new FBI director would be more incentivized against him," <a href="https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1352272204692656128" target="_blank">Haberman writes on Twitter</a>.</p><p>Haberman also says that President Joe Biden decided to keep Wray in part because firing him would have created blowback, especially because Biden's son, Hunter Biden, is currently under investigation for potential tax fraud.</p><p>Trump's 2017 firing of former FBI Director James Comey was what led then-deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to hire Robert Mueller as a special counsel to investigate both the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian agents and whether the firing of Comey was an effort to obstruct that investigation.</p>
Matthew Chapman
On Thursday, Popular Info reported that Tate Bennett, a controversial adviser to former President Donald Trump, was hired by Forbes Tate, a top D.C. lobbying firm — but the hire was kept as quiet as possible.
"Bennett came to Forbes Tate from the White House, where she had served as a Special Assistant to former President Trump since April," wrote Judd Legum. "While at the White House, she was in charge of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which was plagued by inefficiency and mismanagement. Before that, Bennett had a controversial tenure at the EPA which resulted in three United States Senators accusing her of unethical conduct and demanding an Inspector General Investigation."
<p>As Legum noted, the hire was not advertised, an unusualy move.</p><p>"Normally, when the firm makes an important new hire, it lets the world know. When Forbes Tate hired Trevor Hanger as a Senior Vice President earlier this month, it was promoted on the Forbes Tate Twitter account, in a press release, and in Politico. When Jerri Ann Henry and Rich Lopez were hired as Senior Vice Presidents in October, they received the same treatment," said the report. "But there was no mention of [Bennett's] hire on Twitter, no press release, and no coverage in Politico. Instead, she was quietly added to a list of employees on the firm website."</p><p>As Legum noted, Forbes Tate may have hired Bennett — who also worked as an aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — with the expectation that Republicans would retain control of the Senate, and that they would need someone close to Republican leadership.</p>
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